A New Payload Swing Angle Sensing Device and Its Accuracy

Measuring the swing angle of a crane load is a relatively well-known but unsatisfactorily solved problem in technical practice. This measurement is necessary for the automatic stabilization of load swing without human intervention. This article describes a technically simple and new approach to solving this problem. The focus of this work is to determine the accuracy of the measuring device. The focus of this work remains on the design, the principle of operation of the equipment, and the determination of accuracy. The basic idea is to apply the strain gauge on an elastic, easily deformable component that is part of the device. One part of the elastic component is fixedly connected to the frame; the other part is connected to the crane rope by means of pulleys close to the rope. In this way, the bending of the elastic component in proportion to the swing angle of the payload is ensured.

The Influence of the Structure Parameters on the Extensibility of Woven Fabrics

Fabric deformation properties considerably depend on its structure. Garment elasticity is an important factor that allows a garment wearer to move freely. Fabric deformation depends on the structure parameters of yarrn and fabric. It has been known that elongation at break of fabric with elastane yarn is higher than of ordinary fabric. The aim of this work was to analyse elongation at break parameters of the and warp and weft yarn in fabrics. Ten commercially produced samples of woven fabrics were used in the experiment. Some samples were with elastan yarn in the warp and weft directions or only in the weft direction. Elongation at break was measured applying a standard method. The results showed that elongation at break of the main elastic component or another component may occur simultaneously when an elastic component or elastane yarn may reach fabric ultimate elongation.

The Brinell Method for Determining Hardness of Wood Flooring Materials

We hypothesize that the ability to recovery the depth of the indentation increases with increasing the hardness of the flooring material. The research was carried out for ten lignocellulosic flooring materials: merbau, oak, maple, red oak, laminated HDF (high-density fiberboard), innovative plywood, beech, pine, peasantry, iroko. The hardness was examined using the Brinell method, and additionally, the elastic indentation of the indenter was measured during the hardness test. On this basis, the permanent (plastic) and temporary (elastic) component of total deformation was determined. Different ability to recovery was found. The harder materials were the higher percentage of elastic indentation in total indentation depth. Moreover, it was found that the measurement of the indentation diameter in wood materials is characterized by high uncertainty and measurements based on the depth of the indentation are more unambiguous and of greater practical importance, especially when testing hard lignocellulosic flooring materials.

Hydrologic control on natural land subsidence in the shallow coastal aquifer of the Ravenna coast, Italy

Multiple processes contributing to natural land subsidence in a shallow coastal aquifer near Ravenna (Italy) were identified by analysing the relationships among different data set time series (water table level, rainfall, land reclamation drainage, sea level, etc.) and establishing the correlations with vertical ground motion observed at a high-resolution settlement gauge. Our study highlights the presence of three deformation components related to different processes controlling land subsidence: elastic, delayed-elastic, and irreversible (plastic) components. The elastic and delayed-elastic components are closely related to water table fluctuations that change the effective stress in two portions of the coastal aquifer at a daily (in the sandy unconfined portion) and seasonal time scales (in the layered clay-rich semi-confined prodelta portion), respectively. The irreversible component represents the trend in the land subsidence time series and is due to primary consolidation (pore pressure dissipation) of the fine-grained prodelta levels above where the settlement gauge is located. The amplitudes of the elastic component can be up to 0.2–0.3 mm whereas the amplitude of the delayed-elastic component reaches 0.89 mm. The primary consolidation rate of deformation is 0.9 mm yr−1 and constrains the likely age of prodelta sediments deposition to 1300–2800 years before present. The delayed-elastic subsidence rate has similar magnitude to that due to primary consolidation and is connected to poroelastic effects in the prodelta sequence following seasonal variations in water table. Our findings are important for planning land subsidence management and monitoring strategies especially where the surface aquifer structure is heterogeneous due to different depositional settings. The natural land subsidence rate in the Holocene sediments of the shallow coastal aquifer of Ravenna (North eastern Italy) that we measured in this study accounts for 10 %–20 % of the total current land subsidence rate observed in this portion of Ravenna coastal area (10–20 mm yr−1).

Synthesis of Planar Compliances With Mechanisms Having Six Compliant Components: Geometric Approach

In this paper, the synthesis of any planar compliance with a six-component compliant mechanism is addressed. The mechanisms studied are either serial mechanisms with six elastic joints or parallel mechanisms with six springs. For each type of mechanism, conditions on the mechanism configurations that must be satisfied to realize a given compliance are developed. The geometric significance of each condition is identified and graphically represented. Geometric construction-based synthesis procedures for both types of mechanism are developed. These procedures allow one to select each elastic component from a restricted space based on its geometry.

Rational modelling of elastic soil behaviour in 3D condition

A simple and rigorous formulation of elastic component of elastoplastic model for geomaterials is presented. Although linear relation between elastic volumetric strain and mean principal stress in log scale is assumed in most of the usual models, linear relation between each principal stress and the corresponding principal elastic strain in log scale is assumed. Incorporating Poisson's ratio, three principal stresses vs. three elastic principal strain relation is obtained. Also, assuming coaxially between stresses and elastic strains, this relation can be transformed to stress- elastic strain relation in general coordinate. The material parameters of the proposed model of the elastic component are the same as those of the usual models, i.e., swelling index κ and Poisson's ratio ν. This proposed model can describe typical unloading behaviour of various shear tests and constant stress ratio unloading tests reported before.