Development of circuit model with natural circulation of coolant under conditions of ship motion

Safety is the key requirement to any nuclear power installation. Various factors affect safety during operation of the nuclear power installation. These factors are difficult to study due to the high economic costs. This problem can be solved by developing prototype models to conduct the research of many complex processes. Dynamic impact on the ship installation is one of these processes. The most significant impact is the impact on the natural circulation of the coolant, that is one of the basic emergency safety systems. Also, it is a promising way to ensure movement in the main circulation circuit. The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of external dynamic forces on the processes of natural circulation. For the study a testing bench has been developed that simulates one of the circulation loops of the reactor unit. The basic method to obtain experimental data is temperature sounding of the specific sections of the circulation route. A mathematical model has been developed that describes this process. The model is based on the equations of momentum conservation and heat balance. In accordance with the experimental data, the calculation of natural circulation for static and dynamic modes has been carried out. A mathematical model to describe this process has been developed. A comparative analysis of the results of calculating the static and dynamic modes has been carried out. It is founded out that the decrease of mass flow rate is about 10 % as compared with the static regime. It confirms the qualitative effect of ship motion on natural circulation. The practical significance of the research is the development of a model under conditions of ship motion, as well as verification of the model at the testing bench. The results show a significant effect of ship motion on the mass flow rate of the coolant in the case of natural circulation. Thus, to ensure the required safety of ship installations, it is recommended to conduct a study of natural circulation in accordance with the developed model under conditions of maximum possible ship motion.

Shape and Measurement Monitoring of Inrush Current Characteristics of a Battery-Capacitive Energy Storage Device with Two-Channel Digital Oscilloscope

The main reason of voltage instability in stand-alone power supply systems is the electric drive motors inrush current, which are usually higher than their nominal value. The most reasonable way to solve this problem is using capacitive energy storage. The purpose of research is shape and measurement monitoring of battery-capacitive energy storage device inrush current characteristics. Parameters comparative analysis for lithium-ion battery (LIB) part and capacitive part of the energy storage device was holding with the twochannel digital oscilloscope.Measuring testing bench included parallel connected LIB part and capacitive part of the storage device and connected to the power source. The LIB part of the storage device is made on the basis of the ATOM 10 multifunctional motor drive device of the new generation, which contains 15 V lithium-ion battery and 9.4 A·h capacity. The capacitive part of the storage device is the INSPECTOR Booster supercapacitor with an 80 F electrostatic capacitance and 15.5 V voltage. A 12 V AC/DC step-down converter was used as a power source. An electric air automobile compressor M-14001 was used as a current drain. The testing bench measuring part consisted of a two-channel digital oscilloscope and two standard measuring shunts with 15000 μOm resistance serial attached to LIB part and capacitive part of the storage device. Shape and measurement monitoring of inrush current characteristics of LIB part and capacitive part of the energy storage device was held synchronously using a two-channel digital oscilloscope with recording data to FAT32 file system USB flash drive. Obtained data was transferred to a personal computer and analyzed.The measurement results showed that 82.3 % of the energy losses compensation of the motor start is taken over by the capacitive part of the energy storage device, what makes longer LIB’s life. By adjusting the oscilloscope sweep trace index you can analyze more detailed time response shape and its duration. The values of the inrush current amplitudes were calculated in proportion to the voltage drop on the shunts and their resistances.The developed method for monitoring shape and measurement inrush current characteristics can be used in various technical applications: smart stand-alone photovoltaic system, uninterruptible power supply devices, electric drive control systems, etc.

Field Investigation of Straw Length, Stubble Height and Rotary Speed Effect on the Dispersion and Burying of Residue

High-yielding agriculture leads to plenty of residues left in the field after harvest, which not only makes seeding operations difficult, but also decreases residue decomposition rate. Thus, it is necessary to incorporate some residue into the soil by tillage operations. Providing the relation between tillage operations and residue incorporation, and establishing a mathematical model plays an important role in residue management and the design of tillage machinery. In order to obtain detailed data on the interaction between crop residue and tillage operations, an electric and multi-functional field testing bench with precise parameter control was developed to perform residue incorporation characteristics of rotary tillage, and investigated straw length, rotary speed and stubble height effect on the dispersion and burying of residue. Three experimental factors affecting residue incorporation performance were studied, i.e. six lengths of straw (30-150 mm), four heights of stubble (50-200 mm), and three rotary speeds (240-320 rpm). Chopped straw and stubble with certain sizes were prepared for the test, and measure the dispersion uniformity and burying rate of residue after rotary tillage. The results indicated that straw length, stubble height, and rotary speed all impact residue incorporation quality. The dispersion uniformity and burying rate of residue decreased with the increase of straw length and stubble height; Lower rotary speed parameter buried lesser residue and dispersed worse uniformity than higher one; It is suggested that farmers determine the straw length and stubble height at the stage of harvest according to the burying rate and dispersion uniformity of residue.

Prototype for Knee-load Relief through Ischiatic Support

Objective: The objective of this work was to develop a passive exoskeleton prototype for the relief of knee-load employing ischiatic body weight support. Methods and materials: A functional prototype was developed and tested with three volunteers to analyze its potential effectiveness and effects on gait kinematics. The performance of the prototype was assessed using motion capture and pressure mapping systems, and a testing bench for the study of ischiatic body weight. Results and discussion: The results of the tests indicate that the prototype allows reducing the load supported by the knees and does not have a significant effect on the kinematics of the hip and knee joints. The process allowed the designers to identify possibilities of improvement mainly on reducing the restrictions imposed by the prototype to the motion of the ankles, especially on the midstance of the support phase. Conclusions: The passive exoskeleton prototype developed for ischiatic body weight support allows setting different percentages of knee-load relief. The prototype does not have a significant effect on the kinematics of the hip and knee joints. Nevertheless, improvements must be performed to reduce the restrictions to the motion of the ankles.

Scaling of on-board characteristics of waterjet propulsion based on bench thrust testing data and loop test results

The on-board “speed-resistance-power” curves are profiled by a fitted jet thrust deduction factor relation, where the raw data are obtained from both bench thrust testing data and loop test results. Firstly, the thrust characteristics of a waterjet were tested by a thrust testing bench, while the pump performance such as capacity, head and shaft power of the waterjet was measured on a loop test rig. The useful fitted jet thrust deduction factor relation involves three related variables, that is to say, thrust coefficient, torque coefficient, and advance coefficient. Then, the best efficiency propulsion points are indicated by a collapsing technology and the subsequent results that the best efficiency propulsion points are actually existed. Cavitation margins are also noted by the two groups of data obtained by the loop data and the bench data, respectively. The discrepancy of the two margins shows the measuring error of the loop test means. In addition, the non-consistency features of the curves in the cavitation zone indicate the complex cavitation instabilities in the waterjet propulsion. At last, the bench tested thrust results are supplemented and therefore a useful map is completed.

EXPERIMENTAL TESTING BENCH FOR THE DIAGNOSTICS OF PLASMA GENERATED BY PULSED GUNS WITH THE DIELECTRIC SURFACE BREAKDOWN

The experimental testing bench “ETB-PG” was designed to study the operation of plasma guns. The constructional design of plasma guns with replaceable dielectric operating on the surface sparkover basis has been proposed. Discharge currents and voltages under atmospheric and vacuum conditions have been determined. The two types of discharges were detected in the pressure range varying from the atmospheric value to 10-5 Torr. An experimental Paschen curve has been plotted. A statistical dependence of the types of discharges on the number of pulses, the pressure in the chamber, and the breakdown voltage has been established. The results of optical studies of the plasma flow generated by plasma guns in the vacuum of 2∙10-4 to 2∙10-5 Torr have been presented. The propagation velocity of the plasma flow in axial and radial directions has been measured. The glow time of the injected plasma was determined for different types of the discharges. The spectrograms of the composition and degree of the plasma ionization have been obtained.

Dynamic Behavior of Fractional Viscoelastic Tire Tread Blocks on Different Ice Surfaces

ABSTRACT The component of vehicle tires that contacts the road is the tire tread. It consists of several tread blocks with different shape and can be realized by siped structures to improve the traction on the pavement, in particular in wet, icy, or snowy conditions. The blocks are usually made of elastomer materials, which possess viscoelastic behavior. Viscoelasticity can be described by classical rheological models or, alternatively, as shown in this paper, by fractional viscoelastic models. Fractional models can fit the material properties better with fewer parameters. Each single tire tread block shows periodically frictional impacts with the pavement. The contact configurations and transitions among stick and slip or impact and detaching can be formulated as a linear complementarity problem, whose solution estimates the local contact forces. We simulate transient deformations of a tire tread block by developing a discretized fractional viscoelastic model. The focus is on the deformation process of a tread block with siped structure on different ice tracks with frictional contact. In particular the interlocking of the tread block lips with the edges on the ice surface and the self-contact of the lips are considered. The simulation results are compared to measurements on a high velocity linear testing bench. The contact forces of the frictional contact for plane and rough surfaces on ice and also the deformation process of siped tread blocks, where self-contact can occur, are investigated. The qualitative comparison between results out of simulations and experiments shows a good agreement.

Impulse Response of the Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication Film of a Rolling Bearing to Dynamic Excitation of a Flat Belt Drive

The impulse response of a rolling bearing and its principal component, the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication film (EHDL), are analysed. When measuring the vibrations of bearings, we observed that the impulse response was mostly caused by defects (fatigue damage) on the raceways and/or rolling elements. However, this phenomenon can also occur in new defect-free roller bearings, where it is not commonly expected. This study presents an experiment that identifies the conditions of dynamic excitation for the impulse response of the EHDL, the source of which is not defects, but the EHDL itself. The EHDL responds in the form of impulses in case the velocity of its radial deformation is too fast. This is an unfavourable phenomenon that significantly shortens the service life of bearings. To analyse the dynamic excitation conditions, a testing bench at speeds up to 135,000 rpm with a flat belt drive was used. The testing bench enabled the formation of the so-called beat excitation from two harmonic excitation forces close in rotational frequency. The subject of this study is a defect-free high-speed double-row angular contact ball bearing used in the textile industry. We also present other physical conditions for the occurrence of undesired impulse responses that are caused by the EHDL.