The energy-absorbing characteristics of tubular sandwich structures

The energy-absorbing response of sandwich structures with exceptionally high levels of energy absorption is investigated. The sandwich panels are produced by fixing small composite tubes onto metal facings with surface features that reflect the internal geometry of the tubing. Small diameter tubes are employed to manufacture the cores, since it is well established that the specific energy absorption (SEA) characteristics of a composite tube increase as the inner dimension (diameter or wall-to-wall) to thickness ratio decreases. Tests have been undertaken on tubular arrays based on both circular and square composite tubes. The effect of varying the areal density of the tubular array within the core was investigated by systematically increasing the number of tubes from one to nine. An examination of the composites during the crushing process indicated that all of the tubes failed in a splaying process, involving significant fracturing of fibers and longitudinal splitting. The measured values of SEA remained relatively constant in most cases as the areal density of the tubular arrangement was increased, suggesting that cores could readily be designed to absorb known levels of applied external energy. Arrays based on circular tubes offered higher energy-absorbing characteristics than their square counterparts, with values in excess of 100 kJ/kg being recorded in some cases. It is believed that these tubular sandwich structures offer potential for use in components that are subjected to extreme dynamic loading, such as those associated with impact and blast.

A novel tubular hydrogen-bond pattern in a new diazaphosphole oxide: a combination of X-ray crystallography and theoretical study of hydrogen bonds

In the structure of 2-(4-chloroanilino)-1,3,2λ4-diazaphosphol-2-one, C12H11ClN3OP, each molecule is connected with four neighbouring molecules through (N—H)2...O hydrogen bonds. These hydrogen bonds form a tubular arrangement along the [001] direction built from R 3 3(12) and R 4 3(14) hydrogen-bond ring motifs, combined with a C(4) chain motif. The hole constructed in the tubular architecture includes a 12-atom arrangement (three P, three N, three O and three H atoms) belonging to three adjacent molecules hydrogen bonded to each other. One of the N—H groups of the diazaphosphole ring, not co-operating in classical hydrogen bonding, takes part in an N—H...π interaction. This interaction occurs within the tubular array and does not change the dimension of the hydrogen-bond pattern. The energies of the N—H...O and N—H...π hydrogen bonds were studied by NBO (natural bond orbital) analysis, using the experimental hydrogen-bonded cluster of molecules as the input file for the chemical calculations. In the 1H NMR experiment, the nitrogen-bound proton of the diazaphosphole ring has a high value of 17.2 Hz for the 2 J H–P coupling constant.

CONSTRUCTAL DESIGN OF A TUBULAR ARRAY SUBJECTED TO FORCED CONVECTION

In this work a tubular array (four tubes) subjected to a transverse forced flow is analyzed in terms of thermal performance. Taking into account that there are two main assembles usually used in heat exchanger equipment (aligned and staggered), and that there exist an uncountable number of possible assembles for an array of tubes, present work proposes to use the Constructal Theory to build an optimized assemble. The distance between tubes (p), and the region where tubes can be positioned are the geometric constraint of the problem. Four values for p were considered: p = 1.25D (tube diameter), p = 1.5D, p = 2D, p is free (no restriction). Fluid flow is considered bi-dimensional, incompressible and laminar with ReD = 10 and Pr = 0.71. Mass, momentum and energy equations were solved by the Finite Volume Method (FVM) using FLUENT software. Geometry creation and mesh generation were performed with GMSH software while VISIT software was used for the post processing. Results have shown that imposing no restriction to tube positioning do not necessarily lead to best system thermal performance. In this particular study, setting p = 2D has resulted in best thermal performance.

The Effects of Mixing Helical Strakes and Fairings on Marine Tubulars and Arrays

Most deepwater tubulars experiencing high currents frequently require vortex-induced vibration (VIV) suppression to maintain an acceptable fatigue life. Helical strakes and fairings are the most popular types of VIV suppression devices in use today. It is quite common to use only one type of device (helical strakes or fairings) on a single tubular and, in fact, to use a single device type on an entire tubular array. The use of both styles of suppression devices on a single tubular has grown in popularity, but mixing them within an array is a relatively new concept. It is sometimes desirable to use one suppression device on one tubular and another suppression device on an adjacent or tandem tubular. This paper utilizes results from two different types of VIV experiments. The first consists of a long tubular at high Reynolds numbers with VIV suppression on the outer end where current speeds are the highest. The use of only fairings, only strakes, or a mixture of the two devices is examined. The second VIV experiment examines the use of helical strakes on one tubular and fairings on a tandem tubular. Results are compared to experiments with either helical strakes on both tubulars or fairings on both tubulars. This paper is intended to provide some direction, and in many cases assurance, for mixing helical strakes and fairings on deepwater tubulars.