Search results

In order to improve the ride comfort of vehicle suspension, this paper first proposed a shock absorber with four-stage adjustable damping forces. The purpose of this paper is to validate its modeling and characteristics, indicator diagrams and velocity diagrams, which are the main research points.

In order to validate the fluid flow modeling, a series of mathematical modeling is established and solved by using Matlab/Simulink. An experiment rig based on electro-hydraulic loading servo system is designed to test the prototype. Finally, indicator diagram and velocity diagram are obtained and compared both in simulation and experiments.

Results indicate that at the same damping position, damping force will increase with the rise of rod’s velocity: if the rod’s velocity is fixed, the damping force changes apparently by altering the damping position. The shock absorber is softest at damping position 1, and it is hardest at damping position 4; although there is no any badly empty stroke and skewness in indicator diagram by simulation, a temporary empty stroke happens at maximum displacement of piston rob, both in rebound and compression strokes.

Compared with results of the simulation and experiments, the design of a four-stage damping adjustable shock absorber (FDASA) is validated correctly in application, and may improve the overall dynamic performance of vehicle.

This paper is mainly focused on the design and testing of an FDASA, which may obtain four-stages damping characteristics, that totally has a vital importance to improve the performance of vehicle suspension.

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence rules of geometric parameters on deformation of valve slices.

Based on the theory of flexural deformation of elastic thin slice, differential functions of deformation for both single and multi-slices are given and derived in detail. Furthermore, the effects of geometric dimensions on deformation are analyzed particularly by using Matlab/simulink.

The results indicated that the deformation decreases with the increment of fixed ring radius r_a, slice thickness h, and its number n. Meanwhile, the deformation increases with a rise of slice radius r_b, throttle position r_k, the radius ratio λ₁ and thickness ratio λ₂ of slices.

This research can provide some theoretical supports for the parametric and optimal design of adjustable damping shock absorber.

The purpose of this study is to design and develop a testing device to simulate interaction between human hand–arm dynamics, right-angle (RA) computer-controlled power torque tools and joint-tightening task-related variables.

The testing rig can simulate a variety of tools, tasks and operator conditions. The device includes custom data-acquisition electronics and graphical user interface-based software. The simulation of the human hand–arm dynamics is based on the rig’s four-bar mechanism-based design and mechanical components that provide adjustable stiffness (via pneumatic cylinder) and mass (via plates) and non-adjustable damping. The stiffness and mass values used are based on an experimentally validated hand–arm model that includes a database of model parameters. This database is with respect to gender and working posture, corresponding to experienced tool operators from a prior study.

The rig measures tool handle force and displacement responses simultaneously. Peak force and displacement coefficients of determination (R2) between rig estimations and human testing measurements were 0.98 and 0.85, respectively, for the same set of tools, tasks and operator conditions. The rig also provides predicted tool operator acceptability ratings, using a data set from a prior study of discomfort in experienced operators during torque tool use.

Deviations from linearity may influence handle force and displacement measurements. Stiction (Coulomb friction) in the overall rig, as well as in the air cylinder piston, is neglected. The rig’s mechanical damping is not adjustable, despite the fact that human hand–arm damping varies with respect to gender and working posture. Deviations from these assumptions may affect the correlation of the handle force and displacement measurements with those of human testing for the same tool, task and operator conditions.

This test rig will allow the rapid assessment of the ergonomic performance of DC torque tools, saving considerable time in lineside applications and reducing the risk of worker injury. DC torque tools are an extremely effective way of increasing production rate and improving torque accuracy. Being a complex dynamic system, however, the performance of DC torque tools varies in each application. Changes in worker mass, damping and stiffness, as well as joint stiffness and tool program, make each application unique. This test rig models all of these factors and allows quick assessment.

The use of this tool test rig will help to identify and understand risk factors that contribute to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) associated with the use of torque tools. Tool operators are subjected to large impulsive handle reaction forces, as joint torque builds up while tightening a fastener. Repeated exposure to such forces is associated with muscle soreness, fatigue and physical stress which are also risk factors for upper extremity injuries (MSDs; e.g. tendinosis, myofascial pain). Eccentric exercise exertions are known to cause damage to muscle tissue in untrained individuals and affect subsequent performance.

The rig provides a novel means for quantitative, repeatable dynamic evaluation of RA powered torque tools and objective selection of tightening programs. Compared to current static tool assessment methods, dynamic testing provides a more realistic tool assessment relative to the tool operator’s experience. This may lead to improvements in tool or controller design and reduction in associated musculoskeletal discomfort in operators.

The work presented in this paper is concerned with mathematical modeling and experimental validation of mono-tube shock absorber. This paper aims to create damper model to predict accurately damping force, and experimental analysis is done by varying the various parameters, such as flow area in bleed(Ab), mass (M) and operating frequency(?).

Here, input is given in the form of sinusoidal excitation, and the output is received as a numerical data of the displacement transmissibility. These data are then processed to get the values of transmissibility and magnification factor for various frequency ratios. They are then plotted to have transmissibility and frequency response curves, as it is a generally accepted measure of how well the system is isolated from its surroundings.

It is better to have low transmissibility (larger bleed area), for lower suspension velocity, as it will reduce maximum acceleration transmitted to the sprung mass. However, for higher suspension velocity, bleed area should be low (higher transmissibility) to reduce displacement of tyre from road.

The development of faster vehicles and also the requirements of smoother and more comfortable rides have led to the fitment of dampers on almost on all present day vehicles. Shock absorbers have a significant influence on handling performance and riding comfort. Shock absorber plays an important role not only for comfort of the riders of the vehicle but also in the performance and life of the vehicle. However, no further reduction of vehicle vibration can be expected for using the optimum values of damping coefficient and spring stiffness for the shock absorber. Thus, it is necessary to make modification to improve the functions of shock absorber.

A new type of variable damping viscous damper is developed to meet the settings of different damping parameter values at different working stages. Its main principle and design structure are introduced, and the two-stage and multi-stage controllable damping methods are proposed.

The theoretical calculation formulas of the damping force of power-law fluid variable damping viscous damper at elongated holes are derived, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the development and application of variable damping viscous dampers. For the newly developed variable damping viscous damper, the dynamic equations for the seismic reduction system with variable damping viscous dampers under a multi-degree-of-freedom system are established. A feasible calculation and analysis method is proposed to derive the solution process of time history analysis. At the same time, a program is also developed using Matlab. The dynamic full-scale test of a two-stage variable damping viscous damper was conducted, demonstrating that the hysteresis curve is complete and the working condition is stable.

Through the calculation and analysis of examples, the results show that the seismic reduction effect of high and flexible buildings using the seismic reduction system with variable damping viscous dampers is significant. The program developed is used to analyze the seismic response of a broadcasting tower using a variable damping TMD system under large earthquakes. The results indicate that the installation of variable damping viscous dampers can effectively control the maximum inter-story displacement response of TMD water tanks and can effectively consume seismic energy.

This method can provide a guarantee for the safe and effective operation of TMD in wind and vibration control.

The purpose of this paper is to study the flow characteristics of damping control valve of shock absorber, and obtain the minimum driving current required under different working conditions.

Based on the simplified model of the internal structure of damping control valve and the theory of fluid mechanics, the mathematical model of the damping control valve driving current under rated load is established. The test bench was designed to study the relationship between flow characteristics and driving current of the damping control valve.

The results show that the minimum driving current of switching and flowrate show a linear relationship and the minimum current required for the 4-1 switching is the largest that means the minimum current as long as meets the 4-1 switching to meet the needs of all levels switching.

These results of the theoretical and experimental study provide a reliable guide and reference for the design and application of damping control valve.

In order to make sure of the safety of a long-span suspension bridge under earthquake action, this paper aims to study the traveling wave effect of the bridge under multi-support excitation and optimize the semi-active control schemes based on magneto-rheological (MR) dampers considering reference index as well as economical efficiency.

The finite element model of the long-span suspension bridge is established in MATLAB and ANSYS software, which includes different input currents and semi-active control conditions. Six apparent wave velocities are used to conduct non-linear time history analysis in order to consider the seismic response influence in primary members under traveling wave effect. The parameters α and β, which are key parameters of classical linear optimal control algorithm, are optimized and analyzed taking into account five different combinations to obtain the optimal control scheme.

When the apparent wave velocity is relatively small, the influence on the structural response is oscillatory. Along with the increase of the apparent wave velocity, the structural response is gradually approaching the response under uniform excitation. Semi-active control strategy based on MR dampers not only restrains the top displacement of main towers and relative displacement between towers and girders, but also affects the control effect of internal forces. For classical linear optimal control algorithm, the values of two parameters (α and β) are 100 and 8 × 10–6 considering the optimal control effect and economical efficiency.

The emphasis of this study is the traveling wave effect of the triple-tower suspension bridge under multi-support excitation. Meanwhile, the optimized parameters of semi-active control schemes using MR dampers have been obtained, providing relevant references in improving the seismic performance of three-tower suspension bridge.

AMONG the appliances used for development testing of aircraft engines, the torque‐reaction test stand has always been important. The principle of the torque‐reaction test stand is so simple and readily understood, that despite the practical defects of earlier designs, and concurrently with the development of test stands on different principles, engineers have tried again and again to perfect the torque‐reaction type so as to satisfy all the practical and meteorological requirements of test bed working.

A magnetorheological knee prosthesis is presented that automatically adapts knee damping to the gait of the amputee using only local sensing of knee force, torque, and position. To assess the clinical effects of the user‐adaptive knee prosthesis, kinematic gait data were collected on four unilateral trans‐femoral amputees. Using the user‐adaptive knee and a conventional, non‐adaptive knee, gait kinematics were evaluated on both affected and unaffected sides. Results were compared to the kinematics of 12 age, weight and height matched normals. We find that the user‐adaptive knee successfully controls early stance damping, enabling amputee to undergo biologically‐realistic, early stance knee flexion. These results indicate that a user‐adaptive control scheme and local mechanical sensing are all that is required for amputees to walk with an increased level of biological realism compared to mechanically passive prosthetic systems.

Seismic isolation, as an effective risk mitigation strategy of building/bridge structures, is incorporated into AP1000 nuclear power plants (NPPs) to alleviate the seismic damage that may occur to traditional structures of NPPs during their service. This is to promote the passive safety concept in the structural design of AP1000 NPPs against earthquakes.

In conjunction with seismic isolation, tuned-mass-damping (TMD) is integrated into the seismic resistance system of AP1000 NPPs to satisfy the multi-functional purposes. The proposed base-isolation-tuned-mass-damper (BIS-TMD) is studied by comparing the seismic performance of NPPs with four different design configurations (i.e. without BIS, BIS, BIS-TMD and TMD) with the design parameters of the TMD subsystem optimized.

Such a new seismic protection system (BIS-TMD) is proved to be promising because the advantages of BIS and TMD can be fully used. The benefits of the new structure include effective energy dissipation (i.e. wide vibration absorption band and a stable damping effect), which results in the high performance of NPPs subject to earthquakes with various intensity levels and spectra features.

Parametric studies are performed to demonstrate the seismic robustness (e.g. consistent performance against the changing mass of the water in the gravity liquid tank and mechanical properties) which further ensures that seismic safety requirements of NPPs can be satisfied through the use of BIS-TMD.