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Periodic inspection of bridge cables is essential, and cable-climbing robots can replace human workers to perform risky tasks and improve inspection efficiency. However, cable inspection robots often fail to surmount large obstacles and cable clamps. The purpose of this paper is to develop a practical cable inspection robot with stronger obstacle-surmounting performance and circumferential rotation capability.

A cable inspection robot with novel elastic suspension mechanisms and circumferential rotation mechanisms is designed and proposed in this study. The supporting force and spring deformation of the elastic suspension are investigated and calculated. Dynamic analysis of obstacle surmounting and circumferential rotation is performed. Experiments are conducted on vertical and inclined cables to test the obstacle-surmounting performance and cable-clamp passing of the robot. The practicality of the robot is then verified in field tests.

With its elastic suspension mechanisms, the cable inspection robot can carry a 12.4 kg payload and stably climb a vertical cable. The maximum heights of obstacles surmounted by the driving wheels and the passive wheels of the robot are 15 mm and 13 mm, respectively. Equipped with circumferential rotation mechanisms, the robot can flexibly rotate and successfully pass cable clamps.

The novel elastic suspension mechanism and circumferential rotation mechanism improve the performance of the cable inspection robot and solve the problem of surmounting obstacles and cable clamps. Application of the robot can promote the automation of bridge cable inspection.

The transient temperature distribution in a rotating cylindrical shell which is heated by an incident time varying heat flux (nuclear pulse) as well as a constant heat flux, is determined numerically by a finite difference method. The shell is cooled by combined convection and thermal radiation. The effects of cooling and rotation on the temperature distribution as well as the time‐ and space‐dependence are shown. Rotation provides a sinusoidal temperature variation in time for a fixed surface and circumferential position. Increased rotation reduces the maximum temperature in the shell and also provides a more uniform temperature distribution in the circumferential direction.

Deals with the development of aerostatic‐cum‐aerodynamic hybrid conical bearings, running at 70,000 r.p.m., suitable for supports of high speed spindles. Conical bearing bush is designed for two plane admission, with eight holes in each plane, with a semi cone angle of 108. In case of static response, the interactions between the major parameters, are projected on 3D response surface curve. The results give the magnitude of radial load to get the benefit of optimally minimum eccentricity ratio. Experimental results show close agreement with the theoretical work in regard to “no‐rotation” cases. The exponential relationship existing between eccentricity ratio, radial load and supply pressure is generalised. Rigidity for the bearings developed, as seen from the response surface, supports the observations of previous researchers. For the use of designers, vital operational parameters have been tabulated. Estimated and experimental values of these parameters compare reasonably.

The purpose of this paper is to study the pumping efficiency of oil seals with different surface textures at different speeds, and the influence of the rotation direction of triangular texture on the sealing performance was further analyzed.

Based on the theory of elastohydrodynamic lubrication and the pumping mechanism of rotary shaft seals, establishing a numerical model of mixed lubrication in oil seal sealing area. The model is coupled with the lip surface texture parameters and the two-dimensional average Reynolds equation considering the surface roughness.

The results show that the application of lip surface texture technology has obvious influence on the oil film thickness, friction torque and pumping rate of oil seal. The triangular texture has the most significant effect on the increase of pump suction rate. When the rotation direction of triangular texture is 315 degrees, the pumping rate of oil seal is the largest compared with the other seven directions.

The model has a comprehensive theoretical guidance for the design of new oil seal products, which provides a certain basis for the application of surface texture technology in the field of sealing in the future.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-06-2020-0198/

The purpose of this paper is to compile a comprehensive status report on pipes/piping networks across different industrial sectors, along with specifications of materials and sizes, and showcase welding avenues. It further extends to highlight the promising friction stir welding as a single solid-state pipe welding procedure. This paper will enable all piping, welding and friction stir welding stakeholders to identify scope for their engagement in a single window.

The paper is a review paper, and it is mainly structured around sections on materials, sizes and standards for pipes in different sectors and the current welding practice for joining pipe and pipe connections; on the process and principle of friction stir welding (FSW) for pipes; identification of main welding process parameters for the FSW of pipes; effects of process parameters; and a well-carved-out concluding summary.

A well-carved-out concluding summary of extracts from thoroughly studied research is presented in a structured way in which the avenues for the engagement of FSW are identified.

The implications of the research are far-reaching. The FSW is currently expanding very fast in the welding of flat surfaces and has evolved into a vast number of variants because of its advantages and versatility. The application of FSW is coming up late but catching up fast, and as a late starter, the outcomes of such a review paper may support stake holders to expand the application of this process from pipe welding to pipe manufacturing, cladding and other high-end applications. Because the process is inherently inclined towards automation, its throughput rate is high and it does not need any consumables, the ultimate benefit can be passed on to the industry in terms of financial gains.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only review exclusively for the friction stir welding of pipes with a well-organized piping specification detailed about industrial sectors. The current pipe welding practice in each sector has been presented, and the avenues for engaging FSW have been highlighted. The FSW pipe process parameters are characteristically distinguished from the conventional FSW, and the effects of the process parameters have been presented. The summary is concise yet comprehensive and organized in a structured manner.

The purpose of this paper was to conceive a fast method to verify design and performance of elliptical pocket journal bearings.

The computer-aided verification of pocket journal bearings is performed by means of a suitable finite element analysis method.

The results of sample analyses indicate that the machining tolerances are very influential on elliptical pocket bearing performances, and they must be included among the input data.

Although elliptical pocket bearings are widely used in turbomachineries, the influence of their design on performance has not been specifically investigated. A lot of works about tribological models are available, but few of them focus on their application to bearing design at the industrial level.

A theoretical study is performed on three‐dimensional, heat transfer and fluid flow in radially rotating heated channels with steady, laminar throughflow. Consideration is given to the channel of different geometry. Both the rotational speed and throughflow rate are varied. The flow is hydrodynamically and thermally developing, with a constant wall heat flux. The velocity‐vorticity method is employed in the formulation and numerical results are obtained by means of a finite‐difference technique. The Nusselt number, friction factor, and temperature and velocity distributions are determined, and the role of the Coriolis force on the entrance‐region transport phenomena is investigated. Results are compared with the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and improve the lubrication performance of a floating cylindrical seal by investigating micro spiral groove.

The lubrication model of is solved by finite difference, considering the influence of convergence eccentricity and Rayleigh step on the gas film period. A lubrication model, which is a gas film of floating microgroove cylindrical seal, is solved under high-precision central difference (finite-difference method-center) for the critical problems of convergence eccentricity and Rayleigh step. And then, an idea on the opening-leakage ratio is proposed, and a multiobjective optimization model is established. Finally, an experiment is conducted on a narrow gap to determine the gas film opening force and leakage by the modules of testing system, and the theoretical results are verified by real tests.

The theoretical calculation results agree well with the experimental data, which proves the correctness of the lubrication optimization model, and the optimized groove has better lubrication performance. On the other hand, the sealing pressure plays a more important role in the seal operation.

The theoretical model carries out low complexity and high sparseness, thus being very suitable for large-scale gas film problems. A multiobjective optimal function is established based on the opening-leakage ratio for optimizing groove. Finally, a curved groove of high precision and gas film opening force is obtained completely.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2020-0048/

In this paper, a kind of an oil groove structure which could improve the transmission torque of an oil film was designed, i.e. the width and depth of oil groove gradually decrease with the increase in the radius.

Effects of the structural parameters of the oil groove on the hydro-viscous drive (HVD) characteristics with variable rotational speed were investigated by means of numerical calculation.

Research results show that with the decrease of the width and depth of the oil groove at the outer diameter, transmission torque increases, while the temperature is almost unchanged. Keeping the effective area unchanged, comparing the transmitted torque under the oil groove angle θ₂ = 0.5° and θ₂ = 4.5°, the former was almost 200 per cent of the latter; the torque transmitted with h₂ = 0.05 mm was almost 150 per cent of that with h₂ = 0.2 mm.

In this paper, the authors analyze the friction surface of the friction plate between the oil groove, oil distribution and oil film transfer torque from the oil groove structure parameters and found methods to improve the transmission torque. For the first time, the influence of the structural parameters of oil groove on the characteristics of HVD was studied under the condition of variable rotational speed, and a better method to improve the transmission torque was proposed.

This paper aims to study the change rule of sintered iron friction properties under high temperature and establish the model to predict the friction coefficient.

The morphological measurements of sintered iron material with four different oxidation degrees are carried out. A prediction model of friction coefficient in high temperature oxide growth stage for sintered iron material is established based on the theory of flash temperature and adhesion friction. The relationship between friction coefficient and the key parameters is found through the test fitting.

The surface topography changes with oxidative wear. The wear debris will be compacted and sintered again to form a composite oxide layer with the temperature increasing. The validity and accuracy of proposed model are tested using the friction coefficient and temperature experiments. Results are in reasonable agreement with those obtained using values of load commonly used.

The significance lies in the change mechanism of high temperature friction characteristic is clarified. Three friction stages related to temperature of dry friction are put forward for sintered iron, and a meaningful reference is provided by the established model for high-temperature performance design of sintered iron friction material.