Real-time performance monitoring of tuned mass damper system for a 183 m reinforced concrete chimney

A 183 m reinforced concrete chimney for a coal-fired power station was instrumented in the latter part of its life during the construction of a replacement chimney. Because of concerns about large-amplitude response induced by interference effects from the new chimney in the prevailing upwind direction, a response monitoring system was installed, quickly followed by a tuned mass damper (TMD) system. As well as providing live display of the chimney response, the monitoring system was also used to check the functioning of the TMD. The monitoring system featured a direct implementation of the stochastic subspace identification procedure in the 'virtual instrument' controlling the system, so that modal damping values for the system were displayed automatically, in real-time. The system thus provided an immediate visual indication of increased damping levels during strong winds, showing the correct functioning of the TMD. The paper describes the chimney, the monitoring system and its installation, the data processing and system identification procedure, together with performance data before, during and after installation of the TMD. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Improved micro-contact resistance model that considers material deformation, electron transport and thin film characteristics

This paper reports on an improved analytic model forpredicting micro-contact resistance needed for designing microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) switches. The originalmodel had two primary considerations: 1) contact materialdeformation (i.e. elastic, plastic, or elastic-plastic) and 2) effectivecontact area radius. The model also assumed that individual aspotswere close together and that their interactions weredependent on each other which led to using the single effective aspotcontact area model. This single effective area model wasused to determine specific electron transport regions (i.e. ballistic,quasi-ballistic, or diffusive) by comparing the effective radius andthe mean free path of an electron. Using this model required thatmicro-switch contact materials be deposited, during devicefabrication, with processes ensuring low surface roughness values(i.e. sputtered films). Sputtered thin film electric contacts,however, do not behave like bulk materials and the effects of thinfilm contacts and spreading resistance must be considered. Theimproved micro-contact resistance model accounts for the twoprimary considerations above, as well as, using thin film,sputtered, electric contact

Ion engine thrust vector study Quarterly report

Thrust stand and thruster designs for ion engine

Minimisation of the wire position uncertainties of the new CERN vacuum wire scanner

The particle production of an accelerator is characterised by the accelerated species of particles, by their number and energy. The particle rate is determined by the production cross section, a natural constant and the accelerator dependent parameter luminosity. The luminosity is proportional to the number of particles in each beam and inversely proportional to the particle beam transverse dimensions. The luminosity increases with the particle beam density and therefore the probability of interactions too. To optimize the transverse beam sizes, profile monitors are used to measure parameter depending changes. Different monitors can provide beam transversal profile measurements (Wire Scanners, Synchrotron Light Monitors, Rest Gas Profile Monitors), however the wire scanner monitor is considered to be the most accurate of all monitors. Wire scanner instruments measure the transverse beam density profile in a particle accelerator by means of moving a thin wire in an intermittent manner. In the next years the luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be significantly increased and more accurate beam profile measurement will necessary. The new performance demands a wire travelling speed up to 20 m.s-1 and a position measurement accuracy of the order of few micros. The existing wire scanners does not reach the new requirements as their accuracy achieved is limited by the motorization, the angular position measurement system located outside of the vacuum vessels and the vibration of the thin carbon wire which has been identified as one of the major error sources reducing the knowledge of the wire position. Therefore the development of a new device whose accuracy meets the new requirements was mandatory. This thesis work aims to provide suitable inputs for the design and operation of this new fast wire scanner in order to minimize the uncertainties in the wire position. To accomplish the aims the understanding of the wire vibrations in such a system is one of the main goals of this work. More specifically, the development of a suitable vibration measurement system and the construction of dynamic models of the system are the two goals aimed. For the new scanner design this work intend to propose, the conceptual design, the optimization of the most critical parts and the operation procedure that will allow the new device to reach the required performances imposed by the forthcoming LHC conditions.La producción de partículas de un acelerador se caracteriza por las especies de partículas aceleradas, por su número y energía. La tasa de partículas se determina a partir de la sección transversal de producción, una constante natural, y de un parámetro que depende del acelerador, la luminosidad. La luminosidad es proporcional al número de partículas por haz e inversamente proporcional a la dimensión transversal de los haces. La luminosidad aumenta con la densidad de partículas y por lo tanto también aumenta la probabilidad de interacciones entre los haces. Para optimizar la sección trasversal del haz, se utilizan monitores de perfil de haz. Diversos tipos de monitores pueden proporcionar mediciones del perfil transversal del haz (Escáneres de hilo, Monitores de luz de sincrotrón, Monitores de análisis de gas residual), sin embargo el escáner de hilo está considerado como el más preciso de todos ellos. Los escáneres de hilo miden el perfil del haz atravesándolo con un hilo muy delgado de manera intermitente. En los próximos años la luminosidad del Gran Colisionador de Hadrones (LHC) se incrementará de manera significativa, por lo que serán necesarios sistemas de medida de perfil de haz más precisos que lo actuales. Las nuevas características, requerirán velocidad de desplazamiento del hilo de hasta 20 ms-1 y una precisión en la medida de posición del hilo de tan solo unas micras. Los escáneres actuales no pueden alcanzar estos requerimientos ya que su precisión está limitada por el sistema de motorización, por el medidor angular de posición que está situado fuera del tanque de vacío y por las vibraciones del hilo, la cuales han sido identificadas como una de las mayores fuentes de error a la hora de conocer la posición real del hilo. Por todo esto, el desarrollo de un nuevo dispositivo cuyas características cumplan los nuevos requerimientos era necesario. Este trabajo de tesis tiene como objetivo proporcionar criterios adecuados para el diseño y operación de un nuevo escáner, con el fin de minimizar las incertidumbres en la posición del hilo. Para lograr estos objetivos, el entender las vibraciones del hilo en un sistema de este tipo es un objetivo primordial. De manera más específica el desarrollo de sistemas de medida de vibración adecuados y la construcción de modelos dinámicos del sistema son los dos objetivos concretos perseguidos por este trabajo. De cara al nuevo diseño, este trabajo pretende proponer un diseño conceptual así como definir los criterios para la optimización de las partes más críticas y establecer un procedimiento de operación que permita al nuevo dispositivo alcanzar los requerimientos impuestos por las futuras condiciones del LHC.Postprint (published version

Solar array study for solar electric propulsion spacecraft for the Encke rendezvous mission

The work is described which was performed on the design, analysis and performance of a 20 kW rollup solar array capable of meeting the design requirements of a solar electric spacecraft for the 1980 Encke rendezvous mission. To meet the high power requirements of the proposed electric propulsion mission, solar arrays on the order of 186.6 sq m were defined. Because of the large weights involved with arrays of this size, consideration of array configurations is limited to lightweight, large area concepts with maximum power-to-weight ratios. Items covered include solar array requirements and constraints, array concept selection and rationale, structural and electrical design considerations, and reliability considerations

Estimation of frequency response fuction for experimental modal analysis

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Civil Engineering, Izmir, 2008Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 125-129)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxii, 129 leavesEvery structural system has unique dynamic parameters based on the mass, stiffness and the damping characteristics. If the system is linear and time invariant, dynamic parameters could be shown to be measured and formulated by the Frequency Response Function (FRF). The study of defining the dynamic parameters of a system thru well designed experiments and analysis is called experiment modal analysis. Experimental modal analysis has two major study areas which are modal testing and modal parameter estimation. FRFs are calculated based on the measured data in modal experiment and it is main input to the modal parameter estimation. Based on the measured/synthesized FRF dynamic parameters of the structures considered could be obtained In this study basics of the experimental modal analysis is studied. The primary objective is to see the effects of various testing and analysis parameters on the synthesis of FRF. This goal is achieved by testing and discussion of several simple structural systems.In the thesis general information about experimental modal analysis is presented.The experiment and the modal analysis results of the of the studied systems, which are simple beam, H-frame, square plate and 2D frame, is presented. Selected parameters that are effective on the FRF synthesis is discussed. These parameters are the attachment of the accelerometers, the tip hardness of the impact hammer and the digital signal processing errors such as leakage, windowing, filtering and averaging. The hammer and accelerometers calibrations will be discussed briefly as well. The results are discussed in order to provide some guidance for understanding the effects of the selected parameters on the FRFs

Structural Scaling Metrics For Tensioned-Blanket Space Systems

Structural metrics have been used for nearly a century to provide designers with simple, rational tools for comparing the mass performance of aircraft and spacecraft platforms. Large space structures designers and evaluators rely on metrics to compare boom, telescope, and long antenna architectures. In this work, scaling metrics are established for rectangular flexible blanket solar array structural architectures. The approach takes advantage of the fact that an ideal solar array structure is a system of coupled beam and tensioned blanket components rather than the typical simplifying approach of considering only one beam with a distributed mass as the blanket. A fundamental frequency relation is developed to represent a beam-cable system in a clamped-free boundary condition. A structural model of the array is developed on the basis of minimum mass and minimum beam cost using constraint analysis methods and weight equations. This structural model expression is solved numerically using root finding algorithms, is transformed into an approximate expression using regression techniques, and the terms are symbolically related into scaling parameters and scaling indices. These metrics enable straightforward comparison of a wide range of array sizes, geometric forms, column types, column quantities, blanket mass densities, acceleration loads, fundamental frequencies, and power production values. Finally, practical application and accuracy of these metrics is demonstrated by comparing to the latest heritage tensioned blanket systems on-orbit and those still in prototype form: Terra (EOS-AM), the Milstar constellation, the International Space Station, MegaROSA, and MegaFlex