Aerodynamic stiffness of an unbound eccentric whirling centrifugal impeller with an infinite number of blades

An unbounded eccentric centrifugal impeller with an infinite number of log spiral blades undergoing synchronous whirling in an incompressible fluid is considered. The forces acting on it due to coriolis forces, centripetal forces, changes in linear momentum, changes in pressure due to rotating and changes in pressure due to changes in linear momentum are evaluated

Oil seal effects and subsynchronous vibrations in high-speed compressors

Oil seals are commonly used in high speed multistage compressors. If the oil seal ring becomes locked up against the fixed portion of the seal, high oil film crosscoupled stiffnesses can result. A method of analysis for determining if the oil seals are locked up or not is discussed. The method is then applied to an oil seal in a compressor with subsynchronous vibration problems

Système de déploiement d'une couverture pour abris en forme de tunnel

Le déploiement d'une couverture dans un abri (serre ou tunnel) permet au producteur de réduire ses coûts de chauffage nocturne, d'ombrager les plantes durant le jour ou de leur fournir un traitement photopériodique spécifique a tout moment de l'année. Pour des abris en forme de tunnel, cependant, il n'existe pas de système de déploiement de couverture qui soit a la fois fiable et peu coûteux. L'objectif de cet article est de décrire un système automatisé de déploiement de couverture qui a été développe spécifiquement pour des abris en forme de tunnel. Le principe d'ouverture est basé sur l'enroulement de la couverture autour d'un rouleau déposé sur une structure interne légère qui suit le contour de l'abri. L'enroulement se produit lorsque des cordes de nylon qui font le tour de la couverture sont tirées vers le haut de l'abri, la friction entre les deux matériaux étant alors suffisante pour donner un mouvement de rotation au rouleau. Les cordes de nylon sont épissées à un câble d'acier inoxydable situé au faite de la serre et dont l'une des extrémités est attachée au tambour d'un treuil manuel ou motorisé. La mise en action du treuil enroule le câble, lui-même tirant sur les cordes de nylon, la résultante étant l'enroulement de la couverture autour du rouleau. Un ensemble de poulies dirige le câble et les cordes vers le tambour du treuil. Le déroulement en vue de la fermeture complète ne fait appel qu'à la force gravitationnelle suite a la suppression de la tension sur le câble tracteur. Tout le système peut être automatisé et contrôlé soit par une horloge mécanique, soit par micro-informatique. Utilisé intensivement, été comme hiver, depuis trois ans dans les serres de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, ce système de déploiement relativement peu coûteux apparaît fiable et polyvalent

Hydraulic forces on a centrifugal impeller undergoing synchronous whirl

High speed centrifugal rotating machinery with large vibrations caused by aerodynamic forces on impellers was examined. A method to calculate forces in a two dimensional orbiting impeller in an unbounded fluid with nonuniform entering flow was developed. A finite element model of the full impeller is employed to solve the inviscid flow equations. Five forces acting on the impeller are: Coriolis forces, centripetal forces, changes in linear momentum, changes in pressure due to rotation and pressure changes due to linear momentum. Both principal and cross coupled stiffness coefficients are calculated for the impeller

Design and test of a magnetic thrust bearing

A magnetic thrust bearing can be employed to take thrust loads in rotating machinery. The design and construction of a prototype magnetic thrust bearing for a high load per weight application is described. The theory for the bearing is developed. Fixtures were designed and the bearing was tested for load capacity using a universal testing machine. Various shims were employed to have known gap thicknesses. A comparison of the theory and measured results is presented

Asymptotic homogenisation in strength and fatigue durability analysis of composites

This is the post-print version of the Article. Copyright @ 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.Asymptotic homogenisation technique and two-scale convergence is used for analysis of macro-strength and fatigue durability of composites with a periodic structure under cyclic loading. The linear damage accumulation rule is employed in the phenomenological micro-durability conditions (for each component of the composite) under varying cyclic loading. Both local and non-local strength and durability conditions are analysed. The strong convergence of the strength as the structure period tends to zero is proved and its limiting value is estimated.This work was supported under the research grant GR/M24592 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK

Low Power Magnetic Bearing Design for High Speed Rotating Machinery

Magnetic suspension technology has advanced to the point of being able to offer a number of advantages to a variety of applications in the rotating machinery and aerospace fields. One strong advantage is the decrease in power consumption. The design and construction of a set of permanent magnet biased, actively controlled magnetic bearing for a flexible rotor are presented. Both permanent magnets and electromagnets are used in a configuration which effectively provides the necessary fluxes in the appropriate air gaps, while simultaneously keeping the undesirable destabilizing forces to a minimum. The design includes two radial bearings and a thrust bearing. The theoretical development behind the design is briefly discussed. Experimental performance results for a set of operating prototype bearings is presented. The results include measurements of load capacity, bearing stiffness and damping, and the dynamic response of the rotor. With few exceptions, the experimental results matched very well with the predicted performance. The power consumption of these bearings was found to be significantly reduced from that for a comparable set of all electromagnetic bearings

Homogenization of the one-dimensional wave equation

We present a method for two-scale model derivation of the periodic homogenization of the one-dimensional wave equation in a bounded domain. It allows for analyzing the oscillations occurring on both microscopic and macroscopic scales. The novelty reported here is on the asymptotic behavior of high frequency waves and especially on the boundary conditions of the homogenized equation. Numerical simulations are reported

Correctors for some nonlinear monotone operators

In this paper we study homogenization of quasi-linear partial differential equations of the form -\mbox{div}\left( a\left( x,x/\varepsilon _h,Du_h\right) \right) =f_h on $\Omega$ with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Here the sequence $\left( \varepsilon _h\right)$ tends to $0$ as $h\rightarrow \infty$ and the map $a\left( x,y,\xi \right)$ is periodic in $y,$ monotone in $\xi$ and satisfies suitable continuity conditions. We prove that $u_h\rightarrow u$ weakly in $W_0^{1,p}\left( \Omega \right)$ as $h\rightarrow \infty ,$ where $u$ is the solution of a homogenized problem of the form -\mbox{div}\left( b\left( x,Du\right) \right) =f on $\Omega .$ We also derive an explicit expression for the homogenized operator $b$ and prove some corrector results, i.e. we find $\left( P_h\right)$ such that $Du_h-P_h\left( Du\right) \rightarrow 0$ in $L^p\left( \Omega, \mathbf{R}^n\right)$

SIMP-ALL: a generalized SIMP method based on the topological derivative concept

Topology optimization has emerged in the last years as a promising research fieldwith a wide range of applications. One of the most successful approaches, theSIMP method, is based on regularizing the problem and proposing a penaliza-tion interpolation function. In this work, we propose an alternative interpolationfunction, the SIMP-ALL method that is based on the topological derivative con-cept. First, we show the strong relation in plane linear elasticity between theHashin-Shtrikman (H-S) bounds and the topological derivative, providing anew interpretation of the last one. Then, we show that the SIMP-ALL interpo-lation remains always in between the H-S bounds regardless the materials tobe interpolated. This result allows us to interpret intermediate values as realmicrostructures. Finally, we verify numerically this result and we show the con-venience of the proposed SIMP-ALL interpolation for obtaining auto-penalizedoptimal design in a wider range of cases. A MATLAB code of the SIMP-ALLinterpolation function is also provide