Preliminary design and multi-objective optimization of electro-hydrostatic actuator

Electro-hydrostatic actuator is generally regarded as the preferred solution for more electrical aircraft actuation systems. It is of importance to optimize the weight, efficiency and other key design parameters, during the preliminary design phase. This paper describes a multi-objective optimization preliminary design method of the electro-hydrostatic actuator with the objectives of optimizing the weight and efficiency. Models are developed to predict the weight and efficiency of the electro-hydrostatic actuator from the requirements of the control surface. The models of weight prediction are achieved by using scaling laws with collected data, and the efficiency is calculated by the static energy loss model. The multi-objective optimization approach is used to find the Pareto-front of objectives and relevant design parameters. The proposed approach is able to explore the influence of the level length of linkage, displacement of pump and torque constant of motor on the weight and efficiency of the electro-hydrostatic actuator, find the Pareto-front designs in the defined parameter space and satisfy all relevant constraints. Using an electro-hydrostatic actuator for control surface as a test case, the proposed methodology is demonstrated by comparing three different conditions. It is also envisaged that the proposed prediction models and multi-objective optimization preliminary design method can be applied to other components and systems

Estimating ecological indicators of karst rocky desertification by linear spectral unmixing method

AbstractCoverage rates of vegetation and exposed bedrock are two key indicators of karst rocky desertification. In this study, the abundances of vegetation and exposed rock were retrieved from a hyperspectral Hyperion image using linear spectral unmixing method. The results were verified using the spectral indices of karst rocky desertification (KRDSI) and an integrated LAI spectral index: modified chlorophyll absorption ratio index (MCARI2). The abundances showed significant linear correlations with KRDSI and MCARI2. The coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.93, 0.66, and 0.84 for vegetation, soil, and rock, respectively, indicating that the abundances of vegetation and bedrock can characterize their coverage rates to a certain extent. Finally, the abundances of vegetation and bedrock were graded and integrated to evaluate rocky desertification in a typical karst region. This study suggests that spectral unmixing algorithm and hyperspectral remote sensing imagery can be used to monitor and evaluate karst rocky desertification

An electromagnetic wearable 3-DoF resonance human body motion energy harvester using ferrofluid as a lubricant

Wearable energy harvester offers clean and continuous power for wearable sensors or devices, and plays an important role in a wide range of applications such as the health monitoring and motion track. In this study, we investigate a small electromagnetic resonance wearable kinetic energy harvester. It consists of a permanent magnet (PM) supported by two elastic strings within a rectangular box form a 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DoF) vibrator. Copper windings are attached to the outer surface of the box to generate electrical energy when the PM is forced to vibrate. To minimize any frictional losses, ferrofluid is used such that the poles of PM are cushioned by the ferrofluid, to the effect that the PM will not touch the inner of the box. Simulation results show that the ferrofluid can keep the PM ‘contactless’ from the box even subject to 10 times gravity acceleration. A prototype is built and tested under different loading conditions. Resistance load experimental results indicate the proposed harvester can generate 1.11.1 mW in walking condition and 2.282.28 mW in running condition. An energy storage circuit is employed and the energy storage experimental results show that the average storage power during walking and running conditions are 0.0140.014 mW and 0.1490.149 mW respectively. It is shown that the developed harvester can be readily attached on a shoe to offer continuous power supply for wearable sensors and devices

Research of water control technology for horizontal wells in water-driven reservoirs

Horizontal wells are widely applied in the Bohai offshore oil fields due to their large oil drainage areas and high yields. However, water coning is a significant problem existing in water-driven reservoirs. To control water coning, this paper introduces a stinger completion method which can be applied in the horizontal wells. Based on the principle of mirror reflection and mass conservation law, a mathematical model coupling fluid flow both in the reservoir and in the horizontal wellbore has been developed. Using the new proposed model, the well production profile and bottom hole flowing pressure distribution along the horizontal well, considering the influence of flowing in the wellbore, are calculated successfully. Moreover, the influence of the stinger completion on the inflow profile is investigated. According to the results of the sensitivity analysis, a 160 m’ 2-7/8 tubing is designed to be built in the horizontal section. The field-test results show that the stinger completion could be used to improve the wellbore inflow profile and decrease the possibility of water-cut thus increasing the effective enhanced oil recovery (EOR).Cited as: Shang, B., Han, X., Li, S., Liu, K. Research of water control technology for horizontal wells in water-driven reservoirs. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2018, 2(2): 210-217, doi: 10.26804/ager.2018.02.0

Study on Strength and Ultrasonic Velocity of Air-Entrained Concrete and Plain Concrete in Cold Environment

Nondestructive testing technology is essential in the quality inspection of repair, alteration, and renovation of the existing engineering, especially for concrete structure in severe environment. The objective of this work is to deal with the behavior of ultrasonic velocity and mechanical properties of plain concrete and air-entrained concrete subjected to freeze-thaw cycles (F-T-C). The ultrasonic velocity and mechanical properties (tensile strength, compressive strength, cubic compressive strength, and splitting strength) of C30 air-entrained concrete and plain concrete with different water-cement ratio (water-cement ratio was 0.55, 0.45, and 0.50, resp.) after F-T cycles were measured. The influences of F-T cycles on ultrasonic velocity and mechanical properties of C30 air-entrained concrete and plain concrete were analyzed. And the relationship between mechanical properties and ultrasonic velocity was established. The experimental results can be useful for the design of new concrete structure, maintenance and life prediction of existing concrete structure such as offshore platform and concrete dock wall

Magnetic vortex and unsaturated magnetization components in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

Observation of ferromagnetic and granular superconductive features in highly-oriented-pyrolytic-graphite (HOPG) has recently attracted an important attention. We report a novel temperature dependent XRD and SQUID investigation of HOPG in the temperature range from 300.15 to 77.15 K. Unusual hysteresis features indicate the possible presence of vortex states in conditions of magnetic field approximately perpendicular to the HOPG layers. This interpretation is further supported by additional measurements performed on intermediate lamellae extracted by exfoliation. Evidence of a possible structural-transition in the c-axis of HOPG in the temperature range between 77 K and 100K is also provided by using the Rietveld refinement method. ZFC and FC measurements performed at high field values of 5000-10000 Oe, together with mFC-mZFC subtraction, highlight absence of a sharp depletion of the difference between magnetization signals towards zero. These observations may indicate the possible presence of additional unsaturated weak features, which are ascribed to superconductive signals as previously predicted by Scheike et al. [8]

Sufficient Conditions for a Graph to Be ℓ-Connected, ℓ-Deficient, ℓ-Hamiltonian and ℓ−-Independent in Terms of the Forgotten Topological Index

The forgotten topological index of a (molecule) graph is the sum of cubes of all its vertex degrees, which plays a significant role in measuring the branching of the carbon atom skeleton. It is meaningful and difficult to explore sufficient conditions for a given graph keeping certain properties in graph theory. In this paper, we mainly explore sufficient conditions in terms of the forgotten topological index for a graph to be ℓ-connected, ℓ-deficient, ℓ-Hamiltonian and ℓ−-independent, respectively. The conditions cannot be dropped