Deformation analysis of the flexspline of harmonic drive gears considering the driving speed effect using laser sensors

Accurate description of the elastic deformation of the flexspline is the foundation for optimization design of the structure and conjugate profiles of the harmonic drive gear. This paper proposed an experimental method to investigate the effect of the driving speed on the deformation characteristics of the flexspline. First, an experimental apparatus that integrates a special-fabricated micro-displacement platform and a pair of laser displacement sensors is developed, and the radial displacement of the flexspline is measured in vertical and horizontal directions. Next, the deformation analyses of the flexspline at different driving speeds are performed with our method and the conventional method, and the comparison results reveal that the radial displacement of the flexspline is actually composed of both harmonic and random components, and the amplitude decreases and tends to zero with the increase of the driving speed, especially near the closed end of the flexspline. Last, the mechanisms of the inherent multi-frequency and amplitude attenuation characteristics of the radial displacement of the flexspline are discussed. It is indicated that the impact and friction existing in the flexible bearing of the wave generator is likely responsible for the existence of the random component, and the assumption of linear distribution of the ftexspline deformation along the rotating axis is invalid under high speed condition. Our research promotes the further study on the contact-impact problem of the flexible bearing of the wave generator and the transfer characteristic of the elastic deformation of the flexspline.

An analysis on older driver＇s driving behavior by GPS tracking data： Road selection, left/right turn, and driving speed

With the high older-related accident ratio and increasing population aging problem, understanding older drivers＇ driving behaviors has become more and more important for building and improving transportation system. This paper examines older driver＇s driving behavior which includes road selection, left/right turn and driving speed. A two-month experiment of 108 participants was carried out in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Since apparently contradictory statements were often drawn in survey-based or simulators-based studies, this study collected not only drivers＇ basic information but also GPS data. Analysis of road selection demonstrates that older drivers are reluctant to drive on expressway not only in short trips but also in long trips. The present study did not find significant difference be- tween older drivers and others while turning at the intersections. To investigate the impact factors on driving speed, a random-effects regression model is constructed with explan- atory variables including age, gender, road types and the interaction terms between age and road types. Compared with other variables, it fails to find that age （60 years old or over） has significant impact on driving speed. Moreover, the results reflect that older drivers drive even faster than others at particular road types： national road and ordinary municipal road. The results in this study are expected to help improve transportation planning and develop driving assistance systems for older drivers.

High Speed SRM Using Vector Control for Electric Vehicle

The high speed motor is effective to realize downsizing motor in an electric vehicle(EV).Switched Reluctance Motor(SRM)is possible to the high speed drive because the rotor structure has simple and robust.However,the vibration and the acoustic noise are large from the drive principle.Moreover,the conventional complicated current excitation results in the difficulty of the torque controller design.To overcome these problems,the vector control has been proposed for SRM drive.However,the vector control has not been applied to the SRM in the high speed drive.In this paper,the drive conditions such as switching frequency,bus voltage for driving the SRM in the high speed region are clarified.It is shown that the proposed SRM can be driven by the vector control in the high speed region and can realize low vibration.

Microcontroller-Based Variable Speed Drive for Three-Phase Induction Motor in Cooling Applications

This paper presents an electronic VSD （variable speed drive） for three-phase IM （induction motor） using a microcontroller. The VSD is designed for cooling applications where the 1M is coupled to a cooling fan. The drive receives temperature feedback from objects to be cooled and output a corresponding frequency to the IM. A prototype of the VSD is constructed to control a 175 W, four pole, squirrel cage three-phase IM. The heart of the control circuit is a low-cost microchip＇s PICI6F777 microcontroller which is programmed using C language to generate variable frequency SPWM （sinusoidal pulse width modulation） switching signals. These switching signals are fed to an 1GBT inverter. The VSD constructed can be switched between two modes of speed control＂ automatic temperature-controlled mode and manual user-controlled mode. Cost savings using the prototype are demonstrated.

High-Power-Factor Adjustable Speed Drive Using Diode Clamped Multilevel Inverter

This paper presents a new approach to alleviate the harmonics and to enhance the power factor of the ASD （adjustable speed drive）. A conventional ASD with 2-level PWM （pulse width modulation） inverters generate high dv/dt and high frequency common mode voltages which are harmful for the drive applications. It reduces the motor bearings life and conducted EMI （electro magnetic interference） deteriorates the insulation. In this paper, a diode clamped multilevel （3-level） inverter is used to perform dual task. It generates HF （high frequency） current to be injected at the input of the three-phase front-end rectifier thereby improving the harmonic spectra and the power factor. It also drives the induction motor. The salient feature of this paper is that it does not require separate converters for improving power factor and to drive induction motor. Furthermore, inverter switches operate with ZVS （zero voltage switching）, thus reducing the switching losses substantially, The voltage stress of the switches also has been reduced to half of the conventional 2-level converter. The inverter is operated with SPWM （sinusoidal pulse width modulation） technique. The simulation results for a prototype of 2.2 kW are presented.

Single Phase Induction Motor Drive with Restrained Speed and Torque Ripples Using Neural Network Predictive Controller

In industrial drives, electric motors are extensively utilized to impart motion control and induction motors are the most familiar drive at present due to its extensive performance characteristic similar with that of DC drives. Precise control of drives is the main attribute in industries to optimize the performance and to increase its production rate. In motion control, the major considerations are the torque and speed ripples. Design of controllers has become increasingly complex to such systems for better management of energy and raw materials to attain optimal performance. Meager parameter appraisal results are unsuitable, leading to unstable operation. The rapid intensification of digital computer revolutionizes to practice precise control and allows implementation of advanced control strategy to extremely multifaceted systems. To solve complex control problems, model predictive control is an authoritative scheme, which exploits an explicit model of the process to be controlled. This paper presents a predictive control strategy by a neural network predictive controller based single phase induction motor drive to minimize the speed and torque ripples. The proposed method exhibits better performance than the conventional controller and validity of the proposed method is verified by the simulation results using MATLAB software.

Traveling property of wheel-type pipeline robot with different configurations

In order to improve the travelling ability of the wheel-type pipeline robot in elbow section of pipeline, the model of drive ratios is proposed aiming at the pipeline robots with different configurations. Through the movement analysis of the robot with different configurations in elbow section, the pose model of the robot is established, and the coordinates of the wheel centers and the contact points can be got through the calculation of the pose model. Based on the pose model established, the corresponding drive ratios are obtained combining with the relations of the velocities of wheel centers and rotative velocities of wheels under the movement condition with no interference. The virtual simulations and prototype experiments are carried out, and the drive ratios accuracy of the model when the robot moved in elbow without interference is validated.

A Research on Darkness Adaptation of Drivers

This paper presents the results of darkness adaptationtest for drivers. It is shown that there is a significant difference ( p <0.05)in their darkness adaptation ability between the drivers in accident group and non-accident group. It is further revealed that the accident rate of the drivers with darkness adaptation time ≤10 s is 2.6%, while that with darkness adaptation time >10 s is 7.3%, implying that the high accident rate of the drivers in accident group might be caused by their longer darkness adaptation time.

Improving the Energy Efficiency of Cyclone Dust Collectors for Wood Product Factories

Dust collection systems represent a significant portion of a wood product manufacturer’s total electricity use. The system fan works against the static pressure of the entire system—the blast gates, the ductwork, and the upstream or downstream cyclone and/or baghouse. A poor system design (e.g., sharp elbows or undersized ductwork) increases the total amount of static pressure in the system, the fan’s performance curve shifts, increasing the total brake horsepower required by the fan (up to the maximum point on the curve). Additionally, system designers may oversize a dust collection system to ensure adequate dust capture and transport, either to accommodate system expansion or simply to be conservative. Since theoretical fan energy use increases with its velocity cubed, this can be an expensive safety net. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review about industrial cyclone dust collectors energy saving in relation to management, technologies, and policies. Energy-saving technologies like high-efficiency motors (HEMs), variable-speed drives (VSDs), leak detection, and pressure drop reduction have all been examined. Based on energy saving technologies results, it has been found that in the industrial sectors, a sizeable amount of electric energy, and utility bill can be saved using these technologies. Finally, various energy-saving policies were reviewed.

Analysis of Electrical and Non-electrical Causes of Variable Frequency Drive Failures

VFDs （variable frequency drives） are an integral part of many industrial plants and stations. Reliable operation and maintenance of these drives is vital to ensure sustained plant operation and availability. Understanding of the principles of operation of VFD systems as well as knowledge about their required operating environment is necessary for all operating personnel. Many times the operating personnel do not get involved with different technical issues until a complete failure has occurred. Hence, the awareness of the most dominant failure causes has a significant impact on assisting operators to avoid catastrophic failures and tremendous economic losses due to VFD shutdown. Proper plant design, accurate monitoring and data logging, following manufacturer preventive maintenance schedule, and choosing qualified team of operators can be the key to an efficient operation and a long lifetime for any VFD system. In this paper, we have analyzed the electrical and non-electrical causes of VFD failures based on a case study of a typical medium voltage VFD pumping station. Finally, recommendations are given from field analysis and observations.

Analysis and Control of a Three-Phase Switched Reluctance Wind Generator

This paper deals with various aspects of modeling, simulation, analysis, and control ofa SRG （switched reluctance generator） in different modes of operation. Excitation method of such a generator is shortly described. The output power of the SRG is controlled so that it can track the maximum output power of a wind turbine drive applications. Also, the output generator voltage is stabilized under either load or wind speed variations. Basic operational characteristics of a three-phase 6/4 SRG are developed through experimental observation. Meanwhile, the real-time operation was implemented in a DSP （digital signal processor） environment. The simulation of the complete system model has been obtained using the Matlab/Simulink software. A good agreement between experimental and simulation results has been observed which supports the validity of the proposed analysis.

Parameter Plane Synthesis and Performance Investigation of a Three-Phase Neutral-Point Clamped Bidirectional Rectifier

In this paper, parameter plane synthesis of a three-phase neutral-point clamped bidirectional rectifier has been performed. The converter involves one outer-loop PI voltage controller and two inner-loop PI current controllers for the closed-loop control. D-partition technique has been employed for the precise design of the voltage controller. The performance of the converter has been evaluated using MATLAB/Simulink software. An experimental prototype of converter has been developed and the experimental investigation of converter in closed-loop has been carried out. DSP DS 1104 of dSPACE has been used for real-time implementation of the designed controller. The performance of the converter has been found satisfactory using the designed controller parameters.

Analysis and control of novel split-winding doubly salient permanent magnet motor for adjustable speed drive

In this paper, a novel split-winding doubly salient permanentmagnet (DSPM) motor is proposed and the theoretical and experimental studies on the magnetic field, static characteristics and control strategy of this motor are carried out. The steady-state and dynamic models are presented and the output power equation is derived. The feasibility of extending the operation range of the DSPM motor by using split-windings is proved. The finite element method is used to analyze the magnetic field, in which the leakage flux outside the stator circumference is taken into account. Based on the operation principle and the static characteristics of the motor, the control strategy and scheme are developed and implemented in a microcomputer-based controller. According to the features of the 4-phase 8/6-pole DSPM motor, a half-bridge power converter without neutral is adopted to reduce the number of power devices and to eliminate the problem of voltage unbalance in the split capacitors. The experimental results on the prototype machine not only verify the theoretical analysis, but also show that the proposed DSPM motor drive possesses good steady-state and dynamic performances, offering high efficiency over wide power range, and that the split-winding topology can effectively extend the operation range of the DSPM motor.

New Technical Trends on Adjustable Speed AC Motor Drives

Adjustable speed AC Motor drives have been used extensively in modern industry and transportation which calls for electrical and mechanical energy conversion with wide output power range applications.Because of its modularity and scalability,the drive system can be extended to many different application areas.More recently,adjustable speed AC motor drive applications are spreading not only in industry applications,but also sky and the marine.In this paper,after summarizing the history of adjustable speed AC motor drives and applications,the main issues of AC drive technologies are reviewed and investigated in the paper.Technical issues of adjustable speed AC motor drives including its standardization are surveyed and analyzed for more advancement.Finally,the paper provides the latest technical trends on adjustable speed AC motor drives technologies,and discusses the development of high speed high power PM motor.

An analysis on possibility of intelligent speed adaptation in terms of drivers' consciousness

Intelligent speed adaptation （ISA） is considered as an effective measure to reduce number of traffic accidents in the field of intelligent transportation systems （ITS）. On the other hand, its effects for traffic safety are still doubted by many people. To make the possibility analysis, an experiment is conducted by using driving simulator. Regarding ISA ap- proaches, there are three modes： mandatory, voluntary and advisory. Among them, the advisory type seems to be the easiest one to introduce. Therefore, we focus on the advisory mode in this study by considering ISA just at the beginning stage in Japan. The experiment consists of four steps： without ISA, ISA using pictures, ISA using voices and again without ISA. The outputs obtained from the driving simulator are analyzed combined with the consciousness of the participants. The experiment shows that the ISA can improve recognition of speed limitation especially for people who have random rambling or looking aside tendency. Furthermore, the ISA especially when using voices can contribute in changing the consciousness of people who are aggressive in driving. Their driving speeds can reduce so that positive effects on traffic safety can be concluded.