Characteristic modeling and the control of flexible structure

Appropriate modeling for a controlled plant has been a remarkable problem in the control field. A new modeling theory, i.e. characteristic modeling, is roundly demonstrated. It is deduced in detail that a general linear constant high-order system can be equivalently described with a two-order time-varying difference equation. The application of the characteristic modeling method to the control of flexible structure is also introduced. Especially, as an example, the Hubble Space Telescope is used to illustrate the application of the characteristic modeling and adaptive control method proposed in this paper.

Interaction between surface gravity wave and submerged horizontal flexible structures

Interactions between surface gravity wave and submerged horizontal flexible structures are studied under the assumption of small amplitude water wave theory and structural response. The generalized dispersion relation associated with surface gravity wave interaction with submerged horizontal flexible plate is analyzed to understand the characteristics of the two propagating modes due to the presence of the free surface and submerged horizontal plate. The phase and group velocities are studied in order to analyze the effect of submerged flexible plate on gravity wave motion. The expansion formulae based on Green’s function technique and eigenfunction expansion method using Fourier transform with appropriate orthogonal mode-coupling relation associated with surface gravity wavemaker problems are derived and compared in both the cases of water of finite and infinite depths. The usefulness of the expansion formulae is demonstrated by deriving the solution for surface gravity wave interaction with submerged articulated flexible plate in water of finite depth. Several numerical results on reflection and transmission coefficients related to submerged flexible plate are presented in order to understand the effect of submerged flexible structure on surface wave motion in different cases.

Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Flexible Plate with Partitioned Coupling Method

The development and rapid usage of numerical codes for fluid-structure interaction(FSI) problems are of great relevance to researchers in many engineering fields such as civil engineering and ocean engineering. This multidisciplinary field known as FSI has been expanded to engineering fields such as offshore structures, tall slender structures and other flexible structures applications. The motivation of this paper is to investigate the numerical model of two-way coupling FSI partitioned flexible plate structure under fluid flow. The adopted partitioned method and approach utilized the advantage of the existing numerical algorithms in solving the two-way coupling fluid and structural interactions. The flexible plate was subjected to a fluid flow which causes large deformation on the fluid domain from the oscillation of the flexible plate. Both fluid and flexible plate are subjected to the interaction of load transfer within two physics by using the strong and weak coupling methods of MFS and Load Transfer Physics Environment, respectively. The oscillation and deformation results have been validated which demonstrate the reliability of both strong and weak method in resolving the two-way coupling problem in contribution of knowledge to the feasibility field study of ocean engineering and civil engineering.

Fluid-structure interaction simulation for multi-body flexible morphing structures

The multi-body flexible morphing airfoil can improve the aerodynamic characteristics based on different flight missions continuously.Recently researches have focused on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of flexible wings under passive actuation.However,the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics with the fluid-structure interaction effects in the multi-body active actuation process of morphing airfoil deserve further investigation.In this paper,a fluid-structure coupled simulation method for multi-body flexible morphing airfoil with active actuation subsystem was investigated,and the aerodynamic characteristics during deformation were compared with different skin flexibility,flow field environment,actuation mode and actuation time.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the skin flexibility can improve the stability efficiency.In the unsteady process,the change trend of the transient lift coefficient and pitching moment are consistent with those of the active drive characteristics,while the instantaneous lift-drag ratio coefficient is greatly affected by the driving mode and can be improved by increasing the driving duration.

Design methods of rhombic tensegrity structures

As a special type of novel flexible structures, tensegrity holds promise for many potential applications in such fields as materials science, biomechanics, civil and aerospace engineering. Rhombic systems are an important class of tensegrity structures, in which each bar constitutes the longest diagonal of a rhombus of four strings. In this paper, we address the design methods of rhombic structures based on the idea that many tensegrity structures can be constructed by assembling one-bar elementary cells. By analyzing the properties of rhombic cells, we first develop two novel schemes, namely, direct enumeration scheme and cell-substitution scheme. In addition, a facile and efficient method is presented to integrate several rhombic systems into a larger tensegrity structure. To illustrate the applications of these methods, some novel rhombic tensegrity structures are constructed.

A dual-band flexible frequency selective surface with miniaturized elements and maximally flat (Butterworth) response

A dual-band flexible frequency selective surface （FSS） with miniaturized elements and maximally flat （Butterworth） response is presented in this paper. It is composed of three metallic layers, which are fabricated on thin flexible polyimide substrates and bonded together using thin bonding films. The overall thickness of the proposed structure is only about 0.3 mm, making it an attractive choice for conformal FSS applications. All the three layers can constitute a miniaturized- element FSS （MEFSS） and produce the first pass-band with miniaturization property, while the up and bottom layers can constitute a symmetric biplanar FSS and produce the second pass-band with maximally fiat （Butterworth） response. The two pass-bands are independent and there is a wide band spacing up to 30 GHz between them. The principles of operation, the simulated results by using the vector modal matching method, and the experimental values of the fabricated prototype are also presented and discussed.

Research on active vibration control on a piezoelectric intelligent flexible beam

The principles and methods of active vibration control on a flexible cantilever beam using piezoelectric patches as actuators is studied. Active control of the first two modes of the flexible can- tilever beam is implemented based on the independent modal control law. Experimental results show that the structural damping of the flexible cantilever beam is effectively improved and an excellent degree of vibration suppression is achieved with the active vibration control strategy.

Statistical Analysis of Ship Impact Forces on Light Wharf Structures

In the present study,the formula calculating ship impact forces on light wharf structures is presented when the elastic deformation of the hull and the pier structures as well as the nonlinear deformation of the fender are taken into account. The ship impact forces are statistically analyzed with the Monte-Carlo method according to the known probability distribution types of random variables.Based on the simulated results, the distribution of ship impact forces which is characterized by bimodal distribution can be expressed as the combining probability density function of beta distribution and normal distribution. The corresponding parameters of the probability density function can be estimated with the maximum likelihood method. The results show that ship impact forces on light wharf structures follow the distribution of type I extreme value.The mean coefficient and variation coefficient are 1.11 and 0.008 respectively during 50 years of design reference period.

Technology of structure damage monitoring based on multi-agent

The health monitoring for large-scale structures need to resolve a large number of difficulties,such as the data transmission and distributing information handling.To solve these problems,the technology of multi-agent is a good candidate to be used in the field of structural health monitoring.A structural health monitoring system architecture based on multi-agent technology is proposed.The measurement system for aircraft airfoil is designed with FBG,strain gage,and corresponding signal processing circuit.The experiment to determine the location of the concentrate loading on the structure is carried on with the system combined with technologies of pattern recognition and multi-agent.The results show that the system can locate the concentrate loading of the aircraft airfoil at the accuracy of 91.2%.

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a New Coordination Polymer:{[AgL]ClO_4}_n (L=2,5-Bis(3-pyridinylmethylthio)-1,3,4-thiadiazole)

The title complex {[AgL]ClO4}n（L=2,5-bis（3-pyridinylmethylthio）-1,3,4-thiadiazole） was synthesized by the reaction of Ag（I） salt and a novel flexible ligand L.Its structure was determined by X-ray crystallography with the following data：monoclinic,space group P21/n,a=16.5068（13）,b=7.6548（4）,c=16.5521（13）A,β=115.119（3）o,V=1893.7（2）A^3,Z=4,Dc=1.893 g/cm^3,μ=1.565 mm^-1,F（000）=1072,C14H12AgClN4O4S3,Mr=539.78,T=293（2） K,S=1.067,the final R=0.0342 and wR=0.0870.The silver ion in the complex is in a trigonal coordination geometry to link three different L.Meanwhile,each L connects three different silver ions by its N coordination sites to form a two-dimensional layer structure.

DECENTRALIZED ROBUST CONTROL FOR UNCERTAIN FLEXIBLE SPACE STATION

A decentralized variable-structure robust control technique for uncertain large-scale systems is proposed and using the proposed technique. a decentralized robust control system for uncertain flexible space station is designed. The designed robust control system can guarantee the stability and safe operation of space station in a wide range of system parameters variations and highly intensive external disturbances. In addition. because decentralized adaptation laws for the upper bounds of system uncertainties are introduced, the control technique is particularly applicable to the uncertain flexible space station with complex structure whose bounds of system uncertainties can not be determined or vary with time.

Influence of soil to structure stiffness on the accuracy of the pushover method for underground structures

The pushover method for underground structures is a seismic analysis method featured by high calculation accuracy and a simple implementation process.The method has been widely used in seismic design and other related scientific research;however,the influence of different soil-structure flexibility ratios on the accuracy of this method is still not well understood.In this study,we select the cross-section structures beneath the Daikai subway station as the research object and establish 12 finite element analysis models with different soil-structure flexibility ratios using ABAQUS.All models are computed by the dynamic time-history method or the pushover method.Furthermore,the dynamic time-history solution result is taken as the standard solution,and the precision and application of the pushover analysis method are discussed based on the parameters of peak interlayer displacement and peak internal force of the middle column section.The results show that the soil-structure flexibility ratio has a significant influence on the calculation accuracy of the pushover method,and the calculation accuracy of this method is the most ideal when the soil-structure flexibility is equal to 1.The research results can provide significant references for the seismic design of underground structures or the improvement of simplified seismic analysis methods.

A Mn(Ⅱ) Coordination Polymer with the Flexible Tripodal Ligand 1,3,5-Tris-(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene

A new Mn（Ⅱ） coordination polymer {[Mn（timb）2（H2O）2]·（Cl）2·（H2O）2}n（1,timb = 1,3,5-tris-（imidazol-1-ylmethyl）benzene） has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis,IR,TG and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.The title compound crystallizes in the triclinic system,space group P1 with a=9.0774（13）,b=9.8720（15）,c=11.4898（16）A,α=93.378（3）,β= 95.471（3）,γ=101.101（3）°,V=1002.6（3）A^3,Mr=834.67,Dc=1.382 g/cm^3,μ（MoKα）=0.517mm^-1,F（000）=435,GOF=0.986,Z=1,the final R=0.0506 and wR=0.1139 for 3517 observed reflections I〉2σ（I）.It consists of one-dimensional double stranded chains formed through bridging bidentate timb ligands,and these chains are further connected to yield a 3D supramolecular framework by hydrogen bonding interactions and π…π stacking interactions.

Electromagnetic–thermal–structural coupling analysis of the ITER edge localized mode coil with flexible supports

In a fusion reactor, the edge localized mode（ELM） coil has a mitigating effect on the ELMs of the plasma. The coil is placed close to the plasma between the vacuum vessel and the blanket to reduce its design power and improve its mitigating ability. The coil works in a high-temperature,high-nuclear-heat and high-magnetic-field environment. Due to the existence of outer superconducting coils, the coil is subjected to an alternating electromagnetic force induced by its own alternating current and the outer magnetic field. The design goal for the ELM coil is to maintain its structural integrity in the multi-physical field. Taking as an example the middle ELM coil（with flexible supports） of ITER（the International Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor）, an electromagnetic–thermal–structural coupling analysis is carried out using ANSYS. The results show that the flexible supports help the three-layer casing meet the static and fatigue design requirements. The structural design of the middle ELM coil is reasonable and feasible. The work described in this paper provides the theoretical basis and method for ELM coil design.

A Shape-Memory Deployable Subsystem with a Large Folding Ratio in China’s Tianwen-1 Mars Exploration Mission

Once China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe arrived in a Mars orbit after a seven-month flight in the deep cold space environment,it would be urgently necessary to monitor its state and the surrounding environment.To address this issue,we developed a flexible deployable subsystem based on shape memory polymer composites(SMPC-FDS)with a large folding ratio,which incorporates a camera and two temperature telemetry points for monitoring the local state of the Mars orbiter and the deep space environment.Here,we report on the development,testing,and successful application of the SMPC-FDS.Before reaching its Mars remote-sensing orbit,the SMPC-FDS is designed to be in a folded state with high stiffness;after reaching orbit,it is in a deployed state with a large envelope.The transition from the folded state to the deployed state is achieved by electrically heating the shape memory polymer composites(SMPCs);during this process,the camera on the SMPC-FDS can capture the local state of the orbiter from multiple angles.Moreover,temperature telemetry points on the SMPC-FDS provide feedback on the environment temperature and the temperature change of the SMPCs during the energization process.By simulating a Mars on-orbit space environment,the engineering reliability of the SMPC-FDS was comprehensively verified in terms of the material properties,structural dynamic performance,and thermal vacuum deployment feasibility.Since the launch of Tianwen-1 on 23 July 2020,scientific data on the temperature environment around Tianwen-1 has been successfully acquired from the telemetry points on the SMPCFDS,and the local state of the orbiter has been photographed in orbit,showing the national flag of China fixed on the orbiter.

Amorphous Electrode:From Synthesis to Electrochemical Energy Storage

Electrochemical batteries and supercapacitors are considered ideal rechargeable technologies for next-generation energy storage systems.The key to further commercial applications of electrochemical energy storage devices is the design and investigation of electrode materials with high energy density and significant cycling stability.Recently,amorphous materials have attracted a lot of attention due to their more defects and structure flexibility,opening up a new way for electrochemical energy storage.In this perspective,we summarize the recent research regarding amorphous materials for electrochemical energy storage.This review covers the advantages and features of amorphous materials,the synthesis strategies to prepare amorphous materials,as well as the application and modification of amorphous electrodes in energy storage fields.Finally,the challenges and prospective remarks for future development in amorphous materials for electrochemical energy storage are concluded.

Dynamic Analysis and Optimal Parameter Design of FlexibleComposite Structures via Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation

The composite structure with the dielectric elastomer and soft materials is the main form of theactuators in soft robots. However, the theoretical model is hard to obtain due to the nonlinear large deformationof materials. In this paper, a new composite element model is established based on the absolute nodal coordinateformulation. The consistent deformation conditions at the contact interface between two thin plates are deduced.The hyperelastic constitutive model and the dielectric elastomer constitutive model are introduced for the twothin plates. Then the dynamic model is established to study the dynamic behaviors of the composite flexiblestructure with various parameters. The results show that the nonlinear deformation appears obviously whenthe flexible composite plate structure is driven by various voltages, and the warping deformation becomes moreobvious with the increase of the voltage. The width and thickness of the driven thin plate influence the stabilityof the whole structure. With the decrease of the width or thickness, the deformation of the structure is moreconsistent with obvious periodicity, and the control performance is improved. Finally, the structural parametersof the composite structures are optimized to improve the control performance based on the dynamic performance.Additionally, smaller width and thickness parameters are preferred to obtain better performance in the design offlexible actuator of soft robot.

Design and Experiments of a Robotic Fish Imitating Cow-Nosed Ray

The cow-nosed ray is studied as natural sample of a flapping-foil robotic fish.Body structure, motion discipline, and dynamicfoil deformation of cow-nosed ray are analyzed.Based on the analysis results, a robotic fish imitating cow-nosed ray,named Robo-ray Ⅱ, mainly composed of soft body, flexible ribs and pneumatic artificial muscles, is developed.Structure andswimming morphology of the robotic prototype are as that of a normal cow-nosed ray in nature.Key propulsion parameters ofRobo-ray Ⅱ at normal conditions, including the St Number at linear swimming, thrust coefficient at towing are studied throughexperiments.The suitable driving parameters are confirmed considering the efficiency and swimming velocity.Swimmingvelocity of 0.16 m·s’and thrust coefficient of 0.56 in maximum are achieved in experiments.

A Backstepping Simple Adaptive Control Application to Flexible Space Structures

Although the simple adaptive control （SAC） is widely studied both in theory and application in flexible space structure control and other control problems, it is restricted by the almost strictly positive real （ASPR） conditions. In most practical control problems, the ASPR conditions are not satisfied. Therefore, based on the SAC theory, this paper proposes a backstepping simple adaptive control algorithm which suits the system with arbitrary relative degree with no need of parallel feed forward compensa- tor. The proposed control algorithm consists of decomposition of the arbitrary relative degree system into a known subsystem and an unknown ASPR subsystem which are connected in cascade, design of constant output feedback controller for the known subsystem, and implementation of backstepping method and SAC of the unknown ASPR subsystem. Inheriting the characteristics of the SAC, this method can be adaptive online for the parameter uncertainties. Then, the application of the proposed controller to large flexible space structure with collocated sensors and actuators is studied, and the simulation results validate the proposed controller. It is a new strategy to apply the classical SAC to high relative degree plants.

Local Joint Flexibility Multibrace Tubular Joints

The local joint flexibility matrix of multibrace tubular joints (uniplanar and multiplanar joints) is defined. The formulation for computing the elements of local flexibility factor matrix of multibrace tubular joints by semi-analytic method is presented in this paper. The stiffening effect of unloaded braces and cross-flexibility between braces are discussed. Using the local flexibility of unibrace joints instead of that of multibrace joints in conventional structural analysis will lead the result to an unsafe side.