Influence of Trailing-Edge Wear on the Vibrational Behavior of Wind Turbine Blades

To study the impact of the trailing-edge wear on the vibrational behavior of wind-turbine blades,unworn blades and trailing-edge worn blades have been assessed through relevant modal tests.According to these experiments,the natural frequencies of trailing-edge worn blades-1,-2,and-3 increase the most in the second to fourth order,thefifth order increases in the middle,and thefirst order increases the least.The damping ratio data indi-cate that,in general,thefirstfive-order damping ratios of trailing-edge worn blades-1 and trailing-edge worn blades-2 are reduced,and thefirstfive-order damping ratios of trailing-edge worn blades-3 are slightly improved.The mode shape diagram shows that the trailing-edge worn blades-1 and-2 have a large swing in the tip and the blade,whereas the second-and third-order vibration shapes of the trailing edge-worn blade-3 tend to be improved.Overall,all these results reveal that the blade’s mass and the wear area are the main fac-tors affecting the vibration characteristics of wind turbine blades.

Feasibility study of a large-scale tuned mass damper with eddy current damping mechanism

Tuned mass dampers （TMDs） have been widely used in recent years to mitigate structural vibration. However, the damping mechanisms employed in the TMDs are mostly based on viscous dampers, which have several well-known disadvantages, such as oil leakage and difficult adjustment of damping ratio for an operating TMD. Alternatively, eddy current damping （ECD） that does not require any contact with the main structure is a potential solution. This paper discusses the design, analysis, manufacture and testing of a large-scale horizontal TMD based on ECD. First, the theoretical model of ECD is formulated, then one large-scale horizontal TMD using ECD is constructed, and finally performance tests of the TMD are conducted. The test results show that the proposed TMD has a very low intrinsic damping ratio, while the damping ratio due to ECD is the dominant damping source, which can be as large as 15% in a proper configuration. In addition, the damping ratios estimated with the theoretical model are roughly consistent with those identified from the test results, and the source of this error is investigated. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the damping ratio in the proposed TMD can be easily adjusted by varying the air gap between permanent magnets and conductive plates. In view of practical applications, possible improvements and feasibility considerations for the proposed TMD are then discussed. It is confirmed that the proposed TMD with ECD is reliable and feasible for use in structural vibration control.

Shear modulus and damping ratio of sand-granulated rubber mixtures

Recycled waste tires when mixed with soil can play an important role as lightweight materials in retaining walls and embankments, machine foundations and railroad track beds in seismic zones. Having high damping characteristic, rubbers can be used as either soil alternative or mixed with soil to reduce vibration when seismic loads are of great concern. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the dynamic properties of such mixtures prior to practical applications. To this reason, torsional resonant column and dynamic triaxial experiments were carried out and the effect of the important parameters like rubber content and ratio of mean grain size of rubber solids versus soil solids(D50,r/D50,s) on dynamic response of mixtures in a range of low to high shearing strain amplitude from about 4×10-4% to 2.7% were investigated. Considering engineering applications, specimens were prepared almost at the maximum dry density and optimum moisture content to model a mixture layer above the ground water table and in low precipitation region. The results show that tire inclusion significantly reduces the shear modulus and increases the damping ratio of the mixtures. Also decrease in D50,r/D50,s causes the mixture to exhibit more rubber-like behavior. Finally, normalized shear modulus versus shearing strain amplitude curve was proposed for engineering practice.

Modal parameter identification and damping ratio estimation from the full-scale measurements of a typical Tibetan wooden structure

Tibetan heritage buildings have a high historical and cultural value. They have endured adverse environmental loadings over hundreds of years without significant damage. However, there are few reports on their structural characteristics under normal environmental loadings and their behavior under dynamic loadings. In this research, a typical Tibetan wooden wall-frame building is selected to study its dynamic characteristics. Field measurements of the structure were conducted under environmental excitation to collect acceleration responses. The stochastic subspace identification （SSI） method was adopted to calculate the structural modal parameters and obtain the out-of-plane vibration characteristics of the slab and frames. The results indicated that the wall-frame structure had a lower out-of-plane stiffness and greater in-plane stiffness due to the presence of stone walls. Due to poor identified damping ratio estimates from the SSI method, a method based on the variance upper bound was proposed to complement the existing variance lower bound method for estimating the modal damping ratio to address the significant damping variability obtained from different points and measurements. The feasibility of the proposed method was illustrated with the measured data from the floor slab of the structure. The variance lower and upper bound methods both provided consistent results compared to those from the traditional SSI method.

Dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio characteristics of undisturbed marine soils in the Bohai Sea,China

This paper presents results from a series of stress-controlled undrained cyclic triaxial tests on the undisturbed marine silty clay,silt,and fine sand soils obtained from the Bohai Sea,China.Emphasis is placed on the major factors for predominating the dynamic shear modulus(G)and damping ratio(λ)in the shear strain amplitude(γ_(a))from 10^(-5) to 10^(-2),involving depth,sedimentary facies types,and water content of marine soils.The empirical equations of the small-strain shear modulus(G_(max))and damping ratio(λ_(min))using a single-variable of depth H are established for the three marine soils.A remarkable finding is that the curves of shear modulus reduction(G/G_(max))and the damping ratio(λ)with increasing γ_(a) of the three marine soils can be simply determined through a set of explicit expressions with the two variables of depth H and water content W.This finding is validated by independent experimental data from the literature.At the similar depths,the G value of the marine soils of terrestrial facies is the largest,followed b_(y) the neritic facies,and the G value of the marine soils of abyssal facies is the smallest.The sedimentary facies types of the marine soils have slight effect on theλvalue.Another significant finding is that the shear modulus reduction curves plotted against the γ_(a) of the three marine soils at the similar depths are significantly below those of the corresponding terrigenous soils,while the damping curves plotted against γ_(a) are just the opposite.The results presented in this paper serve as a worthful reference for the evaluation of seabed seismic site effects in the Bohai Sea due to lack of experimental data.

Estimation of damping ratio of soil sites using microtremor

It is widely known that the seismic response characteristics of a soil site depends heavily on several key dynamic properties of the soil stratum,such as predominant frequency and damping ratio.A widely used method for estimating the predominant frequency of a soil site by using microtremor records,proposed by Nakamura,is investigated to determine its effectiveness in estimating the damping ratio.The authors conducted some microtremor measurements of soil sites in Hong Kong and found that Nakamura's method might also be used to estimate the damping ratio of a soil site.Damping ratio data from several typical soil sites were obtained from both Nakamura's ratio curves using the half power point method and resonant column tests.Regression analysis indicates that there is a strong correlation between the damping ratios derived from these two different approaches.

Accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method with a third-order correction for estimating damping in multi-DOF systems

A third-order correction was recently suggested to improve the accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method in estimating the damping of single DOF systems.This paper analyzes the accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method with the third-order correction in damping estimation for multi-DOF linear systems.Damping ratios in a two-DOF linear system are estimated using its displacement and acceleration frequency response curves,respectively.A wide range of important parameters that characterize the shape of these response curves are taken into account.Results show that the third-order correction may greatly improve the accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method in estimating damping in a two-DOF system.In spite of this,the half-power bandwidth method may significantly overestimate the damping ratios of two-DOF systems in some cases.

The damping model for sea waves covered by oil films of a finite thickness

In combination with a wave action balance equation, a damping model for sea waves covered by oil films of a finite thickness is proposed. The damping model is not only related to the physical parameters of the oil film, but also related to environment parameters. Meanwhile, the parametric analyses have been also conducted to understand the sensitivity of the damping model to these parameters. And numerical simulations demonstrate that a kinematic viscosity, a surface/interfacial elasticity, a thickness, and a fractional filling factor cause more significant effects on a damping ratio than the other physical parameters of the oil film. From the simulation it is also found that the influences induced by a wind speed and a wind direction are also remarkable. On the other hand, for a thick emulsified oil film, the damping effect on the radar signal induced by the reduction of an effective dielectric constant should also be taken into account. The simulated results are compared with the damping ratio evaluated by the 15 ENVISAT ASAR images acquired during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident.

Influence of repeated freeze-thaw on dynamic modulus and damping ratio properties of silty sand

Under repeated freezing and thawing in deep seasonal frozen regions, the stability and strength of the soil are imposed in the form of large uneven settlement, instability and strength reduction, which affect the normal operation of railway lines. This study is to obtain the influencing rules of freeze-thaw on the dynamic properties （dynamic strain, confining pressure and compactness） of silty sand. Based on an amount of inner tests, the dynamic modulus and damping ratio properties of silty soil subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles were deeply researched and analyzed. The results are as follows： At the same dynamic strain, the relationship of dynamic stress and freeze-thaw cycles presents negative cor- relation, and the relationship of dynamic stress, confining pressure and compactness present positive correlation. The dynamic modulus double decreases while the damping ratio double increases with incremental increase in dynamic strain. The dynamic modulus sharply decreases while the damping ratio increases with incremental increase in freeze-thaw cycles, and then the changes level off after six freeze-thaw cycles. The dynamic modulus increases while the damping ratio decreases as the confining pressure and compactness increase at the same strain level.

Research and Simulation on Weak Signal Detection Based on Duffing Oscillator and Damping Ratio Perturbation

The chaotic system is sensitive to the initial value, and this can be applied in the weak signal detection. There are periodic, critical and chaotic states in a chaotic system. When the system is in the critical state, a small perturbation of system,n parameter may lead to a qualitative change of the system＇s state. This paper introduces a new method to detect weak signals by the way of disturbing the damping ratio. The authors choose the duffing equation, using MATLAB to carry on the simulation, to study the changes of the system when the signal to be measured is added to the damping ratio. By means of observing the phase loots chart and time damin chart, the weak signal will be detected.

Research on Influence of Damping Material on Structure Performance of Torpedo

Reducing the self-noise and radiated noise of torpedo is an effective way to enhance its detection and concealment capabilities.After discussing the basic principle on noise and vibration control and main noise sources in torpedo,the application of damping treatment for noise and vibration absorption was proposed in this paper.Compared composite materials(damping and metal materials)used as segment joint,their different contributions to the damping performance of base structure were investigated.The results show that the damping material can be used as segment joint effectively in vibration control.Taking cantilever beam as an example,four different damping treatments were compared in natural frequency and damping loss factor,the results show the influences of different damping layer layouts on the structure damping performance,and offer a reference for the torpedo shell design.

Measurement of Vibrational Stiffness and Air Damping of Damselfly Wings

A simple cantilever beam vibration test method made of biomorph and insect wing, were used to measure the vibrational stiffness and the air damping of insect wings. Vibration tests were performed in vacuum pressures to atmosphere and the wing stiffness and air damping factor were measured. The test method was found to be a viable method for measuring wing stiffness, natural frequencies and mode shapes. The vibrational deformation of the insect wings was found to be combination of bending and torsion because of unsymmetrical geometry of wing. The measured stiffness (K) of damselfly wings varied from 0.18 to 0.31 N/m and the air damping ratio ranged from 0.72 to 0.79. The undamped natural frequency (fn) at 13 kPa varied from 249 to 299 Hz and at atmosphere it varied from 168 to 198 Hz.

A new damping ratio identification method based on pattern search

In order to improve the effectiveness of traditional time domain identification methods in identifying damping ratios, a new damping ratio identification method based on pattern search is proposed by fluctuating the reliable natural frequency obtained through traditional time domain identification methods by about 10% to build the boundary conditions, using all the initial identification results to establish the free decay response of the system, and using the pattern search method to correct the initial identification results with the residual sum of squares between the free decay response and the actually measured free-decay signal as the objective function. The proposed method deals with the actually measured free-decay signal with curve fitting and avoids enlarging the identified error caused by intermediate conversion, so it can effectively improve the identified accuracy of damping ratios. Simulations for a room-sized vibration isolation foundation show that the relative errors of analyzed three damping ratios are down to 1.05%, 1.51% and 3.7% by the proposed method from 8.42%, 5.85% and 8.5% by STD method when the noise level is 10%.

Test and numerical investigations on static and dynamic characteristics of extra-wide concrete self-anchored suspension bridge under vehicle loads

The present work is aimed at studying the mechanic properties of the extra-wide concrete self-anchored suspension bridge under static and dynamic vehicle loads. Based on the field test using 12 heavy trucks and finite element simulations, the static deformations of different components, stress increments and distributions of the girder, as well as the vibration characteristics and damping ratio of the Hunan Road Bridge were analyzed, which is the widest self-anchored suspension bridge in China at present. The dynamic responses were calculated using the Newmark-β integration method assisted by the simulation models of bridge and vehicles, the influences on the dynamic impact coefficient(DIC) brought by the vehicle parameters, girder width, eccentricity travel and deck flatness were also researched. The spatial effect of the girder is obvious due to the extra width, which performs as the stress increments distribute unevenly along the transverse direction, and the girder deflections and stress increments of the upper plate change as a "V" and "M" shape respectively under the symmetrical vehicle loads affected by the shear lag effect, cross slope and local effect of the wheels, the maximum of stress increments are located in the junctions with the inner webs. The obvious girder torsional deformation and the apparent unevenness of the hanger forces between the two cable planes under the eccentric vehicle loads, together with the mode shapes such as the girder transverse bending and torsion which appear relatively earlier, all reflect the weakened torsional rigidity of the extra-wide girder. The transverse displacements of towers are more obvious than the longitudinal ones. As for the influences on the DIC, the static effect of the heavier vehicles plays a major role when pass through with a higher speed and the changes of vehicle suspension stiffness generate greater impacts than the suspension damp. The values of DIC in the vehicle-running side during the eccentric travel, affected by the restricts from the static effects of the eccentric moving trucks, are significantly smaller than the vehicle-free side, the increase in the road roughness is the most sensitive one among the above influential factors. The results could provide references for the design, static and dynamic response analysis of the similar extra-wide suspension bridges.

Structural vibration passive control and economic analysis of a high-rise building in Beijing

Performance analysis of the Pangu Plaza under earthquake and wind loads is described in this paper. The plaza is a 39-story steel high-rise building, 191 m high, located in Beijing close to the 2008 Olympic main stadium. It has both fluid viscous dampers （FVDs） and buckling restrained braces or unbonded brace （BRB or UBB） installed. A repeated iteration procedure in its design and analysis was adopted for optimization. Results from the seismic response analysis in the horizontal and vertical directions show that the FVDs are highly effective in reducing the response of both the main structure and the secondary system. A comparative analysis of structural seismic performance and economic impact was conducted using traditional methods, i.e., increased size of steel columns and beams and/or use of an increased number of seismic braces versus using FVD. Both the structural response and economic analysis show that using FVD to absorb seismic energy not only satisfies the Chinese seismic design code for a ＂rare＂ earthquake, but is also the most economical way to improve seismic performance both for one-time direct investment and long term maintenance.

Analysis of the dynamic characteristics and stochastic simulation on variations of beach volumes

This paper analyzes the dynamic characteristics of the variations of the beach volumes for three level zonesof the Yanjing Beach in the Shuidong Bay of the western Guangdong Province by using the methods of dynamic systemanalysis and the multi-dimensional spectral estimation. The results show that the variations of the beach volume arecharaCterized by the multiband oscillations with a dominant semimonth period. Upwards the low tide level, the beachtends to be stable. The estimates of the partial coherences and the partial phases indicate that the variations of thebeach volumes are mainly the results of the direct actions of the waves which are influenced by the tidal level changesand driven by the wind stress. The simulation results of the beach volume series for different beach heart zones bythreshold mixed regressive models indicate that the influence of the tide on the variations of the beach volumes is weakened and the direct actions of the wave energy and the wind stress are apparently enhanced with the increase of thebeach height.(This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.)

Experimental studies on behavior of fully grouted reinforced-concrete masonry shear walls

An experimental study is conducted on fully grouted reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSWs) made from concrete blocks with a new configuration. Ten RMSWs are tested under reversed cyclic lateral load to investigate the influence of different reinforcements and applied axial stress values on their seismic behavior. The results show that flexural strength increases with the applied axial stress, and shear strength dominated by diagonal cracking increases with both the amount of horizontal reinforcement and applied axial stress. Yield displacement, ductility, and energy dissipation capability can be improved substantially by increasing the amount of horizontal reinforcement. The critical parameters for the walls are derived from the experiment: displacement ductility values corresponding to 15% strength degradation of the walls reach up to 2.6 and 4.5 in the shear and flexure failure modes, respectively; stiffness values of flexure- and shear-dominated walls rapidly degrade to 17%–19% and 48%–57% of initial stiffness at 0.50 Dmax (displacement at peak load). The experiment suggests that RMSWs could be assigned a higher damping ratio (～14%) for collapse prevention design and a lower damping value (～7%) for a fully operational limit state or serviceability limit state.

Constitutive Model of Saturated Soft Clay with Cyclic Loads under Unconsolidated Undrained Condition

An equivalent visco-elastic model of saturated soft clay was studied under unconsolidated undrained (UU) condition, which can be used to evaluate the stability of ocean foundation. Cyclic triaxial compression and extension tests were conducted to study the parameters of the model. Results showed that the relationships of the damping ratio and the octahedral shear modulus with the octahedral cyclic shear strain were nearly unique, when the initial octahedral shear stress ratios of specimens were equal to 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7. The relationships of the damping ratio and the octahedral shear modulus with the octahedral cyclic shear strain determined from the cyclic triaxial compression tests were basically the same as those determined from the cyclic triaxial extension tests. Furthermore, the relationships were not related to the initial stress condition, the test stress state and the octahedral cyclic shear stress ratio. The relationships determined from the cyclic triaxial tests under no deviatoric stress were basically the same as those determined from the cyclic triaxial tests under deviatoric stress. The change of the octahedral cyclic accumulative strain with the number of cycles was unique under different tests stress states. An equivalent visco-elastic constitutive model of saturated soft clay under UU condition was initially established.

Dynamic behavior of reinforced concrete frame structure during construction

The effects of concrete's time-variant elastic modulus,casting structural components,assembling temporary shoring framework system,and shock by operating construction equipment on dynamic behavior of the reinforced concrete frame structure during construction were investigated. The dynamic tests of an eight-storey reinforced concrete frame structure during full-scaled stages of the sixth storey construction cycle were carried out by ambient vibration. Natural frequencies,corresponding mode shapes and damping ratio were determined by power spectrum processing the tested signal data in frequency domain. The changes of frequencies,mode shapes and damping ratios at different construction stages were given. The results show that natural frequencies and modal damping ratios reach the maximum at stage of casting fresh concrete,especially for higher modes. Modal damping ratios at each construction stage are less than 5% of those during usage.

Experimental study on mechanical properties of basalt fiber-reinforced silty clay

Fiber reinforcement technology can significantly improve the mechanical properties of soil and has been increasingly applied in geotechnical engineering.Basalt fiber is a new kind of environment-friendly and highperformance soil reinforcement material,and the mechanical properties of basalt fiber-reinforced soil have become a hot research topic.In this paper,we conducted monotonic triaxial and cyclic triaxial tests,and analyzed the influence of the fiber content,moisture content,and confining pressure on the shear characteristics,dynamic modulus,and damping ratio of basalt fiber-reinforced silty clay.The results illustrate that basalt fiber can enhance the shear strength of silty clay by increasing its cohesion.We find that the shear strength of reinforced silty clay reaches its maximum when the fiber content is approximately 0.2%and the moisture content is 18.5%(optimum moisture content).Similarly,we also find that the dynamic modulus that corresponds to the same strain first increases then decreases with increasing fiber content and moisture content and reaches its maximum when the fiber content is approximately 0.2%and the moisture content is 18.5%.The dynamic modulus is positively correlated with the confining pressure.However,the change in the damping ratio with fiber content,moisture content,and confining pressure is opposite to that of the dynamic modulus.It can be concluded that the optimum content of basalt fiber for use in silty clay is 0.2%.After our experiments,we used scanning electron microscope(SEM)to observe the microstructure of specimens with different fiber contents,and our results show that the gripping effect and binding effect are the main mechanisms of fiber reinforcement.