A wind tunnel investigation on the transverse motion of aeolian sand

A wind tunnel experiment was performed to investigate aeolian grain motions in the transverse direction, which is perpendicular to the incoming flow and parallels the sand bed. The trajectories in the horizontal plane were recorded by high-speed camera. Statistical analysis of 630 trajectories shows that both the motion orientation and the time-averaged speed follow Gaussian distributions. An exclusive method was used to analyze the driving mechanism. It was concluded that the three-dimensional turbulent air flow, rather than the spin of grain or grain-bed collisions, controls the transverse motion.

Optical control of transverse motion of ionization injected electrons in a laser plasma accelerator

We demonstrate an all-optical method for controlling the transverse motion of an ionization injected electron beam in a laser plasma accelerator by using the transversely asymmetrical plasma wakefield. The laser focus shape can control the distribution of a transversal wakefield. When the laser focus shape is changed from circular to slanted elliptical in the experiment, the electron beam profiles change from an ellipse to three typical shapes. The three-dimensional particlein-cell simulation result agrees well with the experiment, and it shows that the trajectories of these accelerated electrons change from undulating to helical. Such an all-optical method could be useful for convenient control of the transverse motion of an electron beam, which results in synchrotron radiation from orbit angular momentum.

The use of the greater trochanter marker in the thigh segment model:Implications for hip and knee frontal and transverse plane motion

Background:The greater trochanter marker is commonly used in 3-dimensional(3D) models;however,its influence on hip and knee kinematics during gait is unclear.Understanding the influence of the greater trochanter marker is important when quantifying frontal and transverse plane hip and knee kinematics,parameters which are particularly relevant to investigate in individuals with conditions such as patellofemoral pain,knee osteoarthritis,anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) injury,and hip pain.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of including the greater trochanter in the construction of the thigh segment on hip and knee kinematics during gait.Methods:3D kinematics were collected in 19 healthy subjects during walking using a surface marker system.Hip and knee angles were compared across two thigh segment definitions(with and without greater trochanter) at two time points during stance:peak knee flexion(PKF) and minimum knee flexion(Min KF).Results:Hip and knee angles differed in magnitude and direction in the transverse plane at both time points.In the thigh model with the greater trochanter the hip was more externally rotated than in the thigh model without the greater trochanter(PKF:-9.34°± 5.21° vs.1.40°± 5.22°,Min KF:-5.68°± 4.24° vs.5.01°± 4.86°;p < 0.001).In the thigh model with the greater trochanter,the knee angle was more internally rotated compared to the knee angle calculated using the thigh definition without the greater trochanter(PKF:14.67°± 6.78° vs.4.33°± 4.18°,Min KF:10.54°± 6.71° vs.-0.01°± 2.69°;p < 0.001).Small but significant differences were detected in the sagittal and frontal plane angles at both time points(p < 0.001).Conclusion:Hip and knee kinematics differed across different segment definitions including or excluding the greater trochanter marker,especially in the transverse plane.Therefore when considering whether to include the greater trochanter in the thigh segment model when using a surface markers to calculate 3D kinematics for movement assessment,it is important to have a clear understanding of the effect of different marker sets and segment models in use.

A study of a slim compact piezo inertia actuator

Most previously reported inertia actuators suffer from the problems of low speed and large size.To overcome these shortcomings,this study proposes a slim compact piezo inertia actuator based on the principle of stick–slip drive.Actuated by the transverse motion of a cantilever beam forming part of a monolithic elastomer,this actuator achieves a high velocity.The construction and basic operating principle of the actuator are discussed in detail.Commercial finite element analysis software is employed to determine the appropriate geometry for the monolithic elastomer.To study the actuator’s mechanical characteristics,a prototype is fabricated and a series of experimental tests are performed.According to the results of these tests,the maximum velocity and maximum load force are about 24.03 mm/s and 1.96 N,respectively,and the minimum step size is about 0.47μm.It is shown that the inertia actuator based on a monolithic elastomer with a cantilever beam not only has a slim compact structure,but also exhibits good output characteristics.

Numerical simulation of VIV for an elastic cylinder mounted on the spring supports with low mass-ratio

With the development of the offshore deep water oil industry many researchers are focusing on the vortex-induced vibrations （VIV） of deep risers. In the present work, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes （RANS） equations were combined with the SST κ-ω turbulent model to simulate the stream-wise and transverse motion of an elastically mounted cylinder with a low mass-ratio, a natural frequency ratio of fx/fy = 1 and an Re number between 5 300 and 32 000, The four-order Runge-Kutta method was applied to solve the oscillating equation of the cylinder. The relationship between reduced velocity and parameters of the cylinder, including the lift coefficient, the drag coefficient, displacement and the vortex structure were then compared with recent experimental results and discussed in detail. The present numerical simulation reproduced effects have been observed in experiments, such as the lock-in phenomenon, the hysteretic phenomenon and beating behavior.