Extraction on the Contact Forces Among the Opaque and Non-photoelastic Particles Under Electromagnetic Force

Contact force is related to the mechanical response of superconducting strands under a large electromagnetic body force,which is important for the safety of the international t hermonuclear experimen tai reac tor(ITER)magne t struc ture.Due to the complex st rue ture of the cable-in-conduit conductor(CICC),the component unit of the ITER magnet,and the extreme operating environment,the research on the strand contact force caused by the electromagnetic force has been progressing slowly.In this study,a two-dimensional(2D)theoretical model based on the granular elemen t method is construe ted to compute the contac t forces among some opaque and non-photoelastic ferromagnetic particles which are placed in a non-uniform magnetic field.In the experiment,the contact deformations of these particles may be obtained by the digital image correlation method.We also propose a method,which is similar to the least-squares method,to calculate the electromagnetic body forces of different particles.Subsequently,the distributional and statistical characteristics of the contac t force chains and contact angles are presen ted.It is considered that the method proposed in this paper is suitable for the contact force analysis of the cross section of superconducting strands in the ITER CICC that is subjected to a transverse elec-tromagnetic force.In the end,this 2D theoretical model is generalized to the three-dimensional(3D)case,and the concise mathematical framework is presented.

Experimental research on the contact force of the bi-directional pig in oil and gas pipeline

The migration process of the pig in oil and gas pipeline is a complex dynamic problem.During the pigging operation,the variation of friction force caused by the nonlinear contact between the sealing disc and the pipe wall is the key factor affecting the dynamic characteristics of the pig motion.At present,the existed pigging models for predicting pigging behavior regard friction as an invariant constant.Experimental research indicates that the friction force of the pig varies with the contact force and the lubrication conditions.Therefore,the assumption that the friction force is constant cannot reflect the friction dynamic characteristics of the pig during pigging,and will also affect the accuracy of the pigging model.Exploring the variation of friction force of pig under different conditions is the basis of establishing the transient dynamic model of a pig.As a result,in this paper,a method of direct measurement of contact force between the pig and the pipeline is presented,the contact force,the friction force,as well as the friction coefficient of the pig are obtained from the experiment.Research results in this paper can help to establish a more accurate dynamic model of pig.

Elastic-plastic contact force history and response characteristics of circular plate subjected to impact by a projectile

A new elastic-plastic impact-contact model is proposed in this paper. By adopting the principle of minimum acceleration for elastic-plastic continue at finite deformation, and with the aid of finite difference method, the proposed model is applied in the problem of dynamic response of a clamped thin circular plate subjected to a projectile impact centrally. The impact force history and response characteristics of the target plate is studied in detail. The theoretical predictions of the impact force and plate deflection are in good agreements with those of LDA experimental data. Linear expressions of the maximum impact force/transverse deflection versus impact velocity are given on the basis of the theoretical results.

Relationship between the real contact area and contact force in pre-sliding regime

The pre-sliding regime is typically neglected in the dynamic modelling of mechanical systems. However, the change in contact state caused by static friction may decrease positional accuracy and control precision. To investigate the relationship between contact status and contact force in pre-sliding friction, an optical experimental method is presented in this paper.With this method, the real contact state at the interface of a transparent material can be observed based on the total reflection principle of light by using an image processing technique. A novel setup, which includes a pair of rectangular trapezoidal blocks, is proposed to solve the challenging issue of accurately applying different tangential and normal forces to the contact interface. The improved Otsu＇s method is used for measurement. Through an experimental study performed on polymethyl methacrylate（PMMA）, the quantity of contact asperities is proven to be the dominant factor that affects the real contact area. The relationship between the real contact area and the contact force in the pre-sliding regime is studied, and the distribution of static friction at the contact interface is qualitatively discussed. New phenomena in which the real contact area expands along with increasing static friction are identified. The aforementioned relationship is approximately linear at the contact interface under a constant normal pressure, and the distribution of friction stress decreases from the leading edge to the trailing edge.

Amending Research on the Expression of the Contact Force of the Spindle Barrel Finishing Based on EDEM Simulation

The spindle barrel finishing is commonly used to improve the surface integrity of the important parts of the high-end equipment while it is difficult to provide enough test artifacts for the traditional trial and error experiment to obtain the desirable processing technology.The EDEM simulation of the spindle barrel finishing can provide effective help for the process design,however,the difference between the simulation and experiment is closely related to the selection of the contact model during simulation.In this paper,simulations and experiments are conducted based on the identical apparatus and conditions to facilitate the comparison and validation between each other.Based on the Hertz contact theory,the effect of the material properties of contact objects and the relative position of the workpiece on the contact force is qualified.The expression of the correlation coefficient of the contact model is deduced.Then the formula for calculating the contact force between the barrel finishing abrasive and the workpiece that includes influence coefficient of the material properties and the relative positions is established.Finally,the contact force calculation formula is verified by changing the rotating speed.The result shows that the material correction coefficient ranges from 1.41 to 2.38,which is inversely related to the equivalent modulus E.The position correction coefficient ranges from 2.0 to 2.3.The relative error value between the calculation result and the experimental test result is from 0.58%to 14.07%.This research lay a theoretical foundation for the correction theory of the core elements of the spindle barrel finishing process.

An integrated approach for the optimization of wheel-rail contact force measurement systems

A comprehension of railway dynamic behavior implies the measure of wheel-rail contact forces which are affected by disturbances and errors that are often difficult to be quantified. In this study, a benchmark test case is proposed, and a bogie with a layout used on some European locomotives such as SIEMENS El90 is studied. In this layout, an additional shaft on which brake disks are installed is used to transmit the braking torque to the wheelset through a single-stage gearbox. Using a mixed approach based on finite element techniques and statistical considerations, it is possible to evaluate an optimal layout for strain gauge positioning and to optimize the measurement system to diminish the effects of noise and disturbance. We also conducted preliminary evaluations on the precision and frequency response of the proposed system.

Contact force and mechanical loss of multistage cable under tension and bending

A theoretical model for calculating the stress and strain states of cabling structures with different loadings has been developed in this paper. We solve the problem for the first- and second-stage cable with tensile or bending strain. The contact and friction forces between the strands are presented by two-dimensional contact model. Several theoretical models have been proposed to verify the results when the triplet subjected to the tensile strain, including contact force, contact stresses, and mechanical loss. It is found that loadings will affect the friction force and the mechanical loss of the triplet. The results show that the contact force and mechanical loss are dependent on the twist pitch. A shorter twist pitch can lead to higher contact force, while the trend of mechanical loss with twist pitch is complicated. The mechanical loss may be reduced by adjusting the twist pitch reasonably. The present model provides a simple analysis method to investigate the mechanical behaviors in multistage-structures under different loads.

A numerical study of contact force in competitive evacuation

Crowd force by the pushing or crushing of people has resulted in a number of accidents in recent decades. The aftermath investigations have shown that the physical interaction of a highly competitive crowd could produce dangerous pressure up to 4500 N/m, which leads to compressive asphyxia or even death. In this paper, a numerical model based on discrete element method （DEM） as referenced from granular flow was proposed to model the evacuation process of a group of highly competitive people, in which the movement of people follows Newton＇s second law and the body deformation due to compression follows Hertz contact model. The study shows that the clogs occur periodically and flow rate fluctuates greatly if all people strive to pass through a narrow exit at high enough desired velocity. Two types of contact forces acting on people are studied. The first one, i.e., vector contact force, accounts for the movement of the people following Newton＇s second law. The second one, i.e., scale contact force, accounts for the physical deformation of the human body following the contact law. Simulation shows that the forces chain in crowd flow is turbulent and fragile. A few narrow zones with intense forces are observed in the force field, which is similar to the strain localization observed in granular flow. The force acting on a person could be as high as 4500 N due to force localization, which may be the root cause of compressive asphyxia of people in many crowd incidents.

AN IMPROVED CONTACT-IMPACT ALGORITHM FOR EXPLICIT INTEGRATION FEM

Although the penalty algorithm is simple and direct in concept, it has a defect that the contact forces are badly dependent on the chosen penalty factor. An improved contact-impact algorithm for the explicit integration FEM is proposed in the present paper. Based on the fact that bodies cannot penetrate into each other on the contact faces, a set of equations with the additional unknown contact forces on the slave nodes can be formed in a new system configuration. By solving these equations, the correct contact forces could be obtained without using the penalty factor.

Earth Pressure of the Trapdoor Problem Using Three-Dimensional Discrete Element Method

Load transformation from the yielding part of the soil to the adjacent part is known as the soil arching effect,which plays an important role in the design of various geotechnical infrastructures.Terzaghi’s trapdoor test was an importantmilestone in the development of theories on soil arching.The research on earth pressure of the trapdoor problem is presented in this paper using the three-dimensional(3D)discrete element method(DEM).Five 3D trapdoor models with different heights are established by 3DDEMsoftware PFC 3D.The variation of earth pressure on the trapdoor with the downward movement of the trapdoor,the distribution of vertical earth pressure along the horizontal direction,the distribution of vertical earth pressure along the vertical direction,the distribution of lateral earth pressure coefficient along the depth direction,the magnitude and direction of contact force chain are studied,respectively.Related research results show that the earth pressure on the trapdoor decreases rapidly after the downward movement of the trapdoor,and then reaches the minimum earth pressure.After that,the earth’s pressure will rise slightly,and whether this phenomenon occurs depends on the depth ratio.For the bottom soil,due to the stress transfer caused by the soil arching effect,the ratio of earth pressure in the loose area decreases,while the ratio of earth pressure in the stable area increases.With the trapdoor moving down,the vertical earth pressure along the depth in the stable zone is basically consistent with the initial state,which shows an approximate linear distribution.After the trapdoor moves down,the distribution of earth pressure along with the depth in the loose area changes,which is far less than the theoretical value of vertical earth pressure of its self-weight.Because of the compression of the soil on both sides,the lateral earth pressure coefficient of most areas on the central axis of the loose zone is close to the passive earth pressure coefficient Kp.The existence of a‘soil arch’can be observed intuitively from the distribution diagram of the contact force chain in the loose zone.

ROBUSTNESS OF MULTIPLE-LIMB MANIPULATION SYSTEMS

The characteristic that multiple limb manipulation systems can resist disturbance external forces without relying on the feedback control of joint torques, called the robustness, has been addressed by several researchers. Based on their results, a further study of robustness is presented in this paper. By decomposing the space of external forces into two subspaces, the necessary and sufficient condition for a system to have robustness is given and a definition of robustness which is applicable to any multiple limb systems is also proposed. For the purpose of the evaluation of robustness, a new quality measure — critical disturbance external force and its algorithm are put forward. Finally, two examples of robustness analysis are presented.

Design and analysis of logarithmic spiral type sprag one-way clutch

A complete mathematical model for logarithmic spiral type sprag one-way clutch design and analysis is given.It assumes that the motion of all clutch components can be expressed by a model of epicyclic gearing.It takes advantage of Hunt-Crossley contact impact theory to calculate the contact forces between sprags and races,and it can be used for optimization of design and comparison with other types of sprag clutches.A good deal of analysis shows that the parameters of the steady windup angle,the steady contact force,the natural frequency and natural cycle of clutch have nothing to do with the initial velocity of outer race,while the parameters of the maximum transient windup angle,the maximum transient impact force and the steady engagement time increase linearly in the mode of engaging operation of clutch.It is also shown that the strut angle has great influence on the dynamic engagement performance of clutch.The parameters of the steady windup angle,the maximum transient windup angle,the steady engaging time,the steady contact force,the maximum transient impact force and the natural cycle of clutch decrease linearly nearly with the inner strut angle,while the natural frequency of the system increases linearly with the inner strut angle.

A modified discrete element model for sea ice dynamics

Considering the discontinuous characteristics of sea ice on various scales,a modified discrete element model（DEM） for sea ice dynamics is developed based on the granular material rheology.In this modified DEM,a soft sea ice particle element is introduced as a self-adjustive particle size function.Each ice particle can be treated as an assembly of ice floes,with its concentration and thickness changing to variable sizes under the conservation of mass.In this model,the contact forces among ice particles are calculated using a viscous-elastic-plastic model,while the maximum shear forces are described with the Mohr-Coulomb friction law.With this modified DEM,the ice flow dynamics is simulated under the drags of wind and current in a channel of various widths.The thicknesses,concentrations and velocities of ice particles are obtained,and then reasonable dynamic process is analyzed.The sea ice dynamic process is also simulated in a vortex wind field.Taking the influence of thermodynamics into account,this modified DEM will be improved in the future work.

Discrete element crowd model for pedestrian evacuation through an exit

A series of accidents caused by crowds within the last decades evoked a lot of scientific interest in modeling the movement of pedestrian crowds. Based on the discrete element method, a granular dynamic model, in which the human body is simplified as a self-driven sphere, is proposed to simulate the characteristics of crowd flow through an exit. In this model, the repulsive force among people is considered to have an anisotropic feature, and the physical contact force due to body deformation is quantified by the Hertz contact model. The movement of the human body is simulated by applying the second Newton＇s law. The crowd flow through an exit at different desired velocities is studied and simulation results indicated that crowd flow exhibits three distinct states, i.e., smooth state, transition state and phase separation state. In the simulation, the clogging phenomenon occurs more easily when the desired velocity is high and the exit may as a result be totally blocked at a desired velocity of 1.6 m/s or above, leading to faster-to-frozen effect.

Force Feedback Coupling with Dynamics for Physical Simulation of Product Assembly and Operation Performance

Most existing force feedback methods are still difficult to meet the requirements of real-time force calculation in virtual assembly and operation with complex objects. In addition, there is often an assumption that the controlled objects are completely flee and the target object is only completely fixed or flee, thus, the dynamics of the kinematic chain where the controlled objects are located are neglected during the physical simulation of the product manipulation with force feedback interaction. This paper proposes a physical simulation method of product assembly and operation manipulation based on statistically learned contact force prediction model and the coupling of force feedback and dynamics. In the proposed method, based on hidden Markov model （HMM） and local weighting learning （LWL）, contact force prediction model is constructed, which can estimate the contact force in real time during interaction. Based on computational load balance model, the computing resources are dynamically assigned and the dynamics integral step is optimized. In addition, smoothing process is performed to the force feedback on the synchronization points. Consequently, we can solve the coupling and synchronization problems of high-frequency feedback force servo. low-frequency dynamics solver servo and scene rendering servo, and realize highly stable and accurate force feedback in the physical simulation of product assembly and operation manipulation. This research proposes a physical simulation method of product assembly and operation manipulation.

Geometry deviation effects of railway catenaries on pantograph– catenary interaction: a case study in Norwegian Railway System

This paper presents a non-contact measurement of the realistic catenary geometry deviation in the Norwegian railway network through a laser rangefinder.The random geometry deviation is included in the catenary model to investigate its effect on the pantograph–catenary interaction.The dispersion of the longitudinal deviation is assumed to follow a Gaussian distribution.A power spectrum density represents the vertical deviation in the contact wire.Based on the Monte Carlo method,several geometry deviation samples are generated and included in the catenary model.A lumped mass pantograph with flexible collectors is employed to reproduce the high-frequency behaviours.The stochastic analysis results indicate that the catenary geometry deviation causes a significant dispersion of the pantograph–catenary interaction response.The contact force standard deviations measured by the inspection vehicle are within the scope of the simulation results.A critical cut-off frequency that covers 1/16 of the dropper interval is suggested to fully describe the effect of the catenary geometry deviation on the contact force.The statistical minimum contact force is recommended to be modified according to the tolerant contact loss rate at high frequency.An unpleasant interaction performance of the pantograph–catenary can be expected at the catenary top speed when the random catenary geometry deviation is included.

Numerical investigation on the caving mechanism with different standard deviations of top coal block size in LTCC

The size distribution of the broken top coal blocks is an important factor,affecting the recovery ratio and the efficiency of drawing top coal in longwall top coal caving(LTCC)mining panel.The standard deviation of top coal block size(dt)is one of the main parameters to reflect the size distribution of top coal.To find the effect of dt on the caving mechanism,this study simulates experiments with 9 different dt by using discrete element software PFC.The dt is divided into two stages:uniform distribution stage(UDS)whose dt is less than 0.1(Schemes 1–5),and nonuniform distribution stage(NDS)whose dt is more than 0.1(Schemes 6–9).This research mainly investigates the variation of recovery ratio,drawing body shape,boundary of top coal,and contact force between particles in the two stages,respectively.The results showed that with the increasing dt,the recovery ratio of the panel increases first and then decreases in UDS.It is the largest in Scheme 3,which mainly increases the drawing volume at the side of starting drawing end.However,the recovery ratio decreases first and then increases quickly in NDS,and it is the largest in Scheme 9,where the drawing volume at the side of finishing drawing end are relatively higher.In UDS,the major size of top coal is basically medium,while in NDS,the size varies from medium to small,and then to large,with a distinct difference in shape and volume of the drawing body.When the major size of top coal is medium and small,the cross-section width of the initial boundary of top coal at each height is relatively small.Conversely,when the top coal size is large,the initial boundary of top coal has a larger opening range,the rotating angle of lower boundary is relatively small in the normal drawing stage,which is conducive to the development of drawing body and reduces the residual top coal,and the maximum particle velocity and the particles movement angle are both larger.This study lays a foundation for the prediction of recovery ratio,and suggests that the uniform top coal is more manageable and has a larger recovery ratio.

Investigation of Micro-mechanical Response of Asphalt Mixtures by a Three-dimensional Discrete Element Model

The micro-mechanical response of asphalt mixtures was studied using the discrete element method. The discrete element sample of stone mastic asphalt was generated first and the vehicle load was applied to the sample. A user-written program was coded with the FISH language in PFC3 D to extract the contact forces within the sample and the displacements of the particles. Then, the contact forces within the whole sample, in asphalt mastic, in coarse aggregates and between asphalt mastic and coarse aggregates were investigated. Finally, the movement of the particles in the sample was analyzed. The sample was divided into 15 areas and a figure was drawn to show how the balls move in each area according to the displacements of the balls in each area. The displacements of asphalt mastic balls and coarse aggregates were also analyzed. The experimental results explain how the asphalt mixture bears vehicle load and the potential reasons why the rutting forms from a micro-mechanical view.

Influence of Pseudoelasticity on Mechanical Behavior of TiNi Alloy under Dynamic Impact Loading

The mechanical behavior of TiNi alloy and Cr12MoV alloy under dynamic impact loading was investigated with a self-made impact testing system. The real-time contact force was measured with a piezoelectric force sensor and digital signal processing system during impact. Equations for predicting instantaneous velocity anti displacement were presented. The results showed that the TiNi alloy exhibited a plateau of maximum contact force with increasing impact height. At the plateau stage, TiNi alloy in the parent phase can absorb impact energy and keep the maximum contact force nearly identical due to its pseudoelasticity.

Novel Flexible Foot System for Humanoid Robot Adaptable to Uneven Ground

Humanoid robots can walk stably on flat ground, regular slopes, and stairs. However, because of their rigid and flat soles, adapting to unknown rough terrains is limited, moreover, to maintain large scale four-point contact for foot structures to keep balance is usually a key technical problem. In order to solve these problems, the control strategy and foot structures should be improved. In this paper, a novel flexible foot system is proposed. This system occupies 8 degrees of freedom （DOF）, and can obtain larger support region to keep in four-point contact with uneven terrains; Novel cable transmission technology is put forward to reduce complexity of traditional mechanism and control strategy, and variation of each DOF is mapped to cable displacement. Furthermore, kinematics of this new system and a global dynamic model based on contact-force feedback are analyzed. According to stability criterion and feedback sensor information, a method calculating the optimal attitude matrix of contact points and joint variables is introduced. Virtual prototyping models of a 30-DOF humanoid robot and rough terrain are established to simulate humanoid robot walking on uneven ground, and feasibility of this system adapted to uneven terrain and validity of its control strategy are verified. The proposed research enhances the capability of humanoid robots to adapt to large scale uneven ground, expands the application field of humanoid robots, and thus lays a foundation for studies of humanoid robots performing tasks in complex environments in place of humans.