A method for support stiffness failure identification in a steel spring floating slab track of urban railway: a case study in China

The extensive use of steel spring floating slab tracks has effectively addressed the challenge of alleviating the environmental vibrations induced by urban rail transit systems.However,under the combined action of train dynamic loads and complex environmental factors,problems,such as the fracture of steel spring vibration isolators and suspension vibrations induced by the uneven settlement of the base,often occur.The failure of isolator support stiffness is often hidden in its early stages and is challenging to identify by conventional detection methods.At the same time,it will aggravate the wheel-rail interaction,accelerate the deterioration of track structure,and even affect the driving safety.This study first establishes a detailed coupled train-floating slab track-foundation analytical model.Then the influence of the vibration isolator support stiffness failure on the dynamic indices of the floating slab track system response is analyzed.A set of defect identification methods that can detect the number of failed steel springs,severity of damage,and their location is proposed.Finally,an intelligent monitoring system for support stiffness of floating slab track is built by combining the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise algorithm and statistical data analysis and is applied to a rail line in southern China.During a three-year monitoring campaign,a suspension failure and a fracture of a steel spring were each successfully detected and detailed failure information was obtained.Field investigation results were consistent with the damage identification results.After repair,the track structure dynamic response returned to the average pre-damage level and further deterioration had been arrested.The proposed damage identification methods and monitoring system provide an approach for intelligent identification of track structure support stiffness failures.

Simplified design method and seismic performance of space trusses with consideration of the influence of the stiffness of their lower supporting columns

Static and dynamic force performance of two types of space truss structures i.e. square pyramid space truss（SPST） and diagonal on square pyramid space truss（DSPST）, are studied to determine the effect of stiffness of their lower supporting members. A simplified model for the supporting columns and the equivalent spring mass system are presented. Furthermore, the feasibility of the simplified model is demonstrated through theoretical analysis and examples of comparative analysis of the simplified model with the entire model. Meanwhile, from the elastic analysis under frequently occurring earthquakes and elasto-plastic analysis under seldom occurring earthquakes subjected to TAFT and EL-Centro seismic oscillation it is shown that the simplified method can be encompassed in the results from the normal model. It also showed good agreement between the two methods, as well as greatly improved the computational efficiency. This study verified that the dynamic effect of the supporting structures was under considered in space truss design in the past. The method proposed in the paper has important significance for other space truss structures.

Conventional triaxial compression on hollow cylinders of sandstone with various fillings: Relationship of surrounding rock with support

The interaction of surrounding rock with a support system in deep underground tunnels has attracted extensive interest from researchers.However,the effect of high axial stress on tunnel stability has not been fully considered.In this study,compression tests with and without confining pressure were conducted on solid specimens and hollow cylinder specimens filled with aluminium,lead,and polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)to investigate the strength,deformation and failure characteristics of circular roadways subjected to high axial stress.The influence of the three-dimensional stress on the surrounding rock supported with different stiffness was studied.The results indicate that the strength and peak strain of hollow cylinders filled with PMMA are higher than those of hollow cylinders filled with aluminium or lead,indicating that flexible retaining is beneficial for roadway stability.The results obtained in this paper can contribute to better understanding the support failure of a buried roadway subjected to high axial stress and thus to analyzing and evaluating roadway stability.

CALCULATION OF ELASTIC DAMPING CHARACTERISTICS OF ROTOR SUPPORT MADE OF METAL RUBBER MATERIAL UNDER VARIABLE LOADS

A metal rubber（MR） dry friction damper was designed based on the load supported by the rotor. An experimental apparatus for obtaining hysteresis loops of support under the precession load was designed. The elastic-damping characteristics of the ring-shaped MR damper used as a rotor support under variable loads were presented by studying the hysteresis loops of the damper. The vibration rigidity and the energy dissipation coefficient were calculated from the hysteresis loops, based on the description of the deformation process of the MR element with simple structure in a dimensionless coordinating system. The calculation results showed that the energy dissipation coefficient in the inner of MR element and on the boundary between the damper and the frame of the rotor support were approximately equal. The comparison of the hysteresis loops for a precession load and a one-axial load indicated a large difference when the coefficient of the energy dissipation and the stiffness of the MR damper were concerned.

Optimal Load Balancing Leveling Method for Multi-leg Flexible Platforms

The working platforms supported with multiple extensible legs must be leveled before they come into operation.Although the supporting stiffness and reliability of the platform are improved with the increasing number of the supporting legs,the increased overdetermination of the multi-leg platform systems leads to leveling coupling problem among legs and virtual leg problem in which some of the supporting legs bear zero or quasi zero loads.These problems make it quite complex and time consuming to level such a multi-leg platform.Based on rigid body kinematics,an approximate equation is formulated to rapidly calculate the leg extension for leveling a rigid platform,then a proportional speed control strategy is proposed to reduce the unexpected platform distortion and leveling coupling between supporting legs.Taking both the load coupling between supporting legs and the elastic flexibility of the working platform into consideration,an optimal balancing legs’ loads(OBLL) model is firstly put forward to deal with the traditional virtual leg problem.By taking advantage of the concept of supporting stiffness matrix,a coupling extension method(CEM) is developed to solve this OBLL problem for multi-leg flexible platform.At the end,with the concept of supporting stiffness matrix and static transmissibility matrix,an optimal load balancing leveling method is proposed to achieve geometric leveling and legs’ loads balancing simultaneously.Three numerical examples are given out to illustrate the performance of proposed methods.This paper proposes a method which can effectively quantify all of the legs’ extension at the same time,achieve geometric leveling and legs’ loads balancing simultaneously.By using the proposed methods,the stability,precision and efficiency of auto-leveling control process can be improved.

Elastically restrained Bernoulli-Euler beams applied to rotary machinery modelling

Facing the lateral vibration problem of a machine rotor as a beam on elastic supports in bending,the authors deal with the free vibration of elastically restrained Bernoulli-Euler beams carrying a finite number of concentrated elements along their length.Based on Rayleigh’s quotient,an iterative strategy is developed to find the approximated torsional stiffness coefficients,which allows the reconciliation between the theoretical model results and the experimental ones,obtained through impact tests.The mentioned algorithm treats the vibration of continuous beams under a determined set of boundary and continuity conditions, including different torsional stiffness coefficients and the effect of attached concentrated masses and rotational inertias, not only in the energetic terms of the Rayleigh’s quotient but also on the mode shapes,considering the shape functions defined in branches.Several loading cases are examined and examples are given to illustrate the validity of the model and accuracy of the obtained natural frequencies.

Fluid-structure interaction in Z-shaped pipe with different supports

Fluid-structure interaction(FSI)has a strong relation with layout of fluid delivery system.FSI is liable to cause local damage.Thus,FSI analysis is necessary in many cases,especially for flexible pipe systems.FSI modeling consists of eight governing equations and then completely solved via the finite volume method(FVM).Friction,Poisson and joint couplings were discussed in detail to reveal the influence of a Z-shaped pipe with different supports and elbows on FSI.After the feasibility of solving FSI by FVM was verified,the different effects of free,fixed and elastic supports on FSI in the commonly used and simplified Z-shaped pipe were further analyzed.Results indicated that different support stiffness lead to various FSI responses.If coupling occurs at the elbow and less support is considered,then the pipe has a relatively large amplitude and complex pressure fluctuation.

Design and development of a five-axis machine tool with high accuracy,stiffness and efficiency for aero-engine casing manufacturing

In order to satisfy the machining requirements of aero-engine casing in modern aviation industry, this paper investigates three main issues during the design and development process of a five-axis machine tool with high accuracy, stiffness and efficiency, including whole structure design,key components design, and supporting stiffness design. First, an appropriate structure of five-axis machine tool is determined considering the processing characteristics of aero-engine casing. Then, a dual drive swing head and a compact motorized spindle are designed with enough drive capability and stiffness, and related structure, assembly method, cooling technology, and performance simulation are given in detail. Next, a design method of supporting stiffness of guide is proposed through the deformation prediction of the spindle end. Based on above work, a prototype of machine tool is developed, and some experiments are carried out, including performance tests of swing head and motorized spindle, and machining of a simulated workpiece of aero-engine casing. All experimental results show that the machine tool has satisfactory accuracy, stiffness and efficiency, which meets the machining requirements of aero-engine casing. The main work can be used as references for engineers and technicians, which are meaningful in practice.