Effect of shear-induced contact area and aperture variations on nonlinear flow behaviors in fractal rock fractures

This study experimentally analyzes the nonlinear flow characteristics and channelization of fluid through rough-walled fractures during the shear process using a shear-flow-visualization apparatus.A series of fluid flow and visualization tests is performed on four transparent fracture specimens with various shear displacements of 1 mm,3 mm,5 mm,7 mm and 10 mm under a normal stress of 0.5 MPa.Four granite fractures with different roughnesses are selected and quantified using variogram fractal dimensions.The obtained results show that the critical Reynolds number tends to increase with increasing shear displacement but decrease with increasing roughness of fracture surface.The flow paths are more tortuous at the beginning of shear because of the wide distribution of small contact spots.As the shear displacement continues to increase,preferential flow paths are more distinctly observed due to the decrease in the number of contact spots caused by shear dilation;yet the area of single contacts in-creases.Based on the experimental results,an empirical mathematical equation is proposed to quantify the critical Reynolds number using the contact area ratio and fractal dimension.

Gaps,challenges and possible solution for prediction of wheel-rail rolling contact fatigue crack initiation

The prediction of wheel/rail rolling contact fatigue(RCF)crack initiation during railway operations is an important task.Since RCF crack evolution is influenced by many factors,its prediction process is complex.This paper reviews the existing approaches to predict RCF crack initiation.The crack initiation region is predicted by the shakedown map.By combining the shakedown map with various initiation criteria and the critical plane method,the crack initiation life is calculated.The classification,methodologies,theories and applications of these approaches are included in this paper.The advantages and limitations of these methods are analyzed to provide recommendation for RCF crack initiation prediction.This review highlights that wheel/rail dynamic characteristic,complex working conditions,surface defects and wear all affect the RCF crack initiation.The optimal selection of criteria is essential in the crack initiation prediction.Based on the research gap regarding the challenging process of crack initiation prediction detailed in this review,a proposed prediction process of RCF crack initiation is proposed to achieve a more accurate result.

Wheel-rail contact model for railway vehicle-structure interaction applications:development and validation

An enhancement in the wheel-rail contact model used in a nonlinear vehicle-structure interaction(VSI)methodology for railway applications is presented,in which the detection of the contact points between wheel and rail in the concave region of the thread-flange transition is implemented in a simplified way.After presenting the enhanced formulation,the model is validated with two numerical applications(namely,the Manchester Benchmarks and a hunting stability problem of a sus-pended wheelset),and one experimental test performed in a test rig from the Railway Technical Research Institute(RTRI)in Japan.Given its finite element(FE)nature,and contrary to most of the vehicle multibody dynamic commercial software that cannot account for the infrastructure flexibility,the proposed VSI model can be easily used in the study of train-bridge systems with any degree of complexity.The validation presented in this work proves the accuracy of the proposed model,making it a suitable tool for dealing with different railway dynamic applications,such as the study of bridge dynamics,train running safety under different scenarios(namely,earthquakes and crosswinds,among others),and passenger riding comfort.

Influence of railway wheel tread damage on wheel-rail impact loads and the durability of wheelsets

Dynamic wheel-rail contact forces induced by a severe form of wheel tread damage have been measured by a wheel impact load detector during full-scale field tests at different vehicle speeds.Based on laser scanning,the measured three-dimensional damage geometry is employed in simulations of dynamic vehicle-track interaction to calibrate and verify a simulation model.The relation between the magnitude of the impact load and various operational parameters,such as vehicle speed,lateral position of wheel-rail contact,track stiffness and position of impact within a sleeper bay,is investigated.The calibrated model is later employed in simulations featuring other forms of tread damage;their effects on impact load and subsequent fatigue impact on bearings,wheel webs and subsurface initiated rolling contact fatigue of the wheel tread are assessed.The results quantify the effects of wheel tread defects and are valuable in a shift towards condition-based maintenance of running gear,and for general assessment of the severity of different types of railway wheel tread damage.

Research on the influence of flexible wheelset rotation effect on wheel rail contact force

Purpose-Under the high-speed operating conditions,the effects of wheelset elastic deformation on the wheel rail dynamic forces will become more notable compared to the low-speed condition.In order to meet different analysis requirements and selecting appropriate models to analyzing the wheel rail interaction,it is crucial to understand the influence of wheelset flexibility on the wheel-rail dynamics under different speeds and track excitations condition.Design/methodology/approach-The wheel rail contact points solving method and vehicle dynamics equations considering wheelset flexibility in the trajectory body coordinate system were investigated in this paper.As for the wheel-rail contact forces,which is a particular force element in vehicle multibody system,a method for calculating the Jacobian matrix of the wheel-rail contact force is proposed to better couple the wheel-rail contact force calculation with the vehicle dynamics response calculation.Based on the flexible wheelset modeling approach in this paper,two vehicle dynamic models considering the wheelset as both elastic and rigid bodies are established,two kinds of track excitations,namely normal measured track irregularities and short-wave irregularities are used,wheel-rail geometric contact characteristic and wheel-rail contact forces in both time and frequency domains are compared with the two models in order to study the influence of flexible wheelset rotation effect on wheel rail contact force.Findings-Under normal track irregularity excitations,the amplitudes of vertical,longitudinal and lateral forces computed by the flexible wheelset model are smaller than those of the rigid wheelset model,and the virtual penetration and equivalent contact patch are also slightly smaller.For the flexible wheelset model,the wheel rail longitudinal and lateral creepages will also decrease.The higher the vehicle speed,the larger the differences in wheel-rail forces computed by the flexible and rigid wheelset model.Under track short-wave irregularity excitations,the vertical force amplitude computed by the flexible wheelset is also smaller than that of the rigid wheelset.However,unlike the excitation case of measured track irregularity,under short-wave excitations,for the speed within the range of 200 to 350 km/h,the difference in the amplitude of the vertical force between the flexible and rigid wheelset models gradually decreases as the speed increase.This is partly due to the contribution of wheelset's elastic vibration under short-wave excitations.For low-frequency wheel-rail force analysis problems at speeds of 350 km/h and above,as well as high-frequency wheel-rail interaction analysis problems under various speed conditions,the flexible wheelset model will give results agrees better with the reality.Originality/value-This study provides reference for the modeling method of the flexible wheelset and the coupling method of wheel-rail contact force to the vehicle multibody dynamics system.Furthermore,by comparative research,the influence of wheelset flexibility and rotation on wheel-rail dynamic behavior are obtained,which is useful to the application scope of rigid and flexible wheelset models.

TOOTH CURVES AND ENTIRE CONTACT AREA IN PROCESS OF SPLINE COLD ROLLING

In spline rolling process, the contact area between roller and workpiece plays an important role in calculating rolling-force and rolling-moment. For the purpose of studying the contact area, contact state between roller and workpiece in process of spline cold rolling based upon cross rolling is analyzed. According to the suitable hypothesis, the mathematic model of roller-tooth-curve in optional position of rolling process is established. Combing the theory of conjugate curves with the theory of envelope curve, the corresponding mathematic model of workpiece-tooth-curve is established. By utilizing establishing mathematic models, the algorithm of entire contact area in rolling process is created. On the basis of the algorithm, calculation-program is compiled under MATLAB program language environment. The calculation-program actualizes quantitative analysis and quantitative calculation of contact areas. Utilizing the calculation-program, the influence of parameters on contact area is analyzed, and the tendency is consistent with the manufacturing experience. In consideration of rolling-force optimization, the primary process parameters may be selected according to results of calculation. The result of the present study may provide basis for research on rolling-force and rolling-moment.

Double-row repair of rotator cuff tears: Comparing tendon contact area between techniques

BACKGROUND In rotator cuff repair surgery,the double-row technique is widely performed.Studies have shown that with increased contact area and pressure between tendon and bone interface,better healing is promoted.AIM To assess the different suture configurations with the double-row technique and how this influences the contact area of the rotator cuff tendon to bone.METHODS This was a controlled laboratory study where identical tears were created in 24 fresh porcine shoulders over a 1.5 cm×2.5 cm infraspinatus insertion footprint.Double-row repair techniques,with 3 to 4-suture anchors in different configurations(2 medial,2 lateral vs 2 medial,1 lateral vs 1 medial,2 lateral),were employed for three control groups.Each group consisted of eight shoulders with identical repair configurations.Footprint contact areas of the repaired tendon against the tuberosity were determined using pressure sensitive Fujifilm placed between the tendon and tuberosity.RESULTS The mean contact area between tendon and insertion footprint from the imprinted Fujifilm was obtained using computer software.The contact area measured from a standard 4-suture anchor double row repair was 75.1±9.3 mm2,whereas areas obtained for the 2 lateral-1 medial and 2 medial-1 lateral anchor configurations were 72.9±5.2 mm2 and 75.0±4.9 mm2 respectively.No statistical significance was noted between the three groups.CONCLUSION In the technique of double-row repair,using a 3-suture anchor configuration may offer a non-inferior alternative to the standard 4-anchor construct in terms of efficacy.This may also result in overall cost reduction and shorter surgical time.

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.

A measurement method for distinguishing the real contact area of rough surfaces of transparent solids using improved Otsu technique

An experimental method of measuring the real contact area of transparent blocks based on the principle of total internal reflection is presented, intending to support the investigation of friction characteristics, heat conduction, and energy dissipation at the contact interface. A laser sheet illuminates the contact interface, and the transmitted laser sheet is projected onto a screen. Then the contact information is acquired from the screen by a camera. An improved Otsu method is proposed to process the data of experimental images. It can compute the threshold of the overall image and filter out all the pixels one by one. Through analyzing the experimental results, we describe the relationship between the real contact area and the positive pressure during a continuous loading process, at different loading rates, with the polymethyl methacrylate（PMMA）material. A hysteresis phenomenon in the relationship between the real contact area and the positive pressure is found and explained.

An experimental method for quantitative analysis of real contact area based on the total reflection optical principle

The simulation of real contact area between materials is foundationally important for the contact mechanics of mechanical structures. The Greenwood and Williamson(GW) model and the Majumdar(MB) model are the basic models in this field, which are widely accepted and proven to be valid in many experiments and engineering. Although the contact models have evolved considerably in recent years, the verifications of the models are most based on the indirect methods such as electrical conductivity and contact stiffness, because of the lack of effective methods to directly measure the variation of contact surface. In this paper, the total reflection(TR) method is introduced into the verification of contact models.An experiment system based on TR method is constructed to measure the real contact area of two PMMA specimens. The comparison analysis between the results of experiment and models suggests that the experiment result has the same trend with simulation, the MB model has better agreement with the experimental result because this method can take into account the variation of radius and the merging of asperities, while the GW model has a huge deviation because of the dependence on resolution and the lack of considering the variation of radius and asperity's merging process. Taking the interaction of asperities into account could give a better result that is closer to the experiment. Our results and analysis prove that the experimental methods in this paper could be used as a more direct and valid method to quantitatively measure the real contact area and to verify the contact models.

Evolution of real contact area during stick-slip movement observed by total reflection method

We build an experiment system based on total reflection(TR) method to observe the evolution of real contact area of polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA) in the continual stick-slip movement. The bilateral friction is adopted to overcome the bending moment in the lateral friction movement. Besides some classical phenomena of stick-slip movement such as periodical slow increase of frictional force in sticking phase and a sudden drop when slipping, a special phenomenon that the contact area increases with the tangential force is observed, which was called junction growth by Tabor in 1959.Image processing methods are developed to observe the variation of the junction area. The results show that the center of the strongest contact region will keep sticking under the tangential force until the whole slipping, the strongest point undergoes three stages in one cycle, which are named as sticking stage, fretting stage, and cracking stage, respectively. The combined analysis reveals a physical process of stick-slip movement: the tangential force causes the increase of the real contact area, which reduces the pressure between the contact spots and finally leads to the slipping. Once slipping occurs,the real contact area drops to the original level resulting in the pressure increase to the original level, which makes the sticking happen again.

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.

A Study on Law of Change of Real Contact Area of Friction during Transition Process

Mechanism of frictional vibration and the difference of kinctic-static friction is an open question. Research shows that the change of real area of contact during transition process of friction results in the phenomena mentioned above. In substance, the F-Vr, descent and F-T ascent characters are caused by A-Vr, and A-T characters respectively. Based on ultrasonic experiment the mechanism of the phenomena is explained and the frictional formulas using the parameter-real area of contact are given in this article.

Simulation on derailment base on a new wheel-rail contact method

The simulation package for special research on derailment of high speed vehicle is established.The process of derailment is different from other behaviors of vehicle dynamics because of large lateral displacement of wheelsets.To get correct results,a new fast algorithm to computing contact force is adopted and the exact geometry analysis is necessary to judge derailment happened.Variation of contact condition and coefficient of friction with speeds are also considered into vehicle-track coupled model.The structure of the package is presented in detail.The results are particular emphasis on investigation influence of maximum track defect,critical vehicle speed and various contact condition on derailment.The simulation can also be used to define the most risk factor leading to derailment.

New Equations for Describing Contact Area between Tire and Ground

New equations are proposed to describe the shapes and sizes of the contact areas between tire and ground(the contact areas)under the conditions of static load,slip,camber,and rolling.The equations are super ellipse and trigonometric function with four parameters.Results indicate that the contact areas under the conditions of static load,slip,camber can be well described by super ellipse,in the most complicated case,fourteen parameters are used.The rolling contact area can be reconstructed by the trigonometric function completely.Symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes can both be described perfectly.The suggested curves will make calculate size of the areas easily.The described shapes and sizes are in good agreement with the measured,the maximum deviation is only 2.88%.This work will provide an instrument for understanding the contact area and be helpful for analyzing tire and road.

Modeling of Energy Processes in Wheel-Rail Contacts Operating under Influence of Periodic Discontinuous Forces

In this paper we present new numerical simulation approaches for determining the energy processes under periodic conditions caused by time-discontinuous forces in the wheel-rail contacts. The main advantage of the presented method is the total elimination of frequency analysis, which in effect introduces important simplifications in the identification of the effects in the contact. The second important feature is the fact that the method is based on the analysis of appropriate loops on the energy phase plane leading to an easy estimation of the rail strength through the evaluation of the loop’s area. That model based simulation in the applied dynamics relies on advanced methods for model setup, robust and efficient numerical solution techniques and powerful simulation tools for practical applications. Fundamental properties of contact displacements of the rail surface have been considered on the basis of the newly established method. The contact zone between railway wheels and the rail surfaces made of bulk materials is perceived as strong enough to resist the normal (vertical) forces introduced by heavy loads and the dynamic response induced by track and wheel irregularities. The analysis is carried out for a wheel running on an elastic rail rested on sleepers arranged on completely rigid foundation. The equations of displacement motion are established through the application of the Lagrange equations approach. The established model of the wheel-rail contact dynamics has been applied to that same roll plane but with taking into account a nonlinear characteristic of the sleeper with respect to the ground. Attention then is focused completely on the modeling of the energy absorbed by the rail. The applied method employs the energy state variables as time functions leading to determine the susceptibility of a given contact on the strength induced by the rail roll.

Concussion in contact sport:A challenging area to tackle

1.The problem The term'concussion'refers to a common form of traumatic brain injury,which typically occurs after a blow or injury to the head.It has been described as a'complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain,induced by biomechanical factors',and shear forces induced by rotational acceleration are believed to be the primary mechanism of injury in concussion.~1The incidence of concussion in the UK has been shown to be

A consecutive joint shear strength model considering the 3D roughness of real contact joint surface

A consecutive joint shear strength model for soft rock joints is proposed in this paper,which takes into account the degradation law of the actual contact three-dimensional(3D)roughness.The essence of the degradation of the maximum possible dilation angle is the degradation of the 3D average equivalent dip angle of the actual contact joint asperities.Firstly,models for calculating the maximum possible dilation angle at the initial and residual shear stress stages are proposed by analyzing the 3D joint morphology characteristics of the corresponding shear stages.Secondly,the variation law of the maximum possible dilation angle is quantified by studying the degradation law of the joint micro convex body.Based on the variation law of the maximum possible dilation angle,the maximum possible shear strength model is proposed.Furthermore,a method to calculate the shear stiffness degradation in the plastic stage is proposed.According to the maximum possible shear strength of rock joints,the shear stress-shear displacement prediction model of rock joints is obtained.The new model reveals that there is a close relationship between joint shear strength and actual contact joint roughness,and the degradation of shear strength after the peak is due to the degradation of actual contact joint roughness.

半无限区域雪壤与车轮交互作用接触动力学特性分析

车轮与雪壤交互作用是车辆在高原、极地等环境下安全行驶的基础。为构建准确表征车轮与雪壤接触过程的车轮-雪壤交互动态模型,建立圆盘加载仿真模型,获取典型雪壤的压力-沉陷关系;基于硬质雪壤建立车轮-雪壤交互数值仿真模型,对车轮-雪壤交互接触作用力进行数值仿真。利用圆盘加载试验结果和实车试验结果,对建立的数值模型进行有效性验证。基于车轮-雪壤交互平均接触应力关系建立车轮-雪壤交互接触作用力解析模型,利用仿真结果对解析模型进行验证。研究结果表明:半无限区域下的圆盘加载数值仿真模型能够有效反映雪壤的压力-沉陷特性,车轮-雪壤交互数值仿真结果与实际车轮行驶的下陷量、运动阻力系数有较好的一致性;车轮行驶滑移率为正时,车轮载荷-沉陷关系和车轮-雪壤交互接触作用力趋于稳定,车轮行驶滑移率为负时,车轮下陷量变大,由此导致垂向支持力正应力部分和运动阻力增加;车轮行驶滑移率为正时,车轮-雪壤交互解析模型可以准确预测车轮-雪壤交互接触作用力的变化趋势。

装配式刻槽道面宏观构造特征参数研究

本文以A320主起落架轮胎与装配式道面板为研究对象,首先,基于能量损耗理论及摩擦学基本原理,建立轮胎与道面之间的能量耗散方程,从而得出道面宏观构造特征参数与摩擦耗散之间的量化关系。其次,利用ABAQUS建立飞机轮胎-道面板相互作用动力仿真模型。最后,通过仿真实验得到最优的装配式刻槽道面的构造特征参数(刻槽深度、刻槽宽度、刻槽倒角),结果表明:当刻槽宽度为30 mm、刻槽深度为2 mm、刻槽倒角为45°时,装配式道面板可以显著增强道面抗滑性能,具有良好的摩擦耗散性能,与轮胎接触面更大,抓地性能更好,可以提高装配式道面板的耐久性。