Modelling and control of a spatial dynamic cable

We study the problem of dynamically controlling the shape of a cable that is fixed at one end and attached to an actuated robot at another end. This problem is relevant to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) tethered to a base. While rotorcrafts, such as quadcopters, are agile and versatile in their applications and have been widely used in scientific, industrial and military applications, one of the biggest challenges with such UAVs is their limited battery life that make the flight time for a typical UAVs limited to twenty to thirty minutes for most practical purposes. A solution to this problem lies in the use of cables that tether the UAV to a power outlet for constant power supply. However, the cable needs to be controlled effectively in order to avoid obstacles or other UAVs. In this paper, we develop methods for controlling the shape of a cable using actuation at one end. We propose a discrete model for the spatial cable and derive the equations governing the cable dynamics for both force controlled system and position controlled system. We design a controller to control the shape of the cable to attain the desired shape and perform simulations under different conditions. Finally, we propose a quasi-static model for the spatial cable and discuss the stability of this system and the proposed controller.

RELIABILITY OF TEST LANDS TARGETING IN BED-OF-NAILS STYLE TEST FIXTURE

A systematic, accurate and robust evaluating method for fine pitch printed circuit board （PCB） positioning assessment in testing fixture is developed. Targeting reliability of bed-of-nails tester is successfully evaluated by the 2D pattern transform. Probe offset vector with its Weibull and Gaussian distribution estimates are obtained for further investigation about the causes of misalignment on the basis of a batch tests for same kind of PCBs.

Monte Carlo Si mulation of Damage Depth in Focused Ion Beam Milling Si_3N_4 Thin Film

The damage properties of Focused Ion Beam(FIB) milling Si3N4 thin film are investigated by the detailed analyzing images of nanoholes and simulation of Monte Carlo. The damage depth in the Si3N4 thin film for two different ion species(Gallium and Arsenic) under various parameters(ion energy, angle of incidence) are investigated by Monte Carlo method. The simulations show the damage depth increases with the increasing ion energy, the damage depth is dependent on the angle of incident ion, the curves of the damage depth for Ga ion and As ion at 30 keV nearly superpose, while the damage depth for Ga with 90 keV ion is more than that for As ion with the same energy.

Vibrations of tandem cold rolling mill: coupled excitation of rolling force and variable stiffness of fault-free back-up roll bearing

Vibration issues of a five-stand tandem cold rolling mill were found in the steel production practice,and the experimental observation and numerical analysis indicated that the vibrations were related to the back-up roll bearing.The results were validated by replacing the back-up roll bearing with the new bearing resulting in 30%decline in vibration amplitude.Models describing the four-row cylindrical roller bearing and the vertical system of the cold rolling mill including the bearing were established.Moreover,the mechanisms of periodic excitation and amplified vibrations of fault-free bearing were explained theoretically,along with the analysis of bifurcation behaviors of the motion states of the roller bearing and rolling mill system.It is found that the energy transmitted between vibrations with different frequencies if multiple excitation frequencies in the rolling mill system were close.

与非平衡问题相关的尺度效应:场与微粒

纳米技术的出现,使我们有必要更好地了解,在原子水平上材料微结构的变化是如何影响和控制着材料的宏观性能。这一挑战涉及到许多以前不曾考虑和不曾了解的现象.其中,位错理论的基础现在知道是有问题的.宏观尺度下采用的简化假设,也许不能用于微观和纳米尺度。尺度效应的含义,涉及到物理系统的非均质和非平衡特性。宏观尺度下的均匀与平衡特性,在材料的物理尺度减少到微米量级时就不再保持了。这些基本观点不能够为了方便而随意到处使用,因为这会改变预测的结果。更令人不满的是在建立物理模型时缺乏一致性。由此产生的问题是在确定制造过程中的有关参数时无能为力,导致由于成本过高而不切实际的终端产品。先进的复合材料和陶瓷材料就存在这样的问题,本文将要讨论的是在原子尺度与连续介质尺度下应用理论模型时存在的潜在问题,而不是去揭示自然的真相。主要讨论微粒,均匀连续介质或者两者的结合,尺度效应问题当前的发展趋势,趋向于在有或者没有时间效应的情况下寻找材料微结构的不同特征尺寸,从原子模拟模型中将了解到许多情况,原子模拟计算将揭示计算结果如何随着边界条件和尺度变化而不同。量子力学,连续介质力学和宇宙模型证明,没有普遍适用的方法,当前的主要兴趣也许是针对多尺度物理问题在技术上建?

Recent progress in CFD for naval architecture and ocean engineering

An overview is provided of CFDShip-Iowa modeling, numerical methods and high performance computing （HPC）, including both current V4.5 and V5.5 and next generation V6. Examples for naval architecture highlight capability and needs. High fidelity V6 simulations for ocean engineering and fundamental physics describe increased resolution for analysis of physics of fluids. Uncertainty quantification research is overviewed as the first step towards development stochastic optimization.

In vivo biocompatibility and degradability of a Zn-Mg-Fe alloy osteosynthesis system

Zinc is generally considered to be one of the most promising materials to be used in biodegradable implants,and many zinc alloys have been optimized to improve implant biocompatibility,degradation,and mechanical properties.However,long-term degradation leads to the prolonged presence of degradation products,which risks foreign body reactions.Herein,we investigated the in vivo biocompatibility and degradation of a biodegradable Zn-Mg-Fe alloy osteosynthesis system in the frontal bone,mandible,and femur in beagles for 1 year.Results of the routine blood,biochemical,trace element,and histological analyses of multiple organs,peripheral blood CD4/CD8a levels,and serum interleukin 2 and 4 levels showed good biocompatibility of the Zn-Mg-Fe alloy.Zinc content analysis revealed zinc accumulation in adjacent bone tissue,but not in the liver,kidney,and spleen,which was related to the degradation of the Zn-Mg-Fe alloy.The alloy demonstrated a uniform slowing degradation rate in vivo.No degradation differences in the frontal bone,mandible,and femur were observed.The degradation products included zinc oxide[ZnO],zinc hydroxide[Zn(OH)_(2)],hydrozincite[Zn_(5)(OH)_(6)(CO_(3))_(2)],and hopeite[Zn_(3)(PO_(4))_(2)⋅4H_(2)O].The good biocompatibility and degradation properties of the Zn-Mg-Fe alloy render it a very attractive osteosynthesis system for clinical applications.

Peripheral nerve regeneration monitoring using multilayer microchannel scaffolds

Over 200,000 Americans have peripheral nerve injuries annually that result in a loss of function and a compromised quality of life.Of these,a significant percent involves unsuccessful repair of peripheral nerve gaps that occur due to traumatic limb injury or collateral damage to peripheral nerves during tumor resection.

Stable Vertical Takeoff of an Insect-Mimicking Flapping-Wing System Without Guide Implementing Inherent Pitching Stability

We briefly summarized how to design and fabricate an insect-mimicking flapping-wing system and demonstrate how to implement inherent pitching stability for stable vertical takeoff. The effect of relative locations of the Center of Gravity （CG） and the mean Aerodynamic Center （AC） on vertical flight was theoretically examined through static force balance considera- tion. We conducted a series of vertical takeoff tests in which the location of the mean AC was determined using an unsteady Blade Element Theory （BET） previously developed by the authors. Sequential images were captured during the takeoff tests using a high-speed camera. The results demonstrated that inherent pitching stability for vertical takeoff can be achieved by controlling the relative position between the CG and the mean AC of the flapping system.

Non-Jumping Take off Performance in Beetle Flight （Rhinoceros Beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus）

In recent decades, the take-off mechanisms of flying animals have received much attention in insect flight initiation. Most of previous works have focused on the jumping mechanism, which is the most common take-off mechanism found in flying animals. Here, we presented that the rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus, takes offwithout jumping. In this study, we used 3-Dimensional （3D） high-speed video techniques to quantitatively analyze the wings and body kinematics during the initiation periods of flight. The details of the flapping angle, angle of attack of the wings and the roll, pitch and yaw angles of the body were investigated to understand the mechanism of take-off in T. dichotomus. The beetle took off gradually with a small velocity and small acceleration. The body kinematic analyses showed that the beetle exhibited stable take-off. To generate high lift force, the beetle modulated its hind wing to control the angle of attack; the angle of attack was large during the upstroke and small during the downstroke. The legs of beetle did not contract and strongly release like other insects. The hind wing could be con- sidered as a main source of lift for heavy beetle.

Ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of chalcogenide perovskite CaZrSe_(3) contributes to high thermoelectric figure of merit

An emerging chalcogenide perovskite,CaZrSe_(3),holds promise for energy conversion applications given its notable optical and electrical properties.However,knowledge of its thermal properties is extremely important,e.g.for potential thermoelectric applications,and has not been previously reported in detail.In this work,we examine and explain the lattice thermal transport mechanisms in CaZrSe_(3) using density functional theory and Boltzmann transport calculations.We find the mean relaxation time to be extremely short corroborating an enhanced phonon-phonon scattering that annihilates phonon modes,and lowers thermal conductivity.In addition,strong anharmonicity in the perovskite crystal represented by the Grüneisen parameter predictions.

Feedback Control of an Achiral Robotic Microswimmer

Magnetic microswimmers are useful for navigating and performing tasks at small scales. To demonstrate effective control over such microswimmers, we implemented feedback control of the three-bead achiral microswimmers in both simulation and experiment. The achiral microswimmers with the ability to swim in bulk fluid are controlled wirelessly using magnetic fields generated from electromagnetic coils. The achirality of the microswimmers introduces unknown handedness resulting in uncertainty in swimming direction. We use a combination of rotating and static magnetic fields generated from an approximate Helmholtz coil system to overcome such uncertainty. There are also movement uncertainties due to environmental factors such as unsteady flow conditions. A kinematic model based feedback controller was created based on data fitting of experimental data. However, the controller was unable to yield satisfactory performance due to uncertainties from environmental factors; i.e., the time to reach target pose under adverse flow condition is too long. Following the implementation of an integral controller to control the microswimmers＇ swimming velocity, the mieroswimmers were able to reach the target in roughly half the time. Through simulation and experiments, we show that the feedback control law can move an achiral microswimmer from any initial conditions to a target pose.

Thermo-economic analysis of a direct supercritical CO_(2) electric power generation system using geothermal heat

A comprehensive thermo-economic model combining a geothermal heat mining system and a direct supercritical CO_(2) turbine expansion electric power generation system was proposed in this paper.Assisted by this integrated model,thermo-economic and optimization analyses for the key design parameters of the whole system including the geothermal well pattern and operational conditions were performed to obtain a minimal levelized cost of electricity(LCOE).Specifically,in geothermal heat extraction simulation,an integrated wellbore-reservoir system model(T2Well/ECO_(2)N)was used to generate a database for creating a fast,predictive,and compatible geothermal heat mining model by employing a response surface methodology.A parametric study was conducted to demonstrate the impact of turbine discharge pressure,injection and production well distance,CO_(2) injection flowrate,CO_(2) injection temperature,and monitored production well bottom pressure on LCOE,system thermal efficiency,and capital cost.It was found that for a 100 MWe power plant,a minimal LCOE of$0.177/kWh was achieved for a 20-year steady operation without considering CO_(2) sequestration credit.In addition,when CO_(2) sequestration credit is$1.00/t,an LCOE breakeven point compared to a conventional geothermal power plant is achieved and a breakpoint for generating electric power generation at no cost was achieved for a sequestration credit of $2.05/t.

Advances in 3D Bioprinting

Three-dimensional(3D)bioprinting has emerged as a promising approach for engineering functional tissues and organs by layer-by-layer precise positioning of biological materials,living cells,and biochemical components.Compared with nonbiological printing,3D bioprinting involves additional complexities and technical challenges owing to the processing of living cells,such as the appropriate biomaterials that fulfill the requirements for both printability and functionality.In this review,we first introduce the development course of 3D bioprinting,highlighting innovative forms of living building blocks and advances in enabling techniques of 3D bioprinting.We then summarize the state-of-the-art advancements in 3D bioprinting for biomedical applications,including macroscale tissue or organ bioprinting,disease modeling,microphysiological systems,biobots,and bioprinting in space.Despite the rapid development of 3D bioprinting over the past decades,most 3D bioprinted tissue or organ constructs are still far from being suitable for clinical translation,and it is necessary for the field of bioprinting to shift its focus from shape mimicking towards functionality development.Therefore,we provide our perspectives on this burgeoning field with an emphasis on functional maturation post printing and translational applications at the bedside.