Mechanical Sciences

The rail wheel, which is acted upon by mechanical forces also experiences thermal stresses due to braking, during service. The coupled nature of these forces is analysed using a three-dimensional elasto-plastic finite element model. Contact stresses at the rail–wheel ...

Predictions of the gas temperature and pressure profiles are vital to the design and operation of gas transmission lines. Available analytical methods for the calculation of these profiles are evaluated and a numerical framework for the rigorous calculation has been developed. The predictions from both the analytical and numerical procedure have been compared to field data from the Iranian Gas Trunk-lines (IGAT). These comparisons showed that all the available methods were tuned using data obtained from small to medium diameter pipes extrapolated poorly to large diameter pipelines. In order to improve the predictions for large diameter pipelines, the effect of model parameters such as soil thermal conductivity, pipe relative roughness and velocity profile correction factor has been evaluated. The results show that temperature and pressure profiles at high Reynolds number are sensitive to the Fanning friction factor; however, thermal conductivity and velocity distribution correction ...

The energy efficiency of transport systems consisting of several belt conveyors is significantly affected by re-direction. The proper sizing of several conveyor belts using deflector plates can significantly affect their efficiency. At present, there are no uniform rules (models) which specify the methodology and procedures for their design. This paper brings proposals of design of optimal parameters for energy-efficient operation of the transport system consisting of belt conveyors based on the new analytical simulation models. Recommendations for the practical application of transport systems at the transfer point have been designed according to optimization. The results are analysed in detail in three phases of shifting by means of a physical approach with the support of computing methods and simulation experiments with the transfer model. We can state that the direction and orientation of material impact have a direct influence on the conveyor's energy intensity. Thus, the i...

In this paper, the effects of bearing and housing elasticity on the stress fields, which could result in surface fatigue in journal bearings, have been investigated. The parameters such as pressure gradient, flexibilities of backing and housing materials, presence of oil grooves, faulty or non-uniform housing supports and non-uniform temperature distributions have been individually considered as the sources of stresses

The kinematic hardening theory of plasticity based on the Prager and Frederick–Armstrong models are used to evaluate the cyclic loading behavior of a beam under the axial, bending, and thermal loads. The beam material is assumed to follow non-linear strain hardening ...

In the present work, a new Inverse Trigonometric Zigzag Theory is proposed and implemented for the static analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates. The theory assumes the higher order displacement field across the plate thickness satisfying the continuity conditions at the layer interfaces. Zero transverse shear stress boundary conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate are also satisfied. An efficient C0 finite element model is developed and employed to investigate the static response of laminated and sandwich plates. Numerical examples covering different features of laminated composite and sandwich plates are pronounced in the present study. The performance of the model is observed by comparing the evaluated results with different published results available in literature which ascertain its precision and range of applicability.

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) have been explored widely in various applications due to their unique anisotropic properties. However, its application is limited due to large aspect ratio of nanotubes which lead to buckling phenomena. In this paper, we perform a finite element analysis to predict the variation of elastic modulus and critical buckling load of VACNTs. While elastic modulus is obtained from the slope of stress-strain variation of tubes when one end is fixed and another end is subjected to longitudinal loading, critical buckling load is found using eigenvalue analysis corresponding to first buckling mode. We also perform study to show size dependence of elastic modulus and buckling load of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using FEM approach and compare the results with MD results found in the literature. After validating FEM approach with available results of single-walled and double-walled carbon nanotubes, we apply the same method to arrays of VACN...

Results of applying instantaneous frequency to the interpretation and characterization of bifurcation and evolution of instability are presented for a comprehensive rotor-journal bearing model incorporating translational and rotational inertia, bending stiffness, gyroscopic moments, shear deformation and disk imbalance. By designating rotor speed and the relative flexibility embodying the extent of surface crack development as the two controlled parameters, rich and

Abstract This paper investigates the stochastic behaviour of hydrodynamic journal bearings by solving the Reynolds equation with random parameters numerically based on finite difference method. The steady state and dynamic characteristics are quantified considering random variabilities in eccentricity and surface roughness that can closely simulate the uncertain service conditions and inevitable manufacturing imperfections. Based on efficient radial basis function, a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) algorithm is developed in conjunction with the governing equations for quantifying stochastic characteristics of the crucial performance parameters concerning hydrodynamic bearings. Relative sensitivity to stochasticity for different performance parameters is analysed. Physically insightful new results are presented in a probabilistic framework, wherein it is observed that the stochasticity has pronounced influence on the performance of bearing.

Abstract Understanding dispersion relations and wave mode shapes is vital in nondestructive control of dynamic behaviors of poroelastic composites. In the framework of semi-analytical finite element (SAFE) method, this paper presents two numerical approaches so-called semi-analytical isogeometric Galerkin (SAIGA-G) and semi-analytical isogeometric collocation (SAIGA-C) for computing dispersion of guided-waves in anisotropic poroelastic plates immersed in acoustic fluids. Biot’s theory was used for describing the dynamic behavior of anisotropic poroelastic material. Assuming the structures is homogeneous along its axial direction, the Non-Uniform Rational B-splines (NURBS) was successful employed in procedures using isogeometric Galerkin and collocation methods. The numeral studies showed that the SAIGA-G method using high continuity NURBS basis allowed to significantly improve the accuracy as well as the convergence rate of the wave dispersion solutions in compared with the conventional SAFE method, which used Lagrange basis functions. Otherwise, the SAIGA-C method was shown to have similar performance in terms of accuracy to the SAFE method.