Novel precision piezoelectric step rotary actuator

A novel piezoelectric (PZT) precision step rotary actuator was developed on the basis of PZT technology. It adopts the principle of bionics and works with an inside anchoring/loosening of the stator and a distortion structure of the uniformly distributed thin flexible hinge to solve problems such as ineffective anchoring/loosening, low step rotary frequency, small travel, poor resolution, low speed and unsteady output. The developed actuator is characterized by high frequency (30 Hz), high speed (380 μrad/s), large travel (>270°), high resolution (1 μrad/step), and work stability. It greatly improves the ability to drive the existing PZT step rotary actuator. The new actuator can be applied in the field of micromanipulation and precision engineering, including precision driving and positioning and optics engineering. __________ Translated From Journal of Jilin University (Engineering and Technology Edition), 2006, 36(5): 673–677 [译自: 吉林大学学报 (工学版)]     

Acoustic analysis of lightweight auto-body based on finite element method and boundary element method

A lightweight automotive prototype using alternative materials and gauge thickness is studied by a numerical method. The noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance is the main target of this study. In the range of 1–150 Hz, the frequency response function (FRF) of the body structure is calculated by a finite element method (FEM) to get the dynamic behavior of the auto-body structure. The pressure response of the interior acoustic domain is solved by a boundary element method (BEM). To find the most contributing panel to the inner sound pressure, the panel acoustic contribution analysis (PACA) is performed. Finally, the most contributing panel is located and the resulting structural optimization is found to be more efficient. __________ Translated from Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University, 2006, 40(1): 177–180 [译自: 上海交通大学学报]     

Impact drive rotary precision actuator with piezoelectric bimorphs

An impact drive rotary precision actuator with end-loaded piezoelectric cantilever bimorphs is proposed. According to finite element analysis and experiments of the dynamic characteristics of end-loaded piezoelectric cantilever bimorphs, a specific fixed-frequency and adjustable-amplitude is confirmed to control the actuator. The results show that an actuator excited by fixed-frequency and the adjustable-amplitude ramp voltage waveform works with a large travel range (180°), high resolution (1 μrad), speed (0.2 rad/min) and heavy-load ability (0.02 Nm). With advantages of high-precision positioning ability, simple structure and only one percent the cost of traditional impact drive mechanisms, the actuator is expected to be widely used in precision industries. __________ Translated from Optics and Precision Engineering, 2005, 13(3): 298–304 [译自: 光学精密工程]     

Research on acoustic-structure sensitivity using FEM and BEM

Acoustic-structure sensitivity is used to predict the change of acoustic pressure when a structure design variable is changed. The sensitivity is significant for reducing noise of structure. Using FEM (finite element method) and BEM (boundary element method) acoustic-structure sensitivity was formulated and presented. The dynamic response and response velocity sensitivity with respect to structure design variable were carried out by using structural FEM, the acoustic response and acoustic pressure sensitivity with respect to structure velocity were carried out by using acoustic BEM. Then, acoustic-structure sensitivity was computed by linking velocity sensitivity in FEM and acoustic sensitivity in BEM. This method was applied to an empty box as an example. Acoustic pressure sensitivity with respect to structure thickness achieved in frequency ranges 1–100 Hz, and its change rule along with stimulating frequency and design variable were analyzed. Results show that acoustic-structure sensitivity method linked with FEM and BEM is effective and correct. __________ Translated from Journal of Vibration Engineering, 2005, 18(3): 366–370 [译自: 振动工程学报]     

Dynamical research on spherical micro actuator with piezoelectric ceramic stacks drivers

This paper develops a 30 mm × 30 mm × 50 mm spherical micro actuator driven by piezoelectric ceramic stacks (PZT), and analyzes its dynamic performances. First, the space coordinate relationship of the spherical micro actuator and a dynamic model are set up. Second, The Runge-Kutta arithmetic is used to calculate the dynamical parameters of the micro actuator; the SIMULINK module of MATLAB is used to build the dynamical simulating model and then simulate it. Third, an experimental sample of the spherical micro actuator is developed, a micromanipulator is integrated with a micro-gripper based on the sample spherical micro actuator, and the experimental research on the micro assembly is conducted between a micro shaft of Φ180 μm and a micro spindle sleeve of Φ200 μm. Finally, the characteristics of the spherical micro actuator influenced by the mass of the metal sphere of the micro actuator, driving signal frequency, friction coefficient of the contact surface between the metal sphere and the friction block of the micro driving unit are analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the rotation resolution of the micro actuator reaches 0.000 1°, the rotation positioning precision reaches 0.000 5°, and the maximum working frequency is about 1200 Hz. The experimental results validate the back rotation vibration model of the spherical micro actuator. The micromanipulator integrated by the spherical micro actuator can meet the requirements of precise micro operation and assembly for micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) or other microelements in micro degree fields. __________ Translated from Optics and Precision Engineering, 2007, 15(2): 248–253 [译自: 光学精密工程]     

Bi-modes alternation stepping ultrasonic motors

Based on the principle of alternative operation of two bending vibration modes in an annular stator, this paper presents a standing-wave stepping ultrasonic motor characterized by no accumulative errors driven by an open-loop control circuitry. The driving forces are generated from the motions of projections on the stator in two modes. The positioning of the motor is achieved by the cooperation between the stator projections and rotor teeth, and the number of the rotors determines the stepping angle of the motor. Two-phase sinusoidal signals corresponding to the two modal frequencies drive the motor bi-direction stepping rotation via a switch unit. The prototype runs steadily without miss-step on trial. The single-step angle displacement of the motor is 2.5°. __________ Translated from Journal of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006, 38(5): 600–604 [译自: 南京航空航天大学学报]     

Piezoelectric film-actuated motion platform with high resolution

A piezoelectric film-actuated motion platform with high resolution, which can run in two directions within a horizontal plane, is presented. On the basis of the analysis of the working principle of a stick-slip mechanism, a mathematical model describing its dynamic behavior is set up and simulated. Experiments of the motion performance and carrying ability on the prototype are conducted. Results show that this type of platform has advantages including a simple structure, small volume, light weight, stable step length, and large traveling range. When the driving voltage is less than 30 V, step error is less than 0.5 mm. The carrying ability of the platform is terrific and about 7–8 times its weight. __________ Translated from Optics and Precision Engineering, 2006, 14(4): 635–640 [译自: 光学精密工程]     

Image automatic mosaics based on contour phase correlation

The image planar mosaics is studied, and an image automatic mosaics algorithm on the basis of contour phase correlation is proposed in this paper. To begin with, by taking into account mere translations and rotations between images, a contour phase correlation algorithm is used to realize the preliminary alignments of images, and the initial projective transformation matrices are obtained. Then, an optimization algorithm is used to optimize the initial projective transformation matrices, and complete the precise image mosaics. The contour phase correlation is an improvement on the conventional phase correlation in two aspects: First, the contours of images are extracted, and the phase correlation is applied to the contours of images instead of the whole original images; Second, when there are multiple peak values approximate to the maximum peak value in the δ function array, their corresponding translations can be regarded as candidate translations and calculated separately, and the best translation can be determined by the optimization of conformability of two images in the overlapping area. The running results show that the proposed algorithm can consistently yield high-quality mosaics, even in the cases of poor or differential lighting conditions, existences of minor rotations, and other complicated displacements between images. Translated from Journal of Dalian University of Technology, 2005, 45(1): 68–74 [译自: 大连理工大学学报]     

Analysis and experiment on structure parameters for an energy reclaiming suspension

An energy reclaiming suspension is proposed to reclaim vibration energy in the suspension. To study its riding performance and reclaiming energy performance, a hydraulic energy reclaiming device prototype is produced and its mechanical behavior is analyzed and tested according to the hydraulic theory. Theoretical analysis shows that mechanical behavior of the energy reclaiming device is embodied by a viscidity damping parameter and an analogous coulomb damping parameter determined by its structure; their expressions are obtained. Experimental investigation shows that theoretical predictions agree with test results. __________ Translated from Journal of Jiangsu University (Natural Science Edition), 2006, 27(1): 35–39 [译自: 江苏大学学报(自然科学版)]     

Output tracking control of mobile manipulators based on dynamical sliding-mode control

A dynamical sliding-mode controller is devised to track the output of mobile manipulators. During the investigation, firstly a reduced dynamic model considering the dynamics of the driving motor is developed for mobile manipulators. Then, the system is decomposed into four lower-dimensional subsystems by means of diffeomorphism and nonlinear input transformation. Moreover, a design method of the dynamical sliding-mode controller that is applied to the output tracking of mobile manipulators is proposed. The simulation results indicate that the dynamical sliding-mode controller can not only track the given trajectory correctly but also reduce the chattering of sliding-mode control system considerably. __________ Translated from Journal of South China University of Technology (Natural Science Edition), 2006, 34(6): 29–33 [译自: 华南理工大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

Combustion and emissions of the diesel engine using bio-diesel fuel

The combustion and heat release of engines using diesel fuel and bio-diesel fuel have been investigated. The results illustrate that the combustion happens in advance and the ignition delay period is shortened. The initial heat release peak declines a little, the corresponding crankshaft angle changes in advance, and the combustion duration is prolonged. The economic performance and emission features of diesel engines using diesel fuel and bio-diesel fuel are compared. The results also show that the specific fuel consumption of bio-diesel increases by about 12%. The emissions, such as CO, HC, and particulate matter decrease remarkably whereas NO _x increases a little. __________ Translated from Journal of Jiangsu University (Natural Science Edition), 2006, 27(3): 216–219 [译自: 江苏大学学报(自然科学版)]     

Blind identification of threshold auto-regressive model for machine fault diagnosis

A blind identification method was developed for the threshold auto-regressive (TAR) model. The method had good identification accuracy and rapid convergence, especially for higher order systems. The proposed method was then combined with the hidden Markov model (HMM) to determine the auto-regressive (AR) coefficients for each interval used for feature extraction, with the HMM as a classifier. The fault diagnoses during the speed-up and speed-down processes for rotating machinery have been successfully completed. The result of the experiment shows that the proposed method is practical and effective. __________ Translated from Journal of Tsinghua University (Science and Technology), 2005, 45(8): 1 036–1 039 [译自: 清华大学学报(自然科学版)]     

Optimization model for rotor blades of horizontal axis wind turbines

This paper presents an optimization model for rotor blades of horizontal axis wind turbines. The model refers to the wind speed distribution function on the specific wind site, with an objective to satisfy the maximum annual energy output. To speed up the search process and guarantee a global optimal result, the extended compact genetic algorithm (ECGA) is used to carry out the search process. Compared with the simple genetic algorithm, ECGA runs much faster and can get more accurate results with a much smaller population size and fewer function evaluations. Using the developed optimization program, blades of a 1.3 MW stall-regulated wind turbine are designed. Compared with the existing blades, the designed blades have obviously better aerodynamic performance. __________ Translated from Journal of Shantou University (Natural Science), 2006, 21(1): 44–49 [译自: 汕头大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

Finite element simulations of sheet metal forming under complex strain paths

Fracture is a common defect in sheet metal forming and it is essentially caused by tensile instability. This paper analyzes some experiments and theories for building forming limit diagrams of sheet metal and points out the advantages and disadvantages of current experiments and theories. According to this, a method that integrates the finite element simulation and experiment was used to research the forming limit diagrams of the sheet metal under complex strain paths. Taking the rear hanger that undergoes twice stamping as an example, the strain paths of the dangerous point of the rear hanger is investigated. Finally, the forming method of the rear hanger is confirmed. Results indicate that finite element method (FEM) can achieve the complex strain paths and different strain paths will have great impacts on the result of the sheet metal forming. __________ Translated from Journal of Jiangsu University (Natural Science Edition), 2005, 26(4): 289–293 [译自: 江苏大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

A novel soft-switching twin arc pulse MAG welding inverter

The high-speed double wire pulse metal-gas arc (MAG) welding process possesses advantages of automation and high efficiency and quality. Thus, it attracts much more attention nowadays. To meet the requirements of the double wire pulse MAG welding process, a novel double wire pulse MAG welding inverter integrated with technologies, such as soft-switching, double closed loop control, and synchronic control, is produced. A complete performance test was done for the pulsed MAG welding power supply by using a computer testing platform. The results of the experiment indicate that the novel welding inverter has an excellent performance both in the dynamic and the static characteristics. Also, the synchronic control between the master inverter and the slave inverter is reliable. Translated from Journal of South China University of Technology (Natural Science Edition), 2006, 34(7): 31–34, 59 [译自: 华南理工大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

Investigation on a cylindrical ultrasonic micromotor

The relationship between the arrangement of ceramics and the force coefficient shows that the maximum excitation efficiency will be obtained when the ceramics are placed at the trough of the first bending mode of the stator. Therefore, a cylindrical ultrasonic micromotor with a novel stator is proposed. The prototype motor is 5 mm in diameter, 30 mm in length and 4.2 g in weight. The micromotor operates with the first bending mode at 53 kHz. Its maximum speed is 350 r/min when the drive voltage is 200 V and the stall torque reaches 2.5 mN · m. As this motor is suitable for miniaturization because of its simple structure, another cylindrical ultrasonic micromotor is developed. Piezoelectric ceramic tube is used as its stator. This micromtor is 2 mm in diameter, 7 mm in length and 0.258 g in weight. Its speed reaches 813 r/min when the drive voltage is 60 V at 75 kHz. The operation mechanism, structure and design method of these two motors are introduced. __________ Translated from Proceedings of the CSEE, 2006, 26(12): 128–133 [译自: 中国电机工程学报]     

Fluid damping clearance in a control valve of injector

A force model of a control valve of injector is set up, and the changes of the fluid damping clearance are investigated on the basis of the results of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the experiments of control valve of injector. Results indicate that a damping clearance of 0.02–0.03 mm between the poppet and the valve guide is the most sufficient to dampen any excessive control valve poppet bouncing. __________ Translated from Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University, 2006, 40(6): 1031–1034 [译自: 上海交通大学学报]     

The role delegation authorization model of a computer-supported cooperative design system

According to the specific characteristics of a computer-supported cooperative design (CSCD) system, the characteristics of role delegation authorization (RDA) are analyzed and deduced, and a set of fitful status is arrived at. Because of the diversified characteristics of RDA features in different systems, the RDA model has multi-varying status. On the basis of the basic model of role-based access control (RBAC), some basic characteristics of RDA are summed up. Then, according to the specific characteristics of CSCD system, the characteristics of RDA are recombined to develop a RDA model that is suitable for the CSCD system. It is different from the conventional role authorization models of RBAC, that is, it adopts the decentralized authorization management instead of the centralized one in CSCD system, which makes the management more flexible. This model is verified through a specific case of CSCD system. Translated from Journal of Northeastern University (Natural Science), 2006, 27(5): 548–551 [译自: 东北大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

Thermally developing forced convection and the corresponding thermal stresses in a porous plate channel

Based on the Darcy fluid model, by considering the effects of viscous dissipation due to the interaction between solid skeleton and pore fluid flow and thermal conduction in the direction of the fluid flow, the thermally developing forced convection of the local thermal equilibrium and the corresponding thermal stresses in a semi-infinite saturated porous plate channel are investigated in this paper. The expressions of temperature, local Nusselt number and corresponding thermal stresses are obtained by means of the Fourier series, and the distributions of the same are also shown. Furthermore, influences of the Péclet number (Pe) and Brinkman number (Br) on temperature, Nusselt number (Nu) and thermal stress are revealed numerically. __________ Translated from Journal of Lanzhou University (Natural Science Edition), 2006, 42(2): 114–119 [译自: 兰州大学学报(自然科学版)]     

A measurement system for thin elastohydrodynamic lubrication films

An elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) film measurement system using multi-beam interferometry is introduced in this paper. The measurement principle and the instrumentation are discussed. A simple and efficient method is suggested to obtain the fringe order of measured points. It is demonstrated that the presented measurement system can provide continuous measurement of lubricating films from nano to micro scales at a nano-level resolution, and can be used to investigate ultra-thin EHL films and tiny variations in EHL films. Translated from Tribology, 2006, 26(2): 150–153 [译自: 摩擦学学报]