<p>The fundamental design of axial compressors has matured to an exceptional level of performance due to a century of research. With the improvements in efficiency becoming increasingly difficult, attention continues to be channeled towards understanding and reducing secondary losses such as hub or tip clearance leakages, seal leakages, etc. Studies detailing the impact of seal leakages are relatively scarce due to difficulties of obtaining data in the complex rotating geometries of a high-speed compressor cavity. While the impact of seal leakages on primary passage is readily available, details inside the cavity geometry is scarce in open literature because majority of the investigations have been performed on linear cascades with slots machined as cavities or standalone labyrinth seals that fail to provide a wholesome understanding of the leakage flow and windage heating in the rotating geometries.<br></p> <p> Therefore, the principal objective of this work is to investigate flow physics in the stator cavity wells for understanding the flow path of the leakage fluid and windage heating within the cavity. A parametric model of the Purdue 3-Stage Compressor (P3S) is used to allow for rapid geometric modifications to the seal clearances in a coupled stator-cavity system. The investigations presented here consist of a series of numerical simulations using ANSYS CFX as the primary Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool. Measurements performed by previous investigators are utilized to define the boundary conditions of this model. This study’s goal is to characterize the interdependence of parameters such as cavity leakage flow rate, circumferential velocity, and windage heating for understanding the flow structure inside the cavity wells and their impact on cavity temperatures. Data acquired is intended to reveal mechanisms through which cavity leakage flows affect the stator passage aerodynamics and the windage heating, both regarding their effect on the compressor performance and the details of the flow path within the cavity. Consequently, this will provide insight into how the complex cavity leakage flow influences the design considerations for optimizing stator passage aerodynamics and minimizing stator cavity heating.</p> <p>The compressor operating conditions of Nominal Loading (NL) is the focus of this CFD work since the flow field at High Loading (HL) has significant boundary layer separation. NL is closest to both the design and peak efficiency conditions where the compressor would spend the majority of its time in operation, understanding cavity flow physics at this operating condition would have a direct impact on enhancing the overall compressor performance. A CFD model of the standalone primary passage is developed first using the dataset available from experiments performed by previous investigators for establishing confidence in the primary passage flow physics. Therefore, detailed total pressure, total temperature, velocity, and flow angle data collected behind each blade row is utilized for validating the primary passage flow in the CFD model. After validating the primary passage model, measurements in the coupled cavity model are acquired to understand the flow variations as well as temperature development in the cavity due to the varying labyrinth seal clearance.</p> <p>The investigations in this work are divided into two distinct branches. First, to aid the aerodynamic research community, the flow structure inside the cavity wells is investigated to understand the impact cavity leakage flow has on the compressor efficiency and on its interactions with the primary flow path. Secondly, for understanding the development and rise of temperature in the cavity wells, i.e., the windage effect, are performed to aid the thermo-mechanical research community so that the material choices and stress analysis of the cavity components can be optimized. Hence, the trends in the data acquired provide the aerodynamic, mechanical, and secondary flow system designers an indication of the complexities of the flow within shrouded stator cavities and provide insight into designing and optimizing more complex geometries.</p><p>Results from this investigation describe how increasing seal clearance deteriorates the stator performance and enables the cross-passage migration of low momentum fluid to worsen hub corner separation. The simulations also state the case for re-ingestion at tight seal clearances as the 3D streamlines show heated efflux emerges from the upstream cavity interface, dwells near the hub, and gets recirculated back into the cavity inlet well. Radial variations inside the cavity wells show high cavity temperatures with excessive cavity due to re-ingestion, while the cases that avoid re-ingestion are observed at the lowest temperatures. These radial variations also identify the cavity leakage flow path and the development of circumferential velocity. Lastly, the total pressure loss, total temperature rise and windage heating, all show a strong dependence on circumferential velocity development, which is inherently dependent on the labyrinth seal clearances.<br></p>

Drill String dynamic behaviour during the oil drilling operation, was a major source for the failure of the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA). The behaviour produced torsional vibration, which underpins the stick slip phenomena. Besides threatening the safety of the oil drilling process, such failure cause interruptions in the drilling operations and incurred high maintenance cost to the oil drilling company. This issue can be resolved with the implementation of the optimum control mechanism while operating the drill string. In this research, an optimum control mechanism was proposed to suppress the torsional vibration as well as mitigate the risk of stick slip phenomenon from occurring. The mechanism was proposed through a series of rigorous research strategies i.e. updated-mathematical equation modelling, experimentation and simulation. As the first step, a mathematical equation model describing system dynamics was derived to set the parameter of investigation. Representing the freedom torsional of the two degrees - conventional vertical drill string, the model was used to predict the frictional Torque On Bit (TOB) through non-linear friction force, denoting the ground-formation behaviour during drilling activity. Using a velocity feedback system, the drill-string oscillation was reduced while gradually increasing its velocity via gain scheduling method - allowing fast response to load disturbance. To avoid the motor torque from exceeding the maximum threshold, a Weight On Bit (WOB) was introduced. This approach remarks the novel contribution of this research. Next, an experiment on the preliminary test rig within a controlled laboratory set up was conducted. The rotary drill rig was assembled to identify the dynamics (i.e. parameters) of an individual part of the drill string. The results obtained were then applied in the drill string operation experiment, to identify the optimum control mechanism that can avoid the torsional vibration. To enable triangulation of results, a simulation was conducted by applying the same parameters obtained from the test rig experiment in the model- which is the optimum control mechanism that was proposed in this research to minimise torsional vibration, as well as reducing the chance of drill-string failure due to stick-slip phenomenon.

Civil Engineering thin cylindrical shells such as silos and tanks are normally subjected to axial compression that arises from a stored solid, wind, earthquake, self-weight or roof loads. The walls of these shells are very thin, generally of the order of 6 to 25 mm, and massively less than the radius, which is typically 5 to 30 m. They are thus very thin shell structures, like those of rockets, spacecraft, motor vehicles and aircraft. The commonest failure mode is elastic buckling under axial compression. It has long been known that the buckling strength of a thin cylindrical shell under axial compression is very sensitive to tiny deviations of geometry, reducing the buckling strength to perhaps 10 or 20% of the value for the perfect structure. A normal internal pressure usually accompanies the axial compression, caused by stored granular solids or fluids. At relatively low pressures, the elastic buckling strength under axial compression rises, but an elastic-plastic buckling phenomenon intervenes at higher pressures, causing a dramatic decrease in buckling resistance associated with an elephant’s foot collapse mode. To construct such large shells, the fabrication technique is generally the assembly of many rolled plates or panels, joined by short longitudinal welds and continuous circumferential welds. The process of welding produces a distinctive geometric imperfection form at each weld joint, which in turn is extremely detrimental to the shell axial buckling carrying capacity. The strength may be further reduced by slight misalignments between adjacent panels, or in bolted construction, by vertical and horizontal lap splices. Due to the pattern of loading, both the axial compression and internal pressure increase progressively down the wall. Accordingly, practical construction usually uses a stepped wall, formed from panels of uniform thickness, but with larger thicknesses at lower levels. Since the loading varies smoothly, but each panel has constant thickness, the critical location for buckling lies at the base of a panel. But the greater thickness of the lower panel can usefully enhance the buckling strength of the critical panel above it. This thesis presents an extensive computational study that examines all the above influences, divided into chapters that are outlined here. A full exploration of the effect of the cylinder length on the perfect and imperfect elastic buckling strength is presented in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the elastic-plastic buckling resistance of imperfect cylinders is described, including strain hardening. These lead to many capacity curves, for which the key parameters are extracted. The effect of internal pressure on the buckling resistance of imperfect elastic cylinders is explored in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 studies the effect of high pressures that produce elastic-plastic elephant’s foot buckling at circumferential welds in imperfect shells. Next, a step change in plate thickness is studied in Chapter 7 for imperfect butt jointed cylinders with and without the internal pressure. Chapter 8 presents an exploration of the effect of plate misalignments at a circumferential joint, as well as the full misalignment of a circumferential lap joint in bolted construction. These are investigated in both the elastic and elastic-plastic domains. The entire thesis is conceived in the context of EN 1993-1-6 (2007) and the ECCS Recommendations on Shell Buckling (2008). This research has shown significant weaknesses in both the concepts and the detailed rules of these standards. Many conditions are found where either the standard is unnecessarily conservative, or its safety margin may be too low. Thus, some new provisions are proposed for each of the above practical problems. These are expected to provide useful knowledge for the design of such structures against buckling in the future.

Orientador: Maria Odila Hilário Cioffi / Coorientador: Mauricio Vicente Donadon / Banca: Herman Jacobus Cornelis Voorwald / Banca: Antonio Carlos Ancelotti Júnior / Banca: Mirabel Cerqueira Rezende / Banca: Sérgio Roberto Montoro / Resumo: Os materiais compósitos em fibra de carbono são largamente empregados no setor de transporte aéreo e vem crescendo em outros setores. Esses materiais, porém ainda apresentam susceptibilidade à delaminação, devido à baixa resistência a carregamentos fora do plano, tornando-se força motriz para a redução da vida em fadiga de compósitos laminados. Devido à importância desse tipo de dano, esta pesquisa visa entender os mecanismos que geram delaminações em compósitos tramados (biaxiais), utilizando-se o conceito energético de Griffith da mecânica da fratura linear elástica, como parâmetro de controle da delaminação. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho é entender a interação dos modos de propagação I e II, bem como as frações de cada modo na delaminação em fadiga axial tração-tração (denominado modo misto), em corpos de prova planos. Para isso, foram estudados os modos puros I (DCB) e II (ENF) de propagação de trinca nos compósitos processados, além de se comparar a região que delimita a propagação estável com o modo misto, o qual exigiu estudos de uma geometria apropriada para a obtenção de delaminação bem definida. Para a decomposição dos modos que agem na fadiga axial, foram aplicados critérios de falha nos dados experimentais. O ensaio de fadiga, para todos os modos de propagação, foi conduzido à razão de carga de 0,1, frequência de 5 Hz e os dados de taxa de propagação versus energia de deformação foram ajustados por uma lei empírica, previamente estudada e comparada com os mecanismos de delaminação por análise fractográfica. Os resultados mostraram que a força motriz para delaminação possui maior influência da tenacidade à fratura (GIc) e do carregamento máximo (Gmax), os quais foram adaptados na lei de Paris para delaminação estável. Para o modo misto, constatou-se que a geometri ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Carbon fiber composite materials are currently widely employed in air transportation as structural components in Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has around 80% (v/v) in composite. However these materials are susceptible to delamination due to low strength in through-the-thickness direction which is the driving force to reduce the fatigue life. Considering the importance of delamination, the aim of this research is to have a clear understanding of this type of damage in woven composites by using the Griffith energy approach of the linear elastic fracture mechanics as a delamination parameter. The aim of this work was to achieve insight into the interaction process of crack propagation modes I and II, and mainly to determine the mode fractions in the delamination process of tension-tension axial fatigue tests. For the mode decomposition process from axial fatigue tests, it was employed two failure criteria. In order to obtain it, the crack growth rate associated with pure modes I and II delamination were compared with the behavior of a specimen subjected to in-plane tension-tension cyclic loading that exhibits a mixed delamination mode for which needed an appropriate specimen geometry to generate a sharp delamination front. Fatigue test in all modes of propagation were conducted with a loading ratio of 0,1 and a frequency of 5 Hz. The crack growth rate versus energy release rate was described by an appropriate empirical power law which fits the experimental results and compared with delamination mechanisms observed by fractography. The results showed that the driving force for fatigue has major influence of GIc and Gmax based on the studied fractures, where both were considered in the Paris law. For the mixed mode, the geometry known as CLS had regions of crack propagation rate comparable to pure delamination modes in the stable propagation region which ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Student Number : 0401422G - MSc dissertation - School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering - Faculty of Engineering / Mixing is an important operation that is carried out in food, paint, pharmaceutical and mineral processing industries. Ball mills are one of the many mixing vessels used in a mineral processing industry. During grinding, the mill’s efficiency depends on particle presentation to the grinding media and the adequate utilisation of the applied forces to effect breakage of particles (ore). Utilisation of applied forces is affected by how well particles and grinding media are mixed. The study of charge mixing is important as it affects the mill’s production rate and accelerates media wear, thus relevant to the cost reduction for the milling process. The kinetics of mixing in a batch ball mill were quantified both radially and axially. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory batch ball mill and two experimental programs were used to study the mixing process. Radial mixing of particles was observed to increase with increasing mill speed. For a mill used in this study, mixing of particles at Nc=90% took almost half the total time taken at Nc=75% to reach completion. A simplified mathematical model is presented, which can be used to predict the radial mixing of particles in a ball mill. Axial mixing of particles was observed to be affected by both the charge system used and segregation of particles from the grinding media. It took a minute for mixing to reach 80% completion for a mill used in the experiments. Mixing of particles was faster in a steel balls/plastic powders charge system than in a glass beads/quartz charge system. The distribution of particles in a batch mill was observed to vary along the axis of the mill. The centre of the mill was overfilled with particles, U>1, while the regions near the mill ends were underfilled, U<1. The opposite was true for the grinding media. The data reported was based on measurements of particle distribution along the mill as affected by different charge systems. The work presented in this thesis is a contribution to the continuing research on mixing of particles in ball mills.

abstract: As the junction between the head and the trunk, the neck functions in providing head stability during behaviors like feeding to facilitating head mobility during behavior like grooming and predator vigilance. Despite its importance to these vital behaviors, its form and function remain poorly understood. Fossil hominin cervical vertebrae preserve a striking diversity in form despite the commitment to orthograde bipedality. Do these differences in cervical vertebral form correspond to functional variations among our recent ancestors? This dissertation attempts to understand 1) how does the neck function in head stability and mobility 2) how do these functions relate to cervical vertebral form. Kinematic and passive range of motion studies were conducted in several species of primate to obtain measures of function which were subsequently related to skeletal form. Results show that cervical vertebral morphology does not significantly covary with differences in joint mobility. Rather, they implicate the critical role of ligaments and muscles in facilitating head mobility. Results of the kinematics study show that the neck plays a role in maintaining head stability during locomotion. However, the kinematic data do not significantly correlate with morphological variation among primate species. Given the negative results of the extant morphological analyses, it is difficult to apply them to the fossil record. As such, the functional significance of the disparate morphologies found in the hominin fossil record remain ambiguous. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2019

Stratification of water in large reservoirs occurs in summer, or at anytime in hot climates where the water surface is exposed long-term to sunlight and the water surface is heated. Natural mixing will not occur due to the cooler and denser water always staying at the lower levels. Therefore, mechanical circulators are designed to prevent water quality problems related to stratification and depletion of dissolved oxygen. Impellers that produce the flow in mechanical circulators are available in different sizes and these impellers are designed to produce different flow rates. Due to hydraulic loadings, impellers have to be strong and durable. Loadings on impellers depend on their geometries and therefore, a durable impeller is a good combination of the use of correct materials and good geometry. Long and slender impellers are prone to failure when subjected to high hydrodynamic loadings. Nowadays, designers have very limited information on predicting the stresses on impellers and the deflection patterns of impellers because there are no design rules in designing these impeller blades and there is no such thing as "best geometry". A good impeller blade design is by guesswork and experience. In order to design the geometry that suits this application, trial-and-error finite element analyses have been conducted in this project to minimize stress levels on the blades. This research involves the use of finite element analysis (FEA) to predict stress and deflection of impeller blades used on large (5m diameter) ducted axial flow impellers as the first step in the design process. Then, based on the results, improvements have been done to the models until the final design was made. As far as the author has been able to determine, this has not been researched before. Finite Element Analysis has been used on wind turbine blades, rudders and hulls of boats but not on axial flow impeller blades of the type used in this project. For the purpose of this project, commercial finite element computer program packages STRAND6 and STRAND7 were used as the main analysis tools. A static line load increasing linearly with radius along the blade has been used to simulate the assumed hydrodynamic loading, and applied to all FEA blade models. The analysis results proved the stresses on blades are largely dependant on the blade geometry. From the analysis results, the author modified the stacking arrangement of the FEA elements in order to minimize both the tensile stresses and the displacements of the blades at the tip. Parametric studies have been done in order to obtain the best FEA impeller blade model.

"November 2004" / Bibliography: p.167-179. / xi, 333 p. : ill., photos (col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Focuses on behavioural models of masonry walls with a view to improving their accuracy and extending their application. Results include a numerical model and mathematical expressions capable of predicting the key stages of the non-linear load-deflection behaviour of walls subjected to vertical bending and axial loading; new mathematical expressions for horizontal and diagonal bending moment capacities that are dimensionally consistent and account for the beneficial effects of compressive stress; and. Experimental test data for masonry sections subjected to horizontal and diagonal bending, which were used in the development and verification of the new mathematical expressions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004

L'évolution des technologies et des problématiques environnementales a encouragé le développement de nouvelles structures de machines électriques. Nous vous proposons dans cette thèse d'étudier deux structures de machines discoïdes à double entrefer et aimants permanents enterrés. Une réflexion sera menée sur le potentiel industriel de chacune à l'aide d'outils de modélisation récents (modélisation tridimensionnelle par éléments finis sous FLUX), de méthodes d'optimisation nouvelles (méthodes des plans d'expériences numériques) et de matériaux ferromagnétiques peu utilisés à l'heure actuelle (poudre de fer). A l'issu de cette recherche, nous pourrons proposer de nouveaux moteurs performants dans la gamme de petite et moyenne puissance. Ces machines, combinées à une alimentation appropriée, pourront être utilisées comme entraînement à vitesse variable dans tous les secteurs de l'industrie.

<p>High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is a novel pulsed power technique. In HiPIMS, high power pulses are applied to the target for short duration with a low duty factor. It provides a high degree of ionization of the sputtered material (in some cases up to 90%) and a high plasma density (10¹⁹ m^-3) which results in densification of the grown films. Recently a large side-transport of the sputtered material has been discovered, meaning that the sputtered material is transported radially outwards, parallel to the cathode surface. In this research, we use this effect and study the side-ways deposition of thin films. We designed a new magnetron sputtering system, consisting of two opposing magnetrons with similar polarity. Ti films were grown on Si using the side-ways transport of the sputtered material. Scanning electron microscope was employed to investigate the microstructure of the grown films. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) measurements were made for investigating the ionized fraction of the sputtered material while Langmuir probe measurements were made for evaluating the plasma parameters such as electron density. The conclusion is that the system works well for side-ways deposition and it can be useful for coating the interior of cylindrically shaped objects. It is a promising technique that should be used in industry.</p>