<p>A container crane of STS-type, Ship To Shore, consists of a spreader hanging underneath a railrunning trolly. As the container is under the influence of wind, it is likely that it starts to turn in a torsional pendulum. This report handles how the torsional pendulum of a container crane can be damped. </p><p>A number of different models have been developed to analyze how different placement of the actuators affects the system. Two differens types of controllers, LQG and MPC, have been developed and applied to these models. The different models and controlers were evaluated and compared by studying simulation results in timedomain. Moreover in order to make the simulations more realistic, a wind model has been developed and applied. </p><p>The models and controllers have been analyzed with bodediagrams and sensitivity functions. </p><p>The analyses shows clearly that the best placement of the actuators for control of the torsional pendulum on an STS-crane is in the trolly, pulling and relaxing the wires. This control is best handled by a state feedback control (LQG). Furthermore, the control should in this way, with addition of in the horizontalplane movable suspensions in the trolly, work acceptably in the whole operational area of a STS-crane.</p>

For high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission, the strength of the ac system is important for normal operation. An ac system can be considered as weak either because its impedance is high or its inertia is low. A typical high-impedance systemis when an HVDC link is terminated at a weak point of a large ac system where the short-circuit capacity of the ac system is low. Low-inertia systems are considered to have limited number of rotating machines, or no machines at all. Examples of such applications can be found when an HVDC link is powering an isand system, or if it is connected to a wind farm. One of the advantages of applying a voltage-source converter (VSC) based HVDC systemis its potential to be connected to very weak ac systems where the conventional linecommutated converter (LCC) based HVDC system has difficulties. In this thesis, the modeling and control issues for VSC-HVDC links connected to weak ac systems are investigated. In order to fully utilize the potential of the VSC-HVDC system for weak-ac-system connections, a novel control method, i.e., powersynchronization control, is proposed. By using power-synchronization control, the VSC resembles the dynamic behavior of a synchronous machine. Several additional functions, such as high-pass current control, current limitation, etc. are proposed to deal with  issues during operation. For modeling of ac/dc systems, the Jacobian transfer matrix is proposed as a unified modeling approach. With the ac Jacobian transfer matrix concept, a synchronous ac system is viewed upon as one multivariable feedback system. In the thesis, it is shown that the transmission zeros and poles of the Jacobian transfer matrix are closely related to several power-system stability phenomena. The similar modeling concept is extended to model a dc system with multiple VSCs. It is mathematically proven that the dc system is an inherently unstable process, which requires feedback controllers to be stabilized. For VSC-HVDC links using power-synchronization control, the short-circuit ratio (SCR) of the ac system is no longer a limiting factor, but rather the load angles. The righthalf plane (RHP) transmission zero of the ac Jacobian transfer matrix moves closer to the origin with larger load angles, which imposes a fundamental limitation on the achievable bandwidth of the VSC. As an example, it is shown that a VSC-HVDC link using powersynchronization control enables a power transmission of 0.86 p.u. from a system with an SCR of 1.2 to a system with an SCR of 1.0. For low-inertia systemconnections, simulation studies show that power-synchronization control is flexible for various operation modes related to island operation and handles the mode shifts seamlessly. / QC20100607

A container crane of STS-type, Ship To Shore, consists of a spreader hanging underneath a railrunning trolly. As the container is under the influence of wind, it is likely that it starts to turn in a torsional pendulum. This report handles how the torsional pendulum of a container crane can be damped. A number of different models have been developed to analyze how different placement of the actuators affects the system. Two differens types of controllers, LQG and MPC, have been developed and applied to these models. The different models and controlers were evaluated and compared by studying simulation results in timedomain. Moreover in order to make the simulations more realistic, a wind model has been developed and applied. The models and controllers have been analyzed with bodediagrams and sensitivity functions. The analyses shows clearly that the best placement of the actuators for control of the torsional pendulum on an STS-crane is in the trolly, pulling and relaxing the wires. This control is best handled by a state feedback control (LQG). Furthermore, the control should in this way, with addition of in the horizontalplane movable suspensions in the trolly, work acceptably in the whole operational area of a STS-crane.

The thesis utilizes the analogy in dynamic equations between a mechanical and an electrical system to convert the steam-turbine, micro-turbine, wind-turbine and hydro-turbine generator mechanical model to equivalent electrical circuit models respectively. And based on the round rotor type and permanent magnetic rotor type synchronous generators¡¦ dynamic equations, as well as their electromagnetic torque equations, the equivalent electrical interface circuits were derived respectively. By using the interface circuit, the circuit model of synchronous generator and the equivalent electrical circuit model of turbine-generator mechanism can thus be combined into the electromechanical integrated circuit model (Thevenin¡¦s analogy circuit model and Norton's analogy circuit model). The electromechanical integrated circuit model is helpful for analyzing the energy conversion, power transmission and interactions between the mechanical and electrical systems for a turbine generator unit. In order to learn about these electromechanical interactions by using the proposed electromechanical integrated circuit model, the thesis has made a study on the torsional vibrations for a small gas turbine generator unit and for a large steam turbine generator unit respectively. By way of the frequency scanning and eigenvalue calculation, it is found that the torsional mode frequencies can be changed due to the electromechanical integration. Moreover, the small unit was more affected by the electromechanical integration than the large unit. Finally, we studied the effect of operations of an Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) on torsional vibrations of a low capacity turbine generator. The electric system studied belongs to a practical steel plant in an industrial park. Based on the electromechanical integrated equivalent circuit model, a flywheel coupling shaft was designed. It is found by simulations that the coupling shaft can be quite effective in alleviating vibrations caused by the system unbalance arising from the EAF operations.

The study presents the results of an experimental and analytical investigation aimed at examining the lateral stability of rectangular reinforced concrete slender beams. In the experimental part of the investigation, a total of eleven reinforced concrete beams having a depth to width ratio between 10.20 and 12.45 and a length to width ratio between 96 and 156 were tested. Beam thickness, depth and unbraced length were 1.5 to 3.0 in., 18 to 44 in., and 12 to 39.75 ft, respectively. Each beam was subjected to a single concentrated load applied at midspan by means of a gravity load simulator that allowed the load to always remain vertical when the section displaces out of plane. The loading mechanism minimized the lateral translational and rotational restraints at the load application point to simulate the nature of gravity load. Each beam was simply-supported in and out of plane at the ends. The supports allowed warping deformations, yet prevented twisting rotations at the beam ends. In the analytical part of the study, a formula was developed for determining the critical loads of lateral torsional buckling of rectangular reinforced concrete beams free from initial geometric imperfections. The influences of shrinkage cracking and inelastic stress-strain properties of concrete and the contribution of longitudinal reinforcement to the lateral stability are accounted for in the critical load formula. The experiments showed that the limit load of a concrete beam with initial geometric imperfections can be significantly lower than the critical load corresponding to its geometrically perfect configuration. Accordingly, a second formula was developed for the estimation of limit loads of reinforced concrete beams with initial lateral imperfections, by introducing the destabilizing effect of sweep to the critical load formula. The experimental results were compared to the proposed analytical solution and to various lateral torsional buckling solutions in the literature. The formulation proposed in the present study was found to agree well with the experimental results. The incorporation of the geometric and material nonlinearities into the formula makes the proposed solution superior to the previous lateral torsional buckling solutions for rectangular reinforced concrete beams.

Metal building frames are typically designed using welded prismatic and web-tapered members with doubly-symmetric and/or singly-symmetric cross sections. Until recently, the base U.S. provisions for design of frames with web-tapered members were provided in the AISC ASD (1989) and LRFD (1999) Specifications. Unfortunately, these previous AISC provisions address only a small range of practical designs. As a result, metal building manufacturers have tended to develop their own methods for design of the wide range of nonprismatic member geometries and configurations encountered in practice. This research develops new design procedures for design of frames using general prismatic members and web-tapered members. An equivalent prismatic member concept utilized in prior research and the prior AISC provisions is generalized to accommodate the broad range of member types and configurations commonly used in metal building industry. Furthermore, the new design procedures incorporate many of the improvements achieved in the AISC (2005&2010) Specifications to metal building frame design. These improvements include a new stability design method, the direct analysis method, more complete considerations of different column buckling limit states (flexural, torsional and flexural-torsional buckling), and improved axial load and flexural resistance provisions. This research develops practical design-based procedures for simplified calculation of the elastic buckling resistances of prismatic and web-tapered members to facilitate the application of the proposed design methods. In addition, this research performs a relatively comprehensive assessment of beam lateral torsional buckling (LTB) behavior and strength of prismatic and web-tapered members using refined virtual test simulation. It is demonstrated that web-tapered members behave in a comparable fashion to prismatic members. Based on the virtual simulation study, recommendations for potential improvement of the AISC LTB resistance equations are provided. Lastly, the strength behavior of several representative metal building frames is studied in detail using the same virtual test simulation capabilities developed and applied for the assessment of the beam LTB resistances.

The charge-density-wave (CDW) material orthorhombic tantalum trisulfide (TaS3) is a quasi-one dimensional material that forms long ribbon shaped crystals, and exhibits unique physical behavior. We have measured the dependence of the hysteretic voltage-induced torsional strain (VITS) in TaS3, which was first discovered by Pokrovskii et. al. in 2007, on temperature and applied torque. Our experimental results shows that the application of torque to the crystal could also change the VITS time constant, magnitude, and sign. This suggests that the VITS is a consequence of residual torsional strain originally present in the sample which twists the polarizations of the CDW when voltage is applied. This polarization twist then results in torque on the crystal. Another group of materials that may attract interest is that of small-molecule soluble organic semiconductors. Due to their assumed small phonon thermal conductivities and higher charge carrier mobilities, which will increase their seebeck coefficients with doping as compared to polymers, the small-molecule organic materials are promising for thermoelectric applications. In our experiments, we have measured the interlayer thermal conductivity of rubrene (C42H28), using ac-calorimetry. For rubrene, we find that the interlayer thermal conductivity, ≈ 0.7 mW/cm·K, is several times smaller than the (previously measured) in-plane value. Also, we have measured the interlayer and in-plane thermal conductivities of 6,13-bis((triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn). The in-plane value is comparable to that of organic metals with excellent π-orbital overlap. The interlayer (c-axis) thermal diffusivity is at least an order of magnitude larger than the in-plane, and this unusual anisotropy implies very strong dispersion of optical modes in the interlayer direction, presumably due to interactions between the silyl-containing side groups. Similar values for both in-plane and interlayer conductivities have been observed for several other functionalized pentacene semiconductors with related structures.

The Formula SAE is a student based competition organised by SAE International where engineering students from a university design, develop and test a formula-style race car prototype to compete against other universities. The competition car needs to satisfy the competition rules set out by the organisers. The competition strives to stimulate original, creative problem solving together with innovative engineering design practices. In any race environment, the primary goal is always to be as competitive as possible. Due to the competitive nature of motor sport, vehicle components need to withstand various and severe stresses. The components of a race car vehicle are responsible for the vehicle’s handling characteristics and reliability. The chassis is a crucial and integral component of a Formula SAE competition car, primarily responsible for the vehicle’s performance characteristics. The chassis is the structural component that accommodates all the other components. A Formula SAE chassis is a structure that requires high torsional stiffness, low weight as well as the necessary strength properties. In this study, multiple Formula SAE chassis were designed and developed using computer aided design software. Each concept’s torsional stiffness, weight and strength properties were tested using finite element analysis software. The different concepts consisted of different design techniques and applications. All the concepts were analysed and assessed, leading to the identification of an acceptable prototype. The prototype was manufactured for experimental tests. The designed chassis complied with the Formula SAE rules and regulations. The weight, torsional stiffness and strength characteristics of the designed chassis frame were also favourable compared to accepted standards for Formula SAE chassis frames. The manufactured chassis was prepared for experimental tests in order to validate the simulation results produced by the finite element analysis. The torsional stiffness, weight and strength were experimentally determined and the results were compared with the corresponding simulations results. The comparison of the experimental and simulated results enabled the validation of the finite element analysis software. The study draws conclusions about the use of computer aided design and finite element analysis software as a design tool for the development of a Formula SAE chassis. Closure about the study is provided with general conclusions, recommendations and research possibilities for future studies. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar o desempenho e a resistência de cantoneiras curtas de abas iguais pultrudadas em polímero reforçado com fibra de vidro (PRFV) submetidas à compressão centrada de curta duração. Os fundamentos teóricos associados ao comportamento de cantoneiras perfeitas e reais são apresentados e os resultados de um programa experimental que envolveu caracterização dos materiais e ensaios à compressão são reportados e discutidos. Ao todo, vinte e uma colunas bi-engastadas com diferentes razões largura/espessura das abas, comprimentos e propriedades mecânicas foram testadas. As forças críticas experimentais para o modo de flambagem à flexo-torção foram determinadas e comparadas com as previsões teóricas, apresentando boa concordância. A resistência à compressão de cada coluna foi obtida experimentalmente, discutindo-se a influência do comportamento pós-flambagem e das imperfeições na capacidade de carga final com relação à esperada para coluna perfeita e, finalmente, uma equação para resistência de coluna é proposta para resolver o problema. / [en] This paper aims to investigate performance and strength of glass-fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) pultruded short equal leg angle columns subject to short-term concentric compression. Background theories associated with the behavior of perfect and real angle struts are presented and the results of an experimental program that involved material characterization and compression tests are reported and discussed. In all, twenty-one fixed-ended columns having different leg width-to-thickness ratio and lengths and mechanical properties were tested. Experimental critical loads for flexural-torsional buckling mode were determined and compared with theoretical predictions, showing a good agreement with each other. Compressive strength for each column was obtained, the influence of post-buckling behavior and imperfections in the final load-carrying capacity with respect to that expected for perfect column condition is discussed and, finally, a column strength equation is proposed to address the problem.

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise multicorpos de combinação veicular de carga com chassi de semirreboque flexível, para avaliação de dinâmica lateral. O contexto é dado por um breve panorama do transporte rodoviário de cargas no Brasil. No intuito de melhorar seus produtos, os fabricantes de implementos rodoviários têm utilizado metodologias de desenvolvimento baseadas em simulação virtual. Nessas circunstâncias, análises dinâmicas são realizadas, geralmente levando-se em conta a hipótese de corpos rígidos (não deformáveis). Subjetivamente, é sabido que a inclusão da flexibilidade em um modelo numérico o aproxima do fenômeno real, mas são raros os trabalhos que analisam quantitativamente essa diferença. Assim, neste estudo é proposta uma abordagem para consideração da flexibilidade estrutural do chassi de um semirreboque em simulações de tráfego. Procede-se a discretização do quadro do implemento em elementos finitos, para realização de análise de vibração livre, na qual são determinados os modos (autovetores) e as frequências naturais (autovalores) da estrutura. Utilizando metodologia de superposição modal, os modos de vibração são classificados para compor, por combinação linear, a flexibilidade da estrutura nas análises dinâmicas em ferramenta comercial de MBS (sistemas multicorpos). São realizadas, então, simulações de manobras representativas da dinâmica lateral de combinações veiculares, com ênfase à estabilidade em rolagem. Os efeitos globais da inserção de flexibilidade modal no chassi do semirreboque são avaliados por meio de métricas específicas, baseadas em normas ISO de dinâmica lateral para veículos pesados. Os resultados das simulações, apresentados em forma gráfica e tabelas, mostram a grande influência da flexibilidade estrutural do chassi no desempenho dinâmico da combinação veicular analisada. Grandezas relevantes como aceleração lateral (no domínio do tempo e da frequência), ângulo de rolagem e força atuante nos pneus, além de fenômenos físicos como a transferência lateral de carga em curvas, são fortemente afetados pela flexibilidade do quadro. Agrega-se ao trabalho desenvolvido uma forma simplificada de equacionar analiticamente a rolagem de um semirreboque flexível. É realizada também uma análise de sensibilidade da rigidez torcional do chassi quanto ao número de travessas. / This work presents a lateral dynamics multibody analysis of a heavy articulated vehicle with a flexible frame for the semi-trailer. The context is given by a short perspective of the load carrying transportation scenery in Brazil. In order to build better products, the trailer manufacturers have been using development methodologies based on virtual simulation. In these circumstances, dynamic analyses are carried out, considering the hypothesis of rigid (non-deformable) bodies. Subjectively, it is known that the inclusion of flexibility in a numerical model brings it closer to reality, but very few studies work on giving numbers to this difference. Thus, this study presents an approach for taking into account the frame structural flexibility of a semi-trailer in traffic simulations. The frame of the semi-trailer is represented by a finite element model, and a free vibration analysis of this structure is carried out. The mode shapes (eigenvectors) and natural frequencies (eigenvalues) are determined. With a mode superposition method, the vibration modes are classified, for the purpose of building the structural flexibility (by linear combination) of the chassis in the dynamic analyses of the MBS software. Typical maneuvers of lateral dynamics are simulated, testing the roll stability of the combined vehicle model. The global effects for considering the mode flexibility in the semitrailer frame are evaluated through specific metrics, based on ISO standards for heavy vehicles lateral dynamics. The strong influence of the frame structural flexibility, when analyzing the articulated vehicle transient behavior, is showed by simulation results, which are presented in graphics and tables. Important measurements, such as lateral acceleration (in time and frequency domains), roll angle and vertical force on tires, besides physical phenomenon like lateral load transfer, are significantly modified by the flexibility of the frame. A simplified approach for writing the analytical equations of the flexible semi-trailer roll dynamics is added to the study. A torsional stiffness sensitivity analysis is also performed, regarding the number of transversal members in the semi-trailer chassis.