No description available.

In my dissertation, I was concentrated mostly on a pliability of problematic of wheel´s suspension. My thesis is mostly a detail design proposal of a device, which is determined for a measurement and record of wheels suspension system´s elastic deformation. My theoretical part of this thesis is a search of existing devices and its problematic. The other part of my dissertation is a description of individual parts of my designed device and also an analysis of designed components´ intension. My thesis includes calculation, for case of realisation. There is also a design of measuring chain, methods of results´ evaluation after measuring with this device and theoretical analysis of measurement´s inaccuracy.

Osteoporosis, associated with reduced bone mineral density and structural degeneration, greatly increases the risk of fragility fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been applied to central skeletal sites including the proximal femur due to its non-ionizing radiation. A major challenge of volumetric bone imaging of the hip is the selection of regions of interest (ROIs) for computation of regional bone measurements. To address this issue, an MRI-based active shape model (ASM) of the human proximal femur is applied to automatically generate ROIs. The challenge in developing the ASM for a complex three-dimensional (3-D) shape lies in determining a large number of anatomically consistent landmarks for a set of training shapes. This thesis proposes a new method of generating the proximal femur ASM, where two types of landmarks, namely fiducial and secondary landmarks, are used. The method consists of—(1) segmentation of the proximal femur bone volume, (2) smoothing the bone surface, (3) drawing fiducial landmark lines on training shapes, (4) drawing secondary landmarks on a reference shape, (5) landmark mesh generation on the reference shape using both fiducial and secondary landmarks, (6) generation of secondary landmarks on other training shapes using the correspondence of fiducial landmarks and an elastic deformation of the landmark mesh, (7) computation of the active shape model. A proximal femur ASM has been developed using hip MR scans of 45 post-menopausal women. The results of secondary landmark generation were visually satisfactory, and no topology violation or notable geometric distortion artifacts were observed. Performance of the method was examined in terms of shape representation errors in a leave-one-out test. The mean and standard deviation of leave-one-out shape representation errors were 0.34mm and 0.09mm respectively. The experimental results suggest that the framework of fiducial and secondary landmarks allows reliable computation of statistical shape models for complex 3-D anatomic structures.

Industrial demands for higher productivity rates and more stringent part tolerances require faster production machines that can produce, assemble, or manipulate parts at higher speeds and with better accuracy than ever before. In a majority of production machines, such as machine tools, ball screw drives are used as the primary motion delivery mechanism due to their reasonably high accuracy, high mechanical stiffness, and low cost. This brings the motivation for the research in this thesis, which has been to develop new control techniques that can achieve high bandwidths near the structural frequencies of ball screw drives, and also compensate for various imperfections in their motion delivery, so that better tool positioning accuracy can be achieved at high speeds. A precision ball screw drive has been designed and built for this study. Detailed dynamic modeling and identification has been performed, considering rigid body dynamics, nonlinear friction, torque ripples, axial and torsional vibrations, lead errors, and elastic deformations. Adaptive Sliding Mode Controller (ASMC) is designed based on the rigid body dynamics and notch filters are used to attenuate the effect of structural resonances. Feedforward friction compensation is also added to improve the tracking accuracy at velocity reversals. A bandwidth of 223 Hz was achieved while controlling the rotational motion of the ball screw, leading to a servo error equivalent to 1.6 um of translational motion. The motor and mechanical torque ripples were also modeled and compensated in the control law. This improved the motion smoothness and accuracy, especially at low speeds and low control bandwidths. The performance improvement was also noticeable when higher speeds and control bandwidths were used. By adding on the torque ripple compensation, the rotational tracking accuracy was improved to 0.95 um while executing feed motions with 1 m/sec velocity and 1 g acceleration. As one of the main contributions in this thesis, the dynamics of the 1st axial mode (at 132 Hz) were actively compensated using ASMC, which resulted in a command tracking bandwidth of 208 Hz. The mode compensating ASMC (MC-ASMC) was also shown to improve the dynamic stiffness of the drive system, around the axial resonance, by injecting additional damping at this mode. After compensating for the lead errors as well, a translational tracking accuracy of 2.6 um was realized while executing 1 m/sec feed motions with 0.5 g acceleration transients. In terms of bandwidth, speed, and accuracy, these results surpass the performance of most ball screw driven machine tools by 4-5 times. As the second main contribution in this thesis, the elastic deformations (ED) of the ball screw drive were modeled and compensated using a robust strategy. The robustness originates from using the real-time feedback control signal to monitor the effect of any potential perturbations on the load side, such as mass variations or cutting forces, which can lead to additional elastic deformations. In experimental results, it is shown that this compensation scheme can accurately estimate and correct for the elastic deformation, even when there is 130% variation in the translating table mass. The ED compensation strategy has resulted in 4.1 um of translational accuracy while executing at 1 m/sec feed motion with 0.5 g acceleration transients, without using a linear encoder. This result is especially significant for low-cost CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine tools that have only rotary encoders on their motors. Such machines can benefit from the significant accuracy improvement provided by this compensation scheme, without the need for an additional linear encoder.

Industrial demands for higher productivity rates and more stringent part tolerances require faster production machines that can produce, assemble, or manipulate parts at higher speeds and with better accuracy than ever before. In a majority of production machines, such as machine tools, ball screw drives are used as the primary motion delivery mechanism due to their reasonably high accuracy, high mechanical stiffness, and low cost. This brings the motivation for the research in this thesis, which has been to develop new control techniques that can achieve high bandwidths near the structural frequencies of ball screw drives, and also compensate for various imperfections in their motion delivery, so that better tool positioning accuracy can be achieved at high speeds. A precision ball screw drive has been designed and built for this study. Detailed dynamic modeling and identification has been performed, considering rigid body dynamics, nonlinear friction, torque ripples, axial and torsional vibrations, lead errors, and elastic deformations. Adaptive Sliding Mode Controller (ASMC) is designed based on the rigid body dynamics and notch filters are used to attenuate the effect of structural resonances. Feedforward friction compensation is also added to improve the tracking accuracy at velocity reversals. A bandwidth of 223 Hz was achieved while controlling the rotational motion of the ball screw, leading to a servo error equivalent to 1.6 um of translational motion. The motor and mechanical torque ripples were also modeled and compensated in the control law. This improved the motion smoothness and accuracy, especially at low speeds and low control bandwidths. The performance improvement was also noticeable when higher speeds and control bandwidths were used. By adding on the torque ripple compensation, the rotational tracking accuracy was improved to 0.95 um while executing feed motions with 1 m/sec velocity and 1 g acceleration. As one of the main contributions in this thesis, the dynamics of the 1st axial mode (at 132 Hz) were actively compensated using ASMC, which resulted in a command tracking bandwidth of 208 Hz. The mode compensating ASMC (MC-ASMC) was also shown to improve the dynamic stiffness of the drive system, around the axial resonance, by injecting additional damping at this mode. After compensating for the lead errors as well, a translational tracking accuracy of 2.6 um was realized while executing 1 m/sec feed motions with 0.5 g acceleration transients. In terms of bandwidth, speed, and accuracy, these results surpass the performance of most ball screw driven machine tools by 4-5 times. As the second main contribution in this thesis, the elastic deformations (ED) of the ball screw drive were modeled and compensated using a robust strategy. The robustness originates from using the real-time feedback control signal to monitor the effect of any potential perturbations on the load side, such as mass variations or cutting forces, which can lead to additional elastic deformations. In experimental results, it is shown that this compensation scheme can accurately estimate and correct for the elastic deformation, even when there is 130% variation in the translating table mass. The ED compensation strategy has resulted in 4.1 um of translational accuracy while executing at 1 m/sec feed motion with 0.5 g acceleration transients, without using a linear encoder. This result is especially significant for low-cost CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine tools that have only rotary encoders on their motors. Such machines can benefit from the significant accuracy improvement provided by this compensation scheme, without the need for an additional linear encoder.

The objective of the present work is to investigate the behavior of laminated fiber -reinforced polymer matrix composite shell structures under bending load with the help of a modified finite element computer code which was previously developed for the analysis of pseudo-layered single material shells. The laminates are assumed to be orthotropic and the formulation is adapted to first order shear deformation theory. The aim is to determine the large deformation characteristics numerically, and to predict the modes of failure by the illustration of the critical elements of the model. Therefore, several failure theories are also integrated to the code to detect first ply failure. Triangular shell elements are used and all the related data are generated from the mid-plane. Laminates under transverse loading are analyzed through several boundary conditions and ply orientations. To verify the numerical results obtained, a commercial finite element program is used to compare the outputs of the study, and the comparison is found to have shown good agreement. The onset of damage is investigated by using different failure criteria consisting of maximum stress, Tsai-Wu, and Tsai- Hill theories and close results are obtained.

Les produits longs se distinguent par une dimension, généralement la longueur plus importante que la hauteur et la largeur, à titre d'exemple les rails de chemin de fer. Ces produits sont obtenus par déformation plastique à chaud puis refroidissement. Au cours du processus de fabrication, l'hétérogénéité du refroidissement et de la déformation plastique induisent un défaut géométrique de rectitude. Pour parachever la rectitude du produit, un redressage à froid est alors nécessaire. Souvent des dresseuses à galets sont utilisées pour corriger la rectitude du centre de produit, cependant, il reste les abouts. Ces derniers sont redressés au moyen d'une presse à partir de l'image de leurs profils obtenus par mesurage optique. La procédure de mesure/redressage est répétée jusqu'à la conformité du produit. Le temps de réalisation est variable, il dépend de l'apprentissage des paramètres clés liés à la géométrie et au matériau du produit à redresser. Compte tenu des exigences de plus en plus sévères sur la rectitude des produits longs d'une part et une volonté d'augmenter la productivité d'autre part, l'objet de ce travail de recherche consiste à optimiser le procédé de redressage des abouts de produits longs. Dans un premier temps, les déformations élastiques générées au cours du mesurage d'un produit long ont été filtrées. Ensuite, les erreurs des moyens de mesure ont été séparées de la mesure du produit au moyen d'une analyse couplée ce qui a permis une meilleure évaluation de la rectitude du produit. Par ailleurs, en se basant sur l'image du profil du produit, une méthodologie de redressage semi-automatique a été mise en place. Cette dernière est essentiellement basée sur une interaction entre la métrologie et la mécanique et représente une contribution à l'automatisation du procédé de redressage des abouts des produits longs. / Long workpieces are characterized by one dimension, usually length is larger than the height and width, for example, railway rails. These products are obtained by hot rolling and then cooling. During manufacturing process, heterogeneity of cooling and plastic deformation induced straightness error. In order to correct this geometrical error, cold straightening process is necessary. Usually, straightening machines are used to correct the straightness of the workpiece center however; the ends' sides were still not straightened. Based on the optical measurement profile, these ends are straightened by mechanical press. The measuring/straightening closed loop is repeated until the straightness of the product is conformed. The process time depends on the knowledge of key parameters related to geometry and material of workpiece. The objective of this research work is to optimize straightening process of the ends of long workpieces. As a first step, the elastic deformation generated during the measurement of long workpiece has been filtered. Then, a coupled analysis of measurement was used to separate error of machine measurement from workpiece measurement, which allowed a better assessment of workpiece straightness profile. Furthermore, based on straightness profile, a semi-automatic straightening methodology has been developed. It is essentially based on an interaction between metrology and mechanics and it is a contribution to the automation of straightening process for ends parts of long workpieces.

Simulations are powerful and important tools for gaining insight into powder processes. Ultimately, simulations have the potential to replace experiments. Thus, accurate models and insight into the essential factors for descriptions of powder behaviour are required. In this thesis, discrete element method (DEM) simulations of granule flow and compression were evaluated to deduce parameters and potential models essential for the experimental and numerical correspondence. In addition, the evolution in tablet microstructure during compression was studied using mercury porosimetry. Granule flow was measured using angle of repose, discharge rate, and shear. The granular flow depended primarily on particle shape and surface texture due to the mutual influence of these two parameters on the inter-particle forces. Rolling friction stabilised both the heap formation and promoted shear in the elastic quasi-static flow regime. Thus, rolling friction was established to be an essential simulation parameter for the correspondence to experiments. Current compression models often neglect the elastic compact deformation during particle loading. In this thesis, two fundamentally different models were evaluated with focus of including the elastic deformation. The first model comprised a maximal particle overlap, where elastic deformation commences. The second model accounted for the contact dependence and impingement at high relative densities. This model was based on a truncated-sphere followed by a Voronoi extension. The validity of the models was demonstrated by the elastic qualitative correspondence to experimental compressions for ductile materials. In tablets, the void (inter-granular pore) diameter was dependent on the degree of compression. Thus, the degree of compression provides an indication of the tablet microstructure. The microstructure was subsequently observed to be related to the tablet tensile strength as inferred from a percolation threshold required for formation of coherent tablets. In summary, this thesis has shed light onto the potential of simulating flow and compression of granulated pharmaceutical powders using DEM. Continuous work in the area are required to further improve the models to increase the experimental and numerical correspondence.

In this thesis, the method of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is implemented to construct approximate, reduced order models (ROM) of mesh movement methods. Three mesh movement algorithms are implemented and comparatively evaluated, namely radial basis function interpolation, mesh optimization and elastic deformation. POD models of the mesh movement algorithms are constructed using a series of system observations, or snapshots of a given mesh for a set of boundary deformations. The scalar expansion coefficients for the POD basis modes are computed in three different ways, through coefficient optimization, Galerkin projection of the governing set of equations and coefficient interpolation. It is found that using only coefficient interpolation yields mesh movement models that accurately approximates the full order mesh movement, with CPU cost savings in excess of 99%. We further introduce a novel training procedure whereby the POD models are generated in a fully automated fashion. The technology is applicable to any mesh movement method and enables potential reductions of up to four orders of magnitude in mesh movement related costs. The proposed model can be implemented without having to pre-train the POD model, to any fluid-structure interaction code with an existing mesh movement scheme. Copyright / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

Electron backscatter diffraction is a method that is well described and commonly used for orientation image mapping, including grain size estimation. The use of this method for measuring elastic deformation and rotations caused by plastic deformations is not so well decribed. This diploma thesis first describes the typical EBSD system. The information regarding the standard coordinate systems, grain orientation notation and system calibration is then used to create an open-source software for mapping elastic deformations and rotations inside a single grain or a monocrystal. This software uses data acquired during standard EBSD mapping on a commercial system.