Presented are approximate finite strip methods for use in predicting elastic buckling strength of cold-formed steel columns. These methods were developed by examining elemental behavior of cross-sections in eigen-buckling analyses and validated using a large database of finite element rack-type columns with perforation patterns. The influence of perforations is accounted by reduced thicknesses related to the plate buckling coefficient and transverse web rotational stiffness in the prediction of local and distortional buckling respectively. Global buckling prediction including the influence of perforations uses critical elastic loads of an unperforated section multiplied by the ratio of weighted to gross cross-sectional moment of inertia for flexural buckling and the ratios of weighted to gross cross-sectional warping torsion constant and weighted to gross St. Venant torsional constant for flexural-torsional buckling. Concern for end-user was given and methods are presented in a way for incorporation into governing design standards. Data to support these findings are available at http://hdl.handle.net/10919/23797 / Master of Science

Variation analysis, or tolerance analysis as it is sometimes called, is typically used to predict variation in critical dimensions in assemblies by calculating the stack-up of the contributing component variations. It is routinely used in manufacturing and assembly environments with great success. Design engineers are able to account for the small changes in dimensions that naturally occur in manufacturing processes, in equipment, and due to operators and still ensure that the assemblies will meet the design specifications and required assembly performance parameters. Furthermore, geometric variation not only affects critical fits and clearances in static assemblies, it can also cause variation in the motion of mechanisms, and their dynamic performance. The fact that variation and motion analysis are both dependent upon the geometry of the assembly makes this area of study much more challenging. This research began while investigating a particular application of dynamic assemblies - automobiles. Suspension and steering systems are prime examples dynamic assemblies. They are also critical systems, for which small changes in dimension can cause dramatic changes in the vehicle performance and capabilities. The goals of this research were to develop the tools necessary to apply the principles of static variation analysis to the kinematic motions of mechanisms. Through these tools, suspension and steering systems could be analyzed over a range of positions to determine how small changes in dimensions could affect the performance of those systems. There are two distinct applications for this research, steering systems and suspension systems. They are treated separately, as they have distinct requirements. Steering systems are mechanisms, for which position information is most critical to performance. In suspension systems, however, the higher order kinematic terms of velocity and acceleration often are more important than position parameters.

No description available.

Compression of elastomer elements are nonlinear due to the cross-linked molecular structure owing to a property known as hyperelasticity. Hyperelasticity is defined as the nonlinear stress-strain behavior shown by rubber like materials which can be strained up to a range of 700% in tension and up to 40% in compression. The stress-strain behavior is modeled by using different material models which predict the behavior very precisely.  Linear actuators from Cascade Drives AB uses a patented load sharing mechanism using elastically deformable elements to distribute the torque evenly between all the gears interacting with a common gear rack. An accurate model predicting the response of elastomer under compression has been developed in this thesis project. The elastomers were loaded in compression to provide flexibility for the system. First a static model was developed, where both a rectangular and a cylindrical roller model were analyzed.  The two models were derived using a continuum mechanics approach and the stiffness of the elastomers along with the torque output of the gearbox was calculated. A MATLAB model and an FEA model using ANSYS was created, and the results were compared. An error estimate between the MATLAB and FEA results for the rectangular and roller model was plotted for a certain β° of rotation of the gear. The models were also checked for different materials and the output torque for the different materials was plotted and analyzed. Finally, the experimental results were compared with the MATLAB results for the rectangular and roller models. The rectangle and roller model can be both used to predict the behaviour of using elastomers as the load sharing elements in applications. / Kompression av elastomerelement är olinjär till följd av den tvärbundna molekylära strukturen, en egenskap som kallas hyperelasticitet. Hyperelasticitet definieras som det icke-linjära spännings-töjningsbeteendet som uppvisas av gummiliknande material vilka kan töjas upp till av 700% och upp till komprimeras upp till 40%. Spänningsbelastningsbeteendet modelleras med hjälp av olika materialmodeller som förutsäger beteendet.  Cascade Drives linjäraktuatorer använder elastiskt komprimerbara element i sin lastfördelningsmekanism för att använda multipla plinjonger på ett kuggrack utan att få ett överbestämt system. Lastfördelningsmekanismen ger även en viss flexibilitet för systemet.  En modell som förutsäger responsen hos elastomerer under kompression har utvecklats i denna avhandling. Två geometriska former undersöktes modeller togs fram för både en rektangulär och cylindrisk rulle. De två modellerna härleddes med en kontinuummekanisk metod och elastomerernas styvhet beräknades. En MATLAB-modell och en FEM-modell i ANSYS skapades och resultaten jämfördes och en feluppskattning modellerna gjordes. Modellerna undersöktes också för olika material och utmattningsegenskaperna för de olika materialen analyserades.  Rektangel- eller rullmodellen kan båda användas för att förutsäga hur en elastomer skulle bete sig i en växellådsapplikation.

This thesis presents a novel Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converter with Multiple Resonant Frequencies, abbreviated as MRSCC for both high density and efficiency non-isolated large step-down Intermediate Bus Converter (IBC). Conventional Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converter (RSCC) proposed by Shoyama and its high voltage conversion ratio derivation such as Switched-Tank Converter (STC) by Jiang and li employ half sinusoidal-current charge transfer method between capacitors to achieve high efficiency and density operation by adding a small resonant inductor in series to pure switched-capacitor converter's (SCC) flying capacitor. By operating switching frequency to be the same as its resonant frequency, RSCC achieves zero-current turn off operation, however, this cause RSCC and its derivation suffer from component variation issue for high-volume adoption. Derived from RSCC, MRSCC adds additional high frequency resonant component, operates only during its dead-time, by adding small capacitor in parallel to RSCC's resonant inductor. By operating switching frequency higher than its main resonant frequency, MRSCC utilizes double chopped half-sinusoidal current charge transfer method between capacitors to further improve efficiency. In addition, operating switching frequency consistently higher than its resonant frequency, MRSCC provides high immunity towards component variation, making it and its derivation viable for high-volume adoption. / MS / Following the recent trend, most internet services are moving towards cloud computing. Large data applications and growing popularity of cloud computing require hyperscale data centers and it will continue to grow rapidly in the next few years to keep up with the demand [4]. These cutting-edge data centers will require higher performance multi-core CPU and GPU installations which translates to higher power consumption. From 10MWatts of power, typical data centers deliver only half of this power to the computing load which includes processors, memory and drives. Unfortunately, the rest goes to losses in power conversion, distribution and cooling [5]. Industry members look into increasing backplane voltage from 12V to 48V in order to reduce distribution loss. This thesis proposes a novel Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converter using Multiple Resonant Frequencies to accommodate this increase of backplane voltage.

Industrial steel storage racks are pre-engineered lightweight structures commonly used to store goods from supermarkets to big warehouses. These systems are framed structures, usually made of cold-formed steel profiles and characterised by non-standard details. Their performance is quite complex and the prediction of their global response is more difficult than for the traditional steel frames. This difficulty is due to the racks’ main features: the use of cold-formed thin-walled steel sections which are sensitive to different buckling modes, the presence of regular perforation patterns on the uprights, the highly non-linear behaviour of joints, the influence of the structural imperfections and the significant frame sensitivity to second order effects. The behaviour of racks becomes even more complex when seismic or accidental events induce significant horizontal forces acting on the structures. The complexity and variability that characterise racks make it difficult to identify general design solutions. Hence, racks design is traditionally carried out by using the “design by testing” approach, which requires the experimental characterisation of the main structural components, of the joints and the sub-assemblies. The complexity of the racks also affects their numerical modelling, which results in complex analyses that must take into account all the aforementioned features. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the study of a typical steel pallet rack, identified as case study. The research aims to contribute to building up a comprehensive knowledge of the response of both the main rack components and of the whole structure. The main rack components were first individually studied. The behaviour of the uprights, of the base-plate joints and of the beam-to-column joints was experimentally investigated. The experimental data were then taken as reference for the calibration of FE models that enabled exploring each component’s performance. These models were then incorporated into the whole rack model. The response of the uprights was first investigated through stub column tests. The non-negligible interaction between axial force and bending moment of the upright response was then experimentally and numerically analysed to define the M-N domains. In addition, the rules provided by different European standards for the design of isolated members subjected to combined axial load and bending moment were considered and critically compared, identifying the main critical issues of the different design approaches. Although the contribution of joints on the rack global response is of paramount importance, to date, the knowledge is quite limited. In particular, the experimental studies of the behaviour of base-plate joints are still rather modest, especially for the cyclic range. Therefore, an experimental campaign on the rack base-plate joints was carried out: three levels of axial load were considered and the response in both the down-aisle and the cross-aisle direction was investigated under monotonic and cyclic loadings. Similarly, the beam-to-column joint was tested both monotonically and cyclically, taking into account its non-symmetric behaviour. Numerical models for both joint types were developed and validated enabling the characterisation of joints in the monotonic and cyclic range. This in-depth knowledge of the response of individual components facilitated the evaluation of the global rack behaviour. As a final stage of the research, full-scale tests of four-level two-bay racks were performed taking advantage of an innovative full-scale testing set-up and, on the basis of the experimental outcomes, the racks’ global behaviour was numerically investigated. Critical standards issues and needs for future research were further identified.

Today’s telecommunication cabinets use Electro Magnetic Compliance (EMC) screens in order to reduce electromagnetic noise that can cause some miss functions in electronic equipment. Many radio base stations (RBSs) use a 90-degree building architecture: the flow inlet is perpendicular to the EMC screen, which creates a complex flow, with a 90-degree air turn, expansions, compressions, perforated plates and PCBs. It is of great interest to study how the EMC screen interacts with the rest of components and analyze the total pressure drop and how much the flow pattern changes due to the placement of the screen. Velocity, pressure and temperature measurements as well as flow pattern visualizations have been carried out to gain good insight into the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a subrack model of an RBS. Furthermore, these measurements have been very useful for validating detailed CFD models and evaluating several turbulence models. Nowadays, industrial competition has caused a substantial decrease in the time-to-market of products. This fact makes the use of compact models in the first stages of the design process of vital importance. Accurate and fast compact models can to a great extent decrease the time for design, and thus for production. Hence, to determine the correlations between the pressure drop and flow pattern on the PCBs as a function of the geometry and the Reynolds number, based on a detailed CFD parametric study, was one objective. Furthermore, the development of a compact model using a porous media approach (using two directional-loss coefficients) has been accomplished. Two correlations of these directional loss coefficients were found as a function of the geometry and Reynolds number. / QC 20100630

This master's thesis makes a brief comparison of design variants of belt conveyors with variable length including examples of use. The thesis is also deals with design of travel drive of movable head, witch is a part of propel station of belt conveyor for long distance belt conveyor systems. The thesis perform static analysis of steel structure of movable head. This thesis can serve as guidance for handling similar projects. Contains basic drawings of movable head steel structure and components of the movable head travel drive.

This thesis is dealing with determining of technical and economical limits of axis X of portal milling machine driven by gear rack and pinion. And designing drive of axis like this. In chapter overview of the current state of knowledge are researched options of drive systems of linear axis, primarily of using ball screw and couple of pinion and gear rack. Basic parameters of axis X portal milling machines, options of measuring, guiding of axis and electric motors. Then the limit suitability of using pinion and gear rack is determined. In next chapters is designed few variations of arrangements of drives and selected the best one. This arrangement is then designed.

The thesis deals with design and construction of device for automatic product inspection. Thesis describes methods for testing products during manufacture. Thesis describes their main advantages and disadvantages. The main part of this thesis is design of testing device. There is described method of designing this device. It describes design of software and hardware.