Kinetic to Potential Energy Transformation Using an Elastica

Author(s):  
Sheryl Chau ◽  
Ranjan Mukherjee

Abstract The kinetic energy of a mass traveling in the horizontal direction can be fully transformed into potential energy using an elastica as a temporary storage element. This problem, which resembles the sport of pole-vaulting, is investigated using a non-dimensional framework and by solving the ensuing two-point boundary problem. Dimensional studies are conducted with the objective of better understanding the role of the mass of the vaulter, modeled here as the mass attached to the elastica, and torque applied by the vaulter, modeled here as external torque on the elastica, on vaulting performance. Simulation results indicate better vaulting performance, as indicated by higher non-dimensional potential energy, for lower mass and higher torque.

1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34
Author(s):  
J. Kajamaa

The physical conditions for a solid-state-engine (SSE) applying shape memory (SM) alloy is treated based on both experimental results and theoretical considerations. First, the mechanical efficiency is derived. It is compared to that of the fuel engine. Then, the energy transformation diagram is drawn. By means of this the overall efficiency of the system is defined. Also it is concluded that this system can store a part of the accepted kinetic energy as a potential energy in a reversible manner.


Author(s):  
Young-Bum Kim ◽  
Pan-Young Kim ◽  
Hubertus Murrenhoff

When hydraulic excavators lower their boom or brake the rotating upper structure, recoverable potential or kinetic energy is available. In recent years electric and hydraulic hybrid excavators have been developed to recover this energy that is lost through usually the throttle or relief valve. Although boom lowering motion occurs frequently, most commercial hybrid excavators only recover the swing braking energy. Some hybrid architectures to recover the boom potential energy have also been introduced, however, much of this energy is still lost as throttling losses when they save the energy into a storage device by using a recuperation scheme or they need many additional electric components. This paper introduces a new regeneration scheme to recover the boom potential energy for hydraulic excavators. By directly connecting the head chambers of the boom cylinders to a variable displacement hydraulic motor installed on the engine shaft, the boom potential energy could be used to support the torque required to be delivered by the engine. The speed of boom lowering is controlled by adjusting the motor displacement. Also bypass into a tank is implemented to limit the size of the recovery motor. The simulation results show the average fuel consumption in leveling and 90deg truck loading tasks can be reduced by 10% and 7%, respectively.


2007 ◽  
Vol 586 ◽  
pp. 83-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. LINDBORG ◽  
G. BRETHOUWER

We perform numerical box simulations of strongly stratified turbulence. The equations solved are the Boussinesq equations with constant Brunt–Väisälä frequency and forcing either in rotational or divergent modes, or, with another terminology, in vortical or wave modes. In both cases, we observe a forward energy cascade and inertial-range scaling of the horizontal kinetic and potential energy spectra. With forcing in rotational modes, there is approximate equipartition of kinetic energy between rotational and divergent modes in the inertial range. With forcing in divergent modes the results are sensitive to the vertical forcing wavenumber kfv. If kfv is sufficiently large the dynamics is very similar to the dynamics of the simulations which are forced in rotational modes, with approximate equipartition of kinetic energy in rotational and divergent modes in the inertial range. Frequency spectra of rotational, divergent and potential energy are calculated for individual Fourier modes. Waves are present at low horizontal wavenumbers corresponding to the largest scales in the boxes. In the inertial range, the frequency spectra exhibit no distinctive peaks in the internal wave frequency. In modes for which the vertical wavenumber is considerably larger than the horizontal wavenumber, the frequency spectra of rotational and divergent modes fall on top of each other. The simulation results indicate that the dynamics of rotational and divergent modes develop on the same time scale in stratified turbulence. We discuss the relevance of our results to atmospheric and oceanic dynamics. In particular, we review a number of observational reports indicating that stratified turbulence may be a prevalent dynamic process in the ocean at horizontal scales of the order of 10 or 100 m up to several kilometres.


Author(s):  
Marieke Brandt

This chapter explores the various manifestations of Saudi influence in Yemen’s extreme north, particularly with regard to the role of Saudi patronage politics in protection of the controversial and vulnerable border between the two countries. The beginnings of Saudi patronage policy can be traced back to the Saudi-Yemeni War of 1934 and the Treaty of Ṭāʾif, which resolved it. Since 1934 tribal elites in the Yemeni borderlands played a vital role in securing the common border. By considering the boundary problem through the lens of the borderland tribes, this chapter focuses on the influence of Saudi patronage politics in the area, the mutual interdependencies between Saudi boundary policy and the emergence of the Houthi conflict, and the vital role that tribes and tribal elites played in this process.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4136
Author(s):  
Clemens Gößnitzer ◽  
Shawn Givler

Cycle-to-cycle variations (CCV) in spark-ignited (SI) engines impose performance limitations and in the extreme limit can lead to very strong, potentially damaging cycles. Thus, CCV force sub-optimal engine operating conditions. A deeper understanding of CCV is key to enabling control strategies, improving engine design and reducing the negative impact of CCV on engine operation. This paper presents a new simulation strategy which allows investigation of the impact of individual physical quantities (e.g., flow field or turbulence quantities) on CCV separately. As a first step, multi-cycle unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (uRANS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a spark-ignited natural gas engine are performed. For each cycle, simulation results just prior to each spark timing are taken. Next, simulation results from different cycles are combined: one quantity, e.g., the flow field, is extracted from a snapshot of one given cycle, and all other quantities are taken from a snapshot from a different cycle. Such a combination yields a new snapshot. With the combined snapshot, the simulation is continued until the end of combustion. The results obtained with combined snapshots show that the velocity field seems to have the highest impact on CCV. Turbulence intensity, quantified by the turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, has a similar value for all snapshots. Thus, their impact on CCV is small compared to the flow field. This novel methodology is very flexible and allows investigation of the sources of CCV which have been difficult to investigate in the past.


Author(s):  
O. Lomax ◽  
A. P. Whitworth ◽  
D. A. Hubber

AbstractDisc fragmentation provides an important mechanism for producing low-mass stars in prestellar cores. Here, we describe smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations which show how populations of prestellar cores evolve into stars. We find the observed masses and multiplicities of stars can be recovered under certain conditions.First, protostellar feedback from a star must be episodic. The continuous accretion of disc material on to a central protostar results in local temperatures which are too high for disc fragmentation. If, however, the accretion occurs in intense outbursts, separated by a downtime of ~ 104yr, gravitational instabilities can develop and the disc can fragment.Second, a significant amount of the cores’ internal kinetic energy should be in solenoidal turbulent modes. Cores with less than a third of their kinetic energy in solenoidal modes have insufficient angular momentum to form fragmenting discs. In the absence of discs, cores can fragment but results in a top-heavy distribution of masses with very few low-mass objects.


Author(s):  
I.P. POPOV

A mechanical oscillatory system with homogeneous elements, namely, with n massive loads (multi– inert oscillator), is considered. The possibility of the appearance of free harmonic oscillations of loads in such a system is shown. Unlike the classical spring pendulum, the oscillations of which are due to the mutual conversion of the kinetic energy of the load into the potential energy of the spring, in a multi–inert oscillator, the oscillations are due to the mutual conversion of only the kinetic energies of the goods. In this case, the acceleration of some loads occurs due to the braking of others. A feature of the multi–inert oscillator is that its free oscillation frequency is not fixed and is determined mainly by the initial conditions. This feature can be very useful for technical applications, for example, for self–neutralization of mechanical reactive (inertial) power in oscillatory systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 015012
Author(s):  
Unofre B Pili ◽  
Renante R Violanda

Abstract The video of a free-falling object was analysed in Tracker in order to extract the position and time data. On the basis of these data, the velocity, gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, and the work done by gravity were obtained. These led to a rather simultaneous validation of the conservation law of energy and the work–energy theorem. The superimposed plots of the kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, and the total energy as respective functions of time and position demonstrate energy conservation quite well. The same results were observed from the plots of the potential energy against the kinetic energy. On the other hand, the work–energy theorem has emerged from the plot of the total work-done against the change in kinetic energy. Because of the accessibility of the setup, the current work is seen as suitable for a home-based activity, during these times of the pandemic in particular in which online learning has remained to be the format in some countries. With the guidance of a teacher, online or face-to-face, students in their junior or senior high school—as well as for those who are enrolled in basic physics in college—will be able to benefit from this work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. Travkin ◽  
◽  
T. V. Belonenko ◽  

Purpose. The Lofoten Basin is one of the most energetic zones of the World Ocean characterized by high activity of mesoscale eddies. The study is aimed at analyzing different components of general energy in the basin, namely the mean kinetic and vortex kinetic energy calculated using the integral of the volume of available potential and kinetic energy of the Lofoten Vortex, as well as variability of these characteristics. Methods and Results. GLORYS12V1 reanalysis data for the period 2010–2018 were used. The mean kinetic energy and the eddy kinetic one were analyzed; and as for the Lofoten Vortex, its volume available potential and kinetic energy were studied. The mesoscale activity of eddies in winter is higher than in summer. Evolution of the available potential energy and kinetic energy of the Lofoten Vortex up to the 1000 m horizon was studied. It is shown that the vortex available potential energy exceeds the kinetic one by an order of magnitude, and there is a positive trend with the coefficient 0,23⋅1015 J/year. It was found that in the Lofoten Basin, the intermediate layer from 600 to 900 m made the largest contribution to the potential energy, whereas the 0–400 m layer – to kinetic energy. The conversion rates of the mean kinetic energy into the vortex kinetic one and the mean available potential energy into the vortex available potential one (barotropic and baroclinic instability) were analyzed. It is shown that the first type of transformation dominates in summer, while the second one is characterized by its increase in winter. Conclusions. The vertical profile shows that the kinetic energy of eddies in winter is higher than in summer. The available potential energy of a vortex is by an order of magnitude greater than the kinetic energy. An increase in the available potential energy is confirmed by a significant positive trend and by a decrease in the vortex Burger number. The graphs of the barotropic instability conversion rate demonstrate the multidirectional flows in the vortex zone with the dipole structure observed in a winter period, and the tripole one – in summer. The barotropic instability highest intensity is observed in summer. The baroclinic instability is characterized by intensification of the regime in winter that is associated with weakening of stratification in this period owing to winter convection.


1999 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 383-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Griffin ◽  
Neil A. Tolani ◽  
Rodger Kram

Walking humans conserve mechanical and, presumably, metabolic energy with an inverted pendulum-like exchange of gravitational potential energy and horizontal kinetic energy. Walking in simulated reduced gravity involves a relatively high metabolic cost, suggesting that the inverted-pendulum mechanism is disrupted because of a mismatch of potential and kinetic energy. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the fluctuations and exchange of mechanical energy of the center of mass at different combinations of velocity and simulated reduced gravity. Subjects walked with smaller fluctuations in horizontal velocity in lower gravity, such that the ratio of horizontal kinetic to gravitational potential energy fluctuations remained constant over a fourfold change in gravity. The amount of exchange, or percent recovery, at 1.00 m/s was not significantly different at 1.00, 0.75, and 0.50 G (average 64.4%), although it decreased to 48% at 0.25 G. As a result, the amount of work performed on the center of mass does not explain the relatively high metabolic cost of walking in simulated reduced gravity.


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