Prediction of the Dynamic Behaviour of Electromagnetic Relays Submitted to Mechanical Shocks

Author(s):  
D. Wattiaux ◽  
C. Conti ◽  
O. Verlinden

During space flights, pyrotechnic devices are widely used to separate structural subsystems, to unfold solar panels or to activate propellant valves. The firing of these pyrotechnic devices generates severe shock waves (so-called pyroshocks) with high intensity and wide frequency range, which can damage the surrounding electronic equipment. Common observed damages more especially concern relay chatter and transfer, as well as failure of magnetic components. There is a lack of failure criteria for electronic equipment as well as computational techniques able to predict the dynamic behaviour of complex structures subjected to high frequency shock waves. The pyrotechnic shock behaviour is checked experimentally: test specifications imposed through embarked electronic devices are generally defined as a maximum limit imposed to the Shock Response Spectrum (SRS). This paper describes a methodology to check the electrical and mechanical behaviours of some electromagnetic relays submitted to severe mechanical shocks. Experimental results obtained when checking the perturbations induced by shocks on the electrical behaviour of some relays, such as the latching GP250 relay are also presented. Microswitches levels have been correlated with the magnitude and shape of different Shock Response Spectra. This paper presents also a simplified model of electromagnetic relays allowing to predict the electrical dysfunctions such as the micro-openings. The model has been updated using experimental frequency and modal analysis.

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wattiaux ◽  
Olivier Verlinden ◽  
Calogero Conti ◽  
Christophe De Fruytier

This paper is concerned with the numerical simulation of mechanical structures subjected to pyroshocks. In practice, the methodology is applied on the pyroshock test facility, which is used by Thales to qualify the electronic equipment intended to be embarked onboard of spatial vehicles. This test facility involves one plate or two plates linked by screw bolts. The tested device is mounted on one side while the explosive charge is applied on the other side. The main issue of this work is to be able to tune, by simulation, the parameters of the facility (number of plates, material of plate, number of bolts, amount of explosive, etc.) so as to get the required level of solicitation during the test. The paper begins by an introduction presenting the state of the art in terms of pyroshock modeling, followed by a description of the shock response spectrum (SRS) commonly used to represent the test specifications of an embarked equipment. It turns out that there is a lack of computational techniques able to predict the dynamic behavior of complex structures subjected to high frequency shock waves such as explosive loads. Three sections are then devoted to the simulation of the pyrotechnic test, which involves on one hand a model of the structure and on the other hand an appropriate representation of the impulsive load. The finite element method (FEM) is used to model the dynamic behavior of the structure. The FEM models of several instances of the facility have been updated and validated up to 1000Hz by comparison with the results of experimental modal analyses. For the excitation source, we have considered an approach by equivalent mechanical shock (EMS), which consists in replacing the actual excitation by a localized force applied on the FEM model at the center of the explosive device. The main originality of the approach is to identify the amplitude and duration of the EMS by minimizing the gap between the experimental and numerical results in terms of the SRS related to several points of the facility. The identification has been performed on a simple plate structure for different amounts of explosive. The methodology is then validated in three ways. Firstly, it is shown that there is a good agreement between experimental and numerical SRS for all the points considered to identify the EMS. Secondly, it appears that the energy injected by the EMS is well correlated with the amount of explosive. Lastly, the EMS identified on one structure for a given amount of explosive leads to coherent responses when applied on other structures. A parametric study is finally performed, which shows the influence of the thickness of the plate, the material properties, the localization of the EMS, and the addition of a local mass. The different obtained results show that our pyroshock model allows to efficiently estimate the acceleration levels undergone by the electronic equipment during a pyroshock and, in this way, to predict some eventual electrical failures, such as the chatter of electromagnetic relays.


Volume 1 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. David Hampton ◽  
Nathan S. Wiedenman ◽  
Ting H. Li

Many military systems must be capable of sustained operation in the face of mechanical shocks due to projectile or other impacts. The most widely used method of quantifying a system’s vibratory transient response to shock loading is called the shock response spectrum (SRS). The system response for which the SRS is to be determined can be due, physically, either to a collocated or to a noncollocated shock loading. Taking into account both possibilities, one can define the SRS as follows: the SRS presents graphically the maximum transient response (output) of an imaginary ideal mass-spring-damper system at one point on a flexible structure, to a particular mechanical shock (input) applied to an arbitrary (perhaps noncollocated) point on the structure, as a function of the natural frequency of the imaginary mass-spring-damper system. For a response point sufficiently distant from the impact area, many Army platforms (such as vehicles) can be accurately treated as linear systems with proportional damping. In such cases the output due to an impulsive mechanical-shock input can be decomposed into exponentially decaying sinusoidal components, using normal-mode orthogonalization. Given a shock-induced loading comprising such components, this paper provides analytical expressions for the various common SRS forms. The analytical approach to SRS-determination can serve as a verification of, or an alternative to, the numerical approaches in current use for such systems. No numerical convolution is required, because the convolution integrals have already been accomplished analytically (and exactly), with the results incorporated into the algebraic expressions for the respective SRS forms.


2006 ◽  
Vol 3-4 ◽  
pp. 383-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Sek ◽  
Vincent Rouillard

This paper presents some of the latest results of a research project aimed at using composite corrugated paperboard structures for protection of products against mechanical shocks and vibration during transportation and handling. Specifically, the behaviour of multi-layered corrugated paperboard (MCPB) under shock loading is investigated. Conventionally, packaging cushion design requires the determination of the maximum expected shock levels or equivalent drop which are usually determined from statistical analysis of original field measurements. With this approach, it is generally acknowledged that the cushioning element is engineered to provide adequate protection for statistically likely events but not for extreme events with low statistical likelihood. It is reluctantly accepted that, should it occur, the latter will result in damage to the product. MCPB can be formed with a broad range of compressive characteristics and with various proportions of elastic and plastic behaviour. The objective of this experimental investigation was to determine the optimum elastic/plastic proportion to extend the protective range to include large shock levels. The experimental results obtained include the effects of compression history on the stress-strain properties of MCPB as well as the behaviour of the material in both virgin and pre-compressed form under impulsive loads. The mechanism of deformation of the corrugations (flutes) was studied using high-speed video equipment. The complex acceleration signals produced during deformation of the composite corrugated paperboard cushions under shock loading were analysed by means of the shock response spectrum. Experiments have shown that inserting a sacrificial crumple element of virgin corrugated paperboard at the optimum contact area ratio dramatically lowers the overall level of the resulting shock response spectrum. This has the effect of increasing the allowable drop height for a limited number of extreme events. The main conclusion of the research is that MCPB in both virgin and pre-compressed forms can be combined to provide significantly enhanced protection to products against mechanical hazards during distribution.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Y. Chong ◽  
J. R. Lee ◽  
C. W. Kong

Pyroshock has been an issue of great concern for aerospace and defense industrial applications. When pyroshock devices are detonated, they can easily cause failures in electronic, optical, relay, and magnetic components generally in mid- and far-fields which is not avoidable at the design level. Thus, many numerical and experimental pyroshock simulations have been widely studied to predict explosive-induced pyroshock effect quantitatively, especially the shock response spectrum (SRS). In this study, a laser shock-based pyroshock reconstruction method is proposed to simulate a pointwise explosive-induced pyroshock signal. The signal processing algorithm for the laser shock-based pyroshock reconstruction is developed in a LabVIEW platform and consists of subbands decomposition, SRS matching in decomposed bands, and wave synthesizing. Then, two experimental setups are configured to obtain pyroshock signals and laser shock signals at four points in an aluminum plate. The reconstructed pyroshock signals synthesized according to the signal processing of the laser shocks demonstrate high similarity to the real pyroshock signals, where the similarity is evaluated by the mean acceleration difference between the SRS curves. The optimized settings of the subband decomposition were obtained and can be in the future used in a pyroshock simulator based on laser shock for pyroshock simulation at any arbitrary point.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Cordes ◽  
P. Vo ◽  
J.R. Lee ◽  
D.W. Geissler ◽  
J.D. Metz ◽  
...  

The Soft Catch Gun at Picatinny Arsenal is regularly used for component testing. Most shots contain accelerometers which record accelerations as a function of time. Statistics of accelerometer data indicate that the muzzle exit accelerations are, on average, higher than tactical firings. For that reason, Soft Catch Gun tests with unusually high accelerations may not be scored for Lot Acceptance Tests (LAT) by some customers. The 95/50 Normal Tolerance Limit (NTL) is proposed as a means of determining which test results should be scored. This paper presents comparisons of Shock Response Spectra (SRS) used for the 95/50 scoring criteria. The paper also provides a Discussion Section outlining some concerns with scoring LAT results based on test results outside of the proposed 95/50 criteria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 349
Author(s):  
Andrii Sulym ◽  
Pavlo Khozia ◽  
Eduard Tretiak ◽  
Václav Píštěk ◽  
Oleksij Fomin ◽  
...  

This article deals with the method of computer-aided studies of the results of tank container impact tests to confirm the ability of portable tanks and multi-element gas containers to withstand the impact in the longitudinal direction on a specially equipped test rig or using a railway flat car by impacting a flat car with a striking car, in compliance with the requirements of the UN Navigation Rules and Regulations. It is shown that the main assessed characteristic of the UN requirements is the spectrum of the shock response (accelerations) for the interval natural frequencies of the shock pulse. The calculation of the points of the shock response spectrum curve based on the test results is reproduced in four stages. A test configuration of the impact testing of the railway flat car with a tank container is presented, and the impact is performed in such a way that, under a single impact, the shock spectrum curve obtained during the tests for both fittings subjected to impact repeats or exceeds the minimum shock spectrum curve for all frequencies in the range of 2 Hz to 100 Hz. Formulas for determining the relative displacements and accelerations for the interval natural frequencies of the shock wave are given. The research results are presented in graphical form, indicating that the experimental values of the shock response spectrum exceed the minimum permissible values; the equation of the experimental curve of the shock response spectrum in the frequency range 0–100 Hz is described by power-law dependence. The coefficients of the equation were determined by the statistical method of maximum likelihood with the determination factor being 0.897, which is a satisfactory value; a comparative analysis showed that the experimental curve of the impact response spectrum in the frequency range 0–100 Hz exceeds the normalized curve, which confirms compliance with regulatory requirements. A new test configuration is proposed using a tank car with a bulk liquid, the processes in which upon impact differ significantly from other freight wagons under longitudinal impact loads of the tank container. The hydraulic impact resulting from the impact on the tank container and the platform creates an overturning moment that causes the rear fittings to be unloaded.


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