System Deformation Behavior of Friction Pair in Fretting Wear

Several criteria for fretting wear behavior evaluation have been established since the proposal and establishment of the fretting loop concept. In this article, system deformation and system deformation ratio were defined. In addition, the fretting running conditions were distinguished from the evolution of system deformation with fretting cycles during fretting wear tests under different applied displacements and loads. In the gross slip regime, the system deformation was independent of the applied displacement and increased as the load increased, whereas in the partial slip regime, the system deformation was independent of the load and increased with the applied displacement. Furthermore, a linear relationship between the system deformation and the applied load in gross slip regime was found for the first time. Based on this linear relationship, the system deformation ratio can forecast the running regime with a given load and displacement. For the titanium alloy fretting pairs studied in this article, the fretting wear was found to run in the gross slip regime if the system deformation ratio was smaller than 0.9. Based on these observations, the system deformation ratio exhibited applicability in assisting the mechanical design of equipment suffering from fretting wear.

A Displacement Sensor Based on a Normal Mode Helical Antenna

This paper presents a passive displacement sensor based on a normal mode helical antenna. The sensor consists of an external helical antenna and an inserting dielectric rod. First, the perturbation theory is adopted to demonstrate that both the electric intensity and magnetic intensity have a noticeable gradient change within the in-and-out entrance of the helical antenna, which will cause the sensor to experience a resonant frequency shift. This phenomenon was further verified by numerical simulation using the Ansoft high frequency structure simulator (HFSS), and results show the linear correlation between the retrieved resonant frequency and the displacement. Two sets of proposed sensors were fabricated. The experiments validated that the resonant frequency shifts are linearly proportional to the applied displacement, and the sensing range can be adjusted to accommodate the user’s needs.

Programmable Multistable Mechanisms for Safe Surgical Puncturing

We present novel medical devices for safe surgical puncturing, in particular a cannula for the treatment of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). This passive mechanical device has an adjustable stroke and exerts a puncturing force independent of operator applied displacement. The innovative feature of this tool is that puncturing stroke is decoupled from operator input thereby minimizing the possibility of overpuncturing. This is achieved using our concept of stability programming, where the user modifies the mechanism strain energy as opposed to imposing direct displacement which is the case for standard bistable mechanisms. Ultra-fast laser three-dimensional (3D) printing is used to manufacture the needle in glass. A microfluidic channel is integrated into the needle tip for drug injection. Numerical simulations and experimental measurements validate the mechanical stability behavior of the puncture mechanism and characterize its puncturing stroke and force.

Measurement of Fracture Properties for Ferritic Steel in High-Pressure Hydrogen Gas

Recently, the measurement of threshold stress intensity factors for various low alloy ferritic steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas of 103 MPa was performed, and it was revealed that the subcritical cracking threshold under rising displacement was lower than the subcritical cracking threshold for crack arrest under constant displacement. These experimental results demonstrate the importance of the testing method for evaluating the fracture properties in high-pressure hydrogen gas. We measured the subcritical cracking threshold under rising displacement for ASME SA-372 Grade J ferritic steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas at pressure up to 115MPa. In contrast to other reported procedures where the applied displacement was increased continuously, in this study crack length was determined using an unloading elastic compliance method. The values of the subcritical cracking threshold measured by the unloading elastic compliance method are consistent with previous measurements in which the applied displacement continuously increased. These results suggest the possibility that subcritical cracking thresholds do not depend on the applied displacement path, i.e., periodic unloading vs. continuously rising displacement.

Skin Stringer Debonding Evolution in Stiffened Composite Panels under Compressive Load: A Novel Numerical Approach

In this paper, a numerical study, on the compressive behaviour of stiffened composite panels with skin-stringer debonding has been carried out. The analysis has been performed by adopting a novel robust (mesh and time step independent) finite elements based numerical model on a single stiffener panel with an artificial debonding. In order to prove the effectiveness of the proposed numerical tool, the results in terms of debonded area growth and compressive load versus applied displacement, have been compared with experimental data available in literature.

Quantitative assessment of anterior cruciate ligament deficiency: Applied load versus applied displacement

The Salford static knee instrument (SSKI) was developed to determine the quantitative assessment of the human knee joint in vivo by utilizing the technique of applied displacement and measurement of resistive load as proposed by Butler et al. (1). The instrument was used in parallel with the device developed by Al-Turaiki (2) which utilized the opposite method of assessment. The objective of the research was to examine which of the two techniques provided the more reliable and accurate method of knee assessment. Fourteen patients with suspected isolated rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) were subjected to anterior-posterior drawer testing on both devices. The results showed that each instrument produced results which confirmed the clinical diagnosis by indicating a significant decrease in anterior stiffness when comparing the injured and uninjured knees. [SSKI device ( p = 0.000) and Al-Turaiki (2) device ( p = 0.002) statistical significant difference testing with Bonferonni Alpha correction p = 0.0125]. The results showed the Salford static knee instrument indicated a 58 per cent decrease in anterior stiffness and the Al-Turaiki (2) device a 35 per cent decrease when comparing the injured and uninjured knees. In conclusion it is suggested that the application of displacement and measurement of load as proposed by Butler et al. (1) may be the most appropriate technique for precise clinical diagnosis of pathological human knee joint instability. load, displacement, knee, anterior, stiffness

Local Flexibility of Cylindrical Shells and Pipes at the Support

This article presents a parametric study for the determination of the flexibility and stiffness of a cylindrical shell at its support location. The parametric equation incorporates the geometric variables of both cylindrical shell and support; namely, the shell radius, thickness, and length, and the support width and embracing angle. A mathematical model has been devised to provide the theoretical data of flexibilities for establishing the parametric equation. The model is based on a contact stress formulation and uses a cylindrical shell theory. The validity and accuracy of the proposed parametric equation has been checked against available experimental results obtained from literature. There is close agreement between the two. The present study and results should be useful to designers who wish to determine the induced support force (or displacement) due to applied displacement (or force) at the support.