Only the lubrication performance at rated engine operating condition was generally analyzed in current design and research of engine connecting-rod and main bearing. However, the actual engine (especially vehicle engine) does not always operate in rated operating condition and its operating condition changes constantly. In this paper, a four-stroke four-cylinder engine is taken as the studying object, the load and lubrication of connecting-rod and main bearing in different operating conditions are analyzed. The load of connecting-rod bearing is calculated by the dynamic calculation method, the loads of all main bearings are calculated by the whole crankshaft beam-element finite element method, and the lubrication performance of connecting-rod and main bearings are analyzed by the dynamic method. The results show that there are major differences in the changes and numerical value at corresponding moment of the loads and lubrication performance of connecting-rod and main bearings in an engine operating cycle in different engine operating conditions; the most unfavorable case of the lubrication performance of connecting-rod and main bearings may not take place in the rated engine operating condition. There are also major differences between the lubrication performance of connecting-rod bearing and that of main bearing and between the lubrication performances of main bearings one another. Therefore, it will not be reasonable that the lubrication performance of a certain connecting-rod bearing or main bearing is analyzed in the design of the engine bearing. It is necessary to analyze simultaneously the lubrication performances of all bearings in different engine operating conditions.

The flexible job shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is considered as an important problem in the modern manufacturing system. It is known to be an NP-hard problem. Most of the algorithms used in solving FJSP problem are categorized as metaheuristic methods. Some of these methods normally consume more CPU time and some other methods are more complicated which make them difficult to code and not easy to reproduce. This paper proposes a modified iterated greedy (IG) algorithm to deal with FJSP problem in order to provide a simpler metaheuristic, which is easier to code and to reproduce than some other much more complex methods. This is done by separating the classical IG into two phases. Each phase is used to solve a sub-problem of the FJSP: sequencing and routing sub-problems. A set of dispatching rules are employed in the proposed algorithm for the sequencing and machine selection in the construction phase of the solution. To evaluate the performance of proposed algorithm, some experiments including some famous FJSP benchmarks have been conducted. By compared with other algorithms, the experimental results show that the presented algorithm is competitive and able to find global optimum for most instances. The simplicity of the proposed IG provides an effective method that is also easy to apply and consumes less CPU time in solving the FJSP problem.

An X-by-wire chassis can improve the kinematic characteristics of human-vehicle closed-loop system and thus active safety especially under emergency scenarios via enabling chassis coordinated control. This paper aims to provide a complete and systematic survey on chassis coordinated control methods for full X-by-wire vehicles, with the primary goal of summarizing recent reserch advancements and stimulating innovative thoughts. Driving condition identification including driver's operation intention, critical vehicle states and road adhesion condition and integrated control of X-by-wire chassis subsystems constitute the main framework of a chassis coordinated control scheme. Under steering and braking maneuvers, different driving condition identification methods are described in this paper. These are the trigger conditions and the basis for the implementation of chassis coordinated control. For the vehicles equipped with steering-by-wire, braking-by-wire and/or wire-controlled-suspension systems, state-of-the-art chassis coordinated control methods are reviewed including the coordination of any two or three chassis subsystems. Finally, the development trends are discussed.

Microlens arrays are the key component in the next generation of 3D imaging system, for it exhibits some good optical properties such as extremely large feld of view angles, low aberration and distortion, high temporal resolution and infnite depth of feld. Although many fabrication methods or processes are proposed for manufacturing such precision component, however, those methods still need to be improved. In this review, those fabrication methods are categorized into direct and indirect method and compared in detail. Two main challenges in manufacturing microlens array are identifed:how to obtain a microlens array with good uniformity in a large area and how to produce the microlens array on a curved surface? In order to efectively achieve control of the geometry of a microlens, indirect methods involving the use of 3D molds and replication technologies are suggested. Further development of ultraprecision machining technology is needed to reduce the surface fuctuation by considering the dynamics of machine tool in tool path planning. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of manufacturing microlens array in industry and academic research are discussed and several principle conclusions are drawn.

Point features, as the basis of lines, surfaces, and bodies, are commonly used in medical image registration. To obtain an elegant spatial transformation of extracted feature points, many point set matching algorithms (PMs) have been developed to match two point sets by optimizing multifarious distance functions. There are ample reviews related to medical image registration and PMs which summarize their basic principles and main algorithms separately. However, to data, detailed summary of PMs used in medical image registration in diferent clinical environments has not been published. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the existing key techniques of the PMs applied to medical image registration according to the basic principles and clinical applications. As the core technique of the PMs, geometric transformation models are elaborated in this paper, demonstrating the mechanism of point set registration. We also focus on the clinical applications of the PMs and propose a practical classifcation method according to their applications in diferent clinical surgeries. The aim of this paper is to provide a summary of pointfeature-based methods used in medical image registration and to guide doctors or researchers interested in this feld to choose appropriate techniques in their research.

Positioning and navigation technology is a new trend of research in mobile robot area. Existing researches focus on the indoor industrial problems, while many application fields are in the outdoor environment, which put forward higher requirements for sensor selection and navigation scheme. In this paper, a complete hybrid navigation system for a class of mobile robots with load tasks and docking tasks is presented. The work can realize large-range autonomous positioning and path planning for mobile robots in unstructured scenarios. The autonomous positioning is achieved by adopting suitable guidance methods to meet different application requirements and accuracy requirements in conditions of different distances. Based on the Bezier curve, a path planning scheme is proposed and a motion controller is designed to make the mobile robot follow the target path. The Kalman filter is established to process the guidance signals and control outputs of the motion controller. Finally, the autonomous positioning and docking experiment are carried out. The results of the research verify the effectiveness of the hybrid navigation, which can be used in autonomous warehousing logistics and multi-mobile robot system.

The spacecraft for deep space exploration missions will face extreme environments, including cryogenic temperature, intense radiation, wide-range temperature variations and even the combination of conditions mentioned above. Harsh environments will lead to solder joints degradation or even failure, resulting in damage to onboard electronics. The research activities on high reliability solder joints using in extreme environments can not only reduce the use of onboard protection devices, but effectively improve the overall reliability of spacecraft, which is of great significance to the aviation industry. In this paper, we review the reliability research on SnPb solder alloys, Sn-based lead-free solder alloys and In-based solder alloys in extreme environments, and try to provide some suggestions for the follow-up studies, which focus on solder joint reliability under extreme environments.

Zr-based Bulk metallic glasses exhibit incredible corrosion resistance and glass forming ability, however, these properties need further enhancement to meet the practical use. In this study, Zr₆₃Fe_2.5Cu₂₃Al_11.5, a new type of Zr-based bulk metallic glass was fabricated. Potentiodynamic polarization techniques were used to measure the corrosion resistance of this alloy. Furthermore, crystallization behavior and kinetics of Zr₆₃Fe_2.5Cu₂₃Al_11.5 bulk metallic glass were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry of non-isothermal model. Kissinger and Ozawa methods were used for calculating activation energies of crystallization and the mechanism of crystallization was analyzed by Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorow methods. The results suggest that this specified metallic glass system possesses a relatively high thermal stability and glass forming ability. Moreover, the crystallization procedure is mainly dominated by nucleation with an increasing rate. The study demonstrates that the slight composition adjustment of Zr–Fe–Cu–Al system bulk metallic glass can make a considerable contribution to higher glass forming and thermal stability as well as corrosion resistance.

Out-of-plane mechanical properties of the riveted joints restrict the performance of the wing box assembly of airplane. It is necessary to investigate the pull-through performance of the composite/metal riveted joints in order to guide the riveting design and ensure the safety of the wing box assembly. The progressive failure mechanism of composite/aluminum riveted joint subjected to pull-through loading was investigated by experiments and finite element method. A progressive damage model based on the Hashin-type criteria and zero-thickness cohesive zone method was developed by VUMAT subroutine, which was validated by both open-hole tensile test and three-point bending test. Predicted load-displacement response, failure modes and damage propagation were analysed and compared with the results of the pull-through tests. There are 4 obvious characteristic stages on the load-displacement curve of the pull-through test and that of the finite element model: first load take-up stage, damage stage, second load take-up stage and failure stage. Relative error of stiffness, first load peak and second load peak between finite element method and experiments were 8.1%, - 3.3% and 10.6%, respectively. It was found that the specimen was mainly broken by rivet-penetration fracture and delamination of plies of the composite laminate. And the material within the scope of the rivet head is more dangerous with more serious tensile damages than other regions, especially for 90° plies. This study proposes a numerical method for damage prediction and reveals the progressive failure mechanism of the hybrid material riveted joints subjected to the pull-through loading.

The hydraulic exoskeleton is one research hotspot in the field of robotics, which can take heavy load due to the high power density of the hydraulic system. However, the traditional hydraulic system is normally centralized, inefficient, and bulky during application, which limits its development in the exoskeleton. For improving the robotos performance, its hydraulic actuating system should be optimized further. In this paper a novel hydraulic actuating system (HAS) based on electric-hydrostatic actuator is proposed, which is applied to hip and knee joints. Each HAS integrates an electric servo motor, a high-speed micro pump, a specific tank, and other components into a module. The specific parameters are obtained through relevant simulation according to human motion data and load requirements. The dynamic models of the HAS are built, and validated by the system identification. Experiments of trajectory tracking and human-exoskeleton interaction are carried out, which demonstrate the proposed HAS has the ability to be applied to the exoskeleton. Compared with the previous prototype, the total weight of the HAS in the robot is reduced by about 40%, and the power density is increased by almost 1.6 times.

Different wind models are being used for the operational safety evaluation of a high-speed train exposed to crosswinds. However, the methodology for simulating natural wind is of substantial importance in the wind-train system, and different simplified forms of natural wind result in different levels of accuracy. The purpose of the research in this paper is to investigate the effects of different wind models on the operational safety evaluation of high-speed trains. First, three wind models, namely, steady wind model, gust wind model, and turbulent wind model, are constructed. Following this, the algorithms for computing the aerodynamic loads using the wind models are described. A multi-body dynamic model of a vehicle is then set up using the commercial software "Simpack" for investigating the dynamic behavior of a railway vehicle exposed to wind loads. The rollover risks corresponding to each wind model are evaluated by applying the definition of characteristic wind curves (CWC). The results indicate that the CWC computed using the gust wind model is marginally higher than that computed using the turbulent wind model; the difference is less than 1%. With regard to the steady wind model, the assurance coefficient substantially affects the final CWC. A reasonable agreement of CWC between the steady wind model and turbulent wind model can be obtained by applying an "appropriate value" of the assurance coefficient. This study included a systematic analysis of the operational safety evaluation results using different wind models; the analysis can serve as a reference basis for different engineering accuracy requirements.

The current investigations primarily focus on using advanced suspensions to overcome the tradeoff design of ride comfort and handling performance for mining vehicles. It is generally realized by adjusting spring stiffness or damping parameters through active control methods. However, some drawbacks regarding control complexity and uncertain reliability are inevitable for these advanced suspensions. Herein, a novel passive hydraulically interconnected suspension (HIS) system is proposed to achieve an improved ride-handling compromise of mining vehicles. A lumped-mass vehicle model involved with a mechanical-hydraulic coupled system is developed by applying the free-body diagram method. The transfer matrix method is used to derive the impedance of the hydraulic system, and the impedance is integrated to form the equation of motions for a mechanical-hydraulic coupled system. The modal analysis method is employed to obtain the free vibration transmissibilities and force vibration responses under different road excitations. A series of frequency characteristic analyses are presented to evaluate the isolation vibration performance between the mining vehicles with the proposed HIS and the conventional suspension. The analysis results prove that the proposed HIS system can effectively suppress the pitch motion of sprung mass to guarantee the handling performance, and favorably provide soft bounce stiffness to improve the ride comfort. The distribution of dynamic forces between the front and rear wheels is more reasonable, and the vibration decay rate of sprung mass is increased effectively. This research proposes a new suspension design method that can achieve the enhanced cooperative control of bounce and pitch motion modes to improve the ride comfort and handling performance of mining vehicles as an effective passive suspension system.

High-speed trains often use temperature sensors to monitor the motion state of bearings. However, the temperature of bearings can be affected by factors such as weather and faults. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze in detail the relationship between the bearing temperature and influencing factors. In this study, a dynamics model of the axle box bearing of high-speed trains is established. The model can obtain the contact force between the rollers and raceway and its change law when the bearing contains outer-ring, inner-ring, and rolling-element faults. Based on the model, a thermal network method is introduced to study the temperature field distribution of the axle box bearings of high-speed trains. In this model, the heat generation, conduction, and dispersion of the isothermal nodes can be solved. The results show that the temperature of the contact point between the outer-ring raceway and rolling-elements is the highest. The relationships between the node temperature and the speed, fault type, and fault size are analyzed, finding that the higher the speed, the higher the node temperature. Under different fault types, the node temperature first increases and then decreases as the fault size increases. The effectiveness of the model is demonstrated using the actual temperature data of a high-speed train. This study proposes a thermal network model that can predict the temperature of each component of the bearings on a high-speed train under various speed and fault conditions.

There are many achievements in the field of analytical mechanics, such as Lagrange Equation, Hamilton's Principle, Kane's Equation. Compared to Newton-Euler mechanics, analytical mechanics have a wider range of applications and the formulation procedures are more mathematical. However, all existing methods of analytical mechanics were proposed based on some auxiliary variables. In this review, a novel analytical mechanics approach without the aid of Lagrange's multiplier, projection, or any quasi or auxiliary variables is introduced for the central problem of mechanical systems. Since this approach was firstly proposed by Udwadia and Kalaba, it was called Udwadia-Kalaba Equation. It is a representation for the explicit expression of the equations of motion for constrained mechanical systems. It can be derived via the Gauss's principle, d'Alembert's principle or extended d'Alembert's principle. It is applicable to both holonomic and nonholonomic equality constraints, as long as they are linear with respect to the accelerations or reducible to be that form. As a result, the Udwadia-Kalaba Equation can be applied to a very broad class of mechanical systems. This review starts with introducing the background by a brief review of the history of mechanics. After that, the formulation procedure of Udwadia-Kalaba Equation is given. Furthermore, the comparisons of Udwadia-Kalaba Equation with Newton-Euler Equation, Lagrange Equation and Kane's Equation are made, respectively. At last, three different types of examples are given for demonstrations.

The noncircular synchronous belt drive mechanism has demonstrated certain achievements and has been used in special fields. Research regarding noncircular synchronous belt drive mechanisms has focused on optimization design and kinematic analysis in China, whereas two pulley noncircular synchronous belt transmissions have been developed overseas. However, owing to the noncircular characteristics of the belt pulley, the real-time variation in the belt length slack during the transmission of the noncircular synchronous belt is significant, resulting in high probabilities of skipping and vibration. In this study, a noncircular tensioning pulley is added to create a stable three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt driving mechanism and a good synchronous belt tensioning, with no skipping; hence, the non-uniform output characteristic of the driven pulley is consistent with the theoretical value. In the circular noncircular noncircular three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt mechanism, the pitch curve of the driving synchronous belt pulley is circular, whereas those of the driven synchronous belt and tensioning pulleys are noncircular. To minimize the slack of the belt length of the synchronous belt and the constraint of the concavity and circumference of the tensioning pulley, an automatic optimization model of the tensioning pulley pitch curve is established. The motion simulation, analysis, and optimization code for a three-belt-pulley noncircular synchronous belt drive mechanism is written, and the variation in belt length slack under different speed ratios is analyzed based on several examples. The testbed for a circular–noncircular–noncircular three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt transmission mechanism is developed. The test shows that the three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt drives well. This study proposes an automatic optimization algorithm for the tensioning pulley pitch curve of a noncircular synchronous belt transmission mechanism; it yields a stable transmission of the noncircular synchronous belt transmission mechanism as well as non-uniform output characteristics.

Differential braking and active steering have already been integrated to overcome their shortcomings. However, existing research mainly focuses on two-axle vehicles and controllers are mostly designed to use one control method to improve the other. Moreover, many experiments are needed to improve the robustness; therefore, these control methods are underutilized. This paper proposes an integrated control system specially designed for multi-axle vehicles, in which the desired lateral force and yaw moment of vehicles are determined by the sliding mode control algorithm. The output of the sliding mode control is distributed to the suitable wheels based on the abilities and potentials of the two control methods. Moreover, in this method, fewer experiments are needed, and the robustness and simultaneity are both guaranteed. To simplify the optimization system and to improve the computation speed, seven simple optimization subsystems are designed for the determination of control outputs on each wheel. The simulation results show that the proposed controller obviously enhances the stability of multi-axle trucks. The system improves 68% of the safe velocity, and its performance is much better than both differential braking and active steering. This research proposes an integrated control system that can simultaneously invoke differential braking and active steering of multi-axle vehicles to fully utilize the abilities and potentials of the two control methods.

Due to operational wear and uneven carbon absorption in compressor and turbine wheels, the unbalance (me) vibration is induced and could lead to sub-synchronous vibration accidents for high-speed turbocharger (TC). There are very few research works that focus on the magnitude effects on such induced unbalance vibration. In this paper, a finite element model (FEM) is developed to characterize a realistic automotive TC rotor with floating ring bearings (FRBs). The nonlinear dynamic responses of the TC rotor system with different levels of induced unbalance magnitude in compressor and turbine wheels are calculated. From the results of waterfall and response spectral intensity plots, the bifurcation and instability phenomena depend on unbalance magnitude during the startup of TC. The sub-synchronous component 0.12×caused rotor unstable is the dominant frequency for small induced unbalance. The nonlinear effects of induced unbalance in the turbine wheel is obvious stronger than the compressor wheel. As the unbalance magnitude increases from 0.05 g·mm to 0.2 g·mm, the vibration component changes from mainly 0.12×to synchronous vibration 1×. When unbalance increases continuously, the rotor vibration response amplitude is rapidly growing and the 1×caused by the large unbalance excitation becomes the dominant frequency. A suitable un-balance magnitude of turbine wheel and compressor wheel for the high-speed TC rotor with FRBs is proposed: the value of induced un-balance magnitude should be kept around 0.2 g·mm.

Computational intelligence is one of the most powerful data processing tools to solve complex nonlinear problems, and thus plays a significant role in intelligent fault diagnosis and prediction. However, only few comprehensive reviews have summarized the ongoing efforts of computational intelligence in machinery condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. The recent research and development of computational intelligence techniques in fault diagnosis, prediction and optimal sensor placement are reviewed. The advantages and limitations of computational intelligence techniques in practical applications are discussed. The characteristics of different algorithms are compared, and application situations of these methods are summarized. Computational intelligence methods need to be further studied in deep understanding algorithm mechanism, improving algorithm efficiency and enhancing engineering application. This review may be considered as a useful guidance for researchers in selecting a suitable method for a specific situation and pointing out potential research directions.

Needles, as some of the most widely used medical devices, have been effectively applied in human disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Thin 1D needle can easily penetrate cells/organs by generating highly localized stress with their sharp tips to achieve bioliquid sampling, biosensing, drug delivery, surgery, and other such applications. In this review, we provide an overview of multiscale needle fabrication techniques and their biomedical applications. Needles are classified as nanoneedles, microneedles and millineedles based on the needle diameter, and their fabrication techniques are highlighted. Nanoneedles bridge the inside and outside of cells, achieving intracellular electrical recording, biochemical sensing, and drug delivery. Microneedles penetrate the stratum corneum layer to detect biomarkers/bioelectricity in interstitial fluid and deliver drugs through the skin into the human circulatory system. Millineedles, including puncture, syringe, acupuncture and suture needles, are presented. Finally, conclusions and future perspectives for next-generation nano/micro/milli needles are discussed.

The aim of this paper is to study the effect of agitator's types on the turbulent flows in stirred tanks without and with baffles. The hydrodynamics behavior induced by four different agitator's types: a Rushton turbine (RT), a circular blade turbine (CBT), a diverging triangular blade turbine (DTBT) and converging triangular blade turbine (CTBT) are numerically predicted by solving the Navier-Stokes equations and RNG κ–ε turbulent model. The simulations are carried out using the Multi Reference Frame (MRF) approach. The numerical results showed good agreement with experiment. We find that the agitator CTBT gives an important profit on the power consumption per report/ratio the others and DTBT give a good reduction of the vortex size of the impeller angles.

Raising the rotational speed of an axial piston pump is useful for improving its power density; however, the churning losses of the piston increase significantly with increasing speed, and this reduces the performance and efficiency of the axial piston pump. Currently, there has been some research on the churning losses of pistons; however, it has rarely been analyzed from the perspective of the piston number. To improve the performance and efficiency of the axial piston pump, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation model of the churning loss was established, and the effect of piston number on the churning loss was studied in detail. The simulation analysis results revealed that the churning losses initially increased as the number of pistons increased; however, when the number of pistons increased from six to nine, the torque of the churning losses decreased because of the hydrodynamic shadowing effect. In addition, in the analysis of cavitation results, it was determined that the cavitation area of the axial piston pump was mainly concentrated around the piston, and the cavitation became increasingly severe as the speed increased. By comparing the simulation results with and without the cavitation model, it was observed that the cavitation phenomenon is beneficial for the reduction of churning losses. In this study, a piston churning loss test rig that can eliminate other friction losses was established to verify the accuracy of the simulation results. A comparative analysis indicated that the simulation results were consistent with the actual situation. In addition, this study also conducted a simulation study on seven and nine piston pumps with the same displacement. The simulation results revealed that churning losses of the seven pistons were generally greater than those of the nine pistons under the same displacement. In addition, regarding the same piston number and displacement, reducing the pitch circle radius of piston bores is effective in reducing the churning loss. This research analyzes the effect of piston number on the churning loss, which has certain guiding significance for the structural design and model selection of axial piston pumps.

The design strategies for powertrain mounting systems play an important role in the reduction of vehicular vibration and noise. As stiffness and damping elements connecting the transmission system and vehicle body, the rubber mount exhibits better vibration isolation performance than the rigid connection. This paper presents a complete design process of the mounting system, including the vibration decoupling, vibration simulation analysis, topology optimization, and experimental verification. Based on the 6-degrees-of-freedom vibration coupling model of the powertrain mounting system, an optimization algorithm is used to extract the best design parameters of each mount, thus rendering the mounting system fully decoupled and the natural frequency well configured, and the optimal parameters are used to design the mounting system. Subsequently, vibration simulation analysis is applied to the mounting system, considering both transmission and road excitations. According to the results of finite element analysis, the topological structure of the metal frame of the front mount is optimized to improve the strength and dynamic characteristics of the mounting system. Finally, the vibration bench test is used to verify the availability of the optimization design with the analysis of acceleration response and vibration transmissibility of the mounting system. The results show that the vibration isolation performance of the mounting system can be improved effectively using the vibration optimal decoupling method, and the structural modification of the metal frame can well promote the dynamic characteristics of the mounting system.

Al–Li alloy is a new structural material with the advantages of lightweight and high strength. The extrusion profiles of Al–Li alloy are widely used in aerospace and other fields, which can significantly reduce the weight of the aerospace equipment and improve their carrying capacity and service performance. Particular service conditions of structural components in aeronautical and space areas put forward strict requirements on microstructure, mechanical properties, and dimensional precision of Al–Li alloy profiles. Therefore, it places higher requirements on the shape forming and microstructure controlling of the Al–Li alloy profiles. The manufacturing process of the profiles involves billet homogenization, hot extrusion, solution and quenching treatments, artificial aging, and others. The parameters of each process as well as the die structure have important effects on the final performance of the profiles. This article summarizes the main applications and key mechanical properties of Al–Li alloy extrusion profiles. The technologies related to the manufacturing process of the extrusion profiles are summarized and analyzed. The related studies about the evolutions of the microstructure and mechanical properties during homogenization and extrusion processes are reviewed. The developments of the solid solution and quenching treatments as well as the aging strengthening technology for extruded Al–Li alloy profiles are also introduced. The scientific problems and key technologies that need to be solved in the manufacturing of Al–Li alloy extrusion profiles are presented, and the prospect for future development trends in these fields is given.

This study uses the digital image correlation technique to measure the crack tip displacement field at various crack lengths in U71MnG rail steel, and the interpolated continuous displacement field was obtained by fitting with a back propagation (BP) neural network. The slip and stacking of dislocations affect crack initiation and growth, leading to changes in the crack tip field and the fatigue characteristics of crack growth. The Christopher-James-Patterson (CJP) model describes the elastic stress field around a growing fatigue crack that experiences plasticity-induced shielding. In the present work, this model is modified by including the effect of the dislocation field on the plastic zone of the crack tip and hence on the elastic field by introducing a plastic flow factor ρ, which represents the amount of blunting of the crack tip. The Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M) nonlinear least squares method was used to solve for the stress intensity factors. To verify the accuracy of this modified CJP model, the theoretical and experimental plastic zone errors before and after modification were compared, and the variation trends of the stress intensity factors and the plastic flow factor ρ were analysed. The results show that the CJP model, with the introduction of ρ, exhibits a good blunting trend. In the low plasticity state, the modified model can accurately describe the experimental plastic zone, and the modified stress intensity factors are more accurate, which proves the effectiveness of dislocation correction. This plastic flow correction provides a more accurate crack tip field model and improves the CJP crack growth relationship.

Lubricating greases are widely used in e.g. open gear drives and gearboxes with difficult sealing conditions. The efficiency and heat balance of grease-lubricated gearboxes depend strongly on the lubrication mechanisms channeling and circulating, for which the grease flow is causal. The computational fluid dynamics opens up the possibility to visualize and understand the grease flow in gearboxes in more detail. In this study, a single-stage gearbox lubricated with an NLGI 1-2 grease was modeled by the finite-volume method to numerically investigate the fluid flow. Results show that the rotating gears influence the grease sump only locally around the gears. For a low grease fill volume, the rotation of the gears is widely separated from the grease sump. For a high grease fill volume, a pronounced gear-grease interaction results in a circulating grease flow around the gears. The simulated grease distributions show good accordance with high-speed camera recordings.

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has been investigated to deposit large-scale metal parts due to its high deposition efficiency and low material cost. However, in the process of automatically manufacturing the high-quality metal parts by WAAM, several problems about the heat build-up, the deposit-path optimization, and the stability of the process parameters need to be well addressed. To overcome these issues, a new WAAM method based on the double electrode micro plasma arc welding (DE-MPAW) was designed. The circuit principles of different metal-transfer models in the DE-MPAW deposition process were analyzed theoretically. The effects between the parameters, wire feed rate and torch stand-off distance, in the process of WAAM were investigated experimentally. In addition, a real-time DE-MPAW control system was developed to optimize and stabilize the deposition process by self-adaptively changing the wire feed rate and torch stand-off distance. Finally, a series of tests were performed to evaluate the control system's performance. The results show that the capability against interferences in the process of WAAM has been enhanced by this self-adaptive adjustment system. Further, the deposition paths about the metal part's layer heights in WAAM are simplified. Finally, the appearance of the WAAM-deposited metal layers is also improved with the use of the control system.

Thin-walled long stringer made of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451 is prone to deformation during transportation, so a research of residual stress relaxation was launched in this paper. The transport resonance stress of long stringer was analyzed based on the power spectral density of road transport acceleration. The residual stress relaxation experiment of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451 under different equivalent stress levels was designed and carried out. According to the amount of residual stress relaxation in the experiment, an analytical model was established with the equivalent stress level coefficient. The deflection range of long stringer was evaluated under different damping ratios. The results show that when the equivalent stress exceeds 0.8σ_0.2, the residual stress relaxation of the thin-walled samples occurs. The residual stress relaxation increases linearly with the equivalent stress, which is logarithmically related to the loading cycle. The deformation caused by residual stress relaxation of the long stringer is proportional to the square of the length and the bending moment caused by stress rebalance, and inversely proportional to the moment of inertia of the structure. As the damping ratio decreases from 0.03 to 0.01, the total deflection of the long stringer increases from 0 to above 1.55 mm.

Design is a high-level and complex thinking activity of human beings, using existing knowledge and technology to solve problems and create new things. With the rise and development of intelligent manufacturing, design has increasingly reflected its importance in the product life cycle. Firstly, the concept and connotation of complex product design is expounded systematically, and the different types of design are discussed. The four schools of design theory are introduced, including universal design, axiomatic design, TRIZ and general design. Then the research status of complex product design is analyzed, such as innovative design, digital design, modular design, reliability optimization design, etc. Finally, three key scientific issues worthy of research in the future are indicated, and five research trends of “newer, better, smarter, faster, and greener” are summarized, aiming to provide references for the equipment design and manufacturing industry.

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM), including monitoring, diagnosis, prognosis, and health management, occupies an increasingly important position in reducing costly breakdowns and avoiding catastrophic accidents in modern industry. With the development of artificial intelligence (AI), especially deep learning (DL) approaches, the application of AI-enabled methods to monitor, diagnose and predict potential equipment malfunctions has gone through tremendous progress with verified success in both academia and industry. However, there is still a gap to cover monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis based on AI-enabled methods, simultaneously, and the importance of an open source community, including open source datasets and codes, has not been fully emphasized. To fill this gap, this paper provides a systematic overview of the current development, common technologies, open source datasets, codes, and challenges of AI-enabled PHM methods from three aspects of monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis.

The design of aircraft hydraulic pipeline system is limited by many factors, such as the integrity of aviation structure or narrow installation space, so the limited clamp support position should be considered. This paper studied the frequency adjustment and dynamic responses reduction of the multi-support pipeline system through experiment and numerical simulation. To avoid the resonance of pipeline system, we proposed two different optimization programs, one was to avoid aero-engine working range, and another was to avoid aircraft hydraulic pump pulsation range. An optimization method was introduced in this paper to obtain the optimal clamp position. The experiments were introduced to validate the optimization results, and the theoretical optimization results can agree well with the test. With regard to avoiding the aero-engine vibration frequency, the test results revealed that the first natural frequency was far from the aero-engine vibration frequency. And the dynamic frequency sweep results showed that no resonance occurred on the pipeline in the engine vibration frequency range after optimization. Additionally, with regard to avoiding the pump vibration frequency, the test results revealed that natural frequencies have been adjusted and far from the pump vibration frequency. And the dynamic frequency sweep results showed that pipeline under optimal clamp position cannot lead to resonance. The sensitivity analysis results revealed the changing relationships between different clamp position and natural frequency. This study can provide helpful guidance on the analysis and design of practical aircraft pipeline.

In order to improve the low output accuracy caused by the elastic deformations of the branch chains, a finite element-based dynamic accuracy analysis method for parallel mechanisms is proposed in this paper. First, taking a 5-prismatic-spherical-spherical (PSS)/universal-prismatic-universal (UPU) parallel mechanism as an example, the error model is established by a closed vector chain method, while its influence on the dynamic accuracy of the parallel mechanism is analyzed through numerical simulation. According to the structural and error characteristics of the parallel mechanism, a vector calibration algorithm is proposed to reduce the position and pose errors along the whole motion trajectory. Then, considering the elastic deformation of the rod, the rigid-flexible coupling dynamic equations of each component are established by combining the finite element method with the Lagrange method. The elastodynamic model of the whole machine is obtained based on the constraint condition of each moving part, and the correctness of the model is verified by simulation. Moreover, the effect of component flexibility on the dimensionless root mean square error of the displacement, velocity and acceleration of the moving platform is investigated by using a Newmark method, and the mapping relationship of these dimensionless root mean square errors to dynamic accuracy is further studied. The research work provides a theoretical basis for the design of the parameter size of the prototype.

Drilling and coring, as efective ways to obtain lunar regolith along the longitudinal direction, are widely applied in the lunar sampling feld. Conventionally, modeling of drill-soil interaction was divided into soil cutting and screw conveyance processes, ignoring the diferences in soil mechanical properties between them. To improve the modeling accuracy, a hypothesis that divides the drill-soil interaction into four parts:cuttings screw conveyance, cuttings extruding, cuttings bulldozing, and in situ simulant cutting, is proposed to establish a novel model based on the passive earth pressure theory. An iterative numerical calculation method is developed to predict the drilling loads. A drilling and coring testbed is developed to conduct experimental tests. Drilling experiments indicate that the drilling loads calculated by the proposed model match well the experimental results. The proposed research provides the instructions to adopt a suitable drilling strategy to match the rotary and penetrating motions, to increase the safety and reliability of drilling control in lunar sampling missions.

Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) shows a great promise for fabricating fully dense metal parts by means of melting materials in layers using a welding heat source. However, due to a large layer height produced in WAAM, an unsatisfactory surface roughness of parts processed by this technology has been a key issue. A methodology based on laser vision sensing is proposed to quantitatively calculate the surface roughness of parts deposited by WAAM. Calibrations for a camera and a laser plane of the optical system are presented. The reconstruction precision of the laser vision system is verified by a standard workpiece. Additionally, this determination approach is utilized to calculate the surface roughness of a multi-layer single-pass thin-walled part. The results indicate that the optical measurement approach based on the laser vision sensing is a simple and effective way to characterize the surface roughness of parts deposited by WAAM. The maximum absolute error is less than 0.15 mm. The proposed research provides the foundation for surface roughness optimization with different process parameters.

Axial flux permanent magnet synchronous motors (AFPMSMs) have been widely used in wind-power generation, electric vehicles, aircraft, and other renewable-energy applications owing to their high power density, operating efficiency, and integrability. To facilitate comprehensive research on AFPMSM, this article reviews the developments in the research on the design and control optimization of AFPMSMs. First, the basic topologies of AFPMSMs are introduced and classified. Second, the key points of the design optimization of core and coreless AFPMSMs are summarized from the aspects of parameter design, structure design, and material optimization. Third, because efficiency improvement is an issue that needs to be addressed when AFPMSMs are applied to electric or other vehicles, the development status of efficiency-optimization control strategies is reviewed. Moreover, control strategies proposed to suppress torque ripple caused by the small inductance of disc coreless permanent magnet synchronous motors (DCPMSMs) are summarized. An overview of the rotor-synchronization control strategies for disc contra-rotating permanent magnet synchronous motors (CRPMSMs) is presented. Finally, the current difficulties and development trends revealed in this review are discussed.

The cutterhead of a full-face rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) is constantly subjected to varying impact and dynamic loads during tunneling processes, resulting in relatively large vibrations that could easily lead to fatigue cracking of the entire machine and affect the tunneling performance and efficiency. To explore the dynamic characteristics of the TBM mainframe, a TBM from a water-diversion project is investigated in this research. According to the TBM vibration transmission route, an equivalent dynamic model of the TBM mainframe is established using the lumped-mass method in which the relevant dynamic parameters are solved. Additionally, the dynamic response characteristics of the TBM mainframe are analyzed. The results indicate that the vibration levels in three directions are approximately the same, the multi-directional vibration of the cutterhead is more intense than that of other components, and the vibration and external excitation exhibit identical change trends. A set of vibration field tests is performed to analyze the in situ dynamic responses of the mainframe and verify the correctness of the dynamic model. The theoretical and measured acceleration values of the TBM mainframe have the same magnitude, which proves the validity of the dynamic model and its solution. The aforementioned results provide an important theoretical value and practical significance for the design and assessment of the TBM mainframe.

Many surveys on vehicle traffic safety have shown that the tire road friction coefficient (TRFC) is correlated with the probability of an accident. The probability of road accidents increases sharply on slippery road surfaces. Therefore, accurate knowledge of TRFC contributes to the optimization of driver maneuvers for further improving the safety of intelligent vehicles. A large number of researchers have employed different tools and proposed different algorithms to obtain TRFC. This work investigates these different methods that have been widely utilized to estimate TRFC. These methods are divided into three main categories: off-board sensors-based, vehicle dynamics-based, and data-driven-based methods. This review provides a comparative analysis of these methods and describes their strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, some future research directions regarding TRFC estimation are presented.

Diamond tools with orderly arrangements of diamond grits have drawn considerable attention in the machining field owing to their outstanding advantages of high sharpness and long service life. This diamond super tool, as well as the manufacturing equipment, has been unavailable to Chinese enterprises for a long time due to patents. In this paper, a diamond blade segment with a 3D lattice of diamond grits was additively manufactured using a new type of cold pressing equipment (AME100). The equipment, designed with a rotary working platform and 16 molding stations, can be used to additively manufacture segments with diamond grits arranged in an orderly fashion, layer by layer; under this additive manufacturing process, at least 216000 pcs of diamond green segments with five orderly arranged grit layers can be produced per month. The microstructure of the segment was observed via SEM and the diamond blade fabricated using these segments was compared to other commercial cutting tools. The experimental results showed that the 3D lattice of diamond grits was formed in the green segment. The filling rate of diamond grits in the lattice could be guaranteed to be above 95%; this is much higher than the 90% filling rate of the automatic array system (ARIX). When used to cut stone, the cutting amount of the blade with segments made by AME100 is two times that of ordinary tools, with the same diamond concentration. When used to dry cut reinforced concrete, its cutting speed is 10% faster than that of ARIX. Under wet cutting conditions, its service life is twice that of ARIX. By applying the machine vision online inspection system and a special needle jig with a negative pressure system, this study developed a piece of additive manufacturing equipment for efficiently fabricating blade segments with a 3D lattice of diamond grits.

Medical devices are a major component of precision medicine and play a key role in medical treatment, particularly with the rapid development of minimally invasive surgery and wearable devices. Their tissue contact properties strongly affect device performance and patient health (e.g., heat coagulation and slipperiness on surgical graspers). However, the design and optimization of these device surfaces are still indistinct and have no supporting principles. Under such conditions, natural surfaces with various unique functions can provide solutions. This review summarizes the current progress in natural functional surfaces for medical devices, including ultra-slipperiness and strong wet attachment. The underlying mechanisms of these surfaces are attributed to their coupling effects and featured micro-nano structures. Depending on various medical requirements, adaptable designs and fabrication methods have been developed. Additionally, various medical device surfaces have been validated to achieve enhanced contact properties. Based on these studies, a more promising future for medical devices can be achieved for enhanced precision medicine and human health.

Optical membrane mirrors are promising key components for future space telescopes. Due to their ultra-thin and high fexible properties, the surfaces of these membrane mirrors are susceptible to temperature variations. Therefore adaptive shape control of the mirror is essential to maintain the surface precision and to ensure its working performance. However, researches on modeling and control of membrane mirrors under thermal loads are sparse in open literatures. A 0.2 m diameter scale model of a polyimide membrane mirror is developed in this study. Three Polyvinylidene fuoride (PVDF) patches are laminated on the non-refective side of the membrane mirror to serve as in-plane actuators. A new mathematical model of the piezoelectric actuated membrane mirror in multiple felds, (i.e., thermal, mechanical, and electrical feld) is established, with which dynamic and static behaviors of the mirror can be analyzed. A closed-loop membrane mirror shape control system is set up and a surface shape control method based on an infuence function matrix of the mirror is then investigated. Several experiments including surface displacement tracking and thermal deformation alleviation are performed. The deviations range from 15 μm to 20 μm are eliminated within 0.1 s and the residual deformation is controlled to micron level, which demonstrates the efectiveness of the proposed membrane shape control strategy and shows a satisfactory real-time performance. The proposed research provides a technological support and instruction for shape control of optical membrane mirrors.

Electro-hydraulic control valves are key hydraulic components for industrial applications and aerospace, which controls electro-hydraulic motion. With the development of automation, digital technology, and communication technology, electro-hydraulic control valves are becoming more digital, integrated, and intelligent in order to meet the requirements of Industry 4.0. This paper reviews the state of the art development for electro-hydraulic control valves and their related technologies. This review paper considers three aspects of state acquisition through sensors or indirect acquisition technologies, control strategies along with digital controllers and novel valves, and online maintenance through data interaction and fault diagnosis. The main features and development trends of electro-hydraulic control valves oriented to Industry 4.0 are discussed.