Stability analysis of thick piezoelectric metal based FGM plate using first order and higher order shear deformation theory

This paper presents the stability analysis of functionally graded plate integrated with piezoelectric actuator and sensor at the top and bottom face, subjected to electrical and mechanical loading. The finite element formulation is based on first order and higher order shear deformation theory, degenerated shell element, von-Karman hypothesis and piezoelectric effect. The equation for static analysis is derived by using the minimum energy principle and solutions for critical buckling load is obtained by solving eigenvalue problem. The material properties of the functionally graded plate are assumed to be graded along the thickness direction according to simple power law function. Two types of boundary conditions are used, such as SSSS (simply supported) and CSCS (simply supported along two opposite side perpendicular to the direction of compression and clamped along the other two sides). Sensor voltage is calculated using present analysis for various power law indices and FG (functionally graded) material gradations. The stability analysis of piezoelectric FG plate is carried out to present the effects of power law index, material variations, applied mechanical pressure and piezo effect on buckling and stability characteristics of FG plate.

Micro-satellite angular rate estimation using second-order sliding mode observer

Development of computationally efficient and accurate attitude rate estimation algorithm using low-cost commercially available star sensor arrays and processing unit for micro-satellite mission is presented. Our design reduces the computational load of least square (LS)-based rate estimation method while maintaining the same accuracy compared to other rate estimation approaches. Furthermore, rate estimation accuracy is improved by using recently developed fast and accurate second-order sliding mode observer (SOSMO) scheme. It also gives robust estimation in the presence of modeling uncertainties, unknown disturbances, and measurement noise. Simulation study shows that rate estimation accuracy achieved by our LS-based method is comparable with other methods for a typical commercially available star sensor array. The robustness analysis of SOSMO with respect to measurement noise is also presented in this paper. Simulation test bench for a practical scenario of satellite rate estimation uses moment-of-inertia variation and environmental disturbances affecting a typical micro-satellite at 500km circular orbit. Comparison studies of SOSMO with 1-SMO and pseudo-linear Kalman filter show that satisfactory estimation accuracy is achieved by SOSMO.

A C-0 Interior Penalty Method for a Fourth-order Variational Inequality of the Second Kind

In this article, we propose a C-0 interior penalty ((CIP)-I-0) method for the frictional plate contact problem and derive both a priori and a posteriori error estimates. We derive an abstract error estimate in the energy norm without additional regularity assumption on the exact solution. The a priori error estimate is of optimal order whenever the solution is regular. Further, we derive a reliable and efficient a posteriori error estimator. Numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the theoretical results. (c) 2015Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Order-disorder phase transition and multiferroic behaviour in a metal organic framework compound (CH3)(2)NH2Co(HCOO)(3)

We have investigated the multiferroic and glassy behaviour of metal-organic framework (MOF) material (CH3)(2)NH2Co(CHOO)(3). The compound has perovskite-like architecture in which the metal-formate forms a framework. The organic cation (CH3)(2)NH2+ occupies the cavities in the formate framework in the framework via N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds. At room temperature, the organic cation is disordered and occupies three crystallographically equivalent positions. Upon cooling, the organic cation is ordered which leads to a structural phase transition at 155 K. The structural phase transition is associated with a para-ferroelectric phase transition and is revealed by dielectric and pyroelectric measurements. Further, a PE hysteresis loop below 155 K confirms the ferroelectric behaviour of the material. Analysis of dielectric data reveal large frequency dispersion in the values of dielectric constant and tan delta which signifies the presence of glassy dielectric behaviour. The material displays a antiferromagnetic ordering below 15 K which is attributed to the super-exchange interaction between Co2+ ions mediated via formate linkers. Interestingly, another magnetic transition is also found around 11 K. The peak of the transition shifts to lower temperature with increasing frequency, suggesting glassy magnetism in the sample. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.

Evaluation and Minimization of Low-Order Harmonic Torque in Low-Switching-Frequency Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drives

A low-order harmonic pulsating torque is a major concern in high-power drives, high-speed drives, and motor drives operating in an overmodulation region. This paper attempts to minimize the low-order harmonic torques in induction motor drives, operated at a low pulse number (i.e., a low ratio of switching frequency to fundamental frequency), through a frequency domain (FD) approach as well as a synchronous reference frame (SRF) based approach. This paper first investigates FD-based approximate elimination of harmonic torque as suggested by classical works. This is then extended into a procedure for minimization of low-order pulsating torque components in the FD, which is independent of machine parameters and mechanical load. Furthermore, an SRF-based optimal pulse width modulation (PWM) method is proposed to minimize the low-order harmonic torques, considering the motor parameters and load torque. The two optimal methods are evaluated and compared with sine-triangle (ST) PWM and selective harmonic elimination (SHE) PWM through simulations and experimental studies on a 3.7-kW induction motor drive. The SRF-based optimal PWM results in marginally better performance than the FD-based one. However, the selection of optimal switching angle for any modulation index (M) takes much longer in case of SRF than in case of the FD-based approach. The FD-based optimal solutions can be used as good starting solutions and/or to reasonably restrict the search space for optimal solutions in the SRF-based approach. Both of the FD-based and SRF-based optimal PWM methods reduce the low-order pulsating torque significantly, compared to ST PWM and SHE PWM, as shown by the simulation and experimental results.