Optimum design of a helicopter rotor for low vibration using aeroelastic analysis and response surface methods

An aeroelastic analysis based on finite elements in space and time is used to model the helicopter rotor in forward flight. The rotor blade is represented as an elastic cantilever beam undergoing flap and lag bending, elastic torsion and axial deformations. The objective of the improved design is to reduce vibratory loads at the rotor hub that are the main source of helicopter vibration. Constraints are imposed on aeroelastic stability, and move limits are imposed on the blade elastic stiffness design variables. Using the aeroelastic analysis, response surface approximations are constructed for the objective function (vibratory hub loads). It is found that second order polynomial response surfaces constructed using the central composite design of the theory of design of experiments adequately represents the aeroelastic model in the vicinity of the baseline design. Optimization results show a reduction in the objective function of about 30 per cent. A key accomplishment of this paper is the decoupling of the analysis problem and the optimization problems using response surface methods, which should encourage the use of optimization methods by the helicopter industry. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the utility of an instrumented impact set-up to characterise the response of discontinuous buffer strips in carbon–epoxy systems in dry and wet conditions

The use of an instrumented impact test set-up to evaluate the influence of water ingress on the impact response of a carbon–epoxy (C–E) laminated composite system containing discontinuous buffer strips (BS) has been examined. The data on the BS-free C–E sample in dry conditions are used as reference to compare with the data derived from those immersed in water. The work demonstrated the utility of an instrumented impact test set-up in characterising the response, first owing to the architectural difference due to introduction of buffer strips and then due to the presence of an additional phase in the form of water ingressed into the sample. The presence of water was found to enhance the energy absorption characteristics of the C–E system with BS insertions. It was also noticed that with an increasing number of BS layer insertions, the load–time plots displayed characteristic changes. The ductility indices (DI) were found to display a lower value for the water immersed samples compared to the dry ones.

Wear of metals: a consequence of stable/unstable material response

Wear of metals in dry sliding is dictated by the material response to traction. This is demonstrated by considering the wear of aluminium and titanium alloys. In a regime of stable homogeneous deformation the material approaching the surface from the bulk passes through microprocessing zones of flow, fracture, comminution and compaction to generate a protective tribofilm that retains the interaction in the mild wear regime. If the response leads to microstructural instabilities such as adiabatic shear bands, the near-surface zone consists of stacks of 500 nm layers situated parallel to the sliding direction. Microcracks are generated below the surface to propagate normally away from the surface though microvoids situated in the layers, until it reaches a depth of 10-20 mum. A rectangular laminate debris consisting of a 20-40 layer stack is produced, The wear in this mode is severe.

Constitutive Response of Passivated Copper Films: Experiments and Analyses

The constitutive behavior of passivated copper films is studied. Stresses in copper films of thickness ranging from 1000 nm to 40 nm, passivated with silicon oxide on a quartz or silicon substrate, were measured using the curvature method. The thermal cycling spans a temperature range from - 196 to 600°C. It is seen that the strong relaxation at high temperatures normally found in unpassivated films is nonexistent for passivated films. The copper film did not show any rate-dependent effect over a range of heating/cooling rate from 5 to 25°C/min. Further analyses showed that significant strain hardening exists during the course of thermal loading. In particular, the measured stress- temperature response can only be fitted with a kinematic hardening model, if a simple constitutive law within the continuum plasticity framework is to be used. The analytic procedures for extracting the film properties are presented. Implications to stress modeling of copper interconnects in actual devices are discussed.

Effect of Dilatation on the Elasto-Plastic Response of Bulk Metallic Glasses Under Indentation

Elasto-plastic response of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) follows closely the response of granular materials through pressure dependent (or normal stress) yield locus and shear stress induced material dilatation. On a micro-structural level, material dilatation is responsible for stress softening and formation of localized shear band, however its influence on the macro-scale flow and deformation is largely unknown. In this work, we systematically analyze the effect of material dilatation on the gross indentation response of Zr-based BMG via finite element simulation. The strengthening/softening effect on the load-depth response and corresponding stress-strain profiles are presented in light of differences in elastic-plastic regimes under common indenters. Through comparison with existing experimental results, we draw conclusions regarding selection of suitable dilatation parameters for accurately predicting the gross response of BMGs

Coupled electro-mechanical response of an electroactive polymer cantilever structure and its application in energy harvesting

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC), piezoelectric polymer composites and nematic elastomer composites are materials, which exhibit characteristics of both sensors and actuators. Large deformation and curvature are observed in these systems when electric potential is applied. Effects of geometric non-linearity due to the chargeinduced motion in these materials are poorly understood. In this paper, a coupled model for understanding the behavior of an ionic polymer beam undergoing large deformation and large curvature is presented. Maxwell's equations and charge transport equations are considered which couple the distribution of the ion concentration and the pressure gradient along length of a cantilever beam with interdigital electrodes. A nonlinear constitutive model is derived accounting for the visco-elasto-plastic behavior of these polymers and based on the hypothesis that the presence of electrical charge stretches/contracts bonds, which give rise to electrical field dependent softening/hardening. Polymer chain orientation in statistical sense plays a role on such softening or hardening. Elementary beam kinematics with large curvature is considered. A model for understanding the deformation due to electrostatic repulsion between asymmetrical charge distributions across the cross-sections is presented. Experimental evidence that Silver(Ag) nanoparticle coated IPMCs can be used for energy harvesting is reported. An IPMC strip is vibrated in different environments and the electric power against a resistive load is measured. The electrical power generated was observed to vary with the environment with maximum power being generated when the strip is in wet state. IPMC based energy harvesting systems have potential applications in tidal wave energy harvesting, residual environmental energy harvesting to power MEMS and NEMS devices.

Effects of phase inhomogeneity and boundary conditions on the dynamic response of SMA wire actuators

This paper reports the simulation results from the dynamic analysis of a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator. The emphasis is on understanding the dynamic behavior under various loading rates and boundary conditions, resulting in complex scenarios such as thermal and stress gradients. Also, due to the polycrystalline nature of SMA wires, presence of microstructural inhomogeneity is inevitable. Probing the effect of inhomogeneity on the dynamic behavior can facilitate the prediction of life and characteristics of SMA wire actuator under varieties of boundary and loading conditions. To study the effect of these factors, an initial boundary value problem of SMA wire is formulated. This is subsequently solved using finite element method. The dynamic response of the SMA wire actuator is analyzed under mechanical loading and results are reported. Effect of loading rate, micro-structural inhomogeneity and thermal boundary conditions on the dynamic response of SMA wire actuator is investigated and the simulation results are reported.