Slip flow and heat transfer in microbearings with fractal surface topographies

The effects of random surface roughness on slip flow and heat transfer in microbearings are investigated. A three-dimensional random surface roughness model characterized by fractal geometry is used to describe the multiscale self-affine roughness, which is represented by the modified two-variable Weierstrass- Mandelbrot (W-M) functions, at micro-scale. Based on this fractal characterization, the roles of rarefaction and roughness on the thermal and flow properties in microbearings are predicted and evaluated using numerical analyses and simulations. The results show that the boundary conditions of velocity slip and temperature jump depend not only on the Knudsen number but also on the surface roughness. It is found that the effects of the gas rarefaction and surface roughness on flow behavior and heat transfer in the microbearing are strongly coupled. The negative influence of roughness on heat transfer found to be the Nusselt number reduction. In addition, the effects of temperature difference and relative roughness on the heat transfer in the bearing are also analyzed and discussed. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An analytical model for guided wave inspection optimization for prismatic structures of any cross section.

This paper presents an analytical modeling technique for the simulation of long-range ultrasonic guided waves in structures. The model may be used to predict the displacement field in a prismatic structure arising from any excitation arrangement and may therefore be used as a tool to design new inspection systems. It is computationally efficient and relatively simple to implement, yet gives accuracy similar to finite element analysis and semi-analytical finite element analysis methods. The model has many potential applications; one example is the optimization of part-circumferential arrays where access to the full circumference of the pipe is restricted. The model has been successfully validated by comparison with finite element solutions. Experimental validation has also been carried out using an array of piezoelectric transducer elements to measure the displacement field arising from a single transducer element in an 88.9-mm-diameter pipe. Good agreement has been obtained between the two models and the experimental data.