Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering

Bolt connection is one of the main fixing methods of cylindrical shell structures. A typical bolted connection model is considered as a tuned system. However, in the actual working conditions, due to the manufacturing error, installation error and uneven materials of bolts, there are always random errors between different bolts. To investigate the influence of non-uniform parameters of bolt joint, including the stiffness and the distribution position, on frequency complexity characteristics of cylindrical shell through a statistical method is the main aim of this paper. The bolted joints considered here were simplified as a series of springs with random features. The vibration equation of the bolted joined cylindrical shell was derived based on Sanders’ thin shell theory. The Monte Carlo simulation and statistical theory were applied to the statistical analysis of mode characteristics of the system. First, the frequency and mode shape of the tuned system were investigated and compared with FEM. Then, the effect of the random distribution and the random constraint stiffness of the bolts on the frequency and mode shape were studied. And the statistical analysis on the natural frequencies was evaluated for different mistuned levels. And some special cases were presented to help understand the effect of random mistuning. This research introduces random theory into the modeling of bolted joints and proposes a reference result to interpret the complexity of the modal characteristics of cylindrical shells with non-uniform parameters of bolt joints.

During the electrochemical machining (ECM), the cathodes designed by the existing methods are mainly unitary cathodes, which can be only used to produce the workpieces with the same shapes. However, there are few researches on designing cathodes for machining the different workpieces with the different surfaces. This paper presents the grid cathode composed of the square cells to produce the workpieces with different shapes. Three types of the square cells, 2.5 mm×2.5 mm, 3 mm×3 mm, and 4 mm×4 mm, are utilized to construct the plane, the slant, and the blade cathode. The material of the cathode and the anode is CrNi18Ti9, and the ingredient of electrolyte is 15% NaCl and 15% NaNO3. The machining equilibrium machining current and time are acquired and analyzed, the machining process and the workpiece quality are compared between using the grid cathode and the unitary cathode. Moreover, the machining errors on the workpiece surface are measured and analyzed, and the error reasons are traced and discussed to obtain the better surface quality of the workpiece. The experiment and analysis results show that the grid cathode can be used to manufacture the workpieces with complex shapes in certain range of the error. The workpiece quality improves with the size of the square cell being reduced, and if the square element is small enough, the workpiece quality is almost equal to the one machined by the unitary cathode. The proposed research realizes a single cathode machining the different workpieces with the different surfaces.

Cerium–lanthanum alloy is widely used in the green energy industry, and the nanoscale smooth surface of this material is in demand. Nanometric cutting is an effective approach to achieving the ultra-precision machining surface. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is usually used to reveal the atomic-scale details of the material removal mechanism in nanometric cutting. In this study, the effects of cutting speed and undeformed chip thickness (UCT) on cutting force and subsurface deformation of the cerium–lanthanum alloy during nanometric cutting are analyzed through MD simulation. The results illustrate that the dislocations, stacking faults, and phase transitions occur in the subsurface during cutting. The dislocations are mainly Shockley partial dislocation, and the increase of temperature and pressure during the cutting process leads to the phase transformation of γ-Ce (FCC) into β-Ce (HCP) and δ-Ce (BCC). β-Ce is mainly distributed in the stacking fault area, while δ-Ce is distributed in the boundary area between the dislocation atoms and γ-Ce atoms. The cutting speed and UCT affect the distribution of subsurface damage. A thicker deformed layer including dislocations, stacking faults and phase-transformation atoms on the machined surface is generated with the increase in the cutting speed and UCT. Simultaneously, the cutting speed and UCT significantly affect the cutting force, material removal rate, and generated subsurface state. The fluctuations in the cutting force are related to the generation and disappearance of dislocations. This research first studied the nanometric cutting mechanism of the cerium–lanthanum ally, providing a theoretical basis for the development of ultra-precision machining techniques of these materials.

Ductile fracture of metal often occurs in the plastic forming process of parts. The establishment of ductile fracture criterion can effectively guide the selection of process parameters and avoid ductile fracture of parts during machining. The 3D ductile fracture envelope of AA6063-T6 was developed to predict and prevent its fracture. Smooth round bar tension tests were performed to characterize the flow stress, and a series of experiments were conducted to characterize the ductile fracture firstly, such as notched round bar tension tests, compression tests and torsion tests. These tests cover a wide range of stress triaxiality (ST) and Lode parameter (LP) to calibrate the ductile fracture criterion. Plasticity modeling was performed, and the predicted results were compared with corresponding experimental data to verify the plasticity model after these experiments. Then the relationship between ductile fracture strain and ST with LP was constructed using the modified Mohr–Coulomb (MMC) model and Bai-Wierzbicki (BW) model to develop the 3D ductile fracture envelope. Finally, two ductile damage models were proposed based on the 3D fracture envelope of AA6063. Through the comparison of the two models, it was found that BW model had better fitting effect, and the sum of squares of residual error of BW model was 0.9901. The two models had relatively large errors in predicting the fracture strain of SRB tensile test and torsion test, but both of the predicting error of both two models were within the acceptable range of 15%. In the process of finite element simulation, the evolution process of ductile fracture can be well simulated by the two models. However, BW model can predict the location of fracture more accurately than MMC model.

The recirculating planetary roller screw mechanism (RPRSM) is a transmission mechanism that engages the screw and nut threaded by multiple grooved rollers. In this paper, firstly, the design method of RPRSM nut threadless area is proposed, and the equations related to the structural parameters of nut threadless area are derived. On this basis, the cross-section design method of roller, screw and nut is constructed according to the actual situation of engagements between the screw/nut and the roller. By adjusting the gap between the two beveled edges and that between the arc and the beveled edge, the accuracy of the thread engagements between the screw/nut and the roller can be improved. Secondly, to ensure the engagements of the screw/nut and the roller, the distance equation from the center surface of the different rollers to the end surface of cam ring is given. Thirdly, combined with the working principle and structural composition of RPRSM, the component model is established according to its relevant structural parameters, and the virtual assembly is completed. Finally, the 3D model is imported into the ADAMS simulation software for multi-rigid body dynamics. The dynamic characteristic is analyzed, and the simulated values are compared with the theoretical values. The results show that the contact forces between the screw/nut and the roller are sinusoidal, mainly due to the existence of a small gap between the roller and the carrier. The maximum collision forces between the roller and cam ring are independent from load magnitude. Normally, the collision force between the roller and the carrier increases as the load increases. When RPRSM is in the transmission process, the roller angular speed in nut threadless area begins to appear abruptly, and the position of the maximum change is at the contact between the roller and the convex platform of cam ring. The design of the nut threadless area and the proposed virtual assembly method can provide a theoretical guidance for RPRSM research, as well as a reference for overall performance optimization.

To improve the quality and efficiency of Z-directional 3D preform forming, the Z-yarn frictional force distribution model of the preform and its wear mechanism were investigated. In this study, a tensile force measuring device was designed to measure the force required to replace the guide sleeve, which is equivalent to the Z-yarn frictional forces. The frictional force is proportional to the number of preform layers and is applied to the preform decreased from the corner, edge, sub-edge, and middle in order. A back propagation neural network model was established to predict the friction at different positions of the preform with different layers, and the error was within 1.9%. The wear of Z-yarn was studied at different frictional positions and after different times of successive implantation into the preform. The results showed that with an increase in the number of Z-yarn implantations and frictional forces, the amount of carbon fiber bundle hairiness gradually increased, and the tensile fracture strength damage of the fiber was increasingly affected by the frictional forces. In the corner position of the preform, when the number of implantations was 25, the fiber fracture strength decreased non-linearly and substantially; in order to avoid fiber fracturing in the implantation process, the Z-yarn needs to be replaced in time after 20–25 cycles of continuous implantation. This study solves the problem of difficulty in measuring the force required for individual replacements owing to the excessive number of guide sleeves, puts forward the relationship between fiber wear, preform position, and implantation times, solves the phenomenon of fracture in the preform during Z-direction fiber implantation, and realizes the continuous implantation of fibers.

Reliability assessment of the braking system in a high-speed train under small sample size and zero-failure data is very important for safe operation. Traditional reliability assessment methods are only performed well under conditions of large sample size and complete failure data, which lead to large deviation under conditions of small sample size and zero-failure data. To improve this problem, a new Bayesian method is proposed. Based on the characteristics of the solenoid valve in the braking system of a high-speed train, the modified Weibull distribution is selected to describe the failure rate over the entire lifetime. Based on the assumption of a binomial distribution for the failure probability at censored time, a concave method is employed to obtain the relationships between accumulation failure probabilities. A numerical simulation is performed to compare the results of the proposed method with those obtained from maximum likelihood estimation, and to illustrate that the proposed Bayesian model exhibits a better accuracy for the expectation value when the sample size is less than 12. Finally, the robustness of the model is demonstrated by obtaining the reliability indicators for a numerical case involving the solenoid valve of the braking system, which shows that the change in the reliability and failure rate among the different hyperparameters is small. The method is provided to avoid misleading of subjective information and improve accuracy of reliability assessment under conditions of small sample size and zero-failure data.

Joint clearances in antenna pointing mechanisms lead to uncertainty in function deviation. Current studies mainly focus on radial clearance of revolute joints, while axial clearance has rarely been taken into consideration. In fact, owning to errors from machining and assembly, thermal deformation and so forth, practically, axial clearance is inevitable in the joint. In this study, an error equivalent model (EEM) of revolute joints is proposed with considering both radial and axial clearances. Compared to the planar model of revolute joints only considering radial clearance, the journal motion inside the bearing is more abundant and matches the reality better in the EEM. The model is also extended for analyzing the error distribution of a spatial dual-axis (“X–Y” type) antenna pointing mechanism of Spot-beam antennas which especially demand a high pointing accuracy. Three case studies are performed which illustrates the internal relation between radial clearance and axial clearance. It is found that when the axial clearance is big enough, the physical journal can freely realize both translational motion and rotational motion. While if the axial clearance is limited, the motion of the physical journal will be restricted. Analysis results indicate that the consideration of both radial and axial clearances in the revolute joint describes the journal motion inside the bearing more precise. To further validate the proposed model, a model of the EEM is designed and fabricated. Some suggestions on the design of revolute joints are also provided.