Search results for "Aerospace Engineering"
showing 10 items of 378 documents
Finite-time Lyapunov dimension and hidden attractor of the Rabinovich system
2015
The Rabinovich system, describing the process of interaction between waves in plasma, is considered. It is shown that the Rabinovich system can exhibit a {hidden attractor} in the case of multistability as well as a classical {self-excited attractor}. The hidden attractor in this system can be localized by analytical-numerical methods based on the {continuation} and {perpetual points}. For numerical study of the attractors' dimension the concept of {finite-time Lyapunov dimension} is developed. A conjecture on the Lyapunov dimension of self-excited attractors and the notion of {exact Lyapunov dimension} are discussed. A comparative survey on the computation of the finite-time Lyapunov expon…
Invariance of Lyapunov exponents and Lyapunov dimension for regular and irregular linearizations
2014
Nowadays the Lyapunov exponents and Lyapunov dimension have become so widespread and common that they are often used without references to the rigorous definitions or pioneering works. It may lead to a confusion since there are at least two well-known definitions, which are used in computations: the upper bounds of the exponential growth rate of the norms of linearized system solutions (Lyapunov characteristic exponents, LCEs) and the upper bounds of the exponential growth rate of the singular values of the fundamental matrix of linearized system (Lyapunov exponents, LEs). In this work the relation between Lyapunov exponents and Lyapunov characteristic exponents is discussed. The invariance…
Arm end-point trajectories under normal and micro-gravity environments.
2001
Abstract The purpose of the present experiment was to study the way in which the CNS represents gravitational force during vertical arm pointing movements. Movements in upward and downward directions were executed by two cosmonauts in normal-gravity and weightlessness. Analyses focused upon finger kinematics in the sagittal plane. In normal-gravity, downward direction movements showed smaller curvatures and greater relative times to peak velocity ( AT MT ) when compared with upward direction movements. Data from the weightlessness experiments showed that whilst downward movements decreased their curvature during space flight, curvatures of upward movements changed slightly. Furthermore, AT …
Does the centre of mass remain stable during complex human postural equilibrium tasks in weightlessness?
2001
In normal gravity conditions the execution of voluntary movement involves the displacement of body segments as well as the maintenance of a stable reference value for equilibrium control. It has been suggested that centre of mass (CM) projection within the supporting base (BS) is the stabilised reference for voluntary action, and is conserved in weightlessness. The purpose of this study was to determine if the CM is stabilised during whole body reaching movements executed in weightlessness. The reaching task was conducted by two cosmonauts aboard the Russian orbital station MIR, during the Franco-Russian mission ALTAIR, 1993. Movements of reflective markers were recorded using a videocamera…
Stationary and non-stationary stochastic response of linear fractional viscoelastic systems
2012
Abstract A method is presented to compute the stochastic response of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structural systems with fractional derivative damping, subjected to stationary and non-stationary inputs. Based on a few manipulations involving an appropriate change of variable and a discretization of the fractional derivative operator, the equation of motion is reverted to a set of coupled linear equations involving additional degrees of freedom, the number of which depends on the discretization of the fractional derivative operator. As a result of the proposed variable transformation and discretization, the stochastic analysis becomes very straightforward and simple since, based on stand…
Impact behaviour of flax/epoxy composite plates
2015
This paper presents an experimental investigation of the impact behaviour of flax/epoxy composite plates submitted to low-velocity transverse impact. Low energy drop-weight impact tests have been performed on two types of quasi-isotropic flax/epoxy composites, rectangularly shaped with edges lengths of 142 mm × 94 mm and 2.85 mm thick. Residual properties have been assessed by compression after impact tests. A detailed description of damage development, especially the increase of the rear face crack with respect to the impact energy is given by the microscopic observation. The influence of impact damage on the residual strength is described. A loss of 15%–30% in compression resistance was n…
Time dependent viscoelastic rheological response of pure, modified and synthetic bituminous binders
2016
Bitumen is a viscoelastic material that exhibits both elastic and viscous components of response and displays both a temperature and time dependent relationship between applied stresses and resultant strains. In addition, as bitumen is responsible for the viscoelastic behaviour of all bituminous materials, it plays a dominant role in defining many of the aspects of asphalt road performance, such as strength and stiffness, permanent deformation and cracking. Although conventional bituminous materials perform satisfactorily in most highway pavement applications, there are situations that require the modification of the binder to enhance the properties of existing asphalt material. The best kn…
Optimization and analysis of processes with moving materials subjected to fatigue fracture and instability
2013
We study systems of traveling continuum modeling the web as a thin elastic plate of brittle material, traveling between a system of supports at a constant velocity, and subjected to bending, in-plane tension and small initial cracks. We study crack growth under cyclic in-plane tension and transverse buckling of the web analytically. We seek optimal in-plane tension that maximizes a performance vector function consisting of the number of cycles before fracture, the critical velocity and process effectiveness. The present way of applying optimization in the studies of fracture and stability is new and affords an analytical tool for process analysis. peerReviewed
Effects of the cycling workload on core and local skin temperatures
2016
[EN] Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the influence of cycling workload on the variation of core and skin temperature of the different body regions, and the relationship between both temperature variables. Method: Fourteen cyclists performed two 45-min cycling tests at 35% and 50% of peak power output on different days. The cadence was constant in both tests (90 rpm). Core temperature was measured continuously throughout the test and local skin temperature was recorded before, immediately after and 10 min after finishing the cycling test. Differences in variation of the core and skin temperature and in the effort perception and body mass loss due to different cycling workload …
Transport properties of heterogeneous materials. Combining computerised X-ray micro-tomography and direct numerical simulations
2009
Feasibility of a method for finding flow permeability of porous materials, based on combining computerised X-ray micro-tomography and numerical simulations, is assessed. The permeability is found by solving fluid flow through the complex 3D pore structures obtained by tomography for actual material samples. We estimate overall accuracy of the method and compare numerical and experimental results. Factors contributing to uncertainty of the method include numerical error arising from the finite resolution of tomographic images and the rather small sample size available with the present tomographic techniques. The total uncertainty of computed values of permeability is, however, not essentiall…