Search results for "reliability"
showing 10 items of 1563 documents
On the sway stability improvement of car–caravan systems by articulated connections
2015
The present analysis is addressed to some promising connection arrangements between the towing vehicles and the towed trailers, where the two units are linked by four-bar isosceles trapeziums in place of the conventional pintle hitch. Two types of instability, of the divergent type or the oscillating type, may be analysed by the Routh–Hurwitz criterion or by the direct analysis of the characteristic equation. The constant term of this equation vanishes at the divergent instability threshold (zero of a real root), whereas the equation splits into two lower degree algebraic ‘sub-equations’ when the oscillating instability arises (pair of pure imaginary roots). A large field of geometrical con…
Improved Planning In-Service Inspections of Fatigued Aircraft Structures Under Parametric Uncertainty of Underlying Lifetime Models
2014
Certain fatigued structures must be inspected in order to detect fatigue damages that would otherwise not be apparent. A technique for obtaining optimal inspection strategies is proposed for situations where it is difficult to quantify the costs associated with inspections and undetected failure. For fatigued structures for which fatigue damages are only detected at the time of inspection, it is important to be able to determine the optimal times of inspection. Fewer inspections will lead to lower fatigue reliability of the structure upon demand, and frequent inspection will lead to higher cost. When there is a fatigue reliability requirement, the problem is usually to develop an inspection…
Strengthening Safety Compliance in Nuclear Power Operations: A Role-Based Approach
2014
Safety compliance is of paramount importance in guaranteeing the safe running of nuclear power plants. However, it depends mostly on procedures that do not always involve the safest outcomes. This article introduces an empirical model based on the organizational role theory to analyze the influence of legitimate sources of expectations (procedures formalization and leadership) on workers' compliance behaviors. The sample was composed of 495 employees from two Spanish nuclear power plants. Structural equation analysis showed that, in spite of some problematic effects of proceduralization (such as role conflict and role ambiguity), procedure formalization along with an empowering leadership s…
Improving Maintenance Activities of Machine Tools
2013
The paper follows the current trends in the field of maintenance, proposing approaches that fit in the concept of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). First it is presented a new proposal for tracking in-service machine tools. This is based on the identification of three operating states: good running condition, state of repair and stationary state. During the stationary state there are differentiated two distinct types of stops: natural stays and unproductive stays (those who often produce considerable losses). Based on the information contained in the records made for tracking the operation of machine tools there are proposed formulas for calculating some operational indicators and practic…
Control of solid-state fault current limiter for DG-integrated distribution systems
2017
Fault current limier (FCL) is a device that limits the system current under fault conditions without disconnecting the system and affecting the power system protection components such as circuit breakers. Many types of FCLs have been proposed to limit the magnitude of the fault current. Solid-state fault current limiters (SSFCLs) can limit the peak value of the fault current by applying several methods, such as controlling the system impedance or controlling the voltage that appears across the fault. In this paper, a new control scheme for the SSFCL circuit is presented. The control method is based on controlling the duty cycle of solid state switches to control the rms value of the system …
The Taguchi Method and Conditions for its Implementation in High Performance Athletic Training
2014
Abstract The purpose of this research is to present the main features of the Taguchi method, a method used today mainly in the optimization of industrial processes and products. It allows identification of process parameters that may contribute to system optimization; in our case, it allows the selection of the most effective means of training aimed at optimizing processes. After having determined the relevant characteristics in athlete training, we developed a model based on the Taguchi method, adapting the characteristics of that training for implementation in high performance athletic training. We also checked the optimum conditions for the implementation of management techniques and for…
Current and Voltage Behaviour During a Fault in a HV/MV System: Methods and Measurements
2015
When a single line to ground fault happens on the MV side of a HV/MV system, only a small portion of the fault current is injected into the ground by the ground-grid of the faulty substation. In fact the fault current is distributed between grounding electrodes and MV cables sheaths. In systems with isolated neutral or with resonant earthing this may be sufficient to provide safety from electric shock. Experimental measurements were performed on a real MV distribution network: a real single line to ground fault was made and fault currents were measured in the faulty substation and in four neighbouring substations. In this paper the problem of fault current distribution is introduced, the te…
A General Mathematical Model for non-Redundant Fault-Tolerant Inverters
2011
Industrial systems able to release trusted services is an integrated concept that resumes the attributes of availability, reliability, safety, integrity, and maintainability. In power electronics this can be aimed via the introduction of fault tolerant architectures. While In the past technical literature the mathematical modeling problem for non-redundant converters was fronted studying separately the cases of fault leg by leg, in this paper a general model able to include the three possible cases of leg faults with a unique set of equation is introduced and discussed. The same model allows to evaluate the DC Link transient and steady state evolution and also allows to develop with much ea…
A Technique for Power Supply Harmonic Impedance Estimation Using a Controlled Voltage Disturbance
2002
A method for power system impedance estimation is presented. The method employs a power converter to inject a voltage transient onto the supply system. As the technique employs controlled power electronic devices it may be used as a stand alone piece of a portable measurement equipment, or it may be embedded into the functions of an active shunt filter for improved harmonic control. The impedance is estimated through correlation of the measured voltage and current transients. Simulations and experimental results demonstrate the measurement technique is highly accurate and effective.
Flexible power converters for the fault tolerant operation of Micro-Grids
2010
The progressive penetration level of Distributed Generation (DG) is destined to cause deep changes in the existing distribution networks no longer considered as passive terminations of the whole electrical system. A possible solution is the realization of small networks, namely the Micro-Grids, reproducing in themselves the structure of the main production and distribution of the electrical energy system. In order to gain an adequate reliability level of the microgrids the individuation and the management of the faults with the goal of maintaining the micro-grid operation (fault tolerant operation) is quite important. In the present paper flexible power converters and a companion control al…