Experimental Test Bench Research Articles

Optimal Design and Performance Analysis of Radial MR Valve with Single Excitation Coil

The main issue addressed in this paper involves the magnetorheological (MR) valve increasing the pressure drop by changing the internal structure, which leads to the increase of dimension sizes and the easy blocking of the internal channel. Optimizing the design of the traditional radial MR valve without changing the internal structure and whole dimension size is indispensable. Firstly, a radial MR valve with single excitation coil was proposed. The mathematical models of the field-dependent pressure drop and viscosity pressure drop in fluid flow channels were deduced, and the calculation formula of pressure drop was also established. Then, ANSYS software was used to simulate and analyze the distributions of the magnetic flux lines and magnetic flux densities of the proposed radial MR valve. Subsequently, the radial MR valve was simulated and analyzed by using the ANSYS first-order and zero-order simulation tools. In addition, the experimental test bench of the proposed MR valve was setup, the static performance of pressure drop was tested, and the change of pressure drop of the optimal radial MR valve under different loads was studied, furthermore, the response time with current of the initial and optimal radial MR valve were also investigated. Finally, the dynamic performances of the optimal radial MR valve controlled cylinder system under different currents, frequencies and amplitudes were tested, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the total pressure drop of the initial valve is 1.842 MPa when the applied current is 1.8 A, and the total pressure drop of the optimal valve is 2.58 MPa, the increase is 40.07%. Meanwhile, the maximum damping force of the optimal radial MR valve controlled cylinder system can reach about 3.6 kN at the current of 1.25 A, which shows a better optimization effect of the optimal radial MR valve.

A Tacholess Order Analysis Method for PMSG Mechanical Fault Detection with Varying Speeds

This article deals with the detection of mechanical faults in synchronous machines from single current measurement at variable speed. The proposed approach is based on an order tracking method in which the analysis signal is sampled as a function of the mechanical angle. In this case, the spectral components become independent of the speed and the frequency analysis can be exploited. Order tracking is generally implemented from a position measurement. In this work we present a method that allows us to estimate this position and the analysis signal from only one current measurement. The proposed approach allows an intuitive adjustment of the algorithm parameters. Secondly, a statistical method is used to finalize the diagnosis. At variable speed, this type of method is difficult to implement and we show that order tracking makes it possible to simplify the analysis. The procedure is tested in simulation and on a experimental test bench.

Development and Realization of an Experimental Bench Test for Synchronized Small Angle Light Scattering and Biaxial Traction Analysis of Tissues

Insights into the mechanical and microstructural status of biological soft tissues are fundamental in analyzing diseases. Biaxial traction is the gold standard approach for mechanical characterization. The state of the art methods for microstructural assessment have different advantages and drawbacks. Small angle light scattering (SALS) represents a valuable low energy technique for soft tissue assessment. The objective of the current work was to develop a bench test integrating mechanical and microstructural characterization capabilities for tissue specimens. The setup’s principle is based on the integration of biaxial traction and SALS analysis. A dedicated control application was developed with the objective of managing the test procedure. The different components of the setup are described and discussed, both in terms of hardware and software. The realization of the system and the corresponding performances are then presented.

A novel liquid cooling plate concept for thermal management of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles

In this paper, an innovative liquid cooling plate (LCP) embedded with phase change material (PCM) is designed for electric vehicle (EV) battery thermal management. The proposed cooling plate is named “hybrid cooling plate” as it takes advantage of both active (liquid) and passive (PCM) cooling methods. The hybrid LCP is 36% lighter than a volumetrically equivalent traditional aluminum LCP, and in addition to the cooling capability, it provides a heating solution to slow the temperature loss of the batteries during the cold stop. The thermal behavior of the hybrid LCP for two different scenarios including the cooling performance under a real driving cycle, and the cold stop temperature performance are investigated and compared with a traditional aluminum LCP using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. An experimental test bench is developed to test a prototype of the hybrid LCP and verify the CFD model. The cooling performance results indicate that the use of hybrid LCP could reduce the energy consumption of the pump required for circulating the coolant up to 30% in comparison with an aluminum LCP. Moreover, the novel designed LCP improves the temperature uniformity effectively. It was also found that the hybrid LCP could significantly delay the temperature drop at the cold stop situation of the EV and therefore, reduce the energy needed for the active heating of the batteries after short-term parking. These imply that the hybrid liquid cooling plate concept could be a promising thermal management solution for EVs.

Evaluation of the Detectability of Open Phase Faults in Multiphase Induction Machine Based on Instantaneous Power, Instantaneous Space Vector and Neutral Voltage

This article deals with the effect of the open phases in a Multi-Phase Induction Machine (MPIM). Such systems are known for their reliability even in failure conditions of this type. This is the reason for their presence in a large spectrum of industrial applications. Generally, failures are identified based on signal analysis of electrical measurements. The electrical measurements are given by current, voltage, and instantaneous power. The results obtained through those measurements can be verified through the experimental test bench. The most common fault for multiphase systems is the open phase. In this work, a Six-Phase Induction Machine (SPIM) is considered. A behavior analysis of a SPIM in faulty operating mode is presented. Results of several open phase configurations are illustrated through a comparison study.

A passive thermal management system of Li-ion batteries using PCM composites: Experimental and numerical investigations

This paper is dedicated to the design of an optimal thermal management system using a PCM-Metal Foam composite at the scale of a Li-ion batteries cells. To study the ability of a PCM and a PCM- Metal foam composite to absorb the heat generated by a Li-ion cell, a mathematical and numerical model was developed. The modeling is based on the data collected from characterizing experiments conducted with a new experimental test bench developed in the CERTES lab. In order to characterize the thermal behavior of Li-ion cell, the developed two-dimensional numerical model integrates the Brinkmann-Forchheimer-extended Darcy equation, the enthalpy-porosity method and two-temperature energy equations. The numerical study was made by coupling Matlab and COMSOL Multiphysics. The results showed that the addition of an aluminum foam allows a more efficient thermal management of the cell. The optimization study showed that an underestimation of the thickness (mass of PCM required) leads to extreme temperatures. It was also found that the addition of an extra volume of PCM does not have a great influence on the cell surface temperature.

Influence of Water Addition on the Latent Heat Degradation of Sodium Acetate Trihydrate

To promote the development of thermal energy storage (TES), the sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) presents interesting thermal properties. However, this material may suffer from aging throughout thermal cycles. Various solutions were explored in the literature to limit this aging, mainly based on the use of additives such as water. In this study, two samples were prepared. The first one consisted of raw SAT material whereas 3 wt.% of supplementary water has been added to the second one. They were then poured into 350 cm3 bricks, which were placed in an experimental test bench. After 35 cycles between 20 and 70 °C, a drop of about 10% of the latent heat was observed for the first sample. This behavior was like the literature data. For the second sample, the decrease of latent heat was more rapid (about 30%). Contrary to our expectations, the water addition seems not beneficial for the improvement of thermal stability. Interestingly, we noticed that the drop of the latent heat was fully reversible after sample stirring. This degradation might not be related to a thermal destructive mechanism but rather to a global segregation phenomenon. This segregation may be due to the breaking of hydrogen bonding between anhydrous sodium acetate and water, resulting in the separation of the two species.

A novel aircraft anti-skid brake control method based on runway maximum friction tracking algorithm

As a dominant type of disturbance during aircraft braking, variation in maximum friction between the runway and the tires largely affects the efficiency of aircraft anti-skid braking systems (ABS). Conventional aircraft anti-skid braking control method, such as pressure-bias-modulated (PBM), are unable to identify and track the changing maximum friction between the runway and the tires, which results in reduced braking efficiency and long braking distances. This paper presents a novel anti-skid braking control method which can identify and track the maximum friction using only wheel angular velocity and brake pressure signals. An extended braking stiffness (XBS)-based runway maximum friction identification method is proposed to determine the runway maximum friction, where XBS is the differential of the friction to the differential of the slip ratio. Tracking differentiator (TD) is employed to derive the corresponding differential signals, which enables XBS to be calculated efficiently, without compromising calculation accuracy. By analyzing the dynamic characteristic of the wheel, a runway friction characteristic observation function is designed to observe changing friction characteristic during the entire braking. To be able to track the varying maximum friction in real time, a runway maximum friction tracking algorithm is designed, which can realize accurate brake pressure control according to the change in runway friction characteristic. The Lyapunov function is employed to prove the stability of the designed controller. Simulation tests are carried out under multiple sets of changes in runway friction characteristic. The comparison simulation test with PBM algorithm shows that the designed control method greatly improves the braking efficiency. Ground inertia test bench experiments are also conducted to further verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed aircraft anti-skid brake control method. Simulation and experiment results prove that the proposed control method is able to identify and track the varying maximum friction provided by different runways. The results of experiment also demonstrate that the control method still has good robustness and performance, even with the objective noise of the system.

Hovering control algorithm validation for a mobile platform using an experimental test bench

This paper deals with the validation of a hovering control algorithm for a mobile aerial platform executed on a quadcopter pattern. In order to test and evaluate the proposed hovering algorithm in a safe and controllable environment conditions, an experimental test bench has been introduced. As part of the hovering control algorithm implementation process, a brief description of the dynamics and control laws of the quadcopter is presented. The considered control technique in this paper is based on PID control method. A program code has been written using Arduino IDE based on Arduino UNO microcontroller. A description of the conducted indoor experiment for the validation of the hovering algorithm, and also the main results of the performed practical experiment are presented

Измерение мощности сверхширокополосного хаотического сигнала для решения задач определения расстояния и позиционирования

A method increasing the accuracy of distance measurements using an ultra-wideband chaotic radio pulses, intended for application in wireless sensor networks is proposed. It was shown that the relative error of distance measurement in the experimental test bench is within 5-9%.

Speed Control of a Six-Phase IM Fed by a Multi-Modular Matrix Converter Using an Inner PTC With Reduced Computational Burden

A variable-speed predictive torque control (PTC) of a six-phase induction machine (SPIM) fed by a multi-modular matrix converter (M-MMC) is presented in this paper. This new system inherits the advantages of both multiphase machines (i.e., inherent fault-tolerance and better distribution of the power/current per phase compared to three-phase machines) and the M-MMC (i.e., smaller size and weight, and has no bulky storage elements). In addition, with the M-MMC topology, it is possible to use two power generation sources of different characteristics instead of a single three-phase source. This article proposes a method that reduces the number of calculations significantly compared to conventional PTC to overcome this issue. Simulation and experimental results are provided for speed control, module failure performance and tolerance to the variation of the magnetization inductance of the SPIM. An experimental test bench on a customized SiC-Mosfets based M-MMC and a 5.5 kW symmetrical SPIM has been used.

Experimental studies of a throughput of the distribution systems of planetary hydraulic motors

As a result of the study, an experimental test bench was developed for testing high-torque hydraulic motors. A methodology for experimental studies of a unified series of planetary hydraulic motors has been developed. It has been established that an increase in the throughput of a hydraulic motor with a modernized distributed system makes it possible to increase the hydromechanical efficiency of the modernized hydraulic motor by 11 to 14%, the volumetric efficiency by 2 to 4%, and the overall efficiency by 7 to 9%. The increase in the values of the hydromechanical, volumetric and overall efficiency of the modernized hydraulic motor explains the increase in the throughput of its distributed system. It has been established that the torque of the developed serial hydraulic motor is 300 to 325 min−1, which is a sign of the rigid characteristics of this hydraulic motor. The stability of the torque (within 1.5%) developed by the modernized hydraulic motor 370 to 375 H.m in the frequency range of 75 to 450 min−1 is confirmed by its rigid characteristic.

Рекуперация тепла с использованием органического цикла Ренкина

Heat losses in industrial processes can be divided into three sections (high-, medium-, and low-temperature heat), depending on the temperature of the exhaust gases. This heat is usually recovered either by heat exchangers or by a closed Rankine cycle. However, about 60% of low-temperature heat losses remain irreplaceable. Currently, the organic Rankine cycle has become a promising method of low-temperature energy recovery, and several theoretical studies on this topic have appeared, but a small number of experimental studies have been performed. In our work, we have built a 2 kW heat recovery laboratory test bench using tube-type heat exchangers, a gear pump and a turbo expander on the working fluid R141b. As a result, we found that the efficiency of the cycle increases as the boiling point and pressure increase, but an increase in overheating at the inlet of the expander leads to a decrease in efficiency due to the use of the working fluid R141b. At the inlet of the evaporator and the outlet of the condenser, respectively, overheating and supercooling of the working fluid occurs, which negatively affects the efficiency of the cycle. The amount of useful heat obtained was 45.4 W with an efficiency of 2.24%. as a result of low efficiency of the expander and pump, as well as leaks during the test. The development of an experimental test bench with working on organic Rankin cycle requires long-term research work and great scientific potential. In the future, it will be necessary to create a new test bench based on a deeper study, so that we can get a higher efficiency of the expander and pump, which would affect the efficiency of this cycle. Also, we need to replace the working fluid in the cycle with a more efficient one.

Implementation of a 3.5 kW resistive load bank for a single-cylinder diesel engine test bench

This article presents the implementation of a 3.5 kW resistive load bank applied to a four-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine test bench that operates with an alternator. With this experimental test bench, it is possible to perform mechanical, thermodynamic, and polluting emissions studies in compression-ignited or induced internal combustion engines. Applying the quantitative research methodology, the design of the electric charging system is carried out. Power control circuits and safety elements are designed for the load back. CAD software is used to design the structure and casing considering anthropometric measurements. Also, finite element analysis (FEA) is incorporated to verify the structural and thermal design criteria. he implementation of an electrical and instrumentation acceleration system for sensing power and torque in low-displacement engines showed a measurement error of less than 1%. Similarly, the FEA allowed to quantify the maximum efforts and guarantee a safety factor above 5. With the characterization of the implemented sensors, a correlation coefficient of up to 99.97% was achieved. The power measurement displayed an error lower than 3%, which leads to a high characterization capacity of any thermal machine with equal power or less than the designed one.

Interpolatory-Based Data-Driven Pulsed Fluidic Actuator Control Design and Experimental Validation

Pulsed fluidic actuators play a central role in the fluid flow experimental control strategy to achieve better performances of aeronautic devices. In this paper, we demonstrate, through an experimental test bench, how the interpolatory-based Loewner Data-Driven Control (L-DDC) framework is an appropriate tool for accurately controlling the outflow velocity of this family of actuators. L-DDC combines the concept of ideal controller with the Loewner framework in a single data-driven rationale, appropriate to experimental users. The contributions of the paper are, first, to emphasise the simplicity and versatility of such a data-driven rationale in a constrained experimental setup, and second, to solve some practical fluid engineers concerns by detailing the complete workflow and key ingredients for successfully implementing a pulsed fluidic actuator controller from the data acquisition to the control implementation and validation stages.

Ducted Fuel Injection: Experimental and numerical investigation on fuel spray characteristics, air/fuel mixing and soot mitigation potential

Enhancing mixture preparation upstream of the premixed autoignition zone is a solution to reduce soot emission formation in compression ignition engines. With this aim, in recent years, Ducted Fuel Injection (DFI) concept has been developed: DFI is based on the idea of injecting the fuel spray through a small cylindrical pipe within the combustion chamber at a certain distance from the nozzle injector hole. Recent research studies have highlighted the high potential of this innovative concept for soot mitigation in both constant volume vessel and engine-like operating conditions. However, the mechanisms driving the soot reduction have not yet been fully understood. The aim of this research work is to further investigate the DFI concept, evaluating its impact on the spray characteristics, on the air/fuel mixing and, therefore, on the soot formation phenomena. Firstly, an experimental activity was carried out by means of a constant volume vessel test bench with optical accesses to compare the spray evolution and sizing with and without duct adoption, over a wide range of vessel thermodynamic conditions and injection pressures. After that, a simulation setup was defined in the commercially available 3D-CFD software CONVERGE reproducing the experimental test bench, calibrating and validating the spray model. Firstly, the spray model was calibrated and validated considering the same non-reacting conditions exploited in the experimental analysis. Then, the calibrated spray model was used as a virtual tool to investigate the air entrainment process. As a results, the DFI adoption increases the air entrainment in the near-nozzle region caused by the high velocity spray that generates a pumping effect at the duct inlet. Moreover, mixing process is also enhanced by the turbulence distribution at the duct exit resulting in a narrower distribution of equivalence ratio at the ignition. As a consequence of the more effective air entrainment and improved turbulent mixing, DFI remarkably mitigates soot emissions, with a reduction up to 80% with respect to free spray configuration in all tested operating conditions.

Thermomechanical characterization of high-speed train braking materials to improve models: Numerical validation via a comparison with an experimental braking test

Today, the development of brake pads is carried out by empirical feedback validated by experimental bench tests. Nevertheless, these test campaigns are time-consuming, costly and ultimately do not help to understand phenomena for improving performances (coefficient of friction, durability, noise, etc.). To overcome these limitations, numerical braking models have been developed for several years. They need to be representative of the experimental reality in order to predict the current performance of brake systems and ultimately improve them. The difficulties, especially for high energy dissipation applications such as high-speed train (HST) braking systems, lie in the fact that thermomechanical coupling is important to consider, which particularly affects the behaviour of brake linings. According to the literature, this thermomechanical evolution is not sufficiently taken into account. In this work, a complete methodology is proposed for the identification of the behaviour of friction materials under coupled mechanical and thermal loads. In a second step, the properties obtained are injected into a simulation of a real and representative braking system. An experimental test with enriched instrumentation on a HST braking system configuration is separately conducted. A comparison between numerical and experimental results is carried out to validate the complete approach. Finally, based on the good results provided by the model, an optimization on the brake pas design is proposed, which allows a better distribution of the thermo-mechanical sollicitations and wear reduction.

LaFeSi-based magnetocaloric material analysis: Cyclic endurance and thermal performance results

Recently, a lot of progress has been made by the community to optimize the properties of LaFeSi-based alloys in order to enable their integration into prototypes for different magnetocaloric applications. In this paper we present a set of experimental results obtained with a specific layering of materials having different Curie temperatures integrated into a rotating R&D prototype. The prototype was tested under different operating conditions and the results are presented here. Furthermore, two types of endurance tests were performed on those materials using a separate experimental test bench. The obtained results are promising and present the basis for a possible replacement of Gd-based alloys with first order LaFeSi-based alloys to be used in our ready-to-be-deployed magnetic refrigeration systems. LaFeSi-based alloys have the potential to increase the cooling power and reduce the cost of our units due to reduced raw material costs. This is a critical factor, which will make the technology more accessible for large-scale production.

Continuous model predictive control of interleaved boost converter with current compensation

An interleaved DC–DC boost converter is widely used in DC power systems such as fuel cell systems or other systems requiring high-power quality for increasing and stabilising the output voltage. The performance of the converter can be affected by the control strategy. In this study, a robustness continuous control set model predictive control (CCS-MPC) for an interleaved DC–DC boost converter is proposed to achieve optimised transient dynamics and steady performance. To deal with unknown load variation and systems uncertainties, an extended Kalman observer is designed to estimate the lumped disturbance, including the load variation and unmodelled part. Based on the disturbance estimation, a dynamic current reference with the disturbance and the integrated voltage error is formulated for the optimal voltage tracking. Also, a prediction-accuracy-enhanced CCS-MPC for a wide range of operation points and multi-parameter disturbance is obtained. The proposed approach could stabilise the output voltage with good robustness under external disturbance and operation point change. Compared with other existing controllers, i.e. a proportional–integral controller, a sliding mode controller, and a finite control set model predictive controller, both the steady and transient performances are validated by a simulation and experimental test bench.

Accurate position control of shape memory alloy actuation using displacement feedback and self-sensing system

Numerous shape memory alloy (SMA) linear actuator designs have been proposed for accurate position control using different techniques such as displacement feedback, temperature feedback, force feedback and resistance feedback. Each of these techniques has its advantage, as well as constraint and limitation. Self-sensing SMA actuation is considered to be cost-effective as it eliminates the use of external sensor in the system. However, its performance relative to other methods has not been widely discussed. In this study, two techniques were proposed for accurate position control of displacement in the range of 2 mm. The performance of the system using position feedback and self-sensing SMA actuation was evaluated through an experimental test bench developed in this research. The results show that the position feedback system has faster time response and higher accuracy, however, it is costly due to the laser displacement used in the system. The self-sensing SMA actuation produced slower time response and the accuracy was less than 90%. It was found that by providing tension to SMA actuator, the actuation temperature of the SMA actuator increased and the accuracy of the self-sensing system can be improved.