Joining the World Trade Organization With a Cool Head

On Nov. 11 the Doha meeting completed the formal approval procedures for China to join the WTO, putting a perfect end to the too long wait of the Chinese.15 years have passed since China began its efforts in entering the WTO. China set off on its way to ＂return to the GATT＂ with the development of its reforms in 1986. From that time till its success today, the name of the negotiations changed and the negotiators got old. This process is a memory of vicissitudes.Now the WTO is really …     

Effect of Stagnation Temperature on the Supersonic Two- Dimensional Plug Nozzle Conception. Application for Air

When the stagnation temperature of a perfect gas increases, the specific heats and their ratio do not remain constant any more and start to vary with this temperature. The gas remains perfect, its state equation remains always valid, except it will name in more calori-cally imperfect gas or gas at High Temperature. The goal of this research is to trace the profiles of the supersonic plug nozzle when this stagnation temperature is taken into account, lower than the threshold of dissociation of the molecules, by using the new formula of the Prandtl Meyer function, and to have for each exit Mach number, several nozzles shapes by changing the value of this temperature. A study on the error given by the PG (perfect gas) model compared to our model at high temperature is presented. The comparison is made with the case of a calorically perfect gas aiming to give a limit of application of this model. The application is for the air.     

Wire electrochemical machining with axial electrolyte flushing for titanium alloy

Titanium and its alloys have found very wide application in aerospace due to their excellent characteristics although their processing is still a challenge. Electrochemical machining is an important issue in the fabrication of titanium and titanium alloys. Wire electrochemical machining (WECM) is mainly used for workpiece cutting under the condition of different thickness plates. It has a great advantage over wire electro-discharge machining, which is the absence of heat-affected zone around the cutting area. Moreover, the wire electrode in WECM could be used repetitively because it is not worn out. Thus, much attention has been paid to WECM. The effective way of removing electrolysis products is of importance to WECM. In this paper, the axial electrolyte flushing is presented to WECM for removing electrolysis products and renewing electrolyte. The Taguchi experiment is conducted to optimize the machining parameters, such as wire feedrate, machining voltage, electrolyte concentration, etc. Experimental results show that WECM with axial electrolyte flushing is a promising issue in the fabrication of titanium alloy (TC1). The feasibility of multi-wire electrochemical machining is also demonstrated to improve the machining productivity of WECM.     

Supersonic Two-Dimensional Minimum Length Nozzle Design at High Temperature. Application for Air

When the stagnation temperature of a perfect gas increases, the specific heat ratio does not remain constant any more, and start to vary with this temperature. The gas remains perfect, its state equation remains always valid, except it will name in more calorically im-perfect gas or gas at High Temperature. The goal of this work is to trace the profiles of the supersonic Minimum Length Nozzle with centered expansion when the stagnation temperature is taken into account, lower than the threshold of dissociation of the molecules and to have for each exit Mach number several nozzles shapes by changing the value of the temperature. The method of characteristics is used with a new form of the Prandtl Meyer function at high temperature. The resolution of the obtained equations is done by the second order of finite differences method by using the predictor corrector algorithm. A study on the error given by the perfect gas model com-pared to our model is presented. The comparison is made with a calorically perfect gas for goal to give a limit of application of this model. The application is for the air.     

A step deformation method for superplasticity improvement of coarse-grained Ti–15V–3Cr-3Sn-3Al

Ti–15V–3Cr–3Sn–3Al(Ti–15–3), a kind of metastable beta titanium which has high specific strength and good cold-formability, is highlighted for applications in the aerospace manufacture industry. However, the technique for improving its formability at elevated temperatures is still a challenge at present. In this work, a step deformation method is proposed for superplasticity improvement of coarse grained Ti–15–3 plates at temperatures around its beta transus. The effects of the strain rate and the strain at the first stage on the superplasticity are investigated. The results show an increase of the strain rate sensitivity and a decrease of the flow stress under the step deformation mode compared to those obtained under constant strain rates at 780℃. The maximum strain to failure obtained in the step mode is 93% higher than that deformed in the constant strain rate mode. Strain rates, strains at the first stage, and temperatures have influences on the superplasticity improvement. The deformation mechanism is concluded as subgrain formation accommodated by grain boundary sliding rate-controlled by dislocation climb. The improved m value in the step deformation is accounted to the extra dislocation density produced during the strain rate reduction.     

Aerodynamic Design and Analysis of a Low-reaction Axial Compressor Stage

There is introduced a new low-reaction, highly-loaded axial compressor design concept which is coupled with boundary layer suction method. The characteristic features of the concept are made clear through its comparison with the MIT boundary layer suction compressor. Also are pointed out the potential applications of this concept as well as its key technological problems. Based on this concept, a single-stage, low-reaction and low-speed axial compressor is constructed in association with analysis and computation of boundary layer suction on vanes with the aid of a three-dimensional numerical approach. The results attest to the effectiveness of this way to control separation in blade cascades by the boundary layer suction and the feasibility of this proposed design concept.     

Characteristics of pulsed plasma synthetic jet and its control effect on supersonic flow

The plasma synthetic jet is a novel flow control approach which is currently being studied. In this paper its characteristic and control effect on supersonic flow is investigated both experimentally and numerically. In the experiment, the formation of plasma synthetic jet and its propagation velocity in quiescent air are recorded and calculated with time resolved schlieren method. The jet velocity is up to 100 m/s and no remarkable difference has been found after changing discharge parameters. When applied in Mach 2 supersonic flow, an obvious shockwave can be observed. In the modeling of electrical heating, the arc domain is not defined as an initial condition with fixed temperature or pressure, but a source term with time-varying input power density, which is expected to better describe the influence of heating process. Velocity variation with different heating efficiencies is presented and discussed and a peak velocity of 850 m/s is achieved in still air with heating power density of 5.0 · 1012W/m3. For more details on the interaction between plasma synthetic jet and supersonic flow, the plasma synthetic jet induced shockwave and the disturbances in the boundary layer are numerically researched. All the results have demonstrated the control authority of plasma synthetic jet onto supersonic flow.     

Attitude coordination for spacecraft formation with multiple communication delays

Communication delays are inherently present in information exchange between spacecraft and have an effect on the control performance of spacecraft formation. In this work, attitude coordination control of spacecraft formation is addressed, which is in the presence of multiple communication delays between spacecraft. Virtual system-based approach is utilized in case that a constant reference attitude is available to only a part of the spacecraft. The feedback from the virtual systems to the spacecraft formation is introduced to maintain the formation. Using backstepping control method, input torque of each spacecraft is designed such that the attitude of each spacecraft converges asymptotically to the states of its corresponding virtual system. Furthermore, the backstepping technique and the Lyapunov–Krasovskii method contribute to the control law design when the reference attitude is time-varying and can be obtained by each spacecraft. Finally, effectiveness of the proposed methodology is illustrated by the numerical simulations of a spacecraft formation.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF UNSTEADY FLOW AROUND A CIRCULAR CYLINDER AT HIGH REYNOLDS NUMBERS

A Lagrangian-Eulerian hybrid scheme to solve unsteady N-S equation in two-dimensional incompressible fluid at high Reynolds numbers is presented in this paper. A random walk is imposed to simulate the viscous diffusion, the vortex-in-cell method is used to obtain the convection velocity, and nascent vortices are created on a cylinder to satisfy the zero-slip condition. The impulsively started flow around a circular cylinder and the separation induced by a pair of incident vortices symmetrically approaching a circular cylinder have been successfully simulated by the hybrid scheme. The impulsively started flow from rest has been computed at Reynolds numbers 3000 and 9500. Comparisons are made with those results of finite-difference method, vortex method and flow visualization. Agreement is good. The particular attention has been paid to the evolutions of flow pattern. A topological analysis has been proposed in the region of the near wake. The bulge, isolated secondary vortex, a pair of secondary vortices     

An aircraft brake control algorithm with torque compensation based on RBF neural network

The wheel brake system of an aircraft is the key to ensure its safe landing and rejected takeoff. A wheel’s slip state is determined by the brake torque and ground adhesion torque, both of which have a large degree of uncertainty. It is this nature that brings upon the challenge of obtaining high deceleration rate for aircraft brake control. To overcome the disturbances caused by the above uncertainties, a braking control law is designed, which consists of two parts: runway surface recognition a...     

A ROBUST FLOW CALCULATION TECHNIQUE WITH MULTIPLE FINITE CONTROL VOLUMES

The control volume method gives the forces which act on the system, but not necessarily the wall pressure of the system. The author has made an attempt to develop a control volume method which makes it possible to obtain the wall pressure of the control volume. The 2-D inviscid incompressible steady duct flow is considered. The conservation equations in integral form are discretized for a control volume. The circulation along the control surface is expressed as a nonlinear function of the vertical velocity component at the inlet and is set equal to zero for the inviscid flow. The equation is solved by the Newton method, and the other aerodynamic properties can be obtained. The calculated results have been compared to the experiment and the agreement has been found fairly satisfactory.     

Large-scale Vacuum Vessel Design and Finite Element Analysis

The vacuum plume effects experimental system (PES) is the first experimental system designed to study the effects of vacuum plume in China. The main equipment, a vacuum chamber of 5.5 m in diameter and 12.8 m in length, and structure design of hinged door are described. The finite element method (FEM) is adopted to analyze the static strength and stability of the PES vacuum chamber. It is demonstrated that the static strength and stability are qualified. For the 5.5 m diameter vacuum chamber door, three design schemes are put forward. After comparisons are made, the single-axis-double-pin hinged door is selected. The FEM is applied to checking its static strength as well as distortions. The results show that the door’s distortion and displacement change mainly due to the gravity of the door which leads to its sinking. The calculated displacement is less than 7.8 mm, while the actual measurement is 5 mm. The single-axis-double-pin hinged door mechanism completely satisfies the design requirements. This innovative structure can be introduced as a reference for the design of large-scale hinged doors.     

A novel in-plane mode rotary ultrasonic motor

Ultrasonic motors have the merits of high ratio of torque to volume, high positioning precision, intrinsic holding torque, etc., compared to the conventional electromagnetic motors. There have been several potential applications for this type of motor in aerospace exploration, but bearings and bonding mechanism of the piezoelectric ring in the motors limit the performance of them in the space operation conditions. It is known that the Langevin type transducer has excel- lent energy efficiency and reliability. Hence using the Langevin type transducer in ultrasonic motors may improve the reliability of piezoelectric motors for space applications. In this study, a novel in-plane mode rotary ultrasonic motor is designed, fabricated, and characterized. The proposed motor operates in in-plane vibration mode which is excited by four Langevin-type bending vibra- tors separately placed around a ring-shaped stator. Two tapered rotors are assembled to the inner ring of the stator and clamped together by a screw nut. In order to make the motor more stable and convenient to fix, a thin cylindrical support is placed under the stator ring. Due to its no-bearing structure and Langevin transducer excitation, the prototype ultrasonic motor may operate well in aeronautic and astronautic environments.     

Overloading of Landing Based on the Deformation of the Lunar Lander

Along with the progress of sciences and technologies, a lot of explorations are taken in many countries or organizations in succession. Lunar, the natural satellite of the earth, become a focus of the space discovery again recently because of its abundant resource and high value in use. Lunar exploration is also one of the most important projects in China. A primary objective of the probe in lunar is to soft-land a manned spacecraft on the lunar surface. The soft-landing system is the key composition of the lunar lander. In the overall design of lunar lander, the analysis of touchdown dynamics during landing stage is an important work. The rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of a system with flexible cantilevers attached to the main lander is analyzed. The equations are derived from the subsystem method. Results show that the deformations of cantilevers have considerable effect on the overloading of the lunar lander system.     

Validation of a novel mixing-plane method for multistage turbomachinery steady flow analysis

The steady calculation based on the mixing-plane method is still the most widely-used three-dimensional flow analysis tool for multistage turbomachines. For modern turbomachines, the trend of design is to reach higher aerodynamic loading but with still further compact size. In such a case, the traditional mixing-plane method has to be revised to give a more physically mean-ingful prediction. In this paper, a novel mixing-plane method was proposed, and three representa-tive test cases including a transonic compressor, a highly-loaded centrifugal compressor and a high-pressure axial turbine were performed for validation purpose. This novel mixing-plane method can satisfy the flux conservation perfectly. Reverse flow across the mixing-plane interface can be resolved naturally, thus making this method numerically robust. Artificial reflection at the mixing-plane interface is almost eliminated, and then its detrimental impact on the flow field is min-imized. Generally, this mixing-plane method is suitable to simulate steady flows in highly-loaded multistage turbomachines.     

Study on the Anisotropy of Meniscus in the Growing Sapphire

This study is aimed at predicting the relationship between the meniscus and the quality of the sapphire crystals produced by the micro-pulling and shoulder at cooled center (SAPMIC) technique. As with different orientations, the shapes of the meniscus vary, so an investigation into the anisotropy of the meniscus shapes is very important for the final quality of the sapphire crystal. An effective model to describe meniscus shapes and their formation process has been presented. The model has been applied to a sapphire crystal of 200 mm diameter in order to check its reliability. The results show that the model proves to be useful for forecasting the final shapes of the sap-phire crystal made by the SAPMIC technique.     

Experimental study of an anti-icing method over an airfoil based on pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma

Aircraft icing has long been a plague to aviation for its serious threat to flight safety. Even though lots of methods for anti-icing have been in use or studied for quite a long time, new methods are still in great demand for both civil and military aircraft. The current study in this paper uses widely used Dielectric Barrier Discharge(DBD) plasma actuation to anti-ice on a NACA0012 airfoil model with a chord length of 53.5 cm in a closed-circuit icing wind tunnel. An actuator was installed at the leading edge of the airfoil model, and actuated by a pulsed low-temperature plasma power source. The actuator has two types of layout, a striped electrode layout and a meshy electrode layout.The ice accretion process or anti-icing process was recorded by a CCD camera and an infrared camera. Instantaneous pictures and infrared contours show that both types of DBD plasma actuators have the ability for anti-ice under a freestream velocity of 90 m/s, a static temperature of -7℃,an Median Volume droplet Diameter(MVD) of 20 lm, and an Liquid Water Content(LWC) of 0.5 g/m~3. The detected variations of temperatures with time at specific locations reveal that the temperatures oscillate for some time after spraying at first, and then tend to be nearly constant values.This shows that the key point of the anti-icing mechanism with DBD plasma actuation is to achieve a thermal equilibrium on the model surface. Besides, the power consumption in the anti-icing process was estimated in this paper by Lissajous figures measured by an oscilloscope, and it is lower than those of existing anti-icing methods. The experimental results presented in this paper indicate that the DBD plasma anti-icing method is a promising technique in the future.     

Numerical simulation method of surge experiments on gas turbine engines

In order to obtain the surge margin of an aero-engine during its operation, an engine surge experiment is required. A multi-dimensional simulation method for an aero-engine is established in this paper. The simulation of a surge experiment using high-pressure air-injection is then carried out on a turbo-shaft engine to obtain the surge boundary using this method. More specifically, firstly, a body-force model is employed to calculate the compressor performance owing to its capability of capturin...     

Test sequencing problem arising at the design stage for reducing life cycle cost

Previous test sequencing algorithms only consider the execution cost of a test at the application stage. Due to the fact that the placement cost of some tests at the design stage is considerably high compared with the execution cost, the sequential diagnosis strategy obtained by previous methods is actually not optimal from the view of life cycle. In this paper, the test sequencing problem based on life cycle cost is presented. It is formulated as an optimization problem, which is non-deterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard). An algorithm and a strategy to improve its computational efficiency are proposed. The formulation and algorithms are tested on various simulated systems and comparisons are made with the extant test sequencing methods. Application on a pump rotational speed control (PRSC) system of a spacecraft is studied in detail. Both the simulation results and the real-world case application results suggest that the solution proposed in this paper can significantly reduce the life cycle cost of a sequential fault diagnosis strategy.