Multi-faults diagnosis of rolling bearings via adaptive customization of flexible analytical wavelet bases

Multi-faults detection is a challenge for rolling bearings due to the mode mixture and coupling of multiple fault features, as well as its easy burying in the complex, non-stationary structural vibrations and strong background noises. In this paper, a method based on the flexible analytical wavelet transform (FAWT) possessing fractional scaling and translation factors is proposed to identify multiple faults occurred in different components of rolling bearings. During the route of the proposed method, the proper FAWT bases are constructed via genetic optimization algorithm (GA) based on maximizing the spectral correlated kurtosis (SCK) which is firstly presented and proved to be efficient and effective in indicating interested fault mode. Via using the customized FAWT bases for each interested fault mode, the original vibration measurements are decomposed into fine frequency subbands, and the sensitive subband which enhances the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is selected to exhibit the fault signature on its envelope spectrum. The proposed method is tested via simulated signals, and applied to analyze the experimental vibration measurements from the running roller bearings subjected to outrace, inner-race and roller defects. The analysis results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in identifying multi-faults occurred in different components of rolling bearings.     

Orbital stability close to asteroid 624 Hektor using the polyhedral model

We investigate the orbital stability close to the unique L4-point Jupiter binary Trojan asteroid 624 Hektor. The gravitational potential of 624 Hektor is calculated using the polyhedron model with observational data of 2038 faces and 1021 vertexes. Previous studies have presented three different density values for 624 Hektor. The equilibrium points in the gravitational potential of 624 Hektor with different density values have been studied in detail. There are five equilibrium points in the gravitational potential of 624 Hektor no matter the density value. The positions, Jacobian, eigenvalues, topological cases, stability, as well as the Hessian matrix of the equilibrium points are investigated. For the three different density values the number, topological cases, and the stability of the equilibrium points with different density values are the same. However, the positions of the equilibrium points vary with the density value of the asteroid 624 Hektor. The outer equilibrium points move away from the asteroid’s mass center when the density increases, and the inner equilibrium point moves close to the asteroid’s mass center when the density increases. There exist unstable periodic orbits near the surface of 624 Hektor. We calculated an orbit near the primary’s equatorial plane of this binary Trojan asteroid; the results indicate that the orbit remains stable after 28.8375?d.     

Attitude control of a satellite with redundant thrusters

Redundant thrusters are generally used for a reliable attitude control system. Also, redundant thrusters yield a better performance if they are used appropriately. In this paper, the authors propose an efficient redundancy management algorithm to reduce the fuel consumption. The algorithm is based on a linear programming problem which is a constrained optimization problem. For the algorithm, a cost function is defined as a quantity related to the fuel consumption for a maneuver. The independent variables are the thrusters' on-times which are control input variables of a satellite dynamic model. The advantage of the proposed method is verified by numerical examples. The examples show that the proposed method consumes less fuel than an existing method for a given maneuvering command. A sub-optimal algorithm is also discussed for an onboard computation. The proposed algorithm is applied to two maneuvers: move-to-rest and rest-to-rest. This is verified by a numerical simulation.     

Modelling of the optical observations of a geosynchronous fragmentation event

A study of the evolution and optical detectability of a fragmentation debris cloud in geosynchronous orbit has been carried out. The 1998 NASA breakup model has been used to generate orbit data for 95 fragments larger than 10 cm size from a 1000 kg satellite. The orbital evolution of these fragments is studied using a precision numerical propagator, employing a high-fidelity force model. Although the fragments rapidly disperse throughout the geostationary arc, they remain localised in right ascension of ascending node and inclination, and are driven along a narrow inertial corridor by luni-solar perturbations. The ESA PROOF software is used to study the detectability of the fragments using a 1- and 0.5-m telescope design. The 1-m telescope can detect 82% of the fragments (down to 13 cm in size) whilst the 0.5-m telescope can detect 39% of the fragments (down to 30 cm size). Due to the large along-track spread of the fragments, a time limit of 1-month post-breakup can be established for a space surveillance system to catalogue the breakup fragments. After this time the angular separation is such that the fragments disperse into the background population, and are no longer distinguishable as originating from a common breakup event.     

The Russian experience in medical care and health maintenance of the International Space Station crews

The main purpose of the medical support system aboard International Space Station (ISS) is crew health maintenance and high level of work capability assurance prior to during and after in space flights. In the present communication the Russian point of view dealing with the problems and achievements in this branch is presented. An overview on medical operations during flight and after finalization of the space missions based on Russian data of crew health and environment state monitoring, as well as data on the inflight countermeasures (prophylaxis) jointly with data on operational problems that are specific to ISS is presented. The report summarizes results of the medical examination of Russian members of the ISS and taxi crews during and after visits to the ISS.     

基于CFD技术的鼻腔输药的流动特性研究

鼻腔输药作为一种新颖的输药方式,具有方便可靠的特点,不仅可以适用于局部而且适用于全身用药,已经受到广泛的重视。但由于人类的呼吸道复杂的立体结构使得鼻腔输药成为生物医药研究的一个长期的挑战。利用CFD(计算流体动力学,Computational Fluid Dynamics)技术对鼻腔输药的流动特性进行研究,对一个基于真实的人类鼻腔解剖的3D模型的输药的流动过程进行了分析,着重研究了不同的药物颗粒的流动和沉淀特性。利用CFD的商用软件FLUENT在层流情况下对不同的密度、直径和流动速率的药物颗粒在鼻腔中流动进行了数值模拟,并对计算结果进行了比较分析。CFD研究的结果为鼻腔输药这种新颖的药物输送方式的优化设计提供了依据。     

Numerical investigation of the shock interaction effect on the lateral jet controlled missile

A computational study on the supersonic flow around the lateral jet controlled missile has been performed. A three-dimensional Navier–Stokes computer code (AADL 3D) has been developed and case studies have been performed by comparing the normal force coefficient and the moment coefficient of a missile body. Different jet flow conditions including jet pressures and jet Mach numbers, and the circumferential jet positions have been incorporated into the case studies. The missile surface is divided into four regions with respect to the center of gravity, and the normal force and moment distribution at each region are compared. The results show conspicuously different normal force and moment variations according to each parameter variation. From the detailed flow field analyses, it has been verified that most of the normal force loss and the pitching moment generation are taking place at the low-pressure region behind the jet nozzle. Furthermore, it is shown that the pitching moment can be efficiently reduced by the lateral thrust obtained through higher jet Mach number rather than high jet pressure. Thus, an angle of yaw is more effective for missile control by side jet than an angle of attack.     

Families of halo orbits in the elliptic restricted three-body problem for a solar sail with reflectivity control devices

Solar sail halo orbits designed in the Sun-Earth circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) provide inefficient reference orbits for station-keeping since the disturbance due to the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit has to be compensated for. This paper presents a strategy to compute families of halo orbits around the collinear artificial equilibrium points in the Sun-Earth elliptic restricted three-body problem (ER3BP) for a solar sail with reflectivity control devices (RCDs). In this non-autonomous model, periodic halo orbits only exist when their periods are equal to integer multiples of one year. Here multi-revolution halo orbits with periods equal to integer multiples of one year are constructed in the CR3BP and then used as seeds to numerically continue the halo orbits in the ER3BP. The linear stability of the orbits is analyzed which shows that the in-plane motion is unstable while the out-of-plane motion is neutrally stable and a bifurcation is identified. Finally, station-keeping is performed which shows that a reference orbit designed in the ER3BP is significantly more efficient than that designed in the CR3BP, while the addition of RCDs improve station-keeping performance and robustness to uncertainty in the sail lightness number.     

A general calculation method to specify center-of-buoyancy for the stratospheric airship with multiple gas cells

As the lighter-than-air (LTA) flight vehicle, the stratospheric airship is a desirable platform to provide communication and surveillance services. During the ascent from sea-level to the mission altitude, the volume of the lifting gas may change significantly, which will result in the change of the center-of-buoyancy (CB). A general calculation method is developed to specify CB for the stratospheric airship with a double-ellipsoid hull and an arbitrary number of the gas cells. The cross-section-integral (CSI) method is used as a basic calculation scenario to specify CB. Considering the complexity in determining the boundary between the helium and air in the gas cell, a searching algorithm is put forward and the specification of CB can be conducted by the iterative calculation. As an important application, the stable condition of the pitch angle is analyzed when the change of CB is involved. Under different initial configurations, the stable pitch angle of the stratospheric airship during the ascent is specified and compared, which shows the advantages of the multi-gas-cell configuration. The results of this paper may provide an important reference for the engineering application of the stratospheric airship.     

Advances in fabrication of ceramic corundum abrasives based on sol–gel process

Corundum abrasives with good chemical stability can be fabricated into various free abrasives and bonded abrasive tools that are widely used in the precision machining of various parts. However, these abrasives cannot satisfy the machining requirements of difficult-to-machine materials with high hardness, high strength, and strong wearing resistance. Although superhard abrasives can machine the above-mentioned materials, their dressing and manufacturing costs are high. By contrast, ceramic corundum abrasives fabricated by sol–gel method is a cost-effective product between conventional and superhard abrasives. Ceramic corundum abrasives exhibit self-sharpening and high toughness. In this review, the optimization methods of ceramic corundum abrasive properties are introduced from three aspects: precursor synthesis, particle shaping, and sintering. Firstly, the functional mechanism of seeds and additives on the microstructural and mechanical properties of abrasives is analyzed. Specifically, seeds can reduce the phase transition temperature and improve fracture toughness. The grain size and uniformly dense structure can be controlled by applying an appropriate amount of multicomponent additives. Then, the urgent need of engineering application and machinability of special shape ceramic corundum abrasives is reviewed, and three methods of abrasive shaping are summarized. The micromold replication technique is highly advanced and can be used to prepare functional abrasives. Additionally, the influence of a new sintering method, namely, two-step sintering technique, on the microstructural and mechanical performance of ceramic corundum abrasives is summarized. Finally, the challenge and developmental trend of the optimization of ceramic corundum abrasives are prospected.