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Books > Professional & Technical > Mechanical engineering & materials > Materials science > Mechanics of solids > Dynamics & vibration
How is free will possible in the light of the physical and chemical underpinnings of brain activity and recent neurobiological experiments? How can the emergence of complexity in hierarchical systems such as the brain, based at the lower levels in physical interactions, lead to something like genuine free will? The nature of our understanding of free will in the light of present-day neuroscience is becoming increasingly important because of remarkable discoveries on the topic being made by neuroscientists at the present time, on the one hand, and its crucial importance for the way we view ourselves as human beings, on the other. A key tool in understanding how free will may arise in this context is the idea of downward causation in complex systems, happening coterminously with bottom up causation, to form an integral whole. Top-down causation is usually neglected, and is therefore emphasized in the other part of the book's title. The concept is explored in depth, as are the ethical and legal implications of our understanding of free will. This book arises out of a workshop held in California in April of 2007, which was chaired by Dr. Christof Koch. It was unusual in terms of the breadth of people involved: they included physicists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, philosophers, and theologians. This enabled the meeting, and hence the resulting book, to attain a rather broader perspective on the issue than is often attained at academic symposia. The book includes contributions by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, George F. R. Ellis , Christopher D. Frith, Mark Hallett, David Hodgson, Owen D. Jones, Alicia Juarrero, J. A. Scott Kelso, Christof Koch, Hans Kung, Hakwan C. Lau, Dean Mobbs, Nancey Murphy, William Newsome, Timothy O'Connor, Sean A.. Spence, and Evan Thompson.
The paradigm of complexity is pervading both science and engineering, le- ing to the emergence of novel approaches oriented at the development of a systemic view of the phenomena under study; the de?nition of powerful tools for modelling, estimation, and control; and the cross-fertilization of di?erent disciplines and approaches. One of the most promising paradigms to cope with complexity is that of networked systems. Complex, dynamical networks are powerful tools to model, estimate, and control many interesting phenomena, like agent coordination, synch- nization, social and economics events, networks of critical infrastructures, resourcesallocation, informationprocessing, controlovercommunicationn- works, etc. Advances in this ?eld are highlighting approaches that are more and more oftenbasedondynamicalandtime-varyingnetworks, i.e.networksconsisting of dynamical nodes with links that can change over time. Moreover, recent technological advances in wireless communication and decreasing cost and size of electronic devices are promoting the appearance of large inexpensive interconnected systems, each with computational, sensing and mobile ca- bilities. This is fostering the development of many engineering applications, which exploit the availability of these systems of systems to monitor and control very large-scale phenomena with ?ne resoluti
Performance-based Earthquake Engineering has emerged before the turn of the century as the most important development in the field of Earthquake Engineering during the last three decades. It has since then started penetrating codes and standards on seismic assessment and retrofitting and making headway towards seismic design standards for new structures as well. The US have been a leader in Performance-based Earthquake Engineering, but also Europe is a major contributor. Two Workshops on Performance-based Earthquake Engineering, held in Bled (Slovenia) in 1997 and 2004 are considered as milestones. The ACES Workshop in Corfu (Greece) of July 2009 builds on them, attracting as contributors world-leaders in Performance-based Earthquake Engineering from North America, Europe and the Pacific rim (Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, China). It covers the entire scope of Performance-based Earthquake Engineering: Ground motions for performance-based earthquake engineering; Methodologies for Performance-based seismic design and retrofitting; Implementation of Performance-based seismic design and retrofitting; and Advanced seismic testing for performance-based earthquake engineering. Audience: This volume will be of interest to scientists and advanced practitioners in structural earthquake engineering, geotechnical earthquake engineering, engineering seismology, and experimental dynamics.
This book presents 53 independently reviewed papers which embody the latest advances in the theory, design, control and application of robotic systems, which are intended for a variety of purposes such as manipulation, manufacturing, automation, surgery, locomotion and biomechanics. Methods used include line geometry, quaternion algebra, screw algebra, and linear algebra. These methods are applied to both parallel and serial multi-degree-of-freedom systems. The contributors are recognised authorities in robot kinematics.
A very complete survey of different approaches adopted by Eastern and Western countries for the disposal of surplus ammunition. Incineration and other techniques for the disposal of high explosives, gun and rocket propellants are introduced and discussed in relation to environmental and safety requirements. Proposals for and examples of the re-use of military explosives in commercial applications are given. Topics discussed range from the conversion of energetic systems into chemical raw materials to the new development of energetic systems with special features for commercial use (such as producing artificial diamonds by detonation, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, fire extinguishing, etc.).
The purpose of this book is to provide students, practicing engineers and scientists with a treatment of nonlinear phenomena occurring in physical systems. Although only mechanical models are used, the theory applies to all physical systems governed by the same equations, so that the book can be used to study nonlinear phenomena in other branches of engineering, such as electrical engineering and aerospace engineering, as well as in physics. The book consists of two volumes. Volume I is concerned with single degree-of-freedom systems and it presents the fundamental concepts of nonlinear analysis. Both analytical methods and computer simulations are included. The material is presented in such a manner that the book can be used as a graduate as well as an undergraduate textbook. Volume II deals with multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Following an introduc tion to linear systems, the volume presents fundamental concepts of geometric theory and stability of motion of general nonlinear systems, as well as a concise discussion of basic approximate methods for the response of such systems. The material represents a generalization of a series of papers on the vibration of nonlinear multi-degree-of-freedom systems, some of which were published by me and my associates during the period 1965 - 1983 and some are not yet published."
Basic models and concepts of machine dynamics and motion control are presented in the order of the principal steps of machine design. The machine is treated as a coupled dynamical system, including drive, mechanisms and controller, to reveal its behavior at different regimes through the interaction of its units under dynamic and processing loads. The main dynamic effects in machines are explained. The influence of component compliances on accuracy, stability and efficiency of the machines is analyzed. Methods for decreasing internal and external vibration activity of machines are described. The dynamic features of digital control are considered. Special attention is given to machines with intense dynamic behavior: resonant and hand-held percussion ones. Targeted to engineers as well as to lecturers and advanced students.
The interest of the media in dust explosions increased considerably following two major grain-elevator disasters in the United States in 1979. However, these were not isolated incidents and were statistically unusual only in the high loss of life involved. Any oxidizable material that is dispersed in fine powder form may be explosive, and ignition sources with sufficient energy to ignite a dust cloud are easily produced in normal industrial processing. Dust fires and minor incidents are not uncommon in many industries, but fortunately the combination of events and circumstances that must coincide for a large-scale explosion arise only rarely. Nevertheless, this is often more by luck than by good management and many potentially hazardous situations are common in industry. An explosive dust cloud and the circumstances in which it can ignite are not as simple to define as the equivalent situation in gases or flammable vapors. A large number of definitions and experimental tests have been devised to characterize the explosibility of dusts and ignition sources. The aim of this book is to provide a guide describing conditions in industry that could lead to dust explosions and the means to avoid them. Ignition sources and the way in which they can arise in powder processing are discussed and illustrated by case histories of reported incidents. The methods by which the potential hazards of a process or product can be evaluated are described, with special attention paid to the interpretation of the results of the different experimental methods.
Intended for engineers who deal with vibrations of rods and shells in their everyday practice but who also wish to understand the subject from the mathematical point-of-view, the results contained here concerning high-frequency vibrations may be new to many. The book serves equally well as an advanced textbook, while remaining of interest to mathematicians who seek applications of the variational and asymptotic methods in elasticity and piezoelectricity. Only a minimum knowledge in advanced calculus and continuum mechanics is assumed on the part of the reader.
This short but complicated book is very demanding of any reader. The scope and style employed preserve the nature of its subject: the turbulence phe nomena in gas and liquid flows which are believed to occur at sufficiently high Reynolds numbers. Since at first glance the field of interest is chaotic, time-dependent and three-dimensional, spread over a wide range of scales, sta tistical treatment is convenient rather than a description of fine details which are not of importance in the first place. When coupled to the basic conserva tion laws of fluid flow, such treatment, however, leads to an unclosed system of equations: a consequence termed, in the scientific community, the closure problem. This is the central and still unresolved issue of turbulence which emphasizes its chief peculiarity: our inability to do reliable predictions even on the global flow behavior. The book attempts to cope with this difficult task by introducing promising mathematical tools which permit an insight into the basic mechanisms involved. The prime objective is to shed enough light, but not necessarily the entire truth, on the turbulence closure problem. For many applications it is sufficient to know the direction in which to go and what to do in order to arrive at a fast and practical solution at minimum cost. The book is not written for easy and attractive reading."
The nonlinear normal modes of a parametrically excited cantilever beam are constructed by directly applying the method of multiple scales to the governing integral-partial differential equation and associated boundary conditions. The effect of the inertia and curvature nonlin earities and the parametric excitation on the spatial distribution of the deflection is examined. The results are compared with those obtained by using a single-mode discretization. In the absence of linear viscous and quadratic damping, it is shown that there are nonlinear normal modes, as defined by Rosenberg, even in the presence of a principal parametric excitation. Furthermore, the nonlinear mode shape obtained with the direct approach is compared with that obtained with the discretization approach for some values of the excitation frequency. In the single-mode discretization, the spatial distribution of the deflection is assumed a priori to be given by the linear mode shape centsn, which is parametrically excited, as Equation (41). Thus, the mode shape is not influenced by the nonlinear curvature and nonlinear damping. On the other hand, in the direct approach, the mode shape is not assumed a priori; the nonlinear effects modify the linear mode shape centsn. Therefore, in the case of large-amplitude oscillations, the single-mode discretization may yield inaccurate mode shapes. References 1. Vakakis, A. F., Manevitch, L. I., Mikhlin, Y. v., Pilipchuk, V. N., and Zevin A. A., Nonnal Modes and Localization in Nonlinear Systems, Wiley, New York, 1
The subject of random vibrations of elastic systems has gained, over the past decades, great importance, specifically due to its relevance to technical problems in hydro- and aero-mechanics. Such problems involve aircraft, rockets and oil-drilling platforms; elastic vibrations of structures caused by acoustic radiation of a jet stream and by seismic disturbances must also be included. Appli cations of the theory of random vibrations are indeed numerous and the development of this theory poses a challenge to mathematicians, mechanicists and engineers. Therefore, a book on random vibrations by a leading authority such as Dr. V.V. Bolotin must be very welcome to anybody working in this field. It is not surprising that efforts were soon made to have the book translated into English. With pleasure I acknowledge the co-operation of the very competent translater, I Shenkman; of Mrs. C. Jones, who typeJ the first draft; and of Th. Brunsting, P. Keskikiikonen and R. Piche, who read it and suggested where required, corrections and changes. I express my gratitude to Martinus Nijhoff Publishers BV for entrust ing me with the task of editing the English translation, and to F.J. van Drunen, publishers of N. Nijhoff Publishers BV, who so kindly supported my endeavours. Special acknowledgement is due to Mrs. L. Strouth, Solid Mechanics Division, University of Waterloo, for her competent and efficient preparation of the final manuscript."
As robots are becoming more and more sophisticated the interest in
robot dynamics is increasing. Within this field, contact problems
are among the most interesting, since contacts are present in
almost any robot task and introduce serious complexity to system
dynamics, strongly influencing robot behavior. The book formulates
dynamic models of robot interaction with different kinds of
environment, from pure geometrical constraints to complex dynamic
environments. It provides a number of examples. Dynamic modeling is
the primary interest of the book but control issues are treated as
well. Because dynamics and contact control tasks are strongly
related the authors also provide a brief description of relevant
control issues.
Optical Microscanners and Microspectrometers using Thermal Bimorph Actuators shows how to design and fabricate optical microsystems using innovative technologies and and original architectures. A barcode scanner, laser projection mirror and a microspectrometer are explained in detail, starting from the system conception, discussing simulations, choice of cleanroom technologies, design, fabrication, device test, packaging all the way to the system assembly. An advanced microscanning device capable of one- and two-dimensional scanning can be integrated in a compact barcode scanning system composed of a laser diode and adapted optics. The original design of the microscanner combines efficiently the miniaturized thermal mechanical actuator and the reflecting mirror, providing a one-dimensional scanning or an unique combination of two movements, depending on the geometry. The simplicity of the device makes it a competitive component. The authors rethink the design of a miniaturized optical device and find a compact solution for a microspectrometer, based on a tunable filter and a single pixel detector. A porous silicon technology combines efficiently the optical filter function with a thermal mechanical actuator on chip. The methodology for design and process calibration are discussed in detail. The device is the core component of an infrared gas spectrometer.
0.1 The partial differential equation (1) (Au)(x) = L aa(x)(Dau)(x) = f(x) m lal9 is called elliptic on a set G, provided that the principal symbol a2m(X, ) = L aa(x) a lal=2m of the operator A is invertible on G X (~n \ 0); A is called elliptic on G, too. This definition works for systems of equations, for classical pseudo differential operators ("pdo), and for operators on a manifold n. Let us recall some facts concerning elliptic operators. 1 If n is closed, then for any s E ~ , is Fredholm and the following a priori estimate holds (2) 1 2 Introduction If m > 0 and A : C=(O; C') -+ L (0; C') is formally self - adjoint 2 with respect to a smooth positive density, then the closure Ao of A is a self - adjoint operator with discrete spectrum and for the distribu- tion functions of the positive and negative eigenvalues (counted with multiplicity) of Ao one has the following Weyl formula: as t -+ 00, (3) n 2m = t / II N+-(1,a2m(x,e))dxde T*O\O (on the right hand side, N+-(t,a2m(x,e))are the distribution functions of the matrix a2m(X,e) : C' -+ CU).
This book explores two important aspects of the optimal control of oscillatory systems: the initiation of optimal oscillatory regimes and control possibilities for random disturbances. The main content of the book is based upon assertions of the optimal control theory and the disturbance theory. All theoretical propositions are illustrated by examples with exact mechanical context. An appendix covers the necessary mathematical prerequisites.
At the end of the twentieth century, nonlinear dynamics turned out to be one of the most challenging and stimulating ideas. Notions like bifurcations, attractors, chaos, fractals, etc. have proved to be useful in explaining the world around us, be it natural or artificial. However, much of our everyday understanding is still based on linearity, i. e. on the additivity and the proportionality. The larger the excitation, the larger the response-this seems to be carved in a stone tablet. The real world is not always reacting this way and the additivity is simply lost. The most convenient way to describe such a phenomenon is to use a mathematical term-nonlinearity. The importance of this notion, i. e. the importance of being nonlinear is nowadays more and more accepted not only by the scientific community but also globally. The recent success of nonlinear dynamics is heavily biased towards temporal characterization widely using nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Nonlinear spatio-temporal processes, i. e. nonlinear waves are seemingly much more complicated because they are described by nonlinear partial differential equations. The richness of the world may lead in this case to coherent structures like solitons, kinks, breathers, etc. which have been studied in detail. Their chaotic counterparts, however, are not so explicitly analysed yet. The wavebearing physical systems cover a wide range of phenomena involving physics, solid mechanics, hydrodynamics, biological structures, chemistry, etc.
We are honoured to present this collection of selected papers from the International Conference on Mixing and Crystallization, held at the Tioman Island, Malaysia in April, 1998. We are grateful to the editorial board comprising five eminent researchers in the field of mixing and crystallization for their thoughtful review and suggestions. In order to make this book as current as possible some of the papers have been thoroughly revised, which caused some delay in bringing out this edited version. We received necessary support from the Institute of Post Graduate Studies and Research, the University of Malaya and the Special Research Centre for Multiphase Processes, and the University of Newcastle, Australia in organizing this conference. We are indebted to the Institute of Chemical Engineers, United Kingdom, and the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia for their sponsorship. We would like to thank K.C. Lim, Dr. C. Ramakanth and Ms. Zubaidah for their help at the various stages of editing. We would also like to express our gratitude to Professor Mohd. Ali Hashim and Dr. Nafis Ahmed for their help and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank Kluwer Academic Publishers for publishing this book. Bhaskar Sen Gupta Shaliza Ibrahim University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur xi CFD MODELLING OF HYDRODYNAMIC CONDITIONS WITHIN THE WAKE OF MIXING IMPELLER BLADES 1 G.D. RIGByl., G. LANE . AND G.M. EVANSl.
In December 1994 Professor Enok Palm celebrated his 70th birthday and retired after more than forty years of service at the University of Oslo. In view of his outstanding achievements as teacher and scientist a symposium entitled "Waves and Nonlinear Processes in Hydrodynamics" was held in his honour from the 17th to the 19th November 1994 in the locations of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo. The topics of the symposium were chosen to cover Enok's broad range of scientific work, interests and accomplishments: Marine hydrodynamics, nonlinear wave theory, nonlinear stability, thermal convection and geophys ical fluid dynamics, starting with Enok's present activity, ending with the field where he began his career. This order was followed in the symposium program. The symposium had two opening lectures. The first looked back on the history of hydrodynamic research at the University of Oslo. The second focused on applications of hydrodynamics in the offshore industry today.
In determining the response of offshore structures, it is of utmost importance to determine, in the most correct manner, all factors which contribute to the total force acting on these structures. Applying the Morison formula (Morison et. al. , 1950) to calculate forces on offshore slender structures, uncertainties related to the understanding of the wave climate, the hydrodynamic force coefficients and the kinematics of ocean waves represent the most important contributions to the uncertainties in the prediction of the total forces on these structures (Haver and Gudmestad, 1992). Traditional calculation of forces on offshore structures involves the use of regular waves with the following non-linearities inco1porated use of regular wave theories inco1porating higher order terms use of Morison equation having a nonlinear drag term inclusion of the effect of the free surface by integrating all contributions to total forces and moments from the sea floor to the free surface of the waves In order to describe the sea more realistically, the ocean surface is to be described as an irregular sea surface represented by its energy spectrum. The associated decomposition of the sea surface is given as a linear sum of linear waves. The total force is found by integrating the contribution from all components in the wave spectrum to the free surface. The kinematics of each component must therefore be determined.
Acoustical imaging has become an indispensable tool in a variety of fields. Since its introduction, the applications have grown and cover a variety of techniques, producing significant results in fields as disparate as medicine and seismology. Cutting-edge trends continue to be discussed worldwide. This book contains the proceedings of the 27th International Symposium on Acoustical Imaging (AI27), which took place in Saarbrucken, Germany, from March 24th to March 27th 2003. The Symposium belongs to a conference series in existence since 1968. AI27 comprised sessions on:
During two well-attended workshops the applications of quantitative acoustical imaging in biology and medical applications, and in near-field imaging of materials, were discussed. Based on its cross-disciplinary aspects, the authors of the papers of AI27 present experiments, theory and construction of new instruments. Audience: This volume will be of interest to engineers and researchers of all levels in the field, in industry or academia, and for those newcomers who want to get acquainted with the state-of-the-art in acoustical imaging. "
Many dynamical systems are described by differential equations that can be separated into one part, containing linear terms with constant coefficients, and a second part, relatively small compared with the first, containing nonlinear terms. Such a system is said to be weakly nonlinear. The small terms rendering the system nonlinear are referred to as perturbations. A weakly nonlinear system is called quasi-linear and is governed by quasi-linear differential equations. We will be interested in systems that reduce to harmonic oscillators in the absence of perturbations. This book is devoted primarily to applied asymptotic methods in nonlinear oscillations which are associated with the names of N. M. Krylov, N. N. Bogoli ubov and Yu. A. Mitropolskii. The advantages of the present methods are their simplicity, especially for computing higher approximations, and their applicability to a large class of quasi-linear problems. In this book, we confine ourselves basi cally to the scheme proposed by Krylov, Bogoliubov as stated in the monographs 6,211. We use these methods, and also develop and improve them for solving new problems and new classes of nonlinear differential equations. Although these methods have many applications in Mechanics, Physics and Technique, we will illustrate them only with examples which clearly show their strength and which are themselves of great interest. A certain amount of more advanced material has also been included, making the book suitable for a senior elective or a beginning graduate course on nonlinear oscillations."
The survival of the Aeronautical Industries of Europe in the highly competitive World Aviation Market is strongly dependent on such factors as time-to-market of a new or derivative aircraft and on its manufacturing costs but also on the achievement of a competitive technological advantage by which an increased market share can be gained. Recognizing this, cooperative research is continuously encouraged and co-financed by the European Union in order to strengthen the scientific and technological base of the Aeronautical Industries thus providing - among others - the technological edge needed for survival. Corresponding targets of research within Area 3, Technologies for Transport Means, and here in particular Area 3A, Aeronautics Technologies, of the Industrial and Materials Technologies Program ( Brite -EuRam III, 1994 -1998) have been identified to be aircraft efficiency, cost effectiveness and environmental impact. Concerning aircraft efficiency - relevant to the present research - a reduction in aircraft drag of 10%, a reduction in aircraft fuel consumption of 30%, and a reduction in airframe, engine and system weight of 20% are envisaged. Meeting these objectives has, of course, also a strong positive impact on the environment.
Undeservedly little attention is paid in the vast literature on the theories of vibration and plasticity to the problem of steady-state vibrations in elastoplastic bodies. This problem, however, is of considerable interest and has many important applications. The problem of low-cyclic fatigue of metals, which is now in a well de veloped state is one such application. The investigations within this area are actually directed to collecting experimental facts about repeated cyclic loadings, cf. 47J. Theoretical investigations within this area usually con sider the hysteretic loops and the construction of models of plasticity theory which are applicable to the analysis of repeated loadings and the study of the simplest dynamic problems. Another area of application of the theory of the vibration of elastoplas tic bodies is the applied theory of amplitude-dependent internal damping. Another name for this theory is the theory of energy dissipation in vibrat ing bodies. In accordance with the point of view of Davidenkov "internal damping" in many metals, alloys and structural materials under consider able stress presents exactly the effect of micro plastic deformations. There fore, it may be described by the methods of plasticity theory. This point of view is no doubt fruitful for the theory of energy dissipation in vibrating bodies, as it allows one to write down the constitutive equations appropri ate both for vibrational analysis of three-dimensional stress states and an investigation of nonharmonic deformation. These problems are known to be important for the theory of internal damping." |
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