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This study investigates dynamic behaviors of hypoid gear rotor systems under variable tidal current energy harvesting conditions through numerical simulations and experimental validation. The study examines dynamic responses of a hypoid gear rotor system induced by cyclical tidal current variations, which generate fluctuating loads and bidirectional rotational speeds in tidal energy conversion systems. Two hypoid gear pairs, modified through precise manufacturing parameters, are evaluated to optimize tooth contact patterns for bidirectional tidal loading conditions. A coupled torsional vibration model is developed, incorporating variable transmission error and mesh stiffness. Experimental validation of dynamic performances of hypoid gear pairs was conducted on a bevel gear testing rig, which can measure both torsional and translational vibrations across diverse tidal speed profiles. The experimental results demonstrate that second-order primary resonances exhibit heightened vibration intensity during flow-reversal phases. This phenomenon has significant implications for system power efficiency and acoustic emissions. The findings extend the current understanding of hypoid gear optimization for tidal energy-harvesting applications. 

Tip relief is a critical design feature of modern spur gears, aimed at improving dynamic performance through a typical design strategy involving peak-to-peak minimization of mesh excitations. However, due to the hyperstatic nature of simultaneous tooth engagements, the applied torque not only affects mesh deformation amplitudes as normally considered but also alters mesh excitation waveforms, leaving great challenges for the typical design to meet various operating conditions. This paper develops an analytical framework to reshape mesh excitation waveforms, aimed at flexibly reducing vibration intensities across different operating loads and speeds. The load-dependency of excitation harmonics with tip relief is efficiently characterized by an improved analytical mesh excitation model. A tip relief design method is proposed, which automatically recombines harmonic contents of mesh excitations to adapt target operating speeds. Comparisons with finite element models and experiments confirmed the accuracies of quasi-static and dynamic analyses. Parametric studies and application examples further demonstrate the acceptable feasibility and effectiveness of the present method. 

Pipe-type cable systems, including high-pressure fluid-filled (HPFF) and high-pressure gas-filled cables, are widely used for underground high-voltage transmission. These systems consist of insulated conductor cables within steel pipes, filled with pressurized fluids or gases for insulation and cooling. Despite their reliability, faults can occur due to insulation degradation, thermal expansion, and environmental factors. As many circuits exceed their 40-year design life, efficient fault localization becomes crucial. Fault location involves prelocation and pinpointing. Therefore, a novel pinpointing approach for pipe-type cable systems is proposed, utilizing accelerometers mounted on a steel pipe to capture fault-induced acoustic signals and employing the time difference of arrival method to accurately pinpoint the location of the fault. The experimental investigations utilized a scaled-down HPFF pipe-type cable system setup, featuring a carbon steel pipe, high-frequency accelerometers, and both mechanical and capacitive discharge methods for generating acoustic pulses. The tests evaluated the propagation velocity, attenuation, and pinpointing accuracy with the pipe in various embedment conditions. The experimental results demonstrated accurate fault pinpointing in the centimeter range, even when the pipe was fully embedded, with the acoustic pulse velocities aligning closely with the theoretical values. These experimental investigation findings highlight the potential of this novel acoustic pinpointing technique to improve fault localization in underground systems, enhance grid reliability, and reduce outage duration. Further research is recommended to validate this approach in full-scale systems. 

This work presents a comprehensive methodology for designing meta-materials with desired non-linear elastic behaviors. The approach employs a modified asymptotic expansion based homogenization method for topology optimization with finite deformation. Design and optimization of meta-materials for targeted non-linear elastic response under various loading conditions is explored. 

Starting from a network of discrete beams, topology optimized structures are produced by simultaneously optimizing each beam’s width and the locations of each node within the network. Due to the sparse nature of a beam network and by utilizing gradient descent results in a drastic reduction in computational cost compared to existing methods. Two different optimization objectives are investigated: minimization of the strain energy occurring from loading, often referred to compliance minimization; and the design of structures with prescribed mechanical responses to an applied load. 

Abstract A tidal current energy converter (TCEC) is a device specifically designed to harness the kinetic energy present in tidal energy and convert it into stable mechanical rotational energy, which can then be used to generate electricity. The core component of the TCEC is an infinitely variable transmission (IVT), which adjusts the speed ratio to maintain a stable output speed regardless of the input speed changes caused by tidal changes. In order to ensure the efficient driving performance of the IVT system, a closed-loop control strategy based on IVT state measurement data is studied in this paper. This method can effectively track the expected output speed of the IVT system in general TCEC. Based on the proposed speed control strategy, the speed regulation of the whole IVT system under different conditions is studied in theory and simulation. These promising results could directly contribute to future research to improve the efficiency of tidal energy harvesting.