Resumo em Inglês:

Aerodynamic flow simulations over the first Brazilian satellite launch vehicle, VLS, during its first-stage flight are presented. The three dimensional compressible flow is modeled by the Euler equations and a Taylor-Galerkin finite element method with artificial dissipation is used to obtain the numerical solution. Transonic and supersonic results for zero angle-of-attack are presented and compared to available experimental results. The influence of mesh refinement and artificial dissipation coeffcient on the transonic flow results are discussed. The results obtained for the supersonic simulations present good agreement with experimental data. The transonic simulation results capture the correct trends but they also indicate that this flight condition requires more refined meshes.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper presents the numerical modeling of a plate structure containing bonded piezoelectric material. Hamilton's principle is employed to derive the finite element equations using the mechanical energy of the structure and the electrical energy of the piezoelectric material. Then, a numerical model is developed based on Kirchhoff's plate theory. A computational program is implemented for analyzing the static and dynamic behavior of composite plates with piezoelectric layers symmetrically bonded to the top and bottom surfaces. A set of numerical simulations is performed and the results are compared with those from analytical formulation available in the literature and with software ANSYS® .

Resumo em Inglês:

A numerical model for the simulation of fixed wings aeroelastic response is presented. The methodology used in the work is to treat the aerodynamics and the structural dynamics separately and then couple them in the equations of motion. The dynamic characterization of the wing structure is done by the finite element method and the equations of motion are written in modal coordinates. The unsteady aerodynamic loads are predicted using the vortex lattice method. The exchange of information between the aerodynamic and structural meshes is done by the surface splines interpolation scheme, and the equations of motion are solved iteratively in the time domain, employing a predictor-corrector method. Numerical simulations are performed for a prototype aircraft wing. The aeroelastic response is represented by time histories of the modal coordinates for different airspeeds, and the flutter occurrence is verified when the time histories diverge (i.e. the amplitudes keep growing). Fast Fourier Transforms of these time histories show the coupling of frequencies typical of the flutter phenomenon.

Resumo em Inglês:

High-strength copper alloys are used as materials for injection molding tools or as cores and inserts in steel molds because of their high thermal conductivity, corrosion and wear resistance. Unfortunately, there is little technological knowledge on the electrical discharge machining (EDM) of copper-beryllium ASTM C17200 alloy. In this work, rough and finish machining conditions were tested using copper and tungsten-copper as materials for the electrodes. Cross-sectional micrographic and hardness examinations as well as surface roughness measurements were also carried out on workpieces after machining in order to study the thermally affected zones. Appropriate parameters settings for EDM of the investigated alloy are suggested.

Resumo em Inglês:

Starting from the premise that the management of fixture systems in the area of machining has been somewhat neglected from the standpoint of its technological development, the work reported on herein focuses on the development of a methodology for the management of these systems. Based on the findings of a survey carried out at companies operating in this sector and on a review of the literature on the subject, both of which confirm this lack, hypotheses are drawn up and supporting data compiled to underpin the development of a systematic, extensive and flexible model. The model, founded on principles of standardization and modularity, basically consists of four main stages: the company's definition/characterization of fixtures management, selection of the type of fixture suitable for the company, rationalization and organization of the area, and the construction of planning and control architectures within the company. We foresee that the formalization of the scientifically-based management support model proposed here will contribute significantly to productive and R&D sectors, computerizing the fixtures management methods used by companies and integrating their managerial philosophies and procedures for machining tools and fixtures.

Resumo em Inglês:

The present work presents the numeric and experimental analysis of the turbulent flow of air inside a channel of rectangular section, containing two rectangular baffle plates. This is an important problem in the scope of heat exchangers where the characterization of the flow, pressure distribution, as well as the existence and the extension of possible recirculations need to be identified. The differential equations that describe the flow were integrated by the Finite Volumes Method, in two dimensions, employing the Fluent software with the k-e model to describe the turbulence. The mesh is structured, with rectangular volumes. Several boundary conditions were explored, being the more realistic results obtained by prescribing the inlet velocity field and atmospheric pressure at the exit. The obtained results are compared with experimental data, being analyzed and commented the deviations. The velocity field was measured with a hot wire anemometer, and the pressure field with an electronic manometer. The largest variations in the pressure and velocity fields occur in the regions near to the deflectors, as expected.

Resumo em Inglês:

In recent years, there has been a significant level of research on the application of unstructured mesh methods to the simulation of a variety of engineering and scientific problems. Great progress has been achieved in such area and one of the most successful methodologies consists on the use of the Finite Volume Method (FVM). The unstructured FV formulation is very flexible to deal with any kind of control volume and therefore any kind of unstructured meshes, which are particularly important when complex geometries or automatic mesh adaptation are required. In this article, an unstructured finite volume vertex centered formulation, which was implemented using an edge-based data structure, is deduced and detailed for the solution of heat conduction problems. The numerical formulation is initially described considering a tri-dimensional model and latter particularized for bi-dimensional applications using triangular meshes. The presented procedure is very flexible and efficient to solve potential problems. It can also be extended to deal with a broader class of applications, such as models involving convection-diffusion-reaction terms, after considering the appropriate discretization of the convection-type term. In order to demonstrate the potentiality of the method, some model problems are investigated and the results are validated using analytical or other well-established numerical solutions.

Resumo em Inglês:

At present, several methods are available for optimization of structures. The application of such methods to real structural problems, however, has not been as intense as the development of the techniques themselves. One of the main reasons is that the great majority of the methods, based on mathematical programming, consider a continuous search space. This paper presents an application of the Simulated Annealing method to the optimization of trusses considering the cross sections of the members as discrete variables. The constraints imposed to the analysis were the allowable stresses and the displacements on nodes. Some examples are presented in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method when compared with other methods found in literature.

Resumo em Inglês:

One of the main features associated to multiphase flows is the existence of characteristic dynamic structures according to which the different phases of a mixture of immiscible fluids can flow. The manifestation of one of these structures, known as flow pattern or regime, is determined by the flow rates as well as by physical and geometrical properties of the fluids and piping. The development of flow pattern characterization and diagnostic methods, and the associated transitions in between, is of crucial importance for an efficient engineering of such phenomena. Time-frequency analysis is used in this work to characterize horizontal air-water intermittent flow regimes. More specifically, our main objective is to reveal the existence of sub-regimes inside the intermittent regimes region with the help of the corresponding time-frequency covariance, which is capable of detecting transitions by assessing the unstationarity associated with the corresponding transitions. Experimental tests were conducted at the TALC facility at CEA-Grenoble and an extensive database was obtained, covering several types of intermittent flow. A conductivity probe, consisting in two ring electrodes flush mounted to the pipe, delivered signals from which the time-frequency covariance was calculated from the corresponding Gabor transform.

Resumo em Inglês:

In the analysis and design of framed structures, the traditional methods are based on the simplified assumption that the joints are completely either pinned or rigid. However, the experimental investigations show that the frame connections present an intermediate behaviour between these two extreme cases. The present work is concerned with the dynamic elastic analysis of semi-rigid plane frames subjected to wind pressures. The dynamic excitation induced by the wind is estimated by adopting the simulation method of Monte Carlo. The wind flutuation pressures are decomposed into a limited quantity of harmonic components that are then combined many times, making possible the accomplishment of a probabilistic analysis and the choice of a characteristic response. The frame is considered as a set of contiguous bar elements, connected to each other at the nodes, and the connections are modelled as zero-length rotational springs. A nodal description of the kinetic and kinematic laws is given under the restriction of small displacements. The behaviour of the frame material and connections is described by linear elastic moment-rotation relationships, which are presented in the stiffness form. In order to take into account the effect of the semi-rigid behaviour of beam-to-column connections, the mass and stiffness matrices are developed as the sum of the conventional finite element matrices and correction matrices that incorporate the flexibility of the end joints. The problem of forced vibrations is then solved by means of the numerical integration of the motion equations.

Resumo em Inglês:

This study explores the capabilities of a computational cell framework into a 3-D setting to model ductile fracture behavior in tensile specimens. The cell methodology provides a convenient approach for ductile crack extension suitable for large scale numerical analyses which includes a damage criterion and a microstructural length scale over which damage occurs. Laboratory testing of a high strength structural steel provides the experimental stress-strain data for round bar and circumferentially notched tensile specimens to calibrate the cell model parameters for the material. The present work applies the cell methodology using two damage criterion to describe ductile fracture in tensile specimens: (1) the Gurson-Tvergaard (GT) constitutive model for the softening of material and (2) the stress-modified, critical strain (SMCS) criterion for void coalescence. The present work first applies the cell methodology to investigate effects of constraint (stress triaxiality) on ductile crack initiation of notched tensile specimens. An application also follows to determine the dependence of ductility on stress triaxiality for the tested steel. These exploratory 3-D studies using computational cells clearly demonstrate its capability to predict the strong effects of constraint on measured stress-strain response for tensile specimens.

Resumo em Inglês:

The full spectrum analysis of rotating machine vibrations is a diagnostic tool that enables the symptoms of some special types of fault to be clearly detected. The Shape and Directivity Index (SDI) of journal filtered orbits is an additional diagnostic parameter whose evaluation can be combined with the full spectrum analysis. The ellipticity of the filtered orbit, as well as the amplitude and the inclination angle of the major axis of the orbit, are parameters whose analysis can provide important diagnostic information. In order to validate the proposed approach, the vibrations of a large turbine-generator unit that was subjected to rotor-to-stator rubs have been analyzed in this paper. The results of this investigation have been used to update the model of the rotor-system that has been used to identify the location and the severity of the fault. In the paper, the improvements in the accuracy of the fault identification provided by the model updating enabled by the SDI analysis are shown.

Resumo em Inglês:

Due to the high industrial competitiveness, the rigorous laws of environmental protection, the necessary reduction of costs, the mechanical industry sees itself forced to worry more and more with the refinement of your processes and products. In this context, can be mentioned the need to eliminate the roundness errors that appear after the grinding process. This work has the objective of verifying if optimized nozzles for the application of cutting fluid in the grinding process can minimize the formation of the roundness errors and the diametrical wear of grinding wheel in the machining of the steel VC 131 with 60 HRc, when compared to the conventional nozzles. These nozzles were analyzed using two types of grinding wheels and two different cutting fluids. Was verified that the nozzle of 3mm of diameter, integral oil and the CBN grinding wheel, were the best options to obtain smaller roundness errors and the lowest diametrical wears of grinding wheels.

Resumo em Inglês:

Decision analysis applied to petroleum field development is always strongly related to risk due to the uncertainties present in the process. Methodologies to quantify the impact of uncertainties are still not well established due to the amount of variables that have to be considered. The complete analysis usually depends on geological, economical and technological uncertainties that have different degrees of impact in the recovery process and may affect the decision process at different levels depending on the problem, reservoir characteristics, recovery mechanism and stage of field development. This paper shows several details of a methodology that can be applied to complex and simple reservoirs in a reasonable amount of time, discussing especially the influence of the model used to predict recovery, choice of production strategies to be used in the process, number of attributes and type of information necessary to obtain reliable results. A discussion of data integration among geology, reservoir engineering and economic analysis also is presented in order to reduce the amount of information necessary and time for the process. Some results are presented to show the advantages of automation and parallel computing to reduce the total time of the procedure where reservoir simulation is necessary for reservoir performance prediction.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper reports results from an investigation on the performance of the Rohsenow's type of correlation when applied to the nucleate boiling of halocarbon refrigerants over cylindrical surfaces of different material. Experimental data for refrigerants R-11, R-123, R-12, and R-134a have been raised and fitted according to two different procedures. It has been determined that exponents m and n are weakly affected by the refrigerant, and surface material and finishing. Liquid/surface combinations and surface roughness affect the coefficient Csf. A correlation has been developed for Csf in terms of the liquid/surface combination and surface roughness. The resulting correlation has been evaluated through the experimental data used in the fitting process and results obtained elsewhere. Deviations of correlation with respect to the experimental heat transfer coefficient are within acceptable ranges.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this paper, new developments concerning the use of BE/BE coupling algorithms for solving 3D time-harmonic problems are reported. The algorithms are derived by considering different iterative solvers. Their chief idea is to work with the global sparse matrix of the coupled system, however without considering the many zero blocks associated with the non-coupled nodes of different subregions. The use of iterative solvers makes it possible to store and manipulate only the block matrices with non-zero coefficients. Preconditioned iterative solvers based on the Lanczos, bi-conjugate gradient, and GMRES (generalized minimal residual) methods are used to derive the BE/BE coupling algorithms. A description of the formulation of these solvers, which are completely general and can be applied to any non-singular, non-hermitian systems of equations, is provided. The performance of the algorithms is verified by solving some foundation-soil interaction problems. Important parameters for estimating the efficiency of the algorithms as required CPU times, matrix sparsity, and accuracy of the obtained responses are presented in the results of the paper.