During the past few years, several incidents of freight car wheel failure during operation have occurred due to fatigue crack and overheating from braking. Tensile residual stress on the wheel tread creates an environment conducive to the formation of thermal cracks that may threaten the safety of train operations. It is important to investigate the residual stress on wheels in order to prevent derailment. In the present paper, the residual stress on wheels is measured using the x-ray diffraction system and the residual stress is analyzed using FEM. The result shows that the residual stress on the wheel rim is lower than that on the wheel tread center and the stress on over-braked wheels changes from compression residual stress to tensile residual stress.

The braking device in railway vehicles decelerates or stops the train by dissipating the thermal energy converted from kinetic energy into the air. Therefore, the brake system is crucial for safety. In this paper, we performed a study on an electromechanical brake actuator using an electrical motor as an alternative to pneumatic air cylinders to reduce the idle running time in braking, which subsequently increases braking distance, and to ensure reliable response characteristics. Especially, to analyze the response characteristics of the electromechanical brake actuator, we measure the delay time, response time and power consumption compared to the air cylinder. It is confirmed that the electromechanical brake actuator can reduce reaction time by 0.1 seconds (Braking Action) and 0.46 seconds (Brake Release) compared to the air cylinder.

Rolling contact fatigue and wear on rails are inevitable in railway operations due to excessive wheel-rail contact stress. The wear is influenced by vehicle speed, contact pressure, environmental conditions, and many other factors. Speeding on a curved track causes many problems such as wear on the gauge of the rail and rolling contact fatigue. Managing environmental conditions can reduce problems on the wheel and rail interface. In this study, the wear characteristics of wheel and rail materials were investigated by twin-disc testing using various parameters. The results of the wear test indicated that the wear rate under dry conditions was larger than that under wet conditions. We found that contact fatigue damage occurred on the rail in dry conditions, however, the surface of the specimen under water remained smooth. Also, the friction coefficient in dry conditions was larger than in wet conditions.

Reduction of welding residual stress is very important in the railway industry, but calculating its distribution in structures is difficult because welding residual stress formation is influenced by various parameters. In this study, we developed a finite element model for simulating the repair welding process to recover a surface damaged rail, and conducted a series of parametric studies while varying the cooling rate and the duration of post weld heat treatment (PWHT) to find the best conditions for reducing welding residual stress level. This paper presents a three-dimensional model of the repair welding process considering the phase transformation effect implemented by the ABAQUS user subroutine, and the results of parametric studies with various cooling rates and PWHT durations. We found that heat treatment significantly reduced the residual stress on the upper rail by about 170 MPa.

The objectives of this paper are to develop a finite element analysis model to analyze press-fitted and bending load conditions in a press-fitted assembly, and propose a hub shape optimization method to minimize contact pressure near the shaft contact edge. Numerical asymmetric-axisymmetric finite element models have been developed to predict contact stress on press-fitted shafts. The global optimization method, genetic algorithm, local optimization method, and sequential quadratic programming were applied to a press-fitted assembly to optimize the hub contact edge geometry. The results showed that the maximum contact pressure with the optimized hub shape decreased more than 60 % compared to conventional hubs and the maximum contact stress affecting fatigue life was reduced about 47 %. Hub shape optimization can be useful to increase the load capability of press fits in terms of wear and fatigue behavior.

This paper presents the characteristics related to needle insertion of a robotic device for the automated biopsy procedure. The automated biopsy device, a main component of the robotic needle insertion type intervention system, allows performance of the full biopsy procedure, except for anesthesia, without direct handling of a radiologist or a tele-operated control. In this study, the needle length parameters corresponding to various insertion depths and precision for needle insertion of the automated biopsy device, are discussed. There were two combinations of needle length parameters for appropriate needle insertion and motion capture-based measurement was performed; 0.156 mm error for the 90 mm length commanded insertion displacement was measured. The pre-defined goal is a maximum 1 mm error and thus our measured error is within the acceptable range. In the repeatability check, it was also shown that the device can implement a highly accurate insertion.

In this paper, we propose a novel propulsion method for a Biomimetic underwater robot, which is a bio-inspired approach. The proposed propulsion method mimics the pectoral fins of a real fish. Pectoral fins of real fish are able to propel and change direction. We designed the propulsion mechanism of 1 D.O.F. that has two functions (propel and change direction). We named this propulsion system 'Flipper'. The proposed propulsion method can control forward, pitch and yaw motion using the Flipper. We made an experimental underwater robot system and verified the proposed propulsion method. We measured its maximum speed and turning motion using an experimental underwater robot system. We also analyzed the thrust force from the maximum speed, using the thrust equation. Experimental results showed that our propulsion method enabled the thrust system of the biomimetic robot.

This paper describes kinematic analysis of a 6-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) ultra-precision positioning stage based on a flexure hinge. The stage is designed for processes which require ultra-precision and high load capacities, e.g. wafer-level precision bonding/assembly. During the initial design process, inverse and forward kinematic analyses were performed to actuate the precision positioning stage and to calculate workspace. A two-step procedure was used for inverse kinematic analysis. The first step involved calculating the amount of actuation of the horizontal actuation units. The second step involved calculating the amount of actuation of the vertical actuation unit, given the the results of the first step, by including a lever hinge mechanism adopted for motion amplification. Forward kinematic analysis was performed by defining six distance relationships between hinge positions for in-plane and out-of-plane motion. Finally, the result of a circular path actuation test with respect to the x-y, y-z, and x-z planes is presented.

The Split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test method, which is composed of three cylindrical bars, measuring devices and frames, is known for its reliable technique of acquiring the mechanical properties of specimens under a high strain rate. This paper demonstrates the processing of design and fabrication of SHPB. First of all, numerical analysis is applied in order to determine the design parameters of SHPB apparatus and verify the validity of design for a SHPB facility. Following this, SHPB apparatus were fabricated in accordance with acquired design parameters by simulation. In order to verify the validity of SHPB apparatus, experimental results using Al6061-T6 were compared with numerical data obtained from a corresponding simulation. The result of this comparative study demonstrates the applicability and validity of the fabricated apparatus.

An orbital grinding system uses a special motion to machine crankshafts in ships. When a crankshaft is operated, eccentric pins rotate and a grinding wheel moves in order to grind the pins. Thermal error caused by heat generated in the grinding process decreases the quality of the final product. In this study, the thermal error of an orbital grinding system caused by heat generation was investigated in order to predict the extent of thermal error that can occur during the grinding process. Since the machine position changes during orbital grinding, the pin part is divided into 30 degree intervals and heat is generated. Total thermal error was measured by summing the thermal errors associated with the pin and the grinding wheel. Total thermal error was found to reach a maximum at 60 degrees and a minimum at 210 degrees because of the shape of the crankshaft.

In this paper, an energy harvester is developed that has advantages regarding piezoelectric noise minimization, mass production, and an easily available environmental energy source, electromagnetic induction, as well as low-frequency bandwidth and high amplitude. A process for fabricating a three-dimensional multilayered planar coil using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) on a flexible printed circuit board FPCB is introduced. Optimal shape and size were calculated via internal resistance and inductance, and a prototype was fabricated through the MEMS procedure while considering the possibility of mass production. Although the internal resistance matched the designed value, the electromotive force generated did not reach the intended amount. The main reason for the decrease in efficiency was the low area of coil outskirt exposed to the magnetic field while there was relative motion between the magnet and the coil.