Yung-Chuan Chen

Contact stress variations near the insulated rail joints

Abstract The effect of an insulated rail joint (IRJ) on the contact stress variation near wheel-rail contact zones was simulated by employing three-dimensional finite element models. Three linear elastic IRJ materials, i.e. epoxy-fibreglass, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Nylon-66, were investigated. Contact elements were used to simulate the interaction between the wheel and rail contact points. Numerical results showed that the presence of IRJ might significantly affect the wheel-rail contact stress distributions. Results also indicated that the traditional Hertzian contact theory is no longer available to predict the contact stress distribution around the rail joints.

Finite Element Simulation of Drill Bit and Bone Thermal Contact During Drilling

Drilling is an essential part of internal fixation in orthopaedic and trauma surgery. The temperature rise during bone drilling is an important index to the damage of bone. In this study, an elastic-plastic dynamic finite element model is used to simulate the process of a drill bit drilling through the bone. Various initial temperatures of drill bit are investigated to explore the effects of this parameter on the temperature rise and on the contact stress distribution of the bone during drilling. The results indicate that a drill bit with a lower initial temperature can reduce the temperature rise in bone during drilling. A relationship between the initial temperature of drill bit and temperature rise is proposed.

Combined effects of bending and elongation on polymer optical fiber losses

The combined effects of bending and elongation on fiber losses as rays propagate along deformed polymer optical fibers (POFs) are investigated. The variations in power attenuation for various curvature radii and elongations are studied. The experimental results indicate that the combination of bending and elongation significantly affects the power loss of POF. From the results an equation is proposed to predict the power losses for different bent radii and elongations. The maximum difference between the proposed equation and the experimental results is less than 5%.

Plastic Optical Fiber Displacement Sensor Based on Dual Cycling Bending

In this study, a high sensitivity and easy fabricated plastic optical fiber (POF) displacement sensor is proposed. A POF specimen subjected to dual cyclic bending is used to improve the sensitivity of the POF displacement sensor. The effects of interval between rollers, relative displacement and number of rollers on the sensitivity of the displacement sensor are analyzed both experimentally and numerically. A good agreement between the experimental measurements and numerical calculations is obtained. The results show that the interval between rollers affects sensitivity most significantly than the other design parameters. Based on the experimental data, a linear equation is derived to estimate the relationship between the power loss and the relative displacement. The difference between the estimated results and the experimental results is found to be less than 8%. The results also show that the proposed POF displacement sensor based on dual cyclic bending can be used to detect displacement accurately.

Effect of plastic strain energy density on polymer optical fiber power losses

We explore the dependence of power losses on average plastic energy densities as rays propagate along deformed polymer optical fibers (POFs). The variation of power losses in deformed POFs with different bend radii and elongations are measured and analyzed. Three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite-element models are used to calculate average plastic energy densities in deformed POFs. The results indicate that the average plastic energy density introduced in a deformed POF can be considered a key index with which to study the power loss. Based on the experimental results, a curve-fitted equation is proposed for estimating the power loss by using the average plastic energy density for various bend radii.

Temperature Rise Simulation During a Kirschner Pin Drilling in Bone

This study develops an analysis method which can be applied to simulating the temperature rise during bone drilling. A three-dimensional dynamic elastic-plastic finite element model is used to simulate the process of a Kirschner pin drilling through a bone. The results indicate that lowering the initial temperature of Kirschner pin can decrease the temperature rise as well as the size of the thermal affective zone. The results also show that a larger applied force can reduce the temperature rise effectively.

Power losses in bent and elongated polymer optical fibers

This study performs experimental and numerical investigations into the power losses induced in bent, elongated polymer optical fibers (POFs). The theoretical analysis is based on a three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite-element model and makes the assumption of a planar waveguide. The finite-element model is used to calculate the deformation of the elongated POFs such that the power loss can be analytically derived. The effect of bending on the power loss is examined by considering seven different bend radii ranging from 10 to 50 mm. The results show that bending and elongation have a significant effect on the power loss in POFs. The contribution of skew rays to the overall power loss in bent, elongated POFs is not obvious at large radii of curvature but becomes more significant as the radius is reduced.

Power loss characteristics of a sensing element based on a grooved polymer optical fiber under elongation

This study conducts a numerical and experimental investigation into the effects of elongation on the power attenuation characteristics of grooved polymer optical fibers (POFs). POFs with groove depths ranging from 0 to 1.1 mm are tensile tested. The load–elongation data are then used to compute the corresponding average plastic energy density (APED). An elastic–plastic three-dimensional finite element model is used to simulate the deformation which takes place near the grooved region of the elongated POF in order to clarify the experimental results. In general, the results show that the change rate of the power ratio or the sensitivity increases with increasing elongation and increasing groove depth. By applying a curve-fitting technique, an empirical expression is developed to relate the power ratio to the APED and the groove depth. It is found that the difference between the predicted values obtained from the proposed equation and the experimental results is less than 7%, thus confirming the APED to be a meaningful index with which to evaluate the sensitivity of POF sensors.

Power Loss Characteristics of a Sensing Element Based on a Polymer Optical Fiber under Cyclic Tensile Elongation

In this study, power losses in polymer optical fiber (POF) subjected to cyclic tensile loadings are studied experimentally. The parameters discussed are the cyclic load level and the number of cycles. The results indicate that the power loss in POF specimens increases with increasing load level or number of cycles. The power loss can reach as high as 18.3% after 100 cyclic loadings. Based on the experimental results, a linear equation is proposed to estimate the relationship between the power loss and the number of cycles. The difference between the estimated results and the experimental results is found to be less than 3%.

Thermal Contact Simulation of Drill Bit and Bone during Drilling

In this study, a dynamic elastic-plastic finite element model is used to simulate the bone temperature rise during drilling process. Various rotating speeds and applied forces of the drill bit are investigated to explore the effects of these parameters on the temperature rise within the bone. The results indicate that a drill bit with a higher rotating speed or a higher applied force can have noticeable reductions on the bone temperature rise as well as the size of thermal effective zone.