Xisen Wen

Uncertainty commonly exists in the wireless power transfer (WPT) systems for moving objects. To enhance the robustness of the WPT system to uncertain parameter variations, a modified WPT system structure and an interval-based uncertain optimization method are proposed in this paper. The modified WPT system, which includes two Q-type impedance matching networks, can switch between two different operating modes. The interval-based uncertain optimization method is used to improve the robustness of the modified WPT system: First, two interval-based objective functions (mean function and variance function) are defined to evaluate the average performance and the robustness of the system. A double-objective uncertain optimization model for the modified WPT system is built. Second, a bi-level nested optimization algorithm is proposed to find the Pareto optimal solutions of the proposed optimization model. The Pareto fronts are provided to illustrate the tradeoff between the two objectives, and the robust solutions are obtained. Experiments were carried out to verify the theoretical method. The results demonstrated that using the proposed method, the modified WPT system can achieve good robustness when the coupling coefficient, the operating frequency, the load resistance or the load reactance varies over a wide range.

This paper investigates the suppression of vibration and noise radiation in a flexible raft system through the use of periodic structure theory. A floating raft isolation system is constructed. The transfer matrix method, the finite element method and periodic structure theory are combined to calculate the dynamic response of the system and the dispersion relations of the periodic structure. The effects of substructure resonances on vibration and noise radiation are analyzed. Next, the periodic isolation structure is used to suppress the vibration and noise radiation in the floating raft system. The isolation performance of the combination of periodic structures and continuous isolators are investigated. Additionally, the influences of the parameters of the floating raft system on vibration and noise are discussed. The numerical results demonstrate that vibration and noise are significantly suppressed in stop bands and are not worsened in pass bands.

A locally resonant sonic material (LRSM) is an elastic matrix containing a periodic arrangement of identical local resonators (LRs), which can reflect strongly near their natural frequencies, where the wavelength in the matrix is still much larger than the structural periodicity. Due to the periodic arrangement, an LRSM can also display a Bragg scattering effect, which is a characteristic of phononic crystals. A specific LRSM which possesses both local resonance and Bragg scattering effects is presented. Via the layered-multiple-scattering theory, the complex band structure and the transmittance of such LRSM are discussed in detail. Through the analysis of the refraction behavior at the boundary of the composite, we find that the transmittance performance of an LRSM for oblique incidence depends on the refraction of its boundary and the transmission behaviors of different wave modes inside the composite. As a result, it is better to use some low-speed materials (compared with the speed of waves in surrounding medium) as the LRSM matrix for designing sound blocking materials in underwater applications, since their acoustic properties are more robust to the incident angle. Finally, a gap-coupled LRSM with a broad sub-wavelength transmission gap is studied, whose acoustic performance is insensitive to the angle of incidence.

In this paper, we present a design of locally resonant (LR) beams using periodic arrays of beam-like resonators (or beam-like vibration absorbers) attached to a thin homogeneous beam. The main purpose of this work is twofold: (i) providing a theoretical characterization of the proposed LR beams, including the band gap behavior of infinite systems and the vibration transmittance of finite structures, and (ii) providing experimental evidence of the associated band gap properties, especially the coexistence of LR and Bragg band gaps, and their evolution with tuned local resonance. For the first purpose, an analytical method based on the spectral element formulations is presented, and then an in-depth numerical study is performed to examine the band gap effects. In particular, explicit formulas are provided to enable an exact calculation of band gaps and an approximate prediction of band gap edges. For the second purpose, we fabricate several LR beam specimens by mounting 16 equally spaced resonators onto a free-free host beam. These specimens use the same host beam, but the resonance frequencies of the resonators on each beam are different. We further measure the vibration transmittances of these specimens, which give evidence of three interesting band gap phenomena: (i) transition between LR and Bragg band gaps; (ii) near-coupling effect of the local resonance and Bragg scattering; and (iii) resonance frequency of local resonators outside of the LR band gap.

Flexural wave band gaps in locally resonant thin plates with periodically attached spring-mass resonators