• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.71-88
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• 2018

At the University of Western Ontario (UWO), numerical tools represented in semi-closed form solution for the conductors and finite element modeling of the lattice tower were developed and utilized significantly to assess the behavior of transmission lines under downburst wind fields. Although these tools were validated against other finite element analyses, it is essential to validate the findings of those tools using experimental data. This paper reports the first aeroelastic test for a multi-span transmission line under simulated downburst. The test has been conducted at the three-dimensional wind testing facility, the WindEEE dome, located at the UWO. The experiment considers various downburst locations with respect to the transmission line system. Responses obtained from the experiment are analyzed in the current study to identify the critical downburst locations causing maximum internal forces in the structure (i.e., potential failure modes), which are compared with the failure modes obtained from the numerical tools. In addition, a quantitative comparison between the measured critical responses obtained from the experiment with critical responses obtained from the numerical tools is also conducted. The study shows a very good agreement between the critical configurations of the downburst obtained from the experiment compared to those predicted previously by different numerical studies. In addition, the structural responses obtained from the experiment and those obtained from the numerical tools are in a good agreement where a maximum difference of 16% is found for the mean responses and 25% for the peak responses.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.84-91
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• 2017

The dynamic characteristics of a ducted fan in hovering condition were investigated. The section properties of the fan blade were calculated, and a simulation model was developed according to the rotor system components. Dynamic analyses were conducted relative to the rotational speed and the collective pitch. The proposed ducted fan system showed less aero-elastic instability within the designated operating ranges. To verify the analytical approach, a rotating test stand of the ducted fan was set up. A functional test of the assembly was carried out to determine the kinematics and interference between components. The non-rotating and rotating normal frequencies were measured by excitation of the collective pitch using hydraulic actuators. The results indicated a correlation between the test equipment and the simulation model.