PZT Material for Excessive Vibration

PZT Material for Excessive Vibration In this study it is designed and implemented a robust control technique to suppress excessive vibration and also perform health monitoring of a structure using a single piece of PZT material. The main idea is to use sliding mode controller to achieve the vibration suppression, impedance-based structural health monitoring technique, and to implement sliding mode observer to prevent any undesirable interaction between the health monitoring system and the control system, when they are implemented together. The usage of smart materials to perform nondestructive assessment of structures is of great interest to civil engineering and other engineering fields, since the integrity of the structure is not compromised. In addition, the modern each day more flexible structures bring to researchers in the field the need to find alternatives in vibration suppression.   Implementing health monitoring together with vibration control is therefore the combination of these two need in a practical and economic manner, in the sense that uses the smart materials and control devices/techniques. Smart materials have the ability of changing their properties when subjected to certain external conditions, such as electric or magnetic fields, for example. In this study the smart material used is in the form of piezoelectric patches. The health monitoring technique used in this research is the impedance-based health monitoring, which is based in changes in the structural impedance. The fundamental idea of this approach is to screen the changes in structural mechanical impedance brought on by damage. An experimental set up was performed in a free-free aluminum bar in order to check the applicability of this method. In this experiment, five pairs of PZT patches had been attached to the bar and an electrical impedance analyzer measured the electrical impedance. Damage was simulated by attaching two ten millimeters bolts between the third and the fourth PZT patch. As far as the control technique goes, it is implemented a sliding mode controller, which is designed to attain a robust v ibration control performance in the presence of the uncertainties and disturbances. Sliding mode control is a nonlinear control strategy that adjusts the dynamics of a nonlinear system by forcing the system to slide alongside a surface of the systems regular behavior. One problem this study has to deal with is the health monitoring signal that enters the feedback control loop, since the same PZT patch is used to simultaneously perform health monitoring and to sense the control system in the feedback control loop. In order to try to solve this issue, a sliding mode observer is designed. In order to evaluate the feasibility of the method proposed, both experimental and numerical studies were performed to a single cantilever beam. The controller and observer were designed based on the four lower vibration modes of the beam. The experimental set-up performed to assess the impedance-based health monitoring technique showed that a great change in impedance happens in the region where damage occurs. The experimental and numerical results showed the sliding mode observer was capable of filter the high frequency content that comes from the health monitoring, and the sliding mode control was able to suppress successfully the excessive vibration even after disturbances were introduced. The results from both numerical study and experimental set-up show that this integrated approach can provide significant vibration suppression, while simultaneously detecting damage. The research is important in the sense that brings together the concepts of health monitoring and structural control, and confirms the feasibility of this using sliding mode control/observer and impedance-based health monitoring. However, the study has that are some weaknesses, for example, not much detail is providing regarding the health monitoring of the experimental set-up of the cantilever beam, only vibration suppression results. Also, is not very clear if the results shown are from experimental or analytical evaluation. Only impulse response was verified in this study, and it would be interesting to see how the control behaves in the presence of different types of more complex loads, such as seismic. It is not practical or economically possible to use 4 to 5 PZT patches to every beam a complex civil engineering structure, so the study fails to address how to choose the location of the patches so they can be enough to suppress vibration and detect damage to a more complex struc ture, such as a building.

Adolescent Period Essay

At many points in life, one can wonder if it can get any harder, but at what stage is life truly at its hardest. There four main stages in life are childhood, adolescence, maturity and old age. At what point in life can one make something spectacular of his life, or lose it all. There are times where excess amounts of stress can cause problems, or lead people to their own problems such as alcohol. Where is the stage where one can face the most stress, the most challenges and still be undergoing many physical changes at the same time? Adolescence is considered by many to be the most fun years of our lives, yet it is also the time where we can face to most stress and our decisions during this time can affect us for the rest of our lives. One of the toughest things about adolescence is the pressure one may face during this crucial stage of life. The pressure to succeed may come in many different forms, or even many different people. One could pressure themselves to do get straight A’s in school, or their own family could be the culprits of the excess pressure. See more: Homelessness as a social problem Essay While a little bit of pressure may be good, too much of it can cause stress on teenagers that are already stressed out from all of the changes they have to face. There was a parent who tried to strangle his son’s hockey coach because his son wasn’t getting enough ice time. What is a thirteen year old kid supposed to do at their next practice? Even if a teenager is succeeding at a high level in sports, they may only be doing it to please their parents. Many teenagers do things that they do not appreciate just to please their parents because they feel pressured to do so. All this excess pressure can cause someone to be stressed out. This stress can cause one to not live up to their own expectations, never mind their parents own expectations of them. This is the stage where you have the potential to live up to your own expectations, or ruin your own goals. There are many challenges one can face as they go through high school. One can fail to achieve the marks necessary to move on to the post-secondary college they want for themselves. Your pathway may be derailed by factors such as drugs or alcohol. Almost all teenage kids get faced with peer pressure to fit in and have a drink or smoke a joint, but these are things that can affect your future. If one gets addicted to drugs, they will have a steep mountain to climb to get to where they want to be. Within the few short years of adolescence, one can exceed their own expectations or set themselves up for failure in the future. One of the most difficult parts of adolescence is when one wants to be treated like an adult, but they get no respect from their parents. Some parents act as if their teenage kids are inferior to them, and treat them as if they are children. The teenagers think of themselves as adults who are equal to their parents, so when those parents treat them like children, they act out. The teenagers want more control in their life, even if they are not ready to handle that load. One of the biggest arguments might be about curfews. Parents want their child to be safe, but the teenager wants to do what they want even if it is not the best thing ever. This can often cause rifts between the parents and their teenager, which is another reason for stress during â€Å"the best years of our lives† All of the excess stress that is placed upon one person during this crucial time during adolescence makes teenagers deal with much more than they are capable with. The decisions we make can affect us for years to come, even if we do not think they will. Teenagers are expected to achieve high marks, compete in sports and sometimes work a job on top of that. This causes boatloads of stress on one person, and they are not ready for it. Sometimes ones only goal in high school is to fit in, so one will do anything even if it is harmful to their future. If one does not fit in, they may face challenges such as suicide or drugs, but they will not ask for help from their family. The biggest reason adolescence is the hardest stage in life is because of the sheer amount of change one faces as they transition between childhood and maturity.

Ba Finance

7BSM1006 Managing Financial Value Drivers Coursework Semester A 2012 Assessment weighting 60% Bellingham plc Arthur Scroggs was a farmer. His family has owned and farmed 500 acres of prime land in the Vale of Aylesbury for four generations. In the mid 1980's small farms were finding the financial climate difficult with falling farm incomes and much talk of putting farm land to â€Å"alternative use†. By 1985 Arthur had already sold his dairy herd to focus on cereal production when a fortuitous meeting with Lucy Bellingham at a business conference led him to reconsider the future of the family farm.Bellingham is a designer of bespoke fitted kitchens who had a business plan but little capital. The plan was to manufacture top quality fitted kitchen furniture and establish design studios/showrooms in high income areas. Having recently sold his dairy herd, Arthur had enough capital to fund the new business and also a number of large barns and outbuildings suitable for manufacturing the kitchen units subject to refitting and planning consent being obtained. Lucy's business plan was so convincing that Arthur decided to get out of farming altogether (by leasing his arable land to a local co-operative) and focus on developing the new business.From this small beginning grew the now publicly quoted company of Bellingham plc. Initially, showrooms were established in Beaconsfield and then Kensington. Demand for their kitchens was brisk and â€Å"Bellingham Bespoke Kitchens† expanded rapidly but remained a partnership. The firms clients are mainly celebrities from the entertainment world and the cost of a Bellingham Bespoke Kitchen is now ? 40,000 – ? 150,000 or more. The firm was restructured as a limited company in 1990 and subsequently experienced rapid growth until 1999. In that year the then directors decided that the business had reached the limit of development in it's present form.Future development required large-scale expansion of production fa cilities in order to provide the range of materials, furniture, quality and prompt delivery required by their discerning clients. This in turn needed an injection of capital that the directors were unable to generate themselves. The conviction that there was much money to be made from â€Å"quality fitted kitchens† † had been vindicated. They investigated a number of possibilities deciding eventually to expand production facilities by purchasing a modern production unit on an industrial estate in Aylesbury.The expansion was funded by a stock market floatation and raising the necessary capital in the name of Bellingham plc. As the market grew and to keep abreast of new production technology, the directors agreed to reverse the maxim so dear to the heart of the founders, Arthur and Lucy; â€Å"neither a (long-term) borrower nor lender be. † They financed updating of equipment and premises by means of issuing debentures. It is now October 2012 and the present direct ors of Bellingham plc believe that the long-term success of the company lies in future international diversification and expansion.They consider that the most beneficial action they could take is to investigate the acquisition of a subsidiary in the USA. The newly-appointed finance director, Bill Moneypenny, agrees with this opinion but insists that the company must first appraise its own current position and if necessary, make changes to strengthen its existing financial situation before embarking on new plans. He is particularly concerned that the company should preserve adequate liquidity and finance its assets in a beneficial manner.He is also concerned that too much emphasis has been placed on â€Å"pandering to the whims of the rich and famous† and not enough on running an efficient business operation. Lucy and Arthur still retain 30% of Bellingham's equity and other long-standing directors own a further 20%; a change of control is unlikely to be welcome. During the las t two years, the company has updated it's design, production and showroom assets and, in what has been a difficult year, has been able to maintain sales and profit growth (see Bellingham's accounts in appendix 1).There has been a great deal of uncertainty about world economic growth and stock markets have been extremely volatile resulting low returns. However the firm’s ordinary shares have made good progress during the year. Ordinary share dividends have achieved substantial growth over the last two years although this rate of increase is not expected to continue. Ordinary dividends have grown at an average rate of 14% per annum over the past 10 years and this rate is a more realistic growth rate for future dividends. The present market prices for Bellingham's shares and debentures are: ?1 Ordinary shares? 7. 02 ex div ?0. 50p, 6% Pref shares? . 55 ex div 7% Debentures 2016? 100. 51 ex interest Any new venture would be expected to achieve a return on capital employed in line with that experienced recently by Bellingham plc. The finance director favours a payback period of 5 years. Bellingham would therefore need to agree a realistic acquisition price for such a new venture and its future cash flows in order to determine whether these criteria could be met. Although a number of investment projects are being considered, the main proposal currently being investigated offers an expansion into the US prime-property market which is forecast to grow faster than the UK market.Bellingham's finance director has already calculated the trends in the financial ratios of American Creations, an unquoted US company, from its unaudited annual accounts (see appendix 2) and has concluded that the proposal is now worthy of further investigation. American Creations is a family-owned venture requiring further capital to repair it's balance sheet after making losses on a property development in Nevada from which it has now withdrawn. Profits have suffered in the last two yea rs due to write-offs associated with this development.The existing owners feel that the firm’s future lies in establishing wider international links and the retirement of senior family members, leaving the younger members active in the management of the firm. They are therefore considering selling a controlling interest of 60% to a suitable company. The firm has been established for 23 years, and is well respected in business circles. The average age of its fixed tangible assets is 3 years. The directors have indicated that they may accept part payment in Bellingham shares subject to negotiation. The firm’s nominal share capital is $2. m, and the directors have indicated that they value the firm at five times the year 2010 net profit. They consider this to be the firm's â€Å"normal† level of profit excluding the â€Å"extraordinary† effects of the Nevada development. As the firm is at present family owned and run, there is no available price/earnings rat io. P/E ratios for the only two publicly-owned companies in the same business sector, Harvey Wilkinson Designs plc and Cucci Lifestyle plc, are currently 10 and 8 times respectively although both of these firms, unlike Bellingham, operate internationally. Wilkinson has grown at a similar rate to Bellingham.The dividend yields of these companies have been as follows: WilkinsonCucci Year to 31 December 2011 8. 1% 7. 25% 2010 7. 2% 6. 9% 2009 5. 3% 5. 95% American Creations has its own manufacturing facilities and operates throughout the USA and Caribbean with design offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. Their main business, which is thriving, involves complete home furnishing and interior design for wealthy clients. In addition, the firm has a real estate office in each location and is thus able to offer a complete property service.The value of properties handled by the real estate offices is typically $5m – $20m. Bellingham is interested not only in ext ending its operations internationally but particularly in the possibility of diversifying into the real estate business. Whilst well aware of the existence of a number of competitors, the directors feel that there is a ready market in the US for their established name in terms of design flair, service and products. After discussions with the directors of American Creations, Bill Moneypenny has produced the following forecast.Under average economic growth conditions, the American Creations operating forecasts (in $*1000) for the next five years are based on the following: Income:from Sales: $7500 in 2013, rising by 12% per annum for the foreseeable future. from real estate sales commissions: $2850 in 2013 increasing by 15% per annum for the foreseeable future. Manufacturing variable costs: Labour: $1250 in 2013, expected to increasing by 8% per annum. Materials: $3800 in 2013, expected to increasing by 5% per annum. Fixed costs excluding depreciation:Manufacturing O/H: $2065 in 2013, increasing by 5% per annum. General O/H: $1850 in 2013, increasing by 2% per annum. Depreciation:Factory, machinery & vehicles: $500 per year. Office/Design Studio fixtures: $200 per year. The beta of Bellingham plc is believed to be 1. 65 , the risk-free rate of return is 5. 5% and the return for the last year on the FT All-share index is 2%. UK corporation tax is currently 32% payable 9 months after the end of the accounting year in question (you may assume for the purpose of this case that accounting profit and taxable profit are identical. )Bellingham's directors estimate that the after-tax profits of American Creations could be allocated as follows: 70% as retained earnings and 30% as dividends. This has been the pattern under the under the present ownership. There would be no restriction on the transfer of the appropriate share of these dividends to the UK. The US corporation tax rate applicable is 20% payable in the year in which the profit arises. There is no double taxatio n of profits of US origin in the UK. (For the purpose of this case, ignore the possibility of any withholding taxes and the effects of foreign exchange risk. It is considered possible that, as the US economy develops further, even higher wages than those forecast may be demanded by the workforce. Required: Evaluate the American Creations proposal on behalf of Bellingham plc, supporting your arguments with relevant theory and calculations and indicating any non-financial matters you feel should be taken into consideration. Your report should consider the following areas: 1. An analysis of Bellingham's current position using relevant financial ratios. You should show the calculation of the ratios and provide interpretation of the results. . Calculation of Bellingham's cost of capital, using alternative methods and arriving at the most appropriate figure. 3. An investment appraisal of the American Creations proposal assuming the valuation suggested in the case, using a variety of metho ds and evaluation of the results. 4. A sensitivity analysis of the proposal and interpretation of the results. 5. Calculation and discussion of alternative valuations for acquiring the share in American Creations and how these would impact on the investment appraisal. 6.A discussion of the various available methods of financing the acquisition and consideration of which is the most appropriate. Your calculations and arguments should be supported by relevant theory, with evidence of wide reading around the subject. You should provide a complete bibliography with appropriate referencing in your report. Submission requirements: Your answer should take the form of a written report of approximately 2500 words excluding appendices and the reference list. Deviations from the word count exceeding plus or minus 10% will attract a penalty of 5%. The hand-in deadline for submission is 23. 0 on 25th November 2012. Submissions up to 24 hours late will attract a 10% penalty whilst those beyond 24 hours but less than 1 week late will be capped at 40%. Reports submitted more than one week late will attract a mark of zero. Submit one electronic copy via Studynet. This is an individual assignment and the report submitted should be entirely your own work. Appendix 1:Bellingham plc| | | | | | | Abridged Trading, Profit & Loss Account for the year ended 30th June 2012:| All amounts are in thousands of pounds sterling| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2012| | 2011| | 2010| |Sales| 9606| | 7564| | 6100| | Production Cost| 4034| | 3101| | 2240| | Gross Profit| 5572| | 4463| | 3860| | | | | | | | | Selling Expenses| 1467| | 1250| | 1080| | Installation Expenses| 1689| | 1300| | 980| | Administration Expenses| 960| | 630| | 597| | Operating Profit| 1456| | 1283| | 1203| | Debenture Interest| 53| | 53| | 53| | Profit Before Tax| 1403| | 1230| | 1150| | Corporation Tax| 449| | 394| | 368| | Profit After Tax| 954| | 836| | 782| | Dividends| 341| | 280| | 220| | Retained earnings| 613| | 556| | 562| | Balance Sheet at 30th June 2012:| | | | | | | | | | | | |Fixed Assets (net):| | | | | | | Land & Buildings| 2300| | 2400| | 2500| | Plant & Machinery| 1700| | 1186| | 552| | Fixtures & Fittings| 700| | 600| | 402| | Motor Vehicles| 185| | 140| | 105| | Office equiptment| 250| | 185| | 100| | | 5135| | 4511| | 3659| | Current Assets:| | | | | | | Stocks: Raw Materials| 216| | 208| | 182| | Work in Progress| 200| | 205| | 190| | Finished Goods| 150| | 128| | 97| | Debtors| 1775| | 950| | 595| | Bank/Cash| 230| | 136| | 104| | | 2571| | 1627| | 1168| | Current Liabilities:| | | | | | | Trade Creditors| 1190| | 788| | 270| |Corporation Tax| 449| | 394| | 368| | Final Dividend| 171| | 140| | 110| | | 1810| | 1322| | 748| | | | | | | | | Net Current Assets| 761| | 305| | 420| | Net Assets| 5896| | 4816| | 4079| | | | | | | | | Long-term Liabilities:| | | | | | | 9% Debentures 2016| 750| | 750| | 750| | | | | | | | | | 5146| | 4066| | 3329| | | | | | | | | Shares & reserves | | | | | | | ?1 ordinary shares| 1000| | 1000| | 1000| | 6% Preference shares of 50p ea,| 500| | 500| | 500| | Retained pr for yr| 613| | 556| | 562| | Profit & loss| 3033| | 2010| | 1267| | Shareholders funds| 5146| | 4066| | 3329| |

Slavery And United States Rights - 1133 Words

Slavery and states’ rights were the most pressing issues in the 1860 presidential election. Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln won the presidency on the basis of his promise to halt the spread of slavery (Hillstrom). However, not all African Americans lived in slavery. African Americans that lived in freed states had to deal with strict laws that limited their conduct and behavior. Children who lived in northern states were able to receive their education, convicts could serve their sentences, and people could have been buried in cemeteries but on major thing is that they all had to be segregated. African Americans that lived in the southern states lived their life in feared of violence and racism. Many endured mobs lynching, whipped and branded with hot iron. When the Reconstruction period started many Americans believed that everyone should have the same constitutional rights and experience the privileges of citizenship. Which resulted from the south to experience the Jim Crow. Jim Crow laws were a set of ideas, social norms, life ways, role-play symbols, sanctions, and devastations created after the Civil War by white politician’s intent on maintaining a system of oppressive control over African American life and economics (Mzama Asante). Equal rights laws that had been passed during Reconstruction continued to be replaced with discriminatory Jim Crow laws across the South. Although Northerners and Republican lawmakers showed little interest in protecting the rightsShow MoreRelatedAbolition Slavery And The United State Of America859 Words   |  4 Pages In the 1840s slavery become a big issue in the United State of America. Since passing the Louisiana Purchase, the United State start expanding their land. They took over the Indian Territory by forcing them to leave the country or to relocate in the different city. The expansion of the United State leads to decide some state should be a free slave. 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