We show experimentally that properly selected chord-wise flexibility can have a significant effect on the propulsive efficiency of two-dimensional flapping (heaving and pithing) foils, up to a 36% increase, compared to the efficiency of a rigid foil, with small loss in thrust. Two different foil kinematics are employed in the experiments: the first using simple harmonic heave and pitch motions;...

There are some disadvantages for existing heave compensation systems of drill string used for the Floating Drilling Platform (FDP), including high energy consumption, large and complex structure, and expensive manufacturing and maintenance costs. In view of the above, we present a streamlined mechanical semi-active heave compensation system (MSAHC) in this study. This system consists of active ...

Serious floor heave in gob-side entry retaining (GER) with fully-mechanized gangue backfilling mining affects the transportation and ventilation safety of the mine. A theoretical mechanical model for the floor of gob-backfilled GER was established. The effects of the mechanical properties of floor strata, the granular compaction of backfilling area (BFA), the vertical support of roadside suppor...

A deepwater lifting operation using crane vessel is investigated by a time-domain analysis program for floating crane vessel systems. In the analysis, a coupled analysis of floating vessel and lifted object dynamics connected via crane wire are simulated with and without heave compensator. For deepwater installation cases, amplified vertical motion of lifted object is anticipated even under mil...

We used field observations of frost-boil distribution, soils, and vegetation to attempt to validate the predictions of a Differential Frost Heave (DFH) model along the temperature gradient in northern Alaska. The model successfully predicts order of magnitude heave and spacing of frost boils, and can account for the circular motion of soils within frost boils. Modification of the model is neede...

In order to evaluate the efficiency of heave compensation in the Ocean Drilling Program, we developed a device measuring the acceleration of the core barrels. First results show that heave compensation limits bit motion to 10% of the surface heave. We also use the acceleration data to characterize the formation. On rotary corers, acceleration amplitudes decrease with increasing hardness of the ...

To compensate for heave motion, which has an adverse impact on the response of a drill-string or a riser, passive and active devices are usually used. Active heave compensators, whose control system is an essential part, allow conducting operations under more extreme weather conditions than passive ones. This paper presents a constructive method to design a nonlinear controller for an active he...

INTRODUCTION This paper focuses on the development of optimal deterministic, nonlinearly coupled barge motion models, identification of their system parameters and calibration of their prediction capability using experimental results. The ultimate objective is to develop accurate yet sufficiently low degree-offreedom stochastic models suitable for efficient probabilistic stability and reliabili...

The deformation of the ground surface that is produced by frost heave has motivated almost a century of concerted laboratory, field and theoretical studies. Well before the development of equipment capable of resolving the microscopic films that support liquid transport towards growing ice lenses, early investigators predicted their occurrence and noted their importance. Idealized experiments c...