Browsing by Subject "chaos"
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Item Quantification of chaotic mixing in microfluidic systems(Texas A&M University, 2004-11-15) Kim, Ho JunPeriodic and chaotic dynamical systems follow deterministic equations such as Newton's laws of motion. To distinguish the difference between two systems, the initial conditions have an important role. Chaotic behaviors or dynamics are characterized by sensitivity to initial conditions. Mathematically, a chaotic system is defined as a system very sensitive to initial conditions. A small difference in initial conditions causes unpredictability in the final outcome. If error is measured from the initial state, the relative error grows exponentially. Prediction becomes impossible and finally, chaotic systems can come to become stochastic system. To make chaotic motion, the number of variables in the system should be above three and there should be non-linear terms coupling several of the variables in the equation of motion. Phase space is defined as the space spanned by the coordinate and velocity vectors. In our case, mixing zone is phase space. With the above characteristics - the initial condition sensitivity of a chaotic system, our plan is to find most efficient chaotic stirrer. In this thesis, we present four methods to measure mixing state based on the chaotic dynamics theory. The Lyapunov exponent is a measure of the sensitivity to initial conditions and can be used to calculate chaotic strength. We can decide the chaotic state with one real number and measure efficiency of the chaotic mixer and find the optimum frequency. The Poincare section method provides a means for viewing the phase space diagram so that the motion is observed periodically. To do this, the trajectory is sectioned at regular intervals. With the Poincare section method, we can find 'islands' considered as bad mixed zones so that the mixing state can be measured qualitatively. With the chaotic dynamics theory, the initial length of the interface can grow exponentially in a chaotic system. We will show the above characteristics of the chaotic system to prove as fact that our model is an efficient chaotic mixer. The final goal for making chaotic stirrer is how to implement efficient dispersed particles. The box counting method is focused on measurement of the particles dispersing state. We use snap shots of the mixing process and with these snap shots, we devise a plan to measure particles' dispersing rate using the box-counting method.Item Shape memory alloy for vibration isolation and damping(Texas A&M University, 2008-10-10) Machado, Luciano GThis work investigates the use of shape memory alloys (SMAs) for vibration isolation and damping of mechanical systems. The first part of this work evaluates the nonlinear dynamics of a passive vibration isolation and damping (PVID) device through numerical simulations and experimental correlations. The device, a mass connected to a frame through two SMA wires, is subjected to a series of continuous acceleration functions in the form of a sine sweep. Frequency responses and transmissibility of the device as well as temperature variations of the SMA wires are analyzed for the case where the SMA wires are pre-strained at 4.0% of their original length. Numerical simulations of a one-degree of freedom (1-DOF) SMA oscillator are also conducted to corroborate the experimental results. The configuration of the SMA oscillator is based on the PVID device. A modified version of the constitutive model proposed by Boyd and Lagoudas, which considers the thermomechanical coupling, is used to predict the behavior of the SMA elements of the oscillator. The second part of this work numerically investigates chaotic responses of a 1- DOF SMA oscillator composed of a mass and a SMA element. The restitution force of the oscillator is provided by an SMA element described by a rate-independent, hysteretic, thermomechanical constitutive model. This model, which is a new version of the model presented in the first part of this work, allows smooth transitions between the austenitic and the martensitic phases. Chaotic responses of the SMA oscillator are evaluated through the estimation of the Lyapunov exponents. The Lyapunov exponent estimation of the SMA system is done by adapting the algorithm by Wolf and co-workers. The main issue of using this algorithm for nonlinear, rateindependent, hysteretic systems is related to the procedure of linearization of the equations of motion. The present work establishes a procedure of linearization that allows the use of the classical algorithm. Two different modeling cases are considered for isothermal and non-isothermal heat transfer conditions. The evaluation of the Lyapunov exponents shows that the proposed procedure is capable of quantifying chaos in rate-independent, hysteretic dynamical systems.Item Some results on the 1D linear wave equation with van der Pol type nonlinear boundary conditionsand the Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers equation(Texas A&M University, 2004-11-15) Feng, ZhaoshengMany physical phenomena can be described by nonlinear models. The last few decades have seen an enormous growth of the applicability of nonlinear models and of the development of related nonlinear concepts. This has been driven by modern computer power as well as by the discovery of new mathematical techniques, which include two contrasting themes: (i) the theory of dynamical systems, most popularly associated with the study of chaos, and (ii) the theory of integrable systems associated, among other things, with the study of solitons. In this dissertation, we study two nonlinear models. One is the 1-dimensional vibrating string satisfying wtt − wxx = 0 with van der Pol boundary conditions. We formulate the problem into an equivalent first order hyperbolic system, and use the method of characteristics to derive a nonlinear reflection relation caused by the nonlinear boundary conditions. Thus, the problem is reduced to the discrete iteration problem of the type un+1 = F (un). Periodic solutions are investigated, an invariant interval for the Abel equation is studied, and numerical simulations and visualizations with different coefficients are illustrated. The other model is the Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers (KdVB) equation. In this dissertation, we proposed two new approaches: One is what we currently call First Integral Method, which is based on the ring theory of commutative algebra. Applying the Hilbert-Nullstellensatz, we reduce the KdVB equation to a first-order integrable ordinary differential equation. The other approach is called the Coordinate Transformation Method, which involves a series of variable transformations. Some new results on the traveling wave solution are established by using these two methods, which not only are more general than the existing ones in the previous literature, but also indicate that some corresponding solutions presented in the literature contain errors. We clarify the errors and instead give a refined result.