Traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor with double vibrators can improve the output performance effectively. However, the rotor has to be energized through a slip ring, which increases the complexity and reduces the reliability. Inheriting the concept of two traveling waves propagating in the stator and rotor, a dual traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor energized only in the stator is proposed. By analyzing the oscillatory differential equation and the contact particles motion, a traveling wave is found in the rotor and the drive mechanism of dual traveling wave is studied. With the resonant rotor adopted, the consistent eigenfrequencies are calculated by finite element method and verified by an impedance analyzer. The performance experiment presents that the dual traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor is superior to the motor with single traveling wave. The no-load speed is 60 rpm and the stalling torque is 0.85 Nm. Additionally, compared with a reported motor with double vibrators, the proposed motor presents the better output performance and the simpler design.

Using the finite element method (FEM) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), a nonlinearity analysis based on parameter optimization is proposed to design an inductive angle sensor. Due to the structure complexity of the sensor, understanding the influences of structure parameters on the nonlinearity errors is a critical step in designing an effective sensor. Key parameters are selected for the design based on the parameters' effects on the nonlinearity errors. The finite element method and particle swarm optimization are combined for the sensor design to get the minimal nonlinearity error. In the simulation, the nonlinearity error of the optimized sensor is 0.053% in the angle range from −60° to 60°. A prototype sensor is manufactured and measured experimentally, and the experimental nonlinearity error is 0.081% in the angle range from −60° to 60°.

No abstract

Pulsatile left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) driven by electric motors have been widely accepted as a treatment of heart failure. Performance enhancement with computer assistance for this kind of LVAD has seldom been reported. In this article, a numerical method is proposed to assist the design of a cam-type pump. The method requires an integrated model of an LVAD system, consisting of a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a cardiovascular circulation. Performance indices, that is, outlet pressure, outlet flow, and pump efficiency, were used to select the best cam profile from six candidates. A prototype pump connected to a mock circulatory loop (MCL) was used to calibrate the friction coefficient of the cam groove and preliminarily evaluate modeling accuracy. In vitro experiments show that the mean outlet pressure and flow can be predicted with high accuracy by the model, and gross geometries of the measurements can also be reproduced. Simulation results demonstrate that as the total peripheral resistance (TPR) is fixed at 1.1 mm Hg.s/mL, the two-cycle 2/3-rise profile is the best. Compared with other profiles, the maximum increases of pressure and flow indices are 75 and 76%, respectively, and the maximum efficiency increase is over 51%. For different TPRs (0.5∼1.5 mm Hg.s/mL) and operation intervals (0.1∼0.4 s) in counterpulsation, the conclusion is also acceptable.

The aim of this work was to investigate the hemodynamic influence of the change of pump rate on the cardiovascular system with consideration of heart rate and the resonant characteristics of the arterial system when a reliable synchronous triggering source is unavailable. Hemodynamic waveforms are recorded at baseline conditions and with the pump rate of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) at 55, 60, 66, and 70 beats per minute for four test conditions in a mock circulatory system. The total input work (TIW) and energy equivalent pressure (EEP) are calculated as metrics for evaluating the hemodynamic performance within different test conditions. Experimental results show that TIW and EEP achieve their maximum values, where the pump rate is equal to the heart rate. In addition, it demonstrates that TIW and EEP are significantly affected by changing pump rate of LVAD, especially when the pump rate is closing to the natural frequency of the arterial system. When a reliable synchronous triggering source is not available for LVAD, it is suggested that selecting a pump rate equal to the resonant frequency of the arterial system could achieve better supporting effects.