This article discusses the performance optimization of wind turbine rotors with active flow control. An extensive multi-parameter investigation with a thorough matrix-grading system was performed to identify the most suitable solution for industrial quality, short/mid-term implementation on actual utility scale wind turbines. A very wide selection of aerodynamic flow control solutions was analyzed based on extensive multi-disciplinary literature review and through aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations. It is suggested that the trailing edge devices have the most favorable performance in the field of system integration and mechanical design performance. Compliant structures like the flexible flap keep the number of moving parts to a minimum while maintaining high performance and manufacturing simplicity. The use of flexible and elastic materials based on polymers or rubber material improves the lightning strike resistance of these solutions and allows for low-cost large-scale production. The actuator principle, sensitivity, and reliability are decisive parameters, and pneumatic actuators seem to strike a good balance between performance, cost, and reliability.

This article discusses the significance of human touch in mechanical design. Designers need to be familiar with basic ergonomic standards and guidelines for their industries. In the mechanical area, these include anthropometric data describing the range of human size, shape, strength, and reach. Understanding and explicitly managing user-applied forces, reaction forces, and the resulting motion constitute a large part of human factors engineering (HFE) in mechanical design. An important early step in mechanical HFE is to select the preferred grip or grips. Making invalid assumptions about how users will grip a product is a common error among designers. Human factors engineering may not yield a perfect solution, but by understanding and applying basic principles of human factors engineering throughout a project, designers can spare design iterations and establish a firm human factors foundation for their products.

This article discusses various aspects of self-help. In popular psychology, self-help is all about solving personal problems without professional intervention. In mechanical design, it implies letting the design deal with a problem from within, rather than intervening with more structure or force. The article also illustrates that authors on self-help like to organize variations of the self-help principle into taxonomies; however, categorizing is often unnecessary. One of the examples of self-help is balanced doors, which have special, articulated hinges so wind does not blow them open. Yet they open easily, and fully, when pulled or pushed. Self-help is an important feature of the control surfaces-rudders and elevators-on many airplanes. Balance weights on the opposite side of the pivot reduce the pilot&s control column forces and eliminate flutter by changing the center of mass. Examples in the article highlight that a half-nut for a lead screw drive can benefit from self-help.

This article discusses that tools of improvement do not always fit the hand in need. El Salvador lies in Central America. In the north–south split between the have and have-not countries, it clearly falls in the south. According to the World Bank, gross national income per capita is $2,200, compared with an average of a little more than $2,900 for all of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the developed world, per capita income is closer to $26,000. It is estimated that more than 40 percent of the 6.5 million people in El Salvador live below the poverty line; that is, they make so little that they cannot buy all the necessities of life. Backed by funds from Europe, the team finished three rural installations in the two and a half years between late 1999 and the middle of 2002. Rivas and the team are still working on the mechanical design. They have come up with a new adjustment mechanism that is easier to operate than the plate and pin system. This version uses a cable that attaches to hooks at various elevations on the support post to adjust the incline.

Abbott Laboratories’ diagnostics division claims that the systems improve laboratory workflow. A patented feature of the machines is an automated system called the retest sample handler, which can hold up to 135 sample vials for the i2000sr, 185 for the c8000, and 335 for the ci8200. The samples, which are accessible to a three-axis carrier transport robot, can be picked up in any sequence so they can be retrieved for retesting when it is necessary. Eliminating separate rails and associated fasteners and reducing machining of large surfaces resulted in significant cost savings. In addition, the single extrusion offers improved structural strength in the given space at the lowest weight. Fewer parts minimized tolerance stackup. Electronic components in the original design included circuit boards and cable harnesses in different configurations for each module type. The final design has 18-inch-long circuit boards that can be joined to form a continuous board up to 10-feet long, without cables.

This article explains the concept and various aspects of mechanical design automation (MDA). The use of computers for mechanical design is often referred to as MDA. Serious commercialization of computer graphics for design and drafting began in 1969 with the founding of Computervision and Application. The commercial market picked up significantly in 1975, when new 19-inch storage tube display terminals became readily available from Tektronix. These units could be used with minicomputers without custom interfaces, and they could display substantially larger drawings than the older, 11-inch units. The 1980s saw tremendous growth and change in mechanical design automation. While the predominant computer continued to be the 16-bit Digital PDP-11, there was growing interest in Digital’s 32-bit VAX 11 /780. Display products were starting their transition from Tektronix’s storage tube units to raster displays, with color raster just around the corner. The 1990s was a decade of constant movement for the MDA industry.