http://www.turbinetechnologies.com RSS feeds for Turbine Technologies 60 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/76/mechanical-design-students-verify-solidworksstructural-simulation-results-with-ttls-truestructures-lab#Comments 0 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=84&ModuleID=432&ArticleID=76 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=76&PortalID=0&TabID=84 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/76/mechanical-design-students-verify-solidworksstructural-simulation-results-with-ttls-truestructures-lab   When designing critical structural components, computer based simulation tools enable engineers to rapidly assure factors of safety. These modern software codes help prevent bridge collapses, assure that aircraft can easily sustain the most extreme turbulence, and even keep roofs from collapsing under high snow loads.   Students at the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, WI recently had the opportunity to work through the entire progression of this type of analysis.  They first imported solid models into SolidWorksTM Simulation.  They then simulated loading scenarios and arrived at predicted stress and strain values. In a typical educational setting, a report is generated on the software findings, and that is the end student deliverable.    Mr. Justin Lemke, a Mechanical Design instructor at the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College however, had his students take the next step.  Following the software exercise, the students set up a Turbine Technologies Ltd. test rig, called TrueStructuresTM , to measure the actual results of the simulated loading conditions on real components.  They then compared measured values to those that were computer derived. Upon review of their paper, Turbine Technologies personnel made a few observations too.  Kevin Carlson, product applications specialist at Turbine Technologies, said: “There are thousands of design students every year that are learning to use some very powerful simulation tools, but most of them rarely get to verify those calculations with a real structure.  Our TrueStructures™ lab provides a structural frame with a built-in loading apparatus, 3 strain gauge equipped test elements (I-Beam, tube, and an actual aircraft wing) and the electronic solid models of those elements. With this turnkey device, students can readily compare and verify predicted results with actual values. Mike Kutrieb, a mechanical engineer with TTL went on to state: “Simply put, real-world exercises like this are very valuable to students. The end result is that they learn about mistakes that can creep in when using simulation tools. Items like proper material selection within the software tool, heat treat conditions, rigidity provided by properly mounting the real components, and ambient temperature variations in readings of strain gauges, all play a critical role in obtaining accurate results.  We think that mechanical design courses are greatly enhanced by combining simulation with instrumented, real world devices".  For a free copy of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s paper, please email kevin@turbinetechnologies.com  Also, for additional information on TrueStuctures™, please visit https://www.turbinetechnologies.com/educational-lab-products/structures-lab Administrator Account Fri, 19 May 2017 18:48:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:76 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/64/turbine-technologies-releases-new-truestructures-video#Comments 0 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=84&ModuleID=432&ArticleID=64 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=64&PortalID=0&TabID=84 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/64/turbine-technologies-releases-new-truestructures-video Are you interested in learning more about the science of structures? The design of aircraft wings, car bodies, bridges and sky scrapers are just a few real world examples of this field of study. Our "True Structures" product offers hands-on learning experiences that directly translate from the class room to new career opportunities. We've just released a few more details in this video:   Mike Kutrieb Mon, 08 Jun 2015 19:26:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:64 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/41/truestructures-lab-launched#Comments 0 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=84&ModuleID=432&ArticleID=41 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=41&PortalID=0&TabID=84 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/41/truestructures-lab-launched Interest in Experimental Aviation Leads to New Student Lab Product As a lifelong aviation enthusiast and past president of an Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) regional chapter, Turbine Technologies Director of Sales and Marketing, Perry Kuznar, sought to combine his high-flying interests with a demonstrated educational need. "So many topics are required in today's engineering curricula, that it is difficult to get experience with problems that have direct application to industry. Lab classes are meant to stimulate thinking from a practical perspective, but so often the lab sessions are just contrived extensions of the lecture problems. Students should get extra credit for imagining that a Tinker-Toy collection of aluminum tubing and connector blocks are a 'bridge' for this lab and a 'high-tension tower' for the next." "As a member of the EAA and an active participant in several aircraft building projects, I saw how my fellow aviation enthusiasts were getting an exceptional education in the practical aspects of aircraft design, construction and testing by building their own airplanes. It occurred to me that this type of activity would have a natural application to engineering education. A lab or analytical study of a complete airplane project would be impractical, but focusing on a smaller portion would be possible. By selecting the right component to study, the opportunity would exist to study a broad array of typical engineering problems." Perry searched the aerospace industry exhaustively to find the right item for this lab. The goal was to find a structure that was easily dissected into its fundamental components for ease of analysis, yet obvious as to how the individual pieces worked as a structural whole. Additionally, the structure had to be designed and constructed according to accepted industry standards to convey real-world applicability. The ideal candidate was found in a popular sport aircraft tail surface. "An airplane wing contains essentially every type of structural member an engineer is likely to encounter in their career no matter what actual field of engineering they pursue: beams, webs, shear structures, fittings, fasteners - all resisting bending, torsional and shear loads, with indeterminate issues and difficulties such as access holes and so on. A wing could very well be a machine structure to a mechanical engineer, or say a bridge to a civil engineer. A complete wing though, while a perfect subject, would be just too big to get into a classroom. A tail surface, however, is nothing but a smaller wing - yet a very real subject, not a scaled model or imagined problem. My idea was to utilize the horizontal tail surface from an experimental airplane. Once instrumented, supported and given a way to apply a load, we had the True Structures Lab." The complete wing surface is equipped with 12 foil type strain gages in both linear and rosette configurations applied throughout the structure. A custom designed and exceptionally easy to use strain bridge controller assists in the data measurement process. Web based software simplifies the process of converting strain gage voltages to actual strain values. A manually controllable loading device imparts a force to the wing tip. The task of determining the stress condition from the applied load and resulting strains is left to the students as a lab exercise. Problems relating to deflection, acceptable material stress levels and resulting margins of safety are just a few examples of what can be studied with the TrueStructures Lab. Adding additional strain gages is a straightforward process and can be accomplished at any time with the lab. "I'm hoping that by utilizing a real airplane part, a real example of aerospace engineering, that the students will become more interested and more engaged with what they are studying. The wing structure presents almost limitless lab opportunities. Of course, we've made the TrueStructures Lab extensible. Strain gages can be added at any time. Countless opportunities exist just in the study of experimental technique, strain gage principles and the practical aspects of stress/strain measurement. The usual simple beam and tube are provided to prepare the students for the more challenging problems encountered with the wing itself." "Our in-house engineering staff has had a lot of fun putting this product together, with all of them wishing they had such a device when they were students. It's actually pretty exciting to see the theory come alive as you operate the load wheel and see the strain increasing." Turbine Technologies, LTD will begin taking orders for the TrueStructures Lab on May 2nd with deliveries to begin in late summer. Complete with everything needed to begin teaching immediately, the TrueStructures Lab includes a sample lab procedure and background information on strain gages and strain measurement fundamentals. More information on the product is available on the Turbine Technologies, LTD web site. Mike Kutrieb Wed, 02 May 2007 21:13:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:41 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/27/truestructures-lab-product-released-for-airfoil-testing#Comments 0 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=84&ModuleID=432&ArticleID=27 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=27&PortalID=0&TabID=84 http://www.turbinetechnologies.com/news/articletype/articleview/articleid/27/truestructures-lab-product-released-for-airfoil-testing Turbine Technologies, LTD (TFL) today announced the introduction of its latest product for engineering education, the TrueStructures Airfoil Testing Structures Lab.   “Through customer feedback and our own research, Turbine Technologies identified a significant void in the marketplace relating to structures education," said Mike Kutrieb, TTL Vice President. “While there are many products out there, they often focus on one or two concepts and fail to explore the big picture. What we've done is create the TrueStructures Lab that not only teaches the basics, but gives students the opportunity to combine various individual elements of structural analysis and testing into a larger, more significant problem with direct, real-world application. We also wanted to make the lab problems fun and exciting. To that end we are using actual aerospace hardware in the product. No contrived examples or simulated parts, but an actual component off of areal airplane. Aerospace, civil and even mechanical engineering students rarely get to work on real hardware or real equipment. Because of the way we've designed the lab, relevant problems can be worked just ' like those the students will encounter in industry upon graduation. The lab exposes students to standard design, construction and testing methods.”  The TrueStructures' Lab utilizes a heavy-duty framework to mount various common test articles such as beams and tubes. A manually controlled loading mechanism allows an infinite array of bending and torsion loads to be applied to the test article. A load cell indicates digitally the exact force applied. Each article is instrumented with standard foil type strain gauges. A custom strain bridge controller digitally displays measured gauge voltage. Test article deflection is readily measured on the scale adjacent to the point of load. As with the simple test articles, an instrumented aircraft wing is provided to demonstrate how beams, ribs and skins work together to form a complete structure. Designed with “openness” in mind, new strain gauges can be applied as necessary to accomplish teaching or lab goals. A comprehensive sample lab is included for reference.  Perry Kuznar, TTL Director of Sales and Marketing, has been working closely with educators and other end users to develop a meaningful product that addresses educational objectives and industry needs. “As industry demands more and better prepared engineering graduates, products like the TrueStructures Lab emphasize the same types of problems encountered in the workplace. ‘What's the optimum structure to handle this load, how do I test my analysis, where do I put the strain gauges, what is the actual stress condition, what is the magnitude of the experimental uncertainty, how much do I need to increase my safety factor to account for it‘ and so on. The fact the students can bend a real wing helps answer these questions. Moreover, it helps foster a greater ‘engineering’ based understanding when they can relate what they do in the lab, to say the view out the window of an airliner as they watch the wingtip bend and flex during flight.” Turbine Technologies, LTD is a U.S. manufacturer of tumkey laboratory equipment. With hundreds of operators around the world, Turbine Technologies has established itself -as the premier manufacturer of quality laboratory equipment for aerospace, thermodynamic and turbomachinery oriented engineering education and research. Other featured products include the MiniLab Gas Turbine Power System, the RankineCycler Steam Turbine Power System and the PumpLah Centrifugal Pumping Laboratory. Additional information can be found here: Air Foil Testing With The True Structures Lab from Turbine Technologies Tue, 01 May 2007 13:18:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:27