Due to some limitations in the water tank tests (especially the amount of pressure), we decided to design and build a new test rig for purposes such as:
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- The assessment of the PTO performance in terms of efficiency and convertible power.
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- Structural and material solutions
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- Study on scaling and pre-stretching effects
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- Study more engineering materials and components
Here are the schematic view and technical details of the designed test rig.
| Diameter of membrane | 10~40cm |
| Membrane deformation | 0~20cm |
| Pressure in air-chamber | 0~20kPa |
| Frequency of piston | 0.4~1.2Hz |
| The amplitude of piston | 0~57cm |
Here are some pictures and videos from the assembled test rig.
One of the advantages of the designed test rig is installing an air pump to continuously apply pressure inside the air chamber. This helps us to conduct the Bulge test, which can provide lots of beneficial data regarding the material and structure. The following video shows the bulge test and some results.
Another test is done on the membrane part covered with a structural membrane. This structure membrane can apply non-linear stiffness on the elastomer part and have a passive control on the deformation of the elastomer.