Chapter 10
Application of Chaotic Motion
There are many possible applications of chaotic motion, including both industrial equipment and domestic appliances. Some industrial equipment (such as compactors, mixers, and grinders) and some domestic appliances (such as clothes-washers, dishwashers, ventilating fans, heaters, and air-conditioners) have successfully employed chaotic motion to significantly improve their performance.
In this chapter, various promising applications of chaotic motion, including compaction, mixing, washing, HVAC, and grinding, are unveiled and elaborated.
10.1 Chaotic Compaction
Compaction is one of the most important operations in civil and geotechnical engineering. In recent years, being fueled by the advancement of mechatronic design and control strategies, there have been tremendous developments in compaction technology. Modern compaction equipment should be not only powerful, economical, and versatile, but also environmental friendly.
A compactor functions to provide a vibratory compressive stress onto soil, granulates, or powders so that the required densities can be attained. This vibratory compressive stress is due to the centrifugal force of a rotating eccentric mass which can be driven by an electric motor or an internal combustion engine. It should be noted that the electric compactor takes the definite advantages of no smelly gas, quiet operation, and free maintenance over its engine-powered counterpart.
The compaction process is to induce the ...
