• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.497-504
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• 2015

In this paper, we study the propulsive behavior related to the flagellar motion of bacteria using a spring model. A commercial program was used to conduct simulations, and we verified the numerical technique by setting an additional rotating domain and conducting a parametric study. The numerical results are in good agreement with slender-body theory, although overall, they are not in agreement with resistive-force theory. We confirm the effect of the rotational velocity, pitch, helical radius, fluid viscosity, and, in particular, the distance from the wall on the propulsion of the spring.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.30-39
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• 2014

We report in this paper the analysis of the motion of a needle and a spring in a viscous fluid under the influence of gravitational force. Lateral shift as well as vertical motion of a needle falling in a viscous fluid has been observed from a simple experiment. We also observed the combined rotation and translation of a falling spring. The trajectory and velocity of the falling needle and the spring were obtained by using an image processing technique. We also conducted numerical simulation for both problems. For the falling-needle problem, we employed a theory; but it turns out that significant correction is required for the solutions to match the numerical and experimental data. For the falling spring problem various theoretical formula were tested for their justification, but none of the existing theories can successfully predict the numerical and experimental results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.335-354
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• 2016

This contribution presents an extended one-dimensional theory for piezoelectric beam-type structures with non-ideal electrodes. For these types of electrodes the equipotential area condition is not satisfied. The main motivation of our research is originated from passive vibration control: when an elastic structure is covered by several piezoelectric patches that are linked via resistances and inductances, vibrational energy is efficiently dissipated if the electric network is properly designed. Assuming infinitely small piezoelectric patches that are connected by an infinite number of electrical, in particular resistive and inductive elements, one obtains the Telegrapher's equation for the voltage across the piezoelectric transducer. Embedding this outcome into the framework of Bernoulli-Euler, the final equations are coupled to the wave equations for the longitudinal motion of a bar and to the partial differential equations for the lateral motion of the beam. We present results for the wave propagation of a longitudinal bar for several types of electrode properties. The frequency spectra are computed (phase angle, wave number, wave speed), which point out the effect of resistive and inductive electrodes on wave characteristics. Our results show that electrical damping due to the resistivity of the electrodes is different from internal (=strain velocity dependent) or external (=velocity dependent) mechanical damping. Finally, results are presented, when the structure is excited by a harmonic single force, yielding that resistive-inductive electrodes are suitable candidates for passive vibration control that might be of great interest for practical applications in the future.