• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.691-702
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• 2018

This paper presents experimental and analytical results of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) confined steel tubular columns under transverse impact loads. Influences of applied impact energy, thickness of FRP jacket and impact position were discussed in detail, and then the impact responses of FRP confined steel tubes were compared with bare steel tubes. The test results revealed that the FRP jacket contributes to prevent outward buckling deformation of steel at the clamped end and inward buckling of steel at the impact position. For the given applied impact energy, specimens wrapped with one layer and three layers of FRP have the lower peak impact loads than those of the bare steel tubes, whereas specimens wrapped with five layers of FRP exhibit the higher peak impact loads. All the FRP confined steel tubular specimens displayed a longer duration time than the bare steel tubes under the same magnitude of impact energy, and the specimen wrapped with one layer of FRP had the longest duration time. In addition, increasing the applied impact energy leads to the increase of peak impact load and duration time, whereas increasing the distance of impact position from the clamped end results in the decrease of peak impact load and the increase of duration time. The dynamic analysis software Abaqus Explicit was used to simulate the mechanical behavior of FRP confined steel tubular columns, and the numerical results agreed well with the test data. Analytical solution for lateral displacement of an equivalent cantilever beam model subjected to impact load was derived out. Comparison of analytical and experimental results shows that the maximum displacement can be precisely predicted by the present theoretical model.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.335-353
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• 2024

In the present paper, a simple quasi-3D integral higher-order beam theory (HBT) is presented, in which both shear deformation and thickness stretching effects are included for mechanical analysis of advanced composite beams with simply supported boundary conditions, handling mainly bending, buckling, and free vibration problems. The kinematics is based on a novel displacement field which includes the undetermined integral terms and the parabolic function is used in terms of thickness coordinate to represent the effect of transverse shear deformation. The governing equilibrium equations are drawn from the dynamic version of the principle of virtual work; whereas the solution of the problem is obtained by assuming a Navier technique for simply supported advanced composite beams subjected to sinusoidally and uniformly distributed loads. The correctness of the present computational method is checked by comparing the obtained numerical results with quasi-3D solutions found in the literature and with those provided by other shear deformation beam theories. It can be confirmed that the proposed model, which does not involve any shear correction factor, is not only accurate but also simple and useful in solving the static and dynamic response of advanced composite beams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.659-671
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• 1998

Exercise of complete control on all aspects of any manufacturing / fabrication process is very difficult, leading to uncertainties in the material properties and geometric dimensions of structural components. This is especially true for laminated composites because of the large number of parameters associated with its fabrication. When the basic parameters like elastic modulus, density and Poisson's ratio are random, the derived response characteristics such as deflections, natural frequencies, buckling loads, stresses and strains are also random, being functions of the basic random system parameters. In this study the basic elastic properties of a composite lamina are assumed to be independent random variables. Perturbation formulation is used to model the random parameters assuming the dispersions small compared to the mean values. The system equations are analyzed to obtain the mean and the variance of the plate natural frequencies. Several application problems of free vibration analysis of composite plates, employing the proposed method are discussed. The analysis indicates that, at times it may be important to include the effect of randomness in material properties of composite laminates.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.241-254
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• 2020

Using confined shape memory alloy (SMA) bar or plate, this study proposes an innovative self-centering damper. The damper is essentially properly machined SMA core, i.e., bar or plate, that encased in buckling-restrained device. To prove the design concept, cyclic loading tests were carried out. According to the test results, the damper exhibited desired flag-shape hysteretic behaviors upon both tension and compression actions, although asymmetric behavior is noted. Based on the experimental data, the hysteretic parameters that interested by seismic applications, such as the strength, stiffness, equivalent damping ratio and recentering capacity, are quantified. Processed in the Matlab/Simulink environment, a preliminary evaluation of the seismic control effect for this damper was conducted. The proposed damper was placed at the first story of a multi-story frame and then the original and controlled structures were subjected to earthquake excitations. The numerical outcome indicated the damper is effective in controlling seismic deformation demands. Besides, a companion SMA damper which represents a popular type in previous studies is also introduced in the analysis to further reveal the seismic control characteristics of the newly proposed damper. In current case, it was found that although the current SMA damper shows asymmetric tension-compression behavior, it successfully contributes comparable seismic control effect as those having symmetrical cyclic behavior. Additionally, the proposed damper even shows better global performance in controlling acceleration demands. Thus, this paper reduces the concern of using SMA dampers with asymmetric cyclic behavior to a certain degree.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.293-315
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• 2016

Seismic isolation is often used in protecting mission-critical structures including hospitals, data centers, telecommunication buildings, etc. Such structures typically house vibration-sensitive equipment which has to provide continued service but may fail in case sustained accelerations during earthquakes exceed threshold limit values. Thus, peak floor acceleration is one of the two main parameters that control the design of such structures while the other one is peak base displacement since the overall safety of the structure depends on the safety of the isolation system. And in case peak base displacement exceeds the design base displacement during an earthquake, rupture and/or buckling of isolators as well as bumping against stops around the seismic gap may occur. Therefore, obtaining accurate peak floor accelerations and peak base displacement is vital. However, although nominal design values for isolation system and superstructure parameters are calculated in order to meet target peak design base displacement and peak floor accelerations, their actual values may potentially deviate from these nominal design values. In this study, the sensitivity of the seismic performance of structures equipped with linear and nonlinear seismic isolation systems to the aforementioned potential deviations is assessed in the context of a benchmark shear building under different earthquake records with near-fault and far-fault characteristics. The results put forth the degree of sensitivity of peak top floor acceleration and peak base displacement to superstructure parameters including mass, stiffness, and damping and isolation system parameters including stiffness, damping, yield strength, yield displacement, and post-yield to pre-yield stiffness ratio.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.85-96
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• 2003

In the present investigation, the nonlinear dynamic buckling of a curved plate subjected to sinusoidal loading is examined. By the theoretical analyses, a highly nonlinear snap-through motion of a clamped-free-clamped-free plate and its effect on the overall vibration response are investigated. The problem is reduced to that of a single degree of freedom system with the Rayleigh-Ritz procedure. The resulting nonlinear governing equation is solved using Runge-Kutta (RK-4) numerical integration method. The snap-through boundaries, which vary with different damping coefficient and linear circular frequency of the flat plate are studied and given in terms of force and displacement. The relationships between static and dynamic responses at the start of a snap-through motion are also predicted. The analysis brings out various characteristic features of the phenomenon, i.e. 1) small oscillation about the buckled position-softening spring type motion, 2) chaotic motion of intermittent snap-through, and 3) large oscillation of continuous snap-through motion crossing the two buckled positions-hardening spring type. The responses of buckled plate were found to be greatly affected by the snap-through motion. Therefore, better understanding of the snap-through motion is needed to predict the full dynamic response of a curved plate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.6
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• pp.729-742
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• 2023

It is a recent attraction to the mechanical scientists to investigate state of wave propagation, buckling and vibration in the sport balls to observe the importance of different parameters on the performance of the players and the quality of game. Therefore, in the present study, we aim to investigate the wave propagation in handball game ball in term of mass of the ball and geometrical parameters wit incorporation of the viscoelastic effects of the ball material into account. In this regard, the ball is modeled using thick shell structure and classical elasticity models is utilized to obtain the equation of motion via Hamilton's principle. The displacement field of the ball model is obtained using first order shear deformation theory. The resultant equations are solved with the aid of generalized differential quadrature method. The results show that mass of the ball and viscoelastic coefficient have considerable influence on the state of wave propagation in the ball shell structure.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.117-144
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• 2019

High Altitude and Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft are capable of providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities over vast geographic areas when equipped with advanced sensor packages. As their use becomes more widespread, the demand for additional range, endurance and payload capability will increase and designers are exploring non-conventional configurations to meet the increasing demands. One such configuration is the joined-wing concept. A joined-wing aircraft is one that typically connects a front and aft wings in a diamond shaped planform. One such example is the Boeing SensorCraft configuration. While the joined-wing configuration offers potential benefits regarding aerodynamic efficiency, structural weight, and sensing capabilities, structural design requires careful consideration of elastic buckling resulting from the aft wing supporting, in compression, part of the forward wing structural loading. It has been shown already that this is a nonlinear phenomenon, involving geometric nonlinearities and follower forces that tend to flatten the entire configuration, leading to structural overload due to the loss of the aft wing's ability to support the forward wing load. Severe gusts are likely to be the critical design condition, with flight control system interaction in the form of Gust Load Alleviation (GLA) playing a key role in minimizing the structural loads. The University of Victoria Center for Aerospace Research (UVic-CfAR) has built a 3-meter span scaled and flexible wing UAV based on the Boeing SensorCraft design. The goal is to validate the nonlinear structural behavior in flight. The main objective of this research work is to perform Ground Vibration Tests (GVT) to characterize the dynamic properties of the scaled flight vehicle. Results from the experimental tests are used to characterize the modal dynamics of the aircraft, and to validate the numerical models. The GVT results are an important step towards a safe flight test program.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.315-327
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• 2016

Undergoing large volumetric changes upon incremental environmental stimulation, hydrogels are interesting materials which hold immense potentials for utilization in a wide array of applications in diverse industries. Owing to the large magnitudes of deformation it undergoes, swelling induced instability is a commonly observed sight in all types of gels. In this work, we investigate the instability of photo-thermal sensitive hydrogels, produced by impregnating light absorbing nano-particles into the polymer network of a temperature sensitive hydrogel, such as PNIPAM. Earlier works have shown that by using lights of different intensities, these hydrogels follow different swelling trends. We investigate the possibility of utilizing this fact for remote switching applications. The analysis is built on a thermodynamic framework of inhomogeneous large deformation of hydrogels and implemented via commercial finite element software, ABAQUS. Various examples of swelling induced instabilities, and its corresponding dependence on light intensity, will be investigated. We show that the instabilities that arise have their morphologies dependent on the light intensity.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.527-533
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• 2015

A simplified method for the calculation of dynamic characteristics of initially stressed antisymmetric cross-ply laminated shells is presented in this paper using the natural frequencies under unloading state. The equation of motion of laminated shell with two opposite edges simply supported is investigated on the basis of Rayleigh-Ritz method and Mindlin shell theory with effect of the curvature term. The relationships of the non-dimensional natural frequencies with initial stresses the coeffcients of critical buckling and the boundaries of te dynamic principal instability region can be characterized by the non-dimensional natureal frequencies under unloading state. Numerical examples are presented t verify the simplified equations and to illustrate potential applications of the analysis.