• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.57 no.5
• /
• pp.809-821
• /
• 2016

Concentric-tube continuum robots have formed an active field of research in robotics because of their manipulative exquisiteness essential to facilitate delicate surgical procedures. A set of concentric tubes with designed initial curvatures comprises a robot whose workspace can be controlled by relative translations and rotations of the tubes. Kinematic models have been widely used to predict the movement of the robot, but they are incapable of describing its time-dependent hysteretic behaviors accurately particularly when snapping occurs. To overcome this limitation, here we present a finite element modeling approach to investigating the dynamics of concentric-tube continuum robots. In our model, each tube is discretized using MITC shell elements and its transient responses are computed implicitly using the Bathe time integration method. Inter-tube contacts, the key actuation mechanism of this robot, are modeled using the constraint function method with contact damping to capture the hysteresis in robot trajectories. Performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by analyzing three specifications of two-tube robots including the one exhibiting snapping phenomena while the method can be applied to multiple-tube robots as well.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.677-697
• /
• 2010

This paper focuses on geometrically non-linear static analysis of a simply supported beam made of hyperelastic material subjected to a non-follower transversal uniformly distributed load. As it is known, the line of action of follower forces is affected by the deformation of the elastic system on which they act and therefore such forces are non-conservative. The material of the beam is assumed as isotropic and hyperelastic. Two types of simply supported beams are considered which have the following boundary conditions: 1) There is a pin at left end and a roller at right end of the beam (pinned-rolled beam). 2) Both ends of the beam are supported by pins (pinned-pinned beam). In this study, finite element model of the beam is constructed by using total Lagrangian finite element model of two dimensional continuum for a twelve-node quadratic element. The considered highly non-linear problem is solved by using incremental displacement-based finite element method in conjunction with Newton-Raphson iteration method. In order to use the solution procedures of Newton-Raphson type, there is need to linearized equilibrium equations, which can be achieved through the linearization of the principle of virtual work in its continuum form. In the study, the effect of the large deflections and rotations on the displacements and the normal stress and the shear stress distributions through the thickness of the beam is investigated in detail. It is known that in the failure analysis, the most important quantities are the principal normal stresses and the maximum shear stress. Therefore these stresses are investigated in detail. The convergence studies are performed for various numbers of finite elements. The effects of the geometric non-linearity and pinned-pinned and pinned-rolled support conditions on the displacements and on the stresses are investigated. By using a twelve-node quadratic element, the free boundary conditions are satisfied and very good stress diagrams are obtained. Also, some of the results of the total Lagrangian finite element model of two dimensional continuum for a twelve-node quadratic element are compared with the results of SAP2000 packet program. Numerical results show that geometrical nonlinearity plays very important role in the static responses of the beam.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.344-352
• /
• 2002

In the analysis of the 3 dimensional plate structures by the finite element method, the triangular elements are generally used for the global stiffness matrix of the analyzed system. But the triangular elements of the plates have some problems in the process of formulation and in the precision of analysis. The formulation of the finite element method to analyze 3 dimensional plate structures using quadrilateral elements is presented in this paper. The degree of freedom off nodal point is 6, that is, the displacements in the direction off-y-z is and the rotations about x-y-z axis and then the degree of freedom off element is 24. For the comparison of the analysis using triangular elements and quadrilateral elements, the rectangular plates subjected to the uniform load and a concentrated load on the centroid of the plate, for which the theoretical solutions have been obtained, are analyzed. The calculated deflections of the rectangular plates using the finite element method by the triangular elements and the quadrilateral elements are also compared with the deflections of the plates calculated by theoretical solutions. The defections of the rectangular plates calculated by the finite element method using the quadrilateral elements are closer to the theoretical solutions than the defections calculated by the finite element method using the triangular elements. The deflection of the centroid of plate, calculated by the finite element method, converges to that of theoretical solution as the number of elements is increased. This convergence is much more rapid for the case of using the quakrilateral elements than fir the case of using triangular elements.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.597-608
• /
• 2009

In this paper, large-deformation elasto-plastic analysis of space frames that considersjoint connection properties is presented. This method is based on the large-deformation formula with finite rotation, which was developed initially for elastic systems, and is extended herein to include the elasto-plastic effect and the member joint connection properties of semi-rigid what?. The analytical method was derived from the Eulerian concept, which takes into consideration the effects of large joint translations and rotations. The localmember force-deformation relationships were obtained from the beam-column approach, and the change caused by the axial strain in the member chord lengths and flexural bowing were taken into account. The effect of the axial force of the member on bending and torsional stiffness, and on the plastic moment capacity, is included in the analysis. The material is assumed to be ideally elasto-plastic, and yielding is considered concentrated at the member ends in the form of plastic hinges. The semi-rigid properties of the member joint connection are considered based on the power or linear model. The arc length method is usedto trace the post-buckling range of the elastic and elasto-plastic problems with the semi-rigid connection. A sample non-linear buckling analysis was carried out with the proposed space frame formulations to demonstrate the potential of the developed method in terms of its accuracy and efficiency.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.257-271
• /
• 2011

The analysis of interfacial stresses in structural component has been the subject of several investigations but it still requires more effort and studies. In this study a general three-dimensional interface element has been formulated for stress and displacement analyses in the interfacial area between two adjacent plate bending element and brick element. Interface element has 16 nodes with 5 degrees of freedom (DOF) in each node adjacent to plate bending element and 3 DOF in each node adjacent to brick element. The interface element has ability to transfer three translations from each side of interface element and two rotations in the side adjacent to the plate element. Stiffness matrix of this element was formulated and implemented in three-dimensional finite element code. Application of this element to the reinforced concrete (RC) beam strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) including variation of deflection, slip between plate and concrete, normal and shear stresses distributions in FRP plates have been verified using experimental and numerical work of strengthened RC beams carried out by some researchers. The results show that this interface element is effective and can be used for structural component with these types of interface elements.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
• /
• v.44 no.2 s.152
• /
• pp.130-138
• /
• 2007

A coupled variational equation for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems is derived from a steady state Navier-Stokes equation for incompressible Newtonian fluid and an equilibrium equation for geometrically nonlinear structures. For a fully coupled FSI formulation, between fluid and structures, a traction continuity condition is considered at interfaces where a no-slip condition is imposed. Under total Lagrange formulation in the structural domain, finite rotations are well described by using the second Piola-Kirchhoff stress and Green-Lagrange strain tensors. An adjoint shape design sensitivity analysis (DSA) method based on material derivative approach is applied to the FSI problem to develop a shape design optimization method. Demonstrating some numerical examples, the accuracy and efficiency of the developed DSA method is verified in comparison with finite difference sensitivity. Also, for the FSI problems, a shape design optimization is performed to obtain a maximal stiffness structure satisfying an allowable volume constraint.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.183-188
• /
• 2004

Magnetic resonance current density imaging (MRCDI) is a useful method for measuring electrical current density distribution inside an object. To avoid object rotations during the conventional MRCDI scans, we have reconstructed current density component images by applying a spatial filter to the magnetic field data measured both inside and outside the object. To measure the magnetic field outside the object with MRI, we immersed the object in a water tank. To evaluate accuracy of the current density imaging, we have made a conductivity phantom with a corresponding finite element method model. We have compared the experimentally obtained current density images with the ones calculated by the finite element method. The average errors of the reconstructed current density images were 6.6 ∼ 45.4 ％ when the injected currents were 1 ∼ 24 mA. We expect that the current density component imaging technique can be used in diverse biomedical applications such as electrical therapy system developments and biological electrical safety analysis.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.187-206
• /
• 2011

Accurate estimations of pre-failure deformations and post-failure responses of geostructures require that the simulation tool possesses at least three main ingredients: 1) a constitutive model that is able to describe the macroscopic stress-strain-strength behavior of soils subjected to complex stress/strain paths over a wide range of confining pressures and densities, 2) an embedded length scale that accounts for the intricate physical phenomena that occur at the grain size scale in the soil, and 3) a computational platform that allows the analysis to be carried out beyond the development of an initially "contained" failure zone in the soil. In this paper, a two-scale micropolar plasticity model will be used to incorporate all these ingredients. The model is implemented in a finite element platform that is based on the mechanics of micropolar continua. Appropriate finite elements are developed to couple displacement, micro-rotations, and pore-water pressure in form of $u_n-{\phi}_m$ and $u_n-p_m-{\phi}_m$ (n > m) elements for analysis of dry and saturated soils. Performance of the model is assessed in a biaxial compression test on a slightly heterogeneous specimen of sand. The role of micropolar component of the model on capturing the post-failure response of the soil is demonstrated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.1601-1623
• /
• 2015

Electroactive polymers have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their sensing and actuating properties which make them a material of choice for a wide range of applications including sensors, biomimetic robots, and biomedical micro devices. This paper presents an effective modeling strategy for nonlinear large deformation (small strains and moderate rotations) dynamic analysis of polymer actuators. Considering that the complicated electro-chemo-mechanical dynamics of these actuators is a drawback for their application in functional devices, establishing a mathematical model which can effectively predict the actuator's dynamic behavior can be of paramount importance. To effectively predict the actuator's dynamic behavior, a comprehensive mathematical model is proposed correlating the input voltage and the output bending displacement of polymer actuators. The proposed model, which is based on the rigid finite element (RFE) method, consists of two parts, namely electrical and mechanical models. The former is comprised of a ladder network of discrete resistive-capacitive components similar to the network used to model transmission lines, while the latter describes the actuator as a system of rigid links connected by spring-damping elements (sdes). Both electrical and mechanical components are validated through experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.53-83
• /
• 2008

A rational and efficient seismic design methodology for irregular space steel frames using advanced methods of analysis in the framework of Eurocodes 8 and 3 is presented. This design methodology employs an advanced static or dynamic finite element method of analysis that takes into account geometrical and material non-linearities and member and frame imperfections. The inelastic static analysis (pushover) is employed with multimodal load along the height of the building combining the first few modes. The inelastic dynamic method in the time domain is employed with accelerograms taken from real earthquakes scaled so as to be compatible with the elastic design spectrum of Eurocode 8. The design procedure starts with assumed member sections, continues with the checking of the damage and ultimate limit states requirements, the serviceability requirements and ends with the adjustment of member sizes. Thus it can sufficiently capture the limit states of displacements, rotations, strength, stability and damage of the structure and its individual members so that separate member capacity checks through the interaction equations of Eurocode 3 or the usage of the conservative and crude q-factor suggested in Eurocode 8 are not required. Two numerical examples dealing with the seismic design of irregular space steel moment resisting frames are presented to illustrate the proposed method and demonstrate its advantages. The first considers a seven storey geometrically regular frame with in-plan eccentricities, while the second a six storey frame with a setback.