In-Plane Free Vibration of Circular and Annular FG Disks

The analysis of the in-plane free vibration of the circular and annular FG disks by a meshfree boundary-domain integral equation method is presented in this paper. The material properties of the disks are assumed to vary in the radial direction obeying an exponential law. Based on the two-dimensional linear elastic theory, the motion equations of the FG disks are derived by using the static fundamental solutions. Radial integration method as an efficient tool is adopted to treat the domain integrals which are raised due to the material inhomogeneous and inertial effects. The natural frequencies and associate mode shapes are calculated for the FG disks with combinations of free and clamped boundary conditions. Parametric studies are also conducted to study the effects of the material gradients, radius ratios and boundary conditions on the frequency of the FG disks.

Bending of lightweight circular tubes

The concept design (sizing) of thin-walled tubes subject to bending is dealt by resorting to rigorous design principles pertaining to engineering science. Multi-objective optimization is the proper theory that has been exploited. Minimum mass and maximum stiffness (minimum compliance) are the optimization objectives. Safety (admissible stress), stability (buckling), available room (external radius of the tube), and thickness of the tube (arising from technological issues) are introduced as constraints. Linear elastic theory is used. Optimal solutions are given in analytical form for a prompt use by designers. Such optimal solutions refer both to the objectives (mass and compliance) and to the design variables (radius and thickness of the tube). The best attainable lightweight design is discussed as a function of the constraints. In particular, given the upper and lower bounds for radius and thickness respectively, three candidate optimal solutions are addressed in the paper for concept design purposes. The comparative lightweight design of tubes made from different materials is presented. Contrary with respect to the reputation of aluminum for effective lightweight construction, steel can be the best choice, when the available room has to be saturated.

Prestress Loss of CFL in a Prestressing Process for Strengthening RC Beams

A prestressing system was designed to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) beams with prestressed carbon fiber laminate (CFL). During different prestressing processes, prestress loss was measured using strain gauges attached on the surface of CFL along the length direction. The prestress loss was 50–68% of the whole prestress loss, which is typically associated with CFL slipping between the grip anchors. Approximately 20–27% of the prestress loss was caused by the elastic shortening of the RC beam. An analytical model using linear-elastic theory was constructed to calculate the prestress loss caused by CFL slipping between the anchors and the elastic shortening of the strengthened beams. The compared results showed that the analytical model of prestress loss can describe the experimental data well. Methods of reducing the prestress loss were also suggested. Compared to other experiments, the prestressing system proposed by this research group was effective because the maximum percentage of prestress loss was 14.9% and the average prestress loss was 12.5%.

Simulation of Coupled Thermal/Hydrological/Mechanical Phenomena in Porous Media

Summary For processes such as production from low-permeability reservoirs and storage in subsurface formations, reservoir flow and the reservoir stress field are coupled and affect one another. This paper presents a thermal/hydrological/mechanical (THM) reservoir simulator that is applicable to modeling such processes. The fluid- and heat-flow portion of our simulator is for general multiphase, multicomponent, multiporosity systems. The geomechanical portion consists of an equation for mean stress, derived from linear elastic theory for a thermo-poroelastic system, and equations for stress-tensor components that depend on mean stress and other variables. The integral finite-difference method is used to solve these equations. The mean-stress and reservoir-flow variables are solved implicitly, and the remaining stress-tensor components are solved explicitly. Our simulator is verified by use of analytical solutions for stress- and strain-tensor components and is compared with published results.

Mechanical Analysis of Link Slab in Continous Paving Layer of Simple Supported Girder Bridge

The link slab of simple supported girder bridge deck was discussed in this paper. Based on “Gernal Code of design of Highway Bridges and Culverts(JTGD60-2004)” of China and linear elastic theory the continouse paving layer was analysized under the live load, temperature variation. The deformation and tensile stress formulations of link slab were given. The conclusion can provide theoretical basis for the design of building new bridge and strengthening and repairing old bridge.

A Comparison of Different Multibody System Approaches in the Modeling of Flexible Twist Beam Axles

One of the challenging issues in the area of flexible multibody systems is the ability to properly account for the geometric nonlinear effects that are present in many applications. One common application where these effects play an important role is the dynamic modeling of twist beam axles in car suspensions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the accuracy of the results obtained using four common modeling methods used in such applications. The first method is based on a spline beam approach in which a long beam is represented using piecewise rigid bodies interconnected by beam force elements along a spline curve. The beam force elements use a simple linear beam theory in approximating the forces and torques along the beam central axis. The second approach uses the well known method of component mode synthesis that is based on the linear elastic theory. Using this method the deformation of the beam, which is modeled as one flexible body, is defined using its own vibration and static correction mode shapes. The equations of motion are, in this case, written in terms of the system’s generalized coordinates and modal participation factors. The linear elastic theory is used again in the third approach using a slightly different technique called the sub-structuring synthesis method. This method is based on dividing the flexible component into sub-structures, in which, the method of component mode synthesis is used to describe the deformation of each substructure. The fourth approach is based on a co-simulation technique that uses a Multibody System (MBS) solver and an external nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) solver. The flexibility of any body in the multibody system is, in this case, modeled in the external nonlinear FEA solver. The latter calculates the forces due to the nonlinear deformations of the flexible body in question and communicates that to the MBS solver at certain attachment points where the flexible body is attached to the rest of the multibody system. The displacements and velocities of these attachment points are calculated by the MBS solver and are communicated back to the nonlinear FEA solver to advance the simulation. The four approaches described are reviewed in this paper and a multibody system model of a car suspension system that includes a twist beam axle is presented. The model is examined four times, once using each approach. The numerical results obtained using the different methods are analyzed and compared.