Modelling lead-rubber seismic isolation bearings using the unified mechanics theory

Lead-rubber seismic isolation bearings (LRB) have been installed in a number of essential and critical structures, like hospitals, universities and bridges, in order to provide them with period lengthening and the capacity of dissipating a considerable amount of energy to mitigate the effects of strong ground motions. Therefore, studying the damage mechanics of this kind of devices is fundamental to understand and accurately describe their thermo-mechanical behavior, so that seismically isolated structures can be designed more safely. Hitherto, the hysteretic behavior of LRB has been modeled using 1) Newtonian mechanics and empirical curve fitting degradation functions, or 2) heat conduction theories and idealized bilinear curves which include degradation effects. The reason for using models that are essentially phenomenological or that contain some adjusted parameters is the fact that Newton’s universal laws of motion lack the term to account for degradation and energy loss of a system. In this paper, the Unified Mechanics Theory – which integrates laws of Thermodynamics and Newtonian mechanics – is used to model the force-displacement response of LRB. Indeed, there is no need for curve fitting techniques to describe their damage behavior because degradation is calculated at every point using entropy generation along the Thermodynamics State Index (TSI) axis. A finite element model of a lead-rubber bearing was constructed in ABAQUS, where a user material subroutine UMAT was implemented to define the Unified Mechanics Theory equations and the viscoplastic constitutive model for lead. Finite element analysis results were compared with experimental test data.

Equations of motion of masses of the Chelomey pendulum model

To verify the provisions stated by V.I. Bogomolov, B.I. Puzanov. and Linevich E.I. about the possibility of performing over-unit work by inertial forces, a closed mechanical system in the form of kinematically connected rotating masses is proposed for consideration. The research aimed, within the framework of Newtonian mechanics, to study the fulfillment of the laws of conservation of momentum, angular momentum and energy, to establish the possibility of performing work by inertial forces (centrifugal and Coriolis), to assess the change in kinetic parameters using the example of the Chelomey pendulum model. For the complex radial-circular motion of the masses of the Chelomey pendulum model, resolving equations are obtained. To verify the analytical calculations, algorithms for numerical solutions of the above problems have been developed and implemented in the MathCAD software package

Emission, propagation, and reflection of light as mechanical phenomena in inertial frames

The kinematics of balls with mass in the inertial frames is like that in the frame at absolute rest. Practical examples of balls with mass studied at the limit when their mass is zero indicate that the kinematics of massless balls is like that of balls with mass. Light as a wave or particle is a massless entity. Therefore, it is natural to apply the kinematics behavior of the massless balls to light in its interactions with matter during the phenomena of emission and reflection. Thus, the kinematics of light depends on its kinetics of electromagnetic nature and by its mechanical interactions of emission and reflection with the matter. Light behaves in the inertial frames like in the frame at absolute rest, and the speed of light is the constant <mml:math display="inline"> <mml:mi>c</mml:mi> </mml:math> in the inertial frames in which the source and mirror are at rest. The terrestrial experiments with light cannot prove the motion of Earth. This study explains the result of the experiment performed at CERN, Geneva, in 1964. Including the massless balls within Newtonian mechanics, the emission, propagation, and reflection of light can be considered mechanical phenomena.

Equations of motion of masses of the Chelomey pendulum model

To verify the provisions stated by V.I. Bogomolov, B.I. Puzanov. and Linevich E.I. about the possibility of performing over-unit work by inertial forces, a closed mechanical system in the form of kinematically connected rotating masses is proposed for consideration. The research aimed, within the framework of Newtonian mechanics, to study the fulfillment of the laws of conservation of momentum, angular momentum and energy, to establish the possibility of performing work by inertial forces (centrifugal and Coriolis), to assess the change in kinetic parameters using the example of the Chelomey pendulum model. For the complex radial-circular motion of the masses of the Chelomey pendulum model, resolving equations are obtained. To verify the analytical calculations, algorithms for numerical solutions of the above problems have been developed and implemented in the MathCAD software package.

Holism as the empirical significance of symmetries

Not all symmetries are on a par. For instance, within Newtonian mechanics, we seem to have a good grasp on the empirical significance of boosts, by applying it to subsystems. This is exemplified by the thought experiment known as Galileo’s ship: the inertial state of motion of a ship is immaterial to how events unfold in the cabin, but is registered in the values of relational quantities such as the distance and velocity of the ship relative to the shore. But the significance of gauge symmetries seems less clear. For example, can gauge transformations in Yang-Mills theory—taken as mere descriptive redundancy—exhibit a similar relational empirical significance as the boosts of Galileo’s ship? This question has been debated in the last fifteen years in philosophy of physics. I will argue that the answer is ‘yes’, but only for a finite subset of gauge transformations, and under special conditions. Under those conditions, we can mathematically identify empirical significance with a failure of supervenience: the state of the Universe is not uniquely determined by the intrinsic state of its isolated subsystems. Empirical significance is therefore encoded in those relations between subsystems that stand apart from their intrinsic states.