Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In order to reduce the structural vibrations of a mechanical system used in aerospace, a new sketch of eddy current damper (ECD), consisting of one cylindrical permanent magnet, two ring-shape copper plates, one axial transmission shaft and electromagnetic shield, is proposed. Three dimensional (3D) electromagnetic transient analysis on damping performance of the proposed damper is conducted by ANSYS to determine the dimensions of the designed damper. And a series of damping tests for the damper subjected to sinusoid excitations with amplitudes of around 0.1 and 1 mm are respectively carried out under frequencies ranging from 1 to 50 Hz. The experimental results validate that the 3D transient analysis method with ANSYS is effective to guide the design of ECDs. Moreover, it is found that the proposed ECD has high damping, which is significantly superior to the one-plate ECD with the same structure and dimensions.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In this study, eight techniques including coping saw, metal slitting saw, razor blade, cubic boron nitride (CBN) disc, scoring, die-cutting and guillotining, diamond disc, and laser cutting methods were used to produce pre-cracked fracture toughness (Kc) test specimens made of poly(methyl methacrylate)/graft-acrylonitrile butadiene styrene blends. The influences of notch shape (radial, rectangular, or angular-shaped and variety of thicknesses), pre-cracking method, chip removing or non-chip removing, and the contact or non-contact methods on the results obtained in fracture toughness tests were investigated. The results were analyzed by two methods, quantitatively and qualitatively, by comparing the obtained Kc results and studying the SEM and optical microscopy images, respectively. The results indicated that the different conditions of a produced pre-crack including; geometry of pre-crack due to geometry of tools, residual stress due to pre-crack creation, heat affected zone, damage of crack tip, and producing crazing around the crack tip could affect the fracture toughness. The maximum difference resulted from different pre-cracking methods was equal to 0.24 MPa.m0.5 and the lowest value of fracture toughness Kc, 2.53 MPa.m0.5, belonged to the scoring method but the highest value, 2.77 MPa.m0.5, belonged to the metal slitting saw method. Also, the results indicated that the effects of notching on toughness of RT-PMMA had a low notch sensitivity and the differences between minimum and maximum Kc values was found about 9%.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract A combination of vectorial form of wave method (VWM) with Fourier expansion series is proposed as a new vehicle for free and forced vibration analysis of stepped cylindrical shells with multiple intermediate flexible supports. The flexible supports can include springs with arbitrary properties in the possible directions. Based on Flügge thin shell theory and VWM, the reflection, propagation, and transmission matrices for a circular cylindrical shell are defined. Furthermore, contiguous vector-matrix relationships are established for free and forced vibration analysis of the issue including an arbitrary number of the discontinuities in the shell thickness, or shell steps, and intermediate supports. Using these vector-matrix relations, the equations of motion as well as the system continuity are well satisfied. Dimension of these vectors and matrices are completely, independent of the number of the applied supports and geometrical steps in the shell. Hence, the present approach provides excellent computational advantages and modeling flexibility compared to the conventional vibration analysis methods available in the literature. The results of the present study are compared with the results available in the literature as well as the results of finite element method (FEM) and found in excellence agreement. Furthermore, as a case study case, a cylindrical shell with three flexible intermediate supports and also three geometrical steps is considered. The natural frequency and mode shapes of the issue are derived, and the forced responses of the shell subject to point load excitation are reported.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In this study a total lagrangian 2D finite element formulation is used to model plane frames developing large displacements and rotations considering sliding connections. This kind of connections is usually called prismatic and cylindrical joints. In order to be self-containing, the steps of the development of a frame finite element of any approximation order that considers the influence of shear strain by means of a generalized Reissner kinematics is presented. The adopted degrees of freedom are positions and rotations. Using positions as degrees of freedom simplifies the total lagrangian description and enables a comprehensive presentation of the proposed connections. Revolute connections are considered by direct degrees of freedom matching. Prismatic connections are modelled by the Lagrange multiplier technique that constrains positions and rotation of a sliding node to the varying position and rotation of a path element. Cylindrical joints are introduced in similar way by Lagrange multipliers releasing the sliding node rotation. The principle of stationary potential energy is used to write the non-linear equilibrium equation including the Lagrange multiplier influence. To solve the non-linear equation a Taylor expansion is carried out and the Newton-Raphson procedure is employed. The frame element is considered elastic, following the Saint-Venant-Kirchhoff constitutive model. Selected examples are used to validate the formulation and to show its possibilities of application.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In this paper the authors summarize the results of a study devoted to assess, using nonlinear static analyses, the impact of increasing the structural redundancy in ductile moment-resisting reinforced concrete concentric braced frames structures (RC-MRCBFs). Among the studied variables were the number of stories and the number of bays. Results obtained were compared with the currently proposed values in the Manual of Civil Structures (MOC-08), a model code of Mexico. The studied frames have 4, 8, 12 and 16-story with a story height h=3.5 m. and a fixed length L=12 m., where 1, 2, 3 or 4 bays have to be located. RC-MRCBFs were assumed to be located in soft soil conditions in Mexico City and were designed using a capacity design methodology adapted to general requirements of the seismic, reinforced concrete and steel guidelines of Mexican Codes. From the results obtained in this study it is possible to conclude that a different effect is observed in overstrength redundancy factors respect to ductility redundancy factors due to an increase of the bay number considered. Also, the structural redundancy factors obtained for this particular structural system varies respect to the currently proposed in MOC-08.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In the present study, in order to detect the fault of the gearmeshs, two engaged gears based on research department of a major automotive company have been modeled. First off, by using the CATIA software the fault was induced to the output gear. Then, the faulty gearmesh and non-faulty gearmesh is modeled to find the fault pattern to predict and estimate the failure of the gearmesh. The induced defect is according to the frequently practical fault that takes place to the teeth of gears. In order to record the acceleration signals to calculate the decomposition algorithm, mount the accelerometer on accessible place of the output shaft to recognize the pattern. Then, for more realistic simulation, noise is added to the output signal. At the first step by means of Butterworth low pass digital, the noise has to be removed from signals after that by using the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), signals have decomposed into the Instinct Mode Function (IMF) and every IMF were tested by using the Instantaneous Frequency (IF) in way of Hillbert Transform (HT). For this purpose a code was developed in MATLAB software. Then, in order to detect the presence of the fault the frequency spectrum of IMF's are created and defect is detected in gearmesh frequency of the spectrum.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This paper deals with Finite Element refined and simplified models of a mild steel spot-welded specimen, developed and validated based on quasi-static cross-tensile experimental tests. The first model was constructed with a fine discretization of the metal sheet and the spot weld was defined as a special geometric zone of the specimen. This model provided, in combination with experimental tests, the input data for the development of the second model, which was constructed with respect to the mesh size used in the complete car finite element model. This simplified model was developed with coarse shell elements and a spring-type beam element was used to model the spot weld behavior. The global accuracy of the two models was checked by comparing simulated and experimental load-displacement curves and by studying the specimen deformed shapes and the plastic deformation growth in the metal sheets. The obtained results show that both fine and coarse finite element models permit a good prediction of the experimental tests.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The current study attempts to recognise an adequate classification for a semi-rigid beam-to-column connection by investigating strength, stiffness and ductility. For this purpose, an experimental test was carried out to investigate the moment-rotation (M-θ) features of flush end-plate (FEP) connections including variable parameters like size and number of bolts, thickness of end-plate, and finally, size of beams and columns. The initial elastic stiffness and ultimate moment capacity of connections were determined by an extensive analytical procedure from the proposed method prescribed by ANSI/AISC 360-10, and Eurocode 3 Part 1-8 specifications. The behaviour of beams with partially restrained or semi-rigid connections were also studied by incorporating classical analysis methods. The results confirmed that thickness of the column flange and end-plate substantially govern over the initial rotational stiffness of of flush end-plate connections. The results also clearly showed that EC3 provided a more reliable classification index for flush end-plate (FEP) connections. The findings from this study make significant contributions to the current literature as the actual response characteristics of such connections are non-linear. Therefore, such semi-rigid behaviour should be used to for an analysis and design method.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Finite element analysis and optimization design carry out for the quasi static responses of foam-filled double circular tube is presented in this paper. In the investigation of the crashworthiness capability, some aspects were considered for variations in geometry parameters of tubes and the loading condition to investigate the crashworthiness capability. Empty, foam-filled, and full foam-filled doublé tubes of thin walled structures were observed subjected to oblique impact (0˚ - 40˚). The numerical solution was used to determine the crashworthiness parameters. In addition, NSGA II and Radial Basis Function were used to optimize the crashworthiness capability of tubes. In conclution, the crash performaces of foam-filled double tube is better than the other structures in this work. The outcome that expected is the new design information of various kinds of cylindrical tubes for energy absorber application.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Instability of liquefaction is one of the major reasons which results in the failure of earth structure such as dam. The present study focuses on the simulation of static liquefaction behavior for granular materials such as sand and sand-silt mixtures. Based on micromechanical analysis of inter-particle behavior, a simple one-scale model is proposed to simulate the stress-strain response of sand; then the proposed model is extended to simulate the sand-silt mixtures using the mixture theory combining the properties of sand and silt according to their proportions. Empirical expressions are introduced to fit the critical state strength and the location of the critical state line for each mixture. Parameters of the model can be divided into two categories: the first seven parameters have the same values either with pure sand or pure silt for silt-sand with any given fines content; the other three parameters are the function of fines content and three more parameters are required to estimate their values. The predicted results of triaxial test of sand and sand-silt mixtures with different fine content, which has a good agreement with the results of laboratory tests, suggest that the proposed model can simulate static liquefaction behavior of sand and sand-silt mixtures.