Resumo em Inglês:

In the present study, dynamic pull-in instability of electrostatically-actuated micro-beams is investigated through proposing the nonlinear frequency amplitude relationship. An approximate analytical expression of the fundamental natural frequency is presented by modern asymptotic approach namely Iteration Perturbation Method (IPM). Influences of vibrational amplitude as well as different parameters on dynamic pull-in voltage are investigated. It is demonstrated that two terms in series expansions is sufficient to produce an acceptable solution of the mentioned microstructure. The simulations from numerical methods verify the validity of the analytical procedure.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of the present paper is to study the propagation of Lamb waves in micropolar generalized thermoelastic solids with two temperatures bordered with layers or half-spaces of inviscid liquid subjected to stress-free boundary conditions in the context of Green and Lindsay (G-L) theory. The secular equations for governing the symmetric and skew-symmetric leaky and nonleaky Lamb wave modes of propagation are derived. The computer simulated results with respect to phase velocity, attenuation coefficient, amplitudes of dilatation, microrotation vector and heat flux in case of symmetric and skew-symmetric modes have been depicted graphically. Moreover, some particular cases of interest have also been discussed.

Resumo em Inglês:

In Brazil, the use of reinforced concrete waffle slab in multi-story buildings is widespread nowadays. These buildings are projected for different purposes such as fitness centers, supermarkets, parking garages, offices and residential units. Simple activities as walking, skipping and jumping can generate vibrations in these slabs. Vibrations can cause inconvenience in persons, questions about structure´s safety, and collapse risk that it is determined by its intensity of vibrations. The objective of this paper is evaluating the behavior of reinforced concrete waffle slabs due to the human rhythmic activities. Slabs are modeled by finite elements method using the SAP2000 program. The results are verified according to Brazilian and international codes. The waffle slabs are submitted to high-levels of acceleration and velocity generating discomfort in users.

Resumo em Inglês:

This problem deals with the thermo-elastic interaction due to step input of temperature on the stress free boundaries of a homogeneous visco-elastic orthotropic spherical shell in the context of a new consideration of heat conduction with fractional order generalized thermoelasticity. Using the Laplace transformation, the fundamental equations have been expressed in the form of a vector-matrix differential equation which is then solved by eigen value approach and operator theory analysis. The inversion of the transformed solution is carried out by applying a method of Bellman et al (1966). Numerical estimates for thermophysical quantities are obtained for copper like material for weak, normal and strong conductivity and have been depicted graphically to estimate the effects of the fractional order parameter. Comparisons of the results for different theories (TEWED (GN-III), three-phase-lag model) have also been presented and the effect of viscosity is also shown. When the material is isotropic and outer radius of the hollow sphere tends to infinity, the corresponding results agree with that of existing literature.

Resumo em Inglês:

This study presents an alternative Finite Element formulation based on positions to model plane frames considering geometrical non-linear and elastoplastic behavior for members and semi-rigid connections. The formulation includes shear effects and allows the consideration of important mechanical behavior of structures in design decisions and verifications. The principle of stationary energy is used to find the equilibrium equations. A multi-linear elastoplastic constitutive law is developed for both continuum members and semi-rigid connections in order to comprise any proposed stress-strain diagram. Large rotations and displacements are considered for both semi-rigid connections and structure. The most important steps used to derive the formulation are described along the paper and various examples are used to validate and show the possibilities of the proposed technique.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this paper a new hybrid glowworm swarm algorithm (SAGSO) for solving structural optimization problems is presented. The structure proposed to be optimized here is a simply-supported concrete I-beam defined by 20 variables. Eight different concrete mixtures are studied, varying the compressive strength grade and compacting system. The solutions are evaluated following the Spanish Code for structural concrete. The algorithm is applied to two objective functions, namely the embedded CO2 emissions and the economic cost of the structure. The ability of glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) to search in the entire solution space is combined with the local search by Simulated Annealing (SA) to obtain better results than using the GSO and SA independently. Finally, the hybrid algorithm can solve structural optimization problems applied to discrete variables. The study showed that large sections with a highly exposed surface area and the use of conventional vibrated concrete (CVC) with the lower strength grade minimize the CO2 emissions.

Resumo em Inglês:

The mathematical model for wave motion in a fractured porous solid is solved for the propagation of harmonic plane wave along a general direction in 3-D space. The solution is obtained in the form of Christoffel equations, which are solved further to define the complex velocities and polarisations of five attenuated wavesin the medium. Four of these waves are longitudinal waves and the one is transverse wave. For any of these five attenuated waves, a general inhomogeneous propagation is considered with a complex specification of slowness vector involving a finite non-dimensional inhomogeneity parameter. The phase velocities and attenuation coefficients are calculated for the inhomogeneous propagation of each of the five attenuated waves in the medium. A numerical example is studies to analyse the effect of wave frequency, saturating pore-fluid, volume fraction of fractures and inhomogeneity parameter on the phase velocity and attenuation. The phenomenon of reflection is studied to calculate the partitionof wave-induced energy incident at the plane boundary of the fractured porous solid. The effect of wave frequency, volume fraction of fractures, saturating pore-fluid and inhomogeneity parameter on the energy partition are studied in the numerical example.

Resumo em Inglês:

The lack of lateral resistance in a curved railway track can produce misalignment problems due to the centrifugal forces when the trains pass through. Moreover, most of the times continuous welded rails (CWR) are used in nowadays railway tracks, which can induce the track buckling as a result of thermal loads caused by high temperature gradients. A new sleeper has been designed to provide higher lateral resistance of the track. A finite element model has been developed to analyze the lateral movements of an actual curved track subjected to lateral resistance problems. Then, variations on the finite element model have been made to study the response of the track when different sleepers are used. Thus, the performance of the different sleepers in the modeled track has been analyzed, resulting that the inclusion of the new sleeper in the track can improve the lateral resistance between 39 and 55 % with respect to a track with conventional sleepers made of wood or concrete.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper presents analytical and experimental results on ductility of reinforced lightweight concrete beams and columns in the form of moment curvature relationships, and compares the response with that of normal reinforced concrete members. The experimental part is limited to flexural tests on beams made of lightweight concrete. The latter is obtained with natural lightweight aggregates. Concrete and steel stress-strain models in compression and tension are integrated analytically through the section in order to derive the resulting moment and axial force. Lightweight concrete beams and columns showed a more ductile behavior than normal concrete members and the analytical model reproduced the response with very good accuracy. The lightweight ductility was more pronounced in columns subjected to axial compression forces and bending.

Resumo em Inglês:

A secant function based shear deformable finite element model is developed for the flexural behavior of laminated composite and sandwich plates with various conditions. The structural kinematics of the plate is expressed by means of secant function based shear deformation theory newly developed by the authors. The theory possesses non-linear shear deformation and also satisfies the zero transverse shear conditions on top and bottom surfaces of the plate. The field variables are elegantly utilized in order to ensure C0 continuity requirement. Penalty parameter is implemented to secure the constraints arising due to independent field variables. A biquadratic quadrilateral element with eight nodes and 56 degrees of freedom is employed to discretize the domain. Extensive numerical tests for the flexural behavior of laminated composite and sandwich plates are conducted to affirm the validity of the present finite element model in conjunction with the improved structural kinematics. Influences of boundary conditions, loading conditions, lamination sequences, aspect ratio, span-thickness ratio, etc on the flexural behavior are investigated specifically and compared with the existing results in order to indicate the performance of the present mathematical treatment.