Sharif Digital Repository

The loads induced on the spacecraft orbiting the Earth by the deploying elastic arm are investigated. The coupled equations of motion of the arm with the vehicle orbital mechanics are used to describe the 3D dynamic behavior of the flexible-appendage and the related disturbing loads induced on the spacecraft. To this end, an equivalent dynamical system is derived for the arm by applying an attached Non-Newtonian Reference Frame which is subjected to the orbital motion and geocentric pointing maneuver of the spacecraft. With the help of the Assumed Modes Method, the behavior of the arm attached to the spacecraft in Keplerian orbits is studied. The results show that deploying the arm in some... 

A new bracing system with new features somewhat different from those of the existing ones was devised and is presented. These features comprise some of the advantages of eccentric bracing systems including their ability to dissipate energy through bending of flexural elements while lacking some of the disadvantages of such systems including their inability of being replaced upon damage during events such as earthquakes, etc. While in traditional types of braces, including both concentric and eccentric ones, braces are under axial loading, in this new system they work in a bending capacity. As a result, the sort of flexibility which is introduced in the system in the presence of eccentric... 

The modified eccentricity connectivity polynomial of a connected graph G is defined as Ξ(G; x)=Σ u∈V(G)d G(u)x ε′G (u), where ε′ G(u)=Σ v∈NG(u)εG(u)and d G(u) is the degree of u in G. In this paper modified eccentric connectivity polynomial is computed for several classes of composite graphs  

Position sensors are inseparable part of motion control systems. Linear resolvers (LRs) are electromagnetic position sensors that are suitable for high vibration, polluted environments. The accuracy of their detected position can be affected by different mechanical faults. In this study, variety of possible mechanical faults along with their mathematical index in LRs is introduced. Static eccentricity, dynamic eccentricity, inclined mover and run out error are the presented mechanical faults that are discussed independently and simultaneously. Then, three-dimensional non-linear, time-stepping finite element method is employed to investigate the performance of the studied resolver under... 

Slotted bolted connections (SBCs) have been developed and used as an axial friction damper in braced frames since 1980s. To employ the benefits of SBCs in moment resisting frames (MRFs), rotational slotted bolted connections have been developed more recently with limited application in members that flexural behavior is dominated to shear. In this paper, shear slotted bolted connection (SSBC) is introduced as a new type of friction dampers to employ the benefits of SBCs in lateral load resisting systems with predominant shear behavior members that dissipate energy by traditional yielding mechanisms. The SSBC is a modified bolted connection that dissipates energy through friction in which... 

Most slab-on-girder steel bridges have been designed and constructed without seismic resistance consideration; as a result, their members, connections, and more commonly their substructure are not sized and detailed to provide the required ductile response needed during major earthquakes. A ductile seismic retrofit solution proposed in this investigation consist of converting of existing end diaphragms into ductile end diaphragms and replacing the end cross-frames and the lower lateral-braced panels adjacent to the supports by special ductile diaphragms. Consequently, this creates ductile fuses to protect the rest of the super- and substructure. This paper illustrates the typical seismic... 

To date, the existing theories pertinent to the determination of the scattered fields of an inhomogeneity have been limited to certain topological symmetries for which the method of wave-function expansion is widely used. In the literature the wave-function expansion method has also been employed to the case involving concentric coated fiber. An alternative approach is the dynamic equivalent inclusion method (DEIM) proposed by Fu and Mura [L.S. Fu, T. Mura, The determination of elastodynamic fields of an ellipsoidal inhomogeneity. ASME J. Appl. Mech. 50 (1983) 390-396.] who found the scattered field of a single spheroidal inhomogeneity. The pioneering work of Eshelby [J.D. Eshelby, The... 

In this study isolated perfused rat muscle was used to examine the direct effect of temperature changes on the eccentric contraction-induced force and desmin loss. The left medial gastrocnemius muscle was separated and the entire lower limb was transferred into a prewarmed (35°C) organ bath. Temperature was adjusted to 31 or 39°C before and during eccentric contractions. Maximal isometric force and desmin loss were measured after 15 isometric or eccentric contractions. According to our data, organ bath temperature changes before or during eccentric contractions had no significant effect on force loss. However, a strong correlation between desmin loss and temperature changes before (r = 0.93,... 

In this article, a particular off-center bracing system is introduced. In this system, the tensile diagonal strut is not straight. When the load is applied, the original geometry changes and thus causes the system to harden. Based on this behavior, a step-by-step analytical method is developed. Using this method, a Geometrically Nonlinear Analysis Program (GNAP) is designed to analyze the elastic force-displacement relation. Extension of this program to dynamic analysis led to a Dynamic Nonlinear Analysis Program (DNAP). The object of this article is to show that such bracing systems will lead to less seismic force on such structures compared to classic concentric bracing systems. On the... 

A mixed shear-flexural beam element, which is called VM link element, is introduced. Dissimilar multi-surfaces in the shear-flexural space and non zero off diagonal components in flexibility matrixes are used for more realistic modeling of inelastic shear-flexural interaction. For preventing of intersecting among the yield surfaces, a new non-associated flow rule and a new kinematic hardening rule are developed. Capability of this element is examined for shear links used in eccentrically braced frames analysis for cyclic loading. It is shown that, the proposed link element is in a good agreement with the existing test results  

An approximate method is presented that can be used to determine the non-linear behaviour of a new structural bracing system called the `Disposable Knee Bracing'. In this framing system, a special form of diagonal brace connected to a knee element instead of beam-column joint, is investigated. The diagonal element provides lateral stiffness during moderate earthquakes. However, the knee element is designed to have three plastic joints for dissipation of the energy caused by strong earthquake. This article demonstrates the transformation of a complex problem into a new, practical set of design charts and graphs. First, by studying of the elastic behaviour of the system, a suitable shape and... 

In many earthquake prone regions in developing countries, substandard steel moment resisting frame (SMRF) systems pose a profound danger to people and economy in the case of a strong seismic event. Eccentric bracing systems with replaceable vertical links can be utilized as an efficient and practical seismic retrofitting technique to reduce future earthquake damages to such structures. This paper aims, for the first time, to demonstrate the efficiency of eccentric bracing systems with vertical links as a seismic retrofitting technique for the SMRF structures with WCSB and to develop fragility curves for such structures. To achieve this aim, first, the effect of the vertical links on the... 

At the first glance, it seems that asymmetry in geometry, mass, and stiffness cause torsion, while there are systems in which, despite the symmetry in all these parameters, the transferred energy to the torsional mode is more than the translational mode. The main purpose of this research was to study the torsional mode of a symmetric system in terms of geometry, mass, and stiffness, then investigate the effect of mass eccentricity and stiffness eccentricity. This is a fundamental problem and its main applications are in the buildings, automobile industry, and offshore structures. Parametric calculations on the free vibration equation of a completely symmetric system show that in a system... 

In this paper, earthquake-induced economic loss of buildings with the eccentrically braced frame as the lateral load resisting system is investigated. Economic loss in this paper includes collapse loss, demolition loss, and structural and nonstructural repair loss. A simplified probabilistic story-based loss estimation procedure is employed for this purpose. A thorough study is conducted on the verification of shear link response with experimental results as shear link is the main source of nonlinearity in eccentrically braced frames. Nonlinear response history analyses are conducted on four, eight and sixteen story prototype models and engineering demand parameters such as story drift... 

Recent studies have indicated the need of considering aftershocks in the seismic design/assessment of structures. This article investigates the effect of sequential mainshock and aftershock earthquakes on eccentrically braced steel frames with vertical energy-absorbing links. To achieve this, 4, 8 and 12-storey frame buildings are modelled in Perform3D® software considering non-linear behaviour of materials and components. The frames are subjected to a set of 12 main earthquake records corresponding to the required hazard level, and then subsequent aftershocks are applied using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). To reduce the computational cost, an alternative approach is also adopted by... 

Evaluation of spinal loads in patients with low back pain (LBP) is essential to prevent further lumbar disorders. Many studies have investigated the relationship between lifting task variables and lumbar spine loads during manual lifting activities. The nature of the external load (stable versus unstable loads) is an important variable that has received less attention. Therefore, the present study aimed to measure trunk kinematics and estimate compressive-shear loads on the lumbar spine under lifting a 120 N stable load and 120 ± 13.63 N sensual unstable load in 16 healthy and 16 non-specific LBP individuals during lifting activities. The maximal lumbar loads were estimated using a... 

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of geometrical parameters, eccentricity and perforated fins on natural convection heat transfer in a finned horizontal annulus using three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann flux solver. Design/methodology/approach: Three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann flux solver is used in the present study for simulating conjugate heat transfer within an annulus. D3Q15 and D3Q7 models are used to solve the fluid flow and temperature field, respectively. The finite volume method is used to discretize mass, momentum and energy equations. The Chapman–Enskog expansion analysis is used to establish the connection between the lattice Boltzmann equation... 

This paper proposes a design solution for static eccentricity (SE) in axial flux resolvers (AFRs). There are two definitions for SE in AFRs. The first approach is based on the definition of SE in conventional radial flux resolvers, wherein the rotor axis does not coincide with the stator bore, but the rotor rotates around its own shaft. In other words, it is different in the angular inclination of the rotor and stator axis. Thus, the air gap of the motor is not uniform. In the second approach, which is more common in AFRs, when SE occurs, air-gap length remains uniform. Rotor axis remains parallel with the stator axis, although it does not coincide with the stator bore. This means that there... 

Radial flux variable reluctance resolvers (RFVR2s) are widely used in variety of applications. However, they suffer from an intrinsic error which is called static eccentricity (SE). Although most of the errors in the resolvers can be suppressed using electronic methods in resolver to digital (R/D) converters, static misalignment is an exception. In this paper an axial flux configuration is proposed for variable reluctance (VR) resolvers with concentric windings. Then the proposed structure is optimized to achieve the minimum sensitivity of accuracy against SE. The performance of the presented structure, so called axial flux variable reluctance resolver (AFVR2), is validated using 3-D time... 

Resolvers are widely used in high performance motion control of inverter-driven motors. Among different types of resolvers, axial flux wound-rotor (AFWR) resolvers have gained more attention due to their higher stability against static eccentricity. So, in this study the influence of stator and rotor winding arrangements on the accuracy of AFWR resolvers is presented. A single/two phase distributed, constant turn winding is considered for the rotor and the influence of short circuit damper winding of the rotor is investigated. For the stator, constant turn, distributed winding and variable turn, on-tooth winding is examined. Finally, it is shown that using variable turn on-tooth winding for...