Sharif Digital Repository

This paper is an attempt to develop a design methodology for a special deployable structure for potential use in micro-satellites. The basic form of this structure is a hexagonal prismatic tensegrity structure, which, after being rigidified, is used as the supporting structure of a mesh-like antenna. Here, the objectives of presenting the design methodology are to prevent structural elements from failure, while maintaining the structural natural frequency and mesh tension above an intended value and in addition, to minimize the overall mass. Here, the suggested design strategy combines the need for a behavioral study (i.e. fast and wide range evaluation) at the beginning of the design, with... 

A new exponential model to depict the moment-rotation (M-θ) relationship of Bolted Endplate Connections (BEC) is proposed. The proposed model represents an approach to the prediction of M-O curves, taking into account the possible failure modes and the deformation characteristics of the connection elements. The presented model has three physical parameters, along with two curve-fitted factors. These physical parameters are generated from dimensional details of the connection, as well as the material properties. By employing simplified connection behavioral models to estimate the connection M-θ behavior, analytical expressions for evaluating major connection parameters, such as initial... 

The fracture problem of a crack in a functionally graded strip with its properties varying in a linear form along the strip thickness under an anti-plane load is considered. The embedded anti-plane crack is located in the middle of strip half way through the thickness. The third mode stress intensity factor is derived using two different methods. In the first method, by employing Fourier integral transforms, the governing equation is converted to a singular integral equation, which is subsequently solved numerically by the collocation method based on Chebyshev polynomials. Then, the problem is solved by means of finite element method in which quadrilateral 8-node singular elements around... 

The large amplitude free vibration of an unsymmetrically laminated composite beam (LCB) on a nonlinear elastic foundation subjected to axial load has been studied. The equation of motion for the axial and transverse deformations of a geometrically nonlinear LCB is derived. Using the Ritz method, the governing equation is reduced to a time-dependent Duffing equation with quadratic and cubic nonlinearities. The homotopy analysis method (HAM) is used to obtain exact expressions for the dynamic response of the LCB. This study shows that the third-order approximation of the HAM leads to highly accurate solutions that are valid for a wide range of vibration amplitudes. The effects of different... 

The Endurance Time (ET) method is a time history-based dynamic analysis procedure which uses special intensifying acceleration functions for evaluation of the seismic response of structures. One of the potential applications of the ET method is in the three-dimensional analysis of buildings under multidirectional excitations. In this paper, considering horizontal components of excitation, an algorithm for the multi-component analysis of building structures by the ET method is proposed, and results of the ET method for various steel moment frames with 1 to 7 stories are compared with results from time history analysis with real earthquakes. Results show that based on recommendations of... 

In this paper, a two dimensional functionally graded material (2D-FGM) under an anti-plane load with an internal crack is considered. The crack is oriented in an arbitrary direction. The material properties are assumed to vary exponentially in two planar directions. The problem is analyzed and solved by two different methods namely Fourier integral transforms with singular integral equation technique, and then by the finite element method. The effects of crack orientation, material non-homogeneity, and other parameters on the value of stress intensity factor (SIF) are studied. Finally, the obtained results for Mode III stress intensity factor of different methods are compared  

In this paper, simple analytical expression is presented for large amplitude thermomechanical free vibration analysis of asymmetrically laminated composite beams. Euler-Bernoulli assumptions together with Von Karman's strain-displacement relation are employed to derive the nonlinear governing partial differential equation (PDE) of motion. He's variational method is employed to obtain a simple and efficient approximate closed form solution of the nonlinear governing equation. Comparison between results of the present work and those available in literature shows the accuracy of presented technique. Some new results for the nonlinear natural frequencies of the laminated beams such as the effect... 

To perform a long lasting, crack-free repair welding on ultrahigh strength steels, the filler metal must be chosen and applied properly. Avoiding several short-term repairs or replacements, the repaired weldment should reveal comparative characteristics such as wear resistance, toughness and hardness to base metal. In the present study, a novel functionally graded material have been introduced to obtain enhanced wear resistance and hardness at surface as well as improved fracture toughness at fusion line of repaired weldments. A comparative study of wear resistance of repaired weld metals has been carried out by pin-on-disk apparatus at 5N normal load and 0.14ms-1 sliding speed. Fracture... 

Consider a steel-rust-concrete composite consisting of a circular cylindrical concrete cover and a coaxial uniformly corroding steel reinforcement. Prediction of the amount of rust penetrated into the microcracks of concrete cover from a set of data measured at the surface of the concrete is of particular interest. The steel is assumed to be linear isotropic and rust follows a power law stress-strain relation. For the concrete, anisotropic behavior and post-cracking softening model is employed. The formulations lead to a nonlinear boundary value problem which is solved analytically. A key parameter β, defined as the ratio of the volume of corrosion products inside the cracks to the volume of... 

This paper is focused on presenting an accurate framework to describe frequency-dependent energy harvesting via magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs). Modeling strategy incorporates the phenomenological constitutive model developed formerly together with the magnetic diffusion equation. A hyperbolic hardening function is employed to define reorientation-induced strain hardening in the material, and the diffusion equation is used to add dynamic effects to the model. The MSMA prismatic specimen is surrounded by a pickup coil, and the induced voltage during martensite-variant reorientation is investigated with the help of Faraday's law of magnetic field induction. It has been shown that, in... 

In this study, the dynamic response of the laminated composite beam with arbitrary lay-ups has been investigated within the framework of the third-order shear deformation theory using the finite element method. A new three-nodded finite element compliant with the theory is introduced next. To deal with the dynamic contact between the delaminated segments, unilateral contact constraints are employed in conjunction with Lagrange multiplier method. Furthermore, the Poisson's effect is incorporated in the formulation of the beam constitutive equation. Also, the higher-order inertia effects and material couplings (flexure-tensile, flexure-twist and tensile-twist couplings) are considered in the... 

In this study, the thermal buckling analysis of hybrid laminated plates made of two-layered functionally graded materials (FGMs) that are integrated with surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators referred to as (P/FGM)s are investigated. Material properties for both substrate FGM layers and piezoelectric layers are temperature-dependent. Uniform temperature rise as a thermal load and constant applied actuator voltage are considered for this analysis. By definition of four new analytic functions, the five coupled governing stability equations, which are derived based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory, are converted into fourth-order and second-order decoupled partial differential... 

Abstract Cu-15%NbC (volume fraction) powder was synthesized using the starting powders of Cu, Nb and graphite in a high energy vibratory disc mill for 7 h of milling under argon atmosphere. A composite sample and a Cu/NbC functionally graded material (FGM) sample were produced by using the two-step press and sintering at 900 °C for 1 h under vacuum. The microstructure and physical and mechanical properties of the specimens were investigated. The field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the synthesis of the nanostructure matrix of 18-27 nm with the nanoparticles reinforcement of 42 nm after sintering, verifying the thermal... 

The nonlinear dynamics of a bistable micro/nano-electro-mechanical system resonator composed of an arch-shaped microbeam is investigated. The initially curved microbeam is actuated through a combined DC and AC electrostatic parallel plate field. A single degree of freedom model obtained using the Galerkin's decomposition method with distributed electrostatic force is implemented in order to investigate the resonator dynamics near its primary resonance. According to the shape of the potential energy function which depends on the system parameters, the nonlinear dynamics of the system are classified into certain categories. The appearance of various nonlinear phenomena including dynamic... 

In this paper, two lowest resonant frequencies and sensitivities of an AFM V-Shaped microcantilever made of functionally graded materials are studied. The beam is modeled by Euler-Bernoulli beam theory in which rotary inertia and shear deformation is neglected. It is assumed that the beam is made of a mixture of metal and ceramic with properties varying through the thickness of the beam. This variation is function of volume fraction of beam material constituents. The interaction between AFM tip and surface is modeled by two linear springs which expresses the normal and lateral contact stiffness. A relationship is developed to evaluate the sensitivity of FGM micro cantilever beam. Effect of... 

Tapered composite beams are increasingly being used in various engineering applications such as helicopter yoke, robot arms, and turbine blades. In the present work, the buckling analysis of laminated tapered composite beams is conducted using a higher order finite element formulation. In tapered laminates, the material and geometric discontinuities at ply drop-off locations lead to significant discontinuities in stress distributions. Higher order formulation ensures the continuity of the stress distribution through the thickness of a laminate as well as across the element interfaces, which is very important for the analysis of tapered laminates. In addition, higher order finite element... 

Functionally graded composite coatings constitute a class of materials which are mostly used for mechanical and tribological applications. Among these materials, nickel metal deposits with incorporation of SiC particles have excellent mechanical properties due to nickel metal and good tribological properties due to the SiC particles. In this work, nickel coatings containing different sizes of SiC particles, nanoparticles and microparticles (10 nm to 5 μm), were electrodeposited from an additive-free sulfate bath containing nickel ions and SiC particles. The material properties of the coatings were compared to nickel coatings containing microparticles (5 μm). The effect of current density,... 

Copper matrix composites have received more attentions as possible candidate for thermal and electrical conductive materials to be used in electrical contact applications. In this study, five-layered Cu/YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) functionally graded material (FGM) and copper matrix composite specimens containing 3 and 5 vol% YSZ particles plus pure Cu specimen were synthesized using powder metallurgy (PM) route and spark plasma sintering (SPS) consolidation process. The microstructural and some physical, mechanical features of all specimens were characterized. Microscopic examinations showed that ultrafine YSZ particles were distributed in the copper matrix almost homogeneously. An... 

Steel systems composed of Reinforced Concrete column to Steel beam connection (RCS) have been raised as a structural system in the past few years. The optimized combination of steel-concrete structural elements has the advantages of both systems. Through beam and through column connections are two main categories in RCS systems. This study includes finite-element analyses of mentioned connection to investigate the seismic performance of RCS connections. The finite element model using ABAQUS software has been verified with experimental results of a through beam type connection tested in Taiwan in 2005. According to verified finite element model a parametric study has been carried out on five... 

The dynamic behavior of nonuniform-thickness laminated composite beams, such as helicopter blades, wind turbine blades, and robot arms, is of high importance in the design and fabrication of such elements. Changing the thickness of laminated structures is a significant challenge during fabrication because different tapering configurations may significantly alter the stiffness of the structures and thus the dynamic response of the structures. In this study, the effect of adding nanoparticles to resin on the stiffness and dynamic behavior of nonuniform-thickness laminated composite beam elements was investigated. A set of experiments were conducted to examine the natural frequencies and...