Sharif Digital Repository

Mechanosensitive (MS) channels are ubiquitous molecular force sensors that respond to a number of different mechanical stimuli including tensile, compressive and shear stress. One of the main mechanisms to functionally study these channels is the patch clamp technique. Here we use continuum mechanics to probe the question of how curvature, in a standard patch clamp experiment, at different length scales (global and local) affects a model MS channel. Firstly, to increase the accuracy of the Laplace’s equation in tension estimation in a patch membrane and to be able to more precisely describe the transient phenomena happening during patch clamping, we propose a modified Laplace’s equation. In... 

In sliding wear, the process of making debris takes place with different mechanisms. Previous works estimating the wear rate have been carried out based on contact mechanics and material failure mechanisms. In present work, the possibility of existence of low-cycle fatigue as the dominant mechanism in the wear of an as-cast eutectoid steel is investigated. Moreover, wear coefficient and the the volume loss per distance of that steel was predicted. At first, wear tests were done in order to obtain the wear trend of the steel in different loads. Then, regarding the roughness of the disk surface, a finite element model was built to simulate the sliding of the pin surface over the asperities... 

Health monitoring of historic structures because of their cultural and economic importance is of great interest; also modeling and investigating the behavior of these structures is needed in rehabilitation procedures. Soltaniye Dome is one of the important masterpieces of Persian-Islamic historic architecture which is constructed during 14th century (1302-1312 AD). The Soltaniye building has an octagonal framework and a great dome. The dome has a diameter of 25 meters and total height of structure is about 54 meters.In this study, the macro modeling of Soltaniye building is performed using finite element software. In order to verify the modeled structure, ambient vibration tests are... 

As steel shear walls are usually applied in the central cores of buildings (around the elevators and stairs), the use of opening as door is inevitable in steel shear wall spans. On the other hand, because of weakening the performance of steel shear walls due to the presence of these openings, it is necessary to apply stiffeners around it. The use of stiffeners around all sides of opening continued to beams and columns, is very expensive. Therefore, the necessity of studying on the effect of different arrangements of stiffeners on the behavior of steel shear walls is felt. In this research, a number of steel shear walls with different characteristics in terms of plate aspect ratio, location... 

Friction drilling or flow drilling is a method of making holes in metal sheets, in which the material is pushed with the aid of heat from friction. This procedure allows making holes in sheet metal, with a sleeve formed as the hole is created. This sleeve is then threaded and used as the nut, thus eliminating the need for access to the interior faces of hollow steel sections. On the other hand, with the development of advanced manufacturing techniques, larger and thicker hollow structural sections are becoming more popular in mid-rise and multistory structures. onsequently, flow drilling can be considered as a viable alternative for traditional drilling techniques, where the material is... 

The present study looks into the fracture of perforated steel plates and their sensitivity in ductile fracture. It also examines the effects of strain rise phenomenon in these specimens. The main employed fracture model is VGM, which was first introduced by Rice and Tracey, and later enhanced by Kanvinde et al.. The general methodology includes finite element simulation and lab experiments on perforated plates, to determine ductility, strain concentration in hole periphery and model sensitivity. Fot thid purpose 86 steel sheet specimen with different holes and cuts were manufactured and tested. With the acquired data, the impact of strain concentration on the load carrying capabilities and... 

Various forms of springs are applicable, among which spiral and leaf springs can be named. Definition of leaf springs is conventionally applied to constant-width springs and is consisted of step-like leaves, each leaf having constant width. Leaf springs are largely used in vehicles, where they act as a part of suspension system supporting the weight of the vehicle along with connecting spots axles to the chassis. Springs so installed are capable of handling starting and stopping torques as well as sudden vibrations due to load carrying. Most Conventional method of manufacturing leaf springs is to bend strips of appropriate steel between curved dies, quench the strip while held between the... 

Using shear walls as an earthquake resistant system in reinforced concrete structures enjoys prominent position among civil engineers in recent years. As most produced stress and damage occurs at the edges of shear wall under combination of vertical and lateral loads, it is expected that seismic behavior of shear walls can be improved by using boundary element at their edges and considering special reinforcing rules. In this thesis, the effect of boundary element details and parameters on seismic behavior of shear walls has been evaluated by a finite element model. By comparing the results with parameters specified in codes, the modeling parameters and performance levels given for shear... 

Spinal Column is one of the most important parts of musculoskeletal system. Injuries in this region are so rampant and causing vast expense. Risk factors related to spine injuries included personal related ones such as, age, sex, muscles’ strength and career related ones such as body positions at work place and loads. Since in vivo measurements have many restrictions, developing biomechanical models that simulate the response of a person to given loads and conditions has important role in preventing injuries and improving working conditions. Inputs to current models of the spine are considered to have mean value, therefore muscles’ forces and other outputs of these models have single value... 

Shear wall has been widely used in RC structures due to high initial stiffness and lateral load capacity. Hence, the behavior and effectiveness of retrofitting technique on shear wall are needed to be investigated widely. Among several available techniques for retrofitting RC structures, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is quite effective because of its high strength-weight ratio, high resistance to corrosion and easy handling and installation. Several researchers have investigated on the behavior of retrofitted RC members with FRP jackets like columns. However, application of FRP laminates on RC walls has attracted less attention by researchers. In this study a numerical investigation on... 

This study aims to provide a multiscale model of traumatic brain injury including the three levels of macro, meso, and microscale information. In order to do this, a macroscale voxel-baed model of human head was constructed. The model was designed and generated to include mesoscale tissue information as well as a voxel-based approach to include voxel-based microscale data and to be coupled in a multiscale framework. Next, three different microscale models were constructed. The variations of fractional anisotropy within one standard deviation in the regions (including 60% to 70% of voxels) can change the stiffness of the tissue by up to the considerable amount of 40%. The microscale models... 

Spinal fusion surgery is usually followed by accelerated degenerative changes in the unfused segments above and below the treated segment(s), i.e., adjacent segment disease (ASD). While a number of risk factors for ASD have been suggested, its exact pathogenesis remains to be identified. Finite element (FE) models are indispensable tools to investigate mechanical effects of fusion surgeries on post-fusion changes in the adjacent segment kinematics and kinetics. Existing modeling studies validate only their intact FE model against in vitro data and subsequently simulate post-fusion in vivo conditions. The present study provides a novel approach for the comprehensive validation of a lumbar... 

Financial losses and casualties due to the collapse of the masonry facade and the infill walls of the building in recent earthquakes were motivators of this research to study seismic performance assessment of masonry facade. One of the main reasons for the collapse of buildings facade is their inadequate connection to the infill walls and structure frame. The mentioned item caused when earthquakes such as Kermanshah earthquake occurred, although a large number of buildings remained undamaged in terms of their structural, facades of these buildings collapsed. The details of the masonry facade, such as the metal wires mentioned in the codes, are not usually applied in Iran, and the connection... 

Preservation of historical monuments is a very important issue for future generations. The importance of this issue is doubled when we know that most of these buildings are traditionally built and do not have a single structure to withstand seismic loads. One of such buildings in our country is Bam Citadel, which was completely destroyed as the oldest brick building in the world during the 2003 Bam earthquake.In this project, we will try to find a model that can determine the structural behavior of the historical dome of Soltanieh for engineers in a case study. This building is a brick dome with a height of 48.5 meters and a diameter of 24.4 meters from the seventh century , which is unique... 

Passive finite element (FE) models of the spine are commonly used to simulate intact and various pre- and postoperative pathological conditions. Being devoid of muscles, these traditional passive FE models are driven by simplistic loading scenarios, e.g., a constant moment and compressive follower load (FL) that do not properly mimic the complex in vivo loading condition of the spine under muscle exertions. The present works therefore aims to develop novel passive FE models that are driven by more realistic yet simple loading scenarios, i.e., in vivo measured vertebral rotations and pathological-condition dependent FLs (estimated based on detailed musculoskeletal finite element (MS-FE) spine... 

The flexibility of beam to column connections and its effect on behavior of steel structures is one of the most important problems, which is interesting to engineers and scientists for more than 80 years. Hence many studies conducted on this topic to clarify the behavior of this type of connection. In this work, it is tried to study the behavior of double plate connections, which are welded to the beam web by finite element modeling and mathematical method. A novelty of this thesis is some top trough plate which has been implemented to column under beam flange. Based on finding of this thesis few recommendation can be made related to usage of top trough plate. In brief reduction of... 

One of the most efficient methods in stiffening tall buildings to withstand lateral loads such as wind loading is to link the shear resisting core to the exterior columns using outrigger trusses. Many tall buildings such as Taipei 101 have benefited from outriggers. In this system, the outriggers force the perimeter frame to take part in resisting the bending moment of the lateral load acting on the structure by developing axial restraining forces in the windward and the leeward columns of the perimeter frame and forming a resisting moment.Most of the present analytical methods have studied the performance of outrigger braced structures neglecting shear deformation of the shear wall core and... 

Thermal analysis of concrete arch dams is always an important issue in designig these enormous concrete structures. The reason this issue mainly concerns arch dams and not gravity dams is because of little thickness of arch dams which makes them prone to cracking due to thermal loading. To solve any thermal problem we need boundary conditions. In arch dam case, these boundaries are the temperature of the upstream and downstream face of the dam which, depending on circumstances, can be in touch with water or air. Estimating air temperature is a fairly easy task when you have monthly mean temperatures. The challenging part is defining water temperature in any depth of the reservoir whenever we... 

In the last decade Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) widely has been used to strengthening the reinforced concrete (RC) members. Most of the research works have been concentrated on the design of shear members with FRP layers. Based on the reported results, increasing the shear reinforcement more than a certain amount, the shear capacity and ultimate strength of reinforced concrete deep beam does not increased, On the other hand, The presence of web openings in such beams is frequently required to provide accessibility such as doors and windows or to accommodate essential services such as ventilating and air conditioning ducts, So the external strengthening of the reinforced concrete deep beams...