Sharif Digital Repository

Two artificial neural networks (ANNs) are constructed, trained, and tested to map inputs of a complex trunk finite element (FE) model to its outputs for spinal loads and muscle forces. Five input variables (thorax flexion angle, load magnitude, its anterior and lateral positions, load handling technique, i.e., one- or two-handed static lifting) and four model outputs (L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc compression and anterior-posterior shear forces) for spinal loads and 76 model outputs (forces in individual trunk muscles) are considered. Moreover, full quadratic regression equations mapping input-outputs of the model developed here for muscle forces and previously for spine loads are used to compare the... 

We derive exact dispersion relations for axial and flexural elastic wave motion in a rod and a beam under finite deformation. For axial motion we consider a simple rod model, and for flexural motion we employ the Euler-Bernoulli kinematic hypothesis and consider both a conventional transverse motion model and an inextensional planar motion model. The underlying formulation uses the Cauchy stress and the Green-Lagrange strain without omission of higher order terms. For all models, we consider linear constitutive relations in order to isolate the effect of finite motion. The proposed theory, however, is applicable to problems that also exhibit material nonlinearity. For the rod model, we... 

The classical continuum theory is neither able to accurately model the mechanical behavior of micro/nano-scale structures nor capable of justifying the size-dependent behavior observed in these structures; so the non-classical continuum theories such as the strain gradient theory have been emerged and developed. In order to enable the finite element method (FEM) to more accurately deal with the problems in micro/nano-scale structures, a size-dependent Euler-Bernoulli beam element is developed based on the strain gradient theory. Compared to the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam element, the nodal displacement vector of the new Euler-Bernoulli beam element has an additional component, i.e. the... 

An effective procedure to incorporate kinematic interaction (KI) aspects in seismic analysis of soil-structures systems was presented. In this regard, first, the effect of KI on the structural response was investigated with special focus on the role of rocking component of foundation input motion (FIM). This was performed parametrically for a wide range of selected nondimensional parameters, which well define the introduced simplified soil-structure model. It was observed that ignoring the effect of rocking input motion may introduce errors, which can be on the unsafe side especially for slender structures with large embedment ratios. On the other hand, it was known that introducing the... 

This study was designed to investigate the effect of changing the location of the center of mass (COM) of transfemoral prostheses on the spatiotemporal and kinematical characteristics of the amputee gait, while maintaining the prosthetic mass fixed. Ten men with unilateral traumatic transfemoral amputation participated in gait analysis, 2-min walk and subject preference tests. Weights were added to the original prosthetic legs in three conditions: 600. g added to the ankle, 600. g added at 10. cm distal to the prosthetic knee, and 300. g added to the ankle, and 300. g at 10. cm distal to the knee. For each prosthetic mass condition, the stride and step lengths, stepping speed, stance, swing... 

The application of manipulators is becoming more and more popular in object handling especially when it is desired to have access to remote areas in destructive or hazardous taskspaces. For this purpose, a hand-like mechanism must be designed to be used as an end-effector, which can grasp objects. In this paper a cable driven grasping mechanism has been presented. In the proposed mechanism each finger consists of three phalanxes which are actuated by a single motor. Locking and unlocking constraints are used in the mechanism in order to generate an anthropomorphic motion, in which, the order of reaching phalanxes to the object is sequential. In this way, each phalanx starts moving toward the... 

Solids usually show complex material behavior. If deformation is finite, the description of the kinematics makes the mechanical model complicated. In fact, one of the basic questions in the formulation and analysis procedures of finite deformation thermoelasticity is: "How can the finite deformation thermoelasticity response be best accounted for in the kinematic formulation?" A rather attractive way to proceed is to use the approach of small strain analysis, and decompose the total strain into a mechanical part and a thermal part. In this paper, based on the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient, the mechanical and thermal strains are defined in the power and exponential... 

Kinematic control of a special hyper-redundant manipulator with lockable joints is studied. In this manipulator, the extra cables are replaced by a locking system to reduce the weight of the structure and the number of actuators. This manipulator has discrete and continuous variables due to its locking system. Therefore, a hybrid approach has been adopted in control. At first the forward kinematics and velocity kinematics of this manipulator are derived, and then a novel closed-loop control algorithm is presented. This algorithm consists of decision making, an inner loop controller, and kinematic calculation blocks. The decision making block is the logical part of the control scheme in which... 

Wind energy has been continuously considered as a green, available, and economical alternative source of energy. For centuries, the transformed wind energy to drag-force has been used for transportation in watercrafts. With improvement of aerodynamics, the airfoil was invented to create and use a higher magnitude aerodynamic force, lift-force, in order to elevate airplanes. Later, the lift-force was horizontally applied as the thrust force in land/water wind-crafts. Whereas in airplanes horizontal airfoils (wing) create a vertical lift-force, installed vertical airfoils (wing-sail) produce a horizontal lift-force in wind-crafts. Therefore, this force can be used as thrust (driving) force in... 

Wearable measuring system has major effects on biomechanics of human movements especially in daily activities in order to monitor and analyze the human movements to achieve the most important kinematics parameters. In the recent decade, inertial sensors were utilized by researchers in order to developing wearable system for instrumentation of human movements. In this study, Sharif-Human Movement Instrumentation System (SHARIF-HMIS) was designed and manufactured. The system consists of inertial measurement units (IMUs), stretchable clothing and data logger. The IMU sensors are installed on the human body. The system can be used at home and also industrial environments. The main features of... 

This paper presents inverse dynamics equations for a 3-UPS mechanism using virtual work principle. This mechanism has three UPS legs connecting the base to a triangular platform. By changing the orientation of leg's actuators a non-symmetric mechanism with a suitable workspace near the origin without any singularity is obtained. Direct and inverse kinematics Jacobian matrices of the mechanism are obtained by the Newton-Euler approach. Then the inverse dynamics problem is solved using the principle of virtual work, so that the force and torque of active actuators have been obtained by having external forces (force and torque) acted on the platform. Force analysis of the 3-UPS mechanism has... 

The front double wishbone suspension parameters are related as a multi-body model. By replacing the new suspension and steering hard points, the performance of the suspension system is studied using CATIA and MSC ADAMS software for modeling and analyzing, respectively. In this case two tests were done, steady state circular test in ADAMS/View and parallel wheel travel in ADAMS/Car. The strut position is directly related to Kingpin inclination angle and scrub radius. The increase the amount of these two parameters has an effect on steering performance in low speed and negative displacement, such as camber, caster and Kingpin inclination angles in negative displacement of wheels. Moreover, the... 

Green's functions of a transversely isotropic half-space overlaid by a thin coating layer are analytically obtained. The surface coating is modeled by a Kirchhoff thin plate perfectly bonded to the half-space. With the aid of superposition technique and employing appropriate displacement potential functions, the Green's functions are expressed in two parts; (i) a closed-form part corresponding to the transversely isotropic half-space with surface kinematic constraints, and (ii) a numerically evaluated part reflecting the interaction between the half-space and the plate in the form of semi-infinite integrals. Some limiting cases of the problem such as surface-stiffened isotropic half-space,... 

In this work a double step algorithm is presented for the integration of equations governing the behavior of von Mises material in plastic limit. The isotropic and kinematic hardenings employed are of general type and the evolution of back stress follows the Armstrong-Frederick rule. Theoretical and numerical aspects are discussed in detail and a comparison is made with the classical backward Euler method  

In this paper the effect of the re-autofrettage process on the residual stress distribution at the wall of a thick-walled tube is considered. For accurate material behavior modeling, it is assumed that the yield surface is a function of all the stress invariants. Also for estimating the behavior of the material under loading-unloading process, a modified Chaboche's hardening model is applied. For evaluation of this unloading behavior model a series of loading-unloading tests are conducted on specimens that are made of the high strength steel, DIN1.6959. In addition the finite element simulations are implemented to simulate the re-autofrettage process and to estimate the residual stresses.... 

In this paper, a new method is proposed for solving the obstacle avoidance problem of discretely actuated hyper-redundant manipulators. In each step of the solution, the closest collision to the base is removed and then the configuration of the next part of the manipulator is modified without considering the obstacles. This process is performed repeatedly until no collision is found. The Suthakorn method is applied to solve the inverse kinematics problem. Two new ideas are proposed to reduce the errors of this method: the two-by-two searching method, and iterations. To verify the proposed method, some problems are solved numerically for 2D and 3D manipulators, each in two different obstacle... 

Background: Asymmetric lifting activities are associated with low back pain. Methods: A finite element biomechanical model is used to estimate spinal loads during one- and two-handed asymmetric static lifting activities. Model input variables are thorax flexion angle, load magnitude as well as load sagittal and lateral positions while response variables are L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc compression and shear forces. A number of levels are considered for each input variable and all their possible combinations are introduced into the model. Robust yet user-friendly predictive equations that relate model responses to its inputs are established. Findings: Predictive equations with adequate... 

In this paper the previous velocity field proposed by the authors for the prediction of strain field and deformation load of circular cross section billet in ECAE process has been extended to take into account the deformation behavior of bimetal circular billet in the same process. Accordingly, using Bezier method, as a robust method for determining the geometry of the streamlines, the strain field developed in the circular bimetal billet is calculated. Then, based on the kinematically admissible velocity and strain fields and using the upper bound theorem the ECAE load is predicted. It was found that at constant inner corner angle of ECAE die, with decreasing of outer curve corner the... 

Recently, Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) have been receiving more attention and further study, due to their ability to develop extremely large, recoverable strains and great forces. In this paper, three major models of SMA behavior, used in the literature, for studying the static performance of SMA components attributed to Tanaka, Liang and Rogers, and Brinson, have been analyzed and compared. The major differences and similarities between these models have also been emphasized and presented in this paper, based on the experimental data of the shape memory and superelastic behavior of an SMA wire. It is shown that these models all agree well in their prediction of the superelastic behavior of... 

In this paper, the evolution of ductile damage and the failure is investigated in the cyclic loading of ductile metals based on the rate-dependent elasto-viscoplastic damage model with the linear and nonlinear isotropic-kinematic hardening rules. The constitutive model is derived by introducing the damage variable, based on the plastic strain behavior, in both the elasto-plasticity and visco-plasticity frameworks. The cyclic behavior is modeled by using the visco-plasticity model since the rate-dependent behavior is observed experimentally for various metal alloys. In order to obtain a more realistic response in the compression zone, the crack closure effect is employed in the stress-strain...