Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, employing a thermomechanical small strain constitutive model for shape memory polymers (SMP), a beam element made of SMPs is presented based on the kinematic assumptions of Timoshenko beam theory. Considering the low stiffness of SMPs, the necessity for developing a Timoshenko beam element becomes more prominent. This is due to the fact that relatively thicker beams are required in the design procedure of smart structures. Furthermore, in the design and optimization process of these structures which involves a large number of simulations, we cannot rely only on the time consuming 3D finite element analyses. In order to properly validate the developed formulations, the numeric... 

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of turbine inlet temperature on the transient phase of expansion cycle liquid propellant rocket engines during start. For this purpose, the non-linear differential mathematical model for 15 main components of the engine is derived, and the corresponding interaction between them is established. Afterward, the model is simulated using MATLAB Simulink, and 150 equations are solved with the Newton–Raphson method. The RL10 expansion cycle liquid propellant rocket engine is selected as a case study, and its dynamic behavior is simulated, and the results are compared with the experimental data. The simulation results showed that the... 

As a primary load-resisting component, annulus fibrosus (AF) maintains structural integrity of the entire intervertebral disc. Experiments have demonstrated that permanent deformation and damage take place in the tissue under mechanical loads. Development of an accurate model to capture the complex behaviour of AF tissue is hence crucial in disc model studies. We, therefore, aimed to develop a non-homogenous model to capture elastic, inelastic and failure responses of the AF tissue and the entire disc model under axial load. Our model estimations satisfactorily agreed with results of existing uniaxial (along fiber, circumferential and axial directions) and biaxial tissue-level tests. The... 

The main source of energy consumption in the current MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks is idle listening. To mitigate this problem, duty cycling is used. However, it increases data delivery latency. In this paper, we propose an Interference-aware duty-cycle MAC (IMAC) protocol for wireless sensor networks that uses cross-layer information to reserve multiple paths for each source and send data packets along them efficiently. IMAC also handles the existing interference between these paths such that data packets can be delivered in the minimum required number of cycles. Simulation results in ns-2 show that the proposed algorithm has an average reduction of 49% in data delivery latency... 

In this paper, the elastic solution to the problem of an isotropic bi-material full-space reinforced by a perfectly bonded thin film across the media interface and subjected to arbitrary asymmetric interfacial loading is addressed. To not include any simplifications, the thin film is first considered as a layer having a finite thickness, and with the aid of Fourier expansion of Muki's potential functions in Hankel transformed space, the formulation of the problem is obtained for a tri-material full-space. Then, knowing that the flexural stiffness of the thin film is negligible, its thickness and shear modulus are assumed to tend to zero and infinity, respectively, such that its in-plane... 

The increasing importance of nanotechnology in the field of biomedical applications has encouraged the development of new nanomaterials endowed with multiple functions. Novel nanoscale drug delivery systems with diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic properties hold many promises for the treatment of different types of diseases, including cancer, infection and neurodegenerative syndromes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are both low-dimensional sp2 carbon nanomaterials exhibiting many unique physical and chemical properties that are interesting in a wide range of areas including nanomedicine. Since 2004, CNTs have been extensively explored as drug delivery carriers for the intracellular transport of... 

In this study knee joint vibroarthrographic (VAG) signals are recorded during active knee movements, which are essentially non-stationary. Because of this nature, common frequency methods are unable to represent the signals, accurately. Both time-frequency and time-scale transforms are used in this research which are good tools for studying non-stationary signals. By optimizing the utilized transforms, it was concluded that the wavelet packet, having the ability of multiresolutional analysis, is a more promising method to extract features from the VAG signals. The performance of different feature extraction techniques were compared by using three new recorded and extensive databases,... 

An analytical derivation of the elastodynamic fundamental solutions for a transversely isotropic tri-material full-space is presented by means of a complete representation using two displacement potentials. The complete set of three-dimensional point-load, patch-load, and ring-load Green's functions for stresses and displacements are given, for the first time, in the complex-plane line-integral representations. The formulation includes a complete set of transformed stress-potential and displacement-potential relations in the framework of Fourier expansions and Hankel integral transforms, that is useful in a variety of elastodynamic as well as elastostatic problems. For the numerical... 

In this paper, the predictions of different beam theories for the behavior of a shape memory polymer (SMP) beam in different steps of a thermomechanical cycle are compared. Employing the equilibrium equations, the governing equations of the deflection of a SMP beam in the different steps of a thermomechanical cycle, for higher order beam theories (Timoshenko Beam Theory and von-Kármán Beam Theory), are developed. For the Timoshenko Beam Theory, a closed form analytical solution for various steps of the thermomechanical cycle is presented. The nonlinear governing equations in von-Kármán Beam theory are numerically solved. Results reveal that in the various beam length to beam thickness... 

Epidemiological studies have identified obesity as a possible risk factor for low back disorders. Biomechanical models can help test such hypothesis and shed light on the mechanism involved. A novel subject-specific musculoskeletal-modelling approach is introduced to estimate spinal loads during static activities in five healthy obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) and five normal-weight (20 < BMI < 25 kg/m2) individuals. Subjects underwent T1 through S1 MR imaging thereby measuring cross-sectional-area (CSA) and moment arms of trunk muscles together with mass and center of mass (CoM) of T1-L5 segments. MR-based subject-specific models estimated spinal loads using a kinematics/optimization-driven... 

Epidemiological studies have identified obesity asa possible risk factor for low back disorders. Biomechanical models can help test such hypothesis and shed light on the mechanism involved. A novel subject-specific musculoskeletal-modelling approach is introduced to estimate spinal loads during static activities in five healthy obese (BMI>30kg/m2) and five normal-weight (20