• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.671-686
• /
• 2019

Active control of solar panels with honeycomb core and carbon nanotube reinforced composite (CNTRC) facesheets for smart structures using piezoelectric patch sensor and actuator to reduce the amplitude of vibration is a lack of the previous study and it is the novelty of this research. Of active control elements are piezoelectric patches which act as sensors and actuators in many systems. Their low power consumption is worth mentioning. Thus, deriving a simple and efficient model of piezoelectric patch's elastic, electrical, and elastoelectric properties would be of much significance. In the present study, first, to reduce vibrations in composite plates reinforced by carbon nanotubes, motion equations were obtained by the extended rule of mixture. Second, to simulate the equations of the system, up to 36 mode shape vectors were considered so that the stress strain behavior of the panel and extent of displacement are thoroughly evaluated. Then, to have a more acceptable analysis, the effects of external disturbances (Aerodynamic forces) and lumped mass are investigated on the stability of the system. Finally, elastoelectric effects are examined in piezoelectric patches. The results of the present research can be used for micro-vibration suppression in satellites such as solar panels, space telescopes, and interferometers and also to optimize active control panel for various applications.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.495-501
• /
• 2018

Geogrid application that has proved to be an effective and economic method of reinforcing particles, is widely used in geotechnical engineering. The discrete element method (DEM) has been used to investigate the micro mechanics of the geogrid deformation and also the interlocking mechanism that cannot be easily studies in laboratory tests. Two types of realistically shaped geogrid models with square and triangle apertures were developed using parallel bonds in PFC3D. The calibration test simulations have demonstrated that the precisely shaped triangular geogrid model is also able to reproduce the deformation and strength characteristics of geogrids. Moreover, the square and triangular geogrid models were also used in DEM pull-out test simulations with idealized shape particle models for validation. The simulation results have been shown to provide good predictions of pullout force as a function of displacement especially for the initial 30 mm displacement. For the granular material of size 40 mm, both the experimental and DEM results demonstrate that the triangular geogrid of size 75 mm outperforms the square geogrid of size 65 mm. Besides, the simulations have given valuable insight into the interaction between particle and geogrid and also revealed similar deformation behavior of geogrids during pullout. Therefore, the DEM provides a tool which enable to model other possible prototype geogrid and investigate their performance before manufacture.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.547-554
• /
• 2018

Using crowdsourced sensor data collection technique, it is possible to collect high-density ground vibration data which is difficult to obtain by conventional methods. In this study, we have developed a crowdsourced ground vibration data collection system using MEMS sensors mounted on small electronic devices including smartphones, and implemented client and server based on the proposed infrastructure system design. The system is designed to gather vibration data quickly through Android-based smartphones or fixed devices based on Android Things, minimizing the usage of resource like power usage and data transmission traffic of the hardware.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.727-741
• /
• 2019

A reinforced concrete water tank is a typical functional liquid storage structure and cracks are the greatest threat to the liquid storage structure. Tanks are readily cracked due to seismic activity, thereby leading to the leakage of the stored liquid and a loss of function. In order to study the effect of cracks on liquid storage tanks, self-healing and leakage tests for bending cracks and through cracks in the walls of a reinforced concrete water tank were conducted. Material performance tests were also performed. The self-healing performance of bending cracks in a lentic environment and through cracks in a lotic environment were tested, thereby the self-healing width of bending micro-cracks in the lentic environment in the short term were determined. The through cracks had the capacity for self-healing in the lotic environment was found. The leakage characteristics of the bending cracks and through cracks were tested with the actual water head on the crack. The effects on liquid leakage of the width of bending cracks, the depth of the compression zone, and the acting head were determined. The relationships between the leakage rate and time with the height of the water head were analyzed. Based on the tests, the relationships between the crack characteristics and self-healing as well as the leakage were obtained. Thereby the references for water tank structure design and grading earthquake damage were provided.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.77 no.5
• /
• pp.637-650
• /
• 2021

The paper presents an investigation of the widely varying mechanical performance and behaviour of steel and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforced concrete beams using non-destructive techniques of Acoustic Emission (AE) and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) under four-point bending. Laboratory experiments are performed on both differently reinforced concrete beams with 0.33%, 0.52% and 1.11% of tension reinforcement against balanced section. The results show that the ultimate load-carrying capacity increases with an increase in tensile reinforcement in both cases. In addition to that, AE waveform parameters of amplitude and number of AE hits successfully correlates and picks up the divergent mechanism of cracking initiation and progression of failure in steel reinforced and GFRP reinforced concrete beams. AE activity is about 20-30% more in GFRP-RC beams as compared to steel-RC beams. It was primarily due to the lower modulus of elasticity of GFRP bars leading to much larger ductility and deflections as compared to steel-RC beams. Furthermore, AE XY event plots and longitudinal strain profiles using DIC gives an online and real-time visual display of progressive AE activity and strains respectively to efficaciously depict the crack evolution and their advancement in steel-RC and GFRP-RC beams which show a close matching with the micro-and macro-cracks visually observed in the actual beams at various stages of loading.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.39-60
• /
• 2021

The present paper is concerned with the study of nonlinear ultrasonic waves in a magneto thermo (MT) elastic armchair single-walled carbon nanotube (ASWCNT) resting on polymer matrix. The analytical formulation is developed based on Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory to account small scale effect. After developing the formal solution of the mathematical model consisting of partial differential equations, the frequency equations have been analyzed numerically by using the nonlinear foundations supported by Winkler-Pasternak model. The solution is obtained by ultrasonic wave dispersion relations. Parametric work is carried out to scrutinize the influence of the non local scaling, magneto-mechanical loadings, foundation parameters, various boundary condition and length on the dimensionless frequency of nanotube. It is noticed that the boundary conditions, nonlocal parameter, and tube geometrical parameters have significant effects on dimensionless frequency of nano tubes. The results presented in this study can provide mechanism for the study and design of the nano devices like component of nano oscillators, micro wave absorbing, nano-electron technology and nano-electro- magneto-mechanical systems (NEMMS) that make use of the wave propagation properties of armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded on polymer matrix.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2022

This paper deals with predicting comparable mechanical properties of laminated composite plates. The stiffness of an equivalent anisotropic composite plate is derived based on classical lamination theory. A novel failure criterion is defined to describe the failure behaviour of laminated composite plates based on micro-mechanics failure criteria. Finally, the theory's validation of finite element analysis results was verified. We concluded that this theory is very suitable for failure analysis of laminated composite plates for aerospace applications due to their relative simplicity and computational efficiency.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.80 no.5
• /
• pp.523-538
• /
• 2021

The mechanical behaviour and stability of coal mining engineering underground is significantly affected by ground water. In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI) technique was employed to determine the water distribution characteristics in coal specimens during saturation process, based on which the functional rule for water distribution was proposed. Then, using discrete element method (DEM), an innovative numerical modelling method was developed to simulate water-weakening effect on coal behaviour considering moisture content and water distribution. Three water distribution numerical models, namely surface-wetting model, core-wetting model and uniform-wetting model, were established to explore the water distribution influences. The feasibility and validity of the surface-wetting model were further demonstrated by comparing the simulation results with laboratory results. The investigation reveals that coal mechanical properties are affected by both water saturation coefficient and water distribution condition. For all water distribution models, micro-cracks always initiate and nucleate in the water-rich area and thus lead to distinct macro fracture characteristics. With the increase of water saturation coefficient, the failure of coal tends to be less violent with less cracks and ejected fragments. In addition, the core-wetting specimen is more sensitive to water than specimens with other water distribution models.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.82 no.6
• /
• pp.713-724
• /
• 2022

Effects of coal tensile strength and plow configuration on the coal fragmentation process was modeled by two-dimensional particles flow code (PFC2D). Three tensile strength values, 0.5, 1,5 and 3.5 MPa were considered in this numerical study. The cutters of plow penetrated in the coal for 4 mm at a rate of 0.016 m/s. According to the PFC manual, the local damping factor was 0.7. Three failure mechanism of coal during the fragmentation process by plow were modelled. The coal material beneath the cutters showed the elastic, plastic and fracturing behaviors in this analysis. In all the models, the plastic zone was fractured and some micro-cracks were induced but the elastic zone remained undamaged. It was observed that the tensile strength affected the failure mechanism of coal significantly and as it increased the extent of the fractured zone underneath the plow cutter decreased during the fragmentation process.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.84 no.6
• /
• pp.813-822
• /
• 2022

In this article, the buckling and free vibration of multi-directional FGM sandwich plates are investigated. The material properties of FGM sandwich plates are assumed to be varying continuously in the in the longitudinal, transverse and thickness directions. The material properties are evaluated based on Voigt's micro-mechanical model considering power law distribution method with arbitrary power index. Equations of motion for the buckling and vibration analysis of multi-directional FGM sandwich plate are obtained based on refined shear deformation theory. Analytical solution for simply supported multidirectional FGM sandwich plate is carried out using Navier's solution technique. The FGM sandwich plate considered in this work has a homogeneous ceramic core and two functionally graded face sheets. Influence of volume fraction index in the longitudinal, transverse and thickness direction, layer thickness, and geometrical parameter over natural frequency and critical buckling load of multi-directional FGM sandwich plate is investigated. The finding shows a multi-directional functionally graded structures perform better compared to uni-directional gradation. Hence, critical grading parameters have been identified which will guide researchers in selecting fabrication routes for improving the performance of such structures.