• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.333-338
• /
• 2017

In this paper, nonlinear vibration of embedded nanocomposite concrete is investigated based on Timoshenko beam model. The beam is reinforced by with agglomerated silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles. Mori-Tanaka model is used for considering agglomeration effects and calculating the equivalent characteristics of the structure. The surrounding foundation is simulated with Pasternak medium. Energy method and Hamilton's principal are used for deriving the motion equations. Differential quadrature method (DQM) is applied in order to obtain the frequency of structure. The effects of different parameters such as volume percent of SiO2 nanoparticles, nanoparticles agglomeration, elastic medium, boundary conditions and geometrical parameters of beam are shown on the frequency of system. Numerical results indicate that with increasing the SiO2 nanoparticles, the frequency of structure increases. In addition, considering agglomeration effects leads to decrease in frequency of system.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.585-610
• /
• 2018

In this study, vibration analysis of a concrete foundation-reinforced by $SiO_2$ nanoparticles resting on soil bed is investigated. The soil medium is simulated with spring constants. Furthermore, the Mori-Tanaka low is used for obtaining the material properties of nano-composite structure and considering agglomeration effects. Using third order shear deformation theory or Reddy theory, the total potential energy of system is calculated and by means of the Hamilton's principle, the coupled motion equations are obtained. Also, based an analytical method, the frequency of system is calculated. The effects of volume percent and agglomeration of $SiO_2$ nanoparticles, soil medium and geometrical parameters of structure are shown on the frequency of system. Results show that with increasing the volume percent of $SiO_2$ nanoparticles, the frequency of structure is increased.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.67 no.3
• /
• pp.311-316
• /
• 2018

Vibration of concrete beams reinforced by agglomerated silicon dioxide ($SiO_2$) nanoparticles is studied based on numerical methods. The structure is simulated by Euler-Bernoulli beam model and the Mori-Tanaka model is used for obtaining the effective material properties of the structure. The concrete beam is located in soil medium which is modeled by spring elements. The motion equations are derived based on energy method and Hamilton's principle. Based on exact solution, the frequency of the structure is calculated. The effects of different parameters such as volume percent of $SiO_2$ nanoparticles and agglomeration, soil medium and geometrical parameters of beam are shown on the frequency of system. The results show that with increasing the volume percent of $SiO_2$ nanoparticles, the frequency increases.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.291-296
• /
• 2014

In recent years, researchers have extensively investigated polymers filled with inorganic nanoparticles because these materials present improved physical properties relative to those of conventional unfilled polymers. Oxides, silica in particular, are the most commonly used inorganic particles because they possess good properties and can be fabricated at a low cost. However, oxides are hydrophilic in nature, and this leads to the presence of water at the interface between the nanoparticles and the polymer matrix. Due to the predominance of particle-matrix interfaces in nanocomposites, the presence of water at the interlayer region can be problematic. Moreover, the hydrophobic nature of most polymers, particularly for polyolefins such as polyethylene, may make it difficult to remove this interfacial water. In this paper, as-received and moistened samples of agglomerated nanosilica/polyethylene were dried using an isothermal treatment at $60^{\circ}C$, and the efficacy of this treatment was studied using dielectric spectroscopy. The Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars relaxation peaks were observed to shift to lower frequencies by three decades, and this was linked to a modification of the water content, due to drying, at the interfaces between silica and polyethylene and at the interfaces within the nanosilica agglomerates. The evolution of the extracted retardation time is explained by the nanosilica hydrophily and the free volume introduced by the nanoparticles.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.65 no.1
• /
• pp.121-128
• /
• 2018

Three structure-dependent integration methods with no numerical dissipation have been successfully developed for time integration. Although these three integration methods generally have the same numerical properties, such as unconditional stability, second-order accuracy, explicit formulation, no overshoot and no numerical damping, there still exist some different numerical properties. It is found that TLM can only have unconditional stability for linear elastic and stiffness softening systems for zero viscous damping while for nonzero viscous damping it only has unconditional stability for linear elastic systems. Whereas, both CEM and CRM can have unconditional stability for linear elastic and stiffness softening systems for both zero and nonzero viscous damping. However, the most significantly different property among the three integration methods is a weak instability. In fact, both CRM and TLM have a weak instability, which will lead to an adverse overshoot or even a numerical instability in the high frequency responses to nonzero initial conditions. Whereas, CEM possesses no such an adverse weak instability. As a result, the performance of CEM is much better than for CRM and TLM. Notice that a weak instability property of CRM and TLM might severely limit its practical applications.