• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.167-182
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• 2010

An adaptronic strut for machine tools with parallel kinematics for compensation of the influence of geometric errors is introduced. Implemented within the strut is a piezoelectric sensor-actuator unit separated in function. In the first part of this contribution, the functional principle of the strut is presented. For use of one piezoelectric transducer as both, sensor and actuator as so-called self-sensing actuator, the acquisition of the sensing signal while actuating simultaneously using electrical bridge circuits as well as filter properties are examined. In the second part the control concept developed for the adaptronic strut is presented. A co-simulation model of the strut for simulating the controlled multi-body behavior of the strut is set-up. The control design for the strut as a stand-alone system is tested under various external loads. Finally, the strut is implemented into a model of the complete machine tool and the influence of the controlled strut onto the behavior of the machine tool is examined.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.193-206
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• 2010

Organic fouling and biofouling pose a significant challenge to the membrane filtration process. Photocatalysis-membrane hybrid system is a novel idea for reducing these membranes fouling however, when $TiO_2 photocatalyst nanoparticles are used in suspension, catalyst recovery is not only imposes an extra step on the process but also significantly contributes to increased membrane resistance and reduced permeate flux. In this study, $TiO_2$ photocatalyst has been immobilized by coating on the microfiltration (MF) membrane surface to minimize organic and microbial fouling. Nano-sized $TiO_2$ was first synthesized by a sol-gel method. The synthesized $TiO_2$ was coated on a Poly Vinyl Difluoride (PVDF) membrane (MF) surface using spray coating and dip coating techniques to obtain hybrid functional composite membrane. The characteristics of the synthesized photocatalyst and a functional composite membrane were studied using numerous instruments in terms of physical, chemical and electrical properties. In comparison to the clean PVDF membrane, the $TiO_2$ coated MF membrane was found more effective in removing methylene blue (20%) and E-coli (99%).

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.557-568
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• 2020

In this study, the impact of ring supports around the shell circumferential has been examined for their various positions along the shell axial length using Rayleigh-Ritz formulation. These shells are stiffened by rings in the tangential direction. For isotropic materials, the physical properties are same everywhere where the laminated and functionally graded materials, they vary from point to point. Here the shell material has been taken as functionally graded material. The influence of the ring supports is investigated at various positions. These variations have been plotted against the locations of ring supports for three values of length-to-diameter ratios. Effect of ring supports with middle layer thickness is presented using the Rayleigh-Ritz procedure with three different conditions. The influence of the positions of ring supports for clamped-clamped is more visible than simply supported and clamped-free end conditions. The frequency first increases and gain maximum value in the midway of the shell length and then lowers down. The Lagrangian functional is created by adding the energy expressions for the shell and rings. The axial modal deformations are approximated by making use of the beam functions. The comparisons of frequencies have been made for efficiency and robustness for the present numerical procedure. Throughout the computation, it is observed that the frequency behavior for the boundary conditions follow as; clamped-clamped, simply supported-simply supported frequency curves are higher than that of clamped-simply curves. To generate the fundamental natural frequencies and for better accuracy and effectiveness, the computer software MATLAB is used.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.569-578
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• 2018

This paper aims to investigate the transient vibration behavior of functionally graded carbon nanotube (FG-CNT) reinforced nanocomposite plate resting on Pasternak foundation under pulse excitation. The plate is considered to be composed of matrix material and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with distribution as per the functional grading concept. The functionally graded distribution patterns in nanocomposite plate are explained more appropriately with the layer-wise variation of carbon nanotubes weight fraction in the thickness coordinate. The layers are stacked up in such a way that it yields uniform and three other types of distribution patterns. The effective material properties of each layer in nanocomposite plate are obtained by modified Halpin-Tsai model and rule of mixtures. The governing equations of an illustrative case of simply-supported nanocomposite plate resting on the Pasternak foundation are derived from third order shear deformation theory and Navier's solution technique. A converge transient response of nanocompiste plate under uniformly distributed load with triangular pulse is obtained by varying number of layer in thickness direction. The validity and accuracy of the present model is also checked by comparing the results with those available in literature for isotropic case. Then, numerical examples are presented to highlight the effects of distribution patterns, foundation stiffness, carbon nanotube parameters and plate aspect ratio on the central deflection response. The results are extended with the consideration of proportional damping in the system and found that nanocomposite plate with distribution III have minimum settling time as compared to the other distributions.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.563-575
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• 2014

Concrete which is a composite material is frequently used in construction works. Properties and behavior of concrete are significant under the effect of different loading cases. Impact loading which is a sudden dynamic one may have destructive effects on structures. Testing apparatuses are designed to investigate the impact effect on test members. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is a computational model that is inspired by the structure or functional aspects of biological neural networks. It can be defined as an emulation of biological neural system. In this study, impact parameters as acceleration and impact force values of a reinforced concrete slab are obtained by using a testing apparatus and essential test devices. Afterwards, ANN analysis which is used to model different physical dynamic processes depending on several variables is performed in the numerical part of the study. Finally, test and predicted results are compared and it's seen that ANN analysis is an alternative way to predict the results successfully.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of total polymer concentration on the chemical structure, morphology of pores, porosity, swelling ratio, degradation of gelatin-poly (vinyl alcohol) (Gel-PVA) cryogel scaffolds. Porous cryogels were prepared with cryogelation technique by using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker. Functional group composition of cryogels after crosslinking was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The morphology of cryogels was characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and porosity analysis. All of the cryogels had a porous structure with an average pore size between $45.58{\pm}14.28$ and $50.14{\pm}4.26{\mu}m$. The cryogels were biodegradable and started to degrade in 14 days. As the polymer concentration increased the swelling ratio, the porosity and the degradation rate decreased. Spongy and mechanically stable Gel-PVA cryogels, with tunable properties, can be potential candidates as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.353-365
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• 2023

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have emerged as a novel functional material that is being increasingly applied in diverse fields including medical, aeronautical and structural engineering to be used in the active, passive and semi-active structural control devices. This paper is mainly aimed at evaluating the ductility and response modification factor of the steel plate shear wall (SPSW) frames with and without the Ni-Ti shape memory alloys. To this end, different configurations were utilized, in which the walls were used in the first, third, middle, and all stories. The models were numerically analyzed using OpenSees Software. The obtained results indicate that improving the shape memory properties of alloys can greatly enhance the ductility and response modification factor. Furthermore, the model whose first and third stories are equipped with the SMA shear wall was found to be 290% more ductile, with a greater response modification factor compared to the unequipped frame.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.427-435
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• 2022

Static stability behaviors of annular sandwich plates constructed from two layers of particle-reinforced nanocomposites have been investigated in the present article. The type of nanoscale particles has been considered to be graphene oxide powders (GOPs). The particles are assumed to have uniform and graded dispersions inside the matrix and the material properties have been defined according to Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model. The core layer is assumed to have honeycomb configuration. Annular plate has been formulated according to thin shell assumptions considering geometrical nonlinearities. After solving the governing equations via Galerkin's technique, it is showed that the post-buckling curves of annular sandwich plates rely on the core wall thickness, amount of GOP particles, sector radius, and thickness of layers.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.4
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• pp.355-368
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• 2023

Employing the non-local strain gradient theory (NSGT), this paper investigates the nonlinear resonance characteristics of functionally graded material (FGM) nanoshells with initial geometric imperfection for the first time. The effective material properties of the porous FGM nanoshells with even distribution of porosities are estimated by a modified power-law model. With the guidance of Love's thin shell theory and considering initial geometric imperfection, the strain equations of the shells are obtained. In order to characterize the small-scale effect of the nanoshells, the nonlocal parameter and strain gradient parameter are introduced. Subsequently, the Euler-Lagrange principle was used to derive the motion equations. Considering three boundary conditions, the Galerkin principle combined with the modified Lindstedt Poincare (MLP) method are employed to discretize and solve the motion equations. Finally, the effects of initial geometric imperfection, functional gradient index, strain gradient parameters, non-local parameters and porosity volume fraction on the nonlinear resonance of the porous FGM nanoshells are examined.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.261-273
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• 2020

This paper presents an efficient method utilizing user-defined computer functional codes to determine the reliability of an embankment slope with spatially varying soil properties in real time. The soils' mechanical properties varied with the soil layers that had different degrees of compaction and moisture content levels. The Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) for the degree of compaction and Kriging simulation of moisture content variation were adopted and programmed to predict their spatial distributions, respectively, that were subsequently used to characterize the spatial distribution of the soil shear strengths. The shear strength parameters were then integrated into the Geostudio command file to determine the safety factor of the embankment slope. An explicit metamodal for the performance function, using the Kriging method, was established and coded to efficiently compute the failure probability of slope with varying moisture contents. Sensitivity analysis showed that the proposed method significantly reduced the computational time compared to Monte Carlo simulation. About 300 times LHS Geostudio computations were needed to optimize precision and efficiency in determining the failure probability. The results also revealed that an embankment slope is prone to high failure risk if the degree of compaction is low and the moisture content is high.