Search results for "Stiffness"

Prediction of Dissipative Properties of Flax Fibers Reinforced Laminates by Vibration Analysis

2016

This study proposes an experimental-numeric method to identify the viscoelastic properties of flax fibres reinforced composite laminate (flax/epoxide). The used method consists in identifying the evolutions of both loss factor and stiffness when vibrational frequency changes. In this way, several free-free symmetrically guided beams are excited on a dynamic range of 10 to 4000 Hz with sweep sine excitation focused around the 4-first’s modes. Fractional derivative Zener model is used to identify the on-axis ply complex moduli and describe the laminate dissipative linear behavior with the classical laminate theory. Results obtained on a quasi-isotropic laminate show that this model adequately…

Anisotropy of the stiffness and strength of rigid low-density closed-cell polyisocyanurate foams

2016

The cells of polymer foams are usually extended in the foam rise direction, causing a geometrical anisotropy, the degree of which, characterized by the cell aspect ratio R, depends on foam density and production method. Such elongated cell shape translates into anisotropy of the mechanical properties of foams. Rigid low-density closed-cell polyisocyanurate foams of apparent density ranging from ca. 30 to 75 kg/m3, containing polyols derived from renewable resources, have been produced and tested for the stiffness and strength in the foam rise and transverse directions in order to experimentally characterize their mechanical anisotropy. Analytical relations for foams with rectangular paralle…

Modelling of the fracture toughness anisotropy in fiber reinforced concrete

2015

Steel fiber reinforced concrete is potentially very promising material with unique properties, which currently is widely used in some applications, such as floors and concrete pavements. However, lack of robust and reliable models of fiber reinforced concrete fracture limits its application as structural material. In this work a numerical model is proposed for predicting the crack growth in fiber reinforced concrete. The mixing of the steel fibers with the concrete usually creates nonuniform fibers distribution with more fibers oriented in horizontal direction, than in vertical. Simple numerical models of fiber reinforced concrete require a priori knowledge of the crack growth direction in …

On the use of EMI for the assessment of dental implant stability

2014

The achievement and the maintenance of dental implant stability are prerequisites for the long-term success of the osseointegration process. Since implant stability occurs at different stages, it is clinically required to monitor an implant over time, i.e. between the surgery and the placement of the artificial tooth. In this framework, non-invasive tests able to assess the degree of osseointegration are necessary. In this paper, the electromechanical impedance (EMI) method is proposed to monitor the stability of dental implants. A 3D finite element model of a piezoceramic transducer (PZT) bonded to a dental implant placed into the bone was created, considering the presence of a bone- impla…

Two multilayered plate models with transverse shear warping functions issued from three dimensional elasticity equations

2014

Abstract A multilayered plate theory which uses transverse shear warping functions is presented. Two methods to obtain the transverse shear warping functions from three-dimensional elasticity equations are proposed. The warping functions are issued from the variations of transverse shear stresses computed at specific points of a simply supported plate. The first method considers an exact 3D solution of the problem. The second method uses the solution provided by the model itself: the transverse shear stresses are computed integrating equilibrium equations. Hence, an iterative process is applied, the model is updated with the new warping functions, and so on. Once the sets of warping functio…

A new dynamic identification technique: application to the evaluation of the equivalent strut for infilled frames

2003

A new time domain identification technique for systems under Gaussian white noise input is presented, requiring for its application the measurement of the system response but no information about input intensity. The technique proposed is based on the statistic moment equations derived by using a special class of mathematical models named "potential models". These models allow one to determine fundamental properties of the response statistics, making it possible to identify stiffness and dissipation features of a structural system, and also to determine the excitation input. The technique proposed is here applied to the identification of the strut equivalent to the infill of a single story-…

An open-source GA framework for optimizing the seismic upgrading design of RC frames through BRBs

2022

Abstract Optimizing seismic upgrading interventions in reinforced concrete (RC) structures is a difficult task, due to the inner non-linearity of the analyses usually performed. Additionally, it is well known that the displacement demand to the structure depends from the mass and stiffness of the system, and consequently its definition cannot be made a-priori. This paper presents the application of a soft-computing method -i.e. Genetic Algorithm (GA)- for the shaping optimization of code-compliant seismic upgrading interventions on plane RC frames through Buckling-Restrained Braces (BRB). The metaheuristic procedure allows to minimize the cost while ensuring the required safety level, witho…

2021

ObjectiveLoss of sex hormones has been suggested to underlie menopause-associated increment in cardiovascular risk. We investigated associations of sex hormones with arterial stiffness in 19–58-years-old women. We also studied associations of specific hormonal stages, including natural menstrual cycle, cycle with combined oral contraceptives (COC) and menopausal status with or without hormone therapy (HT), with arterial stiffness.MethodsThis study includes repeated measurements of 65 healthy women representing reproductive (n=16 natural, n=10 COC-users) and menopause (n=5 perimenopausal, n=26 postmenopausal, n=8 HT-users) stages. Arterial stiffness outcomes were aortic pulse wave velocity (…

Unfavourable interaction of microalbuminuria and mildly reduced creatinine clearance on aortic stiffness in essential hypertension

2010

The aim of our study was to assess the independent relationships of urinary albumin excretion rate (AER), of creatinine clearance (CrCl) and of their interaction with aortic stiffness in hypertensive patients without overt renal insufficiency. We studied 222 untreated nondiabetic essential hypertensives. In patients with reliable 24-h urine collections, AER and CrCl were determined. Microalbuminuria (MAU) was defined as an AER of 20 to 200microg/min. Aortic stiffness was assessed by measurement of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (c-f PWV). C-f PWV was higher in subjects with MAU than in those without it (p<0.001, even after adjustment for age, sex and mean arterial pressure) and in subj…

A thermodynamic approach to nonlocal plasticity and related variational principles

1999

Elastic-plastic rate-independent materials with isotropic hardening/softening of nonlocal nature are considered in the context of small displacements and strains. A suitable thermodynamic framework is envisaged as a basis of a nonlocal associative plasticity theory in which the plastic yielding laws comply with a (nonlocal) maximum intrinsic dissipation theorem. Additionally, the rate response problem for a (continuous) set of (macroscopic) material particles, subjected to a given total strain rate field, is discussed and shown to be characterized by a minimum principle in terms of plastic coefficient. This coefficient and the relevant continuum tangent stiffness matrix are shown to admit, …