On subcritical development of a shear crack in a composite with viscoelastic components

We present results of an investigation of the development of a transverse shear crack in a composite material with linearly viscoelastic components under external shear load. The solution is divided into the following two main stages: determination of the time dependence of the crack tip opening displacement and determination of the crack-growth kinetics as a result of the solution of integral equations. In the first stage, we use the solution of the corresponding elastic problem of determination of the crack opening displacement and the problem of determination of the effective moduli of the composite reinforced with unidirectional discrete fibers. Using the theoretically proved principle of elasto-viscoelastic analogy and the method of Laplace inverse transformation, we obtain a solution in a time domain. In the second stage, using the criterion of critical crack opening displacement for a transverse shear crack and an equation for the viscoelastic crack opening displacement of this crack, we construct an equation of crack growth. We present results of the numerical solution, which illustrate the influence of relations between the relaxation parameters of the materials of the components on the durability of the body with a crack.     

Analysis of the hypotheses used when constructing the theory of beams and plates

The solution of the two-dimensional problem of the theory of elasticity for a strip and the three-dimensional one for a plate are formulated by simple iterations and using asymptotic estimates with respect to a small parameter. These problems arc solved in the literature by reducing the two-dimensional and three-dimensional problems to one-dimensional and two-dimensional ones, respectively, using the semi-inverse Saint-Venant's method [1, 21. It is assumed that the solution obtained by the semi-inverse method has an error of the order of the relative size of the small domain of the applied self-balanced load. The treatment of the hypotheses, introduced in the semi-inverse method, as a selection of the respective initial approximation of the method of simple iterations enables the solution process to be formalized and provides an estimate of the error. The classical theory of beams and plates is supplemented by a solution of the boundary-layer type. The procedure is illustrated by solving the problem of a strip with an applied concentrated load. An additional solution for a rectangular plate, together with the solution of a biharmonic equation, enables three boundary conditions to be satisfied on each free end surface.     

The successive approximations method for the airfoil equation

The successive approximations (or Neumann iterations) method for the solution of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind is applied here for the first time, after an appropriate modification, to a Cauchy-type singular integral equation of the first kind, the airfoil equation. The convergence of the method is investigated and three simple applications are made. The numerical implementation of the method (by using Gaussian quadrature rules) is also described in detail and numerical results verifying the accuracy and convergence of the method are displayed.     

The Robin problem for bending of elastic plates

The solution of the Robin problem in a finite domain for the system of equations modeling the bending of elastic plates with transverse shear deformation is approximated by means of a generalized Fourier series method closely connected to the structure of the boundary integral equation treatment of the problem. The theory is exemplified by numerical computation that shows a high degree of accuracy and efficiency.     

Nonlinear vibration of moderately thick laminated beams using finite element method

A finite element model is developed to study the large-amplitude free vibrations of generally-layered laminated composite beams. The Poisson effect, which is often neglected, is included in the laminated beam constitutive equation. The large deformation is accounted for by using von Karman strains and the transverse shear deformation is incorporated using a higher order theory. The beam element has eight degrees of freedom with the inplane displacement, transverse displacement, bending slope and bending rotation as the variables at each node. The direct iteration method is used to solve the nonlinear equations which are evaluated at the point of reversal of motion. The influence of boundary conditions, beam geometries, Poisson effect, and ply orientations on the nonlinear frequencies and mode shapes are demonstrated.     

The conversion of Fredholm integral equations to equivalent Cauchy problems— II. computation of resolvents

A new method is given for computing the resolvent of a large class of Fredholm integral equations. The technique is based on converting the integral equation satisfied by the resolvent to a family of two point boundary value problems. The application of invariant imbedding then gives an equivalent Cauchy problem satisfied by the resolvent kernel. The procedure is compared to previous ones based on the Bellman—Krein equation. It is shown that our method requires fewer equations to integrate if the number of output points on each axis exeeds the bank of the kernel.     

Design of closed thin-walled composite shapes for bending

A study is made of the possibility of dividing the complex bending of a structure into elementary components, and an examination is made of closed wing-type monocoque structures with a rigid contour. The structures studied are asymmetric with respect to their geometric and stiffness characteristics. They are subjected to bending without torsion and are referred to a cylindrical coordinate system (Z, S). The longitudinal displacements are determined on the basis of the method of conjugate displacements by integrating the Cauchy equation and circulation equation, with the displacement along the contour (due to its stiffness) being represented in the form of a series containing terms describing the bending of the structure. The shear strains are similarly represented. The resolvent equations are obtained by using the principle of the minimum potential strain energy of the contour.Deceased.Moscow State Aviation Institute (Technical University). Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 1, pp. 82–89, January–February, 1997.     

Generalized Sobolev's phi function for the resolvent of a Milne-type integral equation with a degenerate kernel

It is well known in the field of radiative transfer that Sobolev was the first to introduce the resolvent into Milne's integral equation with a displacement kernel. Thereafter it was shown that the resolvent plays an important role in the theory of formation of spectral lines. In the theory of line-transfer problems, the kernel representation in Milne's integral equation has been used to provide an approximate solution in a manner similar to that given by the discrete ordinales method.In this paper, by means of invariant imbedding we show how to determine an exact solution of a Milne-type integral equation with a degenerate kernel, whose form is more general than the Pincherle-Gourast kernel. A Cauchy system for the resolvent is expressed in terms of generalized Sobolev's Φ- and Ψ-functions, which are computed by solving a system of differential equations for auxiliary functions. Furthermore, these functions are expressed in terms of components of the kernel representation.     

A strip cut in a transversely isotropic elastic solid

The three-dimensional problems of a strip cut in a transversely isotropic elastic space, when the isotropy planes are perpendicular to the plane of the cut, are investigated using the asymptotic methods developed by Aleksandrov and his coauthors. Two cases of the location of the strip cut are considered: along the first axis of a Cartesian system of coordinates (Problem A) or along the second axis (Problem B). Assuming that the normal load, applied to the sides of the cut (normal separation friction) can be represented by a Fourier series, one-dimensional integral equations of problems A and B are obtained, the symbols of the kernels of which are independent of the number of the term of the Fourier series. A closed solution of the problem is derived for a special approximation of the kernel symbol. Regular and singular asymptotic methods are also used to solve the integral equations by introducing a dimensionless geometrical parameter, representing the ratio of the period of the applied wavy normal load to the thickness of the cut strip. The normal stress intensity factor on the strip boundary is calculated using the three methods of solving the integral equations indicated.     

Antiplane elastodynamic analysis of a strip weakened by multiple defects

The method of images is utilized to derive the solution of a screw dislocation under time-harmonic conditions for an elastic strip from the solution of infinite planes. The displacement and stress components are obtained for a strip under concentrated antiplane, time-harmonic traction. The dislocation solution is employed to formulate integral equation for a strip weakened by cracks and cavities. The effects of load frequency and crack orientation on the stress intensity factors are studied.     

A method of integral equations in nonlinear boundary-value problems for flat shells of the Timoshenko type with free edges

We prove the existence theorem for solutions of geometrically nonlinear boundary-value problems for elastic shallow isotropic homogeneous shells with free edges under shear model of S. P. Timoshenko. Research method consists in the reduction of the original system of equilibrium equations to a single nonlinear equation for the components of transverse shear deformations. The basis of this method are integral representations for the generalized displacements, containing an arbitrary holomorphic functions, which are determined by the boundary conditions involving the theory of one-dimensional singular integral equations.     

Elasticity solutions for functionally graded rectangular plates with two opposite edges simply supported

England (2006) [13] proposed a novel method to study the bending of isotropic functionally graded plates subject to transverse biharmonic loads. His method is extended here to functionally graded plates with materials characterizing transverse isotropy. Using the complex variable method, the governing equations of three plate displacements appearing in the expansions of displacement field are formulated based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity for a transverse load satisfying the biharmonic equation. The solution may be expressed in terms of four analytic functions of the complex variable, in which the unknown constants can be determined from the boundary conditions similar to that in the classical plate theory. The elasticity solutions of an FGM rectangular plate with opposite edges simply supported under 12 types of biharmonic polynomial loads are derived as appropriate sums of the general and particular solutions of the governing equations. A comparison of the present results for a uniform load with existing solutions is made and good agreement is observed. The influence of boundary conditions, material inhomogeneity, and thickness to length ratio on the plate deflection and stresses for the load x²yq are studied numerically.     

Approximate solution of a class of singular integral equations of second kind

A simple method based on polynomial approximation of a function is employed to obtain approximate solution of a class of singular integral equations of the second kind. For a hypersingular integral equation of the second kind, this method avoids the complex function-theoretic method and produces the known exact solution to Prandtl's integral equation as a special case. For a particular singular integro-differential equation of the second kind, this also produces an approximate solution which compares favourably with numerical results obtained by various Galerkin methods. The convergence of the method for both the equations is also established.     

Transverse shear stress relaxed zigzag theory for cylindrical bending of laminated composite and piezoelectric panels

Cylindrical bending is studied by developing a new zigzag theory which relaxes the zero transverse shear stress condition on the outer surfaces of the panels subjected to transversely applied electromechanical load. The mechanical portion of the transverse displacement approximation in this new shear deformation theory is considered constant as well as non-constant through the development of three models. Unlike the existing zigzag theories which enforce the condition of vanishing transverse shear stresses on outer surfaces of laminates, these new theories relax it. Though the number of primary mechanical variables get increased by four or five or six, the computational cost does not increase appreciably. Approximating the electric potential in each piezoelectric layer as sublayerswise linear, variational principle is applied in deriving equilibrium equations and boundary conditions. Accuracy of the new base model as well as two augmented models is assessed by comparing with elasticity and piezoelasticity solutions. While it is observed that the new base model is highly accurate than the existing zigzag model, the two augmented models do not aid in its further improvement. This is attributed to the fact that layerwise consideration of the transverse displacement, not global consideration, is needed to correctly establish the effect of transverse normal deformation in the laminated composite and smart panel.     

On the integral equation method for buckling loads

An initial value method for the integral equation of the column is presented for determining the buckling load of columns. The differential equation of the column is reduced to a Fredholm integral equation. An initial value problem is derived for this integral equation, which is reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations with prescribed initial conditions in order to find the Fredholm resolvent. The singularities of the resolvent occur at the eigenvalues. Integration of the equations proceeds until the integrals become excessively large, indicating that a critical load has been reached. To check this method, numerical results are given for two examples, for which the critical load is well known. One is the Euler load of a simply supported beam, and the other case is the buckling load of a cantilever beam under its own weight. The advantage of this initial value method is that it can be applied easily to solve other nonlinear problems for which the critical loads are unknown. This approach will be illustrated in future papers.     

Inconsistencies and S.O.R. Convergence for the Discrete Neumann Problem

The behaviour of S.O.R. iterations for linear equations AU =Bis described for the case when A is singular. Small inconsistenciesmay arise in practical application, for example in systems derivedfrom Neumann problems. In that case the S.O.R. iterations donot converge. A simple transformation is presented under whichthe iterations converge to an approximate solution of AU = B,provided that the singularity of A is of a simple type. A practicalway of measuring the appropriate convergence rate is also described.For problems with property (A) and consistent ordering the optimumacceleration parameter is unaffected by the simple singularityof A. The behaviour of the iterations when A has singularitiesof general type is also described.     

Free vibration of piles embedded in soil having different modulus of subgrade reaction

The soil that the pile is embedded in is idealized by a Winkler model and is assumed to be two layered. The part of the pile extending above the ground is called the first region, and the parts embedded in the soil are called the second and the third regions, respectively. The dynamic displacement function of the pile subjected to an axial force is obtained as a fourth order partial differential equation by taking account of the effects of bending moment and shear force. It is assumed that the behavior of the material is linearly elastic and axial force along the pile length to be constant. Shear effects are included in the differential equations by the second derivative of the elastic curve function with respect to shear deformation. Normalized natural circular frequencies of the pile are calculated using a carry-over matrix and the secant method for non-trivial solution of the linear homogeneous system of equations obtained for a specific value of the axial force, and for two combinations of boundary conditions:     

Lp-solutions of singular integro-differential equations

We study a variety of scalar integro-differential equations with singular kernels including linear, nonlinear, and resolvent equations. The first result involves a type of existence theorem which uses a fixed point mapping defined by the integro-differential equation itself and produces a unique solution with a continuous derivative in a very simple way. We then construct a Liapunov functional yielding qualitative properties of solutions. The work answers questions raised by Volterra in 1928, by Levin in 1963, and by Grimmer and Seifert in 1975. Previous results had produced bounded solutions from bounded perturbations. Our results mainly concern integrable solutions from integrable perturbations.     

Mathematical solution for bending of short hybrid composite beams with variable fibers spacing

In this study, the static response is presented for a simply supported functionally graded hybrid beam subjected to a transverse uniform load. Material properties of the beam are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. By varying the fiber volume fraction within a symmetric laminated beam and combining two fiber types to create a hybrid functionally graded material (FGM) can offer desirable increases in axial and bending stiffness. The equations governing the hybrid FGM beams are determined using the principle of virtual work (PVW) arising from the higher order shear deformation theories. Numerical results on the transverse deflection, axial and shear stresses in a moderately thick hybrid FGM beam under uniform distributed load are discussed in depth. The effect of power-law exponent on the deflection and stresses are also commented.     

Singular integral equation with Cauchy kernel on the real axis

We find closed-form formulas for the solution of the simplest singular integral equation with Cauchy kernel on the real axis and use them to reduce the full singular integral equation considered in the paper to a Fredholm equation. We construct numerical schemes for the above-mentioned equations and estimate the accuracy order of the approximate solution.