Structure,properties, and tests of carbonreinforced plastics

The effect has been examined of various factors on the realization of mean values of mechanical properties in monofilaments in composites; the necessity has been pointed out of taking account of specific characteristics of the structure and behavior of reinforced polymers based on carbon fibers during determination of strain and tensile properties of these materials.     

On the Structure of asymptotics of the solution of a second-order elliptic equation in a neighborhood of an angular point

The behavior of solutions of elliptic equations in neighborhoods of angular and conical boundary points has been well studied; the asymptotics of these solutions has been constructed. In the present paper, we propose a new approach to constructing asymptotic decompositions in a neighborhood of an angular boundary point, which allows us to describe the structure of these asymptotics in a relatively simple and illustrative way.     

Mechanical behavior of a number of polymers at helium temperatures

An experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior of a number of polymers in the range 4.2–240°K has been made. It has been shown that at helium temperature the Poisson ratio is governed by the free volume. It has been established that the dynamic Young's modulus and shear modulus of these polymers at 4.2°K depend on the chemical structure: their values are determined by the mean distance between neighboring macromolecule chains.     

Clustering Coefficient of a Spatial Preferential Attachment Model

The clustering structure of a graph in a spatial preferential attachment model whose similarity to real-world networks has been shown in many aspects is considered. The behavior of the local clustering coefficient is studied. Namely, the asymptotic behavior of its average value over all graph vertices of a certain degree as the graph size tends to infinity is examined. This characteristic has not been previously analyzed in the SPA model, and it reflects the typical dependence of the clustering structure near some vertex on its degree in the graph. Additionally, it is shown that, with a high probability, there is a vertex for which the value of the clustering coefficient differs from its average.     

A material model of nonlinear fractional viscoelasticity

Multiscale methods are frequently used in the design process of textile reinforced composites. In addition to the models for the local material structure it is necessary to formulate appropriate material models for the constituents. While experiments have shown that the reinforcing fibers can be assumed as linear elastic, the material behavior of the polymer matrix shows certain nonlinearities. These effects are mainly due to strain rate dependent material behavior. Fractional order models have been found to be appropriate to model this behavior. Based on experimental observations of Polypropylene a one-dimensional nonlinear fractional viscoelastic material model has been formulated. Its parameters can be determined from uniaxial, monotonic tensile tests at different strain rates, relaxation experiments and deformation controlled processes with intermediate holding times at different load levels. The presence of a process dependent function for the viscosity leads to constitutive equations which form nonlinear fractional differential equations. Since no analytical solution can be derived for these equations, a numerical handling has been developed. After all, the stress-strain curves obtained from a numerical analysis are compared to experimental results. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Thermomechanics of twinning from a parent to a twin with mirror image symmetry

In the paper we develop a modeling with multiple configurations and mirror image of parent crystal in the twinned structure, to describe the behavior of partially twinned structure. In the constitutive framework we take into account that: (1) the untwinned and twinned material have distinct natural configurations by virtue of their miscrostructure being different, (2) the material symmetry groups of the untwinned and twinned structures characterize the peculiar feature that the presence of the mirror image structure is related to the untwinned structure, but it can exist only as a counterpart of the previous one. The partially twinned structure is described by the evolution equations for the growth of twins, characterized by a pair of a deformation like tensorial variable and a scalar field with meaning of the volume fraction for the twins. The capability of the material to twin and untwin at a constant rate of strain in uniaxial compression has been analyzed and the oscillatory behavior predicted by the model reveals qualitative agreement with experimental evidences.      

Solitons and nonlinear waves in the spiral magnetic structures

This paper presents a procedure to integrate the sine-Gordon model against the background of the stripe domain structure. The nonlinear dynamics of solitons and dispersive waves in the helical (stripe domain) structure of a ferromagnet with the easy plane anisotropy in the magnetic field, which is perpendicular to the spiral axis, has been investigated in detail. It has been shown that the formation and motion of solitons are accompanied by the local translations of the stripe structure and by the oscillations of its domain walls, which manifest themselves as “precursors” and “tails” of the solitons. The large time behavior of the weak-nonlinear dispersive wave field generated by an initial localized perturbation of the structure has been investigated. The ways of observing and exciting the solitons in the spiral structure of magnets and multiferroics are discussed.     

Modeling of microscopic failure in heterogeneous materials

The proper modeling of state-of-the-art engineering materials requires a profound understanding of the nonlinear macroscopic material behavior. Especially for heterogeneous materials the effective macroscopic response is amongst others driven by damage effects and the inelastic material behavior of the individual constituents [1]. Since the macroscopic length scale of such materials is significantly larger than the fine-scale structure, a direct modeling of the local structure in a component model is not convenient. Multiscale techniques can be used to predict the effective material behavior. To this end, the authors developed a modeling technique based on representative volume elements (RVE) to predict the effective material behavior on different length scales. The extended finite element method (XFEM) is used to model discontinuities within the material structure independent of the underlying FE mesh. A dual enrichment strategy allows for the combined modeling of kinks (material interfaces) and jumps (cracks) within the displacement field [2]. The gradual degradation of the interface is thereby controlled by a cohesive zone model. In addition to interface failure, a non-local strain driven continuum damage model has been formulated to efficiently detect localization zones within the material phases. An integral formulation introduces a characteristic length scale and assures the convergence of the approach upon mesh refinement [3]. The proposed method allows for an efficient modeling of substantial failure mechanisms within a heterogeneous structure without the need of remeshing or element substitution. Due to the generality of the approach it can be used on different length scales. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Resolución numérica de las ecuaciones del movimiento de edificios de varias plantas con no linealidades severas

This paper presents a new algorithm for solving the equations of motion of multi-storey buildings that incorporate frictional energy dissipators as seismic protection. The behavior of the dissipators is represented by Coulomb dry friction models; they introduce severe nonlinearities in the dynamic behavior of the structure every time that the contact conditions (stick or slip) change in the dissipators. These nonlinearities complicate the resolution of the equations of motion as it usually is described by lumped masses models whose degrees of freedom are the displacements of the floors and, as the stick or slip conditions change, the degrees of freedom must be modified: for blocking conditions they are only the displacements of the storeys while under sliding conditions the displacements of the dissipators have to be also considered. In previous articles the accuracy of the proposed algorithm has been verified by comparison with experimental results; as well, the computational efficiency of the algorithm has been confirmed by comparing the required resources (in terms of computation time and of memory allocation) with those of other algorithms. The objectives of this paper are to describe in detail the numerical solution of the equations of motion and present representative examples confirming the ability of the algorithm to reproduce the dynamic behavior of buildings with friction dissipators and reporting preliminarily about the usefulness of such devices to reduce the oscillations of the structure to be protected.     

Eigenvalue perturbation theory of classes of structured matrices under generic structured rank one perturbations

udy the perturbation theory of structured matrices under structured rank one perturbations, and then focus on several classes of complex matrices. Generic Jordan structures of perturbed matrices are identified. It is shown that the perturbation behavior of the Jordan structures in the case of singular J-Hamiltonian matrices is substantially different from the corresponding theory for unstructured generic rank one perturbation as it has been studied in [18, 28, 30, 31]. Thus a generic structured perturbation would not be generic if considered as an unstructured perturbation. In other settings of structured matrices, the generic perturbation behavior of the Jordan structures, within the confines imposed by the structure, follows the pattern of that of unstructured perturbations.     

Nonlinear behavior of a nano-scale beam considering length scale-parameter

Size dependent behavior of materials arises for a structure when the characteristic size such as thickness or diameter is close to its internal length-scale parameter. In these cases, ignoring this behavior in modeling may leads to incorrect results. In this paper, strong effects of size dependence on static and dynamic behavior of electro-statically actuated nano-beams have been studied. The fixed points of the Aluminum nano-beams have been determined and shown that for a given DC voltage, there is a considerable difference between the calculated fixed points using classic beam theory and modified couple stress theory. In addition, it has been also shown that ignoring couple stress theory results in an order of magnitude error in calculated static and dynamic pull-in voltages. Some previous studies have applied the classic beam theory in their models and introduced a considerable hypothetical value of residual stress to justify the discrepancies between experimental and theoretical results.     

Thermomechanics of twinning from a parent to a twin with mirror image symmetry

In the paper we develop a modeling with multiple configurations and mirror image of parent crystal in the twinned structure, to describe the behavior of partially twinned structure. In the constitutive framework we take into account that: (1) the untwinned and twinned material have distinct natural configurations by virtue of their miscrostructure being different, (2) the material symmetry groups of the untwinned and twinned structures characterize the peculiar feature that the presence of the mirror image structure is related to the untwinned structure, but it can exist only as a counterpart of the previous one. The partially twinned structure is described by the evolution equations for the growth of twins, characterized by a pair of a deformation like tensorial variable and a scalar field with meaning of the volume fraction for the twins. The capability of the material to twin and untwin at a constant rate of strain in uniaxial compression has been analyzed and the oscillatory behavior predicted by the model reveals qualitative agreement with experimental evidences.     

Basis Reduction for the Shakedown Problem for Bounded Kinematic Hardening Material

Limit and shakedown analysis are effective methods for assessing the load carrying capacity of a given structure. The elasto–plastic behavior of the structure subjected to loads varying in a given load domain is characterized by the shakedown load factor, defined as the maximum factor which satisfies the sufficient conditions stated in the corresponding static shakedown theorem. The finite element dicretization of the problem may lead to very large convex optimization. For the effective solution a basis reduction method has been developed that makes use of the special problem structure for perfectly plastic material. The paper proposes a modified basis reduction method for direct application to the two-surface plasticity model of bounded kinematic hardening material. The considered numerical examples show an enlargement of the load carrying capacity due to bounded hardening.     

Robust controlling of chaotic behavior in supply chain networks

The supply chain network is a complex nonlinear system that may have a chaotic behavior. This network involves multiple entities that cooperate to meet customers demand and control network inventory. Although there is a large body of research on measurement of chaos in the supply chain, no proper method has been proposed to control its chaotic behavior. Moreover, the dynamic equations used in the supply chain ignore many factors that affect this chaotic behavior. This paper offers a more comprehensive modeling, analysis, and control of chaotic behavior in the supply chain. A supply chain network with a centralized decision-making structure is modeled. This model has a control center that determines the order of entities and controls their inventories based on customer demand. There is a time-varying delay in the supply chain network, which is equal to the maximum delay between entities. Robust control method with linear matrix inequality technique is used to control the chaotic behavior. Using this technique, decision parameters are determined in such a way as to stabilize network behavior.     

Neural nets in a group decision process

In recent years there has been some interest in applying Artificial Adaptive Agents (AAA) to the study of complex adaptive systems, especially economic systems. Neural networks are frequently employed as AAA. Artificial neural nets mimic certain aspects of the physical structure and information processing of the human brain and their most attractive characteristic is their ability to learn a pattern from a given set of examples. In this study, we investigated the ability of neural nets to model human behavior in a group decision process. The context was a market entry game with a linear payoff function and binary decisions. The players had to decide, for each trial, whether or not to enter a market whose capacity is public knowledge. Human behavior in this situation has been modeled and empirically validated by the Nash equilibrium for noncooperative n-person games. A simulation of the game was performed with neural nets instead of human subjects. The nets were trained using the results of the games in which they participated. The simulation with groups of neural nets exhibits phenomena very similar to those observed in groups of human players. Received February 2000     

Effect of gamma radiation on the mechanical properties of polyvinylidene fluoride

The variation of the strength and relative elongation at break with radiation dose has been investigated for unoriented block specimens of PVF₂ and for oriented specimens with different crystalline structure ( and ). A certain difference is observed in the behavior of the irradiated oriented specimens and an important difference in the behavior of oriented and unoriented specimens of PVF₂ with the same crystalline structure (). On the basis of the data obtained and the results of a study of the crystalline and supermolecular structure of the irradiated PVF₂ specimens it is concluded that there is a difference in the state of the amorphous regions in the oriented and unoriented PVF₂.Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 146–149, January–February, 1973.     

A novel chaotic attractor

In this letter, a novel chaotic attractor is reported. Some basic dynamical properties, such as Lyapunov exponents, fractal dimension, Poincare mapping, the continuous spectrum and chaotic behavior of this new transverse butterfly attractor are studied. Meanwhile, the forming mechanism of its compound structure obtained by merging together two simple attractors after performing one mirror operation has been investigated by detailed numerical as well as theoretical analysis. Furthermore, the complex chaotic dynamical behavior of the system has been also proofed by experimental simulation of a designed electronic oscillator based on EWB.     

Flow characteristics of waxy crude oils in laboratory experimental loops

Waxy crude oils are, at low temperatures, highly non-Newtonian fluids. The crystallization of wax seems to be the cause of their non-Newtonian behavior. Moreover, the flow properties show time-dependence indicating an evolution of the structure with continued shear (termed “thixotropy”).In this paper, on the basis of the experimental data, we have developed a physical model which tries to describe the low temperature behavior of waxy crudes in laboratory experimental loops. The correspondent mathematical problem has been investigated performing a quasisteady approximation which we have shown to be physically consistent.     

Waves in periodic structures with imperfections

The study of wave propagation in structures and media has a significant history which follows from the examination of the dynamics of atomic and molecular lattices. Relatively recently, some of these ideas have been transferred and applied to the dynamic behavior of engineered structures. In particular, structures with periodic and almost periodic topologies and material properties have been extensively studied and important conclusions drawn regarding their energy-transmission properties. The attraction to wave propagation models is due to the efficient nature of the analytical tools available to study how energies of different frequency content are propagated or filtered by the structure. Such properties of a structure are profoundly affected by any imperfections or “near-periodicities”. It has been found that imperfections will have the effect of localizing energies about them, thus not allowing the development of normal modes of vibration as would be observed when assuming a perfect structure. It is envisioned that such understanding will permit the analyst to take advantage of localization effects to isolate locations experiencing loading. Additional applications possibly include the modeling of composite and layered structures and cracks. Also, one expects that structures with periodic boundary conditions will experience some sort of localization of energies in certain frequency ranges.