The optimum shape of a bending beam

The problem of minimizing the static deflection of an elastic beam of variable cross-section and fixed volume in the case of free supported and rigidly clamped ends is considered. In the first case it is proved that the solutions obtained earlier, based on the necessary conditions for an extremum, satisfy the sufficient conditions. In the case of clamped ends, which is of the most interest from the point of view of applications, it is proved that the optimum solutions must necessarily have points inside the solution range in which the distribution of the beam thicknesses degenerates to zero (“internal hinges”). A qualitative, analytical and numerical analysis of this phenomenon is given. In particular, in the case of clamped ends for a class of point loads, analytical solutions for which the beam splits into two cantilevers are obtained.     

Application of the Haar wavelet-based discretization technique to problems of orthotropic plates and shells

The Haar wavelet discretization technique for solving the elastic bending problems of orthotropic plates and shells is proposed. Free transverse vibrations of orthotropic rectangular plates with a variable thickness in one direction are considered as a model problem. In the case of constant plate thickness, the numerical results are validated by comparing them with an exact solution. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with those available in the literature.     

Elasticoplastic bending of rectangular plates reinforced with fibers of constant cross section

The problem on the elastoplastic transverse bending of Kirchhoff plates of variable thickness reinforced with fibers of constant cross section is formulated and its qualitative analysis is performed. An analytical solution to the problem is constructed in the case of cylindrical bending, and, by using the Bubnov-Galerkin method, an approximate solution for a rectangular plate is obtained. Based on calculations of plates reinforced with boron fibers and steel wire, it is shown that the load-carrying capacity of the structural member in elastoplastic bending is several times (or even by an order of magnitude) higher than in purely elastic one.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 17–36, January–February, 2005.     

The motion of a submerged sphere in a liquid under an ice sheet

The solution of the linear steady problem of the flow of an inviscid, incompressible and infinitely deep liquid around a sphere under an ice sheet, which is modelled by a thin elastic stressed plate of constant thickness is constructed. Special cases of this problem are the motion of a submerged sphere under broken ice, a membrane, and also under the free surface both in the presence and absence of capillary effects. The method of multipole expansions is used in the framework of the linear potential wave theory. The hydrodynamic loads (the wave drag and the buoyancy) acting on the body and also the distribution of the deflections of the ice sheet are calculated as a function of the body velocity, the ice thickness and the value of the compressing or stretching forces. It is shown that all the flow characteristics depend considerably on the ratio of the body velocity and the critical velocity of flexural-gravitational waves.     

Bending of a two-layer beam with non-rigid contact between the layers

The bending, under plane stress state conditions, of a two-layer beam-strip with identical isotropic linearly elastic layers with non-rigid contact between them is considered. The effect of the contact interaction between the layers, simulated by an elastic or elastoplastic gasket of negligibly small thickness with a finite shear stiffness, on the deflection of the beam is studied. Absolute slippage and rigid contact between the layers are the two limiting values of the shear stiffness. The values of the flexural stiffness of the beam differ by a factor of four in these limiting situations. The problem is reduced to a one- dimensional problem in the case of harmonic external load and an asymptotic solution is constructed for it. In the case of a load of general form, the Kirchhoff - Love hypotheses are used to construct an approximate solution and the problem is reduced to a one-dimensional problem. The difficulties which arise in simulating of the interaction forces between the layers using Coulombic dry friction forces are discussed.     

On the theory of fugoid motions

In 1891 Zhukovslii in his paper “On soaring of birds” [1] solved the problem of the motion of a body of high lift — drag ratio in an atmosphere of constant density. In [2] this problem was considered in greater detail, but the basic assumption of a constant density was made here as well. There have recently appeared numerous papers concerning the analytical solution of the problem of entry into the atmosphere with orbital and escape velocities [3 to 5]. But these studies were concerned primarily with the problems of ballistic entry and entry with low lift — drag ratio. In considering oscillatory states, the authors limited their treatment to small angles between the trajectory and local horizon. In the present paper we consider the problem without imposing any limitations on the slope of the trajectory or initial velocity. The case examined will be that of a hypothetical glider spacecraft of sufficiently high lift — drag ratio. It is interesting to note that the solution of this problem reduces to the solution of Zhukovskii's problem, but for an atmosphere of variable density. The associated trajectories are termed “fugoid”. All of our assumptions about the parameters of such a glider are of a particular hypothetical character.     

On the contact interaction between a strip-shaped punch and a linearly-deformable base through a covering of variable thickness

The contact problem of the frictionless penetration of a punch with strip-shaped section into the surface of a linearly-deformable base protected by a thin elastic layer (covering) of variable thickness, the stiffness of which is comparable to or smaller than that of the supporting elastic body, is investigated. A Fredholm integral equation of the second kind is obtained for the unknown contact pressure with a coefficient in front of the leading term that is a fairly arbitrary function of the longitudinal coordinate. To solve it the Bubnov-Galerkin projection method is used in which the coordinate elements are chosen to be a system of orthogonal polynomials and delta-shaped functions [1, 2] (variational-difference method), together with an algorithm for the required asymptotic expansions [3] when the above-mentioned coefficient is small. In the special case of an elastic half-space protected by a covering of constant thickness, the results obtained are compared with the corresponding characteristics given in [4].     

非均匀变截面弹性圆环在任意载荷下的弯曲问题

本文在等刚度弹性圆环的初参数公式的基础上,利用[2]提出的阶梯折算法,进一步研究非均匀变截面弹性圆环的弯曲,得到了这类问题的通解,应当指出,这组通解对非均匀变截面圆柱拱的相应问题也是适用的.为验证所得的公式并说明这种方法的应用,文末给出了示例并进行了求解,圆环、圆拱是工程上经常采用的结构,它们的弯曲,Timoshenko,S.[5],Barber,J.R.[3],Roark,R J[4],津村利光[6]等曾作过很多研究.然而,迄今只求得了均匀材料、等截面圆环的通解。对变截面问题,仅仅求得了抗弯刚度是坐标的线性函数这一特殊情况的解.由于非均匀变截面问题常常导出变系数微分方程,它们的求解遇到很大的数学困难.本文通过阶梯折算法把非均匀变截面弹性圆环弯曲问题的变系数微分方程转化成一等效的等刚度圆环弯曲的常系数微分方程.为保证内力连续,引入虚拟内力,并以[1]导出的初参数公式为影响函数,通过积分构造出了非齐次解,从而求得了非均匀变截面弹性圆环弯曲问题的通解.     

A criterion for the non-existence or non-uniqueness of solutions of self-similar problems in the mechanics of a continuous medium

Systems of hyperbolic partial differential equations expressing conservation laws are considered. A sufficient condition is formulated under which the self-similar problem of the disintegration of an arbitrary discontinuity (or the “piston” problem) either has no solution or the solution is not unique. This sufficient condition is determined by the existence of non-evolutionary discontinuities which may be considered as a sequence of two evolutionary discontinuities moving at the same velocity, if such a representation is unique. The condition is more general than that formulated previously, which was based on the existence of a non-proper Jouguet point. The new criterion is satisfied by weak quasitranverse shock waves in elastic media, whatever the sign of the coefficient of the non-linear deformation term. It also enables one to draw conclusions as to the non-existence or non-uniqueness of solutions of problems of the theory of elasticity in the case of finite-amplitude waves.     

Thermoelasticity of a regularly inhomogeneous curved layer with wavy surfaces

A curved inhomogeneous anisotropic layer of variable thickness is considered that has wavy surfaces. It is assumed that the elastic, thermo-physical characteristics of the layer material and the shape of its upper and lower surfaces are periodic in structure with a single periodicity cell (PC). The period of the structure is here comparable in magnitude with the layer thickness, which is assumed to be much less than the other linear dimensions of the body and the radius of curvature of its middle surface.On the basis of a general scheme for taking the average of processes in periodic media /1, 2/, a method is developed which enables a transition to be made from a spatial quasistatic thermoelasticity problem to a system of thermoelasticity equations for an average shell whose effective and thermophysical coefficients are determined from the solution of local problems in a PC. Results obtained for the static theory of elasticity in /3/ are used. The heat conduction problem is averaged to determine the temperature components occurring in the equation of motion.The model constructed enables thermoelastic strains, stresses and the temperature distribution to be obtained in shells and plates of composite or porous materials with a different kind of reinforcement of the periodic structure (waffle, ribbed, corrugated) in reinforced and grid-like shells and plates. In the limiting case of “smooth” surfaces and a homogeneous material, the thermoelasticity equations are obtained for shallow anisotropic shells and the heat conduction equations of anisotropic shells assuming a linear temperature distribution law over the thickness.     

On one property of solutions of problems of the theory of elasticity for two half-planes or half-spaces

We have shown that the solution of any boundary-value problem for two conjugated half-planes with different elastic constants, in the case where the stresses are persistently continuable across the boundary between half-planes, can be expressed via one common elastic constant if the stresses and external force factors are nondimensionalized by the reduced modulus of elasticity. Owing to this, it is possible to obtain the solution of the problem for two conjugated half-planes directly from the solution of the corresponding problem for one elastic half-plane. This property also holds true for axially symmetric problems formulated for two conjugated half-spaces.     

Asymptotic analysis of a periodic flow in a thin channel with visco-elastic wall

The paper deals with a fluid-structure interaction problem. A non steady-state viscous flow in a thin channel with an elastic wall is considered. The problem contains two small parameters: one of them is the ratio of the thickness of the channel to its length (i.e., to the period in the case of periodic solution); the second is the ratio of the linear density to the stiffness of the wall. For various ratios of these two small parameters, an asymptotic expansion of a periodic solution is constructed and justified by a theorem on the error estimates. To this end we prove the auxiliary results on existence, uniqueness, regularity of solution and some a priori estimates. The leading terms of the asymptotic solution are compared to the Poiseuille flow in a channel with absolutely rigid walls. In critical case a non-standard sixth order equation for the wall displacement is obtained.     

Implicit algorithms for solving the Cauchy problem for the equations of the dynamics of mechanical systems

It is shown that in the numerical solution of the Cauchy problem for systems of second-order ordinary differential equations, when solved for the highest-order derivative, it is possible to construct simple and economical implicit computational algorithms for step-by-step integration without using laborious iterative procedures based on processes of the Newton-Raphson iterative type. The initial problem must first be transformed to a new argument — the length of its integral curve. Such a transformation is carried out using an equation relating the initial parameter of the problem to the length of the integral curve. The linear acceleration method is used as an example to demonstrate the procedure of constructing an implicit algorithm using simple iterations for the numerical solution of the transformed Cauchy problem. Propositions concerning the computational properties of the iterative process are formulated and proved. Explicit estimates are given for an integration stepsize that guarantees the convergence of the simple iterations. The efficacy of the proposed procedure is demonstrated by the numerical solution of three problems. A comparative analysis is carried out of the numerical solutions obtained with and without parametrization of the initial problems in these three settings. As a qualitative test the problem of the celestial mechanics of the “Pleiades” is considered. The second example is devoted to modelling the non-linear dynamics of an elastic flexible rod fixed at one end as a cantilever and coiled in its initial (static) state into a ring by a bending moment. The third example demonstrates the numerical solution of the problem of the “unfolding” of a mechanical system consisting of three flexible rods with given control input.     

Asymptotic modelling of a fluid–structure coupling in the case of a prestressed inflated orthotropic membrane shell

In this Note, we consider an inflated orthotropic linearly elastic generalized membrane shell submitted to an outer surface perturbation. We obtain the strong convergence towards the solution of a well-posed “2D” problem of the mean value in the membrane thickness 2ε of the “3D” scaled displacements, as ε approaches zero. To cite this article: R. Luce et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 346 (2008).     

弹性地基上正交各向异性变厚度圆薄板的大挠度问题

本文推出了均布载荷下弹性基地上的正交各向异性变厚度圆薄板大挠度问题的基本方程。利用修正迭代法获得了该问题的二阶近似解。     

Infinitesimal Isometric Deformations of a Pseudospherical Shell

We consider a thin linear elastic isotropic shell of constant thickness. We assume that it undergoes deformations of the Kirchhoff–Love type and derive some explicit formulas for certain infinitesimal isometric deformations of a pseudospherical shell by considering a linearized version of this problem.     

Vibration of a stamp partially adhering to an elastic medium : PMM, vol. 42, no. 6, 1978, pp. 1085–1092

There is examined the problem of vibration of a stamp of arbitrary planform occupying a space Ω and vibrating harmonically in an elastic medium with plane boundaries. It is assumed that the elastic medium is a packet of layers with parallel boundaries, at rest in the stiff or elastic half-space. Contact of three kinds is realized under the stamp: rigid adhesion in the domain Ω₁, friction-free contact in domain Ω₂, there are no tangential contact stresses, and “film” contact without normal force in domain Ω₃ (there are no normal contact stresses, only tangential stresses are present.). It is assumed that the boundaries of all the domains have twice continuously differentiable curvature and Ω = Ω₁ Ω₂ Ω₃.

The problem under consideration assumes the presence of a static load pressing the stamp to the layer and hindering the formation of a separation zone. Moreover, a dynamic load, harmonic in time, acts on the stamp causing dynamical stresses which are of the greatest interest since the solution of the static problem is obtained as a particular case of the dynamic problem for ω = 0 (ω is the frequency of vibration). The general solution is constructed in the form of a sum of static and dynamic solutions.

A uniqueness theorem is established for the integral equation of the problem mentioned and for the case of axisymmetric vibration of a circular stamp partially coupled rigidly to the layer, partially making friction-free contact, the problem is reduced to an effectively solvable system of integral equations of the second kind, which reduce easily to a Fredholm system.

These results are an extension of the method elucidated in [1], where by the approach in [1] must be altered qualitatively to obtain them.     

Two boundary value problems for a strongly anisotropic inhomogeneous elastic ring

The second boundary value problem (displacements are given on the boundary) and the improper mixed problem for a cylindrically orthotropic ring are studied. It is assumed that the coefficients of elasticity are continuously differentiable functions of the coordinates and depend on a small parameter in a specific manner. The form of the dependence of the coefficients on the small parameter is selected in such a way that in the case of constant coefficients it describes bonding of the ring by two families of very rigid fibers located along the radius vectors and concentric circles, where the stiffness of the fiber families is of identical order. Consequently, the coefficients of elasticity are represented in the form of products of constants which will later be called provisionally the “stiffnesses”, and functions of the coordinates. It is assumed that the stiffnesses in the radial and circumferential directions are equal and exceed and shear stiffness considerably. The asymptotic form of the solution of the boundary value problems under consideration is constructed when the ratio between the shear stiffness and the stiffness in the radial direction is used as the small parameter. In the case of the second boundary value problem the limit boundary value problem is described by a hyperbolic system of equations and is not solvable uniquely, since one of the families of characteristics is parallel to the boundary. When constructing the asymptotic form the necessity arises to average the coefficients of elasticity with respect to the circumferential coordinate. In this respect, there is an analogy with the results obtained in /1/ where the boundary value problem was studied for a second-order elliptic equation.     

An explicit solution for the dynamics of a taut string of finite length carrying a traveling mass: the subsonic case

The authors investigate the linear vibrations induced in an elastic string by a loading point-like mass constrained to moving on it with constant horizontal velocity. Exact solutions are shown in the case of subsonic regime. The displacement is explicitly provided in terms of a power series determined by iteration, which is shown to converge to the solution of the problem. The presence of a discontinuity in the right extremum of the considered space interval is also shown both analytically and numerically.