Minimum-weight design of continuous beams under displacement and stress constraints

Explicit optimality conditions for minimum-weight design of elastic sandwich beams with segmentwise constant structural stiffness, subject to displacement and mean-square stress constraints, are obtained. An iterative procedure that combines the use of the optimality conditions with finite-element analysis is proposed and is illustrated by numerical examples. These examples suggest that very few iterations are necessary to obtain a good approximation to the optimal design. It is shown that, for practical purposes, the optimization problem may be simplified by using the optimality conditions derived for statically determinate beams instead of those valid for statically indeterminate beams.This research was sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Office, Durham, North Carolina. The authors are grateful to Professor W. Prager for helpful comments.     

Optimal design of beams for prescribed compliance under alternative loads

A global optimality condition is established for minimum-weight design of sandwich beams with elementwise constant cross section for prescribed compliances in alternative states of loading. This condition requires a nonnegative linear combination of the mean-square curvatures of an element in the considered states of loading to have the same value for all elements. The use of the condition in the determination of the minimum-weight design is illustrated by examples.This research was sponsored by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, under Contract No. F33615-69-C-1826. The authors wish to express their thanks to Professor J. B. Martin, Brown University, for helpful discussions.     

Minimum-weight design with piecewise constant specific stiffness

Much of the literature on minimum-weight design is concerned with structures with continuously varying dimensions. Structures of this kind achieve an absolute minimum of weight and thereby provide a useful standard of comparison, but their manufacturing cost is prohibitive in most applications. As a step toward the establishment of optimality conditions for more practical structures, the present paper discusses optimal design of sandwich beams and frames with segmentwise constant cross sections. Optimality is shown to require that the mean square stress in the face sheets has the same value for all segments. The use of the optimality condition is illustrated by examples.This research was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency, Project DEFENDER, and was monitored by the US Army Research Office-Durham, Contract No. DA-31-124-ARO-D-257.     

On the optimal structural design for a nonconservative,elastic stability problem

The design of a cantilever column under a follower load is considered with the aim of maximizing the critical value of the load. The optimality condition is derived, and a modified Ritz method is used to determine an approximate solution for the bending stiffness. Results are obtained numerically for the case of a sandwich column with constant bending stiffness in each of two segments. It is found that, for the same structural weight, the optimal design yields a critical load significantly higher than that for a uniform column.This research was supported in part by the US Army Research Office–Durham and in part by the United States Navy under Grant No. NONR N00014-67-A-0191-0009.     

Optimization of structural design

Typical problems of optimal structural design are discussed to indicate mathematical techniques used in this field. An introductory example (Section 2) concerns the design of a beam for prescribed maximal deflection and shows how suitable discretization may lead to a problem of nonlinear programming, in this case, convex programming. The problem of optimal layout of a truss (Section 3) is discussed at some length. A new method of establishing optimality criteria (Section 4) is illustrated by the optimal design of a statically indeterminate beam of segmentwise constant or continuously varying cross section for given deflection under a single concentrated load. Other applications of this method (Section 5) are briefly discussed, and a simple example of multipurpose design (Section 6) concludes the paper.     

不可压饱和多孔弹性梁的大挠度非线性数学模型

在孔隙流体仅存在沿梁轴线方向扩散的假定下,建立了微观不可压饱和多孔弹性梁大挠度问题的非线性数学模型．利用Galerkin截断法,研究了固定端不可渗透、自由端可渗透的饱和多孔弹性悬臂梁在自由端突加集中载荷作用下的非线性弯曲,得到了梁骨架的挠度、弯矩以及孔隙流体压力等效力偶等的时间响应和沿轴线的分布．比较了大挠度非线性和小挠度线性理论的结果,揭示了两者间的差异．研究发现大挠度理论的结果小于相应的小挠度理论结果,并且,大挠度理论的结果趋于其稳态值的时间小于相应的小挠度理论结果趋于其稳态值的时间．     

Variant of an Analytical Shear Model for the Stress-Strain State of Heterogeneous Composite Beams

A nonclassical analytical model for the stress-strain state of composite beams with account of shear strains is suggested. It is assumed that the beam is piecewise heterogeneous across its height. Normal and tangential loads operate on its upper and lower surfaces and on interfaces. The model describes the distribution of tangential displacements across the thickness of plies by a third-degree polynomial. The corresponding system of differential equations is obtained by the variational method and contains two equations. The first one is an analog of the equation of classical theory of beams for deflections, and the second one is an analog of the equation of the theory for the bending moment from the generalized load. The solutions to test problems are compared with three-dimensional solutions and with experimental results for simply supported and clamped beams of different composite structure. An applied engineering problem is solved for a multispan statically indeterminate beam.     

Geometry of optimality conditions and constraint qualifications

Certain types of necessary optimality conditions for mathematical programming problems are equivalent to corresponding regularity conditions on the constraint set. For any problem, a certain natural optimality condition, dependent upon the particular constraint set, is always satisfied. This condition can be strengthened in numerous ways by invoking appropriate regularity assumptions on the constraint set. Results are presented for Euclidean spaces and some extensions to Banach spaces are given.This work was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research, Contract No. N00014-67-A-0321-0003 (NR-047-095).     

Structural weight minimization using necessary and sufficient conditions

This paper considers problems of weight minimization of complex, determinate or indeterminate structures, subject to inequality constraints. Limitations of size of the structural members, allowable stresses, natural frequencies, etc., furnish constraints on the design. We are here principally concerned with the theoretical determination of the necessary and sufficient conditions relating a proposed design to the true constrained minimum-weight design. As an important special case, a study is made of the conditions under which a fully stressed design is a minimum-weight design. Although much attention has been directed toward the fully stressed approach to minimum-weight design, sufficiency conditions and questions relating to global optimality vs local optimality have heretofore not been considered in detail. Example solutions are presented illustrating the application of the present results to design problems. In one such solution, it is demonstrated that, for a broad class of statically determinate structures, sufficiency conditions exist which ensure that the fully stressed design is a globally minimum-weight design.     

Linear pursuit-evasion games with bounded state spaces

The problem of linear pursuit-evasion games with bounded state spaces is considered. Some sufficient conditions for optimality are established, and an example is given.This research was carried out while the author was a Visiting Associate Research Engineer at the University of California at Berkeley. The research was supported by the Office of Naval Research, Grant No. N00014-69-A-0200-1012. The author would like to express his gratitude to Professor G. Leitmann for discussions and for making possible his visit at Berkeley.     

静不定梁的等强度设计

本文提出了用最小余能原理对静不定梁进行等强度设计的方法.并就任意分布载荷,集中力或集中力偶作用下的单跨或多跨梁给出了沿梁轴刚度变化的解析表达式.对具有固定宽度可变高度的矩形截面梁和可变外层厚度的夹层梁给出了算例.与已有结果的比较,显示了本方法的有效性.     

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.     

Analytical model of buried beams on a tensionless foundation subjected to differential settlement

As the deflection of a buried beam subjected to ground settlement is not consistent with the ground displacement, an analytical model is introduced in this study for a buried beam on a tensionless foundation subjected to differential settlement. The buried beam is divided into three segments: the left semi-infinite foundation beam, the right semi-infinite foundation beam, and the middle finite beam separated from the ground. Based on the theory of semi-infinite foundation beams, equations for the response of left and right semi-infinite segment beams are given. Explicit equations are proposed for the response of the middle segment beam; these are combined with the continuous conditions at the segment junctions, and the physical implications of the equation parameters are illustrated. The analytical approach taken in this study is then compared with, and verified against, the methods used in the existing literature. The mechanical state of a buried beam subjected to ground settlement is closely related to the foundation stiffness factor, the flexural stiffness of the beam, the characteristics of the ground settlement, and the vertical earth pressure. When the deformation coefficient is relatively large or ground settlement is relatively narrow, the buried beam may be in the partial contacting state. With an increase in the width and amplitude of ground settlement curve, the foundation stiffness factor, and the different vertical earth pressure between the ground settlement and non-settlement areas, the bending moment and shearing force of buried beams increase.     

Optimal design of multi-purpose structures

The paper presents the optimal (maximum transverse stiffness) design of an elastic, simply supported member of given volume that is to serve as a beam or as a column at different times during its design life. The optimal design can be interpreted in two ways. It is the design that has the maximum Euler buckling load in column action, subject to a prescribed maximum deflection in beam action under a uniformly distributed load; it is also the design that has the least deflection at midspan under a uniformly distributed load, subject to a lower limit on its buckling load in column action. The effectiveness of the optimal design is judged by comparing it with a prismatic bar of the same volume.The author is grateful to Professor W. Prager for suggesting several improvements to an earlier version of the paper.     

Coupling effect of thickness and shear deformation on size-dependent bending of micro/nano-scale porous beams

A unified nonlocal strain gradient beam model with the thickness effect is developed to investigate the static bending behavior of micro/nano-scale porous beams. Size-dependent governing equations and corresponding analytical solutions for the bending of hinged-hinged beams are obtained by employing minimum total potential energy principle, the Navier solution method as well as the variational-consistent boundary conditions. For nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT) with thickness effect, virtual strain energy function of shear beams can contain additional nonlocal shear stress and high-order nonlocal shear stress related to the thickness direction in comparison with that of Euler–Bernoulli beam, so the coupling of the shear and thickness effects should be drawn huge attention. By means of detailed numerical analysis, it is found that, the stiffness-hardening effect is underestimated in NSGT without the thickness effect, and the stiffness-hardening and stiffness-softening effects of NSGT with the thickness effect can be not only length-dependent but also thickness-dependent. Interestingly, the generalized Young’s modulus depends on half-wave number, which means that the generalized Young’s modulus may be different due to applied load types. In the context of NSGT with the thickness effect, the deflection of Euler–Bernoulli beam predicted is smaller than that of shear beam, especially for thick beams. Furthermore, porosities distributed in the top or bottom of beams can possess a greater influence on the decrease of overall stiffness of beam than those distributed in the vicinity of the middle plane of beams.     

Effect of layer geometry and stiffness on the fields of normal stresses in multilayer beams under asymmetric bending

A mathematical model is suggested for calculating the bending stiffness and fields of normal stresses (strength) at any point in the cross section of a multilayer beam. It is found that the structure of the scalar field of normal stresses allows one to solve some optimization problems with multivariant parameters. The method is illustrated with an example of two-layer beams. The results of an investigation into the strength and stiffness of two-layer beams, with a geometric and (or) stiffness asymmetry, in asymmetric bending are presented. The kinetics of bending stiffness and strength in relation to variations in the geometric parameters of cross sections and in the ratio of elastic moduli of layers is examined. It is established that the normal stresses in multilayer beams under asymmetric bending considerably depend on the location of the flexural center, neutral plane, and bending stiffnesses relative to the principal axes of cross sections of the beams.     

Bending solutions of FGM Timoshenko beams from those of the homogenous Euler–Bernoulli beams

By using mathematical similarity and load equivalence between the governing equations, bending solutions of FGM Timoshenko beams are derived analytically in terms of the homogenous Euler–Bernoulli beams. The deflection, rotational angle, bending moment and shear force of FGM Timoshenko beams are expressed in terms of the deflection of the corresponding homogenous Euler–Bernoulli beams with the same geometry, the same loadings and end constraints. Consequently, solutions of bending of the FGM Timoshenko beams are simplified as the calculation of the transition coefficients which can be easily determined by the variation law of the gradient of the material properties and the geometry of the beams if the solutions of corresponding Euler–Bernoulli beam are known. As examples, solutions are given for the FGM Timoshenko beams under S–S, C–C, C–F and C–S end constraints and arbitrary transverse loadings to illustrate the use of this approach. These analytical solutions can be as benchmarks in the further investigations of behaviors of FGM beams.     

格栅夹层梁热弯曲的等效微极热弹性分析

将格栅夹层梁热弯曲等效为微极热弹性梁的受热变形,利用平面微极热弹性理论建立了微极梁受热变形的控制方程组,给出了温度载荷下微极梁的位移表达式.通过胞元能量等效的方法,得到了研究的格栅夹层梁等效微极热弹性梁材料参数.对比了等效微极梁模型和ANSYS有限元软件计算得到的温度载荷下悬臂格栅夹层梁受热弯曲变形的数值结果,两种方法得到的结果非常接近,证明了微极热弹性梁是一种简单有效的模拟格栅夹层梁热变形的等效模型.     

Distortion of cross sections during deformation of oriented glass-reinforced plastics

Test pieces equipped with wire strain gauges were used to investigate the distortion of cross sections of bars made of oriented glass-reinforced plastics (GRP) in tension and bending. The need for modified design formulas, obtained without use of the simplifying hypothesis of plane sections, is demonstrated. The previously obtained theoretical results of [2, 3] are experimentally confirmed. The effect of the free ends on beam deflection is found to be unimportant.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 107–113, 1965     

Optimality conditions and constraint qualifications in Banach space

In this paper, necessary optimality conditions for nonlinear programs in Banach spaces and constraint qualifications for their applicability are considered. A new optimality condition is introduced, and a constraint qualification ensuring the validity of this condition is given. When the domain space is a reflexive space, it is shown that the qualification is the weakest possible. If a certain convexity assumption is made, then this optimality condition is shown to reduce to the well-known extension of the Kuhn-Tucker conditions to Banach spaces. In this case, the constraint qualification is weaker than those previously given.This work was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research, Contract Number N00014-67-A-0321-0003 (NRO 47-095).