On the effects of non-linear elements in the reliability-based optimal design of stochastic dynamical systems

The aim of the present paper is to study the effects of non-linear devices on the reliability-based optimal design of structural systems subject to stochastic excitation. One-dimensional hysteretic devices are used for modelling the non-linear system behavior while non-stationary filtered white noise processes are utilized to represent the stochastic excitation. The reliability-based optimization problem is formulated as the minimization of the expected cost of the structure for a specified failure probability. Failure is assumed to occur when any one of the output states of interest exceeds in magnitude some specified threshold level within a given time duration. Failure probabilities are approximated locally in terms of the design variables during the optimization process in a parallel computing environment. The approximations are based on a local interpolation scheme and on an efficient simulation technique. Specifically, a subset simulation scheme is adopted and integrated into the proposed optimization process. The local approximations are then used to define a series of explicit approximate optimization problems. A sensitivity analysis is performed at the final design in order to evaluate its robustness with respect to design and system parameters. Numerical examples are presented in order to illustrate the effects of hysteretic devices on the design of two structural systems subject to earthquake excitation. The obtained results indicate that the non-linear devices have a significant effect on the reliability and global performance of the structural systems.     

Non-linear oscillations of a rotor-magnetic bearing system under superharmonic resonance conditions

The effect of non-linear magnetic forces on the non-linear response of the shaft is examined for the case of superharmonic resonance in this paper. It is shown that the steady-state superharmonic periodic solutions lose their stability by either saddle-node or Hopf bifurcations. The system exhibits many typical characteristics of the behavior of non-linear dynamical systems such as multiple coexisting solutions, jump phenomenon, and sensitive dependence on initial conditions. The effects of the feedback gains and imbalance eccentricity on the non-linear response of the system are studied. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to verify the analytical predictions.     

Second order effects in an elastic half-space acted upon by a non-uniform normal load

A closed form solution to the second order elasticity problem, when an isotropic compressible elastic half-space undergoes a deformation owing to a non-uniformly distributed normal load, is presented. The method of integral transform is employed and the case when loading is distributed, in accordance with Hertz's law, is discussed. The limiting solution for incompressible isotropic elastic material is also derived. Numerical calculations for the second order elastic material for the displacement and the normal stress in thez-direction are carried out. It is found that, in comparision to the linear elastic case, the displacement increases and the normal stress decreases in the second order elastic material

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Sommario Si presenta una soluzione del secondo ordine in forma chiusa del problema di un semi-spazio elastico isotropo compressibile soggetto a un carico normale distribuito non uniformemente, ottenuta mediante il metodo delle trasformate integrali. Si discute il caso del carico distribuito secondo la legge di Hertz; si deriva anche la soluzione limite per materiale elastico isotropo incompressibile. Si ottengono numericamente alcuni risultati relativi a spostamenti e tensioni normali nella direzione z: si trova che, a paragone del caso elastico lineare, gli spostamenti aumentano e le tensioni diminuiscono nel materiale elastico del secondo ordine.

     

中心有刚体质量的环形薄板的非线性强迫振动

本文研究中心带有刚体质量外部固定铰支或活动铰支的环形薄板的非线性强迫振动。考虑板的弯曲变形、面内位移和几何非线性，用哈米尔顿原理建立板的运动方程，用Ｋａｎｔｏｒｏｖｉｃｈ平均法消去时间变量，然后用数值积分求得非线性振动的振幅随激振力的大小及激振力的频率而变化的关系。求解过程中用打靶法逐步改进未知参量，以保证边界条件的满足。最后讨论薄膜力、激振力的分布、板的内外半径比等因素对响应的影响     

Exact parametric analytic solutions of the elastica ODEs for bars including effects of the transverse deformation

We succeed in constructing exact parametric analytic solutions for the non-linear ordinary differential equations governing the elastica response of a cantilever due to a generalized end loading by taking into account the effects of transverse deformation. Application to the case of the eccentric buckling of a cantilever by taking into account the above influences is developed.     

Large amplitude free flexural vibration of rings using finite element approach

Here, the large amplitude free flexural vibrations of isotropic/laminated orthotropic rings are investigated, using a shear flexible curved beam element based on field consistency principle. A laminated refined beam theory is introduced for developing the element, which satisfies the interface transverse shear stress and displacement continuity, and has a vanishing shear stress on the inner and outer surfaces of the beam. The formulation includes in-plane and rotary inertia effects, and the non-linearity due to the finite deformation of the ring. The governing equations obtained using Lagrange's equations of motion are solved through the direct integration technique. Amplitude-frequency relationships evaluated from the dynamic response history are examined. Detailed numerical results are presented considering various parameters such as radius-to-thickness ratio, circumferential wave number and ovality for isotropic and laminated orthotropic rings. The nature and degree of the participation of various modes in non-linear asymmetric vibration of oval ring brought out through the present study are useful for accurate modelling of the closed non-circular structures.     

Non-linear behaviour of free-edge shallow spherical shells: Effect of the geometry

Non-linear vibrations of free-edge shallow spherical shells are investigated, in order to predict the trend of non-linearity (hardening/softening behaviour) for each mode of the shell, as a function of its geometry. The analog for thin shallow shells of von Kármán's theory for large deflection of plates is used. The main difficulty in predicting the trend of non-linearity relies in the truncation used for the analysis of the partial differential equations (PDEs) of motion. Here, non-linear normal modes through real normal form theory are used. This formalism allows deriving the analytical expression of the coefficient governing the trend of non-linearity. The variation of this coefficient with respect to the geometry of the shell (radius of curvature R, thickness h and outer diameter 2a) is then numerically computed, for axisymmetric as well as asymmetric modes. Plates (obtained as R→∞) are known to display a hardening behaviour, whereas shells generally behave in a softening way. The transition between these two types of non-linearity is clearly studied, and the specific role of 2:1 internal resonances in this process is clarified.     

Non-linear vibrations and frequency response analysis of piezoelectrically driven microcantilevers

Microcantilevers have recently received widespread attentions due to their extreme applicability and versatility in both biological and non-biological applications. Along this line, this paper undertakes the non-linear vibrations of a piezoelectrically driven microcantilever beam as a common configuration in many scanning probe microscopy and nanomechanical cantilever biosensor systems. A part of the microcantilever beam surface is covered by a piezoelectric layer (typically ZnO), which acts both as an actuator and sensor. The bending vibrations of the microcantilever beam are studied considering the inextensibility condition and the coupling between electrical and mechanical properties in the piezoelectric materials. The non-linear terms appear in the form of quadratic expression due to presence of piezoelectric layer, and cubic form due to geometrical non-linearities. The Galerkin approximation is then utilized to discretize the equations of motion. In addition, the method of multiple scales is applied to arrive at the closed form solution for the fundamental natural frequency of the system. An experimental setup consisting of a commercial piezoelectric microcantilever attached on the stand of a state-of-the-art microsystem analyzer for non-contact vibration measurement is utilized to verify the theoretical developments. It is found that the experimental results and theoretical findings are in good agreement, which demonstrates that the non-linear modeling framework could provide a better dynamic representation of the microcantilever than the previous linear models. Due to microscale nature of the system, excitation amplitude plays an important role since even a small change in the amplitude of excitation can lead to significant vibrations and frequency shift.     

Comparison of the accuracy of curve-fitting methods for the determination of gas permeability parameters of sheet polymer samples

Accuracy of the gas permeability parameters (GPPs), i.e. solubility, diffusivity and permeability deduced from permeation measurements, is investigated for the case of homogeneous polymer sheet samples. The widely used time-lag method (TLM) and the recently introduced full curve-fitting method (FCFM) are compared on simulated and on measured permeation curves artificially distorted in various ways in order to mimic potential deficiencies of permeation measurements. Accuracy of the methods is defined as the relative deviation of the calculated from the real GPPs, i.e. those which are deduced from the distorted and the original, non-distorted curves, respectively. The following distortions have been applied: temporal truncation of the permeation curves, increasing the noise level of the measurement and shifting the permeation curve either along the concentration or the time axis. (The latter two transformations correspond to an unnoticed background shift in the readings of the concentration detection unit and an uncertainty in the actual inception of the permeation process, respectively). While all these distortions mimic realistic deficiencies of permeation measurements, the last one is relevant only in case of fast permeation processes through highly permeable membranes. For all but the last transformation, FCFM has been found to yield more accurate GPPs than TLM.     

非保守圆薄板的轴对称振动和稳定性

建立了受切向均布随从力作用的圆薄板在面内周边可移、不可移两种情况下的轴对称控制方程，用打靶法直接导出求解变系数常微分方程特征值问题数值解的计算式．通过数值计算，给出了周边可移、不可移的简支、固支圆板自振频率和临界载荷的特征曲线以及相应的临界发散载荷，并分析了泊松比对圆板自振频率和临界载荷的影响．