On the theories used for the wave propagation in laminated composite thin elastic shells

In this paper, the problem of propagation of free harmonic waves in cross-ply laminated thin elastic shells is considered. For this problem, a theoretical unification of the most commonly used, in physical and engineering applications, thin shell theories which take into consideration transverse shear deformation effects is presented. In more detail, the problem is formulated in such a way that by using some tracers, which have the form of Kronecker's deltas, the obtained stress-strain relations, constitutive equations and equations of motion produce, as special cases, the corresponding relations and equations of the transverse shear deformable analogs of Donnell's, Love's and Sanders' theories. Using an eigenvalue form solution of the equations of motion, a comparison of corresponding numerical results obtained on the basis of all of the afore-mentioned theories is made. Comparisons with corresponding results obtained on the basis of the classical thin shell theories of Donnell, Love, Sanders and Flugge are also made.

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Resumé On étudie un problème de propagation d'ondes harmoniques libres dans une fine coque cylindrique, élastique, composée de lamelles croisées. On présente une unification des théories les plus courantes que les ingénieurs et physiciens appliquent aux problèmes de coques minces sous considération de la déformation due au cisaillement transverse. En détails, le problème est formulé de telle façon qu'en utilisant des opérateurs de trace (sous forme du symbole de Kronecker) les relations obtenues: contrainte-déformation, équations constitutives et équations de mouvement donnent comme cas spéciaux les relations correspondantes et les équations des problèmes analogues (déformation de coques minces par cisaillement transverse) des théories de Donnell, Love et Sanders. En utilisant une solution aux valeurs propres des équations de mouvement, on compare les résultats numériques obtenus grâce aux théories mentionées ci-dessus aux résultats correspondants sur la base des théories classiques de Donnell, Love, Sander et Flugge.

     

Buckling and vibration of cross-ply laminated circular cylindrical panels

Summary The free vibration problem of a thin cross-ply composite laminated circular cylindrical panel subjected to arbitrary combinations of axial and circumferential initial compressions is studied. The equations of motion are derived, in the framework of the Donnell-type theory, in terms of the panel middle surface displacements components. Closed form solutions are obtained, for simply-supported panels, and numerical results for both antisymmetric and unsymmetric laminated cross-ply panels are presented.

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Résumé On étudie le problème de libre vibration d'une coque cylindrique ouverte, composée de fines lamelles croisées, soumise aux combinaisons arbitraires des compressions initiales de la circonférence et de l'axe. Les équations de vibrations dérivent, en accord avec la théorie de Donnell, des composantes de déplacement de la surface moyenne de la coque ouverte. On obtient des solutions exactes pour les coques cylindriques ouvertes posées librement et on présente des résultats numériques pour les coques cylindriques ouvertes composées de fines lamelles croisées antisymétriques et non symétriques.

     

On the stability of a compressible Rivlin's cube made of transversely isotropic material

^** Email: kostas.soldatos{at}nottingham.ac.uk This paper considers a unit cube made of a compressible, transverselyisotropic elastic material, with the direction of transverseisotropy being aligned normal to one pair of the cube's faces,and investigates the stability of a dilatation equilibrium stateof that cube, with respect to superposed pure homogeneous deformationswith principal directions parallel to the cube edges. This dilatation,intermediate equilibrium state (state I) of the cube is assumedattainable in two different ways. Accordingly, in what is termedas the ‘principal stability problem’ under investigation,state I is considered to be that of uniform dilatation, whichis attained upon loading normally and uniformly the oppositefaces of the unit cube with certain pairs of equal and oppositelydirected forces having appropriately selected magnitudes. Inwhat is termed as the ‘modified stability problem’under investigation, the same compressible, transversely isotropicunit cube is loaded uniformly by three identical pairs of equaland oppositely directed forces acting normally to its faces,and, hence, it attains in state I the shape of a certain rectangularparallelepiped. The necessary and sufficient conditions forstability of state I of the cube deformation are obtained inthe form of three inequalities, which are found to hold regardlessof whether the intermediate equilibrium state I is that of uniformdilatation or that of the aforementioned rectangular parallelepiped(non-uniform dilatation). These, however, lead to quite differentspecific results and conclusions when applied in connectionwith, first, the principal and, then, the modified stabilityproblem of a unit cube made of a particular type of a transverselyisotropic extension of the Blatz–Ko (isotropic) material.     

Active control schemes for aseismic base-isolated structures

Summary  Active control schemes are used for the protection of base-isolated and seismically excited buildings. The desired control objective is to keep the whole structure arbitrarily close to its initial configuration prior to the earthquake. The proposed methods require control force application only at the base of the structure. The controllers developed may depend on information obtained from all the floors or just the first (base) floor alone. Received 13 September 2000; accepted for publication 26 June 2001 RID=" ID=" Dedicated to the memory of Professor P.D. Panagiotopoulos with our warmest prayers. RID=" ID=" The first author wishes to thank Prof. G. Leitmann and Prof. E. Papadopoulos for the numerous helpful discussions. The same author is supported in part by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, NTUA, under the program Archimedes 65/1017.     

Robust control of base-isolated structures under earthquake excitation

We propose the use of robust control in conjunction with base isolation in order to assure arbitrarily small motion of a seismically excited structure. The proposed method requires control force application only at the base (first) floor. The efficacy of the scheme is illustrated by extensive simulations for a prototype six-story building.This paper is based on research supported, in part, by the NSF and AFOSR.     

On the thermomechanical modeling of shape memory alloys

In this work, a general inelastic framework for the derivation of general three-dimensional thermomechanical constitutive laws for materials undergoing phase transformations is proposed. The proposed framework is based on the generalized plasticity theory and on some basic elements from the theory of continuum damage mechanics. More specifically, a new elaborate formulation of generalized plasticity theory capable of accommodating the multiple and interacting loading mechanisms, which occur during the phase transformations, is developed. Furthermore, the stiffness variations occurring during phase transformations are taken into account by the proposed framework. For this purpose, the free energy is decomposed into elastic and inelastic parts, not in a conventional way, but in one which resembles the elastic-damage cases. Also, a rate-dependent version of the theory is provided. The concepts presented are applied for the derivation of a three-dimensional thermomechanical constitutive model for Shape Memory Alloy materials. Numerical simulations to show qualitatively the ability of the model to capture the behavior of the shape memory alloys are also presented. Furthermore, the model has been fitted to actual experimental results from the literature.