Journal of Simulation and Analysis of Novel Technologies in Mechanical Engineering
Volume:4 Issue: 1, 2011

In this paper, based on the nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory, a nonlinear model is presented for the vibrational behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded in elastic medium in thermal environment. Using the Timoshenko beam theory and nonlocal elasticity of Eringen, the influences of rotary inertia, transverse shear deformation and small scale effect are taken into account. To model the interaction forces between walls, whether adjacent or non-adjacent, the van der Waals interlayer interactions are considered. The harmonic balance method (HBM) is used for the solution of the set of nonlinear governing equations and the frequency function of the system for the simply-supported boundary conditions is derived. Compared to the incremental harmonic balance method which has been employed in the previous studies, the HBM is simpler and has a reasonable accuracy. The effects of geometrical parameters of nanotubes such as the number of walls, the ratio of length to outer diameter and environmental conditions such as elastic medium modulus, temperature and also the effect of nonlocal parameter on the nonlinear frequency are investigated. The presented nonlinear vibration analysis is of a general form, so that they are applicable for CNTs with arbitrary number of walls. The obtained results for single-, double- and triple-walled CNTs indicate that with an increase in the number of walls, elastic medium modulus, aspect ratio and temperature, the value of nonlinear frequency tends to that of its linear counterpart. Also, a comparison between the results of the Timoshenko beam theory and those of Euler-Bernoulli beam theory shows that the difference between the frequency responses of these theories is significant for short CNTs, but, as the length increases, the difference between the results becomes negligible.

In this study the effect of thermal stress on the torsional buckling of double walled carbon nanotubes is investigated. Moreover based on nonlocal continuum mechanic the buckling governing equations are obtained and equilibrium of Equations is generalized to double wall nanotubes. Also in this study the elastic medium, small scale effect and van der Walls force are considered. Also for simulation of the interaction between the polymer matrix and external tube Pasternak model is used. The numerical results indicate that critical buckling load occurs in the middle modes. Moreover for the Winkler related the Pasternak model the buckling occurs earlier. Results show that for rigid elastic medium in both case of Pasternak and Winkler models the buckling load is independent of their values Moreover from the result it can be seen that the buckling load has been increase as the thermal effect change.

Engineering structures are usually exposed to cyclic multiaxial loading and subsequently to multiaxial fatigue. Different models and criteria with various capabilities have been proposed for predicting of multiaxial fatigue life. Selection of proper model by considering material, type of loading and operation condition of each engineering structure is a challenging issue of the life prediction process. In this paper, capability of some critical strain-based models for predicting the fatigue life are evaluated and compared. Then, based on the advantages and disadvantages of the investigated models, a new model is presented. In this study, experimental fatigue data for SNCM630 samples under axial-torsional loading are used which is available in the literature. Results are compared to experimental data in order to validate the accuracy and capability of the new model in prediction of the fatigue life.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) demonstrate unusually high stiffness, strength and resilience, and are therefore an ideal reinforcing material for nanocomposites. However, much work has to be done before the potentials of CNT-based composites can be fully realized. Evaluating the effective material properties of such nanoscale materials is a very difficult tasks. Simulations using molecular dynamics and continuum mechanics models can play significant roles in this development. Currently, the continuum approach seems to be the only feasible approach for such large scale analysis. In this paper, effective mechanical properties of CNT-based composites are evaluated using a square representative volume element (RVE) based on the continuum mechanics and Finite Element Method (FEM). Formulas are derived based on the elasticity theory to extract the effective material constants from solutions for the square RVEs under two load cases. Next, CNT aspect ratio effects on the nanocomposite mechanical properties are investigated. Results indicate that increasing CNT aspect ratio results in an increase in nanocomposite longitudinal modulus and a decrease in nanocomposite transverse modulus. Also, increasing the CNT aspect ratio resulted in a decrease in nanocomposite Poisson’s ratio in the x-y plane and an increase in nanocomposite Poisson’s ratio in the x-z plane.

In the slitting method, a small width slit is created incrementally through the thickness of the stressed specimen and the released strains in each increment are recorded by a strain gauge. Compliance coefficients relate the measured strains to the residual stresses. This paper investigates the important parameters influencing the calculation of compliance coefficients for isotropic plates and laminated composites by finite element analysis. First, the process of slitting in isotropic materials is simulated using two and three-dimensional finite element models. The results show complete agreement between these two models. Calculation of average strain at the strain gauge location is necessary for the calculation of compliance coefficients. For this purpose, strain-based and displacement-based methods are used. In addition, the effect of slit width on compliance coefficients is checked. Then, released strains by strain gauges with different gauge-lengths are compared with each other. The results show that the strain gauges with smaller gauge-lengths can record higher values of released strain and consequently increase the precision of measurements. Lastly, compliance coefficients for two glass/epoxy and carbon/epoxy laminates are calculated using the proposed three-dimensional model.

In the present paper a method is proposed to investigate the free vibration of a partially liquid-filled cylindrical tank. The mechanical properties of the container are assumed to change continuously along the thickness according to volume fraction Power-law, Sigmoid or Exponential distribution. The liquid is supposed to be incompressible and in viscid and its velocity potential is formulated by using Eigen function expansions. The interaction between the liquid and the plate was considered and the dynamic characteristics of the plate are extracted by using the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The results from the proposed method are in good agreement with experimental and numerical solutions available in the literature. A finite element analysis is also applied to check the validity of the results. Furthermore, the influence of various variables such as the number of nodal circles and diameters, volume fractions of functionally graded materials and liquid level on the dynamic behavior of the coupled system is investigated.

In this paper static analysis of orthotropic functionally graded material (FGM) cylinders with finite length was carried out by a mesh-free method. MLS shape functions are used for approximation of displacement field in the weak form of equilibrium equation and essential boundary conditions are imposed by transformation method. In this simulation, an ax symmetric model is used. Mechanical properties of cylinders were assumed to be variable in the radial direction as a function of volume fraction. In this analysis, effects of the cylinder thickness and length, volume fraction exponent, type of materials layout and essential boundary conditions on displacement fields and stress distribution for orthotropic cylinders are investigated. The results of the proposed method for isotropic FGM cylinders were compared with corresponding results obtained from FEM and previous published works and a very good agreement are seen between them. Also by comparing the stress distributions of orthotropic FGM cylinders and corresponding results of homogeneous multilayered orthotropic cylinders were confirmed.

A typical passive magnetic bearing has been modeled and analyzed for its performance characteristics. The magnetic bearing studied in this work comprised of a Shaft, inner magnets sleeved over the shaft, and outer magnetic rings. A detailed analysis has been perform on the force exerted by a permanent magnet on the shaft nurture to restore the shaft to its equilibrium position when an eccentricity is induced between the magnet and the shaft . A relation between the force exerted and the displacement of the shaft from its equilibrium position has been developed hence determining a specific stiffness value.