This work demonstrates the effectiveness of coextrusion as a method to manufacture negative stiffness inclusions for use in vibrational damping applications. The theory and mechanics of negative stiffness and coextrusion are introduced and the process of creating and extruding a feed rod with negative stiffness architecture explained. Coextrusion is shown to be a viable method to create negative stiffness inclusions / text

The primary purpose of the present study was to determine the acute hemodynamic responses to twenty-three select yoga postures in advanced and novice yoga practitioners. Additionally, we sought to determine if trunk flexibility is related to arterial stiffness. Using a cross-sectional study design, 37 apparently healthy adults (26 females and 11 males; 22-71 years old) were divided into two groups according to level of yoga experience. Beat-to-beat measures of blood pressure, stroke volume, cardiac work-load, cardiac output, and total peripheral resistance were measured using a finger plethysmograph during the yoga routine. Baseline measures of trunk flexibility (sit-and-reach scores and inclinometer measurements) and arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity) were also compared. Yoga postures elicited significant increases in heart rate, blood pressure and cardiac output (P<0.05) for both groups. There was no difference in blood pressure responses between the two groups throughout the yoga testing session. Lumbar flexion, as measured by an inclinometer, was significantly (P<0.01) and inversely associated with cfPWV (r=-0.52). / text

Šiuo metu medžiagų poreikis gamybai yra labai išaugęs.Todėl inžinieriai stengiasi atrasti vis naujų arba tobulesnių medžiagų. Daugiasluoksnės konstrukcijos įgauna vis didesnę paklausą, dėl savo savikainos ir pritaikymo galimybės.Naudojant šias medžiagas galima gauti norimas masės ir stiprumo konstrukcijas. Daugiasluoksniams konstrukciniams elementams gaminti naudojamos tokios medžiagos kaip:stiklo, boro, plastiko pluoštai ir t.t. Mes išanalizavome 6 metrų sijas iš dviejų medžiagų. Mes analizavome skirtingus skerspjūvius ir skirtingus sluoksnių storius, paskaičiavome skerspjūvių stiprumą ir standumą. Taip pat analizavome racionalių sijų pranašumus. Nustatyta kurie skerspjūviai yra pranašiausi. Taip pat nustatyta, kad racionalios sijos yra pranašesnės už vientiso skerspjūvio. Gavome, kad racionalios sijos yra pigesnės iki 30 procentų. / Dolieba M. Influence of analysis of Strength and Stiffness of Two- Ply Beam: Master thesis of mechanical engineer / research advisor Assoc. Prof. habil. Dr. J. Bareišis; Šiauliai University, Technological Faculty, Mechanical Engineering Department.- Šiauliai, 2007. Materials for construction needful more and more. Engineers trying to get more perfection materials. Multiplayer construction is very popular at this time, because it is cheaper, we can reduce the weight and the forse. Different products and constructions elements using multiplayer constructions from glass, carbon, boric plastic and other materials. We analysing six meters beam from two ply. We take different cross-section and different high of ply and analysing strength and stiffness. After we calculating how less material need for rational beam. In result we see which cross-section are best for using. At first we see that multiplayer constructions have the advantage before common beams. We get that rational beam are thirty percent cheaper.

Composite materials are formed by combiing two or more materials that have quite different properties. The different materials work together to give the composite unique properties, but within the composite you can easily tell the the different materials apart – they do not dissolve or blend into each other. Modern aviation, both military and civil, is a prime example. It would be much less efficient without composites. In fact, the demands made by that industry for materials that are both light and strong has been the main force driving the development of composites. The greatest advantage of composite materials is strength and stiffness combined with lightness. By choosing an appropriate combination of reinforcement and matrix material, manufacturers can produce properties that exactly fit the requirements for a particular structure for a particular purpose. In general, composite materials are very durable. The downside of composites is usually the cost. Although manufacturing processes are often more efficient when composites are used, the raw materials like steel, but in many cases they are just what we need.

Šiame baigiamajame magistro darbe išanalizuota įstrižai lenkiamos daugiasluoksnės sijos standumo priklausomybė nuo medžiagos tamprumo modulio ir sijos stiprumas nuo sijos geometrinių parametrų. Tyrimo objektu buvo pasirinkti du nelygiašoniai kampuočiai 100x63x6, 100x63x10 ir vienas lygiašonis 100x100x6. Kampuočiai užpildomi skirtingo tamprumo modulio medžiagomis. Sijos galas apkraunamas 10 kN jėga. Sijoje įstrižas lenkimas susidaro dėl kampučio ir užpildo tamprumo modulio skirtumo, todėl sijos standumo centro koordinatės nebesutampa su geometrinio centro koordinatėmis. Užpildytas kampuotis pasirinktas dėl praktinės naudos, nes jį užpildžius kita pigesne medžiaga, padidinamas jo standumas įstrižam lenkimui. Sija tampa kvadrato ar stačiakampio formos, kas leidžia lengviau montuoti siją jai skirtoje vietoje. Tyrimui atlikti panaudojami du metodai - tai analitiniai skaičiavimai ir BEM (Baigtinių Elementų Metodas). Rezultatuose palyginami rezultatai gauti iš analitinių skaičiavimų ir iš BEM. / In this Master of Science thesis was analyzed skew bended multilayer beams stiffness dependence on material elastic modulus and strength of the beam from the beam geometrical parameters and elastic modulus. As the Objects of investigation was selected two scalene angles 100x63x6, 100x63x10, and one isosceles 100x100x6. Scalene angles were filled with different materials of different elastic modulus. End of the beam was loaded 10 kN force. Skew bend in this multilayer beam arise because the elastic modulus of angles and filled materials are different, and then the coordinate system of stiffness center do not coincident with geometrical coordinate system. Filled angle was chosen for practical use, because when we filled it with another cheaper material, it could be increased the skew bending stiffness. Beam become square or rectangular, that allows easier installation of the beam in place. Survey used two methods - the analytical calculations and FEA (Finite Element Analysis). The results were obtained from analytical calculations and the FEA, and compared.

The influence of yielding foundations on the mechanical behaviour of reinforced soil walls including wall deformations and loads (strains) in the reinforcement layers is very complex. Based on a review of the literature, there is a need to quantify and isolate the influence of foundation boundary type and magnitude of foundation stiffness on deformations and reinforcement loads in geosynthetic reinforced soil walls. This thesis presents the results of a series of 1/6-scale reinforced soil wall model tests that were carried out to examine the influence of horizontal and vertical toe compliance and vertical foundation compressibility on wall behaviour. The heavily instrumented walls were constructed in a strongbox that was 1.2 m high by 1.6 m wide and retained soil to a distance of 2.3 m behind the facing. The models were uniformly surcharged in stages following construction. The experimental program consisted of three groups of tests. Group 1 tests involved five walls. One wall was constructed with a very stiff horizontal restraint, and three walls were constructed with different horizontal toe stiffness using combinations of coiled springs. The remaining wall in this series was constructed without any horizontal toe restraint. Group 2 was comprised of three walls. One wall was a control wall with a rigid toe. The other two walls were constructed with different vertical toe stiffness support using different combinations of rubber blocks. Group 3 included a control wall with a rigid foundation and a companion wall constructed with a compressible foam and rubber layers below the backfill soil and the wall facing. The results demonstrate that the quantitative behaviour of the models was affected by the type and magnitude of foundation stiffness. For example, as horizontal toe stiffness increased a greater portion of the total horizontal earth load against the wall facing was carried by the toe. The data showed that the shape of facing lateral deformation profiles changed from rotation about the toe for the case of a very stiff horizontal toe to a more uniform profile for the unrestrained toe case. For the case of a rigid vertical footing support below the facing, vertical toe loads were greater than those computed from facing self-weight alone due to down-drag forces developed at the facing–reinforcement connections as the wall facing moved outward. As vertical toe support stiffness decreased with respect to foundation compressibility below the soil backfill, the magnitude of soil down-drag forces diminished resulting in a decrease in vertical toe load. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-27 12:15:56.027

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Understanding the mechanical properties of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms is paramount to improving treatment of this deadly condition. Here, we present work that makes strides in understanding not only the mechanical behavior and constitutive parameters of the two vessels that experience AAAs in different models, but also the effects of three major components of AAA formation. Biaxial mechanical tests were performed using a modified computer- controlled device. We examined the solid mechanics of the infrarenal and suprarenal aorta to examine why non-targeted models of AAAs (like Ang-II infusion) form exclusively in the suprarenal aorta whereas in humans the lesions preferentially form in the infrarenal aorta. The major difference between the two vessels is the elastin content and lamellar thickness in the suprarenal aorta. We analyzed the mechanical and constitutive effects of an acute loss of functional elastin via intraluminal exposure to elastase. We found that after elastase exposure, vessels were less distensible and experienced non-uniform, but modest dilatation. The constitutive parameters reflect elastin loss and increased collagen loading. We detailed the loss of smooth muscle cell contractility as found in human lesions that form in the thoracic aorta. We examined wild-type (WT), heterozygous (HET), and null (KO) a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) mice. The data and associated constitutive parameters were nearly identical amongst the three groups. We studied the biaxial mechanical tests on Angiotensin-II-infused ApoE-/- mice. This model is common model of AAA; however, instead of dilation and a thinning of the wall as in AAAs, Ang-II results in a dissecting aneurysm with adventitial growth. The pressure-diameter curves show a lack of sigmoidal shape attributed to elastin, there is some distensibility. The pressure-force behavior of these vessels is similar to a native vessel, unlike the pressure-force behavior of the elastase vessels. We have added a piece to the puzzle in understanding why AAAs occur preferentially in the suprarenal in mice as opposed to the infrarenal in humans. Our work with the a-SMA mice, introduces the idea that missense mutations in the ACTA2 gene, rather than the knocking out of the gene, leads to vascular diseases. We have increased the knowledge of the Ang-II infusion model by presenting biaxial mechanical data of the resulting dilatations. We have also further explored this widely used AAA model via histology to determine that in it is not a model for aneurysm development, but is a dissecting adventitial disease.

The analysis of bearing systems involves the prediction of their static and dynamic characteristics. The capability to compute the dynamic characteristics for hydrodynamic bearings has been added to Bearing Design System (BRGDS), a finite element program developed by Dr. R.W. Stephenson, and the results obtained were validated. In this software, a standard finite element implementation of the Reynolds equation is used to model the land region of the bearing with pressure degrees of freedom. The assumptions of incompressible flow, constant viscosity, and no fluid inertia terms are made. The pressure solution is integrated to give the bearing load, and the stiffness and damping characteristics were calculated by a perturbation method. The static and dynamic characteristics of 60, 120 and 180 partial bearings were verified and compared for a length to diameter (L/D) ratio of 0.5. A comparison has also been obtained for the 120 bearing with L/D ratios of 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0. A 360-journal bearing was verified for an L/D ratio of 0.5 and also compared to an L/D ratio of 1.0. The results are in good agreement with other verified results. The effect of providing lubricant to the recesses has been shown for a 120 hybrid hydrostatic bearing with a single and double recess.

Hopping is considered a mass-spring model movement in which the leg supports the center of mass. There is a preferred hopping frequency and hopping outside of that frequency is more difficult and requires more energy. Leg stiffness has been shown to be an important factor when hopping at different frequencies in young adult populations. The purpose of this study was to observe how a still-developing preadolescent population would modify leg stiffness while hopping at different frequencies and if they have similar motor control strategies compared to young adults. The subjects hopped on their dominant leg to the beat of a metronome at one of four frequency conditions based on their calculated preferred frequency, MP (preferred frequency), MM (20% increase), MF (40% increase), and MS (20% decrease). It was found that this population could change their hopping frequency and they achieved this by manipulating their leg stiffness. At the higher frequency conditions there was less movement of the toe and the center of mass in both the vertical and horizontal directions, including decreased hopping height, decreased COM displacement and COM range of motion. Preadolescents demonstrated an adult-like ability to increase leg stiffness and modulate movement of the toe and the COM while adapting to a range of hopping frequencies. This ability could translate into other mass-spring model movements such as running and jumping.