In this paper the parametric design and functional optimisation of thin-walled structures made from plastics for food packaging is considered. These objects are produced in such vast numbers each year that one important task in the design of these objects is to minimise the amount of plastic used, subject to functional constraints, to reduce the costs of production and to conserve raw materials. By means of performing an automated optimisation on the possible shapes of the food containers, where the geometry is parametrised succinctly, a strategy to create the optimal design of the containers subject to a given set of functional constraints is demonstrated.

Metal foam is a relatively new and potentially revolutionary material that allows for components to be replaced with elements capable of large energy dissipation, or components to be stiffened with elements which will generate significant supplementary energy dissipation when buckling occurs. Metal foams provide a means to explore reconfiguring steel structures to mitigate cross-section buckling in many cases and dramatically increase energy dissipation in all cases. The microstructure of metal foams consists of solid and void phases. These voids have random shape and size. Therefore, randomness ,which is introduced into metal foams during the manufacturing processes, creating more uncertainty in the behavior of metal foams compared to solid steel. Therefore, studying uncertainty in the performance metrics of structures which have metal foams is more crucial than for conventional structures. Therefore, in this study, structural application of metal foams considering material and geometrical uncertainty is presented. This study applies the Sobol' decomposition of a function of many random variables to different problem in structural mechanics. First, the Sobol' decomposition itself is reviewed and extended to cover the case in which the input random variables have Gaussian distribution. Then two examples are given for a polynomial function of 3 random variables and the collapse load of a two story frame. In the structural example, the Sobol' decomposition is used to decompose the variance of the response, the collapse load, into contributions from the individual input variables. This decomposition reveals the relative importance of the individual member yield stresses in determining the collapse load of the frame. In applying the Sobol' decomposition to this structural problem the following issues are addressed: calculation of the components of the Sobol' decomposition by Monte Carlo simulation; the effect of input distribution on the Sobol' decomposition; convergence of estimates of the Sobol' decomposition with sample size using various sampling schemes; the possibility of model reduction guided by the results of the Sobol' decomposition. For the rest of the study the different structural applications of metal foam is investigated. In the first application, it is shown that metal foams have the potential to serve as hysteric dampers in the braces of braced building frames. Using metal foams in the structural braces decreases different dynamic responses such as roof drift, base shear and maximum moment in the columns. Optimum metal foam strengths are different for different earthquakes. In order to use metal foam in the structural braces, metal foams need to have stable cyclic response which might be achievable for metal foams with high relative density. The second application is to improve strength and ductility of a steel tube by filling it with steel foam. Steel tube beams and columns are able to provide significant strength for structures. They have an efficient shape with large second moment of inertia which leads to light elements with high bending strength. Steel foams with high strength to weight ratio are used to fill the steel tube to improves its mechanical behavior. The linear eigenvalue and plastic collapse finite element (FE) analysis are performed on steel foam filled tube under pure compression and three point bending simulation. It is shown that foam improves the maximum strength and the ability of energy absorption of the steel tubes significantly. Different configurations with different volume of steel foam and composite behavior are investigated. It is demonstrated that there are some optimum configurations with more efficient behavior. If composite action between steel foam and steel increases, the strength of the element will improve due to the change of the failure mode from local buckling to yielding. Moreover, the Sobol' decomposition is used to investigate uncertainty in the strength and ductility of the composite tube, including the sensitivity of the strength to input parameters such as the foam density, tube wall thickness, steel properties etc. Monte Carlo simulation is performed on aluminum foam filled tubes under three point bending conditions. The simulation method is nonlinear finite element analysis. Results show that the steel foam properties have a greater effect on ductility of the steel foam filled tube than its strength. Moreover, flexural strength is more sensitive to steel properties than to aluminum foam properties. Finally, the properties of hypothetical structural steel foam C-channels foamed are investigated via simulations. In thin-walled structural members, stability of the walls is the primary driver of structural limit states. Moreover, having a light weight is one of the main advantages of the thin-walled structural members. Therefore, thin-walled structural members made of steel foam exhibit improved strength while maintaining their low weight. Linear eigenvalue, finite strip method (FSM) and plastic collapse FE analysis is used to evaluate the strength and ductility of steel foam C-channels under uniform compression and bending. It is found that replacing steel walls of the C-channel with steel foam walls increases the local buckling resistance and decreases the global buckling resistance of the C-channel. By using the Sobol' decomposition, an optimum configuration for the variable density steel foam C-channel can be found. For high relative density, replacing solid steel of the lips and flange elements with steel foam increases the buckling strength. On the other hand, for low relative density replacing solid steel of the lips and flange elements with steel foam deceases the buckling strength. Moreover, it is shown that buckling strength of the steel foam C-channel is sensitive to the second order Sobol' indices. In summary, it is shown in this research that the metal foams have a great potential to improve different types of structural responses, and there are many promising application for metal foam in civil structures.

Yes / Here the design and functional optimisation of thermoformed thin-walled structures made from plastics is considered. Such objects are created in great numbers especially in the food packaging industry. In fact these objects are produced in such vast numbers each year, that one important task in the design of these objects is the minimisation of the amount of plastic used, subject to functional constraints. In this paper a procedure for achieving this is described, which involves the automatic optimisation of the mold shape taking into account the strength of the final object and its thickness distribution, thus reducing the need to perform inefficient and expensive `trial and error¿ experimentation using physical prototypes. An efficient technique for parameterising geometry is utilised here, enabling to create a wide variety of possible mold shapes on which appropriate analysis can be performed. The results of the analysis are used within an automatic optimisation routine enabling to find a design which satisfies user requirements. Thus, the paper describes a rational means for the automatic optimal design of composite thermoformed thin-walled structures.

Vlasov’s one-dimensional structural theory for thin-walled open section bars was originally developed and used for metallic elements. The theory was recently extended to laminated bars fabricated from advanced composite materials. The purpose of this research is to provide a study and assessment of the extended theory. The focus is on flexural and torsional-flexural buckling of thin-walled, open section, laminated composite columns. Buckling loads are computed from the theory using a linear bifurcation analysis, and are compared to available experimental data. Also, a geometrically nonlinear beam column analysis by the finite element method is developed from the theory. Results from the nonlinear compression response analysis are compared to limited available test data. The merits of the theory and its implementation are discussed. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

Most thin-walled metallic structural members experience some extent of interactive buckling that corrodes the load carrying capacity. Current design methods predict the strength of thin-walled metallic structural members based on individual buckling limit-states and limited case of interactive buckling limit state. In order to develop design methods for most coupled buckling limit states, the interaction of buckling modes needs to be studied. This dissertation first introduces a generally applicable methodology for Generalized Beam Theory (GBT) elastic buckling analysis on members with holes, where the buckling modes of gross cross-section interact with those of net cross-section. The approach treats member with holes as a structural system consisting of prismatic sub-members. These sub-members are connected by enforcing nodal compatibility conditions for the GBT discretization points at the interfaces. To represent the shear lag effect and nonlinear normal stress distribution in the vicinity of a hole, GBT shear modes with nonlinear warping are included. Modifications are made to the GBT geometric stiffness because of the influence from shear lag effect caused by holes. In the following sections, the GBT formulation for a prismatic bar is reviewed and the GBT formulation for members with holes is introduced. Special aspects of analyzing members with holes are defined, namely the compatibility conditions to connect sub-members and the geometric stiffness for members with holes. Validation and three examples are provided. The second topic of this dissertation involves a buckling mode decomposition method of normalized displacement field, bending stresses and strain energy for thin-walled member displacement field (point clouds or finite element results) based on generalized beam theory (GBT). The method provides quantitative modal participation information regarding eigen-buckling displacement fields, stress components and elastic strain energy, that can be used to inform future design approaches. In the method, GBT modal amplitudes are retrieved at discrete cross-sections, and the modal amplitude field is reconstructed assuming it can be piece-wisely approximated by polynomials. The unit displacement field, stress components and strain energy are all retrieved by using reconstructed GBT modal amplitude field and GBT constitutive laws. Theory and examples are provided, and potential applications are discussed including cold-formed steel member design and post-disaster evaluation of thin-walled structural members. In the third part, post-buckling modal decomposition is made possible by development of a geometrically nonlinear GBT software. This tool can be used to assist understanding couple-buckling limit-states. Lastly, the load-deformation response considering any one GBT mode is derived analytically for fast computation and interpretation of structural post-buckling behavior. / Ph. D. / Here I present novel analytical methods to quantitatively decompose interactive buckling in the thin-walled structures. Interactive buckling, where multiple buckling modes are present to initiate structure failure, often controls the load-carrying capacity of thin-walled structures, e.g., the amount of load a column can withstand or the maximum acceleration a space shuttle can experience. In this research, based on Generalized Beam Theory, I describe in detail the analytical methods revealing how buckling modes are coupled and contribute to key quantities related to the structural failure, namely, displacement, stress, and strain energy. I obtain the algorithms by performing rigorous mathematical derivations based on thin-walled mechanics. The research not only facilitates better building design according to the simplified method in the current design standard, but also enables advanced, nonlinear modal decomposition analysis using the custom-made Finite Element program. These studies aim to provide the quantitative understanding of the coupled buckling mechanism and further the development of more powerful strength prediction methods for thin-walled structures.

The work of this thesis sets out to give a clearer in-depth understanding of the failure mechanics of thin-walled compression members which are associated with complex interactions between the different buckling modes during the loading process. This thesis employs the finite element method in order to examine the effect of the modelling techniques imposed at the section junctions of short struts and to investigate the influence of the local and global end conditions with regard to support and loading on the compressive response of various sections, i.e. I-sections, plain channel sections, box-sections, and lipped channel sections. The thesis also details appropriate finite element modelling strategies and solution procedures taking due account of the influence of material nonlinearity and geometrical imperfections for the determination of the coupled mode interactive response of thin-walled compression members. A detailed account of the complete loading history of the compression members from the beginning of loading through to final collapse is given in the thesis. This involves elastic local buckling, nonlinear elastic and elasto-plastic post-buckling interaction behaviour and yield propagation leading to the development of an appropriate failure mechanism which causes final collapse and unloading. A new finite element modelling strategy has been developed in the thesis with particular reference to being able to deal with the classical assumption of the stress-free in-plane boundary conditions existing at the section junctions of short length strut members during post-local buckling. Also, for fixed-ended columns, with particular reference to singly-symmetric plain channel sections, it has been shown that column deflections are initiated from the onset of local buckling for the case of the constituent plate elements of the section being locally rotationally constrained at their ends. Such columns should not therefore be considered as an overall bifurcation problem of the locally buckled member. In the case of the pinned and fixed-ended boundary conditions of the columns, the finite element simulations are shown to be able to accurately describe the rather different complex failure mechanics with a high degree of imperfection sensitivity being shown to be in evidence for the pin-ended case. Considerably good agreement has been shown to occur with the independent simulations of other researchers using the finite strip method of analysis, with the analytical solution procedures of others and with the findings from independent test work and this has provided confidence in the viability and usefulness of the modelling strategies and solution procedures developed in this thesis.

This PhD thesis deals with employment of the state of the art methods of mathematical optimization and structural analysis in the field of load carrying steel structures of handling devices. The goal of the thesis is to compile a methodology which enables generating of optimal dimensions of conceptually designed load carrying parts of handling devices. The proposed methodology is composed of sub-methods which are successively applied to find an optimal configuration of structure according to a chosen criterion. The methodology incorporates sub-methods such as Design of Experiments, parametric finite-element modelling, the state of the art computational methods for stability assessment, mathematical approximation methods and state of the art optimization schemes based of both, heuristic and gradient principle. Recommendations from Eurocode 3 are used to introduce imperfections to the finite element model in order to perform the nonlinear buckling analysis. The practical part of this thesis is focused on optimization of welded beams. The principle of the methodology is in detail explained and demonstrated on an example of lifting spreader beam of load carrying capacity of 20 tons. The proposed methodology is practically realized by an algorithm created in Matlab software. Matlab is also utilized to implement some sub-methods including mathematical optimization schemes. Both, gradient and heuristic optimization algorithms are used for comparison and mutual verification. Structural analysis is performed by means of parametrical finite-element models which are built in the Ansys Parametric Design Language (APDL). The methodology takes into account buckling, which is inherent to thin walled structures under compressive load. The buckling analysis is performed by means of both, linear and non-linear procedures in Ansys. The output of the algorithm is an optimized configuration of the structure, which minimizes the objective function and complies with all requirements implemented in the form of design constraints.

The objective of this research is to develop a method to evaluate important weld dimensions in thin plates by using laser generated ultrasounds and EMAT receiver. The superimposed laser sources (SLS) technique is developed to generate narrowband Lamb waves with fixed wavelengths in thin plates. The method permits the flexibility of selecting desired wavelength. The signal processing procedure that combines wavenumber-frequency (k-w) domain filtering and synthetic phase tuning (SPT) is used to further reduce the complexity of Lamb waves. The k-w domain filtering technique helps to filter out the unwanted wave components traveling at the direction that is not of interest to us and the SPT technique is applied to amplify and isolate a particular Lamb wave mode. The signal processing procedure facilitates the calculation of reflection coefficients of Lamb waves that result from the presence of weld joints. The SLS and signal processing procedure are then applied to measure reflection coefficients in butt welds and lap welds. Two methods, the direct method and indirect method, are used to develop models that use reflection coefficients as predictors to predict these weld dimensions. The models developed in this research are shown to accurately predict weld dimensions in thin plates.

Le travail de thèse porte sur de nouveaux compléments et améliorations pour la théorie de la péridynamique concernant la modélisation numérique de structures minces telles que les poutres et les plaques, les composites isotropes et multicouches soumis à un chargement dynamique. Nos développements ont principalement porté sur l'exploration des possibilités offertes par la méthode péridynamique, largement appliquée dans divers domaines de l'ingénierie où des discontinuités fortes ou faibles peuvent se produire, telles que des fissures. La procédure de généralisation de la méthode Peridynamics pour la modélisation des structures de poutres de Timoshenko et des structures de plaques de Reissner-Mindlin avec une large plage de rapport épaisseur sur longueur allant de structures épaisses à très minces est indiquée. Et un impact avec une faible vitesse simplifié basé sur le modèle péridynamique développé pour la poutre de Timoshenko et la plaque de Reissner-Mindlin a été proposé en utilisant une procédure de contact spécifique pour l'estimation « naturelle » de la charge d'impact. L’originalité de la méthode actuelle réside dans l’introduction avec deux techniques permettant de réduire le problème de blocage par cisaillement qui se pose dans les structures à poutres et à plaques minces, à savoir la méthode d’intégration réduite (ou sélective) et la formulation mixte. Le modèle péridynamique résultant pour les structures de poutre de Timoshenko et les structures de plaque de Reissner-Mindlin est efficace et ne souffre d'aucun phénomène de verrouillage par cisaillement. En outre, la procédure de généralisation de la méthode péridynamique pour la modélisation de structures composites minces renforcées par des fibres est introduite. L’approche péridynamique pour la modélisation d’une couche est d’abord validée en quasi-statique, ce qui inclut des problèmes de prévision de la propagation de fissures soumis à des conditions de chargement mécaniques. La méthode péridynamique a ensuite été étendue à l’analyse de structures composites minces renforcées par des fibres utilisant la théorie fondamentale d’une couche. Enfin, plusieurs applications impliquant des structures composites minces renforcées par des fibres et des résultats numériques ont été validées par comparaison à la solution FEM obtenue à l'aide d'un logiciel commercial ou à des solutions de référence de la littérature. Dans toutes les applications, Péridynamics montre que les résultats correspondent parfaitement aux solutions de référence, ce qui prouve son potentiel d’efficacité, en particulier pour la simulation de chemins de fissures dans les structures isotropes et composites. / This thesis introduces some new complements and improvments for the Bond-Based Peridynamics theory concerning the numerical modeling of thin structures such as beams and plates, isotropic and multilayer composites subjected to dynamic loading. Our developments have been focused mainly on exploring the possibilities offered by the Peridynamic method, which has been widely applied in various engineering domains where strong or weak discontinuities may occur such as cracks or heterogeneous media. The generalization procedure of the Peridynamics method for the modeling of Timoshenko beam structures and Reissner-Mindlin plate structures respectively with a wide range of thickness to length ratio starting from thick structures to very thin structures is given. And A simplified low velocity impact based on the developed Peridynamic model for Timoshenko beam and ReissnerMindlin plate has been proposed by using a specific contact procedure for the estimation of the impact load. The originality of the present method was the introduction for the first time of two techniques for the alleviation of the shear locking problem which arises in thin beam and plate structures, namely the reduced (or selective) integration method and mixed formulation. The resulting Peridynamic model for Timoshenko beam structures and Reissner-Mindlin plate structures is efficient and does not suffer from any shear locking phenomenon. Besides, the generalization procedure of Peridynamic method for the modeling of fiber-reinforced thin composite structures is introduced. The Peridynamic approach for the modeling of a lamina is firstly validated in the quasi-statics including a crack propagation prediction problems subjected to mechanical loading conditions and then the Peridynamic method was further extended to analyze fiber-reinforced thin composite structures using the fundamental lamina theory. Finally, several applications involving fiber-reinforced thin composite structures and numerical results were validated by comparison to the FEM solution obtained using commercial software or to reference solutions from the literature. In all applications, the Peridynamics shows that results are matching perfectly the reference solutions, which proves its efficiency potentiality especially for crack paths simulation in isotropic and composite structures.

Thin-walled cold-formed steel (CFS) has exhibited inherent structural and architectural advantages over other constructional materials, for example, high strength-to-weight ratio, ease of fabrication, economy in transportation and the flexibility of sectional profiles, which make CFS ideal for modern residential and industrial buildings. They have been increasingly used as purlins as the intermediate members in a roof system, or load-bearing components in low- and mid-rise buildings. However, using CFS members in building structures has been facing challenges due to the lack of knowledge to the fire performance of CFS at elevated temperatures and the lack of fire design guidelines. Among all available design specifications of CFS, EN1993-1-2 is the only one which provided design guidelines for CFS at elevated temperatures, which, however, is based on the same theory and material properties of hot-rolled steel. Since the material properties of CFS are found to be considerably different from those of hot-rolled steel, the applicability of hot-rolled steel design guidelines into CFS needs to be verified. Besides, the effect of non-uniform temperature distribution on the failure of CFS members is not properly addressed in literature and has not been specified in the existing design guidelines. Therefore, a better understanding of fire performance of CFS members is of great significance to further explore the potential application of CFS. Since CFS members are always with thin thickness (normally from 0.9 to 8 mm), open cross-section, and great flexural rigidity about one axis at the expense of low flexural rigidity about a perpendicular axis, the members are usually susceptible to various buckling modes which often govern the ultimate failure of CFS members. When CFS members are exposed to a fire, not only the reduced mechanical properties will influence the buckling capacity of CFS members, but also the thermal strains which can lead additional stresses in loaded members. The buckling behaviour of the member can be analysed based on uniformly reduced material properties when the member is unprotected or uniformly protected surrounded by a fire that the temperature distribution within the member is uniform. However if the temperature distribution in a member is not uniform, which usually happens in walls and/or roof panels when CFS members are protected by plaster boards and exposed to fire on one side, the analysis of the member becomes very complicated since the mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and yield strength and thermal strains vary within the member. This project has the aim of providing better understanding of the buckling performance of CFS channel members under non-uniform temperatures. The primary objective is to investigate the fire performance of plasterboard protected CFS members exposed to fire on one side, in the aspects of pre-buckling stress distribution, elastic buckling behaviour and nonlinear failure models. Heat transfer analyses of one-side protected CFS members have been conducted firstly to investigate the temperature distributions within the cross-section, which have been applied to the analytical study for the prediction of flexural buckling loads of CFS columns at elevated temperatures. A simplified numerical method based on the second order elastic – plastic analysis has also been proposed for the calculation of the flexural buckling load of CFS columns under non-uniform temperature distributions. The effects of temperature distributions and stress-strain relationships on the flexure buckling of CFS columns are discussed. Afterwards a modified finite strip method combined with the classical Fourier series solutions have been presented to investigate the elastic buckling behaviour of CFS members at elevated temperatures, in which the effects of temperatures on both strain and mechanical properties have been considered. The variations of the elastic buckling loads/moments, buckling modes and slenderness of CFS columns/beams with increasing temperatures have been examined. The finite element method is also used to carry out the failure analysis of one-side protected beams at elevated temperatures. The effects of geometric imperfection, stress-strain relationships and temperature distributions on the ultimate moment capacities of CFS beams under uniform and non-uniform temperature distributions are examined. At the end the direct strength method based design methods have been discussed and corresponding recommendations for the designing of CFS beams at elevated temperatures are presented. This thesis has contributed to improve the knowledge of the buckling and failure behaviour of CFS members at elevated temperatures, and the essential data provided in the numerical studies has laid the foundation for further design-oriented studies.