This research focuses on improvements and application of 1D finite elements for nonlinear dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete frames under extreme loadings. The concept of force interpolation is adopted for the element formulation and a solution scheme developed based on a total secant stiffness approach that provides good convergence characteristics. The geometrical nonlinearities including 2nd order P-Delta effects as well as catenary action are considered in the element formulation. It is shown that geometrical nonlinearities may have a significant effect on member (structure) response within extreme loading scenarios. In the analysis of structures subjected to extreme loadings, accurately modelling of the post peak response is vital and, in this respect, the objectivity of the solution with softening must be maintained. The softening of concrete under compression is taken into account, and the objectivity preserved, by adopting a nonlocal damage model for the compressive concrete. The capability of nonlocal flexibility-based formulation for capturing the post-peak response of reinforced concrete beam-columns is demonstrated by numerical examples. The 1D frame element model is extended for the modelling of 3D framed structures using a simplified torque-twist model that is developed to take account of interaction between normal and tangential forces at the section level. This simplified model can capture the variation of element torsional stiffness due to presence of axial force, bending moment and shear and is efficient and is shown to provide a reasonable degree of accuracy for the analysis of 3D reinforced concrete frames. The formulations and solution algorithms developed are tested for static and dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete framed structures with examples on impact analysis of beams, dynamic analysis of frames and progressive collapse assessment of frames taken from the literature. The verification shows that the formulation is very efficient and is capable of modelling of large scale framed structures, under extreme loads, quickly and with accuracy.

Abstract Grinding introduces unavoidable residual stresses of significant but unknown magnitudes. The effect of residual stresses in surface integrity is related to the nature of the residual stresses which relies purely on the process parameters and the workmaterial properties. It is a well-known fact that the fatigue strength of a ground component is increased by introducing compressive stresses. On the other hand, fatigue cracks may originate at regions of maximum tensile stress and usually at the surface of the material. Moreover, stress corrosion cracking is another consequence of critical surface tensile stress. Added to that, the residual stresses may result in dimension alteration and surface distortion, particularly for thin products such as plates. The beneficial effects of compressive residual stresses have been widely recognized in industry. The wise application of such a principle would bring about improved economical use of parts subjected to fatigue loading and aggressive environmental conditions. Therefore a better understanding of residual stress mechanisms is necessary to increase the dimensional accuracy and improve the surface integrity of ground elements, particularly for parts with high precision and manufactured by automated production lines. Consequently, the development of reliable models for predicting residual stresses is of great value in reducing the amount of measurements and experimental tests of residual stresses. Unfortunately, little effort has been devoted so far to develop appropriate models to take into account grinding conditions, workmaterial properties and boundary conditions. This thesis aims to investigate the residual stress mechanisms induced by grinding in terms of grinding parameters. In order to obtain a full understanding, both the roles of individual factors causing residual stresses (i.e. mechanical, thermal and phase transformation) and their couplings were carefully studied with the aid of the finite element method. The studies include: (1) residual stresses due to thermal grinding conditions, (2) residual stresses due to iso-thermal mechanical grinding conditions, (3) coupling of thermo-mechanical conditions, (4) coupling of thermo-phase transformation, and (5) the full coupling of all the factors. It is found that under sole thermal grinding conditions, the heat flux associated with up-grinding may lead to a higher grinding temperature compared with that of down-grinding. A constant flux introduces the least temperature rise if the total grinding energy is the same. Higher convection heat transfer not only decreases the grinding temperature but also makes the temperature rise occur mainly within a thin surface layer. A similar effect can be achieved by applying higher table speeds. When the grinding temperature is less than the austensing temperature, surface residual stresses are tensile. The heat generated within the grinding zone causes a very non-uniform temperature field in the workpiece. The part of the workmaterial subjected to a higher temperature rise expands more significantly and causes compressive stresses because of the restraint from its surrounding material that expands less. When the surface heat flux moves forward, the material outside the grinding zone contracts under cooling. Since the workmaterial has been plastically deformed during thermal loading, the contraction is restrained and thus a tensile stress field is generated locally. If a workpiece material experiences a critical temperature variation in grinding, phase transformation takes place and a martensite layer appears in the immediate layer underneath the ground surface. It was found that the growth of martensite develops a hardened zone with a higher yield stress that expands with the movement of the heat flux. A tensile surface residual stress is then developed. When the volume growth of material takes place during phase change, compressive residual stresses may also be generated. Under iso-thermal grinding conditions, it was found that plane stress is mainly compressive regardless of the distribution of surface traction and the direction of the tangential grinding force. With up-grinding, the residual stress in the grinding direction is always tensile. However, down-grinding may yield compressive surface residual stresses if the magnitude of the ratio of horizontal to vertical grinding forces is sufficiently large. Moreover, it is noted that discrete surface traction, which is more reasonable in terms of simulating the individual cutting of abrasive grits, would bring about more complex residual stress distribution that is very sensitive to the combined effect of individual cutting grits. If thermal and mechanical grinding conditions are coupled, a state free from residual stresses may be achieved if grinding heat is low and either the convection heat transfer or the table speed is high. However, it is found that the full coupling of the mechanical deformation, the thermal deformation and deformation by phase change results in tensile residual stresses. The effects of cooling and mechanical traction in this case however are minor. In summary, the research of this thesis explored the following: (a) grinding temperature development in terms of a wide range of grinding parameters together with the effect of temperature-dependent material properties, (b) the origin and onset of irreversible deformation due to mechanical loading, thermal loading and phase change under critical grinding conditions, (c) the effects of individual residual stress mechanisms and their partial and full couplings, and (d) the selection of grinding conditions to achieve beneficial residual stresses. Finally, based on the new findings in this research, a more comprehensive methodology is suggested for further study.

2 v. : / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (D.E.)--Dept. of Electrical Engineering, University of Adelaide

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 147 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-147).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are subject to inevitable and inherent uncertainties in their dimensional and material parameters. Those lead to variability in their performance and reliability. Manufacturing processes leave substantial variability in the shape and geometry of the device due to its small dimensions and high feature complexity, while the material properties of a component are inherently subject to scattering. The effects of these variations have to be considered and a modeling methodology is needed in order to ensure required MEMS performance under uncertainties. Furthermore, in the design of high-Q micro-resonators, dissipation mechanisms may have detrimental effects on the quality factor (Q). One of the major dissipation phenomena to consider is thermoelastic damping, so that performances are directly related to the thermoelastic quality factor, which has to be predicted accurately. The purpose of this research is to develop a numerical method to analyze the effects of geometric and material property random variations on the thermoelastic quality factor of micro-resonators. The extension of the Perturbation Stochastic Finite Element Method (PSFEM) to the analysis of strongly coupled multiphysic phenomena allows the quantification of the influence of uncertainties, making available a new efficient numerical tool to MEMS designers. Résumé Dans le domaine des microsystèmes électromécaniques (MEMS), les micro-résonateurs jouent un rôle important pour le développement de micro-capteurs de plus en plus précis (ex : micro-accéléromètres). Dans cette optique daugmentation de la précision, les pertes dénergie qui limitent les performances des micro-résonateurs doivent être identifiées et quantifiées. Le facteur limitant des micro-résonateurs actuels est leur facteur de qualité thermo-élastique, qui doit donc être prédit de manière précise. De plus, suite à la tendance actuelle de miniaturisation et complexification accrues des MEMS, les sources de dispersions sont très nombreuses, à la fois sur les constantes physiques des matériaux utilisés et sur les paramètres géométriques. La mise au point doutils numériques permettant de prendre en compte les incertitudes de manière efficace est donc primordiale afin daméliorer les prestations densemble du microsystème et dassurer un certain niveau de robustesse et de fiabilité. Le but de cette recherche est de développer une méthode numérique pour analyser les effets des variations aléatoires des propriétés matérielles et géométriques sur le facteur de qualité thermo-élastique de micro-résonateurs. Pour ce faire, lapproche dite perturbative de la méthode des éléments finis stochastiques (PSFEM) est étendue à lanalyse de phénomènes multiphysiques fortement couplés, fournissant ainsi aux acteurs de lindustrie des MEMS un nouvel outil de conception efficace.

In this study, a modified two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is used to analyze the deflections of the piezoelectric actuator of valveless micropump after being driven by applied voltage. And the volume change of the pump chamber caused by the deformation of the piezoelectric actuator is calculated. We expect these analyses will help the design of piezoelectric valveless micropump. This model is able to analyze the piezoelectric materials which can transform the mechanical energy to electric energy and vice versa by properly assuming the three displacement fields and including the electrical potential as the fourth degree of freedom. Comparisons of some examples are made between the present work and those available in the literature to validate the exactitude and the feasibility of the present work. Furthermore, the inspections of the variations of the deflections will be carried out by changing the geometrical dimensions of the piezoelectric actuators under the same driven voltage.

Modeling of the time-dependent behavior of cement paste has always been a difficulty. In the past, viscoelastic behavior of cementitious materials has been primarily attributed to the viscoelastic properties of C-S-H components. Recent experimental results show that C-S-H may not exhibit as much creep and relaxation as previously thought. This requires new consideration of different mechanisms leading to the viscoelastic behavior of cement paste. Thus the objective of this thesis is to build a computational model using finite element method to predict the viscoelastic behavior of cement paste, and using this model, virtual tests can be carried out to improve understanding of the mechanisms of viscoelastic behavior. The primary finding from this thesis is that the apparent viscoelastic behavior due to dissolution of load bearing phases is substantial. The dissolution process occurring during the hydration reaction can change the stress distribution inside cementitious materials, resulting in an apparent viscoelastic behavior of the whole cementitious materials. This finding requires new consideration of mechanisms of time-dependent behavior of cementitious materials regarding the dissolution process of cement paste.