Dynamic responses of the MR Elastomers and MR gel have been studied care- fully by various research groups. However, to understand completely the dynamic response of the material, it is important to have a clear understanding of quasi-static response of the material. Thus, for the current work, we have studied quasi-static response of the MR gel. For current setup, 27 samples were prepared using Septon, plasticizer and magnetic particles and were tested for 3 rounds over 3 different magnetic fields under plane strain compression. The results from plane strain compression show linear increase in the load taken with the increase in concentration of magnetic particles in absence of any magnetic field. The response characteristics under uniform magnetic field showed a huge leap in the load taken for particular deflection. To study the quasistatic respose, the material is assumed to behave like an isotropic hyperelastic response. Field dependent Neo-Hookean and field dependent Valanis Landel models have been fit to the data, and it was found that simple 1-term field dependent Valanis Landel model with power law coefficient as four agrees well with the shear modulus obtained from experiments. The shear modulus of MAP from the Valanis Landel and Neo Hookean model was assumed to be linearly dependent on the concentration of magnetic particles and magnetic field, and this matched the experimental data well.

Polypeptides are polymerized chains of amino acids linked covalently through peptide bonds. Polyelectrolyte polypeptides are polypeptides with electrolyte repeating groups. Several amino acids contain ionizable side chains which result in charge distributions when dissolved in aqueous solutions. This dissertation is motivated by a desire to gain knowledge of polyelectrolyte polypeptides as recent advances in chemical synthesis of polypeptides have made possible the fabrication of designed polypeptides that do not naturally occur in nature. Potential applications of newly designed polypeptides span the range from medical to clothing and energy even to robotics. In this dissertation we compare the characteristic behavior of two polypeptide polyanions: Poly-(L-Glutamic Acid) [PLE] and Poly-(L-Glutamic Acid4, Tyrosine1) [PLEY(4:1)]. Comparative characteristic behaviors of each is conducted through relaxation phenomena in the context of mechanical elasticity measurements of hydrogels and dielectric relaxation of aqueous solutions in a radio frequency range of 1 MHz to 1000 MHz. Hydrogels are fabricated by crosslinking each polyanion with Poly-(L-Lysine) [PLK], a polycation, via the crosslinker 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). Elasticity and viscoelasticity measurements are conducted in a fixture designed by our lab. Dielectric relaxation behavior is studied on aqueous solution of both PLEY and PLE using a capacitive fixture, also designed in our lab. RF signals provided by an impedance analyzer are converted to permittivity and dielectric loss measurements. Peaks in dielectric loss provide evidence of relaxation mechanisms. A comparison of experimental results to theoretical expectations reveal both expected and some surprising behavior. Relaxation times for crosslinked hydro-gels scale according to theoretical expectations according to so-called reptation dynamics. However, relaxation times of aqueous solutions did not scale as entangled polyelectrolytes. First, both PLEY and PLE scaled as neutral polymers rather than polyelectrolytes. This was expected because of the high concentrations studied. However, due to the high concentrations, it was expected that polypeptides were entangled in solutions. Data compared to theory did not support this expectation. We, additionally, conducted a self-crosslinking experiment of a polyampholyte: RADA16. RADA16 is known to self-assemble into nano-fibers formed by -sheet stacking. The self-crosslinking was also mediated by EDC. Results of crosslinking showed formation of polypeptide spherules as well as nano-crystals nominally orthorhombic in shape. It was not possible to ascertain composition of the nano-crystals due to both the limited amount of raw material available and the capabilities of measurement equipment as of this writing. It is hypothesized that nano-crystals are composed of some type of urea by-product from the crosslinking reaction. The spherules, on the other hand, seem to be described by the theory of hydrophobic polyelectrolytes. Additional research conducted with regards to electromagnetic hydrodynamic flows during the time frame of this dissertation is also included. The research uses hydrodynamic conservation equations as a starting point to derive one electromagnetic flow momentum equation analogous to the Cauchy momentum equation of hydrodynamics. It also introduces a mass- energy conservation equation for electromagnetic flow that has no hydrodynamic analogue. We begin this dissertation by introducing in Chapter 1 some of the theoretical background necessary to understand results from experiments. Chapter 2 introduces experimental results from elasticity and viscoelasticity measurements and Chapter 3 explains the dielectric relaxation experiment. We then follow with Chapter 4 which presents conclusions from mechanical and dielectric relaxation experiments in a concise format. Results from the self- crosslinking of RADA16 are presented in Chapter 5. Finally, the additional research on electromagnetic flow is presented in Chapter 6.

[pt] Em décadas recentes, renovou-se o interesse no campo da estabilidade estrutural em função das novas aplicações envolvendo estruturas inteligentes e ajustáveis, micro e nano componentes e a mecânica dos metamateriais. Em muito destas estruturas deseja-se um comportamento multiestável, que pode ser obtido por materiais tradicionais ou novos materiais capazes de sofrer grandes deformações elásticas. Neste trabalho o comportamento não linear, estabilidade e vibrações de uma treliça neo-Hookeana que exibe comportamento multiestável é investigada. Neste caso, a teoria de grandes deformações é essencial para modelar as barras da treliça. Muitos trabalhos na literatura investigam a estabilidade de treliças, porém são restritos ao comportamento linear dos materiais. No presente trabalho uma análise paramétrica detalhada de treliças abatidas e não abatidas submetidas à carga estática vertical ou horizontal é realizada, considerando a elasticidade em seu domínio não linear completo para derivar as equações não lineares de equilíbrio e movimento. Imperfeições de carga e geométricas são consideradas. Assim, os caminhos de equilíbrio são obtidos, sua estabilidade é investigada utilizando o princípio da energia potencial mínima, frequências naturais e conceito de bacias de atração. Os resultados demonstram que a presença simultânea da não linearidade do material e geométrica dá origem a novos caminhos de equilíbrio que não são esperados para os materiais elásticos lineares, resultando em várias soluções estáveis e instáveis coexistentes e em uma complexa superfície de energia potencial, esclarecendo a influência do modelo neo-Hookeano nos resultados. Os presentes resultados poderão ajudar no desenvolvimento de novas aplicações na engenharia onde a multiestabilidade é desejada. / [en] Recent decades have seen a renewed interest in the field of structural stability due to new applications involving smart and deployable structures, micro- and nanocomponents and mechanical metamaterials, among others. In many of these structures multistable behaviour is desirable, which can be accomplished by traditional and new materials capable of undergoing large elastic deformations. In this paper the nonlinear behaviour, stability and vibrations of a hyperelastic neo-Hookean truss exhibiting multistable behaviour is investigated. In such case, the large deformation theory is essential to model the truss members. Most papers in the literature dealing with this problem is however restricted to linear material behaviour. In the present work a detailed parametric analysis of shallow and steep trusses under horizontal or vertical loads, considering elasticity in the fully non-linear range is employed to derive the nonlinear equilibrium and motion equations. Then, all equilibrium paths are obtained and their stability is investigated using the minimum energy principle, natural frequencies and the basins of attraction concept. Load and geometric imperfections are considered. The results show that the simultaneous presence of geometric and materials nonlinearities lead to new equilibrium paths which are not expected for linear elastic materials, resulting in several coexisting stable and unstable solutions and a complex potential energy landscape, clarifying the influence of the constitutive hyperelastic model on the results. The present results may help the development of new engineering applications where multistability is wanted.

The surface oscillations in a deformable wall are known to induce an instability in the adjacent flow even in the absence of inertia. This instability, if understood properly, can be exploited to generate a well-mixed flow pattern with improved transport coefficients in microfluidic systems, wherein the benefits of inertial instabilities can not be realised. In order to utilise the wall deformability in micro-devices as well as other biotechnological applications, the quantitative knowledge of the critical parameter for the on-set of instability and the nature of bifurcation in the region of transition point are essential. With this objective, a major portion of this thesis deals with the stability analysis of flow past a flexible surface. For Newtonian flow over a deformable solid medium, the analyses of hydrodynamic stability in two flow regimes are presented: the viscous mode instability in the limit of zero Reynolds number, and the wall mode instability in the limit of high Reynolds number. The flexible solid in both analyses is described as a neo-Hookean solid continuum of finite thickness. The previous work on viscous instability using the same solid model ignored the viscous dissipation in the solid. In the present study, a purely elastic neo-Hookean model is augmented to incorporate the viscous stresses accounting for the dissipative mechanism in an aqueous gel-like solid medium. The linear stability analysis for this neo-Hookean viscoelastic solid shows a dramatic influence of solid viscosity on the stability behaviour. The important parameter here is where ηr is the solid viscosity relative to the fluid viscosity and H is the solid-to-fluid thickness ratio. While the effect solid viscosity is stabilizing for a further increase in viscosity in the regime reduces the critical shear rate for transition, indicating a destabilizing influence of solid viscosity. The weakly nonlinear analysis indicates that the bifurcation is subcritical for most values of H when ηr =0. However, for non-zero solid viscosity, the analysis reveals a range of ηr for which the nature of bifurcation is supercritical. The results are in contrast to the behaviour for the Hookean (linear) elastic solid, for which the effect of solid viscosity is always stabilising and the bifurcation is subcritical for all values of H and ηr. For the wall mode instability, critical parameters for the linear and the neo-Hookean elastic solid are found to be very close. The weakly nonlinear analysis of the wall mode instability shows that the instability is driven to a supercritically stable branch, indicating the possibility of a stable complex flow pattern which is ) correction to the base flow. The amplitude of the supercritically bifurcated equilibrium state, A1e, is derived in the vicinity of the critical point, and its scaling with the flow Reynolds number is obtained. The nonlinear analysis is also carried out using the asymptotic analysis in small parameter Re−1/3. The asymptotic results are found to be in good agreement with the numerical solutions for For a polymeric flow over a deformable solid medium, the viscous instability is analysed by extending the viscous mode for the Newtonian fluid to the fluid with finite elasticity. The viscoelastic fluid is described by an Oldroyd-B model which introduces two additional parameters: the Weissenberg number, W , and β, the ratio of solvent-to-solution viscosity. The polymer viscosity parameter β is an indirect measure of polymer concentration with the extreme cases of β =1 representing the Newtonian fluid and β =0the upper convected Maxwell fluid. The analysis considers both the linearly elastic and the neo-Hookean models to describe the deformable solid. The analysis reveals the presence of two classes of modes: the finite wavelength modes and the shortwave modes. The behaviour of the finite wavelength modes is similar for both the models of solid medium. The effect of increasing fluid Weissenberg number and also increasing polymer concentration (achieved by reducing β below 1) on the finite wavelength instability is stabilising. The viscous instability ceases to exist for W larger than a certain maximum value Wmax. The behaviour of the shortwave mode is remarkably different for both the models of solid. Using the shortwave asymptotic, the differences are elucidated and it is shown that the shortwave instabilities in both the models are qualitatively different modes. For a linear elastic solid model, the shortwave mode is attributed to the normal-stresses in polymeric fluid with high Weissenberg number. This mode does not exist for the Newtonian flow and is a downstream travelling disturbance wave. On the other hand, the shortwave mode for the neo-Hookean model is attributed to the normal-stress difference in the elastic solid. Hence, this mode does exist for the Newtonian fluid and is an upstream travelling disturbance wave. The role of polymer concentration in the criticality of finite wavelength and shortwave modes is examined for a wide range of Weissenberg number. The results are condensed in a map showing the stability boundaries in parametric space covering β, W and H. The weakly nonlinear analysis reveals that the bifurcation of linear instability is subcritical when there is no dissipation in the solid. The nature of bifurcation, however, changes to supercritical when the viscous effects in the solid are taken into account. The final problem of this thesis deals with the flow past a rigid surface. Here, the stability of base profile in a plane Couette flow of dilute polymeric fluid is studied at moderate Reynolds number. Three variants of Oldroyd-B model have been analysed, viz. the classical Oldroyd-B model, the diffusive Oldroyd-B model, and the non-homogeneous Oldroyd-B model. The Newtonian wall modes are modified marginally for the polymeric fluid described by the classical Oldroyd-B model. The Oldroyd-B model with artificial diffusivity introduces the additional ‘diffusive modes’ which scale with P´eclet number. The diffusive modes become the slowest decaying modes, in comparison to the wall modes, for large wavenumber disturbances. For these two models, the polymeric flow is linearly stable. Using the equilibrium flow method, wherein the nonlinear flow is assumed to be at the transition point, the finite amplitude disturbances are analysed, and the threshold energy necessary for subcritical transition is estimated. The third variant of Oldroyd-B model accounts for non-homogeneous polymer concentration coupled with the stress field. This model exhibits an instability in the linear analysis. The ‘concentration mode’ becomes unstable when the fluid Weissenberg number exceeds a certain transition value. This instability is driven by the stress-induced fluctuations in polymer number density.

In vielen industriellen Anwendungen sind Dichtungen im Einsatz. Vergleicht man den Preis mit dem eines Gesamtsystems, in denen Dichtungen verwendet werden, so sind Dichtungen verhältnismäßig günstig. Jedoch führt ein Versagen von Dichtungen meist zu schwerwiegenden Konsequenzen. Dichtungen sind komplexe Subsysteme und ihre Auslegung erfordert umfangreiche Kenntnisse im Bereich Materialmodellierung, Belastung und Versagenskriterien. Die heutige Simulationstechnologie ermöglicht einen parametrischen Workflow für die Berechnung des Verhaltens von Dichtungen mit den auftretenden Effekten wie nichtlinearem Materialverhalten, wechselnden Kontaktbedingungen und Flüssigkeitsunterwanderung bei Druck. Als ein führendes Simulationswerkzeug für diese physikalische Fragestellung wird ANSYS Mechanical für die Auslegung herangezogen. Desweiteren kann das Verständnis für das Produkt erhöht werden, was zu einer Verbesserung der Funktionalität und der Zuverlässigkeit führt. Versuchsdaten können als Spannungs-Dehnungskurven in ANSYS importiert werden, welche das Materialverhalten des hyperelastischen Werkstoffs mit traditionellen Materialmodellen wie Mooney Rivlin, Ogden and Yeoh oder einer neueren Formulierung, der Antwortfunktionsmethode, widerspiegeln. Robuste Kontakttechnologien beschleunigen die Simulation und Entwicklungszeit-Berechnungszeiten und gewährleisten ein genaues Verhalten des Simulationsmodells. Insbesondere bei Dichtungen ist die druckbeaufschlagte Fläche in 2D und 3D Anwendungen von Bedeutung. ANSYS berechnet diese automatisch in Abhängigkeit des aktuellen Kontaktzustandes. Diese benutzerfreundliche Unterstützung führt zu einer höheren Genauigkeit des Simulationsergebnisses, da ein manuelles Schätzen der Druckflächen entfällt. Mit einem parametrischen und durchgängigen Ansatz innerhalb von ANSYS Workbench, beginnend bei der CAD-Geometrie, über die Vernetzung, Material- und Randbedingungsdefinition und Lösung. können eine Reihe von Varianten in kurzer Zeit berechnet werden. Neben einem besseren Verständnis für das Produkt hilft dies dem Ingenieur Änderungen vorzunehmen, was zu exakten und aussagekräftigen Ergebnissen führt. Desweiteren kann der Einfluss von Unsicherheiten berücksichtigt werden, sodass der Berechnungsingenieur fernab von idealen Bedingungen robuste und zuverlässige Dichtungen entwickeln kann.

Submitted by Cláudia Bueno (claudiamoura18@gmail.com) on 2015-10-27T18:16:56Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Renato de Sousa e Silva - 2015.pdf: 7212801 bytes, checksum: 41d5a93b0ae749a6418b871cd4fea683 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-10-28T14:29:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Renato de Sousa e Silva - 2015.pdf: 7212801 bytes, checksum: 41d5a93b0ae749a6418b871cd4fea683 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-28T14:29:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Renato de Sousa e Silva - 2015.pdf: 7212801 bytes, checksum: 41d5a93b0ae749a6418b871cd4fea683 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-12 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG / Structural elements with large deformation capacity as hyperelastic membranes are gaining prominence in several engineering branches and have applications in biomechanics, thus the study of the dynamic behavior of hyperelastic structures is very important to minimize effects as the loss of the stability and undesirable vibrations. In this paper the elasticity theory for large deformations in the development of membrane theory, in order to investigate the linear and nonlinear dynamic behavior of hyperelastic membrane is used. A rectangular membrane composed of an elastomeric material, isotropic, homogeneous, incompressible and consisting of neo-Hookeano, Mooney-Rivlin and Yeoh models is considered. To model the membrane, the energy and work of external forces are used together with the application of the Hamilton on the Lagrange function. The Galerkin method is applied to obtain a discretized system of nonlinear Partial Differential Equations (PDE) and the Runge-Kutta method of 4th order is used to obtain its time response. Finally, the Brute Force and Continuation methods are applied to investigate the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the membrane. A parametric analysis is carried out looking to evaluate the influence of the material, geometry and initial tensions on the natural frequencies of the membrane. It is noted that increasing the size of a tensioned membrane, it is also increased the natural frequency for a given amplitude, and increasing the strength of a pre-tensioned membrane, the smaller the value of the frequency in relation to a range. Small differences are perceived in the behavior of the membrane for the three constitutive models of material, which are calibrated to represent the same material. Moreover, the main bifurcations of the analyzed membranes are of cyclic bending type, known as saddle-node bifurcation. / Elementos estruturais com grande capacidade de deformação como membranas hiperelásticas vêm ganhando destaque em diversas áreas da engenharia e têm várias aplicações na biomecânica, assim, o estudo do comportamento dinâmico de estruturas hiperelásticas é de grande importância visando minimizar os efeitos, como à perda de estabilidade e vibrações indesejáveis. No presente trabalho é utilizada a teoria da elasticidade para grandes deformações no desenvolvimento da teoria de membranas com o objetivo de investigar o comportamento dinâmico linear e não linear de membranas hiperelásticas. Considera-se a membrana retangular composta por um material elastomérico, isotrópico, homogêneo, incompressível e descrito pelos modelos constitutivos de neo-Hookeano, Mooney-Rivlin e Yeoh. Para obter as equações de equilíbrio estático e dinâmico da estrutura são utilizadas as energias e trabalhos atuantes, bem como o princípio de Hamilton aplicado na função de Lagrange. O Método de Galerkin é utilizado para discretizar as Equações Diferenciais Parciais (EDP) em um sistema de Equações Diferenciais Ordinárias (EDO). Para resolver esse sistema, utiliza-se o Método de Runge-Kutta de quarta ordem e utiliza-se o Método da Força Bruta e o Método da Continuação para investigar o comportamento dinâmico da membrana. É realizada uma análise paramétrica visando avaliar a influência do material e da geometria da membrana nas frequências naturais e nas tensões inicias. Constata-se que as bifurcações das membranas analisadas são do tipo Dobra Cíclica, conhecida como Nó-Sela. Além de verificar que quanto menor o nível de tração, maior será a não linearidade da curva de frequênciaamplitude da membrana e que há leves divergências no comportamento da membrana em relação aos três modelos constitutivos do material adotados.

In vielen industriellen Anwendungen sind Dichtungen im Einsatz. Vergleicht man den Preis mit dem eines Gesamtsystems, in denen Dichtungen verwendet werden, so sind Dichtungen verhältnismäßig günstig. Jedoch führt ein Versagen von Dichtungen meist zu schwerwiegenden Konsequenzen. Dichtungen sind komplexe Subsysteme und ihre Auslegung erfordert umfangreiche Kenntnisse im Bereich Materialmodellierung, Belastung und Versagenskriterien. Die heutige Simulationstechnologie ermöglicht einen parametrischen Workflow für die Berechnung des Verhaltens von Dichtungen mit den auftretenden Effekten wie nichtlinearem Materialverhalten, wechselnden Kontaktbedingungen und Flüssigkeitsunterwanderung bei Druck. Als ein führendes Simulationswerkzeug für diese physikalische Fragestellung wird ANSYS Mechanical für die Auslegung herangezogen. Desweiteren kann das Verständnis für das Produkt erhöht werden, was zu einer Verbesserung der Funktionalität und der Zuverlässigkeit führt. Versuchsdaten können als Spannungs-Dehnungskurven in ANSYS importiert werden, welche das Materialverhalten des hyperelastischen Werkstoffs mit traditionellen Materialmodellen wie Mooney Rivlin, Ogden and Yeoh oder einer neueren Formulierung, der Antwortfunktionsmethode, widerspiegeln. Robuste Kontakttechnologien beschleunigen die Simulation und Entwicklungszeit-Berechnungszeiten und gewährleisten ein genaues Verhalten des Simulationsmodells. Insbesondere bei Dichtungen ist die druckbeaufschlagte Fläche in 2D und 3D Anwendungen von Bedeutung. ANSYS berechnet diese automatisch in Abhängigkeit des aktuellen Kontaktzustandes. Diese benutzerfreundliche Unterstützung führt zu einer höheren Genauigkeit des Simulationsergebnisses, da ein manuelles Schätzen der Druckflächen entfällt. Mit einem parametrischen und durchgängigen Ansatz innerhalb von ANSYS Workbench, beginnend bei der CAD-Geometrie, über die Vernetzung, Material- und Randbedingungsdefinition und Lösung. können eine Reihe von Varianten in kurzer Zeit berechnet werden. Neben einem besseren Verständnis für das Produkt hilft dies dem Ingenieur Änderungen vorzunehmen, was zu exakten und aussagekräftigen Ergebnissen führt. Desweiteren kann der Einfluss von Unsicherheiten berücksichtigt werden, sodass der Berechnungsingenieur fernab von idealen Bedingungen robuste und zuverlässige Dichtungen entwickeln kann.