258 Results Found

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a popular additive manufacturing (AM) method that has attracted the attention of various industries due to its simplicity, cheapness, ability to produce complex geometric shapes, and high production speed. One of th...

For linear viscoelastic materials, this paper proposes a finite element analysis method based on an integral constitutive relationship that can simultaneously consider the relaxation behavior of the elastic modulus and the creep Poisson’s ratio...

The bladeless wind turbine (BWT) using vortex-induced vibration is a new class of wind turbine that does not have traditional rotating blades and converts wind energy into vibration energy and into electrical energy based on vortex-shedding principle...

The bistable laminated structure is widely used in many fields due to its unique deformation characteristics. In practical engineering, laminates under different structural constraints will exhibit different steady-state deformation characteristics....

This paper studies the viability of using a class of phase-changing materials for the design of controlled variable stiffness robotic joints which enable the design of robots that can operate in confined spaces. In such environments, robots need to b...

In natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), an ideal endoscope platform should be flexible and dexterous enough to go through the natural orifices to access the lesion site inside the human body, and meanwhile provide sufficient rigid...

To meet the requirements for the flexible end-effectors of industrial grippers and climbing robots, inspired by the animal attachment mechanism, a bio-inspired adhesive unit (Bio-AU) was designed. Due to its fluid-driven operating characteristics and...

Materials that can be designed with programmable properties and which change in response to external stimuli are of great importance in numerous fields of soft actuators, involving robotics, drug delivery and aerospace applications. In order to impro...

In order to improve the stiffness of flexible robots, this paper proposes a variable-stiffness elastic actuator. The actuator integrates the working principles of a pneumatic drive, wedge structure, and particle blockage. The anti-tensile stiffness o...

The concept of variable-stiffness composites allows the stiffness properties to vary spatially in the material. In the case of fiber-reinforced composites, the mechanical properties of the composite can be improved by tailoring the fiber orientations...

Load-bearing engineering structures typically have a static shape fixed during design based on expected usage and associated load cases. But neither can all possible loading situations be foreseen, nor could this large set of conditions be reflected...

In this paper, using a honeycomb-velcro structure to generate a novel jamming gripper is explored. Each finger of the gripper consists of multi-layers with a honeycomb sandwich structure acting as a core wrapped by a fabric sheet and sealed by a late...

Predicting and controlling process-induced deformation of composites during cure can play a significant role in ensuring the accuracy of manufacture and assembly of composite structures. In this paper the parametric investigation on the process-induc...

This study presents the design optimization and semi-active resonance control of a small-scale vortex-induced vibration (VIV) bladeless wind turbine (BWT) equipped with a power efficient binary resonance controller. The proposed system integrates a s...

Electroadhesive grippers can be used to pick up a wide range of materials, and those with variable stiffness functionality can increase load capacity and strength. This paper proposes an electroadhesive gripper (VSEAF) with variable stiffness functio...

In response to challenges like the complexity and limited scalability of existing variable stiffness joints, a novel variable stiffness joint, based on leaf spring elements, is introduced in this paper. The joint stiffness can be adjusted in real tim...

There has been a notable focus on the adoption of jamming-based technologies, which involve increasing the friction between grains, layers, or fibers to achieve variable stiffness capability in soft robots. Additionally, magnetorheological elastomers...

This review summarizes the important properties required for applying soft grippers to agricultural harvesting, focusing on their actuation methods and structural types. The purpose of the review is to address the challenges of limited load capacity...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a biomechanical problem where the initiating event is dynamic loading (blunt, inertial, blast) to the head. To understand the relationship between the mechanical parameters of the injury and the deformation patterns in...

Self-sensing actuation of shape memory alloy (SMA) means to sense both mechanical and thermal properties/variables through the measurement of any internally changing electrical property such as resistance/inductance/capacitance/phase/frequency of an...

Background and Objectives: Sarcopenia and muscle wasting contribute significantly to functional decline in older adults, but differences in lower extremity muscle stiffness and gait variability between these groups are not yet fully understood. This...

The stiffness in various directions of air springs have a great influence on the stability of high-speed trains. Due to the change in the bogie structure, the required functions of the air springs have also diversified, and the damping of various loa...

The integration of variable stiffness materials and structures into soft robots is a popular trend, allowing soft robots to switch between soft and rigid states in different situations. This concept combines the advantages of rigid mechanisms and sof...

Aims and objectives: In order to evaluate the responses of hepatic lesions to treatment in terms of tissue stiffness and heterogeneity, this work investigated the robustness of 2D shear-wave elastography (2D SWE) stiffness measurements and texture an...

The vertical stiffness of railway tracks is crucial for ensuring safe and efficient rail transport. Rail-pad dynamic stiffness is a key component influencing track performance. Determining the dynamic stiffness of rail pads poses a challenge because...

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a well-established manufacturing method for producing both prototype and functional components. This study investigates the mechanical properties of FDM components by material and process-related influencing variabl...

This paper, which deals with variable stiffness composites, is aimed at showing the effects of optimization on the response characteristics and stress fields of these materials. A new optimization technique that has recently been developed is used to...

Soft robots offer a number of advantages over traditional rigid robots in applications such as minimally invasive surgery, where safety and dexterity are required. In previous works, the STIFF-FLOP manipulator has been introduced as a new concept of...

Uniaxial compressive strength is a variable necessary for adequately characterizing a material’s mechanical properties. However, a specimen’s geometric deviations and elastic properties may lead to undesirable stress states, which cause s...

The paper presents an innovative matrix method for defect analysis in heterogeneous structures with significant differences in stiffness parameters. The proposed approach modifies the finite element method (FEM) by introducing a refined type of finit...

Background and Objectives: Understanding the relationships between subjective shoulder stiffness, muscle hardness, and various factors is crucial. Our cross-sectional study identified subgroups of shoulder stiffness based on symptoms and muscle hardn...

An accurate material representation of polymeric interlayers in laminated glass panes has proved fundamental for a reliable prediction of their response in both static and dynamic loading regimes. This issue is addressed in the present contribution b...

Micro-vibration mitigation is critical for spacecraft conducting precision-oriented space missions. In this paper, a novel Stewart platform incorporating a phase-change low-melting-point alloy (LMPA) is developed to achieve temperature-dependent stif...

In this study, a laminated composite damping structure (LCDS) with metal rubber (MR) as matrix and silicone rubber (SR) as reinforcement has been designed. The embedded interlocking structure formed by the multi-material interface of the LCDS can eff...

This study presents an in-depth analysis of the macroscopic mechanical properties of periodic nanocomposites containing arbitrarily-shaped inclusions, with a particular focus on the effective stiffness and its dependence on microstructural parameters...

Swash plate axial piston pumps play an important role in hydraulic systems due to their superior performance and compact design. As the controlled object of the valve-controlled hydraulic cylinder, the swash plate is affected by the complex fluid dyn...

Adhesion robots have broad application prospects in the field of spacecraft inspection, repair, and maintenance, but the stable adhesion and climbing on the flexible surface covering the spacecraft has not been achieved. The flexible surface is easil...

With respect to heavy carrying tasks and uneven road surface in open pit mine, the mechanical performances of electric wheel dump truck frame regarded as the main bearing component are extremely important for its safe operation. For the problem of in...

Electromechanical coupling defines the ratio of electrical and mechanical energy exchanged during a flexure cycle of a piezoelectric actuator. This paper presents an analysis of the dynamic electromechanical coupling factor (dynamic EMCF) for cantile...

The efficacy of retainers is a pivotal concern in orthodontic care. This study examined the biomechanical behaviour of retainers, particularly the influence of retainer stiffness and tooth resilience on force transmission and stress distribution. To...

In the current work, the mechanical response of multiscale cellular materials with hollow variable-section inner elements is analyzed, combining experimental, numerical and machine learning techniques. At first, the effect of multiscale designs on th...

The current study aims to develop a methodology for obtaining topology-optimal structures made of short fiber-reinforced polymers. Each iteration of topology optimization involves two consecutive steps: the first is a simulation of the injection mold...

Tensegrity structures, by definition composed of compressed members suspended in a network of tensile cables, are characterised by a high strength-to-weight ratio and the ability to undergo reversible deformations. Their application as cores of sandw...

Due to the high load-bearing capacity and light weight, composite leaf spring with variable width and variable thickness has been increasingly used in the automobile industry to replace the conventional steel leaf spring with a heavy weight. The opti...

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) is the usual technology for the thermomechanical viscoelastic characterization of materials. This method monitors the instant values of load and displacement to determine the instant specimen stiffness. Posteriorly,...

The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of the thickness of Scots pine veneers on the chosen physical and mechanical properties of plywood-like composites dedicated to flooring applications. The utilitarian goal of the research is to replac...

Cerebral aneurysm clipping remains a key surgical approach despite advancements in endovascular techniques. However, training for this procedure is complex due to the variable and fragile nature of aneurysmal tissues. This study evaluates the mechani...

The manufacturing industry, in general, and the plastic industry, in particular, have been developing new materials and process methods that need a correct study and optimization. Nowadays, the main approach to optimize these processes is using numer...

This study delves into the phenomenon of high-frequency squeal noise occurring as trains traverse small-radius curved tracks and investigates the factors influencing wheel–rail curve squeal noise, particularly focusing on stiffness matching. To...

This pilot investigation identifies the influence that changing the process variables of curing pressure, curing temperature, and mix ratio of a polyurethane/agglomerated cork matrix has on the mechanical properties of energy absorption, Young’...