1,947 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Project MAXWELL: Towards Rapid Realization of Superior Products
We describe a new methodology for the design and manufacture of mechanical
components. The methodology is a synergism of a new, mathematically rigorous
procedure for the concurrent design of shape and material composition of components,
and a new manufacturing process called MD* for their realization. The concurrent design
strategy yields information about the global shape of the component and its material
composition. The fabrication of such designs with novel microstructural configurations
require unconventional manufacturing processes. MD* is a shape deposition process for
the free-form fabrication of parts from single or composite materials and is ideally suited
for realizing the aforementioned designs. Project MAXWELL, therefore, promotes the use
of layered manufacturing beyond prototyping tasks and offers the possibility of their
integration into the mainstream product development and fabrication process..Mechanical Engineerin
Designing electronic properties of two-dimensional crystals through optimization of deformations
One of the enticing features common to most of the two-dimensional electronic
systems that are currently at the forefront of materials science research is
the ability to easily introduce a combination of planar deformations and
bending in the system. Since the electronic properties are ultimately
determined by the details of atomic orbital overlap, such mechanical
manipulations translate into modified electronic properties. Here, we present a
general-purpose optimization framework for tailoring physical properties of
two-dimensional electronic systems by manipulating the state of local strain,
allowing a one-step route from their design to experimental implementation. A
definite example, chosen for its relevance in light of current experiments in
graphene nanostructures, is the optimization of the experimental parameters
that generate a prescribed spatial profile of pseudomagnetic fields in
graphene. But the method is general enough to accommodate a multitude of
possible experimental parameters and conditions whereby deformations can be
imparted to the graphene lattice, and complies, by design, with graphene's
elastic equilibrium and elastic compatibility constraints. As a result, it
efficiently answers the inverse problem of determining the optimal values of a
set of external or control parameters that result in a graphene deformation
whose associated pseudomagnetic field profile best matches a prescribed target.
The ability to address this inverse problem in an expedited way is one key step
for practical implementations of the concept of two-dimensional systems with
electronic properties strain-engineered to order. The general-purpose nature of
this calculation strategy means that it can be easily applied to the
optimization of other relevant physical quantities which directly depend on the
local strain field, not just in graphene but in other two-dimensional
electronic membranes.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures. This submission contains low-resolution bitmap
images; high-resolution images can be found in version 1, which is ~13.5 M
A Review on Mechanics and Mechanical Properties of 2D Materials - Graphene and Beyond
Since the first successful synthesis of graphene just over a decade ago, a
variety of two-dimensional (2D) materials (e.g., transition
metal-dichalcogenides, hexagonal boron-nitride, etc.) have been discovered.
Among the many unique and attractive properties of 2D materials, mechanical
properties play important roles in manufacturing, integration and performance
for their potential applications. Mechanics is indispensable in the study of
mechanical properties, both experimentally and theoretically. The coupling
between the mechanical and other physical properties (thermal, electronic,
optical) is also of great interest in exploring novel applications, where
mechanics has to be combined with condensed matter physics to establish a
scalable theoretical framework. Moreover, mechanical interactions between 2D
materials and various substrate materials are essential for integrated device
applications of 2D materials, for which the mechanics of interfaces (adhesion
and friction) has to be developed for the 2D materials. Here we review recent
theoretical and experimental works related to mechanics and mechanical
properties of 2D materials. While graphene is the most studied 2D material to
date, we expect continual growth of interest in the mechanics of other 2D
materials beyond graphene
Damage identification in structural health monitoring: a brief review from its implementation to the Use of data-driven applications
The damage identification process provides relevant information about the current state of a structure under inspection, and it can be approached from two different points of view. The first approach uses data-driven algorithms, which are usually associated with the collection of data using sensors. Data are subsequently processed and analyzed. The second approach uses models to analyze information about the structure. In the latter case, the overall performance of the approach is associated with the accuracy of the model and the information that is used to define it. Although both approaches are widely used, data-driven algorithms are preferred in most cases because they afford the ability to analyze data acquired from sensors and to provide a real-time solution for decision making; however, these approaches involve high-performance processors due to the high computational cost. As a contribution to the researchers working with data-driven algorithms and applications, this work presents a brief review of data-driven algorithms for damage identification in structural health-monitoring applications. This review covers damage detection, localization, classification, extension, and prognosis, as well as the development of smart structures. The literature is systematically reviewed according to the natural steps of a structural health-monitoring system. This review also includes information on the types of sensors used as well as on the development of data-driven algorithms for damage identification.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Piezo-electromechanical smart materials with distributed arrays of piezoelectric transducers: Current and upcoming applications
This review paper intends to gather and organize a series of works which discuss the possibility of exploiting the mechanical properties of distributed arrays of piezoelectric transducers. The concept can be described as follows: on every structural member one can uniformly distribute an array of piezoelectric transducers whose electric terminals are to be connected to a suitably optimized electric waveguide. If the aim of such a modification is identified to be the suppression of mechanical vibrations then the optimal electric waveguide is identified to be the 'electric analog' of the considered structural member. The obtained electromechanical systems were called PEM (PiezoElectroMechanical) structures. The authors especially focus on the role played by Lagrange methods in the design of these analog circuits and in the study of PEM structures and we suggest some possible research developments in the conception of new devices, in their study and in their technological application. Other potential uses of PEMs, such as Structural Health Monitoring and Energy Harvesting, are described as well. PEM structures can be regarded as a particular kind of smart materials, i.e. materials especially designed and engineered to show a specific andwell-defined response to external excitations: for this reason, the authors try to find connection between PEM beams and plates and some micromorphic materials whose properties as carriers of waves have been studied recently. Finally, this paper aims to establish some links among some concepts which are used in different cultural groups, as smart structure, metamaterial and functional structural modifications, showing how appropriate would be to avoid the use of different names for similar concepts. © 2015 - IOS Press and the authors
Mechanical and control-oriented design of a monolithic piezoelectric microgripper using a new topological optimisation method.
International audienceThis paper presents a new method developed for the optimal design of piezoactive compliant micromechanisms. It is based on a flexible building block method, called FlexIn, which uses an evolutionary approach, to optimize a truss-like planar structure made of passive and active building blocks, made of piezoelectric material. An electromechanical approach, based on a mixed finite element formulation, is used to establish the model of the active piezoelectric blocks. From the first design step, in addition to conventional mechanical criteria, innovative control-based metrics can be considered in the optimization procedure to fit the open-loop frequency response of the synthetized mechanisms. In particular, these criteria have been drawn here to optimize modal controllability and observability of the system, which is particularly interesting when considering control of flexible structures. Then, a planar monolithic compliant micro-actuator has been synthetized using FlexIn and prototyped. Finally, simulations and experimental tests of the FlexIn optimally synthetized device demonstrate the interests of the proposed optimization method for the design of micro-actuators, microrobots, and more generally for adaptronic structures
Three-axis platform simulation: Bond graph and Lagrangian approach
A bond graph model is derived for the geometric constraints of a three-axis flight table. Gimbal dynamics are easily added even in asymmetrical and unbalanced cases. A method is introduced to make the local dependent inertias computable. The bond graph compares favourably to the Lagrangian approach as to modelling effort and accessibility of intermediate variables as well as having computational advantages
Proto-Plasm: parallel language for adaptive and scalable modelling of biosystems
This paper discusses the design goals and the first developments of
Proto-Plasm, a novel computational environment to produce libraries
of executable, combinable and customizable computer models of natural and
synthetic biosystems, aiming to provide a supporting framework for predictive
understanding of structure and behaviour through multiscale geometric modelling
and multiphysics simulations. Admittedly, the Proto-Plasm platform is
still in its infancy. Its computational framework—language, model library,
integrated development environment and parallel engine—intends to provide
patient-specific computational modelling and simulation of organs and biosystem,
exploiting novel functionalities resulting from the symbolic combination of
parametrized models of parts at various scales. Proto-Plasm may define
the model equations, but it is currently focused on the symbolic description of
model geometry and on the parallel support of simulations. Conversely, CellML
and SBML could be viewed as defining the behavioural functions (the model
equations) to be used within a Proto-Plasm program. Here we exemplify
the basic functionalities of Proto-Plasm, by constructing a schematic
heart model. We also discuss multiscale issues with reference to the geometric
and physical modelling of neuromuscular junctions
- …