Snapping of Bistable, Prestressed Cylindrical Shells

Bistable shells can reversibly change between two stable configurations with very little energetic input. Understanding what governs the shape and snap-through criteria of these structures is crucial for designing devices that utilize instability for functionality. Bistable cylindrical shells fabricated by stretching and bonding multiple layers of elastic plates will contain residual stress that will impact the shell's shape and the magnitude of stimulus necessary to induce snapping. Using the framework of non-Euclidean shell theory, we first predict the mean curvature of a nearly cylindrical shell formed by arbitrarily prestretching one layer of a bilayer plate with respect to another. Then, beginning with a residually stressed cylinder, we determine the amount of the stimuli needed to trigger the snapping between two configurations through a combination of numerical simulations and theory. We demonstrate the role of prestress on the snap-through criteria, and highlight the important role that the Gaussian curvature in the boundary layer of the shell plays in dictating shell stability.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Mechanical Behavior and Energy Dissipation of Woven and Warp-Knitted Pvc Membrane Materials under Multistage Cyclic Loading

In order to study the mechanical behavior and energy dissipation of architectural membrane materials under multistage cyclic loading, the deformation behavior, energy dissipation, and damage characteristics of four kinds of warp-knitted and woven polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane materials were analyzed using multistage cyclic loading experiments. The results show that, compared with the uniaxial tensile strength, the peak values of the cyclic loading and unloading of the four material samples are lower in the warp direction but higher in the fill (weft) direction. Under multistage cyclic loading, the loading and unloading moduli of the warp knitting membrane increase with the increase in fabric density. At the same fabric density, the loading modulus and the unloading modulus are smaller than those of the warp knitting material. The total absorbed strain energy, elastic strain energy, and dissipation energy of the fill samples are higher than those of the warp samples at a low load level but lower than those at a high load level. PVC membrane materials’ use strength should be controlled below a 15% stress level under long-term external force loading. In the cyclic loading process, the four PVC membrane materials are viscoelastic–plastic, so it is reasonable to define the damage variable based on the accumulation of plastic deformation

Experimental Study on Bi-Axial Mechanical Properties of Warp-knitted Meshes with and without Initial Notches

Warp-knitted meshes have been widely used for structural reinforcement of rigid, semi-rigid, and flexible composite materials. In order to meet the performance requirements of different engineering applications, four typical warp-knitted meshes (rectangular, square, circular, and diamond) were designed and developed. The mechanical behaviors of these meshes under mono-axial and multi-axial tensile loads were compared. The influence of the initial notch length and orientation on the mechanical performance was also analyzed. The results showed that the biaxial tensile behavior of warp-knitted meshes tended to be more isotropic. The anisotropy level of the diamond warp-knitted mesh was the lowest (λ = 0.099), while the rectangular one was the highest (λ = 0.502). The notch on a significantly anisotropic mesh was propagated along the direction of larger modulus, while for a not remarkably anisotropic mesh, notch propagation was probably consistent with the initial notch orientation. The breaking strength of warp-knitted meshes with the same initial notch orientation decreased with the increase in notch length in both the wale and course directions. For warp-knitted meshes with the same initial notch length, the breaking strength in the wale direction was kept stable at different notch orientations, while that in the course direction decreased remarkably with notch orientation from 0° to 90°

Carboxylated Carbon Nanotube/Polyimide Films with Low Thermal Expansion Coefficient and Excellent Mechanical Properties

Polyimide (PI) films with excellent heat resistance and outstanding mechanical properties have been widely researched in microelectronics and aerospace fields. However, most PI films can only be used under ordinary conditions due to their instability of dimension. The fabrication of multifunctional PI films for harsh conditions is still a challenge. Herein, flexible, low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and improved mechanical properties films modified by carboxylated carbon nanotube (C-CNT) were fabricated. Acid treatment was adapted to adjust the surface characteristics by using a mixture of concentrated H2SO4/HNO3 solution to introduce carboxyl groups on the surface and improve the interfacial performance between the CNT and matrix. Moreover, different C-CNT concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 wt.% were synthesized to use for the PI film fabrication. The results demonstrated that the 9 wt.% and 5 wt.% C-CNT/PI films possessed the lowest CTE value and the highest mechanical properties. In addition, the thermal stability of the C-CNT/PI films was improved, making them promising applications in precise and harsh environments

Characterization and Analysis of In-Plane Shear Behavior of Glass Warp-Knitted Non-Crimp Fabrics Based on Picture Frame Method

Glass warp-knitted fabrics have been widely used as complex structural reinforcements in composites, such as wind turbine blades, boats, vehicles, etc. Understanding the mechanical behavior and formability of these textiles is very necessary for the simulation of forming processes before manufacturing. In this paper, the shear deformation mechanics of glass warp-knitted non-crimp fabrics (WKNCF) were experimentally investigated based on a picture frame testing apparatus equipped to a universal testing machine. Three commercially available fabrics of WKNCFs were tested for four cycles by the picture frame method. The aim was to characterize and compare the shear behavior of relatively high areal density fabrics during preform processing for composites. The energy normalization theory was used to obtain the normalized shear force from the testing machine data; then, the shear stress against the shear angle was fitted by cubic polynomial regression equations. The results achieved from the equations demonstrated that the in-plane shear rigidity modulus was associated with the shear angle. The effect of the shearing cycles and stitching pattern on shear resistance was also analyzed

Preparation and Evaluation of a Polyimide-Coated Ultrafine Gilt Molybdenum Wire and Its Knitted Mesh Used for Electromagnetic Reflectors

In this work, polyimide (PI) was coated onto an ultrafine gilt molybdenum wire in order to protect the gilt surface and prepare an electrically stable wire mesh material which can be widely used in space. The surface of the PI-coated gilt molybdenum wires was characterized using FTIR, SEM, and EDS. Factors such as temperature stability of the PI coating, mechanical properties of the PI-coated gilt molybdenum wires, contact resistance stability, and electromagnetic microwave reflectivity of the their knitted meshes were also investigated. The results indicate that the PI coating conformed uniformly to the surface of the gilt molybdenum wires. The prepared PI coating exhibited excellent temperature stability in the −196 to 300 °C range and could efficiently protect the gilt surface and improve the stability of contact resistance, while the reflection of its wire meshes showed only a slight decrease of 1.4% with the PI coating thickness of 3 μm for electromagnetic microwaves in the S band

Study of Compaction Properties and Permeability Prediction of Multilayered Quadriaxial Non-Crimp Fabric in Liquid Composite Molding Process

A systematic experimental study was performed to detect the compaction and permeability properties of multilayered biaxial and quadriaxial preforms under vacuum pressure. Compression response on ply level showed that the degree of nesting between quadriaxial NCF was more pronounced and the nesting deformation mechanism was affected by the interaction with stitch yarns. Owing to the meso-channels in the fibrous structure and the nesting between layers, the in-plane permeability of quadriaxial NCF did not follow an inverse proportion relationship with the fiber volume fraction. To predict the in-plane permeability of multilayered quadriaxial NCFs, unit cell models at a high level of geometrical details were built, including local variations in yarn cross-sections and the nesting deformation between layers. Numerical methods were implemented, and the prediction results were in very good agreement with the experimental data. Besides, the major contributing parameters to the enhancement of the in-plane permeabilities were identified by investigating the correlation between permeability and structural parameters of quadriaxial NCF. The modeling methodology and the principles established can be applied to the design of the quadriaxial NCF fabrics, where the permeability enhancement was evidenced