On a 3D material modelling of smart nanocomposite structures

Smart composites (SCs) are utilized in electro-mechanical systems such as actuators and energy harvesters. Typically, thin-walled components such as beams, plates, and shells are employed as structural elements to achieve the mechanical behavior desired in these composites. SCs exhibit various advanced properties, ranging from lower order phenomena like piezoelectricity and piezomagneticity, to higher order effects including flexoelectricity and flexomagneticity. The recently discovered flexomagneticity in smart composites has been investigated under limited conditions. A review of the existing literature indicates a lack of evaluation in three-dimensional (3D) elasticity analysis of SCs when the flexomagnetic effect (FM) exists. To address this issue, the governing equations will incorporate the term ∂/∂z, where z represents the thickness coordinate. The variational technique will guide us in further developing these governing equations. By using hypotheses and theories such as a 3D beam model, von Kármán's strain nonlinearity, Hamilton's principle, and well-established direct and converse FM models, we will derive the constitutive equations for a thick composite beam. Conducting a 3D analysis implies that the strain and strain gradient tensors must be expressed in 3D forms. The inclusion of the term ∂/∂z necessitates the construction of a different model. It should be noted that current commercial finite element codes are not equipped to accurately and adequately handle micro- and nano-sized solids, thus making it impractical to model a flexomagnetic composite structure using these programs. Therefore, we will transform the derived characteristic linear three-dimensional bending equations into a 3D semi-analytical Polynomial domain to obtain numerical results. This study demonstrates the importance of conducting 3D mechanical analyses to explore the coupling effects of multiple physical phenomena in smart structures

Analytical Buckling of FG Nanobeams on The Basis of A New One Variable First-Order Shear Deformation Beam Theory

In this work, buckling analysis of functionally graded (FG) nanobeams based on a new refined beam theory has been analyzed. The beam is modeled as an elastic beam subjected to unidirectional compressive loads. To achieve this aim, the new obtained beam theory has only one variable which lead to one equation similar to Euler beam theory and also is free of any shear correction factor. The equilibrium equation has been formulated by the nonlocal theory of Eringen to predict small-scale effects. The equation has been solved by Navier’s approach by which critical buckling loads have been obtained for simple boundaries. Finally, to approve the results of the new beam theory, various beam theories have been compared

Viscoelasticity in Large Deformation Analysis of Hyperelastic Structures

In this paper, an annular/circular plate made of hyperelastic material and considering the viscoelastic property was investigated based on a novel nonlinear elasticity theory. A new approach for hyperelastic materials in conjunction with the Kelvin–Voigt scheme is employed to obtain the structure’s large deformation under uniform transverse loading. The constitutive equations were extracted using the energy method. The derived partial differential time-dependent equations have been solved via the semi-analytical polynomial method (SAPM). The obtained results have been validated by ABAQUS software and the available paper. In consequence, a good agreement between the results was observed. Finally, several affecting parameters on the analysis have been attended to and studied, such as the nonlinear elasticity analysis, the boundary conditions, loading, and the material’s viscosity. It can be possible to obtain the needed time for achieving the final deformation of the structure based on the applied analysis in this research

Nonlinear static analysis of single layer annular/circular graphene sheets embedded in Winkler–Pasternak elastic matrix based on non-local theory of Eringen

Nonlinear bending analysis of orthotropic annular/circular graphene sheets has been studied based on the non-local elasticity theory. The first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is applied in combination with the nonlinear Von-Karman strain field. The obtained differential equations are solved by using two methods, first the differential quadrature method (DQM) and a new semi-analytical polynomial method (SAPM) which is innovated by the authors. Applying the DQM or SAPM, the differential equations are transformed to nonlinear algebraic equations system. Then the Newton–Raphson iterative scheme is used. First, the obtained results from DQM and SAPM are compared and it is concluded that although the SAPM’s formulation is considerably simpler than DQM, however, the SAPM’s results are so close to DQM. The results are validated with available papers. Finally, the effects of small scale parameter on the results, the comparison between local and non-local theories, and linear to nonlinear analyses are investigated

Forced Vibration Analysis of Composite Beams Reinforced by Carbon Nanotubes

This paper presents forced vibration analysis of a simply supported beam made of carbon nanotube-reinforced composite material subjected to a harmonic point load at the midpoint of beam. The composite beam is made of a polymeric matrix and reinforced the single-walled carbon nanotubes with their various distributions. In the beam kinematics, the first-order shear deformation beam theory was used. The governing equations of problem were derived by using the Lagrange procedure. In the solution of the problem, the Ritz method was used, and algebraic polynomials were employed with the trivial functions for the Ritz method. In the solution of the forced vibration problem, the Newmark average acceleration method was applied in the time history. In the numerical examples, the effects of carbon nanotube volume fraction, aspect ratio, and dynamic parameters on the forced vibration response of carbon nanotube-reinforced composite beams are investigated. In addition, some comparison studies were performed, with special results of published papers to validate the using formulations

Nonlinear Free and Forced Vibrations of a Hyperelastic Micro/Nanobeam Considering Strain Stiffening Effect

In recent years, the static and dynamic response of micro/nanobeams made of hyperelasticity materials received great attention. In the majority of studies in this area, the strain-stiffing effect that plays a major role in many hyperelastic materials has not been investigated deeply. Moreover, the influence of the size effect and large rotation for such a beam that is important for the large deformation was not addressed. This paper attempts to explore the free and forced vibrations of a micro/nanobeam made of a hyperelastic material incorporating strain-stiffening, size effect, and moderate rotation. The beam is modelled based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, and strains are obtained via an extended von Kármán theory. Boundary conditions and governing equations are derived by way of Hamilton’s principle. The multiple scales method is applied to obtain the frequency response equation, and Hamilton’s technique is utilized to obtain the free undamped nonlinear frequency. The influence of important system parameters such as the stiffening parameter, damping coefficient, length of the beam, length-scale parameter, and forcing amplitude on the frequency response, force response, and nonlinear frequency is analyzed. Results show that the hyperelastic microbeam shows a nonlinear hardening behavior, which this type of nonlinearity gets stronger by increasing the strain-stiffening effect. Conversely, as the strain-stiffening effect is decreased, the nonlinear frequency is decreased accordingly. The evidence from this study suggests that incorporating strain-stiffening in hyperelastic beams could improve their vibrational performance. The model proposed in this paper is mathematically simple and can be utilized for other kinds of micro/nanobeams with different boundary conditions

Hyperelastic Microcantilever AFM: Efficient Detection Mechanism Based on Principal Parametric Resonance

The impetus of writing this paper is to propose an efficient detection mechanism to scan the surface profile of a micro-sample using cantilever-based atomic force microscopy (AFM), operating in non-contact mode. In order to implement this scheme, the principal parametric resonance characteristics of the resonator are employed, benefiting from the bifurcation-based sensing mechanism. It is assumed that the microcantilever is made from a hyperelastic material, providing large deformation under small excitation amplitude. A nonlinear strain energy function is proposed to capture the elastic energy stored in the flexible component of the device. The tip–sample interaction is modeled based on the van der Waals non-contact force. The nonlinear equation governing the AFM’s dynamics is established using the extended Hamilton’s principle, obeying the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. As a result, the vibration behavior of the system is introduced by a nonlinear equation having a time-dependent boundary condition. To capture the steady-state numerical response of the system, a developed Galerkin method is utilized to discretize the partial differential equation to a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODE) that are solved by the combination of shooting and arc-length continuation method. The output reveals that while the resonator is set to be operating near twice the fundamental natural frequency, the response amplitude undergoes a significant drop to the trivial stable branch as the sample’s profile experiences depression in the order of the picometer. According to the performed sensitivity analysis, the proposed working principle based on principal parametric resonance is recommended to design AFMs with ultra-high detection resolution for surface profile scanning