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Showing 14 results for Finite Element Modeling

Ehsan Chokan, Bahman Vahidi, Mohammad Mehdi Khani,
Volume 13, Issue 1 (3-2022)
Abstract

Mechanical properties of living cells play an important role in helping to understand cell physiology and pathology. Evaluation of mechanical properties of cells may potentially lead to new mechanical diagnostic methods for some of these diseases. In this study, viscoelastic properties of the outer layer (cytoplasm and membrane) were extracted using standard linear solid model. Finite element modeling of the two cell layers is performed and the model is validated by experimental data. In the two-layer model, the effect of the radius of the nucleus and the location of the nucleus in the cell are investigated on the cell properties. By reducing the cytoplasmic radius ratio up to 43%, the whole cell properties follow the cytoplasmic properties and the effect of the nucleus can be neglected. The 50-second displacement change at a radial ratio of 0.53 increased to 4.5% compared to radial ratio of 1.58.  At a radial ratio of 0.43, a change in cell behavior was observed compared to the previous one, with a displacement change equals to 6.8% compared to radial ratio of 1.85 and a displacement reduction of 9.5% at a radial ratio of 0.53. The results demonstrate that the location of the nucleus and the ratio of the radius of the cytoplasm to the radius of the nucleus can effectively influence the viscoelastic properties and mechanical behavior of the cell.

Volume 13, Issue 5 (12-2013)
Abstract

In this paper the behavior of framee, the process of plastic hinge formation and energy absorption of frames with two spans and one floor with three types of slab including bubble deck slab, hollow core slab and reinforced slab under three earthquake accelerations have been analyzed and compared. The results show that bubble deck slab and hollow core slab as rigid as normal reinforced slab, although bubble deck slab has higher strength and stiffness compared to other slabs. Partnering slab in analysis make period of slab reduce more over bubble deck slab and hollow core to the comparison of reinforced slab, have more effect on period reduction. Ultimate displacement of frame with reinforced slab reach to failure mechanism is more than two mentioned case, however frame with bubble deck slab reach to failure mechanism under stronger earthquake acceleration and smaller displacement than reinforced slab. Comparison base shear of three discussed case shows that maximum base shear is in bubble deck slab and minimum base shear is in normal reinforced slab. Formation of plastic hinge in frame with bubble deck slab is similar with that in frame with hollow core slab with the difference that plastic hinge in former occurs later at the top end of the middle column and two ends of middle beams. In fact, formation of plastic hinges in this frame requires higher acceleration because of the higher amount of concrete and stiffness. In all samples, plastic hinge first occur in the frame and then yielding lines occur in the tensile region of the slabs. The failure mechanism of slab and steel frame occur at the same time in frame with hollow core slab and reinforced slab; however, this is not the case in the frame with bubble deck slab and even though with occurring of yielding lines, the slab does not fail. The stress distribution due to gravity loads is symmetric across all the slabs; however, the increase rate of stress is different. This difference is particularly notable in seismic behavior of slabs in a way that the formation of plastic hinge and yielding lines in hollow core slab, because of the holes, is totally different with that of in reinforced slab. In comparison with other slabs and due to the formation of plastic hinge, reinforced slab absorb lower energy. Columns, beams and connections play different role in energy dissipation. In all frame, the contribution of connections to dissipate energy is minor and this is because yielding does not occur in connections. Contrary to the frame with reinforced slabs, because of yielding in several places of columns, columns dissipate energy more than beams in the frames with hollow core slabs. It was concluded that hollow core slab and bubble deck slab have maximum and minimum contributions to the energy dissipation, respectively.

Volume 14, Issue 4 (7-2014)
Abstract

Hydraulic engine mounts isolate the structure of the vehicle from powertrain vibrations and also prevent excess motions of the powertrain due to shock excitations. In this paper, dynamic stiffness of a hydraulic engine mount in low frequency range (shock frequency range) is predicted using modal test data and three-dimensional finite element model through an iterative model updating procedure. The implemented model encompasses elastomeric material’s nonlinearity, fluid-structure-interaction and internal resonances of mount. Mesh morphing technique is used to model the fluid-structure-interaction. The results showed that the introduced procedure can successfully predict the shock isolation behaviour of the hydraulic engine mount.

Volume 15, Issue 8 (10-2015)
Abstract

Cold tube rolling process is one of the current seamless tube manufacturing methods. One of the serious problems of this process is micro-cracks in final product. Numerical modeling is a method to predict and reduce these micro-cracks. In the current paper damage in cold three-roller pilger process is simulated by finite element method. In these simulations to predict damage evolution three different damage models, including Lemaitre model, modified Lemaitre model and cumulative damage model are used. In conjunction with these models isotropic and combined hardening rules is also considered. Forming benchmarks are simulated to validate provided codes for the mentioned models. Then the process is simulated and good agreement is observed between current results and previous numerical and experimental results. The results show that three models correctly predict damage distribution but predicted damage by Lemaitre model is more than modified Lemaitre model due to ignoring crack closure in compressive loads. It is also concluded that using combined hardening rule predict damage growth less than using isotropic hardening. all of the models suggest that crack initiation take place in the outer surface of the tube .

Volume 16, Issue 8 (10-2016)
Abstract

Mechanical behavior of articular cartilage is affected by many factors. Inhomogeneous distribution of proteoglycans and collagen fibers through the thickness causes some depth-wise behavior. Mechanical properties directly affect stress and deformation of the tissue. In previous studies complexities and variation in mechanical properties were ignored. The aim of the present study is to create a model close to real anatomy of articular cartilage in knee joint and to simulate its behavior under dynamic gate in the stance phase. A 3D finite element (FE) model was created. It was constructed considering femur and tibial cartilages as well as medial and lateral meniscus. In the FE model, a nonlinear isotropic viscoelastic material model used for cartilages and a linear anisotropic elastic one was chosen for meniscuses. As well, cartilages assumed saturated . Numerical simulations on the model showed that peak of maximum principal stress occurred in superficial layer. It was decreased through thickness. These expressed why osteoarthritis fall out in the exterior layers such superficial . The present study showed that hydraulic permeability variation in cartilage as a strain-dependent variable was negligible in dynamic loading. Also, results had a good agreement with experimental ones

Volume 17, Issue 3 (5-2017)
Abstract

Mathematical modeling of tumor growth as modeling of other biological tissues is important since these models enable us to predict and evaluate the parameters that could not be measured easily. The accuracy of a derived model depends upon considering more involved factors and mechanisms and will lead us toward a realistic modelling.
In this study, a finite element model of avascular tumor growth is represented. This model concentrates on the constitutive behavior of tissues and the resulting stresses. The tumor and its host are assumed to behave as a hyperelastic material. The tumor model is supplied with a growth term which is a function of nutrient concentration, solid content of the tumor and rate of cell proliferation and death. The evolved stresses during growth and interactions between tumor and the surrounding host could be evaluated using the presented model. The results show that the exerted stresses on tumor increase as time passes which lead to reduction of tumor growth rate until it gradually reaches an asymptotic radius. The effects of variation of the bulk modulus which is a determinant of compressibility are investigated. Since biological tissues consist mainly of water so we should impose the condition of incompressibility. It is found that the increase of bulk modulus which leads to more incompressibility causes stress elevation.

Volume 17, Issue 12 (2-2018)
Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing is a method to build parts by adding layer-upon-layer of material. The selective laser sintering (SLS) method is one of the most important methods of additive manufacturing processes. The low time and the variety of materials used to build the parts are major advantages of SLS method. The high quality of the product is one of the main goals in the additive manufacturing processes. The part warping is one of the factors that reduce the quality of the products which are built by the SLS process. The hatching patterns and scan algorithms in the SLS process are important factors that affect the product quality. In this paper, the effective parameters of the SLS processes such as the scan vector length and the number of offsets or contours, the laser power, the laser speed, and the hitching spacing are optimally determined to minimize the part warping of the product based on the finite element simulations and Taguchi method. For this reason, SLS process has been modeled on the SLS process. Then, to illustrate and validate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method, and the computational results are compared to the obtained results from the experimental tests Using SLS containing CO2 laser. Finally, using the Taguchi design of Experiments, the process parameters have been changed at different levels and optimal parameters have been obtained.

Volume 18, Issue 1 (3-2018)
Abstract

In this paper, finite element modeling of friction welding of two ASTM A106-B and AISI 4140 dissimilar pipes is investigated. The effect of the friction welding parameters including rotation speed, friction pressure, friction time, forging pressure and forging time on the axial shortening are investigated using a fractional factorial design method. Because of the extreme material deformation, an innovative remeshing technique was scripted in Abaqus CAE to prevent the creation of distorted elements. 27 models were solved and 3 validation experimental tests were carried out. Results showed that increasing the all parameters cause larger axial shortening. Friction pressure with 33.9% had the most effect on the axial shortening. Moreover, an increase in forging pressure and forging time has a limited effect on the axial shortening. After about 2 seconds from the beginning of the welding, the temperature of the interface becomes steady at about 1250°C. The validation tests revealed that the simulation error was about 5.6% which shows a good agreement between the finite element results and the experimental data.

Volume 18, Issue 5 (9-2018)
Abstract

Piezoelectric materials, in different shapes such as rectangular plate, annular plate, circular plate and cylindrical shell, have increasing application in industries in order to create smart structures. In this article, experimental and numerical analysis of free vibration of a two-layered cylindrical panel with metal and piezoelectric layer in different boundary condition is carried out. First, a single PZT-4 layer is polarized in radial direction. Using the Piezoelectric layer and an Aluminum layer, a two-layered smart panel is prepared. Then, the first natural frequency of the hybrid panel with free boundary condition is measured experimentally in three different ways. The hybrid panel is simulated in a finite element software (Abaqus). Results show good agreement between different experimental methods, as well as, between finite element model and experimental results. The accuracy, limitations and merits of different experimental methods are discussed completely. The results show that the natural frequency can be achieved accurately by excitation of actuator layer. Finally, the influence of different boundary conditions as well as geometrical parameter such as radios, length and thickness of smart cylindrical panel are investigated using the finite element software.

Volume 18, Issue 8 (12-2018)
Abstract

The precise finite element model is an efficient tool for vibrational analysis. It should be mentioned that, in structural dynamic analysis finite element models of system should be able to accurately predict system characteristics such as natural frequencies. Contrary to static analysis, in structural dynamic analysis, it is not possible to overestimate system characteristics or apply safety factor for predicted characteristics; that means that the exact values of system characteristics such as natural frequencies, should be derived in structural dynamic. According to this, constructing a reliable model in the structure dynamic always has great degree of importance in vibrational analysis. In this study, it has been tried to extract a reliable finite element model for a row of a sample turbine of RollsRoyce brand using empirical results. So, the material properties of the disk and the connection between the disk and the blade are corrected and updated using experimental modal analysis results. Also, it has been tried to propose new method to model and update the disk and blade joint. Finally, reliable finite element model could be used for more analysis such as derivation of Campbell diagrams of system.

Volume 19, Issue 1 (1-2019)
Abstract

Pulsed eddy current (PEC) technique is commonly used for the detection of sub-surface defects in electrically conductive metals. However, due to the limited penetration depth of eddy currents, the detection of sub-surface defects in ferromagnetic metals is limited while using PEC technique. In order to extend the application of PEC technique for the detection of sub-surface defects in ferromagnetic metals, the penetration depth of eddy currents needs to be increased. For deeper penetration of eddy currents in the material, magnetic saturation of the tested specimen is a useful solution. In magnetic saturation state, the magnetic permeability of the ferromagnetic metal is decreased and stabilized and, as a result, the penetration depth of eddy currents is increased. In this paper, the performance of the PECT for detection of sub-surface pitting defects in the magnetized ferromagnetic specimen has been investigated through finite element modeling (FEM) and experimental studies. The tested specimen is a 10mm-thick steel plate, in which sub-surface pitting defects with various depths have been modeled. A probe consisting of a driver coil, a pickup coil, and a ferrite core is used to measure the time-varying PEC signals. Then, the time domain features of the differential PEC signals are extracted and used to detect the sub-surface pittings. The results indicate that PEC technique together with magnetization can effectively detect sub-surface pitting defects.


Volume 20, Issue 4 (11-2020)
Abstract

Beam–column connections in reinforced concrete (RC) structures play an important role when the frame is subjected to seismic loading. The overall stability of the structure and the formation of the optimal energy absorption mechanism in the beam plastic hinge zone depends on the role of the beam-column joints. The non-seismic detailing in the joint panel area can cause a partial or total collapse of the structure. Beam-column connections with non-seismic detailing in buildings with moment resisting lateral load bearing systems, are the major cause of post-earthquake damage. The optimal shape and energy absorption of the moment frame structure is dependent on the design and perfect execution of the beam-column connections. In the beam-column connections, the lack of positive reinforcement of the beam in the joint area and non-extension of the column stirrup in the joint area are common defects of the joints in accordance with new regulations. Researchers have provided a lot of experimental studies on beam–column connections, while experimental studies are usually costly and time consuming, and can be restricted by the test facilities and space. The behaviour of the RC beam–column joint is very complex and several parameters such as axial load ratio, reinforcement detailing, concrete strength have significant influences on its seismic performance, it is impractical to fully investigate all parameters through a limited number of experimental tests. Finite element modelling using ABAQUS software platform can provide an opportunity to study the various parameters governing the monotonic and cyclic behaviour of the beam–column joints. In this study, by examining several parameters in the finite element model of the RC Beam–column connections in ABAQUS software, such as specifications of strain-hardening for steel, bushinger effects, concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) in tensile and compression, concrete confinement effects, presence of lateral beam, and also bond-slip of reinforcing bars was investigated and leads to provides recommendations for finite element modelling of the RC frames. For this purpose, the behaviours of the seismically and the non-seismically detailed beam–column joints under monotonic and cyclic lateral loading were evaluated in different conditions of the presence of lateral beam. The finite element models with seismic and non-seismic detail were considered and validate with laboratory tests by considering sliding effect of longitudinal beam reinforcement using modified steel stress-strain curve. Then, the effect of different lateral beam conditions around the joint was considered. The results showed well that the finite element model is more consistent with the experimental results when considering the slip effects of the longitudinal beam reinforcement. Also comparing the results of the models with the different lateral beam conditions showed that confining the non-seismic joints can increase the joint strength against lateral loads. The general behaviour mode for the seismically detailed specimen was flexural yielding in the beam at the column face whereas for the non-seismically detailed specimens joint shear failure occurred generally before the beam section reached its ultimate flexural strength. The finite element model of beam-column joint specimens was calibrated by test results and good agreement was found between the experimental and numerical hysteretic behaviour. The model was able to capture the modes of failure, peak load and initial stiffness of the tested specimens.

Volume 20, Issue 7 (6-2020)
Abstract

Due to developments in additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, design and producing cellular structures with complex topologies accompanied with appropriate mechanical properties and lightweight have become possible and the application of cellular porous materials has been increasing in various areas. In the current study, a novel cellular structure with adjustable radially graded relative density and properties inspired by bone tissue structure is designed and introduced. The cellular structure has five layers and is achieved by repeating a regular four-sided unit-cell in radial, peripheral, and axial directions by a specific pattern. Next, using analytical relations, the mechanical properties of the structure are derived. The obtained theoretical solution is validated by numerical modeling and experimental test of a polymeric specimen manufactured by SLA method. Comparison of the results shows good precision of the theoretical solution. Furthermore, the effect of design parameters including the height of representative volume element, the number of the sides of start shape, and radius of the struts on mechanical properties and their distribution is studied. Using genetic algorithms single-objective and multi-objective optimization is performed on elastic properties of the structure. The single-objective optimization results for structure with 70, 75, and 80% porosities led to 32.9, 35.92, and 35.68% improvement of elastic modulus to mass, respectively and 116.35, 96.48, and 73.62% increase of yield strength to mass at similar porosities compared to base models with same porosities. The results show proper ability of the structure in creating distribution of mechanical properties and porosity and its potential capability for use in bone replacement applications.


Volume 23, Issue 6 (11-2023)
Abstract

Damage to the structure during operation has always been possible, and therefore the issue of monitoring the health of important structures in order to control and manage safe operation has received attention in recent years. The process of extracting the parameters involved in identification the inherent characteristics of the target structural systems in order to monitor and detect damages is possible with different methods which have been introduced and investigated under the title of environmental modal analysis, which have been developed both in the time domain and in the frequency domain. Among the time domain methods, we can mention the stochastic subspace identification (SSI) method. The stochastic subspace identification method is one of the Output Only Modal Analysis (OOMA) methods that has been taken into consideration assuming the existence of uncertainty in modeling as well as noise in data observation and measurement, and system parameters are identification by applying statistical relationships to the output data. Due to the high accuracy of the covariance-drived stochastic subspace (SSI-cov) method which performs data monitoring by constructing the covariance function related to the recorded output data, therefore this sub-method has been used. Due to the limitation in the number of sensors that can be installed in real structures, the use of the Reference-based covariance-drived stochastic subspace identification (SSI-cov-ref) method will make it possible to identification the structure under investigation with a limited number of sensors and if there is damage, Its location can be recognized. The efficiency of the reference-based covariance-drived stochastic subspace identification method with a more limited number of sensors can also be presented. In order to damage detecting in the structure, the method of measuring changes in the modal strain energy of the members in healthy and damaged states has been used, and an index called modal strain energy has been defined and presented But in the case of damage in the structure, the undamaged members will also have strain energy due to the strain effect of the damaged members. Therefore, by using the probabilities approach, it will be possible to provide an index of the probability of structural member damage under a specific failure scenario using different information sources based on the mode shapes. In the following, using the genetic algorithm in the form of an optimization problem, the installation location for the available sensors for the target structure is optimized and presented. During the current research, after finite element modeling in MATLAB software and dynamic analysis of several samples of structure with the assumption of installing a limited number of sensors ,and the results obtained from the output of the reference-based covariance-drived stochastic subspace identification method using the changes in the modal strain energy of the members And the Bayesian strategy has been used in the damage detection in the affected members, and the efficiency of the proposed method has been discussed in the framework of the mentioned process. Based on the results obtained from the output of the proposed process, the affected members will be identified and distinguishable.
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