ABSTRACT
Inspired by the bionic Bouligand structure, helicoidal carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composite (CFRPC) laminates have been proven to own outstanding out-of-plane mechanical properties. This work aims to further explore the excellent bending characteristics of helicoidal CFRPC laminated plates and find out the optimal helicoidal layup patterns. The optimization design of laminated plates stacked with single-form and combination-form helicoidal layup sequences are carried out by using the finite element method (FEM) and adaptive simulated annealing (ASA) optimization algorithm on the Isight platform. Then, the nonlinear bending responses of optimal helicoidal CFRPC laminated plates are investigated via the FEM for the first time. The helicoidal CFRPC laminated plates under three different types of boundary conditions subjected to transverse uniformly distributed load are considered. The numerical results reveal that the combination-form helicoidal layup sequences can decrease the dimensionless bending deflection of laminated plates by more than 5% compared with the quasi-isotropic plate and enhance the out-of-plane bending characteristics of CFRPC laminated plates effectively. The boundary conditions can significantly influence the nonlinear bending responses of helicoidal CFRPC laminated plates.
ABSTRACT
Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) is a promising candidate for strengthening nanocomposite. As the matrix of nanocomposite, a single crystal of copper is designed to be in-plane auxetic along the crystal orientation [1 1 0]. In that way, the nanocomposite could also be auxetic when enhanced by (7, 2) a single-walled carbon nanotube with relatively small in-plane Poisson's ratio. A series of molecular dynamics (MD) models of the nanocomposite metamaterial are then established to study mechanical behaviors of the nanocomposite. In the modelling, the gap between copper and SWCNT is determined following the principle of crystal stability. The enhanced effect for different content and temperature in different directions is discussed in detail. This study provides a complete set of mechanical parameters of nanocomposite including thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) from 300 K to 800 K for five weight fractions, which is essential for a wide range of applications of auxetic nanocomposites in the future.
ABSTRACT
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have superior mechanical properties which originate from a strong C-C covalent bond and unique nanostructure. Chirality, one of the helical structural parameters of SWCNTs, leads to differences in mechanical performance. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to analyze engineering Poisson's ratio (EPR) and incremental Poisson's ratio (IPR) of SWCNTs with different chiral angles, respectively, under tensile and compressive load, as well as the chiral effect on rigidity. We reported the minimum EPR for (4, 1) SWCNT and obtained the distribution and trend of EPR which is dependent on chiral index m. In addition, a new observation showed two exactly opposite trends of EPR existing not only in tension and compression but also in the longitudinal and radial directions. Furthermore, we found that the critical strain, over which SWCNT would be auxetic, ranged from 6% to 18% and was also chirality-dependent. Three representative SWCNTs with chiral angle of 0° (zigzag), 10.89° (chiral), and 30° (armchair) were selected for the mechanism study of auxeticity. Finally, a method of the contribution to radial strain for two main deformation modes proposed in this paper could well explain the negative IPR phenomenon.
ABSTRACT
Negative Poisson's ratio (NPR), also known as "auxetic", is a highly desired property in a wide range of future industry applications. By employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, metal matrix nanocomposites reinforced by graphene sheets are studied in this paper. In the simulation, single crystal copper with crystal orientation [1 1 0] is selected as the matrix and an embedded-atom method (EAM) potential is used to describe the interaction of copper atoms. An aligned graphene sheet is selected as reinforcement, and a hybrid potential, namely, the Erhart-Albe potential, is used for the interaction between a pair of carbon atoms. The interaction between the carbon atom and copper atom is approximated by the Lennard-Jones (L-J) potential. The simulation results showed that both graphene and copper matrix possess in-plane NPRs. The temperature-dependent mechanical properties of graphene/copper nanocomposites with in-plane NPRs are obtained for the first time.
ABSTRACT
Postbuckling, nonlinear bending and nonlinear vibration analyses are presented for lipid tubules. The lipid tubule is modeled as a nonlocal micro/nano-beam which contains small scale effect. The material properties are assumed to be size-dependent. The governing equation is solved by a two-step perturbation technique. The numerical results reveal that the small scale parameter e0a reduces the postbuckling equilibrium paths, the static large deflections and natural frequencies of lipid tubules. In contrast, it increases the nonlinear to linear frequency ratios slightly for the lipid tubule with immovable end conditions.
Subject(s)
Lipids/chemistry , Models, Biological , Nonlinear Dynamics , Scattering, Radiation , Pressure , VibrationABSTRACT
This paper presents an investigation on the buckling and postbuckling of microtubules (MTs) subjected to a uniform external radial pressure in thermal environments. The microtubule is modeled as a nonlocal shear deformable cylindrical shell which contains small scale effects. The governing equations are based on higher order shear deformation shell theory with a von Kármán-Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity and include the extension-twist and flexural-twist couplings. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine the buckling pressure and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The small scale parameter e(0)a is estimated by matching the buckling pressure of MTs measured from the experiments with the numerical results obtained from the nonlocal shear deformable shell model. The numerical results show that buckling pressure and postbuckling behavior of MTs are very sensitive to the small scale parameter e(0)a. The results reveal that the 13_3 microtubule has a stable postbuckling path, whereas the 13_2 microtubule has an unstable postbuckling behavior due to the presence of skew angles.
Subject(s)
Microtubules/chemistry , Microtubules/physiology , Models, Biological , Models, Molecular , Biomechanical Phenomena , Compressive Strength , Pressure , Stress, MechanicalABSTRACT
Buckling and postbuckling analysis is presented for axially compressed microtubules (MTs) embedded in an elastic matrix of cytoplasm. The microtubule is modeled as a nonlocal shear deformable cylindrical shell which contains small scale effects. The surrounding elastic medium is modeled as a Pasternak foundation. The governing equations are based on higher order shear deformation shell theory with a von Kármán-Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity and include the extension-twist and flexural-twist couplings. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The small scale parameter e (0) a is estimated by matching the buckling load from their vibrational behavior of MTs with the numerical results obtained from the nonlocal shear deformable shell model. The numerical results show that buckling load and postbuckling behavior of MTs are very sensitive to the small scale parameter e (0) a. The results reveal that the MTs under axial compressive loading condition have an unstable postbuckling path, and the lateral constraint has a significant effect on the postbuckling response of a microtubule when the foundation stiffness is sufficiently large.
