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This paper demonstrates the quasi-static axial compression and high-speed axial compression tests of extruded magnesium alloy circular tubes for evaluating the crash and fracture behavior of mg parts. To capture the buckling and fracture behavior of Mg tube during the axial compression tests, FE simulation adopts different types of flow curves depending on the deformation mode such as tension and compression with LS-DYNA software. The Mg tube undergoes compressive plastic strain prior to buckling while according to the model based on Hill yield criterion only bulging along the radial direction is predicted. Due to the tension-compression asymmetry of Mg alloys, diameter of Mg tube expands largely at the initial plastic strain before having bulging or folding while only a bulging mode typical for materials with cubic crystal structure can be predicted. Simulation results such as punch load and deformation mode are compared with experimental results in the axial crushing test with AZ61 alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-order mimetic finite difference method for Reissner-Mindlin plate problems is considered. Together with the source problem, the free vibration and the buckling problems are investigated. Details about the scheme implementation are provided, and the numerical results on several different types of meshes are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finite strain formulation is developed for elastic circular arches and rings in which the effects of shear deformations are included. Timoshenko beam hypothesis is adopted for incorporating shear. Finite strains are defined in terms of the normal and shear component of the longitudinal stretch. The constitutive relations for stress and finite strain are based on a hyperelastic constitutive model. Virtual work and equilibrium equations are derived. Closed-form in-plane buckling solutions are developed for circular rings and high arches under hydrostatic pressure. The effects of axial deformation prior to buckling as well as shear deformations are included in the buckling analysis. The formulation developed is compared with solutions in the literature and to the predictions of the finite element package ANSYS. The importance of including the effects of shear deformations for deep arches is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lay-up optimization problems of composite plates against buckling are studied. The plate has symmetric lay-up and is loaded by an in-plane loading. The Classical Lamination Plate Theory is used. The necessary optimality conditions for the plate orthotropy/anisotropy optimization problems are considered, with special attention to bending-twisting coupling. The purpose of the optimization is to maximize the (lowest) buckling eigen value. The varied lay-up/layer orientation angles are considered both as smooth functions of the location coordinates and as having the same values at every point. It is shown that the twisting moment (calculated in the principal curvature axes) plays an important role in the conditions. Two example problems for a thin composite plate, loaded by shear, are considered. The first one corresponds to the case of one shear loading direction. The details of some known numerical solutions are studied. The obtained numerical results are in agreement with the theoretical results. The maximal lowest eigen values are 2-folded ones. A schematic model for treatment of the known optimal numerical solution (60° unidirectional lay-up for a long plate loaded by shear) is proposed. The second example problem corresponds to the case of shear loading acting in two opposite directions. The ways of equalizing the lowest buckling values corresponding to both loading directions are proposed. Numerical results for various aspect ratio and plate thickness values are presented. The potential of weight saving is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-walled members that have one dimension relatively large in comparison to the cross-sectional dimensions are usually modelled by using beam-type one-dimensional finite elements. Beam-type elements, however, are based on the assumption of rigid cross-section, thus they only allow considerations associated with the beam axis behaviour such as flexural-, torsional- or lateral-buckling and cannot consider the effects of local deformations such as flange local buckling or distortional buckling. In order to capture the local effects of this type shell-type finite element models can be used. Based on the Bridging multi-scale approach, this study proposes a numerical technique that is able to split the global analysis, which is performed by using simple beam-type elements, from the local analysis which is based on more sophisticated shell-type elements. As a result, the proposed multi-scale method allows the usage of shell elements in a local region to incorporate the local deformation effects on the overall behaviour of thin-walled members without necessitating a shell-type model for the whole member. Comparisons with full shell-type analysis are provided in order to illustrate the efficiency of the method developed herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When exploring the buckling mechanism in indium antimonide (InSb) detector, the global square checkerboard buckling pattern reappears in finite element simulation results. The contributions from the three layered materials to the deformations along the Z-direction are systematically analyzed. Analysis of results shows that the buckling deformation originated from the thermal difference between silicon readout integrated circuits (silicon-ROIC) and the intermediate layer directly above. Furthermore, the buckling pattern is determined by indium bumps array. After passing through the 10 μm intermediate layer, the deformation amplitude is significantly reduced from 2.23 μm to 0.24 μm. Afterwards, passing upward through the 10 μm InSb chip, the maximal deformation is further decreased to 0.09 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional approach to analysis the buckling of rectangular laminates containing an embedded delamination subjected to the in-plane loading is to simplify the laminate as a beam-plate from which the predicted buckling load decreases as the length of the laminate increases. Two-dimensional analyses are employed in this paper by extending the one-dimensional model to take into consideration of the influence of the delamination width on the buckling performance of the laminates. The laminate is simply supported containing a through width delamination. A new parameter β defined as the ratio of delamination length to delamination width is introduced with an emphasis on the influence of the delamination size. It is found that (i) when the ratio β is greater than one snap-through buckling prevails, the buckling load is determined by the delamination size and depth only; (ii) as the ratio β continues to increase, the buckling load will approach to a constant value. Solutions are verified with the well established results and are found in good agreement with the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conical shells are extensively used in numerous types of engineering structures with various types of geometric imperfections. Nonetheless, quite few are the studies investigating the effect of special types of imperfections on the buckling load of conical shells under external pressure. In the present study, depression type of imperfection which is found in the zone of longitudinal weld is in the center of attention. To this end, this paper reports on different simulations including finite element results and discusses the effect of this type of imperfection on the critical buckling load of such structures. Obtained results are compared with the previous corresponding test results, some theoretical predictions, recommendations and codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed atomistic and continuum model is applied to carbon nanotubes, in order to study their buckling behavior. Herein, the term 'atomistic' refers to the underlying constitutive model that is formulated on the basis of interatomic potentials, whereas 'continuum' means the application of the Cauchy-Born rule, which links the bond vectors before and after deformation via the deformation gradient of the continuum. Because the bond vectors are not infinitesimal and the continuum is modeled as surface, the Cauchy-Born rule has to be appropriately adapted to crystalline sheets. This is done via an exponential mapping in a new and surprisingly simple form such that in the analysis the current configuration has never to be left. The numerical buckling analysis of carbon nanotubes using the mixed atomistic and continuum model is carried out by means of the finite element method. For this purpose, the linearization of the equilibrium equations is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical study was conducted using the finite element method to determine the effects of square and rectangular cutouts on the buckling behavior of a 16-ply quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy symmetrically laminated rectangular composite plate. The square/ rectangular cutouts were subjected to uniaxial compression loading. This study addresses the effects of the size of the square/rectangular cutout, orientation of the square/rectangular cutout, plate aspect ratio (a/b), and plate length/thickness ratio (a/t) on the buckling behavior of the symmetrically laminated rectangular composite plate under uniaxial compression loading. Buckling loads were computed for seven different quasi-isotropic laminate configurations [0°/+45°/−45°/90°], [15°/+60°/−30°/−75°], [30°/+75°/−15°/−60°], [45°/+90°/0°/−45°], [60°/−75°/+15°/−30°], [75°/−60°/+30°/−15°], [90°/−45°/+45/°0°]. Results showed that the magnitudes of the buckling loads decrease with increasing cutout positioned angle as well as c/b and d/b ratios for plates with a rectangular cutout. The symmetrically laminated quasi-isotropic [0°/+45°/−45°/90°] composite plate is stronger than all other symmetrically analyzed laminated quasi-isotropic composite plates. The magnitudes of the buckling loads of a rectangular composite plate with square/rectangular cutout decrease with increasing plate aspect ratio (a/b) and plate length/thickness (a/t) ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanomechanical properties, deformation, and shape recovery mechanism of NiTi nanowires (NWs) under torsion are studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of loading rate, aspect ratio of NWs, and NW shape are evaluated in terms of atomic trajectories, potential energy, torque required for deformation, stress, shear modulus, centro-symmetry parameter, and radial distribution function. Simulation results show that dislocation nucleation starts from the surface and then extends to the interior along the {110} close-packed plane. For a high loading rate, the occurrence of torsional buckling of a NW is faster, and the buckling gradually develops near the location of the applied external loading. The critical torsional angle and critical buckling angle increase with aspect ratio of the NWs. Square NWs have better mechanical strength than that of circular NWs due to the effect of shape. Shape recovery naturally occurs before buckling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, an avant-garde study on Buckling of honeycomb sandwich panel of hexagonal cell has been carried out by considering simply supported boundary constraints explicitly. A novel theoretical formulation has been developed for the buckling of honeycomb panel as per Mil Standard (MIL-HDBK-23A). The laminate element type has been considered for linear static analysis using Lanczos Method (finite element method (FEM)). The buckling analysis carried out by FEM has been compared and validated with theoretical and experimental investigation for different panel aspect ratio under static load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making use of a mixed variational formulation based on the Green function of the substrate, which assumes as independent fields the structure displacements and the contact pressure, a simple and efficient finite element-boundary integral equation coupling method is derived and applied to the stability analysis of beams and frames resting on an elastic half-plane. Slender Euler-Bernoulli beams with different combinations of end constraints are considered. The examples illustrate the convergence to the existing exact solutions and provide new estimates of the buckling loads for different boundary conditions. Finally, nonlinear incremental analyses of rectangular pipes with compressed columns and free or pinned foundation ends are performed, showing that pipes stiffer than the soil may exhibit snap-through instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with topology optimization of static geometrically nonlinear structures experiencing snap-through behaviour. Different compliance and buckling criterion functions are studied and applied for topology optimization of a point loaded curved beam problem with the aim of maximizing the snap-through buckling load. The response of the optimized structures obtained using the considered objective functions are evaluated and compared. Due to the intrinsic nonlinear nature of the problem, the load level at which the objective function is evaluated has a tremendous effect on the resulting optimized design. A well-known issue in buckling topology optimization is artificial buckling modes in low density regions. The typical remedy applied for linear buckling does not have a natural extension to nonlinear problems, and we propose an alternative approach. Some possible negative implications of using symmetry to reduce the model size are highlighted and it is demonstrated how an initial symmetric buckling response may change to an asymmetric buckling response during the optimization process. This problem may partly be avoided by not exploiting symmetry, however special requirements are needed of the analysis method and optimization formulation. We apply a nonlinear path tracing algorithm capable of detecting different types of stability points and an optimization formulation that handles possible mode switching. This is an extension into the topology optimization realm of a method developed, and used for, fiber angle optimization in laminated composite structures. We finally discuss and pinpoint some of the issues related to buckling topology optimization that remains unsolved and demands further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates buckling behavior of thin film thermoelectrics subjected to a temperature gradient. Both a single-layer thermoelectric film and multilayered structures are studied. The multilayered structure consists of a p-type and n-type thermocouple separated by an insulating layer with or without additional supporting membrane layers. The temperatures, and thermoelectrically induced stresses and membrane forces are first presented. The elastic stability theories of homogeneous plates and laminated composites are subsequently used to determine the temperature differential between the hot and cold junctions that causes buckling of the thin film structures. The numerical results show that a single-layer thermoelectric film could buckle at a temperature differential of around 10 K for large length-to-thickness ratios. The multilayered thermoelectric thin film structures exhibit significantly higher buckling temperature differentials due to reduced overall length-to-thickness ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meshless collocations utilizing Gaussian and Multiquadric radial basis functions for the stability analysis of orthotropic and cross ply laminated composite plates subjected to thermal and mechanical loading are presented. The governing differential equations of plate are based on higher order shear deformation theory considering two different transverse shear stress functions. The plate governing differential equations are discretized using radial basis functions to cast a set of simultaneous equations. The convergence of both radial basis functions is studied for different values of shape parameters. Several numerical examples are undertaken to demonstrate the accuracy of present method and the effects of orthotropy ratio of the material, span to thickness ratio of the plate, and fiber orientation on critical load/temperature are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model for the dynamics of a Gao elastic nonlinear beam, which is subject to a horizontal traction at one end, is studied. In particular, the buckling behavior of the beam is investigated. Existence and uniqueness of the local weak solution is established using truncation, approximations, a priori estimates, and results for evolution problems. An explicit finite differences numerical algorithm for the problem is presented. Results of representative simulations are depicted in the cases when the oscillations are about a buckled state, and when the horizontal traction oscillates between compression and tension. The numerical results exhibit a buckling behavior with a complicated dependence on the amplitude and frequency of oscillating horizontal tractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effect of a centrally applied external axial tensile load on the lateral-torsional buckling resistance of simply supported I-beams under uniform bending acting in the plane of maximum rigidity is studied. A linear and a nonlinear analysis are performed. Following the linear analysis, an expression for the critical moment of lateral-torsional buckling is presented in which the influence of the axial tensile force is included. There is an upper limit of this force over which the equilibrium in the deformed state is not possible. In the nonlinear analysis, the nature of the critical state is studied, considering the initial part of the post-buckling path. It is concluded that this critical state is associated with a stable symmetrical bifurcation point. Nevertheless, the post-buckling path is very shallow; therefore, the beam cannot exhibit practically post-buckling strength. The paper is supplemented by a representative example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buckling of a column made of functionally graded material is investigated. The functional grading is performed in the longitudinal direction. The following problem is addressed: determine the variation of the elastic modulus with the axial coordinate such that the buckling load exceeds the preselected value. In this study, only polynomial variation of the buckling mode is considered and only the case of cantilever column is treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exist several high-order sandwich panel theories, most notably, the first to be introduced high-order sandwich panel theory (HSAPT) assumes a constant shear stress in the core. Recently, the extended high-order sandwich panel theory (EHSAPT) was introduced, its novelty being that it allows for three generalized coordinates in the core (the axial and transverse displacements at the centroid of the core, and the rotation at the centroid of the core) instead of just one (shear stress in the core) of the earlier theory. In this paper, the EHSAPT formulation for predicting the critical wrinkling load is presented for a simply supported sandwich of general asymmetric construction. The cases of (i) applying the loading just on the face sheets with a linear core assumption and (ii) applying uniform strain loading throughout the thickness of the panel and a nonlinear core assumption are examined. The results are compared with a benchmark elasticity solution. In addition, edgewise compression experiments were conducted on glass face/Nomex honeycomb core and the ensuing wrinkling point is compared with the theoretical predictions. A comparison is also made with earlier edgewise compression experiments on aluminum face/granulated-cork core reported in literature. Other wrinkling formulas that are included in the comparison are: Hoff-Mautner and the HSAPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with the approximation of the critical buckling factor for thin composite plates. A new method to improve the approximation of this critical factor is applied based on its behavior with respect to lamination parameters and loading conditions. This method allows accurate approximation of the critical buckling factor for non-orthotropic laminates under complex combined loadings (including shear loading). The influence of the stacking sequence and loading conditions is extensively studied as well as properties of the critical buckling factor behavior (e.g concavity over tensor D or out-of-plane lamination parameters). Moreover, the critical buckling factor is numerically shown to be piecewise linear for orthotropic laminates under combined loading whenever shear remains low and it is also shown to be piecewise continuous in the general case. Based on the numerically observed behavior, a new scheme for the approximation is applied that separates each buckling mode and builds linear, polynomial or rational regressions for each mode. Results of this approach and applications to structural optimization are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most cases, the research on the buckling of a helical spring is based on the column, the spring is equivalent to the column, and the torsion around the axial line is ignored. A three-dimensional (3D) helical spring model is considered in this paper. The equilibrium equations are established by introducing two coordinate systems, the Frenet and the principal axis coordinate systems, to describe the spatial deformation of the center line and the torsion of the cross section of the spring, respectively. By using a small deformation assumption, the variables of the deflection can be expanded into Taylor's series, and the terms of high orders are ignored. Hence, the equations can be simplified to the functions of the twist angle and the arc length, which can be solved by a numerical method. The reaction loads of the spring caused by the axial load subjected to the center point are also discussed, giving the boundary conditions for the solution to the equilibrium equations. The present work is useful to the research on the behavior of the post-buckling of the compressed helical spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, buckling analysis of biaxially compressed graphene sheets with non-local elasticity theory is reported. The equations of motion for graphene sheet are derived using non-local local elasticity theory. Levy's approach has been used to solve the governing equations for various boundary conditions of the graphene sheet. Present results from Levy's solution agree with the results for all edges simply supported available in the literature. Further, the effect of the (i) non-local parameter, (ii) size of the graphene sheet and (iii) various boundary conditions on the critical buckling loads of the graphene sheets are investigated. It is observed that non-local parameter and boundary conditions significantly influence the critical buckling loads of the small size graphene sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent interest in designing soft gels with high fracture toughness has called for simple and robust methods to test fracture behavior. The conventional method of applying tension to a gel sample suffers from a difficulty of sample gripping. In this paper, we study a possible fracture mechanism of soft gels under uni-axial compression. We show that the surfaces of a pre-existing crack, oriented parallel to the loading axis, can buckle at a critical compressive stress. This buckling instability can open the crack surfaces and create highly concentrated stress fields near the crack tip, which can lead to crack growth. We show that the onset of crack buckling can be deduced by a dimensional argument combined with an analysis to determine the critical compression needed to induce surface instabilities of an elastic half space. The critical compression for buckling was verified for a neo-Hookean material model using finite element simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The buckling behavior of a thin particle-reinforced composite plate under the influence of an unsteady temperature field and a temperature gradient across its thickness is investigated. An analytic solution for bending of the plate is obtained in the form of double trigonometric series. Based on the analytic result, a numerical test is carried out to study the thickness and time dependences of the buckling behavior of a plate made of a PVC matrix and titanium particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the existence of the critical force chain length and the buckling of unconfined grain columns in dense granular materials. Tests on assemblies of flat pentagon photoelastic particles were first carried out to demonstrate the maximum length of force chains. Then, the theoretical buckling analysis and distinct element method (DEM) simulations for grain columns composed of mono-sized elliptical particles were performed. The results revealed the existence of critical column length, which is generally affected by the particle shapes, the rotational resistance at particle contact points and the end constraints to the grain columns. The interparticle friction does not have explicit effect on the critical force chain length, but it has significant influence on the grain column's curvature when collapse takes place. The thickness of shear band in granular soils can be determined as the critical length of grain columns by appropriately imposing the constraints on the boundaries, as confirmed by DEM simulations and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the axisymmetric compressive buckling behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) under different boundary conditions based on continuum mechanics model. A buckling condition is derived for determining the critical buckling load and associated buckling mode of MWNTs, and numerical results are worked out for MWNTs with different aspect ratios under fixed and simply supported boundary conditions. It is shown that the critical buckling load of MWNTs is insensitive to boundary conditions, except for nanotubes with smaller radii and very small aspect ratio. The associated buckling modes for different layers ofMWNTs are in-phase, and the buckling displacement ratios for different layers are independent of the boundary conditions and the length of MWNTs. Moreover, for simply supported boundary conditions, the critical buckling load is compared with the corresponding one for axial compressive buckling, which indicates that the critical buckling load for axial compressive buckling can be well approximated by the corresponding one for axisymmetric compressive buckling. In particular, for axial compressive buckling of double-walled carbon nanotubes, an analytical expression is given for approximating the critical buckling load. The present investigation may be of some help in further understanding the mechanical properties of MWNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small-scale effect on the natural frequencies and buckling of pressurized nanotubes is investigated in this study. Based on the firstorder shear deformable shell theory, the nonlocal theory of elasticity is used to account for the small-scale effect and the governing equations of motion are obtained. Applying modal analysis technique and based on Galerkin's method a procedure is proposed to obtain natural frequencies of vibrations. For the case of nanotubes with simply supported boundary conditions, explicit expressions are obtained which establish the dependency of the natural frequencies and buckling loads of the nanotube on the small-scale parameter and natural frequencies obtained by local continuum mechanics. The obtained solutions generalize the results of nano-bar and -beam models and are verified by the literature. Based on several numerical studies some conclusions are drawn about the small-scale effect on the natural frequencies and buckling pressure of the nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yeast cells can be regarded as micron-sized and liquid-filled cylindrical shells. Owing to the rigid cell walls, yeast cells can bear compressive forces produced during the biotechnological process chain. However, when the compressive forces applied on the yeast go beyond a critical value, mechanical buckling will occur. Since the buckling of the yeast can change the networks in its cellular control, the experimental research of the buckling of the yeast has received considerable attention recently. In this paper, we apply a viscoelastic shell model to study the buckling of the yeast. Meanwhile, the turgor pressure in the yeast due to the internal liquid is taken into account as well. The governing equations are based on the first-order shear deformation theory. The critical axial compressive force in the phase space is obtained by the Laplace transformation, and the Bellman numerical inversion method is then applied to the analytical result to obtain the corresponding numerical results in the physical phase. The concepts of instantaneous critical buckling force, durable critical buckling force, and delay buckling are set up in this paper. And the effects of the transverse shear deformation and the turgor pressure on the buckling phenomena are also given. The numerical results show that the transverse shearing effect will decrease the instantaneous critical buckling force and the durable critical buckling force, while the turgor pressure will increase both of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the dynamic performance of E-glass Vinyl Ester composite face sheet / foam core sandwich panels when subjected to pre-compression and subsequent blast loading. The sandwich panels were subjected to 0 kN, 15 kN and 25 kN of in plane compression respectively, prior to transverse blast wave loading with peak incident pressure of 1 MPa and velocity of 3 Mach. The blast loading was generated using a shock tube facility. During the experiments, a high-speed photographic system utilizing three digital cameras was used to acquire the real-time 3-D deformation of the sandwich panels. The 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique was used to quantify the back face out-of-plane deflection and in-plane strain. The results showed that in-plane compressive loading facilitated buckling and failure in the front face sheet. This mechanism greatly reduced the blast resistance of sandwich composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the theoretical and experiment results of buckling behavior of thin-walled metallic hollow sphere (MHS) compressed between two rigid plates. The first critical buckling load of MHS has been derived. It is shown that the critical load is related to the radius, thickness of the sphere shell, the elastic modulus, and Poisson's Ratio of the material. Two hemispheres are welded to make the MHS with three different angles of welding-line. The quasi-static compressive experiment of the MHS has been carried out, and the load-deformation curves are obtained. To match theoretical and experimental results, a modified equation is presented. Then a good agreement between the theoretical and the experimental results is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a proof-of-concept experiment and two mathematical models to explore growth-induced tissue buckling, as may occur in colorectal crypt formation. Our experiment reveals how growth of a cultured epithelial monolayer on a thin flexible substrate can cause out-of-plane substrate deflections. We describe this system theoretically using a 'bilayer' model in which a growing cell layer adheres to a thin compressible elastic beam. We compare this with the 'supported-monolayer' model due to Edwards and Chapman (Bull Math Biol 69:1927-1942, ) for an incompressible expanding beam (representing crypt epithelium), which incorporates viscoelastic tethering to underlying stroma. We show that the bilayer model can exhibit buckling via parametric growth (in which the system passes through a sequence of equilibrium states, parameterised by the total beam length); in this case, non-uniformities in cell growth and variations in cell-substrate adhesion are predicted to have minimal effect on the shape of resulting buckled states. The supported-monolayer model reveals how competition between lateral supports and stromal adhesion influences the wavelength of buckled states (in parametric growth), and how non-equilibrium relaxation of tethering forces influences post-buckled shapes. This model also predicts that non-uniformities in growth patterns have a much weaker influence on buckled shapes than non-uniformities in material properties. Together, the experiment and models support the concept of patterning by growth-induced buckling and suggest that targeted softening of a growing cell layer provides greater control in shaping tissues than non-uniform growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prestress in actin filaments plays an important role in the stability of cells and it strongly influences the cell stiffness. In this paper, we present a simple polygonal cytoskeleton model to study the influence of cell prestress. The existence of prestress is shown to facilitate cytoskeletal integrity. Remarkably, the optimum prestress is computed to be several kPa of extension, which is comparable to experimental results. This bio-self-optimized prestress can make the cells sufficiently stable, allowing them to endure external compressive loadings. The relationship between cell rigidity and the prestress is determined using the presented model and found to be linear, which also agrees with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can have a large frozen strain but with a very small recovery stiffness in comparison with shape memory metals or ceramics. To provide more deployable stresses for the application of actuators, sandwich beams consisting of a SMP core and two thin metallic skins were considered. The packaging behaviors of two types of SMP sandwich beams, aluminum/SMP/aluminum and steel/SMP/steel, were discussed. Due to the high compliance of SMP core on packaging condition that the testing temperature is above the activation temperature of the material, buckling and post-buckling are the essential deformation mechanisms of SMP sandwich beams under bending. Theoretical solutions were derived in studying such non-linear behaviors, including the initiation of critical buckling, post-buckling response, and final failure modes. Systematic parameter's analyses, e.g., buckling half-wavelength, amplitude, location of the neutral-strain surface in different packaging curvatures, were also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal buckling of an axially restrained composite column that is exposed to a heat flux due to fire is studied by both analytical and experimental means. The column is exposed to fire from one-side and the resulting heat damage, the charred layer formation and non-uniform transient temperature distribution are calculated by the thermal model developed by Gibson et al. (Revue de l'Institute Francais du Petrole 50:69-74, 1995). For the thermal buckling analysis, the mechanical properties of the fire-damaged (charred) region are considered negligible; the degradation of the elastic properties with temperature (especially near the glass transition temperature of the matrix) in the undamaged layer, is accounted for by using experimental data for the elastic moduli. Due to the non-uniform stiffness and the effect of the ensuing thermal moment, the structure behaves like an imperfect column, and responds by bending rather than buckling in the classical Euler (bifurcation) sense. Another important effect of the non-uniform temperature is that the neutral axis moves away from the centroid of the cross section, resulting in another moment due to eccentric loading, which would tend to bend the structure away from the fire. In order to verify the mechanical response, the compressive buckling behavior of the same material subjected to simultaneous high intensity surface heating and axial compressive loading were investigated experimentally. Fire exposure was simulated by subjecting the surface of rectangular specimens to radiant heating in a cone calorimeter. Heat flux levels of 25 kW/m, 50 kW/m and 75 kW/m were studied. All specimens exhibited buckling and subsequent catastrophic failure, even at compressive stresses as low as 3.5 MPa under a surface heat flux of 25 kW/m. Details of the experimental procedure, including modifications made to a cone calorimeter to allow simultaneous mechanical loading are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the postbuckling behavior of rectangular orthotropic laminated composite plates with initial imperfections under inplane shear load is investigated in a closed-form analytical manner. The plates under consideration are assumed to be infinitely long in the longitudinal direction. At the longitudinal edges, two different sets of boundary conditions are considered, specifically 1) simply supported edges and 2) fully clamped edges. Using Timoshenko-type shape functions for both the initial bifurcational buckling analysis and the subsequent Marguerre-type postbuckling studies, closed-form analytical solutions for the buckling loads and for the postbuckling state variables are derived. A comparison with geometrically non-linear finite element computations shows that the derived analysis approaches are suitable for postbuckling studies in load ranges not too far beyond bifurcational buckling as they are currently relevant for e.g., composite airframe structural analysis and design. Due to their strictly closed-form analytical nature, the presented analysis methods can be used conveniently in engineering practice for all application purposes where computational time is a crucial factor, especially for preliminary analysis and design or optimization procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elastic buckling behavior of quadrilateral single-layered graphene sheets (SLGS) under bi-axial compression is studied employing nonlocal continuum mechanics. Small-scale effects are taken into consideration. The principle of virtual work is employed to derive the governing equations. The Galerkin method in conjunction with the natural coordinates of the nanoplate is used as a basis for the analysis. The buckling load of skew, rhombic, trapezoidal, and rectangular nanoplates considering various geometrical parameters are obtained. It is shown that nonlocal effects are very important in arbitrary quadrilateral graphene sheets and their inclusion results in smaller buckling loads. Also the effects of geometrical parameters such as aspect ratio, angle, and mode number on the buckling load decrease when scale coefficient increases, for all arbitrary quadrilateral SLGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an analytical solution for buckling of moderately thick functionally graded (FG) sectorial plates is presented. It is assumed that the material properties of the FG plate vary through the thickness of the plate as a power function. The stability equations are derived according to the Mindlin plate theory. By introducing four new functions, the stability equations are decoupled. The decoupled stability equations are solved analytically for both sector and annular sector plates with two simply supported radial edges. Satisfying the edges conditions along the circular edges of the plate, an eigenvalue problem for finding the critical buckling load is obtained. Solving the eigenvalue problem, the numerical results for the critical buckling load and mode shapes are obtained for both sector and annular sector plates. Finally, the effects of boundary conditions, volume fraction, inner to outer radius ratio (annularity) and plate thickness are studied. The results for critical buckling load of functionally graded sectorial plates are reported for the first time and can be used as benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a structural design method for an outer tie rod installed in a passenger car. The weight of the outer tie rod is optimized by using the aluminum alloy Al6082M, which is developed as a steel-substitute material, and applying structural optimization techniques. The high strength aluminum with improved mechanical properties was developed to reduce the weight of the outer tie rod. The newly developed aluminum alloy Al6082M is applied as the material of the outer tie rod. The static strength due to inertia force, durability and buckling performances are considered in the structural design of the outer tie rod. At the proto design stage of a new outer tie rod, it is cost-effective to utilize FE (finite element) analysis to predict each of these performances. In addition, the current trend in the structural design of automobile parts is to use optimization techniques to reduce the weights of the parts. First, for an arbitrary base design, the static strength, the life cycle and the buckling load are calculated to check whether the design satisfies its criteria. Then, the critical performance is selected so as to include its loading condition only in the optimization process. In this study, the metamodel based optimization process using kriging is adopted to obtain the minimum weight satisfying the critical design requirement. Then, the feasibility of the determined optimum shape is investigated against the other performances. Finally, the optimum design of outer tie rod is modified by considering forging efficiency. The performances of the final design are investigated through simulation and experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the confined elastic buckling of a single N-particle force chain. For a given set of material parameters, a characteristic load-carrying capacity is attained for a clearly defined range of force chain lengths N ≥ L*. The rotation and translation of particles along periodically located segments of the critical buckling mode, each of length L*, are on average consistent with those for particles inside the shear band. Preliminary results from postbuckling analysis show that the critical buckling mode is unstable and that buckling culminates in a localized response over one of these segments where observed shear band kinematics prevail. Thus, the localized buckling response is characterized by the rotation of a finite number of particles with a clearly defined length L*. For a wide range of material properties, L* is around eight particle diameters-the observed shear band thickness for many granular materials, most notably sand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on criterion functions for gradient based optimization of the buckling load of laminated composite structures considering different types of buckling behaviour. A local criterion is developed, and is, together with a range of local and global criterion functions from literature, benchmarked on a number of numerical examples of laminated composite structures for the maximization of the buckling load considering fiber angle design variables. The optimization formulations are based on either linear or geometrically nonlinear analysis and formulated as mathematical programming problems solved using gradient based techniques. The developed local criterion is formulated such it captures nonlinear effects upon loading and proves useful for both analysis purposes and as a criterion for use in nonlinear buckling optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, out-of-plane stability analysis of tapered cross-sectioned thin curved beams under uniformly distributed radial loading is performed by using the finite-element method. Solutions referred to as Bolotin's approach are analysed for dynamic stability, and the first unstable regions are examined. Out-of-plane vibration and out-of-plane buckling analyses are also studied. In addition, the results obtained in this study are compared with the published results of other researchers for the fundamental frequency and critical lateral buckling load. The effects of subtended angle, variations of cross-section, and dynamic load parameter on the stability regions are shown in graphics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study optimal design of composite laminates, with and without rectangular cut-out, is carried out for maximizing the buckling load. Optimization study is carried out for obtaining the maximum buckling load with design variables as ply thickness, cut-out size and orientation of cut-out with respect to laminate. Buckling load is evaluated using a 'simple higher order shear deformation theory' based on four unknown displacements u, v, w and w. A C continuous shear flexible finite element based on HSDT model is developed using Hermite cubic polynomial. It is observed that for thick anti-symmetric laminates, the non-dimensional buckling load decreases with increase in aspect ratio and increase in fibre orientation angle. There is a decrease in the non-dimensional buckling load of symmetric laminate in the presence of cut-out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a numerical algorithm based on a perturbation technique named asymptotic numerical method (ANM) to solve nonlinear problems with hyperelastic constitutive behaviors. The main advantages of this technique compared to Newton-Raphson are: (a) a large reduction of the number of tangent matrix decompositions; (b) in presence of instabilities or limit points no special treatment such as arc-length algorithms is necessary. The ANM uses high order series approximation with auto-adaptive step length and without need of any iteration. Introduction of this expansion into the set of nonlinear equations results into a sequence of linear problems with the same linear operator. The present work aims at providing algorithms for applying the ANM to the special case of compressible and incompressible hyperelastic materials. The efficiency and accuracy of the method are examined by comparing this algorithm with Newton-Raphson method for problems involving hyperelastic structures with large strains and instabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The buckling of a long multilayered nonlinearly elastic shell made of different materials and subject to the action of external pressure is investigated. The load is not hydrostatic and greatly varies in value and direction. Neglecting the effect of end fastening of the shell, the problem is reduced to an analysis of the loss of load-carrying ability of a ring of unit width separated from the shell. The solution is based on a variational method of mixed type formulated for heterogeneous nonlinearly elastic bodies, taking into account the geometrical nonlinearity, in a combination with the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The initial analysis is reduced to solving the Cauchy problem for a nonlinear ordinary differential equation resolved for the derivative. Numerically, using the Runge-Kutta method, the effect of the number of layers and of the parameter of nonuniformity of the external pressure on the critical buckling force is revealed. The urgency and importance of the problem are connected with the research of reserves in the saving of materials with a simultaneous possibility of increasing the load-carrying ability of a structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear buckling and postbuckling of a shear-deformable anisotropic laminated cylindrical panel of finite length is investigated based on a boundary-layer theory for buckling. The layers of the panel are assumed to be linearly elastic. The governing equations are based on Reddy's higher-order shear deformation theory of shells and include the von Karman-type kinematic nonlinearity and extension/twist, extension/flexure, and flexure/twist couplings. The nonlinear prebuckling deformations and the initial geometric imperfections of the panel are both taken into account. The postbuckling behavior of the panel under axial compression is analyzed. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine its buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the postbuckling behavior of perfect and imperfect moderately thick anisotropic laminated cylindrical panels with different geometric parameters and stacking sequences. The new finding reveals that there arises a compressive stress along with an associate shear stress and twisting when a moderately thick anisotropic laminated cylindrical panel is subjected to axial compression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of conventional testing methods for applying external hydrostatic pressure to buckling-critical shells is presented. A new “volume-control” pressure testing method, aimed at preventing catastrophic specimen failures and improving control of specimen deformation near the critical load, is also introduced. The implementation of conventional and volume-control systems in an experimental program involving the destructive pressure testing of ring-stiffened cylinders is described. The volume control method was found to improve control of the specimen deformations, especially near the critical load, and catastrophic failures observed while using a conventional setup were avoided. The quasi-static tracking of post-collapse load-deformation relationships for snap-through buckling behaviour was possible while using a volume-control system, but precise control of dynamic shell deformations during buckling was not achieved for specimens failing with large buckling lobes. Expressions for estimating the available control over specimen deformations for pressure testing systems are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about the problem of optimization of bracing columns-height of the parallel chords, cross-sectional areas of the chord and bracing and area moments of inertia of the chord and bracing. Optimization parameters have been determined by Lagrange's multipliers method-inequality constraint functions. Total mass of the construction has been selected as the objective function. Criterions of buckling (general buckling of the bracing column, local buckling of the chord and local buckling of the bracing diagonal) and criterion of deformation are used as the constraint functions. Numerical examples are performed by usage of the obtained theoretical solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delamination buckling problem for a rectangular plate made of an orthotropic composite material is studied. The plate contains a band crack whose faces have an initial infinitesimal imperfection. The subsequent development of this imperfection due to an external compressive load acting along the crack is studied through the use of the three-dimensional geometrically nonlinear field equations of elasticity theory for anisotropic bodies. A criterion of initial imperfection is used in determining the critical forces. The corresponding boundary-value problems are solved by employing the boundary-form perturbation technique and the FEM. Numerical results for the critical force are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]