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Biomechanical overload is considered a significant occupational risk in manufacturing and a potential cause of musculoskeletal disorders. This research aims to introduce new methodologies for the quantitative risk evaluation of biomechanical risk by combining surface electromyography with a motion acquisition system based on inertial measurement units. Due to the lack of experimental data in the literature acquired in a real industrial environment during the working shift, an on-the-field study regarding an automotive assembly line workstation has been carried out in collaboration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Italy S.p.A. Data related to the trunk flexion forward and the erector spinae muscle activity have been acquired for several consecutive working cycles by considering three different workers. Data analyses indicated kinematic and muscular activity patterns consistent with those expected and that the proposed wearable technologies can be integrated and used simultaneously during work activities. Furthermore, the results demonstrated data repeatability, strengthening the feasibility and usefulness of the combined use of kinematic and electromyography technologies to assess biomechanical overload in production lines. This study could lay the bases for the future definition of a method for assessing biomechanical overload due to awkward postures.

The advent of additive manufacturing technologies significantly encouraged the development and usage of lattice structures. This paper aims to experimentally investigate the influence of dimension, building position, and orientation on the mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V trusses, manufactured by electron beam melting process, to be used in lattice cells. Specimens were manufactured considering the following parameters: truss diameter (1, 1.5, 2 mm), growth orientation (0°, 45°, 90°), and specimen position inside the building chamber. Trusses with diameter of 1 mm showed inconsistent mechanical properties caused by the poor manufacturing quality. Specimen position was found to influence the analyzed mechanical properties. Unmelted powders were observed to affect the outer surfaces of all specimens and the whole cross-sections of specimens manufactured at 0°. Specimens manufactured at 45° with diameter of 2 mm demonstrated the best performances, whereas specimens manufactured at 90° with diameter of 2 mm displayed the highest elongation at fracture.

It is well known that composite materials are founding increasing applications in the transport field thanks to their high strength to mass ratio. However, their use in primary structures is very challenging because of their high sensitivity to in-service damages and manufacturing defects. As a result, the current adopted damage tolerance approach leads to the oversizing of such structures. Structural health monitoring systems, aimed to the real time damage detection, can provide several benefits in terms of lightweight of the structures, maintenance operations and inspection costs. This paper deals with the use of the Probability Ellipse (PE) method, based on the propagation of ultrasonic guided waves on a composite winglet of a small aircraft. The PE method estimates the probability of the presence of the damage in the monitored area, starting from the knowledge of selected damage indexes for each sensors-path. The winglet, equipped with piezoelectric sensors, usable as both actuating and receiving devices, has been numerically and experimentally investigated under several configurations, varying the actuator location. Sensitivity analysis has been performed to assess the effectiveness of the PE method. The accuracy of the PE method in detecting both location and damaged area is herein discussed.

The contribution collects and illustrates "creative" methodological and design paths in the sectors of mobility and transport where design, biology, material technologies and bioengineering cooperate in a synergistic and proactive way for configurating new systems for fixing vehicles’ interior components. The aim has been to reduce the tolerance of human error during assembly by using innovative technological and material solutions and the conscious study of biological and biomechanical processes present in nature. In order to articulate the research activities, parameters have been identified and defined according to the requirements of the workers during the preparation and fixing of the components, according to the principles of safety, good design and material optimization. From the identification and literature survey of the patent documents and from the structural, material, feasibility and reliability assessments of the current installation procedures, critical issues related to stress, safety, times of installation and assembly and disassembly of the components have been carried out. Therefore, innovative biomimetic concept-solutions have been developed for the definition of architectures and fixing systems through an in-depth observation of the biological heritage, based on the organic integration of form, function, and processes. The path allowed the acquisition of specific knowledge and interdisciplinary skills to plan tangible results useful for optimizing, innovating and strengthening the design process from various industrial sectors such as engineering, aerospace, automotive, medical and pharmaceutical packaging.

The paper deals with dynamic tensile tests on Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer – CFRP laminates. As a result of their viscoelastic nature, plastics exhibit rate dependence in their stress-strain response. The need to develop failure criteria to determine the dynamic failure stress for composite material under dynamic loading conditions is a current challenge for the research community. The main goal of such paper is to assess the efficiency of the analytical models provided by literature to predict the strain-rate effects on composite coupons tensile strength. Moreover, experimental tests have been performed in order to evaluate the mechanical behaviour of different stacking sequences at different strain rate.

The certification of aircraft seats involves the investigation of the structural performance of their components under emergency landing conditions. . The paper reports the activities related to an experimental sled-test of a single row of two seats placed in front of a stiff fuselage bulkhead, by considering a single anthropomorphic dummy arranged on one of the seats. Tests have been developed at the facility equipped with a sled decelerator testing system compliant with certification requirements from FAR25 for TSO C127a regulations. Four different numerical models have been developed in order to simulate the experimental test: a full-FE modelby LSTC-LsDyna® code, a full-MB modeland a hybrid FE/MB developed using by TNO-Madymo® code and a Coupled FE/MB model. Numerical results achieved by these models have been compared with experimental ones, in order to assess their use for CBA (certification by analysis) purposeto be applied since the preliminary design phase of the seat.

Laminated composite plates are widely used in the aerospace field, the prediction of their residual life is a interesting challenge for research communities. Their structural behaviour could be affected by several rupture mechanisms due to exercise loading conditions. One of the most critical is the low velocities impacts with different impact energies. This paper deals with an experimental test program performed in order to validate a numerical model developed by using finite element method. All experimental tests were carried out under international standard ASTM D7136 while all numerical tests were carried out by use of a worldwide numerical code Abaqus®. Inter-laminar and intra-laminar rupture mechanisms were taken into account and special-purpose elements were used. Rupture criteria were implemented in the numerical models thanks to their functional ease; results of numerical-experimental comparison were presented and discussed.

A fatigue test on a full scale panel with complex loading condition and geometry configuration has been carried out using a triaxial test machine. The demonstrator is made up of two skins which are linked by a transversal butt-joint, parallel to the stringer direction. A fatigue load was applied in the direction normal to the longitudinal joint, while a constant load was applied in the longitudinal joint direction. The test panel was instrumented with strain gages and previously quasi-static tests were conducted to ensure a proper load transferring to the panel. In order to support the tests, geometric nonlinear shell finite element analyses were conducted to predict strain and stress distributions. The demonstrator broke up after about 177000 cycles. Subsequently, a finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out in order to correlate failure events; due to the biaxial nature of the fatigue loads, Sines criterion was used. The analysis was performed taking into account the different materials by which the panel is composed. The numerical results show a good correlation with experimental data, successfully predicting failure locations on the panel.

The research reported in this paper was aimed mainly to investigate the different NDE techniques on specimens made by a new process labeled as "pulsed infusion", very crucial for voids content under critical loading conditions. The impact load, in fact, is critical for composite laminates due to their anisotropy, in particular in extreme temperature conditions due to their brittleness. An additional and very relevant aim was to collect a large number of experimental results to supply useful information for the numerical models needed to simulate the dynamic behavior of composite laminates. At the aim to investigate the response under dynamic loads of laminates fabricated by a new vacuum assisted technology labeled as "pulsed infusion", rectangular carbon fiber composite specimens were subjected to low velocity impact tests. Experimental tests up to complete penetration and at different energy levels, were carried out by a modular falling weight tower. All the parameters related to the phenomenon, like penetration energy, maximum force and indentation depths, were used to validate existing semi-empirical and numerical models. The largely used ultra sound technique (US) was adopted to investigate the delamination together with the thermo graphic technique. The results of the measurements were compared with data obtained on the same specimens by holographic analysis (ESPI). One of the scope was to investigate the crucial internal impact damage and assess the ability of an unconventional ND system (ESPI) in giving right information about non-visual damage generated inside composite laminates subjected to dynamic loads. Moreover, some of the specimens were cut to allow the fractographic analysis. The efficiency of the above mentioned new fabrication technology was studied also comparing the results with measurements from literature on impacted autoclave cured laminates. By the comparison between the results, good agreements were found denoting the efficiency and the applicability of the new fabrication and the used NDE methods. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is an Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technique used to directly manufacture 3D functional parts from metal powder, selectively melted, layer by layer, by an electron beam according to a geometry defined by a CAD model. The EBM technology allows benefitting from countless advantages: material waste reduction, easy manufacturing of complex shapes, lead time reduction, etc; on the other hand the EBM process is typically associated with lower resolutions and higher surface roughness (Ra = 25–30 μm) compared to similar laser based powder bed metal processes. Therefore the surface morphology may be a critical issue for the structural integrity of components made in EBM and used in-service in their “as built” condition, i.e. with the characteristic surface released by the process. This study evaluates surface morphology and tensile properties of Ti6Al4V specimens of varying nominal thickness (1–5.0 mm), made by using EBM process with a layer thickness of 50 μm. The aim is therefore to investigate how the surface morphology and the tensile properties are affected by the nominal thickness of the component.

In the era of Industry 4.0, automation plays a key role in improving manufacturing production processes in terms of working times, accuracy of operations, products’ quality, and so on. With focus on the working tasks on composite components, drilling and riveting operations require particular attention due to the possibility of damage to the final product, especially when they are executed manually. To reduce these kinds of risks, the introduction of a robot in the working area could represent an improvement to speed up the processes and to ensure a better quality result. It is worth noting that human intervention remains necessary for carrying out a part of the sub-tasks, especially in the case of composite assembly procedures. This paper aims at presenting a case study about the drilling and riveting operations on a composite aircraft fuselage whose working cell is characterized by the coexistence of a human and a robot. Moreover, the implementation of a numerical simulation allows validating the working cycle and the adopted solutions in terms of ergonomic performance.

The paper deals with the development of a Finite Element (FE) model aimed to simulate the propagation mechanisms of guided waves in a complex composite structure, such as a blended Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) winglet, for real-time damage detection and monitoring purposes. The reliability of the herein presented FE model has been assessed against an experimental tests campaign, involving the winglet under both reference/pristine configuration and impacted/damaged configuration, also changing the actuator location. Because of the good level of accuracy shown by the numerical-experimental comparisons, the FE model has been used also for numerically investigating new actuators and damage position configurations, not experimentally analysed. Damage Indexes (DI’s) have been calculated to quantify the variations of the signals’ amplitude caused by the induced damage. Moreover, the Probability Ellipse (PE) method, which estimates the probability of the presence of the damage in the monitored area starting from the knowledge of selected DI’s for each sensors-path, has been used in both older and newer damage position. The accuracy of the PE method in detecting the damage location is herein discussed.

This paper deals with a numerical investigation, based on the Finite Element (FE) theory, of a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system for a large radio-telescope, aimed to damage detection and location. The investigated SHM system is based on the comparison of the Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) achieved under both pristine and damaged configurations, respectively. A preliminary study has been carried out in order to achieve information on the optimal sensors locations. As a result, the structural response of the radio-telescope under the in-service loading conditions has been numerically investigated. All FE analyses have been carried out by means of MD Nastran® code.

Gas hydrates are known to form plugs in pipelines. Gas hydrates are crystalline compounds that form when hydrocarbons such as methane come in contact with water under thermodynamical opportune conditions, as high pressure and low temperature. Hydrates, like any obstruction in a pipeline, reduce flow, increase back pressure in the system and increase the differential pressure across the obstruction. When the line section is obstructed by a plug, the differential pressure can put the hydrate in movement and quickly accelerate it up to a speed approaching that of sound; in this case, the moving mass can cause serious mechanical damages at downstream locations where the plug can also meet restrictions or obstacles such as valves, elbows or tees. In this paper a real case of a gas pipeline failure, due to the presence of a moving mass of methane hydrate, has been investigated by considering an analytical and numerical modeling of the motion of the hydrates, as well as of their impact against the pipes.

Damage after impact often involves aeronautic structures. The aircraft can be involved in impacts during the assembly stage and operative life. Typical impacts can be related to falling tools, hailstones, debris on the take-off strip thrown against the aircraft by the rolling tyres, maintenance operations. There are two categories of damage impact: Low and High Velocity Impact (LVI, HVI). Damages coming from low velocity impacts are difficult to identify because they are often within the composite structure and the use of non-destructive testing, e.g. ultrasonic test, is not convenient. In order to prevent catastrophic events the designers must increase the safety margin and thereby the weight of the aircraft. The present study shows two different numerical procedures based on finite elements method to investigate on some damage mechanisms of a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) structures (e.g. interface debonding, fibre or matrix cracking) and the residual strength of such structures under live loads.

Among the most promising models introduced in recent years, with which it is possible to obtain very useful results for a better understanding of the physical phenomena involved in the macroscopic mechanism of crack propagation, the one proposed by Gurson and Tvergaard links the propagation of a crack to the nucleation, growth and coalescence of micro-voids, which is likely to connect the micromechanical characteristics of the component under examination to crack initiation and propagation up to a macroscopic scale. It must be pointed out that, even if the statistical character of some of the many physical parameters involved in the said model has been put in evidence, no serious attempt has been made insofar to link the corresponding statistic to the experimental and macroscopic results, as for example crack initiation time, material toughness, residual strength of the cracked component (R-Curve), and so on. In this work, such an analysis was carried out in a twofold way: the former concerned the study of the influence exerted by each of the physical parameters on the material toughness, and the latter concerned the use of the Stochastic Design Improvement (SDI) technique to perform a “robust” numerical calibration of the model evaluating the nominal values of the physical and correction parameters, which fit a particular experimental result even in the presence of their “natural” variability.

The aim of this paper is to understand the effects of the damage criteria modelling on the training phase (performed by means of Finite Element simulations) of an artificial neural network (ANN) enabled to locate impacts onto a CFRP laminate. The developed FE models have been also used to investigate the intra-laminar damage mode, which, among different ones, has the most effects on the residual strength of the panel.

The mechanical response of reinforced composite structures under impact loads is particularly challenging owing to the rising of multiple and simultaneous failure phenomena. Indeed, low velocity impacts may produce intra-laminar damages, like fibre breakage and matrix cracking, and inter-laminar damages, such as delaminations and skin-stringer debonding. As already remarked, these failure phenomena often take place simultaneously, leading to a significant reduction in strength and stability of the composite components. In this paper, the behaviour of stiffened composite panels, with omega shaped stringers, under low velocity impacts is numerically investigated by means of non-linear explicit FEM analyses. Different impact energy levels are considered and correlation with experimental data is provided, in terms of impact force, displacement and energy. A sensitivity analysis has been performed to investigate the influence of numerical models’ approximations on the accuracy of the obtained numerical results. Models with an increasing level of damage simulation details have been adopted to study the effects of combined and separated intra-laminar and inter-laminar failures providing an interesting insight on the modelling requirements for an accurate simulation of the investigated phenomena.

Coupling techniques for components of different materials is spreading in mechanical industry; the test case studied in this work deals with the connection of an aluminium alloy component with a carbon fibre composite one. In particular, the first component is made of an aluminium-zinc alloy and exhibits an isotropic behaviour, while the second is made of a carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and shows a strongly anisotropic behaviour; both materials are widely used in engineering applications. A titanium bolt connects the parts. This work is focused on the influence of the geometrical parameters which characterize the coupling between the components. In particular, a study has been carried out on the influence of the shank-hole clearance, the bolt head size, the bolt preload and the shape of the bolt head. A numerical model has been built and statically tested; the results have been compared with the experimental ones from literature. Once validated, the same numerical model has been used to evaluate the performance of the joint in presence of a change of the above mentioned characteristic parameters. The required numerical analyses have been performed using Abaqus/Standard® numerical code.

Laminated composite structures are increasingly finding more applications in various fields thanks to their lower weight if compared with other materials of the same strength. Nevertheless, composites thin plates show a critical behavior in terms of damage propagation mechanisms when subjected to (low velocity) impact. Indeed they tend to produce delaminations which can be hardly detected by optical inspections and can affect the global load carrying capability, leading to a premature structural collapse. The aim of this paper is to assess the capabilities of the Davies-Zhang approach (introduced in 1994 and aimed to the estimation of both the delamination initiation impact load and the size of the impact induced delaminations) by using a multiscale FE model based on the mesh superposition technique. Indeed the impact area has been modeled layer-wise with an element per layer while the rest of the structure has been modeled at laminate level by layered elements by means of a homogenization approach for the determination of the equivalent laminate material properties. The impact induced delamination area has been determined by adopting stress-based criteria. The results (in terms of delamination initiation impact force and delamination size) have been compared to the ones obtained by adopting the Davies-Zhang approach.

The energy absorption capability of an exposed crashworthy element or system is largely affected by material properties and structural design: prismatic sandwich structures, made of foam or honeycomb core between two metallic or laminated composite face plates, are good candidates. This work deals with a numerical investigation on the energy absorbing capability of such a structural component. There are several difficulties associated with the numerical simulation of a composite impact-absorber, such as high geometrical non-linearities, boundary contact conditions, failure criteria, material behaviour; that is because the main objectives of any numerical investigation are the calibration of the model with experimental results and the evaluation of the sensitivity of the variables with respect to the geometrical and physical parameters which influence the study at hand. The latter is a very relevant aspect for designers if the application of the model to real cases has to be a robust one from both a physical and a numerical point of view. In this paper a preliminary calibration of a numerical model for a composite impact absorber is presented, on the basis of experimental data found in literature; then a sensitivity analysis of the same model to the variation of the main geometrical and material parameters, developed by using the explicit finite element algorithms implemented in the Ls-Dyna code, is illustrated. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

During the last few years various experimental destructive and non-destructive methods were developed to evaluate residual stresses. However it is impossible to obtain a full residual stress distribution in welded structures by means of experimental methods. This disadvantage can be solved by means of computational analysis which allows to determine the whole stress and strain fields in complex structures. In this paper the temperature distribution and residual stresses were determined in a single-pass butt joint welded by GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) process by finite element model (FEM). A 3D finite parametric element model has been carried out to analyze temperature distribution in butt weld joints and thermo-mechanical analyses were performed to evaluate resulting residual stresses. Temperature fields have been investigated by varying an initial preheating treatment. Moreover the technique of “element birth and death” was adopted to simulate the process of filler metal addition The high stresses were evaluated, with particular regard to fusion zone and heat affected zone. The influence of preheating and post-heating treatment on residual stresses was investigated. The residual stresses decrease when preheating temperature increases. The maximum value of longitudinal residual stresses without pre-heating can be reduced about 12% and 38% by using the preheating and post-heating process respectively.

The probabilistic analysis of evolutive states of damage, as those induced by fatigue loads, has been the subject of a wide spectrum of researches in the most recent years, in order to widen the range of applications and to deal with large structures, especially in the aeronautical field, where the high safety requirements need the evaluation of very small probabilities of failure. However, the problem of maintenance policies and scheduling, together with the probabilistic behaviour of NDT, are difficult to introduce in risk assessment procedures, and are usually referred as if coming from the particular experience of the different authors, even if they constitute an essential part of damage tolerance techniques. In the present work the authors summarize the capabilities of an house-made code which is able to perform the risk assessment of aeronautical components of sheet type and the experiences obtained when introducing maintenance models, in order to begin to compare different scheduling techniques.

In this work, a parametric numerical investigation on the plastic zone size and shape at the crack front of a through crack in a plate is presented. The thickness of the plate, the size of the crack and the applied remote load values are considered as parameters. The obtained results allow assessing the limits of the linear elastic fracture mechanics in presence of an extensive material yielding at the crack front and the relationship between the plastic zone size and other parameters of the elastic-plastic fracture mechanics theory is highlighted.

One of the main issue in a FEM analysis is to determine and minimizing discretization errors. This kind of errors assume a critical importance especially where the solution, in terms of displacement and stress, quickly changes inside the finite element. This issue can be overcame adopting a very refined element discretization in those regions.Hence, for this kind of simulations, it is common practice to use global-local methods rather than adopt a refined discretization over the entire domain. Indeed, global-local methods allow to define very refined elements distributions in some regions of interest, which can be coupled with coarser element distributions in the rest of the domain.A global-local approach based on the superposition technique is presented in this work. This approach allows the coupling of two different meshed domain by superimposing the refined local mesh on the global mesh for the region of interest. The coupling takes place without introducing multi-point constraints or transition regions; the mesh continuity and the well-conditioning of the stiffness matrix are satisfied by appropriate boundary conditions. This approach allows to obtain accurate solutions in the areas of interest while keeping the computational time within satisfactory limits. Several numerical applications are presented which allow to assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach for 3D linear static simulations.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate on the behaviour of a delaminated stiffened panel; the delamination growth is simulated via fracture elements implemented in B2000++® code based on the Modified Virtual Crack Closure Technique (MVCCT), matrix cracking and fibre failure have been also taken into account. Design/methodology/approach – In order to correctly apply the MVCCT on the delamination front a very fine three-dimensional (3D) mesh is required very close to the delaminated area, while a 2D-shell model has been employed for the areas of minor interest. In order to couple the shell domain to the solid one, shell-to-solid coupling elements based on kinematic constraints have been used. Findings – Results obtained with the global/local approach are in good correlation with those obtained with experimental results. Originality/value – The global/local approach based on kinematic coupling elements in conjunction with fracture elements allows to investigate and predict the behaviour of a stiffened delaminated composite panel in an efficient and effective way.

This paper concerns the numerical characterization of the static strength of a flat stiffened panel, designed as a fiber metal laminates (FML) and made of Aluminium alloy and Fiber Glass FRP. The panel is full scale and was tested under static loads, applied by means of an in house designed and built multi-axial fatigue machine. The static test is simulated by the Finite Element Method (FEM) in a three-dimensional approach. The strain gauge outcomes are compared with corresponding numerical results, getting a satisfactory correlation.

The extension of the plastic zone which takes place at the tip of a crack strictly depends on many variables, such as the yield stress of the material, the loading conditions, the crack size and the thickness of the cracked component; an exact analytical solution, such as to evaluate the plastic zone size (PZS) while taking into account all those parameters, is not yet available, mainly because of the difficulties in computing the stress–strain field ahead of the tip of a growing crack. In the present paper, by using a parametric 3D finite element model, the authors show the results obtained from extensive numerical analyses which have been developed first of all with the aim to assess the limits of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) parameters, when used to describe the stress state at the crack tip of both physically short cracks and long cracks in presence of high loads. Subsequently, the combined influence of the loading conditions, the yield stress of the material, the crack size and the thickness of the component on PZS at the crack tip has been investigated. At the end, an analytical relationship, which links, in a closed form, PZS to all these parameters and which is able to determine the PZS at crack tip of both physically short cracks and long cracks has been proposed.

This work deals with the application of the micromechanical Gurson-Tvergaard (GT) model to the determination of the residual strength of analuminumflat stiffened panel (2024 T3) with a central through crack, by means of finite element simulations. The load condition is represented by a monotonic traction along the direction orthogonal to the crack plane. The used Finite Element code is WARP 3D®, which allows simulating ductile damage propagation by considering the GT model. Numerical results have been compared with experimental ones available in literature. In the second part of the work, a home madeprocedurefounded on the SDI (Stochastic Design Improvement) technique is presented and applied to the improvement of the residual strength properties of the considered panel.

In this work the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM) have been used for an elastic-static analysis of both a Branemark dental implant and a generic conic threaded implant, modelled either in the complete mandible or in a mandibular segment, under axial and lateral loading conditions. Two different hypotheses are considered with reference to degree of osteo-integration between the implant and the mandibular bone: perfect and partial osteointegration. The BEM analysis takes advantage of the submodelling technique, applied on the region surrounding the implant. Such region is extracted from the overall mandible and the boundary conditions for such submodel are obtained from the stress analysis realised on the complete mandible. The obtained results provide the localisation of the most stressed areas at the bone-implant interface and at the mandibular canal (containing the alveolar nerve) which represent the most critical areas during mastication. This methodology, enriched with the tools necessary for the numerical mandible reconstruction, is useful to realise sensitivity analysis of the stress field against a variation of the localisation, inclination and typology of the considered implant, in order to assess the optimal implant conditions for each patient under treatment. Due to the high flexibility in the pre- and post-processing phase and accuracy in reproducing superficial stress gradients, BEM is more efficient than FEM in facing this kind of problem, especially when a linear elastic constitutive material law is adopted.

"The research activities described in the present paper deal with the causes and the typologies of secondary impact injuries suffered by passengers of a railway vehicle during an assigned crash event; those considerations are to be a starting point to understand the degree in which those injuries can be absorbed and to propose useful ways to reduce or eliminate them. In particular, the seatbelt installation has been investigated as a suitable system to restrain the passengers. An anthropomorphic test device has been made available and experimental tests have been worked out to obtain reliable data about the interaction of passengers, seat and seatbelt of a specific type. By using the experimental data a multibody (MB) numerical model of the sled test has been examined, calibrated and validated and then the performances of restraining configurations, which could not be physically tested, have been simulated. Relevant overloads on the seat frame appear when seatbelts are installed, because of the inertial loads which are transferred from the passenger. Different structural analyses of the seat, by means of finite element simulations, have been undertaken to determine if a stiffening of the seat is required to sustain those overloads. The results showed in this paper refer to the case of a frontal impact and to real geometry, structural characteristics and lay-out of the seat, obtained by considering a specific test case. In the context of the presented study MADYMO® code has been adopted to perform the preliminary MB analyses which are required to calibrate and to evaluate the relevant parameters of dummy-seat contact surfaces and of seat-belt stiffness, while LS DYNA® code hasbeen used for the structural dynamic FE analyses.. "

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate and to assess the capabilities of the most common finite element (FE)‐based tools to deal with global‐local analysis. Two kinds of coupling were investigated: shell to shell and shell to solid.Design/methodology/approachThe issue of connecting non‐matching FE global and local models, characterized by different mesh refinements and/or different element types, was addressed by introducing appropriate kinematic constraints on the nodes at the interfaces. The coupling techniques available in the three FE‐based codes (ABAQUS®, NASTRAN® and ANSYS®), were assessed by applying them on a common numerical test case (non‐linear buckling analysis of a square plate). Results of the global‐local simulations were compared to the results obtained for relevant reference solutions.FindingsThe continuity of displacements and stresses across the interface between global and local models and the influence of the presence of the local model on the global model solution were used as parameters to test the quality of the results. It was observed that the tools implemented in the different codes provide different results. The results characterized by a higher quality were found by using the Multi Point Constraint available in ABAQUS®.Originality/valueWhen dealing with complex structures, multi‐scale (global‐local) approaches are commonly adopted to optimize the computational cost by increasing mesh refinements and/or introducing elements with different formulations in specific region of the structures identified as “local model”. In this paper an overview of the coupling tools available in the main commercial FE code is given.

The variations in shape compared to the initial project affect the performance and the appearance of any mechanical assembly. There are many commercial software that allow to conduct an analysis of tolerances but most of these are based on the assumption that the elements analyzed are rigid. This assumption is not found in many industrial processes. This is the typical case of the automotive industry, which widely uses assemblies of sheet metal elements, which are flexible. The major concern is how much variation (the output) of the assembly will be, as “staked-up” from possible sources of variation (the input). The sources of variation in the assembly process include parts variation, tooling variation, and their interactions. For clarity, only part variation is considered as the input in this paper. The present work aims to perform analyses of tolerances in presence of flexible elements; the analyses involve the finite element method.

In this work, results from a study on bolted joints made of unidirectional, quasi isotropic Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites, subjected to tensile loads, are reported. CFRP composite materials are widely used in the mechanical industry, such as that of aerospace, where requirements of weight reduction and structural high performances are very compelling. Composite materials generally present a high resistance to fatigue and corrosion; however, the presence of joints produces the major problems and a poor design of joints leads to a drastic reduction of the reliability of structures made of these materials. A hybrid bolted joint involving a metal plate, made of aluminum alloy, and a CFRP composite plate has been considered; the plates are held together by a titanium bolt. Experimental results from literature are compared with those obtained through a numerical analysis developed with Abaqus code. Once the CFRP composite has been analyzed and the numerical model validated through numerical-experimental correlations, other possible configurations have been numerically analyzed in order to ensure the highest strength of the examined hybrid joint. Afterwards the effects of bolt-hole clearance on the stiffness and strength of the same joint have been investigated. © (2012) Trans Tech Publications.

Mathematical modelling of human mandible and its temporomandibular joints (TMJs) is one of the most important steps for developing a powerful forecasting tool to analyse the stress/strain behaviour of a human masticatory system under occlusal loads. In this work the structural behaviour of a mandible with articular discs, undergoing a unilateral occlusion, is numerically analysed by means of both Finite Element Method (FEM) and Boundary Element Method (BEM). The mandible is considered as completely edentulous and its anisotropic and non-homogeneous bone material behaviour is modelled. The material behaviour of the articular discs was assumed to be either elastic or hyper-elastic. The loads applied to the mandible are related to the active muscle groups during a unilateral occlusion. The results of FEM and BEM analyses are presented mainly in terms of stress distribution on the mandible and on the articular discs. Due to the uncertainty in the determination of the biological parameters, a sensitivity analysis is provided, which demonstrates the impact of the variation of articular disc stiffness and TMJ friction coefficient on the mandible stress peaks and on the occlusal loads (for a given intensity of muscle loads). Moreover a comparison between the effectiveness of the BEM and FEM numerical approaches on this kind of problem is provided.

In the present paper the authors refer about a series of experimental tests, where an aluminium alloy square tube, filled with an aluminium foam, was crushed by a longitudinal load at a speed of 10 m/s. The test apparatus consisted of a sled installed on a very stiff frame moving on appropriate guides, as the specimen was set on a home-made fixture. Two arrangements of square tubes were considered as specimens: a “standard” one and an “optimized” one. Both crushing behaviours and energy absorption capabilities were analyzed experimentally and numerically simulated by means of the explicit FE code LS-DYNA®; the complete numerical model consisted of the striker, the assemblage of square tubes and the base. A high-speed video recording system was used to capture the images from the physical test. The results from the numerical analyses were compared to those obtained from the experiments: those results showed that the force–deflection response had been overestimated by the numerical model. The authors attempted to justify this inconsistency by considering the influence of the strain rate parameters of the considered Cowper-Symonds analytical model on the results. It was shown that the “optimized” energy absorber exhibited a more desirable force–deflection response than the standard one due to some easy design changes, which involved the insertion of aluminium foam dampers.

When simulating, by FE analyses, the mechanical behavior of complex structures, different degrees of mesh refinement or different element formulations may be needed throughout the structure. Indeed, depending on the geometrical configuration of the structure and on its response in terms of stress distributions to the applied loading conditions, some regions may need to be represented by an increased number of elements, or by elements of higher order to guarantee the desired accuracy in results. When dealing with such complex structures, multiscale (global-local) approaches are commonly adopted to optimize the computational cost by increasing mesh refinements and /or introducing elements with different formulations in specific region of the structures identified as “local model” and connected to the rest of the structure identified as “global model”.This paper addresses the issue of connecting non matching FE global and local modelsby introducing appropriate kinematic constraints at the interfaces. A sensitivity analysis on simple specimen is presented here. The aim is to investigate and to discuss the capability of the most common FE based tools to deal with global-local Analysis. The continuity of displacements and stresses across the interface between global and local models and the influence of the presence of the local model on the global model solution are used as parameters to test the quality of results. The work presented in this paper has been funded by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under the grant agreement n° 234147. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of ICM11

There are several difficulties associated with the numerical simulation of the stretch bending process of extruded components; the main ones are non-linear material behavior, geometrical non-linearities, modeling of boundary conditions, contact between die and specimen, springback during the unloading phase. Another very complex aspect is the calibration of the numerical model, as rather few experimental results are generally available. This paper deals with a numerical simulation of a complete stretch bending process with the aim to select the most suitable numerical procedure oriented to the evaluation of the process-induced distortions and residual stresses; to validate the proposed procedure, numerical–experimental comparisons have been performed. The activities reported have been developed in collaboration with ALENIA Finmeccanica s.p.a. within the VI FP’s research project called COMPACT.

In this work the structural behaviour of a mandible considering a unilateral occlusion is numerically analysed by means of the Finite Element Method (FEM). The mandible, considered as completely edentolous, is modelled together with its articular disks, whose material behaviour is assumed as elastic or hyper-elastic. The mandible model is obtained by computer tomography scans. The anisotropic and non homogeneous bone material behaviour is considered and the loads applied to the mandible are those related to the active muscle groups during unilateral occlusion. The results of FEM analysis are presented mainly in terms of stress distribution on the mandible. Because of uncertainty on the determination of the adopted parameters, a sensitivity analysis is provided, showing the way in which the variation of articular disc stiffness and temporomandibular joint friction coefficient has an impact on the mandible stress peak and occlusal force. © Armentani et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

In the recent years the road accident analysis has been one of the main fields of research for automotive engineering, because of the heavy costs which Europe has to sustain each year in terms of injuries, fatalities and related costs. In this paper, starting from an impulsive model available in literature, a numerical characterization of vehicle collisions and deformation process is proposed and validated, identifying the main parameters which describe the vehicle impact behaviour. The study, conducted by using both empirical and numerical data (simulated trough Ls- Dyna), analyses the impact process by considering several situations, with different severity and geometry of impact; furthermore, with reference to the main parameters which describe the vehicle behaviour in the impact, the authors present a wide analysis, classified according to the severity of impact and to the different parts of the vehicle structure which absorb the impact energy.

A very large number of variables affect the response of bolted or riveted joints typically used in aerospace applications: geometry of the joint, characteristics of the sheets, friction between sheets, geometry of head and kind of fastener, amplitude of clearance before assembly, mounting axial load, pressure effects after manufacture. It must be also recalled that these parameters influence the many failure modes existing for such joints, among which a relevant importance is attributed to bearing. The present paper deals with the study of the influence of assembly parameters on the joint operational behaviour and in particular with the analysis, performed through numerical simulations, of the influence of the residual stress-strain state coming from the riveting operation on the bearing resistance of an aluminium alloy joint. This work has been developed within the FP6 research project called MUSCA (Non linear static multiscale analysis of large aero-structures).

A new interest has been increasingly directed in recent years to study the behaviour of joints provided with various kinds of fasteners and the mechanism of load transfer; profiting of the present capabilities of computing systems and analysis codes, which appear such as to deal with models built with more than one million elements, thanks to new numerical techniques which can solve huge systems of equations. However, the main interest has been limited to the case of bolted joints, for which several models are now available, while a few results are known for the case of riveted joints, where more complex mechanisms are involved. In the present paper a full set of analyses has been reported, with reference to both normal and blind rivets, where the manufacturing operation has been simulated through Ls-Dyna to evaluate the stress and strain states induced into the jointed sheets, varying the dimensional and riveting load characteristics of the joint. A subsequent investigation is presented, which aims to evaluate the effects of the compressed zone over the behaviour of an approaching crack.

The objective of robust design is to optimize the mean of a given target variable and to minimize the variability that results from uncertainty represented by “noise” factors. A recent strategy for robust design is based on stochastic processes, which has resulted in a new design technique called “stochastic design improvement” (SDI). In this work a home-made procedure is presented, which is based on the SDI technique and which is illustrated with reference to a case study which aims to increase the residual strength of a cracked stiffened aluminum panel.

The behavior of the wing of an aircraft is characterized by the complex interaction among dynamic (distribution of the masses), elastic (ownership of the materials) and aerodynamic (shapes, forces and moments) phenomena. As a rule it is expected from us that the aerodynamic actions damp the oscillations (natural or forced) of the wing. However, above given speeds a lot of undesired aero-elastic phenomena, among which the divergence of the wings, occur and became of considerable importance in view of safety. To potentially prevent dangerous situations, generally the speed of the aircraft is limited; a possible alternative is to endow the “system wing” of proper devices (passive or active, i.e. controls) in order to prevent that the energy transfer of aerodynamic actions amplifies its instability. The forward swept wings are extremely efficient in terms of aerodynamics performance (stall and supersonic behavior) and therefore of maneuverability of the aircraft, even if, unfortunately, they are extremely critic under the profile of the aero-elastic stability. The solution of the technical-scientific and technological problems associated with the use of innovative configurations of wings prefigures a meaningful breakthrough in the international aerospace sector. Within this work the authors aim to determine a particular configuration of composite material for the realization of a forward swept wing in such a way that, under the action of the effective aerodynamic loads, the wings structural response provides a coupled bending-torsion deformations with stability effects. It will be shown that by using a recursive analysis of the composite lay-up one can tailor the overall bending/torsion deformation ratio value.

This paper deals with numerical investigation on a stiffened composite panel under longitudinal compression load, in presence of artificial delamination defects between skin/stringer interface layers. At first, both the experimental and numerical non-linear equilibrium paths were determined, until the failure load value of the structure was reached. Then local evaluation of the energy release rate parameter was performed at defect front, by means of a hybrid (FEM/analytical) procedure based on a particularized virtual crack closure technique. The same FE shell model was used to perform both global and local calculations by means of a single analysis.

Summary This paper covers the analysis of main requirements for the Design of a Flexible Manufacturing System, the objective being to make a technological step forward in cost reduction, in lead time reduction and in system reliability and in production quality improvement. The Design process moves from the analysis of the functioning principles of a F, M, S, by considering the inputs, materials, services, data, and the outputs, machined parts controlled and cleaned, pallets, tools, wastes and data. It also focalizes the role of an interactive Computer Aided Design integrated system in the F.M.S. Design process.

Il libro è una collezione di lavori presentati al Third International Conference Fracture and Damage Mechanics, Paderborn, Germany, September 2-4, 2003