stiffness characteristics
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The article analyses the existing methods of studying the characteristics of bending stiffness. Topicality of improving the methodology for assessing and predicting bending stiffness in relation to the operating conditions of the studied contingent of consumers is substantiated. The methodology includes two main stages – an experimental study of the stiffness characteristics taking into account the characteristics of the range under study and a stage of forecasting the design solutions of the product. Comprehensive experimen-tal studies of the bending characteristics of modern fabrics of the jacket assortment for adaptive clothing of people with motor disabilities have been carried out. For an objective assessment of wear during use, the proposed method implements an additional forced bending of samples in opposite directions in order to bring the test results closer to real operating conditions. The results of experimental studies can be used at the design stage to predict the bending characteristics of the fabrics of the jacket assortment of clothing for people with motor disabilities.

A simplified method of accounting and regulation of the stiffness characteristics of rolling rail guides of machine tools in volumetric finite element models is considered.

A key challenge involving microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is lack of rigorous yet practical theoretical models to predict the intricate biological-chemical-hydraulic-mechanical (BCHM) processes and the resulting bio-cement production. This paper presents a novel BCHM model based on multiphase, multispecies reactive transport approach in the framework of poroelasticity, aimed at achieving reasonable prediction of the produced bio-cement, and the enhanced geomechanical characteristics. The proposed model incorporates four key components: (i) coupling of hydro-mechanical stress/strain alterations with bio-chemical processes; (ii) stress/strain changes induced due to precipitation and growth of bio-cement within the porous matrix; (iii) spatiotemporal variability in hydraulic and stiffness characteristics of the treated medium; (iv) and velocity dependency of the attachment rate of bacteria. The fully-coupled BCHM model predicts key unknown parameters during treatment including: concentration of bacteria and chemical solutions, precipitated calcium carbonate, hydraulic properties of the solid skeleton, and in-situ pore pressures and strains. The model was able to reasonably predict bio-cementation from two different laboratory column experiments. The Kozeny–Carman permeability equation is found to underestimate permeability reductions due to bio-cementation, while the Verma–Pruess relation could be more accurate. A sensitivity analysis revealed bio-cement distribution to be particularly sensitive to the attachment rate of bacteria.

Simple and light-weighted quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) isolators can be designed based on nonlinear and negative stiffness generated by the snap-through effect of bistable structures. Traditionally, the snap-through force of the bistable structure is limited which makes the weight which can be isolated based on this mechanism very low. This paper investigates increasing loading capacity of this kind of isolator by using an optimized and varying sectional profile. Numerical models were derived for the bistable structures with variable sectional distributions. Optimized sections’ alignment of the bistable beam was derived based on the numerical model which was consequently validated by experimental results. Influences of the bistable beams with a variable section on nonlinear stiffness characteristics and performance of the isolator were at last investigated with the harmonic balance method.

Various methods of measuring the characteristics of stiffness and strength of systems "bone with a fracture - a means of fixation" are considered. Methods for measuring deformations of osteosynthesis systems are systematized, which take into account the nature of the action of external loads and allow to compare different systems of osteosynthesis. The rational arrangement of drugs at tests taking into account features of a structure of bones and the real loadings arising at functioning of musculoskeletal system is recommended. It is proposed to use the stiffness characteristics of the systems "bone - means of fixation" under the action of axial compression, transverse bending and torsion, including in cyclic modes; considered systems of osteosynthesis with the most common methods of fixing fractures to select the optimal in terms of quality methods of fixing fragments in fractures. It is established that the stability indicators of osteosynthesis systems, measured in the process of cyclic tests, are more sensitive to the type of fixing means and can be used to rank these systems according to the degree of mechanical reliability. The results of research obtained using these methods are implemented in surgical practice in the selection of optimal designs of fixation devices and the rational location of fixing elements.

Shear wave elastography (SWE) is an objective and reliable method for the assessment of muscles and internal organs. Every organ exhibits its own stiffness characteristics and hence requires individual reference values. We aimed to determine the reference values of stiffness of the masseter muscle in healthy adult individuals using SWE. We analyzed the data of 140 participants (74 men, 66 women) with a median age of 50 years. The overall mean elasticity was 10.67 ± 1.77 kPa. The average values were lower by 2.25 kPa (9.15%) in women compared to men (9.48 ± 1.47 kPa vs. 11.73 ± 1.27 kPa; p < 0.0001). The values of stiffness increased with age, with a correlation coefficient of about 0.35 and a p < 0.0001. Age was a significant influencing factor of masseter muscle stiffness. The left and right masseters had similar stiffness. We conclude that stiffness values are significantly lower in women than in men with a difference of 9%. Age significantly influences the stiffness of masseter muscle, and the values of stiffness increase significantly with age, particularly in men. However, further studies are required to determine the precise ranges of stiffness accounting for age and sex in healthy subjects and people with disorders and conditions of the masticatory system.

An optimization-based approach is proposed to design elastostatic cloaking devices in two-dimensional (2D) lattices. Given an elastic lattice with a defect, i.e. a circular or elliptical hole, a small region (cloak) around the hole is designed to hide the effect of the hole on the elastostatic response of the lattice. Inspired by the direct lattice transformation approach to elastostatic cloaking in 2D lattices, the lattice nodal positions in the design region are obtained using a coordinate transformation of the reference (undisturbed) lattice nodes. Subsequently, additional connectivity (i.e. a ground structure) is defined in the design region and the stiffness properties of these elements are optimized to mimic the global stiffness characteristics of the reference lattice. A weighted least-squares objective function is proposed, where the weights have a physical interpretation—they are the design-dependent coefficients of the design lattice stiffness matrix. The formulation leads to a convex objective function that does not require a solution to an additional adjoint system. Optimization-based cloaks are designed considering uniaxial tension in multiple directions and are shown to exhibit approximate elastostatic cloaking, not only when subjected to the boundary conditions they were designed for but also for uniaxial tension in directions not used in design and for shear loading.

Double-deck vibrating flip-flow screens have been widely used for the repurposing of decoration waste; however, the influence of shear spring stiffness on the screen’s vibration characteristics is under-researched. The shear spring stiffness affects the amplitude–frequency characteristics, phase–frequency characteristics, screening performance and processing capacity of the screen. In this paper, a mathematical model of the double-deck vibrating flip-flow screen is proposed based on a vibrating system with three degrees of freedom. Based on the experiments of the industrial screen, the amplitude–frequency and phase–frequency characteristics of the double-deck vibrating flip-flow screen were studied. Within the range of 25 to 75 rad/s, the amplitude of the main screen frame decreased gradually, the floating screen frames decreased at first and then increased and the amplitudes of the main and floating screen frames were dependent on the stiffness of the isolation springs and shear springs. When the frequency was 75 rad/s, the stiffness of the upper and lower shear springs was 11,440 kN/m, respectively, and the screening efficiency reached 97.09%.

Abstract Origami-baed metamaterial has shown remarkable mechanical properties rarely found in natural materials, but achieving tailored multistage stiffness is still a challenge. This study proposes a novel zigzag-base stacked-origami (ZBSO) metamaterial with tailored multistage stiffness property based on crease customization and stacking strategies. A high precision finite element (FE) model to identify the stiffness characteristics of the ZBSO metamaterial has been established, and its accuracy is validated by quasi-static compression experiments. Using the verified FE model, we demonstrate that the multistage stiffness of the ZBSO metamaterial can be effectively tailored through two manners, i.e. varying the microstructures (through introducing new creases to the classical Miura origami unit cell) and altering the stacking way. Three strategies are utilized to vary the microstructure, i.e. adding new creases to the right, left, or both sides of the unit cell. We further reveal that the proposed ZBSO metamaterial has several outstanding advantages compared with traditional mechanical metamaterials, e.g. material independent, scale-invariant, lightweight, and excellent energy absorption capacity. The unravelled superior mechanical properties of the ZBSO metamaterials pave the way for the design of the next-generation cellular metamaterials with tailored stiffness properties.