research

This paper studies the dynamic behavior of a dielectric elastomer balloon subject to a combination of pressure and voltage.  When the pressure and voltage are static, the balloon may reach a state of equilibrium.  We determine the stability of the state of equilibrium, and calculate the natural frequency of the small-amplitude oscillation around the state of equilibrium.  When the voltage is sinusoidal, the balloon resonates at multiple frequencies of excitation, giving rise to superharmonic, harmonic, and subharmonic responses.  When the frequency of excitation varies c

http://www.livescience.com/environment/090527-science-lives-andrade.html

LiveScience is a pretty cool initiative targeted to the general public,
specially the younger generations to communicate the impact and
value of science and the people around it.

Mechanical energy can be converted to electrical energy by using a dielectric elastomer generator.  The elastomer is susceptible to various modes of failure, including electrical breakdown, electromechanical instability, loss of tension, and rupture by stretch.  The modes of failure define a cycle of maximal energy that can be converted.  This cycle is represented on planes of work-conjugate coordinates, and may be used to guide the design of practical cycles.

I have a 3D model in Abaqus of a wind turbine rotor, modelled with shell elements (S4R and S3). To use the same blade in an aeroelastic wind turbine code (HAWC2 from Risoe), I want to convert selected cross sections of the 3D model to Timoshenko beam elements.

In a previous post some months ago (see here), I mentioned some of the questions I had considering the aeroelastic response of a wind turbine rotor. In this post I just want to give, for those interested, a brief status report.

I don't know if my understanding of the following is correct, so I would appreciate your comments. I have an expression for Gibbs free energy of a material G=G(σ,T,...). Is it correct to derive the equation for strain as ε=∂G/∂σ ?

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to inform you that the papers to be published in International Journal of Applied Mechanics (IJAM) Vol.1 No.2 will be online available soon.

IJAM Vol.1 No.2:

1.  “Postbuckling Of Nano Rods/Tubes Based On Nonlocal Beam Theory”, C. M. Wang (National University of Singapore); Y. Xiang (University of Western Sydney); S. Kitipornchai (City University of Hong Kong).