Design of a Biomimetic Skin for an Octopus-Inspired Robot - Part I： Characterising Octopus Skin

Octopus skin samples were tested under quasi-static and scissor cutting conditions to measure the in-plane material prop- erties and fracture toughness. Samples from all eight arms of one octopus were tested statically to investigate how properties vary from arm to arm. Another nine octopus skins were measured to study the influence of body mass on skin properties. In- fluence of specimen location on skin mechanical properties was also studied. Material properties of skin, i.e. the Young＇s modulus, ultimate stress, failure strain and fracture toughness have been plotted against the position of skin along the length of arm or body. Statistical studies were carried out to help analyzing experimental data obtained. Results of this work will be used as guidelines for the design and development of artificial skins for an octopus-inspired robot.

Effect of curing, capillary action, and groundwater level increment on geotechnical properties of lime concrete: Experimental and prediction studies

Lime concrete and lime treatment are two attractive techniques for geotechnical engineers.However,researches have rarely been carried out to study the effects of moisture and capillary action due to increasing groundwater level on geotechnical properties of lime concrete.The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of curing time and degree of saturation on some of geotechnical properties of lime concrete such as unconfined compressive strength(UCS),secant modulus(ES),failure strain,brittleness index(IB),and deformability index(ID) using unconfined compression tests.First of all,geotechnical and chemical properties of used materials were determined.After curing times of 14 d,28 d,45 d,and 60 d in laboratory condition,the specimens were exposed to saturation levels ranging from 0 to 100%.The results showed that the moisture and curing time have significant effects on the properties of lime concrete.Based on the results of scanning electron micrograph(SEM) test,it was observed that the specimen was characterized by a rather well-structured matrix since both the filling of a large proportion of the coarse-grained soil voids by clay and the pozzolanic activity of lime led to retaining less pore water in the specimen,increasing the UCS and ES,and consequently resisting against swelling and shrinkage of the clay soil.Moreover,due to the pozzolanic reactions and reduction of water,by increasing the curing time and decreasing the degrees of saturation,UCS,ES,and IBincreased,and IDdecreased.Based on the experimental results,a phenomenological model was used to develop equations for predicting the properties in relation to the ratio of degree of saturation/curing time.The results showed that there was a good correlation(almost R2> 90%) between the measured parameters and the estimated ones given by the predicted equations.

Dynamic tensile and failure behavior of bi-directional reinforced GFRP materials

In this paper,a series of static/dynamic tensile tests are performed for glass fiber reinforced plastic(GFRP)composites.Using the combination of high-speed photography and digital image correlation(DIC)technology,true stress-strain curves in different directions and strain rates are obtained.We also obtained the dynamic failure strain of the material in different directions,which are used to accurately describe the dynamic tensile and failure behavior of the material.The experimental results show that there is a stiffness change point N in three directions under different strain rate(10-3 s-1,10 s-1,100 s-1)tensile conditions.The stiffness before and after N point is recorded as Einitial and Echanged respectively.The values of Echanged in weft direction and warp direction are about 30%to 50%of Einitial,while Echanged in tilt direction is only about 10%of Einitial.The fiber has the highest strength in the weft direction and the tilt direction has the lowest strength.With the combination of high-speed photography and DIC technology,the dynamic failure parameters of different directions under the strain rate of 100 s-1 are obtained.The dynamic failure strains in three directions are 0.245,0.373 and 0.341,respectively.The parameters are verified by impact three-point bending test.These works can more accurately describe the dynamic mechanical behavior of glass fiber reinforced plastic(GFRP)composites and provide reference for the design of GFRP structures.

Slope failure simulations with MPM

The simulation of slope failures,including both failure initiation and development,has been modelled using the material point method（MPM）.Numerical case studies involving various slope angles,heterogeneity and rainfall infiltration are presented.It is demonstrated that,by utilising a constitutive model which encompasses,in a simplified manner,both pre-and post-failure behaviour,the material point method is able to simulate commonly observed failure modes.This is a step towards being able to better quantify slope failure consequence and risk.