A modified stiffness spreading method for layout optimization of truss structures

The stiffness spreading method (SSM) was initially proposed for layout optimization of truss structures,in which an artificial elastic material of low modulus is uniformly distributed in the design domain to create connections between discrete members.In this paper,a modified stiffness spreading method is proposed by replacing the artificial elastic material with auxiliary bars to connect real members of the truss structure.Since the background continuum mesh for the elastic material is no longer required,the computational cost is significantly reduced.Like SSM,the new method is advantageous in that an initial design may consist of disconnected bars allocated in the design domain,and mathematical programming methods can be applied for the efficient solution of the formulated optimization problem.A number of solution strategies are also developed to achieve more practical designs with lower computational cost.Numerical examples of both 2-D and 3-D truss structures are presented to demonstrate the feasibility,robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Study on the Effects of Mass and Stiffness Variations on Fundamental Periods of Structures

Fundamental period is an important parameter in seismic design and performance assessment of buildings.Hence,comprehensive and detailed investigations of effectiveness as well as affectability of this parameter can result in the design of high-performing earthquake-resistant structures.On this basis,this research intends to evaluate the effects of variations of mass and stiffness on the fundamental periods of two three-and nine-story structures representing low-and high-rise buildings,respectively.To this end,a MATLAB code was developed and validated to determine the fundamental periods of structures with various mass and stiffness characteristics.Numerous case studies were performed to investigate the effects of mass and stiffness variations along the stories of the considered structural models.The objective of this research endeavor is to provide a better understanding of affectability of fundamental period under different design considerations.

Dynamic stiffness for thin-walled structures by power series

The dynamic stiffness method is introduced to analyze thin-walled structures including thin-walled straight beams and spatial twisted helix beam. A dynamic stiffness matrix is formed by using frequency dependent shape functions which are exact solutions of the governing differential equations. With the obtained thin-walled beam dynamic stiffness matrices, the thin-walled frame dynamic stiffness matrix can also be formulated by satisfying the required displacements compatibility and forces equilib-rium, a method which is similar to the finite element method (FEM). Then the thin-walled structure natural frequencies can be found by equating the determinant of the system dynamic stiffness matrix to zero. By this way, just one element and several elements can exactly predict many modes of a thin-walled beam and a spatial thin-walled frame, respectively. Several cases are studied and the results are compared with the existing solutions of other methods. The natural frequencies and buckling loads of these thin-walled structures are computed.

A bio-inspired spider-like structure isolator for low-frequency vibration

This paper proposes a quasi-zero stiffness(QZS)isolator composed of a curved beam(as spider foot)and a linear spring(as spider muscle)inspired by the precise capturing ability of spiders in vibrating environments.The curved beam is simplified as an inclined horizontal spring,and a static analysis is carried out to explore the effects of different structural parameters on the stiffness performance of the QZS isolator.The finite element simulation analysis verifies that the QZS isolator can significantly reduce the first-order natural frequency under the load in the QZS region.The harmonic balance method(HBM)is used to explore the effects of the excitation amplitude,damping ratio,and stiffness coefficient on the system’s amplitude-frequency response and transmissibility performance,and the accuracy of the analytical results is verified by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta integral method(RK-4).The experimental data of the QZS isolator prototype are fitted to a ninth-degree polynomial,and the RK-4 can theoretically predict the experimental results.The experimental results show that the QZS isolator has a lower initial isolation frequency and a wider isolation frequency bandwidth than the equivalent linear isolator.The frequency sweep test of prototypes with different harmonic excitation amplitudes shows that the initial isolation frequency of the QZS isolator is 3 Hz,and it can isolate 90%of the excitation signal at 7 Hz.The proposed biomimetic spider-like QZS isolator has high application prospects and can provide a reference for optimizing low-frequency or ultra-low-frequency isolators.

Multi-layer quasi-zero-stiffness meta-structure for high-efficiency vibration isolation at low frequency

An easily stackable multi-layer quasi-zero-stiffness(ML-QZS)meta-structure is proposed to achieve highly efficient vibration isolation performance at low frequency.First,the distributed shape optimization method is used to design the unit cel,i.e.,the single-layer QZS(SL-QZS)meta-structure.Second,the stiffness feature of the unit cell is investigated and verified through static experiments.Third,the unit cells are stacked one by one along the direction of vibration isolation,and thus the ML-QZS meta-structure is constructed.Fourth,the dynamic modeling of the ML-QZS vibration isolation metastructure is conducted,and the dynamic responses are obtained from the equations of motion,and verified by finite element(FE)simulations.Finally,a prototype of the ML-QZS vibration isolation meta-structure is fabricated by additive manufacturing,and the vibration isolation performance is evaluated experimentally.The results show that the vibration isolation performance substantially enhances when the number of unit cells increases.More importantly,the ML-QZS meta-structure can be easily extended in the direction of vibration isolation when the unit cells are properly stacked.Hence,the ML-FQZS vibration isolation meta-structure should be a fascinating solution for highly efficient vibration isolation performance at low frequency.

Modeling,analysis,and simulation of X-shape quasi-zero-stiffness-roller vibration isolators

Existing quasi-zero stiffness(QZS)isolators are reviewed.In terms of their advantages,a novel X-shape QZS isolator combined with the cam-roller-spring mechanism(CRSM)is proposed.Different from the existing X-shape isolators,oblique springs are used to enhance the negative stiffness of the system.Meanwhile,the CRSM is used to eliminate the gravity of the loading mass,while the X-shape structure leaves its static position.The existing QZS isolators are demonstrated and classified according to their nonlinearity mechanisms and classical shapes.It is shown that the oblique spring can realize negative stiffness based on the simplest mechanism.The X-shape has a strong capacity of loading mass,while the CRSM can achieve a designed restoring force at any position.The proposed isolator combines all these advantages together.Based on the harmonic balance method(HBM)and the simulation,the displacement transmissibilities of the proposed isolator,the X-shape isolators just with oblique springs,and the X-shape isolators in the traditional form are studied.The results show that the proposed isolator has the lowest beginning isolation frequency and the smallest maximum displacement transmissibility.However,it still has some disadvantages similar to the existing QZS isolators.This means that its parameters should be designed carefully so as to avoid becoming a bistable system,in which there are two potential wells in the potential energy curve and thus the isolation performance will be worsened.

Cascaded quasi-zero stiffness nonlinear low-frequency vibration isolator inspired by human spine

Human motion induced vibration has very low frequency,ranging from 2 Hz to 5 Hz.Traditional vibration isolators are not effective in low-frequency regions due to the trade-off between the low natural frequency and the high load capacity.In this paper,inspired by the human spine,we propose a novel bionic human spine inspired quasi-zero stiffness(QZS)vibration isolator which consists of a cascaded multi-stage negative stiffness structure.The force and stiffness characteristics are investigated first,the dynamic model is established by Newton’s second law,and the isolation performance is analyzed by the harmonic balance method(HBM).Numerical results show that the bionic isolator can obtain better low-frequency isolation performance by increasing the number of negative structure stages,and reducing the damping values and external force values can obtain better low-frequency isolation performance.In comparison with the linear structure and existing traditional QZS isolator,the bionic spine isolator has better vibration isolation performance in low-frequency regions.It paves the way for the design of bionic ultra-low-frequency isolators and shows potential in many engineering applications.

A Smooth Bidirectional Evolutionary Structural Optimization of Vibrational Structures for Natural Frequency and Dynamic Compliance

A smooth bidirectional evolutionary structural optimization(SBESO),as a bidirectional version of SESO is proposed to solve the topological optimization of vibrating continuum structures for natural frequencies and dynamic compliance under the transient load.A weighted function is introduced to regulate the mass and stiffness matrix of an element,which has the inefficient element gradually removed from the design domain as if it were undergoing damage.Aiming at maximizing the natural frequency of a structure,the frequency optimization formulation is proposed using the SBESO technique.The effects of various weight functions including constant,linear and sine functions on structural optimization are compared.With the equivalent static load(ESL)method,the dynamic stiffness optimization of a structure is formulated by the SBESO technique.Numerical examples show that compared with the classic BESO method,the SBESO method can efficiently suppress the excessive element deletion by adjusting the element deletion rate and weight function.It is also found that the proposed SBESO technique can obtain an efficient configuration and smooth boundary and demonstrate the advantages over the classic BESO technique.

Theoretical and experimental research on a new system of semi-active structural control with variable stiffness and damping

In this paper,a new system of semi active structural control with active variable stiffness and damping (AVSD) is suggested.This new system amplifies the structural displacement to dissipate more energy,and in turn,effectively reduces the structural response in the case of relatively small story drifts,which occur during earthquakes.A predictive instantaneous optimal control algorithm is established for a SDOF structure equipped with an AVSD system Comparative shaking table tests of a 1/4 scale single story structural model with a full scale control device have been conducted.From the experimental and analytical results,it is shown that when compared to structures without control or with the active variable stiffness control alone, the suggested system exhibits higher efficiency in controlling the structural response,requires less energy input,operates with higher reliability,and can be manufactured at a lower cost and used in a wider range of engineering applications.

A Comparative Study on the Truck Frame Stiffness with Solid and Beam Element FEA Models

Truck frames should be designed and fabricated with enough rigidity to avoid excessive deflections. Finite element analysis (FEA) plays an important role in all stages of frame designs. While being accurate, 3D solid element FEA models are built upon frame configuration details which are not feasible in the preliminary design stage, partially because of limited available design data of frames and heavy computation costs. This research develops 1D beam element FEA models for simulating frame structures. In this paper, the CAD model of a truck frame is first created. The solid element FEA analysis, which is adopted as the baseline in this study, is subsequently conducted for the stiffness of the frame, Next, beam element FEA analysis is performed for validating the feasibility of the beam element FEA model by comparing the results from the solid and beam element FEA models. It is found that the beam element FEA model can predict the frame stiffness with acceptable accuracy and reduce the computation cost significantly.

Structure Improvement and Optimization of Gantry Milling System for Complex Boring and Milling Machining Center

To enhance the efficiency and machining precision of the TX1600G complex boring and milling machining center,a study was conducted on the structure of its gantry milling system.This study aimed to mitigate the influence of factors such as structural quality,natural frequency,and stiffness.The approach employed for this investigation involved mechanism topology optimization.To initiate this process,a finite element model of the gantry milling system structure was established.Subsequently,an objective function,comprising strain energy and modal eigenvalues,was synthesized.This objective function was optimized through multi-objective topology optimization,taking into account certain mass fraction constraints and considering various factors,including processing technology.The ultimate goal of this optimization was to create a gantry milling structure that exhibited high levels of dynamic and static stiffness,a superior natural frequency,and reduced mass.To validate the effectiveness of these topology optimization results,a comparison was made between the new and previous structures.The findings of this study serve as a valuable reference for optimizing the structure of other components within the machining center.

RELIABILITY ANALYSIS METHODFOR STRUCTURAL STIFFNESS

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STIFFNESS EQUATION OF FINITE SEGMENT FOR FLEXIBLE BEAM-FORMED STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The finite segment modelling for the flexible beam-formed structural elements is presented, in which the discretization views of the finite segment method and the difference from the finite element method are introduced. In terms of the nodal model, the joint properties are described easily by the model of the finite segment method, and according to the element properties, the assumption of the small strain is only met in the finite segment method, i. e., the geometric nonlinear deformation of the flexible bodies is allowable. Consequently,the finite segment method is very suited to the flexible multibody structure. The finite segment model is used and the are differentiation is adopted for the differential beam segments. The stiffness equation is derived by the use of the principle of virtual work. The new modelling method shows its normalization, clear physical and geometric meanings and simple computational process.

Design and Analysis of a Horizontal Quasi-Zero Stiffness Vibration Isolator by Combining Rolling-Ball and Disk Springs in Parallel

Combining disk springs having negative stiffness with a rolling-ball in parallel is proposed in this paper. It is used to reduce the system stiffness and the positioning error in a non-ideal environment.The characteristics of a disk spring are analyzed. The dynamic equation of its motion has been obtained based on Newton＇s second law. After definition of a error margin,the dynamic equation of the motion can be treated as a Duffing oscillator,and the influences of non-dimensional parameters on the stiffness and transmissibility are studied. The natural frequency and transmissibility are achieved in a linearization range,where the ratio of linear to nonlinear items is small enough.The influence of mass ratio and non-dimensional parameters on natural frequency are analyzed. Finally,a comparison of numerical example demonstrates that the QZS system can realize a lower stiffness within an increased range.

Mass-Stiffness Templates for Cubic Structural Elements Dedicated to Professor Karl Stark Pister for his 95th birthday

1 This paper considers Lagrangian finite elements for structural dynamics constructed with cubic displacement shape functions.The method of templates is used to investigate the construction of accurate mass-stiffness pairs.This method introduces free parameters that can be adjusted to customize elements according to accuracy and rank-sufficiency criteria.One-and two-dimensional Lagrangian cubic elements with only translational degrees of freedom(DOF)carry two additional nodes on each side,herein called side nodes or SN.Although usually placed at the third-points,the SN location may be adjusted within geometric limits.The adjustment effect is studied in detail using symbolic computations for a bar element.The best SN location is taken to be that producing accurate approximation to the lowest natural frequencies of the continuum model.Optimality is investigated through Fourier analysis of the propagation of plane waves over a regular infinite lattice of bar elements.Focus is placed on the acoustic branch of the frequency-vs.-wavenumber dispersion diagram.It is found that dispersion results using the fully integrated consistent mass matrix(CMM)are independent of the SN location whereas its lowfrequency accuracy order is O(κ8),whereκis the dimensionless wave number.For the diagonally lumped mass matrix(DLMM)constructed through the HRZ scheme,two optimal SN locations are identified,both away from third-points and of accuracy order O(κ8).That with the smallest error coefficient corresponds to the Lobatto 4-point integration rule.A special linear combination of CMM and DLMM with nodes at the Lobatto points yields an accuracy of O(κ10)without any increase in the computational effort over CMM.The effect of reduced integration(RI)on both mass and stiffness matrices is also studied.It is shown that singular mass matrices can be constructed with 2-and 3-point RI rules that display the same optimal accuracy of the exactly integrated case,at the cost of introducing spurious modes.The optimal SN location in two-dimensional,bicubic,isoparametric plane stress quadrilateral elements is briefly investigated by numerical experiments.The frequency accuracy of flexural modes is found to be fairly insensitive to that position,whereas for bar-like modes it agrees with the one-dimensional results.

Isolation performances and optimization of triple quasi-zero stiffness isolators

In this paper,triple quasi-zero stiffness(QZS)passive vibration isolators whose restoring force curve has a three-stage softening effect are proposed.Multi-coupled SD oscillators with three independent geometrical parameters are used as negative stiffness mechanisms to achieve QZS characteristics at the origin and symmetrical positions on both sides of the origin.Isolation performances of different triple QZS isolators are analyzed to show influences of the selection of QZS regions away from the origin on the range of isolation regions.Pareto optimizations of system parameters are carried out to get a larger range of small restoring force regions and small stiffness regions.Isolation performances of two triple QZS isolators are discussed to show the influence of different Pareto optimization solutions through the comparisons with single and double QZS isolators.Results showed that triple QZS isolators have both the advantages of single and double QZS isolators which results in better isolation performances under both small and large excitation amplitudes.An improvement in isolation performances for triple QZS isolators is found with the decrease in average stiffness due to the appearance of two symmetrical QZS regions away from the origin.Larger displacements of QZS regions away from the origin result in better isolation performances when excitation amplitude is large,and triple QZS characteristics are similar to double QZS isolators at this time.Smaller restoring forces of QZS regions away from the origin lead to better isolation performances when excitation amplitude is small,and triple QZS characteristics are similar to single QZS isolators at this moment.Compared with the decrease in average stiffness,the improvement of isolation performances shows a hysteresis phenomenon due to the difference between static and dynamic characteristics.

Novel modular quasi-zero stiffness vibration isolator with high linearity and integrated fluid damping

Passive vibration isolation systems have been widely applied due to their low power consumption and high reliability.Nevertheless,the design of vibration isolators is usually limited by the narrow space of installation,and the requirement of heavy loads needs the high supporting stiffness that leads to the narrow isolation frequency band.To improve the vibration isolation performance of passive isolation systems for dynamic loaded equipment,a novel modular quasi-zero stiffness vibration isolator(MQZS-VI)with high linearity and integrated fluid damping is proposed.The MQZS-VI can achieve high-performance vibration isolation under a constraint mounted space,which is realized by highly integrating a novel combined magnetic negative stiffness mechanism into a damping structure:The stator magnets are integrated into the cylinder block,and the moving magnets providing negative-stiffness force also function as the piston supplying damping force simultaneously.An analytical model of the novel MQZS-VI is established and verified first.The effects of geometric parameters on the characteristics of negative stiffness and damping are then elucidated in detail based on the analytical model,and the design procedure is proposed to provide guidelines for the performance optimization of the MQZS-VI.Finally,static and dynamic experiments are conducted on the prototype.The experimental results demonstrate the proposed analytical model can be effectively utilized in the optimal design of the MQZS-VI,and the optimized MQZS-VI broadened greatly the isolation frequency band and suppressed the resonance peak simultaneously,which presented a substantial potential for application in vibration isolation for dynamic loaded equipment.

Study on semi-active control of mega-sub controlled structure by MR damper subject to random wind loads

The recently proposed mega-sub controlled structure （MSCS）, a new type of structure associated with the design and construction of super-tall buildings, has attracted the attention of designers for use in enhancing the control effectiveness in mega-frame buildings. In this paper, a dynamic equation and method to assemble parameter matrixes for a mega-sub controlled structure under random wind loads is presented. Semi-active control using magnetorheological dampers for the MSCS under random wind loads is investigated, and is compared with a corresponding system without dampers. A parametric study of the relative stiffness ratio and relative mass ratio between the mega-frame and the substructures, as well as the additional column stiffness ratio that influences the response control effectiveness of the MSCS, is discussed. The studies reveal, for the first time, that different control mechanisms exist. The results indicate that the proposed structure employing semi-active control can offer an effective control mechanism. Guidelines for selecting parameters are provided based on the analytical study.

Effects of fundamental structure parameters on dynamic responses of submerged floating tunnel under hydrodynamic loads

This paper investigates the effects of structure parameters on dynamic responses of submerged floating tunnel （SFT） under hydrodynamic loads. The structure parameters includes buoyancy-weight ratio （BWR）, stiffness coefficients of the cable systems, tunnel net buoyancy and tunnel length. First, the importance of structural damp in relation to the dynamic responses of SPT is demonstrated and the mechanism of structural damp effect is discussed. Thereafter, the fundamental structure parameters are investigated through the analysis of SFT dynamic responses under hydrodynamic loads. The results indicate that the BWR of SFT is a key structure parameter. When BWR is 1.2, there is a remarkable trend change in the vertical dynamic response of SFT under hydrodynamic loads. The results also indicate that the ratio of the tunnel net buoyancy to the cable stiffness coefficient is not a characteristic factor affecting the dynamic responses of SFT under hydrodynamic loads.

Method of reverberation ray matrix for static analysis of planar framed structures composed of anisotropic Timoshenko beam members

Based on the method of reverberation ray matrix（MRRM）, a reverberation matrix for planar framed structures composed of anisotropic Timoshenko（T） beam members containing completely hinged joints is developed for static analysis of such structures.In the MRRM for dynamic analysis, amplitudes of arriving and departing waves for joints are chosen as unknown quantities. However, for the present case of static analysis, displacements and rotational angles at the ends of each beam member are directly considered as unknown quantities. The expressions for stiffness matrices for anisotropic beam members are developed. A corresponding reverberation matrix is derived analytically for exact and unified determination on the displacements and internal forces at both ends of each member and arbitrary cross sectional locations in the structure. Numerical examples are given and compared with the finite element method（FEM） results to validate the present model. The characteristic parameter analysis is performed to demonstrate accuracy of the present model with the T beam theory in contrast with errors in the usual model based on the Euler-Bernoulli（EB） beam theory. The resulting reverberation matrix can be used for exact calculation of anisotropic framed structures as well as for parameter analysis of geometrical and material properties of the framed structures.