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Continuum robots modeling, be it from a hard or soft class, is giving rise to several challenges compared with rigid robots. These challenges are mainly due to kinematic redundancy, dynamic nonlinearity and high flexibility. This paper aims initially at designing a hard class of continuum robots, namely, cable-driven continuum robot (CDCR) and equally at developing their kinematic and dynamic models.

First, the CDCR prototype is constructed, and its description is made. Second, kinematic models are established based on the constant curvature assumption and inextensible bending section. Third, by using the Lagrange method, the dynamic model is derived under some simplifications and based on the kinematic equations, in which the flexible backbone’s elasticity modulus was identified experimentally. Finally, the static model of the CDCR is also derived based on the dynamic model.

Numerical examples are carried out using Matlab software to verify the static and dynamic models. Moreover, the static model is validated by comparing the simulation’s results to the real measurements that have been provided with satisfactory results.

To reduce the complexity of the dynamic model’s expressions and avoid the numerical singularity when the bending angle is close to zero, some simplifications have been taken, especially for the kinetic energy terms, by using the nonlinear functions approximation. Hence, the main advantage of this analytical-approximate solution is that it can be applied in the bending angle that ranges up to 2p with reasonable errors, unlike the previously proposed techniques. Furthermore, the resulting dynamic model has, to some extent, the proprieties of simplicity, accuracy and fast computation time. Ultimately, the obtained results from the simulations and real measurements demonstrate that the considered CDCR’s static and dynamic models are feasible.

This work aims to identify the linear elastic orthotropic material paramters of Pinus pinaster Ait. wood, using full-field measurements and an inverse identification strategy based on the finite element (FE) method updating technique.

Compression tests are carried out under uniaxial and quasi-static loading conditions on wood specimens oriented on the radial-tangential (RT) plane, with different grain orientations. Full-field displacements and strains are measured using digital image correlation (DIC), which are then used as a reference in the identification procedure. A FE model is implemented assuming plane stress conditions, where wood is modelled as an orthotropic homogeneous material. Based on the numerical results, a synthetic image reconstruction scheme is implemented to synthetically deform the reference experimental image, which is then processed by DIC and further compared to the experimental results.

The results for both approaches were similar when both specimen configurations were used in a single run. However, when using the DIC-based FEMU approach with the on-axis configuration, the identified modulus of elasticity in the tangential direction and shear modulus are closer to the reference values.

This approach ensures a fair comparison between both sets of data since the full-field strain maps are obtained through the same filter and therefore have the same strain formulation, spatial resolution and data filtering. Firstly, the identification is performed using a single configuration, either the on-axis or the off-axis specimen. Secondly, the identification is carried out by merging data from both on-axis and off-axis configurations.

Ti6Al4V alloy has received a great deal of attention in medical applications due to its biomechanical compatibility. However, the human bone stiffness is between 10 and 30 GPa while solid Ti6Al4V is several times stiffer, which would cause stress shielding with the surrounding bone, which can lead to implant and/or the surrounding bone’s failure.

In this work, the effect of selective laser melting (SLM) process parameters on the characteristics of Ti6Al4V samples, such as porosity level, surface roughness, elastic modulus and compressive strength (UCS), has been investigated using response surface method. The examined ranges of process parameters were 35-50 W for laser power, 100-400 mm/s for scan speed and 35-120 µm for hatch spacing. The process parameters have been optimized to obtain structures with properties very close to that in human bones.

The results showed that the porosity percentage of a SLM component could be increased by reducing the laser power and/or increasing the scan speed and hatch spacing. It was also shown that there was a reverse relationship between the porosity level and both the modulus of elasticity and UCS of the SLM part. In addition, the increased laser power was resulted into a substantial decrease of the surface roughness of SLM parts. Results from the optimization study revealed that the interaction between laser process parameters (i.e. laser power, laser speed, and the laser spacing) have the most significant influence on the mechanical properties of fabricated samples. The optimized values for the manufacturing of medical implants were 49 W, 400 mm/s and 99 µm for the laser power, laser speed and laser spacing, respectively. The corresponding porosity, surface roughness, modulus of elasticity and UCS were 23.62 per cent, 8.68 µm, 30 GPa and 522 MPa, respectively.

Previous investigations related to additive manufacturing of Ti alloys have focused on producing fully dense and high-integrity structures. There is a clear gap in literature regarding the simultaneous enhancement and adjustment of pore fraction, surface and mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V SLM components toward biomedical implants. This was the objective of the current study.

The paper aims to discuss the design, fabrication, communication, testing, and simulation of a new tactile probe called Elastirob used to measure the modulus of elasticity of biological soft tissues and soft materials.

Both finite element modeling and experimental approaches were used in this analysis. Elastirob, with the ability to apply different rates of strain on testing specimens, is accompanied by a tactile display called TacPlay. This display is a custom‐designed user‐friendly interface and is able to evaluate the elasticity in each part of the stress‐strain curve.

A new device is being constructed that can measure the modulus of elasticity of a sensed object. The results of Elastirob applied on two specimens are reported and compared by the results of experiments obtained by an industrial testing machine. Acceptable validations of Elastirob were achieved from the comparisons.

The designed system can be miniaturized to be used in minimally invasive surgeries in the future.

Elastirob determines the elasticity by drawing the stress‐strain curve and then calculating its slope. The combination of the force sensing resistor, microcontroller and stepper motor provides Elastirob with the ability to apply different rates of strain on testing specimens.

It can be employed in both in vivo and in vitro tests for measuring stiffness of touch objects. For the first time, a device has been designed and tested which is a few orders of magnitude smaller than its industrial counterparts and has considerably lower weight.

In the case of machines, structures and assemblies, the crack generation and propagation is becoming a great concern, especially in airplane wings, turbine blades and such other applications. This is because these parts are very large in size and the crack size is very small, i.e. in microns. Hence, there is an important need to locate the crack and to find its severity before it starts to propagate and also to detect these parameters by on-site non-destructive testing methods. This paper aims to develop and test the methodology to locate an unknown single open crack in steel cantilever beam along with its severity.

This study covers analytical, numerical and experimental analysis for healthy and cracked beams. Vibration-based approach and finite element analysis (FEA) approach is used for analytical and numerical study respectively. Own designed and dedicated experimental set-up is used for testing purpose along with fast fourier transform analyzer. An anti-resonance technique is used to locate and to find the severity of unknown crack. The statistical approach helps to validate the results.

The comparison of the natural frequency of healthy and cracked steel cantilever beam shows that the crack in the beam reduces its natural frequency. The accuracy of results is achieved by finding actual density and Young's modulus of steel specimen under consideration. It is helpful to verify the health of the non-cracked beam by applying dye testing. The study of natural frequency and anti-resonance gives the location of crack and its depth also. The FEA approach proved to be an important tool for numerical analysis of cracked beam.

The research is limited to steel material and surface cracks only.

Practically, this study highlights how to locate a surface crack in steel beam along with its depth, i.e. severity with great accuracy. Identification of the factors such as location and depth of a crack provide the severity of damage in airplane wings, turbine blades, bridges and many more, and thereby, it helps in safety at working vicinity.

The identification and solutions of current research helps to predict the operational life of machine elements such as airplane wings, turbine blades, bridges and many more, and thereby, it helps in the safety of people in working vicinity of such structures.

The work presented, is based on original research and experimentation. This work is valued contribution in the field of methodologies applied for fault detection in structures and also determining its correctness by numerical and experimental work.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the eigenforms and eigenfrequencies of stator core stack by experimental and numerical investigation. The influence of material parameters on the structural vibrations is carried out in order to describe the laminated structure of stator core stack with a homogeneous material model.

The finite element method is applied for a numerical modal analysis. Therefore, a homogeneous transversally isotropic material model is introduced and the influence of each material parameter on the dynamical behavior is investigated. These material parameters are stepwise adjusted to the results from the experimental modal analysis. The investigation includes results from different stator core stacks.

The influence of material on the modal parameters is shown. Furthermore, material parameters are carried out for stator core stacks, which describe the measured dynamical behaviour.

The presented investigations show a useable material model and corresponding parameters to the description of the laminated structure of stator core stacks.

This study aims to propose a novel viscoelastic–viscoplastic combined constitutive model for glassy amorphous polymers within the framework of thermodynamics at finite strain that is capable of capturing their rate-dependent inelastic mechanical behavior in wide ranges of deformation rate and amount.

The rheology model whose viscoelastic and viscoplastic elements are connected in series is set in accordance with the multi-mechanism theory. Then, the constitutive functions are formulated on the basis of the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient implicated by the rheology model within the framework of thermodynamics. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and loading/unloading/no-load tests for polycarbonate (PC) are conducted to identify the material parameters and demonstrate the capability of the proposed model.

The performance was validated in comparison with the series of the test results with different rates and amounts of deformation before unloading together. It has been confirmed that the proposed model can accommodate various material behaviors empirically observed, such as rate-dependent elasticity, elastic hysteresis, strain softening, orientation hardening and strain recovery.

This paper presents a novel rheological constitutive model in which the viscoelastic element connected in series with the viscoplastic one exclusively represents the elastic behavior, and each material response is formulated according to the multiplicatively decomposed deformation gradients. In particular, the yield strength followed by the isotropic hardening reflects the relaxation characteristics in the viscoelastic constitutive functions so that the glass transition temperature could be variant within the wide range of deformation rate. Consequently, the model enables us to properly represent the loading process up to large deformation regime followed by unloading and no-load processes.

The purpose of the paper is to study the effect of elevated temperature on load carrying capacity of reinforced self compacting concrete beams and the performance of deteriorated beams after retrofitting by GFRP sheets. The reinforced beams which were exposed to sustained elevated temperature and tested for flexural load-carrying capacity. Further deteriorated beams (exposed from 500°C to 800°C) were re-strengthened by adopting retrofitting with GFRP sheets.

The investigation includes the concrete specimens, i.e. cubes of 150 mm, cylinders of size 150 mm dia with 300 mm height and beams of 150 × 150 × 1,100 mm, reinforced with minimum tension reinforcement according to IS 456–2000. The specimens were subjected to elevated temperature from 300°C to 800°C with an interval of 100°C for 2 h. The residual compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, load at first crack of beams and load-carrying capacity of beams for 5-mm deflection were measured before and after retrofitting.

The result shows that there is a gain in residual compressive strength at 300°C and beyond which it decreases. The modulus of elasticity, load at first crack and load-carrying capacity of beams reduces continuously with an increase in temperature. The decrease in load-carrying capacity of beams is observed from 27.55% and up to 38.77% between the temperature range of 500°C–800°C and after the retrofitting of distressed beams, the load carrying capacity increases up to 24.48%.

Better performance was observed with retrofitting by GFRP sheets when the specimens were distressed due to elevated temperatures.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the solution of the fatigue damage problem of reinforced concrete frames in bending.

The problem of fatigue damage is formulated based on the rheological–dynamical analogy, including a scalar damage variable to address the reduction of stiffness in strain softening. The modal analysis is used by the finite element method for the determination of modal parameters and resonance stability of the selected frame cross-section. The objectivity of the presented method is verified by numerical examples, predicting the ductility in bending of the frame whose basic mechanical properties were obtained by non-destructive testing systems.

The modal analysis in the frame of the finite element method is suitable for the determination of modal parameters and resonance stability of the selected frame cross-section. It is recommended that the modulus of elasticity be determined by non-destructive methods, e.g. from the acoustic response.

The paper presents a novel method of solving the ductility in bending taking into account both the creep coefficient and the aging coefficient. The rheological-dynamical analogy (RDA) method uses the resonant method to find material properties. The characterization of the structural damping via the damping ratio is original and effective.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the solution of the buckling and resonance stability problems in inelastic beams and wooden plane trusses, taking into account geometric and material defects.

Two sources of non-linearity are analyzed, namely the geometrical non-linearity due to geometrical imperfections and material non-linearity due to material defects. The load-bearing capacity is obtained by the rheological-dynamical analogy (RDA). The RDA inelastic theory is used in conjunction with the damage mechanics to analyze the softening behavior with the scalar damage variable for stiffness reduction. Based on the assumed damages in the wooden truss, the corresponding external masses are calculated in order to obtain the corresponding fundamental frequencies, which are compared with the measured ones.

RDA theory uses rheology and dynamics to determine the structures' response, those results in the post-buckling branch can then be compared by fracture mechanics. The RDA method uses the measured P and S wave velocities, as well as fundamental frequencies to find material properties at the limit point. The verification examples confirmed that the RDA theory is more suitable than other non-linear theories, as those proved to be overly complex in terms of their application to the real structures with geometrical and material defects.

The paper presents a novel method of solving the buckling and resonance stability problems in inelastic beams and wooden plane trusses with initial defects. The method is efficient as it provides explanations highlighting that an inelastic beam made of ductile material can break in any stage from brittle to extremely ductile, depending on the value of initial imperfections. The characterization of the internal friction and structural damping via the damping ratio is original and effective.