Natural fibers have been used to reinforce materials for many years. More currently they have been employed in combination with plastics. Many types of natural fibers have been investigated for use in plastics including flax, hemp, jute, cotton and banana. Natural fibers have the advantage that they are renewable resources and have marketing appeal. These agricultural wastes can be used to prep...

We present a theoretical study of wave propagation in two adjoining floating plates of different flexural rigidity, such as fast-ice sheets that abut across a pressure ridge, etc. Analytical formulas for the transmission and reflection coefficients for various conditions at the interface are obtained using the Wiener-Hopf technique for the case of semiinfinite elastic plates joined by a straigh...

This is a study concerning the identification of the heterogeneous flexural rigidity of a beam governed by the steady-state Euler-Bernoulli fourth order ordinary differential equation. We use the method of Variational Imbedding (MVI) to deal with the inverse problem for the coefficient identification from over-posed data. The method is identifying the coefficient by approximating it with a piec...

We have determined the mechanical anisotropy of a single microtubule by simultaneously measuring the Young's and the shear moduli in vitro. This was achieved by elastically deforming the microtubule deposited on a substrate tailored by electron-beam lithography with a tip of an atomic force microscope. The shear modulus is 2 orders of magnitude lower than the Young's, giving rise to a length-de...

This study proposes a soft pneumatic actuator with adhesion (SPAA) consisting of top fluidic-driven elastic and four bottom adhesive pads for adhering to large cylinders. Finite element models were developed investigate the bending properties under positive air pressure effect “rib” height on flexural rigidity SPAA. A synchronous testing platform contact state mechanics was developed, curvature...

In this study, we compare the behavior of confined compression-tested concrete test pieces and short beams subjected to three-point flexural strength testing when they are reinforced with high-modulus, high-strength carbon fibers polymers (CFRP). The fabrics used have roughly same mechanical capacity but very different rigidities. As such, results make it possible obtain influence rigidity CFRP...