Soft actuators are receiving increasing attention from the engineering community, not only in research but even for industrial applications. Among soft actuators, fibre-reinforced Bending Fluidic Actuators (BFAs) became very popular thanks to features such as robustness and easy design and fabrication. However, an accurate modelling of these smart structures, taking into account all the nonline...

This paper develops an efficient, physically based shape manipulation technique. It defines a 3D model with profile curves, and uses spine curves generated from the profile curves to control the motion and global shape of 3D models. Profile and spine curves are changed into profile and spine wires by specifying proper material and geometric properties together with external forces. The underlyi...

This work concerns an assessment of the behavior of infilled frames. The feasibility of possible immediate implementation of some recent developments both in analysis and design of infilled frames for practical design is investigated. It is now widely recognized that masonry infill panels used in reinforced concrete (R/C) frame structures, significantly enhance both the stiffness and the streng...

In recent years, glass-fiber reinforced composite materials are more and more used in structural applications. Their mechanical properties: low density, high strength and high chemical corrosionresistance offer an interesting alternative solution to metallic or concrete material. The pultrusion is a composite material processing technique that is penetrating the civil engineering market since t...

Abstract Based on the principle of virtual power, equilibrium conditions are established for forces within a cross section tunnel top heading driven according New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). External forces, namely impost actions and ground pressure distributions following third-order polynomial, analytically linked with internal such as axial bending moments, arising integrals over shell...

BACKGROUND Complete cast crowns are good alternatives and have best longevity for the restoration of damaged posterior teeth. Occasionally, a crown with clinically acceptable margins, preparation design, and occlusion becomes loose. Providers often debate whether such a crown can be successfully recemented with any degree of confidence that it will not be dislodged under normal masticatory func...

Stability constants in 90% (v/v) DMSO /water mixture were evaluated for the complexes of Ag(I), Co(II), Cu(II), Mn(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cr(III) and Fe(III) with the macrocyclic compounds, namely, 15-crown-5, benzo-15-crown-5, 18-crown-6, dibenzo18-crown-6, dicyclohexano-18-crown-6, dibenzo-24-crown-8 and dicyclohexano-24-crown-8 by conductometric titrations. A potentiometric study of co...

We studied the distribution of hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), within hemlock trees for three summer (progrediens) and two winter (sistens) generations in northern Georgia. Eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière, trees were treated with 0, 10, or 25% of 1.5 g of imidacloprid per 2.5 cm of tree diameter at breast height and fertilized or not in a fa...

Pinus halepensis Mill. is a Mediterranean pioneer forest species with shade intolerance features. The 15 purpose of this study is to better understand how stand fertility and allelopathic properties of adult trees influence 16 shade acclimation of saplings. Crown growth and morphological plasticity were studied under different light, 17 fertilization, and allelopathic conditions in a nursery ex...