This paper introduces a new fixed mesh structural analysis technique based on isoparametric formulations from classic finite element analysis. Fixed mesh methods are popular in boundary based optimisation as they avoid mesh distortion problems and reanalysis is simple and efficient. The area ratio based fixed grid method is often employed due to its favourable simplicity in implementation. Howe...

A linear full elliptic second order Partial Differential Equation (PDE), defined on a d-dimensional domain Ω, is approximated by the isogeometric Galerkin method based on uniform tensor-product Bsplines of degrees (p1, . . . , pd). The considered approximation process leads to a d-level stiffness matrix, banded in a multilevel sense. This matrix is close to a d-level Toeplitz structure when the...

MATRIX STIFFNESS REGULATES GLIAL CELL MORPHOLOGY AND DIFFERENTIATION By Mateusz M. Urbanski Advisor: Carmen Melendez-Vasquez Studies from our laboratory have shown that inhibition of non-muscle myosin II (NMII) activity has opposite effects on the formation of myelin by oligodendrocytes (OL), the myelinating glia of the central nervous system (CNS) and Schwann cells (SC), which perform the same...

The waves propagating within complex smart structures are hereby computed by employing a wave and finite element method. The structures can be of arbitrary layering and of complex geometric characteristics as long as they exhibit two-dimensional periodicity. The piezoelectric coupling phenomena are considered within the finite element formulation. The mass, stiffness and piezoelectric stiffness...

Many structural components can be regarded as waveguides. They are uniform in one direction so that the cross section of the waveguide has the same physical and geometric properties at all points along the axis of the waveguide. In this paper a method is presented to calculate the forced response of such a structure using a combination of wave and finite element (FE) approaches. The method invo...

A numerical method is presented for computing the time varying stresses in reciprocating compressor discharge tubes during starting. The tube is described using shell elements, and mounting springs are described using beam elements. Mass and stiffness matrices are assembled into a second order system of equations that is then solved in a time step fashion along with mechanism and induction moto...

In this paper we develop an efficient numerical method for the finite-element model updating of damped gyroscopic systems based on incomplete complex modal measured data. It is assumed that the analytical mass and stiffness matrices are correct and only the damping and gyroscopic matrices need to be updated. By solving a constrained optimization problem, the optimal corrected symmetric damping ...

The Moulton Hydragas suspension system improves small car ride quality by interconnecting the front and rear wheel on each side of the vehicle via a hydraulic fluid pipe between the front and rear dampers. A Hydragas system from a Rover Group MGF sports car was statically and dynamically tested to generate stiffness and damping coefficient matrices. The goal was to develop the simplest possible...

Stem cells regulate their fate by binding to, and contracting against, the extracellular matrix. Recently, it has been proposed that in addition to matrix stiffness and ligand type, the degree of coupling of fibrous protein to the surface of the underlying substrate, that is, tethering and matrix porosity, also regulates stem cell differentiation. By modulating substrate porosity without alteri...

The paper presents a methodology for the enhanced stiffness analysis of parallel manipulators with internal preloading in passive joints. It also takes into account influence of the external loading and allows computing both the non-linear “load-deflection” relation and the stiffness matrices for any given location of the end-platform or actuating drives. Using this methodology, it is proposed ...