This paper presents a new continuum shape sensitivity method for calculating the mixed-mode stress-intensity factors of a stationary crack in two-dimensional, linear-elastic, orthotropic functionally graded materials with arbitrary geometry. The method involves the material derivative concept taken from continuum mechanics, the mutual potential energy release rate, and direct differentiation. S...

In this paper we develop a simple micromechanical model of a prestressed polycrystalline aggregate, in which the texture-induced and stress-induced anisotropies of the aggregate are precisely de ned; here the word \texture" always refers to the texture of the aggregate at the given prestressed con guration, not to that of a perhaps ctitious natural state of the aggregate. We use this model to d...

A majority of the thin-walled components subjected to intensive plastic straining at cryogenic temperatures are made of stainless steels. The examples of such components can be found in the interconnections of particle accelerators, containing the superconducting magnets, where the thermal contraction is absorbed by thin-walled, axisymetric shells called bellows expansion joints. The stainless ...

Efforts at modelling the propagation of seismic waves in half-spaces with continuously varying properties have mostly been focused on shear-horizontal waves. Here, a sagittally polarized (Rayleigh type) wave travels along a symmetry axis (and is attenuated along another) of an orthotropic material with stiffnesses and mass density varying in the same exponential manner with depth. In contrast t...

Woven structures are steadily emerging as excellent reinforcing components in dual-phase composite materials subjected to multiaxial loads, thermal shock, and aggressive reactants in the environment. Metallic woven wire mesh materials in particular display good ductility and relatively high specific strength and specific resilience.While use of this class of materials is rapidly expanding, a si...

PURPOSE There is a discussion in literature concerning mechanical properties and modelling of surgical meshes. An important feature of elastic modulus dependency on load history is taken into account in this paper, as implants are subjected to variable loading during human activity. The example of DynaMesh®-IPOM surgical implant is studied. METHODS The analysis is based on failure tension tes...

A new model for fatigue damage evolution of polymer matrix composites is presented. The model is based on a combination of an orthotropic damage model and an isotropic fatigue evolution model. The orthotropic damage model is used to predict the orthotropic damage evolution within a single cycle. The isotropic fatigue model is used to predict the magnitude of fatigue damage accumulated as a func...

1 I n t r o d u c t i o n The optimal topology design of structures has become a subject that calls for more and more attention of researchers and engineers in the f ie ldof structural optimization recently. Bends¢e and Kikuchi (1988) introduced a Homogenization Based Optimization (HBO) method for finding optimal structures without the requirement of conjecturing the initial topologies. This me...