Fatigue-induced changes in intrinsic and reflex properties of human elbow extensor muscles and the underlying mechanisms for fatigue compensation were investigated. The elbow joint was perturbed using small-amplitude and pseudorandom movement patterns while subjects maintained steady levels of mean joint extension torque. Intrinsic and reflex properties were identified simultaneously using a no...

The Stiffness modulus is one of the necessary inputs in mechanistic-empirical pavement design and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (Q Q A C ) of pavement layers construction. The use of Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer (PFWD) for measuring the stiffness modulus of unbound pavement layers is increasing worldwide. The modulus can also be...

Models of the dynamic response of the lumbar spine have been used to examine vertebral fractures (VFx) during falls and whole body vibration transmission in the occupational setting. Although understanding the viscoelastic stiffness or damping characteristics of the lumbar spine are necessary for modeling the dynamics of the spine, little is known about the effect of intervertebral disk degener...

Residual drifts after severe earthquakes interrupt serviceability of buildings. Retrofitting of such buildings is in many cases very difficult and consumes lots of time and money. Recently, there are some attempts to develop the seismic design procedures to not only satisfy life safety criteria but also lead to more economical buildings. One of these modern methods of improving seismic performa...

This paper presents the results of a recent project of IKCo’s research center to modify Paykan 1600’s rear suspension mechanism with the purpose of improving comfort, stability and handling qualities. The car was originally equipped with a solid rear axle with leaf springs. By replacing the original mechanism with a three-link mechanism with panhard bar and coil springs, the ride comfort and ha...

In this article, we tried to emphasis in how the range of torsionally stiff and flexible single story buildings works. The designed base was according to provisions of the Canadian standard, 2005 NBCC. The behavior of nonlinear dynamic time history of eight building models subjected to seven horizontal bi-directional ground motions compatible with design spectra are investigated. These models c...

A proper composition of stiffness and ductility parameters is required to obtain a resistant and economic structure. Accordingly, Chevron Knee Braced Frame (CKBF) seems appropriate due to its proper seismic performance. The advantage of this system comes to having the capability of rapid and cheap replacement of chevron knee elements after an earthquake occurs. In this research, response modifi...

The dynamic performance of structures under traveling loads should be exactly analyzed to have a safe and reasonable structural design. Different higher-order shear deformation theories are proposed in this paper to analyze the dynamic stability of thick elastic plates carrying a moving mass. The displacement fields of different theories are chosen based upon variations along the thickness as c...