Online and offline monitoring of composite bolted joints under tensile load were investigated using piezoelectric transducers. The relationships between Lamb wave signals, pre-tightening force, the applied tensile load, as well as the failure modes were investigated. Results indicated that S0/A0 wave amplitudes decrease with the increasing of load. Relationships between damage features and S0/A...

The use of self-tapping screws with continuous threads in the joint area as a reinforcement to avoid splitting of timber members is studied. A theoretical model is developed to calculate the stress distribution around a pin-loaded hole in a timber joint, to predict brittle failure modes in bolted connections and to calculate the load in the reinforcing screws. Laboratory experiments on reinforc...

In this study, a longitudinal joint connection was proposed for the short-span slab-type modular bridges with rapid construction. The slab-type modular bridge consists of a number of precast slab modules and has the joint connection between the modules in the longitudinal direction of the bridge. A finite element based parameter analysis was conducted to design the shape and the dimensions of t...

The problem of fault tolerance in cooperative manipulators rigidly connected to an undeformable load is addressed in this paper. Four categories of faults are considered: free-swinging joint faults (FSJFs), locked joint faults (LJFs), incorrectly measured joint position faults (JPFs), and incorrectly measured joint velocity faults (JVFs). Free-swinging and locked joint faults are detected via a...

Previous work by the authors on the mathematical modelling of the lower extremities is extended in this paper to the prediction of muscle load sharing and the corresponding hip, knee and ankle joint reactions during walking when the motion pattern is known beforehand. Using the same criterion for muscle load sharing as in the previous work on leaning and squatting, the results show excellent ag...

Various types of re-alignment surgery are used to preserve the ankle joint in cases of intermediate ankle arthritis with partial joint space narrowing.The short-term and mid-term results after re-alignment surgery are promising, with substantial post-operative pain relief and functional improvement that is reflected by high rates of patient satisfaction.In this context, re-alignment surgery can...

Native joint preservation has gained importance in recent years. This is mostly to find solutions for limitations of arthroplasty. In the knee joint, the menisci perform critical functions, adding stability during range of motion and efficiently transferring load across the tibiofemoral articulation while protecting the cartilage. The menisci are the most common injury seen by orthopedicians, e...

The present work summarises a numerical procedure aimed to the residual strength assessment of a cracked butt joint, based on R-curve analysis and plastic collapse prediction. In a linear elastic fracture analysis, the SIF’s (Stress Intensity Factors) evaluation is based on the use of the Dual Boundary Element Method, as implemented in the BEASY code. A two -dimensional approximation (plane str...

Overload on the hip joint is considered by medical experts as principal cause of hip joint osteoarthritis (OA) which is characterized by the degeneration of the articular cartilages. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between extreme movements and the development of early OA. Thus, the mechanical behavior of dancer’s hip joint under movements characterized by large anatomic...