International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics

Recently, the phenomenon of tail-sustained swaying of the 160km/h EMU in single-track tunnels has gained much attention, especially for the rear-powered vehicle. This phenomenon is investigated from the perspective of aerodynamic fluid–structure coupling vibration in this study. The aerodynamics simulation model of the train in tunnels and the multi-body dynamics model of the rear-powered vehicle were respectively established through the software of XFlow and Simpack, and then the fluid–structure coupling vibration was simulated by using real-time data dynamic exchange between the two models. Moreover, the carbody’s vibration acceleration and the aerodynamic loads acting on the carbody under various wheel–rail contact geometrical conditions were discussed. Finally, the train tail swaying in field was tested, and the dominant frequencies were analyzed. The results show that the periodic aerodynamic loads and the frequency locking effect caused by the coupled vibration are the main factors for ride comfort deterioration. The violent vibration caused by fluid–structure coupling is named vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in some industries such as bridge and submarine pipeline. For the vehicle in this work, with the decrease of equivalent conicity in wheel–rail contact, the amplitude of carbody swaying increases owing to the carbody hunting, which enhances the fluid–structure coupling vibration, and further deteriorates the ride comfort. The swaying of the carbody is dominated by the vehicle hunting frequency, and the improvement of vehicle lateral stability can weaken this phenomenon.

A dimensionless discrete state-space mathematical model is proposed for stress analysis of an axially-symmetric saturated poroelastic circular plate being loaded by temperature rise of one of the flat faces. Computation of stress by means of this model is free from a need for differentiation. The curves of thermal postbuckling, thermal nonlinear bending, radial stress, circumferential stress and resultant radial force have been achieved by means of six state-space variables and differential quadrature procedure. The effects of loading temperature, boundary conditions, porosity, pore distribution and fluid pore pressure on the thermal post buckling and nonlinear bending phenomena have been investigated. The critical postbuckling thermal load has been determined by means of a numerical algorithm that does not converge to trivial solution because it starts from a relatively great numerical thermal load. Contrary to the governing equation in usual form, the governing equations in state space together with the state equations equalize the number of the governing assembled difference equations and that of the unknowns, and eventually do not require to apply the so-called auxiliary extra boundary conditions at the nodes adjacent to the boundary nodes. As another advantage, in state-spatial viewpoint, there is not any necessity for computing the coefficients of derivatives with order higher than unity.

This paper aims to improve the performance of the piezoelectric buckled beam under low vibration environment using the noncontact magnetic modulation method. Based on the bi-stable buckling beam structure, the magnetic force is introduced to capture more energy. In order to investigate the influence of magnetic force in the process of vibration, the dynamic response of the harvester is analyzed under different magnetic force through numerical simulation and experiment. It is found that the magnetic force has a softening effect on the structure, namely, it could reduce the stiffness of the buckled beam. Therefore, the energy harvester could realize large-amplitude vibration under low-amplitude or low-frequency vibration with the help of magnetic force. The experimental results show that the harvester can realize inter-well vibration only when the vibration acceleration is 3.5g and the frequency is 15Hz without the magnetic force. The harvester only needs 2.5g acceleration or 10Hz vibration frequency to realize the large-amplitude vibration. While in the case of 12mm magnetic gap. After the magnetic force is introduced in the harvester, the voltage output under 2.5g acceleration is increased from 1 to 4V, and the voltage output at 10Hz vibration frequency is increased from 0.2 to 2V. Therefore, the proposed magnetically tuned bi-stable energy harvester can better operate in low frequency and low amplitude environments.

The utilization of functionally graded graphene platelet-reinforced composites (FG-GPLRC) and honeycomb sandwich constructions is prevalent in the field of engineering. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the buckling and vibration properties of these materials under heat circumstances. This paper specifically focuses on the vibration and thermal buckling characteristics of a novel multi-arc concave honeycomb sandwich plate (MACHSP) equipped with an adjustable positive-negative Poisson’s ratio. The governing equations of motion for the system are derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory in conjunction with Hamilton’s principle. The formulation of the system’s characteristic equation involves the establishment of displacement functions that satisfy distinct boundary conditions. Using computational programming, natural frequencies, mode shapes, and critical buckling temperatures of MACHSP with three different FG-GPLRC distributions under thermal influences are determined. Subsequently, these results are compared with outcomes from finite element simulations and findings from previously published literature. Additionally, the amplitude-frequency response characteristics of the structure under harmonic excitation are analyzed, followed by a discussion of the impact of structural parameters on its buckling and vibration characteristics. The results indicate that the established theoretical model for predicting the buckling and vibration characteristics of MACHSP with FG-GPLRC distribution aligns well with simulation models and prior research. In contrast to solid plates, MACHSP not only achieves a substantial reduction in weight but also demonstrates a significant increase in natural frequency. Furthermore, graphene platelets have the potential to enhance the structure’s natural frequency values and critical buckling temperatures. Lastly, various structural parameters exert a notable influence on the structure’s performance.

Instability is one of the major failure modes of long span arch bridges, and its possibility of occurrence will be increased as triggered by earthquake excitations. However, the randomness of each ground motion causes the difficulty in achieving a reliable assessment of the safety of the bridges in regard to its stability issue based on certain time history analysis. Therefore, a failure probability-based instability evaluation method and corresponding instability damage index are proposed in this study to solve this problem, converting the deterministic analysis of a ground motion into a probability analysis of a group of random ground motions. The results find that the input direction, the velocity pulse and the pulse period of the ground motion have a significant impact on the stability of the bridge, while seismic moment and PGV/PGA ratio do not. The fragility curves show that the bridge has more than 60% probability of slight instability when input PGA reaches 0.2 g, 50% probability of moderate instability when input PGA reaches 0.6 g, and 20% probability of collapse when input PGA reaches 1.0 g. Moreover, when the PGA approaches 1.0 g, it is discovered that the velocity pulse and the pulse period can increase the chance of the occurrence of bridge instability by 20%–30%.

In this research, natural frequency response of functionally-graded multilayer graphene-reinforced composite plate with circular cutout reinforced by orthogonal stiffeners is investigated for the first time. The structure is surrounded by Winkler-type elastic support. The plate is composed of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as matrix material and reinforced by graphene platelets (GPLs). The material of the orthogonal stiffeners is the same as that for the matrix. Rule of mixtures and Halpin–Tsai approach are applied to estimate the effective material properties of the composite plate. Third-order shear deformation plate theory and finite element procedure is employed to obtain the element matrices of the structure. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of the stiffened plate are reported for different variables such as nanofillers dispersion patterns, width and height of the stiffeners, aspect ratio of plate, plate thickness ratio, weight fraction of nanofillers, number of stiffeners, boundary conditions, elastic foundation stiffness parameter and size of circular cutout. The obtained results denote that with the addition of a set of stiffeners, fundamental frequency enhanced up to 32.3% with just about 10% increase of mass.

Low-frequency vibration isolation is essential for ultra-precision manufacturing and measurement equipment. Low stiffness is beneficial for low-frequency isolation, while leading to a degradation of the load capacity of the isolator. To tackle the problem, a nonlinear isolator is proposed with a cross-ring structure, composed of a circular ring and a semi-circular ring. Experimental studies validate that the isolator is applicable to different payload mass, and a cut-off frequency of 1.1Hz is achieved for an effective isolation. The isolator is theoretically investigated to reveal the mechanism leading to the low-frequency isolation performance. An elliptic integral method is adopted to characterize the stiffness characteristics of the ring structures under compression. The whole compression process of a semi-circular ring is divided into five stages according to the deformed shapes, exhibiting quasi-linear stiffness, stiffness-softening, negative stiffness, and stiffness-hardening characteristics in sequence. Together with the stiffness-softening circular ring, the cross-ring structure demonstrates a growing high-static-low-dynamic-stiffness (HSLDS) characteristic in a wide load range, and the result is verified by a restoring force measurement test. A harmonic balance analysis is performed to predict the frequency responses of the proposed isolator. It is shown that a low-frequency isolation can be achieved with the structure compressed to the HSLDS region by the payload, and an ultra-low-frequency isolation is achieved with the dynamic-to-static stiffness ratio below 0.1. A numerical investigation is performed to further reveal the frequency responses of the isolator with lightweight/overweight payloads and excessive excitation amplitudes. Jump phenomena are presented. This work provides a prototype and the theoretical basis for low-frequency vibration isolation via a cross-ring structure.

Train vibrations are the primary concern in environmental engineering and civil engineering. It is significantly imperative to find new methods for reducing and isolating vibrations. The locally resonant metamaterials (LRMs) propose a novel method and concept for reducing train vibration. However, the accurate and quick design structures of LRMs based on vibration characteristics are still an issue. Thus, this study presents a novel inverse design model of three-component locally resonant metamaterial barriers (LRMBs) for vibration reduction based on deep learning. The bandgap characteristics and vibration modes of the LRMB are investigated by using the improved plane wave expansion (IPWE) and finite element method (FEM). Besides, the gradient-combined LRMBs are proposed based on time–frequency features of measured vibration caused by trains and the novel inverse design model, and a two-dimensional finite element model coupling with infinite element boundaries is established to study the reduction efficiency of the gradient-combined LRMBs. And the performances of different LRMBs are fully analyzed in time and frequency domains. The results show that the novel inverse design model can be successfully used to design the LRMB based on vibration features. Moreover, the gradient-combined LRMBs have better isolation performance.

A seismic vibration control system, consisting of a swing story substructure, a lateral force resisting substructure and connecting dampers, is recently proposed. The analytical model and optimization method based on the stability maximization and H₂ criteria have been established. In this paper, excellent vibration control effects of the proposed system are verified through the small-scale shaking table tests on a two-story model. Experimental results demonstrate the accuracy of the analytical model and the validity of the vibration control strategy. Through numerical analyses of benchmark structures, the input energy of the optimally designed system is remarkably mitigated, and favorable vibration control effects for reducing both inter-story drifts and absolute floor accelerations under earthquake ground motions are verified by comparing with conventional moment-resisting frame structures. In addition, significant control effects can be achieved when the optimal stiffness is greater than the critical buckling stiffness. A seismic design flow chart of the intensity-reduced design method is proposed based on the numerical analyses and the Chinese Seismic Design Code of Buildings. The results indicate that the seismic intensity-reduced design for the proposed system is feasible.

This paper presents an arch structure called the circular box arch with sinusoidal corrugated webs (CBASCW). This study investigates the out-of-plane elastic buckling behavior and elastoplastic stability capacity of the arch through a combined approach of theoretical derivation and finite element simulation. The section stiffness of the arch, including flexural stiffness, shear stiffness, and torsional stiffness, is achieved through theoretical derivation. Additionally, the elastic buckling load in both pure compression and pure bending states is derived. A simplified model is also introduced, which can conveniently simulate the internal force and deformation of the arch. The elastoplastic instability mechanism and failure mode are studied under various loading conditions, including uniform radial load, end bending moment, vertical load uniformly distributed in full-span, and vertical load uniformly distributed in half-span. Furthermore, the stability curves of the arch under conditions of pure compression and pure bending are graphed by incorporating stability coefficient and regularized slenderness ratio. According to the simulation results obtained from the simplified model and the analysis of stability curves, a design formula for stability capacity is proposed.

The key aim of this research is to develop an analytical model for the forced vibration of graphene-reinforced composite (GRC) cylindrical shell with viscous damping and thermal environment effects under several boundary conditions. The prescribed mechanical and thermal characteristics of the GRC layer are evaluated utilizing a micromechanical extended Halpin–Tsai technique. Further, the governing equations are determined to be grounded on the shear deformation theory (SDT) with the von Kármán-form in terms of the geometric nonlinearity. The basic nonlinear partial differential governing equation is transformed into a nonlinear ordinary differential equation with the Galerkin-based method. The resulting ordinary governing differential equations are systematically solved based on the multiple scales scheme in order to obtain the nonlinear forced vibration frequency response of the laminated GRC cylindrical shell in the presence of damping impact and subjected to multiple boundary conditions. The validation of the obtained expressions is achieved by comparing them with the available literature data where the comparison revealed a clear consistency between them. Moreover, a parametric investigation is provided to illustrate the impacts of the distribution of graphene layers, elastic foundation coefficients, damping ratios, temperature effects and dimensionless radial excitation amplitude on the forced nonlinear amplitude-frequency ratio responses for a functionally-graded graphene-reinforced composite (FG-GRC)-layered cylindrical shells. The analytical outcomes indicate that the different distribution types of graphene, elastic foundation coefficients, damping ratios, temperature, and radial excitation parameters have a noteworthy impact on the frequency–amplitude behaviors of an FG-GRC-layered cylindrical shell. In addition, the new insights gained from this research might contribute to a deeper understanding of the nonlinear forced vibration responses in subsequent analysis and design techniques for giving appropriate benchmark findings.

The natural frequency variation of a uniform Euler–Bernoulli beam with an internal sliding joint of the translational restraint is studied intensively such that the optimal design of the connecting point is pursued for maximization of a natural frequency of the system. First, the compatibility conditions at the linkage are presented in detail, and the dynamic characteristic equation of the beam system is accordingly derived. Next, the influences of both the translational restraint stiffness and the position of the sliding joint upon the natural frequency and mode shape are described comprehensively. Then, the optimal position and the corresponding minimum translational stiffness of the internal joint are explored exclusively for maximizing a natural frequency of the beam structure. In this context, the essential requirements for the optimization of the internal sliding joint are presented, respectively, in two different ways to reveal their mechanical implications. It turns out that the optimal joint location can be determined readily from the corresponding mode shape of the equivalent continuous beam. Afterward, numerical results are provided with two classical beams of a single internal sliding joint to demonstrate the variations of their dynamic characteristics as well as to offer significant physical insight into the vibratory behaviors of the beam system with maximization of a natural frequency of interest.