Generalized definition of “crack-like” notches to finite life and SN curve transition from “crack-like” to “blunt notch” behavior
Available online 29 April 2017
research
Building a Digital Wind Farm
We've recently published an extensive review of the state-of-the-art in modelling and simulation for wind energy. The paper is open access for a limited time and can be found online at the link below.
Hewitt, S; Margetts L and Revell A, "Building a digital wind farm", Archives in Computational Methods in Engineering, 2017.
reflection and transmission coefficients in long elastic bars
Dear iMechanica Community,
I'd like to ask for advice on modelling reflection and transmission coefficients when two bars with different cross-sectional areas contact each other and are exposed to pulse loading.
I have modelled this process in Abaqus/Explicit as a two-dimensional simulation. The investigation was conveniently done as a parametric study, defining the lateral dimension as parameter. Both bars are slim (length 2 m, diameter 2 cm) and elastic.
Postdoc positions in the new group of Pedro Reis at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
I have openings for two post-doc positions in my new research group at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, where I will be moving later this year. The target start date is January 1st, 2018.
Computational inverse design of non-intuitive illumination patterns to maximize optical force or torque
This paper aims to maximize optical force or torque on arbitrary micro- and nanoscale objects using numerically optimized structured illumination. By developing a numerical framework for computer-automated design of 3d vector-field illumination, we demonstrate a 20-fold enhancement in optical torque per intensity over circularly polarized plane wave on a model plasmonic particle. The nonconvex optimization is efficiently performed by combining a compact cylindrical Bessel basis representation with a fast boundary element method and a standard derivative-free, local optimization algorithm.
The Shoelace Catastrophe
Readers of this site might be interested in the following paper appeared in the Proceedings of the Royal Society and has received considerable attention in the media:
The roles of impact and inertia in the failure of a shoelace knot
The paper discusses a mechanism for the the accidental untying of a shoelace knot that many of us, including me, experience on a daily basis. The failure is sudden and catastropic as can be seen in the following video:
International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research (IJSGAMR)
Dear all,
the International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research (IJSGAMR) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal which covers all aspects of theoretical and practical research of materials science.
Nonlinear Elastic Inclusions in Anisotropic Solids
In this paper we study the stress and deformation fields generated by nonlinear inclusions with finite eigenstrains in anisotropic solids. In particular, we consider finite eigenstrains in transversely isotropic spherical balls and orthotropic cylindrical bars made of both compressible and incompressible solids. We show that the stress field in a spherical inclusion with uniform pure dilatational eigenstrain in a spherical ball made of an incompressible transversely isotropic solid such that the material preferred direction is radial at any point is uniform and hydrostatic.