This book presents a basic introduction to micromechanisms and microactuators, particularly to their basic configurations and design. This book fills the persisting gap in the published literature on the mechanical manipulative aspects of micromechanisms. It also helps in offering specialized introductory courses on micromechanisms and microactuators not as part of MEMS sensing devices, but as mechanical manipulative systems. The level of the book is suitable for use in both undergraduate and introductory graduate programmes. The book presents an overview of miniaturization and scaling laws, basic design principles of micro-sized mechanisms and actuators, micro-fabrication processes, and some futuristic issues. The volume contains a large number of figures and illustrations for easy understanding by the readers. It will also be useful to researchers and professionals looking for an introduction to the topic.

This book presents recent advances in robot control theory on task space sensory feedback control of robot manipulators. By using sensory feedback information, the robot control systems are robust to various uncertainties in modelling and calibration errors of the sensors. Several sensory task space control methods that do not require exact knowledge of either kinematics or dynamics of robots, are presented. Some useful methods such as approximate Jacobian control, adaptive Jacobian control, region control and multiple task space regional feedback are included. These formulations and methods give robots a high degree of flexibility in dealing with unforeseen changes and uncertainties in its kinematics and dynamics, which is similar to human reaching movements and tool manipulation. It also leads to the solution of several long-standing problems and open issues in robot control, such as force control with constraint uncertainty, control of multi-fingered robot hand with uncertain contact points, singularity issue of Jacobian matrix, global task-space control, which are also presented in this book. The target audience for this book includes scientists, engineers and practitioners involved in the field of robot control theory.

This book summarizes the main methods of experimental stress analysis and examines their application to various states of stress of major technical interest, highlighting aspects not always covered in the classic literature. It is explained how experimental stress analysis assists in the verification and completion of analytical and numerical models, the development of phenomenological theories, the measurement and control of system parameters under operating conditions, and identification of causes of failure or malfunction. Cases addressed include measurement of the state of stress in models, measurement of actual loads on structures, verification of stress states in circumstances of complex numerical modeling, assessment of stress-related material damage, and reliability analysis of artifacts (e.g. prostheses) that interact with biological systems. The book will serve graduate students and professionals as a valuable tool for finding solutions when analytical solutions do not exist.

This textbook offers an introduction to modeling the mechanical behavior of solids within continuum mechanics and thermodynamics. To illustrate the fundamental principles, the book starts with an overview of the most important models in one dimension. Tensor calculus, which is called for in three-dimensional modeling, is concisely presented in the second part of the book. Once the reader is equipped with these essential mathematical tools, the third part of the book develops the foundations of continuum mechanics right from the beginning. Lastly, the book's fourth part focuses on modeling the mechanics of materials and in particular elasticity, viscoelasticity and plasticity. Intended as an introductory textbook for students and for professionals interested in self-study, it also features numerous worked-out examples to aid in understanding.

This book presents a comprehensive and unifying approach to articular contact mechanics with an emphasis on frictionless contact interaction of thin cartilage layers. The first part of the book (Chapters 1–4) reviews the results of asymptotic analysis of the deformational behavior of thin elastic and viscoelastic layers. A comprehensive review of the literature is combined with the authors’ original contributions. The compressible and incompressible cases are treated separately with a focus on exact solutions for asymptotic models of frictionless contact for thin transversely isotropic layers bonded to rigid substrates shaped like elliptic paraboloids. The second part (Chapters 5, 6, and 7) deals with the non-axisymmetric contact of thin transversely isotropic biphasic layers and presents the asymptotic modelling methodology for tibio-femoral contact. The third part of the book consists of Chapter 8, which covers contact problems for thin bonded inhomogeneous transversely isotropic elastic layers and Chapter 9, which addresses various perturbational aspects in contact problems and introduces the sensitivity of articular contact mechanics. This book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers in the area of biomechanics, and engineers interested and involved in the analysis and design of thin-layer structures.

This book develops a uniform accurate method which is capable of dealing with vibrations of laminated beams, plates and shells with arbitrary boundary conditions including classical boundaries, elastic supports and their combinations. It also provides numerous solutions for various configurations including various boundary conditions, laminated schemes, geometry and material parameters, which fill certain gaps in this area of reach and may serve as benchmark solutions for the readers. For each case, corresponding fundamental equations in the framework of classical and shear deformation theory are developed. Following the fundamental equations, numerous free vibration results are presented for various configurations including different boundary conditions, laminated sequences and geometry and material properties. The proposed method and corresponding formulations can be readily extended to static analysis.

This book treats the derivation and implementation of a unified particle finite element formulation for the solution of fluid and solid mechanics, Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) and coupled thermal problems. FSI problems are involved in many engineering branches, from aeronautics to civil and biomedical engineering. The numerical method proposed in this book has been designed to deal with a large part of these. In particular, it is capable of simulating accurately free-surface fluids interacting with structures that may undergo large displacements, suffer from thermo-plastic deformations and even melt. The method accuracy has been successfully verified in several numerical examples. The thesis also contains the application of the proposed numerical strategy for the simulation of a real industrial problem. This thesis, defended at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in 2015, was selected (ex aequo) as the best PhD thesis in numerical methods in Spain for the year 2015 by the Spanish Society of Numerical Methods in Engineering (SEMNI).

This work provides a detailed and up-to-the-minute survey of the various stability problems that can affect suspension bridges. In order to deduce some experimental data and rules on the behavior of suspension bridges, a number of historical events are first described, in the course of which several questions concerning their stability naturally arise. The book then surveys conventional mathematical models for suspension bridges and suggests new nonlinear alternatives, which can potentially supply answers to some stability questions. New explanations are also provided, based on the nonlinear structural behavior of bridges. All the models and responses presented in the book employ the theory of differential equations and dynamical systems in the broader sense, demonstrating that methods from nonlinear analysis can allow us to determine the thresholds of instability.

This book describes mathematical techniques for integral transforms in a detailed but concise manner. The techniques are subsequently applied to the standard partial differential equations, such as the Laplace equation, the wave equation and elasticity equations. Green’s functions for beams, plates and acoustic media are also shown, along with their mathematical derivations. The Cagniard-de Hoop method for double inversion is described in detail and 2D and 3D elastodynamic problems are treated in full. This new edition explains in detail how to introduce the branch cut for the multi-valued square root function. Further, an exact closed form Green’s function for torsional waves is presented, as well as an application technique of the complex integral, which includes the square root function and an application technique of the complex integral.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 3rd IFToMM Symposium on Mechanism Design for Robotics, held in Aalborg, Denmark, 2-4 June, 2015. The book contains papers on recent advances in the design of mechanisms and their robotic applications. It treats the following topics: mechanism design, mechanics of robots, parallel manipulators, actuators and their control, linkage and industrial manipulators, innovative mechanisms/robots and their applications, among others. The book can be used by researchers and engineers in the relevant areas of mechanisms, machines and robotics.

This advanced undergraduate textbook begins with the Lagrangian formulation of Analytical Mechanics and then passes directly to the Hamiltonian formulation and the canonical equations, with constraints incorporated through Lagrange multipliers. Hamilton's Principle and the canonical equations remain the basis of the remainder of the text. Topics considered for applications include small oscillations, motion in electric and magnetic fields, and rigid body dynamics. The Hamilton-Jacobi approach is developed with special attention to the canonical transformation in order to provide a smooth and logical transition into the study of complex and chaotic systems. Finally the text has a careful treatment of relativistic mechanics and the requirement of Lorentz invariance. The text is enriched with an outline of the history of mechanics, which particularly outlines the importance of the work of Euler, Lagrange, Hamilton and Jacobi. Numerous exercises with solutions support the exceptionally clear and concise treatment of Analytical Mechanics.

Rotordynamics of automotive turbochargers is dealt with in this book encompassing the widely working field of small turbomachines under real operating conditions at the very high rotor speeds up to 300000 rpm. The broadly interdisciplinary field of turbocharger rotordynamics involves 1) Thermodynamics and Turbo-Matching of Turbochargers 2) Dynamics of Turbomachinery 3) Stability Analysis of Linear Rotordynamics with the Eigenvalue Theory 4) Stability Analysis of Nonlinear Rotordynamics with the Bifurcation Theory 5) Bearing Dynamics of the Oil Film using the Two-Phase Reynolds Equation 6) Computation of Nonlinear Responses of a Turbocharger Rotor 7) Aero and Vibroacoustics of Turbochargers 8) Shop and Trim Balancing at Two Planes of the Rotor 9) Tribology of the Bearing Surface Roughness 10) Design of Turbocharger Platforms using the Similarity Laws The rotor response of an automotive turbocharger at high rotor speeds is studied analytically, computationally, and experimentally. Due to the nonlinear characteristics of the oil-film bearings, some nonlinear responses of the rotor besides the harmonic response 1X, such as oil whirl, oil whip, and modulated frequencies occur in Waterfall diagram. Additionally, the influences of the surface roughness and oil characteristics on the rotor behavior, friction, and wear are discussed. This book is written by an industrial R&D expert with many years of experience in the automotive and turbocharger industries. The all-in-one book of turbochargers is intended for scientific and engineering researchers, practitioners working in the rotordynamics field of automotive turbochargers, and graduate students in applied physics and mechanical engineering.

This book reports the results of exhaustive research work on modeling and control of vertical oil well drilling systems. It is focused on the analysis of the system-dynamic response and the elimination of the most damaging drill string vibration modes affecting overall perforation performance: stick-slip (torsional vibration) and bit-bounce (axial vibration). The text is organized in three parts. The first part, Modeling, presents lumped- and distributed-parameter models that allow the dynamic behavior of the drill string to be characterized; a comprehensive mathematical model taking into account mechanical and electric components of the overall drilling system is also provided. The distributed nature of the system is accommodated by considering a system of wave equations subject to nonlinear boundary conditions; this model is transformed into a pair of neutral-type time-delay equations which can overcome the complexity involved in the analysis and simulation of the partial differential equation model. The second part, Analysis, is devoted to the study of the response of the system described by the time-delay model; important properties useful for analyzing system stability are investigated and frequency- and time-domain techniques are reviewed. Part III, Control, concerns the design of stabilizing control laws aimed at eliminating undesirable drilling vibrations; diverse control techniques based on infinite--dimensional system representations are designed and evaluated. The control proposals are shown to be effective in suppressing stick-slip and bit-bounce so that a considerable improvement of the overall drilling performance can be achieved. This self-contained book provides operational guidelines to avoid drilling vibrations. Furthermore, since the modeling and control techniques presented here can be generalized to treat diverse engineering problems, it constitutes a useful resource to researchers working on control and its engineering application in oil well drilling.

This book reports on the latest advances in the study of Networked Control Systems (NCSs). It highlights novel research concepts on NCSs; the analysis and synthesis of NCSs with special attention to their networked character; self- and event-triggered communication schemes for conserving limited network resources; and communication and control co-design for improving the efficiency of NCSs. The book will be of interest to university researchers, control and network engineers, and graduate students in the control engineering, communication and network sciences interested in learning the core principles, methods, algorithms and applications of NCSs.

With China becoming a major force in steel research and development, this book highlights the work of a group from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by the first four authors. This group has the ideal knowledge base for writing this updated book on heat-resistant steels. The fifth author, Sha, based in the UK, has been collaborating with the Chinese group since 2009 and is the lead or sole author of four research books, all published in English. The last book, “Steels: from materials science to structural engineering,� was published by Springer in 2013. Within two months of its publication, researchers at the University of Science and Technology Liaoning had requested translation of the book into Chinese. Springer obliged, and the Chinese version was published by the Metallurgical Industry Press, Beijing, in August 2014. Sha has organized and completed the writing of the proposed book, though the main research was done in China.

This book offers a collection of original peer-reviewed contributions presented at the 6th International Congress on Design and Modeling of Mechanical Systems (CMSM'2015), held in Hammamet, Tunisia, from the 23rd to the 25th of March 2015. It reports on both recent research findings and innovative industrial applications in the fields of mechatronics and robotics, dynamics of mechanical systems, fluid structure interaction and vibroacoustics, modeling and analysis of materials and structures, and design and manufacturing of mechanical systems. Since its first edition in 2005, the CMSM Congress has been held every two years with the aim of bringing together specialists from universities and industry to present the state-of-the-art in research and applications, discuss the most recent findings and exchange and develop expertise in the field of design and modeling of mechanical systems. The CMSM Congress is jointly organized by three Tunisian research laboratories: the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory of the National Engineering School of Monastir; the Mechanical Laboratory of Sousse, part of the National Engineering School of Sousse; and the Mechanical, Modeling and Manufacturing Laboratory at the National Engineering School of Sfax.

This book compiles solutions of linear theory of elasticity problems for isotropic and anisotropic bodies with sharp and rounded notches. It contains an overview of established and recent achievements, and presents the authors' original solutions in the field considered with extensive discussion. The volume demonstrates through numerous, useful examples the effectiveness of singular integral equations for obtaining exact solutions of boundary problems of the theory of elasticity for bodies with cracks and notches. Incorporating analytical and numerical solutions of the problems of stress concentrations in solid bodies with crack-like defects, this volume is ideal for scientists and PhD students dealing with the problems of theory of elasticity and fracture mechanics.

This book introduces a general approach for schematization of mechanical systems with rigid and deformable bodies. It proposes a systems approach to reproduce the interaction of the mechanical system with different force fields such as those due to the action of fluids or contact forces between bodies, i.e., with forces dependent on the system states, introducing the concepts of the stability of motion. In the first part of the text mechanical systems with one or more degrees of freedom with large motion and subsequently perturbed in the neighborhood of the steady state position are analyzed. Both discrete and continuous systems (modal approach, finite elements) are analyzed. The second part is devoted to the study of mechanical systems subject to force fields, the rotor dynamics, techniques of experimental identification of the parameters and random excitations. The book will be especially valuable for students of engineering courses in Mechanical Systems, Aerospace, Automation and Energy but will also be useful for professionals. The book is made accessible to the widest possible audience by numerous, solved examples and diagrams that apply the principles to real engineering applications.

This book reports on the state of the art in the field of multiphysics systems. It consists of accurately reviewed contributions to the MMSSD'2014 conference, which was held from December 17 to 19, 2004 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The different chapters, covering new theories, methods and a number of case studies, provide readers with an up-to-date picture of multiphysics modeling and simulation. They highlight the role played by high-performance computing and newly available software in promoting the study of multiphysics coupling effects, and show how these technologies can be practically implemented to bring about significant improvements in the field of design, control and monitoring of machines. In addition to providing a detailed description of the methods and their applications, the book also identifies new research issues, challenges and opportunities, thus providing researchers and practitioners with both technical information to support their daily work and a new source of inspiration for their future research.

Topics in Modal Analysis, Volume 10: Proceedings of the 33rd IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2015, the tenth volume of ten from the Conference brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering.  The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Structural Dynamics, including papers on:   Experimental Techniques Processing Modal Data Rotating Machinery Acoustics Adaptive Structures Biodynamics Damping

Structural Health Monitoring & Damage Detection, Volume 7: Proceedings of the 33rd IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2015, the seventh volume of ten from the Conference brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering.  The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Structural Dynamics, including papers on:   Structural Health Monitoring Damage Detection Energy Harvesting

The book presents in a clear, simple, straightforward, novel and unified manner the most used methods of experimental mechanics of solids for the determination of displacements, strains and stresses. Emphasis is given on the principles of operation of the various methods, not in their applications to engineering problems. The book is divided into sixteen chapters which include strain gages, basic optics, geometric and interferometric moire, optical methods (photoelasticity, interferometry, holography, caustics, speckle methods, digital image correlation), thermoelastic stress analysis, indentation, optical fibers, nondestructive testing, and residual stresses. The book will be used not only as a learning tool, but as a basis on which the researcher, the engineer, the experimentalist, the student can develop their new own ideas to promote research in experimental mechanics of solids.

This book reports on the latest advances in the analysis of non-stationary signals, with special emphasis on cyclostationary systems. It includes cutting-edge contributions presented at the 7th Workshop on “Cyclostationary Systems and Their Applications,� which was held in Gródek nad Dunajcem, Poland, in February 2014. The book covers both the theoretical properties of cyclostationary models and processes, including estimation problems for systems exhibiting cyclostationary properties, and several applications of cyclostationary systems, including case studies on gears and bearings, and methods for implementing cyclostationary processes for damage assessment in condition-based maintenance operations. It addresses the needs of students, researchers and professionals in the broad fields of engineering, mathematics and physics, with a special focus on those studying or working with nonstationary and/or cyclostationary processes.  

This book emphasizes in detail the applicability of the Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method to various engineering problems. It is a continuation of the book “Nonlinear Dynamical Systems in Engineering: Some Approximate Approaches�, published at Springer in 2011 and it contains a great amount of practical models from various fields of engineering such as classical and fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, nonlinear oscillations, electrical machines and so on. The main structure of the book consists of 5 chapters. The first chapter is introductory while the second chapter is devoted to a short history of the development of homotopy methods, including the basic ideas of the Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method. The last three chapters, from Chapter 3 to Chapter 5, are introducing three distinct alternatives of the Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method with illustrative applications to nonlinear dynamical systems. The third chapter deals with the first alternative of our approach with two iterations. Five applications are presented from fluid mechanics and nonlinear oscillations. The Chapter 4 presents the Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method with a single iteration and solving the linear equation on the first approximation. Here are treated 32 models from different fields of engineering such as fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, nonlinear damped and undamped oscillations, electrical machines and even from physics and biology. The last chapter is devoted to the Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method with a single iteration but without solving the equation in the first approximation.

Like the previous editions also the third edition of this book combines the detailed physical modeling of mechatronic systems and their precise numerical simulation using the Finite Element (FE) method. Thereby, the basic chapter concerning the Finite Element (FE) method is enhanced, provides now also a description of higher order finite elements (both for nodal and edge finite elements) and a detailed discussion of non-conforming mesh techniques. The author enhances and improves many discussions on principles and methods. In particular, more emphasis is put on the description of single fields by adding the flow field. Corresponding to these field, the book is augmented with the new chapter about coupled flow-structural mechanical systems. Thereby, the discussion of computational aeroacoustics is extended towards perturbation approaches, which allows a decomposition of flow and acoustic quantities within the flow region. Last but not least, applications are updated and restructured so that the book meets modern demands.