Wood plastic composites are complex, anisotropic, and heterogeneous materials. A key to increasing the share of the WPC materials in the market is developing stronger, highly engineered WPCs characterized by greater structural performance and increased durability. These are achieved by enhanced manufacturing processes, more efficient profile designs, and new formulations providing better intera...

In this paper, we develop a shear-lag model and an in ̄uence superposition technique to quickly compute the stresses and displacements in 2D unidirectional ®ber composites in response to multiple ®ber and matrix breaks. Unlike previous techniques, both the ®ber and matrix are able to sustain axial load, and the governing shear-lag equations are derived based on the principle of virtual work and ...

219-235, ASME winter meeting, Anaheim, CA, Nov. 1998. ABSTRACT A new finite element approach to sandwich shells is proposed. It uses existing shell finite elements formulated for homogeneous shells. The “sandwich” nature of the problem is hidden from the main finite element program. Based on several assumptions the proposed homogenization procedure calculates stress increments in a homogeneous ...

The fabrication of a hemispherical electronic-eye camera with optimized designs based upon micromechanical analysis is reported. The photodetector arrays combine layouts with multidevice tiles and extended, non-coplanar interconnects to improve the fill factor and deformability, respectively. Quantitative comparison to micromechanics analysis reveals the key features of these designs. Color ima...

Two neural classifiers were developed for image recognition: PCNC (Permutation Coding Neural Classifier) and LIRA (Limited Receptive Area) neural classifiers. These neural classifiers are multipurpose neural classifiers. We applied them in micromechanics. Information about shape and texture of the micro workpiece can be used to improve precision of both assembly and manufacturing processes. The...