Recent developments in the area of smart structures indicate that variable geometry / stiffness truss network is of fundamental importance in designing smart transformable structures and systems for space applications. This paper presents the conceptual design and dynamic modeling of a cooperative re-configurabel dual-arm robotic structure called Dual-Arm Cam-Lock Manipulator. The Manipulator i...

recent developments in the area of smart structures indicate that variable geometry / stiffness truss network is of fundamental importance in designing smart transformable structures and systems for space applications. this paper presents the conceptual design and dynamic modeling of a cooperative re-configurabel dual-arm robotic structure called dual-arm cam-lock manipulator. the manipulator i...

Current studies investigating the role of biophysical cues on cell migration focus on the use of culture platforms with static material parameters. However, migrating cells in vivo often encounter spatial variations in extracellular matrix stiffness. To better understand the effects of stiffness gradients on cell migration, we developed a 2.5D cell culture platform where cells are sandwiched be...

Abstract—In this paper, the specific sound Transmission Loss (TL) of the Laminated Composite Plate (LCP) with different material properties in each layer is investigated. The numerical method to obtain the TL of the LCP is proposed by using elastic plate theory. The transfer matrix approach is novelty presented for computational efficiency in solving the numerous layers of dynamic stiffness mat...

Approximate numerical techniques, for the solution of the elastic wave scattering problem over semi-infinite domains are reviewed. The approximations involve the representation of the half-space by a boundary condition described in terms of 2D boundary element discretizations. The classical BEM matrices are initially re-written into the form of a dense dynamic stiffness matrix and later approxi...

Composite materials, especially polymer matrix composites, have been intensively studied for energy absorption applications. When the temperature is close to or higher than the glass transition temperature (Tg), the polymer matrix is usually viscoelastic. With an external loading, either dynamic or quasi-static, the relaxation of the network polymer chains would cause a considerable energy diss...

Plant cell walls combine mechanical stiffness, strength and toughness despite a highly hydrated state. Inspired by this, a nanostructured cellulose network is combined with an almost viscous polysaccharide matrix in the form of a 50/50 amylopectin-glycerol blend. Homogeneous films with a microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) nanofiber content in the range of 10-70 wt % are successfully cast. Charact...

The VST (VLT Survey Telescope) is a 2.6 m class Alt-Az telescope to be installed on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama desert, Northern Chile, in the European Southern Observatory (ESO) site. The VST is a widefield imaging facility planned to supply databases for the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) science and carry out stand-alone observations in the UltraViolet to Infrared spectral range. So far no ...

The synergistic effects of reactive polyol diluent and amino-functionalized multi-walled carbon nano-tubes on fracture of two-and three-phase (hybrid) epoxy nanocomposites are investigated under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Digital image correlation method with a drop-tower and high-speed camera are used for dynamic tests. The crack-tip deformation histories and fracture paramet...