In this work we study in detail the conditions under which the stiffness matrix of a spatial system can be transformed into block-diagonal and diagonal form. That is the existence of a coordinate frame in which the stiffness matrix takes on these simple forms. The consequences of a block-diagonal or diagonal stiffness matrix for the invariants of the system, principal screws, von Mises’ invaria...

For the nonlinear analysis of structures using the well known Newton-Raphson Method, the tangent stiffness matrices of the elements must be constructed in each iteration. Due to the high expense required to find the exact tangent stiffness matrices, researchers have developed novel innovations into the Newton-Raphson method to reduce the cost and time required by the analysis. In this paper, a ...

When humans hop in place or run forward, leg stiffness is increased to offset reductions in surface stiffness, allowing the global kinematics and mechanics to remain the same on all surfaces. The purpose of the present study was to determine the mechanism for adjusting leg stiffness. Seven subjects hopped in place on surfaces of different stiffnesses (23-35,000 kN/m) while force platform, kinem...

In this paper, the effectiveness of stiffness and damping of bearing is investigated on the natural frequencies of the rotor-bearing system. The rotor-bearing system consists of a shaft, two bearings and a disk between two bearings. Parallel spring-damper in horizental and vertical directions is considered for modeling the stiffness and damping of bearings. The gyroscopic effect is also conside...