The use of composite structures in engineering applications has proliferated over the past few decades. This is mainly due to their distinct advantages of high structural performance, high corrosion resistance, high strength and weight ratio. They are however prone to fiber breakage, matrix cracking and delaminations which are often invisible. Although there are systems to detect such damage, t...

OBJECTIVES Ultrasound (US) provides measurements of synovial morphology and vascularity. However, on an individual joint basis in RA, US measures do not relate well to clinical signs. This study investigates the relationship between composite US measures and the 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28), its components and acute phase markers in adult RA. METHODS RA synovial disease activity wa...

There are many instances where the use of weight-saving polymer composite material for an entire structure is either too complex, too expensive or unfeasible. In these circumstances the use of a hybrid structure can incorporate the benefits of traditional (e.g. steel ) construction coupled with the advantages of composite materials [e.g. glass-reinforced polymers, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP)...

The objective of this research is to develop a system of software tools based on a new design methodology for the efficient composite armor structural design under ballistic impact loading conditions with a special focus on the joints design. An innovative design methodology, Function-Oriented Material Design (FOMD), is extended for the joint design problem of composite armor. The FOMD process ...

In this paper, we establish new capacity bounds for the multi-sender unicast index-coding problem. We first revisit existing outer and inner bounds proposed by Sadeghi et al. and identify their suboptimality in general. We then propose a new multi-sender maximal-acyclic-induced-subgraph outer bound that improves upon the existing bound in two aspects. For inner bound, we identify shortcomings o...

Three-dimensional finite element models are developed to investigate the effects of both tensile load and uniform temperature load on the stresses in hybrid joints. During the solution of the problem, finite element method (FEM) is preferred, as this method is very suitable for solving many engineering problems. An aluminum sheet is bonded a composite sheet. Hybrid joints are designed from both...

Adhesive joining is recognized as a potential enabling technology for a variety of material systems being considered in automotive structures where traditional fastening methods would be inappropriate. Well known examples include fiber reinforced composites and polymers. Additionally in certain circumstances, adhesive bonding of steel structures can provide benefits such as improved stiffness a...

A laser fusion joining method is investigated for the purpose of through thickness strengthening of fiber pre-forms used in the vacuum infusion fabrication of thick composite structures. Laser joining is achieved without filler materials to replace adhesives, pins or stitches used in conventional composite fabrication. A two step joining process is developed to fuse fibers within a single bundl...

Adhesive bonding technology is being used in a variety of modern industries, including the automotive, aerospace, maritime, construction, defense and so on. On the other side, polymeric nano - composites attracted both academic and industrial interests in the past decades. The scope of this paper is experimental investigation on the effects of the addition of Alpha-alumina nanoparticles to the ...