Detailed investigation on biomechanics of a complex structure such as the human lumbar spine requires the use of advanced computer-based technique for both the geometrical reconstruction and the stress analysis. In the present study, the computer-assisted tomography (CAT) and finite element method (FEM) are merged to perform detailed three dimensional nonlinear analysis of the human ligamentous...

Masonry infill walls are often used as non-structural elements. According to the past structural failure, ignorance of interaction between infill walls and enclosed frame may lead to the different seismic response for non-ductile building frames. The main contribution of this paper is to analytically investigate the behavior of reinforced concrete with masonry infill panels as participating str...

the concepts of structural optimization was introduced about sixty years ago. smiths from the university of los angeles (california) for the first time has offered the combination of finite element method and optimization techniques to design optimum structures (1960). at present time, this techniques are generally understood and many softwares for this perpose have been developed. in this pape...

In this study, a hybrid method is proposed to investigate the nonlinear vibrations of pre- and post-buckled rectangular plates for the first time. This is an answer to an existing need to develope a fast and precise numerical model which can handle the nonlinear vibrations of buckled plates under different boundary conditions and plate shapes. The method uses the differential quadrature element...

This work is conducted to obtain mechanical properties of microtubule. For this aim, interaction energy in alpha-beta, beta-alpha, alpha-alpha, and beta-beta dimers was calculated using the molecular dynamic simulation. Force-distance diagrams for these dimers were obtained using the relation between potential energy and force. Afterwards, instead of each tubulin, one sphere with 55 KDa weight ...

Arch dams are generally built in cantilvever monoliths. Vertical contraction joints between monoliths control the stresses due to concrete shrinkage and temperature variations. Past studies in earthquake safety evaluation of the system often show the tensile fracture and local nonlinear deformation of joints. In this paper, some nonlinear joint element constitutive models are presented to exami...