We propose a formulation capable of measuring the complexity of kinematic chains at the conceptual stage in robot design. First, the complexity of the three basic lower kinematic pairs, the revolute, the prismatic and the cylindrical pairs, is proposed. Then, a formulation of the complexity of kinematic chains is introduced. Next, the complexity of the basic displacement subgroups generated by ...

This paper investigates nonlinear bending and buckling behaviours of composite plates characterized by a thickness variation. Layer interfaces are described as functions of inplane coordinates. Top and bottom surfaces of the plate are symmetric about the midplane and the plate could be considered as a flat surface in analysis along with thickness parameters which vary over the plate. The variab...

This paper presents the effect of centrifugal load in functionally graded (FG) hollow sphere subjected to uniform magnetic field. Analytical solution for stresses and perturbation of the magnetic field vector are determined using the direct method and the power series method. The material stiffness, the magnetic permeability and the density vary continuously across the thickness direction accor...

THE FOURIER SPECTRAL ELEMENT METHOD FOR VIBRATION AND POWERFLOW ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX DYNAMIC SYSTEMS byHONGAN XUMay 2011Advisor: Dr. Wen LiMajor: Mechanical EngineeringDegree: Doctor of PhilosophyA general numerical method, the so-called Fourier-Space Element Method (FSEM), isproposed for the vibration and power flow analyses of complex built-up structures. In...

Since there was no consensus on treatment options of localized prostate cancer, a meta-analysis was performed to compare the efficacy of radical prostatectomy (RP) versus external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) concluding three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The search of eligible studies was performed on PubMed and Embase databases. The o...

PURPOSE The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of radiation dose on biochemical control and morbidity in prostate cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between 1995 and 2003, 360 patients with T1-T3b prostate cancer were treated in a sequential radiation dose escalation trial from 66.0 to 82.6 Gy. These patients were prospectively assigned to 1 of 3 prognostic groups accord...

a new approach for analyzing cracked problems in 2d orthotropic materials using the well-known element free galerkin method and orthotropic enrichment functions is proposed. the element free galerkin method is a meshfree method which enables discontinuous problems to be modeled efficiently. in this study, element free galerkin is extrinsically enriched by the recently developed crack-tip orthot...