Mechanical stiffness

The stiffness characteristic of the positioner/actuator varies with frequency. Figure 8-75Z indicates the stiffness of the positioner/actu-ator is high at low frequencies and is directly related to the locked-stem pressure gain provided by the positioner. As frequency increases, a dip in the stiffness curve results Trom dynamic gain attenuation in the pneumatic amplifiers in the positioner. The value at the bottom of the dip is the sum of the mechanical stiffness of the spring in the actu-... 

One of the most desirable aspects of plastics and composites is the ability to make net-shaped parts. The same process that creates the material also creates the structure. The penalty for this advantage is that the process of curing a thermosetting plastic or composite part is irreversible. Any part that is not properly processed represents a loss of part, material and the money and time required to make that part, although larger parts are usually repaired if possible. Proper shape becomes a controlled property in addition to the bulk material properties, such as mechanical (stiffness or strength), physical (density, void content, etc.), chemical (degree of cure or carbonization, chemical resistance), electrical (resistivity, conductivity), or any combination of these. 

Fig-1 Sketch of the experimental setup as employed in the more recent work. All critical parts are mounted on a separate breadboard for increased mechanical stiffness... 

Some researchers have used approximate microscopic descriptions to develop more rigorous macroscopic constitutive laws. A microstructural model of AC [5] linked the directionality of mechanical stiffness of cartilage to the orientation of its microstructure. The biphasic composite model of [6] uses an isotropic fiber network described by a simple linear-elastic equation. A homogenization method based on a unit cell containing a single fiber and a surrounding matrix was used to predict the variations in AC properties with fiber orientation and fiber-matrix adhesion. A recent model of heart valve mechanics [8] accounts for fiber orientation and predicts a wide range of behavior but does not account for fiber-fiber interactions. 

Lichter JA, Thompson MT, Delgadillo M et al. (2008) Substrata mechanical stiffness can regulate adhesion of viable bacteria. Biomacromolecules 9 1571-1578... 

There is an equivalence between the differential equations describing a mechanical system which oscillates with damped simple harmonic motion and driven by a sinusoidal force, and the series L, C, R arm of the circuit driven by a sinusoidal e.m.f. The inductance Li is equivalent to the mass (inertia) of the mechanical system, the capacitance C to the mechanical stiffness and the resistance Ri accounts for the energy losses Cc is the electrical capacitance of the specimen. Fig. 6.3(b) is the equivalent series circuit representing the impedance of the parallel circuit. 

The main transition temperatures have in common that they are both characteristic markings of a collapse of the mechanical stiffness of the polymer. There are many more similarities. 

Fitzgerald JB, Jin M, Dean D et al. (2004) Mechanical compression of cartilage explants induces multiple time-dependent gene expression patterns and involves intracellular calcium and cyclic AMR J Biol Chemistry 279 19502-19511 Hunter CJ, Mouw JK, Levenston ME (2004) Dynamic compression of chondrocyte-seeded fibrin gels effects on matrix accumulation and mechanical stiffness. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 12 117-130... 

Ordered mesoporous silicas are of particular interest for several applications, because of highly uiuform porosity, mechanical stiffness, and thermal stability. 

Composite piezoelectric transducers made from poled Pb-Ti-Zr (PZT) ceramics and epoxy polymers form an interesting family of materials which highlight the advantages of composite structures in improving coupled properties in soilds for transduction applications A number of different connection patterns have been fabricated with the piezoelectric ceramic in the form of spheres, fibers, layered, or three-dimensional skeletons Adding a polymer phase lowers the density, the dielectric constant, and the mechanical stiffness of the composite, thereby altering electric field and concentrating mechanical stresses on the piezoelectric ceramic phase. 

Polymer networks such as epoxies play an increasing role as adhesives in industry. Two properties are of special importance for their application (a) a strong adhesive bond is required between the solidified adhesive and the bonded object, which is often a metal (b) the mechanical stiffness of the adhesive has to be adapted to the desired level. As a consequence, the adhesive has to be selected according to its adhesion properties as well as its mechanical properties. Several studies have shown that both properties are linked as soon as the epoxy polymer layer is sufficiently thin the contact of the polymer with the substrate may induce in the polymer a broad interphase where the morphology is different from the bulk. Roche et al. indirectly deduced such interphases, for example from the dependence of the glass transition temperature on the thickness of the polymer bonded to a metal substrate [1]. Moreover, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy or Auger spectroscopy provided depth profiles of interphases in terms of chemical composition, which showed chemical variations at up to 1 pm distance from the substrate. 

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