Feng Huang , Xin Zhou , Wenyi Gong , Yingqiong Yong , Zhenyu Yang
{"title":"Topology optimization of buckling-induced multistable structures for energy absorption","authors":"Feng Huang , Xin Zhou , Wenyi Gong , Yingqiong Yong , Zhenyu Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113216","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113216","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The multistable structure, which consists of an array of buckling-induced bistable elements, serves as an energy-absorbing system knowned for its reusability. However, its energy absorption efficiency remains comparatively low, thereby limiting its practical application. To address this limitation, this study examines the mechanical characteristics of buckling-induced multistable structures and introduces a topology optimization method designed to maximize their theoretical energy absorption capacity. To ensure stable and accurate finite element simulations and sensitivity analysis, we propose a method that alternates between the Newton and arc-length methods for solving nonlinear equations, and switches between force and displacement loading modes during the simulation. Utilizing this topology optimization approach, we perform optimizations on traditional cosine-shaped two-dimensional curved shells as well as on cosine-shaped domes, resulting in two distinct optimized structures. These optimized structures are subsequently benchmarked against similar bistable structures documented in existing literatures in terms of mechanical performance. The results demonstrate significant enhancements in theoretical maximum energy absorption capacities for the optimized structures, thereby validating the effectiveness of the presented method.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113216"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Runzhi Lu , Yeqing Gu , Mao Qin , Huawei Chen , Qian Zhang , Marco Meloni , Jian Feng , Jianguo Cai
{"title":"Terrestrial laser scanning based full-scale wind load test and numerical analysis of a tensile membrane structure","authors":"Runzhi Lu , Yeqing Gu , Mao Qin , Huawei Chen , Qian Zhang , Marco Meloni , Jian Feng , Jianguo Cai","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The structural response of tensile membrane structures under wind load is critical to their overall safety and stability. Characterizing the shape and detecting the stress state of the tensile membrane are essential aspects of this analysis. Full-scale testing is undoubtedly the most effective and direct method to gain an in-depth understanding of the deformation mechanisms of these structures under wind loads. This study uses tFIGerrestrial laser scanning technology to examine the structural behaviour of a saddle-shaped tensile membrane structure subjected to wind load. Initially, uniaxial and biaxial tensile experiments are conducted on the material. The uniaxial experiments analyse the impact of different prestress levels on material nonlinearity, and the biaxial experiments assess the residual strain after multiple tension cycles, providing insights into the true mechanical response of the structure under wind pressure. Subsequently, full-scale form finding test and wind load tests based on the equivalent load method are performed. Terrestrial laser scanning technology captures the dynamic geometrical changes of the tensile membrane, offering valuable data on its deformation behaviours under various wind load cases. Additionally, a finite element model of the structure under wind load is developed based on the material properties obtained from the experiments. A comparative analysis between test results and finite element simulations is conducted and discussed. In conclusion, this research enhances the understanding of tensile membrane structures and provides a foundation for advanced structural analysis and design in architectural applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113218"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143716203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dong Quan , Jiaying Pan , Xuemin Wang , Mengmeng Han , Jiaming Liu , Guoqun Zhao
{"title":"Enhancing composite joint performance through co-cure joining with structured low-melt polyaryletherketone (LMPAEK) meshes","authors":"Dong Quan , Jiaying Pan , Xuemin Wang , Mengmeng Han , Jiaming Liu , Guoqun Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113187","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113187","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of thermoplastic films as alternatives to traditional thermoset adhesives for co-cure bonding of carbon fiber/epoxy composites offers a promising approach for joint fabrication. This technique has the potential to produce joints with enhanced structural integrity, addressing key limitations of thermoset adhesives, such as suboptimal thermal resistance, strict frozen storage requirements, and limited shelf life. In this study, thermoset composite joints were co-cure bonded using structured low-melt polyaryletherketone (LMPAEK) hollow meshes, with the thermoset/thermoplastic interface strengthened through a novel UV-irradiation process. Joint strength and fatigue life were evaluated through single-lap joint testing. The LMPAEK co-cured joints exhibited significantly improved structural integrity compared to those bonded with aerospace-grade thermoset adhesives under both quasi-static and fatigue loading conditions. This superior performance is attributed to extensive plastic deformation and controlled damage behavior within the LMPAEK resin. These characteristics, combined with LMPAEK’s advantageous properties, were key factors contributing to the remarkable lap-shear strength and fatigue resistance observed in the co-cured joints.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113187"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Modified consistent element-free Galerkin method applied to Reissner–Mindlin plates","authors":"Marcelo Silveira Pereira , Mauricio Vicente Donadon","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113185","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113185","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses the solution of static, modal, buckling and aeroelastic analyses associated with rectangular plates based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), i.e., Reissner–Mindlin plates. For this purpose, a Modified Consistent Element-Free Galerkin (MCEFG) method was applied in combination with the moving least-squares (MLS) method for the obtainment of the admissible functions. Three improvements are implemented for the application of the MCEFG method: a new weighting function that diminishes the support radius influence in the MLS method, a stable and efficient numerical integration that guarantees the consistency of the method and an imposition of essential boundary conditions that do not require the augmentation of the weak form. Comparison studies on the displacement and generalized force fields, eigenfrequencies, buckling loads and flutter velocity are performed using numerical and theoretical results that confirm the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methodology. Finally, the study considers four boundary conditions in order to guarantee the applicability of the method in different scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113185"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Geometry and size dependent microstructure and crack formation in Rene 41 superalloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion","authors":"Sila Ece Atabay , Fatih Sikan , Mathieu Brochu","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113211","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113211","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study provides a systematic investigation into the size and geometry-dependent microstructural evolution and cracking susceptibility of LPBF-fabricated Rene 41. By coupling experimental microstructural analysis with thermal modeling, this research uniquely identifies the relationship between geometry-specific thermal histories, carbide coarsening, and liquation cracking. Four different geometries with varying thickness were fabricated with the identical process parameters. It was found that the grain size and morphology are not affected by the part size. However, the thinner parts exhibited coarser sub-grain structures compared to the thicker ones. The crack formation was observed for the parts with cross-sections smaller than 1 mm, whereas thicker parts had high density without any defects. The cracks were observed in the interdendritic regions, suggesting that liquation cracking was the active micro-crack formation mechanism. The detailed microstructural analysis combined with a thermal finite element analysis proved that the heat extraction efficiency was lower for thinner parts causing a lower cooling rate and coarser carbides, making them more susceptible to constitutional liquation. Microhardness measurements were conducted for each geometry and correlated with the observed microstructural variations. The findings highlight the critical need for geometry-specific optimization of LPBF process parameters to mitigate cracking and achieve microstructural uniformity, offering valuable insights into the fabrication of complex, high-performance aerospace components.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113211"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yake Li , Jianyang Xue , Xunxiang Wang , Liangjie Qi , Qunshan Su , Qingwei Wang
{"title":"Seismic behavior of steel l-shaped special-shaped columns under cyclic loading","authors":"Yake Li , Jianyang Xue , Xunxiang Wang , Liangjie Qi , Qunshan Su , Qingwei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113209","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113209","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To assess the local buckling and its effect on hysteretic behavior of steel <span>l</span>-shaped special-shaped columns, and cyclic horizontal loading tests was conducted on six 2/3-scale columns to investigate the effects of loading angle, plate width-to-thickness ratio, and axial load ratio. The failure modes, hysteresis curves, skeleton curves, stiffness degradation, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity were analyzed. Numerical models incorporating initial geometric imperfections, residual stresses, and ductile damage were established and validated by the test results. Then, 163 numerical models were developed for an extensive parametric analysis using Python script, considering factors including loading angle, slenderness ratio, transverse stiffeners, flange width-to-thickness ratio, web height-to-thickness ratio, and axial load ratio. The results show that, compared to other loading angles, columns subjected to loading angles of 45° and 67.5° demonstrated higher strength (averaging up to 25 %), slower stiffness degradation (averaging up to 40 %), and better energy dissipation capacity (averaging up to 15 %). As the slenderness ratio increased from 35 to 67, the strength decreased by 3.54 %, and the initial stiffness decreased by a factor of 6. The addition of two sets of transverse stiffeners in the plastic hinge region resulted in an increase in columns strength of more than 6 %. Numerical analysis revealed a strong correlation between the degree of plastic development in the section and the axial load ratio. Based on these findings, the section classification of the column was discussed, and it was concluded that the section classification in Eurocode 3 is not rational for these columns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113209"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dynamic response analysis of a long-span bridge with thin-walled high piers in valley terrain under combined wind and seismic effects","authors":"Lijia Jin , Jisai Fu , Jianwen Liang , Yue Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113207","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the dynamic response of a long-span bridge with thin-walled high piers in a valley terrain under combined wind and seismic effects and proposes a comprehensive analysis method. The contribution of this method is its ability to account for various factors such as the wind environment at the bridge site, fluctuating wind fields, seismic source parameters, propagation paths, and terrain effects, while also considering the dynamic coupling between wind and seismic loads. The study begins by employing computational fluid dynamics to obtain wind parameters at the bridge site, which are validated through comparison with on-site measurements. The spectral representation method is then applied to simulate the fluctuating wind field around the bridge. Seismic motion in the valley area is modeled using a combined frequency-wavenumber and finite element method. Finally, the dynamic response of the bridge under combined wind and seismic loads is analyzed using the finite element method. The focus of the study is on the dynamic response of the bridge under the combined influence of wind and seismic loads, as well as the individual effects of both. Additionally, the impact of the wind environment at the bridge site and terrain effects on the dynamic response of the bridge under combined loading is explored. Results show that, compared to seismic load alone, the inclusion of wind load increases the transverse vibration of the main girder, with a peak displacement increase of approximately 58 %. The displacement response under combined wind and seismic effects is about 17 % lower than the sum of individual responses. The reference wind speed at the bridge deck has a critical value for the dynamic response of the bridge under combined wind and seismic actions. Terrain effects significantly influence the relative displacement of short piers, while having less impact on tall piers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113207"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shengguo Zhang , Wenhu Wang , Tianren Zhang , Yifeng Xiong , Bo Huang , Ruisong Jiang
{"title":"Evaluation of hole quality in drilling CF/BMI composite via machine learning: Multi-defects analysis and fatigue life prediction","authors":"Shengguo Zhang , Wenhu Wang , Tianren Zhang , Yifeng Xiong , Bo Huang , Ruisong Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113189","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113189","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>CF/BMI (carbon fiber/bismaleimide) composite has emerged as one of the most promising of the high-performance carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites owing to its excellent mechanical strength and high temperature resistance. Although drilling in CF/BMI composite is a common machining procedure, the BMI resin tends to become brittle after curing, which means that drilling holes can lead to serious defects such as delamination, tearing, and scratches on the hole-wall. In this paper, to predict fatigue life under multi-defects and calculate the sensitivity of defects to fatigue life, a machine learning model for comprehensively evaluating the quality of drilled holes was proposed. Firstly, the quantitative characterization methods of tearing, burr, and delamination in uniform dimensions were presented, and the hole-wall surfaces were sampled and characterized with three-dimensional surface roughness. The comparative effect of tool type, ultrasonic-vibration assisted drilling (UVAD), and drilling parameters on defects was analyzed. Through quasi-static tensile and fatigue tests, the effects of multi-defects on the mechanical properties of open-hole laminates were investigated. An ANN model was developed to predict the correlation between drilling-induced defects and fatigue life. The model was optimized by tuning parameters and hyperparameters, the accuracy error of the model was a <em>MAPE</em> value of 1.263 % and an <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> value of 0.913.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113189"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143636228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yang Bu , Ye Tang , Jianghai Wu , Tianzhi Yang , Qian Ding , Ying Li
{"title":"Novel vibration suppression of spinning periodically acoustic black hole pipes based on the band-gap mechanism","authors":"Yang Bu , Ye Tang , Jianghai Wu , Tianzhi Yang , Qian Ding , Ying Li","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113198","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113198","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Due to the fluid-structure interaction, external perturbation, and internal fluid, etc., the terrible vibration and noise emission in pipes conveying fluid may make the engineering structures facilitate to be instability, serious failure, and catastrophic destruction. In this work, inspired by the band gaps formation of photonic crystal (PC) and the wave attenuation in acoustic black hole (ABH), four novel types of periodic pipes conveying fluid including the unidirectional and axisymmetric ABH cells are proposed and used as basic models to analyze the mechanism of band gap formation. Considering a novel spinning two-dimensional (2D) PC model, the governing and dispersion equations of the proposed pipes conveying fluid are established based on the Timoshenko beam theory. By adopting the spectral element method (SEM) compared with the transfer matrix method (TMM), as well as introducing the Bloch theorem, the wave propagation mechanism in these spinning periodic ABH pipes conveying fluid is disclosed through investigating the frequency response, flexible wave shapes, energy transfer mode and BGs distribution. We find that, in the case of periodic pipes conveying fluid, the concentration of kinetic energy at the junction of the sub-cell can enhance Bragg scattering, which leads to the formation of band gaps (BGs), while the pass bands are generated due to the drastic variation of wave mode induced by the resonance in the strain energy. Based on the BGs mechanism, the parameter analysis is carried out to indicate the vibration suppression of the spinning periodic pipes decrease periodically with the spinning speed. More importantly, by adjusting the ABH geometric parameters, it is found that all four types of periodic pipes conveying fluid can generate lower-frequency and broader BGs, which further leads to weaken the disadvantage effect of the spinning speed on vibration self-suppression of the pipe system. Based on the above analysis of the mechanism and parameters of BG's formation, a novel vibration control method with the cooperation of the periodic structure and the ABH effect is developed. The study provides a novel design idea of the PC development in the axially moving continuum, which may be beneficial for controlling the vibration of engineering fluid-conveying devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113198"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143636246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Meng Li Xue , Yi Zhang , Xing Chi Teng , Wei Zhong Jiang , Tao Xue , Yi Chao Qu , Xiao Ji , Cheng Shen , Xin Ren
{"title":"Multifunctional auxetic re-entrant metastructure for low-frequency broadband sound absorption and energy absorption","authors":"Meng Li Xue , Yi Zhang , Xing Chi Teng , Wei Zhong Jiang , Tao Xue , Yi Chao Qu , Xiao Ji , Cheng Shen , Xin Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tws.2025.113206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For sound-absorbing structures, previous studies generally focused only on their sound-absorbing, resulting in limited application in practical engineering. In this work, leveraging the excellent energy absorption properties of auxetic re-entrant metamaterials, a multifunctional auxetic re-entrant metastructure (MARM) with low-frequency broadband sound absorption and high energy absorption is proposed. The re-entrant cavity with internally extended tubes as a unit cell. Firstly, using the mechanism of Helmholtz weak resonance, the diameter and length of the tube are adjusted to obtain better low-frequency sound absorption. It has been demonstrated systematically through experimental, numerical, and theoretical methods, that the average sound absorption coefficient of MARM is 0.9 at 330–500 Hz and a deep-subwavelength thickness of 40 mm. Secondly, the low-frequency sound absorption of the MARM was researched by filling the porous materials and adjusting the thickness of the structure. Finally, the MARM was compressed both in-plane and out-of-plane through quasi-static compression and numerical, and the results show that the energy absorption of the MARM, in-plane reaches 8,000 kJ/m<sup>3</sup> and out-of-plane reaches 14,000 kJ/m<sup>3</sup> when the strain of the structure is 0.6. This research not only provides a method for designing multifunctional metamaterials but also has a good potential for application in the fields of transportation and engineering.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 113206"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}