Structural behavior of large-scale triangular and trapezoidal threaded steel tie rods in assembly using finite element analysis
Abstract Pre-stressed steel tie rods are used extensively as load carrying components in structures like suspension bridges, steering systems in automotive vehicles, wings and fuselage of aircrafts, spokes of Ferris wheels, etc. The governing variables for the bearing strength of a large-scale steel tie rod (of diameter usually larger than 60 mm) include the mechanical strength of the tie rod body, geometric configuration of the thread teeth and the number of turns of thread engagement. The optimal number of turns of threaded connections of large scale steel tie rods has been predicted by full scale rupture experiments and reported previously by the authors. This paper builds up further on that work and investigates the structural behavior of the two types of threaded connections of steel tie rods, viz. (i) the triangle threaded connection, and (ii) the trapezoidal threaded connection, using finite element analysis in ANSYS. The axial displacement, equivalent stress distribution, interfacial contact pressure and sliding distance on the engaged thread teeth under different axial loads are presented and analyzed. The numerical simulations verify and expound the results of full-scale tensile rupture experiments. The concordant comparison between experimental measurements and finite element analysis provides working guidelines and support for the design and fabrication of steel tie rods in practical operations.
A three dimensional large deformation meshfree method for arbitrary evolving cracks
A new approach for modelling discrete cracks in meshfree particle methods in three dimensions is described. The cracks can be arbitrarily oriented, but their growth is represented discretely by activation of crack surfaces at individual particles, so no representation of the crack’s topology is needed. The crack is modelled by a local enrichment of the test and trial functions with a sign function (a variant of the Heaviside step function), so that the discontinuities are along the direction of the crack. The discontinuity consists of cylindrical planes centered at the particles. The method is formulated for large deformations and arbitrary nonlinear and rate-dependent materials; cohesive laws govern the traction-crack opening relations. To reduce computational cost and since more accuracy around the crack tip is needed to obtain adequate results, h-adaptivity is incorporated in the method. The model is applied to several three-dimensional problems, some of which are compared to experimental data.
The structure of electricity demand in the Brazilian household sector
Abstract The present structure of residential electricity demand is analysed by electricity consumption classes and end-uses. Nearly 70% of households consume less than 150 kWh/month and are responsible for 35% of total residential demand. Other determinants of electricity-use, such as income and place of residence, are also discussed. It is found that electricity demand is increasing faster than income as the country reaches appliances saturation in upper consumption levels. Water heating and refrigeration account for the major part of residential consumption. Residential conservation efforts have started introducing more efficient lighting equipment and refrigerators, but further work will have to be done to speed up the diffusion of efficient technology at costs that can be paid by consumers.