Stiffness Modelling of Large Timber Connections in Stability Trusses

The demand for timber buildings is rising because of the need to make the construction industry more sustainable. Eurocode 5 provides guidance in the design process of timber structures. Numerical modelling is generally used for complex structures like multi-storey timber buildings. Currently, there is limited understanding of the serviceability...

A structural and mechanical assessment of thrombus analogs formed under physiological pressure and flow

<b>BACKGROUND - </b>The success of the mechanical thrombectomy treatment in acute ischemic stroke is highly dependent on mechanical clot behavior and characteristics like stiffness. This mechanical treatment is tested in clot analogs. Realistic clot analogs could potentially be made in a realistic formation environment. The effects of blood...

The design of a brain and tumor phantom: Focused on mimicking the stiffness of the brain and glioblastoma multiforme tumor tissue

Glioblastoma multiforme tumors (GBM) are the most frequent and aggressive brain tumor type and have a very low survival rate. In order to improve the patient’s outcome for a patient suffering from GBM the production of brain phantoms can be of great help. A brain phantom can be used for multiple purposes, such as neurological planning, training...

Mechanical Behaviour of PA2241FR used in Selective Laser Sintering

This research focuses on the possible causes of variation in the tensile strength and stiffness of witness specimens that are used in the manufacturing of aerospace grade selective laser sintered parts. Using specimens and data obtained from Materialise of the PA2241FR samples, the crystallinity and porosity of the samples was determined. The...

Development of Mechanical Properties of Concrete with Time - Experimental and Numerical Study

The performance of concrete is usually governed by its "strength" and "stiffness" properties. As most of the concrete structures are usually designed to last in service for a period of about half a century, it is important to understand the development of these "strength" and "stiffness" properties over the course of time. Based on the standard...

Computation design method for Statics-Responsive Grid Shells

Quadrangular Grid shells have generated interest in recent years for their application in rationalizing free form geometry in the built environment. Shell structure are efficient because their form is governed by flow of internal forces. But while discretizing shells into grid shells, instead of using flow of forces, current method follows...

Mass and stiffness measurement using a multi-modal analysis

Biomechanics of cells have been identified as an important factor relating to their functionalities. Consequently, the need for sensitive measurement methods for mechanical analysis on the nano- and microscale is high. Micro-cantilever resonators can have a large impact in material determination at the nanoscale. When adding a material, the...

In situ stiffness adjustment for AFM probes

The choice on which cantilever to use for Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) depends on the type of the experiment being done. Usually, the cantilevers have to be exchanged when a different stiffness is required and the entire alignment has to be repeated. In the present work, we have developed a method to adjust the stiffness of the AFM cantilever...

Planar Ferrofluid Bearings: Modelling and Design Principles

A ferrofluid is a fluid with paramagnetic properties while having a colloidal stability. This can be used to obtain a hydrostatic type of bearing that distinguishes itself from other bearings by its compactness, inherent stability, low (viscous) friction, absence of pumps and absence of stick-slip. These properties, together with its low price,...

Changes of the Loads Envelope for Wing Stiffness Modifications, In the Frame of Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Purposes

This work focuses on a multidisciplinary design optimization of an aircraft wing. Among others, a structural optimization of the wing stiffness is performed. For a certain stiffness model, a set of relevant load cases can be determined that have high chance to cause active constraints. The purpose of this research is to investigate if the set of...

Haptic Interface for UAV Teleoperation: Changing Haptic Control Device Stiffness based on Environmental Constraints

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) teleoperators suffer from a reduced situational awareness, contributing to a high UAV accident rate. The implementation of a haptic interface is a way to provide them with more information about obstacles in the environment in order to compensate for this. Research focused on systems that actively help the...

The Lateral Motion of Wafer under the Influence of Thin-film Flow

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a newly developed technique in solar cell manufacturing which is based on sequential chemical interaction between precursor gases and the substrate of the wafer. These gases react with the substrate one at a time repeatedly until the growing atomic layer is sufficiently deposited onto the wafer. Levitech is a...

Multi-storey timber-frame building- modelling the racking stiffness of timber-frame shear-walls

Today, timber structures are receiving attention more and more. Because of the increasing interest in sustainable construction as well as for other reasons, building industry in Europe is (re)-discovering multi-storey timber structures for construction of mid-rise buildings. In this master’s thesis, an analytical calculation method and modelling...

Steerability and Stiffness: Applied in minimally invasive instruments

This thesis discusses the design of a new steerable tip for a laparoscopic instrument. A new tip design is required since current steerable tip designs have problems with the bending stiffness and the lifespan of the cables. Underaction is a main cause of the low tip stiffness. Since one of the design requirements is that the tip needs to be...

Effects of fines on mechanical behaviour of sandy soils

In dredging works, fines are encountered in different ways. Fines can be produced during the cutting of rocks or can be found in natural deposited sand. The presence of fines in sand soil is generally recognized as problem in geotechnical engineering. It is believed that fines in a sand increases soil compressibility and tendency to creep. Also...