The current practice for selecting bidirectional ground motions (GM pairs) to conduct nonlinear response history analysis (RHA) of multistory buildings is restricted to those with a symmetric plan. To overcome such limitations, we propose selecting GM pairs to be consistent with a pair of target spectra defined along the structural axes, enabling a unique azimuth to be determined for each GM pair. We develop two new target spectra: (1) the s-GCMS for two horizontal components of GM and (2) the CMS-UHS Composite Spectrum. Based on nonlinear RHAs of buildings with both symmetric and unsymmetric plans, the CMS-UHS Composite Spectrum is shown to be the best alternative to the current practice of utilizing multiple CMSs, because it provides accurate demands with minimal computational effort and can be easily constructed using existing PSHA tools.
Two efficient algorithms for calculating the steady-state responses of nonlinear circuits are proposed. They are based on both time-domain and frequency-domain approaches. A nonlinear circuit is partitioned into two subnetworks with substitution sources, and their responses are solved by a combined frequency-domain and time-domain method. The total response of the combined circuit can be calculated by an iterative technique based on either the Newton or the relaxation harmonic balance method. Since the methods are based on both time-domain and frequency-domain algorithms, they are called the Newton and the relaxation hybrid harmonic balance methods, respectively. The methods can be applied efficiently to strong nonlinear circuits containing high-Q subnetworks such as filter circuits and crystal oscillators. When a large-scale circuit is partitioned into large linear subnetworks and small nonlinear subnetworks, the method can also be applied efficiently.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Abstract not Available.
Two major mechanisms that could potentially be responsible for toughening in mineralized tissues, such as bone and dentin, have been identified—microcracking and crack bridging. While evidence has been reported for both mechanisms, there has been no consensus thus far on which mechanism plays the dominant role in toughening these materials. In the present study, we seek to present definitive experimental evidence supporting crack bridging, rather than microcracking, as the most significant mechanism of toughening in cortical bone and dentin. In vitro fracture toughness experiments were conducted to measure the variation of the fracture resistance with crack extension [resistance–curve (R-curve) behavior] for both materials with special attention paid to changes in the sample compliance. Because these two toughening mechanisms induce opposite effects on the sample compliance, such experiments allow for the definitive determination of the dominant toughening mechanism, which in the present study was found to be crack bridging for microstructurally large crack sizes. The results of this work are of relevance from the perspective of developing a micromechanistic framework for understanding fracture behavior of mineralized tissue and in predicting failure in vivo.
Cellulose microfibrils play essential roles in the organization of plant cell walls, thereby allowing a growth habit based on turgor. The fibrils are made by 30 nm diameter plasma membrane complexes composed of approximately 36 subunits representing at least three types of related CESA proteins. The complexes assemble in the Golgi, where they are inactive, and move to the plasma membrane, where they become activated. The complexes move through the plasma membrane during cellulose synthesis in directions that coincide with the orientation of microtubules. Recent, simultaneous, live-cell imaging of cellulose synthase and microtubules indicates that the microtubules exert a direct influence on the orientation of cellulose deposition. Genetic studies in Arabidopsis have identified a number of genes that contribute to the overall process of cellulose synthesis, but the role of these proteins is not yet known.
