The buckling behaviour of corrugated paper packages was studied by means of an experimental and theoretical analysis. Mechanical behaviour of paperboard was first evaluated experimentally, then a local geometry FEM model, able to reproduce with a very good accuracy buckling loads obtained experimentally in the standard edge compression test, was developed. In order to investigate the buckling of a complete package, a finite element ‘corrugated board’ was introduced by means of a dedicated homogenization procedure. The FEM model of the package, assembled with this new element, can accurately predict the experimental data of incipient buckling observed during the standard box compression test, despite the few degrees of freedom and the minimal computational effort. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The clearances in the kinematic joints are due to deformations, wear, and manufacturing errors; the accurate modeling of these effects in multibody analysis is a complex issue but in many practical applications, it is mandatory to take into them into account in order to understand the actual behavior of mechanical systems. In this paper, the authors present a general computer-aided model of a 3D revolute joint with clearance suitable for implementation in multibody dynamic solvers. While a perfect revolute joint imposes kinematic constraints, the proposed revolute joint with clearance leads to a force constraint. The revolute joint has been modeled by introducing a nonlinear equivalent force system, which takes into account the contact elastic deformations. The model depends on the structural and geometrical properties of materials in contact that have been investigated using finite element models. The purpose is to give a general approach to study the influence of actual joints on kinematic, dynamic, and structural behavior of mechanisms. The proposed model has been applied in dynamic simulations of a spatial slider-crank mechanism.

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The DEMO reactor is expected to be the first application of fusion for electricity generation in the near future. To this aim conceptual design activities are progressing in Europe (EU) under the lead of the EUROfusion Consortium in order to drive on the development of the major tokamak systems. In 2014 the activities carried out by the magnet system project team were focused on the Toroidal Field (TF) magnet system design and demonstrated major achievements in terms of concept proposals and of consolidated evaluations against design criteria. Several magnet system R&D activities were conducted in parallel, together with broad investigations on High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) technologies. In this paper we present the outcomes of the work conducted in two areas in the 2014 magnet work program: (1) the EU inductive reactor (called DEMO1) 2014 configuration (power plant operating under inductive regime) was the basis of conceptual design activities, including further optimizations; and (2) the HTS R&D activities building upon the consolidated knowledge acquired over the past years

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