This paper deals with a review of recent results on the design and employment of layered structures formed by pentamode lattices and confinement plates as novel seismic isolators. The examined structures are equipped with different unit cells and show both hinged and rigid connections. The review of analytic and numerical results concerned with the mechanical properties of such structures leads to draw conclusions on the high potential of pentamode bearings in the field of seismic engineering.
Abstract. We present a discrete element model of a masonry structure strengthened through the application of reinforcing elements designed to work in tension. We describe the reinforced masonry structure as a tensegrity network of masonry rods, mainly working in compression, and tension elements corresponding to fiber-reinforced composite reinforcements, which are assumed to behave as elastic-perfectly-plastic members. We optimize a background structure connecting each node of the discrete model of the structure with all the neighbors lying inside a sphere of prescribed radius, in order to determine a minimal mass resisting structure under the given loading conditions and prescribed yielding constraints. Fiber-reinforced composite reinforcements can be naturally replaced by any other reinforcements that are strong in tension (e.g., timber or steel beams/ties). Some numerical examples illustrate the potential of the proposed strategy in designing tensile reinforcements of a three-dimensional structure composed of a masonry vault and supporting walls.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.