The 4th Symposium on the Mechanics of Slender Structures (MoSS2013)

Abstract

This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains papers presented at the 4th Symposium on the Mechanics of Slender Structures (MoSS2013) run under the auspices of the Institute of Physics Applied Mechanics Group and hosted by Harbin Institute of Technology (China) from 7–9 January 2013. The conference has been organized in collaboration with the Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and follows a one day seminar on Ropes, Cables, Belts and Chains: Theory and Applications and the MoSS2006 symposium held at the University of Northampton (UK) in 2004 and 2006, respectively, the MoSS2008 symposium held at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (USA) in 2008 and the MoSS2010 symposium hosted by Mondragon University and held in San Sebastian (Spain) in 2010.The remit of the Symposium on the Mechanics of Slender Structures series involves a broad range of scientific areas. Applications of slender structures include terrestrial, marine and space systems. Moving elastic elements such as ropes, cables, belts and tethers are pivotal components of many engineering systems. Their lengths often vary when the system is in operation. The applications include vertical transportation installations and, more recently, space tether propulsion systems. Traction drive elevator installations employ ropes and belts of variable length as a means of suspension, and also for the compensation of tensile forces over the traction sheave. In cranes and mine hoists, cables and ropes are subject to length variation in order to carry payloads. Tethers experiencing extension and retraction are important components of offshore and marine installations, as well as being proposed for a variety of different space vehicle propulsion systems based on different applications of momentum exchange and electrodynamic interactions with planetary magnetic fields. Furthermore, cables and slender rods are used extensively in civil engineering; in cable-supported bridges, guyed masts and long-span roofs of buildings and stadia. Suspended cables are also applied as electricity transmission lines. Chains are used in various power transmission systems that include such mechanical systems as chain drives and chain saws. Moving conveyor belts are essential components in various material handling installations. Other structures such as pipelines, plates, beams, mechanical linkages and DNA structures also fall into this category. The behaviour of these elements plays a significant role in the performance of the host structure and a holistic approach is needed in the analysis and design of the entire system. This meeting brings together experts from various fields: structural mechanics, thermo-mechanics, dynamics, electrodynamics, vibration and control, structural health monitoring, artificial intelligence, materials science and applied mathematics to discuss the current state of research as well as rising trends and direction for future research in the area of mechanics of slender structures. The event is aimed at improving the understanding of structural and thermo-mechanical properties and behaviour of slender structures. The papers presented at the conference cover analytical, numerical and experimental research in various applications of slender structures. The Organizing Committee gratefully acknowledges support received from the co-sponsoring institutions and would like to thank the authors for their hard work and high quality contributions. Dengqing Cao Harbin Institute of TechnologyStefan Kaczmarczyk The University of Northampton