Abstract This paper presents the fundamentals for prediction of a more realistic behavior of planar steel frames with semi-rigid connections under dynamic loading. The majority of the research in this area concentrates on the nonlinear static analysis of frames with semi-rigid connections. Indeed, few studies have contributed to the nonlinear dynamic and vibration analyses of frames. Therefore, this article first describes the frames’ semi-rigid connection behavior under monotonic and cyclic loads, and presents the independent hardening technique adopted to simulate the joint behavior under cyclic excitation. In a finite element context, this paper presents an efficient numerical methodology that is proposed in algorithmic form to obtain the nonlinear transient response of the structural system. The paper also presents, in algorithmic form, a complete description of the adopted connection hysteretic model. Satisfying the equilibrium and compatibility conditions, and assuming only the connection’s rotational deformation due to bending as variable, this work obtains the tangent stiffness and mass matrices of the beam-column element with semi-rigid connections at the ends. The study concludes by verifying and validating the proposed numerical approach using four structural steel systems: a L-frame, a two-story frame, a six-story frame, and a four-bay five-story frame. The analyses show that the hysteresis of the semi-rigid connection has a strong effect on the frames’ responses and is an important source of damping during the structural vibration.

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito do óleo essencial de Lippiaalba (OELA) como aditivo em rações na ionoregulação, parâmetros metabólicos e expressão de hormônios hipofisários em jundiás, Rhamdiaquelen, submetidos a uma situação estressante (densidade de estocagem de 10,6 kg m-3 e espaço limitado). Os peixes foram alimentados com diferentes concentrações de OELA (0,0 - controle, 0,25 e 0,50 mL kg de ração-1) durante 20 dias. Parâmetros metabólicos não foram afetados pela dieta, com a exceção da alanina aminotransferase, que foi mais elevada no fígado dos peixes alimentados com 0,50 mL de OELA kg de ração-1. Íons plasmáticos e a atividade da H+-ATPase não apresentaram nenhuma alteração, mas os peixes alimentados com 0,25 mL OELA kg de ração-1 apresentaram maior atividade da Na+/K+-ATPase. A expressão da somatolactina na hipófise de peixes alimentados com 0,25 mL OELA kg de ração-1 aumentou, porém a expressão do hormônio de crescimento e da prolactina não mudou. Portanto, a adição do OELA na ração não tem um efeito protetor em jundiás submetidos a uma situação estressante, pois não influiu na maioria dos parâmetros medidos. O uso de 0,25 mL OELA kg de ração-1 parece ser mais adequado que 0,50 mL OELA kg de ração-1, uma vez que este nível de inclusão pode estar relacionado a danos hepáticos.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the essential oil of Lippia alba (EOLA) as a feed additive on ionoregulatory and metabolic parameters and pituitary hormones expression in silver catfish, Rhamdia quelen , submitted to a stressful condition (stocking density of 10.6 kg m-3 and limited space). Fish were fed with different concentrations of EOLA (0.0 - control, 0.25 and 0.50 mL kg food-1) for 20 days. Metabolic parameters were not affected by the diet, with the exception of alanine aminotransferase, which was higher in the liver of fish fed 0.50 mL EOLA kg food-1. Plasma ions and activity of H+-ATPase did not change, but fish fed 0.25 mL EOLA kg food-1 presented higher Na+/K+-ATPase activity. Somatolactin expression in the pituitary was higher in the fish fed 0.25 mL EOLA kg food -1, but the expression of growth hormone and prolactin did not change. Therefore, dietary EOLA does not exert a protective effect in R. quelen submitted to a stressful situation because it did not alter most measured parameters. The use of 0.25 mL EOLA kg food-1 seems to be more suitable than 0.50 mL EOLA kg food-1 since the latter may be related to liver damage.

This work investigates the influence of physical and geometrical system parameters uncertainties and excitation noise on the nonlinear vibrations and stability of simply-supported cylindrical shells. These parameters are composed of both deterministic and random terms. Donnell's non-linear shallow shell theory is used to study the non-linear vibrations of the shell. To discretize the partial differential equations of motion, first, a general expression for the transversal displacement is obtained by a perturbation procedure which identifies all modes that couple with the linear modes through the quadratic and cubic nonlinearities. Then, a particular solution is selected which ensures the convergence of the response up to very large deflections. Finally, the in-plane displacements are obtained as a function of the transversal displacement by solving the in-plane equations analytically and imposing the necessary boundary, continuity and symmetry conditions. Substituting the obtained modal expansions into the equation of motion and applying the Galerkin's method, a discrete system in time domain is obtained. Several numerical strategies are used to study the nonlinear behavior of the shell considering the uncertainties in the physical and geometrical system parameters. Special attention is given to the influence of the uncertainties on the parametric instability and escape boundaries.

In the present work a qualitatively accurate low dimensional model is used to study the non-linear dynamic behavior of shallow cylindrical shells under axial loading. The dynamic version of the Donnell non-linear shallow shell equations are discretized by the Galerkin method. The shell is considered to be initially at rest, in a position corresponding to a pre-buckling configuration. Then, a harmonic excitation is applied and conditions to escape from this configuration are sought. By defining steady state and transient stability boundaries, frequency regimes of instability may be identified such that they may be avoided in design. Initially a steady state analysis is performed; resonance response curves in the forcing plane are presented and the main instabilities are identified. Finally, the global transient response of the system is investigated in order to quantify the degree of safety of the shell in the presence of small perturbations. Since the initial conditions, or even the shell parameters, may vary widely, and indeed are often unknown, attention is given to all possible transient motions. As parameters are varied, transient basins of attraction can undergo quantitative and qualitative changes; hence a stability analysis which only considers the steady-state and neglects this global transient behavior, may be seriously non-conservative.