En el mundo actual es cada vez más evidente la tendencia de cambiar las fuentes de energías tradicionales por otras que sean más limpias, eficientes, y que además estén al alcance del sector rural. Una de estas alternativas energéticas es la energía eólica, para la cual se utilizan máquinas conocidas como aerogeneradores; los cuales convierten la energía cinética del viento en energía eléctrica. Dado que la velocidad del viento aumenta con la altura, se prefiere que los aerogeneradores se ubiquen a cierta distancia suelo, para lo cual cuentan con estructuras que las posicionan a la altura ideal. Dichas estructuras son típicamente torres esbeltas y deben soportar el peso de los equipos, el empuje del viento a lo largo de la estructura, cargas sísmicas, entre otras; por tal motivo el diseño de estos componentes estructurales debe tener en cuenta todos los factores de diseñ...

The thesis at hand is part of a research project that attempts to study and develop vibrissa inspired tactile sensors for object and fluid flow detection. The main focus of the thesis is on the development of a model for a vibrissa-like sensor for obstacle contour recognition under fluid loads. To this end, a mechanical model – based on the non-linear Euler-Bernoulli beam theory – is established. The model includes the main characteristics found in a natural vibrissa, such as elasticity of the base, that acts as the vibrissa follicle; the intrinsic curvature; and conicity. The characteristics are represented as parameters of the model. The model is subjected to a contact load and a fluid flow load, represented by a concentrated load and a distributed load, respectively. Then, the model is transformed into a dimensionless representation for further studies to achieve more general asse...

Steel structures have an ubiquitous presence in several industries due to their availability and low price. Bus super-structures are typically built using structural steel hollow shapes and serve a major role during crashes and rollovers, as they protect the passengers by absorbing the kinetic energy of impacts and dissipating it as plastic deformations. In recent years, composite materials have gained protagonism in numerous applications due to their high specific strength and stiffness. However, costs and manufacturing complexity have made all-composite automotive structures economically unfeasible. Thus, the current tendency is the use of multimaterial structures: using composites only in the zones where they are needed, while keeping an inexpensive material, like steel, elsewhere. Hollow structural shapes, used in bus structures, are susceptible to bending collapse failure during rol...

En el mundo actual es cada vez más evidente la tendencia de cambiar las fuentes de energías tradicionales por otras que sean más limpias, eficientes, y que además estén al alcance del sector rural. Una de estas alternativas energéticas es la energía eólica, para la cual se utilizan máquinas conocidas como aerogeneradores; los cuales convierten la energía cinética del viento en energía eléctrica. Dado que la velocidad del viento aumenta con la altura, se prefiere que los aerogeneradores se ubiquen a cierta distancia suelo, para lo cual cuentan con estructuras que las posicionan a la altura ideal. Dichas estructuras son típicamente torres esbeltas y deben soportar el peso de los equipos, el empuje del viento a lo largo de la estructura, cargas sísmicas, entre otras; por tal motivo el diseño de estos componentes estructurales debe tener en cuenta todos los factores de diseñ...

Steel structures have an ubiquitous presence in several industries due to their availability and low price. Bus super-structures are typically built using structural steel hollow shapes and serve a major role during crashes and rollovers, as they protect the passengers by absorbing the kinetic energy of impacts and dissipating it as plastic deformations. In recent years, composite materials have gained protagonism in numerous applications due to their high specific strength and stiffness. However, costs and manufacturing complexity have made all-composite automotive structures economically unfeasible. Thus, the current tendency is the use of multimaterial structures: using composites only in the zones where they are needed, while keeping an inexpensive material, like steel, elsewhere. Hollow structural shapes, used in bus structures, are susceptible to bending collapse failure during rol...

The thesis at hand is part of a research project that attempts to study and develop vibrissa inspired tactile sensors for object and fluid flow detection. The main focus of the thesis is on the development of a model for a vibrissa-like sensor for obstacle contour recognition under fluid loads. To this end, a mechanical model – based on the non-linear Euler-Bernoulli beam theory – is established. The model includes the main characteristics found in a natural vibrissa, such as elasticity of the base, that acts as the vibrissa follicle; the intrinsic curvature; and conicity. The characteristics are represented as parameters of the model. The model is subjected to a contact load and a fluid flow load, represented by a concentrated load and a distributed load, respectively. Then, the model is transformed into a dimensionless representation for further studies to achieve more general asse...