Actuators are controllable work‐producing devices. A strategy for selecting actuators to meet specified design requirements is described here. A number of considerations enter: the type and characteristics of the actuator, the nature of the power‐source (the “fuel”) that is required to drive it, and the possible need of an interface between the two to convert the energy into a form that the actuator can accept. The strategy is demonstrated by software that includes a database for some 220 actuators drawn from 18 families, and an advanced selection engine. Case studies are used to illustrate its use.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

New fabrication technologies now allow for hybrid sandwich structures, known as X-core, to be manufactured. The X-core panels consist of a pin reinforced polymer foam core with carbon fiber face sheets. Carbon fiber or metallic (Titanium/Steel) pins are inserted into the foam core in the out-of-plane direction and extend from face sheet to face sheet. The through thickness three-point simply supported bending behavior of these panels is used to evaluate the collapse characteristics of the panels. Explicit experimental observations are used to calibrate analytical energy balance models describing the panel collapse as a function of geometry and properties. The mechanical response of X-core sandwich panels is compared to current sandwich materials for material selection.