In the paper, a solution to the problem of elastic deformation of thin-walled shell structures with complex shapes within the theory of geometrically non-linear shells has been presented. It is a modification of the Newton-Raphson method. In a variational formulation, the problem is based on a Lagrange’s functional for increments of displacements. The method has been applied to investigations of a harmonic drive, in particular to analysis of the stress state in the flexspline with a variable curvature as well as bearings of the generator. For verification of the obtained results, a more adequate FEM model calculated by ANSYS has been used.
The potential of organic wastes in Ukraine for biogas production and the prospects of using the family-type biogas plants for this purpose are shown. In the biogas laboratory of the Ukrainian National Forestry University the efficiency of the anaerobic mesophilic digestion of chicken manure of Poltava poultry farm, Kamianets-Podilsky poultry farm and sewage sludge from Lviv wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated. Different integral indicators of the biogas production and significantly different dynamics of its formation over time were obtained for three investigated substrates. The value of average specific biogas production from the sewage sludge of Lviv WWTP is 0.494 dm3∙(day∙kg FM)–1, which is 5.1 times more comparing the chicken manure of Kamianets-Podilsky poultry farm and 8.0 times more than for the chicken manure of Poltava poultry farm. Strong negative effect of antibiotic treatment of chickens on methane contentin the obtained biogas was established experimentally.