Nonlinear elastic constitutive relations of residually stressed composites with stiff curved fibres

Applied Mathematics and Mechanics - Mechanical models of residually stressed fibre-reinforced solids, which do not resist bending, have been developed in the literature. However, in some residually...     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FIBROBLAST DUROTAXIS MIGRATION INDUCED BY STIFFNESS GRADIENT OF SUBSTRATE1)

建立了一种细胞趋硬性迁移的理论模型和有限元分析框架,为连续变刚度人工基质的试验设计提供理论依据。考虑了细胞体的黏弹性属性,以及细胞与基质间的配受体动态反应过程,并以配受体合成时间为时间步长,将细胞运动方程化为静力学形式进行求解。对有限元过程提出一种动约束,便于消除其结构矩阵的奇异性。结果表明,模型能够模拟黏着斑内部力的快速波动现象,细胞的运动速度与观测数据一致,可有效模拟20,h以上的长时程问题。     

Rate sensitivity and deformation mechanism of semi-crystalline polymers during instrumented indentation

Instrumented indentation tests using both constant loading rate (CLR) and continuous stiffness measurement (CSM) operation modes were performed to investigate the deformation mechanism and their sensitivity to the deformation rate in semi-crystalline polymers through the quantitative analysis of load-depth loading and unloading curves. The strain rate was constant during the CSM tests, while the strain rate decreased with the increasing of loading time in CLR tests. The mechanical response mechanism of the semi-crystalline polymers to these tests was very complicated because of the combined effects of strain-hardening in the crystal phase and strain-softening in the amorphous phase. Results show that the loading index m reflects the strain-hardening or strain-softening response during indentation. When m > 2, the mechanical response was due to the strain-hardening, and when m < 2, the response was due to strain-softening. A method based on the measured contact hardness was proposed to obtain the unloading stiffness, and the other mechanical parameters could then be determined according to the unloading stiffness.     

Synthesis and characterization of double hydrophilic block copolymers containing semi-rigid and flexible segments

3-Methyl-(E)-stilbene (3MSti) and 4-(diethylamino)-(E)-stilbene (DEASti) monomers are synthesized and polymerized separately with maleic anhydride (MAn) in a strictly alternating fashion using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization techniques. The optimal RAFT chain transfer agents (CTAs) for each copolymerization affect the reaction kinetics and CTA compatibilities. Psuedo-first order polymerization kinetics are demonstrated for the synthesis of poly((3-methyl-(E)-stilbene)-alt-maleic anhydride) (3MSti-alt-MAn) with a thiocarbonylthio CTA (methyl 2-(dodecylthiocarbonothioylthio)−2-methylpropionate, TTCMe). In contrast, a dithioester CTA (cumyl dithiobenzoate, CDB) controls the synthesis of poly((4-(diethylamino)-(E)-stilbene)-alt-maleic anhydride) (DEASti-alt-MAn) with pseudo-first order polymerization kinetics. DEASti-alt-MAn is chain extended with 4-acryloylmorpholine (ACMO) to synthesize diblock copolymers and subsequently converted to a double hydrophilic polyampholyte block copolymers (poly((4-(diethylamino)-(E)-stilbene)-alt-maleic acid))-b-acryloylmorpholine) (DEASti-alt-MA)-b-ACMO) via acid hydrolysis. The isoelectric point and dissociation behavior of these maleic acid-containing copolymers are determined using ζ-potential and acid–base titrations, respectively. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 219–227     

变刚度层叠梁的力学性能研究

为满足不同场景下的功能需求，变刚度结构得到越来越广泛的应用．以机器人手臂为例，在执行操作时，需要其手臂的结构刚度足够大，避免出现过大的扭曲和变形，而在与人交互时，又需要其结构足够柔软，以保证在此过程中与人交互的安全性．该类变刚度结构可根据需求通过外部激励在柔性和刚性状态之间自由切换．在该文章中，研究分析了层叠梁结构，通过理论推导和数值模拟，对其力学性能做出了很好的预测，同时为此类结构的研究提供了有效可靠的思路和方法．     

Bioactive Phenylboronic Acid-Functionalized Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels Induce Chondro-Aggregates and Promote Chondrocyte Phenotype

Hydrogels are extensively investigated as biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds in tissue engineering. The physiological properties of ECM affect cellular behaviors, which is an inspiration for cell-based therapies. Photocurable hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel (AHAMA-PBA) modified with 3-aminophenylboronic acid, sodium periodate, and methacrylic anhydride simultaneously is constructed in this study. Chondrocytes are then cultured on the surface of the hydrogels to evaluate the effect of the physicochemical properties of the hydrogels on modulating cellular behaviors. Cell viability assays demonstrate that the hydrogel is non-toxic to chondrocytes. The existence of phenylboronic acid (PBA) moieties enhances the interaction of chondrocytes and hydrogel, promoting cell adhesion and aggregation through filopodia. RT-PCR indicates that the gene expression levels of type II collagen, Aggrecan, and Sox9 are significantly up-regulated in chondrocytes cultured on hydrogels. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the hydrogels have a significant effect on the cell phenotype, with soft gels (≈2 kPa) promoting chondrocytes to exhibit a hyaline phenotype. Overall, PBA-functionalized HA hydrogel with low stiffness exhibits the best effect on promoting the chondrocyte phenotype, which is a promising biomaterial for cartilage regeneration.     

Electrical Stimulation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Conductive Substrates Promotes Neural Priming

Electrical stimulation (ES) within a conductive scaffold is potentially beneficial in encouraging the differentiation of stem cells toward a neuronal phenotype. To improve stem cell-based regenerative therapies, it is essential to use electroconductive scaffolds with appropriate stiffnesses to regulate the amount and location of ES delivery. Herein, biodegradable electroconductive substrates with different stiffnesses are fabricated from chitosan-grafted-polyaniline (CS-g-PANI) copolymers. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) cultured on soft conductive scaffolds show a morphological change with significant filopodial elongation after electrically stimulated culture along with upregulation of neuronal markers and downregulation of glial markers. Compared to stiff conductive scaffolds and non-conductive CS scaffolds, soft conductive CS-g-PANI scaffolds promote increased expression of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and neurofilament heavy chain (NF-H) after application of ES. At the same time, there is a decrease in the expression of the glial markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin after ES. Furthermore, the elevation of intracellular calcium [Ca²⁺] during spontaneous, cell-generated Ca²⁺ transients further suggests that electric field stimulation of hMSCs cultured on conductive substrates can promote a neural-like phenotype. The findings suggest that the combination of the soft conductive CS-g-PANI substrate and ES is a promising new tool for enhancing neuronal tissue engineering outcomes.     

Ultrastiff Hydrogels Prepared by Schiff's Base Reaction of Bis(p‐Formylphenyl) Sebacate and Pillar[5]arene Appended with Multiple Hydrazides

Herein a facile method is reported to prepare polymer gels based on the formation of acylhydrazone bond under mild conditions. A pillar[5]arene derivative appended with ten hydrazide groups provides multiple sites for the reaction with the aldehyde groups of bis(p‐formylphenyl) sebacate in the presence of a small amount of HCl as the catalyst in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), producing transparent polymer organogels. The mechanical properties of gels can be easily tuned by the molar ratio of the reactant compounds. After solvent exchange from DMSO to water, translucent polymer hydrogels with dramatically enhanced strength and stiffness are obtained. The tensile breaking stress and Young's modulus of hydrogels are 20−60 and 1.2–2.7 MPa, respectively, 100 and 20 times those of the corresponding organogels. These robust hydrogels with ultrahigh stiffness should find applications such as in load‐bearing artificial organs. This work should merit designing functional materials using other macrocycles.

     

T300/648迭层板接头挤压疲劳损伤参数的选择与测定

本文对碳纤维增强复合材料迭层板(C.F.R.P)接头在不同环境条件下的挤压疲劳损伤扩展进行了实验研究.并根据“剩余强度,剩余刚度”理论和“疲劳模量”概念,讨论了接头的刚度下降和强度变化.由此提出了“损伤参数”D的定义和测量方法;并对损伤试件,进行了X射线检测分析,验证了累积损伤的扩展.     

Fixed Final Time Optimal Control via Simple Cell Mapping

A cell mapping strategy based on Bellman'sPrinciple of optimality (BP) is proposed to solve the fixed final time optimalcontrol of strongly nonlinear systems with state and control bounds. Thefixed final time problem is transformed into a fixed final time-fixed finalstate optimal control problem by reversing the time. This transformationallows to solve the problem in the framework of the BP. Backward searchingalgorithms within the cell mapping context are used to obtain the solution ofthe new problem. This approach reduces considerably the computational effortrequired for the original problem when it is solved by a forward searchingapproach. The vibration control problem of damped and undamped variablestiffness oscillators with bounded stiffness tuning range is studied todemonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. A numerical study on theconvergence of the method is also presented.