Growth,mass transfer,and remodeling in fiber-reinforced,multi-constituent materials

We represent a biological tissue by a multi-constituent, fiber-reinforced material, in which we consider two phases: fluid, and a fiber-reinforced solid. Among the various processes that may occur in such a system, we study growth, mass transfer, and remodeling. To us, mass transfer is the reciprocal exchange of constituents between the phases, growth is the variation of mass of the system in response to interactions with the surrounding environment, and remodeling is the evolution of its internal structure. We embrace the theory according to which these events, which lead to a structural reorganization of the system and anelastic deformations, require the introduction of balance laws, which complete the physical picture offered by the standard ones. The former are said to be non-standard. Our purposes are to determine the rates of anelastic deformation related to mass transfer and growth, and to study fiber reorientation in the case of a statistical distribution of fibers. In particular, we discuss the use of the non-standard balance laws in modeling transfer of mass, and compare our results with a formulation in which such balance laws are not introduced.     

A three-dimensional phenomenological model for martensite reorientation in shape memory alloys

In this work, we propose a macroscopic phenomenological model that is based on the classical framework of thermodynamics of irreversible processes and accounts for the effect of multiaxial stress states and non-proportional loading histories. The model is able to account for the evolution of both twinned and detwinned martensite. Moreover, reorientation of the product phase according to loading direction is specifically accounted for. Towards this purpose the inelastic strain is split into two contributions deriving, respectively, from creation of detwinned martensite and reorientation of previously existing martensite variants. Computational tests demonstrate the ability of the model to simulate the main aspects of the shape memory response in a one-dimensional setting and some of the features that have been experimentally found in the case of multiaxial non-proportional loading histories. Experimental non-proportional loading paths have also been simulated and a good qualitative agreement between numerical and experimental response is observed.     

A cell-based constitutive model for embryonic epithelia and other planar aggregates of biological cells

Embryonic epithelia are shown to have in common with plastic materials a number of key characteristics, including fabric evolution, “yielding”, “particle” (cell) rearrangement, energy dissipation, dependence of stress on fabric and irreversibility of deformation. The strains apparent at the tissue level can be large (several hundred percent over the course of 5–10 h), and are possible because of in-plane cell rearrangement. We propose a cell-based constitutive model, the first of its kind, to relate in-plane stresses, tissue deformations, evolution of cellular fabric (cell size, shape and orientation), mitosis and cell rearrangement. The governing equations are based on results from finite element models, statistical mechanics analyses and experiments. The constitutive model overcomes drawbacks of existing finite element models where cells are modeled using multiple elements, and it confirms that tissue fabric is a primary determinant of stress and deformation. Fabric predictions made using the model are as good as the available data, even when strain histories are complex or multiple biological processes are active simultaneously. The model provides insights into the mechanics of embryonic epithelia and other labile biological tissues, and it sets the stage for future computational studies of whole embryos.     

Hamiltonian structures of dynamics of a gyrostat in a gravitational field

The dynamics of a gyrostat in a gravitational field is a fundamental problem in celestial mechanics and space engineering. This paper investigates this problem in the framework of geometric mechanics. Based on the natural symplectic structure, non-canonical Hamiltonian structures of this problem are derived in different sets of coordinates of the phase space. These different coordinates are suitable for different applications. Corresponding Poisson tensors and Casimir functions, which govern the phase flow and phase space structures of the system, are obtained in a differential geometric method. Equations of motion, as well as expressions of the force and torque, are derived in terms of potential derivatives. We uncover the underlying Lie group framework of the problem, and we also provide a systemic approach for equations of motion. By assuming that the gravitational field is axis-symmetrical and central, SO(2) and SO(3) symmetries are introduced into the general problem respectively. Using these symmetries, we carry out two reduction processes and work out the Poisson tensors of the reduced systems. Our results in the central gravitational filed are in consistent with previous results. By these reductions, we show how the symmetry of the problem affects the phase space structures. The tools of geometric mechanics used here provide an access to several powerful techniques, such as the determination of relative equilibria on the reduced system, the energy-Casimir method for determining the stability of equilibria, the variational integrators for greater accuracy in the numerical simulation and the geometric control theory for control problems.     

Remodeling of biological tissue: Mechanically induced reorientation of a transversely isotropic chain network

A new class of micromechanically motivated chain network models for soft biological tissues is presented. On the microlevel, it is based on the statistics of long chain molecules. A wormlike chain model is applied to capture the behavior of the collagen microfibrils. On the macrolevel, the network of collagen chains is represented by a transversely isotropic eight chain unit cell introducing one characteristic material axis. Biomechanically induced remodeling is captured by allowing for a continuous reorientation of the predominant unit cell axis driven by a biomechanical stimulus. To this end, we adopt the gradual alignment of the unit cell axis with the direction of maximum principal strain. The evolution of the unit cell axis’ orientation is governed by a first-order rate equation. For the temporal discretization of the remodeling rate equation, we suggest an exponential update scheme of Euler-Rodrigues type. For the spatial discretization, a finite element strategy is applied which introduces the current individual cell orientation as an internal variable on the integration point level. Selected model problems are analyzed to illustrate the basic features of the new model. Finally, the presented approach is applied to the biomechanically relevant boundary value problem of an in vitro engineered functional tendon construct.     

Water structures inside and outside single-walled carbon nanotubes under perpendicular electric field

The structures of water inside and outside(6,6),(8,8), and(10,10) singlewalled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) under an electric field perpendicular to the tube axis are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that dipole reorientation induced by electric field plays a significant role on the structures of confined water inside and outside SWCNTs. Inside SWCNTs, the average water occupancy and the average number of hydrogen bonds(H-bonds) per water molecule decrease as the electric intensity increases. Because the field intensity is sufciently strong, the initial water structures inside the SWCNTs are destroyed, and the isolated water clusters are found. Outside SWCNTs, the azimuthal distributions of the density and the average number of H-bonds per water molecule around the solid walls become more and more asymmetric as the electric intensity increases. The percentages of water molecules involved in 0–5 H-bonds for all the three types of SWCNTs under diferent field intensities are displayed. The results show that those water molecules involved with most H-bonds are the most important to hold the original structures. When the electric field direction is parallel with the original preferred orientation, the density and the H-bond connections in water will be increased; when the electric field direction is perpendicular to the original preferred orientation, the density and the H-bond connections in water will be decreased.     

Orientational instability of a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal layer

The problem of periodic domain initiation in a thin lyotropic nematic liquid crystal layer is studied. This layer has a planar director initial orientation, but the anchoring energy is minimized by the homeotropic one. The periodic structures whose wave vector is perpendicular to the director exist during the director reorientation process from the planar orientation to the homeotropic one when the reorientation wave front appears. It is shown that the divergent terms of the Prank orientation elasticity energy plays an important role in this effect. The saddle-splay Prank constant and the anisotropic anchoring energy coefficient are estimated.     

Chaotic attitude and reorientation maneuver for completely liquid-filled spacecraft with flexible appendage

The present paper investigates the chaotic attitude dynamics and reorientation maneuver for completely viscous liquid-filled spacecraft with flexible appendage. All of the equations of motion are derived by using Lagrangian mechanics and then transformed into a form consisting of an unperturbed part plus perturbed terms so that the system＇s nonlinear characteristics can be exploited in phase space. Emphases are laid on the chaotic attitude dynamics produced from certain sets of physical parameter values of the spacecraft when energy dissipation acts to derive the body from minor to major axis spin. Numerical solutions of these equations show that the attitude dynamics of liquid-filled flexible spacecraft possesses characteristics common to random, non- periodic solutions and chaos, and it is demonstrated that the desired reorientation maneuver is guaranteed by using a pair of thruster impulses. The control strategy for reorientation maneuver is designed and the numerical simulation results are presented for both the uncontrolled and controlled spins transition.     

On the modeling of evolving anisotropy and large strains in pearlitic steel

A phenomenological model for deformation induced evolution of anisotropy at large strains in pearlitic steel is proposed. The modeled anisotropy is based on a homogenization of an ideal pearlitic microstructure. An areal affine type of reorientation is assumed for the individual grains. Furthermore, a yield criterion of the Hill type is proposed and motivated from the grain reorientation. In each pearlitic grain the cementite lamellas have a privileged direction. The symmetry group of each individual grain is therefore considered transversally isotropic. In a virgin material, the privileged directions of the different grains are randomly oriented, which allows for the interpretation that the material on the macroscopic length scale is initially isotropic. However, the cementite lamellas in the grains tend to align after large stretching or shearing deformation. The modeled evolution of anisotropy on the macroscopic length scale shows a saturation characteristics under large deformations.     

Computational mechanics modelling of cell-substrate contact during cyclic substrate deformation

Experimental testing carried out on various adherent cell types cultured on deformable substrates reveals specific patterns of cell reorientation in response to cyclic stretching of the substrate. In Wang et al. (2001. Specificity of endothelial cell reorientation in response to cyclic mechanical stretching. J. Biomech. 34, 1563), a number of substrate deformation modes were considered: in cases where lateral deformation of the substrate was prohibited (uniaxial case) cells were found to elongate perpendicular to the stretch direction, whereas in cases where the substrate was laterally unrestrained (biaxial case) cells were found to elongate at an angle to the stretch direction. The alignment directions in both cases corresponded to directions of minimum substrate strain. However, the mechanisms underlying such behaviour are not apparent from such in-vitro testing and consequently are not well understood. In this study finite element models are developed in order to investigate the role of cell viscoelasticity in cell debonding and cell realignment under conditions of cyclic substrate stretching using cohesive zone formulations to simulate cell-substrate interfacial behaviour. The characteristic length scale used in such models is based on the length of the receptor-ligand bonds at the cell-substrate interface. Two-dimensional simulations reveal that permanent debonding at the cell-substrate interface occurs due to the accumulation of strain concentrations in the cell. Inclusion of a nucleus in two-dimensional models is shown to have little effect on debonding while discrete cell-substrate contact at focal adhesion sites results in a completion of debonding in fewer cycles. Three-dimensional cohesive zone models are developed in order to compute changes in cell-substrate contact under the aforementioned uniaxial and biaxial modes of substrate deformation. Results reveal that, due to the accumulation of tensile and compressive strains in the cell under cyclic deformation, definite patterns of cell-substrate contact area evolution are computed. With continued cycling, equilibrium contact area profiles with definite orientations are established. These orientations are found to be coincidental with the preferential cell orientation directions seen in the experiments. As no changes in cell morphology are predicted by the models it is concluded that permanent breaking of cell-substrate bonds constitutes the first stage in the process of cell alignment under such mechanical loading.     

Modeling of growth and remodeling in soft biological tissues with multiple constituents

Among the various important characteristics of biological tissues is their ability to grow and remodel. It is well-known that one of the primary triggers behind the growth and remodeling process is changes in the mechanical environment, for instance changes in stress, strain, etc. These mechanisms of mechanotransduction are the driving force behind many changes in structure and function including growth and remodeling. The purpose of this article is to formulate better constitutive equations for the stress in tissues with multiple constituents undergoing growth and remodeling. This is a very complex problem and is of tremendous importance. Here, we do the modeling from a mechanics point of view, utilizing the theory of natural configurations coupled with population dynamics to accurately model the production and removal of the different constituents that comprise the tissue. This is accomplished by deriving a generalized McKendrick equation for growth and remodeling and has the advantage of directly including the age distribution of constituents into the model. The population distribution function is then used to determine the stress in the tissue.     

应力强度因子分析的三角形Williams单元

弹性断裂分析的Williams广义参数单元计算模型中忽略了紧邻裂尖的微区域,为了进一步完善该计算模型,本文提出并建立了三角形Williams单元。首先围绕裂尖将奇异区均匀分割为有限个三角形单元,利用改进的Williams级数建立该单元的整体位移场计算模型;其次沿径向将该三角形单元进一步离散为多个相似四边形微单元和裂尖三角形微单元,并利用经典有限元理论建立微单元的局部位移场计算模型;然后利用整体位移场控制各微单元结点位移,并在此基础上研究建立裂尖奇异区三角形Williams单元及其控制方程。该单元模型中含有与裂尖应力强度因子相关的参数,能够直接计算裂尖处的应力强度因子。最后结合算例详细分析了三角形Williams单元计算模型中径向离散因子、离散数、Williams级数项对计算结果的影响。算例分析表明,三角形Williams单元所得的应力强度因子具有对奇异区尺寸不敏感的优点,且收敛快,计算精度高。     

Analysis of Damage and Failure in Anisotropic Ductile Metals Based on Biaxial Experiments with the H-Specimen

Background

Dependence of strength and failure behavior of anisotropic ductile metals on loading direction and on stress state has been indicated by many experiments. To realistically predict safety and lifetime of structures these effects must be taken into account in material models and numerical analysis.

Objective

The influence of stress state and loading direction on damage and failure behavior of the anisotropic aluminum alloy EN AW-2017A is investigated.

Methods

New biaxial experiments and numerical simulations have been performed with the H-specimen under different load ratios. Digital image correlation shows evolution of strain fields and scanning electron microscopy is used to visualize failure modes on fracture surfaces. Corresponding numerical studies predict stress states to explain damage and fracture processes on the micro-scale.

Results

The stress state, the load ratio and the loading direction with respect to the principal axes of anisotropy affect the width and orientation of localized strain fields and the formation of damage mechanisms and fracture modes at the micro-level.

Conclusions

The enhanced experimental program with biaxial tests considering different loading directions and load ratios is suggested for characterization of anisotropic metals.

     

Grain orientation fragmentation in hot-deformed aluminium: Experiment and simulation

Grain orientation fragmentation is studied in a set of 176 individual grains of an aluminium polycrystal deformed in plane strain compression at 400 °C to a strain of $\epsilon =1.2$. Experimental observations were made by EBSD at successive strains of 0, 0.42, 0.77 and 1.2 on the internal surface of a split sample. Statistics of the in-grain orientation spreads were computed based on approximately 3000 orientation measurements per grain. A high-resolution finite element simulation (about 1000 elements per grain) was carried out on a polycrystal whose grains were assigned the initial experimental crystal orientations. The experimental and simulation results were compared in terms of the fractions of grains that exhibit fragmentation and the lattice orientations of the fragmenting grains. The numbers of fragmented grains increase with strain, reaching values of 10% in the experiment (2-D characterization) and 20% in the simulation (3-D characterization) at $\epsilon =1.2$. For both experiment and simulation, fragmentation is more likely in grains whose lattice is symmetrically oriented with respect to the loading axes. Under plane strain compression, the orientations of the fragmented grains coincide with regions of orientation space in which the reorientation velocity field in the plane perpendicular to the reorientation velocity direction is unstable.     

Substrate stretching and reorganization of stress fibers as a finite elasticity problem

It is well known that substrate stretching reorganizes the actin cytoskeleton of an adherent cell. Experiments have proved that the stress fibers are reoriented into one or two distinct directions. It is further pointed out that reorientation of the stress fibers phenomena are observed with quite high strains, where linear elasticity theory is not valid. Therefore, the existing linear theories for mechanics interpretation of those phenomena are not satisfactory. The experimental evidence of the existence of two distinct directions of the reorientation indicates a co-existence of phases non-linear elastic phenomenon. Further that observation is quite strong evidence that the strain energy density function should be non-convex. The reorganization of the stress fibers under uniaxial substrate stretching is studied as a non-linear elastic stability problem. Adapting the global (Maxwell’s) criterion for stability, various phenomena, concerning the reorientation of the stress fibers, are interpreted into the context of finite elasticity. The experiments demonstrate co-existence of phases phenomena that are justified in the present study. The influence of various factors like contractility and extracellular stretching is demonstrated. Furthermore, the non-convexity factor is attributed to the influence of the small GTPase Rho regulating the formation of the actin stress fibers. The predominant final stress fibers placement that is transverse to the extracellular stress direction and appears in long time after the co-existence of phases placement is also justified.     

Wrinkle-crease interaction behavior simulation of a rectangular membrane under shearing

Wrinkling analysis of a rectangular membrane with a single crease under shearing is performed to understand the wrinkle-crease interaction behaviors.The crease is considered by introducing the residual stresses from creasing and the effective modulus into the baseline configuration with assumed circular cross-sectional crease geometry.The wrinkling analysis of the creased membrane is then performed by using the direct perturb-force(DP) simulation technique which is based on our modified displacement components(MDC) method.Results reveal that the crease may influence the stress transfer path in the membrane and further change the wrinkling direction.The crease appears to improve the bending stiffness of the membrane which has an effective resistance on the wrinkling evolution.The effects of the crease orientation on wrinkle-crease interaction are studied toward the end of this paper.The results show that the wrinkling amplitude,wavelength,and direction increase as the crease orientation increases,and the wrinkling number decreases with the increasing crease orientation.These re-sults will be of great benefit to the analysis and the control of the wrinkles in the membrane structures.     

Orientation instability of the layer of a nematic liquid crystal

The origin of periodic structures in a layer of a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal observed in the director (vector, describing the anisotropic properties of the medium) reorientation experiment is studied. Such perturbations with the wavevector perpendicular to the initial orientation can develop in a liquid crystal layer in the unstable equilibrium state when the director is parallel to the walls under the condition that its orthogonality to the boundary corresponds to the minimum anchoring energy. It is shown that the linear dependence of the domain period on the layer thickness observed experimentally can be theoretically described when the Frank orientation elasticity energy is considered in the most general form taking the divergence terms into account and the anchoring energy of orientation is small as compared with the bulk energy. A relation between the coefficient of the divergence terms (saddlesplay elastic constant) and two other coefficients in the Frank energy is obtained.     

Quantum Euler beam—QUEB: modeling nanobeams vibration

The theory of vibration of engineering structures belongs to a known chapter of mechanics. Nevertheless, new emerging technologies operating at the smallest scales open a completely new landscape in the field of nanodevices, nanostructured materials as well as biological systems. Nanoscale structures are always involved and characterized by extremely high-frequency vibrations and very small energy, implying quantum effects. This approach, even for simple oscillators, implies both conceptual and mathematical difficulties. It is a matter of fact that the analysis of complex structures, as for example beams and shells, has never been considered in the physical and engineering recent literature in a complete quantum-mechanical context using directly the Schrodinger’s equation. The present paper proposes an attempt in this direction, introducing a quantum Euler beam, the QUEB model at the ground state energy. The idea is to shape a new model for flexural structures that is mathematically similar to those used in classical mechanics, but mimicking the peculiarity of the quantum motion.     

Discrete contact mechanics of a fibrillar surface with backing layer interactions

The contact mechanics of a fibrillar micro-fabricated surface structure made of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) is studied. The attachment and detachment of individual fibrils to and from a spherical indenter upon approach and retraction are detected as jumps in force and stiffness. A quantitative model describes the stiffness values by taking into account the deformation of the fibrils and the backing layer. The results emphasize the importance of long-range interactions in the contact mechanics of elastic materials and confirm some of the important concepts underlying the development of fibrillar adhesive materials.     

Mechanics Applied to Skeletal Ontogeny and Phylogeny

The musculo-skeletal system serves the mechanical function of creating motion and transmitting loads. It is made up mainly of four components: bone, cartilage, muscle and fibrous connective tissue. These have evolved over millions of years into the complex and diverse shapes of the animal skeleton. The skeleton, however, is not built to a static plan: it can adapt to mechanical forces during growth, it can remodel if the forces change, and it can regenerate if it is damaged. In this paper, the regulation of skeletal construction by mechanical forces is analyzed from both ontogenetic and phylogenetic standpoints. In the first part, models of biomechanical processes that act during skeletal ontogenesis – tissue differentiation and bone remodeling – are presented and, in the second, the evolution of the middle ear is used as an example of biomechanical change in skeletal phylogenesis. Because the constitutive laws for skeletal tissues are relatively well understood, and because the skeleton is preserved in the fossil record, application of mechanics to skeletal evolution seems to present a good opportunity to explore the relationships governing ontogenetic adaptations and phylogenetic change.