Stress relaxation,creep, and internal stresses in high density polyethylene filled with calcium carbonate

The effect of filling high density polyethylene (HDPE) with calcium carbonate (up to 50% by weight) on the stress relaxation and the creep in uniaxial extension at room temperature was investigated. The addition of CaCO₃ was found to have a strong influence on the flow behaviour of HDPE. In particular, it was observed that the internal stress level, calculated from relaxation data, increased markedly with the filler content. The reduction in creep rate of the filled samples suggested that the CaCO₃-particles induce a change in the structure of the HDPE-interphase close to the filler surface. This was supported by dynamic mechanical measurements performed at low temperatures on swollen HDPE-CaCO₃ samples.     

A new phenomenon of acoustic streaming

This paper describes a new phenomenon of acoustic streaming which takes place when a Helmholtz resonator is excited by an inside sound source with resonant frequency, and takes the form of a strong turbulent jet. The flow visualizations, hot wire and LDV measurements are combined to investigate the process of acoustic streaming. It is found that this kind of acoustic streaming results from the contribution of Reynolds stress.     

Field-induced gelation, yield stress, and fragility of an electro-rheological suspension

 Electro-rheological suspensions (ERS) are known to undergo liquid-to-solid transition under the application of an electric field. Long-range interaction between neighboring particles results in sample-spanning particulate structures which behave as soft solids. Here, we studied the rheological expression of this field-induced transition which has many similarities with chemical gelation. This similarity shows in mechanical spectroscopy on a suspension of monodisperse silica in PDMS as model ERS. Upon application of the electric field, dynamic moduli G′, G′′ grow by orders of magnitude and evolve in a pattern which is otherwise typical for gelation of network polymers (random chemical or physical gelation). At the gel point, the slow dynamics is governed by power-law relaxation behavior (frequency-independent tan δ). A low field strength is sufficient to reach the gel point and, correspondingly, the percolating particle structure at the gel point is still very fragile. It can be broken by the imposition of low stress. For inducing a finite yield stress, the field strength needs to be increased further until the long-range electrostatic interaction generates string-like particle alignments which become clearly visible under the optical microscope. The onset of fragile connectivity was defined experimentally by the tan δ method. The ERS was probed dynamically at low frequencies where the transition is most pronounced, and also in steady shear where the rate of structure formation equals the rate of internal breaking. Received: 1 May 2001 Accepted: 11 August 2001     

Stress amplification and plastic flow for spheroidal shells: Applications to myopia

Amplification of effective stress and plastic strain rates after yielding are derived for the anisotropic stress fields of the prolate and oblate spheroidal shells as models of the myopic and hyperopic eyes. Dimensionless closed-form results are presented for arbitrary axis ratio with both constant shell thickness and variable shell thickness, using the constant scleral mass assumption. The results show that the myopic and hyperopic eyes are susceptible to failure by plastic yielding at the equator and pole, respectively, for high intraocular pressures. Experimental data from the equatorial zone of rabbit sclera shows scleral yielding and plastic flow for intraocular pressures greater than 32 mm Hg. Practical applications include glaucoma and pathological myopia.     

The mechanical problems in tumor and tumor microenvironment

肿瘤微环境包括肿瘤细胞、间质细胞、细胞外基质等.其在肿瘤的生长和发展过程中起着关键作用.肿瘤的微环境与正常组织的微环境有着显著的不同.肿瘤中的压应力对微环境有着多方面的影响, 例如, 可调控血管与淋巴管的功能, 造成代谢异常和间质高压, 压缩间隙基质, 增大药物输运的困难, 促进间质细胞变异并诱导肿瘤细胞转移. 因此, 肿瘤中的力学因素引起了广泛关注.本文总结了肿瘤及其微环境力学问题的研究进展, 讨论了肿瘤微环境中应力产生、药物输运、肿瘤转移等问题, 介绍了肿瘤微环境正常化的策略及其对肿瘤治疗的意义.     

On the boundary value problem of elastostatics in terms of stresses

The boundary value problem of elastostatics in terms of six components of the stress consists of nine equations and three boundary conditions. In this paper, we distinguished between the possible cases and impossible cases, i.e., the problem is or is not equivalent to a boundary value problem of six equations and six boundary conditions.     

Shear induced phase transitions in highly dilute aqueous detergent solutions

Aqueous solutions of some cationic detergents show rheopectic behaviour at very low concentrations. Rheological measurements and the electrical anisotropy of the streaming solutions indicate that the rheopectic behaviour of the solutions is due to a shear induced phase transition.     

Effect of Isochronous Annealing on the Formation of Shear Bands in the Vicinity of a Stress Concentrator on the Surface of Iron-Based Amorphous Alloys

The effect of isochronous annealing on the formation of shear bands in the vicinity of a stress concentrator on the surface of an amorphous material is studied. Using the local deformation method, a parameter is introduced to determine the temperature interval in which amorphous and crystal phases coexist.     

Thermal analysis of the roll in the strip casting process

Coiled strip can be directly produced through the twin-roll strip casting process from the melt by incorporating casting and hot rolling together into a single step. In this unique process, the strip formation from the molten metal critically relies upon the casting rolls. Thus, the design of the rolls is extremely essential. The coupled heat transfer and deformation analysis of the casting roll is carried out in a two-dimensional numerical model, using a finite element program (MARC) to examine the thermal stress and displacement. The effects of several factors such as the nickel overlay thickness on the roll surface, the casting speed, and the roll diameter on thermal characteristics are investigated.     

Steady-shear viscosity and transient stress response for elasto-thixotropic fluids

A phenomenological model for dispersed systems which exhibit complex rheological behaviour such as shear and time-dependent viscosity, yield stress, and elasticity is proposed. The model extends the Quemeda model to describe the viscosity function with a structural parameter λ which varies according to different kinetic orders of particle aggregation and segregation. The transient stress response is obtained by solving an instantaneous Maxwell model with an assumed shear modulus functionG of the same form as the viscosity function η. Accuracy of the proposed model is verified experimentally with the results obtained for two oil (creosote)/water emulsions. The model that gives the best fit of experimental data appears to be the one with kinetic ordersn=m=2.