3D printed,bio-inspired prototypes and analytical models for structured suture interfaces with geometrically-tuned deformation and failure behavior

Geometrically structured interfaces in nature possess enhanced, and often surprising, mechanical properties, and provide inspiration for materials design. This paper investigates the mechanics of deformation and failure mechanisms of suture interface designs through analytical models and experiments on 3D printed polymer physical prototypes. Suture waveforms with generalized trapezoidal geometries (trapezoidal, rectangular, anti-trapezoidal, and triangular) are studied and characterized by several important geometric parameters: the presence or absence of a bonded tip region, the tip angle, and the geometry. It is shown that a wide range (in some cases as great as an order of magnitude) in stiffness, strength, and toughness is achievable dependent on tip bonding, tip angle, and geometry. Suture interfaces with a bonded tip region exhibit a higher initial stiffness due to the greater load bearing by the skeletal teeth, a double peak in the stress–strain curve corresponding to the failure of the bonded tip and the failure of the slanted interface region or tooth, respectively, and an additional failure and toughening mechanism due to the failure of the bonded tip. Anti-trapezoidal geometries promote the greatest amplification of properties for suture interfaces with a bonded tip due the large tip interface area. The tip angle and geometry govern the stress distributions in the teeth and the ratio of normal to shear stresses in the interfacial layers, which together determine the failure mechanism of the interface and/or the teeth. Rectangular suture interfaces fail by simple shearing of the interfaces. Trapezoidal and triangular suture interfaces fail by a combination of shear and tensile normal stresses in the interface, leading to plastic deformation, cavitation events, and subsequent stretching of interface ligaments with mostly elastic deformation in the teeth. Anti-trapezoidal suture interfaces with small tip angles have high stress concentrations in the teeth and fail catastrophically by tooth failure, whereas larger tip angles exhibit a shear failure of the interfaces. Therefore, larger tip angles and trapezoidal or triangular geometries promote graceful failure, and smaller tip angles and anti-trapezoidal geometries promote more brittle-like failure. This dependence is reminiscent of biological systems, which exhibit a range of failure behaviors with limited materials and varied geometry. Triangular geometries uniquely exhibit uniform stress distributions in its teeth and promote the greatest amplification of mechanical properties. In both the bonded and unbonded cases, the predictions from the presented analytical models and experimental results on 3D printed prototypes show excellent agreement. This validates the analytical models and allows for the models to be used as a tool for the design of new materials and interfaces with tailored mechanical behavior.     

Assessment of stiffness changes in the ex vivo porcine aortic wall using magnetic resonance elastography

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive phase-contrast technique for estimating the mechanical properties of tissues by imaging propagating mechanical waves within the tissue. In this study, we hypothesize that changes in arterial wall stiffness, experimentally induced by formalin fixation, can be measured using MRE in ex vivo porcine aortas. In agreement with our hypothesis, the significant stiffness increase after sample fixation was clearly demonstrated by MRE and confirmed by mechanical testing. The results indicate that MRE can be used to examine the stiffness changes of the aorta. This study has provided evidence of the effectiveness of using MRE to directly assess the stiffness change in aortic wall. The results offer motivation to pursue MRE as a noninvasive method for the evaluation of arterial wall mechanical properties.     

Application of fuzzy sets to transient analysis of space structures

An application of fuzzy sets, in conjunction with finite elements, to the transient analysis of a precision-deployable space structure is presented. The structural members are modeled by using beam finite elements, and the structure's latch joint is modeled by using a spring–damper–Coulomb friction element. Two types of transient response simulations are performed: slow transient load–deflection response and transient impulse response. The first simulation is used to evaluate the stiffness and buckling loads at the structure's tip. The second simulation is used to evaluate the structure's natural frequencies, mode shapes and the precision of the final shape. For each simulation the possibility distributions of various response quantities are obtained. Fuzzy sets are used to represent three beam properties, namely: damping coefficient, bending stiffness, and axial stiffness; as well as two joint parameters: Coulomb friction force and damping coefficient. Fuzzy set techniques provide an insight into the range of possible responses associated with the combined selected variations in the system parameters.     

Stiffness in numerical initial-value problems

This paper reviews various aspects of stiffness in the numerical solution of initial-value problems for systems of ordinary differential equations.     

A Stiffness Reduction Method for efficient absorption of waves at boundaries for use in commercial Finite Element codes

Commercially available Finite Element packages are being used increasingly for modelling elastic wave propagation problems. Demand for improved capability has resulted in a drive to maximise the efficiency of the solver whilst maintaining a reliable solution. Modelling waves in unbound elastic media to high levels of accuracy presents a challenge for commercial packages, requiring the removal of unwanted reflections from model boundaries. For time domain explicit solvers, Absorbing Layers by Increasing Damping (ALID) have proven successful because they offer flexible application to modellers and, unlike the Perfectly Matched Layers (PMLs) approach, they are readily implemented in most commercial Finite Element software without requiring access to the source code. However, despite good overall performance, this technique requires the spatial model to extend significantly outside the domain of interest. Here, a Stiffness Reduction Method (SRM) has been developed that operates within a significantly reduced spatial domain. The technique is applied by altering the damping and stiffness matrices of the system, inducing decay of any incident wave. Absorbing region variables are expressed as a function of known model constants, helping to apply the technique to generic elastodynamic problems. The SRM has been shown to perform significantly better than ALID, with results confirmed by both numerical and analytical means.     

ORDER RESULTS OF GENERAL LINEAR METHODS FOR MULTIPLY STIFF SINGULAR PERTURBATION PROBLEMS

In this paper we analyze the error behavior of general linear methods applied to some classes of one-parameter multiply stiff singularly perturbed problems. We obtain the global error estimate of algebraically and diagonally stable general linear methods. The main result of this paper can be viewed as an extension of that obtained by Xiao [13] for the case of Runge-Kutta methods.     

Stiffness relations for piezoelectric indentation of flat and non-flat punches of arbitrary planform: Applications to probing nanoelectromechanical properties of materials

Stiffness relations for voltage-dependent contact mechanics of piezoelectric material are derived for an indenter of arbitrary planform under normal force, centrally or non-centrally applied, and electric charge distribution at the base. Relations between indentation depth, indentation force, electric potential and electric charge are explicitly given in terms of indenter's geometry and piezoelectric material constants. The analysis covers indenters with non-flat base approximated by a second-order surface; elliptic paraboloid is considered as an example. In the case of the elliptic non-flat planform, the derived stiffness relations are exact; otherwise, they are approximate and are shown to have good accuracy. The stiffness relations are given in elementary functions and are obtained by utilizing the recently established principle of correspondence between the piezoelectric and purely elastic problems. Besides contributing to extension of Hertzian mechanics to piezoelectric materials, these results are essential for quantitative interpretation of the scanning probe microscopy and piezoelectric nanoindentation data on piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and multiferroic materials.     

多级复合抑振系统的设计与研究

研究了多级复合抑振系统的动力学特性,以多级抑振系统刚体空间一般运动的坐标变换,系统的动能、势能和阻尼耗散函数,系统的拉格朗日方程为理论基础, 得出适用于质量块之间或质量块与平台之间具有多个相对运动自由度的多级隔振系统的运动微分方程组.分析了主动控制力与抑振器参数之间的关系.结果表明：对于多级复合抑振系统,抑制中高低频振动时,抑振作动器置于抑振对象与刚体之间的抑振性能较好,所需的主动抑振控制力也不大,并且易于实现各种先进的抑振控制.     

利用光镊计算工具箱实现光镊系统的参量评价

光镊所捕获的微球尺度常常落在中间尺度上,导致相关参量难于计算.OTT1光镊工具箱是一种基于广义Lorenz-Mie理论的T-matrix方法,它的发展使得对光镊系统的详细计算和评价成为可能.本文对光镊的轴向捕获特性曲线、线性性和刚度,以及杜克系列微球的互换性做了计算和评价.结果表明:光镊所用物镜的数值孔径越接近水的折射率捕获效果越好;0.8~1.2 μm的聚苯乙烯微球组成的光镊刚度较大;直径在2 μm以下的聚苯乙烯微球组成的光镊线性度较好;0.8~2 μm的Duke系列聚苯乙烯微球的互换性较好,便于纳米光镊的修正与实验;要避免米共振微球的直径要在2.5 μm以下.