An Acoustic Emission Study for Monitoring Anterior Cruciate Ligament Failure Under Tension

The analysis of the acoustic signals produced during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) failure could be useful in understanding its behavior. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the role of coupling conditions of the sensors and to determine the value of newly introduced acoustic emission (AE) parameters. Seven femur-ACL-tibia complex (FATC) specimens were fixed in a universal tensile testing machine and load was applied. Different coupling conditions were applied in two groups of specimens. The load-time curve was monitored, with the simultaneous recording of the acoustic signals and the failure mode. During ACL tear, detectable changes in the load-time curve occurred linked to changes in the macroscopic sequence of events and the measured AE parameters irrespective the coupling conditions. AE provides information on the determination of the moment (or load) when crucial irreversible damage occurs. Furthermore, specific AE indices exhibit changes throughout the testing, and imply shift of the failure mechanisms.     

Rupture of anterior cruciate ligament monitored by acoustic emission

The scope of this study is to relate the acoustic emission (AE) during rupture of human soft tissue (anterior cruciate ligament, ACL) to the mechanisms leading to its failure. The cumulative AE activity highlights the onset of serious damage, while other parameters, show repeatable tendencies, being well correlated with the tissue's mechanical behavior. The frequency content of AE signals increases throughout the experiment, while other indices characterize between different modes of failure. Results of this preliminary study show that AE can shed light into the failure process of this tissue, and provide useful data on the ACL reconstruction.     

PRESSURE-VELOCITY EQUILIBRIUM HYDRODYNAMIC MODELS

This article describes mathematical models for phase separated mixtures of materials that are in pressure and velocity equilibrium but not necessarily temperature equilibrium. General conditions for constitutive models for such mixtures that exhibit a single mixture sound speed are discussed and specific examples are described.     

Correlation between biological activity and energies of electronic transitions in benzodiazepines. Negative ion mass spectrometry and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy study of some derivatives

A correlation between the energies of electronic singlet transitions in benzodiazepines and their biological activity, which was revealed earlier by means of negative ion mass spectrometry with resonance electron capture, has been verified with a UV absorption spectroscopy investigation. Also, it has been noted that the energies of electronic singlet transitions in benzodiazepines are close in value to the ionization energies of atoms Cs, Rb, K, Na, Li and Tl, the cations of which are known to play an important role in nerve cell excitation processes. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gas-phase deprotonation of arylalkylamines. A collision-induced dissociation study

The collision-induced dissociation (CID) of deprotonated arylalkylamines of general formula R(1)C(6)H(4)CHR(2)CH(2)NR(3)(2) (where R(1) = H, OH, F or NO(2); R(2) = H or OH; R(3) = H or CH(3)) generated by negative chemical ionization with H(2)O and D(2)O as ionizing reagents, is discussed. The negative chemical ionization mass spectra show that, in the absence of a hydroxy group in the aromatic ring, deprotonation takes place at the benzylic position whereas the proton is lost from the OH group when present. The nitro compound forms only M(-.) ions. The CID spectra of the deprotonated molecules show that fragmentations are strongly dependent on the structural features of the molecules, namely the presence or absence of substituents in the aromatic ring or aliphatic chain. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental degradation of carbon nanotube-modified composite laminates: a study of electrical resistivity

The environmental durability of carbon nanotube (CNT)-modified carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) is investigated. The key problem of these new-generation composites is the modification of their polymer matrix with nanoscaled fillers. It was recently demonstrated that the damage tolerance of these materials, as manifested by their fracture toughness, impact properties, and fatigue life, can be improved by adding CNTs at weight fractions as low as 0.5%. This improvement is mainly attributed to the incorporation of an additional interfacial area between the CNTs and the matrix, which is active at the nanoscale. However, this additional interface could have a negative effect on the environmental durability of the aforementioned systems, since it is well known that the moisture absorption ability of a matrix is enhanced by the presence of multiple interfaces, which serve as an ingress route to water. To examine this problem, CNT-modified CFRPs were exposed to hydrothermal loadings. At specified intervals, the composites were weighted, and the water uptake vs. time was recorded for both the modified and a reference systems. The electrical conductivity of the composites was registered at the same time intervals. After the environmental exposure, the interlaminar shear properties of the conditioned composite systems were measured and compared with those of unmodified composites, as well as with the shear properties of unexposed laminates. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 31–48, January–February, 2009.     

The effect of processing conditions on the mechanical properties and thermal stability of highly oriented PP tapes

It has previously been shown possible to use highly oriented polypropylene (PP) tapes to create self-reinforced (all-PP) composites. It is desirable to understand the relationship between tape processing parameters and the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the tapes, as these tape properties will govern the ultimate properties of the all-PP composite. In this paper, the effects of the tape drawing parameters such as draw ratio (λ), drawing temperature and thermal annealing on the final mechanical properties, density and dimensional thermal stability of the tapes are presented. PP tapes drawn to λ = 17 possess tensile moduli of ～15 GPa and tensile strengths of ～450 MPa. PP tapes with high draw ratios, λ > 9.3, show a decrease in density, a change from transparent to opaque appearance and increased dimensional thermal stability with increasing draw ratio. The results of an investigation into the effects of a thermal annealing step, targeted at improving the dimensional thermal stability of these highly oriented PP tapes, are also presented.