Distinct Stress Fields Research Articles

The twisted structure of the rat Achilles tendon.

The rat is frequently used as a model to study the characteristics, aetiology and pathology of the Achilles tendon. However, though the structure of the human Achilles tendon has been extensively investigated, the anatomical structure of the rat Achilles tendon remains unclear, which impedes the ability to use rats to study Achilles tendinopathy. The purpose of this study was to reveal the structure of the rat Achilles tendon and to explore its similarities with the human Achilles tendon through an anatomical dissection of 80 rat Achilles tendons (40 female, 40 male). This study found that the subtendons of the rat Achilles tendon originating from the triceps surae muscle were twisted, and each subtendon also had its own torsion. The extent of these two types of torsion could be very different between rats. Alterations in this torsion may result in distinct stress fields in the Achilles tendon, which may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of Achilles tendinopathy. This study provides an important basis to support the use of rats as model animals to investigate the characteristics of the human Achilles tendon and Achilles tendinopathy.

A transitional volume beneath the Sannio-Irpinia border region (southern Apennines): Different tectonic styles at different depths

In this paper we investigate the border between the Sannio and Irpinia seismogenic regions, a sector of the southern Apennine chain considered among the most active seismic areas of the Italian peninsula, to shed further light on its complex seismotectonic setting. We integrated recent seismicity with literature data. A detailed analysis of the seismicity that occurred in the 2013–2016 time interval was performed. The events were relocated, after manual re-picking, using different approaches. To retrieve information about the stress field active in the area, inversion of Fault Plane Solutions was also carried out. Hypocentral distribution of the relocated events (ML≤3.5), whose depth is included between 5 and 25km with the deepest ones located in the NW sector of the study area, shows a different pattern between the northern sector and the southern one. The computed Fault Plane Solutions can be grouped in three depth ranges: <12km, dominated by normal dip-slip kinematics; 12–18km, characterized by normal dip-slip and strike-slip kinematics; >18km, dominated by strike-slip kinematics. Stress field inversion across the whole area shows that we are dealing with an heterogeneous set of data, apparently governed by distinct stress fields. We built an upper crustal model profile through integration of geological data, well logs and seismic tomographic profiles. Our results suggest the co-existence of different tectonic styles at distinct crustal depths: the upper crust seems to be affected mostly by normal faulting, whereas strike-slip faulting prevails in the intermediate and lower crust. We infer about the existence of a transitional volume, located between 12 and 18km depth, between the Sannio and Irpinia regions, acting as a vertical transfer zone.

Deformation of the subducted Indian lithospheric slab in the Burmese arc

Stress inversion of focal mechanism data in the Burmese arc region indicates distinct stress fields above and below 90 km along the subducted Indian lithospheric slab. In the upper part, the σ1 and σ3 axes trend NNE and ESE respectively, in conjunction with the ambient stress field of the Indian plate. However, in the lower part of the slab there is no preferred orientation of the σ1 or σ2 axes, but a very well defined σ3 axis is observed, that trends steeply in the down‐dip direction. It is inferred that while the upper part is governed by the NNE oriented horizontal plate tectonic forces, the lower part is governed entirely by tensile forces due to gravitational loading on the subducted slab. A model of attempted slab detachment at the base of the lithospheric contact zone is suggested, which is supported by results of high‐resolution seismic tomographic studies in this region.

Complete set of piezoresistive coefficients of CMOS -diffusion

The piezoresistive behavior of -diffusions in monocrystalline CMOS-processed silicon is calibrated by independent measurements of the three piezoresistive -coefficients. These are obtained by subjecting integrated resistors on test chips to three distinct stress fields, (a) using a four-point bending bridge and (b) applying a pressure perpendicular to the die surface. This represents a novel method of calibrating stress sensor test chips. The experimentally induced stresses are computed by finite element analysis. Values of , , and are obtained.

Origin of the Permian-Triassic Iberian Basin, central-eastern Spain

The Iberian Basin was an intracratonic rift basin in central-eastern Spain developed since Early Permian times. The basin boundary faults were normal, listric faults controlling an asymmetric extension propagating northeast with time. Hercynian or older lineaments controlled the orientation of the Iberian Basin and extension was accommodated basically in the hanging wall block by the formation of secondary grabens and a central high. The basin was related with the coeval Ebro, Catalan and Cuenca-Mancha Basins and their connections are discussed. Subsidence curves show that the Early Permian-Early Jurassic period of extension can be subdivided into three rifting episodes and a flexural one. Extension factor increases from 1.17 in the northwest to 1.29 near the Mediterranean coast. The increasing extension rate was accommodated by transfer faults trending NNE-SSW, more important in the Levante area. The rift evolution is intermittent and seems to reflect distinct stress fields. The collapse of the late Hercynian orogen and related increased heat flux, extension and rifting is the most probable origin of the Iberian Basin and related basins. The origin of the Catalan and the Valencia-Prebetic Basins is related to the southwards migration of the Hesse-Burgundy Rift along the eastern margin of the Iberian Microplate.

Neogene paleostress changes in the Basin and Range: A case study at Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona

At Hoover Dam, 40 km southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, well-exposed, highly faulted Miocene rocks provide an excellent opportunity to study the paleostress history of a very small area within a region where previous geologic studies indicate clockwise rotation of paleostress and a nearness to a major strike-slip fault-zone boundary. Within <0.5 km3 of rock, the sense of slip was determined on almost 500 separate faults. The fault-slip data show internal consistency with respect to lithology, size of faults, and location within the small area. With respect to fault slip, however, the data represent an in-homogeneous mixture of primarily strike-slip and dip-slip motions. From this mixture, it is possible to resolve two distinct stress fields with directions of extension that differ by ∼60°. Each stress field corresponds to a mixture of strike-slip and dip-slip faults, and thus the orientations of σ 1 and σ 2 are not tightly constrained. If, however, the data are first separated into strike-slip and dip-slip faulting modes and subsequently searched for sub-populations that correspond to contrasting paleostress orientations, the computations yield tightly constrained tensors that illustrate two distinct stress fields with subhorizontal σ 3 axes that trend N50°E and N75°W. The σ 1 and σ 2 axes permutate in two vertical planes that strike N40°W and N15°E, because σ 1 and σ 2 are close in value, relative to σ 3. These relationships suggest that strike-slip and dip-slip faulting belong to the same tectonic regime. Qualitative observations of polyphase slip, fault-fault offsets, and fault-bedding geometric relationships, when evaluated in the context of changes in σ 3 orientation and permutations of σ 1 and σ 2, provide a basis for a two-stage, late Cenozoic structural evolution at Hoover Dam. These stages are (1) strike-slip faulting (partly pre-tilt) and dip-slip faulting and associated stratal tilting and (2) mostly post-tilt, complexly interrelated strike-slip, oblique-slip, and dip-slip faulting. The qualitative evaluations indicate that strike-slip and dip-slip faulting alternated in time during the second stage of deformation and may have done so during the first. These mixed-mode movements probably represent stress oscillations in time and space rather than discrete stress reorganizations. In contrast, the two different orientations of σ 3 either represent a major clockwise rotation of the stress field or a major counterclockwise rotation of the rocks during the faulting history. Each alternative is consistent with regional geologic relationships, and the choice of which is correct cannot be made within the small area that was studied.

On the structure of tilt grain boundaries in cubic metals II. Asymmetrical tilt boundaries

The results of the study of symmetrical tilt boundaries, reported in the preceding part I, are generalized to asymmetrical tilt boundaries. A classification of tilt boundaries in cubic crystals is developed that reveals which boundaries to choose in order to study equilibrium faceting or intrinsic grain boundary dislocations (g.b.ds) accommodating a misorientation. Two series of atomistic studies of asymmetrical tilt boundary structures are presented based on this classification. The first is a study of long-period (27 ^ 97) [110] asymmetrical tilt boundaries in aluminium. The aims of this study are to investigate whether these boundaries are composed of fundamental structural elements, in the same way as was found in part I for symmetrical tilt boundaries, and to see if localized, distinct stress fields of edge g.b.ds exist throughout the misorientation range. With use of the results of this study, and the principle of continuity of boundary structure enunciated in part I, the boundary unit representation of a 27 — 1193 asymmetrical tilt boundary is derived as an example. It is generally found that the Burgers vectors of intrinsic secondary g.b.ds in tilt boundaries, based on favoured boundary reference structures, are non-primitive d.s.c. vectors. The reason for this is given and a simple formula is presented to derive the Burgers vectors of such dislocations for any favoured tilt boundary reference structure. It is pointed out that, in general, very low angle {0 &lt; 1° say) tilt boundaries cannot be described in terms of units from high angle tilt boundaries, and the transition from the low angle to high angle regimes is discussed. The second atomistic study is an investigation of equilibrium faceting of long-period 27 — 3 [110] tilt boundaries with use of an empirical potential for copper. The limi tations of computer simulation methods using periodic border conditions to study faceting are stated. It is shown, however, that the constraints imposed by the use oi periodic border conditions may be used in a positive sense to carry out the Wultt construction, and thereby deduce equilibrium faceting behaviour.

On the structure of (001) twist boundaries in f.c.c. metals

Abstract The structures of four (001) twist boundaries in f.c.c. metals calculated by Bristowe and Crocker (1978) are re-examined. It is shown that readily identifiable units of the ∑ = 5 boundaries are visible in the ∑ = 25, 13 and 17 boundaries together with octahedra from the ideal crystal orientation. It follows that localized, distinct stress fields of intrinsic screw dislocations exist in twist boundaries at large (possibly all) angular deviations from the ∑ = 5 boundary and the (001) plane of the ideal crystal.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE QUEENSWAY FOLDS, OTTAWA, CANADA

The Queensway folds are an anticline–syncline pair in layered limestone and shale of the Ottawa Formation in the Ottawa – St. Lawrence Lowlands. They are parallel, flexural-slip folds with horizontal axes trending northwest, parallel to the surface trace of the Gloucester fault.Five principal fracture subpatterns were recognized in the fold-pair, caused by at least four geometrically distinct stress fields. The principal stress directions at failure for all five subpatterns coincided, moreover, with the three orthogonal fabric axes, and the maximum principal stress was either parallel or perpendicular to the fold axes and to the Gloucester fault.Slickenside striae on bedding and on fractures at an angle to bedding indicate two principal kinematic patterns in the fold-pair; the one arises from motion in the deformation plane as a consequence of the folding and the other from strike-slip motion perpendicular to that plane as a consequence of displacement on the Gloucester fault.Slickensides indicate that each bed was free to move relative to adjacent ones during folding and that the fundamental structural unit in flexural-slip folding is the bed. Model studies support the field data and indicate that the sense and magnitude of interbed slip in any structural position is dependent upon an integral of conditions throughout the fold-pair and that the fundamental fold unit is the anticline–syncline pair.