Drop In Stiffness Research Articles

Thermomechanical properties of CaCO3-latex pigment coatings: Impact of modified dispersing agents

The effect of CaCO3 pigment surface modifications on the rheology, microstructure and the thermomechanical properties of porous particle–polymer composites are investigated. The incorporation of (random copolymerised) acrylamido-2-methyl-propane sulphonate (AMPS) and ethylene glycol methyl ether (mPEG) into poly(acrylic acid) dispersant reduced the dispersing efficiency. Similarly, the composite microstructure showed the concentration and size of particle aggregates were strongly dependant on the chemical nature of the dispersing agent. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) showed that the incorporating of mPEG segments within the dispersant chain improves the dispersant-latex compatibility, which results in better adhesion as was confirmed through SEM imaging. The composite storage modulus of dry and water saturated samples showed a strong dependency on the properties of the latex. Composites made of high glass transition temperature (Tg), styrene acrylate (SA) latex exhibited high stiffness in dry samples. Contrarily, the cross-linking of the styrene butadiene latex (SBR) induced a low drop in stiffness under conditions of water saturation.

Thermal and dynamic mechanical characterization of acrylic bone cements modified with biodegradable polymers

AbstractIn this work, a thermal and a dynamic mechanical study of new formulations self‐curing acrylic bone cements is reported. The basic formulation of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA)‐based acrylic bone cements has been modified with biodegradable polyesters such as poly(l‐lactic acid), poly(β‐hydroxybutyrate), and different kinds of thermoplastic starches. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) (dynamic and isothermal conditions), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the influence of the biodegradable polymer in the behavior of the biomedical formulations. DSC assay revealed a strong dependence of the polymerization enthalpy (ΔHcur) with increasing solid : liquid ratio and a low influence of the nature of the added biodegradable polymer on glass transition. TGA analysis showed the different mechanism of PMMA‐biodegradable polymer interaction depending on the solubilization of the added polymer in methylmethacrylate monomer during curing. DMTA showed the reinforcing capacity of segregated phases of the polymer included in the cement. The solubilization of aliphatic polyesters in the resulting PMMA polymerized phase led to a drop in mechanical stiffness observed from storage modulus (E′) profiles. Moreover, tan δ shifts to higher temperatures (4–7°C) during a second scan, confirming the presence of residual monomer content. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

SHM System Based on Modal Filtration

The modal filter has various applications, among the others for damage detection. It was shown, that a structural modification (e.g. drop of stiffness due to a crack) causes an appearance of peaks on the output of the modal filter. This peaks result from not perfect modal filtration due to system local structural changes. That makes it a great indicator for damage detection, which has fallowing advantages: low computational afford due to the data reduction, the structural health monitoring system based on it, is easy to automate. Furthermore the system is theoretically insensitive to environmental changes as temperature or humidity variation (global structural changes do not cause a drop of modal filtration accuracy). In the paper the practical implementation of the presented technique is shown. The developed structural health monitoring (SHM) system is described as well as results of its extensive simulation and laboratory testing. Finally the application of the system for the structural changes detection on the airplane parts is presented..

Effect of drop in pipe wall stiffness on water-hammer speed and attenuation

The effect of local drop of wall stiffness in pressurized waterways on the pressure wave speed and the wave attenuation during transients is investigated experimentally. A new signal-processing procedure to identify the presence of a weak reach is introduced and validated by physical experimentation based on assessing the pressure and vibration records acquired at both ends of a multi-reach steel test pipe. Water-hammer was generated by closing a downstream valve, whereas the weak reaches were simulated by replacing the steel portions with aluminium and PVC material. The wave speed and wave attenuation factor during transients are considered as global indicators of local and large changes in stiffness of the pipe wall. The method is capable of locating the stiffness weakness along the test pipe if one PVC reach is used. The error in estimating the position of such a reach relative to the real position of its mean value varies up to 23%.

Permeability and stiffness of sands at very low effective stresses

Loose saturated sandy soils may undergo liquefaction under cyclic loading, generating positive excess pore pressures due to their contractile nature and inability to dissipate pore pressures rapidly during earthquake loading. These liquefied soils have a near-zero effective stress state, and hence have very low strength and stiffness, causing severe damage to structures founded upon them. The duration for which this near-zero effective stress state persists is a function of the rate of reconsolidation of the liquefied soil, which in turn is a function of the permeability and stiffness of the soil at this very low effective stress. Existing literature based on observation of physical model tests suggests that the consolidation coefficient Cvassociated with this reconsolidation of liquefied sand is significantly lower than that of the same soil at moderate stress levels. In this paper, the results of a series of novel fluidisation tests in which permeability k and coefficient of consolidation Cvwere independently measured will be presented. These results allow calculation of the variation of stiffness E0and permeability k with effective stress. It is shown that while permeability increases markedly at very low effective stresses, the simultaneous drop in stiffness measured results in a decrease in consolidation coefficient and hence an increase in the duration for which the soil remains liquefied.

Detection of Local Wall Stiffness Drop in Steel-Lined Pressure Tunnels and Shafts of Hydroelectric Power Plants Using Steep Pressure Wave Excitation and Wavelet Decomposition

A new monitoring approach for detecting, locating, and quantifying structurally weak reaches of steel-lined pressure tunnels and shafts is presented. These reaches arise from local deterioration of the backfill concrete and the rock mass surrounding the liner. The change of wave speed generated by the weakening of the radial-liner supports creates reflection boundaries for the incident pressure waves. The monitoring approach is based on the generation of transient pressure with a steep wave front and the analysis of the reflected pressure signals using the fast Fourier transform and wavelet decomposition methods. Laboratory experiments have been carried out to validate the monitoring technique. The multilayer system (steel-concrete-rock) of the pressurized shafts and tunnels is modeled by a one-layer system of the test pipe. This latter was divided into several reaches having different wall stiffnesses. Different longitudinal placements of a steel, aluminum, and PVC pipe reach were tested to validate the identification method of the weak section.

Measurements of Tibiofemoral Kinematics during Soft and Stiff Drop Landings Using Biplane Fluoroscopy

Background Previous laboratory studies of landing have defined landing techniques in terms of soft or stiff landings according to the degree of maximal knee flexion angle attained during the landing phase and the relative magnitude of the ground-reaction force. Current anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention programs are instructing athletes to land softly to avoid excessive strain on the anterior cruciate ligament. Purpose This study was undertaken to measure, describe, and compare tibiofemoral rotations and translations of soft and stiff landings in healthy individuals using biplane fluoroscopy. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods The in vivo, lower extremity, 3-dimensional knee kinematics of 16 healthy adults (6 male and 10 female) instructed to land softly and stiffly in different trials were collected in biplane fluoroscopy as they performed the landing from a height of 40 cm. Results Average and maximum relative anterior tibial translation (average, 2.8 ± 1.2 mm vs 3.0 ± 1.4 mm; maximum, 4.7 ± 1.6 mm vs 4.4 ± 0.8 mm), internal/external rotation (average, 3.7° ± 5.1° vs 2.7° ± 4.3°; maximum, 5.6° ± 5.5° vs 4.9° ± 4.7°), and varus/valgus (average, 0.2° ± 1.2° vs 0.2° ± 1.0°; maximum, 1.7° ± 1.2° vs 1.6° ± 0.9°) were all similar between soft and stiff landings, respectively. The peak vertical ground-reaction force was significantly larger for stiff landings than for soft landings (2.60 ± 1.32 body weight vs 1.63 ± 0.73; P < .001). The knee flexion angle total range of motion from the minimum angle at contact to the maximum angle at peak knee flexion was significantly greater for soft landings than for stiff (55.4° ± 8.8° vs 36.8° ± 11.1°; P < .01). Conclusion Stiff landings, as defined by significantly lower knee flexion angles and significantly greater peak ground-reaction forces, do not result in larger amounts of anterior tibial translation or knee rotation in either varus/valgus or internal/external rotation in healthy individuals. Clinical Relevance In healthy knees, the musculature and soft tissues of the knee are able to maintain translations and rotations within a small, safe range during controlled landing tasks of differing demand. The knee kinematics of this healthy population will serve as a comparison for injured knees in future studies. It should be stressed that because the authors did not compare how the loads were distributed over the soft tissues of the knee between the 2 landing styles, the larger ground-reaction forces and more extended knee position observed during stiff landings should still be considered dangerous to the anterior cruciate ligament and other structures of the lower extremities, particularly in competitive settings where movements are often unanticipated.

Knee Kinematic Profiles during Drop Landings

The six degrees of freedom knee motion during dynamic activities is not well understood. Biplane fluoroscopy was used to measure the three-dimensional rotations and translations of healthy knees during stiff drop landings and to determine the relationships between three-dimensional rotations and anterior (ATT) and lateral tibial translations (LTT). Six males performed stiff drop landings from 40 cm while being filmed using a high-speed, biplane fluoroscopy system. Initial, peak, and excursions for rotations and translations were calculated, and relationships and changes in these variables were assessed (α = 0.05). Knee flexion at contact was 13.9° ± 9.2° (mean ± SD) and increased to a peak of 44.0° ± 17.2° with an excursion of 31.5° ± 14.1°. Knee varus/valgus angle at contact was -0.3° ± 1.8° varus; subjects progressed into a mean peak valgus position of 1.5° ± 0.9° with total excursion of 2.5° ± 0.9°. Four of six subjects landed externally rotated (2.5° ± 3.0°); two landed internally rotated (-4.9° ± 1.5°), yielding a contact angle of -2.4° ± 3.0° of internal rotation, a peak internal rotation of -5.5° ± 6.0°, and excursion of 3.1° ± 5.5°. Peak ATT were 4.3 ± 0.7 mm (excursion = 2.1 ± 0.9 mm), occurring within 50 ms after contact. Peak LTT were 1.5 ± 1.4 mm (excursion = 2.6 ± 1.6 mm). Significant regressions were found between ATT and knee valgus angle (r2 = 0.39, P = 0.006), between LTT and internal rotation (r2 = 0.96, P < 0.0001), and between LTT and knee valgus angle (quadratic, r2 = 0.90, P < 0.0001). This study provides a direct correlation between knee valgus angle with knee ATT and LTT during drop landings.

Variation of Structural Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Slab Due to the Repeated Cyclic Loading Idealized for Thermal Load

A variation of temperature by sunlight acting on a RC roof slab causes a change of stress in concrete since it expands during summer and is compressed during winter. This behavior repeats annually and affects structural capacity of member for both serviceability and ultimate level. In this paper, a variation of cyclic temperature loading is calculated by analyzing the weather data of Korea for 20 years. In addition, an experimental work is planned to find the long term effect of temperature change. Four RC slabs are made with same dimension. Test parameters are loading duration (10, 20, 30 years). Observation of stiffness variations according to cyclic loading duration shows that the serious stiffness drop happens after 10 year's cyclic loading at summer while after 30 year's loading at winter. From the failure test, maximum strength of specimen that experienced repeated preloading was approximately 12% less than standard specimen without any repeated preloading.

A Nonlinear Stiffness Safe Joint Mechanism Design for Human Robot Interaction

Service robots used in human environments must be designed to avoid collisions with humans. A safe robot arm can be designed using active or passive compliance methods. A passive compliance system composed of purely mechanical elements often provides faster and more reliable responses for dynamic collision than an active one involving sensors and actuators. Because positioning accuracy and collision safety are equally important, a robot arm should have very low stiffness when subjected to a collision force that could cause human injury but should otherwise maintain very high stiffness. A novel safe joint mechanism (SJM) consisting of linear springs and a double-slider mechanism is proposed to address these requirements. The SJM has variable stiffness that can be achieved with only passive mechanical elements. Analyses and experiments on static and dynamic collisions show high stiffness against an external torque less than a predetermined threshold value and an abrupt drop in stiffness when the external torque exceeds this threshold. The SJM enables the robotic manipulator to guarantee positioning accuracy and collision safety and it is simple to install between an actuator and a robot link without a significant change in the robot’s design.

Effect of nanoclay addition on the displacement-controlled flexural fatigue behavior of a polymer

Reinforcing polymers with nanoclay improves the stiffness and decreases the dissipative nature of polymer matrix. This article describes the effect of nanoclay addition on the flexural fatigue response of Polyamide6 (PA6). The emphasis was on temperature rise, temperature-induced stiffness drop, and flexural fatigue life. The fatigue performance has been investigated under displacement-controlled flexural loading conditions at room temperature. The samples were subjected to same displacement amplitude and same initial force amplitude (force amplitude in the first fatigue cycle) flexural fatigue conditions. Under the same displacement amplitude conditions, PA6NC samples exhibited marginally lesser percentage drop in the initial force amplitude (temperature-induced stiffness change) compared to PA6. Due to the addition of nanoclay, a marginal improvement in fatigue life (~64,000 cycles) was also observed under these conditions. Under the same initial force amplitude conditions, PA6NC samples exhibited significantly lesser percentage drop in its initial force compared to PA6 and retained the stiffness throughout the fatigue life. In addition to this, a significant improvement in fatigue life (>150,000 cycles) was observed. The performance improvement due to nanoclay addition can be attributed to enhanced modulus coupled with reduced dissipation factor (tan δ) and improved surface hardness. The fibrillated appearance of the PA6NC fracture surface suggests that the clay addition promotes toughening and influences the crack propagation characteristics of PA6.

Transient stiffening of mitral valve leaflets in the beating heart

Anterior mitral leaflet stiffness during isovolumic contraction (IVC) is much greater than that during isovolumic relaxation (IVR). We have hypothesized that this stiffening is due to transient early systolic force development in the slip of cardiac myocytes in the annular third of the anterior leaflet. Because the atrium is excited before IVC and leaflet myocytes contract for < or = 250 ms, this hypothesis predicts that IVC leaflet stiffness will drop to near-IVR values in the latter half of ventricular systole. We tested this prediction using radiopaque markers and inverse finite element analysis of 30 beats in 10 ovine hearts. For each beat, circumferential (E(c)) and radial (E(r)) stiffness was determined during IVC (Deltat(1)), end IVC to midsystole (Deltat(2)), midsystole to IVR onset (Deltat(3)), and IVR (Deltat(4)). Group mean stiffness (E(c) + or - SD; E(r) + or - SD; in N/mm(2)) during Deltat(1) (44 + or - 16; 15 + or - 4) was 1.6-1.7 times that during Deltat(4) (28 + or - 11; 9 + or - 3); Deltat(2) stiffness (39 + or - 15; 14 + or - 4) was 1.3-1.5 times that of Deltat(4), but Deltat(3) stiffness (32 + or - 12; 11 + or - 3) was only 1.1-1.2 times that of Deltat(4). The stiffness drop during Deltat(3) supports the hypothesis that anterior leaflet stiffening during IVC arises primarily from transient force development in leaflet cardiac myocytes, with stiffness reduced as this leaflet muscle relaxes in the latter half of ventricular systole.

The application of modal filters for damage detection

A modal filter is a tool used to extract the modal coordinates of each individual mode from a system's output. This is achieved by mapping the response vector from the physical space to the modal space. It decomposes the system's responses into modal coordinates, and thus, on the output of the filter, the frequency response with only one peak corresponding to the natural frequency to which the filter was tuned can be obtained. As was shown in the paper (Deraemecker and Preumont 2006), structural modification (e.g. a drop in stiffness or mass due to damage) causes the appearance of spurious peaks on the output of the modal filter. A modal filter is, therefore, a great indicator of damage detection, with such advantages as low computational effort due to data reduction, ease of automation and lack of sensitivity to environmental changes. This paper presents the application of modal filters for the detection of stiffness changes. Two experiments were conducted: the first one using the simulation data obtained from the numerical 7DOF model, and the second one on the experimental data from a laboratory stand in 4 states of damage.

Normal and sliding contact experiments on gneiss

The development of reliable discrete element models to simulate the mechanics of granular media requires knowledge of the grain-to-grain contact laws of the material in question. We have conducted a series of normal and sliding contact experiments on material used in laboratory triaxial experiments to obtain such contact laws for DEM simulations of the experiments. The contact experiments employed segments of 14.72 mm-diameter spherical grains from the triaxial specimens and flat specimens of the same material. The spherical grains had a uniform diameter with a smooth surface finish. Monotonic and cyclic loading paths were applied in both the normal and sliding modes, and both sphere-sphere and sphere-flat contact behavior were examined. Force-displacement behavior and frictional loss were measured in all cases. The behavior was generally Hertzian in the normal contact experiments, which involved forces up to approximately 100 N. The normal contact stiffness increased from ≈2 to 15MN m−1 over the range of normal force examined. The sliding experiments employed several normal forces up to approximately 25 N, and produced a value of the coefficient of static friction of 0.28. The shear stiffness of the sliding contact increased with normal force, and ranged from 0.8 to 1.2MN m−1 under normal loads ranging from ≈1 to 7.5 N, respectively, for virgin contacts. The shear stiffness observed for the sphere-flat contact decreased with wear. Surface roughness measurements were obtained on both tested and untested regions of the spheres and flat specimens. The average roughness (Ra) for untested regions of the sphere and flat specimens were 270 and 230 nm, respectively. Repeated testing in the sliding mode reduced these values by 29–45% for the flat surfaces, and by 20% for the spherical contact. Frictional losses were observed in both the normal and sliding modes. In the sliding mode, frictional loss decreased with increasing normal load. We observed stable sliding (associated with significant contact movement under an increasing shear force) at forces that were below the macroscopic frictional limit and resulted in permanent displacement of the contact. There was generally a distinct threshold in shear force for this permanent sliding. The extent of sliding increased significantly with wear for the sphere-flat contact and was accompanied by a substantial drop in shear stiffness.

Effects of the Initial Orientation of Actin Fibers on Global Tensile Properties of Cells

Tensile tests of a single cell were simulated in order to understand the effects of the initial orientation of actin fibers (AFs) on global tensile properties. The properties examined included cell deformation, stiffness, and AF behavior. In the model used, the mechanical properties of cellular components, including the cell membrane with an associated actin network, nuclear envelope, and AFs, are expressed as a result of springs that generate force as a function of their extension. Cell shape during the tensile test was determined by a quasi-static approach couched in the framework of the minimum energy concept. Cells with various initial AF orientations were prepared; in particular, AFs in four different initial orientations, namely random (mean ± SD of the initial orientation angle, 46.4 ± 26.9°), parallel to the stretched direction (3.8 ± 3.5°), perpendicular (85.9 ± 2.6°), and diagonally oriented (44.5 ± 3.6°) were examined. The results show a significant drop in initial stiffness with an increase in mean initial AF orientation angles of 0 to 45°. The initial stiffness of the cell with parallel-oriented AFs was much larger than that with perpendicularly oriented AFs. The results also demonstrate that cell elongation induces a passive reorientation of AFs in a stretched direction, thereby causing an increase in cell stiffness. When comparing the rate of change for cell stiffness of the diagonally oriented model with that of the randomly oriented model, our data reveal that the rate of change of cell stiffness is characterized not only by the mean of the initial AF orientation angle, but also by the variation of their distribution.

Quantifying fatigue generated in high strain rate cyclic loading of Norway spruce

Papermaking, especially mechanical pulping, consumes much energy. To reduce this energy consumption one has to understand and exploit the phenomena present during the pulping. An important phenomenon to understand is wood fatigue. We quantitatively measure the fatigue generated during high strain rate cyclic loading of spruce wood performed under conditions resembling those present during mechanical pulping. We impacted the samples with 5% strain pulses at 500 Hz. The radial direction stiffness drop in the samples was quantified by 500 kHz ultrasonic through-transmission postimpacting. The depth profile of the generated fatigue was also determined. A dependency of the amount of fatigue generated during cyclic straining on the moisture content was detected. A hypothesis about the temporal and spatial evolution of the fatigue during the process is presented. The results, supporting the hypothesis, provide insight into wood behavior under mechanical pulping conditions.

The influence of the bond between concrete and reinforcement on tension stiffening effect

This paper deals with the analysis of reinforced concrete structures with special emphasis on modelling of the bond influence on the tension stiffening effect. This effect is the reduction in deformation caused by concrete in tension after cracking and has great significance for calculation of serviceability limit states and nonlinear analyses. The most popular models for consideration of tension stiffening are based on semi-empirical formulae. It seemed that the bond concepts would make significant progress in this subject, but obtained results are rather disappointing. A new model for the bond phenomenon is proposed. It is based on the bond functions, which take into account not only the relative slip between a steel bar and surrounding concrete but also the position of the cross-section. They allow the direct calculation of the bond influence on crack spacing and width and tension stiffening. The form of these bond functions was positively verified on the specially designed specimens. The theoretical results obtained from the proposed model are very interesting and important for real-life situations. The cracking stage of loading determines the further behaviour of the member. The loss of stiffness just after cracking is very sharp and depends mainly on the steel/concrete ratio. For its small value, the stiffness after cracking is about only 12% of the uncracked value. Contrary to the commonly held belief, the bond itself has no significant influence on the changes in stiffness at this stage of loading. Similar conclusions are also valid for members under bending, but the degree of stiffness drop is smaller in terms of the compression zone and the moment distribution along a beam.

Statistical osteoporosis models using composite finite elements: A parameter study

Osteoporosis is a widely spread disease with severe consequences for patients and high costs for health care systems. The disease is characterised by a loss of bone mass which induces a loss of mechanical performance and structural integrity. It was found that transverse trabeculae are thinned and perforated while vertical trabeculae stay intact. For understanding these phenomena and the mechanisms leading to fractures of trabecular bone due to osteoporosis, numerous researchers employ micro-finite element models. To avoid disadvantages in setting up classical finite element models, composite finite elements (CFE) can be used. The aim of the study is to test the potential of CFE. For that, a parameter study on numerical lattice samples with statistically simulated, simplified osteoporosis is performed. These samples are subjected to compression and shear loading. Results show that the biggest drop of compressive stiffness is reached for transverse isotropic structures losing 32 % of the trabeculae (minus 89.8% stiffness). The biggest drop in shear stiffness is found for an isotropic structure also losing 32% of the trabeculae (minus 67.3% stiffness). The study indicates that losing trabeculae leads to a worse drop of macroscopic stiffness than thinning of trabeculae. The results further demonstrate the advantages of CFEs for simulating micro-structured samples.

205 RELATION BETWEEN BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY AND PULMONARY DYSFUNCTION IN CIRRHOSIS: EFFECT OF HYPEROXIA

extremity edema, pulmonary, weight gain during the last weeks) and signs of congestion on the chest radiograph and in echocardiography prior and after recompensation mostly by diuretics treatment. Body weight, vena cava diameter in inspiration and expiration, circulating pro-NT-BNP levels and liver stiffness (kPa) were correlated before and after treatment of congestive heart failure. Results: Initially elevated liver stiffness decreased in 19 out of 20 patients, in 16 of them markedly. In 14 patients liver stiffness was elevated to a degree that suggested liver cirrhosis (mean 22.6 kPa). Successful diuretic therapy and antiarrhythmic therapy if necessary with a mean weight loss of 5 kg over 8 days led to a significant drop in liver stiffness (mean decrease 14.4 kPa). In all patients decrease of liver stiffness correlated highly with weight loss (Spearman) and decreased pro-NT-BNP levels. Patients who did not reach normal stiffness values despite adequate diuretic therapy and weight loss had a long history of right heart failure and two of them even showed signs of cirrhose cardiaque with esophageal varices. To further prove that increased venous pressure has a strong impact on liver stiffness we evaluated 24 healthy individuals before and during a Valsalva maneuver. Stiffness values increased significantly from a median of 4.4 kPa to 6.6 kPa (p = 0.008). Single individuals were able to increase their liver stiffness from normal values up to values suggesting cirrhosis (>12 kPa). Conclusion: Increased venous pressure by congestive heart failure of a Valsalva maneuver strongly interferes with liver fibrosis assessment using transient elastography (Fibroscan). Therefore, fibrosis assessment by Fibroscan should included standard measuring positions and the exclusion of right congestive heart failure.

Gradation of Stiffness of the Mucosa Inferior to the Vocal Fold

During phonation, energy is transferred from the subglottal airflow through the air/mucosa interface that results in the propagation of the mucosal wave in the vocal fold. The vocal fold is soft, and the subglottal mucosa is stiff. We hypothesize that it is highly improbable that there is a rigid boundary between the tissue structures, with a sudden drop in stiffness; and that a gradual change would be more likely to support the efficient transfer of energy from the airflow to the mucosal wave. Our objective was to test this hypothesis by quantifying the change in mucosa stiffness with respect to anatomical position. In this initial study, using five pig larynges, a series of point-specific measurements of mucosa stiffness were taken in a line from the midpoint of the vocal fold toward the trachea. A modified linear skin rheometer adapted for laryngeal elasticity measurement applied shear stress to a series of seven positions at 2-mm intervals starting from the midmembranous vocal fold medial surface. A sinusoidal shear force of 1g was applied at each point, and resultant displacement curve logged. Using a regression algorithm, the stiffness of the tissue was derived in units of grams force per millimeter displacement. Five readings were taken at each position. The results indicate that there is a linear increase in stiffness with respect to position, increasing as the measurements are taken further from the vocal fold. There is a gradual change in stiffness of the subglottal mucosa of a pig larynx.