Effect Of Bulging Research Articles

Simulation of the Mechanical Behavior of the Degradation L4-L5 Lumbar Spine

Degenerative changes in the lumbar spine significantly reduce the quality of life of people. To fully understand the biomechanics of the affected spine, it is crucial to consider the biomechanical alterations caused by degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD). Therefore this study is aimed at the development of a discrete element model of the mechanical behavior of the L4-L5 spinal motion segment, which covers all the degeneration grades from healthy IVD to its severe degeneration, and numerical study of the influence of the IVD degeneration on stress state and biomechanics of the spine. To analyze the effects of IVD degeneration on spine biomechanics we simulated physiological loading conditions using compressive forces. The results of modeling showed that at the initial stages of degenerative changes, an increase in the amplitude and area of maximum compressive stresses in the disc is observed. At the late stages of disc degradation, a decrease in the value of intradiscal pressure and a shift in the maximum compressive stresses in the dorsal direction are observed. Such an influence of the degradation of the geometric and mechanical parameters of the tissues of the disc leads to the effect of bulging, which in turn will lead to the formation of an intervertebral hernia.

Development of a Computational Model of the Mechanical Behavior of the L4-L5 Lumbar Spine: Application to Disc Degeneration.

Degenerative changes in the lumbar spine significantly reduce the quality of life of people. In order to fully understand the biomechanics of the affected spine, it is crucial to consider the biomechanical alterations caused by degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD). Therefore, this study is aimed at the development of a discrete element model of the mechanical behavior of the L4–L5 spinal motion segment, which covers all the degeneration grades from healthy IVD to its severe degeneration, and numerical study of the influence of the IVD degeneration on stress state and biomechanics of the spine. In order to analyze the effects of IVD degeneration on spine biomechanics, we simulated physiological loading conditions using compressive forces. The results of modeling showed that at the initial stages of degenerative changes, an increase in the amplitude and area of maximum compressive stresses in the disc is observed. At the late stages of disc degradation, a decrease in the value of intradiscal pressure and a shift in the maximum compressive stresses in the dorsal direction is observed. Such an influence of the degradation of the geometric and mechanical parameters of the tissues of the disc leads to the effect of bulging, which in turn leads to the formation of an intervertebral hernia.

Numerical investigation of the relative effect of disc bulging and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy on the mechanism of central cord syndrome

BackgroundThe pathogenesis of the central cord syndrome is still unclear. While there is a consensus on hyperextension as the main traumatic mechanism leading to this condition, there is yet to be consensus in studies regarding the pathological features of the spine (intervertebral disc bulging or ligamentum flavum hypertrophy) that could contribute to clinical manifestations. MethodsA comprehensive finite element model of the cervical spine segment and spinal cord was used to simulate high-speed hyperextension. Four stenotic cases were modelled to study the effect of ligamentum flavum hypertrophy and intervertebral disc bulging on the von Mises stress and strain. FindingsDuring hyperextension, the downward displacement of the ligamentum flavum and a reduction of the spinal canal diameter (up to 17%) led to a dynamic compression of the cord. Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy was associated with stress and strain (peak of 0.011 Mpa and 0.24, respectively) in the lateral corticospinal tracts, which is consistent with the histologic pattern of the central cord syndrome. Linear intervertebral disc bulging alone led to a higher stress in the anterior and posterior funiculi (peak 0.029 Mpa). Combined with hypertrophic ligamentum flavum, it further increased the stress and strain in the corticospinal tracts and in the posterior horn (peak of 0.023 Mpa and 0.35, respectively). InterpretationThe stenotic typology and geometry greatly influence stress and strain distribution resulting from hyperextension. Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy is a main feature leading to central cord syndrome.

Effect of electromagnetic bulging on fatigue behavior of 5052 aluminum alloy

The effect of electromagnetic bulging on the fatigue behavior of the 5052 aluminum alloy was investigated through tensile–tensile fatigue testing. The intriguing finding is that the bulged specimens exhibited enhanced fatigue strength as depicted by maximum stress vs the number of cycles until failure (S–N) curves, by comparison with these original aluminum alloys. Although the fatigue process of the original and budged alloys follows the same mechanism with three distinct steps, namely, crack initiation at a corner of the tested samples, stable crack propagation with typical fatigue striations and finally catastrophic fracture with dimple fractographic features. The typical crack propagation rate vs stress intensity factor range (da/dN–ΔK) curves derived from the spacing of striations reveal a lower crack propagation rate in the bulged specimens. The enhancement of fatigue strength in electromagnetically bulged aluminum alloy is further rationalized in-depth on the basis of strain hardening and dislocation shielding effect.

Analysis of the forming behaviour of in-situ drawn sandwich sheets

Abstract One way to produce metal fibre-reinforced plastic-metal sandwich parts is to inject the polymer between the sheets during deep drawing. A new process has been designed in which parts with an interlayer of glas fibres including a thermoplastic matrix and two metallic sheets can be produced by combining deep drawing and thermoplastic-resin transfer moulding (T-RTM). With the possibility of forming sandwich sheets with a wide range of states of the interlayers’ viscosity and due to the polymerisation of the monomers between the sheets, the process combines a lot of advantages but also faces challenges due to the viscous fluid interlayer being hindered from squeezing out. This contribution analyses the dependency of the interlayer on the forming behaviour of the sheets in this process. When forming circular cups with aluminium (AA5182) sheets and a viscous interlayer of different heights, the effect of bulging could be observed which affects a free formed shape during forming. The viscous interlayer does not remain at the same position during forming which leads to an inhomogeneous total blank thickness of the part. In experiments and FE simulations a shape with bulged zones could be observed. An analytical approach for the prediction of these bulge heights has been developed so that both bulge dome heights could be predicted analytically. This approach is verified by experiments and numerical simulations. The results serve to set the process window for the in-situ hybridisation method in which the starting point of injection, volume fraction of the thermoplastic matrix in the fibres, mechanical properties of the materials, and geometrical parameters can be adjusted so that this effect is reduced.

Calculation of Dynamic Stress Intensity Factors for Pipes During Crack Propagation by Dynamic Finite Element Analysis

A dynamic finite element analysis method was proposed for calculating the dynamic stress intensity factors for pipes during crack propagation. The proposed method can directly calculate the stress intensity factors without the simplification used in theoretical analyses, and it can consider the effects of the crack velocity and gas decompression. It was found that the stress intensity factors of long propagating cracks in pipes saturated at a certain value in the case of a high crack velocity. However, the stress intensity factors for pipes were in good agreement with those of band plates in the case of a high crack velocity, the stress intensity factors for pipes were different from those of band plates in the case of a low crack velocity. This result could be explained by the effect of bulging on the stress distribution around a crack tip. The effect of bulging was more prominent for pipes with smaller diameters. In contrast, the dynamic stress intensity factors for band plates were in good agreement with the theoretical values that consider the dynamic effects and tended to decrease monotonically with increasing crack velocity. Additionally, the effects of gas decompression, caused by leakage from opened cracks, on the stress intensity factors for pipes were investigated. An explanation of the change in crack direction, reflecting a change from an axial crack to a circumferential crack, which is observed in actual pipeline fractures, was given by analyzing the ratio of the longitudinal stress to lateral stress.

Study of elastoplastic contact of spherical indenter with metals and solid lubricating coatings: Part 2. Contact characteristics

The results of calculating the characteristics of the elastoplastic contact of a spherical indenter that simulates a single asperity with metals and solid lubricating coatings obtained by approximate methods and the finite element method are compared. The data are correlated with theoretical and experimental results of the other authors. The effect of material bulging on the characteristics of the contact of the spherical indenter with an elastoplastic half-space and a coating is estimated. The influence of individual physicome-chanical properties of real materials on the characteristics of the elastoplastic contact is shown. Refined cal-culation relations are proposed.

Numerical Study of Cracked Titanium Shell under Compression

In many industrial conditions, light thin titanium shells are well used under various severe loading conditions. It is of interest to know the real conditions that govern the instability of a cracked panel subject to buckling loads in order to conserve as maximum as possible the strength of the structure. Several parameters can be varied in order to achieve this objective. The aim of this study is to determine the evolution of these parameters in order to achieve optimal crack propagation conditions while keeping these parameters within “reasonable” limits of physical and economic feasibility. For the purpose of the current study the considered structure can be regarded as thin cylindrical shell of radius r, thickness t with an initial through crack of length a. The titanium cylindrical shell is sealed on one edge and compression is applied on the other. An additional applied pressure can generates a stress and deformation field around the crack tip that has bending stresses and membrane stresses and appears as a bulge around the crack area. This paper give details of a simulation with FEA numerical analysis that determine governing instability conditions of a Titanium shell under particular loading conditions and to put in light the effect of bulging on the stress intensity factor at the crack tips. This bulging factor measures the severity of the stress intensity in the bulged crack compared to a plane shell subjected to equivalent loading conditions.

Magnetoresistance due to domain wall bulging

The effect of bulging of domain wall (DW) on the magnetoresistance (MR) is investigated. With taking into account the auto-correlation between the points of the interface, one can formulate the mobility within the relaxation time approximation scheme. The results show that the bulging of DW, evaluated with the commonly accepted magnetic parameters for typical ferromagnetic materials of Co, Fe and Ni, has a countable role into the MR.

가변외란관측기를 이용한 연주시스템의 몰드 레벨 안정화

This paper presents a control method to maintain stable mold level for unsteady bulging in high speed casting. The stabilizing mold level is an important factor to get high quality products. But, for various reasons, there are several disturbance factors which make mold level unstable. Bulging is one of disturbance factors and considered for the current stage of study. We design a disturbance observer to attenuate the effect of bulging which is periodic mold level disturbance. Since the period of bulging varies with the casting speed, the parameters of disturbance observer are changed by the casting speed. Simulation is illustrated to demonstrate stable performance of the proposed method in comparison with a previous method in a variable operating frequency.

Effect of geometric work-hardening and matrix work-hardening on workability and densification of aluminium–3.5% alumina composite during cold upsetting

The densification is a measure of deformation in upset forming of Powder Metallurgy (P/M) processes. A complete experimental investigation on the deformation behaviour of aluminium–3.5% alumina powder composite has been discussed for the case of triaxial stress state condition. Cold upsetting of aluminium–3.5% alumina composite with and with no annealing having different initial preform relative density and with different aspect ratio was carried out and the densification behaviour of the preform under triaxial stress state condition was determined. A new true strain considering the effect of bulging was taken into account for the case of determination of the hoop strain. Plots made for different preforms were analyzed for the densification behaviour of preforms considering the effect of both geometrical work-hardening (GWH) and the matrix work-hardening (MWH).

Crack growth in cylindrical aluminum shells with inner reinforcing foam layer

The occurrence of cracks in aging aircraft fuselage is major problem in the airline industry. The remaining life of the aircraft is strongly dependent on the residual strength of its structure. Residual strength is affected by crack sizes and their growth rates. In the case of a longitudinal crack in a pressurized cylinder (as in the case of an aircraft fuselage), the geometry and loading conditions cause the edges of the crack to bulge out generating a complex stress field around the crack tips; this is known as the ‘bulging effect’. The geometry of the shell, crack size and pressure contribute to this phenomenon. A proposed solution to reduce the effect of bulging for this type of crack is to apply a layer of polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam to the inner side of the fuselage near the crack site. This layer will bond to the shell and has the effect of reducing the bulge and consequently, the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) at the crack tips. PIR foam is a lightweight material that adheres well to the shell and provides additional stiffness around the crack area. In the present study the effect of applying a PIR foam layer to a longitudinal crack in a pressurized cylindrical shell is assessed. Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used in conjunction with the Modified Crack Closure Integral technique (MCCI) in order to evaluate the effect of bulging on the crack’s SIF. Parameters considered in this study include shell radius, shell thickness, crack length, foam thickness and pressure. Numerical results are compared with existing experimental data and the effect of foam thickness for several shell configurations is presented. Results indicate that the bulge factor (BF) could be reduced by as much as 45% depending on shell configuration, foam thickness and pressure.

Stability and Fracture of Plates with a Central and an Edge Crack under Tension

We report on the results of experimental study into the local buckling and fracture of plates with a central and an edge crack under tension. Analyses are made of the buckling mechanisms, the associated critical stresses, and the effect of plate bulging on their strength.

The Mechanism of Unsteady Bulging and Its Analysis with the Finite Element Method for Continuously Cast Steel.

The movements of the driven rolls were measured during the continuous casting of steel and their fluctuations were compared with other signals such as the casting speed and the mold level. From the observation of large fluctuations in the movements of the driven rolls and the unevenness in the thickness of the solid shell, it is proposed that the unevenness in the thickness of the solid shell is the main reason for unsteady bulging during the casting of medium carbon steel. A two-dimensional model over the successive rolls was used to calculate the bulging profile and its changes with time, during the fluctuations in the casting speed, with the finite element method. As a result, the calculations were in good agreement with the experimental results, and, it could be concluded that the period of unsteady bulging is greatly influenced by the roll pitch, therefore, depends on the locations where different roll pitches occur, and is somewhat affected by casting speed variations. Finally, based on the calculations and the experimental results, the effect of the unsteady bulging on the mold level was discussed.

Reorganization of microfilaments in protonemal tip cells of the moss Ceratodon purpureus during the phototropic response.

The F-actin distribution in caulonemal tip cells of the moss Ceratodon purpureus was examined by rhodamine-phalloidin staining. Gravitropically-growing caulonemal tip cells of the moss possess a distinct alignment of microfilaments (MFs) in their apices. Axially oriented actin bundles run from subapical regions to the apex where they converge towards a central area of the tip, although bundles are absent from the central area itself thus forming a collar-like structure. During a unilateral red light irradiation the actin strands of the apical dome become reoriented towards the irradiated apical flank and still surround an area free of MFs, the point of prospective outgrowth. This process is closely correlated with the morphological effect of bulging and precedes the light-directed outgrowth. The collar structure is essential for the tubular growth form. In darkness, under the influence of antimicrotubule agents the structure is decomposed, the actin strands drift along the cell flanks and finally accumulate in randomly distributed areas where further growth takes place. The microtubules (MTs) are not involved in the phytochrome-mediated reorientation of the microfilaments. Unilateral red light suppresses the distorting effect of antimicrotubule drugs and restores the collar structure with a pronounced light-directed orientation. Instead, the MTs seem to be responsible for restricting the reorientation to the cell tip. This notion is based on the observation that the small area in the apical dome, which is normally the exclusive location of the light-regulated MF rearrangement, extends towards the cell base when MT inhibitors are applied before the unilateral red light irradiation. This in turn leads to a non-tubular expansion of the light-directed cell flank.

In vivo diurnal variation in intervertebral disc volume and morphology.

Three-dimensional reconstructions of MRI scans measured volume, height, and diameter of intervertebral discs. These measurements were made in vivo. This study documented diurnal change in lumbar disc volume and morphology. The authors studied the pattern of this change over the disc levels that were examined and documented individual differences. There is a diurnal pattern of standing heights. The majority of this diurnal height change can be accounted for by height loss within the intervertebral disc, which bulges radially with loading. These studies have been performed in vivo. Eight normal males were studied using two protocols. In one, the volunteers were in the supine position for 6 hours before MRI scanning. In the other, volunteers spent 4 hours standing and 3 hours sitting before MRI scanning. Three-dimensional MRI scanning was carried out on the L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1 discs. Volume height and AP diameter of the lumbar intervertebral discs decreased significantly after the protocol of a day's activity. The mean decrease in disc volume at the L3-4 level after standing was 21.1%. At the L4-5 level, it decreased a mean of 18.7%, whereas at the L5-S1 level, there was a 21.6% mean decrease. The mean simulated diurnal volume decrease in the lower three lumbar discs is 16.2%. Most of the diurnal loss in disc height is due to volume loss. The effect of radial bulging is minimal.

Effect of bulging on the rate of fatigue crack propagation

Effect of bulging on the rate of fatigue crack propagation

Effect of bulging and solidification structure on segregation in continuously cast slab.

By the use of a center segregation simulator evaluation method, a test of center segregation was made quantitatively in relation to the amount of bulging and solidification structure.It became clear from the test that segregation is insignificant when the amount of bulging is zero but intensifies when the amount of bulging exceeds 200μm.On the basis of the test result, short pitch divided roll segments were installed on a continuous slab caster and a segregation alleviating test was made. The test results revealed that center segregation can greatly be alleviated if the solidification structure of the slab is changed to an equiaxed structure, and the bulging of slab is reduced by the use of a short-pitch divided roll stand.Solidification phenomena in the part of segregation-spot are discussed theoretically. And the EPMA data of spot segregation are well explained by the results of theoretical analysis.

Macrosegregation in continuously cast steel slabs: preliminary theoretical investigation on the effect of steady state bulging

Model for computation of macrosegregation in slabs due to bulging. Assumptions involved. Simplification for the case of no bulging. Introduction of a modified stream function for the mushy zone. Computation of macrosegregation profiles for various conditions.

スラブ状小鋳片の中心偏析に及ぼすバルジングの影響

スラブ状小鋳片の中心偏析に及ぼすバルジングの影響