Impact Of Wall Thickness Research Articles

Crashworthiness analysis and optimisation of a multi-level bionic multi-cell tube under axial dynamic impact

In this study, a multi-level bionic multi-cell tube (MBMT-n) is proposed, inspired by the horsetail’s cross-sectional structure, and the multi-cell tube shape and distribution characteristics of bamboo vascular bundles. A systematic crashworthiness analysis of MBMT-n under axial dynamic impact was conducted using LS-DYNA. The findings indicate that MBMT-n can enhance crashworthiness while maintaining the same mass. Additionally, the impact of wall thickness and bionic unit cell’s length–width ratio was investigated. Furthermore, a theoretical prediction model for mean crushing force (MCF) was established using the simplified super-folding unit theory. Lastly, to further enhance the structure’s crashworthiness, multi-objective optimisation of MBMT-3 was performed using the NSGA-II algorithm. The several optimal structures were subsequently identified under various peak crushing force (PCF). This study offers a novel approach to the design of energy-absorbing structures.

Impact of wall thickness on tissue cooling effect of cryoballoon ablation: Investigation using an experimental heart model

Abstract Background Understanding of the tissue cooling properties of cryoballoon ablation during pulmonary vein isolation is lacking. Purpose To delineate the depth of the tissue cooling effect during cryoballoon freezing at the pulmonary venous ostium. Methods A left atrial-pulmonary vein model, produced by a 3-dimensional printer using CT data from a patient, was constructed so that porcine thigh muscles of various thicknesses could be fixed and thermocouples could be fixed at locations corresponding to the epicardial side of the pulmonary vein ostium. The model was placed in a 37-degree water bath with a pulmonary vein water flow at a rate that mimicked biological blood flow, and the cryoballoon was advanced into the left superior vein until the vein was completely occluded. Cryofreezing was performed 5 times each for a porcine thigh muscle of 2-, 4-, and 6-mm thickness, and epicardial tissue cooling was monitored as assessed by the mean temperature of 12 evenly distributed thermocouples covering the roof region of the left superior vein. Results Epicardial tissue cooling effects were more in the order of 2-mm, 4-mm, and 6-mm thickness (Figure) with a mean temperature of -41.4 ± 4.2 for 2 mm, -33.0 ± 4.0 for 4 mm, and 8.0 ± 8.7 °C for 6 mm at 180 sec (p for trend < 0.0001). In addition, tissue temperature drops were steeper in thin muscle (maximum temperature drop per 5 s: 5.2 ± 0.9, 3.9 ± 0.7, 1.3 ± 0.7 °C, p for trend < 0.0001). Conclusion The cooling effect is weaker in the deeper layers during cryobaloon freezing, and longer freezing duration would be recommended in case of thick myocardium.

Impact of wall thickness on the tissue cooling effect of cryoballoon ablation.

Understanding of the tissue cooling properties of cryoballoon ablation during pulmonary vein (PV) isolation is lacking. The purpose of this study was to delineate the depth of the tissue cooling effect during cryoballoon freezing at the pulmonary venous ostium. A left atrial-PV model was constructed using a three-dimensional printer with data from a patient to which porcine thigh muscle of various thicknesses could be affixed. The model was placed in a 37°C water tank with a PV water flow at a rate that mimicked biological blood flow. Cryofreezing at the PV ostium was performed five times each for sliced porcine thigh muscle of 2, 4, and 6 mm thickness, and sliced muscle cooling on the side opposite the balloon was monitored. The cooling effect was assessed using the average temperature of 12 evenly distributed thermocouples covering the roof region of the left superior PV. Tissue cooling effects were in the order of the 2, 4, and 6 mm thicknesses, with an average temperature of -41.4 ± 4.2°C for 2 mm, -33.0 ± 4.0°C for 4 mm, and 8.0 ± 8.7°C for 6 mm at 180 s (P for trend <0.0001). In addition, tissue temperature drops were steeper in thin muscle (maximum temperature drop per 5 s: 5.2 ± 0.9°C, 3.9 ± 0.7°C, and 1.3 ± 0.7°C, P for trend <0.0001). The cooling effect of cryoballoon freezing is weaker in the deeper layers. Cryoballoon ablation should be performed with consideration to myocardial thickness.

Theoretical modeling of solid-liquid phase change in a phase change material protected by a multilayer Cartesian wall

Theoretical modeling of solid-liquid phase change processes is of much interest in energy storage and thermal management. While most theoretical phase change models assume that the phase change material (PCM) is in direct contact with the thermal source/sink, in most practical scenarios, the two are separated by a thick wall, which, in some cases, may comprise multiple heterogeneous layers. Accounting for thermal conduction through the multi-layer wall is important to ensure accuracy of the predicted phase change characteristics. This paper presents theoretical analysis of phase change in a system comprising a PCM and a multi-layer Cartesian wall using the eigenfunction expansion method and analysis of multi-layer thermal conduction. Thermal contact resistance between wall layers, and between the wall and PCM are accounted for. The predicted phase change front propagation is shown to agree well with past work for special case of a homogeneous wall, as well as with numerical simulations. Two distinct timescales in the solution, related to diffusion through the wall and phase change propagation in the PCM are identified. The impact of the imposed temperature, wall thermal diffusivity and thickness are presented in non-dimensional forms. Practical problems related to design of a PCM wall for energy storage are solved, showing two very different characteristics of stainless steel and polypropylene walls, as well as the impact of wall thickness on phase change propagation. The results presented here improve the fundamental understanding of phase change heat transfer processes, and are particularly relevant for relatively thick, thermally insulating walls over relatively short time periods, for which a resistance approximation for the wall is not accurate.

666Impact of local left atrial wall thickness on the incidence of acute pulmonary vein reconnection after ablation index-guided ablation

Abstract Background/Introduction Pulmonary vein reconnection is considered a major determinant of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Ablation Index (AI)-guided ablation allows for the creation of ablation lesions of consistent depth and may reduce the incidence of pulmonary vein reconnection after PVI. However, anatomical and imaging studies have demonstrated an important inter- and intra-patient variability of left atrial wall thickness, which can result in non-transmural ablation lesion formation in thicker segments. Purpose The present study aimed to investigate the impact of local left atrial wall thickness on the incidence of acute pulmonary vein reconnection after AI-guided AF ablation. Methods Consecutive AF patients who underwent cardiac computed tomography (CT) imaging prior to AI-guided ablation between December 2017 and September 2019 were studied. AI targets were 500 for anterior/roof and 380 for posterior/inferior segments with a maximum interlesion distance of 6 mm. Occurrence of acute pulmonary vein reconnection after initial PVI was assessed after a 30-minute waiting period. Ablation procedures were analysed offline to determine minimum AI, force-time integral, contact force, ablation duration, power, impedance drop and maximum interlesion distance for each segment according to a 16-segment model. Pulmonary vein antrum wall thickness was assessed for each segment on reconstructed CT images based on patient-specific thresholds in Hounsfield Units, using a previously described method. Results Seventy patients (63% paroxysmal AF, 67% male, mean age 63 ± 8 years) who underwent preprocedural CT imaging and AI-guided AF ablation were studied. Acute reconnection (AR) occurred in 27/1152 segments (2%, 15 anterior/roof, 12 posterior/inferior) in 17/70 (24%) patients. Anterior/roof segments were thicker than posterior/inferior segments (1.48 [1.23-1.80] vs. 1.13 [1.00-1.30] mm; p &amp;lt; 0.01). Reconnected segments were characterised by a greater local atrial wall thickness, both in anterior/roof (1.83 [1.60-2.00] vs. 1.47 [1.20-1.80] mm; p &amp;lt; 0.01) and posterior/inferior (1.38 [1.25-1.50] vs. 1.13 [1.00-1.27] mm; p &amp;lt; 0.01) segments (Figure 1). Minimum AI, force-time integral, contact force, ablation duration, power, impedance drop and maximum interlesion distance were not associated with acute pulmonary vein reconnection. Conclusion Local atrial wall thickness is associated with acute pulmonary vein reconnection after AI-guided PVI. Individualised AI targets based on local wall thickness may be of use to create transmural ablation lesions and prevent pulmonary vein reconnection after PVI. Abstract Figure. Impact of wall thickness on reconnection

The impact of wall thickness and curvature on wall stress in patient-specific electromechanical models of the left atrium

The left atrium (LA) has a complex anatomy with heterogeneous wall thickness and curvature. The anatomy plays an important role in determining local wall stress; however, the relative contribution of wall thickness and curvature in determining wall stress in the LA is unknown. We have developed electromechanical finite element (FE) models of the LA using patient-specific anatomical FE meshes with rule-based myofiber directions. The models of the LA were passively inflated to 10mmHg followed by simulation of the contraction phase of the atrial cardiac cycle. The FE models predicted maximum LA volumes of 156.5 mL, 99.3 mL and 83.4 mL and ejection fractions of 36.9%, 32.0% and 25.2%. The median wall thickness in the 3 cases was calculated as 1.32, pm ,0.78 mm, 1.21, pm ,0.85 mm, and 0.74,pm ,0.34 mm. The median curvature was determined as 0.159,pm ,0.080 hbox {mm}^{-1}, 0.165,pm ,0.079,hbox {mm}^{-1}, and 0.166,pm ,0.077,hbox {mm}^{-1}. Following passive inflation, the correlation of wall stress with the inverse of wall thickness and curvature was 0.55–0.62 and 0.20–0.25, respectively. At peak contraction, the correlation of wall stress with the inverse of wall thickness and curvature was 0.38–0.44 and 0.16–0.34, respectively. In the LA, the 1st principal Cauchy stress is more dependent on wall thickness than curvature during passive inflation and both correlations decrease during active contraction. This emphasizes the importance of including the heterogeneous wall thickness in electromechanical FE simulations of the LA. Overall, simulation results and sensitivity analyses show that in complex atrial anatomy it is unlikely that a simple anatomical-based law can be used to estimate local wall stress, demonstrating the importance of FE analyses.

Predicting fermentation dynamics of concrete egg fermenters

Background and Aims Concrete egg fermenters are of increasing interest to winemakers interested in expanding the range of sensory properties that emerge during fermentation. Winemakers and concrete egg fermenter vendors have made a priori assumptions about the liquid mixing efficacy and heat transfer in egg fermenters, which have not been explored in the literature. These assumptions were therefore examined using a computational fluid dynamics approach, along with a model for fermentation dynamics, to compare a concrete egg fermenter with a jacketed cylindrical tank typically used for winemaking. Methods and Results The liquid temperature, external concrete surface temperature and sugar concentration in a concrete egg fermenter were monitored, and compared with values predicted from a reactor engineering model designed to simulate the fermentation dynamics of a concrete egg fermenter, to good agreement. Simulated mixing and temperature control were then compared in concrete eggs and cylindrical tanks. Finally, the impact of wall thickness and air velocity on fermentation dynamics was explored, with both variables found to have a significant impact on fermentation temperature and kinetics. Conclusions Superior mixing and temperature control was predicted in the jacketed cylindrical tank with the concrete shell found to function more as an insulator than a heat sink during fermentation. Significance of the Study This work represents the first quantitative exploration of concrete egg fermenters, and in doing so will act as a tool for winemakers interested in using concrete eggs as part of their winemaking practices.

Modeling of Moisture Transport Into an Electronic Enclosure Using the Resistor-Capacitor Approach

Abstract The aim of this paper is to model moisture ingress into a closed electronic enclosure under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. As a consequence, an in-house code for moisture transport is developed using the Resistor-Capacitor (RC) method, which is efficient as regards computation time and resources. First, an in-house code is developed to model moisture transport through the enclosure walls driven by diffusion, which is based on the Fick's first and second law. Thus, the model couples a lumped analysis of moisture transport into the box interior with a modified one-dimensional (1D) analogy of Fick's second law for diffusion in the walls. Thereafter, under non-isothermal conditions, the moisture RC circuit is coupled with the same configuration of thermal RC circuit. The paper concerns the study of the impact of imperfections in the enclosure for the whole diffusion process. Moreover, a study of the impact of wall thickness, different diffusion coefficient, and initial conditions in the wall for the moisture transport is accomplished. Comparison of modeling and experimental results showed that the RC model is very applicable for simple and rough enclosure design. Furthermore, the experimental and modeling results indicate that the imperfections, with certain limits, do not have a significant effect on the moisture transport. The modeling of moisture transport under non-isothermal conditions shows that the internal moisture oscillations follow ambient temperature changes albeit with a delay. Although, moisture ingress is slightly dependent on ambient moisture oscillations; however, it is not so dominant until equilibrium is reached.

Impact of Wall Thickness and Saccular Geometry on the Computational Wall Stress of Descending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms

Wall stress calculated using finite element analysis has been used to predict rupture risk of aortic aneurysms. Prior models often assume uniform aortic wall thickness and fusiform geometry. We examined the effects of including local wall thickness, intraluminal thrombus, calcifications, and saccular geometry on peak wall stress (PWS) in finite element analysis of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms. Computed tomographic angiography of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms (n=10 total, 5 fusiform and 5 saccular) underwent 3-dimensional reconstruction with custom algorithms. For each aneurysm, an initial model was constructed with uniform wall thickness. Experimental models explored the addition of variable wall thickness, calcifications, and intraluminal thrombus. Each model was loaded with 120 mm Hg pressure, and von Mises PWS was computed. The mean PWS of uniform wall thickness models was 410 ± 111 kPa. The imposition of variable wall thickness increased PWS (481 ± 126 kPa, P<0.001). Although the addition of calcifications was not statistically significant (506 ± 126 kPa, P=0.07), the addition of intraluminal thrombus to variable wall thickness (359 ± 86 kPa, P ≤ 0.001) reduced PWS. A final model incorporating all features also reduced PWS (368 ± 88 kPa, P<0.001). Saccular geometry did not increase diameter-normalized stress in the final model (77 ± 7 versus 67 ± 12 kPa/cm, P=0.22). Incorporation of local wall thickness can significantly increase PWS in finite element analysis models of thoracic aortic aneurysms. Incorporating variable wall thickness, intraluminal thrombus, and calcifications significantly impacts computed PWS of thoracic aneurysms; sophisticated models may, therefore, be more accurate in assessing rupture risk. Saccular aneurysms did not demonstrate a significantly higher normalized PWS than fusiform aneurysms.

Impact of wall thickness on conduit artery function in humans: Is there a “Folkow” effect?

Regional heterogeneity in wall architecture and thickness may be present between conduit arteries in the upper and lower limbs in humans. These differences in wall architecture may, in turn, influence vascular responsiveness. Folkow proposed in the 1950s that heterogeneity in wall-to-lumen ratio (W:L) could contribute to differences in vascular responsiveness, but this hypothesis has never been directly confirmed in vivo. Our first aim was to examine wall thickness and W:L across arteries in the lower (common and superficial femoral) and upper limbs (brachial and radial) of healthy men ( n = 35) using high resolution ultrasound. In a subgroup ( n = 20) we examined the relationship between W:L of these arteries, physiological (flow-mediated dilation, FMD) and pharmacological vasodilation (glyceryl trinitrate, GTN). Diameter and wall thickness differed significantly across all arteries (ANOVA P < 0.001), with smaller arteries having a relatively larger wall thickness. Moreover, we found a significant correlation between W:L and the FMD-response ( r = 0.55, P < 0.001), which remained significant after correcting for the eliciting shear stress ( r = 0.47, P < 0.001), indicating that W:L/FMD relationship was not primarily related to the impact of diameter on the shear rate stimulus to FMD. W:L also correlated strongly with the GTN-response ( r = 0.56, P < 0.001) across all arteries studied. These results indicate that regional heterogeneity exists in W:L within, but also between, limbs. More importantly, differences in W:L contribute to differences in vascular functional responses, reinforcing the conceptual proposal of Folkow, who suggested that arteries with larger W:L exhibit exaggerated responses to vasoactive stimuli.