Small Tension Research Articles

Dynamic response analysis of submerged floating tunnels by wave and seismic excitations

This paper presents the numerical simulation results for the dynamic responses of two types of submerged floating tunnels (SFT) under wave and/or seismic excitations. Time domain simulations are conducted by the commercial program OrcaFlex (OF) and in-house CHARM3D program (CP). The dynamic performances of a short/rigid/free-end SFT section with vertical and inclined mooring lines are evaluated. The SFT numerical models were validated against Oh et al.´s (2013) model test results under regular wave conditions. Then the numerical models were further applied to the cases of irregular waves or seismic motions. The main results presented are SFT surge/heave motions and mooring tensions. The general trends and magnitudes obtained by the two different software packages reasonably agree to each other along with experimental results. When seabed seismic motions are applied to the SFT system, the dynamic responses of SFTs are small but dynamic mooring tension can significantly be amplified. In particular, horizontal earthquakes greatly increase the dynamic tension of the inclined mooring system, while vertical earthquakes cause similar effect on vertical mooring system.

Anomalous Hooke’s law in disordered graphene

The discovery of graphene, a single monolayer of graphite, has provided an experimental demonstration of stability of 2D crystals. Although thermal fluctuations of such crystals tend to destroy the long-range order in the system, the crystal can be stabilized by strong anharmonicity effects. This competition is the central issue of the crumpling transition, i.e., a transition between flat and crumpled phases. We show that anharmonicity-controlled fluctuations of a graphene membrane around equilibrium flat phase lead to unusual elastic properties. In particular, we demonstrate that stretching ξ of a flake of graphene is a nonlinear function of the applied tension at small tension: and for clean and strongly disordered graphene, respectively. Conventional linear Hooke’s law, , is realized at sufficiently large tensions: where depends both on temperature and on the disorder strength.

Tension Recovery following Ramp-Shaped Release in High-Ca and Low-Ca Rigor Muscle Fibers: Evidence for the Dynamic State of AMADP Myosin Heads in the Absence of ATP.

During muscle contraction, myosin heads (M) bound to actin (A) perform power stroke associated with reaction, AMADPPi → AM + ADP + Pi. In this scheme, A • M is believed to be a high-affinity complex after removal of ATP. Biochemical studies on extracted protein samples show that, in the AM complex, actin-binding sites are located at both sides of junctional peptide between 50K and 20K segments of myosin heavy chain. Recently, we found that a monoclonal antibody (IgG) to the junctional peptide had no effect on both in vitro actin-myosin sliding and skinned muscle fiber contraction, though it covers the actin-binding sites on myosin. It follows from this that, during muscle contraction, myosin heads do not pass through the static rigor AM configuration, determined biochemically and electron microscopically using extracted protein samples. To study the nature of AM and AMADP myosin heads, actually existing in muscle, we examined mechanical responses to ramp-shaped releases (0.5% of Lo, complete in 5ms) in single skinned rabbit psoas muscle fibers in high-Ca (pCa, 4) and low-Ca (pCa, >9) rigor states. The fibers exhibited initial elastic tension drop and subsequent small but definite tension recovery to a steady level. The tension recovery was present over many minutes in high-Ca rigor fibers, while it tended to decrease quickly in low-Ca rigor fibers. EDTA (10mM, with MgCl2 removed) had no appreciable effect on the tension recovery in high-Ca rigor fibers, while it completely eliminated the tension recovery in low-Ca rigor fibers. These results suggest that the AMADP myosin heads in rigor muscle have long lifetimes and dynamic properties, which show up as the tension recovery following applied release. Possible AM linkage structure in muscle is discussed in connection with the X-ray diffraction pattern from contracting muscle, which is intermediate between resting and rigor muscles.

A molecular dynamics study of local pressures and interfacial tensions of SDS micelles and dodecane droplets in water.

To obtain the radial (normal) and lateral (transverse) components of the local pressure tensor, PN(R) and PT(R), respectively, and the interfacial tension of micelles, molecular dynamics (MD) calculations were performed for spherical sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles. The local pressure tensor was calculated as a function of radial distance R using the Irving-Kirkwood formula. Similar MD calculations were also carried out for an n-dodecane droplet in water to compare the differences in the local pressure and interfacial tension values with those of the micelles. The calculated interfacial tensions were 20 ± 5 and 44 ± 10 mN/m for the SDS micelles and dodecane droplets, respectively. The excess free energies due to the interfacial tension were 340 and 1331 kJ/mol for the SDS micelle and dodecane droplet, respectively. The micelles are stabilized by 991 kJ/mol by covering their hydrophobic cores with hydrophilic groups. The dodecane droplet has a large interfacial tension caused by the zero or positive values of PN(R) - PT(R) at all values of R. In contrast, the small interfacial tension in the SDS micelles comes from the negative PN(R) - PT(R) values over a wide range of R. The pressure difference between the inside and outside of the oil droplet and its interfacial tension well satisfies the Laplace equation. However, the hydrophobic core of the SDS micelle is quite different from the liquid alkane, and the SDS micelles do not follow Laplace's picture. Decomposing the interfacial tension into contributions from various interactions, it is found that those between charged and polar groups dominate the interfacial tension of the SDS micelles. The positive electrostatic potential (1.3 V) on the micelle surface and the negative potential (-0.15 V) on the oil droplet contribute to the interfacial tensions by 19 and 0.5 mN/m, respectively. Thus, the interfacial tension of the SDS micelles is produced by electrostatic interactions, in contrast to the dodecane droplet.

Elasticity of a semiflexible filament with a discontinuous tension due to a cross-link or a molecular motor.

We analyze the stretching elasticity of a wormlike chain with a tension discontinuity resulting from a Hookean spring connecting its backbone to a fixed point. The elasticity of isolated semiflexible filaments has been the subject in a significant body of literature, primarily because of its relevance to the mechanics of biological matter. In real systems, however, these filaments are usually part of supramolecular structures involving cross-linkers or molecular motors, which cause tension discontinuities. Our model is intended as a minimal structural element incorporating such a discontinuity. We obtain analytical results in the weakly bending limit of the filament, concerning its force-extension relation and the response of the two parts in which the filament is divided by the spring. For a small tension discontinuity, the linear response of the filament extension to this discontinuity strongly depends on the external tension. For large external tension f, the spring force contributes a subdominant correction ∼1/f^{3/2} to the well-known ∼1/sqrt[f]-dependence of the end-to-end extension.

Analysis of mechano-sorptive effect in oscillatory drying of beech timber

The paper shows results of analysis of influences of oscillating parameters of drying on measuring wood moisture content in the kiln, rate and quality of drying. For this analysis, we used a conventional drying cycle, a cycle with oscillating equilibrium moisture content (EMC), and a cycle with oscillating temperatures. A special software tool was created for managing the oscillations. It was shown that oscillations of EMC and temperatures result in cyclic changes in wood MC, but also in the additional inaccuracies of MC measurements in the kiln. The drying process of the cycle with oscillating EMC lasted somewhat shorter than the other two cycles. Drying quality was the same or better in the cycles with oscillations as compared to the conventionally dried cycle, and the smaller tensions in the wood confirmed the activation of the additional mechano-sorptive effect during cyclic changes of MC in surface layers.

Effects of the van der Waals Force on the Dynamics Performance for a Micro Resonant Pressure Sensor

The micro resonant pressure sensor outputs the frequency signals where the distortion does not take place in a long distance transmission. As the dimensions of the sensor decrease, the effects of the van der Waals forces should be considered. Here, a coupled dynamic model of the micro resonant pressure sensor is proposed and its coupled dynamic equation is given in which the van der Waals force is considered. By the equation, the effects of the van der Waals force on the natural frequencies and vibration amplitudes of the micro resonant pressure sensor are investigated. Results show that the natural frequency and the vibrating amplitudes of the micro resonant pressure sensor are affected significantly by van der Waals force for a small clearance between the film and the base plate, a small initial tension stress of the film, and some other conditions.

Interfacial Tension Effect on Cell Partition in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) provide a mild environment for the partition and separation of cells. We report a combined experimental and theoretical study on the effect of interfacial tension of polymeric ATPS on the partitioning of cells between two phases and their interface. Two-phase systems are generated using polyethylene glycol and dextran of specific properties as phase-forming polymers and culture media as the solvent component. Ultralow interfacial tensions of the solutions are precisely measured using an axisymmetric drop shape analysis method. Partition experiments show that two-phase systems with an interfacial tension of 30 μJ/m(2) result in distribution of majority of cells to the bottom dextran phase. An increase in the interfacial tension results in a distribution of cells toward the interface. An independent cancer cell spheroid formation assay confirms these observations: a drop of the dextran phase containing cancer cells is dispensed into the immersion polyethylene glycol phase to form a cell-containing drop. Only at very small interfacial tensions do cells remain within the drop to aggregate into a spheroid. We perform a thermodynamic modeling of cell partition to determine variations of free energy associated with displacement of cells in ATPS with respect to the ultralow interfacial tensions. This modeling corroborates with the experimental results and demonstrates that at the smallest interfacial tension of 30 μJ/m(2), the free energy is a minimum with cells in the bottom phase. Increasing the interfacial tension shifts the minimum energy and partition of cells toward the interfacial region of the two aqueous phases. Examining differences in the partition behavior and minimum free energy modeling of A431.H9 cancer cells and mouse embryonic stem cells shows that the surface properties of cells further modulate partition in ATPS. This combined approach provides a fundamental understanding of interfacial tension role on cell partition in ATPS and a framework for future studies.

Transition to coarsening for confined one-dimensional interfaces with bending rigidity

We discuss the nonlinear dynamics and fluctuations of interfaces with bending rigidity under the competing attractions of two walls with arbitrary permeabilities. This system mimics the dynamics of confined membranes. We use a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, where membranes are effectively one-dimensional objects. In a previous work [T. Le Goff et al., Phys. Rev. E 90, 032114 (2014)], we have shown that this model predicts frozen states caused by bending rigidity-induced oscillatory interactions between kinks (or domain walls). We here demonstrate that in the presence of tension, potential asymmetry, or thermal noise, there is a finite threshold above which frozen states disappear, and perpetual coarsening is restored. Depending on the driving force, the transition to coarsening exhibits different scenarios. First, for membranes under tension, small tensions can only lead to transient coarsening or partial disordering, while above a finite threshold, membrane oscillations disappear and perpetual coarsening is found. Second, potential asymmetry is relevant in the nonconserved case only, i.e., for permeable walls, where it induces a drift force on the kinks, leading to a fast coarsening process via kink-antikink annihilation. However, below some threshold, the drift force can be balanced by the oscillatory interactions between kinks, and frozen adhesion patches can still be observed. Finally, at long times, noise restores coarsening with standard exponents depending on the permeability of the walls. However, the typical time for the appearance of coarsening exhibits an Arrhenius form. As a consequence, a finite noise amplitude is needed in order to observe coarsening in observable time.

Measurement and analysis of fatigue crack deformation on the macro- and micro-scale

The paper describes an experiment which performs in-situ loading of a small compact tension specimen in a scanning electron microscope. Images are collected throughout a number of successive loadincg cycles. These are then analysed using digital image correlation (DIC) in order to produce crack flank displacements as a function of load. This data is then compared with a simple elastic approach, and it is concluded that elastic-plastic analysis is required in order to accurately capture the displacements close to the crack tip. A simple approach due to Pommier and Hamam is therefore employed. This gives a better representation of the data, but predicts a variation of crack tip displacement, ?, which is difficult to explain from a physical perspective. The need for a more sophisticated analysis of the data is therefore highlighted.

Small membranes under negative surface tension.

We use computer simulations and a simple free energy model to study the response of a bilayer membrane to the application of a negative (compressive) mechanical tension. Such a tension destabilizes the long wavelength undulation modes of giant vesicles, but it can be sustained when small membranes and vesicles are considered. Our negative tension simulation results reveal two regimes-(i) a weak negative tension regime characterized by stretching-dominated elasticity and (ii) a strong negative tension regime featuring bending-dominated elastic behavior. This resembles the findings of the classic Evans and Rawicz micropipette aspiration experiment in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) [E. Evans and W. Rawicz, Phys, Rev. Lett. 64, 2094 (1990)]. However, in GUVs the crossover between the two elasticity regimes occurs at a small positive surface tension, while in smaller membranes it takes place at a moderate negative tension. Another interesting observation concerning the response of a small membrane to negative surface tension is related to the relationship between the mechanical and fluctuation tensions, which are equal to each other for non-negative values. When the tension decreases to negative values, the fluctuation tension γ drops somewhat faster than the mechanical tension τ in the small negative tension regime, before it saturates (and becomes larger than τ) for large negative tensions. The bending modulus exhibits an "opposite" trend. It remains almost unchanged in the stretching-dominated elastic regime, and decreases in the bending-dominated regime. Both the amplitudes of the thermal height undulations and the projected area variations diverge at the onset of mechanical instability.

Electrohydrodynamic instability of a capacitive elastic membrane

The electrohydrodynamic instability of a leaky (weakly conducting) capacitive elastic membrane driven by a direct current electric field, both perpendicular and parallel to the membrane in a micro-fluidic channel, is investigated theoretically. In the leaky dielectric framework, electric charges can accumulate on either side of the membrane, and the effect of the accumulated surface charge depends on the ratio of charge relaxation time in the bulk to the membrane charging time. Under a parallel electric field, a non-conducting membrane can become unstable while under a perpendicular electric field a non-conducting capacitive membrane is always stable and membrane conductance is essential for the membrane instability. The effects of membrane conductance, bending modulus, and charge relaxation time on the membrane instability are elucidated for several combinations of conductivity ratio and permittivity ratio in the bulk fluids. Regions of instability are computed for both the parallel and perpendicular electric fields. The tangential electric field acts similarly to the membrane tension in terms of its damping effects at small length scales (high wave number), while either bending or membrane tension is needed to damp out the small-scale perturbations under a perpendicular electric field.

Mechanical and vibrational responses of gate-tunable graphene resonator

The vibrational mechanical properties of gate-tunable graphene resonator were investigated in detail using finite element analysis (FEA) and simulation. Treating the graphene resonator as a two-dimensional (2D) thin plate, the relationship between resonance frequency and driving force was explored. The effects of built-in tension, adsorbates and graphene size on the performance of resonator including resonance frequency and tunability were also studied. It was shown that resonance frequency could be tuned by the electrostatically induced average tension due to driving force, and exponentially increased with increasing driving force. When the single-layer graphene resonator without any adsorbates had no or very small built-in tension, the tunability of resonator was greater. However, for a high-frequency-range resonator, the resonator with high built-in tension should be used. The simulation results suggested potential applications of graphene resonators tuned by a driving force, such as widely tunable or ultrahigh frequency nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) devices.

Is Planck data consistent with primordial deuterium measurements?

The recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies provided by the Planck satellite experiment have significantly improved the constraints on several cosmological parameters. In this brief paper we point out a small but interesting tension present between recent values of the primordial deuterium measured from quasar absorption line systems and the same value inferred, albeit indirectly, from the Planck measurements assuming {\Lambda}CDM and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Here we discuss this tension in detail investigating the possible new physics that could be responsible for the tension. We found that, among 8 extra parameters, only an anomalous lensing component and a closed universe could change the Planck constraint towards a better consistency with direct deuterium measurements.

Space–time characteristics of a compliant wall in a turbulent channel flow

AbstractThe space–time characteristics of a compliant wall in a turbulent channel flow are investigated using direct numerical simulation (DNS). The compliant wall is modelled as a homogeneous plane supported by spring-and-damper arrays and is passively driven by wall-pressure fluctuations. The frequency/wavenumber spectra and convection velocities of the wall-pressure fluctuations, wall displacement and wall velocity are obtained from the present simulation. As the spring, damping, and tension coefficients decrease, the wall becomes softer and the wall displacement and velocity fluctuations increase. For a relatively stiff compliant wall (i.e. large spring, damping and streamwise tension coefficients), there are few changes in the skin-friction drag and near-wall turbulence structures. However, when a compliant wall is soft (i.e. small spring, damping and streamwise tension coefficients), the wall moves in the form of a large-amplitude quasi-two-dimensional wave travelling in the downstream direction. This wave is generated by the resonance of the wall property and the near-wall flow is significantly activated by this wall motion. The power spectra of wall variables show distinct peaks near the resonance frequencies. The convection velocities of the wall motion and wall-pressure fluctuations become smaller with a softer wall.

Separate constraints on early and late cosmology

Since the public release of Planck data, several attempts have been made to explain the observed small tensions with other data sets, most of them involving an extension of the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model. We try here an alternative approach to the data analysis, based on separating the constraints coming from the different epochs in cosmology, in order to assess which part of the standard model generates the tension with the data. To this end, we perform a particular analysis of Planck data probing only the early cosmological evolution, until the time of photon decoupling. Then, we utilize this result to see if the ΛCDM model can fit all observational constraints probing only the late cosmological background evolution, discarding any information concerning the late perturbation evolution. We find that all tensions between the data sets are removed, suggesting that our standard assumptions on the perturbed late-time history, as well as on reionization, could sufficiently bias our parameter extraction and be the source of the alleged tensions.

Quark flavor transitions inLμ−Lτmodels

We consider a new massive vector-boson Z' that couples to leptons through the L_mu - L_tau current, and to quarks through an arbitrary set of couplings. We show that such a model can be obtained from a renormalizable field theory involving new heavy fermions in an anomaly-free representation. The model is a candidate explanation for the discrepancy observed recently by the LHCb collaboration in angular distributions of the final state particles in the rare decay B \to K* mu^+ mu^-. Interestingly, the new vector-boson contribution to the decay tau \to mu nu_tau \bar nu_mu can also remove a small tension in the measurement of the corresponding branching ratio. Constraints from light flavor meson-mixing restrict the coupling to the up- and down-quarks to be very small and thus direct production of the vector-boson at hadron colliders is strongly suppressed. The most promising ways to test the model is through the measurement of the Z decay to four leptons and through its effect on neutrino trident production of muon pairs. This latter process is a powerful but little-known constraint, which surprisingly rules out explanations of (g-2)_mu based on Z' gauge bosons coupled to muon number, with mass of at least a few GeV.

Feeling the hidden mechanical forces in lipid bilayer is an original sense.

Life's origin entails enclosing a compartment to hoard material, energy, and information. The envelope necessarily comprises amphipaths, such as prebiotic fatty acids, to partition the two aqueous domains. The self-assembled lipid bilayer comes with a set of properties including its strong anisotropic internal forces that are chemically or physically malleable. Added bilayer stretch can alter force vectors on embedded proteins to effect conformational change. The force-from-lipid principle was demonstrated 25 y ago when stretches opened purified Escherichia coli MscL channels reconstituted into artificial bilayers. This reductionistic exercise has rigorously been recapitulated recently with two vertebrate mechanosensitive K(+) channels (TREK1 and TRAAK). Membrane stretches have also been known to activate various voltage-, ligand-, or Ca(2+)-gated channels. Careful analyses showed that Kv, the canonical voltage-gated channel, is in fact exquisitely sensitive even to very small tension. In an unexpected context, the canonical transient-receptor-potential channels in the Drosophila eye, long presumed to open by ligand binding, is apparently opened by membrane force due to PIP2 hydrolysis-induced changes in bilayer strain. Being the intimate medium, lipids govern membrane proteins by physics as well as chemistry. This principle should not be a surprise because it parallels water's paramount role in the structure and function of soluble proteins. Today, overt or covert mechanical forces govern cell biological processes and produce sensations. At the genesis, a bilayer's response to osmotic force is likely among the first senses to deal with the capricious primordial sea.

A Universal Law for Cell Uptake of One-Dimensional Nanomaterials

Understanding cell interaction with one-dimensional nanomaterials, including nanotubes, nanowires, nanofibers, filamentous bacteria, and certain nanoparticle chains, has fundamental importance to many applications such as biomedical diagnostics, therapeutics, and nanotoxicity. Here we show that cell uptake of one-dimensional nanomaterials via receptor-mediated endocytosis is dominated by a single dimensionless parameter that scales with the membrane tension and radius of the nanomaterial and inversely with the membrane bending stiffness. It is shown that as cell membrane internalizes one-dimensional nanomaterials the uptake follows a near-perpendicular entry mode at small membrane tension but it switches to a near-parallel interaction mode at large membrane tension.

Effect of aberration on partial-sky measurements of the cosmic microwave background temperature power spectrum

Our motion relative to the cosmic-microwave-background (CMB) rest frame deflects light rays giving rise to shifts as large as L -> L(1+beta), where beta=0.00123 is our velocity (in units of the speed of light) on measurements CMB fluctuations. Here we present a novel harmonic-space approach to this CMB aberration that improves upon prior work by allowing us to (i) go to higher orders in beta, thus extending the validity of the analysis to measurements at L > 1/beta ~ 800; and (ii) treat the effects of window functions and pixelization in a more accurate and computationally efficient manner. We calculate precisely the magnitude of the systematic bias in the power spectrum inferred from the partial sky, and show that aberration shifts the multipole moment by Delta L/L ~ beta<cos(theta)>, with <cos(theta)> averaged over the survey footprint. Such a shift, if ignored, would bias the measurement of the sound-horizon size theta_* at the 0.01%-level, which is comparable to the measurement uncertainties of Planck. The bias can then propagate into cosmological parameters such as the angular-diameter distance, Hubble parameter and dark-energy equation of state. We study the effect of aberration for current Planck, South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) data and show that the bias cannot be neglected. We suggest that the small tension between Planck, ACT, and SPT may be due partially to aberration. An Appendix shows how the near constancy of the full-sky power spectrum under aberration follows from unitarity of the aberration kernel.