Unloading Slope Research Articles

Characteristic Changes of the Stance-Phase Plantar Pressure Curve When Walking Uphill and Downhill: Cross-Sectional Study.

Monitoring of gait patterns by insoles is popular to study behavior and activity in the daily life of people and throughout the rehabilitation process of patients. Live data analyses may improve personalized prevention and treatment regimens, as well as rehabilitation. The M-shaped plantar pressure curve during the stance phase is mainly defined by the loading and unloading slope, 2 maxima, 1 minimum, as well as the force during defined periods. When monitoring gait continuously, walking uphill or downhill could affect this curve in characteristic ways. For walking on a slope, typical changes in the stance phase curve measured by insoles were hypothesized. In total, 40 healthy participants of both sexes were fitted with individually calibrated insoles with 16 pressure sensors each and a recording frequency of 100 Hz. Participants walked on a treadmill at 4 km/h for 1 minute in each of the following slopes: -20%, -15%, -10%, -5%, 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. Raw data were exported for analyses. A custom-developed data platform was used for data processing and parameter calculation, including step detection, data transformation, and normalization for time by natural cubic spline interpolation and force (proportion of body weight). To identify the time-axis positions of the desired maxima and minimum among the available extremum candidates in each step, a Gaussian filter was applied (σ=3, kernel size 7). Inconclusive extremum candidates were further processed by screening for time plausibility, maximum or minimum pool filtering, and monotony. Several parameters that describe the curve trajectory were computed for each step. The normal distribution of data was tested by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Data were normally distributed. An analysis of variance with the gait parameters as dependent and slope as independent variables revealed significant changes related to the slope for the following parameters of the stance phase curve: the mean force during loading and unloading, the 2 maxima and the minimum, as well as the loading and unloading slope (all P<.001). A simultaneous increase in the loading slope, the first maximum and the mean loading force combined with a decrease in the mean unloading force, the second maximum, and the unloading slope is characteristic for downhill walking. The opposite represents uphill walking. The minimum had its peak at horizontal walking and values dropped when walking uphill and downhill alike. It is therefore not a suitable parameter to distinguish between uphill and downhill walking. While patient-related factors, such as anthropometrics, injury, or disease shape the stance phase curve on a longer-term scale, walking on slopes leads to temporary and characteristic short-term changes in the curve trajectory.

Long-term continuous instrumented insole-based gait analyses in daily life have advantages over longitudinal gait analyses in the lab to monitor healing of tibial fractures.

Introduction: Monitoring changes in gait during rehabilitation allows early detection of complications. Laboratory-based gait analyses proved valuable for longitudinal monitoring of lower leg fracture healing. However, continuous gait data recorded in the daily life may be superior due to a higher temporal resolution and differences in behavior. In this study, ground reaction force-based gait data of instrumented insoles from longitudinal intermittent laboratory assessments were compared to monitoring in daily life. Methods: Straight walking data of patients were collected during clinical visits and in between those visits the instrumented insoles recorded all stepping activities of the patients during daily life. Results: Out of 16 patients, due to technical and compliance issues, only six delivered sufficient datasets of about 12weeks. Stance duration was longer (p = 0.004) and gait was more asymmetric during daily life (asymmetry of maximal force p < 0.001, loading slope p = 0.001, unloading slope p < 0.001, stance duration p < 0.001). Discussion: The differences between the laboratory assessments and the daily-life monitoring could be caused by a different and more diverse behavior during daily life. The daily life gait parameters significantly improved over time with union. One of the patients developed an infected non-union and showed worsening of force-related gait parameters, which was earlier detectable in the continuous daily life gait data compared to the lab data. Therefore, continuous gait monitoring in the daily life has potential to detect healing problems early on. Continuous monitoring with instrumented insoles has advantages once technical and compliance problems are solved.

Hormonal and non-hormonal oral contraceptives given long-term to pubertal rats differently affect bone mass, quality and metabolism.

We investigated the effects of hormonal and non-hormonal oral contraceptives (OCs) on bone mass, mineralization, composition, mechanical properties, and metabolites in pubertal female SD rats. OCs were given for 3-, and 7 months at human equivalent doses. The combined hormonal contraceptive (CHC) was ethinyl estradiol and progestin, whereas the non-hormonal contraceptive (NHC) was ormeloxifene. MicroCT was used to assess bone microarchitecture and BMD. Bone formation and mineralization were assessed by static and dynamic histomorphometry. The 3-point bending test, nanoindentation, FTIR, and cyclic reference point indentation (cRPI) measured the changes in bone strength and material composition. Bone and serum metabolomes were studied to identify potential biomarkers of drug efficacy and safety and gain insight into the underlying mechanisms of action of the OCs. NHC increased bone mass in the femur metaphysis after 3 months, but the gain was lost after 7 months. After 7 months, both OCs decreased bone mass and deteriorated trabecular microarchitecture in the femur metaphysis and lumbar spine. Also, both OCs decreased the mineral: matrix ratio and increased the unmineralized matrix after 7 months. After 3 months, the OCs increased carbonate: phosphate and carbonate: amide I ratios, indicating a disordered hydroxyapatite crystal structure susceptible to resorption, but these changes mostly reversed after 7 months, indicating that the early changes contributed to demineralization at the later time. In the femur 3-point bending test, CHC reduced energy storage, resilience, and ultimate stress, indicating increased susceptibility to micro-damage and fracture, while NHC only decreased energy storage. In the cyclic loading test, both OCs decreased creep indentation distance, but CHC increased the average unloading slope, implying decreased microdamage risk and improved deformation resistance by the OCs. Thus, reduced bone mineralization by the OCs appears to affect bone mechanical properties under static loading, but not its cyclic loading ability. When compared to an age-matched control, after 7 months, CHC affected 24 metabolic pathways in bone and 9 in serum, whereas NHC altered 17 in bone and none in serum. 6 metabolites were common between the serum and bone of CHC rats, suggesting their potential as biomarkers of bone health in women taking CHC. Both OCs have adverse effects on various skeletal parameters, with CHC having a greater negative impact on bone strength.

Correlation between reference point indentation and mechanical properties of 3D-printed polymers

Reference point indentation (RPI) is a novel experimental technique designed to evaluate bone quality. This study utilizes two RPI instruments, BioDent and Osteoprobe, to investigate the mechanical responses of several 3D-printed polymers. We correlated the mechanical properties from a tensile test with the RPI parameters obtained from the BioDent and OsteoProbe. In addition, we tested the same polymers five years later (Age 5). The results show that for Age 0 polymers, the elastic modulus is highly correlated with average unloading slope (r = 0.87), first unloading slope (r = 0.85), bone material strength index (BMSi) (r = 0.85), average loading slope (r = 0.82), first indentation distance (r = 0.79), and total indentation distance (r = 0.76). The ultimate stress correlates significantly with first unloading slope (r = 0.85), average unloading slope (r = 0.83), BMSi (r = 0.81), first indentation distance (r = 0.73), average loading slope (r = 0.71), and total indentation distance (r = 0.70). The elongation has no significant correlation with the RPI parameters except with the average creep indentation distance (r = 0.60). For Age 5 polymers, correlations between mechanical properties and RPI parameters are low. This study illustrates the potential of RPI to assess the mechanical properties of polymers nondestructively with simple sample requirements. Furthermore, for the first time, 3D-printed polymers and aged polymers are investigated with RPI.

A vitamin D deficient diet increases weight gain and compromises bone biomechanical properties without a reduction in BMD in adult female mice

Vitamin D contributes to the development and maintenance of bone. Evidence suggests vitamin D status can also alter energy balance and gut health. In young animals, vitamin D deficiency (VDD) negatively affects bone mineral density (BMD) and bone microarchitecture, and these effects may also occur due to chronic ethanol intake. However, evidence is limited in mature models, and addressing this was a goal of the current study. Seven-month-old female C57BL/6 mice (n = 40) were weight-matched and randomized to one of four ad libitum diets: control, alcohol (Alc), vitamin D deficient (0 IU/d), or Alc+VDD for 8 weeks. A purified (AIN-93) diet was provided with water or alcohol (10 %) ad libitum. Body weight and food intake were recorded weekly, and feces were collected at 0, 4, and 8 weeks. At the age of 9 months, intestinal permeability was assessed by oral gavage of fluorescein isothiocyanate–dextran. Thereafter, bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The microarchitecture of the distal femur was assessed by micro-computed tomography and biomechanical properties were evaluated by cyclic reference point indentation. VDD did not affect BMD or most bone microarchitecture parameters, however, the polar moment of inertia (p < 0.05) was higher in the VDD groups compared to vitamin D sufficient groups. VDD mice also had lower whole bone water content (p < 0.05) and a greater average unloading slope (p < 0.01), and energy dissipated (p < 0.01), indicating the femur displayed a brittle phenotype. In addition, VDD caused a greater increase in energy intake (p < 0.05), weight gain (p < 0.05), and a trend for higher intestinal permeability (p = 0.08). The gut microbiota of the VDD group had a reduction in alpha diversity (p < 0.05) and a lower abundance of ASVs from Rikenellaceae, Clostridia_UCG-014, Oscillospiraceae, and Lachnospiraceae (p < 0.01). There was little to no effect of alcohol supplementation on outcomes. Overall, these findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency causes excess weight gain and reduces the biomechanical strength of the femur as indicated by the higher average unloading slope and energy dissipated without an effect on BMD in a mature murine model.

ENGINEERING A TENDON-BONE ENTHESIS-MIMICKING HYBRID MATRIX FOR REPAIR OF IRREPARABLE ROTATOR CUFF TEARS

Rotator cuff tears are common, with failure rates of up to 94% for large and massive tears1. For such tears, reattachment of the musculotendinous unit back to bone is problematic, and any possible tendon-bone repair heals through scar tissue rather than the specially adapted native enthesis. We aim to develop and characterise a novel soft-hard tissue connector device, specific to repairing/bridging the tendon-bone injury in significant rotator cuff tears, employing decellularised animal bone partially demineralised at one end for soft tissue continuation.Optimisation samples of 15×10×5mm3, trialled as separate cancellous and cortical bone samples, were cut from porcine femoral condyles and shafts, respectively. Samples underwent 1-week progressive stepwise decellularisation and a partial demineralisation process of half wax embedding and acid bathing. Characterisations were performed histologically for the presence/absence of cellular staining in both peripheral and central tissue areas (n=3 for each cortical/cancellous, test/PBS control and peripheral/central group), and with BioDent reference point indentation (RPI) for pre- and post-processing mechanical properties.Histology revealed absent cellular staining in peripheral and central cancellous samples, whilst reduced in cortical samples compared to controls. Cancellous samples decreased in wet mass after decellularisation by 45.3% (p&lt;0.001). RPI measurements associated with toughness (total indentation depth, indentation depth increase) and elasticity (1st cycle unloading slope) showed no consistent changes after decellularisation. X-rays confirmed half wax embedding provided predictable control of the mineralised-demineralised interface position.Initial optimisation trials show proof-of-concept of a soft-hard hybrid scaffold as an immune compatible xenograft for irreparable rotator cuff tears. Decellularisation did not appreciably affect mechanical properties, and further biological, structural and chemical characterisations are underway to assess validity before in vivo animal trials and potential clinical translation.

Effects of age, body height, body weight, body mass index and handgrip strength on the trajectory of the plantar pressure stance-phase curve of the gait cycle.

The analysis of gait patterns and plantar pressure distributions via insoles is increasingly used to monitor patients and treatment progress, such as recovery after surgeries. Despite the popularity of pedography, also known as baropodography, characteristic effects of anthropometric and other individual parameters on the trajectory of the stance phase curve of the gait cycle have not been previously reported. We hypothesized characteristic changes of age, body height, body weight, body mass index and handgrip strength on the plantar pressure curve trajectory during gait in healthy participants. Thirty-seven healthy women and men with an average age of 43.65 ± 17.59 years were fitted with Moticon OpenGO insoles equipped with 16 pressure sensors each. Data were recorded at a frequency of 100Hz during walking at 4km/h on a level treadmill for 1minute. Data were processed via a custom-made step detection algorithm. The loading and unloading slopes as well as force extrema-based parameters were computed and characteristic correlations with the targeted parameters were identified via multiple linear regression analysis. Age showed a negative correlation with the mean loading slope. Body height correlated with Fmeanload and the loading slope. Body weight and the body mass index correlated with all analyzed parameters, except the loading slope. In addition, handgrip strength correlated with changes in the second half of the stance phase and did not affect the first half, which is likely due to stronger kick-off. However, only up to 46% of the variability can be explained by age, body weight, height, body mass index and hand grip strength. Thus, further factors must affect the trajectory of the gait cycle curve that were not considered in the present analysis. In conclusion, all analyzed measures affect the trajectory of the stance phase curve. When analyzing insole data, it might be useful to correct for the factors that were identified by using the regression coefficients presented in this paper.

A Comprehensive Study of Fracture Toughness Determination from Conventional and Unconventional Methods

In this work fracture toughness is determined by the Toughness model; Critical Stress-Strain Model and Energy release rate model using unconventional test method referred to as Spherical Indentation test (SIT) to reduce the large and costly experimental set up as required in Conventional Fracture Toughness Test. The toughness model correlates the indentation energy to fracture with fracture toughness, Critical Stress-Strain Model assumes that the critical fracture toughness is equal to the critical plastic work done by the material when a crack tends to propagate and as per the Energy release rate model, indentation depth is given by loading-unloading cycles. The unloading slope which is elastic provides the reduced Young’s Modulus of the material from each unloading cycle which reflects the occurrence of damage in the material. For the determination of contact radius at different indentation points, finite element analysis is performed using the material data obtained from the tensile test result obtained from the previous work of the author. Conventional method using the Compact Tension (CT) and Three-Point Bending (TPB) specimens for the same material is used to determine the fracture toughness and compared with the above-described model.

Characterization of plastically compressible solids via spherical indentation

The response in spherical indentation is used to identify material properties for plastically compressible materials with presumed known elastic properties. The materials are assumed to be characterized by a Deshpande–Fleck constitutive relation (Deshpande and Fleck, 2000). The indentation force versus indentation depth responses and the residual surface profiles (the surface profiles after unloading) are calculated for two sets of material parameters. These are regarded as the “experimental” input materials. The constitutive parameters for these two materials are identified using the Bayesian-type statistical approach of Zhang et al. (2019) both for noise-free and for noise-contaminated data. The uniaxial stress–strain responses obtained from the spherical indentation responses are good approximations of those of the “experimental” input materials, particularly if surface profile data is used, but the quality of the approximation decreases with increasing noise amplitude. Plastic compressibility is found to have a relatively small effect on the correction factor β in the Oliver–Pharr relation (Oliver and Pharr, 2004) between the unloading slope and the effective (or reduced) elastic modulus. The indentation response of the plastically compressible materials can be well-represented by a nearly incompressible plastic constitutive relation but the inferred uniaxial stress–strain response is a poor representation of the “experimental” material uniaxial stress–strain response. The predicted residual surface profile is less dependent on the assumed elastic constant values than is the indentation force versus indentation depth response. The indentation force versus indentation depth responses in spherical indentation for three materials with very different uniaxial stress–strain curves are found to be indistinguishable if the indentation depth is sufficiently small but are distinguishable if the indentation depth is sufficiently large.

Identifying Bone Matrix Impairments in a Mouse Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) by Clinically Translatable Techniques.

Three-to-four percent of children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) present with unilateral tibia bowing, fracture, and recalcitrant healing. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzyme therapy prevented poor bone mineralization and poor mechanical properties in mouse models of NF1 skeletal dysplasia; but transition to clinical trials is hampered by the lack of a technique that (i) identifies NF1 patients at risk of tibia bowing and fracture making them eligible for trial enrollment and (ii) monitors treatment effects on matrix characteristics related to bone strength. Therefore, we assessed the ability of matrix-sensitive techniques to provide characteristics that differentiate between cortical bone from mice characterized by postnatal loss of Nf1 in Osx-creTet-Off ;Nf1flox/flox osteoprogenitors (cKO) and from wild-type (WT) mice. Following euthanasia at two time points of bone disease progression, femur and tibia were harvested from both genotypes (n ≥ 8/age/sex/genotype). A reduction in the mid-diaphysis ultimate force during three-point bending at 20 weeks confirmed deleterious changes in bone induced by Nf1 deficiency, regardless of sex. Pooling females and males, low bound water (BW), and low cortical volumetric bone mineral density (Ct.vBMD) were the most accurate outcomes in distinguishing cKO from WT femurs with accuracy improving with age. Ct.vBMD and the average unloading slope (Avg-US) from cyclic reference point indentation tests were the most sensitive in differentiating WT from cKO tibias. Mineral-to-matrix ratio and carbonate substitution from Raman spectroscopy were not good classifiers. However, when combined with Ct.vBMD and BW (femur), they helped predict bending strength. Nf1 deficiency in osteoprogenitors negatively affected bone microstructure and matrix quality with deficits in properties becoming more pronounced with duration of Nf1 deficiency. Clinically measurable without ionizing radiation, BW and Avg-US are sensitive to deleterious changes in bone matrix in a preclinical model of NF1 bone dysplasia and require further clinical investigation as potential indicators of an onset of bone weakness in children with NF1. © 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Predicting ductile tearing of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel

Predictions for ductile tearing of an additively-manufactured 316L metal structure were generated using a unified creep plasticity damage (UCPD) model and finite element models constructed using 4-node tetrahedral or 8-node hexahedral elements. Uniaxial tension and notched tension experiments were simulated to obtain material parameters for the UCPD model. Results from these simulations revealed that accurate prediction of material bifurcations prior to the initiation of ductile tears are critically important for generating accurate ductile tearing predictions. This occurs because material bifurcations lead to deformation localization which is followed by ductile tearing. Crack path predictions were found to be sensitive to the finite element mesh with cracks preferring to run along mesh lines. Finally, the unloading slope of the load displacement curve was found to be sensitive to element failure modeling.

Hydromechanical behavior of a natural swelling soil of Boumagueur region (east of Algeria)

This work presents an experimental study of the hydromechanical behavior of a natural swelling soil taken from Boumagueur region east of Algeria. Several pathological cases due to the soil shrinkage / swelling phenomenon were detected in this area. In a first part, the hydric behavior on drying-wetting paths was made, using the osmotic technics and saturated salts solutions to control suction. In The second part, using a new osmotic oedometer, the coupled behavior as a function of applied stresses and suction was investigated. It was shown that soil compressibility parameters was influenced by suction variations that an increase in suction is followed by a decrease in the virgin compression slope. On the other hand, the unloading slope of the oedometric curves was not obviously affected by the imposed suction. The decrease in suction strongly influences the apparent preconsolidation pressure, ie during swelling of the samples after wetting.

PERFORMANCE OF GRAPPLE SKIDDER IN DIFFERENT GROUND INCLINATIONS

Land slope contributes to decrease the productivity in the forestry sector activities, including skidding operations. Thus, it is important to study it in order to improve the forest operations planning. Based on this hypothesis, this study aims to analyze the times of the operational cycle and the productivity of the skidder in slope terrain. The study was conducted in Pinus taeda plantations of a forest company located in the CentralWest region of the state of Paraná, Brazil, in three slope classes: flat to moderate, steep and very steep. The data were obtained by the continuous timing method in a time study. Productivity and mean effective cycle time were determined for the three slope classes. The results show that the search and load and the unloading slopes are the ones that consume less time between the activities evaluated in the operational cycle. Considering the slope classes evaluated, flat to moderate and steep require less time to perform all activities of the operational cycle, and their productivities are higher, when compared to the very steep slope class. The productivity of the very steep slope class was 35.3% and 45.0% lower than the flat to moderate and steep classes, respectively. Skidding with skidder on slopes over 26.1º should be avoided because the productivity is negatively influenced in this condition.

2D springback and twisting after drawing of copper alloy sheets

This study deals with forming and springback of U-shaped channels made of copper alloy thin sheets. Three materials are considered: pure Cu, copper-beryllium CuBe2 and copper-iron CuFe2P alloys. All these materials are supplied under sheets of thickness around 0.1mm. Their mechanical behavior is investigated in monotonic uniaxial tension, loading-unloading sequences in tension and simple shear, in order to highlight the hardening, the evolution of the unloading slope with plastic strain and the magnitude of Bauschinger’s effect. Then, drawing of U-shaped elongated parts is performed; to enhance 3D springback, a misalignment of the blank with respect to the punch, die and blank-holder is deliberately applied. The geometry after tool removal is measured by laser scanning, to quantify the magnitude of springback. The twisting parameter, defined as the ratio of the total angle variation between two extreme sections over the distance between the two same sections, is strongly dependent on the material, with a small value of 8 ° m−1 for CuBe2, an intermediate value of 28 ° m−1 for pure Cu and a high value of 45 ° m−1 for CuFe2P. The relationship between 2D springback and twisting is highlighted.

Determination of Elastic Modulus in Mouse Bones Using a Nondestructive Micro-Indentation Technique Using Reference Point Indentation.

The determination of the elastic modulus of bone is important in studying the response of bone to loading and is determined using a destructive three-point bending method. Reference point indentation (RPI), with one cycle of indentation, offers a nondestructive alternative to determine the elastic modulus. While the elastic modulus could be determined using a nondestructive procedure for ex vivo experiments, for in vivo testing, the three-point bending technique may not be practical and hence RPI is viewed as a potential alternative and explored in this study. Using the RPI measurements, total indentation distance (TID), creep indentation distance, indentation force, and the unloading slope, we have developed a numerical analysis procedure using the Oliver-Pharr (O/P) method to estimate the indentation elastic modulus. Two methods were used to determine the area function: (1) Oliver-Pharr (O/P-based on a numerical procedure) and (2) geometric (based on the calculation of the projected area of indentation). The indentation moduli of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) calculated by the O/P (3.49-3.68 GPa) and geometric (3.33-3.49 GPa) methods were similar to values in literature (3.5-4 GPa). In a study using femurs from C57Bl/6 mice of different ages and genders, the three-point bending modulus was lower than the indentation modulus. In femurs from 4 to 5 months old TOPGAL mice, we found that the indentation modulus from the geometric (5.61 ± 1.25 GPa) and O/P (5.53 ± 1.27 GPa) methods was higher than the three-point bending modulus (5.28 ± 0.34 GPa). In females, the indentation modulus from the geometric (7.45 ± 0.86 GPa) and O/P (7.46 ± 0.92 GPa) methods was also higher than the three-point bending modulus (7.33 ± 1.13 GPa). We can conclude from this study that the RPI determined values are relatively close to three-point bending values.

Improvement of an Exponential Cohesive Zone Model for Fatigue Analysis

Cohesive zone model is an important tool for fatigue analysis, especially for fatigue crack growth along with an interface. A pioneering model is the one of Roe and Siegmund (Eng Fract Mech 70:209–232, 2003), in which the damage accumulation is calculated using an irreversible exponential cohesive law. However, it is found in our recent research that the constant unloading and reloading slope in Roe’s damage evolution law could cause a discontinuity in the traction–separation curve when the mixed mode ratio changes. This limits its application to single mode cyclic loading or scenarios where the mixed mode ratio is constant. In this paper, the cause of such discontinuity is analyzed, and a robust cyclic loading formulation is proposed, which will help the exponential cohesive law remain continuous under arbitrary mixed mode cyclic loading. Moreover, it is found in this paper that by adding a scale factor to the Roe’s damage law, the fatigue failure time can be approximated with less computational cost. The relationship between fatigue failure time and the scale factor is shown to be inversely proportional.

A new model approach to predict the unloading rock slope displacement behavior based on monitoring data

To improve the prediction accuracy of the strong-unloading rock slope performance and obtain the range of variation in the slope displacement, a new displacement time-series prediction model is proposed, called the fuzzy information granulation (FIG)-genetic algorithm (GA)-back propagation neural network (BPNN) model. Initially, a displacement time series is selected as the training samples of the prediction model on the basis of an analysis of the causes of the change in the slope behavior. Then, FIG is executed to partition the series and obtain the characteristic parameters of every partition. Furthermore, the later characteristic parameters are predicted by inputting the earlier characteristic parameters into the GA-BPNN model, where a GA is used to optimize the initial weights and thresholds of the BPNN; in the process, the numbers of input layer nodes, hidden layer nodes, and output layer nodes are determined by a trial method. Finally, the prediction model is evaluated by comparing the measured and predicted values. The model is applied to predict the displacement time series of a strong-unloading rock slope in a hydropower station. The engineering case shows that the FIG-GA-BPNN model can obtain more accurate predicted results and has high engineering application value.

Nanoindentation of HMX and Idoxuridine to Determine Mechanical Similarity

Assessing the mechanical behavior (elastic properties, plastic properties, and fracture phenomena) of molecular crystals is often complicated by the difficulty in preparing samples. Pharmaceuticals and energetic materials in particular are often used in composite structures or tablets, where the individual grains can strongly impact the solid behavior. Nanoindentation is a convenient method to experimentally assess these properties, and it is used here to demonstrate the similarity in the mechanical properties of two distinct systems: individual crystals of the explosive cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) and the pharmaceutical idoxuridine were tested in their as-precipitated state, and the effective average modulus and hardness (which can be orientation dependent) were determined. Both exhibit a hardness of 1.0 GPa, with an effective reduced modulus of 25 and 23 GPa for the HMX and idoxuridine, respectively. They also exhibit similar yield point behavior. This indicates idoxuridine may be a suitable mechanical surrogate (or “mock”) for HMX. While the methodology to assess elastic and plastic properties was relatively insensitive to specific crystal orientation (i.e., a uniform distribution in properties was observed for all random crystals tested), the indentation-induced fracture properties appear to be much more sensitive to tip-crystal orientation, and an unloading slope analysis is used to demonstrate the need for further refinement in relating toughness to orientation in these materials with relatively complex slip systems and crystal structures.

Interaction between anti-shear galleries and surrounding rock in the right-bank slope of Dagangshan hydropower station

The right-bank slope of the Dagangshan hydropower station located in Southwest China is a highly unloaded rock slope. Moreover, large-scale natural faults were detected in the slope body; some excavation-induced unloading fractures were discovered at elevations between 1075m and 1146m. Because of poor tectonic stability, the excavation work was suspended in September 2009, and six largescale anti-shear galleries were employed to replace the weak zone in the slope body to reinforce the rightbank slope. In this study, based on microseismicmonitoring technology and a numerical-simulation method, the stabilities of the slope with and without the reinforcement are analysed. An in-situ microseismic-monitoring system is used to obtain quantitative information about the damage location, extent, energy, and magnitude of the rocks. Thus, any potential sliding block in the right-bank slope can be identified. By incorporating the numerical results along with the microseismic-monitoring data, the stress concentration is found to largely occur around the anti-shear galleries, and the seismic deformation near the anti-shear galleries is apparent, particularly at elevations of 1210, 1180, 1150, and 1120m. To understand the interaction mechanism between the anti-shear gallery and the surrounding rock, a 2D simulation of the potential damage process occurring in an anti-shear gallery is performed. The numerical simulation helps in obtaining additional information about the stress distribution and failure-induced stress re-distribution in the vicinity of the anti-shear galleries that cannot be directly observed in the field. Finally, the potential sliding surface of the right-bank slope is numerically obtained, which generally agrees with the spatial distribution of the in-situ monitored microseismic events. The safety factor of the slope reinforced with the anti-shear gallery increases by approximately 36.2%. Both the numerical results and microseismic data show that the anti-shear galleries have a good reinforcement effect.

Finite element simulation of Reference Point Indentation on bone

Reference Point Indentation (RPI) is a novel technique aimed to assess bone quality. Measurements are recorded by the BioDent instrument that applies multiple indents to the same location of cortical bone. Ten RPI parameters are obtained from the resulting force–displacement curves. Using the commercial finite element analysis software Abaqus, we assess the significance of the RPI parameters. We create an axisymmetric model and employ an isotropic viscoelastic-plastic constitutive relation with damage to simulate indentations on a human cortical bone. Fracture of bone tissue is not simulated for simplicity. The RPI outputs are computed for different simulated test cases and then compared with experimental results, measured using the BioDent, found in literature. The number of cycles, maximum indentation load, indenter tip radius, and the mechanical properties of bone: Young׳s modulus, compressive yield stress, and viscosity and damage constants, are varied. The trends in the RPI parameters are then investigated.We find that the RPI parameters are sensitive to the mechanical properties of bone. An increase in Young׳s modulus of bone causes the force-displacement loading and unloading slopes to increase and the total indentation distance (TID) to decrease. The compressive yield stress is inversely proportional to a creep indentation distance (CID1) and the TID. The viscosity constant is proportional to the CID1 and an average of the energy dissipated (AvED). The maximum indentation load is proportional to the TID, CID1, loading and unloading slopes, and AvED. The damage parameter is proportional to the TID, but it is inversely proportional to both the loading and unloading slopes and the AvED. The value of an indenter tip radius is proportional to the CID1 and inversely proportional to the TID. The number of load cycles is inversely proportional to an average of a creep indentation depth (AvCID) and the AvED. The indentation distance increase (IDI) is strongly inversely proportional to the compressive yield stress, and strongly proportional to the viscosity constant and maximum applied load, but has weak relation with the damage parameter, indenter tip radius, and elastic modulus. This computational study advances our understanding of the RPI outputs and provides a starting point for more comprehensive computational studies of the RPI technique.