Wedge Effect Research Articles

Clinical Tips for Rotation Correction in Self-ligating Brackets

The use of self-ligating brackets is becoming increasingly popular in modern orthodontic practice. However, one of the major downsides of self-ligating brackets is the lack of rotational control, which is typically achieved using rotation wedges in conventional brackets but is not possible with self-ligating brackets. The paper highlights two techniques for achieving rotational control with self-ligating brackets. The first technique involves using a flowable composite to create a wedge effect within the bracket, while the second method utilizes a Chewie to correct rotation. The paper describes effective and time-saving techniques for achieving rotational control with self-ligating brackets, which can make them more appealing to orthodontists.

Damage characterization and modelling of FRP laminated composites subjected to external edge-on impact

This paper presents both experimental and numerical investigations into the edge-on impact behavior of T700/YPH307 composite laminates with varying lay-up designs and impact energy levels. Various non-destructive testing techniques, including visual inspection, ultrasonic C-scanning and X-ray computed tomography (CT), were used to detect the post-impact damage status and further reveal its 3D spatial distribution. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model, incorporating in-plane shear nonlinearity, fracture plane angle within anisotropic materials, as well as fiber kinking failure in longitudinal compression, was established using an explicit solver. Detailed comparison of the experimental and numerical results was conducted in mechanical response curves and failure mechanisms, where a good agreement was observed. Parameter analyses on the in-situ strengths and the friction coefficient were also performed, offering guidelines for the edge-on impact modelling. Failure mechanisms induced by edge-on impact typically exhibit two distinct features: a highly localized debris wedge, which can be regarded as a trigger in the subsequent occurrence of damage, and the bending fracture of the outer plies resulting from the wedge effect during the oscillating stage of an impact force plateau. Besides, higher impact energy exacerbated internal damage, while the influence of the lay-ups was relatively limited.

Fluid–structure interaction analysis of curved wedges entering into water

The water entry of wedges with curvature differs significantly from that of linear wedges, which have been fully investigated and formulated. The safety and integrity of structures prompt an urgent investigation into the mechanism by which the curvature affects slamming loads and structural responses during water entry. This study examines the slamming force characteristics, pressure distributions, fluid jet evolutions, and structural response behaviors of two-dimensional curved wedge sections, considering five different curvatures and two panel thicknesses. A two-way coupling fluid–structure interaction (FSI) solver has been proposed within an open-source framework. The FSI solver was validated against published literature to ensure its high-fidelity. The small deadrise angle results in a more complicated time-domain characteristics for the slamming pressure, with a gradual transition from a single peak to a double peak. The half-peak pressure duration time were defined, and the quantitative results reveal that the hydroelastic effect of the linear wedge is significantly higher than the curved wedges. When considering the geometric curvature, the elastic wedges do not consistently reduce the peak slamming pressure and lengthen the pulse time. Additionally, large deformations generated by the panel vibrations alter the evolutionary pattern of the fluid jet. In contrast to the linear wedge, the structural responses of the curved wedges show distinctive two-stage behaviors.

Modeling of the effect of fibers on ECC slurry fluidity based on an amended water film thickness theory

Knowing the influence mechanisms of fibers on ECC slurry fluidity and implementing the prediction of ECC slurry fluidity attach vital significance to the design and application of ECC. Based on traditional water film thickness (WFT) theories, this paper introduces the difference in surface WFT of reactive fibers and binding material particles with excess water distribution coefficient and further gives a modified formula for water film calculation and a WFT based ECC fluidity model. Through 40 tests and fitting, the excess water distribution coefficient with respect to distinct fibers and relevant parameters of the ECC fluidity model are obtained. The results indicate that the new model is applicable to different types of fibers, and the fluidity of ECC slurry can be described using an equation, with the R2 of the new equation reaching 0.97. Finally, based on the proposed model, the impact of PP and PVA fibers on the fluidity of ECC slurry can be summarized in two aspects: the wedge effect of the fibers reduces the packing density of the ECC powder, leading to a decrease in the excess water ratio; the water distribution in the ECC slurry is altered by the fibers, resulting in a decrease in the water film thickness on the surface of the cementitious material particles, ultimately causing a decline in the fluidity of the ECC slurry.

Comparison and analysis of properties of V-type HV-LSPMSM with non-magnetic and magnetic-wedges

In order to improve the magnetic density distribution and torque ripple waveform of the motor and enhance its efficiency, the effect of slot wedge on motor performance is discussed in this paper. Taking 6 kV, 710 kW high-voltage line-start PMSM (HV-LSPMSM) as an example, the mathematical model is established, the influence mechanism of slot wedge on air gap density, loss, efficiency and torque ripple of motor is analyzed. The HV-LSPMSM prototype was manufactured, the deviations of several important motor parameters are less than 5% by comparing the test data and the finite element analysis (FEA) results, thus, the accuracy and reliability of the modified finite element model (FEM) are verified, it provides an experimental basis for further research on the effect of relative permeability variation on motor performance. The effects of nonmagnetic-wedges and magnetic-wedges on the motor’s performance are systematically compared. The research results show that compared with the non-magnetic wedges, the magnetic wedges are used to make the magnetic density more uniform, the eddy current loss with magnetic wedge (μ = 5) is reduced by 7.292 kW, and the motor efficiency is improved. The torque ripple rate with magnetic wedge (μ = 3) is reduced by 3.35%, and the torque waveform is significantly improved. And It is found that magnetic wedge (μ > 3) slowed down the iron loss reduction rate. The research provides an important theoretical and experimental basis for the design of HV-LSPMSM and the application of magnetic-wedge in motor.

Enhancing zero-valent iron (ZVI) pulverization during mechanical milling: FeSx as milling aids

A critical problem in the production of ultrafine zero-valent iron (ZVI) using mechanical milling is that the metallic iron (main component of ZVI) is ductile and can withstand severe plastic deformation, which leads to the slow pulverization of ZVI during its milling. In this work, we introduce non-ductile particle solids (FeSx) as milling aids to enhance the pulverization of the ductile ZVI, and find that the addition can improve the pulverization. The result is verified in three different ways through which the milling aids (FeSx) are introduced, namely, the addition of the FeSx solid directly, the use of the FeSx that is formed during the milling using aqueous sulfide solution as milling solvent with and without the addition of ferrous ion. The ZVI particles are pulverized to hundreds of nanometers using the milling aids, while the particles are deformed to flakes of a few microns without the milling aids. Such size difference is quantified using two sizing technologies independently and is verified by the study of the hydrodynamic performance at three flow conditions that are of practical interest for the environmental applications of ZVI. Mechanism of the FeSx as milling aids for the pulverization enhancement may relate to its wedge effects, its non-ductile texture that inhibits the cold welding and its fine bead function. The study provides a method to improve the efficiency of the production of ultrafine iron particles for environmental applications and it is also the 1st work reporting the enhancement of the pulverization of ductile ZVI.

Casimir effect and holographic dual of wedges

This paper investigates the Casimir effect of a wedge and its holographic dual. We prove that the displacement operator universally determines the wedge Casimir effect in the smooth limit. Besides, we argue that the wedge Casimir energy increases with the opening angle and test it with several examples. Furthermore, we construct the holographic dual of wedges in AdS/BCFT in general dimensions. We verify that our proposal can produce the expected Casimir effect within smooth and singular limits. We observe that the Casimir energy density of a wedge increases with the brane tension. Next, we discuss the wedge contribution to holographic entanglement entropy and find it increases with the opening angle, similar to the wedge Casimir energy. Finally, we briefly discuss the holographic polygon in AdS3/BCFT2 and its generalization to higher dimensions.

The impact of wedge and wavy-wall combustor side walls on shock-induced mixing and combustion in a hydrogen-fuelled model scramjet combustor

The mixing and combustion processes are linked and challenging for a supersonic combustion engine. Supersonic air doesn't spend much time in the combustor, making it challenging to blend fuel with supersonic air. The expansion of shear-mixing layer with shock waves and their interactions are the primary characteristics of mixing augmentation. This paper investigates the same methodology for a model scramjet combustion chamber with wedge and wavy sides. The novel scramjet combustion models include wedge and way-wall sidewalls based on the basic scramjet model. By combining the finite volume approach with a second-order upwind discretization method, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are numerically analyzed. The interplay between wedge and wavy-wall effects and free stream flows is taken into consideration by using the shear stress transport (SST) k−ω turbulence model. The effect of the wedge and wavy wall combustor has been evaluated by analysing the shock production and their interactions with the mixing layer and internal flow structure. The turbulence characteristics are also examined to analyse the degree of flow disturbance for wedge and wavy-wall combustion. The wavy wall combustor model results in a 14.5% increase in turbulence intensity, which raises air-fuel mixing and there by improves mixing and combustion efficiency by 12.59% and 11.23%, compared to the base wedge type combustor.

Experimental and numerical studies on influences of wedge reinforcement on seismic performance of loose penetrated mortise-tenon joints

Wooden wedges significantly affect the rotational stiffness and load-bearing capacity of penetrated mortise-tenon joints (PMTJ). To clarify the role of wedges on the seismic performance of loose penetrated mortise-tenon joints, three types of full-scale PMTJs, including reference, loose, and wedge-reinforced joints, were tested under quasi-static loading. The deformation characteristics, hysteresis curves, rotational stiffness degradation behavior, and energy dissipation of PMTJs with wedge were analyzed. Three-dimensional nonlinear finite element models were established to simulate the wedge effects, and the stress states of joint were analyzed. The results indicated that the ultimate bending moment capacity of reference and loose joints was reached when the splitting failure of tenon occurred, while the wedge-reinforced joint reached such capacity when the transverse compression failure occurred at the wedges. The maximum bending moment of PMTJ with a 10 mm gap and a 25 mm gap were 18.3 % and 55.3 % lower than that of reference joint, while maximum bending moments of wedge-reinforced joint with a 10 mm gap and a 25 mm gap were 12.6 % and 17.03 % larger than that of reference joint, respectively. Numerical simulation showed that wooden wedge reduced stress concentration in the tenon and alleviated compression damage of the tenon. Higher load-bearing capacity and rotational stiffness were observed in joints when hardwood wedges were used, compared with that of soft wood. Wedge reinforcement could effectively improve the load-bearing capacity of loose PMTJ. These results yielded valuable data for the performance evaluation and retrofitting of penetrated mortise-tenon joints with wedges in traditional timber structures.

Thermal accumulation effects modelling of investigate radial shaft seal wear and lubrication transition mechanism

A radial shaft seal (RSS) model is established to reveal mixed thermal lubrication (MTL) and wear performance at speeds ranging from 3000 r/min to 7000 r/min. The model takes into account the initial temperatures of the oil medium and the running time of the RSS to investigate the transition limit of lubrication. Then a thermal fluid-solid method was developed to simulate the lubrication performance of RSS, which shows lubrication transition boundaries through rough micro convex bodies for wear deformation. The RSS deforms wedge-shaped during the wear process and a localized fluid pressure is created on the convex bodies. Considering the wear deformation of the convex bodies due to the wedge effect, the micro performance of the RSS can fully describe the mechanism of the leakage rate. As the dynamic pressure decreases and the leakage rate increases with the temperature of the medium, the RSS lubrication gradually transitions from MTL to EHL. Thus, the initial medium temperature should be considered to maintain the RSS under the mixed lubrication regime with low friction.

Erratum: Effect of Medial Opening Wedge and External Rotational Humeral Osteotomies on Medial Elbow Compartment Pressure: An Ex Vivo Study.

Erratum: Effect of Medial Opening Wedge and External Rotational Humeral Osteotomies on Medial Elbow Compartment Pressure: An Ex Vivo Study.

Provisional Reduction to Avoid the Wedge Effect and Control Rotational Deforming Force During Cephalomedullary Nail Insertion for Unstable Intertrochanteric and Basicervical Femoral Neck Fractures: A Novel Surgical Technique

Provisional Reduction to Avoid the Wedge Effect and Control Rotational Deforming Force During Cephalomedullary Nail Insertion for Unstable Intertrochanteric and Basicervical Femoral Neck Fractures: A Novel Surgical Technique

Effects of Various Foot Wedges on Thigh Muscle Activity during Squatting in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Effects of Various Foot Wedges on Thigh Muscle Activity during Squatting in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Effect of Medial Opening Wedge and External Rotational Humeral Osteotomies on Medial Elbow Compartment Pressure: An Ex Vivo Study.

The aim of this study was to assess if the level of osteotomy (50 or 75% the length of the humerus), osteotomy angle (5, 10, or 20 degrees), direction of bone alteration (external rotational or medial opening wedge osteotomies), or orientation of osteotomy (perpendicular to the humeral long axis or perpendicular to the weight-bearing axis of the limb) affect pressure through the medial compartment of the elbow. Humeral osteotomies were performed at 50 and 75% the length of the humerus on 12 canine cadaver thoracic limbs and patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) printed plates applied to induce the desired alteration. Sensors were placed into the medial and lateral aspects of the elbow joint and the limb compressed to 90 N in a universal testing system. Increasing the angle of the induced change had a significant effect on the decreased load through the medial compartment. Performing the osteotomy at 75% of humeral length from proximal was significantly more effective at reducing the medial elbow load than performing it at 50%. Opening wedge osteotomies were more effective than external rotational osteotomies, but both were effective. Changing the direction of the osteotomy (comparing transverse to oblique) did not significantly affect the load reduction through the medial compartment. Performing an osteotomy at a more distal location along the humerus and increasing the angle of the induced change increased the effectiveness of load-shifting humeral osteotomies.

Influence of Non-Parallelism on the Micro-Interface Lubrication Mechanism of Water-Lubricated Bearings

Water-lubricated bearings can effectively solve the pollution problem caused by lubricant leakage and are used in offshore engineering equipment for this reason. Aiming at the problems of unclear and undefined micro-interface lubrication mechanisms of water-lubricated bearings, this paper investigates the influence of non-parallel micro-cavities on the micro-interface lubrication mechanism of bearings. Based on a single micro-cavity model, the lubrication mechanism of micro-cavities is studied in this paper. Lubrication models of the non-parallel contact friction pairs model are built, and the effect of the non-parallelism on the lubrication performance of the micro-cavities is obtained using the computational fluid dynamics method. The results show that, under the same Reynolds number and cavitation pressure, the wedge effect caused by the non-parallelism causes the pressure at the inlet to rise, thus increasing the load-carrying capacity. The existence of non-parallelism limits the rise of the high pressure of the inertia effect on the micro-cavities and reduces the load-carrying capacity. The presence of non-parallelism decreases the area of the negative pressure proportion and increases the proportion of the positive pressure zone inside the micro-cavities, thus increasing the load-carrying capacity.

No ground truth needed: unsupervised sinogram inpainting for nanoparticle electron tomography (UsiNet) to correct missing wedges

Complex natural and synthetic materials, such as subcellular organelles, device architectures in integrated circuits, and alloys with microstructural domains, require characterization methods that can investigate the morphology and physical properties of these materials in three dimensions (3D). Electron tomography has unparalleled (sub-)nm resolution in imaging 3D morphology of a material, critical for charting a relationship among synthesis, morphology, and performance. However, electron tomography has long suffered from an experimentally unavoidable missing wedge effect, which leads to undesirable and sometimes extensive distortion in the final reconstruction. Here we develop and demonstrate Unsupervised Sinogram Inpainting for Nanoparticle Electron Tomography (UsiNet) to correct missing wedges. UsiNet is the first sinogram inpainting method that can be realistically used for experimental electron tomography by circumventing the need for ground truth. We quantify its high performance using simulated electron tomography of nanoparticles (NPs). We then apply UsiNet to experimental tomographs, where >100 decahedral NPs and vastly different byproduct NPs are simultaneously reconstructed without missing wedge distortion. The reconstructed NPs are sorted based on their 3D shapes to understand the growth mechanism. Our work presents UsiNet as a potent tool to advance electron tomography, especially for heterogeneous samples and tomography datasets with large missing wedges, e.g. collected for beam sensitive materials or during temporally-resolved in-situ imaging.

Assessment of land use change of ecological green wedge and cooling island effect: A case study of Wuhan, China.

The construction of urban ecological green wedges, which can mitigate the heat island effect through cooling and ventilation effects, is an important way to enhance the adaptation of cities to climate change. Dynamic monitoring and periodic assessment of both the conservation status and cooling effect of ecological green wedges is a key to ensure the heat mitigation benefits. Based on multi-source remote sensing data, we systematically analyzed the land use changes of six ecological green wedges in Wuhan in 2013 and 2020 using the methods of Markov transfer matrix, land use dynamics, and comprehensive index of land use degree, and evaluated the changes in surface temperature of the ecological green wedges and their cooling island effect. Results showed that the ecological green wedges in Wuhan generally had a large amount of construction land encroaching on ecological land from 2013 to 2020, with the water decreased the most. With the continuous deterioration of ecological green wedges, their land surface temperatures showed rising trends, together with significant weakening trends in cooling island effects. Among all the six wedges, the Dadonghu, Tangxun, and Wuhu exhibited relatively better ecological conservation, slighter land use change and lower overall development degree. Qinglinghu and Houguanhu demonstrated average levels of conservation. Fuhe experienced the most severe change under the significant influence of the westward policy of Wuhan City, with the proportion of water decreasing by 7.1%, warming up by 3.00 ℃, and the largest reduction in cooling distance for the cooling island effect, amounting to about 210 m. The results provided scientific evidence for the urban heat island mitigation-oriented planning and management of ecological green wedges for Wuhan City.

Effects of Oil and Solid Body Temperatures on Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Film Formation

The present study focuses on investigating the influence of oil and solid body temperatures on elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) film formation. Experimental and numerical simulation methods are employed to examine three heating methods: oil and ball heating, disc heating, and entire system heating. A preliminary comparison between the measured results and numerical simulations confirms the impact of heating methods on film formation while validating the availability of the numerical models. Further numerical analysis reveals that in the case of oil and ball heating, the temperature gradient induced by differences in solid body temperatures plays a more significant role in film formation compared to the conventional thermal-viscosity wedge effect caused by EHL film shear. This effect is further amplified at large sliding–rolling ratios and in steel–steel contacts. The overall film formation is primarily governed by the oil inlet temperature, whereas local film formation characterized by a dimple shape is influenced by both thermal gradient effects and thermal-viscosity wedge effects. This study provides valuable insights for selecting appropriate heating methods in experiments as well as understanding how temperature differences affect film formation in practical engineering.

The effect of varus rearfoot wedges on hallux dorsiflexion resistance.

The first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ), which includes the first metatarsal and proximal phalanx, plays a crucial role in gait and impacts the windlass mechanism. Disruptions to this mechanism are implicated in various foot pathologies. Jack's Test serves as a valuable tool for clinicians to assess the functionality of the MTPJ. Varus rearfoot wedges (VRFWs) are a common treatment employed in the management of lower limb pathologies. The impact of VRFWs on the resistance of the first MTPJ during Jack´s Test is currently unknown. This study aimed to measure the influence of VRFWs on the resistance of the first MTPJ during Jack´s Test. The secondary objective was to validate a new measurement method using a digital force gauge. Thirty participants (17 women and 13 men) were enrolled. A digital force gauge measured the weight-bearing force needed for Jack's Test, thereby evaluating the effects of VRFWs of different angulations. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test confirmed that the data followed a normal distribution (p > 0.05). The nonparametric Friedman test (p < 0.001) showed that there were significant differences among all VRFWs, while the Wilcoxon test (p < 0.001) showed that there were differences between barefoot conditions and 3°, 5°, and 8° VRFWs. The use of 8° VRFWs yielded a statistically significant reduction in the passive dorsiflexion force of hallux during Jack's Test (12.51N ± 4.12, p < 0.001). The use of VRFWs has been observed to reduce dorsiflexion resistance in the proximal phalanx of the first MTPJ during Jack's Test. Additionally, the digital force gauge was proven to be a valid tool for conducting Jack's Test, thus offering a reliable measurement method.

Behavior of elastohydrodynamic lubricating film point contact problems in the unsteady state of reciprocating motion

Purpose In this study a numerical analysis of the elastohydrodynamic lubrication point contact problem in the unsteady state of reciprocating motion is presented. The effects of frequency, stroke length and load on film thickness and pressure variation during one operating cycle are discussed. The general tribological behavior of elastohydrodynamic lubrication during reciprocating motion is explained. Design/methodology/approach The system of equations of Reynolds, film thickness considering surface deformation and load balance equations are solved using the Newton-Raphson technique with the Gauss-Seidel iteration method. Numerical solutions were performed with a sinusoidal contact surface velocity to simulate reciprocating elastohydrodynamics. The methodology is validated using historical experimental measurements/observations and numerical predictions from other researchers. Findings The numerical results showed that the change in oil film during a stroke is controlled by both wedge and squeeze effects. When the surface velocity is zero at the stroke end, the squeeze effect is most noticeable. As the frequency increases, the general trend of central and minimum film thickness increases. With the same entraining speed but different stroke lengths, the properties of the oil film differ from one another, with an increase in stroke length leading to a reduction in film thickness. Finally, the numerical results showed that the overall film thickness decreases with increasing load. Originality/value General tribological behaviors of elastohydrodynamic lubricating point contact, represented by pressure and film thickness variations over time and profiles, are analyzed under reciprocating motion during one working cycle to show the effects of frequency, stroke length and applied load.