Junjun Jiang¹, Congqing Wang^1,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.120, No.1, pp. 105-121, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2019.06277

Abstract Aircraft skin health concerns whether the aircraft can fly safely. In this paper, an improved mechanical structure of the aircraft skin inspection robot was introduced. Considering that the aircraft skin surface is a curved environment, we assume that the curved environment is equivalent to an inclined plane with a change in inclination. Based on this assumption, the Cartesian dynamics model of the robot is established using the Lagrange method. In order to control the robot’s movement position accurately, a position backstepping control scheme for the aircraft skin inspection robot was presented. According to the dynamic More >

Jonathan N. Menachem¹, Edo Y. Birati², Payman Zamani², Anjali T. Owens², Pavan Atluri³, Christian A. Bermudez³, David Drajpuch², Stephanie Fuller⁴, Yuli Y. Kim², Christopher E. Mascio⁴, Vikram Palanivel², J. Eduardo Rame², Joyce Wald², Michael A. Acker³, Jeremy A. Mazurek²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.4, pp. 492-498, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12606

Abstract Background: Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of death in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). Identification of disease progression and timing of referral for advanced therapies is often delayed. However, increased awareness and understanding of ACHD and improvements in the approach to treatment have led to improved outcomes. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common barrier to HT. In ACHD, the approach to PH and HT is quite complicated, given the anatomic heterogeneity and lower prevalence and experience. However, in some cases, PH is a result of elevated systemic filling pressures and low output.
Methods: We… More >

Virginia Aragon Sanabria¹, Cheng Dong^*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 1-19, 2018, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2018.015.001

Abstract Endothelial barrier function is critical for tissue homeostasis throughout the body. Disruption of the endothelial monolayer leads to edema, vascular diseases and even cancer metastasis among other pathological conditions. Breakdown of the endothelial barrier integrity triggered by cytokines (e.g.IL-8,IL-1β) and growth factors (e.g.VEGF) is well documented. However, endothelial cells are subject to major biomechanical forces that affect their behavior. Due to their unique location at the interface between circulating blood and surrounding tissues, endothelial cells experience shear stress, strain and contraction forces. More than three decades ago, it was already appreciated that shear flow caused More >

Kevin W. Irick^*

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.8, pp. 1-7, 2017, DOI:10.5098/hmt.8.2

Abstract The Single-sided Guarded Hot Plate Method for Comparative Testing of Thermal Radiation Barriers in Vacuum was used to evaluate the performance of a variety of aerogel insulation specimens manufactured by Aspen Aerogels® against one another and against multi-layer insulation (MLI). Testing at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) shows that the effective thermal resistance, R_e, of all tested aerogel specimens are virtually bounded by the performance of 5-layer and 10-layer MLI specimens over a mean specimen temperature, T_m, range of about 270K to 315K. More >

Nicole M. Stark

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.5, pp. 313-326, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634115

Abstract Performance requirements for packaging films may include barrier properties, transparency, flexibility, and tensile strength. Conventional packaging materials, such as plastic films and laminates, are typically made from petroleum-based polymers. Currently, there is a drive to develop sustainable packaging materials. These alternative materials must be able to be manufactured economically and on a commercial scale, exhibit barrier properties and transparency, and provide adequate mechanical performance. As a biobased, renewable material, cellulose nanomaterials (CNs) are ideally suited to be used in sustainable packaging applications. CNs include cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and each can provide More >

Mercedes Echegaray¹, Gurutz Mondragon¹, Loli Martin², Alba González³, Cristina Peña-Rodriguez¹, Aitor Arbelaiz^1*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.3, pp. 206-214, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634106

Abstract Organic rodlike cellulose nanocrystals extracted from sisal fibers and inorganic montmorillonite based on silicate layers were employed to develop bionanocomposites based on gelatin matrix. Bionanocomposites with cellulose nanocrystal, montmorillonite and both nanoreinforcements combined were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Tensile properties and oxygen and water vapor gas permeability values were determined to study the influence of the addition of nanoreinforcements, different in nature, to gelatin matrix. Bionanocomposites with montmorillonite improved tensile strength but systems reinforced with nanocellulose showed lower tensile strength than neat gelatin ones. Oxygen gas permeability More >

Kristine Koch^1,*, Daniel Johansson², Kalle Johansson³, Karin Svegmark⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 134-144, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634110

Abstract Properties of starch triacetate fi lms from different botanical origins were evaluated. Tensile and barrier properties, glass transition temperatures and moisture uptake were measured, and the molecular structure was characterised. High-amylose starches were good fi lm formers, normal potato starch formed continuous but brittle fi lms and potato amylopectin formed very brittle fi lms even after plasticisation. Barley amylopectin did not form continuous fi lms. Different plasticisers were studied and diacetin was shown to perform better than the standard plasticiser triacetin. All fi lms were water resistant, and the best fi lms gave water vapour More >

Nicolas Bordenave^1,2,3,*, Diana Kemmer⁴, Sonja Smolic⁴, Roland Franz⁴, Florence Girard⁵, Veronique Coma^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 123-133, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634105

Abstract Aroma and oxygen-barrier properties of chitosan-coated papers were measured in order to evaluate the potential of these materials as biodegradable materials for food packaging. Firstly, two chitosans (Chi- 244 and Chi-652) were studied according to their ultimate biodegradability. Chi-652 showed the best fi nal biodegradation rate and was then used for subsequent tests in association with papers. Then, oxygen-barrier and aroma-barrier properties of papers, Chi-652 fi lms and Chi-652-coated papers were investigated. The Chi-652 fi lms exhibited oxygen-barrier at low relative humidity and aroma-barrier comparable to synthetic materials already used in the packaged food industry. More >

Marta Martínez-Sanz, Amparo López-Rubio, Maria José Fabra, José M. Lagaron^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 107-117, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634106

Abstract Due to their high crystallinity and aspect ratio, bacterial cellulose nanowhiskers (BCNW) represent an appealing choice for the development of fully biobased nanocomposite materials with high barrier performance. However, their strong tendency to self-associate, together with their highly hydrophilic character, has restricted the production of nanocomposites containing cellulose nanowhiskers by industrial processing techniques such as melt compounding. Th is article presents an overview of the latest published results carried out within our group and also in other relevant literature, which have led to the development of an effi cient strategy for the incorporation of highly… More >

P.G. Santos¹, J. Carbajo², L. Godinho³, J. Ramis²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.43, No.2, pp. 109-136, 2014, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2014.043.109

Abstract The study of periodic structures, namely sonic crystals, for sound attenuation purposes has been a topic of intense research in the last years. Some efficient methods are available in literature to solve the problem of sound propagation in the presence of this kind of structures such as those based in the Multiple Scattering Theory (MST) or the Finite Element Method (FEM). In this paper a solution based on the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) which presents advantages, namely in computational discretization and calculation costs, is presented. The proposed formulation considers the presence of elastic ring More >