B. Ren^1,2, J. Qian¹, X. Zeng¹, A. K. Jha³, S. Xiao⁴, S. Li^1,5

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.71, No.3, pp. 253-278, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2011.071.253

Abstract Ductile failure is a complex multi-scale phenomenon evolved from the micro-voids to macro-crack. There are three main failure mechanisms behinds a ductile failure: adiabatic shear band (ASB), spall fracture, and crack. Since this type of thermo-mechanical phenomena involves large deformation and large scale plastic yielding, a meshfree method has intrinsic advantages in solving this kind of problems over the conventional finite element method. In this paper, the numerical methodologies including multi-physics approach for ASB, parametric visibility condition for crack propagation, and multi-scale approach to determine spall strength in simulating ductile failure have been reviewed. A More >

M. Al-Ajmi¹, A. Benjeddou²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.23, No.3, pp. 265-286, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.023.265

Abstract A new discrete layer finite element (DLFE) is presented for electro-mechanically coupled analyses of moderately thick piezoelectric adaptive composite plates. The retained kinematics is based on layer-wise first-order shear deformation theory, and considers the plies top and bottom surfaces in-plane displacements and the plate transverse deflection as mechanical unknowns. The former are assumed in-plane Lagrange linear, while the latter is assumed in-plane full (Lagrange) quadratic; this results in a nine nodes quadrangular (Q9) DLFE. The latter is validated in free-vibrations, first numerically against ANSYS three-dimensional piezoelectric finite elements for a cantilever moderately thick aluminum plate… More >

A. Bakkali¹, L. Azrar^1,2, N. Fakri¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.23, No.3, pp. 201-232, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.023.201

Abstract In this paper an N-phase Incremental Self Consistent model is developed for magnetoelectroelastic composites as well as the N-phase Mori-Tanaka and classical Self Consistent. Our aim here is to circumvent the limitation of the Self Consistent predictions for some coupling effective properties at certain inclusion volume fractions. The anomalies of the SC estimates are more drastic when the void inclusions are considered. The mathematical modeling is based on the heterogeneous inclusion problem of Eshelby which leads to an expression for the strain-electric-magnetic field related by integral equations. The effective N-phase magnetoelectroelastic moduli are expressed as More >

Hernández LF

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.79, pp. 109-115, 2010, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2010.79.109

Abstract The relationships between (1) leaf biomass and morphology (lamina area and petiole and lamina inclination), (2) petiole’s mechanical and structural properties, and (3) the vertical light gradient inside the crop’s canopy were studied in field grown sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants, maintained at optimum soil water and mineral levels. At flowering, incident photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was measured at the top of the canopy and on individual leaves using a quantum sensor. The fraction of direct incident radiation which passed through the canopy reaching each individual leaf was then calculated. Individual petiole and lamina inclination angles (ia_Petiole… More >

Z Damian-Noriega¹, PA Lomeli-Mejia², SA Villanueva-Pruneda¹, R Pérez-Moreno¹, JPA Puerta-Huerta¹, E Montes-Estrada¹, GD Alvarez-Miranda¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 29-36, 2010, DOI:10.3970/icces.2010.014.029

Abstract The sizing of the component parts of a mechanical assembly must first assure its assembly and functionality and then the replacement (interchangeability) of used parts with new parts. For diametral fits (gaps and interferences) the ISO system of limits and fits is used, but for axial gaps the functional dimensioning method is applied to ensure maximum and minimum functional values. For each axial gap, the axial dimensions of the involved parts must be identified. Later, a minimal chain of dimensions is established, defined as the addition and subtraction of vectors parallel to the axis of More >

Dǎnuţ Receanu¹, Emil Budescu¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 23-28, 2010, DOI:10.3970/icces.2010.014.023

Abstract The paper presents a new method for solving with precision of the differential equations of mechanical systems with two, three or more degrees of freedom. Always, the mechanical systems have coupled unknown quantities of differential equations. The method uncouples the unknown quantities using a graphic program: MATLAB- simulink. More >

A.P.S. Selvadurai¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 57-64, 2010, DOI:10.3970/icces.2010.015.057

Abstract This paper examines the problem of the internal heating of a poroelastic halfspace by an embedded rigid disc inclusion. A computational approach is adopted for modelling the resulting coupled thermo-hydro mechanical processes associated with the heating by the disc inclusion. More >

Yu.A. Goritskiy¹, D.G. Tigetov¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 99-102, 2010, DOI:10.3970/icces.2010.014.099

Abstract It is well-known that process of friction depends immensely on the surface roughness. Also, surfaces change while in friction. Roughness change is influenced by many factors such as shape of asperities, physical characteristics of materials, load, sliding velocity, lubricant and others. It was shown experimentally that roughness reaches a steady form (known as ``equilibrium roughness'') while running-in process. It is ``equilibrium roughness'' that determines a stationary friction mode. More >

Guanbin Song^∗,†,‡, Qing Luo^*, Baiyao Xu^*, Yang Ju^†

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 165-174, 2010, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2010.007.165

Abstract It has been demonstrated that mechanical stimulation plays a vital role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. However, little is known about the effects of mechanical stress on tendon/ligament development from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here, using a custom-made cell-stretching device, we studied the effects of mechanical stretching on the cell morphology and mRNA expression of several key genes modulating tendon/ligament genesis. We demonstrate that bone-marrow-derived rat MSCs (rMSCs), when subjected to cyclic uniaxial stretching, express obvious detectable mRNAs for tenascin C and scleraxis, a unique maker of tendon/ligament formation, and significantly More >

Yequan Wang^*, Li Yang^*, Jin Zhang^*, Ruyue Xue^*, Zhenyu Tang^*, Wei Huang^†, Dianming Jiang^†, Xinyan Tang^*, Peter Chen^‡, KL Paul Sung^{∗,‡,§,¶}

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 105-114, 2010, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2010.007.105

Abstract The anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, cartilage and meniscus in human knee joint have poor healing ability. Accumulation of MMPs in the joint fluids due to knee injury has been considered as the main reason. Our previous experiments showed that synovium may be the major regulator of MMPs in joint cavity after injury. In this paper, we used human synoviocytes harvested from synovium to determine whether mechanical injury and inflammatory factors will induce MMP-2 production in synoviocytes. With zymography, we found that mechanical compression increased the MMP-2 production by 23% under 6% compressions, 61%… More >