Three-Dimensional Modeling and Computational Analysis of the Human Cornea Considering Distributed Collagen Fibril Orientations

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pandolfi ◽  
Gerhard A. Holzapfel

Experimental tests on human corneas reveal distinguished reinforcing collagen lamellar structures that may be well described by a structural constitutive model considering distributed collagen fibril orientations along the superior-inferior and the nasal-temporal meridians. A proper interplay between the material structure and the geometry guarantees the refractive function and defines the refractive properties of the cornea. We propose a three-dimensional computational model for the human cornea that is able to provide the refractive power by analyzing the structural mechanical response with the nonlinear regime and the effect the intraocular pressure has. For an assigned unloaded geometry we show how the distribution of the von Mises stress at the top surface of the cornea and through the corneal thickness and the refractive power depend on the material properties and the fibril dispersion. We conclude that a model for the human cornea must not disregard the peculiar collagen fibrillar structure, which equips the cornea with the unique biophysical, mechanical, and optical properties.

Author(s):  
Jose´ Renato M. de Sousa ◽  
George C. Campello ◽  
Antoˆnio Fernando B. Bueno ◽  
Eduardo Vardaro ◽  
Gilberto B. Ellwanger ◽  
...  

This paper studies the structural response of a 6.0″ flexible pipe under pure tension considering two different situations: the pipe is intact or has five wires broken in its outer tensile armor. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model devoted to analyze the local mechanical response of flexible pipes is employed in this study. This model is capable of representing each wire of the tensile armors and, therefore, localized defects, including total rupture, may be adequately represented. Results from experimental tests are also presented in order to validate the theoretical estimations. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that the imposed damage reduced the axial stiffness of the pipe. High stress concentrations in the wires near the damaged ones were also observed and, furthermore, the stresses in the inner carcass and the pressure armor are affected by the imposed damage, but, on the other hand, the normal stresses in the wires of the inner tensile armor are not.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 575-585
Author(s):  
Luigi La Barbera ◽  
Milena Trabace ◽  
Giancarlo Pennati ◽  
José Félix Rodríguez Matas

The application of three-dimensional printing technologies to metal materials allows us to design innovative, low-weight, patient-specific implants for orthopedic prosthesis. This is particularly true when the reconstruction of extensive metastatic bone defect is planned. Modeling complex three-dimensional-printed highly repetitive trabecular-like structures based on finite elements is computationally demanding, while homogenization algorithms offer the advantage of reduced simulation cost and time, allowing an effective evaluation of new personalized design suitable for clinical needs. This article describes and discusses the implementation of a reliable method for the multiscale modeling of trabecular structures by means of asymptotic expansion homogenization. Following the material characterization of the Ti6Al4V alloy obtained by electron beam melting technology, the asymptotic expansion homogenization was applied to two alternative low-density cell-unit designs. Model predictions demonstrated satisfactory agreement with compressive experimental tests and cantilever bending tests performed on both designs (differences lower than 5.5%). The method was extended to a real patient-specific hemipelvis reconstruction, exploiting the capability of the asymptotic expansion homogenization approach in quantitatively describing the effect of cell-unit designs and three-dimensional-printing stack direction (i.e. cell-unit orientation) both on the overall mechanical response of the implant and on the stress distribution. The hemipelvis implant filled with the higher density cell unit demonstrated to be 14% stiffer than using the lower density one, while changing the cell-unit orientation affected the stiffness up to 10%. The maximum stress values reached at the anchors were affected in a minor extent by the investigated design parameters.


Author(s):  
Jose´ Renato M. de Sousa ◽  
Paula F. Viero ◽  
Carlos Magluta ◽  
Ney Roitman

This paper deals with a nonlinear three-dimensional finite element (FE) model capable of predicting the mechanical response of flexible pipes subjected to axisymmetric loads focusing on their axial compression response. Moreover, in order to validate this model, experimental tests carried out at COPPE/UFRJ are also described. In these tests, a typical 4″ flexible pipe was subjected to axial compression until its failure is reached. Radial and axial displacements were measured and compared to the model predictions. The good agreement between all obtained results points that the proposed FE model is efficient to estimate the response of flexible pipes to axial compression and, furthermore, has potential to be employed in the identification of the failure modes related to excessive axial compression as well as in the mechanical analysis of flexible pipes under other types of loads.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
József Dobos ◽  
Muammel M. Hanon ◽  
István Oldal

Abstract Three-dimensional (3D) printing settings allow the existence of differently filled sections together within a piece. That means the use of inhomogeneous internal material structure. Knowing the load capacity that 3D printed plastic parts can withstand leads to the reduction of the filling degree, thus the amount of the used material in certain places. This approach has two advantages during production: (i) less material use and (ii) reduced manufacturing time, both being cost-reducing factors. The present research aims to find the optimal proportions for fabricating a bending test piece with varying filling degrees. To achieve this goal, experimental tests were performed for obtaining tensile strength and modulus of elasticity using different pairs of infill density and pattern. This provided a basis for creating a working mechanical model based on accurate and realistic material properties. Hence, a series of virtual bending test experiments were conducted on a sandwich structure specimen employing Ansys Workbench software. By doing so, the optimal thickness (of the sandwich’s inner layer) with the highest specific load capacity for the given filling patterns and densities were determined. To the best of our knowledge, the current procedure of experiments and method of settings optimization were not discussed elsewhere.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (175) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Zhou ◽  
Ahmed Abass ◽  
Bernardo Lopes ◽  
Ashkan Eliasy ◽  
Sally Hayes ◽  
...  

This study aims to estimate the reduction in collagen fibril density within the central 6 mm radius of keratoconic corneas through the processing of microstructure and videokeratography data. Collagen fibril distribution maps and topography maps were obtained for seven keratoconic and six healthy corneas, and topographic features were assessed to detect and calculate the area of the cone in each keratoconic eye. The reduction in collagen fibril density within the cone area was estimated with reference to the same region in the characteristic collagen fibril maps of healthy corneas. Together with minimum thickness and mean central corneal refractive power, the cone area was correlated with the reduction in the cone collagen fibrils. For the corneas considered, the mean area of keratoconic cones was 3.30 ± 1.90 mm 2 . Compared with healthy corneas, fibril density in the cones of keratoconic corneas was lower by as much as 35%, and the mean reduction was 17 ± 10%. A linear approximation was developed to relate the magnitude of reduction to the refractive power, minimum corneal thickness and cone area ( R 2 = 0.95, p < 0.001). Outside the cone area, there was no significant difference between fibril arrangement in healthy and keratoconic corneas. The presented method can predict the mean fibril density in the keratoconic eye's cone area. The technique can be applied in microstructure-based finite-element models of the eye to regulate its stiffness level and the stiffness distribution within the areas affected by keratoconus.


Author(s):  
José Renato M. de Sousa ◽  
Paula F. Viero ◽  
Carlos Magluta ◽  
Ney Roitman

This paper deals with a nonlinear three-dimensional finite element (FE) model capable of predicting the mechanical response of flexible pipes subjected to axisymmetric loads focusing on their axial compression response. Moreover, in order to validate this model, experimental tests are also described. In these tests, a typical 4 in. flexible pipe was subjected to axial compression until its failure is reached. Radial and axial displacements were measured and compared to the model predictions. The good agreement between all results points out that the proposed FE model is effective to estimate the response of flexible pipes to axial compression and; furthermore, has potential to be employed in the identification of the failure modes related to excessive axial compression as well as in the mechanical analysis of flexible pipes under other types of loads.


Author(s):  
D. L. Callahan

Modern polishing, precision machining and microindentation techniques allow the processing and mechanical characterization of ceramics at nanometric scales and within entirely plastic deformation regimes. The mechanical response of most ceramics to such highly constrained contact is not predictable from macroscopic properties and the microstructural deformation patterns have proven difficult to characterize by the application of any individual technique. In this study, TEM techniques of contrast analysis and CBED are combined with stereographic analysis to construct a three-dimensional microstructure deformation map of the surface of a perfectly plastic microindentation on macroscopically brittle aluminum nitride.The bright field image in Figure 1 shows a lg Vickers microindentation contained within a single AlN grain far from any boundaries. High densities of dislocations are evident, particularly near facet edges but are not individually resolvable. The prominent bend contours also indicate the severity of plastic deformation. Figure 2 is a selected area diffraction pattern covering the entire indentation area.


Author(s):  
Nurullah Türker ◽  
Hümeyra Tercanlı Alkış ◽  
Steven J Sadowsky ◽  
Ulviye Şebnem Büyükkaplan

An ideal occlusal scheme plays an important role in a good prognosis of All-on-Four applications, as it does for other implant therapies, due to the potential impact of occlusal loads on implant prosthetic components. The aim of the present three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) study was to investigate the stresses on abutments, screws and prostheses that are generated by occlusal loads via different occlusal schemes in the All-on-Four concept. Three-dimensional models of the maxilla, mandible, implants, implant substructures and prostheses were designed according to the All-on-Four concept. Forces were applied from the occlusal contact points formed in maximum intercuspation and eccentric movements in canine guidance occlusion (CGO), group function occlusion (GFO) and lingualized occlusion (LO). The von Mises stress values for abutment and screws and deformation values for prostheses were obtained and results were evaluated comparatively. It was observed that the stresses on screws and abutments were more evenly distributed in GFO. Maximum deformation values for prosthesis were observed in the CFO model for lateral movement both in the maxilla and mandible. Within the limits of the present study, GFO may be suggested to reduce stresses on screws, abutments and prostheses in the All-on-Four concept.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6972
Author(s):  
Lihua Cui ◽  
Fei Ma ◽  
Tengfei Cai

The cavitation phenomenon of the self-resonating waterjet for the modulation of erosion characteristics is investigated in this paper. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to analyze the unsteady characteristics of the self-resonating jet. The numerical model employs the mixture two-phase model, coupling the realizable turbulence model and Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model. Collected data from experimental tests were used to validate the model. Results of numerical simulations and experimental data frequency bands obtained by the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) method were in very good agreement. For better understanding the physical phenomena, the velocity, the pressure distributions, and the cavitation characteristics were investigated. The obtained results show that the sudden change of the flow velocity at the outlet of the nozzle leads to the forms of the low-pressure zone. When the pressure at the low-pressure zone is lower than the vapor pressure, the cavitation occurs. The flow field structure of the waterjet can be directly perceived through simulation, which can provide theoretical support for realizing the modulation of the erosion characteristics, optimizing nozzle structure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niksa Mohammadi Bagheri ◽  
Mahmoud Kadkhodaei ◽  
Shiva Pirhadi ◽  
Peiman Mosaddegh

AbstractThe implementation of intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) is one of the successfully applied refractive operations for the treatment of keratoconus (kc) progression. The different selection of ICRS types along with the surgical implementation techniques can significantly affect surgical outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the influence of ICRS implementation techniques and design on the postoperative biomechanical state and keratometry results. The clinical data of three patients with different stages and patterns of keratoconus were assessed to develop a three-dimensional (3D) patient-specific finite-element model (FEM) of the keratoconic cornea. For each patient, the exact surgery procedure definitions were interpreted in the step-by-step FEM. Then, seven surgical scenarios, including different ICRS designs (complete and incomplete segment), with two surgical implementation methods (tunnel incision and lamellar pocket cut), were simulated. The pre- and postoperative predicted results of FEM were validated with the corresponding clinical data. For the pre- and postoperative results, the average error of 0.4% and 3.7% for the mean keratometry value ($$\text {K}_{\text{mean}}$$ K mean ) were predicted. Furthermore, the difference in induced flattening effects was negligible for three ICRS types (KeraRing segment with arc-length of 355, 320, and two separate 160) of equal thickness. In contrast, the single and double progressive thickness of KeraRing 160 caused a significantly lower flattening effect compared to the same type with constant thickness. The observations indicated that the greater the segment thickness and arc-length, the lower the induced mean keratometry values. While the application of the tunnel incision method resulted in a lower $$\text {K}_{\text{mean}}$$ K mean value for moderate and advanced KC, the induced maximum Von Mises stress on the postoperative cornea exceeded the induced maximum stress on the cornea more than two to five times compared to the pocket incision and the preoperative state of the cornea. In particular, an asymmetric regional Von Mises stress on the corneal surface was generated with a progressive ICRS thickness. These findings could be an early biomechanical sign for a later corneal instability and ICRS migration. The developed methodology provided a platform to personalize ICRS refractive surgery with regard to the patient’s keratoconus stage in order to facilitate the efficiency and biomechanical stability of the surgery.


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