scholarly journals The Energy of Muscle Contraction. III. Kinetic Energy During Cyclic Contractions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Ross ◽  
Sebastián Domínguez ◽  
Nilima Nigam ◽  
James M. Wakeling
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
External Work ◽  
Fixed End ◽  
Whole Muscle ◽  
Work Loop

During muscle contraction, chemical energy is converted to mechanical energy when ATP is hydrolysed during cross-bridge cycling. This mechanical energy is then distributed and stored in the tissue as the muscle deforms or is used to perform external work. We previously showed how energy is distributed through contracting muscle during fixed-end contractions; however, it is not clear how the distribution of tissue energy is altered by the kinetic energy of muscle mass during dynamic contractions. In this study we conducted simulations of a 3D continuum muscle model that accounts for tissue mass, as well as force-velocity effects, in which the muscle underwent sinusoidal work-loop contractions coupled with bursts of excitation. We found that increasing muscle size, and therefore mass, increased the kinetic energy per unit volume of the muscle. In addition to greater relative kinetic energy per cycle, relatively more energy was also stored in the aponeurosis, and less was stored in the base material, which represented the intra and extracellular tissue components apart from the myofibrils. These energy changes in larger muscles due to greater mass were associated lower mass-specific mechanical work output per cycle, and this reduction in mass-specific work was greatest for smaller initial pennation angles. When we compared the effects of mass on the model tissue behaviour to that of in situ muscle with added mass during comparable work-loop trials, we found that greater mass led to lower maximum and higher minimum acceleration in the longitudinal (x) direction near the middle of the muscle compared to at the non-fixed end, which indicates that greater mass contributes to tissue non-uniformity in whole muscle. These comparable results for the simulated and in situ muscle also show that this modelling framework behaves in ways that are consistent with experimental muscle. Overall, the results of this study highlight that muscle mass is an important determinant of whole muscle behaviour.

The energy of muscle contraction. IV. Greater mass of larger muscles decreases contraction efficiency

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (182) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Ross ◽  
James M. Wakeling
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Mechanical Work ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Cost Models ◽  
Cyclic Contractions ◽  
In Series ◽  
Whole Muscle

While skeletal muscle mass has been shown to decrease mass-specific mechanical work per cycle, it is not yet known how muscle mass alters contraction efficiency. In this study, we examined the effect of muscle mass on mass-specific metabolic cost and efficiency during cyclic contractions in simulated muscles of different sizes. We additionally explored how tendon and its stiffness alters the effects of muscle mass on mass-specific work, mass-specific metabolic cost and efficiency across different muscle sizes. To examine contraction efficiency, we estimated the metabolic cost of the cycles using established cost models. We found that for motor contractions in which the muscle was primarily active during shortening, greater muscle mass resulted in lower contraction efficiency, primarily due to lower mass-specific mechanical work per cycle. The addition of a tendon in series with the mass-enhanced muscle model improved the mass-specific work and efficiency per cycle with greater mass for motor contractions, particularly with a shorter excitation duty cycle, despite higher predicted metabolic cost. The results of this study indicate that muscle mass is an important determinant of whole muscle contraction efficiency.

scholarly journals Changes in Energy Cost and Total External Work of Muscles in Elite Race Walkers Walking at Different Speeds

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiesław Chwała ◽  
Andrzej Klimek ◽  
Wacław Mirek
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Energy Cost ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Average Energy ◽  
Centre Of Mass ◽  
External Work ◽  
Race Walking

Abstract The aim of the study was to assess energy cost and total external work (total energy) depending on the speed of race walking. Another objective was to determine the contribution of external work to total energy cost of walking at technical, threshold and racing speed in elite competitive race walkers. The study involved 12 competitive race walkers aged years with 6 to 20 years of experience, who achieved a national or international sports level. Their aerobic endurance was determined by means of a direct method involving an incremental exercise test on the treadmill. The participants performed three tests walking each time with one of the three speeds according to the same protocol: an 8-minute walk with at steady speed was followed by a recovery phase until the oxygen debt was repaid. To measure exercise energy cost, an indirect method based on the volume of oxygen uptake was employed. The gait of the participants was recorded using the 3D Vicon opto-electronic motion capture system. Values of changes in potential energy and total kinetic energy in a gate cycle were determined based on vertical displacements of the centre of mass. Changes in mechanical energy amounted to the value of total external work of muscles needed to accelerate and lift the centre of mass during a normalised gait cycle. The values of average energy cost and of total external work standardised to body mass and distance covered calculated for technical speed, threshold and racing speeds turned out to be statistically significant. The total energy cost ranged from 51.2 kJ.m-1 during walking at technical speed to 78.3 kJ.m-1 during walking at a racing speed. Regardless of the type of speed, the total external work of muscles accounted for around 25% of total energy cost in race walking. Total external work mainly increased because of changes in the resultant kinetic energy of the centre of mass movement.

scholarly journals Hydrodynamic constraints on the energy efficiency of droplet electricity generators

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Riaud ◽  
Cui Wang ◽  
Jia Zhou ◽  
Wanghuai Xu ◽  
Zuankai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Viscous Dissipation ◽  
Shear Force ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Viscous Shear ◽  
Impingement Velocity

AbstractElectric energy generation from falling droplets has seen a hundred-fold rise in efficiency over the past few years. However, even these newest devices can only extract a small portion of the droplet energy. In this paper, we theoretically investigate the contributions of hydrodynamic and electric losses in limiting the efficiency of droplet electricity generators (DEG). We restrict our analysis to cases where the droplet contacts the electrode at maximum spread, which was observed to maximize the DEG efficiency. Herein, the electro-mechanical energy conversion occurs during the recoil that immediately follows droplet impact. We then identify three limits on existing droplet electric generators: (i) the impingement velocity is limited in order to maintain the droplet integrity; (ii) much of droplet mechanical energy is squandered in overcoming viscous shear force with the substrate; (iii) insufficient electrical charge of the substrate. Of all these effects, we found that up to 83% of the total energy available was lost by viscous dissipation during spreading. Minimizing this loss by using cascaded DEG devices to reduce the droplet kinetic energy may increase future devices efficiency beyond 10%.

scholarly journals Tail suspension is useful as a sarcopenia model in rats

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Nemoto ◽  
Toru Goyagi
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Experimental Model ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Atrophy ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Atrophy ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Simple Method

Abstract Background Sarcopenia promotes skeletal muscle atrophy and exhibits a high mortality rate. Its elucidation is of the highest clinical importance, but an animal experimental model remains controversial. In this study, we investigated a simple method for studying sarcopenia in rats. Results Muscle atrophy was investigated in 24-week-old, male, tail-suspended (TS), Sprague Dawley and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Age-matched SD rats were used as a control group. The skeletal muscle mass weight, muscle contraction, whole body tension (WBT), cross-sectional area (CSA), and Muscle RING finger-1 (MuRF-1) were assessed. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to evaluate the MuRF-1 levels. Two muscles, the extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles, were selected for representing fast and slow muscles, respectively. All data, except CSA, were analyzed by a one-way analysis of variance, whereas CSA was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Muscle mass weight, muscle contraction, WBT, and CSA were significantly lower in the SHR (n = 7) and TS (n = 7) groups than in the control group, whereas MuRF-1 expression was dominant. Conclusions TS and SHR presented sarcopenic phenotypes in terms of muscle mass, muscle contraction and CSA. TS is a useful technique for providing muscle mass atrophy and weakness in an experimental model of sarcopenia in rats.

scholarly journals Walking in simulated reduced gravity: mechanical energy fluctuations and exchange

1999 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 383-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Griffin ◽  
Neil A. Tolani ◽  
Rodger Kram
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Potential Energy ◽  
Gravitational Potential ◽  
Inverted Pendulum ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Gravitational Potential Energy ◽  
Reduced Gravity

Walking humans conserve mechanical and, presumably, metabolic energy with an inverted pendulum-like exchange of gravitational potential energy and horizontal kinetic energy. Walking in simulated reduced gravity involves a relatively high metabolic cost, suggesting that the inverted-pendulum mechanism is disrupted because of a mismatch of potential and kinetic energy. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the fluctuations and exchange of mechanical energy of the center of mass at different combinations of velocity and simulated reduced gravity. Subjects walked with smaller fluctuations in horizontal velocity in lower gravity, such that the ratio of horizontal kinetic to gravitational potential energy fluctuations remained constant over a fourfold change in gravity. The amount of exchange, or percent recovery, at 1.00 m/s was not significantly different at 1.00, 0.75, and 0.50 G (average 64.4%), although it decreased to 48% at 0.25 G. As a result, the amount of work performed on the center of mass does not explain the relatively high metabolic cost of walking in simulated reduced gravity.

scholarly journals Turbulence and hypoxia contribute to dense biological scattering layers in a Patagonian fjord system

Ocean Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1185-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iván Pérez-Santos ◽  
Leonardo Castro ◽  
Lauren Ross ◽  
Edwin Niklitschek ◽  
Nicolás Mayorga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Tidal Flow ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Diel Vertical Migrations

Abstract. The aggregation of plankton species along fjords can be linked to physical properties and processes such as stratification, turbulence and oxygen concentration. The goal of this study is to determine how water column properties and turbulent mixing affect the horizontal and vertical distributions of macrozooplankton along the only northern Patagonian fjord known to date, where hypoxic conditions occur in the water column. Acoustic Doppler current profiler moorings, scientific echo-sounder transects and in situ plankton abundance measurements were used to study macrozooplankton assemblages and migration patterns along Puyuhuapi Fjord and Jacaf Channel in Chilean Patagonia. The dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy was quantified through vertical microstructure profiles collected throughout time in areas with high macrozooplankton concentrations. The acoustic records and in situ macrozooplankton data revealed diel vertical migrations (DVM) of siphonophores, chaetognaths and euphausiids. In particular, a dense biological backscattering layer was observed along Puyuhuapi Fjord between the surface and the top of the hypoxic boundary layer (∼100 m), which limited the vertical distribution of most macrozooplankton and their DVM, generating a significant reduction of habitat. Aggregations of macrozooplankton and fishes were most abundant around a submarine sill in Jacaf Channel. In this location macrozooplankton were distributed throughout the water column (0 to ∼200 m), with no evidence of a hypoxic boundary due to the intense mixing near the sill. In particular, turbulence measurements taken near the sill indicated high dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy (ε∼10-5 W kg−1) and vertical diapycnal eddy diffusivity (Kρ∼10-3 m2 s−1). The elevated vertical mixing ensures that the water column is well oxygenated (3–6 mL L−1, 60 %–80 % saturation), creating a suitable environment for macrozooplankton and fish aggregations. Turbulence induced by tidal flow over the sill apparently enhances the interchange of nutrients and oxygen concentrations with the surface layer, creating a productive environment for many marine species, where the prey–predator relationship might be favored.

Interphasial energy transfer and particle dissipation in particle-laden wall turbulence

2013 ◽  
Vol 715 ◽  
pp. 32-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lihao Zhao ◽  
Helge I. Andersson ◽  
Jurriaan J. J. Gillissen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Wall Turbulence ◽  
Spherical Particles ◽  
Velocity Versus ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Carrier Fluid ◽  
Stokes Force

AbstractTransfer of mechanical energy between solid spherical particles and a Newtonian carrier fluid has been explored in two-way coupled direct numerical simulations of turbulent channel flow. The inertial particles have been treated as individual point particles in a Lagrangian framework and their feedback on the fluid phase has been incorporated in the Navier–Stokes equations. At sufficiently large particle response times the Reynolds shear stress and the turbulence intensities in the spanwise and wall-normal directions were attenuated whereas the velocity fluctuations were augmented in the streamwise direction. The physical mechanisms involved in the particle–fluid interactions were analysed in detail, and it was observed that the fluid transferred energy to the particles in the core region of the channel whereas the fluid received kinetic energy from the particles in the wall region. A local imbalance in the work performed by the particles on the fluid and the work exerted by the fluid on the particles was observed. This imbalance gave rise to a particle-induced energy dissipation which represents a loss of mechanical energy from the fluid–particle suspension. An independent examination of the work associated with the different directional components of the Stokes force revealed that the dominating energy transfer was associated with the streamwise component. Both the mean and fluctuating parts of the Stokes force promoted streamwise fluctuations in the near-wall region. The kinetic energy associated with the cross-sectional velocity components was damped due to work done by the particles, and the energy was dissipated rather than recovered as particle kinetic energy. Componentwise scatter plots of the instantaneous velocity versus the instantaneous slip-velocity provided further insight into the energy transfer mechanisms, and the observed modulations of the flow field could thereby be explained.

scholarly journals Compression–Expansion Processes for Chemical Energy Storage: Thermodynamic Optimization for Methane, Ethane and Hydrogen

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 3332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burak Atakan
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Initial Mixture ◽  
Chemical Energy ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Chemical Exergy ◽  
Chemical Equilibration ◽  
Work Input ◽  
Exergy Losses ◽  
Argon Content

Several methods for chemical energy storage have been discussed recently in the context of fluctuating energy sources, such as wind and solar energy conversion. Here a compression–expansion process, as also used in piston engines or compressors, is investigated to evaluate its potential for the conversion of mechanical energy to chemical energy, or more correctly, exergy. A thermodynamically limiting adiabatic compression–chemical equilibration–expansion cycle is modeled and optimized for the amount of stored energy with realistic parameter bounds of initial temperature, pressure, compression ratio and composition. As an example of the method, initial mixture compositions of methane, ethane, hydrogen and argon are optimized and the results discussed. In addition to the stored exergy, the main products (acetylene, benzene, and hydrogen) and exergetic losses of this thermodynamically limiting cycle are also analyzed, and the volumetric and specific work are discussed as objective functions. It was found that the optimal mixtures are binary methane argon mixtures with high argon content. The predicted exergy losses due to chemical equilibration are generally below 10%, and the chemical exergy of the initial mixture can be increased or chemically up-converted due to the work input by approximately 11% in such a thermodynamically limiting process, which appears promising.

Optimal shortening velocities for in situ power production of rat soleus and plantaris muscles

1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (3) ◽  
pp. C1057-C1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Swoap ◽  
V. J. Caiozzo ◽  
K. M. Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Power Production ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Maximal Power ◽  
Cycle Frequency ◽  
Optimal Velocity ◽  
Velocity Of Shortening ◽  
Loop Technique ◽  
Length Changes ◽  
Work Loop

Force-velocity (FV) relationships have been used previously to calculate maximal power production and to identify an optimal velocity of shortening (V(opt)-fv) to produce such power in skeletal muscle. The cyclical nature of muscle position during locomotion for muscles such as the soleus and plantaris is such that either constant force or velocity is rarely attained. In the present study, the work loop technique, a technique developed to measure maximal attainable power output from muscles undergoing cyclic length changes, was undertaken to determine whether simulating in vivo function alters the power-velocity relationship of the soleus and plantaris and, in particular, the velocity of shortening that produces maximal power (V(opt)-wl). FV relationships were determined for both soleus (n = 4) and plantaris (n = 4) muscles in situ from adult female Sprague-Dawley rats by measuring shortening velocities during afterloaded isotonic contractions. The velocity that produced maximal power using FV relationships, V(opt)-fv, was 54.6 +/- 0.7 mm/s for the plantaris vs. 20.2 +/- 1.2 mm/s for the soleus. Then, the work loop technique was employed to measure net power from these same muscles at multiple cycling frequencies (1.5 to 4.0 Hz for the soleus; 4.0 to 8.0 Hz for the plantaris). Multiple power-velocity curves were generated (one at each cycle frequency) by varying the strain (1-8 mm). Thus, at each cycle frequency, V(opt)-wl could be identified. For both the plantaris and soleus, V(opt)-wl at each cycle frequency was not different from their respective V(opt)-fv value. Thus both fast and slow skeletal muscles have inherent optimal shortening velocities, identifiable with FV relationships, that dictate their respective maximal attainable mechanical power production using the work loop technique.

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