Carotid Artery Stiffness Mechanisms Associated With Cardiovascular Disease Events and Incident Hypertension: the MESA

Background: Elastic arteries stiffen via 2 main mechanisms: (1) load-dependent stiffening from higher blood pressure and (2) structural stiffening due to changes in the vessel wall. It is unknown how these different mechanisms contribute to incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Methods: The MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) is a longitudinal study of 6814 men and women without CVD at enrollment, from 6 communities in the United States. MESA participants with B-mode carotid ultrasound and brachial blood pressure at baseline Exam in (2000–2002) and CVD surveillance (mean follow-up 14.3 years through 2018) were included (n=5873). Peterson’s elastic modulus was calculated to represent total arterial stiffness. Structural stiffness was calculated by adjusting Peterson’s elastic modulus to a standard blood pressure of 120/80 mm Hg with participant-specific models. Load-dependent stiffness was the difference between total and structural stiffness. Results: In Cox models adjusted for traditional risk factors, load-dependent stiffness was significantly associated with higher incidence of CVD events (hazard ratio/100 mm Hg, 1.21 [95% CI, 1.09–1.34] P <0.001) events while higher structural stiffness was not (hazard ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.99–1.07] P =0.10). Analysis of participants who were normotensive (blood pressure <130/80, no antihypertensives) at baseline exam (n=2122) found higher load-dependent stiffness was also associated with significantly higher incidence of hypertension (hazard ratio, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.35–1.75] P <0.001) while higher structural stiffness was not (hazard ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.99–1.07] P =0.16). Conclusions: These results provide valuable new insights into mechanisms underlying the association between arterial stiffness and CVD. Load-dependent stiffness was significantly associated with CVD events but structural stiffness was not.

A Characterization Method for Pavement Structural Condition Assessment based on the Distribution Parameter of the Vehicle Vibration Signal

A pavement structural survey plays a vital role in road maintenance and management. This study was intended to explore the feasibility of a non-stop pavement structure assessment method by analyzing the vibration data from a vehicle sensor. In this study, three falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests and four vehicle vibration tests were conducted on five pavement structures. The FWD test results show that the continuously reinforced composite pavement has a higher structural stiffness than the semi-rigid base asphalt pavement. According to the statistical distribution of vehicle acceleration, a distribution parameter, the peak probability density (PPD), was proposed. The correlation coefficient (−0.722) of the center deflection (D1) and PPD indicates a strong correlation between the two variables. Therefore, PPD is strongly correlated with pavement structural stiffness. This study proposed a novel characterization method for pavement structural conditions based on the distribution parameter of the vehicle vibration signal.

A Hybrid Tuned Mass Damper for Response Mitigation of Offshore Platforms

A new hybrid type of the Tuned Mass Damper (HTMD), which consists of a Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) fixed on the top of a traditional Tuned Mass Damper (TMD), is developed for vibration control of an offshore platform. The results obtained from the parametric investigation show that the mass ratio between TLCD and TMD significantly affects the HTMD's performance. To assess the effectiveness and robustness of HTMD, extensive comparisons are made between an optimized HTMD and an optimum TMD with the same weight as the HTMD. The numerical computations indicate that the proposed HTMD offers a higher level of effectiveness in suppressing structural vibrations compared with a traditional TMD. However, the optimum HTMD is not robust in resisting the variation of the structural stiffness.

Shock Reduction Technique on Thin Plate Structure by Wave Refraction Using an Elastic Patch

In general, bending waves transfer the largest portion of shock energy in a plate-like structure. This study proposes a new shock reduction method using an elastic patch designed to defocus the bending waves through the refraction of the waves so that it is possible to effectively reduce the propagating shock for a certain target area. Elastic patches of three different shapes were considered. The shock reduction performance of these patches was analytically, numerically, and experimentally investigated and compared. All results consistently showed that attached patches can effectively reduce passing waves for areas behind patches. Therefore, utilizing the proposed methods, we can reduce the transient shock response at certain target areas of various practical structures without degradation of structural stiffness or strength simply by bonding with an elastic patch.

The Effect of Structural Parameters on Response Characteristics of Aeroelastic System in the Presence of Dynamic Stall

The effect of structural paramters on the response and aerodynamic stiffness characteristics of the free aeroelastic system under the influence of dynamic stall is investigated adopting CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) method. The equilibrium angle of the spring and the structural stiffness are taken as parameters of interest. Systems with small equilibrium angles enter the symmetric limit-cycle state more quickly after a Hopf bifurcation and experience dynamic stall in both directions, rather than slowly decreasing in minimum angle of attack and remaining in the asymmetric limit-cycle state before dynamic stall in the opposite direction, as is the case with systems with large spring equilibrium angles. Thus, aerodynamic stiffness of system with large equilibrium angles can be more significantly influenced by the change in aerodynamic moment characteristics at the minimum angle of attack. Furthermore, by increasing the initial angular velocity, we find that the system response all becomes symmetric limit cycle and therefore the aerodynamic stiffness appears to have a monotonically increasing characteristic. As to the effect of structural stiffness, it is found that the limit cycle amplitude first increases with structural stiffness after bifurcation, then the amplitude is unchanged with varying structural stiffness at higher Mach number. Energy maps show that the parametric distribution of the energy transfer contributes to this phenomenon. Moreover, when entering the symmetric limit cycle state, the structural stiffness no longer has a significant effect on the aerodynamic stiffness of the system, as the increase in the aerodynamic stiffness is determined solely by the increase in dynamic pressure without the effect of changes in moment characteristics.

Design guidelines for bump-type compliant conical foil bearing

The integral bump foil strip cannot optimize the performance for the compliant conical foil bearing (CFB) as the uneven distribution of structural stiffness. To maximize the bearing characteristics, this paper proposed different bump foil schemes. Firstly, the anisotropy of CFB was studied based on the nonlinear bump stiffness model, and the circumferentially separated foil structure was proposed. Moreover, an axially separated bump foil structure with the variable bump length was introduced to make the axial stiffness distribution more compliant with the gas pressure. In addition, the effect of foil thickness was also discussed. The results show that CFB with integral bump foil exhibits obvious anisotropy, and the suggested installation angle for largest load capacity and best dynamic stability are in the opposite position. Fortunately, a circumferential separated bump foil can improve this defect. The characteristics of CFB with axial separated foil structure can be improved significantly, especially for that with more strips and the variable bump half-length design. The suitable bump and top foil thickness should be set considering the improved supporting performance and proper flexibility. The results can give some guidelines for the design of CFB.

Carotid Artery Stiffening With Aging: Structural Versus Load-Dependent Mechanisms in MESA (the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis)

Elastic arteries stiffen via 2 main mechanisms: (1) load-dependent stiffening from higher blood pressure and (2) structural stiffening due to changes in the vessel wall. Differentiating these closely coupled mechanisms is important to understanding vascular aging. MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) participants with B-mode carotid ultrasound and brachial blood pressure at exam 1 and exam 5 (year 10) were included in this study (n=2604). Peterson and Young elastic moduli were calculated to represent total stiffness. Structural stiffness was calculated by adjusting Peterson and Young elastic moduli to a standard blood pressure of 120/80 mm Hg with participant-specific models. Load-dependent stiffness was the difference between total and structural stiffness. Changes in carotid artery stiffness mechanisms over 10 years were compared by age groups with ANCOVA models adjusted for baseline cardiovascular disease risk factors. The 75- to 84-year age group had the greatest change in total, structural, and load-dependent stiffening compared with younger groups ( P <0.05). Only age and cessation of antihypertensive medication were predictive of structural stiffening, whereas age, race/ethnicity, education, blood pressure, cholesterol, and antihypertensive medication were predictive of increased load-dependent stiffening. On average, structural stiffening accounted for the vast majority of total stiffening, but 37% of participants had more load-dependent than structural stiffening. Rates of structural and load-dependent carotid artery stiffening increased with age. Structural stiffening was consistently observed, and load-dependent stiffening was highly variable. Heterogeneity in arterial stiffening mechanisms with aging may influence cardiovascular disease development.

Design analysis and performance evaluation of a novel Multi-Cantilever Foil Bearing

This study gives an explanation to design analysis and performance evaluation of a novel multi-cantilever foil bearing (MCFB). The aim of this study is to develop a theoretical model that will explain the working principles of the cantilever foil bearing. A theoretical derivation of structural and vibration models were developed to find structural stiffness, equivalent viscous damping and maximum deflection. Findings show that the theoretical results of structural models have an equivalent structural stiffness of 58.59kN/mm, equivalent viscous damping of 0.599kNs/m and maximum deflection of 0.5675mm. The equivalent viscous damping is computed at a near zero circumferential coordinate (0.0350). The results obtained from vibration models show an equivalent structural stiffness of 58.74kN/mm, equivalent viscous damping of 0.228kNs/m and maximum deflection of 0.5675mm. Theoretical viscous damping coefficient varies from 0.23kNs/m at 24Hz to 0.026kNs/m at 200Hz when determined at maximum deflection of 0.5675mm and phase angle of 0.0350. This means the higher the frequency, the lower the viscous damping coefficient. The validation was done over frequency range 24-200Hz and at amplitude of 50mm at a 450 phase angle. The models were found to have compared well with experimental results in the prediction of equivalent viscous damping coefficient. The models can be relied upon to analyze the behaviour of MCFB and it can also form a theoretical background for the design and manufacture of Multi-Cantilever Foil Bearing.

Influence of Structural Stiffness and Loss Factor on Railroad Vehicle Comfort

This paper presents a new formulation for analyzing a beam on elastic supports traveling on irregular profiles. The model is a first approximation of a passenger railway vehicle car body. The main difference with previous works is the use of a complex modulus to represent structural damping rather than relying on equivalent viscous terms. The formulation groups rigid body modes with flexible modes and proposes a matrix form that is easy to interpret and solve in the frequency domain. Comfort indexes are readily obtained from weighted response spectral densities. The model is used to assess the influence of structural damping and stiffness on comfort. It will be shown that the evolution of comfort with stiffness is non-monotonic and, therefore, comfort does not always improve as stiffness increases.