Characterization of Turbulent Flow Behind a Transcatheter Aortic Valve in Different Implantation Positions

The development of turbulence after transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) implantation may have detrimental effects on the long-term performance and durability of the valves. The characterization of turbulent flow generated after TAV implantation can provide fundamental insights to enhance implantation techniques. A self-expandable TAV was tested in a pulse replicator and the three-dimensional flow field was extracted by means of tomographic particle image velocimetry. The valve was fixed inside a silicone phantom mimicking the aortic root and the flow field was studied for two different supra-annular axial positions at peak systole. Fluctuating velocities and turbulent kinetic energy were compared between the two implantations. Velocity spectra were derived at different spatial positions in the turbulent wakes to characterize the turbulent flow. The valve presented similar overall flow topology but approximately 8% higher turbulent intensity in the lower implantation. In this configuration, axial views of the valve revealed smaller opening area and more corrugated leaflets during systole, as well as more accentuated pinwheeling during diastole. The difference arose from a lower degree of expansion of the TAV's stent inside the aortic lumen. These results suggest that the degree of expansion of the TAV in-situ is related to the onset of turbulence and that a smaller and less regular opening area might introduce flow instabilities that could be detrimental for the long-term performance of the valve. The present study highlights how implantation mismatches may affect the structure and intensity of the turbulent flow in the aortic root.

A Comprehensive Study on Intermittent Operation of Horizontal Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers

Utilizing a deep Borehole Heat Exchanger (BHE) has been recognized as a clean, renewable, low-carbon-emission, and sustainable way for heating of residential buildings and greenhouses. In this study, the long-term performance of horizontal deep BHE in intermittent mode is scrutinized. In this regard, to predict the transient heat transfer process in the deep BHEs, a mathematical model is developed and then verified by using the experimental results. The effect various key parameters including flow rate of circulating fluid, undisturbed ground temperature, inlet fluid temperature, and ground thermal conductivity on the thermal performance of deep BHE in continuous and intermittent mode is studied. According to the results, increasing the flow rate of circulating fluid, undisturbed ground temperature, and ground thermal conductivity is favorable for heat extraction rate. Moreover, the effect of three specific parameters for intermittent operation including periodic time interval, flow rate ratio, and recovery period ratio on the long-term performance of horizontal deep BHE are scrutinized. Based on the results, by decreasing the periodic time interval and increasing the flow rate ratio, the mean heat extraction rate in the period of 30 years is increased and the mean borehole’s wall temperature is decreased. Furthermore, by increasing the recovery period ratio, the heat extraction rate increases significantly while the total extracted energy decreases.

Challenges and emerging opportunities in transistor-based ultrathin electronics: design and fabrication for healthcare applications

Recent issues toward ultrathin soft electronics are gradually focused on effective detection under complex environments. The promising strategies for long-term performance are summarized as a roadmap for design and fabrication.

Long-Term Performance of Seawater Sea-sand Concrete (SSC) Columns Wrapped with CFRP Strips Under Simulated Marine Environment

This article presents a durability study of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) partially wrapped seawater sea-sand concrete (SSC) columns exposed to natural seawater to explore the effect of exposure duration on the long-term performance of the specimens. Thirty-two cylinders were wrapped with CFRP jackets and exposed to different times of wet-dry cycles (up to 360 days) in an outdoor simulated marine environment. Test results indicate that exposure has no obvious influence on the failure process and ultimate strains of specimens, but the compressive strengths of confined columns (fcc) increase with the increment of exposure time, especially for the partially confined concrete specimens. Moreover, due to the significant variation of unconfined concrete strength fco*), the retentions of fcc and fcc/fco * exhibit an opposite trend. Therefore, the increase of fco* should be considered when using the parameter of the confined-to-unconfined ratio of strength to evaluate the long-term performance of the specimens.