How growing tumour impacts intracranial pressure and deformation mechanics of brain

Brain is an actuator for control and coordination. When a pathology arises in cranium, it may leave a degenerative, disfiguring and destabilizing impact on brain physiology. However, the leading consequences of the same may vary from case to case. Tumour, in this context, is a special type of pathology which deforms brain parenchyma permanently. From translational perspective, deformation mechanics and pressures, specifically the intracranial cerebral pressure (ICP) in a tumour-housed brain, have not been addressed holistically in literature. This is an important area to investigate in neuropathy prognosis. To address this, we aim to solve the pressure mystery in a tumour-based brain in this study and present a fairly workable methodology. Using image-based finite-element modelling, we reconstruct a tumour-based brain and probe resulting deformations and pressures (ICP). Tumour is grown by dilating the voxel region by 16 and 30 mm uniformly. Cumulatively three cases are studied including an existing stage of the tumour. Pressures of cerebrospinal fluid due to its flow inside the ventricle region are also provided to make the model anatomically realistic. Comparison of obtained results unequivocally shows that as the tumour region increases its area and size, deformation pattern changes extensively and spreads throughout the brain volume with a greater concentration in tumour vicinity. Second, we conclude that ICP pressures inside the cranium do increase substantially; however, they still remain under the normal values (15 mmHg). In the end, a correlation relationship of ICP mechanics and tumour is addressed. From a diagnostic purpose, this result also explains why generally a tumour in its initial stage does not show symptoms because the required ICP threshold has not been crossed. We finally conclude that even at low ICP values, substantial deformation progression inside the cranium is possible. This may result in plastic deformation, midline shift etc. in the brain.

Use of A True Material Constitutive Model for Stress Analysis of A Swage Autofrettaged Tube Including Asme Code Comparison

This work reports a new finite element analysis (FEA)-based user programmable function (UPF) featuring true material constitutive behavior with proper algorithms for accurate stress analysis of swage autofrettage of high-strength thick-walled cylinders. The material constitutive model replicates an existing Bauschinger-effect characterization (BEC). This incorporates elastoplastic material behavior during loading. Reversed loading includes a reduced elastic modulus and nonlinear plasticity resulting from the Bauschinger effect (BE), both depend upon the maximum level of loading plastic strain. Swage autofrettage case studies identify the difference in stress distributions based on different material models: a bilinear isotropic material model, a bilinear kinematic hardening model, and the user defined model that features the BEC. Development and integration of such a UPF into a standard FEA package is a crucial unresolved and fundamental modeling issue relating to re-yield, fatigue and fracture of modern swaged cylinders and pressure vessels. It will not only provide a fundamental understanding of the deformation mechanics of the tube during the swage autofrettage process and ensure optimal process parameters are achieved, but also provide guidance for material selection, design and optimization of the manufacturing processes for high intensity cylindrical parts, a potential multibillion-dollar market. Near-bore residual stresses for the BEC case are noteworthy and reported in detail, e.g., axial residual stress is tensile and hoop residual stress exhibits a distinct slope reversal, unlike hydraulic autofrettage, indicating the possible need to re-assess the ASME Pressure Vessel Code (correction for BE) regarding swage autofrettage.

Thermal Barrier Coating Applied to the Structural Shroud of an Inside-Out Ceramic Turbine

Recuperated, high-temperature microturbines (< 1 MW) could be a key enabler for hybrid powertrains of tomorrow’s small aircraft. To achieve competitive thermal efficiencies, turbine inlet temperature (TIT) must increase to 1550 K, well beyond conventional metallic microturbine limits. This calls for high-temperature refractory ceramics, which call for a new ceramic-specific, microturbine design like the Inside-Out Ceramic Turbine (ICT). This study focuses on the applicability of a refractory thermal barrier coating (TBC) to the internal surface of the ICT cooling ring. By cutting the heat transfer from the main flow to the structural rim-rotor, the use of a refractory TBC coating in an ICT enables higher TIT and lower cooling air mass flow. A preliminary experimental assessment is done at room temperature on 1 mm-thick coatings of 8% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ), air plasma sprayed (APS) TBC, applied to Inconel 718 and Ti64 test coupons. Results show that the strongly orthotropic behaviour of the tested TBC fits perfectly with the deformation mechanics of the ICT configuration under load. First, large in-plane strain tolerance allows the large tangential deformation imposed by the structural shroud under centrifugal loading. Second, high out-of-plane stiffness and compressive resistance combine to support extreme compressive loads with no apparent damage to the TBC even at more than 3 times blade indentation average loading. An experimental demonstration on a small-scale prototype shows a reduction of 40% in cooling flow in a, 8-minute ICT test, with no damage to the TBC, proving the effectiveness and potential of the proposed TBC design.

Influence of the contact with friction on the deformation behavior of advanced high strength steels in the Nakajima test

This work presents a new understanding on the deformation mechanics involved in the Nakajima test, which is commonly used to determine the forming limit curve of sheet metals, and is focused on the interaction between the friction conditions and the deformation behaviour of a dual phase steel. The methodology is based on the finite element analysis of the Nakajima test, considering different values of the classic Coulomb friction coefficient, including a pressure-dependent model. The validity of the finite element model is examined through a comparison with experimental data. The results show that friction affects the location and strain path of the necking point by changing the strain rate distribution in the specimen. The strain localization alters the contact status from slip to stick at a portion of the contact area from the pole to the necking zone. This leads to the sharp increase of the strain rate at the necking point, as the punch rises further. The influence of the pressure-dependent friction coefficient on the deformation behaviour is very small, due to the uniform distribution of the contact pressure in the Nakajima test. Moreover, the low contact pressure range attained cannot properly replicate real contact condition in sheet metal forming processes of advanced high strength steels.

In-plane compression behavior of FDM-manufactured hierarchical and hybrid hierarchical hexagonal honeycombs for infrastructural safety applications

The infrastructure safety and response to the natural or man-caused calamities has always been a top consideration for any modern project. Impact energy absorption is one such area where advanced measures are being adopted to prevent any damage to the infrastructure from any impact caused by vehicles or other elements. Honeycomb structures have been primarily used in such high impact energy absorption applications. With the advent of modern additive manufacturing practices, drastic modifications to the simple honeycombs generally used are possible, thus expanding the reach and capability of these structures. In this article, in-plane uniaxial compression performance of hybrid and hierarchical hexagonal honeycombs has been studied in the context of strain energy absorption for in-plane impact such as the case of vehicle collision to the pillars of flyover or bridges. The polylactic acid (PLA) filament has been used to manufacture the honeycombs through fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing technique. Simple hexagonal honeycombs have been studied first at low deformation speed to understand the deformation mechanics under uniaxial compression and its dependence on the unit cell dimensions and cell wall thickness. The effect of transition to the hybrid and hierarchical hexagonal honeycombs on the compression deformation has been highlighted next. While the hierarchical structures show better energy absorption capabilities and plateau stress, the hybrid hexagonal honeycombs show their high loadresistance. Dependence of the mechanical performance of such structures on the unit cell dimensions, orientation and wall thickness has also been examined through detailed experimental analysis.

Investigating Fracture Network Deformation Using Noble Gas Release

We investigate deformation mechanics of fracture networks in unsaturated fractured rocks from subsurface conventional detonation using dynamic noble gas measurements and changes in air permeability. We dynamically measured the noble gas isotopic composition and helium exhalation of downhole gas before and after a large subsurface conventional detonation. These noble gas measurements were combined with measurements of the subsurface permeability field from 64 discrete sampling intervals before and after the detonation and subsurface mapping of fractures in borehole walls before well completion. We saw no observable increase in radiogenic noble gas release from either an isotopic composition or a helium exhalation point of view. Large increases in permeability were observed in 13 of 64 discrete sampling intervals. Of the sampling intervals which saw large increases in flow, only two locations did not have preexisting fractures mapped at the site. Given the lack of noble gas release and a clear increase in permeability, we infer that most of the strain accommodation of the fractured media occurred along previously existing fractures, rather than the creation of new fractures, even for a high strain rate event. These results have significant implications for how we conceptualize the deformation of rocks with fracture networks above the percolation threshold, with application to a variety of geologic and geological engineering problems.

Geometry Compensation Methods for Increasing the Accuracy of the SPIF Process

Despite years of supporting research, commercial use of the Single Point Incremental Forming process remains very limited. The promised flexibility and lack of specific tooling is contradicted by its highly complex deformation mechanics, resulting in a process that is easy to implement but where workpiece accuracy is very difficult to control. This paper looks at geometry compensation as a viable control strategy to increase the accuracy of produced workpieces. The input geometry of the process can be compensated using knowledge about the deformations occurring during production. The deviations between the nominal CAD geometry and the actual produced geometry can be calculated in a variety of different ways, thus directly influencing the compensation. Two different alignment methods and three deviation calculation methods are explained in detail. Six combined deviation calculation methods are used to generate compensated inputs, which are experimentally produced and compared to the uncompensated part. All different methods are able to noticeably improve the accuracy, with the production alignment and closest point deviation calculation achieving the best results