Progress in Mechanical Modeling of Implantable Flexible Neural Probes

Implanted neural probes can detect weak discharges of neurons in the brain by piercing soft brain tissue,thus as important tools for brain science research,as well as diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.However,the rigid neural probes,such as Utah arrays,Michigan probes,and metal microfilament electrodes,are mechanically unmatched with brain tissue and are prone to rejection and glial scarring after implantation,which leads to a significant degradation in the signal quality with the implantation time.In recent years,flexible neural electrodes are rapidly developed with less damage to biological tissues,excellent biocompatibility,and mechanical compliance to alleviate scarring.Among them,the mechanical modeling is important for the optimization of the structure and the implantation process.In this review,the theoretical calculation of the flexible neural probes is firstly summarized with the processes of buckling,insertion,and relative interaction with soft brain tissue for flexible probes from outside to inside.Then,the corresponding mechanical simulation methods are organized considering multiple impact factors to realize minimally invasive implantation.Finally,the technical difficulties and future trends of mechanical modeling are discussed for the next-generation flexible neural probes,which is critical to realize low-invasiveness and long-term coexistence in vivo.

Mechanical Modeling of Dike Propagation: Methods, Recent Results and Links to Geophysics

Magma is transported in brittle rock by diking.Diking plays a key role in tectonic phenomena such as continental rifting and plate divergence at mid-ocean ridges.In spite of the importance of understanding how magma is

Microstructure observation and mechanical behavior modeling for limnetic nacre

In the present research, microstructure of akind of limnetic shell （Hyriopsis cumingii） is observed and measured by using the scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical behavior experiments of the shell nacre are carried out by using bending and tensile tests. The dependence of mechanical properties of the shell nacre on its microstructure is analyzed by using a modified shear-lag model, and the overall stress-strain relation is obtained. The experimental results reveal that the mechanical properties of shell nacre strongly depend on the water contents of the limnetic shell. Dry nacre shows a brittle behavior, whereas wetting nacre displays a strong ductility. Compared to the tensile test, the bending test overestimates the strength and underestimates the Young＇s modulus. The modified shear-lag model can characterize the deformation features of nacre effectively.

Intermittent disturbance mechanical behavior and fractional deterioration mechanical model of rock under complex true triaxial stress paths

Mechanical excavation,blasting,adjacent rockburst and fracture slip that occur during mining excavation impose dynamic loads on the rock mass,leading to further fracture of damaged surrounding rock in three-dimensional high-stress and even causing disasters.Therefore,a novel complex true triaxial static-dynamic combined loading method reflecting underground excavation damage and then frequent intermittent disturbance failure is proposed.True triaxial static compression and intermittent disturbance tests are carried out on monzogabbro.The effects of intermediate principal stress and amplitude on the strength characteristics,deformation characteristics,failure characteristics,and precursors of monzogabbro are analyzed,intermediate principal stress and amplitude increase monzogabbro strength and tensile fracture mechanism.Rapid increases in microseismic parameters during rock loading can be precursors for intermittent rock disturbance.Based on the experimental result,the new damage fractional elements and method with considering crack initiation stress and crack unstable stress as initiation and acceleration condition of intermittent disturbance irreversible deformation are proposed.A novel three-dimensional disturbance fractional deterioration model considering the intermediate principal stress effect and intermittent disturbance damage effect is established,and the model predicted results align well with the experimental results.The sensitivity of stress states and model parameters is further explored,and the intermittent disturbance behaviors at different f are predicted.This study provides valuable theoretical bases for the stability analysis of deep mining engineering under dynamic loads.

Constitutive modeling for mechanical behaviors of geomaterials, newdesigns and techniques in geotechnical engineering

This Special Issue of the Journal of Rock Mechanics and GeotechnicalEngineering （JRMGE） contains 13 papers prepared by internationalexperts on various general topics in geomechanics, rockmechanics and geotechnical engineering. It represents a usefulmix of theoretical developments, testing and practical applications.We present in the following brief details in the papers, alphabeticallyin accordance with the last name of the first author.Barla presents a review of tunneling techniques with emphasison the full-face method combining full-face excavation and facereinforcement by means of fiber-glass elements with a yieldcontrolsupport. This method has been used successfully in difficultgeologic conditions, and for a wide spectrum of ground situations.The validation of the method with respect to the Saint Martin LaPorte access adit along the LyoneTurin Base tunnel experiencingseverely squeezing conditions during excavation is also includedin the paper. The numerical modeling with consideration of therock mass time-dependent behavior showed a satisfactory agreementwith monitoring results.

MECHANICAL MODEL OF HSK TOOLING SYSTEM IN HIGH SPEED MACHINING

According to the structure of the hohl schaft kegel（HSK） tooling system and its working principle, a mechanical model of the HSK tooling system is established. Major factors influencing the stiffness of the system are analyzed and the relationship between the load and the manufacturing quality is obtained. The basic rule of the stiffness variation is presented and the theoretical analysis is in a good agreement with experimental results. The dynamic stiffness must also be considered to evaluate the performance of the tooling system besides the staticstiffness. Finally, the selecting principles of the HSK types are proposed and their optimum operating conditions are established.

Mechanical model of breaking rock and force characteristic of disc cutter

According to the cutting characteristics of progressive spiral movement by rotary cutting of the disc cutter, using the broken theory of interaction of compression and shearing, the three-axis force rotary cutting mechanical model of disc cutter was established and the influence of installation radius, the phase difference and the cutter space on the mechanics of disc cutter were analyzed. The results show that on the same radial line of tunneling interface, the boring distance of cutting tools installed on a different radius is not equal. The cutting radial line of tunneling interface is a polyline and its height is determined by phase angle and penetration of cutting tools. Both phase difference and the installation radius between adjacent disc cutters have little effect on the vertical force and rolling force, but increase with the increase in cutter spacing. In addition, when increasing phase difference and cutter space bilaterally, and reducing installation radius simultaneously, the lateral force would be improved. Related results have been verified onl O0 t rotary tool cutting test platform.

Biological Jumping Mechanism Analysis and Modeling for Frog Robot

This paper presents a mechanical model of jumping robot based on the biological mechanism analysis of frog. By biological observation and kinematic analysis the frog jump is divided into take-offphase, aerial phase and landing phase. We find the similar trajectories of hindlimb joints during jump, the important effect of foot during take-off and the role of forelimb in supporting the body. Based on the observation, the frog jump is simplified and a mechanical model is put forward. The robot leg is represented by a 4-bar spring/linkage mechanism model, which has three Degrees of Freedom （DOF） at hip joint and one DOF （passive） at tarsometatarsal joint on the foot. The shoulder and elbow joints each has one DOF for the balancing function of arm. The ground reaction force of the model is analyzed and compared with that of frog during take-off. The results show that the model has the same advantages of low likelihood of premature lift-off and high efficiency as the frog. Analysis results and the model can be employed to develop and control a robot capable of mimicking the jumping behavior of frog.

Research and application of mechanical models for the whole process of 110 mining method roof structural movement

For the 110 mining method,it is challenging to accurately calculate the support resistance of the roadway due to the lack of understanding of the dynamic movement of the overlying strata in this method.The consequential excessive support results in a significant increase in the cost of roadway support.The authors explored the overlying strata movement and roadway deformation of the gob-entry retaining in the 110 mining method to solve this problem.First,the typical stages of the roof-cutting gob-side entry were defined.Second,the mechanical model and calculation formula of the support resistance on the roof were explored.Then,using numerical simulation software,the starting ranges of the specific supports at different stages were verified and the feasibility of the support scheme was examined.Finally,combined with the field measurement data,the stress and the deformation of the gob roadway at different stages under the influence of two mining processes in the 110 mining method were obtained.The numerical simulation results obtained are consistent with the field test results,providing a theoretical basis for precision support at different stages by the 110 mining method.

Mechanical Model of Domestic Gas Explosion Load

With the increase of domestic gas consumption in cities and towns in China,gas explo-sion accidents happened rather frequently,and many structures were damaged greatly.Rational physical design could protect structures from being destroyed,but the character of explosion load must be learned firstly by establishing a correct mechanical model to simulate vented gas explo-sions.The explosion process has been studied for many years towards the safety of chemical in-dustry equipments.The key problem of these studies was the equations usually involved some ad-justable parameters that must be evaluated by experimental data,and the procedure of calculation was extremely complicated,so the reliability of these studies was seriously limited.Based on these studies,a simple mathematical model was established in this paper by using energy conservation,mass conservation,gas state equation,adiabatic compression equation and gas venting equation.Explosion load must be estimated by considering the room layout; the rate of pressure rise was then corrected by using a turbulence factor,so the pressure-time curve could be obtained.By using this method,complicated calculation was avoided,while experimental and calculated results fitted fairly well.Some pressure-time curves in a typical rectangular room were calculated to inves-tigate the influences of different ignition locations,gas thickness,concentration,room size and venting area on the explosion pressure.The results indicated that: it was the most dangerous con-dition when being ignited in the geometry centre of the room; the greater the burning velocity,the worse the venting effect; the larger the venting pressure,the higher the peak pressure; the larger the venting area,the lower the peak pressure.

Mechanical analysis of interaction between plant roots and rock and soil mass in slope vegetation

With the help of plant roots, slope vegetation makes the slope soil mass become a composite material of soil and roots, and thus enhances shear strength of the slope soil mass and stability of the slope. However, the related studies at present are still qualitative. In this paper, quantitative analysis of the interaction between roots and soil mass are made. By the analysis of the interaction between herbaceous plant roots including lateral roots of woody plants and rock and soil mass, a mechanical model of the interaction between frictional roots and soil is established, and its correctness is shown. A mechanical model of the interaction between anchorage root, namely, woody plant taproot, and soil is also established. The establishment of the models provides a useful means in quantitative analysis of the interaction between plant roots and soil, and has practical values.

Modeling mechanism and extension of GM (1,1)

Firstly, the research progress of grey model GM （1,1） is summarized, which is divided into three development stages： assimilation, alienation and melting stages. Then, the matrix analysis theory is used to study the modeling mechanism of GM （1,1）, which decomposes the modeling data matrix into raw data transformation matrix, accumulated generating operation matrix and background value selection matrix. The changes of these three matrices are the essential reasons affecting the modeling and the accuracy of GM （1,1）. Finally, the paper proposes a generalization grey model GGM （1,1）, which is a extended form of GM （1,1） and also a unified form of model GM （1,1）, model GM （1,1,α）, stage grey model, hopping grey model, generalized accumulated model, strengthening operator model, weakening operator model and unequal interval model. And the theory and practical significance of the extended model is analyzed.

Energy principle of ferroelectric ceramics and single domain mechanical model

Many physical experiments have shown that the domain switching in a ferroelectric material is a complicated evolution process of the domain wall with the variation of stress and electric field. According to this mechanism, the volume fraction of the domain switching is introduced in the constitutive law of ferroelectric ceramic and used to study the nonlinear constitutive behavior of ferroelectric body in this paper. The principle of stationary total energy is put forward in which the basic unknown quantities are the displacement ui, electric displacement Di and volume fraction pI of the domain switching for the variant I. Mechanical field equation and a new domain switching criterion are obtained from the principle of stationary total energy. The domain switching criterion proposed in this paper is an expansion and development of the energy criterion. On the basis of the domain switching criterion, a set of linear algebraic equations for the volume fraction PI of domain switching is obtained, in which the coefficients of the linear algebraic equations only contain the unknown strain and electric fields. Then a single domain mechanical model is proposed in this paper. The poled ferroelectric specimen is considered as a transversely isotropic single domain. By using the partial experimental results, the hardening relation between the driving force of domain switching and the volume fraction of domain switching can be calibrated. Then the electromechanical response can be calculated on the basis of the calibrated hardening relation. The results involve the electric butterfly shaped curves of axial strain versus axial electric field, the hysteresis loops of electric displacement versus electric filed and the evo- lution process of the domain switching in the ferroelectric specimens under uniaxial coupled stress and electric field loading. The present theoretic prediction agrees reasonably with the experimental results given by Lynch.

Mass‑Spring‑Damping Theory Based Equivalent Mechanical Model for Cylindrical Lithium‑ion Batteries under Mechanical Abuse

An equivalent mechanical model with the equivalent physical meaning of mass-spring-damping is proposed for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries through experiments and theory.The equivalent mechanical model of a cylindrical lithium-ion battery consists of a spring-damping parallel unit.Therefore,a spring-damping parallel unit connecting a damping unit in series is selected to construct the constitutive characteristics of the battery under mechanical abuse.Comparison results show that the equivalent mechanical model can more effectively describe the mechanical properties of the batteries than most cubic fitting models,of which the average relative error of the equivalent mechanical model under different states-of-charge is less than 6.75%.Combined with the proposed equivalent mechanical model,the failure process of the batteries was simulated and analyzed using LS-Dyna and HyperWorks.Under rigid rod tests,failure occurred at the core and bottom of the batteries;under hemispherical punch tests,failure occurred at the core and top,consistent with the experimental results.The average prediction error for the failure displacement under different abuse conditions is less than 4%in the simulations.The equivalent mechanical model requires only a few parameters and can be recognized easily.In the future,the model can be used in safety warning devices based on mechanical penetration.

Two-dimensional Numerical Modeling Research on Continent Subduction Dynamics

Continent subduction is one of the hot research problems in geoscience. New models presented here have been set up and two-dimensional numerical modeling research on the possibility of continental subduction has been made with the finite element software, ANSYS, based on documentary evidence and reasonable assumptions that the subduction of oceanic crust has occurred, the subduction of continental crust can take place and the process can be simplified to a discontinuous plane strain theory model. The modeling results show that it is completely possible for continental crust to be subducted to a depth of 120 km under certain circumstances and conditions. At the same time, the simulations of continental subduction under a single dynamical factor have also been made, including the pull force of the subducted oceanic lithosphere, the drag force connected with mantle convection and the push force of the mid-ocean ridge. These experiments show that the drag force connected with mantle convection is critical for continent subduction.

Mechanical properties of material in a mine dump at the Shengli#1 Surface Coal Mine,China

ln-situ experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of the soil-rock mixture in the internal dump of the Shengli #1 Surface Coal Mine, China. Based on the experimental results, this study used comparative analysis and found that the shear strength of the soil-rock mixture in the dump was greater than the residual shear strength of the original rock. The results showed that the material presented in the dump as large blocks was the main factor affecting the strength of the soil-rock mixture, Numerical simulation was carried out for the analyses of three factors： different combinations of shear failure, rolling failure along with different large-block radius ratios, and mixture densities. The results illustrated that the cohesion and angle of internal friction of the soil-rock mixture are 12 kPa and 32.26°. However, in some cases the bench angle in the dump was controlled by a coupling relationship of rocks in the material. Finally, the stability of a soil slope showed a linear relationship with the large-block radius ratio and the bulk density.

Mechanical model study of relationship of molecular configuration and multiphase in liquid crystal materials

A mechanical model of liquid crystals （LCs） is applied to study the polymorphism of homologous series of terphenyl compounds. With a senti-experimental molecular orbit method, we calculate the moment of inertia which represents the rotation state to describe the phase transition temperature obtained from experimental data. We propose a novel explanation of the phase sequence or polymorphism of LC materials using the two key parameters, the moment of inertia and critical rotational velocity. The effect of molecular polarity on the appearance of liquid crystalline is also discussed.

Universal Mechanism Modeling Method in Virtual Assembly Environment

Motion simulation and performance analysis of mechanism are important methods for analyzing assembly quality after finishing assembly simulation in virtual assembly environment. However, most simulation systems have no function of mechanism motion simulation due to the randomicity of mechanism and lack of universal mechanism modeling method. In order to realize the simulation of any mechanism after finishing assembly simulation in a virtual environment, a new universal mechanism modeling method is presented. Two main models are contained in the mechanism model： information model and mathematical model. Firstly, the information model of mechanism is proposed to describe the data structure of mechanism which contains bottom geometry data, information of constraint, link, kinematic pair and physical data. Because the object of mechanism simulation is the assembly, which is assembled during the process of assembly simulation, the information of mechanism can be obtained automatically through mechanism automatic search method. Secondly, mathematical model of mechanism is presented. The mathematical model uses mathematical method to express the mechanism. In order to realize the automatic expression of any random mechanism, basic constraint library is presented, consequently random mechanism can be described based on the basic constraint library. Finally, two examples are introduced to validate the method in the prototype system named VAPP（Virtual Assembly Process Planning）. The validation result shows that the mechanism modeling provides a universal modeling method for mechanism motion simulation in virtual assembly environment. This research has important effect on the development both of mechanism motion simulation and virtual assembly.

Mechanical behavior of underground pipe gallery structure considering ground fissure

The mechanical behavior of underground pipe gallery is a key research issue due to the static/dynamic states which exist in a ground fissure area.This study took an underground pipe gallery project in Xi’an,China as the research object.We analyzed the stress/strain characteristics of the pipe gallery structure and surrounding soil under static/dynamic conditions by the numerical simulation methods in detail.Based on the results,we proposed a theoretical calculation model for the pipe gallery structure considering the influence of the ground fissure,and combined with engineering examples for calculation and discussion.Subsequent results showed that:(1)the effective activity range of ground fissure on the deformation of the pipe gallery structure was mainly from 0.0 m(horizontal direction of ground fissure)to 32.0 m.In activity range,the pipe gallery structure is prone to failure,owing to the large soil deformation in the vertical direction;(2)with the increase of ground fissure settlement,a stress reduction area near the ground fissure appeared at the bottom of the hanging wall of the pipe gallery structure,and a local void phenomenon was revealed.The length of the local void is 6.0 m to 8.0 m under the maximum settlement(0.8 m)of the ground fissure;(3)Compared with the static conditions,the vertical and horizontal displacements of the pipe gallery structure and surrounding soil under the seismic action were little,and there were tensioncompression and torsion-shear effects in corner of the square pipe gallery structure(with a stress concentration phenomenon).The deformation law of pipe gallery structure and surrounding soil considering ground fissure and the theoretical model of pipe gallery structure established in this paper can provide reference for practical engineering.

Action mechanism of a mechanical end-anchorage bolt

Axial compression stress, produced by the pre-tightening force of a bolt, is a necessary condition for surrounding rock to form a whole structure. For this study, we built a mechanical model for an end-anchorage bolt, which represented the effect of a bolt on the surrounding rock in roadways in order to obtain its elastic solution. Simultaneously, we analyzed factors affecting the axial compression of the bolt on the surrounding rock and obtained the axial stress contours of the anchorage area through this elastic solution. The results indicate that 1) the axial compression stress in the anchorage area is proportional to the pre-tightening force and confirms the rule that stress declines sharply with the increase in axial distance from the bolt, with an effective stress radius of 1 m; 2) the maximum axial compression stress declines first and then rises with the increase in depth from the surface of the anchorage surrounding rock and 3) the size of the axial compression area is mainly determined by the length of the bolt.