Effect of Zhenwu Tang Granule on pressure-overloaded left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy in rats

BACKGROUND： In the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, few studies have focused on the compound preparations though there are many investigations. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of Zhenwu Tang Granule on chronic pressure-overloaded left ventricular hypertrophy in rats.METHODS： The study was performed at the laboratory of Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease. Male SD rats were divided randomly into 3 groups： sham operation group （n=8）, operation group （n=15） and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） group （n=15）.The model of myocardial hypertrophy was made by gradually constricting the abdominal aorta. Sixteen weeks later, cardiac ultrasonography was performed in all groups in order to ascertain post-operational left ventricular （LV） hypertrophy. And Zhenwu Tang Granule was added at a dose of 12 g/kg in the mixed feedstuff for 8 weeks in the TCM group. In the 24th week, weight, structure as well as function of the heart in each group were measured by high-frequency ultrasonography, and Masson＇s staining was performed on the cardiac muscles. Meanwhile, total collagen volume fraction （CVF-T） and non-coronary vessel collagen volume fraction （CVF-NV） were analyzed.RESULTS： There was an increase in the weight of the heart in the operation group, with the left ventricule dominated （P〈0.05）. The heart was enlarged, with diastolic interventricular septal distance （IVSd） and left ventricular posterior wall distance （LVPWd） dominated （P〈0.01）.There was a significant decrease in the cardiac function （P〈0.05）. The weight （P〈0.01） and volume of the heart decreased in the TCM group compared with the operation group, with IVSd and systolic left ventricular posterior wall dominated （P〈0.01）. And the cardiac function was improved （P〈0.05）. Significant interstitial and collagen hyperplasia was shown in the operation group based on pathological analysis, and various improvements were proved in the TCM group, i.e. there was a significant decrease in CVF-T and CVF-NV （P〈0.01） compared with the operation group; but no difference （P〉0.05） was found when compared with the pseudo-operation group.CONCLUSION： Zhenwu Tang Granule could reduce the weight and volume of the heart, improve the cardiac function, inhibit hyperplasia of collagen, and reverse myocardial hypertrophy in rats with pressure-overloaded left ventricular hypertrophy.

Blast Pressure Measurements of an Underwater Detonation in the Sea

Blast pressure measurements of a controlled underwater explosion in the sea were carried out.An explosive of 25-kg trinitro-toluene(TNT)equivalent was detonated,and the blast pressures were recorded by eight diferent high-performance pressure sensors that work at the nonresonant high-voltage output in adverse underwater conditions.Recorded peak pressure values are used to establish a relationship in the well-known form of empirical underwater explosion(UNDEX)loading formula.Constants of the formula are redetermined by employing the least-squares method in two diferent forms for best ftting to the measured data.The newly determined constants are found to be only slightly diferent from the generally accepted ones.

Topology optimization of 3D structures with design-dependent loads

Topology optimization of continuum structures with design-dependent loads has long been a challenge. In this paper, the topology optimization of 3D structures subjected to design-dependent loads is investigated. A boundary search scheme is proposed for 3D problems, by means of which the load surface can be identified effectively and efficiently, and the difficulties arising in other approaches can be overcome. The load surfaces are made up of the boundaries of finite elements and the loads can be directly applied to corresponding element nodes, which leads to great convenience in the application of this method. Finally, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method is validated by several numerical examples.

Crack propagation mechanism of compression-shear rock under static-dynamic loading and seepage water pressure

To reveal the water inrush mechanics of underground deep rock mass subjected to dynamic disturbance such as blasting, compression-shear rock crack initiation rule and the evolution of crack tip stress intensity factor are analyzed under static-dynamic loading and seepage water pressure on the basis of theoretical deduction and experimental research. It is shown that the major influence factors of the crack tip stress intensity factor are seepage pressure, dynamic load, static stress and crack angle. The existence of seepage water pressure aggravates propagation of branch cracks. With the seepage pressure increasing, the branch crack experiences unstable extension from stable propagation. The dynamic load in the direction of maximum main stress increases type I crack tip stress intensity factor and its influence on type II crack intensity factor is related with crack angle and material property. Crack initiation angle changes with the dynamic load. The initial crack initiation angle of type I dynamic crack fracture is 70.5°. The compression-shear crack initial strength is related to seepage pressure, confining pressure, and dynamic load. Experimental results verify that the initial crack strength increases with the confining pressure increasing, and decreases with the seepage pressure increasing.

Optimal Design of Compliant Trailing Edge for Shape Changing

Adaptive wings have long used smooth morphing technique of compliant leading and trailing edge to improve their aerodynamic characteristics. This paper introduces a systematic approach to design compliant structures to carry out required shape changes under distributed pressure loads. In order to minimize the deviation of the deformed shape from the target shape, this method uses MATLAB and ANSYS to optimize the distributed compliant mechanisms by way of the ground approach and genetic algorithm （GA） to remove the elements possessive of very low stresses. In the optimization process, many factors should be considered such as airloads, input displacements, and geometric nonlinearities. Direct search method is used to locally optimize the dimension and input displacement after the GA optimization. The resultant structure could make its shape change from 0 to 9.3 degrees. The experimental data of the model confirms the feasibility of this approach.

Experimental Study on Seepage Characteristics of a Soil-Rock Mixture in a Fault Zone

A mixture of fault gouge and rubble taken out from a fault zone is used to prepare a S-RM(Soil-Rock Mixture)sample with rock block proportions of 20%,30%,40%,50%,60%and 70%,respectively.A GDS triaxial test system is used accordingly to measure the seepage characteristics of such samples under different loading and unloading confining pressures in order to determine the variation law of the permeability coefficient.The test results show that:(1)The permeability coefficient of the S-RM samples decreases as the pressure increases,and the decrease rate of this coefficient in the initial stage of confining pressure loading is obviously higher than in the semi-late period;(2)The permeability coefficient at different confining pressure levels presents a common trend as the rock block proportion is increased,i.e.,it decreases first then it increases(the permeability coefficient of the sample with rock block proportion 40%being the smallest,70%the largest);(3)In the stage of confining pressure unloading,the recovery degree of the permeability coefficient grows with the increase of rock block proportion(the recovery rate of S-RM sample with rock block proportion 70%reaches 50.2%);(4)In the stage of confining pressure loading and unloading,the sensitivity of the permeability coefficient to the rock block proportion displays the inverse“Z”variation rule(when rock block proportion reaches 60%,the sensitivity is highest);(5)In the stage of confining pressure loading,the relationship between the permeability coefficient and confining pressure can be described by an exponential relationship.

A method of determining the permeability coefficient of coal seam based on the permeability of loaded coal

This study developed the equipment for thermo-fluid–solid coupling of methane-containing coal, and investigated the seepage character of loaded coal under different working conditions. Regarding the effective pressure as a variable, the variation characteristics of the gas permeability of loaded methane-containing coal has been studied under the conditions of different confining pressures and pore pressures. The qualitative and quantitative relationship between effective stress and permeability of loaded methane-containing coal has been established, considering the adsorption of deformation, amount of pore gas compression and temperature variation. The results show that the permeability of coal samples decreases along with the increasing effective stress. Based on the Darcy law, the correlation equation between the effective stress and permeability coefficient of coal seam has been established by combining the permeability coefficient of loaded coal and effective stress. On the basis of experimental data, this equation is used for calculation, and the results are in accordance with the measured gas permeability coefficient of coal seam. In conclusion, this method can be accurate and convenient to determine the gas permeability coefficient of coal seam, and provide evidence for forecasting that of the deep coal seam.

Numerical Analyses of Caisson Breakwaters on Soft Foundations Under Wave Cyclic Loading

A caisson breakwater is built on soft foundations after replacing the upper soft layer with sand. This paper presents a dynamic finite element method to investigate the strength degradation and associated pore pressure development of the intercalated soft layer under wave cyclic loading. By combining the undrained shear strength with the empirical formula of overconsolidation clay produced by unloading and the development model of pore pressure, the dynamic degradation law that describes the undrained shear strength as a function of cycle number and stress level is derived. Based on the proposed dynamic degradation law and M-C yield criterion, a dynamic finite element method is numerically implemented to predict changes in undrained shear strength of the intercalated soft layer by using the general-purpose FEM software ABAQUS, and the accuracy of the method is verified. The effects of cycle number and amplitude of the wave force on the degradation of the undrained shear strength of the intercalated soft layer and the associated excess pore pressure response are investigated by analyzing an overall distribution and three typical sections underneath the breakwater. By comparing the undrained shear strength distributions obtained by the static method and the quasi-static method with the undrained shear strength distributions obtained by the dynamic finite element method in the three typical sections, the superiority of the dynamic finite element method in predicting changes in undrained shear strength is demonstrated.

Dynamic rock tests using split Hopkinson （Kolsky） bar system - A review

Dynamic properties of rocks are important in a variety of rock mechanics and rock engineering problems. Due to the transient nature of the loading, dynamic tests of rock materials are very different from and much more challenging than their static counterparts. Dynamic tests are usually conducted using the split Hopkinson bar or Kolsl^j bar systems, which include both split Hopkinson pressure bar （SHPB） and split Hopkinson tension bar （SHTB） systems. Significant progress has been made on the quantification of various rock dynamic properties, owing to the advances in the experimental techniques of SHPB system. This review aims to fully describe and critically assess the detailed procedures and principles of tech- niques for dynamic rock tests using split Hopkinson bars. The history and principles of SHPB are outlined, followed by the key loading techniques that are useful for dynamic rock tests with SHPB （i.e. pulse shaping, momentum-trap and multi-axial loading techniques）. Various measurement techniques for rock tests in SHPB （i.e. X-ray micro computed tomography （CT）, laser gap gauge （LGG）, digital image corre- lation （DIC）, Moir~ method, caustics method, photoelastic coating method, dynamic infrared thermog- raphy） are then discussed. As the main objective of the review, various dynamic measurement techniques for rocks using SHPB are described, including dynamic rock strength measurements （i.e. dynamic compression, tension, bending and shear tests）, dynamic fracture measurements （i.e. dynamic imitation and propagation fracture toughness, dynamic fracture energy and fracture velocity）, and dy- namic techniques for studying the influences of temperature and pore water.

Fatigue Properties of Plain Concrete Under Triaxial Compressive Cyclic Loading

Experiments were made on plain concrete subjected to triaxial static loading and constant amplitude compressive fatigue loading with a constant lateral pressure in two directions. The initial confining pressure was 0, 0.1 f c , 0.25 f c and 0.4 f c , respectively, for the static test, and 0.1 f c and 0.25 f c for the fatigue test. Based on the triaxial compressive constitutive behavior of concrete, the inflexion of confining pressure evolution was chosen to be the fatigue damage criterion during the test. The rule of evolution of longitudinal maximum and minimum strains, longitudinal cyclic modulus and damage were recorded and analyzed. According to the Fardis Chen criterion model and the concept of equivalent fatigue life and equivalent stress level, a unified S N curve for multi axial compressive fatigue loading was proposed. Thus, the fatigue strength factors for different fatigue loading cases can be obtained. The present investigation provides information for the fatigue design of concrete structures.

LOADING CAPACITY ANALYSIS OF THE MISALIGNED CONICAL-CYLINDRICAL BEARING WITH NON NEWTONIAN LUBRICANTS

A novel numerical method to lubricate a conventional finite diameterconical-cylindrical bearing with a non-Newtonian lubricant, while adhering to the power-law model,is presented. The elastic deformation of bearing and varied viscosity of lubrication due to thepressure distribution of film thickness are also considered. Simulation results indicate that thenormal load carrying capacity is more pronounced for higher values of flow behavior index n, highereccentricity ratios and larger misalignment factors. It is found that the viscosity-pressure to theeffect of lubricant viscosity is significant.

Analysis of flow response to fluctuation of rotational speed in a radial impeller

By discretizing the convection terms with AUSM+-up scheme in the rotating coordinate system,a finite volume analysis code based on multi-block structured grids was developed independently so as to realize the numerical solving of internal flow fields of turbomachineries.Taking an unshrouded radial impeller with the working fluid of water vapour as the research object,the flow response to the fluctuation of rotational speed was calculated.By comparing the surface pressure profiles and velocity contours calculated by the code and commercial software respectively,the accuracy of flow solver was verified.The analysis of flow response data indicates that,as the working condition shifts closer towards the surge boundary,the response of flow parameters such as mass flow and aerodynamic torque will be more nonsynchronous with the fluctuation of rotational speed,and also the influence of density variation on mass flow variation will be smaller.Moreover,the transient variation region of working condition performance will deviate farther away from the steady performance curve as the working condition approaches the surge boundary.Compared to the working conditions with small mass flows,the distribution characteristics of pressure difference load on the blade surface vary little under large mass flow conditions.The reduction of fluctuation amplitude of rotational speed exerts no influence on abating the hysteresis of flow response.

Coefficient of consolidation by end of arc method

One of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering is excess pore pressure caused by clay soil loading and consolidation. Regarding uncertainties and complexities, this issue has long been the subject of attention of many researchers. In this work, a one-dimensional consolidation apparatus was equipped in a way that pore water pressure and settlement could be continuously read and recorded during consolidation process under static loading. The end of primary consolidation was obtained using water pressure changes helping to present a new method for determining the end of primary consolidation and consolidation coefficient. This method was then compared with two classical theory methods of lg t and t. Using Terzaghi's theory, the way of pore pressure dissipation for lg t, t and the new method was found and compared with experimental results. It is concluded that the new method has better results.

Experimental investigation into transient pressure pulses during pneumatic conveying of fine powders using Shannon entropy

This paper presents the results of an ongoing investigation into transient pressure pulses using Shan- non entropy. Pressure fluctuations （produced by gas-solid two-phase flow during fluidized dense-phase conveying） are recorded by pressure transducers installed at strategic locations along a pipeline. This work validates previous work on identifying the flow mode from pressure signals （Mittal, Mallick, ＆ Wypych, 2014）. Two different powders, namely fly ash （median particle diameter 45 μm, particle den- sity 1950 kg/m3. loosely poured bulk density 950 kg/m3） and cement （median particle diameter 15 p,m, particle density 3060 kg/m3, loosely poured bulk density 1070 kg/m3）, are conveyed through different pipelines （51 mm I.D. × 70 m length and 63 mm I.D. × 24 m length）. The transient nature of pressure fluc- tuations （instead of steady-state behavior） is considered in investigating flow characteristics. Shannon entropy is found to increase along straight pipe sections for both solids and both pipelines. However, Shannon entropy decreases after a bend. A comparison of Shannon entropy among different ranges of superficial air velocity reveals that high Shannon entropy corresponds to very low velocities （i.e. 3-5 m/s） and very high velocities （i.e. 11-14 m/s） while low Shannon entropy corresponds to mid-range velocities （i.e. 6-8 m/s）.

A Thermal-Solid–Fluid Method for Topology Optimization of Structures with Design-Dependent Pressure Load

For the topology optimization of structures with design-dependent pressure,an intuitive way is to directly describe the loading boundary of the structure,and then update the load on it.However,boundary recognition is usually cumbersome and inaccurate.Furthermore,the pressure is always loaded either outside or inside the structure,instead of both.Hence,the inner enclosed and outer open spaces should be distinguished to recognize the loading surfaces.To handle the above issues,a thermal-solid–fluid method for topology optimization with design-dependent pressure load is proposed in this paper.In this method,the specific void phase is defined to be an incompressible hydrostatic fluid,through which the pressure load can be transferred without any needs for special loading surface recognition.The nonlinear-virtual thermal method(N-VTM)is used to distinguish the enclosed and open voids by the temperature difference between the enclosed(with higher temperature)and open(with lower temperature)voids,where the solid areas are treated as the thermal insulation material,and other areas are filled with the self-heating highly thermally conductive material.The mixed displacement–pressure formulation is used to model this solid–fluid problem.The method is easily implemented in the standard density approach and its effectiveness is verified and illustrated by several typical examples at the end of the paper.

Degree One Loading by Pressure Variations at the CMB

Hemispherical asymmetry in core dynamics induces degree-1 pressure variations at the core mantle boundary （CMB）, which in turn deforms the overlaying elastic mantle, at the same time keeps center of mass of the whole Earth stationary in space. We develop a systematic procedure to deal with the degree-1 CMB pressure loading. We find by direct calculation a surprisingly negative load Love number h1=-1.425 for vertical displacement. Further analysis indicates that the negative hi corre- sponds to thickening above the positive load that defies intuition that pressure inflation pushes over- laying material up and thins the enveloping shell. We also redefine the pressure load Love numbers in general to enable comparison between the surface mass load and the CMB pressure load for the whole spectrum of harmonic degrees. We find that the gravitational perturbations from the two kinds of loads at degrees n〉l are very similar in amplitude but opposite in sign. In particular, if the CMB pressure variation at degree 2 is at the level of -1 hpa/yr （1 cm water height per year）, it would perturb the variation of Earth＇s oblateness, known as the J2, at the observed level.

Calculation Method Study on Steel Plate Deformation Under Impulse Loading of Thin Explosive

Basis of explosion's responsive analysis and anti-explosion's structure design is the relation among thin explosive mass, impulse and plate deformation. In this paper, the limitations of theoretical calculation and experimental methods are analyzed according to the relation between impulse loading and deformation of steel plate in thin explosive experiment. The time histories of deformation for the square steel plate under the impulse of thin explosive are calculated by the fluid-solid coupling method and the pressure loading method. The advantages of the pressure loading method and the fluid-solid coupling method are compared. The results show that the steel plate deformation can be estimated accurately using the fluid-solid coupling method when the explosive impulse is unknown, while the theoretical calculation and the pressure loading method provide quick and accurate prediction on the steel plate deformation when the explosive impulse is known.

Micro-scale behavior of granular materials during cyclic loading

This study presents the micro-scale behavior of granular materials under biaxial cyclic loading for differ- ent confining pressures using the two-dimensional （2D） discrete element method （DEM）. Initially, 8450 ovals were generated in a rectangular frame without any overlap. Four dense samples having confining pressures of 15, 25, 50, and 100 kPa were prepared from the initially generated sparse sample. Numeri- cal simulations were performed under biaxial cyclic loading using these isotropically compressed dense samples. The numerical results depict stress-strain-dilatancy behavior that was similar to that observed in experimental studies. The relationship between the stress ratio and dilatancy rate is almost indepen- dent of confining pressures during loading but significantly dependent on the confining pressures during unloading. The evolution of the coordination number, effective coordination number and slip coordina- tion number depends on both the confining pressures and cyclic loading. The cyclic loading significantly affects the microtopology of the granular assembly. The contact fabric and the fabric-related anisotropy are reported, as well. A strong correlation between the stress ratio and the fabric related to contact normals is observed during cyclic loading, irrespective of confining pressures.

The development and application of an inviscid inverse method

A two-dimensional inviscid inverse method is developed,verified and applied inthis paper.The method solves the Euler equation in absolute reference frame by a cell-centeredfinite volume method,and the hybrid Runge-Kutta method ls used for time integration.Different from the direct method,the inverse method imposes a unique"transpiration"boundary condition on the blade surfaces.The inputs of inverse method are pressure loadingand blade tangential thickness distribution along the blade chord.During the time marchingprocess,the blade shape is periodically updated.When the solution is converged,the bladeshape will be stabled.In the paper,the principle of the inverse method is described in detail.Then the developed inverse method is verified against a consistence test:recover an axialcompressor cascade from a different start.Finally,to demonstrate the powerful capability ofthe method,it is used to redesign the cascade,and final results give an improved aerodynamicperformance.

Experimental investigations of a prototype reversible pump turbine in generating mode with water head variations

Influences of water head variations on the performances of a prototype reversible pump turbine are experimentally studied in generating mode within a wide range of load conditions(from 25% to 96% of the rated power). The pressure fluctuations of the reversible pump turbine at three different water heads(with non-dimensional values being 0.48, 0.71 and 0.90) are measured and compared based on the pressure data recorded in the whole flow passage of the turbine. Furthermore, effects of monitoring points and load variations on the impeller-induced unstable behavior(e.g. blade passing frequency and its harmonics) are quantitatively discussed. Our findings reveal that water head variations play a significant role on the pressure fluctuations and their propagation mechanisms inside the reversible pump turbine.