Experimental and Finite Element Analysis of Corroded High-Pressure Pipeline Repaired by Laminated Composite

Repairs of corroded high-pressure pipelines are essential for fluids transportation under high pressure.One of the methods used in their repairs is the use of layered composites.The composite used must have the necessary strength.Therefore,the experiments and analytical solutions presented in this paper are performed according to the relevant standards and codes,including ASME PCC-2,ASME B31.8S,ASME B31.4,ISO 24817 and ASME B31.G.In addition,the experimental tests are replicated numerically using the finite element method.Setting the strain gauges at different distances from the defect location,can reduce the nonlinear effects,deformation,and fluctuations due to the high pressure.The direct relationship between the depth of an axial defect and the stress concentration is observed at the inner side edges of the defect.Composite reparation reduces the non-linearities related to the sharp variation of the geometry and a more reliable numerical simulation could be performed.

Study of damage behavior and repair effectiveness of patch repaired carbon fiber laminate under quasi-static indentation loading

Damage caused due to low-velocity impacts in composites leads to substantial deterioration in their residual strength and eventually provokes structural failure.This work presents an experimental investigation on the effects of different patch and parent laminate stacking sequences on the enhancement of impact strength of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers(CFRP)composites by utilising the adhesively bonded external patch repair technique.Damage evolution study is also performed with the aid of Acoustic Emission(AE).Two different quasi-isotropic configurations were selected for the parent laminate,viz.,[45°/45°/0°/0°]s and[45°/0°/45°/0°]s.Quasi Static Indentation(QSI)test was performed on both the pristine laminates,and damage areas were detected by using the C-scan inspection technique.Damaged laminates were repaired by using a single-sided patch of two different configurations,viz.,[45°/45°/45°/45°]and[45°/0°/0°/45°],and employing a circular plug to fill the damaged hole.Four different combinations of repaired laminates with two configurations of each parent and patch laminate were produced,which were further subjected to the QSI test.The results reveal the effectiveness of the repair method,as all the repaired laminates show higher impact resistance compared to the respective pristine laminates.Patches of[45°/0°/0°/45°]configuration when repaired by taking[45°/45°/0°/0°]s and[45°/0°/45°/0°]s as parents exhibited 68%and 73%higher peak loads,respectively,than the respective pristine laminates.Furthermore,parent and patch of configuration[45°/0°/45°/0°]s and[45°/0°/0°/45°],respectively,attain the highest peak load,whereas[45°/45°/0°/0°]s and[45°/45°/45°/45°]combinations possess the most gradual decrease in the load.

Residual Stress and Fracture Toughness Study in A516 Gr70 Steel Joints Welded and Repaired by Arc Processes

Structural components made of steel are used in several areas and require welding for assembly. In some situations, repair of the weld bead, also performed by electric arc welding, can be used to correct, and eliminate any discontinuities. However, electric arc welding causes the presence of residual stresses in the joint, which can impair its performance and not meet specific design requirements. In this paper, welded joints made of ASTM A 516 GR 70 steel plates, with a thickness of 30.5 mm, welded by the MAG—Metal Active Gas process (20% CO2) and using a “K” groove were analysed. The joints were manufactured with seven welding passes on each side of the groove. After welding, one batch underwent repair of the bead by TIG welding (Tungsten Insert Gas) and another batch underwent two repairs by TIG welding. Were presented results of the behaviour of the residual stress profile measured by X-ray diffraction and the Vickers microhardness profile in the joints as well the fracture toughness in the conditions only welded and submitted to repairs. The results indicated that the greater number of repair passes reduced the residual compressive stress values obtained in the material manufacturing process and caused a stabilization on the Vickers hardness values. It was concluded that compressive residual stresses did not play a major role in the R-curve results. The presence of discontinuities in the welded joint caused greater influence on the behaviour of the R curve.

Numerical simulation of the modulation to incident laser by the repaired damage site in a fused silica subsurface

One of the main factors of laser induced damage is the modulation to incident laser which is caused by the defect in the subsurface of the fused silica. In this work, the repaired damage site irradiated by CO2 laser is simplified to a Gaussian rotation according to the corresponding experimental results. Then, the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method is employed to simulate the electric field intensity distribution in the vicinity of this kind of defect in fused silica front subsurface. The simulated results show that the modulation is notable, the Emax is about 2.6 times the irradiated electric field intensity in the fused silica with the damage site （the width is 1.5 μm and depth is 2.3 μm） though the damage site is repaired by CO2 laser. The phenomenon and the theoretical result of the annular laser enhancement existed on the rear surface are first verified effectively, which agrees well with the corresponding experimental results. The relations between the maximal electric field intensity in fused silica with defect depth and width are given respectively. Meanwhile, the corresponding physical mechanism is analysed theoretically in detail.

Optical modulation of repaired damage site on fused silica produced by CO2 laser rapid ablation mitigation

CO2 laser rapid ablation mitigation(RAM)of fused silica has been used in high-power laser systems owing to its advantages of high efficiency,and ease of implementing batch and automated repairing.In order to study the effect of repaired morphology of RAM on laser modulation and to improve laser damage threshold of optics,an finite element method(FEM)mathematical model of 351 nm laser irradiating fused silica optics is developed based on Maxwell electromagnetic field equations,to explore the 3D near-field light intensity distribution inside optics with repaired site on its surface.The influences of the cone angle and the size of the repaired site on incident laser modulation are studied as well.The results have shown that for the repaired site with a cone angle of 73.3°,the light intensity distribution has obvious three-dimensional characteristics.The relative light intensity on z-section has a circularly distribution,and the radius of the annular intensification zone increases with the decrease of z.While the distribution of maximum relative light intensity on y-section is parabolical with the increase of y.As the cone angle of the repaired site decreases,the effect of the repaired surface on light modulation becomes stronger,leading to a weak resistance to laser damage.Moreover,the large size repaired site would also reduce the laser damage threshold.Therefore,a repaired site with a larger cone angle and smaller size is preferred in practical CO2 laser repairing of surface damage.This work will provide theoretical guidance for the design of repaired surface topography,as well as the improvement of RAM process.

Effect of structural parameters of Gaussian repaired pit on light intensity distribution inside KH_2PO_4 crystal

KH2PO4 （KDP） crystal with excellent optical properties is a very important element of inertial confinement fusion （ICF） device. However, KDP crystal surface micro-defects severely reduce the crystal laser damage threshold, affecting the crystal service life. In this paper, Gaussian repaired pit is used to replace the crystal surface micro-defects, in order to improve the laser damage resistance of the KDP crystal with surface micro-defects. At first, the physical model of Gaussian repaired pit is built by Fourier model method, and the accuracy of the method is analyzed. It is found that the calculation error can be reduced by increasing the product of the width-period ratio and the truncation constant of the repaired pit. The calculation results about the physical model of Gaussian repaired pit show that the light intensity distribution within the crystal is symmetrical, and there are evidently enhanced light intensity regions in the crystal. Meanwhile, the maximum relative intensity inside the KDP crystal decreases gradually with the increase of the width of the Gaussian repaired pit. Secondly, the Gaussian repaired pits with different widths and the same depth of 20 μm are processed by micro-milling. Their surfaces are very smooth and present the ductile cutting state under the microscope. Finally, the laser damage threshold of the Gaussian repaired pits on the surface of the KDP crystal sample is measured by a 3 ω, 6-ns laser. The results showthat the maximum threshold of the Gaussian repaired pits is 3.12 J/cm2, which is 60% higher than the threshold of initial damage point, and the laser damage threshold increases with the increase of the width of the Gaussian repaired pit.

Appropriate Heart Rate in a Patient with Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot

Appropriate heart rate in a failing pulmonary ventricle remains unknown, particularly in congenital heart diseasewith unique hemodynamics. A 71-year-old male with repaired tetralogy of Fallot and a pacemaker for a sinusnode dysfunction suffered from heart failure symptoms with preserved left ventricular function. Simply changingthe pacemaker’s lower rate from 60 to 75 bpm, New York Heart Association classification improved from III to II,and hemodynamic parameters drastically improved. We regarded this case as informative. Appropriate heart ratecould be higher in congenital patients with failing right and non-failing left ventricles than in adults with malfunctioningLV.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of laser additive repaired Ti17 titanium alloy

Laser additive manufacturing technology with powder feeding was employed to repair wrought Ti17titanium alloy with small surface defects.The microstructure,micro-hardness and room temperature tensile properties of laser additive repaired(LARed)specimen were investigated.The results show that,cellular substructures are observed in the laser deposited zone(LDZ),rather than the typicalαlaths morphology due to lack of enough subsequent thermal cycles.The cellular substructures lead to lower micro-hardness in the LDZ compared with the wrought substrate zone which consists of duplex microstructure.The tensile test results indicate that the tensile deformation process of the LARed specimen exhibits a characteristic of dramatic plastic strain heterogeneity and fracture in the laser repaired zone with a mixed dimple and cleavage mode.The tensile strength of the LARed specimen is slightly higher than that of the wrought specimen and the elongation of11.7%is lower.

Viscoelasticity of repaired sciatic nerve by poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) tubes

Medical-grade synthetic poly（lactic-co-glycolic acid） polymer can be used as a biomaterial for nerve repair because of its good biocompatibility, biodegradability and adjustable degradation rate. The stress relaxation and creep properties of peripheral nerve can be greatly improved by repair with poly（lactic-co-glycolic acid） tubes. ＂Fen sciatic nerve specimens were harvested from fresh corpses within 24 hours of death, and were prepared into sciatic nerve injury models by creating a 10 mm defect in each specimen. Defects were repaired by anastomosis with nerve autografts and poly（lactic-co-glycolic acid） tubes. Stress relaxation and creep testing showed that at 7 200 seconds the sciatic nerve anastomosed by poly（lactic-co-glycolic acid） tubes exhibited a greater decrease in stress and increase in strain than those anastomosed by nerve autografts. These findings suggest that poly（lactic-co-glycolic acid） exhibits good viscoelasticity to meet the biomechanical require- ments for a biomaterial used to repair sciatic nerve injury.

Performance of Epoxy-Repaired Corroded Reinforced Concrete Beams

Reinforcement corrosion has a serious impact on the durability and safety of reinforced concrete structures.Six reinforced concrete(RC)beam specimens are constructed.After beam specimens are subjected to accelerated corrosion with the constant current,beam specimens are repaired with epoxy mortar and the flexural test of beams is investigated.Then the behaviors of repaired corroded reinforced concrete beams are evaluated.The experimental results show that cracking and ultimate loads of corroded RC beams are enhanced after being repaired.And the strain distributions measured across sections of beam specimens still obey the assumption of plane section.After being repaired,the number of cracks decreases and the crack spacing increases.

Fracture analysis of cracked metallic plate repaired with adhesive bonding composite patch

Fatigue crack growth test of cracked metallic plate repaired with adhesive bonding composite patch was conducted to study the fracture behavior of crack patching. The failure mode was that crack grows along with adhesive debonding. The crack length and debonding area were measured at different numbers of cycles. The nonlinear three- dimensional(3D)finite element(FE)model considering adhesive debonding and crack growth simultaneously was developed. The experimental and analytical results were in good agreement with each other.

Numerical and Experimental Study on Stiffened Composite Panel Repaired by Bolted Joints under Compressive Load

Numerical and experimental study was conducted to investigate the failure mode and strength performance of stiffened composite panel repaired by bolted joints under compressive load, and the results were then compared with those from virgin stiffened composite panel without any damage. A finite element analysis model was established for repaired and virgin stiffened composite panels under compressive load, the 3D Hashin criteria was applied to identify the composite structure failure, and the secondary stress criteria was adopted to identify the adhesive failure between the base laminate and the stiffener. The failure modes of repaired stiffened composite panels were stiffened composite panels breaking off along the bolt joints. The experimental results were consistent with the finite element analysis results, indicating the reliability of the finite element analysis model.

Structural Behavior of Repaired Reinforced Concrete Beams with Glued Steel Plate and Carbon Fiber

This paper investigates the strength and deformation characteristics of reinforced normal and high-strength concrete rectangular beams which failed in shear and repaired by external bonding of carbon fiber and steel plate. Five simply supported reinforced concrete beams with shear reinforcement are tested, three of which are made with NSC （normal-strength concrete） and the other two with HSC （high-strength concrete）. The span of the simply supported beams is 0.9 m with 100 mm wide by 200 mm deep cross section. All five beams are tested under four-point bending. Careful repair process is adopted and proved successful. The aim is to restore or increase shear strength of these beams and to monitor their post-repair load-deflection behavior. The effect of concrete compressive strength on the behavior and strength of beams before and after repair is also investigated. Shear cracks patterns and their evolution are observed and discussed.

Role of transforming growth factor-βin peripheral nerve regeneration

Injuries caused by trauma and neurodegenerative diseases can damage the peripheral nervous system and cause functional deficits.Unlike in the central nervous system,damaged axons in peripheral nerves can be induced to regenerate in response to intrinsic cues after reprogramming or in a growth-promoting microenvironment created by Schwann cells.However,axon regeneration and repair do not automatically result in the restoration of function,which is the ultimate therapeutic goal but also a major clinical challenge.Transforming growth factor(TGF)is a multifunctional cytokine that regulates various biological processes including tissue repair,embryo development,and cell growth and differentiation.There is accumulating evidence that TGF-βfamily proteins participate in peripheral nerve repair through various factors and signaling pathways by regulating the growth and transformation of Schwann cells;recruiting specific immune cells;controlling the permeability of the blood-nerve barrier,thereby stimulating axon growth;and inhibiting remyelination of regenerated axons.TGF-βhas been applied to the treatment of peripheral nerve injury in animal models.In this context,we review the functions of TGF-βin peripheral nerve regeneration and potential clinical applications.

Molecular insights into clinical trials for immune checkpoint inhibitors in colorectal cancer:Unravelling challenges and future directions

Colorectal cancer(CRC)is a complex disease with diverse etiologies and clinical outcomes.Despite considerable progress in development of CRC therapeutics,challenges remain regarding the diagnosis and management of advanced stage metastatic CRC(mCRC).In particular,the five-year survival rate is very low since mCRC is currently rarely curable.Over the past decade,cancer treatment has significantly improved with the introduction of cancer immunotherapies,specifically immune checkpoint inhibitors.Therapies aimed at blocking immune checkpoints such as PD-1,PD-L1,and CTLA-4 target inhibitory pathways of the immune system,and thereby enhance anti-tumor immunity.These therapies thus have shown promising results in many clinical trials alone or in combination.The efficacy and safety of immunotherapy,either alone or in combination with CRC,have been investigated in several clinical trials.Clinical trials,including KEYNOTE-164 and CheckMate 142,have led to Food and Drug Administration approval of the PD-1 inhibitors pembrolizumab and nivolumab,respectively,for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability-high or deficient mismatch repair CRC.Unfortunately,these drugs benefit only a small percentage of patients,with the benefits of immunotherapy remaining elusive for the vast majority of CRC patients.To this end,primary and secondary resistance to immunotherapy remains a significant issue,and further research is necessary to optimize the use of immunotherapy in CRC and identify biomarkers to predict the response.This review provides a comprehensive overview of the clinical trials involving immune checkpoint inhibitors in CRC.The underlying rationale,challenges faced,and potential future steps to improve the prognosis and enhance the likelihood of successful trials in this field are discussed.

Neuronal conversion from glia to replenish the lost neurons

Neuronal injury,aging,and cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases such as cerebral infarction,Alzheimer’s disease,Parkinson’s disease,frontotemporal dementia,amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,and Huntington’s disease are characte rized by significant neuronal loss.Unfo rtunately,the neurons of most mammals including humans do not possess the ability to self-regenerate.Replenishment of lost neurons becomes an appealing therapeutic strategy to reve rse the disease phenotype.Transplantation of pluripotent neural stem cells can supplement the missing neurons in the brain,but it carries the risk of causing gene mutation,tumorigenesis,severe inflammation,and obstructive hydrocephalus induced by brain edema.Conversion of neural or non-neural lineage cells into functional neurons is a promising strategy for the diseases involving neuron loss,which may overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of neural stem cell therapy.Thus far,many strategies to transfo rm astrocytes,fibroblasts,microglia,Muller glia,NG2 cells,and other glial cells to mature and functional neurons,or for the conversion between neuronal subtypes have been developed thro ugh the regulation of transcription factors,polypyrimidine tra ct binding protein 1(PTBP1),and small chemical molecules or are based on a combination of several factors and the location in the central nervous system.However,some recent papers did not obtain expected results,and discrepancies exist.Therefore,in this review,we discuss the history of neuronal transdifferentiation,summarize the strategies for neuronal replenishment and conversion from glia,especially astrocytes,and point out that biosafety,new strategies,and the accurate origin of the truly co nverted neurons in vivo should be focused upon in future studies.It also arises the attention of replenishing the lost neurons from glia by gene therapies such as up-regulation of some transc ription factors or downregulation of PTBP1 or drug interfe rence therapies.

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in skin wound healing:roles,opportunities and challenges

Skin wounds are characterized by injury to the skin due to trauma,tearing,cuts,or contusions.As such injuries are common to all human groups,they may at times represent a serious socioeconomic burden.Currently,increasing numbers of studies have focused on the role of mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)-derived extracellular vesicles(EVs)in skin wound repair.As a cell-free therapy,MSC-derived EVs have shown significant application potential in the field of wound repair as a more stable and safer option than conventional cell therapy.Treatment based on MSC-derived EVs can significantly promote the repair of damaged substructures,including the regeneration of vessels,nerves,and hair follicles.In addition,MSC-derived EVs can inhibit scar formation by affecting angiogenesis-related and antifibrotic pathways in promoting macrophage polarization,wound angiogenesis,cell proliferation,and cell migration,and by inhibiting excessive extracellular matrix production.Additionally,these structures can serve as a scaffold for components used in wound repair,and they can be developed into bioengineered EVs to support trauma repair.Through the formulation of standardized culture,isolation,purification,and drug delivery strategies,exploration of the detailed mechanism of EVs will allow them to be used as clinical treatments for wound repair.In conclusion,MSCderived EV-based therapies have important application prospects in wound repair.Here we provide a comprehensive overview of their current status,application potential,and associated drawbacks.

High quality repair of osteochondral defects in rats using the extracellular matrix of antler stem cells

BACKGROUND Cartilage defects are some of the most common causes of arthritis.Cartilage lesions caused by inflammation,trauma or degenerative disease normally result in osteochondral defects.Previous studies have shown that decellularized extracellular matrix(ECM)derived from autologous,allogenic,or xenogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells(MSCs)can effectively restore osteochondral integrity.AIM To determine whether the decellularized ECM of antler reserve mesenchymal cells(RMCs),a xenogeneic material from antler stem cells,is superior to the currently available treatments for osteochondral defects.METHODS We isolated the RMCs from a 60-d-old sika deer antler and cultured them in vitro to 70%confluence;50 mg/mL L-ascorbic acid was then added to the medium to stimulate ECM deposition.Decellularized sheets of adipocyte-derived MSCs(aMSCs)and antlerogenic periosteal cells(another type of antler stem cells)were used as the controls.Three weeks after ascorbic acid stimulation,the ECM sheets were harvested and applied to the osteochondral defects in rat knee joints.RESULTS The defects were successfully repaired by applying the ECM-sheets.The highest quality of repair was achieved in the RMC-ECM group both in vitro(including cell attachment and proliferation),and in vivo(including the simultaneous regeneration of well-vascularized subchondral bone and avascular articular hyaline cartilage integrated with surrounding native tissues).Notably,the antler-stem-cell-derived ECM(xenogeneic)performed better than the aMSC-ECM(allogenic),while the ECM of the active antler stem cells was superior to that of the quiescent antler stem cells.CONCLUSION Decellularized xenogeneic ECM derived from the antler stem cell,particularly the active form(RMC-ECM),can achieve high quality repair/reconstruction of osteochondral defects,suggesting that selection of decellularized ECM for such repair should be focused more on bioactivity rather than kinship.

Assessment of right ventricular strain in children with repaired tetralogy of Fallot using speckle tracking imaging

To the Editor: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) was first surgically repaired in 1955. Initial TOF repairs were performed using a trans-annular right ventricular outflow tract patch to relieve the obstruction. However, this procedure resulted in long-standing pulmonary valve regurgitation and increased right ventricular (RV) volume, causing arrhythmias and sudden death.[1] Thus, pulmonary annulus preservation became the most prevalent surgical strategy for TOF repair, possibly causing a mix of pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary valve regurgitation. Currently, clinicians concerned with RV function decrease during the long-term follow-up use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) to predict the appropriate timing of interventions for valve sparing. Although CMR techniques have evolved as the reference standard for assessing RV volumes and function during the last two decades, routinely monitoring the progression of repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) RV dysfunction remains difficult.

Biphasic Mechanical Properties of in vivo Repaired Cartilage

In the fast growing field of scaffold-based tissue engineering, improvement on the mechanical properties of newly formed tissues, e.g. the repaired cartilage, has always been one of the core issues. Studies on the correlations among scaffold composition, in vivo morphological changes of the construct, and the finite deformation behaviors of new tissues （e.g. creep and stress-relaxation, and equilibrium response）, have attracted increasing interests. In this paper, the correlations between the compressive biphasic mechanical properties （i.e., equilibrium elastic modulus E and permeability coefficient k） of 3D printing scaffold （consisting of collagen and fl-tricalcium phosphate） and the proteoglycans （PGs） concentration of the repaired carti- lages after 24 weeks, 36 weeks and 52 weeks of scaffold implantation were investigated. Results indicated that the repaired cartilage covered the entire cartilage surface of large cylindrical osteochondral defects （10 mm in diameter ~ 15 mm in depth） on the canine trochlea grooves after 24 weeks. The equilibrium elastic modulus of the repaired cartilage reached 22.4% at 24 weeks, 70.3% at 36 weeks, and 93.4% at 52 weeks of the native cartilage, respectively. Meanwhile, the permeability coefficient decreased with time and at 52 weeks was still inferior to that of the native cartilage in one order of magnitude. In addition, the amount of glycosaminoglycans （GAGs） of repaired cartilage increased constantly with time, which at 52 weeks approached to nearly 60% of that of native cartilage. 3D printed scaffolds have potential applications in repairing large-scale cartilage defects.