Mouthguard Thermoforming Method to Decrease Palatal Thickness While Maintaining Labial and Buccal Thickness

Wearing a mouthguard reduces the risk of sports-related injuries, but a more comfortable design is required in order to increase the wearing rate. The aim of this study was to investigate a thermoforming method that decreases palatal thickness while maintaining labial and buccal thickness. Mouthguards were fabricated from an ethylene-vinyl acetate sheet (thickness: 4.0 mm) by using a vacuum forming machine. Four working models were prepared: 1) the anterior height was 25-mm and the posterior height was 20-mm (model A), 2) model A with the palate trimmed (model B), 3) heights 5 mm greater than model A (model C), and 4) model C with the palate trimmed (model D). The two forming conditions were as follows: 1) The sheet was formed when it sagged 15 mm below the level of the sheet frame at the top of the post under ordinary use (control);2) The sheet frame at the top of the post was lowered and the sheet covered the model when it sagged by 15 mm. The rear side of the model was pushed to move the model forward 20 mm, and then the sheet was formed (MP). Differences in mouthguard thickness due to forming conditions and model forms were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni’s multiple comparison tests. Difference in forming conditions was similar for all model forms;for the MP, the thickness of the incisal edge, labial surface, cusp and buccal surface were greater, and the palatal surface was thinner than the control. On the labial and buccal surface, the thickness difference due to the model form was observed only for the MP, and models A and B were thicker than models C and D. The palatal thickness tended to be thin in the models with the trimmed palate. This study suggested that the labial and buccal thickness of the mouthguard can be maintained, and the palatal thickness can be decreased by using the model with the palate trimmed with the forming method in which the model position is moved forward immediately before the vacuum formation.

Parametric Effect Investigation on Aerodynamic Interaction Characteristics for Tandem Rotors in Forward Flight

An iterative free-wake computational method is developed for the prediction of aerodynamic interaction characteristics between the twin rotors of a tandem helicopter.Here the mutual interaction effects between twin rotors are included,as well as those between the rotor and wake.A rotor wake model,blade aerodynamic model and rotor trim model are coupled during the process of solution.A new dual-rotor trim approach is presented to fit for the aerodynamic interaction calculations between tandem twin rotors.By the present method,the blade aerodynamic loads and rotor performance for the twin rotors under the interactional condition are calculated,and the comparisons with available experimental data are also made to indicate the capability of the proposed method.Then,the effects of such parameters as the longitudinal separation and axial separation between twin rotors on the aerodynamic interaction characteristics are analyzed.Based on the investigation,the conclusions are obtained to be of benefit to the configuration design of tandem rotors.Furthermore,the performance comparison between the tandem rotors and a single rotor is conducted.It is shown that the strongest interaction does not appear in a hover state,but in a low-speed forward flight state.

Trimming Behavior of H_2-Loaded Silica Fiber Modeled by Rate Equations

Photosensitivity behavior of H2-loaded silica fiber was modeled by rate equations for activated particles. The theoretical deductions give a close explanation to experimental phenomena on post-exposure growth in fiber gratings.