Mechanical Loading

The sensory innervation of the papilla incisiva in the hard palate of the domestic goat was studied with light and electron microscopy, supplemented by electro- physiological studies of free nerve endings. The goat lacks incisor teeth. Grass and leaves are not bitten, but ...

Decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in astronauts returning from long-duration spaceflight missions has been well documented, but the altered mechanical loading environment experienced by the musculoskeletal system, which may contribute to these changes, has not been well characterized. The current study describes the loading environment of the lower extremity (LE) during typical days on the International Space Station (ISS) compared to similar data for the same individuals living on Earth. Data from in-shoe force measurements are also used as input to the enhanced daily load stimulus (EDLS) model to determine the mechanical ''dose'' experienced by the musculoskeletal system and to associate this dose with changes in BMD.

In this work, an approach for numerical modeling of the fracture process of complex materials microstructures is presented. It is well known that the relation between a material microstructure and the resulting macroscopic properties is a problem of great practical interest. Thus, we study the effect of the particular microstructure on the fracture mechanism and damage accumulation. To this aim,

Electronic systems are often stored for long periods prior to deployment in the intended environment. Aging has been previously shown to effect the reliability and constitutive behavior of second-level leadfree interconnects. Deployed systems may be subjected to cyclic thermo-mechanical loads subsequent to deployment.

In order to design structural components using composite materials a deep understanding of the material behaviour and its failure mechanisms is necessary. To create a better understanding of the initiation, growth and interaction of the different types of damage, damage monitoring during mechanical loading is very important. To this direction, AE is a powerful non destructive technique for real time monitoring of damage development in materials and structures which has been used successfully for the identification of damage mechanisms in composite structures under quasi static and dynamic-cycle loading. In this present work, pure resin plate and GFRP composite laminates with stacking sequence of [0 0 ] 6 , are fabricated using Hand lay-up method. During the layup a Teflon tape of width 45 mm is kept in the mid plane of the laminate which serves as an initiator for delamination during loading. As per ASTM STD D5528 01 DCB (Double Cantilever Beam) specimens are cut out from the laminates and are subjected to tensile test in the transverse direction along with acoustic emission monitoring. While loading, Markings are made on the sides of the specimen to track the crack front using a magnifying lens. Parametric analysis is performed on the AE data obtained during crack propagation to discriminate the failure modes. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) enabled the calculation of frequency content of each damage mechanism. Further STFFT analysis is performed on a portion of the waveforms representing the dominant frequency content pertaining to each damage mechanism.

The paper considers elastic and plastic deformation of metal, oxide and semiconductor films during their growth, thermal annealing and mechanical loading. It is shown that in a compressed thin filmcompliant substrate system, wrinkling of the film surface and coherent deformation of the substrate take place. With a rigid substrate, compressive stress leads to elastic buckling of the film and its local or periodic delamination from the substrate. Plastic deformation of thin films is governed by competitive changes in their surface energy and strain energy. It is found that the periodic stress-strain distribution at the interface of two media plays a fundamental role and underlies the mechanisms for degradation of thin films under various external actions.

Introduction: Physical activity is known to enhance the mechanical competence of bone. However, information about the optimal type of exercise is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of jumping exercise to changes in bone geometry. Methods: We carried out a 12-month population-based trial with 120 women (aged 35-40 years), randomly assigned to an exercise group or to a control group. The exercise regimen consisted of supervised, progressive high-impact exercises three times per week and an additional home program. The intensity of impact loading was assessed as the magnitude of acceleration peaks using an accelerometer-based body movement monitor. The activity was analyzed as the daily number of impacts within five acceleration ranges (0.3-1.0g, 1.1-2.4g, 2.5-3.8g, 3.9-5.3g and 5.4-9.2g; g = acceleration of gravity, 9.81 m/s 2 ). Bone geometry was assessed with spiral quantitative computed tomography (QCT) scanner at mid-femur, proximal tibia and distal tibia. Results: Thirty-nine women (65%) in the exercise group and 41 women (68%) in the control group completed the study. QCT and physical activity data were available from 65 subjects. The exercise group showed a significant 0.2% (p = 0.033) higher gain in bone circumference compared to the control group at mid-femur. Subgroup analyses revealed geometric changes indicating up to a 2.5% increment in bone strength in favor of the most active exercisers (> 66 exercise sessions during the 12 months) compared to the least active exercisers (< 19 sessions). In pooled groups, the changes in cortical attenuation and cross-sectional moment of inertia correlated positively (p < 0.05-p < 0.01) with the number of impacts exceeding 1.1g, while changes in cortical thickness (p < 0.05) and bone circumference (p < 0.05-p < 0.01) were positively associated with impacts 3.9g, or more. The number and intensity of impacts during the 12 months were the most significant predictors of changes in bone geometry explaining up to 36% of changes. Conclusions: Bone geometry adapts to impact exercise and the adaptation is most marked at the mid-femur. The changes in bone geometry are associated with the number and intensity of daily impacts while the redistribution of bone mineral appears to be the main mechanism in the skeletal adaptation to varying intensities of exercise.

Mechanical loading has been shown to modulate longitudinal bone growth and cellular activity of the growth plate. Nevertheless, limited and controversial results exist regarding the effect of exercise on a physiological level on the growth plate. The present study investigated whether dose-dependent voluntary exercise has an influence on morphological, biochemical, and mechanical factors of the distal femoral growth plate of

In this paper, conceptual models are presented to identify the effects of solid deformation on the changes in rock permeabilities for (a) fractured media, (b) intact media, and (c) fractured porous media subjected to external loads, all in steady state conditions. Finite element schemes are then developed with embedded correlations between induced strain and modified permeability to simulate the coupled flow-deformation behavior of reservior rocks tested in the laboratory. Rock specimen permeability is evaluated through comparison between analytical solution and numerical calculation using 'geometric factors'; the latter simulates the actual laboratory experiment where fluid flow and mechanical loading are applied simultaneously on rock samples. Numerical analyses reveal that physical properties of the porous media, including permeability, are significantly altered by mechanical effects, particularly if the media is naturally fractured.

The primary objective of the present study was to quantify the relative effect of the magnitude and direction of the exerted push force and of trunk inclination on the mechanical load at the low back using a regression analysis for correlated data. In addition, we explored the effects of handle height and type of pushing activity (standing or walking) on the magnitude and direction of exerted forces, trunk inclination, and low back loading when pushing a four-wheeled cart on a treadmill. An experimental setup was designed in which nine participants pushed a four-wheeled cart on a treadmill. Kinematics and reaction forces on the hand were measured to calculate the net moment at the L5-S1 intervertebral disc. Results show that the magnitude and direction of the exerted push force and the trunk inclination significantly and independently affect low back load. It is concluded that for the ergonomic evaluation of pushing tasks, the inclination of the trunk should be considered, in addition to the magnitude and direction of exerted forces.

Rotating disks have many applications in the aerospace industry such as gas turbines and gears. These disks normally work under thermo mechanical loads. Minimizing the weight of such components can help reduce the overall payload in aerospace industry. For this purpose, a rotating functionally graded (FG) disk with variable thickness under a steady temperature field is considered in this paper. Thermo elastic solutions and the weight of the disk are related to the material grading index and the geometry of the disk. It is found that a disk with parabolic or hyperbolic convergent thickness profile has smaller stresses and displacements compared to a uniform thickness disk. Maximum radial stress due to centrifugal load in the solid disk with parabolic thickness profile may not be at the center unlike uniform thickness disk. Functionally graded disk with variable thickness has smaller stresses due to thermal load compared to those with uniform thickness. It is seen that for a given value of grading index, the FG disk having concave thickness profile is the lightest in weight whereas the FG disk with uniform thickness profile is the heaviest. Also for any given thickness profile, the weight of the FG disk lies in between the weights of the all-metal and the all-ceramic disks.

It is assumed that strain in a nerve segment at the end of a neurodynamic test will be greatest if the joint nearest that nerve segment is moved first in the neurodynamic test sequence. To test this assumption, the main movements of the median nerve biased neurodynamic test were applied in three different sequences to seven fresh-frozen human cadavers. Strain and longitudinal excursion were measured in the median nerve at the distal forearm. Strain and relative position of the nerve at the end of a test did not differ between sequences. The nerve was subjected to higher levels of strain for a longer duration during the sequence where wrist extension occurred first. The pattern of excursion was different for each sequence. The results highlight that order of movement does not affect strain or relative position of the nerve at the end of a test when joints are moved through comparable ranges of motion. When used clinically, different neurodynamic sequences may still change the mechanical load applied to a nerve segment. Changes in load may occur because certain sequences apply increased levels of strain to the nerve for a longer time period, or because sequences differ in ranges of joint motions.

Two modeling approaches, analytical and numerical ones were carried out to simulate the mechanical behaviour of a coated metal steel sheet under thermo-mechanical loads. As the metallic film and the polymer layer have different dilatation coefficients, temperature increase and/or humidity variation can result in a compressive state in the metallic film, and yield to bucking. This phenomenon is called wrinkling. It can be prevented by a stiff polymer layer or a stable film due to adapted thickness and mechanical properties. Wrinkling phenomenon has received increasing attention because of important uses of polymeric coating in many industrial applications. To better understand and predict this phenomenon, analytical and numerical models have been developed and compared.

Due to the large power supply in the energy market since 1960s, the nuclear power planets have been consistently constructed throughout the world in order to maintain and supply sufficient fundamental power generation. Up to now, most of the planets have been operated to a point where the spent fuel pool has reached its design capacity volume. To prevent the plant from shutdown due to the spent fuel pool exceeding the design capacity, the dry cask storage can provides a solution for both the spent fuel pool capacity and the mid-term storage method for the spent fuel bundles at nuclear power planet.

The goal of this study was to compare selected parameters of vertical ground reaction forces (GRF) of good outcome patients with different prosthesis designs with a matched control group during level walking, stair ascent and descent. Forty subjects, 29 with three main implant designs (including four subjects with a passive knee flexion restriction), and 11 healthy controls were measured with 8-10 repetitions. Vertical ground reaction forces were measured during two consecutive steps with force plates embedded in the walkway and the staircase. Defined parameters of the force signals were used to compare the results of the test groups. The results show, that, postoperatively, good outcome patients produce gait patterns of the vertical ground reaction force which are comparable to normal healthy subjects with the exception of a few distinct differences: a significant reduction ( p < 0.05) in the vertical loading on the operated side during level walking at take-off, at weight acceptance and take-off during stair ascent of the normal stair. During stair descent, the patients did not reduce load on the operated side, but increased load variation and side-to-side asymmetry; thus, the mechanical loads on the implants were high, which may be important information with respect to loading protocols of knee implant simulators. No systematic differences in any of the test parameters were found between posterior cruciate-retaining (LCS MB and Innex CR) versus non-retaining (LCS RP and Innex UCOR) implant designs. The restricted group showed significant reductions ( p < 0.05) of several loading parameters as well as an increased side-to-side asymmetry. About one third of the force parameters of the good outcome patients showed a side-to-side asymmetry between two consecutive steps, which was over a proposed level of acceptance. #

Two synchrotron diffraction techniques, three-dimensional X-ray diffraction and Laue microdiffraction, are applied to studying the deformation behaviour of individual grains embedded in a Cu 74 Al 23 Be 3 superelastic shape memory alloy. The average lattice rotation and the intragranular heterogeneity of orientations are measured during in situ tensile tests at room temperature for four grains of mean size $1 mm. During mechanical loading, all four grains rotate and the mean rotation angle increases with austenite deformation. As the martensitic transformation occurs, the rotation becomes more pronounced, and the grain orientation splits into several sub-domains: the austenite orientation varies on both sides of the martensite variant. The mean disorientation is $1°. Upon unloading, the sub-domains collapse and reverse rotation is observed.

Of the many problems associated with low back pain, those which are most amenable to biomechanical investigation are identified. Recent advances in lumbar spinal mechanics are then reviewed in five sections dealing with mechanical function, mechanisms of failure, movements in vivo, loading in vivo, and the biological consequences of mechanical loading. The discussion suggests that mechanical fatigue damage may frequently be the underlying cause of low back pain, even when degenerative changes are evident in the tissues, and the review ends by suggesting some priority areas for future research.

Nano-filled fissure sealant Conversion degree Microhardness Microleakage Fluoride release A B S T R A C T The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of conversion (DC), microhardness, microleakage and fluoride release of a nano-filled resin based fissure sealant (Grandio Seal, GS) and compare it with an un-filled resin based fissure sealant (Clinpro, CL) and a glassionomer based fissure sealant (Fuji Triage, FT). Disk shaped specimens were prepared from tested fissure sealants to determine the DC, Vicker hardness (VHN) and fluoride release (FR). The DC and VHN of each material was evaluated after 24 h. The cumulative fluoride concentrations were evaluated at 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, 1, 7, 15 and 30 days. For microleakage evaluation, fissure sealants were applied to the etched and dried enamel surfaces of sound third molar teeth according to the manufacturer's instructions (n = 10). After the thermocycling and mechanical loading procedures, microleakage assessments were carried out. Data were analyzed using oneway ANOVA followed by a post hoc Tukey test, the Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05).

During the last decade, a growing interest in recycling of domestic waste has emerged, and action plans to increase the recycling of domestic waste have been agreed by many governments. A common feature of these plans is the implementation of new systems and equipment for the collection of domestic waste which has been separated at source. However, only limited information exists on possible occupational health problems related to such new systems. Occupational accidents are very frequent among waste collectors. Based on current knowledge, it appears that the risk factors should be considered as an integrated entity, i.e. technical factors (poor accessibility to the waste, design of equipment) may act in concert with high working rate, visual fatigue due to poor illumination and perhaps muscle fatigue due to high work load. Musculoskeletal problems are also common among waste collectors. A good deal of knowledge has accumulated on mechanical load on the spine and energetic load on the cardio-pulmonary system in relation to the handling of waste bags, bins, domestic containers and large containers. However, epidemiologic studies with exposure classification based on field measurement are needed, both to further identify high risk work conditions and to provide a detailed basis for the establishment of occupational exposure limits for mechanical and energetic load particularly in relation to pulling, pushing and tilting of containers. In 1975, an excess risk for chronic bronchitis was reported for waste collectors in Geneva and data from the Danish Registry of Occupational Accidents and Diseases also indicate an excess risk for pulmonary problems among waste collectors compared with the total work force. Surprisingly few measurements of potentially hazardous airborne exposures have been performed, and the causality of work-related pulmonary problems among waste collectors is unknown. Recent studies have indicated that implementation of some new waste collection systems may result in an increased risk of occupational health problems. High incidence rates of gastrointestinal problems, * Corresponding author.

This paper presents the findings of an experimental investigation into the operation of a compression ignition (CI) engine in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode using hydrogen fuel. Factors that were investigated include engine efficiency, emissions and mechanical loads.

The challenges for the tissue engineering of connective tissue lie in creating off-the-shelf tissue constructs which are capable of providing organs for transplantation. These strategies aim to grow a complex tissue with the appropriate mechanical integrity necessary for functional load bearing. Monolayer culture systems lack correlation with the in vivo environment and the naturally occur ring cell phenotypes. Part of the development of more recent models is to create growth environments or bioreactors which enable three-dimensional culture. Evidence suggests that in order to grow functional load-bearing tissues in a bioreactor, the cells must experience mechanical loading stimuli similar to that experienced in vivo which sets out the requirements for mechanical loading bioreactors. An essential part of developing new bioreactors for tissue growth is identifying ways of routinely and continuously measuring neo-tissue formation and in order to fully identify the successful generatio...

An evenly and smoothly distributed abrasion wear, observed along the entire cutting edge of an uncoated carbide drill bit in drilling CFRPs, is due to the highly abrasive nature of the carbon fibres. A very few researchers have only quoted this wear mode as being responsible for giving rise to the rounding of the cutting edge, or its bluntness. However, this wear feature has seldom been investigated, unlike the conventional flank wear in practice. This paper offers a new approach in unveiling and introducing the cutting edge rounding (CER) -a latent wear characteristic as a measure of sharpness/ bluntness -of uncoated cemented carbide tools during drilling CFRP composite laminates. Four different types of drills (conventional and specialised) were tested to assess the applicability and relevance of this new wear feature. Mechanical loads (drilling thrust and torque) were recorded, and the hole entry and exit delamination were quantified. For the utilised tools, the accruing magnitude of CER was also recorded, in parallel with studying their conventional flank wear. Very appreciable correlations between the CER and the drilling loads, and also the quantitative delamination results are observed. Results reveal that this new wear type develops almost similarly for the selected tools and is practically independent of their respective conventional flank wear patterns. Moreover, a distinct, non-zero magnitude of the CER for a very fresh tool state may provide researchers with some lucid information in further studying the results during wear tests, more emphatically. The CER correlations with quantitative delamination results are noticed quite comparable to those of the conventional flank wear via statistical linear regression analyses.

Abstract Rutting is one of the main failure modes in pavement structures subjected to mechanical loading. Wheel Tracking Testers (WTT) devices used to evaluate the rutting performance of bituminous mixtures were investigated by Working Group 3 (WG3)“ ...

Recently, the appropriate, durable bond of adhesive systems and composite resin cements to retain endodontic posts was challenged. The question arises whether it would be possible to place glass fiber posts in a less technique sensitive conventional nonadhesive approach. The influence of nonadhesive, self-adhesive, and etch-and-rinse systems on load capability of postendodontic restorations was studied. Human maxillary central incisors were divided into 4 groups (n = 10). Teeth were endodontically treated and restored by using glass fiber posts luted with different cements/composite resin combinations: (1) RelyX Unicem (3M ESPE, Seefeld, Germany)/Clearfil Core (Kuraray Europe, Duesseldorf, Germany), (2) RelyX Unicem/LuxaCore, (3) zinc phosphate cement/Clearfil, and (4) LuxaCore (DMG, Hamburg, Germany)/Clearfil. A 2 mm-ferrule preparation was performed. All specimens received adhesively luted all-ceramic crowns and were exposed to thermal cycling and mechanical loading before subsequ...

Entheses (insertion sites, osteotendinous junctions, osteoligamentous junctions) are sites of stress concentration at the region where tendons and ligaments attach to bone. Consequently, they are commonly subject to overuse injuries (enthesopathies) that are well documented in a number of sports. In this review, we focus on the structurefunction correlations of entheses on both the hard and the soft tissue sides of the junction. Particular attention is paid to mechanical factors that influence form and function and thus to exploring the relationship between entheses and exercise. The molecular parameters indicative of adaptation to mechanical stress are evaluated, and the basis on which entheses are classified is explained. The application of the 'enthesis organ' concept (a collection of tissues adjacent to the enthesis itself, which jointly serve the common function of stress dissipation) to understanding enthesopathies is considered and novel roles of adipose tissue at entheses are reviewed. A distinction is made between different locations of fat at entheses, and possible functions include space-filling and proprioception. The basic anchorage role of entheses is considered in detail and comparisons are explored between entheses and other biological 'anchorage' sites. The ability of entheses for self-repair is emphasized and a range of enthesopathies common in sport are reviewed (e.g. tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, jumper's knee, plantar fasciitis and Achilles insertional tendinopathies). Attention is drawn to the degenerative, rather than inflammatory, nature of most enthesopathies in sport. The biomechanical factors contributing to the development of enthesopathies are reviewed and the importance of considering the muscle-tendon-bone unit as a whole is recognized. Bony spur formation is assessed in relation to other changes at entheses which parallel those in osteoarthritic synovial joints.

A new concept for efficient solar energy concentration and power delivery is proposed -one that offers substantial advantages in efficiency, compactness, reduced mechanical loads, and ease of fabrication and installation relative to conventional solar designs. The design exploits the availability of low-attenuation optical fibers, as well as the practical advantages of mass producing highly accurate very small parabolic dishes. The system's building block is a miniature (e.g. 0.2 m diameter) solar dish which concentrates sunlight into a single optical fiber. The fiber transports power to a remote receiver. A second-stage concentrator can boost flux levels to those approaching the thermodynamic limit and can be performed either in each individual dish or collectively in one or more larger devices at the entrance to the remote receiver. Collector modules, close-packed with mini-dishes, are mounted on individual trackers close to the ground. Systems are modular and can be employed in central power generation ranging from a few kilowatts to tens of megawatts. Designs for maximum efficiency attaining collection efficiencies as high as 80%, and maximum-concentration designs realizing flux levels of 30 000 suns, are achievable.

Key Words bone, hominid, developmental fields, mechanical loading, limb patterning s Abstract Our understanding of developmental biology burgeoned during the last decade. This review summarizes recent advances, provides definitions and explanations of some basic principles, and does so in a way that will aid anthropologists in understanding their profound implications. Crucial concepts, such as developmental fields, selector and realizator genes, cell signaling mechanisms, and gene regulatory elements are briefly described and then integrated with the emergence of skeletal morphology. For the postcranium, a summary of events from limb bud formation, the appearance of anlagen, the expression of Hox genes, and the fundamentals of growth plate dynamics are briefly summarized. Of particular importance are revelations that bony morphology is largely determined by pattern formation, that growth foci such as physes and synovial joints appear to be regulated principally by positional information, and that variation in these fields is most likely determined by cis-regulatory elements acting on restricted numbers of anabolic genes downstream of selectors (such as Hox). The implications of these discoveries for the interpretation of both contemporary and ancient human skeletal morphology are profound. One of the most salient is that strain transduction now appears to play a much reduced role in shaping the human skeleton. Indeed, the entirety of "Wolff's Law" must now be reassessed in light of new knowledge about pattern formation. The review concludes with a brief discussion of some implications of these findings, including their impact on cladistics and homology, as well as on biomechanical and morphometric analyses of both ancient and modern human skeletal material.

The premise that bones grow and remodel throughout life to adapt to their mechanical enironment is often called Wolff's law. Wolff's law, however, is not always true, and in fact comprises a variety of different processes that are best considered separately. Here we review the molecular and physiological mechanisms by which bone senses, transduces, and responds to mechanical loads, and the effects of aging processes on the relationship (if any) between cortical bone form and mechanical function. Experimental and comparative evidence suggests that cortical bone is primarily responsive to strain prior to sexual maturity, both in terms of the rate of new bone growth (modeling) as well as rates of turnover (Haversian remodeling). Rates of modeling and Haversian remodeling, however, vary greatly at different skeletal sites. In addition, there is no simple relationship between the orientation of loads in long bone diaphyses and their cross-sectional geometry. In combination, these data caution against assuming without testing adaptationist views about form-function relationships in order to infer adult activity patterns from skeletal features such as crosssectional geometry, cortical bones density, and musculoskeletal stress markers. Efforts to infer function from shape in the human skeleton should be based on biomechanical and developmental models that are experimentally tested and validated.

The paper deals with experimental investigations on reinforcing the adhesive in single lap joints subjected to mechanical loads such as tensile, bending, impact and fatigue. The adhesive used for bonding was an epoxy reinforced with unidirectional and chopped glass fibres as well as micro-glass powder. The adherends were glass reinforced composite laminates. The bonding surfaces were prepared before joining. In the case of unidirectional fibres in the adhesive region, the fibre orientations considered were 0°, 45° and 90°. The volume fraction of fibres in the adhesive layer in all the cases was 30%. The volume fractions of micro-glass powder were 20%, 30% and 40%. The tensile, bending, impact and fatigue tests on the prepared specimens were conducted according to ASTM standards. The results show that except the 90° unidirectional orientation, reinforcing the adhesive with glass fibres or powder increases the joint strength. The use of volume fraction of 30% of micro-glass powder gave the best performance in the above loading conditions. The fatigue life increased by 125%, the ultimate joint strength in tension increased by 72%, the bending ultimate joint strength increased by 112% and the impact joint strength increased by 63%. The microstructure of the debonded area was examined and three modes of failure could be observed namely cohesive failure, light fibre-tear failure and thin layer cohesive failure.

Applying a mechanical load to a composite material can result in many types of damage: debonding between the reinforcement and the matrix material, matrix cracking, failure of the reinforcement and delamination in the case of layered composites. To create a better understanding of the initiation, growth and interaction of the different types of damage, damage monitoring during mechanical loading is very important. Acoustic emission is the only nondestructive test technique capable of detecting all of the above mentioned damage types in composites. The possibilities of this technique to detect certain types of damage can only be proven by using other complementary techniques (replica technique, radiography, ultrasonics, optical and scanning electron microscopy). The research work on damage detection with the acoustic emission technique for different types of composite materials carried out at the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering is presented. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Reliability of lead-free solder joints has been a hot topic widely debated in the electronic industry. Most published data indicate that a change to lead-free soldering has the potential benefit of more reliable solder joints than the current Sn-Pb eutectic solder joints. However, in reality many mechanical, metallurgical, thermal, and environmental factors affect the service reliability of solder joints. This paper tries to shed some light on the effects of mechanical loading and thermal conditions on solder joint reliability. These conditions are determined not only by external environments but also by the solder alloy itself and the joint geometry. Analyses with first principles are carried out on solder joints of both areal array and peripheral packages. Effects on fatigue life of solder joint geometry, thermal and mechanical characteristics of components and substrate materials, and application conditions are discussed. The analysis helps explain why lead-free solder joints may not be more reliable in certain application conditions than the current Sn-Pb eutectic solder joints. Fig. 1. Comparison of reliability of Pb-free and Sn-Pb eutectic solder joints for different types of component packages. 10

On the idea that fatigue damage is localized at the microscopic scale, a scale smaller than the mesoscopic one of the Representative Volume Element (RVE), a three-dimensional two scale damage model has been proposed for High Cycle Fatigue applications. It is extented here to anisothermal cases and then to thermo-mechanical fatigue. The modeling consists in the micromechanics analysis of a weak micro-inclusion subjected to plasticity and damage embedded in an elastic meso-element (the RVE of continuum mechanics). The consideration of plasticity coupled with damage equations at microscale, altogether with Eshelby-Kröner localization law, allows to compute the value of microscopic damage up to failure for any kind of loading, 1D or 3D, cyclic or random, isothermal or anisothermal, mechanical, thermal or thermo-mechanical. A robust numerical scheme is proposed in order to make the computations fast. A post-processor for damage and fatigue (DAMAGE 2005) has been developped. It applies to complex thermo-mechanical loadings. Examples of the representation by the two scale damage model of physical phenomena related to High Cycle Fatigue are given such as the mean stress effect, the non-linear accumulation of damage. Examples of thermal and thermo-mechanical fatigue as well as complex applications on real size testing structure subjected to thermomechanical fatigue are detailed. * now at BRGM, Orléans, France

Requirements for system availability for ultra-high reliability electronic systems such as airborne and space electronic systems are driving the need for advanced heath monitoring techniques for early detection of the onset of damage. Aerospace-electronic systems usually face a very harsh environment, requiring them to survive the high strain rates, e.g. during launch and re-entry and thermal environments including extreme low and high temperatures. Traditional health monitoring methodologies have relied on reactive methods of failure detection often providing little on no insight into the remaining useful life of the system. Detection of system-state significantly prior to catastrophic failure can significantly impact the reliability and availability of electronic systems. Previously, have developed methodologies for health management and interrogation of system state of electronic systems based on leading indicators. Examples of damage pre-cursors include micro-structural evolution, intermetallics, stress and stress gradients. Pre-cursors have been developed for both eutectic 63Sn37Pb and Sn4Ag0.5Cu alloy systems on a variety of area-array architectures.

A new experimentally testable hypothesis is advanced for the mechanosensory transduction mechanism by which communicating osteocytes sense the very small in uiuo strains in the calcified matrix components of bone. We propose that the osteocytes, although not responsive to substantial fluid pressures, can be stimulated by relatively small fluid shear stresses acting on the membranes of their osteocytic processes. Biot's porous media theory is used to relate the combined axial and bending loads applied to a whole bone to the flow past the osteocytic processes in their canaliculi. In this theory, the bone pores of interest are the proteoglycan filled fluid annuli that surround the osteocytic processes in the canaliculi. We show that previously predicted fluid pore pressure relaxation times were a hundred-fold too short for the lacunar-canalicular porosity because they neglected the fluid drag associated with proteoglycan matrix on the surface membrane of the osteocyte and its cell processes. The recent theory developed in Tsay and Weinbaum [.I. Fluid Me&. 226, 125-148 (1991)] for flow through cross-linked fiber filled channels is used to model the flow through this proteoglycan matrix. The predicted pore relaxation time, l-2 s, closely corresponds to the times measured by Salzstein and Pollack [J. Biomechanics 20, 271-280 (1987)]. Furthermore, using this model, the magnitude of the predicted fluid induced shear stresses, 8-30 dyn qrn -2, is shown to be similar to the fluid shear stresses measured in osteoblasts and other cells in which an intracellular Cal+ shear stress response had been observed. This model is also used, in conjunction with anatomical data and the pore fluid pressure relaxation time data, to show that the spacing between the fibers is approximately 7 nm. The result is consistent with the notion that the canalicular pore space is filled with glycosaminoglycans that are ordered by albumin according to the model of Michel [J. Physiol. 404, l-29 (1988)]. The new hypothesis is also shown to be consistent with the experiments

A new higher-order spectral element (SE) is developed for wave propagation analysis of a functionally graded material (FGM) beam in the presence of thermal and mechanical loading. The element is based on first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and takes into account the depthwise contraction due to Poisson’s ratio. A new method of element formulation is employed, which is the most general one and devoid of all previous cumbersome wavenumber and wave amplitude computation. The beam can be subjected to temperature variation in depth direction. This variation is found by solving the one-dimensional heat conduction equation uncoupled from the elasticity equation. The effect of the computed temperature field is subsequently superimposed on the mechanical loading in the form of an equivalent nodal load. Numerical examples are directed towards highlighting the effect of the Poisson’s contraction on the structural response and stress wave. The spectrum and the dispersion relation are studied in detail. The stress field generated by the element and its difference from the FSDT stress field is outlined. The response of an FGM beam to thermo-mechanical loading is analysed and the effect of thermal loading on the overall response is elicited.

The present thesis is dedicated to the behaviour of austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures. The plastic strain induced martensitic transformation and ductile damage are taken into account in an elastic-plastic material modelling. The kinetic law of →’ transformation and the evolution laws of kinematic/isotropic mixed hardening are established. Damage issue is analysed by different ways: mesoscopic isotropic or orthotropic model and a microscopic approach. The material parameters are measured from 316L fine gauge sheet at three levels of temperature: 293 K, 77 K and 4.2 K. The model is applied to thin-walled corrugated shell, used in the LHC interconnections. The influence of the material properties on the stability is studied by a modal analysis. The reliability of the components, defined by the Weibull distribution law, is analysed from fatigue tests. The impact on reliability of geometrical imperfections and thermo-mechanical loads is also analysed.