Search results for: explosive strength of leg muscles

Authors: J. Sagouis, A. Chamel, E. Carre, C. Casasreales, G. Rudnik, M. Cerdan

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Robotics provides answers to amputees. The most expensive solutions surgically connect the prosthesis to nerve endings. There are also several types of non-invasive technologies that recover nerve messages passing through the muscles. After analyzing these messages, myoelectric prostheses perform the desired movement. The main goal is to avoid all surgeries, which can be heavy and offer cheaper alternatives. For an amputee, we use valid muscles to recover the electrical signal involved in a muscle movement. EMG sensors placed on the muscle allows us to measure a potential difference, which our program transforms into control for a robotic arm with two degrees of freedom. We have shown the feasibility of non-invasive prostheses with two degrees of freedom. Signal analysis and an increase in degrees of freedom is still being improved.

Keywords: prosthesis, electromyography (EMG), robotic arm, nerve message

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Authors: Reza Ziaie Moayed, Seyed Abdolhassan Naeini, Peyman Nouri, Hamed Yekehdehghan

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The shear strength of soils is a significant parameter in the design of clay structures, depots, clay gables, and freeways. Most research has addressed the shear strength of saturated soils. However, soils can become partially saturated with changes in weather, changes in groundwater levels, and the absorption of water by plant roots. Hence, it is necessary to study the strength behavior of partially saturated soils. The shear vane test is an experiment that determines the undrained shear strength of clay soils. This test may be performed in the laboratory or at the site. The present research investigates the effect of liquidity index (LI), plasticity index (PI), and saturation degree of the soil on its undrained shear strength obtained from the shear vane test. According to the results, an increase in the LI and a decrease in the PL of the soil decrease its undrained shear strength. Furthermore, studies show that a rise in the degree of saturation decreases the shear strength obtained from the shear vane test.

Keywords: liquidity index, plasticity index, shear strength, unsaturated soil

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Authors: Soner Guler, Demet Yavuz, Fuat Korkut

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Synthetic fibers are commonly used in many civil engineering applications because of its some superior characteristics such as non-corrosive and cheapness. This study presents the results of experimental study on compressive strength of synthetic fiber reinforced concretes. Two types of polyamide (PA) synthetic fiber with the length of 12 and 54 mm are used for this study. The fiber volume ratio is kept as 0.25%, 0.75%, and 0.75% in all mixes. The plain concrete compressive strength is 36.2 MPa. The test results clearly show that the increase in compressive strength for synthetic fiber reinforced concretes is significant. The greatest increase in compressive strength is 23% for PA synthetic fiber reinforced concretes with 0.75% fiber volume.

Keywords: synthetic fibers, polyamide fibers, fiber volume, compressive strength

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Authors: Kim Ji-Hyun, Jeon Hye-Seon, Kwon Oh-Yun, Park Eun-Young, Hwang Ui-Jae, Gwak Gyeong-Tae, Yoon Hyeo-Bin

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Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), a common women health problem, is an involuntary leakage of urine while sneezing, coughing, or physical exertion caused by insufficient strength of the pelvic floor and sphincter muscles. SUI also leads to decrease in quality of life and limits sexual activities. SUI is related to the increased bladder neck angle, bladder neck movement, funneling index, urethral width, and decreased urethral length. Various pelvic floor muscle electrical stimulation (ES) interventions have been applied to improve the symptoms of the people with SUI. ES activates afferent fibers of pudendal nerve and smoothly induces contractions of the pelvic floor muscles such as striated periurethral muscles and striated pelvic floor muscles. ES via intravaginal electrodes are the most frequently used types of the pelvic floor muscle ES for the female SUI. However, inserted electrode is uncomfortable and it increases the risks of infection. The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine if the 8-week transcutaneous pelvic floor ES would be effective to improve the symptoms and satisfaction of the females with SUI. Easy-K, specially designed ES equipment for the people with SUI, was used in this study. The oval shape stimulator can be placed on a toilet seat, and the surface has invaded electrode fit to contact with the entire vulva area while users are sitting on the stimulator. Five women with SUI were included in this experiment. Prior to the participation, subjects were instructed about procedures and precautions in using the ES. They have used the stimulator once a day for 20 minutes for each session at home. Outcome data was collected 3 times at the baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the intervention. Intravaginal sonography was used to measure the bladder neck angle, bladder neck movement, funneling index, thickness of an anterior rhabdosphincter and a posterior rhabdosphincter, urethral length, and urethral width. Leavator ani muscle (LAM) contraction strength was assessed by manual palpation according to the oxford scoring system. In addition, incontinence quality of life (IQOL) and female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaires were used to obtain addition subjective information. Friedman test, a nonparametric statistical test, was used to determine the effectiveness of the ES. The Wilcoxon test was used for the post-hoc analysis and the significance level was set at .05. The bladder neck angle, funneling index and urethral width were significantly decreased after 8-weeks of intervention (p<.05). LAM contraction score, urethral length and anterior and posterior rhabdosphicter thickness were statistically increased by the intervention (p<.05). However, no significant change was found in the bladder neck movement. Although total score of the IQOL did not improve, the score of the ‘avoidance’ subscale of IQOL had significant improved (p<.05). FSFI had statistical difference in FSFI total score and ‘desire’ subscale (p<.05). In conclusion, 8-week use of a transcutaneous ES on peri-vulva area improved dynamic mechanical structures of the pelvic floor musculature as well as IQOL and conjugal relationship.

Keywords: electrical stimulation, Pelvic floor muscle, sonography, stress urinary incontinence, women health

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Authors: Ahmed A.D. Sarhan, Chong Feng Duan, Mum Wai Yip, M. Sayuti

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Rapid Prototyping (RP) technologies enable physical parts to be produced from various materials without depending on the conventional tooling. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is one of the famous RP processes used at present. Tensile strength and compressive strength resistance will be identified for different sample structures and different layer orientations of ABS rapid prototype solid models. The samples will be fabricated by a FDM rapid prototyping machine in different layer orientations with variations in internal geometrical structure. The 0° orientation where layers were deposited along the length of the samples displayed superior strength and impact resistance over all the other orientations. The anisotropic properties were probably caused by weak interlayer bonding and interlayer porosity.

Keywords: building orientation, compression strength, rapid prototyping, tensile strength

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Authors: Yollande Sènan Djivoh, Dominique de Jaeger

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Background: Abdominal exercises are commonly practised nowadays. Specific techniques of abdominal muscles strengthening like hypopressive exercises have recently emerged and their practice is encouraged against the practice of Curl-up especially in postpartum. The acute and the training effects of these exercises did not allow to advise one exercise to the detriment of another. However, physiotherapists remain reluctant to perform Curl-up with postpartum women because of its potential harmful effect on the pelvic floor. Design: This study was a randomized control trial registered under the number PACTR202110679363984. Objective: to observe the training effect of two experimental protocols (Curl-up versus Drawing-in+Diaphragmatic aspiration) on the abdominal wall (interrecti distance, rectus and transversus abdominis thickness, abdominal strength) in Beninese postpartum women. Pelvic floor function (tone, endurance, urinary incontinence) will be assessed to evaluate potential side effects of exercises on the pelvic floor. Method: Postpartum women diagnosed with diastasis recti were randomly assigned to one of three groups (Curl-up, Drawingin+Diaphragmatic aspiration and control). Abdominal and pelvic floor parameters were assessed before and at the end of the 6-week protocol. The interrecti distance and the abdominal muscles thickness were assessed by ultrasound and abdominal strength by dynamometer. Pelvic floor tone and strength were assessed with Biofeedback and urinary incontinence was quantified by pad test. To compare the results between the three groups and the two measurements, a two-way Anova test with repeated measures was used (p<0.05). When interaction was significant, a posthoc using Student t test, with Bonferroni correction, was used to compare the three groups regarding the difference (end value minus initial value). To complete these results, a paired Student t test was used to compare in each group the initial and end values. Results: Fifty-eight women participated in this study, divided in three groups with similar characteristics regarding their age (29±5 years), parity (2±1 children), BMI (26±4 kg/m2 ), time since the last birth (10±2 weeks), weight of their baby at birth (330±50 grams). Time effect and interaction were significant (p<0.001) for all abdominal parameters. Experimental groups improved more than control group. Curl-up group improved more (p=0.001) than Drawing-in+Diaphragmatic aspiration group regarding the interrecti distance (9.3±4.2 mm versus 6.6±4.6 mm) and abdominal strength (20.4±16.4 Newton versus 11.4±12.8 Newton). Drawingin+Diaphragmatic aspiration group improved (0.8±0.7 mm) more than Curl-up group (0.5±0.7 mm) regarding the transversus abdominis thickness (p=0.001). Only Curl-up group improved (p<0.001) the rectus abdominis thickness (1.5±1.2 mm). For pelvic floor parameters, both experimental groups improved (p=0.01) except for tone which improved (p=0.03) only in Drawing-in+Diaphragmatic aspiration group from 19.9±4.1 cmH2O to 22.2±4.5 cmH2O. Conclusion: Curl-up was more efficient to improve abdominal function than Drawingin+Diaphragmatic aspiration. However, these exercises are complementary. None of them degraded the pelvic floor, but Drawing-in+Diaphragmatic aspiration improved further the pelvic floor function. Clinical implications: Curl-up, Drawing-in and Diaphragmatic aspiration can be used for the management of abdominal function in postpartum women. Exercises must be chosen considering the specific needs of each woman’s abdominal and pelvic floor function.

Keywords: curl-up, drawing-in, diaphragmatic aspiration, hypopressive exercise, postpartum women

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Authors: E. Mello, C. Ribellato, E. Mohamedelhassan

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This study investigated the improvement in concrete properties with addition of cellulose, steel, carbon and PET fibers. Each fiber was added at four percentages to the fresh concrete, which was moist-cured for 28-days and then tested for compressive, flexural and tensile strengths. Changes in strength and increases in cost were analyzed. Results showed that addition of cellulose caused a decrease between 9.8% and 16.4% in compressive strength. This range may be acceptable as cellulose fibers can significantly increase the concrete resistance to fire, and freezing and thawing cycles. Addition of steel fibers to concrete increased the compressive strength by up to 20%. Increases 121.5% and 80.7% were reported in tensile and flexural strengths respectively. Carbon fibers increased flexural and tensile strengths by up to 11% and 45%, respectively. Concrete strength properties decreased after the addition of PET fibers. Results showed that improvement in strength after addition of steel and carbon fibers may justify the extra cost of fibers.

Keywords: concrete, compressive strength, fibers, flexural strength, tensile strength

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Authors: Ghada Diaa, Enas A. Khattab

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Ultra High Strength Concrete (UHSC) is a new advanced concrete that is being transferred from laboratory researches to practicable applications. In addition to its excellent durability properties, UHSC has high compressive and tensile strengths, and high modulus of elasticity. Despite of this low degree of hydration, ultra high strength values can be achieved by controlling the mixture proportions. In this research, an experimental program was carried out to investigate the shear behavior of ultra high strength concrete beams. A total of nine beams were tested to determine the effect of different parameters on the shear behavior of UHSC beams. The parameters include concrete strength, steel fiber volume, shear span to depth ratio, and web reinforcement ratio. The results demonstrated that nominal shear stress at cracking load and at ultimate load increased with the increase of concrete strength or the decrease in shear span-depth ratio. Using steel fibers or shear reinforcement increases the ultimate shear strength and makes the shear behavior more ductile. In this study, a simplified analytical model to calculate the shear strength of UHSC beams is introduced. Shear strength estimated according to the proposed method in this research is in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: ultra high strength, shear strength, diagonal, cracking, steel fibers

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Authors: H. Ahmad Raji, R. Ziaie Moayed, M. A. Nozari

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Xanthan gum (XG) an eco-friendly biopolymer has been recently explicitly investigated for ground improvement approaches. Rheological behavior of this additive strongly depends on electrochemical condition such as pH, ionic strength and also its content in aqueous solution. So, the effects of these factors have been studied in this paper considering various XG contents as 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2% of water. Moreover, adjusting pH values such as 3, 5, 7 and 9 in addition to increasing ionic strength to 0.1 and 0.2 in the molar scale has covered a practical range of electrochemical condition. The viscosity of grouts shows an apparent upward trend with an increase in ionic strength and XG content. Also, pH affects the polymerization as much as other parameters. As a result, XG behavior is severely influenced by electrochemical settings

Keywords: electrochemical condition, ionic strength, viscosity, xhanthan gum

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Authors: Junkyeong Kim, Seunghee Park, Ju-Won Kim, Myung-Sug Cho

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Recently, demands for the construction of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) using high strength concrete (HSC) has been increased. However, HSC might be susceptible to brittle fracture if the curing process is inadequate. To prevent unexpected collapse during and after the construction of HSC structures, it is essential to confirm the strength development of HSC during the curing process. However, several traditional strength-measuring methods are not effective and practical. In this study, a novel method to estimate the strength development of HSC based on electromechanical impedance (EMI) measurements using an embedded piezoelectric sensor is proposed. The EMI of NPP concrete specimen was tracked to monitor the strength development. In addition, cross-correlation coefficient was applied in sequence to examine the trend of the impedance variations more quantitatively. The results confirmed that the proposed technique can be applied successfully monitoring of the strength development during the curing process of HSC structures.

Keywords: concrete curing, embedded piezoelectric sensor, high strength concrete, nuclear power plant, self-sensing impedance

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Authors: S. Abbsi, M. R. Hadian, M. Abdolvahab, M. Jalili, S. Khafri

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Background: According to physical effects of cardiovascular accident (CVA) which is the most common disabilities in adulthood. It seems attention to treatment and rehabilitation of this patient has importance. Hemiplegic patients have been experienced of wild functional disabilities. Numerous patients have been suffered from upper limb disabilities. Aim of this study correlation of pinch and grip strength with dexterity in adult hemiplegic. Methods: 34 adult hemiplegic in range of 50-70 years participate in this study. After introduce and take a satisfaction patient, pinch and grip strength have evaluated by dynamometer and dexterity have evaluated by Minnesota manual dexterity test and correlation effects of them have studied. Result: According to result of present investigation, patients with hemiplegia have shown significant correlation between dexterity with pinch and grip strength. Conclusion: Dexterity has correlation with pinch and grip strength, but it seems, not have correlation with age and duration of CVA.

Keywords: pinch strength, grip strength, dexterity, hemiplegia

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Authors: O. Zarrin, M. Ramezan Shirazi

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The quality of concrete is usually defined by compressive strength, but flexural strength is the most important characteristic of concrete in a pavement which control the mix design of concrete instead of compressive strength. Therefore, the aggregates which are selected for the pavements are affected by higher flexural strength. Roller Compacting Concrete Pavement (RCCP) is not a new construction method. The other characteristic of this method is no bleeding and less shrinkage due to the lower amount of water. For this purpose, a roller is needed for placing and compacting. The surface of RCCP is not smooth; therefore, the most common use of this pavement is in an industrial zone with slower traffic speed which requires durable and tough pavement. For preparing a smoother surface, it can be achieved by asphalt paver. RCCP decrease the finishing cost because there are no bars, formwork, and the lesser labor need for placing the concrete. In this paper, different aspect of RCCP such as mix design, flexural, compressive strength and focus on the different part of RCCP on detail have been investigated.

Keywords: flexural strength, compressive strength, pavement, asphalt

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Authors: Mantai Chen, Johnny Ching Ming Ho

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The stress-strain relationship of concrete under flexure is one of the essential parameters in assessing ultimate flexural strength capacity of RC beams. Currently, the concrete stress-strain curve in flexure is obtained by incorporating a constant scale-down factor of 0.85 in the uniaxial stress-strain curve. However, it was revealed that strain gradient would improve the maximum concrete stress under flexure and concrete stress-strain curve is strain gradient dependent. Based on the strain-gradient-dependent concrete stress-strain curve, the investigation of the combined effects of strain gradient and concrete strength on flexural strength of RC beams was extended to high strength concrete up to 100 MPa by theoretical analysis. As an extension and application of the authors’ previous study, a new flexural strength design method incorporating the combined effects of strain gradient and concrete strength is developed. A set of equivalent rectangular concrete stress block parameters is proposed and applied to produce a series of design charts showing that the flexural strength of RC beams are improved with strain gradient effect considered.

Keywords: beams, equivalent concrete stress block, flexural strength, strain gradient

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Authors: Luna Sequier, Florian Forelli, Maude Traulle, Amaury Vandebrouck, Pascal Duffiet, Louis Ratte, Jean Mazeas

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The study's objective is to compare the muscular activity of the flexor knee muscle in patients who underwent an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with hamstring autograft and the individuals who have not undergone surgery. Methods: The participants were divided into two groups: a healthy group and an experimental group who had undergone an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a hamstring graft. All participants had to perform a knee flexion strength test on an isokinetic dynamometer. The medial Gastrocnemius, lateral Gastrocnemius, Biceps femoris, and medial Hamstring muscle activity were measured during this test. Each group’s mean muscle activity was tested with statistical analysis, and a muscle activity ratio of gastrocnemius and hamstring muscles was calculated Results: The results showed a significant difference in activity of the medial gastrocnemius (p = 0,004901), the biceps femoris (p = 5,394.10-6), and the semitendinosus muscles (p = 1,822.10-6), with a higher Biceps femoris and Semitendinosus activity for the experimental group. It is however noticeable that inter-subject differences were important. Conclusion: This study has shown a difference in the gastrocnemius and hamstring muscle activity between patients who underwent an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery and healthy participants. With further results, this could show a modification of muscle activity patterns after surgery which could lead to compensatory behaviors at a return to sport and eventually explain a higher injury risk for our patients.

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament, electromyography, muscle activity, physiotherapy

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Authors: W. Badla

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A numerical investigation has been carried out to examine the behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs to uniform blast loading. The aim of this work is to determine the effects of various parameters on the results. Finite element simulations were performed in the non linear dynamic range using an elasto-plastic damage model. The main parameters considered are: the negative phase of blast loading, time duration, equivalent weight of TNT, distance of the explosive and slab dimensions. Numerical modelling has been performed using ABAQUS/Explicit. The results obtained in terms of displacements and propagation of damage show that the above parameters influence considerably the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs under uniform blast loading.

Keywords: blast loading, reinforced concrete slabs, elasto-plastic damage model, negative phase, time duration, equivalent weight of TNT, explosive distance, slab dimensions

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Authors: Ayanori Sugiyama, Takahisa Hanei, Yasuhide Higo

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Domestic demand for the construction of tunnels has been increasing in recent years in Japan. To meet this demand, various construction materials and construction methods have been developed to attain higher strength, reduction of negative impact on the environment and improvement for working conditions. In this report, we would like to introduce the newly developed shotcrete with superior hardening properties which were tested through the actual machine scale and its workability and strength development were evaluated. As a result, this new tunnel construction method was found to achieve higher workability and quicker strength development in only a couple of minutes.

Keywords: accelerator, shotcrete, tunnel, high-strength

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Authors: Muhamad Azani Yahya, Umi Nadiah Nor Ali, Mohammed Alias Yusof, Norazman Mohamad Nor, Vikneswaran Munikanan

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In construction, concrete is one of the materials that can commonly be used as for structural elements. Concrete consists of cement, sand, aggregate and water. Concrete can be added with admixture in the wet condition to suit the design purpose such as to prolong the setting time to improve workability. For strength improvement, concrete is being added with other hybrid materials to increase strength; this is because the tensile strength of concrete is very low in comparison to the compressive strength. This paper shows the usage of a waterproofing agent in concrete to enhance the tensile strength. High tensile concrete is expensive because the concrete mix needs fiber and also high cement content to be incorporated in the mix. High tensile concrete being used for structures that are being imposed by high impact dynamic load such as blast loading that hit the structure. High tensile concrete can be defined as a concrete mix design that achieved 30%-40% tensile strength compared to its compression strength. This research evaluates the usage of a waterproofing agent in a concrete mix as an element of reinforcement to enhance the tensile strength. According to the compression and tensile test, it shows that the concrete mix with a waterproofing agent enhanced the mechanical properties of the concrete. It is also show that the composite concrete with waterproofing is a high tensile concrete; this is because of the tensile is between 30% and 40% of the compression strength. This mix is economical because it can produce high tensile concrete with low cost.

Keywords: high tensile concrete, waterproofing agent, concrete, rheology

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Authors: Z. W. Zhong, C. Xu, W. K. Choi

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To build a thin fan-out wafer-level package, the package had to be ground to a thin level. In this work, the influence of the grinding processes on the strength of the fan-out wafer-level packages was investigated. After different grinding processes, all specimens were placed on a three-point-bending fixture installed on a universal tester for three-point-bending testing, and the strength of the fan-out wafer-level packages was measured. The experiments revealed that the average flexure strength increased with the decreasing surface roughness height of the fan-out wafer-level package tested. The grinding processes had a significant influence on the strength of the fan-out wafer-level packages investigated.

Keywords: FOWLP strength, surface roughness, three-point bending, grinding

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Authors: Antanas Žiliukas, Mindaugas Kukis

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The work deals with cellular pressure vessels subjected to internal pressure. Their cellular insert can be used for placing liquids or gases, which is necessary to carry out technological processes, and the vessel itself has a good bearing capacity. Numerical calculations of the three core structures, which measure the influence of the inner cylinder thickness on maximum bearing capacity are presented. The calculations are compared using strength criteria and they show the different strength safety level.

Keywords: pressure, strength criterion, sandwich plate, cellular vessel

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Authors: Alfred M. Caronia

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The aim of this pilot study was to explore an NCAA Division 1 female volleyball players’ experience of a strength and conditioning program and the result this has on self-efficacy of sport skill performance. This phenomenological study comprised of 10 college aged participants that have strength training program experience. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and a reflective journal; the transcribed interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. From the analysis, four themes emerged: performance enhancement, injury prevention, motivational experience, and learning experience. From the players’ perspective, care needs to be taken to explain the purpose of an exercise and the benefit it will have for a play performance. Other factors that play an important role in a strength training program are team motivation, individual goal setting, bonding, and communication with the strength coach, as all these items appear to be fundamentals of coaching.

Keywords: self-efficacy, skill performance, sports performance, strength training

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Authors: Jobin Varghese, V. M. Akhil, P. K. Rajendrakumar, K. S. Sivanandan

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The major contributor to the human locomotion is the knee flexion and extension. During heel strike, a huge amount of energy is transmitted through the leg towards knee joint, which in fact is damped at heel and leg muscles. During high shocks, although it is damped to a certain extent, the balance force transmits towards knee joint which could damage the knee. Due to the vital function of the knee joint, it should be protected against damage due to additional load acting on it. This work concentrates on the development of spring mass damper system which exactly replicates the stiffness at the heel and muscles and the objective function is optimized to minimize the force acting at the knee joint. Further, the data collected using force plate are put into the model to verify its integrity and are found to be in good agreement.

Keywords: spring, mass, damper, knee joint

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Authors: Rasoul Eslami, Reza Gharakhanlou

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NT-4/5 and TrkB have been proposed to be involved in the coordinated adaptations of the neuromuscular system to elevated level of activity. Despite the persistence of this neurotrophin and its receptor expression in adult skeletal muscle, little attention has been paid to the functional significance of this complex in the mature neuromuscular system. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study the effect of one session of resistance exercise on mRNA expression of NT4/5 and TrkB proteins in slow and fast muscles of Wistar Rats. Male Wistar rats (10 mo of age, preparation of Pasteur Institute) were housed under similar living conditions in cages (in groups of four) at room temperature under a controlled light/dark (12-h) cycle with ad libitum access to food and water. A number of sixteen rats were randomly divided to two groups (resistance exercise (T) and control (C); n=8 for each group). The resistance training protocol consisted of climbing a 1-meter–long ladder, with a weight attached to a tail sleeve. Twenty-four hours following the main training session, rats of T and C groups were anaesthetized and the right soleus and flexor hallucis longus (FHL) muscles were removed under sterile conditions via an incision on the dorsolateral aspect of the hind limb. For NT-4/5 and TrkB expression, quantitative real time RT-PCR was used. SPSS software and independent-samples t-test were used for data analysis. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Data indicate that resistance training significantly (P<0.05) decreased mRNA expression of NT4/5 in soleus muscle. However, no significant alteration was detected in FHL muscle (P>0.05). Our results also indicate that no significant alterations were detected for TrkB mRNA expression in soleus and FHL muscles (P>0.05). Decrease in mRNA expression of NT4/5 in soleus muscle may be as result of post-translation regulation following resistance training. Also, non-alteration in TrkB mRNA expression was indicated in probable roll of P75 receptor.

Keywords: neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), TrkB receptor, resistance training, slow and fast muscles

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Authors: Navid Zarif Karimi, Giangiacomo Minak, Parnian Kianfar

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Drilling is one of the most frequently used machining process for glass fiber reinforced polymer composites due to the need for structural joining. In drilling of composite laminates, interlaminar cracking, or delamination, has a detrimental effect on the compressive strength of these materials. The delamination can be controlled by adopting proper drilling condition. In this paper, the effect of feed rate, cutting speed and drill point angle on delamination and residual compressive strength of drilled GFRPs is studied. The objective is to find optimal conditions for maximum residual compressive strength.

Keywords: composite material, delamination, drilling, residual compressive strength

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Authors: Santosh Kumar Yadav, Shobha Keswani, Nishat Quddus, Sohrab Ahmad Khan, Zuheb Ahmad Shiddiqui, Varsha Chorsiya

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Introduction: Early onset diabetes is more aggressive than the late onset diabetes. Diabetic individual has a greater spectrum of life period to suffer from its damage, complications, and long-term disability. This study aimed at assessing knee joint muscle performance under various durations of diabetes. Method and Materials: A total of 30 diabetic subjects (18 male and 12 females) without diabetic neuropathy were included for the study. They were divided into three groups with 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of duration of disease each. Muscle performance was evaluated through strength and flexibility. Peak torque for quadriceps muscle was measured using isokinetic dynamometer. Flexibility for quadriceps and hamstring muscles were measured through Ducan’s Elys test and 90/90 test. Results: The result showed significant difference in muscle strength (p<0.05), flexibility (p≤0.05) between groups. Discussion: Optimal muscle strength and flexibility are vital for musculoskeletal health and functional independence. Conclusion: The reduced muscle performance and functional impairment in nonneuropathic diabetic patients suggest that other mechanism besides neuropathy that contribute to altered biomechanics. These findings of this study project early management of these altered parameters through disease-specific physical therapy and assessment-based intervention. Clinical Relevance: Managing disability is more costly than managing disease. Prompt and timely identification and management strategy can dramatically reduce the cost of care for diabetic patients.

Keywords: muscle flexibility, muscle performance, muscle torque, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Ouledja Abdessalam

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This work Contains an experimental study of the behavior of Chlef sand under the effect of various parameters influencing on shear strength. Because of their distinct nature, sands, silts, and clays exhibit completely different behavior (shear strength, the Contracting and dilatancy, the angle of internal friction and cohesion...). By cons when these materials are mixed, their behavior will become different from each considered alone. The behavior of these mixtures (silty sands...) is currently the state of several studies to better use. We have studied in this work: The influence of the following factors on the shear strength: The density (loose and dense), the fines content (silt), The water content. The apparatus used for the tests is the casagrande shear box. This device, although one may have some disadvantages and modern instrumentation is appropriately used to study the shear strength of soils.

Keywords: shear strength, sand, silt, contractancy, dilatancy, friction angle, cohesion, fines content

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Authors: Danladi Ali, Onah Festus Iloabuchi

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In this paper, GSM signal strength was measured in order to detect the type of the signal fading phenomenon using one-dimensional multilevel wavelet residual method and neural network clustering to determine the average GSM signal strength received in the study area. The wavelet residual method predicted that the GSM signal experienced slow fading and attenuated with MSE of 3.875dB. The neural network clustering revealed that mostly -75dB, -85dB and -95dB were received. This means that the signal strength received in the study is a weak signal.

Keywords: one-dimensional multilevel wavelets, path loss, GSM signal strength, propagation, urban environment

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Authors: Suhaib Salahuddin Alzubair Suliman

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This paper examines the mechanical strength of different binders including pure ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and others having OPC supplemented by two maximum sizes of waste glass powder (GP) of 75-μm and 150μm. Chemical analysis of the GPs using PCEDX test analysis has revealed it silica (SiO2 ) content % is 86.883 and Calcium oxide (CaO) is 12.203%while there are traces of other impurities . Furthermore, the specific gravity of GP was measured. The experiments have been conducted on 63 specimens mortar made with standard sand with 20%,25%, and 30% of GP levels of substituting OPC. The specimens are tested at 3, 7 and 28 days for compressive strength and flexural strength. The specimens made with maximum GP size of 75-μm have outperformed the control OPC mortar at 28 days test age than size 150-μm at various replacement levels. In addition to that, the mechanical strengths were evaluated compressive strength and flexural strength tests were conducted for GPs. The findings from this study indicated that the mortars modified with GP 75μm and replacement ratio of 20% showed an improvement in compressive strength and flexural strength compared to the control mortar at the 28 days of curing with significant development between 7 and 28 days. Mortar with GP size 75-μm containing 30% & 20% replacement of cement have exhibited the highest flexural strength among all mortar mixtures. The improvement in the mechanical strength of the mortars modified with GP can be attributed to the pozzolanic property of GPs, which leads to a more densified microstructure and improved interfacial bonding between sand and cement paste matrix in mortars.

Keywords: glass powder, pozzolana, compressive strength, flexural strength, mortar

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Authors: Tudor Deaconescu, Andrea Deaconescu

Abstract:

Deployment of pneumatic muscles in various industrial applications is still in its early days, considering the relative newness of these components. The field of robotics holds particular future potential for pneumatic muscles, especially in view of their specific behaviour known as compliance. The paper presents and discusses an innovative constructive solution for a gripper system mountable on an industrial robot, based on actuation by a linear pneumatic muscle and transmission of motion by gear and rack mechanism. The structural, operational and constructive models of the new gripper are presented, along with some of the experimental results obtained subsequently to the testing of a prototype. Further presented are two control variants of the gripper system, one by means of a 3/2-way fast-switching solenoid valve, the other by means of a proportional pressure regulator. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed for both variants.

Keywords: gripper system, pneumatic muscle, structural modelling, robotics

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Dharmana Pradeep, Chandan Kumar Patnaikuni, N. V. S. Venugopal

Abstract:

Rice Husk Ash (RHA) is a green product contains carbon and also loaded with silica. For the development of durability and strength of any concrete, curing phenomenon shall be very important. In this communication, we reported the exposure of partial replacement of cement with RHA at different percentages of 0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 15% by weight under sodium phosphate curing atmosphere. The mix is designed for M40 grade concrete with the proportions of 1:2.2:3.72. The tests conducted on concrete was a compressive strength, and the specimens were cured in normal water & exposed to the chemical solution for 7, 28 & 56 days. For chemical curing 0.5% & 1% concentrated sodium phosphates were used and were compared with normal concrete strength results. The strength of specimens of 1% sodium phosphate exposure showed that the compressive strength decreased with increase in RHA percentages.

Keywords: rice husk ash, compressive strength, sodium phosphate, curing

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Dellal Seyyid Ali

Abstract:

This work Contains an experimental study of the behavior of Chlef sand under effect of various parameters influencing on shear strength. Because of their distinct nature, sands, silts and clays exhibit completely different behavior (shear strength, the Contracting and dilatancy, the angle of internal friction and cohesion ...). By cons when these materials are mixed, their behavior will become different from each considered alone. The behavior of these mixtures (silty sands ...) is currently the state of several studies to better use. We have studied in this work: The influence of the following factors on the shear strength: The density (loose and dense), the fines content (silt), the water content. The apparatus used for the tests is the casagrande shear box. This device, although one may have some disadvantages and modern instrumentation is appropriate used to study the shear strength of soils.

Keywords: shear strength, sand, silt, contractanct, dilatancy, friction angle, cohesion, fines content

Procedia PDF Downloads 228