Investigation of transverse residual stresses in a thick pultruded composite using digital image correlation with hole drilling

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Process induced residual stresses are one of the main sources of defects such as (pre) mature matrix cracking during pultrusion of fiber reinforced polymer composite profiles. Recently, comprehensive process models have been developed to understand and describe the underlying mechanisms of the residual stresses in pultrusion processes. The predicted stresses however have not been validated with experimental measurements which are necessary to verify the implemented material models and assumptions in the process models. A hole drilling method with digital image correlation (DIC) is used in the present work to measure the transverse strain relaxation due to material removal in a pultruded thick composite profile (20 × 20 mm) made of unidirectional glass/polyester. The corresponding residual stress state is back calculated using the measured strains in a finite element based numerical model. The estimated level of transverse residual stress in the core of the profile was found to be 6.1 MPa in tension

Meso-Scale Process Modelling Strategies for Pultrusion of Unidirectional Profiles

The resin injection pultrusion is an automated composite manufacturing method in which the resin is injected in a chamber. The flow and the thermo chemical mechanical (TCM) models have been studied for the pultrusion process to improve the reliability of the final products. Flow models are needed to understand and describe the fiber impregnation, filling time and presence of dry spots or voids. Also pressure field in the injection chamber can be estimated with flow models. TCM models are needed to predict residual stress distributions and to optimize the process conditions. A non-uniform fiber distribution strongly affects the results of both types of models. In this study, different strategies are carried out to implement non-uniform fiber distributions into the models. The cross-sectional image and fiber distribution of a 19×19 mm glass fiber reinforced polyester unidirectional pultruded composite is used. Non-uniform fiber distribution is observed and implemented into the flow model by means of permeability variations. The results of this study are compared with uniform fiber distribution results. In the TCM model, the non-uniform fiber volume content is implemented within different sized patches. The results show that the non-uniform fiber fraction should be taken into account for the process models of composites in order to capture the local process induced stresses and probability of dry spots or voids due to poor fiber impregnation

Structure-Function Analysis of Invasion Plasmid Antigen C (IpaC) from Shigella flexneri

Shigella flexneri causes a self-limiting gastroenteritis in humans, characterized by severe localized inflammation and ulceration of the colonic mucosa. Shigellosis most often targets young children in underdeveloped countries. Invasion plasmid antigen C (IpaC) has been identified as the primary effector protein for Shigella invasion of epithelial cells. Although an initial model of IpaC function has been developed, no detailed structural information is available that could assist in a better understanding of the molecular basis for its interactions with the host cytoskeleton and phospholipid membrane. We have therefore initiated structural studies of IpaC, IpaC I′, (residues 101–363 deleted), and IpaC ΔH (residues 63–170 deleted). The secondary and tertiary structure of the protein was examined as a function of temperature, employing circular dichroism and high resolution derivative absorbance techniques. ANS (8-anilino-1-napthalene sulfonic acid) was used to probe the exposure of the hydrophobic surfaces under different conditions. The interaction of IpaC and these mutants with a liposome model (liposomes with entrapped fluorescein) was also examined. Domain III (residues 261–363) was studied using linker-scanning mutagenesis. It was shown that domain III contains periodic, sequence-dependent activity, suggesting helical structure in this section of the protein. In addition to these structural studies, investigation into the actin nucleation properties of IpaC was conducted, and actin nucleation by IpaC and some of the mutants was exhibited. Structure-function relationships of IpaC are discussed

A Review on the Mechanical Modeling of Composite Manufacturing Processes

© 2016, The Author(s). The increased usage of fiber reinforced polymer composites in load bearing applications requires a detailed understanding of the process induced residual stresses and their effect on the shape distortions. This is utmost necessary in order to have more reliable composite manufacturing since the residual stresses alter the internal stress level of the composite part during the service life and the residual shape distortions may lead to not meeting the desired geometrical tolerances. The occurrence of residual stresses during the manufacturing process inherently contains diverse interactions between the involved physical phenomena mainly related to material flow, heat transfer and polymerization or crystallization. Development of numerical process models is required for virtual design and optimization of the composite manufacturing process which avoids the expensive trial-and-error based approaches. The process models as well as applications focusing on the prediction of residual stresses and shape distortions taking place in composite manufacturing are discussed in this study. The applications on both thermoset and thermoplastic based composites are reviewed in detail

Subcellular localization of MC4R with ADCY3 at neuronal primary cilia underlies a common pathway for genetic predisposition to obesity.

Most monogenic cases of obesity in humans have been linked to mutations in genes encoding members of the leptin-melanocortin pathway. Specifically, mutations in MC4R, the melanocortin-4 receptor gene, account for 3-5% of all severe obesity cases in humans1-3. Recently, ADCY3 (adenylyl cyclase 3) gene mutations have been implicated in obesity4,5. ADCY3 localizes to the primary cilia of neurons 6 , organelles that function as hubs for select signaling pathways. Mutations that disrupt the functions of primary cilia cause ciliopathies, rare recessive pleiotropic diseases in which obesity is a cardinal manifestation 7 . We demonstrate that MC4R colocalizes with ADCY3 at the primary cilia of a subset of hypothalamic neurons, that obesity-associated MC4R mutations impair ciliary localization and that inhibition of adenylyl cyclase signaling at the primary cilia of these neurons increases body weight. These data suggest that impaired signaling from the primary cilia of MC4R neurons is a common pathway underlying genetic causes of obesity in humans

Mevcut binalar için güçlendirme yöntemleri geliştirilmesi

TÜBİTAK MAG01.05.2005Bugün ülkemizde ve diğer ülkelerde yaygın olarak uygulanan "sistem iyileştirmesi" yöntemi, dayanımı ve rijitliği yetersiz çerçevelerin bazı gözlerinin betonarme dolgu ile doldurularak yeni bir yatay yük taşıyıcı sistemi olmuşturulması olarak tanımlanabilir. Ülkemizde bugün karşılaşılan en önemli sorunlardan biri de hasar görmemiş ve kullanılmakta olan çok sayıda zayıf binanın depreme dayanıklı duruma getirilmesidir. Bu binaların güçlendirilmesinde, "sistem iyileştirmesi" yönteminin kullanılması elbette mümkündür. Ancak sözü edilen yöntemde dolgu duvarların oluşturulmasında beton kullanılacağından, binaların boşaltılması gerekmektedir. Çok sayıda binanın boşaltılması ve binada yaşayanların eşyaları ile birlikte başka bir konuta yerleştirilmesi pratik bir çözüm değildir. Bu proje kapsamında, depreme dayanıklı olmayan ve halen kullanılmakta olan binaların boşaltılmadan güçlendirilmesini sağlayacak yöntemler geliştirilmiş ve bunların gerekli dayanım ve rijitliği sağladığı deneysel ve analitik olarak kanıtlanmıştır.In the system behavior improvement technique, the general philosophy is to introduce a new lateral load resisting system, which will increase the lateral strength and the lateral stiffness of the existing system, which is generally a non-ductile frame with inadequate lateral stiffness. Various techniques based on this principle have been developed and applied in the past. Among them, the most widely used technique is the formation of new stiff walls through infilling some bays of the existing frame with reinforced concrete infills. Use of infilled frames as a method of seismic behavior improvement for existing structures is presently a very common application in Turkey. All these techniques are applicable at the cost of a certain discomfort to the occupants and, the application of these techniques in the rehabilitation of undamaged buildings may not very practical. With this project, the development of new strengthening techniques was achieved. Experimental and anaylical studies have been done to proove the effectiveness of newly developed strengthening techniques. In this study, rapid and yet reliable rehabilitation methodologies for Turkey have be developed

Genetic ablation or chemical inhibition of phosphatidylcholine transfer protein attenuates diet?induced hepatic glucose production†‡

 Phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC?TP, synonym StARD2) is a highly specific intracellular lipid binding protein that is enriched in liver. Coding region polymorphisms in both humans and mice appear to confer protection against measures of insulin resistance. The current study was designed to test the hypotheses that Pctp?/? mice are protected against diet?induced increases in hepatic glucose production and that small molecule inhibition of PC?TP recapitulates this phenotype. Pctp?/? and wildtype mice were subjected to high?fat feeding and rates of hepatic glucose production and glucose clearance were quantified by hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp studies and pyruvate tolerance tests. These studies revealed that high?fat diet?induced increases in hepatic glucose production were markedly attenuated in Pctp?/? mice. Small molecule inhibitors of PC?TP were synthesized and their potencies, as well as mechanism of inhibition, were characterized in vitro. An optimized inhibitor was administered to high?fat?fed mice and used to explore effects on insulin signaling in cell culture systems. Small molecule inhibitors bound PC?TP, displaced phosphatidylcholines from the lipid binding site, and increased the thermal stability of the protein. Administration of the optimized inhibitor to wildtype mice attenuated hepatic glucose production associated with high?fat feeding, but had no activity in Pctp?/? mice. Indicative of a mechanism for reducing glucose intolerance that is distinct from commonly utilized insulin?sensitizing agents, the inhibitor promoted insulin?independent phosphorylation of key insulin signaling molecules. Conclusion: These findings suggest PC?TP inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy in the management of hepatic insulin resistance

Deciphering the Melanocortin System: Three Distinct Approaches

Human obesity is a multi-factorial trait regulated by environmental and genetic factors and is considered to be a global epidemic associated with mortality. Therefore, understanding the molecular pathways controlling the energy homeostasis is of great importance in order to develop pharmaceutical agents to treat obesity. This thesis work includes four separate research projects with the common intention of exploring the central control of energy homeostasis using three distinct research approaches. Leptin-melanocortin axis is the major central regulator of energy homeostasis where MC4R and POMC play key roles in transmitting the anorexigenic signal of the adipocyte secreted hormone leptin. In a genetic linkage study, we demonstrated that naturally occurring MC4R mutations but not the POMC or MC3R mutations are strongly associated with human obesity. Secondly, in an attempt to determine an alternative signaling pathway to leptin, the inhibition of Gi protein signaling in the POMC neurons decreased the energy expenditure in a transgenic mouse model. Finally, we scrutinized the molecular mechanism underlying the physiologically relevant constitutive activity of MC4R. The data supports the evolutionary role of the N-terminal domain in the activity regulation of the G protein-coupled receptors. Overall, our findings provide essential pieces to the bigger puzzle of the melanocortin system, and contribute to the biomedical research in the pursuit of understanding the regulation of energy homeostasis in humans