Fatigue design of welded joints using the finite element method and the 2007 ASME Div. 2 Master curve

Fatigue design of welded structures is primarily based on a nominal stress; hot spot stress methods or local approaches each having several limitations when coupled with finite element modeling. An alternative recent structural stress definition is discussed and implemented in a post-processor. It provides an effective means for the direct coupling of finite element results to the fatigue assessment of welded joints in complex structures. The applications presented in this work confirm the main features of the method: mesh-insensitivity, accurate crack location and life to failure predictions

Investigation of the grain-scale deformation in a polycrystalline aluminum alloy

A finite element based crystal plasticity implementation is employed to study an aluminum polycrystal subjected to uniaxial loading. The emphasis is put on the effect of the representation of the microstructure on the strain accumulation and intra-granular misorientation field. To better capture the crystal-scale behavior, each grain in the mesh is discretized into many finite elements. It is found that irregular tessellations based on Voronoi schemes provide similar responses whereas regular solids show some differences. An extended investigation of the role of the grain boundaries in the development of strain heterogeneity and in the re-orientation of parts of the grains is also provided according to an original averaging procedure

Fatigue design of welded joints using the finite element method and the 2007 ASME Div. 2 Master curve

Fatigue design of welded structures is primarily based on a nominal stress; hot spot stress methods or local approaches each having several limitations when coupled with finite element modeling. An alternative recent structural stress definition is discussed and implemented in a post-processor. It provides an effective means for the direct coupling of finite element results to the fatigue assessment of welded joints in complex structures. The applications presented in this work confirm the main features of the method: mesh-insensitivity, accurate crack location and life to failure predictions

Fatigue behaviour of thin Fe-Si steel sheets for electric motor production

The on-going evolution toward electric/hybrid traction requires the development of high-performance electric motors. The rotor of electric motors is made from a stack of thin steel sheets and a complex configuration of magnets. Electric steels are typically Fe-Si alloys where Si addition controls grain size. Mechanical durability assessment of electric motors is based on the fatigue performance of Fe-Si steels. This contribution reports a thorough mechanical characterisation of a Fe-Si alloy in the form of thin (i.e. 0.2 mm) sheets. Numerous tensile tests were performed to characterize the reference static properties and their respective scatter. A suitable fatigue testing procedure for thin sheets was developed and used in an extensive campaign aimed at investigating the directional fatigue behaviour of the Fe-Si steel. Comparison with literature data confirms that the fatigue response of thin sheets is affected by different factors related especially to the method of extraction

Development and calibration of a structural simulation method of CF-SMC composite parts processed by compression molding

The need for the reduction in CO2 production in automotive field increasingly leads manufacturers to consider fiber-reinforced composite materials that are however costly to processes. Discontinuous fiber composite materials, like CF – SMC, are a competitive candidate because they are transformed by the high productivity compression molding technology. On the negative side, their structural complexity introduces high variability in the mechanical performance that needs to be considered at the design stage. This contribution describes the development of a structural modeling strategy for parts made of CF-SMC processed by compression molding. It is based the statistical material model proposed by Feraboli implemented here in a FEA-based structural analysis procedure. After validation and calibration of a specific CF-SMC material, the proposed procedure is applied to the simulation of the structural response of a compression molded part of complex geometry subjected to know loading condition

Effect of stocking density of fish on water quality and growth performance of European Carp and leafy vegetables in a low-tech aquaponic system

Aquaponics (AP) is a semi-closed system of food production that combines aquaculture and hydroponics and represents a new agricultural system integrating producers and consumers. The aim of this study was to test the effect of stocking densities (APL, 2.5 kg m-3; APH, 4.6 kg m-3) on water quality, growth performance of the European Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.), and yield of leafy vegetables (catalogna, lettuce, and Swiss Chard) in a low-technology AP pilot system compared to a hydroponic cultivation. The AP daily consumption of water due to evapotranspiration was not different among treatments with an average value of 8.2 L d-1, equal to 1.37% of the total water content of the system. Dissolved oxygen was significantly (p < 0.05) different among treatments with the lowest median value recorded with the highest stocking density of fish (5.6 mg L-1) and the highest median value in the hydroponic control (8.7 mg L-1). Marketable yield of the vegetables was significantly different among treatments with the highest production in the hydroponic control for catalogna (1.2 kg m-2) and in the APL treatment for Swiss Chard (5.3 kg m-2). The yield of lettuce did not differ significantly between hydroponic control and APL system (4.0 kg m-2 on average). The lowest production of vegetables was obtained in the APH system. The final weight (515 g vs. 413 g for APL and APH, respectively), specific growth rate (0.79% d-1 vs. 0.68% d-1), and feed conversion (1.55 vs. 1.86) of European Carp decreased when stocking density increased, whereas total yield of biomass was higher in the APH system (4.45 kg m-3 vs. 6.88 kg m-3). A low mortality (3% on average) was observed in both AP treatments. Overall, the results showed that a low initial stocking density at 2.5 kg m-3 improved the production of European Carp and of leafy vegetables by maintaining a better water quality in the tested AP system

Metformin: a modulator of bevacizumab activity in cancer? A case report.

Recurrent type I endometrial cancer ((EC)) has poor prognosis and demands novel therapeutic approaches. Bevacizumab, a VEGF-A neutralizing monoclonal antibody, has shown clinical activity in this setting. To our knowledge, however, although some diabetic cancer patients treated with bevacizumab may also take metformin, whether metformin modulates response to anti-VEGF therapy has not yet been investigated. Here, we report the case of a patient with advanced (EC) treated, among other drugs, with bevacizumab in combination with metformin. The patient affected by relapsed (EC) G3 type 1, presented in march 2010 with liver, lungs and mediastinic metastases. After six cycles of paclitaxel and cisplatin she underwent partial response. Later on, she had disease progression notwithstanding administration of multiple lines of chemotherapy. In march 2013, due to brain metastases with coma, she began steroid therapy with development of secondary diabetes. At this time, administration of Bevacizumab plus Metformin improved her performance status. CT scans performed in this time window showed reduced radiologic density of the lung and mediastinic lesions and of liver disease, suggestive of increased tumor necrosis. Strong F-18-FDG uptake by PET imaging along with high levels of monocarboxylate transporter 4 and lack of liver kinase B1 expression in liver metastasis, highlighted metabolic features previously associated with response to anti-VEGF therapy and phenformin in preclinical models. However, clinical benefit was transitory and was followed by rapid and fatal disease progression. These findingsalbeit limited to a single casesuggest that tumors lacking LKB1 expression and/or endowed with an highly glycolytic phenotype might develop large necrotic areas following combined treatment with metformin plus bevacizumab. As metformin is widely used among diabetes patients as well as in ongoing clinical trials in cancer patients, these results deserve further clinical investigation

Editorial

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as built surface layer characterization and fatigue behavior of dmls ti6al4v

Abstract Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a powder bed fusion technology used in the fabrication layer-by-layer of metallic parts directly from a CAD file. Since the fatigue behavior of DMLS Ti6Al4V is strongly influenced by the surface roughness of the as-built surface, fatigue tests were performed on smooth specimens produced with different orientations with respect to build using an EOS M 290 system. A SEM investigation and roughness measurements of the test surfaces were used to interpret the surface roughness as the contribution of i) roughness induced due to solidification of the melt pool (primary roughness); ii) roughness induced by partly melted powder particles (secondary roughness). Surface roughness modification from the as-built state by manual grinding was also investigated in fatigue and found to give a limited improvement. On the other hand, surface machining improves considerably the fatigue strength with respect to both the as-built condition and the manually ground condition