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Application of commercial FEM program Abaqus to investigate delamination behavior of post-tensioned concrete curved walls
The concrete delamination induced by prestressing forces is a potential problem of
post-tensioned concrete containments with curved geometry. To investigate the concrete
delamination mechanism, the researchers of the University of Texas at Austin completed
an experimental research project in 2017. In this research project, the academic finite
element method (FEM) program VecTor4, which has powerful shell-type elements for
cracked reinforced concrete shells, was modified and proved to be an appropriate tool to
predict the level of applied prestressing load at the delamination failure.
VecTor4 has a well-defined reinforced concrete material model and capability to
analyze the structures on an overall system level with low computational resources.
However, its user interface has limitations, and the details of the local behavior of
structures may not be captured due to its simplicity. On the other hand, commercial FEM
programs generally provide a convenient graphical-based user interface and various
analysis features. Still, typical commercial FEM programs are not designed to analyze the
concrete structures. Some commercial FEM programs provide concrete material models;
however, they tend to require significant calibration analyses to capture the behavior of
reinforced concrete structures. Specifically, to capture the delamination of concrete walls
with those programs, solid elements should be selected, which should increase the
computational costs. However, commercial FEM programs can potentially provide the
details of the local behavior of structures.
Recently, an experimental test investigating the concrete delamination
phenomenon was conducted. In this recent test, numerical analyses with the commercial
FEM program Abaqus ware conducted as well as the analysis with VecTor4 to explore
other options in commercial FEM programs. This paper will show the analysis results of
both Abaqus and VecTor4 for the recent test. Additionally, the discussion on the relative
merits and limitations of these programs obtained from the experience of the analyses for
the recent test is presented.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin
Clinical efficacy of intermittent pressure augmented–retrograde cerebral perfusion
ObjectiveDuring aortic surgery under hypothermic circulatory arrest, retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP) is commonly used as a cerebroprotective method to extend the duration of circulatory arrest safely. Kitahori and colleagues described a novel protocol of RCP using intermittent pressure augmented (IPA)–RCP in 2005. The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical effectiveness of this novel protocol.MethodsA total of 20 consecutive patients undergoing total replacement of the aortic arch were assigned to a conventional RCP (n = 10) or an IPA-RCP group (n = 10). Cerebral perfusion was provided at a continuous venous pressure of 25 mm Hg in the conventional RCP, and venous pressure was intermittently provided at 20 mm Hg for 120 seconds and at 45 mm Hg for 30 seconds in the IPA-RCP group. The clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) was measured using near infrared spectroscopy every 10 minutes from the beginning of RCP initiation. To represent the brain oxygen consumption, the decline ratio of rSO2 was calculated.ResultsThere was no surgical mortality or major neurologic complications in either group. The interval from the end of surgery to full wakefulness was significantly shorter in the IPA-RCP group (85 ± 64 minutes) than in the conventional RCP group (310 ± 282 minutes; P < .05). Although the initial rSO2 value did not show significant difference in both groups, the rSO2 with IPA-RCP was greater than that with conventional RCP from 10 to 70 minutes (P < .05). The decline ratio of rSO2 was lower in the IPA-RCP group than in the RCP perfusion group at all points (P < .05).ConclusionsIPA-RCP might provide more homogenous cerebral perfusion and a more effective oxygen supply to the brain with better clinical results than conventional RCP
Experimental Determination of Bose-Hubbard Energies
We present the first experimental measurement of the ensemble averages of
both the kinetic and interaction energies of the three-dimensional
Bose--Hubbard model at finite temperature and various optical lattice depths
across weakly to strongly interacting regimes, for an almost unit filling
factor. The kinetic energy is obtained through Fourier transformation of a
time-of-flight signal, and the interaction energy is measured using a newly
developed atom-number-projection spectroscopy technique, by exploiting an
ultra-narrow optical transition of two-electron atoms. The obtained
experimental results can be used as benchmarks for state-of-the-art numerical
methods of quantum many-body theory. As an illustrative example, we compare the
measured energies with numerical calculations involving the Gutzwiller and
cluster-Gutzwiller approximations, assuming realistic trap potentials and
particle numbers at nonzero entropy (finite temperature); we obtain good
agreement without fitting parameters. We also discuss the possible application
of this method to temperature estimations for atoms in optical lattices using
the thermodynamic relation. This study offers a unique advantage of cold atom
system for `quantum simulators', because, to the best of our knowledge, it is
the first experimental determination of both the kinetic and interaction
energies of quantum many-body system.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figure
Clinical Result of Epicardial Pulmonary Vein Isolation (LAVIE) by Cryoablation as Concomitant Cardiac Operation and Clinical Application of New Ablation Device (KIRC-119 Infrared Coagulator) to Treat Atrial Fibrillation
Crystal structure of a Ca2+-dependent regulator of flagellar motility reveals the open-closed structural transition
Sperm chemotaxis toward a chemoattractant is very important for the success of fertilization. Calaxin, a member of the neuronal calcium sensor protein family, directly acts on outer-arm dynein and regulates specific flagellar movement during sperm chemotaxis of ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. Here, we present the crystal structures of calaxin both in the open and closed states upon Ca2+ and Mg2+ binding. The crystal structures revealed that three of the four EF-hands of a calaxin molecule bound Ca2+ ions and that EF2 and EF3 played a critical role in the conformational transition between the open and closed states. The rotation of α7 and α8 helices induces a significant conformational change of a part of the α10 helix into the loop. The structural differences between the Ca2+- and Mg2+-bound forms indicates that EF3 in the closed state has a lower affinity for Mg2+, suggesting that calaxin tends to adopt the open state in Mg2+-bound form. SAXS data supports that Ca2+-binding causes the structural transition toward the closed state. The changes in the structural transition of the C-terminal domain may be required to bind outer-arm dynein. These results provide a novel mechanism for recognizing a target protein using a calcium sensor protein
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