An experimental and numerical investigation into damage mechanisms in tapered laminates under tensile loading

Through-thickness thickness reductions in laminated composites are essential for weight and aerodynamic efficiency, but they can also be the site of damage initiation. Tensile failure mechanisms of modestly tapered laminates, loaded via gripping their thick and thin ends, and a severely tapered laminate, loaded by contact at its tapered section, were investigated via experiments and high-fidelity finite element modelling. The primary failure mode is by delamination, initiated from a terminated ply in the tapered region, which is quite sensitive to a small delamination defect at a ply drop location. Experimental measurements and FE predictions correlate very well in all cases for both location and load. In the severely tapered case, the contact stress influences the delamination and so a fibre failure criterion also needs to be considered, including both the fibre direction tensile stress and its interaction with through-thickness direct and shear stresses imposed by the contact

Effect of saw-tooth ply drops on the mechanical performance of tapered composite laminates

Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) is a manufacturing technique to produce large, high quality composite parts, where preimpregnated carbon fibre tapes are laid side-by-side to generate the composite preform. Thickness changes within a component are realised through internal ply terminations, with the tapes being cut perpendicular to the fibre direction. In plies laid up at an angle to the taper direction, the AFP tape cuts create saw-tooth shaped ply drop tips. This increases the size of resin rich zones and enlarges the region where stress concentrations and cracks can develop, which amplifies the risk of failure. This study investigates the effect of simulated AFP saw-tooth ply drop tips, created by hand layup, on the mechanical properties and failure behaviour of carbon fibre/epoxy composites and compares its results to reference broad goods layups. The stiffness was found to be unaffected and the strength was reduced by similar to 10%. The failure mode was governed by delamination for the saw-tooth ply drop tips, whereas the reference specimens failed by rupture of the unidirectional fibres. A finite element modelling technique was used to select the layup to be tested. The models were then refined in the light of experimental results, to accurately predict the failure and explain the failure mode transition.ISSN:0263-8223ISSN:1879-108

A high-density immunoblotting methodology for quantification of total protein levels and phosphorylation modifications

The components of many signaling pathways have been identified and there is now a need to conduct quantitative data-rich temporal experiments for systems biology and modeling approaches to better understand pathway dynamics and regulation. Here we present a modified Western blotting method that allows the rapid and reproducible quantification and analysis of hundreds of data points per day on proteins and their phosphorylation state at individual sites. The approach is of particular use where samples show a high degree of sample-to-sample variability such as primary cells from multiple donors. We present a case study on the analysis of >800 phosphorylation data points from three phosphorylation sites in three signaling proteins over multiple time points from platelets isolated from ten donors, demonstrating the technique's potential to determine kinetic and regulatory information from limited cell numbers and to investigate signaling variation within a population. We envisage the approach being of use in the analysis of many cellular processes such as signaling pathway dynamics to identify regulatory feedback loops and the investigation of potential drug/inhibitor responses, using primary cells and tissues, to generate information about how a cell's physiological state changes over time

Unveiling the dynamic infrared sky with Gattini-IR

While optical and radio transient surveys have enjoyed a renaissance over the past decade, the dynamic infrared sky remains virtually unexplored. The infrared is a powerful tool for probing transient events in dusty regions that have high optical extinction, and for detecting the coolest of stars that are bright only at these wavelengths. The fundamental roadblocks in studying the infrared time-domain have been the overwhelmingly bright sky background (250 times brighter than optical) and the narrow field-of-view of infrared cameras (largest is 0.6 sq deg). To begin to address these challenges and open a new observational window in the infrared, we present Palomar Gattini-IR: a 25 sq degree, 300mm aperture, infrared telescope at Palomar Observatory that surveys the entire accessible sky (20,000 sq deg) to a depth of 16.4 AB mag (J band, 1.25μm) every night. Palomar Gattini-IR is wider in area than every existing infrared camera by more than a factor of 40 and is able to survey large areas of sky multiple times. We anticipate the potential for otherwise infeasible discoveries, including, for example, the elusive electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave detections. With dedicated hardware in hand, and a F/1.44 telescope available commercially and cost-effectively, Palomar Gattini-IR will be on-sky in early 2017 and will survey the entire accessible sky every night for two years. We present an overview of the pathfinder Palomar Gattini-IR project, including the ambitious goal of sub-pixel imaging and ramifications of this goal on the opto-mechanical design and data reduction software. Palomar Gattini-IR will pave the way for a dual hemisphere, infrared-optimized, ultra-wide field high cadence machine called Turbo Gattini-IR. To take advantage of the low sky background at 2.5 μm, two identical systems will be located at the polar sites of the South Pole, Antarctica and near Eureka on Ellesmere Island, Canada. Turbo Gattini-IR will survey 15,000 sq. degrees to a depth of 20AB, the same depth of the VISTA VHS survey, every 2 hours with a survey efficiency of 97%

Cardiac resynchronization therapy: mechanisms of action and scope for further improvement in cardiac function.

Aims: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) may exert its beneficial haemodynamic effect by improving ventricular synchrony and improving atrioventricular (AV) timing. The aim of this study was to establish the relative importance of the mechanisms through which CRT improves cardiac function and explore the potential for additional improvements with improved ventricular resynchronization. Methods and Results: We performed simulations using the CircAdapt haemodynamic model and performed haemodynamic measurements while adjusting AV delay, at low and high heart rates, in 87 patients with CRT devices. We assessed QRS duration, presence of fusion, and haemodynamic response. The simulations suggest that intrinsic PR interval and the magnitude of reduction in ventricular activation determine the relative importance of the mechanisms of benefit. For example, if PR interval is 201 ms and LV activation time is reduced by 25 ms (typical for current CRT methods), then AV delay optimization is responsible for 69% of overall improvement. Reducing LV activation time by an additional 25 ms produced an additional 2.6 mmHg increase in blood pressure (30% of effect size observed with current CRT). In the clinical population, ventricular fusion significantly shortened QRS duration (Δ-27 ± 23 ms, P < 0.001) and improved systolic blood pressure (mean 2.5 mmHg increase). Ventricular fusion was present in 69% of patients, yet in 40% of patients with fusion, shortening AV delay (to a delay where fusion was not present) produced the optimal haemodynamic response. Conclusions: Improving LV preloading by shortening AV delay is an important mechanism through which cardiac function is improved with CRT. There is substantial scope for further improvement if methods for delivering more efficient ventricular resynchronization can be developed. Clinical Trial Registration: Our clinical data were obtained from a subpopulation of the British Randomised Controlled Trial of AV and VV Optimisation (BRAVO), which is a registered clinical trial with unique identifier: NCT01258829, https://clinicaltrials.gov

Hydraulic and biotic impacts on neutralisation of high-pH waters

The management of alkaline (pH 11–12.5) leachate is an important issue associated with the conditioning, afteruse or disposal of steel slags. Passive in-gassing of atmospheric CO₂ is a low cost option for reducing Ca(OH)₂ alkalinity, as Ca(OH)₂ is neutralised by carbonic acid to produce CaCO₃. The relative effectiveness of such treatment can be affected by both the system geometry (i.e. stepped cascades versus settlement ponds) and biological colonization. Sterilized mesocosm experiments run over periods of 20 days showed that, due to more water mixing and enhanced CO₂ dissolution at the weirs, the cascade systems (pH 11.2 → 9.6) are more effective than settlement ponds (pH 11.2 → 11.0) for lowering leachate alkalinity in all the tested conditions. The presence of an active microbial biofilm resulted in significantly more pH reduction in ponds (pH 11.2 → 9.5), but had a small impact on the cascade systems (pH 11.2 → 9.4). The pH variation in biofilm colonized systems shows a diurnal cycle of 1 to 1.5 pH units due to CO₂ uptake and release associated with respiration and photosynthesis. The results demonstrate that, where gradient permits, aeration via stepped cascades are the best option for neutralisation of steel slag leachates, and where feasible, the development of biofilm communities can also help reduce alkalinity

The Fate of Firms: Explaining Mergers and Bankruptcies

Using a uniquely complete data set of more than 50,000 observations of approximately 16,000 corporations, we test theories that seek to explain which firms become merger targets and which firms go bankrupt. We find that merger activity is much greater during prosperous periods than during recessions. In bad economic times, firms in industries with high bankruptcy rates are less likely to file for bankruptcy than they are in better years, supporting the market illiquidity arguments made by Shleifer and Vishny (1992). At the firm level, we find that, among poorly performing firms, the likelihood of merger increases with poorer performance, but among better performing firms, the relation is reversed and chances of merger increase with better performance. Such a changing relation has not been detected in prior merger studies. We also find that low-growth, resource-rich firms are prime acquisition targets and that firms’ debt capacity relates negatively to the likelihood of a merger. Debt-related variables, leverage and secured debt, play an especially prominent role in distinguishing between which firms merge and which firms go bankrupt

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods