New ductile fracture criterion for prediction of internal fracture in skew rolling

Skew rolling is the process of reducing the diameter of a round billet. In this process, internal fracture may occur in the rolled material. This phenomenon is known as the Mannesmann effect. While there has been great discussion about the mechanism of internal fracture, it has yet to be fully clarified. To investigate the internal fracture initiation and propagation, we conducted hot rolling experiments and evaluated the stress and strain of the rolled material by elasto-plastic finite element analysis. The results show that the internal fracture arises on the internal surface in which shear stress acts owing to the combined effect of tensile and shear stress. In this paper, a new ductile fracture criterion is discussed to quantitatively predict the occurrence of internal fracture in skew rolling

回転塑性加工における内部割れ発生機構と延性破壊条件の提案

電気通信大学202

A HIGH-PRESSURE PULSED WATER JET CUTTING SYSTEM BY MEANS OF WATER HAMMER IN A CONVERGENT PIPELINE

ABSTRACT One of the authors has developed a high-pressure fuel injection system using an oil hammer for diesel engines in 1993. In the present study, we applied this novel principle of the fuel injection system to the water-jet cutting system, and a pulsed water jet cutting system by means of water hammer in convergent pipeline caused by strong spool acceleration was developed. The system consisted of a pump having a small size plunger and spool, a convergent pipeline, and automatic injector having a hole-type nozzle with a small orifice. This pump, generating strong compression waves at the convergent pipeline inlet by strong acceleration of spool and plunger, is controlled by the low source oil pressure and electromagnetic valve. The wave propagated in the convergent pipeline is dynamically intensified by water hammering in the pipeline. High pressure is then developed at the nozzle. The injection pressure and injection frequency are fully controllable by the source pressure, and by the valve-opening frequency of the electromagnetic valve (EMPV). A computer simulation demonstrated that an operation and the injection pressure are satisfactory as a water jet cutting system. It is shown that a pressure of 140 MPa is obtained in nozzle inlet by a source pressure of 11.8MPa in experiments. The dimension of the nozzle orifice was determined by visualizing the spray origin using a laser-sheet imaging technique. Stagnation force and its spectrum of water jet on work was measured to evaluate effects of injection period and standoff distance on punching time and area. Practical feasibility of water jet cutting system was demonstrated by cutting/punching tests for soft/no-heating materials or metal plates and by paint removing tests

Disseminated Mycobacterium genavense infection mimicking TAFRO syndrome

TAFRO syndrome is a rare variant of idiopathic multicentric Castleman's disease, for which disseminated non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection must be excluded. However, due to the slow and fastidious growth of the organisms, identification of the pathogen is often challenging. We herein describe a case of disseminated Mycobacterium genavence infection, in which manifestations of the patient were confusingly similar to those of TAFRO syndrome. A 69-year-old Japanese man presented with prolonged fever accompanying pain in his back and ribs on the right side. Systemic investigations revealed thrombocytopenia, marked elevation of alkaline phosphatase, anasarca (pleural effusion and ascites), megakaryocytosis in the bone marrow, and hepatomegaly. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse, T1-and T2-low-intensity spotted lesions on his vertebral bodies, but biopsy showed inconclusive results. The patient met the diagnostic criteria of TAFRO syndrome and was started on prednisolone, which improved his general condition shortly thereafter. Blood culture after 42 days of incubation revealed the presence of Mycobacterium; however, we considered it a contamination at that time because no organisms grew on conventional agars, and the patient was discharged. Ten weeks after the isolation of Mycobacterium, he developed persistent fever and was readmitted. This time, vertebral bone mallow biopsy demonstrated a large amount of mycobacterium, which was later successfully identified as M. genavense by sequencing analysis. Under a final diagnosis of disseminated M. genavense infection, we treated the patient with clarithromycin, rifampicin, and ethambutol. This case highlighted that disseminated NTM infection may follow a similar clinical course as that of TAFRO syndrome

Influence of Diabetes Mellitus on Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Cervical Myelopathy: A Prospective, Multicenter Study

[Study Design] Multicenter, prospective study. [Purpose] To investigate the effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on surgical outcomes in patients with cervical myelopathy. [Overview of Literature] To date, few studies have investigated the influence of postoperative blood glucose or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels on surgical outcomes. [Methods] The participants were patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. The 61 cases were evaluated preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores and the JOA Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ). The study variables included fasting blood glucose and HbA1c levels measured preoperatively and at 1 week, 4 weeks, and 1 year postoperatively; the F-wave conduction velocity, latency, rate of occurrence, and M-wave latency in the ulnar and tibial nerves were measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. The patients were divided into a group without diabetes (N group, 42 patients) and a group with diabetes (DM group, 19 patients). We then assessed the associations between the surgical outcomes and each of the study variables. [Results] JOA scores significantly improved in both groups; however, no significant between-group differences were found. There was no significant improvement in the JOACMEQ scores, which assessed cervical function, upper and lower limb function, and bladder function in both groups. We then subdivided the DM group into those with a good control of HbA1c after 1 year (DMG group, 12 patients) and those with HbA1c deterioration after 1 year (DMB group, seven patients), prior to comparing the surgical outcomes. The JOACMEQ scores for upper and lower limb function significantly improved in the DMG group (p<0.01). Compared with the DMB group, there were no significant increases in upper or lower limb function scores in the DMG group. [Conclusions] Poor glycemic control might prevent postoperative functional recovery of the spinal cord

Synergistic effect of sulfonation followed by precipitation of amorphous calcium phosphate on the bone-bonding strength of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone

Sulfonation and applications of amorphous calcium phosphate are known to make polyetheretherketone (PEEK) bioactive. Sulfonation followed by precipitation of amorphous calcium phosphate (AN-treatment) may provide PEEK with further bone-bonding strength. Herein, we prepared a carbon-fiber-reinforced PEEK (CPEEK) with similar tensile strength to cortical bone and a CPEEK subjected to AN-treatment (CPEEK-AN). The effect of AN-treatment on the bone-bonding strength generated at the interface between the rabbit’s tibia and a base material was investigated using a detaching test at two time-points (4 and 8 weeks). At 4 weeks, the strength of CPEEK-AN was significantly higher than that of CPEEK due to the direct bonding between the interfaces. Between 4 and 8 weeks, the different bone forming processes showed that, with CPEEK-AN, bone consolidation was achieved, thus improving bone-bonding strength. In contrast, with CPEEK, a new bone was absorbed mainly on the interface, leading to poor strength. These observations were supported by an in vitro study, which showed that pre-osteoblast on CPEEK-AN caused earlier maturation and mineralization of the extracellular matrix than on CPEEK. Consequently, AN-treatment, comprising a combination of two efficient treatments, generated a synergetic effect on the bonding strength of CPEEK