NiftySim: A GPU-based nonlinear finite element package for simulation of soft tissue biomechanics

Purpose NiftySim, an open-source finite element toolkit, has been designed to allow incorporation of high-performance soft tissue simulation capabilities into biomedical applications. The toolkit provides the option of execution on fast graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware, numerous constitutive models and solid-element options, membrane and shell elements, and contact modelling facilities, in a simple to use library. Methods The toolkit is founded on the total Lagrangian explicit dynamics (TLEDs) algorithm, which has been shown to be efficient and accurate for simulation of soft tissues. The base code is written in C ++++ , and GPU execution is achieved using the nVidia CUDA framework. In most cases, interaction with the underlying solvers can be achieved through a single Simulator class, which may be embedded directly in third-party applications such as, surgical guidance systems. Advanced capabilities such as contact modelling and nonlinear constitutive models are also provided, as are more experimental technologies like reduced order modelling. A consistent description of the underlying solution algorithm, its implementation with a focus on GPU execution, and examples of the toolkit’s usage in biomedical applications are provided. Results Efficient mapping of the TLED algorithm to parallel hardware results in very high computational performance, far exceeding that available in commercial packages. Conclusion The NiftySim toolkit provides high-performance soft tissue simulation capabilities using GPU technology for biomechanical simulation research applications in medical image computing, surgical simulation, and surgical guidance applications

Взаимосвязь показателей кровообращения мышц бедра и плеча с координационной точностью при совершенствовании ударных баллистических движений

В работе была исследована взаимосвязь показателей кровообращения мышц бедра и плеча с координационной точностью при совершенствовании ударных баллистических движений. Для этого было сформировано две группы: в экспериментальной группе в качестве предупреждения травматизма кисти использовались боксерские перчатки (10 унций), а в контрольной - снарядные перчатки. В результате после нанесения одиночного акцентированного прямого удара правой рукой в голову по боксерскому мешку в течение раунда было получено, что в экспериментальной группе происходило увеличение интенсивности кровенаполнения задней поверхности правого бедра и увеличение венозного оттока. Можно предположить, что спортсмены экспериментальной группы больше опираются на правую ногу в заключительной фазе ударного действия, что является более правильно с биомеханической точки зрения нанесения ударов. Интенсивность кровенаполнения и венозного оттока плеча в экспериментальной группе, наоборот, падала. Это позволяет сделать предположение о том, что мышцы плеча при выполнении ударных движений лишь незначительно задействуются спортсменами старших спортивных разрядов в завершающей фазе ударного действия. Данный факт им позволяет наносить удары с большей точностью и эффективностью

Simulation of orthogonal cutting with smooth particle hydrodynamics

There is an active literature on the simulation of cutting processes through finite element methods. Such efforts are motivated by the enormous economic importance of machining processes and the desire to adjust processes so as to optimize product and throughput, but suffer from some difficulties inherent to the finite element method. An alternative approach, which appears to overcome most of those difficulties, is that of Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH).Though some finite element work is reviewed here, the focus of this paper is on the demonstration of the SPH technique of to simulate orthogonal cutting

LDRD report nonlinear model reduction

The very general problem of model reduction of nonlinear systems was made tractable by focusing on the very large subclass consisting of linear subsystems connected by nonlinear interfaces. Such problems constitute a large part of the nonlinear structural problems encountered in addressing the Sandia missions. A synthesis approach to this class of problems was developed consisting of: detailed modeling of the interface mechanics; collapsing the interface simulation results into simple nonlinear interface models; constructing system models by assembling model approximations of the linear subsystems and the nonlinear interface models. These system models, though nonlinear, would have very few degrees of freedom. A paradigm problem, that of machine tool vibration, was selected for application of the reduction approach outlined above. Research results achieved along the way as well as the overall modeling of a specific machine tool have been very encouraging. In order to confirm the interface models resulting from simulation, it was necessary to develop techniques to deduce interface mechanics from experimental data collected from the overall nonlinear structure. A program to develop such techniques was also pursued with good success

Use of inelastic design for radioactive material transportation packages

There is much interest within the radioactive material transportation container design community in the use of inelastic analysis. In other industries where inelastic analysis is used in design there is typically an improved knowledge of the capacity of the structure and a more efficient use of material. This report describes the results of a program in which the incentives for inelastic analysis for radioactive material transport container design were investigated to determine if there are similar benefits. Detailed are the elastic and inelastic analyses of two containers subjected to impacts onto a rigid target following a thirty-foot free fall in end-on, side-on, and center-of-gravity- over-corner orientations

Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis in Plant Cells.

We have employed fluorescein and 125l-labeled elicitors of the defense response in soybeans to monitor the cellular distribution and movement of elicitors following their addition to a soybean cell suspension culture. Our results indicate that the macromolecular elicitors first bind to the cell surface and then internalize in a temperature- and energy-dependent endocytotic process. Within a few hours, virtually all of the elicitor is concentrated in the major vacuole or tonoplast of the cell. Nonspecific (control) proteins neither bound to the cell surface nor internalized in parallel assays

Optimizing the Point-In-Box Search Algorithm for the Cray Y-MP(TM) Supercomputer

Determining the subset of points (particles) in a problem domain that are contained within certain spatial regions of interest can be one of the most time-consuming parts of some computer simulations. Examples where this 'point-in-box' search can dominate the computation time include (1) finite element contact problems; (2) molecular dynamics simulations; and (3) interactions between particles in numerical methods, such as discrete particle methods or smooth particle hydrodynamics. This paper describes methods to optimize a point-in-box search algorithm developed by Swegle that make optimal use of the architectural features of the Cray Y-MP Supercomputer

A parallel algorithm for transient solid dynamics simulations with contact detection

Solid dynamics simulations with Lagrangian finite elements are used to model a wide variety of problems, such as the calculation of impact damage to shipping containers for nuclear waste and the analysis of vehicular crashes. Using parallel computers for these simulations has been hindered by the difficulty of searching efficiently for material surface contacts in parallel. A new parallel algorithm for calculation of arbitrary material contacts in finite element simulations has been developed and implemented in the PRONTO3D transient solid dynamics code. This paper will explore some of the issues involved in developing efficient, portable, parallel finite element models for nonlinear transient solid dynamics simulations. The contact-detection problem poses interesting challenges for efficient implementation of a solid dynamics simulation on a parallel computer. The finite element mesh is typically partitioned so that each processor owns a localized region of the finite element mesh. This mesh partitioning is optimal for the finite element portion of the calculation since each processor must communicate only with the few connected neighboring processors that share boundaries with the decomposed mesh. However, contacts can occur between surfaces that may be owned by any two arbitrary processors. Hence, a global search across all processors is required at every time step to search for these contacts. Load-imbalance can become a problem since the finite element decomposition divides the volumetric mesh evenly across processors but typically leaves the surface elements unevenly distributed. In practice, these complications have been limiting factors in the performance and scalability of transient solid dynamics on massively parallel computers. In this paper the authors present a new parallel algorithm for contact detection that overcomes many of these limitations