Moisture effects on the bending fatigue of laminated composites

This paper investigated the effect of moisture ingress on the bending fatigue of laminated composites. An accelerated testing method was developed to investigate the correlation between composite fatigue and moisture diffusion effects. Unidirectional and cross-ply laminated CFRP composites were manufactured in autoclave, and then submerged in both fresh and seawater for various periods until moisture saturation. Quasi-static and cyclic tests were carried out in both air and wet environment, and the failure mechanisms were investigated using visual and microscopic methods. Additionally, a robust 2D Finite Element model (FEA) was developed to simulate the fatigue crack propagation based on virtual crack closure technique (VCCT), while a 3D FEA model was developed to investigate the edge effect on fatigue crack propagation. The experimental observations gave a good agreement with the FEA models. The study showed that the bending fatigue failure was due to the so-called buckling-driven delamination, and the fatigue life was reduced significantly owing to the combination of edge effect and capillary effect. The fatigue test indicated that the fatigue resistance was degraded one stress level due to the water ingress, e.g. from 80% ultimate flexural strength (UFS) to 65% UFS. Therefore, a 4-step fatigue failure theory was proposed to explain the moisture effects on the crack propagation under bending fatigue

Computational Analysis of Flight Deck Structural Behaviour under Variable Loadings

The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is subjected to various loads. In addition, the operation of fixed-wing aircraft presents unique structural requirements for the deck. This paper, therefore, compares the structural behaviour of a flight deck which was designed following the guidelines of three classification societies: Lloyd’s Register (LR), Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyd (DNV), and Registro Italiano Navale (RINA). The loading scenarios considered in this work represent the operation of an F-35B Lightning jet from a Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) aircraft carrier. A commercial finite element analysis (FEA) software ANSYS was also used to investigate the deflection, stress and strain on the deck plates. The analysis identified that only the calculated deck thickness values based on the LR regulations would meet the requirement for the class. This finding was further supported by the FEA.</jats:p

Numerical analysis of the thermomechanical behaviour of an integrally water-heated tool for composite manufacturing

Integrally water-heated tooling is one of the technologies available for ‘out-of-autoclave’ processing of advanced thermoset polymer composites. Temperature variation and temperature cycling, during heating and cooling, affect the properties of tool material and may produce undesirable thermal effects that degrade the tool durability and performance, especially when the tool construction involves various materials. Hence, in the current study, the performance and the thermomechanical behaviour of an integrally water-heated tool have been investigated using finite element analysis method. The intended tool, in the current study, consists different materials of composite and metals and is designed to heat up to 90℃. Linear mechanical properties, coefficient of thermal expansions and transient heating curve of each tool part are determined experimentally and set during the numerical analysis of tool structure to calculate the static thermal load effects of deformation, stress and strain. Comparing the numerical thermal effects with the ultimate stresses and strains of the tool, materials concluded that no failure occurs with regard to static thermal loads. However, the calculated stresses are as much as the lowest magnitude of safety relates to the tool mould part made of Alepoxy. </jats:p

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Moisture effects on the bending fatigue of laminated composites

This paper investigated the effect of moisture ingress on the bending fatigue of laminated composites. An accelerated testing method was developed to investigate the correlation between composite fatigue and moisture diffusion effects. Unidirectional and cross-ply laminated CFRP composites were manufactured in autoclave, and then submerged in both fresh and seawater for various periods until moisture saturation. Quasi-static and cyclic tests were carried out in both air and wet environment, and the failure mechanisms were investigated using visual and microscopic methods. Additionally, a robust 2D Finite Element model (FEA) was developed to simulate the fatigue crack propagation based on virtual crack closure technique (VCCT), while a 3D FEA model was developed to investigate the edge effect on fatigue crack propagation. The experimental observations gave a good agreement with the FEA models. The study showed that the bending fatigue failure was due to the so-called buckling-driven delamination, and the fatigue life was reduced significantly owing to the combination of edge effect and capillary effect. The fatigue test indicated that the fatigue resistance was degraded one stress level due to the water ingress, e.g. from 80% ultimate flexural strength (UFS) to 65% UFS. Therefore, a 4-step fatigue failure theory was proposed to explain the moisture effects on the crack propagation under bending fatigue

Rituximab versus tocilizumab and B-cell status in TNF-alpha inadequate-responder rheumatoid arthritis patients: the R4-RA RCT

BackgroundAlthough biological therapies have transformed the outlook for those with rheumatoid arthritis, there is a lack of any meaningful response in approximately 40% of patients. The role of B cells in rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis is well recognised and is supported by the clinical efficacy of the B-cell-depleting agent rituximab (MabThera, F. Hoffman La-Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland). Rituximab is licensed for use in rheumatoid arthritis following failure of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and tumour necrosis factor inhibitor therapy. However, over 50% of patients show low/absent synovial B-cell infiltration, suggesting that, in these patients, inflammation is driven by alternative cell types. This prompted us to test the hypothesis that, in synovial biopsy B-cell-poor patients, tocilizumab (RoActemra, F. Hoffman La-Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland) (targeting interleukin 6) is superior to rituximab (targeting CD20+/B cells).DesignThe R4–RA (A Randomised, open-labelled study in anti-TNFalpha inadequate responders to investigate the mechanisms for Response, Resistance to Rituximab versus Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients) trial is a 48-week Phase IV, open-label, randomised controlled trial conducted in 19 European centres that recruited patients failing on or intolerant to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy and at least one tumour necrosis factor inhibitor.ParticipantsSynovial tissue was obtained at trial entry and classified histologically as B-cell rich or B-cell poor to inform balanced stratification. Patients were randomised on a 1 : 1 basis to receive standard therapy with rituximab or tocilizumab. B-cell-poor/-rich molecular classification was also carried out. The study was powered to test the superiority of tocilizumab over rituximab at 16 weeks in the B-cell-poor population.Main outcome measuresThe primary end point was defined as an improvement in the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score of ≥ 50% from baseline. In addition, patients were considered to be non-responders if they did not reach an improvement in CDAI score of ≥ 50% and a CDAI score of ResultsIn total, 164 patients were randomised: 83 patients received rituximab and 81 received tocilizumab. Eighty-one out of 83 rituximab patients and 73 out of 81 tocilizumab patients completed treatment up to week 16 (primary end point). Baseline characteristics were comparable between the treatment groups. In the histologically classified B-cell-poor population (n = 79), no significant difference was observed in the primary outcome, an improvement in CDAI score of ≥ 50% from baseline (risk ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 0.80 to 1.96). A supplementary analysis of the CDAI-MTR, however, did reach statistical significance (risk ratio 1.96, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 3.78). In addition, when B-cell-poor classification was determined molecularly, both the primary end point and the CDAI-MTR were statistically significant (risk ratio 1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 2.91, and risk ratio 4.12, 95% confidence interval 1.55 to 11.01, respectively). Moreover, a larger number of secondary end points achieved significance when classified molecularly than when classified histologically. In the B-cell-rich population, there was no significant difference between treatments in the majority of both primary and secondary end points. There were more adverse events and serious adverse events, such as infections, in the tocilizumab group than in the rituximab group.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first biopsy-based, multicentre, randomised controlled trial of rheumatoid arthritis. We were unable to demonstrate that tocilizumab was more effective than rituximab in patients with a B-cell-poor pathotype in our primary analysis. However, superiority was shown in most of the supplementary and secondary analyses using a molecular classification. These analyses overcame possible unavoidable weaknesses in our original study plan, in which the histological method of determining B-cell status may have misclassified some participants and our chosen primary outcome was insufficiently sensitive. Given the significant results observed using the molecular classification, future research will focus on refining this stratification method and evaluating its clinical utility.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN97443826.FundingThis project was funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme, a Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) partnership. This will be published in full in Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation; Vol. 9, No. 7. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Lentiviral-Mediated Transgene Expression Can Potentiate Intestinal Mesenchymal-Epithelial Signaling

Mesenchymal-epithelial signaling is essential for the development of many organs and is often disrupted in disease. In this study, we demonstrate the use of lentiviral-mediated transgene delivery as an effective approach for ectopic transgene expression and an alternative to generation of transgenic animals. One benefit to this approach is that it can be used independently or in conjunction with established transgenic or knockout animals for studying modulation of mesenchymal-epithelial interactions. To display the power of this approach, we explored ectopic expression of a Wnt ligand in the mouse intestinal mesenchyme and demonstrate its functional influence on the adjacent epithelium. Our findings highlight the efficient use of lentiviral-mediated transgene expression for modulating mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in vivo

Overcoming Barriers to Skills Training in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Qualitative Interview Study

Despite evidence suggesting that skills training is an important mechanism of change in dialectical behaviour therapy, little research exploring facilitators and barriers to this process has been conducted. The study aimed to explore clients’ experiences of barriers to dialectical behaviour therapy skills training and how they felt they overcame these barriers, and to compare experiences between treatment completers and dropouts. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 clients with borderline personality disorder who had attended a dialectical behaviour therapy programme. A thematic analysis of participants’ reported experiences found that key barriers to learning the skills were anxiety during the skills groups and difficulty understanding the material. Key barriers to using the skills were overwhelming emotions which left participants feeling unable or unwilling to use them. Key ways in which participants reported overcoming barriers to skills training were by sustaining their commitment to attending therapy and practising the skills, personalising the way they used them, and practising them so often that they became an integral part of their behavioural repertoire. Participants also highlighted a number of key ways in which they were supported with their skills training by other skills group members, the group therapists, their individual therapist, friends and family. Treatment dropouts were more likely than completers to describe anxiety during the skills groups as a barrier to learning, and were less likely to report overcoming barriers to skills training via the key processes outlined above. The findings of this qualitative study require replication, but could be used to generate hypotheses for testing in further research on barriers to skills training, how these relate to dropout, and how they can be overcome. The paper outlines several such suggestions for further research