Computational modelling of void growth in swelled hydrogels

The nature and the large notable distinguishing features of polymeric gels explain their pervasive use as biomaterials in both regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. With regard to their biocompatibility, their ability to withstand large deformation and their significant capacity of solvent absorption, these biomaterials are often selected owing to their versatile mechanical properties and especially the closeness to soft biological tissues, amongst others. A finite-strain theory for the study of the overall behaviour of a porous polymeric gel where microvoids are present is presented. The swollen polymeric gel is modeled as a two-component body composed of two incompressible components, namely, an elastic porous polymer imbibed with a solvant. The chemical equilibrium is assumed to be preponderate at the interface between the porous polymer and the environment where the chemical potential of the solvent is fixed. The initially dry porous polymer undergoes large deformation induced by absorption of a solvent from the environment and mechanical loading. In this paper an attempt is made towards obtaining an estimation of the macroscopic responses of the swollen porous polymer to prescribed proportional loadings. To this end, a two-level representation of the material at hand for which the Representative Volume Element (RVE) imbibed with a solvent is a simple axisymmetric cylinder composed of a homogeneous matrix surrounding a spherical void, is considered. The computational study addresses the situation where the RVE is subjected to prescribed axial and lateral overall stresses under conditions of constant overall stress triaxiality. For fixed values of the Flory-Huggins parameter and the nominal concentration of the solvent, the overall stress-strain behaviour of the RVE model, the influence of the initial porosity, and the prescribed stress triaxiality ratio have been outlined

An experimental method of measuring the quasi-static and dynamic confined behaviour of PMMA

A testing device is presented for the experimental study of the confined behaviour of PMMA in compression under quasi-static loading or at high strain-rates. The constitutive relation of the material ring (allowing to confine the PMMA) being known, transverse gauges glued on its lateral surface allow for the measurement of the lateral confining pressure. The hydrostatic pressure and the Mises stress may be computed. Quasi-static and dynamic tests performed in a strain-rate range of 1e-3/s 1e3/s are processed with the method and compared to results of unconfined compression tests. It is found that the compressive behaviour of PMMA is weakly influenced by the level of pressure and much more sensitive to strain-rate: an elastic brittle behaviour is observed at high strain-rates in unconfined or confined conditions whereas elastoplastic behaviour is noted under quasi-static loading

Experiences of lifestyle change among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM): A behavioural diagnosis using the COM-B model in a low-income setting

Lifestyle change can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes among women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). While understanding women’s lived experiences and views around GDM is critical to the development of behaviour change interventions to reduce this risk, few studies have addressed this issue in low- and middle- income countries. The aim of the study was to explore women’s lived experiences of GDM and the feasibility of sustained lifestyle modification after GDM in a low-income setting

Perusahaan negara di Indoensia: beberapa catatan berdasarkn perpus no.19/1960

148 h

ETUDE EXPERIMENTALE DU RAPPORT DES HAUTEURS CONJUGUEES DU RESSAUT HYDRAULIQUE CONTROLE PAR SEUIL MINCE EVOLUANT DANS UN CANAL TRAPEZOÏDAL BRUSQUEMENT ELARGI EN RECTANGULAIRE

L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier par voie expérimentale le ressaut hydraulique contrôlé par seuil mince évoluant dans un canal trapézoïdal brusquement élargi en rectangulaire, les essais ont comme but de montrer l’effet de l’élargissement du canal sur le rapport des hauteurs conjuguées (Y= h2/h1) du ressaut. Deux configurations de ressauts ont été distinguées selon le rapport d’occupation Xi. Ce dernier représente la position du pied du ressaut par rapport à l’élargissement. En analysant l’évolution du rapport des hauteurs conjuguées Y en fonction du nombre de Froude de l’écoulement incident F1, les résultats ont montré que l’augmentation de F1 engendre l’augmentation de Y, de même, l’augmentation du rapport d’occupation Xi engendre l’augmentation de Y pour les deux configurations de ressaut.   Mots clES : Ressaut hydraulique, canal trapézoïdal, canal rectangulaire, canal brusquement élargi, hauteurs conjuguées, nombre de Froude incident.   ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to study by experimental way the hydraulic jump controlled by a thin sill evolving in a trapezoidal channel with a sudden enlargement in rectangular one, the experiments presented the effect of the extension of the channel on the sequent depth ratio (Y= h2/h1) of hydraulic jump. Two jump configurations were distinguishing according to the occupation ratio Xi. This latter represents the toe position with regard to the extension section. By analyzing the evolution of the sequent depth ratio Y according to the inflow Froude number F1, the results showed that the increase of F1 yields the increase of Y, the increase of the occupation ratio Xi yields as well the increase of Y for both configurations of the jump. KEYWORDS: Hydraulic jump, trapezoidal channel, rectangular channel, abrupt expansion channel, sequent depth, inflow Froude number

An experimental method of measuring the quasi-static and dynamic confined behaviour of PMMA

A testing device is presented for the experimental study of the confined behaviour of PMMA in compression under quasi-static loading or at high strain-rates. The constitutive relation of the material ring (allowing to confine the PMMA) being known, transverse gauges glued on its lateral surface allow for the measurement of the lateral confining pressure. The hydrostatic pressure and the Mises stress may be computed. Quasi-static and dynamic tests performed in a strain-rate range of 1e-3/s 1e3/s are processed with the method and compared to results of unconfined compression tests. It is found that the compressive behaviour of PMMA is weakly influenced by the level of pressure and much more sensitive to strain-rate: an elastic brittle behaviour is observed at high strain-rates in unconfined or confined conditions whereas elastoplastic behaviour is noted under quasi-static loading

Characterisation and standardisation of different-origin end-of-life building materials toward assessment of circularity

YesConstruction and demolition waste (CDW) management and recycling practices are crucial for transitioning to a circular economy. This study focuses on the detailed characterization of CDWs, including hollow brick (HB), red clay brick (RCB), roof tile (RT), concrete (C), and glass (G), collected from seven different sites. The CDWs were characterized based on particle size distribution, chemical composition, and crystalline nature. Pozzolanic activity was evaluated through compressive strength measurements of cement mortars with 20% cement replacement by CDWs at 7, 28, and 90 days. The results showed that clayey CDWs exhibited similar physical/chemical properties and crystalline structures. Compositions of Cs varied significantly based on their original materials. CDWs satisfied the minimum strength activity index for supplementary cementitious materials, with pozzolanic activity influenced by fineness and SiO2+Al2O3 contents. The average strength activity indexes for HB, RCB, RT, C, and G were 84.5%, 86.3%, 83.4%, 80.7%, and 75.8%, respectively. Clayey CDWs contributed to mechanical strength development, while Cs' contribution was related to hydration of unreacted cementitious particles. G exhibited the weakest pozzolanic activity due to its coarser particle size. Overall, CDWs demonstrated suitable properties for use as supplementary cementitious materials in PC-based systems

Method to measure composition modifications in polyethylene terephthalate during ion beam irradiation

International audienc

Distribution of heavy metals in the coastal area of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Fifty-seven sediment samples were collected from Abu Dhabi coastal area, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The concentrations of heavy metals including antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, mercury, lead, molybdenum, nickel and zinc were obtained using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and X-ray fluorescence. Heavy metal contaminations in Abu Dhabi had increased since 2004. Nevertheless, the enrichment factors, geoaccumulation indices and the pollution load index of 0.3 showed no pollution with any of the measured metals except arsenic

Influence du type d’addition minérale sur les propriétés de transfert des Bétons AutoPlaçants Influence of the type of mineral admixtures on the transport properties of self compacting concrete

La formulation des bétons autoplaçants (BAP) présente certaines spécificités dont un volume élevé de pâte et une quantité importante d’ajouts minéraux. Ces deux paramètres influencent sensiblement les propriétés de transfert de ces bétons. Dans ce travail, nous avons étudié l’influence de la nature et du pourcentage de plusieurs additions minérales sur certaines propriétés de transfert (la diffusion des ions chlore et la perméabilité au gaz) des BAP. Trois différentes additions minérales ont été testées : des fillers calcaires, de la pouzzolane naturelle et des cendres volantes. Ensuite, nous avons cherché une probable relation analytique entre ces propriétés et la résistance à la compression de ces bétons. Au total, douze formulations ont été étudiées, elles couvrent trois différentes classes de résistances (30 MPa, 50 MPa et 70 MPa) et quatre types de bétons: un béton ordinaire vibré, un BAP à base de pouzzolanes naturelles, un BAP à base de fillers calcaires et un BAP à base de cendres volantes. Les résultats montrent que la nature de l’addition minérale dans les BAP influe considérablement sur les propriétés de transferts de ces bétons. Après 28, 90 et 360 jours de cure, les BAP contenant de la pouzzolane naturelle représentent des performances très comparables à celles obtenues sur des BAP à base de cendres volantes et bien meilleures que celles obtenues sur des BAP formulés avec du filler calcaire. Indépendamment du type d’addition minérale, les résultats confirment l’existence d’une forte corrélation entre le développement de la résistance à la compression et les propriétés de transferts des BAP. Formulation of self compacting concrete (SCC) has some specific characteristics including a high volume of paste and a large amount of mineral admixtures. These two parameters influence significantly the transport properties of SCC. In this work, we studied the influence of nature and the percentage of several mineral admixtures on some transport properties (the ions diffusion and chloride gas permeability) of the SCC. Three different mineral additives were tested: the limestone fillers, the natural pozzolan and the fly ash. Then we looked for the analytical relationship between these properties and the compressive strength of concrete. A total of twelve formulations were studied, they cover three different compressive strength classes (30 MPa, 50 MPa and 70 MPa) and four types of concrete: ordinary vibrated concrete, a SCC containing natural pozzolan, a SCC based with limestone fillers and SCC containing fly ash. The results show that the nature of the mineral admixtures in SCC influence on the transport properties of these concretes. After 28, 90 and 360 days of curing, the SCC containing natural pozzolan represent very similar performance to those obtained on SCC containing fly ash and much better than those obtained on SCC formulated with limestone filler. Regardless of the type of mineral admixtures, the results confirm the existence of a strong correlation between development of compressive strength and transport properties of SCC