Rotation symmetry axes and the quality index in a 3D octahedral parallel robot manipulator system

The geometry of a 3D octahedral parallel robot manipulator system is specified in terms of two rigid octahedral structures (the fixed and moving platforms) and six actuation legs. The symmetry of the system is exploited to determine the behaviour of (a new version of) the quality index for various motions. The main results are presented graphically

Some experimental observations of crack-tip mechanics with displacement data

In the past two decades, crack-tip mechanics has been increasingly studied with full-field techniques. Within these techniques, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) has been most widely used due to its many advantages, to extract important crack-tip information, including Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), Crack Opening Displacement, J-integral, T-stress, closure level, plastic zone size, etc. However, little information is given in the literature about the experimental setup that provides best estimations for the different parameters.The current work aims at understanding how the experimental conditions used in DIC influence the crack-tipinformation extracted experimentally. The influence of parameters such as magnification factor, size of theimages, position of the images with respect the crack-tip and size of the subset used in the correlation is studied. The influence is studied in terms of SIF and T-stress by using Williams’ model. The concept of  determination of  the K-dominance zone from experimental data has also explored. In this regard, cyclic loading on a fatigue crack in a compact tension (CT) specimen, made of aluminium 2024-T351 alloy, has been applied and the surface deformation ahead of the crack tip has been examined. The comparison between theoretical and experimental values of KI showed that the effect of subset size on the measured KI is negligible compared to the effect of size of the image

A Composite Damage Tolerance Simulation Technique to Augment the Building Block Approach

Aerospace structures comprised of composite materials are traditionally certified empirically via the Building Block Approach (BBA). While this approach has been performed successfully in the past, it is expensive and time-consuming. One means to improve the overall efficiency of composite structural certification is to reduce the cost of the BBA by eliminating the need for some tests by incorporating damage analysis tools. For an analysis to replace a given test, the tool must first be validated using other similar test data. The subject of this paper is a description of an efficient analysis technique for simulating compression after damage strength of a solid laminate. The analysis technique is one that is practical for use in an applied engineering context due to efforts to minimize necessary computational resources and complexity of the model

Experimental and analytical study of cracks under biaxial fatigue

Most mechanical components experience multi-axial cyclic loading conditions during service. Experimental analysis of fatigue cracks under such conditions is not easy and most works tend to focus more on the simpler but less realistic case of uni-axial loading. Consequently, there are many uncertainties related to the load sequence effect that are now well known and are not normally incorporated into the growth models. The current work presents a new methodology for evaluating overload effect in biaxial fatigue cracks. The methodology includes evaluation of mixed-mode (KI and KII) stress intensity factor and the Crack Opening Displacement for samples with and without overload cycle under biaxial loading. The methodology is tested under a range of crack lengths. All crack-tip information is obtained with a hybrid methodology that combines experimental full-field digital image correlation data and Williams' elastic model describing the crack-tip field

Techno-economic assessment of CO2 quality effect on its storage and transport: CO2QUEST: An overview of aims, objectives and main findings

This paper provides an overview of the aims, objectives and the main findings of the CO2QUEST FP7 collaborative project, funded by the European Commission and designed to address the fundamentally important and urgent issues regarding the impact of the typical impurities in CO2 streams captured from fossil fuel power plants and other CO2 intensive industries on their safe and economic pipeline transportation and storage. The main features and results recorded from some of the unique test facilities constructed as part of the project are presented. These include an extensively instrumented realistic-scale test pipeline for conducting pipeline rupture and dispersion tests in China, an injection test facility in France to study the mobility of trace metallic elements contained in a CO2 stream following injection near a shallow-water qualifier and fluid/rock interactions and well integrity experiments conducted using a fully instrumented deep-well CO2/impurities injection test facility in Israel. The above, along with the various unique mathematical models developed, provide the fundamentally important tools needed to define impurity tolerance levels, mixing protocols and control measures for pipeline networks and storage infrastructure, thus contributing to the development of relevant standards for the safe design and economic operation of CCS

Cost-effectiveness of bioimpedance-guided fluid management in patients undergoing haemodialysis: the BISTRO RCT

Background The BioImpedance Spectroscopy to maintain Renal Output randomised controlled trial investigated the effect of bioimpedance spectroscopy added to a standardised fluid management protocol on the risk of anuria and preservation of residual kidney function (primary trial outcomes) in incident haemodialysis patients. Despite the economic burden of kidney disease, the cost-effectiveness of using bioimpedance measurements to guide fluid management in haemodialysis is not known. Objectives To assess the cost-effectiveness of bioimpedance-guided fluid management against current fluid management without bioimpedance. Design Within-trial economic evaluation (cost–utility analysis) carried out alongside the open-label, multicentre BioImpedance Spectroscopy to maintain Renal Output randomised controlled trial. Setting Thirty-four United Kingdom outpatient haemodialysis centres, both main and satellite units, and their associated inpatient hospitals. Participants Four hundred and thirty-nine adult haemodialysis patients with > 500 ml urine/day or residual glomerular filtration rate > 3 ml/minute/1.73 m2. Intervention The study intervention was the incorporation of bioimpedance technology-derived information about body composition into the clinical assessment of fluid status in patients with residual kidney function undergoing haemodialysis. Bioimpedance measurements were used in conjunction with usual clinical judgement to set a target weight that would avoid excessive fluid depletion at the end of a dialysis session. Main outcome measures The primary outcome measure of the BioImpedance Spectroscopy to maintain Renal Output economic evaluation was incremental cost per additional quality-adjusted life-year gained over 24 months following randomisation. In the main (base-case) analysis, this was calculated from the perspective of the National Health Service and Personal Social Services. Sensitivity analyses explored the impact of different scenarios, sources of resource use data and value sets. Results The bioimpedance-guided fluid management group was associated with £382 lower average cost per patient (95% CI −£3319 to £2556) and 0.043 more quality-adjusted life-years (95% CI −0.019 to 0.105) compared with the current fluid management group, with neither values being statistically significant. The probability of bioimpedance-guided fluid management being cost-effective was 76% and 83% at commonly cited willingness-to-pay threshold of £20,000 and £30,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, respectively. The results remained robust to a series of sensitivity analyses. Limitations The missing data level was high for some resource use categories collected through case report forms, due to COVID-19 disruptions and a significant dropout rate in the informing BioImpedance Spectroscopy to maintain Renal Output trial. Conclusions Compared with current fluid management, bioimpedance-guided fluid management produced a marginal reduction in costs and a small improvement in quality-adjusted life-years. Results from both the base-case and sensitivity analyses suggested that use of bioimpedance is likely to be cost-effective. Future work Future work exploring the association between primary outcomes and longer-term survival would be useful. Should an important link be established, and relevant evidence becomes available, it would be informative to determine whether and how this might affect longer-term costs and benefits associated with bioimpedance-guided fluid management. Funding details This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme as award number HTA 14/216/01 (NIHR136142)

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension based on ACC/AHA versus JNC7 guidelines in the PERSIAN cohort study

In this cross-sectional population-based study, we used the baseline data of the Prospective Epidemiologic Research Studies in IrAN cohort study collected in Iran from 2014 to 2020. The main outcomes were the prevalence of hypertension and proportion of awareness, treatment, and control based on the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline compared to the seventh report of the Joint National Committee (JNC7). Of the total of 163,770 participants, aged 35–70 years, 55.2% were female. The sex-age standardized prevalence of hypertension was 22.3% (95% CI 20.6, 24.1) based on the JNC7 guideline and 36.5% (31.1, 41.8) based on the ACC/AHA guideline. A total of 24,312 participants [14.1% (10.1, 18.1)] were newly diagnosed based on the ACC/AHA guideline. Compared to adults diagnosed with hypertension based on the JNC7 guideline, the newly diagnosed participants were mainly young literate males who had low levels of risk factors and were free from conventional comorbidities of hypertension. About 30.7% (25.9, 35.4) of them (4.3% of the entire population) were eligible for pharmacologic intervention based on the ACC/AHA guideline. Implementation of the new guideline may impose additional burden on health systems. However, early detection and management of elevated blood pressure may reduce the ultimate burden of hypertension in Iran