Biomechanical evaluation of different posterior fixation techniques for treating thoracolumbar burst fractures of osteoporosis old patients: a finite element analysis

Objective: To investigate the biomechanical characteristics of different posterior fixation techniques in treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar burst fractures by finite element analysis.Methods: The Dicom format images of T10-L5 segments were obtained from CT scanning of a volunteer, and transferred to the Geomagic Studio software, which was used to build digital models. L1 osteoporotic burst fracture and different posterior fixation techniques were simulated by SolidWorks software. The data of ROM, the maximum displacement of fixed segment, ROM of fractured L1 vertebrae, the stress on the screws and rods as well as on fractured L1 vertebrae under different movement conditions were collected and analysed by finite element analysis.Results: Among the four groups, the largest ROM of fixed segment, the maximum displacement of fixed segment and ROM of fractured vertebrae occurred in CBT, and the corresponding data was 1.3°, 2.57 mm and 1.37°, respectively. While the smallest ROM of fixed segment, the maximum displacement of fixed segment and ROM of fractured vertebrae was found in LSPS, and the corresponding data was 0.92°, 2.46 mm and 0.89°, respectively. The largest stress of screws was 390.97 Mpa, appeared in CBT, and the largest stress of rods was 84.68 MPa, appeared in LSPS. The stress concentrated at the junction area between the root screws and rods. The maximum stress on fractured vertebrae was 93.25 MPa, appeared in CBT and the minimum stress was 56.68 MPa, appeared in CAPS. And the stress of fractured vertebrae concentrated in the middle and posterior column of the fixed segment, especially in the posterior edge of the superior endplate.Conclusion: In this study, long-segment posterior fixation (LSPF) provided with the greatest stability of fixed segment after fixation, while cortical bone screw fixation (CBT) provided with the smallest stability. Cement-augmented pedicle screw-rod fixation (CAPS) and combined using cortical bone screw and pedicle screw fixation (CBT-PS) provided with the moderate stability. CBT-PS exhibited superiority in resistance of rotational torsion for using multiple connecting rods. CAPS and CBT-PS maybe biomechanically superior options for the surgical treatment of burst TL fractures in osteoporotic patients

Response of mechanical properties of A356 alloy to continuous rheological extrusion Al-5Ti-0.6C-xCe alloy addition upon different Ce contents

A356 alloy is a commonly used casting Al-Si alloy. Because of the excellent fluidity, air-tightness and thermal resistance, it is usually used as castings with complex structure. However, due to the coarse α-Al grains and needle-like phases, the defects including shrinkage cavity and porosity can easily be formed, which reduce the mechanical properties of the castings and lead to the lower safety factor. In this paper, Al-5Ti-0.6C-xCe (x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt%) master alloys have been prepared by fluorine-salt method combined with the continuous rheological extrusion (CRE) technology. The response of mechanical properties of A356 alloy to the CRE Al-Ti-C-Ce alloys addition upon different Ce contents was investigated. Results showed that, with the increasing Ce content from 0 to 2.0 wt%, the average grain size of α-Al and length of coarse needle-like phases in A356 alloy changed nonmonotonically. When the Ce content was 1.0 wt%, the best refined structure was obtained. The tensile strength, yield strength and elongation of refined A356 by CRE Al-5Ti-0.6C-1.0Ce master alloy were 290.45 MPa, 238.27 MPa and 2.80%, respectively. The introduction of master alloys with different Ce contents promoted the refinement of grain and coarse needle-like phase in A356 alloy, which further improved the mechanical property of the alloy

The seasonal dissipation of Ulva prolifera and its effects on environmental factors: based on remote sensing images and field monitoring data

Ulva prolifera blooms have occurred every summer in the South Yellow Sea since 2008. U. prolifera blooms appeared in the area near the Jiangsu shoal and then were driven to the Shandong Peninsula by the prevailing summer winds. The blooms covered a maximum area of more than 50000 km2 and had an aggregate estimated biomass of 3.64 × 105 tons. Large number of U. prolifera dissipation in the natural degradation and this cause a serious impact on the marine environment. We used MODIS, HJ-1A/B and GF-1 remote sensing image data to conduct large-scale monitoring of U. prolifera. Combined with sea surface monitoring station data from Haiyang city, Shandong province, we analyzed the impact of U. prolifera death on the coastal sea environment of Haiyang city from 2012 to 2016 using multiple regression analysis. It showed that chlorophyll-a concentration was related to sea surface temperature (SST), salinity, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphate (R2 = 0.50, P < 0.001). Among these, DIN and phosphate were important factors affecting chlorophyll-a concentration. There was a significant positive correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration and DIN, but a significant negative correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration and phosphate. The nutrients released by the decomposition of U. prolifera enhanced the growth of planktonic microalgae, and increased the mean chlorophyll-a concentration from 1.398 μmol/L to 2.819 μmol/L during May to August in the study area. This increased the Level of eutrophication in the coastal area and contributed to blooms of secondary algae such as red tides

A Study on the Interaction Behavior between an Earth-Rock Dam and a New-Typed Polymer Anti-Seepage Wall

Polymer anti-seepage wall has been gradually applied in earth-rock dam reinforcement projects as a new seepage control technique. However, due to all-pervasive properties of the new materials and root-like connection between the materials and soils, the interface characteristics between the polymer wall and the earth-rock dam, as well as the interaction behavior of both, are complex and still not clear, which obstruct studying coordination mechanism of dam and wall under earthquake. Therefore, the interface characteristics and interaction behavior of dam and wall were studied in the article. Firstly, the dynamic shear stress-displacement, shear stiffness and damping ratio of the interface between polymer and soil were investigated by ring shear test. In addition, the viscoelastic constitutive model of polymer materials were researched by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test. Based on tests results, a finite element model of earth-rock dam with polymer wall was established, including a non-linear simulation interface element and viscoelastic polymer constitutive model. Next, the validity of the simulation model was verified based on dynamic centrifuge test results. Then, the interaction behavior and seismic response of the dam with polymer wall were explored by using the verified model. The research results provide a scientific basis for the development and application of new-typed polymer anti-seepage wall in reinforcement engineering

Mechanical Properties of Refined A356 Alloy in Response to Continuous Rheological Extruded Al-5Ti-0.6C-1.0Ce Alloy Prepared at Different Temperatures

The microstructure is an important factor determining the mechanical properties of A356 alloy. In this experiment, the refiner Al-5Ti-0.6C-1.0Ce master alloys under different preparation temperatures were prepared, and the A356 alloy was refined. The effects of preparation temperature on the number and morphological distribution of each phase in Al-Ti-C-Ce master alloy and the effects of Al-Ti-C-Ce master alloy at different preparation temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of A356 alloy were explored successively. Results showed that, as preparation temperature increased from 850 to 1150 °C, TiAl3 changed from large blocks to long strips and a needle-like phase, and Ti2Al20Ce changed from a bright white block to a broken small block phase. Al-5Ti-0.6C-1.0Ce prepared at 1050 °C can significantly refine the α-Al of A356 alloy and modify eutectic Si. The α-Al grain size was refined from about 1540 to 179.7 μm, and the eutectic Si length was refined from about 22.3 to 17.8 μm with the transition from a coarse needle-like to a short rod-like structure. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of A356 alloy changed non-monotonically, and the peak values were 282.216 MPa and 3.9% with the Al-Ti-C-Ce preparation temperature of 1050 °C and 950 °C, respectively

A Study on the Interaction Behavior between an Earth-Rock Dam and a New-Typed Polymer Anti-Seepage Wall

Polymer anti-seepage wall has been gradually applied in earth-rock dam reinforcement projects as a new seepage control technique. However, due to all-pervasive properties of the new materials and root-like connection between the materials and soils, the interface characteristics between the polymer wall and the earth-rock dam, as well as the interaction behavior of both, are complex and still not clear, which obstruct studying coordination mechanism of dam and wall under earthquake. Therefore, the interface characteristics and interaction behavior of dam and wall were studied in the article. Firstly, the dynamic shear stress-displacement, shear stiffness and damping ratio of the interface between polymer and soil were investigated by ring shear test. In addition, the viscoelastic constitutive model of polymer materials were researched by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test. Based on tests results, a finite element model of earth-rock dam with polymer wall was established, including a non-linear simulation interface element and viscoelastic polymer constitutive model. Next, the validity of the simulation model was verified based on dynamic centrifuge test results. Then, the interaction behavior and seismic response of the dam with polymer wall were explored by using the verified model. The research results provide a scientific basis for the development and application of new-typed polymer anti-seepage wall in reinforcement engineering

Research on hybrid topology of single-switch ICPT for battery charging

In order to realize constant current and constant voltage charging for batteries by inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) technology, a single-switch CL/LCL circuit is designed. The single-switch CL/LCL circuit is composed of a CL/LCL compensation network and single-switch inverter. The proposed circuit is compared with the traditional constant current and constant voltage circuit in the structure. The operating process of the single-switch CL/LCL circuit and the principle to realize a zero-voltage switch (ZVS) are analysed in detail in this paper. The voltage gain and current gain of the circuit are calculated, which demonstrates that the circuit is able to suppress higher harmonics strongly. By using Fourier decomposition, the voltage on the primary-side compensation capacitor can be obtained. After constructing the equivalent mutual inductance model of the circuit, the formulas and parameters are deduced and calculated. Finally, an experiment platform is built to verify the proposed circuit can realize constant current and constant voltage

Inversion and Driving Force Analysis of Nutrient Concentrations in the Ecosystem of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bay Area

Although satellite remote sensing technology is intensively used for the monitoring of water quality, the inversion of coastal water bodies and non-optically active parameters is still a challenging issue. Few ongoing studies use remote sensing technology to analyze the driving forces of changes in water quality from multiple aspects based on inversion results. By the use of Landsat 5/8 imagery and measured in situ data of the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bay area from 1986 to 2020, this study evaluated the modeling effects of four machine learning methods named Tree Embedding (TE), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), and Back-propagation Neural Network (BPNN). The results show that the BPNN creates the most reliable and robust results. The values of the obtained correlation coefficients (r) are 0.83, 0.92, 0.84, and 0.90, and that of the coefficients of determination (R2) are 0.70, 0.84, 0.70, and 0.81. The calculated mean absolute errors (MAEs) are 0.41, 0.16, 0.06, and 0.02, while the root mean square errors (RMSEs) are 0.78, 0.29, 0.12, and 0.03. The concentrations of TN and TP (CTN, CTP) in the Shenzhen Bay, the Starling Inlet, and the Tolo Harbor were relatively high, fluctuated from 1986 to 2010, and decreased significantly after 2010. The CTN and CTP in the Mirs Bay kept continuously at a low level. We found that urbanization and polluted river discharges were the main drivers of spatial and inter-annual differences of CTN and CTP. Temperature, precipitation, and wind are further factors that influenced the intra-annual changes of CTN and CTP in the Shenzhen Bay, whilethe expansion of oyster rafts and mangroves had little effect. Our research confirms that machine learning algorithms are well suited for the inversion of non-optical activity parameters of coastal water bodies, and also shows the potential of remote sensing for large-scale, long-term monitoring of water quality and the subsequent comprehensive analysis of the driving forces