In this research, the structural behavior of timber and concrete sleepers in a standard railway turnout is evaluated, in the case of raising speed. In approaching this evaluation, current practices in the structural analysis of sleepers are surveyed and then, the sensitivity analysis with ABAQUS software is made based on selected criteria (bending and shear stresses as well as contact pressure)...

contact dermatitis is frequent skin pathology and eyelids are one of the more frequent locations of this pathology. the objective of the present work was to study the population distribution of periocular dermatitis, determine the allergens which most frequently indicate positive in patch tests and in provocative use tests, and analyse the clinical relevance of the positive tests. patients with...

In dense, static, polydisperse granular media under isotropic pressure, the probability density and the correlations of particle-wall contact forces are studied. Furthermore, the probability density functions of the populations of pressures measured with different sized circular pressure cells is examined. The questions answered are: (i) What is the number of contacts that has to be considered ...

Tire characteristics and behavior are of great importance in vehicle dynamics since the forces transmitted in the tire-road contact are the main contributors to global vehicle performance. Several research groups have focused on the study and modeling of tires. Some of the most important factors that need to be known are tread characteristics and pressure distribution in the tire-ground contact...

BACKGROUND Pressure ulcers (PUs) in the sacral region can be a complication of surgical procedures performed in the lithotomy position. Previous reports have noted a difference between men and women in PU development related to the supine position, and body weight and body mass index (BMI) have been also described as known risk factors in supine position-related PU development. The BIG-MAT® sys...

We deal with rolling contact between quasi-identical bodies. As normal and tangential problems are uncoupled in that case, the simplified approach to determine contact area and normal loading distribution for rolling contact problems is presented in a first part. In the second part, the solution of the tangential problem is used to reactualised the rolling profiles and enables to follow the wea...

The purpose of the present study was to examine the validity of the KINOTEX sensor via comparison with an existing sensor and to determine the sensing areas for a new alternating-air mattress that incorporates an interface pressure-sensing system. The study design was an evaluation study to validate and determine the sensing area of the KINOTEX sensor in comparison with another sensor. Study pa...