according to high height and weak tensile strength of materials in minarets, it is necessary to study the structural behaviour of minarets under earthquake loading. therefore nine historical brick masonry minarets in isfahan have been modelled and analysed by applying the nonlinear finite element method for two cases: 1) the whole minaret, and 2) only the outer shell. results show that all mina...

The main objective of incorporating natural fibers such as Henequen microfibers (NF) into the High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) polymer matrix is to reduce the cost and to enhance the mechanical as well as other properties. The Henequen microfibers were chopped manually to 5-7mm in length and added into the polymer matrix at the optimized concentration of 8 wt %. In order to facilitate the link ...

The annulus fibrosus (AF) of the intervertebral disc experiences cyclic tensile loading in vivo at various states of mechanical equilibrium. Disc degeneration is associated with alterations in the biochemical composition of the AF including decreased water content, decreased proteoglycan concentration, and increased collagen deposition that affect mechanical function of the AF in compression an...

Cyclic compressive loading tests were carried out on bovine femoral bones at body temperature (37 °C), with varying mean stresses (-55 to -80 MPa) and loading frequencies (0.5-5 Hz). At various times, the cyclic loading was interrupted to carry out high-energy X-ray scattering measurements of the internal strains developing in the hydroxyapatite (HAP) platelets and the collagen fibrils. The res...

While studies have demonstrated the cervical facet capsule is at risk for tensile injury during whiplash, the relationship between joint loading, changes in the capsule's structure, and pain is not yet fully characterized. Complementary approaches were employed to investigate the capsule's structure-function relationship in the context of painful joint loading. Isolated C6/C7 facet joints (n=8)...

It is still relatively unclear how intervertebral disc (IVD) cells sense a mechanical stimulus and convert this signal into a biochemical response. Previous studies demonstrated that the cytoskeletal elements are mechano-responsive in many cell types and may contribute to mechano-signalling pathways. The objective of this study was to determine the response of cells from the outer annulus fibro...

Small samples of rock, like those used in laboratory collision experiments, are known to be much stronger than bodies that are meters to hundreds of meters in size [1]. Specifically, the impactor energy per unit target mass needed to shatter the target decreases dramatically with increasing target size. This occurs because the strength of rock, like many other geological materials, depends stro...