Abstract In this paper, we challenge a wide-spread assumption among philosophers that contemporary physics supports physical state monism . This is the claim causal powers of system supervene upon ‘lower-level’ laws and lower-level cosmos (as represented by our ‘best physics’). On view, it makes sense to ignore macroscopic system’s higher-level properties in determining its powers, since any ar...

U-shaped thin-walled concrete bridge beams usually suffer the combined actions of flexure, shear and torsion, but no research about the behavior of U-shaped thin-walled RC beams under combined actions has been reported in literature. Three large specimens of U-shaped thin-walled RC beams were tested under different torque–bending moment ratios (T–M ratios) of 1:5, 1:1 and 1:0 to investigate the...

Lens flexure and residual astigmatism were evaluated with rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses made in low, medium, and high oxygen permeable (Dk) materials to determine if significant differences would be apparent as lens Dk was changed. Fourteen successful RGP contact lens wearers had their customary lens parameters, including lens thickness, held constant in duplicate pairs made in low (...

The flexure parallel mechanism (FPM) possessing selective actuation (SA) feature can be used as a micromanipulation system. The design of FPMs with the SA characteristic consists of type synthesis of parallel mechanisms possessing the required number of degree of freedom (DOF), geometric arrangement of the structure to obtain the SA and conversion of the kinematic mechanism into the flexure mec...

An inorganic-organic hybrid (IOH) of silica particulates and polyethylene (PE) was investigated, where silica was employed as an analogue to lunar soil. The objective was to search for the optimum materials design strategy for “lunar cements” – infrastructural materials based on locally harvestable resources on the Moon. If the silica particulate size was uniform, the flexure strength of the IO...

A theory is provided for piezoresistivity in carbon fiber reinforced cement (with and without embedded steel reinforcing bars) under flexure (three-point bending). The phenomenon, which involves the reversible increase of the tension surface electrical resistance and the reversible decrease of the compression surface electrical resistance upon flexure, allows strain sensing. The theory is based...

Chemical and physical characteristics of third metacarpal bones and liver and rib soft tissue composition from feedlot steers were determined. Steers were selected (32 from each experimental location) to represent the range in slaughter weight and composition for each treatment group in three (total n = 1,088) feedlot experiments. Steers were implanted with 0, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, or 96 mg o...

The independent effect of dynamic flexure on the development of tissue engineered heart valves (TEHV) was investigated. Engineered heart valve tissues were constructed by seeding ovine smooth muscle cells onto rectangular scaffold strips and incubating the resultant constructs in a dynamic flexure bioreactor or under static conditions for three weeks. Tests indicated a trend of higher effective...

This paper presents the development of a new compact three-axis compliant stage employing piezoelectric actuators and a new flexure structure. A proposed stage works out-of-plane (Z, θx, θy) direction. The stage consists of 4 amplification flexures mounted piezoelectric actuators. New structure of flexure reduces height and enhances dynamic performance of stage. To certify excellent performance...