The application of a coupled ®nite element± element-free Galerkin (EFG) method to problems in threedimensional fracture is presented. The EFG method is based on moving least square (MLS) approximations and uses only a set of nodal points and a CAD-like description of the body to formulate the discrete model. The EFG method is coupled with the ®nite element method which allows for the use of the...

Among the many relatively recent studies of the issue known in the theory of elasticity as Saint-Venant's principle, several have been devoted to the construction of certain kinds of energy inequalities for the biharmonic differential equation in plane domains*. Such inequalities are designed to estimate the spatial rate of decay of stored energy away from a portion of the boundary which carrie...

The analysis of viscoelastic materials is one of the most important subjects in engineering structures. Several works have been so far made for the integral equation methods to viscoelastic problems. From the basic assumptions of viscoelastic constitutive equations and weighted residual techniques, a simple but effective Boundary Element (BE) formulation is developed for the Kelvin viscoelastic...

The interaction between membrane proteins and the surrounding membrane is becoming increasingly appreciated for its role in regulating protein function, protein localization, and membrane morphology. In particular, recent studies have suggested that membrane deformation is needed to stably accommodate proteins harboring charged amino acids in their transmembrane (TM) region, as it is energetica...

Tissue-engineered bone shows promise in meeting the huge demand for bone grafts caused by up to 4 million bone replacement procedures per year, worldwide. State-of-the-art bone tissue engineering strategies use flow perfusion bioreactors to apply biophysical stimuli to cells seeded on scaffolds and to grow tissue suitable for implantation into the patient's body. The aim of this study was to qu...