The stiffness of fracture fixation devices together with musculoskeletal loading defines the mechanical environment within a long bone fracture, and can be quantified by the interfragmentary movement. In vivo results suggested that this can have acceleratory or inhibitory influences, depending on direction and magnitude of motion, indicating that some complications in fracture treatment could b...

The paper studies systems of rigid bodies with randomly generated geometry interconnected by normal and tangential bonds. The stiffness of these bonds determines the macroscopic elastic modulus while the macroscopic Poisson's ratio of the system is determined solely by the normal/tangential stiffness ratio. Discrete models with no directional bias have the same probability of element orientatio...

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive phase-contrast-based method for quantifying the shear stiffness of biological tissues. Synchronous application of a shear wave source and motion encoding gradient waveforms within the MRE pulse sequence enable visualization of the propagating shear wave throughout the medium under investigation. Encoded shear wave-induced displacements are...

Pressure ulcer incidence rates have remained constant despite advances in support surface technology. Interface shear stress is recognized as a risk factor for pressure ulcer development and is the focus of many shear reduction technologies incorporated into wheelchair cushions; however, shear reduction has not been quantified in the literature. We evaluated 21 commercial wheelchair seat cushio...

Skin is a complex multi-layered tissue, with highly non-linear viscoelastic and anisotropic properties. Thus far, a few studies have been performed to directly measure the mechanical properties of three distinguished individual skin layers; epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. These studies however, suffer from several disadvantages such as skin damage due to separation, and disruption of the comp...

This masonry research investigated the differences in the static and dynamic stiffness for the seismic range of loads and frequencies for a pressed clay masonry wythe. The effective stiffness has been defined in Newtonian physics and Damage Mechanics. This research used the concept of measured stiffness defined as the measured stress field divided by the measured strain field. A two-part test r...

According to the wide application of segmental lining in mechanized tunneling, recognizing the behavior of segmental lining joints is important in tunnels designing. In the structural analysis of the tunnel segmental lining, segmental joints can be considered as elastic joints, and their stiffness characteristics are affected by the rotational, shear, and axial stiffness. The purpose of this wo...

By conducting low-reversed cyclic loading tests, this paper explores the load-bearing performance of frame-supported multi-ribbed lightweight wall structures. The finite-element software (OpenSees) is used to simulate the process with the shear wall width (at the frame-supported layer) and different hole opening approaches (for multi-ribbed lightweight walls) as variables. The conclusions refle...

according to the iranian code of practice for seismic resistant design of buildings, soft storey phenomenon happens in a storey when the lateral stiffness of the storey is lower than 70% of the stiffness of the upper storey, or if it is lower than 80% of the average stiffness of the three upper stories. in the combined structural systems containing moment frames and shear walls, it is possible ...

BACKGROUND Decreasing the stiffness of locked plating constructs can promote natural fracture healing by controlled dynamization of the fracture. This biomechanical study compared the effect of 4 different stiffness reduction methods on interfragmentary motion by measuring axial motion and shear motion at the fracture site. METHODS Distal femur locking plates were applied to bridge a metadiap...