Using nano-technology materials in the asphalt pavement industry is new compared with Portland cement concrete. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of nano-silica modification on some properties of a penetration grade asphalt cement and a typical asphalt concrete. 60/70 penetration grade bitumen was modified with different percentages of nano-silica (i.e. 1, 3 and 5%,...

BACKGROUND In dental clinics, dentition defects are commonly restored with conventional porcelain-fused-to-metal fixed bridges. However, Ni-Cr alloy ceramic fixed bridges are known to have several drawbacks such as marginal coloration of the neck, low casting precision and, most seriously, poor biocompatibility. These problems could be circumvented by using noble metal ceramic bridges; however,...

To provide data for fatigue life prediction and testing of structural components in off-road bicycles, the objective of the research described herein was to quantify the loads input to an off-road bicycle as a result of surface-induced loads. A fully instrumented test bicycle was equipped with dynamometers at the pedals, handlebars, and hubs to measure all in-plane structural loads acting throu...

New ceramic materials, like hot-pressed glass ceramics can be used to achieve monolithic full anatomic all-ceramic dental restorations even in the molar areas. Due to the fact that these materials are brittle and susceptible to fracture, the aim of the study was to reveal the fracture behaviour of hot-pressed glass ceramic molar crowns under different loading methods. For the experimental analy...

We hypothesized that improved diaphragmatic neuromechanical coupling during inspiratory loading is not sufficient to prevent alveolar hypoventilation and task failure, and that the latter results primarily from central-output inhibition of the diaphragm and air hunger rather than contractile fatigue. Eighteen subjects underwent progressive inspiratory loading. By task failure all developed hype...

The ever increasing power density in modern semiconductor devices requires heat dissipation solution such as heat sink to remove heat away from the device. A compressive loading is usually applied to reduce the interfacial thermal resistance between package and heat sink. In this paper, both experimental approaches and numerical modeling were employed to study the effect of compressive loading ...

From an engineering point of view, prediction of fatigue crack nucleation in automotive rubber parts is an essential prerequisite for the design of new components. We have derived a new predictor for fatigue crack nucleation in rubber. It is motivated by microscopic mechanisms induced by fatigue and developed in the framework of Configurational Mechanics. As the occurrence of macroscopic fatigu...

A probabilistic approach of the current thermal fatigue design of nuclear components is set up. It aims at incorporating all kinds of uncertainties that affect the thermal fatigue behaviour. This approach is based on the theory of structural reliability. Two dual approaches of reliability analysis for the thermal fatigue are defined, respectively, in the time domain and in the frequency domain....

With the occurrence of higher and more frequent axle loads, bridges are more solicited by fatigue loading. Bridge elements like deck slabs are subjected to a high number of stress cycles at relatively small stress magnitudes. The application of Fracture Mechanics as a useful tool for the analysis of fatigue crack growth in steel elements was demonstrated by Paris et al. in the early 1960s. With...

Structures and mechanical components are frequently subjected to the oscillating loads which are random in nature. Random vibration theory has been introduced for more than three decades to deal with all kinds of random vibration behavior. Since fatigue is one of the primary causes of component failure, fatigue life prediction has become a most important issue in almost any random vibration pro...