Purpose: One of the major concerns in the long-term success of EVAR is stent-graft migration, which can cause type I endoleak and even aneurysm rupture. Fixation depends on the mechanical forces between the graft and both the aortic neck and the blood flow. Therefore there are anatomical restrictions for EVAR, such as short and angulated necks. To improve the fixation of EVAR-grafts, elastomer ...

We present a detailed analysis of the molecular packing of a strained liquid crystal elastomer composed of chiral mesogens in the smectic-A phase. X-ray diffraction patterns of the elastomer collected over a range of orientations with respect to the x-ray beam were used to reconstruct the three-dimensional scattering intensity as a function of tensile strain. We show that the smectic domain ord...

Subject to a voltage, a dielectric elastomer can deform substantially, making it a desirable material for actuators. Designing such an actuator, however, has been challenging due to nonlinear equations of state, as well as multiple modes of failure, parameters of design, and measures of performance. This paper explores these issues, using a spring-roll actuator as an example. We formulate the e...

(x 1 , . . . , x n ) ∈ Rn and t > 0, k 1 > 0 and k 2 > 0 are constants. The nonlinear termf(u) = O(u1+θ) and θ is a positive integer. Equation (1) is a model in variational form for the neoHookean elastomer rod and describes the motion of a neoHookean elastomer rod with internal damping; for more detailed physical background, we refer to [1]. In [1], the authors have studied a general class of ...

The size, shape and distribution of different phases in thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) blends and composites are critical to the properties of the materials, but can be difficult to characterise. Here we report the combination of heavy metal staining and focused ion beam - scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) to reveal the three-dimensional (3D) structure of an elastomer-modified poly(propyle...

nanocomposites based on polyamide 6 (pa6) and poly(ethylene-co-1-butene)-graft-maleic anhydride (eb-g-mah) blends have been prepared via melt mixing. the effect of blend ratio and organoclay concentration onthe crystallization and melting behavior of specimens were studied. three types of commercial organo-modifiedclay (cloisite 30b, cloisite 15a and cloisite 20a) were employed to assess the im...

Dynamic change of the surface area and topology of elastomers is used as a general, environmentally friendly approach for effectively detaching micro- and macro-fouling organisms adhered on the elastomer surfaces. Deformation of elastomer surfaces under electrical or pneumatic actuation can debond various biofilms and barnacles. The bio-inspired dynamic surfaces can be fabricated over large are...