Disertacijoje nagrinėjamos ir sprendžiamos konstrukcijų deformacijų (varžų mažų pokyčių) nustatymo daugelyje konstrukcijos taškų problemos. Tiriamų sistemų funkcionavimo esmė yra įtempių jutiklių varžos mažų pokyčių proporcingų poslinkiui ar deformacijai ir siekiančių tik tūkstantąsias procento dalis nustatymas. Pagrindiniai tyrimo objektai yra automatinių daugiataškių balansuojamo Vitstono tiltelio ir srovių balansavimo metodais veikiantys deformacijų nustatymo grandynai. Įvadiniame skyriuje nagrinėjamas problemos aktualumas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas ir uždaviniai, pristatomi autoriaus pranešimai ir publikacijos, pateikiama disertacijos struktūra. Pirmajame skyriuje pateikta literatūros apžvalga. Jame analizuojami praktikoje naudojami deformacijų nustatymo metodai, pateikiami jų privalumai ir trūkumai, galimybės naudoti šiuos metodus automatizuotose sistemose. Antrajame skyriuje pateikti konstrukcijų deformacijų balansuojami nustatymo būdai. Yra atlikta balansuojamo Vitstono tiltelio metodo analizė. Pateiktas naujas deformacijų stebėjimo balansuojant sroves metodas ir atlikta jo analizė. Jame išskiriami du galimi būdai: su dviem srovės šaltiniais ir su vienu srovės šaltiniu. Trečiajame ir ketvirtajame skyriuose pateikti kompiuterinio modeliavimo ir eksperimentinių tyrimų rezultatai. Buvo sumodeliuotas ir praktiškai patikrintas pasiūlyto srovės balansavimo metodo praktinis veikimas. Patikrintas įrenginių stabilumas ir jų darbas imituojant realias sąlygas. Disertacijos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This thesis analyzes and solves the problems of monitoring of constructions strains (small resistance changes) in a number of points of the structure. The essence of investigated systems is test of the strain gauges small resistance changes proportional to displacement or strain and reaching only thousandths of parts of percent. The main objects of research is strain detection circuits working under automatic multipoint balanced Wheatstone bridge and the current balancing methods. The introduction reveals the importance of investigated problem, formulates the aim and tasks, introduces publications and presentations of the author’s and the structure of the dissertation. The first chapter is a review of literature. It analyzes practical use of strain measurement methods, their advantages and disadvantages, opportunities to use these methods in automated systems. The chapter ends with formulated conclusions. The second section presents balanced methods of the strain monitoring. Analysis of balanced Wheatstone bridge device is made. New strain monitoring device by balancing currents are proposed and investigated. There are two possible ways: with two current sources and one current source. The third and fourth sections provide results of computer simulation and experimental models. The proposed devices of balancing currents has been modeled and tested in practice. Stability of the devices was tested and their work simulating in real conditions. Conclusions, references and the... [to full text]

The large majority of New Zealand's road network is constructed from thin surfaced unbound flexible pavements where a granular layer provides the main structural strength of the pavement. The current New Zealand empirical design theory states that permanent deformation should largely be attributed to the subgrade and that shape loss in the granular layers is simply a consequence of a previously deformed subgrade. However, recent research and field trials have indicated that basecourse shear strains may be a large contributor to rutting in unbound granular layers. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the shear strains induced under heavy vehicle loads can be accurately measured using in-situ induction coils and whether the shear strains are related to permanent pavement deformation. In this investigation a rosette configuration of free floating induction coils was designed to measure principal basecourse shear strains. The principal strains were then used to construct Mohr's circle of strain in order to calculate the maximum shear strain occurring in the granular layer. The rosettes were installed in two full scale test pavements at the Canterbury Accelerated Pavement Testing Indoor Facility (CAPTIF). The pavements were loaded with an 8 tonne dual wheel axle load for 1 million and 600,000 load applications respectively and strain and rut depth testing occurred periodically throughout the test life. The research showed that the rosette coil arrangement was a feasible and accurate device for measuring in-situ shear strains in granular pavement layers. Finite element modelling confirmed the accuracy of the system. The results from the two CAPTIF pavements showed that there was a strong linear relationship between the magnitude of the basecourse shear strain and the rut depth at the end of the post construction compaction period. The investigation also showed that shear strain magnitudes in the region of 5000µƐ result in rapid shear failure in the granular layer. In addition, after the post construction compaction period had finished, the rate of change of shear strain was proportional to the rate of change of rut development. The results indicated that there was approximately a 4:1 ratio between the rate of change in rut depth and the rate of change in shear strain after the initial post construction period. Investigations into the effect of load magnitude on the magnitude of the basecourse shear strain showed that a linear relationship existed between the two parameters. Further to this, load location testing revealed that for a dual wheel configuration, 50mm of lateral wheel variation either side of a point of interest was the maximum allowable movement that would result in similar strain measurements. The research highlighted the dominance of the longitudinal tensile strain and shear strain over the vertical compressive strain within granular layers. As a result, these pavement responses should be considered in further granular pavement research in addition to the commonly used vertical compressive strains.

No description available.

Polycrystalline NiTi shape memory alloys have the ability to recover their original, pre-deformed shape in the presence of external loads when heated through a solid-solid phase transformation from a lower-symmetry B19' martensite phase to a higher-symmetry B2 austenite phase. The strain associated with a shape memory alloy in an actuator application typically has thermal, elastic and inelastic contributions. The objective of this work was to investigate the aforementioned strains by recourse to in situ neutron diffraction experiments during selected combinations of heating, cooling and/or mechanical loading. The primary studies were conducted on polycrystalline Ni49.9Ti50.1 specimens on the Spectrometer for MAterials Research at Temperature and Stress (SMARTS) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Quantitative information on the phase-specific strain, texture and phase fraction evolution was obtained from the neutron data using Rietveld refinement and single-peak analyses, and compared with macroscopic data from extensometry. First, the lattice strain evolution during heating and cooling in an unloaded sample (i.e., free-recovery experiment) was studied. The lattice strain evolution remained linear with temperature and was not influenced by intergranular stresses, enabling the determination of a thermal expansion tensor that quantified the associated anisotropy due to the symmetry of B19' NiTi. The tensor thus determined was subsequently used to obtain an average coefficient of thermal expansion that was consistent with macroscopic dilatometric measurements and a 30,000 grain polycrystalline self-consistent model. The accommodative nature of B19' NiTi was found to account for macroscopic shape changes lagging (with temperature) the start and finish of the transformation. Second, the elastic response of B19' martensitic NiTi variants during monotonic loading was studied. Emphasis was placed on capturing and quantifying the strain anisotropy which arises from the symmetry of monoclinic martensite and internal stresses resulting from intergranular constraints between individual variants and load re-distribution among variants as the texture evolved during variant reorientation and detwinning. The methodology adopted took into account both tensile and compressive loading given the asymmetric response in the texture evolution. Plane specific elastic moduli were determined from neutron measurements and compared with those determined using a self-consistent polycrystalline deformation model and from recently reported elastic stiffness constants determined via ab initio calculations. The comparison among the three approaches further helped understand the influence of elastic anisotropy, intergranular constraint, and texture evolution on the deformation behavior of polycrystalline B19' NiTi. Connections were additionally made between the assessed elastic properties of martensitic NiTi single crystals (i.e., the single crystal stiffness tensor) and the overall macroscopic response in bulk polycrystalline form. Lastly, the role of upper-cycle temperature, i.e., the maximum temperature reached during thermal cycling, was investigated during load-biased thermal cycling of NiTi shape memory alloys at selected combinations of stress and temperature. Results showed that the upper-cycle temperature, under isobaric conditions, significantly affected the amount of transformation strain and thus the work output available for actuation. With the objective of investigating the underlying microstructural and micromechanical changes due to the influence of the upper-cycle temperature, the texture evolution was systematically analyzed. While the changes in transformation strain were closely related to the evolution in texture of the room temperature martensite, retained martensite in the austenite state could additionally affect the transformation strain. Additionally, multiple thermal cycles were performed under load-biased conditions in both NiTi and NiTiPd alloys, to further assess and understand the role of retained martensite. Dimensional and thermal stabilities of these alloys were correlated with the volume fraction and texture of retained martensite, and the internal strain evolution in these alloys. The role of symmetry, i.e., B19' monoclinic martensite vs. B19 orthorhombic martensite in these alloys was also assessed. This work not only established a methodology to study the thermal and elastic properties of the low symmetry B19' monoclinic martensite, but also provided valuable insight into quantitative micromechanical and microstructural changes responsible for the thermomechanical response of NiTi shape memory alloys. It has immediate implications for optimizing shape memory behavior in the alloys investigated, with extension to high temperature shape memory alloys with ternary and quaternary elemental additions, such as Pd, Pt and Hf. This work was supported by funding from NASAÂ s Fundamental Aeronautics Program, Supersonics Project (NNX08AB51A) and NSF (CAREER DMR-0239512). It benefited additionally from the use of the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (Department of Energy) and is operated by Los Alamos National Security LLC under DOE Contract DE-AC52-06NA25396.

No description available.

BACKGROUND:Clostridium difficile is an important cause of intestinal infections in some animal species and animals might be a reservoir for community associated human infections. Here we describe a collection of animal associated C. difficile strains from 12 countries based on inclusion criteria of one strain (PCR ribotype) per animal species per laboratory.RESULTS:Altogether 112 isolates were collected and distributed into 38 PCR ribotypes with agarose based approach and 50 PCR ribotypes with sequencer based approach. Four PCR ribotypes were most prevalent in terms of number of isolates as well as in terms of number of different host species: 078 (14.3% of isolates / 4 hosts), 014/020 (11.6% / 8 hosts) / 002 (5.4% / 4 hosts) and 012 (5.4% / 5 hosts). Two animal hosts were best represented / cattle with 31 isolates (20 PCR ribotypes / 7 countries) and pigs with 31 isolates (16 PCR ribotypes / 10 countries).CONCLUSIONS:This results show that although PCR ribotype 078 is often reported as the major animal C. difficile type, especially in pigs, the variability of strains in pigs and other animal hosts is substantial. Most common human PCR ribotypes (014/020 and 002) are also among most prevalent animal associated C. difficile strains worldwide. The widespread dissemination of toxigenic C. difficile and the considerable overlap in strain distribution between species furthers concerns about interspecies, including zoonotic, transmission of this critically important pathogen.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / This presentation summarizes a study characterizing strain gages and pressure transducers used to measure the fluid pressure within aircraft hydraulic lines. A series of laboratory calibrations and finite element analyses was performed to demonstrate the quality of data from both pressure transducers and strain gages under variations in both temperature and external strains on the hydraulic lines. Strain gages showed a marked susceptibility to external strains on hydraulic lines, and wide variations in susceptibility to temperature changes. Pressure transducers were found to be relatively immune to both conditions. It is recommended that strain gages be used for trend data only.

Over the 1980’s, the introduction of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies has provided alternative methods for the fabrication of complex three-dimensional (3D) synthetic bone tissue implant scaffolds. However, implants are still unable to provide post surgery feedback. Implants often loosen due to mismatched mechanical properties of implant material and host bone. The aim of this PhD research is to fabricate an integrated strain gauge that is able to monitor implant strain for diagnosis of the bone healing process. The research work presents a method of fabricating electrical resistance strain gauge sensors using rapid and mask-less process by experimental development (design of experiment) using the nScrypt 3Dn-300 micro dispensing direct write (MDDW) system. Silver and carbon electrical resistance strain gauges were fabricated and characterised. Carbon resistive strain gauges with gauge factor values greater than 16 were measured using a proven cantilever bending arrangement. This represented a seven to eight fold increase in sensitivity over commercial gauges that would be glued to the implant materials. The strain sensor fabrication process was specifically developed for directly fabricating resistive strain sensor structures on synthetic bone implant surface (ceramic and titanium) without the use of glue and to provide feedback for medical diagnosis. The reported novel approach employed a biocompatible parylene C as a dielectric layer between the electric conductive titanium and the strain gauge. Work also showed that parylene C could be used as an encapsulation material over strain gauges fabricated on ceramic without modifying the performance of the strain gauge. It was found that the strain gauges fabricated on titanium had a gauge factor of 10.0±0.7 with a near linear response to a maximum of 200 micro strain applied. In addition, the encapsulated ceramic strain gauge produced a gauge factor of 9.8±0.6. Both reported strain gauges had a much greater sensitivity than that of standard commercially available resistive strain gauges.

Forty ovine femurs were harvested and allocated into four testing groups; Fast-Normal, Fast- Decalcified, Slow-Normal, Slow-Decalcified. Contralateral pairings were used within these groups for closer comparison. Dynamic testing apparatus was designed and built allowing rates of strain similar to road traffic accidents to be investigated. These strain rates were achieved by using a pneumatic actuator to apply the load. Slow rate loading was achieved by testing with a commercially available mechanical testing machine at a rate of strain similar to that created by walking. Bone quality was altered by ultrasonically assisted decalcification in EDTA. Levels of mineral dissolution equivalent to the loss of bone mineral density (BMD) of a 75 year old woman were targeted. Whole bone was used for these experiments to facilitate comparison with real fracture radiographs obtained from NHS database. Fracture patterns and degree of comminution were similar between experimental and patient data. Bone is often analysed as a simple beam (engineers bending theory). This method of stress analysis was compared with a method that recognised the change in cross section over the length of the bone. Accounting for this had a highly significant effect on the calculated flexural modulus (p<0.0005).The length to depth ratio of whole bone indicates that shear forces cannot be ignored. The effect of the contribution from shear force on the deflection was investigated. After accounting for deflections due to shear, calculated normal strains agreed with literature values. Deflection due to shear was found to make a significant contribution to the deflection The effect of storage (freezing) on the mechanical properties at high strain rate was evaluated: no significant differences were found for force and deflection at failure. The main body of testing gave the following results: Normal quality bone, rate compared showed significant differences for Ultimate Stress, Ultimate Strain, Yield Strain, Flexural Modulus and Toughness. Demineralising bone resulted in no statistically significant differences between the loading rates for the Stress at failure. Yield Strain, Ultimate Strain, Flexural Modulus and Toughness did show significant differences. The fast loading tests showed significant differences when comparing quality for Stress at failure but not at Yield. Significant differences were found when comparing toughness. Slow loading tests showed significant differences between bone qualities for Stress at failure in contralateral pairs. No significant differences were found for strain or toughness. These results indicate that bone of normal quality can withstand higher than normal stresses for short durations. This ability is lost in demineralised bone. The high loading rate tests revealed closely matched strains at failure for both bone qualities, lending support to the strain based failure theory for bone at traumatic strain rates.

ITC/USA 2005 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2005 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper is about the installation of the instrumentation system and the strain gages on an E-2C Hawkeye for the Advanced Hawkeye Loads Risk Reduction project. Background information on why this project came about will be given. Explanations on why the existing instrumentation system was modified to the current system will be presented. Anthony Cullison (co-author of this paper) will explain the installation of the strain gages.