Joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis, induce pain and loss of mobility to millions of people around the world. Current clinical methods for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis include X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, and arthroscopy. These methods may be insensitive to the earliest signs of osteoarthritis. This study investigates a new procedure that was developed and validated numerically for use in the evaluation of cartilage quality. This finite element model of the human articular cartilage could be helpful in providing insight into mechanisms of injury, effects of treatment, and the role of mechanical factors in degenerative
conditions, this three-dimensional finite element model is a useful tool for understanding of the stress distributions within articular cartilage in response to external loads and investigating both the prevention of injury and the pathological degeneration of the joints.
In this study, 21 models were analysed by using ANSYS workbench v12.1: four normal articular cartilage models (distal femur, patella, medial and lateral tibia). A redesign to the distal femur model was done to get osteoarthritis articular cartilage (simple and deep) seven models by making partial cut without affecting the subchondral bone, and full cut with part of the subchondral bone in different diameters. Finally a treatment done by replacing the defective parts with artificial articular cartilages with different types of treatment. The finite element analysis studied depending on a Von Mises criteria and total deformation in different activities. The results shows that Autologous Chondrocyte Implementation is the best treatment way and it is close by 87.50% to normal cartilage. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic procedure for osteoarthritic patients and to choose the best treatment options.
This study expands the state of the art in studies that assess torsional retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) multi-cell box girders with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. The torsional behavior of non-damaged and pre-damaged RC multi-cell box girder specimens externally retrofitted by CFRP strips was investigated through a series of laboratory experiments. It was found that retrofitting the pre-damaged specimens with CFRP strips increased the ultimate torsional capacity by more than 50% as compared to the un-damaged specimens subjected to equivalent retrofitting. This indicated that the retrofit has been less effective for the girder specimen that did not develop distortion beforehand as a result of pre-loading. From
... Show MoreIn this paper, first we refom1Ulated the finite element model
(FEM) into a neural network structure using a simple two - dimensional problem. The structure of this neural network is described
, followed by its application to solving the forward and inverse problems. This model is then extended to the general case and the advantages and di sadvantages of this approach are descri bed along with an analysis of the sensi tivity of
... Show MoreIn this study, plain concrete simply supported beams subjected to two points loading were analyzed for the flexure. The numerical model of the beam was constructed in the meso-scale representation of concrete as a two phasic material (aggregate, and mortar). The fracture process of the concrete beams under loading was investigated in the laboratory as well as by the numerical models. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed for the treatment of the discontinuities that appeared during the fracture process in concrete. Finite element method with the feature standard/explicitlywas utilized for the numerical analysis. Aggregate particles were assumedof elliptic shape. Other properties such as grading and sizes of the aggr
... Show MoreShatt Al-Hilla was considered one of the important branches of Euphrates River that supplies irrigation water to millions of dunams of planted areas. It is important to control the velocity and water level along the river to maintain the required level for easily diverting water to the branches located along the river. So, in this research, a numerical model was developed to simulate the gradually varied unsteady flow in Shatt AL-Hilla. The present study aims to solve the continuity and momentum (Saint-Venant) equations numerically to predict the hydraulic characteristics in the river using Galerkin finite element method. A computer program was designed and built using the programming language FORTRAN-77. Fifty kilometers was consid
... Show MoreThis paper analyzes a piled-raft foundation on non-homogeneous soils with variable layer depth percentages. The present work aims to perform a three-dimensional finite element analysis of a piled-raft foundation subjected to vertical load using the PLAXIS 3D software. Parametric analysis was carried out to determine the effect of soil type and initial layer thickness. The parametric study showed that increasing the relative density from 30 % to 80 % of the upper sand layer and the thickness of the first layer has led to an increase in the ultimate load and a decrease in the settlement of piled raft foundations for the cases of sand over weak soil. In clay over weak soil, the ultimate load of the piled raft foundation w
... Show MoreBackground: Rehabilitation of the carious tooth to establish tooth structure integrity required cavity design that show a benign stress distribution. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the cavity position on the stress values in the reamining tooth structure restored with amalgam or resin composite. Materials and methods: Seven 2-D models of maxillary first premolar include class I cavity design was prepared, one sound tooth (A) 3 composite (B1, B2, and B3) and 3 amalgam (C1, C2, and C3). In design (BI and C1) the cavity position is in the mid distance between bacc-lingual cusp tip, design (B2 and C2) and (B3 and C3) shifted toward the buccal cusp and the lingual cusp for 0.5 mm respectively. One hundred N vertical
... Show MoreThis study aims to show, the strength of steel beam-concrete slab system without using shear connectors (known as a non-composite action), where the effect of the friction force between the concrete slab and the steel beam has been investigated, by using finite element simulation.
The proposed finite element model has been verified based on comparison with an experimental work. Then, the model was adopted to study the system strength with a different steel beam and concrete slab profile. ABAQUS has been adopted in the preparation of all numerical models for this study.
After validation of the numerical models, a parametric study was conducted, with linear and non-linear Regression analysis. An equation re
... Show MoreFlexure members such as reinforced concrete (RC) simply supported beams subjected to two-point loading were analyzed numerically. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed for the treatment the non-smooth h behaviour such as discontinuities and singularities. This method is a powerful technique used for the analysis of the fracture process and crack propagation in concrete. Concrete is a heterogeneous material that consists of coarse aggregate, cement mortar and air voids distributed in the cement paste. Numerical modeling of concrete comprises a two-scale model, using mesoscale and macroscale numerical models. The effectiveness and validity of the Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) in modeling of the reinforced concrete beams w
... Show MoreIn this paper, effective slab width for the composite beams is investigated with special emphasis on the effect of web openings. A three dimensional finite element analysis, by using finite element code ANSYS, is employed to investigate shear lag phenomenon and the resulting effective slab width adopted in the classical T-beam approach. According to case studies and comparison with limitations and rules stipulated by different standards and codes of practice it is found that web openings presence and panel proportion are the most critical factors affecting effective slab width, whereas concrete slab thickness and steel beam depth are less significant. The presence of web opening reduces effective slab width by about 21%.
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