Sharif Digital Repository

The F-actin network and cytosol in the lamellipodia of crawling cells flow in a centripetal pattern and spout-like form, respectively. We have numerically studied this two-phase flow in the realistic geometry of a moving keratocyte. Cytosol has been treated as a low viscosity Newtonian fluid flowing through the high viscosity porous medium of F-actin network. Other involved phenomena including myosin activity, adhesion friction, and interphase interaction are also discussed to provide an overall view of this problem. Adopting a two-phase coupled model by myosin concentration, we have found new accurate perspectives of acto-cytosolic flow and pressure fields, myosin distribution, as well as... 

Three-dimensional thermo-mechanical stress analysis of composite joints with bi-adhesive bonding is presented using the full layerwise theory. Based on three-dimensional elasticity theory, sets of fully coupled governing differential equations are derived using the principle of minimum total potential energy and are simultaneously solved using the state space approach. Results show that bi-adhesive bonding substantially relieves the edge effects. Moreover, series of parametric studies reveal the nonlinear effects of bonding length ratio and the relative stiffness and coefficient of thermal expansion of the mid- and side-adhesives. It is also concluded that the optimum design of a bi-adhesive... 

Space environments have a significant influence on advanced composite structures and adhesive joints. Degradation in the mechanical properties of aerospace materials changes the dynamic behavior of the structures and adhesive joints. In this paper, a typical tubular adhesive joint with material degradation due to geostationary orbit (GEO) thermal cycles has been studied numerically with Python scripts. Adhesive joint geometry and boundary conditions are the main parametric study parameters. The results show that the first non–zero natural frequencies of the clamped-free tubular adhesive joint decreased due to mechanical property degradation. A dynamic behavior comparison of the degradation... 

Two main origins of failure for hard tissue replacements are structural loosening and prosthetic implant infections (PIIs). Bioinspired multifunctional TiO2 hierarchical micro/nanostructures of conical-shaped TiO2 (CTO), regular TiO2 nanotubes (RTO) and irregular TiO2 nanotubes (ITO) with tunable improved cell growth and inhibited bacteria adhesion were synthesized. CTO and ITO samples indicated superhydrophilicity with contact angles of less than 5°. The MTT assay demonstrated excellent biological performance for RTO and CTO sample with 98.1% and 103.1% of cell viability, respectively. The bridging force for osteoblast cell attachment onto the synthesized porous coatings was presented as a... 

The aim of this research is to optimize the geometry of the overlap in mixed adhesive single-and double-lap joints using a modified version of Bees and Genetic Algorithms (BA and GA). Accounting for adherends Poisson's ratio in the deduced equilibrium equations, the proposed shear lag model gives a more accurate approximation of joint failure load in comparison with Volkersen's solution. The objective functions used in this work are used separately to maximize the load bearing capacity f and the specific strength (f/w) of the joint. This procedure is applied to optimize aeronautical adhesively bonded assemblies, while taking manufacturing constraints into account. The employed constraints... 

Researchers have examined different approaches to improve damage tolerance of discontinuously reinforced aluminum (DRA). In this study, three-layer DRA laminates containing two exterior layers of Al6061-15 vol.% SiCp and an interlayer of Al1050 were fabricated by hot roll bonding. Interfacial adhesion between the layers was controlled by means of rolling stain. The results of shear test revealed that, the bonding strength of laminates was influenced by number of rolling passes. Considering this effect, the role of interfacial bonding on the toughness of laminates was studied under three-point bending in the crack divider orientation. The quasi-static toughness of the laminates was greater... 

In this paper, the atomic-scale interactions between metallic tips and samples in noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) are studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of the tip and sample materials, the surface plane direction and the lateral position of the tip with respect to the sample, on the interaction force and the dissipated energy, are investigated. The simulations conducted demonstrate that, generally, we can classify the possible outcomes for the dynamics due to the tip-surface interactions into four major categories. The first category includes all cases in which there are no considerable instabilities in tip-surface interactions, leading to negligible... 

The aim of this paper is to investigate adhesion property between nano-layered filler and the polymer matrix using a combination of experimental and micromechanical models as well as the changes in yield strength and stiffness of a layered silicate-filled epoxy nanocomposite. The results indicate that addition of intercalated layered silicate particles increased Young's modulus and yield strength of the epoxy resin, although the increases in stiffness and yield strength are modest, 30% and 4%, respectively. In addition, experimental results were compared with predictive stiffening and strengthening models. The rule of mixtures provides an upper bound for the modulus in these materials, while... 

This paper examines the use of pre-fabricated interlocking arms/threading in enhancing the strength of friction stir spot welded hybrid joints of AA2219/PP-C30S polypropylene polymer by varying parameter combination. The process involves the fabrication of a pre-threaded hole on the Al alloy prior to the joining process, and the threading/crest-pitch profile aids mechanical interlocking. The peak temperature, crest-pitch interlocked profiles, microstructural and mechanical properties of the joints were examined. The results show that an increase in the tool rotational speed increases the thickness of the reaction layer (between the Al and the polymer substrates), the shear-tensile load... 

This study addresses the issue of using recycled materials to obtain low-cost structural products for practical applications. Through the use and re-extrusion of virgin high-density polyethylene (HDPE), the effects of the degradation level of HDPE as a matrix phase on its mechanical properties and the mechanical performance of composites produced with the degraded polyethylene have been examined. The degradation level of HDPE caused by reextrusion has been evaluated by the measurement of the melt flow index and mechanical properties of virgin and degraded HDPEs. The results indicate that the modulus and strength of HDPE significantly increase with the addition of polypropylene filled with 30... 

Recently, bonded composite patch repair, because of its significant advantages over traditional methods, has been highly accepted in several industries, particularly in aerospace applications. In this paper, a multi-scale finite element algorithm is proposed to simulate crack growth of repaired plates under fatigue load by considering the effects of composite micro-scale properties. The algorithm is verified through conducting an experimental set up and the proposed model is in reasonable agreement with experiments. The influences of different fiber volume fractions (VF), number of layers and fiber orientation of composite patch on the fatigue responses of adhesively bonded patch are... 

This paper deals with analytical thermomechanical stress analysis of adhesively bonded composite joints in presence of a structural imperfection in the form of an interfacial void within the adhesive layer based on the full layerwise theory (FLWT). The joints are subjected to mechanical tension, uniform temperature change, or steady-state heat conduction. The proposed adhesive joint is divided into three distinct regions along its length and a large number of mathematical plies through its thickness. Three sets of fully coupled governing equilibrium equations are derived employing the principle of minimum total potential energy. The three-dimensional nonlinear interlaminar stress... 

In this research, Araldite 2011 has been reinforced using different weight fractions of Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analyses were conducted and it has been shown that introduction of the RGO greatly changes the film morphology of the neat adhesive. Uni-axial tests were carried out to obtain the mechanical characteristics of the adhesive-RGO composites. It has been observed that introducing 0.5 wt% RGO enhances the ultimate tensile strength of the composites by 30%. In addition, single lap joints using neat adhesive and adhesive-RGO composites were fabricated to... 

Interaction between intracellular dynamics and extracellular matrix (ECM) generally occurred into very thin fragment of moving cell, namely lamellipodia, enables all movable cells to crawl on ECM. In fast-moving cells such as fish Keratocytes, Lamellipodia including most cell area finds a fan-like shape during migration, with a variety of aspect ratio function of fish type. In this work, our purpose is to present a novel and more complete two-dimensional continuum mathematical model of actomyosin-cytosolic two-phase flow of a self-deforming Keratocyte with circular spreaded to steady fan-like shape. In the new approach, in addition to the two-phase flow of the F-actin and cytosol, the... 

Recent uses of intelligent composites in biomedical appliances aggrandize the necessity of bonding-strength improvement in NiTi/silicone matrix interface. SEM micrographs and pull-out tests are employed to determine the strength of the NiTi/silicone bonds in a flexible composite piece. Greater adhesion strengths are obtained due to the presence of thin oxide layer, surface roughness and frictional forces between the embedded-wires and the contacting phase. Effect of curing treatment on phase transformation temperatures of the wires is determined by electrical resistivity (ER) measurements. Results show that the curing treatment shifts the transition points of the wires towards higher... 

In the present study, a novel strategy based on particle motion mode is introduced to control the manipulation process of a bio-particle using trolling mode atomic force microscope. To achieve this goal, the reduced governing partial differential equations and the standard form of the system are used as a model for the system dynamic behavior. The governing equations take 6 degrees of freedom into account including extension, torsion, and two lateral bendings of the microcantilever as well as two lateral bendings of the nanoneedle. Manipulation process of the 500 nm radius particle on the substrate includes two phases named sticking and sliding. Sticking of the particle to the substrate... 

The design of advanced nanobiomaterials to improve analytical accuracy and therapeutic efficacy has become an important prerequisite for the development of innovative nanomedicines. Recently, phospholipid nanobiomaterials including 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) have attracted great attention with remarkable characteristics such as resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption and cell adhesion for various biomedical applications. Despite many recent reports, there is a lack of comprehensive review on the phospholipid nanobiomaterials from synthesis to diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Here, we review the synthesis and characterization of phospholipid nanobiomaterials...