Search

Hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoirs has seen a boom in the last century, as a means to fulfill the growing energy demand in the world. The fracturing fluid used in the process plays a substantial role in determining the results. Hence, several research and development efforts have been geared towards developing more sustainable, efficient, and improved fracturing fluids. Herein, we present a dynamic binary complex (DBC) solution, with potential to be useful in the hydraulic fracturing domain. It has a supramolecular structure formed by the self-assembly of low molecular weight viscosifiers (LMWVs) oleic acid and diethylenetriamine into an elongated entangled network under alkaline conditions. With less than 2 wt% constituents dispersed in aqueous solution, a viscous gel that exhibits high viscosities even under shear was formed. Key features include responsiveness to pH and salinity, and a zero-shear viscosity that could be tuned by a factor of ~280 by changing the pH. Furthermore, its viscous properties were more pronounced in the presence of salt. Sand settling tests revealed its potential to hold up sand particles for extended periods of time. In conclusion, this DBC solution system has potential to be utilized as a smart salt-responsive, pH-switchable hydraulic fracturing fluid.

Patients with repaired unilateral cleft lip with palate (UCLP) often show dysmorphology and distorted facial motion clinically, which can cause psychological issues. However, no report has clarified the details concerning distorted facial motion and the corresponding possible causative factors. In this study, we hypothesized that the physical properties of the scar and surrounding facial soft tissue might affect facial displacement while smiling in patients with UCLP (Cleft group). We thus examined the three-dimensional (3D) facial displacement while smiling in the Cleft and Control groups in order to determine whether or not the physical properties of facial soft tissues differ between the Cleft and Control groups and to examine the relationship between the physical properties of facial soft tissues on 3D facial displacement while smiling. Three-dimensional images at rest and while smiling as well as the facial physical properties (e.g. viscoelasticity) of both groups were recorded. Differences in terms of physical properties and facial displacement while smiling between the two groups were examined. To examine the relationship between facial surface displacement while smiling and physical properties, a canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was conducted. As a result, three typical abnormal features of smiling in the Cleft group compared with the Control group were noted: less upward and backward displacement on the scar area, downward movement of the lower lip, and a greater asymmetric displacement, including greater lateral displacement of the subalar on the cleft side while smiling and greater alar backward displacement on the non-cleft side. The Cleft group also showed greater elastic modulus at the upper lip on the cleft side, suggesting hardened soft tissue at the scar. The CCA showed that this hard scar significantly affected facial displacement, inducing less upward and backward displacement on the scar area and downward movement of the lower lip in patients with UCLP (correlation coefficient = 0.82, p = 0.04); however, there was no significant relationship between greater nasal alar lateral movement and physical properties of the skin at the scar. Based on these results, personalizing treatment options for dysfunction in facial expression generation may require quantification of the 3D facial morphology and physical properties of facial soft tissues.

International audience; Solid tumour growth is often associated with the accumulation of mechanical stresses acting on the surrounding host tissue. Due to tissue nonlinearity, the shear modulus of the peri-tumoural region inherits a signature from the tumour expansion which depends on multiple factors, including the soft tissue constitutive behaviour and its stress/strain state. Shear waves used in MR-elastography (MRE) sense the apparent change in shear modulus along their propagation direction, thereby probing the anisotropic stiffness field around the tumour. We developed an analytical framework for a heterogeneous shear modulus distribution using a thick-shelled sphere approximation of the tumour and soft tissue ensemble. A hyperelastic material (plastisol) was identified to validate the proposed theory in a phantom setting. A balloon-catheter connected to a pressure sensor was used to replicate the stress generated from tumour pressure and growth while MRE data were acquired. The shear modulus anisotropy retrieved from the reconstructed elastography data confirmed the analytically predicted patterns at various levels of inflation. An alternative measure, combining the generated deformation and the local wave direction and independent of the reconstruction strategy, was also proposed to correlate the analytical findings with the stretch probed by the waves. Overall, this work demonstrates that MRE in combination with non-linear mechanics, is able to identify the apparent shear modulus variation arising from the strain generated by a growth within tissue, such as an idealised model of tumour. Investigation in real tissue represents the next step to further investigate the implications of endogenous forces in tissue characterisation through MRE

We evaluated the long-term stability of a newly developed viscoelastic phantom made of polyacrylamide (PAAm) gel for magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and ultrasound-based shear-wave elastography (US SWE). The stiffness of the cylindrical phantom was measured at 0, 13 and 18 months. Storage and loss moduli were measured with MRE, and shear-wave speed (SWS) was measured with US SWE. Long-term stability was evaluated in accordance with the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) profiles for each modality. The initial storage and loss moduli of the phantom were 5.01±0.22 and 1.11±0.15 respectively, and SWS was 2.57±0.04 m/s. The weight of the phantom decreased by 0.6% over the 18 months. When measured with MRE, the stiffness of the phantom decreased and changes to the storage and loss moduli were -3.0% and -4.6% between 0 and 13 months, and -4.3% and 0.0% between 0 and 18 months. The US measurements found that SWS decreased by 2.4% over the first 13 months and 3.6% at 18 months. These changes were smaller than the tolerances specified in the QIBA profiles, so the viscoelastic PAAm gel phantom fulfilled the condition for long-term stability. This new phantom has the potential to be used as a quality assurance and quality control phantom for MRE and US SWE.

Rupture of the scapholunate interosseous ligament can cause the dissociation of scaphoid and lunate bones, resulting in impaired wrist function. Current treatments (e.g., tendon-based surgical reconstruction, screw-based fixation, fusion, or carpectomy) may restore wrist stability, but do not address regeneration of the ruptured ligament, and may result in wrist functional limitations and osteoarthritis. Recently a novel multiphasic bone-ligament-bone scaffold was proposed, which aims to reconstruct the ruptured ligament, and which can be 3D-printed using medical-grade polycaprolactone. This scaffold is composed of a central ligament-scaffold section and features a bone attachment terminal at either end. Since the ligament-scaffold is the primary load bearing structure during physiological wrist motion, its geometry, mechanical properties, and the surgical placement of the scaffold are critical for performance optimisation. This study presents a patient-specific computational biomechanical evaluation of the effect of scaffold length, and positioning of the bone attachment sites. Through segmentation and image processing of medical image data for natural wrist motion, detailed 3D geometries as well as patient-specific physiological wrist motion could be derived. This data formed the input for detailed finite element analysis, enabling computational of scaffold stress and strain distributions, which are key predictors of scaffold structural integrity. The computational analysis demonstrated that longer scaffolds present reduced peak scaffold stresses and a more homogeneous stress state compared to shorter scaffolds. Furthermore, it was found that scaffolds attached at proximal sites experience lower stresses than those attached at distal sites. However, scaffold length, rather than bone terminal location, most strongly influences peak stress. For each scaffold terminal placement configuration, a basic metric was computed indicative of bone fracture risk. This metric was the minimum distance from the bone surface to the internal scaffold bone terminal. Analysis of this minimum bone thickness data confirmed further optimisation of terminal locations is warranted.

Mudstone interlayer is a weak layer in rock engineering. When it is subjected to continuous stress higher than its damage threshold, due to the dislocation of particles in mudstone crystals and the expansion of cracks, mudstone strength is gradually damaged and deteriorated and the strain gradually increases, thus accelerating the phenomenon of creep damage. In order to describe the characteristics of the whole process of mudstone aging deformation, based on the damage evolution of strength parameters (cohesion and internal friction coefficient) with stress and time in mudstone creep tests, a novel damage nonlinear viscoelastoplastic body (D-NVPB) is proposed through improving traditional plastic element. D-NVPB describes the nonlinear characteristics of the accelerated creep stage of mudstone. With the element combination method, D-NVPB is connected with the Burgers model in series to form a new nonlinear damage creep model (D-NVEP model). The analysis results of creep characteristics theoretically verified the rationality of the model in describing the instantaneous elasticity, viscoelasticity, and nonlinear viscoplastic characteristics of the complete creep curve of mudstone. With the data obtained in the uniaxial compression creep test of mudstone under the action of a stress level of 14 MPa, based on the Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear least squares method, the fitting calculation was performed through piecewise fitting and overall fitting. The correlation coefficient was 0.9909, which verified the applicability of the model. The obtained model parameters by the identification were used to predict the mudstone creep curve under the stress levels of 13 MPa and 15 MPa. The good prediction results further verified the feasibility of the model. Compared with the traditional creep model, the D-NVEP model can better describe the nonlinear characteristics of the accelerated creep stage and quantitatively display the strength damage evolution process of rock in the creep failure process.

The rheological properties parameters of paddy soil affect the interaction between the tillage tools and soil, thus influencing the operation quality and power consumption. In order to study the effects of tillage methods and moisture content on the rheological properties parameters of paddy soil in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, uniaxial compression creep tests of paddy soils with four moisture contents under no tillage (moisture contents: 26.71%, 24.52%, 23.26%, 21.28%) and plough tillage (moisture contents: 26.77%, 25.55%, 23.40%, 20.56%) were carried out using a TMS-PRO texture analyzer. The creep properties curves obtained from the tests, and the rheological constitutive equation of paddy soil under compression was established by Burgers viscoelastic model. Respectively, the quantitative change rules of creep properties of paddy soil with different moisture contents under different tillage methods and the correlation between these parameters were explored. The results showed that the moisture content under the three-year plough tillage and no tillage methods had significant influence on the rheological properties parameters of paddy soil (P < 0.05). The instantaneous elastic modulus, delay elastic modulus, and viscosity coefficient of the two paddy soils (no tillage and plough tillage soils) decreased with the increase of moisture content. However, the variation rules of relaxation time and delay viscosity coefficient with moisture content differed between these two paddy soils. Specifically, the strain rate of the two paddy soils decreased as moisture content decreased, where the total strain combines elastic strain, viscous strain, and viscoelastic strain. The initial strain rate and steady strain rate of the plough tillage paddy soils were lower than that of the no tillage paddy soils. The established creep model equation could be used to obtain viscoelastic rheological parameters of paddy soil in a wide range. The fitting equations between rheological parameters and moisture content were introduced into Burgers model, and the coupling equations between creep deformation and moisture content and time were derived, which could be used to predict the creep properties and deformation behavior of paddy soil in a certain range of no tillage and ploughed field. Overall, this study has a certain theoretical significance for the development and improvement of paddy soil rheology theory, and can also provide theoretical basis and technical support for the research of agricultural machinery design optimization, field water, soil conservation, soil tillage and compaction related simulation analysis in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The experimental quantification and modeling of the multiaxial mechanical response of polymer membranes of coronary balloon catheters have not yet been carried out. Due to the lack of insights, it is not shown whether isotropic material models can describe the material response of balloon catheter membranes expanded with nominal or higher, supra-nominal pressures. Therefore, for the first time, specimens of commercial polyamide-12 balloon catheters membranes were investigated during uniaxial and biaxial loading scenarios. Furthermore, the influence of kinematic effects on the material response was observed by comparing results from quasi-static and dynamic biaxial extension tests. Novel clamping techniques are described, which allow to test even tiny specimens taken from the balloon membranes. The results of this study reveal the semi-compliant, nonlinear, and viscoelastic character of polyamide-12 balloon catheter membranes. Above nominal pressure, the membranes show a pronounced anisotropic mechanical behavior with a stiffer response in the circumferential direction. The anisotropic feature intensifies with an increasing strain-rate. A modified polynomial model was applied to represent the realistic mechanical response of the balloon catheter membranes during dynamic biaxial extension tests. This study also includes a compact set of constitutive model parameters for the use of the proposed model in future finite element analyses to perform more accurate simulations of expanding balloon catheters.

The time-dependent properties of rubber-like synthesized and biological materials are crucial for their applications. Currently, this behavior is mainly measured using axial tensile test, compression test, or indentation. Limited studies performed on using multi-axial loading measurements of time-dependent material behavior exist in the literature. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the viscoelastic response of rubber-like materials under multi-axial loading using cavity expansion and relaxation tests. The tests were performed on PVA hydrogel specimens. Three hyperelasitc models and one term Prony series were used to characterize the viscoelastic response of the hydrogels. Finite element (FE) simulations were performed to verify the validity of the calibrated material coefficients by reproducing the experimental results. The excellent agreement between the experimental, analytical and numerical data proves the capability of the cavity expansion technique to measure the time-dependent behavior of viscoelastic materials.

To study the shrinkage rule of borehole diameter and its effect on gas extraction, a visco-elastoplastic model for boreholes considering strain softening and the dilatancy characteristic was established to obtain the expressions of the coal stress, variation in diameter, and pressure relief range. The stress distribution and pressure relief effect of the boreholes in soft and hard coal seams were comparatively analyzed. The shrinkage rule of the borehole diameter was studied. The reasons for the rapid reduction in the extraction concentration of the borehole in soft coal seams were described. A technology of improving the gas extraction effect in soft coal seams was developed. The research results showed that the radius of the plastic softening zone is 0.405 m for a borehole in a soft coal seam and 0.224 m for that in a hard coal seam. This indicates that the borehole in a soft coal seam has a better pressure relief effect. The boreholes in both hard and soft coal seams will incur a shrinkage phenomenon; however, the soft coal seam has low strength and a weak ability to resist damage, and thus the surrounding coal will have a more intense creep deformation, leading to an instability failure during a short period of time and thus, a blocking of the extraction channel, thereby causing a rapid reduction in the gas extraction concentration. The borehole in a hard coal seam also shows a shrinkage phenomenon, but remains in a stable state without a blockage; thus, high-concentration gas can be extracted from this borehole for a long period of time. The geo-stress and coal strength are the two main factors controlling the amplitude of borehole shrinkage. From an increase in stress, the borehole in a hard coal seam shows a more intense creep deformation in a deep mine, which may lead to blockage. The key to improving the gas extraction effect in soft coal seams is to maintain a smooth extraction channel. The full screen pipe is installed through the drill pipe to retain an extraction channel, leading to an average gas extraction increase from 0.043 m3/min to 0.12 m3/min, an increase of 2.77 times. These research results are consistent with actual production, and can provide theoretical guidance for determining the gas extraction parameters.

With desirable physical performances of impressive actuation strain, high energy density, high degree of electromechanical coupling and high mechanical compliance, dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are widely employed to actuate the soft robots. However, there are many challenges to establish the dynamic models for DEAs, such as their inherent nonlinearity, complex electromechanical coupling, and time-dependent viscoelastic behavior. Moreover, most previous studies concentrated on the planar DEAs, but the studies on DEAs with some other functional shapes are insufficient. In this paper, by investigating a conical DEA with the material of polydimethylsiloxane and considering the influence of inertia, we propose a dynamic model based on the principles of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. This dynamic model can describe the complex motion characteristics of the conical DEA. Based on the experimental data, the differential evolution algorithm is employed to identify the undetermined parameters of the developed dynamic model. The result of the model validation demonstrates the effectiveness of the model.

Recent studies showed that wave intensity analysis (WIA) provides clinically valuable information about local and global cardiovascular function. Wave intensity (WI) is computed as the product of the pressure change and the velocity change during short time intervals. The major limitation of WIA in clinical practice is the need for invasive pressure measurement. Since vessel wall displacement can be measured non-invasively, the usage of WI will be expanded if the vessel wall dilation is used instead of pressure in derivation of WI waveform. Our goal in this study is to investigate the agreement between wall displacement-based WI and the pressure-based WI for different vessel wall models including linear elastic, nonlinear and viscoelastic cases. The arbitrary Eulerian Lagrangian finite element method is employed to solve the coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI). Our computational models also include two types of vascular disease-related cases with geometrical irregularities, aneurysm and stenosis. Our results show that for vessels with linear elastic wall, the displacement-based WI is almost identical to the pressure-based WI. The existence of vessel irregularities does not impact the accuracy of displacement-based WI. However, in a viscoelastic wall where there is a phase difference between pressure and vessel wall dilation, displacement-based WI deviated from pressure-based WI. The error associated with this phase difference increased nonlinearly with increasing viscosity. This results in a maximum error of 6.8% and 7.13% for a regular viscoelastic vessel wall and an irregular viscoelastic vessel wall, respectively. A separate analysis has also been performed on the agreement of backward and forward running waves extracted from a decomposition of the displacement-based and pressure-based WI. Our findings suggest that displacement-based WI is a reliable method of WIA for large central arteries that do not show viscoelastic behaviors. This can be clinically significant since the required information can be measured non-invasively.

In this paper, we focus on why intraplate seismic initiation and migration occurs, which has widely been considered to be caused by static stress triggering caused by earthquakes, as well as post-seismic slips. To illustrate the mechanism underlying large earthquakes, in particular the migration caused by two key episodes that occurred after 1500 in the Bohai-Zhangjiakou Fault Zone (BZFZ) of North China, we developed a high-resolution three-dimensional viscoelastic finite element model that includes the active faults with vertical segmentation, their periodical locking, and the lithosphere heterogeneity. We used the birth and death of element groups to simulate stress intensity changes during the two episodes (named Episode I and II), with our results showing that the Tangshan earthquake was primarily triggered by the Sanhe-Pinggu M8.0 earthquake in 1679, whereas the Zhangbei M6.2 earthquake in 1998 was not triggered by earthquakes in Episode I. According to our work, the calculated stress changes in the different segments of the fault zone correspond to the magnitude of the triggered earthquakes. Further, the largest stress decrease was near the Sanhe-Pinggu fault and occurred the largest earthquake in Episode I, whereas the largest stress increase was near the Tangshan fault and occurred during the largest earthquake in Episode II. Given the above, we propose a model for seismic migration to describe the dynamic mechanisms of earthquake migration within the BZFZ and North China, in which the factors affecting both the seismic migration path and intensity primarily include the distance between the triggered active fault and the original fault, the coupling of the active faults, the location and scale of the low-velocity anomaly, its distance from the active fault, and the location and scale of the crustal thinning.

Hyaluronic acid injections have been a mainstay of arthritis treatment for decades. However, much controversy remains about their clinical efficacy and their potential mechanism of action. This approach to arthritis therapy is often called viscosupplementation, a term which is rooted in the elevated viscosity of the injected solutions. This terminology also suggests a mechanical pathway of action and further implies that their efficacy is dependent on viscosity. Notably, previous studies of the relationship between viscous properties of hyaluronic acid solutions and their clinical efficacy have not been definitive. Recently we developed an experimental and analytical framework for studying cartilage lubrication that captures the Stribeck-like behavior of cartilage in an elastoviscous transition curve. Here we apply this framework to study the lubricating behavior of six hyaluronan products currently used for injectable arthritis therapy in the US. Despite the fact that the source and chemical modifications endow these products with a range of lubricating properties, we show that the lubricating effect of all of these materials can be described by this Stribeck-like elastoviscous transition. Fitting this data to the elastoviscous transition model enables the calculation of effective lubricating viscosities for each material, which differ substantially from the viscosities measured using standard rheometry. Further we show that while data from standard rheometry are poor predictors of clinical performance of these materials, measurements of friction coefficient and effective lubricating viscosity correlate well (R2 = 0.77; p < 0.005) with assessments of improved clinical function reported previously. This approach offers both a novel method that can be used to evaluate potential clinical efficacy of hyaluronic acid formulations and provide new insight on their mode of action.

Shear wave elastography is emerging as a clinically valuable diagnostic tool to differentiate between benign and malignant breast masses. Elastography techniques assume that soft tissue can be modelled as a purely elastic medium. However, this assumption is often violated as soft tissue exhibits viscoelastic properties. In order to explore the role of viscoelastic parameters in suspicious breast masses, a study was conducted on a group of patients using shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry in the frequency range of 50-400 Hz. A total of 43 female patients with suspicious breast masses were recruited before their scheduled biopsy. Of those, 15 patients did not meet the data selection criteria. Voigt model based shear elasticity showed a significantly (p = 7.88x10(-6)) higher median value for the 13 malignant masses (16.76±13.10 kPa) compared to 15 benign masses (1.40±1.12 kPa). Voigt model based shear viscosity was significantly different (p = 4.13x10(-5)) between malignant (8.22±3.36 Pa-s) and benign masses (2.83±1.47 Pa-s). Moreover, the estimated time constant from the Voigt model, which is dependent on both shear elasticity and viscosity, differed significantly (p = 6.13x10(-5)) between malignant (0.68±0.33 ms) and benign masses (3.05±1.95 ms). Results suggest that besides elasticity, viscosity based parameters like shear viscosity and time constant can also be used to differentiate between malignant and benign breast masses.

Conventional seismic rehabilitation methods may not be suitable for some buildings owing to their high cost and time-consuming foundation work. In recent years, viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) have been widely used in many mid- and high-rise buildings. This study introduces a viscoelastic passive control system called rotary rubber braced damper (RRBD). The RRBD is an economical, lightweight, and easy-to-assemble device. A finite element model considering nonlinearity, large deformation, and material damage is developed to conduct a parametric study on different damper sizes under pushover cyclic loading. The fundamental characteristics of this VED system are clarified by analyzing building structures under cyclic loading. The result show excellent energy absorption and stable hysteresis loops in all specimens. Additionally, by using a sinusoidal shaking table test, the effectiveness of the RRBD to manage the response displacement and acceleration of steel frames is considered. The RRBD functioned at early stages of lateral displacement, indicating that the system is effective for all levels of vibration. Moreover, the proposed damper shows significantly better performance in terms of the column compression force resulting from the brace action compared to chevron bracing (CB).

Here two classes of viscoelastic fluids have been analyzed in the presence of Cattaneo-Christov double diffusion expressions of heat and mass transfer. A linearly stretched sheet has been used to create the flow. Thermal and concentration diffusions are characterized firstly by introducing Cattaneo-Christov fluxes. Novel features regarding Brownian motion and thermophoresis are retained. The conversion of nonlinear partial differential system to nonlinear ordinary differential system has been taken into place by using suitable transformations. The resulting nonlinear systems have been solved via convergent approach. Graphs have been sketched in order to investigate how the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are affected by distinct physical flow parameters. Numerical values of skin friction coefficient and heat and mass transfer rates at the wall are also computed and discussed. Our observations demonstrate that the temperature and concentration fields are decreasing functions of thermal and concentration relaxation parameters.

An orb web's prey capture thread features tiny glue droplets, each formed of an adhesive glycoprotein core surrounded by an aqueous layer. Small molecules in the aqueous layer confer droplet hygroscopicity and maintain glycoprotein viscoelasticity, causing droplet volume and glycoprotein performance to track changes in environmental humidity. Droplet extension combines with that of a thread's supporting flagelliform fibers to sum the adhesive forces of multiple droplets, creating an effective adhesive system. We combined measurements of the force on an extending droplet, as gauged by the deflection of its support line, with measurements of glycoprotein volume and droplet extension to determine the Young's modulus (E) and toughness of three species' glycoproteins. We did this at five relative humidities between 20 - 90% to assess the effect of humidity on these properties. When droplets of a thread span extend, their extensions are constrained and their glycoprotein filaments remain covered by aqueous material. This was also the case during the first extension phase of the individual droplets that we examined. However, as extension progressed, the aqueous layer was progresses disrupted, exposing the glycoprotein. During the first extension phase E ranged from 0.00003 GPa, a value similar to that of fibronectin, a glycoprotein that anchors cells in the extracellular matrix, to 0.00292 GPa, a value similar to that of resilin in insect ligaments. Second phase E increased 4.7 - 19.4-fold. When compared at the same humidity the E of each species' glycoprotein was less than 5% of the value reported for its flagelliform fibers. This difference may facilitate the coordinated extension of these two capture thread components that is responsible for summing the thread's adhesive forces. National Science Foundation grant [IOS-1257719] National Science Foundation grant IOS-1257719 (BO) supported this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Viscoelasticity of soft tissue is often related to pathology, and therefore, has become an important diagnostic indicator in the clinical assessment of suspect tissue. Surgeons, particularly within head and neck subsites, typically use palpation techniques for intra-operative tumor detection. This detection method, however, is highly subjective and often fails to detect small or deep abnormalities. Vibroacoustography (VA) and similar methods have previously been used to distinguish tissue with high-contrast, but a firm understanding of the main contrast mechanism has yet to be verified. The contributions of tissue mechanical properties in VA images have been difficult to verify given the limited literature on viscoelastic properties of various normal and diseased tissue. This paper aims to investigate viscoelasticity theory and present a detailed description of viscoelastic experimental results obtained in tissue-mimicking phantoms (TMPs) and ex vivo tissues to verify the main contrast mechanism in VA and similar imaging modalities. A spherical-tip micro-indentation technique was employed with the Hertzian model to acquire absolute, quantitative, point measurements of the elastic modulus (E), long term shear modulus (η), and time constant (τ) in homogeneous TMPs and ex vivo tissue in rat liver and porcine liver and gallbladder. Viscoelastic differences observed between porcine liver and gallbladder tissue suggest that imaging modalities which utilize the mechanical properties of tissue as a primary contrast mechanism can potentially be used to quantitatively differentiate between proximate organs in a clinical setting. These results may facilitate more accurate tissue modeling and add information not currently available to the field of systems characterization and biomedical research.

When synovial joints are loaded, the articular cartilage and the cells residing in it deform. Cartilage deformation has been related to structural tissue damage, and cell deformation has been associated with cell signalling and corresponding anabolic and catabolic responses. Despite the acknowledged importance of cartilage and cell deformation, there are no dynamic data on these measures from joints of live animals using muscular load application. Research in this area has typically been done using confined and unconfined loading configurations and indentation testing. These loading conditions can be well controlled and allow for accurate measurements of cartilage and cell deformations, but they have little to do with the contact mechanics occurring in a joint where non-congruent cartilage surfaces with different material and functional properties are pressed against each other by muscular forces. The aim of this study was to measure in vivo, real time articular cartilage deformations for precisely controlled static and dynamic muscular loading conditions in the knees of mice. Fifty and 80% of the maximal knee extensor muscular force (equivalent to approximately 0.4N and 0.6N) produced average peak articular cartilage strains of 10.5±1.0% and 18.3±1.3% (Mean ± SD), respectively, during 8s contractions. A sequence of 15 repeat, isometric muscular contractions (0.5s on, 3.5s off) of 50% and 80% of maximal muscular force produced cartilage strains of 3.0±1.1% and 9.6±1.5% (Mean ± SD) on the femoral condyles of the mouse knee. Cartilage thickness recovery following mechanical compression was highly viscoelastic and took almost 50s following force removal in the static tests.

Thin liquid films are central to everyday life. They are ubiquitous in modern technology (pharmaceuticals, coatings), consumer products (foams, emulsions) and also serve vital biological functions (tear film of the eye, pulmonary surfactants in the lung). A common feature in all these examples is the presence of surface-active molecules at the air-liquid interface. Though they form only molecular-thin layers, these surfactants produce complex surface stresses on the free surface, which have important consequences for the dynamics and stability of the underlying thin liquid film. Here we conduct simple thinning experiments to explore the fundamental mechanisms that allow the surfactant molecules to slow the gravity-driven drainage of the underlying film. We present a simple model that works for both soluble and insoluble surfactant systems in the limit of negligible adsorption-desorption dynamics. We show that surfactants with finite surface rheology influence bulk flow through viscoelastic interfacial stresses, while surfactants with inviscid surfaces achieve stability through opposing surface-tension induced Marangoni flows.

Biomechanical properties are an excellent health marker of biological tissues, however they are challenging to be measured in-vivo. Non-invasive approaches to assess tissue biomechanics have been suggested, but there is a clear need for more accurate techniques for diagnosis, surgical guidance and treatment evaluation. Recently air-puff systems have been developed to study the dynamic tissue response, nevertheless the experimental geometrical observations lack from an analysis that addresses specifically the inherent dynamic properties. In this study a viscoelastic finite element model was built that predicts the experimental corneal deformation response to an air-puff for different conditions. A sensitivity analysis reveals significant contributions to corneal deformation of intraocular pressure and corneal thickness, besides corneal biomechanical properties. The results show the capability of dynamic imaging to reveal inherent biomechanical properties in vivo. Estimates of corneal biomechanical parameters will contribute to the basic understanding of corneal structure, shape and integrity and increase the predictability of corneal surgery. © 2014 Kling et al., Spanish Government FIS2011-25637, European Research Council ERC-2011 AdG-294099 to SM. FPI-BES-2009-024560 Pre-doctoral Fellowship to SK.

The identifiability of the two damping components of a Generalized Rayleigh Damping model is investigated through analysis of the continuum equilibrium equations as well as a simple spring-mass system. Generalized Rayleigh Damping provides a more diversified attenuation model than pure Viscoelasticity, with two parameters to describe attenuation effects and account for the complex damping behavior found in biological tissue. For heterogeneous Rayleigh Damped materials, there is no equivalent Viscoelastic system to describe the observed motions. For homogeneous systems, the inverse problem to determine the two Rayleigh Damping components is seen to be uniquely posed, in the sense that the inverse matrix for parameter identification is full rank, with certain conditions: when either multi-frequency data is available or when both shear and dilatational wave propagation is taken into account. For the multi-frequency case, the frequency dependency of the elastic parameters adds a level of complexity to the reconstruction problem that must be addressed for reasonable solutions. For the dilatational wave case, the accuracy of compressional wave measurement in fluid saturated soft tissues becomes an issue for qualitative parameter identification. These issues can be addressed with reasonable assumptions on the negligible damping levels of dilatational waves in soft tissue. In general, the parameters of a Generalized Rayleigh Damping model are identifiable for the elastography inverse problem, although with more complex conditions than the simpler Viscoelastic damping model. The value of this approach is the additional structural information provided by the Generalized Rayleigh Damping model, which can be linked to tissue composition as well as rheological interpretations.

Formation of bacterial colonies as biofilm on the surface/interface of various objects has the potential to impact not only human health and disease but also energy and environmental considerations. Biofilms can be regarded as soft materials, and comprehension of their shear response to external forces is a key element to the fundamental understanding. A mesoscale model has been presented in this article based on digitization of a biofilm microstructure. Its response under externally applied shear load is analyzed. Strain stiffening type behavior is readily observed under high strain loads due to the unfolding of chains within soft polymeric substrate. Sustained shear loading of the biofilm network results in strain localization along the diagonal direction. Rupture of the soft polymeric matrix can potentially reduce the intercellular interaction between the bacterial cells. Evolution of stiffness within the biofilm network under shear reveals two regimes: a) initial increase in stiffness due to strain stiffening of polymer matrix, and b) eventual reduction in stiffness because of tear in polymeric substrate.

The suitability of different gelling agents as MRI phantoms was evaluated in terms of homogeneity, gel stability and reproducibility. Time and effort for preparation were also taken into account. The relaxation times of various gel compositions were estimated. Carbomer-980 and Carbopol-974P were determined to be promising novel phantom materials. These gelling agents are readily available, inexpensive and easy to handle given that thermal treatment is not required. Furthermore, the viscoelasticity of their polymer network is pH-dependent. With such characteristics, it was even possible to embed sensitive objects and retrieve them after testing. This was demonstrated with a fiber phantom for Diffusion Weighted MRI applications. Since Carbomer-980 and Carbopol-974P are non-hazardous, they are also suitable for multimodal setups (e.g., MRI as well as ultrasonic imaging).

Protrusions are deformations that form at the surface of living cells during biological activities such as cell migration. Using combined optical tweezers and fluorescent microscopy, we quantified the mechanical properties of protrusions in adherent human embryonic kidney cells in response to application of an external force at the cell surface. The mechanical properties of protrusions were analyzed by obtaining the associated force-length plots during protrusion formation, and force relaxation at constant length. Protrusion mechanics were interpretable by a standard linear solid (Kelvin) model, consisting of two stiffness parameters, k 0 and k 1 (with k 0>k 1), and a viscous coefficient. While both stiffness parameters contribute to the time-dependant mechanical behavior of the protrusions, k 0 and k 1 in particular dominated the early and late stages of the protrusion formation and elongation process, respectively. Lowering the membrane cholesterol content by 25% increased the k 0 stiffness by 74%, and shortened the protrusion length by almost half. Enhancement of membrane cholesterol content by nearly two-fold increased the protrusion length by 30%, and decreased the k 0 stiffness by nearly two-and-half-fold as compared with control cells. Cytoskeleton integrity was found to make a major contribution to protrusion mechanics as evidenced by the effects of F-actin disruption on the resulting mechanical parameters. Viscoelastic behavior of protrusions was further characterized by hysteresis and force relaxation after formation. The results of this study elucidate the coordination of plasma membrane composition and cytoskeleton during protrusion formation.

Background Despite their notorious diversity, biological cells are mechanically well characterized by only a few robust and universal laws. Intriguingly, the law characterizing the nonlinear response to stretch appears self-contradictory. Various cell types have been reported to both stiffen and soften, or “fluidize” upon stretch. Within the classical paradigm of cells as viscoelastic bodies, this constitutes a paradox. Principal Findings Our measurements reveal that minimalistic reconstituted cytoskeletal networks (F-actin/HMM) exhibit a similarly peculiar response. A mathematical model of transiently crosslinked polymer networks, the so-called inelastic glassy wormlike chain (iGwlc) model, can simulate the data and resolve the apparent contradiction. It explains the observations in terms of two antagonistic physical mechanisms, the nonlinear viscoelastic resistance of biopolymers to stretch, and the breaking of weak transient bonds between them. Conclusions Our results imply that the classical paradigm of cells as viscoelastic bodies has to be replaced by such an inelastic mechanical model.

Turgor generates the stress that leads to the expansion of plant cell walls during cellular growth. This has been formalized by the Lockhart equation, which can be derived from the physical laws of the deformation of viscoelastic materials. However, the experimental evidence for such a direct correlation between growth rate and turgor is inconclusive. This has led to challenges of the Lockhart model. We model the oscillatory growth of pollen tubes to investigate this relationship. We couple the Lockhart equation to the dynamical equations for the change in material properties. We find that the correct implementation of the Lockhart equation within a feedback loop leading to low amplitude oscillatory growth predicts that in this system changes in the global turgor do not influence the average growth rate in a linear manner, consistent with experimental observations. An analytic analysis of our model demonstrates in which regime the average growth rate becomes uncorrelated from the turgor pressure.

We have recently shown that in monkey passive extraocular muscles the force induced by a stretch does not depend on the entire length history, but to a great extent is only a function of the last elongation applied. This led us to conclude that Fung's quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) model, and more general nonlinear models based on a single convolution integral, cannot faithfully mimic passive eye muscles. Here we present additional data about the mechanical properties of passive eye muscles in deeply anesthetized monkeys. We show that, in addition to the aforementioned failures, previous models also grossly overestimate the force exerted by passive eye muscles during smooth elongations similar to those experienced during normal eye movements. Importantly, we also show that the force exerted by a muscle following an elongation is largely independent of the elongation itself, and it is mostly determined by the final muscle length. These additional findings conclusively rule out the use of classical viscoelastic models to mimic the mechanical properties of passive eye muscles. We describe here a new model that extends previous ones using principles derived from research on thixotropic materials. This model is able to account reasonably well for our data, and could thus be incorporated into models of the eye plant.

The viscoelastic properties of passive eye muscles are prime determinants of the deficits observed following eye muscle paralysis, the root cause of several types of strabismus. Our limited knowledge about such properties is hindering the ability of eye plant models to assist in formulating a patient's diagnosis and prognosis. To investigate these properties we conducted an extensive in vivo study of the mechanics of passive eye muscles in deeply anesthetized and paralyzed monkeys. We describe here the static length-tension relationship and the transient forces elicited by small step-like elongations. We found that the static force increases nonlinearly with length, as previously shown. As expected, an elongation step induces a fast rise in force, followed by a prolonged decay. The time course of the decay is however considerably more complex than previously thought, indicating the presence of several relaxation processes, with time constants ranging from 1 ms to at least 40 s. The mechanical properties of passive eye muscles are thus similar to those of many other biological passive tissues. Eye plant models, which for lack of data had to rely on (erroneous) assumptions, will have to be updated to incorporate these properties.

Recent experiments reveal both passive subdiffusion of various nanoparticles and anomalous active transport of such particles by molecular motors in the molecularly crowded environment of living biological cells. Passive and active microrheology reveals that the origin of this anomalous dynamics is due to the viscoelasticity of the intracellular fluid. How do molecular motors perform in such a highly viscous, dissipative environment? Can we explain the observed co-existence of the anomalous transport of relatively large particles of 100 to 500 nm in size by kinesin motors with the normal transport of smaller particles by the same molecular motors? What is the efficiency of molecular motors in the anomalous transport regime? Here we answer these seemingly conflicting questions and consistently explain experimental findings in a generalization of the well-known continuous diffusion model for molecular motors with two conformational states in which viscoelastic effects are included.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the extracellular matrix (ECM), where its structural organization conveys mechanical information to cells. Using optical-tweezers-based microrheology, we investigated mechanical properties both of collagen molecules at a range of concentrations in acidic solution where fibrils cannot form and of gels of collagen fibrils formed at neutral pH, as well as the development of microscale mechanical heterogeneity during the self-assembly process. The frequency scaling of the complex shear modulus even at frequencies of ∼10 kHz was not able to resolve the flexibility of collagen molecules in acidic solution. In these solutions, molecular interactions cause significant transient elasticity, as we observed for 5 mg/ml solutions at frequencies above ∼200 Hz. We found the viscoelasticity of solutions of collagen molecules to be spatially homogeneous, in sharp contrast to the heterogeneity of self-assembled fibrillar collagen systems, whose elasticity varied by more than an order of magnitude and in power-law behavior at different locations within the sample. By probing changes in the complex shear modulus over 100-minute timescales as collagen self-assembled into fibrils, we conclude that microscale heterogeneity appears during early phases of fibrillar growth and continues to develop further during this growth phase. Experiments in which growing fibrils dislodge microspheres from an optical trap suggest that fibril growth is a force-generating process. These data contribute to understanding how heterogeneities develop during self-assembly, which in turn can help synthesis of new materials for cellular engineering.

Biological fluids fulfill key functionalities such as hydrating, protecting, and nourishing cells and tissues in various organ systems. They are capable of these versatile tasks owing to their distinct structural and viscoelastic properties. Characterizing the viscoelastic properties of bio-fluids is of pivotal importance for monitoring the development of certain pathologies as well as engineering synthetic replacements. Laser Speckle Rheology (LSR) is a novel optical technology that enables mechanical evaluation of tissue. In LSR, a coherent laser beam illuminates the tissue and temporal speckle intensity fluctuations are analyzed to evaluate mechanical properties. The rate of temporal speckle fluctuations is, however, influenced by both optical and mechanical properties of tissue. Therefore, in this paper, we develop and validate an approach to estimate and compensate for the contributions of light scattering to speckle dynamics and demonstrate the capability of LSR for the accurate extraction of viscoelastic moduli in phantom samples and biological fluids of varying optical and mechanical properties.

Transmission of mechanical stimuli through the actin cytoskeleton has been proposed as a mechanism for rapid long-distance mechanotransduction in cells; however, a quantitative understanding of the dynamics of this transmission and the physical factors governing it remains lacking. Two key features of the actin cytoskeleton are its viscoelastic nature and the presence of prestress due to actomyosin motor activity. We develop a model of mechanical signal transmission through prestressed viscoelastic actin stress fibers that directly connect the cell surface to the nucleus. The analysis considers both temporally stationary and oscillatory mechanical signals and accounts for cytosolic drag on the stress fibers. To elucidate the physical parameters that govern mechanical signal transmission, we initially focus on the highly simplified case of a single stress fiber. The results demonstrate that the dynamics of mechanical signal transmission depend on whether the applied force leads to transverse or axial motion of the stress fiber. For transverse motion, mechanical signal transmission is dominated by prestress while fiber elasticity has a negligible effect. Conversely, signal transmission for axial motion is mediated uniquely by elasticity due to the absence of a prestress restoring force. Mechanical signal transmission is significantly delayed by stress fiber material viscosity, while cytosolic damping becomes important only for longer stress fibers. Only transverse motion yields the rapid and long-distance mechanical signal transmission dynamics observed experimentally. For simple networks of stress fibers, mechanical signals are transmitted rapidly to the nucleus when the fibers are oriented largely orthogonal to the applied force, whereas the presence of fibers parallel to the applied force slows down mechanical signal transmission significantly. The present results suggest that cytoskeletal prestress mediates rapid mechanical signal transmission and allows temporally oscillatory signals in the physiological frequency range to travel a long distance without significant decay due to material viscosity and/or cytosolic drag.