Monte Carlo and analytical calculation of lateral deflection of proton beams in homogeneous targets

Proton radiation therapy is a precise form of radiation therapy, but the avoidance of damage to critical normal tissues and the prevention of geographical tumor misses require accurate knowledge of the dose delivered to the patient and the verification of his position demand a precise imaging technique. In proton therapy facilities, the X-ray Computed Tomography (xCT) is the preferred technique for the planning treatment of patients. This situation has been changing nowadays with the development of proton accelerators for health care and the increase in the number of treated patients. In fact, protons could be more efficient than xCT for this task. One essential difficulty in pCT image reconstruction systems came from the scattering of the protons inside the target due to the numerous small-angle deflections by nuclear Coulomb fields. The purpose of this study is the comparison of an analytical formulation for the determination of beam lateral deflection, based on Molière's theory and Rutherford scattering with Monte Carlo calculations by SRIM 2008 and MCNPX codes. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Performance of the CMS Level-1 trigger during commissioning with cosmic ray muons and LHC beams

The CMS Level-1 trigger was used to select cosmic ray muons and LHC beam events during data-taking runs in 2008, and to estimate the level of detector noise. This paper describes the trigger components used, the algorithms that were executed, and the trigger synchronisation. Using data from extended cosmic ray runs, the muon, electron/photon, and jet triggers have been validated, and their performance evaluated. Efficiencies were found to be high, resolutions were found to be good, and rates as expected. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.

Passive vibration isolation using axially loaded curved beams

A nonlinear spring element of a vibration isolator should ideally possess high static and low dynamic stiffness. A buckled beam may be a good candidate to fulfil this requirement provided its internal resonance frequencies are high enough to achieve a wide frequency range of isolation. If a straight beam is used, there is a singularity in the force-displacement characteristic. To smooth this characteristic and eliminate the singularity at the buckling point, beams with initial constant curvature along their length are investigated here as an alternative to the buckled straight beam. Their force displacement characteristics are compared with different initial curvature and with a straight buckled beam. The minimum achievable dynamic stiffness with its corresponding static stiffness is compared for different initial curvatures. A case study is considered where the beams are optimized to isolate a one kilogram mass and to achieve a natural frequency of 1 Hz, considering small amplitudes of vibration. Resonance frequencies of the optimized beams for different curvature are presented. It is shown that an order of magnitude reduction in stiffness compared with a linear spring is achievable, while the internal resonance frequencies of the curved beam are high enough to achieve an acceptable frequency range of isolation.

Numerical assessment of mass conservation on a MAC-type method for viscoelastic free surface flows

A numerical study of mass conservation of MAC-type methods is presented, for viscoelastic free-surface flows. We use an implicit formulation which allows for greater time steps, and therefore time marching schemes for advecting the free surface marker particles have to be accurate in order to preserve the good mass conservation properties of this methodology. We then present an improvement by using a Runge-Kutta scheme coupled with a local linear extrapolation on the free surface. A thorough study of the viscoelastic impacting drop problem, for both Oldroyd-B and XPP fluid models, is presented, investigating the influence of timestep, grid spacing and other model parameters to the overall mass conservation of the method. Furthermore, an unsteady fountain flow is also simulated to illustrate the low mass conservation error obtained.

The non-ideal problem behavior using a dynamic vibration absorber with nonlinear essential stiffness and timedependent damping properties

The purpose of this study is to develop a dynamic vibration absorber using viscoelastic material with nonlinear essential stiffness and time-dependent damping properties for a non-ideal vibrating system with Sommerfeld effect, resonance capture, and jump phenomenon. The absorber is a mass-bar subsystem that consists of a viscoelastic bar with memory attached to mass, in which the internal dissipative forces depend on current, deformations, and its operational frequency varies with limited temperature. The non-ideal vibrating system consists of a linear (nonlinear) oscillator (plane frame structure) under excitation, via spring connector, of a DC-motor with limited power supply. A viscoelastic dynamic absorber modeled with elastic stiffness essentially nonlinearities was developed to further reduce the Sommerfeld effect and the response of the structure. The numerical results show the performance of the absorber on the non-ideal system response through the resonance curves, time histories, and Poincarésections. Furthermore, the structure responses using the viscoelastic damper with and without memory were studied. © IMechE 2012.

Evaluation of weather influence on mechanical and viscoelastic properties of polyetherimide/carbon fiber composites

In order to investigate how environmental degradation affects the mechanical and thermal performance of polyetherimide/carbon fiber laminates, in this work different weathering were conducted. Additionally, dynamic mechanical analysis, interlaminar shear strength tests and non-destructive inspections were performed on this composite before and after being submitted to hygrothermal, UV radiation and thermal shock weathering. According to our results, hygrothermally aged samples had their glass transition temperature and elastic and storage moduli reduced by plasticization effect. Photooxidation, due to UV radiation exposure, occurred only on the surface of the laminates. Thermal shock induced a reversible stress on the composite's interface region. The results revealed that the mechanical behavior can vary during weather exposure but since this variation is only subtle, this thermoplastic laminate can be considered for high-performance applications, such as aerospace. © The Author(s) 2013.

A finite element approach for predicting the ultimate rotation capacity of RC beams

This paper presents a numerical approach to model the complex failure mechanisms that define the ultimate rotational capacity of reinforced concrete beams. The behavior in tension and compression is described by a constitutive damage model derived from a combination of two specific damage models [1]. The nonlinear behavior of the compressed region is treated by the compressive damage model based on the Drucker-Prager criterion written in terms of the effective stresses. The tensile damage model employs a failure criterion based on the strain energy associated with the positive part the effective stress tensor. This model is used to describe the behavior of very thin bands of strain localization, which are embedded in finite elements to represent multiple cracks that occur in the tensioned region [2]. The softening law establishes dissipation energy compatible with the fracture energy of the concrete. The reinforcing steel bars are modeled by truss elements with elastic-perfect plastic behavior. It is shown that the resulting approach is able to predict the different stages of the collapse mechanism of beams with distinct sizes and reinforcement ratios. The tensile damage model and the finite element embedded crack approach are able to describe the stiffness reduction due to concrete cracking in the tensile zone. The truss elements are able to reproduce the effects of steel yielding and, finally, the compressive damage model is able to describe the non-linear behavior of the compressive zone until the complete collapse of the beam due to crushing of concrete. The proposed approach is able to predict well the plastic rotation capacity of tested beams [3], including size-scale effects.

Análise dinâmica do amortecimento em estruturas compostas com material viscoelástico

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEB

A Reynolds stress model for turbulent flows of viscoelastic fluids

A second-order closure is developed for predicting turbulent flows of viscoelastic fluids described by a modified generalised Newtonian fluid model incorporating a nonlinear viscosity that depends on a strain-hardening Trouton ratio as a means to handle some of the effects of viscoelasticity upon turbulent flows. Its performance is assessed by comparing its predictions for fully developed turbulent pipe flow with experimental data for four different dilute polymeric solutions and also with two sets of direct numerical simulation data for fluids theoretically described by the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic - Peterlin model. The model is based on a Newtonian Reynolds stress closure to predict Newtonian fluid flows, which incorporates low Reynolds number damping functions to properly deal with wall effects and to provide the capability to handle fluid viscoelasticity more effectively. This new turbulence model was able to capture well the drag reduction of various viscoelastic fluids over a wide range of Reynolds numbers and performed better than previously developed models for the same type of constitutive equation, even if the streamwise and wall-normal turbulence intensities were underpredicted.

Viscoelastic Behavior of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes into Phenolic Resin

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Environmental effects on viscoelastic behavior of carbon fiber/PEKK thermoplastic composites

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Viscoelastic properties of bronchial mucus after respiratory physiotherapy in subjects with bronchiectasis

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have evaluated the effectiveness of postural drainage (PD), percussion (PERC), the coughing technique (CT), and other types of coughing in subjects with bronchiectasis. However, the application times of these techniques and the quality of the expectorated mucus require further study. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PD, percussion, CT, and huffing in subjects with bronchiectasis and assess the quantity and quality of bronchial mucus produced (measurement of wet and dry weight and determination of viscoelastic properties). METHODS: Twenty-two subjects with stable bronchiectasis (6 men; mean age: 51.5 y) underwent 4 d of experimental study (CT, PD+CT, PD+PERC+CT, and PD+huffing). The techniques were performed in 3 20-min periods separated by 10 min of rest. Before performing any technique (baseline) and after each period (30, 60, and 90 min), expectorated mucus was collected for analysis of viscoelasticity. RESULTS: A significant increase in the dry weight/wet weight ratio was found after 60 min of PD+PERC+CT (P = .01) and 90 min of PD+huffing (P = .03) and PD+PERC+CT (P = .007) in comparison with CT. PD+PERC+CT and PD+huffing led to the greatest removal of viscoelastic mucus at 60 min (P = .02 and P = .002, respectively) and continued to do so at 90 min (P = .02 and P = .01, respectively) in comparison with CT. An interaction effect was found, as all techniques led to a greater removal of elastic mucus in comparison with CT at 60 min (PD+CT, P = .001; PD+PERC+CT, P < .001; PD+huffing, P < .001), but only PD+PERC+CT and PD+huffing led to a greater removal of elastic mucus than CT at 90 min (P < .001 and P = .005, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: PD+PERC+CT and PD+huffing performed similarly regarding the removal of viscoelastic mucus in 2 and 3 20-min periods separated by 10 min of rest. PD+PERC+CT led to the greatest removal of mucus in the shortest period (2 20-min periods separated by 10 min of rest). (C) 2015 Daedalus Enterprises

Influence of water immersion and ultraviolet weathering on mechanical and viscoelastic properties of polyphenylene sulfide-carbon fiber composites

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Deformation and tidal evolution of close-in planets and satellites using a Maxwell viscoelastic rheology

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Análise dinâmica em vigas compostas com amortecimento utilizando o método dos elementos espectrais e elementos finitos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)