Mechanical Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemModelling apical columnar epithelium mechanics from circumferential contractile fibres(SPRINGER HEIDELBERG, 2017-10)Simple columnar epithelia are formed by individual epithelial cells connecting together to form single cell high sheets. They are a main component of many important body tissues and are heavily involved in both normal and cancerous cell activities. Prior experimental observations have identified a series of contractile fibres around the circumference of a cross section located in the upper (apical) region of each cell. While other potential mechanisms have been identified in both the experimental and theoretical literature, these circumferential fibres are considered to be the most likely mechanism controlling movement of this cross section. Here, we investigated the impact of circumferential contractile fibres on movement of the cross section by creating an alternate model where movement is driven from circumferential contractile fibres, without any other potential mechanisms. In this model, we utilised a circumferential contractile fibre representation based on investigations into the movement of contractile fibres as an individual system, treated circumferential fibres as a series of units, and matched our model simulation to experimental geometries. By testing against laser ablation datasets sourced from existing literature, we found that circumferential fibres can reproduce the majority of cross-sectional movements. We also investigated model predictions related to various aspects of cross-sectional movement, providing insights into epithelium mechanics and demonstrating the usefulness of our modelling approach.
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ItemThree-dimensional modelling of auxetic sandwich panels for localised impact resistance(Sage Publications, 2017)Sandwich panels with auxetic lattice cores confined between metallic facets are proposed for localised impact resistance applications. Their performance under localised impact is numerically studied, considering the rate-dependent effects. The behaviour of the composite structure material at high strain rates is modelled with the Johnson-Cook model. Parametric analyses are conducted to assess the performance of different designs of the hybrid composite structures. The results are compared with monolithic panels of equivalent areal mass and material in terms of deformations and plastic energy dissipation. Design parameters considered for the parametric analyses include the auxetic unit cell effective Poisson’s ratio, thickness of the facet, material properties and radius of the unit cell’s struts. Significant reduction in computational time is achieved by modelling a quarter of the panel, with shell elements for facets and beam elements for the auxetic core. With projectile impacts up to 200 m/s, the auxetic composite panels are found to be able to absorb a similar amount of energy through plastic deformation, while the maximum back facet displacements are reduced up to 56% due to localised densification and plastic deformation of the auxetic core.