Dynamics of fingertip contact during the onset of tangential slip

Through highly precise perceptual and sensorimotor activities, the human tactile system continuously acquires information about the environment. Mechanical interactions between the skin at the point of contact and a touched surface serve as the source of this tactile information. Using a dedicated custom robotic platform, we imaged skin deformation at the contact area between the finger and a flat surface during the onset of tangential sliding movements in four different directions (proximal, distal, radial and ulnar) and with varying normal force and tangential speeds. This simple tactile event evidenced complex mechanics. We observed a reduction of the contact area while increasing the tangential force and proposed to explain this phenomenon by nonlinear stiffening of the skin. The deformation''s shape and amplitude were highly dependent on stimulation direction. We conclude that the complex, but highly patterned and reproducible, deformations measured in this study are a potential source of information for the central nervous system and that further mechanical measurement are needed to better understand tactile perceptual and motor performances.     

Boundary element solution of thermal creep flow in microfluidic devices

Flow in rarefied gases can be caused by a tangential temperature gradient along the contour boundaries (tangential heat flux), without the presence of any other external driven force, inducing a fluid motion from colder to hotter regions. This phenomenon is known as thermal creep and has gained importance in recent years in connection with micro-scale gas flow systems. Prediction of the flow field in micro-systems can be obtained by using continuum based models under appropriate boundary conditions accounting for the slip velocity due to tangential shear rate and heat flux. In this work a boundary integral equation formulation for Stokes slip flow, based on the normal and tangential projection of the Green's integral representational formulae for the velocity field is presented. The tangential heat flux is evaluated in terms of the tangential gradient of the temperature integral representational formulae presenting singularities of the Cauchy type, which are removed by the use of an auxiliary potential field. These formulations are used to evaluate the performance of different microfluidic devices.     

Microstructure of individual grains in cold-rolled aluminium from orientation inhomogeneities resolved by electron backscattering diffraction

The deformation structure within individual grains of a deformed material is resolved by electron backscattering diffraction. The employed evaluation scheme for local orientation data is illustrated on cold-rolled aluminium. The orientation distribution of each grain is characterized by an averaged orientation spread and its anisotropy; the dependence of both parameters on grain size and grain orientation is discussed. The preferred rotation axis in each grain is determined and shows a dominant orientation spreading around the transversal direction. Characteristic features of the deformation structure (as alternating orientation differences or orientation gradients) are resolved from sign-carrying disorientation angles defined with respect to the preferred rotation axis in each grain. Five components of the dislocation density tensor – corresponding to part of the geometrically necessary dislocation content – are inferred from the local curvatures. The spatially inhomogeneous distribution of the dislocation density offers a new possibility for identifying dislocation boundaries.     

Stress distribution modeling for interference-fit area of each individual layer around composite laminates joint

The discussion about nonuniform stress distribution around interference-fit joint is particular significance in the design of composite laminates structures. In order to investigate the stress distribution of interference-fit area around composite laminates joint, an analytical model is developed for stress distribution based on the Lekhnitskii's complex potential theory. The normal and tangential stresses of contact are achieved by the relationship of deformation between pin and hole. The effects of ply orientation and interference percentage on stress components distributions of each individual layer around symmetrical laminates joint are discussed. In order to verify the validity of the analytical model, extensive 3D finite element models are established to simulate the stress components of laminates interference-fit joint. The results show that the analytical model is valid, and the laminate property and ply orientation have a significant effect on stress distribution trend while interference percentage mainly affects stress magnitude.     

Linear-frictional contact model for 3D discrete element simulations of granular systems

The linear-frictional contact model is the most commonly used contact mechanism for discrete element (DEM) simulations of granular materials. Linear springs with a frictional slider are used for modeling interactions in directions normal and tangential to the contact surface. Although the model is simple in two dimensions, its implementation in 3D faces certain subtle challenges, and the particle interactions that occur within a single time step require careful modeling with a robust algorithm. The paper details a three-dimensional algorithm that accounts for the changing direction of the tangential force within a time step, the transition from elastic to slip behavior within a time step, possible contact sliding during only part of a time step, and twirling and rotation of the tangential force during a time step. Without three of these adjustments, errors are introduced in the incremental stiffness of an assembly. Without the fourth adjustment, the resulting stress tensor is not only incorrect but it is also no longer a tensor. The algorithm also computes the work increments during a time step, both elastic and dissipative.     

Channel-cracking of thin films with the extended finite element method

The recently developed extended finite element method (XFEM) is applied to compute the steady-state energy release rate of channeling cracks in thin films. The method is demonstrated to be able to model arbitrary singularities by using appropriate enriching functions at selected nodes with a relatively coarse mesh. The dimensionless driving force for channeling cracks is obtained as a function of elastic mismatch, crack spacing, and the thickness ratio between the substrate and the film. The results are compared with those from several previous studies when available. Emphasis is placed on the cases with compliant substrates, for which much less information is available from previous studies. It is found that, while it is quite challenging to model the cases with very compliant substrates using regular finite element method because of the strong singularities, the present approach using XFEM is relatively simple and straightforward.     

Visual response saturation to orientation contrast in the perception of texture boundary

We analyzed how the visual response to orientation modulation in texture patterns varied as a function of the magnitude of orientation contrast. Using a contrast-discrimination technique, we measured threshold increments of orientation contrast (the orientation contrast required for discriminating between two textures) at various pedestal-orientation contrasts. The orientation-contrast-response function estimated for a step-orientation contrast, which produces a vivid percept of surface boundaries, saturated at approximately 30 degrees (experiment 1). The saturation was still evident even when the strength of the step-orientation contrast was reduced by orientation noise (experiment 2), but no strong saturation was found for textures that did not produce a vivid percept of surface boundaries (experiment 3). These results are consistent with the notion that orientation-based texture segregation involves the generation of a neural representation of the surface boundary whose strength is nearly independent of the magnitude of orientation contrast.     

Analysis of a crack at a weak interface

The problem of two elastic half-planes joined along the common part of their boundary by a cracked weak interface is considered. The central part of the joint is detached, while in the remaining part there is a continuous distribution of springs which assures continuity of stress which is proportional to the displacement gap. The adherents are homogeneous and isotropic, while the interface is allowed to be orthotropic with principal directions normal and tangential to the interface, respectively. The body is subjected to constant normal and tangential loads applied at infinity and at the crack faces. Using classical solutions for elastic half-planes as Green functions, the integral equation governing the problem is obtained and solved numerically. Attention is paid to the analysis of the solution around the crack tip, and an asymptotic estimate showing that the derivative of the solution is logarithmically unbounded is obtained analytically. Accordingly, it is shown that there may exist, at most, logarithmic stress singularities. It is further shown how, contrary to the case of perfect bonding, stress singularities are not related to the normal propagation of the crack, but possibly to the crack deviation. The crack propagation is analyzed by the energy Griffith criterion, and it is shown that some drawbacks of linear elastic fracture mechanics disappear in the case of weak interface.     

Suitable rolling resistance model for quasi-static shear tests of non-spherical particles via discrete element method

Rolling resistance is a main consideration in quasi-static shear test simulations of particles via the discrete element method. However, not all rolling resistance models can satisfy the required objectivity and rate independence. A suitable model for spherical particles has been selected from five models in our previous works. In the current study, this model is combined with four normal and tangential contact models to confirm its applicability. After confirmation, the model is generalized to simulate direct shear tests on non-spherical particles. The stress–strain and dilatancy curves are rate-independent, and the relative rolling velocity between particles is objective. Furthermore, objectivity and rate independence for arbitrarily shaped particles are unchanged when normal stresses, volume fractions, or normal and tangential contact models are changed. Simulation results are also consistent with other experiment findings. For comparison, results are calculated for two other rolling resistance models; the shear curve at a single speed is consistent with the experiment, which has three stages: elastoplastic increasing, yielding, and keeping. However, the stress–strain curves at different shear rates do not coincide, which means that the models conflict with the rate independence of quasi-static granular systems. The virtues and defects of the five rolling resistance models are discussed from the perspectives of objectivity and rate independence. These two properties provide criteria for determining the appropriateness of a model, which has been rarely discussed in former studies.     

Information limit on the spatial integration of local orientation signals

Channel-based models of human spatial vision require that the output of spatial filters be pooled across space. This pooling yields global estimates of local feature attributes such as orientation that are useful in situations in which that attribute may be locally variable, as is the case for visual texture. The spatial characteristics of orientation summation are considered in the study. By assessing the effect of orientation variability on observers' ability to estimate the mean orientation of spatially unstructured textures, one can determine both the internal noise on each orientation sample and the number of samples being pooled. By a combination of fixing and covarying the size of textured regions and the number of elements constituting them, one can then assess the effects of the texture's size, density, and numerosity (the number of elements present) on the internal noise and the sampling density. Results indicate that internal noise shows a primary dependence on texture density but that, counterintuitively, subjects rely on a sample size approximately equal to a fixed power of the number of samples present, regardless of their spatial arrangement. Orientation pooling is entirely flexible with respect to the position of input features.     

Numerical implementation of generalized Coddington equations for ophthalmic lens design

A method for general implementation in any software platform of the generalized Coddington equations is presented, developed, and validated within a Matlab environment. The ophthalmic lens design strategy is presented thoroughly, and the basic concepts of generalized ray tracing are introduced. The methodology for ray tracing is shown to include two inter-related processes. Firstly, finite ray tracing is used to provide the main direction of propagation of the considered ray at the incidence point of interest. Afterwards, generalized ray tracing provides the principal curvatures of the local wavefront at that point, and its orientation after being refracted by the lens. The curvature values of the local wavefront are interpreted as the sagital and tangential powers of the lens at the point of interest. The proposed approach is validated using a double-check of the calculated lens performance in the spherical lens case: while finite ray tracing is validated using a commercial ray tracing software, generalized ray tracing is validated using a software application for ophthalmic lens design based on the classical version of Coddington equations. Equations of the complete tracing process are developed in detail for the case of generic astigmatic ophthalmic lenses as an example. Three-dimensional representation of the sagital and tangential powers of the ophthalmic lens at all directions of gaze then becomes possible, and results are presented for lenses with different geometries.     

Are Gaussian spectra a viable perceptual assumption in color appearance?

Natural illuminant and reflectance spectra can be roughly approximated by a linear model with as few as three basis functions, and this has suggested that the visual system might construct a linear representation of the spectra by estimating the weights of these functions. However, such models do not accommodate nonlinearities in color appearance, such as the Abney effect. Previously, we found that these nonlinearities are qualitatively consistent with a perceptual inference that stimulus spectra are instead roughly Gaussian, with the hue tied to the inferred centroid of the spectrum [J. Vision 6(9), 12 (2006)]. Here, we examined to what extent a Gaussian inference provides a sufficient approximation of natural color signals. Reflectance and illuminant spectra from a wide set of databases were analyzed to test how well the curves could be fit by either a simple Gaussian with three parameters (amplitude, peak wavelength, and standard deviation) versus the first three principal component analysis components of standard linear models. The resulting Gaussian fits were comparable to linear models with the same degrees of freedom, suggesting that the Gaussian model could provide a plausible perceptual assumption about stimulus spectra for a trichromatic visual system.     

Saccadic and perceptual performance in visual search tasks. I. Contrast detection and discrimination

Humans use saccadic eye movements when they search for visual targets. We investigated the relationship between the visual processing used by saccades and perception during search by comparing saccadic and perceptual decisions under conditions in which each had access to equal visual information. We measured the accuracy of perceptual judgments and of the first search saccade over a wide range of target saliences [signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs)] in both a contrast-detection and a contrast-discrimination task. We found that saccadic and perceptual performances (1) were similar across SNRs, (2) showed similar task-dependent differences, and (3) were well described by a model based on signal detection theory that explicitly includes observer uncertainty [M. P. Eckstein et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 14, 2406 (1997)1]. Our results demonstrate that the accuracy of the first saccade provides much information about the observer's perceptual state at the time of the saccadic decision and provide evidence that saccades and perception use similar visual processing mechanisms for contrast detection and discrimination.     

Textural Characteristic of 70-30 Brass Rolled by Cross Shear Rolling in Single Direction

70-30 brass is rolled with 90% reduction bycross shear rolling in single direction with speed ra-tio 1.39.The sheet is divided into five layers alongrolling plane normal to measure macroscopic statis-tical unsymmetric textures in every layer are des-cribed and analysed by means of three dimensionalorientation distribution function.The results indi-cate that the main textures in every layer of brassrolled by cross shear rolling in single direction arethe same as the main textures of brass rolled byconventional rolling.But the intensities,peak posi-tions and scatters of every texture component in{110}<112>are different,namely,there is amacroscopic statistical unsymmetry.It is found thatthe textures in every layer of brass rolled by crossshear rolling in single direction can be considered asthe textures of brass rolled by common rolling insingle direction at identical shear forces,themacroscopic statistical unsymmetry depends on theshear forces which are exerted on the layer.     

A formulation for electrostatic‐mechanical contact and its numerical solution

The progress in advanced technology fields requires more and more sophisticated formulations to consider contact problems properly. This paper is devoted to the development of a new constitutive model for electrostatic‐mechanical contacts, based on a micro–macro approach to describe the contact behaviour. The electric‐mechanical contact constitutive law is obtained considering the real microscopic shape of the contacting surfaces, the microscopic behaviour of force transmission and current flow. Some thermo‐mechanical macroscopic models based on microscopic characterizations have already been developed to compute the normal and tangential contact stiffness and the thermal contact resistance. On the basis of such macroscopic models, a similar model, suitable for the electric‐mechanical field, is developed. With reference to the thermal constriction resistance the electric contact resistance is studied, assuming a flux tube around each contacting asperity, and choosing a suitable geometry for its narrowing at the contact zone. The contact element geometry is based on well known theoretical and experimental micro‐mechanical laws, suitably adapted for the FEM formulation. The macroscopic stiffness matrix is calculated on the basis of the microscopic laws and it is continuously updated as a function of the changes in the mechanical and electric significant parameters. A consistent linearization of the set of equations is developed to improve the computational speed, within the framework of implicit methods. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Texture comparison of an ordinary IF steel and a high-strength IF steel under ferritic rolling and high-temperature coiling

The present work was performed to investigate the texture difference of an ordinary Ti-IF steel and a high-strength Ti-IF steel under ferritic hot rolling and high-temperature coiling. Comparing with the completely recrystallized textures of the ordinary IF steel, the textures of the high-strength IF steel were still deformed textures. The texture difference for the two steels is related to high P content in the high-strength IF steel which prevents the recrystallization during the coiling process. For the ordinary IF steel, the texture components were mainly very weak {001}110 orientation at the surface, and partial 110//RD (rolling direction) textures focused on {223}110 orientation and 111/ND (normal direction) texture at the mid-section and 1/4-section. For the high-strength IF steel, the texture components were mainly of {110}001 orientation at the surface and of a sharp 110//RD texture from {001}110 to {223}110 and weak 111/ND texture at the mid-section and 1/4-section.     

Face modeling and editing with statistical local feature control models

This article presents a novel method based on statistical facial feature control models for generating realistic controllable face models. The local feature control models are constructed based on the exemplar 3D face scans. We use a three‐step model fitting approach for the 3D registration problem. Once we have a common surface representation for examples, we form feature shape spaces by applying a principal component analysis (PCA) to the data sets of facial feature shapes. We compute a set of anthropometric measurements to parameterize the exemplar shapes of each facial feature in a measurement space. Using PCA coefficients as a compact shape representation, we approach the shape synthesis problem by forming scattered data interpolation functions that are devoted to the generation of desired shape by taking the anthropometric parameters as input. The correspondence among all exemplar face textures is obtained by parameterizing a 3D generic mesh over a 2D image domain. The new feature texture with desired attributes is synthesized by interpolating the exemplar textures. With the exception of an initial tuning of feature point positions and assignment of texture attribute values, our method is fully automated. In the resulting system, users are assisted in automatically generating or editing a face model by controlling the high‐level parameters. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 17, 341–358, 2007     

Modelling of Surface Crack Growth under Lubricated Rolling–Sliding Contact Loading

The paper describes modelling approach to computational simulation of surface crack growth subjected to lubricated rolling–sliding contact conditions. The model considers the size and orientation of the initial crack, normal and tangential loading due to rolling–sliding contact and the influence of fluid trapped inside the crack by a hydraulic pressure mechanism. The motion of the contact sliding load is simulated with different load cases. The strain energy density (SED) and maximum tangential stress (MTS) crack propagation criteria are modified to account for the influence of internal pressure along the crack surfaces due to trapped fluid. The developed model is used to simulate surface crack growth on a gear tooth flank, which has been also experimentally tested. It is shown that the crack growth path, determined with modified crack propagation criteria, is more accurately predicted than by using the criteria in its classical form.     

Revisiting spatial vision: toward a unifying model

We report contrast detection, contrast increment, contrast masking, orientation discrimination, and spatial frequency discrimination thresholds for spatially localized stimuli at 4 degrees of eccentricity. Our stimulus geometry emphasizes interactions among overlapping visual filters and differs from that used in previous threshold measurements, which also admits interactions among distant filters. We quantitatively account for all measurements by simulating a small population of overlapping visual filters interacting through divisive inhibition. We depart from previous models of this kind in the parameters of divisive inhibition and in using a statistically efficient decision stage based on Fisher information. The success of this unified account suggests that, contrary to Bowne [Vision Res. 30, 449 (1990)], spatial vision thresholds reflect a single level of processing, perhaps as early as primary visual cortex.