In this thesis I will discuss the effects of shear flow on the Isotropic-Nematic phase transition in liquid crystals. Shear flow has dramatic orienting effects on the rod-like constituents of nematic liquid crystals, with the general effects of (1) inducing order in the high-temperature isotropic phase, and (2) dictating a direction of alignment for the low-temperature nematic phase. Shear flow...

Ground motions recorded within sedimentary basins are variable over short distances. One important cause of the variability is that local soil properties are variable at all scales. Regional hazard maps developed for predicting site effects are generally derived from maps of surficial geology; however, recent studies have shown that mapped geologic units do not correlate well with the average s...

Laminar shear stress exerts important effects on endothelial cell (EC) function and inhibits apoptosis of ECs induced by various stimuli. The mechanism by which hemodynamic forces, such as shear stress, are transduced into cellular signaling is still not known. Located at the cell surface, integrins, which are required for cell adhesion and cell survival, are potential mechanotransducers. There...

this study aims to investigate the effects of geometric imperfections on buckling of thin cylindrical shells due to global shear. to this end, more than 320 finite element models of cylindrical shells with different diameter to thickness ratios were prepared. random imperfections with different amplitudes were applied to numerical models. the results revealed that global buckling of cylindrical...

In tall buildings the reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall is one of the predominant structural components used to resist lateral loads induced by earthquakes around the world. Previous research demonstrated that shear walls displayed a sudden loss in lateral capacity due to the wall corner and web crushing in the plastic zone. In addition, it was found that large shear distortions in shear wall...

BACKGROUND Shear-induced platelet aggregation (SIPA) is an important mechanism in thrombogenesis. von Willebrand factor (vWF) binding to platelet glycoprotein Ib (GP Ib) has been found to be crucial for platelet aggregation under the high shear force probably generated in stenosed coronary artery. The physiological significance of vWF-dependent SIPA has not been clarified. METHODS AND RESULTS...