Background: Self-assembling peptides (SApeptides) have growing applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The application of SApeptide-based hydrogels depends strongly on their viscoelastic properties. Optimizing the properties is of importance in tuning the characteristics of the hydrogels for a variety of applications. Methods: In this study, we employed statistical modelin...

Understanding the mechanism underlying the behavior of polymer-based nanocomposites requires investigation at the molecular level. In the current study, an atomistic simulation based on molecular dynamics was performed to characterize the mechanical properties of polycarbonate (PC) nanocomposites reinforced with single-walled armchair carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). The stiffness matrix and elastic p...

PURPOSE Different approaches have been used in dynamic elastography to assess mechanical properties of biological tissues. Most techniques are based on a simple inversion based on the measurement of the shear wave speed to assess elasticity, whereas some recent strategies use more elaborated analytical or finite element method (FEM) models. In this study, a new method is proposed for the quanti...

In this paper we describe two numerical methods by which the relaxation modulus and memory function of a polymer can be determined from a set of discrete linear viscoelastic storage and loss moduli measurements. The first method involves expressing the linear viscoelastic data by means of a rational function (with certain constraints) and then taking the Laplace transform of that function. The ...

This study investigated the effects of galacomannans (guar gum, tara gum, and locust bean gum) on the rheological properties of buckwheat starch pastes under steady and dynamic shear conditions. The power law and Casson models were applied to describe the flow behavior of the buckwheat starch and galactomannan mixtures. The values of the apparent viscosity (ηa,100), consistency index (K), and y...

In this study, data mining and knowledge discovery techniques were employed to acquire new information about the viscoelastic, flexural, compression, and tension properties for vapor-grown carbon nanofiber (VGCNF)/vinyl ester (VE) nanocomposites. These properties were used to design a unified VGCNF/VE framework solely from data derived from a designed experimental study. Formulation and process...

In a recent work, Wyss [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 238303 (2007)] have noted a property of "soft solids" under oscillatory shear, the so-called strain-rate frequency superposition. We extend this study to the case of soft solids under large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS). We show results from LAOS studies in a monodisperse hydrogel suspension, an aqueous gel, and a biopolymer suspension and show ...