We present a computational study of the effects of viscoelasticity on the electromechanical behavior of dielectric elastomers. A dynamic, finite deformation finite element formulation for dielectric elastomers is developed that incorporates the effects of viscoelasticity using the nonlinear viscoelasticity theory previously proposed by Reese and Govindjee. The finite element model features a th...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOT) is an independent predictor of adverse outcome in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). It is of major importance that the provocation modalities used are validated against each other. AIM To define the magnitude of LVOT gradients provocation during both isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) inhalation and treadmill exercise in non-obstructive H...

We introduce the concept of a contracting excitable medium that is capable of conducting non-linear waves of excitation that in turn initiate contraction. Furthermore, these kinematic deformations have a feedback effect on the excitation properties of the medium. Electrical characteristics resemble basic models of cardiac excitation that have been used to successfully study mechanisms of reentr...

[Article] Dynamics of spiral waves in a cardiac electromechanical model with a local electrical inhomogeneity Original Citation: Mesin L. (2012). Dynamics of spiral waves in a cardiac electromechanical model with a local electrical inhomogeneity. Porto, the institutional repository of the Politecnico di Torino, is provided by the University Library and the IT-Services. The aim is to enable open...

Dipolar molecular crystals present different physical properties from traditionally strongly correlated ionic solid-state inorganic crystals due to the weak intermolecular bonding. Herein, centrosymmetric dipolar molecular crystals of the organoruthenium complex trans-[Ru(C≡CC6H4-4-NO2)(C≡CPh)(dppe)2] [dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane] display a large electric-field-induced strain behavi...

Experimental observations clearly show that the performance of dielectric elastomericbased devices can be considerably improved using composite materials. A critical issue in the development of composite dielectric materials toward applications is the prediction of their failure mechanisms due to the applied electromechanical loads. In this paper we investigate analytically the influence of ele...

We present a family of phase field models for fracture in piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials. These models couple a variational formulation of brittle fracture with, respectively, (1) the linear theory of piezoelectricity, and (2) a Ginzburg Landau model of the ferroelectric microstructure to address the full complexity of the fracture phenomenon in these materials. In these models, both...

Electromechanical delay (EMD) is defined as the time between electrical excitation of a muscle and the onset of force generation. Duration of this delay for skeletal muscles ranges from 30 to 100ms. EMD has been reported to have effect on a number of mechanisms (Cavanagh and Komi 1979). Some studies report differences in EMD due to gender (Winter and Brookes 1991), age (Grosset et al. 2005), mu...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate ventricular functions and left atrial (LA) mechanical functions, atrial electromechanical coupling, and P wave dispersion in scleroderma patients. METHODS Twenty-six patients with scleroderma and twenty-four controls were included. Left and right ventricular (LV and RV) functions were evaluated using conventional echocardiography and tissue ...

Electromechanical resonators have emerged as a versatile platform in which detectors with unprecedented sensitivities and quantum mechanics in a macroscopic context can be developed. These schemes invariably utilise a single resonator but increasingly the concept of an array of electromechanical resonators is promising a wealth of new possibilities. In spite of this, experimental realisations o...