By means of contact dynamic simulations, we investigate the contact network topology and force chains in two-dimensional packings of elongated particles subjected to biaxial shearing. The morphology of large packings of elongated particles in quasistatic equilibrium is complex due to the combined effects of local nematic ordering of the particles and orientations of contacts between particles. ...

The paper deals with the design of cognitive artefacts. It is supported that both normative and descriptive design approaches fail to acknowledge the co-adaptation between users and artefacts; this leads to the so-called design paradox and obstructs the co-evolution of practice and artefacts. In the first section, the paper discusses the task-artefact cycle and presents examples showing that th...

Physics|Solid State) STRESS FLUCTUATIONS IN CONTINUOUSLY SHEARED GRANULAR MEDIA by Brian J. Miller Department of Physics Duke University

in the present study, shearing properties of sugar cane stems were determined at five moisture content levels (46, 54, 62, 70 and 78% wb), three shearing speed (5, 10 and 15 mm min-1) and at ten positions on the stem. for measuring the shearing forces, the stems were severed by using a computer aided cutting apparatus. decrease in moisture content of stem from 78 to 46% wb led to 16.3 and 16.7%...

Three varieties of wheat and knife bevel angles, four levels of moisture content and three shearing speeds of pendulum were considered to determine their effects on the shearing energy of wheat straw. Results showed that the effects of variety, knife bevel angle, moisture content and shearing speed on shearing energy were significant (P<0.01). Shearing energy decreased with decreasing moisture ...

Angora goats are known to be vulnerable to cold stress, especially after shearing, but their thermoregulatory responses to shearing have not been measured. We recorded activity, and abdominal and subcutaneous temperatures, for 10 days pre-shearing and post-shearing, in 10 Angora goats inhabiting the succulent thicket of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, in both March (late summer) and September (...

A quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of wool traits from experimental half-sib data of Merino sheep is presented. A total of 617 animals distributed in 10 families were genotyped for 36 microsatellite markers on four ovine chromosomes OAR1, OAR3, OAR4 and OAR11. The markers covering OAR3 and OAR11 were densely spaced, at an average distance of 2.8 and 1.2 cM, respectively. Body weight and w...

We consider the adiabatic shearing of an incompressible non-Newtonian liquid with temperature dependent viscosity, subjected to steady shearing of the boundary. Identical equations govern the plastic shearing of a solid exhibiting thermal softening and strain rate sensitivity with constitutive relation obeying a certain power law. We establish that every classical solution approaches a uniform ...

Shearing stress of wheat stalk was measured for four moisture content levels (15, 25, 35 and 45%, w.b.), three cutting heights (100, 200 and 300 mm), two types of cutting knives, smooth and serrated edge and three blades oblique angle (0, 15 and 30 deg.). The results of data analysis showed that the shearing stress of wheat stems decreased as the moisture content decreased. The shearing force o...