The effect of stress distribution due to the changes of the distal screw alignment in relation to the Gamma nail and the femoral shaft is thoroughly studied in this paper. Failure of the Gamma nail composite occurs through the cranial aperture of the distal screws and the insertion hole for the lag screw due to nonunion, delayed-union and continued weight-bearing. A three-dimensional finite element model was used to study the fractured femur, the Gamma nail, the lag screw and the distal locking screws. The first and the second distal screws were inserted into the Gamma nail in four different configurations. We found that the stress of the Gamma nail composite was substantially reduced with the two screws configured in the anterior to posterior direction. This alignment can bear greater loading in the more demanding fracture types. In the subtrochanteric fracture or the comminuted fractures at the proximal femur, the optimal alignment of the two distal screws was in the anterior to posterior direction.

To investigate the flame stability in a solid-fuel ramjet combustor, time-accurate calculations using a compressible flow solver with a modified Godunov flux-splitting scheme have been performed on high Reynolds number turbulent non-premixed reacting flows over a backward-facing step with mass bleed on one wall. The combustion process considered was a one-step, irreversible, and finite rate chemical reaction. The numerical results for reacting flows show that the two-dimensional (2-D) simulations can provide reasonable predictions on the dimensionless particle number decay rate and residence time in the flame holding recirculation zone, evolutions of both axial and transverse mean velocity profiles, and critical characteristic exhaust velocity separating the sustained combustion from the non-sustained combustion. In addition to the validation of 2-D reacting flow calculations, two- and three-dimensionally computed mean-velocity profiles are compared with existing experimental data for isothermal flows to check the suitability of 2-D simulations on capturing the large-scale mean flows.

This paper develops a framework for the safety assessment of bridges based on the nondestructive test (NDT) results of concrete. The transient elastic wave test is performed to measure the P wave velocity of concrete. The Bayesian approach is adopted to construct the posterior distribution of concrete strength. Then, reliability analysis is carried out to evaluate the safety of the bridge using the modified distribution. The limit-state function is formulated according to the AASHTO specifications. Finally, the reliability index is compared to the target reliability to see if repair or reconstruction is required. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the safety assessment of a solid-slab bridge using the proposed method.

A computational model for flow in a plain-orifice atomizer is established to examine the inlet and geometry effects on discharge coefficients. The volume of fluid (VOF) method with finite volume formulation was employed to capture the liquid/gas interface. A continuum Surface Force (CSF) model was adopted to model the surface tension. The body-fitted coordinate system was used to facilitate the configuration of the atomizer. The influences of the inlet chamfer angle, the orifice length/diameter ratio, the Reynolds number, and the inlet turbulence intensity are analyzed. It is found that the optimum discharge coefficient occurs at a chamfer angle of about 50°. The discharge coefficient at first increases with the increase in the orifice length/diameter ratio and then it decreases. The discharge coefficient increases with the increase in the Reynolds number up to Re = 40000, after which it remains sensibly constant. The influence of the inlet turbulence intensity on discharge coefficient is not significant, especially for a longer orifice.