Background: Intervertebral disc (IVD) diseases are major public health problem in industrialized countries where they affect a large proportion of the population. In particular, IVD degeneration is considered to be one of the leading causes of pain consultation and sick leave. The aim of this study was to develop a new method for assessing the functionality of IVD in order to diagnose IVD degeneration. Methods: For this purpose, we have designed a specific device that enables to mechanically load porcine IVD ex vivo in the 4.7-Tesla horizontal superconducting magnet of a magnetic resonance (MR) scanner. Proton density weighted imaging (ρ_H-MRI) of the samples was acquired. Findings: The post-processing on MR images allowed (1) to reconstruct the 3D deformation under a known mechanical load and (2) to infer the IVD porosity assuming an incompressible poroelastic model. Interpretation: This study demonstrates the ability to follow the change in morphology and hydration of an IVD using MR measurements, thereby providing valued information for a better understanding of IVD function.

Improving the H-Darrieus rotor is often followed by the investigation of the influence of the turbine’s parameter design, notably, the aspect ratio, the solidity (σ), the tip speed ratio, and the airfoil profile shape. In this work, we are interested in both the aerodynamic flows around a straight cambered blade profile and the rotor turbine wake separation of a Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine. The aim of this study is to better understand the evolution of the instantaneous torque and the generated-separated blade vortex during full rotation. Indeed, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of a vertical axis wind turbine with a straight cambered blade profile NACA4312 operating over a large range of tip speed ratio is considered. The flows are governed by Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the turbulence is modeled with shear stress transport formulations k-ω. This research revealed a high correlation between the evolution of the torque coefficient and the generated-separated blades vortex. In particular, a good correlation between the maximum tip vortices size and the torque coefficient peak is demonstrated.

The intervertebral discs (IVD) are among the essential organs of the human body, ensuring the mobility of the spine. These organs possess a high proportion of water. However, as the discs age, this content decreases, which can potentially lead to various diseases called degenerative disc diseases. This water content is therefore an important indicator of the well-being of the disc. In this paper, we propose photoacoustic imaging as a means of probing a disc and quantitatively recovering its molecular composition, which should allow concluding on its state. An adjoint-assisted gradient descent scheme is implemented to recover the optical absorption coefficient in the disc, from which, if spectroscopic measurements are performed, the molecular composition can be deduced. The algorithm was tested on synthetic measurements. A realistic numerical phantom was built from magnetic resonance imaging of an actual IVD of a pig. A simplified experiment, with a single laser source, was performed. Results show the feasibility of using photoacoustics imaging to probe IVDs. The influences of exact and approximate formulations of the gradient are studied. The impact of noise on the reconstructions is also evaluated.

In the present paper, two configurations of structured reactors (with and without) chimney tray placed below the packed bed have been investigated to study their effect on maldistribution factor and pressure drop characteristics. A simulation result based on a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics was involved using ANSYS Fluent. First, maldistribution factors without chimney tray were calculated and compared to the results taken from the literature. The results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data of Yuan et al. Second, the reactor with a chimney tray was modeled in Fluent, and steady-state simulations were performed. The uniformity due to the turbulence of the fluid was carried out using different turbulence models, and the velocity profiles along the axial direction inside the reactor were obtained. As a result, the comparison shows that the presence of a chimney tray yields lower maldistribution factor enhancement by 23% compared to the conventional structured reactor under the same operating condition. The effect of the plate orientation is also determined, and it is found that the maximum pressure drop is achieved through the rows with an orientation angle of α = 45° up to 2.3% higher than of α = 0° and α = 90°.

H-Darrieus vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) capture wind regardless of its direction and operate effectively even in challenging and turbulent wind conditions. As a result, the blades operate under erratic and intricate aerodynamic loads, which cause them to bend. The performance of the H-Darrieus rotor will therefore be impacted by the blade’s deflection. This study aims at investigating the dynamic aerostructure influence on a novel convex-bladed H-Darrieus geometry. The results are compared to a straight-bladed baseline rotor. To do so, a two-way fluid–structure interaction (FSI)-coupled approach is performed to accurately address this issue. This approach allows for the simultaneous resolution of the fluid flow around the rotor and the mechanical structure responses inside the blades. The turbulent flows are resolved using the k-ω-SST model together with the URANS equations through computational fluid dynamics (CFD), while the structural deflections of the blades are assessed using finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the performance of both H-Darrieus turbines decreases with increasing deformation. In addition, the study found that the carbon fiber composite (M1) material has the least deformation in the convex and straight blades, with values of 9.1 mm and 20.331 mm, respectively. The glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy composite (M3) material shows the most significant deflection across both types, with displacements of 32.50 mm and 73.78 mm for the straight blade and 19.02 mm and 43.03 mm for the convex blade. This study also reveals that the straight blade has a peak displacement of 73.785 mm when using the M3 material at TSR = 3, while the convex blade has a minimum displacement of 20.331 mm when using the M1 material, highlighting the varying performance characteristics of the materials. The maximum stress observed occurs in the straight blade, registering at 324.1 MPa with TSR = 3, which aligns closely with the peak displacement values, particularly for the aluminum alloy material (M2). In contrast, the convex blade made from the first material (M1) exhibits the lowest stress levels among the tested configurations.