A modelling approach for the nonlinear dynamics of assembled structures undergoing fretting wear

Assembled structures tend to exhibit nonlinear dynamic behaviour at high excitation levels due to the presence of contact interfaces. The possibility of building predictive models relies on the ability of the modelling strategy to capture the complex nonlinear phenomena occurring at the interface. One of these phenomena, normally neglected, is the fretting wear occurring at the frictional interface. In this paper, a computationally efficient modelling approach which enables considerations of the effect of fretting wear on the nonlinear dynamics is presented. A multi-scale strategy is proposed, in which two different time scales and space scales are used for the contact analysis and dynamic analysis. Thanks to the de-coupling of the contact and dynamic analysis, a more realistic representation of the contact interface, which includes surface roughness, is possible. The proposed approach is applied to a single bolted joint resonator with a simulated rough contact interface. A tendency towards an increase of real contact area and contact stiffness at the interface is clearly observed. The dynamic response of the system is shown to evolve over time, with a slight decrease of damping and an increase of resonance frequency, highlighting the impact of fretting wear on the system dynamics.

Outcomes of tumour related epilepsy in a specialised epilepsy surgery unit

INTRODUCTION

Seizures are an important cause of morbidity in patients with low grade gliomas with approximately 40% of cases drug resistant. The pathogenesis is quite complex and poorly understood. The treatment aims vary between almost purely epilepsy considerations and those that are primarily oncologic.

AIM

To determine whether patients who present with seizures and are found to have a low grade glioma have better outcomes when managed through a specialized epilepsy unit compared to the general neurosurgical service.

METHODS

A review of the prospectively collected database was performed over a 10 year period to identify 48 adult patients who present with a seizure and were subsequently found to have a low grade glioma. These patients were analysed with respect to management through the specialized epilepsy service or the general neurosurgical service. The primary outcome was Engel classification between the two groups. Secondary outcomes included recurrence, postoperative deficits, delay to surgery, histology, grade and extent of resection.

OUTCOMES

The patients managed through the epilepsy service had significantly higher rate of favourable Engel outcomes (I and II) compared to the general neurosurgery service (OR: 13.2, 95% CI: 1.239-140.679; P = 0.033). The epilepsy surgery group patients had a significantly higher delay to surgery (P < 0.001). The patients in the epilepsy service had a significantly higher resection ratio compared to the general neurosurgery service (73% vs 127%, P = 0.014). Rates of recurrence were not different between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Patients with tumour related epilepsy who undergo an intensive presurgical evaluation may obtain better seizure related outcomes.