Towards quantifying the effect of pump wave amplitude on cracks in the Nonlinear Coda Wave Interferometry method.

In Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT&E), an ultrasonic method called Nonlinear Coda Wave Interferometry (NCWI) has recently been developed to detect cracks in heterogeneous materials such as concrete. The underlying principle of NCWI is that a pump wave is used to activate the crack breathing which interact with the source probe signal. The resulting signal is then measured at receiver probes. In this work, a static finite element model (FEM) is used to simulate the pump wave/crack interaction in order to quantifies the average effect of the pump waves on a crack. By considering both crack opening and closure phases during the dynamic pump wave excitation, this static model aims to determine the pump stress amplitude for a given relative crack length variation due to the dynamic pump wave excitation at different amplitudes. Numerical results show, after reaching certain stress amplitude, a linear relationship between the relative crack length variation and the equivalent static load when considering a partially closed crack at its tips. Then, numerical NCWI outputs, e.g., the relative velocity change θ and the decorrelation coefficient Kd, have been calculated using a spectral element model (SEM). These results agree with previously published experimental NCWI results derived for a slightly damaged 2D glass plate.

The initial single yeast cell adhesion on glass via optical trapping and Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek predictions.

We used an optical tweezer to investigate the adhesion of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae onto a glass substrate at the initial contact. Micromanipulation of free-living objects with single-beam gradient optical trap enabled to highlight mechanisms involved in this initial contact. As a function of the ionic strength and with a displacement parallel to the glass surface, the yeast adheres following different successive ways: (i) Slipping and rolling at 1.5 mM NaCl, (ii) slipping, rolling, and sticking at 15 mM NaCl, and (iii) only sticking at 150 mM. These observations were numerous and reproducible. A kinetic evolution of these adhesion phenomena during yeast movement was clearly established. The nature, range, and relative intensity of forces involved in these different adhesion mechanisms have been worked out as a quantitative analysis from Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) and extended DLVO theories. Calculations show that the adhesion mechanisms observed and their affinity with ionic strength were mainly governed by the Lifshitz-van der Waals interaction forces and the electrical double-layer repulsion to which are added specific contact forces linked to "sticky" glycoprotein secretion, considered to be the main forces capable of overcoming the short-range Lewis acid-base repulsions.

Removal forces and adhesion properties of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on glass substrates probed by optical tweezer.

In agroindustry, the hygiene of solid surfaces is of primary importance in order to ensure that products are safe for consumers. To improve safety, one of the major ways consists in identifying and understanding the mechanisms of microbial cell adhesion to nonporous solid surfaces or filtration membranes. In this paper we investigate the adhesion of the yeast cell Saccharomyces cerevisiae (about 5 mum in diameter) to a model solid surface, using well-defined hydrophilic glass substrates. An optical tweezer device developed by Piau [J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 144, 1 (2007)] was applied to yeast cells in contact with well-characterized glass surfaces. Two planes of observation were used to obtain quantitative measurements of removal forces and to characterize the corresponding mechanisms at a micrometer length scale. The results highlight various adhesion mechanisms, depending on the ionic strength, contact time, and type of yeast. The study has allowed to show a considerable increase of adhering cells with the ionic strength and has provided a quantitative measurement of the detachment forces of cultured yeast cells. Force levels are found to grow with ionic strength and differences in mobility are highlighted. The results clearly underline that a microrheological approach is essential for analyzing the adhesion mechanisms of biological systems at the relevant local scales.

Dissociation of thixotropic clay gels.

Laponite dispersions in water, at moderate ionic strength and high pH, are thixotropic: depending on previous history, they can be fluids or gels. The mechanisms of the fluid-gel and gel-fluid transitions have been examined through ionic analysis of the aqueous phase, static light, and small-angle neutron scattering, rheological experiments, and centrifugation. The results indicate that the particles attract each other in edge-to-face configurations. These attractions cause the particles to gather in microdomains, which subsequently associate to form very large fractal superaggregates, containing all the particles in the dispersion. A gel state is obtained when the network of connections is macroscopic. This network is destroyed by the application of sufficient strain, but it heals at rest. The addition of peptizers weakens the edge-to-face attractions, and makes the healing times much slower.