Flexible Osteogenic Glue as an All-In-One Solution to Assist Fracture Fixation and Healing

Osteogenic glue that reproduces the natural bone composition represents the final frontier of orthopedic adhesives with the potential to revolutionize surgical strategies against comminuted fractures. However, it is difficult to achieve an all-in-one formula, which could provide flexible and reliable adhesiveness while avoiding interfering with or even promoting the healing of glued fractures. Herein, an osteogenic glue characterized by inorganic-in-organic integration between amine-modified mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (AMBGN) and bioadhesive gelatin-dextran network (GelDex) is introduced as an all-in-one tool to flexibly adhere and splice bone fragments and subsequently guide fracture healing during degradation. Relying on such integration, a 4-fold improvement in cohesiveness is presented, followed by a nearly 5-fold enhancement in adhesive strength in ex vivo porcine bone samples. The reversible and re-adjustable adhesiveness also enables glue to effectively splice intricate fragments from highly comminuted fractures in the rabbit radius in an in vivo environment. Moreover, well-preserved organic–inorganic integrity during degradation of the glue guides sustained interfacial osteogenesis and achieve satisfying healing outcomes in glued fractures, as observed by the 2-fold improvement in biomechanical and radiological performance compared with commercially available cyanoacrylate adhesives. The current findings propose an all-in-one solution for the fixation of bone fragments during surgery.     

Use of CFD-DEM to evaluate the effect of intermediate stress ratio on the undrained behaviour of granular materials

This study investigates the effect of intermediate stress ratio (b) on the mechanical behaviour of granular soil in true triaxial tests. A CFD-DEM solver with the ability to model compressible fluid and moving mesh has been developed and calibrated based on existing experimental test results on Nevada sand. The effect of b on the undrained true triaxial test, which has been neglected in the literature, was investigated using a reasonable number of models. The effects of the initial confining stress and initial void ratio also have been studied. The developed model was used to calculate the hydrodynamic forces on the particles and evaluate the ratio of the particle–fluid interaction force to the resultant force on the particles. It has been demonstrated that, in numerical studies, the effect of these forces cannot be neglected.     

Effect of heat treatment on the roughness and mechanical properties of dental lithium disilicate glass-ceramics

In dental clinics, it is common to perform small fitting adjustments in dentures using a micro-grinding tool after testing them in the patient's mouth. This procedure increases local roughness and can lead to formation of microcracks on the prosthesis surface. This study aimed to investigate the benefits of a post-finishing heat treatment to surface roughness and crack healing and its effect on the flexural strength of lithium disilicate (LD) dental glass-ceramics. Commercially available lithium metasilicate, Li₂SiO₃, samples were heat treated at 840 °C for 7 min to induce the phase transformation into LD, Li₂Si₂O₅. The LD samples were characterized by X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Vickers hardness, Young’s modulus, and fracture toughness. One of the surfaces of the LD samples was sanded aiming to simulate the denture fitting adjustments performed in the dentist’s laboratory, generating a rough surface, Group 1. Half of the LD samples had their biaxial flexural strength evaluated by the piston-on-three-ball test (P–3B) and the other half were submitted to a second short-term heat treatment (840 °C - 5 min), Group 2, and later assessed by the P–3B. Roughness parameters in both groups were measured by 3D optical profilometry. After the crystallization heat treatment, formation of elongated LD crystals, Li₂Si₂O₅, 35% amorphous phase, and residual Li₃PO₄ was observed. In addition, the following mechanical property values were obtained: Vickers hardness = 5.8 ± 0.1 GPa, fracture toughness = 2.2 ± 0.1 MPa m^1/2, and Young’s modulus = 100.3 ± 0.3 GPa. The samples in Group 1 showed bending strength of 206 ± 30 MPa and the following roughness parameters: Ra = 0.45 ± 0.16 μm, Rz = 22.7 ± 6.7 μm, and PV = 27.7 ± 7.1 μm. In the samples in Group 2, the Ra, Rz and PV roughness parameters were 0.31 ± 0.12 μm, 5.2 ± 2.5 μm, and 9.2 ± 4.7 μm, respectively. With this decrease in roughness, the bending strength increased by 62%, with a mean value of 331 ± 59 MPa. In the need for machine finishing of LD-based glass-ceramic dental prostheses, the use of a second short-term heat treatment at 840 °C for 5 min generates considerable gains in bending strength, increasing the lifecycle of the prosthesis as a result of reduced surface roughness caused by softening of the remaining amorphous phase in the glass-ceramic. These conditions can be adapted to each chemical and crystallographic composition of the glass-ceramic under study.     

Influence of accelerated curing on the compressive strength of polymer-modified concrete

In recent building practice, rapid construction is one of the principal requisites. Furthermore, in designing concrete structures, compressive strength is the most significant of all parameters. While 3-d and 7-d compressive strength reflects the strengths at early phases, the ultimate strength is paramount. An effort has been made in this study to develop mathematical models for predicting compressive strength of concrete incorporating ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) at the later phases. Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) goodness-of-fit test was used to examine distribution of the data. The compressive strength of EVA-modified concrete was studied by incorporating various concentrations of EVA as an admixture and by testing at ages of 28, 56, 90, 120, 210, and 365 d. An accelerated compressive strength at 3.5 hours was considered as a reference strength on the basis of which all the specified strengths were predicted by means of linear regression fit. Based on the results of KS goodness-of-fit test, it was concluded that KS test statistics value (D) in each case was lower than the critical value 0.521 for a significance level of 0.05, which demonstrated that the data was normally distributed. Based on the results of compressive strength test, it was concluded that the strength of EVA-modified specimens increased at all ages and the optimum dosage of EVA was achieved at 16% concentration. Furthermore, it was concluded that predicted compressive strength values lies within a 6% difference from the actual strength values for all the mixes, which indicates the practicability of the regression equations. This research work may help in understanding the role of EVA as a viable material in polymer-based cement composites.     

Improved room-temperature hydrogen storage performance of lithium-doped MIL-100(Fe)/graphene oxide (GO) composite

Li⁺ doping is regarded as an effective strategy to enhance the room-temperature hydrogen storage of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this work, Li⁺ is doped into both MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-100(Fe)/graphene oxide (GO) composite, and it is demonstrated that the hydrogen uptake of Li⁺ doped MIL-100(Fe)/GO (2.02 wt%) is improved by 135% compared with Li⁺ doped MIL-100(Fe) (0.86 wt%) at 298 K and 50 bar, which is ascribed to its higher isosteric heat of adsorption (7.33 kJ/mol) resulting from its more accessible adsorption sites provided by doped Li⁺ ions and ultramicropores. Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation reveals that Li⁺ ions distributing in the interface between MIL-100(Fe) and GO within MIL-100(Fe)/GO composite is favorable for hydrogen adsorption owing to the increased number of adsorption sites, thus contributing to the enhanced hydrogen storage capacity. These findings demonstrate that MIL-100(Fe)/GO is a more promising Li⁺ doping substrate than MIL-100(Fe).     

Experimental study on high temperature performances of silica-based ceramic core for single crystal turbine blades

Silica-based ceramic cores are widely utilized for shaping the internal cooling canals of single crystal superalloy turbine blades. The thermal expansion behavior, creep resistance, and high temperature flexural strength are critical for the quality of turbine blades. In this study, the influence of zircon, particle size distribution, and sintering temperature on the high-temperature performance of silica-based ceramic cores were investigated. The results show that zircon is beneficial for narrowing the contraction temperature range and reducing the shrinkage, improving the creep resistance and high-temperature flexural strength significantly. Mixing coarse, medium and fine fused silica powders in a ratio of 5:3:2, not only reduced high temperature contraction, but effectively improved the creep resistance. Properly increasing the sintering temperature can slightly reduce the thermal deformation and improve the high-temperature flexural strength of the silica-based core, but excessively high sintering temperature negatively impacts the creep resistance and high-temperature flexural strength.     

异种铁素体耐热钢接头界面组织及其影响

综述了铁素体与铁素体异种金属焊缝（dissimilar metal welds，DMWs）接头界面组织及其影响。结果表明，在焊后热处理或运行温度下的铁素体钢DMWs接头的不均匀界面组织中，通常会形成脱碳层和增碳层。在铁素体钢DMWs焊接接头界面组织影响因素中，焊缝金属的化学成分有重要影响；焊后热处理规范（温度和时间）、工作温度下运行时间的影响较为突出；焊接工艺参数的影响亦不可忽略。异种钢接头界面处近缝区裂纹的产生，以及接头的蠕变强度随Larson Miller 参数增大而下降等不利影响，均为异种钢界面碳迁移行为所导致。焊缝成分控制法是接头界面组织控制或改善的必要条件，而脱碳层部位转移法能有效防止裂纹发生，亦是接头安全运行的重要工艺措施之一。     

Experimental study on mitigating wind erosion of calcareous desert sand using spray method for microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation

Wind erosion is one of the significant natural calamities worldwide, which degrades around one-third of global land. The eroded and suspended soil particles in the environment may cause health hazards, i.e. allergies and respiratory diseases, due to the presence of harmful contaminants, bacteria, and pollens. The present study evaluates the feasibility of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technique to mitigate wind-induced erosion of calcareous desert sand (Thar desert of Rajasthan province in India). The temperature during biotreatment was kept at 36 °C to stimulate the average temperature of the Thar desert. The spray method was used for bioaugmentation of Sporosarcina (S.) pasteurii and further treatment using chemical solutions. The chemical solution of 0.25 pore volume was sprayed continuously up to 5 d, 10 d, 15 d, and 20 d, using two different concentration ratios of urea and calcium chloride dihydrate viz 2:1 and 1:1. The biotreated samples were subjected to erosion testing (in the wind tunnel) at different wind speeds of 10 m/s, 20 m/s, and 30 m/s. The unconfined compressive strength of the biocemented crust was measured using a pocket penetrometer. The variation in calcite precipitation and microstructure (including the presence of crystalline minerals) of untreated as well as biotreated sand samples were determined through calcimeter, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDX). The results demonstrated that the erosion of untreated sand increases with an increase in wind speeds. When compared to untreated sand, a lower erosion was observed in all biocemented sand samples, irrespective of treatment condition and wind speed. It was observed that the sample treated with 1:1 cementation solution for up to 5 d, was found to effectively resist erosion at a wind speed of 10 m/s. Moreover, a significant erosion resistance was ascertained in 15 d and 20 d treated samples at higher wind speeds. The calcite content percentage, thickness of crust, bulk density, and surface strength of biocemented sand were enhanced with the increase in treatment duration. The 1:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution was found effective in improving crust thickness and surface strength as compared to 2:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution. The calcite crystals formation was observed in SEM analysis and calcium peaks were observed in EDX analysis for biotreated sand.     

Investigation of stress fields for non-standard sized glass plates loaded by ring-on-ring

A ring-on-ring (ROR) test is a prevailing test method for evaluating the equi-biaxial strength of glass materials. However, current ROR test standards limit the strength and size of glass to prevent a nonlinear behavior. In this study, the feasibility of ROR testing for non-standard, high-strength glass, such as tempered or ion-exchanged rectangular glass is investigated. To this end, ROR simulation based on theory and experiment is conducted for thirty non-standard glasses with widths of 100–300 mm and aspect ratios of 1.0–2.0. As a result, the maximum measurable stress was about 215.6 MPa for 100 × 200 mm glass and 481.3 MPa for 300 × 600 mm glass with a 3% deviation, which is well above the strength of regular tempered glass. The main purpose of this work is to understand the range of aspect ratio of horizontal and vertical widths of a glass plate that can be evaluated by the standard ROR test.     

Evolution of the structure and mechanical performance of Cansas-II SiC fibres after thermal treatment

Herein, an in-depth analysis of the effect of heat treatment at temperatures between 900 and 1500 °C under an Ar atmosphere on the structure as well as strength of Cansas-II SiC fibres was presented. The untreated fibres are composed of β-SiC grains, free carbon layers, as well as a small amount of an amorphous SiC_xO_y phase. As the heat-treatment temperature was increased to 1400 °C, a significant growth of the β-SiC grains and free carbon layers occurred along with the decomposition of the SiC_xO_y phase. Moreover, owing to the decomposition of the SiC_xO_y phase, some nanopores formed on the fibre surface upon heating at 1500 °C. The mean strength of the Cansas-II fibres decreased progressively from 2.78 to 1.20 GPa with an increase in the heat-treatment temperature. The degradation of the fibre strength can be attributed to the growth of critical defects, β-SiC grains, as well as the residual tensile stress.