Rheology of stimulated whole saliva in a typical pre-orthodontic sample population

The dynamic viscosity () of stimulated whole saliva in a typical pre-orthodontic sample population was characterized as a function of temperature (T). Samples were collected from 30 adolescents or young adults, after screening for factors that are known to have an effect on salivary viscosity. Using a cone and plate viscometer, 1.5 ml of stimulated whole saliva was evaluated at a constant shear rate of 450 s^-1 from T=20°C to T=40°C. Data from the -T plots showed a negative dependence of the form, =a–bT, over a range of from 1.08 to 2.45 centipoise (cps) at 34°C. Most of the samples fell into a narrow envelope, where the mean of the saliva samples ranged from 2.42±0.61 cps at 20°C to 1.57±0.32 cps at 37°C. With regard to sample stability, viscosity-time plots indicated that a small but predictable decrease in occurred during the 3 h period. The -T plots generated from fresh and frozen saliva samples demonstrated an appreciable change in as a result of refrigeration. With regard to sample reproducibility, viscometric data obtained from a typical pre-orthodontic patient over a 1-week period fluctuated within a fairly broad envelope of values.Presented, in part, at the 21st Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the A.A.D.R., Boston, Massachusetts, March, 1992.     

Influence of pore volume on laser performance of Nd : YAG ceramics

For present study, 1.1 at% Nd-doped YAG ceramics with a controlled pore volume (150–930 vol ppm) were fabricated by a solid-state reaction method using high-purity powders. The scattering coefficients of Nd:YAG ceramics, obtained from Fresnel' equation, increased simply with increases in the pore volume. The cw laser output power of Nd:YAG ceramics was clearly related to the scattering coefficients of the specimens examined in the present works, which in turn were affected on the pore volume. The effective scattering coefficients of Nd:YAG ceramics with a pore volume of 150 vol ppm were nearly equivalent to those of a 0.9 at%Nd:YAG single crystal by Czochralski method. As the exciting power was increased under excitation by an 808-nm diode laser, however, the laser output power of the Nd:YAG ceramics exceeded that of the Nd:YAG single crystal because of the fairly large amount of Nd additives. The lasing performance of the Nd:YAG ceramics changed drastically with change in pore volume. On the other hand, lasing performance was not affected by the existence of grain boundaries in the polycrystalline Nd:YAG ceramics.     

Synthesis of aluminum infiltrated boron suboxide drag cutters and drill bits

Synthesis of boron suboxide (B₆O) was made by reactive sintering of crystalline boron and zinc oxide powders at 1450 °C, in argon, for 12 h. After sintering, Vickers microhardness testing was performed on the material synthesized and an average hardness value of 34 GPa was obtained. Sintered suboxide (in crushed and ground powder form) was then analyzed through optical and scanning electron microscopies and X-ray diffraction. Following the completion of the analyses, consolidation of the powder was performed. Two different routes were carried out: (1) explosive consolidation which was performed in double tube (with a density value of 2.22 g/cm³) and single tube (with a density value of 2.12 g/cm³) canister design arrangements and (2) hot pressing which was performed in a graphite die assembly, at 1600 °C, in vacuum, for 2 and 4 h (with density values of 2.15 and 2.18 g/cm³ respectively). Consolidated samples of both routes showed different levels of mechanical attachment, agglomeration, porosity, fracture toughness and fracture strength values, whereas microhardness values and X-ray diffraction plots (as shown in Table I and Figs 6 and 8 respectively) were determined to be similar. Following characterizations, compacts of both routes were then given a high temperature sintering treatment (pressureless sintering) at 1800 °C, in vacuum, for full densification. Both in the as consolidated and densification sintered stages test results revealed the most desirable and well-established properties for the explosively consolidated double tube design compacts (with densification sintered density, microhardness and fracture toughness values of 2.46 g/cm³, 38 GPa and 7.05 MPa m^1/2 respectively). Consolidation and desification sintering steps were then followed by a pressureless infiltration step. Aluminum was infiltrated into densification sintered double tube design consolidated and 4 h of pressed samples (better-compacted and better-sintered compacts) in the temperature range 1100–1250 °C, in argon, for 10 h. During infiltrations, the optimum temperature of the infiltration process was determined to be 1200 °C. Characterization results revealed the most uniform and well established properties once more for the double tube design explosively consolidated compact (with aluminum infiltrated density, microhardness and fracture toughness values of 2.55 g/cm³, 41 GPa and 8.70 MPa m^1/2 respectively).     

Effect of pH on 980 °C spinel phase-mullite formation of Al2O3-SiO2 gels

Different reaction paths of mullite formation via sol-gel processing techniques are reviewed. These variations are due to differences in hydrolysis/gelation behaviours of the silica and alumina components used. Variations of pH during processing without altering other variables follow three different routes of mullite formation. In the highly acidic region(pH 1), the gel does not exhibit a 980 °C exotherm but forms -Al₂O₃. Mullite forms at high temperature by diminution of -Al₂O₃ and -cristobalite, respectively. In the pH range of 3–4.5, gels exhibit a 980 °C exotherm and develop only mullite. In the highly alkaline region (pH 14), the gel produces a Si-Al spinel phase at the 980 °C exotherm and mullite formation at the 1330 °C exotherm takes place from the intermediate Si-Al spinel phase.     

Influence of the martensitic transformation on the deformation behaviour of an AISI 316 stainless steel at low temperatures

The deformation behaviour of an AISI 316 stainless steel under uniaxial tension was examined at 25, – 70 and – 196° C. The flow curves exhibited peculiar shapes and the work hardening rates were found to increase with strain beyond certain values of plastic strain. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the transformation to-martensite commenced at these values of plastic strain and thereafter the volume fraction of increased steadily with strain. On the other hand, the amount of the-martensite was found to increase with plastic strain initially, reach a maximum and then decrease gradually. The contribution of the-phase to the flow stress of the alloy was found to be directly proportional to the volume fraction of. It is shown that the analysis of the flow curves provides a simple method of detecting the onset of the strain-induced martensitic transformation as well as estimating the amount of this martensite during further deformation.     

The temperature-dependence of the mechanical properties of unidirectionally solidified silver-germanium eutectic

Work-hardening curves of the unidirectionally solidified silver-germanium eutectic have been determined by tensile deformation between room temperature and 615° C. The transition stress, ₀ between elastic and plastic deformation of the germanium platelets, exhibits the same temperature dependence ( ₀ exp Q/KT) over the whole temperature range. ₀ is determined, however, by two effects: the temperature-dependent critical shear stress of germanium and the lowering of the shear strength, , of the phase interfaces. Estimates of yield 14 kg mm^–2 at room temperature and <0.12 kg mm^–2 at 615° C. At low temperatures (<400° C), the composite fracture is initiated by the fracture of fibres (platelets), whereas at higher temperatures, the matrix fails first. As long as the interface shear strength is sufficiently large, the composite fracture is retarded resulting in a pronounced maximum of the fracture strain at 550° C.     

Fracture toughness and hardness of zinc sulphide as a function of grain size

The erosion properties of brittle materials depend upon plastic deformation and crack generation at an impact or indented site. Vickers indentations have been used to investigate the plastic processes and crack systems in chemical vapour deposited zinc sulphide of different grain sizes. The hardness,H, and the local fracture toughnessK _c, are dependent upon the grain size of the material. For small grain size material (<50 m) the Vickers hardness was found to increase with decreasing grain size in accord with the Petch mechanism, i.e.H=H ₀ +kd ^–1/2 wherek andH ₀ are constants andd is the grain diameter. A maximum hardness of ca. 4 GPa has been observed for material with an average 0.5 m grain diameter. In large grain size material, hardness anisotropy within the grains causes significant experimental scatter in the hardness measurements because the plastic impression formed by the indenter (load 10 N and 100 N) is smaller than the grain diameter. The values ofK _c obtained using an indentation technique show that for grain sizes less than 8 mK _c decreases with decreasing grain size. For materials with a grain size in the range 500 m to 8 m, well developed median cracks were not observed, however, the radius of the fracture zone was measured in order to estimate an effectiveK _c. The effectiveK _c was found to increase approximately linearly with the reciprocal root of the grain size. Consideration of the models for elastic/plastic impact and micromechanics of crack nucleation in conjuction with the variation ofK _c andH, indicate that zinc sulphide with a mean grain size of 8 m will give the optimum solid particle and rain erosion resistance.     

The mechanical behaviour of cuprous oxide

The stress-strain behaviour under compresion at constant strain rate of single crystals (051 and 122) compression axis) and polycrystalline samples of cuprous oxide have been examined at room temperature and hydrostatic pressure up to 12 kb and at atmospheric pressure and high temperature up to 600° C. At high environmental pressure, plastic flow occurs at 6 kb. At high temperatures and one atmosphere, extensive plastic deformation was observed after 500° C. The resultant slip planes were of the {110} and {100} types. Transmission electron microscopy of thin foils prepared from deformed specimens shows that the Burgers' vectors of the glide dislocations are of the 111, 110 and 100 types.     

Coherent Brillouin Spectroscopy in Solid Parahydrogen

We applied coherent Brillouin spectroscopy to solid parahydrogen, and measured the Brillouin spectra of longitudinal acoustic modes at 5.6K. It was found that the linewidth of these spectra is 1.5MHz. From the observed Brillouin shift and the crystal orientation, the elastic stiffness was determined as C ₁₁=0.355±0.016GPa and C ₃₃=0.432±0.022GPa.     

Subsolidus phase relations in the ZnS-In2S3 system: 600 to 1080° C

Eleven ternary compounds were synthesised, of which nine are new. The seven most ZnS-rich compounds form a series. Each has a primitive hexagonal lattice witha=3.85±0.01 Å. Thec-dimension varies from 37.47 Å (39 ZnS8 In₂S₃) to 18.63 Å (18 ZnS8 In₂S₃) with a periodicity of 3.14 Å which can be related to a decrease in the ZnS content. One of the four remaining compounds (12 ZnS8 In₂S₃) is triclinic, but at least two polytypes are present. The more common variety has the parameters:a=3.86 Å,b=15.48 Å,c=3.54 Å,=90° 16,=120° 02 and=89° 47. The structure of the other polytype and of compounds 17 ZnS:8 In₂S₃ and 10 ZnS8 In₂S₃ have not been determined. Stoichiometric ZnIn₂S₄ has a rhombic hexagonal lattice (a=3.86 Å,c=36.95 Å). This ternary compound which has been synthesised previously is the only one to show appreciable solid solution. Approximately 2 mole % ZnS is soluble in ZnIn₂S₄ at 600° C; this increases to 8 mole % at 1080° C.     

The effect of an addition of molybdenum on the quenched and aged structure of a Ti-1 wt % Si alloy

Titanium-1% silicon alloys with the addition of 0.5 and 1 wt % Mo, when water quenched from the field, contain small regions of the -phase lying between the martensitic crystals indicating that some diffusional changes occur during quenching. On ageing the 1% Mo alloy at 650° C titanium suicide precipitation occurs together with spheroidization of the -phase.Formerly at Imperial College.     

Electrical conductivity in hot-pressed nitrogen ceramics

The a.c. and d.c. electrical conductivities of some hot-pressed polycrystalline nitrogen ceramics have been measured between 400 and 1000° C. The materials examined were Si₃N₄, 5.0% MgO/Si₃N₄ and two sialons, Si_(6–z) · Al _z · O _z · N_(8–z) having z 3.2 and z 4.0 respectively. The electrical behaviour of all the materials showed similar general features. The d.c. conductivities were about 10^{–10 –1} cm^–1 at 400° C and rose to between 10^–6 and 10^{–5 –1} cm^–1 at 1000° C. The a.c. Data, taken over the frequency range 15 Hz to 5 kHz showed that below about 500° C the a.c. conductivity ( _a.c.) varied with frequency as _a.c. ^s where 0.7 _d.c.) agreed well with the relation _d.c. = A exp(–B/T ^1/4). Above 700° C both the a.c. and d.c. conductivities followed log T ^–1. Hall effect and thermoelectric power measurements enabled the Hall mobility to be estimated as less than 10^–4 cm² V^–1 sec^–1 at 400° C and showed that the materials were all p-type below 900° C and n-type above 900° C. The electrical properties of all four materials are consistent with the presence of a glassy phase.     

The formation of single-phase Si-Al-O-N ceramics

Si-Al-O-N ceramics have been prepared by hot-pressing mixtures of Si₃N₄, AIN and SiO₂ (with an addition of 1% MgO) having varying ratios of AIN/SiO₂. Microstructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy has demonstrated the progressive increase in grain-boundary silicate glass in pressings prepared from compositions with excess SiO₂ to compositions given by the formula Si_6–zAl_zO_zN_8–z. This formula represents the simple substitution of Al for Si atoms and O for N atoms in the hexagonalSi₃N₄ crystal. Microstructures for this balanced composition are essentially single phase, consiting of non-faceted, sub-micron, grains with a grain-boundary segregate layer of glass-forming silicate composition, containing impurity and additive metal ions, which may be detected only by Auger spectroscopy. This microstructure is in contrast with unbalanced compositions which contain faceted grains joined by a glassy silicate phase which is easily detected by electron microscopy. Final microstructural analysis combined with observations of density and phase content with progress of hot-pressing has confirmed the important role of liquid silicate formation and a solution-reprecipitation mechanism for densification. The presence of a 1% MgO additive is shown to accelerate this process, forming a low melting point silicate by reaction with SiO₂, assisting the early solution of AIN and the reprecipitation of substituted crystals.     

Polymorphism in Sr3Fe2O7−x

The compound Sr₃Fe₂O_7–x , with variable iron valence, was investigated by X-ray powder techniques, both at room and at high temperatures. If the material is examined in massive form, a single phase called -Sr₃Fe₂O_7–x appears as previously reported in the literature. This -phase is tetragonal and exhibits the lattice parameters: a=3.874 and c=40.314 Å. Two other phases, called and -Sr₃Fe₂O_7–x , respectively, can be obtained on heating the finely powdered material when laid on a flat platinum support. The form is stable up to 1275° C, while the form is revealed only above 1275° C and changes always into -Sr₃Fe₂O_7–x when quenched. Both and phases are tetragonal, with a=4.001 and c= 58.251 for the form and a=4.013, c=57.092 Å for the form. The transition involves a true phase equilibrium, while the transformation is possible only by means of a suitable mechanical treatment of the material.     

Singular Band Behavior of the Extended Emery Model for the Superconducting Cuprates

Mean field slave-boson approximation is performed on the extended Emery model for the CuO₂ conducting plane. The model is parameterized by Cu–O charge transfer energy _pd , copper–oxygen overlap t ₀, oxygen–oxygen overlap t', and Coulomb interaction U on the copper site taken as infinite. Special emphasis is placed on the role of t in the renormalization trends of the effective band parameters _pf and t, replacing _pd and t ₀, at small doping . It is shown that small, negative t expands the range of stability of the metallic phase, changing, in the second order of the perturbation theory, the nature of the metal–insulator transition point. In the nonperturbative limit, t modifies strongly the renormalization of _pf , making it saturate at the value of 4t. Finite doping suppresses the insulating state approximately symmetrically with respect to its sign. The regime _pf 4t fits very well the ARPES spectra of Y123, Bi2212, and LSCO and also explans, in the latter case, the evolution of the FS with doping accompanied by the spectral weight-transfer from the oxygen to the resonant band.     

Fatigue crack growth behaviour of tungsten carbide-cobalt hardmetals

Fatigue crack propagation studies have been carried out on a range of WC-Co hardmetals of varying cobalt content and grain size using a constant-stress intensity factor double torsion test specimen geometry. Results have confirmed the marked influence of mean stress (throughK _max), which is interpreted in terms of static modes of fracture occurring in conjunction with a true fatigue process, the existence of which can be rationalized through the absence of any frequency effect. Dramatic increases in fatigue crack growth rate are found asK _max approaches that value of stress intensity factor ( 0.9K_IC) for which static crack growth under monotonic load (or static fatigue) occurs in these materials. Lower crack growth rates, however, produce fractographic features indistinguishable from those resulting from fast fracture. These observations, and the important effect of increasing mean free path of the cobalt binder in reducing fatigue crack growth rate, can reasonably be explained through a consideration of the mechanism of fatigue crack advance through ligament rupture of the cobalt binder at the tip of a propagating crack.     

Shear viscosity of liquid4He and3He-4He mixtures,especially near the superfluid transition

High-resolution measurements of are reported for liquid⁴He and³He-⁴He mixtures at saturated vapor pressures between 1.2 and 4.2 K with particular emphasis on the superfluid transition. Here is the mass density, the shear viscosity, and in the superfluid phase both and are the contributions from the normal component of the fluid ( _n and _n ). The experiments were performed with a torsional oscillator operating at 151 Hz. The mole fraction X of³He in the mixtures ranged from 0.03 to 0.65. New data for the total density and data for _n by various authors led to the calculation of . For⁴He, the results for are compared with published ones, both in the normal and superfluid phases, and also with predictions in the normal phase both over a broad range and close to T. The behavior of and of in mixtures if presented. The sloped/dT near T and its change at the superfluid transition are found to decrease with increasing³He concentration. Measurements at one temperature of versus pressure indicate a decreasing dependence of on molar volume asX(³He) increases. Comparison of at T, the minimum of _n in the superfluid phase and the temperature of this minimum is made with previous measurements. Thermal conductivity measurements in the mixtures, carried out simultaneously with those of , revealed no difference in the recorded superfluid transition, contrary to earlier work. In the appendices, we present data from new measurements of the total density for the same mixtures used in viscosity experiments. Furthermore, we discuss the data for _n determined for⁴He and for³He-⁴He mixtures, and which are used in the analysis of the data.     

Engineered flux pinning centres in Pb-doped high temperature superconducting “Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8” ceramics

The Pb solubility of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ is determined within the concentration range Bi_2.18-x Pb _x Sr₂CaCu_8+d with 0 x 0.6 and the temperature range from 800 to 900°C. From a consideration of the Pb solubility in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ a simple annealing procedure was developed to precipitate (Pb,Bi)₄(Sr,Ca)₅Cu0_10+d (451 phase) in high-temperature superconducting Pb-rich Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ ceramics. The precipitation results in a two-fold increase of the critical current density which is believed to express improved pinning properties of the superconducting ceramics. The microstructures of the samples with increased critical current density were studied with respect to the grain size and volume content of the 451 phase.     

Carbothermal reduction synthesis of nanocrystalline zirconium carbide and hafnium carbide powders using solution-derived precursors

Zirconium carbide (ZrC) and hafnium carbide (HfC) powders were produced by the carbothermal reduction reaction of carbon and the corresponding metal oxide (ZrO₂ and HfO₂, respectively). Solution-based processing was used to achieve a fine-scale (i.e., nanometer-level) mixing of the reactants. The reactions were substantially completed at relatively low temperatures (<1500°C) and the resulting products had small average crystallite sizes (50–130 nm). However, these products contained some dissolved oxygen in the metal carbide lattice and higher temperatures were required to complete the carbothermal reduction reactions. Dry-pressed compacts prepared using ZrC-based powders with 100 nm crystallite size could be pressurelessly sintered to 99% relative density at 1950°C.     

Computation of particle settling speed and orientation distribution in suspensions of prolate spheroids

A numerical technique for the dynamical simulation of three-dimensional rigid particles in a Newtonian fluid is presented. The key idea is to satisfy the no-slip boundary condition on the particle surface by a localized force-density distribution in an otherwise force-free suspending fluid. The technique is used to model the sedimentation of prolate spheroids of aspect ratio b/a=5 at Reynolds number 03. For a periodic lattice of single spheroids, the ideas of Hasimoto are extended to obtain an estimate for the finite-size correction to the sedimentation velocity. For a system of several spheroids in periodic arrangement, a maximum of the settling speed is found at the effective volume fraction (b/a)²04, where is the solid-volume fraction. The occurence of a maximum of the settling speed is partially explained by the competition of two effects: (i) a change in the orientation distribution of the prolate spheroids whose major axes shift from a mostly horizontal orientation (corresponding to small sedimentation speeds) at small to a more uniform orientation at larger , and (ii) a monotonic decrease of the the settling speed with increasing solid-volume fraction similar to that predicted by the Richardson–Zaki law (1–)⁵⁵ for suspensions of spheres.