Induction Hardening of Spur Gearwheels Made from 42CrMo4 Hardening and Tempering Steel by Employing Spray Cooling

As a rule, induction surface hardening is carried out industrially by employing polymer solutions since these ensure a more homogeneous quench than immersion cooling in water. Besides reproducing the quenching process, the intention here is to minimise the hardening defects and the distortions arising from the heat treatment. Polymer solutions also have a few disadvantages which include, among others, poor environmental compatibility and handleability. Quenching by means of spray cooling provides an effective alternative. The purpose of the current investigation is to substitute the polymer solution by a water‐air spray in induction hardening equipment for surface hardening spur gearwheels made of 42CrMo4 hardening and tempering steel. The suitability of spray cooling was assessed by means of hardness measurements, residual stress conditions, distortion measurements and by metallographic examinations. Based on the analyses currently carried out, it was possible to show that the two‐phase spray cooling represents an alternative quenching method which produces comparable component properties.     

Preparation of high-strength (Ta,W)C solid-solutions by spark plasma sintering

(Ta,W)C bulks were prepared by spark plasma sintering. Densification kinetics and solid-solution formation kinetics were performed on the powder mixtures using TaC and W powders. The as-received tungsten powder had a spherical shape and rather coarse size. By using the crushed and as-received powder, it can be suggested that sintering at 2000°C limits the reaction volume to 3–6 μm and hence allows forming a complete solid-solution using finer powders. The lattice parameter, hardness, toughness, and strength were investigated as a function of the TaC content. The flexural strength of the (Ta,W)C ceramic bulks was investigated up to 2000°C and it was found that the maximum strength was for the 60 mol.% TaC composition. Strength as a function of the temperature tended to increase up to 1200°C followed by a gradual decrease to 2000°C. When the TaC was reinformed by coarse W spheres, the flexural strength monotonically decreased from 570 MPa at room temperature to 220 MPa at 2000°C.     

The Challenges of O2 Detection in Biological Fluids: Classical Methods and Translation to Clinical Applications

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is deeply involved in preserving the life of cellular tissues and human beings due to its key role in cellular metabolism: its alterations may reflect important pathophysiological conditions. DO levels are measured to identify pathological conditions, explain pathophysiological mechanisms, and monitor the efficacy of therapeutic approaches. This is particularly relevant when the measurements are performed in vivo but also in contexts where a variety of biological and synthetic media are used, such as ex vivo organ perfusion. A reliable measurement of medium oxygenation ensures a high-quality process. It is crucial to provide a high-accuracy, real-time method for DO quantification, which could be robust towards different medium compositions and temperatures. In fact, biological fluids and synthetic clinical fluids represent a challenging environment where DO interacts with various compounds and can change continuously and dynamically, and further precaution is needed to obtain reliable results. This study aims to present and discuss the main oxygen detection and quantification methods, focusing on the technical needs for their translation to clinical practice. Firstly, we resumed all the main methodologies and advancements concerning dissolved oxygen determination. After identifying the main groups of all the available techniques for DO sensing based on their mechanisms and applicability, we focused on transferring the most promising approaches to a clinical in vivo/ex vivo setting.     

Synthesis of diamond from a chlorinated organic substance under hydrothermal conditions

Hydrothermal growth of diamond particles and films was achieved during interaction of a liquid organic precursor (C₂H₃Cl₃) and 10 M NaOH in the presence of diamond or cubic BN seeds at the temperature 300 °C and 1 GPa pressure. Synthesized diamond was thoroughly characterized by TG-DTA, SEM, EDX, TEM, Raman spectroscopy and had (220) preferable orientation according to XRD pattern in the case of the film.     

Consolidation and high-temperature strength of monolithic lanthanum hexaboride

In this study we explored the densification, microstructure evolution, and high-temperature properties of bulk lanthanum hexaboride. LaB₆ bulks were consolidated using spark-plasma sintering only in the temperature range between 1400°C and 1700°C. We adopted flash spark plasma sintering (SPS) of LaB₆ using a direct current heating without a graphite die. We observed a peculiar grain-size gradient when coarse grains exceeding 300 μm were observed on the top side of the specimen, while the bottom side had a grain size of 15–20 μm. Such large grain was not observed using SPS at 2000°C, suggesting that these might originate from a local overheating. Based on the three-point flexural tests, it was observed that the toughness and strength of the LaB₆ were acceptable at room-temperature (3.1 ± 0.2 MPa m^1/2, 300 ± 20 MPa). However, at 1600°C, these parameters would decrease to 1.3 ± 0.1 MPa m^1/2 and 120 ± 40 MPa, respectively.     

Protective Effect of Water-Soluble C60 Fullerene Nanoparticles on the Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury of the Muscle Soleus in Rats

The biomechanical parameters of muscle soleus contraction in rats and their blood biochemical indicators after the intramuscular administration of water-soluble C₆₀ fullerene at doses of 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/kg 1 h before the onset of muscle ischemia were investigated. In particular, changes in the contraction force of the ischemic muscle soleus, the integrated power of the muscle, the time to achieve the maximum force response, the dynamics of fatigue processes, and the parameters of the transition from dentate to smooth tetanus, levels of creatinine, creatine kinase, lactate and lactate dehydrogenase, and parameters of prooxidant–antioxidant balance (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, hydrogen peroxide, and reduced glutathione and catalase) were analyzed. The positive therapeutic changes in the studied biomechanical and biochemical markers were revealed, which indicate the possibility of using water-soluble C₆₀ fullerenes as effective prophylactic nanoagents to reduce the severity of pathological conditions of the muscular system caused by ischemic damage to skeletal muscles.