Change in the Low-Cycle Performance on the 3D-Printed Materials ABS, ASA, HIPS, and PLA Exposed to Mineral Oil.

Three-dimensionally printed parts are increasingly used in industry for quick repairs. They are often operated in the presence of grease, oil, and others. This article describes the effect of engine mineral oil on the fatigue life of 3D-printed FDM plastic samples. For this reason, this article aimed to investigate the influence of oil on the fatigue life of materials made using this technology. Samples made of ABA, ASA, PLA, and HIPS materials were printed with 100% fill. Divided into groups, they were stored for 15, 30, and 60 days in an oil bath at a room temperature of 23 °C and an increased temperature of 70 °C. To compare the effect of storage in oil, static tests were performed to determine the tensile strength of the specimens and to determine the load levels for the cyclic tests. Cyclic tests were performed to determine the effect of oil and temperature on the fatigue life. Internal structure studies of the specimens were performed using computed microtomography to determine the changes in the porosity of the specimens under the influence of oil. In the case of ABS, the oil-bathed samples showed a clear increase in the fatigue life, especially at 23 °C. For the ASA specimens, an increase was also evident, especially for the lower stress value. For HIPS and PLA, no clear effect of the oil bath on the fatigue life value of the samples was determined. Porosity studies using computed microtomography showed a clear decrease in the porosity of the samples as a result of the oil bath for all of them.

Effect of Shock-Variable Environmental Temperature and Humidity Conditions on 3D-Printed Polymers for Tensile Properties.

The article presents the research results on the influence of variable shock conditions, such as temperature and water, thus reflecting shock atmospheric conditions during freezing and thawing, on the properties of samples produced using 3D printing technology from commonly used materials such as ABS, HIPS, PLA, and ASA. Understanding how different environmental conditions affect the quality, reliability, and durability of 3D prints can help to optimize the printing process and provide valuable information about their application possibilities. Tests related to the strength of the materials, such as static tensile testing, Charpy impact testing, and evaluation of structures, were carried out using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Changes in chemical properties were measured by performing tests such as FTIR and TGA. Variations in chemical properties were measured by performing tests such as FTIR and TGA. One shock cycle lasting 7 days was sufficient to alter the properties of 3D prints, with the extent of changes depending on the material, as summarized in the test results.

Characterization of Synovial Fluid Components: Albumin-Chondroitin Sulfate Interactions Seen through Molecular Dynamics.

The friction coefficient of articular cartilage (AC) is very low. A method of producing tailor-made materials with even similar lubrication properties is still a challenge. The physicochemical reasons for such excellent lubrication properties of AC are still not fully explained; however, a crucial factor seems to be synergy between synovial fluid (SF) components. As a stepping stone to being able to produce innovative materials characterized by a very low friction coefficient, we studied the interactions between two important components of SF: human serum albumin (HSA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS). The molecular dynamics method, preceded by docking, is used in the study. Interactions of HSA with two types of CS (IV and VI), with the addition of three types of ions often found in physiological solutions: Ca2+, Na+, and Mg2+, are compared. It was found that there were differences in the energy of binding values and interaction maps between CS-4 and CS-6 complexes. HSA:CS-4 complexes were bound stronger than in the case of HSA:CS-6 because more interactions were formed across all types of interactions except one-the only difference was for ionic bridges, which were more often found in HSA:CS-6 complexes. RMSD and RMSF indicated that complexes HSA:CS-4 behave much more stably than HSA:CS-6. The type of ions added to the solution was also very important and changed the interaction map. However, the biggest difference was caused by the addition of Ca2+ ions which were prone to form ionic bridges.

Resistance of 3D-Printed Components, Test Specimens and Products to Work under Environmental Conditions-Review.

The development of additive manufacturing methods known as "3D printing" started in the 1980s. In these methods, spatial models are created from a semi-finished product such as a powder, filament or liquid. The model is most often created in layers, which are created from the semi-finished product, which is most often subjected to thermal treatment or using light or ultraviolet rays. The technology of additive manufacturing has both advantages and disadvantages when compared to the traditionally used methods of processing thermoplastic materials, such as, for example, injection or extrusion. The most important advantages are low cost, flexibility and speed of manufacturing of elements with different spatial shapes. From the point of view of the user of the product, the most important disadvantages are the lower mechanical properties and lower resistance to environmental factors that occur during the use of the manufactured products. The purpose of this review is to present current information and a compilation of features in the field of research on the effects of the interactions of different types of environments on the mechanical properties of 3D-manufactured thermoplastic products. Changes in the structure and mechanical properties of the material under the influence of factors such as humidity, salt, temperature, UV rays, gasoline and the environment of the human body are presented. The presented article enables the effects of environmental conditions on common materials used in 3D printing technology to be collated in one place.

The assessment of lower extremity peripheral artery disease impact on body mass center disorders.

BACKGROUND: Lower extremity peripheral artery disease is a problem of contemporary medicine and along with the ischemic heart disease it is considered to be a civilization disease. The risk of the disease increases significantly within a group of people reaching the age of 55 years and is closely related to co-occurring hazardous factors, such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension or tobacco smoking. The first symptom reported by patients is intermittent claudication. Such symptoms may indicate that lower extremity peripheral artery disease does have an impact on posture disorders and motor skills. METHODS: The study covered four stages. The first stage involved medical interviews to obtain information regarding anthropometry, age, motor organ surgery, concomitant diseases and the lifestyle. In the following stage the value of the ankle brachial index for both lower limbs were calculated. In case of symptomatic patients, additionally, the location of artery stenosis/aortoiliac section, was verified. The third stage involved using a dynamometric platform for determination of the body mass center position for both studied groups. In the fourth stage a treadmill walk test was used to assess the participants for intermittent claudication. FINDINGS: Based on the obtained results, an attempt was taken to observe the relationship between the clinical characteristics of the disease and the body mass center position deviations. INTERPRETATION: The attempt was undertaken to assess whether the measurement of body mass center position might be a diagnostic parameter to evaluate the patient's condition and thus an indication for taking a decision for surgical treatment or rehabilitation.

Probabilistic Estimation of Fatigue Strength for Axial and Bending Loading in High-Cycle Fatigue.

In this paper, the sensitivity to the type of loads (axial and bending loading) of selected construction materials (AW6063 T6 aluminum alloy, S355J2+C structural steel, and 1.4301 acid-resistant steel) in high-cycle fatigue was verified. The obtained S-N fatigue characteristics were described by a probabilistic model of the 3-parameters Weibull cumulative distribution function. The main area of research concerned the correct implementation of the weakest link theory model. The theory is based on a highly-stressed surface area and a highly-stressed volume in the region of the highest stresses. For this purpose, an analytical model and a numerical model based on the finite element method were used. The model that gives the lowest error implemented in specific test conditions was determined on the basis of high-cycle fatigue analysis. For the analyzed materials, it was a highly-stressed volume model based on the weakest link theory.

Fatigue Life for Different Stress Concentration Factors for Stainless Steel 1.4301.

This paper presents the results of the static tensile and fatigue life tests under rotating bending of round 1.4301 (AISI 304) steel samples. The fatigue tests were carried out on smooth and notched samples with three different rounding angles with a shape factor of 1.4, 2 and 2.6. A fatigue life was determined for samples with different shape factors subject to identical loads. The results showed that the scatter of fatigue test results decreases with an increase in shape factor. To evaluate the cracking properties (cracking mode and mechanism), microstructure and fractographic tests of the fractured samples were carried out.

Hydrogen and Water Bonding between Glycosaminoglycans and Phospholipids in the Synovial Fluid: Molecular Dynamics Study.

Synovial fluid is a lubricant of the synovial joint that shows remarkable tribological properties. These properties originate in the synergy between its components, with two of its major components, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and phospholipids (PLs), playing a major role in boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. All-atom molecular dynamic simulations were performed to investigate the way these components bond. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) bonding with three types of lipids was tested. The results show that both glycosaminoglycans bind lipids at a similar rate, except for 1,2-d-ipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine lipids, which bind to chondroitin at a much higher rate than to hyaluronan. The results suggest that different synovial fluid lipids may play a different role when binding to both hyaluronan and chondroitin sulphate. The presented results may help in understanding a process of lubrication of articular cartilage at a nanoscale level.

The effect of trabecular bone storage method on its elastic properties.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of different methods of trabecular bone storage on changes in its elastic properties. METHODS: 186 porcine trabecular bone samples were divided into 6 groups, approximately 30 samples each. Five groups were stored using the following methods: in buffered 10% formalin solution at room temperature, frozen at -21 C, in the open air at room temperature, in 96% alcohol solution and in 50% alcohol solution at room temperature. The samples were subjected to compression test to measure the elastic modulus. The samples after the first measurement were subjected to further measurements for 14 weeks, every 2 weeks. The sixth group was used to determine the effects of 10 freeze-thaw cycles on changes in the elastic modulus. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test at significance level p = 0.05 was used to determine the significance of changes in time. RESULTS: The changes in elastic properties caused by the different storage methods were statistically insignificant, except for the group of samples stored in the open air. The changes in elastic modulus after 10 freeze-thaw cycles were also statistically insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: Except for the storage method in the open air, other storage methods did not significantly affect changes in elastic properties of the trabecular bones after 14 weeks. No effects of 10 freeze-thaw cycles on changes in elastic modulus were observed.

Relationship between the mineral content of human trabecular bone and selected parameters determined from fatigue test at stepwise-increasing amplitude.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate a relationship between the mineral content of human trabecular bone and parameters determined from compression fatigue tests at stepwise-increasing amplitude. METHODS: Mineral content of trabecular bone was estimated comparing density and bone mineral density values. The relationship between the ash density, bone mineral density and factors obtained from fatigue test: fatigue life, cumulative elastic energy and cumulative energy of dissipation was determined. RESULTS: The results from the measurements of ash density and bone mineral density show good correlation with the fatigue test results. The relationship was estimated based on the correlation coefficient R within 0.74-0.79 for the particular pairs of factors. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that the ash density and the bone mineral density are good predictors to estimate the fatigue life of trabecular bone. The study also validates the applicability of the tests at stepwise-increasing amplitude in determining the mechanical properties of trabecular bone.

Microarchitecture parameters describe bone structure and its strength better than BMD.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Some papers have shown that bone mineral density (BMD) may not be accurate in predicting fracture risk. Recently microarchitecture parameters have been reported to give information on bone characteristics. The aim of this study was to find out if the values of volume, fractal dimension, and bone mineral density are correlated with bone strength. METHODS: Forty-two human bone samples harvested during total hip replacement surgery were cut to cylindrical samples. The geometrical mesh of layers of bone mass obtained from microCT investigation and the volumes of each layer and fractal dimension were calculated. The finite element method was applied to calculate the compression force F causing ε = 0.8% strain. RESULTS: There were stronger correlations for microarchitecture parameters with strength than those for bone mineral density. The values of determination coefficient R(2) for mean volume and force were 0.88 and 0.90 for mean fractal dimension and force, while for BMD and force the value was 0.53. The samples with bigger mean bone volume of layers and bigger mean fractal dimension of layers (more complex structure) presented higher strength. CONCLUSION: The volumetric and fractal dimension parameters better describe bone structure and strength than BMD.

The relationship between trabecular bone structure modeling methods and the elastic modulus as calculated by FEM.

Trabecular bone cores were collected from the femoral head at the time of surgery (hip arthroplasty). Investigated were 42 specimens, from patients with osteoporosis and coxarthrosis. The cores were scanned used computer microtomography (microCT) system at an isotropic spatial resolution of 36 microns. Image stacks were converted to finite element models via a bone voxel-to-element algorithm. The apparent modulus was calculated based on the assumptions that for the elastic properties, E = 10 MPa and ν = 0.3. The compressive deformation as calculated by finite elements (FE) analysis was 0.8%. The models were coarsened to effectively change the resolution or voxel size (from 72 microns to 288 microns or from 72 microns to 1080 microns). The aim of our study is to determine how an increase in the distance between scans changes the elastic properties as calculated by FE models. We tried to find a border value voxel size at which the module values were possible to calculate. As the voxel size increased, the mean voxel volume increased and the FEA-derived apparent modulus decreased. The slope of voxel size versus modulus relationship correlated with several architectural indices of trabecular bone.

Study of the behavior of the trabecular bone under cyclic compression with stepwise increasing amplitude.

This paper presents the results of a study of 61 trabecular bone samples exposed to a cyclic (1 Hz) compression load. The load was increased stepwise. Characteristic patterns of the hysteresis loop for the middle cycles of successive steps of load and for respective steps of load are presented. Characteristic patterns of secant modulus were also determined. The fatigue life results recorded were compared with the indices of bone architecture determined using micro-CT. Using Pearson's correlation, the best relationship between fatigue life and bone volume ratio (BV/TV) and the maximum load for which there was also reported a maximal value secant stiffness were identified. Based on these findings, it was determined that it is possible to use stepwise increasing load for analysis of the fatigue behavior of trabecular bone.

Investigation of statistical relationships between quantities describing bone architecture, its fractal dimensions and mechanical properties.

The paper presents linear, logarithmic and exponential regression tabecular bone indices, fractal dimensions and strength. The analysis of the above parameters was supported by determining non-parametric correlation coefficients: Spearman's ρ, gamma and Kendall's τ. The principal components' analysis (PCA) was also performed in order to reduce the number of indices describing the variance in the data set. The analysis showed the most independent indices: lacunarity (λm, λmin, λmax), BMD, Conn.D., SMI, DA, ρA and age.

Relationships between structure, density and strength of human trabecular bone.

The article deals with the examination of the relationships between density, structure parameters and strength of human trabecular bone. The tests were carried out on the samples taken from osteoporotic and coxarthrotic human femoral heads. The samples cylindrical in shape had the diameters of 10 mm and the height of 8.5 mm. During the tests with microCT scanner the parameters of a sample structure were measured. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured as well. The samples were subjected to compression in order to assess the ultimate compression strength sigma(c). The relationships between two-element combinations (BMD and one of the structure parameters) and the compression strength of the samples have been studied. The consistency of the results for multiple regression and response surface regression was estimated based on the correlation coefficient R. For the examined pairs of parameters, the value R increased in the range of 7-30% in comparison with the case where for the strength description only BMD was used. Additionally, the authors' own models of two-variable regression was calculated. The comparison of the results obtained for all models of regression based on the coefficient E proved the consistency of these results.