Interaction of Poly L-Lactide and Tungsten Disulfide Nanotubes Studied by in Situ X-ray Scattering during Expansion of PLLA/WS2NT Nanocomposite Tubes.

In situ synchrotron X-ray scattering was used to reveal the transient microstructure of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA)/tungsten disulfide inorganic nanotubes (WS2NTs) nanocomposites. This microstructure is formed during the blow molding process ("tube expansion") of an extruded polymer tube, an important step in the manufacturing of PLLA-based bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS). A fundamental understanding of how such a microstructure develops during processing is relevant to two unmet needs in PLLA-based BVS: increasing strength to enable thinner devices and improving radiopacity to enable imaging during implantation. Here, we focus on how the flow generated during tube expansion affects the orientation of the WS2NTs and the formation of polymer crystals by comparing neat PLLA and nanocomposite tubes under different expansion conditions. Surprisingly, the WS2NTs remain oriented along the extrusion direction despite significant strain in the transverse direction while the PLLA crystals (c-axis) form along the circumferential direction of the tube. Although WS2NTs promote the nucleation of PLLA crystals in nanocomposite tubes, crystallization proceeds with largely the same orientation as in neat PLLA tubes. We suggest that the reason for the unusual independence of the orientations of the nanotubes and polymer crystals stems from the favorable interaction between PLLA and WS2NTs. This favorable interaction leads WS2NTs to disperse well in PLLA and strongly orient along the axis of the PLLA tube during extrusion. As a consequence, the nanotubes are aligned orthogonally to the circumferential stretching direction, which appears to decouple the orientations of PLLA crystals and WS2NTs.

Multi-objective optimisation of material properties and strut geometry for poly(L-lactic acid) coronary stents using response surface methodology.

Coronary stents for treating atherosclerosis are traditionally manufactured from metallic alloys. However, metal stents permanently reside in the body and may trigger undesirable immunological responses. Bioresorbable polymer stents can provide a temporary scaffold that resorbs once the artery heals but are mechanically inferior, requiring thicker struts for equivalent radial support, which may increase thrombosis risk. This study addresses the challenge of designing mechanically effective but sufficiently thin poly(L-lactic acid) stents through a computational approach that optimises material properties and stent geometry. Forty parametric stent designs were generated: cross-sectional area (post-dilation), foreshortening, stent-to-artery ratio and radial collapse pressure were evaluated computationally using finite element analysis. Response surface methodology was used to identify performance trade-offs by formulating relationships between design parameters and response variables. Multi-objective optimisation was used to identify suitable stent designs from approximated Pareto fronts and an optimal design is proposed that offers comparable performance to designs in clinical practice. In summary, a computational framework has been developed that has potential application in the design of high stiffness, thin strut polymeric stents.

Modelling the Temperature Dependent Biaxial Response of Poly(ether-ether-ketone) Above and Below the Glass Transition for Thermoforming Applications.

Desire to accurately predict the deformation behaviour throughout industrial forming processes, such as thermoforming and stretch blow moulding, has led to the development of mathematical models of material behaviour, with the ultimate aim of embedding into forming simulations enabling process and product optimization. Through the use of modern material characterisation techniques, biaxial data obtained at conditions comparable to the thermoforming process was used to calibrate the Buckley material model to the observed non-linear viscoelastic stress/strain behaviour. The material model was modified to account for the inherent anisotropy observed between the principal directions through the inclusion of a Holazapfel-Gasser-Ogden hyperelastic element. Variations in the post-yield drop in stress values associated with deformation rate and specimen temperature below the glass transition were observable, and facilitated in the modified model through time-temperature superposition creating a linear relationship capable of accurately modelling this change in yield stress behaviour. The modelling of the region of observed flow stress noted when above the glass transition temperature was also facilitated through adoption of the same principal. Comparison of the material model prediction was in excellent agreement with experiments at strain rates and temperatures of 1-16 s-1 and 130-155 °C respectively, for equal-biaxial mode of deformation. Temperature dependency of the material model was well replicated with across the broad temperature range in principal directions, at the reference strain rate of 1 s-1. When concerning larger rates of deformation, minimum and maximum average error levels of 6.20% and 10.77% were noted. The formulation, and appropriate characterization, of the modified Buckley material model allows for a stable basis in which future implementation into representative forming simulations of poly-aryl-ether-ketones, poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) and many other post-yield anisotropic polymers.