Solid Freeform Fabrication of Artificial Human Teeth

In this paper, we describe a solid freeform fabrication procedure for human dental restoration via porcelain slurry micro-extrusion. Based on submicron-sized dental porcelain powder obtained via ball milling process, a porcelain slurry formulation has been developed. The formulation developed allows the porcelain slurry to show a pseudoplastic behavior and moderate viscosity, which permits the slurry to re-shape to form a near rectangular cross section. A well-controlled cross-section geometry of the extrudate is important for micro-extrusion to obtain uniform 2-D planes and for the addition of the sequential layers to form a 3-D object. Human teeth are restored by this method directly from CAD digital models. After sintering, shrinkage of the artificial teeth is uniform in all directions. Microstructure of the sintered teeth is identical to that made via traditional dental restoration processes.Mechanical Engineerin

Numerical Modeling of Debris Flows Induced by Dam-Break Using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) Method

Dam-break flows may change into debris flows if certain conditions are satisfied, such as abundant loose material and steep slope. These debris flows are typically characterized by high density and can generate strong impact forces. Due to the complexity of the materials that they are made of, it has always been very challenging to numerically simulate these phenomena and accurately reproduce experimentally debris flows’ processes. Therefore, to fill this gap, the formation-movement processes of debris flows induced by dam-break were simulated numerically, modifying the existing smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. By comparing the shape and the velocity of dam break debris flows under different configurations, it was found that when simulating the initiation process, the number of particles in the upstream section is overestimated while the number of particles in the downstream area is underestimated. Furthermore, the formation process of dam-break debris flow was simulated by three models which consider different combinations of the viscous force, the drag force and the virtual mass force. The method taking into account all these three kinds of interface forces produced the most accurate outcome for the numerical simulation of the formation process of dam-break debris flow. Finally, it was found that under different interface force models, the particle velocity distribution did not change significantly. However, the direction of the particle force changed, which is due to the fact that the SPH model considers generalized virtual mass forces, better replicating real case scenarios. The modalities of dam failures have significant impacts on the formation and development of debris flows. Therefore, the results of this study will help authorities to select safe sites for future rehabilitation and relocation projects and can also be used as an important basis for debris flow risk management. Future research will be necessary to understand more complex scenarios to investigate mechanisms of domino dam-failures and their effects on debris flows propagation

Numerical Simulation of Non-Homogeneous Viscous Debris-Flows Based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) Method

Non-homogeneous viscous debris flows are characterized by high density, impact force and destructiveness, and the complexity of the materials they are made of. This has always made these flows challenging to simulate numerically, and to reproduce experimentally debris flow processes. In this study, the formation-movement process of non-homogeneous debris flow under three different soil configurations was simulated numerically by modifying the formulation of collision, friction, and yield stresses for the existing Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The results obtained by applying this modification to the SPH model clearly demonstrated that the configuration where fine and coarse particles are fully mixed, with no specific layering, produces more fluctuations and instability of the debris flow. The kinetic and potential energies of the fluctuating particles calculated for each scenario have been shown to be affected by the water content by focusing on small local areas. Therefore, this study provides a better understanding and new insights regarding intermittent debris flows, and explains the impact of the water content on their formation and movement processes

Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 on Compositionally Variant Au-Pt Bimetallic Thin Films

The electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 on Au-Pt bimetallic catalysts with different compositions was evaluated, offering a platform for uncovering the correlation between the catalytic activity and the surface composition of bimetallic electrocatalysts. The Au-Pt alloy films were synthesized by a magnetron sputtering co-deposition technique with tunable composition. It was found that the syngas ratio (CO:H2) on the Au-Pt films is able to be tuned by systematically controlling the binary composition. This tunable catalytic selectivity is attributed to the variation of binding strength of COOH and CO intermediates, influenced by the surface electronic structure (d-band center energy) which is linked to the surface composition of the bimetallic films. Notably, a gradual shift of the d-band center away from the Fermi level was observed with increasing Au content, which correspondingly reduces the binding strength of the COOH and CO intermediates, leading to the distinct catalytic activity for the reduction of CO2 on the compositionally variant Au-Pt bimetallic films. In addition, the formation of formic acid in the bimetallic systems at reduced overpotentials and higher yield indicates that synergistic effects can facilitate reaction pathways for products that are not accessible with the individual components.</p

Paramagnetic behaviour of silver nanoparticles generated by decomposition of silver oxalate

Silver oxalate Ag2C2O4, was already proposed for soldering applications, due to the formation when it is decomposed by a heat treatment, of highly sinterable silver nanoparticles. When slowly decomposed at low temperature (125 °C), the oxalate leads however to silver nanoparticles isolated from each other. As soon as these nanoparticles are formed, the magnetic susceptibility at room temperature increases from -3.14 10-7 emu.Oe-1.g-1 (silver oxalate) up to -1.92 10-7 emu.Oe-1.g-1 (metallic silver). At the end of the oxalate decomposition, the conventional diamagnetic behaviour of bulk silver, is observed from room temperature to 80 K. A diamagnetic-paramagnetic transition is however revealed below 80 K leading at 2 K, to silver nanoparticles with a positive magnetic susceptibility. This original behaviour, compared to the one of bulk silver, can be ascribed to the nanometric size of the metallic particles

In vivo vibrometry inside the apex of the mouse cochlea using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Sound transduction within the auditory portion of the inner ear, the cochlea, is a complex nonlinear process. The study of cochlear mechanics in large rodents has provided important insights into cochlear function. However, technological and experimental limitations have restricted studies in mice due to their smaller cochlea. These challenges are important to overcome because of the wide variety of transgenic mouse strains with hearing loss mutations that are available for study. To accomplish this goal, we used spectral domain optical coherence tomography to visualize and measure sound-induced vibrations of intracochlear tissues. We present, to our knowledge, the first vibration measurements from the apex of an unopened mouse cochlea

Pinning Cluster Synchronization in Linear Hybrid Coupled Delayed Dynamical Networks

The problem on cluster synchronization will be investigated for a class of delayed dynamical networks based on pinning control strategy. Through utilizing the combined convex technique and Kronecker product, two sufficient conditions can be derived to ensure the desired synchronization when the designed feedback controller is employed to each cluster. Moreover, the inner coupling matrices are unnecessarily restricted to be diagonal and the controller design can be converted into solving a series of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which greatly improve the present methods. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and reduced conservatism

Advances in the adsorption of heavy metal ions in water by UiO-66 composites

The innovative adsorbents known as the Metal-organic Framework (MOFs) had a high specific surface area, various structural types, and good chemical stability. MOFs have been produced through hydrothermal, mechanochemical, microwave-assisted, gelation, and other synthesis methods, and the solvothermal process is one of them that researchers frequently utilize. The UiO materials have a more comprehensive application potential than different subtypes of MOFs among the numerous MOFs that have been synthesized. The synthesis of MOFs and their composites, as well as the adsorption characteristics of UiO materials in the adsorption of various heavy metal ions, have all been examined and summarized in this study