scholarly journals Nanoindentation and Hierarchy Structure of the Bovine Hoof Wall

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Bingfeng Wang ◽  
Yiyu Huang ◽  
Bingqing Zhou ◽  
Wenshu Li ◽  
Haoyu Chen

The bovine hoof wall with an α-keratin structure protects the bovine foot from impact loads when the cattle are running. Reduced modulus, hardness and creep behavior of the bovine hoof wall have been investigated by a nanoindentation technique. The average reduced modulus of the Transverse Direction (TD) specimens from the outside to inside wall is 3.76 and 2.05 GPa, respectively, while the average reduced modulus of the Longitudinal Direction (LD) specimens from the outside to inside wall is 4.54 and 3.22 GPa, respectively. Obviously, the orientation and the position of the bovine hoof wall have a significant influence on its mechanical properties. The use of the generalized Voigt–Kelvin model can make a good prediction of creep stage. Mechanical properties of the LD specimens are stronger than those of the TD specimens. The bovine hoof wall has a layered structure, which can effectively absorb the energy released by the crack propagation and passivate the crack tip. Therefore, a kind of structural model was designed and fabricated by three-dimensional printing technology, which has a 55% performance improvement on fracture toughness. It is believed that the reported results can be useful in the design of new bionic structure materials which may be used in motorcycle helmets and athletes’ protective equipment to achieve light weight and improved strength at the same time.

Author(s):  
Mohammad K Hassanzadeh-Aghdam ◽  
Mohammad J Mahmoodi ◽  
Reza Ansari

A three-dimensional micromechanics-based analytical model is developed to investigate the influence of interphase on the thermo-mechanical properties of three-phase composites. The representative volume element (RVE) of composites is extended to c × r × h cells in three dimensions and the RVE consists of three phases including filler, matrix and interphase. The arrangement state of filler within the matrix materials is assumed to be random with uniform distribution. Fillers are surrounded by the interphase in the whole composite. The effects of interphase such as its thickness and stiffness on the thermo-mechanical properties of composite with various aspect ratios of filler are studied. The results illustrate that while the effects of interphase is significant for composites with randomly distributed spherical particles, it turns to be less effective as the aspect ratio of filler of composite increases. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the effect of interphase on the thermo-mechanical properties of fibrous composites in the transverse direction is more significant than that of fiber composites in the longitudinal direction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Huang ◽  
Nahiène Hamila ◽  
Philippe Boisse

In the aeronautic industry, thicker and more complex composite parts are required. Multi-layered reinforcements are widely used to achieve a certain thickness for the composite part. The tufting technology has become one of the most effective three-dimensional (3D) reinforcement technologies to improve the through-the-thickness mechanical properties of multi-layered reinforcements. A finite element model is proposed for the simulation of tufted reinforcements preforming. The textile reinforcement is modelled by shell elements, and the tufting thread is modelled by bar elements. A specific contact algorithm is developed to manage the interaction between reinforcements and tufting threads. This meso-macroscopic approach reduces the number of finite elements and saves calculation time compared to a mesoscopic model. The model shows a good prediction of deformations during the forming on a hemispherical shape.


2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 3374-3384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunmei Li ◽  
Hyoung-Joon Jin ◽  
Gregory D. Botsaris ◽  
David L. Kaplan

Human bone is a three-dimensional composite structure consisting of inorganic apatite crystals and organic collagen fibers. An attractive strategy for fabricating mimics of these types of composite biomaterials is to selectively grow apatite on polymers with control of structure, mechanical properties, and function. In the present study, silk/apatite composites were prepared by growing apatite on functionalized nanodiameter silk fibroin fibers prepared by electrospinning. The functionalized fibers were spun from an aqueous solution of silk/polyethylene oxide (PEO) (78/22 wt/wt) containing poly(L-aspartate) (poly-Asp), which was introduced as an analogue of noncollageous proteins normally found in bone. Silk fibroin associated with the acidic poly-Asp and acted as template for mineralization. Apatite mineral growth occurred preferentially along the longitudinal direction of the fibers, a feature that was not present in the absence of the combination of components at appropriate concentrations. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction confirmed that the mineral deposits were apatite. The results suggest that this approach can be used to form structures with potential utility for bone-related biomaterials based on the ability to control the interface wherein nucleation and crystal growth occur on the silk fibroin. With this level of inorganic–organic control, coupled with the unique mechanical properties, slow rates of biodegradation, and polymorphic features of this type of proteins, new opportunities emerge for utility of biomaterials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 828-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihua Meng ◽  
Weihong Wu ◽  
Weiwei Zhang ◽  
Luyao Cheng ◽  
Yunhong Jiao ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalia Rapakousiou ◽  
Alejandro López-moreno ◽  
Belén Nieto-Ortega ◽  
M. Mar Bernal ◽  
Miguel A. Monclús ◽  
...  

We introduce poly(1,6-pyrene terephthalamide) polymer (PPyrTA) as an aromatic polyamide analogue of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA), also known as Kevlar®. This work shows that the incorporation of polycyclic aromatic pyrene moieties improves drastically the mechanical properties of the polymeric structure, increasing elastic nanoindentation-determined modulus and hardness by factors of 1.9 and 4.3, respectively. Liquid deprotonated dispersions of PPyrTA nanofibers were used as nanoscale building block for producing large-surface, free-standing polymer macroscopic nanofilms. This 2D assembly leads to further significant improvements in reduced modulus and hardness (more than twice) compared to the starting polymer macroscale fibres, due to a better re-organizational arrangement of the PPyrTA nanofibers in the nanofilms, formed under 2D spatial confinement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 3391
Author(s):  
Sylwia Grabska-Zielińska ◽  
Alina Sionkowska ◽  
Ewa Olewnik-Kruszkowska ◽  
Katarzyna Reczyńska ◽  
Elżbieta Pamuła

The aim of this work was to compare physicochemical properties of three dimensional scaffolds based on silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan blends, cross-linked with dialdehyde starch (DAS) and dialdehyde chitosan (DAC). DAS was commercially available, while DAC was obtained by one-step synthesis. Structure and physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized using Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance device (FTIR-ATR), swelling behavior and water content measurements, porosity and density observations, scanning electron microscopy imaging (SEM), mechanical properties evaluation and thermogravimetric analysis. Metabolic activity with AlamarBlue assay and live/dead fluorescence staining were performed to evaluate the cytocompatibility of the obtained materials with MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. The results showed that the properties of the scaffolds based on silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan can be modified by chemical cross-linking with DAS and DAC. It was found that DAS and DAC have different influence on the properties of biopolymeric scaffolds. Materials cross-linked with DAS were characterized by higher swelling ability (~4000% for DAS cross-linked materials; ~2500% for DAC cross-linked materials), they had lower density (Coll/CTS/30SF scaffold cross-linked with DAS: 21.8 ± 2.4 g/cm3; cross-linked with DAC: 14.6 ± 0.7 g/cm3) and lower mechanical properties (maximum deformation for DAC cross-linked scaffolds was about 69%; for DAS cross-linked scaffolds it was in the range of 12.67 ± 1.51% and 19.83 ± 1.30%) in comparison to materials cross-linked with DAC. Additionally, scaffolds cross-linked with DAS exhibited higher biocompatibility than those cross-linked with DAC. However, the obtained results showed that both types of scaffolds can provide the support required in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The scaffolds presented in the present work can be potentially used in bone tissue engineering to facilitate healing of small bone defects.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2239
Author(s):  
Nicholas Rodriguez ◽  
Samantha Ruelas ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Forien ◽  
Nikola Dudukovic ◽  
Josh DeOtte ◽  
...  

Recent advances in additive manufacturing, specifically direct ink writing (DIW) and ink-jetting, have enabled the production of elastomeric silicone parts with deterministic control over the structure, shape, and mechanical properties. These new technologies offer rapid prototyping advantages and find applications in various fields, including biomedical devices, prosthetics, metamaterials, and soft robotics. Stereolithography (SLA) is a complementary approach with the ability to print with finer features and potentially higher throughput. However, all high-performance silicone elastomers are composites of polysiloxane networks reinforced with particulate filler, and consequently, silicone resins tend to have high viscosities (gel- or paste-like), which complicates or completely inhibits the layer-by-layer recoating process central to most SLA technologies. Herein, the design and build of a digital light projection SLA printer suitable for handling high-viscosity resins is demonstrated. Further, a series of UV-curable silicone resins with thiol-ene crosslinking and reinforced by a combination of fumed silica and MQ resins are also described. The resulting silicone elastomers are shown to have tunable mechanical properties, with 100–350% elongation and ultimate tensile strength from 1 to 2.5 MPa. Three-dimensional printed features of 0.4 mm were achieved, and complexity is demonstrated by octet-truss lattices that display negative stiffness.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1217
Author(s):  
Jang Ho Ha ◽  
Jae Hyun Lim ◽  
Ji Woon Kim ◽  
Hyeon-Yeol Cho ◽  
Seok Geun Jo ◽  
...  

Blended hydrogels play an important role in enhancing the properties (e.g., mechanical properties and conductivity) of hydrogels. In this study, we generated a conductive blended hydrogel, which was achieved by mixing gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) with collagen, and silver nanowire (AgNW). The ratio of GelMA, collagen and AgNW was optimized and was subsequently gelated by ultraviolet light (UV) and heat. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the conductive blended hydrogels showed that collagen and AgNW were present in the GelMA hydrogel. Additionally, rheological analysis indicated that the mechanical properties of the conductive GelMA–collagen–AgNW blended hydrogels improved. Biocompatibility analysis confirmed that the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) encapsulated within the three-dimensional (3D), conductive blended hydrogels were highly viable. Furthermore, we confirmed that the molecule in the conductive blended hydrogel was released by electrical stimuli-mediated structural deformation. Therefore, this conductive GelMA–collagen–AgNW blended hydrogel could be potentially used as a smart actuator for drug delivery applications.


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