In vitro evaluation of freeze-drying chitosan-mineralized collagen/Mg–Ca alloy composites for osteogenesis

Magnesium (Mg) alloy with good mechanical properties and biodegradability is considered as one of the ideal bone repair materials. However, the rapid corrosion of Mg-based metals can pose harm to the function of an implant in clinical applications. In this study, micro-arc oxidation coating was prepared on the surface of the Mg–Ca matrix, then the chitosan and mineralized collagen (nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen; nHAC) were immobilized on the surface of the MAO/Mg–Ca matrix to construct the CS-nHAC/Mg–Ca composites of different component proportions (the ratio of CS to nHAC is 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2, respectively). The corrosion resistance, osteogenic activity, and angiogenic ability were extensively investigated. The results indicated that the CS-nHAC reinforcement materials can improve the corrosion resistance of the Mg matrix significantly and promote the proliferation and adhesion of mouse embryo osteoblast precursor cells (MC3T3-E1) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In addition, the CS-nHAC/Mg–Ca composites can not only promote the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and extracellular matrix mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells but also enhance the migration motility and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of HUVECs. Meanwhile, the 2CS-1nHAC/Mg–Ca composite exhibited the optimum function characteristics compared with other samples. Therefore, considering the improvement of corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, the CS-nHAC/Mg–Ca composites are expected to be a promising orthopedic implant.

Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Repair Materials for Underwater Rapid Construction

Several strength grades of sulphoaluminate cement concrete were designed, and the mechanical properties with different mix ratios were studied. This paper mainly analyzes the mechanical properties of sulphoaluminate cement concrete with the setting time test, compressive strength test and flexural test. The test results show that the setting time of cement concrete can be controlled by mixing different admixtures. One hand, the initial setting time increases from 34 min to 340 min, and the final setting time increases from 57 min to 580 min when the incorporated borax content changes from 0 to 1.0 %. Other hand, the initial setting time decreased from 34 min to 11 min, and the final setting time increased from 57 min to 18 min, when the incorporated borax content changed from 0 to 0.5 %. Furthermore, the compressive strength can reach 40 MPa, and the flexural strength can reach more than 2.5MPa after 6 hours of curing. The experiment results illustrate that the setting time and the mechanical properties satisfy the needs of the rapid construction requirements under normal temperature conditions.

Justification of the Application of Resource-Saving Technology for the Restoration of Metal-Intensive Rear Semi-Axles of Trucks Using Hot Plastic Deformation

The article is devoted to the substantiation of technological foundations for the restoration of extremely worn-out, metal-consuming, and resource-consuming parts, in a method consisting of applying a compensating metal wear with subsequent plastic deformation. Currently, there are no technologies for their restoration in a repair facility that guarantee the resilience of the factory product. The proposed technological process of repair consists of butt welding onto the end of the spline semi-axle shank, compensating for the wear of the metal, the volume of which takes into account the losses resulting from the wear of the slots, as well as allowances for their machining. In the example of forging the axle shaft of a truck’s driving axle, the regularities of the plastic flow of metal during part deformation in the stamp are revealed. In the process of hot volumetric upsetting of long cylindrical parts with a variable diameter, it is important to know the possible directions of metal movements, as well as the energy-power characteristics of the process at various stages of forging. The evaluation criteria of the level of perfection of the technology were indicators of resource conservation and efficiency of the recovery route. The technological direction of the conducted research was analyzed, step by step, from the standpoint of saving repair materials and energy resources. The results of theoretical studies are crucial in the design of die tooling, for the manufacture of blanks, when restoring the rear axle shafts of trucks with pressure. Production tests carried out on the models, obtained as a result of mathematical processing of experimental data, confirmed the reliability of the experimental information. The introduction of the proposed set of repair equipment for the restoration of semi-axles will allow the formation of additional production in the region for the recycling of worn-out metal-intensive steel parts of agricultural machinery.

Effect of Vehicle–Bridge Coupled Vibration on the Performance of Magnesium Phosphate Cement Repair Materials

This study evaluates the effect of vehicle–bridge coupled vibration on the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced magnesium phosphate cement (FR-MPC) composites and the bonding properties of repaired systems. By means of compressive and flexural bond strengths, fiber pullout, mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP) and backscattered electron imaging (BSE) analysis, an enhanced insight was gained into the evolution of FR-MPC performance before and after vibration. Experimental results showed that the compressive strength and flexural strength of FR-MPC was increased when it was subjected to vibration. However, the effects of vibration on the flexural strength of plain magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) mortars was insignificant. The increased flexural strength of FR-MPC after vibration could be due to the high average bond strength and pull-out energy between the micro-steel fiber and the MPC matrix. Moreover, BSE analysis revealed that the interface structure between FR-MPC and an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) substrate was more compacted after vibration, which could possibly be responsible for the better bonding properties of FR-MPC. These findings are beneficial for construction project applications of FR-MPC in bridge repairing and widening.

Multi-stage controllable degradation of strontium-doped calcium sulfate hemihydrate-Tricalcium phosphate microsphere composite as a substitute for osteoporotic bone defect repairing: Degradation behavior and bone response

Various requirements for the repair of complex bone defects have motivated to development of scaffolds with adjustable degradation rates and biological functions. Tricalcium phosphate and calcium sulfate are the most commonly used bone repair materials in the clinic, how to better combine tricalcium phosphate and calcium sulfate and play their greatest advantages in the repair of osteoporotic bone defect is the focus of our research. In this study, a series of scaffolds with multistage-controlled degradation properties composed of strontium-doped calcium sulfate (SrCSH) and strontium-doped tricalcium phosphate microspheres (Sr-TCP) scaffolds were prepared, and their osteogenic activity, in vivo degradation and bone regeneration ability in tibia of osteoporotic rats were evaluated. In vitro studies revealed that different components of SrCSH/Sr-TCP scaffolds significantly promoted the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells, which showed a good osteogenic induction activity. In vivo degradation results showed that the degradation time of composite scaffolds could be controlled in a large range (6-12 months) by controlling the porosity and phase composition of Sr-TCP microspheres. The results of osteoporotic femoral defect repair showed that when the degradation rate of scaffold matched with the growth rate of new bone, the parameters such as BMD, BV/TV, Tb.Th, angiogenesis marker CD31 and new bone formation marker OCN expression were higher, which promoted the rapid repair of osteoporotic bone defects. On the contrary, the slow degradation rate of scaffolds hindered the growth of new bone to a certain extent. This study elucidates the importance of the degradation rate of scaffolds for the repair of osteoporotic bone defects, and the design considerations can be extended to other bone repair materials, which is expected to provide new ideas for the development of tissue engineering materials in the future.

Influence of bandsawing processing parameters on the preparation of cortical bone flake

Natural cortical bone is an important source of bionic bone repair materials. Sawing cortical bone is the first and important process in fabrication bone repair materials. However, the high sawing temperature could cause damage to bone tissue and nerves, and surface roughness should decrease osteoinductivity. In order to improve the cutting performance during sawing cortical bone, and the quality of prepared cortical bone slices, the band sawing process should be investigated and improved. In this paper, the novel cortical bone sawing experiment was designed with different feed rate and tooth pitch. Then, the influence of experimental parameters on temperature and roughness were analyzed with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The experimental results show that the lowest value of temperature is 35.5°C (tooth pitch is 8.46 mm, feed rate is 35 mm/s), the highest one is 73.8°C (tooth pitch is 4.20 mm, feed rate is 5 mm/s). And the turning point of surface roughness appear when the feed rate is 20 mm/s. Otherwise, the prediction model of sawing temperature and surface roughness could help to find optimal band sawing parameters of natural cortical bone.

Study on the Conservation and Restoration of Marine Archaeological Porcelains - A Instructive Case of Traditional Crafts from Yue Kiln

It is generally acknowledged that porcelains, among portable antiquities, boast relatively stable physical and chemical properties. However, marine archaeological porcelains are likely to suffer from deterioration such as salting out, attachment and corrosion due to the complicated burial environments. In the course of conservation and restoration, some natural diseases are easily mistaken for production defects. In order to preserve as much historical information about the antiquities as possible during the clean — up process, we systematically examined traditional porcelain production methods used at the Yue kiln, and conducted further research on typical production flaws that can easily be confused with the natural diseases. Based on these traditional methods and compositional characteristics of porcelains, we provide some guidance on the selection of clean —up methods and repair materials used for porcelains. From the perspective of identifiability and ageing resistance, this paper focuses on discussing the restoration scale of porcelains exhibited in museums. Based on our practical work, we discuss some problems that should be noticed in restoration and also provide an outlook for the future practical work and research.

Flexural Behavior of Polyurethane Concrete Reinforced by Carbon Fiber Grid

In view of the problems of traditional repair materials for anchorage concrete of expansion joints, such as ease of damage and long maintenance cycles, the design of polyurethane concrete was optimized in this article, which could be used for rapid repair of concrete in anchorage zone of expansion joints. A new type of carbon fiber grid–polyurethane concrete system was designed, which makes the carbon fiber grid have an excellent synergistic effect with the quick-hardening and high-strength polyurethane concrete, and improved the flexural bearing capacity of the polyurethane concrete. Through the four-point bending test, the influence of the parameters such as the number of grid layers, grid width, and grid density on the flexural bearing capacity of polyurethane concrete beams was tested. The optimum preparation process parameters of carbon fiber grid were obtained to improve the flexural performance of polyurethane concrete. Compared with the Normal specimen, C-80-1’s average flexural strength increased by 47.7%, the failure strain along the beam height increased by 431.1%, and the failure strain at the bottom of the beam increased by 68.9%. The best width of the carbon fiber grid was 80 mm, and the best number of reinforcement layers was one layer. The test results show that the carbon fiber grid could improve the flexural bearing capacity of polyurethane concrete. The carbon fiber grid–polyurethane concrete system provides a new idea for rapid repair of the anchorage zone of bridge expansion joints, and solves the problems such as ease of damage and long maintenance cycles of traditional repair materials, which can be widely used in the future.