Design, Manufacturing, and Performance Evaluation of a Novel Smart Roller Bearing Equipped with Shape Memory Alloy Wires

In this study, a new type of seismic isolation device, called SMA wire-based roller bearing (SMA-RB) is developed and introduced. The SMA-RB has been designed, manufactured, and experimentally tested. This bearing consists of cylindrical roller bearings and SMA wires with straight or cross configurations, as supplementary damping elements. In such a smart bearing, the superelastic SMA wires are passed through the hooks/pulleys attached to the supporting plates of the bearings in different configurations. The rollers provide lateral flexibility, and SMA wires supply energy dissipation and self-centering properties. In the manufacturing stage, a new mechanism for coupling wires (i.e. SMA wire joiner/coupler) is proposed. The results show that SMA wires, made of Nickle Titanium (NiTi), provide a self-centered damping mechanism with almost zero residual deformation which can effectively control the device from over-displacement. While using pulleys and newly designed wire joiners in the SMA-RB, the bearing can experience a stable cyclic behavior. Since the rollers generate a negligible amount of frictional force, the superelastic NiTi wires with a flag-shaped hysteresis mainly contribute to the overall shear hysteretic response of the SMA-RB. A triangular-shaped constitutive model can be used to accurately describe the hysteretic behavior of SMA-RB with different wire configurations.

A Critical Appraisal of the Use and Properties of Nickel–Titanium Dental Alloys

Nickel–titanium (NiTi) archwires are used in dentistry for orthodontic treatment. NiTi alloys have favourable mechanical characteristics, such as superelasticity and shape memory, and are also known as a corrosion-resistant alloy. In specific cases, an archwire could be attacked by certain types of corrosion or wear degradation, which can cause the leaching of metal ions and a hypersensitive response due to increased concentrations of Ni in the human body. A systematic search of the literature retrieved 102 relevant studies. The review paper focuses on three main fields: (i) electrochemical properties of NiTi wires and the effect of different environments on the properties of NiTi wires (fluoride and low pH); (ii) tribocorrosion, a combination of chemical and mechanical wear of the material, and (iii) the biocompatibility of NiTi alloy and its subsequent effect on the human body. The review showed that corrosion properties are affected by microstructure, pH of saliva and the presence of fluorides. A high variation in published results should be, therefore, interpreted with care. The release of nickel ions was assessed using the same unit, showing that the vast majority of metal ions were released in the first few days of exposure, then a stable, steady state was reached. In tribocorrosion studies, the increased concentrations of Ni ions were reported.

Effect of Eugenol on Streptococcus mutans Adhesion on NiTi Orthodontic Wires: In Vitro and In Vivo Conditions

Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the antibacterial effect of two types of Eugenol against Streptococcus mutans and then assess the effect of different concentrations of two types of Eugenol on S. mutans adhesion on Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) orthodontic wires in comparison to in vivo wires with fluoride-based hygiene regimen. Material and methods Culture of Streptococcus mutans with NiTi orthodontic wires was done. Different media were prepared by adding 100%, 50%, 25%, and 12.5% of two origins of Eugenol (one biological obtained by hydrodistillation of Syzygium aromaticum and one chemical already prepared available in drugstores for dental use (Idental, MOROCCO, lot number: UAN/17–211/1). Three sizes of NiTi wires (0.016 inch, 0.016 × 0.022 inch, 0.017 × 0.025 inch) were retrieved from adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment after 1 month of setting them up in the mouth. After incubation, colony forming unites were calculated and a SEM analysis was done to the surface of each wire. ANOVA test was done between all groups to find statistical differences and post-hoc t-test with Bonferroni analysis was performed to elucidate differences between all groups with α = 0.05. Results Eugenol has an anti-bacterial effect against S. mutans. The biological Eugenol has greater effect than the chemical one. The same observations were done for anti-adherent effect, the biological Eugenol demonstrated the highest anti-adherent effect at all concentrations while the effect of the chemical Eugenol was the lowest. Conclusions The origin and the extraction mode of Eugenol have a crucial role in its antimicrobial and anti-adherent effect. Eugenol might constitute an alternative to Fluoride because it has an anti-adherent effect, limiting the incidence of white spot lesions.

Influence of Physical Dimension and Morphological-Dependent Antibacterial Characteristics of ZnO Nanoparticles Coated on Orthodontic NiTi Wires

White spot lesions (WSLs) are one of the adverse effects of fixed orthodontic treatments. They are the primary sign of caries, which means inhibiting this process by antibacterial agents will reverse the procedure. The current study tested the surface modification of nickel-titanium (NiTi) wires with ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), as antimicrobial agents. As the morphology of NPs is one of the most critical factors for their properties, the antibacterial properties of different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures coated on the NiTi wire were investigated. For the preparation of ZnO nanostructures, five coating methods, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), chemical precipitation method, polymer composite coating, sol-gel synthesis, and electrospinning process, were used. The antibacterial activity of NPs was assessed against Streptococcus mutans by the colony counting method. The obtained results showed that all the samples had antibacterial effects. The antibacterial properties of ZnO NPs were significantly improved when the specific surface area of particles increased, by the ZnO nanocrystals prepared via the CVD coating method.

Augmentation of low frequency damping via hydrogen-doping in a hybrid shape memory alloy composite

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites hybridized with hydrogen-doped NiTi wires can be used to design structures requiring high stiffness and high damping in the low frequency range, such as helicopter blades. The current work investigates aging and hydrogen-doping for high damping without hydrogen embrittlement. We establish a hydrogenation treatment that (i) results in a response that is repeatable in the martensitic phase and after exposure to composite processing temperatures and (ii) increases the loss factor in NiTi wires by nearly 470%. By embedding H-doped wires exhibiting the highest damping into the interlayers of a [0/±45]s carbon/epoxy laminate at a volume fraction of 0.1, the hybrid NiTi-CFRP composite loss factor increases by 170%. The measured dynamic properties were found to be close to micromechanical predictions based on the properties of the NiTi and CFRP.

Effect of Low-Temperature Aging on Thermally-Induced Phase Transformation of NiTi Wire with a Wide Range of Grain Sizes

Thermally-induced phase transformation (PT) is of significance and value to the application of NiTi alloy components. Low-temperature aging (LTA) treatment was used to alter PT characteristics of NiTi alloys avoiding undesirable grain growth. Effect of LTA on PT of NiTi wires with a wide range of grain sizes from 34 nm to 8021 nm was investigated in this study. As the average grain size varies from 34 to 217 nm, the temperature of the B2↔R transformation increase as a result of LTA, and the increasing effect is more obvious at a larger grain size. For NiTi alloys with average grain sizes ranging from 523 to 1106 nm, transformation sequence changes from B2↔B19' to B2↔R due to LTA. For the sample with an average grain size of 2190 nm, the B2↔B19' transformation is replaced by B2↔R←B19' after LTA. When the average grain size is larger than 2190 nm, transformation sequence changes from B2↔B19' to B2↔R↔B19' after LTA. Transmission emission microscope observations reveal that the above-mentioned PT behavior correlates with the coupled effect of grain size and precipitation. The precipitation of Ni4Ti3 in the grains with a size smaller than ~150 nm is inhibited after LTA, the temperature of B2→R of samples with average GS smaller than ~150 nm still is elevated due to the inhomogeneous grain size of NiTi wires.

Strength of Superelastic NiTi Velcro-Like Fasteners

Velcro hook-and-loop fasteners invented more than 70 years ago are examples of the mechanism inspired by the tiny hooks found on the surface of burs of a plant commonly known as burdock. Several years ago, a novel Velcro-like fastener made of two arrays of hook-shaped thin NiTi wires was developed. Unique features of such fasteners, such as high thermally-tunable strength, fair force–stroke reproducibility, forceless contact or silent release, all derive from the superelasticity of the NiTi micro-wires. Recently, it was noticed that the presented fastener design allowed for a prediction of the number of active hooks. In this continuing study, the tension strength of the fastener was simulated as a function of hook density. Based on statistics, the model showed non-linear dependency of the number of interlocked hooks, N, on the hook density, m (N = round (0.21 m + 0.0035 m2 − 6.6)), for the simple hook pairs and the given hook geometry. The dependence of detachment force on stroke was simulated based on the Gaussian distribution of unhooking of individual hook connections along the stroke. The strength of the studied NiTi hook fasteners depended on hook density approximately linearly. The highest strength per cm2 reached at room temperature was 10.5 Ncm−2 for a density of m = 240 hooks/cm2.