Chip Fracture Research Articles

Design and development of a sensorized hammerstone for accurate force measurement in stone knapping experiments.

The process of making stone tools, specifically knapping, is a hominin behaviour that typically involves using the upper limb to manipulate a stone hammer and apply concentrated percussive force to another stone, causing fracture and detachment of stone chips with sharp edges. To understand the emergence and subsequent evolution of tool-related behaviours in hominins, the connections between the mechanics of stone knapping, including the delivery of percussive forces, and biomechanics and hominin anatomy, especially in the upper limb, are required. However, there is an absence of direct experimental means to measure the actual forces generated and applied to produce flakes during knapping. Our study introduces a novel solution to this problem in the form of an ergonomic hand-held synthetic hammerstone that can record the percussive forces that occur during knapping experiments. This hammerstone is composed of a deformable pneumatic 3D-printed chamber encased within a 3D-printed grip and a stone-milled striker. During knapping, hammer impact causes the pneumatic chamber to deform, which leads to a change in pressure that is measured by a sensor. Comparisons of recorded pressure data against corresponding force values measured using a force plate show that the synthetic hammer quantifies percussion forces with relatively high accuracy. The performance of this hammerstone was further validated by conducting anvil-supported knapping experiments on glass that resulted in a root mean square error of under 6%, while recording forces up to 730 N with successful flake detachments. These validation results indicate that accuracy was not sensitive to variations up to 15° from the vertical in the hammer striking angle. Our approach allows future studies to directly examine the role of percussive force during the stone knapping process and its relationship with both anatomical and technological changes during human evolution.

Computed Tomography Evaluation of Alumina Ceramic-on-Ceramic Total Hip Arthroplasty With More Than 20 years of Follow-Up: Is a Follow-Up Computed Tomography Scan Necessary?

BackgroundCeramic-on-ceramic (CoC) bearings have been increasingly used in total hip arthroplasty (THA) because of their superior wear resistance and biocompatibility. However, there is a scarcity of reports on the computed tomography (CT) evaluation of CoC bearings with more than 10 years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term CT results of THA using CoC bearings for more than 20 years of follow-up. We hypothesized that there would be no wear, osteolysis, or ceramic fracture. MethodsBetween November 1997 and June 2003, 956 hips underwent THA using alumina-on-alumina bearings at a tertiary referral hospital. Among them, 107 hips were assessed, all of which underwent a CT examination more than 20 years after the index surgery. The mean age at the time of surgery was 41 years, and a CT scan was performed at an average of 22.0 years postoperatively (range, 20.0 to 25.1). The CT scans were thoroughly assessed for osteolysis, stem notching, and ceramic component fracture. ResultsNo loosening was observed in the acetabular cup or femoral stem. Stem notching was observed in 3 hips (2.8%). In the CT scan taken after a minimum of 20 years of follow-up, 1 case (0.9%) of osteolysis around the cup and 2 cases (1.9%) of osteolysis around the femoral stem were noted. Suspected chip fractures of the ceramic insert were discovered in 4 cases (3.7%). Despite these findings, the patients remained asymptomatic, and no subsequent surgical intervention was needed after close follow-up. ConclusionsRoutine CT examinations for patients who underwent THA using CoC bearings over 20 years ago revealed unexpected findings, such as osteolysis and suspected chip fractures of the ceramic liner. However, routine CT scans may not be universally necessary. The CT evaluation in this cohort should be selectively performed for patients who have relevant clinical symptoms. Level of evidenceLevel III, Therapeutic study.

The effect of secondary cutting on the chip breaking in turning with (Ti,W)C cermet cutting tools

This study proposes a secondary cutting technique to address the chip breaking issue of cermet cutting tools. A cemented carbide blade is superimposed to cut off the chips while cutting with (Ti,W)C cermet tools, this approach allows for achieving chip breaking while maintaining excellent machining surface integrity. In this paper, the influence of the distance between the secondary cutting tool and the major cutting edge and the thickness of the tool on the chip breaking is studied, by using the combination of finite element simulation and experimental verification. The results indicate that the secondary cutting technique transforms the chips from long helical chips into dual-C-type chips. The distance between the secondary cutting tool and the major cutting edge is the primary factor affecting chip breaking. The reason is that the free end of the chip is subjected to the reaction force of the secondary cutting tool, which hinders the increase of the chip curl radius, increases the internal strain, and achieves the chip breaking condition. The thickness of the secondary cutting tool is also a significant factor influencing chip breaking, when the thickness reaches the critical value of 1.8 mm, the tool transitions from obstructive action to cutting action. When the cutting material is 45 steel, the cutting speed is 300 m/min, the feed rate is 0.142 mm/r, and the cutting depth is 0.2 mm, the distance between the secondary cutting tool and the major cutting edge is 1.5 mm, and the tool thickness is 1.3 mm, the chip breaking effect is the best, the main types of chips is dual-C type chips, with a chip length of 7.1 mm ± 0.3 mm and a chip fracture curl radius of 1.8 mm ± 0.1 mm. At this point, the surface roughness can be reduced to as low as 0.98 μm, good surface integrity is ensured while chip breaking.

CT based 3D reconstruction of the forefoot’s blood supply in a white rhinoceros

BackgroundThe white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is close to extinction, listed as “Near Threatened”, with a decreasing population on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In at least 50% of the specimens in captivity, podiatric diseases, such as osteitis, osteomyelitis, chip fractures, enthesophytes, fractures and osteoarthritis were found during necropsy. These osteal deformations cause further pathogenic alterations in the soft tissues, particularly in the digital cushion. The literature provides good description of the skeleton of the rhino’s limbs, but similar for the vascular system is non-existent. In order to recognize the symptoms in an early state and for a successful surgical treatment, precise knowledge of the vascular anatomy is essential. The purpose of our study was to provide detailed anatomical description of the blood supply of the digits and that of the digital cushion.ResultsThe blood supply of the distal foot, digits and digital cushions were perfectly visible on the reconstructed and coloured 3D models. The deep palmar arch provided not only the blood supply to the digits but had a palmaro-distal running branch which developed a trifurcation proximal to the proximal sesamoid bones of the third digit. Two of its branches participated in the blood supply of the digits’ proximal palmar surface, while the major branch supplied the digital cushion from proximal direction.ConclusionsOur findings show a unique blood supply: the main vessels of the digital cushion stem both directly from the deep palmar arch and from the digits’ own arteries. The detailed description of vessels may be useful in planning surgery of the region and also in cases where the veins of the ear are not accessible.

On unsteady-cutting state material separation and dead metal zone modeling considering chip fracture

An accurate dead metal zone (DMZ) model can well understand the material separation and flow mechanism in the cutting process. Most available DMZ models considered the cutting state steady with complete chip formation and sufficient material piled up. To investigate unsteady-cutting state material separation, this paper proposed an improved DMZ model considering the chip fracture. The uncut chip thickness (UCT), which causes the instantaneous maximum pressure, is chosen as the criterion of the DMZ generation at an unsteady-cutting state. The DMZ model is divided into four types, whose geometry and position were theoretically calculated and verified by finite-element method (FEM) and turning experiments corresponding to Al7075-T6 with a maximum error of 12.5 %. Based on the DMZ modeling, the instantaneous shearing and ploughing effects are quantitatively analyzed. Furthermore, metallographic analyses were carried out for further observing the material flow mechanism. The results showed that different UCTs can result in distinct cutting states. Lower UCT led to the pure ploughing or ploughing dominating the cutting process, resulting in trivial chip generation. With the UCT increasing, the shearing dominates gradually and produces continuous chips. This research can contribute to in deeply investigating the instantaneous material flow and further material removal mechanism in the machining process.

Influence of SiC chip thickness on the power cycling capability of power electronics assemblies – A comprehensive numerical study

Silicon carbide (SiC), as one of the most favorite wide band gap semiconductor materials, is often applied in power electronics nowadays. The reliability of SiC packages, however, hasn't been sufficiently investigated yet, and unexploited potentials are still expected. One critical impact parameter is the geometric chip design, from which its thickness is the most easily accessible feature. In this paper, finite element simulations are performed to investigate the influence of SiC chip thickness on the power cycling capability based on a “standard” power electronics assembly concept. The results show a potential increase of the power cycling lifetime for solder fatigue by 7 times and bond wire lift-off by 8 times when decreasing the SiC chip thickness from 350 μm to 50 μm. On the other hand, by decreasing the chip thickness, the risk for chip fracture increases due to increasing tensile stresses in the chip surface.

Aging and Fracture Resistance of Implant-Supported Molar Crowns with a CAD/CAM Resin Composite Veneer Structure.

Chipping of implant-supported molar crowns (iSCs) is a frequently reported complication. This study aimed to investigate the in-vitro aging and fracture resistance of iSCs with a CAD/CAM resin composite veneer structure fabricated with the Rapid Layer Technology (RLT) approach. Eight iSCs per group were fabricated by using two different CAD/CAM resin composites (Shofu Block HC: SH; Grandio blocs: GB) for veneer structures, and zirconia (ZrO2), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and cobalt-chromium (CoCr; control) as framework materials. The surfaces to be bonded were sandblasted, cleaned in an ultrasonic bath, and a coupling agent was applied. A self-adhesive resin luting composite was used to adhesively lute the veneer structures to the frameworks. The crowns were semi-permanently cemented to the abutments. After storage in deionized water, iSCs were loaded in a chewing simulator (TCML, 10,000 thermal cycles 5 °C to 55 °C for 20 s, 1.2 million, loading force 50 N). Four ZrO2 and one CoCr crown did not survive the TCML. The fracture force was determined after 24 h storage in deionized water and yielded values of ≥974 N. Lowest fracture forces were yielded in the PEEK-SH group in comparison to CoCr or ZrO2 groups (p ≤ 0.031). For identical framework materials, no significant influence of the veneering material was observed. All PEEK-GB frameworks fractured, and chipping occurred for ZrO2-SH and all CoCr frameworks. PEEK-SH and ZrO2-GB presented both chipping and framework fractures. Within the limitations of this in-vitro study, the RLT with a CAD/CAM resin composite veneer structure might be a promising approach to veneer iSCs. Yet, the choice of the CAD/CAM resin composite and of the framework material determine the fracture resistance.

The effect of tool wear on the damaged layer thickness and tool wear rate in ultra-precision turning of quartz glass

Quartz glasses have been extensively used for many fields, such as semiconductor technology, optical instruments, inertial navigation and others. Ultra-precision turning with diamond tools can achieve high surface accuracy when processing non-ferrous materials. In recent years, ultra-precision turning has also been tried to be applied to process brittle materials, but there are constraints including small removal amount and tool wear. When diamond tools are used to cut quartz glass, tool wear occurs under the combined action of thermal effect and mechanical friction, which will affect the damaged layer thickness of the processed quartz glass. In this paper, the tool wear factor is led into the calculation of the extrusion volume, and the damaged layer thickness is calculated by the extrusion volume. Combined with the results of quartz glass turning experiments and the calculated results by simulation, the effect of tool wear factor on the damaged layer thickness and the tool wear rate is analyzed. The analysis shows that tool wear will lead to chip fracture thickness decrease and extrusion volume increase. Combined action of these two aspects, the damage layer thickness keeps unchanged at first and then rises with the increase of tool wear. In addition, the experimental results show that the tool wear rate rises with the increase of tool wear.

Grinding damage in the fabrication of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride micro-drill

Micro superhard cutting tool such as polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tool are increasingly demanded in high-end manufacturing field. The grinding is a widely used technology in the manufacture of superhard micro-tools, but its grinding damage is often difficult to control. In order to improve the grinding quality of superhard micro-tools, it is necessary to further understand the damage behavior during tool grinding process. This study aims to reveal the damage form and damage formation mechanism in the grinding process of PCBN micro-drills. The PCBN micro-drill grinding experiment is conducted under different process parameters, and the morphology characteristics of the micro-drill surface and cutting edge are observed and analyzed. The influence of grinding process parameters on the grinding quality of PCBN micro-drill is quantitatively investigated. The results indicate that, the grinding damage of PCBN micro-drill is mainly manifested as micro chipping and micro fracture of the cutting edge, material adhesion on the chisel edge, and micro cracks, micro pits and micro scratches on the grinding surface. For the ground surface of flank and helical flute of PCBN micro-drill, the material removal mechanisms of plastic removal and brittle removal work together. The material in the area with more binder inclusions is removed by plastic removal mode, and the material brittleness removal mode mainly includes cleavage brittleness removal and intergranular brittleness removal. The edge impact fracture brings grinding damage to the main cutting edge of PCBN micro-drill. The CBN grains at the fracture surface mainly undergo cleavage fracture, while the fracture of the binder occurs in the form of micro pit aggregation. The reduction of grinding depth and feed rate will lead to the decrease in the surface roughness of flank and helical flute, the cutting edge radius, and the edge chipping width, thus improve the grinding quality of PCBN micro-drill. These findings contribute to expand the understanding of process characteristics for grinding PCBN micro-tools, and thus to restrain the grinding damage and improve the grinding quality of micro-tools.

Proof testing to improve the reliability and lifetime of ceramic dental prostheses.

Ceramic dental prostheses exhibit increasing failure rates with service time. In particular, veneered crowns and bridges are susceptible to chipping and other fracture modes of failure. The purpose of this manuscript is to introduce a computational methodology and associated software that can predict the time-dependent probability of failure for ceramic prostheses and subsequently design proof test protocols to significantly enhance their reliabilities and lifetimes. Transient reliability and corresponding proof testing theories are introduced. These theories are coded in the Ceramic Analysis and Reliability Evaluation of Structures (CARES/Life) code. This software will be used to demonstrate the predictive capability of the theory as well as its use in designing proof test protocols to significantly improve the reliability (survival probability) and lifetime for dental prostheses. A three-unit fixed dental prosthesis (FDP) with zirconia core (ZirCAD) and veneering ceramic (ZirPress) are used to compare the predicted probabilities of failure to general clinical results. In addition, the capability to use proof testing to significantly improve the performance (reliability and lifetime) for this restoration is demonstrated. The probability of failure, Pf, after five years without proof testing is predicted to be 0.337. This compares to clinical studies showing the failure rate to be between 0.2 and 0.23 after 5 years. After 10 years, reference 18 found the clinical failure rate for similar bridges (but not the same) to be up to 0.28 compared to the predicted Pf of 0.38. The difference may be due to the analysis applying the load at an inclination of 75° which is more critical than vertical loading. In addition, clinical studies often report a simple survival rate instead of using Kaplan-Meier analysis to properly account for late enrollees. Therefore, true clinical failure rates may be higher than reported and may more closely match the predictions of this manuscript. The effectiveness of proof testing increases with selecting materials less susceptible to slow crack growth (higher SCG exponent, N). For example, proof testing the ZirPress glass-veneered bridges with N=43.4 analyzed in this manuscript at 400N bite force for 1s which induces a failure rate during proof testing of 0.31, reduces the Pf of bridges not proof tested from 0.45 to an attenuated-proof-tested probability of failure Pfa of 0.21 after 20 years of usage. If another material is selected with improved resistance to SCG of N=60 and the same loading conditions, the failure rate for the proof tested bridges after 20 years of service drops to 2 in 10,000 from 2.4 in 100 had they been not proof tested. The failure rate during proof testing for this material would be 5.1 in 100. Proof testing a material with absolutely no susceptibility to SCG at the same service load (in this case 285N, not even the 400N load used above) results in 0 % failure rate and is of course independent of time. The transient reliability and proof test theory presented in this paper and associated computational software CARES/Life were successful in predicting the performance of ceramic dental restorations when compared to clinical data. Well-designed proof test protocols combined with proper material selection can significantly enhance the reliabilities and lifetimes of ceramic prostheses. This proof test capability can be a translational technology if properly applied to dental restorations.

Fracture toughness of 3D printed denture teeth.

Advances in digital dentistry lead to use of three-dimensional (3D) printed resin denture teeth. Fracture toughness of these teeth must be assessed. This study aimed to compare the chipping and indirect tensile fracture resistance of denture teeth fabricated by 3D printing technique with traditionally fabricated resin denture teeth. Four groups (Gr) were made (n= 50/group): Gr-1 3D printed denture teeth (denture teeth; Formlabs Inc., Somerville, MA, USA), Gr-2 SR-Orthosit-PE (Ivoclar Vivadent AG), Gr-3 Portrait IPN (Dentsply Sirona), Gr-4 Pala Premium 8 (Heraeus Kulzer GmbH). Stereolithography 3D printing was used to create the methacrylate-based photopolymerized resin teeth models and remaining group teeth were collected commercially. A 1 mm/min chipping and indirect tensile fracture speed tests were carried out till fracture occurred. The data so obtained were statistically analysed using one-way analysis of variance with Tukey's honestly significant difference multiple comparisons test (p< 0.05). At the end of the test, the fractured areas of the specimens were evaluated by the chief researcher to assess the fracture pattern of the teeth. The indirect tensile fracture values of the 3D printed teeth were more than that of Pala Premium-8 and SR-Orthosit-PE but it was lower than that of Portrait IPN teeth. In chipping test, buccal chipping of the loaded cusp was seen in 3D printed resin without distortion and in indirect tensile test in 3D printed resin teeth, line of fracture emerges near the loading point propagates from the inner incline of both cusps and extends cervically, unlike in other groups where first deformation occurs then fracture. Prosthetic teeth fabricated by the 3D printing technique using printable resin material provide adequate fracture resistance as denture teeth.

A prospective study of functional outcome of posterior tibial spine chip fractures treated with screw fixation

Aim: To study the functional outcome of posterior tibial spine fractures treated with threaded Cannulated cancellous Screw fixation. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study of Posterior Tibial Spine Avulsion fractures in the age group 15-60 years admitted in Government Medical College, Kota, during the period from August 2020 to December 2022. The cases were classified under Modified Meyers and Mckeever classification. Patients with associated vascular Injury and skeletally immature and age group more than 60 years were excluded. Through Burks and Schaffer approach, avulsion fractures of Posterior Tibial Spine were fixed with 4mm partially threaded Cannulated cancellous Screw. Discussion: In our study, the mean age group of the patient was 33 years with a male preponderance. Road traffic accidents and accidental fall were the commonest mode of injury and the mean operating time was 43.5 minutes. Post operatively the knee flexion was around 120 degrees in average. And 15 patients had excellent outcome with Lysholm knee scoring scale and 5 had good outcome with no patients with fair or poor outcome. Results: Open reduction and internal fixation of Posterior Tibial Spine avulsion fractures through Burks and Schaffer approach had yielded excellent results in our study. A displaced avulsion fracture of Posterior Cruciate Ligament with more than 10 mm posterior tibial translation should be reduced and fixed in order to stabilise the joint and to prevent non-union.

Clinical Performance of Complete-Arch Implant- Supported Rehabilitations Using Monolithic Lithium Disilicate Restorations Bonded to CAD/CAM Titanium and Zirconia Frameworks up to 5 Years.

This clinical study evaluated the survival of monolithic lithium disilicate (ML) (IPS Emax, Ivoclar Vivadent) restorations bonded to complete-arch CAD/CAM made titanium or zirconia frameworks. Between August 2007 and December 2009, 15 patients (7 female, 8 male; mean age: 56.8 years old) received 30 implant-supported screw-retained rehabilitations with ML restorations cemented to CAD/CAM made titanium (T) (n=6) or zirconia (Z) frameworks (n=24) adhesively (Multilink Automix, RelyX Unicem) and followed up until December 2015. The evaluation protocol involved technical failures (chipping, debonding or fracture of crown/framework, screw loosening), Californian Dental Association (CDA) quality criteria (Romeo: Excellent; Sierra: Acceptable; Tango: Retrievable; Victor: Not acceptable) and biological failures (mucositis, peri-implantitis). Mean observation time was 60.3 months. No implants were lost, and all the prostheses were in situ. Four mechanical failures occurred in the form of minor chipping (n=3 in ML-Z, n=1 in ML-T) and major fracture in ML crown (n=1 in ML-Z). Romeo scores (N=370) decreased until final observation (N=347) and 23 Sierra scores were given to the restorations. Mucositis was observed in 3 patients and peri-implantitis in one patient. Complete-arch implant-borne FDPs made of monolithic lithium disilicate bonded to titanium or zirconia frameworks could be a promising alternative.

Morphological characterization of 325 mesh-grinding-induced defects on silicon wafer surface

This article details how various mechanical defects resulting from 325-mesh grinding for wafer thickness reduction influence the mechanical stability of chips individually diced from silicon wafers after more fine grinding. It was found through SEM, AFM, and TEM examinations that 325-mesh grinding-induced defects can survive on wafer surfaces even after 3000-mesh fine grinding, thereby deteriorate the reliability of diced chips. Through AFM and TEM examinations of fractured surfaces of silicon chips diced from 325-mesh grinded wafers, it was found that a phase boundary between silicon locally melted by grinding-induced friction and original silicon can be generated during 325-mesh grinding. This phase boundary was investigated to survive after 3000-mesh fine grinding up to a thickness of 2 μm in order to reduce chip fracture reliability. However, this work shows that 325-mech grinding induced phase boundaries besides deep scratch marks can be effectively removed in order to increase chip fracture possibility after 3000-mesh fine grinding up to a thickness of 10 μm.

A new dynamic boring force calculation method using the analytical model of time-varying toolpath and chip fracture

The accurate prediction of dynamic cutting force has great significance for the quality control of the boring process for deep-cavity thin-walled parts. However, most of the classic and improved cutting force models commonly neglect the mechanism analysis of dynamic cutting force, resulting in the dynamic prediction of cutting force being almost impossible. To resolve this problem, a novel analytical dynamic cutting force prediction model for the boring process was proposed to consider the time-varying toolpath and chip fracture in the machining process. The generation mechanism of dynamic cutting force was analyzed by cutting theory and mathematical formula. The theory of maximum shear stress and the law of conservation of energy were applied to derive the dynamic cutting force for an entire rotation cutting cycle. Then, the proposed dynamic cutting force model was validated using a designed boring experiment and a classical cutting force model. The compared results showed that the dynamic cutting force model based on the proposed method had good agreement with the experimental data. Meanwhile, the advantage of accurate prediction was also further demonstrated by comparing the classic cutting force model. This paper presents an analytical dynamic cutting force prediction model for the boring process considering the toolpath and chip breakage. The underlying mechanism of the dynamic change of the cutting force was studied, and data supporting the improved quality of boring deep-cavity thin-walled parts was provided.

Biglycan neo-epitope (BGN262), a novel biomarker for screening early changes in equine osteoarthritic subchondral bone

Native biglycan (BGN), which can undergo proteolytic cleavage in pathological conditions, is well known to be involved in bone formation and mineralization. This study aimed to delineate the specific cleavage fragment, a neo-epitope for BGN (BGN262), in synovial fluid (SF) from young racehorses in training, osteoarthritic (OA) joints with subchondral bone sclerosis (SCBS), and chip fracture joints. A custom-made inhibition ELISA was developed to quantify BGN262 in SF. Cohort 1: A longitudinal study comprising 10 racehorses undergoing long-term training. Cohort 2: A cross-sectional study comprising joints from horses (N=69) with different stages of OA and radiographically classified SCBS. Cohort 3: A cross-sectional study comprising horses (N=9) with chip fractures. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed (healthy joints vs chip joints) to evaluate BGN262 robustness. Cohort 1: SF BGN262 levels from racehorses showed a statistical increase during the first 6 months of the training period. Cohort 2: BGN262 levels were significantly higher in the SF from severe SCBS joints. Cohort 3: SF BGN262 levels in chip fracture joints showed a significant increase compared to normal joints. The ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.957 (95% C.I 0.868-1.046), indicating good separation between the groups. The data presented show that BGN262 levels increase in SF in correlation with the initiation of training, severity of SCBS, and presence of chip fractures. This suggests that BGN262 is a potential predictor and a novel biomarker for early changes in subchondral bone (SCB), aiming to prevent catastrophic injuries in racehorses.

Incidence of carpal fractures and risk factors for recurrent fractures after arthroscopic removal of carpal chip fracture fragments in Thoroughbred racehorses.

We aimed to investigate the recent incidence of carpal fractures and the risk factors for recurrent ipsilateral fractures after arthroscopic removal of clinically active unilateral carpal chip fracture fragments in Thoroughbred racehorses. The findings for horses managed under the Japan Racing Association that developed carpal bone fractures between 2014 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The proportion of cases that developed a recurrent carpal fracture in the originally affected joint was calculated, and the risk factors for recurrent fractures were analysed. In total, 2858 carpal fractures were recorded in the study period (incidence, 0.8%). Of the 554 horses that resumed racing after the treatment of the unilateral major carpal chip fracture, 144 had a recurrent fracture (26.0%). Chip fractures of the third carpal bone (odds ratio [OR]: 3.7) or a combination of the distal end of the radius and intermediate carpal bone (OR: 3.0) were associated with a significantly higher risk of recurrent fractures than the distal aspect of the radial carpal bone. The incidence of carpal fractures remained similar to that reported in Japan in the 1990s. The rate of recurrent ipsilateral fractures differed among lesion sites.

Revealing the surface structural cause of scratch formation on soda-lime-silica glass

Scratch formation on glass surfaces is a ubiquitous phenomenon induced by plastic deformation, often accompanied by radial, lateral or median cracks with consequent chipping and brittle fracture caused during and after the event of dynamic abrasion instigated by shear stress by a harder material. This paper addresses the fundamental aspect of scratch formation on soda-lime-silica (SLS) glass surfaces. A constructive combination of surface-sensitive characterization tools, including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), laser scanning microscopy (LSM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and instrumented indentation technique (IIT), helped to investigate the structural cause of generation of visible scratches on SLS glass surfaces. The experimental results indicate that a silicate network possessing a mechanically weakening structural characteristic in terms of network connectivity confined to the region between 5 and 100 nm below the glass surface is likely to cause a destructive surface scratch eminently visible to the naked eye.

Fracture energy for orthogonal cutting in unidirectional CFRP at different cutting directions

A unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate is a composite material made up of strong parallel carbon fibres incorporated in a polymer matrix such as epoxy to provide high stiffness and strength in the fibre direction of the laminate. Unfortunately, the interlaminar or intralaminar plane of this material has a low resistance to damages as the fracture toughness of a unidirectional CFRP laminate is related to the energy dissipation during the orthogonal cutting. The aim of this study is on cutting a unidirectional CFRP along the longitudinal or transverse directions, characterizing orthogonal cutting forces and the related fracture energy. Orthogonal cutting is performed using braised carbide tools for a range of cutting depth of 10-100 ³m with a rake angle of 30° to quantify the cutting forces and to observe the fracture mechanisms. The fibre orientations have a significant impact on surface bouncing-back. For some fibre orientations, the energy balance model is applicable, deducting the reasonable value of fracture toughness due to high normal force (F t). Fibre subsurface damage and cutting forces during cutting are found to be strongly influenced by the cutting depth. The input energy of cutting is released in form of new surface energy, fibre breakage, high bending energy, and chip fracture energy.

Mechanical Stability of Screw-Retained Monolithic and Bi-layer Posterior Hybrid Abutment Crowns after Thermomechanical Loading: An In Vitro Study.

To evaluate the failure-load and survival-rate of screw-retained monolithic and bi-layered crowns bonded to titanium-bases before and after mouth-motion fatigue, 72 titanium-implants (SICvantage-max, SIC-invent-AG) were restored with three groups (n = 24) of screw-retained CAD/CAM implant-supported-single-crowns (ISSC) bonded to titanium-bases: porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM-control), porcelain-fused-to-zirconia (PFZ-test) and monolithic LDS (LDS-test). Half of the specimens (n = 12/group) were subjected to fatigue in a chewing-simulator (1.2 million cycles, 198 N, 1.67 Hz, thermocycling 5–55 °C). All samples were exposed to single-load-to-failure without (PFM0, PFZ0, LDS0) or with fatigue (PFM1, PFZ1, LDS1). Comparisons were statistically analyzed with t-tests and regression-models and corrected for multiple-testing using the Student–Neuman–Keuls method. All PFM and LDS crowns survived fatigue exposure, whereas 16.7% of PFZ showed chipping failures. The mean failure-loads (±SD) were: PFM0: 2633 ± 389 N, PFM1: 2349 ± 578 N, PFZ0: 2152 ± 572 N, PFZ1: 1686 ± 691 N, LDS0: 2981 ± 798 N, LDS1: 2722 ± 497 N. Fatigue did not influence load to failure of any group. PFZ ISSC showed significantly lower failure-loads than monolithic-LDS regardless of artificial aging (p < 0.05). PFM ISSC showed significantly higher failure loads after fatigue than PFZ (p = 0.032). All ISSC failed in a range above physiological chewing forces. Premature chipping fractures might occur in PFZ ISSC. Monolithic-LDS ISSC showed high reliability as an all-ceramic material for screw-retained posterior hybrid-abutment-crowns.