Improved consistency of bond-line thickness when conducting single lap-shear joint tests.

This article details a method for improving the consistency of bond-line thickness during lap-shear sample preparation. This includes the schematic for a lap-shear sample test rig and consideration for controlled variation of the bond-line thickness for up to ten pairs of samples at a time. Concerns regarding the curing of the samples when held on a large heat reservoir are addressed through direct measurement of the bond-rig temperature in combination with the cure chamber temperature. Additionally, the application of a release coating to the bond-rig has been demonstrated to improve ease of sample removal for the bond-rig, minimizing potential damage to the lap-shear sample set before testing. The release coating provides a clean surface for subsequent sets of samples, ensuring an even surface and reducing cleaning and degradation of the machined geometries of the rig. Overall, the proposed bond-rig provides: •Increased bond-line uniformity•Up to ten samples prepared in a batch•Option to apply a release coating to improve usability and minimize cleaning.

Hydroxyapatite and fluorapatite coatings on dental screws: effects of blast coating process and biological response.

This paper describes the deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) and fluorapatite (FA) onto titanium dental screws using a novel ambient temperature coating technique named CoBlast. The process utilises a coating medium and a blast medium sprayed simultaneously at the substrate surface. The blast medium was a sintered apatite (sHA) and two particles sizes (<106 and <180 µm) were used to assess their influence on the coating process. The influence of the coating process on the coating composition, coating adhesion, screw morphology and screw microstructure was examined. XRD analysis revealed the coating crystallinity was the same as the original HA and FA feedstock powders. Examining the screw's morphology, the threads of the CoBlasted screws exhibited rounding compared to the unmodified screw. This is due to the abrasive nature of the CoBlast process. The degree of rounding was more significant for the screws blasted with the 180 µm sHA than the 106 µm sHA. The blast media particle size significantly influences the surface roughness of both the substrate and coating and the microstructure of the substrate. The screws did not exhibit any loss of coating after insertion into a model bone material, indicating that the coating was strongly adhered to the substrate. There was no statistically significant difference in cell attachment and cell morphology on the unmodified substrates compared to the coated substrates. In conclusion, the CoBlast process can be used to deposit HA and FA onto complex geometries such as dental screws. The choice of blast medium particle size influences the screws morphology. The coating process does not negatively impact on the cell attachment and morphology in vitro.

Co-blasting of titanium surfaces with an abrasive and hydroxyapatite to produce bioactive coatings: substrate and coating characterisation.

The aim of this work is to assess the influence of two blast media on the deposition of hydroxyapatite onto a titanium substrate using a novel ambient temperature coating technique named CoBlast. CoBlast was developed to address the problems with high temperature coating techniques. The blasting media used in this study were Al2O3 and a sintered apatite powder. The prepared and coated surfaces were compared to plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite on the same substrates using the same hydroxyapatite feedstock powder. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the coating crystallinity was the same as the original hydroxyapatite feedstock powder for the CoBlast samples while evidence of amorphous hydroxyapatite phases and ß-TCP was observed in the plasma sprayed samples. The blast media type significantly influences the adhesive strength of the coating, surface roughness of both the substrate and coating and the microstructure of the substrate. The coating adhesion increased for the CoBlasted samples from 50 MPa to 60 MPa for sintered apatite powder and alumina, respectively, while plasma spray samples were significantly lower (5 MPa) when tested using a modified pull-test. In conclusion, the choice of blast medium is shown to be a key parameter in the CoBlast process. This study indicates that sintered apatite powder is the most suitable candidate for use as a blast medium in the coating of medical devices.

Microwave-assisted rapid discharge sintering of a bioactive glass-ceramic.

Bioactive glass-ceramics have been developed as successful bone graft materials. Although conventional sintering in an electrically-heated furnace is most commonly used, an alternative microwave plasma batch processing technique, known as rapid discharge sintering (RDS), is examined to crystallise the metastable base glass to form one or more ceramic phases. Apatite-mullite glass-ceramics (AMGC) were examined to elucidate the effects of RDS on the crystallization of a bioactive glass-ceramic. By increasing the fluorine content of the glass, the fluorapatite (FAp) and mullite crystallization onset temperatures can be reduced. Samples were sintered in a hydrogen and hydrogen/nitrogen discharge at temperatures of ≈800 and 1000 °C respectively with the higher sintering temperature required to form mullite. Results show that the material can be densified and crystallised using RDS in a considerably shorter time than conventional sintering due to heating and cooling rates of ≈400 °C/min.

Deposition of hybrid organic-inorganic composite coatings using an atmospheric plasma jet system.

The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of alcohol addition on the incorporation of metal oxide nanoparticles into nm thick siloxane coatings. Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles with diameters of 30-80 nm were incorporated into an atmospheric plasma deposited tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) siloxane coating. The TMOS/TiO2 coating was deposited using the atmospheric plasma jet system known as PlasmaStream. In this system the liquid precursor/nanoparticle mixture is nebulised into the plasma. It was observed that prior to being nebulised the TiO2 particles agglomerated and settled over time in the TMOS/TiO2 mixture. In order to obtain a more stable nanoparticle/TMOS suspension the addition of the alcohols methanol, octanol and pentanol to this mixture was investigated. The addition of each of these alcohols was found to stabilise the nanoparticle suspension. The effect of the alcohol was therefore assessed with respect to the properties of the deposited coatings. It was observed that coatings deposited from TMOS/TiO2, with and without the addition of methanol were broadly similar. In contrast the coatings deposited with octanol and pentanol addition to the TMOS/TiO2 mixture were significantly thicker, for a given set of deposition parameters and were also more homogeneous. This would indicate that the alcohol precursor was incorporated into the plasma polymerised siloxane. The incorporation of the organic functionality from the alcohols was confirmed from FTIR spectra of the coatings. The difference in behaviour with alcohol type is likely to be due to the lower boiling point of methanol (65 degrees C), which is lower than the maximum plasma temperature measured at the jet orifice (77 degrees C). This temperature is significantly lower than the 196 degrees C and 136 degrees C boiling points of octanol and pentanol respectively. The friction of the coatings was determined using the Pin-on-disc technique. The more organic coatings deposited with octanol and pentanol exhibited friction values of 0.2, compared with approx. 0.8 for the coatings deposited from TMOS/TiO2 mixture (with and without methanol). Wear performance comparison between the two types of coating again indicated a significant organic component in the coatings deposited from the higher boiling point alcohols.