Influence of size and orientation of 3D printed fiber on mechanical properties under bending stress

The principle of FFF/FDM (Fused Filament Fabrication/Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printing technology is the melting and application of a continuous fiber made of thermoplastic material, according to predefined routes on the substrate. A layer is created on which other layers are placed until the object is finished. It is the orientation of these fibers that greatly affects the resulting mechanical properties. Therefore, the printed object behaves orthotropic. The material does not blend perfectly or evenly between the individual fibers, which is why the resulting strength is limited by adhesion. Within the fibers themselves, it is also its dimension that affects the size of the contact surface and therefore the effect of adhesion. This contribution aims to compare the effect of fiber size in a given direction and its rotation in 3-point bending according to the standard ??SN EN ISO 178. The maximum bending load force was obtained and the bending stress and modulus of elasticity were determined. The influence of layer cohesion on the failure of the specimens is compared. One of the other important studied aspects for the effective production is the printing time of each specimen.Web of Scienc

Fungus Aspergillus niger processes exogenous zinc nanoparticles into a biogenic oxalate mineral

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) belong to the most widely used nanoparticles in both commercial products and industrial applications. Hence, they are frequently released into the environment. Soil fungi can affect the mobilization of zinc from ZnO NPs in soils, and thus they can heavily influence the mobility and bioavailability of zinc there. Therefore, ubiquitous soil fungus Aspergillus niger was selected as a test organism to evaluate the fungal interaction with ZnO NPs. As anticipated, the A. niger strain significantly affected the stability of particulate forms of ZnO due to the acidification of its environment. The influence of ZnO NPs on fungus was compared to the aqueous Zn cations and to bulk ZnO as well. Bulk ZnO had the least effect on fungal growth, while the response of A. niger to ZnO NPs was comparable with ionic zinc. Our results have shown that soil fungus can efficiently bioaccumulate Zn that was bioextracted from ZnO. Furthermore, it influences Zn bioavailability to plants by ZnO NPs transformation to stable biogenic minerals. Hence, a newly formed biogenic mineral phase of zinc oxalate was identified after the experiment with A. niger strain's extracellular metabolites highlighting the fungal significance in zinc biogeochemistry.Web of Science64art. no. 21

Subsurface structure and magnetic parameters of Fe-Mo-Cu-B metallic glass

Subsurface properties of 57Fe81Mo9Cu1B9 metallic glass were studied by conversion electron and conversion X-ray Mössbauer spectrometry. They were applied to both surfaces of the ribbons. Deviations in structural surface features are exhibited via different contents of crystalline phases, which were identified as bcc-Fe and magnetite. The presence of small ferromagnetic particles was also suggested from magnetic measurements. An influence of irradiation with 130-keV N+ ions on surface properties of the as-quenched alloy is also discussed

Sequential extraction resulted in similar fractionation of ionic Zn, nano- and microparticles of ZnO in acidic and alkaline soil

The evaluation of nanoparticle bioavailability or the bioavailability of dissolved elements by direct measurement through plant uptake is a strenuous process. Several multi-step sequential extraction procedures, including the BCR sequential extraction procedure, have been created to provide potential accessibility of elements, where real soil-plant transfer can be problematic to implement. However, these have limitations of their own based on the used extractants. For the purposes of our research, we enriched two soils: an untilted forest soil with naturally acidic pH and a tilted agricultural soil with alkaline pH by three Zn forms-ionic Zn in the form of ZnSO4, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NP) and larger particles of ZnO (ZnO B)-by batch sorption. We then extracted the retained Zn in the soils by BCR sequential extraction procedure to extract three fractions: ion exchangeable, reducible, and oxidizable. The results were compared among the soils and a comparison between the different forms was made. Regardless of the difference in soil pH and other soil properties, ZnO NP, ZnO B, and ionic Zn showed little to no difference in the relative distribution between the observed soil fractions in both forest soil and agricultural soil. Since ionic Zn is more available for plant uptake, BCR sequential extraction procedure may overestimate the easily available Zn when amendment with ionic Zn is compared to particulate Zn. The absence of a first extraction step with mild extractant, such as deionized water, oversimplifies the processes the particulate Zn undergoes in soils.Web of Science1110art. no. 107

Microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 alloy

Microstructure and thermomagnetic characteristics of the amorphous Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 alloy in the as-quenched state and after 1 h of annealing at 573 K and 773 K are studied. The structural investigations performed by Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry confirmed the amorphous structure of the analysed materials. An increase in the annealing temperature up to 773 K does not lead to crystallization of the amorphous alloy. Only structural rearrangement that causes changes in the topological short-range order and annealing out of free volume is observed. This behaviour was confirmed by modifications of the shapes of hyperfine field distributions derived from the corresponding Mössbauer spectra of the investigated alloys. The Curie temperatures of the as-quenched and annealed Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 alloy at 573 and 773 K are 400, 405 and 421 K, respectively

Effect of Cobalt on the Microstructure of Fe-B-Sn Amorphous Metallic Alloys

Fe78B15Sn7 and (Fe3Co1)78B15Sn7 amorphous metallic alloys were prepared using the method of planar flow casting. The amorphous nature of ribbons containing 7 at. % Sn was verified by X-ray diffraction. The resulting chemical composition was checked by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. The microstructure of the as-quenched metallic glasses was investigated by 57-Fe and 119-Sn Mössbauer spectrometry. The experiments were performed with transmission geometry at 300 K, 100 K, and 4.2 K, and in an external magnetic field of 6 T. The replacement of a quarter of the Fe by Co did not cause significant modifications of the hyperfine interactions in the 57-Fe nuclei. The observed minor variations in the local magnetic microstructure were attributed to alterations in the topological short-range order. However, the in-field 57-Fe Mössbauer spectra indicated a misalignment of the partial magnetic moments. On the other hand, the presence of Co considerably affected the local magnetic microstructure of the 119-Sn nuclei. This was probably due to the higher magnetic moment of Co, which induces transfer fields and polarization effects on the diamagnetic Sn atoms

Distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles in acidic and alkaline soil and their accumulation by Aspergillus niger

The nanoparticles of TiO2 (TiO2 NP) have been used as a plant-growth stimulant or catalyst in pesticide formulas. However, due to high resistance of TiO2 NP to abiotic weathering, dissolved Ti is unlikely to act as an active compound in these preparations. Even if soil is acidic, TiO2 NP do not dissolve easily and preferably remain as undissolved particles. The low dissolution rates of inorganic nanoparticles in the soil environment make Ti in TiO2 NP largely unavailable for plants and soil microorganisms. To characterize the behavior of TiO2 NP in soil under different pH conditions, we analyzed TiO2 NP-size distribution in two soil materials, an alkaline and acidic one. We also cultivated Aspergillus niger, a fungus ubiquitously found in soils, in the growth medium spiked with TiO2 NP to assess accumulation of the nanoparticles in fungus. In soil suspensions, the dissolved Ti was present in low concentrations (up to 0.010 mg L-1). Most of the TiO2 NP remained in particulate form or appeared as aggregates sized 100-450 nm. In experiment on Ti accumulation by A. niger, TiO2 NP either settled down to the bottom of the flask with growth medium or were actually accumulated by the fungus; about 7.5% of TiO2 NP were accumulated in fungal mycelia. Most of the TiO2 NP remain in particulate form in soil solutions, regardless of soil pH. Filamentous fungus A. niger has the ability to accumulate bioavailable TiO2 NP, which hints at the possibility that some soil fungi can affect spatial distribution of this type of nanoparticles in soils.Web of Science1011art. no. 183

Microstructure, soft magnetic properties and applications of amorphous Fe-Co-Si-B-Mo-P alloy

DC thermomagnetic properties of Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 amorphous alloy in the as-quenched and after annealing below crystallization temperature are investigated. They are related to deviations in the microstructure as revealed by Mössbauer spectrometry. Study of AC magnetic properties, i.e. hysteresis loops, relative permeability and core losses versus maximum induction was aimed at obtaining optimal initial parameters for simulation process of a resonant transformer for a rail power supply converter. The results obtained from numerical analyses including core losses, winding losses, core mass, and dimensions were compared with the same parameters calculated for Fe-Si alloy and ferrite. Moreover, Steinmetz coefficients were also calculated for the as-quenched Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 amorphous alloy

Glyphosate does not show higher phytotoxicity than cadmium: Cross talk and metabolic changes in common herb

Toxicity of glyphosate (G) alone or in combination with cadmium (Cd) was studied in Matricaria chamomilla. Cadmium accumulated in shoots and roots in relation to prolonged exposure while glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) were detected only in roots. After 7 days of exposure, root Cd and G accumulation was similar (56 μg G or 47 μg Cd/g DW in 1 μM treatments and 330 μg G or 321 μg Cd/g DW in 10 μM treatments). Despite this fact, Cd stimulated higher ROS formation and G rather suppressed nitric oxide while H2O2 content was elevated by Cd. Subsequent assay of antioxidative enzymes (SOD, CAT, and APX) showed only the impact of Cd. Non-enzymatic antioxidants revealed more pronounced impact of Cd on ascorbic acid and soluble phenols while non-protein thiols showed synergistic effect of G and Cd in roots. Surprisingly, G alone or in combination with Cd depleted shoot citrate and tartrate accumulation despite no detectable G in shoots. In the roots, Cd evoked expected increase in malate and citrate content while G rather suppressed Cd-induced elevation. These data indicate that glyphosate is less toxic than cadmium but even low G doses are able to induce metabolic changes