Viscoelastic Characterization and Degradation Stability Investigation of Poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate) - Calcium-Phosphate Glass Composites

In this work new biodegradable composite materials based on poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) reinforced with water-soluble calcium-phosphate glass (CPG) microparticles at different filler concentration (0, 4, 10, 20 and 40 wt%) were characterized by dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA), aging and fragmentation tests. DMA results showed increasing storage modulus (E') values with the filler content, without a significant modification of the glass transition temperature (Tg), translating in a reinforcing effect of the filler particles with good interphase adhesion. The creep compliance decreased with the increase of the CPG content, confirming a greater resistance of the composites to deformation under constant stress. The stability to weathering agents and the degree of fragmentation in laboratory-scale composting conditions were also tested, obtaining a higher sensitivity to degradation of the PBAT-based composites with the increase of CPG content. Overall, the addition of CPG particles in a PBAT matrix produced stiffer composites, with modulation of the properties based on the filler content, enhancing at the same time their degradation rate, making them a promising and more sustainable alternative to traditional polymers

Study of the wettability behavior of stainless steel surfaces after ultrafast laser texturing

The interest in superhydrophobic surfaces has grown exponentially over recent decades. Since the lotus leaf dual hierarchical structure was discovered, researchers have investigated the foundations of this behavior and many methods have been developed to obtain superhydrophobic surfaces. In this paper the possibility to use ultrafast laser treatments to obtain hydrophobic and superhydrophobic stainless surfaces was investigated on a AISI 316L stainless steel, ranging the total energy doses provided to the surfaces from 178 to 1143 J/cm2. As SEM-FEG images reveals, different surface microstructures can be obtained at the increasing values of energy dose. Independently on the specific values of laser treatment, all the obtained samples showed hydrophobic values of static contact angle. However, only particular surface microstructures allowed obtaining a self-cleaning surface characterized by low values of both contact angle hysteresis and roll-off angle. The obtained results led to define the effect of the laser parameters on the morphological, chemical and wetting surface properties allowing one to design new textures with the desired wetting properties, from “lotus effect” surfaces to “rose petal effect” surfaces

Novel PBAT-Based Biocomposites Reinforced with Bioresorbable Phosphate Glass Microparticles

Biocomposites based on poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) and reinforced with micro-particles of inorganic biodegradable phosphate glass (PG) at 2, 10, and 40 wt% are prepared and characterized from a mechanical and morphological point of view. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show a good dispersion of the PG micro-grains, even at high concentrations, in the PBAT matrix, resulting in homogeneous composites. Tensile and dynamic-mechanical tests, respectively, indicate that Young's and storage moduli increase with PG concentration. The reinforcement of PBAT aims at modifying and tailoring the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the material to expand its application field especially in the food and agricultural packaging sector, thanks to the similarity of PBAT performance with polyethylene

Effects of biochar addition on long-term behaviour of concrete and mortar

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Design of mechanical properties of poly(butylene-adipate-terephthalate) reinforced with Zein-TiO2 complex

The aim of this work was to realize and mechanically characterize composites based on poly(butyleneadipate-terephthalate) (PBAT) filled with micrometric particles of zein-TiO2 complex (ZTC) at different concentrations. Specimens model 1BA were obtained by injection molding and subjected to a uniaxial tensile test (UTT). The addition of the ZTC proved to have a reinforcing effect on the matrix, an increase in both Young’s modulus (E) and yield stress (σy) being observed. The mechanical properties were modeled applying Kerner’s and Pukánszky’s models, obtaining a good correspondence between theoretical experimental values and good matrix-filler interfacial interaction, respectively. Microscopical analysis revealed a good dispersion of the filler within the matrix

Solid-state phase transformations in thermally treated Ti-6Al-4V alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) technology was used to produce samples based on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy for biomedical applications. Solid-state phase transformations induced by thermal treatments were studied by neutron diffraction (ND), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Although, ND analysis is rather uncommon in such studies, this technique allowed evidencing the presence of retained \u3b2 in \u3b1' martensite of the as-produced (#AP) sample. The retained \u3b2 was not detectable byXRDanalysis, nor by STEM observations. Martensite contains a high number of defects, mainly dislocations, that anneal during the thermal treatment. Element diffusion and partitioning are the main mechanisms in the \u3b1 \u2194 \u3b2 transformation that causes lattice expansion during heating and determines the final shape and size of phases. The retained \u3b2 phase plays a key role in the \u3b1' \u2192 \u3b2 transformation kinetics

Preparation and Characterisation of PBAT-Based Biocomposite Materials Reinforced by Protein Complex Microparticles

In this work, new biodegradable composite materials based on poly (butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) reinforced with zein–TiO2 complex microparticles were prepared and characterised by electron microscopy and tensile and dynamic-mechanical tests. The composite pellets were prepared by solvent casting with different filler contents, namely 0, 5.3, 11.1 and 25 part per hundred resin (phr), to modify and modulate the properties of the final materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed homogeneous dispersion of the filler, without microparticles aggregation or phase separation between filler and matrix, suggesting a good interphase adhesion. According to tensile tests, Young’s modulus showed an improvement in the rigidity and the yield stress presented an increasing trend, with opposite behaviour compared to other composites. Dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA) results exhibited increasing storage modulus values, confirming a greater rigidity with a higher filler percentage. The glass transition temperature showed a slightly increasing trend, meaning the presence of an interaction between the two phases of the composite materials. Overall, the produced PBAT composites showed similar properties to low-density polyethylene (LDPE), proving to be promising and more sustainable alternatives to traditional polymers commonly adopted in agri-food fields

Effect of powder recycling in laser-based powder bed fusion of Ti-6Al-4V

Additive manufacturing (AM) has shown promise to process parts for end-use applications, however stringent requirements must be fulfilled in terms of reliability and predictability. The expensiveness of raw materials for AM, especially for metal-based Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), brings about the need for a careful recycling of powder, but the effect of powder reuse on both processing conditions and final part performance is still the focus of intensive research in the open literature. Although ASTM F2924-14 specifies the virgin-to-used powder ratio to be introduced to manufacture titanium-6aluminum-4vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) components by PBF, a deeper understanding of the effect of powder recycling on the mechanical properties of finished parts is expected to foster a more efficient and safe reuse. The present contribution is therefore addressed to investigate the consequence of Ti- 6Al-4V powder recycling on the flowability, particle size distribution and morphology of the feedstock material as well as on the density and tensile performance of built parts. In order to quantify the recyclability of powders, a new "average usage time" (AUT) parameter is defined to account for both the real usage time of the powder and the virgin-to-used powder mixing ratio. The new parameter, whose applicability can be readily extended to any kind of feedstock powder, offers a significant contribution to achieve a more consistent and economical recycling of raw materials for PBF processing