Fatigue properties of nanocrystallized surfaces obtained by high energy shot peening

AbstractAn unconventional method of shot peening aimed to generation of a nanograined layer over the surface of specimens has been applied by means of the standard air blast equipment but using peening parameters essentially different from typical ones. Surface nanocrystallization is verified and affirmed through different experimental procedures. Rotating bending fatigue tests are performed to evaluate the effect of this high energy shot peening and the nanocrystallized layer on fatigue life. First series results are available and the other tests are still in progress

Critical review of technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater: From conventional to combined advanced processes

In this work, a raw and low cost mineral, ilmenite (FeTiO3), has been tested for the first time as a photocatalyst paired with peroxymonosulfate (HSO5-; PMS) for the inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis as an alternative to conventional treatments to disinfect wastewater for reuse. The influence of some operational parameters such as reagent dosage, catalyst concentration, initial pH, or flow rate was also studied and optimized. After several tests, the scarce pure photoactivity under UV-A was remarked by ilmenite because of its high iron content, which favors photogenerated charge recombination. However, ilmenite activity was highly promoted when combined with low concentrations of PMS and UV-A light, reaching total inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis in 120 min. Quenching tests were performed using methanol, tert-butyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, and Cu(II) to assess the main reactive species involved in the disinfection process determining the critical role of both HO·and SO4·- radicals in the process. Finally, the influence of the water matrix was also evaluated by studying the effect of water hardness and the presence of nutrients on the system. Overall, the PMS/Ilmenite/UV-A system yielded promising results with a total removal of Enterococcus faecalis in 120 min. However, it also showed the need for further study and understanding of the disinfection mechanism to achieve the same level of performance in real wastewaterThe "Comunidad de Madrid" supported this research through REMTAVARES S2013/MAE-2716 and S2018/EMT-434

The therapeutic effect of clinical trials: understanding placebo response rates in clinical trials – A secondary analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Placebo response rates in clinical trials vary considerably and are observed frequently. For new drugs it can be difficult to prove effectiveness superior to placebo. It is unclear what contributes to improvement in the placebo groups. We wanted to clarify, what elements of clinical trials determine placebo variability. METHODS: We analysed a representative sample of 141 published long-term trials (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled; duration > 12 weeks) to find out what study characteristics predict placebo response rates in various diseases. Correlational and regression analyses with study characteristics and placebo response rates were carried out. RESULTS: We found a high and significant correlation between placebo and treatment response rate across diseases (r = .78; p < .001). A multiple regression model explained 79% of the variance in placebo variability (F = 59.7; p < 0.0001). Significant predictors are, among others, the duration of the study (beta = .31), the quality of the study (beta = .18), the fact whether a study is a prevention trial (beta = .44), whether dropouts have been documented (beta = -.20), or whether additional treatments have been documented (beta = -.17). Healing rates with placebo are lower in the following diagnoses; neoplasms (beta = -.21), nervous diseases (beta = -.10), substance abuse (beta = -.14). Without prevention trials the amount of variance explained is 42%. CONCLUSION: Medication response rates and placebo response rates in clinical trials are highly correlated. Trial characteristics can explain some portion of the variance in placebo healing rates in RCTs. Placebo response in trials is only partially due to methodological artefacts and only partially dependent on the diagnoses treated

Characterization of the near-surface nanocrystalline microstructure of ultrasonically treated Ti-6Al-4V using ASTAR™/precession electron diffraction technique

The surface of Ti-6Al-4V was treated mechanically by applying ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification. The effect of this treatment on the hardness, compressive residual stresses and fatigue performance were investigated. It is shown that in terms of the measured nanoindentation hardness values and the presence of compressive residual stresses, the treated sample only differed from the as-received sample in the first 200–300 µm area far from the surface. Also, the microstructure very close to the treated surface (\u3c5 µm) was characterized using a relatively new transmission orientation microscopy technique named ASTAR™/precession electron diffraction. Based on different types of results (e.g., index map and virtual bright field image) acquired by this technique, it is concluded that titanium grains smaller than 10 nm exist within the distance of less than 1 µm from the treated surface. Difficulties associated with ASTAR™/precession electron diffraction technique to characterize this challenging near-surface area are discussed

Analysis of shot peening influence on short crack fatigue threshold of nitrided steels

Great advance in technology requires each time better materials with better mechanical properties, able to resist high stresses, fatigue, wear. For getting this objective surface treatments are very useful. In terms of fatigue, nitriding and shot peening are known as two of the most effective methods to increase components' strength. In this paper the effect of nitriding plus shot peening on fatigue threshold of a low-alloy steel is investigated by means of experimental rotating bending tests carried out on sandglass specimens containing a micro-hole acting as a pre-crack. Different sizes of micro-hole obtained with different processes were considered to assess the influence of crack dimension on fatigue strength in the field of short cracks. After that a critical discussion of the results in terms of residual stress, micro-hardness trend and fatigue strength is done, bearing out the influence of the defects dimension on the fatigue threshold of nitrided and shot peened low alloy steels

Fatigue behavior of nitrided and shot peened steel with artificial small surface defects

In this paper the effect of small defects on fatigue threshold of different series of nitrided and nitride-shot peened low alloy steel specimens is investigated by means of experimen- tal rotating bending tests on sandglass specimens. Micro-holes acting as pre-cracks are introduce dby means of different methods (electro-erosionand indentation)in order to evaluate the effect of defect size as well as the influenceof the process to generate them on the fatigue threshold.The results,inter preted in terms of DKth, show good agreement with estimated ones, calculated by aformula that considers the experimen tally measured residual stresses, FWHM parameter,micro-hardness values and SEM observation of broken and run-out specimens. Acritical discussion of the obtained results highlights the influence of the defect size and of the method used to generate the micro-holes on the fatigue threshold