Influence of stress on the degradation behavior of Mg LAE442 implant systems

In this paper the performance of a magnesium based implant system is analyzed. A special emphasis is placed on the impact of stress on the corrosion behavior of the magnesium alloy. An implant system containing a plate and 4 corresponding screws is machined from Mg LAE442. Its corrosion behavior is tested in-vivo in New Zealand White Rabbits for 6 and 12 weeks of implantation. The plate is monocortically fixated on the medial tibia. At the interface between screw and plate increased corrosion is observed. This phenomenon is stronger on the caudal side of the screw. Parallel to the in-vivo test the influence of stress load on the corrosion rate is analyzed for LAE442 in in-vitro tests. Compressive load is applied on cylindrical specimens in axial direction and the corrosion rate is measured in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution by eudiometry and mass loss. Additionally rectangular samples are bent to apply tensile stress on the surface. A drop of 5 wt% NaCl is deposited on the surface and the corrosion is evaluated by microscopic images. It is shown that stress essentially influences the corrosion rate. While tensile stress decreases the corrosion, compressive stress leads to higher corrosion rates

Optimization and characterization of the PGAI-NT instrument's Neutron Tomography set-up at MLZ

The Prompt Gamma-ray Activation Imaging and Neutron Tomography (PGAI-NT) instrument at the PGAA facility of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center (MLZ), provides a method to obtain and effectively visualize position-sensitive element abundances in samples by combining a three-dimensional extension of Prompt Gamma-ray Activation Analysis (PGAA) and Neutron Tomography (NT). Inspired by a proof-of-principle study, a cone-beam tomography set-up was designed, tested and installed. This article reports on the design of the new cone-beam tomography set-up and its optimization using neutron beam simulations and physical measurements. A new position-sensitive neutron detector with improved performance and instrument environment integration was designed, built and tested. The overall NT performance of the set-up is investigated in the course of a Quality Assessment for neutron tomography sites. Its stand-alone NT and all-in-one PGAI-NT suitability is determined

Archaeometry at the PGAA facility of MLZ - Prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis and neutron tomography

Instrumental neutron techniques such as Prompt Gamma-ray Activation Analysis and Neutron Tomography and their combination, are effective methods to obtain chemical compositions with good detection limits and visualize internal structures within a sample. As non-destructive analysis methods, they are especially suitable for the investigation of cultural heritage objects and are therefore attractive for the field of archaeometry. This article reports on the investigation of two ring-like Celtic burial gifts from the Bavarian region using these methods. In contrast to our initial presumption, the two rings were not made in the same way. Our results clearly show completely different compositions and internal structures

Determination of impurity distributions in ingots of solar grade silicon by neutron activation analysis

In a series of crystallization experiments, the directional solidification of silicon was investigated as a low cost path for the production of silicon wafers for solar cells. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was employed to measure the influence of different crystallization parameters on the distribution of 3d-metal impurities of the produced ingots. A theoretical model describing the involved diffusion and segregation processes during the solidification and cooling of the ingots could be verified by the experimental results. By successive etching of the samples after the irradiation, it could be shown that a layer of at least 60 μm of the samples has to be removed to get real bulk concentrations