Numerical failure analysis of glass-fiber-reinforced composites

Fabrication and physical properties of glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics for non-metal-clasp dentures

Recently, non-metal-clasp dentures (NMCDs) made from thermoplastic resins such as polyamide, polyester, polycarbonate, and polypropylene have been used as removable partial dentures (RPDs). However, the use of such RPDs can seriously affect various tissues because of their low rigidity. In this study, we fabricated high-rigidity glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (GFRTPs) for use in RPDs, and examined their physical properties such as apparent density, dynamic hardness, and flexural properties. GFRTPs made from E-glass fibers and polypropylene were fabricated using an injection-molding. The effects of the fiber content on the GFRTP properties were examined using glass-fiber contents of 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mass%. Commercially available denture base materials and NMCD materials were used as controls. The experimental densities of GFRTPs with various fiber contents agreed with the theoretical densities. Dynamic micro-indentation tests confirmed that the fiber content does not affect the GFRTP surface properties such as dynamic hardness and elastic modulus, because most of the reinforcing glass fibers are embedded in the polypropylene. The flexural strength increased from 55.8 to 217.6 MPa with increasing glass-fiber content from 0 to 50 mass%. The flexural modulus increased from 1.75 to 7.42 GPa with increasing glass-fiber content from 0 to 50 mass%, that is, the flexural strength and modulus of GFRTP with a fiber content of 50 mass% were 3.9 and 4.2 times, respectively, those of unreinforced polypropylene. These results suggest that fiber reinforcement has beneficial effects, and GFRTPs can be used in NMCDs because their physical properties are better than those of controls. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2254-2260, 2017.

Surface topography, hardness, and frictional properties of GFRP for esthetic orthodontic wires

In our previous study, glass-fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRPs) made from polycarbonate and glass fiber for esthetic orthodontic wires were prepared by using pultrusion. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the surface topography, hardness, and frictional properties of GFRPs. To investigate how fiber diameter affects surface properties, GFRP round wires with a diameter of 0.45 mm (0.018 in.) were prepared incorporating either 13 μm (GFRP-13) or 7 μm (GFRP-7) glass fibers. As controls, stainless steel (SS), cobalt-chromium-nickel alloy, β-titanium (β-Ti) alloy, and nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) alloy were also evaluated. Under scanning electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy, the β-Ti samples exhibited greater surface roughness than the other metallic wires and the GFRP wires. The dynamic hardness and elastic modulus of GFRP wires obtained by the dynamic micro-indentation method were much lower than those of metallic wires (p < 0.05). Frictional forces against the polymeric composite brackets of GFRP-13 and GFRP-7 were 3.45 ± 0.49 and 3.60 ± 0.38 N, respectively; frictional forces against the ceramic brackets of GFRP-13 and GFRP-7 were 3.39 ± 0.58 and 3.87 ± 0.48 N, respectively. For both bracket types, frictional forces of GFRP wires and Ni-Ti wire were nearly half as low as those of SS, Co-Cr, and β-Ti wires. In conclusion, there was no significant difference in surface properties between GFRP-13 and GFRP-7; presumably because both share the same polycarbonate matrix. We expect that GFRP wires will deliver superior sliding mechanics with low frictional resistance between the wire and bracket during orthodontic treatment.

Comparison of denture base resin reinforced with polyaromatic polyamide fibers of different orientations

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of reinforcing polyaromatic polyamide (aramid) fibers with various orientations on the flexural properties of denture base resin. Aramid fibers with four orientations of unidirectional, woven, non-woven and paper-type were pre-impregnated and placed at the bottom of a specimen mold. Heat-polymerized denture base resin was packed over the fibers and polymerized. A three-point bending test was performed using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. The flexural strengths and flexural moduli of the unidirectional and woven groups were significantly higher than those of the control and other experimental groups.For the flexural moduli, all experimental groups showed significantly higher reinforcing effects than the control group. In conclusion, the unidirectional group located perpendicular to the direction of the load was most effective in reinforcing the denture base resin, followed by the woven group.

Reinforcing effects of different fibers on denture base resin based on the fiber type, concentration, and combination

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reinforcing effects of three types of fibers at various concentrations and in different combinations on flexural properties of denture base resin. Glass (GL), polyaromatic polyamide (PA) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE) fibers were added to heat-polymerized denture base resin with volume concentrations of 2.6%, 5.3%, and 7.9%, respectively. In addition, hybrid fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) combined with either two or three types of fibers were fabricated. The flexural strength, modulus and toughness of each group were measured with a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. In the single fiber-reinforced composite groups, the 5.3% GL and 7.9% GL had the highest flexural strength and modulus; 5.3% PE was had the highest toughness. Hybrid FRC such as GL/PE, which showed the highest toughness and the flexural strength, was considered to be useful in preventing denture fractures clinically.

Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of the Failure Progression of Fiber-reinforced Ceramics Produced by Tape Casting Technique

The purpose of this study was to investigate the failure progression process of fiber-reinforced ceramic by finite element (FE) analysis. The three-dimensional FE model for three-point bending simulation was 40 mm long, 4 mm wide, 3 mm thick, and with a span length of 30 mm. Nodal force with load increment of 20 N was applied at the center of the upper surface of the beam. To evaluate matrix fracture and fiber fracture, von Mises criterion and Tsai-Hill criterion were used respectively. Consequently, the stress-deflection curve obtained from FE simulation agreed with that obtained from the experimental testing. Differences in flexural strength and modulus between the analytical and experimental results were 1.3 and -2.9% respectively--demonstrating a close agreement between both results. In conclusion, the FE model applied in the present study was shown to be valid for predicting the failure progression of fiber-reinforced ceramics.

Analysis of photopolymerization behavior of UDMA/TEGDMA resin mixture and its composite by differential scanning calorimetry

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of polymerization (Ep) in terms of polymerization rate of UDMA/TEGDMA resin mixtures and its composite resin, by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) technique employing a photopolymerization apparatus. The resin mixtures used in this study consisted of urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) as a base monomer and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) as a low viscosity monomer. The concentration of TEGDMA in the mixed monomer was varied to 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mol %. Additionally, using a base monomer consisting of 60 mol % UDMA and 40 mol % TEGDMA, four kinds of composites with silica filler of 0, 20, 40, 60, and 70 wt %, were prepared in this study. The general reaction profile and Ep values were obtained from the DSC curves. Increasing the concentration of TEGDMA resulted in a decrease in the viscosity of the UDMA/TEGDMA mixture, a delay in the time to maximum polymerization rate, and an increase in the Ep values of the resin mixtures. Furthermore, Ep values decreased with increasing filler content between 0 and 60 wt % but did not decrease further between 60 and 70 wt %.

Effect of filler content on bending properties of dental composites: Numerical simulation with the use of the finite-element method

The purpose of this work is to investigate the influence of filler content on the bending properties of dental composites by use of the finite-element method (FEM). The proposed numerical model was constructed from isotropic shell elements representing silica filler, and isotropic beam elements representing the remaining matrix resin. The proposed model was applied to failure analysis under three-point bending conditions. The validity of applying the numerical model to the failure progression analysis of composites was checked through comparison with experimental results. The results show that, in both the analytical and experimental results, the bending properties, such as maximum bending stress and bending modulus, increase with filler content. Also, the proposed method of failure progression analysis could better simulate the failure process of composites under three-point bending conditions. In addition, close agreement between the analytical and experimental results was confirmed. The above results indicate that the proposed numerical model is effective for evaluating the bending properties of dental filler composites of any content range.