Tooling reliability is critical to welding success in friction stir welding, but tooling fatigue is not well understood because it occurs in conditions that are often unique to friction stir welding. A fatigue study was conducted on a commonly used tooling material, H13 tool steel, using constant stress loading at temperatures between 300°C and 600°C, and the results are presented. A model is proposed accounting for temperature and stress effects on fatigue life, utilizing a two-region Arrhenius temperature model. A transition in temperature effect on fatigue life is identified. Implications of the temperature effect for friction stir welding suggest that tooling fatigue life dramatically decreases above 500°C and accelerated testing should be conducted below 500°C.

L’une des principales problématiques du développement de produits biologiques, comme les probiotiques, réside dans l’impact du processus de fabrication sur la souche d’intérêt. Le maintien de l’activité thérapeutique est d’un intérêt capital pour obtenir l’effet bénéfique et, des travaux ont également optimisé les propriétés de la souche Lcr35® au travers du procédé de fabrication. Ainsi, toutes les étapes de fabrication du produit sont autant d’étapes qui peuvent modifier les caractéristiques de la souche bactérienne. La compression a été reconnue comme étant une étape qui permet d’éliminer les contaminations bactériennes et a également été décrite comme néfaste pour la viabilité d’une souche probiotique. Ces données constituent donc un a priori négatif au développement de probiotiques comprimés.Inversement, cette forme galénique est reconnue pour améliorer la demi-Vie des produits et améliorer la stabilité des bactéries dans un milieu gastrique. Cependant, aucune étude complète des propriétés d’une souche probiotique, après compression, n’a été effectuée. Or, afin d’établir un dossier d’AMM, toutes ces propriétés se doivent d’être vérifiées sur le produit final.Les travaux présentés se sont donc attachés à étudier les principales propriétés de la souche Lcr35® après compression. Tout d’abord, la perte de viabilité initiale en fonction de la pression de compression a été évaluée expérimentalement et une loi de décroissance d’ordre 1 est proposée. Un tel modèle permet ainsi d’anticiper la perte de viabilité selon la formulation et les conditions de compression. D’autre part, le profil génétique ainsi que le profil d’expression des gènes de la souche Lcr35® ont été étudiés après compression. Ni l’un ni l’autre n’a été modifié par le stress mécanique généré par la compression. De même, les propriétés d’inhibition du pathogène vaginal C. albicans ainsi que la résistance à pH acide de la souche sont maintenues. La résistance au pH gastrique est même améliorée par une protection mécanique vis-À-Vis du milieu.Selon les données de stabilité (ICH Q1A), la viabilité de la souche Lcr35® n’est pas non plus affectée par la compression. Les données de stabilité ont fait l’objet d’une modélisation par l’équation d’Arrhenius permettant d’obtenir un modèle fiable de prédiction de la stabilité, à partir des données en conditions accélérées (40°C).Dans une approche QbD de développement des produits pharmaceutiques, ces données serviront de base de comparaison pour la caractérisation de formulations en développement où des éléments tels que le milieu de culture, la souche ou la forme galénique peuvent être modifiés.Cette caractérisation globale de la souche Lcr35®, après compression, a permis d’infirmer l’a priori négatif sur la compression des bactéries. Ces travaux ont permis de comprendre, de caractériser et de modéliser les aspects liés à la compression des probiotiques. Ils constituent un prérequis primordial au développement d’un nouveau produit sous la forme d’un comprimé. Suite à une étape de développement complémentaire, ils ont d’ailleurs permis d’aboutir au premier produit commercialisé sous la forme d’un comprimé à libération prolongée, par la société Probionov : Gynophilus® LP.Ces données sur la compression élargissent la connaissance fondamentale de l’effet des procédés pharmaceutiques sur les propriétés des probiotiques et ouvrent de manière considérable leur champ de développement. Cette forme est un atout considérable en termes de stabilité mais surtout, elle fait intervenir de nombreuses perspectives de développement : gastro-Résistants, effervescents, multicouches, etc. Par l’intermédiaire de cette technologie, une administration plus ciblée de la souche par exemple dans les parties distales de l’intestin pourra être envisagée pour optimiser le bénéfice thérapeutique des souches probiotiques. Le but final étant de pouvoir diminuer la posologie des traitements tout en améliorant l’observance et le confort des patients. / One of the main issues in the development of biological products, such as probiotics, is the impact of the manufacturing process on the strain of interest. Maintaining therapeutic activity is of great interest for the expected beneficial effect and work has even optimized the properties of the Lcr35® strain through the manufacturing process. Therefore, all process stages leading to the final product are steps that can alter the characteristics of the bacterial strain.Compression is recognized in some publications as being a step which eliminates bacterial contaminations present for example in the excipients. For the development of new probiotic products, compression has also been described as negative for bacterial viability. These data are therefore a negative a priori on development of probiotic products in the tablet form. Conversely, this dosage form is known to improve the half-Life of products and improve the stability of bacteria in gastric environment. However, no comprehensive study of the properties of a probiotic strain after compression was done. Nevertheless, to establish a marketing authorization, all the properties of the strain must be checked on the final product.This work has proposed a review of the main properties of the Lcr35® strain after compression. First of all, the initial loss of viability as a function of compression pressure was studied experimentally and was modeled by a first order law. It allows us to anticipate the loss of viability of a strain depending on the formulation and compression conditions. Furthermore, the genetic profile and the profile of gene expression have not been changed due to the compression step. We also noticed that the inhibition properties of the pathogen C. albicans growth and acid resistance of the strain are maintained. Resistance to gastric pH is also enhanced by a phenomenon of mechanical protection against the environment.According to the data of stability under ICH conditions, the viability of the compressed Lcr35® strain is not affected by the compression. Stability data have therefore been modeled by the Arrhenius equation to obtain a reliable model for predicting the stability data from accelerated conditions (40°C). In a QbD approach to pharmaceutical development, these data serve as a basis of comparison for the characterization of developing formulations where parameters such as the culture environment, the drying method, the strain or the galenic form can be changed. This global characterization of Lcr35® strain after compression has set aside the negative a priori against the compression of bacteria. This work helped to understand, characterize and model aspects linked to probiotics compression. They are an essential prerequisite for the development of a new probiotic product in the form of a tablet. Following a further development step, they also helped to lead to the first product in the tablet form, marketed by the company Probionov : Gynophilus® LP (vaginal administration). These compression data considerably broaden the field of development of probiotics. Indeed, this form is a considerable advantage in terms of stability but more importantly, the tablet form involves many development opportunities: gastro-Resistant, effervescent, multi-Layered tablets, etc. Through this technology, a more targeted administration of the strain such as up to the colon may be considered to maximize the therapeutic benefit of the probiotic strains. The ultimate goal is to be able to decrease the dosage of treatment while improving observance of the treatment and the patient comfort.

There is great interest in the development of new polar dielectric ceramics and multiferroic materials with new and improved properties. A family of tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB) relaxors of composition Ba₆M³⁺Nb₉O₃₀ (M³⁺ = Ga³⁺, Sc³⁺ and In³⁺, and also their solid solutions) were studied in an attempt to understand their dielectric properties to enable design of novel polar TTB materials. A combination of electrical measurements (dielectric and impedance spectroscopy) and powder diffraction (X-ray and neutron) studies as a function of temperature was employed for characterising the dynamic dipole response in these materials. The effect of B-site doping on fundamental dipolar relaxation parameters were investigated by independently fitting the dielectric permittivity to the Vogel-Fulcher (VF) model, and the dielectric loss to Universal Dielectric Response (UDR) and Arrhenius models. These studies showed an increase in the characteristic dipole freezing temperature (T[subscript(f)]) with increase B-cation radius. Crystallographic data indicated a corresponding maximum in tetragonal strain at T[subscript(f)], consistent with the slowing and eventual freezing of dipoles. In addition, the B1 crystallographic site was shown to be most active in terms of the dipolar response. A more in-depth analysis of the relaxor behaviour of these materials revealed that, with the stepwise increase in the ionic radius of the M³⁺ cation on the B-site within the Sc-In solid solution series, the Vogel-Fulcher curves (lnf vs. T[subscript(m)]) are displaced to higher temperatures, while the degree of relaxor behaviour (frequency dependence) increases. Unfortunately, additional features appear in the dielectric spectroscopy data, dramatically affecting the Vogel-Fulcher fitting parameters. A parametric study of the reproducibility of acquisition and analysis of dielectric data was therefore carried out. The applicability of the Vogel-Fulcher expression to fit dielectric permittivity data was investigated, from the simple unrestricted (“free”) fit to a wider range of imposed values for the VF relaxation parameters that fit with high accuracy the experimental data. The reproducibility of the dielectric data and the relaxation parameters obtained by VF fitting were shown to be highly sensitive to the thermal history of samples and also the conditions during dielectric data acquisition (i.e., heating/cooling rate). In contrast, UDR analysis of the dielectric loss data provided far more reproducible results, and to an extent was able to partially deconvolute the additional relaxation processes present in these materials. The exact nature of these additional relaxations is not yet fully understood. It was concluded application of the Vogel-Fulcher model should be undertaken with great care. The UDR model may represent a feasible alternative to the evaluation of fundamental relaxation parameters, and a step forward towards the understanding of the dielectric processes in tetragonal tungsten bronzes.

High performance multifunctional epoxy resin systems are becoming increasingly important as matrix materials for the advanced composites used in aerospace, electronics, automotive and other industries. In a composite based on epoxy resin systems, a three-dimensional network of the matrix is formed around the reinforcing fibre as a result of the chemical reaction between the resin and the curing agent. This chemical process, known as curing, is an important event to he considered in the production of composite components made up of these resin systems. Two process parameters namely viscosity and chemical conversion are of paramount significance in the production of composite materials Curing studies of the resin systems based on these two parameters, would therefore assume great importance in deciding the performance reliability of the end product. The objectives of the present investigation are 1. to study the cure kinetics of three thermoset resin systems, viz., i) epoxy novolac (EPIT)/ diamino diphenyl methane{DDM), ii) trigylcidyl para- ammo phenol (TGPAP)/toluene diamine (TDA) and iii) tetraglycidyl diamino diphenyl methane (TGDDM)/pyridine diamine(PDA) using the cure kinetic models based on chemical conversion (α), Theological conversion (β) and viscosity. 2.to develop a correlation between a and viscosity (η) and modify an existing autocatalytic model based on α, to the viscosity domain and 3.to investigate the cure behaviour of these systems in terms of the TTT cure diagram and its associated models. EPN/DDM, TGPAP/PDA and TGDDM/PDA resin systems were chosen for the studies to represent a range of functionalities, The cure was monitored using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) techniques by following the changes in enthalpy, functional groups and rheology, respectively. The kinetic parameters namely, order of reaction and activation energy were estimated from dynamic DSC data using the methods of Freeman-Carroll and Ellerstein using nth rate expression. Barton, Kissinger and Osawa methods were employed to find out the activation energy from the peak/equal conversion at different heating rates. Isothermal DSC data were also analyzed using nth order model and it was observed that the data could be fitted satisfactorily only for higher temperatures The results obtained from the analysis of both dynamic and isothermal DSC data using nth order model clearly indicate that this model is inadequate for describing the cure behavior. The isothermal DSC data was analyzed by the autocatalytic models of Hone and Kamal Good correlation was observed with Hum and Kamal models up to 60-70%, 25% and 45% conversions for EPN/DDM, TGPAP/TDA and TCDDM/PDA systems respectively. However, the parameters m and n in Kamal model were found to be temperature dependent for EPN/DDM and TCPAP/TDA systems. The limited applicability of the autocatalytic models IK attributed to the counter-effect offered by the intra-molecular bonding taking place. The primary amine and epoxy groups conversions obtained from FTIR were analyzed using autocatalytic model and the kinetic parameters were calculated. The reactivity ratio of the primary amine and the secondary amine with epoxy was found to be dependent on temperature in agreement with the recent findings reported m the literature. The existing models that relate the cure kinetics and the rheological changes, are dual Arrhenius nth order model and autocatalytic model The nth order kinetic model was used to evaluate the kinetic parameters using the viscosity data at different cure temperatures under isothermal conditions As the storage modulus, G' is proportional to the chemical cross links and becomes significant only after the g<4 point, it was used to follow the changes in conversion known as rheoconversion after the gel point The rheoconversion was found by normalizing the G' data with G1^, the storage modulus of the fully cured resin It was used to study the cuie kinetics using an autocatalytic model The kinetic parameters such as rate constant, acceptation and retardation parameters were evaluated and that temperature dependence was established. While the existing models relate viscosity and conversion only up to gel point the new proposed model, termed VISCON model takes into account the changes up to vitrification. The relation so developed is used to modify the autocatalytic cure model based on chemical conversion. The parameters appearing in this model were evaluated using Levenberg-Marquardt error minimization algorithm. The kinetic parameters obtained are comparable with the values estimated using the DSC data. All the models cited above represent the microkinetic aspects. The models based on the information of TTT cure diagrams, however, represent the macrokinetic aspects of the cure, as they are based on the cure stages such as gelation and vitrification TTT diagram relates the cure characteristics like cure temperature, cure time, Ta and, indirectly, chemical conversion Hence the ultimate properties of the composite could he predicted and established with the help of the models based on TTT cure diagrams The changes in the storage modulus, G1 and loss modulus, G", were followed to identify the gel and vitrification points of the resin systems at different cure temperatures Gel point and vitrification point were used to generate gelation and vitrification hues in the construction of TTT cure diagrams for EPN/DDM, TGPAP/TDA and TGDDM/PDA resin systems Theoretical TTT diagrams were generated and IBO-T, contours were established using the TTT diagram-based models The cure schedule for the resin systems investigated could be determined from the TTT diagram and the respective rheological data.