Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are an advanced class of material which seeks to leverage the strengths of one material to mitigate the weaknesses of another. This allows for operation in extreme environments or conditions where materials properties must change at various locations within a structure. Fabrication of this advanced class of material is limited due to geometric, economic, and material constraints inherent in the various methods. For this reason, a model was developed to discretize continuous gradient curves to allow for the use of a step-wise approximations to such gradients. These alternative step-wise gradients would allow for the use of numerous manufacturing techniques which have improved composition control, cost of processing, cost of equipment, and equipment availability. One such technique, tape casting, was explored due to its robustness and ability to create layered ceramics. Since ceramics are inherently brittle materials, they serve to be strengthened by the thermal residual stresses that form in the creation of these step-wise graded composites. With models to calculate these residual stresses and determine step-wise approximations of various compositional gradients, the process of designing these layered ceramics can be significantly improved.

A l'heure actuelle les recherches de nouvelles apatites thermiquement plus stables se développent. Ainsi desdépôts à base de fluoroapatite (Ca10(PO4)6F2) ou de fluorhydroxyapatite fournissent des dépôts plus stables etplus adhérents que l'hydroxyaptite tout en étant biocompatibles. La fluoroapatite (Fap) présente non seulement despropriétés physicochimiques semblables à celles de l'os naturel mais également une bonne résistance à lacorrosion dans le milieu physiologique. La Fap et l'hydroxyapatite (Hap) sont utilisées soit sous forme de dépôt surles parties métalliques de prothèses soit toutefois comme matériaux de comblement osseux. L'utilisation de cesbiocéramiques pose quelques problèmes en raison de leur faible tenue mécanique. L'alumine a été proposée ainsipour ses bonnes propriétés mécaniques et pour sa forte affinité pour le fluor avec lequel elle donne des composéstrès stables. Des dépôts composites Al2O3-Fap et Hap-Fap ont été réalisés par projection thermique. Nous avonsfait varier dans ces composites le pourcentage de fluor. Les résultats obtenus montrent que l'ajout de Fap améliorela résistance mécanique et les propriétés tribologiques de l'Hap et contribue à l'adhésion et à la prolifération descellules osseuses pour les dépôts d'alumine. / A considerable amount of research already focused on ceramic biomaterials given their chemical stabilityand high mechanical strength. On the one hand, Fluorapatite (Fa) has recently attracted some attention as analternative to pure hydroxyapatite (Hap) as coating on metallic implants, given its chemical composition which issimilar to the bone mineral and therefore its excellent biocompatibility. On the other hand, alumina is known for itsexcellent bioinertia and is also one of the most widely investigated bioceramics. In this frame, the aim of our workwas to investigate Al2O3-Fap and Hap-Fap composite coatings deposited on stainless steel substrates usingSpraying processes (APS and SHVOF). The mechanical, micro-structural, tribological and biological (in Vitro and inVivo tests) properties of these composite coatings are determined and analysed in order to determine their possibleuse as surigical implant materials.

This thesis outlines the work done on in-situ synthesis of Al2O3-ZrO2-SiCw ceramic composites and their property evaluation. The introductory chapter deals with the literature survey on ceramic matrix composites, properties desirable for structural applications and toughening mechanisms associated with these composites. The role of whisker toughening in ceramic matrix composites, the growth mechanisms involved in whisker growth and the conditions that favour or hamper the whisker growth are also discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of in-situ synthesis of composites as compared to physical mixing are also dealt with. The objective and scope of the work undertaken are outlined at the end. The second chapter describes the experimental techniques associated with carbothermal synthesis and characterisation of reaction products as well as properties of hot pressed bulk composites. The equipments used for this work are described here. The third chapter focuses on the results obtained by the carbothermal reduction of mixtures of kaolin, sillimanite and zircon taken in various proportions. The formation of the product phases with respect to variations in temperature, variations in composition and effect of catalyst is analysed with the help of XRD while their morphology is analysed using SEM. The conditions favouring the formation of tetragonal zirconia without the addition of stabilizers is also enumerated here. The fourth chapter deals with the compaction of these composite powders and the evaluation of some physical, thermal and mechanical properties. Density and porosity, coefficient of thermal expansion, modulus of rupture and fracture toughness of the composite specimens are evaluated and compared with binary and ternary composites made by other methods. Finally the thesis concludes by summarizing the work done and briefly projecting the areas for future work.

Ice-templating, znm tak© jako freeze-casting, je relativnÄ jednoduchou, levnou a velmi univerzln­ technikou pro vrobu por©zn­ch keramickch struktur s ­zenou mikrostrukturou. Takto pipraven© keramick© struktury jsou pouity pro vrobu hybridn­ch keramickch kompozit, nebo jako biokeramick© scaffoldy. Hybridn­ keramick© kompozitn­ materily jsou zaloeny na napodobovn­ p­rodn­ch/ biologickch materil. Hlavn­m c­lem je napodobit v p­rodÄ se vyskytuj­c­ zhouevnauj­c­ mechanismy t­m, e por©zn­ keramick© struktury jsou po slinut­ naputÄny polymern­mi materily. Hlavn­m probl©mem pi vrobÄ por©zn­ch keramickch vzork s velkmi rozmÄry, pomoc­ metody ice-templating, je dosaen­ ­zen©ho rstu ledovch krystal v cel©m objemu vzorku. Aby tedy bylo mon© z­skat velk© keramick© vzorky s dobe definovanou lamelrn­ strukturou je teba proces ice-templatingu velmi pesnÄ kontrolovat. Biologick aktivita biokeramickch materil zvis­ na kombinaci fyzikln­ch a chemickch charakteristik, kter© silnÄ souvisej­ s jejich mikrostrukturou. Porozita scaffold mus­ bt vzjemnÄ propojen a velikost­ pr dostateÄnÄ velk pro spÄn rst kostn­ tknÄ v cel©m objemu implanttu. Prezentovan disertaÄn­ prce je zamÄena na problematiku zvÄtovn­ rozmÄr keramickch vzork pipravench pomoc­ metody ice-templating, vytvoen­ v­cerovov© porozity uvnit vzork a vrobu hybridn­ch keramickch kompozit pro balistickou ochranu. Keramick© suspenze pro ice-templating byly spÄnÄ pipraveny z rznch prk (zejm©na hydroxyapatitu a oxidu hlinit©ho s rznm plnÄn­m keramick©ho prku od 7,5 obj.% do 45 obj.%. Byl tak© studovn vliv aditiv na utven­ lamelrn­ drsnosti a mezilamelrn­ch pemostÄn­. V souÄasnosti je zkoumn dopad tÄchto strukturn­ch prvk na vsledn© mechanick© vlastnosti. Hybridn­ kompozity oxid hlinit/polymer byly spÄnÄ navreny a pipraveny z destiÄek z oxidu hlinit©ho pipravench metodou ice-templating s d©lkou lamel a 70 mm a rznch polymern­ch pryskyic. Byla testovny mechanick© vlastnosti hybridn­ch kompozit oxid hlinit/polymer a vsledky ukzaly, e ice-templating je robustn­ metodou pro vrobu hybridn­ch kompozit keramika-polymer s dobrm pomÄrem pevnost/hustota. Avak balistick© testy hybridn­ch kompozit oxid hlinit/polymer odhalily, e vÄtina kompozit vytvoench v rmci t©to prce nebyla schopna ÄinnÄ zastavit stely s prbojnm jdrem. Ukzalo se, e kombinace procesu ice-templating a nep­m©ho 3D tisku umouje vrobu biokeramickch scaffold pro kostn­ nhrady z hydroxyapatitu s v­cerovovou porozitou, co by se mohlo ukzat jako prospÄn© pro vvoj bioaktivn­ch vysoce por©zn­ch scaffold se zvenou biologickou aktivitou. Ice-templating tak© vznamnÄ ovlivnil zmÄnu fzov©ho sloen­ bÄhem slinovn­ hydroxyapatitovch vzork.

Relaxor ferroelectrics have been a subject of intense research owing to their interesting physical properties such as high dielectric constant and giant electro-striction. Unlike the conventional lead based relaxors, the relaxors belonging to Aurivillius family of oxides have received much less attention because of the poor understanding of the origin of the relaxor behavior and high processing temperatures involved. In the present investigations, an attempt has been made to understand the origin of relaxor behavior of the materials belonging to Aurivillius family of oxides. The structure and relaxor behavior of BaBi2Nb2O9 (BBN) has been established via the XRD, electron diffraction and dielectric spectroscopy. The results are compared with that of a normal ferroelectric like SrBi2Nb2O9 belonging to the same family as well with that of a conventional relaxor like PMN. The results indicate that the dielectric behavior of BBN is significantly different from that of the conventional relaxors like BBN with very slow broadening of relaxation times and was attributed to the absence of significant polar ordering. To substantiate the existing understanding, studies have been carried out by adopting different strategies such as B-site and A-site cationic substitutions and texturing of the ceramics. Vanadium doping on B-site was found to decrease the sintering temperatures significantly. Aliovalent La3+ doping was found to affect the dielectric behavior strongly with substantial decrease of the freezing temperature and dielectric constants which shows that the relaxor behavior of BBN is highly sensitive to A-site order-disorder. The (00l) textured ceramic of pure and vanadium doped BBN was fabricated via a simple melt-quenching technique and was found to exhibit a significant dielectric and pyroelectric anisotropy. A new class of relaxor compositions (K0.5La0.5Bi2Nb2O9 & K0.5La0.5Bi2Ta2O9) have been synthesized and characterized. These new compounds exhibited interesting physical properties which are akin to that of the conventional lead based relaxors. The presence of superlattice reflections in the electron diffractin patterns recorded on these compounds establish the presence of polar nano regions of significant size. These relaxor crystallites at nano/micro level embedded in a glass matrix have been found to be very promising from their physical properties view point.

Submitted by Aelson Maciera (aelsoncm@terra.com.br) on 2017-05-30T17:42:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissBL.pdf: 8282671 bytes, checksum: 5dfca89e85bbea10d97a0617e91d1408 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-06-01T17:47:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissBL.pdf: 8282671 bytes, checksum: 5dfca89e85bbea10d97a0617e91d1408 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-06-01T17:48:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissBL.pdf: 8282671 bytes, checksum: 5dfca89e85bbea10d97a0617e91d1408 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:20:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissBL.pdf: 8282671 bytes, checksum: 5dfca89e85bbea10d97a0617e91d1408 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-13 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / The study of ceramic composites assisted by computer simulation is well spread nowadays. It is an interest of the ceramic industry the development of materials models trustfully enough to reduce cost with prototypes and virtually explore an infinitude of materials compositions and thermomechanical loads. The mismatch of thermal and mechanical properties among the composite’s phases may induce decohesions or cracks after temperature variation. The computer modeling of this behavior could auxiliate the planning of the systems’ composition, as it becomes possible to evaluate the influence of the concentration of an specific constituent on the global behavior. The present dissertation aims to analyze the role of the geometrical feature, such as inclusion radius and volume fraction, in the composite behavior submitted to temperature variation. It was also analyzed the application of coesive elements to simulate the cracking phenomena in ceramic systems. The main results of this dissertation were not only the thermomechanical properties influence on the global behavior of ceramic systems, but also the construction of finite element models that might be usefull to others reseachers on the investigation of the thermomechancial behavior of distincts ceramic systems. / O estudo de compósitos cerâmicos assistido por simulação computacional encontra-se em plena expansão. É de grande interesse da indústria cerâmica o desenvolvimento de modelos confiáveis de materiais o suficiente para reduzir os custos com protótipos e explorar virtualmente uma infinidade de possibilidades de composições e solicitações termomecânicas. A diferença entre as propriedades termomecânicas dos constituintes de compósitos pode induzir o surgimento de defeitos quando estes são submetidos a variações de temperatura. A modelagem computacional adequada destes sistemas nestas condições pode auxiliar no planejamento da composição do sistema, uma vez que é possível avaliar a influência da concentração de determinado constituinte no comportamento global do compósito. O presente trabalho objetiva analisar desde a influência do raio e fração volumétrica de inclusões até o efeito das diferenças de propriedades termomecânicas entre as fases no comportamento de compósitos cerâmicos submetidos a variações de temperatura. Analisar também, a aplicação de elementos coesivos na simulação da fissuração de sistemas cerâmicos. Como resultados principais, apresenta-se não só a compreensão dos efeitos de determinadas propriedades termomecânicas, mas também a construção de modelos em elementos finitos que podem ser utilizados por terceiros na investigação do comportamento termomecânico de sistemas cerâmicos.

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Zirconium- and titanium- based compounds (borides, carbides and nitrides) are of importance because of their attractive properties including: high melting temperature, high-temperature strength, high hardness, high elastic modulus and good wear-erosion-corrosion resistance. The ultra high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) - zirconium diboride (ZrB2) and zirconium carbide (ZrC) in combination with SiC are potential candidates for ultra-high temperature applications such as nose cones for re-entry vehicles and thermal protection systems, where temperature exceeds 2000°C. Titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium diboride (TiB2) composites have been considered for cutting tools, wear resistant parts etc. There are problems in the processing of these materials, as very high temperatures are required to produce dense composites. This problem can be overcome by the development of composites through reactive hot processing (RHP). In RHP, the composites are simultaneously synthesized and densified by application of pressure and temperatures that are relatively low compared to the melting points of individual components. There have been earlier studies on the fabrication of dense ZrB2-ZrC, ZrB2-SiC and TiN-TiB2 composites by the following methods: Pressureless sintering of preformed powders at high temperatures (1800-2300°C) with MoSi2, Ni, Cr, Fe additions Hot pressing of preformed powders at high temperatures (1700-2000°C) with additives like Ni, Si3N4, TiSi2, TaSi2, TaC Melt infiltration of Zr/Ti into B4C preform at 1800-1900°C to produce ZrB2-ZrC-Zr and TiB2-TiC composites RHP of Zr-B4C, Zr-Si-B4C and Ti-BN powder mixtures to produce ZrB2-ZrC, ZrB2-SiC and TiN-TiB2 powder mixtures at 1650-1900°C Spark plasma sintering of powder mixtures at 1800-2100°C There has been a lack of attention paid to the conditions under which ceramic composites can be produced by simple hot pressing (~50 MPa) with minimum amount of additives, which will not affect the mechanical properties of the composites. There has been no systematic study of microstructural evolution to be able to highlight the change in relative density (RD) with temperature during RHP by formation of sub-stoichiometric compounds, and liquid phase when a small amount of additive is used. The present study has been undertaken to establish the experimental conditions and densification mechanisms during RHP of Zr-B4C, Zr-B4C-Si and Ti-BN powder mixtures to yield (a) ZrB2-ZrC, (b) ZrB2-SiC, (c) ZrB2-ZrC-SiC and (d) TiN-TiB2 composites. The following reactions were used to produce the composites: (1) 3 Zr + B4C → 2 ZrB2 + ZrC (2) 3.5 Zr + B4C → 2 ZrB2 + 1.52rCx- 0.67 (3) (1+y) Zr + C → (1+y) ZrCx- 1/ (1+y) (y=0 to 1) (4) 2 Zr + B4C + Si → 2 ZrB2 + SiC (5) 2.5 Zr + B4C + 0.65 Si → 2 ZrB2 + 0.5 ZrCx + 0.65 SiC (6) 3.5 Zr + B4C + SiC → 2 ZrB2 + 1.5 ZrCx + SiC (5 to 15 vol%) (7) (3+y) Ti + 2 BN → (2+y) TiN1/(1+y) + TiB2 (y=0 to 0.5) (a) ZrB2-ZrC Composites: The effect of different particle sizes of B4C (60-240 μm, <74 μm and 10-20 μm) with Zr on the reaction and densification of composites has been studied. The role of Ni addition on reaction and densification of the composites has been attempted. The effect of excess Zr addition on the reaction and densification has also been studied. The RHP experiments were conducted under vacuum in the temperature range 1000-1600°C for 30 min without and with 1 wt% Ni at 40 MPa pressure. The RHP composites have been characterized by density measurements, x-ray diffraction for phase analysis and lattice parameter measurements, microstructural observation using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Selected samples have been analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. The hardness of the composites has also been measured. The results of the study on the effect of different particle sizes B4C and Ni addition on reaction and densification in the stoichiometric reaction mixture as follows. With the coarse B4C (60-240 μm and <74 μm) particles the temperature required are higher for completion of the reaction (1600°C and above). The microstructural observation showed that the material is densified even in the presence of unreacted B4C particles. The composite made with 10-20 μm B4C and 1 wt% Ni showed completion of the reaction at 1200°C, whereas composite made without Ni showed unreacted B4C (∼3 vol%) and the final densities of both the composites are similar (5.44 g/cm3). Increase in the temperature to 1400°C resulted in the completion of the reaction (without Ni) accompanied with a relative density (RD) of 95%. The composites produced with and without Ni at 1600°C had similar densities of 6.13 g/cm3 and 6.11 g/cm3 respectively (~97.3% RD). The Zr-Ni phase diagram suggests that the addition of Ni helps in formation of Zr-Ni liquid at ~960°C and leads to an increase in the reaction rate up to 1200°C. Once the reaction is completed, not enough Zr is available to maintain the liquid phase and further densification occurs through solid state sintering. The grain sizes of ZrB2 and ZrC phases after 1200°C are 0.4 μm and 0.3 μm, which are much lower than those reported in literature (2-10 μm), and may be the reason for reducing the densification temperature to 1600°C for stoichiometric ZrB2-ZrC composites. The effect of excess Zr (0.5 mol), over and above the stoichiometric Zr-B4C powder mixture, on reaction and densification of the composites is as follows. The formation of ZrB2 and ZrC phases with unreacted starting Zr and B4C is observed at 1000°C and with increase in temperature to 1200°C the reaction is completed. Since microstructural characterization reveals no indication of free Zr, it is concluded that the excess Zr is incorporated by the formation of non-stoichiometric ZrC (ZrCx-0.67). This observation is supported by lattice parameter measurements of ZrC in the stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric composites which are lower than those reported in the literature. X-ray microanalysis of ZrC grains in the stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric composites using transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of carbon deficiency. The composite produced at 1200°C showed the density of 6.1 g/cm3 (~97% RD), whereas addition of Ni produced 6.2 g/cm3 (~99% RD). The reduction in densification temperature for the non-stoichiometric composites is due to the presence of ZrCx even in the absence of Ni. The mechanism of densification of the composites at 1200°C is attributed to the lowering of critical resolved shear stress with increasing non-stoichimetry in the ZrC, which leads to plastic deformation during RHP. An additional mechanism may be enhanced diffusion through the structural point defects created in ZrC. The hardness of the composites are 20-22 GPa, which is higher than those of reported in literature due to the presence of a dense and fine grain microstructure in the present work. In order to verify the role of non-stoichiometric ZrC the study was extended to produce monolithic ZrC using various C/Zr ratios (0.5-1). Here again, stoichiometric ZrC does not densify even at 1600°C, whereas non-stoichiometric ZrC can be densified at 1200°C. (b) ZrB2-SiC Composites: Since ZrB2 and ZrC do not have good oxidation resistance unless they are reinforced with SiC, the present study has been extended to produce ZrB2-SiC (25 vol%) composites using Zr-Si-B4C powder mixtures. The samples produced at 1000°C showed the formation of ZrB2, ZrC and Zr-Si compounds with unreacted Zr and B4C and as the temperature is increased to 1200°C only ZrB2 and SiC remained. A fine grain (~0.5 μm) microstructure has been observed at 1200°C. During RHP, it was observed that the formations of ZrC, Si-rich phases and fine grain size at low temperatures was responsible for attaining the high relative density at a temperature of ~1600°C. The relative densities of the composites produced with 1 wt% Ni at 40 MPa, 1600°C for 30 min is 97% RD, where as composites without Ni showed a small amount of partially reacted B4C; extending the holding time to 60 min eliminated the B4C and produced 98% RD. The hardness of the composites is 18-20 GPa. (c) ZrB2-ZrC-SiC Composites: Since ZrC plays a crucial role in densification of ZrB2-ZrC and ZrB2-SiC composites, the study has been extended to reduce the processing temperature for ZrB2-ZrCx-SiC composites by two methods. In one of the methods, Si is added to the non-stoichiometric 2.5Zr-B4C powder mixture which is resulted in ZrB2-ZrCx-SiC (15 vol%) composites with ~98% RD at 1600°C. In another method, SiC particulates are added to the non-stoichiometric 3.5Zr-B4C powder mixture to yield ZrB2-ZrCx-SiCp (5-15 vol%) composites at 1400°C. The density of the 5 vol% SiC composite is 99.9%, whereas addition of 15 vol% SiC reduced the density to 95.5% RD. The mechanisms of densification of the composites are similar to those observed in ZrB2-ZrC composites. The hardness of the composites is 18-20GPa (d) TiN-TiB2 Composites: ZrB2, ZrC, TiB2, and TiN are members of the same class of transition metal borides, carbides and nitrides; however, their densification mechanisms appear to be different. In earlier work, the RHP of stoichiometric 3Ti-2BN powder mixtures yielded dense composite at 1400-1600°C with 1 wt% Ni addition, whereas composites without Ni required at least 1850°C. The major contributor to better densification at 1600°C (with Ni) appeared to be the formation of local Ni-Ti liquid phase at ~942°C (Ti-Ni phase diagram). The present work explores the additional role of non-stoichiometry in this system. It is shown that Ti excess can lead to a further lowering of the RHP temperature, but with a different mechanism compared to the Zr-B4C system. Excess Ti allows the transient alloy phase to remain above the liquidus for a longer time, thereby permitting the attainment of a higher relative density. However, eventually, the excess Ti is converted into a non-stoichiometric nitride. Thus, the volume fraction of a potentially low melting phase is not increased in the final composite by this addition. The contrast between these two systems suggests the existence of two classes of refractory materials for which densification may be greatly accelerated in the presence of non-stoichiometry, either through the ability to absorb a liquid-phase producing metal into a refractory and hard ceramic structure or greater deformability. Conclusions: The study on RHP of ZrB2-ZrC, ZrB2-SiC, ZrB2-ZrC-SiC and TiN-TiB2 composites led to the following conclusions: • It has been possible to densify the ZrB2-ZrC composites to ~97 % RD by RHP of stoichiometric Zr-B4C powder mixture with or without Ni addition. The role of B4C particle size is important to complete both reaction as well as densification. • Excess Zr (0.5 mol) to stoichiometric 3Zr-B4C powder mixtures produces dense ZrB2-ZrCx composite with 99% RD at 1200°C. The densification mechanisms in these non-stoichiometric composites are enhanced diffusion due to fine microstructural scale / stoichiometric vacancies and plastic deformation. • In the case of ZrB2-SiC composites, the formation of a fine microstructure, and intermediate ZrC and Zr-Si compounds at the early stages plays a major role in densification. • Starting with non-stoichiometric Zr-B4C powder mixture, the dense ZrB2-ZrCx-SiC composites can be produced with SiC particulates addition at 1400°C. • Non-stoichiometry in TiN and ZrC is route to the increased densification of composites through enhanced liquid phase sintering in TiN based composites that contain Ni and through plasticity of a carbon-deficient carbide in ZrC based composites.

Materials with appropriate combinations of multifunctional properties (strength, toughness, electrical conductivity and piezoelectricity) together with desired biocompatibility are promising candidates for biomedical applications. Apart from these material properties, recent studies have shown the efficacy of electric field in altering cell functionality in order to elicit various cell responses, like proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis (programmed cell death) on conducting substrates in vitro. In the above perspective, the current work demonstrates how CaTiO3 (CT) addition to Hydroxyapatite (HA) can be utilised to obtain an attractive combination of long crack fracture toughness (up to 1.7 MPa.m1/2 measured using single edge V-notch beam technique) and a flexural strength of 155 MPa in addition to moderate electrical conductivity. The enhancement of fracture toughness in HA-CT composites has been explained based on the extensive characterization of twinned microstructure in CT along with the use of theoretical models for predicting the enhancement of toughening through crack tip tilt and twist mechanisms. Subsequent in vitro studies on HA-CT composites with human Mesenchymal Stem cells (hMSCs) in the presence of electric field has shown enhanced differentiation towards bone like cells (osteogenic lineage) as evaluated by ALP activity, Collagen content and gene expression analyses through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) at the end of two weeks. he extracellular matrix mineralization analysis at the end of 4 weeks of hMSC culture further substantiated the efficacy of electric field as a biochemical cue that can influence the stem cell fate processes on conducting substrates. The electric field stimulation strategy was also implemented in in vitro studies with C2C12 mouse myoblast (muscle) cells on elastically compliant poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF)-multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) composite substrates. PVDF is a piezoelectric polymer and the addition of MWNTs makes the composite electrically conducting. Upon, electric field stimulation of C2C12 mouse myoblast cells on these composites, has been observed that in a narrow window of electric field parameters, the cell viability was enhanced along with excellent cell alignment and cell-cell contact indicating a potential application of PVDF-based materials in the muscle cell regeneration. In an effort to rationalise such experimental observations, a theoretical model is proposed to explain the development of bioelectric stress field induced cell shape stability and deformation. A single cell is modelled as a double layered membrane separating the culture medium and the cytoplasm with different dielectric properties. This system is linearized by invoking Debye-Huckel approximation of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. With appropriate boundary conditions, the system is solved to obtain intracellular and extracellular Maxwell stress as a function of multiple parameters like cell size, intracellular and extracellular permittivity and electric field strength. Based on the stresses, we predict shape changes of cell membrane by approximating the deformation amplitude under the influence of electric field. Apart from this, the shear stress on the membrane has been used to determine the critical electric field required to induce membrane breakdown. The analysis is conducted for a cell in suspension/on a conducting substrate and on an insulating substrate to illustrate the effect of substrate properties on cell response under the influence of external electric field.

The challenges faced in today’s industry require materials capable of working in chemically aggressive environments at elevated temperature, which has fueled the development of oxidation resistant materials. All-Oxide Ceramic Matrix Composites (OCMC) are a promising material family due to their inherent chemical stability, moderate mechanical properties, and low weight. However, limited information exists regarding their behavior when in contact with other high-temperature materials such as superalloys. In this work three sets of tribological tests were performed: two at room temperature and one at elevated temperature (650 °C). The tests were performed in a pin-on-disk configuration testing Inconel 718 (IN-718) pins against disks made with an aluminosilicate geopolymeric matrix composite reinforced with alumina fibers (N610/GP). Two different loads were tested (85 and 425 kPa) to characterize the damage on both materials. Results showed that the pins experienced ~ 100 % wear increase when high temperature was involved, while their microstructure was not noticeably affected near the contact surface. After high temperature testing the OCMC exhibited mass losses two orders of magnitude higher than the pins and a sintering effect under its wear track, that led to brittle behavior. The debris generated consists of alumina and suggests a possible crystallization of the originally amorphous matrix which may destabilize the system. The data suggests that while the composite’s matrix is stable, wear will not develop uncontrollably. However, as soon as a critical load/temperature combination is attained the matrix is the first component to fail exposing the reinforcement to damage which drastically deteriorates the integrity of the component.