Thesis (M.Sc.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2006. / "Master of Science in Materials Engineering & Nanotechnology dissertation." Title from title screen (viewed on Nov. 23, 2006) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2005. / At head of title: City University of Hong Kong, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Master of Science in materials engineering & nanotechnology dissertation. Title from title screen (viewed on Aug. 31, 2006) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2005. / At head of title: City University of Hong Kong, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Master of Science in materials engineering & nanotechnology dissertation. Title from title screen (viewed on Aug. 31, 2006) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-106). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a resistência à fadiga cíclica de dois diferentes sistemas rotatórios de níquel-titânio, K3 (Sybron Endo, EUA) e Endosequence (Brasseler, EUA), fundamentando-se no número de usos. Todas as limas rotatórias que foram selecionadas possuíam conicidade 0.04, 25 mm de comprimento e diâmetro de ponta 25, padrão ISO. Para tal logro, um dispositivo desenvolvido especificamente para executar ensaios dinâmicos foi utilizado. Cada grupo foi subdividido em quatro subgrupos em função do número de usos, sendo estabelecidos da seguinte maneira: grupos A0 e B0, instrumentos sem nenhum uso; grupos A1 e B1, instrumentos de um único uso; grupos A3 e B3, instrumentos de três usos e grupos A5 e B5, instrumentos de cinco usos. Cada subgrupo era composto por 12 limas, totalizando 96 instrumentos rotatórios entre K3 e Endosequence. A simulação foi realizada em canais artificiais de resina com curvatura de 40 graus e raio de 5 mm. Todas as limas foram submetidas a ensaios de fadiga cíclica realizados em um dispositivo experimental que permitiu que o instrumento reproduzisse uma instrumentação rotatória em canais curvos. Esse dispositivo possui um temporizador, que registra o tempo de avanços em segundos, desde o início do movimento até a fratura da lima e também um contador, que registra dentro do intervalo de tempo o número de ciclos realizados pelo cilindro pneumático até o momento da fratura. Foi utilizada uma peça de mão com contra-ângulo redutor de 16:1, acionado por motor elétrico na velocidade de 350 rpm e 2 Ncm de torque. O tempo foi registrado por meio do contador presente no dispositivo. Os valores foram transformados em segundos. Para análise estatística, empregou-se o teste de análise de variância (dois critérios) entre as amostras testadas e observou-se que não houve diferença estatisticamente significante em relação ao número de usos. Entretanto, o sistema K3 apresentou maior resistência à fadiga flexural em relação ao sistema Endosequence (p < 0,05). / The aim of this work was to evaluate the cyclic fatigue resistance of two different nickel-titanium rotary systems, K3 (Sybron Endo, EUA) and Endosequence (Brasseler, EUA), based on the number of uses. All rotary files which were selected had their conicity of 0,04, 25mm of length and tip diameter of 25, following ISO standardization. To reach the purposes, a specially developed apparatus to perform dynamic assays was employed. Each group was subdivided into 4 subgroups according to the number of uses, being established as follows: groups A0 and B0, instruments without any use; groups A1 and B1, instruments of a single use; groups A3 and B3, instruments of three uses and groups A5 and B5, instruments of five uses. Each subgroup was compound of 12 files, totalizing 96 rotary instruments between K3 and Endosequence. The simulation was conducted in resin artificial canals presenting curvature of 40 degrees and radius of 5 mm. All files were submitted to cyclic fatigue assays performed on an experimental apparatus where the instrument could reproduce a rotary instrumentation in curved canals. This equipment contains an timer, which records advance time per seconds, since the begin of movement until the file fracture, and also has a counter which registers, on a period of time, the cycle number accomplished by the pneumatic cylinder until the fracture time. A reducer contra-angle hand piece of 16:1 was used, activated by an electric motor on a speed of 350rpm and 2 Ncm of torque. Time was recorded by the counter coupled in the apparatus. Values were converted into seconds. The two-way analysis of variance was employed to statistical evaluation, among tested samples and we could observe that no statistical differences were found in relation to the number of uses. However, the K3 system showed higher resistance to flexural fatigue when compared to the Endosequence system (p < 0,01).

Abstract Nickel-titanium shape memory metal Nitinol (NiTi) is a new kind of implant material, which provides a possibility to prepare functional implants activated at body temperature and withstands kinking better than conventional metals. Applications utilizing these unique properties are a target of active research interest. Host reactions to NiTi and to the forces created by functional implants should also be studied. A functional NiTi intramedullary nail, which causes a bending force on the bone, was developed for correcting bone deformities. In the present studies, the action of the device was inverted to induce a bone deformity instead of correcting one, in order to test the hypothesis that bone modelling can be controlled using such functional nail. Implanting the nail into the medullary cavity of rat femur for twelve weeks caused bowing of the bone, retardation of its longitudinal growth, and thickening of the bone and the cortex. In another study the effects of functional and straight nails were compared. Bowing of the bone and significant overall thickening of the bone and the cortex were associated only with the functional nail, while the straight nail induced only minor thickening of the bone. Retardation of longitudinal growth was seen in both groups, and this may have been caused by perforating the distal epiphyseal plate during the nailing. Finite element model of the bone-nail combination was also created. Porous NiTi was studied as a bone graft substitute by filling a bone defect in the distal femoral metaphysis of a rat bone with porous NiTi implants of different porosities. After 30 weeks, porosity of 66.1% (mean pore size (MPS) 259μm) showed the best bone-implant contact (51%). However, porosity of 46.6% (MPS 505μm) with 39% bone-implant contact was not significantly inferior in this respect and showed a significantly lower incidence of fibrosis within the implant and thus seemed to be the best choice for a bone graft substitute, out of the porosities tested here. The porosity of 59.2% (MPS 272μm) showed lower contact values. NiTi tendon suture material was studied by implanting NiTi sutures into rabbit tendon and subcutaneous tissues for two, six, and twelve weeks. NiTi proved to be stronger than polyester, which served as control material. The encapsulating membrane was minimal with both materials, suggesting good biocompatibility in tendon tissue. The implantation did not affect the strength properties of either material. On the basis of the present studies, NiTi provides a possibility to develop new kinds of implants for correcting bone deformities, for filling bone defects in weight-bearing locations and a good candidate for a tendon suture material.

No description available.

[Truncated abstract] The study of NiTi shape memory alloys, although comprehensive and diverse, still encounters numerous uncertainties and misunderstandings that often jeopardise the effective use of these alloys in various applications. One such key area is the understanding of the micromechanics and thermodynamics of the deformation mechanisms, such that their deformation behaviour can be accurately predicted and modelled. Furthermore, most research involves polycrystalline NiTi of varying compositions and processing history, both of which complicate and damage the internal structure of the matrix even before deformation. This work aims to study the micromechanisms of deformation of near-equiatomic NiTi alloys, both in polycrystalline and single crystal forms, with particular attention given to the commonly observed phenomena of Luders-like deformation behaviour and deformation induced martensite stabilisation. This work was carried out in three sections. Firstly, the tensile deformation of polycrystalline NiTi samples via martensite reorientation and stress-induced martensitic transformations was carried out. The samples were deformed to various stages of deformation and then thermally cycled to study the thermomechanical response to deformation as a means to explore the various mechanisms of deformation. Next, the deformation and post-deformation transformation behaviour of NiTi single crystals were studied to verify the effect of grain boundaries and other hypotheses raised regarding the deformation mechanisms. The single crystal samples were deformed along three low-index axial orientations. Finally, microscopic analysis was carried out on as-annealed and the deformed polycrystal and single crystal samples by means of transmission electron microscopy. The microstructural analyses accompanied the thermodynamic study and provided evidences to support various hypotheses

Ni/TiC metal matrix composites have been processed using the laser engineered net shaping (LENS) process. As nickel does not form an equilibrium carbide phase, addition of a strong carbide former in the form of titanium reinforces the nickel matrix resulting in a promising hybrid material for both surface engineering as well as high temperature structural applications. Changing the relative amounts of titanium and carbon in the nickel matrix, relatively low volume fraction of refined homogeneously distributed carbide precipitates, formation of in-situ carbide precipitates and the microstructural changes are investigated. The composites have been characterized in detail using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (including energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) mapping and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)), Auger electron spectroscopy, and transmission (including high resolution) electron microscopy. Both primary and eutectic titanium carbides, observed in this composite, exhibited the fcc-TiC structure (NaCl-type). Details of the orientation relationship between Ni and TiC have been studied using SEM-EBSD and high resolution TEM. The results of micro-hardness and tribology tests indicate that these composites have a relatively high hardness and a steady-state friction coefficient of ~0.5, both of which are improvements in comparison to LENS deposited pure Ni.