Optimal print parameters for additively manufacturing 316L stainless steel using selective laser melting (SLM) at Cal Poly had previously been identified. In order to further support the viability of the current settings, tensile material characteristics were needed. Furthermore, reliable performance of the as-printed material had to be demonstrated. Any influence on the static performance of parts in the as-printed condition inherent to the SLM manufacturing process itself needed to be identified. Tensile testing was conducted to determine the properties of material in the as-printed condition. So as to have confidence in the experimental results, other investigations were also conducted to validate previous assumptions. Stereological relative density measurements showed that the as-printed material exhibited relative density in excess of 99%. Optical dimensional analysis found that the as-printed tensile specimens met ASTM E8 dimensional requirements in 14 out of 15 parts inspected. Baseline tensile tests indicated that the yield stress of the as-printed material is 24% higher than a cold-rolled alternative, while still achieving comparable ductility. The location of a tensile specimen on the build plate during the print was not found to have a significant effect on its mechanical properties. Theoretical behavior of notched tensile specimens based on finite element models matched experimental behavior in the actual specimens. Unique fracture behavior was found in both the unnotched reference and the most severe notch after microscopic inspection, and a root cause was proposed. Finally, extrapolating from previous studies and observing that experimental results matched theoretical models, it was determined that features inherent to SLM parts were not detrimental to the static performance of the as-printed material.

No description available.

Fibrinogen concentrates are used widely as a sealant during and after surgery to reduce blood loss. Commercially available fibrin sealants are made from pooled human blood, which carries the risk of blood-borne diseases, and are expensive. These concerns have brought to focus the need for autologous fibrinogen concentrates. This need has been addressed by utilizing a unique approach in which fibrinogen is precipitated from plasma with protamine. The physical properties of fibrin sealant prepared from fibrinogen precipitated with protamine were evaluated. The optimal precipitation conditions included a plasma protamine concentration of 10 mg/mL at room temperature. Under these conditions 96% ± 4% of the fibrinogen present in the plasma was precipitated and 98% ± 0.9% of the precipitated fibrinogen was clottable. In addition, it was shown that almost 50% of the factor XIII in the plasma was also precipitated along with the fibrinogen. The tensile and adhesion strengths and kinetics of fibrin sealant prepared from protamine-fibrinogen concentrate were evaluated. Tensile strength and adhesion strength both increased with increasing fibrinogen concentration. Addition of calcium chloride significantly increased the tensile and adhesion strengths. The addition of aprotinin and ε-aminocaproic acid (used to inhibit natural fibrinolysis) to the fibrinogen concentrate was shown to have no effect on the mechanical properties of the sealant. Kinetic experiments showed that the clotting time decreased as the thrombin and fibrinogen concentrations were increased. A rat model with controlled renal incisions was employed to evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of the fibrin sealant made from the protamine-fibrinogen concentrate. The fibrin sealant significantly reduced the blood loss and bleeding time when compared with controls (no sealant, plasma, and a commercial product). The sealant also significantly reduced blood loss and bleeding time in rats that were anticoagulated with heparin. A mathematical model based on tensile strength and adhesion strength was developed to predict the bleeding time in the animal wound. Model predictions showed that the ability of the fibrin sealant to reduce bleeding time, and therefore blood loss, was limited by the adhesion strength.

The air intake manifold is an integral part of modern internal combustion engines. Currently manufactured in glass fibre reinforced PA66, inquiries have been raised regarding a change of material to glass fibre reinforced PP. A new engine project is the purpose for which this proposed material is evaluated. The thermochemical environment in the air intake system puts high demands on the material. Ageing treatments and tensile testing was conducted on samples of the new material, as well as on the currently used PA66 to evaluate mechanical response of each material to treatments made to simulate the air intake environment. Furthermore, understanding of the chemical setup is lacking and needs to be studied. Experiments was performed to study the chemistry of the intake environment. Results indicated that PP can retain sufficient mechanical rigidity and strength when subjected to parameters made to simulate the air intake. Moreover, results regarding the chemical environment in the air intake system provided limited information.

In today’s paper and board production, quality control is made on a single cross direction (CD)sample from each tambour. As several different properties are analysed, only a limited number of measurement results are obtained for one property. Therefore, the measurement results might not be representative for the properties of the entire width of the tambour. The first objective of the project was to investigate variations of thickness, surface roughness and mechanical properties with a much higher resolution and number of measurements. The results of the measurement were compared with the routine quality control of the mill. The second objective of the project was to evaluate the influence of the wire shake unit in the centreply on the properties of the produced board. The measurements were performed on Iggesundpaperboard samples.The high-resolution measurements were performed using the STFI structural thicknessmeasurement device, an OptiTopo topography measurement device and a modified Autolinedevice at RISE Bioeconomy. The statistical evaluation of the results was performed in Matlab.Standard deviation, local variance and a frequency analysis were calculated for the thicknessmeasurements. Only standard deviation was considered for the topography data. For the mechanical properties, the distribution was evaluated using the Weibull distribution, since theresults had a single-sided distribution. In addition, the properties were analysed as a function of their location, for example to identify deterministic deviations in cross direction.The results of the first part of the project showed that the everyday control conducted in Iggesund is sufficient for most of the properties. Greatest difference was found at the edges ofthe samples, where Iggesund standard quality control does not detect a major variation inproperties, as no measurements are performed that close to the edge of the web. For example,at one edge, the high frequent measurements showed a significant drop in thickness which were not detected with the everyday quality control.In the second part of the project, the effect of a shake unit on the paper properties was evaluated. Here it was seen that the thickness variation were reduced, which also can be interpreted as an improvement of formation in the centre ply of the paperboard. As for thesurface roughness a slight improvement was found. Also for the mechanical properties, the shake unit appeared to improve the uniformity of the product / I dagens pappers-och kartongproduktion görs kvalitetskontroll på en enda tvärremsa (CD) från varje tambour. Eftersom flera olika egenskaper analyseras, erhålls endast ett begränsat antal mätresultat för en egenskap. Därför är informationen begränsad och kanske inte representativ för hela bredden av tambours egenskaper. Projektets första mål var att undersöka variationer i tjocklek, ytjämnhet och mekaniska egenskaper med mycket högre upplösning och antal mätningar. Resultaten av mätningen jämfördes med brukets rutinmässiga kvalitetskontroll.Det andra syftet med projektet var att utvärdera effekten av viraskaken på egenskaperna hos den producerade kartongen. Samtliga mätningar utfördes på kartongprover från IggesundsBruk.Mätningarna med hög upplösning utfördes med hjälp av en STFI-mätare för strukturtjocklek,en OptiTopo-enhet och en modifierad L&W Autoline-enhet. Den statistiska utvärderingen avresultaten utfördes i Matlab. Standardavvikelse, lokal variation och en frekvensanalys beräknades för tjockleksmätningarna. Endast standardavvikelse utvärderades för ytråhetsdata.För de mekaniska egenskaperna utvärderades fördelningen med hjälp av Weibullfördelningen,eftersom resultaten visade ett ensidigt beteende. Dessutom analyserades egenskaperna som en funktion av deras placering, till exempel för att identifiera deterministiska avvikelser i tvärriktningen.Resultaten av projektets första del visade att den dagliga kontrollen i Iggesund är tillräcklig för de flesta egenskaperna. Den största skillnaden hittades vid provets kanter, där Iggesundsstandardkvalitetskontroll Missar stora variationer för vissa egenskaper, eftersom inga mätningar utförs i det området på produkten. Vid ena sidan av nätverket visade de högfrekventa mätningarna en betydande minskning av tjockleken.I den andra delen av projektet utvärderades effekten av en skakningsenhet på pappersegenskaperna. Här såg man att variansen i tjockleksmätningarna indikerar en förbättring av formationen i kartongens mittskikt. När det gäller ytråheten konstaterades en liten förbättring. För de mekaniska egenskaperna föreföll viraskaken förbättra produktenslikformighet.

This project mainly investigated how the niobium(Nb) content influences the microstructure and mechanical properties of grey cast iron. Considering the mechanism, the study also analyzes the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties. Generally, the work is based on 127 test bars/samples from two cylinder heads and three batches of plates, which were studied by measuring tensile strength, microhardness, graphite size, carbide amount and chemistry. The result data has been evaluated with statistical methods. The experiments mainly included the preparation of the samples for test and analysis. The mechanical properties in this study are evaluated by the tensile strength of the grey cast iron. Meanwhile, various microscopies were applied to observe how niobium and cooling rate influence the microstructure. Finally, from the analysis results, it tells that the niobium does affect the tensile strength of grey cast iron. Higher the niobium content is, higher the tensile strength is. The computed result based on the data also shows niobium’s strong effect. The faster cooling rate will increase the tensile strength and pearlite microhardness of grey cast iron as well. The carbide amount of grey cast iron can be increased by the addition of niobium content. Furthermore, some future work needs to be done to explain the unsolved problem in this result. The reasons of why a specific position A-2-d of plates has high values of tensile strength demand more microstructure investigation. For the niobium influence, more experiments and data containing a larger range of niobium content also need to be done to prove the mathematics results in this report. / Detta projekt undersökte huvudsakligen hur innehållet av niob (Nb) påverkar gråstålens mikrostruktur och mekaniska egenskaper. Med tanke på mekanismen analyserar undersökningen även förhållandet mellan mikrostruktur och mekaniska egenskaper. Arbetet baseras i allmänhet på 127 provstänger / prover från två cylinderhuvuden och tre satser av plattor, vilka studerades genom mätning av draghållfasthet, mikrohårdhet, grafitstorlek, karbidmängd och kemi. Resultatdata har utvärderats med statistiska metoder. Experimenten inbegriper huvudsakligen beredningen av proven för test och analys. De mekaniska egenskaperna i denna studie utvärderas av gråstålets draghållfasthet. Under tiden applicerades olika mikroskopier för att observera hur niob- och kylhastigheten påverkar mikrostrukturen. Slutligen, från analysresultaten, berättar den att niobet påverkar draghållfastheten hos grågjutjärn. Ju högre niobinnehållet är, desto högre är draghållfastheten. Det beräknade resultatet baserat på data visar också niobins starka effekt. Den snabbare kylhastigheten ökar också draghållfastheten och pearliten-mikrohårdheten hos grågjutjärn. Karbidmängden av grågjutjärn kan ökas genom tillsats av niobhalt. Vidare måste vissa framtida arbeten göras för att förklara det olösta problemet i detta resultat. Skälen till varför en specifik position A-2-d av plattor har höga dragkrafter kräver mer mikrostrukturundersökning. För niobinpåverkan måste fler experiment och data som innehåller ett större antal niobinnehåll också göras för att bevisa matematikresultaten i denna rapport.

No description available.

A Comparison Study of Composite Laminated Plates with Holes under Tension A study was conducted to quantify the accuracy of numerical approximations to deem sufficiency in validating structural composite design, thus minimizing, or even eliminating the need for experimental test. Error values for stress and strain were compared between Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and analytical (Classical Laminated Plate Theory), and FEA and experimental tensile test for two composite plate designs under tension: a cross-ply composite plate design of [(0/90)4]s, and a quasi-isotropic layup design of [02/+45/-45/902]s, each with a single, centered hole of 1/8” diameter, and 1/4" diameter (four sets total). The intent of adding variability to the ply sequences and hole configurations was to gauge the sensitivity and confidence of the FEA results and to study whether introducing enough variability would, indeed, produce greater discrepancies between numerical and experimental results, thus necessitating a physical test. A shell element numerical approximation method through ABAQUS was used for the FEA. Mitsubishi Rayon Carbon Fiber and Composites (formerly Newport Composites) unidirectional pre-preg NCT301-2G150/108 was utilized for manufacturing—which was conducted and tested to conform to ASTM D3039/D3039M standards. A global seed size of 0.020, or a node count on the order of magnitude of 30,000 nodes per substrate, was utilized for its sub-3% error with efficiency in run-time. The average error rate for FEA strain from analytical strain at a point load of 1000lbf was 2%, while the FEA-to-experimental strains averaged an error of 4%; FEA-to-analytical and FEA-to-tensile test stress values at 1000lbf point load both averaged an error value of 6%. Suffice to say, many of these strain values were accurate up to ten-thousandths and hundred-thousandths of an in/in, and the larger stress/strain errors between FEA and test may have been attributed to the natural variables introduced from conducting a tensile test: strain gauge application methods, tolerance stacks from load cells and strain gauge readings. Despite the variables, it was determined that numerical analysis could, indeed, replace experimental testing. It was observed through this thesis that a denser, more intricate mesh design could provide a greater level of accuracy for numerical solutions, which proves the notion that if lower error rates were necessitated, continued research with a more powerful processor should be able to provide the granularity and accuracy in output that would further minimize error rates between FEA and experimental. Additionally, design margins and factors of safety would generally cover the error rates expected from numerical analysis. Future work may involve utilizing different types of pre-preg and further varied hole dimensions to better understand how the FEA correlates with analytical and tensile test results. Other load types, such as bending, may also provide insight into how these materials behave under loading, thus furthering the conversation of whether numerical approximations may one day replace testing all together.

The automotive manufacturing industry is facing an interesting period of trial when a lot of improvement is expected of them in a short period of time to contribute to a cleaner planet by applying technologies that will reduce fossil fuel consumption. Electrification was good, but this must be accompanied by substantial curb weight reduction, which was provided by alloys such as A365, Aural 5 (AlSi8MnMg), Aural 2 (AlSi10MnMg), and Mercalloy 367 (AlSi9MgMnSr) for making structural parts. The use of these Al alloys is accompanied with extensive heat treatment which on its own involves fossil fuel consumption. In this research, test plates were made utilizing high vacuum high pressure die casting (HVHPDC) and a unique Al-Fe based eutectic alloy with Zn and Mg as precipitation strengtheners. Experimental results demonstrated that they age naturally, with their mechanical properties rising to the industry requirement within three days. DSC experiments carried out at various ages gave further experimental evidence to this natural ageing phenomenon. A portion of the samples was then given an experimental "paint bake" treatment at different ages. This is typical on an assembly line where the coated parts are baked at a temperature range of 120 - 200oC for thirty minutes. It was evidently defensible that samples of various ages respond to the treatment in different ways. The mechanical characteristics of the samples decreased after treatment to same value and progressively increased to match the values of the control samples. During the duration of the experiment, some samples rose quickly while others remained "nearly dead" in the state of low mechanical characteristics or climbed sluggishly to catch up with the natural ageing curve. The poorest results were seen in samples handled at the early stage when the initial clusters are forming indicating that it might not be a good idea to interfere with the NA process at those times. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Fueled by the desire to produce an Al alloy with good mechanical properties arising from natural ageing, high vacuum high pressure die casting (HVHPDC) was used in making castings of this alloy which contains Fe for improvement on its castability and recyclability, contains Zn and Mg which act as the precipitating strengtheners driving the natural ageing phenomenon. Tests and experiments like uniaxial tensile tests, differential scanning calorimetry and electrical conductivity tests were carried out to ascertain its suitability to be used for structural automotive parts without heat treatment. The results showed that the new Nemalloy HE700 met with the minimum industry requirements for mechanical properties of materials for structural automotive applications within 3 days of natural ageing. The alloy was then subjected to experimental paint bake treatment to observe its reaction to paint bake process and the results were able to show when to do paint bake for best outcome.

3D-printing is a new and upcoming manufacturing technique that can significantly reduce time and material losses in production. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most commonly used 3D-printing methods for processing conventional thermoplastic polymers. To reduce the printing time and usage of material via FDM technology, a user typically specifies infill density. Therefore, it is important to understand how this printing parameter affects the fire and mechanical properties of the 3D-printed object.  This study aims to investigate the effect of various infill densities on mechanical and fire properties of polylactic acid (PLA) composites produced by FDM 3D-printing technology. PLA composites of five different infill densities were 3D-printed: 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. The samples for all tests were designed in AutoCAD and then imported into the slicing software, Ultimaker Cura. The 3D-printer used for printing was the Ultimaker S3 which uses FDM technology. To test the fire and mechanical behavior of 3D-printed PLA composites three tests were conducted: cone calorimeter test, tensile test and UL-94 flammability test. The cone calorimeter testing was done using the incident radiation of 35 kW/m2. The results showed that the trend of HHR curves of all infill densities are akin to each other, though the peak heat release rate and total heat released increases with higher infill density. Time to ignition was also longer for samples with higher infill density. Tensile testing was conducted according to the ASTM D638 standard. The results showed that with increasing infill density mechanical properties improved, with 100% infill density having the highest tensile strength (58.15 MPa) and elastic modulus (1472.1 MPa). From the UL-94 test results no difference in flammability could be observed. Every sample had no rating, which implies that PLA specimens of all infill densities are very flammable, with long afterflame and heavy flammable dripping. The study concludes that among the examined infill densities, no ideal percentage of infill density could be found. Requirements based on application will determine what infill density is most appropriate. Nevertheless, the data collected can hopefully provide a useful reference in designing and manufacturing 3D-printed PLA composites.