OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated two embrasure designs by measuring their differential effect on load at failure of provisional fixed partial dentures (FPDs) fabricated of five commercially available polymer-based restorative materials. METHODS: Five provisional C&B materials were selected to fabricate FPDs with two different embrasure designs: sharp vs. rounded embrasures (n=12 for each material). The test materials included: Telio CAD (Ivoclar-Vivadent), Coldpac (Motloid), Protemp Plus (3M), VersaTemp (Sultan), and Turbo Temp (Danville). The embrasures were formed using prefabricated cutters with measured Radii (0.002r and 0.03r) and a fixture to hold each provisional FPD in place for the uniform standardized cuts. Molds for the CAD/CAM provisional FPDs were used to fabricate the syringeable temporary materials and form bridges with the same geometric design. All provisional bridges were cemented using Temp-Bond (Kerr) to the corresponding standardized abutments and tested to failure in a universal Instron testing machine by loading each specimen compressively in the mid pontic region. The load at break was recorded in Newton. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the difference in each group’s mean. RESULTS: A significant difference in fracture load was found between the two groups of designs, in which the round embrasure was significantly stronger than was the sharp. A significant difference also was found between the type of temporary material used to fabricate the bridge in the two groups, and except for Coldpac, no significant difference between the embrasure anatomies was found. Fatigue loading did not appear to influence the two bridges’ fracture load, but it did show a significant difference with respect to the modulus of elasticity, in that the bridges that underwent fatigue loading showed a higher elastic modulus by comparison to the control group. Another variable that influenced the modulus of elasticity was the type of temporary material used to fabricate the bridge, in which TelioCAD was found to be the stiffest. However, the embrasure design did not seem to affect the bridges’ rigidity. CONCLUSION: A significant difference was found in fracture strength between the rounded and sharp embrasure design. Except for Coldpac, the rounded embrasure showed higher fracture toughness than did the sharp. No significant correlation was found between the two embrasure designs and the modulus of elasticity. Interestingly, the fatigued bridges that underwent cyclic loading showed a higher modulus of elasticity. The sharp embrasure design showed no fracture in the pontic region, while the rounded design did in 5.47% of the sample. This may be explained by the photoelastic bridges, in which the stress diffuses in the rounded design to include the pontic region, while in the sharp design, the stress is concentrated on the connector area. Stress analysis, both by means of photoelastic and finite element analysis, demonstrated that the bridge with the sharp embrasure design’s stress was high in the connector area compared to the round embrasure design.

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is quickly becoming a method of interest for welding of high strength steel (HSS) and ultra high strength steel (UHSS). FSSW has been shown to produce high quality welds in these materials, without the drawbacks associated with fusion welding. Tool grade for polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools has a significant impact on wear resistance, weld quality, and tool failure in FSSW of DP 980 steel sheet. More specifically, for a nominal composition of 90% CBN, the grain size has a significant impact on the wear resistance of the tool. A-type tools performed the best, of the three grades that were tested in this work, because the grain size of this grade was the finest, measuring from 3-6 microns. The effect of fine grain size was less adhesion of DP 980 on the tool surface over time, less abrasive wear, and better lap shear fracture loads of the welds that were produced, compared to the other grades. This is explained by less exposure of the binder phase to wear by both adhesion and abrasion during welding of DP 980. A-type tools were the most consistent in both the number of welds per tool, and the number of welds that reached acceptable lap shear fracture loads. B-type tools, with a bimodal grain size distribution (grain size of 4 – 40 microns) did a little bit better than C-type tools (grain size of 12-15 microns) in terms of wear, but neither of them were able to achieve consistent acceptable lap shear fracture load values after the first 200 welds. In fact only one out of five C-type tools was able to produce acceptable lap shear fracture loads after the first 100 welds.

Abstract Hip fracture is a significant problem in health care incurring major costs to society. Therefore, it is necessary to study fracture mechanisms and develop improved methods to estimate individual fracture risk. In addition to conventional bone density measurements, computational finite element (FE) analysis has been recognized as a valuable method for studying biomechanical characteristics of a hip fracture. In this study, computed tomography (CT) based finite element methods were investigated and simulation models were developed to estimate experimental femoral fracture load and hip fracture type in a sideways fall loading configuration. Cadaver femur specimens (age 55–100 years) were scanned using a CT scanner and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and the femurs were mechanically tested for failure in a sideways fall loading configuration. CT images were used for generating the FE model, and DXA was used as a reference method. FE analysis was done for simulation models of the proximal femur in a sideways fall loading configuration to estimate the experimentally measured fracture load and fracture type. Statistical analyses were computed to compare the experimental and the FE data. Cervical and trochanteric hip fractures displayed characteristic strain patterns when using a FE model mainly driven by bone geometry. This relatively simple FE model estimation provided reasonable agreement for the occurrence of experimental hip fracture type. Accurate assessment between experimental and finite element fracture load (r2 =  0.87) was achieved using subject-specific modeling, including individual material properties of trabecular bone for bilinear elastoplastic FE models. Nevertheless, the study also showed that proximal femoral fracture load can be estimated with reasonable accuracy (r2 =  0.73) by a relatively simple FE model including only cortical bone. The cortical bone FE model was more predictive for fracture load than DXA and slightly less accurate than the subject-specific FE model. The accuracy and short calculation time of the model suggest promise in terms of effective clinical use. / Tiivistelmä Lonkkamurtuma on huomattava ongelma terveydenhuollossa aiheuttaen merkittäviä kustannuksia yhteiskunnalle. Tämän vuoksi on tärkeää tutkia ja kehittää uusia yksilöllisen murtumariskin arviointimenetelmiä. Elementtimenetelmä on tehokas laskennallinen työkalu lonkkamurtuman biomekaanisten ominaisuuksien tutkimisessa. Tässä työssä tutkittiin ja kehitettiin tietokonetomografiaan perustuvia reisiluun simulaatiomalleja kokeellisten murtolujuuksien ja lonkkamurtumatyyppien arviointiin. Reisiluunäytteet (ikä 55–100 vuotta) kuvattiin tietokonetomografialaitteella ja kaksienergisellä röntgenabsorptiometrialla, jonka jälkeen reisiluut kuormitettiin kokeellisesti murtolujuuden ja murtumatyypin määrittämiseksi sivuttaiskaatumisasetelmassa. Tietokonetomografialeikekuvia käytettiin simulaatiomallien luomiseen, ja kaksienergistä röntgenabsorptiometriaa käytettiin vertailumenetelmänä. Reisiluun simulaatiomallit analysoitiin elementtimenetelmän avulla kokeellisten murtolujuuksien ja murtumatyyppien arvioimiseksi. Tilastoanalyysiä käytettiin verrattaessa kokeellista aineistoa ja simulaatioaineistoa. Reisiluun muotoon perustuva simulaatiomalli osoitti, että reisiluun kaulan ja sarvennoisen murtumilla on tyypilliset jännitysjakaumat. Tämän suhteellisen yksinkertaisen mallin murtumatyyppi oli lähes yhdenmukainen kokeellisen murtumatyypin kanssa. Reisiluun kokeellinen murtolujuus pystyttiin arvioimaan tarkasti (r2 =  0.87) käyttäen yksityiskohtaista simulaatiomallia, joka sisältää yksilölliset hohkaluun materiaaliominaisuudet. Toisaalta murtolujuus pystyttiin arvioimaan kohtuullisella tarkkuudella (r2 =  0.73) melko yksinkertaisellakin mallilla, joka käsittää ainoastaan kuoriluun. Kuoriluuhun perustuva malli oli tarkempi arvioimaan reisiluun kokeellista murtolujuutta kuin kaksienerginen röntgenabsorptiometria ja lähes yhtä tarkka kuin yksityiskohtaisempi simulaatiomalli. Mallin tarkkuus ja lyhyt laskenta-aika antavat lupauksia tehokkaaseen kliiniseen käyttöön.