Degradable magnesium-hydroxyapatite interpenetrating phase composites processed by current assisted metal infiltration in additive-manufactured porous preforms

This work explores ceramic additive manufacturing in combination with liquid metal infiltration for the production of degradable interpenetrating phase magnesium/hydroxyapatite(Mg/HA) composites. Material extrusion additive manufacturing was used to produce stoichiometric,and calcium deficient HA preforms with a well-controlled open pore network, allowing the customization of the topological relationship of the composite. Pure Mg and two different Mg alloys were used to infiltrate the preforms by means of an advanced liquid infiltration method inspired by spark plasma sintering, using a novel die design to avoid the structural collapse of the preform. Complete infiltration was achieved in 8 min, including the time for the Mg melting. The short processing time enabled to restrict the decomposition of HA due to the reducing capacity of liquid Mg. The pure Mg-base composites showed compressive yield strength above pure Mg in cast state. Mg alloy-based composites did not show higher strength than the bare alloys due to grain coarsening, but showed similar mechanical properties than other Mg/HA composites that have significantly higher fraction of metallic phase. The composites showed faster degradation rate under simulated body conditions than the bare metallic component due to the formation of galvanic pairs at microstructural level. Mg dissolved preferentially over HA leaving behind a scaffold after a prolonged degradation period. In turn, the fast production of soluble degradation products caused cell metabolic changes after 24 h of culture with not-diluted material extracts. The topological optimization and reduction of the degradation rate are the topics for future research.

Bonding effect of liquid magnesium with open-celled carbon foam in interpenetrating phase composite

The issue of bonding formation in liquid metal/open-celled carbon foam(C_(of))systems was examined,taking into account the practical aspects of the synthesis of a new type of Mg-C metal material composite.The problem is complex due to the strong oxidation and intense evaporation of liquid magnesium,as well as the 3D geometry of the carbon component,where metal transport occurred through the foam cells’windows.Laboratory experiments performed at 700℃ in ceramic crucibles showed that spontaneous carbon foam infiltration by liquid metal is impossible under the applied conditions,either in an air atmosphere coupled with flux protection or under argon protection.Comparative tests performed in a UHV chamber filled with static pure Ar by a sessile drop method,coupled with non-contact heating and capillary purification at a test temperature of 700℃ directly in the UHV chamber,showed non-wetting behavior of the Mg/C_(of)couple with a correspondingly high contact angle of about 135°.The graphite capillary was then moved down,the liquid drop being slightly pressed into the foam,but these changes did not induce effective foam penetration.Despite the short contact time for the sessile drop test under an argon atmosphere,SEM+WDS analysis of the solidified Mg/C_(of)couple revealed the formation of an MgO interlayer at the interface,with a thickness of approx.1μm.The experimentally demonstrated presence of oxygen in the carbon foam sample,both before and after its contact with magnesium,points to oxide-type bonding being established between Mg and C_(of).This observation is in a good agreement with previous reports on the interface characterization of magnesium matrix composites reinforced with glassy carbon materials and carbon fibers by stir casting and pressure infiltration.Based on the findings of this study,a general structural scheme of the bonding process between carbon foam and liquid magnesium,as an important stage in the syntheses of Mg-C composites,was proposed.

Stochastic Second-Order Two-Scale Method for Predicting the Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials with Random Interpenetrating Phase

In this paper,a stochastic second-order two-scale(SSOTS)method is proposed for predicting the non-deterministic mechanical properties of composites with random interpenetrating phase.Firstly,based on random morphology description functions(RMDF),the randomness of the material properties of the constituents as well as the correlation among these random properties are fully characterized through the topologies of the constituents.Then,by virtue of multiscale asymptotic analysis,the random effective quantities such as stiffness parameters and strength parameters along with their numerical computation formulae are derived by a SSOTS strategy combined with the Monte-Carlo method.Finally,the SSOTS method developed in this paper shows an excellent computational accuracy,and therefore present an important advance towards computationally efficient multiscale modeling frameworks considering microstructure uncertainties.

Damage Characteristic of Interpenetrating Phase Composites under Dynamic Loading

In order to investigate the damage characteristic of ceramic-metal interpenetrating phase composite（IPC） under dynamic loading, uniaxial dynamic compression was performed to characterize the failure of SiC/Al composite with 15% porosity using a modifi ed Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar（SHPB）. High speed photography was used to capture the failure procedure and set up the relationship between deformation and real stress. The deformation control technology was used to obtain collected samples in different deformations under dynamic loading. Micro CT technology was utilized to acquire real damage distribution of these specimens. Moreover, SEM was employed in comparing the damage characteristics in IPC. A summary of the available experimental results showed that IPC without lateral confi nement formed double cones. The different features compared with ceramic materials without restraint was shown to be the result of the lateral restraint effect provided by metal phase to ceramics skeleton.