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Additive manufacturing (AM) has seen remarkable development in recent years due to relatively high efficiency of the process. Cold spraying (CS) is a particular method of AM, in which titanium and titanium alloy powders are used. CS is a very competitive technology enabling the deposition of coatings, repairing machine parts, and manufacturing new components. For specific applications, the surface of cold-sprayed materials may require further processing. This paper reports an attempt to employ laser surface treatment (LST) of cold-sprayed coatings on an aluminium alloy substrate. The influence of laser beam interaction time on the coatings' properties was analysed. The microstructure was investigated and observed employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To evaluate residual stress after CS and LST, the sin 2 ψ technique was used. Investigations were also performed on Vickers hardness, contact angle, and surface roughness. Significant changes in the surface morphology of the coatings and elevated residual stress levels dependent on the laser beam interaction time were observed. Increased Vickers hardness was recorded for titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. LST also led to increased surface hydrophilicity of the modified materials Ti and Ti6Al4V.

The article presents the results of research on the influence of plastic deformation on the microstructure and tensile strength of Haynes 282 nickel superalloy produced by direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) and a conventional technique (casting). Samples were tested for dimensional accuracy using a 3D scanner. Then, the samples were subjected to plastic deformation by rolling. The microstructures of the DMLS and the as-cast samples were analysed using a scanning electron microscope. The strength properties of the samples were determined in a static tensile test. Microhardness measurements of the samples were also performed. Based on the analysis of the dimensional accuracy, it was found that the surface quality of the components produced by DMLS is dependent on the input parameters of the 3D printing process. Using the DMLS method, it is possible to produce Haynes 282 with a fine-crystalline microstructure containing dendrites. The fine-crystalline dendritic microstructure and low porosity showed very good tensile strength compared to the as-cast material. It was also found that the increase in the degree of plastic deformation of the as-cast Haynes 282 and the samples produced by the DMLS technique resulted in an increase in the strength of the tested samples, with reduced ductility., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Aluminium (Al) and titanium (Ti) coatings were applied on AZ91E magnesium alloy using a low-pressure warm spray (WS) method. The deposition was completed using three different nitrogen flow rates (NFR) for both coatings. NFR effects on coating microstructure and other physical properties were systematically studied. Microstructural characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the porosity was estimated using two methods-image analysis and X-ray microtomography. The coating adhesion strength, wear resistance, and hardness were examined. The protective properties of the coatings were verified via a salt spray test. Decreasing NFR during coating deposition produced more dense and compact coatings. However, these conditions increased the oxidation of the powder. Al coatings showed lower hardness and wear resistance than Ti coatings, although they are more suitable for corrosion protection due to their low porosity and high compactness.

The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the influence of microabrasive blasting on the physicochemical properties of dentine and shear bond strength (SBS) of self-adhesive resin cement (Maxcem Elite, Kerr, Orange, CA, USA) bonded to the dentine surface. Ninety cylindrical specimens with exposed dentine of human teeth were prepared and divided into three randomized, parallel sample sets A, B, and C. Groups B and C were subjected to abrasive blasting using a micro-sandblasting device (Microetcher IIa, Danville Materials, Carlsbad, CA, USA) with two gradations of Al 2 O 3 abrasives (Group B, abrasion with a gradation of 50 μm; group C, abrasion with a gradation of 27 μm). SEM imaging, profilometry, chemical composition analysis, contact angle measurements, surface free energy, and SBS tests were performed. The resulting data were statistically analyzed using the Statistica software (ver. 13.3, Tibco Software Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA). Microabrasive blasting caused changes in surface topography, structural features, and the connection strength between the dentin surface and self-adhesive prosthetic cement. Air microabrasion through the multifactorial positive reorganization of the treated surface of dentine is recommended as a pretreatment method in fixed prosthodontics adhesive cementation protocols.

In this work, the comparison of microstructure, texture, and mechanical properties of the newly developed TZ61 (Mg-6Sn-1Zn) alloy with the commercially available AZ61 (Mg-6Al-1Zn) has been presented. Both analyzed Mg alloys were processed by conventional symmetric and asymmetric rolling (i.e., Differential Speed Rolling-DSR). The microstructure and texture were examined by EBSD and XRD, whereas the mechanical behavior was investigated by uniaxial tensile tests. DSR processing led to more effective grain refinement of both TZ61 and AZ61 sheets. However, a high fraction of Mg 2 Sn phase precipitates in the TZ61 sheets hindered grain growth what resulted in their smaller grain size as compared to AZ61 sheets. DSR processing lowered also the basal texture intensity in the TZ61 and AZ61 sheets. A unique basal poles splitting was observed for the as-rolled TZ61 alloy, while AZ61 alloy exhibited a typical single-peak basal texture. Finally, the reduced grain size and weakened basal texture by DSR processing caused increase of plasticity of the annealed TZ61 and AZ61 sheets. Nevertheless, the annealed AZ61 sheets showed higher uniform elongation and strength (as compared to TZ61 ones), which has been attributed to their significantly lower texture intensity and greater ability to strain hardening.

Polymer nanocomposites have been extensively researched for a variety of applications, including medical osteoregenerative implants. However, no satisfactory solution has yet been found for regeneration of big, and so-called critical, bone losses. The requirement is to create a resorbable material which is characterised by optimum porosity, sufficient strength, and elastic modulus matching that of the bone, thus stimulating tissue regrowth. Inverse nanocomposites, where the ceramic content is larger than the polymer content, are a recent development. Due to their high ceramic content, they may offer the required properties for bone implants, currently not met by polymer nanocomposites with a small number of nanoparticles. This paper presents inverse nanocomposites composed of bioresorbable nano crystalline hydroxyapatite (HAP NPs) and polylactide (PLLA), produced by cryomilling and a warm isostatic pressing method. The following compositions were studied: 25%, 50%, and 75% of HAP NPs by volume. The mechanical properties and structure of these composites were examined. It was discovered that 50% volume content was optimal as far as compressive strength and porosity are concerned. The inverse nanocomposite with 50% nanoceramics volume displayed a compressive strength of 99 ± 4 MPa, a contact angle of 50°, and 25% porosity, which make this material a candidate for further studies as a bioresorbable bone implant.

The effect of shear deformation introduced by differential speed rolling (DSR) on the microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of Mg-6Sn alloy was investigated. Mg-6Sn sheets were obtained by DSR at speed ratio between upper and lower rolls of R = 1, 1.25, 2 and 3 (R = 1 refers to symmetric rolling). The microstructural and textural changes were investigated by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and XRD, while the mechanical performance was evaluated based on tensile tests and calculated Lankford parameters. DSR resulted in the pronounced grain refinement of Mg-6Sn sheets and spreading of basal texture as compared to conventionally rolled one. The average grain size and basal texture intensity gradually decreased with increasing speed ratio. The basal poles splitting to transverse direction (TD) or rolling direction (RD) was observed for all Mg-6Sn sheets. For the as-rolled sheets, YS and UTS increased with increasing speed ratio, but a significant anisotropy of strength and ductility between RD and TD has been observed. After annealing at 300 °C, Mg-6Sn sheets became more homogeneous, and the elongation to failure was increased with higher speed ratios. Moreover, the annealed Mg-6Sn sheets were characterized by a very low normal anisotropy (0.91-1.16), which is normally not achieved for the most common Mg-Al-Zn alloys.