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The present study investigates the utilization of ceramic coatings and insulation elements in the context of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP) surgery tools, highlighting how precise engineering modifications can influence surgical precision. The adoption of cold plasma in surgery can be reinforced by material advancements withstanding several specific challenges, including electrical and thermal protection. We explore the potential of alumina (Al2O3), renowned for its high dielectric strength and resistance, as a promising material solution for insulating electrodes. We evaluated the thermal performance of surgical tools concerning different insulation thicknesses. Our findings suggest that Al2O3–based coatings, with their superior characteristics, significantly enhance the usability of cold plasma technology, thus fostering its application in minimally invasive surgery. We examine the implications of these findings for the design of next-generation surgical instruments and propose avenues for future research. This work contributes to the field of biomedical engineering by showcasing the pivotal role of material science in advancing surgical technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper results on the evolution of Poisson's ratio under tensile and cyclic compression on low-density soft open-cell polyurethane foams (85, 63, 46 kg/m3) up to 80% of strain are presented as obtained by full-field deformation measurements. The Poisson's ratio was investigated using a Poisson's function and a tangent Poisson's function formulation, more capable to capture the instantaneous behavior of the foam and a possible auxetic behavior. The displacements' maps and the stress-strain curves obtained experimentally by digital image correlation are compared with the numerical results of the FEM analysis obtained for ν = 0 and ν ≠ 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work the response of soft open-cell polyurethane foams with three different densities, respectively of 85, 63 and 46 kg/m3, were obtained by quasi-static tensile, shear and cyclic compression tests. The presence of an intrinsic random pattern inside the material given by the small black dot of expanded graphite, that makes it fireproof, allowed to detect large displacement fields exploiting digital image correlation technique, without painting the surface to quantify the full-field displacement of the samples. The displacements' maps, the strain fields and the stress-strain curves obtained by digital image correlation allowed the analysis and the evaluation of the mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process, the part is built as a layer-by-layer deposition of a feedstock filament material. The continuous improvements of the FFF have changed the main purpose of this technique from rapid prototyping to a rapid manufacturing method. Then, it is fundamental to determine the material properties of FFF parts as a function of the service load. The impact loads and, in particular, a high strain rates tensile impact can be a critical issue in FFF part and, in general, for plastic materials. The aim of the present work is to characterise the mechanical behaviour of FFF parts under tensile impact loads. To this purpose, three different orientations (i.e., 0°, 45° and 90°) both single- and multilayer specimens, have been printed. Finally, the influence of the impact speed on the mechanical behaviour has also been tested under three different values of speed (3.78 m/s, 3.02 m/s and 2.67 m/s). The results show that the FFF parts are influenced by the raster orientation, confirming the orthotropic behaviour also under dynamic loads, while the variation of impact speed, on peak force and absorbed energy, is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]