Effect of Conventional Adhesive Application or Co-Curing Technique on Dentin Bond Strength

The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the effect of two different adhesive application methods on shear dentin bond strength (ISO 29022) using three various adhesive systems. A mid-coronal section of 77 intact third human molars with fully developed apices was made to create flat bonding substrates. The materials used in the study were Excite F (Ivoclar Vivadent), Prime&Bond Universal (Dentsply Sirona) and G-Premio Bond (GC). The application of each adhesion system was performed in two different ways. In the first group, the bonding agent was light cured immediately after the application (conventional method), while in the second group the adhesive and composite were cured concurrently (“co-curing” method). A total of 180 specimens were prepared (3 adhesives × 2 method of application × 30 specimens per experimental group), stored at 37 °C in distilled water and fractured in shear mode after 1 week. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Weibull statistics. The highest bond strength was obtained for Prime&Bond conventional (21.7 MPa), whilst the lowest bond strength was observed when co-curing was used (particularly, Excite F 12.2 MPa). The results showed a significant difference between conventional and co-curing methods in all materials. According to reliability analysis, the co-curing method diminished bond reliability. Different application techniques exhibit different bond strengths to dentin.

A Comparative Study on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Cement-Based Materials by Direct Electric Curing and Steam Curing

Direct electric curing (EC) is a new green curing method for cement-based materials that improves the early mechanical properties via the uniform high temperature produced by Joule heating. To understand the effects of EC and steam curing (SC) on the mechanical properties and microstructure of cement-based materials, the mortar was cured at different temperature-controlled curing regimes (40 °C, 60 °C, and 80 °C). Meanwhile, the mechanical properties, hydrates and pore structures of the specimens were investigated. The energy consumption of the curing methods was compared. The results showed that the EC specimens had higher and more stable growth of mechanical strength. The hydration degree and products of EC samples were similar to that of SC samples. However, the pore structure of EC specimens was finer than that of SC specimens at different curing ages. Moreover, the energy consumption of EC was much lower than that of SC. This study provides an important technical support for the EC in the production of energy-saving and high early-strength concrete precast components.

Effect of Curing Temperature on the Properties of Latex Based Membrane for Oily Wastewater Filtration

Oily wastewater pollution has always been part of the most serious worldwide environmental disaster. Thus, the treatment of oily wastewater is notably crucial. In this work, nitrile butadiene rubber/graphene oxide (NBR/GO) membranes were fabricated by latex compounding and curing method which is comparatively brand-new technique to produce membranes for wastewater treatment. Therefore, the steps in the production need to be studied to enhance the performance of the membrane. Curing temperature is an important factor in the production of the latex-based membrane. In this paper, the effect of curing temperature in the range of 90 °C – 110 °C on the morphology, tensile properties, permeation flux, and oil rejection rate performance of the membrane was studied. The curing temperature was found to affect the surface morphology and integrity of the membranes which sequentially affects the performance of the membrane in terms of strength, permeation flux, and oil rejection rate. NBR/GO membranes cured at the temperature of 100 °C exhibit the highest flux of 491.84 L/m2.hr with an oil rejection rate of 95.44 %, with the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elongation break (EB%), and E-Modulus (E-mod) of 34.490 MPa, 1627.11 %, and 1.309 MPa, respectively.

Research on the Rapid Strengthening Mechanism of Microwave Field-Controlled Gypsum-Cemented Analog Materials

Various geotechnical experiments have used gypsum-cemented analog geotechnical materials. However, this material needs a long curing time, and the target strength is not easy to control. Therefore, this research adopted microwave heating as the curing method for this kind of material. Objectively, the authors investigated the variations in the material strength versus heating power and heating time. On this basis, we clarified the influence mechanism of microwaves on the strength of analog materials by analyzing material temperature, moisture content, and microstructure, which eventually led to an experimental control method for rapid strengthening of microwave field-controlled gypsum-cemented analog materials. Consequently, we drew the following conclusions. The stable strength of the material under high-power microwave curing was much lower than that under natural curing, while the material strength under low-power microwave curing was the closest to the material under natural curing.

Effect of Impurities Control on the Crystallization and Densification of Polymer-Derived SiC Fibers

The polymer-derived SiC fibers are mainly used as reinforcing materials for ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) because of their excellent mechanical properties at high temperature. However, decomposition reactions such as release of SiO and CO gases and the formation of pores proceed above 1400 °C because of impurities introduced during the curing process. In this study, polycrystalline SiC fibers were fabricated by applying iodine-curing method and using controlled pyrolysis conditions to investigate crystallization and densification behavior. Oxygen and iodine impurities in amorphous SiC fibers were reduced without pores by diffusion and release to the fiber surface depending on the pyrolysis time. In addition, the reduction of the impurity content had a positive effect on the densification and crystallization of polymer-derived SiC fibers without a sintering aid above the sintering temperature. Consequently, dense Si-Al-C-O polycrystalline fibers containing β-SiC crystal grains of 50~100 nm were easily fabricated through the blending method and controlled pyrolysis conditions.

The Effect of Curing Methods on Compressive Strength of Concrete

Concrete curing is an effort made to optimize the results of concrete casting. This action needs to be done because it has a major effect on the quality and strength of the concrete, one of which is so that the concrete does not lose moisture too quickly, because later this condition will lead to excessive shrinkage in the concrete. As a result, the concrete can experience cracks. This will cause the construction work to be less qualified and endanger construction users. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of concrete treatment methods on the value of normal concrete compressive strength. Concrete curing can be carried out by several methods according to the type and condition of the structural elements to be treated. From the results of the study, it was found that the curing method of concrete had an effect on the value of normal concrete compressive strength, namely that the average compressive strength value in the fresh water immersion treatment method was 23.730 MPa, the treatment method for wrapping concrete with gunny sacks was 22.349 MPa, the treatment method of wrapping concrete with plastic is 22.306 MPa, and in the treatment method of pouring concrete with fresh water is 21.199 MPa. The average value of the maximum compressive strength occurred in the treatment method with fresh water immersion, namely 23.73 MPa, and the minimum compressive strength value that occurred was found in the treatment method with fresh water sprinkling, namely 21.199 MPa. Thus, that concrete curing is good, namely, by soaking the concrete with fresh water.

A Comparative Study on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Cement-Based Materials by Direct Electric Curing and Steam Curing

Direct electric curing (EC) is a new green curing method for cement-based materials that improves the early mechanical properties via the uniform high temperature produced by Joule heating. To understand the effects of EC and steam curing (SC) on the mechanical properties and microstructure of cement-based materials, the mortar was cured at different temperature-controlled curing regimes (40°C, 60°C and 80°C). Meanwhile, mechanical properties, hydrate phase and pore structure of specimens were investigated. The energy consumption of two curing methods was compared and analyzed. The results show that the EC specimens have better and more stable growth of mechanical strength. The pore structure of EC specimen is also better than that of SC specimen at different maintenance ages. However, the hydration degree and products of samples cured by EC are similar to that SC samples. The energy consumption of EC is lower than SC. This study provides an important technical support for the EC in the production of energy-saving and high early-strength concrete precast components.

Lamination Curing Method for Inkjet Printed Flexible Angle Sensors

In this paper we present the lamination curing as a stand-alone method to activate the silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) inkjet printed angle sensors on a 0.14 mm PET substrate, with a desktop printer. (With the term “lamination curing”, we refer passing the printed sample through a lamination machine, without any actual laminating purpose, only for curing.) We compared the method with the oven curing, which is the widest used method for the intended sensors, and found that lamination cured sensors give lower sheet resistance, lower fabrication uncertainty and more consistent angle sensing behaviors with higher sensing performance. Different curing parameters are inspected and a process under 3 minutes is achieved giving a 0.06 Ohm/square sheet resistance. For such a low sheet resistance, presented method has the lowest thermal curing time among all single layer Ag NP printing studies in the literature. An experimental model is presented for the sheet resistance - aspect ratio relation for both methods. Time dependent resistance shifts of the lamination cured sensors are also inspected and proved to be insignificant. We state lamination curing as an advantageous and reliable alternative to oven curing and other fast curing methods both for sensor and circuitry printing implementations.