Abstract Background: The daily usage of maxillofacial prostheses causes them to mechanically deteriorate with time. This study was aimed to evaluate the reinforcement of VST50F maxillofacial silicone by using yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) to resist aging and mechanical deterioration. Materials and Method: Y2O3 NPs (30–45nm) were loaded into VST50F maxillofacial silicone in two weight percentages (1 and 1.5 wt%), which were predetermined in a pilot study as the best rates for improving tear strength with minimum increase in hardness values. A total of 120 specimens were prepared and divided into the control and experimental groups (with 1 and 1.5 wt% Y2O3 addition). Each group included 40 specimens, 10 specimens for each parameter tested (i.e., tear strength, surface roughness, hardness, tensile strength and elongation percentage). Specimens were artificially aged in a weathering chamber for 150 h and then tested. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD). Statistical significance was set to P ≤ 0.05. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were also conducted. Results and Discussion: SEM results showed that Y2O3 NPs were distributed well within the silicon matrix. FTIR results indicated that the NPs were physically dispersed within VST50F silicone without chemical interaction. After 150 h of accelerated artificial aging, adding Y2O3 NPs significantly increased the tear strength, hardness, surface roughness, and elongation percentage. Tensile strength increased non significantly. Conclusion: Adding Y2O3 NPs as fillers improved the mechanical properties of artificially aged maxillofacial silicone elastomer. Keywords: maxillofacial silicone, Y2O3, nanoparticles, fillers, artificial aging.
This study investigates the possibility of using waste plastic as one of the components of expired lead-acid batteries to produce lightweight concrete. Different percentages of lead-acid battery plastic were used in the production of lightweight concrete. The replacements were (70, 80 and 100%) by volume of the fine and coarse aggregate. Results demonstrated that a reduction of approximately 23.6% to 35% in the wet density was observed when replacement of 70% to 100% of the natural aggregate by lead-acid battery plastic. Also, the compressive strength decreased slightly with the increase in plastic content at different curing ages of 7, 28, 60, 90, 120 days. The lowest value of compressive strength was (20.7 MPa) for (wa
... Show MorePolyimide/MWCNTs nanocomposites have been fabricated by solution mixing process. In the present study, we have investigated electrical conductivity and dielectric properties of PI/MWCNT nanocomposites in frequency range of 1 kHz to 100 kHz at different MWCNTs concentrations from 0 wt.% to 15 wt.%. It has been observed that the electrical conductivity and dielectric constants are enhanced significantly by several orders of magnitude up to 15 wt.% of MWCNTs content. The electrical conductivity increases as the frequency is increased, which can be attributed to high dislocation density near the interface. The rapid increase in the dielectric constant at a high MWCNTs content can be explained by the form
This paper displays a survey about the laboratory routine core analysis study on ten sandstone core samples taken from Zubair Reservoir/West Quarna Oil Field. The Petrophysical properties of rock as porosity, permeability, grain's size, roundness and sorting, type of mineral and volumes of shales inside the samples were tested by many apparatus in the Petroleum Technology Department/ University of Technology such as OFITE BLP-530 Gas Porosimeter, PERG-200TM Gas Permeameter and liquid Permeameter, GeoSpec2 apparatus (NMR method), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and OFITE Spectral Gamma Ray Logger apparatus. By comparing all the results of porosity and permeability measured by these instruments, it is clear a significant vari
... Show MoreThe research aims to investigate the effects of GMAW or MIG welding process on the mechanical properties of dissimilar aluminum alloys 2024-T351 and AA 6061- T651. A series of experimental techniques have been conducted to evaluate mechanical properties of the alloys, by carrying out hardness, tensile and bending tests for welded and un-welded specimens.
Metal inert gas (MIG) has been carried out on sheet metal using ER- 4043(AlSi5) as a filler metal and argon as shielded gas. The welded joints were tested by X-ray radiography and Faulty pieces were excluded.
Welding joints without defects are subjected to heat treatment including heating the joints in furnace to 170 °C for half an hour then air cooling to rel
... Show MoreBackground: Moringa peregrina is widely used in the traditional medicine of the Arabian Peninsula to treat various ailments, because it has many pharmacologically active components with several therapeutic effects. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Moringa peregrina seed ethanolic extract (MPSE) against key enzymes involved in human pathologies, such as angiogenesis (thymidine phosphorylase), diabetes (α-glucosidase), and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (carbonic anhydrase). In addition, the anticancer properties were tested against the SH-SY5Y(human neuroblastoma). Results: MPSE extract significantly inhibited α-glucosidase, thymidine phosphorylase, and carbonic anhydrase with half-maximal i
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to study the surface alteration characteristics and surface morphology of the superhydrophobic/hydrophobic nanocomposite coatings prepared by an electrospinning method to coat various materials such as glass and metal. This is considered as a low cost method of fabrication for polymer solutions of Polystyrene (PS), Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and Silicone Rubber (RTV). Si were prepared in various wt% of composition for each solutions. Contact angle measurement, surface tension, viscosity, roughness tests were calculated for all specimens. SEM showed the morphology of the surfaces after coated. PS and PMMA showed superhydrophobic properties for metal substrate, while Si showed hydroph
... Show MoreA polycrystalline CdSe thin films doped with (5wt%) of Cu was fabricated using vacuum evaporation technique in the substrate temperature range(Ts=RT-250)oC on glass substrates of the thickness(0.8?m). The structure of these films are determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray diffraction studies shows that the structure is polycrystalline with hexagonal structure, and there are strong peaks at the direction (200) at (Ts=RT-150) oC, while at higher substrate temperature(Ts=150-250) oC the structure is single crystal. The optical properties as a function of Ts were studied. The absorption, transmission, and reflection has been studied, The optical energy gap (Eg)increases with increase of substrate temperature from (1.65
... Show MoreThe effects of BaCl2 dopant on the optical properties of poly (vinyl alcohol) have been investigated. Pure and BaCl2 doped PVA films were prepared using solvent casting method. These films were characterized using UV/VIS technique in order to estimate the kind of transition which was found to be indirect transition. The value of the optical energy gap was decrease with increasing dopant concentration.
Refractive index, extinction coefficient and Urbach tail have been also investigated; it was found that all the above parameters affects by doping.
Overlapped have been prepared from epoxy resin material added to carbon Nanotube and percentages weight (0.1, 0.05, 0.01) % Studied the mechanical properties of the composite (bending, tensile an d hardness) has been found that the Flexural and tensile modulus of the composites were higher than the pure epoxy resin this may be due to the high mechanical strength of carbon nano tube (CNT). The hardness of the epoxy carbon Nanotube composites increased and the reason is due to increased overlap and stacking between the additives and material basis, which reduces the movement of polymer molecules leading to increased resistance to scratching material and cutting, will become more resistance to plastic deformation.