Ceramic matrix composites are the emerging material of choice for structures that will see temperatures above ~1,500 °C in hostile environments, as for example in next-generation gas turbines and ...hypersonic-flight applications. The safe operation of applications depends on how small cracks forming inside the material are restrained by its microstructure. As with natural tissue such as bone and seashells, the tailored microstructural complexity of ceramic matrix composites imparts them with mechanical toughness, which is essential to avoiding failure. Yet gathering three-dimensional observations of damage evolution in extreme environments has been a challenge. Using synchrotron X-ray computed microtomography, we have fully resolved sequences of microcrack damage as cracks grow under load at temperatures up to 1,750 °C. Our observations are key ingredients for the high-fidelity simulations used to compute failure risks under extreme operating conditions.
The processing of ceramic scaffolds using the ice-templating, or freeze casting, technique provides a relatively simple means to mimic the hierarchical design of natural materials such as nacre. In ...the present study, we investigated the architecture of silicon carbide (SiC) scaffolds produced by this technique over a range of cooling rates and suspension characteristics to demonstrate its versatility and effectiveness for fabricating unidirectional porous bodies with controlled lamella thickness, porosity fraction and morphology. An array of microstructures was generated specifically to examine the role of the suspension solid load and cooling rate on the pore morphology and final ceramic fraction. With respect to the morphology of the pores, a transition from lamellar to dendritic structure was found to be triggered by an increase in cooling rate or in suspension concentration. Similarly, the freezing condition and suspension characteristics were seen to influence the transition between particle rejection and entrapment by the ice. Based on this study, the specific processing parameters that result in distinct scaffold morphologies, namely lamellar, dendritic or isotropic morphology (the latter corresponding to particle entrapment), are identified and presented in the form of a “morphology map” to establish the regions of the different architectures of freeze-cast SiC scaffolds.
The alligator gar is a large fish with flexible armor consisting of ganoid scales. These scales contain a thin layer of ganoine (microhardness ∼2.5GPa) and a bony body (microhardness ∼400MPa), with ...jagged edges that provide effective protection against predators. We describe here the structure of both ganoine and bony foundation and characterize the mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms. The bony foundation is characterized by two components: a mineralized matrix and parallel arrays of tubules, most of which contain collagen fibers. The spacing of the empty tubules is ∼60μm; the spacing of those filled with collagen fibers is ∼7μm. Using micromechanical testing of such scales in a variable-pressure scanning electron microscope, we identify interactions between propagating cracks and the microstructure, and show that the toughness of the scales increases with crack extension in a classical resistance-curve response from the activation of extrinsic toughening mechanisms. We demonstrate how mechanical damage evolves in these structures, and further identify that the reinforcement of the mineral by the network of collagen fibers is the principal toughening mechanism resisting such damage. Additionally, we define the anisotropy of the toughness of the scales and relate this to the collagen fiber orientation.
Exercise promotes gain in bone mass through adaptive responses of the vertebrate skeleton. This mechanism counteracts age- and disease-related skeletal degradation, but remains to be fully ...understood. In life sciences, zebrafish emerged as a vertebrate model that can provide new insights into the complex mechanisms governing bone quality. To test the hypothesis that musculoskeletal exercise induces bone adaptation in adult zebrafish and to characterize bone reorganization, animals were subjected to increased physical exercise for four weeks in a swim tunnel experiment. Cellular, structural and compositional changes of loaded vertebrae were quantified using integrated high-resolution analyses. Exercise triggered rapid bone adaptation with substantial increases in bone-forming osteoblasts, bone volume and mineralization. Clearly, modeling processes in zebrafish bone resemble processes in human bone. This study highlights how exercise experiments in adult zebrafish foster in-depth insight into aging-related bone diseases and can thus catalyze the search for appropriate prevention and new treatment options.
We review the development of virtual tests for high-temperature ceramic matrix composites with textile reinforcement. Success hinges on understanding the relationship between the microstructure of ...continuous-fiber composites, including its stochastic variability, and the evolution of damage events leading to failure. The virtual tests combine advanced experiments and theories to address physical, mathematical, and engineering aspects of material definition and failure prediction. Key new experiments include surface image correlation methods and synchrotron-based, micrometer-resolution 3D imaging, both executed at temperatures exceeding 1,500°C. Computational methods include new probabilistic algorithms for generating stochastic virtual specimens, as well as a new augmented finite element method that deals efficiently with arbitrary systems of crack initiation, bifurcation, and coalescence in heterogeneous materials. Conceptual advances include the use of topology to characterize stochastic microstructures. We discuss the challenge of predicting the probability of an extreme failure event in a computationally tractable manner while retaining the necessary physical detail.
Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread medical condition that plays a major role in human bone health. Fracture susceptibility in the context of low vitamin D has been primarily associated with ...defective mineralization of collagenous matrix (osteoid). However, bone's fracture resistance is due to toughening mechanisms at various hierarchical levels ranging from the nano- to the microstructure. Thus, we hypothesize that the increase in fracture risk with vitamin D deficiency may be triggered by numerous pathological changes and may not solely derive from the absence of mineralized bone. We found that the characteristic increase in osteoid-covered surfaces in vitamin D-deficient bone hampers remodeling of the remaining mineralized bone tissue. Using spatially resolved synchrotron bone mineral density distribution analyses and spectroscopic techniques, we observed that the bone tissue within the osteoid frame has a higher mineral content with mature collagen and mineral constituents, which are characteristic of aged tissue. In situ fracture mechanics measurements and synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography of the crack path indicated that vitamin D deficiency increases both the initiation and propagation of cracks by 22 to 31%. Thus, vitamin D deficiency is not simply associated with diminished bone mass. Our analyses reveal the aged nature of the remaining mineralized bone and its greatly decreased fracture resistance. Through a combination of characterization techniques spanning multiple size scales, our study expands the current clinical understanding of the pathophysiology of vitamin D deficiency and helps explain why well-balanced vitamin D levels are essential to maintain bone's structural integrity.
Through a process called perilacunar remodeling, bone-embedded osteocytes dynamically resorb and replace the surrounding perilacunar bone matrix to maintain mineral homeostasis. The vital canalicular ...networks required for osteocyte nourishment and communication, as well as the exquisitely organized bone extracellular matrix, also depend upon perilacunar remodeling. Nonetheless, many questions remain about the regulation of perilacunar remodeling and its role in skeletal disease. Here, we find that suppression of osteocyte-driven perilacunar remodeling, a fundamental cellular mechanism, plays a critical role in the glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis. In glucocorticoid-treated mice, we find that glucocorticoids coordinately suppress expression of several proteases required for perilacunar remodeling while causing degeneration of the osteocyte lacunocanalicular network, collagen disorganization, and matrix hypermineralization; all of which are apparent in human osteonecrotic lesions. Thus, osteocyte-mediated perilacunar remodeling maintains bone homeostasis, is dysregulated in skeletal disease, and may represent an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of osteonecrosis.
All levels of the unique hierarchical structure of bone, consisting of collagen and hydroxyapatite crystals at the nanoscale to osteon/lamellae structures at the microscale, contribute to its ...characteristic toughness and material properties. Elements of bone's density and size contribute to bone quantity (or bone mass), whereas elements of bone's material composition, material properties, internal structure, and organization describe bone quality. Bone quantity and quality can be degraded by factors such as aging, disease, treatments, and irradiation, compromising its ability to resist fracture and sustain loading. Accessing the morphology and architecture of bone at the microscale to quantify microstructural features and assess the degree of mineralization and path of crack propagation in bone provides crucial information on how these factors are influencing bone quantity and quality. Synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (SRμCT) was first used to assess bone structure at the end of the 1990's. One of the main advantages of the technique is that it enables accurate three-dimensional (3D), non-destructive quantification of structure while traditional histomorphometry on histological sections is inherantly destructive to the sample and two-dimensional (2D). Additionally, SRμCT uses monochromatic, high-flux X-ray beams to provide high-resolution and high-contrast imaging of bone samples. This allows the quantification of small microstructural features (e.g. osteocyte lacunae, canals, trabeculae, microcracks) and direct gray value compositional mapping (e.g. mineral quantification, cement lines) with greater speed and fidelity than lab-based micro-computed tomography. In this article, we review how SRμCT has been applied to bone research to elucidate the mechanisms by which bone aging, disease, and other factors affect bone fragility and resistance to fracture.
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