Fiber Laser Cutting of Mild Steel

Fiber laser for materials processing have undergone a rapid development in the pastseveral years. As fiber laser provides a combination of high beam quality and awavelength that is easily absorbed by metal surfaces, the named future laser isexpected to challenge the CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers in the area of metal cutting. This thesis studied the performance of fiber laser cutting mild steel. In the literature review part, it introduced the laser cutting principle and the principle of fiber laser including the newest development of fiber laser cuttingtechnology. Because the fiber laser cutting mild steel is a very young technology, a preliminary test was made in order to investigate effect of the cutting parameters on cut quality. Then the formal fiber laser cutting experiment was madeby using 3 mm thickness S355 steel with oxygen as assistant gas. The experimentwas focused on the cut quality with maximum cutting speed and minimum oxygen gas pressure. And the cut quality is mainly decided by the kerf width, perpendicularity tolerance, surface roughness and striation patterns. After analysis the cutting result, several conclusions were made. Although the best result got in the experiment is not perfect as predicted, the whole result of the test can be accepted. Compared with CO2 laser, a higher cutting speed was achieved by fiber laser with very low oxygen gas pressure. A further improvement about the cutting quality might be possible by proper selection of process parameters. And in order to investigate the cutting performance more clearly, a future study about cutting different thickness mild steel and different shape was recommended.

The effect of oxygen delignification on fiber properties in kraft pulp production - a review

Fiber damages comprise fiber deformations, characterized as fiber curl, kink, dislocations and strength losses as well as some yet unidentified factors. This recently discovered phenomenon is especially evident in mill scale kraftpulps. Laboratory produced pulps tend to have less damages and superior strength properties compared to those produced in pulp mills. Generally fiber damages pose a problem in the production of reinforcement pulp because they tend to decrease the ability of fibers to transmit load. Previous studies on fiber damage have shown that most of the fiber damages occur during brown stock processing starting from cooking and discharging. This literature review gives an overall picture on fiber damages occurring during softwood kraft pulp production with an emphasis on the oxygen delignification stage. In addition the oxygen delignification stage itself is described in more detailed extent in order to understand the mechanisms behind the delignification and fiber damaging effect. The literature available on this subject is unfortunately quite contradictory and implicates a lotof different terms. Only a few studies have been published which help to understand the nature of fiber damages. For that reason the knowledge presented in this work is not only based on previous studies but also on research scientist and mill staff interviews.

Fiber flows in global paper and pulp industry. A panel data approach.

The purpose of this thesis is to study factors that explain the bilateral fiber trade flows. This is done by analyzing bilateral trade flows during 1990-2006. It will be studied also, whether there are differences between fiber types. This thesis uses a gravity model approach to study the trade flows. Gravity model is mostly used to study the aggregate data between trading countries. In this thesis the gravity model is applied to single fibers. This model is then applied to panel data set. Results from the regression show clearly that there are benefits in studying different fibers in separate. The effects differ considerably from each other. Furthermore, this thesis speaks for the existence of Linder’s effect in certain fiber types.

Fabrication technology and applications of fiber Bragg gratings

In this thesis theoretical and technological aspects of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) are considered. The fabrication of uniform and chirped fiber Bragg gratings using phase mask technique has been exploited throughout this study. Different requires of FBG inscription were considered and implemented experimentally to find economical and effective procedure. The hydrogen loading was used as a method for enhancement the photosensitivity of the fiber. The minimum loading time for uniform and chirped fiber Bragg gratings was determined as 3 days and 7 days at T = 50°C and hydrogen pressure 140 bar, respectively. The post-inscription annealing was considered to avoid excess losses induced by the hydrogen. The wavelength evolution during annealing was measured. The strain and temperature sensor application of FBG was considered. The wavelength shifts caused by tension and temperature were studied for both uniform and chirp fiber Bragg gratings.

Fiber-reinforced Composite as Oral Implant Material. Experimental studies of glass fiber and bioactive glass in vitro and in vivo

Fiber-reinforced composite as oral implant material: Experimental studies of glass fiber and bioactive glass in vitro and in vivo Department of Prosthetic Dentistry and Biomaterials Science, Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland 2008. Biocompatibility and mechanical properties are important variables that need to be determined when new materials are considered for medical implants. Special emphasis was placed on these characteristics in the present work, which aimed to investigate the potential of fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) material as an oral implant. Furthermore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of bioactive glass (BAG) on osseointegration of FRC implants. The biocompatibility and mechanical properties of FRC implants were studied both in vitro and in vivo. The mechanical properties of the bulk FRC implant were tested with a cantilever bending test, torsional test and push-out test. The biocompatibility was first evaluated with osteoblast cells cultured on FRC substrates. Bone bonding was determined with the mechanical push-out test and histological as well as histomorplanimetric evaluation. Implant surface was characterized with SEM and EDS analysis. The results of these studies showed that FRC implants can withstand the static load values comparably to titanium. Threaded FRC implants had significantly higher push-out strength than the threaded titanium implants. Cell culture study revealed no cytotoxic effect of FRC materials on the osteoblast-like-cells. Addition of BAG particles enhanced cell proliferation and mineralization of the FRC substrates The in vivo study showed that FRC implants can withstand static loading until failure without fracture. The results also suggest that the FRC implant is biocompatible in bone. The biological behavior of FRC was comparable to that of titanium after 4 and 12 weeks of implantation. Furthermore, addition of BAG to FRC implant increases peri-implant osteogenesis and bone maturation.

Identification of the Emerging Issues in Recycled Fiber Processing

The objectives of this research work “Identification of the Emerging Issues in Recycled Fiber processing” are discovering of emerging research issues and presenting of new approaches to identify promising research themes in recovered paper application and production. The projected approach consists of identifying technological problems often encountered in wastepaper preparation processes and also improving the quality of recovered paper and increasing its proportion in the composition of paper and board. The source of information for the problem retrieval is scientific publications in which waste paper application and production were discussed. The study has exploited several research methods to understand the changes related to utilization of recovered paper. The all assembled data was carefully studied and categorized by applying software called RefViz and CiteSpace. Suggestions were made on the various classes of these problems that need further investigation in order to propose an emerging research trends in recovered paper.

The intrinsic mechanisms of softwood fiber damage in brown stock fiber line unit operations Lappeenranta 2010

The effects of pulp processing on softwood fiber properties strongly influence the properties of wet and dry paper webs. Pulp strength delivery studies have provided observations that much of the strength potential of long fibered pulp is lost during brown stock fiber line operations where the pulp is merely washed and transferred to the subsequent processing stages. The objective of this work was to study the intrinsic mechanisms which maycause fiber damage in the different unit operations of modern softwood brown stock processing. The work was conducted by studying the effects of industrial machinery on pulp properties with some actions of unit operations simulated in laboratory scale devices under controlled conditions. An optical imaging system was created and used to study the orientation of fibers in the internal flows during pulp fluidization in mixers and the passage of fibers through the screen openings during screening. The qualitative changes in fibers were evaluated with existing and standardized techniques. The results showed that each process stage has its characteristic effects on fiber properties: Pulp washing and mat formation in displacement washers introduced fiber deformations especially if the fibers entering the stage were intact, but it did not decrease the pulp strength properties. However, storage chests and pulp transfer after displacement washers contributed to strength deterioration. Pulp screening proved to be quite gentle, having the potential of slightly evening out fiber deformations from very deformed pulps and vice versa inflicting a marginal increase in the deformation indices if the fibers were previously intact. Pulp mixing in fluidizing industrial mixers did not have detrimental effects on pulp strength and had the potential of slightly evening out the deformations, provided that the intensity of fluidization was high enough to allow fiber orientation with the flow and that the time of mixing was short. The chemical and mechanical actions of oxygen delignification had two distinct effects on pulp properties: chemical treatment clearly reduced pulp strength with and without mechanical treatment, and the mechanical actions of process machinery introduced more conformability to pulp fibers, but did not clearly contribute to a further decrease in pulp strength. The chemical composition of fibers entering the oxygen stage was also found to affect the susceptibility of fibers to damage during oxygen delignification. Fibers with the smallest content of xylan were found to be more prone to irreversibledeformations accompanied with a lower tensile strength of the pulp. Fibers poor in glucomannan exhibited a lower fiber strength while wet after oxygen delignification as compared to the reference pulp. Pulps with the smallest lignin content on the other hand exhibited improved strength properties as compared to the references.

Bonding of Composite Resin to Alumina and Zirconia Ceramics with Special Emphasis on Surface Conditioning and Use of Coupling Agents

Dental oxide ceramics have been inspired by their biocompability and mechanical properties which have made durable all-ceramic structures possible. Clinical longevity of the prosthetic structures is dependent on effective bonding with luting cements. As the initial shear bond strength values can be comparable with several materials and procedures, long-term durability is affected by ageing. Aims of the current study were: to measure the shear bond strength of resin composite-to-ceramics and to evaluate the longevity of the bond; to analyze factors affecting the bond, with special emphasis on: the form of silicatization of the ceramic surface; form of silanization; type of resin primer and the effect of the type of the resin composite luting cement; the effect of ageing in water was studied regarding its effect to the endurance of the bond. Ceramic substrates were alumina and yttrium stabilized zirconia. Ceramic conditioning methods included tribochemical silicatization and use of two silane couplings agents. A commercial silane primer was used as a control silane. Various combinations of conditioning methods, primers and resin cements were tested. Bond strengths were measured by shear bond strength method. The longevity of the bond was generally studied by thermocycling the materials in water. Additionally, in one of the studies thermal cycling was compared with long-term water storaging. Results were analysed statistically with ANOVA and Weibull analysis. Tribochemical treatment utilizing air pressure of 150 kPa resulted shear bond strengths of 11.2 MPa to 18.4 MPa and air pressure of 450 kPa 18.2 MPa to 30.5 MPa, respectively. Thermocycling of 8000 cycles or four years water storaging both decreased shear bond strength values to a range of 3.8 MPa to 7.2 MPa whereas initial situation varied from 16.8. Mpa to 23.0 MPa. The silane used in studies had no statistical significance. The use of primers without 10-MDP resulted spontaneous debonding during thermocycling or shear bond strengths below 5 MPa. As conclusion, the results showed superior long-term bonding with primers containing 10-MDP. Silicatization with silanizing showed improved initial shear bond strength values which considerably decreased with ageing in water. Thermal cycling and water storing for up to four years played the major role in reduction of bond strength, which could be due to thermal fatigue of the bonding interface and hydrolytic degradation of the silane coupled interface.

Repair of segmental bone defects with fiber-reinforced composite: a study of material development and an animal model on rabbits

The Repair of segmental defects in load-bearing long bones is a challenging task because of the diversity of the load affecting the area; axial, bending, shearing and torsional forces all come together to test the stability/integrity of the bone. The natural biomechanical requirements for bone restorative materials include strength to withstand heavy loads, and adaptivity to conform into a biological environment without disturbing or damaging it. Fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) materials have shown promise, as metals and ceramics have been too rigid, and polymers alone are lacking in strength which is needed for restoration. The versatility of the fiber-reinforced composites also allows tailoring of the composite to meet the multitude of bone properties in the skeleton. The attachment and incorporation of a bone substitute to bone has been advanced by different surface modification methods. Most often this is achieved by the creation of surface texture, which allows bone growth, onto the substitute, creating a mechanical interlocking. Another method is to alter the chemical properties of the surface to create bonding with the bone – for example with a hydroxyapatite (HA) or a bioactive glass (BG) coating. A novel fiber-reinforced composite implant material with a porous surface was developed for bone substitution purposes in load-bearing applications. The material’s biomechanical properties were tailored with unidirectional fiber reinforcement to match the strength of cortical bone. To advance bone growth onto the material, an optimal surface porosity was created by a dissolution process, and an addition of bioactive glass to the material was explored. The effects of dissolution and orientation of the fiber reinforcement were also evaluated for bone-bonding purposes. The Biological response to the implant material was evaluated in a cell culture study to assure the safety of the materials combined. To test the material’s properties in a clinical setting, an animal model was used. A critical-size bone defect in a rabbit’s tibia was used to test the material in a load-bearing application, with short- and long-term follow-up, and a histological evaluation of the incorporation to the host bone. The biomechanical results of the study showed that the material is durable and the tailoring of the properties can be reproduced reliably. The Biological response - ex vivo - to the created surface structure favours the attachment and growth of bone cells, with the additional benefit of bioactive glass appearing on the surface. No toxic reactions to possible agents leaching from the material could be detected in the cell culture study when compared to a nontoxic control material. The mechanical interlocking was enhanced - as expected - with the porosity, whereas the reinforcing fibers protruding from the surface of the implant gave additional strength when tested in a bone-bonding model. Animal experiments verified that the material is capable of withstanding load-bearing conditions in prolonged use without breaking of the material or creating stress shielding effects to the host bone. A Histological examination verified the enhanced incorporation to host bone with an abundance of bone growth onto and over the material. This was achieved with minimal tissue reactions to a foreign body. An FRC implant with surface porosity displays potential in the field of reconstructive surgery, especially regarding large bone defects with high demands on strength and shape retention in load-bearing areas or flat bones such as facial / cranial bones. The benefits of modifying the strength of the material and adjusting the surface properties with fiber reinforcement and bone-bonding additives to meet the requirements of different bone qualities are still to be fully discovered.

Kytkentäaineet puumuovikomposiiteissa

Puumuovikomposiittien valmistuksessa yhdistetään kaksi toisistaan eroavaa materiaalia jolloin saadaan aikaan materiaalien ominaisuuksien ainutlaatuinen yhdistelmä. Polymeerimateriaaleina käytetään pääasiassa erilaisia kestomuoveja. Kuitumateriaaleina voidaan käyttää puujauhetta, sahanpurua, paperin- ja kartongin valmistuksessa käytettävää sellua, nanoselluloosaa tai muita puukuitumateriaaleja. Polaarisen puukuidun ja polaarittoman muovimateriaalin välinen materiaalien rajapinnan adheesio on yleensä riittämätöntä, mikä vaikuttaa lopputuotteen ominaisuuksien heikkenemiseen. Kyseinen ongelma on pyritty ratkaisemaan käyttämällä erilaisia kytkentäaineita. Tässä työssä keskitytään käsittelemään erilaisia puumuovikomposiittien kytkentäaineita, niiden toimintaa sekä vaikutuksia lopputuotteeseen. Lisäksi työssä esitellään myös puumuovikomposiittien valmistusmateriaaleja ja valmistusprosesseja.

Surface transformation hardening of carbon steel with high power fiber laser

This study investigated the surface hardening of steels via experimental tests using a multi-kilowatt fiber laser as the laser source. The influence of laser power and laser power density on the hardening effect was investigated. The microhardness analysis of various laser hardened steels was done. A thermodynamic model was developed to evaluate the thermal process of the surface treatment of a wide thin steel plate with a Gaussian laser beam. The effect of laser linear oscillation hardening (LLOS) of steel was examined. An as-rolled ferritic-pearlitic steel and a tempered martensitic steel with 0.37 wt% C content were hardened under various laser power levels and laser power densities. The optimum power density that produced the maximum hardness was found to be dependent on the laser power. The effect of laser power density on the produced hardness was revealed. The surface hardness, hardened depth and required laser power density were compared between the samples. Fiber laser was briefly compared with high power diode laser in hardening medium-carbon steel. Microhardness (HV0.01) test was done on seven different laser hardened steels, including rolled steel, quenched and tempered steel, soft annealed alloyed steel and conventionally through-hardened steel consisting of different carbon and alloy contents. The surface hardness and hardened depth were compared among the samples. The effect of grain size on surface hardness of ferritic-pearlitic steel and pearlitic-cementite steel was evaluated. In-grain indentation was done to measure the hardness of pearlitic and cementite structures. The macrohardness of the base material was found to be related to the microhardness of the softer phase structure. The measured microhardness values were compared with the conventional macrohardness (HV5) results. A thermodynamic model was developed to calculate the temperature cycle, Ac1 and Ac3 boundaries, homogenization time and cooling rate. The equations were numerically solved with an error of less than 10-8. The temperature distributions for various thicknesses were compared under different laser traverse speed. The lag of the was verified by experiments done on six different steels. The calculated thermal cycle and hardened depth were compared with measured data. Correction coefficients were applied to the model for AISI 4340 steel. AISI 4340 steel was hardened by laser linear oscillation hardening (LLOS). Equations were derived to calculate the overlapped width of adjacent tracks and the number of overlapped scans in the center of the scanned track. The effect of oscillation frequency on the hardened depth was investigated by microscopic evaluation and hardness measurement. The homogeneity of hardness and hardened depth with different processing parameters were investigated. The hardness profiles were compared with the results obtained with conventional single-track hardening. LLOS was proved to be well suitable for surface hardening in a relatively large rectangular area with considerable depth of hardening. Compared with conventional single-track scanning, LLOS produced notably smaller hardened depths while at 40 and 100 Hz LLOS resulted in higher hardness within a depth of about 0.6 mm.

Characterization of fiber and vessel elements in pulp suspension images

The thesis is related to the topic of image-based characterization of fibers in pulp suspension during the papermaking process. Papermaking industry is focusing on process control optimization and automatization, which makes it possible to manufacture highquality products in a resource-efficient way. Being a part of the process control, pulp suspension analysis allows to predict and modify properties of the end product. This work is a part of the tree species identification task and focuses on analysis of fiber parameters in the pulp suspension at the wet stage of paper production. The existing machine vision methods for pulp characterization were investigated, and a method exploiting direction sensitive filtering, non-maximum suppression, hysteresis thresholding, tensor voting, and curve extraction from tensor maps was developed. Application of the method to the microscopic grayscale pulp images made it possible to detect curves corresponding to fibers in the pulp image and to compute their morphological characteristics. Performance of the method was evaluated based on the manually produced ground truth data. An accuracy of fiber characteristics estimation, including length, width, and curvature, for the acacia pulp images was found to be 84, 85, and 60% correspondingly.

Development of porous glass-fiber reinforced composite for bone implants. Evaluation of antimicrobial effect and implant fixation

Cranial bone reconstructions are necessary for correcting large skull bone defects due to trauma, tumors, infections and craniotomies. Traditional synthetic implant materials include solid or mesh titanium, various plastics and ceramics. Recently, biostable glass-fiber reinforced composites (FRC), which are based on bifunctional methacrylate resin, were introduced as novel implant solution. FRCs were originally developed and clinically used in dental applications. As a result of further in vitro and in vivo testing, these composites were also approved for clinical use in cranial surgery. To date, reconstructions of large bone defects were performed in 35 patients. This thesis is dedicated to the development of a novel FRC-based implant for cranial reconstructions. The proposed multi-component implant consists of three main parts: (i) porous FRC structure; (ii) bioactive glass granules embedded between FRC layers and (iii) a silver-polysaccharide nanocomposite coating. The porosity of the FRC structure should allow bone ingrowth. Bioactive glass as an osteopromotive material is expected to stimulate the formation of new bone. The polysaccharide coating is expected to prevent bacterial colonization of the implant. The FRC implants developed in this study are based on the porous network of randomly-oriented E-glass fibers bound together by non-resorbable photopolymerizable methacrylate resin. These structures had a total porosity of 10–70 volume %, of which > 70% were open pores. The pore sizes > 100 μm were in the biologically-relevant range (50-400 μm), which is essential for vascularization and bone ingrowth. Bone ingrowth into these structures was simulated by imbedding of porous FRC specimens in gypsum. Results of push-out tests indicated the increase in the shear strength and fracture toughness of the interface with the increase in the total porosity of FRC specimens. The osteopromotive effect of bioactive glass is based on its dissolution in the physiological environment. Here, calcium and phosphate ions, released from the glass, precipitated on the glass surface and its proximity (the FRC) and formed bone-like apatite. The biomineralization of the FRC structure, due to the bioactive glass reactions, was studied in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) in static and dynamic conditions. An antimicrobial, non-cytotoxic polysaccharide coating, containing silver nanoparticles, was obtained through strong electrostatic interactions with the surface of FRC. In in vitro conditions the lactose-modified chitosan (chitlac) coating showed no signs of degradation within seven days of exposure to lysozyme or one day to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The antimicrobial efficacy of the coating was tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The contact-active coating had an excellent short time antimicrobial effect. The coating neither affected the initial adhesion of microorganisms to the implant surface nor the biofilm formation after 24 h and 72 h of incubation. Silver ions released to the aqueous environment led to a reduction of bacterial growth in the culture medium.

Improvement of wet and dry web properties in papermaking by controlling water and fiber quality

Pappersindustrin står inför många utmaningar och bör uppfylla krav som ställs av t.ex. marknadstrender och slutanvändare. Snabbare och effektivare processer ställer även större krav på pappersbanans mekaniska egenskaper. Avbrott i produktionen sker inte enbart pga. låg styrka utan orsaken kan även vara en för låg spänning i pappersbanan. De flesta problemen sker vid våtpressen och/eller i början av torkpartiet då papprets torrhalt är 30-70 %. Spänningen hålls inte konstant efter töjning, utan sjunker pga. papprets relaxering, som till största delen sker då pappret flyttas från pressen till torkpartiet. Ur forskningssynvinkel öppnar en smidigt fungerande verksamhet med potentiella energibesparingar upp möjligheterna för förbättring av befintliga processer. I detta arbete undersöktes hur olika faktorer inverkar på fibernätverkets avvattning, initiala våtstyrka och relaxering samt också på slutproduktens mekaniska egenskaper och ytegenskaper. I första delen ändrades processvattnets egenskaper, såsom pH, konduktivitet och ytspänning. Ytspänningen varierades genom tillsatts av ett nonjoniskt ytaktivt ämne, s.k. surfaktant. Fiberegenskaperna modifierades också. Fibern maldes antingen genom en mild eller genom en hård process. Effekten av finmaterial undersöktes genom att tillsätta finmaterial till den ursprungliga massan eller genom att avlägsna finmaterialet från den malda massan. I den sista delen användes en hemicellulosa, som finns i stora mängder i gran, som tillsatsmedel. Förutom naturliga galaktoglukomannaner (GGM), tillverkades också en katjoniserad, en karboximetylerad samt en iminerad, amfifil GGM. Dessa användes i pappersmassa eller sprayades på ytan av ett nybildat ark. Resultaten, som erhölls i denna avhandling, bildar en värdefull kunskapsbas, som kan användas för kontroll och reglering av pappersmaskinens körbarhet och papperskvalitet.