Effects of the addition of boron nitride nanoplate on the fracture toughness, flexural strength, and Weibull Distribution of hydroxyapatite composites prepared by spark plasma sintering.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has inherently low fracture toughness and low flexural strength, thus limiting it from wide scale application as an implant material in the biomedical field. To increase the fracture toughness and flexural strength, HA composites were fabricated by adding boron nitride nanoplatelets (BNNP) as reinforcement. Spark plasma sintering was utilized to achieve fine grain structure.

Precipitation phenomena in Al-Zn-Mg alloy matrix composites reinforced with BC particles.

To provide insight into precipitation phenomena in age-hardening Al-Zn-Mg(-Cu) matrix composites, an Al 7075 alloy composite reinforced with BC particles was selected as a model system. The bulk composites were fabricated via plasma activated sintering and followed by a peak aged (T6) heat treatment. Two types of Al matrix zones were identified in the composite: (1) the regions in the vicinity of the matrix/reinforcement interface, defined as "matrix plastic zone" (MPZ) hereafter, and (2) the regions away from the matrix/reinforcement interface, simply defined as matrix hereafter.

An integrated approach for probing the structure and mechanical properties of diatoms: Toward engineered nanotemplates.

The wide variety of diatom frustule shapes and intricate architectures provide viable prototypes to guide the design and fabrication of nanodevices and nanostructured materials for applications ranging from sensors to nanotemplates. In this study, a combined experimental-simulation method was developed to probe the porous structure and mechanical behavior of two distinct marine diatom species, Coscinodiscus sp. (centric) and Synedra sp.