A Comprehensive Study of a Novel Explosively Hardened Pure Titanium Alloy for Medical Applications.

Pure titanium is gaining increasing interest due to its potential use in dental and orthopedic applications. Due to its relatively weak mechanical parameters, a limited number of components manufactured from pure titanium are available on the market. In order to improve the mechanical parameters of pure titanium, manufacturers use alloys containing cytotoxic vanadium and aluminum.

Research on Explosive Hardening of Titanium Grade 2.

In this investigation, three different explosive materials have been used to improve the properties of titanium grade 2: ammonal, emulsion explosives, and plastic-bonded explosives. In order to establish the influence of explosive hardening on the properties of the treated alloys, tests were conducted, including microhardness testing, microstructure analysis, and tensile and corrosion tests. It has been found that it is possible to achieve a 40% increase in tensile strength using a plastic explosive (PBX) as an explosive material.

Comparative laser spectroscopy diagnostics for ancient metallic artefacts exposed to environmental pollution.

Metal artworks are subjected to corrosion and oxidation processes due to reactive agents present in the air, water and in the ground that these objects have been in contact with for hundreds of years. This is the case for archaeological metals that are recovered from excavation sites, as well as artefacts exposed to polluted air. Stabilization of the conservation state of these objects needs precise diagnostics of the accrued surface layers and identification of original, historical materials before further protective treatments, including safe laser cleaning of unwanted layers.