The 9th Global Conference on Polymer and Composite Materials (PCM 2022)

Abstract: Biomaterials are composed of some of the same materials as those used in non-medical applications (such as automobile, aerospace, consumer goods, etc.). While these other fields have moved away from using materials that are not environmentally friendly (such as those which contribute to greenhouse gases, are not environmentally degradable, have a large carbon footprint, etc.), the medical device community continues to use non-environmentally friendly plastics, metals, and other materials throughout medicine. This is despite the fact that numerous agencies have found that medical devices contribute to a large component of waste causing greenhouse gases. This is also despite the fact that plastics have been predicted to contribute 2.8 gigatons of CO2 emissions by 2050, up from 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2019 with only 16% of plastics currently being recycled. This presentation will highlight the current failures of the medical device industry in promoting the environmentally safe production as well as the use of products that can decrease greenhouse emissions. It will also highlight recent research on the use of natural as well as biodegradable materials for a wide range of medical applications. Most importantly, it will highlight that we need a paradigm shift in all fields, not just non-medical fields but most importantly in medical fields, to reduce greenhouse emissions to reduce global warming.

Keywords: Biomaterials, Global Warming, Green, Recycled

Abstract: Advanced composite materials have high specific strength and stiffness and, together with automatic fabrication processes, enable the production of cost- and weight-efficient composite structures. Within this scope, adjusting the composite lay-up to the load-preferential directions is particularly effective in reaching efficient solutions. In several applications, such as aerospace, aeronautical and automotive industries, the structures’ complexity requires joining separately-produced components to form the final structure. Adhesive joining of composite structures is particularly attractive, enabling to prevent weakening induced by holes, the combination of composites with different materials, lighter joints, and new designs. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is the most common technique for adhesive joints, using different approaches: continuum mechanics, fracture mechanics, Cohesive Zone Modelling (CZM), damage mechanics, and the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM). This work addresses the CZM numerical technique for strength prediction of adhesive joints, including a general description of CZM applied to the strength prediction of bonded joints. The most common techniques for estimation of the cohesive laws, essential as input in the numerical simulations, are then addressed. The application of CZM techniques to adhesively-bonded composite joints is divided into fracture property estimation, static strength prediction for general purpose joints, curved joints, sandwich structures with composite skins and impact applications.

Abstract: Much effort is currently being devoted to studying nanomaterials, mainly due to their wide variety of applications. Particularly, nanoparticles have generated a large research effort because their properties differ markedly from those of their bulk counterparts. Many different approaches have been applied to the fabrication of nano-entity, such as co-precipitation, microemulsion, supercritical sol-gel processing, hydrothermal synthesis, or high energy ball milling. Directed to the problems of these conventional methods, new synthetic methods have received increased attention in recent years. Cavitation, an approach for synthesizing various compounds at milder conditions, is already the rage in materials engineering. The major advantage of this new method is that it affords a reliable and facile route for controlling both the synthetic process and nanostructure in advanced materials. Also, this process provides chemical homogeneity and reactivity through atomic-level mixing within the precursor system, and phase pure crystalline materials can be prepared by annealing at reduced temperatures. Various nanomaterials and nanodispersions have been generated using this technique to develop biosensors and other applications. More importantly, novel carbon materials such as Graphene and Fullerene have been exploited for the functionalization and in the development of nanocomposites to be employed in the sensors.

References
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Abstract: During the last three decades, carbon-based composite coatings have enjoyed a growing interest in several industrial applications. By tuning the carbon sp3-to-sp2 atomic bonding ratio and by alloying the carbon with other elements, the researchers have been able to tailor unique physical, mechanical, and tribological composite properties in order to satisfy an increased technological demand.
In the first part of the talk we will show how carbon-based composite coatings can be deposited at industrial scale onto steel bearings using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (PACVD) techniques at low temperatures. The main deposition methods will be reviewed.
In the second part of the talk, we will explain how is possible to deposit films with different amount of sp2-sp3 bonding ratios by just changing fundamental deposition parameters, leading to six different microstructures: graphite, non-hydrogenated a-C (amorphous) and ta-C (tetrahedral) carbon coatings, hydrogenated a-C:H and ta-C:H films, and a soft polymeric coatings. Furthermore, the mechanical and tribological properties of the different microstructures will be discussed.
In the last part of the talk, we will describe the main applications of SKF’s NoWear® carbon-based composite coated bearings to extend maintenance and life expectancy of specialized bearings in wind generators.