This study investigates the influence of different scan strategies, specifically scan rotation (0°, 67°, and 90°) and remelting (Double 67° and Double 90°), on the microstructure evolution, residual stress distribution, cracking behavior and mechanical properties of CM247LC superalloy fabricated by powder bed fusion–laser beam (PBF–LB). Scan strategy significantly impacts micro-cracking susceptibility, crystallographic texture, and residual stress distribution. The micro-cracking which is confirmed as solidification cracking occurred in high angle grain boundaries. The micro-cracking decreased progressively from 2.50 mm/mm2 (0° strategy) to 0.30 mm/mm2 (Double 90°), accompanied by improved strength-ductility synergy. The micro-cracking reduction was attributed to promotion of <100> crystallographic texture along build direction and a 20
Blended cements are gaining increasing popularity due to their lower CO2-footprint in comparison to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). However, this growing use raises the potential risk of buildings made with blended cement concrete being exposed to fire, which can lead to heavy damages caused by explosive concrete spalling. It has already been shown that the cement type strongly influences the fire-induced concrete spalling and the thermally induced moisture transport, however, to understand the mechanisms behind these findings the thermal decomposition behavior of the cementitious matrix must be investigated more systematically. Therefore, the phase content of three blended cement pastes (CEM II/A-LL, CEM III/A and CEM II/B-Q) was studied in comparison with a Portland cement paste (CEM I) after temperature exposure to 20 °C, 105 °C, 300 °C and 500 °C. Clear differences in the initial phase composition and their dehydration behavior between the individual cement types were recognized. In conclusion, blended cements showed lower amounts of AFt and AFm phases and additionally lower amounts of portlandite and C-(A)-S-H were found in CEM III/A and CEM II/B-Q pastes. The results suggest that higher AFt and AFm contents in CEM I, which are associated with greater water release at relatively low temperatures may ultimately reduce the spalling risk. Furthermore, C-(A)-S-H in CEM III/A and CEM II/B-Q showed increased thermal stability and large amounts of non-hydrated phases were found in every blended cement paste. Both of those aspects might contribute to thermomechanical spalling and the overall increased spalling susceptibility observed in blended cement concrete.
3D printing is increasingly utilized in dentistry. Compared to traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing provides advantages such as faster production times and the ability to create complex structures. Although biocompatible materials are available, many are only suitable for temporary applications. This study examines the impact of nitrogen-aided post-processing on the mechanical properties and cytotoxicity of 3D-printed denture bases, with the hypothesis that this post-processing will enhance material properties and decrease cytotoxicity. Specimens were fabricated from V-print dentbase (Voco GmbH, Cuxhaven, Germany) and post-processed either in nitrogen or air. The specimens were categorized into aged and non-aged groups. For comparison, specimens made from milled material were utilized. Vickers hardness, flexural strength, polishability, cytotoxicity, and degree of conversion were then assessed for all groups. The data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test for multiple comparisons, with a significance threshold of p < 0.05. Post-curing with nitrogen improved the degree of conversion, surface hardness, and biocompatibility of 3D-printed dental materials, confirming reduced cytotoxicity without impairing mechanical properties. Nitrogen increased polymerization and decreased harmful monomers, making it ideal for clinical applications in contact with the oral mucosa. Optimizing post-processing steps, such as curing in nitrogen, enhances biocompatibility while maintaining strength and hardness, ensuring better patient care in dental applications.
Abstract Machine-learning interatomic potentials are widely used as computationally efficient surrogates for density functional theory in atomistic simulations, enabling large-scale and long-time modeling of materials systems. Here, we investigate how different fine-tuning strategies affect the prediction of harmonic phonon band structures, thermal and elastic properties, and the potential-energy surface along unstable phonon modes. We show that substantial improvements can be achieved with very limited additional data, with as few as 10 material-specific training structures. We investigate targeted L 2 -SP ( L 2 -TSP) for this application, combining regularization toward the pre-trained model with selective fine-tuning of the first two representation-building layers, alongside transfer learning and multihead fine-tuning, with an additional comparison to low-rank LoRA for phonon prediction. Across 53 materials, L 2 -TSP achieves the most consistent overall performance, reducing phonon errors while also improving predictions of thermodynamic and elastic properties. Importantly, models with similar harmonic phonon accuracy can differ substantially in their prediction of dynamical instabilities and phase-transition behavior. Among the investigated approaches, L 2 -TSP shows the best overall agreement in dynamical-stability classification and in recovering the associated DFT reference phases, demonstrating improved generalization beyond the fine-tuning region. We implement L 2 -SP and L 2 -TSP in Equitrain , a model-agnostic software package for training and fine-tuning machine-learning interatomic potentials that can be applied beyond the MACE architecture considered here.
Clinker-reduced cements are gaining in popularity as part of efforts to lower the construction industry’s CO2 footprint. Past studies showed that utilization of these cements negatively influences the fire-induced spalling behavior of concrete, which is highly influenced by thermohydraulic damage mechanisms. Therefore, thermally induced moisture transport in normal strength concretes made with different types of blended cements (CEM I, CEM II/A-LL, CEM III/A and CEM II/B-Q) was investigated by means of 1H-NMR relaxometry in combination with supportive side investigations concerning permeability and porosity. In addition, a numerical model was used to analyze in-situ moisture development during high temperature exposure. The results show that the cement type influences both initial moisture content and pore size-specific moisture distribution. This was primarily reflected in an increased water content in CEM III/A and CEM II/B-Q concretes as well as a comparable high gel pore water fraction in CEM II/B-Q concrete before heating. After heating, a similar degree of pore coarsening from gel to capillary pore was observed in all samples. Although the measurements were only conducted after, not during, high temperature exposure, the depth of the drying front and the extent of the moisture clog could be determined. With the additional numerical analysis, it can be assumed that during high temperature load, the drying front is less advanced and the moisture clog even more pronounced. In conclusion, it can be stated that the increased spalling susceptibility in blended cement concrete is caused by the lower initial permeability and increased moisture content.
