• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.96-107
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• 2022

PURPOSE. Microstructural and physico-mechanical characterization of highly translucent zirconia, prepared by milling technology (CAD-CAM) and repeated firing cycles, was the main aim of this in vitro study. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Two groups of samples of two commercial highly-translucent yttria-stabilized dental zirconia, VITA YZ-HT^White (Group A) and Zolid HT + White (Group B), with dimensions according to the ISO 6872 "Dentistry - Ceramic materials", were prepared. The specimens of each group were divided into two subgroups. The specimens of the first subgroups (Group A₁ and Group B₁) were merely the sintered specimens. The specimens of the second subgroups (Group A₂ and Group B₂) were subjected to 4 heat treatment cycles. The microstructural features (microstructure, density, grain size, crystalline phases, and crystallite size) and four mechanical properties (flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, Vickers hardness, and fracture toughness) of the subgroups (i.e. before and after heat treatment) were compared. The statistical significance between the subgroups (A₁/A₂, and B₁/B₂) was evaluated by the t-test. In all tests, P values smaller than 5% were considered statistically significant. RESULTS. A homogenous microstructure, with no residual porosity and grains sized between 500 and 450 nm for group A and B, respectively, was observed. Crystalline yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia was exclusively registered in the X-ray diffractograms. The mechanical properties decreased after the heat treatment procedure, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION. The produced zirconia ceramic materials can be safely (i.e., according to the ISO 6872) used in extensive fixed prosthetic restorations, such as substructure ceramics for three-unit prostheses involving the molar restoration and substructure ceramics for prostheses involving four or more units. Consequently, milling technology is an effective manufacturing technology for producing zirconia substructures for dental fixed all-ceramic prosthetic restorations.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.163-172
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• 2014

The purpose of earthquake resistant design for typical bridges is the No Collapse Design and the Earthquake Resistant Design Part of Roadway Bridge Design Code provides a design process to construct the Ductile Failure Mechanism for the bridge structure. However, if it is not practical to provide the Ductile Failure Mechanism due to structure types or site conditions, the Brittle Failure Mechanism is an alternative way to get the No Collapse Design. As well as the existing design process constructing the Ductile Failure Mechanism, the Earthquake Resistant Design Part provides a ductility-based design process as an appendix, which is prepared for bridges with reinforced concrete piers. According to the new design process, designer determines a required response modification factor for substructure and transverse reinforcement for confinement therefrom. In this study, a typical bridge with steel bearing connections and reinforced concrete piers is selected for which the existing as well as the ductility-based design processes are applied and different results from the two design processes are identified. Based on the results, an earthquake resistant design procedure is proposed in which designers should consider the two design processes.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.82-96
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• 2019

A semi-submersible structure has been widely used for offshore drilling and production of oil and gas. The small water plane area makes the structure very sensitive to weight increase in terms of payload and stability. Therefore, it is necessary to lighten the substructure from the early design stage. This study aims at an optimization of hull structure based on a sophisticated yield and buckling strength in accordance with classification rules. An in-house strength assessment system is developed to automate the procedure such as a generation of buckling panels, a collection of required panel information, automatic buckling and yield check and so on. The developed system enables an automatic yield and buckling strength check of all panels composing the hull structure at each iteration of the optimization. Design variables are plate thickness and stiffener section profiles. In order to overcome the difficulty of large number of design variables and the computational burden of FE analysis, various methods are proposed. The steepest descent method is selected as the optimization algorithm for an efficient search. For a reduction of the number of design variables and a direct application to practical design, the stiffener section variable is determined by selecting one from a pre-defined standard library. Plate thickness is also discretized at 0.5t interval. The number of FE analysis is reduced by using equations to analytically estimating the stress changes in gradient calculation and line search steps. As an endeavor to robust optimization, the number of design variables to be simultaneously optimized is divided by grouping the scantling variables by the plane. A sequential optimization is performed group by group. As a verification example, a central column of a semi-submersible structure is optimized and compared with a conventional optimization of all design variables at once.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-35
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• 1980

The purpose of this study was to investigate stresses in the various components of fixed partial dentures restoring the posterior teeth of the lower jaw, and to measure quantitatively the effects of certain modifications in structural design on the stresses in the restorations using two-dimensional photoelasticity. Two-dimensional photoelastic methods were used in this study. Several models of fixed partial dentures were constructed. Shoulder less margins and anatomic occlusal reduction were incorporated in Model 1. Rounded shoulders and flat occlusal reduction were incorporated in Model 2, while Model 3 was a cantilever fixed partial denture. Other similar fixed partial dentures were constructed with V and U notches deliverately included in the region of the fixed joints for comparative reasons. The birefringent materials used in this study were PSM-1 and PSM-5 in standard sheets. PSM-1 was used for constructing the substructure, and PSM-5 was used in making the components of the fixed partial dentures. The two materials were used in the construction of composite photoelastic models. Improved artificial stone was used to represent dental cement in luting the composite photoelastic models. Static loading procedures were used at preplanned sites to represent occlusal loads in the mouth. 35 mm color and B/W film were used to record isochromatics in accordance with photoelastic procedures. Data reduction was performed using the grid method, which helped in, the mathematical integration procedure (Shear difference method) to separate the principal stresses. The results were as follows. 1. Fixed partial dentures do not function in bending as a symmetrical beam. Alternate areas of tension and compression were demonstrated when multiple contact loading was used. 2. The weakest part in posterior fixed partial dentures is the fixed joint. 3. (1) Models I and modified Model I were loaded on the pontic using a 50 pound vertical static load. The shear stress near the posterior fixed joint in Model 1 (U notches) was+129.4 p.s.i., and at the same fixed joint in modified Model 1 (V notches) was+239.4 p.s.i. The concentration of stress in fixed joint was reduced by 50% when U notches replaced the V notches. (2) Modified Model 2 was loaded using a multiple contact loader at a total load of 125 pounds. The difference between the principal stresses (${\sigma}_1-{\sigma}_2$), shear stress, at the V notches was+600 p.s.i., and at the U notches was+3l7 p.s.i. The shear stress was reduced by 50% when U notches replaced the V notches. V-grooves at the fixed joints should be avoided, and should be replaced by regular shaped U-grooves. 4. Cantilever fixed partial dentures had much higher stresses at the fixed joint than fixed partial dentures that were attached at both ends.