Jinming Guo

Transmission electron microscopical study of teenage crown dentin on the nanometer scale

This is the first transmission electron microscopic study of teenage crown dentin on the nanometer scale. Samples for TEM were prepared by mechanical thinning and chemical polishing that allowed obtaining the electron transparent foils. It was firstly shown that human dentin possesses the layered morphology: the layers are oriented normally to the main axis of a tooth and have the thickness of ~50nm. HA inorganic phase of teenage crown dentin is in the amorphous state. The cellular structure, which was formed from collagen fibers (diameter is ~5nm), are observed near DEJ region in teenage dentin, whereas bioorganic phase of teenage crown dentin near the pulp camera does not contain the collagen fibers. Cracks in dentin thin foils have sharp tips, but big angles of opening (~30°) with plastic zone ahead crack tip. It means that young crown human dentin exhibits ductile or viscous-elastic fracture behavior on the nanometer scale.

Microstructural and texture evolution of copper-(chromium, molybdenum, tungsten) composites deformed by high-pressure-torsion

Abstract Cu-refractory metal composites containing Cr, Mo or W were subjected to severe plastic deformation using room temperature high-pressure torsion (HPT). A lamellar microstructure developed in each of the composites at equivalent strains of ∼75. The refractory metals developed {hkl}⟨111⟩ fibre textures with a slight tilt to the tangential direction. This texture was stronger and more clearly defined in Mo and W than in Cr. By applying additional HPT deformation to these samples, perpendicular to the original shear strain, it was found that the lamellar structure of Cu30Mo70 and Cu20W80 (wt%) composites could be retained at high equivalent strains and the refractory layer thickness could be reduced to 20–50 nm in Cu20W80 and 10–20 nm in Cu30Mo70. Although neighbouring regions of the microstructure were aligned and there was evidence of local texture in both composites, the bulk texture of Cu30Mo70 became weaker during this second step of HPT deformation. This was attributed to the refractory metal lamellae being discontinuous and imperfectly aligned. This work shows that it is possible to form ultrafine composites of Cu-group VI refractory metals via high-pressure torsion, with namolamellar structures being possible where there is a sufficient volume fraction of Mo or W.

Fracture mechanism of coronal teenage dentin

The structure of coronal teenage dentin and the development of cracks in it are studied on microand nanolevels. The material is found to fail according to a ductile mechanism on a microlelvel and according to a ductile–brittle mechanism on a nanoscale. This behavior is similar to the failure of a polyethylene film and rubber, when significant elastic and irreversible deformation precedes crack growth. The viscoelastic behavior can be considered as the reaction of dentin to an applied mechanical load.