OBJECT This 2-year experimental study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of a bioactive three-dimensional (3D) fabric disc for lumbar intervertebral disc replacement. The authors used a bioresorbable spinal fixation rod consisting of a forged composite of particulate unsintered hydroxyapatite/poly-L-lactide acid (HA/PLLA) for stability augmentation. The biomechanical and histological alt...

Bacterial nano-cellulose (BNC) is considered to possess incredible potential in biomedical applications due to its innate unrivaled nano-fibrillar structure and versatile properties. However, its use is largely restricted by inefficient production and by insufficient strength when it is in a highly swollen state. In this study, a fabric skeleton reinforced chitosan (CS)/BNC hydrogel with high m...

Viscoelastic properties of woven composite substrates are essential to design dimensionally stable multilayer printed circuit boards. Unlike most existing numerical work which rely on simplified constitutive (elastic) and geometrical models, this study involves a fully three-dimensional viscoelastic model of a plain weave composite with accurate characterization of the woven geometry. Compariso...

The options for the fibre reinforcement of polymer matrix composites cover a range from short-fibre chopped strand mat, through woven fabric to unidirectional pre-impregnated (prepreg) reinforcements. The modelling of such materials may be simplified by assumptions such as perfect regular packing of fibres and the total absence of fibre waviness. However, these and other features such as the cr...

Introduction Engineering textiles used in composite materials can be considered as porous materials because of the open spaces between the fibers in a bundle and between the woven bundles themselves. These spaces are commonly referred to as microscopic and mesoscopic pores. The dual scale porosity of fibrous reinforcements is of great importance when studying Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) proc...

Glass fabric reinforced thermoplastic (GFRT) constitutes a class of composite materials that are especially suited for automobile construction due to their combination low weight, ease production and mechanical properties. However, in the manufacturing process, during forming prefabricated laminates, defects glass as well polymer matrix can occur, which may compromise safety or lifetime compone...