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The effects of different particle size distributions on the real-time hydration of tricalcium silicate cement paste were studied in situ by quasi-elastic neutron scattering. The changing state of water in the cement system was followed as a function both of cement hydration time and of temperature for different initial particle size distributions. It was found that the length of the initial, dormant, induction period, together with the kinetics of hydration product nucleation and growth, depends on the hydration temperature but not on the particle size distribution. However, initial particle size does affect the total amount of cement hydrated, with finer particle size producing more hydrated cement. Furthermore, the diffusion-limited rate of hydration at later hydration time is largely determined by the initial tricalcium silicate particle size distribution.

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The metal foams of a titanium alloy were designed to study porosity as well as pore size and shape independently. These were manufactured using a powder metallurgy/space-holder technique that allowed a fine control of the pore size and morphology; and then characterized and tested against well-established models to predict a relationship between porosity, pore size and shape, and bulk stiffness. Among the typically used correlations, existing power-law models were found to be the best fit for the prediction of macropore morphology against compressive elastic moduli, outperforming other models such as exponential, polynomial or binomial. Other traditional models such as linear ones required of updated coefficients to become relevant to metal porous sintered macrostructures. The new coefficients reported in this study contribute toward a design tool that allows the tailoring of mechanical properties through porosity macrostructure. The results show that, for the same porosity range, pore shape and orientation have a significant effect on mechanical performance and that they can be predicted. Conversely, pore size has only a mild impact on bulk stiffness.

The submmed manuscript has been authored by a cmtractor of the Us. Government under contract No. M-AC05-840R21400. Accorcbngi~, the U.S. Govermnent retams a ~x c ! u s N B. royalty-frm license to p u M or reproduce the published form of connauaOn. or allow o m s to do so, for US. Government purposes.

Porous scaffolds manufactured via powder metallurgy and sintering were designed for their structure (i.e. pore size and porosity) and mechanical properties (stiffness, strength) to be controlled and tailored to mimic those of human bone. The scaffolds were realised to fulfil three main objectives: (i) to obtain values of stiffness and strength similar to those of trabecular (or spongy) bone, with a view of exploiting these as bone grafts that permit cell regeneration, (ii) to establish a relationship between stiffness, strength and density that allows tailoring for mass customisation to suit patient's needs; and (iii) to assess alloy cytotoxicity and biocompatibility via in vitro studies. The results obtained using a very low stiffness alloy (Ti35Nb4Sn) further lowered with the introduction of nominal porosity (30-70%) with pores in the ranges 180-300 µm and 300-500 µm showed compatibility for anatomical locations typically subjected to implantation and bone grafting (femoral head and proximal tibia). The regression fitting parameters for the linear and power law regressions were similar to those found for bone specimens, confirming a structure favourable to capillary network formation. Biological tests confirmed non-cytotoxicicity of the alloy. Scaffolds of porosity nominal 50%vol and pore range 300-500 µm performed best in the adhesion and propagation assays due to a good balance between surface area and pore cavity volume.