<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The use of structured measuring systems to prevent wall slip is a common approach to obtain absolute rheological values. Typically, only the minimum distance between the measuring surfaces is used for further calculation, implying that no flow occurs between the structural elements. But this assumption is misleading, and a gap correction is necessary. To determine the radius correction <jats:inline-formula><jats:alternatives><jats:tex-math>$$\Delta r$$</jats:tex-math><mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi> <mml:mi>r</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math></jats:alternatives></jats:inline-formula> for specific geometries, we conducted investigations on three Newtonian fluids (two silicon oils and one suspension considered to be Newtonian in the relevant shear rate range). The results show that <jats:inline-formula><jats:alternatives><jats:tex-math>$$\Delta r$$</jats:tex-math><mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi> <mml:mi>r</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math></jats:alternatives></jats:inline-formula> is not only shear- and material-independent, but geometry-dependent, providing a Newtonian flow behaviour in a similar viscosity range. Therefore, a correction value can be determined with only minute deviations in different Newtonian fluids. As the conducted laboratory measurements are very time-consuming and expensive, a CFD-approach with only very small deviations was additionally developed and compared for validation purposes. Therefore, simulation is an effective and resource-efficient alternative to the presented laboratory measurements to determine <jats:inline-formula><jats:alternatives><jats:tex-math>$$\Delta r$$</jats:tex-math><mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi> <mml:mi>r</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math></jats:alternatives></jats:inline-formula> for the correction of structured coaxial geometries even for non-Newtonian fluids in the future.</jats:p>

In the laser sintering technology, the semi-crystalline polymer material is exposed to elevated temperatures during processing, which leads to serious material ageing for most materials. This has already been investigated intensively by various authors. However, the ageing of the material at ambient temperatures during shelf life has not been the focus so far. The need to analyse the shelf life can be derived from an ecological and economic point of view. This work is focusing on the shelf life of PA2200 (PA12). To reduce the potential influences of powder production fluctuations, two different powder batches stored for 5.5 years and 6.5 years are investigated and compared to a reference powder produced 0.5 years before these investigations. Multiple powder analyses and part characterisations have been performed. A significant yellowing and molecular chain length reduction can be derived from the measurement results. Whereas the influence on mechanical part performance was minor, the parts built with the stored powders are more yellowish. As it is most likely that this is due to the consumption of polyamide stabilisers, it can be assumed that these parts will be subject to significantly faster ageing. Therefore, it is still not recommended to use the stored powders for critical parts or light intense and humid environments.

The laser sintering (LS) process has been a very established Additive Manufacturing (AM) process for many years. Disadvantages of LS are the low material variety and the thermal damage of the not processed material. The low temperature laser sintering attacks at this point and processes powder material at a build chamber temperature lower than the recrystallization temperature. This drastic reduction in temperature results in significantly less thermal damage to the material. This work deals with the low temperature laser sintering (LTLS) of polyamide 12 (PA12) on a commercial, unmodified laser sintering system to compare it to standardly laser sintered PA12 and to create the basis for low temperature laser sintering of high temperature materials on such a system. Initial results by changing the exposure parameters and by fixing parts on a build platform show a processing of PA12 on an EOS P396 at a build chamber temperature of 80 °C instead of standard approx. 175 °C which prevents thermal damage of the material. An extensive study of exposure parameters was carried out and the mechanical properties were considered. Furthermore, a first transfer of the method and the results to PA6 was obtained.

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Further innovation in the field of selective laser sintering (SLS) is strongly connected to the availability of new materials since the market is dominated by polyamide 12 (&gt;90%). The aim of this publication is to develop a descriptive model for the droplet formation process in a Filament Extension Atomizer to predict the applicability to exploit further polymers for the SLS process. The feasibility was tested, investigated and characterized using a “Dripping out of a nozzle” setup for uniaxial extension. The droplet formation process was then observed via high-speed camera imaging and classified for certain parameters. The experiments were carried out using semi-diluted polyethylene oxide (600–4000 kg/mol), glycerol and water solutions as model fluids. Driven by the Plateau-Rayleigh instability, different types of spherical droplets were observed and various droplet formation mechanisms demonstrated and analyzed. Based on the experimental results, a predictive model is derived to describe various essential parameters.</jats:p>

Additive Manufacturing provides the opportunity to produce tailored and complex structures economically. The use of lattice structures in combination with a thermoplastic elastomer enables the generation of structures with configurable properties by varying the cell parameters. Since there is only little knowledge about the producibility of lattice structures made of TPE in the laser sintering process and the resulting mechanical properties, different kinds of lattice structures are investigated within this work. The cell type, cell size and strut thickness of these structures are varied and analyzed. Within the experimental characterization of Dodecahedron-cell static and cyclic compression tests of sandwich structures are focused. The material exhibits hyperelastic and plastic properties and also the Mullins-Effect. For the later design of real TPE structures, the use of numerical methods helps to reduce time and costs. The preceding experimental investigations are used to develop a concept for the numerical modeling of TPE lattice structures.

Confidence in additive manufacturing technologies is directly related to the predictability of part properties, which is influenced by several factors. To gain confidence, online process monitoring with dedicated and reliable feedback is desirable for every process. In this project, a powder bed monitoring system was developed as a retrofit solution for the EOS P3 laser sintering machines. A high-resolution camera records each layer, which is analyzed by a Region-Based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN). Over 2500 images were annotated and classified to train the network in detecting defects in the powder bed at a very high level. Each defect is checked for intersection with exposure areas. To distinguish between acceptable imperfections and critical defects that lead to part rejection, the impact of these imperfections on part properties is investigated.

Luftreiniger werden derzeit häufig als mögliches Hilfsmittel zur Minimierung des Infektionsrisikos im Rahmen der COVID-19-Pandemie diskutiert. Dabei taucht oft die Frage auf, ob Luftreiniger grundsätzlich in der Lage sind, Viren oder virenbeladene Tröpfchen abzuscheiden. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, die wesentlichen Grundlagen der Wirkungsweise von Luftreinigern und Filtern zu beschreiben, Methoden zur Messung der Reinigungswirkung im Größenbereich von Viren und virenbeladenen Tröpfchen aufzuzeigen sowie typische Szenarien zum Betrieb von Luftreinigern in einem mathematischen Modell zu erfassen. Darauf basierend können die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen von Luftreinigern für reale Anwendungsfälle besser eingeschätzt werden.

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This paper presents the results of an interlaboratory study of the rheological properties of cement paste and ultrasound gel as reference substance. The goal was to quantify the comparability and reproducibility of measurements of the Bingham parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity when measured on one specific paste composition and one particular ultrasound gel in different laboratories using different rheometers and measurement geometries. The procedures for both in preparing the cement paste and carrying out the rheological measurements on cement paste and ultrasound gel were carefully defined for all of the study’s participants. Different conversion schemes for comparing the results obtained with the different measurement setups are presented here and critically discussed. The procedure proposed in this paper ensured a reasonable comparability of the results with a coefficient of variation for the yield stress of 27% and for the plastic viscosity of 24%, despite the individual measurement series’ having been performed in different labs with different rheometers and measurement geometries.</jats:p>

For gas phase nanoparticle production, hot wall reactors are widely used. In this article, we will describe the fundamental design considerations for a hot wall reactor system able to produce oxide nanoparticles. The system is outstanding in its ability to produce mostly spherical nanoparticles at particle sizes of up to 100 nm and even larger at mass outputs in the order of grams per hour by being able to rapidly quench the aerosol. While high production rates or larger particle sizes are already easily obtained with hot wall reactors, it is very challenging to produce these spherical particles at high mass rates. We will show in this research that the temperature and the particle number concentration are the major aspects influencing the particle morphology at the end of the process. Investigation on the performance of the setup shows good control over the temperature and the particle production stability. A representative particle characterization using SEM and scanning mobility particle sizer showed that particles are mostly spherical, while the particle size distribution had a geometric standard deviation close to 1.5. In addition to the aspects mentioned above, a possibility to manipulate the aggregation downstream of the reactor is to be presented as well. We found that applying electrical charges to the aerosol particles (in opposite polarity) can significantly foster aggregation.

This paper presents the results of an interlaboratory study of the rheological properties of cement paste and ultrasound gel as reference substance. The goal was to quantify the comparability and reproducibility of measurements of the Bingham parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity when measured on one specific paste composition and one particular ultrasound gel in different laboratories using different rheometers and measurement geometries. The procedures for both in preparing the cement paste and carrying out the rheological measurements on cement paste and ultrasound gel were carefully defined for all of the study’s participants. Different conversion schemes for comparing the results obtained with the different measurement setups are presented here and critically discussed. The procedure proposed in this paper ensured a reasonable comparability of the results with a coefficient of variation for the yield stress of 27% and for the plastic viscosity of 24%, despite the individual measurement series’ having been performed in different labs with different rheometers and measurement geometries.

<jats:p>Since suspensions (e.g., in food, cement, or cosmetics industries) tend to show wall slip, the application of structured measuring surfaces in rheometers is widespread. Usually, for parallel-plate geometries, the tip-to-tip distance is used for calculation of absolute rheological values, which implies that there is no flow behind this distance. However, several studies show that this is not true. Therefore, the measuring gap needs to be corrected by adding the effective gap extension δ to the prescribed gap height H in order to obtain absolute rheological properties. In this paper, we determine the effective gap extension δ for different structures and fluids (Newtonian, shear thinning, and model suspensions that can be adjusted to the behavior of real fluids) and compare the corrected values to reference data. We observe that for Newtonian fluids a gap- and material-independent correction function can be derived for every measuring system, which is also applicable to suspensions, but not to shear thinning fluids. Since this relation appears to be mainly dependent on the characteristics of flow behaviour, we show that the calibration of structured measuring systems is possible with Newtonian fluids and then can be transferred to suspensions up to a certain particle content.</jats:p>

Monodisperse micron-sized silica particle monolayers deposited onto plasma-grown SiOx-ultra-thin films have been used as reference systems to investigate wetting, water adsorption and capillary bridge formation as a function of silica surface functionalization. 1H,1H, 2H,2H perfluorooctyltriethoxysil (FOTS) monolayers, have been deposited on the respective surfaces by means of chemical vapor deposition resulting in macroscopically low energy surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) reflection absorption spectroscopy confirmed the monolayer formation. Water adsorption isotherms were studied by a combination of in-situ FTIR reflection spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) while macroscopic wetting was analysed by contact angle measurements. The comparative data evaluation indicates that the macroscopic wetting behaviour was changed as expected, however, that water nanodroplets formed both at intrinsic defects of the FOTS monolayer and at the FOTS/SiOx interface. Capillary bridges of liquid water are dominantly formed in the confined particle contact areas and between surface asperities on the particles. The comparison of wetting, adsorption and capillary bridge formation shows that the hydrophobization of porous materials by organosilane monolayers leads to the formation of morphology dependent nanoscopic defects that act as sites for preferential capillary bridge formation.

Pore-scale filtration simulations require high spatio-temporal resolutions and significant computational effort, hence, keeping the domain size to a minimum is desirable. Previous studies have considered domains based on Brinkman length, or are limited by computing power, and little information is available for conditions involving high fluid saturation – typical of steady state mist filtration. In this study, simulations are performed to characterize the effect of domain size on pressure drop, residual saturation, liquid film thickness and interfacial area concentration, using virtual nonwoven and foam filters with similar micro-structural properties. Further, experiments using micro-CT are performed to validate the present computational simulations. It is found that two phase flow through filters are more sensitive to local geometric variations or mesh resolution in the porous media than single phase flow. Statistical uncertainties in the steady state quantities of less than +-10% can be expected to cope with the increase in computing power required for practical mesh sizes. A computational domain size of about 50–100xd (where d is the strut or fibre diameter) was found to be required for CFD for the operating conditions considered.

The influence of selective laser sintering (SLS) parameters on PA12 part properties is well known, but research on other materials is rare. One alternative material is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) called PrimePart ST that is more elastic and shows a distinct SLS processing behavior. It undergoes a three-dimensional temperature distribution during the SLS process within the TPE part cake. To examine this further, a temperature measurement system that allows temperature measurements inside the part cake is applied to TPE in the present work. Position-dependent temperature histories are directly correlated with the color and mechanical properties of built parts and are in very good agreement with artificial heat treatment in a furnace. Furthermore, it is clearly shown that the yellowish discoloration of parts in different intensities is not only temperature dependent but also influenced by the residual oxygen content in the process atmosphere. Nevertheless, the discoloration has no influence on the mechanical part properties.

We study the variation of the adhesion forces between wet TiO2 nanoparticles as a function of their size and the ambient relative humidity. Combining all-atom molecular dynamics and capillary simulations we demonstrate that the linear scaling of the interparticle forces with the particle diameter, well established for microscopic and macroscopic particles, can be extended down to diameters of a few nm. At this size scale, however, the molecular nature of the water adsorbates dictates the adhesion forces both via solvation effects and influencing parameters of analytical capillary models such as the equilibrium particle–particle separation distance and the water/particle contact angle. Moreover, the water surface tension becomes considerably larger than the macroscopic bulk value due to combined effects of thin-film confinement and tight curvature, in a way that strongly depends on humidity and particle size. Taking these effects into proper account, classical capillary equations can be used to predict the interparticle forces even of the smallest particles considered here (4 nm), although the circular approximation fails to reproduce the distance at which the water meniscus breaks. Finally, the transition between the dominating effects at the nanoscopic scale and conventional capillary theory valid at microscopic size scales can be only rationalized if the presence of roughness asperities on the surface of the large particles is explicitly taken into account.

Capillary forces are very important considering the handling of powders as they, in general, exceed other adhesion forces. These capillary forces are dependent on several different parameters. Especially the distance between the particles is an important parameter. For example, in moving bulk solids a large variety of distances between particles will occur. Therefore, the distance-dependence of capillary bridges was investigated with a numerical simulation method, assuming thermodynamic equilibrium which is attained very fast for small particles. This method uses the Kelvin equation and the Young-Laplace equation to calculate numerically the shape of the capillary bridge without any assumption regarding the shape. The force is eventually derived from the meniscus shape. The distance becomes extremely important when the capillary liquid bridge between two surfaces is only determined by capillary condensation depending on relative humidity. Only a slight increase of the distance within the fraction of a nanometer changes the behaviour of the capillary force significantly. Furthermore, the influence of the force on the separation of particles will be presented. The force decreases almost linearly with increasing distance for a wide range of distances and consequently, a contact stiffness for capillary bridges could be derived. These results may e.g. be used in DEM models. Also, the maximum separation distance of capillary bridges in thermodynamic equilibrium and the correlation with the according bridge volume was investigated. As two limiting cases for capillary bridges at varying distances one can assume either a constant curvature, i.e. infinitely fast attainment of equilibrium, or a constant volume, i.e. infinitely slow attainment of equilibrium. Therefore, a comparison of these two possibilities will be presented and discussed as well.

Polymer laser sintering (LS) is an important additive manufacturing (AM) technology. Individual and complex parts are directly produced from CAD data without the need of specific tools. The raw material is a polymer powder, which is deposited layerwise and melted selectively with a laser. Built parts are embedded in residual unmolten powder, the so-called part cake, which undergoes thermal ageing effects due to the exposure to high temperatures for long times during the manufacturing process. Hence, the recyclability of the unmolten powder is limited. This article focuses on a fundamental analysis of the ageing kinetics dependent on time, temperature, and oxygen content in the gas atmosphere. A model is developed and applied to measured, position-dependent process temperature histories to successfully predict the ageing distribution within a part cake. The results can be used to optimize the thermal process management in LS and to develop new efficient powder recycling methods.

Temperature effects in the polymer laser sintering process are an important aspect regarding the process reproducibility and part quality. Depending on the job layout and position within the part cake, individual temperature histories occur during the process. Temperature history dependent effects are for example part warpage, the crystallization rate and powder ageing effects. This work focuses on temperatures and heat flow within laser sintered part cakes. Therefore, a thermal Finite Element (FE) model of a part cake is developed based on experimental in-process temperature measurements. Thermal boundary conditions and properties of the used bulk polymer powder are analyzed and relevant parameters are identified. The model is validated and optimized considering different job heights and ambient conditions during the cooling phase. It is finally possible to predict position-dependent temperature histories as a function of significant job parameters. The model allows a transfer of the results for varied boundary conditions during cooling. In combination with an implementation of built parts, this model will be an important tool for the development of optimized process controls and cooling strategies.

The shape and fracture of the free surface frequently limits the measuring range and impedes the use of optical velocimetric techniques in parallel plate and cone plate setups. To prevent this, various kinds of edge guards are often employed. In the present study, we elucidate how an edge guard distorts the steady velocity profile in a parallel plate setup. To this end, we analyzed the velocity field of a strongly shear-thinning fluid, a Newtonian fluid and a set of suspensions via particle image velocimetry in a parallel plate device. Several guard ring sizes were studied. The distortion is described by a simple three parameter model. These parameters are mostly constant for different fluids and suspensions with particle volume fractions below 45%. With increasing radius, the guard ring.s influence approaches a limiting value that we attribute to the influence of the fluid surrounding the gap. Our results indicate a limiting ratio of the difference between plate radius and guard to gap size that should always be exceeded. In the presence of a guard ring, even Newtonian fluids do not exhibit a constant shear rate for most radial distances within the gap. This distortion of the velocity field challenges the simple superposition approach of unguarded device and guard influence that is prevalent in the literature.

Suspensions are subject to confinement induced structuring, i.e. layering, at the confining surfaces. While most of the previous work focused on layering in Couette cells, the present study aimed to characterize the resulting layers at the plates of a parallel plate rheometer with regard to their relative particle concentration. The particle concentration profile over the radial distance was characterized for various mean concentrations and gap heights. To this end, we mapped the distribution of fluorescently dyed tracer particles in density and refractive index matched suspensions. The results indicate that layering at the surfaces stabilizes as the ratio between gap height and particle diameter increases. For lower gap heights, i.e. as the suspension approaches a two dimensional state, the layer concentration was non-uniform over the plates. In general, results were quantitatively different for the upper and lower plate and the concentration profiles were noticeably asymmetric. We conclude that this is probably the result of the rheometer loading or the start-up process. The stable layers as well as the inhomogeneous particle distribution in general offer an explanation for the lack of transferability of viscosimetric results between different setups.

The layered structure of Additive Manufacturing processes results in a stair- stepping effect of the surface topographies. In general, the impact of this effect strongly depends on the build angle of a surface, whereas the overall surface roughness is additionally caused by the resolution of the specific AM process. The aim of this work is the prediction of the surface quality in dependence of the building orientation of a part. These results can finally be used to optimize the orientation to get a desired surface quality. As not all parts of the component surface are equally important, a preselection of areas can be used to improve the overall surface quality of relevant areas. The model uses the digital AMF format of a part. Each triangle is assigned with a roughness value and by testing different orientations the best one can be found. This approach needs a database for the surface qualities. This must be done separately for each Additive Manufacturing process and is shown exemplarily with a surface topography simulation for the laser sintering process.

Wall slip is a long-known phenomenon in the field of rheology. Nevertheless, the origin and the evolution are not completely clear yet. Regarding suspensions, the effect becomes even more complicated, because different mechanisms like pure slip or slip due to particle migration have to be taken into account. Furthermore, suspensions themselves show many flow anomalies and the isolation of slip is complicated. In order to develop working physical models, further insight is necessary. In this work, we measured experimentally the wall slip velocities of different highly filled suspensions in a rectangular slit die directly with respect to the particle concentration and the particle size. The slip velocities were obtained using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. The suspensions consisting of a castor oil–cinnamon oil blend and PMMA particles were matched in terms of refractive indexes to appear transparent. Hereby, possible optical path lengths larger than 15 mm were achieved. The slip velocities were found to be in a quadratic relation to the wall shear stress. Furthermore, the overall flow rate as well as the particle concentration has a direct influence on the slip. Concerning the shear stress, there seem to be two regions of slip with different physical characteristics. Furthermore, we estimated the slip layer thickness directly from the velocity profiles and propose a new interpretation. The PIV technique is used to investigate the viscosity and implicit the concentration profile in the slit die. It is shown that the particle migration process is quite fast.