• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2018

Many laboratory experiments on crack propagation under uniaxial loading and biaxial loading have been conducted in the past using transparent materials such as resin, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), etc. However, propagation behaviors of three-dimensional (3D) cracks in rock or rock-like materials under tri-axial loading are often considerably different. In this study, a series of true tri-axial loading tests on the rock-like material with two semi-ellipse pre-existing cracks were performed in laboratory to investigate the acoustic emission (AE) characteristics and propagation characteristics of 3D crack groups influenced by intermediate principal stress. Compared with previous experiments under uniaxial loading and biaxial loading, the tests under true tri-axial loading showed that shear cracks, anti-wing cracks and secondary cracks were the main failure mechanisms, and the initiation and propagation of tensile cracks were limited. Shear cracks propagated in the direction parallel to pre-existing crack plane. With the increase of intermediate principal stress, the critical stress of crack initiation increased gradually, and secondary shear cracks may no longer coalesce in the rock bridge. Crack aperture decreased with the increase of intermediate principal stress, and the failure is dominated by shear fracturing. There are two stages of fracture development: stable propagation stage and unstable failure stage. The AE events occurred in a zone parallel to pre-existing crack plane, and the AE zone increased gradually with the increase of intermediate principal stress, eventually forming obvious shear rupture planes. This shows that shear cracks initiated and propagated in the pre-existing crack direction, forming a shear rupture plane inside the specimens. The paths of fracturing inside the specimens were observed using the Computerized Tomography (CT) scanning and reconstruction.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.226-233
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adaptation of lithium disilicate crowns fabricated by CAD-CAM (computer aided design-computer aided manufacturing) and heat-press technique to compare two different measurement methods in assessing fit of the ceramic crowns: micro CT and cross-section technique. Materials and methods: A prepared typodont mandibular molar for ceramic crown was duplicated and ten dies were produced by milling the PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) resin. Ten vinyl polysiloxane impressions were made and stone casts were produced. Five dies were used for IPS e.max Press crowns with heat-press technique. The other five dies were used for IPS e.max CAD crowns with CAD-CAM technique. Ten lithium disilicate crowns were cemented on the resin dies using zinc phosphate cement with finger pressure. The marginal and internal fits in central buccolingual plane were evaluated using a micro CT. Then the specimens were embedded and cross-sectioned and the marginal and internal fits were measured using scanning electronic microscope. The two measurement methods and two manufacturing methods were compared using Mann-Whitney U test (SPSS 22.0). Results: The marginal and internal fit values using micro CT and cross-section technique were similar, showing no significant differences. There were no significant differences in adaptation between lithium disilicate crowns fabricated with CAD-CAM and heat-press technique. Conclusion: Both micro CT and cross-section technique were acceptable methods in the evaluation of marginal and internal fit of lithium disilicate crown. There was no difference in adaptation between lithium disilicate crowns fabricated with CAD-CAM and heat-press technique except occlusal fit.