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PHYSICAL & MECHANICAL PROPERTIES Introduction

Physical properties are based on the laws of mechanics, acoustics, optics, thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, radiation, atomic structure or nuclear phenomena Some properties like HUE VALUE and H!"#A and

$!A%SLU E% & are based on law of optics' $HE!#AL "%(U $)V)$& A%( "E**) )E%$ "* $hermal

E+pansion are based on law of thermodynamics' MECHANICAL PROPERTIES , are defined by the laws of mechanism that is the science that deals with energy and forces and their effect on bodies' #echanical properties are the measured responses both elastic and plastic, of materials under an applied force or distribution of forces' Stress and Strain -hen an e+ternal force acts on a solid body a reaction force results that is e.ual in magnitude but opposite in direction to the e+ternal force' $he e+ternal force is called L"A(' )nternal force Stress / Area on which it acts -here0er stress is present strain is also seen in most of the cases'

Strain can be defined as the change in length per unit length * So, Stress / Area hange in Area Strain / Unit area Hookes law Stress and Strain Strain may be either elastic 2 plastic or a combination Stress may be 3 Simple 3 omple+ Sim le , Stress can be classified based on their directions' 1' $ensile stresses 4' ompressi0e stresses

5' Shear $ensile stress is caused by a load that tends to stretch or elongate a body' $here are 0ery few pure tensile stresses situations seen commonly' #ore commonly seen are comple+ stresses, which will be discussed later' )n fi+ed bridges and crown prosthodontics a candy called 6u6ubes is used because of its adhesi0e nature to see how much tensile force is needed to dislodge a crown when a patient opens his2her mouth' Com ressi!e stress -hen a body is placed under a load that tends to compress 2 shorten it the internal resistance to such a load is called compressi0e stresses'

-ith both tensile and compressi0e stresses the forces are applied at right angles to the area which they act on $o calculate either tensile stress or compressi0e stress *orce / ross sectional are Perpendicular to the force direction Shear stress $his stress resists a twisting motion or the sliding of one body o0er another is called shear stress Example: )f a force is applied on the enamel of a tooth by a sharp edged instrument parallel to the interface between the enamel and an orthodontic bracket' $he bracket will debond due to the shear stress produced which will be due to the shear stress failure of the luting agent' *orce Shear stress / Area parallel to direction of force Shear stress failure is reduced in the oral ca0ity by the presence of chamfers and be0els' Complex stresses or Flexural stresses )n any body it is 0ery difficult to produce a stress of one type' Example: -hen a force is applied on a three unit bridges'

E+ample , -hen pressure is applied at point A, tensile stress de0elops on the tissue side of the bridge compressi0e stress de0elops on the occlusal side' -hereas in a cantele0er bridge the opposite occurs' Elastic and Plastic Stresses Elastic stresses occur in ductile and malleable materials like gold' $hese do not under 78 permanent deformation' Plastic stresses on the other hand cause deformation and may be high enough to produce fracture' E+ample of the elastic shear deformation' Elastic limit -hen a tensile stress is applied on a wire and is increased in small increments and then released after each addition of stress' A stress 0alue will be found after which the wire does not return to its original length after it is unloaded' $his 0alue is called elastic limit' So elastic limit can be defined as the greatest stress to which a material can be sub6ected such that it will return to its original dimensions when the forces are released' Pro ortional limit )f the same wire is loaded till it ruptures without remo0al of the load each time and if each stress and strain is plotted on a graph, the point where the straight line graph cur0es is called the proportional limit' $hat is the point till which stress is directly proportional to strain according to 9Hooke:s law;'

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Yield stren"t# &ield strength is the stress at which plastic strain which produces slight permanent deformation' $his should be within tolerable limits for different materials' Although the term elastic limit, proportional limit and yield strength are defined differently they ha0e nearly same magnitudes and can be used interchangeably for all practical purposes' $hese 0alues are important in the e0aluation of dental materials since they represent the stress at which permanent deformation begins' )f they are e+ceeded by masticatory stresses the restoration 2 appliance may no longer fit as originally designed' Modulus o$ elasticit% $he term elastic modulus describes the relati0e rigidity or stiffness of the material' )f any stress e.ual to or less than the proportional limit is di0ided by its strain a constant of proportionality will result' $his is called &oung:s modulus of elasticity and it is calculated as follows, E 3 Elastic modulus * 3 Applied force 2 load A 3 ross sectional area l1 3 )ncrease in length L= 3 "riginal length

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?y definition Stress / *2A Strain / l12l= Stress / Strain /E )f a stress strain graph is plotted for enamel and dentin with a simulated compressi0e test, the following graph is obtained l12l= *2A / Al1 *l=

4>= 4== 1>= 1== >= = E ( PL PL

-hich shows that elastic modulus of enamel is 5 times greater than dentin' (entin is capable of sustaining high load before it fractures so it is more fle+ible and tougher than enamel' Elastic modulus can be measured by a dynamic as well as static method' ?ased on the 0elocity and density of the material the modulus and Poissons ratio can be determined' Poissons Ratio -hen a tensile force is applied to an ob6ect it becomes longer and thinner' ompressi0e force makes it shorter and thicker'

)f an a+ial tensile stress A in the A direction of a mutually perpendicular +yA coordinate system produce an elastic tensile strain and accompanying elastic contractions in the + and y directionsB then $he ratio of e+ or ey eA eA

is an engineering property of the material called Poisson:s ratio 90;' 3e+ 0/ eA eA for an ideal isotropic material of constant 0olume the ratio is >' #ost engineering material ha0e 0alues of 5 &le'i(ilit% $hese can be defined as the strain that occurs when the material is stretched to its proportional limit' $he relation between ma+imum fle+ibility, proportional limit and modulus of elasticity may be e+pressed mathematically as follows' E / #odulus of elasticity P/ proportional limit Em / ma+imum fle+ibility P Since E / / 3ey

em
P

em /
e

Resilience As the inter atomic spacing increases internal energy increases' As long as the stress is not greater than the proportional limit this energy is called as resilience' !esilience can be defined as the amount of energy absorbed by a material when it is stressed to its proportional limit' $o compare the resilience of 4 materials we must plot stress strain graphs and obser0e the area of elasticity in these graphs' $he material with larger elastic area has more resilience' -hen a dental restoration is deformed during mastication, the chewing force acts on the tooth structure, the restoration or both' $he magnitude of deformation is determined by the induced stresses' )n most dental restoration large stains are precluded due to the propriocepti0e response of the periodontal ligament' $he pain stimulus causes the strain to decrease and the induced stress to be reduced thus the damage to the teeth is pre0ented' Example, A pro+imal inlay might cause e+cessi0e mo0ement of the ad6acent tooth if large pro+imal strains de0elop during compressi0e loading' So, materials should e+hibit a high elastic modulus and low resilience thereby in0iting the elastic strain that is produced'

Stren"t# Strength is the stress that is necessary to cause fracture or a specified amount of plastic deformation' #ostly when strength is discussed we talk about the amount of stress it re.uires to fracture' ?ut these 4 should be early differentiated' Strength can be defined by, 1' Proportional limit' 4' Elastic limit' 5' &ield strength' <' Ultimate tensile strength, fle+ural strength, shear strength and compressi0e strength' Proportional limit the is stress abo0e which stress is no longer directly proportional to strain' Elastic limit, $he ma+imum stress after which plastic deformation starts' &ield strength, $he strength re.uired to produce a gi0en amount of plastic strain' And tensile strength, compressi0e strength etc' each of which are the ma+imum stress to produce fracture' Yield stren"t# )t is often a property that represents the stress 0alue at which a small amount of plastic strain has occurred' A 0alue of either 1E or 4E is selected and is called percent offset'

So yield strength is the strength re.uired to produce the particular offset strain that has been chosen' )f yield strength 0alues of 4 materials ha0e to be seen then the percent offset 0alue has to be same' Although the term strength implies that the material has fractured it has 6ust undergone permanent plastic deformation' )n a strain graph' A line drawn from the offset till it meets the stress strain cur0e is called yield strength' *or brittle materials such as composites and ceramic the stress strain plot is a straight line so there is no plastic region so yield strength cant be measured at either 1E or 4E offset' )iametral Tensile Stren"t# $ensile strength is determined usually by sub6ecting a load, wire etc' to loading or a un a+ial tension test' ?ut for brittle metals' (iametral ompression $est is used' $his test is used for materials that e+hibit elastic and not plastic deformation' Met#od A compressi0e load is placed by a flat plate against the side of a short cylindrical specimen or disk, the 0ertical force produces a tensile stress that is perpendicular to the 0ertical plane that passes through the centre of the disk' *racture occurs along the 0ertical plane'

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Here the tensile stress is directly proportional to the compressi0e load applied' 4P $ensile stress / +(+t P F load ( F diameter t3 thickness F 442C / 5'1< *le+ure Strength or $rans0erse strength or #odulus of rupture is essentially a strength test of a bar supported at each end 9or a thin disk reported along a lower support circle under a static load for the bar supported at 5 pt fle+ure, the formula is 5pl / 4bd4 F fle+ural strength' l F distance between the supports' b F width of the specimen' d F depth or thickness of the specimen' p F ma+imum load at the point of fracture' ?etween these two Aones we see the presence of the neutral a+is where there is no change' $his test is usually done for little mat is such as ceramics to simulate stresses seen in dental prosthesis such as cantele0ered bridges and multiple unit bridges'

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&ati"ue stren"t# #ost of the prosthetic and restorati0e fractures de0elop progressi0ely o0er many stress cycles after initiation of a crack from a critical flaw and then by propagation of that crack until a sudden une+pected fracture occur' Sometimes stress 0alues much below the ultimate tensile strength can produce premature fracture of a dental prosthesis because microscopic flaws grow slowly o0er many cycles of stress' $he phenomenon is called fatigue failure' %ormal mastication can induce thousands of stress cycles per day within a dental restoration for glasses and certain glass containing ceramics the induced tensile stress and the presence of an a.ueous amount causes an e+tension of the microscopic flows by chemical attack and further reduce the number of cycles to cause dynamics fatigue failure' How to determine $he material is sub6ected to a cyclic stress of ma+imum known 0alue, the number of cycles that are re.uired to produce failure are determined' )f a graph is drawn of failure stress 0ersus number of cycles to failure it enables a calculation of a ma+imum ser0ice stress le0el or an endurance limit that is the ma+imum stress that can be maintained without failure o0er an infinite number of cycles' )f the surface is rough endurance limit is low' A rough brittle material would fail in fewer cycles of stress' *atigue may be of 4 types' 1' Static 4' dynamic

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Static eramic orthodontic brackets and acti0ated wires within the brackets represent a clinical system that can e+hibit static fatigue failure' $he delayed fracture of molar ceramic crowns that are sub6ected to periodic cyclic forces may be caused by dynamic fatigue failure' Im act $he term impact is used to describe the reaction of a stationery ob6ect to a collision with a mo0ing ob6ect' Im act stren"t# F may be defined as the energy re.uired to fractures a material under an impact force' A charpy type impact tester is usually used to measure impact strength' A pendulum is released that swings down to fracture the centre of a specimen that is supported at both ends' $he energy lost by the pendulum during the fracture of the specimen can be determined by the comparison of the length of the swing after the impact with that of its free swing when no impact occurs' $he dimensions shape and design of the specimen to be tested should be identical for uniform results' Another impact de0ice called the )G"( )#PA $ $ES$E!, the specimen is clamped 0ertically at one end' $he blow is deli0ered at a certain distance abo0e the clamped end instead of at the center of the specimen supported at both ends and described for the charpy impact test' -ith appropriate 0alues for 0elocities and masses in0ol0ed, a blow by first to 6aw can be considered an impact situation'

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A material with low elastic modulus and high tensile strength is more resistance to impact forces' ?ut if both the 0alues are low imp resistance is also low' E+ample , (entalporcelain F <= HPA >=31==#Pa Amalgam F 41HPA <@= #Pa omposite !esin 3 1C HPA 2 5=37 #Pa Polymethhymethacrylate F 5'> HPA <@= #PA Permanent lastic de$ormation )f a material is deformed by a stress to a point abo0e the proportional limit before fracture' $he remo0al of the applied force will reduce the stress to Aero but strain does not decrease to Aero because of plastic deformation' $hus if the ob6ect does not return to its original dimension when the force is remo0ed' )t remains plastically deformed' Some ot#er mec#anical ro erties Toughness )t is defined as the amount of elastic and plastic deformation energy re.uired to fracture a material and it is the measure of the resistance to fracture' $oughness can be measured as the total area under the stress strain cur0e from Aero stress to fracture stress' $oughness depends on strength and ductility' $he higher these 4 0alues are the greater the toughness'

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$hus we can conclude that a tough metal may be strong, but a strong metal may not be tough' &racture tou"#ness $his is a property that describes the resistance of brittle metals to catastrophic propagation of flaws' )t is gi0en in units of stress times the s.uare root of crack length' i'e' #Pa + m I or #% m3524 *rittleness ?rittleness is the relati0e inability of a material to sustain plastic deformation before fracture of a material occurs' E+ample , amalgam ceramics and composites are brittle at oral temperature >3 >>8 ' $hey sustain little or no plastic strain before they fracture' )f a brittle material fractures at or near its proportional limit' ?ut a brittle material may not necessarily be weak' E+ample , a cobalt chromium partial denture alloy has 1'> E elongation but U$S of DC= #Pa' $he U$S of a glass infiltrated alumina core ceramic is high <>= #Pa but it has =E elongation' )f it is drawn into a fibre with 0ery smooth surfaces and insignificant internal flaws its 2 tensile strength may be as high as 4D== #Pa and it will ha0e =E elongation'

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$hus ( materials with little or no elongation ha0e little or no burnishability as they ha0e no plastic deformation potential' )uctilit% and Mallea(ilit% (uctility is the ability of materials to sustain a large permanent deformation without fracture' #alleability is the ability of a material to sustain stress and not rupture under compression as in hammering or rolling into a sheet is termed malleability' Hold is the most malleable and ductile metal and second is sil0er' Platinum F $hird in ductility, opper F $hird in malleability' Measurement o$ ductilit% $here are three common methods for measurement of ductility, 1' Percentage elongation after fracture' 4' !eduction in area in the fractured region ends' 5' old bend test' $he simplest and most commonly used test is to compare the increase in length of a wire or rod after fracture in tension to its length before fracture 4 marks are placed on the wire 2 rod a specified distance apart and this distance is said to be Jgauge lengthK' $he standard HL for dental materials is >1mm'

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$he wire 2 rod is then pulled apart under a tensile load the fractured ends are fitted together and length is measured' $he ratio of the original length to increased in length after fracture e+pressed in percent is called percentage elongation' Another method utilises the necking or cone shaped constriction occurs at the fractured end of a ductile wire after rupture under a tensile load' $he percentage of decrease in cross sectional area of the fractured end in comparison to the original area of the wire or rod is called reduction in area' A third method is known as the cold bend test' $he material is clamped in a 0ise and bent around a mandrel of specified radius' $he number of bends to fracture is counted the greater the number the greater the ductility' $he first bend is made from 0ertical to horiAontal all subse.uent bends are made through angles of 1D=8' Structural and stress rela'ation After a substance has been permanently deformed there are trapped internal stresses' $his situation is unstable' $he atoms that are displaced are not in e.uilibrium positions' $hrough a solid3state diffusion process dri0en by thermal energy they slowly mo0e back to their e.uilibrium positions' $he result is a change in the shape or contour of the solid as a gross manifestation of the re arrangements in atomic or molecular positions' $he material warps or distorts this is called stress rela+ation' $he rate of rela+ation increases with an increase in temperature'

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$his phenomenon man result in an inaccurate fit of dental appliance' Example, $here may be many materials that may undergo rela+ation at high temperatures if they are cooled before usage' Hardness $he term hardness is difficult to define' )n mineralogy the relati0e hardness of a substance is based on its ability to resist scratching' )n metallurgy and in most other disciplines the concept of hardness that is most generally, accepted is its resistance to indentation' $he indentation produced on the surface of a material from an applied force of a sharp point or an abrasi0e particle results from the interaction of numerous properties' $he properties that are related to the hardness of a material are strength proportional limit and ductility' T#e sur$ace #ardness tests used commonl% in dentistr%+ 1' ?arcol 4' ?rinnel 5' !ockwell <' Scholl >' Vickers' @' Lnoop' T#e *rinnel Test 3 3 "ne of the oldest test used' A hardened steel ball is pressed under a specified load into the polished surface of a metal' $he load is di0ided by the area of the

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pro6ected surface of the indentation and the .uotient:s referred to as the ?'hardness no 9abbre0iation ?H%;' Rockwell )t is somewhat similar to ?rinnel, a steel ball or conical diamond pt is used' $he depth of the indentation is measured by a dial gauge on the instrument' A number of indenting points with different siAes are a0ailable for testing a 0ariety of different materials' $he !'H'%' is designated according to the particular indenter and load employed' ?oth these tests are not for brittle metal' Same as the ?rinnel test but a diamond in the shape of a s.uare based pyramid' $he lengths of the diagonals of the indentation are measured and collaged' $he Vickers test is employed in the A'('A' specification for dental casting alloys' )t is suitable for brittle materials so it is used for the measured of hardness of tooth structures' ,icker-s test Similar to ?rinnel test but instead of a steel ball a diamond in the shape of a s.uare based pyramid is used' Impression F s.uare instead of round Uses 3 (ental casting gold alloys 3 $ooth structure as it measures the hardness of brittle materials'

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.noo )n this test a diamond indenting tool is used that is cut in geometric configuration' $he impression is rhombic in outline and the length of the largest diagonal is measure' $he pro6ected area is di0ided by load to gi0e the knoop hardness no when the indentation is made and the indentation is remo0ed the shape of the knoop indenter is causes elastic reco0ery of the pro6ected impression to occur along the short diagonal' $he stresses are therefore distributed in a matter that only the dimension of the minor a+is are sub6ect to change by rela+ation' So the hardness 0alue is 0irtually independent of the ductility of the material tested' $he load to be used may be 0aried o0er a wide range from 1gm to more than one kg so that 0alues for both hard and soft materials can be obtained by this test' Lnoop and Vickers test are called microhardness tests' $he ?rinnel and !ockwell are macrohardness test' L M V tests used loads less than 7'D%' $he indentations are small and are limited to a depth of less than 17m' "ther less sophisticated tests like Scholl and ?arcol are employed for increasing the hardness of dental materials particularly rubbers and plastics' $hese tests used compact partable indenters of the type generally used in industry for .uality control'

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$he hardness no is based on the depth of penetration of the indent patient into the materials' A(rasion and A(rasion Resistance Abrasion is a comple+ mechanism in the oral en0ironment that in0ol0es an interaction between numerous factors' Usually hardness has often been used as an inde+ of the ability of a material to resist abrasion or wear that the reliability of hardness as a predictor of abrasion resistance is limited' Although it may be used to compare materials that are similar i'e' one brand of cast metal with another brand of the same type of casting alloys it cannot be used to e0aluate different classes of materials eg' Synthetic resin with metal' $he hardness of a material is only one of the factors that affect the wear of the contacting enamel' "ther factors are, 1' ?iting force' 4' *re.uency of chewing' 5' Abrasi0eness of the diet' <' omposition of li.uids'

>' $emperature changes' @' !oughness of each surface' C' Physical properties' D' Surface irregularities'

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$he e+cessi0e wear of tooth enamel by an opposing restoration is more likely to occur' )f the opposing restoration is rough therefore restorations should be polished to mechanisms this type of abrasion' R#eolo"% Some amorphous materials such as wa+es and resins appear solid but are actually super cooled li.uids that flow irre0ersibly or re0ersibly under small stresses' $he study of matter flow characteristics is the basis of the science of !HE"L"H&' Although a li.uid cannot support a shear stress most li.uids when placed in motion resist imposed forces that cause them to mo0e this resistance to motion is called 0iscosity and it is controlled by internal frictional forces within the li.uid' Viscosity is a measure of the consistency of a fluid and its inability to flow' An ideal fluid demonstrates a shear stress that is proportional to the strain rate' $his beha0iour is called %ewtonian' A %ewtonian fluid has a constant 0iscosity and e+hibits a constant slope of shear stress with shear strain' Viscosity is measured in units of #Pa per second, the higher the 0alue more 0iscous is the material' E+ample, pure water at 4=8 has F 1= cP 0iscosity' -hereas, molasses 5==,===cP F 0iscosity'

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#any materials e+hibit pseudoplastic beha0iour' $heir 0iscosity decreases with increasing shear rate until it reaches a nearly constant 0alue' (ilatant li.uids are those which become more rigid as the rate of deformation decreases' Plastic li.uids beha0e like a rigid body until some minimum 0alue of shear stress is reached' A thi+otropic li.uid becomes more fluid under pressures their property is beneficial because it does not flow until pressure is placed' e'g' )mpression material' Cree and &low reep is defined as time dependent plastic strain of a material under a static load or constant stress' SAH is the deformation potential of long span metal bridge structures at porcelain firing temperatures under the influence of the mass of the prosthesis' #ost metals do not creep as they ha0e high melting temperatures, an e+ception is amalgam as it has components with melting points only slightly abo0e room temperatures' ?ecause of this it can slowly creep from a restored site under periodic sustained stress such as it would be imposed by patients who clench their teeth' ?ecause creep produces continuing plastic deformation the process can be destructi0e to a dental restoration' $he word flow has been generally used in dentistry to describe the rheology of amorphous materials such as wa+es'

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$he flow of wa+ is a measure of its potential to deform under a small static load e0en that associated with its own mass' Usually compression is used to test flow' A cylinder of prescribed dimensions is sub6ected to a gi0en compressi0e strength for a specified time and temperatures' $he creep or flow is measured as the percentage of shortening in length that occurs under these testing conditions' reep is an important consideration for any dental material that must be held at a temperature near its melting point for an e+tended period' Color and its erce tion An important goal of dentistry is to restore the colour and appearance of natural dentition' Aesthetic considerations ha0e assumed a high priority within the past se0eral decades e'g', the search for an ideal general purpose tooth coloured test material is the challenge of current dental materials research' Colour Verbal descriptions of colour are not precise enough to describe the appearance of teeth' $o accurately describe our perception of a beam of light reflected from a tooth or restoration surface 5 0ariables must be measured' olour can be described in three dimensional colour space measured as HUE VALUE H!"#A

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Hue F $he dominant colour of an ob6ect e'g', blue, green or brown' $hese refer to the dominant wa0elength present in the spectral distribution' Value, it is the lightness or darkness of a colour which can be measured independent of the hue' Lighter shades F higher 0alue' (arker F lower C#roma 1' hroma represents the degree of saturation of a particular hue for e'g', the colour of lemon' 4' $he yellow of a lemon is brighter than that of banana' At low light le0els the rods of the human eye are more dominant than the cones and colour perception is lost' As the brightness becomes intense colour appears to change' So if patient is seen in an intense light' $he hue shifts towards the complementary colour of the background' e'g', a blue background may shine colour perception towards yellow' -hile section of shade is done daylight, in candescent light and fluorescent lamps are common sources of light' "b6ects that may appear matched under one light may appear different under another light' $his phenomenon is called metamerism' $hus if possible shade matching should be done under 4 light sources'

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&luorescence %atural tooth structure absorbs light at wa0elength too short to be 0isible to the naked eye' $hese wa0e length between 5==3<==nm are near to ultra0iolet radiation the energy that the tooth absorbs is con0erted into light with longer wa0elengths in which case the tooth actually becomes a source of light' $his phenomenon is called fluorescence' $he emitted light is a blue white light in the <==3<>=nm large' $his property contributes to the 0ital appearance of teeth' A person with ceramic crowns lacking a fluorescent appears to be missing teeth when 0iewed under a black light' T#ermo #%sical ro erties 1' $hermal conducti0ity' 4' $hermal diffusi0ity' 5' oefficient of thermal e+pansion'

T#ermal conducti!it% /.0 )t is a measure of how well heat is transferred through a material by the conductor' $he rate of heat flow through a structure is proportional both to the area through which heat is conducted and to temperature gradient across the structure' $hus if there is porosity in the structure the area for conduction is reduced and rate of heat flow is reduced' $he coefficient of thermal conducti0ity is the .uantity of heat in calories per second that passes through a specimen 1cm thickB ha0ing a cross sectional area of 1 cm4 when the temperatures differential between the surfaces'

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Perpendicular to the heat flow of the specimen is 18 ' #aterials ha0ing high thermal conducti0ity are called conductors and low are called insulators' $he unit is watts per meter per degree - m31 L31 $he higher the 0alue the greater the ability of the material to transmit thermal energy' #etals ha0e high thermal conducti0ity' T#ermal di$$usi(ilit% )t is a measure of the rate at which a body with a non uniform temperature reaches a rate of thermal e.uilibrium' So, e0en though the thermal conducti0ity of Gn" is slightly less than that of dentin its diffusion is more than twice of dentin' $he thickness of cement is related to its benefit as a insulator' $hermal diffusi0ity L h/
p

1 $hermal insulation ability

L3 $hermal conducti0ity P F temperature dependent density


p

F is temperature dependent specific heat capacity 2 specific heat'

S) unit F s. meters2 second'

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Example, Pure gold Amalgam omposite Enamel GnP"< (entin3 3 3 3 3 3 3 117 7'@ '@D '<C '47 '1D

So when a patient drinks ice water the new specific heat of amalgam and its high thermal conducti0ity suggests that this fa0ours a thermal shock situation rather than when tooth is e+posed' $he effecti0eness of a material in pre0enting heat transfer is directly proportional to the thickness of the liner and in0ersely proportional to the s.uare root of thermal diffusi0ity' (ue to the low thermal conducti0ity of enamel and dentin thermal shock and pulpal pain are pre0ented when hot and cold foods are taken' ?ut especially when metallic restorations are gi0en a thermo insulator i'e', a cement ha0ing low thermal conducti0ity is more desirable' "n the other hand when the upper denture co0ers the palate' )ts low thermal conducti0ity tends to pre0ent heat e+change between the supporting soft tissue and the oral ca0ity itself so patient practically loses the sensation of hot and cold while easting and drinking so hue metals with high diffusi0ity must be used'

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Coe$$icient o$ t#ermal e' ansion Linear coefficient of thermal e+pansion is defined as the change in length per unit length of the material when its temperature is raised to 18 ' S) unit F / m cm8 Si"ni$icances A tooth restoration may e+pand or contract more than the tooth leading to leakage of the restoration or debonding from the tooth' $he high coefficient of e+pansion is also important because it is highly susceptible to temperature changes for e+ample' )n accurate wa+ pattern that fits a prepared tooth contracts significantly when it is remo0ed from the tooth or die in a hot area and then stored in cooler area' Stress concentration $actors Une+pected fractures sometimes occur in high .uality materials also' $he cause of this is the presence of small microscopic flaws on the surface or within the e+ternal structure' $hese flaws are especially critical in brittle materials' $here are 4 important aspects of these flaws' 1' Stress intensity increases with the length of the flaw especially when it is oriented perpendicular to the direction of tensile stresses'

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4' *laws on the surface are associated with higher stresses than are flaws of the same siAe in interior regions' 5' So surface finishing is 0ery critical in material like ceramics, amalgams and composites' Areas of high stress concentrations are caused by one or more of the following factors' 1' Large surface or interior flaw such as porosity, grinding roughness and machining damage' 4' Sharp changes in shape of the sharp internal angle at the pulpal a+ial line angle of a tooth preparation for an amalgam restoration' 5' $he interface region of a bonded structure in which the elastic moduli of 4 components are .uite different' <' $he interface region of a bonded structure in which the thermal e+pansion or thermal contraction coefficient of the two components are different' >' A load applied at a point to the surface of a brittle material' 1a%s to minimi2e t#e stress concentration 1' Surfaces should be polished to reduce depth of flaws' 4' %otches should be a0oided' 5' )nternal line angles should be rounded to minimiAe the cusp fracture' <' $he elastic moduli of the materials must be closely matched'

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>' $he coefficient of e+pansion and contraction should be matched' @' $he cusp tip of an opposing crown or tooth should be rounded so that occlusal contact areas in brittle material are larged' &actors $or selectin" dental materials $he strength properties and 0alues that ha0e been got by 0arious tests represent the a0erage stress 0alue below which >=E of test specimens ha0e fractured and abo0e which only >=E ha0e sur0i0ed' *rom an ultra conser0ati0e point of 0iew the lowest strength 0alues should be used to compare materials and also to design a prosthesis to resist fracture at a high le0el of confidence' $he magnitudes of mastication forces cannot be known to the e+tent that the dentist can predict the stresses' $o conclude, the true test for any material is the test of time'

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CONTENTS
)ntroduction Stress and Strain Elastic limit Proportional limit #odulus of elasticity *le+ibility and !esilience Strength "ther mechanical properties !heology olour and its perception

$hermophysical properties *actors that cause fracture or failure riteria for selection of dental materials

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