Professional Documents
Culture Documents
'tS
BY
Department of Dentistry
Faculty of Dentistry
South Australia
April 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
NOMENCLATURE VI
LIST OF FIGURES
SUMMARY XVI
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xtx
Chapter 1 ¡rurnooucrtoN 1
MOVEMENT
PROPERTIES OF WIRES
PRODUCT]ON OF WIRES 11
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
GOLD 15
STAINLESS STEEL 15
ll
CHROMIUM.COBALT 20
NICKEL-TITANIUM 21
BETA-TITANIUM 27
ALPHA-TITANIUM 28
SUMMARY 29
BEND TESTS 32
ELECTROPOLISHING 38
CANTILEVER TESTS 40
RESONANCE 48
SPEED OF SOUND 50
MICROHARDNESS TEST 52
MACROHARDNESS TEST 54
SURFACE APPEARANCE 54
BEND TESTS 75
lll
ARCHFORM 75
CANTILEVER TESTS B2
OTHER TECHNIOUES 87
OTHER WIRES 94
RESONANCE 9B
VALUE
MODULUS VALUES
FRACTOGRAPHY 120
lv
BIBLIOGRAPHY
137
APPENDICES
Vol II
NOMENCLATURE
A area in mm squared
at alpha-titanium
ct length or distance
b breadth
br beta-titanium
d diameter
d the length of the diagonal of a square in micrometers
D length of the diagonal in millimetres
DPN Diamond Pyramidal Hardness Number
E elastic modulus (or Young's modulus)
ep electropolished
ep 25 electropolished for 25 seconds
F measured load
"fn
frequency of vibration .
GPa Giga Pascal
h height
HV Vickers hardness number
Hz hertz (cycles per second)
I moment of inertia
I second moment of area
I distance
m MASS
m metres
nt nickel-titanium
P applied load
ps pulse straightened
rpm revolutions per minute
se nt superelastic nickel-titanium
SEM scanning electron microscoPe
SS stainless steel
ssp stainless steel premium
sspp stainless steel premium Plus
sspp ps stainless steel premium plus, pulse straightened
SSS stainless steel suPreme
sssp stainless steel special Plus
vl
TEM transmission electron microscope
TMA titanium molybdenum alloY
TTR transition temperature range
v velocity
v extension
YS yield strength
o stress
t strain
t maximum flexibility
p density
pm micrometre
ps microsecond
Dimensions
Note: Some orthodontic wires are supplied in imperial units but all
scientific studies should use metric.
vl1
LIST OF FIGURES
vrll
16 Precision dimple grinder and polisher 59
dimple grinder
lx
28 SEM micrograph (75x magnification) of as-received 118
sspp ps O18 wire surface
x
42 SEM micrograph of a fractured wire surface where a 128
pronounced crack separates the "tag" and zone normal
to the wire surface.
xt
LIST OF TABLES
xrr
12 Elastic modulus values for electropolished stainless 86
steel wires calculated from cantilever bend tests with
the support at 2Omm
xrll
25 Elastic modulus values for nt and sent wires calculated 100
from resonance tests
xrv
37 Average values of diagonal measurements of 115
microhardness test indentations
xv
SUMMARY
xvl
It was proposed that these heavily drawn wires exhibited anisotropic
behaviour and that this may account for the low elastic modulus values.
Wires were annealed to reduce the anisotropic behaviour prior to testing.
This had a varied effect on elastic modulus with values for some wires
increasing while others decreased.
A wire's surface may be more heavily cold worked than the central
region. Wire specimens were embedded in Bakelite and polished to allow
the maximum wire diameter to be microhardness tested. Microhardness
tests did not detect differences between the surface layer and inner core.
lf a surface difference is present it is very small.
The surface appearance of wires was also assessed in the SEM, in the
as-received state and after electropolishing. As-received wires showed a
very elongated grain structure giving a fibrous appearance typical of a
heavily cold worked structure. The striations were removed with
electropolishing, leaving a smooth surface (apart from occasionäl deep
gouges).
To enable any textural differences between the wire surface and inner
core to be assessed, wires were deliberately maltreated to the point of
fracture. Fractured surfaces were then assessed in the SEM'
xvlr
SIGNED STATEMENT
This report contains no material which has been accepted for the
award of any other degree or diploma in any university. To the best of
my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or
written by another person, except where due reference is made in the
text of the rePort.
KATHERINE R. ALLEN
xvrll
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
xlx
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Despite the length of time that stainless steel wires have been used in
orthodontics, fundamental questions remain about their metallurgical and
mechanical properties (Khier, Brantley and Fournelle 1988).
There has been a large increase in the number of archwires available as a
result of the continuing search for improved materials (Andreason and
Morrow 1978). These include the nickel-titanium, beta-titanium and
alpha-titanium wires. The nickel-titanium wires have gained increasing
popularity since their introduction in 1971. The êlastic modulus is about
half that of stainless steel allowing a much lighter force to be produced
compared with an equivalent sized stainless steel wire. This ability to
vary the stiffness by varying the modulus of elasticity is referred to as
"variable modulus orthodontics" (Burstone 1981 )'
2
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
ldeally orthodontic forces should move teeth rapidly with the least
discomfort to patients and minimal damage to the teeth and the investing
tissues (Begg and Kesling 19711. lt is thought that excessive forces
compress the ligament and occlude the blood supply resulting in necrosis
(sandstedt 1904). No tooth movement will occur until the necrosed
tissue has been removed and new living tissue formed. Large orthodontic
forces cause the teeth to become loose and painful and the resultant
orthodontic tooth movement is intermittent and slow. When only light
forces are applied the blood vessels are not occluded and bone on the
pressure side is cont¡nuously and rapidly resorbed and new living tissue
forms on the negative pressure side. This results in continuor-¿s tooth
movement with minimum discomfort and tooth loosening (Sandstedt
1905, Storey and Smith 1952, Reitan 1960, Rygh et al 1986). From
these viewpoints it would appear that the ideal force system should
create a light continuous force (Proffit 1993).
3
Of all the properties of archwires the following are generally considered
to be the three most imPortant.
For wires which obey Hooke's law for elastic bodies, the springback and
stiffness can be calculated from mathematical formulae. Springback is
proportional to the yield stress divided by the elastic modulus and
stiffness is proportional to the elastic modulus (Wilcock 1988). These
physical terms will be described when discussing the mechanical
properties of wires.
4
The following descriptions of terms have been used to describe the
physical properties of a wire (Phillips 1982).
Stress is the force per unit area in a body which resists an external force.
The two forces are equal in magnitude but have opposite directions. So
that stress and external force can be differentiated, external force is
referred to as load.
Elastic limit, proportional limit and proof stress have different definitions
but have nearly the same value and are therefore often used
5
interchangeably. These values represent the StreSS above which
permanent deformation occurs. For good formability a low value is
indicated but to resist deformation such as from masticatory forces a
high value is desirable.
F_ o
€
E elastic modulus
o STTESS
a strain
Appliance design will also affect the stiffness (Burstone 1982). In the
clinical situation the archwire sections between the brackets act as
beams. A beam is said to be stiff if it requires a large bending moment to
cause it to flex or distort (Hazel and West 1986). With the advent of
lingual orthodontics for the aesthetically conscious patient, the reduced
6
Ultimate Tensile Strength
Yield Stren gt h Failure Point
Yield Point
Proportional Limit
(/)
Ø
q)
t-
E
U) Stif fness ø E
Springiness a 1/E
-------l
l- O.l"l"
Strain
7
interbracket distance results in an archwire being stiffer. To compensate
for this, wire dimension and composition may be altered (Moran 1987)'
oy
I
E
E : maximum flexibility
oy : yield strength
E : elastic modulus
the appliance having a longer working time with the advantage of fewer
adjustments being required (Burstone and Goldberg 198O; Drake et al
1982; Kapila and Sachdeva 1989).
8
ln an interview with Kesling, Wilcock stated that the most important
properties of orthodontic wires were flexibility and resiliency (Wilcock
1988). "Resilience and formability are defined as an atea under the
stress-strain curve and a distance along the x-axis respectively (Fig. 2)"
Proffit 1993.
Whenever one body slides over another body, the force that acts to
oppose the movement is called the frictional force. lt has been shown
that friction increases as wire size is increased (Riley, Garrett and Moon
1979). Different frictional resistances of wires may be explained by
differences in the surface smoothness of a wire. lncreased friction is
generally regarded as unfavourable because larger forces are required to
move the teeth (Garner, Allai and Moore 1986).
9
-Yield Strength
Prop ortional Limit-
U)
U)
q)
L
U)
Formability
-
Strain
10
mechanical properties of specific wires. There is however very little in the
literature about the mechanical properties of orthodontic wire in relation
to their chemical composition and microstructure despite the close
relationship.
PRODUCTION OF WIRES
Wires are manufactured from cast metals which are drawn through a
ser¡es of dies of decreasing diameter. This process roughens the outside
surface and results in plastic deformation of the metal which is known as
cold working. The crystallization process of molten metals and the
subsequent effect of cold working will be discussed'
pure metals are rarely used in dentistry because they tend to be tbo soft.
For this reason two or more metals are often mixed to form alloys, with
superior properties. ln the solid state the atoms composing the alloy are
regularly spaced into a configuration known as a space lattice or crystal.
Defects occur in the crystalline structure. The most important defects are
dislocations and their presence affects the ductility of the metal as will be
discussed later.
11
affect the number of crystals and in turn crystal size. In general the
smaller the grain size the better its mechanical properties.
t2
adjacent grains are not aligned due to the¡r different lattice orientations.
Again higher stresses must be provided to continue plastic deformation.
T3
fundamental questions still remain regarding their metallurgical and
The increase in new alloys and wire fabrication techniques has made
archwire selection much more difficult. ln the past owing to the similarity
of stainless steel and chromium-cobalt Stress-strain curves, archwire
selection was made almost exclusively on cross-section alone. lncreases
in wire stiffness were achieved by progressively increasing the cross-
section of the wire. This resulted in the phrase "variable cross sect¡on
orthodontics". Now the archwire stiffness can be varied by varying the
modulus of elasticity and this is referred to as "variable modulus
orthodontics" (Burstone 1981; Combe et al 1985). ln the latter technique
the cross sectional shape, alloy content and heat treatment of the
archwire needs to be assessed (Johnson and Lee 1989).
As a result of these advances "the play between the wire and the
attachment is not dictated by the stiffness required but is under full
control of the operator" (Burstone 1981). The low elastic modulus newer
alloy archwires allow light rectangular wires to be placed even during
early stages of treatment. This results in better tooth control and
decreases the number of archwire changes.
t4
THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SPECIFIC W¡RES
1. cor-o
pure gold was too soft for most dental purposes so alloys similar to that
of Type lV castings were used for wires, A typical alloy contained 60%"
gold, 15% silver, 15o/o copper and about 1Oo/o platinum or palladium' The
platinum or palladium content raises the melting point and
2. srnlruless steel
There are three major forms of stainless steel - ferritic, martensitic and
austenitic and there is wide variation in their respective compositions and
properties (Phillips 19821. There are also grades which contain two co-
existing phases (ferrite-martensite, or ferrite-austenite) which are termed
dual-phase or duplex stainless steels.
15
alloy composition and wire manufacturing processes (Khier, Brantley and
Fournelle 1988). The austenitic stainless steel structure is metastable and
can decompose to the martensitic phase under certain conditions such as
proprietary cold working and intermediate heat treatment associated with
wire manufacture (Khier, Brantley and Fournelle 1988; Phillips 1982)' ln
fact, austenite can be metastable with respect to deformation and it is
this which produces martensite in different orthodontic wires (Singh
1991).
16
attr¡buted to phase transformation and the development of considerable
residual Stress in the heavily cold-worked structure. This is in agreement
with findings from Goldberg, Vanderby and Burstone 1977, Asgharnia
and Brantley 1986, PhilliPs 1982.
ii. The maximum force that can be applied before the wire is plastically
deformed is reduced.
iii. The lower stress:strain ratio reduces the rate of change of force
magnitude, that is the force level remains more constant over a given
distance.
iv. The wire has increased ductility and is therefore more formable'
To gain the best elastic properties from the wire it should be activated in
the same direction as the original curvature in the wire although this is
not always possible (Gullotta, West and Hazel 1987)'
Stress relief anneals may be carried out after bending to reduce internal
stresses and enhance the elastic properties. Stress relief anneals involve
heating the wire to 450"C for about ten minutes. This can only be done
to stabilised stainless steel wires where small quantities of titanium (or
niobium) have been added. Titanium is added to the alloy to prec¡pitate
t7
as a carbide in preference to chromium, so that chromium is retained in
solid solution (Phillips 1982).
Supreme grade stainless steel wire (ultra high tensile) has a flexibility
similar to that of beta-titanium but has nearly three times the resilience. lt
is not as flexible as nickel-titanium but the nickel-titanium flexibility is
probably not fully utilised orthodontically. lt has good formability and the
resiliency of nickel-titanium can be achieved by engineering the yield
stress and diameter (Wilcock 1988).
18
needs to be used to melt the wires at the point of contact (McCabe
1990).
ldeally the initial archwire should have a great range to enable malaligned
teeth to be accommodated, have low stiffness so that the forces applied
are gentle and have high strength so that it is not easily deformed with
masticatory forces. Historically, looped archwires were formed to
increase the flexibility and reduce the force (Begg and Kesling 197U.
Disadvantages included the increased time required to bend the archwire,
they were mechanically disadvantageous (resulting in bite closure and
excessive incisor proclination) and were difficult to keep clean. An
alternative was the use of multistranded stainless steel wires which have
the flexibility of small diameter wires but the strength of many strands.
Titanium alloys are a third alternative but are more expensive (Kusy and
Stevens 1987).
It has been noted that multistranded stainless steel wires have a similar
springback to nitinol but a larger springback when compared to solid
stainless steel wires or beta-titanium wires. The springback of
multistranded stainless steel and titanium wires is relatively independent
of wire size and therefore does not obey the engineering principal that
19
spr¡ngback decreases with increasing thickness (lngram, Gipe and Smith
1986).
4. cxRorvllurv¡-cosRLr
20
These wires are unique in that they are supplied in a softened state' This
is achieved by heat treating the wires between 1 1OO' and 12OO'C and
then quenching them. As a result the wires have excellent ductility and
are easily formed.
Hardness, yield and tensile strength and the modulus of elasticity are
similar to those of austenitic stainless steel (Hazel, Sokel and West 19841
proffit 1gg3). The high modulus of elasticity enables them to deliver
twice the force of beta-titanium and four times that of Nitinol.
They are difficult to join by soldering and care must be taken to avoid
overheating as this can result in annealing with loss of yield strength
(McCabe lggo). Tarnish and corrosion resistance is excellent -(Phillips
1g82). Their advantages over stainless steel include greater resistance to
fatigue and distortion and longer function as a resilient spring. Frictional
forces are comparable to stainless steel (Kapila and Sachdeva 1989)'
5. ru¡cret-rltRrulun¡
Nickel-titanium was the first of the titanium alloy wires and was marketed
as "Nitinolrnr" (Unitek Corp.) in the late 1970's. "NitinolrM" was initially
developed for the space programme but has proved very useful in clinical
orthodontics. lts name was derived from its metal composition Ni - nickel
and Ti - titanium and the place of origin NoL - Naval ordinance
Laboratory (Proffit 1993).
2l
These alloys contain almost equal amounts of nickel and titanium with
small quant¡ties of other metals. At high temperatures (880'C), the
crystal structure is austenitic (body centred cubic) beta phase, and at
lower temperatures a martensitic transformation to a (close packed
hexagonal) alpha phase can be produced (Buehler and Cross 1969). The
change in crystal structure alters the mechanical properties. The material
is ductile and may be plastically deformed in the alpha phase (Andreason,
Wass and Chan 1985). ln the beta phase it is difficult to induce
deformation (Miura et al 1986).
22
The outstanding elasticity and low elastic modulus allow large dimension
wires (which nearly fill the bracket), to be used without the risk of
deforming during bracket engagement or exerting too great a force at an
early treatment stage. This decreases the number of archwire changes
and keeps chairside time to a minimum. Treatment time to derotate and
level teeth is shortened and patient discomfort lessened (Andreason and
Morrow 19781 Lew 1988; Chen 1990). These properties make nickel-
titanium favourable as a starting and intermediate wire (Kusy 1981)'
The nickel-titanium wires initially available for orthodontic use were in the
stabilised martensitic form at room temperature. These wires possess
excellent springback, but shape memory and superelasticity are poor due
to manufacture by a work hardening process (Miura et al 1986).
"Titanal" (Lancer Pacific), is a newer martensitic nickel-titanium alloy. lt
has very similar strength and spring characteristics to the early nickel-
titanium wires but has the advantage of being highly formable (Proffit
1993).
23
to the original shape at room or oral temperature (Andreason and Morrow
1978; Hurst et al 199O).
"Nitinol" has a lower elastic modulus and can be deformed almost five
times more than stainless steel but the stress-strain curve is similar to
that of StainleSS steel and chromium-cobalt. "Japanese NiTi" wire
produces a totally different cUrve. When Stretched Up to 2o/o, sLress and
strain are almost proportional, but additional strain is accumulated at
constant stress. lnit¡ally the curve appears to be similar to that shown
when plastic deformation occurs. However on unloading the specimen
the stress and strain values are almost proportional followed by a period
where the stress remained constant despite a decrease in the strain. This
phenomena is known as superelasticity (Miura et al 1986). Clinically this
means that the archwire can be deflected a small or large distance and
yet exert the same force (Chen 1990).
24
Superelastic nickel-titanium wires are unusual in that the unloading curve
differs from its loading curve (F¡g. 31. This may be interpreted as the
force needed to activate the wire is not the same as the force that the
wire delivers (Proffit 1993).
The bending properties of superelastic (Nitinol SE, Sentinol and NiTi) and
non-superelastic (Nitinol, Titanol and Orthonol) wires have been assessed
in the as-receíved condition and after heat treatment at 5OO and 6OO"C.
Permanent deformation for the superelastic wires after unloading from
80'activation were 1O-15" and about twice this for the non-superelastic
wires. A superelastic region of nearly constant bending moment was
noted in the round wires but was less evident in rectangular wires. The
slopes of the non-linear bending plots were considerably less for the
superelastic wires. Heat treatment only produced small changes in the
bending plots for the non-superelastic but considerable response for the
superelastic wires. The maximum amount of activation and deactivation
decreased with heat treatment. Heat treatment at 6OOoC for 1O minutes
resulted in complete loss of the superelastic properties (Khier, Brantley
and Fournelle 1991).
Nickel-titanium wires have limited ductility and are therefore not easy to
bend without fracturing (McCabe 1990). They cannot be bent with sharp
cornered instruments and bending adversely affects springback. ln
addition they cannot be soldered or successfully welded without being
annealed (Andreason and Morrow 1978). These properties limit the
usefulness of the wire (Kusy 1981).
These wires have more surface roughness than stainless steel which may
be significant to corrosion and friction (Garner, Allai and Moore 1986).
The numerous surface irregularities could predispose the wire to
corrosive attack in the mouth (Harris, Newman and Nicholson 1988). The
corrosion resistance findings are inconsistent. According to some studies,
their frictional resistance is higher than stainless steel but |ower than
25
E 2000
E
Stainless Steel
Ë 500
(') 1
c(l, Nitinol
1
E
o
NiT¡
=o) 50
c
tc
(l)
@
0 20 40 60 80
Deflection (degrees)
26
beta-titanium (Garner, Allai and Moore 1986; Kapila and Sachdeva
1989).
6. BETA-TtrANtuM
The extent of deformation and the number of passes used to draw the
wire affects the properties. With increased deformation the tensile
strength increases but the elastic modulus remains unchanged. Lower
reductions per pass improve elongation and yield strength (Shastry,
Elinson and Goldberg 1982).
27
The modulus of elasticity value is less than half that of stainless steel
but is twice that of nitinol. This enables these wires to impart a low force
per unit of activation. Springback is superior to stainless steel permitting
beta-titanium wires to be deflected over long distances without
permanent deformation. This allows the wire to have a greater range of
action (Burstone and Goldberg 1980). The flexibility of beta titanium
wires is much less than nickel-titanium wires (Kusy 1981).
7. ALPHA-TITANIUM
Alpha-titanium wire has similar tensile properties (proof stress and elastic
modulus) to gold. The elastic deflection or springback is similar to high
tensile stainless steel. This allows the wire to be activated more than
28
stainless steel wires, without problems of permanent deformation or an
excessive force being produced. lts properties lie between the low moduli
nickel-titanium wires and beta titanium and the high moduli stainless steel
and chromium-cobalt.
The formability of the wire is affected by the surface finish. Poor surface
finish or surface cracks in the wire decrease the formability. Alpha-
titanium wire is corrosion resistant and much harder than beta-titanium
alloy wires (Hazel, Sokel and West 1984).
SUMMARY
29
CHAPTER 3
AIMS OF THE INVESTIGATION
elastic modulus values for orthodontic wires. Most of the elastic modulus
values were determined from tensile and bend tests and these values did
not agree with bulk metallurgical values. For these reasons it was
decided to look at different methods of measuring the elastic modulus
and to check the reproducibility of the results. Current orthodontic wires,
including stainless steel, nickel-titanium, alpha-titanium and beta-titanium,
were assessed.
b. Bend tests
Three different bend tests were used in order to compare the load-
deflection behaviour and the elastic modulus values obtained. The tests
are as l¡sted below:
(1) wires in arch form
(2) a conventional cantilever bend geometry
(3) three point bend sYstem.
c. Resonance tests.
30
e. Microhardness / Macrohardness tests
3. Fracture behaviour
Orthodontic wires are heavily cold worked with most deformation in the
surface layers. As-received wires were deliberately cold-worked to the
point of fracture and then assessed in the scanning electron microscope
to assess the extent of the heavily distorted surface layer and the
distribution of deformation through the wire cross-section.
The more a wire is drawn, the more cold worked ¡t is, the finer the
effective grain size and consequently the higher the strength. To
understand any differences in wire properties we must know if the
structure is different.
3T
CHAPTER 4
MATERIALS AND METHOD
Testing apparatus
lThe material/condition abbreviated identifications are given in the forward p' (vi).
2Although Sl units should be used in scientific studies the nomenclature 018 = 0.018"
(0.45mm) is used for identification since most orthodontic wires are supplied in imperial
units and will be familiar to practitioners.
32
I
33
Figure 5: A photograph illustrating a stainless steel wire wrapped around
an aluminium casing.
34
ímperial units) (Fig. 6). Slots in the wire holder enabled the wires to be
positively located. When the wires were tested in archform the distance
between the distal ends when placed in the slots was 7Omm.
A milled steel holder was glued to the scale (Mettler 6100) pan. The
anterior section of the archwire was placed into a groove in the steel
holder. In the cantilever tests the wire was either supported in a slot (Fig.
7l or knife edge while the three point bend test specimens were
supported on two knife edges 25mm apart.
Vertical movement of the brass holder would then apply a load on the
supported anter¡or segment of the wire which could be recorded on the
Mettler scale.
Tests performed
Some archwires were then electropolished where indicated and the test
repeated.
Plain archwires without circles were formed with anchor bends of varying
sizes, from 140mm lengths of ss wire of nominated diameter. 1O
millimetre lengths of steel tube were glued to each end of the wire wíth
Selleys five minute Araldite (epoxy adhesive). This allowed the wire to be
reproducibly located in the apparatus used to apply a load in increments.
35
Figure 6: A milled brass wire holder in a stand with a micrometer drive
which allowed vert¡cal adjustments
36
,+
37
Archwires tested
¡.) Archwires with 45" anchor bends were formed from three different
spools of Australian Wilcock stainless steel wire and then loaded and
unloaded as described above.
i¡.) Six archwires were formed from sssp O2O. Archwires 1-3 had 35'
anchor bends while archwires 4-6 had 25" anchor bends. This allows the
effect of different anchorage bends to be assessed.
Electrooolishing
38
Figure 8: An electropolishing unit. Specimens were attached to a
crocodile clip, fully immersed in orthophosphoric acid and then a current
passed through the wire.
39
Ten sections of sssp O2O (O.50mm) were cut. Six specimens were
electropolished continuously for 25,50,75, 1O0, 125 or 150 seconds
respectively. Four wires were electropolished for twenty-five second
intervals until a total of either 25,50,75 or lOO seconds was reached'
This was to assess ¡f the intermittent electropolishing affected the wire
properties differently to continuous electropolishing. Wire diameter was
recorded at three different locations before and after electropolishing;
near the point of attachment, midwire and furthest from the attachment.
40
Thirty five millimetre lengths of wire were cut to take into consideration
the lOmm lengths of steel tube glued to one end.
F
:¡:il;i
i.) The following wires were assessed in the as-received state. A steel
milled holder with a slot was glued to the scale pan and used to support
the free end of the archwire at a distance of 18mm. Some wires were
also electropolished as listed below and retested.
at O18 x O25
nt 016
sspp 016 ep30" or ep45"
sspp 018 ep30" or ep45"
sspp ps O18
sssp o20 ep25" plus ep50"
ep50" plus ep50"
ii.) A knife edged milled steel holder was glued to the scale pan to
support .the free end of the wire (F¡g. 9). A distance of 2Omm was left
between the steel tube and the knife edge support' The wire types and
electropolishing times were the same as for (2) ¡.).
¡ii.) Six lengths of sspp ps O18 wire specimens were prepared. Each
specimen was tested twice, using a distance of 10mm and 2Omm
between the steel tubing and knife edged support. This was to assess
whether distance affected the results.
4l
'1
42
One of these specimens was then electropolished for periods of twenty
five seconds until a total electropolishing time of one hundred seconds
was achieved. After each period of electropolishing the wire was loaded
and unloaded at lOmm and 20mm.
The remaining four specimens were electropolished for 25, 50, 75 and
1OO seconds respectively and then tested. This was to establish if the
results were altered when the electropolishing was interrupted.
at 018 x O25
bt O17 x O25
nt 016
SSS 010
SSPP 012
SSPP 014
sspp 016
sspp 018
sssp o20
One specimen each, excluding sssp 020 where two Speclmens were
tested.
The remaining four wires were electropolished for 25,50, 75 and 1OO
43
Plastic deformation of the annealed wires probably occurred with loading.
Fewer unload values were consequently recorded when compared with
the load values.
It was noted in previous tests that the load and unload values took a long
time to equilibrate possibly due to stress relaxation. To standardise, thirty
seconds was allowed to elapse between altering the extension and
recording the load/unload value. lnstantaneous values are probably more
accurate but are too difficult to measure.
(¡.) Six new sssp O2O specimens were prepared and tested on a knife
edge support at a distance of 20mm. These wires were not annealed or
electropolished. Three specimens were tested without rernoving the
curve present as a result of being on a spool. The other three specimens
were straightened with fingers prior to loading.
The initial reason for repeating tests on sssp 020 was that the elastic
modulus values calculated from the load data, were significantly higher
when tested in the annealed state compared to the as-received state.
(ii.) Six annealed sssp O2O specimens were prepared and tested on a
knife edged support at 2omm. Two specimens were tested after
annealing but no electropolishing.
One specimen was electropolished for 25 second intervals and retested
until a total electropolishing time of 100 seconds was achieved'
The remaining four wires were electropolished 25, 50, 75 and 1OO
seconds respectively and tested.
The reason for repeating these tests was that the elastic modulus value
increased when the electropolishing time was 50 seconds compared with
a 25 second electropolishing time. The general trend noted was a
decreasing value for elastic modulus as the electropolishing time
increased. The initial increase noted may be explained by hydride
formation and precipitation hardening'
44
vii.) To assess for potential effect of wire diameter on elastic modulus the
following wires were assessed in the as-received state on a knife edge
support at 2Omm. The specimens were 35mm long and had l omm
lengths of steel tubing glued to one end.
Two milled steel knife edge supports were glued to a scale pan with the
edges parallel to each other and spaced 20 mm (Fig' 1O)'
Six 25mm lengths of sspp ps 018 wire were cut. Two specimens were
tested in the as-received state while the remaining four were
electropolished 25,50,75 and 1OO seconds respectively. The diameters
were recorded before and after electropolishing. A milled steel circular
plunger was attached to the stand and centrally placed on the wire
specimen. lt was then loaded in increments of ten thousandths of an inch
(O.25mm). Load readings were recorded in grammes to two decimal
places. The wire was then unloaded in ten thousandths of an inch and an
unload value was recorded.
45
rt
f--
,l
I
*r t t
Figure 1O: A three point bend test with two knife edge supports glued to
the scale pan and a centrally placed circular plunger to load and unload
the wire.
46
Use of the load and unload data
Elastic modulus for cantilever tests were calculated from the follow¡ng
formula (Beam Theory Methodology)
E - I'a
-3
3vI
slot knife
a 4
I L
/ :
extension (x axis)
Calculation for 1 (second moment of area) varies depending
on whether the wire is round or rectangular in cross section.
: *do
I for circular wire d: diameter
64
47
To calculate values of elastic modulus for three point bend tests the
following formula was used
Fa'
E
48yI
The formulas used for calculation of the elastic modulus are from Blake,
1982.
c. Resonance
The following wires were tested in the as-received state
sss Ol O
sspp 012,014,016,018
sspp ps 016,018
sssp O2O
1 15mm lengths of wire were cut and one end was clamped inside a
milled brass wire holder. A 1g plastic weight was attached l OOmm from
the support. The distance was reduced to 50mm with the more flexible
sss O1O wire.
The wire was manually displaced to oscillate the wire specimen. The
frequency of a Strobotac type 1531 General Radio Company, Concord,
Massachusetts, USA was adjusted until the wire appeared stationary
(subjective approximately SHz) (Fig. 11). This was best done in a
darkened room. The modulus of elasticity can be calculated from:
I I-trEr
.f^
2n \ mt'
Where "fn
: frequency of vibration
E : elastic modulus
I : moment of inertia
m : mass
I : distance
48
Figure 11 Equipment used to determine the natural frequency of
vibration of wire spec¡mens.
49
The formula appeared very sensitive to diameter changes. A Mitutoyo O-
25mm O.OOOI mm accuracy m¡crometer was used to measure w¡re
diameter. The diameter used was an average of three different
measurements.
The sspp 016 and sssp O2O were tested after electropolishing. Three
specimens of each were electropolished for 25" and another three
specimens of each were electropolished for 1O0".
d. Soeed of sound
The speed of vibration through a wire is thought to be the most accurate
method of elastic modulus calculation. A Systron Donnor Corporation
Datapulse 1 16 Pulse Generator was used to generate a voltage which
was amplified in a SOW amplifier prior to being passed through a l2Omm
length of as-received sssp O2O wire. A piezoelectric crystal
(cyanacrylated to transducers) detects the vibration, which is then
passed through a Charge Amplifier Type 2635 Bruel and Kjaer and finally
to a Hewlett Packard 54601A Oscilloscope (Fig. 121. The vibration was
then detected by a second piezoelectric crystal spaced at either 40,60,
80, lOO or 12Omm and as before passed to the oscilloscope. Two wave
forms appear and cursor placement (at the peak of the wave crest, depth
of the trough or at the first sign of deviation) allows the time elapsed
between the vibration detected at the first and second crystal to be
calculated in microseconds:
Where v : velocity :
distance x time
E : elastic modulus
p : density ( SMgm-3 for stainless steel 304 )
Different amounts of tension were placed on the wire. Tension did not
appear to affect the consistency of the results. Varying the distance
between the piezoelectric crystals may have an effect. This may be due
to proximity of the crystals to the grips holding the wire specimen.
50
Q,Ê ç
wire.
51
The formula used to calculate the velocity was taken from Ashby and
Jones 198O.
A sssp O2O wire specimen was annealed and then tested under similar
conditions. This was to remove the potential anisotropic effect possible in
such heavily cold drawn wires (Goldberg et al 1977l.'
1854 x P
HV
d2
52
Figure 13: Photomicrograph of microhardness test (magnification 142Oxl
which illustrates the greater deformation near the edge of the specimen.
53
Macrohardness test using the Vickers Pyramid Hardness Tester.
The standard Vickers indentor is a diamond in the form of a square based
pyramid. VHN is independent of applied load but for ease and greater
accuracy of measurement it was recommended to choose a load which
gives an impression that fills two thirds of the field of view. A 2O-3Okg
load was recommended for steels.
P
DPN
A
t.854P
or DPN
D,
2. Surface appearance.
a. A sample of as received sspp 018 and sspp ps 018 were prepared to
enable surface differences as a consequence of pulse straightening to be
assessed in the SEM. Pulse stra¡ghtened wires feel smoother to the
fingers.
54
b. Wire surfaces were examined for changes after electropolishing. Seven
lOmm lengths of wire, were cut from sssp O2O wire' Six were
electropolished for 25,50, 25 + 50, 50 + 50, 25 + 50 + 50, 50 + 5O
+ 50 seconds respectively. The wire sections were then attached to
stubs with conducting "silver dag" and assessed in the scanning electron
microscope (Philips 505 SEM) at magn¡fications of 75 and 3OO' The
seventh specimen was not electropolished to act aS a control to
compare surface changes.
Seven 25mm specimens of sspp 018 were cut. Four specimens were
electropolished for 25, 50, 75 and 10O seconds respectively. All
specimens were then work hardened until point of fracture. The fractured
specimens were attached to stubs with silver dag, assessed in the Philips
5O5 SEM at varying magnifications and photographed.
Another Seven specimens of the wire from the same spool were
prepared. Prior to manipulation these wires were heat treated at 3sO"C
for ten minutes and then allowed to bench cool. A high temperature
(14OO'C) chamber furnace was used and the temperature was checked
using a "Carbolite" thermocouple and ten minutes were allowed for
equilibration to occur. The reason for the heat treatment was to remove
the potential effect of hydrogen embrittlement. Steels, especially high
strength steels are prone to hydrogen embrittlement'
55
spool and the other from a new spool. These were then attached to a
56
The final wires that were prepared for foil specimens in cross section
included
1. sspp 018
2. sspp ps O18
3. at O18 x O253
4. nt 016
The samples were then placed in an oven for five minutes at 1OO"C for
the epoxy to be cured (Fig. 14). Curing was indicated by a colour change
of the epoxy from amber to Pink.
A dimple grinder Gatan Model 656 (Fig. 16) was used to thin the
sections after centralising the specimens on the platform with cross hairs
under magnification. A 2Og weight was applied during grinding and the
slowest speed was chosen (1OO revolutions in 1 minute and 38
seconds).
57
r60
40 G-l EPOXY
O
Il rzo
õ
q
o)
roo
t
o)
t--
gso
f
O
60
40 ll
50 r00
D¡sk Cutl¡nq
70-100pm
Oisk grinding
Figure 15: This diagram illustrates cutting the tub¡ng in cross section of
SOOpm and then disc thickness after manual gr¡nd¡ng to 70 - 1OOpm.
58
ønleMþht
bad scåle
0 - sogm
III
*
fÍi/otsd
plâtlom oro
a
o 116,l
59
Alumina Pol suspension using a felt wheel. After dimple grinding the
centre of the specimen should be approximately .0o5mm (F¡9. 17).
Specimen thinning from both sides was attempted to start with. Due to
the thinness of the foil it proved difficult to invert the specimen without
disrupting the epoxy matrix. Sticky wax (a low melting point
thermoplastic polymer) was used at first to firmly attach the specimens
to the stub. To form a strong and uniformly thin bond the wax must be
heated to around 130'. The effect of heating the sticky wax to remove
the specimen after dimpling, was sufficient to soften the epoxy and
dislodge the wires. Superglue was then used to the adhere the specimens
to the stubs and 75% acetone was used to dissolve the superglue.
Specimen removal was still difficult due to close adaptation of the
specimen to the stub and limited exposure of the superglue to acetone.
An alternative method was devised where the specimen was
mechanically held with a mounting plate fixed with screws.
lnitially specimens were thinned in the Gatan dual ion mill model 60O at
room temperature using a grinding angle of 15", gun current O.5mA DC
and gun voltage 3kV (Fig. 18). The time required to perforate the
specimen was much greater than that stated in the manual where 30
minutes was suggested.
To avoid loss of the specimens the foils were placed between two nickel
lOO slotted grids placed at right angles to each other. The grids were 2o/o
nitrocellulose coated followed by carbon coat¡ng. Only one gun was used
with the same current and voltage but at a lower grinding angle of 8". An
earlier attempt at ion milling between copper grids was unsuccessful due
to the copper being milled at a faster rate than the specimens.
60
a b
1smm dia.
lOmmdia. .5Ém
Figure 17: ThiS diagram illustrates: (a) a standard grinding wheel and
mount and (bl the thickness of the specimen centrally after dimple
grinding.
61
lon Beam
a
lon Beam
25
b
e Maler¡al: Copp€r
3zo
È
Gun Current: 0-5mA
Beam Angle: 20degrees
f Gas: Argon
o
-c
Ø
3ls
-9
g
(I)
(õ lO
(r
o,
.E
c
c
7s
l-
0
2_ 6 I 10 t2
c 00
gl¡orcas. l.rú
lldal gün úed)
a
o-
E
(ú
C
o)
þN BEAM
()f
c(l) e
E
'õ
q)
o 9ECM€N
U)
40
0 t0 20 30 40
Figure 18: These diagrams illustrate the thinning action of the Gatan dual
ion mill. The effect of OctagunTM voltage, spec¡men current and beam
angle on thinning rate are ¡llustrated.
62
The specimens were removed every two hours for viewing in the
scanning electron microscope to assess the thinned areas' After
approximately ten hours of ion milling the specimens appeared to have
sufficiently thinned areas. They were then transferred to folding copper
grids (because the nickel grids were not able to be attached) which had
also been coated in with 2o/o nitrocellulose and carbon. This proved
difficult owing to the fact that the Specimens were now magnetic'
Floating the specimens on a water bath minimised handling of the
specimens but small fragments did appear to break off from the fo¡ls.
The wire surface was also roughened with 12OO grit paper before
embedding to enhance mechanical locking of the epoxy to the specimen.
Desc. Cubic Boron Nitride (4-6pm and O-2¡rm) were recommended as the
polishing paste and a low angle ion mill was also recommended'
Longitudinal
Two wire types were selected:
1. ntO18
2. sspp ps O18
The specimens were attached to double sided cellotape and mechanically
thinned on 12OO grit paper to O.1mm. This was a very labour intensive
procedure.
63
Figure 19: Rods of stainless steel were milled with a central hole the
same size as the wire specimen to minimise the epoxy present.
64
A m¡croprocessor-controlled table top machine called Abramin was
utilised for automatic grinding, lapping and polishing of all materials. Wire
specimens were attached to acrylic blocks with sticky wax and then
placed in a specimen holder. The specimen holder and polishing disc
rotate at 1Sorpm. The holder is eccentrically positioned relative to the
polishing disc to ensure a fast and good polish without creating comet
tails. A lOON grinding pressure was used on 22OP and lOOOP grit paper
with a water lubricant.
65
Figure 20: Twin-jet electropolishing machine used to perforate prethinned
specimens.
66
CHAPTER 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Australian Standard (AS 1964) requires three tests; tensile strength'
wrapping ability and resistance to bending. The force required to fracture
the wire being held between the two grips is used to calculate the tensile
strength (standards Association of Australia 19771. The American
Specification, No. 32, tests similar wire properties; flexure yield strength,
modulus of stiffness and resistance to bending. Flexure yield strength is
derived from cantilever beam tests and from this the modulus of stiffness
is mathematically catculated (Council on Dental Materials and Devices
19771.
Goldberg and Burstone 1979 (as stated in Sokel 1984) considered that
wires with a low load deflection rate have distinct clinical advantages.
67
The desirable characteristics include the ability to apply lower forces; a
more constant force over a longer period of time; greater ease and
accuracy in applying a given force; the ability to use larger act¡vat¡ons
and the assoc¡ated increased "working time" of the appl¡ance.
ln this research project elastic modulus values were calculated from data
acquired from a simple tensile test, bend tests, natural frequency of
osc¡llation and measuring the velocity of a vibration along a wire.
properties of orthodontic wires were assessed in the as-received state
and after manipulative treatments such as electropolishing and heat
treatment.
Masson 1969, assessed 016" orthodontic wires and noted that Young's
Modulus of Elasticity for stainless steel orthodontic wire in the cold-
worked or heat treated condition is not a constant value. The accepted
value for the modulus of elasticity of stainless steel wires was
approximately 30 x t 06 lOs/¡n2 (ZOlCea) but Masson claimed that we
have been mistaken in making this assumption. Later in 1977, Goldberg
et al showed a substantial decrease in the value of modulus in stainless
steel with heavY cold working.
It ¡s of interest to note that values of 155 GPa, which are twenty percent
below the published values of 193-2OO GPa, have been calculated for
016 unspecified stainless steel wire (Yoshikawa et al 1981). At the other
extreme values as high as 248 GPa have been reported by Goldberg'
68
Accurate measurement of the modulus of elasticity for thin wires poses
some difficulties (Goldberg et al 1983a/b).
Masson 1969 stated that the elastic modutus value for stainless steel
varies depending on which wire is being assessed. The variation is most
likely due to the amount of cold work and stress relief heat treatment
that the wire has undergone during manufacture, The values for the
Modulus of Elasticity (lbs/sq.in.) in tensile testing arc listed below
together with the metric equivalents3. Values increased through the
range of .016 Wilcock wire from "Regular" up to "special Plus" as listed
in Table 1.
Table 1: Elastic modulus values for as-received stainless steel wires from
tensile tests of O.O16" stainless stee¡ (ss) wires (Masson 1969)'
Twelftree 1g74, noted that elastic modulus values calculated from tensile
testing varied from 150 to 174GPa depending on the grade of stainless
steel (Table 2). This finding was in agreement with Masson's 1969'
3Ahhough orthodontic wire is supplied in imperial units and many early results
(particularly American) also used imperial units, scientific results are now invariably
presented in S.l, units. lt has been decided in this thesis therefore to present where
necessary both original published results and their metric equivalents.
69
Table 2: Elastic modulus values for as-received stainless steel wires from
tensile tests of stainless steel wires (Twelftree 19741'
70
Table 3: Elastic modulus values for as-received O.O1O"-O.O2O" stainless
steel wires from tensile tests (Sokel 1984)'
189
No obvious correlation was noted between the elastic modulus value and
either wire diameter or wire grade.
'tt
Many wires used are in the cold drawn condition and consequently the
Stress-Strain curve was found to be curved almost from the start of
loading. Young's Modulus is determined by measurement of the slope of
the ¡n¡t¡al portion of the curve. Many different tangents could be chosen
and therefore values obta¡ned were subject to a large var¡ation (Fig. 211.
As a consequence a range of elastic modulus values may be more
appropr¡ate than a single elastic modulus value.
Despite the difficulties to measure elastic modulus values the results are
comparable to the 175 GPa quoted by Yoshikawa et al (1981)' The
values are well below the figure of 193 GPa quoted by Goldberg and
Burstone (1g79). lt was proposed that a different experimental method is
required to measure Young's modulus with greater accuracy.
Tensile testing is unable to test the formability of wires. A wire may look
promising according to the quantitative tensile tests but may be clinically
unsuitable due to poor formability. Despite this limitation of tensile
testing and the large variation in elastic modulus values, tensile testing is
still important because of the comparable data available.
It has been suggested therefore that the use of tensile data to determine
flexural data for fine orthodontic wire is inappropriate. Orthodontists
primarily stress wire in bending in the clinical situation (Goldberg 1983b;
Nikolai et al 1g88). For these reasons alternative methods of test¡ng the
mechanical properties of wires were explored such as bend tests'
72
U)
U)
11,
E.
t--
(/)
D
B
A-
c./
STRAIN
73
Table 4: Elastic modulus values for as-received stainless steel wires from
tensile and bend tests (Masson 1969).
MATERIAL TENSILE
ELASTIC MODULUS
(1 06 lbs/in2) (GPa)
016
MATERIAL BEND
ETASTIC MODULUS
(106 lbs/in2) (GPa)
It was noted that the value for Young's modulus of Elasticity for Wilcock
"Special plus" wires in tension was very similar to the value obtained in
bend tests. This was not the case for "unisil" wires where values
obtained from tensile tests were lower than those from bend tests'
Masson 1969 believed that the Wilcock stainless steel Special Plus wire
values were similar in tensile and bend tests because of the stress-relief
heat treatment. Stress-relief heat treatment is discussed later in Section
3(2). Unisil was in the cold-worked cond¡t¡on and therefore contained
many internal stresses which are unpredictable.
74
ln the present study, some preliminary tests were performed, but due to
major problems with extensometers and computer software, the results
obtained were unreliable and not reproducible. lt was decided therefore
to concentrate on other testing techniques which more closely followed
clinical orthodontic application or corresponded to other accepted dental
material standards.
B. Bend tests
Many of the stress-strain curves were curved despite the specimen being
tested within the elastic limit. Several different tangents could be
selected as discussed by sokel 1984 and illustrated in Figure 21. As a
consequence the slopes and equations for the lines of best fit would
vary.
75
The data presented is in its raw state and the number of decimal places
is not a reflection of the accuracy.
The slopes from unload data were generally 5% lower than those for load
data. This is evident from the lower m value. This was surprising given
that the wire was not plastically deformed and may be as a consequence
of the experimental set-up, in that frictional forces between the wire and
support slot may differ on loading and unloading.
The range of values for some wire types (sspp O16, sspp ps O18 and ssp
O2O) were narrow. However for sssp O2O and sspp O18 wires large
variations were noted. Values ranged from 0.038 to 0.349 (although the
bend angles may have some, probably small, effect) and O.O5O to O.189
76
respect¡vely, with factors of more than 9 and almost 4 difference which
could not be explained.
Orthodontic wires are heavily cold worked and when magnified the wire
surface shows very elongated grains giving a fibrous appearance' The
wire may appear homogeneous but the surface is theoretically more
severely cold worked than the central area during wire drawing (Dieter
1961 as stated in Twelftree 1974). This heavily cold-worked surface area
may represent the tag often noted after wire fracture. The loss of this
heavily cold-worked surface layer may result in altered wire properties.
Analysis of wires in cross section may reveal differences in the surface
and central areas of the wire.
77
changes. An average of three values measuring wire diameter were used
when calculating the elastic modulus.
The data listed in table form above is also shown below graphicallY (Fig.
22t.
78
Figure 22: Diameter change with electropolishing sssp O2O'
o.5
o.45
o.4
o.35
DIAMETER (mM)
o.3
o.25
o.2
o.15
o 25 50 75 100 125 150
It was noted that diameter changes were not even along the length of
the wire. The effect on diameter was reduced with increasing distance
from the clip although the diameter immediately under the po¡nt of
attachment was minimal. Variation in diameter increased as the
electropolishing t¡me lncreased. lt is noted that the electropolishing times
are much longer than that used clinically. Lengthy electropolishing times
were deliberately chosen to highlight any potential changes.
79
Table 7: Diameter change of sta¡nless steel wire after interrupted
electropolishing (ep).
25+25
Mean diameter values were calculated again from midwire and po¡nts
furthest from the attachment diameters. Data in table form was then
plotted graphicallY (Fig. 231.
o.5
A
o.45
E
DIAMETER (mm)
o.4
o.35
o 25 25+25 25+25+25 25+25
+25+25
CUMULATIVE ELECTROPOLISHING TIME (secs)
80
Bend tests were performed on wires after electropolishing to determine
whether the elastic modulus values were altered. Wires in archform with
45o anchor bends, unless otherwise stated, were tested after varying
times of electropolishing. The data was plotted and from the stress-strain
curves a line of best fit was chosen. The equation for the straight line y
: C * mx where m : slope allows the data to be compared. The slopes
are listed in Table 8. The slopes are listed for each of the stress-strain
curves which are included in the Appendix numbers 28 - 46. Slopes for
load graphs were cons¡stently h¡gher than for unload graphs.
lnstabi¡it¡es were often noted in these stress-strain curves for load and
unload data making selection of the l¡ne of best fit difficult. This was also
noted in stress-strain curves in both the as-received and electropolished
condition.
Table 8: Slopes (m) of stress-strain curves for stainless steel wires tested
in arch form after electropolishing (ep).
Anchor EP m m
Bend secs (LOAD) (UNLOAD)
sspp 016 30 030 o27
30 .053 046
30 .030 o26
45 .o27 o25
45 o23 o22
o18 30 .o42 o38
30 .051 o47
45 067 058
sssp 02O 35" 25+50 040 .038
350 25+50 040 .037
350 25+50 o26 o24
25" 50+50 .057 .054
25" 50+50 .053 .051
25" 50+50 089 085
sso O2O 30 .073 .066
30 o62 058
30 080 .o71
45 060 055
45 .066 o60
81
Although these tests provided comparative data, without actual elastic
modulus values few conclusions can be drawn.
ln the literature many of the bend tests are conventional cantilever tests.
Cantilever bend tests, using short lengths of wire, mimics the clinical
situation where the archwire is more comparable to a series of short
beams between brackets. ln addition simple mathematical formula are
available to calculate the elastic modulus value. For these reasons it was
decided not to pursue archform bend tests but rather to perform
cant¡lever bend tests.
2. Cantilever tests
(1) as-received
From the experimental data stress-strain curves were plotted and a line of
best fit was computer chosen to calculate the slope. The curves and lines
of best fit included in the Appendix were those initially drawn. As stated
earlier, the initial portion of the stress-strain curves were often curved.
fgnoring ze(o, the straightest portion of the stress-strain curve was
identified and the appropriate data replotted and a line of best fit chosen.
By modifying the graphs in this manner the slopes and elastic modulus
values increased. This was repeated for all stress-strain graphs where
appropriate. The elastic modulus values were then calculated using the
beam theory methodology described in the materials and methods
sect¡on.
The results giving the elastic modulus values calculated in each test from
the loading and unloading curves are given in Table 9 and 1O.
82
(il Table 9: Elastic modulus values (E) for as-received stainless steel wires
calculated from cant¡lever bend tests with the support at 18.Smm.
WIRE TYPE E E
18 148.26 1 19.81
The elastic modutus values exhibit a very large scatter and are much
lower than the published data which suggest values of 193 to 2OO GPa'
These exper¡mental values were therefore dismissed. lt was thought that
the slot support may result in friction between the wire and support,
sufficient to invalidate the results. A knife edge was used as an
alternative supPort.
(ii) Table 1O: Elastic modulus values (E) for as-received stainless steel
wires calculated from cantilever bend tests with the support at 20mm'
WIRE TYPE E E
83
lgnoring differences in wire types (ie premium plus and special plus) the
elastic modulus values decreased as wire diameter increased from O16 to
O18 to O2O. As discussed in section A on tensile test¡ng Masson 1969
and Twelftree 1974 stated that elastic modulus varied depending on the
grade of stainless steel wire. The values for the 016 and O18 wires are
closer, but still low, when compared to the published values for elastic
modulus. Elastic modulus values for the 020 wires were much lower'
Elastic modulus values for the O16 and 018 wire groups were reasonably
consistent with mean values of 2O2GPa and 191 t 4GPa respectively.
Values for the O2O group were scattered and inconsistent and there
appeared to be two groups with mean values o'f 126 + SGPa and 153
+
15GPa. Two groups of O2O were tested where in one group the
curvature resulting from the wire being spooled was removed prior to
testing but this did not explain the d¡fferences as the two groups cut
across this category. Another explanation may be the presence of large
variation along the wire but th¡s would seem unlikely.
84
Table 11: Elastic modulus values (E) for electropolished ("p) sta¡nless
steel wires calculated from cantilever bend tests w¡th the support at
18.5mm.
WIRE TYPE EP E E
45 a2.92 71.61
30 68.19 59.87
45 60.66 45.63
85
Table 12: Elastic modulus values (E) for electropolished ("p) sta¡nless
steel wires calculated from cantilever bend tests with the support at
2Omm.
WIRE TYPE EP E E
30 220.59 189.OO
45 212.46 184.68
50 165.25 150.62
25 + 25 +25 167.55 157.52
75 1A2.92 169.20
25+25+25 152.20 136.18
+25
100 152.55 141.O2
122.70 100.39
149.58 106.96
*
155.81 * 129.39
127.82
+
gg.06*
+ +
151.75 104.17
25 160.19 127.50
50 162.24 136.33
25+50 176.39 141.33
50+50 176.57 145.37
86
No particular pattern could be given to the effect of electropolishing on
the elastic modulus values. The elastic modulus values for the
electropolished o18 wires appeared reduced compared with the as-
received specimens but not proportionately to the electropolishing time.
This observation may be explained by the high surface stresses being
removed with electropolishing. In contrast elastic modulus values
increased after electropolishing when compared with the as-received
values for both 016 and o2o wires so the theory of removing the high
stress surface does not hold making the effect of electropolishing on
elastic modulus values confusing. However it is likely that errors in
measurement are much greater than any effect if it exists.
3. Other techniques
To compare the effect of changing experimental parameters and of
different methods of testing on elastic modulus values samples were
tested on a knife edge support at lOmm or using a three point bend test.
lnitial stress-strain curves for bold values are included in the Appendix
(1)(i) graPhs 85 - 86
(ii) graphs 87 - 94
(2)(i) graPhs 95 - 100
87
il as-received
These results are given in Table 13. Results for the same wire type
tested on a cantilever support but at 2Omm are included (in non-bold
type) for comparison.
Table 13: Elastic modulus values (E) for as-received sta¡nless steel wires
from cantilever tests with the support at 1Omm.
WIRE TYPE E E
iil electropolished
The modulus values obtained after electropolishing are given in Table 14.
Again, results of electropolished wires tested on a knife edged support at
2Omm are also included (in nin-bold type) for comparison.
88
Table 14: Elastic modulus values (E) for electropolished ("p) stainless
steel wires from cantilever tests with the support at lOmm'
WIRE TYPE EP E E
25 140.4 95.96
157.85 101.29
50 158.68 1 15,57
75 170.17 130.40
The elastic modulus values calculated from tests at l Omm are lower than
the values calculated with the support at 20mm with the possible
exception of one spec¡men electropolished 25 seconds. The elastic
modulus values calculated at 2Omm were already less than the publ¡shed
89
elastic modulus values. Varying the position of the support appears to
have an effect on the elastic modulus value. This is in agreement with
Brantley 1978 as stated in lngram et al 1986.
Table 15: Elastic modulus values for stainless steel wires after
electropolishing (ep), calculated from three-point bend tests.
E E
WIRE TYPE EP
(secsl (GPa) (LOAD) (GPa) (UNLOAD)
o 149.62 96.21
25 136.85 76.65
25+25 149.96 85.98
25+25+25 159.65 113.80
All values are much lower than those quoted in the published data.
Elastic modulus values after electropolishing were above and below those
of wires tested in the as-received state. This is not surprising given the
difficulty of achieving a consistent result even when retesting a wire'
90
It was thought that the reduced elastic modulus values noted in both
tensile and cantilever tests may be associated with the heavy cold-
working procedures. Cold-worked metals can be converted back to an
equiaxed Structure by heating the structure above the recrystallization
temperature. This is referred to as annealing the wire'
Masson (1969) noted that Wilcock wires are heat treated after each
drawing but the actual temperature of treatment is not available. All that
Wilcock revealed was that the process is " more than a stress-relieving
process" although the heat treatment temperature after the final draw
could not be very high since the cold worked properties need to be
maintained. A stress-relief process at low temperature only releases some
of the residual strain induced by plastic deformation. There does not
seem to be a consensus on the optimal temperature and length of time
required for heat treatment (Funk, 1951; Backofen and Gales, 1951;
Kemler, 1956; Mutchler, 1961; Howe et al., 1968 recommend different
temperatures and times). The approximate temperature lies between 371
and 484"C which is below the recrystallisation temperature'
lnitial stress-strain curves for bold values are included in the Appendix
(1) graPhs 1O1 - 1O9
(2) graphs 110 - 125
Less data was recorded and therefore plotted for the unload curves for
annealed specimens due to the reduced springback'
9l
(1) annealed
The modulus values for annealed samples are given in Table 16' Where
available the results from wires tested in the as-received state are
included (in non-bold type) for comparison.
Table 16: Elastic modulus values (E) calculated for annealed stainless
steel wires from bend tests with a support at 2Omm'
WIRE TYPE E E
Elastic modulus values were calculated from the load data. The sss O1O
specimen elastic modulus value was close to the accepted value of
between 193 to 2OO GPa.
92
would have a greater impact on the elastic modulus value of the more
cold-worked wires but the reverse was true.
The elastic modulus values calculated from the unload data were all
extremely low and less than values calculated from the load data. This
may be accounted for by the reduced springback of annealed wires.
WIRE TYPE EP
E E
(secs)
(GPa) (LOAD) (GPal (UNLOAD)
ssso 020 annealed / not ep 168.59 46.66
166.51 67.02
140.78 70.67
166.72 28.85
93
There is insufficient data to determine an effect of interrupting the
electropolishing versus continuous electropolishing. Given that no
differences were noted when diameter changes were compared after
continuous versus ¡nterrupted electropolishing, ¡t is unlikely to be
significant. For these reasons it was decided that results of wires
electropolished for the same total time could be grouped together to
provide the average values given in Table 18.
Table 18: Mean elastic modulus values (E) calculated for annealed and
electropolished (ep) sta¡nless steel specimens'
25 143
50 160
75 135
100 153
A comparison can be made for as-received wires after ep25" and 50"
(16OGPa and 162GPa respectively). Again, annealing of the wires did not
have the anticipated effect of increasing the elastic modulus values.
It was noted that the elastic modulus values for the retested wires were
lower excluding the wire electropolished 1OO seconds'
5. Other wires
These wire specimens were all tested in the as-received state. Wires
have been grouped together according to the tests performed. lnitial
stress-strain curves are included in the Appendix
(1) graPhs 126 - 127-
(2) graphs 128 - 132
(3) graphs 133 - 138
(4) graphs 139 - 141
94
For preformed nickel-titanium archwires, the straightest section of the
archwires were used.
Table 19: Elastic modulus values (E) for alpha-titanium (at) and nickel-
titanium (nt) wires calculated from cantilever bend tests with the support
at 18.5mm.
WIRE TYPE E E
Very low elastic modulus results were noted previously when' a slot
support was used, and again l¡ttle reliability could be placed in these
results.
WIRE TYPE E E
95
(3) Cantilever bend test us¡ng a knife edge support at lOmm
Table 21: Elastic modulus values (E) for nickel-titanium (nt) wires
calculated from bend tests with the support at lOmm'
WIRE TYPE E E
These results for the annealed specimens are given in f able 22'
Table 22= Elastic modulus values (E) for alpha-titanium (at), beta-titanium
(bt) and nickel-titanium (nt) wires calculated from bend tests with the
support at 2Omm.
WIRE TYPE E E
Data calculated from tests (2), (31 and (4) will be discussed according to
wire type.
96
1. alpha-titanium
Two specimen of 018 x O25 were tested resulting in elastic modulus
values of 55 and 59GPa. These values are lower than the range 78 - 99
GPa as quoted by sokel 1984.
2. beta-titanium
One beta-titanium O17 x O25 wire was tested. The elastic modulus value
of 263Gpa was very high. A wide range of elastic modulus values are
quoted for beta-titanium wires ranging from 55 - 11OGPa (Goldberg and
Burstone 1979) and 65GPa (Burstone 198O).
3. nickel-titanium
preliminary tests using a cant¡lever bend test with a knife edge support at
1Omm, indicated that the elastic modulus value increased from 28GPa to
67GPa as the wire diameter was increased from 014 to 018.
The cantilever test was repeated for nt 016 using a knife edge support at
2Omm. The elastic modulus value was 53GPa which was lower than the
57Gpa recorded at 1Omm. This is in contrastto trend noted in section 3.
(1) where the elastic modulus values calculated with the support at
2Omm were higher than those calculated with the support at lOmm'
No elastic modulus values are quoted in the literature for the superelastic
nickel-titanium wires. lnitial tests showed a range of 16 - 35GPa for the
wires tested. When discussing elastic modulus values for these wires
with one company it was stated that an actual value is not quoted but
the shape of the stress-stra¡n curve is what is relied on for quality
control.
There was considerable scatter of the data. only limited data was
plotted, to enable the straightest section of the stress-strain curve to be
drawn. Despite this, a large range of elastic modulus values were
calculated.
97
Mechanical tests still appear unsatisfactory so alternative physical
methods of assessing the elastic modulus were investigated. These
included resonance and the velocity of sound.
G. Resonance
1. Preliminary
(1) Wire size
Several different diameter stainless steel wires were tested. The results
are listed in Table 23 according to wire diameter.
Table 23: Elastic modulus values (E) for as-received stainless steel wires
calculated from preliminary resonance tests.
014
sspp ps 0.000412 245 4.O83333 0.1 0.001 1.41E-15 155
016
sspp o.000412 260 4.333333 0.1 0.001 1.41E-l5 175
016
sspp ps 0.00045 285 4.75 0.1 0.001 2.01E-l5 148
018
sspp 0.0004s2 300 5 0.1 0.001 2.05E-15 161
018
sssp 0.000509 350 s.833333 0.1 0.001 3.29E-15 136
o20
98
The elastic modulus values for the sta¡nless steel premium plus wire
ranging from 012 to O18 were inconsistent. The sspp pulse straightened
016 and 018 wires elastic modulus values were lower when compared
with the same dimension non-pulse straightened stainless steel'
The sspp 016 and sspp O2O wires were electropolished for either twenty-
five or one hundred seconds prior to testing. These results are given in
Table 24. Results for as-received wires are also included (in non-bold
type) for comParison.
Table 24: Elastic modulus values (E) for electropolished ("p) stainless
steel wires calculated from preliminary resonance tests.
ep25"
sspp 01 6 0.000395 235 3.916667 0.1 0.001 1.19E-15 169
eol 00"
sssp 02O o.000509 350 5.833333 0.1 o.001 3.29E-15 136
ep25"
sssp 020 0.000495 325 5.416667 0.1 0.001 2.95E-15 131
ep1 00"
99
image was seen. Although reducing the distance at which the weight
was suspended assisted experimentation, tests were only pursued on
stainless steel wires. The results are given in Table 25'
Table 25: Elastic modulus values (E) for nickel-titanium (nt) and super
elastic nickel-titanium (sent) wires calculated from resonance tests'
2. Detailed tests
Three specimens of each wire type were prepared and then tested. The
wires were tested in the as-received state. Six additional specimens of
sspp O1G and sssp O2O were prepared. Half were electropolished twenty
five seconds and the remainder one hundred seconds.
(11Wire size
Results from tests on as-received stainless steel w¡res are listed in Table
26 according to diameter.
Table 26: Elastic modulus values (E) for as-received stainless steel wires
calculated from resonance tests.
100
WIRE DIAMETER FREO FREO LENGTH MASS I VALUE E
sss 010
wire 1 0.000254 250 4.166667 0.05 o.001 2.048-16 140
012
wire 1 0.000301 145 2.416667 0.1 0.001 4.O5E-16 190
o'14
wire 1 0.000358 180 3 0.1 0.001 8.04E-16 147
ssoo 01 6
wire 1 0.000411 245 4.083333 0.1 0.001 1.4E-15 156
sspp ps
016
wire 1 0.000411 245 4.083333 0.1 0.001 1.4E-15 156
18
wire 1 0.00045 305 5.083333 0.1 0.001 2.01E-15 169
sspp ps
018
wire 1 0.00045 290 4.833333 0.1 0.001 2.01E-l5 153
o20
wire 1 0.000508 385 6.416667 0.1 0.001 3.26E-15 166
101
The elastic modulus values for the sspp O12 wires are close to the
published data. All othervalues are lowexcluding sspp 014 wire 3 which
is too high. lt is interesting to note the large range of values for both the
sspp 014 and sspp O2O wires. No particular pattern was observed'
Table 27: Elastic modulus values (E) for electropolished ("p) stainless
steel wires calculated from resonance tests.
sspp 01 6
eo25"
wire 1 0.00041 255 4.25 0.1 o.001 1.38E-15 172
sspp 01 6
ep1 00"
wire 1 0.000404 235 3.916667 0.1 o.001 1.31E-15 154
sssp 020
ep25"
wire 1 0.000505 345 5.75 0.1 0.001 3.2E-15 136
sssp 020
ep1 00"
wire 1 0.000s06 355 5.916667 0.1 o.001 3.21E-15 143
toz
Despite using an alternative technique it was still proving difficult to
produce a consistent elastic modulus value. A large range of elastic
modulus values were calculated. ln addition the values were still
significantly lower than the textbook figures often quoted' For these
reasons it was decided to pursue a further technique which measures the
veloc¡ty of sound.
D. Velocity of sound
1. Preliminary experiments
A vibration was passed through as-received sssp O2O wire with attached
piezoelectric crystals spaced at either 40,60, 80, lOO or 12Omm' Two
wave forms appear on the oscilloscope screen which represent the
initiating and "received/dampened" vibration. The distance between the
two wave forms was measured by cursors to calculate the time elapsed.
The reference po¡nts used were varied: peak to peak, trough to trough
and the points of first deviation from the horizontal. The diagram of the
wave patterns observed on the oscilloscope screen illustrates the
different reference points used (Fig. 241.
(1) The distance between the peaks was used as a reference. These
results are given in Table 28. lt was noted that it was not easy to
determine accurately the crest of the peak.
Table 28: Elastic modulus values (E) for stainless steel wire calculated
from speed of sound tests using the peaks as reference points.
103
PEAK
DEVIATION (1)
*
TROUGH
+
(21
104
The elastic modulus values were all very low. lt was noted that as the
distance between the piezoelectric crystals is increased the elastic
modulus values increased'
l2l A different reference point (the base of the troughs) was chosen to
see ¡f more accurate values could be calculated. These results are given
in Table 29.
Table 29: Elastic modulus values (E) for stainless steel wire calculated
from speed of sound tests using the troughs as reference points'
The elastic modulus values were higher than when the peaks of the wave
form were used as a reference, but still lower than the published data.
Again it is noted that the values for elastic modulus increased as the
distance between the piezoelectric crystals increased.
105
Tabte 3O: Elastic modulus values (E) for stainless steel wire calculated
from speed of sound tests using the point of deviation from the
horizontal as the reference point.
(ps) (GPa)
(ml
The elastic modulus values were much better but still low. As the elastic
modulus values were most promising using this reference point ¡t
continued to be used.
(4) Annealed
To minimise the anisotropic behaviour of heavily cold drawn orthodontic
wires ¡t was decided to test an annealed section of sssp o2o. The
variation in modulus with distance between the piezoelectric crystals is
given in Table 31.
Table 31: Elastic modulus values (E) for annealed stainless steel wire
calculated from speed of sound tests using the point of deviation from
the horizontal as the reference point.
The elastic modulus values were much higher than when tested in the as-
received state and most were close to the published data range. The
value of 2OO is within this range.
106
The high elastic modulus value of 312.5GPa may indicate that the
distance between the piezoelectric crystals is too short.
The results of repeating these tests using a new sect¡on of annealed wire
are given in Table 32.
Table 32: Elastic modulus values (E) for new annealed stainless steel wire
specimen calculated from speed of sound tests using the point of
deviation from the horizontal as the reference point'
Early tests indicated that ¡t was not easyto achieve consistent results.
The use of a square wave form which would give a well defined
reference point may be advantageous.
The potential for variation in wire tension to affect the elastic modulus
value needs to be investigated. lf tension does affect the elastic modulus
values a weight may need to be hung from the wire to eliminate this
variable.
ro7
Summarv of the elastic modulus tests
108
Table 33: A comparison of elastic modulus values derived from different techniques using load data.
Wre Type Slot Knife Knife Knife edge 3-point Resonance Speed Speed
Support edge edge support bend of of
18.Smm Support Support (annealed) test GPa sound sound
20mm 1Omm 20mm (annealed)
GPa GPa GPa 0.08
GPa GPa GPa deviatíon
GPa
at018x025 38 55 59
o25 263
nt 014 29 r.2
nt 016 24 53 75 28
55r3
nt 018 69r3
s 35 20
25
sent018x028 16
2 o28 23
sss 010 205 148 r.7
sspp 01 2 151 188r38
sspp 014 187 177 r.58
sspp 0l 6 81 202 173 164r8
EP 25sec 166 r 10
EP 30sec 76 221
EP 45sec 83 213
EP 100sec 164 + 13
sspp ps 01 6 155r4
109
Table 33 continued
Wre Type Slot Knife Knife Knife edge 3-poínt Resonance Speed Speed
Support edge edge support bend of of
18.Smm Support Support (annealed) test GPa sound sound
20mm 1Omm 20mm (annealed)
GPa GPa GPa 0,08
GPa GPa GPa deviation
GPa
110
Effect of diameter change on elastic modulus values
A comment was made earlier about the effect of wire diameter on elastic
modulus values. To assess this, the wire diameter value was increased
by 2o/o and the elastic modulus values were recalculated without
changing any other parameters. sspp ps 018 wire specimens were
chosen and the wire diameter was increased from 0.45 to O.46mm and
the results are as listed in Table 34.
111
a
y = O.I ló32 + O.9Z]7OX R^2 = O.991
2
z
a
o
o
o
Er(ension (mm)
b
I=3.4912c-3+ 1.0628x R^2= rl
z
d
o
o
(,
Ertcnsion (mm)
Figure 25: Modification of load data. The first graph shows the slope of
the l¡ne of best fit when all data were ploffed. ln the second graph data is
limited to the first six values.
Lt2
a
2-4{v10rc-2 < O6?485x l{^2 =O-9tì(r
z
z
ó
o
d
ð
o
o
(, l
Extcnsion (mm)
2
b t= -o.rs222 + 0.77212¡ R^2 =o.s(
2
€G
o
cé
o
(, l
Extcnsion (mm)
12
c . 0.8ó951r R^2 = 0.99)
0.245?0
08
z
d
o o.6
a
.J
o.4
o2.
0-o
o4 o6 o_a to r: l4 t6
Ertension (mm)
Figure 26: Modification of untoad data. ln the first graph all data are
plotted. ln the second graph, only eight data po¡nts are plotted and zero
po¡nt is ignored. ln the last graph the slope is calculated from five data
po¡nts only.
Lt3
Table 35: The effect of data modification on the accuracy of the stra¡ght
line fit for a stainless steel premium plus, pulse straightened O'O18" wire'
R^2 indicates the accuracy of the straight line fit to the stress-strain data
plotted. For column 1 all data were plotted. When load data was limited
to six points, a perfect straight line fit was achieved. For the unload data,
a nearly perfect fit of 0.999 was noted when five data points were
plotted and zero ignored.
E E E
After embedding the sspp 018 wire specimen in Bakelite, it was polished
to a mirror finish, exposing the maximum wire diameter for
microhardness testing. This enabled the microhardness of the wire
surface to be compared with the inner core.
The surface layer of the wire is more heavily cold drawn and therefore
harder. Removal of the surface layer, such as with electropolishing, may
make the wire softer. lf the wire was homogeneous surface layer removal
would not be significant.
l14
Both the diagonal distances of the indentation square were measured
from photomicrographs (magnification 142Oxl in millimetres. An average
of these two distances are listed in Table 37 below according to the
loads used. Values are listed as measured, from one surface across to
the other.
mm mm mm
6 7.25 10.25
5.25 6.5 10
5 6.5 10
5.5 7 9.5
5 6.75 9.75
5.25 7 9.25
5 6.75 9.75
5.5 7 9.75
5.25 7 9.75
5.75 7 9.5
5.25 7.25 10
5.25 7 10
5.5 7 10
5 7 10
5.75
5.75
115
The measurements were adjusted to allow for the magnification (1'42 x
163¡ used. An average of all the values (excluding the edges) were used
to calculate the Vickers hardness numbers given in Table 38. This varied
between fifteen and seventeen measurements for each'
Table 38: Vickers hardness numbers for a stainless steel prem¡um plus
0.O18" wire.
LOAD ¿ (pm) HV HV
(mathematically (referenced from
calculated*) table* *)
Hardness-Tester.
As the load was increased, from base load to 25P to 5OP, HV increased.
lf these wires do have a more heavily cold worked surface layer, it would
be expected that as the load was increased, HV would decrease. The
rationale for this being that a lighter load would only penetrate the outer
hard surface while a heavier load would penetrate the softer core. The
value of the latter would be an average of the hard outer surface and the
softer core lowering HV. This was not noted.
2. Macrohardness
The hardness values calculated were 501,753, 516. The middle value of
753 is so different to the other values and should be rejected as a
consequence. The macrohardness values were lower than the
116
microhardness values. This is to be expected ¡f the macrohardness values
are an average of the hard surface layer and softer core.
F. Surface appearance
a. Surface effects of pulse straightening.
ln premium plus O18 wire, closely spaced striations (S), parallel to the
long axis of the wire, are evident on the surface (Fig. 271. The elongated
grains give a fibrous appearance. which is typical of heavily cold worked
wires. The low temperature stress relieving heat treatment after the final
draw is below the recrystallization temperature so this does not affect
the fibrous appearance. The surface roughness is possibly a function of
die wear.
rt7
-vsC¡ --?-. -j- :=- r-É _ _ <
70pm
t
I t
:lio'i
)(t
t
fD- 'If
70pm
118
69pm
119
Singh 1991 noted that premium plus O16 ss wire showed less striations
than special plus 02O ss.
c. Fractography
r20
Figure 31: A scanning electron micrograph of a longitudinal section of
stainless steel special plus O.O2O" wire which has been electropolished
tor 25" and viewed at a magnification of 75x'
72¡tm
l2l
Figure 33: A scanning electron micrograph of a longitudinal section of
sta¡nless steel special plus O.02O" which has been electropolished for
15O' and viewed at a magnification of 75x. A deep gouge (G) was
noted.
t22
The number of bends required before the point of fracture were recorded
and this data is graphically illustrated (Fig. 35).
30
25
20
Emean
hlgh
NUMBER OF BENDS 15
_to*
10
o
l)12 o14 016 016 o18 018 016 016 o20 018 x O215x
.tPP t3PP rsPp ppps ttPp ppps nl ntsc nt!c 026 024
ntsc ntsê
WIRE TYPE
123
Figure 36: A of a deliberately fractured
scanning electron micrograph
stainless steel premium plus O.O18" wire surface showing "tag"
formation.
t24
Figures g7 and 38: Scanning electron micrographs of the fractured
surfaces of deliberately maltreated stainless steel premium plus O'O18"
wires showing variation in the extent of "tag" formation.
r25
._:_-
t26
the wire surface (Fig. a0) and represent ¡ncremental changes in the plane
of the crack. However in another sample (Fig.41), there is a clearly
different zone (at D) normal to the wire surface, or even inclined in the
opposite direction to the "tag". The remaining surface area of the
fracture surface is similar to that described above. A similar fracture can
be seen in Figure 42, but here the two zones are separated by a
pronounced crack (at E). Another photomicrograph (Fig. 43), shows that
these central cracks can grow in a steplike manner to produce the step
features noted in all the "tag" samples.
TEM studies would reveal detail of the wire structure by allowing the fine
granular structure to be assessed. Different phases (matrix or
tn
I
r-
P] I = a"tF I r1r'
rn rn - r"-t;'-'
I
a
/
i
.4
@
?
\-
i-
{
{l
o.1nm2B.6 kU 1.58E2 BBBI J L_ì!ì Þ_-,
-
Figure 42: A scann¡ng electron micrograph -of a fractured wire surface
where a pronounced Crack (E) separating a "tag" and zone normal to the
wire surface, or even inclined away from the "tag"'
128
¿-
\
ãÞ
---T'r-')
f
t\
\-i
- - .1--t
-
l-tà'2
fr
Ê1mm1'f-l'
-)
Figure 43: A scann¡ng electron m¡crograph of a fractured wire surface
showing the steplike growth of a central crack'
ð
t
129
a
! 1.
.a
\ I
\,
a'-
æ1
:fl
\
\r.
\
t-
),i { I .1+. rl'
rl E H I'l =. F Ur'i c,+ F¡¡elEiae Pr,i I rf¡s 5ur= :'1r-¡¡l :<:1-l'ìlìY-E=: I-..
t :
il
i!
;l
:!
.'..:-...i
:l
Figure 46: A printout of the EDS analysis of sta¡nless steel wire showing
the presence of iron, chromium and nickel'
130
prec¡p¡tate), ¡mpurities and defects or heavily deformed regions may be
revealed
The preparation of thin 3mm foils for TEM assessment is not easy due to
the small diameter of the wires. One way of overcoming this was to
prepare the fo¡ls from wires of larger diameter. Although the structure
could be assessed the effects of cold drawing would not be present
(Singh 1991).
131
CHAPTER 6
coNcLUsroNs
r32
Although elastic modulus values were increased they were still low when
compared to the textbook quoted values.
t33
O16 and O18 sta¡nless steel wires decreasing while for O2O wires
increasing.
Wires were deliberately maltreated to the point of fracture and then the
fractured surfaces were assessed in the SEM. This was to assess for
textural differences between the wire surface and inner core. The wires
exhibited a ductile fibrous fracture but no significant textural differences
were noted.
134
CHAPTER 7
FUTURE RESEARCH
2. Most tests reported in the literature use stra¡ght lengths of wire when
determining the elastic modulus. Brantley (1978) (in lngram et al, 1986)
used beam theory technique, to show results for the measurement of
varying lengths of the same material which gave elastic modulus values
that differed by more than l}Oo/o between half, one and two inch
specimens. This should be investigated in more detail.
135
to provide additional
B. Testing should be extended to include other tests
mechanical data such as proport¡onal limit, elastic limit, yield point'
tensile strength, proof stress, ductility, resilience and toughness'
t36
BIBLIOGRAPHY
t3l
Blake,A. Practical Stress Analysis in Engineering Design. (1982). Marcel
Dekker, Inc. New York and Basel.
283 - 300.
1696 - 1700.
1 -16.
138
Council on dental materials and devices (1977) American Dental
Association Specification No, 32 for orthodontic wires not containing
precious metals. J. Am. Dent. Assoc.,95: 1169 - 1171.
139
Harris,E.F., Newman,S.M. and Nicholsen,J.A. (1988) Nitinol archwire in
a simulated oral environment : changes in mechanical properties. Am. J.
Orthod. Dentofac. Orthop. 93 : 508 - 513.
140
Khier,S.E., Brantley,W.A. and Fournelle,R.A. (1988) Structure and
mechanical properties of as- received and heat -treated stainless steel
orthodontic wires. Am. J. Orthod. Dentofac. Orthop. 93 : 206 - 212.
t4t
Miniload Hardnes Tester manual. Ernst Leitz, GMBH and Wetzlar. (1968)
Miura,F., Mogi,M., Ohura,Y. and Hamanaka,H. (1986) The superelastic
property of the Japanese NiTi alloy wire for the use in orthodontics. Am.
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t42
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