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A Comparative Study of Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Different

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Trends Biomater. Artif. Organs, 25(2), 67-74 (2011) http://www.sbaoi.org

A Comparative Study of Physical and Mechanical Properties of the

Different Grades of Australian Stainless Steel Wires
Singaraju Gowri Sankar*, Surendra Shetty V. 1, Diwakar Karanth H.S.2
Departmentof Orthodontics, Narayana Dental College, Nellore 517501, Andhra Pradesh
1
Departmentof Orthodontics, College of Dental Surgery, Mangalore, Karnataka
2
Departmentof Orthodontics, Maratha Mandal‘s Nathajirao G. Halgekar Institute of Dental Sciences & Research Centre,
Belgaum, Karnataka
*Corresponding author: Dr. Singaraju Gowri Sankar, e-mail: drgowrisankar@gmail.com

Received 31 July 2010; Accepted 3 August 2010; Available online 4 May 2011

Introduction

Archwires are the components of an orthodontic fixed
appliance through which forces are generated and
consequently tooth movement is achieved. Austenitic
stainless steel with its greater strength, higher modulus
of elasticity, good resistance to corrosion and moderate
cost was introduced as an orthodontic wire in 1929 and
shortly gained popularity (1). Recent developments in
material science have lent themselves to improving the
properties of orthodontic stainless steel arch wire
technology. The A.J.Wilcock arch wire also called as
the Australian arch wire is basically a high tensile
stainless steel wire that is heat treated to yield its familiar
and excellent clinical properties (2). The A.J. Wilcock
Scientific and Engineering Company, the manufacturers
of the Australian wire, have been conducting Research
and Development studies to further improve the wire.
Traditionally available grades (tempers) of wires are
Regular, Regular plus, Special, Special Plus and
Premium. Further two new grades of Australian wires
have been introduced recently. They are Premium plus
and Supreme which are two grades above that of Special
plus. Australian wire is available in sizes ranging from
0.0123 to 0.0243 round wire .The Supreme grade is
available in the sizes of 0.008 to 0.011 inch wires. They
are used for aligning crowded teeth and used to form
mini-uprightning springs that produce very gentle forces
(3). A technique of manufacture has been developed
called pulse straightening, which produces a far superior
wire in terms of physical properties (4). Pulse straightened
wires are available in Premium, Premium Plus and
Supreme grades. They are supposed to have a smoother
surface finish, and theoretically, therefore, less frictional
resistance. Mollenhaeur has stated that some of the
physical properties of this wires may be increased by an
order of 300% (3). Although Australian wire, a distinctive
type of steel used in various techniques and treatment
philosophies, has been included in the orthodontic
armamentarium for quite some time, a review of the
published literature reveals a lack of information on
fundamental physical and mechanical properties.
Presently an orthodontist may select from all the available
grades of Wilcock arch wires one that best meets the
demands of a particular clinical situation and the efficiency
of the operator. The selection of appropriate grade of
wire in turn would provide the benefit of optimum and
predictable treatment results. The clinician must therefore
be conversant with the difference in the mechanical
properties and clinical application of these various grades
of wires. A review of the literature revealed that most of
the literature has addressed the study of the mechanical
and structural properties of traditional stainless steel
orthodontic wires. Very few studies are available
exclusively on Australian wires. None of the studies
compared the properties of all the available grades of
A.J. Wilcock wire. Comprehensive Studies on the
comparative properties of different grades of the
Australian wire are also not available. There is also
scarcity of data regarding the properties of pulse
straightened and spinner straightened wires (5-14). The
purpose of the present study is to evaluate and compare
the mechanical structural properties of all grades of
0.016’’ Wilcock Australian Stainless Steel round arch
wires and to compare the properties of Spinner
straightened and pulse straightened wires. The Wilcock
wires included in this study are Regular, Regular plus,
Special, Special plus, Premium, Premium Plus (Spinner
straightened), Premium plus (pulse straightened),
Supreme (Spinner straightened) and Supreme (pulse
straightened). The properties that are evaluated are:
Tensile properties, Maximum load via three point bending,
Working range Kinetic friction, Stress relaxation,
 68 S.G. Sankar, V.S. Shetty, H.S.D. Karanth
Microhardness, Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM),
Evaluation of surface topography and Elemental analysis.
Surface area
roughness
Materials and Methods
0.404
0.392

0.368

0.384
0.352
0.350
0.322
0.372

0.370
Sv

The objective of the study is to evaluate and compare the

structural and mechanical properties of all grades of
Australian and Wilcock Stainless round wires. All the
grades (tempers) of wires are 0.016" size except for the
620 ± 24
622 ± 32
634 ± 36
640 ± 28
648 ± 24
652 ± 28
684 ± 32
650 ± 28
678 ± 24
Supreme grade wire. The Wilcock wires included in this
Vhn

study are 0.016’’ Regular, Regular plus, Special, Special

plus, Premium, Premium Plus (Spinner straightened),
Premium plus (pulse straightened), and 0.11’’ Supreme
(Spinner straightened) and Supreme (pulse straightened)
0.0371 ± 0.0020

0.0397 ± 0.0018

0.0417 ± 0.0021
0.0423 ± 0.0054

0.0324 ± 0.0045
0.0375 ± 0.0025

0.0406 ± 0.0016

0.0540 ± 0.0013

0.0410 ± 0.0015
At 50mg load

Since 0.016" inch size wires is not available in Supreme

Coefficient of

resistance
frictional

grade, 0.011" wire is taken for comparison. All the

samples were coded separately in order to avoid any
observer bias. Five wires of each sample were taken for
each experiment. Only one sampling of each wire was
done for elemental analysis. Long specimens were chosen
to minimize stress incorporation. These segments were
At 2mm deflection

1074.28 ± 42.98

1393.14 ± 25.24
1018.24 ± 37.24

1191.34 ± 41.94
1280.23 ± 35.23
822.33 ± 23.24

423.14 ± 15.93
908.63 ± 34.24

480.94 ± 26.38

carefully handled as they were uncoiled from the round

wound spools and were subjected to the following tests.
(gms)
Load

Tensile Test

A tensile test (15) was used to evaluate the tensile

properties of all the grades of wire. Five straight sections
of each wire grade were subjected to tensile loading on
42.04 ± 1.24
40.24 ± 2.48
40.14 ± 1.26
37.24 ± 1.44

35.98 ± 0.94
36.33 ± 1.54

33.24 ± 1.23
34.98 ± 1.28
33.14 ± 1.54
Percentage

an Instron universal testing machine (Model 4204, Instron)

elongation

having a load cell capacity of 100 kg. A load range at 100

kg was used for this test. An inter cross-head distance of
50 mm was used and the speed at which the cross-head
Table 1: Measured properties of different grades of A.J. Wilcock stainless steel archwire

moved was 0.5 mm/minute. All tests are continued until

the failure due to fracture occurred. The force - elongation
data are replotted as stress- strain graphs. The ultimate
1870.24 ± 25.44
1940.35 ± 34.25
2324.14 ± 33.23
2480.29 ± 54.24
2496.31 ± 48.24
2602.23 ± 37.28
2998.94 ± 41.24
2968.35 ± 44.29
3291.28 ± 37.54

tensile strength (U.T.S.) is equated to the braking strength

strength
(MPa)

of the wire. The yield strength was determined by offsetting

Yield

0.1 % deviation from the linearity. Strain percentage gives

the percentage elongation of the wire.

Three Point bend test

2221.33 ± 124.23

2633.84 ± 137.24

A three point bend test is done with a slight modification

2870.54 ± 34.27
2985.71 ± 87.24

3178.72 ± 24.98
2398.24 ± 25.38

2820.72 ± 28.23

3124.85 ± 35.24

3417.29 ± 85.98

as described by Miura et al (16). A two unit male-female

Strength
Ultimate

(MPa)
Tensile

fixtures were designed to test the amount of force required

for a given deflection. The female part is attached to the
lower head of the Instron machine. It consists of two
vertical plates separated by a distance of 14 mm. The
male part is attached to the upper movable head and
consists of a single vertical plate. When upper head is
Diameter
(inches)

depressed fully, this vertical plate coincides with the centre

0.016
0.016

0.016

0.016
0.016
0.011
0.011
0.016
0.016

of the inter distance of the female vertical plates. The

female vertical plates have grooves in which the wire
specimen is placed. The upper head is depressed at a
Premium plus(S.S.)
Premium plus(P.S.)

rate of 0.5 mm/min and the force required to produce a

deflection of 2 mm is noted. Five specimens from each
Supreme (S.S.)
Supreme (P.S.)

grade of the wire are tested and the average force needed
Regular plus

Special plus

for a given deflection of 2 mm is calculated.

Premium
Regular

Special
Wire

Working range

A five unit test jig was constructed for the purpose of this
Sl.no

study with slight modification proposed by wong et al 10.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

The test jig represents a three bracket system with the

middle bracket simulating as a malaligned tooth in the
labiolingual direction (Fig 1). With this design no ligation
 Physical and Mechanical Properties of Australian Stainless Steel Wires 69
Table 2: Measurement of working ranges of different grades of A.J. Wilcock stainless steel archwire
Sl. Diameter Percentage recovery for different amounts of deflection
Wire
No. (inches ) 1mm 2mm 3mm 4mm 5mm
1 Regular 0.016 87.6 92.75 82.50 66.12 63.70
2 Regular Plus 0.016 98.8 93.75 82.16 64.62 64.72
3 Special 0.016 96.5 94.60 81.5 61.37 65.30
4 Special Plus 0.016 99.7 95.10 84.66 60.80 69.94
5 Premium 0.016 99.5 90.25 81.16 58.61 69.88
6 Premium Plus (S.S) 0.016 97.6 94.50 81.83 61.37 66.10
7 Premium Plus (P.S) 0.016 96.6 93.75 78.16 55.60 56.50
8 Supreme (S.S) 0.011 100 98.35 91.16 73.95 79.68
9 Supreme (P.S) 0.011 99.9 97.30 88.50 71.00 73.48

Table 3: Elemental analysis of different grades of A.J. Wilcock stainless steel archwire

was needed to secure the wire in the slot. Hence it
eliminates the influence of ligation method on the
deformation of wire. Each test jig consists of 1) two fixed
side bars acting as supports 2) a movable middle bar also
with slots to deflect the wires 3) a base to which these
bars were fixed. The middle bar can deflect the wire to a
maximum of 10 mm. Deflections for 1mm, 2mm, 3 mm,
4mm and 5mm were tested separately in each unit.
Permanent deformation was measured with Travelling
microscopic (Olympus, DF plan IX, Model 52H 100, Stereo
Zoom Microscope). Fine ink marks were made on the wire
precisely where it emerged from the slot. These marks
were used as reference points to measure the amount of
deflection with an accuracy of 0.001mm. Wires were
unloaded after 1 hour .The amount of permanent
deformation was measured at the middle of the span after
unloading the wires. The absolute magnitude and
percentage of creep deformation (Time dependent
deformation) were calculated for all wires for given
deflection.
Creep deformation % = (creep deformation/deflection) x 100
The percentage recovery is calculated by using the formula
Percentage recovery = 100 - creep deformation percentage.
Frictional resistance
The measurement of friction was done for all the grades
of the wire according to the experimental design proposed
by Tidy (17). The apparatus setup included non-torqued
and non angulated edgewise brackets (Dentaurum,
Pfrozheim, Germany) having an 0.018"x0.025" slot,
bonded on to a rigid persplex sheet at 8 mm intervals
with a space of 10mm at the centre for including a movable
bracket. The wires were secured in place with 0.010"
elastomeric ligatures. The movable bracket was fitted with
a 10 mm power arm from which weights could be hung to
represent the single equivalent force acting at the center
of resistance of the tooth root. All tests were conducted
under dry conditions with an Instron universal testing
machine. The movable bracket was suspended from the
load cell of the testing machine while the base plate was
mounted on the cross-head below. The cross head,
connected with the suspended bracket moved upward at
the speed of 2mm/minute. At the start of each test, a trial
run was performed with no load on the power arm to check
that bracket was not binding on the arch wire. Weights of
50 and 100 gms were suspended from the power arm
and the load needed to move the bracket across the
central span in the apparatus was recorded on chart paper.
Five representative readings were then taken with each
load with each grade of wire. The load cell readings
represented the clinical force of retraction that would be
applied to the teeth, part of which would be lost in friction
whilst the remainder would be transmitted to the tooth
root and constitute the translational force. The difference
between the load cell readings and the load on the power
arm represents frictional resistance.
The coefficient of friction between the two surfaces in
contact was calculated using the formula.
P = 2 Fhm / W OR m = P x W / 2Fh
m = Coefficient of friction ; P = Frictional resistance; W = Bracket
slot width ; F = Equivalent force acting at a distance: h = 10 mm
Stress relaxation
An experimental set up has been designed and
constructed as described by Hazel8 to measure the stress
relaxation. The arch wire specimens are fabricated along
the following lines. For the purpose of the study an arch
shape was determined from measurement of each of
70 S.G. Sankar, V.S. Shetty, H.S.D. Karanth
twenty randomly selected maxillary casts of ideal
occlusion. The measurements made were inter canine
width, intermolar width and the anterior posterior distance
from the centre point of the arch to inter molar axis. The
arch form and dimensions are presented in Figure 2. The
apparatus consists of an acrylic plate form attached to a
specially constructed fixture attached to a lower head of
the instron machine (Fig 2). Two round molar tubes were
fixed separated by a distance of 55mm. Begg bracket is
fixed to the anterior portion of the acrylic plate such that it
lies in the centre of arch when the wires in depressed. A
tip back bend of 45° was used .The tip back bends
projected 2 mm mesial to the molar tube and the distal
ends of arch wire were cinched. The anterior vertical
depressant force required to straighten the wire is
measured by a special fixture attached to upper head of
Instron machine. A load cell capacity of 100 kg with
sensitivity of 0.001 kg is used. The initial load required to
straighten the wire and the resultant strain is noted. The
load reading is arbitrarily taken when the arch wire first
touches the acrylic plate. The anterior portion of the arch
wire is ligated in the bracket. The ligatures were relieved
after one week. The final load required to straighten the
wire for the given strain is noted. From the difference
between the two readings stress relaxation is calculated.
Microhardness
Five wire specimens of each type were assessed for Micro
hardness. The Vickers hardness (HV) of wires was
assessed by using a microhardness tester (DHV-3000;
Chroma Systems India) under a 500 g load and testing
time of 15 seconds. The area of the sloping surface of the
indentation is calculated. The Vickers hardness (HV) is
the quotient obtained by dividing the Kilogram Force load
by square mm of indentation.
Structure and elemental analysis
The X-ray diffraction XRD studies were carried out using
a Philips X’Pert Powder Diffractometer (PW 3040,
PANalytical, Almelo, the Netherlands) for structural
analysis using CuKá radiation (40 kV, 50 mA), with the
programmable divergence slit and receiving slit kept at 1
Figure 1: A five unit test jig. Each unit has 1. A movable
middle bar with slot and 2. Fixed side bars with slots. The
middle bar moves to and fro simulating labiolingual displace-
ment of teeth. Deflections and elastic recovery are tested
for deflections of 1mm, 2mm,3mm, 4mm and 5mm
degree and 0.1 mm, respectively. Elemental analysis is
done Neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique.
Surface topography
The surface topography of the wire was evaluated with
the aid of a Scanning Electron Microscope ( JSM -5410 LL,
Scanning Microscope, Jeol, Datum Ltd., Tokyo, Japan).
The specimens, of about an inch long, were mounted on
specimen studs using silver paste which is an electrically
conductive adhesive. The studs with the specimens were
later placed inside the vacuum chamber of the S.E.M. An
accelerating voltage of 20 kv, a current of 3 amperes were
used. The surface was scanned and observed on the
screen at 20x, 200x, 500x and 1000x magnifications.
Photographs of the specimen were then taken at 500 X
magnification. A square mm grid inbuilt into the
microscope was superimposed up on the
photomicrographs at 1000 X magnification. The surface
porosity was analyzed by the method described by De
Hoff R.T (18). The horizontal lines of the grid were scanned
and the number of intersections made by the surface
porosities and elevations were counted.
The total length of the lines scanned was estimated since
the length of each line is known (100 mm x 10lines =
1000mm). The line intersect count (P L) was then obtained.
(PL denotes the number of intersections counted divided
by the length of test line samples). The surface area in
unit volume (S v) was then calculated by utilizing the
following relations:
PL = 1/2 Sv OR Sv = 2 PL
Results and Discussion
The readings and Values obtained from all tests with the
exception of Elemental analysis, surface topography, and
micro hardness were statistically analyzed. The ultimate
Tensile strength, yield strength and percentage elongation
are calculated from stress-strain graphs for all grades of
wires. All data are expressed as Mean ± SD. Analysis of
the difference between each corresponding grade of wire
is done by using the students‘t’ test of significance
between means at confidence interval of 95%. ANOVA
test was carried for the categorical data of working range.
A search of the orthodontic literature yielded very little
information has been presented on Australian orthodontic
Figure 2: Figure showing the representative arch form and
measurement of stress relaxation
 Physical and Mechanical Properties of Australian Stainless Steel Wires
wires. Only a few studies pertinent to the analysis of
surface characteristics, elemental composition, and
mechanical properties of the Australian stainless steel
orthodontic wires were available. Meanwhile, the
introduction of different sizes and grades (tempers) makes
application of the full range of these wires a highly
empirical task, with lack of justification of specific selection.
The present investigation relates to the extent of
differentiation of wire properties with regard to grade and
process of manufacturing.
A tensile test for determination of ultimate tensile strength,
yield strength and percentage elongation is conducted.
(Table 1) The wires tested in this study exhibited a range
of values for the above three parameters. Ultimate tensile
strength is a material property and is expected to have
constant value which is independent of the dimension of
shape of the material. However, in the present study
different values are obtained for UTS ranging from the
lowest value of 2221.33 MPA for Regular to the highest
value of 3417.29 MPA for Supreme (P.S.) 0.11" wires.
Comparing the wires of same dimensions, Regular 0.016
showed least tensile strength of 2221.33 MPA followed
by Regular plus, Special, Special plus, Premium, Premium
plus (S.S) and Premium plus (P. S) in increasing order
with Premium plus (P.S.) showing an ultimate tensile
strength of 3124.85 MPA. The difference in the values is
found to be statistically significant. The pulse straightened
wires of 0.016 Premium plus (P.S.) and 0.011" Supreme
showed correspondingly higher values than their spinner
straightened (S.S.) counterparts. The difference between
means is very highly significant (t=3.30 for 0.016’’ and
t=5.96 for 0.011’’ wires). It is also noted that with the
Yield strength and Ultimate Tensile Strength of the 0.011"
diameter wires are higher than that of 0.016" counterparts.
The present values obtained for different grades of wire
are consistent with the earlier findings (7-9,13) while the
values obtained in the present study are slightly less than
that of another study(14).
Yield strength (Table 1) of a material represents the stress
below which deformation is entirely elastic. It indicates
the amount of energy stored in an orthodontic wire before
it is plastically deformed. The same trend in the values
observed for ultimate tensile strength are also noticed in
the determination of yield strength .Regular 0.016" wire
with 1870.24 MPA has lowest value with the highest value
being that of Premium plus (P.S.) with a yield strength of
2998.94 MPA. The spinner straightened Supreme 0.011"
and 0.016" wires have lower values compared to their
pulse straightened counterparts. Premium plus pulse
straightened wire seems to have increased value of yield
strength by an average of 15% than their corresponding
spinner straightened wires.
The percentage elongation (Table 1) is an indication of
the ductility of the material. It refers to the capacity of a
material to undergo deformation under tension without
rupture. It is a measure of the degree of plastic deformation
that has been sustained fracture. Lower values of
percentage elongation indicate the brittleness of the
material. Knowledge of the ductility of material is important
for at least two reasons. First, it indicates to a designer
the degree to which the wire will deform plastically before
the fracture. Secondly it specifies the degree of allowable
71
deformation during fabrication of the appliance. In the
present study Premium plus (P.S.) exhibited lowest
percentage elongation of 33.24% and highest values for
percentage elongation is displayed by Regular with value
of 42.04% in 0.016 size wires. Spinner straightened wires
possess greater percentage elongation than the
corresponding diameters of pulse straightened wires. Thus
improvements in the properties of these wires is
accompanied by certain unavoidable drawbacks, one
among this is the increased brittleness due to less
percentage elongation and consequent occasional
fracture of the wire during bending with orthodontic pliers.
However as Dr. Begg states: This is a small price to pay
for wires of such superior quality (4).
The load deflection rate is an important determinant of
the biologic response seen in tooth movement. There is
an increasing realisation that light continuous forces are
preferable in tooth movements. A three point bend test is
used to measure the load deflection rate of wires when
subjected to 2 mm deflection. This indirectly indicates the
stiffness of wire and its resistance to permanent
deformation. It is also an indication amount of forces
exerted by an archwire for a given deflection. A
comparison of the load values at 2 mm deflection revealed
the force values being increased from Regular to Premium
plus pulse straightened wires in 0.016" dimensions. The
lowest value noted for Regular grade is 822.24 grams
where as higher values of 1393.14 grams are being
observed for Premium plus pulse straightened wires.
Pulse straightened wires displayed a greater force
requirement than their corresponding spinner straightened
wires. The Premium plus 0.016" wires produced higher
force levels of an average 8.8% than spinners straightened
wire of same grade. Comparison of Supreme 0.011" pulse
straightened wire revealed a 13% increase in the force
values delivered than their corresponding counter parts
of spinner straightened wires. The findings in the study
indicate that the newer pulse straightened wire would have
greater resistance to deformation and stiffest of all grades
of wires. But equally important is the greater amount of
force it would exert while aligning displaced teeth. Whether
these forces are beneficial or harmful for tooth movement
is yet to be tested.
Working range is a measure of how far a wire can be
deformed without exceeding the limits of the material. It
is a measure of distance without regard to the force that
is required to accomplish the deflection. Clinically, it
indicates how far tooth will be moved in a single activation.
The greater the working range, the lesser the appliance
activations required and at low force levels this
approaches the concept of optimal tooth movement. The
test jig is used in the study to measure the increase in
permanent deformation. The amount of permanent
deformation experienced by the wire gives an indication
of its working range. The larger the permanent deformation
the smaller the working range. With this design no ligation
was needed to secure the wire in the slot. Hence it
eliminated the influence of ligation method on the
deformation of wire. In the present study it is observed
that there is no consistent pattern of working range from
Regular to Premium plus pulse straightened wire in the
0.016 dimensions (Table 2). Of all the wire specimens
tested the Special plus displayed superior quality of elastic
72 S.G. Sankar, V.S. Shetty, H.S.D. Karanth
recovery for a given deflection. It is also seen that spinner
straightened wires have superior working range compared
to pulse straightened wires of 0.016" wire dimension. The
percentage recovery of Premium plus spinner straightened
showed an average superior recovery rate from 97.6% to
66.10% depending upon the amount of deflection where
as pulse straightened wire exhibited a working range from
96.6% to 55.6%. However the difference is not statistically
significant. It is also noticed that as the deflection
increased from 1mm to 5 mm, larger diametre (0.016")
wires displayed a poorer working range which is as low
as 55%. But in the smaller diametre (0.011") Supreme
grade wire, elastic recovery was excellent and minimum
working range it exhibited at 5 mm deflection is not even
less than 70%. Considering that the larger diametre wires
are bound to exert greater forces on the teeth, it may be
more efficacious if the Supreme grade of wires are utilised
to effect tooth alignment particularly so when tooth
displacements are larger. These wires can be used piggy
back in initial aligning phase along with larger diameter
arch wires. The gentler forces developed by these auxiliary
wires may facilitate alignment of teeth rapidly without
unduly taxing the anchorage.
Frictional resistance is an important consideration in
orthodontic mechanotherapy because forces needed to
retract teeth necessarily has to overcome the frictional
force. The greater the frictional resistance, greater is the
force needed for tooth movement. This implies that
anchorage requirements will be proportionately higher.
Reduction of frictional resistance is one of the objectives
of contemporary orthodontic mechanotherapy. In the
present study the results obtained are quite contrary to
the expectations. According to manufacturing process
pulse straightened wires have smooth finish. But in present
study Premium plus pulse straightened 0.016" wire
showed the highest frictional resistance. In 0.011"
dimension also pulse straightened wires showed greater
frictional resistance (Table 1). The mean coefficient of
friction for pulse straightened wires in 0.016" dimension
seems to be 1.7 times greater than the corresponding
spinner straightened wire. The Supreme pulse
straightened 0.011" wire exhibited frictional resistance
which is 1.2 times greater than spinner straightened wire.
Among the 0.016" Spinner straightened wires, Premium
plus exhibited greater frictional resistance while the
Regular exhibited lowest frictional resistance. On the basis
of this study it can be inferred that situations which require
translatory tooth movement may tax anchorage more in
the event of using pulse straightened wires. In the light of
the surface topography analysis which revealed a better
smoothness for pulse straightened wires, further studies
are warranted to determine whether straightening and heat
treatment procedures in the pulse straightened wires
produce some surface product which may be responsible
for nearly the double coefficient of friction values obtained
in this study.
Stress relaxation
Force for intrusion is achieved in the arch form by including
the anchor bends or reverse curve of spee which become
activated when the arch wire is pinned to the teeth i.e.
stress are produced in the wire and these generate forces
which are transmitted to the teeth. In order to achieve
intrusion it is necessary that the orthodontic wire to exert
consistent force over a period of time. However in the
clinical situation, forces exerted by the wire may vary with
time because of tooth movement and stress relaxation.
Stress relaxation occurs when stress decreases over time
at a constant amount of strain. This results in increase in
permanent deformation and a decrease in stored energy
in the wire. Clinically a decrease in force and stored energy
may lead to a decrease in the amount of tooth movement.
In the present study a predetermined arch form with 45°
anchor bends is used to determine the amount of initial
intrusive forces generated by the wire and the stress
relaxation in the wire after one week. Initial forces
developed by Premium plus pulse straightening 0.016"
wire is greater than other grade of same dimensions. The
Regular grade marked a low force values of 82.23gms
compared to Premium plus (P.S.) with highest value of
100.24 gm. (Table 1) The forces generated by pulse
straightened wires seems to be higher than spinner
straightened wire by 1.9%. The stress relaxation noted
after 1 week is lowest for Premium plus pulse straightened
with 0.49% where as highest force degradation occurred
in Regular plus wires with a stress relaxation of 1.82%.
These findings indicate that while correction of deep bite
by newer pulse straightened wires may create greater
intrusive loads on anterior teeth and extrusive loads on
posterior molars. This may affect anchorage requirements.
The higher forces developed by Premium plus pulse
straightened wire can effectively over come the extrusive
component of inter maxillary elastics. However whether
tooth movement is facilitated or retarded by the higher
forces is to be further evaluated by clinical studies. Earlier
studies of Twelftree 7 and Hazel et al ( 8) evaluated certain
grades of Wilcock wire and reported that negligible stress
relaxation occurs even when assessed over a period of
28 days. They found that the Wilcock wires are superior
to other stainless steel wires. Thus in spite of different
forms of specimen used and the methods of testing there
is general agreement with regard to the relaxation of these
wires. The advantage of present study is the form of
sample which is much close to that used in clinical practise
and the value of the forces and the rates of relaxation can
be applied more directly.
Microhardness
This increased hardness may lead to fracture during
clinical bending and possibly to adverse affects during
orthodontic mechanotherapy The Vickers hardness test
is used to measure the hardness of these wires. The
hardness value of the wires is found in between 620 to
684 for 0.016’’ wires. (Table 1) The Premium plus wires
has maximum hardness value of 684 and minimum is
found for Regular grade wires. The Pulse straightened
wires are comparatively harder than spinner straightened
wires. No significant difference in hardness is found in
different sizes of same grade (Table 1). The Vickers
hardness of Australian wire obtained in this study are
higher compared to the traditional stainless steel alloys
but of the same range to that of obtained by Brian M.
Pelsue (14)
Surface hardness is influenced by the hardness of a
material are its strength, proportional limit, ductility,
malleability and resistance to abrasion and cutting. The
higher hardness values could be attributed to increased
 Physical and Mechanical Properties of Australian Stainless Steel Wires
Figure 3: The SEM pictures (500 x) of different grades of wire. All the wires irrespective of their grades and manufactur-
ing process exhibited surface roughness
carbon content in the Australian wire, along with the
manufacturing process. The high range of hardness
values of this wires make them incompatible with brackets
that have less hardness brackets. This will have more
effect on retraction mechanics specifically that use sliding
techniques. The large difference in hardness between
Australian wire and less harder brackets may cause the
wire to bind and may result in loss of anchorage.
Elemental analysis
Powdered x-ray diffraction analysis showed that this wire
is mainly austenitic phase and contains other phases.
Elemental analysis show that the carbon content of the
steels is around 0.1% in higher grades of wire. (Table 3)
The chromium content is found to be around 17-18 %
and nickel around 12%. Australian wires reported in the
present study indicates that the carbon content is well
above the values reported for typical 18/8 stainless steel
wire which is around 0.02%. The increased carbon content
may contribute to the increased hardness of higher grades
of wire. This increased hardness may cause Australian
wire to be more brittle than traditional stainless steel wire
and consequently may adversely affect the ability of the
wire to withstand bending.
Surface Topography
An evaluation of surface topography is important because
an irregular surface is associated with greater friction and
a rough surface may be more susceptible to corrosion.
All the wires irrespective of their grades, size and method
of manufacture exhibited surface irregularities. Tempering
73
of high carbon stainless steel alloys is associated with
precipitation of carbides on surface and formation of rough,
irregular, and excessively porous surfaces noted in SEM
images ( Fig 3). It is noticed that among 0.016" dimension
wires, Premium plus pulse straightened has smoothest
finish with PL count of 0.176 and the roughest surface
texture is exhibited by Regular wire with a P L count of
0.202. (Table 1) The pulse straightened wires exhibited
less surface irregularities when compared to spinner
straightened wires. The surface area of irregularities is
also greater in spinner straightened wires compared to
the pulse straightened wires. It is worth while to investigate
whether this surface texture alters the chances of
corrosion and tarnish as there is no data available on it.
The surface topography obtained in present study is in
contradiction with those obtained by Brian M. Pelsue etal
(14).
Conclusion
The present investigation supports that the temper, size
and manufacturing process effects the physical and
mechanical properties of Australian wires. Australian
Wilcock newer pulse straightened wire possesses superior
strength and stiffness compared to older grades of 0.016"
wires. It can be assumed that the same tendency of
proportion can be observed in other range of sizes for
these grades of wires until proven otherwise. Thus this
pulse straightened Premium plus wires can effectively
overcome the deflective forces from mastication and can
resist deformation in the oral cavity. Despite the superior
surface topography exhibited by this wires it is found that
 74 S.G. Sankar, V.S. Shetty, H.S.D. Karanth
they show a Kinetic friction of 1.5 times greater than
spinner straightened wires. This need to be evaluated
critically by further studies. The smaller size supreme
grade wires can be effectively used in initial aligning
phase. The Supreme material will remind the clinician of
nickel titanium wires, with the added advantage of
formability and significant reduction in cost. Its size allows
it to be placed in the same slot with basal arch wires
without having to use specially designed deep slotted
brackets. The force relaxation of this wires seems to be
negligible. This is a favourable situation because the
orthodontic wire should apply the intrusive forces even
after 1 1/2 months. This shortens the treatment time and
number of appointments.
However, the experimental set ups used in the present
study does not simulate the force delivery system in the
clinical situation. Further more the wires are tested in a
controlled environment devoid of saliva and mechanical
insults. Therefore, the possible effects of corrosion,
mastication and oral hygiene measures were avoided. The
wires require to be evaluated in invivo clinical conditions
or experimental models simulating oral environment.

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