title: Monitoring of hardening and hygroscopic induced strains in a calcium phosphate bone cement using FBG sensor.
abstract: This study initially deals with the investigation of the induced strains during hardening stage of a self-setting calcium phosphate bone cement using fiber-Bragg grating (FBG) optical sensors. A complementary Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) investigation was also conducted at different time intervals of the hardening period and its findings were related to the FBG recordings. From the obtained results, it is demonstrated that the FBG response is affected by the microstructural changes taking place when the bone cement is immersed into the hardening liquid media. Subsequently, the FBG sensor was used to monitor the absorption process and hygroscopic response of the hardened and dried biocement when exposed to a liquid/humid environment. From the FBG-based calculated hygric strains as a function of moisture concentration, the coefficient of moisture expansion (CME) of the examined bone cement was obtained, exhibiting two distinct linear regions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Testing, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bimis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Testing, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, Greece. Electronic address: dkara@unipi.gr.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karalekas
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouropoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mouzakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaoutsos
mesh_terms: D001843:Bone Cements / Q000737:chemistry*; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
chemical_list: D001843:Bone Cements; D002130:Calcium Phosphates
keywords: Calcium phosphate cement; Coefficient of moisture expansion; Fiber Bragg grating sensor; Hygroscopic strains