Composite materials reinforced with recycled fibers gather a great deal of interest with regards to construction applications. A novel polymer concrete composite was proposed, comprised of a surface layer and a structural composite reinforced with recycled glass fibers. The novel multi-material composite included a large amount of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) waste (30%), which is expected to help protect the environment. Large panels comprised of this polymer concrete composite, which reproduce the appearance of natural stone, were manufactured. A new methodology for porosity analysis of a large panel comprised of a multi-material composite was proposed, utilizing three-dimensional (3D) X-ray computed tomography (CT). The volume of pores was distributed between the constituent composite materials and then statistically analyzed. Homogeneous distribution of the pores within the novel multi-material composite was found. The observed mean porosities of the composite panel were 0.146% for the surface layer material and 31.3% for the structural composite material. The mean density of the panel, determined by the CT density method, was 1.73 g/cm³. The composite materials porosity provides a favorable effect for achieving lightweight structures. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, it was observed that a good connection interface between the constituent composite materials existed.

Surging electricity demand, its limited supply, and the pandemic crisis are just some of the key factors that resulted in changes in electricity prices on the power exchanges. This topic brings about a notable economic influence on both producers and consumers. The main purpose of this paper is to explore power price volatility during the four-year period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021, in 28 power exchanges in Europe, measured using daily velocity data. In addition, based on the fixed and chain base index numbers, as well as their relative merits, this paper was designed to measure the gap and convergence in trends. Considering that the price volatility varies depending on the observation period, this paper performs a comparative analysis of electricity price volatility on a daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual level for all examined countries. The obtained results indicate that electricity price volatility is higher on a daily basis. Related to this, convergent trends are demonstrated on all 28 observed markets, and there is a growing trend of hourly spot prices in the analyzed four-year period. The results of this paper also confirm a higher power price volatility during the pandemic period in 2020 and 2021 compared to the prepandemic period during 2018 and 2019.

This chapter treats studies about the methods and technologies used to recycle the polymeric composite materials and develop new recipes using waste of polymer composite materials resulted from recycling. Composite materials obtained from recycling are presented, with a complete recovery of waste glass fibers. Also, the mechanical properties for new structures of polymeric composite materials, containing additional materials were presented. These were obtained from the recycling of composite waste. A morphology analysis of fracture area of composites samples was done. At present, the polymeric composite materials present a great scientific and technical interest, which justify both the development of research in this field, and the expansion of production of such materials. The author treats aspects regarding a current problem due to the large number of polymeric composite materials waste, and reduced of environmental impact. This field is representing one of the top viable research directions.

A finite element analysis software has been used in order to determine several mechanical properties for samples made from unidirectional composite materials. Plates from reinforced unidirectional fiber glass polymer composites obtained by compression hand lay-up process were studied. Tensile tests were performed upon samples with different number and orientation of the composite ply layup.

Patient-specific 3D models of the human mandible are finding increasing utility in medical fields such as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, dentistry, and forensic sciences. The efficient creation of personalized 3D bone models poses a key challenge in these applications. Existing solutions often rely on 3D statistical models of human bone, offering advantages in rapid bone geometry adaptation and flexibility by capturing a range of anatomical variations, but also a disadvantage in terms of reduced precision in representing specific shapes. Considering this, the proposed parametric model allows for precise manipulation using morphometric parameters acquired from medical images. This paper highlights the significance of employing the parametric model in the creation of a personalized bone model, exemplified through a case study targeting mandibular prognathism reconstruction. A personalized model is described as 3D point cloud determined through the utilization of series of parametric functions, determined by the application of geometrical morphometrics, morphology properties, and artificial neural networks in the input dataset of human mandible samples. With 95.05% of the personalized model’s surface area displaying deviations within −1.00–1.00 mm relative to the input polygonal model, and a maximum deviation of 2.52 mm, this research accentuates the benefits of the parametric approach, particularly in the preoperative planning of mandibular deformity surgeries.

In the last years, additive manufacturing technologies have been developed, especially direct metal laser sintering, and used in the dental and medical implant domains. Cardiovascular stents have evolved from bioinert, bare metal cages to biomimetic devices that promote tissue regeneration or healing. In this paper, comparisons concerning mechanical properties between Co–Cr alloy and cast 304L stainless steel were realized using FEM analysis, necessary for manufacturing cardiovascular stents by DMLS technology using Co–Cr alloy. The purpose of this paper consists of the evaluation of the contact angle at the interface of the Co–Cr alloy manufactured by DMLS, respectively, cast stainless steel 304L, and thin film deposition realized by the e-gun method (Ta₂O₅ and ZnO). Scanning electronic microscopy SEM and EDX techniques were employed for morphological investigation of the sintered samples manufactured by the DMLS process. They were also used for semi-quantitative and qualitative chemical and metallographic analyses. The e-gun coating was used to obtain thin films with the nanometer order of Ta₂O₅ and ZnO with a protective role to improve the corrosion resistance, roughness, and antiseptic role.