Fractal nature analysis in porous structured bio-ceramics

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite scaffold is a type of bio-ceramic. Its cellular design has similarities with the morphologies in nature. Therefore, it is very important to control the structure, especially the porosity, as one of the main features for bio-ceramics applications. According to some literature, freeze casting can form the shape of dendrites and remain a foam structure after ice sublimation. Ice nucleation became more heterogeneous with the aid of printing materials during freeze casting. This procedure can even improve the issue of crack formation. In this paper, we studied the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite scaffold. We also analyzed the porosity by fractal nature characterization, and successfully reconstructed pore shape, which is important for predicting ceramic morphology. We applied SEM analysis on bio-ceramic samples, at four different magnifications for the same pore structure. This is important for fractal analysis and pores reconstruction. We calculated the fractal dimensions based on measurements. In this way, we completed the fractal characterization of porosity and confirmed possibilities for successful porous shapes reconstruction. In this paper, we confirmed, for the first time, that fractal nature can be successfully applied in the area of porous bio-ceramics.