Preparation of ultrafine polyurethane fiber web by laser‐electrospinning combined with air blowing

Thermoplastic polyurethane fiber webs were prepared using a laser‐heated electrospinning process combined with air blowing. The effect of spinning conditions such as air flow rate and air temperature on fiber diameter and molecular weight was investigated. Although the average fiber diameter decreased with increased air flow rate at each air temperature, the diameter increased when the air flow rate was >15 NL min^?1. In addition, the fiber was comparatively thicker with an increase in the air temperature. The variation in the fiber diameter tends to increase with the air flow rate, and a reduction in the molecular weight of the fiber by thermal degradation was suppressed. The thinnest and most uniform fiber with a diameter of 0.9 µm and a diameter coefficient variation of 15% was obtained at an air temperature of 25°C under an air flow rate of 15 NL min^?1. This fiber also had a minimum of decreased molecular weight. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2605–2609, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Enhanced Light Storage of SrAl2O4 Glass‐Ceramics Controlled by Selective Europium Reduction

A luminescent Eu, Dy: SrAl₂O₄ glass‐ceramics with high transparency in the visible region was successfully synthesized using the frozen sorbet technique with the control of O₂ partial pressure () for the oxidation of Eu²⁺ ions. The glass‐ceramics include Eu²⁺, Eu³⁺, and Dy³⁺ ions, and thus exhibits three characteristic types of emission bands, 4f–5d at around 520 nm (Eu²⁺ ions), 4f–4f at 610 nm (Eu³⁺ ions), and 480 nm (Dy³⁺ ions). The Eu, Dy: SrAl₂O₄ glass‐ceramics provide remarkable long‐persistent luminescence under dark condition. The glass‐ceramics also exhibits color‐changing luminescence in the visible region based on their remarkable light storage properties. The luminescent Eu, Dy: SrAl₂O₄ glass‐ceramics using the frozen sorbet technique with control of are promising materials for application in novel photonic and light storage materials.     

Investigation report of geotechnical disaster on river area due to typhoon landfall three times on Okhotsk region,Hokkaido, Japan

For one week from August 17 to 23, 2016, three consecutive typhoons made landfall in Hokkaido for the first time on record. These typhoons and the front they stimulated brought record-breaking torrential rain over the eastern part of Hokkaido. To investigate the damage to grounds and rivers resulting from this rainfall, the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) and the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS) formed a disaster research group to conduct an investigation. This report provides the results of the investigation into damage to the grounds of areas along the Tokoro River of the Okhotsk region, Hokkaido, that suffered from this tremendous and diverse disaster. Specifically, the report describes the situation of the levees which were broken and eroded by the overflowing water, the shape of the levee bodies, the levee body soil properties examined by observation of the sections, as well as the occurrence of sand boiling and air blows. The washout of road embankments as well as damage to road bridge mounting fills and abutment backfills were also investigated. The investigation has demonstrated the need to clarify the resistance of the abutment backfills and levee bodies to flowing water as well as the geotechnical predominant factors in order to clarify the mechanisms behind erosion and washout, the need to review new measures that allow for the scale of sand boiling and resultant changes in levee body stability, and the fact that the existing embankments were able to temporarily suppress the flooding water which had spilled over from the river. Furthermore, although it has been identified that the findings of a study on an embankment washout associated with a tsunami can be applied to measures taken against the overflowing water, it has also been found necessary to clarify the predominant geotechnical factors using model tests and to use a more sophisticated analytical approach to establish a geotechnical stability review as soon as possible in order to prevent the levees and embankments from being eroded and washed out due to overflowing water.     

Polypropylene plasticization and photodegradation with a TiO2/poly(ethylene oxide)/methyl linoleate paint photocatalyst system

The photodegradation of polypropylene (PP) film was performed by a TiO₂/polyethylene oxide (PEO)/plant oil paint photocatalyst system. The photodegradation underwent two stages of development as follows: Initially PP reacted with linoleic acid radical originated from the photoreaction of plant oil component. Second, the linoleic acid graft‐polymer was decomposed, and then PP chain scission was caused. The process was studied using methyl linoleate (ML) in detail. The melting point of the 24 h‐photodegraded PP slightly decreased, and those of the 48 h‐ and 96 h‐ones drastically did as compared with the pristine PP. The crystallinity (χ_c) decreased at the 48 h photodegradation time and drastically increased at the 96 h one. The 24 h‐photodegraded PP showed the 77% Young's modulus, 88% tensile strength, and 103% strain at break values to those of the pristine PP. The ML graft‐polymerization and decomposition brought about the PP plasticizing and chemi‐crystallization, causing the PP degradation. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39909.     

Determination of dissolved natural thorium and uranium in Horonobe and Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory groundwater and its thermodynamic analysis

At two underground research laboratories situated at Horonobe and Mizunami, Japan, trace amounts of natural thorium and uranium dissolved in deep groundwater were investigated with the help of chemical pre-concentration method. The groundwater was sampled from underground boreholes under the geochemical condition of no atmospheric exposure, and the colloid contribution was checked by in situ two size-fractionated ultrafiltration systems. A rough decrease by half in the concentration after in situ filtration suggested the presence of natural colloids and suspended matter that were carriers of a portion of the elements. The Th and U concentrations in groundwater after 10 kDa filtration was evaluated as dissolved species, and was identified thermodynamically using existing hydrogeological and geochemical data, such as the mineral components in the groundwater at a given pH, ionic strength, concentration of co-existing ions, redox potential, and a hypothetical solubility-limiting solid phase. The crystalline solid phase of tetravalent thorium and uranium dioxides made the solubility very low compared with that of the amorphous phase.     

Cathode properties of metal trifluorides in Li and Na secondary batteries

Fluorine compounds have high discharge voltage due to its highly ionic metal-ligand bonds. In them, perovskite-type metal trifluorides with corner sharing matrix have large bottlenecks of diffusion pathways for intercalants. Iron trifluoride composites (FeF₃-C) prepared by planetary ball milling with carbon showed reversible charge/discharge behavior not only for Li, but also for Na anodes. X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy were applied to characterize the electrochemical properties of FeF₃ vs. Li and Na anodes. The cathode performances of the other commercially available transition metal trifluorides such as MF₃ (M = Ti, V, Mn, Co) have been also investigated.     

Quantitative analysis for reaction between epoxidized natural rubber and poly (L‐lactide) through 1H‐NMR spectroscopy

Reaction between epoxidized natural rubber and poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) was investigated quantitatively in terms of conversion of the epoxidized natural rubber. The epoxidized natural rubber was prepared by epoxidation of high ammonia natural rubber (HA‐NR) or deproteinized natural rubber (DPNR) with peracetic acid followed by depolymerization with ammonium persulfate. The resulting liquid HA‐NR having epoxy group (LENR) or liquid DPNR having epoxy group (LEDPNR) were subjected to heating at 473 K for 20 min, after blending with PLLA. The products were characterized through morphology observation, DSC measurement, and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. The conversions of the rubbers were estimated from intensity ratio of signals in ¹H‐NMR spectrum for the products after removing unreacted rubber with toluene. Difference in the estimated conversion between the LENR/PLLA and LEDPNR/PLLA blends was interpreted in relation to proteins present in the rubber. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

LiErO2 formation on Er2O3 in static and natural convection lithium

Er₂O₃ is candidate material for insulating coating to prevent the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop in the self-cooled liquid Li blanket system. Although Er₂O₃ is stable material, detailed chemical behavior in liquid Li is not clear. Corrosion behavior of bulk Er₂O₃ in Li is investigated in static and flowing condition in the present study. After these tests, good compatibility of Er₂O₃ was confirmed and slight formation of LiErO₂ was detected by XRD analysis. This chemical behavior did not change in a static and flowing tests, however some of the corrosion product of LiErO₂ was removed easily by the Li flow. Intensity of LiErO₂ peaks in XRD spectrum suggests that the temperature gradient may affect the reaction rate in the natural convection loop. Since corrosion rate of Er₂O₃ is very small, slight change in state will be important information to evaluate lifetime of coating.     

Phase equilibria in the Co-rich Co-Al-W-Ti quaternary system

We determined phase equilibria in the Co-rich Co-Al-W-Ti quaternary system at a temperature range between 900 °C and 1200 °C with a close attention to the thermodynamic stability of the γ′-Co₃(Al, W, Ti) (L1₂) phase, based on micro-structure observation and electron microprobe analysis on bulk alloy samples heat-treated for periods up to 2000 h. In the quaternary system the single phase field of γ′ extends from the Co-Ti binary edge to a composition of Co-5Al-8.5W-8Ti (in at.%) at 900 °C. At the tip of the single phase field, the γ′ phase is in equilibrium with the γ-Co (A1), Co₂AlTi (L2₁) and Co₃W (D0₁₉) phases. The constructed vertical section of phase diagram between Co-9.4Al-9.6W and Co-16.5Ti indicates that there is a narrow composition range around Co-4.5Al-5.4W-7.5Ti in which the γ single phase field exists at high temperatures above 1200 °C and two-phase of γ+γ′ is thermodynamically stable at low temperatures below 1100 °C.     

In-Flight Particle Measurement of Alkali-Free Glass Raw Materials in 12-Phase AC Arc Plasma

In-flight particle measurements of the surface temperature and velocity are important for understanding of melting behavior of glass particles during in-flight melting by multi-phase AC arc plasma. However, the use of optical pyrometry for particle surface temperature has inevitable uncertainties due to non-thermal emissions signals from the plasma plume. This work presents spectroscopic measurements of the non-thermal signals which were found to be caused mainly by the plasma emissions scattered by the particles and the radiation emitted by vapor. After that, the accuracy of thermal radiation measurement was estimated and surface temperature of in-flight glass particle was corrected.