Partial replacement of carbon black with graphene in natural rubber/butadiene rubber based tire compound: Investigation of critical properties

Journal of Polymer Research - In this study, we prepared graphene oxide-based styrene/acrylic elastomeric disks (GSAE) from sugarcane bagasse/ferrocene (GO) and styrene/acrylic emulsion (SAE) to...     

Modifying the MRI, elastic stiffness and electrical properties of polyvinyl alcohol cryogel using irradiation

The aim of this work was to study the effect of radiation on the elastic stiffness, electrical and MRI properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based cryogel (PVA-C). The PVA-C samples were irradiated with a ⁶⁰C0 γ-source, at 2.18 × 10⁶ Rads. The indentation measurements (an indication of elastic stiffness) reduced by about 14.6% for PVA-3C and 5.7% PVA-6C after irradiation, indicating that the material became harder/stiffer. It was found that MRI relaxation times provide an alternative and non-destructive method to evaluate the radiation effect on PVA-C. The T₁ of PVA-C that had undergone three freeze thaw cycles decreased with irradiation by 10%, 25% and 35% at 1 T, 1.89 T and 3 T respectively. The T₁ of PVA-C that had undergone six freeze thaw cycles decreased with irradiation by 18%, 15% and 11% at 1 T, 1.89 T and 3 T respectively. The T₂ of PVA-C decreased with irradiation only at 1T, however this change is hypothesized to be due to the interaction of two spin pools in the gel. The electrical conductivity (σ) and permittivity constant (ε) of the unirradiated and γ-irradiated PVA-C samples were measured at different frequencies in the range 40 Hz to 1 MHz. The results demonstrated that the conductivity increased with irradiation by 50% for PVA-3C (three freeze thaw cycles) and 75% for PVA-6C (six freeze thaw cycles) at frequencies greater than 1 KHz.The permittivity decreased with irradiation up to 25% for 3C and 35% for 6C at frequencies less than 1 KHz.     

Flexural behaviour of structural fibre composite sandwich beams in flatwise and edgewise positions

The flexural behaviour of a new generation composite sandwich beams made up of glass fibre-reinforced polymer skins and modified phenolic core material was investigated. The composite sandwich beams were subjected to 4-point static bending test to determine their strength and failure mechanisms in the flatwise and the edgewise positions. The results of the experimental investigation showed that the composite sandwich beams tested in the edgewise position failed at a higher load with less deflection compared to specimens tested in the flatwise position. Under flexural loading, the composite sandwich beams in the edgewise position failed due to progressive failure of the skin while failure in the flatwise position is in a brittle manner due to either shear failure of the core or compressive failure of the skin followed by debonding between the skin and the core. The results of the analytical predictions and numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

A review of alternative materials for replacing existing timber sleepers

Timber is the most widely used material for railway sleepers, however, as a sleeper material it deteriorates with time and needs appropriate replacement. In recent years, hardwood timber for railway sleepers is becoming more expensive, less available and is of inferior quality compared to the timber previously available. There are also now various environmental concerns regarding the use and disposal of chemically-impregnated timber sleepers. This has resulted in most railway industries searching for alternative materials to replace existing timber sleepers. This paper presents a review of recent developments and presents an initiative focusing on fibre composites as an alternative material for railway sleepers. Fibre composites are emerging as an alternative viable construction material. An overview of the on-going research and development on innovative fibre composite railway sleepers is also discussed.     

Mechanical properties of chemically-treated hemp fibre reinforced sandwich composites

In this study, hemp fabrics were used as reinforcements with polyester resin to form composite skins while short hemp fibres with polyester as a core for making composite sandwich structures. To improve the fibre matrix adhesion properties, alkalisation, silane and acetylation treatments on the fibres surface were carried out. Examinations through fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were conducted to investigate the physical and thermal properties of the fibres. Mechanical properties such as flexural and compressive strengths of the sandwich structures made by treated and untreated hemp fibres were studied. Based on the results obtained from the experiments, it was found that the fibre treated with alkalic solution and post-soaked by 8% NaOH exhibited better mechanical strength as compared with other treated and untreated fibre composite samples. Besides, DSC and TGA analysis showed that the thermal stability of all treated fibre was enhanced as compared with untreated samples.     

Cure kinetics of an epoxidized hemp oil based bioresin system

A novel epoxidized hemp oil (EHO) based bioresin was synthesized by epoxidation in situ with peroxyacetic acid. In this research the cure kinetics of an EHO based bioresin system cured with triethylenetetramine (TETA) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry using both isothermal and nonisothermal data. The results show that the curing behavior can be modeled with a modified Kamal autocatalytic model that accounts for a shift to a diffusion‐controlled reaction postvitrification. The total order of the reaction was found to decrease with an increase in temperature from ～ 5.2 at 110°C to ～ 2.4 at 120°C. Dynamic activation energies were determined from the Kissinger (51.8 kJ/mol) and Ozawa‐Flynn‐Wall (56.3 kJ/mol) methods. Activation energies determined from the autocatalytic method were 139.5 kJ/mol and ?80.5 kJ/mol. The observed negative activation energy is thought to be due to an unidentified competitive reaction that gives rise to the appearance of k₂ decreasing with increasing temperature. The agreement of fit of the model predictions with experimental values was satisfactory for all temperatures. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Flexural behaviour of glue-laminated fibre composite sandwich beams

This study involved experimental investigation onto the flexural behaviour of glue-laminated fibre composite sandwich beams with a view of using this material for structural beams. Composite sandwich beams with 1, 2, 3, and 4 composite sandwich panels glued together were subjected to 4-point static bending test in the flatwise and edgewise positions to evaluate their stiffness and strength properties. The results showed that the composite sandwich beams in the edgewise position failed with 25% higher bending strength but have 7% lower bending stiffness than beams in the flatwise position. The results however indicated that the bending stiffness of flatwise specimens converges to that of the edgewise specimens with increasing laminations. More importantly, the specimens in the edgewise position failed with greater ductility due to progressive failure of the fibre composite skins while the specimens in the flatwise position failed in a brittle manner due to debonding between the skin and core. Wrapping the glue-laminated sandwich beams with one layer of tri-axial glass fibres did not prove to be effective. Overall, it has been demonstrated that the glue-laminated sandwich beams exhibited better performance than the individual composite sandwich beams.     

Application of mesoporous magnetic nanosorbent developed from macadamia nut shell residues for the removal of recalcitrant melanoidin and its fractions

ABSTRACT

A novel mesoporous magnetic nanosorbent developed from macadamia nut shell residues was applied as an adsorbent for the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) associated with melanoidin and its fractions in a batch system. The most favored molecular fraction of the melanoidin for adsorption onto the nanosorbent was 1–5 kDa with adsorption capacity of 10.26 mg DOC g^?1 achieving 68.4% removal efficiency. The sorption behaviors were all well fitted to a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm. Optimum operating conditions needed for the maximum uptake of 14.7 mg DOC g^?1 were found to be pH of 6.3, temperature of 41.7°C at the dosage of the magnetic nanosorbent of 877.7 ppm.     

带体外力筋的预应力混凝土梁的极限强度和塑性

由于在减小梁腹厚度和维修可行性方面的优势,在当代的建筑趋势中带体外预应力的预浇拼接式桥梁已很普遍了。连续梁可以减少伸缩缝数量,改善行车路况,但这种梁的内在结构特性很难分析(尤其在极限状态下)。本丈通过实验来检验比较带体外应力和带复合应力的两种跨连续梁在非对称载荷下的伸缩特性     

纤维组合夹芯梁的平放、侧放抗弯性能

对由玻纤增强聚合物蒙皮及改进酚醛核所组成的新型纤维组合夹芯梁进行抗弯性能研究。采用4点弯曲静力试验确定组合夹芯梁在平放和侧放时的强度和破坏机制。研究结果显示:组合夹芯梁在侧放位置时的破坏荷载比平放位置时高。在弯曲荷载下,侧放的组合夹芯梁的破坏是由于蒙皮的连续破坏造成的,而平放的组合夹芯梁的破坏是由于核的剪切破坏或蒙皮和核之间剥离使蒙皮受压而产生的脆性破坏。分析预测及数值模拟结果与试验吻合较好。