Piezoresistive in-situ strain sensing of composite laminate structures

Various methods have been developed to monitor the health and strain state of carbon fiber reinforced polymers, each with a unique set of pros and cons. This research assesses the use of piezoresistive sensors for in situ strain measurement of carbon fiber and other composite structures in multidirectional laminates. The piezoresistive sensor material and the embedded circuitry are both evaluated. For the piezoresistive sensor, a conductive nickel nanocomposite sensor is compared with the piezoresistivity of the carbon fiber itself. For the circuit, the use of carbon fibers already present in the structure is compared with the use of nickel coated carbon fiber. Successful localized strain sensing is demonstrated for several sensor and circuitry configurations. Numerous engineering applications are possible in the ever-growing field of carbon-composites.     

Physical characteristics of AFEX-pretreated and densified switchgrass,prairie cord grass,and corn stover

The goal of the study was to evaluate and compare the physical properties of control, pretreated and densified corn stover, switchgrass, and prairie cord grass samples. Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX) pretreated switchgrass, corn stover, and prairie cord grass samples were densified by using the comPAKco device developed by Federal Machine Company of Fargo, ND. The densified biomass were referred as “PAKs” in this study. All feedstocks were ground into three different grind size of 2, 4 and 8 mm prior to AFEX pretreatment and the impact of grinding on pellet properties was studied. The results showed that the physical properties of AFEX-PAKed material were not influenced by the initial grind size of the feedstocks. The bulk density of the AFEX-PAKed biomass increased by 1.2–6 fold as compared to untreated and AFEX-pretreated materials. The durability of the AFEX-PAKed materials were between 78.25 and 95.2%, indicating that the AFEX-PAKed biomass can be transported easily. To understand the effect of storage on the physical properties of these materials, samples were stored in the ambient condition (20 ± 2 °C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity) for six months. After storage, thermal properties of the biomass did not change but glass transition temperature decreased. The water absorption index and water solubility index of AFEX-treated and AFEX-PAKed biomass showed mixed trends after storage. Moisture content decreased and durability increased upon storage.     

All-printed and highly stable organic resistive switching device based on graphene quantum dots and polyvinylpyrrolidone composite

We propose all printed and highly stable organic resistive switching device (ORSD) based on graphene quantum dots (G-QDs) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) composite for non-volatile memory applications. It is fabricated by sandwiching G-QDs/PVP composite between top and bottom silver (Ag) electrodes on a flexible substrate polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at ambient conditions through a cost effective and eco-friendly electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) technique. Thickness of the active layer is measured around 97 nm. The proposed ORSD is fabricated in a 3 × 3 crossbar array. It operates switching between high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) with OFF/ON ratio ∼14 for more than 500 endurance cycles, and retention time for more than 30 days. The switching voltage for set/reset of the devices is ±1.8 V and the bendability down to 8 mm diameter for 1000 cycles are tested. The elemental composition and surface morphology are characterized by XPS, FE-SEM, and microscope.     

Impact behavior and fractographic study of carbon nanotubes grafted carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix multi-scale hybrid composites

Carbon nanotubes are the most promising reinforcement for high performance composites. Multiwall carbon nanotubes were directly grown onto the carbon fiber surface by catalytic thermal chemical vapor deposition technique. Multi-scale hybrid composites were fabricated using the carbon nanotubes grown fibers with epoxy matrix. Morphology of the grown carbon nanotubes was investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The fabricated composites were subjected to impact tests which showed 48.7% and 42.2% higher energy absorption in Charpy and Izod impact tests respectively. Fractographic analysis of the impact tested specimens revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes both at the fiber surface and within the matrix which explained the reason for improved energy absorption capability of these composites. Carbon nanotubes presence at various cracks formed during loading provided a direct evidence of micro crack bridging. Thus the enhanced fracture strength of these composites is attributed to stronger fiber–matrix interfacial bonding and simultaneous matrix strengthening due to the grown carbon nanotubes.     

燃煤锅炉除尘专用滤料的开发

介绍机械制造厂燃煤锅炉的烟尘特点,分析滤料失效的原因,提出一套针对该工况的滤料解决方案。介绍针对复杂工况条件所选用的纤维种类以及复合面层原料成分配比的确定,最终选用针刺工艺加工并对该新产品的基本性能进行了测试分析。     

Design criterion for fatigue strengthening of riveted beams in a 120-year-old railway metallic bridge using pre-stressed CFRP plates

This study presents a design criterion developed for fatigue strengthening of a 120-year-old metallic railway bridge in Switzerland and presents a pre-stressed un-bonded reinforcement (PUR) system developed to apply the strengthening. The PUR system uses carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates; however, unlike conventional pre-stressed CFRP reinforcement methods, preparation of the existing metallic bridge surface is not required. This decreases the time required for on-site strengthening procedures. The principle of the constant life diagram (CLD) and two fatigue failure criteria (Johnson and Goodman) are described. Analytical formulations are developed based on the CLD method to determine the minimum CFRP pre-stress level required to prevent fatigue crack initiation. The PUR system uses an applied pre-stress force to reduce the mean stress level (and stress ratio) to shift an existing fatigue-susceptible metallic detail from the ‘at risk’ finite life regime to the ‘safe’ infinite life regime. The applied CLD method is particularly valuable when the stress history of the detail is not known and it is difficult to assess the remaining fatigue life. Moreover, it is shown that the currently adopted approach in many structural codes which emphasizes stress range as the dominant parameter influencing fatigue life are non-conservative for tension–tension stress patterns (i.e., stress ratios of 0 < R < 1). Analyses show that the modified Johnson formula accurately reflects the combined effect of stress range, mean stress level, and material properties, and offers a relatively easy design procedure. Details of a retrofit field application on members of a riveted wrought iron railway bridge are given. A wireless sensor network (WSN) system is used for long-term monitoring of the on-site CFRP stress levels and temperature of the retrofitted details. WSN measurements indicate that increases in ambient temperature result in increased CFRP pre-stress levels.     

Modelling of black carbon statistical distribution and return periods of extreme concentrations

Eight datasets of 1-h black carbon (BC) concentrations measured in Warsaw agglomeration (Poland), at urban background and sub-urban sites, and in Racibórz, a small town in Upper Silesia district (regional background site) were analyzed to evaluate BC levels, daily profiles and statistical distributions of concentrations in Central-Eastern European region. The observed mean levels ranged from 1483 ng m⁻³ in suburban site during summer to 3358 ng m⁻³ in regional background site in winter. Observed diurnal patterns were bimodal in the locations dominated by traffic emissions, but unimodal, with elevated evening peak in individually heated residential area. Three theoretical frequency distributions were applied to fit analyzed datasets separately. The lognormal distribution was the most appropriate to represent the middle-range values, while the high concentrations were satisfactorily predicted by the type I two-parameter exponential distribution which was used to estimate the return periods of extreme concentrations for winter months.     

Effect of stoichiometry and Cu-substitution on the phase structure and hydrogen storage properties of Ml-Mg-Ni-based alloys

To improve the electrochemical properties of rare-earth–Mg–Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys, the effects of stoichiometry and Cu-substitution on the phase structure and thermodynamic properties of the ...