Relationship between chemical degradation and thickness loss of an amine-cured epoxy coating exposed to different UV environments

The relationship between chemical degradation and thickness loss of an unpigmented, non UV-stabilized, crosslinked amine-cured epoxy coating exposed to three UV conditions was investigated. Spin-coated samples having a thickness of approximately 7 μm on an Si substrate were prepared from a stochiometric mixture of a bisphenol A epoxy resin and a tetra-functional amine curing agent. Samples were exposed outdoors and to two accelerated laboratory UV environments. Chemical degradation and thickness loss were measured by transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIRS) and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), respectively. In addition, surface roughness and morphological changes were measured by atomic forcemicrosocopy (AFM) and LSCM. Substantial chemical degradation, thickness loss, and morpholocal changes occurred in the exposed films, and the rate of chemical degradation was greater than that due to the thickness loss. This additional chemical loss was attributed to an inhomogeneous degradation process in which nanoscale localized depressions initiate at certain sites on the surface, which then enlarge and deepen with exposure time. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the degradation mechanism and should lead to the development of scientific-based models for predicting the service life of crosslinked amine-cured epoxy coatings. Presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology, October 27–29, 2004, in Chicago, IL     

Illuminant Aware Gamut‐Based Color Transfer

This paper proposes a new approach for color transfer between two images. Our method is unique in its consideration of the scene illumination and the constraint that the mapped image must be within the color gamut of the target image. Specifically, our approach first performs a white‐balance step on both images to remove color casts caused by different illuminations in the source and target image. We then align each image to share the same ‘white axis’ and perform a gradient preserving histogram matching technique along this axis to match the tone distribution between the two images. We show that this illuminant‐aware strategy gives a better result than directly working with the original source and target image's luminance channel as done by many previous methods. Afterwards, our method performs a full gamut‐based mapping technique rather than processing each channel separately. This guarantees that the colors of our transferred image lie within the target gamut. Our experimental results show that this combined illuminant‐aware and gamut‐based strategy produces more compelling results than previous methods. We detail our approach and demonstrate its effectiveness on a number of examples.     

Crack Growth in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Materials: From Discrete to Continuum Damage Modeling

This paper addresses the damage and fracture issues of glass and ceramic materials used in solid oxide fuel cells. Analyses of an internal crack and of an interface crack between dissimilar materials were conducted using a modified boundary layer modeling approach. In this approach, fracture is allowed to occur in a small process window situated at an initial crack tip. Elastic displacement crack-tip fields are prescribed as remote boundary conditions. Crack propagation was first modeled discretely. Next, a continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model for brittle materials was developed to capture damage and crack growth in the process window. In particular, the damage model was applied to a glass-ceramic material that had been developed in-house for sealing purposes. Discrete and continuum damage solutions were then compared. Finally, the CDM model was used to determine the crack propagation direction as a function of a mode mixity measure.     

Relationship Between Interfacial Water Layer Adhesion Loss of Silicon/Glass Fiber-Epoxy Systems: A Quantitative Study

Water at the polymer/substrate interface is often the major cause of adhesion loss in coatings, adhesives, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. This study critically assesses the relationship between the interfacial water layer and the adhesion loss in epoxy/siliceous substrate systems. Both untreated and silane-treated Si substrates and untreated and silane-treated E-glass fibers were used. Thickness of the interfacial water layer was measured on epoxy/Si systems by Fourier transform infrared-multiple total internal reflection (FTIR-MTIR) spectroscopy. Adhesion loss of epoxy/Si systems and epoxy/E-glass fiber composites was measured by peel adhesion and short-beam shear tests, respectively. Little water accumulation at the epoxy/Si substrate interface was observed for silane-treated Si substrates, but about 10 monolayers of water accumulated at the interface between the epoxy and the untreated Si substrate following 100 h of exposure at 24 °C. More than 70% of the initial epoxy/untreated Si system peel strength was lost within 75 h of exposure, compared with 20% loss after 600 h for the silane-treated Si samples. Shear strength loss in composites made with untreated E-glass fiber was nearly twice that of composites fabricated with silane-treated fiber after 6 months of immersion in 60 °C water. Further, the silane-treated composites remained transparent, but the untreated fiber composites became opaque after water exposure. Evidence from FTIR-MTIR spectroscopy, adhesion loss, and visual observation strongly indicated that a water layer at the polymer/substrate interface is mostly responsible for the adhesion loss of epoxy/untreated siliceous substrate systems and epoxy/untreated glass fiber composites and that FTIR-MTIR is a viable technique to reliably and conveniently assess the adhesion loss attributable to water sorption at the interface.     

An improved technique for exfoliating and dispersing nanoclay particles into polymer matrices using supercritical carbon dioxide

An environmentally benign process, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO₂) as a processing aid, is developed in this work to help exfoliate and disperse nanoclay into the polymer matrices. The process relies on rapid expansion of the clay followed by direct injection into the extruder where the mixture is dispersed into the polymer melt. Results from the mechanical properties, rheological studies, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) show that this method represents a significant improvement relative to direct melt blending in single or twin-screw extruders or other methods using sc-CO₂. The greatest mechanical property response was a result of directly injecting pre-mixed sc-CO₂ and nanoclay into the polypropylene melt during extrusion. It was observed that for concentrations as high as 6.6 wt% (limited only by present process capabilities), XRD peaks were eliminated, suggesting a high degree of exfoliation. Mechanical properties such as modulus increased by as much as 54%. The terminal region of the dynamic mechanical spectrum was similar to that of the base polymer, contrary to what is frequently reported in the literature.     

Authentification and identification — Taking the user into account

Username/Password is still the prevailing authentication mechanism for internet based services — but it is not secure! We show how new authentication and identification mechanisms focused on usability and security can change this.     

Graft polymerization of vinyl acetate onto silica

The free‐radical graft polymerization of vinyl acetate onto nonporous silica particles was studied experimentally. The grafting procedure consisted of surface activation with vinyltrimethoxysilane, followed by free‐radical graft polymerization of vinyl acetate in ethyl acetate with 2,2′‐azobis(2,4‐dimethylpentanenitrile) initiator. Initial monomer concentration was varied from 10 to 40% by volume and the reaction was spanned from 50 to 70°C. The resulting grafted polymer, which was stable over a wide range of pH levels, consisted of polymer chains that are terminally and covalently bonded to the silica substrate. The experimental polymerization rate order, with respect to monomer concentration, ranged from 1.61 to 2.00, consistent with the kinetic order for the high polymerization regime. The corresponding rate order for polymer grafting varied from 1.24 to 1.43. The polymer graft yield increased with both initial monomer concentration and reaction temperature, and the polymer‐grafted surface became more hydrophobic with increasing polymer graft yield. The present study suggests that a denser grafted polymer phase of shorter chains was created upon increasing temperature. On the other hand, both polymer chain length and polymer graft density increased with initial monomer concentration. Atomic force microscopy–determined topology of the polymer‐grafted surface revealed a distribution of surface clusters and surface elevations consistent with the expected broad molecular‐weight distribution for free‐radical polymerization. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 300–310, 2003     

Efficacy of iron fortification compared to iron supplementation among Vietnamese schoolchildren

Background  

Parents of six children are facing a trial on charges of aggravated manslaughter in the care a 5 1/2 month old infant who died suddenly and neglect of their four older children for causing them to be malnourished by feeding them all an exclusively raw foods vegan diet. Both parents declined plea bargains and plan to defend themselves in court.     

Hierarchical three dimensional curved beam element based on p-version

This paper presents a three node curved three dimensional beam element for linear static analysis where the element displacement approximation in the axial () and transverse directions ( and ) can be of arbitrary polynomial orders p , p and p . This is accomplished by, first constructing one dimensional hierarchical approximation functions and the corresponding nodal variable operators in , and directions using Lagrange interpolating polynomials and then taking the products (also called tensor product) of these hierarchical one dimensional approximation functions and the corresponding nodal variable operators. The resulting approximation functions and the corresponding nodal variables for the three dimensional beam element were hierarchical. The formulation guarantees C ⁰ continuity. The element properties are established using the principle of virtual work. In formulating the properties of the element all six components of the stress and strain tensor are ratained. The geometry of the beam element is defined by the coordinates of the nodes located at the axis of the beam and node point vectors representing the nodal cross-sections. The results obtained from the present formulation are compared with analytical solutions (when available) and the h-models using isoparametric three dimensional solid elements. The formulation is equally effective for very slender as well as deep beams since no assumptions are made regarding such conditions during the formulation.     

Application of Fuzzy Moving Sliding Surface Approach for Container Cranes

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - In this paper, we consider the fuzzy moving sliding surface anti-sway control problem for container cranes. We first introduce the dynamic...