Preparation and Characterization of Sustainable Polyurethane Foams from Soybean Oils

Polyol derived from soybean oil was made from crude soybean oil by epoxidization and hydroxylation. Soy-based polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared by the in-situ reaction of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) polyurea prepolymer and soy-based polyol. A free-rise method was developed to prepare the sustainable PU foams for use in automotive and bedding cushions. In this study, three petroleum-based PU foams were compared with two soy-based PU foams in terms of their foam characterizations and properties. Soy-based PU foams were made with soy-based polyols with different hydroxyl values. Soy-based PU foams had higher T _g (glass transition temperature) and worse cryogenic properties than petroleum-based PU foams. Bio-foams had lower thermal degradation temperatures in the urethane degradation due to natural molecular chains with lower thermal stability than petroleum skeletons. However, these foams had good thermal degradation at a high temperature stage because of MDI polyurea prepolymer, which had superior thermal stability than toluene diisocyanate adducts in petroleum-based PU foams. In addition, soy-based polyol, with high hydroxyl value, contributed PU foam with superior tensile and higher elongation, but lower compressive strength and modulus. Nonetheless, bio-foam made with high hydroxyl valued soy-based polyol had smaller and better distributed cell size than that using low hydroxyl soy-based polyol. Soy-based polyol with high hydroxyl value also contributed the bio-foam with thinner cell walls compared to that with low hydroxyl value, whereas, petroleum-based PU foams had no variations in cell thickness and cell distributions.     

Damage indices for failure of concrete beams under fatigue

In this study, an analytical method is proposed to correlate local damage variables such as relative crack depth and crack tip opening displacement with a newly defined global damage index for a concrete beam under fatigue loading. This global damage index may be used to assess the response of a degraded concrete beam under service loading. The damage is assumed to appear in the form of a major crack that propagates under constant amplitude fatigue loading. The progressive cracking phenomenon is modeled within a finite element framework using a crack beam element, which takes into account the compliance variation due to discrete cracking within the member. The flexural stiffness degradation of the member is computed based on an Eigen analysis of the global stiffness matrix. It is seen that the degree of flexural stiffness degradation due to discrete cracking is the same for geometrically similar specimens when the relative crack depth is used as a local damage parameter. Further, in order to improve the accuracy of the response prediction using the above global damage index, another global damage parameter is defined based on the nature of applied loading.     

The role of m-phenylenedimaleimide in reactive processing of poly(propylene)/magnesium hydroxide composites. 1. Effect of processing temperature and composite formulation on mechanical properties

The role of the interface modifier, m-phenylenedimaleimide (BMI), and a lubricant (a mixture of fatty acid amides and esters) in the reactive processing of poly(propylene)/magnesium hydroxide-based composites has been studied. In this investigation process a three-factorial experimental design has been used as a tool to investigate the simultaneous effect of interface modifier, lubricant and processing temperature, with respect to mechanical properties. All of the latter variables were found to influence the properties of the composites. It was found that the significant improvement in mechanical properties (ca. 100%, relative to unmodified composite) afforded by BMI was not, with correct formulation, offset by the detrimental effect associated with the lubricant. The effect of temperature was complex but appeared to be strongly influenced by the BMI level.