Natural Palm Olein Polyol as a Replacement for Polyether Polyols in Viscoelastic Polyurethane Foam

The impact of replacing three polyether polyols with different levels of a single palm olein‐based natural oil polyol (NOP) was systematically correlated with the changes in foaming reactivity, cell structure, physico‐mechanical properties, and morphology of viscoelastic (VE) foams. The data show that replacing the polyether polyols with the NOP slightly increased the rate of the foaming reactivity. Increasing the NOP content resulted in increased cell size and cells remained fully open. Increased NOP content contributed to higher load bearing properties of VE foam, which can be attributed to higher functionality of NOP compared to polyether polyols. Addition of the NOP slightly increased the resilience of the foams, however, the hysteresis which is the measure of energy absorption remained mostly unaffected. Age properties, characterized by dry and humid compression sets, were mostly unaffected by the replacement of the polyether polyol with the NOP. The addition of NOP did not impact the morphology of the VE foam polymer matrix, which appears to retain a low degree of hard and soft segment domain separation. Overall, the results demonstrate a feasibility that the NOP can be used to partially replace the polyether polyols in VE polyurethane foams without significant impact on the functional performance.     

Investigation on the effect of spinning conditions on the properties of hollow fiber membrane for hemodialysis application

Polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber membranes were fabricated via the dry‐wet phase inversion spinning technique, aiming to produce an asymmetric, micro porous ultrafiltration hollow‐fiber specifically for hemodialysis membrane. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of spinning conditions on the morphological and permeation properties of the fabricated membrane. Among the parameters that were studied in this work are air gap distance, dope extrusion rate, bore fluid flow rate, and the take‐up speed. The contact angle was measured to determine the hydrophilicity of the fibers. Membrane with sufficient hydrophilicity properties is desired for hemodialysis application to avoid fouling and increase its biocompatibility. The influences of the hollow fiber's morphology (i.e., diameter and wall thickness) on the performance of the membranes were evaluated by pure water flux and BSA rejection. The experimental results showed that the dope extrusion rate to bore fluid flow rate ratio should be maintained at 1:1 ratio to produce a perfectly rounded asymmetric hollow fiber membrane. Moreover, the flux of the hollow fiber spun at higher air gap distance had better flux than the one spun at lower air gap distance. Furthermore, spinning asymmetric hollow fiber membranes at high air gap distance helps to produce a thin and porous skin layer, leading to a better flux but a relatively low percentage of rejection for BSA separation. Findings from this study would serve as primary data which will be a useful guide for fabricating a high performance hemodialysis hollow fiber membrane. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43633.     

Structural Control of NiO–YSZ/LSCF–YSZ Dual‐Layer Hollow Fiber Membrane for Potential Syngas Production

The objective of this study was to fabricate dual‐layer hollow fiber as a microreactor for potential syngas production via phase inversion‐based co‐extrusion/cosintering process. As the main challenge of phase inversion is the difficulty to obtain defect‐free fiber, this work focuses on the effect of the fabrication parameters, that is, nonsolvent content, sintering temperature and outer‐layer extrusion rate, on the macrostructure of the produced hollow fiber. SEM images confirm that the addition of nonsolvent has successfully minimized the finger‐like formation. At high sintering temperature, more dense hollow fiber was formed while outer‐layer extrusion rate affects the outer layer thickness.     

Prediction of plastic deformation under contact condition by quasi-static and dynamic simulations using explicit finite element analysis

We compared the quasi-static and dynamic simulation responses on elastic-plastic deformation of advanced alloys using Finite element (FE) method with an explicit numerical algorithm. A geometrical model consisting of a cylinder-on-flat surface contact under a normal load and sliding motion was examined. Two aeroengine materials, Ti-6Al-4V and Super CMV (Cr-Mo-V) alloy, were employed in the FE analysis. The FE model was validated by comparative magnitudes of the FE-predicted maximum contact pressure variation along the contact half-width length with the theoretical Hertzian contact solution. Results show that the (compressive) displacement of the initial contact surface steadily increases for the quasi-static load case, but accumulates at an increasing rate to the maximum level for the dynamic loading. However, the relatively higher stiffness and yield strength of the Super CMV alloy resulted in limited deformation and low plastic strain when compared to the Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The accumulated equivalent plastic strain of the material point at the initial contact position was nearly a thousand times higher for the dynamic load case (for example, 6.592 for Ti-6Al-4V, 1.0 kN) when compared to the quasi-static loading (only 0.0072). During the loading step, the von Mises stress increased with a decreasing and increasing rate for the quasi-static and dynamic load case, respectively. A sudden increase in the stress magnitude to the respective peak value was registered due to the additional constraint to overcome the static friction of the mating surfaces during the sliding step.

     

A Meta-frontier method of decomposing long-term construction productivity components and technological gaps at the firm level: evidence from Malaysia

There is a need for a better approach to measure construction productivity rigorously, multilaterally, longitudinally and decomposed into its components. In response, this paper offers a robust approach to analysing construction productivity at the firm level that has been lacking in the industry to date, by measuring the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of 37 public-listed Malaysian construction firms over 14 years (2003–2016), based on the Färe-Primont index. In comparing different groups of building, civil and specialist construction firms, this is the first application of a meta-frontier framework to capture the technological gaps involved. Based on the construction firms’ financial data, it is found that TFP improvement generally occurs due to Technical Efficiency (TE) and Scale-Mix Efficiency (SME) (largely scope economies), and significant technological gaps exist among different groups. Moreover, the industry suffered a decline in technologically related production environment over the period – prompting the conclusion that long-term policy engagement should focus on technological improvements. The paper provides a robust approach to analysing construction productivity at the firm level that also can be used for accessing productivity components and technological gaps in construction and other industries.     

硅烷涂层对316L不锈钢耐腐蚀性能的影响

目的提高316L不锈钢的耐腐蚀性能。方法在316L不锈钢样品表面涂覆主要成分为1,2-二(三乙氧基硅基)乙烷(BTSE)的硅烷涂层。通过电化学分析测试,评价涂覆硅烷涂层的316L不锈钢的耐蚀性,并通过扫描电子显微镜和扫描电化学显微镜对其表面形貌进行分析。结果在相同的腐蚀环境下,与未涂覆硅烷涂层的316L不锈钢样品相比,涂覆硅烷涂层样品的表面更加光滑,点蚀现象明显好转。电化学测试结果显示,涂覆硅烷涂层的316L不锈钢样品的腐蚀电位为?565.02m V,未涂覆硅烷涂层样品的腐蚀电位为?796.01 mV,前者明显高于后者,其腐蚀倾向明显减小。另外,涂覆硅烷涂层的316L不锈钢样品的腐蚀电流为2.5177μA,未涂覆硅烷涂层样品的腐蚀电流为5.4291μA,涂覆硅烷涂层样品的腐蚀电流明显更小,表现出了更好的耐腐蚀性能。通过观察扫描电化学显微镜图像可以得出,未涂覆硅烷涂层的316L不锈钢样品的电流范围为?3.144×10?9～?1.957×10?9 A,涂覆硅烷涂层的316L不锈钢样品的电流范围为?3.004×10?9～?1.975×10?9A,涂覆硅烷涂层样品的电流范围更窄,腐蚀程度明显减轻。结论在316L不锈钢表面涂覆硅烷涂层可以在一定程度上减缓样品的腐蚀程度,硅烷涂层起到了物理屏障的作用,显着提高了316L不锈钢的耐腐蚀性。     

纳米TiO2对D16T铝合金微弧氧化膜耐磨性的影响及机理

目的 提高D16T铝合金的耐磨损性能。方法 通过向硅酸盐和磷酸盐混合电解液体系中添加2 g/L纳米TiO2添加剂,利用微弧氧化技术在其表面制备微弧氧化陶瓷膜。采用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、扫描电镜（SEM）、能谱分析仪（EDS）、显微硬度计、厚度测试仪、摩擦磨损试验机等,研究了纳米TiO2添加剂对D16T铝合金微弧氧化膜的结构和耐磨损性能的影响及机理。结果 纳米TiO2的添加使得微弧氧化膜层的表面变得更加平整、致密,具有更少的微孔和裂纹,大大改善了膜层结构。相比于未添加纳米TiO2的电解液中制得的微弧氧化膜,在含纳米TiO2的电解液中所制得的微弧氧化膜中有新相TiO2生成,并且促使更多的α-Al2O3相和γ-Al2O3相生成,使膜层厚度得到明显增加,膜厚达31.2 μm,显微硬度也得到显著提高,达510HV。纳米TiO2的添加,降低了D16T微弧氧化膜层试样的摩擦系数,平均摩擦系数为0.45,明显低于不含纳米TiO2的D16T微弧氧化膜层试样的摩擦系数（0.75）。结论 加入到电解液中的纳米TiO2在微弧氧化反应过程中已进入到所形成的氧化膜层,并且填充了膜层中的微孔和裂纹,改善了膜层结构,增加了膜层厚度,显著提高了微弧氧化膜层的显微硬度和耐磨损性能。     

Microbial fuel cell-based sensor for Enterobacter sp. KBH6958 activity monitoring during hydrogen production: the effects of pH and glucose concentration

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an electricity-generating device utilising electrochemically active microorganisms as biocatalysts. Using MFC as a biosensor to...     

Synthesis of polyamidoxime chelating ligand from polymer‐grafted corn‐cob cellulose for metal extraction

A conventional free‐radical initiating process was used to prepare graft copolymers from acrylonitrile (AN) with corn‐cob cellulose with ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an initiator. The optimum grafting was achieved with corn‐cob cellulose (anhydroglucose unit, AGU), mineral acid (H₂SO₄), CAN, and AN at concentrations of 0.133, 0.081, 0.0145, and 1.056 mol/L, respectively. Furthermore, the nitrile functional groups of the grafted copolymers were converted to amidoxime ligands with hydroxylamine under basic conditions of pH 11 with 4 h of stirring at 70°C. The purified acrylic polymer‐grafted cellulose and polyamidoxime ligand were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis. The ligand showed an excellent copper binding capacity (4.14 mmol/g) with a faster rate of adsorption (average exchange rate = 7 min), and it showed a good adsorption capacity for other metal ions as well. The metal‐ion adsorption capacities of the ligand were pH‐dependent in the following order: Cu²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Mn²⁺ > Cr³⁺ > Fe³⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Ni²⁺. The metal‐ion removal efficiency was very high; up to 99% was removed from the aqueous media at a low concentration. These new polymeric chelating ligands could be used to remove aforementioned toxic metal ions from industrial wastewater. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40833.