Getting to grips with automated prepreg handling

Automated manufacturing of composite parts based on prepreg material is receiving increased interest with the rising use of composite materials for high-performance applications. The two main automation alternatives for prepreg layup, automated tape layup and fiber placement, are not cost-effective for all types of products, and manual labor is common for the manufacturing of complex parts in low manufacturing volumes. Alternatives to the two dominant automation solutions have been pursued, but so far these have had a limited impact in industrial applications. This paper presents four different solutions for automated layup of prepreg plies to flat laminates that can be formed in a subsequent forming process, which decrease the system complexity. The solutions target products where the layup of flat laminates today is done manually due to technical limitations or cost considerations. The layup solutions must manage challenges caused by material properties such as low material rigidity and tack, and be able to handle a high number of ply shapes. All four solutions are designed for prepreg that is covered with a stiff backing paper. The aim of the paper is to analyze and compare the four solutions. It can be concluded that the most versatile solution is a dual-arm robot equipped with simple end effectors. The dual-arm solution presents a possibility to control the pick-up and lay-down motions that make peeling motions possible, which is advantageous when picking material that has tacked to the pickup surface.     

Expanded graphene-oxide encapsulated polyaniline composites as sensing material for volatile organic compounds

The expanded graphene-oxide (EGO) encapsulated PA composite materials are prepared by in-situ chemical oxidative polymerisation polyaniline (PA) where polymerization of aniline was carried out in presence of EGO using ammonium-persulphate in an acid medium. The synthesized samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrical conductivity measurements. The electrical conductivity get increases with temperature showing semiconducting behaviour and the conductivity is found to be 101.04 S/m at 413 K. The composite materials are exposed with various concentrations of vapours of different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetone, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride and compared with the pristine polymer. The oxidising VOCs like acetone on exposure to pristine polymer and PA/EGO composite is found to be decrease in resistivity by hydrogen bonding with the redox cites of the polymer. Among these VOCs, the sensitivity towards chloroform is found to be more in PA and its composites than the other two compounds.     

Polyhydroxybutyrate/chitosan/bioglass nanocomposite as a novel electrospun scaffold: fabrication and characterization

Scaffolds and their features play a central role in tissue engineering; so this study is based on the production of a series of electrospun PHB/Chitosan/nBG nanocomposite scaffolds with 9 wt% polyhydroxybutyrate, 10, 15 and 20 wt% chitosan and 7.5, 10 and 15 wt% nanobioglass (nBG). Electrospinning process was performed with optimal conditions of spinning machine including voltage of 16 kV, syringe-collector spacing of 16 cm, and output rate of 1 µl per hour. The developed phases and the formation of chemical bonds between ceramic and polymer bands were studied through XRD and FTIR analyses. The FE-SEM and TEM analyses showed uniform morphology of nanofibers and dispersion of bioglass nanoparticles in the fiber structure. The presence of 10 wt% bioglass nanoparticles and 15 wt% chitosan increased the tensile strength of fibers to 3.42 MPa, which was about four times greater than strength of control sample (pure PHB). The developed fibers were kept 28 days in SBF solution and 60 days in PBS solution to assess their bioactivity and biodegradability. The results showed that the presence of bioglass nanoparticles leads to a dramatic increase in absorption of calcium and phosphorus ions and weight loss of scaffold. The developed scaffold can be used for bone and teeth tissue engineering applications.     

Application of Dispersed Particle Gel to Inhibit Surfactant Adsorption on Sand

This article highlights an efficient and cost-effective additive-dispersed particle gel (DPG) to reduce surfactant adsorption on sand. Indoor experiments were conducted to study the effect of DPG on static adsorption and dynamic adsorption of the surfactant. The static adsorption data were evaluated using different isotherm models and the Redlich–Peterson isotherm matched the best. Results showed a significant inhibition of surfactant adsorption in the presence of DPG. The dynamic adsorption of SDS on sand decreased to 0.78, 0.68 and 0.61 mg/g compared with original value of 1.17 mg/g by adding 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 wt% DPG particles, respectively. This study suggests that DPG can inhibit the adsorption of surfactant on sand effectively.     

Synthesis of mesoporous zirconium-containing silicates and their application for catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

A series of mesoporous zirconium-containing silicates were prepared in sol–gel, which were further functionalized by chiral sulfonyl chloride and proline for catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. These materials had good porosities, hexagonal symmetries and internal chiralities. Moreover, significant morphological variations were observed when preparative conditions were changed. These materials also showed good to excellent enantioselectivities in catalysis, and there was chiral induction synergy between silicate matrix and attached ligand. Recycling of catalyst was tested, and promising results were obtained. This study would contribute to the design of mesoporous chiral catalysts.     

Productivity and mobility in academic research: evidence from mathematicians

Using an exhaustive database on academic publications in mathematics all over the world, we study the patterns of productivity by mathematicians over the period 1984–2006. We uncover some surprising facts, such as the weakness of age related decline in productivity and the relative symmetry of international movements, rejecting the presumption of a massive “brain drain” towards the US. We also analyze the determinants of success by top US departments. In conformity with recent studies in other fields, we find that selection effects are much stronger than local interaction effects: the best departments are most successful in hiring the most promising mathematicians, but not necessarily at stimulating positive externalities among them. Finally we analyze the impact of career choices by mathematicians: mobility almost always pays, but early specialization does not.     

New 3D Finite Difference Method for Thermal Contrast Enhancement in Slabs Pulsed Thermography Inspection

The Finite Difference Thermal Contrast (FDTC) is a new technique based on the approximation to the discretization of the Fourier heat propagation model in 3D, in order to be applied on a sequence of infrared images to enhance contrast for automatic detection and characterization of flaws in composite slabs. This contrast enhancement is performed by the calculus of relative error between predicted and real temperature over the heated surface only and for each pixel, in such a way that defective regions will exhibit greater errors than sound ones. Thermal sequences from a simulated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) slab with air-filled defects, and from a real CFRP slab sample with Teflon squared defects, are used to evaluate and compare the enhancement obtained from FDTC, Normalized Contrast (NC) and Modified Differential Absolute Contrast (m-DAC). In spite of the need of executing an additional background compensation in case of real slabs, results show that the proposed technique offers a better contrast between defects and background than the other techniques (about 33 % less residuary thermal non-uniformity with the adjusted version—FDTCa), mainly because of the more energy of the resulting thermal profiles. Also, as this technique does not estimate the temperature distribution along depth axis, but approximates temperature after a spatial step only, it can run faster than other thermal reconstruction methods like the classic 3D thermal filtering.     

Effect of Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>CO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and CaCO<Subscript>3</Subscript> on coreduction roasting of blast furnace dust and high-phosphorus oolitic hematite

Iron was recovered from blast furnace dust and high-phosphorus oolitic hematite in the presence of Na₂CO₃ and CaCO₃ additives. The functions of Na₂CO₃ and CaCO₃ during the coreduction roasting process were investigated by XRD and SEM-EDS analyses. Results indicate that these additives not only hinder the reduction of fluorapatite, CaCO₃ also decreases the P content of direct reduced iron (DRI) by increasing the reduction alkalinity. P remains as fluorapatite in the slag, which can be removed by grinding and magnetic separation under optimal conditions. The Na₂CO₃ promotes hematite reduction and improves the iron recovery (ε_Fe) by replacing the FeO from fayalite, which results in quick growth and aggregation of metallic iron and improvement of ε_Fe in DRI. A DRI with 91.88 mass% Fe, and 0.065 mass% P can be achieved at a recovery of 87.86 mass% under the optimal condition.