Development of vibration damping materials based on butyl rubber: A study of the phase equilibrium,rheological, and dynamic properties of compositions

A detailed study of butyl rubber-based vibration damping formulations linking their composition, morphology, phase structure, viscosity, mechanical loss factor, and other characteristics is presented for the first time. High performance of the compositions including aromatic petroleum oil is explained by limited solubility of the plasticizer that leads to the formation of a highly-viscous emulsion (η_20°C ≈ 1000 Pa·s) consisting of a swollen butyl rubber matrix and dispersed oil droplets in the broad composition range. Chalk is found to be the best inorganic filler as its spherical particles provide strong adhesion to the reinforcing layer of aluminum foil. Aiming to eliminate ecologically unfriendly aromatic compounds, a new low-cost binding agent formulation based on butyl rubber mixed with polyisobutylene and highly refined mineral oil is suggested. Being environmentally safe, it possesses high viscosity of 1000–3000 Pa·s, cohesion strength of 3.5–5.0 N/cm, penetration of 4.5–6.0 mm, and mechanical loss factor up to 0.34 at room temperature, which are as good as, or even better than, the properties of currently produced vibration damping materials containing aromatic compounds. New materials can be used in car and aircraft parts for effective vibration isolation.     

Effect of microwave sintering on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA7075/B4C/ZrC hybrid nano composite fabricated by powder metallurgy techniques

AA7075 + 6%B4C+3%ZrC nano hybrid composite was successfully fabricated, with nano reinforcements composition in AA7075 alloy selected based on previous investigation, to achieve better mechanical performance. Two different sintering techniques, namely conventional and microwave, were implemented to determine the effect on microstructural and mechanical properties. Microstructural investigation was performed with the help of W-SEM. Tensile, compression, and hardness were measured with the help of UTM and Vickers microhardness machine. Porosity was calculated by using Archimedes principle. It was observed that the added nano ZrC particles formed agglomerates and the B₄C particles were distributed homogenously. Composites processed by microwave sintering showed excellent mechanical properties compared to the conventionally sintered composites. No intermetallic compounds were detected in microwave sintered composites through XRD analysis, indicating strong and clean interface bonds between matrix and reinforcement particles. High strain to fracture value of 12.24% was noted in microwave sintered nano hybrid composite, while it was 6.12% for conventional sintered one. Fractography revealed no peeling action of reinforcements from the matrix material, and the mode of failure was brittle. It was concluded that, while fabricating nano range hybrid composites, the implementation of advanced sintering technique (microwave sintering) with low sintering temperatures and low sintering times with internal heat generations, helps in eliminating defects that may develop because of high surface energies of nano range reinforcements.     

Impact behavior of aminosilane functionalized nanosilica based shear thickening fluid impregnated Kevlar fabrics

In the present work, two types of shear thickening fluids have been synthesized by using neat and aminosilane functionalized silica nanoparticles and their viscosity curves have been obtained by the rheometer. Based on the values of peak viscosity of synthesized shear thickening fluids, the surface functionalized nanosilica based shear thickening fluid has been chosen as a best candidate due to the high viscosity for impregnation into the neat Kevlar of different layers viz. four (04) and eight (08) layers for velocity impact study. The experimental investigations reveal high energy absorption of shear thickening fluid impregnated Kevlar as compared to the neat Kevlar. The maximum energy absorption 62 J is achieved corresponding to the initial velocity 154 m∙s⁻¹ for 08 layers shear thickening fluid impregnated Kevlar specimen. The data have also been analytically determined and validated with the experimental data. The experimental data have good agreement with the analytical data within the accuracy of around 15 to 20%. The present findings can have significant inferences towards the fabrication of shear thickening fluids using nanomaterials for numerous applications such as soft armors, dampers, nanofinishing and so forth.     

Thermal and dynamic mechanical behavior of epoxy composites reinforced with post-consumed yerba mate

Yerba mate (YM) is widely consumed in Latin American countries, and its residues can be used as bio-resources such as reinforced in epoxy composites. The present work aims to produce epoxy resin composites and evaluate the influence of post-consumed YM as reinforcement. The concentrations of YM used were 5, 10, and 20% (wt/wt). Chemical, thermal, morphological, and dynamic mechanical behaviors were explored. The YM incorporation did not influence chemically on the epoxy structure and a pull-out phenomenon was observed as YM content increased. The YM at lower concentrations (5 and 10%) led to higher values of activation energies calculated from model-free isoconversional methods. On the other hand, the composite e/YM 20 wt% improved all dynamic-mechanical properties. YM proved to be a suitable and cheap reinforcement for epoxy resin.     

Wear and thermal behavior of basalt fiber reinforced rice husk/polyvinyl chloride composites

Plant fiber reinforced polymer composites (PFRPs) in practical application are often subjected to both complex friction and variable temperature environments. The present work explores the possibility of reinforcing rice husk/polyvinyl chloride (RH/PVC) composites with basalt fibers (BF) for developing a new wear resistant material with improved thermal stability. The results showed that the structural strength and wear resistance of the composites increased at first and then decreased with an increasing ratio of BF/RH, the highest value occurred at a BF/RH ratio of 8/42. The thermal stability of composites had a positive relationship with BF/RH ratio. The composites added with BF all possessed improved performance in comparison with unadded composites. Hence, the findings of this article proposed some new perspectives on improving the wear resistance and thermal stability of PFRPs that would broaden their practical application.     

Novel branched sulfonated polyimide membrane with remarkable vanadium permeability resistance and proton selectivity for vanadium redox flow battery application

A series of novel branched sulfonated polyimide (bSPI-x) membranes with 8% branched degree are developed for application in vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). The sulfonation degrees of bSPI-x membranes are precisely regulated for obtaining excellent comprehensive performance. Among all bSPI-x membranes, the bSPI-50 membrane shows strong vanadium permeability resistance, which is as 8 times as that of commercial Nafion 212 membrane. At the same time, the bSPI-50 membrane has remarkable proton selectivity, which is four times as high as that of Nafion 212 membrane. The bSPI-50 membrane possesses slower self-discharge speed than Nafion 212 membrane. Furthermore, the bSPI-50 membrane achieves stable VRFB efficiencies during 200-time charge-discharge cycles at 120–180 mA cm^?2. Simultaneously, the bSPI-50 membrane exhibits excellent capacity retention compared with Nafion 212 membrane. All results imply that the bSPI-50 membrane possesses good application prospect as a promising alternative separator of VRFB.     

基于蜻蜓翅脉结构的连续碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料仿生设计与增材制造

以具有轻质高强优异性能的蜻蜓翅脉结构为设计灵感，在分析翅脉网格结构抗冲击原理的基础上，设计了传统和仿生两类对比结构。采用熔融挤出3D打印机成功制备了具有不同结构的连续碳纤维增强聚乳酸复合材料试样，并对不同结构复合材料试样的拉伸性能和抗冲击性能进行了测试和对比分析。研究分析结果表明：由于拉伸力方向上的连续碳纤维含量相对较少，限制了仿生结构复合材料抗拉强度的提高，但仿生结构的平均抗拉强度为传统结构的1.18倍；当仿生结构复合材料试样受到冲击力时，其内部六边形结构的连接角度会发生变化，从而极大消耗冲击能量，同时具有六边形网格结构的连续碳纤维可以有效阻碍裂纹的扩展，因此仿生结构的平均冲击韧性可以达到传统结构的2.46倍；仿生蜻蜓翅脉结构可以显著提高增材制造复合材料的综合力学性能，且对于抗冲击性能的提高具体突出效果。连续碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料的有效可行的仿生蜻蜓翅脉结构设计和增材制造，可极大扩展其在高冲击载荷领域中的相应应用。     

Ablation behavior of thin-blade co-deposited C/Cx-SiCy composites under the influence of the complex fluid conditions of the oxyacetylene torch

This paper offers a new way of testing the ablation property of material under an oxyacetylene torch using a thin-blade specimen, which costs much less time to reach the maximum temperature and provides a harsh turbulence fluid field that's closer to reality. The thin-blade specimen experiences a higher turbulent intensity than the traditional disk-like specimen, leading to more efficient heat exchange. The fluid field simulation agrees with the testing results. In addition, we manage to synthesize the C/Cx-SiCy composites with the co-deposition chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method. The C/Cx-SiCy composites exhibit a similar anti-ablation property as C/C composites and consist of enough SiC phase simultaneously, combining the advantages of both C/C composites and C/SiC composites. The thin-blade C/Cx-SiCy composites show a lower linear ablation rate (1.6 μm/s) than C/C composites (4.1 μm/s) and C/SiC composites (19.6 μm/s) during the oxyacetylene test. The glass layer formed on the surface of C/Cx-SiCy could cling to the bulk material instead of peeling off due to the high PyC content in the matrix could protect the SiO₂ from blowing away.     

Structural regulation and polishing performance of dendritic mesoporous silica (D-mSiO2) supported with samarium-doped cerium oxide composites

Ceria (CeO₂) particles are prevalent polishing abrasive materials. Trivalent lanthanide ions are the popular category of dopants for enriched surface defects and thus improved physicochemical properties, since they are highly compatible with CeO₂ lattices. Herein, a series of dendritic-like mesoporous silica (D-mSiO₂)-supported samarium (Sm)-doped CeO₂ nanocrystals were synthesized via a facile chemical precipitation method. The relation of the structural characteristics and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performances were investigated to explore the effect of Sm-doping amounts on the D-mSiO₂/Sm_xCe_1?xO_2?δ (x = 0–1) composite abrasives. The involved low-modulus D-mSiO₂ cores aimed to eliminate surface scratch and damage, resulting from the optimized contact behavior between abrasives and surfaces. The trivalent cerium (Ce³⁺) and oxygen vacancy (V_O) at CeO₂ surfaces were expected to be reactive sites for the material removal process over SiO₂ films. The optimal oxide-CMP performances in terms of removal efficiency and surface quality were achieved by the 40% Sm-doped composite abrasives. It might be attributed to the high Ce³⁺ and V_O concentrations and the enhancement of tribochemical reactivity between CeO₂SiO₂ interfaces. Furthermore, the relationship between the surface chemistry, polishing performance as well as the actual role in oxide-CMP of the D-mSiO₂/Sm_xCe_1?xO_2?δ abrasives were also discussed.     

Thermal shock response behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide matrix composites prepared by chemical vapour infiltration at different heating rates

The present work investigated the effects of thermal cycles in air on the tensile properties of a two-dimensional carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide composite (2D C/SiC) prepared by chemical vapour infiltration at different heating rates. The composite was exposed to different cycles of thermal shock between 20 °C and 1300 °C in air. The damage mechanisms were investigated by AE online monitoring and fractured morphology offline analysis. The tensile strength of 2D-C/SiC decreases with increasing thermal cycles. However, the modulus only decrease within 40 cycles. Due to oxidation, with the decrease in heating rate, the residual properties of the material decrease more obviously. Meanwhile, the results of AE online monitoring and fracture analysis show that the matrix damage is more serious at higher heating rate and that more delamination occours in tensile fractures. The above results indicate that for the thermal shock of 2D C/SiC composites in air, oxidative damage plays a key role in the residual properties.