Investigation of the effects of NAA‐type zeolite on PDMS composites

The aim of this article was to investigate the effect of a NaA‐type zeolite on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)–zeolite composite. The obtained results show that the introduction of a NaA‐type zeolite into polysiloxane matrices results in a change of the equilibrium degree of swelling (DSe) of composites in toluene, their hardness, and their thermal stability. With increase in the zeolite, the time required to achieve the DSe is reduced, DSe decreases, and hardness increases. A double effect of the zeolite concentration on the change of the composite characteristics was noted. At zeolite concentrations of up to 20%, there is a drastic change of the DSe and hardness with zeolite concentration, while this effect is considerably less pronounced at higher concentrations. The results obtained show that a NaA‐type zeolite plays the role of a reinforcing filler. A new mechanism of bonding the zeolite into the composite was suggested. According to this model, there is a possibility that bonds are established between the polymer and the zeolite via interaction of the π‐bond of terminal vinyl groups of PDMS with the Na cation of the zeolite. With increase in the zeolite concentration in the composite, the total number of established polymer–zeolite bonds increases, but the density of the interaction decreases. This explains the change in the characteristics of the composite with the change of zeolite concentration. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1171–1176, 2000     

The kinetics of isothermal nicotinamide release from poly(acrylic‐co‐methacrylic acid) loaded xerogel

The isothermal kinetics of in vitro nicotinamide release from poly(acrylic‐co‐methacrylic acid) loaded xerogel into water was evaluated. The isothermal kinetics curves of nicotinamide release from poly(acrylic‐co‐methacrylic acid) xerogel were measured at different temperatures ranging from 296 K to 315 K. It was proven that the kinetics of nicotinamide release from poly(acrylic‐co‐methacrylic acid) xerogel was a kinetically complex process which was neither controlled by the processes of drug diffusion nor with the relaxation of the xerogel. The kinetic of nicotinamide release from poly(acrylic‐co‐methacrylic acid) may be described by the kinetics model of reversible first order chemical reaction and the apparent activation energy have value of E_a,M = 14.1 kJ mol^?1 and preexponential factor ln(A_M min^?1) = 2.3. The rate constants of nicotinamide release ( ) and the rate constants of its reversible absorption reaction ( ) were calculated and found to fall within the range 0.019 min^?1?0.033 min^?1 for and 0.014 min^?1?0.016 min^?1 for . The value of activation energy for the nicotinamide releas, E_a.R =21.25 kJ mol^?1, is significantly higher than the value for the process of nicotinamide absorption (E_a,A = 2.6 kJ mol^?1). The rate of nicotinamide release was predetermined with the rate of nicotinamide molecules distribution between the hydrogel and surrounding solution. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:60–69, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

An Assessment of Vacuum‐Heat‐Treated H11 Hot‐Work Tool Steel using the KIc/HRc Ratio

Charpy V‐notch (CVN) impact‐test values are widely used in toughness specifications for AISI H11 hot‐work tool steel, even though the fracturing energy is not directly related to the tool design. K_Ic, the plain‐strain stress‐intensity factor at the onset of unstable crack growth, can be related to the tool design; however, K_Ic test values are not widely used in toughness specifications. This is surprising since to the designer K_Ic values are more useful than CVN values because the design calculations for tools and dies of high‐strength steels should take into account the strength and the toughness of materials in order to prevent the possibility of rapid and brittle fracture. An investigation was conducted to determine whether standardized fracture‐toughness testing (ASTM E399‐90), which is difficult to perform reliably for hard materials with a low ductility, could be replaced with a so far non‐standard testing method. A particular problem is that the manufacture of the fatigue crack samples is difficult and expensive, and this has promoted the search for alternative fracture‐toughness testing methods. One of the most promising methods is the use of circumferentially notched and fatigue‐precracked tensile specimens. With this technique the fatigue crack in the specimen is obtained without affecting the fracture toughness of the steel, if it is obtained in soft annealed steel, i.e., prior to the final heat treatment. The results of this investigation have shown that using the proposed method it was possible to draw, for the normally used range of working hardness, combined tempering diagrams (Rockwell‐C hardness ‐ Fracture toughness K_Ic ‐ Tempering temperature) for some AISI H11 hot‐work tool steel delivered from three steel plants. On the basis of the combined tempering charts the influence of the processing route on the mechanical properties was investigated. In the same way, vacuum‐heat‐treated tool steels were assessed and their properties expressed as a ratio of the fracture toughness to the hardness (K_Ic/HRc).     

Modeling OFDM irreducible BER with impact of CP length and CFO in multipath channel with small delay dispersion

In this paper, we propose an analytical model for estimating the irreducible bit error ratio (BER) in multipath channel with small‐extent delay dispersion, such as indoor, where the signal‐to‐noise ratio is high, implying dominance of inter‐symbol interference as error‐generating mechanism. Both channel and overall orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols are modeled stochastically, resulting with novel expression for the residual BER prediction that is shown to analytically distinguish power delay profiles with equal delay spreads but having different profile shapes. In addition, the model could simply accommodate insertion of cyclic prefix onto the OFDM symbol, providing a means for either testing adequacy of any applied (standard) cyclic prefix length or finding its optimal value as a compromise between the performance enhancement achieved by inserting cyclic prefix and the consequently added redundancy. Finally, the model was modified as to include the analysis of effects of subcarrier frequency inaccuracy or Doppler shift, by adding additional equivalent delay dispersion with equal effect on BER degradation, while considering the system virtually free of carrier frequency offset. All analytically achieved results and conclusions are tested and successfully verified by conducted extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

采用高浓臭氧漂白生产高强度浆料降低废水排放

位于斯洛伐克的Mondi Business Paper SCP纸厂，为提高制浆生产能力和浆料质量，并降低对环境的影响，对整个制浆生产线进行改造并增加OxyTrac氧脱木素和ZeTPac臭氧漂白。本文介绍了改造前后的工艺流程、改造的效果与特点、生产线优化等。整个制浆生产线的改造由美卓负责，美卓提供了主要设备以及进行工程设计。     

The comparative kinetic study of non-isothermal and isothermal dehydration of swollen poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel using the Weibull probability function

The isothermal and non-isothermal dehydration of swollen poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel has been investigated. The possibility of calculating the isothermal conversion curves from the non-isothermal conversion curves was examined. It was found that the experimental conversion curves under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions can be described by the Weibull probability distribution function. Changes in the values of distibution parameters with heating rate (non-isothermal dehydration) and operating temperature (isothermal dehydration) were identified. The mathematical procudere for determining the non-isothermal kinetic conversion curves, based on the functional relationship between distribution parameters and the heating rate was developed. In addition, the new mathematical procedure for calculating the isothermal kinetic curves from the non-isothermal ones at a certain temperature was established. It was found that the large deviation exists between the experimental and calculated isothermal conversion curves. In order to explain the difference in the mechanism of hydrogel dehydration under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions, the dependence of the apparent activation energy on the degree of conversion (E_a = E_a(α)) was performed using the isoconversional (model-free) methods. It was found that in the case of non-isothermal dehydration, the apparent activation energy exhibits a concave decrease with the degree of conversion (α), while for the isothermal dehydration, the apparent activation energy exhibits a convex increase with α. Certain changes in a variety of E_a with α are explained on the basis of different relaxation processes, that take place during non-isothermal and isothermal hydrogel dehydration. The characteristic features of density distribution functions of the apparent activation energies are derived in the case of non-isothermal and isothermal dehydration. It was found that the differences in characteristic properties of derived distribution functions are a consequence of different relaxation processes, which taking place under various experimental conditions.     

The analysis of glycerol by gas chromatography

Commencai glycerol and its organic impurities can be measured accurately by a single gas Chromatographic GC analysis utilizing Tenax-GC® and flame detection.     

The effects of reaction conditions on the electrical conductivity of PAAG hydrogels

The effects of reaction conditions: concentration of crosslinker, monomer, initiator and gelatin and neutralization degree (ND) of acrylic acid (AA), of a graft radical crosslinking polymerization of AA and gelatin, on the specific electrical conductivity and the primary structural parameters of synthesized poly(acrylic acid)-g-gelatin (PAAG) hydrogels were investigated. It was established that: (a) electrical conductivity of all of the investigated hydrogels is higher than of distilled water; (b) the increasing concentration of crosslinker, monomer and initiator leads to the two linear distinct increases of electrical conductivity with different slopes (c) the increasing ND of AA leads to linear decrease in electrical conductivity and (d) gelatin concentration does not significantly influence the electrical conductivity of hydrogel. An analyses of the primary structural parameters of synthesized PAAG xerogels reveals that: (a) values of molar mass between crosslinks and distance between polymer chains are power form function on crosslink density (ρ_c); (b) the critical value of ρ_c corresponds to the percolation threshold of H⁺/K⁺ ions through the hydrogels network and (c) electrical conductivity of PAAG hydrogels is a power form function on ρ_c. Fractal model of conductivity of hydrogel is suggested and explained.