Green Nanocomposites of Natural Rubber/ Olivine Nanosilica: Viscoelastic,Mechanical, Transport and Thermal Characterizations

Silicon - Nanosilica was synthesized from a low cost raw material, olivine by a more sustainable and cost effective method. The pure nanosilica obtained was amorphous in nature with a surface area...     

Improved self-snake based anisotropic diffusion model for edge preserving image denoising using structure tensor

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The performance of classifier algorithms used for predictive analytics highly dependent on quality of training data. This requirement demands the need for noise...     

Preparation of chemically functionalized and self compatibilized short coir fiber - high density polyethylene composites

The interphase adhesion plays key role in the performance of composites. The commonly employed strategies include blending with an external compatibilizer or utilizing chemical grafting followed by purification and copolymerization. Here, we showcase a reformed and simple approach in the fabrication of chemically functionalized, self compatibilized composites [PE-TCF5%-MA2%] by insitu grafting of maleic anhydride in the polymer melt, followed by the reactive compatibilization of treated short coir fiber. Micro-structural analysis of the composites revealed enhanced fiber/matrix adhesion. The improved mechanical, viscoelastic, and thermal properties of composites can be attributed to new interfacial bond formed, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared [FTIR] studies. PE-TCF5%-MA2% exhibited approximately 74% and 25% improvement in tensile strength compared to untreated (PE-UCF) and treated (PE-TCF) fiber composites respectively. Dynamic mechanical analysis of composites displayed similar trend with highest value of storage modulus recorded for PE-TCF5%-MA2%. Final decomposition temperature of all composites was shifted to higher side. Peak degradation temperature was increased with a marginal increase of residual char. Together with the goodness of agro-based fiber and feasiblity of this low cost method suggests the potential of PE-TCF-MA toward bulk industrial prodution of composite panels.     

Vision-based hexagonal image processing using Hex-Gabor

About 97% receptive field of the neurons is very closely described as 2D Gabor wavelet and it is mostly suitable for vision system modeling. Immense work is available on texture information, especially for rectangular structures. However, there is a little work in recognizing minute details in an image on hexagonal structure by either interpolation or enhancement. In this work, the two important operations of biological visual system such as enhancement and interpolation are performed using the Hex-Gabor process. It is possible to obtain an error-free image at sigma = 2/pi using the proposed Hex-Gabor process and the significance of this sigma value is proved. For the performance analysis standard reflected images and X-ray images are considered.     

Nanosilica as dry bonding system component and as reinforcement in short nylon‐6 fiber/natural rubber composite

Nanoscale silica was synthesized by acid hydrolysis of sodium silicate using dilute hydrochloric acid under controlled conditions. The synthesized silica was characterized by SEM, BET adsorption, and XRD. The particle size of silica was calculated to be 13 nm from the XRD results and the surface area was found to be 295 m²/g by BET method. This synthesized nanosilica was used in place of conventional silica in HRH (hexamethylenetetramine, resorcinol and silica) bonding system for natural rubber/Nylon‐6 short fiber composite. Nanosilica was also used as reinforcing filler in natural rubber/Nylon‐6 short fiber hybrid composite. Mechanical, thermal, and dynamic mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated. The introduction of the nanosilica in hybrid composites improved the tensile strength, modulus, and tear strength through improved interaction with the matrix which is facilitated by the higher surface area. Abrasion loss and hardness were also better for the nanosilica composites. Resilience and compression set were adversely affected. The hybrid composites showed anisotropy in mechanical properties. Peak rate of thermal decomposition decreased and temperature of initiation of thermal degradation increased with silica content, indicating improved thermal stability of the hybrid composites. The storage modulus and loss modulus showed two‐stage dependence on frequency at higher fiber loading. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009