Effect of processing conditions on the gloss of polypropylene films

A study of the effect of three processing variables, melt temperature, quench temperature, and air pressure, on the gloss of polypropylene films shows that although these processing parameters are used to control this property they do not constitute the primary cause of gloss variations. The main causes of gloss variations were found to be changes in the polymer melt index, i.e., melt roughness, and film crystallinity, both of which can be controlled by changing the processing conditions.     

Quantifying ethanol content of beer using interpretive near-infrared spectroscopy

On the basis of absorption measurements in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral range, a new method for the quantification of the ethanol content of beer is presented. Instead of the multivariate calibration models most commonly employed in NIR spectroscopic works, we use interpretive difference spectroscopy: Two wavelengths are selected according to the assignment of the absorption bands of the main substances of content of beer in the NIR region, and the difference between the absorbances at these wavelengths is used for ethanol quantification. Absorption spectra of the dominating beer ingredients are discussed and the calibration procedure with ethanol/water mixtures is shown. Robustness against the carbohydrate content of beer samples was demonstrated by analyzing solutions of ethanol and maltose in water. Validation of the method was performed with various beer samples with an ethanol concentration range between 0.5 and 7.7 vol %. The pertinent advantage of the procedure developed in this work is the indication that the results are independent from seasonal variations of the ingredients, which is of high interest for products with natural ingredients such as beer.     

Antireflection-coated blue GaN laser diodes in an external cavity and Doppler-free indium absorption spectroscopy

Commercially available GaN-based laser diodes were antireflection coated in our laboratory and operated in an external cavity in a Littrow configuration. A total tuning range of typically 4 nm and an optical output power of up to 30 mW were observed after optimization of the external cavity. The linewidth was measured with a beterodyne technique, and 0.8 MHz at a sweep time of 50 ms was obtained. The mode-hop-free tuning range was more than 50 GHz. We demonstrated the performance of the laser by detecting the saturated absorption spectrum of atomic indium at 410 nm, allowing observation of well-resolved Lamb dips.     

Characterization of the structure of cellular plastics

Equations are presented which allow calculation of the average cell volume, number of cells per unit area, cross-sectional area, and average axial lengths of cells in formed plastics. The equation for the average volume of a group of cells has been derived to include terms which adjust for the effect of cellular anisotropy. This adjustment is made by including in the equation terms defining the number of cells (in terms of air displacement volumes) which occur in three planes of the specimen. Average cell volumes calculated with the derived equation were found to agree well with average volumes determined by measuring the volume of a known number of cells.     

Determination of crash‐relevant material parameters by dynamic tensile tests

The mechanical properties of eight different steels, representing the wide range of steels for automotive application, are determined by accomplishing high speed tensile tests using flat sheet specimens. The steels chosen for investigations are deep drawing grade DC04, high strength steel ZStE340, three dual phase steels with strengths of 600, 800 and 1000 MPa, a TRIP steel and two austenitic stainless steels 1.4301 and 1.4318. Tests are carried out at five different strain rates within the range of 5‐10^?3 and 200 s^?1, all at room temperature. The results show different strain rate sensitivities according to the different grades of steel. The TRIP steel and both stainless steels show a great potential for energy consumption, when tested at high strain rates.     

Observations on the coefficient of friction of polypropylene film

Data are presented relating the time change of the coefficient of friction of cast polypropylene films to changes in film density and concentration of surface lubricant. It is shown that during aging the density of polypropylene increases, thus causing a decrease in the friction coefficient. It is also shown that although the lubricant added to the polymer will diffuse to the surface of copolymer films, no diffusion occurred in polypropylene films.     

Repeatability,reproducibility, and accuracy of a novel pushbroom hyperspectral system

This study analyzes the repeatability, reproducibility and accuracy of a new hyperspectral system based on a pushbroom sensor as a means of measuring spectral features and color of materials and objects. The hyperspectral system consisted of a CCD camera, a spectrograph and an objective lens. An additional linear moving system allowed the mechanical scanning of the complete scene. A uniform overhead luminaire with daylight configuration was used to irradiate the scene using d:45 geometry. We followed the guidelines of the ASTM E2214‐08 Standard Practice for Specifying and Verifying the Performance of Color‐Measuring Instruments that define the standards and latest multidimensional procedures. The results obtained are analyzed in‐depth and compared to those recently reported by other authors for spectrophotometers and multispectral systems. It can be concluded that hyperspectral systems are reliable and can be used in the industry to perform spectral and color readings with a high spatial resolution. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 549–558, 2014     

A study of the morphology and physical properties of polypropylene films

Data are presented showing that rapidly quenched polypropylene films contain a paracrystalline phase in addition to crystalline and amorphous phases. The density of the paracrystalline phase was found to vary between 0.8890 and 0.9080 g./cm.³. Other data show that the density of quenched polypropylene films increases during aging, the increase being a linear function of the logarithm of the film age. The physical properties of the films, secant modulus, impact strength, and coefficient of friction, were found to vary not only with crystallinity, i.e., composition-dependent density, but also to vary during aging when the density was increasing with little change in crystallinity. An example of this dependence is the increase in secant modulus of 10.9 × 10⁶ psi/g./cm.³ during aging and only 3.7 × 10⁶ psi/g./cm.³ as the crystallinity increased. Because of the three phases and the density–time change, it is possible to have films with the same density and different physical properties and, conversely, films with the same physical properties and different densities.     

Experimental Investigation and Modeling Approach of the Phenylacetonitrile Alkylation Process in a Microreactor

The application of microreaction technology has the potential to intensify chemical processes. It is therefore of great interest to investigate the operating efficiency of a multiphase process such as the alkylation of phenylacetonitrile in a microreactor and to compare the performance to a batch reactor. The undeniable advantages of continuous microreactor systems for this process were demonstrated. Furthermore, the influence of the organic to aqueous phase ratio in the microreactor was investigated. A model of the reaction course was formulated based on experimental data. This model was used in the analysis and modeling of the alkylation process in a microreactor and found to be adequate. The optimal microreactor performance conditions were determined using the numerical optimization technique (Harrington's desirability function) and confirmed by experiments.