Addressing the special concerns of landfill closures: VLDPE and textured geomembranes

Landfill closures often require a somewhat different set of properties for synthetic liners than do landfill bottom liner installations. In particular, cap design usually presents the geotechnical engineer with greater concerns regarding long-term slope stability and accommodation of differential settlement. Friction between synthetic liners and materials contacting those liners, multiaxial elongation, and flexibility increase in importance. Since leachate does not contact the liners, chemical resistance becomes less important. Resistance to the components of landfill gas is, in most cases, all that is necessary.

As a result, synthetic liners with a textured surface to improve friction angles, and very low density polyethylene (VLDPE) geomembranes are becoming very attractive to geotechnical engineers. They provide considerable improvement in those areas which are important for cap installation. These materials, however, behave differently in standard index and performance testing of geomembranes, when compared with traditional polyethylene liners. These behaviors and differences are important for geotechnical engineers to understand. They are discussed in this paper.     

Reliability and stability of executive functioning in older adults.

A number of methodological questions have been raised about the reliability and validity of measuring executive functioning (EF) across multiple time points. In this study, correlational and latent-variable analyses were used to examine test-retest reliability of 5 common measures of EF and the stability of a latent EF construct. One hundred eighteen nondemented older adults were tested twice over a 4- to 8-week period. Findings demonstrated modest reliability of individual EF measures but very high stability of a latent EF construct. Relative contributions of each measure to the latent EF factor did not change across measurement trials. In addition, age-related effects on EF were similar at the 2 time points and were within the expected range. Implications for future studies of EF are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of Specimen Geometry in the Effect of Fiber Orientation on the Thermal Conductivity of a Uniaxial Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Aluminoborosilicate Glass-Matrix Composite

A study concerning the effect of fiber orientation on the thermal conductivity of a uniaxial carbon-fiber-reinforced borosilicate glass was conducted. For thin specimens, and thick specimens with specimen sides cut parallel to the fiber direction, the dependence of thermal conductivity on fiber orientation showed excellent agreement with theoretical behavior predicted for a composite infinite in extent. In contrast, the thermal conductivity data for rectangular thick specimens fell well below the data for the thin and angled specimens. For fiber orientation of 45° and higher, at which the heat was directed toward the side of the specimen rather than across, the thermal conductivity values showed excellent agreement with theoretical behavior predicted for a finite composite strip with insulated sides.     

On a bounded solution to a pair of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations

We present a bounded, decaying solution to a pair of coupled, nonlinear second-order ordinary differential equations arising in the theory of natural convection. The solution is found by transforming the problem into a non-autonomous system in the phase-plane. A uniqueness proof is given for the bounded solution.     

New intramolecular effect observed for polyesters: An anomeric effect

A series of polyesters was prepared to evaluate hydrolytic stability as a function of cyclohexyl dibasic acid content. The three cyclohexyl dibasic acids: 1,2; 1,3; and 1,4 were formulated into polyesters with two glycols. The proportion of cis and trans isomers was evaluated via ¹H NMR. The hydrolytic stability of short chain polyesters was evaluated in an acetone/water mixture which solubilized the polyesters to mimic oligoester behavior within a thermosetting polyester coating environment. The rate of hydrolysis was monitored by acid titration and corroborated by GPC. Surprisingly, 1,2-cylohexyl diacid-based polyesters were robust, and 1,3-cyclohexyl diacid-based polyesters were the most susceptible to hydrolysis. Evidently, a 1,2-anchimeric effect for cyclohexyl dibasic acid polyesters was not an important consideration, while the 1,3-cyclohexyl ester interaction was. Consequently, an anomeric effect was proposed. Presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology, November 12–14, 2003, in Philadelphia, PA.     

Targets and methods for the detection of processed animal proteins in animal feedstuffs

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or ‘mad cow disease’, is one of several transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) known to affect certain mammals and is spread through the ingestion of infected animal tissue. It is believed that the inadvertent contamination of meat and bone meal (MBM) with infected animal tissue and the subsequent use of this material as a feed supplement contributed to the spread of the disease in cattle. As a result, the use of processed animal proteins (PAPs) in animal feeds is regulated in many parts of the world. Although feed testing is the only definitive means to certify compliance, regulatory compliance often relies solely on paper certification. Recently, rapid methods have become available that can be used by regulators to determine compliance during routine inspections. We describe a rapid, immunochromatographic strip test that can detect 0.1% MBM in animal feed. The test takes 15 min to perform and large numbers of samples can be screened for PAPs simultaneously.     

Non-invasive headspace measurement for characterizing oxygen-scavenging in polymers

A non-invasive headspace analysis method to measure rate and amount of oxygen uptake in oxygen-scavenging polymers is presented. Oxygen uptake data for metal-catalyzed poly(1,4-butadiene) at 30 °C are provided to illustrate the method. These data were obtained by measuring oxygen headspace concentration above the scavenging polymer with an OxySense^® 200T non-invasive oxygen sensor, and, for comparison, oxygen uptake was measured with an analytical balance. Excellent agreement was observed between these two independent experiments.     

Water absorption properties of phosphate glass fiber‐reinforced poly‐ϵ‐caprolactone composites for craniofacial bone repair

The moisture uptake of polymers and composites has increasing significance where these materials are specified for invasive, long‐term medical applications. Here we analyze mass gain and the ensuing degradation mechanisms in phosphate glass fiber reinforced poly‐?‐caprolactone laminates. Specimens were manufactured using in situ polymerization of ?‐caprolactone around a bed of phosphate glass fibers. The latter were sized with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane to control the rate of modulus degradation. Fiber content was the main variable in the study, and it was found that the moisture diffusion coefficient increased significantly with increasing fiber volume fraction. Diffusion, plasticization, and leaching of constituents appear to be the dominant aspects of the process over these short‐term tests. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008