Electrical properties of hybrid carbon black/carbon fiber polypropylene composites

The electrical conductivity and morphology of injection molded polypropylene based composites containing two conductive fillers, carbon black (CB) and carbon fibers (CF) were studied. Injection moldings containing both, CB and CF, where the content of each filler was above its own percolation threshold, resulted in similar or lower values of overall composite volume resistivity compared with the resistivity of systems filled only with CB at the corresponding content. However, the resistivity of two-filler systems is always higher than the resistivity of systems filled only with CF at the corresponding content. The morphology and fiber length analysis of the injection molded composites are quite intriguing. Fiber orientation in the injection molded two-filler systems was found to be almost perpendicular to the melt flow direction, with no significant skin-core fiber orientation patterns, contrary to the typically observed fiber orientation in injection molded fiber filled composites. Moreover, the CF breakage in the presence of the CB was found more intense than when just CF is used, resulting in shorter fibers with narrower length distributions. This unexpected fiber behavior is responsible for the unexpected electrical behavior. However, the coexistence of CB and CF electrically conductive networks, supporting each other, was confirmed, in spite of the mechanical disturbances caused by the presence of fibrilar and particulate fillers.     

Soil surface illumination at micro-relief scale and soil BRDF data collected by a hyperspectral camera

The results of the paper draw attention to the fact that the hyperspectral image of soil surface at micro-relief scale may display variation in the soil spectral shape due to illumination conditions of the surface. The image of an extremely rough cultivated soil surface, very deeply ploughed, was obtained by a hyperspectral camera, in the range of 0.4–1.0 μm with 0.67–0.74 nm spectral resolution. It was found that the soil reflectance spectra of the studied surface, illuminated by the direct sunbeams, are clearly convex with distinct absorption features. Furthermore, the soil normalized reflectance spectra were used to distinguish the subtlety of the analysed shaded soil spectra shape. They show that depressions caused by the absorption features of O₂ and H₂O, contained in the atmosphere above directly illuminated soil fragments, transform into peaks, if the same soil is deeply shaded.     

Approximating the average daily surface albedo with respect to soil roughness and latitude

The present study explores the diurnal variations in blue-sky albedo (α) of soils under clear sky conditions with respect to surface roughness. Three roughness levels of ploughed and unploughed soil surfaces, developed from the same loessial material, were examined. The relation between α of the surfaces and the solar zenith angle, determined during the experiment, enabled us to predict the diurnal α variation of the surfaces throughout the year at a given latitude, between 75° S and 75° N. The optimal time (T _O) for measuring the soil albedo by an instantaneous observation was considered as the best represented time for the daily averaged value within an error lower than ±2%. It was found that the T _O, falling at different times depending on the soil surface roughness, limits the possibilities of data achievement by remote-sensing satellites along one of their sun-synchronous orbits.     

Evidence for a short-range sex pheromone in female Maladera matrida beetle

Laboratory studies with live and frozen Maladera matrida female and male beetles showed that males were attracted to chemical substances emanating from the females at dusk. Beetles exhibited sexual activity (including mating) at dusk towards frozen females but not towards frozen males. Frozen females that had been extracted with methanol together with either hexane or dichloromethane or with a mixture of all three solvents did not elicit male sexual activity. Activity was fully restored when a concentrate of the extract was applied to the previously extracted frozen females. Males also responded with vigorous sexual activity to frozen males to which female extract had been applied. Deterrent chemicals appear to be absent from the male body. Males exposed to females that had been frozen during the morning displayed weak sexual activity, indicating that females lack active semiochemicals. Differences between dusk and morning extracts were found with respect to more than 20 compounds, some of which were present in much higher concentrations at dusk than in the morning, while others were not detected in the morning extract. The active component(s) of the short-range sex pheromone of female M. matrida is (are) presumably to be found among these compounds.     

Repeated Budgeted Second Price Ad Auction

Our main goal is to abstract existing repeated sponsored search ad auction mechanisms which incorporate budgets, and study their equilibrium and dynamics. Our abstraction has multiple agents bidding repeatedly for multiple identical items (such as impressions in an ad auction). The agents are budget limited and have a value per item. We abstract this repeated interaction as a one-shot game, which we call budget auction, where agents submit a bid and a budget, and then items are sold by a sequential second price auction. Once an agent exhausts its budget it does not participate in the proceeding auctions. Our main result shows that if agents bid conservatively (never bid above their value) then there always exists a pure Nash equilibrium. We also study simple dynamics of repeated budget auctions, showing their convergence to a Nash equilibrium for two agents and for multiple agents with identical budgets.     

Aroma volatile compositions of high- and low-aromatic guava varieties

BACKGROUND: The traditional guava variety cultivated in Israel, ‘Ben Dov’, emits a very strong odour, whereas some newly bred varieties have a mild odour. In this study the aroma profile composition of the high‐aromatic ‘Ben Dov’ variety was compared with those of four new low‐aromatic varieties. RESULTS: Overall, using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, a total of 30 aroma volatiles were detected in fresh ripe guava fruit: 15 of them were specifically detected only in the high‐aromatic ‘Ben Dov’ variety, 13 were detected in both the high‐ and low‐aromatic varieties and two were detected only in the new low‐aromatic varieties. Interestingly, 11 out of the 15 volatiles specifically detected in ‘Ben Dov’ were esters that contribute sweet, tropical and fruity notes. In contrast, ten out of 13 detected terpenes and two detected aldehydes, contributing green, spicy, herbal and woody notes, were common to both the high‐ and low‐aromatic varieties. CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, it is concluded that accumulation of esters is the main reason why the traditional ‘Ben Dov’ guava variety emits such a strong tropical fruity odour. In contrast, the newly bred low‐aromatic guava varieties did not synthesise esters at all and thus lacked fruity aromatic notes. Overall, the results of this study point out the important role of esters in forming tropical fruity guava odours. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Immiscible ethylene vinyl acetate and nylon blends processed below nylon melting temperature

This article focuses on unique compounding and processing conditions at a temperature slightly below the melting temperature of the dispersed phase and well above the melting peak temperature of the matrix. Compounding and processing were carried out at the same temperature. Fibrillar morphologies were obtained by blending ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer with nylon 6 (N6) and compounding and processing them slightly below the N6 melting temperature. A hot, soft-solid particle drawing mechanism that operates in such processing conditions caused fibrillation of the N6 particles and formation of highly oriented fibril-filled composites throughout the entire volume. Morphological observations were made in the core region. Enhancement of some mechanical properties and interesting morphological structures were found in some of the blends. The melt elasticity, which was measured by the die swell of the filaments, was maximum at a temperature slightly below the N6 melting temperature, which supported the concept of fibrillation by processing it slightly below the melting temperature of the dispersed phase. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 661–671, 2001     

Polyaniline/PVAc blends: Variation with time of structure and conductivity of films cast from aqueous dispersions

Recently, a polymerization process of Anilinium‐Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonic Acid (DBSA) complex in an aqueous dispersion was developed in our laboratories. Simple mechanical mixing of the aqueous PANI–DBSA dispersion with a PVAc aqueous latex leads to highly conductive blends at low PANI–DBSA contents. The percolation threshold of the dried films is extremely low (∼0.5 wt %). The combined aqueous PVAc/PANI–DBSA dispersions exhibit a gradually decreasing electrical conductivity accompanied by a gradually increasing viscosity, with the storage time. However, an aged cast film from these blends maintains its electrical conductivity with time. These phenomena are associated with acidic hydrolytic reactions of the ester group, resulting in the formation of vinyl acetate–vinyl alcohol copolymer and evolution of acetic acid, and also the interaction of the DBSA surfactant with the PVAc, causing swelling and disintegration of PVAc particles. A chemical structural model describing these changes with storage time is suggested. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 79: 760–766, 2001     

In situ acoustic emission monitoring and mechanical testing in the scanning electron microscope

On sabbatical leave from: Department of Materials Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel.