Rapid Bonding of Ti3SiC2 and Ti3AlC2 by Pulsed Electrical Current Heating

Inspired by pressure resistance welding of metallic materials, herein we describe how two MAX phases—Ti₃SiC₂ and Ti₃AlC₂—were successfully joined by a rapid electric current heating method in a pulsed electric current sintering furnace. No welding agent was employed and the total processing time was less than 6 min. When the bulk temperature of the joint couple exceeded 1070°C, good joints, with shear strength above 50 MPa, were achieved in both homo‐ and heterojunction joints.     

Viscosimetric study of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(styrenesulfonic acid) miscibility in dilute aqueous solution

The miscibility of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSA) in dilute aqueous solutions was studied by a viscosimetric method. At a constant molecular weight of PSSA, it was found that the miscibility of both polymers increases with the molecular weight and the number of acetate groups of the PVA samples (1 and 12% unhydrolyzed sites). Moreover, this miscibility increases slightly with the total mixture concentration in the interval 1–2 g/dL. By comparison of the results of reduced viscosity of PVA/PSSA and PVA/poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) (PSSNa) mixtures, it has been deduced that the miscibility of two polymers is due mainly to intermolecular interactions between the hydroxyl and sulfonic groups of PVA and PSSA, respectively. These groups act as acceptors and donors of hydrogen bonds which are the responsible for polymers' miscibility. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Influence of a metallic filler on polyurethane formation

The addition of metallic fillers is recognized to impart improvement of acoustic properties to polyurethane-based materials used for marine applications. The system under consideration was obtained by the reaction of a triisocyanateterminated prepolymer with 1,4-butanediol, in the presence of various concentrations of lead powder. With increasing lead content, gelation time is reduced and an Einstein-type law does not apply. The kinetics of the reaction were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Deviation from the classic second order is observed for the filled systems, and the higher the lead content, the more important the deviation is, showing undoubtedly the catalytic effect of the metallic powder.     

Mineral Fillers in Intumescent Fire Retardant Formulations — Criteria for the Choice of a Natural Clay Filler for the Ammonium Polyphosphate/Pentaerythritol/Polypropylene System

Addition of natural clay materials in intumescent polypropylene-based formulations (additive: ammonium polyphosphate and pentaerythritol) leads either to a decrease or to an increase of their fire retardant performances versus the chemical or the physical characteristics of the clay materials. A study of the factors affecting these performances has been carried out using linear and principal components analysis. This analysis shows that the results of the evaluation tests (LOI and UL 94) are affected in different ways by the adduct of the different clay material and that an increase in the LOI is not necessarily related to an increase in the UL 94 classification. LOI values are improved by the presence of the montmorillonite and of illite clay minerals which may react with acidic phosphate to form active carbonization catelysts, in addition, the results of the LOI test are improved by the presence of quartz and other foreign minerals in the clay materials. This study discusses the part played by the different constitutive minerals in the formation of defects in the polymer chain during the mixing process. It is proposed that the presence of these defects leads to a change in fire retardant performance.     

A non-linear and distributed modelling procedure of fets

This paper describes a rigorous and systematic procedure to derive a non-linear distributed FET model that an easily be implemented in CAD routines of simulators based on harmonic balance techniques. The new model is derived from a knowldge of the conventional linear lumped equivalent circuit, from non-linear current sources extracted with pulsed measurements, and from the physical dimensions of the FET. For fundamental and haromonic requencies, the FET is modelled by N identical cells. Each cell is made up of a non-linear two-port section inserted between two linear four-port sections that simulate the coupling and the distributed effects along the electrodes of the FET in the width direction only. This non-linear distributed scaling approach to FET modelling has been applied to the analysis of a submicrometre-gate GaAs FET at Millimetre-wave frequencies, and the results were compared to the non-linear lumped element approach. This approach can be applied to other transistors used in non-linear regions at microwave and millimetre-wave frequencies.     

Experimental Study of the Radiodepolymerization of Starch

The radiodepolymerization of starch is studied by means of investigating the variations of intrinsic viscosity and of the rate of water-soluble products. The experimental results corroborate the theoretical laws proposed in an earlier paper. Special study of watersoluble products shows how the theoretical laws can be used to investigate the chemical functions radioinduced on the chains of dextrins.     

Radical‐scavenging properties of extracts from the white button mushroom,Agaricus bisporus

BACKGROUND: Agaricus bisporus is the premier cultivated edible mushroom but is usually considered to be of lesser value nutritionally and medicinally compared with other cultivated mushrooms. The objective of this study was to investigate the radical‐scavenging properties of methanolic extracts and the free radical‐processing enzyme activities of water extracts from A. bisporus fruit bodies. Analyses were performed on total fruit bodies from three strains and on separated stipe, cap and gills from one strain, all cultivated experimentally under the same conditions. RESULTS: EC₅₀ values of scavenging ability on 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH^?), scavenging ability on 2,2‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) radical cations (ABTS^?+) and reducing power of methanolic extracts from total fruit bodies ranged between 1.7 and 5.0 and were 1.1–1.9 times higher in a white hybrid than in two wild strains, cream and brown. The gills exhibited higher antioxidant activities relative to the stipe and cap. In water extracts, glutathione peroxidase activities were up to eight times higher than glutathione reductase activities and no difference was observed between strains. Catalase activity was highest in the brown wild strain. The only significant differences in free radical‐processing enzymes between the three parts of the mushroom were higher catalase activity in the gills and lower glutathione reductase activity in the stipe. CONCLUSION: The radical‐scavenging properties of the button mushroom are comparable to those of other edible mushrooms and dependent on the strain and on the section of the fruit body. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Relationship between solar radiation and surface distribution of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island,Maritime Antarctica

The aim of this work is to produce a simplified vegetation map of ice-free areas of the Fildes Peninsula (FP) and Ardley Island (AI) thought object-oriented classification using a QuickBird satellite image and to evaluate the influence of the global solar radiation (GSR) over the vegetation distribution. The vegetation data were generated from multiresolution segmentation using the panchromatic and infrared layers, and for the classification we calculated the normalized vegetative difference index (NVDI) and the green NVDI. Two classes were created – Lichen and Moss Cushion SubFormation and Moss Subformation – with 48 vegetation samples collected on surveys during the austral summers of 2008 and 2009. We used a kappa index to evaluate the classification efficiency using 100 sampled points obtained in austral summer of 2013. The GSR was estimated, and in order to evaluate the effect of meteorological phenomena and cloudless, we measured the GSR using a net radiometer model CNR4 installed in FP between 2014 and 2016. The estimate of GSR was done for seasons of 2015, in order to estimate the light compensation point and the saturation point for the plant communities in FP and AI. The kappa index was 0.73 and the global accuracy was 0.78, showing consistency between the classification and ground truth. The area was covered by vegetation in FP was 16.7% and in AI is 59.1%. The vegetation cover is distributed differently at FP and AI, and our results suggest GSR plays an important role in vegetation distribution and these tendencies could be related to greater GSR demand by mosses when compared to lichens.