Measurement of residual stresses in injection‐molded polymer parts by time‐resolved fluorescence

Time‐resolved fluorescence properties of 9‐methylanthracene (9MAn) dispersed in film of polyvinylchloride (PVC) containing carbon black were studied under tensile loadings. The fluorescence lifetime of 9MAn decreased from 5.70 to 5.55 ns, whereas the stresses acting on the films increased from 0 to 3 MPa. The change in fluorescence lifetimes of 9MAn during the stress relaxation process showed that the fluorescence lifetimes were correlated with the stresses, not with the strains. The results suggest that 9MAn is a useful probe for monitoring stresses acting on the matrix. With the use of the fluorescence properties of 9MAn, the residual tensile stresses on the skin‐layer of PVC injection‐molded test pieces were estimated. The estimated residual stresses were about ～ 1 MPa. The residual stresses were relaxed to 0 MPa with annealing at 100°C. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2600–2603, 2002     

Effect of Polyethylenimine on Hydrolysis and Dispersion Properties of Aqueous Si3N4 Suspensions

The roles of polyethylenimine (PEI) in the hydrolysis and dispersion properties of aqueous Si₃N₄ suspensions were studied in terms of the hydrolysis, adsorption, electrokinetic, and rheological measurements. It was found that the pH change of the suspensions in the acidic environment could be minimized in the presence of ≥0.5 dwb% PEI. The ammonia and oxygen measurements suggest that this phenomenon is primarily attributed to the buffer mechanism generated by the ionized PEI, instead of the protection mechanism. The constant pH enables the suspensions to retain a better stability with time at acidic pH. The adsorption of PEI on Si₃N₄ is a high-affinity type at highly basic pH, but is a low-affinity type at acidic pH. As the PEI amount increases, the adsorption shifts the isoelectric point (IEP) of Si₃N₄ from pH 5.9 to pH ∼11 until complete coverage is attained. The stability of Si₃N₄ suspensions is found to depend strongly on the saturated adsorption of PEI, which is as a function of the pH and PEI amount. Once the saturated adsorption limit is reached, the excess free PEI molecules become more detrimental to the stability with increased solid loading. The stabilization mechanisms of Si₃N₄ suspensions by PEI were discussed in detail.     

Bending of ionic polymer gel caused by swelling under sinusoidally varying electric fields

Deformation of poly(vinyl alcohol)–poly(sodium acrylate) composite hydrogel (PVA–PAA gel) under sinusoidally varying electric fields was studied in electrolyte solutions. The PVA–PAA gel was prepared by repeatedly freezing and thawing a mixed solution of PVA and polyacrylic acid. A cyclic bending–straightening motion of the PVA–PAA gel rods of about 1 mm in diameter have been observed in Na₂CO₃ aqueous solutions under the fields. The PVA–PAA gel had a response time of less than several hundreds milliseconds. The bending has also been observed in organic solvents containing an electrolyte when the organic solvent is electrolyzed. It was found that the motion of the gel under electric fields of less than 1 Hz occurred mainly through swelling due to the change of the osmotic pressure based upon the difference of the ion concentration. However, it has not been determined whether the motion at higher frequencies is caused by the osmotic effect. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

脉冲放电高能转化制备纳米粉体

综合介绍了脉冲电流通过细金属丝放电(pulsed wire discharge,PWD)制备纳米粉体的方法.讨论了影响纳米粉体,特别是晶粒尺寸的因素,以防止形成亚微米颗粒.因为达到电压峰值的丝的沉积能相当于丝的汽化能,因此,能夠计算出沉积能.随着所施加的能量增加,气体压力降低,介质气体的热扩散率增大,晶粒尺寸变小.在惰性气氛中,采用PWD工艺,由金属蒸气急冷可制备金属粉体.如果介质气体变为氧气或者氨气,就能制备氧化物、氮化物纳米粒子.要制备双金属合金、双氧化物或氮化物纳米粒子就必需采用双金属丝和不同的介质气体.采用PWD工艺,在有机气体或烟气中,能制备电磁屏蔽和导电浆料和其它用途的钝化纳米粒子.采用丝输送器而实现大量生产纳米粉体的PWD工艺一个实例证明了PWD工艺生产纳米粉体的可行性.     

Melt viscosity and flow birefringence of polycarbonate

Melt viscosity and flow birefringence of bisphenol A-type polycarbonate were measured and analyzed by the application of rubber-like photoelastic theory. The melt viscosity in the Newtonian flow region increased with the molecular weight to the power of 3.4. In polycarbonate, the shear stress of the Newtonian flow region was to 10⁶ dyn/cm², whereas in PMMA it was at most 3 = 10⁵ dyn/cm². The flow birefringence δn has a linear relation with shear stress S, that is δn = 5.7 × 10^?10 S. The principal polarization difference of flow unit α₁ – α₂ was 1.62 × 10^?23 cm³, which was obtained by the application of the rubber-like elastic theory. In PMMA, it was 3.9 = 10^?25 cm³; about 1/40 of that was polycarbonate. The anisotropy of polarizability of the flow unit of polycarbonate was also about 40 times larger than that of PMMA. So the anisotropy reflected the large flow birefringence of the polycarbonate.     

An Application of Silica‐Based Monolithic Membrane Emulsification Technique for Easy and Efficient Preparation of Uniformly Sized Polymer Particles

Summary: Uniformly sized polymer particles were prepared by an emulsification and polymerization technique utilizing a silica monolithic membrane, namely the “silica monolithic membrane emulsification technique”. In this paper, we utilized silica monolithic membrane as a device for the preparation of uniformly sized polymer particles. A mixture of monomers, diluents and oil‐soluble initiator was emulsified into a continuous medium through the silica monolithic membrane and polymerized. The particles obtained had a higher size uniformity than that of particles prepared by previously reported membrane emulsification techniques, such as the Shirasu Porous Glass (SPG) emulsification technique. Through the silica monolithic membrane emulsification technique, we could prepare particles having availability as a possible packing material for solid‐phase extraction (SPE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

SEM photograph of silica particles prepared through capillary plate membrane.     

Nonlinear effects on spin waves in3He-4He dilute solutions

Spin dynamics of³He-⁴He dilute solution have been studied in the collisionless regime by NMR methods. In cw NMR experiments, we observed spin waves in a magnetic field gradient. The frequency difference between the first mode and the others obeyed a two-thirds power law in the strength of the field gradient. By using a pulsed NMR method, nonlinear spin dynamics were studied. We observed the large amplitude spin waves after an rf pulse. The frequency of each spin-wave mode depended on the tipping angle. By using the parameter determined in the present experiment, the numerical calculated results based on Leggett-Rice theory are in good agreement with the results of the pulsed NMR experiments.     

Fine TiC dispersed Al2O3 composites fabricated via in situ reaction synthesis and conventional process

To further improve the mechanical performance and reduce the percolation threshold by controlling microstructures, Al₂O₃-TiC composites containing 0-20 vol% TiC were fabricated via in situ reaction synthesis. Graphite (ATC) and carbon nanotubes (ATCT) were used as carbon sources. The composites were also fabricated via a conventional process using a TiC starting powder (AT). X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy observation results indicated successful fabrication of the composites with various microstructures. TiC particles in ATCT were completely dispersed at grain boundaries, whereas in ATC and AT, these particles were either intragranular or intergranular dispersed. The composites could be listed as follows, ATCT > ATC > AT, that is, in descending order of the reinforcing flexural strength and fracture toughness. The nanoindentation measurement indicated the optimum hardening effect of ATCT. The ATCT composite also exhibited the highest fracture toughness, which was 49% higher than that of the monolithic Al₂O₃. Crack deflection was considered as the main toughening mechanism while crack bridging behavior also occurred in ATCT. For a given TiC content, ATCT exhibited the lowest electrical resistivity, owing mainly to the complete grain-boundary dispersion of the relatively large TiC particles. The similarity of the Al₂O₃ grain size and TiC particle size of ATCT contributed to the lowest percolation threshold achieved (11.2%), which (to date) is the lowest value that has been reported for the Al₂O₃-TiC system.     

Differences between corrosion products formed on copper exposed in Tokyo in summer and winter

We analyzed the copper corrosion products that formed during a month in summer and a month in winter at three sites in Tokyo using several analytical techniques. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that cuprite Cu₂O and posnjakite Cu₄SO₄(OH)₆·H₂O formed on copper exposed in summer. By contrast, only cuprite was found in winter exposed copper. The X-ray fluorescence results indicated that the amounts of sulfur and chlorine on the copper plates exposed in summer were much greater than those in winter. This could be explained by the change in particulate sulfate and sea salt concentrations. Depth profiling analysis by Auger electron spectroscopy revealed that the oxide layer formed in summer was thicker than that in winter. This difference in oxide layer thickness could have been due to the differences in temperature, relative humidity, and the amount of sulfur and chlorine on the copper plate.     

Color restoration method based on spectral information using normalized cut

This paper proposes a novel method for color restoration that can effectively apply accurate color based on spectral information to a segmented image using the normalized cut technique. Using the proposed method, we can obtain a digital still camera image and spectral information in different environments. Also, it is not necessary to estimate reflectance spectra using a spectral database such as other methods. The synthesized images are accurate and high resolution. The proposed method effectively works in making digital archive contents. Some experimental results are demonstrated in this paper.