Static Force Analysis of Foot of Electrically Driven Heavy-Duty Six-Legged Robot under Tripod Gait

The electrically driven six-legged robot with high carrying capacity is an indispensable equipment for planetary exploration, but it hinders its practicability because of its low efficiency of carrying energy. Meanwhile, its load capacity also affects its application range. To reduce the power consumption, increase the load to mass ratio, and improve the stability of robot, the relationship between the walking modes and the forces of feet under the tripod gait are researched for an electrically driven heavy-duty six-legged robot. Based on the configuration characteristics of electrically driven heavy-duty six-legged, the typical walking modes of robot are analyzed. The mathematical models of the normal forces of feet are respectively established under the tripod gait of typical walking modes. According to the MATLAB software, the variable tendency charts are respectively gained for the normal forces of feet. The walking experiments under the typical tripod gaits are implemented for the prototype of electrically driven heavy-duty six-legged robot. The variable tendencies of maximum normal forces of feet are acquired. The comparison results show that the theoretical and experimental data are in the same trend. The walking modes which are most available to realize the average force of distribution of each foot are confirmed. The proposed method of analyzing the relationship between the walking modes and the forces of feet can quickly determine the optimal walking mode and gait parameters under the average distribution of foot force, which is propitious to develop the excellent heavy-duty multi-legged robots with the lower power consumption, larger load to mass ratio, and higher stability.     

Fe_3O_4@SiO_2磁性催化剂载体的制备及表征

以正硅酸乙酯作为硅源,采用沉淀法将四氧化三铁颗粒包覆在二氧化硅中,制备了Fe3O4@SiO2磁性催化剂载体材料。考察了氨水浓度、正硅酸乙酯浓度和四氧化三铁加入量对样品包覆率的影响,并对样品的物相和显微结构做了表征。结果表明:正硅酸乙酯可作为制备Fe3O4@SiO2磁性催化剂载体的硅源;在氨水浓度为0.4 mol/L、正硅酸乙酯浓度为0.02 mol/L、Fe3O4加入量为0.04 g的适宜反应条件下,样品包覆率为99%;二氧化硅有效包覆了四氧化三铁颗粒,但团聚较严重。     

Rapid Molten Salt Synthesis of Isotropic Negative Thermal Expansion ScF3

With a simple ReO₃‐type structure, ScF₃ exhibits a rare property of isotropic negative thermal expansion over a large temperature range. In this study, a rapid and low‐temperature synthesis route has been developed to prepare pure phase of ScF₃ in which NaNO₃ or KNO₃ as reaction media and Sc(NO₃)₃ and NH₄HF₂ as precursors (i.e., 30 min and 310°C). The sample of ScF₃ has relatively regular morphology and shows high crystallinity as well as single‐crystalline nature. The type of molten salts has obvious impact on morphologies of the particles. Substituting NaNO₃ with KNO₃, cubes of ScF₃ turns to be nanosticks. The thermal stability of the as‐prepared ScF₃ was investigated by thermal analysis. Molten salts play a significant role in eliminating the nonstoichiometric impurity of ScF_2.76 which is a common impurity during the conventional chemical reaction. This study reveals that molten salt is in favor of preparing those fluorides and relatives which is inert with moisture.     

Preparation and reaction kinetics of polypropylene‐graft‐cardanol by reactive extrusion and its compatibilization on polypropylene/polystyrene

Polypropylene‐graft‐cardanol (CAPP) was prepared by reactive extrusion with polypropylene (PP) and natural renewable cardanol, which improved the inherent defects of PP such as its chemical inertness and hydrophobicity. Moreover, the cardanol grafted onto PP resolved the degradation of PP during reactive extrusion and use. The effects of reactive extrusion on the change of the molecular structure of PP, the change in the free‐radical concentration during processing, and the compatibilization of CAPP on the PP/polystyrene (PS) composite materials were examined in this study. The constants of the grafting reaction rate at the beginning of reactive extrusion were also deduced. The results show that cardanol was grafted onto PP, and the p–π conjugate system in cardanol was observed to stabilize free radicals. The grafting reaction rate (R_g) at the initial stage of the grafting reaction process was calculated through the equation R_g = k_g[M·][Cardanol], where k_g is the constant of the apparent grafting reaction rate and [M·] is the concentration of free radicals in the reaction system. k_g first increased with the growth of temperature and then began to decrease when the temperature exceeded the critical temperature of 200°C. The mechanical properties showed almost no change after the samples were aged for 72 h. This was due to CAPP, which changed PP/PS to a ductile material from a brittle one. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39911.     

Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol/waterborne polyurethane composite nanofibers involving cellulose nanofibers

TEMPO‐oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNs) were used as nanofillers in this work. Composite nanofibers of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/waterborne polyurethane (WPU) reinforced with TOCNs were produced by electrospinning. The reinforcing capability of TOCNs was investigated by tensile tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction, and thermogravimetry analyses were also carried out in order to characterize the appearance, crystallinity, and reinforcing effect of the cellulose nanofibers. SEM results showed that PVA/WPU/TOCNs composite nanofibers presented a highly homogeneous dispersion of TOCNs. The reinforced composites had about 44% increase in their mechanical properties with addition of only 5 wt % of TOCNs while about 42% decrease in elongation at break. The TOCNs reinforced composite nanofibers were more thermally stable than pure PVA/WPU nanofibers. The development of crystalline structure in the composite fibers was observed by XRD. Since PVA, WPU, and TOCNs are hydrophilic, non‐toxic, and biocompatible, and therefore, these nanocomposite nanofibers could be used for tissue scaffolding, filtration materials, and medical industries as wound dressing materials. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41051.     

Synthesis and application of polyacrylate nanocapsules loaded with lilial

Polyacrylate nanocapsules loaded with lilial (PNLs) were prepared via miniemulsion polymerization. Then, the PNLs were applied directly to leather. The influence of the contents of the surfactant and lilial and the stirring speed on the mean size and fragrance loading capacity of the PNLs was investigated in detail. The microstructure of the PNLs was determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron nicroscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The sustained release properties of the leather finished by PNLs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC‐FID). DLS showed that the mean size of the PNLs was 67.78 nm, and the polydispersity index was 0.076. TEM illustrated that the size of the spherical PNL varied in the range 30–80 nm. FTIR spectroscopy showed that lilial was encapsulated into the polyacrylate nanocapsules. TGA illustrated that the fragrance loading ratio of the nanocapsules reached 36.83%. SEM and GC‐FID indicated that the leather finished by the PNLs had better flexing endurance than that finished by lilial emulsion. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40182.     

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) ultrafiltration membranes containing hybrid silica nanoparticles: Preparation,characterization and performance

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by immersion precipitation method using poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) grafted silica (PHEMA-b-PMMA@SiO₂) nanoparticles as additives. The hybrid nanoparticles were synthesized by the surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP), and they were characterized in detail by FT-IR, TEM, DLS and GPC. Results confirm that core–shell structure is formed after grafting PHEMA-b-PMMA brushes on the silica nanoparticles. Their average hydrodynamic diameter also increases with the prolongation of grafting time. After blending PVDF with the hybrid silica nanoparticles, the composite PVDF membranes exhibit high porosity and improved water permeation. Especially, when the molecular weight is 1.73 × 10⁵ g/mol for PHEMA-b-PMMA on the hybrid nanoparticles, the water flux of the PVDF composite membrane is 2.5 times than that of the control PVDF membrane, while the rejection to bovine serum albumin (BSA) remains at a high level (>90%). In addition, all the composite PVDF membranes show lower BSA adsorption and larger water flux recovery ratio than the control PVDF membrane. The improvement of membrane performance is attributed to the good hydrophilicity of PHEMA-b-PMMA@SiO₂ nanoparticles. Our results suggest that PHEMA-b-PMMA@SiO₂ nanoparticles with moderate molecular weight of PHEMA-b-PMMA are suitable for the property optimization of PVDF-based composite membranes.     

阴极电泳漆槽液MEQ值的容量法检测

介绍了乙醇法测阴极电泳漆槽液MEQ值的方法。用乙醇对阴极电泳漆槽液进行溶解,通过人工滴定法记录氢氧化钠标准溶液的用量,得到槽液p H与氢氧化钠消耗量的函数。利用相关软件绘图并进行数据处理,再根据公式便可计算出槽液MEQ值。此外还对四氢呋喃法和乙醇法测MEQ值的准确性和难易程度等进行了比较。     

Compatibilization and properties of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) blend based foam

Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer/thermoplastic polyurethane (EVA/TPU) blending foams are rarely reported so far because of their poor compatibility, and addition of a compatibilizer to the blend system was our major interest, which can improve interfacial adhesion between the two phases. In this paper, TPU-grafted EVA (EVA-g-TPU), as a compatibilizer, was simply prepared using maleic anhydride-grafted EVA (EVA-g-MAH) and 4,4′ diamino diphenyl methane in the mixing process of TPU and EVA matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry were used to investigate the structures of EVA-g-TPU and the interfacial reaction in the mixing process, and the effect of EVA-g-TPU on compatibilization between the two phases of EVA/TPU blends was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Finally, EVA/EVA-g-TPU/TPU foams based on the good compatibility of the resin blends were prepared, and the physical properties directly related to the compatibility were investigated as a function of the theoretical quantity (molar mass) of EVA-g-TPU (n _EVA-g-TPU) in the foams. Moreover, the tensile strength, elongation at break, tear strength and compression set were improved by 19.0, 9.3, 43.6 and 7.5 %, respectively. Overall, EVA/EVA-g-TPU/TPU foams with excellent mechanical properties were obtained without sacrificing other important physical properties (lower density etc.) through popular and friendly means in this research.     

Toughening of polylactide with epoxy-functionalized methyl methacrylate–butyl acrylate copolymer

Glycidyl methacrylate-functionalized methyl methacrylate–butyl acrylate (GACR) core–shell structure copolymers were synthesized to toughen polylactide (PLA). With an increase in GACR content, the PLA/GACR blends showed decreased tensile strength and modulus; however, the elongation at break and the impact strength were significantly increased compared with that of PLA. The brittle fracture of neat PLA was gradually transformed into ductile fracture by the addiction of GACR. From dynamic mechanical analysis, the rigidity of the PLA/GACR blends was decreased with the increase of GACR content. The addition of GACR decreased the degree of crystallinity of PLA. The GACR was found to aggregate to form clusters with size increasing with increasing GACR content by transmission electron microscope analysis. The clusters dispersed in PLA matrix uniformly. It was found that PLA demonstrated large area, plastic deformation (shear yielding) and cavities in the blend upon being subjected the tensile and impact tests, which was an important energy-dissipation process and led to a toughened and transparent blend.