Incorporation of surface-modified UHMWPE powders and fibers in tough polyurethane composites

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) powder (60 micron diameter) and chopped fiber (6.5 mm length) were surface treated with a blend of reactive gases (fluorine and oxygen.) These powders and fibers were then compounded into a thermoset polyurethane matrix. Surface-treated and control reinforcements are compared at a 10 vol.% loading level. Tensile testing indicates improved stress transfer with surface treatment. Stress transfer is also improved with fibers versus powders. Fracture toughness is characterized by measuring the essential work of fracture, w_e. Surface-treated fiber composites exhibit work of fracture values almost three times the unfilled polyurethane values. Abrasion resistance was also measured. Surface treatment was found to significantly lower wear rates of powder composites. Fiber composites had lower wear rates than powder composites, although surface treatment had little effect. An approximate inverse relationship was found between wear rate and essential work of fracture.     

The Shape Boltzmann Machine: A Strong Model of Object Shape

A good model of object shape is essential in applications such as segmentation, detection, inpainting and graphics. For example, when performing segmentation, local constraints on the shapes can help where object boundaries are noisy or unclear, and global constraints can resolve ambiguities where background clutter looks similar to parts of the objects. In general, the stronger the model of shape, the more performance is improved. In this paper, we use a type of deep Boltzmann machine (Salakhutdinov and Hinton, International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, 2009) that we call a Shape Boltzmann Machine (SBM) for the task of modeling foreground/background (binary) and parts-based (categorical) shape images. We show that the SBM characterizes a strong model of shape, in that samples from the model look realistic and it can generalize to generate samples that differ from training examples. We find that the SBM learns distributions that are qualitatively and quantitatively better than existing models for this task.     

All-glass system for preparative gas chromatography using capillary columns

A zero dead-volume all-glass-lined stainless-steel effluent splitter with a modified thermal gradient collector was designed for preparative gas chromatography using glass capillary columns. This system gives efficient collection of extremely pure samples of the 1-ng to 10-g range for spectral analysis and biological testing.Approved as TA 15656 by the director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with ARS, USDA. Supported by the Texas Department of Agriculture interagency agreement IAC-0487 (78-79).     

Effect of potassic and phosphatic fertilizer type, fertilizer Cd concentration and zinc rate on cadmium uptake by potatoes

In some areas of southern Australia, cadmium (Cd) concentrations in excess of the Australian maximum permitted concentration (0.05 mg kg^–1 fresh weight) have been found in tubers of commercially grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crops. Field experiments were therefore conducted in various regions of Australia to determine if Cd uptake by potatoes could be minimised by changes in either phosphorus (P), potassium (K) or zinc (Zn) fertilizer management.Changing the chemical form in which either P fertilizer (monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, single superphosphate and reactive rock phosphate) or K fertilizer (potassium chloride and potassium sulfate) were added to crops had little influence on tuber Cd concentrations. Fertilizer Cd concentrations also had little influence on tuber Cd concentrations, suggesting that residual Cd in the soil was a major contributor to Cd uptake by the crops on these soils.Addition of Zn at planting (up to 100 kg Zn ha^–1) significantly reduced tuber Cd concentrations at four of the five sites studied. However, the largest variation was between sites rather than between treatments, with site mean tuber Cd concentrations varying tenfold (from 0.018 to 0.177 mg Cd kg^–1 fresh weight). Factors associated with irrigation water quality at the sites, in particular the chloride concentration, appeared to dominate any effects of changing fertilizer type or Cd concentration.     

Slow stable crack growth in high density polyethylenes

The phenomenon of slow stable crack growth in polyethylene is investigated using notched specimens subject to constant load and the concepts of fracture mechanics. The effect of specimen geometry and dimension, the loading and the mode of loading on the applied stress intensity factor versus crack speed ($\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$) curves has been studied to demonstrate that K_c is the controlling stress parameter for crack growth under suitable conditions. $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$ curves are obtained for a high density polyethylene homopolymer in distilled water and in a diluted detergent solution at four different temperatures. Results are also obtained for a much tougher medium density polyethylene copolymer whenever possible. Several mechanisms can be identified from the form of the $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$ curves. Two, in particular, have been observed but not explained before: (i) crack growth with a time dependence of 0.25, and (ii) the high $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$ slopes for crack growth in a tough copolymer. With the help of scanning electron microscopic studies of the fracture surfaces, (i) is postulated to be due to diffusion controlled void growth process and (ii) is considered to be the result of crack tip blunting effects. From the temperature dependence of crack growth, the activation energy of the diffusion controlled crack growth process is found to coincide with that of the x-relaxation process in polyethylene implying that diffusion controlled crack growth may be related to the motion of main chains in the polymer.     

Charge reduction and regeneration in K+, Na+, Mg2+, Ni2+ and Co2+-exchanged Wyoming Bentonite

Controlled calcination of ion-exchanged Wyoming Bentonite in the presence and absence of ammonia leads to layer charge reductions. Detailed chemical analyses of both unexchangeable and exchangeable species lead to the conclusion that in no case is there migration of the original interlamellar cations into the octahedral region of the layers although, in terms of ionic radius alone, Mg²⁺, Ni²⁺ and, possibly Co²⁺, might be expected to do so. The production of unexchangeable Mg, Ni or Co, is identified as resulting from high temperature hydrolysis leading to hydroxide or oxide formation.     

Mold-filling studies for the injection molding of thermoplastic materials. Part II: The transient flow of plastic materials in the cavities of injection-molding dies

A practically-oriented computer model which computes the temperature, pressure, and velocity fields in a cavity during the mold filling portion of the injection molding process is described. The model is structured so that it can be used for cavities having non-simple shapes and for commonly used molding compounds with complicated viscosity, shear rate, temperature relationships. Predictions from the model are found to be in good agreement with results obtained from exact solutions to special cases. Model predictions in molding problems have been found to correctly describe trends such as an increase in the pressure required to fill molds as injection rate, shot temperature, and mold temperature decrease, and to be reasonably accurate when compared to data for plaque, disc, and telephone housing molds over a wide range of molding conditions. Some illustrative examples of the use of the model in solving real molding problems are provided.     

Constructing and applying higher order textons: Estimating breast cancer risk

Texture analysis based on textons is extended by introducing a method for computing textons of arbitrary order. First-, second- and third-order textons are applied to classify screening mammograms as to indicate a low or high risk of breast cancer. First-order textons are found to provide better estimates of breast cancer risk than other orders on their own but the combination of first- and second-order textons outperforms first-order textons alone and other combinations of two orders. Combining all three orders of textons does not improve classification. This example indicates that including higher-order textons has the potential to improve classification performance.     

The toughness of copolymers of polypropylene

A series of fracture mechanics tests of a set of random and impact copolymers of polypropylene, in which the ethylene content was varied, is described. The plane strain toughness is found to change from the homopolymer value, but thereafter to be independent of ethylene content. The yield stress of the impact copolymers decreases markedly with ethylene content, while that for random copolymers increases only slightly. This is reflected in toughness values in tension. A comparison with the behavior of other rubber-modified materials is made and it is concluded that crazing is an important mechanism in polypropylene and is perhaps more rate and temperature sensitive than in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).     

Electroantennogram responses ofCampoletis sonorensis (hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) to chemicals in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Combined gas chromatography-electroantennogram (GC-EAG) recording ofCampoletis sonorensis (Cameron) responses to cotton plant volatile chemicals was performed.C. sonorensis antennal olfactory receptors respond differentially to green leaf, mono-, and sesquiterpene chemicals that have been identified previously in cotton. EAG depolarizations to green leaf chemicals were greater than to terpenes.