Effects of a quaternary ammonium salt on the properties of carbon‐black‐filled natural rubber compounds

The effects of a quaternary ammonium salt, cetyltrimethylammonium maleate (CTMAM) on the curing characteristics and mechanical properties of carbon‐black‐filled natural rubber compounds are determined. Results indicate that CTMAM increases the rate of vulcanization to a maximum at 1 phr (part per hundred parts of rubber) followed by a decrease as the concentration of CTMAM is further increased. The incorporation of CTMAM also improves mechanical properties such as tensile and tear strengths, tensile modulus, hardness and resilience, whilst elongation at break shows a decreasing trend. CTMAM also improves filler dispersion and increases the extent of crosslinking of carbon‐black‐filled natural rubber compounds. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Natural frequency characteristics of thin-walled homogeneous and manifold layered cylindrical shells underpressure using energy method简

Energy method for the vibration of two types of cylindrical shells,namely thin-walled homogeneous isotropic and manifold layered isotropic cylindrical shells under uniform external lateral pressure is presented.The study is carried out based on strain-displacement relationship from Love＇s shell theory with beam functions as axial modal function.A manifold layered cylindrical shell configuration is formed by three layers of isotropic material where the inner and outer layers are stainless steel and the middle layer is aluminum.The homogeneous cylindrical shell is made-up of isotropic one layer with stainless steel.The governing equations with uniform external lateral pressure for homogeneous isotropic and manifold layered isotropic cylindrical shells are obtained using energy functional by the Lagrangian function with Rayleigh-Ritz method.The boundary conditions that are presented at the end conditions of the cylindrical shell are simply supported-simply supported,clamped-clamped and free-free.The influences of uniform external lateral pressure and symmetrical boundary conditions on the natural frequency characteristics for both homogeneous and manifold layered isotropic cylindrical shells are examined.For all boundary conditions considered,the natural frequency of both cylindrical shells with symmetric uniform lateral pressure increases as h/R ratio increases and those considering natural frequency of the both cylindrical shells with symmetric uniform lateral pressure decrease as L/R ratio increases.     

Thermal,mechanical, and morphological properties of polylactic acid toughened with an impact modifier

Polylactic acid (PLA) was melt‐blended with different amount (0 to 50 wt %) of a commercially available ethylene acrylate copolymer impact modifier. PLA/impact modifier blends were prepared via an internal mixer and compression molded into test specimens. The thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of the blends were investigated. The addition of impact modifier decreased the ability of PLA to crystallize and/or recrystallize. The degree of crystallinity of PLA decreased while the cold crystallization temperature shifted to higher temperatures with increasing the impact modifier content. PLA/impact modifier blends were partially miscible. This was confirmed by the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests. With increasing the impact modifier content, the blends showed some improvement in the elongation at break and notched impact strength indicating the toughening effects of the impact modifier. In contrast, the yield stress and tensile modulus decreased with the increase in the impact modifier content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed that the toughening mechanisms among others involved shear yielding or plastic deformation of the PLA matrix induced by interfacial debonding between the PLA and the impact modifier domains. PLA with 30 wt % impact modifier showed comparable yield stress and tensile modulus and better elongation at break and impact strength (+90%) than those of polypropylene (PP). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 123:2715–2725, 2012     

Thermal,mechanical, and morphological characterization of biobased thermoplastic starch from agricultural waste/polypropylene blends

The thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of biobased thermoplastic starch (TPS) obtained from agricultural waste seed (AWS) and agricultural waste tuber (AWT) blended with polypropylene (PP) were investigated in this article. The grounded (pulverized) AWS and AWT were different in amylose/amylopectin ratios and contained relatively low starch content (≤50%). The commercial grade of TPS (CS) and native tapioca starch blended PP (NTS/PP) were also prepared for comparison. The performances of the TPS/PP blends were dependent on the starch composition (e.g., amylose‐to‐amylopectin ratio), particle size, dispersion, and interfacial adhesion with matrix. The high‐amylopectin starch blend (i.e., AWS/PP) was more susceptible to thermal degradation than the amylose‐rich material (i.e., NTS/PP). The addition of starch to PP not only led to a stiffening effect (i.e., increase in storage modulus), but it also affected the relaxation of polymer matrix by shifting the thermal transition (i.e., glass transition temperature) to a higher temperature. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1357–1365, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Permanent-magnet brushless machines with unequal tooth widths and similar slot and pole numbers

This paper presents a comparative study of three-phase permanent-magnet brushless machines in which the slot and pole numbers are similar, with reference to conventional brushless dc machines in which the ratio of the slot number to pole number is usually 3 : 2. Three different motor designs are considered. Two have equal tooth widths, with one having a coil wound on every tooth and the other only having a coil wound on alternate teeth, while the third machine also has coils wound on alternate teeth but these are wider than the unwound teeth while the width of their tooth tips is almost equal to the rotor pole pitch in order to maximize the flux linkage and torque. Analytical and finite-element methods are employed to predict the flux-linkage and back-electromotive-force waveforms, and the self- and mutual-inductances, and these are shown to be in good agreement with measured results. It is also shown that the third machine is eminently appropriate for brushless dc operation.     

Rubberwood–high-density polyethylene composites: Effect of filler size and coupling agents on mechanical properties

Composites were made from rubberwood in the form of fibers (RWF) and powder (RWP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The RWP–HDPE composites showed higher tensile strength than those of the fibers. The inferior properties of the RWF-filled composites were believed to be attributed to the agglomeration of the fibers. Two types of coupling agents, that is, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TPM) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APE), were employed in an attempt to improve the mechanical properties of the composites. The former was able to significantly improve the modulus of elasticity (MOE) and impact strength of the RWF-filled composites. Treatment with TPM resulted in the reduction of the tensile modulus and increase in the elongation at break (EB) for both RWF and RWP-filled composites. APE produced RWP-filled composites with a higher tensile strength and modulus. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 1993–2004, 1998     

Stagnation point flow towards a stretching/shrinking sheet in a micropolar fluid with a convective surface boundary condition

The problem of a steady laminar two‐dimensional stagnation point flow towards a stretching/shrinking sheet in a micropolar fluid with a convective surface boundary condition is studied. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations using a similarity transformation, before being solved numerically using the Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method with shooting technique. The effects of the material parameter and the convective parameter on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are disscussed. It is found that the skin friction coefficient and the heat transfer rate at the surface decrease with increasing values of the material parameter. Moreover, dual solutions are found to exist for the shrinking case, while for the stretching case, the solution is unique. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

Effects of selenium, vitamins, and ration fiber on placental retention and performance of dairy cattle

One hundred and twenty Holstein cows were assigned to a randomized complete block design to determine effects of selenium, vitamins, and ration fiber on incidence of placental retention and other health and reproductive problems. The selenium treatment (50 mg selenium, 680 IU vitamin E) was administered as a single injection approximately 3 to 4 wk prepartum. The vitamin treatment (3 million IU vitamin A, 450,000 IU vitamin D3, 300 IU vitamin E) consisted of two injections, one administered at 3 to 4 wk prepartum and another at 2 to 3 wk postpartum. Fiber treatments were: control, 15.7% crude fiber; beet pulp, 19.3% crude fiber; and soyhull, 19.0% crude fiber. Feeding of experimental rations was begun 1 day postpartum, and the ration effect on placental retention was examined only at subsequent parturition. The overall placental retention rate of 28% was not affected by either selenium, vitamin, or combined treatments. Ration treatments did not affect the placental retention rate of 42% at subsequent parturition. Cows receiving the soyhull ration required fewer services per conception. Incidence of foot problems tended to be higher in the cows that received the combined selenium and vitamin A, D, E treatments. Supplemental selenium, vitamins A, D, and E, and ration fiber treatments did not reduce incidence of placental retention or improve most other health and reproductive measures.     

Effect of different fiber loadings and sizes on pultruded kenaf fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

Application of the available natural resources became crucial for developing sustainability recently. The use of natural fiber as reinforced materials in polymer composite materials is gaining new interest from within industry. In this research, the effect of different fiber loadings and different types of kenaf yarns, used on the properties of Pultruded Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Composites (PKFRC), was studied. The pultruded composite samples were prepared with different fiber loadings and sizes (tex) of kenaf fiber. Three different fiber loadings, i.e., 60, 65, and 70% were used during the preparation of the PKFRC samples. Flexural and compression testing was performed, to study the effect of different fiber loadings and different kenaf fiber yarns, on the mechanical properties of kenaf fiber pultruded composites. The results show that the highest fiber loading of 70% gave more desirable flexural and compression properties to the PKFRC. The use of twist kenaf yarn fiber showed lower mechanical properties of PKFRC as compared to the single kenaf yarn. Damage configurations and accumulations for each loading case were examined. A morphological study, using optical microscopy (OM) revealed the type of fracture that occurred in the pultruded samples after mechanical testing. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1224–1229, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of Alkali and Silane Treatments on Mechanical and Interfacial Bonding Strength of Sugar Palm Fibers with Thermoplastic Polyurethane

Sugar palm fibers (SPF) are one of valuable natural fibers which are abundantly available in Malaysia as agricultural biomass. The aim of this study to investigate on the effects of alkali, silane, and combination between alkali (6%) and silane (2%) on physical and mechanical properties of SPF to improve interfacial bonding of SPF with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrices. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to observe the effectiveness of the alkali and saline treatments in the removal of impurities. Silane treated SPF exhibits better tensile strength than those of alkali, alkali-silane treated and untreated SPF. Droplet test indicates that the interfacial stress strength (IFSS) of alkali and silane treated SPF are enhanced whereas silane treated fibers exhibit highest IFSS. It is assumed that fiber treatments will help to develop high performance SPF reinforced polymer composites for industrial applications.