Studies on multilayer film coextrusion III. The rheology of blown film coextrusion

Multilayer blown film coextrusion was studied, both experimentally and theoretically. For the experimental study, an annular die with a feed-port system was designed and multilayer blown films were produced by rotating the inner mandrel with a one horsepower variable-speed drive at speeds from nearly 2 to 6 rpm, and by inflating the tubular molten film with air. The die has 16 feed slots and melt pressure transducers are mounted along the axial direction of the outer wall of the annular flow channel. The transducers were used to determine the pressure gradient in the annular flow channel, which then permitted determination of the reduction in pressure drop when different combinations of two polymer systems were coextruded. Polymers used for b own film coextrusion were: (1) low-density polyethylene with ethylene-vinyl acetate; (2) low-density polyethylene with high-density polyethylene; (3) low-density polyethylene with polypropylene; (4) high-density polyethylene with ethylene-vinyl acetate. For the theoretical study, stratified helical flow was analyzed using a power-law non-Newtonian model. A computational procedure was developed to predict the number of layers, layer thickness, and the volumetric flow rate as functions of certain processing variables (namely, the pressure drop in the die, and the angular speed of rotation of the inner mandrel of the die) and the rheological parameters of the individual polymers concerned. Comparison was made of the theoretical prediction of volumetric flow rate with experimental ones. Some representative results are presented of the theoretically predicted axial and angular velocity distributions, shear stress profiles, and shear rate profiles.     

Influences of zinc oxide and an organic additive on the electrochemical behavior of pure aluminum in an alkaline solution

The corrosion behavior of pure aluminum in inhibited and uninhibited 4 MKOH was investigated by means of hydrogen collection, polarization curve measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the corrosion of pure aluminum was greatly inhibited by the addition of ZnO and dimethyl amine epoxy propane (designated as DE). EIS and EDAX analyses revealed that ZnO produces its effect by depositing on the aluminum surface, which increases the overpotential of hydrogen evolution. It was also found that the addition of DE could greatly improve the deposition of zinc layers.     

宽温耐硫变换催化剂制备工艺研究

利用催化剂活性评价、催化剂活性组分含量测定、Ｘ—光衍射等手段，研究了共浸法制备宽温耐硫变换催化剂制备工艺过程中载体氧化铝的吸水率、浸渍条件、煅烧温度等对催化剂性能的影响。     

以废弃的耐火材料、高铝瓷、催化剂等生产耐磨陶瓷

从技术、经济、生态、政策等角度，对采用氧化铝和硅酸铝质工业废料制取耐磨陶瓷作了全面、系统的分析研究，论证了废渣制瓷技术上的可行性，阐明了经济上和生态上的优越性，提出了解决具体问题的办法。     

Electrochemical micromachining of nitinol by confined-etchant-layer technique

The confined etchant layer technique has been applied to fabricate complex three-dimensional microstructures on nitinol for the first time. HF and HNO₃ were locally and simultaneously electrogenerated at the mold surface to etch a nitinol workpiece. NaOH was used as an efficient scavenger to confine the etchant close to the mold. Cyclic voltammetry was employed to study the electrochemical behavior of a Pt electrode in the etching solution in order to choose an appropriate potential for etchant generation on the mold. The thickness of the confined etchant layer was estimated to be several micrometers by inspecting the deviation of the sizes of the etched spots from the sizes of those on the microelectrode. Thus, the composition of the electrolyte could be optimized for better etching precision. By optimizing the composition of the electrolyte, complex microstructures on a Pt-Ir mold bearing the logo “XMU” of Xiamen University were successfully fabricated on nitinol. The etched patterns were approximately negative copies of the mold, and the precision of duplication could easily reach the micrometer scale.     

Strain-Induced Deformation in Magnesia–Alumina Layered Composites

Ceramic beams are induced in situ to form complex shapes at elevated temperature without the application of an external stress. This process has been demonstrated for thin alumina substrates coated with a layer of magnesia. The internal strain causing the substrates to deform at elevated temperature arises as a consequence of strain mismatch accompanying the penetration of the coating into the substrate. The magnitude of the deformation depends on the amount of coating applied, on the thickness of the substrate, on the density of the substrate, and on the temperature. During exposure of the beams to elevated temperature, the magnesia coating reacts with the alumina substrate to form the spinel phase; the resulting volume change accompanying the phase transformation is likely the predominant driving force for deformation.     

Crystallization studies of semi-crystalline polymers under oscillatory shear using the rheometrics mechanical spectrometer

A method has been developed on the Rheometrics mechanical spectrometer using the eccentric rotating disks mode to study the crystallization kinetics of different semi-crystalline polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene, poly(butylene terephthalate) and Nylon 11) under oscillatory shear. Dynamic shear moduli (storage G′ and loss G″), loss tangent (tan δ), and dynamic viscosity (η′) were simultaneously, monitored during the crystallization process. The onset and completion of crystallization were characterized by the initial rise and final levelling off of G′, while the peak time, of crystallization (t_p) is calculated from the time elapsed between the onset and peak of crystallization which is indicated by the G″ or η′ maximum. In the case of polypropylene, going from a low frequency of ?0.1 rad/s, to higher frequencies of up to 10 rad/s, there is a monotonic decrease in peak time of crystallization (t_p) together with a progressive decrease in spherulitic morphology. The observed acceleration in crystallization is due predominantly to the increase in nucleation rate and orientation of chains in melt crystalline aggregate. The progressive disappearance of the spherulitic morphology is attributed to the disruption of the spherulite superstructure at higher frequencies of shear.     

Ozone-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes for the Decomposition of N-Methyl-2-Pyrolidone in Aqueous Medium

The present study investigates the decomposition of N-Methyl-2-Pyrolidone (NMP) using conventional ozonation (O₃), ozonation in the presence of UV light (UV/O₃), hydrogen peroxide (O₃/H₂O₂), and UV/H₂O₂ processes under various experimental conditions. The influence of solution pH, ozone gas flow dosage, and H₂O₂ dosage on the degradation of NMP was studied. All ozone-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were efficient in alkaline medium, whereas the UV/H₂O₂ process was efficient in acidic medium. Increasing ozone gas flow dosage would accelerate the degradation of NMP up to certain level beyond which no positive effect was observed in ozonation as well as UV light enhanced ozonation processes. Hydrogen peroxide dosage strongly influenced the degradation of NMP and a hydrogen peroxide dosage of 0.75 g/L and 0.5 g/L was found to be the optimum dosage in UV/H₂O₂ and O₃/H₂O₂ processes, respectively. The UV/O₃ process was most efficient in TOC removal. Overall it can be concluded that ozonation and ozone-based AOPs are promising processes for an efficient removal of NMP in wastewater.     

The onset of Taylor-Görtler vortices in impulsively decelerating swirl flow

The onset of hydrodynamical instability induced by impulsive spin-down to rest in a cylinder containing a Newtonian fluid is analyzed by using propagation theory. It is well-known that the primary transient swirl flow is laminar, but with initial high velocities secondary motion sets in at a certain time. The dimensionless critical time Τ_c to mark the onset of instability is presented here as a function of the Reynolds number Re. Available experimental data indicate that for large Re deviation of the velocity profiles from their momentum diffusion occurs starting from a certain time Τ≈4Τ_c. This means that secondary motion is detected at this characteristic time. It seems evident that during Τ_c⪯Τ⪯4Τ_c, secondary motion is relatively very weak and the primary diffusive momentum transfer is dominant.     

The kinetics of B‐a and P‐a type copolybenzoxazine via the ring opening process

The structure of benzoxazines is similar to that of phenolic resin through thermal self‐curing of the heterocyclic ring opening reaction that neither requires catalyst nor releases any condensation byproduct. These polybenzoxazine resins have several outstanding properties such as high thermal stability and high glass transition temperature. To better understand the curing kinetics of this copolybenzoxazine thermosetting resin, dynamic and isothermal differential scanning calorimetry measurements were performed. Three models, the Kissinger method, the Flynn–Wall–Osawa method, and the Kamal method, were used to describe the curing process. Dynamic kinetic activation energies based on Kissinger and Flynn–Wall–Osawa methods are 72.11 and 84.06 KJ/mol, respectively. The Kamal method based on an autocatalytic model results in a total order of reaction between 2.66 and 3.03, depending on curing temperature. Its activation energy and Arrhenius preexponential are 50.3 KJ/mol and 7959, respectively. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 730–737, 2005