The effect of interfacial adhesion and morphology on the mechanical properties of polypropylene composites containing different acid surface treated sepiolites

The study of the microstructure of polymeric composites and its relationship to mechanical properties, are of great importance. In the present study vv8 have carried out a study of the microstructure of polymeric composites of polypropylene and different sepiolites treated with organic acids, in order to determine the mesophase produced around We filler particles and its relationship with the mechanical properties of the composites. This study was made using scanning electron microscopy, differential Scanning calorimetry and mechanical tests.     

Effects of age, parity, season of calving, and sire on milk yield of Carora cows in Venezuela

Age-parity-season of calving, mature equivalent factors were developed for the Carora breed of Venezuela from more than 13,000 244-d milk yield records from the Venezuelan milk recording program from 1975 to 1986. Age-parity-season interactions with parity-age were most important for young cows and seasonal effects most important for old cows. Multiplicative factors were verified as useful to adjust milk yields of Carora and Brown Swiss crossbred cows. Repeatabilities for mature equivalent adjusted milk were .47, .36, and .38 between pairs of repeated records through fourth lactation. Heritability of milk in first lactation by REML procedures was 12% based on 44 Carora sires with 14 effective daughters per sire. Small population size for Carora cattle hinders usefulness and cost effectiveness of progeny testing as the primary investment in genetic gain. Greater potential economy is likely from exploiting the dams of sires genetic pathway.     

Processing,rheology, and storage stability of recycled EVA/LDPE modified bitumen

The optimum processing conditions for the manufacture of polymer‐modified bitumens (PMBs), as well as the rheological properties of the final polymer‐bitumen blends, strongly depend on the characteristics of the mixing device used. The present work is focused on the comparison among the kinetics of the mixing process and the rheological properties and microstructural characteristics of PMBs manufactured in two different mixers. Thus, blends of 60/70 penetration grade bitumen and recycled EVA/LDPE were processed in both high and low‐shear devices. Knowledge on the evolution of shear viscosity and microstructure with time, as well as on the mechanical properties of the final polymer‐bitumen blends, was gained from rheological and modulated DSC tests, and optical microscopy. The results obtained demonstrate that processing in the high‐shear device yields a significant decrease in the time needed for the polymer‐bitumen blend to reach the final stage of the manufacturing process, as well as an important reduction in bitumen oxidation and enhanced properties in a wide range of in‐service temperatures. However, polymer‐bitumen blends manufactured in the high‐shear device are not stable during its storage at high temperature. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:181–191, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Autonomous robot navigation in outdoor cluttered pedestrian walkways

This paper describes an implementation of a mobile robot system for autonomous navigation in outdoor concurred walkways. The task was to navigate through nonmodified pedestrian paths with people and bicycles passing by. The robot has multiple redundant sensors, which include wheel encoders, an inertial measurement unit, a differential global positioning system, and four laser scanner sensors. All the computation was done on a single laptop computer. A previously constructed map containing waypoints and landmarks for position correction is given to the robot. The robot system's perception, road extraction, and motion planning are detailed. The system was used and tested in a 1‐km autonomous robot navigation challenge held in the City of Tsukuba, Japan, named “Tsukuba Challenge 2007.” The proposed approach proved to be robust for outdoor navigation in cluttered and crowded walkways, first on campus paths and then running the challenge course multiple times between trials and the challenge final. The paper reports experimental results and overall performance of the system. Finally the lessons learned are discussed. The main contribution of this work is the report of a system integration approach for autonomous outdoor navigation and its evaluation. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

SiC thin films obtained by Si carbonization

This work reports the fabrication and characterization of SiC thin films obtained by carbonization of Si substrates with a recently designed and fabricated hot-wall reactor by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition. The reactor design is less complex than other ones previously reported, but it permits to reach a similar SiC material crystalline quality. The composition and structure of the fabricated thin films have been assessed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The structural quality of the obtained films has been optimized as a function of the temperature ramp rate, flowing gases, Si surface pre-treatment and sample holder design. SiC obtained layers on Si exhibit a flat free surface, they mainly consist of highly oriented 3C-SiC and some hexagonal SiC inclusions have been detected.     

Synthesis, characterization and use of reactive polymers with diisopropylphenylphosphine groups

The synthesis of linear and crosslinked polymers starting with 4-(diisopropyl-phosphinyl) styrene is described. Treatment with triphosgene yields the corresponding phosphine dichloride group in the polymers. Using these reactive polymers benzyl alcohol was converted to benzyl chloride at room temperature. The regeneration of the reactive polymers using triphosgene was achieved. The yields of benzyl chloride were in general lower than those previously reported using triphenylphosphine dichloride groups in the polymers. The difference in reactivity between triphenylphosphine dichloride- and diisopropylphenylphosphine dichloride substituted-polymers are discussed with the aid of semi-empirical computer calculations. Received: 17 June 1997/Revised: 4 September 1997/Accepted: 9 September 1997     

Assessing nutritional quality of milk-based sport supplements as determined by furosine

Milk proteins have a strong position in the sport nutrition markets, such as sport supplements for highly trained athletes, apart from bodybuilders. Furosine, a well-known index for the availability of lysine and subsequently of the extent of the Maillard reaction, was evaluated in different common ingredients used for formulation, as well in commercial sport supplements. Furosine content ranged from 2.8 to 1125.7 mg/100 g protein in commercial sport supplements being usually lower in samples containing mainly whey protein isolates or casein, as compared with whey protein concentrates. It is estimated that 0.1–36.7% of the lysine content is not available in this type of products. The use of high quality ingredients for the manufacture of sport supplements reveals important, since it could be the major source of protein intake of certain group of consumers in high or moderate training regime. Furosine is an appropriate indicator to estimate the nutritional quality of sport supplements. A reference value of 70 mg furosine/100 g protein content in dried sport supplements could be set up for controlling the quality of milk-based ingredients used in the formulation. Samples with higher levels are suspected of use of low quality milk-based ingredients or inappropriate storage conditions.     

The interferometric mirage effect method: The determination of the thermal diffusivity of CdMnTe

A Michelson interferometer was used as a precise detector in the Mirage effect configuration in order to determine the thermal diffusivity of the diluted magnetic semiconductor Cd_1−xMn_xTe, in the concentration range 0<x<0.6 at room temperature. This zinc-blende ternary alloy exhibits an almost linear behavior of the thermal diffusivity as a function of Mn concentration. This trend is similar to that of the energy gap against Mn concentration, which increases linearly as the nominal x value increases. The latter result was tested by electrolytic electroreflectance measurements.