Creep properties of fatigued short carbon fibre reinforced nylon 6 plastics

The effect of low-cycle fatigue on the creep properties of a fibre-reinforced thermoplastic has been examined from the standpoint of the stress dependence and cycle ratio, which is the fraction of the mean life cycles to fracture. The time dependence of the strain and the strain rate of a virgin specimen can be described by a straight line on a logarithmic scale, therefore the deformation process seems to be ruled by a flow law. In addition the time dependence of the strain rate does not indicate the stress dependence for each stress level, which shows the same value as in the gradient of these relations. In the case of fatigued specimens, however, a knee point which divides the creep process into a primary region and a secondary one appears in the creep relation. The gradient in the primary region is less than that for the virgin material, and the magnitude and the timing of its appearance show either a stress dependence or a cycle ratio dependence. A weak stress dependence of the relation for log against logt can also be found; however, the results do not indicate a dependence on the cycle ratio. The reason for these results and the relationship of the structural changes of the materials are discussed using a McLean model.     

Design systems for gear elements made of cotton fiber-reinforced plastics

We look on the cotton fiber reinforced plastics as industrial gear materials, and have been developing design systems for industrial gears made of cotton fiber-reinforced plastics. In this report, we deal with a method estimating for tooth root stresses caused by bending movements under running conditions. The gear material used was cotton fiber plain woven cloth reinforced phenolic resin laminates. Paper-reinforced phenolic resin laminates, a commonly used material, was used as a control for comparison. The main dimensions of the gears were module 3–5 mm and tooth width 25 mm. First, accelerations of gears were measured under running conditions to estimate dynamic performance. Second, fracture tests of gear teeth were carried out under bending loads. Different fracture modes at tooth roots for cotton fiber-reinforced plastics and phenolic resin gears were observed. The fractures occurred at a high position from the tooth root in the case of the cotton fiber-reinforced plastics gear because the cotton fiber-reinforced plastics had excellent cleavage and shear strength. This gear also had higher strength for tooth bending loads. Third, the mechanical properties of the gears were researched by tensile, bending, and shearing tests. It was clear that the cotton fiber-reinforced plastics had excellent properties in cleavage fracture between laminates and shear strength. Finally, we proposed a design method for this gear, which considers the cleavage and shear strength.     

Local structure investigations of accumulated damage in irradiated MgAl2O4

Damaged structures in the MgAl₂O₄ spinel induced by swift heavy ions were investigated using the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Increasing the fluence of 100 MeV Xe ions leads to increased SAXS intensity and XANES spectral changes on both Mg and Al K-edges. The damaged regions of ion tracks were observed by SAXS to be cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 5 nm. The theoretical XANES spectra indicated that the changes in the experimental spectra were due to the cationic disordering between tetrahedral and octahedral sites. This disordering caused an increase in the inversion degree of the cations. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis of the XANES spectra revealed the preferential occupation of cations at the octahedral sites at high fluence.     

交流调速系统的一种新型滑模控制器

本文针对滑差频率型矢量控制的交流调速系统，设计了一种新型滑模控制器，采用插入积分环节的方法，成功地解决了滑模控制的抖动问题。数字仿真和实验结果表明由这种新型滑模控制器与积分环节构成的速度调节器能使系统获得非常优良的动态和静态性能。其设计方法简单，控制器的实现容易，具有重要的工程应用价值。     

Reaction and oxygen permeation studies in Sm0.4Ba0.6Fe0.8Co0.2O3 − δ membrane reactor for partial oxidation of methane to syngas

A disk-type Sm_0.4Ba_0.6Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3 − δ perovskite-type mixed-conducting membrane was applied to a membrane reactor for the partial oxidation of methane to syngas (CO + H₂). The reaction was carried out using Rh (1 wt%)/MgO catalyst by feeding CH₄ diluted with Ar. While CH₄ conversion increased and CO selectivity slightly decreased with increasing temperature, a high level of CH₄ conversion (90%) and a high selectivity to CO (98%) were observed at 1173 K. The oxygen flux was increased under the conditions for the catalytic partial oxidation of CH₄ compared with that measured when Ar was fed to the permeation side. We investigated the reaction pathways in the membrane reactor using different membrane reactor configurations and different kinds of gas. In the membrane reactor without the catalyst, the oxygen flux was not improved even when CH₄ was fed to the permeation side, whereas the oxygen flux was enhanced when CO or H₂ was fed. It is implied that the oxidation of CO and H₂ with the surface oxygen on the permeation side improves the oxygen flux through the membrane, and that CO₂ and H₂O react with CH₄ by reforming reactions to form syngas.     

Viscoelastic properties of Japanese lacquer film

The storage modulus (E′) and loss modulus (E″) of Japanese lacquer films were measured over a temperature range of −150 to 400°C. Three relaxation processes labeled α, β, and γ were detected at 80, −60, and −140°C, and their apparent activation energies (ΔE) were 63–91, 13, and 9 kcal/mol, respectively. These were attributed to the micro-Brownian motions of polymerized urushiol, the molecular motion related to the absorbed water, and the motions of methylene groups in the side chains, respectively. With aging at room temperature, the location of the α peak shifted to higher temperature and its ΔE value decreased. This result was ascribed to the autoxidative polymerization of urushiol. The E′ of lacquer films increased with heat treatments at 100°C or above. When treated at temperatures below 200°C, the location of the α peak shifted to higher temperature, with a reduction in the ΔE value. Heat treatments at 200°C or above resulted in remarkable shrinkage and weight loss of films owing to the pyrolysis of lacquer constituents. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 1727–1732, 1999     

Effect of Grain Size on the Sliding Wear and Friction of Alumina at Elevated Temperatures

The sliding friction and wear of three different grain-size aluminas were studied from room temperature through 1000°C. The coefficient of friction revealed two distinct regions of decrease with increased temperature, with a transition at ∼700°C. Below 700°C, the coefficient of friction decreased rapidly with increased temperature (∼10^-3/°C). However, above 700°C, the decrease was more gradual (∼10^-5/°C). This was believed to be related to a brittle-to-ductile transition at the wear surface. The coefficient of friction was only weakly dependent on grain size, because the largest grain sizes exhibited slightly higher friction coefficients. However, the specific wear loss of the aluminas increased with increased grain size at room temperature and at 600°C, both below the 700°C transition. The primary mechanism of wear was ascertained to be brittle microfracture along grain boundaries. At 1000°C, above the 700°C transition, the specific wear loss was significantly decreased and appeared to be independent of the alumina grain size. At 1000°C, the wear surfaces developed a thin layer of fine grains formed by dynamic recrystallization. The grain size within the thin layer was in agreement with the previously reported grain-size/Zener-Hollomon parameter relationship.     

Conversion of dry gel to microporous crystals in gas phase

Recently the dry gel conversion (DGC) technique, where a hydrogel is dried and the resultant dry gel is converted into microporous crystals in steam or in a mixed vapor of steam and organic structure-directing agents (SDAs), has been developed. It has been shown that a wide variety of microporous crystals, pure silica microporous crystals, aluminosilicates, metallosilicates, and aluminophosphates, can be synthesized using the DGC method. Remarkable results have been reported in the synthesis of BEA types zeolites, namely aluminosilicate, titaniumsilicate, zincosilicate, and borosilicate with BEA topology, using tetraethylammonium hydroxide, a commercially available SDA. It has also been found that zeolite OU-1, probably analogous to SSZ-31 and NCL-1, is formed via phase transformation from BEA. Dense zeolite coatings like membranes are possible using this method. Characteristics of the DGC method are discussed in detail. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dynamic fluorescence quenching precedent to thermally-induced phase separation of poly(ethoxyethyl vinyl ether) aqueous solution

We focused on the stage preceding the thermally-induced phase separation of aqueous solution of poly(ethoxyethyl vinyl ether) (PEVE). Previously, we observed an interesting dynamic quenching just below the phase separation temperature. The dynamic fluorescence quenching disappeared by addition of a surfactant. In systems without the phase separation of both the hexane solution of PEVE and the PEVE bulk, the fluorescence lifetime decreased monotonically with the increase of temperature. These results indicated that the marked decrease is due to the dynamic quenching by the collision between the fluorescent probe and the PEVE segment induced by the thermal fluctuation precedent to the phase separation.     

Internal friction behavior of an unidirectionally solidified Al2O3/YAG eutectic at high temperature

The internal friction behavior of a unidirectionally solidified Al₂O₃/YAG eutectic was examined between room temperature and 1400 °C. No internal friction was observed up to 1200 °C. Above 1200 °C, the internal friction drastically increased with increasing temperature and the number of torsional loading cycles. For the 1400 °C test, the internal friction gradually increased with the number of loading cycles and then saturated after 10³ cycles.