Prepreg aging in relation to tack

Thermoanalytical measurements and tack tests were both performed using a commercially available carbon fiber/epoxy prepreg system (Hercules 3501–6) to examine changes caused by aging as they affect handling and processability of thermosetting matrix-based composites. Combining these techniques, a relationship between prepreg bulk and surface characteristics in relation to aging was investigated. Isothermal kinetic studies at low temperatures showed maximum conversions (α_m) that increased with increasing cure temperatures. In addition, a linear relationship between glass transition temperatures (T_g) and conversions (α) was observed regardless of aging (or cure) temperatures. Energy of separation of prepreg stacks, which may be viewed as a measure of prepreg tack, showed a maximum value at a specific temperature. The maximum energy of separation was observed in the temperature range of 20–25°C above the glass transition temperature for a given sample. However, the maximum energy of separation values decreased with increasing aging times (or conversions), implying that prepreg tack was a viscoelastic property rather than a viscous property of the resin matrix in the prepreg.     

Microstructural changes in homopolymers and polymer blends induced by elastic strain pulverization

A novel polymer processing technique known as elastic strain pulverization (ESP) involves the simultaneous effects of high pressure and shear deformation to pulverize polymers. Homopolymers and blends of commercially important postconsumer plastics, including high-density and low-density polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and poly styrene (PS) are studied by several characterization techniques to determine the effects of ESP on the microstructure. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy confirms that free radicals are generated by the mechanical rupture of main chain carbon bonds during pulverization by ESP. The possibility of these free radicals terminating by heterogeneous combination to form compatibilizing block or graft copolymers in coprocessed polymer blends establishes the potential of ESP in commingled plastics recycling. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized light microscopy of homopolymers and blends indicate that crystalline structure is drastically altered by ESP processing. Spherulite size reduction is also observed in both crystalline/crystalline and crystalline/amorphous blends after ESP. These results are consistent with homogenization that may be due to the formation of compatibilizing copolymers by heterogeneous macroradical combination. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Adaptive Memory Event-Triggered Observer-Based Control for Nonlinear Multi-Agent Systems Under DoS Attacks

This paper investigates the event-triggered security consensus problem for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) under denial-of-service (DoS) attacks over an undirected graph. A novel adaptive memory observer-based anti-disturbance control scheme is presented to improve the observer accuracy by adding a buffer for the system output measurements. Meanwhile, this control scheme can also provide more reasonable control signals when DoS attacks occur. To save network resources, an adaptive memory event-triggered mechanism (AMETM) is also proposed and Zeno behavior is excluded. It is worth mentioning that the AMETM’s updates do not require global information. Then, the observer and controller gains are obtained by using the linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique. Finally, simulation examples show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.      

Comparison of liquid-phase and methanol-swelling crosslinking processes of polyimide dense membrane for CO2/CH4 separation

To overcome the plasticization effect in polyimide membranes, many researchers have proposed crosslinking method. This can reduce an inter-segmental mobility by tightening and rigidifying the polymer chains. However, it is difficult to modify the whole polymer chains throughout the membrane because the reaction can be hindered by the diffusion rate of the crosslinker. In particular, it is hard for bulky crosslinker to penetrate a dense membrane with a small d-spacing. This study investigated the effect of crosslinking a dense Matrimid membrane with p-phenylenediamine (p-PDA) via two different crosslinking methods (i.e., methanol-swelling crosslinking process [M-SCP] and liquid-phase crosslinking process [L-PCP]). Most of the crosslinking reaction in M-SCP occurs on the membrane surface due to difficulty in penetration of the bulky p-PDA into the Matrimid dense membrane. In contrast, the L-PCP allows uniform crosslinking across the membrane. The membranes crosslinked using L-PCP showed excellent chemical resistance. Furthermore, the plasticization phenomenon was not observed in the membranes crosslinked using L-PCP with p-PDA more than 15%. Meanwhile, the membrane crosslinked using M-SCP exhibited poor plasticization and chemical resistance properties. These results showed that the L-PCP method can be more effective for the crosslinking of dense membrane to deliver both high plasticization and chemical resistance.     

A study on corrosion resistance characteristics of PVD Cr-N coated steels by electrochemical method

The corrosion behavior of Cr-N coated steels with different phases (-Cr, CrN and Cr₂N) deposited by cathodic arc deposition on AISI H13 steel was investigated in a 3.5% NaCl solution at ambient temperature. Potentiodynamic polarization tests, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were the techniques applied to characterize the corrosion behavior. It was found that the CrN coating had a lower current density from potentiodynamic polarization tests than others. The porosity, corresponding to the ratio of the polarization resistance of the uncoated and the coated substrate, was higher in the Cr₂N coating than in the other Cr-N coated steels. EIS measurements showed, for most of the Cr-N coated steels, that the Bode plot presented two time constants. Also, the Cr₂N coating represented the characteristic of Warburg behavior after 72 h of immersion. The coating morphologies were examined in planar view and cross-section by SEM analysis and the results were compared with those of the electrochemical measurement. The CrN coating had a dense, columnar grain-sized microstructure with minor intergranular porosity. From the above results, it is concluded that the CrN coating provided a better corrosion protection than the other Cr-N coated steels.     

Nitrogen removal using recycled polystyrene bottles as biofilm media

The performance of an attached growth wastewater treatment process was investigated in an effort to improve nitrogen removal efficiency. Recycled Yakult (lactic acid fermentation drink) bottles made of polystyrene were used as a biofilm media. The use of Yakult bottles as a biofilm media has been attempted by numerous researchers in Japan for the removal of solids and organics. However, these studies focused only on the removal of solids and organics. This study extended their application to the removal of nitrogen for domestic sewage treatment. Yakult media was placed in a reactor with 70% apparent reactor volume in a conventional A/O process. The bottom of the Yakult media was removed, and randomly filled Yakult media were effectively able to reduce the flow in tanks, resulting in an increase in the contact time between pollutants and microorganisms. With higher HRT, the nitrogen removal efficiency was increased by up to 83% with 12 hr of HRT. Nitrification appeared to be the limiting factor of nitrogen removal at an HRT that is less than 12 hr, indicating that the Yakult process requires more retention time to achieve nitrification compared to other biofilm processes. The removal efficiencies of organics and solids were high regardless of the change of operational parameters. This article is based on a presentation in “The 7th Korea-China Workshop On Advanced Materials” organized by the Korea-China Advanced Materials Cooperation Center and the China-Korea Advanced Materials Cooperation Center, held at Ramada Plaza Jeju Hotel, Jeju Island, Korea on August 24–27, 2003.     

Improvement of wear resistance of plasma-sprayed molybdenum blend coatings

The wear resistance of plasma sprayed molybdenum blend coatings applicable to synchronizer rings or piston rings was investigated in this study. Four spray powders, one of which was pure molybdenum and the others blended powders of bronze and aluminum-silicon alloy powders mixed with molybdenum powders, were sprayed on a low-carbon steel substrate by atmospheric plasma spraying. Microstructural analysis of the coatings showed that the phases formed during spraying were relatively homogeneously distributed in the molybdenum matrix. The wear test results revealed that the wear rate of all the coatings increased with increasing wear load and that the blended coatings exhibited better wear resistance than the pure molybdenum coating, although the hardness was lower. In the pure molybdenum coatings, splats were readily fractured, or cracks were initiated between splats under high wear loads, thereby leading to the decrease in wear resistance. On the other hand, the molybdenum coating blended with bronze and aluminum-silicon alloy powders exhibited excellent wear resistance because hard phases such as CuAl₂ and Cu₉Al₄ formed inside the coating.     

Effects of anodizing voltage on the anodized and hydrothermally treated titanium surface

Anodic oxidation is the process of creating a titanium oxide layer with various defects more dense and stable. In this study, a dense, stable and porous oxide layer was formed using anodic spark oxidation on pure titanium surface and hydroxyapatite crystals were formed on its surface via a hydrothermal treatment. A mixture of 0.02M−GP (Glycerolphosphate disodium salt) and 0.2M-CA (Calcium acetate) was used as an electrolyte. By increasing the anodizing voltage to 220, 260, 300, and 360 V, the effects of the anodizing voltage were examined by evaluating the film properties after anodization and a hydrothermal treatment. Breakdown occurred around 230 V. As the voltage increased after breakdown, the pore size increased. After the hydrothermal treatment, the amount of HA crystal precipitation was also increased as the voltage increased. The mean surface roughness (Ra) of the anodizing surface was also increased as the voltage increased. The Ra value was larger in the hydrothermally treated group compared with the group treated with anodization as a result of the HA crystals present on the surface after the hydrothermal treatment. Corrosion resistance of the surface modified by anodization was significantly increased in a saline solution compared to that for the non-treated group; this increased further after the hydrothermal treatment. These increases were most likely due to a thick stable oxide layer formed through anodization. Thus, it is believed that titanium with its surface modified through anodic spark oxidation would be a suitable biomaterial due to its corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.     

Tribological behavior of plasma spray coatings for marine diesel engine piston ring and cylinder liner

High-temperature wear characteristics between plasma spray coated piston rings and cylinder liners were investigated to find the optimum combination of coating materials using the disc-on-plate reciprocating wear test in dry conditions. The disc and plate represented the piston ring and the cylinder liner, respectively. Coating materials studied were Cr₂O₃-NiCr, Cr₂O₃-NiCr-Mo, and Cr₃C₂-NiCr-Mo. Plasma spray conditions for the coating materials were established adjusting stand-off distance to obtain a coating with a porosity content of ∼5%. It was found that a dissimilar coating combination of Cr₂O₃-NiCr-Mo and Cr₃C₂-NiCr-Mo provided the best antiwear performance. The addition of molybdenum was found to be beneficial to improve the wear resistance of the coating. Hardness differences between mating surfaces were also important factors in determining the wear characteristics, so that it should be controlled below 300 in Vickers hardness under dry conditions. Adhesive wear accompanying with metal transfer was a dominant wear mechanism for dry conditions.     

Discharge characteristics of lead dioxide electrode prepared with cementation lead oxide

Lead acid batteries have had restricted applications because of relatively low energy density below 50Wh/kg. Many efforts have achieved lighter battery components such as separators, connections and containers etc. Thus, the most important problem of the lead acid battery is to improve the low capacity of the active material in the positive electrode. The purpose of this study is to improve the utilization of the active material in the lead dioxide electrode for the lead acid battery through the production of lead oxide with better physicochemical characteristics through cementation. A cementation reaction was performed in 1.0wt.%HCl solution using pure magnesium plate as the reductant. We investigated the utilization of the active material and discharge characteristics of the positive electrode with a current density ranging from 3.4 to 108.8mAcm⁻². As a result, the active material utilization was about 72% at 3.48 mAcm⁻² and increased with decreasing current density. The discharge characteristics according to current density are especially very good at high current density