RECODE: revision control for digital images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Revision control is a vital component in the collaborative development of artifacts such as software code and multimedia. While revision control has been widely...     

Thermal behavior of thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites containing graphene nanoplatelets

Polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanocomposites filled with 5 wt % of two different kinds of commercially available graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were prepared. Composites materials were characterized in terms of thermal properties (thermal conductivity and thermal stability) in order to study the effect of different fillers within different thermoplastic matrices. The exfoliation process and the mechanical properties were also investigated. We chose three different thermoplastic polymers (polyolefin, copolymer and elastomer) to cover a wide range of thermoplastic materials and identify a guideline in the use of GNPs for nanocomposite materials. No drastic differences were observed in terms of mechanical properties when the same matrices were filled with different GNPs. Concerning thermal conductivity, it was observed that the GNPs plane dimensions play a crucial role in the increase of conductive properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44814.     

CrOx/SiO2 catalysts prepared using chromium recovered from tanning sewage

Catalysts at different Cr loading (x, in the range 0.18–3.8 wt% Cr) were prepared by (i) impregnation of SiO₂ Aerosil directly with the waste water (SCx(I) samples); or (ii) mixing Aerosil with chromium oxo-hydroxides, precipitated from the waste water to eliminate the sulphate and sodium ions (SCx(II) and SCx(III) samples). Preparations (II) and (III) only differ for the accuracy in sulphate and sodium ions elimination. Catalyst surface characterization was performed by FT-IR spectroscopy using CO, adsorbed at room temperature, as test molecule, and by UV-Vis-NIR DR spectroscopy. Their activity towards ethylene polymerization were tested by FT-IR spectroscopy, monitoring the time dependence of the CH₂ stretching modes intensity. The obtained results were compared with those obtained for simplified Phillips catalysts with comparable chromium contents, SCx(R). SCx(I) catalysts were not active in the ethylene polymerization, while the SCx(II) and SCx(III) ones showed lower activity (1/10 at maximum) compared to that of simplified Phillips catalysts with comparable chromium contents. SCx(II) and SCx(III) catalysts were active in the isobutane dehydrogenation reaction and showed activity in the range of those of standard catalysts, while SCx(I) ones showed activity at 873 K, but very low at the usual temperatures (773–823 K).     

Muscle discretization affects the loading transferred to bones in lower-limb musculoskeletal models

Modelling the mechanical effect of muscles is important in several research and clinical contexts. However, few studies have investigated the effect of different muscle discretizations from a mechanical standpoint. The present study evaluated the errors of a reduced discretization of the lower-limb muscles in reproducing the muscle loading transferred to bones. Skeletal geometries and a muscle data collection were derived from clinical images and dissection studies of two cadaver specimens. The guidelines of a general method previously proposed for a different anatomical district were followed. The data collection was used to calculate the mechanical effect of muscles, i.e. the generalized force vectors, and the errors between a large and a reduced discretization, in a reference skeletal pose and in the extreme poses of the range of motion of joints. The results showed that the errors committed using a reduced representation of muscles could be significant and higher than those reported for a different anatomical region. In particular, the calculated errors were found to be dependent on the individual anatomy and on the skeletal pose. Since different biomechanical applications may require different discretization levels, care is suggested in identifying the number of muscle lines of action to be used in musculoskeletal models.     

Chemical and Physical Properties of Copper-Based Catalysts for CO Shift Reaction and Methanol Synthesis

The modern low-pressure methanol synthesis catalysts are based on copper-containing systems such as Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ and Cu/ZnO/Cr₂O₃ with various compositions. These catalysts are also highly active for the low-temperature CO shift reaction. For both reactions the nature of the active sites is still an open question.     

Self-healing and self-repairing technologies

This article reviews the existing work in self-healing and self-repairing technologies, including work in software engineering, materials, mechanics, electronics, MEMS, self-reconfigurable robotics, and others. It suggests a terminology and taxonomy for self-healing and self-repair, and discusses the various related types of other self-* properties. The mechanisms and methods leading to self-healing are reviewed, and common elements across disciplines are identified.     

CFD simulations of filling and emptying of hydrogen tanks

During the filling of hydrogen tanks high temperatures can be generated inside the vessel because of the gas compression while during the emptying low temperatures can be reached because of the gas expansion. The design temperature range goes from ?40 °C to 85 °C. Temperatures outside that range could affect the mechanical properties of the tank materials. CFD analyses of the filling and emptying processes have been performed in the HyTransfer project. To assess the accuracy of the CFD model the simulation results have been compared with new experimental data for different filling and emptying strategies. The comparison between experiments and simulations is shown for the temperatures of the gas inside the tank, for the temperatures at the interface between the liner and the composite material, and for the temperatures on the external surface of the vessel.