Comparison of the Effect of a Hydrocarbon Oil and a Terpene Tackifier on the Autohesion of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber

Blends of uncrosslinked styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) with a terpene tackifier resin or a naphthenic oil have been characterized, and their autohesion and cohesion determined using a T-peel geometry. SBR/oil blends are homogeneous at all proportions, while SBR/resin blends, based on DSC and DMA analysis, undergo bulk phase separation at about 50% resin. However, migration of tackifier to the surface region is proposed at much lower resin contents. Compositions diluted with oil have autohesion similar to the neat SBR. This is attributed to compensating effects; although oil hastens self-bond formation by increasing chain mobility, this is nearly equally balanced by more facile chain separation during bond rupture. In short, oil-diluted compositions are soft and weak. On the other hand, SBR compositions containing small amounts of resin have high autohesion. Resin-diluted specimens deform easily at low strain, just as those containing oil, but intertwined chains of the former have greater resistance to separation, due at least in part to higher glass transition temperatures. It is proposed that autohesion is further enhanced by migration of tackifier to the surface. This causes SBR/resin compositions to be both soft and strong-a necessary condition for high autohesion.     

Al2O3/SiC复合陶瓷的反应烧结

在空气中于1600℃对Al2O3/0.78%SiC纳米复合体进行2h的反应烧结,制得Al2O3/5%莫来石复合陶瓷,其中的莫来石分为两类,即3Al2O3·2SiC和Al5.65Si0.35O9.175。采用SEM和TEM研究Al2O3/莫来石复全陶瓷的微观结构。对Al2O3/莫来石复合陶瓷的密度和力学性能如杨氏模量、泊松比、硬度、韧性和强度进行了研究。     

SOLUBILITY OF CO2 AND H2S IN A HINDERED AMINE SOLUTION

The solubility of H₂S and CO₂ in aqueous solutions of the sterically hindered amine, 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), was determined at 40 and 100°C. Partial pressures of C)₂ ranged from approximately 2 to 6000 kPa and of H₂S from 2 to 2200 kPa. The solubility results were compared with previously reported acid gas solubilities in aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) solutions.     

The selectivity of porous catalysts: parallel reactions

The influence of intraparticle mass diffusion on the overall and relative rates of the parallel reactions A → B and A → C is examined for the case of an isothermal catalyst particle with no external concentration or temperature gradients. Calculations for three pairs of reaction orders: (0,1), (0,2) and (1,2), show that internal concentration gradients can cause the yield of the product formed in the higher-order reaction to decrease by as much as 80 percent. Extension of the analysis to other reaction orders is discussed. Criteria for close approach to various asymptotic limits are presented, together with an asymptotic expression which allows the maximum effect of pore diffusion on selectivity to be estimated for any pair of reaction orders.     

Chemical reactivity of CO and CO2 at a Cu(110)-Cs surface

Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide undergo reactive chemisorption with cesium modified Cu(110) and Cu(110)-O surfaces and via the anionic intermediate CO ₂ ^– (a) form a surface carbonate. The CO ₂ ^– (a) species was characterised by VEELS and XPS at low temperature (80 K) and the surface carbonate at 295 K. For cesium modified Cu(110) surfaces chemisorption of carbon monoxide gives rise to electron energy loss peaks (v _co) as low as 1450 cm^–1 at 295 K.     

Assessing the reliability of ordered categorical scales using kappa-type statistics

Methods for the analysis of reliability of ordered categorical scales are discussed, focussing on the limitation of the single summary-weighted kappa coefficients. A symmetric matrix of kappa-type coefficients is suggested as an alternative. The method is proposed as being suitable for ordinal scale where there is no underlying continuum. Their application is illustrated using two data sets from reliability studies. If, instead, distances between categories can be specified, a weighted mean of the matrix terms can be used as a summary measure. This is equal to a weighted kappa coefficient with squared weights, provided distances between adjacent categories are equal. When a study design corresponds to a one-way random effects model, estimates of precision of kappa-type coefficient, including the coefficients described here, can be obtained using the delta-method, bootstrap resampling by subjects or jack-knifing by subjects. In the case of interobserver reliability studies, where there may be systematic differences between observers, the investigator may wish to generalise to a population of observers and subjects. In this case, jack-knifing by observer and subject is suggested. Empirical comparisons are made between standard error estimates based on the delta-method, on jack-knifing by subjects and a two-way jack-knife by subjects and observers. The results suggest that standard errors based on the delta-method or jack-knifing by subject alone may be overly precise.     

A dislocation model for the two critical stress intensities required for threshold fatigue crack propagation

We have examined the variations, with decreasing load ratio, of threshold peak and cyclic stress intensities required for fatigue crack growth in stage I (mainly mode II loading) using a simple model simulating dislocation motion near a crack tip. In this model the crack grows by dislocations running into the crack during loading and unloading phases. Initially we have studied the behaviour of a crack with a dislocation source relatively far away from the crack tip. Crack propagation rates showed a Paris regime at high ΔK, and an abrupt threshold value ΔK_th below which no crack growth occurred. The variation with load ratio of the peak (K_th) and cyclic (ΔK_th) stress intensities at the fatigue threshold showed that two different processes controlled the behaviour. At high load ratios dislocations are generated readily during loading and the threshold is controlled by the need for sufficient unloading to allow dislocations to run back into the crack, so that the criterion ΔK ≥ ΔK∗ results. At negative load ratios it is the generation of dislocations during the loading phase that controls the threshold condition, since once generated, the large unloading and reversed loading easily forces dislocations back to the crack. Under these conditions the threshold criterion becomes K_max ≥ K∗.     

Chromium distribution between liquid iron and molten basic slags

An equilibrium study was made of the distribution of chromium and oxygen between liquid iron, containing less than 1 pct Cr, and simple slags of the CaO(MgO)-SiO₂-FeO-Cr₂O₃ type in the temperature range 1526° to 1734°C The effects of slag oxidation, temperature, and basicity were observed.     

Optics clustered to output unique solutions: a multi-laser facility for combined single molecule and ensemble microscopy

Optics clustered to output unique solutions (OCTOPUS) is a microscopy platform that combines single molecule and ensemble imaging methodologies. A novel aspect of OCTOPUS is its laser excitation system, which consists of a central core of interlocked continuous wave and pulsed laser sources, launched into optical fibres and linked via laser combiners. Fibres are plugged into wall-mounted patch panels that reach microscopy end-stations in adjacent rooms. This allows multiple tailor-made combinations of laser colours and time characteristics to be shared by different end-stations minimising the need for laser duplications. This setup brings significant benefits in terms of cost effectiveness, ease of operation, and user safety. The modular nature of OCTOPUS also facilitates the addition of new techniques as required, allowing the use of existing lasers in new microscopes while retaining the ability to run the established parts of the facility. To date, techniques interlinked are multi-photon/multicolour confocal fluorescence lifetime imaging for several modalities of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and time-resolved anisotropy, total internal reflection fluorescence, single molecule imaging of single pair FRET, single molecule fluorescence polarisation, particle tracking, and optical tweezers. Here, we use a well-studied system, the epidermal growth factor receptor network, to illustrate how OCTOPUS can aid in the investigation of complex biological phenomena.     

Crafting the Compelling User Experience

This article provides an introduction to the usage of software engineering approaches and tools for the design of user experience (UE). This approach was developed for three main reasons: (a) to provide UE design teams a rigorous, methodical, encompassing method that can be applied throughout the entire product development cycle; (b) to provide designers a way to work with abstract concepts to establish the conceptual design of the system before progressing to the realization of the design to the appropriate platform; and (c) to communicate the intended design to the implementation team in a manner that is concise, complete, and familiar. The approach is the application of Unified Modeling Language concepts to describe users and the UE design rather than the technical architecture. It is believed that designing the UE design separately from the technical architecture will help ensure teams deliver a usable and delightful UE. The methods in this article have been applied to a handful of real-world projects in the last year and a half. Thus far, the application of software engineering approaches and tools have been found to be very powerful aids that have enabled the creation of highly useful Web experiences as well as software applications.

Our intent is to address the full gamut of issues involved in creating a total user experience (UE)-from discovery of users needs through high-level and low-level design, ensuring fidelity during development, and deployment, with a full assessment of how well the design meets users' needs. We believe that through a concerted use of such a rigorous approach we can greatly improve not only the UE of products we create, but also the experience of designing and developing them. We are not the only team taking this direction in UE design. It has become clear to many in our field that a more rigorous, thorough, and accurate approach to UE design is not only possible-it is necessary, for many of the same reasons that software engineers long ago embraced such practices. As we are evolving our approaches in other phases, this article focuses on the discovery and design phase activities.