Ammonia is a key component of many industrial processes where it is used in very high concentrations. The applications range from high quality steel production and fertiliser manufacture, to the refrigeration of food products and ice ring leisure facilities. Ammonia escapes have been identified as a large and serious problem by both government and industry. Simple and robust ammonia sensors for remote monitoring applications remain an area of continuous interest.
Polyaniline is a conducting polymer used in ‘electronic nose’ instrumentation and has been shown to be electronically sensitive to ammonia. In this paper, we report on the application of electrochemically-prepared polyaniline films for the measurement of gaseous ammonia at 1300 nm. This wavelength corresponds to a region of high optical transmission for optical fibres and is also compatible with telecom devices and technology. A simple and robust measurement system based on a standard telecom 1300 nm LED is described and remote sensing using 100 m of duplex multimode fibre is demonstrated.
Typically, the transmission of the polyaniline films at 1300 nm increases by approximately 1% in response to gaseous ammonia levels of 6 ppm in 50% RH. This represents the lower limit of detection in our study. Although initially the sensors react to the presence of ammonia very fast it takes over several hours for the output to reach the equilibrium. Clearly this is impractical however, it is possible to differentiate between different concentrations of ammonia by taking two readings at fixed intervals. A calibration curve for the sensors was obtained using two readings 15 s apart. The response time of the polyanaline films was found to be insensitive to the humidity variations in the range of 30–70% RH, however, over the 10–90% variation the changes were of the same order of magnitude as those induced by 6 ppm of ammonia. 相似文献
The internal friction and relative elastic modulus of polypropylene (PP) filled with nanometer-scale calcium carbonate (nm-CaCO3) particles in different contents (0, 4, 7, and 15 vol.%) are measured in the temperature range 150–400 K with a torsion pendulum. The peak associated with the glass transition and a small peak (′ peak) associated with the pre-melting process in crystalline parts of PP was observed around 290 and 370 K, respectively. At temperatures lower than 270 K, no peaks were observed. With increasing content of nm-CaCO3 particles, the apparent activation energy of the peak decreases, and after passing a minimum of 4.7 eV at 4 vol.% of nm-CaCO3, it increases. In contrary to this behavior, the peak temperature has a maximum of 289 K at the same filler fraction. Correspondingly, the highest tensile and flexural strength of PP were obtained around this content. These observations may be understood through the influences of fillers on the degree of crystallization of PP and on the mobility of molecules of PP. 相似文献
The dynamic behaviour of fibre-reinforced, cementitious composite materials is gaining increasing interest. With respect to service life dynamic loading just under the elastic limit of the material at hand is relevant to practical applications, for the resulting (stress-)waves may be focused within regions of the heterogeneous composite material. This local overstraining of the material may lead to deterioration of the structural element. In this contribution, the effect of the set-up of the reinforcing fibres on the wave scattering behaviour is investigated. Special attention is paid to layered centric configurations of these fibres, as it occurs e. g. within textile-reinforced concrete (TRC). A mechanical model is developed and solved analytically providing an efficient and robust method to describe the dynamic behaviour of given fibre configurations. This method is needed for materials which have to be described mechanically before the manufacturing process – as it is the case for TRC. The proposed model also allows for planning experiments and thus is of additional value. It is shown that the inner structure of the fibres does influence the amplitude response spectra and consequently the proposed method also may be used for non-destructively detecting the inner structure of the multifilament yarns and other related objects. 相似文献
Biodeterioration of concrete by microorganism colonisation may be a problem in several structures, especially in irrigation and hydroelectric canals. The main problem in such structures is the proliferation of algae and cyanobacteria that affect the performance of the structure, increase the maintenance costs and affects its durability. A research was conducted to develop a novel cement-based material with biocide activity that can be used as an overlay mortar in existing structures, such as canals and pipes. With this aim, ten commercial biocides were evaluated in a laboratory campaign to assess the effectiveness of the compounds against the microbial colonisation of concrete. Both mono- and multicomponent formulations were designed from the commercial products, to increase their antimicrobial effect obtaining a set of biocide formulations. The formulations were submitted to a flowchart process to determine their influence on the physical properties of the concrete, evaluate the release of the actives, and their antimicrobial efficiency both before and after accelerated aging processes. During the campaign, some formulations were observed to diminish the strength of the concrete. Such behaviour was normally due to the interaction of the active with the cement hydration process. Other formulations showed a high release of active from the concrete in water, compromising the durability of the treatment. In general, monocomponent formulations did not succeed to fulfill all the requirements, thus multicomponent formulations were analysed. One studied multicomponent formulation presented particularly good results in all properties analysed. This product did not significantly change the properties of concrete and the release of active in water from the concrete was low, while the antimicrobial effects were long lasting. 相似文献
As biocomposites are highly sensitive to water absorption, the aim of this study was to compare the physical properties two biocomposites: (1) a flax/bio-based epoxy (Entropy SUPER SAP CLR/INS) and (2) a flax/polyurethane (HENKEL LOCTITE MAX 3). Both materials were reinforced with 14 layers of flax (TEXONIC twill 2 × 2) and manufactured using a resin transfer moulding process. Post-cured composite samples were aged at 90% RH and 30 °C for various periods of time up to 720 h. The results showed that both composites followed a Fickian diffusion behaviour. Water had a plasticizing effect on the composites and it changed their failure mode. This effect took longer to appear for the polyurethane composites. The chemical bonds between the hydroxyl groups of the fibres and the isocyanate lead to a stronger interface which improved the mechanical properties (short beam and compressive strengths) as compared to the flax/bio-epoxy composites. 相似文献
Alkali-Silica reaction (ASR) is a physicochemical process that can deteriorate concrete and is a recurring engineering problem. In this study three different cylindrical samples affected by ASR were prepared: a plain mortar and two composite mortars containing fibers (polypropylene and a polymer hybrid), which were analyzed at the microtomography (μCT) beamline 8.3.2 at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). In general, three different features were observed during the 136 day observation period: (1) aggregate dissolution, (2) crack propagation from inside the aggregate, through the cement matrix, and at the ITZ, and (3) the alkali-silica gel filling cracks and voids. In addition, accelerated mortar bar tests were utilized to observe ASR's expansive effect in the plain and composite mortars, and the fibers' ability to restrain expansion due to ASR. 相似文献