Polysulphone and poly(phenylene sulphide) blends: 1. Thermal characterization and phase morphology

The phase behaviour and morphology of injection moulded specimens of polysulphone (PSF) and poly(phenylene sulphide) (PPS) blends were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (d.s.c.), dynamical mechanical thermal analysis (d.m.t.a.) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The blends are phase separated regardless of the blend composition as revealed by d.s.c., d.m.t.a. and TEM. Upon annealing at 160°C for 2 h, d.m.t.a. results indicate that the PPS phase remains in the amorphous state at compositions <10%. At compositions between 20 and 35%, the PPS appears to be dispersed in a mixed mode of amorphous and crystalline domains. Above 35% the PPS phase appears to become fully crystallized upon annealing of the blends. At 10% PPS, TEM results showed 35–200 nm size dispersion both in the as-moulded and in the annealed specimens. At 20% the PPS phase varied widely in size, from 35 nm to tens of micrometres but remained as an included phase. TEM also revealed a compound morphology of the included phase at a composition of 50 wt% of each component.     

Important issues in a molecular dynamics simulation for characterising the mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes

This paper discusses several important issues in a molecular dynamics simulation for analysing carbon nanotubes and their mechanical properties. In particular, the paper addresses the problems in selecting appropriate inter-atomic potentials, number of thermostat atoms, thermostat techniques, time and displacement steps and number of relaxation steps to reach the dynamic equilibrium. Based on these, the structural changes of armchair and zigzag nanotubes and their mechanical properties are investigated. The Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the armchair tube are 3.96 and 0.15 TPa, respectively, and those of the zigzag tube are 4.88 and 0.19 TPa, respectively. The best simulation technique identified in this study predicts that the ultimate tensile strain of a carbon nanotube is around 40% before atomic bond breakage.     

Pore structure of bulk tungsten carbide powder catalysts

Bulk tungsten carbide catalysts are prepared by direct carburization/reduction of tungsten trioxide in methane-hydrogen mixtures. The catalytic properties of such catalysts have been studied by several authors. The porous structure of these catalysts is studied by adsorption of N₂, Kr, CF₄ and neohexane. Adsorption isotherms and hysteresis loops for the catalysts suggest the presence of a microporous structure made of parallel plates distant approximately by 20 Å. These results are compared to those obtained using such catalysts for hydrogen oxidation and where condensation in the porous structure was observed.     

水合肼生产中氧化反应的研究和应用

分析了尿素法生产水合肼的氧化反应历程及影响因素，改进了反应器，并找到了最佳的工艺控制条件：①控制n(尿素)：n(次氯酸钠)=(1．05～1．10)：1，各原料的消耗较低，总经济效益佳；②采用-5℃冷冻盐水移走尿素、次氯酸钠混合段内氯化反应放出的热量，控制物料混合终点温度在15～30℃；③采用列管式加热器，将氯化反应与水解反应在不同的设备中进行，水合肼的收率提高到83％～85％；④采用列管式加热器代替双夹套反应器，提高了加热强度，生产能力大，1套合成反应器可生产1万t／a80％的水合肼。     

Discrete element approach for mine dump stability analysis

Mine overburden dumps have posed significant safety issues in the operations of various unit operations of open pit min-ing especially the external dumps. The external dumps are composed of a mixture of fragmented rocks and loose soil. Their charac-teristic is comparable to heavily discontinuous solid mass. The conventional approach of limit equilibrium methods provide safety factors for the slope but nothing about the stress-strain characteristics of the large dump mass. The designs of dump location and their respective geometry are integrated for the know-how of the stability characteristics of these dumps. The discrete element method uses a circular disk to represent the granular solid mass and their interactions are described by the Newton's third law of motion. The displacement is described by the sliding of the circular disk. This work is focused on the modeling efficiency of the discrete element methods to represent the behaviour of mine dump masses with the specified joint plane for the limit equilibrium method. The advantage of the work lies on the ease of information retrieval at any point at the dump mass concerning the stress and strain histories, displacement, failures etc. which when integrated produces a better understanding of the stability of the dump masses.     

GCr15轴承钢连铸过程中热物性参数的研究

借鉴前人实验数据,采用一定的数学方法,对轴承钢的热物性参数进行了研究.结果表明：GCr15轴承钢的液相线温度为1 465.7℃,固相线温度为1 328.4℃,零强度温度为1 380℃左右,零塑性温度为1 330℃左右;在固相区、液固两相区、液相区分别采用不同的公式进行处理,可使结果更加准确,还避免了奇异性.研究结果可为轴承钢连铸工艺有限元模拟提供基础.     

Progress and recent trend in MILD combustion

Moderate or intense low oxygen dilution(MILD)combustion plays a significant role in the mitigation of combustion-generated pollutants and greenhouse gases whilst meeting thermal efficiency needs.However,due to the lack of the fundamental knowledge on this combustion,there is a misconception that MILD combustion should be established by high preheating of the air,which has limited its application.Our research and development on this combustion has been performed for several years. We have found that the requ...     

Research on the friction and wear mechanism of Poly(vinyl alcohol)/hydroxylapatite composite hydrogel

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Hydroxylapatite (PVA/HA) composite hydrogel was prepared with poly(vinyl alcohol) and hydroxylapatite as raw materials, using the method of repeated freezing and thawing. The morphologies of PVA/HA composite hydrogel were observed by means of high-accuracy 3D profiler and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The compressive elastic modulus and the stress relaxation characteristics of PVA/HA composite hydrogel were measured using the flat-head cylinder indenter. The friction and wear tests between PVA/HA composite hydrogel and bovine knee articular cartilage were performed on the micro-tribometer. The worn morphologies of PVA/HA composite hydrogel were observed with environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The results showed that PVA/HA composite hydrogel has the cross-link network microstructure which is similar to that of the natural bovine knee articular cartilages. With the increase of freezing-thawing cycles and the HA content, the degree of cross-link and the crystallization of PVA/HA composite hydrogel both increase, the elastic modulus increases evidently, the rate of stress relaxation is improved and the value of balance stress decreases. The friction coefficient decreases with the increase of the freezing-thawing cycles and the HA content. The more the freezing-thawing cycles are, the earlier the friction coefficient reaches the stable balance value. The friction deformation depth between PVA/HA composite hydrogel and bovine knee articular cartilage is inversely proportional to freezing-thawing cycles and the HA content. The main wear mechanisms of PVA/HA composite hydrogel are plastic flowing and adhesive flaking. The wear severity degree decreases with the increase of freezing-thawing cycles and the HA content. Supported by Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50535050), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (Grant No. NCET-06-0479) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2005403)     

Characterization of self-assembled monolayers of iron and cobalt octaalkylthiosubstituted phthalocyanines and their use in nitrite electrocatalytic oxidation

Cobalt and iron phenylthiosubstituted phthalocyanines have been deposited on Au electrode surfaces through the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) technique. The so formed layers were studied using voltammetric and impedance techniques. These SAMs blocked a number of Faradic processes and electrocatalyzed the oxidation of nitrite. The electrocatalytic parameters of the cobalt and iron phenylthiosubstituted phthalocyanines deposited on Au electrodes in nitrite solution were studied. Nitrite overpotentials which are lower than ever reported were obtained in this work for the iron phenylthiosubstituted phthalocyanines with very high stability.