Mechanical properties of polyethylene mixtures crystallized under high pressure

The mechanical properties of a medium molecular weight polyethylene (MMW‐PE) and an ultrahigh molecular weight PE (UHMW‐PE) binary mixture with different weight fractions crystallized from the melt at 0.1 and 450 MPa were studied. The tensile modulus, yield stress, and strain were obtained as a function of the weight fractions in the PE mixtures at 25 and 85°C. The tensile modulus in the sample crystallized at 0.1 MPa decreased from 1.5 GPa of pure MMW‐PE to about 0.4 GPa of pure UHMW‐PE with the UHMW‐PE content but it did not decrease with the UHMW‐PE in the sample crystallized at 450 MPa in testing at 25°C. A decreasing rate of the storage modulus E′ of UHMW‐PE in a dynamic measurement for the sample crystallized at 0.1 MPa with the temperature is larger than that of the sample crystallized at 450 MPa. These experimental facts are interpreted in relation to the molecular motion and crystallinity of the sample. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1962–1968, 2003     

Fracture and deformation properties of Ni-Fe superalloy in cryogenic high magnetic field environments

The present paper includes experimental and analytical data on the fracture properties of a nickel-iron superalloy, a ferromagnetic austenite, at 4 K in magnetic fields of 0 and 6 T. The tensile, notch tensile and small punch tests are employed. A finite element analysis is also performed to convert the experimentally measured load-displacement data into useful engineering information. To interpret the results we review the available theory of the influence of magnetic field on the stress intensity factor for a crack in ferromagnetic materials.     

Inside Front Cover: The Elastic Properties and Plastic Behavior of Two‐Dimensional Polymer Structures Fabricated by Laser Interference Lithography (Adv. Funct. Mater. 10/2006)

The probing of the micromechanical properties within a two‐dimensional polymer structure with sixfold symmetry fabricated via interference lithography reveals a nonuniform spatial distribution in the elastic modulus “imprinted” with an interference pattern in work reported by Tsukruk, Thomas, and co‐workers on p. 1324. The image prepared by M. Lemieux and T. Gorishnyy shows how the interference pattern is formed by three laser beams and is transferred to the solid polymer structure. The elastic and plastic properties within a two‐dimensional polymer (SU8) structure with sixfold symmetry fabricated via interference lithography are presented. There is a nonuniform spatial distribution in the elastic modulus, with a higher elastic modulus obtained for nodes (brightest regions in the laser interference pattern) and a lower elastic modulus for beams (darkest regions in the laser interference pattern) of the photopatterned films. We suggest that such a nonuniformity and unusual plastic behavior are related to the variable material properties “imprinted” by the interference pattern.     

Effects of surface roughness of substrates on the c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO films deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering

The c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO film is the most important factor for its successful application in piezoelectric devices. The effects of surface roughness of the substrate on the c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO thin films, deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, were investigated. During sputtering, the oxygen content in the argon environment used was varied from 0 to 70% at a total sputtering pressure of 10 mTorr. Very smooth Si, smooth evaporated Au/Si, smooth evaporated-Al/Si, and rough sputtered-Al/Si were used as substrates. Their r.m.s. roughnesses, as measured by atomic force microscopy, were 1.27, 17.1, 21.1 and 65-118 Å, respectively. The crystalline structure and the angular spread of the (0 0* 2) plane normal to the ZnO films were determined using X-ray diffraction and X-ray rocking curves, respectively. The crystallinity and the preferred c-axis orientation of the ZnO films were strongly dependent on the surface roughness of the substrates rather than on the oxygen content of the working environment or on the chemical nature of the substrate.     

Preparation, patterning and luminescent properties of nanocrystalline Gd2O3:A (A=Eu, Dy, Sm, Er) phosphor films via Pechini sol–gel soft lithography

Nanocrystalline Gd₂O₃:A (A=Eu³⁺, Dy³⁺, Sm³⁺, Er³⁺) phosphor films and their patterning were fabricated by a Pechini sol–gel process combined with a soft lithography. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy, UV/vis transmission and photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well as lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting films. The results of XRD indicated that the films began to crystallize at 500 °C and that the crystallinity increased with the elevation of annealing temperatures. Uniform and crack free non-patterned phosphor films were obtained by optimizing the composition of the coating sol, which mainly consisted of grains with an average size of 70 nm and a thickness of 550 nm. Using micro-molding in capillaries technique, we obtained homogeneous and defects-free patterned gel and crystalline phosphor films with different stripe widths (5, 10, 20 and 50 μm). Significant shrinkage (50%) was observed in the patterned films during the heat treatment process. The doped rare earth ions (A) showed their characteristic emission in crystalline Gd₂O₃ phosphor films due to an efficient energy transfer from Gd₂O₃ host to them. Both the lifetimes and PL intensity of the rare earth ions increased with increasing the annealing temperature from 500 to 900 °C, and the optimum concentrations for Eu³⁺, Dy³⁺, Sm³⁺, Er³⁺ were determined to be 5, 0.25, 1 and 1.5 mol% of Gd³⁺ in Gd₂O₃ films, respectively.     

Gamma-irradiation-induced Ag/SiO2 composite films and their optical absorption properties

Small Ag particles or clusters dispersed mesoporous SiO₂ composite films were prepared by a new method: First the matrix SiO₂ films were prepared by sol-gel process combined with the dip-coating technique, then they were soaked in AgNO₃ solutions followed by irradiation of γ-ray at room temperature and in ambient pressure. The structures of these films were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), and optical absorption spectroscopy. It has been shown that the Ag particles grown within the porous SiO₂ films are very small, and they are isolated and dispersed from each other with very narrow size distributions. With increasing the soaking concentration and an additional annealing, an opposite peakshift effect of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was observed in the optical absorption measurements.     

Influence of iron oxide pigments on the properties of concrete interlocking blocks

Concrete interlocking blocks (CIBs) are utilized in a variety of commercial, municipal, and industrial applications. Superior engineering properties, low maintenance, ease of placement and removal, reuse of original blocks, aesthetic appeal, and immediate availability are the primary reasons for choosing concrete block pavement over other paving surfaces. It is a common practice to pigment building materials, such as mortar, concrete pavers, concrete roof tiles, and prefabricated concrete products; CIBs are colored using iron oxide pigments. This article presents experimental results detailing the properties of CIBs dyed with pigments. The results of these experiments are as follows: Because the particles of iron oxide pigments are finer than those of brown iron oxide, interlocking blocks mixed with the former acquired higher color strength than with the latter. Additional analysis determined a definite relationship between the flexural strength and the absorption ratio of pigment-dyed blocks; the correlation coefficient (R²) of interlocking blocks at 91 days was .90. It is suggested that if iron oxide pigments are to be used to color CIBs, the pigment-to-cement ratio should be below 4%.     

Al、Mo含量对铸造钛合金力学性能的影响

运用正交实验 ,考察了Al、Mo含量对Ti Al Mo 1Zr系铸造钛合金力学性能的影响。试验结果表明 :随Al、Mo含量提高 ,铸造合金的强度增加 ,塑性和冲击韧性降低 ,但Al、Mo的交互作用却使合金塑性提高 ,强度和冲击韧性降低     

Phosphorus‐containing polyaryloxydiphenylsilanes with high flame retardance arising from a phosphorus–silicon synergistic effect

Polyaryloxydiphenylsilanes were prepared from phosphorus‐containing diols and diphenydichlorolsilane through solution polymerization. With a stoichiometric imbalance in feed monomers, the resulting polymers exhibited moderate melting points and good processing properties. The polymers prepared showed initial decomposition temperatures above 340 °C, excellent thermal stability, high char yields at 850 °C and very high limited oxygen index values of 56–59. The polymers' char yields and their (P + Si) contents showed linear relationships. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Wear and Creep Characteristics of a Carbon‐Derived Si3N4/SiC Micro/Nanocomposite

In the presented work some properties of a recently developed Si₃N₄/SiC micro/nanocomposite have been investigated. The material was tested using a pin on disc configuration. Under unlubricated sliding conditions using Si₃N₄ pin at 50 % humidity, the friction coefficient was in the range of 0,6 ‐ 0,7. The reduction of humidity resulted in a lower coefficient of friction, in vacuum the coefficient of friction had a value of about 0,6. The wear resistance in vacuum was significantly lower then that in air. The wear patterns on the Si₃N₄+SiC disc revealed that mechanical fracture was the wear controlling mechanism. Creep tests were realized in four point bending configuration in the temperature interval 1200‐1400 °C at stresses 50,100 and 150 MPa and the minimal creep deformation rate was established for each stress level. The activation energy, established from the minimal creep deformation had a value of about 360 kJ/mol and the stress exponent values were in the range of 0.8‐1.28. From the achieved stress exponents it can be assumed that under the studied load/temperature conditions the diffusion creep was the most probable creep controlling mechanism.