Measuring interdiffusion at an interface between two elastomers with tapping-mode and contact-resonance atomic force microscopy imaging

Despite the common use of tapping-mode atomic force microscopy to image composites or polymer blends, very few studies have focused on the measurement of the interdiffusion at an interface between two polymers in contact. In this study, we show how to assess the interphase between two polymers with two methods. First, stable and robust tapping conditions are established, and the problem of the phase contrast is discussed. Second, a contact-resonance method is presented: the tip in contact with the sample is electrostatically excited at its resonance frequency by a self-controlled oscillator. The gain and frequency images allow us to measure the interdiffusion width. Both methods (using high and weak mechanical solicitation) give the same assessment of the interdiffusion width. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Atomic force microscopic analysis of hydrogen peroxide bleached kraft northern black spruce fibres

Hydrogen peroxide is a potent, relatively inexpensive oxidant that chemically degrades chromophoric components in pulps and textiles. Oxidation of cellulose is a byproduct of this process step that decreases the tensile strength of individual fibres. The residence time of pulp in the bleaching reactor must be optimized to achieve the desired brightness and minimizing fibre degradation. To evaluate the impact of peroxide bleaching at the microfibrillar level, a single black spruce tree was chosen and kraft pulped. Peroxide bleaching was conducted via benchtop polyethylene bag bleaching in a temperature-controlled waterbath. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographical images acquired before and after the bleaching step show dramatic changes in fibre structure consistent with delignification and defects in the surface topography. This was further verified by X-ray work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY, U.S.A.     

Net shape formation of sub-micron alumina with reduced flaws by high-speed centrifugal compaction process

A new compacting method for powder materials is presented. High-Speed Centrifugal Compaction Process (HCP) utilizes centrifugal force of about 10,000 g for the compaction. HCP is suitable for net shape compaction of fine sub-micron and nano-powders. HCP possesses a unique compacting mechanism that is different from other colloidal processes including Pressure Casting (PC), and has a number of useful characteristics. HCP has a higher compacting speed than PC, wide applicability for net shape formation, as well as a defect removing function. Because of homogeneous and flawless green microstructure, HCP alumina shows superior sinterability and higher strength and hardness than most of other aluminas. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium “The 3rd KIM-JIM Joint Symposium on Advanced Powder Materials“, held at Korea University, Seoul, Korea, October 26–27, 2001 under auspices of The Korean Institute of Metals and Materials and The Japan Institute of Metals.     

提高钻杆接头冲击功的工艺方法

针对石油钻井关键产品高强度钻杆接头的使用要求,在保证强度指标要求非常高的前提下,研究摸索增加高温正火后再调质的工艺方法,以改善接头材料原始微观带状组织和纤维结构,细化晶粒,提高钻杆接头的冲击功,使该产品力学性能达到API标准的要求。     

锻压机械打击力测量误差的加速度补偿

提出了锻压机械打击力测量中存在的问题，介绍了常用的补偿法，并通过实验验证了加速度补偿法是消除锻压机械打击力测量误差的有效途径。     

OPTIMIZATION OF PRESSURE SWING ADSORPTION EQUIPMENT PART II OPTIMIZATION OF TWO BED OXYGEN GENERATORS

Local equilibrium model described in Part I is used to stimulate both, the steady state operation conditions and transient regime after the start of PSA equipment. The effect of axial dispersion, adsorption isotherm nonlinearity and high pressure level is simulated. On the basis of numerical analysis, the operation of a classical two-bed oxygen generator is compared with two configurations having pressure equalizing step. The optimization strategy of the given PSA equipment has been proposed and the procedure is demonstrated on an example. The scaling-up condition for PSA equipments which can be described by local equilibrium model has been proposed on the basis of the theoretical analysis.     

Present it like it is here: Creating local presence to improve online product experiences

Advanced online product presentation technologies such as virtual mirrors enable consumers to experience products like they are actually present with them in the real world. This study is one of the first to address the mechanism underlying this phenomenon. Inspired by literature on media technology the concept of local presence is put forward and applied to the online consumer behavior domain. A key objective of this paper is to examine whether local presence adds to our understanding of how emerging product presentation formats influence online product experiences. To this end, a laboratory experiment (N = 366) was conducted with product presentation format as a three level (pictures, 360-spin rotation, and virtual mirror) independent variable, allowing for a comparison of the effectiveness of different presentation formats in creating perceptions of local presence. As a second objective, the influence of local presence on perceptions of product tangibility and product likability, two key facets of the online product experience, were assessed. The results, obtained with the use of analysis of variance and partial least squares modeling, show the superiority of the virtual mirror in creating local presence, and demonstrate that local presence is highly predictive of product tangibility and product likability. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Surface morphology and nodule formation mechanism of cellulose acetate membranes by atomic force microscopy

By the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM), formation mechanism of nodular structure in cellulose acetate membranes was systematically investigated. Elementary factors affecting the nodule formation were delineated on the basis of both kinetic and thermodynamic considerations. It was shown that (1) the exact nature of nodular structure is thermodynamic equilibrium glassy state; nodular structure will vanish in the rubbery state; (2) the thermodynamic factor affecting nodule formation is the membrane formation temperature; with the membrane formation temperature decreasing, more chain segments are able to form nodular structures; (3) nodule formation is dependent on the segment rearrangement; variation of the solvent environment is the major kinetic factor affecting the segment rearrangement and nodule formation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1328–1335, 2003     

Face recognition with Symmetric Local Graph Structure (SLGS)

Face recognition demonstrates the significant progress in the research field of biometric and computer vision. The fact is due to the current systems perform well under relatively control environments but tend to suffer when the present of variation in pose, illumination, and facial expression. In this work, a novel approach for face recognition called Symmetric Local Graph Structure (SLGS) is presented based on the Local Graph Structure (LGS). Each pixel is represented with a graph structure of its neighbours’ pixels. The histograms of the SLGS were used for recognition by using the nearest neighbour classifiers that include Euclidean distance, correlation coefficient and chi-square distance measures. AT&T and Yale face databases were used to be experimented with the proposed method. Extensive experiments on the face database clearly showed the superiority of the proposed approach over Local Binary Pattern (LBP) and LGS. The proposed SLGS is robust to variation in term of facial expressions, facial details, and illumination. Due to good performance of SLGS, it is expected that SLGS has a potential for application implementation in computer vision.     

浅析SRT-Ⅳ裂解炉炉管弯曲及断裂原因

主要分析计算了裂解炉炉管受力情况，进而得出结论：裂解炉自身结构的相互约束力和炉管渗碳是导致炉管弯曲、断裂的主要原因，并提出了相应的解决措施。