Surface modification of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene. II. Effect on the physicomechanical and tribological properties of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene/poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites

We performed surface modification of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) through chromic acid etching, with the aim of improving the performance of its composites with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers. In this article, we report on the morphology and physicomechanical and tribological properties of modified UHMWPE/PET composites. Composites containing chemically modified UHMWPE had higher impact properties than those based on unmodified UHMWPE because of improved interfacial bonding between the polymer matrix and the fibers and better dispersion of the fibers within the modified UHMWPE matrix. Chemical modification of UHMWPE before the introduction of PET fibers resulted in composites exhibiting improved wear resistance compared to the base material and compared to unmodified UHMWPE/PET composites. On the basis of the morphological studies of worn samples, microploughing and fatigue failure associated with microcracking were identified as the principle wear mechanisms. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

A comparison of descriptive characteristics of male outpatients and inpatients with affective disorders

Recent studies of patients with affective disorders have found that there are biological differences between inpatients and outpatients. Concerned by these findings, we compared individuals admitted to our inpatient and outpatient affective disorders clinical research center who met criteria for major depression. We hypothesized that inpatients would be more severely ill, more suicidal, more functionally impaired, and have more co-morbid disorders and higher ratings of depression and mood state dysfunction. The demographic profiles, lifetime co-morbid Axis I diagnoses, consumption histories, symptom profiles, global assessment of functioning, and severity of current stressors (Axis IV) were compared and contrasted for the two groups. Inpatients had more severe current psychosocial stressors, lower current levels of functioning, increased lifetime co-morbid Axis I diagnoses, and increased rates of psychiatric hospitalizations, however, they did not have higher depression symptom ratings. In conclusion, inpatients and outpatients differed significantly in the severity of their stressors, coping abilities and history of previous hospitalizations, but not in most demographic variables or their current symptoms of depression.     

The Role of Oil Phase in the Stability and Physicochemical Properties of Oil-in-Water Emulsions in the Presence of Gum Tragacanth

Different emulsions based on six types of vegetable oils (sunflower, canola, sesame, olive, coconut, and palm olein) were studied to investigate the role of the oil phase in the stability and physicochemical characteristics of oil-in-water emulsions prepared with gum tragacanth. The results indicated that the stability, rheological parameters, and size distribution of emulsions were dependent on the oil type. Based on the interfacial tension value, the type of oil did not have a significant effect on the gum tragacanth-emulsifying properties. The formulation based on sunflower and coconut oil led to producing more stable emulsion and a sample containing palm olein resulted in an unstable emulsion. Rheological analysis revealed that the sample based on palm olein showed the lowest consistency coefficient (2.10 ± 0.05 Pas ⁿ), elastic modulus (3.90 ± 0.21 Pa), and energy of cohesion (80.87 ± 1.1 J m⁻³). This study revealed that using oils with lower viscosity and higher density led to the higher stability of the emulsion samples.     

Introducing four different branch structures in PET by reactive processing––A rheological investigation

Chain extension/branching by reactive processing is a well-known method to enhance the rheological properties of polymers. In this study, pyromellitic dianhydride, poly(glycolic acid), triglycidyl isocyanurate, and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether were used as chain extender/branching agents to produce branched Polyethylene terephthalate (PETs) with four different molecular structures. According to the linear rheological characterizations, the storage modulus and complex viscosity of modified PET samples enhanced significantly after branching. The shear viscosities of modified PET show a pronounced shear-thinning behavior and a remarkable increase at low frequencies, which can be an indication of the existence of long-chain branches (LCBs) in the molecular structure of polymer and broadening the molecular weight distribution. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis were used to investigate the effect of branching agents on the chemical structure and thermal properties of PET, respectively. DSC results show that higher amounts of LCBs lead to lower melting and crystallization temperatures.     

Sliding wear evaluation of hot isostatically pressed thermal spray ceramet coatings

The principal aim of this study was to compare the sliding wear performance of as-sprayed and Hot Isostatically Pressed (HIPed) thermal spray cermet (WC-12Co) coatings. Results indicate that HIPing technique can be successfully applied to post-treat thermal spray cermet coatings for improved sliding wear performance, not only in terms of coating wear, but also in terms of the total volume loss for test couples. WC-12Co coatings sprayed by a HVOF system were deposited on SUJ-2 bearing steel substrate and then encapsulated and HIPed at 850 °C for one hour. A high frequency reciprocating ball on plate rig was used to measure the sliding wear resistance of these coatings in dry conditions under steel and ceramic contact configurations at two different loads. Results are discussed in terms of coating microstructure, microhardness, fracture toughness and residual stress evaluations. Microstructural investigations indicate fundamental changes in grain morphology, whereas x-ray diffraction revealed beneficial transformations in phase composition of these coatings during the HIPing post treatment. The effects of these microstructural changes on the physical properties and wear resistance are discussed.     

CO2 reforming of methane over Ni/ZnAl2O4 catalysts: Influence of Ce addition on activity and stability

The catalytic performance of Ni supported on Ce-promoted ZnAl₂O₄ was evaluated in methane dry reforming. The effect of different nominal loadings of cerium (3, 5 and 7 wt%) in the activity, product yield and stability was studied. Ce presented a promote effect in catalytic activity, product yield and especially in stability. However the catalytic performance was considerably influenced by the amount of cerium. SEM images presented smaller particles and TPR profiles revealed stronger active phase/support interaction by Ce addition which led to increasing methane conversion and decreasing coke deposition. Although high amount of Ce was not in favor of its promoting effect due to aggregation of CeO₂ on the catalyst surface. Among the catalysts investigated, the optimal catalytic activity and stability was achieved over the sample with 5 wt% of cerium.     

Updating stochastic model coefficients for prediction of arc furnace reactive power

The time varying nature of electric arc furnace (EAF) gives rise to voltage fluctuations which produce the effect known as flicker. The ability of static VAr compensator (SVC) in flicker reduction is limited by delays in thyristor ignition. To improve SVC performance in flicker compensation, EAF reactive power can be predicted for a half-cycle ahead, by using appropriate autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models. This paper uses huge field data collected from ac arc furnaces, and demonstrates that the EAF reactive power models coefficients are different from one data record to another and do not follow any specific law. Therefore, it is necessary to update the model coefficients for prediction purposes. For this purpose, two major adaptation algorithms, the least mean square (LMS) and recursive least square (RLS) are used to determine online the prediction relationship coefficients. By applying the methods to the data records and using some indices such as newly defined indices based on concepts of flicker frequencies and power spectral density, the transient and steady state performances of the methods are studied in EAF reactive power prediction. A simulation example on the application of the predictive models in a SVC control system is presented.     

Surface modification of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene. I. Characterization and sintering studies

We performed surface modification of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) through chromic acid etching with the aim of improving the performance of UHMWPE's composites with poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers. In part I of this study, we evaluated the effects of chemical modification on the surface properties of UHMWPE with X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and contact angle measurements. The thermal properties, rheology, and sintering behavior of the modified UHMWPE were compared to those of the base material. XPS and FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of carboxyl and hydroxyl groups on the surface of the modified powders. The substitution of polar groups into the backbone of the polymer decreased its contact angles with water and hexadecane and increased its surface energy, as evidenced by contact angle measurements. The modified UHMWPE was more crystalline than the base resin and less prone to thermal degradation. Although the rheological properties were virtually identical, the modified powders sintered more readily, presumably due to their higher surface energy, which suggested enhanced processability by compression molding. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

Employing stochastic models for prediction of arc furnace reactive power to improve compensator performance

The time-varying nature of electric arc furnace (EAF) gives rise to voltage fluctuations, which produce the effect known as flicker. the ability of a static var compensator (SVC), a widely used method for flicker reduction, is limited by delays in reactive power measurements and thyristor ignition. to improve the SVC performance in flicker compensation, a technique for the prediction of EAF reactive power for a half cycle ahead is presented. this technique is based on a new procedure for stochastic modelling of EAF reactive power at an SVC bus. this procedure uses huge field data, collected from eight arc furnaces, to determine the most suitable signal among several candidate signals in view of eaf reactive power prediction. in addition, appropriate orders of autoregressive moving average models are found for reactive power time series. for this purpose, various model adequacy checking methods and some other stochastic analysis methods have been applied on data records. the performance of the compensator in the case of employing predicted fundamental reactive power of an EAF is compared with that of the conventional method by using three new indices that have been defined based on concepts of flicker frequencies and the power spectral density.