Observation of large diamagnetism in La-Sr-Nb-O films up to room temperature

Large diamagnetic transitions along with sharp resistive transitions were observed in the La-Sr-Nb-O system near room temperature (290 K). The amplitude of the diamagnetism reaches 35% of that of a pure Nb sheet. In addition, a behavior similar to weak magnetic spin ordering was observed for some samples at a temperature of about 290 K, over a temperature range of 30 K. The diamagnetism reappears above this temperature and continues up toT 320 K. It is not clear what composition ratio of La-Sr-Nb-O is responsible for this large diamagnetism and the high critical temperature. The yield probability of these samples is around 50%. The characteristics of the samples having not passed through many thermal cycles remain stable for about 1 month.     

Physico-Mechanical Properties of Nano Silica-Filled Epoxy-Based Mono and Hybrid Composites for Structural Applications

Silicon - This research article describes the results of nano-silica (nSiO2) filled epoxy (Ep) mono composites with different contents (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 3, and 5 wt.%) and carbon...     

Mechanical and tribological properties of glass–epoxy composites with and without graphite particulate filler

The objectives of this research article is to evaluate the mechanical and tribological properties of glass‐fiber‐reinforced epoxy (G–E) composites with and without graphite particulate filler. The laminates were fabricated by a dry hand layup technique. The mechanical properties, including tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, and surface hardness, were investigated in accordance with ASTM standards. From the experimental investigation, we found that the tensile strength and dimensional stability of the G–E composite increased with increasing graphite content. The effect of filler content (0–7.5 wt %) and sliding distance on the friction and wear behavior of the graphite‐filled G–E composite systems were studied. Also, conventional weighing, determination of the coefficient of friction, and examination of the worn surface morphological features by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were done. A marginal increase in the coefficient of friction with sliding distance for the unfilled composites was noticed, but a slight reduction was noticed for the graphite‐filled composites. The 7.5% graphite‐filled G–E composite showed a lower friction coefficient for the sliding distances used. The wear loss of the composites decreased with increasing weight fraction of graphite filler and increased with increasing sliding distance. Failure mechanisms of the worn surfaces of the filled composites were established with SEM. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2472–2480, 2007     

Wear characteristics of hybrid aluminium matrix composites reinforced with graphite and silicon carbide particulates

This investigation studies the dry sliding wear behaviour of Al matrix composites reinforced with Gr and SiC particulate up to 10%, to study the effect of % reinforcement, load, sliding speed and sliding distance on stir cast Al–SiC–Gr hybrid composites, Al–Gr and Al–SiC composites. Parametric studies indicate that the wear of hybrid composites has a tendency to increase beyond% reinforcement of 7.5% as its values are 0.0242 g, 0.0228 g and 0.0234 g respectively at 3%, 7.5% and 10% reinforcement. The corresponding values are 0.0254 g, 0.0240 g and 0.0242 g in Al–Gr composites and 0.0307 g, 0.0254 g and 0.0221 g in Al–SiC composites, clearly indicating that hybrid composites exhibit better wear characteristics. Increase of speed reduces wear and increase of either load or sliding distance or both increases wear. Statistical analysis has revealed interactions among load, sliding speed and sliding distance in composites with Gr particulates.     

Mechanical and three-body abrasive wear behaviour of PMMA/TPU blends

The blends of poly(methyl methacrlate) (PMMA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) were prepared by a Brabender co-twin screw extruder. The mechanical and three-body abrasive wear behaviour of PMMA/TPU blends has been studied. Three-body abrasive wear tests were conducted using rubber wheel abrasion tester (RWAT) under different abrading distances at 200 rpm and 22 N load. A significant reduction in tensile strength and tensile modulus with an increase in TPU content in the blend formulation was observed. Three-body abrasive wear results indicate that the wear volume increases with increase in abrading distance for all the samples studied. However, neat PMMA showed better wear resistance as compared to PMMA/TPU blends. The worn surface features, as examined through scanning electron microscope (SEM), show matrix cracking and deep furrows in PMMA/TPU blends.     

Addition of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide to improve the thermal stability of regenerated cellulose

This article reports the influence of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (BMITFSI) addition on the thermal and mechanical properties of regenerated cellulose. Scanning electron microscopy, Young's modulus values, thermogravimetric analysis, glass‐transition temperature values, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy were used to assess the effect of BMITFSI addition on the properties of regenerated cellulose. The addition of a room‐temperature ionic liquid, BMITFSI, during the dissolution of cellulose was found to enhance the thermal stability of regenerated cellulose. Compared to other reported plasticizers for regenerated cellulose, such as glycerol, glycols, water, mineral oil, and α‐monoglycerides, the low vapor pressure of BMITFSI led to a long performance with the least evaporation or leaching. In addition, the immiscible nature of BMITFSI in water and its stability against moisture made BMITFSI an effective plasticizer for regenerated cellulose over a broad range of surrounding humidities and temperature conditions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Three-body abrasive wear behaviour of particulate-filled glass–vinyl ester composites

The incorporation of silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite fillers on three-body abrasive wear behaviour of glass–vinyl ester (G–V) composites has been investigated. Dry sand/rubber wheel abrasion tests (RWAT) were carried out at 200 rpm test speed. The tests were carried out at 22 and 32 N loads by varying the abrading distance from 270 to 1080 m in steps of 270 m. The worn surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The wear volume and specific wear rate of G–V composite reduces significantly on the addition of SiC filler. Graphite filler, however, performed poorly resulting deterioration in wear performance of SiC-filled G–V composite. The SEM studies indicate the reasons for failure of composites and influencing parameters.     

Possibility of superconductivity with highT c in La-Sr-Nb-O system

We prepared La-Sr-Nb-O system samples both in bulk form and as a film, with sharp resistive transitions at temperatures of 228–323 K, depending on the annealing conditions. The sharp resistive transitions might be attributable to superconductivity. Magnetic ordering was observed over a narrow temperature range around 40 K for some of the samples.     

Dry sliding wear behaviour of organo-modified montmorillonite filled epoxy nanocomposites using Taguchi’s techniques

The aim of the research article is to study the dry sliding wear behaviour of epoxy with different wt.% of organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) filled nanocomposites. An orthogonal array (L₉) was used to investigate the influence of tribological parameters. The results indicate that the sliding distance emerges as the most significant factor affecting wear rate of epoxy nanocomposites. Experimental results showed that the inclusion of 5 wt.% OMMT nanofiller increased the wear resistance of the epoxy nanocomposite significantly. Furthermore, the worn surfaces of the samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the wear mechanisms and to correlate them with the wear test results.     

Low-Temperature Processing of ZrB2-ZrC Composites by Reactive Hot Pressing

Dense ZrB₂-ZrC and ZrB₂-ZrC _x∼0.67 composites have been produced by reactive hot pressing (RHP) of stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric mixtures of Zr and B₄C powders at 40 MPa and temperatures up to 1600 °C for 30 minutes. The role of Ni addition on reaction kinetics and densification of the composites has been studied. Composites of ∼97 pct relative density (RD) have been produced with the stoichiometric mixture at 1600 °C, while the composite with ∼99 pct RD has been obtained with excess Zr at 1200 °C, suggesting the formation of carbon deficient ZrC _x that significantly aids densification by plastic flow and vacancy diffusion mechanism. Stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric composites have a hardness of ∼20 GPa. The grain sizes of ZrB₂ and ZrC _x∼0.67 are ∼0.6 and 0.4 μm, respectively, which are finer than those reported in the literature. This article is based on a presentation given in the symposium entitled “Materials Behavior: Far from Equilibrium” as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, which occurred during December 15–16, 2006 in Mumbai, India.