Druckstandfestigkeit und Betriebseigenschaften von Doppelwellendichtungen

The strength and operating properties of wave‐ring gaskets are analyzed. A cylindrical shell of constant mean thickness is introduced to simulate the gasket. It is assumed that the shell is simply supported at the inner surface of the seat. The influence of certain geometric, material and assembly parameters on the strength and leak‐tightness of the closure is investigated. The results are illustrated by a numerical example. For the assumed material of the gasket and several fixed data the other parameters of the closure are examined. The region of admissible solutions for the gasket parameters such as dimensions, applied assembly clearance and pressure is determined.     

Bend Strength versus Tensile Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Ceramics

The bending strength of fiber-reinforced glasses and ceramics is often observed to be higher than their tensile strength; the difference varies, however, from one material to another. To gain an understanding of the relationship between these two measure of strength, we have carried out an analysis of bending which accounts for the deviations from linearity that occur on the tensile side of the beam. The results of this analysis indicate that the strength ratio (bending strength/tensile strength) depends most sensitively on the rate at which the stress drops after the ultimate tensile strength. In particular, composites failing gracefully (with a gradual decay in stress) tend to have comparatively higher strengths in bending. A method of inferring the: tensile strength from simply the load-deflection curve in bending is proposed. In addition, by accounting for the weakness in interlaminar shear, we can predict the variation in bend strength with beam aspect ratio. The various theories are compared with experimental data.     

Sintering of Zirconia Nanopowder by Microwave-Laser Hybrid Process

A new hybrid sintering process has been developed by replacing all but one laser by microwaves in the existing simultaneous multiple laser process (SIMPLE). Microwave energy has been used to preheat the material before laser radiation, and the synergism between microwave and laser energies could effectively heat the material to temperatures of 1700°C and beyond in just a few minutes. Using this process, rapid sintering of 3Y–ZrO₂ (3Y–TZP) pellets has been achieved in a few minutes. Microstructural investigations reveal that the microwave–laser hybrid sintered pellets of 3Y–ZrO₂ have nanograins averaging about 20 nm. The microwave–laser hybrid sintering process can clearly be a new approach for fabrication of nanoceramics and nanocomposites.     

Impact of recycling improvement on the life cycle of phosphorus

Access to natural resources is increasingly more difficult and more costly, partly due to their economic significance and to continuous increase of their global consumption in the recent years. In the case of phosphorus (P), which is a critical raw material, geological distribution of its primary nonrenewable source (phosphate rock) is concentrated in particular regions leading to high supply risk of this raw material. In Europe (EU-28), where phosphate rock reserves are scarce, import of phosphorus has been the main source of supply. It means that Europe relies highly on the foreign exporters. From decision makers' perspective, recycling of phosphorus was taken into account as one of the possible solutions to decrease the dependence on imports and extraction of reserves. The question, however, is to what extent does the recycling of phosphorus help in reducing the reliance on typical supply resources? Hence, the main objective of this paper is to quantify the dynamic flow of phosphorus and show potential benefits of its recycling in Europe. This article presents a system dynamics model for representation of the element P flow and helps to quantify to what extent the recycled phosphorus could mitigate its criticality. Analysis of the results supports previous studies indicating the high reliance of EU on P imports, estimating around 96% as the reliance percentage on imports. The results imply that improving P recycling has the potential to decrease the level of P imports to a certain extent, which may reach 79%.     

Design of reactive distillation processes for the production of butyl acrylate:Impact of bio-based raw materials☆

The chemical industry is nowadays predominantly using fossil raw materials, but the alternative use of bio-based resources is investigated to account for the foreseeable scarcity of fossil feedstocks. A main challenge of using bio-based feedstocks is the complexity of the impurity profile. For an economic production of bio-based chemicals, the use of intensified processes is inevitable and approaches are needed for the various process intensification techniques to identify their applicability to be used for the production of bio-based components. In the presented study, an approach is shown for the reactive distil ation (RD) technology to identify the most critical bio-based impurities and their impact on the reactive distillation process. The investigated case-study is the production of n-butyl acrylate from acrylic acid and n-butanol. Among al initially identified impurities, the key impurities, having the biggest impact on the product purity in the reactive distil ation process, are found. These impurities are then studied in more detail and an operating window depending on the impurity concentration is identified for the reactive distil ation column. Furthermore, an integrated design of upstream and downstream processes is facilitated, as the presented results can be used in the development of the fermentation processes for the produc-tion of the bio-based reactants by decreasing the concentration of the critical impurities.     

Hydrothermal Precipitation of Lead Zirconate Titanate Solid Solutions: Thermodynamic Modeling and Experimental Synthesis

A previously developed thermodynamic model of hydro-thermal synthesis of ceramic powders has been extended to include cases when solid solutions are formed. The model has been applied to the synthesis of a series of lead titanate zirconate solid solutions PbZr _x Ti_{1– x} O₃ (PZT, 0.46 < x ≤ 0.75). It predicts the optimum conditions (i.e., reagent, concentration, pH, and temperature) for the precipitation of phase-pure homogeneous PZT, provided that the reactants are well mixed. The predictions have been experimentally corroborated using coprecipitated hydrous oxide Zr _x Ti_{1– x} C₂ n H₂O (0.46 < x ≤ 0.75), as a precursor for Ti and Zr and water-soluble lead acetate or nitrate salts as a source for Pb. When mixtures of hydrous oxides ZrO₂· n H₂O and TiO₂· n H₂O were employed as Ti and Zr precursors, independent PbTiO₃ and PbZrO₃ precipitates rather than the PZT solid solutions formed. These results can be rationalized on the basis of reaction kinetics where thermodynamic modeling includes or excludes the possibility of solid-solution formation.