Melt‐spinning process of a tetrafluoroethylene– hexafluoropropylene copolymer

An industrial melt‐spinning process of tetrafluoroethylene– hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP) using an extruder was studied. The novel “spinneret,” having both a large‐diameter spinning nozzle and a high‐temperature vessel, was used to solve the problem of filament breakage on the spinning line caused by high melting viscosity of FEP. The extruder, with its long feed zone, was newly designed to function with a geared pump. The strength of fibers increased with drawing of as‐spun fiber. FEP fibers up to six denier were continuously produced through long‐run production. According to this new process, FEP fibers can be supplied for textile or industrial application. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2366–2371, 2002     

Preparation and morphology of electrically conductive and transparent poly(vinylchloride)-polypyrrole composite films

Summary The chemical process of preparing poly(vinylchloride)-polypyrrole composite films with high electrical conductivity and transparency has been studied. Pyrrole has been diffused into the poly(vinylchloride) matrix in the swelling medium of n-hexane and acetone mixture. The oxidative polymerization of the diffused pyrrole in the binary solvent system of acetonitrile and methanol gives high conductivity of the polypyrrole as well as the good penetration of the oxidant into the PVC polymer matrix. The analytical testing of the composite film shows the formation of homogeneous mixture of polypyrrole and poly(vinylchloride) conductive layer within the 1.0m of thickness on the film surface. The transparency of the composite film showed about 50–60% at 500 nm. The electrical conductivity of the composite was about 20 s/cm.     

SCARA型机械手的鲁棒防振控制

对ＳＣＡＲＡ型机械手的防振控制进行研究，提出了两自由度鲁棒控制法，应用μ控制理论设计鲁棒反馈控制器，保证了系统的鲁棒稳定性及鲁棒性能指标；基于模型匹配法设计前馈控制器，组成两自由度控制系统，进一步改善了闭环系统的跟踪特性。仿真研究表明，与传统的ＰＤ控制相比，该控制系统能对机械手前端的残留振支进行有效的抑制，取得较好的轨迹跟踪特性。     

Hydrolysis of nonionic ester surfactants facilitated by potassium β-glycyrrhizinate: Implication of catalytic functions played by the carboxyl groups

Two different types of methyl esters of β-glycyrrhizinate (GK2) have been prepared to delineate the mechanism of the catalytic action of each carboxyl group of GK2 in the hydrolysis of nonionic fatty acid surfactants. In the acidic pH region of less than 4, the hydrolysis is catalyzed by the carboxyl groups of the sugar moiety, while in the close-to-neutral acidic region, the carboxyl group at the hydrophobic triterpenoid end becomes important in catalysis.     

Mixed powder coating film using thermoplastic polyester and its alkaline resistance

To improve alkaline resistance, a newly mixed powder coating film using thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was investigated. Two kinds of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and two kinds of polyamide (PA) were chosen as the secondary polymer. The melting temperatures (T _ms) of these materials were lower than that of primary PET polymer so the mixed powder coating was able to form a dual phase film through a fluidized bed coating process. Microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) observations revealed that the dual phase structure was indeed successfully formed and there was a secondary layer over the entire surface area of the film. This mixed powder coating film significantly enhanced the alkaline resistance to an environment filled with NaOH solution at 40°C in which a secondary material would be effective in protecting the film. With regard to both alkaline resistance and film formability, PET/PVB was superior to the PET/PA mixture.     

Space–time SUPG finite element computation of shallow-water flows with moving shorelines

We show that combination of the Deforming-Spatial-Domain/Stabilized Space–Time and the Streamline-Upwind/Petrov–Galerkin formulations can be used quite effectively for computation of shallow-water flows with moving shorelines. The combined formulation is supplemented with a stabilization parameter that was originally introduced for compressible flows, a compressible-flow shock-capturing parameter adapted for shallow-water flows, and remeshing based on using a background mesh. We present a number of test computations and provide comparisons to theoretical results, experimental data and results computed with nonmoving meshes.     

Two-dimensionally quantized friction observed with two-dimensional frictional force microscope

Using a two-dimensional frictional force microscope, we studied the two-dimensional nature of the atomic scale friction between a Si₃N₄ sharp tip and a cleaved graphite surface, which is composed of only C atoms and is a good conductor. As a result, we observed the two-dimensionally quantized friction with the lattice periodicity of the graphite surface, similarly to mica, MoS₂ and NaF surfaces. Thus quantized friction occurs at material surfaces which are composed of not only some elements but also of a single element, and the quantized friction does not depend on the conductivity of the surface.     

Polymerization of trithiane

The catalytic solid-state polymerization of trithane to polythiomethylene has been studied. The polymerization can be initiated by wide varieties of substances such as metal salts, halogen, and active organic halides. The polymerization proceeds in solid-state without topochemical process. The catalytic irreversible degradation of polythiomethylene to dimethyl sulfide and carbon disulfide has been observed.     

Distribution of volatile components of grass silage

Volatile components in the steam distillates from high and low moisture cocksfoot grass silages were determined using a mass spectrometer equipped with a g.l.c. employing f.i.d. A number of volatiles appeared in the silage distillates and the gas chromatograms of both silages showed similar patterns, but the number of peaks of the volatile components for the low moisture silage was greater than that of the high moisture silage. On the other hand, a small number of volatiles were found in the fresh grass distillate and the particular volatiles differed greatly from those found in silages. The silage distillates were separated into a number of fractions, the neutral fraction appeared to be the major fraction, and there was little difference between the total yields of volatile components in both silages. Among the volatiles, i-pentanol and 4-ethyl guaiacol were the major components in both silages, but cis-3-hexenal, p-cymene, δ-cadinene and ethyl oleate were found only in the low moisture silage.     

Ionic graft copolymerization. V. Graft copolymerization of β-propiolactone onto the trunk polymers containing carboxylic acid,sulfonic acid,and other salts

β-Propiolactone (βPL) was graft-copolymerized onto styrene–divinylbenzene copolymers containing various carboxylates or sulfonates, composed of anions and cations having different electronegativities. In parallel, the mechanism of polymerizations of βPL by relatively neutral catalysts was studied in comparison with the behaviors of graft copolymerizations. In the graft copolymerization onto the trunk polymer containing various carboxylates, a lower electronegativity of countercation favors a higher anionic polymerization activity and the order of rate of polymerization coincides with that of anionic activities of catalysts. On the other hand, in the case of trunk polymer containing sulfonates, a higher electronegativity of countercation favors a cationic polymerization activity, and the order of rate of polymerization coincides with that of cationic activity of catalyst. The order of grafting efficiency at fixed total conversion coincides almost with that of anionic activity. The comparatively higher grafting efficiency in the grafting onto trunk polymer containing carboxylic acid might support an anionic graft copolymerization mechanism by carboxyl anion. The two following mechanisms were proposed for the initiation of the polymerization by the trunk polymer containing sodium sulfonate, in which acrylic acid is transformed from βPL.