Longitudinal permeability determination of dual-scale fibrous materials

In this work, the longitudinal permeability of squarely packed dual-scale fiber preforms is studied theoretically. These fiber preforms are composed of aligned porous tows and the tows are tightly packed. The effective permeability is calculated as a parallel-like network of intra-tow permeability and inter-tow permeability, which are quantified by Darcy’s law and the inscribed radius between tows, respectively. The jump velocity at the interface between inter-tow fluids and porous tows is considered, as derived by substituting Beavers and Joseph’s correlation into Brinkman’s equation. We further examine the effects of intra-tow permeability on the effective permeability of the fibrous system with three interface conditions: (1) interface velocity = 0, (2) interface velocity = mean intra-tow velocity, and (3) interface velocity = jump velocity. The jump-velocity-based model is found to be closest to numerical data. The influence of the fiber volume fraction of tows on the effective permeability is also analyzed.     

Electrospinning of hydroxyapatite fibrous mats

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with an average molecular weight between 40,500 and 155,000 g/mol was electrospun with a calcium phosphate based sol. The sol was prepared by reacting triethyl phosphite and calcium nitrate and was directly added to an aqueous solution of PVA. This mixture was electrospun at a voltage of 20 kV. The results indicate that the sol was distributed uniformly in the PVA fibers, whose diameter was on the order of 2 μm. This electrospun structure was calcined at 600 °C for 6 h to obtain a residual inorganic, fibrous network, with fiber diameters between 200 and 800 nm. The fibrous structure consists predominantly of hydroxyapatite with an average crystal size of almost 10 to 30 nm. A variety of structures including non-woven mats of solid or micro-porous hydroxyapatite fibers and highly porous scaffolds could be obtained by varying the polymer molecular weight and the sol volume fraction. These structures can have many potential uses in the repair and treatment of bone defects, drug delivery and tissue engineering.     

Experimental and Analytical Behavior of Carbon Fiber-Based Rods as Flexural Reinforcement

This paper presents the results of an experimental and analytical comparison of a study on the flexural behavior of concrete beams reinforced with sandblasted carbon fiber-based composite rods. Twelve beams, including three control beams reinforced with steel, were tested for strength, deformation, and failure characteristics. Analytical comparisons included the generation of the theoretical strength and moment curvature relations. Experimental data from pullout tests indicated that bonding of sandblasted rods is not a major concern. However, excessive deformation in achieving the predicted moment capacity could be a limiting factor in the design of these beams.     

Synthesis and properties of star-like wholly aromatic polyester fibers

Novel star-like wholly aromatic copolyesters having four arms based on a tetraamine star core, p- and m- hydroxybenzoic acids and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid have been successfully synthesized and spun into fibers for the investigation of the effect of the star-like structure on improving compressive properties of the fiber. The reactivity of the star core was demonstrated using a model compound with FTIR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The ¹³C NMR spectrum of the star-like terpolymer having a molar ratio of 10:1 of the monomers to star core showed a characteristic peak at around δ62 ppm which corresponds to a tetra-substituted carbon and thereby demonstrates that the star core was really incorporated into the polymer. The star-like copolyester exhibited a clear stir opalescence and liquid crystalline morphology in the temperature range of 150-280 °C. However, no transition was observed in the DSC thermogram except a clear T_g at 110 °C. The star-like terpolymer fiber, prepared from a polymer with a molar ratio of 500:1 for the monomers to imide core, was spun in the liquid crystalline state at 180 °C. Fiber structure and properties have been studied.     

Electrostatic polymer processing of isotactic poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) fibrous membrane

Isotactic poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (P4M1P) is a widely used polymer in industrial applications and specifically, in medical products. Producing micro- or nanofibers would expand the usefulness of P4M1P to a broad range of medical applications. The choice and quality of solvent for the solution used for electrospinning can have a dramatic effect on the spinnability of fibers and on their morphological appearance. In this study, four solvent systems: cyclohexane, cyclohexane/acetone mixture, cyclohexane/dimethyl formamide (DMF) mixture and cyclohexane/acetone/DMF mixture have been investigated. As demonstrated by FE-SEM, electrospun fibers with different morphologies including round, twisted with a roughened texture, curled and twisted-ribbon shapes were formed. The fiber shape and morphology depended strongly on the type and amount of non-solvent used.     

Nonlinear Stress-Strain Relationship of Soil Reinforced with Flexible Geofibers

A nonlinear stress-strain relationship of soil reinforced with flexible geofibers under static loading is derived based on a nonlinear elastic stress-strain relationship of soil and a linear elastic stress-strain relationship of geofibers in the paper. This investigation includes the following aspects: First, the homogenization technique is introduced to find the volume average stress tensor and volume average strain tensor and further an elastic incremental stress-strain relation is introduced to describe deviatoric shear stress-axial strain relationship of equivalent homogeneous geofiber-reinforced soil. Second, the relation of geofiber numbers, content, mechanical behavior, distribution, and geometrical features to shear modulus of geofiber-reinforced soil is expressed and assessed by employing an elastic energy method. Third, the deviatoric shear stress and axial strain curves of geofiber-reinforced soil are calibrated by laboratory testing data of geofiber reinforced soil samples. Finally, the theoretical computational curves of geofiber reinforced soil are compared with the curves calibrated by testing data of geofiber reinforced soil. The model prediction has a good agreement with experimental results.     

Characterization of the thermal properties of PLA fibers by modulated differential scanning calorimetry

Polylactide (PLA) has been melt spun to produce multifilament continuous yarns. The thermal characteristics of PLA filaments have been investigated using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC). With MDSC, it is possible to separate the different thermal events and to analyze them more precisely. The influence of hot drawing on thermal properties of PLA filaments has been studied. Hot drawing promotes an increase of glass transition temperature (T_g) and a decrease of heat capacity. The cold crystallization spreads on a larger range of temperature and the peak occurs at a lower temperature. The initial degrees of cristallinity of PLA filaments have been calculated thanks to the reversing and non reversing curves of MDSC. Tensile properties of PLA filaments are also investigated.     

Al2O3/ZrO2快速凝固复合陶瓷显微结构与力学行为

通过在铝热剂中引入适量的ZrO2粉末,基于铝热氧化-还原反应、重力下陶瓷/金属液相分离,以大过冷条件下熔体共晶生长方式,制备出以ZrO2正方相纳微米纤维镶嵌于其上且长径比为8.0～12.0的蓝宝石棒晶及少量α- Al2O3片晶为基体的Al2O3/ZrO2自生复合陶瓷.通过材料力学性能测试与裂纹扩展路径观察,研究复合陶瓷显微结构与其力学行为之间的关系.结果表明,复合陶瓷的弯曲强度与断裂韧度分别达到1 256 MPa与13.2 MPa·m1/2;分布于蓝宝石棒晶上大量的面间距为纳微米尺度的Al2O3/ZrO2两相低能界面及残余压应力,使蓝宝石棒晶与陶瓷基体得以强化,迫使裂纹沿蓝宝石棒晶边界偏转;同时,因处于裂纹尖端尾部的蓝宝石棒晶桥接与拔出、α- Al2O3片晶桥接与摩擦互锁等效应,又使裂纹扩展呈现出强烈的稳定化倾向.