Characterization of fluorinated polyethylene surfaces

Polyethylene foils, used as greenhouse foils stabilized with various types of sterically hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS), showed an extraordinary prolonged lifetime on exposure to natural or artificial weathering if a gas-phase fluorination under low-pressure conditions was applied. The fluorination was performed using F₂/N₂ mixtures and provided ca. 50 F/100 C (fluorination degree ≈25%). The lifetimes of fluorinated PE foils on exposure to artificial or natural weathering were increased at least by a factor of 2-4 as measured in terms of tensile strength and elongation at break.     

Purpose-grown Wools

An account is given of an investigation of the dimensional changes in eyelet structures made from cotton, Vincel. and Courtelle yarns at three states of relaxation, namely, dry relaxation, wet relaxation, and washing. Observations revealed that the Courtelle structure exhibited a collapse in the configuration of the eyelet stitch when the fabrics were removed from the machine. It is suggested that this collapse could have been due to elastic recovery of the transferred yarn after stitch formation and to the presence of insufficient cohesion forces between the yarns within the structure.

Measurements of eyelet courses/in, (e _c), eyelet wales/in, (e _w), and eyelet density (E) showed that, in both the dry- and the wet-relaxed states, the fabrics exhibited a certain amount of distortion. It was concluded that the incomplete relaxation of the fabrics in these states was largely due to obstructional effects of the transferred loops. The agitation action of the washing treatment brought about a considerable rearrangement in the structure. This was particularly noticeable for the Vincel fabrics, whose geometrical parameters were readily represented by equations similar in form to those of the plain structure. The dimensional changes in length, width, and area due to washing showed an increase in the lengthwise shrinkage with the increase in loop length. Fabric-width shrinkage exhibited considerable change and reached maximum values of 42% and 26% for the cotton and Vincel fabrics, respectively, at greater loop lengths. Changes in area showed a decrease in the percentage shrinkage with the increase in loop length.     

Influence of coal fluidity on coal blend and coke quality

Abstract

The blast furnace coke quality depends on the characteristics of coal blend, precarbonisation techniques adopted such as stamping, vibrocompaction etc., and coking conditions. Of the above, coal blend plays a significant role in the production of quality coke. Furthermore, the quality of the blend depends on the quality of individual coals and their interaction making up the blend. Coal, being a highly heterogeneous material, requires special care for determination of its properties and blending of individual coals for coke making. Coal fluidity is one such important coking property which highly influences the coke quality. The hard coking coals having good fluidity, which yield good coke, however are not only very expensive, but also are limited in reserves. Unlike, other properties, coal loses its fluidity on weathering, i.e. oxidation in presence of air on long storage in the yard, and the fluidity value changes on blending with different coals. To understand the effect of coal fluidity on coal blending and there by the coke quality, studies have been conducted using the industrial scale coals and coal blends. An empirical relation has been developed between actual blend fluidity and calculated fluidity using logarithmic weighted average from fluidity of individual coals. Blending of non-coking coals above 20% with the hard coking coals used in this research decreases the blend fluidity and impairs the coke quality. It was seen that the coals lose their fluidity on weathering, and the value becomes less than half after a two months of storage at site. Weathering appears to be more rapid in case of semisoft than hard coking coals. The present paper discusses the influence of coal fluidity on coal blend fluidity and changes on weathering.     

The Effect of Accelerated Weathering on the Mechanical Properties of Alkali Treated Hemp Fibre/Epoxy Composites

In this study, 65 wt% aligned untreated long hemp fibre/epoxy (AUL) and aligned alkali treated long hemp fibre/epoxy (AAL) composites cured at 70°C using compression moulding were subjected to accelerated weathering using an accelerated weathering chamber with UV-irradiation and water spray at 50°C for four different time periods (250, 500, 750 and 1000 h). After accelerated weathering, tensile strength (TS), flexural strength, Young's modulus (YM), flexural modulus and fracture toughness (K _Ic) were found to decrease and impact energy (IE) was found to increase for both AUL and AAL composites. AUL composite had greater overall reduction in mechanical properties than that for AAL composite upon exposure to accelerated weathering environment. FTIR, TGA and WAXRD analyses of the accelerated weathered composites support the results of the deterioration of mechanical properties upon exposure to accelerated weathering environment.     

Effects of Outdoor Exposures and Boron Compounds on Bonding Strength of Desmodur-VTKA Adhesive

This study was carried out to determine the shear strength of an adhesive on weathered wood, impregnated with a boron compound, using a long term dipping method. The shear strength of D-VTKA adhesive on two types of wood species each containing one of two types of the impregnated material, under different weathering conditions, was measured. The results showed that the highest shear strength (11.01 N/mm²) was obtained with the control samples of untreated, oriental beech wood, and the lowest was obtained for Scots pine impregnated with boric acid after two seasons of exposure (six months). Weather conditions affected the shear strength in a negative way. Finally the results showed that if the boron compounds were supported with non-leaching chemicals, they could be recommended as fire-retardant additives and would extend the life of wood bonded with D-VTKA adhesive.     

Serrated yielding in 9Cr–1Mo ferritic steel

Abstract

Tensile tests were performed on specimens in quenched and tempered and thermally aged conditions over a wide temperature range (300–873 K) to assess the occurrence of serrated flow, a manifestation of dynamic strain aging (DSA), in 9Cr–1Mo ferritic steel, with an emphasis on the influence of prior thermal aging on serrated yielding. The alloy exhibited jerky/serrated flow in the load–elongation curves at intermediate temperatures. Types A, B, and C serrations were observed, depending on the test temperature and applied strain rate. The apparent activation energy of 83 kJ mol^-1 measured for serrated flow suggests that diffusion of an interstitial solute such as carbon is responsible for dynamic strain aging in 9Cr–1Mo steel. Prior thermal aging at 793 K for 5000 h and at 873 K for 1000 and 5000 h resulted in a significant decrease in the height of serrations, i.e. the magnitude of the stress drop, as well as an increase in the critical strain for the onset of serrations. Both of these observations indicate reduced propensity to DSA as a result of increased precipitate sinks as well as a reduced carbon concentration in solid solution owing to an increased density of carbides in the thermally aged conditions. Reduced propensity to DSA resulted in a significant reduction in the strength values at intermediate temperatures.