Enhanced adhesion of silica for epoxy molding compounds (EMCs) by plasma polymer coatings

Silica for epoxy molding compounds (EMCs) was coated via plasma polymerization using an RF plasma (13.56 MHz) as a function of the plasma power, gas pressure, and treatment time. The monomers utilized for the plasma polymer coatings were 1,3-diaminopropane, allylamine, pyrrole, 1,2-epoxy-5-hexene, allyl mercaptan, and allyl alcohol. The EMC samples were prepared from biphenyl epoxy resin, phenol novolac, triphenyl phosphine, and plasma polymer-coated silica, and the loading of silica was controlled to 60 wt%. The EMC samples were cured at 175°C for 4 h and subjected to T_g, CTE, and water absorption measurements. The adhesion of silica to epoxy resin was evaluated by measuring the flexural strength of EMC samples and the fracture surfaces were analyzed by SEM. Plasma polymer coatings were also characterized by FT-IR and coating thickness measurements. The plasma polymer coating of silica with 1,3-diaminopropane and allylamine enhanced the flexural strength of EMC samples (167 and 165 MPa), compared with the control sample (140 MPa), and exhibited a higher T_g, a lower CTE, and lower water absorption. The enhanced properties with 1,3-diaminopropane and allylamine plasma polymer coatings can be attributed to the amine functional groups in the plasma polymer coatings.     

Friction welding of Al–Mg–Si alloy to Ni–Cr–Mo low alloy steel

Abstract

It is difficult to weld the dissimilar material combination of aluminium alloys and low alloy steels using fusion welding processes, on account of the formation of a brittle interlayer composed of intermetallic compound phases and the significant difference in physical and mechanical properties. In the present work an attempt has been made to join these materials via the friction welding method, i.e. one of the solid phase joining processes. In particular, the present paper describes the optimisation of friction welding parameters so that the intermetallic layer is narrow and joints of acceptable quality can be produced for a dissimilar joint between Al-Mg-Si alloy (AA6061) and Ni-Cr-Mo low alloy steel, using a design of experiment method. The effect of post-weld heat treatment on the tensile strength of the joints was then clarified. It was concluded that the friction time strongly affected the joint tensile strength, the latter decreasing rapidly with increasing friction time. The highest strength was achieved using the shortest friction time. The highest joint strength was greater than that of the AA6061 substrate in the as welded condition. This is due to the narrow width of the brittle intermetallic layer generated, which progressed from the peripheral (outer surface) region to the centreline region of the joint with increasing friction time. The joints in the as welded condition could be bent without cracking in a bend test. The joint tensile strength in the as welded condition was increased by heat treatment at 423 K (150° C), and then it decreased when the heat treatment temperature exceeded 423 K. All joints fractured in the AA6061 substrate adjacent to the interface except for the joints heated at 773 K (500° C). The joints fractured at the interface because of the occurrence of a brittle intermetallic compound phase.     

Joining phenomena and joint strength of friction welded joint between aluminium–magnesium alloy (AA5052) and low carbon steel

Abstract

The joining phenomena and the joint strength of an Al–Mg alloy (AA5052) and low carbon steel (LCS) friction welded joints were investigated. The weld interface of the LCS side at a friction time of 1·2 s had a slightly transferred AA5052, and then the entire weld interface had it at a friction time of 3·0 s or longer. The joint efficiency increased with increasing friction time, but it decreased at a friction time of 12·0 s or longer. The joint at a friction time of 3·0 s with forge pressure of 190 MPa had 100% joint efficiency and the AA5052 base metal fracture with no crack at the weld interface. The weld interface of these joints also had no intermetallic compound. On the other hand, the joint at a friction time of 8·0 s, which had ～97% joint efficiency, fractured between the AA5052 side and the weld interface because it had the intermetallic compound at the weld interface.     

Automated High Throughput Screening of Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) Assays Using Assay Platform™ Integrated with Activity Base for ‘on the fly’ Compound Reconfirmation

Advances in the field of automation have meant hitherto complex manual cell-based assays can now be automated. These improvements have brought significant enhancements in throughput, data fidelity and consistency, and allowed a reallocation of constrained resources.Building upon these improvements, we have linked our automated cell-based screening system, Assay Platform™, to Activity Base (IDBS), a software package designed to automate the analysis of HTS data. Customisation of this package has resulted in software that can identify ‘active’ compounds and re-pick them ‘on the fly’ from the original compound plates for triplicate re-testing without operator intervention.Based on an operator initially defining ‘normal’ parameters for assay activity in Activity Base, combined with an automated quality control software module that checks data fidelity, wells containing ‘active’ compounds can be re-picked and re-tested at the end of an automated screening run. Automating cell-based assays has significantly improved productivity, and, with the synergism of Activity Base, has given us greater power to complete each screening run and report ‘active’ compounds to Chemistry more rapidly. This article presents our approach to the automation of cell-based Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) screening together with automated active re-test confirmation using Activity Base.     

Developing an Automated Enzyme Immunoassay for High-Throughput Screening of Bovine Serum Antibodies to Neospora Caninum

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Neospora caninum antibodies was automated with a robotic workstation, the Beckman Coulter Biomek 2000, to screen 200 bovine sera. Comparing these results with manually run ELISA data, a 95.92% agreement (K = 0.9592) between the two assays was obtained. The automated assay was specific and sensitive with excellent positive and negative predictive values. The results were repeatable and reproducible. The automation flexibility was high and the operation complexity was minimal. High-throughput screening (HTS) for bovine antibodies to Neospora caninum was achieved. The assay was developed according to the internationally recognized ISO17025 standard requirements.     

Converting a Protease Assay to a Caliper® Format LabChip System

The push for higher throughput screening coupled with the desire to use smaller volumes of material has sparked the development of new technologies. Caliper Technologies, Corp. (Mountain View, CA) has designed a microfluidics chip with unique properties yet to be fully exploited. The translation from a traditional plate-based assay to a microfluidic chip format has provided insights into assay development, screening data requirements, and the technology itself. Running a screen with this new technology presented challenges in throughput, signal acquisition from slow-conversion enzymes, the provision for a negative control, the translation of a time series into a single data point per compound, reagent adhesion in the channels, and fluid property mismatches. Overcoming these obstacles has resulted in a simple, robust system with significant savings in reagent use. Measures to improve throughput and generalize the system will be discussed.     

A study of Ti/Fe contact reaction structures

Abstract

This work was carried out at temperatures of 1100 - 1140°C for holding times in the range 10 - 90 s. The solution mechanisms of the base metals of the Ti/Fe contact reaction couples and the growth rules of the Ti-Fe compound and β-Ti(Fe) were studied. The results show that the solution process of the base materials is transient, counted by the time in Ti/Fe contact reaction couples. It can be seen that the quantities of the Ti-Fe compound and β-Ti(Fe) can be reduced effectively through controlling the holding time. When temperature is 1100°C and the holding time is less than 10 s, there is no coarse block Ti-Fe compound in the contact reaction liquid phase zone, and the growth process of the lamellar β-Ti(Fe) experiences a latent period. When the holding time reaches 30 s, the density of the lamellar β-Ti(Fe) reaches a maximum value. The thickness of the liquid phase zone reaches 60 μm at a temperature of 1100°C and a holding time of 10 s.     

Joining phenomena and joint strength of friction welded joint between pure aluminium and low carbon steel

Abstract

This paper describes the joining phenomena and joint strength of friction welded joints between pure aluminium (P-Al) and low carbon steel friction welds. When the joint was made at a friction pressure of 30 MPa with a friction speed of 27·5 s^?1, the upsetting (deformation) occurred at the P-Al base metal. P-Al transferred to the half radius region of the weld interface on the low carbon steel side, and then it transferred toward the entire weld interface. When the joint was made at a friction time of 0·9 s, i.e. just after the initial peak of the friction torque, it had ～93% joint efficiency and fractured on the P-Al side. This joint had no intermetallic compound at the weld interface. Then, the joint efficiency slightly decreased with increasing friction time. The joint had a small amount of intermetallic compound at the peripheral region of the weld interface when it was made at a friction time of 2·0 s. When the joint was made at a friction time of 0·9 s, the joint efficiency decreased with increasing forge pressure, and all joints were fractured at the P-Al side. Although the joint by forge pressure of 90 MPa had hardly softened region, it had ～83% joint efficiency. To clarify the fact of decreasing joint efficiency, the tensile strength of the P-Al base metal at room temperature was investigated, and the tensile test was carried out after various compression stresses and temperatures. The tensile strength of the P-Al base metal has decreased with increasing compression stress at any temperature. Hence, the fact that the joint did not achieve 100% joint efficiency was due to the decrease in the tensile strength of the P-Al base metal by the Bauschinger effect. To obtain higher joint efficiency and fracture on the P-Al side, the joint should be made without higher forge pressure, and with the friction time at which the friction torque reaches the initial peak.     

Adhesion Between Rubber Compounds Containing Various Adhesion Promoters and Brass-Plated Steel Cords. Part I. Effect of Sulfur Loading in Rubber Compounds

The adhesion property between rubber compounds containing different types of adhesion promoters (resinous adhesion promoter (containing both methylene donor and methylene acceptor), cobalt salt and zinc borate) and different loading amounts of sulfur and brass-plated steel cords was investigated to understand the effect of sulfur loading in the rubber compounds on their adhesion characteristics to the brass-plated steel cords. The adhesion property of the rubber compounds to brass-plated steel cords was largely dependent on both the type of adhesion promoter and the loading amount of sulfur in the rubber compounds. The pull-out force of adhesion samples increased significantly with increasing loading amount of sulfur in the rubber compounds containing resinous adhesion promoter, whereas it decreased slightly with increasing loading amount of sulfur in rubber compounds containing cobalt salt or zinc borate. In humidity aging, the best adhesion retention was observed in the rubber compound containing zinc borate and low loading of sulfur. Regardless of the type of adhesion promoter, adhesion retention after thermal aging treatments improved with increasing loading amount of sulfur in the rubber compounds. The adhesion property was interpreted in terms of the interphases formed between the rubber compounds and the brass-plated steel cords as studied using Auger electron spectroscopy.     

An Automated System for Processing Sample Vials Stored at Ultra-Low Temperatures

The BIOPHILE Individual Vial Retriever (IVR) system has been developed to provide automated access to vials stored at ultra-low temperatures. The IVR performs storage, retrieval, sorting, cataloging, volume estimation (weighing), barcode reading, and re-racking. All racking operations are performed in an environment designed to keep samples frozen at their optimal temperature. Operating temperatures are −80°C, −40°C, −20°C, and room temperature. Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) integration, automation integration, chain of custody tracking, and FDA 21CFR Part 11 compliance are supported. This article introduces the IVR and provides information on its characteristics.