Search results for " COMPOSITES"
showing 10 items of 1620 documents
PLA based biocomposites reinforced with Posidonia oceanica leaves
2018
Abstract Biocomposites can valorize some natural products related to natural processes or crop and waste industries. In this work, leaves of Posidonia oceanica (PO), dominant sea grass in the Mediterranean Sea, were used to prepare PLA based biocomposites. Materials were prepared by melt mixing PLA with PO as filler. The morphology as well as the mechanical and thermal properties of PLA/PO composites were evaluated and related with the influence of the content and size of PO. Moreover, the experimental elastic moduli of the biocomposites was modelled employing the Halpin–Tsai (HT) model. Furthermore, in order to take into consideration the high porosity of PO leaves, the HT parameters relat…
Effect of aggregation of a dispersed rigid filler on the elastic characteristics of a polymer composite
1986
We proposed a method for describing the effective elastic characteristics of a polymer composite with a rigid aggregating filler. An important feature of such a medium is the variable coupling of the inclusion phase in relation to its volume content. A change in the degree of coupling of the filler is accounted for by introducing an additional parameter. We examined a method of determining the coupling parameter from the results of statistical modeling of the geometry of the medium. Using the example of a calcite-HDPE composite, we showed that aggregation has a significant effect on the dependence of the elastic modulus on the volume content of filler; satisfactory agreement was obtained be…
Study and evaluation of dispersion of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and silica filler in polypropylene composites
2018
Various methods were used for evaluation of homogeneity of polypropylene (PP) matrix composites with octakis([n‐octyl]dimethylsiloxy)octasilsesquioxane, octakis([n‐octadecyl]dimethylsiloxy)octasilsesquioxane, and silica (SiO2) fillers. The filler dispersion was determined on the basis of the results from the wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS) analysis, from the tests of selected mechanical properties, from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and from the decomposable entropic descriptor method. The use of different methods allowed to evaluate homogeneity of PP composites on various levels and with different precisions. The dispersion degree was found…
The effect of mechanical defects on the strength distribution of elementary flax fibres
2009
Flax fibres are finding non-traditional applications as reinforcement of composite materials. The mechanical properties of fibres are affected by the natural variability in plant as well as the damage accumulated during processing, and thus have considerable variability that necessitates statistical treatment of fibre characteristics. The strength distribution of elementary flax fibres has been determined at several fibre lengths by standard tensile tests, and the amount of kink bands in the fibres evaluated by optical microscopy. Strength distribution function, based on the assumption that the presence of kink bands limits fibre strength, is derived and found to provide reasonable agreemen…
Modeling strength scatter of elementary flax fibers: The effect of mechanical damage and geometrical characteristics
2011
Elementary bast fibers, apart from acceptable specific mechanical properties, possess a marked variability in geometrical and damage characteristics, which affects their axial tensile strength. A strength distribution function is derived that allows for the effect of kink bands and the scatter of fiber diameter. The distribution function is validated by applying it to the experimental strength data of both intact, carefully hand-decorticated, and damaged elementary flax fibers obtained by standard processing. The results suggest that the presence of kink bands is a limiting factor for the fiber strength.
In situ monitoring of moisture uptake of flax fiber reinforced composites under humid/dry conditions
2021
The use of green materials such as natural fiber-reinforced composites represents an increasingly stringent prerogative in the future planning of industrial and non-industrial production. The optimization of these materials is the main aim of the current research, focused on the evaluation of the behavior of flax fiber reinforced composites exposed to isothermal adsorption and desorption cycles, at varying the partial pressure of water vapor (P/P0). For this purpose, the moisture uptake and the morphology changes of the composite material and their constituents were in situ monitored through a measurement protocol, by using a dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) analysis, coupled with an environmen…
Effectiveness of sodium acetate treatment on the mechanical properties and morphology of natural fiber-reinforced composites
2021
This paper aims to investigate the ability of an eco-friendly and cheap treatment based on sodium acetate solutions to improve the mechanical properties of flax fiber-reinforced composites. Flax fibers were treated for 5 days (i.e., 120 h) at 25 °C with mildly alkaline solutions at 5%, 10% and 20% weight content of the sodium salt. Quasi-static tensile and flexural tests, Charpy impact tests and dynamical mechanical thermal (DMTA) tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the resulting composites. Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR) was used to evaluate the chemical modification on the fibers surface due to the proposed treatment, whereas scanning electron micro…
Improving the mechanical properties of unidirectional flax fabrics reinforced epoxy composites by sodium bicarbonate treatment
2017
Despite their beneficial effects on the adhesion between natural fibers and polymeric matrices, chemical pretreatments have become less attractive since they are expensive and harmful to environment. The present paper deals with the effect of an eco-friendly and cost effective treatment, based on the use of a sodium bicarbonate solution, on the mechanical performances of flax reinforced epoxy composites. Materials and methods: A commercial epoxy resin and unidirectional flax fabrics (190 g/m2 areal density) were used as matrix and reinforcement, respectively. The fabrics were soaked in 5 and 10 wt% solutions of sodium bicarbonate for 5 days at 25°C, then dried at 105°C for 1 day. By using u…
Gold nanoclusters for ratiometric sensing of pH in extremely acidic media.
2019
AuNCs capped with β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate exhibit an outstanding performance as fluorescent pH sensors; specifically they exhibit a high emission in strongly acidic media and linear dependence on pH in extremely acidic media (0.6–2.7) as well as in the 7.0–9.2 pH range, while they are unresponsive at intermediate pH values. Remarkably, these AuNCs make ratiometric sensing possible in extremely acidic media with a single fluorophore, specifically the nanocluster itself.
Multinucleated giant cells in the implant bed of bone substitutes are foreign body giant cells-New insights into the material-mediated healing process
2017
In addition to macrophages, multinucleated giant cells (MNGCs) are involved in the tissue reaction to a variety of biomaterials. Especially in the case of bone substitute materials it has been assumed that the MNGCs are osteoclasts, based on the chemical and physical similarity of many materials to the calcified matrix and the bony environment in which they are used. However, many studies indicate that these cells belong to the cell line of the foreign body giant cells (FBGCs), which are of "inflammatory origin", although they have been shown to possess both a pro- and also anti-inflammatory phenotype. Moreover, no information is available about their role in the tissue reaction to bone sub…