Search results for "COMPOSITE"
showing 10 items of 4584 documents
Processing and Mechanical Properties of Natural Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Starch Biocomposites
2007
Natural fiber reinforced starch polymers are processed by compression molding. Potato, sweet potato, and corn starch are used as matrices. Three types of natural fibers, namely sisal, jute, and cabuya, are used in concentrations varying from 2.5 to 12.5% w/w in the composites. Different plasticizers are used for the starch polymers, such as water and glycerol. Mechanical properties are assessed by tensile and impact tests. In both cases, improved mechanical properties are obtained at increasing fiber contents. Tensile strength appears to be markedly improved with the addition of 10% by weight of sisal fibers, while the best results for impact strength are obtained for cabuya fibers.
Thermomechanical Properties of Radiation-Modified Polyethylene/Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Copolymer/Liquid-Crystalline Copolyester Blends
1999
Radiation-modified blends of high-density polyethylene (PE) with ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (EPDM; 10-65 wt.%) and thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer (LCP; 10 wt.%) were investigated. The LCP was a liquid-crystalline copolyester of 40% poly(ethylene terephthalate) with 60% 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. The constituents were blended using a circular extruder, the specimens were prepared by compression molding and irradiated by 60Co γ-radiation up to 200 kGy. Mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties in wide temperature range were investigated for the irradiated and non-irradiated specimens. The effects of irradiation on the thermomechanical behaviour of the PE matrix are discus…
Steel Fibres: Effective Way to Prevent Failure of the Concrete Bonded with FRP Sheets
2016
Although the efficiency of steel fibres for improving mechanical properties (cracking resistance and failure toughness) of the concrete has been broadly discussed in the literature, the number of studies dedicated to the fibre effect on structural behaviour of the externally bonded elements is limited. This experimental study investigates the influence of steel fibres on the failure character of concrete elements strengthened with external carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheets. The elements were subjected to different loading conditions. The test data of four ties and eight beams are presented. Different materials were used for the internal bar reinforcement: in addition to the conventiona…
Synthesis of reactive hyperbranched and star-like polyethers and their use for toughening of vinylester–urethane hybrid resins
2004
A vinylester – urethane hybrid resin (VEUH) was toughened by adding various vinyl-functionalized branched polyethers in 10 and 20 wt%. Two sets of hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) with different branching density were compared with a set of six-arm star polymers. Besides the architecture, the polymers also varied in their characteristics (molecular mass and mass distribution, vinyl/hydroxy ratio). The morphology of the modified VEUH was studied by dynamic-mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The toughness was characterized by the fracture energy ðGcÞ determined on compact tension specimens at room temperature. It was established that th…
Mode I fracture toughness behavior of hydro-thermally aged carbon fibre reinforced DGEBA-HHPA-PES systems
2012
In this work the Mode I fracture toughness behavior of unidirectional CFRP laminates is investigated by means of Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests. The composite samples were manufactured by thermal curing after impregnation of a Carbon fabric with a DGEBA epoxy and anhydride HHPA curing agent. One resin batch was also mixed with a PES thermoplastic monomer to enhance the matrix toughness. Two lots of samples, toughened and un-toughened, were then left to soak in hot water to achieve various degrees of aging. The influence of matrix toughening and hydrothermal aging on the delamination behavior of the composite have then been assessed and correlated with characterization data from Dynamic …
Effects of organoclay on morphology and properties of nanocomposites based on LDPE/PA-6 blends without and with SEBS-g-MA compatibilizer
2009
LDPE/PA-6 blends (75/25 wt/wt) were added with SEBS-g-MA (S) and/or an organoclay (20A) using different compounding sequences and the morphology and the properties of the blends or composites were investigated. An XRD study of the nanocomposites with pure polymers showed that 20A is intercalated by LDPE or PA-6 chains, whereas it is exfoliated by S if the clay concentration does not exceed 10 wt%. The SEM investigation showed that both S and 20A behave as efficient emulsifying agents for the LDPE/PA-6 blends. However, their effect on the mechanical properties was found to be opposite: S enhanced toughness but lowered the stiffness, whereas 20A improved the elastic modulus but impaired the i…
Characterization of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) modified by ion implantation
2004
Abstract Surface modification of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is induced by ion implantation of different ions at 300 keV energy. The aim of this work was the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of the modified material in order to know deep inside about the effect of the ion beam upon the polymer. The irradiated surfaces are investigated by Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption and micro-hardness analysis, scanning electron microscopy. Pin on disc measurements valuated the wear of the UHMWPE against a stainless steel probe; wear resistance increases of about 76% after the ion implantation. This result can be attributed to the ion bombardment inducing a…
Studies on electron-beam irradiation and plastic deformation of medical-grade ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene
2011
Abstract Separated and combined electron-beam irradiation and plastic deformation effects on the structures of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were studied. It was found that the concentration of carbonyl (ketones, esters and peresters), hydroxyl and vinyl groups increases with the growing dose of adsorbed electrons. It also tends to exhibit a slight increase in the melting point and crystallinity of the samples. A mechanical stress in the polymer was found to accelerate radiation-induced degradation. It was concluded that each of the factors studied (i.e. electron beam sterilization and plastic deformation) had a different impact on the polymer structure. The change in th…
Time–carbonyl groups equivalence in photo-oxidative aging of virgin/recycled polymer blends
2004
AbstractThe photo-oxidation behaviour of polymers is strongly dependent on the initial amount of carbonyl groups along the chains. The growing use of recycled post-consumer polymers coming from products used outdoors and then photo-oxidised, both pure and blended with the same virgin polymer, gives rise to an unpredictable behaviour of weathering resistance of products made with these materials. The present work shows that the carbonyl group–exposure time curves can be shifted along the time axis to give a single generalised master plot. It is then possible to predict the formation of the new carbonyl groups by knowing only the initial amount of the same carbonyl groups. The same shift fact…
Localized surface plasmon resonance sensor based on Ag-PVA nanocomposite thin films
2009
In this work we demonstrate the use of nanocomposite thin films of poly(vinyl alcohol) with embedded silver NPs for chemosensing purposes. Silver NPs are in situ synthesized inside polyvinyl alcohol during the bake step of the formation of a nanocomposite thin film. The polymer in the nanocomposite provides an appropriate chemical and electromagnetic environment for metal NPs in order to interact with and hence detect the chemical species. A limit of detection below 20 nM is found when detecting 2-mercaptoethanol as the analyte, when measuring spectral changes (peak wavelength, linewidth and intensity) in the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance. Potential qualitative and semi-quantitative s…