Search results for "MECHANICAL PROPERTIES"
showing 10 items of 199 documents
Effect of Moisture Content on the Processing and Mechanical Properties of a Biodegradable Polyester
2021
This work is focused on the influence of moisture content on the processing and mechanical properties of a biodegradable polyester used for applications in injection molding. The pellets of the biodegradable polyester were exposed under different relative humidity conditions at a constant temperature before being compression molded. The compression-molded specimens were again placed under the above conditions before the mechanical testing. With all these samples, it is possible to determine the effect of moisture content on the processing and mechanical properties separately, as well as the combined effect of moisture content on the mechanical properties. The results obtained showed that th…
Accelerated weathering of PP based nanocomposites: Effect of the presence of maleic anhydryde grafted polypropylene
2013
Polymer nanocomposites are currently a topic of great interest. The increasing importance they are gaining also in the standpoint of industrial applications, is giving concerns regarding their environmental stability and, in general, their behaviour in outdoor applications, under direct solar irradiation. Papers available in the literature have highlighted the different influences of different nanosized fillers, in particular clay-based nanofillers; however, few data are available regarding other nanosized fillers. Furthermore, the research on polymer nanocomposites has clearly pointed out that the use of compatibilizers is required to improve the mechanical performance and the dispersion o…
An Innovative Treatment Based on Sodium Citrate for Improving the Mechanical Performances of Flax Fiber Reinforced Composites
2021
The goal of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cost-effective and eco-friendly treatment based on the use of sodium citrate (Na3C6H5O7) on the mechanical properties of flax fiber reinforced composites. To this scope, flax fibers were soaked in mildly alkaline solutions of the sodium salt at different weight concentration (i.e., 5%, 10% and 20%) for 120 h at 25 °C. The modifications on fibers surface induced by the proposed treatment were evaluated through Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR), whereas scanning electron microscope (SEM) and helium pycnometer were used to obtain useful information about composites morphology. The effect of the concentration of the treating …
Thermomechanical Analysis of Isora Nanofibril Incorporated Polyethylene Nanocomposites
2021
The research on cellulose fiber-reinforced nanocomposites has increased by an unprecedented magnitude over the past few years due to its wide application range and low production cost. However, the incompatibility between cellulose and most thermoplastics has raised significant challenges in composite fabrication. This paper addresses the behavior of plasma-modified polyethylene (PE) reinforced with cellulose nanofibers extracted from isora plants (i.e., isora nanofibrils (INFs)). The crystallization kinetics of PE&ndash
Electronic and optical properties of carbon nanotubes under pure bending
2010
The high aspect ratio of carbon nanotubes makes them prone to bending. To know how bending affects the tubes is therefore crucial for tube identification and for electrical component design. Very few studies, however, have investigated tubes under small bending well below the buckling limit, because of technical problems due to broken translational symmetry. In this Brief Report a cost-effective and exact modeling of singe-walled nanotubes under such small bending is enabled by revised periodic boundary conditions, combined with density-functional tight-binding. The resulting, bending-induced changes in electronic and optical properties fall in clear chirality-dependent trend families. Whil…
Salt-fog spray aging of jute-basalt reinforced hybrid structures. Flexural and low velocity impact response
2017
Abstract In this work, a study on the aging resistance of jute and jute-basalt interply hybrid laminates exposed to salt-fog is presented with the aim to investigate the possibility to enhance the durability of natural fiber reinforced composites for marine application by a ply-substitution approach. In particular, jute and basalt/jute reinforced composite plates were manufactured by vacuum assisted resin infusion in two different staking sequences (i.e., intercalated and sandwich-like basalt-jute) and aged under salt fog conditions. The effects of the accelerated aging at increasing times on the mechanical response of laminates were assessed in both quasi static (three point bending) and d…
Durability of biodegradable polymers for the conservation of cultural heritage
2019
The use of polymers for conservation of cultural heritage is related to the possibility to slow down or stop natural deterioration which, in many cases, corresponds to stopping the entrance of liquid water and to favour spontaneous water vapour removal. Unfortunately, hydrophobicity is generally favoured by surface roughness and thus competitive with transparency. It is therefore important to find an optimal balance hydrophobicity, transparency and durability (especially to photooxidation). However, polymers typically used for applications in this field come from non-renewable resources and are not biodegradable. In this work, the mechanical, structural and optical properties of PLA, PBAT a…
Nanocarbons in electrospun polymeric nanomats for tissue engineering: A review
2017
Electrospinning is a versatile process technology, exploited for the production of fibers with varying diameters, ranging from nano- to micro-scale, particularly useful for a wide range of applications. Among these, tissue engineering is particularly relevant to this technology since electrospun fibers offer topological structure features similar to the native extracellular matrix, thus providing an excellent environment for the growth of cells and tissues. Recently, nanocarbons have been emerging as promising fillers for biopolymeric nanofibrous scaffolds. In fact, they offer interesting physicochemical properties due to their small size, large surface area, high electrical conductivity an…
Electromechanical Behavior of Single and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes
2008
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be metallic or semiconductors depending simply on geometric characteristics. This peculiar electronic behavior, combined with high mechanical strength, make them potential building blocks of a new nano-electronic technology. High resolution images of CNTs often disclose structural deformations such as bent, twisted, or collapsed tubes. These deformations break the tube symmetry, and a change in their electronic properties should result. A computationally effective mixed finite element-tight-binding approach able to simulate the electromechanical behavior of single and multiwall nanotubes used in nano-electronic devices is presented. The finite element (FE) comput…
Mechanical, Thermomechanical and Reprocessing Behavior of Green Composites from Biodegradable Polymer and Wood Flour
2015
The rising concerns in terms of environmental protection and the search for more versatile polymer-based materials have led to an increasing interest in the use of polymer composites filled with natural organic fillers (biodegradable and/or coming from renewable resources) as a replacement for traditional mineral inorganic fillers. At the same time, the recycling of polymers is still of fundamental importance in order to optimize the utilization of available resources, reducing the environmental impact related to the life cycle of polymer-based items. Green composites from biopolymer matrix and wood flour were prepared and the investigation focused on several issues, such as the effect of r…