The Strain Sensoring Behavior of the Melt-extruded Ethylene-vinyl Acetate (EVA)/carbon Black Composites Filament
In this study, Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) based composites filament, with four different volume fraction of the nano-sized carbon black particles (NCB) were produced by melt mixing using a single extruder. The morphology of the EVA/NCB was studied using SEM, where a 3-D network of the NCB was presented. Thermal gravity analysis (TGA) measurement was utilized, denoting the degradation temperature of EVA, and presetting the actual volume fraction of NCB in the composites. Mechanical properties, e.g. elongation at break, tensile strength of the EVA/NCB filament was studied. Most importantly, the strain sensoring behavior of the EVA/NCB was investigated ultilizing a tensile testing machine coupled with a pico-ammeter. The gauge factor for various strain range, as well as the relative change of the resistance during the cyclic measurement of the NCB/EVA composites was calculated. Moreover, the measured data were fitted using some mathematical modellings, which reveals the potential of the strain sensoring behavior of the NCB/EVA composites in this study. Overall, this study introduces a durable NCB/EVA composites using as strain sensor oriented to industrial large-scale production, and the proposed modelling provides an effective evaluation method on its strain sensoring behavior.
A Study on the Optimization of Filling Balance for Selective Flexible Flow Path in Family Mold
In this study, a selective flexible flow path system was developed so that two types (4 cavities) of different shapes, sizes, and weights could be produced simultaneously or individually according for a production plan.The selective flexible flow path system is a method of exchanging sprue parts manufactured in a branched or one-way direction. This method reduces mold costs and provides production flexibility because only the desired cavities can be filled with resin in a multi-cavity mold. Since parts with different shapes and weights are produced simultaneously or separately, it is most important to maintain a uniform filling balance between each cavity. To optimize of filling balance, the optimum value of control factors was derived using the Taguchi technique (DOE) to improve the filling balance. In addition, molds were manufactured under the optimal conditions after checking the filling balance through a CAE analysis. As a result, the flow balance ratio of each product was confirmed to be within 0.6%, and the precision of the product was guaranteed to be within 1%. In this study, it was confirmed once again that the improvement of the filling balance of the family mold had a great influence on the production.
Study of the Vibrations of Some Composite Bars with Polypropylene Honeycomb Core and Carbon Fiber and Fiberglass Fabric Faces
The paper generalizes the Timoshenko model for thick bars, using a new model that is applied to the vibration study of multilayer composite bars. In the proposed mathematical model, three coefficients are introduced that take into account the non-uniformities of the tangential and normal stresses in the bar section. The vibrations of some composite bars with a polypropylene honeycomb core with a thickness of 10 mm, 15 mm and 20 mm are experimentally studied, on the faces of which one or two layers of carbon fiber, respectively glass fiber was poured. For each analysed bar, the stiffness and the equivalent modulus of elasticity are determined and the variation of the damping coefficient according to the length of the bar is studied.
The Tribology of Composite Materials Used for Manufacturing Brake Shoes
The paper presents the results obtained after the tribology of composite materials with organic components intended for the manufacturing of brake shoes for motor and towed rolling stock. We analyzed the tribological behaviour of the samples of experimental composite material in comparison to the phosphorous cast iron frequently used for manufacturing brake shoes.
Internal Pressure Test on HDPE Pipe Ring
The purpose of experiment was the highlight of the creep of ring from polyethylene pipe subjected to internal pressure. To create the internal pressure in the HDPE pipe ring, a weight of 4.5 kg was superimposed on it, in the form of a cylindrical plate. In order to evaluate the strains of the elastic element subjected to the tensile stress, respectively compression, tensometric marks 1 and 2 are placed on the outside, in the case of the circular section. The internal pressure test was performed to evaluate the strains of the material of a PE 100 polyethylene ring in two directions: one axial (longitudinal) and the other transverse (circumferential) in order to highlight the creep of the pipe material due to its structure. In a polyethylene pipe stressed at internal pressure, due to the symmetry the tangential stresses are zero. The axial strain initially showed a positive increase, followed by a decrease, reaching negative values towards the end of the experiment, while the circumferential strain recorded positive values, about 300 times higher than the initial ones. The principal stress changed approximately linearly. The circumferential stress recorded the maximum value of σ1=0.33 MPa (3.3 bar) after two and a half hours of experiment. Based on such this test could be calculate Poisson`s ratio ν.
Theoretical Prediction of Two-Peak Behavior of GFRP-Reinforced Concrete Compressive Members
The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in compressive members is advantageous to reinforced concrete structures in order to alleviate the problem of corrosion of steel reinforcement and to produce a lightweight and efficient structural element. This investigation aims to propose the theoretical models for capturing the axial loading capacity (ALC) of hollow concrete columns (HCCs) having main FRP rebars and transverse FRP spirals. All the glass-FRP-reinforced HCCs portray two-peak load performance. The first peak is due to the gross cross-sectional area of concrete while the second peak is due to the core material laterally wrapped with FRP spirals. For the prediction of the first peak load of HCCs which is equal to the maximum capacity of solid concrete columns, a database of 279 FRP-reinforced columns was produced from the previous research and the ALC models were suggested; one for capturing the first peak and the other for estimating the second peak ALC of HCCs. The predictions of proposed models were compared with the test results from the literature. A close relationship was perceived between the theoretical and experimental results.
High-density Polyethylene - Expanded Perlite Composites: Structural Oriented Analysis of Mechanical and Thermomechanical Properties
As part of this work, research was carried out on the effect of the addition of expanded perlite (PR) on the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of high-density polyethylene (PE) composites. Composites containing from 1 to 10 wt% of the inorganic filler were produced. Polyethylene-based composites manufactured by twin-screw extrusion and formed in the compression molding process were subjected to mechanical, thermomechanical, and structural analyses. The structure of polymer composites and filler was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been correlated with the static tensile tests and results of dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMA). As part of the work, several thermomechanical parameters were calculated, and the obtained results were discussed with the evaluation of interfacial adhesion based on microscopic analysis. The research showed that despite introducing a 10 wt% of particle-shaped filler, the composites show increased stiffness without noticeable deterioration in tensile strength, simultaneously reducing toughness and brittleness. The analysis of the thermomechanical properties showed the lack of significant effects of the filler influence on the polymer matrix.
Antitumor Effect and Pharmacological Mechanism of Paclitaxel-loaded Silk Fibroin Nanomaterials on H22 Subcutaneous Tumor Model of Mouse Hepatoma
This work was developed to analyze the adoption of paclitaxel-loaded silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNPs) in subcutaneous transplanted tumor model of mouse hepatoma to explore its anti-tumor effect. Twenty-five specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice were selected to construct a subcutaneous tumor model of liver cancer, and they were randomly rolled into control group, group A, group B, group C, and group D, with five mice in each group. The silk fibroin was mixed with an organic solvent to prepare a suspension, and the SFNPs were prepared through centrifugation, ultrasound, and other methods. The paclitaxel-loaded SFNPs were prepared by mixing paclitaxel and silk fibroin aqueous solution, centrifuging, washing, and dispersing. Then, the five groups of mice were intervened by different dosage regimens to analyze the changes of various indicators. As a result, the prepared nanoparticles had uniform particle size, uniform distribution, no adhesion, and the average particle size was less than 500 nm. The tumor volume of mice in groups C and D on the 7th, 9th, and 13th days of administration were dramatically smaller than those in the control group, group A, and group B (P < 0.05). And the tumor volume (154.49 ± 9.65 mm3) of mice in group D on the 13th day of administration was dramatically smaller than that in group C (167.79 ± 9.72 mm3) (P < 0.05). The tumor mass (0.89 ± 0.14 g, 0.54 ± 0.13 g, and 0.46 ± 0.11 g) of mice in groups B, C, and D was dramatically smaller than that in the control group and group A (1.23 ± 0.12 g, 1.24 ± 0.11 g) (P < 0.05), and that of group D was dramatically smaller than groups B and C (P < 0.05). The apoptosis rates of tumor cells in groups C and D (46.38%, 48.23%) were greatly superior to those in the control group (16.7%), group A (21.33%), and group B (35.6%) (P < 0.05), and that of group D was greatly superior to that in group C (P < 0.05). In summary, paclitaxel-loaded SFNPs can effectively improve the targeting effect and bioavailability of drugs in the treatment of liver cancer, thereby improving the efficacy, and had a good application prospect.
Impact Behavior Analysis of 3-D Printed Honeycomb Structures
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the behaviour of 3D printed honeycomb structures under low velocity impact loading for their use in energy absorption applications. Additive manufacturing technologies are part of a growing field that represents high interest for industries such as aerospace, automotive and naval. This paper aims to determine the mechanical properties of a 3D printed polymer - Polylactic Acid (PLA) manufactured by FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technology. In this regard, first the material is characterized by low velocity impact dynamic experimental tests. A finite Element Analysis (FEA) is performed in LS-Dyna software in order to validate the results. The samples were manufactured by varying the infill percent to investigate the influence of different parameters on a batch of samples for every configuration. The 3D CAD modelling for impact tests samples were performed in Catia V5. Among wide range of cellular structures, honeycomb non-auxetic hexagonal cell pattern was selected in this study, assuring high strength/weight ratio. The amount of energy absorbed during the impact, the failure and degradation of the impacted specimens were monitored, following the analysis of experimental and numerical data. A fair agreement was obtained between experimental and numerical results, showing that honeycomb developed lightweight structures exhibits a proper energy absorption capacity, with a mechanism of release similar to metal or composite materials honeycombs.
Effect of Certain Hydrocarbon Compounds on High-density Polyethylene Water Pipes
Plastic pipes are being more widely used in various industries, as they combine both a rather light weight and quite high physical mechanical performance characteristics. The present article materials are devoted to the researches, relating to the determination of the various hydrocarbon compounds effect on some mechanical properties reduction degree of samples cut from HDPE pipes, represented by characteristic values of curves (strength - tensile strain) as an absorption result. In the course of the research, the gasoline presence in material structure of the pipe samples was noted to make the process unstable, and the curves representing a change in the characteristic values under study, depending on the immersion time in diesel fuel, tended to decrease throughout the entire immersion period. The experiments have shown that in the study of samples absorbing capacity a full saturation was obtained when immersed in diesel fuel and, despite large difference in absorbance values, the volume of absorbed hydrocarbons caused decline close to the studied characteristic values. Motor oils produced the most significant effect on the HDPE samples studied characteristics at the relatively low absorption values.