Thermal tools in the evaluation of decayed and weathered wood polymer composites prepared by in situ polymerization

This study aims to apply thermal tools in the evaluation of decayed and weathered wood polymer composites prepared by in situ polymerization with and without cross-linkers. Pinewood samples were impregnated with methyl methacrylate using glycidyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid as cross-linkers by vacuum/pressure. The polymerization was carried out in an oven at 90 °C for 10 h using benzoyl peroxide as catalyst. All samples were exposed to decay and artificial weathering tests. The characterization was performed by mass loss, color changes, optical images, wettability, thermogravimetric analysis (by means of DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry analyzes. The mass loss was higher in untreated wood in comparison with the composites, ~2.5–10 times. Cross-linked composites showed the highest resistance to fungal biodeterioration. The reduction in L*, chroma and b* confirmed loss of original yellow tones and increase in dark and dull tones of samples. The wettability was very affected by irregularities of the samples’ surface. Only DTG showed a shifting in the temperature of thermal events related to polysaccharides and lignin after exposure to decay and weathering. DTG was the best thermal technique for evaluation of decaying and weathering of wood composites.     

Estimation of Chaotic and Regular (Stick–Slip and Slip–Slip) Oscillations Exhibited by Coupled Oscillators with Dry Friction

In this paper, we present a novel approach to quantify regular or chaotic dynamics of either smooth or non-smooth dynamical systems. The introduced method is applied to trace regular and chaotic stick–slip and slip–slip dynamics. Stick–slip and slip–slip periodic and chaotic trajectories are analyzed (for the investigated parameters, a stick–slip dynamics dominates). Advantages of the proposed numerical technique are given.     

Voltammetric cadmium(II) sensor based on a fluorine doped tin oxide electrode modified with polyamide 6/chitosan electrospun nanofibers and gold nanoparticles

The authors have developed an electrochemical sensor for cadmium(II) that is based on the use of a conventional fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode modified with polymeric electrospun nanofibers consisting of polyamide 6 (PA6) and chitosan which were further modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis (DSC and TGA), and scanning electron microscopy. The modified electrode was applied to the detection of Cd(II) by square wave voltammetry. Response is linear in the 25 to 75 μg ? L^?1 Cd(II) concentration range, with a detection limit of 0.88 μg ? L^?1. The relative standard deviations are 4.6% and 8.2% for intra- and inter-electrode measurements, respectively. Mercury(II), lead(II), and copper(II) did not significantly interfere.

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Graphical abstract The sensing platform developed can detect cadmium(II) with a detection limit of 0.88 μg L^?1, with no significant interference by mercury(II) and lead(II).

     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In-situ</Emphasis><Superscript>57</Superscript>Fe Mössbauer characterization of iron oxides in pigments of a rupestrian painting from the Serra da Capivara National Park,in Brazil,with the backscattering Mössbauer spectrometer MIMOS II

It is reported the use of the miniaturized portable ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer backscattering spectrometer MIMOS II to perform in situ measurements in the archaeological site known as Toca do Boqueirão do Sítio da Pedra Furada (BPF), in Serra da Capivara National Park, in order to specifically examine shades of dark red pigments and compare their differences relatively to the light red part of the same painting. The hyperfine Mössbauer parameters reveal that the dark red area of the rupestrian painting is composed of three populations of hematite and of a small proportion of maghemite, whereas the light red are of the same painting contain hematite mixed with a small proportion of maghemite and a (super)paramagnetic Fe ³⁺. The Fe content in the dark red area from the rupestrian painting is of approximately twice the amount in the light red of the same prehistoric graphism. The corresponding analysis of red ochre sample collected in the excavation of these archaeological site exhibited two populations of hematite and also a small proportion of maghemite.     

Hydrodynamic Vortex on Surfaces

The equations of motion for a system of point vortices on an oriented Riemannian surface of finite topological type are presented. The equations are obtained from a Green’s function on the surface. The uniqueness of the Green’s function is established under hydrodynamic conditions at the surface’s boundaries and ends. The hydrodynamic force on a point vortex is computed using a new weak formulation of Euler’s equation adapted to the point vortex context. An analogy between the hydrodynamic force on a massive point vortex and the electromagnetic force on a massive electric charge is presented as well as the equations of motion for massive vortices. Any noncompact Riemann surface admits a unique Riemannian metric such that a single vortex in the surface does not move (“Steady Vortex Metric”). Some examples of surfaces with steady vortex metric isometrically embedded in \(\mathbb {R}^3\) are presented.     

Radial graphs of constant curvature and prescribed boundary

In this paper we are concerned with the problem of finding hypersurfaces of constant curvature and prescribed boundary in the Euclidean space, without assuming the convexity of the prescribed solution and using the theory of fully nonlinear elliptic equations. If the given data admits a suitable radial graph as a subsolution, then we prove that there exists a radial graph with constant curvature and realizing the prescribed boundary. As an application, it is proved that if \(\Omega \subset \mathbb {S}^n\) is a mean convex domain whose closure is contained in an open hemisphere of \(\mathbb {S}^n\) then, for \(0<R<n(n-1),\) there exists a radial graph of constant scalar curvature R and boundary \(\partial \Omega \).     

Polar Symplectic Representations

We study polar representations in the sense of Dadok and Kac which are symplectic. We show that such representations are coisotropic and use this fact to give a classification. We also study their moment maps and prove that they separate closed orbits. Our work can also be seen as a specialization of some of the results of Knop on multiplicity free symplectic representations to the polar case.     

The non-abelian tensor square of residually finite groups

Let m, n be positive integers and p a prime. We denote by \(\nu (G)\) an extension of the non-abelian tensor square \(G \otimes G\) by \(G \times G\). We prove that if G is a residually finite group satisfying some non-trivial identity \(f \equiv ~1\) and for every \(x,y \in G\) there exists a p-power \(q=q(x,y)\) such that \([x,y^{\varphi }]^q = 1\), then the derived subgroup \(\nu (G)'\) is locally finite (Theorem A). Moreover, we show that if G is a residually finite group in which for every \(x,y \in G\) there exists a p-power \(q=q(x,y)\) dividing \(p^m\) such that \([x,y^{\varphi }]^q\) is left n-Engel, then the non-abelian tensor square \(G \otimes G\) is locally virtually nilpotent (Theorem B).     

Transport of mass and energy of polyatomic gases in magnetic fields computed by a Monte Carlo algorithm

The transport of mass through a rectangular channel and of energy between parallel surfaces of polyatomic gases in the Knudsen regime and in the presence of external magnetic fields is calculated by means of a Monte Carlo algorithm. A four-parameter mathematical model is proposed that takes into account the dynamical aspects of molecule-surface interactions and the influence of external magnetic fields on the angular momentum of polyatomic molecules. The Monte Carlo algorithm makes use of the Latin super-cube sampling method, correlated samplings, and the concept of importance sampling. The four parameters are determined by an optimised method based on the Monte Carlo algorithm and on experimental results for the mass flux rate of the gases N₂ and CO in the presence of external magnetic fields through a rectangular channel with surfaces coated with Au. The optimised values of the parameters are used to determine the behaviour of the mass flux rate through a rectangular channel and the heat flux between two parallel plates for the gases N₂ and CO as a function of the applied magnetic field. The calculated curves fit the experimental data well.Received: 18 February 2003, Accepted: 2 September 2003, Published online: 12 December 2003PACS: 05.60.-k, 51.60. + aCorrespondence to: G.M. Kremer