Distribution of melamine in polyester–melamine surface coatings cured under nonisothermal conditions

The influence of experimental cure parameters on the diffusion of reactive species in polyester–melamine thermoset coatings during curing has been investigated with X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared. The diffusion of melamine plays a vital role in the curing process and, therefore, in the ultimate properties of coatings. At a low (<20%) hexamethoxymethylmelamine (HMMM) crosslinker concentration, the matrix composition is uniform, but at high HMMM concentrations, excess HMMM rapidly segregates to the air–coating interface. The rate of migration is governed by the difference in the surface free energies of polyester and HMMM and the concentration gradient of HMMM between the bulk and the surface. An increased rate of energy absorption also increases the rate of migration of HMMM to the surface. A physical model has been proposed to explain this surface segregation phenomenon in terms of cocondensation and self‐condensation reactions. It suggests that an appropriate amount of melamine can be segregated on the surface and allowed to self‐condense to form a desired thickness of a melamine topcoat through the control of the binder composition and cure conditions. This technique can be implemented to apply a melamine topcoat during cure. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 83–91, 2004     

A multi-target approach for isolated word recognition using artificial neural network

I.TntroductionStatisticalandneuralnetworkmcthodsforpatternclassiflcationusesignificantlydifTerentapproachesintrainingaclassificr.Inthestatistica1approach,thcformationofaclassifier1arge1ydependsonthestatisticsofthetrainingpatternsand,insomecases,theassumptionsaboutthedistributionofthepopulation.Theneuralnetworkmethodisnon-parametricandcanbeadaptivcinthetrainingprocessl'l.Becauseofitssimplicityandflexibility,theneuralnetworkhasbecnincreasing1yusedforpatternclassiflcation.Itisnowwe11knownthatan…     

Spectral pattern recognition of improved voice quality

The self-organizing map (a neural network) was applied to the spectral pattern recognition of voice quality in 34 subjects: 15 patients operated on because of insufficient glottal closure and 19 subjects not treated for voice disorders. The voice samples, segments of sustained /a/, were perceptually rated by six experts. A self-organized acoustic feature map was first computed from tokens of /a/ and then used for the analysis of the samples. The locations of the samples on the map were determined and the distances from a normal reference were compared with the perceptual ratings. The map locations corresponded to the degree of audible disorder: the samples judged as normal were overlapping or close to the normal reference, whereas the samples judged as dysphonie were located further away from it. The comparison of pre- and postoperative samples of the patients showed that the perceived improvement of voice quality was also detected by the map.     

Cyclic networks with general blocking and starvation

We introducegeneral starvation and consider cyclic networks withgeneral blocking and starvation (GBS). The mechanism of general blocking allows the server to process a limited number of jobs when the buffer downstream is full, and that of general starvation allows the server to perform a limited number of services in anticipation of jobs that are yet to arrive. The two main goals of this paper are to investigate how the throughput of cyclic GBS networks is affected by varying (1) the total number of jobsJ, and (2) the buffer allocationk=(k₁..., k_m) subject to a fixed total buffer capacityK=k ₁ +... + k_m. In particular, we obtain sufficient conditions for the throughput to be symmetric inJ and to be maximized whenJ=K/2. We also show that the equal buffer allocation is optimal under the two regimes of light or heavy usage. In order to establish these results, we obtain several intermediate structural properties of the throughput, using duality, reversibility, and concavity, which are of independent interest.Research supported in part by NSF Grant No. ECS-8919818.     

EXPONENTIAL STABILITY AND PERIODIC SOLUTION OF HYBRID BIDIRECTIONAL ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY NEURAL NETWORKS WITH DISCRETE DELAYS

In this paper, we study the existence, uniqueness, and the global exponential stability of the periodic solution and equilibrium of hybrid bidirectional associative memory neural networks with discrete delays. By ingeniously importing real parameters di > 0 (i = 1,2, …, n) which can be adjusted, making use of the Lyapunov functional method and some analysis techniques, some new sufficient conditions are established. Our results generalize and improve the related results in [9]. These conditions can be used both to design globally exponentially stable and periodical oscillatory hybrid bidirectional associative neural networks with discrete delays, and to enlarge the area of designing neural networks. Our work has important significance in related theory and its application.     

Fuzzy Entropy： Axiomatic Definition and Neural Networks Model

The measure of uncertainty is adopted as a measure of information. The measures of fuzziness are known as fuzzy information measures. The measure of a quantity of fuzzy information gained from a fuzzy set or fuzzy system is known as fuzzy entropy. Fuzzy entropy has been focused and studied by many researchers in various fields. In this paper, firstly, the axiomatic definition of fuzzy entropy is discussed. Then, neural networks model of fuzzy entropy is proposed, based on the computing capability of neural networks. In the end, two examples are discussed to show the efficiency of the model.     

A Constitutive Model in Finite Viscoelasticity of Particle-reinforced Rubbers

Two series of tensile relaxation tests are performed on natural rubber filled with high abrasion furnace black. To fit observations, constitutive equations are derived for the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of a particle-reinforced elastomer. A filled rubber is modeled as a composite medium, where inclusions with low concentrations of junctions are randomly distributed in the host matrix. The inclusions are treated as equivalent networks of macromolecules, where strands can separate from temporary junctions as they are thermally agitated. The bulk medium is thought of as a permanent network of chains. Unlike conventional concepts of transient networks, the concentration of strands in inclusions is assumed to be affected by mechanical factors: under active loading, inter-chain interactions weaken and some strands that were prevented from detachment from their junctions in a stress-free compound become free to separate from the junctions in a deformed medium. Unloading strengthens interactions between macromolecules, which results in an increase in the number of permanent strands. By using the laws of thermodynamics, stress–strain relations for a particle-reinforced rubber are developed. Adjustable parameters in the constitutive equations are found by fitting the experimental data. It is demonstrated that mechanical pre-loading and annealing of specimens at an elevated temperature noticeably affect concentrations of inclusions with various activation energies for rearrangement of strands.     

Hydrogel‐like elastic membrane consisting of semi‐interpenetrating polymer networks based on a phosphorylcholine polymer and a segmented polyurethane

To obtain a hydrogel‐like elastic membrane, we prepared semi‐interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) by the radical polymerization of methacrylates such as 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate, and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate diffused into segmented polyurethane (SPU) membranes swollen with a monomer mixture. The values of Young's modulus for the hydrated semi‐IPN membranes were less than that for an SPU membrane because of higher hydration, but they were much higher than that for a hydrated MPC polymer gel (non‐SPU). According to a thermal analysis, the MPC polymer influenced the segment association of SPU. The diffusion coefficient of 8‐anilino‐1‐naphthalenesulfonic acid sodium salt from the semi‐IPN membrane could be controlled with different MPC unit concentrations in the membrane, and it was about 7 × 10² times higher than that of the SPU membrane. Fibroblast cell adhesion on the semi‐IPN membrane was effectively reduced by the MPC units. We concluded that semi‐IPNs composed of the MPC polymer and SPU may be novel polymer materials possessing attractive mechanical, diffusive‐release, and nonbiofouling properties. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 68–75, 2003     

Thermolyzable polymer networks and star polymers containing a novel,compact, degradable acylal‐based dimethacrylate cross‐linker: Synthesis,characterization, and thermolysis

A compact, cleavable acylal dimethacrylate cross‐linker, 1,1‐ethylenediol dimethacrylate (EDDMA), was synthesized from the anhydrous iron(III) chloride‐catalyzed reaction between methacrylic anhydride and acetaldehyde. The ability of EDDMA to act as cross‐linker was demonstrated by using it for the preparation of one neat cross‐linker network, four star polymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA), and four randomly cross‐linked MMA polymer networks using group transfer polymerization (GTP). For comparison, the corresponding polymer structures based on the commercially available ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) cross‐linker (isomer of EDDMA) were also prepared via GTP. The number of arms of the EDDMA‐based star polymers was lower than that of the corresponding EGDMA polymers, whereas the degrees of swelling in tetrahydrofuran of the EDDMA‐based MMA networks were higher than those of their EGDMA‐based counterparts. Although none of the EDDMA‐containing polymers could be cleanly hydrolyzed under basic or acidic conditions, they could be thermolyzed at 200 °C within 1 day giving lower molecular weight products. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5811–5823, 2007