Numerical analysis of a model of cure process for composites

We consider a composite material composed of fibres included in a resin which becomes solid when it is heated up (reaction of reticulation). The mathematical modelling of the cure process is given by a kinetic equation describing the evolution of the reaction of reticulation coupled with the heat equation. In this paper, we are interested in the computation of approximate solutions. We propose a family of discretized problems depending on two parameters (β₁, β₂) ε [0, 1]² which split the linear and non‐ linear terms in implicit and explicit parts. We prove the stability and convergence of the discretization for any (β₁, β₂) ε [½, 1 ] × [0, 1]. We present also some numerical results. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The shear modulus in the fiber direction of unidirectional fiber composites based on the concept of mesophase

A new and accurate relationship for the shear modulus in the fiber direction of unidirectional fiber composites is derived, based on the Kerner model concepts but not using its approximate relationships. Furthermore, this model is extended by taking into account the mesophase between the fiber and the matrix accomodating smoothly the mechanical properties between neighbouring phases. The introduction of the mesophase results in an improvement of the theoretical predictions, which now approach close to experimental values for the moduli of different fibrous composites.     

Micromechanics of ferroelectric polymer-based electrostrictive composites

Electrostriction refers to the strain induced in a dielectric by electric polarization, which is usually very small for practical application. In this paper, we present a micromechanical analysis on the effective electrostriction of a ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene [P(VDF-TrFE)] polymer-based composite, where the exact connections between the effective electrostrictive coefficients and effective elastic moduli are established, and numerical algorithm for the prediction of the effective electrostrictive coefficients of the composite in terms of its microstructural information is developed. From our calculations, enhanced electrostriction in the composite has been demonstrated, and optimal microstructure for electrostriction enhancement has been identified. Our analysis provides a mechanism for the electrostriction enhancement, where the electrostrictive strain several times higher than that of polymer matrix can be obtained, if the microstructure of the composites can be carefully tailored.     

Effect of the pore surface modification of an inorganic substrate on the plasma‐grafting behavior of pore‐filling‐type organic/inorganic composite membranes

We have investigated the effect of the surface state and surface treatment of the pores of an inorganic substrate on the plasma‐grafting behavior of pore‐filling‐type organic/inorganic composite membranes. Shirasu porous glass (SPG) was used as the inorganic substrate, and methyl acrylate was used as the grafting monomer. The grafting rate increased as the density of silanol on the SPG substrate increased. This result suggests that radicals are generated mainly at the silanol groups on the pore surface by plasma irradiation. The SPG substrates were treated with silane coupling agents used to control the mass of organic material bonded to the pore surface. The thickness of the grafted layer became thinner as the mass of organic material bonded to the pore surface of SPG increased. This decrease in the thickness of the grafted layer could be explained by the decrease in the penetration depth of vacuum ultraviolet rays contained in plasma having a wavelength of less than 160 nm that generated radicals in the pores of the substrate. The thickness of the grafted layer inside the SPG substrates could be controlled through the control of the mass of organic material bonded to the pore surface of the SPG substrate. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 846–856, 2006     

Vinyl‐terminated side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polyethers containing mesogenic benzylideneaniline moieties

The synthesis of two vinyl‐terminated side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polyethers containing benzylideneaniline moieties as mesogenic cores was approached in two different ways: by chemically modifying poly(epichlorohydrin) with suitable mesogenic acids or by polymerizing analogous glycidyl ester or glycidyl ether derivatives. In all the conditions tested, the first approach led to materials in which the imine group was hydrolyzed. The second approach led to the desired polymers PG2a and PG2b , but only from the glycidyl ether derivatives and when the initiator was the system that combined polyiminophosphazene base t‐Bu‐P₄ and 3,5‐di‐t‐butylphenol. These polymers were chemically characterized by IR and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. The estimated degrees of polymerization ranged from 30 to 36. The liquid crystalline behavior of the synthesized polymers was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy (POM) and X‐ray diffraction. Both polymers behave like liquid crystals and exhibited a single mesophase, which was recognized as a smectic C mesophase, probably with a bilayer arrangement, i.e., a smectic C₂ mesophase. The crosslinking of both polymers was performed with dicumyl peroxide as initiator, which led to liquid crystalline thermosets. POM and X‐ray diffraction confirmed that the mesophase organization mantained on the crosslinked materials. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1877–1889, 2006     

Investigation of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone)/heteropolyacid composite membranes for high temperature fuel cell applications

The sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone) (SPEEKS)/heteropolyacid (HPA) composite membranes with different HPA content in SPEEKS copolymers matrix with different degree of sulfonation (DS) were investigated for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Composite membranes were characterized by Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR band shifts suggested that the sulfonic acid groups on the copolymer backbone strongly interact with HPA particles. SEM pictures showed that the HPA particles were uniformly distributed throughout the SPEEKS membranes matrix and particle sizes decreased with the increment of copolymers' DS. The holes were not found in SPEEKS‐4/HPA30 (consisting of 70% SPEEKS copolymers with DS = 0.8 and 30% HPA) composite membrane after composite membranes were treated with boiling water for 24 h. Thermal stabilities of the composite membranes were better than those of pure sulfonated copolymers membranes. Although the composite membranes possessed lower water uptake, it exhibited higher proton conductivity for SPEEKS‐4/HPA30 especially at high temperature (above 100 °C). Its proton conductivity linearly increased from 0.068 S/cm at 25 °C to 0.095 S/cm at 120 °C, which was higher than 0.06 S/cm of Nafion 117. In contrast, proton conductivity of pure SPEEKS‐4 membrane only increased from 0.062 S/cm at 25 °C to 0.078 S/cm at 80 °C. At 120 °C, proton conductivity decreased to poor 0.073 S/cm. The result indicated that composite membranes exhibited high proton conductivity at high temperature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1967–1978, 2006     

Anisotropic static solutions in modelling highly compact bodies

Einstein field equations for static anisotropic spheres are solved and exact interior solutions obtained. This paper extends earlier treatments to include anisotropic models which accommodate a wider variety of physically viable energy densities. Two classes of solutions are possible. The first class contains the limiting caseμ,∝ r^-2 for the energy density which arises in many astrophysical applications. In the second class the singularity at the centre of the star is not present in the energy density.     

模糊神经网络在复合地基沉降量预测中的应用

复合地基后期沉降变形对于建筑物设计及安全具有重要意义,针对通过长期沉降观测以得到复合地基的最终沉降需要耗费较多资源的问题,提出了一种基于模糊神经网络的预测方法.该方法考虑沉降变化过程有较大的随机性和模糊性,直接将样本数据进行模糊化,所得的模糊数代表了样本点集与控制点集中各分量之间的相关度,并依此建立模糊BP神经网络进行学习和估算.实验结果表明了该方法对沉降进行预测是可行与有效的,且在相对误差的有效控制方面优于BP网络方法与灰色方法.     

多钼酸盐–柠檬酸复合膜的多色光致变色

制备了多钼酸盐–柠檬酸光致变色复合膜，紫外光照后发现不同摩尔比的复合膜呈现不同的颜色。当摩尔比为1.0，0.3和0.2时，变色后的薄膜分别显深蓝色，深黄褐色和淡海绿色。通过对薄膜的拉曼光谱分析证实呈现不同的颜色是由于在变色后的膜中生成了不同的物种。柠檬酸在光致变色过程中起着重要的作用, 在紫外光的照射下它作为空穴的捕获剂, 抑制了光生电子和空穴的复合, 使多钼酸盐呈现紫外光致变色现象。