Electric fields in the rheology of disperse systems

In the present survey, the influence of electric fields on the structure and rheological properties of disperse systems as well as the effect of deformations on their electrical characteristics are discussed. The properties of these systems are considered in terms of the dielectric permittivity and electrification potential. The considerable thickness of the double electric layer around the disperse phase particles, which is characteristic of disperse systems with nonpolar hydrocarbon dispersion media, provides the possibility for strong electric fields to produce an electric nonuniformity on the surface of the disperse phase particles. The formation of hydrate layers on the particles creates the possibility of polarization of the disperse phase. In plastic disperse systems such as greases, a strong orientation effect is observed, which contributes to the creation of frozen flow patterns when the flow is suddenly stopped. The survey is concluded with a consideration of the process of formation of chain structures in the direction of the lines of force of the electric field whose orientation is normal to the direction of flow, which can lead to complete stoppage of the flow.     

On shapes of body waves in periodically inhomogeneous, magnetostrictive, dielectric materials

The shapes of shear body waves in periodically inhomogeneous, magnetostrictive, dielectric media are studied with emphasis on the partial (elastic and magnetostrictive) wave motions coupled to produce magnetoelastic waves __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 7, pp. 57–63, July 2006.     

Recovery of small electromagnetic inhomogeneities from partial boundary measurementsIdentification de petites inhomogénéités diélectriques à partir de mesures partielles

We consider for the inverse problem of identifying locations and certain properties of the shapes of small dielectric inhomogeneities in a homogeneous background medium from boundary measurements on part of the boundary or dynamic boundary measurements for a finite time interval. Using as weights particular background solutions we develop asymptotic methods based on appropriate averaging of the data. To cite this article: H. Ammari, A.G. Ramm, C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 199–205.     

Effects of static electric field on the fracture behavior of piezoelectric ceramics

The paper gives an overview on experimental observations of the failure behavior of electrically insulating and conducting cracks in piezoelectric ceramics. The experiments include the indentation fracture test, the bending test on smooth samples, and the fracture test on pre-notched (or pre-cracked) compact tension samples. For electrically insulating cracks, the experimental results show a complicated fracture behavior under electrical and mechanical loading. Fracture data are much scattered when a static electric field is applied. A statistically based fracture criterion is required. For electrically conducting cracks, the experimental results demonstrate that static electric fields can fracture poled and depoled lead zirconate titanate ceramics and that the concepts of fracture mechanics can be used to measure the electrical fracture toughness. Furthermore, the electrical fracture toughness is much higher than the mechanical fracture toughness. The highly electrical fracture toughness arises from the greater energy dissipation around the conductive crack tip under purely electric loading, which is impossible under mechanical loading in the brittle ceramics. The project supported by an RGC grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China     

Studies on the Effect of Organic Solvents and Temperature on the Micellar Solution of Pentamethylene-1,5-bis(tetradecyldimethylammonium bromide) Gemini Surfactant

Effects of three organic solvents, viz. methyl cellosolve, acetonitrile, and formamide, on the micellization process of Gemini surfactant pentamethylene-1,5-bis(tetradecyldimethylammonium bromide) aqueous solutions, with the volume percentages of the organic solvents up to 50%, have been investigated conductometrically. The studies were made at different temperatures and the data were used to find out different micellization parameters. From the study, it was observed that, although an increment in the amount of the organic solvents delays the micellization, the increase in the critical micelle concentration (cmc) is comparatively less below 20%(v/v) showing the predominance of water character in the bulk phase at lower compositions of the organic solvents. Applying equilibrium model for micelle formation, various thermodynamic parameters were also calculated from the temperature dependence of the cmc values and the results show that the micellization process becomes less spontaneous as the volume % of the organic solvent increases in the system due to the action of water-organic solvent mixed media as better solvent than pure water (solvophobic effect) for the studied Gemini molecules.     

Analysis of Crude Oils by Frequency Domain Spectroscopy—Effect of Composition and Physical Properties on Conductivity and Dielectric Response

The dielectric properties and the composition of fourteen light to heavy crude oils have been analyzed. Frequency domain spectroscopy (FDS) has been used in order to determine their dielectric response in the frequency range 0.01 to 1000 Hz. For all the crude oils, over the whole frequency range under study, dielectric loss, ?″, shows a linear dependence of frequency indicating a pure direct current (DC) conductivity. As temperature is gradually increased, the dielectric loss, ?″, increases as well, showing a strong temperature dependence. The storage modulus, ?′, shows an explicit behaviour at low frequency that could be due to adsorption of oil components onto the electrodes. We tried to correlate some physical and chemical properties (density, viscosity, SARA, TAN, water content) of the studied crude oils with their conductivity measured at various temperatures. No correlation was found and different hypothesis are suggested by the authors to explain this phenomenon.     

Anomalous behaviour in the SmA*–SmCA* pre‐transitional regime of a chiral swallow‐tailed antiferroelectric liquid crystal

The temperature‐ and electric field‐dependent dielectric relaxation and polarisation of a new chiral swallow tailed antiferroelectric liquid crystal, i.e. 1‐ethylpropyl (S)‐2‐{6‐[4‐(4′‐decyloxyphenyl)benzoyloxy]‐2‐naphthyl}propionate (abbreviated as EP10PBNP), were investigated. The electric field‐induced dielectric loss spectra of EP10PBNP revealed electroclinic and anomalous dielectric behaviour in the chiral smectic A (SmA*)–chiral antiferroelectric smectic C (SmC_A*) pre‐transitional regime. From an analysis of thermal hysteresis of the dielectric constant, electric field‐induced polarisation and dielectric loss spectra, the appearance of a ferrielectric‐like mesophase is observed followed by an unstable SmC_A* phase in the SmA*–SmC_A* pre‐transitional regime.     

Synthesis and Properties of Poly(Aryl Ether Ketone) Copolymers with Trifluoromethyl‐Substituted Benzene in the Side Chain

The new monomer (4‐(4′‐trifluoromethyl)phenoxyphenyl)hydroquinone (TFPOPH) was synthesized in a three‐step synthesis. A series of poly(aryl ether ketone) copolymers were prepared by the reaction of (4‐(4′‐Trifluoromethyl)phenoxyphenyl)hydroquinone and hydroquinone (HQ) with 4,4′‐difluorobenzophenone (DFB) in the presence of potassium carbonate in tretramethylene sulfone (TMS). Thermal analyses of the fluorinated copolymers showed that the glass transition temperature and 5.0% weight loss temperature are similar with that of PEEK, and the crystallinity decreased with increasing of TFPOPH. For the copolymer synthesized with the molar fraction of TFPOPH in the diphenol monomers (TFPOPH, HQ) being over 0.2, no cold crystallization temperature and melting temperature were detected, indicating that these copolymers are almost amorphous. The crystal structure of the copolymers with the molar fraction of TFPOPH being not higher than 0.2 is rhombic. The solubility in polar aprotic solvents of poly(aryl ether ketone)s copolymers increases and dielectric constant decreases step by step.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Comparison of Properties of Novel Fluorinated Polyimides Derived from Bisphenol–A‐di(phthaleic anhydride)

Four new poly(etherimide)s have been synthesized by reaction with commercially available bisphenol‐A‐(diphthaleic anhydride) (BPADA) with four different kinds of diamines, namely 4,4′‐bis(p‐aminophenoxy‐3,3″‐trifluoromethyl) terphenyl,4,4′‐bis(3″‐trifluoromethyl‐p‐aminobiphenyl ether)biphenyl,2,6‐bis(3′‐trifluoromethyl‐p‐aminobiphenyl ether)pyridine, 2,5‐bis(3′‐trifluoromethyl‐p‐aminobiphenylether)thiopene. The poly(etherimide)s are named as 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d, respectively. The synthesized polyimides show good solubility in various organic solvents. The polyimide films had low water absorption of 0.19–0.30% and low dielectric constant of 2.79–3.1 at 1 MHz. These polyimides showed very high thermal stability with decomposition temperature (5% wt loss) up to 522°C in nitrogen. Transparent thin films of these polyimides exhibited tensile strength up to 97 MPa, a modulus of elasticity up to 1.56 GPa and elongation at break up to 20%.     

Evaluation of the (Allyl alcohol 1,2‐butoxylate‐block‐etoxylate)‐b‐PMMA Copolymers Composition by the Dielectric Measurements

Redox initiated free‐radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with allyl alcohol 1,2‐butoxylate‐block‐etoxylate (AABE) was carried out to yield AABE‐b‐PMMA copolymers at elevated temperatures. The composition of the copolymers depending on the polymerization temperature was qualitatively estimated by the dielectric measurements. It has been seen that AABE segment quantity decreased and PMMA segment quantity increased with increasing the polymerization temperature. The dielectric constant and the dissipation factor of the copolymers were investigated as a function of frequency and temperature. The dielectric constant and the dissipation factor were found to be strongly affected by the polymerization temperature. The highest dielectric constant in all studied temperatures and frequencies was obtained in the case of the copolymer which was prepared at 313 K. The dipolar C‐O and OH groups of the AABE segment have the primary effect on the dielectric constant. The copolymer which was prepared at 323 K, showed the highest dissipation factor near the relaxation temperature of PMMA.