Effect of surface modification of fibers with a polymer coating on the interlaminar shear strength of a composite and the translation of fiber strength in an F-12 aramid/epoxy composite vessel

The surface of aramid fibers was modified with a polymer coating — a surface treatment reagent containing epoxy resin. The resulting fibers were examined by using NOL tests, hydroburst tests, and the scanning electron microscopy. The modified fibers had a rougher surface than the untreated ones. The interlaminar shear strength of an aramid-fiber-reinforced epoxy composite was highest when the concentration of polymer coating system was 5%. The translation of fiber strength in an aramid/epoxy composite vessel was improved by 8%. The mechanism of the surface treatment of fibers in improving the mechanical properties of aramid/epoxy composites is discussed. Russian translation publeshed in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 729–738, November–December, 2006.     

Effect of external pressure on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of polymers

The behavior of crystalline polymers obtained by molding at high pressures has been investigated. External pressure can promote or retard polymer crystallization processes, depending on its intensity. Comparison of various physicochemical and mechanical properties of specimens obtained at different external pressures shows that the corresponding curves have two maxima: one at 200–800 kgf/cm² and another on the narrower interval between 1300 and 1500 kgf/cm². The position of the first maximum is associated with the molecular weight distribution and the flexibility of the polymer chain, and position of the second is determined by the chemical nature of the polymer. The data obtained help to make possible a rational choice of polymer processing methods in which pressure is involved.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 200–204, 1968     

Concerning the principle of linear summation of partial fracture with uniform stress increase in polymers

It is established that the Bailey integral depends importantly on the molecular weight of the polymer: at the same stress growth rate the Bailey integral is the greater, the higher the molecular weight of the polymer. The dependence of the Bailey integral on the rate of increase of stress is given.     

The role of the porous structure of the filler in the reinfo rcement of polymers

Composites consisting of polyethylene and porous fillers with various pore sizes (from 22 to 115 Å) and surface types have been investigated. It is shown that the polymer filling the pores takes part in the deformation processes. The modulus of elasticity of the filled polymers is directly proportional to the filler surface per gram polymer. It is proposed to characterize the activity of the fillers by reference to the slope of the straight lines E-S with the hydrodynamic effect excluded.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 253–258, March–April, 1973.     

Change in the molecular weight of deformed polycaproamide

The change in the molecular weight of polycaproamide during deformation has been measured. The measurements confirm the breakage of chemical bonds in the course of polymer fracture.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 3, p. 562, 1968     

Strength properties of oriented amorphous linear polymers in relation to their structure

Tensile tests have been conducted at room temperature on uniaxially oriented films of a number of amorphous linear polymers. It has been shown that the mechanical properties of the oriented polymers in the glassy state are chiefly determined by two parameters of the structure—the degree of orientation of the macromolecule segments and the concentration of stressed chains per unit volume, irrespective of the molecular weight of the polymer and the orientational stretching conditions.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 455–460, 1967     

Effect of molecular weight on strength and deformation characteristics of oriented amorphous polymers

Tensile tests were carried out on uniaxially oriented films of several amorphous linear polymers (polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, and poly-2,2-octamethylene-5,5-dibenzimidazol) of various molecular weights. It was shown that molecular weight has no direct effect on polymer strength, which is determined by structure. However, when polymer fibers and films are formed and stretched, the molecular weight of a given material affects the orientation of macromolecules and so predetermines the structure of the products obtained and, consequently, their strength.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 579–585, 1967     

Diffusion-controlled smoulder propagation in a semi-infinite solid: The asymptotic temperature distribution

The authors consider the steady propagation of a two-dimensionaldiffusioncontrolled smouldering reaction front parallel to theplane boundary of a semi-infinite nonporous reactant. The reactionfront is assumed to be a sheet of line heat sources of variablestrength. The distribution of oxidizer concentration and temperaturein the porous burnt char and of the temperature in the reactantis determined in the form of an asymptotic expansion involvinga similarity variable. The temperature on the reaction frontin the asymptotic region is found to be constant to high order.The dependence of this temperature on the Lewis numbers associatedwith the reactant and the char is found to be in general agreementwith observations.     

On the theory of non-Newtonian polymer flow

The Eyring-Frenkel theory of viscosity of low-molecular liquids has been extended to solutions of high-molecular compounds. It is shown that there are flow units of different sizes in the system, their mean size being proportional to the molecular weight of the polymer. An expression is obtained for the non-Newtonian viscosity of polymer solutions. In the limiting case of high shear rates the viscosity of the solution coincides with that of the solvent. At low shear rates Flory's empirical relation for the viscosity of polymer solutions is theoretically obtained.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 779–784, 1966     

New method of coating metals with polymers

A new method of obtaining polymer coatings on metals is described. The polymer is deposited on the metal substrate in the form of microbeads, which are imbedded in a second layer of metal electrolytically deposited on the parts of the surface free of polymer. After this a final layer of polymeric material is applied to serve as a coating or adhesive.Institute of Mechanics of Metal-Polymer Systems, Academy of Sciences of the Belorussian SSR, Gomel'. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 347–349, March–April, 1871.     

Perturbation analysis of radiative effect on free convection flows in porous medium in the presence of pressure work and viscous dissipation

The effect of thermal radiation with a regular three-parameter perturbation analysis has been studied for the effects in some free convection flows of Newtonian fluid-saturated porous medium. The effects of the thermal radiation, permeability of the porous medium, pressure stress work and viscous dissipation on the flows and temperature fields have been included in the analysis. Four different vertical flows have been analyzed, those adjacent to an isothermal surface, uniform heat flux surface, a plane plume and flow generated from a horizontal line energy source, and, a vertical adiabatic surface. Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. The numerical results of the perturbation analysis for four conditions are solved numerically by the fourth-order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. Numerical values of the main physical quantities are the skin friction and a heat transfer and total heat and mass convected downstream are presented in a tabular form with the parameters characterizing the radiation, permeability of the porous medium, pressure stress work and viscous dissipation. The obtained results are compared and a representative set is displayed graphically to illustrate the influences of the radiation, permeability of the porous medium, pressure stress work and viscous dissipation on the velocity and the temperature profiles.     

Influence of the polymer degradation on enhanced oil recovery processes

Polymer flooding is one of the most common and technically developed chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes. Its main function is to increase the carrying phase’s (i.e., water or brine) viscosity in order to mobilize the remaining trapped oil. Many numerical simulators have been developed during the last 30 years considering the influence of the polymer molecules on the viscosity as well as on other physical parameters (e.g., diffusion, adsorption). Nevertheless, there are certain phenomena which were not previously considered, for instance, the interfacial effects of hydrophobically modified polymers. Furthermore, the degradation of the polymer molecules in a harsh environment such as the one found in porous media is well known. This causes a deterioration on the viscosifying properties, diminishing the efficiency of the method. It is important also to consider the effect of the polymer viscoelasticity on the microscopic sweeping efficiency, lowering the residual oil saturation, which has not been properly addressed. A new compositional 2D numerical simulator is presented for polymer flooding in a two-phase, three-component configuration, considering all these physical effects present in porous media and using a fully second-order accurate scheme coupled with total variation diminishing (TVD) functions. Results demonstrated that degradation cannot be considered negligible in any polymer EOR process, since it affected the viscoelastic and viscosifying properties, decreasing the sweeping efficiency at both micro- and macroscopic scales. This simulator will allow setting the desired designing properties for future polymers in relationship with the characteristics of the oil field to be exploited.     

Effect of foam stability on pore coherence and mechanical properties of rubber latex based materials

The effect of a foaming agent, gelling agent, porous and nonporous fillers (silica gel and chalk) on the ability of latex foam to resist rupture of pore walls, the coherence of the pore volume, and the mechanical properties of foam rubber are investigated. It is demonstrated that the average size of the pores and the through junctions between pores can be increased by up to 1.5 times, their ratio by up to 1.5 times, and pore coherence by up to two times by varying compositional factors.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov. Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 828–833, November–December. 1995.     

Estimation of the quality of adhesion of a metallic coating to a polymer film using the scratch method

A method of determining the quality of adhesion of a metallic coating to a polymer film at coating thicknesses of 1000–3000 Å and film thicknesses of 10–100 µ using the scratch method is described. The results of testing various aluminized polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene film specimens, differing with respect to the treatment of the polymer surface before deposition of the metal, are presented. The aluminization vacuum was 5 · 10^?4 or 9 · 10^?3 mm Hg.     

Thermomechanical method for determining the molecular weights of amorphous linear polymers

A thermomechanical investigation of polyisobutylene specimens under various time and stress conditions enabled us to extend the applicability of this method of determining the molecular weight of an undissolved polymer. The previously proposed mechanical model of a polymer, which is the basis of the relationship between the molecular weight of the polymer and the difference between the yield and glass-transition temperatures, must be refined to make allowance for the supramolecular structure.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 586–590, 1967     

Shape-Memory Effect in Polymer Composites with a Compactible Filler

The shape-memory effect has been investigated in formed porous polymers and composites under heating. An epoxy polymer, ultrahigh-molecular polyethylene, and polypropylene were used as the polymeric matrix and carbon materials of different bulk density were taken for the filler. An unconventional shape-memory effect, which is accompanied by an increase in volume, was created. Processing schemes by which this effect can be achieved are proposed. They make it possible to obtain products of varying configuration.     

Aligned magnetic effects through varying permeable bed

The aligned magnetic effects on a steady laminar, viscous, incompressible, conducting fluid down an open inclined channel bounded below by a bed of varying permeability has been studied when the free surface is exposed to atmospheric pressure. Beavers and Joseph slip condition at the interface of the free flow region and the fluid flow in the porous bed and the Darcy’s law in the porous medium have been used. The expressions for velocity, magnetic strength and the mass flow across the cross-section of the channel are obtained.     

Effect of fillers on the viscosity and viscoelasticity of low-density polyethylene melts. Communication 1

An investigation of low-density polyethylenes filled with up to 30% by volume dispersed particles, has shown that for both the matrix and the composites the apparent viscous flow activation energy does not depend on the shear stresses and increases starting from a certain filler concentration at which the conformation range in the matrix is depleted. The dependence of the relative viscosity of the compositions on the volume filler content is satisfactorily described by an equation that contains the reduced filler concentration, defined as the ratio of the nominal filler concentration to the limiting concentration at which the adsorption layers on the particles extend throughout the matrix. The thickness of the polymer layer adsorbed on the particles must be determined from the specific exterior particle surface, with allowance for the volume of the polymer in the sorption space of the porous filler.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 478–486, May–June, 1976.     

Effect of the molecular weight of polystyrene on the viscosity of concentrated solutions

The viscosity of solutions of polystyrene of various molecular weights (from 1.04 · 10² to 3.8 · 10⁵) in a poor solvent (decalin) and a good solvent (ethylbenzene) has been measured at temperatures from 15 to 70°C over a broad range of shear stresses from 10² to 10⁶ dyne/cm². The nature of the solvent has a considerable influence on the critical molecular weight and the absolute value of the viscosities of the solutions over the entire range of molecular weights and on the form of the flow curves of decalin solutions of polystyrene as a function of temperature. The heat of activation of viscous flow increases with increase in molecular weight and shear stress on the interval 20–80°C. The results obtained are explained in terms of the effect of the molecular weight of the polymer, the nature of the solvent, stress and temperature on structure formation in the solution and on the orientation of the macromolecules and structures in the flow process.Ural Gor'kii State University, Sverdlovsk. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 920–926, September–October, 1970.     

Development of porous implants with non-uniform mechanical properties distribution based on CT images

In this study, the mechanical properties (elastic modulus, yield stress, and Poisson's ratio) of rhombic dodecahedron (RD) unit cell has been studied analytically and numerically. For the analytical study, two well-known beam theories, namely Euler Bernoulli and Timoshenko, have been implemented. For validating the analytical relationships, finite element model of unit cell with repetitive boundary condition has been created. Moreover, the experimental results of recent studies have been used for validation. The results showed that the presented analytical relationships for RD lattice structure have good agreement with numerical and experimental results in all the relative densities particularly in lower relative densities. Besides, the analytical relationships based on Timoshenko theory showed closer results with numerical/experimental data. The derived analytical relationships for RD as well as the data extracted from CT scan images of a femur bone, were combined and used to create a porous femur implant model. The stress and strain distributions of the porous femur model under typical static compressive load due to human weight as well as axial rigidity of the model in the same loading conditions have been obtained and compared with the experimental results from other studies. The stress and strain distributions of the porous femur implant model based on RD unit cells, as well as its axial rigidity, showed good agreement with the results obtained for human femur.