Optimization of Nd:YAG laser welding onto magnesium alloy via Taguchi analysis

The use of an Nd:YAG laser for thin plate magnesium alloy butt welding was optimized using the Taguchi analytical methodology. The welding parameters governing the laser beam in thin plate butt welding were evaluated by measuring of the ultimate tension stress. The effectiveness of the Taguchi method lies in clarifying the factor that dominates complex interactions in laser welding. The factors can be the shielding gas, laser energy, convey speed of workpiece, point at which the laser is focused, pulse frequency, and pulse shape. Furthermore, 18 combinations of these six essential welding parameters were set and Taguchi's method followed exactly. The optimal result was confirmed with a superior ultimate tension stress of 169 MPa, 2.5 times larger to that from original set for laser welding.     

A STUDY OF STRUCTURE AND PROPERTY CHANGES OF BIODEGRADABLE POLYGLYCOLIDE AND POLY(GLYCOLIDE-co-LACTIDE)FIBERS DURING PROCESSING AND IN VITRO DEGRADATION*

Structure and properties of bioabsorbable polyglycolide (PGA) and poly(glycolide-co-lactide) (PGA-co-PLA)fibers were investigated during several industrial processing stages and in vitro degradation by means of wide-angle X-raydiffraction (WAXD), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and mechanical property tests. In the orientation stage, the PGAfibers were found to have higher degrees of crystallinity than corresponding PGA-co-PLA samples produced under similarconditions. In the hot-stretching and post-annealing stages, after fibers were braided, PGA samples were found to gain morecrystallinity and higher T_g than PGA-co-PLA samples. The higher crystallinity in PGA fibers resulted in a slower rate ofdegradation. DMA results showed that a great deal of internal stress that was built during orientation and hot-stretchingstages was released in the post-annealing stage for a1l PGA and PGA-co-PLA samples. During earlier stages of in vitrodegradation, both PGA and PGA-co-PLA samples exhibited the typical cleavage-induced crystallization mechanism. Theheat shrinkage in the glass transition area was found to disappear after 6-8 days of degradation for all PGA and PGA-co-PLAsamples, indicating the amorphous portions of the polymers lost orientation after a short period in the buffer solution, mostlikely due to relaxation of the cleaved chains.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel soluble triphenylamine‐containing aromatic polyamides based on N,N′‐bis(4‐aminophenyl)‐N,N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine

A new triphenylamine‐containing aromatic diamine, N, N′‐bis(4‐aminophenyl)‐N, N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine, was prepared by the condensation of N,N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine with 4‐fluoronitrobenzene, followed by catalytic reduction. A series of novel aromatic polyamides with triphenylamine units were prepared from the diamine and various aromatic dicarboxylic acids or their diacid chlorides via the direct phosphorylation polycondensation or low‐temperature solution polycondensation. All the polyamides were amorphous and readily soluble in many organic solvents such as N, N‐dimethylacetamide and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. These polymers could be solution cast into transparent, tough, and flexible films with good mechanical properties. They had useful levels of thermal stability associated with relatively high glass‐transition temperatures (257–287 °C), 10% weight‐loss temperatures in excess of 550 °C, and char yields at 800 °C in nitrogen higher than 72%. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2810–2818, 2002     

In situ synchrotron SAXS/WAXD studies during melt spinning of modified carbon nanofiber and isotactic polypropylene nanocomposite

The structural development of a nanocomposite, containing 95 wt% isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and 5 wt% modified carbon nanofiber (MCNF), during fiber spinning was investigated by in situ synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) techniques. The modification of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) was accomplished by a chemical surface treatment using in situ polymerization of olefin segments to enhance its compatibility with iPP, where the iPP/MCNF nanocomposite was prepared by twostep blending to ensure the dispersion of MCNF. X-ray results showed that at low spin-draw ratios, the iPP/MCNF nanocomposite fiber exhibited much higher iPP crystalline orientation than the control iPP fiber. At higher spin-draw ratios, the crystalline orientation of the nanocomposite fiber and that of the pure iPP fiber was about the same. The crystallinity of the composite fiber was higher than that of the control iPP fiber, indicating the nucleating effect of the modified carbon nanofibers. The nanocomposite fiber also showed larger long periods at low spin-draw ratios. Measurements of mechanical properties indicated that the nanocomposite fiber with 5 wt% MCNF had much higher tensile strength, modulus and longer elongation to break. The mechanical enhancement can be attributed to the dispersion of MCNF in the matrix, which was confirmed by SEM results.Dedicated to Prof. E D. Fischer on his 75th birthday.     

Free-boundary values in an elastic-plastic torsion problem

Consider a cylindrical pipe twisted by terminal couples. For a large twist θ, the elastic-plastic stress function, Ψ (·,θ), is shown to be the positive in the interior of the pipe, an increasing function of θ and converging to the completely plastic stress function, $ \bar \Psi \left(\cdot \right) $ (·), as θ→∞. A geometric procedure for constructing Ψ(·) has been developed to provide qualitative information. The main result states that $ \psi \left({\cdot,\theta} \right) = \bar \Psi \left(\cdot \right) $ on the cross-sectional boundary of the pipe, if θ is greater than or equal to a certain critical value, In addition, an example has been constructed to give additional insights.     

Generalized herglotz domains

Let F(θ k, α) be the far field pattern arising from the scattering of a time harmonic plane acoustic wave of wave number k and direction a by a sound-soft cylinder of cross section D. Suppose F has the Fourier expansion where a_n = a_n(k, . Then if ?² is a Dirichlet eigenvalue for D, sufficient conditions are given on D for the existence of a nontrivial sequence |b_n| where the b_n are independent of such that for all directions Domains for which this is true are called generalized Herglotz domains. The conditions for a domain to be a generalized Herglotz domain are given either in terms of the Schwarz function for the analytic boundary ?D or in terms of the Rayleigh hypothesis in acoustic scattering theory and examples are given showing the applicability of these conditions.     

Size Effect of Colloidal Selenium Particles on the Inhibition of LPS‐Induced Nitric Oxide Production

We have studied the size‐dependent inhibition capabilities of colloidal selenium (Se) particles on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 cells. Four particle sizes of the nano‐Se, ranging from 45 ? 220 nm in diameter, were examined. All of them, unlike their bulk material, show clear capabilities of inhibition and a trend dependent on the particles size. The inhibition becomes more potent as the particle size increases. It indicates that pursuing the reduction of colloidal sizes into nanoscale is not favoured in this biological system.     

1-Benzenesulfonyl-2-trimethylsilylethane and 1-benzenesulfonyl-1-chloro-2-trimethylsilylethane; efficient reagents for sulfonyl-α-vinylation

1-Benzenesulfonyl-2-trimethylsilylethane and 1-benzenesulfonyl-1-chloro-2-trimethylsilylethane are convertable to 1-benzenesulfonyl-1-chloro-1-substituted-2-trimethylsilylethanes which undergo elimination by fluoride ion to give phenyl $\text{α}$-substituted-vinyl sulfones.     

Low temperature synthesis of bilayer hydrated cesium cobalt oxide

Bilayer hydrated Na_0.35CoO₂·1.3H₂O structure has re-directed superconductivity research in recent years. Here, we develop a low temperature synthesis method to prepare a novel hydrous Cs_0.2CoO₂·0.63H₂O compound in one step. The bilayer-hydrate of Cs_0.2CoO₂·0.63H₂O with a greatest interlayer spacing d=10.0(2) Å among alkali cobalt oxides has been grown in crystal form. Magnetic susceptibility measurement of Cs_0.2CoO₂·0.63H₂O displays a paramagnetic behavior down to 1.9 K. With the assistance of low temperature molten CsOH solvent, crystals of Rb_0.30CoO₂·0.36H₂O and K_0.35CoO₂·0.4H₂O can be grown. The results provide the capability for preparing a novel hydrous structure and the systematic investigation of interlayer coupling effect of alkali ion insertion compounds.