Supramolecular aggregations through the inclusion complexation of cyclodextrins and polymers with bulky end groups

Mono‐polyhedral oligomeric sillsesquioxane‐end capped poly(ε‐caprolactone) (mPPCL) can form inclusion complexes (ICs) with α‐ and γ‐cyclodextrins (CDs) but not with β‐CD. These CD ICs have been characterized with X‐ray diffraction, solid‐state ¹³C cross‐polarization/magic‐angle‐spinning NMR spectroscopy, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) chain of mPPCL is included within the channel provided by the CDs to form a columnar, crystalline structure. The PCL/CD ratios determined by ¹H NMR spectroscopy for the ICs with α‐ or γ‐CDs are higher than the stoichiometries because of the steric hindrance of the bulky polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane chain end and result in a fraction of the ε‐caprolactone units free from complexation with the CDs. On the basis of these analyses, we propose some possible structures for these CD/mPPCL ICs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 125–135, 2007     

Drift response of bilinear hysteretic systems under two-frequency excitations

Response characteristics of bilinear hysteretic systems are investigated under two-frequency excitation. The excitation involves a predominate frequency component superimposed by a weaker high-frequency component having an integer frequency ratio. Depending on the frequency ratio, the long-term solutions show various forms of asymmetric response besides a symmetric steady-state response. In the limiting case of zero post-yielding stiffness, the displacement solution may exhibit a periodic-like response characterized by a constant drift increment occurring in each response cycle. To analyze the drift, two solution schemes, respectively, assuming uni-frequency and two-frequency response shapes are presented. Analytical results indicate that the frequency ratio and the phase difference of the two-frequency excitation highly influence not only the drift increment but also the direction of drift response. The effects associated with the addition of viscous damping are also investigated and discussed.     

Optimal Control of an M/G/1/K Queueing System with Combined <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis> Policy and Startup Time

We investigate the optimal management problem of an M/G/1/K queueing system with combined F policy and an exponential startup time. The F policy queueing problem investigates the most common issue of controlling the arrival to a queueing system. We present a recursive method, using the supplementary variable technique and treating the supplementary variable as the remaining service time, to obtain the steady state probability distribution of the number of customers in the system. The method is illustrated analytically for exponential service time distribution. A cost model is established to determine the optimal management F policy at minimum cost. We use an efficient Maple computer program to calculate the optimal value of F and some system performance measures. Sensitivity analysis is also investigated.     

Investigation of solubility of microcrystalline cellulose in aqueous NaOH

A cost‐effective and environmentally friendly method to dissolve microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has been utilized. A detailed investigation of the effects of cellulose amount and solvent (aqueous NaOH) concentration on MCC solubility has been presented. In the experiments, NaOH solutions with concentrations ranging from 3.7 to 18.6 wt% have been employed to dissolve MCC with various weights. The results show that an optimal NaOH concentration range can always be found to give the best solubility of MCC having a certain weight. The solubility monotonically decreases with either the decreasing or increasing of NaOH concentration away from the optimal concentration range. In addition, the optimal concentration range of NaOH for dissolving cellulose has been shown to shrink as the amount of MCC increases. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

C-Cosine Functions and the Abstract Cauchy Problem, II

For a bounded linear injectionCon a Banach spaceXand a closed linear operatorA : D(A) X → Xwhich commutes withCwe prove that (1) the abstract Cauchy problem,u″(t) = Au(t),t R,u(0) = Cx,u′(0) = Cy, has a unique strong solution for everyx,y D(A) if and only if (2)A₁ = AD(A²) generates aC₁-cosine function onX₁(D(A) with the graph norm), if (and only if, in caseAhas nonempty resolvent set) (3)Agenerates aC-cosine function onX. HereC₁ = CX₁. Under the assumption thatAis densely defined andC⁻¹AC = A, statement (3) is also equivalent to each of the following statements: (4) the problemv″(t) = Av(t) + C(x + ty) + ∫^t₀ Cg(r) dr,t R,v(0) = v′(0) = 0, has a unique strong solution for everyg L¹_locandx, y X; (5) the problemw″(t) = Aw(t) + Cg(t),t R,w(0) = Cx,w′(0) = Cy, has a unique weak solution for everyg L¹_locandx, y X. Finally, as an application, it is shown that for any bounded operatorBwhich commutes withCand has range contained in the range ofC,A + Bis also a generator.     

The effects of experimental parameters in the thermal diffusivity measurements of oriented polymer films using mirage effect: Computer simulation

Computer simulations have been carried out to study the effects of the experimental parameters when the mirage method has been applied to thermal diffusivity measurements of oriented polymer films. The parameters under study are the thermal diffusivity of the fluid surrounding the sample, the modulation frequency and the radius of the heating beam, the height and the radius of the probe beam, and the sample thickness and thermal diffusivity. Proposals for the optimum parameter values to maximize the measurement sensitivity for the sample diffusivity are made and the difficulties arising from the low diffusivity of the samples are described. It is also concluded that because the thermal properties of the fluid surrounding the sample have a strong contribution to the mirage signals, the signals do not include any simple feature corresponding to the sample diffusivity. Therefore it should be determined from the entire measurement data using regression methods.     

Functional polymers for colloidal applications. V. Novel behavior of polymeric emulsifiers in emulsion polymerization

The polymeric emulsifier poly(dodecyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) [i.e., the sodium salt (PDA)] and monomeric emulsifier sodium dodecyl glutarate (SDG) have been synthesized. PDA and SDG are used as emulsifiers in the emulsion polymerization of styrene with both the water-soluble initiator potassium persulfate (K₂S₂O₈) and the oil-soluble initiator 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The PDA/K₂S₂O₈ system showed a bimodel distribution of particle sizes (2 and 0.05 μm). A bimodel particle distribution was also found for the PDA/AIBN system, but the distribution for the large particles was wide (0.1–10 and 0.07 μm). The SDG/K₂S₂O₈ system displayed only one kind of particle size (0.05 μm), but the SDG/AIBN system also showed a bimodel distribution of particle sizes (0.05 and 5 μm). These bimodel distribution results for the PDA/K₂S₂O₈, PDA/AIBN, and SDG/AIBN systems indicate that the polymerization sites are both in oil droplets and in micelles (polymer aggregates). This mechanism is interpreted in terms of the formation of polymer aggregates, which is supported by the results of pyrene solubilization, pyrene fluorescence, surface tension, and pyrene excimer experiments. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Stable Al-Cu-Co decagonal quasicrystals

Stable Al₆₅Cu₂₀Co₁₅ and Al₆₅Cu₁₅Co₂₀ decagonal quasicrystals, sometimes using a few percent of Si to replace Al, can be grown directly from the melt as single grain decaprisms of up to 1 cm in length. Some salient features of their solidification processes, growth morphologies, surface structures, high resolution electron microscopic images, two dimensional quasicrystalline structure, relationship to one-dimensional quasicrystals, crystalline approximants, and dislocations are presented.     

Theoretical analysis for the nonlinear frequency-selective joint-transform correlator

The theoretical analysis for a nonlinear and bipolar frequency-selective joint-transform correlator is reported without any impractical assumptions and verifield. The theoretical results are similar to those for a nonlinear and bipolar joint-transform correlator. In addition, the optimal threshold value for a bipolar frequency-selective joint-transform correlator is found to be zero. Moreover, a bipolar frequency-selective joint-transform correlator can provide a phase-only correlation signal with delta-function shape. The theoretical study for a DC-block bipolar frequency-selective joint-transform correlator is also given. It is shown that its autocorrelation peak remains the same as that without a DC block.     

Thermal radiative properties of phenolic foam insulation

Thermal insulation has long been an important subject in engineering. Foam insulations have become the most widely used insulations due to their low cost and ease of procesing. In recent years, phenolic foams find increasing applications because of their fire retardation. This paper presents experimental results of thermal radiative properties of phenolic foams, with or without activated carbon. Transmittance spectra were first taken using FTIR for samples of various densities. Extinction coefficient spectra were then obtained by applying Beer's law. Finally, by using the diffusion approximation, the Rosseland mean extinction coefficients and radiative thermal conductivities were obtained for various temperatures. Results show that the extinction coefficient increases with sample density. The addition of activated carbon increases the extinction coefficient slightly.