Hot press transferring of graphene nanoplatelets on polyurethane block copolymers film for electroactive shape memory devices

We report a transferring method of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) on polyurethane (PU) block copolymers film. We polymerized PU block copolymer films, and then, a GNP layer, deposited on glossy paper by drop casting, was transferred by hot press from the glossy surface to the synthetized PU substrate. Nanoindentation test showed that GNP coated PU substrate exhibits improved mechanical properties with respect to the neat PU film. When an electric bias was applied to the GNP coating, the heat generated by Joule effect was transferred to the PU substrate showing an electroactive shape recovery effect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 1100–1106     

Study of Cu,Cu-Ni and Rh-modified Cu porous layers as electrode materials for the electroanalysis of nitrate and nitrite ions

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Three porous materials (Cu, a Cu-Ni alloy with 70 at.% Cu and Rh-modified Cu) have been tested as electrodes for the electroanalysis of nitrate...     

Spectral response data for development of cool coloured tile coverings

Most ancient or traditional buildings in Italy show steep-slope roofs covered by red clay tiles. As the rooms immediately below the roof are often inhabited in historical or densely urbanized centres, the combination of low solar reflectance of tile coverings and low thermal inertia of either wooden roof structures or sub-tile insulation panels makes summer overheating a major problem. The problem can be mitigated by using tiles coated with cool colours, that is colours with the same spectral response of clay tiles in the visible, but highly reflecting in the near infrared range, which includes more than half of solar radiation. Cool colours can yield the same visible aspect of common building surfaces, but higher solar reflectance.Studies aimed at developing cool colour tile coverings for traditional Italian buildings have been started. A few coating solutions with the typical red terracotta colour have been produced and tested in the laboratory, using easily available materials. The spectral response and the solar reflectance have been measured and compared with that of standard tiles.     

Effect of pressure on the flow behavior of polybutene

The rheology of submicron thick polymer melt is examined under high normal pressure conditions by a recently developed photobleached‐fluorescence imaging velocimetry technique. In particular, the validity and limitation of Reynold equation solution, which suggests a linear through‐thickness velocity profile, is investigated. Polybutene (PB) is sheared between two surfaces in a point contact. The results presented in this work suggest the existence of a critical pressure below which the through‐thickness velocity profile is close to linear. At higher pressures however, the profile assumes a sigmoidal shape resembling partial plug flow. The departure of the sigmoidal profile from the linear profile increases with pressure, which is indicative of a second‐order phase/glass transition. The nature of the transition is confirmed independently by examining the pressure‐dependent dynamics of PB squeeze films. The critical pressure for flow profile transition varies with molecular weight, which is consistent with the pressure‐induced glass transition of polymer melt. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 708–715     

On Tollmien–Schlichting-like waves in streaky boundary layers

The linear stability of the boundary layer developing on a flat plate in the presence of finite-amplitude, steady and spanwise periodic streamwise streaks is investigated. The streak amplitudes considered here are below the threshold for onset of the inviscid inflectional instability of sinuous perturbations. It is found that, as the amplitude of the streaks is increased, the most unstable viscous waves evolve from two-dimensional Tollmien–Schlichting waves into three-dimensional varicose fundamental modes which compare well with early experimental findings. The analysis of the growth rates of these modes confirms the stabilising effect of the streaks on the viscous instability and that this stabilising effect increases with the streak amplitude. Varicose subharmonic modes are also found to be unstable but they have growth rates which typically are an order of magnitude lower than those of fundamental modes. The perturbation kinetic energy production associated with the spanwise shear of the streaky flow is found to play an essential role in the observed stabilisation. The possible relevance of the streak stabilising role for applications in boundary layer transition delay is discussed.     

Modified fixed point algorithm in fluid–structure interactionAccélération avec des conditions de transpiration d'un algorithme de point fixe en interaction fluide–structure

In this work, we address the numerical solution of some non-linear problems arising in the time discretization of fluid–structure interaction problems with fully implicit schemes. At each time step, we have to solve a highly non-linear coupled system, since the fluid domain depends on the unknown displacement of the structure. We propose a modified fixed-point algorithm which combines the Block-Gauss–Seidel iterations with a transpiration formulation. Numerical experiments show the great improvement in computing time with respect to the standard method. To cite this article: S. Deparis et al., C. R. Mecanique 331 (2003).     

Azimuthal instability in an impinging jet: adiabatic wall temperature distribution

The present work has been aimed at gaining some new insights into instability phenomena arising when an air jet impinges on a flat plate under certain conditions. At a critical Mach number, depending on the impingement distance, the jet loses its circumferential appearance with the formation of evenly equidistant azimuthal structures, whose number and location depend on the nozzle geometry and on the flow conditions. The instability is investigated in terms of pressure and adiabatic wall temperature; the latter is measured by means of an infrared scanning radiometer. Entrainment effects are found to play a key role in the priming and evolution of the instability.     

Newtonian drop in a Newtonian matrix subjected to large amplitude oscillatory shear flows

The dynamics of a single Newtonian drop immersed in a Newtonian matrix subjected to large-amplitude oscillatory shear flow is investigated. The ratio of the drop and matrix viscosity is above criticality, and thus break-up is absent under constant shear flow. At small forcing amplitudes the drop shape follows a regular oscillation. As the forcing amplitude increases, multipeaked oscillations of drop shape and orientation are observed. Experimental results are compared with predictions obtained with a phenomenological model. Model predictions are in qualitative good agreement with experimental data. The model suggests that the appearance of higher harmonics in the drop response is mainly due to flow nonaffinity.     

Identification of Material Damage Model Parameters: an Inverse Approach Using Digital Image Processing

A reliable prediction of ductile failure in metals is still a wide-open matter of research. Several models are available in the literature, ranging from empirical criteria, porosity-based models and continuum damage mechanics (CDM). One major issue is the accurate identification of parameters which describe material behavior. For some damage models, parameter identification is more or less straightforward, being possible to perform experiments for their evaluation. For the others, direct calibration from laboratory tests is not possible, so that the approach of inverse methods is required for a proper identification. In material model calibration, the inverse approach consists in a non-linear iterative fitting of a parameter-dependent load–displacement curve (coming from a FEM simulation) on the experimental specimen response. The test is usually a tensile test on a round-notched cylindrical bar. The present paper shows a novel inverse procedure aimed to estimate the material parameters of the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) porosity-based plastic damage model by means of experimental data collected using image analysis. The use of digital image processing allows to substitute the load–displacement curve with other global quantities resulting from the measuring of specimen profile during loading. The advantage of this analysis is that more data are available for calibration thus allowing a greater level of confidence and accuracy in model parameter evaluation.