Water sorption in silicone foam containing diatomaceous earth

Room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone foams are commonly used for compression sealing, structural support, packaging, and damping applications. The presence of sorbed water in foams can affect the mechanical and chemical properties of these materials. In order to investigate water sorption behavior, a silicone foam containing diatomaceous earth filler was synthesized and studied for water uptake characteristics at 20, 50, and 80 degrees C. Type II equilibrium and bimodal kinetic behavior that was governed by a rapid initial uptake followed by a prolonged sorption over a larger time scale was observed. In order to explain this bimodal behavior, the major components of this foam-the silicone polymer and the diatomaceous earth-were independently studied for their water equilibrium behavior and uptake kinetic characteristics. Type II equilibrium was observed for both components. The kinetic behavior of the silicone polymer was governed by a very rapid uptake of water. The kinetic behavior of the diatomaceous earth was governed by a rapid initial uptake followed by a prolonged sorption over a larger time scale. A physically based and thermodynamically consistent mathematical model describing the water equilibrium and kinetics in diatomaceous earth and silicone polymer components, was employed to characterize the data. This model formed the basis of a predictive model for estimation of water sorption in filled silicone foam. The predictive model was tested against sorption and desorption data yielding favorable results for a range of temperatures.     

Coercivity conditions and variational inequalities

Received November 17, 1997 / Revised version received August 6, 1998?Published online March 16, 1999     

On the structure of the theory of viscoplasticity

In various formulations of plasticity, there is evident a structure embracing several features, including inviscidity, a yield condition, and a constitutive inequality. By means of these features the constitutive equations of plasticity are derived. In the present paper we introduce a viscoplastic counterpart of the constitutive inequality of plasticity, and we consider its physical significance. We also present a theory of viscoplasticity having a structure similar to that of plasticity and its relation with the Hohenemser-Prager prototype of viscoplastic constitutive relations is considered.     

Probing the mechanism of water adsorption in carbon micropores with multitemperature isotherms and water preadsorption experiments

The phenomenon of water adsorption in carbon micropores is examined through the study of water adsorption equilibrium in molecular sieving carbon. Adsorption and desorption isotherms are obtained over a wide range of concentrations from less than 0.1% to beyond 80% of the vapor pressure. Evidence is provided in support of a proposed bimodal water adsorption mechanism that involves the interaction of water molecules with functional groups at low relative pressures and the adsorption of water molecules between graphene layers at higher pressures. Decomposition of the equilibrium isotherm data through application of the extended cooperative multimolecular sorption theory, together with favorable quantitative comparison, provides support for the proposed adsorption mechanism. Additional support is obtained from a multitemperature study of water equilibrium. Temperatures of 20, 50, and 60 degrees C were probed in this investigation in order to provide isosteric heat of adsorption data for water interaction with the carbon molecular sieve. At low loading, the derived isosteric heat of adsorption is estimated to be 69 kJ/mol. This value is indicative of the adsorption of water to functional groups. At higher loading, the isosteric heat of adsorption decreases with increasing loading and approaches the heat of condensation, indicative of adsorption between graphene layers. Further support for the proposed adsorption mechanism is derived from carbon dioxide adsorption experiments on carbon molecular sieve that is preadsorbed with various amounts of water. Significant exclusion of carbon dioxide occurs, and a quantitative analysis that is based on the proposed bimodal water adsorption mechanism is employed in this investigation.     

Closest packing in dense oxides: The structure of a polymorph of Co3(AsO4)2

Crystals of Co₃(AsO₄)₂ were grown from the melt of a mixture of Co₂As₂O₇ and As₂O₅. The crystals are isostructural with Mg₃(AsO₄)₂ and are tetragonal with a = 6.858(2), c = 18.872(5) Å, Z = 6, and space group $\text{I}\text{4}\text{2d}$. A total of 1048 independent reflections were measured by diffractometer and used in the full-matrix refinement to a final R value of 0.069. The structure contains two distinct AsO₄ groups. Two of the cobalt ions are octahedrally coordinated and a third occupies a $\text{4}$ site with four short and four long CoO distances. The crystal structure of Co₃ (AsO₄)₂ is not based on the continuous three-dimensional closest packing of oxygen atoms. Nevertheless the number of oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter is 5.4 × 10²², which falls in the range of values for hexagonal and cubic closest packed structures. A better measure of the degree to which closest packing is achieved by a structure is suggested. It is based on an analysis of the polyhedra of oxygen atoms which surround each of the oxygen atoms in a structure and their relation to the polyhedra in ideally closest packed structures. In order to facilitate the analysis, polytopes of 11- and 12-vertex polyhedra were studied. A new decahexahedral 11-vertex polyhedron was found.     

Performance of Organizational Design Models and Their Impact on Organization Learning

The performance of various organizational structures is an essential parameter in the reengineering of organizations, particularly in the current rapidly changing, competitive and information technology-dependent environment. This situation has generally resulted in a smaller workforce confronted with voluminous information-processing requirements. Naturally, the focus has been on the design of organzations that will support effective and efficient learning processes. This specific study is on the contingency modely by Ouksel et al. (1997) on the impact of organizational structure on organizational learning and performance. It expands the empirical evaluation of the model to test its robustness. This is done by conducting extensive simulations with (a) a larger number of variables in the decision tasks, and (b) a larger set of numbers for each of the numeric variables, than has been used in the past. Overall, the validity of previous results achieved has been confirmed, but the selection of the most appropriate design, that which will indeed improve learning, is even more nuanced than past studies have concluded.     

Generalized pentagonal geometries

A pentagonal geometry PENT($k,r$) is a partial linear space, where every line is incident with $k$ points, every point is incident with $r$ lines, and for each point $x$, there is a line incident with precisely those points that are not collinear with $x$. Here we generalize the concept by allowing the points not collinear with $x$ to form the point set of a Steiner system $S\left(2,k,w\right)$ whose blocks are lines of the geometry.     

Approximate convexity and submonotonicity

It is shown that a locally Lipschitz function is approximately convex if, and only if, its Clarke subdifferential is a submonotone operator. Consequently, in finite dimensions, the class of locally Lipschitz approximately convex functions coincides with the class of lower-C¹ functions. Directional approximate convexity is introduced and shown to be a natural extension of the class of lower-C¹ functions in infinite dimensions. The following characterization is established: a multivalued operator is maximal cyclically submonotone if, and only if, it coincides with the Clarke subdifferential of a locally Lipschitz directionally approximately convex function, which is unique up to a constant. Furthermore, it is shown that in Asplund spaces, every regular function is generically approximately convex.