Large impact in electrical properties of polypropylene by improving the filler-matrix interface effect in PP/PS blends

Inorganic nanoparticles are widely used to improve space charge behavior, DC breakdown strength and other electrical properties of polymer insulating materials, but the uniform distribution of inorganic nanofillers in matrix is difficult due to their agglomeration and bad compatibility with the polymeric matrix. In this paper, polypropylene (PP)/polystyrene (PS) blends were prepared to suppress space charge accumulation and improve DC breakdown strength. Polypropylene-g-polystyrene (PP-g-PS) graft copolymer was used as compatibilizer to improve the compatibility of PP matrix and PS filler. The evolution of microstructure of PP/PS blends were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), the space charge distributions were measured by a pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) system, and DC breakdown strength was also tested. The morphologies show that the size of PS particles reduced to 310 nm when the content of PP-g-PS graft copolymer increased to 24 wt%, and the interaction between PP matrix and PS particles enhanced. The presence of PS particles in all PP/PS blends suppressed the space charge accumulation compared to neat PP, but the DC breakdown strength in uncompatibilized blend was lower than neat PP. The increasing of content of PP-g-PS improved the DC breakdown strength with the maximum value of 408.9 kV/mm was obtained. This may attribute to excellent interface structure formed between PP matrix and PS particles.     

Effect of preparation methods and carbon black distribution on mechanical properties of short pineapple leaf fiber-carbon black reinforced natural rubber hybrid composites

The aim of this work is to improve the performance of natural rubber reinforced with a hybrid of pineapple leaf fiber with carbon black. When there are multiple components to be mixed into a rubber matrix, mixing can be carried out in more than one way. Thus, in this study, the effects of preparation method and the resulting carbon black distribution on the mechanical properties of the hybrid composite were evaluated. Pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and carbon black contents were fixed at 10 parts (by weight) and 30 parts (by weight) per hundred parts of rubber (phr), respectively. In order to improve the dispersion, PALF with rubber was prepared as a masterbatch. Carbon black was added to the compound either as a single portion or as two separate portions, one in the PALF masterbatch and the other in the main mixing step. It was found that, despite using the same final compound formulation, the mixing scheme significantly affected the medium strain region of the vulcanizate stress-strain curve. No stress drop in this strain region was observed for the two-step mixing scheme. Models for composites with different preparation methods are proposed and discussed.     

Absorption,transportation and distribution of imidacloprid in maize

The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is a very important insecticide in maize cultivation in China. A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate its absorption, transportation and distribution in maize plants. Plants were exposed to an aqueous solution of imidacloprid at five concentrations (10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL). The residues of imidacloprid in different plant parts were determined by using a quick and effective method of high-performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that the average recoveries ranged from 85.16% to 102.23%, with relative standard deviations of 1.82–4.40% at three different spiking levels in each different matrix. The half-lives of imidacloprid in hydroponic maize water were from 5.33 to 11.55 days. The concentrations in roots, stems and leaves were from 5.61 to 7.48, 1.03 to 4.03 and 0 to 30.57 μg/mL after 6 h–7 days exposed in 10 μg/mL imidacloprid aqueous solutions, respectively. Our study showed that imidacloprid was strongly absorbed by roots and mainly accumulated in leaves. Quantity ratio and bioconcentration factors (BCFs) were also used to estimate the distribution and accumulation in maize. The values of quantity ratios were the highest in the leaves while lowest in the root after 7 days treatments, with the ranking of leaves > stem > root. The BCFs were 0.63–1.66, 0.52–0.92 and 3.20–6.78 in root, stem and leaves, respectively. These results demonstrated that the exposed time and imidacloprid application concentrations were also the main factors influencing the absorption. This study enhances our understandings of the uptake and distribution of imidacloprid in maize plants.     

Using flow field-flow fractionation (Fl-FFF) for observation of salinity effect on the size distribution of humic acid aggregates

Flow field-flow fractionation (Fl-FFF) was used to investigate the effect of salinity on the size distribution of humic acid (HA) aggregates in estuarine water. In water with high salinity as estuarine water, size distributions were slightly broadened with increasing contact time between HA and estuarine water. At the longest contact times (89 days) and highest salinity value (28 psu, g kg^?1), the peak maxima were observed at 1.7 and 8.6 nm when detected at 254 nm, and at 1.9 and 9.1 nm when detected at 400 nm. In addition, Fl-FFF with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was applied to examine the effect of salinity on the size distribution of Cd, Ce, Cu, Mn and Pb-binding HA aggregates in estuarine water with different salinity values. At 1 day contact time, the peak maxima of Cd, Ce, Cu, Mn and Pb-binding HA aggregates in water with increased salinity values were increased and gave the larger breadth of size distribution. The larger size fraction of HA aggregates showed more affinity for Pb, Cd, Ce and Mn than Cu whereas the smaller size fraction of humic aggregates showed preferential binding towards Cu.     

给定寿命下的焊趾疲劳裂纹深度尺寸分析

本文提供并用统计方法研究了焊趾疲劳裂纹扩展的Ｎ～α曲线族，给出了联系给定裂纹尺寸下的疲劳分布，给定疲劳寿命下的裂纹尺寸分布以及随机初始条件的概率相容条件。研究表明，给定寿命下的焊趾疲劳裂纹深度尺寸α服从分布Ф［（μ（ａ）－ｌｏｇＮ）／σ（ａ）］。     

Frequency and development of slugs in a horizontal pipe at large liquid flows

The generation of slugs was studied for air–water flow in horizontal 0.0763 m and 0.095 m pipes. The emphasis was on high liquid rates (u_LS ? 0.5 m/s) for which slugs are formed close to the entry and the time intervals between slugs are stochastic. A “fully developed” slug flow is defined as consisting of slugs with different sizes interspersed in a stratified flow with a height slightly larger than the height, h₀, needed for a slug to be stable. Properties of this “fully developed” pattern are discussed. A correlation for the frequency of slugging is suggested, which describes our data as well as the data from other laboratories for a wide range of conditions. The possibility is explored that there is a further increase of slug length beyond the “fully developed” condition because slugs slowly overtake one another.     

Porous polycrystals built up by uniformly and axisymmetrically oriented needles: homogenization of elastic propertiesPolycristaux poreux constitués d'aiguilles orientées de façon uniforme ou axisymétrique : homogénéisation des propriétés élastiques

Porous polycrystal-type microstructures built up of needle-like platelets or sheets are characteristic for a number of biological and man-made materials. Herein, we consider (i) uniform, (ii) axisymmetrical orientation distribution of linear elastic, isotropic as well as anisotropic needles. Axisymmetrical needle orientation requires derivation of the Hill tensor for arbitrarily oriented ellipsoidal inclusions with one axis tending towards infinity, embedded in a transversely isotropic matrix; therefore, Laws' integral expression of the Hill tensor is evaluated employing the theory of rational functions. For a porosity lower 0.4, the elastic properties of the polycrystal with uniformly oriented needles are quasi-identical to those of a polycrystal with solid spheres. However, as opposed to the sphere-based model, the needle-based model does not predict a percolation threshold. As regards axisymmetrical orientation distribution of needles, two effects are remarkable: Firstly, the sharper the cone of orientations the higher the anisotropy of the polycrystal. Secondly, for a given cone, the anisotropy increases with the porosity. Estimates for the polycrystal stiffness are hardly influenced by the anisotropy of the bone mineral needles. Our results also confirm the very high degree of orientation randomness of crystals building up mineral foams in bone tissues. To cite this article: A. Fritsch et al., C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

大跨度脊谷式膜屋盖风载分布的实验研究

基于台州某风雨操场脊谷式张拉膜屋盖缩尺模型风洞试验的数据结果,选取典型测点,研究了屋面迎风前缘、过渡区及中轴区的平均风压和脉动风压系数的分布特性。同时,鉴于屋盖的不规则曲面造型,表面风压梯度变化较大,采用单一体型系数反映屋面风载已不能满足要求。文中在结合屋盖自身复杂体型和风压分布特征基础上,按各榀各边片将屋面划分为不同区域,对5个不利风向角下的区域体型系数进行统计分析,并给出各区域体型系数建议取值。最后,针对这类体型屋盖特点和风压分布特性,得出一些结论和建议,为进一步研究该类屋盖的风荷载特性和结构抗风设计提供了依据。     

STATISTIC MODELING OF THE CREEP BEHAVIOR OF METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES BASED ON FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

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颗粒增强复合材料的椭圆形刚性夹杂呈双周期分布模型的反平面问题研究

在遵循复合材料中各夹杂相互影响的重要条件下，构造呈双周期分布且相互影响的椭圆形刚性夹杂模型的复应力函数，采用坐标变换和复变函数的依次保角映射方法，达到满足各个夹杂的边界条件，利用围线积分将求解方程化为线性代数方程，推导出了在无穷远双向均匀剪切，椭圆形刚性夹杂呈双周期分布的界面应力解析表达式，最后的算例分析给出了夹杂的形状对界面应力最大值(应力集中系数)的影响规律，并描绘出了曲线。