Effects of Moisture and Stresses on the Structure and Properties of Polyester Resin

The results of a complex study of structural changes in a cured Norpol 440 polyester resin under the action of damp environment and mechanical loading are presented. A considerable effect of absorbed moisture on the structure and some characteristics of the material is revealed by using thermophysical methods and X-ray diffractometry. The joint effect of moisture and mechanical stress is estimated by investigating the creep in stationary and nonstationary moisture conditions. The anisotropy of the material structure formed during creep is evaluated from the results of dilatometric measurements. It is found that the degree of anisotropy of the material after creep accompanied by moisture sorption is higher than that after creep in the conditions of moisture equilibrium with atmosphere. It is established that the aftercure and relaxation of the residual creep deformation come to an end at heating to 80-85°C. At a further rise in temperature and repeated heating, changes in the material structure are not observed.     

Effect of aging of the binder on the creep of polymer concrete

Two polyester concretes with diabase and marble fillers and aggregates are used as examples to illustrate the possibility of using a structural approach to evaluate the creep of the composite in the initial state and after preliminary aging under laboratory conditions for a period of 12–13 yrs. Experimental study of the creep of polymer concrete and its structural components (resin and binder) after preliminary aging at elevated temperatures (60, 90°) established that the change that occurs in viscoelastic compliance with aging conforms to the analogy principle with a reduction function that depends on aging temperature and time.Institute of Polymer Mechanics. Latvian Academy of Sciences Riga, Latvia. Central Laboratory of Physico-chemical Mechanics Sofia. Bulgaria. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 32, No. 6, pp. 787–794, November–December, 1996.     

Electrochemistry of metal adlayers on metal chalcogenides

Electrodeposition of metal adlayers on semiconductor metal chalcogenides (CdSe, CdS, PbTe, PbSe, PbS, Bi₂Te₃) is reviewed. Cathodic underpotential deposition of metal adlayer on metal chalcogenide is the electrochemically irreversible surface limited reaction. The irreversibility of the upd increases in the row from tellurides to selenides and further to sulfides. The underpotential shift on chalcogenide nanoparticles increases with particle size. Metal upd on chalcogenides is applied as a means of measurement of electroactive surface area of chalcogenide electrodes. The method is especially advantageous for multicomponent systems with other component not supporting upd, such as CdSe-TiO₂, CdSe-ZnO. Differences of voltammetric profiles of Pb upd on Bi₂Te₃ and Te are applied for detection of Bi₂Te₃ surface contamination by elemental tellurium. The further tasks in the electrochemistry of metal adlayers are their incorporation as interlayers in layered chalcogenides and electrodeposition of superlattices.

Graphical abstract

     

Poisson's ratio and the incompressibility relation for various strain measures with the example of a silica-filled SBR rubber in uniaxial tension tests

The controversy in the definition of Poisson's ratio (PR) as a material constant is discussed in this study. PR of an isotropic material is usually defined as the ratio, taken with the opposite sign, between its lateral and longitudinal strains under the action of longitudinal stresses. However, if deformations of the material are large, the value of PR depends on the strain measure used. Five different measures of strain are considered, and a unified relation in terms of stretch ratios is obtained for calculating the PR. It is demonstrated that only for Hencky strains is the value of PR of an incompressible material constant and equal to 0.5 over its entire extension range. Other measures lead to stretch-dependent PRs. A generalized relation for the volume strain is found in terms of strain invariants. With the example of uniaxial tension of a silica-filled rubber, the Cauchy and Hencky strains are used to demonstrate different ways for checking the incompressibility of a material and the evaluation of PR. The level of incompressibility of the rubber and its practical importance are evaluated.     

Deformational Properties of Polymer Concrete during Long-Term Exposure to Water

Changes in the elastic and viscoelastic (creep) characteristics of polymer concrete and its structural components (polyester resin, unfilled or filled with diabase flour) during a long-term exposure to water at 20°C were studied. Modeling the structural changes in polymer concrete with time showed an increase in the relative volume content of pores filled with water and a decrease in that of unfilled pores. Based on the free-volume concept and the data on swelling due to moistening and shrinkage due to physical aging of the binder, a rather accurate estimate of the time-moisture reduction function for polymer concrete was obtained. The function was found to be nonmonotonic: the interval of increase was followed by an interval of decrease.     

Study of moisture absorption by an organoplastic

Conclusion A complex experimental study of the state of sorbed moisture in a unidirectionally reinforced organoplastic was conducted. The methods of TG, DSC, DTA, and NMR showed that moisture absorption in OP is reversible up to 8%, the sorbed moisture does not crystallize in the temperature range from –70 to 0 °C, it is finely dispersely distributed and is in the strongly and weakly bound state, and there is almost no free moisture. The results of the sorption experiments conducted on OP and its structural components: microplastic and EDT-10 binder, in a wide range of temperature-humidity conditions and the data from physical studies showed that moisture absorption in the materials basically takes place by diffusion and is satisfactorily described by a phenomenological model based on the Fick equation.A method of accelerated determination of the sorption characteristics of anisotropic composite materials was developed, using the introduced concept of the fictitious diffusion coefficient and the extrapolation method of determining the limiting moisture content. The features of migration of moisture on the interface in a multiphase system were investigated, and the possibility of successive calculation estimation of the sorption characteristics of an organoplastic at different structural levels was demonstrated: components—unidirectionally reinforced composite—model laminated article. The tested phenomenological model of the sorption process and the experimentally obtained values of the characteristics of the material were the basis for a method of calculation determination of the resource of moisture-proofing properties of a model multilayer article of CM in nonstationary external conditions.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 4, pp. 624–632, July–August, 1990.     

Viscoelastic properties of a silica-filled styrene-butadiene rubber under uniaxial tension

A model composite — a silica-filled styrene-butadiene rubber with a various filler volume content — was tested for creep and creep recovery at different tensile load levels to evaluate the effect of viscoelasticity on the deformational properties of filled rubbers. A constitutive equation describing the diagram of equilibrium deformation of the composite in quasi-static loading was obtained from an analysis of creep test results. The equation was common for the filled rubber at different filler content. The existence of such a curve has been confirmed by experimental unloading diagrams registered in cyclic loading-unloading tests. It is shown that the phenomenological equations obtained from an analysis of creep recovery test results can be used successfully for describing the hysteresis loops of second and subsequent cycles for cyclic tests with a constant maximum stretch ratio.     

Effect of moisture on the viscoelastic properties of an epoxy-clay nanocomposite

The results of a complex study on the viscoelastic behavior of an epoxy-clay nanocomposite after a long-term exposure to moisture are presented. The main laws of variation in the glass-transition temperature of the nanocomposite in relation to the different content of filler and absorbed moisture were determined by using a thermomechanical analysis. The loading levels in creep experiments were chosen according to the results of quasi-static tensile tests. The sets of creep and creep recovery curves obtained were approximated by the Boltzmann–Volterra linear integral equation with account of the principle of moisture-time analogy. The variation in the spectrum of retardation time of the epoxy resin with introduction of the nanofiller was estimated. It is shown that the moisture-time reduction function correlates with changes in the forced rubber-like elasticity and the volume of nanocomposite specimens upon their moistening.