Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/poly(amide imide) polymer blends for proton conducting membrane

Poly(amide imide) (PAI) was synthesized using 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic anhydride (BTBA) and 4,4′-methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) (MBPI). SPEEK/PAI blend membranes were prepared and investigated by NMR, GPC, FT-IR and AFM. The chemical structures of PAI and SPEEK were characterized by using NMR and FT-IR. The adsorption of the SPEEK/PAI blend membrane of water or methanol solution was also characterized. The significant swelling of the blend membrane in concentrated methanol solution was explained by the solubility parameter. The water diffusion coefficient (D_H2O) was related to the lambda value of the membrane. The SPEEK/PAI blend membrane had a lower proton conductivity and methanol permeability than Nafion. However, the relative selectivity (proton conductivity divided by methanol permeability) of the SPEEK/PAI 70/30 (w/w) blend membrane was 3.46 × 10⁴ S s cm⁻³, which is closed to that of Nafion (3.30 S s cm⁻³).     

Synthesis, characterization and thermal properties of novel epoxy containing silicon and phosphorus nanocomposites by sol-gel method

Organic-inorganic hybrids were prepared using diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) type epoxy and tetraethoxysilane via the sol-gel process. The DGEBA type epoxy was modified by a coupling agent to improve the compatibility of the organic and inorganic phases. The sol-gel technique was used successfully to incorporate silicon and phosphorus into the network of hybrids increasing flame retardance.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ²⁹Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure of the hybrids. In condensed siloxane species for TEOS, silicon atoms through mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-substituted siloxane bonds are designated as Q¹, Q², Q³, Q⁴, respectively. For 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane and diethylphosphatoethyltriethoxysilane, mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-substituted siloxane bonds are designated as T¹, T², T³. Results revealed that Q⁴, Q³, T³ are the major environments forming a network structure. The morphology of the ceramer was examined by scanning electron microscopy and Si mapping. Particle sizes were below 100 nm. The hybrids were nanocomposites. The char yield of pure epoxy resin was 14.8 wt.% and that of modified epoxy nanocomposite was 31 wt.% at 800 °C. A higher char yield enhances the flame retardance. Values of limiting oxygen index of pure epoxy and modified epoxy nanocomposites are 24 and 32, respectively, indicating that modified epoxy nanocomposites possess better flame retardance than the pure epoxy resin.     

Preparation and characterization of carbon nanotubes/epoxy resin nano-prepreg for nanocomposites

The surface carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were modified to generate functional reactors by using the sonicication method to distribute CNTs evenly among epoxy resin, which was prepared into nano-prepreg with carbon fibers. Additionally, based on various proportions of modified and unmodified CNTs, the mechanical properties and conductivities of the composite, as well as, the characteristics of material subjected to various temperature conditions were investigated. Experimental results indicate that increasing CNT content enhances the mechanical strength and electrical properties. At various temperatures, the mechanical strength drops with increase in temperature because different expansion coefficients differ between fiber and epoxy resin. Finally, the failure surface of nanocomposite was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally we provide a discussion of the failure mechanism of the material.     

Structure and interconversion of oxygen-vacancy-related defects on amorphous silica

Atomic structure and structural stability of neutral oxygen vacancies on amorphous silica are investigated using combined Monte Carlo and density functional calculations. We find that, unlike their bulk counterparts, the Si-Si dimer configuration of surface oxygen vacancies is likely to be unstable due to the high tensile strains induced, thereby undergoing thermally activated transformation with a moderate barrier into other stable configurations including dicoordinated silicon, silanone, or a subsurface Si-Si dimer, depending on the local surface structure. Pathways for the interconversion between these oxygen-vacancy-related defects are presented with a discussion of their viability.     

Strain-induced formation of surface defects in amorphous silica: a theoretical prediction

We present a prediction for the formation of surface defects in a thin amorphous silica layer during relaxation of externally imposed stresses and strains, based on extensive ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Our calculations show that the application of a biaxial compressive stress leads to the creation of edge-sharing tetrahedron and/or silanone defects at the silica surface, which turns out to facilitate strain relief with irreversible structural changes in the silica layer. We also discuss a possible correlation between the predicted formation of surface defects and the observed enhanced surface reactivity of amorphous silica under compressive strain conditions.     

Dynamic modelling of an intermittent slider–crank mechanism

This paper investigates kinematic and dynamic analyses of a novel intermittent slider–crank mechanism, which consists of four parts: a crank, a connecting rod associated with a pneumatic cylinder, a slider and two stops at both ends of a stroke. When the crank rotates continuously, the slider will contact with the stops and the pneumatic cylinder is compressed or extended. One periodic motion of the intermittent slider–crank mechanism driven by a permanent magnetic (PM) synchronous servomotor could be divided into three stages. Three governing equations are formulated by Hamilton’s principle. A spring model instead of the pneumatic cylinder is also used for comparison. Finally, the transient amplitudes obtained by using Runge–Kutta method are compared with those of the conventional slider–crank mechanism.     

System identification of a pick-and-place mechanism driven by a permanent magnet synchronous motor

The main objective of this study is to utilize two dynamic models: a mathematical model and a simple model, to identify a pick-and-place mechanism (PPM) which is driven by a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). In this paper, Hamilton’s principle is employed to derive the mathematical model, which is a nonlinear differential equation, while Newton’s second law is utilized to derive the simple linear model. In system identification, we adopt the real-coded genetic algorithm (RGA) to find not only the parameters of the PPM, but also the PMSM simultaneously. From the identification simulations and experimental results, it is demonstrated that the identification results of the mathematical model present the better matching with the experimental results of the system.     

Optimal configuration of capillary electrophoresis microchip with expansion chamber in separation channel

This study develops a novel capillary electrophoresis (CE) microfluidic device featuring a conventional cross-form injection system and an expansion chamber located at the inlet of the separation channel. The combined injection system/expansion chamber arrangement is designed to deliver a high-quality sample band into the separation channel such that the detection performance of the device is enhanced. Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the electrokinetic transport processes in the microfluidic device and to establish the optimal configuration of the expansion chamber. The results indicate that an expansion chamber with an expansion ratio of 2.5 and an expansion length of 500 microm delivers a sample plug with the correct shape and orientation. With this particular configuration, the peak intensities of the sample are sharp and clearly distinguishable in the detection region of the separation channel. Therefore, this configuration is well suited for capillary electrophoresis applications which require a highly sensitive resolution of the sample plug. The novel CE microfluidic device developed in this study has an exciting potential for use in high-performance, high-throughput chemical analysis applications and in many other applications throughout the field of micro-total-analysis-systems.     

Thermo-oxidative degradation of novel epoxy containing silicon and phosphorous nanocomposites

Modified epoxy nanocomposites containing silicon and phosphorous was prepared and compared with pure epoxy. The study of thermo-oxidative degradation of modified epoxy nanocomposites and pure epoxy has been utilized by thermal analysis. The thermal stability of modified epoxy nanocomposites is not superior to that of the pure epoxy at low temperature, however, the char yield of modified epoxy nanocomposites is higher than that of the pure epoxy at 800 °C in air atmosphere. The modified epoxy nanocomposites possess better thermal stability at high temperature range. The values of the limiting oxygen index of pure epoxy and modified epoxy nanocomposites are 24 and 32, respectively. This indicates that modified epoxy nanocomposites possesses better flame retardance.By the Kissinger’s method, the activation energies of thermo-oxidative degradation for epoxy nanocomposites are less than those of thermo-oxidative degradation for pure epoxy in first stage of thermo-oxidative degradation. However, the activation energies of thermo-oxidative degradation for epoxy nanocomposites are more than those of thermo-oxidative degradation for pure epoxy in second stage of thermo-oxidative degradation.     

An experimental investigation of cold storage in an encapsulated thermal storage tank

This paper experimentally investigates the thermal performance and the pressure drop of an encapsulated thermal storage tank during the charging process. A polyvinyl chloride (PVC) hollow cylinder is used as the thermal storage tank. The cylindrical capsules inside the thermal storage tank utilize water added with nucleation agents as the phase change material (PCM), and the coolant is the aqueous solution of ethylene glycol. A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of the inlet coolant temperature and coolant flow rate on nucleation of capsules, heat transfer and pressure drop of the tank. The results indicate that cool energy can be fully stored in the form of latent heat when the inlet coolant temperature is set below the temperature with 100% nucleation probability. The lower the inlet coolant temperature and the larger the coolant flow rate, the more efficient the storage tank. A correlation for the pressure drop of coolant during a charging process is also developed.