Self-bonding in an amorphous polymer below the glass transition: A T-peel test investigation

Films of amorphous polystyrene (PS) with a weight-average molecular weight (M_w) of 225 × 10³ g/mol were bonded in a T-peel test geometry, and the fracture energy (G) of a PS/PS interface was measured at the ambient temperature as a function of the healing time (t_h) and healing temperature (T_h). G was found to develop with (t_h)^1/2 at T_h = T_g-bulk − 33 °C (where T_g-bulk is the glass-transition temperature of the bulk sample), and log G was found to develop with 1/T_h at T_g-bulk − 43 °C ≤ T_h ≤ T_g-bulk − 23 °C. The smallest measured value of G = 1.4 J/m² was at least one order of magnitude larger than the work of adhesion required to reversibly separate the PS surfaces. These three observations indicated that the development of G at the PS/PS interface in the temperature range investigated (<T_g-bulk) was controlled by the diffusion of chain segments feasible above the glass-transition temperature of the interfacial layer, in agreement with our previous findings for fracture stress development at several polymer/polymer interfaces well below T_g-bulk. Close values of G = 8–9 J/m² were measured for the symmetric interfaces of polydisperse PS [M_w = 225 × 10³, weight-average molecular weight/number-average molecular weight (M_w/M_n) = 3] and monodisperse PS (M_w = 200 × 10³, M_w/M_n = 1.04) after healing at T_h = T_g-bulk − 33 °C for 24 h. This implies that the self-bonding of high-molecular-weight PS at such relatively low temperatures is not governed by polydispersity. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1861–1867, 2004     

Rheological and physical properties of aliphatic hyperbranched polyesters

The effects of the size (pseudo‐generation number) and nature of end groups on physical and rheological properties were investigated for a series of hyperbranched polyesters based on an ethoxylated pentaerythritol core and 2,2‐bis‐(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid repeat units. The observed linear dependence of the melt viscosity on the molar mass in the high pseudo‐generation‐number limit indicated that entanglement effects were substantially absent. Moreover, the marked influence of end capping of the end groups on the physical and rheological properties suggested that intermolecular interactions were dominated by contacts between the outer shells of the molecules, in which the end groups were assumed to be concentrated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1218–1225, 2004     

Meeting infinitely many cells of a partition once

We investigate several versions of a cardinal characteristic defined by Frankiewicz. Vojtáš showed , and Blass showed . We show that all the versions coincide and that is greater than or equal to the splitting number. We prove the consistency of and of . Received: 2 October 1996 / Revised version: 22 May 1997     

On the optimum set of polarization measurements for the scattering of two indentical fermions to determine the helicity amplitudes

The polarization asymmetries related to usual polarizations combine at least 4 different helicity amplitudes. The introduction of ±45° inclined transverse polarizations allows us to obtain the complete set of new polarization asymmetries combining only up to 3 helicity amplitudes. There are no further polarization asymmetries depending on a smaller number of helicity amplitudes. These expressions are most economical to determine the helicity amplitudes from observed data. Some of them are suitable to study especially the spin-flip effects. We give a complete Table of all such polarization asymmetries.     

Vanishing of local homology

 We study the vanishing properties of local homology of complexes of modules without assuming that its homology is artinian. Using vanishing results for local homology and cohomology we prove new vanishing results for Ext- and Tor-modules. Received: 1 August 2002; in final form: 23 September 2002 / Published online: 16 May 2003 Mathematics Subject Classification (1991): 13C12, 13D07, 13D45.     

Multicriteria Semi-Obnoxious Network Location Problems (MSNLP) with Sum and Center Objectives

Locating a facility is often modeled as either the maxisum or the minisum problem, reflecting whether the facility is undesirable (obnoxious) or desirable. But many facilities are both desirable and undesirable at the same time, e.g., an airport. This can be modeled as a multicriteria network location problem, where some of the sum-objectives are maximized (push effect) and some of the sum-objectives are minimized (pull effect).We present a polynomial time algorithm for this model along with some basic theoretical results, and generalize the results also to incorporate maximin and minimax objectives. In fact, the method works for any piecewise linear objective functions. Finally, we present some computational results.