Hydrophilic polymer film coat as a micro-container of individual seed facilitates safe storage of tomato seeds

The price paid for corn is usually based on 15.0 or 15.5 percent moisture content. However, corn must be dried below 13 percent moisture to ensure safe storage for a year or more. In the U.S., such stored corn cannot be directly remoistened before selling it, but it can be mixed with moist new-crop corn. Accurate moisture measurement of mixtures of dry and moist corn is important to permit adjustment of blending ratios to maximize profitability, but grain moisture meters are less accurate for mixtures of wet and dry grain. This research evaluated the differences between dielectric-type moisture meter results for mixed and equilibrated corn samples at different moisture levels and different measurement frequencies. Equilibrated grain samples tended to give lower moisture results than recently mixed grain samples - especially in the 1 to 10 MHz region. These differences permitted detection of mixtures by using moisture measurements at two frequencies.

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A simple strategy for fabricating honeycomb patterns on commercially available polymer film under a wide humidity range

Journal of Materials Research ◽

10.1557/jmr.2020.304 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (23-24) ◽

pp. 3210-3221

Author(s):

Kai Huang ◽

Qi Cheng ◽

Honglei Zhang ◽

Ligang Lin ◽

Qiying Wang

Keyword(s):

Polymer Film ◽

Simple Strategy ◽

Humidity Range

Abstract

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Dynamics of Nanoparticle Chain Aggregates of Carbon Under Tension

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-778-u4.4 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 778 ◽

Author(s):

Rajdip Bandyopadhyaya ◽

Weizhi Rong ◽

Yong J. Suh ◽

Sheldon K. Friedlander

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Carbon Black ◽

Polymer Film ◽

Elastic Behavior ◽

Small Strains ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Chain Aggregates ◽

Nanoparticle Chains ◽

Reinforcing Filler

AbstractCarbon black in the form of nanoparticle chains is used as a reinforcing filler in elastomers. However, the dynamics of the filler particles under tension and their role in the improvement of the mechanical properties of rubber are not well understood. We have studied experimentally the dynamics of isolated nanoparticle chain aggregates (NCAs) of carbon made by laser ablation, and also that of carbon black embedded in a polymer film. In situ studies of stretching and contraction of such chains in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) were conducted under different maximum values of strain. Stretching causes initially folded NCA to reorganize into a straight, taut configuration. Further stretching leads to either plastic deformation and breakage (at 37.4% strain) or to a partial elastic behavior of the chain at small strains (e.g. 2.3% strain). For all cases the chains were very flexible under tension. Similar reorientation and stretching was observed for carbon black chains embedded in a polymer film. Such flexible and elastic nature of NCAs point towards a possible mechanism of reinforcement of rubber by carbon black fillers.

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