Elastic response of Carbon Black reinforced polyester based composites using micromechanical models: Role of interphase

Carbon-based reinforcements have been widely reported in improving mechanical properties of polymers. However, still few studies exist on the incorporation of the interphase as a result of the interfacial interactions into analytical prediction tools. To better understand the effect of interfacial interphase, this study compares and correlates the experimental mechanical response of polyester based composites filled with carbon black (CB) with the elastic behavior obtained from the micromechanical models. Mold cast composites of polyester reinforced with 0 wt%–10 wt% of CB were fabricated. To determine the length of cooperative rearranging region (CRR) as a measure of the interphase, thermal studies focusing on the variations in the specific heat capacity or the relaxation strength of the composites around the glass transition temperature ( Tg) range were performed using a thermodynamical model. Micromechanical models such as the Halpin-Tsai and Tandon-Weng were used to determine the Young’s modulus with respect to the CB wt% and diameter as well as the interphase thickness and modulus. The results exhibited the sensitivity of the models to the existence of the interphase as a secondary mechanism, which was correlated to the cross-link density and interfacial bonding. The impact results showed the decrease in the impact resistance upon the addition of higher filler loadings ascribed to the destroyed bonding at the interface and CBs agglomeration confirmed by morphological studies. The research results can be further utilized in the explanation of the changes in the elastic response of carbon-based reinforced thermosetting composites emphasizing the key role of interphase.

Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan-Acrylic Acid Based Hydrogels and Investigation the Properties of Bilayered Design With Incorporated Alginate Beads

The paper presents the synthesis of hydrogels via free-radical polymerization, based on Chitosan (CS) grafted with Acrylic acid (AA), using a two-step procedure. Free-radical polymerization has given strong hydrogels with compact structure, dominant elastic behavior and long linear viscoelastic region. The results of rheological studies have shown that obtained hydrogels have significantly improved mechanical properties in comparison to chitosan hydrogels obtained by other sustainable methods. A step forward in the investigation of the potential application of chitosan hydrogels in wound dressing systems has been made by preparation of the bilayer design by embedding a layer of active compound-loaded alginate beads into the contact surface between two conjoined units of CS/AA hydrogels. Wild garlic (Allium ursinum L.) dried extract was used as an active compound because of its antimicrobial activity and green properties. This system has demonstrated pH-dependent release of extract and higher shear elastic modulus values than ordinary disc gels. A conducted study has given preliminary results for the possible application of bilayer chitosan - based hydrogels in wound dressing systems and represents the first step towards extrapolating the proposed design across other application fields.

First Principles Investigation of Binary Chromium Carbides Cr7C3, Cr3C2 and Cr23C6: Electronic Structures, Mechanical Properties and Thermodynamic Properties under Pressure

Binary chromium carbides display excellent wear resistance, extreme stiffness and oxidation resistance under high temperature. The influence of applied pressure on electronic structure, elastic behavior, Debye temperature and hardness of Cr7C3, Cr3C2 and Cr23C6 have been investigated by the density functional theory (DFT) method. The results reveal that lattice parameters and formation enthalpy display an inverse relationship with applied pressure, and Cr3C2 exhibited optimal structural stability. Moreover, Cr-C orbital hybridization tends to be stronger due to the decreased partial density of states (PDOS) of the Cr atom. The difference in electronic distribution of binary carbides has also been investigated, which confirmed that overall orbital hybridization and covalent characteristics has been enhanced. The theoretical hardness was elevated according to the higher bond strength and bond density. In accordance with structural stability data, Cr3C2 has shown maximum theoretical hardness. Furthermore, the anisotropic nature of hardness has been evaluated with external pressure. Cr3C2, and the highest isotropic hardness behavior along with an increase in hardness values with increasing pressure has been observed. In addition, the variation in Debye temperatures of binary chromium carbides under applied pressure has also been predicted. The results provide a theoretical insight into electronic, mechanical and thermodynamic behavior of three binary chromium carbides and show the potential of these novel carbides in a wide range of applications.

Enhancement of the mechanical properties of HDPE mineral nanocomposites by filler particles modulation of the matrix plastic/elastic behavior

Two different nanosized mineral fillers (nano calcium carbonate and nanoclay) were used in the high density poly(ethylene) (HDPE) composites pilot plant production. Structural and mechanical properties of the prepared composites were examined in this study. The homogenous filler distribution was confirmed in the tested samples by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy analyses. The fillers’ fortifying effect on polymer composites’ mechanical performance was confirmed as indicated by the increased elastic modulus and indentation modulus. Additionally, the possible modulation of the plastic-elastic mechanical behavior was confirmed by the type of the filler as well as its concentration used in the final composites testing articles.

E-Beam Cross-Linking of Complex Hydrogels Formulation: The Influence of Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Concentration on the Hydrogel Properties

In the present study, we report on the complex hydrogels formulations based on collagen-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) cross-linked by e-beam irradiation in an aqueous polymeric solution, aiming to investigate the influence of different PEO concentrations on the hydrogel properties. The hydrogel networks’ structure and their composition were investigated using equilibrium swelling degree, complex rheological analysis, and FT-IR spectroscopy. Rheological analysis was performed to determine the elastic (G′) and viscous (G″) moduli, the average molecular weight between cross-linking points (Mc), cross-link density (Ve), and the mesh size (ξ). The effect of the PEO concentration on the properties of the hydrogel was investigated as well. Depending on the PEO concentration added in their composition, the hydrogels swelling degree depends on the absorbed dose, being lower at low PEO concentrations. All hydrogel formulations showed higher G′ values (9.8 kPa) compared to G″ values (0.2 kPa), which shows that the hydrogels have a predominantly elastic behavior. They presented stability greater than 72 h in physiological pH buffers and reached equilibrium after 25 h. The Mc parameter is strongly dependent on the PEO concentration and the absorbed dose for all hydrogel compositions. The cross-linking density increased with the absorbed dose.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Shear Properties of Honeycomb Cores Produced Using Additive Technologies

An approach to the experimental and computational study of the shear properties of honeycomb cores (HC) produced using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology is proposed. The experimental approach is based on a new sample type for testing HCs for shear. This sample contains two HCs and three steel plates. Shear tests are carried out in the TiraTest 2300 universal tensile testing machine. The HCs are made of ULTEM 9085 and PLA with FDM technology, which is implemented in the 3D Fortus 900 system. The tests resulted in obtaining the shear properties of the HCs by averaging the stress-strain curves of five samples. As follows from the analysis of the experimental results, brittle destruction of an HC is observed. Before its destruction, the value of shear deformation for samples made of PLA was 0.0134, and for samples made of ULTEM, 0.0257. The experimental analysis was accompanied by numerical finite element (FE) modeling of shear experiments, taking into account the deformation of the equipment. With the FE modeling of the experiments, to describe the behavior of the samples, it is necessary to take into account the influence, on the measurements of the shear properties, of the equipment and the deformation of each honeycomb cell. The deformation of three plates was taken into account; the elastic properties of the adhesive joint were not taken into account. A computer model of the deformation of the HCs with equipment was built using ANSYS Design Modeler. With FE modeling, only the elastic behavior of the HCs was considered.

A Comparative Study of Turbulence Methods Applied to the Design of a 3D-Printed Scaffold and the Selection of the Appropriate Numerical Scheme to Simulate the Scaffold for Tissue Engineering

Current commercial software tools implement turbulence models on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques and combine them with fluid-structural interaction (FSI) techniques. There are currently a great variety of turbulence methods that are worth investigating through a comparative study in order to delineate their behavior on scaffolds used in tissue engineering and bone regeneration. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers the opportunity to obtain three-dimensional printed scaffolds (3D scaffolds) that are designed respecting morphologies and that are typically used for the fused deposition model (FDM). These are typically made using biocompatible and biodegradable materials, such as polyetherimide (PEI), ULTEM 1010 biocompatible and polylactic acid (PLA). Starting from our own geometric model, simulations were carried out applying a series of turbulence models which have been proposed due to a variety of properties, such as permeability, speed regime, pressures, depressions and stiffness, that in turn are subject to boundary conditions based on a blood torrent. The obtained results revealed that the detached eddy simulation (DES) model shows better performance for the use of 3D scaffolds in its normal operating regime. Finally, although the results do not present relevant differences between the two materials used in the comparison, the prototypes simulated in PEI ULTEM 1010 do not allow their manufacture in FDM for the required pore size. The printed 3D scaffolds of PLA reveal an elastic behavior and a rigidity that are similar to other prototypes of ceramic composition. Prototypes made of PLA reveal unpredictable variability in pore and layer size which are very similar to cell growth itself and difficult to keep constant.

Numerical study of TRIP transformation in 35NCD16 steel-effects of plate orientation and some criteria

This study aims to analyze the effect of thermo mechanical coupling damage in the presence of a phase change (austenite/martensite) in 35NCD16 steel. The impact of increasing mechanical traction load, accompanied by a martensitic transformation on the scale of a single grain with boundary has been studied. The prediction transformation of induced plasticity (TRIP) was evaluated by taking into account the following parameters: twenty shear directions of the martensitic plates, two values of the shear deformation of the martensitic plates, energetic and thermodynamics criteria for getting in order the transformation of the martensitic plates, elastoplastic behavior of the two areas in the first case (martensitic plate and grain boundary) and elastic behavior for the grain boundary in the second case. The numerical calculation is carried out using the finite element method (FEM), implemented in the Zebulon calculation code. The developed approach is validated using the available experimental results reported in the literature. The numerical results showed that the estimation of TRIP given by the energetics criteria with the values of the shear deformation (γ0 = 0.16) are closer to the experiment results.