Ballistic characterization of fiber elastomer metal laminate composites and effect of positioning of fiber reinforced elastomer

The present study aims at investigating the ballistic impact response of jute, natural rubber and aluminium based tri-layer composites with two different configurations, namely Aluminium-Jute-Rubber-Jute and Jute-Rubber-Jute-Aluminium. The proposed composites were fabricated using the compression moulding technique and subjected to ballistic impact testing at impact velocities of 75 m/s, 105 m/s, 154 m/s and 183 m/s. The energy absorption and damage mitigation characteristics of the proposed fibre metal elastomer tri-layer composites were assessed. Results showed that among the two proposed composites, the composite with rubber facing the impact side exhibits better energy absorption and also helps in damage mitigation compared to the composite having aluminium on the impact side. In addition, a parametric study was carried out by varying the thickness of the rubber layer. It was observed that the impact response of the proposed tri-layer composites improved with increasing thickness of the rubber layer, especially in the case of the Jute-Rubber-Jute-Aluminium configuration.

Preservation storage in a flood damage mitigation effort at the National Library of France

During a flood alert, the decision to evacuate a threatened collection of a library is an important one. If not thought out carefully, a hastily executed move can expose valuable collections to unforeseen threats. Although floods are usually slow to develop in Paris, the decision to make a preventive evacuation must be taken at the appropriate moment, considering the time needed for the relocation, the reality of the threat and the need for service continuity. In the context of its flood protection plan, the National Library of France has conceived a box model that contributes to saving time in case of a flood and prevents damage during an evacuation. Combining accessibility to documents with security requirements, this model can be implemented in different contexts.