Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Caren Rosales, Nora Aranburu, Itziar Otaegi, Valeria Pettarin, Celina Bernal, Alejandro J. Muller, Gonzalo Guerrica-Echevarria
Summary: Polyolefin blends (PE/PP) have been transformed into microfibrillar composites (MFCs) to address the challenges of recycling these immiscible materials and improve their performance, in line with the concept of the circular economy.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Caren Rosales, Nora Aranburu, Itziar Otaegi, Valeria Pettarin, Celina Bernal, Alejandro J. Mueller, Gonzalo Guerrica-Echevarria
Summary: This study proposes a solution to transform immiscible PE/PP blends into microfibrillar composites, achieving better performance than nonfibrillated blends by utilizing their immiscibility. The addition of a compatibilizer and the microfibrillation process showed a synergistic effect, indicating great potential for large-scale application in recycled polyolefin blends.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
E. V. Prut, T. I. Medintseva, O. P. Kuznetsova
Summary: The study showed that the molecular weight of isotactic polypropylene (PP) affects the complex viscosity of unvulcanized and dynamically vulcanized blends of PP with ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM), with varying effects depending on the blend composition and crosslinking agents used.
EXPRESS POLYMER LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Richard Hodgkinson, Stephen T. Chaffin, William B. J. Zimmerman, Chris Holland, Jonathan R. Howse
Summary: The effect of extensional flow on the apparent shear viscosity of a viscoelastic polymer solution is studied in this work. By using a novel flow configuration, the researchers directly measure the effect and find that shear thinning is enhanced by parallel extensional flow and reduced by perpendicular extensional flow. The commonly used models show different levels of agreement with the experimental data, with the Giesekus model providing a better qualitative description.
JOURNAL OF RHEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hubert Kuszewski, Miroslaw Jakubowski, Artur Jaworski, Janusz Lubas, Krzysztof Balawender
Summary: This study evaluated the lubricity of 1-butanol-diesel fuel blends at different temperatures using the high-frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR). Results showed that higher fractions of 1-butanol in the blend improved lubricity, with the 1-BDF containing up to 25% 1-butanol meeting lubricity requirements at 60°C according to EN 590 and ASTM D975 standards.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Haozhong Huang, Xiaoyu Guo, Binjing Deng, Mingxin Liu, Yajuan Chen, Han Lei, Rong Huang
Summary: The study examines the impact of single-hydroxybenzene/n-heptane blended fuel on engine performance and particle emission characteristics to identify an optimal composition for a model diesel fuel. Among the tested fuels, the n-butylbenzene/n-heptane blend shows the closest effects to pure diesel (D100) in terms of engine performance and particle emissions, making it suitable for modeling purposes.
Article
Polymer Science
Jinfei Qu, Shihang Wang, Shengtao Li, Hongjian Liu, Yifan Wu, Luwei Du, Zejia Wang, Lingqi Guo
Summary: This study presented a new method to improve the physical properties of high-voltage cable XLPE insulation by doping low-content polyolefin materials. The results showed that adding HDPE or LLDPE significantly enhanced the high-temperature mechanical properties of XLPE and slightly improved its room-temperature mechanical properties. Additionally, when an appropriate amount of HDPE and LLDPE was added, the DC conductivity, DC breakdown strength, and dielectric properties of XLPE remained stable or slightly improved. The study demonstrated that the physical entanglement of XLPE molecular chains achieved by adding HDPE or LLDPE had a similar effect to chemical crosslinking in enhancing the mechanical properties of XLPE insulation. This suggests the potential to reduce the concentration of crosslinking agents during XLPE cable manufacturing while improving mechanical properties at elevated temperatures and maintaining electrical properties.
POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ksenia N. Osipova, Xiaoyuan Zhang, S. Mani Sarathy, Oleg P. Korobeinichev, Andrey G. Shmakov
Summary: The study focuses on experimental data of ammonia and ammonia/hydrogen blends oxidation, revealing that the addition of hydrogen lowers the onset temperature of ammonia oxidation by 250 K. A chemical kinetic model indicates that hydrogen presence increases concentrations of H, O, and OH radicals, forming at lower temperatures, while changes in equivalence ratio have minimal effect on the temperature range of ammonia conversion.
Review
Polymer Science
Rossella Arrigo, Giulio Malucelli, Francesco Paolo La Mantia
Summary: This study reveals the significance of polymer-processing operations with dominating elongational flow in various industrial applications, emphasizing the importance of evaluating rheological properties to understand material-processing behavior. It also discusses the morphological evolution of polymer systems under elongational flow influence.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lander Galdos, Javier Trinidad, Nagore Otegi, Carlos Garcia
Summary: The quality of sheet and tube metal-formed components depends heavily on the tribology and friction conditions between tools and materials. Friction is the most influential parameter in numerical models for feasibility studies and process design. Industrial software packages have introduced friction laws that consider sliding velocity, contact pressure, and sometimes strain and temperature dependence. This study characterizes three lubricants with different viscosities using tube-sliding test and aims to determine friction laws for tube hydroforming modeling. The results show that viscosity has a major effect on friction, which is further confirmed by experimental hydroforming tests. Advanced friction laws are important for accurately modeling the hydroforming process using finite element modeling.
Article
Crystallography
Zhan Sun, Xi Chen, Lixia Zhang, Saisai Zhang, Jicai Feng
Summary: Transient liquid phase (TLP) diffusion bonding of DZ40M cobalt-based superalloy was conducted using a self-made NiCrCoWB intermediate layer. The study investigated the typical microstructure of the joint and the impact of holding time on microstructural evolution and tensile strength. It was found that the diffusion of boron and the evolution of the eutectic zone played crucial roles in determining the quality of the brazed joints.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ajith Nithin, Arumugam Sundaramanickam, Parthasarathy Surya, T. T. Ajith Kumar
Summary: An experiment was conducted to investigate the potential of virgin LDPE microplastics to transfer heavy metals. Results showed that LDPE microplastics coated with chromium can accumulate in sediments and tissues of edible scallops. Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of chromium in the tissues. This study highlights the ability of LDPE microplastics to adhere and transfer contaminants to biotic tissues.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Y. Zhang, M. P. Nguyen, T. C. Fung, K. H. Tan
Summary: Experimental and numerical studies were conducted to investigate the structural behavior of restrained circular hollow section (CHS) T-joints subject to fire. Four CHS T-joints with different brace-to-chord diameter ratios were tested under axial brace compression and in-plane bending. The joint behavior was discussed based on maximum deformation, fire resistance, and critical temperature. Finite element models were constructed and verified using temperature distributions and thermal restraints from the tests.
Article
Thermodynamics
Yan-Wei Gao, Cong-Ling Shi, Xiao-Dong Wang
Summary: Transient supercooling can effectively improve the performance of thermoelectric coolers, especially annular thermoelectric coolers with increased contact areas. Factors influencing the performance of annular thermoelectric coolers made of variable properties materials include pulse current parameters, thermoelectric element parameters, and convective heat transfer parameters. The results suggest that optimal pulse current parameters and thermoelectric element parameters play a key role in determining the supercooling effect of annular thermoelectric coolers.
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xu He, Hongmei Liu, Xuedong Liu, Wei Jiang, Weiwen Zheng, Honghong Zhang, Kaixin Lv, Hui Chen
Summary: With the increasing exploration resources of crude oil worldwide, the focus of the refining industry has shifted towards decomposing high viscosity heavy and inferior crude oil into high quality low viscosity oil and chemical raw materials. A self-built heavy oil viscosity reduction device based on jet cavitation was used to treat several types of oil, and the viscosity-decreasing condition of different operating parameters was analyzed using CFD numerical simulation method. The results showed that the viscosity reduction of Saudi heavy oil was the best at 4 MPa, with a reduction rate of 46.97%. The study provides theoretical guidance and data support for the industrial application of jet cavitation in oil treatment and device selection.
PETROLEUM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)