Recycled HDPE-tetrapack composites. Isothermal crystallization, light scattering and mechanical properties

2012 ◽  
Vol 1485 ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Parada-Soria ◽  
HF Yao ◽  
B Alvarado-Tenorio ◽  
L Sanchez-Cadena ◽  
A Romo-Uribe

ABSTRACTIn this research the thermal and mechanical properties of composites based on recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and recycled Tetrapak have been investigated. The matrix and filler are recovered from landfills. Multicolor HDPE mixtures, with varying concentration of tetrapack flakes, are hot pressed, as well as single color HDPE flakes. Previous studies determine that the nature of the pigment (organics vs. inorganics) strongly influence the mechanical behavior of multicolor HDPE-tetrapack composites. Thus, this research focuses on single color HDPE hot pressed plaques. The kinetics of crystallization under isothermal conditions is determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that the crystallization kinetics obeys the Avrami theory, and that the Avrami exponent is 1, irrespective of the pigment in use. Small-angle light scattering is applied to investigate the internal structure of the pigmented HDPE. SALS patterns show that the samples exhibited oriented morphologies. However, after melting and slow cooling under pressure the samples exhibit an isotropic morphology. This is confirmed by polarized optical microscopy. Mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus, yield stress and ultimate tensile stress are obtained under uniaxial tensile deformation at room temperature. For the single color HDPE plaques the Young’s modulus is reduced (after melting), suggesting that the anisotropic molecular chains contribute to the higher value of Young’s modulus.

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3127
Author(s):  
Feng Dai ◽  
Dandan Zhao ◽  
Lin Zhang

The effect of vacancy defects on the structure and mechanical properties of semiconductor silicon materials is of great significance to the development of novel microelectronic materials and the processes of semiconductor sensors. In this paper, molecular dynamics is used to simulate the atomic packing structure, local stress evolution and mechanical properties of a perfect lattice and silicon crystal with a single vacancy defect on heating. In addition, their influences on the change in Young’s modulus are also analyzed. The atomic simulations show that in the lower temperature range, the existence of vacancy defects reduces the Young’s modulus of the silicon lattice. With the increase in temperature, the local stress distribution of the atoms in the lattice changes due to the migration of the vacancy. At high temperatures, the Young’s modulus of the silicon lattice changes in anisotropic patterns. For the lattice with the vacancy, when the temperature is higher than 1500 K, the number and degree of distortion in the lattice increase significantly, the obvious single vacancy and its adjacent atoms contracting inward structure disappears and the defects in the lattice present complex patterns. By applying uniaxial tensile force, it can be found that the temperature has a significant effect on the elasticity–plasticity behaviors of the Si lattice with the vacancy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 12-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gherissi ◽  
R.Ben Cheikh ◽  
E. Dévaux ◽  
Fethi Abbassi

In this study, we present the manufacturing process of two new composites materials in the form of long fibers of polylactic-acid (PLA) or polypropylene (PP), reinforced by cellulose whiskers micro-fibers loads. In order to evaluate the mechanical properties of these advanced materials, a several uniaxial tensile tests were carried out. The PP and the PLA have initially been spinning without the addition of cellulose whiskers micro-fibers. In order to study the effects of cellulose whiskers micro-fibers reinforcements in the Mechanical behavior of the PLA and PP filaments, we determinate the proprieties of these advanced material from the tensile results. For the PP composite filaments material case, the whiskers reinforcement increases Young's modulus and failure resistance, but it reduces the limit strength failure. For the PLA composites the addition of 1% wt of cellulose whiskers from the total volume fraction of the material, increase the Young’s modulus more than 50% and a decrease of the failure resistance and the limit strength of composite. The obtained composites fibers are very rigid and brittle. What follows, that the addition of cellulose whiskers micro fibers in PP matrix, provides mechanical properties more convenient compared to the PLA matrix.


e-Polymers ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayant Saengsuwan

AbstractThe influence of annealing on the microstructure and molecular orientation, thermal behaviour and mechanical properties of uniaxially drawn iPP thin film was studied by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and tensile testing, respectively. The correlations of mechanical and microstructural properties of annealed films were also examined. The transformation of smectic phase of iPP to the α-form was more pronounced with increasing annealing time and temperature. The true and apparent crystallinities and crystal thickness were strongly enhanced with annealing time and temperature. The relative molecular orientation tended to increase with annealing time. These results caused the significant improvement of modulus and tensile strength of the annealed films in both machine (MD) and transverse (TD) directions. The increases in MD-Young’s modulus and MD-tensile strength were well correlated with the increase in true crystallinity obtained in equatorial scans. Some relationship between the increase in crystal thickness and the increase in Young’s modulus in both MD and TD directions was also found.


Author(s):  
Tatsuya Fujii ◽  
Takahiro Namazu ◽  
Koichi Sudoh ◽  
Shouichi Sakakihara ◽  
Shozo Inoue

In this paper, the effect of surface damage induced by focused ion beam (FIB) fabrication on the mechanical properties of silicon (Si) nanowires (NWs) was investigated. Uniaxial tensile testing of the NWs was performed using a reusable on-chip tensile test device with 1000 pairs of comb structures working as an electrostatic force actuator, a capacitive displacement sensor, and a force sensor. Si NWs were made from silicon-on-nothing (SON) membranes that were produced by deep reactive ion etching hole fabrication and ultrahigh vacuum annealing. Micro probe manipulation and film deposition functions in a FIB system were used to bond SON membranes to the device's sample stage and then to directly fabricate Si NWs on the device. All the NWs showed brittle fracture in ambient air. The Young's modulus of 57 nm-wide NW was 107.4 GPa, which was increased to 144.2 GPa with increasing the width to 221 nm. The fracture strength ranged from 3.9 GPa to 7.3 GPa. By assuming the thickness of FIB-induced damage layer, the Young's modulus of the layer was estimated to be 96.2 GPa, which was in good agreement with the literature value for amorphous Si.


Nano Futures ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bowen Zheng ◽  
Zeyu Zheng ◽  
Grace Gu

Abstract Graphene aerogels, a special class of 3D graphene assemblies, are well known for their exceptional combination of high strength, lightweightness, and high porosity. However, due to microstructural randomness, the mechanical properties of graphene aerogels are also highly stochastic, an issue that has been observed but insufficiently addressed. In this work, we develop Gaussian process metamodels to not only predict important mechanical properties of graphene aerogels but also quantify their uncertainties. Using the molecular dynamics simulation technique, graphene aerogels are assembled from randomly distributed graphene flakes and spherical inclusions, and are subsequently subject to a quasi-static uniaxial tensile load to deduce mechanical properties. Results show that given the same density, mechanical properties such as the Young’s modulus and the ultimate tensile strength can vary substantially. Treating density, Young’s modulus, and ultimate tensile strength as functions of the inclusion size, and using the simulated graphene aerogel results as training data, we build Gaussian process metamodels that can efficiently predict the properties of unseen graphene aerogels. In addition, statistically valid confidence intervals centered around the predictions are established. This metamodel approach is particularly beneficial when the data acquisition requires expensive experiments or computation, which is the case for graphene aerogel simulations. The present research quantifies the uncertain mechanical properties of graphene aerogels, which may shed light on the statistical analysis of novel nanomaterials of a broad variety.


2018 ◽  
Vol 913 ◽  
pp. 564-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Dong Lv ◽  
Jing Shen Wu

The matrix/filler interface plays a vital role in mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/rigid nanoparticles composites. In general, the use of spherical stearic acid modified CaCO3 (SA-CaCO3) can induce a weak interfacewhich facilitatesparticle debonding from the matrix under loading and reduces plastic resistance, enhancing the toughness of nanocomposites, while the use of polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGS) can improve the Young’s modulus and yield stress because of strong interfacial binding between particle and matrix. With the objective to simultaneously improve the modulus, yield stress and toughness, the ternary nanocomposites, PP/PGS/CaCO3 (PPSC), were prepared and the morphology, crystallization, and mechanical behavior were investigated and compared to their binary nanocomposites. The results show that Young’s modulus is enhanced as the particle loading, and the yield stress is balanced by two interactions, i.e. the decreasing effect of the weak interface and the enhancement effect of the strong interface. The impact strength of the ternary nanocomposites shows insignificant improvement compared with neat PP, which is attributed to the brittle effect of the weak interface in the particle cluster of SA-CaCO3 and PGS.


Author(s):  
Li Chen ◽  
Heng Liu ◽  
Lie Yu

Using Sutton-Chen many-body potential, the mechanical characteristics of silver nanorod subjected to 001 uniaxial tensile strain are simulated with molecular dynamics. The results indicate that the tensile deformation process consists of an elastic and a plastic periods. The atomic configurations change little in elastic period but change obviously in plastic period. The changes of atomic configurations directly determine the corresponding stress-strain relation. The stress increases linearly as strain grows within the process of elastic deformation. The stress fluctuates greatly in plastic period. With detailed analysis, the dislocations and slips of atoms lead to the stress oscillation. The influences of size effects on tension properties are investigated simultaneously. Young’s modulus heightens and the elastic ultimate stress decreases with the increasing global size of nanorod. Both of them approach to that of macroscopic material as the global size increases. At the same time, the tension properties of Silver nanorod with vacancy defects are investigated. When the vacancy density is less than 0.1%, the Young’s modulus of defect crystals are almost same as that of free-defect crystals, but the elastic ultimate stress is less than that of free-defect crystals. The Young’s modulus and elastic ultimate stress and strain are all decrease with the increment of vacancy density.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Smith ◽  
I. S. Young ◽  
J. N. Kearney

Tendon allografts are commonly used to replace damaged anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL). Some of the sterilization and preservation techniques used by tissue banks with tendon allografts are thought to impair the mechanical properties of graft tissues. The tensile mechanical properties of porcine toe extensor tendons were measured using a dynamic testing machine following either freezing, freeze-drying, freezing then irradiation at 25 kGy (2.5 MRad), freeze-drying then irradiation, or freeze-drying then ethylene oxide gas sterilization. There was a small but significant difference in Young’s modulus between the frozen group (0.88 GPa ± 0.09 SD) and both the fresh group (0.98 GPa ± 0.12 SD) and the frozen irradiated group (0.97 GPa ± 0.08 SD). No values of Young’s modulus were obtained for the freeze-dried irradiated tendons. The ultimate tensile stress (UTS) of the freeze-dried irradiated group (4.7 MPa ± 4.8 SD) was significantly different from both the fresh and the frozen irradiated groups, being reduced by approximately 90 percent. There were no significant changes in UTS or Young’s modulus between any of the other groups. If irradiation is to be used to sterilize a tendon replacement for an ACL it must take place after freeze-drying to maintain mechanical properties.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 2278-2286 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. D. Reeves ◽  
C. N. Maganaris ◽  
G. Ferretti ◽  
M. V. Narici

While microgravity exposure is known to cause deterioration of skeletal muscle performance, little is known regarding its effect on tendon structure and function. Hence, the aims of this study were to investigate the effects of simulated microgravity on the mechanical properties of human tendon and to assess the effectiveness of resistive countermeasures in preventing any detrimental effects. Eighteen men (aged 25–45 yr) underwent 90 days of bed rest: nine performed resistive exercise during this period (BREx group), and nine underwent bed rest only (BR group). Calf-raise and leg-press exercises were performed every third day using a gravity-independent flywheel device. Isometric plantar flexion contractions were performed by using a custom-built dynamometer, and ultrasound imaging was used to determine the tensile deformation of the gastrocnemius tendon during contraction. In the BR group, tendon stiffness estimated from the gradient of the tendon force-deformation relation decreased by 58% (preintervention: 124 ± 67 N/mm; postintervention: 52 ± 28 N/mm; P < 0.01), and the tendon Young's modulus decreased by 57% postintervention ( P < 0.01). In the BREx group, tendon stiffness decreased by 37% (preintervention: 136 ± 66 N/mm; postintervention: 86 ± 47 N/mm; P < 0.01), and the tendon Young's modulus decreased by 38% postintervention ( P < 0.01). The relative decline in tendon stiffness and Young's modulus was significantly ( P < 0.01) greater in the BR group compared with the BREx group. Unloading decreased gastrocnemius tendon stiffness due to a change in tendon material properties, and, although the exercise countermeasures did attenuate these effects, they did not completely prevent them. It is suggested that the total loading volume was not sufficient to completely prevent alterations in tendon mechanical properties.


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rumiana Kotsilkova ◽  
Polya Angelova ◽  
Todor Batakliev ◽  
Verislav Angelov ◽  
Rosa Di Maio ◽  
...  

The aging, annealing, and reprocessing of the biodegradable poly (lactic) acid (PLA) based composite films incorporating graphene and carbon nanotubes were investigated in this work. Various monofiller and bifiller nanocomposite films with 6 wt.% filler content were produced by a solution-phase technique followed by extrusion. The freshly produced films were compared with the aged films after 18 months of shelf life in a room environment. The effects of aging, annealing, and melt reprocessing on the crystalline structure, the thermal stability, the hardness, and Young’s modulus were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), TGA, and nanoindentation methods. The fresh and the aged samples were found to have semi-crystalline materials with 3%–7% crystallinity, while the crystallinity was significantly enhanced to 34%–38% by annealing at 80 °C and subsequent slow cooling. A good dispersion was observed in the bifiller films with filler ratios of 4.5:1.5 and 1.5:4.5 [graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) to carbon nanotubes (CNT)], which affected the crystallization processes. The reprocessing at 200 °C followed by fast cooling resulted in amorphous films, which significantly reduced the hardness and Young’s modulus. The nanoindentation properties were dependent on the dispersion of nanofillers at the surfaces. The efficiency of annealing and reprocessing for the recovery and the reuse of aged nanocomposite films is discussed herein. The paper underlines that properties of the nanocomposites under investigation were influenced not only by the composition, the chemical nature of the added filler, and the processing condition, but also by the aging processes, which in turn depended on the type of nanopartcles added to PLA and the compositions. The paper provides valuable information for selection of material and processing conditions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document