O. Gil-Castell¹, J. D. Badia^1,2, A. Ribes-Greus^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.4, pp. 370-382, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634170

Abstract A blending strategy of virgin and reprocessed polylactide may be postulated as an alternative to reduce the material cost at industrial level, and as a valorization route to plastic waste management of production scraps. The performance of blends prepared from virgin polylactide and polylactide mechanically reprocessed up to two cycles (PLA-V/R) was assessed in terms of thermo-oxidative stability, morphology, viscoelasticity and thermal kinetics for energetic valorization. PLA-V/R blends showed appropriate thermo-oxidative stability. The amorphous nature of polylactide was preserved after blending. The viscoelastic properties showed an increment of the mechanical blend effectiveness, which suggested the feasibility of using PLA-V/R blends… More >

Poonam Trivedi¹, Jens Schaller², Jan Gustafsson¹, Pedro Fardim^1,3*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 400-409, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634143

Abstract In the present study, we report the supramolecular design of cellulose-sulfonate hydrogel beads by blending water soluble sodium cellulose ethyl sulfonate (CES) with the pretreated cellulose in sodium hydroxide-ureawater solvent system at −6 °C followed by coagulation in the 2M sulfuric acid system. The increasing of CES amount from 10% to 90% had a substantial effect on the viscosity and storage (G′) and loss (G″) moduli of the blended solutions. The CES concentration up to 50% in blends led to the formation of physically stable hydrogels after coagulation in acidic medium at pH-1 and showed the retention of nearly the… More >

Sudhakar Muniyasamy^1,2, Osei Ofosu^1,2, Maya Jacob John^1,2, Rajesh D. Anandjiwala^1,2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.2, pp. 133-145, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634104

Abstract The present study investigates the mineralization of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-covalerate) (PHBV), and PLA/PHBV blend in compost and soil burial environments. The mineralization was assayed on the basis of carbon dioxide (CO2) release from the test materials incubated in compost and soil for a period of 200 days. The degradation was followed by means of fragmentation, thermogravimetric (TGA), FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results showed that PLA, PHBV and blend of PLA/PHBV achieved almost 90% biodegradation under composting conditions, while PHBV, PLA/PHBV blend and PLA respectively achieved only 35%, 32% and 4% biodegradation under soil… More >

Estefanía Lidón Sánchez-Safont¹, Jennifer González-Ausejo¹, José Gámez-Pérez¹, José María Lagarón², Luis Cabedo^1*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.2, pp. 123-132, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634127

Abstract Novel biodegradable composites based on poly(3-hydroxybutirate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and different contents of purifi ed alpha-cellulose fi bers (3, 10, 25 and 45%) were prepared by melt blending and characterized. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) experiments, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanic analysis (DMA) and Shore D hardness measurements. Disintegrability under composting conditions was studied according to the ISO 20200 standard. Morphological results showed that high dispersion of the fi bers was achieved during mixing. Good adhesion on the fi ber-matrix interface was also detected by SEM. The addition of low… More >

Xiang Li¹, Mei-E Fang^1,2,*, QIan Qi²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.120, No.1, pp. 45-62, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2019.05659

Abstract In this article, we adopt the C-type spline of degree 2 to model and blend basic shapes including conics and circle arcs. The C-type spline belongs to the ωB-spline category of splines that are capable of blending polynomial, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. Commonly used basic shapes can be exactly represented by these types of splines. We derive explicit formulas for the convenience of modeling the basic curves. The entire blending curve is C¹-continuous. In comparison with the existing best blending method by rational G² splines, which are rational splines of degree 3, the proposed method allows simpler representation and blending… More >

M. Marigo^1,2, D. L. Cairns¹, M. Davies¹, M. Cook³,A. Ingram^2,4,5, E. H. Stitt¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.59, No.3, pp. 217-238, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2010.059.217

Abstract In this work the complex motion of the Turbulamixer has been measured by Multiple-Positron Emission Particle Tracking (Multiple PEPT) in order to set-up a DEM numerical model. Positron emitting radioactive tracers were attached to three of the pivot bearings on the shaft of the mixer to enable the rotation and translation of the mixer chamber to be tracked in the PEPT camera. The measured movement was mathematically reconstructed and imported into DEM in order to apply the same movement to the modelled vessel. The three-dimensional motion of particles in a vessel located in the Turbula mixer was then calculated using… More >

Y.H. Liu¹, X.X. Xue², J.M.Shen¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 197-204, 2015, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2015.011.195

Abstract Blends of Polyethylene (PE) and modified-oil shale ash (MOSA) with different fractions of MOSA were prepared by the melting blend method. The effects of MOSA content on the rheological and mechanical properties of the blend were properly assessed via direct experimental analysis (more precisely, all rheological measurements were performed using a laboratory-scale XSS-300 torque rheometer with single screw extruder; the temperatures were maintained at 170°C, 180°C and 190°C under continuous extrusion). The prepared samples were observed to display a shear-thinning behaviour. Moreover, with increasing the MOSA content, we found the yield strength of the blends to increase, while its elongation… More >

Y. T. Wu¹, J. Z. Cui², Y. F. Nie³, Y. Zhang³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.42, No.3, pp. 205-226, 2014, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2014.042.205

Abstract Core–shell particle–filled PA6/EPDM–g–MA/HDPE ternary blend has excellent mechanical properties. In this paper, effective elastic properties and tensile yield strength of the ternary blend are predicted by the second–order two– scale method, to investigate the relationship between morphology and mechanical properties. The method and the limit analysis for predicting mechanical properties of random heterogeneous materials are briefly introduced. Realistic morphology of the ternary blend including both core–shell particles and pure particles is simulated, and finite element mesh is generated. The unified strength theory is embedded in the method for the convenience of selecting a suitable yield criterion. The effective elastic moduli… More >