Fatima Ezzahra El Abbassi^1,*, Mustapha Assarar², Rezak Ayad², Hamid Sabhi², Stephane Buet², Nouzha Lamdouar³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 253-267, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.01759 - 14 July 2021

Abstract This paper aims at studying the effect of recycling on the static and dynamic properties of short alfa fibre reinforced polypropylene. For this purpose, alfa fibres reinforced composites were elaborated by an injection moulding process and were subjected to different mechanical recycling cycles. Then, non-recycled and recycled materials were subjected to static tests and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) to evaluate the effect of recycling on their behaviour. Besides, the effects of alkali and salt water treatments on the static and dynamic properties of the alfa composite were also investigated. The obtained results show that tensile More >

Ana Clara Lancarovici Alves, Rafael Grande, Antonio José Felix Carvalho^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 245-252, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00833

Abstract The interest in thermoplastic starch (TPS) as a substitute material to replace conventional thermoplastics continues especially due its biodegradability, availability, low cost and because it is obtained from renewable sources. However, its poor mechanical properties and its high sensitivity to humidity have limited its use in several applications. Here, the copolymer poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH), with two different ethylene contents, 27 and 44 mol% were blended with TPS by extrusion in order to overcome these limitations. The obtained blends were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), mechanical tensile testing, Scanning Electron Microscopy More >

Paula do Patrocínio Dias, Marcelo Aparecido Chinelatto^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 129-138, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00037

Abstract In this study a low molecular weight triblock copolymer derived from ε-caprolactone and tetrahydrofuran was used as a non-reactive compatibilizer of immiscible PLA/PCL blends. Ternary blends with 0, 1.5 wt%, 3 wt% and 5 wt% copolymer and about 75 wt% PLA were prepared by single screw extrusion and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile and Izod impact testing. SEM micrographs showed that the size of the dispersed PCL domains was practically constant regardless of copolymer concentration. This result can be explained by the low shear rate More >

B. Benobeidallah¹, A. Benhamida¹, A. Dorigato^2,*, A. Sola³, M. Messori³, A. Pegoretti²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 89-102, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00136

Abstract Various amounts (up to 10 wt%) of palygorskite nanofibers functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) coupling agent were used to reinforce polyamide 11 nanocomposites prepared by melt compounding. The covalent bonding of the silane on the palygorskite surface was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. X-ray diffraction revealed the retention of the α-form of polyamide crystals upon the addition of both natural and silane treated palygorskite nanorods. All the investigated nanocomposites showed an improvement of the thermal stability, especially when surface treated palygorskite nanofibers were considered. Tensile tests and dynamic mechanical thermal analyses on the prepared More >

Yang Yu¹, Ramiz Boy^1,2,*, Richard Kotek¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 41-55, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00105

Abstract Current industrial methods for dissolution of cellulose in making regenerated cellulose products are relatively expensive, toxic and dangerous and have environmental problems coming with the hazard chemical wastes. To solve these problems, a novel ethylenediamine and potassium thiocyanate (ED/KSCN) solvent system was developed, that is economical, ecofriendly, and highly efficient. The ED/KSCN solvent system was proven to be a suitable solvent for fabricating cellulose (blended with other polymers) membranes. In this study, gluten was used to develop nonporous membranes with cellulose. The method of casting these membranes provided better ones than the former researchers’ techniques. More >

Moharam Habibnejad Korayem^1,*, Zahra Rastegar²

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, No.2, pp. 109-122, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.04706

Abstract The mechanical properties of single cells have been recently identified as the basis of an emerging approach in medical applications since they are closely related to the biological processes of cells and human health conditions. The problem in hand is how to measure mechanical properties in order to obtain them more accurately and applicably. Some of the cell’s properties such as elasticity module and adhesion have been measured before using various methods; nevertheless, comprehensive tests for two healthy and cancerous cells have not been performed simultaneously. As a Nanoscale device, AFM has been used for… More >

Chang-Chun Lee^1,*, Pei-Chen Huang¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.120, No.2, pp. 239-260, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2019.06859

Abstract This research reviews the application of computational mechanics on the properties of nano/micro scaled thin films, in which the application of different computational methods is included. The concept and fundamental theories of concerned applications, material behavior estimations, interfacial delamination behavior, strain engineering, and multilevel modeling are thoroughly discussed. Moreover, an example of an interfacial adhesion estimation is presented to systematically estimate the related mechanical reliability issue in the microelectronic industry. The presented results show that the peeled mode fracture is the dominant delamination behavior of layered material system, with high stiffness along the bonding interface. More >

Samuel Olukayode Akinwamide¹, Serge Mudinga Lemika¹, Babatunde Abiodun Obadele^1,3, Ojo Jeremiah Akinribide¹, Bolanle Tolulope Abe², Peter Apata Olubambi¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 15-26, 2019, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2019.04761

Abstract Development of metal matrix composite is becoming widespread in most engineering applications where excellent mechanical properties are required. Mechanical and microstructural properties of aluminium reinforced with silicon carbide was investigated. Ingot of aluminium was melted in a furnace at temperature ranging between 650-700 ℃. Ferrotitanium and silicon carbide were preheated in a muffle furnace before addition to molten aluminium in a crucible furnace. Fixed proportions of magnesium, ferrotitanium and varying proportions of silicon carbide were utilized as reinforcements. Stirring was carried out manually for a minimum of 10 mins after the addition of each weight More >

Qiuren Ou^1,2,*, Peijun Ji², Jun Xiao¹, Ling Wu²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 27-37, 2019, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2019.04787

Abstract The properties of resin transfer molding (RTM) cyanate ester and its T800 grade carbon fiber composites were studied with the rheometer, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), FT-IR, dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical property testing, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the temperature of cyanate ester suitable for RTM process was 70℃. Curing process of the resin was 130℃/2 h+160℃/2 h+200℃/2 h+220℃/4 h. Glass transition temperature and heat decomposition temperature of the cured resin are 289℃ and 415℃, respectively. Mechanical properties of T800/RTM cyanate composites are 13.5% higher than that More >

Fuyao Yan^{1, #}, Yu hin Chan^2,#, Abhinav Saboo³ , Jiten Shah⁴, Gregory B. Olson^{1, 3}, Wei Chen^{2, *}

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.117, No.3, pp. 343-366, 2018, DOI:10.31614/cmes.2018.04452

Abstract Predicting the mechanical properties of additively manufactured parts is often a tedious process, requiring the integration of multiple stand-alone and expensive simulations. Furthermore, as properties are highly location-dependent due to repeated heating and cooling cycles, the properties prediction models must be run for multiple locations before the part-level performance can be analyzed for certification, compounding the computational expense. This work has proposed a rapid prediction framework that replaces the physics-based mechanistic models with Gaussian process metamodels, a type of machine learning model for statistical inference with limited data. The metamodels can predict the varying properties… More >