polymerguru

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Corner Deformation I thought I would post a more complete answer to this issue related to corner deformation. In the paper we published in 2003,we used both experiments and simulations to show that the vastly dominant effect in angular deformation of molded curved/angular shapes does NOT originate from a cooling issue and is little sensitive to fillet radius. Hopefully, my drawing above should convince you that the only way to have curvature preserved after shrinkage is to have exactly the same shrinkage in the z thickness direction and in the x-y part plane direction. In molding this is never the case : -         For filled polymers, a much higher CLTE in z derives from the nearly total lack of fibers in the z direction   -         For unfilled polymers, the combination of x-y high mold constraints, freedom to shrink in z, and relaxation of x-y in-mold stresses, always...

  By adding weak linkers to a polymer network, chemists dramatically enhanced the material’s resistance to tearing. A team of chemists from MIT and Duke University has discovered a counterintuitive way to make polymers stronger: introduce a few weaker bonds into the material. Working with a type of polymer known as polyacrylate elastomers, the researchers found that they could increase the materials’ resistance to tearing up to tenfold, simply by using a weaker type of crosslinker to join some of the polymer building blocks. These rubber-like polymers are commonly used in car parts, and they are also often used as the “ink” for 3D-printed objects. The researchers are now exploring the possible expansion of this approach to other types of materials, such as rubber tires. “If you could make a rubber tire 10 times more resistant to tearing, that could have a dramatic impact on the lifetime of the tire and on the amount of microplastic waste that breaks off,” says Jeremiah Johnson, a p...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Petrochemical Historical Timeline-2 1878 John D. Rockefeller controlled 90% of the oil refineries in the United States. 1879 The first synthetic rubber was created. 1888 The study of liquid crystals began in Austria when scientist Friedrich Reinitzer found that a material known as cholesteryl benzoate had two different melting points. However, it has only been in the last few decades that liquid crystal use has come into its own with uses including mobile phones, electronic toys and computer screens. 1900 Texas, California and Oklahoma all produced oil. Annual US production at 64 million barrels. 1909 The discovery of Bakelite was announced. Considered the world’s first plastic,it was invented by Belgian Leo Hendrik Baekeland when he tried to make a substitute or shellac. It helped transform the radio industry in the 1930s. 1908 First major discovery of oil in Iran. 1912 German chemist Fritz Klatte...

Join me on Wednesday 5th July for Day 2 of  #CINC -2023 to hear my speech on Composites in the Hydrogen Economy that addresses significant challenges in the composites storage systems and the future of the hydrogen economy that is going to enhance our lives on the earth. There are quite a number of presentations from the Peers in the Polymer Composites Industry and attend the sessions on various technologies and interact with leading experts in the field of composites.” You can register here  https://lnkd.in/dVgPskP8 Offering process efficiency solutions for the environmental impact reduction.Looking forward to seeing everyone at the conference. #polymers   #polymerscience   #composites   #plasticsindustry   #hydrogen   #compositematerials   #cinc2023  #  #future   #hydrogeneconomy   #storagetank   #conference2023   #india   #cgd   #pipeline   #naturalgas   #gas #alternativeener...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Petrochemical Historical Timeline-1 1835 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) discovered by French chemist and physicist Henri Victor Regnault after leaving a sample of vinyl chloride gas in the sun. The sample hardened into a white solid but it was not patented until 77 years later. 1839 Polystyrene was discovered by accident by German pharmacist Eduard Simon when he tried to distil a natural resin called storax. He obtained an oily substance he called “styrol” and this thickened, probably due to oxidation. This substance wasn’t recognised as being made up of many styrene molecules until 1920. 1851 Carbon oil for lamps first produced.1856 Synthetic dyes first discovered by 18-year old student William Perkin at the Royal College of Chemistry in London when trying to develop an artificial form of quinine from coal tar. Instead of quinine, he was left with a purple powder which was used as an affordable fabric dye. Before this, fabric w...

John Bannister Goodenough, the co-inventor of lithium-ion batteries and the co-winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, passed away, one month before turning 101. Rest in Peace https://news.utexas.edu/2023/06/26/ut-mourns-lithium-ion-battery-inventor-and-nobel-prize-recipient-john-goodenough/

A new material developed by MIT engineers exhibits “record-breaking” vapor absorption. MIT engineers have synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. As the material absorbs water vapor, it can swell to make room for more moisture. Even in very dry conditions, with 30 percent relative humidity, the material can pull vapor from the air and hold in the moisture without leaking. The water could then be heated and condensed, then collected as ultrapure water. The transparent, rubbery material is made from hydrogel, a naturally absorbent material that is also used in disposable diapers. The team enhanced the hydrogel’s absorbency by infusing it with lithium chloride — a type of salt that is known to be a powerful dessicant. The researchers found they could infuse the hydrogel with more salt than was possible in previous studies. As a result, they observed that the salt-loaded gel absorbed and retained an un...