With the world facing depletion of its oil reserves, attention is being focused on how the plastics industry will address shortages and price increases in its crucial raw materials. One renewable resource is that of vegetable oils and fats and about a dozen crop plants make up the main vegetable oil-seed market. The main constituents of these oils are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids that are unique to the plant in which they have been developed. Moreover, technological processes can produce more well-defined and pure oils, and the fatty acid contents in the vegetable oils can be altered with modern crop development techniques. This article describes recent advances in utilising such vegetable oils in sourcing new polymeric materials. It also gives the context for the development of polymers based on renewable materials in general.
3 September 2013 in Applied Mechanics and Materials
Biopolymer foam was prepared by the reaction of bio-monomer based on vegetable oil with commercial Polymethane Polyphenyl Isocyanate (Modified Polymeric-MDI). The acoustic study of biopolymer foam was examined by impedance tube test according to the ASTM E-1050 and laminated with three types of textile such as polyester, cotton and single knitted jersey. It was revealed that the thicker the fabric the higher the sound absorption coefficient (α) at medium frequency level. The higher the number of layers or thickness of the fabric, the sound absorption through the fabric increases at medium frequency but after the maximum it remains almost unaltered. Three layer of cotton fabric gives maximum α approximately equal to 1 which is 1.104 mm thickness at frequency level of 3000-3500Hz and single knitted jersey gives maximum α at 4th layer of 2200-2700Hz. Meanwhile , the α of biopolymer foam laminated with polyester fabric approximately equal to 1 at lower frequency level of 2000-3000Hz with lower thickness that is 0.668mm. Polyester fabric with lowest thickness shows better α at lower frequency level due to the structure of the fabric. The relationships among the fiber properties such as fiber density, fiber diameter, and fibrous material layer were considered as a factor that influences the sound absorption property.
1 January 2013 in Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
The development of a lightweight composite (LC) based on Portland cement concrete with waste lightweight aggregate (WLA) additive was carried out to improve the sustainability and environmental impact and to offer potential cost savings without sacrificing strength. Treatment of the surface of the LC exposed to environmental attack by coating with biopolymer based on waste cooking oil doped with titanium dioxide photocatalysis (TOP) with superhydrophilic property was found to affect the mechanical properties of the LC in a systematic way. The results of compressive strength showed that the composite achieved the minimum required strength for lightweight construction materials of 17.2 MPa. Scratch resistance measurements showed that the highest percentages loading of superhydrophilic particles (up to 2.5% of biomonomer weight) for LC's surface coating gave the highest scratch resistance while the uncoated sample showed the least resistances. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures revealed the difference between the surface roughness for LC with and without TOP coating. TOP is also formulated to provide self-cleaning LC surfaces based on two principal ways: (1) the development by coating the LC with a photocatalytic superhydrophilic, (2) if such a superhydrophilic is illuminated by light, the grease, dirt, and organic contaminants will be decomposed and can easily be swept away by rain.
25 October 2015 in International Journal of Polymer Science
Biopolymer made from renewable material is one of the most important groups of polymer because of its versatility in application. In this study, biopolymers based on waste vegetable oil were synthesized and cross-link with commercial polymethane polyphenyl isocyanate (known as BF). The BF was compressed by using hot compression moulding technique at 90°C based on the evaporation of volatile matter, known as compress biopolymer (CB). Treatment with titanium dioxide (TiO2) was found to affect the physical property of compressed biopolymer composite (CBC). The characterization of thermal degradation, activation energy, morphology structure, density, vibration, and damping of CB were determined after UV irradiation exposure. This is to evaluate the photo- and thermal stability of the treated CB or CBC. The vibration and damping characteristic of CBC samples is significantly increased with the increasing of UV irradiation time, lowest thickness, and percentages of TiO2loading at the frequency range of 15–25 Hz due to the potential of the sample to dissipate energy during the oscillation harmonic system. The damping property of CBC was improved markedly upon prolonged exposure to UV irradiation.
1 September 2017 in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
This study investigates the acoustic properties of polymer foam composites (FC) filled with natural fiber. The FC were produced based on crosslinking of polyol, with flexible isocyanates and wood filler. The percentages of wood filler loading are 10, 15, and 20 wt% ratio of polyol. The FC also has a thickness of 10, 20 and 30 mm. The acoustic properties of the FC were determined by using Impedance Tube test, Optical Microscope (OM) and Mettler Toledo Density Kit test. The results revealed that FC20 with 30 mm in thickness gives the highest sound absorption coefficient (α) with 0.970 and 0.999, at low and high frequency respectively. FC20 also shows smallest pores structures size with 134.86 µm and biggest density with 868.5 kg/m 3 which helps in absorbing sound. In this study, FC with different percentage loading of wood filler and different foam thickness shows the ability to contribute the absorption coefficient of polymeric foam at different frequency levels. Lastly, this type of FC is suitable for any type of sound absorption applications material.
In the era of Industry 4.0, the digital capture of products has become a critical aspect, which prompts the need for reliable inspection methods. In the current technological landscape, the Internet of Things (IoT) holds significant value, especially for industrial devices that require seamless communication with local and cloud computing servers. This research focuses on the advancements made in roundness measurement techniques for industrial automation by leveraging an IoT architecture, computer vision, and image processing. The interconnectedness enables the efficient collection of feedback information, meeting the demands of closed-loop manufacturing. The accuracy and performance of assemblies heavily rely on the roundness of specific workpiece components. In order to address this problem, automated inspection methods are needed. A new method of computer vision for measuring and inspecting roundness is proposed in this paper. This method uses a non-contact method that takes into account all points on the contours of measured objects, making it more accurate and practical than conventional methods. The system developed by AMMC Laboratory captures Delrin work images and analyzes them using a specially designed 3SMVI system based on Open CV with Python script language. The system can measure and inspect several rounded components in the same part, including external frames and internal holes. It is calibrated to accommodate various units of measurement and has been tested using sample holes within the surface feature of the workpiece. According to the results of both techniques, there is a noticeable difference ranging from 2.9 µm to 11.6 µm. However, the accuracy of the measurements can be enhanced by utilizing a high-resolution camera with proper lighting. The results were compared to those obtained using a computer measurement machine (CMM), with a maximum difference of 8.7%.