Influence of potassium fertilization and foliar application of zinc and phosphorus on growth,yield components,yield and fiber properties of Egyptian cotton(Gossypium barbadense L.)

Aims Supplying optimal quantities of mineral nutrients to growing crop plants is one way to improve crop yields.Nutrients need to be used rationally in order to avoid a negative ecological impact and undesirable effects on the sustainability of agricultural production systems.Excessive application of nutrients also affects the farmer’s economy.In order to calculate the amount of fertilizer to be applied to crops,it is necessary to develop recommendation programmers that adjust nutrient rates to crop requirements.Methods Experiments in two successive seasons were conducted to investigate the effect of K fertilization and foliar application of Zn and P on yield and fiber properties of cotton cv.Giza 86.Potassium(0.0 and 47.4 kg of K ha^(-1))was soil applied,while chelated zinc(0.0 and 57.6 g of Zn ha^(-1),applied twice at 70 and 85 days after sowing‘DAS’)and phosphorus(0.0,576,1152 and 1728 g of P ha^(-1),applied twice at 80 and 95 DAS)were applied to the foliage.Important findings Dry matter yield,total chlorophyll concentration,K,Zn and P uptake per plant,number of opened bolls per plant,boll weight,seed index,lint index,seed cotton yield per plant,seed cotton and lint yield ha^(-1) and earliness of harvest increased with the application of K,Zn and P.Treatments generally had no significant effect on lint percentage and fiber properties,with exceptions,for micronaire reading and flat bundle strength,and uniformity ratio,where the mean values of these characters were significantly increased over the untreated control by applying K,and for the micronaire reading in the first season,when applying P at 1728 g ha^(-1),and uniformity ratio in the second season,when applying Pat 1152 and 1728 g ha^(-1),where the mean values of these characters were significantly increased over the untreated control by applying P.Under the conditions of this study,applying K fertilization at 47.4 kg ha^(-1) combined with spraying cotton plants with zinc at 57.6 g ha^(-1) and also with P at 1728 g ha^(-1) improved growth and yield of Egyptian cotton.

Effect of Strontium Substitution on Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Electrospinning BaFe12O19 Nanofibers

Barium ferrite micro/nano fibers were successfully prepared via the electrostatic spinning by using dimethyl formamide（DMF） as the solvent, and poly vinyl pyrrolidone（PVP） as the spinning auxiliaries. Effects of strontium substitution on the structure, morphology, and magnetic properties were investigated by scanning electron microscope（SEM）, X-ray diffraction analysis（XRD）, and vibration sample magnetometer（VSM）. XRD patterns of the samples confirm that pure barium ferrite fibers form, and the Sr substitution makes the main peaks（110）,（107）, and（114） move to right slightly. Also, the FE-SEM images show that the Sr substituted fibers can keep complete fibrous morphology. Moreover, the VSM results demonstrate that the saturation magnetization can reach 56.7 emu/g when the fibers are calcined at 800℃.

Effect of carbon nanotube on physical and mechanical properties of natural fiber/glass fiber/cement composites

The objective of this investigation was to introduce a cement-based composite of higher quality. For this purpose new hybrid nanocomposite from bagasse fiber,glass fiber and multi-wall carbon nanotubes（MWCNTs）were manufactured. The physical and mechanical properties of the manufactured composites were measured according to standard methods. The properties of the manufactured hybrid nanocomposites were dramatically better than traditional composites. Also all the reinforced composites with carbon nanotube, glass fiber or bagasse fiber exhibited better properties rather than neat cement.The results indicated that bagasse fiber proved suitable for substitution of glass fiber as a reinforcing agent in the cement composites. The hybrid nanocomposite containing10 % glass fiber, 10 % bagasse fiber and 1.5 % MWCNTs was selected as the best compound.

Properties and Mechanism on Flexural Fatigue of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete Containing Slag

Properties and mechanism were investigated on flexural fatigue of concrete containing polypropylene fibers and ground granulated blast furnace slag（GGBFS）.Four polypropylene fibers’volume fractions and five slag proportions were considered.An experiment was conducted to obtain the fatigue lives at three stress levels in 20 Hz frequency and at a constant stress level of 0.59 in four frequency respectively.Mechanism and evaluation were investigated based on the experimental data.Fatigue life span models were established.The results show that the addition of polypropylene fibers improves the flexural fatigue cumulative strength and fatigue life span.It is proposed that the slag particles and hydrated products improve Interfacial Transition Zone（ITZ）structure and benefit flexural fatigue performance.A composite reinforce effect is found with the incorporation of slag and polypropylene fibers.The optimum mixture contents 55%slag with 0.6%polypropylene fiber for the cumulative fatigue stress.Fatigue properties are decreased as the stress level increasing,the higher frequency reduces the fatigue strength more than lower frequency at a constant stress level.

Characterization of Manmade and Recycled Cellulosic Fibers for Their Application in Building Materials

The aim of this study was to characterize two types of cellulosic fibers obtained from bleached wood pulp and unbleached recycled waste paper with different cellulose content(from 47.4 percent up to 82 percent),to compare and to analyze the potential use of the recycled fibers for building application,such as plastering mortar.Changes in the chemical composition,cellulose crystallinity and degree of polymerization of the fibers were found.The recycled fibers of lower quality showed heterogeneity in the fiber sizes(width and length),and they had greater surface roughness in comparison to high purity wood pulp samples.The high purity fibers(cellulose content>80.0 percent)had greater crystallinity and more homogeneous and smooth surfaces than the recycled fibers.The presence of calcite and kaolinite in all of the recycled cellulosic fibers samples was confirmed,whereas only one wood pulp sample contained calcite.The influence of the chemical composition was reflected in the fiber density values.Changes in the chemical composition and cellulose structure of the fibers affected the specific surface area,porosity and thermo physical properties of the fibers.More favorable values of thermal conductivity were reached for the recycled fibers than for the wood pulp samples.Testing the suitability of the recycled fibers with inorganic impurities originating from the paper-making processes for their use as fillers in plastering mortars(0.5 wt.%fiber content of the total weight of the filler and binder)confirmed their application by achieving a compressive strength value of 28 day-cured fiber-cement mortar required by the standard as well as by measured more favorable value of capillary water absorption coefficient.

Synergistic effect of chitin nanofibers and polyacrylamide on electrochemical performance of their ternary composite with polypyrrole

Development of simple methods for preparation of polymeric electrode materials with nanofibrous network structure is a perspective way toward cheap supercapacitors with high specific capacitance and energy density. In this work one-pot synthesis of electroactive ternary composite based on polypyrrole, polyacrylamide and chitin nanofibers with beneficial morphology was elaborated. Ternary system demonstrates better electrochemical performance in comparison with both polypyrrole–polyacrylamide and polypyrrole–chitin binary composites. Possible mechanism of synergistic effect of simultaneous influence of polyacrylamide and chitin nanofibers on the formation of composite＇s structure is discussed.The highest attained specific capacitance of electroactive polypyrrole in ternary composite reached 249 F/g at 0.5 A/g and 150 F/g at 32 A/g. Symmetrical supercapacitor was assembled using the elaborated electrode material. High specific capacitance 89 F/g and good cycling stability with capacitance retention of 90% after 3000 cycles at 2 A/g were measured.

Effect of Twisted Fiber on Flexural Property and Microstructure of Woven Fabric Reinforced Composite

Two kinds of 2.5D deep straight-joint structure ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene（UHMWPE）（twisted and original） fibers woven fabric reinforced epoxy resin composites were prepared by the hand lay-up method. Subsequently, the flexural property, microstructures, and failure mechanisms of the composites were also investigated. The average flexural strength of 2.5D deep bend-joint structure twisted fiber and original fiber woven fabric composites were 176.66 MPa and 204.45 MPa, respectively. The results of the characteristics indicated that the twist was the main factor which affected the flexural performance. Flexural property vitally relied on the strength of the fiber itself. Twist decreased the strength of the yarns, which meant that when the mechanical property of woven fabric reinforced composites was improved, the yarns must be kept straight in the woven fabric. The study are extremely valuable to guide the improvement of the mechanical property of the woven fabric reinforced composites.

Performance improvement of continuous carbon nanotube fibers by acid treatment

Continuous CNT fibers have been directly fabricated in a speed of 50 m/h-400 m/h,based on an improved chemical vapor deposition method.As-prepared fibers are further post-treated by acid.According to the SEM images and Raman spectra,the acid treatment results in the compaction and surface modification of the CNTs in fibers,which are beneficial for the electron and load transfer.Compared to the HNO3 treatment,HClSO_3 or H_2SO_4 treatment is more effective for the improvement of the fibers＇ properties.After HCISO_3 treatment for 2 h,the fibers＇ strength and electrical conductivity reach up to-2 GPa and-4.3 MS/m,which are promoted by-200%and almost one order of magnitude than those without acid treatment,respectively.The load-bearing status of the CNT fibers are analyzed based on the downshifts of the G＇ band and the strain transfer factor of the fibers under tension.The results reveal that acid treatment could greatly enhance the load transfer and inter-bundle strength.With the HCISO3 treatment,the strain transfer factor is enhanced from-3.9%to-53.6%.

Production of Wood Fibers from Thermally Treated Wood

The reduction of the hygroscopicity of wood fibers was investigated through a Thermal Treatment(TT)on wood chips performed before the defibering process.The TT and defibering tests were both carried out on a continuous pilot at semi-industrial scale.The thermal treatment study of wood chips,equivalent to a low temperature pyrolysis,was achieved for four conditions(280°C–320°C)for a duration of 10 min.Mass quantification of solids,condensables and gases(FTIR)at the outcome of the thermal treatment allowed to achieve the mass balances for each condition.The increase of the reactor temperature from 280°C to 320°C leads to a lower solid yield(94%–82%)while gaseous(1%–3.8%)and condensable(3%–11%)products increase significantly.Thermally treated wood samples were afterwards successfully defibered in different conditions to produce suitable fibers for insulation panel production.The aim of the study is also to evaluate the effects of the TT on the lowering of energy consumption necessary for the defibering process while producing good quality fibers.Energy consumption during defibering process shows a significant decrease with the increase the TT severity.Fiber morphology is affected by TT and the morphological quality of the fibers decreases as TT severity increases.The mass percentage of dust was also quantified as a quality marker of produced fibers.Measurements of equilibrium moisture(at 20°C and 65%RH)of the different materials(wood chips before and after TT,produced fibers)show a significant effect of the TT on wood chips hygroscopicity(8.2%for untreated wood to 4.1%for TT at 320°C).However,the effect of the TT on the hygroscopicity reduction of thermally treated wood fibers is drastically less significant due to breaking of the wood structure during defibering process.

GRAFTING ONTO WOOL V.RADIATION-INITIATED GRAFTING OF ACRYLIC ACID ONTO WOOL FIBER

This paper deals with graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) onto Xinjiang fine wool.fiber in aqueous medium initiated by gamma rays. Graft copolymerization was carried out by themutual irradiation method in limited air. Percent grafting and percent efficiency have been deter-mined as a function of total dose, dose rate, concentration of monomer, wool weight and reactiontemperature. Graft copolymers are characterized with infrared (IR) spectroscopy, scanning elec-tron microscopy (SEM), and X--ray diffractometer. Properties of the grafts were studied, and compared with the virgin fiber.

High Performance of Paper Strength and Energy Savings in OCC Pulp Papermaking via MFC Addition

Fiber screen fractionation of recycled old corrugated container(OCC)pulp and subsequent targeted processing of each fraction can lead to higher fiber quality,more uniform pulp,and increased handsheet strength and surface smoothness.This pilot-scale study evaluates the benefits of fiber fractionation using a pressure screen prior to low consistency(LC)refining.A 0.81-mm smooth holed screen cylinder is utilized,and two refiner plate patterns are adopted(wide 0.99 km/rev BEL and interim 2.01 km/rev BEL).Here,LC-refined reject fractions are mixed with the created microfibrillated cellulose(MFC),and the mixed pulp and paper qualities are compared with no-MFC OCC pulps.The results indicate that the highest tensile strength of the handsheet is obtained by the addition of MFC to the fractionated refined OCC pulp compared to the unfractionated refined OCC and primary OCC pulps at a given specific energy.Furthermore,the experimental approach adopted in this study can be used to optimize recycled OCC pulping systems.Overall,the results indicate that fractionated LC refining plus MFC addition provides higher pulp and paper qualities and the potential for saving energy to reach the desired tensile strength of the OCC pulp.

Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) density effects on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Goosegrass is one of the worst agricultural weeds on a worldwide basis. Understanding of its interference impact in crop ifeld wil provide useful information for weed control programs. Field experiments were conducted during 2010–2012 to determine the inlfuence of goosegrass density on cotton growth at the weed densities of 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 plants m–1 of row. Seed cotton yield tended to decrease with the increase in weed density, and goosegrass at a density of 4 plants m–1 of row signiifcantly reduced cotton yields by 20 to 27%. A density of 11.6–19.2 goosegrass plant m–1 of row would result in a 50%cotton yield loss from the maximum yield according to the hyperbolic decay regression model. Bol production was not affected in the early growing season. But bol numbers per plant were reduced about 25%at the den-sity of 4 plants m–1 of row in the late growing season. Both cotton bol weight and seed numbers per bol were signiifcantly reduced (8%) at 4 goosegrass plants m–1 of row. Cotton plant height, stem diameter and sympodial branch number were not affected as much as cotton yields by goosegrass competition. Seed index, lint percentage and lint ifber properties were unaffected by weed competition. Intraspeciifc competition resulted in density-dependent effects on weed biomass per plant, 142–387 g dry weight by harvest. Goosegrass biomass m–2 tended to increase with increasing weed density as indicated by a quadratic response. The adverse impact of goosegrass on cotton yield identiifed in this study has indicated the need of effective goosegrass management.

Anodic Oxidation on Structural Evolution and Tensile Properties of Polyacrylonitrile Based Carbon Fibers with Different Surface Morphology

Polyacrylonitrile （PAN） based carbon fibers with different surface morphology were electrochemically treated in 3 wt% NH4HCO3 aqueous solution with current density up to 3.47 A/m 2 at room temperature, and surface structures, surface morphology and residual mechanical properties were characterized. The crystallite size （La） of carbon fibers would be interrupted due to excessive electrochemical etching, while the crystallite spacing （d（002）） increased as increasing current density. The disordered structures on the surface of carbon fiber with rough surface increased at the initial oxidation stage and then removed by further electrochemical etching, which resulting in continuous increase of the extent of graphitization on the fiber surface. However, the electrochemical etching was beneficial to getting ordered morphology on the surface for carbon fiber with smooth surface, especially when the current density was lower than 1.77 A/m 2 . The tensile strength and tensile modulus could be improved by 17.27% and 5.75%, respectively, and was dependent of surface morphology. The decreasing density of carbon fibers probably resulted from the volume expansion of carbon fibers caused by the abundant oxygen functional groups intercalated between the adjacent graphite layers.

Properties of Steel Fiber Reinforced Coal Gangue Coarse Aggregate Concrete

In this paper,workability,strength and durability of coal gangue coarse aggregate concrete with different steel fiber content levels have been studied.The results indicate that the concrete compressive strength,flexural strength and tensile splitting strength at the age of 28 days increase with the steel fiber content increasing,while cost and impermeability reduce with steel fiber content increasing.Based on the data of the workability of fresh concrete,mechanical properties and durability of hardened concrete,the concrete cost index system are established to evaluate and optimize the steel fiber content in coal gangue concrete by Efficacy Coefficient Method.The optimization result reveals that the maximum value of the system efficacy coefficient is up to0.87,the coal gangue concrete with steel fiber 1.5%（V︰V）performs better.

Chemically doped macroscopic graphene fibers with significantly enhanced thermoelectric properties

Flexible wearable electronics, when combined with outstanding thermoelectric properties, are promising candidates for future energy harvesting systems. Graphene and its macroscopic assemblies （e.g., graphene-based fibers and films） have thus been the subject of numerous studies because of their extraordinary electrical and mechanical properties. However, these assemblies have not been considered suitable for thermoelectric applications owing to their high intrinsic thermal conductivity. In this study, bromine doping is demonstrated to be an effective method for significantly enhancing the thermoelectric properties of graphene fibers. Doping enhances phonon scattering due to the increased defects and thus decreases the thermal conductivity, while the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient are increased by the Fermi level downshift. As a result, the maximum figure of merit is 2.76 ~ 10~, which is approximately four orders of magnitude larger than that of the undoped fibers throughout the temperature range. Moreover, the room temperature power factor is shown to increase up to 624 btW.m-l.K-2, which is higher than that of any other material solely composed of carbon nanotubes and graphene. The enhanced thermoelectric properties indicate the promising potential for graphene fibers in wearable energy harvesting systems.

TiO_2-loaded activated carbon fiber:Hydrothermal synthesis,adsorption properties and photo catalytic activity under visible light irradiation

TiO2-loaded activated carbon fibers （ACF） were prepared by a hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectrometry and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra （DRS）. SEM images showed that the TiO2 nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of ACF, and the particle size and loading amount of TiO2 were varied by changing the initial concentration of tetrabutyl titanate （TBOT）. The results of an ash experiment showed that the loading amounts of TiO2 were 18.4%, 43.3%, 52.5%, 75.1%, and 91.1% for initial concentrations of TBOT of 0.07,014, 0.21,0.28, and 0.35 tool/L, respectively, Physical interactions played an important role in the formation of TiO2/ACF composite fibers that absorb UV and visible light. Compared with those of ACF, improved adsorption and photocatalytic activity toward Rhodamine B （RhB） were observed for TiO2/ACF composite fiber. The Rhodamine B could be removed efficiently by TiO2/ACF composite fibers, and the TiO2 loading amount had a significant effect on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/ACF composite fibers.

Plasmonic gold nanoshell induced spectral effects and refractive index sensing properties of excessively tilted fiber grating

We demonstrate a fiber refractive index（RI） sensor based on an excessively tilted fiber grating（ExTFG）immobilized by large-size plasmonic gold nanoshells（GNSs）. The GNSs are covalently linked on ExTFG surface.Experimental results demonstrate that both the intensity of the transverse magnetic（TM） and transverse electric（TE） modes of ExTFG are significantly modulated by the localized surface plasmon resonance（LSPR） of GNSs due to the wide-range absorption band. The wavelength RI sensitivities of the TM and TE modes in the low RI range of 1.333–1.379 are improved by ～25% and ～14% after GNSs immobilization, respectively, and the intensity RI sensitivities are ～599%/RIU and ～486%/RIU, respectively.

A Novel Multiscale Reinforcement by In-Situ Growing Carbon Nanotubes on Graphene Oxide Grafted Carbon Fibers and Its Reinforced Carbon/Carbon Composites with Improved Tensile Properties

In-situ growing carbon nanotubes （CNTs） directly on carbon fibers （CFs） always lead to a degraded tensile strength of CFs and then a poor fiber-dominated mechanical property of carbon/carbon composites （C/ Cs）. To solve this issue, here, a novel carbon fiber-based multiscale reinforcement is reported. To synthesize it, carbon fibers （CFs） have been first grafted by graphene oxide （GO）, and then carbon nanotubes （CNTs） have been in-situ grown on GO-grafted CFs by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Characterizations on this novel reinforcement show that GO grafting cannot only nondestructively improve the surface chemical activity of CFs but also protect CFs against the high-temperature corrosion of metal catalyst during CNT growth, which maintains their tensile properties. Tensile property tests for unidirectional C/Cs with different preforms show that this novel reinforcement can endow C/C with improved tensile properties, 32% and 87% higher than that of pure C/C and C/C only doped with in-situ grown CNTs. This work would open up a possibility to fabricate multiscale C/Cs with excellent global performance.

Towards the Development of Mechanical Systems Entirely Based on Natural Materials

In order to mitigate the risks stemming from the utilization of mineral and synthetic organic substances,consensus exists in the literature that additional efforts should be devoted to the identification of adequate equivalent natural(ecological)materials.This work presents the outcomes of a preliminary study where the physical,mechanical,chemical and thermal properties of natural fibers have been considered.Initially,areca,and materials such as Moroccan doum and jute are considered.As a case study,a brake pad based on natural fibers is critically assessed.