INFLUENCE OF SAMPLE THICKNESS ON ISOTHERMAL CRYSTALLIZATION KINETICS OF POLYMERS IN A CONFINED VOLUME

Isothermal crystallization process of polymers in a confined volume was simulated in the case of instantaneous nucleation by use of the Monte Carlo method.The influence of sample thickness on some kinetic parameters of crystallization was quantitatively evaluated.It was found that there was a critical thickness value.Influence of thickness on the crystallization behavior was only found for samples of thickness near and less than the critical value.For thick samples the Avrami plot showed straight lines with a turning point at the late stage of crystallization due to the secondary crystallization.When the thickness was near or less than the critical value a primary turning point appeared in the Avrami plot at the very beginning of the crystallization process.A model was proposed to explain the mechanism of this phenomenon.According to this model the critical thickness value is related to the nucleation density or the average distance between adjacent nuclei,and the primary turning point is an indication of a transformation of crystal growth geometry from a three-dimensional mode to a two-dimensional one.Analysis of experimental results of PEO isothermally crystallized at 53.5℃ was consistent with the proposed model.

Investigation of high rate mechanical flow followed by ignition for high-energy propellant under dynamic extrusion loading

Investigating the ignition response of nitrate ester plasticized polyether(NEPE) propellant under dynamic extrusion loading is of great significant at least for two cases. Firstly, it helps to understand the mechanism and conditions of unwanted ignition inside charged propellant under accident stimulus.Secondly, evaluates the risk of a shell crevice in a solid rocket motor(SRM) under a falling or overturning scene. In the present study, an innovative visual crevice extrusion experiment is designed using a dropweight apparatus. The dynamic responses of NEPE propellant during extrusion loading, including compaction and compression, rapid shear flow into the crevice, stress concentration, and ignition reaction, have been firstly observed using a high-performance high-speed camera. The ignition reaction is observed in the triangular region of the NEPE propellant sample above the crevice when the drop weight velocity was 1.90 m/s. Based on the user material subroutine interface UMAT provided by finite element software LS-DYNA, a viscoelastic-plastic model and dual ignition criterion related to plastic shear dissipation are developed and applied to the local ignition response analysis under crevice extrusion conditions. The stress concentration occurs in the crevice location of the propellant sample, the shear stress is relatively large, the effective plastic work is relatively large, and the ignition reaction is easy to occur. When the sample thickness decreases from 5 mm to 2.5 mm, the shear stress increases from 22.3 MPa to 28.6 MPa, the critical value of effective plastic work required for ignition is shortened from 1280 μs to 730 μs, and the triangular area is easily triggering an ignition reaction. The propellant sample with a small thickness is more likely to stress concentration, resulting in large shear stress and effective work, triggering an ignition reaction.

Wood Moisture Content Measurement by X-Ray Exposure Method

Although quite a numer of papers can be found up to now dealing with the subject of the measurement ofwood density by using the X-ray exposure methods, direet scanning or radiographic photography, the following two aspects,which are very important from both theorctical and engineering application points of view, have not yet been properly handled. One is that the elementary analyses or the experimental measurement on the mass attenuation coefficients were notspecified in regard to spectnun energv distridutions [1]. In this connection, the ambiguities in the specification of the coeffiecients and in turn for thc results among studies arise when only one of the two parameters, namely wave length and applied voltage, of detining the energy spectrum of X-ray is given. The oher is that the relationships between the relative intensity and the sample thickness as well the wood moisture content [2], which are the critical factors for the design and theselection of X-ray apparatus, were not sufficiently examined. In addition, the knowledge of the measurelnent of woodmiosture content by using the direct X-ray scanning method is also almost unavaible now. In the study, the direct X-rayscanning method of measuring wood moisture content was at first investigated theoretically with respect to the relationshipbetween the mass attenuation coefficients of wood (beech, Fagus Sylvatica) and the maximum spectrum energy of X-ray.Secondly, the dependence of the relative intensity on the sample thickness and on the wood moisture content was analysed.The main advantage of the method is on-site nondestructive measuring of wood moisture content in the processes such asdrying, impregnation and unsteady mass diffusion. Specifically for the application in the area of biomechanics, the methodcan also bc used for understanding the water pathway within wood, for example, the water around the knots and the relation between the stress distribution and the local moisture content of wood.