Composite characteristics applications

To achieve the main process requirements (ability to be applied by different methods by hand, spray, electropaint), and to provide the necessary decorative, physical, and mechanical properties, organic solvents are used in concentrations up to of about 50% to modify the viscosity and other rheological characteristics of the some polymer compositions. During the application and formation of the coating, the solvents evaporate into the atmosphere as pollutants. This serious disadvantage of formulations based on the use of solvents as "intermediate" carriers has provided the incentive to develop polymer compositions and application technologies which yield the required rheological characteristics either without solvents, or at least with low concentrations of them. 

Shahidi, F. and Miraliakhari, H., Tree nut oils and byproducts Compositional characteristics and nutra-ceutical applications, in Nutraceutical and Specialty Lipids and Their Co-Products, Shahidi, E, Ed., CRC Press, Taylor Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, 2006, pp. 159-168. 

Sealants, caulks, and glazing compounds are normally highly pigmented (40-80%) compositions based on a wide variety of polymeric vehicles. Some 15 families of polymers are utilized singly or in polyblends to achieve the storage characteristics, application properties, physical performance, and durability required for each application at minimum cost. They are discussed here in order of increasing cost. 

For an existing process plant, the designer has the opportunity to take measurements of the fume or plume flow rates in the field. There are two basic approaches which can be adopted. For the first approach, the fume source can be totally enclosed, and a temporary duct and fan system installed to capture the contaminant. For this approach, standard techniques can be used to measure gas flow rates, gas compositions, gas temperatures, and fume loadings. From the collected fume samples, the physical and chemical characteristics can be established using standard techniques. For most applications, this approach is not practical and not very cost effec tive. For the second approach, one of three field measurement techniques, described next, can be used to evaluate plume flow rates and source heat fl uxes. 

Laminated plates are one of the simplest and most widespread practical applications of composite laminates. Laminated beams are, of course, simpler. However, such essentially one-dimensional structural elements do not display well the unique two-dimensional capabilities and characteristics of composite laminates. 

Composite materials have many distinctive characteristics reiative to isotropic materials that render application of linear elastic fracture mechanics difficult. The anisotropy and heterogeneity, both from the standpoint of the fibers versus the matrix, and from the standpoint of multiple laminae of different orientations, are the principal problems. The extension to homogeneous anisotropic materials should be straightfor-wrard because none of the basic principles used in fracture mechanics is then changed. Thus, the approximation of composite materials by homogeneous anisotropic materials is often made. Then, stress-intensity factors for anisotropic materials are calculated by use of complex variable mapping techniques. 

Viscoelastic characteristics of composite materials usually result from a viscoelastic-matrix material such as epoxy resin. General stress analysis of viscoelastic composites was discussed by Schapery [6-54]. An important application to laminated plates was made by Sims [6-55]. 

The fundamental objective in this section is to describe the factors and procedures to select the right material for a specific structural application. The right stuff for a material, as for a fighter pilot or an astronaut, is a complex combination of characteristics. To select the proper material requires being able to characterize and evaluate various composite materials (or metalsl) and to compare their attractive characteristics with the behavioral features required for a particular structure. Finally, a materials selection example of a space truss design problem will be addressed. 

The purpose of this subsection is to familiarize the reader with some of the basic characteristics and problems of composite laminate joints. The specific design of a joint is much too complex for an introductory textbook such as this. The published state-of-the-art of laminate joint design is summarized in the Structural Design Guide for Advanced Composite Applications [7-5] and Military Handbook 17A, Plastics for Aerospace Vehicles, Part 1, Reinforced Plastics [7-6]. Further developments can be found in the technical literature and revisions of the two preceding references. 

We just cannot expect situations like golf clubs and tennis rackets for all consumer products because all products do not have those same built-in characteristics of the competitive edge. When we consider a car, we must be realistic and acknowledge that the car must have a price low enough for people to afford. Think back to the days of Henry Ford he made a car that could be sold for about 250, so that everyone could afford to have one. This affordability was the real beauty of his mass-production techniques. Everyone could afford to have a car, and then almost everyone did have one. In contrast, before Henry Ford, only the rich could afford an automobile. As soon as we get to the trade-off where composite materials will effectively compete in the automotive market place, we will see tremendously broader applications, but there are problems along the way. The manufacturing cost must be improved in order for those applications to ever come about. 

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