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- ItemBlending In Situ Polyurethane-Urea with Different Kinds of Rubber: Performance and Compatibility Aspects(Basel : MDPI, 2018-11-02) Tahir, Muhammad; Heinrich, Gert; Mahmood, Nasir; Boldt, Regine; Wießner, Sven; Stöckelhuber, Klaus WernerSpecific physical and reactive compatibilization strategies are applied to enhance the interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of heterogeneous polymer blends. Another pertinent challenge is the need of energy-intensive blending methods to blend high-tech polymers such as the blending of a pre-made hard polyurethane (-urea) with rubbers. We developed and investigated a reactive blending method to prepare the outstanding blends based on polyurethane-urea and rubbers at a low blending temperature and without any interfacial compatibilizing agent. In this study, the polyurethane-urea (PUU) was synthesized via the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate end-capped prepolymer and m-phenylene diamine based precursor route during blending at 100 °C with polar (carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR) and chloroprene rubber (CR)) and non-polar (natural rubber (NR), styrene butadiene rubber (sSBR), and ethylene propylene butadiene rubber (EPDM)) rubbers. We found that the in situ PUU reinforces the tensile response at low strain region and the dynamic-mechanical response up to 150 °C in the case of all used rubbers. Scanning electron microscopy reveals a stronger rubber/PUU interface, which promotes an effective stress transfer between the blend phases. Furthermore, energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) based elemental carbon map identifies an interphase region along the interface between the nitrile rubber and in situ PUU phases of this exemplary blend type.
- ItemA new strategy to improve viscoelasticity, crystallization and mechanical properties of polylactide(Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2021) Huang, Ying; Müller, Michael Thomas; Boldt, Regine; Zschech, Carsten; Gohs, Uwe; Wießner, SvenBiodegradable polylactide/masticated natural rubber (PLA/mNR) blends were prepared by electron induced reactive processing (EIReP) without using any chemical additives. The PLA/mNR blends showed droplet-matrix morphology with decreased mNR particle size after EIReP treatment. The absolute value of complex viscosity and storage modulus increased significantly for the EIReP modified blends, suggesting the improved melt strength and elasticity. The crystallization investigation showed that the cold crystallization peak of PLA phase gradually disappeared after EIReP modification. Instead, the crystallization peak arose during melt cooling process. Consequently, the crystallinity of PLA phase increased from 6.2% to 39.0% as the mNR content increased from 0 to 20 wt%. It was found that the softening temperature of PLA examined by dynamic mechanical analysis increased effectively with the characters of higher modulus compared to the non-modified blends. The EIReP modified blends exhibited excellent mechanical properties with 7-fold increase of impact toughness compared with neat PLA, implying a superior interfacial adhesion and chain interactions between the two polymer phases. Furthermore, the thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the thermal stability was slightly enhanced for the EIReP modified blends.
- ItemAn Improved Conservative Direct Re-Initialization Method (ICDR) for Two-Phase Flow Simulations(Basel ; Beijing ; Wuhan ; Barcelona ; Belgrade : MDPI, 2021) Mostafaiyan, Mehdi; Wießner, Sven; Heinrich, Gert; Hosseini, Mahdi SalamiWe introduce an improved conservative direct re-initialization (ICDR) method (for two-phase flow problems) as a new and efficient geometrical re-distancing scheme. The ICDR technique takes advantage of two mass-conserving and fast re-distancing schemes, as well as a global mass correction concept to reduce the extent of the mass loss/gain in two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) problems. We examine the ICDR method, at the first step, with two 2D benchmarks: the notched cylinder and the swirling flow vortex problems. To do so, we (for the first time) extensively analyze the dependency of the regenerated interface quality on both time-step and element sizes. Then, we quantitatively assess the results by employing a defined norm value, which evaluates the deviation from the exact solution. We also present a visual assessment by graphical demonstration of original and regenerated interfaces. In the next step, we investigate the performance of the ICDR in three-dimensional (3D) problems. For this purpose, we simulate drop deformation in a simple shear flow field. We describe our reason for this choice and show that, by employing the ICDR scheme, the results of our analysis comply with the existing numerical and experimental data in the literature
- ItemThermoelectric Performance of Polypropylene/Carbon Nanotube/Ionic Liquid Composites and Its Dependence on Electron Beam Irradiation(Basel : MDPI, 2022-1-11) Voigt, Oliver; Krause, Beate; Pötschke, Petra; Müller, Michael T.; Wießner, SvenThe thermoelectric behavior of polypropylene (PP) based nanocomposites containing single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and five kinds of ionic liquids (Ils) dependent on composite composition and electron beam irradiation (EB) was studied. Therefore, several samples were melt-mixed in a micro compounder, while five Ils with sufficiently different anions and/or cations were incorporated into the PP/SWCNT composites followed by an EB treatment for selected composites. Extensive investigations were carried out considering the electrical, thermal, mechanical, rheological, morphological and, most significantly, thermoelectric properties. It was found that it is possible to prepare n-type melt-mixed polymer composites from p-type commercial SWCNTs with relatively high Seebeck coefficients when adding four of the selected Ils. The highest Seebeck coefficients achieved in this study were +49.3 µV/K (PP/2 wt.% SWCNT) for p-type composites and −27.6 µV/K (PP/2 wt.% SWCNT/4 wt.% IL type AMIM Cl) for n-type composites. Generally, the type of IL is decisive whether p-or n-type thermoelectric behavior is achieved. After IL addition higher volume conductivity could be reached. Electron beam treatment of PP/SWCNT leads to increased values of the Seebeck coefficient, whereas the EB treated sample with IL (AMIM Cl) shows a less negative Seebeck coefficient value.
- ItemOn the Influence of Viscoelastic Modeling in Fluid Flow Simulations of Gum Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Stieger, Sebastian; Mitsoulis, Evan; Walluch, Matthias; Ebner, Catharina; Kerschbaumer, Roman Christopher; Haselmann, Matthias; Mostafaiyan, Mehdi; Kämpfe, Markus; Kühnert, Ines; Wießner, Sven; Friesenbichler, WalterComputational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is an important tool as it enables engineers to study different design options without a time-consuming experimental workload. However, the prediction accuracy of any CFD simulation depends upon the set boundary conditions and upon the applied rheological constitutive equation. In the present study the viscoelastic nature of an unfilled gum acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is considered by applying the integral and time-dependent Kaye–Bernstein–Kearsley–Zapas (K-BKZ) rheological model. First, exhaustive testing is carried out in the linear viscoelastic (LVE) and non-LVE deformation range including small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) as well as high pressure capillary rheometer (HPCR) tests. Next, three abrupt capillary dies and one tapered orifice die are modeled in Ansys POLYFLOW. The pressure prediction accuracy of the K-BKZ/Wagner model was found to be excellent and insensitive to the applied normal force in SAOS testing as well as to the relation of first and second normal stress differences, provided that damping parameters are fitted to steady-state rheological data. Moreover, the crucial importance of viscoelastic modeling is proven for rubber materials, as two generalized Newtonian fluid (GNF) flow models severely underestimate measured pressure data, especially in contraction flow-dominated geometries.
- ItemElectrically conductive and piezoresistive polymer nanocomposites using multiwalled carbon nanotubes in a flexible copolyester: Spectroscopic, morphological, mechanical and electrical properties(Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2022) Dhakal, Kedar Nath; Khanal, Santosh; Krause, Beate; Lach, Ralf; Grellmann, Wolfgang; Le, Hai Hong; Das, Amit; Wießner, Sven; Heinrich, Gert; Pionteck, Jürgen; Adhikari, RameshwarNanocomposites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), a flexible aromatic–aliphatic copolyester, were prepared by melt mixing followed by compression moulding to investigate their spectroscopic, morphological, mechanical and electrical properties. A comparison of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of the neat polymer matrix and the composites showed no difference, implying a physical mixing of the matrix and the filler. A morphological investigation revealed the formation of a continuous and interconnected MWCNT network embedded in the polymer matrix with partial agglomeration. Increasing Martens hardness and indentation modulus and decreasing maximum indentation depth with increasing filler concentration demonstrated the reinforcement of the polymer by the MWCNTs. A volume resistivity of 4.6 × 105 Ω cm of the materials was achieved by the incorporation of only 1 wt.-% of the MWCNTs, which confirmed a quite low percolation threshold (below 1 wt.-%) of the nanocomposites. The electrical volume resistivity of the flexible nanocomposites was achieved up to 1.6 × 102 Ω cm, depending on the filler content. The elongation at the break of the nanocomposites at 374% and the maximum relative resistance changes (ΔR/R0) of 20 and 200 at 0.9 and 7.5% strains, respectively, were recorded in the nanocomposites (3 wt.-% MWCNTs) within the estimated volume resistivity range. A cyclic strain experiment shows the most stable and reproducible ΔR/R0 values in the 2%–5% strain range. The electrical conductivity and piezoresistivity of the investigated nanocomposites in correlation with the mechanical properties and observed morphology make them applicable for low-strain deformation-sensing.
- ItemA New Route to Highly Stretchable and Soft Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Elastomers Using Polydimethylsiloxane as Crosslinker of Epoxidized Natural Rubber(New York, NY [u.a.] : Wiley InterScience, 2021) Banerjee, Shib Shankar; Banerjee, Susanta; Wießner, Sven; Janke, Andreas; Heinrich, Gert; Das, AmitSulfur or peroxide crosslinking is the most common and conventional method to develop elastomeric materials. A new approach to crosslink epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) by aminopropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (AT-PDMS) is described, intending to develop a new kind of hybrid organic–inorganic elastomers. The curing reaction is accelerated by using hydroquinone as a catalyst. The formation of the hybrid structure is evident from the appearance of two glass transition temperatures, at −1 and −120 °C, for the ENR and PDMS phases, respectively. The curing reaction is found to be of first order with respect to amine concentration with the estimated activation energy of ≈62 kJ mol−1. Comparing the mechanical properties to a typical ENR-sulfur system leads to the conclusion that the ENR/AT-PDMS hybrid structure is highly stretchable and soft, as demonstrated by its relatively higher strain at failure (up to ≈630%), and lower hardness and modulus values. The higher stretchability and soft nature of the material are achieved by introducing flexible PDMS chains during the curing process resulting to a hybrid elastomer networks. This kind of soft but robust materials can find several applications in diverse fields, such as soft robotics, flexible, and stretchable electronics.
- ItemFriction, abrasion and crack growth behavior of in-situ and ex-situ silica filled rubber composites(Basel : MDPI, 2020) Vaikuntam, Sankar Raman; Bhagavatheswaran, Eshwaran Subramani; Xiang, Fei; Wießner, Sven; Heinrich, Gert; Das, Amit; Stöckelhuber, Klaus WernerThe article focuses on comparing the friction, abrasion, and crack growth behavior of two different kinds of silica-filled tire tread compounds loaded with (a) in-situ generated alkoxide silica and (b) commercial precipitated silica-filled compounds. The rubber matrix consists of solution styrene butadiene rubber polymers (SSBR). The in-situ generated particles are entirely different in filler morphology, i.e., in terms of size and physical structure, when compared to the precipitated silica. However, both types of the silicas were identified as amorphous in nature. Influence of filler morphology and surface modification of silica on the end performances of the rubbers like dynamic friction, abrasion index, and fatigue crack propagation were investigated. Compared to precipitated silica composites, in-situ derived silica composites offer better abrasion behavior and improved crack propagation with and without admixture of silane coupling agents. Silane modification, particle morphology, and crosslink density were identified as further vital parameters influencing the investigated rubber properties. © 2020 by the authors.
- ItemEffect of prestrain on the actuation characteristics of dielectric elastomers(Basel : MDPI, 2020) Kumar, Mayank; Sharma, Anutsek; Hait, Sakrit; Wießner, Sven; Heinrich, Gert; Arief, Injamamul; Naskar, Kinsuk; Stöckelhuber, Klaus Werner; Das, AmitDielectric elastomers (DEs) represent a class of electroactive polymers that deform due to electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged electrodes under a varying electric field. Over the last couple of decades, DEs have garnered considerable attention due to their much-coveted actuation properties. As far as the precise measurement systems are concerned, however, there is no standard instrument or interface to quantify various related parameters, e.g., actuation stress, strain, voltage and creeping etc. In this communication, we present an in-depth study of dielectric actuation behavior of dielectric rubbers by the state-of-the-art “Dresden Smart Rubber Analyzer” (DSRA), designed and developed in-house. The instrument allowed us to elucidate various factors that could influence the output efficiency of the DEs. Herein, several non-conventional DEs such as hydrogenated nitrile rubber, nitrile rubber with different acrylonitrile contents, were employed as an electro-active matrix. The effect of viscoelastic creeping on the prestrain, molecular architecture of the matrices, e.g., nitrile content of nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) etc., are also discussed in detail.
- ItemDevelopment of Liquid Diene Rubber Based Highly Deformable Interactive Fiber-Elastomer Composites(Basel : MDPI, 2022-01-05) Kamble, Vikram G.; Mersch, Johannes; Tahir, Muhammad; Stöckelhuber, Klaus Werner; Das, Amit; Wießner, SvenThe preparation of intelligent structures for multiple smart applications such as soft-ro-botics, artificial limbs, etc., is a rapidly evolving research topic. In the present work, the preparation of a functional fabric, and its integration into a soft elastomeric matrix to develop an adaptive fiber-elastomer composite structure, is presented. Functional fabric, with the implementation of the shape memory effect, was combined with liquid polybutadiene rubber by means of a low-temperature vulcanization process. A detailed investigation on the crosslinking behavior of liquid polybutadiene rubber was performed to develop a rubber formulation that is capable of crosslinking liquid rubber at 75 °C, a temperature that is much lower than the phase transformation temperature of SMA wires (90–110 °C). By utilizing the unique low-temperature crosslinking protocol for liquid polybutadiene rubber, soft intelligent structures containing functional fabric were developed. The adaptive structures were successfully activated by Joule heating. The deformation behavior of the smart structures was experimentally demonstrated by reaching a 120 mm bending distance at an activation voltage of 8 V without an additional load, whereas 90 mm, 70 mm, 65 mm, 57 mm bending distances were achieved with attached weights of 5 g, 10 g, 20 g, 30 g, respectively.