Honeycomb Molding - Forming Thermoplastic Sandwich Structures for Interior Applications

The European Union (EU) Committee of the German Bundesrat takes centre stage in the constitutionally guaranteed mechanism that allows the 16 German states (Länder) to participate in EU affairs. Hence, the EU Committee is a key player when it comes to the formulation of and decisions on the states’ policy positions towards Europe. This study scrutinises the interests and conflicts of the Länder based on three ideal types of voting behaviour, consensus as well as territorial and partisan dissensus, and a new data set that comprises 6,220 roll call votes in the EU Committee. Case studies on three policy issues, EU civil protection, the European structural and investment funds, and crisis management in the eurozone, complement the study’s data analysis.

(1997). Opinion formulation and impact in the committee of the regions. Regional & Federal Studies: Vol. 7, The European Union's Committee of the Regions, pp. 23-49.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adhesion properties of phenol formaldehyde-prepreg oil palm veneers that have potential for plywood manufacture. Phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin of three different molecular weights (i.e. 600 (low), 2,000 (medium), and 5,000 (commercial)) were used to pre-treat the veneers. The veneers were soaked in each type of PF resin for 20 seconds, pressed between two rollers, and pre-cured in an oven maintained at 103 ± 2 °C for 24 hours. The volume percent gain (VPG), weight percent gain (WPG), pH, buffering capacity, and contact angle of the phenolic pre-preg veneers were determined. The bonding shear was also evaluated according to British Standard European Norm BS EN 314. The results show that veneers from both inner and outer layers treated with low molecular weight PF (LMwPF) resin had significantly higher VPG and WPG compared to the other PF resins. The pH values of all of the veneers were slightly acidic (6.5 to 6.8) except for those that were treated with commercial molecular weight PF resin (7.8). A buffering capacity study revealed that untreated veneer had a greater resistance toward alkali, but was unstable under acidic conditions, while the phenolic pre-preg veneer behaved differently. This effect was more prominent as the molecular weight of the PF resin increased. An examination of the veneer surfaces demonstrated that phenolic treatment had increased the contact angle of the OPS veneer surfaces significantly. The bonding properties of plywood made from pre-preg palm veneers were found to be superior to those of commercial palm plywood.

During normal interpandemic influenza seasons, immune responses to vaccines are quite predictable and meet the licensing criteria of the European Union (EU) Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP). In a pandemic situation, large sections, if not all of the community will be immunologically naïve and therefore new immunisation strategies will be needed. In 1976 and 1977 H1N1 vaccines were prepared and tested clinically. To stimulate 'protective' antibody responses, two doses of vaccine were needed in people below the age of 24 years (no previous experience of H1N1 virus), whereas one conventional dose was adequate in older people. In 1997, the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus caused widespread concern when it infected man, with lethal effects. Due to safety concerns it was necessary to adopt new strategies for vaccine development and one such strategy was to produce vaccine from an avirulent H5N3 virus, A/Duck/Singapore-Q/F119-2/97. Clinical trials of a subunit vaccine prepared from A/Duck/Sing/97 virus revealed that even two doses of twice the normal vaccine concentration (i.e. 30 micro g haemagglutinin) were poorly immunogenic, whereas an H5N3 vaccine adjuvanted with microfluidised emulsion (MF) 59 stimulated antibody levels that complied with CPMP criteria after two half strength doses (i.e. 7.5 micro g haemagglutinin).

Chapter 1 - Unsaturated Polyester Resins, Blends, Interpenetrating Polymer Networks, Composites, and Nanocomposites: State of the Art and New Challenges

With the development of platforms such as floating nuclear power plants, small modular reactors, and deep space detectors, the requirements for lightweight, high‐temperature resistance, and other properties of neutron shielding materials are increasingly growing. Polymer‐based composites have become a research hotspot in the field of lightweight neutron shielding materials due to their excellent shielding performance and light weight. This article first expounds the interaction mechanism between neutrons and matter, followed by an introduction to commonly used material performance evaluation methods such as simulation calculations and etc. Subsequently, it systematically reviews the research status of neutron shielding polymer‐based composite materials from the perspectives of polymer matrices and functional fillers, revealing the current deficiencies of these materials in terms of high‐temperature resistance, mechanical properties, and secondary γ‐ray. Finally, performance optimization strategies for neutron‐shielding polymer‐based composites are summarized from perspectives of component design, structural optimization, and process improvement, along with prospects for future development directions. This provides a reference for the design and engineering application of lightweight shielding materials.

BackgroundPostpartum depression is a disease with a prevalence of 20% that has deleterious consequences not only for the mother but also for the baby and can cause delays in physical, social and cognitive development. In this context, the European Union Committee on Public Health has declared it essential that preventative measures are taken by centres providing care for women with a multidisciplinary approach. PROGEA is a multicentre, single-blind randomized, 3-year, longitudinal clinical trial aiming to evaluate the efficacy of a psychoeducational programme in preventing postpartum depression in at-risk women, based on a range of clinical variables, and explore prognostic factors. This paper describes the methods and rationale behind the study.MethodsWe will study women receiving treatment as usual plus a psychoeducation cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention and a control group receiving only treatment as usual. The sample will be recruited from an incidental sampling of pregnant women in two health regions. We will recruit 600 women in the third trimester of pregnancy who consent to take part in the study. Almost half of the women, about 280, would be expected to have some risk factors for postpartum depression. All those found to have risk factors will be evaluated, and we estimate that a quarter will be classified as at-risk of developing postpartum depression as measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. This subset will be randomly allocated to receive treatment as usual with or without the CBT intervention. Six sessions of CBT (1 individual and 5 group) will be offered by a psychologist.DiscussionFindings from this study will be used to design a definitive study that will examine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the CBT-based intervention in improving the mood of women in the postpartum period.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02323152; Date: December 2014.

The present paper is aimed at investigating application of planar metamaterial (MM) structures for effective EMI shielding and stealth capability in X-Band. Various MM structures using FR-4 substrate and copper conductors were conceived and designed followed by simulations carried out using CST MWS Suite software. As a first step, the designs were aimed at achieving extremely high absorption for normal incidence, polarisation independence and maintaining high absorption in wide-angle performance while keeping the requirement of light weight, flexibility and environmental ruggedness in mind for deployability on platforms to achieve effective stealth capability against radars and for other EMI shielding applications. Circularly symmetric, single layer Metamaterial Microwave Absorber (MMA) design over thin FR-4 substrate in spokes and wheel structural arrangement provided these desired features. The thin FR4 substrate of 0.6 mm provides the light weight and flexibility while absorbing the EM waves. Rotational symmetry of the spoke and cut-wheel design gives it polarisation independence and 4 ring planar array concept with rings scaled to different sizes in the same plane in the unit cell provided the increase in bandwidth. Reduction in received signal level of the echo is depicted by the S-parameter at the input port. Getting values of this S-parameter less than -60 dB at resonant frequency for MMAs is highly encouraging and is not reported much in literature. Enhancement of nearly 3-8 times in operating bandwidth was achieved by changing size of rings in each quadrant in the co-planar array having four resonant rings in each unit cell.

Particleboards were treated with a low molecular-weight phenol-formaldehyde resin and their properties were evaluated. Particles were dipped into aqueous solutions of resin or sprayed with resin solutions before spraying the conventional phenol-formaldehyde resin adhesive, or sprayed with a mixture of low molecular-weight resin and the adhesive resin in a single step. Though mechanical properties and dimensional stability of the phenolic-resin-treated boards were affected considerably by the incorporated resin loading (IRL), the methods of treatment did not produce significantly different results. After boiling for 2-hours, the boards treated at 10% IRL retained 80% of their strength values in the dry condition. The internal bond strength increased with increasing IRL values, and the boards with 20% IRL showed twice the value of untreated controls at the same level of board density. Treated particleboards showed a dramatic reduction in the rate of swelling even at low resin loading. Results obtained from accelerated laboratory tests of biodegradation suggested that incorporated resin-solids worked well to enhance decay and termite resistance of particleboards. For a brown-rot fungus, the weight loss was substantially reduced at 15% IRL, whereas attack was suppressed almost entirely even at low resin loadings for the white-rot fungus.

Effect of concentration of water-soluble phenolic resin on the properties of carbon paper for gas diffusion layer

The development of technology is a widely accepted one for those who are eager to create changes in the environment. Emerging technology leads to furnishing more materials and equipment’s to the construction industry, but it has paved the way for overrun cost. There is lot of chances to pollute the environment by using these advanced materials, so the utilization of eco-friendly materials will develop a better world to live in. Natural fibres possess the highest tensile strength, especially kenaf fibre. Incorporation of these fibres in light weight foamed concrete intensifies its mechanical properties. This project explains the manufacture of light weight foam blocks with natural fibres. The cement, fly ash, Slaked Lime, Foaming Agent and water is mixed in ratio 1:0.67:0.042:0.024:0.55 with different percentages of kenaf fibres (0%, 0.4%, 0.5% by volume of fraction of concrete). Foamed concrete can be produced with dry densities of 400 to 1600 kg/m3. Kenaf fibres possess greater tensile property, flexural strength and impact strength. The use of natural fibres as composites are light weight, possess lower density, reasonably strong, ecofriendly and free from health hazards, easy availability and cost effective. The use of light weight foam blocks with natural fibres has several benefits such as it limits the number of blocks needed for the construction as the size of the lightweight blocks is 600 x 200mm and so it consumes less time compared to brick and the construction time is 20 times faster than bricks. The expected results will be light weight foam blocks with kenaf fibres of percentage ranges of 0%, 0.4%, 0.5% shows higher strength characteristics than control mix of normal light weight foamed concrete.

ABSTRACTOne of the next‐generation structural materials is carbon foam. Porous materials have become an intriguing alternative material to traditional ones in many utilizations based on their light weight and incomparable properties. Coal or fossil oils are conventionally used to produce pitch, phenolic resin, and polyurethane as carbon foam precursor. Biomass liquefaction is a developing technique to convert biomass resources into the industrial chemicals. In this study, spruce tree sawdust was liquefied under mild conditions with different solvent type (phenol or phenol + bio‐oil mixture). The unique aspect of this work is the synthesis of bio‐polyol when pyrolytic oil is used as an alternative to phenol in the solvolysis reaction and its evaluation in carbon foam production with multilayer graphene sheets. Therewithal, the ratios of biomass to solvent were 1/3 as well as 1/5, and the comparison of product characteristics is another originality of the study. Slow pyrolysis of spruce tree sawdust was performed under static atmosphere and bio‐oil was characterized with elemental analysis and various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The effect of mass ratio of biomass/solvent on the characteristics of porous resin foams synthesized from liquefaction product. Obtained resin foams were carbonized at 400 °C, and then activated at 800 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. Structure evaluation of resin foams, carbonized foams, and activated carbon foams from liquefied spruce tree sawdust was investigated by using elemental analysis, x‐ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy, true/bulk density, and compressive strength tests. Although the surface area values decreased when bio‐oil was added as a solvent, it was determined that the compression strengths of the produced carbon foams (up to 1.080 MPa) were higher than that of conventional phenolic foams. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47185.

The General-Purpose Heat Source (GPHS), an improved radioisotope heat source, employs a unique thermal insulation material, carbon-bonded carbon fiber (CBCF), to protect the fuel capsule and to help achieve the highest possible specific power. The CBCF insulation is made from chopped rayon fiber about 10 ..mu..m in diameter and 250 ..mu..m long, which is carbonized and bonded with phenolic resin particles. The CBCF shapes, both tubes and plates, are formed in a multiple molding facility by vacuum molding a water slurry of the carbonized chopped-rayon fiber (54 wt %) and phenolic resin (46 wt %). The molded shapes are subsequently dried and cured. Final carbonization of the resin is at 1600/sup 0/C. Machining to close tolerances (+-0.08 mm) is accomplished by conventional tooling and fixturing. The resulting material is an excellent lightweight insulation with a nominal density of 0.2 Mg/m/sup 3/ and a thermal conductivity of 0.24 W(m.K) in vacuum at 2000/sup 0/C. Several attributes that make CBCF superior to other known high-temperature insulation materials for the GPHS application have been identified. It has the excellent attributes of light weight, low thermal conductivity, chemical compatibility, and high-temperature capabilities. The mechanical strength of CBCF insulation is satisfactory for the GPHS application; it has passed vibration tests simulating launch conditions. The basic fabrication technique was refined to eliminate undesirable large pores and cracks often present in materials fabricated by earlier techniques. Also, processing was scaled up to incease the fabrication rate by a factor of 10. The specific properties of the CBCF were tailored by adjusting material and processing variables to obtain the desired results. We report here how work on CBCF characterization and development conducted at ORNL from 1978 through 1980 has contributed to the GPHS program to meet the requirements of both the Galileo and Ulysees Missions.

This paper presents an upper limb prosthesis called IRR, which consists of a 7 DOF fully-actuated arm and a 15-DOF underactuated hand. The prosthesis is aimed to grasp a wide range of objects and perfectly reproduce the movement of the human upper limb. The main development is focused on the requirements of small size, light weight, high functionality and good cosmetic appearance. First, mechanisms of the prosthesis have been designed. Then, highly reliable embedded electronics, effective control architecture are devised to manage complexity of the system. Finally, multi-mode grasping and drinking water experiments have been done to test the ability of the prosthesis to reproduce human activities of daily lives.

Heat Transfer Enhancement of Regenerative Cooling Channel with Pyramid Lattice Sandwich Structures