Mechanical and wear behaviours of nano and microfilled polymeric composite: effect of filler fraction and size

The addition of ceramic reinforced material, SiC particles, to resin matrices, results in the improvement of the overall performance of the composite, allowing the application of these materials as tribo-materials in industries such as: automotive, aeronautical and medical. Particle-reinforced polymeric composites are widely used as biomaterials, for example as dental filler materials and bone cements. These reinforced composites have improved mechanical and tribological performance and have higher values of elastic modulus and hardness, and also reduce the shrinkage during the polymerisation compared with resin matrices. However, the effect of the filler level in mechanical and tribological behaviour is not quite understood. The aim of this work is to determine the influence of the particle volume fraction and particle size in the wear loss of the composites and their antagonists. Reciprocating wear tests were conducted using a glass sphere against resin polyester silica reinforced composite in a controlled medium, with an abrasive slurry or distilled water. For 6 μm average particle dimension, seven particles contents were studied ranging from 0% to 46% of filler volume fraction (FVF). Afterwards, filler volume fractions of 10% and 30% were selected; and, for these percentages, 7 and 4 average particle dimensions were tested and were evaluated regarding their wear behaviour, respectively. The reinforcement particle dimensions used ranged from 0.1 μm to 22 μm with the 10% filler fraction, and for 30% of filler content the range extended from 3 μm to 22 μm. The results allow us to conclude that in an abrasive slurry medium the composite abrasion resistance decreases with the increase of the particle volume fraction, in spite of the accompanying rise in hardness and elastic modulus. With constant FVF, and abrasive slurry, the composite wear resistance increases with increasing average particle dimension. In a distilled water medium and with several FVF values, the minimum wear was registered for a median particle content of 24%. In this medium and with constant FVF the highest wear resistance occurred for average reinforcement particles of 6 μm. The removal mechanisms involved in the wear process are discussed, taking into account the systematic SEM observations to evaluate the wear mechanisms

On the use of hedonic regression models to measure the effect of energy efficiency on residential property transaction prices : evidence for Portugal and selected data issues

Using a unique dataset containing information of around 256 thousand residential property sales, this paper discloses a clear sales premium for most energy efficient dwellings, which is more pronounced for apartments (13%) than for houses (5 to 6%). Cross-country comparisons support the finding that energy efficiency price premiums are higher in the Portuguese residential market than in central and northern European markets. Results emphasize the relevance of data issues in hedonic regression models. They illustrate how the use of appraisal prices, explanatory variables with measurement errors, and the omission of variables associated with the quality of the properties, may seriously bias energy efficiency partial effect estimates. These findings provide valuable information not only to policy-makers, but also to researchers interested in this area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How heterogeneous is the impact of energy efficiency on dwelling prices? Evidence from the application of the unconditional quantile hedonic model to the Portuguese residential market

This paper investigates the impact of energy efficiency along the unconditional distribution of residential property prices in Portugal. Using a dataset of more than 256,000 residential property sales from 2009 to 2013, a period that covers an economic depression, unconditional quantile regression analysis reveals that the responsiveness to energy efficiency improvements is different not only as we move from low- to high-priced residential units but also for apartments and houses. While the former show a downward trend in the magnitude of energy efficiency coefficient estimates, the opposite occurs for houses. The latter market segment exhibits clear market discounts at the lowest quantiles of the price distribution, something that is not observable thought conditional mean and quantile regression analysis. Results suggest the existence of a different responsiveness to energy efficiency improvements in the Lisbon region when compared to the rest of the country and that the impact of the Energy Performance Certificate label increases throughout time across all price quantiles. As a by-product of this paper, an unconditional quantile price index shows that the impact of the crisis was not the same across the different market segments, with price decreases being more severe for low- than high-priced properties.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mecanização do plantio simultâneo de milho e feijão consorciados.

bitstream/item/37509/1/circ-7-2.ed.pdf2. ed

Identifying the Azobenzene/Aniline reaction intermediate on TiO2-(110) : a DFT Study

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations, both with and without dispersion corrections, have been performed to investigate the nature of the common surface reaction intermediate that has been shown to exist on TiO2(110) as a result of exposure to either azobenzene (C6H5N═NC6H5) or aniline (C6H5NH2). Our results confirm the results of a previous DFT study that dissociation of azobenzene into two adsorbed phenyl imide (C6H5N) fragments, as was originally proposed, is not energetically favorable. We also find that deprotonation of aniline to produce this surface species is even more strongly energetically disfavored. A range of alternative surface species has been considered, and while dissociation of azobenzene to form surface C6H4NH species is energetically favored, the same surface species cannot form from adsorbed aniline. On the contrary, adsorbed aniline is much the most stable surface species. Comparisons with experimental determinations of the local adsorption site, the Ti–N bond length, the molecular orientation, and the associated C 1s and N 1s photoelectron core level shifts are all consistent with the DFT results for adsorbed aniline and are inconsistent with other adsorbed species considered. Possible mechanisms for the hydrogenation of azobenzene required to produce this surface species are discussed

Cultivador a tração animal modificado para a realização da adubação nitrogenada em cobertura e para a semeadura do feijão da seca consorciado com milho.

bitstream/item/37491/1/circ-12-1.pd

Alterations in heterosis of maize populations derived from single-cross hybrids after reciprocal recurrent selection.

One hundred and sixty-nine interpopulational half sib progenies were obtained from maize populations derived from the commercial single-cross hybrids AG9012 (1) and C333 (2) to investigate the efficiency of reciprocal recurrent selection (RRS). Fifteen progenies with highest hulled ear yield were obtained. Two recombination trials were sown with remnant S1 seeds, and the improved CI1 and CI2 populations were simultaneously obtained with their hybrid combination. Yield trials were set up in three sites to assess the efficiency of the RRS. The F1 from single-cross hybrid AG9012 and C333, the double-cross (F1(1)x F1(2) hybrids, the C0 1 and C02 populations, the interpopulational hybrid (C01 x C02), the CI1 and CI2 improved populations, and their hybrid (CI1 x CI2) were compared. A 5.7% progress was obtained in one cycle of RRS for ear yield, mainly attributed to increased heterosis. The yield of the improved hybrid was superior to the F1 from single-cross hybrids AG9012 and C333, demonstrating the potential of the referred hybrid combination. Para verificar a eficiência da seleção recorrente recíproca (SRR) em populações originárias dos híbridos simples comerciais AG9012 (1) e C333 (2) foram obtidas, inicialmente, 169 progênies de meios-irmãos interpopulacionais. As 15 melhores progênies em produção de espigas despalhadas foram identificadas. Utilizando-se sementes S1 remanescentes, semearam-se dois campos de recombinação, sendo simultaneamente obtidas as populações melhoradas C1 1 e C1 2 e a combinação híbrida entre elas. Os experimentos para avaliar a eficiência da SRR foram instalados em três locais. Foram comparados o F1 dos híbridos simples AG9012 e C333, o híbrido duplo F1(1) x F1 (2), entre eles as populações CD1 e CD2, o híbrido interpopulacinal (CD1 e CD2), as populações melhoradas C1 1 e C1 2 e a sua combinação híbrida (C1 1 e C 1 2). O progresso com um ciclo de SRR foi de 5,7% para a produção de espigas e deveu-se , principalmente, ao incremento na heterose. O desempenho do híbrido melhorado superou a geração F1 dos híbridos simples AG9012 e C333, evidenciando o potencial da referida combinação híbrida

Two-pion exchange and strong form-factors in covariant field theories

In this work improvements to the application of the Gross equation to nuclear systems are tested. In particular we evaluate the two pion exchange diagrams, including the crossed-box diagram, using models developed within the spectator-on-mass-shell covariant formalism. We found that the form factors used in these models induce spurious contributions that violate the unitary cut requirement. We tested then some alternative form-factors in order to preserve the unitarity condition. With this new choice, the difference between the exact and the spectator-on-mass-shell amplitudes is of the order of the one boson scalar exchange, supporting the idea that this difference may be parameterized by this type of terms.Comment: RevTeX, 21 pages, 19 figures (PostScript