Development of polymer network of phenolic and epoxies resins mixed with linseed oil: pilot study

Epoxy resin was mixed with phenolic resins in different percentages by weight. Composite 40/60 means the proportion by weight of epoxy resin is 40 percent. It was found that only composites 50/50 and 40/60 could be cured in ambient conditions. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that only these two composites form interpenetrating polymer network. The addition of linseed oil to the two resins results also in the formation of interpenetrating network irrespective of proportion by weight of the resins; the mechanical properties will only be better when the percentage by weight of epoxy resin is higher; the aim of reducing cost and at the same time maintaining the mechanical properties cannot be fully achieved because epoxy resin is much more expensive than its counterpart

Thermal analysis comparison between two random glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites bonded by adhesives using microwaves: preliminary results

[Abstract]: This paper compares the thermal analysis of two types of random glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites joined by adhesives using microwave energy. Fixed frequency, 2.45 GHz, microwave facility is used to join thirty three percent by weight random glass fibre reinforced polystyrene composite [PS/GF (33%)] and thirty three percent by weight random glass fibre reinforced low density polyethylene composite [LDPE/GF (33%)]. The facility used is shown in Figure 1. With a given power level, the composites were exposed to various exposure times to microwave irradiation. The primer or coupling agent used was 5-minute two-part adhesive. The heat distribution of the samples of the two types of composites was analysed and compared. The relationship between the heat distribution and the lap shear strength of the samples was also compared and discussed

Bridging the International Law-International Relations Divide: Taking Stock of Progress

International law (IL) and international relations (IR) have long been considered separate academic enterprises, with their own theoretical orientations, methodologies, and publishing outlets. The net effect has been that the insights and research findings of one discipline have largely been unknown or ignored in the other. This has occurred despite the commonality of focusing on many of the same substantive interests, namely international cooperation in general, issues of war and peace, environmental regulation, and trade. This has led to numerous calls over the past two decades to bridge the international law and international relations divide. Yet one recent work claims that the frequency of such appeals have exceeded the number of efforts to fulfill those suggestions. Others have claimed that there are large and growing intersections between the fields. How much progress has been made in the last two decades toward bridging the gap between international law and international relations? Various claims have been made, but little systematic evidence has been produced. In particular, the evidence offered has not necessarily been able to document the form and depth of the international relations-international law interface. This study examines the progress, or perhaps the lack thereof, made over the last twenty years in bringing together the disciplines of international law and international relations. In doing so, we survey two leading journals in international law and five prominent journals in international relations over the period 1990-2010, searching for cross-pollination of ideas and approaches. We also examine an interdisciplinary journal, the primary purpose of which has been to facilitate collaboration across the two disciplines. When considering the international law journals, we look at the extent to which social science methods and objectives, as well as international relations subject matter, have been reflected in the articles. In international relations journals, we consider whether international law has become a subject matter of scholarly inquiry, given that it was largely ignored for many years. The goal is to track over time the intersection of the two disciplines and describe the extent and type of their interaction. We begin with a discussion of how the two disciplines became separated after an early period of convergence, explain the fundamental bases that led to the divide, and characterize their contemporary differences. We then examine the various pleas for integration and how these might be accomplished. We note some recent trends toward reconciliation between IL and IR. These sections serve as a prelude to our empirical analysis of published articles, where we describe our choice of journals and the dimensions of analysis. We present our findings on whether and by how much the gap between international law and international relations has been bridged. This includes an overview of the international law articles studied, specific analyses of law and political science journals respectively, and a consideration of an interdisciplinary journal. Finally, we summarize our findings and discuss their implications for the future of IL-IR research

Rabi oscillations of a qubit coupled to a two-level system

The problem of Rabi oscillations in a qubit coupled to a fluctuator and in contact with a heath bath is considered. A scheme is developed for taking into account both phase and energy relaxation in a phenomenological way, while taking full account of the quantum dynamics of the four-level system subject to a driving AC field. Significant suppression of the Rabi oscillations is found when the qubit and fluctuator are close to resonance. The effect of the fluctuator state on the read-out signal is discussed. This effect is shown to modify the observed signal significantly. This may be relevant to recent experiments by Simmonds et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 077003 (2004)].Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure