Final Technical Report - Advanced Optical Sensors to Minimize Energy Consumption in Polymer Extrusion Processes

Project Objective: The objectives of this study are to develop an accurate and stable on-line sensor system to monitor color and composition on-line in polymer melts, to develop a scheme for using the output to control extruders to eliminate the energy, material and operational costs of off-specification product, and to combine or eliminate some extrusion processes. Background: Polymer extrusion processes are difficult to control because the quality achieved in the final product is complexly affected by the properties of the extruder screw, speed of extrusion, temperature, polymer composition, strength and dispersion properties of additives, and feeder system properties. Extruder systems are engineered to be highly reproducible so that when the correct settings to produce a particular product are found, that product can be reliably produced time after time. However market conditions often require changes in the final product, different products or grades may be processed in the same equipment, and feed materials vary from lot to lot. All of these changes require empirical adjustment of extruder settings to produce a product meeting specifications. Optical sensor systems that can continuously monitor the composition and color of the extruded polymer could detect process upsets, drift, blending oscillations, and changes in dispersion of additives. Development of an effective control algorithm using the output of the monitor would enable rapid corrections for changes in materials and operating conditions, thereby eliminating most of the scrap and recycle of current processing. This information could be used to identify extruder systems issues, diagnose problem sources, and suggest corrective actions in real-time to help keep extruder system settings within the optimum control region. Using these advanced optical sensor systems would give extruder operators real-time feedback from their process. They could reduce the amount of off-spec product produced and significantly reduce energy consumption. Also, because blending and dispersion of additives and components in the final product could be continuously verified, we believe that, in many cases, intermediate compounding steps could be eliminated (saving even more time and energy)

Final Technical Report - Advanced Optical Sensors to Minimize Energy Consumption in Polymer Extrusion Processes

Project Objective: The objectives of this study are to develop an accurate and stable on-line sensor system to monitor color and composition on-line in polymer melts, to develop a scheme for using the output to control extruders to eliminate the energy, material and operational costs of off-specification product, and to combine or eliminate some extrusion processes. Background: Polymer extrusion processes are difficult to control because the quality achieved in the final product is complexly affected by the properties of the extruder screw, speed of extrusion, temperature, polymer composition, strength and dispersion properties of additives, and feeder system properties. Extruder systems are engineered to be highly reproducible so that when the correct settings to produce a particular product are found, that product can be reliably produced time after time. However market conditions often require changes in the final product, different products or grades may be processed in the same equipment, and feed materials vary from lot to lot. All of these changes require empirical adjustment of extruder settings to produce a product meeting specifications. Optical sensor systems that can continuously monitor the composition and color of the extruded polymer could detect process upsets, drift, blending oscillations, and changes in dispersion of additives. Development of an effective control algorithm using the output of the monitor would enable rapid corrections for changes in materials and operating conditions, thereby eliminating most of the scrap and recycle of current processing. This information could be used to identify extruder systems issues, diagnose problem sources, and suggest corrective actions in real-time to help keep extruder system settings within the optimum control region. Using these advanced optical sensor systems would give extruder operators real-time feedback from their process. They could reduce the amount of off-spec product produced and significantly reduce energy consumption. Also, because blending and dispersion of additives and components in the final product could be continuously verified, we believe that, in many cases, intermediate compounding steps could be eliminated (saving even more time and energy)

Gesture-controlled interfaces for self-service machines and other applications

A gesture recognition interface for use in controlling self-service machines and other devices is disclosed. A gesture is defined as motions and kinematic poses generated by humans, animals, or machines. Specific body features are tracked, and static and motion gestures are interpreted. Motion gestures are defined as a family of parametrically delimited oscillatory motions, modeled as a linear-in-parameters dynamic system with added geometric constraints to allow for real-time recognition using a small amount of memory and processing time. A linear least squares method is preferably used to determine the parameters which represent each gesture. Feature position measure is used in conjunction with a bank of predictor bins seeded with the gesture parameters, and the system determines which bin best fits the observed motion. Recognizing static pose gestures is preferably performed by localizing the body/object from the rest of the image, describing that object, and identifying that description. The disclosure details methods for gesture recognition, as well as the overall architecture for using gesture recognition to control of devices, including self-service machines

On the toughening of brittle materials by grain bridging:promoting intergranular fracture through grain angle, strength, andtoughness

The structural reliability of many brittle materials such asstructural ceramics relies on the occurrence of intergranular, as opposedto transgranular, fracture in order to induce toughening by grainbridging. For a constant grain boundary strength and grain boundarytoughness, the current work examines the role of grain strength, graintoughness, and grain angle in promoting intergranular fracture in orderto maintain such toughening. Previous studies have illustrated that anintergranular path and the consequent grain bridging process can bepartitioned into five distinct regimes, namely: propagate, kink, arrest,stall and bridge. To determine the validity of the assumed intergranularpath, the classical penentration/deflection problem of a crack impingingon an interface is reexamined within a cohesive zone framework forintergranular and transgranular fracture. Results considering both modesof propagation, i.e., a transgranular and intergranular path, reveal thatcrack-tip shielding is a natural outcome of the cohesive zone approach tofracture. Cohesive zone growth in one mode shields the opposing mode fromthe stresses required for cohesive zone initiation. Although stablepropagation occurs when the required driving force is equivalent to thetoughness for either transgranular or intergranular fracture, the mode ofpropagation depends on the normalized grain strength, normalized graintoughness, and grain angle. For each grain angle, the intersection ofsingle path and multiple path solutions demarcates "strong" grains thatincrease the macroscopic toughness and "weak" grains that decrease it.The unstable transition to intergranular fracture reveals that anincreasinggrain toughness requires a growing region of the transgranularcohesive zone be at and near the peak cohesive strength. The inability ofthe body to provide the requisite stress field yields an overdriven andunstable configuration. The current results provide restrictions for theachievement of substantial toughening through intergranularfracture

On the toughening of brittle materials by grain bridging: promoting intergranular fracture through grain angle, strength, and toughness

Abstract The structural reliability of many brittle materials such as structural ceramics relies on the occurrence of intergranular, as opposed to transgranular, fracture in order to induce toughening by grain bridging. For a constant grain boundary strength and grain boundary toughness, the current work examines the role of grain strength, grain toughness, and grain angle in promoting intergranular fracture in order to maintain such toughening. Previous studies have illustrated that an intergranular path and the consequent grain bridging process can be partitioned into five distinct regimes, namely: propagate, kink, arrest, stall and bridge. To determine the validity of the assumed intergranular path, the classical penentration/deflection problem of a crack impinging on an interface is reexamined within a cohesive zone framework for intergranular and transgranular fracture. Results considering both modes of propagation, i.e., a transgranular and intergranular path, reveal that crack-tip shielding is a natural outcome of the cohesive zone approach to fracture. Cohesive zone growth in one mode shields the opposing mode from the stresses required for cohesive zone initiation. Although stable propagation occurs when the required driving force is equivalent to the toughness for either transgranular or intergranular fracture, the mode of propagation depends on the normalized grain strength, normalized grain toughness, and grain angle. For each grain angle, the intersection of single path and multiple path solutions demarcates "strong" grains that increase the macroscopic toughness and "weak" grains that decrease it. The unstable transition to intergranular fracture reveals that an increasing grain toughness requires a growing region of the transgranular cohesive zone be at and near the peak cohesive strength. The Preprint submitted to Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 30 November 2007 inability of the body to provide the requisite stress field yields an overdriven and unstable configuration. The current results provide restrictions for the achievement of substantial toughening through intergranular fracture

Stacked crop rotations and cultural practices for canola and flax yield and quality

Canola (Brassica napus L.) and flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) are important oilseed crops, but improved management practices to enhance their yields and quality are needed. We studied the effect of stacked versus alternate‐year crop rotations and traditional versus improved cultural practices on canola and flax growth, seed yield, oil concentration, and N‐use efficiency from 2006 to 2011 in the northern Great Plains, USA. Stacked rotations were durum (Triticum turgidum L.)‐durum‐canola‐pea (Pisum sativum L.) (DDCP) and durum‐durum‐flax‐pea (DDFP). Alternate‐year rotations were durum‐canola‐durum‐pea (DCDP) and durum‐flax‐durum‐pea (DFDP). The traditional cultural practice included a combination of conventional tillage, recommended seed rate, broadcast N fertilization, and reduced stubble height. The improved cultural practice included a combination of no‐tillage, increased seed rate, banded N fertilization, and increased stubble height. Canola stand count was 36–123% greater with the improved than the traditional cultural practice in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Canola pod number and oil concentration were 3–36% greater in the improved than the traditional practice in 2007 and 2010, but trends reversed by 5–19% in 2008. Flax stand count was 28% greater with DFDP than DDFP in 2007 and 56% greater in the improved than the traditional practice in 2010. Flax pod number, seed weight, seed yield, N content, N‐use efficiency, and N‐removal index varied with crop rotations, cultural practices, and years. Canola growth and oil concentration increased with the improved cultural practice as well as flax growth, yield, and quality enhanced with alternate‐year crop rotation and the improved cultural practice in wet years

A micromechanical basis for partitioning the evolution of grainbridging in brittle materials

A micromechanical model is developed for grain bridging inmonolithic ceramics. Specifically, bridge formation of a single,non-equiaxed grain spanning adjacent grains is addressed. A cohesive zoneframework enables crack initiation and propagation along grainboundaries. The evolution of the bridge is investigated through avariance in both grain angle and aspect ratio. We propose that thebridging process can be partitioned into five distinct regimes ofresistance: propagate, kink, arrest, stall, and bridge. Although crackpropagation and kinking are well understood, crack arrest and subsequent"stall" have been largely overlooked. Resistance during the stall regimeexposes large volumes of microstructure to stresses well in excess of thegrain boundary strength. Bridging can occur through continued propagationor reinitiation ahead of the stalled crack tip. The driving forcerequired to reinitiate is substantially greater than the driving forcerequired to kink. In addition, the critical driving force to reinitiateis sensitive to grain aspect ratio but relatively insensitive to grainangle. The marked increase in crack resistance occurs prior to bridgeformation and provides an interpretation for the rapidly risingresistance curves which govern the strength of many brittle materials atrealistically small flaw sizes

A mechanism-based approach to modeling ductile fracture.

Ductile fracture in metals has been observed to result from the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of voids. The evolution of this damage is inherently history dependent, affected by how time-varying stresses drive the formation of defect structures in the material. At some critically damaged state, the softening response of the material leads to strain localization across a surface that, under continued loading, becomes the faces of a crack in the material. Modeling localization of strain requires introduction of a length scale to make the energy dissipated in the localized zone well-defined. In this work, a cohesive zone approach is used to describe the post-bifurcation evolution of material within the localized zone. The relations are developed within a thermodynamically consistent framework that incorporates temperature and rate-dependent evolution relationships motivated by dislocation mechanics. As such, we do not prescribe the evolution of tractions with opening displacements across the localized zone a priori. The evolution of tractions is itself an outcome of the solution of particular, initial boundary value problems. The stress and internal state of the material at the point of bifurcation provides the initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the cohesive zone. The models we develop are motivated by in-situ scanning electron microscopy of three-point bending experiments using 6061-T6 aluminum and 304L stainless steel, The in situ observations of the initiation and evolution of fracture zones reveal the scale over which the failure mechanisms act. In addition, these observations are essential for motivating the micromechanically-based models of the decohesion process that incorporate the effects of loading mode mixity, temperature, and loading rate. The response of these new cohesive zone relations is demonstrated by modeling the three-point bending configuration used for the experiments. In addition, we survey other methods with the potential to provide more detailed information about the near tip deformation fields