Can the standard impact tests become a true materials evaluation tool?

Impact resistance constitutes one of the most popular quality control tools for polymeric materials and plastic finished parts. There are a number of standard impact test methods devoted to evaluate the impact response of polymeric materials (e.g., tensile-impact, Charpy and Izod tests, falling weight, Gardner, etc.). Nevertheless, to the questions: which test to use? how the different toughness measurements are related between each other? straightforward answers cannot be given. The shortcomings of standardized impact tests were recognized long ago: these tests are unable to generate an ‘actual material property’.Fil: Frontini, Patricia Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Combination of indirect measurements to improve sigmal estimation

A form to combine two kinds of indirect measurements to be processed together is proposed for illconditioned problems. Linear individual measurements with unknown proportionality constants jointly considered determine a unique non-linear problem. To solve this problem a method that includes in a single step the recovery of the signal and the calculation of the regularization parameter according to the Generalized Cross Validation technique is proposed. In order to investigate the convenience of simultaneous versus individual processing, a set of synthetic experiments performed on suspensions of polystyrene particles is analyzed. The results clearly show that when the data are jointly processed the quality of the Particle Size Distribution estimated is highly superior. This work shows that simultaneous processing of experimental data from different sources seems to be a valid alternative to improve the quality of indirect measurements.Fil: Frontini, Gloria Lia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Elicabe, Guillermo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Depth sensing indentation of organic-inorganic hybrid coatings deposited onto a polymeric substrate

PEO-Si/SiO2 hybrid coatings deposited onto a PVC substrate were micromechanically characterized using depth sensing indentation. The effect of curing time and coating thickness was investigated. Elastic moduli of coated systems determined by the Oliver–Pharr approach displayed a continuous decreasing trend with increasing indentation depth, reflecting that the hybrids are stiffer than the substrate. Aiming to extract coating-only elastic modulus a simple method based on FE simulations was developed. The method was applied to evaluate the moduli of the hybrid coatings and the values were compared with those obtained by applying different approaches available in literature. The elastic modulus of PEO-Si/SiO2 hybrids was proven to be practically independent of curing time after 24 h. However, large curing times resulted in coatings being more prone to failure.Fil: Fasce, Laura Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Seltzer, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Frontini, Patricia Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

A historic reminder, an ever-present dilemma? - Assessing Brexit’s potential consequences for European security. EPC Commentary, 18 May 2016

On 9 May 2016, in a further attempt to discourage the British public opinion from opting for their country’s abandonment of the European Union (EU) in the ‘in/out’ referendum on 23 June, Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the UK has regretted "turning its back" on Europe in the past, and that the EU had "helped reconcile" countries and maintain peace on the Old Continent

‘Bibi strikes back’. Israeli elections in a transforming domestic and international landscape. EPC Commentary, 26 March 2015

On 17 March 2015 Israeli citizens massively headed to the polls to renew the composition of the Knesset, the country’s legislative body, thereby also electing a new government after the early termination of the ruling coalition elected in 2013

Federalist rhetoric or political tactics? The what, where, who, when and why of Juncker’s call for a common European army. EPC Commentary, 12 March 2015

In an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on 8 March 2015, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, strongly advocated a common European army to consolidate peace in Europe, react to security threats both within the continent and in its neighbourhood, defend European values vis-à-vis aggressive powers, notably Russia, and create economies of scale by consolidating demand for military equipment

Another perfect storm for European defence – but can the Union really make strength? EPC Commentary, 23 November 2016

On 14 November, following a jumbo meeting featuring EU foreign and defence ministers, the Council of the EU adopted the Conclusions on Implementing the EU Global Strategy in the area of Security and Defence

Ensuring the EU’s future as a security provider Five recommendations for the June European Council’s session on CSDP. EPC Commentary, 23 June 2015

On 25 and 26 June 2015, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union (EU) will convene to discuss the implementation of their Conclusions on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) from December 2013. A substantial and frank debate among EU leaders is urgently needed in order to forge a lasting and credible vision for CSDP

The ‘Macron effect’ on European defence: En Marche, at last? EPC Commentary, 1 June 2017

The substantial victory of Emmanuel Macron and his brand-new party En Marche! open a window of opportunity for progress in the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). However, it remains unclear whether the ‘Macron effect’ will act as a real game-changer in this dossier

The European Union Maritime Security Strategy: sailing uncharted waters? EPC Commentary, 26 June 2014

On 24 June 2014 the General Affairs Council of the European Union approved the “European Union Maritime Security Strategy” (EUMSS), following the mandate by EU Heads of State or Government in their ‘Defence Summit’ last December and building on the Joint Communication “For An Open and Secure Global Maritime Domain” by the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in early March. These documents come at a time of considerable transformations in ‘the world’s last global common’: the sea