Mechanical properties of a porous mullite material

Modulus of rupture specimens were used to determine crack growth parameters of a porous mullite material. Strength testing was performed in ambient and moist environments. The power law crack growth rate parameters n and 1n B in 50 percent relative humidity were found to be 44.98 and 0.94, respectively. The inert strength, fracture toughness, and elastic modulus were also determined and found to be 19 MPa, 055 MPa(m) exp 1/2, and 11.6 GPa, respectively

Determination of fiber volume in graphite/epoxy materials using computer image analysis

The fiber volume of graphite/epoxy specimens was determined by analyzing optical images of cross sectioned specimens using image analysis software. Test specimens were mounted and polished using standard metallographic techniques and examined at 1000 times magnification. Fiber volume determined using the optical imaging agreed well with values determined using the standard acid digestion technique. The results were found to agree within 5 percent over a fiber volume range of 45 to 70 percent. The error observed is believed to arise from fiber volume variations within the graphite/epoxy panels themselves. The determination of ply orientation using image analysis techniques is also addressed

Determination of Elastic Moduli of Fiber-Resin Composites Using an Impulse Excitation Technique

The elastic moduli of graphite/epoxy and graphite/cyanate ester composite specimens with various laminate lay-ups was determined using an impulse excitation/acoustic resonance technique and compared to those determined using traditional strain gauge and extensometer techniques. The stiffness results were also compared to those predicted from laminate theory using uniaxial properties. The specimen stiffnesses interrogated ranged from 12 to 30 Msi. The impulse excitation technique was found to be a relatively quick and accurate method for determining elastic moduli with minimal specimen preparation and no requirement for mechanical loading frames. The results of this investigation showed good correlation between the elastic modulus determined using the impulse excitation technique, strain gauge and extensometer techniques, and modulus predicted from laminate theory. The flexural stiffness determined using the impulse excitation was in good agreement with that predicted from laminate theory. The impulse excitation/acoustic resonance interrogation technique has potential as a quality control test

Kilometer-long ordered nanophotonic devices by preform-to-fiber fabrication

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A preform-fo-fiber approach to the fabrication of functional fiber-based devices by thermal drawing in the viscous state is presented. A macroscopic preform rod containing metallic, semiconducting, and insulating constituents in a variety of geometries and close contact produces kilometer-long novel nanostructured fibers and fiber devices. We first review the material selection criteria and then describe metal-semiconductor-metal photosensitive and thermally sensitive fibers. These flexible, lightweight, and low-cost functional fibers may pave the way for new types of fiber sensors, such as thermal sensing fabrics, artificial skin, and large-area optoelectronic screens. Next, the preform-to-fiber approach is used to fabricate spectrally tunable photodetectors that integrate a photosensitive core and a nanostructured photonic crystal structure containing a resonant cavity. An integrated, self-monitoring optical-transmission waveguide is then described that incorporates optical transport and thermal monitoring. This fiber allows one to predict power-transmission failure, which is of paramount importance if high-power optical transmission lines are to be operated safely and reliably in medical, industrial and defense applications. A hybrid electron-photon fiber consisting of a hollow core (for optical transport by means of a photonic bandgap) and metallic wires (for electron transport) is described that may be used for transporting atoms and molecules by radiation pressure. Finally, a solid microstructured fiber fabricated with a highly nonlinear chalcogenide glass enables the generation of supercontinumn light at near-infrared wavelengths

Degradation of Teflon(tm) FEP Following Charged Particle Radiation and Rapid Thermal Cycling

During the Second Servicing Mission (SM2) of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) severe degradation was observed on the outer layer of the thermal control blankets. Astronaut observations and photographs revealed large cracks in the metallized Teflon' FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene), the outer layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI), in many locations around the telescope. In an effort to understand what elements of the space environment might cause such damage, pristine Teflon(registered trademark) FEP was tested for durability to radiation and thermal cycling. Specimens were subjected to electron and proton fluences comparable to those experienced by HST and were subsequently thermal cycled in a custom-built rapid thermal cycle chamber. Tensile tests of the specimens showed that radiation followed by thermal cycling significantly reduced the ultimate strength and elongation of Teflon(registered trademark) FEP

Immunohistochemical subtypes predict the clinical outcome in high-risk node-negative breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant FEC regimen: results of a single-center retrospective study

Prognostic factors for disease-free survival in patients treated before 2005 September: multivariate analysis. (DOCX 15 kb