27 research outputs found
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FLASHFOAM : a triboluminescent polymer foam for mechanical sensing.
The formulation and processing of a brittle polyurethane foam containing triboluminescent powder additives is described. Two powder additives, known to exhibit triboluminescence, were individually examined: triethylammonium tetrakis (dibenzoylmethanato) europate [NEt3H][Eu(DBM)4] and ordinary table sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11). In each instance, the powders were mixed into the polyol component of the foam. When combined with the isocyanate component, the resulting foams had these powders incorporated into their cellular structure so as to induce a triboluminescent response upon crushing during impact testing. The triboluminescent response of foam specimens containing each of these powder additives was characterized by measuring: the time rate of change in the optical output (measured as Watts), the peak optical output, the total integrated output (Watt-seconds), during the impact event. Foams containing the europate compound were found to yield several orders of magnitude higher output when compared to the sugar-containing foam. Strain rate and concentration of the powder (in the foam) were important variables with respect to optical output. Both the peak and total triboluminescent output increased with increasing powder concentration. Peak output was also found to increase with increasing strain rate. However, the total output was found to be roughly constant for a given concentration regardless of strain rate (over the strain rate range: 20 sec-1< e& < 150 sec-1). At very low strain rates, no triboluminescent response was measured
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Protection of alodine coatings from thermal aging by removable polymer coatings.
Removable polymer coatings were evaluated as a means to suppress dehydration of Alodine chromate conversion coatings during thermal aging and thereby retain the corrosion protection afforded by Alodine. Two types of polymer coatings were applied to Alodine-treated panels of aluminum alloys 7075-T73 and 6061-T6 that were subsequently aged for 15 to 50 hours at temperatures between 135 F to 200 F. The corrosion resistance of the thermally aged panels was evaluated, after stripping the polymer coatings, by exposure to a standard salt-fog corrosion test and the extent of pitting of the polymer-coated and untreated panels compared. Removable polymer coatings mitigated the loss of corrosion resistance due to thermal aging experienced by the untreated alloys. An epoxide coating was more effective than a fluorosilicone coating as a dehydration barrier
Orthostatic hypotension: clinical review and case study
Transient loss of consciousness (TLOC) accounts for 3% of all attendance in emergency departments within the UK. More than 90% of TLOC presentations are due to epileptic seizures, psychogenic seizures or syncope. However, in England and Wales in 2002, it was estimated that 92000 patients were incorrectly diagnosed with epilepsy, at an additional annual cost to the NHS of up to £189 million. This article will reflect on the case study of a 54-year-old female patient who presented with a possible TLOC, and had a background of long-term depression. Differential diagnoses will be discussed, but the article will focus on orthostatic hypotension. Being diagnosed with this condition is
independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Causes of orthostatic hypotension and the pathophysiology behind the condition will be discussed, highlighting the importance of obtaining an accurate clinical history. This is extremely pertinent if a patient collapses in an NHS setting and this is witnessed by nurses because they can contribute to the history of the type of collapse, to aid diagnosis and correct treatment. In addition, nurses have a valuable role to play in highlighting polypharmacy to doctors, and non-medical
prescribers, as a contributing factor to orthostatic hypotension is polypharmacy. It is therefore important to accurately distinguish TLOC aetiology, not only to provide appropriate management, but to also identify patients at risk of morbidity/mortality related to underlying disease.N/
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Assuring ultra-clean environments in microsystem packages : irreversible and reversible getters.
A new generation of irreversible, chemically reacting getters specifically targeted toward assuring the integrity of the local environment within microsystem packages were developed and evaluated. These reactive getters incorporate volatile species into a polymer through covalent bonds, thus producing a non-volatile product. These reactive getters will be combined with getters that rely on absorption media (e.g. zeolites and high surface area carbon fibers) to scavenge non-reactive species, like solvents. Our getter systems will rely on device packaging to limit exchange between the microsystem and the global environment. Thus, the internal getters need only provide local environmental control within the microsystem package. A series of experiments were conducted to determine uptake rates and capacities absorption and reactive-based getters. Diffusion rates through the binder used to hold the getter particles together were also investigated. Getters were evaluated in environments with a saturated headspace and with a limited amount of the volatile species of interest. One- and two-dimensional numerical models and analysis techniques have been developed and used to predict the transport of contaminant species within a representative microsystem package consisting of an open gas-filled volume adjacent to a polymer layer containing embedded particles of getter. The two-dimensional model features explicit representation of the individual getter particles while the one-dimensional treatment assumes a homogeneous distribution of getter material within the getterlpolymer layer. Example calculations illustrate the dependence of getter performance on reaction rates, polymer diffusivity, and getter particle volume fraction. In addition, the model is used to deduce surface reaction rates, solid phase diffusivities, and maximum-loading densities by least-squares fitting of model predictions to measured histories of gas-phase contaminant concentration and getter weight gain