Hollow Section Fibers Characterization for Seats Covers Fabric Application

This research is focused on hollow polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers and fabrics. The aim of hollow section fibers application is a textile contribution to weight reduction of the whole vehicle. CO2 emissions consequences and awareness of companies to environmental issues are driving studies on the direction of vehicle weight reduction, according to recent European regulations. For this purpose, fabrics composed of hollow fibers have been produced and characterized. In order to be applied as seats covers for the automotive sector, they have been compared to current production woven fabrics. Tensile, tear strength tests and aesthetic and structural abrasion have been carried out. The performance of hollow fibers PET fabrics is slightly lower than full section fabrics, but completely acceptable according to automotive requirements. Its specific application can be evaluated

Role of Room Temperature Sputtered High Conductive and High Transparent Indium Zinc Oxide Film Contacts on the Performance of Orange, Green, and Blue Organic Light Emitting Diodes

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OLED integrated silicon membranes for light-modulation devices

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are most frequently used for display purposes and while they have also been utilized in sensing applications, their innate compliance has not previously been exploited for these applications. However, in this manuscript it is shown that OLEDs are compatible with microfabrication methods used in the production of micro mechanical devices. In particular it is shown that the compliance of OLEDs can be utilized in, and not limited to, a new generation of opto-mechanical pressure sensors. A fabrication process for a light-modulating pressure sensor is described. Prototypes were fabricated and tested and the response compared to an analytical theory developed by the authors. It is shown with simple circuitry, a resolution of 11.4 Pa up to 350 kPa is attainable using this technology

Plasma Treatment for Preparing Durable Water Repellent and Anti-Stain Synthetic Fabrics for Automotive Applications

This paper describes the development of a plasma process to produce a durable water repellent and anti-stain thin film on synthetic textile, utilized for the upholstery in the automotive field. The coatings were deposited in non equilibrium low pressure plasmas fed with 1H, 1H, 2H-perfluo-ro- 1-decene employing, as substrates, polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene terephthalate thermo-coupled to polyurethane foam. It was found that the XPS F/C ratio of the deposit was higher than 1.4 and that the treated textile was always very hydrophobic (WCA > 140˚) and oil resistant (motor oil CA > 110˚), even after wear

Enhanced Impact Strength of Recycled PET/Glass Fiber Composites

In this paper, we report a study on the effects of different ethylene copolymers in improving the impact strength of a fiber-reinforced composite based on a recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET) from post-consumer bottles. Different ethylene copolymers have been selected in order to evaluate the effects of the polar co-monomer chemical structure and content. The composite mixtures were prepared via melt extrusion, and the samples were manufactured by injection molding. Impact strength was evaluated using Izod tests, and a morphological study (FESEM) was performed. As a result, a composite with substantially improved impact properties was designed. This study demonstrates that a post-consumer PET from the municipal waste collection of plastic bottles can be successfully used as a matrix of high-performance, injection-molded composites, suitable for use in the automotive sector, among others, with no compromise in terms of mechanical requirements or thermal stability

Quasi-static and dynamic response of cardanol bio-based epoxy resins: effect of different bio-contents

In recent years, the European Community regulations are promoting the use of sustainable and green materials to lower the overall carbon footprint, especially in the automotive sector. The majority of structural composite materials use petrol-based epoxy matrices which are not easily recyclable, thus representing a negative impact on the environment. The most promising and ready-to-use technology to lower the carbon footprint in composite materials is the use of bio-based resins partially derived from renewable resources since this replacement is not affecting the manufacturing processes. Two commercial resins, a cardanol-based epoxy resin (27% bio-content) and an epoxy novolac resin (84% bio-content), were mixed to obtain four different resin mixtures. In particular, the higher bio-content novolac resin was mixed with the cardanol epoxy resin in different weight percentages to reach a total bio-content higher than 27%. The resins obtained by this procedure are characterized by total bio-contents of 27%, 31%, 41% and 51%, calculated on biomass used in production. Quasi-static and dynamic tensile tests have been carried out to assess the mechanical behavior of the different resins at increasing bio-contents. The strain has been acquired by using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system to determine the failure modes with respect to the bio-content. The tests have shown that the increase of bio-content lead to lower Young’s modulus and lower ultimate strengths both decreasing with a linear trend in static and dynamic conditions. The glass-transition temperatures (Tg) of each mixture have been also studied by means of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analyses to assess the effect of the bio-content on the Tg values