Recycled polyethylene/paraffin wax/expanded graphite based heat absorbers for thermal energy storage: An artificial aging study

An artificial aging study of novel heat absorbers based on phase change materials (PCMs) prepared from recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE), paraffin wax (PW), and expanded graphite (EG) was investigated. The optimal composition of PCMs contained 40 wt% HDPE, whereas the paraffin wax content ranged from 40 to 60 wt% and the expanded graphite content ranged from 5 to 15 wt%. PCMs were artificially aged through exposure to UV irradiation, enhanced temperature, and humidity. It was clearly demonstrated that the addition of EG to PCMs led to the suppression of PW leakage and improved the photooxidation stability of the PCMs during the aging process. The best performance was achieved by adding 15 wt% of EG to the PCMs. The sample shows a leakage of paraffin wax below 10%, retaining a melting enthalpy of PW within PCMs of 54.8 J/g, a thermal conductivity of 1.64 W/mK and the lowest photooxidation, characterized by an increase in the concentration of carbonyl groups from all investigated materials after artificial aging. Furthermore, PCMs mixed with EG exhibited good mechanical properties, even after 100 days of exposure to artificial aging. Finally, this work demonstrates a justification for the use of recycled plastics in the formation of PCMs.This research was funded by an NPRP grant No: NPRP10-0205-170349 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation)

Melt processing and properties of linear low density polyethylene-graphene nanoplatelet composites

Composites of Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) were processed using a twin screw extruder under different extrusion conditions. The effects of screw speed, feeder speed and GNP content on the electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of composites were investigated. The inclusion of GNPs in the matrix improved the thermal stability and conductivity by 2.7% and 43%, respectively. The electrical conductivity improved from 10-11 to 10-5 S/m at 150 rpm due to the high thermal stability of the GNPs and the formation of phonon and charge carrier networks in the polymer matrix. Higher extruder speeds result in a better distribution of the GNPs in the matrix and a significant increase in thermal stability and thermal conductivity. However, this effect is not significant for the electrical conductivity and tensile strength. The addition of GNPs increased the viscosity of the polymer, which will lead to higher processing power requirements. Increasing the extruder speed led to a reduction in viscosity, which is due to thermal degradation and/or chain scission. Thus, while high speeds result in better dispersions, the speed needs to be optimized to prevent detrimental impacts on the properties.</p

Analysis and Verification of Service Interaction Protocols - A Brief Survey

Modeling and analysis of interactions among services is a crucial issue in Service-Oriented Computing. Composing Web services is a complicated task which requires techniques and tools to verify that the new system will behave correctly. In this paper, we first overview some formal models proposed in the literature to describe services. Second, we give a brief survey of verification techniques that can be used to analyse services and their interaction. Last, we focus on the realizability and conformance of choreographies.Comment: In Proceedings TAV-WEB 2010, arXiv:1009.330

Oral HPV infection and MHC class II deficiency (A study of two cases with atypical outcome)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Major histocompatibility complex class II deficiency, also referred to as bare lymphocyte syndrome is a rare primary Immunodeficiency disorder characterized by a profondly deficient human leukocyte antigen class II expression and a lack of cellular and humoral immune responses to foreign antigens. Clinical manifestations include extreme susceptibility to viral, bacterial, and fungal infections. The infections begin in the first year of life and involve usually the respiratory system and the gastrointestinal tract. Severe malabsorption with failure to thrive ensues, often leading to death in early childhood. Bone marrow transplantation is the curative treatment.</p> <p>Case reports</p> <p>Here we report two cases with a late outcome MHC class II deficiency. They had a long term history of recurrent bronchopulmonary and gastrointestinal infections. Bone marrow transplantation could not be performed because no compatible donor had been identified. At the age of 12 years, they developed oral papillomatous lesions related to HPV (human papillomavirus). The diagnosis of HPV infection was done by histological examination. HPV typing performed on the tissue obtained at biopsy showed HPV type 6. The lesions were partially removed after two months of laser treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Viral infections are common in patients with MHC class II and remain the main cause of death. Besides warts caused by HPV infection do not exhibit a propensity for malignant transformation; they can cause great psychosocial morbidity.</p

Tau Be or not Tau Be? - A Perspective on Service Compatibility and Substitutability

One of the main open research issues in Service Oriented Computing is to propose automated techniques to analyse service interfaces. A first problem, called compatibility, aims at determining whether a set of services (two in this paper) can be composed together and interact with each other as expected. Another related problem is to check the substitutability of one service with another. These problems are especially difficult when behavioural descriptions (i.e., message calls and their ordering) are taken into account in service interfaces. Interfaces should capture as faithfully as possible the service behaviour to make their automated analysis possible while not exhibiting implementation details. In this position paper, we choose Labelled Transition Systems to specify the behavioural part of service interfaces. In particular, we show that internal behaviours (tau transitions) are necessary in these transition systems in order to detect subtle errors that may occur when composing a set of services together. We also show that tau transitions should be handled differently in the compatibility and substitutability problem: the former problem requires to check if the compatibility is preserved every time a tau transition is traversed in one interface, whereas the latter requires a precise analysis of tau branchings in order to make the substitution preserve the properties (e.g., a compatibility notion) which were ensured before replacement.Comment: In Proceedings WCSI 2010, arXiv:1010.233

Adaptation of Asynchronously Communicating Software

International audienceSoftware adaptation techniques aim at generating new components called adapters, which make a set of services work correctly together by compensating for existing mismatch. Most approaches assume that services interact synchronously using rendez-vous communication. In this paper, we focus on asynchronous communication, where services interact exchanging messages via buffers. We overview a method for automatically generating adapters in such asynchronous environments

Stability-Based Adaptation of Asynchronously Communicating Software

International audienceSoftware Adaptation aims at composing incompatible black-box components or services (peers) whose individual functionality is as required for the new system. Adaptation techniques aim at automatically generating new components called adapters. An adapter works as an orchestrator and makes the involved peers work correctly together by receiving all messages exchanged in the system and by correcting mis-match between them. A challenging issue in this area is to consider that peers are described with (possibly cyclic) behavioural models and interact asynchronously, that is, exchanging messages via message buffers. The synthesis of adapters in this context is difficult because the composition of peers may result in infinite systems. In this paper, we propose new adaptation techniques, which rely on a property of communicating systems called stability. Stability aims at verifying whether a communicating system exhibits the same observational behaviour from a certain buffer bound on. We also provide adapter generation techniques using process algebra encodings and enumerative analysis techniques

Modélisation du poly-époxy DGEBA-EDA et de sa réactivité vis-à-vis du cuivre : approche expérimentale et numérique

Grâce à la métallisation de leur surface, des pièces en polymères peuvent substituer certains composants métalliques dans les industries de l'aérospatiale et du transport. Les polymères ont des masses volumiques plus faibles que les métaux et une réactivité chimique limitée, ce qui en fait des candidats idéaux pour les applications spatiales. En combinant techniques expérimentales et simulations numériques, nous avons étudié les mécanismes fondamentaux de la métallisation de surface d'un polymère poly-époxy (DGEBA / EDA). L'objectif de notre étude était de développer un modèle non empirique prenant en compte les mécanismes régissant la nucléation et la croissance des films minces métalliques. Notre groupe a une longue expérience des dépôts chimiques en phase vapeur, CVD. Mais cette technique n'a pas été choisie pour la métallisation de nos surfaces de polymères car les températures requises dans le réacteur étaient trop élevées. Comme alternative, nous avons effectué une évaporation sous ultravide de Cu à température ambiante, conduisant à une diffusion des atomes en phase gazeuse sans énergie cinétique. Les processus d'adsorption et de diffusion sont donc plus proches des conditions thermodynamiques associées aux calculs. Un protocole expérimental a été mis en place afin de créer une surface polymère chimiquement homogène présentant une faible rugosité. Le polymère obtenu a été caractérisé (i) par spectroscopie infrarouge à transformée de Fourier, pour déterminer le taux de polymérisation (supérieur à 90%), (ii) par calorimétrie différentielle à balayage pour obtenir la température de transition vitreuse (Tg) ( 118,1 °C), (iii) par microscopie à force atomique (AFM) pour estimer la rugosité de la surface (Ra ˜ 1 nm), et (iv) par spectroscopie de photoélectrons X (XPS) pour caractériser les liaisons chimiques de surface. La surface de polymère a ensuite été métallisée. Grâce à des analyses AFM, l'épaisseur du film mince a été estimée à 6 nm. Nous avons ensuite utilisé l'XPS pour caractériser les liaisons interfaciales Cu / Poly-époxy. Nous avons déduit de l'interprétation des spectres XPS que le Cu est adsorbé préférentiellement sur un atome d'oxygène spécifique du polymère. Pour identifier clairement ces sites d'adsorption de Cu, nous avons ensuite simulé les spectres XPS du polymère non revêtu, par des calculs quantiques, en utilisant un modèle moléculaire (dimère : 1 molécule de DGEBA liée à 1 molécule d'EDA). Les méthodes Hartree-Fock (HF) et de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité (DFT) nous ont permis de simuler des spectres XPS pour la surface nue, en prenant en compte les effets d'état final et initial. Grâce à ces résultats, nous avons pu décomposer le spectre expérimental en 8 contributions, ce qui conduit à des résultats beaucoup plus précis que les résultats habituels obtenus par l'utilisation exclusive des expériences et de la littérature. Nous avons ensuite effectué des simulations de dynamique moléculaire classique (MD) pour passer d'un modèle moléculaire (dimère) à un modèle de polymère amorphe. Nous avons utilisé le champ de force Amber généralisé (GAFF) et nous avons développé un code de réticulation des molécules de monomères. Le système initial était un mélange stœchiométrique de molécules DGEBA et EDA qui a été équilibré à 700K. Lorsque l'équilibre a été atteint, certaines propriétés structurales (par exemple, la distribution des liaisons) ont été extraites des simulations NPT. À partir de ce mélange liquide de monomères, notre code de réticulation a identifié et relié les atomes réactifs (à une distance interatomique prédéfinie < 3 Å). Après chaque étape de polymérisation, le système a été rééquilibré à 700K (simulations NPT). Après plusieurs cycles de réticulation/simulation de dynamique moléculaire, nous avons pu atteindre un taux de polymérisation de 93% et la fonction de distribution radiale (RDF), la masse volumique (1.115 à 300K) et la température de transition vitreuse Tg (115,5 °C) ont été calculées. La Tg est en accord avec la valeur expérimentale de 118,1 °C, validant notre approche numérique pour développer un modèle pour les polymères poly-époxy.Metallization of polymer surfaces can lead to the substitution of metallic components. Polymers have lower densities and limited chemical reactivity, making them ideal candidates for the space applications. Through experiments and calculations, we studied the fundamental mechanisms of surface metallization of a poly-epoxy polymer (DGEBA/EDA). The objective of our study was to develop a non-empirical model that could take into account the mechanisms governing the nucleation and growth of thin metal films. Our group has a long experience in chemical vapor deposition, CVD, and metallization of polymer composites. But we did not applied CVD at first because of the high temperatures required in the reactor. We alternatively used ultrahigh vacuum evaporation of Cu at ambient temperature. Therefore, we make sure that atoms diffuse in the gas phase without kinetic energy. Adsorption and diffusion processes are thus closer to thermodynamic conditions that prevails in calculations. An experimental protocol was refined in order to create a chemically homogeneous polymer surface with a low roughness (Ra<1nm). The bulk and the surface of the pristine polymer were characterized (i) by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, to determine the polymerization rate (above 90%), (ii) by differential scanning calorimetry in order to obtain the glass transition temperature (Tg) (118.1 °C), (iii) by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to calculate surface roughness (Ra ˜ 1 nm), and (iv) by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to characterize surface chemical bonding. The surface was then metallized. Through AFM, the thickness of the thin film was estimated at 6 nm. We then used XPS to characterize the Cu/Poly-epoxy interfacial bonding. We deduced that Cu adsorbed preferentially on a specific oxygen atom of the polymer. To clearly identify this Cu adsorption site, we further simulated the XPS spectra of our clean or metallized polymer by quantum calculations, using a dimer model (1 molecule of DGEBA connected to 1 molecule of EDA). In the Hartree-Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) framework, we first simulated the XPS spectra for the pristine surface taking into account initial and final state effects. Thanks to these results, we were able to analyze the experimental spectrum with 8 contributions, leading to much more accurate results than the usual results obtained by the exclusive use of experiments and literature. We then performed classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to move from a dimer model to an amorphous polymer model. We used the general Amber force field (GAFF) and we developed a code to mimic the reticulation of monomers molecules. We started from a stoichiometric mixture of DGEBA and EDA molecules. When equilibration was reached, structural properties at 700K (e.g. distribution of bonds) were extracted from the results of the NPT simulations. From this melt of monomers, the homemade reticulation code identified and connected reactive atoms (at a pre-defined inter-atomic distance < 3Å). After each step of polymerization, the system was equilibrated at 700K (NPT simulations). After multiple reticulation/MD cycles we could achieve a polymerization rate of 93% and the Radial Distribution Function (RDF), the density and the glass transition temperature Tg were calculated. The value of the computed density was 1.115 at 300K and the calculated Tg (115.5 °C) was in good agreement with the experimental Tg of 118.1 °C, validating our numerical approach to develop a model for poly-epoxies

X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) : Phenotype, diagnosis, and therapeutic challenges around the world

Background: X-linked agammaglobulinemia is an inherited immunodeficiency recognized since 1952. In spite of seven decades of experience, there is still a limited understanding of regional differences in presentation and complications. This study was designed by the Primary Immunodeficiencies Committee of the World Allergy Organization to better understand regional needs, challenges and unique patient features. Methods: A survey instrument was designed by the Primary Immunodeficiencies Committee of the World Allergy Organization to collect both structured and semi-structured data on X-linked agammaglobulinemia. The survey was sent to 54 centers around the world chosen on the basis of World Allergy Organization participation and/or registration in the European Society for Immunodeficiencies. There were 40 centers that responded, comprising 32 countries. Results: This study reports on 783 patients from 40 centers around the world. Problems with diagnosis are highlighted by the reported delays in diagnosis>24 months in 34% of patients and the lack of genetic studies in 39% of centers Two infections exhibited regional variation. Vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis was seen only in countries with live polio vaccination and two centers reported mycobacteria. High rates of morbidity were reported. Acute and chronic lung diseases accounted for 41% of the deaths. Unusual complications such as inflammatory bowel disease and large granular lymphocyte disease, among others were specifically enumerated, and while individually uncommon, they were collectively seen in 20.3% of patients. These data suggest that a broad range of both inflammatory, infectious, and autoimmune conditions can occur in patients. The breadth of complications and lack of data on management subsequently appeared as a significant challenge reported by centers. Survival above 20 years of age was lowest in Africa (22%) and reached above 70% in Australia, Europe and the Americas. Centers were asked to report their challenges and responses (n = 116) emphasized the difficulties in access to immunoglobulin products (16%) and reflected the ongoing need for education of both patients and referring physicians. Conclusions: This is the largest study of patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia and emphasizes the continued morbidity and mortality of XLA despite progress in diagnosis and treatment. It presents a world view of the successes and challenges for patients and physicians alike. A pivotal finding is the need for education of physicians regarding typical symptoms suggesting a possible diagnosis of X-linked agammaglobulinemia and sharing of best practices for the less common complications.Peer reviewe