1,720,994 research outputs found
Characterization of the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in nanocomposites by means of a non-destructive evaluation technique
Full text linkAn extensive use of CNTs enhanced polymer composites can be boosted by novel NDE techniques able to check the quality of the products made of these nanocomposites in order to guarantee that their specifications are met. It is well known in literature that the parameter that much more than others can affect the enhancing capabilities of the added nanoparticles is their dispersion. All the resulting physical properties of the CNTs based polymer composites depend strongly on level of dispersion of the CNTs throughout the matrix. Here we presented a novel NDE technique based on infrared thermography able to test the dispersion of the added nanoparticles in nanocomposites. Two different procedures were selected to prepare epoxy nanocomposites with dissimilar degree of nanoparticle dispersion. The novel NDE technique was then used to compare pairs of specimens whose only difference is represented by the dispersion level, which is much better in the samples manufactured by THINKY, a vacuum planetary mixer, compared to those produced with a less efficient approach. We found a significant difference in the thermal response to the heat transfer transients, i.e. the pairs of specimens, with dissimilar level of dispersion, have clearly distinguishable thermographic outcomes. The raising up of the temperature in samples exposed to the same heat flux, is faster for those with a better level of dispersion, compared to those with a poor dispersion. Thus, the NDE technique can be used to identify consistently the thermal response of a material with respect to another. A reference product, which has the expected dispersion level and achieves the desired design performance, can be used to test the thermal behaviour of other products coming out of the production process and those with poor dispersion can be identified. The mechanisms behind the effects of MWCNTs dispersion on the thermal response of the nanocomposites to the heat transfer transients were identified: homogeneous dispersion maximizes the interface area between MWCNTs and resin, the thermal conductivity of individual MWCNTs is at least four times higher than the thermal conductivity within MWCNTs bundles, the specific heat of individual MWCNTs is one third smaller than the specific heat of MWCNTs bundles
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Atomic Force Microscopy Characterization of Carbon Nanotubes
No full textCarbon Nanotubes (CN) form a new class of materials that has attracted large interest in the scientific community because of their extraordinary properties (mechanical, electrical, thermal, etc.), as well as owing to the diversity of the proposed technological applications. The characterization of CN is the result of specific sample preparation procedures and requires the use of selected tools (e. g. SEM, HRTEM, EDX, Micro Raman, AFM, STM). We report some studies we carried out based on the CN characterization with the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The general characteristics of the AFM employed and the sample preparation methods are illustrated. The research activities are focused on the development of specific analysis procedures. In fact, the interaction forces between the AFM cantilever tip and the sample, is the main parameter in the acquisition of a 3D topographic AFM micrograph
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Tecnica non distruttiva per la valutazione dei livelli di dispersione dei nanotubi di carbonio nei compositi a matrice polimerica
Full text linkÈ noto in letteratura che il parametro che molto più di altri può influenzare il potenziale incremento delle proprietà dei compositi a matrice polimerica dovuto alla presenza dei CNTs è la dispersione. Tutte le proprietà fisiche dei compositi polimerici a base di CNTs dipendono fortemente dal loro livello di dispersione nella matrice: una distribuzione omogenea ottimizza le prestazioni, mentre la formazione di aggregati e una scarsa dispersione determinano miglioramenti limitati delle proprietà della matrice. In questo lavoro viene presentata una nuova tecnica di valutazione non distruttiva (NDE) basata sulla termografia a infrarossi in grado di valutare il livello di dispersione dei CNTs nei nanocompositi polimerici. La tecnica NDE è stata utilizzata per confrontare coppie di campioni che differiscono solo per il livello di dispersione. I risultati sperimentali, che mostrano differenze significative nella risposta ai transitori termici, provano che la risposta termica di un nanocomposito consente di stimare il livello di dispersione dei CNTs. Un prodotto di riferimento, che possiede il livello di dispersione atteso e raggiunge le prestazioni progettuali desiderate, può essere utilizzato per testare il comportamento termico di altri prodotti che escono dal processo produttivo e quindi di scartare quelli con livelli di dispersione inadeguati. Sono stati identificati tutti i fenomeni fisici che concorrono a spiegare come la dispersione dei CNTs influenza la risposta dei nanocompositi ai transitori termici.A wide use of advanced carbon nanotube polymer composites can be boosted by new non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques that can test the quality of the products to ensure that their specifications are met. It is well known in literature that the parameter that far more than others can affect the enhancing capabilities of the carbon nanotubes is their dispersion. Here we have presented a novel NDE technique based on infrared thermography able to evaluate the dispersion of the added nanoparticles in polymer nanocomposites. The NDE technique was used to compare pairs of samples whose difference is represented only by the level of dispersion. It was found a significant difference in the thermal response to heat transfer transients. Thus, the thermal response of a nanocomposite allows one to identify consistently good levels of dispersion with respect to lower levels of dispersion. A reference product, which has the expected dispersion level and achieves the desired design performance, can be used to test the thermal behaviour of other products coming out of the production process and those with poor dispersion can be identified. The physical phenomena that can explain the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersion on the thermal response of the nanocomposites to the heat transfer transients were also identified
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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