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Critical length measurements in carbon fibers during single fiber fragmentation tests using acoustic emission
No full textThe single fiber fragmentation test (SFFT) is a wellknown
experimental test, which allows the study of
fiber failure in its simplest form [1, 2]. The principle
is that a single fiber embedded in a matrix repeatedly
breaks until all fragment lengths are within a critical
distance. Once the fiber has broken for the first time,
successive breakage happens in regions removed from
the initial failure, often referred to as polled areas [3].
Acoustic emission (AE) has been extensively used for
the detection and localization of fiber breakage during
SFFT tests, in carbon [4, 5],Kevlar [6, 7] and glass fiber
composites [8, 9]
Material tinkering for design education on waste upcycling
Full text linkMaterials are primary elements in the process of design and are gaining more and more
attention to design education. The present work illustrates the practice of material tinkering,
concentrating on its effects on design education, as regards the upcycling of waste into material
demonstrators, deemed to assess their possibility to evolve into sustainable artefacts. After a
general illustration of the scope and objectives of material tinkering, the exposition describes
the recent experiences of this practice into design schools, highlighting its pedagogical
significance worldwide, and in the particular case of the Italian situation. Finally, the exposition
concentrates on the specific case of work carried out in two prestigious Italian Universities
(Università di Camerino and Politecnico di Milano) from 2015. The paper tries to clarify its
position and significance concerning previous literature, for what appears relevant to the
education of designers and for their formation in the local context to be applicable worldwide.
The research method evolves from trial-and-error, typical of experimentation on materials, to
the conception of material demonstrators and suitability to be applied into products, having as
boundaries the choice to use some kinds of waste in an upcycling philosophy
Hybridisation between technology and biology in design for sustainability
No full textThis work illustrates the development of a method for bio-inspired
design, based on the integration of inspiration from biology with a sound
awareness of the exigencies in terms of sustainability. The objective of this
method would be to facilitate the development and partition into tasks of the
design process and constitute an univocal and common reference for the
integration and collaboration between different competences involved, such as
biology, engineering, technology and design: this is one of the main difficulties
in the whole process of designing bio-inspired concepts. A number of examples
of design concepts which have been created according to this method are
exposed, dealing, in particular, with reducing energy consumption, smart
packaging and promoting organic food revolution
Sperimentazione su biocomposito autoprodotto dagli scarti delle vongole per possibile utilizzo di design
Full text linkIl presente lavoro propone una possibile utilizzazione dei materiali ceramici ottenuti dagli scarti delle vongole per la fabbricazione di un biocomposito adatto alla produzione di piccoli oggetti di design. In particolare, si discute lo sviluppo di alcuni piccoli oggetti di design, inquadrati sotto il termine generico di Bioclams. La sperimentazione effettuata s’inserisce nell’ambito della recente tendenza all’autoproduzione
(DIY new materials) dei materiali, che consente di rivalorizzare gli scarti nell’ambito di un’idea di sostenibilità basata sulla creazione di un legame affettivo con l’oggetto e quindi un maggior valore intrinseco
DIY materials from potato skin waste for design
Full text linkThis work concerns the creation of a wall display for fruits, made in a DIY material structure, as the result of a 'material tinkering' process over waste to enable understanding possible application in a design context. The material and object are obtained starting from potato skins, as an example of waste very frequent in the food processing chain, in most local contexts. The display is specifically designed in a double layer configuration, partially translucent, coloured with food dyes and aromatised during the experimentation phase to ensure its suitability to the purpose. Some basic characterisation tests were also performed to allow for the possible development of a customised product from this material demonstrator. The process, in giving some value to a typical and very diffuse food chain waste, would therefore guarantee the upcycling of the relevant refuse. The structure is intended for application into a context of farm holiday site and aimed at presenting local products, ideally coming from the very farm fields involved
Experimental analysis of mechanical properties of composites reinforced by flax and basalt fibres
No full textEven if the “fully green material” is far away from existing, a growing number of green advancements exist in composite technologies, which are able to reduce the negative impact on people or environment. Numerous research groups are, for instance, dedicated to minimising the environmental impact of polymer composite production using polymer matrices derived from renewable resources such as polylactide (PLA), thermoplasticstarch (TPS) or thermoset matrices. Their high renewable content derives from vegetable sources and, combined
with natural reinforced fibers (NF) to form environmentally friendly and fully degradable composite laminates. In this way, these matrices represent a potential substitute for petroleum based ones. Natural matrices are therefore partially or totally obtained by renewable sources
and/or made by biodegradable polymers. The availability of ecobased polymer matrices is nowadays still relatively scarce, but it rapidly grows as more studies are performed and more information is obtained. The employment of these bio-based polymers depends on the possibility to modify their properties in order to ease their processing, at the same time improving the toughness of the final biocomposite. On the other hand, natural reinforcements are now widely known and quite largely used. Natural fibers are compounds combining cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. They can be derived from leaf (e.g. sisal), bast (e.g. flax, hemp), seed (e.g. cotton) and fruit (e.g. coir). They are biodegradable and “carbon positive” since they absorb more carbon dioxide than they produce.They are non-irritating and tend to be non-abrasive, reducing wear on
tools during manufacturing. Natural fibers have lower density values: in substitution of synthetic ones, they reduce the weight of an artifact by up to 40%, perfectly fitting non structural uses. It is even possible to improve flexural strength, stiffness and ductility of materials.
In contrast, natural fibers provide composites with not excellent and largely variable mechanical proprieties, limiting therefore their use in structural applications
β-cyclodextrin nanosponges (NS) based natural rubber latex (NR) nanocomposites: tensile, thermal and morphological characterization
No full textIn this work, a bionanocomposite obtained by reinforcing a natural rubber (NR) matrix with
different amounts of -cyclodextrin nanosponges (NS) (10, 15 and 25 vol.%) was characterised
under the tensile, thermal and morphological point of view. The morphology of the composite has
been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope
(TEM). These studies indicated the presence of a co-continuous phase morphology and the uniform
dispersion of the nanosponges in the NR matrix. Mechanical properties, such as stress-strain
behaviour, tensile strength and modulus, elongation at break and tear properties were also
measured. Compared to pure NR, NS-NR nanocomposite showed enhanced tensile strength (by
around 80% maximum) and modulus (by more than 100% maximum) and tear properties (by
around 90% maximum). Effectiveness of nanosponges on enhancing the mechanical properties is
attributed by their formation of a three-dimensional network within the NR matrix. This effect was
able to slightly increase the thermal stability of the nanocomposites (typically by around 5-10°C)
with respect to NR, despite the fact that degradation of pure NS occurs at lower temperatures
Vinylester resins as a matrix material in advanced fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites
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