Thermal Properties of Epoxy-Based Adhesive Reinforced With Nano And MicroParticles For In-Situ Timber Bonding
—CB10TSS thixotropic and room temperature cured epoxy based adhesive specially formulated for in-situ bonding of pultruded rod into timber for repair and strengthening of timber structures. The glass transition temperature for CB10TSS is 31.7ºC which considered low for outdoor exposure. Therefore CB10TSS was modified by reinforcing it with nano-and micro-particles and denoted as Nanopox (CB10TSS/nanosilica), Albipox (CB10TSS/liquid rubber) and Timberset (CB10TSS/ceramics). Thermal properties of epoxy adhesives were studied by using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Albipox showed significant improvement in the glass transition temperature but Timberset has the highest Tg, due to high modulus of ceramic particles. A second scan for all the adhesives increased Tg which shows that the room temperature cured adhesives are not fully cross-linked. In DSC scan, typical graphs of heat flow versus temperature able to describe more characteristic of the curing behavior such as a sharp and deep endothermic dip at Tg which corresponds to a rearrangement of the molecules and the wide and shallow endothermic dip at around 100°C is associated with moisture in the adhesive.
Comparative Analysis of Polyurethane Drive Belts with Different Cross-Section Using Thermomechanical Tests for Modeling the Hot Plate Welding Process
The paper presents a comparative analysis of the circular and flat cross-section belts using measurements of a set of thermomechanical parameters, contributing to research about hot plate welding of drive belts. On the basis of thermogravimetric and spectrophotometric tests, information about the same chemical composition of the two belts was obtained. Dynamic thermomechanical analysis and scanning differential calorimetry provided information about a small difference between belts, which disappeared when the material was placed in a state of increased temperature and mechanical stress. On the basis of the analysis of the specific heat, thermal diffusion, density, and hardness, the values of the selected thermal properties of the belt were obtained, and a large similarity between the belts was identified. On the basis of the novel performed test cycle, it has been hypothesized that circular and flat belts made from thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer could be used interchangeably for butt-welding testing. It has also been proven that cyclic thermomechanical loads unify the properties of both materials so that multiple mechanical and thermal loads do not result in any change in the material properties of the two belts. As a consequence, changes in the weld properties after welding, compared to a solid belt, are not expected.
Evaluation of buckling load and dynamic performance of steel shear wall retrofitted with strips made of shape memory alloy
One of the most imperfections of the steel shear wall is out of plane displacements that cause severe damage in both structural and non-structural elements. In this paper, the effects of shape-memory alloys on steel shear walls are investigated. First, a numerical analysis using the finite element method in ABAQUS software has been carried out according to an experimental test. The results of the numerical analysis have been verified with experimental results. Next, shape-memory alloy fibers have been added vertically and horizontally to various parts of the steel shear wall. The results show that retrofitting with the shape-memory alloy reduces the out-of-plane displacement of the steel shear wall under both cyclic and seismic loadings. Besides, the buckling load in the steel shear wall increases when it is retrofitted with the shape-memory alloy. Also, the total out-of-plane movement (accumulated absolute displacements) of the steel shear wall and non-structural damage are controlled by the characteristic of a shape-memory alloy material called “super-elastic”.