Eigenstructure Assignment Based Controllers Applied to Flexible Spacecraft

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the behaviour of a controller designed using a parametric Eigenstructure Assignment method and to evaluate its suitability for use in flexible spacecraft. The challenge of this objective lies in obtaining a suitable controller that is specifically designated to alleviate the deflections and vibrations suffered by external appendages in flexible spacecraft while performing attitude manoeuvres. One of the main problems in these vehicles is the mechanical cross-coupling that exists between the rigid and flexible parts of the spacecraft. Spacecraft with fine attitude pointing requirements need precise control of the mechanical coupling to avoid undesired attitude misalignment. In designing an attitude controller, it is necessary to consider the possible vibration of the solar panels and how it may influence the performance of the rest of the vehicle. The nonlinear mathematical model of a flexible spacecraft is considered a close approximation to the real system. During the process of controller evaluation, the design process has also been taken into account as a factor in assessing the robustness of the system.

Tuning the properties of carbon fiber-reinforced poly (phenylene sulphide) laminates via incorporation of inorganic fullerene-like WS2 nanoparticles

Novel carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced poly(phenylene sulphide) (PPS) laminates incorporating inorganic fullerene-like tungsten disulfide (IF-WS2) nanoparticles were prepared via melt-blending and hot-press processing. The influence of the IF-WS2 on the morphology, thermal, mechanical and tribological properties of PPS/CF composites was investigated. Efficient nanoparticle dispersion within the matrix was attained without using surfactants. A progressive rise in thermal stability was found with increasing IF-WS2 loading, as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis. The addition of low nanoparticle contents retarded the crystallization of the matrix, whereas concentrations equal or higher than 1.0 wt% increased both the crystallization temperature and degree of crystallinity compared to those of PPS/CF. Mechanical tests indicated that with only 1.0 wt% IF-WS2 the flexural modulus and strength of PPS/CF improved by 17 and 14%, respectively, without loss in toughness, ascribed to a synergistic effect between the two fillers. A significant enhancement in the storage modulus and glass transition temperature was also observed. Moreover, the wear rate and coefficient of friction strongly decreased, attributed to the lubricant role of the IF-WS2 combined with their reinforcing effect. These inorganic nanoparticles show great potential to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of conventional thermoplastic/CF composites for structural applications.

Opportunities and challenges in the use of inorganic fullerene-like nanoparticles to produce advanced polymer nanocomposites

Polymer/inorganic nanoparticle nanocomposites have garnered considerable academic and industrial interest over recent decades in the development of advanced materials for a wide range of applications. In this respect, the dispersion of so-called inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles, e.g., tungsten disulfide (IF-WS2) or molybdenum disulfide (IF-MoS2), into polymeric matrices is emerging as a new strategy. The surprising properties of these layered metal dichalcogenides such as high impact resistance and superior tribological behavior, attributed to their nanoscale size and hollow quasi-spherical shape, open up a wide variety of opportunities for applications of these inorganic compounds. The present work presents a detailed overview on research in the area of IF-based polymer nanocomposites, with special emphasis on the use of IF-WS2 nanoparticles as environmentally friendly reinforcing fillers. The incorporation of IF particles has been shown to be efficient for improving thermal, mechanical and tribological properties of various thermoplastic polymers, such as polypropylene, nylon-6, poly(phenylene sulfide), poly(ether ether ketone), where nanocomposites were fabricated by simple melt-processing routes without the need for modifiers or surfactants. This new family of nanocomposites exhibits similar or enhanced performance when compared with nanocomposites that incorporate carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers or nanoclays, but are substantially more cost-effective, efficient and environmentally satisfactory. Most recently, innovative approaches have been described that exploit synergistic effects to produce new materials with enhanced properties, including the combined use of micro- and nanoparticles such as IF-WS2/nucleating agent or IF-WS2/carbon fiber, as well as dual nanoparticle systems such as SWCNT/IF-WS2 where each nanoparticle has different characteristics. The structure–property relationships of these nanocomposites are discussed and potential applications proposed ranging from medicine to the aerospace, automotive and electronics industries.

Large scale multiphysics modeling of neurites

Situado en el límite entre Ingeniería, Informática y Biología, la mecánica computacional de las neuronas aparece como un nuevo campo interdisciplinar que potencialmente puede ser capaz de abordar problemas clínicos desde una perspectiva diferente. Este campo es multiescala por naturaleza, yendo desde la nanoescala (como, por ejemplo, los dímeros de tubulina) a la macroescala (como, por ejemplo, el tejido cerebral), y tiene como objetivo abordar problemas que son complejos, y algunas veces imposibles, de estudiar con medios experimentales. La modelización computacional ha sido ampliamente empleada en aplicaciones Neurocientíficas tan diversas como el crecimiento neuronal o la propagación de los potenciales de acción compuestos. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de los enfoques de modelización hechos hasta ahora, la interacción entre la célula y el medio/estímulo que la rodea ha sido muy poco explorada. A pesar de la tremenda importancia de esa relación en algunos desafíos médicos—como, por ejemplo, lesiones traumáticas en el cerebro, cáncer, la enfermedad del Alzheimer—un puente que relacione las propiedades electrofisiológicas-químicas y mecánicas desde la escala molecular al nivel celular todavía no existe. Con ese objetivo, esta investigación propone un marco computacional multiescala particularizado para dos escenarios respresentativos: el crecimiento del axón y el acomplamiento electrofisiológicomecánico de las neuritas. En el primer caso, se explora la relación entre los constituyentes moleculares del axón durante su crecimiento y sus propiedades mecánicas resultantes, mientras que en el último, un estímulo mecánico provoca deficiencias funcionales a nivel celular como consecuencia de sus alteraciones electrofisiológicas-químicas. La modelización computacional empleada en este trabajo es el método de las diferencias finitas, y es implementada en un nuevo programa llamado Neurite. Aunque el método de los elementos finitos es también explorado en parte de esta investigación, el método de las diferencias finitas tiene la flexibilidad y versatilidad necesaria para implementar mode los biológicos, así como la simplicidad matemática para extenderlos a simulaciones a gran escala con un coste computacional bajo. Centrándose primero en el efecto de las propiedades electrofisiológicas-químicas sobre las propiedades mecánicas, una versión adaptada de Neurite es desarrollada para simular la polimerización de los microtúbulos en el crecimiento del axón y proporcionar las propiedades mecánicas como función de la ocupación de los microtúbulos. Después de calibrar el modelo de crecimiento del axón frente a resultados experimentales disponibles en la literatura, las características mecánicas pueden ser evaluadas durante la simulación. Las propiedades mecánicas del axón muestran variaciones dramáticas en la punta de éste, donde el cono de crecimiento soporta las señales químicas y mecánicas. Bansándose en el conocimiento ganado con el modelo de diferencias finitas, y con el objetivo de ir de 1D a 3D, este esquema preliminar pero de una naturaleza innovadora allana el camino a futuros estudios con el método de los elementos finitos. Centrándose finalmente en el efecto de las propiedades mecánicas sobre las propiedades electrofisiológicas- químicas, Neurite es empleado para relacionar las cargas mecánicas macroscópicas con las deformaciones y velocidades de deformación a escala microscópica, y simular la propagación de la señal eléctrica en las neuritas bajo carga mecánica. Las simulaciones fueron calibradas con resultados experimentales publicados en la literatura, proporcionando, por tanto, un modelo capaz de predecir las alteraciones de las funciones electrofisiológicas neuronales bajo cargas externas dañinas, y uniendo lesiones mecánicas con las correspondientes deficiencias funcionales. Para abordar simulaciones a gran escala, aunque otras arquitecturas avanzadas basadas en muchos núcleos integrados (MICs) fueron consideradas, los solvers explícito e implícito se implementaron en unidades de procesamiento central (CPU) y unidades de procesamiento gráfico (GPUs). Estudios de escalabilidad fueron llevados acabo para ambas implementaciones mostrando resultados prometedores para casos de simulaciones extremadamente grandes con GPUs. Esta tesis abre la vía para futuros modelos mecánicos con el objetivo de unir las propiedades electrofisiológicas-químicas con las propiedades mecánicas. El objetivo general es mejorar el conocimiento de las comunidades médicas y de bioingeniería sobre la mecánica de las neuronas y las deficiencias funcionales que aparecen de los daños producidos por traumatismos mecánicos, como lesiones traumáticas en el cerebro, o enfermedades neurodegenerativas como la enfermedad del Alzheimer. ABSTRACT Sitting at the interface between Engineering, Computer Science and Biology, Computational Neuron Mechanics appears as a new interdisciplinary field potentially able to tackle clinical problems from a new perspective. This field is multiscale by nature, ranging from the nanoscale (e.g., tubulin dimers) to the macroscale (e.g., brain tissue), and aims at tackling problems that are complex, and sometime impossible, to study through experimental means. Computational modeling has been widely used in different Neuroscience applications as diverse as neuronal growth or compound action potential propagation. However, in the majority of the modeling approaches done in this field to date, the interactions between the cell and its surrounding media/stimulus have been rarely explored. Despite of the tremendous importance of such relationship in several medical challenges—e.g., traumatic brain injury (TBI), cancer, Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—a bridge between electrophysiological-chemical and mechanical properties of neurons from the molecular scale to the cell level is still lacking. To this end, this research proposes a multiscale computational framework particularized for two representative scenarios: axon growth and electrophysiological-mechanical coupling of neurites. In the former case, the relation between the molecular constituents of the axon during its growth and its resulting mechanical properties is explored, whereas in the latter, a mechanical stimulus provokes functional deficits at cell level as a consequence of its electrophysiological-chemical alterations. The computational modeling approach chosen in this work is the finite difference method (FDM), and was implemented in a new program called Neurite. Although the finite element method (FEM) is also explored as part of this research, the FDM provides the necessary flexibility and versatility to implement biological models, as well as the mathematical simplicity to extend them to large scale simulations with a low computational cost. Focusing first on the effect of electrophysiological-chemical properties on the mechanical proper ties, an adaptation of Neurite was developed to simulate microtubule polymerization in axonal growth and provide the axon mechanical properties as a function of microtubule occupancy. After calibrating the axon growth model against experimental results available in the literature, the mechanical characteristics can be tracked during the simulation. The axon mechanical properties show dramatic variations at the tip of the axon, where the growth cone supports the chemical and mechanical signaling. Based on the knowledge gained from the FDM scheme, and in order to go from 1D to 3D, this preliminary yet novel scheme paves the road for future studies with FEM. Focusing then on the effect of mechanical properties on the electrophysiological-chemical properties, Neurite was used to relate macroscopic mechanical loading to microscopic strains and strain rates, and simulate the electrical signal propagation along neurites under mechanical loading. The simulations were calibrated against experimental results published in the literature, thus providing a model able to predict the alteration of neuronal electrophysiological function under external damaging load, and linking mechanical injuries to subsequent acute functional deficits. To undertake large scale simulations, although other state-of-the-art architectures based on many integrated cores (MICs) were considered, the explicit and implicit solvers were implemented for central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). Scalability studies were done for both implementations showing promising results for extremely large scale simulations with GPUs. This thesis opens the avenue for future mechanical modeling approaches aimed at linking electrophysiological- chemical properties to mechanical properties. Its overarching goal is to enhance the bioengineering and medical communities knowledge on neuronal mechanics and functional deficits arising from damages produced by direct mechanical insults, such as TBI, or neurodegenerative evolving illness, such as AD.

Hierarchical and hybrid polymer nanocomposites based on carbon nanotubes and inorganic fullerene type nanoparticles

The influence of singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and inorganic fullerenelike tungsten disulfide nanoparticles (IFWS2) on the morphology and thermal, mechanical and electrical performance of multifunctional fibrereinforced polymer composites has been investigated. Significant improvements were observed in stiffness, strength and toughness in poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) / (SWCNT) / glass fibre (GF) laminates when a compatibilizer was used for wrapping the CNTs. Hybrid poly(phenylene sulphide) (PPS)/IFWS2/ carbon fibre (CF) reinforced polymer composites showed improved mechanical and tribological properties attributed to a synergetic effect between the IF nanoparticles and CF.

Thermoplastic Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Inorganic Fullerene-like Nanoparticles and Inorganic Nanotubes

Using inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles and inorganic nanotubes (INT) in organic-inorganic hybrid composite, materials provide the potential for improving thermal, mechanical, and tribological properties of conventional composites. The processing of such high-performance hybrid thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites is achieved via melt-blending without the aid of any modifier or compatibilizing agent. The incorporation of small quantities (0.1-4 wt.%) of IF/INTs (tungsten disulfide, IF-WS2 or molybdenum disulfide, MoS2) generates notable performance enhancements through reinforcement effects and excellent lubricating ability in comparison with promising carbon nanotubes or other inorganic nanoscale fillers. It was shown that these IF/INT nanocomposites can provide an effective balance between performance, cost effectiveness, and processability, which is of significant importance for extending the practical applications of diverse hierarchical thermoplastic-based composites.

Energy-entropy-momentum time integration methods for coupled smooth dissipative problems

Esta tesis aborda la formulación, análisis e implementación de métodos numéricos de integración temporal para la solución de sistemas disipativos suaves de dimensión finita o infinita de manera que su estructura continua sea conservada. Se entiende por dichos sistemas aquellos que involucran acoplamiento termo-mecánico y/o efectos disipativos internos modelados por variables internas que siguen leyes continuas, de modo que su evolución es considerada suave. La dinámica de estos sistemas está gobernada por las leyes de la termodinámica y simetrías, las cuales constituyen la estructura que se pretende conservar de forma discreta. Para ello, los sistemas disipativos se describen geométricamente mediante estructuras metriplécticas que identifican claramente las partes reversible e irreversible de la evolución del sistema. Así, usando una de estas estructuras conocida por las siglas (en inglés) de GENERIC, la estructura disipativa de los sistemas es identificada del mismo modo que lo es la Hamiltoniana para sistemas conservativos. Con esto, métodos (EEM) con precisión de segundo orden que conservan la energía, producen entropía y conservan los impulsos lineal y angular son formulados mediante el uso del operador derivada discreta introducido para asegurar la conservación de la Hamiltoniana y las simetrías de sistemas conservativos. Siguiendo estas directrices, se formulan dos tipos de métodos EEM basados en el uso de la temperatura o de la entropía como variable de estado termodinámica, lo que presenta importantes implicaciones que se discuten a lo largo de esta tesis. Entre las cuales cabe destacar que las condiciones de contorno de Dirichlet son naturalmente impuestas con la formulación basada en la temperatura. Por último, se validan dichos métodos y se comprueban sus mejores prestaciones en términos de la estabilidad y robustez en comparación con métodos estándar. This dissertation is concerned with the formulation, analysis and implementation of structure-preserving time integration methods for the solution of the initial(-boundary) value problems describing the dynamics of smooth dissipative systems, either finite- or infinite-dimensional ones. Such systems are understood as those involving thermo-mechanical coupling and/or internal dissipative effects modeled by internal state variables considered to be smooth in the sense that their evolutions follow continuos laws. The dynamics of such systems are ruled by the laws of thermodynamics and symmetries which constitutes the structure meant to be preserved in the numerical setting. For that, dissipative systems are geometrically described by metriplectic structures which clearly identify the reversible and irreversible parts of their dynamical evolution. In particular, the framework known by the acronym GENERIC is used to reveal the systems' dissipative structure in the same way as the Hamiltonian is for conserving systems. Given that, energy-preserving, entropy-producing and momentum-preserving (EEM) second-order accurate methods are formulated using the discrete derivative operator that enabled the formulation of Energy-Momentum methods ensuring the preservation of the Hamiltonian and symmetries for conservative systems. Following these guidelines, two kind of EEM methods are formulated in terms of entropy and temperature as a thermodynamical state variable, involving important implications discussed throughout the dissertation. Remarkably, the formulation in temperature becomes central to accommodate Dirichlet boundary conditions. EEM methods are finally validated and proved to exhibit enhanced numerical stability and robustness properties compared to standard ones.

Altered stability of pulmonary surfactant in SP-C-deficient mice

The surfactant protein C (SP-C) gene encodes an extremely hydrophobic, 4-kDa peptide produced by alveolar epithelial cells in the lung. To discern the role of SP-C in lung function, SP-C-deficient (−/−) mice were produced. The SP-C (−/−) mice were viable at birth and grew normally to adulthood without apparent pulmonary abnormalities. SP-C mRNA was not detected in the lungs of SP-C (−/−) mice, nor was mature SP-C protein detected by Western blot of alveolar lavage from SP-C (−/−) mice. The levels of the other surfactant proteins (A, B, D) in alveolar lavage were comparable to those in wild-type mice. Surfactant pool sizes, surfactant synthesis, and lung morphology were similar in SP-C (−/−) and SP-C (+/+) mice. Lamellar bodies were present in SP-C (−/−) type II cells, and tubular myelin was present in the alveolar lumen. Lung mechanics studies demonstrated abnormalities in lung hysteresivity (a term used to reflect the mechanical coupling between energy dissipative forces and tissue-elastic properties) at low, positive-end, expiratory pressures. The stability of captive bubbles with surfactant from the SP-C (−/−) mice was decreased significantly, indicating that SP-C plays a role in the stabilization of surfactant at low lung volumes, a condition that may accompany respiratory distress syndrome in infants and adults.

Distinct neurochemical features of acute and persistent pain

To address the neurochemistry of the mechanisms that underlie the development of acute and persistent pain, our laboratory has been studying mice with deletions of gene products that have been implicated in nociceptive processing. We have recently raised mice with a deletion of the preprotachykinin-A gene, which encodes the peptides substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA). These studies have identified a specific behavioral phenotype in which the animals do not detect a window of “pain” intensities; this window cuts across thermal, mechanical, and chemical modalities. The lowered thermal and mechanical withdrawal thresholds that are produced by tissue or nerve injury, however, were still present in the mutant mice. Thus, the behavioral manifestations of threshold changes in nociceptive processing in the setting of injury do not appear to require SP or NKA. To identify relevant neurochemical factors downstream of the primary afferent, we are also studying the dorsal horn second messenger systems that underlie the development of tissue and nerve injury-induced persistent pain states. We have recently implicated the γ isoform of protein kinase C (PKCγ) in the development of nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain. Acute pain processing, by contrast, is intact in the PKCγ-null mice. Taken together, these studies emphasize that there is a distinct neurochemistry of acute and persistent pain. Persistent pain should be considered a disease state of the nervous system, not merely a prolonged acute pain symptom of some other disease conditions.

Obtenção e caracterização de PLA reforçado com nanocelulose.

A celulose é o polímero natural renovável disponível em maior abundância atualmente. Por possuir estrutura semicristalina, é possível extrair seus domínios cristalinos através de procedimentos que ataquem sua fase amorfa, como a hidrólise ácida, obtendo-se assim partículas cristalinas chamadas nanopartículas de celulose (NCs). Estas nanopartículas têm atraído enorme interesse científico, uma vez que possuem propriedades mecânicas, como módulo de elasticidade e resistência à tração, semelhantes a várias cargas inorgânicas utilizadas na fabricação de compósitos. Além disso, possuem dimensões nanométricas, o que contribui para menor adição de carga à matriz polimérica, já que possuem maior área de superfície, quando comparadas às cargas micrométricas. Nanocompósitos formados pela adição destas cargas em matrizes poliméricas podem apresentar propriedades comerciais atraentes, como barreira a gases, melhores propriedades térmicas e baixa densidade, quando comparados aos compósitos tradicionais. Como se trata de uma carga com dimensões nanométricas, obtida de fontes renováveis, uma das principais áreas de interesse para aplicação deste reforço é em biopolímeros biodegradáveis. O poli(ácido lático) (PLA), é um exemplo de biopolímero com propriedades mecânicas, térmicas e de processamento superiores a de outros biopolímeros comerciais. No presente trabalho foram obtidas nanopartículas de celulose (NCs), por meio de hidrólise ácida, utilizando-se três métodos distintos, com o objetivo de estudar o método mais eficiente para a obtenção de NCs adequadas à aplicação em compósitos de PLA. Os Métodos I e II empregam extração das NCs por meio do H2SO4, diferenciando-se apenas pela neutralização, a qual envolve diálise ou neutralização com NaHCO3, respectivamente. No Método III a extração das NCs foi realizada com H3PO4. As NCs foram caracterizadas por diferentes técnicas, como difração de raios X (DRX), análise termogravimétrica (TG), espectroscopia vibracional de absorção no infravermelho (FTIR), microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET) e microscopia de força atômica (MFA). Os resultados de caracterização das NCs indicaram que, a partir de todos os métodos utilizados, há formação de nanocristais de celulose (NCCs), entretanto, apenas os NCCs obtidos pelos Métodos II e III apresentaram estabilidade térmica suficiente para serem empregados em compósitos preparados por adição da carga no polímero em estado fundido. A incorporação das NCs em matriz de PLA foi realizada em câmara de mistura, com posterior moldagem por prensagem a quente. Compósitos obtidos por adição de NCs obtidas pelo Método II foram caracterizados por calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC), análise termogravimétrica, microscopia óptica, análises reológicas e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). A adição de NCs, extraídas pelo Método II, em matriz de PLA afetou o processo de cristalização do polímero, o qual apresentou maior grau de cristalinidade. Além disso, a adição de 3% em massa de NCs no PLA foi suficiente para alterar seu comportamento reológico. Os resultados reológicos indicaram que a morfologia do compósito é, predominantemente, composta por uma dispersão homogênea e fina da carga na fase matriz. Micrografias obtidas por MEV corroboram os resultados reológicos, mostrando, predominantemente a presença de partículas de NC em escala nanométrica. Compósitos de PLA com NCs obtidas pelo Método III apresentaram aglomerados de partículas de NC em escala micro e milimétrica, ao longo da fase matriz, e não foram extensivamente caracterizados.

Characterization of Poly(ε-caprolactone)-Based Nanocomposites Containing Hydroxytyrosol for Active Food Packaging

Antioxidant nano-biocomposites based on poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared by incorporating hydroxytyrosol (HT) and a commercial montmorillonite, Cloisite®30B (C30B), at different concentrations. A full structural, thermal, mechanical and functional characterization of the developed nano-biocomposites was carried out. The presence of the nanoclay and HT increased PCL crystallinity, whereas some decrease in thermal stability was observed. TEM analyses corroborated the good dispersion of C30B into the PCL macromolecular structure as already asserted by XRD tests, since no large aggregates were observed. A reduction in oxygen permeability and increase in elastic modulus were obtained for films containing the nanoclay. Finally, the presence of the nanoclay produced a decrease in the HT release from films due to some interaction between HT and C30B. Results proved that these nano-biocomposites can be an interesting and environmentally-friendly alternative for active food packaging applications with antioxidant performance.

Characterization and ageing study of poly(lactic acid) films plasticized with oligomeric lactic acid

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was melt-blended with a bio-based oligomeric lactic acid (OLA) plasticizer at different concentrations between 15 wt% and 25 wt% in order to enhance PLA ductility and to get a fully biodegradable material with potential application in films manufacturing. OLA was an efficient plasticizer for PLA, as it caused a significant decrease on glass transition temperature (Tg) while improving considerably ductile properties. Only one Tg value was observed in all cases and no apparent phase separation was detected. Films obtained by compression moulding were stored during 3 months under ambient controlled conditions and thermal, mechanical, structural and oxygen barrier properties were studied in order to evaluate the stability of the PLA–OLA films over time. Blends with 20 and 25 wt% OLA remained stable and compatible with PLA within the ageing period. Besides, PLA–20 wt% OLA formulation was the only one which maintained its amorphous state with adequate thermal, mechanical and oxygen barrier properties for flexible films manufacturing.

Processing and characterization of plasticized PLA/PHB blends for biodegradable multiphase systems

Blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) plasticized with a lactic acid oligomer (OLA) added at three different concentrations (15, 20 and 30 wt% by weight), were prepared by an optimized extrusion process to improve the processability and mechanical properties of these biopolymers for flexible film manufacturing. Morphological, chemical, thermal, mechanical, barrier and migration properties were investigated and formulations with desired performance in eco-friendly films were selected. The efficiency of OLA as plasticizer for PLA_PHB blends was demonstrated by the significant decrease of their glass transition temperatures and a considerable improvement of their ductile properties. The measured improvements in the barrier properties are related to the higher crystallinity of the plasticized PLA_PHB blends, while the overall migration test underlined that all the proposed formulations maintained migration levels below admitted levels. The PLA_PHB blend with 30 wt% OLA was selected as the optimum formulation for food packaging, since it offered the best compromise between ductility and oxygen and water vapor barrier properties with practically no migration.

CIMBNC- Combination and interactions of three kinds of nanoclays structural modifiers, for the colored bio-nanocomposites optimization

Biopolymers do not have competitive prices, which has prevented their industrial exploitation on a global scale so far. In this context, Using nanoclays, improvements in certain biopolymer properties, mainly mechanical and thermal, have been achieved. However, research has been much less focused on changing optical properties through the incorporation of nanoclays. At the same time, current research has focused on obtaining nanopigments, by organic dyes adsoptions into different nanoclays in order to achieve sustainable colouring and high performance materials. By combining advances in these lines of research, biodegradable composites with optimal mechanical and optical properties can be obtained. The aim of this work is to find the optimal formulation of naturally sourced nanopigments, incorporate them into a biological origin epoxy resin, and obtain a significant improvement in their mechanical, and optical properties. We combine three structural modifiers in the nanopigment synthesis: surfactant, silane and mordant salt. The latter was selected in order to replicate the mordant textile dyeing with natural dyes. Using a Taguchi’s desing L8, we look for the effect of the presence of the modifiers, the pH acidification, and the interactions effect between the synthesis factors. Three natural dyes were selected: chlorophyll, beta-carotene, and beetroot extract. Furthermore we use two kinds of laminar nanoclays, differentiated by the ion exchange charge: montmorillonite, and hydrotalcite. Then the thermal, mechanical and colorimetric characterization of the bionanocomposite materials was carried out. The optimal conditions to obtain the best bionanocomposite materials are using acid pH, and modifying the nanoclays with mordant and surfactant.

Caracterização mecânica, térmica e acústica de um compósito que utiliza rejeitos de mármore, granito e EPS para a fabricação de blocos para a construção civil

The use of composite materials for the construction industry has been the subject of numerous scientific papers in Brazil and in the world. One of the factors that motivate this quest is the housing deficit that countries especially the third world face. In Brazil this deficit reaches more than 6.5 million homes, around 12% of all US households . This paper presents a composite that was obtained from waste generated in processes for the production of granite and marble slabs, cement, gypsum, sand, crushed EPS and water. These wastes cause great damage to the environment and are thrown into landfi lls in bulk. The novelty of the work is in the combined study thermal, mechanical and acoustic composite obtained in real situation of rooms that are part of an experimental housing. Many blocks were made from cement compositions, plaster, foam, sand, marb le and / or granite, preliminary tests of mechanical and thermal resistance were made by choosing the most appropriate proportion. Will be given the manufacturing processes and assembly units 500 units 10 x 80 x 28 cm produced for the construction of an ex perimental home. We studied what kind of block and residue, marble or granite, made it more feasible for the intended purpose. The mechanical strength of the produced blocks were above 3.0 MPa. The thermal resistance of the blocks was confirmed by the maxi mum temperature difference between the inner and outer walls of rooms built around 8.0 ° C. The sound absorption for optimal room was around 31%. Demonstrated the feasibility of using the blocks manufactured with composite material proposed for construction.