Soft trim absorbing parts (i.e., headliners, backwalls, side panels, etc.) are normally comprised of different layers including films, adhesives, foams and fibers. Several approaches to determine the complex wavenumber and characteristic impedance for porous sound absorbing materials are surveyed and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed. It is concluded that the recently documented three-point method produces the smoothest results. It is also shown that measurement of the flow resistance and the use of empirical equations is sufficient for many common materials. Following this, the transfer impedance of covers, adhesives, and densified layers are measured using an impedance difference approach. The transfer matrix method was then used to predict the sound absorption of a multi-layered materal which included a perforated cover, fiber layers, and an adhesive. The predicted results agree well with measurement.

This thesis aims to improve the performance of latex-based pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). PSA performance is usually evaluated by tack, peel strength and shear strength. Tack and peel strength characterize a PSA’s bonding strength to a substrate while shear strength reflects a PSA’s capability to resist shear deformation. In general, increasing shear strength leads to a decrease in tack and peel strength. While there are several commercial PSA synthesis methods, the two most important methods consist of either solvent-based or latex-based techniques. While latex-based PSAs are more environmentally compliant than solvent-based PSAs, they tend to have much lower shear strength, at similar tack and peel strength levels. Therefore, the goal in this thesis was to greatly improve the shear strength of latex-based PSAs at little to no sacrifice to tack and peel strength. In this study, controlling the polymer microstructure of latexes or their corresponding PSA films was used as the main method for improving the PSA performance. The research was sub-divided into four parts. First, the influence of chain transfer agent (CTA) and cross-linker on latex polymer microstructure was studied via seeded semi-batch emulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate (BA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA). Three techniques were used to produce the latexes: (1) adding CTA only, (2) adding cross-linker only, and (3) adding both CTA and cross-linker. It was found that using CTA and cross-linker simultaneously allows one to expand the range of latex microstructural possibilities. For example, latexes with similar gel contents but different Mc (molecular weight between cross-links) and Mw (molecular weight of sol polymers) could be produced if CTA and cross-linker concentration are both increased. However, for the corresponding PSAs with similar gel contents, the relationship between their polymer microstructure and performance was difficult to establish as almost all of the medium and high gel content PSAs showed very low tack and peel strength as well as extremely large shear strength readings. In the second part of this thesis, in order to improve the tack and peel strength of medium and high gel content PSAs, the monomer composition and emulsifier concentration were varied. It was found that changing the monomer mixture from BA/MMA to BA/acrylic acid (AA)/2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) while simultaneously decreasing emulsifier concentration dramatically improved the corresponding PSAs’ shear strength as well as tack and peel strength. The addition of polar groups to the PSA increased its cohesive strength due to the presence of strong hydrogen bonding; meanwhile, PSA films’ surface tension increased. In the third part, two series of BA/AA/HEMA latexes were generated by varying the amounts of CTA either in the absence or presence of cross-linker. The latexes produced in the absence of cross-linker exhibited significantly larger Mc and Mw compared to their counterparts with similar gel contents prepared with cross-linker. The PSAs with the larger Mc and Mw showed much larger shear strengths due to improved entanglements between the polymer chains. In the final part of the thesis, the performance of the BA/AA/HEMA PSAs was further improved by post-heating. Compared with original latex-based PSAs with similar gel contents, heat-treated PSAs showed not only significantly improved shear strengths, but also much larger tack and peel strengths. The different shear strengths were related to the PSAs’ gel structures, which were discrete in the original PSAs but continuous in the heat-treated PSAs. The improved tack and peel strengths were related to the PSA films’ surface smoothness. During the post-heating process, the PSA polymer flowed, resulting in much smoother surfaces than the original PSA films. In addition, the effect of post-heating was related to the polymer microstructure of the untreated PSAs. Decreasing the amount of very small or very big polymers or simultaneously increasing Mc and Mw could lead to post-treated PSAs with significantly better performance. Moreover, it was found that by optimizing the polymer microstructure of the original latex-based PSAs, it was possible to obtain a treated PSA with similar or even better performance than a solvent-based PSA with similar polymer microstructure. Our original objective was surpassed: in two cases, not only was shear strength greatly improved, but so were tack and peel strength due to the simultaneous modification of PSA bulk and surface properties.

Wastewater activated sludge is produced during the biological treatment of wastewater. After treating the sewage, the sludge is allowed to settle. Part of the settled material is returned to the treatment process as return activated sludge (RAS) and the excess is removed as waste activated sludge (WAS). The handling and disposal of the sludge are energy and capital-intensive treatments, with a significant environmental impact. This work studies the possibility to utilize RAS (an example of wastewater sludge) as a source of surface active agents. The results indicate that higly surface active materials can be extracted from RAS, and that the RAS extract has potential applications as a detergent and wood adhesive. The results also suggest that recovering a suite of products from RAS, a biological heterogenous source, can be technically feasible. An effective alkaline treatment was developed (at pH>12) that can extract up to 75% of the sludge’s organic matter, a yield higher than previously reported. Increasing the extraction pH increased the extract surface activity, which is linked to increasing the amount of higher molecular weight molecules and the presence of phospholipids. Increasing the extraction pH beyond 11 was also related to extensive cell lysis, increasing significantly the amount of recovered material and the surface activity of the extract. The alkaline extract has properties comparable to commercial detergents. Without further purification, the extract has a low surface tension (37 mN/m on average) and performs similarly to synthetic detergents. Further assessment of the RAS extract (insensitivity to pH, surface tension, interfacial tension) suggests that it may be suitable for commercial applications. The RAS extract can also be formulated into wood adhesives using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker. The extract fraction with 10-50 kDa constituents at pH 9 achieves high adhesive shear strengths (4.5 MPa on average, at 30% relative humidity and 25°C) with 40% of wood failure. The adhesive strength of RAS-based adhesives is strongly correlated to its protein content.

Lighter structural and energy absorbing materials are essential to increase fuel efficiency in transportation systems and have provided a motivation to investigate the use of new joining techniques based on the use of high strength and high tenacity adhesives. Current joining techniques, such as spot-welding, limit the possible weight reduction that can be achieved if lighter sections, dissimilar materials and/or novel geometries were to be used. Adhesive materials can address many limitations of current joining techniques. To take advantage of the available numerical codes for the simulation of bonded structures during dynamic crash events, a constitutive model for structural adhesive material using cohesive elements was assembled from the measured properties of two structural adhesives; DP-460NS and EC-2214 (3M, Canada). To verify that the proposed cohesive model accurately describes the behavior of the materials a two stage approach was used. First, a cohesive element formulation of the adhesive material was implemented to investigate a Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) (ASTM test D3433-99). The results of the simulation were compared against available experimental data. Second, using sub-size crush tube structures assembled from steel sections that were adhesively bonded, quasi-static and impact events were performed. The results from the experiment were compared against the numerical simulation of the same structure using cohesive elements to describe the adhesive joint. Later, Tie-Breaks were implemented to reduce computational times. Both types of elements successfully represented the adhesive joint and the numerical model of the crush tube was in good agreement with the overall load-displacement behavior of the experimental crush tubes. The use and testing of sub-size structures not only permitted the validation of the numerical models; it also investigated the feasibility of adhesive-only joints in automotive structures that may be exposed to crash scenarios. Sub-sized tubes were used due to equipment capacity limits, but an analysis was undertaken to demonstrate appropriate structural scaling. Even though the results between the experiments and the simulations were in very good agreement, it is clear that current cohesive material models and Tie-Breaks cannot incorporate strain rate effects, which may be important under dynamic impact conditions. Although testing in the literature has reported that the mechanical properties of the bond are affected by the properties of the joined materials as well as the geometry of the joint, these effects in the case of crush tube structures seem perhaps negligible in view of the simulation results.

Electrical conductive adhesives (ECAs) containing silver filler and polyaniline co-filler were characterized for their electro-mechanical properties. Polyaniline is a conductive polymer and has a moderate conductivity in between those of the silver and epoxy. Incorporation of polyaniline (μm sized) in silver-epoxy facilitated the electrical conduction in ECAs and reduced the percolation threshold- a minimum volume of filler necessary to initiate the conduction. It also prevented the localization of charge carriers due to aggregation of silver filler particles. ‘Bridging effect’ was observed due to addition polyaniline in which the polyaniline enhanced the tunneling of electrons over the silver filler particles. We have investigated the polyaniline co-fillers as a promising alternative way to tune the mechanical and electrical properties of the ECAs and have provided a detailed analysis of the electro-mechanical properties of silver-epoxy (Ag-epoxy) and silver-polyaniline-epoxy (Ag-PANI-epoxy) system in both partially-cured/ viscoelastic and fully-cured states. Analysis of electro-mechanical properties of silver-epoxy and silver-polyaniline-epoxy also provided the insights into electrical contact resistance of ECAs under compressive force. Electro-mechanical properties of ECAs were measured ‘in-situ’ using micro-indentation technique. We also synthesized the electrically conductive and highly crystalline nanotubes of polyaniline by mini-emulsion polymerization of aniline. The motivation behind the synthesis of polyaniline was to propose a potential filler/co-filler for replacement of metallic filler in ECAs. Electrical conductivity of polyaniline nanotubes was tuned by in-situ doping using hydrochloric acid as a dopant. Increase in dopant caused the polyaniline crystallite to grow along (400) plane. Optical, structural, electrical and thermal properties of polyaniline nanotubes are reported with varying amount of dopant. We fabricated the flexible electrically conductive coating of polyaniline tubes with uniform dispersion of polyaniline. Electrical performance of as-synthesized flexible coating is also revealed.

The objective of this study was to investigate the low velocity impact behavior of both monolithic and laminated aluminum alloy plates. For this purpose, a drop-weight test unit was used. The test unit included the free fall and impact of an 8 kg hammer with an 8 mm punching rod from 0.5 m to 4 m. The relationship between the change in static mechanical properties (hardness, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, strain hardening rate) and low velocity impact behavior of monolithic aluminum plates were investigated. Tested material was AA 2024, heat treatable aluminum alloy, which was artificially aged to obtain a wide range of mechanical properties. In the second stage of the study, the relationship between the low velocity impact behavior of laminated plates was compared with that of monolithic aluminum plates at identical areal densities. For this purpose, a series of AA 2024 thin plates were combined with different types of adhesives (epoxy, polyurethane or tape). Finally, fracture surface of the samples and microstructure at the deformation zone were examined with both scanning electron microscope and optical microscope. It is found that the ballistic limit velocities of AA 2024 plates increase with increase in hardness, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. It is also found that a linear relation exists between the ballistic limit velocity and strain hardening rate or hardness. When the low velocity impact behaviors of laminated and monolithic targets were compared, it was seen that monolithic targets have a higher ballistic limit velocity values for from the 2.5 to 10 mm thick targets. It was also observed that adhesives are not so effective to strengthen the low velocity impact performance. On the other hand, with increasing Charpy impact energy, penetration and perforation behaviors are getting worse in 10 to 30 joules energy range. Different types of failure mechanisms involving, plugging, dishing, stretching and bending were determined. For high strength and thick plates plugging type deformation was leaded. In contrast, for thinner and weaker targets bending, stretching and dishing type failures were dominating. For laminated targets also dishing type failure was determined.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-290).

Orientador: Alessandra Nara de Souza Rastelli / Resumo: O presente estudo teve como objetivo a avaliação do efeito antibacteriano de sistemas adesivos modificados com nanopartículas (NPs) de dióxido de titânio (TiO2) decoradas ou não por prata (Ag) em diferentes concentrações, assim como o grau de conversão e a resistência de união à dentina sendo avaliada imediatamente e após três meses em saliva artificial. Os sistemas adesivos AdperTM Scotch Bond Multi Purpose e AdperTM Single Bond (3M Espe), e Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray) foram modificados com concentrações 0 (controle); 1; 2 e 5% de NPs de TiO2 (com e sem Ag). Foram confeccionados espécimes cilíndricos em resina composta (FiltekTM Z250XT, 3M Espe) na cor A2 com matrizes metálicas (4x2mm), nos quais foram aplicados os sistemas adesivos modificados ou não, de acordo com as instruções dos fabricantes, para o teste de atividade antibacteriana por contato direto. Os espécimes foram colocados em placa de 24 poços e incubados por 18 horas a 37ºC em atmosfera de microaerofilia juntamente com 100μL de suspensão bacteriana padronizada contendo Streptococcus mutans e 900μL de BHI caldo + sacarose (1%). Para a contagem de unidades formadoras de colônias (UFC/mL), foram realizadas diluições seriadas com as soluções resultantes e 50μL dessas diluições foram plaqueadas em placas de petri contendo BHI ágar, sendo incubadas a 37ºC em 10% de CO2 por 48 horas. O grau de conversão foi avaliado por espectroscopia infravermelho por transformada de Fourier (FT-IR) para todos os adesivos modific... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present study evaluated the antibacterial effect, the degree of conversion and the micro-shear bond strength (immediate and after three months of water storage) of modified dental adhesive systems with TiO2 or Ag/TiO2 nanoparticles at different concentrations. The adhesive systems AdperTM Single Bond (SB), AdperTMScotchTM Bond Multi Purpose (3M Espe) (SBM) and Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray) (CB) were modified with 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 wt% of NPs. For the direct-contact test, sterilized specimens (n=36) were made using a metallic matrix (4x2mm) with the composite resin FiltekTMZ250 XT (3M Espe), on which the dental adhesive systems were applied according to the manufacturer's instructions. Both materials were photo-activated using a LED light-curing unit (LED Radii Plus, SDI). The specimens were placed in a 24-well plate with 100μL of Streptoccocus mutans standardized suspension on their surfaces, 900μL of BHI broth and incubated for 18 hours at 37ºC under an atmosphere containing 5% CO2. A six-fold serial dilution was performed with the resultant solutions. Fifty microliters (50μL) from each dilution was retrieved and spread on brain-heart infusion agar plates and incubated at 37°C under an atmosphere containing 5% of CO2 for 48h and the colony forming units (CFU's) were registered. For the evaluation of the DC, the specimens were made by the modification of the dental adhesive systems with all concentrations of nanoparticles and stored for 24hs at 37ºC in an incubator. The FTIR analysis was conducted using an attenuated total reflectance unit (ATR) at a 4cm-1 resolution and 64 scans. For the micro-shear bond strength test, One hundred and twenty six standardized dentin specimens were made from bovine incisors and divided into twenty-one groups. The control and modified adhesive systems were applied on the surfaces ...(Complete abstract electronic access below) / Mestre

O propósito do presente estudo foi analisar o efeito da aplicação de múltiplas camadas consecutivas de dois sistemas adesivos convencionais de dois passos na difusão resinosa e padrão de distribuição dos componentes monoméricos resinosos. Dezesseis terceiros molares humanos hígidos foram tratados com os sistemas adesivos convencionais de dois passos de acordo com as instruções dos fabricantes ou com aplicações em múltiplas camadas consecutivas. Os espécimes foram seccionados paralelamente aos túbulos dentinários e as superfícies submetidas ao polimento com lixas 600, 1200, 1800, 2000 e 4000. Os espectros Raman foram coletados ao longo de uma linha perpendicular a interface adesivo-resina em intervalos de 1 ou 2 m. As medidas de difusão da resina adesiva e distribuição dos componentes monomériccos foram avaliadas pelos picos Raman de 1113 cm-1, 1609 cm-1 e 1454 cm-1. O gradiente de desmineralização usado na determinação da região de hibridização foi avaliado pelo pico de 960 cm-1 da apatita. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, a aplicação de múltiplas camadas apresentou uma tendência de homogeneização dos componentes poliméricos, dependente da composição química da resina adesiva. / The present study analyzed the effect of multiple consecutive adhesive coatings on the pattern of resin diffusion and distribution of monomer components through demineralised dentin after application of two total-etch adhesives. Resin bonded dentin specimens were prepared using two total-etch adhesives (Prime&Bond NT2.1 and Adper Single Bond). The specimens were sectioned parallel to dentinal tubules and the surfaces were polished using 600, 1200, 1800, 2000 and 4000 silicon-carbide papers. Raman spectra were recorded along a line perpendicular to the dentin-resin interface in steps of 1 or 2 m. The measurements of resin diffusion and distribution of monomer components were made on a relative basis by comparing the bands 1113, 1609 and 1454 cm-1. The gradient of dentin demineralization, designed to 960 cm-1, was used to determine the extent of hybridization. From the results of the present study the application of multiple coatings of adhesive showed a trend to produce a homogeneous hybrid layer.