No description available.

The major objectives of this study were to examine electrical and electromechanical properties of SBR filled with carbon black in the 0-70 phr range. The experiments were divided into four parts: dielectric measurement, loss modulus and phase angle measurements, temperature rise measurement during stress cycling, and dynamic conductivity measurement. It is established that there are three distinct conduction regimes existing at carbon black loadings below, at, and above the percolation threshold. Characteristics of dielectric dispersion depend strongly on carbon black loading and frequency. Dielectric and AC conductivity measurements are shown to provide a nondestructive method to explore the carbon black network inside the rubber. Both loss modulus and phase angle are related to hysteresis properties, and to temperature rise due to compressive cycling. Measurements of these parameters will be discussed in detail, as functions of carbon black loading, stress and strain amplitudes, and oscillation frequency. These and other results can be understood in terms of the mechanics of the carbon black network. The variation of conductivity with strain amplitude is related directly to the interplay between the "persistent" and "transient" fractions of carbon black network. It is shown that, owing to its experimental accuracy and great sensitivity to carbon black network changes, the dynamic conductivity measurement is preferable to traditional modulus measurements for determining certain dynamic properties of carbon black filled rubbers. / Master of Science

No / In this study, we have shown how particles in carbon black tattoo ink accumulate in the human skin dermis using fine-resolution atomic force microscopy, with which a single ink particle in the collagenous network can be imaged. This information further demonstrates that tattoo inks are nano-particles. Further, we have deposited a commercially available tattoo ink on a glass slide and calculated a range of volumes for single ink particles.

Yes / In this paper, two types of nano carbon materials including 0D nano carbon black and 2D graphene are assembled through electrostatic adsorption to develop smart cement-based composites. Owing to their excellent mechanical, electrical properties and synergistic effect, self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials can form toughening and conductive networks in cement-based materials at low content level and without changing the preparation process of conventional cement-based materials, thus endowing cement-based materials with smart and multifunctional properties including high toughness, self-sensing property to stress/strain and damage, shielding/absorbing property to electromagnetic wave. The developed smart cement-based composites with self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials have promising application in the fields of oil well cementing, structural health monitoring, and electromagnetic protection and anti-electromagnetic pollution. It can therefore conclude that electrostatic self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials provide a simple preparation method and excellent composite effect for developing nano cement-based materials, which can be applied in large-scale infrastructures. / The National Science Foundation of China (51908103) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M651116).

No description available.

The mixing of additives into a plastic is an extremely important step in the plastics industry, necessary for the manufacture of almost every conceivable product. Therefore the costs in developing new products can prove very expensive as the testing is usually carried out using full scale machines, usually using twin screw extruders because they are able to provide good dispersive and distributive mixing. This is particularly important when compounding difficult to disperse additives and nano-additives. What is required is a machine that can replicate the mixing abilities of a twin-screw extruder but on a laboratory scale. There have been attempts by industry to develop smaller machines, such as the Thermo Scientific HAAKE Minilab II Micro Compounder which processes on the scale of 7 cm3 of material volume. This can be too small for some needs and therefore a machine is required to produce material on the 10g to 100g scale. To this end a laboratory mixer of novel design was devised and its mixing performance was assessed using conductive carbon black and compared against the Thermo Scientific HAAKE Minilab II Micro Compounder, a 19 mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder and a 40 mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder. Carbon black was used because mixing performance can be assessed by measuring the minimum carbon loading necessary to induce electrical conductivity. It was found that the minimixer was able to induce electrical conductivity at loading of 5.75% but the comparison with the other machines proved difficult as the achievement of the threshold at which semi-conductivity occurred appeared independent of shear rate and mixing duration.

Une exposition aux nanoparticules (NP) de dioxyde de titane (TiO2) peut entraîner un remodelage matriciel, dans lequel la Matrix Metalloprotéase-1 (MMP-1) notamment pourrait jouer un rôle important. Pour vérifier cette hypothèse, nous avons 1/ mesuré l' expression de la MMP-1 sur des fibroblastes pulmonaires humains après exposition à des particules de TiO2 de différentes tailles, formes et variétés cristallines, ainsi qu' une NP de noir de carbone (NC), et 2/ administré des NP de TiO2 et de NC sur un modèle d‟emphysème pulmonaire induit par l' élastase chez le rat. Sur les fibroblastes pulmonaires humains, certaines NP de TiO2 induisent l' expression de la MMP-1 via l' interleukine-1β (IL-1β) et augmentent son activité. Les particules de TiO2 micrométriques induisent l' expression de la MMP-1 sans lien avec l' IL-1β et les NP de NC ne modulent pas l' expression de la MMP-1. L' exposition des rats aux NP de TiO2 n' entraîne pas d' effet ; l' exposition aux NP de NC entraîne une inflammation et une induction de l' expression de la MMP-12. Cette exposition aggrave, de plus, l' inflammation provoquée par l' élastase, ce qui n' est pas observé avec les NP de TiO2. Au total, notre travail montre bien un rôle pour les NP de TiO2 dans le remodelage matriciel, via l' induction et l' activation de la MMP-1 in vitro. In vivo, les NP de NCpeuvent aggraver ceertaines réponses à l' élastse. La composition chimique et la taille des particules semblent être des déterminants importants de leurs effets. / Exposure to titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NP) can lead to matrix remodeling, a phenomenon in which Matrix metalloprotease-1 (MMP-1) notably could play an important role. To validate this hypothesis, we 1/ studied MMP-1 expression in human pulmonary fibroblasts after exposure to TiO2 particles of different sizes, shapes and crystal phases and one Carbon Black (CB) NP, and 2/ measured the effect of TiO2 CB NP on an elastase-induced emphysema model in rats.On human lung fibroblasts, some TiO2 NP induced MMP-1 through an interleukin-1β (IL-1β) dependent mechanism, and increased MMP-1 activity. TiO2 micrometric particles induced MMP-1 without IL-1β implication, and CB NP did not induce MMP-1. Rat exposure to TiO2 NP had no effect but exposure to NC NP induced inflammation and MMP-12 expression. TiO2 NP did not modulate elastase effects. NC NP aggravated elastase-induced inflammation.In total, our work shows a role for TiO2 NP in matrix remodeling, via MMP-1 induction and activation in vitro. In vivo, CB NP can aggravate some elastase-induced effects. Particles composition and size seem to be important determinants of their effect.

La cellulose, composé organique le plus courant et polysaccharide le plus abondant sur Terre, est une ressource naturelle très importante. Les initiatives pour remplacer totalement ou partiellement les polymères pétrochimiques conventionnels avec des bio-polymères à base de cellulose ont donc attiré l'intérêt des chercheurs ces dernières décennies, non seulement parce que la cellulose est renouvelable et biodégradable, mais aussi en raison de ses propriétés intéressantes telles que la biocompatibilité et la stabilité chimique. De plus, les propriétés de cellulose peuvent être encore améliorées par des procédés chimiques, des modifications physiques ou en préparant des composites avec des charges fonctionnelles.Les études concernant d'étudier plusieurs aspects fondamentaux comme la dissolution de la cellulose afin de produire des matériaux et le test de nouveaux concepts autour de la modification de surface ou des revêtements, à l'échelle du laboratoire. Nous présentons dans ce manuscrit nos travaux concernant la caractérisation de solutions de cellulose dans deux solvants différents (hydroxyde de sodium aqueux et un liquide ionique) et la préparation de deux nouveaux types de matériaux à base de cellulose (un matériau hybride cellulose-amidon et un composite cellulose-noir de carbone), qui sont tous les deux préparés à partir de ces solutions de cellulose. / Cellulose, as the most common organic compounds on Earth, and also the most abundant polysaccharide, is definitely an important natural resource. With the initiatives of replacing (partially) the conventional petrochemical polymers by bio-based polymers, cellulose has regained the researchers' interests in the last few decades, not only because it is renewable and biodegradable, but also due to interesting properties such as biocompatibility and chemical stability. Additionaly, cellulose properties can be further enhanced by chemical/physical modification or making composites with functional fillers.This study was to investigate several fundamental scientific aspects as cellulose dissolution, making cellulose-based materials from solutions, and test of new concepts as surface modification or coating at laboratory scale. We studied and will present in this manuscript the characterization and properties of both cellulose solutions in different solvents (aqueous sodium hydroxide and ionic liquid) and two types of cellulose-based hybrid materials (one with starch and the other with carbon black), which were all prepared from dissolved cellulose.

Ce travail de thèse porte sur l'étude du comportement rhéologique de deux mélanges élastomères chargés en noir de carbone dans une gamme de températures rencontrée en extrusion (90°C à 40°C) et sur la modélisation du procédé d'extrusion. La caractérisation rhéologique des deux matériaux de l'étude a mis en évidence leur comportement rhéologique différent. En effet, le SBR et ses mélanges chargés avec différentes teneurs en noir de carbone montrent une courbe d'écoulement en deux branches stables (branche I et branche II) séparées par un plateau. La présence d'un glissement, faible en branche I et important en branche II, a été mis en évidence. Le second matériau, le NR (pur et chargé), montre, quant à lui, un comportement en deux parties distinctes : une partie sans rhéodurcissement et une autre avec rhéodurcissement dû à la mise en place d'une cristallisation sous contrainte de cisaillement. L'existence d'un temps caractéristique de cristallisation, diminué par la vitesse de cisaillement, a pu être mise en évidence. Les lois de comportement pour chacun des matériaux ont été déterminées. La réalisation d'une superposition temps/taux de charge a permis de définir une loi de comportement générale ; dans la gamme de température de 40°C à 90°C pour les mélanges SBR/noir de carbone et dans la gamme de température de 50°C à 90°C pour le NR. La loi rhéologique déterminée pour le mélange SBR chargé à 33% en masse en noir de carbone a été implémentée dans un modèle 1D et 3D. Les résultats numériques ont alors été comparés aux résultats expérimentaux, obtenus suite à des essais sur une extrudeuse instrumentée. Le modèle 1D s'est avéré insuffisant pour rendre compte des phénomènes se déroulant lors du procédé d'extrusion. L'implémentation d'un modèle 3D a été effectuée afin de prendre en compte des phénomènes tels que les effets de bords et les gradients de températures. L'importance de prendre en compte le phénomène de glissement dans le modèle 3D a été démontrée. / The present work deals with the characterization of the rheological behaviour of two rubbers filled with carbon black in a range of temperature encountered in extrusion (90°C to 40°C) and the modelling of the single screw extrusion process. The rheological characterization of the two rubbers shows behaviour totally different. The synthetic SBR rubber and SBR compounds filled with carbon black (with different amounts, from 16 to 33 wt%) showed a flow curve that can be divided in two stable parts (branch I and branch II) separated by a plateau. The occurrence of wall slip, low in branch I and important in branch II has been highlighted. The second rubber of the study, natural rubber, showed a different behaviour with a strain hardening due to the occurrence of a strain induced crystallization. The flow curve can be thus divided in two different parts: the first part without strain hardening and the second part with this phenomenon. The existence of a characteristic crystallization time, reduced by the shear rate, has been evidenced. By analysing data respectively on branch I for SBR and without strain hardening for NR, viscosity curves for all tested materials have been defined. General viscosity law have been proposed: for the SBR compound filled with carbon black valid in the range of temperature from 40°C to 90°C and for NR in the range of temperature from 50°C to 90°C. The rheological law defined for the SBR compound filled 33%wt with carbon black has been implemented in two different models: 1 D and 3D. Numerical results have been compared to experimental results obtained after experimentations on instrumented single screw extruder. The 1D approach was not sufficient to take into account all phenomena occurring during extrusion process. Then a 3D approach has been developed in order to take into account some effects as side effects and temperature gradients. The presence of the slip phenomenon in the modeling has been proved.

This thesis focused on making composites consisting of a polymethylmethacrylate matrix, with various carbon fillers. The fillers that were examined were 3 different carbon blacks: N-550, N-772 and pureblack, and short multi-wall carbon nano-tubes. The carbon fillers were coated onto the polymethylmethacrylate, and compression molded in order to form a segregated microstructure. The goal of this thesis is to compare the electrical and optical properties of the composites consisting of a segregated microstructure, containing various carbon fillers. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the fracture surface of the composites. Impedance Spectroscopy measured the electrical response of the material, and was used to determine the conductivity and dielectric properties of the composites and estimate the percolation threshold. The multi-wall carbon nano-tubes were found to have the lowest percolation threshold, due to their rod like structure. All of the carbon black fillers displayed similar characteristics in their conductivity and dielectric properties. As the filler content increased, the conductivity and the dielectric constant of the composites increased. Optical absorption measurements determined the amount of light that travel through the specimen. These measurements, showed that the absorbance for the carbon black sample N-550 were lower than the multi-wall carbon nano-tubes at filler contents below a phr of 0.1 The absorption of the carbon black samples was then higher than multi-wall carbon nano-tubes at phrs higher than 0.1. This was found to be related to the nano-tubes starting to form a segregated microstructure at lower filler contents than the sphere-like carbon black nano-particles.