A UK team is developing a micromechanical statistical model to help predict the mechanical durability of glass multifilament bundles used to reinforce elastomers.
The UK economy is said to have clawed its way out of its deepest recession since the 1930s, but are we out of the woods yet? Gary Price and Rachel Connolly talk to representatives from various technical communities about the difficult financial year that has passed and what may lie ahead.
Materials Congress 2010 – Materials for Extreme Environments and
Times is inviting papers until 31 March. To be held from 20-23
September in Kuala Lumpur, the technical programme will explore materials and processes that can meet industry and society demand.
Plastics in our marine and beach litter negatively affect the public and media views and perceptions of plastic products.
The British Plastics Federation has opened up dialogue with all stakeholders through the Plastics 2020 Challenge website.
The December special issue of Plastics, Rubber and Composites: Macromolecular Engineering contains 14 contributions reporting the latest research in the manufacturing, design and recycling of advanced polymer matrix composites.
Published in November 2009, this themed issue of Advances in Applied Ceramics is dedicated to the active interdisciplinary research topic of applications of polymer derived ceramics (PDC). Guest editors, Professor Paolo Colombo (University of Padova, Italy and the Pennsylvania State University, USA) and Dr. Gunter Motz (University of Bayreuth, Germany), commissioned a series of papers with the aim of stimulating use of these novel materials in key engineering fields.
Real-time monitoring of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) production is now possible, claim researchers in Germany. Their technique uses a combination of laser reflectance measurements and video monitoring to follow ethylene polymerisation in stirred slurries under different conditions.
A novel bi-component fibre using two different polymers may pave the way for a concrete that has the required impact resistance and flexural strength but without the need for steel fibre reinforcement. The technology is said to overcome the previous challenges of producing high performance concrete using polymeric fibres.
