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Agenda item No. 6 • Council recommendation • Issues: Contracts, Development
This contract amendment adds $2.275 million to the city's contract with Opticos, the lead consultant handling the rewrite of Austin's land development regulations, known as CodeNext. The proposal would be the fifth amendment to Opticos' contract since the city hired the Portland, Ore., firm in 2013 for $2 million and would bring the contract's total taxpayer cost to more than $8 million.
Read more: Austin council members' anxiety grows over CodeNext's cost, timeline »
Agenda item No. 7 • Other • Issues: Housing, Affordability
City attorneys will outline the settlement with the owners of NACH Cross Creek Apartments at 1124 Rutland Drive, which the city sued in 2015 over unresolved code enforcement and safety issues.
Read more: North Austin apartment residents demand building repairs »
Agenda item No. 8 • Other • Issues: Housing, Affordability
City attorneys will explain the proposed settlement with Walter Olenick and Rae Nadler-Olenick, owners of the apartment buildings at 1127 and 1205 E. 52nd St. who have repeatedly been cited for unsafe conditions. The city sued the owners in 2015 and prevailed in court the following year, but the owners have faced contempt of court charges for not making the required repairs.
The deal would have paid the city $150,000 of the $800,000 fines due on the building and outlined that third party developers demolish all substandard buildings.
"I believe we should have a much better deal for the city on this case and a much better deal for the community," said Council Member Greg Casar.
Read more:
Agenda item No. 9 • Ordinance • Issue: Criminal justice
This update to city code provides a specific definition of what makes a criminal defendant "indigent," which in turn allows those defendants to seek an alternative punishment if they cannot afford to pay the fines associated with their conviction. The new wording also says a municipal court judge should consider whether a defendant is indigent in determining the amount and manner of payment of a fine, an alternative sentence or imprisonment.
This item was postponed until Nov. 9.
Read more:
Agenda item No. 29 • Resolution • Issues: Austin Convention Center, Taxes
The item calls for approving a marketing and budget plan for Visit Austin, the city's convention and visitors' bureau, for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The bureau gets 80 percent of its funding from city hotel taxes.
The council postponed action on this budget Sept. 28 after a local television report aired critiques of Visit Austin spending thousands of dollars on alcohol, concert tickets and jewelry giveaways. Visit Austin staff defended those expenditures as part of their job to wine and dine potential convention clients.
The council approved Visit Austin's budget, but not its marketing plan.
Read more: Visit Austin budget paused after criticism of alcohol, Lady Gaga tab »


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E - Basketball Hoops, Stands & Systems
Basketball "U"Just Portable Unit. 9001
The U Just unit is an extremely popular portable unit for home and school use. The U Just system has two U shaped bolts attaching the board and ring; by adjusting these, the board can be set to any height.
- The U Just system allows for any height adjustment up to official 10' (305cm)
- 18" (45cm) steel ring with nylon net
- Compatible with 215 flex ring
- Attractive black backboard design
- Durable fan shaped polypropylene backboard measuring 44" x 28" (112 x 71cm)
- Heavy duty pole for strength and durability
- Wheels for easy movement
- Ballast requires 190kg of dry sand or 110 litres of water
Weight 40kg
Size of box 47" x 37" x 10" (119 x 95 x 25cm)
Out of stock

subset: commoncrawl


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Pre-Loved Conscious Apparel
Welcome to our preloved sustainable fashion marketplace where you can buy and sell gorgeous ethical brands and designer labels – and give something back too.
- Buying pre-loved saves your wallet and saves the planet!
- Selling your pre-loved clothes with us means you can get ££ or discount vouchers -to update your wardrobe with our lovely ethical clothing!
- 10% of the sale price goes to Labour Behind the Label – a charity that supports garment workers' rights internationally
Here is how it works to sell?
- You send us smartphone photos of the items you wish to sell to firstname.lastname@example.com describing the brand, size, fabric, when bought (if you remember) and condition. We are looking for high quality fashion, designer brands and ethical labels. The brands we know will sell are Ewa i Walla and Privatsachen – no need to take photos of these.
- We do market research to look at what sort of price the items might achieve. If you decide to proceed you send us the items, paying the postage. We will give you a £5 credit voucher to say thank you and to re-compense you for the postage.
- We take photos of the items on a tailors dummy and put them on our website for 8 weeks. We will also market the items in our eBay shop.
- When the item sells 10% is deducted to give to charity Labour Behind the Label. You will receive 50% of the remainder (i.e. after the 10% charity reduction), plus a gift voucher of 10% of the item's total purchase price to spend with Conscious Apparel.
- If the item does not sell we will donate to charity or return to you, if you pay the postage -whichever you prefer.
"If everyone bought one used item instead of a new article of clothing each year, we would minimise carbon emissions to the tune of half a billion cars being taken off the roads for a year" from Forbes Aug 27, 2019.
Do feel free to make us offers on any pre-loved item. Send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com
Showing all 9 results
Joe Brown preloved sequinned dress£59.00
Preloved Emporio Armani wool jacket£95.00
Preloved Hobbs boho wool tartan skirt£55.00
Preloved Nila Rubia hand block printed organic cotton Roshan dress£45.00
Preloved Pinko ovine leather and cotton jacket£65.00
Preloved Prada metallic skirt£95.00
Preloved Thought organic cotton navy top£12.00
Preloved Villaret shawl jacket£75.00
Vintage Chinese preloved silk tunic top£19.00


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Quinoa Flour Brownies: The Ancient Superfood Gluten-Free Dessert!
Quinoa flour creates a rich and delicious vegan brownie recipe that will nourish you with protein, fiber, amino acids, vitamins and minerals for hours. This rich, chocolatey recipe is drool-worthy…make sure you have a couple napkins handy! (And a glass of coconut milk!)


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I have over 150 "have-to-answer" emails in my inbox, so it would seem a good time to work on the blog. (I'll just think of this as a warm-up rather than a put-off. Note: If you're waiting on an email from me, it will come today). Some items of late to mark the days:
I just finished two books, both with a financial theme: The Price of Everything, a parable of economic emergent order, by Russell Roberts, and The Third Conversion, a "novelette" by R. Scott Rodin about fundraising as ministry and not just money. The first book is a very readable text that our seniors are reading in Economics; the second is a more semi-hokey series of conversations between a seasoned fundraiser and his up-and-coming protege.
While recovering from my first kidney stone surgery, I found myself with some time to actually watch a few things on Netflix via the iPad. I'd heard of Joss Whedon's Firefly series (only one season of 15 episodes, capped off for resolution by the movie, Serenity) and enjoyed this "space western" well enough. I also had time for a few Shakespeare films (Kenneth Branaugh's Henry V and Patrick Stewart in Macbeth were excellent), which were fun and novel to watch.
There's been a lot of "launching" going on this January. A week ago, City Pres got off the ground with our first official worship service (I helped serve the Lord's Supper) and our Tuesday night CityGroup started back up; this past week, we kicked off our Veritas capital campaign and website, which we hope will come to first fruition in early March; and I've enjoyed getting back in the classroom twice a week teaching the second semester of our senior American History course (two very different but engaging texts: A Patriot's History of the United States by Larry Schwiekart and Michaell Allen and A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn).
Other highlights so far this month: 70-degree weather, my four capitalist daughters selling three (and counting) enormous boxes worth of chocolate for their homeschool band program, Megan clearing off and cleaning my desk (she loves me), NFL football playoffs (which is really the only time I'm interested enough to watch), the daily newspaper in my driveway, cold milk on hand, and people who call me "friend".
Okay. Guess it's time to deal with email, to which I say (in my best British accent): "Do your worst!" Thanks for reading.


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It's hard folks. Reallllly hard not to succumb to the effects of Sarah Palinism's. It's almost like a sickness when it comes to writing humor. Sarah opens her mouth and out comes what I have labeled a "Palinism."
And each time she says something which borders on the ridiculous, I always say to myself, "Self, do NOT fall into the trap of writing yet another blog about Sarah Palin." Then I go ahead and do it anyhow. Is there no end to this madness!!!!
SARAH! Go away for cripes sake. Go anywhere! Alaska perhaps. You DO live there and there are so many animals you could be out there shooting.
But, as much as I resisted writing about Palin, I just couldn't help myself after hearing about MSNBC commentator Martin Bashir who obviously has a severe case of Palinism as well.
Martin, ah feel your pain.
In case you missed the latest flap, here's briefly what happened.
Last Friday on his MSNBC show Bashir made a comment with regard to Palin's remarks about slavery at which time she compared slavery to the U.S. debt.
Bashir's comment went along the lines of suggesting that someone should defecate on Palin for that remark. Meaning basically that someone should poop on Palin. Which I'm sure a lot of people would stand in line to do, but most of whom are not TV commentators.
Ok…Ok…..a few are TV commentators, BUT none of them are from Fox News.
It's ok to say to yourself, "Hey, I'd like to crap on Sarah Palin," if you're saying it to someone in private. But to say it on TV is another thing. Only because there are a gazillion Palin supporters out there who will rush to her defense and point out to you that it is somewhat unsanitary to poop on anyone, let alone Sarah Palin.
Then of course the local authorities would step in and cite you for pooping in public. Unless of course you pooped on Palin somewhere that was private. Kind of a grey area there.
But to make matters worse, Bashir went on to call Palin a "world-class idiot," which immediately offended a lot of other world-class idiots because they did not want to be compared to Palin.
Now even though I tend to agree with Bashir, with regard to Palin comparing slavery to the national debt, I personally think he should not have mentioned pooping on Palin on national TV. Only because he's a national TV commentator, and when you're a national TV commentator you just can't go around singling out people who you'd like to poop on.
You can do it in private, saying that you'd like to poop on Palin, and even possibly poop on a photo of Palin, but ya just can't say it on national TV. This of course is due to the fact that freedom of speech only applies to Fox News and Sarah Palin. And, in some instances, Jake Tapper of CNN. Who, on occasion is a bit "tapped out."
As far as saying that Palin is a "world-class idiot," ya can't say that either. I'm pretty sure that whomever holds the title of "world-class idiot," which may or may not be in the "Guinness Book of World Records," would be pretty upset. Might wanna look that one up just to see who DOES hold that title. Um…if it IS Palin, my apologies to Bashir.
So with the pressure mounting, Bashir did apologize saying, "
"Last Friday, on this broadcast, I made some comments which were deeply offensive and directed at Gov. Sarah Palin. I wanted to take this opportunity to say sorry to Mrs. Palin and to also offer an unreserved apology to her friends and family, her supporters, our viewers, and anyone who may have heard what I said.
My words were wholly unacceptable. They were neither accurate, nor fair. They were unworthy of anyone who would claim to have an interest in politics, and they have brought shame upon my friends and colleagues at this network, none of whom were responsible for the things that I said. And at a place where we try every day to elevate political discourse and to focus on issues that matter to all of us."
Fingers crossed of course.
As we all know, freedom of speech does not apply to news organizations. Slanting the truth on various stories, leaving out pertinent facts, and cropping photos to make your point is completely acceptable. But actually saying something that you personally think? OMG!
Actually, when ya think about it, you MAY be able to say you wanna poop on Sarah Palin if it's on the editorial page. Or Charles Krauthammer. Um…..again…kinda like a grey area there.
What Bashir should have done was hire some flunky off the street to say what he said instead of him saying it. Much more credible plus it gets YOU off the ol hook.
For example, if Bashir had approached it in this manner:
"Just to make my point on today's MSNBC show about Sarah Palin's comment on slavery, we take you to an ordinary guy we randomly interviewed out on the street for his opinion about Palin's comments. Here is ordinary citizen Frebus Fernstocker, a plumber from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Mr. Fernstocker, what is your opinion of Sarah Palin's comments on slavery?'
"Well Mr. Bashir, ah think someone should poop all over her fer sayin' such a stoopid thing."
"Well Mr. Fernstocker, obviously that's your personal opinion, and I for one cannot condone such action, but I respect your opinion and….."
"Yeah well, not only that, but ah think she's also a freakin' world class idiot."
"Really, and what do you base that on sir?"
"Cause I myself, at one point in time held the record for being a world-class idiot until someone from Alaska beat me out and knocked me outta the "Guinness Book of World Records," and ahm pretty sure it was that thar Palin woman."
(NOTE) As of this writing Sarah has some serious "world-class idiot" competition.
Competitors: Rep. Michelle Bachmann, (R-Minn) who stated, "carbon monoxide is not a harmful gas."
Fox News Commentator Chris Wallace: "Hurricane Katrina ended within one week."
So ya see, if only Bashir had the common sense to not say what he said on national TV and used that tactic instead, he'd be off the hook.
And I'd never would have had to lower my standards again and write yet another blog about Sarah Palinisms.
Damn you Sarah!
Geez Sarah….carry a freakin' history book around with you before you make any more comments regarding slavery and history.
And stop watching MSNBC. They'll only upset you.
Um…..might wanna try watching Fox News. Absolutely no world-class idiots there.
And they love Palinisms.
Just sayin.'
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Info Overview
|Product Name
|bartonpublishing.com – The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E Course
|Standard Price
|http://www.bartonpublishing.c om/
|Our Rating
|Health & Fitness Diets & Weight Loss
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Sales RankingRight, so you probably would like to know how I rank the products I review. Well first off I can assure you that I do so in a professional manner and take all available information into consideration, with the most obvious being sales statistics. There's no guesswork involved here as I'm able to see the sales figures from the payment processor who handles all the transactions for the vendor. This specific payment processor employs something called Gravity to position products on how well they are selling, with each product being given a rating between 0 and 1000, or over. bartonpublishing.com – The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E Course has scored 8.1358. I prefer my own ranking system because Gravity can get quite complex simply because scores can be so disproportionate. My system rates products between 0 and 100 and achieves this by comparing the product under consideration to all the others on my site. My ranking system is weighted and out of 100, which means that anyone will be able to see unmistakably if a product's a high flyer or a dud. I've scored bartonpublishing.com – The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E Course 6.00/100. This is not a exceptional rating – when compared to the other products on this internet web site, it hasn't been selling well in any way.
Are there a lot of refunds?Not so long ago, I mentioned that I was going to quickly go over the retailer's other products. Well, this starts here by first looking at the Overall Retailer Rate of returns. Once again, I am all about being accurate, so this figure also comes from the Payment Processor. This rating is based upon all products being sold from this retailer, not just bartonpublishing.com – The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E Course, so it will give you a lot more understanding of who you're purchasing from. Products are rated between 1 and 5 with 1 meaning that a product's seen lots of returns and with 5 meaning it's a low scorer, which in the returns sense is great! If you see a product with a score of 3, it means that it's a new entry or there is not enough info available as yet. bartonpublishing.com – The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E Course has scored 3. What this means is that the vendor's doing alright and they've got an acceptable refund rate, which isn't too concerning.
The site's domain – what you need to knowI'm now going to talk to you about the actual domain where you should buy this product from, bartonpublishing.com. You might ask – how does looking at bartonpublishing.com help me decide if I would like to buy bartonpublishing.com – The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E Course or not? Well, by checking out how long a site's been around, we can get a decent idea of how reputable and dependable it is. You most certainly want to get an idea about this before you proceed any further. You can first look at the number of pages the website has. bartonpublishing.com currently has 3320. Having this number of pages is not only impressive but it means the website is dependable, having been around a long time so you can most certainly put your trust in it. A site's trustworthiness can also be determined by examining how many back links exist. However, these have to be high quality links – coming from web sites that are an authority in their own right and not simply spamming websites. You don't want to see tons of links coming from the same blog, even if the owner is sports mad. Instead you want to see plenty of links originating from well-established, trusted and related sites. Looking at bartonpublishing.com, we can see that they have 841. This gives it an authority ranking of 61.00/100. This is a very good score and incredibly positive because it demonstrates that many other sites see this one as an authority who they want to link to. Just as you would research a opponent before a big game, it is wise to look into the domain's registration details, which I have. I can see that NA NA registered the domain and if you're interested in looking into this in more detail, click here.
Is the merchant selling other products?Being sport mad, I've also done some research into every one of the other items that the retailer's selling. There's currently 6 additional products for sale from this merchant. Be sure you have a good look around at the products because, even though you aren't interested in buying, you'll be able to learn a lot more about the merchant. The product list from this merchant is as follows: Fool Proof Guide for First Time Kidney Dieters ($13.00), Kidney Diet Secrets ($47.00), Kidney Patient's Guide To Effectively Working Across HC Professionals ($27.00), Kidney Patient's Guide To Health Care Professionals ($27.00), Revised Kidney Diet Secrets Specific To Eating Personality Type ($37.00) and Working With HC Professionals + First Timers Guide + "the 700 Club" ($37.00) .
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Where to BuyI really enjoy spending time on the web, whether I'm checking the latest baseball scores, reading news articles or even comparing multiple product prices. However, I know the last thing I've listed, typically, can drive others crazy and you can wind up spending hours scouring the internet looking for the best price. In this instance, however, you only have one place to go. You won't find this for sale offline or anywhere else on the web in fact. It's only available by visiting bartonpublishing.com. If, by chance, you're unable to locate something you want on the site, be sure to check your junk mail or even just your inbox for emails that contain product or special offer links. You can also just click on any of the product links I've included in this review and you'll be taken straight through to the right product page.
Bonus OfferI mentioned right at the start of this match report, or assessment for those who don't share my love of sporting terminology, if you decide to buy any of the items detailed on this web site after clicking on my links, it may result in me getting a commission. So to start with, thanks in advance and to say a further thanks, I want to offer you a bonus. Just click here to find out more about this bonus.
Product: bartonpublishing.com - The Kidney Diet Secrets Guide + Bonuses & 4 Week E CourseChris James's Google+
Reviewed By: Chris James
Reviewed on: 2015-05-08
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Reviewed By: Chris James
Reviewed on: 2015-05-08
Overall score:


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Making a whipped cream is one of the must and basic thing that you should know if you are into baking. Whipped cream can be used in cakes, cupcakes, pie, tart, ice cream , frosting and many more. You can of course buy a ready to use whipped cream or just make your own. Although, it is so simple and easy, it is easy to fall into the trap of over beating it, thus ending up with a butter rather than a whipped cream.So, how long should you beat it and when should you stop beating? Let me show you how. Let's get started!
Tips on How to Whip Cream Successfully
1. Use cold cream – Cream has to be cold to whip. If it is not cold from the fridge it is very hard to get it to whip to stiff peaks. This is key to having a soft, fluffy whipped cream that hold its shape longer.
2. Chill the bowl and the whip – If you live in a particularly warm or humid climate, chill your bowl and the whip in the fridge before using it. This will help the cream to stay cold during whipping process. A warm bowl and whip can hinder in making a fluffy whipped cream.
3. Under whip rather than over whip – It's better to under whip than over whip. Over whipping the cream will end you up with a butter and you don't want that to happen. You have over whipped it if the consistency becomes too thick and it resembles a lump of thick cloud, also you will notice that a water will start to separate. I find that in my hand mixer with medium speed setting, it takes 3-4 minutes to get to the right texture. Mixer speed setting could vary, so, watch carefully to the texture of your whipped cream. Start paying attention on 2-3 minutes stage.
4. Keep a close eye on the consistency – Never walk away from a machine while cream is whipping or you will end up with a homemade butter instead. You don't want it to reach the point where it starts to get really thick and cloud like. When water starts to separate, there is no way to salvage for use as whipped cream. If that happens, just continue whipping and once the water separates, you will have a chuck of soft homemade butter. It is not your goal, but at least you don't have to throw the entire batch.
- 1 cup COLD Whipping Cream
- 2 tbsp sifted Confectioners/icing Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)
- Transfer the whipping cream in a clean COLD bowl. Beat for about 1 minute then add confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract (if using). Beat the cream for around 3 minutes 30 seconds more. Stop once it starts to thicken and turn glossy. Mixer speed setting could vary, so, watch carefully to the texture of your whipped cream. Start paying attention on 2-3 minutes stage. At last 1 minutes, manually whisk it to avoid over whipping it.
Storage: This can be keep in the fridge for 2-4 days or 2-3 months in the freezer. I haven't tried keeping it in the freezer though. I like making small batch and make only what is needed for the recipe.
Featured Posts:
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- [VIDEO] How to Whip Cream Successfully
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- White Chocolate Buttercream Whipped Frosting
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Several injured as protests erupt near Anantnag encounter site
Local news agencies from south kashmir said that several youth were injured as protests rocked the encounter site area of Anantnag. Police said that two militants were killed and Thier bodies were yet to be retrieved. Reports said that clashes were going on between the protestors and security forces. Authorities have imposed restrictions in main Anantnag town to avoid protests and violence. More details are awaited.


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The experimental production of gypsum-based products (cylindrical samples, solid bricks) using different fractions of wood chips and rubber particles was studied. Recovered rubber and wood materials were mixed with gypsum and water in various proportions to fabricate gypsum-wood and gypsum-rubber cylindrical samples and standard solid bricks with six holes using appropriate molds. It was shown that to manufacture gypsum-wood and gypsum-rubber products with good mechanical strength, coarse fractions of wood and rubber should be used, but the proportion of wood or rubber should not exceed 25%. No thermal conductivity differences were found between the wood-and rubber-type of gypsum products, and particle size and material proportion had no effect. Samples with fine wood and rubber particles present at a lower proportion (25%) exhibited similar sound absorption behavior. The solid bricks had slightly higher strength when loaded at the large surface of their lateral upper side than when loaded at the small surface. The bricks provided better thermal insulation than both the extruded and pressed house bricks but lower than that of insulating bricks. The emission of volatile organic compounds out of the bricks was at an acceptable level according to regulations for construction products.
"Overworking to death" is a phenomenon that has been noticeable in developing countries. The cause of death is mainly through ischemic strokes. While the victims' occupations differed, they all shared a common characteristic, being positioned in a sedentary work, ranging from IT workers to doctors. This project's aim was to develop a product that prevented or decreased the strokes that derived from sedentary overwork. This was mainly tackled by preventing one of the three causes of developing blood props, slowed blood flow. In order to gather rich data of the phenomenon, a qualitative study was conducted in China, during two months. By doing an extensive structured sampling, information rich data could be gathered during a short period of time. Data were derived from observations, questionnaires and an interview, which then was interpreted to customer needs and the final product specification. The final product became a trouser with an in built dynamic compression mechanic, that can compress the veins mostly during sitting activities, in order to prevent blood stasis. The compression mechanic works like the Chinese finger trap; compressing the calves while sitting and stretching the legs forward. It is made only out of polysaccharides fibres; cotton and corn.
This paper presents a detailed study on the effect of an industrial blast cleaning process on the fatigue behavior of a grey cast iron with regard to the residual stresses and microstructural changes induced by the process. A comparison was also made to the effect of a machining operation which removed the casting skin layer. The blast cleaning process was found to greatly improve the fatigue resistance in both the low and high cycle regimes with a 75% increase in the fatigue limit. Xray diffraction measurements and scanning electron microscopic analyses showed that the improvement was mainly attributed to compressive residual stresses in a surface layer up to 800 μm in thickness in the blast cleaned specimens. The machining also gave better fatigue performance with a 30% increase in the fatigue limit, which was ascribed to the removal of the weaker casting skin layer.
In this study a model based on simple scattering is developed and used to predict the distribution of nanofibrillated cellulose in composites manufactured by resin transfer moulding (RTM) where the resin contains nanofibres. The model is a Monte Carlo based simulation where nanofibres are randomly chosen from probability density functions for length, diameter and orientation. Their movements are then tracked as they advance through a random arrangement of fibres in defined fibre bundles. The results of the model show that the fabric filters the nanofibres within the first 20 µm unless clear inter-bundle channels are available. The volume fraction of the fabric fibres, flow velocity and size of nanofibre influence this to some extent. To verify the model, an epoxy with 0.5 wt.% Kraft Birch nanofibres was made through a solvent exchange route and stained with a colouring agent. This was infused into a glass fibre fabric using an RTM process. The experimental results confirmed the filtering of the nanofibres by the fibre bundles and their penetration in the fabric via the inter-bundle channels. Hence, the model is a useful tool for visualising the distribution of the nanofibres in composites in this manufacturing process.
Metal inserts are sometimes used to improve the load carrying capacity of bolted joints in composite materials. In this paper a new concept is introduced where inserts are built during composite manufacturing by integrating stacked metal patches at locations where holes are to be made after consolidation. Initial tests and a parameter study enable more informed design, and specimens with improved stacked inserts are then produced and tested. The specimens with inserts show up to 60% strength improvement in pin-loaded tests. In addition to the experimental work, finite element analysis is performed to investigate the stress fields and the failure mechanisms. The model indicates that the singular stresses at the multi-material corner points are governing for the strength and give indications of the failure mechanisms. Some basic analytical estimates are also presented.
The paper focuses on the use of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as a fast method for estimating the change of lignocellulosic materials during fungal degradation in laboratory trials. Traditionally, evaluations of durability tests are based on mass loss. However, to gain more knowledge of the reasons for differences in durability and strength between wooden materials, information on the chemical changes is needed. Pinus sylvestris sapwood was incubated with the brown rot fungusGloeophyllum trabeum and the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor. The TGA approach used was found to be reproducible between laboratories. The TGA method did not prove useful for wood deteriorated by white rot, but the TGA showed to be a convenient tool for fast estimation of lignocellulosic components both in sound wood and wood decayed by brown rot.
An analytical study is performed to investigate the stress states in an axially and thermally loaded sandwich structure with a discontinuous ceramic tile core. General and simplified models are developed to determine stresses in the constituents of the sandwich structure with and without adhesive in the gaps between adjacent tiles. A general model that allows local bending of the face sheet and a simplified model which assumes uniform through-thickness stress distribution in the face sheets are developed. It is shown that the normal stress in the face sheet decreases when the gap is filled by adhesive, although the tile stress increases. The analytical model shows that normal and shear stresses at the face/core interface can be reduced by filling the gaps between tiles. Filled gaps also elevate the axial stiffness of the structure. Model results are verified by comparison to a previously developed analytical model and finite element analysis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Bio-basedcomposites are being increasingly used in applications where weight saving,and environmental friendliness is as important as structural performance. Obviously, bio-based materials have their limitations regarding durability and stability of the properties,but their potential in use for advanced applications can be expanded if they were functionalized and considered beyond their structural performance.
Multifunctionalityincomposites can be achieved by modifyingeither of the composite constituents at different levelsso that they can perform energy-associated roles besides their structural reinforcement in the system. For the fibers, this can be done at the microscale by altering theirmicrostructure during spinning process or by applying functional coatings. As for the matrix, it is usually done by incorporating additives that can impart the required characteristics to the matrix. The nano-sized additives that mightbe considered for this objective are graphene and carbon nano-tubes. A big challenge with such materials is the difficulty to reachthe dispersionstate necessary for formation ofstable network to overcome the percolation threshold for conductivity. However, once the network is formed, the composite can have improved mechanical performance together with one or more of the added functionalities such as barrier capabilities,thermal and/or electrical conductivities or electromagnetic interference ability.
Enormous work has been done to achieve the functionality incomposites produced with special care in laboratories. However, when it comes to mass production, it is both cost and energy inefficient to use tedious,complex methods for the manufacturing. Hence there is a need to investigate the potential of using scalable and industrial-relevant techniques and materials with acceptable compromise between cost and properties.
The work presented in this thesis is performedwithin two projects aiming to achieve functional composites based on natural and man-made cellulosic fibers suitable for industrial upscaling. Conductive Regenerated Cellulose Fibers (RCFs) were produced by coating them with copper by electroless coating process using commercial materials. On the other hand, commercial masterbatches based on Graphene Nano-Platelets (GNPs) were used to produce wood polymer composites (WPC) with added multifunctionality by melt extrusion process. The process is one of the conventional methods used inpolymerproductionand needsno modifications for processingfunctional composites. Both materials together can be used to produce hybrid functional composites.
The incorporation of the GNP into HDPE has resulted in improvement in the mechanical propertiesof polymer as well as composite reinforced with wood fibers. Stiffness has increased to a large extent while effect on the strength was less pronounced(>100% and 18% for stiffness and strength at 15%GNP loading). The enhancement of thermal conductivityat higher graphene loadingswas also observed. Moreover, time-dependent response of the polymer has also been affected and the addition of GNP has resulted in reduced viscoplastic strains and improved creep behavior.
The copper-coated cellulose fibers showed a significant increasein electrical conductivity(<1Ω/50mm of coated samples) and a potential in use as sensor materials. However, these results come with the cost of reduction in mechanical properties of fibers (10% and 70% for tensile stiffness and strength, respectively) due to theeffect ofchemicals involved in the process.
This paper investigates the utilization of commercial masterbatches of graphene nanoplatelets to improve the properties of neat polymer and wood fiber composites manufactured by conventional processing methods. The effect of aspect ratio of the graphene platelets (represented by the different number of layers in the nanoplatelet) on the properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is discussed. The composites were characterized for their mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, impact) and physical characteristics (morphology, crystallization, and thermal stability). The effect of the addition of nanoplatelets on the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the reinforced polymer with different contents of reinforcement was also investigated. In general, the mechanical performance of the polymer was enhanced at the presence of either of the reinforcements (graphene or wood fiber). The improvement in mechanical properties of the nanocomposite was notable considering that no compatibilizer was used in the manufacturing. The use of a masterbatch can promote utilization of nano-modified polymer composites on an industrial scale without modification of the currently employed processing methods and facilities.
Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are used to enhance the mechanical properties and functionality of wood plastic composite (WPC) targeting applications such as de-icing or anti-icing and fast thermal diffusivity. The GNPs are integrated into neat polymer using a masterbatch containing functionalized graphene by melt compounding through a twin-screw extruder without the use of any coupling agent or compatibilizer. The same manufacturing process (melt compounding) but with the use of compatibilizer is employed to produce WPC with nano-doped matrix. The effect of different GNP loadings (up to 15 wt.%) on morphology, crystallinity, mechanical and thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites and the WPCs was investigated. It was found that both strength and modulus of nanocomposites, in tension and bending, were increased with the addition of GNPs. With the aid of MAPE compatibilizer WPCs show higher flexural strength and modulus than neat polymer. GNP has marginal effect on the flexural stress but further increases flexural modulus of WPC. The preliminary results related to the thermal conductivity of studied materials indicate that the incorporation of GNP may be beneficial for faster and more uniform heat distribution in WPC.
Continuous metallized regenerated cellulose fibers for advanced applications (e.g. multi-functional composites) are produced by electroless copper plating. Copper is successfully deposited on the surface of cellulose fibers using commercial cyanide-free electroless copper plating package commonly available for manufacturing of printed wiring boards. The deposited copper is found to enhance the thermal stability, electrical conductivity and resistance to moisture uptake of the fibers. On the other hand, involved chemistry results in altering the molecular structure of the fibers as is indicated by the degradation of their mechanical performance (tensile strength and modulus).
Wood fiber reinforced polylactide is a biodegradable composite where both fibers and matrix are from renewable resources. In the development of such new materials, information on mechanical behavior on the macroscopic and the molecular level is useful. In this study, dynamic Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is used to measure losses at the molecular level during cyclic tensile loading for bonds that are characteristic of the cellulosic fibers and the polylactid matrix. This molecular behavior is compared with measured macroscopic hysteresis losses for different moisture levels. The results show that moisture ingress will transfer the load from the fibers to the matrix, and that a more efficient fiber-matrix interface would diminish mechanical losses. Although the dynamic FT-IR spectroscopy method is still qualitative, this investigation shows that it can provide information on the stress transfer of the constituents in wood fiber reinforced plastics.
Effects of butantetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) modification, choice of matrix, and fiber volume fraction on hygroexpansion of wood fiber composites have been investigated. Untreated reference wood fibers and BTCA-modified fibers were used as reinforcement in composites with matrices composed of polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), or a mixture thereof. The crosslinking BTCA modification reduced the out-of- plane hygroexpansion of PLA and PLA/PP composites, under water-immersed and humid conditions, whereas the swelling increased when PP was used as matrix material. This is explained by difficulties for the BTCA- modified fibers to adhere to the PP matrix. Fiber volume fraction was the most important parameter as regards out-of-plane hygroexpansion, with a high-fiber fraction leading to large hygroexpansion. Fiber-matrix wettability during processing and consolidation also showed to have a large impact on the dimensional stability and moisture uptake.
Paper-reinforced plastics are gaining increased interest as packaging materials, where mechanical properties are of great importance. Strength and stress transfer in paper sheets are controlled by fibre-fibre bonds. In paper-reinforced plastics, where the sheet is impregnated with a polymer resin, other stress-transfer mechanisms may be more important. The influence of fibre-fibre bonds on the strength of paper-reinforced plastics was therefore investigated. Paper sheets with different degrees of fibre-fibre bonding were manufactured and used as reinforcement in a polymeric matrix. Image analysis tools were used to verify that the difference in the degree of fibre-fibre bonding had been preserved in the composite materials. Strength and stiffness of the composites were experimentally determined and showed no correlation to the degree of fibre-fibre bonding, in contrast to the behaviour of unimpregnated paper sheets. The degree of fibre-fibre bonding is therefore believed to have little importance in this type of material, where stress is mainly transferred through the fibre-matrix interface.
One of the main drawbacks of wood fiber-based composite materials is their propensity to swell due to moisture uptake. Because the wood fibers are usually the main contributor to hygroexpansion, it is of interest to quantify the hygroexpansion coefficient of wood fibers, to compare and rank different types of fibers. This investigation outlines an inverse method to estimate the transverse hygroexpansion coefficient of wood fibers based on measurements of moisture induced thickness swelling of composite plates. The model is based on composite micromechanics and laminate theory. Thickness swelling has been measured on polylactide matrix composites with either bleached reference fibers or crosslinked fibers. The crosslinking modification reduced the transverse hygroexpansion of the composites and the transverse coefficient of hygroexpansion of the fibers was reduced from 0.28 strain per relative humidity for reference fibers to 0.12 for cross-linked fibers.
The stress transfer ability at the fiber-matrix interface of wood fiber composites is known to affect the mechanical properties of the composite. The evaluation of interface properties at the level of individual fibers is however difficult due to the small dimensions and variability of the fibers. The dynamical mechanical properties of composite and constituents, in this case wood fibers and polylactide matrix, was here used together with micromechanical modeling to quantify the stress transfer efficiency at the fiber-matrix interface. To illustrate the methodology, a parameter quantifying the degree of imperfection at the interface was identified by inverse modeling using a micromechanical viscoelastic general self-consistent model with an imperfect interface together with laminate analogy on the composite level. The effect of moisture was assessed by comparison with experimental data from dynamic mechanical analysis in dry and moist state. For the wood fiber reinforced polylactide, the model shows that moisture absorption led to softening and mechanical dissipation in the hydrophilic wood fibers and biothermoplastic matrix, rather than loss of interfacial stress transfer ability.
An investigation of low velocity impact characteristics of curved composite plates have been presented. The plates represent parts of car's bumpers with radii of curvature of 120mm,200mm, 300mm, 450mm and infinity.
Two types of composite materials are used, unidirectional 0° and woven 0°/90° types with five layers of 3mm thickness and ten layers of 6mm thickness of each type.
The results showed that larger plates curvatures can absorb more impact energy and the ten layer woven 0°/90° composite are superior to similar unidirectional 0° composite. On the other hand the five layer unidirectional 0° plates are superior in absorbing energy compared to similar woven 0°/90° plates.
An investigation of the failure patterns and development for both types of composite has been presented and discussed.
The effects of multi-strike on the energy absorbtion of both type of composite have showed different pattern of energy absorbtion behavior.
This thesis presents systematic numerical study of stresses in the adhesive of a single-lap joint subjected to various loading scenarios (mechanical and thermal loading). The main objective of this work is to improve understanding of the main material and geometrical parameters determining performance of adhesive joint for the future analysis of failure initiation and development in these structures.
The first part of the thesis deals with development of a 3D model as well as 2D model, optimized with respect to the computational efficiency by use of novel displacement coupling conditions able to correctly represent monoclinic materials (off-axis layers of composite laminates). The model takes into account the nonlinearity of materials (adherend and adhesive) with geometrical nonlinearity also accounted for. The parameters of geometry of the joint are normalized with respect to the dimensions of adhesive (e.g. thickness) thus making analysis of results more general and applicable to wide range of different joints. Optimal geometry of the single-lap joint is selected based on results of the parametric analysis by using peel and shear stress distributions in the adhesive layer as a criteria and it allows separation of edge and end effects. Three different types of single lap joint with similar and dissimilar (hybrid) materials are considered: a) metal-metal; b) composite-composite; c) composite-metal. In case of composite laminates, four lay-ups are evaluated: uni-directional ([08]T and [908]T) and quasi-isotropic laminates ([0/45/90/-45]S and [90/45/0/-45]S). The influence of the abovementioned parameters is carefully examined by analyzing peel and shear stress distributions in the adhesive layer. Discussion and conclusions with respect to the magnitude of the stress concentration at the ends of the joint overlap as well as overall level of stresses within overlap are presented. Recommendations concerning use of nonlinear material model are given.
The rest of the work is related to the various methods of manufacturing of joint (curing) and application of thermo-mechanical loading suitable to these scenarios. The appropriate sequences of application of thermal and mechanical loads for the analysis of the residual thermal stresses developed due to manufacturing of joints at elevated temperature required to cure polymer (adhesive/composite) are proposed. It is shown that the most common approach used in many studies of simple superposition of thermal and mechanical stresses works well only for linear materials and produces wrong results if material is non-linear. The model and simulation technique presented in the current thesis rectifies this issue and accurate stress distributions are obtained. Based on the analysis of these stress distributions the following conclusions can be made: joint processing at elevated temperature causes high stresses inside the adhesive layer; the residual thermal stresses will reduce the peel stress concentration at the ends of overlap joint and the shear stress within the overlap, moreover, this effect is more pronounced for the case of the one-step joint manufacturing in comparison with two-step processing technique.
This study has generated a lot of results for better understand of behavior of adhesive joints and it will help in design of stronger, more durable adhesive single-lap joints in the future.
This study presents comprehensive numerical stress analysis in the adhesive layer of a single-lap joint subjected to various loading scenarios (mechanical and thermal loading). For this purpose numerical model (finite element method) with novel displacement coupling conditions able to correctly represent monoclinic materials (off-axis layers of composite laminates) has been developed. This model includes nonlinear material model and geometrical nonlinearity is also accounted for. The effect of thermal residual stresses (in adhesive) is analysed for various methods of manufacturing of single lap joint. The sequences of application of thermal and mechanical loads for the analysis of the thermal residual stresses in joints are proposed. It is shown that the most common approach used in many studies of linear superposition of thermal and mechanical stresses works well only for linear materials and produces wrong results if material is non-linear. The present study demonstrates suitable method to apply combined thermal and mechanical loads to get accurate stress distributions. Based on the analysis of these stress distributions the conclusions concerning the effect of the thermal residual stresses on peel and shear stress concentrations are made. The comparison between effect of thermal stresses in case of the one-step and two-step joint manufacturing techniques is made.
This paper presents systematic numerical study of stresses in the adhesive of a single-lap joint with the objective to improve understanding of the main material and geometrical parameters determining performance of adhesive joints. For this purpose a 3D model as well as 2D model, optimized with respect to the computational efficiency by use of novel displacement coupling conditions able to correctly represent monoclinic materials (off-axis layers of composite laminates), are employed. The model accounts for non-linearity of materials (adherend and adhesive) as well as geometrical non-linearity. The parameters of geometry of the joint are normalized with respect to the dimensions of adhesive (e.g. thickness) thus making analysis of results more general and applicable to wide range of different joints. Optimal geometry of the single-lap joint allowing to separate edge effect from end effects is selected based on results of the parametric analysis by using peel and shear stress distributions in the adhesive layer as a criterion. Three different types of single lap joint with similar and dissimilar (hybrid) materials are considered in this study: a) metal-metal; b) composite-composite; c) composite-metal. In case of composite laminates, four lay-ups are evaluated: uni-directional ([08]T and [908]T) and quasi-isotropic laminates ([0/45/90/-45]S and [90/45/0/-45]S). The influence of the abovementioned parameters on peel and shear stress distributions in the adhesive layer is examined carefully and mechanical parameters governing the stress concentrations in the joint have been identified, this dependence can be described by simple but accurate fitting function. The effect of the used material model (linear vs non-linear) on results is also demonstrated.
Abstract: The current investigation focuses on development and verification of a modelfor numerical simulation of performance of adhesive joints under tensile loading. Differentcombination of materials in joints is considered: metal-metal, composite-composite andcomposite-metal. The objective of this paper is to present simulation results of joints usingan accurate finite element model including non-linear behaviour and large deformation.Moreover, several loading scenarios are analysed, including simultaneous application oftemperature and mechanical load. Not only the effect of temperature on mechanicalperformance of materials (adhesive as well as adherents) is analysed but also built up ofresidual thermal stresses during the manufacturing of joints are taken into account. Thisapproach is demonstrated by simulation of tensile tests of joints at several temperatures.Two scenarios of application of temperature and mechanical load using large deformationtheory are considered: 1) the thermal and mechanical loads are applied simultaneously (theproperties of the materials are adjusted accordingly to their performance at differenttemperatures); 2) temperature is applied on specimen which is not macroscopicallyconstrained and the obtained stress distribution is used as initial state for the nextsimulation of mechanical loaded joint. The influence of edge effects (due to limited widthof the joint) on the stress distribution within the joint are studied. In order to eliminatethese effects the periodic boundary conditions (BC) are used in the numerical model.These BC are adjusted to optimize numerical model and obtain efficient calculation routinefor analysis of stresses within interior part of the structure. The validity of these BCs isevaluated and verified by analysing number of case studies. The comparison between full3D FEM model and simplified 2D model is carried out. The resulting stress distributions inthe overlap region of joints are presented for different joints (the parameters are: materialcombinations, material models, geometry of adhesive layer, constraints and BCs) withcomprehensive analysis and recommendations for optimal numerical model that can beused in joint design.
A numerical study of the adhesive joint made of similar and dissimilar adherends subjected to thermo-mechanical loading is presented. A comprehensive numerical model was used for this purpose with the novel displacement coupling conditions which are able to correctly represent monoclinic materials (off-axis layers of composite laminates). The geometrical nonlinearity as well as nonlinear material model are also taken into account. Three different types of single-lap and double-lap adhesive joints are considered in this study: a) metal-metal; b) composite-composite; c) composite-metal. In case of composite laminates, four lay-ups are evaluated: uni-directional ([08]T and [908]T) and quasi-isotropic laminates ([0/45/90/-45]S and [90/45/0/-45]S). This paper focuses on the parameters which have the major effect on the peel and shear stress distribution within adhesive layer at the overlap ends. The comparison of behaviour of single- and double- lap joints in relation to these parameters is made. The master curves for maximum stress (peel and shear) at the ends of the overlap with respect to the bending stiffness and axial modulus of the adherends are constructed by analysing stress distributions in the middle of the adhesive. The main conclusions of this paper are: the maximum peel stress value for SLJ is reduced with increase of the adherend bending stiffness and for DLJ, similar behaviour was observed at the end next to the inner plate corner, while, at the end next to the outer plate corner peel stress is reduced with increase of adherend axial modulus.
Unidirectional orientation of natural fibers in a polymer composite ensures the highest efficiency of reinforcement. Flax fiber reinforcement is discontinuous due to limited fiber length and heterogeneous due to the presence of elementary fibers and their bundles. In order to assess the upper limit of tensile strength of such slightly misoriented, nominally UD natural fiber composite, a statistical strength model of continuous UD fiber reinforced composites is applied. It is found that the experimental strength of UD flax composites, produced from rovings or manually aligned fibers, approaches the theoretical limit only at relatively low fiber volume fraction ca. 0.2, being markedly below it at higher fiber content.
Single fibre fragmentation tests are performed for brittle fibres with Weibull strength distribution and different surface treatments. The fragmentation process is modelled and closed-form expressions for break spacing distribution are obtained. The model accounts for the effect of finite fibre length on the initial fragmentation as well as for break interaction on the advanced fragmentation stage. It is assumed that the exclusion zone due to fibre-matrix interface failure and stress recovery in the fibre is linearly dependent on the applied load. This assumption is validated experimentally. The derived theoretical average fragment length dependence on applied load is used to determine the fibre strength distribution parameters and the effective interfacial shear stress for carbon/epoxy single fibre composites with different fibre surface treatment and for glass/vinylester single fibre composite. Fragment length distribution is predicted for several load levels. Predictions are in good agreement with experimental data
The tensile strength of brittle fibres is routinely described by the Weibull distribution. The parameters of the distribution can be obtained from tests on single fibres and fibre bundles or from model composite tests. However, there is growing evidence that the distribution parameters obtained by different experimental techniques differ systematically. In order to investigate the possible causes of such discrepancies, single-fibre tension, fibre bundle, and single-fibre fragmentation tests are employed in this study to obtain strength distribution of commercial E-glass fibres. The results reveal parameter dependence on the approach used to extract the distribution parameters from experimental data. Particularly, in the case of single-fibre tension tests, the shape parameter obtained from average fibre strength vs. length data is larger than that obtained at a fixed gauge length. It is assumed that the apparent fibre strength scatter is caused by both the inherent flaw structure along a fibre and by the fibre-to-fibre strength variability within a batch, due to slightly differing processing and handling history of the fibres. Fibre fragmentation test results are used to derive the Weibull distribution parameters applicable to the fibre batch. The strength distribution obtained is compared with strength data for the single fibres, and reasonably good agreement is observed.
To exploit the potential of natural fibers as reinforcement of polymer matrix composites, aligned bast fiber composite materials are being produced and studied. Bast fiber reinforcement is discontinuous due to the limited length of natural fibers, which needs to be reflected in predictive models of mechanical properties of composites. The strength in tension in the fiber direction of an aligned flax fiber-reinforced composite is modeled assuming that a cluster of adjacent fiber discontinuities is the origin of fracture. A probabilistic model of tensile strength, developed for UD composites containing a microdefect, is applied. It follows from the theoretical analysis that the experimental tensile strength as a function the fiber volume fraction can be described with acceptable accuracy assuming the presence of a cluster of ca. 4 × 4 elementary fiber discontinuities
A statistical model of coating cracking under equibiaxial tension is proposed based on a Weibull strength distribution for the coating. Crack length and spacing distributions are derived assuming that cracks initiate in random locations and propagate straight till stopping upon encountering a geometiical obstacle (another crack). The theoretical distributions are verified by comparing with simulated cracking patterns obtained by the Monte-Carlo method. An analysis of crack patterns of SiO2 coatings on a PET film under biaxial tension is performed. Qualitative agreement with the theoretical crack spacing distribution is observed.
Failure process of continuous fiber reinforced composite laminates in tension usually starts with appearance of intralaminar cracks. In composite laminates with complex lay-ups and/or under combined loading, intralaminar cracks may develop in plies with different reinforcement directions. A necessary part of mixed mode cracking models is the criterion of failure. For propagation-controlled fracture it is usually formulated in terms of energy release rates and their critical values of the particular composite material. Intralaminar fracture toughness of unidirectionally reinforced glass/epoxy composite was experimentally determined at several mode I and mode II ratios. It is found that the crack propagation criterion, linear in terms of the energy release rates, reasonably well approximates the test results. The determined mixed mode cracking criterion was applied to predict intralaminar crack onset in cross-ply glass/epoxy composite under tensile loading. The predicted crack onset strain values agree with test results at small off-axes angles of the cracking ply (on-axis and 15° off-axis loading), but underestimate crack onset at larger reinforcement angles with respect to the loading direction. The discrepancy is likely to be caused by the deviation of linearity in laminate response before cracking onset in these laminates, related to non-linear shear characteristics of unidirectional plies. The applicability of strength-based fracture criterion for initiation-controlled cracking is discussed.
Flax fiber composites with thermoset and thermoplastic polymer matrices have been manufactured and tested for stiffness and strength under uniaxial tension. Flax/polypropylene and flax/maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene composites are produced from compound obtained by coextrusion of granulated polypropylene and flax fibers, while flax fiber mat/vinylester and modified acrylic resin composites are manufactured by resin transfer molding. The applicability of rule-of-mixtures and orientational averaging based models, developed for short fiber composites, to flax reinforced polymers is considered.
Ecological and economical considerations foster replacement of man-made fibers by natural renewable fibers in various industrial applications. Bast fibers of such plants as, e.g., flax, hemp, jute etc., are particularly attractive as a reinforcement of polymer-matrix composites due to their high specific stiffness and strength in the axial direction. The elementary bast fibers exhibit pronounced scatter of strength. It necessitates probabilistic description of their strength via a distribution function that reflects damage morphology and severity in fibers. Fiber fracture is shown to originate from mechanical defects of the bast cell wall, the most prominent of them being kink bands. While the number of kink bands in a fiber is easily determined by optical microscopy, direct experimental measurement of their strength is complicated. Therefore, alternative approaches are sought, enabling extraction of strength characteristics of the kink bands from fiber tests via appropriate probabilistic models. Analytical distribution function of bast fiber strength has been derived, allowing for the effect of mechanical damage in the form of kink bands. The fiber characteristics measured have been used to evaluate the kink band density and strength distributions. The theoretical distribution is verified against experimental tensile strength data of elementary hemp fibers at several gauge lengths and found to provide acceptable accuracy in predicting the scale effect of strength.
Adhesion of flax fibers and polymer matrix as well as mutual bonding of elementary fibers in a technical fiber are among the principal factors governing the mechanical response of flax fiber reinforced polymer-matrix composites. A method for evaluation of adhesion is proposed based on tension tests of impregnated fiber yarns, with subsequent characterization by optical microscopy of length distribution of fibers pulled out of the yarn fracture surfaces. An elementary probabilistic model is derived relating aspect ratio distribution of the pulled out fibers to the fiber tensile strength distribution and the effective interfacial shear strength. The method was applied to flax fiber/vinylester resin yarns and an estimate of interfacial shear strength at 17 MPa was obtained.
Cross-ply laminate subjected to tensile loading provides a relatively well understood and widely used model system for studying progressive cracking of the transverse ply. This test allows to identify material strength and/or toughness characteristics as well as to establish relation between damage level and the composite stiffness reduction. The transverse ply cracking is an inherently stochastic process due to the random variability of local material properties of the plies. The variability affects both crack initiation (governed by the local strength) and propagation (governed by the local fracture toughness). The primary aim of the present study is elucidation of the relative importance of these phenomena in the fragmentation process at different transverse and longitudinal ply thickness ratios. The effect of the random crack distribution on the mechanical properties reduction of the laminate is also considered. Transverse ply cracking in glass fiber/epoxy cross-ply laminates of the lay-ups [02/902]s, [0/902]s, and [0/904]s is studied. Several specimens of each lay-up were subjected to uniaxial quasistatic tension to obtain crack density as a function of applied strain. Crack spacing distributions at the edge of the specimen also were determined at a predefined applied strain. Statistical model of the cracking process is derived, calibrated using crack density vs. strain data, and verified against the measured crack spacing distributions.
In this study, progressive cracking of a transverse layer in a cross-ply composite laminate subjected to tensile loading is considered. Using the results of a probabilistic cracking model, approximate relations for crack density as a function of stress are derived for initiation-controlled and propagation-controlled cracking. It is shown that the crack density evolution in the transverse ply can be represented by a mastercurve in suitably normalized coordinates. The mastercurve approach is applied to progressive cracking in glass/epoxy laminates
The paper deals with an indirect industry-friendly method for identification of the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) in a fully bio-based composite. The IFSS of flax fiber/starch acetate is evaluated by a modified Bowyer and Bader method based on an analysis of the stress-strain curve of a short-fiber-reinforced composite in tension. A shear lag model is developed for the tensile stress-strain response of short-fiber-reinforced composites allowing for an elasticperfectly plastic stress transfer. Composites with different fiber volume fractions and a variable content of plasticizer have been analyzed. The apparent IFSS of flax /starch acetate is within the range of 5.5 to 20.5 MPa, depending on composition of the material. The IFSS is found to be greater for composites with a higher fiber loading and to decrease with increasing content of plasticizer. The IFSS is equal or greater than the yield strength of the neat polymer, suggesting good adhesion, as expected for the chemically compatible constituents.
The intralaminar fracture toughness of a unidirectionally reinforced glass/epoxy composite is determined experimentally at several mode I and mode II loading ratios. The crack propagation criterion, expressed as a quadratic form in terms of single-mode stress intensity factors (alternatively, linear in terms of energy release rates), approximates the test results reasonably well. The mixed-mode cracking criterion obtained is used to predict the intralaminar crack on set in a cross-ply glass/epoxy composite under off-axis tensile loading.
Flax fibres, along with a number of other natural fibres, are being considered as an environmentally friendly alternative of synthetic fibres in fibre-reinforced polymer composites. A common feature of natural fibres is a much higher variability of mechanical properties. This necessitates study of the flax fibre strength distribution and efficient experimental methods for its determination. Elementary flax fibres of different gauge lengths are tested by single fibre tension in order to obtain the stress-strain response and strength and failure strain distributions. The applicability of single fibre fragmentation test for flax fibre failure strain and strength characterization is considered. It is shown that fibre fragmentation test can be used to determine the fibre length effect on mean fibre strength and limit strain.
The development of UD natural fiber composites, considered for application as structural materials, necessitates evaluation of the scale effect of their strength. Alignment of the fibers in flax bast fiber composites can be achieved by employing textile reinforcement, such as yarns and fabrics. Cutting specimens for mechanical tests out of such textile-reinforced composite plates results in a complex non-uniform reinforcement structure at their edges, which may affect the strength of specimens. Scale effect of the tensile strength in the fiber direction of flax fabric reinforced composites is studied in the current work. A model accounting for both volume and edge effect of the specimens on their tensile strength is proposed.
The applicability range of toughness-and strength-based criteria for progressive cracking of a transverse layer in a cross-ply composite laminate subjected to tensile loading is considered. Using a deterministic cracking model, approximate relations for the crack density as a function of stress are derived for initiation-and propagation-controlled types of cracking. The master-curve approach is applied to progressive cracking in glass/epoxy laminates. The accuracy of estimation of laminate stiffness reduction by using crack density master curves is evaluated.
Residual stresses in glass-fiber composites were studied on the micro and meso scales by computational and experimental methods. Transmitted polarized light images of thin sections were compared with 3D finite-element solutions of a sample containing 1410 fibers. Calculated point-wise stresses were derived from a linear thermoelastic model with negligibly small numerical errors. Regions with calculated maximum compressive stresses showed good agreement with experimentally observed optical bands. A material with poor interfacial adhesion showed weaker optical effects indicating fiber/matrix debonding. On the basis of these results it seems likely that irreversible matrix deformation and debonding can take place in the curing phase.
During the manufacturing process of composite structural parts, layer of fabrics or unidirectional prepreg may have to be cut in order to fulfil production requirements. From a general mechanical point of view, cutting fibres in a composite part has a large negative impact on the mechanical properties. However, such interventions are necessary in particular cases, for example due to draping of complex geometries. A rather extensive test program was launched to investigate the effects of defects that typically could arise during manufacturing. The overall purpose of the test program was to determine knock-down factors on strength for typical manufacturing defects that occasionally arise and sometimes are hard to avoid in production: cuts/gaps and fibre angle deviations. Four types of specimens were tested, reference, intersection of cuts in adjacent layers combined with a bolt hole, cut in a zero degree ply combined with a bolt hole and specimens with misaligned fibres. The specimens with misaligned fibres were tested with three different fibre angles. In addition to the experimental procedure, FE-analyses utilising cohesive elements were conducted, and after mechanical tests, Non Destructive Investigation (NDI) and fractographic investigations were performed. An excellent correlation between analyses and experiments were obtained.
Understanding the failure mechanism of wood loaded in compression parallel to the grain has been shown to be an important parameter in the design of timber beams strengthened with fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP). In this paper, a constitutive relationship for wood under uniaxial compression load parallel to the grain was determined experimentally. Several parameters, such as silviculture, moisture content and radial position in the log in relation to the pith from where the specimen was sawn, were considered. Small clear-wood specimens were used. The strain localisation in the failure region (kinkband) was monitored using the digital image correlation method. The results show that silviculture and moisture content are two very important parameters which influence the compression failure mechanism. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in behaviour between specimens from the juvenile region of the log and specimens from mature wood. Based on experimental results, two numerical models were built, considering either a global or a local constitutive relationship. It was demonstrated that both numerical models yield accurate results and that, depending on the experimental equipment available, a constitutive relationship could be extracted and used as input in these numerical models.
The delamination process in notched composite plates under flexural loading has been investigated using finite element analysis. Cohesive elements implemented in the commercial finite element package ABAQUS have been used in the region around the drilled-hole, and positioned between layers where delamination was observed during experiments presented in an accompanying paper. The delamination initiation and subsequent propagation was studied between the layers at the tension side separately and simultaneously. For all FE models, the load displacement curve was in good agreement with the one from experiments. However, the amount of damage reported from the fractography study was more extensive than that predicted by the models. Finally, it was shown that the models with only one cohesive layer show significantly different results to that of the model with four cohesive layers in terms of size of the degradation area.
In this thesis nanocomposite materials for use in high performance electrical contacts are tested. Self mating silver as coatings on cupper substrates are the most used material combination in power connectors today. In this work two new concepts were tested. The first one was to change one of the mating surfaces to a hard thin coating and keep the other surface made of silver. Tested coatings were nanocomposites with hard carbides in a matrix of amorphous carbon. TiC/a-C and Ti-Ni-C/a-C were tested both electrically and tribologically. The total amount of carbon and the amount of carbon matrix was important, both for the electrical and the tribological properties. The Ti-Ni-C coating also showed that substituting Ti in TiC with the weak carbide former Ni changed the stability of the carbides. The substitution resulted in more a-C matrix and less C in the carbides. Thin coatings of nc-TiC/a-C and Ti-Ni-C/a-C showed high potential as material candidates for use in electrical contacts.
The other tested concept was to modify the used silver instead of replacing it. This was done by embedding nanoparticles of solid lubricant IF-WS2 in the silver. The results from reciprocating sliding displayed low friction and high wear resistance. The modified silver surfaces lasted for 8000 strokes with a friction of about 0.3 while at the same time allowing for a low contact resistance. The results for surfaces of pure silver coating displayed a friction of 0.8-1.2 and that the silver was worn through already after 300 strokes.
A new method to investigate inherent hardness and residual stress of thin coatings, on complex geometries or in small areas, was also developed. An ion beam was used to create stress free coating as free standing micro pillars. Hardness measured on the pillars and on as-deposited coating were then used to calculate the residual stress in the coatings.


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Hi All,
For anyone interested, especially those new to sound card spectrometry, I just want to show how you can copy the captured pulse shape from PRA to a spreadsheet. From the pulse shape window you can just click the copy button to copy the 16 sample values to the clipboard, and it is then a trivial matter to paste it into a spreadsheet and plot the shape.
Here I have made a comparison between 48 kHz and 96 kHz sampling (same detector). A good pulse shape would bed 4 negative value samples followed by 8 positive followed by 4 negative, but this is not super critical as long as you capture most of the pulse. PRA calculates the RMS value on the fly so you get a good pulse height average even at 48 kHz.
Anyone wanting to sample at higher values ie. 192 kHz might want to consider shortening the pulse length, this can be done by changing a resistor in the RC circuit of the GS. Maybe a toggle switch for long/short pulse is something to consider in future versions.
GS-1100-PRO Pulse Shape
Gamma spectacular, theremino adapters, non-sound card based, etc...
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These two teams have seen a lot of each other this past season, even though the Wild are the ones that have the upper hand in this 5 games series. The Jets are looking to get their second win over the Wild this year and even though they have lost the series they have a chance to pull their record up and finish the season with a winning one. Minnesota is trying as best they can to see if they can possibly make the last sport of r a chance at the post season.
Minnesota has had issues all over this season but mostly injuries to their key forwards have left them in a situations where scoring is simply very difficult. They are left with smaller guys up top, they are fast and help out great on defense , they just don't have the physicality to fight for the rebounds close to the opposing teams net. One thing this teams does very well is protect the puck and pass it, they seem to really like to stay in control even if they have to come back over the blue line to regroup.
Winnipeg is one of those teams that recently moved and is having a hard time getting the right players in the right places. They would be the equivalent to the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA if you will… they have young, talented guys that don't have the necessary veteran to really make things fall into place. This season would be a success if they are able to end it on the positive side. Right Wing man Blake Wheeler has really come alive for this team with 27 goals and 65 points on the year.
Pick: I actually like the underdog in this game at home, the Jets at +136 on their home ice with the chance to get a winning record… hard to say no too…


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Sack Sports Minister First — Eric Adjei
The opposition National Democratic Congress Deputy Regional Communications Officer, Eric Adjei wants the Youth and Sports Minister, Hon. Isaac Asiamah sacked before coach Kwesi Appiah.
His call follows the National team's abysmal performance in the 2019 African Cup of Nations tournament.
Ghana lost 5-4 to Tunisia in penalties on Monday in the round of 16 leaving the nation in shock.
Commenting on the Senior National Team the Black Stars of Ghana exit from the ongoing tournament, Eric Adjei said since the Sports Minister promised to win the tournament and couldn't, he must be removed immediately for incompetence.
"The Minister promised to win the trophy so if the team could not win it then he must be sacked. The Minister also failed to disclose the budget to Ghanaians and you see these people, team that you were sending to play a tournament and you sent three times of budget without winning it, he must go", he told O.B on Asempa FM late afternoon political show Eko Sii Sen on Tuesday monitored by Daniel Kaku.
He stated that if Ghanaians want to blame anybody it's none but the Sports Minister.
"If we want to blame anybody then we should first blame the Sports Minister. The Minister should come and tell Ghanaians that was unity at the camp of Black Stars or not", he emphasized.
He intimated that it is high time Ghana go for a foreign coach because as for foreign coach no Ghanaian can influence and control him adding that, "Influence in Black Stars by some politicians was too much".
Mr. Adjei blames President Akufo-Addo for the Stars' elimination who played a major role in the formation of the senior team prior to the tournament.
"Why should President Akufo-Addo spoke to Asamoah Gyan who announced that he would not play again for Black Stars to change his mind and join the team, President Akufo-Addo is part of our elimination?", he quizzed.
Angry Eric Adjei also descended on some sports journalists in the country for failing to criticize the Sports Minister as they did to John Mahama-led Sports Ministers.
"Most of the journalists in this country are not fit for their jobs, you know the reason, anytime there is a new administration, look at how they behave, was it not these same people who were always on the neck of Kwesi Nyantakyi and today these journalists fear to criticize Isaac Asiamah and it seems they have something secret with him, look at them, their mouths are fulled, I am telling them", he charged.
He added "...you just look, now that they are coming, they are coming to talk about the coach Kwesi Appiah but when NDC were in power, was Elvis Afriyie Ankrah an assistant coach, was Nii Lante a coach, they were all blamed by these journalists so if today something is not going well, you must also blame the current Sports Minister too," he intimated.


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The New Yorker, December 18, 1948 P. 33
PROFILE of Lewis D. Gilbert, crusader for small stockholders. In 1937 he suggested that Bethlehem Steel retire Chares M. Schwab, who was then chairman of its board of directors. Addressing the annual meeting, Mr. Gilbert made this suggestion on the ground that in his opinion Mr. Schwab had outlived his usefulness. The reaction of the Bethlehem officials to this proposal was not mixed. According to a legend, Eugene Grace, the president, rose from his chair with his fists clenched & had to be restrained from attacking Gilbert. The facts seem to be that Grace, though pink & tense, remained sitting & that an elderly stockholder named John Suermondt, jumped up & invited Gilbert to a fistfight. In '47, after an attack by Gilbert, Mr. Grace said, "Management is the forgotten man in the general economy of the country."


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SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An emotional debate is brewing in San Jose where a city councilman is proposing a ban on the national flag of Vietnam. He says it's a hurtful symbol of communism, but there's another side to the story.
Those who are against the banning of the flag, are not in favor of flying it either.
The Vietnamese heritage and freedom flag can be seen throughout Vietnamese neighborhoods in San Jose.
City Councilman Tam Nguyen wants to keep it that way and make sure the socialist republic flag never sees the light of day. "It's the same as if they fly the Nazi flag in the Jewish community," he said.
He says the red flag with a gold star in the middle flies in the face of Vietnamese immigrants who fled communism. "We run away from that flag," said Nguyen. "This is our safe home and that flag keeps chasing after us like a nightmare."
"The citizens, they might have grievances against their government, but they don't hate their national flag," said Chris Le of San Jose. "So if we are going to ban their flag, we're going to be hostile to them. They feel unwelcome in San Jose."
The ban would reaffirm a resolution the city council passed in 2005, recognizing the freedom flag as the flag of Vietnam in San Jose.
"Nobody has asked to fly this flag in the last dozen years, and is not flying on any city-owned flag pole in that time, that I'm aware of," said David Vossbrink.
Le is not asking to fly the national flag. "No one is crazy enough to raise the communist flag," he said. "What we're dealing with here is ideology."
The city council will consider the ban at Tuesday night's meeting.
San Jose councilman proposes ban of national flag of Vietnam
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2 Tips for Selecting the Best Interior Painter.
When it comes to hiring someone to do your interior painting, you are supposed to hire someone who will do the best job for you. This is because you can't just hire anyone to do this job for you, you will need experience, you will need quality and you will need professionalism among other characters in an interior painter. All in all, selecting the right painter for your interior job can be challenging, considering that there are so many of them in your area; below are some of the tips that you can use to get the best interior painter.
1. Experience of the painter.
Experience is one of the most important things that you need to consider before hiring the services of the service provider. because you will find that the more experienced a person is, the more he will be in a position to offer you the best results in their jobs. When it comes to interior painting, you will require someone who has been doing it for a number of years, and has been able to do a good job all along; this painter will also be able to paint your walls perfectly and with great care for the best results. For you to know how experienced an interior painter is, you should look at the number of the years that he has been in the industry, having survived in the industry for a ,many years, means that he is a good painter; you can also check the experience by going through the customer reviews where you will be able to see what other customers are saying about the painter, and from here you will be in a position to decide whether you will hire him or not.
2. Hire the Right Painting Company.
Hiring the wrong painting company is one of the biggest mistake that many people make. It is important that you hire a painting company that will come to your site with the right paint, the right tool and the right personnel. There are some painting companies that when you hire them to come and your interior painting, but they will come to do it with a cheap paint that will chip off after a short period, and some send a team of unqualified painters who will do a shoddy job, and other than causing you a great loss, it will also make you lose a lot of time doing the same thing again and again.
For this reason, if you are looking for an interior painter, you should consider the above tips and you will be able to find the right painter.
The Essentials of Services – Getting to Point A


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Bayer Leverkusen – Manchester United (Champions League)
Bayer Leverkusen will be welcoming Manchester United at the BayArena next Wednesday for a crucial fixture in the Champions League Group A, with the English champions sitting atop the table on eight points, two points ahead of Sami Hyypia's men and three points clear from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to get a ninth consecutive home win in the Champions League group stage that would allow them to top the group at the end of the day – and things could hardly look better for them. During that home-winning streak, Bayer Leverkusen have defeated powerhouses such as Real Madrid, Valencia and Roma. With 10 wins from their first 13 matches – and four from their last six –, Bayer Leverkusen have made their best start ever to the Bundesliga, despite Andre Schürrle's sale to Chelsea. The forward's departure was expected to leave an enduring mark on the team's attacking plans, but the injured Sidney Sam has picked up the pace and dissipated any doubts that might overshadow the team. Furthermore, the in-form striker Stefan Kiessling, constantly overlooked by German manager Joachim Löw, seems determined to prove his critics wrong with impressive displays and goals from all angles (including goal nets with holes). Sami Hyypia will be missing the aforementioned Sam, but also Hilbert, Palop, Reinartz and Boenisch.
Probable line-up: Leno – Donati, Wollscheid, Toprak, Can – Rolfes, Hegeler, Bender – Castro, Son, Kiessling
Even though they are currently on a 4-match winless run in the latest away matches (three draws and one defeat) – their worst run since February 2004-December 2005 –, Manchester United have only conceded 8 goals in their last 15 Champions League matches. Manager David Moyes certainly hasn't found things easy at United and has not exactly hit the ground running, a situation made worse by the last-gasp 2-2 draw in Cardiff last weekend. Still, they are unbeaten in their last 10 matches in all competitions (including an energetic 1-0 win against Arsenal a few weeks ago) and now sit sixth in the Premier League table after a dreadful start to the season. Moyes will hope against hope that both Van Persie and Vidic are fit to start this critical match, after missing the game in Wales. On the other hand, the Scottish manager will have to do without the injured Michael Carrick and the suspended Marouane Fellaini, further aggravating the situation in United's already thin midfield. Phil Jones may be cleared in time to take a place in midfield alongside Tom Cleverley. Despite his rash tackle last Saturday that has made the rounds, Wayne Rooney will be expected to provide the main attacking threat as the team's most reliable forward and Britain's all-time leading scorer in the competition. On the home match, the volatile Rooney scored a brace and provided an assist.
Probable line-up: De Gea – Smalling, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra – Valencia, Cleverley, Jones, Kagawa, – Rooney, Van Persie
This should be an interesting match. While Bayer Leverkusen currently have the most goals scored, United have the lowest number on the conceded goals column. The match between these two teams at Old Trafford yielded a rather thrilling 4-2 win for United and, based on the approach from both teams and the need for both to grab the three points (victory would get the English team through), there is no reason to believe the same can't happen on Wednesday night. Bayer Leverkusen, in particular, will try to extend their home winning streak and simultaneously end a 5-match winless streak against Manchester United, with no clean sheets along the way. The record also shows that English opposition are not exactly Leverkusen's cup of tea, with 8 defeats in 9 matches when playing English teams.


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On this episode of the #naplescaptainslog watch Captain Brien and his special guest Mitch Green go to a charity barbecue! He is also the owner of the Coffee Bar 239!
Funny jokes and notes from a day and the life Off the hook Comedy Club. Off the hook comedy club post on twitter daily follow us #captainslog for the latest info.
Watch full video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J99ZCj93iso&t=41s
The captain's log is officially sponsored by Captain Brien Spirits maker of Captain Brien Sugar Free Vodka and Barrel Aged Dark Rum both are gluten free also!


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Prairie Lizard Peeking From Behind Board
This is the same Prairie Lizard I posted about a couple of days ago (Prairie Lizard From Above). I have several of these lizards that like to hang around my deck at my cabin near the Ouachita National Forest here in Arkansas. I saw a second one just below this one but closer to the ground. How I… Read More »


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Lewis Hamilton's current ability to perform at such a high level in Formula 1 is down to having found happiness in life off track, reckons Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff.
Having achieved his fifth F1 world championship this season, with a campaign that many believed was his best ever, Hamilton was able to twin title success with non-motorsport interests such as the launch of a Tommy Hilfiger fashion collection line.
Wolff thinks Hamilton's improvement as a driver is down to him having a better understanding of what he needs from life, and being content.
The brutal honesty behind Mercedes' dominance
"I think that what is happening is that he constantly develops, there is no standstill," Wolff said, when asked by Autosport about Hamilton's progress last year.
"He is improving in every area. He is improving on track, he is improving off track, and his partnership with Tommy Hilfiger is very successful. It is one of the best performing fashion collections from the Hilfiger brand.
"So he is building up a second pillar of activity that is more than a hobby already, and therefore that has added another building block to making him a complete sportsman.
"It makes him happy. It is like the Kimi [Raikkonen] thing: it is about being happy. And if you are happy then you perform well."
Relations between Hamilton and Wolff have not always been as good, especially during the period when tensions were high between the British driver and his previous team-mate Nico Rosberg.
But Rosberg's shock retirement at the end of 2016, and a clear the air chat at Wolff's house in Oxford two years ago, transformed things and Wolff said his bond with Hamilton has never been stronger.
"With Lewis, we needed our time and in hindsight, how it was with how the 2016 season ended, it gave us the best roots to grow our relationship stronger," explained Wolff.
"Since then we have had mostly good moments and trust has built up.
"It is important for a racing driver, for myself and for the team, that we can say that we trust each other and it is not lightly said."


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The 11th European Geoparks Conference will intend to be a contribution for a smart, inclusive and sustainable growth of European Geoparks, sharing the main aims of the "European Strategy 2020", focused on key areas as: knowledge and innovation, a more sustainable economy, high employment and social inclusion.
The 11th European Geoparks Conference aim to perspective the future and be a contribution to put on a sustainable growth path that will deliver prosperity and social progress for the next years.
The 11th European Geoparks Conference will comprise thematic oral sessions with guest speakers, selected oral presentations and poster sessions related to the main aims, as well as, a conference fieldtrip at the Arouca Geopark.
Participants may also participate in post-conference fieldtrips in Naturtejo Geopark and Azores aspiring Geopark.
Further information in: http://www.2012egnconference.com/ or http://www.europeangeoparks.org/?p=9
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Robert Fortune Quote
As the lower parts of the Japanese houses and shops are open both before and behind, I had peeps of these pretty little gardens as I passed along the streets; and wherever I observed one better than the rest I did not fail to pay it a visit.
Yedo and Peking: A Narrative of a Journey to the Capitals of Japan and China... (ed. 1863)