Maciej Heneczkowski

Epoxy Resin Composite Based on Functional Hybrid Fillers

A study was carried out involving the filling of epoxy resin (EP) with bentonites and silica modified with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). The method of homogenization and the type of filler affect the functional and canceling properties of the composites was determined. The filler content ranged from 1.5% to 4.5% by mass. The basic mechanical properties of the hybrid composites were found to improve, and, in particular, there was an increase in tensile strength by 44%, and in Charpy impact strength by 93%. The developed hybrid composites had characteristics typical of polymer nanocomposites modified by clays, with a fine plate morphology of brittle fractures observed by SEM, absence of a plate separation peak in Wide Angles X-ray Scattering (WAXS) curves, and an exfoliated structure observed by TEM.

A new polyurethane binder providing high green strength of dry-pressed alumina

Abstract The effect of a new polyurethane binder on green strength of dry-pressed alumina bodies was studied. The alumina compacts showed exceptionally high green strength. Depending on binder concentration (1–5 wt.%) the tensile and flexural strength were 1.6-7.0 MPa and 2.0–12.7 MPa, respectively. The high green strength was controlled by polymer–ceramics interactions, as was revealed by IR study. The glass transition temperature of polymer influenced the binder behaviour in ceramic processing. To achieve high green density some residual moisture was needed but then samples had to be dried to obtain high green strength. The binder burnout was characterized by TGA and DTA study in air and in nitrogen. The polyurethane binder had a gradual burnout with a low char residue in both types of atmosphere. The thermal decomposition in air was caused by oxidation reactions, while in nitrogen, the polyurethane binder underwent depolymerization process.

Trend analysis for studies of knowledge flow in research on polymeric materials

Abstract Dynamics of research trends and patenting activity in a given period of time are important factors influencing the composition of the portfolio of the research projects. This article introduces the methods for identification of thematic clusters, determination of their development dynamics and prediction of the short-term trends in a specific research domain. The research on polymeric materials: composites, nanocomposites and blends has been analyzed in this paper. The presented method of structuring is based on clustering of word sets. The financial analysis techniques are applied to identification of dynamics and trend development in the analyzed field of research. The presented analyse is limited to the research papers found in Science Direct database in 1980-2010. The diversified development trends of the identified clusters have been identified e.g. strong development trend of the cluster “Biomedical application”, or visible decline of the cluster “Structure of nanocomposites”

Clustering Method for Analysis of Research Fields: Examples of Composites, Nanocomposites and Blends

Proper planning of fund allocation by R&D departments of research or industrial institutes may be of key importance to increase of their revenue and future success. However, over years, making such decisions has become notoriously difficult, due to the increasing costs of research and shortening lifetime of products and processes. This is complicated even more in the light of growing specialization of research and exponential growth in number of publications. The existing bibliographic approaches used for structuring fields of research have many drawbacks, e.g. too coarse classification due to lack of the required granularity of information or incoherence of the identified thematic clusters. This paper introduces a method for identification of thematic clusters in a given research domain. The method is based on analysis of high co-occurrence frequency of word sets, which are seeds of thematic clusters. The proposed method is universal and can be applied for analysis of any research field, and the publication data extracted can be further analyzed with respect to future development trends.