• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.87-95
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• 2019

In the present study, the effect of alkali treatment of rice straw on the flexural properties and impact strength of rice straw/recycled polyethylene composite was investigated. Alkali treatments were performed by means of two different methods at various sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentrations. One is static soaking method and the other is dynamic shaking method. The composites were made by compression molding technique using rice straw/recycled polyethylene pellets produced by twin-screw extrusion process. The result strongly depends on the alkali treatment method and concentration. The shaking method done with a low concentration of 1 wt% NaOH exhibits the highest flexural and impact properties whereas the soaking method done with a high concentration of 10 wt% NaOH exhibits the highest properties, being supported qualitatively by the fiber-matrix interfacial bonding of the composites. The properties between the two highest property cases above-described are comparable each other. The study suggests that such a low concentration of 1 wt% NaOH may be used for alkali treatment of natural fibers to improve the flexural and impact properties of resulting composites, rather than using high concentrations of NaOH, 10 wt% or higher. Considering of environmental concerns of alkali treatment, the shaking method is preferable to use.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.146-152
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• 2018

In this study, to improve the performance of asphalt mixtures for plastic deformation occurring mainly in Korea, complex modifiers were prepared by mixing powders and liquid type modifiers. The main constituents were powdery diatomaceous earth, mica and carbon black, and liquid type solid 70% SBR latex. The tensile strength ratios for the two asphalt mixtures used in the test were above 0.80 for the Ministry of Land Transportation (2017) asphalt mixture production and construction guidelines. The effects of increasing the tensile strength in the dry state was more than 14% when the composite modifier was added. The deformation rate per minute by the wheel tracking test load was an average of 0.07 to 0.147 for each mixture. The strain rate per minute was improved by the modifier, and the dynamic stability was improved by almost 100% from 295 to 590. In addition, the final settling was reduced from 11.38 mm to 9.57 mm. A plastic deformation test using the triaxial compression test showed that the amount of deformation entering the plastic deformation failure zone at the end of the second stage section and in the third stage plastic deformation section was 1.76 mm for the conventional mixture and 1.50 mm for the complex modifier mixture. The average slope of the complex modifier asphalt mixture mixed with the multi-functional modifier was 0.005 mm/sec. The plastic deformation rate is relatively small in the section where the road pavement exhibits stable common performance, i.e. the traffic load.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.192-198
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• 2021

Due to enormous market growing of electric vehicles without combustion engine, reducing unwanted BSR (buzz, squeak, and rattle) noise is highly demanded for vehicle quality and performance. Particularly, innerbelt weatherstrips which not only block wind noise, rain, and dust from outside, but also reduce noise and vibration of door glass and vehicle are required to exhibit high damping properties for improved BSR performance of the vehicle. Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), which can be recycled and have lighter weight than thermoset elastomers, are receiving much attention for weatherstrip material, but TPEs exhibit low material damping and compression set causing frictional noise and vibration between the door glass and the weatherstrip. In this study, high damping EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer)/PP (polypropylene) thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) were investigated by varying EPDM/PP ratio and ENB (ethylidene norbornene) fraction in EPDM. Viscoelastic properties of TPV materials were characterized by assuming that the material damping is directly related to the viscoelasticity. The optimum material damping factor (tanδ peak 0.611) was achieved with low PP ratio (14 wt%) and high ENB fraction (8.9 wt%), which was increased by 140% compared to the reference (tanδ 0.254). The improved damping is believed due to high fraction of flexible EPDM chains and higher interfacial slippage area of EPDM particles generated by increasing ENB fraction in EPDM. The stick-slip test was conducted to characterize frictional noise and vibration of the TPV weatherstrip. With improved TPV material damping, the acceleration peak of frictional vibration decreased by about 57.9%. This finding can not only improve BSR performance of electric vehicles by designing material damping of weatherstrips but also contribute to various structural applications such as urban air mobility or aircrafts, which require lightweight and high damping properties.