Schlieren interferometry is found to be an alternative tool for temperature measurement during thermoplastic laser welding with regard to methods based on thermocouples or optical pyrometers. In fact, these techniques are not easily applied when materials to be processed have reduced thickness, negligible heat conduction, and low emissivity, as is the case of welding high-density polyethylene f...

In the context of modern engineering practice, this paper describes the exploitation of thermoplastic materials for the provision of lightweight, low cost, corrosion free, alignment devices for lower limb prostheses. After setting out design requirements, four newly developed devices are described and discussed. These are respectively a four jack system, a serrated wedge system, a spherical ali...

Thermoplastic rubbers are materials that combine the characteristics of good processability of thermoplastics with the physical properties of vulcanized rubber. SEBS is a SBS which has been subjected to a hydrogenation process, through the polybutadiene chain is eliminated. This new rubber has a high resistance to environment, temperature, UV radiation, etc. without losing the properties of a t...

Plane wave propagation in infinite two-dimensional periodic lattices is investigated using Floquet-Bloch principles. Frequency bandgaps and spatial filtering phenomena are examined in four representative planar lattice topologies: hexagonal honeycomb, Kagomé lattice, triangular honeycomb, and the square honeycomb. These topologies exhibit dramatic differences in their long-wavelength deformatio...

In order to detect the presence of defects in the composite structure of helicopter rotor blades, combined neutronand X-ray radiography investigations were performed at the Budapest Research Reactor. The rotor blades were about 10 m (or 6,5 m) long, and therefore the images were taken in several segments, and a special program was developed to reconstruct the entire radiographic image from the ...

Petersen-Gaussian (PG) networks are a broad family of interconnection networks for multi processor systems proposed recently. In this paper, a special case of PG networks, called PetersenTwisted-Torus (PTT) network, is considered. We analyze the diameter of PTT network, and find that PTT has smaller diameter and lower costing requirement than the well-known honeycomb mesh, diagonal mesh, torus,...

Deterioration of bridges in the United States has been well recognized. According to the FHWA National Bridge Inventory, one third of nearly 600,000 U.S. highway bridges are classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Since the majority of bridges were built using wood, steel or concrete, the same conventional materials have been used for bridge replacement or rehabilitation,...