Composite materials can be defined as a combination of two or more materials that results in better properties than those of the individual components used alone. These materials have high strength and stiffness combined with low density compared to the conventional metals. Polymers are structurally more complex than metals. Polymer – matrix composites are viscoelastic materials and their mecha...

Blistering, delamination, substrate deterioration Blistering, delamination, corrosion Blistering, reduced cohesion, film splitting, delamination Blistering, reduced cohesion, delamination, corrosion Blistering, intercoat delamination From components of paint film (e.g., inhibitive pigments, solvents, additives, etc.) From components of lower paint films (e.g., inhibitive pigments, solvents, add...

In the current paper, the effect on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of two commercial acrylic-based paints were compared: one (Paint A) for indoor applications, the other (Paint B) for indoor/outdoor applications. Both were applied on an inert and on a real mortar substrate. The possibility of Paint B to passively improve IAQ was also investigated when adding highly porous adsorbent fillers, both as a...

This study investigated genetic damage in paint workers mainly exposed to toluene as it is a major solvent used in paint thinners. Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay was used as biomarker of genotoxicity. Blood samples were collected from 30 paint workers and 30 control subjects matched with respect to age and other confounding factors except for exposure to toluene. SCE frequency was found ...

A system is introduced for the simulation of spray painting. Head mounted display goggles are combined with a tracking system to allow users to paint a virtual surface with a spray gun. Ray tracing is used to simulate droplets landing on the surface of the object, allowing arbitrary shapes and spray gun patterns to be used. This system is combined with previous research on spray gun characteris...

Recent advances in paint technology have guided the development of novel “ready-to-use” paint formulations in which microencapsulated insecticides, or active ingredients (AIs), are embedded in the paint matrix and gradually released on the surface of the dried paint [1]. It is argued that the slow-release mechanisms enable uniform AI surface concentrations with prolonged residual effect, as com...

Two significant advances are reported for solvent-based self-healing of epoxy materials. First, an autonomic system yielding complete recovery of fracture toughness after crack propagation was achieved by embeddingmicrocapsules containing amixture of epoxy monomer and solvent into an epoxy matrix. Healing with epoxy-solvent microcapsules is superior to capsules that contain solvent alone, and m...