The effect of wood flour and coupling agent content on the hygroscopic thickness swelling rate of polypropylene composites was investigated in this study. To meet this objective, the wood flour was compounded with polypropylene and coupling agent in an internal mixer; then the samples were fabricated by injection molding. The concentration was varied from 40 to 60% for wood flour and from 0 to ...

Strand board can be manufactured from sawmill residues, branches, and crown wood left in the forest. The thickness swelling of these residues is quite different from that of mature wood and can have a negative effect on the physical and strength properties of strand board. A mixture of these materials and pressing conditions can be optimized by assessing thickness swelling of wood strands after...

Moisture absorption in model photoresist films of poly(4-hydroxystryene) (PHOSt) and poly(tert-butoxycarboxystyrene) (PBOCSt) supported on silicon wafers was measured by X-ray and neutron reflectivity. The overall thickness change in the films upon moisture exposure was found to be dependent upon the initial film thickness. As the film becomes thinner, the swelling is enhanced. The enhanced swe...

The thin film behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-stat-2-(N-ethylperfluorooctane sulfonamido)ethyl acrylate) (NIPAAm-stat-FOSA) based hydrogels containing 5 mol% FOSA was elucidated using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) in combination with spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) through examination of the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and temperature dependent swell...

The reversible swelling behavior of multilayer films containing hyaluronic acid and polyallylamine hydrochloride was investigated using in situ ellipsometry, since many of the natural functions and applied uses of hyaluronic acid are related to the extraordinary ability of this biopolymer to swell, and to respond conformationally to the local solution environment. This swelling was observed to ...

In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there are several areas where expansive soil exists in the form of variable-thicknesses layers in the developed regions. Severe distress to infrastructures can be caused by the development of heave and swelling pressure in this kind of expansive shale. Among the various techniques for expansive soil mitigation, the removal and replacement technique is very popular fo...