The mechanical properties (fracture strength, fracture toughness, and Vickers microhardness) of MgAl2O4 and x wt% ZrO2–MgAl2O4 (1 # x # 30) hot-pressed materials were measured at room temperature. Two kinds of materials, which were prepared from either ball-milled or attrited powders, were investigated. Compared with an unreinforced spinel, a twofold (or greater) increase in both strengthening ...

Relatively tough epoxy-blend polymers are now commercially available for use as adhesives and as the matrices for fibre composites. Nevertheless, another failure property which may be of equal, or even of greater, importance in some applications is the resistance of the epoxy polymer to cyclic-fatigue loading. However, the cyclic-fatigue behaviour of epoxy polymers has not been studied in great...

A molecular mechanism is proposed for the toughness enhancement observed in double-network (DN) hydrogels prepared from poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) polyelectrolyte network and poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) linear polymer. It is an extension of the phenomenological model set forth recently by Gong et al. ( Macromolecules 2007, 40, 6658- 6664 ). This mechanism rationalize...

• Recycled carbon fibres were used for laminate interlayer toughening. The commingled rCFs/Polyphenylene-sulfid showed excellent toughening performance. mode-I and mode-II fracture energies of the significantly increased by 220% 105%, respectively. This study demonstrated an attractive application recycled fibres. Exploring routes effective use (rCFs) is critical to close loop in life cycle wor...