Polyvinyl ester green composites were synthesized with walnut shell powder (WSP) by in-situ polymerization technique. The green composites have been evaluated for mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus and hardness. Sliding wear loss, specific wear rate and coefficient of friction were investigated by using computerized pin-on–disc machine at normal applied loads of 20,...

A new analytical approach to optimize the thicknesses of a two-layer absorbing structure constituted by graphene-based composite and polymer dielectric spacer backed metallic layer acting as perfect electric conductor (PEC) is proposed. The lossy sheet made an epoxy-based vinyl ester resin filled with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) characterized known frequency spectra complex permittivity. opti...

Over a billion microwave ovens are used every day thus witnessing the importance of microwave heating in the world today. Microwave processing of polymers is a comparatively recent and vastly expanding field in industry due to economical advantages through energy saving and accelerated manufacture. Factors that hinder the use of microwaves in materials processing are decreasing every day. Epoxy...

Novel enzyme-mediated synthetic routes were developed to provide a new family of sophorolipid derivatives and glycolopid-based amphiphilic monomers. These compounds are of great interest for their potential use in immunoregulation, as well as for other biological properties. In the present work, an efficient lipase-catalyzed conversion of sophorolipid ethyl ester to (a) the 6'-monoacylated deri...

This paper presents an investigation on energy absorption characteristics of nano-reinforced panels, laminated face sheets and sandwich composites in high velocity ballistic and low velocity punch-shear experiments. The vinyl ester panels were reinforced with 1.25 and 2.5 wt. percent nanoclay and exfoliated graphite platelets. Three different face sheets were manufactured with E-glass, Owens Co...

The current route in the UK for the conditioning and immobilization of most intermediate level waste for interim storage and geological disposal is to encapsulate in a cementitious matrix. However, certain waste materials, such as those containing reactive metals (e.g. uranium and aluminium), can corrode in the presence of the highly alkaline water in a cementitious environment. In their initia...