A sample enrichment probe (SEP) consisting of a thin rod of an inert material and provided at one end with a short sleeve of polydimethylsilicone rubber was used for the high-capacity sample enrichment of analytes from gaseous and aqueous samples for analysis by gas chromatography (GC) and its hyphenated techniques. The silicone rubber was exposed to the analytical sample, after which the end o...

In many papers, the good behavior in operation and benefits offered by a certain type of insulator, classic (toughened glass or porcelain) or composite (fiberglass core and silicone rubber) for overhead lines, is often exaggerated and compared only with the disadvantageous characteristics of the other type of insulator. This paper present both the advantages and disadvantages of each of the two...

The efficacy of computer-aided technologies in the design and manufacture of maxillofacial prostheses has not been fully proven. This paper presents research into the evaluation of direct and indirect additive manufacture of a maxillofacial prosthesis against conventional laboratory-based techniques. An implant/magnet-retained nasal prosthesis case from a UK maxillofacial unit was selected as a...

The availability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from marine sediments to the ragworm (Nereis virens) was studied. Concentrations of PAHs in pore waters were determined using silicone rubber passive samplers. Calculated bioconcentration factors confirmed that partitioning of PAHs between the lipid phase of the polychaetes and pore water is a passive process. Low biota-sediment accumu...

Weibull distribution has been used widely by many researches around the world especially in the analysis of high voltage experimental data. Unfortunately, the statistical techniques used to analyse the high voltage experimental data are not highly accurate. In view of the foregoing, this paper presents a new statistical approach to analyze the tree inception voltage of silicone rubber and epoxy...

Gamma-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (gamma-MPS) was grafted to high-density polyethylene, polyamide and silicone rubber substrates by the emulsion polymerization procedure in order to provide these organic polymers with in vitro apatite-forming ability. The contact angles towards distilled water of the gamma-MPS-grafted specimens were lower than those of the original organic polymer specim...

Many rubber like materials present a stress-softening phenomenon known as Mullins effect. It is characterized by a difference of behavior between the first and second loading and by a residual strain after a first loading. Moreover according to the literature this stress softening is anisotropic. A new constitutive equation is proposed. It relies on the decomposition of the macromolecular netwo...

The sound speed in biological tissues provides important diagnostic and treatment planning information. Conventional methods of sound-speed determination generally require that transducers make physical contact with specimens in order to measure thickness and travel time in the time domain. The physical contact may cause deformation and affect blood flow and the measurement of travel time in th...

Silicones are used in the plastics industry as additives for improving the processing and surface properties of plastics, as well as the rubber phase in a novel family of thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) materials. As additives, silicones, and in particular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), are used to improve mold filling, surface appearance, mold release, surface lubricity and wear resistance. As t...

Dielectric Elastomer (DE) actuators have been studied extensively under laboratory conditions where they have shown promising performance. However, in practical applications, they have not achieved their full potential. Here, the results of detailed analytical and experimental studies of the failure modes and performance boundaries of DE actuators are presented. The objective is to establish fu...