Effective elastic properties for carbon nanotube reinforced composites are obtained through a variety of micromechanics techniques. An embedded carbon nanotube  in  a  polymer  matrix  and  its surrounding  interphase  is  replaced with an equivalent fiber for  predicting  the  mechanical  properties of  the  carbon  nanotube/polymer composite. The effects of an interphase layer between the nan...

The significance of full vectorial pulse propagation through emerging waveguides has not been investigated. Here we report the development of a generalised vectorial model of nonlinear pulse propagation due to the effects of Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) in optical waveguides. Unlike standard models, this model does not use the weak guidance approximation, and thus accurately models the mod...

A novel, simple geometry for high throughput electrospinning from a bowl edge is presented that utilizes a vessel filled with a polymer solution and a concentric cylindrical collector. Successful fiber formation is presented for two different polymer systems with differing solution viscosity and solvent volatility. The process of jet initiation, resultant fiber morphology and fiber production r...

Modeling the random fiber distribution of a fiber-reinforced composite is of great importance for studying the progressive failure behavior of the material on the micro scale. In this paper, we develop a new algorithm for generating random representative volume elements (RVEs) with statistical equivalent fiber distribution against the actual material microstructure. The realistic statistical da...

The thermal model for transverse heat flow of having single filament in a unit cell is extended. In this model, we proposed that two circular filaments in a unit cell of square packing array and obtained the transverse thermal conductivity of an unidirectional material. I. Thermal Model Predicting equivalent thermal conductivity of transverse flow in unidirectional composite materials is of int...

SUMMARY The force exerted by cardiac muscle usually has been estimated as wall stress, i.e., force per unit area of cross-section. This calculation fails to allow for the decrease in number of muscle fibers per square centimeter as the fibers shorten and become thicker during systole. To describe better the behavior of actual muscle fibers, a model composed of fibers has been identified and exa...

Natural fibers are emerging as low cost, lightweight and apparently environmentally superior alternatives to glass fibers in composites. We review select comparative life cycle assessment studies of natural fiber and glass fiber composites, and identify key drivers of their relative environmental performance. Natural fiber composites are likely to be environmentally superior to glass fiber comp...