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Polymer gears are often used in power transmission due to their numerous advantages. Heat accumulates on polymer gears during operation. Over time, this accumulated heat leads to damage; and shortens the service life of the gears. To prevent this, various fillers are added to the polymer materials. These fillers help to dissipate the heat generated on the gears. In this study, 25% glass fibers, 35% carbon powder, and 60% bronze particles were added to the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) matrix to determine the wear behavior of gears. The properties of the matrix and the filler mainly influence the wear behavior of PTFE composites. The study showed that all composite gears with filler have better wear resistance than pure PTFE gears due to their better thermal stability. After the tests, it was found that the gears made of PTFE + 35% carbon additive had about 12 times better wear rates than those made of pure PTFE. Based on the average temperature values of the experiment, it was found that the mass temperature of gears made of 35% carbon-doped PTFE is about 38-39% lower than that of pure PTFE. This study contributes to the standard studies on heat build-up, thermal damage, and wear of gears made of polymers with different fillers and ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, manufacturing industries have demanded high-performance materials for structural components development due to their reduced weight, improved strength, corrosion, and moisture resistance. The outstanding performance of polymer nano-composites substitutes the use of conventional composites materials. This study is concerned with the machining of MWCNT and glass fiber-modified epoxy composites prepared by a cost-effective hand layup procedure. The investigations were carried out to estimate the generation of the thrust force (Th) and delamination factors at entry (DFentry) and exit (DFexit) side during the drilling of fiber composites. The effect of varying constraints on the machining indices was explored for obtaining an adequate quality of hole created in the epoxy nano-composites. The outcome shows that the feed rate (F) is the most critical factor influencing delamination at both entry and exit side, and the second one is the thrust force followed by wt.% of MWCNT. The statistical study shows that optimal combination of S (1650 Level-2), F (165 Level-2), and 2 wt.% of MWCNT (Level-2) can be used to minimize DFentry, DFexit, and Th. The drilling-induced damages were studied by means of a high-resolution microscopy test. The results reveal that the supplement of MWCNT substantially increases the machining efficiency of the developed nano-composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent earthquakes have indicated that the design and construction of bridges based on former seismic design provisions are susceptible to fatal collapse triggered by the failure of reinforced concrete columns. This paper incorporates an experimental investigation into the seismic response of nonductile bridge piers strengthened with low-cost glass fiber reinforced polymers (LC-GFRP). Three full-scale bridge piers were tested under lateral cyclic loading. A control bridge pier was tested in the as-built condition and the other two bridge piers were experimentally tested after strengthening them with LC-GFRP jacketing. The LC-GFRP strengthening was performed using two different configurations. The control bridge pier showed poor seismic response with the progress of significant cracks at very low drift levels. Test results indicated the efficiency of the tested strengthening configurations to improve the performance of the strengthened bridge piers including crack pattern, yield, and ultimate cyclic load capacities, ductility ratio, dissipated energy capacity, initial stiffness degradation, and fracture mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]