A plant fiber reinforced polymer composite prepared by a twin-screw extruder.

Polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced using a novel plant fiber, sunflower hull sanding dust (SHSD), were prepared using a twin-screw extruder. Thermal and mechanical properties of the SHSD/PP composites were characterized and compared to an organically modified clay (organo-clay)/PP composite. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed that the crystallization temperature and the degree of crystallinity of PP exhibited changes with addition of SHSD and organo-clay. Mechanical properties of the PP were enhanced with the addition of SHSDs. Both the flexural strength and flexural modulus of the PP composites containing 5% (w/w) SHSD were comparable to that of the 5% (w/w) organo-clay reinforced PP. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that no obvious agglomeration of SHSD existed in the PP matrix. Compared to the neat PP and organo-clay/PP, the SHSD/PP composites exhibited a relatively decreasing rate of thermal degradation with increase in temperature. Experimental results suggest that SHSD, as a sunflower processing byproduct, may find promising applications in composite materials.

Accurate visual measurement of three-dimensional moving patterns.

Human observers discriminated relative three-dimensional distances in simple patterns of motion parallax with an acuity similar to vernier acuity under comparable conditions. Accurate visual measures of three-dimensional distance can be derived from the structural invariance of patterns undergoing perspective transformations.