The present invention provides a glass composition not requiring a large quantity of rare earth material, producible by a common apparatus for producing a glass, having a high Young's modulus and a large crack initiation load, and suitable for glass fibers etc. A glass composition according to the present invention contains, in mol %: 50 to 65% SiO.sub.2; 7.5 to 26% Al.sub.2O.sub.3; 15 to 30% MgO; 0 to 8% CaO; 0 to 3% B.sub.2O.sub.3; 0 to 3% Li.sub.2O; and 0 to 0.2% Na.sub.2O. In this glass composition, a total content of MgO and CaO is in a range of 18 to 35 mol %, and a mol ratio calculated by Al.sub.2O.sub.3/(MgO+CaO) is less than 1.

The embodiments herein provide a facile four-step process for the preparation of binder-free graphene felts that are free standing and mechanically robust. The step of deagglomeration of graphene material leads to a uniform size distribution which when combined/integrated with an appropriate moulding technique allows an easy fine tuning of various attributes of graphene felts including electrical conductivity, porosity, surface area, surface morphology and surface functionalization depending on the desired application. Since graphene felts obtained from this process do not incorporate any binder, to achieve better electrical conductivity, electrochemical activity and catalytic and sensing properties compared to conventional graphene felts while not compromising with their mechanical properties.

Provided is a 2D nanomaterial fiber. The 2D nanomaterial fiber includes plate-type fibrous cross sections formed by orienting a 2D nanomaterial in a longitudinal direction and stacking the oriented 2D nanomaterial.

A concrete structure formed of a mixture of concrete and a plurality of custom manufactured twisted steel micro-rein-forcements (TSMRs). Each TSMR has a twist pitch of two or more twists per 25.4 mm applied along its longitudinal axis. The TSMRs are made from a common base stock and have the number of twists predetermined such that a concrete structure formed with at least 10 wt. % per unit volume less TSMRs than fibers in a conventional concrete structure exhibits the same or better performance than the conventional concrete structure in one or more of a stress, deflection, energy, or crack mouth opening (CMOD) properties as determined through defined standard tests. The performance requirement may be based on the actual test result and/or the consistency (coefficient of variation of the result).

A concrete structure formed of a mixture of concrete and a plurality of custom manufactured twisted steel micro-rein-forcements (TSMRs). Each TSMR has a twist pitch of two or more twists per 25.4 mm applied along its longitudinal axis. The TSMRs are made from a common base stock and have the number of twists predetermined such that a concrete structure formed with at least 10 wt. % per unit volume less TSMRs than fibers in a conventional concrete structure exhibits the same or better performance than the conventional concrete structure in one or more of a stress, deflection, energy, or crack mouth opening (CMOD) properties as determined through defined standard tests. The performance requirement may be based on the actual test result and/or the consistency (coefficient of variation of the result).

The present disclosure provides a melt electrospinning device. The melt electrospinning device includes a melting unit, a spinning unit, an electrostatic generating unit, a collection unit, and a sealed cavity. A lining of the melting unit is made of a material having a melting point greater than 500° C. The spinning unit is connected to the bottom of the melting unit and includes a spinneret made from a conductive material having a melting point greater than 500° C. The melt electrospinning process is performed in the sealed cavity. The present disclosure further provides a melt electrospinning method.

The present disclosure provides a melt electrospinning device. The melt electrospinning device includes a melting unit, a spinning unit, an electrostatic generating unit, a collection unit, and a sealed cavity. A lining of the melting unit is made of a material having a melting point greater than 500° C. The spinning unit is connected to the bottom of the melting unit and includes a spinneret made from a conductive material having a melting point greater than 500° C. The melt electrospinning process is performed in the sealed cavity. The present disclosure further provides a melt electrospinning method.

A method of making a multi-composition fiber is provided, which includes providing a precursor laden environment, and forming a fiber in the precursor laden environment using laser heating. The precursor laden environment includes a primary precursor material and an elemental precursor material. The formed fiber includes a primary fiber material and an elemental additive material, where the elemental additive material has too large an atom size to fit within a single crystalline domain within a crystalline structure of the fiber, and is deposited on grain boundaries between adjacent crystalline domains of the primary fiber material to present an energy barrier to atomic diffusion through the grain boundaries, and to increase creep resistance by slowing down growth between the adjacent crystalline domains of the primary fiber material.

A method of making a multi-composition fiber is provided, which includes providing a precursor laden environment, and forming a fiber in the precursor laden environment using laser heating. The precursor laden environment includes a primary precursor material and an elemental precursor material. The formed fiber includes a primary fiber material and an elemental additive material, where the elemental additive material has too large an atom size to fit within a single crystalline domain within a crystalline structure of the fiber, and is deposited on grain boundaries between adjacent crystalline domains of the primary fiber material to present an energy barrier to atomic diffusion through the grain boundaries, and to increase creep resistance by slowing down growth between the adjacent crystalline domains of the primary fiber material.

Embodiments of the invention include silica fiber compositions useful for treatment of animal wounds and tissue, as well as for other applications in industry. The fiber compositions may be formed via electrospinning of a sol gel produced with a silicon alkoxide reagent, such as tetraethyl ortho silicate, alcohol solvent, and an acid catalyst.