A method in which a stream of dry cementitious powder from a dry powder feeder passes through a dry cementitious powder inlet conduit to feed a first feed section of a fiber-slurry mixer. An aqueous medium stream passes through at least one aqueous medium stream conduit to feed a first mixing section the fiber-slurry mixer. A stream of reinforcing fibers passes from a fiber feeder through a reinforcing fibers stream conduit to feed a second mixing section of the fiber-slurry mixer. The stream of dry cementitious powder, aqueous medium stream, and stream of reinforcing fibers combine in the fiber-slurry mixer to make a stream of fiber-cement mixture which discharges through a discharge conduit at a downstream end of the mixer.

A screw for a plasticating apparatus has one or more helical flights. A portion of the screw has a plurality of advancing grooves arranged in a noncontinuous helix cut in the screw. The advancing grooves are dimensioned to receive material therein as the material is conveyed through the barrel. The screw has a plurality of noncontinuous cross-cut grooves traversing one or more of the advancing grooves. The cross-cut grooves have a second helix angle greater than the first helix angle and less than ninety degrees; and/or one or more of the cross-cut grooves have a third helix angle of about ninety degrees.

A biomass-derived thermosetting polymer material being a product of processing a biomass feed material via a twin screw extruder having a length extending between an inlet and an outlet. Hot water from a water heater is injected into at least one inlet along the length of the twin screw extruder, the at least one inlet generally corresponding with a pressure boundary within the twin screw extruder. A pressure-sustaining valve is connected between the length of the twin screw extruder and the outlet, with the valve being adjusted to produce the biomass-derived thermosetting polymer material.

A biomass-derived thermosetting polymer material being a product of processing a biomass feed material via a twin screw extruder having a length extending between an inlet and an outlet. Hot water from a water heater is injected into at least one inlet along the length of the twin screw extruder, the at least one inlet generally corresponding with a pressure boundary within the twin screw extruder. A pressure-sustaining valve is connected between the length of the twin screw extruder and the outlet, with the valve being adjusted to produce the biomass-derived thermosetting polymer material.

A method for forming a graphene-reinforced polymer matrix composite is disclosed. The method includes distributing graphite microparticles into a molten thermoplastic polymer phase; and applying a succession of shear strain events to the molten polymer phase so that the molten polymer phase exfoliates the graphite successively with each event until at least 50% of the graphite is exfoliated to form a distribution in the molten polymer phase of single- and multi-layer graphene nanoparticles less than 50 nanometers thick along the c-axis direction.

A method for forming a graphene-reinforced polymer matrix composite is disclosed. The method includes distributing graphite microparticles into a molten thermoplastic polymer phase; and applying a succession of shear strain events to the molten polymer phase so that the molten polymer phase exfoliates the graphite successively with each event until at least 50% of the graphite is exfoliated to form a distribution in the molten polymer phase of single- and multi-layer graphene nanoparticles less than 50 nanometers thick along the c-axis direction.

A hydroxyl-functionalized polybutadiene polyurethane hotmelt prepolymer that comprises the chemical reaction product of at least one polybutadiene diol, at least one chain extender having a hydroxyl functionality of two and a molecular weight of less than or equal to 300 g/mol and optionally at least one polybutadiene polyol that has a number-average mean functionality between greater than 2.0 and less than or equal to 3.0 with at least one aliphatic or alicyclic diisocyanate, is thermally vulcanizable, and at room temperature is sufficiently solid or high-viscosity that it can be rolled into a roll as a film applied to a carrier without flowing out or being squeezed out on the side.

A mixer apparatus for the treatment of a polymer material to generate the Maxwell effect therein, at a rotor-stator interface in a mixer. The mixer comprises an alternating series of stators and rotors arranged along an elongated driveshaft supported within an elongated housing. The stators and rotors each having at least one helically arranged channel extending from an upstream end of the stator to an end location near the downstream end of that stator, those helically arranged channels preferably are arranged on the surface of the bore extending through the stator. A further generally radially directed channel from the end location of that helically arranged channel to a peripheral surface discharge at the downstream end of that stator is arranged to supply the polymer passing therethrough, to the upstream end of an adjacent rotor having a plurality of helically directed channels arranged on its outer periphery, those channels being inclined radially outwardly and of tapered dimension from an upstream end to a widened downstream end.

A screw for a plasticating apparatus has one or more helical flights. A portion of the screw has a plurality of advancing grooves arranged in a noncontinuous helix cut in the screw. The advancing grooves are dimensioned to receive material therein as the material is conveyed through the barrel. The screw has a plurality of noncontinuous cross-cut grooves traversing one or more of the advancing grooves. The cross-cut grooves have a second helix angle greater than the first helix angle and less than ninety degrees; and/or one or more of the cross-cut grooves have a third helix angle of about ninety degrees.

A compact camera module that contains a generally planar base on which is mounted a lens barrel is provided. The base, barrel, or both are molded from a polymer composition that includes a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer and a plurality of mineral fibers (also known as whisker). The mineral fibers have a median width of from about 1 to about 35 micrometers and constitute from about 5 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of the polymer composition.