Abstract: The difficulty of methylating a hindered piperidinyl, piperazinyl, or diazepinyl group with an Eschweiler-Clarke ("E-C") procedure without using a large molar excess (more than double) of formaldehyde is surprisingly found to be non-existent in the case of a diazacycloalkan-2-one group with a hindered N.sup.4 - or N.sup.5 -atom of its NH group which is to be methylated. The N.sup.4 - or N.sup.5 -atom of a polysubstituted diazacycloalkan-2-one group ("DCA") is substantially stoichiometrically converted even when a conventional E-C procedure is starved of HCHO, that is, with a much smaller molar excess of formaldehyde than deemed necessary. The effective molar ratio of NH groups: HCHO in the starved E-C process is in the range from 1:1 to 1:1.5, in the presence of enough formic acid to function both as reactant and solvent not only for a DCA-containing complex amine ("starting amine") to be methylated, but also for the methylated amine (product).

Abstract: Preparation of a macromolecular monomer of a lactone having an alpha-beta monoolefinically unsaturated "head" is effected at low temperature with a strong oxonium salt, such as a trialkyloxonium (TAO) hexafluorophosphate catalyst, with essentially no formation of cyclic oligomers and an insignificant amount of diacrylate. Cationic ring-opening polymerization of lactone monomer in conjunction with an unsaturated alcohol (propagator) having an acryloyl or methacryloyl double bond, produces a polylactone macromer having an ethylenic double bond at one end and a hydroxyl group at the other. The polymerization proceeds by polyaddition of the lactone to the OH group which is the propagating species. The macromer so formed allows the preparation of a macromer of block copolymer of the polylactone with a polyether such as epichlorohydrin, using the same TAO catalyst. In such a macromer of block copolymer, the polylactone ester block is next to the double bond, followed by the polyether block.

Abstract: A batch-type pyrolysis furnace burns a load of organic combustibles on metal parts without a significant risk of explosion because of a combination of two necessary conditions: (a) a primary water spray is maintained during a large portion of the burn cycle while the main burner is neither turned off nor attenuated until a major portion of the load is combusted; and, (b) the temperature in the main chamber is controlled by a "micro-ramped" programmable temperature controller (PC). By setting the ramp for micro-steps of no more than 2.degree. F. per minute, and actuating the primary water spray to maintain the set-point temperature while it is ramped upward, the criticality of the location for the single thermocouple is obviated, and it is unnecessary to measure the temperature in the throat. The micro-steps eliminate soak periods during the ramp. The main "burn" progresses during the ramp, and at the upper set-point of the ramp (say 800.degree.) with normal fuel supply to the main burner ("high-fire").

Abstract: A novel latex is derived from a crosslinked carboxylate latex containing from 1-20 phr of itaconic acid (IA) and at least 70 phr of one or more copolymerizable monomers one of which is an acrylate having the structure ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is hydrogen or methyl; R.sub.2 represents C.sub.1 -C.sub.20 alkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 alkoxyalkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 alkylthioalkyl, or C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 cyanoalkyl; andat least 40 phr of said acrylate in said film is present as an alkyl acrylate in which alkyl is C.sub.4 -C.sub.8. The latex can only be formed in an aqueous medium by an emulsion polymerization process in which at least one-half of the IA is initially charged into a reactor, and the remaining ingredients of the recipe then added gradually. This unique order of addition produces a highly stable latex of polymer particles having a glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) in the range from about -20.degree. C. to about -60.degree. C.

Abstract: A side web non-pneumatic tire ("SWNPT") is integrally molded from a stiff, resilient elastomeric material with particular specifications, to form a unitary honeycomb structure bounded by integrally molded outer and inner cylindrical coaxial and coextensive members ("hoops"), and, a single side web member. The outer hoop is supported and cushioned by the honeycomb which comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, angularly oppositely directed planar rib members (ribs) bounded by the side web on one side only. The side web, preferably on the outboard edge of the hoops, connects the hoops near their outboard edges. The opposite side surfaces of the side web lie at an angle .theta. in the range from 0.degree. to 30.degree. on either side of vertical to the rotational axis of the SWNPT. The ribs extend axially along the inner and outer hoops, connecting them, and the outboard edges of all the ribs lie upon the inboard face of the web.

Abstract: Fibers in non-woven fibrous goods are bonded together by a crosslinked carboxylated acrylate polymer which forms a network of coalesced latex particles bonding contiguous fibers. This network exists as a non-continuous, porous film supported upon the fibers of the non-woven goods. The particles are of polymer derived from a crosslinked carboxylate latex containing from 1-20 phr of itaconic acid (IA) and at least 70 phr of one or more copolymerizable monomers one of which is an acrylate having the structure ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is hydrogen or methyl;R.sub.2 represents C.sub.1 -C.sub.20 alkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 alkoxyalkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 alkylthioalkyl, or C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 cyanoalkyl; andat least 40 phr of said acrylate in said film is present as an alkyl acrylate in which alkyl is C.sub.4 -C.sub.8.

Abstract: Excellent stabilization of pigmented polypropylene (PP) fiber against gas fade upon exposure to atmospheric pollutants is obtained with a hindered amine containing a polysubstituted piperazin-2-one (PSP) moiety, for example, a C.sub.2 -C.sub.12 alkylene connecting two PSP moieties, or a trisubstituted triazine ring with three PSP substituents, or a polyalkylene polyamine having pendant substituted oxo-piperazinyl-traizine moieties (PIP-T), that is, having pendant triazine rings substituted with PSP substituents. The stabilizers are unexpectedly effected when used without an antioxidant which produces yellowing, if used. Either pigmented or unpigmented PSP-stabilized PP fibers, and particularly fibers pigmented with white or pastel dyes, and having a non-alkaline "finish" are especially benefitted.

Abstract: A trapezoidal non-pneumatic tire ("TNPT") is integrally molded from a stiff, resilient elastomeric material with particular specifications, to form a unitary structure comprising outer and inner cylindrical coaxial members ("hoops"), the outer being wider than the inner. The outer hoop is supported and cushioned by a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, planar rib members (ribs) and a planar central web member (web) which connects the hoops at their circumferential center lines. The web lies in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the TNPT. The ribs extend axially along the inner and outer hoops, connecting them, and the edges of the ribs lie along the opposite faces of the web. The ribs are angled in the range from 15.degree. to 75.degree. to radial planes which intersect them at their radially inner ends, and the ribs on one side of the web are angled oppositely from those on the other. A rubber tread is secured to the outer surface of the outer hoop.

Abstract: N-substituted, N-(polysubstituted-4-piperidinyl)-.alpha.-(3,5-dialkyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-.a lpha.,.alpha.-disubstituted acetamide ("3,5-DHPIPA") generates an exceptionally stable hindered acetamide aroxyl radical which is far more stable than the "blue aroxyl radical" derived from 2,4,6-tri-tert-butyl-phenol, which radical was heretofore adjudged the standard of superior stability and resistance to degradation due to heat, oxygen and light, the compound having been specifically disclosed as a uv-stabilizer. The hindered aroxyl amide radical which is at least ten times more stable than the "blue aroxyl radical" heretofore deemed stable, may be generated by 3,5-DHPIPA compounds prepared by a peculiarly effective synthesis known as the ketoform reaction. This ketoform reaction is unexpectedly well-adapted to produce the 3,5-DHPIPA compounds which we have been unable to produce by any other synthesis known to us.

Abstract: An effective neutral polymeric bonding agent (NPBA) is disclosed for a polar filler such as crystals of a nitramine (HMX or RDX, for example) dispersed in a polar binder, such as energetic binders containing nitro- and nitrato-plasticizers. The exceptional strength of the propellant composite of this invention is derived from a NPBA tailored to conform to criteria found to take advantage of the surface and absorption properties of the system so as to inculcate such strength. In particular, an interpolymer of acrylonitrile, methylacrylate and hydroxyethylacrylate can be tailored to provide a NPBA for a submix of a OH-terminated prepolymer and polar nitro- or nitratoplasticizers, such as nitroglycerine, which have solubility parameters in about the same range. Typically the submix includes HMX, RDX, ammonium perchlorate and the like along with fuel particles such as aluminum, boron, and the like.

Abstract: An essentially single stage reaction has been discovered in which a disubstituted ethanolamine, that is, a 2,2'-substituted-2-aminoethanol, may be reacted with a haloform and a carbonyl containing compound selected from the group consisting of monoketones and benzaldehyde, in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide, and optionally in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst, to produce an alkali metal hydroxyethylaminoacetate ("HEAA") which has N-adjacent C atoms on which there are a total of at least three substituents (hence "polysubstituted"), and one or both pairs of substituents on each N-adjacent C atom may be cyclized. The HEAA may be cyclized by the action of a mineral acid to produce a 2-morpholone hydrochloride which is characterized by having a total of at least three substituents on the N-adjacent C atoms of the ring. The 2-morpholone so produced may be reduced to a polysubstituted aminodiol.

Abstract: A carcass for a self-sealing pneumatic tire is constructed by starting with an extruded thin flat strip of puncture sealant both surfaces of which are detackified. The strip is place on a building drum and its upper surface is wiped clean so that an inner liner may be adhered to it. Thereafter, the carcass is conventionally completed with superimposed successive layers of belts, and tread along with bead rings, etc. The carcass is then cured in a conventional curing press so that the sealant is cured by contact with the curing bladder. The curing sealant is not restrained in any way, but does not flow. Alternatively, a laminate of the sealant is formed with the inner liner, with only the exposed surface of the sealant detackified so that it adheres neither to the building drum nor to the curing bladder. The detackifier remains on the sealant.

Abstract: Aluminum weld wire having a nascent aluminum surface, (the weld wire is also useful for vacuum and arc metallizing), is lubricated with a dual coating of an essentially anhydrous lower alkanol and a colloidal solid lubricant each present as a layer so thin that they are essentially invisible to the naked eye. The solid lubricant is oil-free colloidal graphite which may be combined with a minor amount of a sulfide of molybdenum. The lubricant particles are deposited from a 1% to 15% by wt dispersion of the particles in the alkanol, in substantially spaced-apart relation, forming a non-uniform, monoparticulate layer on the nascent aluminum surface. The high propensity of the lubricant particles to settle out (they are smaller than 10 microns, and generally smaller than 1 micron in size) from the dispersion, permits formation of the monoparticulate layer. The alkanol layer is so thin that only from 100 ppm to 0.1% of alkanol, by weight of the weld wire, is present.

Abstract: The heat-sink capacity of a well-insulated dome curing press lends itself to saving external steam (flowed over the exterior of a mold in the press) when curing an article. Despite shutting off the external steam at about the half-way point in the normal heating cycle, or sooner, the temperature swing at a point 2 inches within the mold is less than 10.degree. F. This small swings allows the point of least cure (PLC) to receive the required number of cure equivalents long after the external steam supply is shut off, that is, while the press is "coasting". In the mean while, the internal heating and cooling cycle of the press may also be shortened for maximum energy savings, or left unchanged. Though the external steam is shut off before the PLC has received the required or specified number of cure equivalents at the PLC, the press-open to press-close cycle remains the same, and the quality of the cure is not measurably affected.

Abstract: A split tire mold having a tread ring having arch-vents for venting air circumferentially across the inner surface of the tread ring so that air escapes from the parting line of the mold halves. The "dougle-wedge-shaped" arch-vents provide passage for trapped air above each tread block of the tread as it is moved against the inner surface of the tread ring. The shape of the arch-vent passages and the angulation of the wedges is critical to the effectiveness of the arch-vent which forms an arch-vent bridge of cured rubber in a cured tire. The configuration of the bridge allows a cured tire to be easily removed from the mold cavity without leaving a broken-off piece of the rubber bridge to plug the arch-vents. This arch-vent design leaves flat-sided, narrow wedge-shaped pieces of rubber as the arch-vent stubs, tapered in two directions. The arch-vent stubs, viewed in the radial direction are so unobtrusive as to be cosmetically acceptable in a finished tire.

Abstract: A soft but tough self-supporting elastomeric film having a glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) in the range from about -20.degree. C. to about -60.degree. C., raw tensile strength of at least 300 psi, along with an elongation of at least 350% and less than 20% hysteresis loss, exhibits "snap", a characteristic of a natural rubber band. The novel film is derived from a crosslinked carboxylate latex containing from 1-20 phr of itaconic acid (IA) and at least 70 phr of one or more copolymerizable monomers one of which is an acrylate having the structure ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is hydrogen or methyl;R.sub.2 represents C.sub.1 -C.sub.20 alkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 alkylthioalkyl, or C.sub.2 -C.sub.7 cyanoalkyl; andat least 40 phr of said acrylate in said film is present as an alkyl acrylate in which alkyl is C.sub.4 -C.sub.8.

Abstract: At least three, and as many as eighteen, most preferably at least nine, crosslinking sites are provided through the alkoxy groups in multiple chains on a triazine ring (hence "multisilane"), on a single molecule of the multisilane. The multisilane, useful as a coupling agent, is formed by reacting a triazine-containing compound with a suitable aminoalkyl-alkoxysilane, or, alkyl-aminoalkyl-alkoxysilane in either an anhydrous, or an aqueous liquid medium. A size containing the multisilane, enhances the reinforced properties of organic synthetic resinous materials in which the fibers are used, and most particularly those of rigid poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with which it provides cohesive bonding of glass fiber surfaces.

Abstract: Polyarylene polyethers ("PAPE") with vinyl chain ends may be crosslinked to form networks with excellent physical and chemical properties except they tend to be brittle. In particular, a polysulfone ("PSU" made from bisphenol A and dichlorodiphenyl sulfone) with vinylbenzyl chain ends ("di-VB-PSU") is too brittle for many applications where impact resistance is essential. This brittleness is combatted by inserting a thermally stable rubbery poly(dimethylsiloxane) ("PDMS") segment having a number average molecular weight in the range from about 600 to about 5000 connected to di-VB-PSU segments by hydrosilylation in the presence of a Pt catalyst, to form a thermoplastic linear predominantly triblock oligomer with vinylbenzyl chain ends which are thermally crosslinkable.

Abstract: A high temperature PVC resin blend is made by blending from 60 to 85 parts PVC with no more than 40 parts of a ("alpha-SAN") copolymer of alpha-methyl styrene ("AMS"), styrene ("S") and acrylonitrile ("AN") and less than 20 parts by wt additives including stabilizers, antioxidants, lubricants, and processing aids. In addition, an impact modifier may be added. The blend with particularly sized glass fibers, may be thermoformed at an elevated processing temperature and pressure, to provide a reinforced composite in which the PVC is covalently bonded to the glass fiber. The composite has a substantially higher HDT and equivalent tensile strength, compared to that of a similarly reinforced, unblended PVC composite, without sacrificing the novel composite's other desirable physical properties.

Abstract: The perforations in a film-faced wound dressing have been discovered to have edges which, though clearly defined, lack the ability to cut the neoepithelium of a healing wound, with the result that the film affords an unexpectedly high degree of comfort during movement of the patient- and most particularly, when the dressing is changed. This occurs in a thin, soft, self-supporting elastomeric film, such as a polyether polyurethane (PPU) film, having less than 10% crystallinity. The film provides a degree of conformability not attained heretofore; has a softness and elastomeric quality which results in reduced shear associated with the edges of its perforations as compared with the sharp cutting edges of perforations in plastic film; has excellent releaase characteristics enhanced by less than 25% open area (due to perforations) which minimizes the open area into which the neoepithelium may grow.