In order to determine of physical characteristics of rice straw as an EFFECTIVE source of fiber in ruminants, alfalfa hay, four varieties of rice straw (Taroum Neda, Taroum Neamat, Taroum Sangi, and Asgari), and four rations that contained four varieties of rice straws were investigated. The chemical (dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), nonfiber carbohydrates (NFC) and crude protein (CP)), and physical characteristics (bulk density, water holding capacity (WHC), and soluble and insoluble DM and ash of samples, kinetics of hydration and change in functional specific gravity (FSG) and feed particle size, physically EFFECTIVE factor (pef)) of forages and total mixed ration (TMR) were determined. Except on ether extract and ash content, the DM, OM, NDF, NFC, and CP content of four rice straw and rations were similar but there was different among alfalfa and rice straws. The rice straws had a bulk density lesser than alfalfa. However, TMR had a similar bulk density, WHC, hydration rate, insoluble DM and ash and greater than alfalfa hay. Alfalfa had lesser WHC than rice straws and there were not different in straws. The soluble DM and FSG of rice straws were similar and lesser than those of alfalfa hay. The TMR had similar physical characteristics. Alfalfa hay had greater FSG than rice straw at all incubation times. Four rice straws and four rations were similar in in degradable NDF (iNDF) and total tract NDF digestibility (TTNDFD). Results showed that regardless the system, rice straws were similar in physically EFFECTIVEness and physically more EFFECTIVE than alfalfa because of having greater NDF and iNDF content, geometric mean and pef than al-falfa.

FIBRE metal laminates (FMLs) have appeared as the most suitable materials for shipbuilding, aeronautical and aerospace applications due to their superior mechanical properties over traditional materials. In this paper, degradation in flexural and impact properties of glass FIBRE/epoxy composite (GF/E composite) and stainless steel glass FIBRE/epoxy FIBRE metal laminate (SS FML) due to hygrothermal conditioning has been investigated for marine applications. Hand lay-up process was used for specimen preparation according to ASTM standards. Distilled water and seawater were used for hygrothermal conditioning at 40° C and 70° C for three months. The three point bend test was performed on universal testing machine using a three point bend fixture. The pendulum type impact testing machine was used to perform Izod impact test. Due to the preventive action of outer stainless steel layers against moisture ingestion, the reduction in mechanical properties of SS FML was less as compared to GF/E composite. SS FML and GF/E composite exhibited low moisture absorption rate in seawater at both temperatures as high salt content in seawater reduces the moisture diffusion process into the composite matrix.

Basalt FIBRE (BF)/acrylonitrile–, butadiene rubber (NBR) composites with various BF contents and orientations were prepared, and the curing, physical and mechanical properties and wear performance under block-on-ring abrasion conditions were evaluated. The results showed that the curing time was not obviously affected by the BFs. The addition of BFs increased the hardness but had negative influence on the tensile/tear strength of the NBR composites, especially when the BFs were oriented perpendicular to the tensile/tear direction with a high content, which should be due to the weak connection between the BFs and the rubber matrix. The coefficient of friction (COF) of the composites decreased significantly when BFs were added, whereas the content (3–, 30 phr) and the orientation of the FIBREs did not mainly affect the COF. Both parallel-and perpendicular-oriented BFs were EFFECTIVE at improving the wear resistance of the composites, and the former showed a better effect. With the BF content increase, the wear rate initially decreased and then remained basically stable. The COF and wear rate of the composites decreased by 27% and 35% when 12 phr BFs were added in a parallel direction. The excessive BFs, especially the perpendicularly-oriented BFs, led to fracture of the worn surface due to the abrasive grain wear caused by the crushed FIBREs.