Many precision devices, especially measuring devices, must maintain their technical parameters in variable ambient conditions, particularly at varying temperatures. Examples of such devices may be super precise balances that must keep stability and accuracy of the readings in varying ambient temperatures. Due to that fact, there is a problem of measuring the impact of temperature changes, mainly on geometrical dimensions of fundamental constructional elements of these devices. In the paper a new system for measuring micro-displacements of chosen points of a constructional element of balance with a resolution of single nanometres and accuracy at a level of fractions of micrometres has been proposed.

Casting industry has been enriched with the processes of mechanization and automation in production. They offer both better working standards, faster and more accurate production, but also have begun to generate new opportunities for new foundry defects. This work discusses the disadvantages of processes that can occur, to a limited extend, in the technologies associated with mould assembly and during the initial stages of pouring. These defects will be described in detail in the further part of the paper and are mainly related to the quality of foundry cores, therefore the discussion of these issues will mainly concern core moulding sands. Four different types of moulding mixtures were used in the research, representing the most popular chemically bonded moulding sands used in foundry practise. The main focus of this article is the analysis of the influence of the binder type on mechanical and thermal deformation in moulding sands.

Biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity are the main attributes of any material to be used in biomedical applications. Among all the potential stimuli, pH, salt and temperature exist naturally in the internal environment of the human body. Hence internal stimuli responsive hydrogels can be exploited for specific drug delivery and tissue replacement. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is the world’s largest volume synthetic polymer, produced for its excellent chemical resistance, physical properties and complete biodegradability, which has resulted in broad practical applications. PVA could be considered a suitable host material due to its good thermo-stability, chemical resistance and film-forming ability. It is also an important material because of its large-scale applications. Novel data analysis techniques were developed to analyze the response of PVA to external stimuli, including temperature and/or pH. The presented non-contact method shows that the PVA polymer gel, physically cross-linked by freezing and thawing, shrinks and swells under the influence of temperature, which is a reversible phenomenon. Under the given conditions, such as temperature, pH and mechanical load, the dominant factor affecting the swelling or contraction of the hydrogel is the change in the temperature of the liquid in which the PVA hydrogel sample is immersed.