1. An integral polymer grid which comprises an oriented polypropylene grid, either uniaxially or biaxially stretched, said polypropylene grid having a minimum of 20% polypropylene in the beta crystalline form .
2. The integral polymer grid of claim 1, wherein said polypropylene grid has a minimum of 50% polypropylene in the beta crystalline form.
3. The integral polymer grid of claim 1, wherein said polypropylene grid has a concentration of a beta nucleant of about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm of said grid.
4. The integral polymer grid of claim 1 wherein said polypropylene grid has at least 80% polypropylene in the beta crystalline form.
5. A starting material for making a uniaxially or biaxially oriented grid which comprises a polypropylene sheet having perforations or indentations to form openings when said sheet is stretched and having a minimum of 20% polypropylene in the beta crystalline form.
6. The polypropylene sheet of claim 5 having a minimum of 50% polypropylene in the beta crystalline form.
7. The polypropylene sheet of claim 5 having a concentration of beta nucleant of about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm.
8. The polypropylene sheet of claim 5 having at least 80% polypropylene in the beta crystalline form.
9. A method of making an integral polypropylene grid which comprises adding a beta nucleating agent to polypropylene and forming or casting said beta nucleated polypropylene into a sheet-like starting material having a defined pattern of holes or depressions, and uniaxially or biaxially orienting said starting material under controlled conditions to form said holes or depressions into grid openings.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said beta nucleating agent is a red quinacridone dye.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein said beta nucleating agent is present at a concentration of about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the beta nucleating agent is added in a concentrated form having about 450 ppm to about 2000 ppm of the beta nucleating agent in a polypropylene resin mixture.
13. The integral polymer grid of claim 1 wherein said polypropylene grid has increased tensile, torsional and flexural strength when compared to the same polypropylene grid manufactured without addition of a beta nucleating agent.
14. A reinforced civil engineering structure comprising a mass of particulate material and a reinforcing oriented polypropylene grid therefor, either uniaxially or biaxially stretched, which has a minimum of 20%-30% polypropylene crystals, and preferably up to about 80%, in the beta form.
15. A method of constructing a civil engineering structure which comprises providing a mass of particulate material and reinforcing said material with an oriented polypropylene grid, either uniaxially or biaxially stretched, which has a minimum of 20%-30% polypropylene in beta crystalline form, and preferably up to about 80%, in beta crystalline form.
16. The integral polymer grid made by the method of claim 11, wherein the extruded sheet can be run at line speeds that are at least 5% faster than the line speeds for an extruded polypropylene sheet with no added beta nucleant and the same starting thickness.
17. The integral polymer grid made by the method of claim 11, wherein the grid has thickness in the node junction region between the machine direction and transverse direction strands that is at least 10% less than that of a biaxially oriented web made from an extruded sheet with no added beta nucleant and the same starting sheet thickness.
18. The integral polymer grid made by the method of claim 11, wherein the grid has a thickness in the node junction region between the machine direction strands and transverse direction strands that is at least 5% more than that of a biaxially oriented web made from an extruded sheet with no added beta nucleant and the same starting sheet thickness.
19. The integral polymer grid made by the method of claim 11, wherein the grid has a tensile strength measured at 2% elongation in the machine direction, that is at least 10% higher than that of a biaxially oriented web made from an extruded polypropylene sheet with no added beta nucleant and the same starting thickness.
20. The integral polymer grid made by the method of claim 11, wherein the grid has a tensile strength measured at 5% elongation in the machine direction, that is at least 10% higher than that of a biaxially oriented web made from an extruded polypropylene sheet with no added beta nucleant and the same starting thickness.
21. The integral polymer grid made by the method of claim 11, wherein the grid has a increased node width, narrower strand width, increased flexural rigidity and decreased torsional rigidity than that of a biaxially oriented web made from an extruded polypropylene sheet with no added beta nucleant and the same starting thickness.
22. An extruded polypropylene sheet for manufacturing an integral geogrid structure comprising a nucleating agent in a concentration of about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm of total polypropylene content.
23. The sheet of claim 21, further comprising additives selected from the group consisting of stabilizers, pigments, and processing agents which do not nucleate the alpha crystal form of polypropylene.
24. A method of manufacture of a polypropylene sheet containing a nucleating agent which comprises:
(a) adding a nucleating agent to a polypropylene batch for a final concentration of nucleating agent of between about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm; and
(b) extruding a starting sheet.
25. The method of claim 23 further comprising uniaxially orienting the polypropylene in the sheet.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein the sheet is biaxially oriented.
27. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of adding a beta nucleating agent to the polypropylene is carried out by adding a beta nucleating concentrate to non-nucleated polypropylene, said concentrate containing from about 450 ppm to about 2000 ppm of said beta nucleating agent.
28. A concentrate for use in manufacturing an oriented polypropylene grid which comprises polypropylene and a beta nucleating agent, said nucleating agent being present in a concentration from about 450 ppm to about 2000 ppm in the concentrate.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A base station, comprising:
a multiplexing unit configured to multiplex a broadcast channel and a synchronization channel into each of plural basic frequency blocks included in a system band;
a receiving unit configured to receive a UE capability regarding a bandwidth from a mobile station; and
a specifying unit, coupled to the receiving unit, configured to specify, using RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling information in a predetermined basic frequency block, among the plural basic frequency blocks included in the system band, one or more basic frequency blocks to be used by the mobile station based on the UE capability, when the system band formed by combining the plural basic frequency blocks each of which is originally configured based on a transmission and reception bandwidth with which communication can be performed, regardless of UE capabilities is used;
wherein communication with the mobile station is maintained in the predetermined basic frequency block, after communication with the mobile station is started in the one or more basic frequency blocks.
2. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
the specifying unit specifies, among the plural basic frequency blocks which are formed by dividing the system band based on a maximum transmission and reception bandwidth of the mobile station, the one or more basic frequency blocks.
3. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
the specifying unit specifies, among the plural basic frequency blocks in which a guard band between mutually adjacent basic frequency blocks is reduced or removed, the one or more basic frequency blocks.
4. A mobile station, comprising:
a transmitting unit configured to transmit a UE capability regarding a bandwidth to a base station;
a control unit configured to set, among plural basic frequency blocks included in a system band, a transmission or reception band to one or more basic frequency blocks specified using RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling information in a predetermined basic frequency block from the base station based on the UE capability, when the system band formed by combining the plural basic frequency blocks each of which is originally configured based on a transmission and reception bandwidth with which communication can be performed regardless of UE capabilities is used; and
a receiving unit configured to receive a broadcast channel and a synchronization channel multiplexed into each of the plural basic frequency blocks included in the system band;
wherein the control unit maintains communication with the base station in the predetermined frequency block, after communication with the base station is started in the one or more basic frequency blocks.
5. A basic frequency block specifying method in a base station, comprising the steps of:
multiplexing a broadcast channel and a synchronization channel into each of plural basic frequency blocks included in a system band;
receiving a UE capability regarding a bandwidth from a mobile station; and
specifying, using RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling information in a predetermined basic frequency block, among the plural basic frequency blocks included in the system band, one or more basic frequency blocks to be used by the mobile station based on the UE capability, when the system band formed by combining the plural basic frequency blocks each of which is originally configured based on a transmission and reception bandwidth with which communication can be performed regardless of UE capabilities is used;
wherein communication with the mobile station is maintained in the predetermined basic frequency block, after communication with the mobile station is started in the one or more basic frequency blocks.
6. A band control method in a mobile station, comprising the steps of:
transmitting a UE capability regarding a bandwidth to a base station;
setting, among plural basic frequency blocks included in a system band, a transmission or reception band to one or more basic frequency blocks specified using RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling information in a predetermined basic frequency block from the base station based on the UE capability, when the system band formed by combining the plural basic frequency blocks each of which is originally configured based on a transmission and reception bandwidth with which communication can be performed regardless of UE capabilities is used; and
receiving a broadcast channel and a synchronization channel multiplexed into each of the plural basic frequency blocks included in the system band;
wherein communication with the base station is maintained in the predetermined basic frequency block, after communication with the base station is started in the one or more basic frequency blocks.
7. The base station according to claim 1, wherein a guard band between mutually adjacent basic frequency blocks is narrower than a guard band provided outside the ends of the plural basic frequency blocks.
8. The mobile station according to claim 4, wherein a guard band between mutually adjacent basic frequency blocks is narrower than a guard band provided outside the ends of the plural basic frequency blocks.
9. The basic frequency block specifying method according to claim 5, wherein a guard band between mutually adjacent basic frequency blocks is narrower than a guard band provided outside the ends of the plural basic frequency blocks.
10. The band control method according to claim 6, wherein a guard band between mutually adjacent basic frequency blocks is narrower than a guard band provided outside the ends of the plural basic frequency blocks.