Two-temperature chemically-non-equilibrium modeling of argon induction plasmas with diatomic gas

A non-equilibrium modeling of argon–oxygen and argon–hydrogen induction thermal plasmas was performed without thermal and chemical equilibrium assumptions. Reaction rates of dissociation and recombination of diatomic gas and ionization were taken into account with two-temperature modeling. A substantial deviation from LTE exists near the torch wall in argon–oxygen induction plasmas under atmospheric pressure, while small deviation in argon–hydrogen plasmas results from the large collision frequency between electrons and hydrogen atoms.     

Defect reduction in electrochemically deposited CdS thin films by annealing in 02

Using the electrochemical deposition method, CdS thin films were deposited from acid solutions (pH = 2.5) containing CdS0₄ and Na₂S₂0₃ on indium-oxide coated glass substrates. These films were annealed in N₂, air, or O₂ atmosphere at 200–500°C for 30 min. Photoluminescence spectra were measured at 77 K. For the films annealed in N₂, the band edge emission became weaker and the luminescence due to defects shifted to longer wavelengths as the annealing temperature was raised above 300°C. However, for the films annealed in air or O₂, the band edge emission was observed strongly irrespective of the annealing temperature and the luminescence due to defects was weak. Thus the O₂ annealing is useful for the defects reduction.     

Multi-component co-condensation model of Ti-based boride/silicide nanoparticle growth in induction thermal plasmas

Numerical analysis is conducted for the titanium-based boride and silicide nanoparticle synthesis using an induction thermal plasma including the material evaporation process and the nanoparticle growth process with nucleation and co-condensation. Both systems present the nano-scaled particle size distributions. Ti-B system shows the smaller particle diameter, sharper distribution, larger particle number density, and wider range of the composition than Ti-Si system. Ti-Si system provides a narrower range of the silicon content due to the simultaneous co-condensation of titanium and silicon. Finally the correlation between the particle size and the nonmetal content of the synthesized nanoparticles is presented on a chart.     

Improvement in stabilization of launching performance and launching velocity using linear accelerator

This paper describes the improvements in launching stability and launching velocity of the linear accelerator (LAC). The authors have designed and produced a railgun using the LAC for weaving loom shuttles. The LAC is an electromagnetic launcher which enables a projectile to be launched at a speed of more than 50 m/s. Basically, it consists of a unipole linear dc motor and operates the same principle as dc rotary motors, the most difficult problem in this system being the stabilization of the current collection on the projectile. Then, various launch experiments have been conducted. As a result, the carbon projectile was launched at a speed of 73 m/s using double-state-type LAC.     

Proteolysis Affects Thermal Gelation of Squid Mantle Muscle

Thermal gelation of squid mantle muscle was studied by means of gel strength measurement and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The gel strength of thermally induced squid meat gel decreased when squid meat paste was heated in two steps (35°C for 30 min followed by 90°C for 30 min). This decrease in gel strength was effectively depressed by the addition of protease inhibitors such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), and soybean trypsin inhibitor, indicating that me-tallo- and/or serine-proteases were mainly involved in the deterioration of squid meat gel prepared by two-step heating. SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that EDTA or PMSF suppressed the degradation of myosin heavy chain.     

Simultaneous measurement of liquid velocity and interface profiles of horizontal duct wavy flow by ultrasonic velocity profile meter

A simultaneous measurement of the liquid velocity and interface profiles was performed for stratified-smooth and wavy flows in a horizontal duct using a ultrasonic velocity profile (UVP) meter. The influences of the reflections of ultrasonic pulses at the gas–liquid interface and channel bottom were reduced by using an absorbent for the ultrasonic pulses on the duct bottom wall and optimization of the liquid level and time interval between pulses. For a smooth–stratified flow, good comparison was obtained with a velocity profile obtained by particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) for video pictures taken simultaneously at the UVP measurement. Polystyrene beads were used as the reflector and tracers respectively, for the UVP and PTV measurements. The velocity profiles measured for a wavy flow with periodically-generated interfacial waves agreed well with the theoretical prediction for solitary waves. Turbulence component appeared in the velocity profiles of both the smooth–stratified and wavy flows.     

High-performance genetic analysis on microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis plastic chips fabricated by injection molding

We have developed a novel technique for mass production of microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis (mu-CAE) plastic chips for high-speed, high-throughput genetic analysis. The mu-CAE chips, containing 10 individual separation channels of 50-microm width, 50-microm depth, and a 100-microm lane-to-lane spacing at the detection region and a sacrificial channel network, were fabricated on a poly(methyl methacrylate) substrate by injection molding and then bonded manually using a pressure-sensitive sealing tape within several seconds at room temperature. The conditions for injection molding and bonding were carefully characterized to yield mu-CAE chips with well-defined channel and injection structures. A CCD camera equipped with an image intensifier was used to monitor simultaneously the separation in a 10-channel array with laser-induced fluorescence detection. High-performance electrophoretic separations of phiX174 HaeIII DNA restriction fragments and PCR products related to the human beta-globin gene and SP-B gene (the surfactant protein B) have been demonstrated on mu-CAE plastic chips using a methylcellulose sieving matrix in individual channels. The current work demonstrated greatly simplified the fabrication process as well as a detection scheme for mu-CAE chips and will bring the low-cost mass production and application of mu-CAE plastic chips for genetic analysis.     

Application of Highly Functional Ti-Oxide-Based Photocatalysts in Clean Technologies

Various Ti-oxide based photocatalysts such as the highly dispersed Ti-oxide species within zeolite frameworks, TiO₂ nano-particles hybridized with hydrophobic zeolite adsorbents as well as visible light responsive TiO₂ thin films have been successfully prepared. Characterization studies at the molecular level, such as X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and photoluminescence (PL), revealed that the highly dispersed Ti-oxide species within the nano-spaces of zeolites possess a tetrahedral coordination and that they demonstrate unique and high performance for the photocatalytic decomposition of NOx and the photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ with H₂O. A high photocatalytic reactivity for the TiO₂ semiconducting photocatalysts could be achieved by blending them with hydrophobic siliceous zeolites which was equal to the performance of TiO₂ deposited with expensive Pt particles. The role of the siliceous zeolites can be described as a so-called “catch and release effect of organic compounds”, i.e., (i) the condensation of the reactants within the hydrophobic cavities of zeolites and; (ii) the efficient diffusion of the reactant onto the TiO₂ photocatalytic sites. Furthermore, a novel photocatalytic system which can convert abundant solar energy into renewable H₂ energy by the decomposition of H₂O into H₂ and O₂ can also be achieved by using visible light responsive TiO₂ thin film photocatalysts prepared by a RF-magnetron sputtering deposition method. The conversion efficiency of solar energy into H₂ energy may be estimated at ca. 0.1% from the initial rate of H₂ evolution.     

Morphologic Control of Pt Supported Titanate Nanotubes and Their Photocatalytic Property

Morphologic control of Pt supported titanate nanotubes was attempted by the hydrothermal hot-pressing (HHP) technique in order to improve the handleability as a photocatalyst. The bulk of Pt-nanocrystal supported titanate nanotubes was successfully fabricated without the H₂ reduction process by applying the HHP technique. The bulky Pt-nanocrystal supported titanate nanotubes possessed dense microstructures, significantly sharp distributions of mesopores, and high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area. Furthermore, the bulky Pt-nanocrystal supported titanate nanotubes showed the photocatalytic degradation activities of 2-propanol aqueous solution under UV-light irradiation.