Inlet conditions effects on vertical wall jets in forced and mixed convection regimes

In this paper a numerical investigation of a laminar isothermal or nonisothermal two dimensional plane wall jet is carried out. Special attention has been paid to the effect of the inlet conditions at the nozzle exit on the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of the flow, in both convection regimes: forced and mixed. Two velocities profiles at the nozzle exit are used: uniform profile and parabolic profile. The Prandtl number effect on the jet flow characteristics is also analyzed in the case of forced convection regime.The system of governing equations is solved with an implicit finite difference scheme. For numerical stability we use a staggered non-uniform grid. The obtained results show, for the two convection modes, that the inlet conditions affect the flow in the immediate neighbourhood of the nozzle (core region) in which the flow is governed mainly by the inertia forces. In the established region the results become independent of the flow inlet conditions. Secondly, the effect of the Prandtl number is significant in the plume region in which the jet flow is governed by buoyant forces.     

Temperature stability of a pure metakaolin based K-geopolymer: Part 1. Variations in the amorphous mineral network

The thermal behavior of a model MK based K-geopolymer (Si/Al = 1.38 and K/Al = 0.68; obtained by alkaline activation of a very pure metakaolin) was investigated between room temperature and 1400°C in order to evaluate its potentiality for high-temperature applications. The purpose of our study was to monitor the behavior of a geopolymer during a temperature rise in order to better understand its variations with respect to temperature. The works from the present paper focus only variations in the internal structure of the mineral matrix. The results presented here show that the amorphous mineral matrix is preserved up to 900°C. The results also show that there is a densification of the internal structure of tetrahedral network during heating, due to changes in the Q³ environments in fully-connected Q⁴ for both silicates and aluminates. Thus, our work provides a new more precise vision of the 3D geopolymeric mineral matrix for which the silicoaluminous network is not exclusively composed of Q⁴ entities, contrary to what is frequently encountered in the literature before.     

Characterisation and quantification of phenolic compounds of extra-virgin olive oils according to their geographical origin by a rapid and resolutive LC–ESI-TOF MS method

The phenolic compounds present in seven samples of olive fruits were analysed by a rapid and resolutive LC–ESI-TOF MS method. All samples were collected during the normal picking period for olive oil production, in central and south Tunisia, and were obtained from the Oueslati variety cultivated in different olive growing areas.     

Morphological,spectroscopic and photocatalytic properties of Eu3+:TiO2 synthesized by solid-state and hydrothermal-assisted sol-gel processes

Eu³⁺ doped TiO₂ powders were synthesized by solid-state reaction and hydrothermal-assisted sol-gel process. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence techniques. Both synthetic procedures yield the pure anatase phase of titania. The excitation and emission spectra and the decay profiles were measured for different thermal treatments of the samples, in order to investigate the effects of the synthesis conditions on the doping mechanism. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by measuring the degradation of methylene blue under UV light irradiation and a correlation between its efficiency and the luminescence performance has been proposed.     

Determination of phenolic and other polar compounds in flaxseed oil using liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A new method based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionisation time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI–TOF (MS)) has been used to analyse phenolic compounds in flaxseed oil. Some phenolic compounds such as secoisolariciresnol, ferulic acid and its methyl ester, coumaric acid methyl ester, diphyllin, pinoresinol, matairesinol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillin and vanillic acid have been detected from flaxseed oil. The quantification of these compounds in three varieties of flaxseed oils was carried out using their commercial standards. The efficiency, rapidity and high resolution of HPLC coupled to the sensitivity, selectivity, mass accuracy and true isotopic pattern from TOF (MS) have revealed an enormous separation potential allowing the determination of a broad series of phenolic and other polar compounds present in flaxseed oil for the first time.     

Phytostanols and phytosterols distributions in corn kernel

Recently, industry has focused attention on plant matrices rich in phytosterols and phytostanols for their ability to reduce serum cholesterol levels. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the phytosterols and phytostanols contents of different fractions (endosperm, pericarp, germ) of corn kernel. The germ fraction contained more oil (24.2–30.7%) than endosperm and pericarp fractions (0.4–1.2%). Endosperm oil had the highest levels of phytostanols and 4,4-dimethylsterols, while pericarp oil had the greatest amounts of 4-desmethylsterols and 4-monomethylsterols. In the oil extracted from three corn kernel fractions sitostanol was the predominant phytostanols (77–87%), followed by campestanol (13–23%). The high percentages of 24–methylencycloartanol and cycloartenol were detected in the endosperm and pericarp parts, respectively. Citrostadienol was detected in corn germ oil as the main component of the 4-monomethylsterols fraction. In different parts of corn kernel, β-sitosterol (62–69%) was the major 4-desmethylsterol, followed by campesterol (11–18%) and stigmasterol (5–13%).     

Polymer bilayers with enhanced dielectric permittivity and low dielectric losses by Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars interfacial polarization: Characteristic frequencies and scaling laws

An efficient approach to obtain polymeric materials with high permittivity values and low dielectric losses is presented in the current study. For this purpose, dielectric measurements by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy, numerical simulations, and analytical calculations have been carried out for bilayer structures consisting in an insulating and a conductive polymer layer. Polyethyleneterephtalate and polytetrafluoroethylene have been used as insulating layers while, as conductive materials, blends of polyvinyl acetate with an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. The dielectric properties of the samples have been investigated in a broad frequency (from 10⁻¹ to 10⁷ Hz) and temperature range in order to determine, through the analysis of the scaling laws governing the interfacial polarization effects, the characteristic frequency ranges and the amplitude of the enhanced permittivity. An excellent agreement is found between the experimental results, the numerical simulations, and the analytical calculations. Finally, we show that bilayer polymeric materials with permittivity values as high as ε′ = 556 and with low dielectric losses (tan(δ) = 0.001) can be readily obtained by the current approach. This could have multiple applications, especially in the field of organic electronics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47551.     

Determination of vegetation cover fraction by inversion of a four-parameter model based on isoline parametrization

This study focuses on the determination of the fraction of vegetation cover (fCover) based on the inversion of a four-parameter model combining the reflectances in the Red (R) and Near Infrared (NIR) domains. This model is semi-empirical since it is based on radiative transfer modeling, but requires parameter calibration related to SAIL simulations (Verhoef). As shown by Yoshioka et al., if the multiple soil/vegetation interactions are smaller than the first order ones then the fCover isolines can be approximated by straight lines in the (Red, Near Infrared) plane. Each isoline is completely defined by its slope α and its intersection point γ (with the soil line), that have been related to fCover using SAIL simulations and optimization either by the Simplex (local optimization) or the SCE-UA (global optimization) algorithms. The results are compared to classical vegetation indices for both simulated and actual data. The method shows an improvement in most of cases. Moreover, when using the SCE-UA algorithm, our approach proves its robustness relative to high noise level.     

The effect of learning by imitation on a multi-robot system based on the coupling of low-level imitation strategy and online learning for cognitive map building

It is assumed that future robots must coexist with human beings and behave as their companions. Consequently, the complexities of their tasks would increase. To cope with these complexities, scientists are inclined to adopt the anatomical functions of the brain for the mapping and the navigation in the field of robotics. While admitting the continuous works in improving the brain models and the cognitive mapping for robots’ navigation, we show, in this paper, that learning by imitation leads to a positive effect not only in human behavior but also in the behavior of a multi-robot system. We present the interest of low-level imitation strategy at individual and social levels in the case of robots. Particularly, we show that adding a simple imitation capability to the brain model for building a cognitive map improves the ability of individual cognitive map building and boosts sharing information in an unknown environment. Taking into account the notion of imitative behavior, we also show that the individual discoveries (i.e. goals) could have an effect at the social level and therefore inducing the learning of new behaviors at the individual level. To analyze and validate our hypothesis, a series of experiments has been performed with and without a low-level imitation strategy in the multi-robot system.     

Antibacterial and in vivo reactivity of bioactive glass and poly(vinyl alcohol) composites prepared by melting and sol-gel techniques

Bioactive glass particle is used in the repair of bone defects. This material undergoes a series of surface in vivo reactions, which leads to osteointegration. We evaluated the effect of the bioactive glass synthesis, sol-gel (BG(S)) versus melting (BG(M)), associated with polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) on in vivo bioactivity with biochemical parameters, liver-kidney histological structure and antibacterial in vitro activity. These composites were testified in many bacteria and implanted in ovariectomized rat. The serum and organs (liver and kidney) of all groups, control and treated rats, were collected to investigate the side effects of our composites, BG(S)-PVA and BG(M)-PVA, in comparison with control and ovariectomized rats. Also, the implants, before and after implantation, were prepared for analysis using physicochemical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Our results have shown the stability of natremia, kaliemia, calcemia and phosphoremia. The histological structures of liver and kidney in implanted rats are intact compared to control and ovariectomized rats. BG(S)-PVA is characterized by a higher antibacterial effect on negative and positive gram bacteria than BG(M)-PVA. The physicochemical results have confirmed a progressive degradation of BG(S)-PVA and BG(M)-PVA, while replacing the implant by an apatite layer. But this bioactivity of BG(S)-PVA is faster than BG(M)-PVA. We can therefore confirm, on the one hand, the biocompatibility of our two implants and, on the other hand, the beneficial effect of sol-gel synthesis technique versus melting, both on the antibacterial effect and on the rapid formation of layer hydroxyapatite, and consequently on osteogenesis.