Thin film thickness measurements in two phase annular flows using ultrasonic pulse echo techniques

The electric power generation and oil/gas production industries have a strong interest in the physical characterization of conducting and non-conducting liquid films that are formed during the flow of liquids in pipes. Conducting and non-conducting liquid films do not lend themselves to the same characterization techniques due to the different requirements originating from their electrical properties. Techniques based on the use of ultrasound are extremely attractive for that purpose as they do not depend on the electrical properties of the liquid and are also non-invasive. This paper presents the application of ultrasonic techniques for measuring the thickness of wavy thin liquid films (<6 mm) in vertical pipes. Initial benchtop experiments were performed, and different signal processing methods were implemented in order to identify the most suitable depending on the film thickness. For a film thickness >0.5 mm a time of flight method was utilized whereas for a film thicknesses <0.5 mm a frequency method and time domain method were utilized. These methods were validated using a theoretical volume measurement on a static system. The studied methods were then tested on downward and upward vertical flow experimental rigs with pipe diameters of 127 mm and 34.5 mm respectively. The results of the experiments using ultrasonic methods showed good agreement with the measurements obtained using a multi pin film sensor and a concentric conductance probe, highlighting the potential that ultrasound offers in thin film measurements.     

Controlled growth of nanocrystalline aluminum nitride films for full color range

Color films are widely used for visual effect as well as for their functional properties. To date, however, synthesizing thin films with desired color remains challenging. In this work, AlN color films are deposited on Si wafers by precise control of the deposition time for different thickness during reactive magnetron sputtering from an Al target in Ar/N₂ atmosphere. The thickness, morphology, structure, composition and color index are carefully examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry and colorimeter, respectively. As the film thickness changes from 57 nm to 165 nm, the film exhibits purple, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red in color. These colors repeat in the same order when the thickness goes over 165 nm. Once the thickness exceeds 467 nm, overlapping of colors takes place. The mechanisms are elucidated.     

Molecular dynamics studies of lubricant depletion under moving laser heating: Effects of laser power and film thickness

Molecular dynamics simulation is employed to study the depletion behaviors of perfluoro-lubricants under scanning laser heating for heat-assisted magnetic recording hard disk drives. A partial lubricant near the substrate is irradiated by the laser beam to mimic nano-scale heat transfer from disk to lubricant. The lubricant surface morphology and thickness profiles are examined to reveal the dynamic depletion behaviors. The localized temperature evolution is also evaluated to illustrate the direction-dependent ridge formation around the depletion zone. In addition, the effects of laser power and film thickness on lubricant depletion are explored. Although evaporation is enhanced significantly at high laser powers or for lubricant with thickness around one monolayer, thermodiffusion is the primary mode of lubricant depletion under scanning laser heating.     

Shear Plugging and Frictional Behaviour of Composites and Fabrics Under Quasi‐static Loading

Experimental studies are presented on the shear plugging and frictional behaviour of composites and fabrics under quasi‐static loading. The primary focus is on the effect of specimen thickness on quasi‐static shear plugging behaviour. In the present study, quasi‐static shear plugging and through‐the‐thickness frictional tests are carried out on three types of materials. The materials investigated are 2D plain weave E‐glass/epoxy, 2D plain weave T300 carbon/epoxy and 2D plain weave E‐glass fabric. Typical results on shear plugging strength and frictional behaviour are presented. Effect of specimen thickness on quasi‐static shear plugging behaviour is also investigated.     

Analysis and Evaluation of Power Formulations for Wood and Hardboard Using Radio Frequency and Microwave Energy

This article analyzes the influence of frequency, temperature, moisture content, and structural orientation on the applicability of the Beer-Lambert law for various wood species using radio frequency and microwave radiation. To achieve this objective, the study compares the power dissipation computed from Maxwell's equation and Lambert's power law. The wood species considered are white oak (Quercus alba), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), white birch (Betula paperyfera), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and four commercial hardboards. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor are examined as a function of moisture conditions, temperature, frequencies, and the three principal structural orientations. The study involved 3,000 complex dielectric constants. It was found that the radial critical thickness is somewhat smaller than the tangential critical thickness (0.95 times smaller) and the longitudinal critical thickness is significantly smaller than the radial (0.52 times). It was demonstrated that the critical thickness L _crit above which the Beer-Lambert law is valid for all of the wood species studied under various conditions obeys the following conditions: log₁₀(L _crt) = 0.999 log₁₀(β^?1) + 0.4122, where β^?1 is the penetration depth (cm). In the case of microwave radiation, the critical thickness can be estimated from L _crt = 2.615 β^?1 ? 0.0626. Finally, a model is proposed to take into consideration the effect of moisture content with frequency (or with attenuation constant).     

Examining the Suitability of the Reaction Engineering Approach (REA) to Modeling Local Evaporation/Condensation Rates of Materials with Various Thicknesses

The reaction engineering approach (REA) is examined here to investigate its suitability as the local evaporation rate to be used in multiphase drying. For this purpose, REA is first implemented to model the convective drying of materials with various thicknesses. The relative activation energy, as the fingerprint of REA, generated from one size of a material is used to model the convective drying of the same material with different thicknesses. Because the results indicate that REA parameters can model the drying of materials with various thicknesses, REA can be scaled down to describe the local evaporation rate (at the microscale as affected by local composition and temperature). The relative activation energy is used to describe the global drying rate in modeling the local evaporation rate. REA is combined with a system of equations of conservation of heat and mass transfer in order to yield the spatial reaction engineering approach (S-REA) as a nonequilibrium multiphase drying model. By using S-REA, the spatial profiles of moisture content, concentration of water vapor, temperature, and local evaporation rate can be generated, which can assist in comprehending the transport phenomena.     

输气管道杂质沉积量模拟计算

输气管道日常管理中缺少对管道内杂质沉积量的预测,使得在实际生产中,输送效率成为确定管道清管周期、评价清管效果的唯一定量指标,具有一定的局限性。为此,根据含杂质沉积管道内流体动力学特点,采用欧拉法建立了输气管道杂质沉积预测模型,以川渝地区输气管线为例,模拟计算了管道内杂质沉积平均厚度、沉积量及含杂质沉积管道当量直径并将一次清管作业实际排污量与模拟结果进行对比,验证了模型。计算得出模拟计算排污量与实际排污量相差47.9m3,并得到了管道输气量和运行压差对杂质沉积量的影响规律:1压差一定时,管道杂质沉积量随输气量增大而降低;2起点压力一定时,管道杂质沉积量随压差增大而增大。     

鄂尔多斯盆地B区延长组长8储层四性关系及有效厚度下限研究

通过岩心、试油和分析化验等资料并结合测井资料,对鄂尔多斯盆地B区延长组长8储层进行"四性"关系研究。研究结果表明长8储层岩性主要为浅灰、深灰色细粒—极细粒长石岩屑砂岩或岩屑长石砂岩,成分成熟度较低而结构成熟度较高;储集空间以溶蚀孔隙为主,属于低孔、特低渗储层,岩性、物性的差异控制了储层油气的富集程度。确定了其储层物性下限标准为:孔隙度为7.5%,渗透率为0.15×10-3μm2;电性下限标准为:电阻率为31Ω·m。声波时差为220μs/m;含水饱和度小于等于62%。该研究为以后的油气勘探与开发工作提供了理论依据。     

涂层测厚仪在纺织材料测量中的应用与研究

为了提高测量纤维和纱线直径以及织物厚度的效率,使用了涂层测厚仪,将测试结果与常规测量方法的测试结果进行了比较,并建立了两种测量方法的关系表,经过试验得知:两种方法的测试结果有很好的相关性,表明用涂层测厚仪可以快速测量纤维和纱线直径以及织物厚度。     

工艺条件对中温裂纹釉的影响

以钠长石、石英、硅灰石、方解石、龙岩高岭土、白云石为原料,采用氧化气氛在1 200~1 230℃制备中温裂纹釉。研究了工艺条件对中温裂纹釉的影响。实验结果表明:在配方组成不变的情况下,工艺条件对裂纹釉有着重要的影响。当球磨时间为9min时,釉浆浓度均匀易于裂纹釉的形成;同时当浸釉时间为6~9s,烧成温度为1 200~1 220℃,保温时间为20min时,釉面平整光滑,呈现大片开裂。