An analytical model for gas leakage through contact interface in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Sealing performance between two contacting surfaces is of significant importance to stable operation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this work, an analytical micro-scale approach is first established to predict the gas leakage in fuel cells. Gas pressure and uneven pressure distribution at the interface are also included in the model. At first, the micro tortuous leakage path at the interface is constructed by introducing contact modelling and fractal porous structure theory. In order to obtain the leakage at the entire surface, contact pressure distribution is predicted based on bonded elastic layer model. The gas leakage through the discontinuous interface can be obtained with consideration of convection and diffusion. Then, experiments are conducted to validate the numerical model, and good agreement is obtained between them. Finally, influences of surface topology, gasket compression and gasket width on leakage are studied based on the model. The results show that gas leakage would be greatly amplified when the asperity standard deviation of surface roughness exceeds 1.0 μm. Gaskets with larger width and smaller thickness are beneficial to sealing performance. The model is helpful to understand the gas leakage behavior at the interface and guide the gasket design of fuel cells.     

煤峪口矿81010工作面煤层底板裂隙发育特征及防治

针对煤炭开采过程中出现的突水事故,采用RFPA数值模拟软件建立采动模型,对底板裂隙破断过程和声发射进行模拟,研究煤层底板采动裂隙扩展突水通道,结果表明:离断层越近,断层内水压导升高度越高,断层出现活化,裂隙扩展发育,最终贯通形成导水通道,在进行注浆改造后,单个钻孔的最大涌水量为8 m³/h,说明注浆加固防治水效果较好,能确保工作面的安全回采。     

Inhibitory effects of curcumin and piperine on fluorescent advanced glycation end products formation in a bovine serum albumin–fructose model

This study investigated the inhibitory effects of curcumin and piperine on fluorescent advanced glycation end products (fAGEs) formation in a bovine serum albumin (BSA)–fructose model. Model systems of BSA and fructose were prepared, and curcumin or piperine was added. fAGEs and BSA oxidation product (dityrosine, kynurenine and N'-formylkynurenine) contents were determined. The results showed that fAGEs content decreased with increasing concentration of curcumin and piperine (P < 0.05). Addition of curcumin and piperine at 160 µg mL⁻¹ could inhibit fluorescent AGEs by 100% and 93% respectively. Dityrosine and N'-formylkynurenine contents decreased as curcumin and piperine concentration increased (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the result of principal component analysis indicated that curcumin and piperine markedly impeded BSA oxidation, resulting in a lower level of fAGEs in model systems. Therefore, adding curcumin and piperine may facilitate reduced fAGEs levels in BSA–fructose model.     

Double emulsion (W/O/W) gel stabilised by polyglycerol polyricinoleate and calcium caseinate as mangiferin carrier: insights on formulation and stability properties

Mangiferin (MGF) is a phenolic compound isolated from mango, but its poor solubility significantly limits its use. In this study, MGF was embedded into the inner aqueous phase of W₁/O/W₂ emulsions. Firstly, the dissolution method of MGF was determined. MGF remained stable in solution with pH 13 at 30 min, and its solubility reached 10 mg mL⁻¹. When the pH of MGF solutions was adjusted from pH 13 to pH 6, MGF did not immediately crystallise, providing sufficient time to construct the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions. Subsequently, the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions were constructed using polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and calcium caseinate (CAS). The formation and stability of the W₁/O/W₂ emulsions were investigated. The MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised with 1% PGPR and 1% – 3% CAS exhibited a low viscosity, limited loading capacity, and poor stability. Conversely, the MGF-loaded W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised by 3%PGPR–3%CAS exhibited optimal loading capacity (encapsulation efficiency = 95.31% and loading efficiency = 0.91%) and stability, which was attributed to the fact that high viscosity and gel state retarded the migration of inner aqueous phase. These results indicated that the W₁/O/W₂ emulsions stabilised by PGPR and CAS may be a potential alternative for encapsulating mangiferin.     

Fabrication of high-efficiency Yb:Y2O3 laser ceramics without photodarkening

High-efficiency Yb:Y₂O₃ laser ceramics were fabricated using the vacuum-sintering plus hot isostatic pressing (HIP) without sintering additives. High-purity well-dispersed nanocrystalline Yb:Y₂O₃ powder was synthesized using a modified co-precipitation method in-house. The green bodies were first vacuum sintered at a temperature as low as 1430°C and then HIPed at 1450°C. Finally, the samples were air annealed at 800°C for 10 h. Although no sintering aids were used, full density of the samples with excellent optical homogeneity and an inline transmission of 80% at 400 nm could be obtained. Moreover, photodarkening phenomenon was not detected in the ceramics. Preliminary laser experiment with the fabricated ceramics in a two-mirror cavity has demonstrated 32 W continuous-wave (CW) output at ∼1077 nm with an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 58.2%. To the best of our knowledge, this is so far the highest CW output power and optical-to-optical conversion efficiency achieved with the Yb³⁺-doped sesquioxide ceramics in a simple two-mirror cavity.     

Acid–base transport model depicting the dynamic pH response of interfacial reactions

Acid–base transport is integral to many important interfacial reactions in various fields of chemistry, but its theoretical foundation is lacked. Herein, a common acid–base transport model is established owing to the success in deriving buffer transport equations. This model is applicable to most buffer systems by flexibly integrating the transport equations in terms of buffer components, and is verified through the model relationships of buffer transport limiting current by using hydrogen evolution reaction experiments. Based on model calculations, two diagram approaches are proposed to depict the dynamic pH response and aid buffer operation optimizations. The model and methods allow us to quantify the rate-limiting effect of acid–base transport on interfacial reactions and to precisely control the effect through medium regulations. Furthermore, the model has laid the foundation of dynamic pH effect on species transformation and process mechanism, which can be of wide interest in the chemistry encompassing interfacial reactions.     

Investigation into adsorption equilibrium and thermodynamics for water vapor on montmorillonite clay

The isothermal adsorption curves for water vapor on montmorillonite were measured by a gravimetric adsorption system. Dent's model was employed to estimate the adsorption behaviors of water vapor on primary adsorption sites and secondary adsorption sites. The thermodynamics analysis of water vapor adsorption was performed. At low vapor pressure region, primary adsorption predominates, and with increasing vapor pressure, secondary adsorption becomes notable. Primary adsorption sites have an evidently stronger adsorption affinity than secondary adsorption sites. With increasing vapor pressure, Gibbs free energy variation rapidly increases and then reduces slowly. Although increasing vapor pressure raises adsorption spontaneity on primary adsorption sites, the enhancement in vapor pressure decreases the spontaneity of water vapor adsorption on secondary adsorption sites. As adsorbed loading increases, isosteric heat of adsorption and entropy loss decrease first and then increase quickly. The gradually growing water clusters are responsible for the increase of entropy loss at late stage.     

Effect of slot-die configurations on coating gap dependence of maximum and minimum wet thicknesses

The dependence of the maximum and minimum wet thicknesses on the coating gap is derived for the slot-die coating process, under different slot-die configurations. Analytical expressions for the wet thickness and its derivative with respect to the coating gap are obtained using a simple flow model. The results indicate that, as expected, the minimum wet thickness increases linearly with the coating gap; however, the maximum wet thickness demonstrates a counterintuitive trend of decreasing as the coating gap increases, when a specific slot-die configuration is assumed. Moreover, the results are also validated by numerically solving the complete two-dimensional (2D) Navier–Stokes equation.