Investigation of the stability of tablets prepared from sucrose and citric acid anhydride utilizing response surface methodology

Inversion of sucrose is a stability problem particularly of candies with acidic taste that contain sucrose and small amounts of organic acids such as citric acid, since the free d-fructose produced by hydrolysis is hygroscopic. The following possibilities were investigated for preventing the hydrolysis of sucrose in tablets containing sucrose and citric acid: Adding various amounts of tri-sodium citrate to the formulation to neutralize the citric acid, (Hot) melt coating of citric acid and tri-sodium citrate with a vegetable fat at different coating ratios, variation of the ratio of coated citric acid and tri-sodium citrate in formulations, and compressing the formulations with different compression forces. After tablet processing and storage of tablets, the concentration of d-fructose was determined on the basis of enzymatic reactions. A response surface central composite design was used. The above-mentioned variations were chosen as independent variables and the amount of d-fructose was chosen as response variable. The lowest rates of inversion could be achieved by increasing the content of tri-sodium citrate and the ratio of coating material and decreasing the ratio of coated citric acid and tri-sodium citrate in the tablet formulations. The compression force had no significant effect on the inversion of sucrose.     

Tokamak edge plasma rotation in the presence of the biased electrode

Electrode biasing system was designed, constructed, and installed on the IR-T1 tokamak, and then biasing experiments were carried out. Also, using a Mach probes the effects of radial electric field (produced by biased electrode) on the poloidal and toroidal components of the edge plasma velocity were investigated. The results showed an increase in both toroidal and poloidal components of the edge plasma velocity during biasing regime. Results compared and discussed. During positive biasing, increased E_r tends to slow the poloidal rotation in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, i.e., to speed up rotation in the ion diamagnetic drift direction. An increased toroidal rotation velocity has the opposite effect on the poloidal rotation.     

Plasma Internal Inductance in the Presence of External Resonant Fields in IR-T1 Tokamak

In this paper we presented experimental investigation of effects of local limiter biasing (V_biasing = +200 v, V_biasing = +320 v) on the plasma parameters as plasma current, loop voltage, poloidal beta, plasma pressure, plasma energy, plasma resistance, plasma temperature, plasma displacement, Shafranov parameter and plasma internal inductance in IR-T1 tokamak. For these purposes, array of magnetic probes and also a diamagnetic loop have been used. The results show that applied biased voltage V_biasing = +200 v causes to decrease of about 40 % in plasma internal inductance. The plasma resistance and the plasma displacement have been decreased by V_biasing = +200 v. The main result of the application of V_biasing = +200 v is flatting the plasma parameters profiles. In other words, the addition of biasing voltage V_biasing = +200 v to plasma could be effective for improving the quality of tokamak plasma discharge by creating the steady state plasma. The plasma current, plasma pressure, plasma energy, plasma temperature and shift parameter have increased after the application of limiter biasing with V_biasing = +320 v but they decrease rapidly.     

Edge-Localized Modes (ELM) Modification with Transport Barrier Control in Tokamak by Analytical Strategies

High confinement mode (H-mode) in tokamaks is characterized by the formation of a transport barrier at the edge of the plasma. The H-mode increases the plasma energy confinement time by around a factor of two compared to the Low confinement mode (L-mode). This result made a great step towards achieving the higher temperatures and pressures needed to create ignition conditions. The Grad–Shafranov Equation describes the magnetic flux distribution of plasma in an axisymmetric system like a tokamak. In this paper, we have calculated the magnetic flux surfaces in IR-T1 tokamak by two methods. An analytical solution of magnetic surfaces approximated by equilibrium calculation of GS equation based on first three (and then four) terms of expansion in flux function. Results of two methods are in good agreement with each other.     

STFT Analysis of the Particle Transport on the IR-T1 Tokamak Plasma Sheath

The time-resolved frequency component analysis has been performed using short time Fourier transform. Fourier-based techniques and auto-correlation have been employed to analyze the frequency of the MHD fluctuations. The time evolution of potential fluctuation, and electric field and turbulent transport have been measured by using two arrays of the Langmuir probes in both the radial and poloidal directions. The experiments have been done in different regimes as Limiter biasing and RHF and both of them. The analyses have been done by the fast Fourier transport (FFT) method and spectral features of them are obtained with the help of the standard auto-correlation technique. The results show that radial turbulent transport decreases about 60 % after positive biasing application while it increases about 40 % after negative biasing. The effect of positive biasing on poloidal turbulent transport displays an increase of about 55 % while the negative bias voltage decreases the poloidal turbulent transport about 30 %. Consequently, confinement is improved and plasma density rises significantly due to the applied positive biasing in IR-T1. But the results are reversed when negative biasing is applied. Also, in this work, the results of applied RHF (L = 3) are compared with biasing results and analysed.     

Plasma Confinement Modification in IR-T1 Tokamak by Velocity Shear Stabilization

E × B velocity shear effects on the plasma confinement were investigated in the IR-T1 tokamak. The investigations have been done at the presence of external applied electric and Resonant Helical magnetic Fields (RHF). In this work, experimental data have been measured by using two arrays of the Langmuir probes in both the radial and poloidal directions. A velocity shear stabilization mechanism has also been proposed to be responsible for an improvement in plasma confinement. The results show that E_r × B drift velocity (V_E×B) reduces about 90 % due to applied biasing and RHF at edge plasma. We have also observed that positive biasing and RHF lead to a significant decrease (>80 %) for radial turbulent transport (Γ_E×B) at edge plasma. In this paper, the electrostatic Reynolds stress (Rs) and the shearing rate γ_E×B have been calculated. We have also compared the Rs and γ_E×B at presence of the biasing and RHF and without biasing and RHF. A good correlation between confinement modifications and E_r × B velocity shear has been found suggesting that confinement enhancement originates at the edge plasma as a consequence of the formation of a particle transport barrier just inside the limiter.     

Phase Transformations and Grain Growth in β-stabilized TiAl Alloys

Solid-state phase transformations and grain growth of an intermetallic γ-TiAl alloy were investigated in-situ using high-temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy (HTLSCM). During isothermal annealing in the single β-phase region, significant grain coarsening was observed. On cooling beneath the β-transus temperature with different rates, a CCT diagram was evaluated for the initiation of β to α phase transformation and changes in the morphology were observed.     

Fast Electrons Behavior in Presence of External Radial Electric Field in IR-T1 Tokamak

The fact that the mean free path of an electron in plasma is a strongly increasing function of its velocity gives rise to the phenomenon of fast (high energy) electron production. In an electric field, electrons which exceed a critical velocity, for which the collisional drag balances the acceleration by the field, are accelerated freely and can reach very high energies. In low density tokamak discharges a considerable amount of these high energy electrons with energies up to tens of keV to MeV can thus be created. As these energetic electrons are effectively collision-less, they follow the magnetic field lines and can therefore been used to probe the magnetic turbulence in the core of the plasma. In this research, external electric field effects on the discharges which lead to this phenomenon were investigated. Tokamak limiter biasing is one of the methods for controlling the radial electric field and can induce a transition to an improved confinement state.