A high-throughput chaotic advection microreactor for preparation of uniform and aggregated barium sulfate nanoparticles

A high-throughput (105.5 g/h) passive four-stage asymmetric oscillating feedback microreactor using chaotic mixing mechanism was developed to prepare aggregated Barium sulfate (BaSO₄) particles of high primary nanoparticle size uniformity. Three-dimensional unsteady simulations showed that chaotic mixing could be induced by three unique secondary flows (i.e., vortex, recirculation, and oscillation), and the fluid oscillation mechanism was examined in detail. Simulations and Villermaux–Dushman experiments indicate that almost complete mixing down to molecular level can be achieved and the prepared BaSO₄ nanoparticles were with narrow primary particle size distribution (PSD) having geometric standard deviation, σ_g, less than 1.43 when the total volumetric flow rate Q_total was larger than 10 ml/min. By selecting Q_total and reactant concentrations, average primary particle size can be controlled from 23 to 109 nm as determined by microscopy. An average size of 26 nm with narrow primary PSD (σ_g = 1.22) could be achieved at Q_total of 160 ml/min.     

Numerical modeling of wave propagation in anisotropic viscoelastic laminated materials in transient regime: Application to modeling ultrasonic testing of composite structures

Composite laminate structures remain an important family of materials used in cutting-edge industrial areas. Building efficient numerical modeling tools for high-frequency wave propagation in order to represent ultrasonic testing experiments of these materials remains a major challenge. In particular, incorporating attenuation phenomena within anisotropic plies, and thin intermediate isotropic layers between the plies often represent significant obstacles for standard numerical approaches. In our work, we address both issues by proposing a systematic study of the fully discrete propagators associated to the Kelvin-Voigt, Maxwell, and Zener models, and by incorporating effective transmission conditions between plies using the mortar element method. We illustrate the soundness of our approach by proposing intermediate one-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical evidence, and we apply it to a more realistic configuration of a curved laminate composite structure in a three-dimensional setting.     

Inhibition of stress corrosion cracking in 304 stainless steel through titanium ion implantation

The effects of titanium ion implantation on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviour of 304 austenitic stainless steel were studied. Slow strain rate tests (SSRTs) were conducted on 304 steel in air and in 5?wt-% NaCl solution. The microscopic effects of ion implantation were evaluated by Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter Procedures (SRIM). Fracture morphologies and microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fracture surfaces illustrate that ion implantation significantly inhibits the corrosion pits that initiate SCC. A dense passive film, which inhibits SCC, was formed during the ion implantation process. SCC initiation was restrained due to the dense dislocation nets that were generated by titanium ion implantation.

Highlights

• Ion implantation inhibits SCC susceptibility.

• The lack of Cr at the grain boundary leads to the expansion of SCC along the grain boundary.

• Implantation-induced damage leads to high-density dislocations.

• The surface was amorphised due to high-density dislocations.

     

A macro-element strategy based upon spectral finite elements and mortar elements for transient wave propagation modeling. Application to ultrasonic testing of laminate composite materials

Proposing efficient numerical modeling tools for high-frequency wave propagation in realistic configurations, such as the one appearing in ultrasonic testing experiments, is a major challenge, especially in the perspective of inversion loops or parametric studies. We propose a numerical methodology addressing this challenge and based upon the combination of the spectral finite element method and the mortar element method. From a prior decomposition of the scene of interest into “macro-elements,” we show how one can improve the performances of the standard finite element procedures in terms of memory footprint and computational load. Additionally, using this decomposition, we are able to efficiently reconstruct important modeling features on-the-fly, such as orientations of anisotropic materials or splitting directions of perfectly matched layers formulations, altogether in a robust and efficient manner. We believe that this strategy is particularly suitable for parametric studies and sensitivity analysis. We illustrate our strategy by simulating the propagation of an ultrasonic wave into an immersed and curved anisotropic laminate 3D specimen flawed with an internal circular delamination of varying size, thus showing the efficiency and the robustness of our approach.     

Vertical oscillations of the thermocline caused by internal waves modify coldwater pelagic fish distribution: Results from a large stratified lake

Fishes typically occupy a species-specific temperature range, with their occupied depth being related to the lake’s temperature profile. When a fish’s preferred temperature range coincides with the thermocline, the location of their preferred thermal habitat is influenced by the rise and fall of internal waves, leading to possible changes in fish depth. These internal waves are common in large, stratified lakes, yet we do not know how they affect the spatial distribution and behavior of freshwater fishes. We conducted nighttime hydroacoustic surveys in a large, deep embayment of a large thermally stratified lake to observe whether pelagic fish respond to vertical oscillations of the thermocline caused by internal waves. The coldwater pelagic fish in our study (primarily cisco, Coregonus artedi) typically occupied a narrow vertical band approximately 5–8 m thick and temperatures between 10.8 ± 0.8–13.6 ± 1.6 °C (fishes sized 106–500 mm), just below the thermocline (centered around 15–17 °C). Importantly, the upper bound of fish depth varied in response to vertical thermocline movements associated with internal waves, suggesting fish respond to changes in their physical environment on timescales commensurate with basin-scale internal wave periods (hours to days), to remain within their preferred thermal habitat. Dissolved-oxygen levels were typically above avoidance thresholds of these fish, thus not likely exerting a strong influence on fish location. Our findings emphasize the need to account for internal waves when designing hydroacoustic and netting surveys, as thermocline movements can influence where fish are located.     

固溶处理对2205双相不锈钢组织及钝化膜特性的影响

用不同温度对2205双相不锈钢进行固溶处理,利用定量金相法及硬度法、电化学极化试验、电化学阻抗谱试验的方法研究固溶温度与2205双相不锈钢微观组织和钝化膜特性之间的关系。结果表明,当固溶温度为950 ℃时,有σ相存在,分布于铁素体/奥氏体晶界,当固溶温度为1000 ℃时,σ相消失,铁素体相比例随固溶温度的升高而升高,奥氏体相比例则呈相反规律;电化学试验和阻抗谱试验结果显示,材料在950 ℃时钝化膜稳定性和耐蚀性能最差,在1050 ℃时钝化膜稳定性和耐蚀性能最好。     

The Critical Role of Passive Permeability in Designing Successful Drugs

Passive permeability is a key property in drug disposition and delivery. It is critical for gastrointestinal absorption, brain penetration, renal reabsorption, defining clearance mechanisms and drug-drug interactions. Passive diffusion rate is translatable across tissues and animal species, while the extent of absorption is dependent on drug properties, as well as in vivo physiology/pathophysiology. Design principles have been developed to guide medicinal chemistry to enhance absorption, which combine the balance of aqueous solubility, permeability and the sometimes unfavorable compound characteristic demanded by the target. Permeability assays have been implemented that enable rapid development of structure-permeability relationships for absorption improvement. Future advances in assay development to reduce nonspecific binding and improve mass balance will enable more accurately measurement of passive permeability. Design principles that integrate potency, selectivity, passive permeability and other ADMET properties facilitate rapid advancement of successful drug candidates to patients.     

Data erasure in Fabry–Perot Diode Lasers: effects of facet reflectivity

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effects of facet reflectivity on the data erasure ability of injection-locked Fabry Perot Laser Diode (FPLD), based on a remodulation method in wavelength division multiplexed passive optical network (WDM PON), were investigated. For this purpose, the feasible front facet reflectivity of FPLD was determined as between 0.2% and 7%, depending on the specified injected power interval. Firstly, the system carried out analysis without applying data at the user end to comprehensively demonstrate how much downstream data was completely erased in FPLD. Then, 2.5 Gb/s of non-return-to-zero (NRZ) data was applied and the results compared with the erased downstream signal without data. The results show that upstream transmission improved with an increase in facet reflectivity between 0.2% and 7%.     

Vibration suppression for monopile and spar‐buoy offshore wind turbines using the structure‐immittance approach

Offshore wind turbines have the potential to capture the high‐quality wind resource. However, the significant wind and wave excitations may result in excessive vibrations and decreased reliability. To reduce vibrations, passive structural control devices, such as the tuned mass damper (TMD), have been used. To further enhance the vibration suppression capability, inerter‐based absorbers (IBAs) have been studied using the structure‐based approach, that is, proposing specific stiffness‐damping‐inertance elements layouts for investigation. Such an approach has a critical limitation of being only able to cover specific IBA layouts, leaving numerous beneficial configurations not identified. This paper adopts the newly introduced structure‐immittance approach, which is able to cover all network layout possibilities with a predetermined number of elements. Linear monopile and spar‐buoy turbine models are first established for optimisation. Results show that the performance improvements can be up to 6.5% and 7.3% with four and six elements, respectively, compared with the TMD. Moreover, a complete set of beneficial IBA layouts with explicit element types and numbers have been obtained, which is essential for next‐step real‐life applications. In order to verify the effectiveness of the identified absorbers with OpenFAST, an approach has been established to integrate any IBA transfer functions. It has been shown that the performance benefits preserve under both the fatigue limit state (FLS) and the ultimate limit state (ULS). Furthermore, results show that the mass component of the optimum IBAs can be reduced by up to 25.1% (7,486 kg) to achieve the same performance as the TMD.