Evaporation of a sessile water droplet subjected to forced convection in humid environment

The evaporation of a sessile droplet is here investigated numerically with a design of experiment approach. Boundary conditions are chosen based on forced convection in humid air, i.e., mimicking the conditions inside a dishwasher. Computational fluid dynamic simulations of an axisymmetrical droplet placed on a heated plate show that relative humidity, initial contact angle, plate temperature, and temperature difference between plate and air all have significant effect on the initial evaporation rate. For the studied conditions, relative humidity is the most significant factor while the magnitude of the velocity and type of internal flow are insignificant within a 95% confidence interval.     

抑制次同步谐振的TCSC主动阻尼控制

采用同步电压反转(synchronous voltage reversal,SVR)触发控制的可控串联补偿电容(thristor controlled series compensator,TCSC)本身不会诱发系统的次同步谐振(sub- synchronous resonance SSR),而且因为其在次同步频率范围内固有的感性阻抗特性,一直以来工程中都把TCSC作为一种缓解SSR的有效措施。虽然采用SVR触发的TCSC可缓解系统SSR的压力,但其本身却无法主动抑制SSR,该文提出一种TCSC的附加控制--主动阻尼控制,通过调节TCSC的触发,可使系统在危险振荡模式下向机组提供正值的电气阻尼,从而更好地抑制SSR。时域及频域的仿真也验证了该主动阻尼控制的有效性。     

Silicon Nitride Colloidal Probe Measurements: Interparticle Forces and the Role of Surface-Segment Interactions in Poly(acrylic acid) Adsorption from Aqueous Solution

Direct measurements of forces between silicon nitride surfaces in the presence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) are presented. The force-distance curves were obtained at pH > pH_iep with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) colloidal-probe technique using a novel spherical silicon nitride probe attached to the AFM cantilever. We found that PAA adsorbs onto the negatively charged silicon nitride surface, which results in an increased repulsive surface potential. The steric contribution to the interparticle repulsion is small and the layer conformation remains flat even at high surface potentials or high ionic strength. The general features of the stabilization of ceramic powders with PAA are discussed; we suggest that PAA adsorbs onto silicon nitride by sequential adsorption of neighboring segments ("zipping"), which results in a flat conformation. In contrast, the long-range steric force found in the ZrO₂/PAA system at pH > pH_iep arises because the stretched equilibrium bulk conformation of the highly charged polymer is preserved via the formation of strong, irreversible surface-segment bonds on adsorption.     

Colloidal Processing of a Very Fine BaTiO3 Powder—Effect of Particle Interactions on the Suspension Properties, Consolidation, and Sintering Behavior

The relation between the suspension state and the rheological properties, the consolidation, and packing of a very fine (nanosized) BaTiO₃ powder has been investigated. The BaTiO₃ powder was suspended in a nonaqueous medium by adsorbing fatty acids and a polymeric dispersant, poly(12-hydroxy stearic acid), (PHS), at the BaTiO₃/decane interface. Calculated interparticle energies imply that the suspension with PHS adsorbed is colloidally stable, while the suspensions with oleic and octanoic acid can be characterized as weakly and strongly flocculated, respectively. Analysis of settling experiments and rheological measurements at high concentrations confirmed these characteristics. Pressure filtration resulted in nearly identical green body densities in spite of the differences in colloidal properties, but the preliminary sintering experiments and microstructural characterization showed that the strongly flocculated suspension displays a significantly retarded sinterability compared to the colloidally stable and the weakly flocculated suspensions. The absence of a correlation between green density and sintering behavior was explained by considering both the volume taken by the adsorbed fatty acids and the PHS polymer—which can be substantial for nanosized powders—and the state of the suspension. While a decrease in the thickness of adsorbed surfactant or polymer layer will enable a higher particle packing density, such a thin adsorbed layer results in a more strongly flocculated suspension which will resist dense packing. Hence, it is suggested that the green bodies of the colloidally stable and the weakly flocculated suspensions correspond to a relatively homogeneous, but loosely packed, green body microstructure. The strongly flocculated suspension results in a green body with a more inhomogeneous microstructure.     

Estimation of Hamaker Constants of Ceramic Materials from Optical Data Using Lifshitz Theory

The Hamaker constants of eight different ceramic materials, 6H-SiC, tetragonal, partially stabilized ZrO₂ (3% Y₂O₃), β-Si₃N₄, α-Al₂O₃, Y₂O₃, sapphire (single-crystal α-Al₂O₃), MgO, MgAl₂O₄, and fused silica, across air, water, and n -dodecane at room temperature and across silica at 2000 K have been calculated from optical data using the Lifshitz theory. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to measure the photon energy dependence of the refractive index, n , and the extinction coefficient, k , in the visible and near-UV range on several important ceramic materials. This relatively simple, nondestructive technique has proved to yield reliable optical data on sintered, polycrystalline materials such as Si₃N₄, SiC, ZrO₂, Al₂O₃, and ZnO. For the other materials, Y₂O₃, sapphire, MgO, MgAl₂O₄, and fused silica, optical data from the literature were used to calculate the Hamaker constants. The calculated Hamaker constants were estimated to be accurate within ±10%.     

Short‐term hydropower planning coordinated with wind power in areas with congestion problems

In this paper, a day‐ahead planning algorithm for a multi‐reservoir hydropower system coordinated with wind power is developed. Coordination applies to real situations, where wind power and hydropower are owned by different utilities, sharing the same transmission lines, although hydropower has priority for transmission capacity. Coordination is thus necessary to minimize wind energy curtailments during congestion situations. The planning algorithm accounts for the uncertainty of wind power forecast. Only planning for the spot market is considered. Once the production bid is placed on the market, it cannot be changed. The solution of the stochastic optimization problem should, therefore, fulfill the transmission constraints for all wind power production scenarios. An evaluation algorithm is also developed to quantify the impact from the coordinated planning in the long run. The developed planning algorithm and the evaluation algorithm are applied in a case study. The results are compared with uncoordinated operation. The results of the case study show that coordination with wind power brings additional income to the hydropower utility and leads to significant reduction of wind energy curtailments. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical Investigation of the Size Effect on the Oxygen Adsorption Energy of Coinage Metal Nanoparticles

Catalysis Letters - This study evaluates the finite size effect on the oxygen adsorption energy of coinage metal (Cu, Ag and Au) cuboctahedral nanoparticles in the size range of 13 to 1415 atoms...     

Andrena wilkella male bees discriminate between enantiomers of cephalic secretion components

Diastereomers of the spiroacetal, 2,8-dimethyl-1,7-dioxaspiro [5.5]undecane, represent main components of the cephalic secretion from males of the solitary bee,Andrena wilkella. The major compound proved to be of high enantiomeric purity, showing (2S,6R,8S) configuration. Only the naturally occurring enantiomer attracted patrolling males in the field; its antipode was behaviorally inactive and in a racemic mixture did not inhibit response. The (E,Z) diastereomers were also found to be almost inactive. EAG studies gave the same result as the behavioral tests. The biological function of the spiroacetal is discussed in view of the evolution of the mating behavior inA. wilkella.