Ordered mesoporous carbon films prepared from 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene/triblock copolymer composites

Ordered mesoporous carbon (D-COU-1) films were synthesized by an organic-organic self assembly method using 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene as carbon source. Channel-like pores with a well-ordered hexagonal structure were observed by TEM observations. The thermal stability of the D-COU-1 film was compared with the COU-1 film prepared using resorcinol (R-COU-1). The XRD results indicate that the structure of D-COU-1 film was less shrinkable under carbonization compared to that of the R-COU-1 film.     

Nitritation performance and biofilm development of co- and counter-diffusion biofilm reactors: Modeling and experimental comparison

A comparative study was conducted on the start-up performance and biofilm development in two different biofilm reactors with aim of obtaining partial nitritation. The reactors were both operated under oxygen limited conditions, but differed in geometry. While substrates (O₂, NH₃) co-diffused in one geometry, they counter-diffused in the other. Mathematical simulations of these two geometries were implemented in two 1-D multispecies biofilm models using the AQUASIM software. Sensitivity analysis results showed that the oxygen mass transfer coefficient (K_i) and maximum specific growth rate of ammonia-oxidizing (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were the determinant parameters in nitrogen conversion simulations. The modeling simulations demonstrated that K_i had stronger effects on nitrogen conversion at lower (0-10 m d⁻¹) than at the higher values (>10 m d⁻¹). The experimental results showed that the counter-diffusion biofilms developed faster and attained a larger maximum biofilm thickness than the co-diffusion biofilms. Under oxygen limited condition (DO < 0.1 mg L⁻¹) and high pH (8.0-8.3), nitrite accumulation was triggered more significantly in co-diffusion than counter-diffusion biofilms by increasing the applied ammonia loading from 0.21 to 0.78 g NH₄⁺-N L⁻¹ d⁻¹. The co- and counter-diffusion biofilms displayed very different spatial structures and population distributions after 120 days of operation. AOB were dominant throughout the biofilm depth in co-diffusion biofilms, while the counter-diffusion biofilms presented a stratified structure with an abundance of AOB and NOB at the base and putative heterotrophs at the surface of the biofilm, respectively.     

Development of passive heat control system for direct methanol fuel cell using electric double layer capacitor

A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is highly anticipated as a new, high‐density energy source for mobile usage; however, its poor power density presents a problem. As a result, the size of portable electronic equipment using DMFCs is far larger than that of equipment using another type of battery. In addition, steady power supply control is difficult, because the output power of the DMFC is affected by the environment. First, this paper presents a pulse charge control system that is a new control system applied to a mobile device, which uses the DMFC and an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC), then describes the new passive heat control and presents experimental results. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(1): 46–53, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21129     

Properties evaluation and fabrication of green clay reformulated from water sludge

Water sludge from Sungai Dua Penang fresh water processing plant has been successfully converted into functional pottery clay with improved physicochemical behavior and properties. Water sludge was generally made of kaolinite mineral that consisted of silica and alumina. At 7 h of milling duration, water sludge demonstrated a narrow particle size distribution at the size range of 107–150 µm. Water sludge owned a specific surface area of 27 m²/g with 8.8 nm (diameter) pore size and 0.05 cm³/g pore volume. Plasticity of clay body increased when clay formulation involved fine particles, e.g. water sludge or bentonite, which promote water adsorption ability. Fine particles with large surface area and better compaction also explained the enhanced hardness of pottery clay. The incorporation of clay minerals such as bentonite and sodium silicate into the formulation has facilitated metals immobilization within the clay body. Final clay product has a terra cotta color and performed a uniform shrinkage without obvious fracture. The fabrication of pottery wares from water sludge with minimized metals leakage has not only higher reutilize value but also a cost effective green method for handling waste and environmental issues.     

Quantification of wear,strain and heat energy consumption rates for sliding steel ball against diamond-like carbon coatings

Abstract

In this work, we evaluated the different energy consumption rates associated with the total frictional energy for a ball sliding on a flat surface. The energy generated by the sliding two bodies in contact is dissipated into the materials in various forms. The wear consumption energy for a steel ball against a diamond-like carbon surface was evaluated by the wear coefficient of the wear volume–energy input equation. The strain energy generated in the steel ball as a result of being made to slide under a certain load was calculated using the Hertzian theory. The chemical reaction energy was estimated based on iron oxidation. Finally, the frictional energy dissipated as heat was obtained by subtracting the wear and the strain energies from the total frictional energy.     

Al2O3-SiO2纤维增强ZL108合金复合材料的强度特性

用低成本的Al₂O₃-SiO₂系纤维作为增强相,通过加压铸造法制作ZL108合金复合材料,并对该复合材料和ZL108合金进行不同温度下的时效处理和压缩试验。通过DSC、EPMA和TEM分析认为:经488K、0.5h时效处理(T6处理)的V_f 20%的复合材料在573K以下的压缩屈服强度低于ZL108合金,是由于基体中的Mg与Al₂O₃-SiO₂纤维在加压铸造过程中起化学反应而生成MgAl₂O₄,损耗了基体中的大量Mg,导致基体铝合金时效硬化效果很差,所以压缩屈服强度低下。623K、720h保温后的V_f 20%的复合材料的压缩屈服强度比ZL108合金要高得多,是由于在这种温度环境下对ZL108合金来说是过时效,所以纤维的增强怍用显得明显。在高温(673K)下V_f 20%的复合材料的屈服强度比ZL108台金高一倍左右。不论在什么温度场合下V_f5%的复合材料的屈服强度比V_f 20%的复合材料都低。     

Effects of the aluminum concentration on twin boundary motion in pre-strained magnesium alloys

We investigated the effects of Al concentration on the reciprocated motion of twin boundaries in pre-strained Mg-Al-Zn alloys through a combination of applied compression and tension,in-situ electron-backscattering diffraction observations,and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy observations.The twin growth was restricted by increased Al concentration,which resulted in the occurrence of smaller-sized twins.The reverse motion of twin boundaries was also restricted,resulting in the formation of higher fractions of secondary twins and 2-5° boundaries during reverse tension.The secondary twins and 2-5° boundaries mainly contributed to the increased ultimate tensile strength of the pre-strained Mg alloys.This effect is more significant in Mg alloys with larger pre-compression.Moreover,the increased amount of the Al solute atoms,rather than the precipitates,mainly contributed to the increased strengthening effect on the twin boundary motion.Our research contributes to development of high-strength Mg alloys by stabilizing twin boundaries.     

The structure of the core polyol of the ether lipids fromSulfolobus acidocaldarius

The major ether-type lipid structures ofSulfolobus acidocaldarius (ATCC33909) were composed of caldarchaeol and calditoglycerocaldarchaeol. However, the characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry showed that the structure of calditol in calditoglycerocaldarchaeol is not nonitol, 2-(1′,2′,3′-trihydroxypropyl)1,2,3,4,5,6-hexahydroxyhexane, but 2-hydroxymethyl-1-(2,3-dihydroxypropoxy),2,3,4,5-cyclopentanetetraol with an ether linkage in the molecule. Such an intermolecular ether linkage was resistant, to BCl₃ treatment, but nonresistant to 57% HI degradation treatment conducted at 100°C for 60 h, producting 2-hydroxymethyl-1,2,3,4,5-cyclopentanepentaol from calditol as reaction product. Further, it was confirmed that the structure of calditol is essentially a derivative of glycerol, and hydrocarbon chains were conjugated to the glycerol-like site in the structure. The calditol with an ether linkage in the molecule suggested an important role regarding the properties of heat-resistance and acid-resistance observed inSulfolobales. Presented at the international workshop on “Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of Extremophiles and Archaebacteria,” Wako, Japan, August 1993.     

Superheating of the melting kinetics in polymer crystals: a possible nucleation mechanism

Melting kinetics of polymer crystals has been examined experimentally by calorimetric methods utilizing the combination of a conventional differential scanning calorimetry of heat flux type (CDSC-HF) and a temperature-modulated DSC (TMDSC). The superheating effect in the kinetics has been discussed based on a modeling of the melting kinetics. For low-density polyethylene and linear polyethylene, the melting rate showed nearly linear dependence on the degree of superheating, which indicates the kinetics controlled by heat diffusion or by surface kinetics on rough interface. For isotactic polypropylene, poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(?-caprolactone), the dependence is non-linear and close to the limiting case of exponential dependence, which indicates nucleation-controlled kinetics of melting. A possible mechanism of the activation process in the melting kinetics has been discussed in consideration of the specific feature of polymer crystals far from its most stable state. The consistency of the results of CDSC-HF and TMDSC has been confirmed by this analysis with a calibration of peak temperature for the instrumental thermal delay in CDSC-HF.