Unsteady response of hydrogen and methane flames to pressure waves

Recent measurements of the direct response of premixed hydrocarbon flames to acoustic pressure fluctuations have shed doubt on the validity of analytical models that use irreversible one-step chemistry (Wangher et al., 2008) [1], and suggest that more realistic chemical kinetic models are needed to fully describe the unsteady dynamics of premixed flames. In this paper we present experimental results and numerical simulations for planar hydrogen flames which have simpler chemical kinetics than hydrocarbon flames. The simulations employ detailed chemical kinetics, including OH¹ chemiluminescence chemistry, so that the validity of using the emission from the excited OH¹ radical as a marker of the reaction rate can be assessed. By comparing our numerical results with measurements on hydrogen, and with previous measurements on methane, we show that OH¹ chemiluminescence does not always provide a reliable measure of heat release rate in the presence of a pressure driven interaction. Finally, our results are compared to the predictions of an analytical model for two-step chemistry with a chain-branching and a chain-breaking reaction (Clavin and Searby, 2008) [2]. We conclude that multi-step chemistry must be taken into account when evaluating the unsteady response of flames to pressure waves.     

Gas pressure measurements during continuous hot pressing of particleboard

Knowledge about the development of the internal gas pressure during hot pressing of wood-based composites is important for the optimization of panel properties and production speed. The gas pressure heavily affects the thermodynamic conditions inside the wood furnish mat, and a too high maximum value at press opening might cause an impairment of the panel properties. In this paper, gas pressure and temperature measurements inside a particle mat while passing through a continuous hot press are presented for the first time. The measurements were performed with a transportable system, consisting of a steel tube attached to a miniature pressure transducer and a data logger. The particleboards had a target thickness of mainly 16 mm, but also of 28 mm and 38 mm, respectively. The measurements show a distinct horizontal gas pressure distribution in both directions, in production direction and across the mat’s width. In contrast, cross-sectional gas pressure gradients were only visible inside the panels after leaving the press. By comparing the gas pressure curves measured for particleboard with those for medium density fiberboard (MDF), characteristic differences became evident. Overall, the gas pressure is higher in MDF compared to particleboard. Finally, a comparison between the gas pressure levels measured for three different panel thicknesses showed a clear relation between panel thickness and gas pressure, with a decreasing panel thickness resulting in an increase in gas pressure. The results of this paper will contribute to our understanding about the events inside wood furnish mats during continuous hot pressing.     

Processing and flexural properties of surface reinforced flat pressed WPC panels

While extrusion and injection molding are the common technologies to produce wood-plastic composites (WPC), pressing may be an alternative, particularly when flat products are striven for. In this study, flat pressed WPC panels were surface-reinforced by two different types of thermoplastic face layers to improve flexural properties. The two face materials applied were a commingled fabric made of glass and polypropylene filaments (TWINTEX^®) and a glass fabric reinforced polypropylene laminate (S-TEX^®). Combination of face layers and WPC panels was achieved in a single and a two stage flat pressing process. Besides studying the effects of reinforcing material and number of process stages, the influence on flexural properties of the reinforced panels was identified. Unreinforced WPC panels were tested for comparison. The reinforced WPC panels exhibited greatly improved flexural properties, with MOE (MOR) values up to nearly 10,000 N/mm² (90 N/mm²).     

Defect Imaging in Laser Diodes by Mapping Their Near-Infrared Emission

We report additional infrared (IR) emission bands at about 1.0 eV and 1.4 eV from GaAs-based diode lasers that have their primary emission at 808 nm (1.53 eV). Four long-wavelength bands are observed. They are assigned to bandtail-related luminescence from the quantum wells (QW) as well as to interband- and deep-level-related luminescences from the GaAs substrates. Thermal radiation is detected below 0.4 eV as well. By using a thermocamera, the defect-related emission was mapped for different types of high-power diode lasers. The mechanisms causing enhanced IR emission from the devices and potential applications of this type of monitoring are addressed.     

NMR‐Guided Molecular Docking of a Protein–Peptide Complex Based on Ant Colony Optimization

Standard docking approaches used for the prediction of protein–ligand complexes in the drug development process have problems identifying the correct binding mode of large flexible ligands. Herein we show how additional experimental data from NMR experiments can be used to predict the binding mode of a mucin 1 (MUC‐1) pentapeptide recognized by the breast‐cancer‐selective monoclonal antibody SM3. Distance constraints derived from trNOE and saturation transfer difference NMR experiments are combined with the docking approach PLANTS. The resulting complex structures show excellent agreement with the NMR data and with a published X‐ray crystal structure. The method was then further tested on two complexes in order to demonstrate its more general applicability: T‐antigen disaccharide bound to Maclura pomifera agglutinin, and the inhibitor SBi279 bound to S100B protein. Our new approach has the advantages of being fully automatic, rapid, and unbiased; moreover, it is based on relatively easily obtainable experimental data and can greatly increase the reliability of the generated structures.