A Novel Technique for Evaluating the Work of Adhesion

One of the basic problems which one encounters in bonding dissimilar materials such as glass and polymers is the development of internal stresses. These stresses arise primarily as a result of the difference in their thermal coefficients of expansion. Other stresses may also occur due to the processing history of the polymer, swelling of the polymer due to the absorption of gases in the environment or internal reaction products, and/or the loss of absorption of solvent from the adhesive. As a result, it is obvious that techniques designed to evaluate adhesion must evaluate the effects of these intrinsic stresses without modification by the external imposed stresses of the test. For example, Ahagon and Gent evaluate a work of detachment from the time average of the 180° peel force per unit width of the detaching layer.¹ However, Gent and Hamed have recently shown that this mode of peeling involves deformation of the detaching layer due to bending.² Similar problems are encountered in other techniques used to measure adhesion.     

Reduction of aqueous chromate by Fe(II)/Fe(III) carbonate green rust: kinetic and mechanistic studies

This work describes the heterogeneous reaction between FeII in carbonate green rust and aqueous chromate, in NaHCO3 solutions at 25 degrees C, and at pH values of 9.3-9.6. Evidence for reduction of CrVI to CrIII and concomitant solid-state oxidation of lattice FeII to FeIII was found from FeII titration and from structural analysis of the solids using FTIR, XRD, SEM, and XPS methods. Results indicate the formation of ferric oxyhydroxycarbonate and the concomitant precipitation of CrIII monolayers at the surface of the iron compound that induce passivation effects and progressive rate limitations. The number of CrIII monolayers formed at the completion of the reaction depends on [FeII]t=0, the molar concentration of FeII(solid) at t=0; on [n(o)]t=0, the molar concentration of reaction sites present at the surface of the solid phase at t=0; and on [CrVI]t=0, the molar concentration of CrVI at t=0. Kinetic data were modeled using a model based on the formation of successive CrIII monolayers, -(d[CrVI]/dt) = sigma(1)j k(i)[S] [CrVI]([n(i - 1)] - [n(i)]) with k(i)[S] (in s(-1) L mol(-1)), the rate coefficient of formation of CrIII monolayer i, and [n(i)] and [n(i - 1)], the molar concentration of CrIII precipitated in monolayer i and monolayer i - 1, respectively. Good matching curves were obtained with kinetic coefficients: k(1)[S] = 5-8 x 10(-4), k(2)[S] = 0.5-3 x 10(-5), and k(3)[S] about 1.7 x 10(-6) s(-1) m(-2) L. The CrVI removal efficiency progressively decreases along with the accumulation of CrIII monolayers at the surface of carbonate green rust particles. In the case of thick green rust particles resulting from the corrosion of iron in permeable reactive barriers, the quantity of FeII readily accessible for efficient CrVI removal should be rather low.     

Numerical Simulation of Taylor–Couette Flows with Rotating Outer Wall Using a Hybrid Spectral/Finite Element Method

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - Taylor–Couette flow between independently rotating cylinders with a relatively small aspect ratio Γ = 2.4 has been investigated...     

Fair scheduling of bag-of-tasks applications using distributed Lagrangian optimization

Large scale distributed systems typically comprise hundreds to millions of entities (applications, users, companies, universities) that have only a partial view of resources (computers, communication links). How to fairly and efficiently share such resources between entities in a distributed way has thus become a critical question.     

Quantification of dissolved organic carbon at very low levels in natural ice samples by a UV-induced oxidation method

The study of chemical impurities trapped in solid precipitation and accumulated in polar ice sheets and high-elevation, midlatitude cold glaciers over the last several hundreds of years provides a unique way to reconstruct our changing atmosphere from the preindustrial era to the present day. Numerous ice core studies of inorganic species have already evaluated the effects of growing anthropogenic emissions of SO(2) or NO(x) on the chemical composition of the atmosphere in various regions of the world. While it was recently shown that organic species dominate the atmospheric aerosol mass, the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to their budget remains poorly understood. The study of organics in ice is at the infancy stage, and it still is difficult to draw a consistent picture of the organic content of polar ice from sparse available data. A UV oxidation method and IR quantification of CO(2) was optimized to obtain measurements of dissolved organic carbon content as low as a few ppbC. Stringent working conditions were defined to prevent contamination during the cleaning of ice. Measurements in various ice cores corresponding to preindustrial times revealed dissolved organic carbon content of less than 10 ppbC in Antarctica and up to 75 ppbC in alpine ice.     

Nonlinear modal analysis of mechanical systems with frictionless contact interfaces

This paper explores mechanical systems undergoing unilateral frictionless contact conditions in the framework of nonlinear modal analysis. The nonlinear eigenproblem is formulated in the frequency domain through the minimization of a Rayleigh quotient subject to non-penetration inequality constraints. An additional equality constraint is introduced for normalization purposes. The resulting constrained minimization problem is then solved using an augmented Lagrangian strategy. Two applications are proposed: a thin longitudinal rod in unilateral contact with a rigid obstacle and a turbomachinery compressor blade in contact with a rigid casing. The first application illustrates the complexity of the nonlinear modal characterization of a system experiencing unilateral contact conditions while the second demonstrates the applicability of the proposed approach to large-scale mechanical systems involving non-smooth nonlinear terms.     

Reemergence of gentamicin-susceptible strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: roles of an infection control program and changes in aminoglycoside use

We have tested the effect of stromal cells on the proliferation in long- and short-term cultures of primitive (Thy-1+, CD34+, CD33-, CD38- , HLA-DR , adherent in vitro and quiescent in vivo) progenitors in normal human bone marrow. These primitive cells produce granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells (CFU-GM) that are measured in secondary clonogenic assays. Addition of stromal cells to normal adherent haemopoietic progenitor cells reduced CFU-GM production by 80% (P =0.0002) after 1 week of incubation. In long-term culture (LTC), in the presence of stroma. the normal adherent cells did not produce significant numbers of CFU-GM until 3-4 weeks later which suggests that stromal cells reduce the probability of quiescent cell activation. This effect could not be attributed to soluble inhibitory factors and was specific to stroma grown with, rather than without, methylprednisolone. It was blocked by heparanase (H'ase) II treatment of stromal cells, by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) treatment of progenitor cells, by antibody blocking of beta1 integrin molecules or by exposure to glucose/N-acetyl-D-glucosamine/alpha-methyl-D-mannoside, but not by exposure to galactose or fructose. Moreover, these interventions enabled the progenitor cells to respond to stimulatory factors in the culture supernatant. We interpret these results as support for a model involving primitive progenitor cell binding to stroma by PI-CAM/HS, beta1 integrin activation via lectin-like interactions and the transduction of signals which reduce the ability of primitive cells to respond to ambient stimulators. This model provides a mechanism for the maintenance of the quiescent state of stem cells by adhesion to stromal cells.     

Overall mass transfer in the swirling flow induced by a tangential inlet between coaxial cones

An electrochemical method is used to measure mass transfer coefficients between an electrolytic solution and the inner core of a system formed by stationary coaxial cones of the same apex angle. A swirling decaying flow is induced by means of a tangential inlet at the system base. The average mass transfer coefficients are measured at three axial positions from the tangential inlet for both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. Pressure drops between the inlet and the outlet of the experimental device are also investigated. Flow visualization revealed the existence of axially fixed toroidal vortices. The overall mass transfer coefficients along the conical gap are found to be greater than those measured in annular swirling decaying flow for the same values of the annular gap thickness, of the tangential inlet diameter and of the Reynolds number based on the mean axial velocity at the bottom of the conical gap. The enhancement in mass transfer, up to 50% compared with that measured in a cylindrical arrangement, is not counter-balanced by an increase in pressure drop, which remains of the same order of magnitude as that measured in a classical annular configuration.