Numerical simulation of a polypropylene foam bead expansion process

The production process for expanded polypropylene foam beads (EPP), which consists of steaming, depressurizing, cooling, and ageing operations, was consistently simulated by a set of mathematical models. The models, developed from Yang and Lee's ageing models (Yang and Lee, J. Cell. Plast., 39 , 59 (2003)) for extrusion foam products, were extended in terms of the fundamental aspects of mass and heat transport phenomena. Evaporation and condensation of blowing agents and heat conduction during the steam chest molding and ageing processes were modeled. The governing equations were established by integrating the mass transfer equations of steam and air at the intercellular walls with the constitutive equations of evaporation and condensation in each cell, the equation of heat conduction from the mold to the foam, and the mechanical force balance equation on the cell walls. The models simulate the stress exerted on the steaming chest mold and predict the expansion behavior of cells in the EPP bead‐foam board throughout the ageing process. A sensitivity analysis was also performed by the models to find the key factors which might allow the theoretical determination of the ejection time and shortening of the length of the ageing process. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 48:107–115, 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Ultrafast dynamics of surface-enhanced Raman scattering due to Au nanostructures

Ultrafast dynamics of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was investigated at cleaved graphite surfaces bearing deposited gold (Au) nanostructures (～10 nm in diameter) by using sensitive pump-probe reflectivity spectroscopy with ultrashort (7.5 fs) laser pulses. We observed enhancement of phonon amplitudes (C═C stretching modes) in the femtosecond time domain, considered to be due to the enhanced electromagnetic (EM) field around the Au nanostructures. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations confirmed the EM enhancement. The enhancement causes drastic increase of coherent D-mode (40 THz) phonon amplitude and nanostructure-dependent changes in the amplitude and dephasing time of coherent G-mode (47 THz) phonons. This methodology should be suitable to study the basic mechanism of SERS and may also find application in nanofabrication.     

Agglomeration Characteristics of Aluminum Particles in AP/AN Composite Propellants

Most solid rockets are powered by ammonium perchlorate (AP) composite propellant including aluminum particles. As aluminized composite propellant burns, aluminum particles agglomerate as large as above 100 μm diameter on the burning surface, which in turn affects propellant combustion characteristics. The development of composite propellants has a long history. Many studies of aluminum particle combustion have been conducted. Optical observations indicate that aluminum particles form agglomerates on the burning surface of aluminized composite propellant. They ignite on leaving the burning surface. Because the temperature gradient in the reaction zone near a burning surface influences the burning rate of a composite propellant, details of aluminum particle agglomeration, agglomerate ignition, and their effects on the temperature gradient must be investigated. In our previous studies, we measured the aluminum particle agglomerate diameter by optical observation and collecting particles. We observed particles on the burning surface, the reaction zone, and the luminous flame zone of an ammonium perchlorate (AP)/ammonium nitrate (AN) composite propellant. We confirmed that agglomeration occurred in the reaction zone and that the agglomerate diameter decreased with increasing the burning rate. In this study, observing aluminum particles in the reaction zone near the burning surface, we investigated the relation between the agglomerates and the burning rate. A decreased burning rate and increased added amount of aluminum particles caused a larger agglomerate diameter. Defining the extent of the distributed aluminum particles before they agglomerate as an agglomerate range, we found that the agglomerate range was constant irrespective of the added amount of aluminum particles. Furthermore, the agglomerate diameter was ascertained from the density of the added amount of aluminum particles in the agglomerate range. We concluded from the heat balance around the burning surface that the product of the agglomerate range and the burning rate was nearly constant irrespective of the added amount of aluminum particles. Moreover, the reduced burning rate increased the agglomerate range.     

Evaluation of a Method to Measure Black Carbon Particles Suspended in Rainwater and Snow Samples

We conducted a detailed evaluation of a method for measuring the mass concentrations and size distributions of black carbon (BC) particles in rainwater and snow. The method uses an ultrasonic nebulizer (USN) and a single particle soot photometer (SP2). The USN disperses sample water into micron-size droplets at a constant rate and then dries them to release BC particles into the air. The masses of individual BC particles are measured by the SP2, using the laser-induced incandescence technique. The loss of BC particles during the extraction from liquid water to air depends on their sizes. We determined the size-dependent extraction efficiency using polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres with 12 different diameters between 107 and 1025 nm. The PSL concentrations in water were measured by the light extinction at 532 nm. The extraction efficiency of the USN showed a broad maximum of about 10% in the diameter range 200–500 nm and decreased substantially at larger sizes. The accuracy and reproducibility of the measured mass concentration of BC in sample water after long-term storage were about ±25% and ±35%, respectively. We tested the method by analyzing rainwater and surface snow samples collected in Okinawa and Sapporo, respectively. The measured number size distributions of BC in these samples showed negligible contributions of BC particles larger than 300 nm to the total number of BC particles. A dominant fraction of BC mass in these samples was observed in the diameter range 100–500 nm.

Copyright 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Accuracy of black carbon measurements by a filter-based absorption photometer with a heated inlet

Long-term measurements of black carbon (BC) aerosols by filter-based absorption photometers with a heated inlet (COSMOS) in different regions have been useful in elucidating spatial variations and radiative impacts of BC. Evaluations of mass concentrations of BC (M_BC) measured by the COSMOS have been made by our previous studies through comparisons with other measurement techniques. However, how variations in the microphysical properties of BC and the co-existing light scattering aerosols affect the COSMOS measurements should be evaluated in more detail. In this study, we assessed these potential effects under various field environments in the Arctic and in the East Asia. From the slopes of the correlation plots between the M_BC values measured by the COSMOS and a single-particle soot photometer, the average accuracy of the COSMOS was estimated as ～10% in the M_BC range 1–3000?ng m^?3. On an hourly basis, the estimated sensitivity of the COSMOS M_BC values to the changes in the BC size distributions was less than 10%, within the typical variabilities of BC size at individual observation sites. The COSMOS measurements depended little on the mixing states of BC and the concentrations of co-existing light scattering aerosols, except in the maritime air masses of East Asia, where the relative abundance of sea salt to BC was very high. The M_BC measured by COSMOS also well agreed with elemental carbon measurements. Our results demonstrate the high reliability of COSMOS measurements under various environments.

Copyright © 2019 American Association for Aerosol Research     

A Novel Cartesian Plot Analysis for Fixed Monolayers That Relates Cell Phenotype to Transfer of Contents between Fibroblasts and Cancer Cells by Cell-Projection Pumping

We recently described cell-projection pumping as a mechanism transferring cytoplasm between cells. The uptake of fibroblast cytoplasm by co-cultured SAOS-2 osteosarcoma cells changes SAOS-2 morphology and increases cell migration and proliferation, as seen by single-cell tracking and in FACS separated SAOS-2 from co-cultures. Morphological changes in SAOS-2 seen by single cell tracking are consistent with previous observations in fixed monolayers of SAOS-2 co-cultures. Notably, earlier studies with fixed co-cultures were limited by the absence of a quantitative method for identifying sub-populations of co-cultured cells, or for quantitating transfer relative to control populations of SAOS-2 or fibroblasts cultured alone. We now overcome that limitation by a novel Cartesian plot analysis that identifies individual co-cultured cells as belonging to one of five distinct cell populations, and also gives numerical measure of similarity to control cell populations. We verified the utility of the method by first confirming the previously established relationship between SAOS-2 morphology and uptake of fibroblast contents, and also demonstrated similar effects in other cancer cell lines including from melanomas, and cancers of the ovary and colon. The method was extended to examine global DNA methylation, and while there was no clear effect on SAOS-2 DNA methylation, co-cultured fibroblasts had greatly reduced DNA methylation, similar to cancer associated fibroblasts.     

聚丙烯性能试验方法对比研究

选择均聚聚丙烯（PP—H）、抗冲共聚聚丙烯（PP—B）、无规共聚聚丙烯（PP—R）共7个牌号的聚丙烯（PP）产品为研究对象,对比研究了国际标准化组织（简称ISO）制定的标准和美国材料试验协会（简称ASTM）制定的标准对三类PP性能测试的影响。ISO和ASTM2种标准测得的PP产品的拉伸性能、弯曲性能、缺口冲击强度和负荷变形温度存在一定的差异。但2种标准的测试结果具有一定的规律性,这些规律可为今后修订聚丙烯行业和企业标准提供参考。