Low-Temperature High-Pressure Consolidation of Amorphous Al2O3–15 mol% Y2O3

This study examined pressure consolidation of amorphous Al₂O₃–15 mol% Y₂O₃ powders prepared by co-precipitation and spray pyrolysis. The two amorphous powders had similar true densities and crystallization sequences. Uniaxial hot pressing was carried out at 450°–600°C with a moderate pressure of 750 MPa. The co-precipitated powder could be hot pressed to a maximum relative density of 98% and remained amorphous. Pressure adversely affected the densification of the spray-pyrolyzed powder by favoring an early crystallization of γ-Al₂O₃ phase at 580°C. Plastic deformation of the amorphous phase is believed to be responsible for the large densification of the amorphous powders.     

Role of vanadium oxide on the lithium silicate glass structure and properties

The structural role of V in 28Li₂O–72SiO₂ (in mol%) lithium silicate glass doped with 0.5 mol% V₂O₅ was assessed using ²⁹Si and ⁵¹V Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy techniques. Despite the low amount of V₂O₅ used, the structural information obtained or deduced from the statistical analysis of the NMR data could explain the evolution of glass properties after V₂O₅ addition. The XPS results indicated that all vanadium exists in 5+ oxidation state. Both the ²⁹Si NMR and FTIR data point toward an increase in the polymerization of the silicate network, caused by the V₂O₅ acting as network former, capable to form various tetrahedral units (for n = 0, 1, and 2) in the glasses. These units, which are similar to phosphate units, scavenge the Li⁺ ions and cause the silicate network to polymerize. However, in an overall balance, the entire glass network is depolymerized due to the additional nonbridging oxygens contributed by the vanadium polyhedra. The addition of vanadium causes the network to expand and increases the ionic conductivity.     

The effects of alumina fibres on the sliding wear of a cast aluminium alloy

Dry sliding wear performance of a squeeze cast aluminium alloy-alumina fibre composite has been examined in this investigation using a pin-on-disc machine. A composite in the form of a pin was evaluated against a rotating EN 25 steel disc. The wear response of the base alloy was also studied to assess the influence of a reinforcing phase over a range of applied pressures until the onset of seizure. Incorporation of alumina fibres resulted in superior wear performance of the base alloy, i.e. reduced wear loss, improved seizure pressure and reduced rise in temperature near contact surfaces. Onset of seizure in general caused significantly higher wear loss and temperature rise and large adhesion of the specimen material to the disc surface. A longitudinal cross-section of worn samples suggested nominal wear-induced microstructural changes and deformation in the subsurface regions. The wear surfaces revealed smooth and continuous grooves with less damaged regions prior to onset of seizure, while severe surface damage was observed thereafter. Similarly, debris particles generated during onset of seizure were coarser. The presence of deeper grooves on the wear surfaces and iron mass in the debris particles indicated abrasion to be one of the wear mechanisms in addition to adhesion. That the debris particles were mainly of flake type consisting of microcracks indicated that material removal occurred mainly by delamination.     

Design and evaluation of a low flow personal cascade impactor

A very compact cascade impactor with 2 L/min sampling flow rate has been developed. Its dimensions are 8.5 cm L x 5.0 cm W x 11.4 cm H, and it weighs 0.27 kg, with ten impaction stages with aerodynamic cutpoints in the range of 60 nm to 9.6 μm. The top eight stages, collecting particles down to 170 nm in aerodynamic diameter, can be used as a stand-alone impactor with a portable, battery-powered pump. Particle collection efficiencies were obtained with two types of commonly used substrates, aluminum foil and glass fiber filters. Impactor cutpoints with aluminum foil substrates agree well with conventional impactor theory. The efficiency curves are sharp with minimum overlap between them. Thus, the compact impactor design does not compromise its performance, making it suitable for general purpose applications where a lower sampling flow rate provides adequate mass collection. With glass fiber filter substrates, impactor cutpoints are smaller and the efficiency curves are less steep, in particular for the last stages. Also, the collection efficiency curves do not drop to near zero at small Stokes numbers. Instead, excess particle collection efficiency of around 10% is observed for the top six stages, and becomes higher for the last four stages. This is due to the collection of particles by filtration as the impinging jets penetrate the filter substrate. Thus, using glass fiber filter substrates should generally be avoided due to the non-ideal effect on the impactor collection efficiency curves, especially for the last two stages.

Copyright © 2018 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Properties of Dispersion of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes as Cutting Fluid

This article presents the results of experiments performed to evaluate properties of dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in water with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a dispersant. Different samples of varying concentrations of MWCNTs were prepared for the analysis and properties including thermal conductivity, pH value, viscosity, wettability, etc., were evaluated. These properties were compared with the properties of conventional cutting fluid, which was taken as a mix of water and mineral oil. It was found that the thermal conductivity of the MWCNT dispersion was higher than the conventional cutting fluid by about 42%. There was a decrease in contact angle by about 70%. Thus, dispersing MWCNTs in water with SDS increases the thermal conductivity and wettability of fluid. The pH value of fluid with 0.2 vol% MWCNTs was found to be 8.4. It thus reduced the corrosive nature of water. Nanoparticles of MWCNTs did not have much influence on the viscosity of the base fluid. Thus, the use of MWCNTs in water with SDS appeared to result in a better cutting fluid for machining than conventional cutting fluid.     

Effect of fluxing agents on reduction degradation behaviour of hematite pellets

During induration at a high temperature, a considerable amount of slag/melt phase forms inside the iron ore pellets, comprising SiO₂, Al₂O₃, CaO, MgO and FeO. After cooling, the slag phase solidifies and acts as an important bonding phase in the finished pellets and influences their room temperature as well as high temperature properties, especially reduction degradation. Fluxing agents play an important role in forming these bonding phases depending on the type and amount of flux. In the present study, the effect of different fluxing agents, namely, limestone, dolomite, magnesite and pyroxenite, on melt formation and microstructure during induration and on reduction degradation behaviour during reduction was examined. From the results, it was understood that to reduce the disintegration during reduction it is essential to increase the amount and distribution of bonding phases like silicates, which are more stable as compared to oxide phases like hematite. Acid pellets exhibited highest reduction degradation due to the presence of more hematite bonds and less silicate bonds. In limestone fluxed pellets, reduction degradation index dropped considerably with increasing CaO content due to the formation of more amount of bonding phase. Dolomite–pyroxenite pellets, on the other hand, showed lower reduction degradation index up to 0.4 basicity, and beyond that, higher degradation was observed due to the increased pore size, which resulted in poor strength of the reduced pellet matrix and hence more degradation. Low reduction degradation observed in pyroxenite and magnesite fluxed pellets could be due to the formation of magnesioferrite and silicate melt, which are more stable phases compared to hematite.     

Compositional,temperature and frequency dependence of dielectric behaviour of zinc substituted copper- ferri-chromates

The comprehensive study on compositional, temperature and frequency dependent dielectric properties of Zn_xCu_1−xFeCrO₄ (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 ) was carried out by means of a. c. resistivity (ρ_ac), dielectric constant (ε′) and loss tangent (tanδ) measurements in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 1 MHz at different temperatures ranging from 40 °C to 500 °C. An abnormal behaviour of ε′ as a function of temperature is explained on the basis of contribution of two types of charge carriers in the polarization process. It is found that magnetic ordering does not have marked influence on the dielectric properties. The probable conduction mechanism in the present system is due to electron transition such as Fe²⁺ Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺ Cu¹⁺ rather than ionization or polaron hopping mechanism.     

Optical detection of ion-channel-induced proton transport in supported phospholipid bilayers

The integration of ion-channel transport functions with responses derived from nanostructured and nanoporous silica mesophase materials is demonstrated. Patterned thin-film mesophases consisting of alternating hydrophilic nanoporous regions and hydrophobic nanostructured regions allow for spatially localized proton transport via selective dimerization of gramicidin in lipid bilayers formed on the hydrophilic regions. The adjoining hydrophobic mesostructure doped with a pH sensitive dye reports the transport. The ease of integrating functional membranes and reporters through the use of patterned mesophases should enable high throughput studies of membrane transport.     

Antidepressant pharmacotherapy helps some cigarette smokers more than others.

Adult smokers (N?=?253) without clinically significant depression were randomized on a double-blind basis to receive fluoxetine (30 or 60 mg daily) or a placebo for 10 weeks in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It was predicted that fluoxetine would selectively benefit smokers with higher baseline depression, nicotine dependence, and weight concern and lower self-efficacy about quitting smoking. Among those who completed the prescribed treatment regimen, baseline depression scores moderated the treatment response. Logistic regression analyses showed that 1 and 3 months after the quit date, fluoxetine increased the likelihood of abstinence, as compared with placebo, among smokers with minor depression but not among those with little or no depression. Results suggest that, as an adjunct to CBT, fluoxetine enhances cessation by selectively benefiting medication-compliant smokers who display even subclinical levels of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)