Effects of sintering additives on dispersion properties of Al2O3 slurry containing polyacrylic acid dispersant

The effects of sintering aid adsorption on the dispersion properties of aluminum oxide slurries were investigated. We considered Al₂O₃ slurry without additives and Al₂O₃ slurry with a Mg additive with 0.1 mass% in oxide equivalent as a sintering aid. In this study, we evaluated the adsorption isotherm of polyacrylic acid (PAA) onto Al₂O₃ and the dispersion degree of Al₂O₃ slurries in sedimentation tests under gravity. The adsorption isotherm featured a characteristic adsorption isothermal line with a maximum value when Mg additive was present in Al₂O₃. In addition, the packing fractions did not correspond to the apparent viscosity. However, in slurry that was allowed to settle for several days, both of them agreed.Therefore, the disagreement between the packing fraction and the apparent viscosity immediately after preparation arose from changes of the dispersion state, such as the decrease of the distance between particles with time.     

Magnetic brightening of carbon nanotube photoluminescence through symmetry breaking

We report that symmetry breaking by a magnetic field can drastically increase the photoluminescence quantum yield of single-walled carbon nanotubes, by as much as a factor of 6, at low temperatures. To explain this we have developed a theoretical model based on field-dependent exciton band structure and the interplay of Coulomb interactions and the Aharonov-Bohm effect. This conclusively explains our data as the first experimental observation of dark excitons 5-10 meV below the bright excitons.     

Aluminium content in foods with aluminium-containing food additives

The aluminium (Al) content of 105 samples, including bakery products made with baking powder, agricultural products and seafoods treated with alum, was investigated. The amounts of Al detected were as follows (limit of quantification: 0.01 mg/g): 0.01-0.37 mg/g in 26 of 57 bakery products, 0.22-0.57 mg/g in 3 of 6 powder mixes, 0.01-0.05 mg/g in all three agricultural products examined, 0.03-0.90 mg/g in 4 of 6 seafood samples, 0.01-0.03 mg/g in 3 of 11 samples of instant noodles, 0.04-0.14 mg/g in 3 of 4 samples of vermicelli, 0.01 mg/g in 1 of 16 soybean products, but none in soybeans. Amounts equivalent to the PTWI of a 16 kg infant were detected in two samples of bakery products, two samples of powder mixes and one sample of salted jellyfish, if each sample was taken once a week. These results suggest that certain foods, depending on the product and the intake, might exceed the PTWI of children, especially infants.     

Phase diagram calculations of ZrO2-based ceramics with an emphasis on the reduction/oxidation equilibria of cerium ions in the ZrO2-YO1.5-CeO2-CeO1.5 system

Phase diagram calculations that were made previously for the ZrO₂-MO _m/2 (m = 2, 3, 4) systems and for the ZrO₂-YO_1.5-MO _m/2 (M = transition metals) systems have been extended to the ZrO₂-YO_1.5-CeO₂(-CeO_1.5) system to make an attempt to explain (1) thermogravimetric (TG) results as a function of oxygen potential, (2) electronic conductivity as a function of oxygen potential, and (3) a miscibility gap observed in air. The interaction parameters for the CeO₂-CeO_1.5-YO_1.5 system were obtained from the reported oxygen nonstoichiometry in CeO_2−x and rate earth doped ceria, (Ce,RE)O_2−δ . The interaction parameters for the ZrO₂-CeO₂ subsystem were obtained so as to reproduce the observed miscibility gap at 1273 K. Those thermodynamic properties can reproduce consistently the experimental behaviors of the electronic conductivity and the TG results in the (Zr_1−x Ce _x )_0.8Y_0.2O_1.9 solid solutions; these indicate the enhancement of reduction of CeO₂.     

Solubilization of octafluoronaphthalene by mixed micelles of fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon surfactants in aqueous solutions

Solubilization of octafluoronaphthalene (OFN) by fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon surfactants in aqueous solutions has been examined to investigate the effects of mixing surfactants and added salt. Diethylammonium perfluoronanoate (DEAPFN) micelles have the most solubilization power toward OFN. The difference in micellar solubilization power will be caused by the hydrophobicity of ionic groups and micellar size. Large positive synergistic effects on solubilization behavior were observed in the DEAPFN-diethylammonium tetradecyl sulfate mixed micellar systems. Solubilization of OFN depended on the concentrations of added salt and the aggregation number, that is, the micellar size.     

焦炭过滤床在线分离电炉粉尘中氧化锌的研究

采用电炉粉尘与焦炭粉的混合试样,对利用焦炭过滤床在线回收电炉粉尘,在CO/CO2混合气体中氧化锌的还原分离工艺进行了模拟研究.热力学分析表明,在所设焦炭过滤床的温度及气氛条件下,固-固还原和气-固还原反应都可以发生,氧化锌的还原分离是可以实现的.实验结果表明,与单独被固体碳或CO还原时相比较,混合试样在固体碳和CO同时存在时的初期减重率变化最快,最终还原率最高.在粉尘颗粒表面,被还原的金属铁生成及聚积长大后,将对还原气体向颗粒内部进一步扩散起到阻碍作用,对颗粒内部残存的微量ZnO的还原产生不利影响.如何加快氧化锌的还原分离而抑制氧化铁的还原及聚集长大将成为提高氧化锌回收率的关键.     

Study of surface relaxation mechanism of liquid3He in porous glass by using SQUID NMR

Nuclear spin relaxation of liquid³He in porous glass has been studied. In addition to measurements of the longitudinal spin relaxation timeT ₁ by a usual pulsed SQUID NMR, measurements of the transverse spin relaxation timeT ₂ have been performed by using a newly developed SQUID NMR method to observe a spin echo signal. Temperature and frequency dependences ofT ₁ andT ₂ have been measured. A simple model is proposed which explains the main features of the experimental results.     

Case Study: Hydraulic Modeling of Runoff Processes in Ghanaian Inland Valleys

The inland valleys of West Africa are strategic in terms of food security and poverty alleviation, but scientific studies on hydrologic processes happening in these environments have not been well documented. Modeling approaches presented in this paper are an attempt to better comprehend hydraulic phenomena occurring in inland valleys. An inland valley situated in the Northern Region of Ghana is set as the study site. The inland valley comprises well-drained uplands and hydromorphic valley bottoms. There are several earthen dams across the valley bottoms, which are at the same time seasonal wetlands cultivated to rice during the rainy season. A finite volume model for the shallow water equations is developed to numerically simulate surface runoff flows in the valley bottoms during flood events. Innovation is necessitated to handle a series of different hydraulic phenomena. Flux-splitting and data reconstruction techniques are used to achieve stable computation in the complex topography of the valley bottoms. Standard problems of oblique hydraulic jump and dam break flows are used to test the accuracy of the numerical model. The Manning’s roughness coefficient is determined from calibration in another Ghanaian watershed located in the Eastern Region. Using actually observed time series data of rainfall intensity, surface flows during the rainfall events are simulated in the computational domain representing the valley bottoms of the study area. Observed data of water levels in the dams are compared to predictions, and discrepancies between them are examined from the hydrological point of view. In the case of a hypothetical flood event, cascading collapses of the dams and flooding of cultivated fields are reproduced.