Low temperature J-resistance curve determination of asphalt concrete using wavelet-Radon transform

A single specimen test using the three point single edge notched beam configuration at low temperatures for obtaining hot mix asphalt （HMA） resistance curves is developed.Resistance curves are obtained for mixtures at six temperature levels of＋5,0,-5,-10,-15,and-20 ℃ and three binder contents of 4％,4.5％,and 5％.Crack extension increments during the test are measured by means of an image processing technique using Radon transform and feature extraction.All the specimens exhibit a rising R-curve,indicating ductility and toughening mechanisms in the ductile-quasi brittle fracture of the mixture.It is observed that the reduction of temperature results in a further tendency of the mixture for unstable crack growth and less subcritical crack length.It is also shown that using the binarization process,an automatic index can be developed that can represent the extent of brittleness and extent of the low temperature in which the cracking has occurred.     

A Comprehensive Study on Gasification of Petroleum Wastes Based on a Mathematical Model

Gasification is a thermochemical process that produces useful and environmentally friendly by-products. Here the effects of various parameters such as equivalence ratio, pressure, and steam gasifying on the gasification process of waste lubricant oil are investigated based on Gibbs free energy minimization approach. The model is validated by reported data and found to be in good agreement. Various gasification performance parameters such as cold gas efficiency, carbon conversion efficiency, gasification temperature, pressure, and heating value of produced gas were determined based on a parametric study. The use of CaO catalyst has also been investigated for the production of hydrogen-rich gas with in situ CO₂ capture in steam gasification of waste oil. The results indicate that an appropriate steam/fuel ratio and more catalyst are favorable for getting a higher H₂ ratio and a lower CO₂ output.     

Microstructural degradation mechanisms during creep in strength enhanced high Cr ferritic steels and their evaluation by hardness measurement

There are two creep regions with different creep characteristics: short-term creep region “H”, where precipitates and subgrains are thermally stable, and long-term creep region “L”, where thermal coarsening of precipitates and subgrains appear. In region “H”, the normalized subgrain size (λ-λ₀)/(λ^∗-λ₀) has a linear relation with creep strain and its slope is 10ε⁻¹. But, region L is the time range in which the static recovery and the strain-induced recovery progress simultaneously. In this region, the static recovery accelerates the strain-induced recovery, and subgrain size is larger than that line which neglects the contribution of the static recovery. In region “L”, the Δλ/Δλ^∗-strain present a linear relation with a slope 35ε⁻¹. There is a linear relation between hardness and subgrain size. Hardness drop, H₀ − H, as a function of Larson-Miller parameter can be a good measure method for assessment of hardness drop and consequently degradation of microstructure. Hardness drop shows an identical slope in creep region “H”, whereas hardness drop due to thermal aging and creep in region “L” show together a similar slope. In region “H”, degradation of microstructure is mainly due to recovery of subgrains controlled by creep plastic deformation, and precipitates do not have a major role. However, in creep region “L”, there are three degradation mechanisms that accelerate creep failure; (1) strain-induced recovery of subgrains due to creep plastic deformation, (2) static-recovery of subgrains and precipitates and (3) strain-induced coarsening of precipitates due to the appearance of static-recovery.     

Porothermoelasticity for swelling shales

Optimization of drilling fluid parameters such as mud weight, salt concentration, and temperature is essential to alleviating instability problems when drilling through shale sections, particularly in high-pressure and high-temperature environments. Under these conditions, selection of suitable mud parameters can benefit from analyses that consider significant thermal and chemo–mechanical processes involved in shale–drilling fluid interactions. A non-isothermal poroelastic theory suitable for shales is presented herein. Phenomena related to thermal and chemical osmosis are considered by extending the theory of porothermoelasticity to chemically active rocks. The modified pore pressure and stresses around a borehole in shale are obtained by solving the porothermoelastic field equations in generalized plane strain. Application of the solution to a typical field operational situation has demonstrated that thermal osmosis can significantly impact formation pore pressure, thereby reducing stability. Furthermore, analyses based on the new porothermoelastic formulation for shales suggest that mud temperature should be optimized in order to maximize the efficacy of chemical osmosis in stabilizing the borehole.     

Study of an Hybrid Current Controller Suitable for DC–DC or DC–AC Applications

In this paper, the modeling and study of a new hybrid current controller is presented. It ensures high dynamic response with a fixed-frequency operation mode, a zero static error, and high robustness properties in regard to system parameters variations. To model the proposed nonlinear current controller, different tools are developed. In a first step, a high-frequency average model is proposed. It allows studying the average dynamic properties (bandwidth, time response, and overflow). To investigate the behavior of the current ripple due to the switching effect, a second model, based on the construction of a 3D bifurcation diagram and the definition of a form function, is established. This model allows studying the nature of the cycle described by the state trajectory and proving that the system operates with a fixed switching frequency. Design rules of the control parameters of this controller are explained and its robustness properties are tested by numerical simulations and validated by experimental tests.     

The effect of initiator‐to‐monomer ratio on the properties of the polybutadiene‐ol synthesized by free radical solution polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene

Polybutadiene‐ol was synthesized by solution radical polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as initiator and 2‐propanol as solvent. The ratio of initiator to monomer molar concentration, [I₀]/[M₀], was varied while temperature, reaction time and the type and amount of solvent were kept constant. The effects on the M_n; M_w; M_v; PDI, OH‐number and functionality of the synthesized polyols were studied. By taking several samples during a polymerization batch and analyzing them, the time of reaction was chosen as 100 min, after which the PDI changed dramatically. M_n decreased exponentially with increasing [I₀]/[M₀] according to the relationship M_n = 565.55 ([I₀]/[M₀])^?0.7553. The decrease observed in M_w gradually levelled off with increasing [I₀]/[M₀] and molecular weight distribution broadened at larger values of [I₀]/[M₀]. The OH‐number increases with [I₀]/[M₀]. In addition to the number‐average molecular weight, functionality is dependent on the number of hydroxyl‐terminated chain radicals in the reaction medium. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Simultaneous Determination of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate and 2,4,6‐Trinitrotoluene by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) Method

High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) has been used for the simultaneous determination of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT). With this aim, the spots were developed on silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ layers with petroleum ether–acetone (2 : 1 v/v). Both PETN and TNT compounds were separated from other constituent materials, and were developed at the same speed, by this solvent system. Then ultraviolet (UV) spectra of these materials were recorded with TLC‐scanner3 of CAMAG Company, and partial least squares regression‐2 (PLSR‐2) method was applied for the calibration and quantitative determination of these materials. The figure of merit (FOM) of this method was determined, and the method was applied for the analysis of an artificial sample.     

An investigation into the reaction behavior of tubular braids due to internal pressure

Braiding has many applications in different industries as an internal pressurized cylinder. In these conditions, a sustainable structure without any wrinkling and unevenness is quite necessary. Using thin wall structures with closed ends and under internal pressures as a braid is addressed in the present study. With the use of a silicon vessel as the core, the braids with different angles and weavings were produced. They were exposed to internal pressure from zero to failure point. All stages of change in the shapes of the samples were recorded by a camera and the pressure–diameter results were extracted in 10 s once. In this research, the authors elaborate on the theory of stress and wrinkling moment created in these braids under internal pressure, and then they develop a new testing method by which they compare the obtained results with the theory. Following that, the relationship between the angle and failure pressure is investigated to determine the best braid angle in braiding used as thin wall structures. In the braid angle of ± 55°, all the forces created in braid due to internal pressure are along with strands direction and the increase in the cylinder diameter of the braid has been completely controlled depending on strands’ elongation. The rate of diameter increase in the angles of less than ± 55° is fast, especially in pressures close to failure pressure. However, in the bigger angles, the elongation or, in other words, the diameter decrease is observed in braiding.     

Enhanced hydrogen-assisted cracking of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene over fibrous silica ZSM-5: Influence of co-surfactant during synthesis

In this study, unique fibrous silica ZSM-5 was successfully synthesized by using three type of alcohol possessing different alkyl-chain length as the co-surfactant. The effect of diverse co-surfactant was observed in the changes of physical properties, such as crystallinity, inter-dendrimer distances and pore properties. According to the IR and temperature programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD) analyses, all catalysts exhibited different acid strengths which could be triggered by the different amount of additional silica species. All catalysts exhibited high catalytic performance in the hydrocracking of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene due to the absence of diffusion limitation. However, FZSM5C3 exhibited the highest catalytic activity which corresponded to its high number of Brønsted acid sites. It was observed that different length of co-surfactant alkyl-chain has resulted in different degree of oil penetration into the microemulsion system which subsequently triggered in various inter-dendrimer distances and amount of incorporated silica species. Hence, the altered physicochemical properties led to the difference in catalytic performance due to the presence of different number of Brønsted acid sites.     

Some Generalised Characteristics of the Electro-dynamics of the Plasma Focus in Its Axial Phase: Illustrated by an Application to Independantly Determine the Drive Current Fraction and the Mass Swept-Up Fraction

We describe the axial phase of the Mather plasma focus by two coupled equations of motion and circuit. We non-dimensionalised these equations resulting in two coupled equations which are characterised by only three scaling parameters α, β and δ which are ratios of electrical to transit times, inductances and impedances respectively. The normalised current waveform, trajectory and speed profile are unique for each combination of α, β, δ which are the ratios of characteristic times (electrical discharge vs. axial transit), inductances (tube inductance vs. static inductance) and impedances (stray resistance vs. electrical surge impedance). This leads to important information and insight into various aspects of the axial phase. In the present work we show that in a time-matched plasma focus shot we deduce the value of axial phase current fraction f_c simply by measuring the calibrated voltage waveform and the uncalibrated current waveform. The scaling parameters β and δ are fixed; and by form-fitting the measured current waveform to the normalised current waveform using the value of α of the shot is determined uniquely; from which the peak current and the ratio of peak to average speed [the speed form factor (SFF)] are obtained. The average transit speed is measured by time-of-flight using the voltage upturn as indicator of end of axial phase. Then the SFF yields the peak speed. The measured voltage (back EMF), peak current and peak axial speed (all at the end of axial phase) allows the unambiguous measurement of f_c. The value of the mass swept-up fraction f_m is deduced from α which is the ratio of the characteristic discharge and the characteristic transit times, both deduced during the non-dimensionalisation of the equations. Analysis of a time-matched shot in the INTI PF at 15 kV, 3 Torr D₂ gave f_c = 0.68 and f_m = 0.05.