The viscoelastic behavior of short-fiber composite materials

This article examines the viscoelastic behavior of unidirectional short-fiber composites. Each fiber is approximated by an ellipsoidal elastic inclusion embedded in a viscoelastic matrix. The static correspondence principle which relates the viscoelastic problem to the elastic problem is applied to the modified expression of the effective elastic moduli of short-fiber composites originally derived by the authors. Numerical examples for various fiber aspect ratios are shown based upon the collocation approximation method. Comparisons of the result with the self-consistent method are also presented.     

Purification of steryl esters from soybean oil deodorizer distillate

Soybean oil deodorizer distillate (SODD) contains steryl esters in addition to tocopherols and sterols. Tocopherols and sterols have been industrially purified from SODD but no purification process for steryl esters has been developed. SODD was efficiently separated to low b.p. substances (including tocopherols and sterols) and high b.p. substances (including 11.2 wt% DAG, 32.1 wt% TAG, and 45.4 wt% steryl esters) by molecular distillation. The high b.p. fraction is referred to as soybean oil deodorizer distillate steryl ester concentrate (SODDSEC). We attempted to purify steryl esters after a lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of acylglycerols in SODDSEC. Screening of industrially available lipases indicated that Candida rugosa lipase was most effective. Based on the study of several factors affecting hydrolysis, the reaction conditions were determined as follows: ratio of SODDSEC/water, 1∶1 (w/w); lipase amount, 15 U/g reaction mixture; temperature, 30°C. When SODDSEC was agitated for 24 h under these conditions, acylglycerols were almost completely hydrolyzed and the content of steryl esters did not change. However, study with a mixture of steryl oleate/trilinolein (1∶1, w/w) indicated that about 20% of constituent FA in steryl esters were exchanged with constituent FA in acylglycerols. Steryl esters in the oil layer obtained by the SODDSEC treatment with lipase were successfully purified by molecular distillation (purity, 97.3%; recovery, 87.7%).     

FORMATION MECHANISM OF Tio2 FINE PARTICLES PREPARED BY THE SPRAY PYROLYSIS METHOD

Fine particles of Tio₂ were prepared from titanyl sulfate solution by the Spray pyrolysis Method( SPM) The reaction tube was divided into four zones: drying, dehydration, pyrolysis 1 and pyrolysis 2 zones. Under various reaction temperature and carrier gas flow rate, the mean size and the size distribution of particles collected at different sampling positions along the axial direction of the reactor were compared. The effects of operating conditions of drying, dehydration and subsequent pyrolysis steps on the formation mechanism of Tio₂ fine particles were discussed     

Low-Temperature Methanol Synthesis in Catalytic Systems Composed of Copper-Based Oxides and Alkali Alkoxides in Liquid Media: Effects of Reaction Variables on Catalytic Performance

Catalytic systems composed of copper-based oxides and alkali alkoxides are tested for low-temperature methanol synthesis in liquid phases, which involves carbonylation of methanol to methyl formate and consecutive hydrogenation of methyl formate to methanol. The effects of reaction variables on the catalytic performance are investigated under the conditions of 373-423K temperature and 1.5-5.0 Mpa pressure. The combined catalytic systems of copper chromite and potassium methoxide exhibit excellent activities for the production of methanol. Higher values of reaction temperature, initial pressure, catalyst loading, and H₂/CO ratio of the feed gas lead to higher methanol productivity. In particular, the reaction temperatures and the feed gas compositions strongly influence the catalytic performance. No methanol is formed when employing a feed gas containing 2% CO₂. The catalytic systems are deactivated in a short period even in a CO₂-free feed gas, due to the consumption of the alkoxide component. Alkali alkoxides are consumed through reactions with trace amounts of CO₂ and H₂O which are formed as by-products during the course of the runs. The results also suggest that the hydrogenation step of methyl formate over copper chromite is greatly accelerated in the presence of the alkali alkoxide.     

Hyperdeproteinized natural rubber prepared with urea

Preparation of hyperdeproteinized natural rubber was made from fresh latex and preserved high‐ammonia latex by treatment with urea in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Concentration of urea, temperature, and time for the incubation were investigated to remove the proteins effectively. Under the best conditions, the total nitrogen content and amount of allergenic proteins for the deproteinized rubbers were 0.005 wt % and 1.0 μg/ml, respectively, which were less than those of natural rubber deproteinized with proteolytic enzyme. The hyper‐deproteinized natural rubber was proved through FT IR spectroscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 555–559, 2004     

On loci of acrylonitrile polymerization with bisulfite-persulfate initiators under the conditions of low water/monomer ratio

In the preparation of acrylonitrile–vinylacetate copolymer (93:7 in weight) by continuous polymerization in aqueous medium using the complete mixing type reactor, the author and co-workers studied the effects of the water/monomer ratio on polymer properties and polymerization. They reported that the structure of a polymer particle becomes more compact with decreasing water/monomer ratio. This was noted in studying the physical properties of the polymer and the formation of polymer particles in this system. ^1,2 Here the author has performed kinetic studies based on the results of polymerization to determine the loci of the polymerization in the range of water/monomer ratio roughly from 1.75 to 4.0. Most of the primary radicals from the initiators attack the monomers in the aqueous phase to form monomer radicals attached to initiator fragments, and most of the monomer radicals grow to form polymer radicals until termination occurs in the aqueous phase. Hence, the loci of polymerization in this system are not the surfaces and inner parts of the polymer particles, the diameters of which are roughly from 20 to 60 μm observed by a microscope, but the aqueous phase excluding these particles.     

Synthesis of continuous-time dynamic quantizers for LFT type quantized feedback systems

This paper focuses on analysis and synthesis methods of continuous-time dynamic quantizers for LFT type quantized control systems. Our aim is to propose a numerical optimization design method of multiple (decentralized) quantizers such that a given linear system is optimally approximated by the given linear system with the multiple quantizers. Our method is based on the invariant set analysis and the LMI technique. In addition, we clarify that our proposed method naturally extends to multiobjective control problems similar to linear control. For implementation, this paper presents an analysis condition of the applicable interval of switching process of quantizer. Finally, it is pointed out that the proposed method is helpful through a numerical example.     

Detailed analyses of key phenomena in core disruptive accidents of sodium-cooled fast reactors by the COMPASS code

A five-year research project has been initiated in 2005 to develop a code based on the MPS (Moving Particle Semi-implicit) method for detailed analysis of key phenomena in core disruptive accidents (CDAs) of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The code is named COMPASS (Computer Code with Moving Particle Semi-implicit for Reactor Safety Analysis). The key phenomena include (1) fuel pin failure and disruption, (2) molten pool boiling, (3) melt freezing and blockage formation, (4) duct wall failure, (5) low-energy disruptive core motion, (6) debris-bed coolability, and (7) metal–fuel pin failure. Validation study of COMPASS is progressing for these key phenomena. In this paper, recent COMPASS results of detailed analyses for the several key phenomena are summarized. Simulations of GEYSER and THEFIS experiments were performed for dispersion and freezing behaviors of molten materials in narrow flow channels. In particular, the latter experiment using melt–solid mixture is also related to fundamental behavior of low energy disruptive core. CABRI-TPA2 experiment was simulated for boiling behavior of molten core pool. Expected mechanism of heat transfer between molten fuel and steel mixture was reproduced by the simulation. Analyses of structural dynamics using elastoplastic mechanics and fracture criteria were performed for SCARABEE BE+3 and CABRI E7 experiments. These two analyses are especially focused on thermal and mechanical failure of steel duct wall and fuel pin, respectively. The present results demonstrate COMPASS will be useful to understand and clarify the key phenomena of CDAs in SFRs in details.