Size Segregation of Nickel Pellets Flowing into a Packed Bed

The size segregation of nickel pellets fed to a packed bed has been measured with mixtures of sizes ranging from less than 1 mm to about 10 mm. The pellet mixture is fed to one side of a rectangular cell and then samples are removed from different lateral positions in the cell for screen analysis. During the feeding process the finer pellets tend to percolate vertically downwards while the larger pellets tend to roll down the sloping surface of the bed. The resulting segregation has been correlated with the size distribution of the feed pellets and the lateral position in the cell, using polynomial equations with three or four adjustable coefficients.     

Rutherford backscattering studies on high-energy Si-implanted InP

High-energy Si-implantations into InP:Fe were examined using Rutherford backscattering (RBS) via channeling measurements. Variable-fluence implantations at 3 MeV and variable-energy implantations for a fluence of 3 x 10¹⁴ cm⁻² were done. A damagestudy on the 3 MeV Si-implanted samples by RBS indicated formation of a continuous, buried amorphous layer for a fluence of ≈5 x 10¹⁴ cm⁻². The quality of the crystal in the region of the amorphous layer was poor after annealing at any temperature (≤900° C), indicating that the crystallization during annealing resulted in either a highly defective material or a polycrystal. For samples with damage below the continuous amorphous level, damage recovery is essentially independent of damage concentration. In the variable-energy-implanted samples, the region of damage moved deeper below the sample surface with increasing energy.     

Fe and Ti implants in In0.52Al0.48As

Single (200 keV) and multiple energy Fe implants in n-type and Ti implants in p-type material were performed in In_0.52Al_0.48As at both room temperature and 200°C. For the Fe implants, the secondary ion mass spectrometry profiles showed a severe out-diffusion for all rapid thermal annealing schemes used, independent of the implantation temperature. The Fe implant peaks observed after annealing, at 0.8Rp, Rp+ΔRp and 2Rp (where Rp and ΔRp are range and straggle, respectively) depth locations in other In-based compounds like InP and InGaAs were not observed here. On the contrary, Ti implants showed only a slight in- and out-diffusion for both room temperature and 200°C implants as in the case of InP and InGaAs. The Rutherford backscattering measurements on the annealed samples implanted at 200°C showed a crystal quality similar to that of the virgin material. The resistivity of all the samples after annealing was higher than 10⁶ Ω-cm.     

Macrosegregation in direct-chill casting of aluminium alloys

Semi-continuous direct-chill (DC) casting holds a prominent position in commercial aluminium alloy processing, especially in production of large sized ingots. Macrosegregation, which is the non-uniform chemical composition over the length scale of a casting, is one of the major defects that occur during this process. The fact that macrosegregation is essentially unaffected by subsequent heat treatment (hence constitutes an irreversible defect) leaves us with little choice but to control it during the casting stage. Despite over a century of research in the phenomenon of macrosegregation in castings and good understanding of underlying mechanisms, the contributions of these mechanisms in the overall macrosegregation picture; and interplay between these mechanisms and the structure formation during solidification are still unclear. This review attempts to fill this gap based on the published data and own results. The following features make this review unique: results of computer simulations are used in order to separate the effects of different macrosegregation mechanisms. The issue of grain refining is specifically discussed in relation to macrosegregation. This report is structured as follows. Macrosegregation as a phenomenon is defined in the Introduction. In “Direct-chill casting – process parameters, solidification and structure patterns” section, direct-chill casting, the role of process parameters and the evolution of structural features in the as-cast billets are described. In “Macrosegregation in direct-chill casting of aluminium alloys” section, macrosegregation mechanisms are elucidated in a historical perspective and the correlation with DC casting process parameters and structural features are made. The issue of how to control macrosegregation in direct-chill casting is also dealt with in the same section. In “Role of grain refining” section, the effect of grain refining on macrosegregation is introduced, the current understanding is described and the contentious issues are outlined. The review is finished with conclusion remarks and outline for the future research.     

Axial mixing and gas holdup with reciprocating doughnut plates

A 15 cm diameter reciprocating plate column has been operated under gas—liquid flow conditions with a stack of doughnut‐type plates having inner and outer diameters of 7.5 cm and 13.0 cm, respectively. Axial dispersion coefficients and gas holdup have been measured. It is found that this type of plate gives lower axial dispersion coefficients than a previously tested doughnut plate having an outer diameter almost the same as the column internal diameter, but the gas retention times are slightly lower.     

Heat transfer in a reciprocating plate column

A pilot‐scale (5.08 cm internal diameter) reciprocating plate column has been modified by the insertion of a brass test section for heat transfer measurements. Heat is supplied to liquid (water or a glucose solution) in the column from an electrical heating tape wound round the brass section, the walls of which contain thermocouples. Reciprocation of the plates in the column results in up to a seven‐fold improvement In heat transfer coefficient, to single phase liquids. Conditions are turbulent with oscillatory Reynolds numbers up to 20000. The effect of plate reciprocation is much less pronounced when the liquids are agitated by a stream of gas bubbles. The single‐phase heat transfer coefficients have been correlated for 5 different types of plates using approaches already available in the literature for turbulent systems in steady flow. The best‐fit oscillatory flow correlation differs slightly from the existing correlations for steady flow.     

Lateral mixing of shallow liquid pools by air bubbling

The lateral mixing of water in a shallow rectangular tank (length 225 cm, width 56.5 cm, depth 15 cm) under the action of bottom‐stir plugs has been studied. The process has been measured and video‐recorded, using an acid‐base reaction with indicator to show the flow patterns. It is concluded that in spite of the very low depth/width ratio in the tank, lateral mixing can be achieved quite efficiently using certain configurations of plugs which promote lateral circulation. With the best configuration, a mixing time of about 3.5 min could be achieved using either 4 or 6 plugs. The specific power dissipation rate was very low (0.0044 W/kg). The mixing time was essentially the same with 4 or 6 plugs provided the total gas flow to the plugs was the same in the two cases. Tests with intermittent blowing of the plugs did not show any improvements over steady operation.     

Scale‐up of single phase axial dispersion coefficients in batch and continuous oscillatory baffled tubes

This note presents the development of a scale‐up correlation of single‐phase axial dispersion coefficients in both batch and continuous oscillatory baffled flow systems. A hydraulic diameter is introduced to relate axial dispersion coefficients for various baffle geometry, including close‐fit and loose‐fit baffles, Karr plate and multiperforated plate, and various scales. The significance of this note is that the mixing characteristic in oscillatory flow devices is linear.     

Dynamic analysis and damping of composite structures embedded with viscoelastic layers

In recent years, it has been found that composites co-cured with viscoelastic materials can enhance the damping capacity of a composite structural system with little reduction in stiffness and strength. Because of the anisotropy of the constraining layers, the damping mechanism of co-cured composites is quite different from that of conventional structures with metal constraining layers. This paper presents an analysis of the dynamic properties of multiple damping layer, laminated composite beams with anisotropic stiffness layers, by means of the finite element-based modal strain energy method. ANSYS 4.4A finite element software has been used for this study. The variation of resonance frequencies and modal loss factors of various beam samples with temperature is studied. Some of these results are compared with the closed-form theoretical results of an earlier published work. For obtaining optimium dynamic properties, the effects of different parameters, such as layer orientation angle and compliant layering, are studied. Also, the effect of using a combination of different damping materials in the system for obtaining stable damping properties over a wide temperature range is studied.     

Morphology development of EPDM/PP uncross‐linked/dynamically cross‐linked blends

Ethylene‐propylene‐diene‐terpolymer (EPDM) and polypropylene (PP)‐based uncross‐linked and dynamically cross‐linked blends were prepared both in an internal mixer and in a corotating twin‐screw extruder. The effects of composition, plasticization and mixing equipment on the morphology development and the final viscoelastic properties were studied. In the uncross‐linked blends, the plasticization resulted in a coarser morphology. Furthermore, it was shown that the majority of the plasticizer resided in the EPDM phase, enabling its deformation in the flow direction. In addition, the intensive mixing conditions inside the twin‐screw extruder resulted in a finer morphology. In the dynamically cross‐linked blends, the twin‐screw extrusion process resulted in a higher level of gel content with larger EPDM domains. The plasticization showed again a coarsening effect, resulting in interconnected cross‐linked EPDM domains. An interesting interfacial phenomenon was observed especially in the plasticized vulcanized blends where nanometer size occluded PP domains were stripped off and eroded into the EPDM phase. With the exception of the nonplasticized uncross‐linked blends, the viscoelastic properties of all other blending systems were found to be directly affected by the morphology, gel content (in the case of cross‐linked blends), and the presence of the plasticizer. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers