Physicochemical approach to nanobubble solutions

Small bubbles of nitrogen, methane, or argon with an average radius of 50 nm, as measured by scanning electron microscopy, were prepared under atmospheric conditions. The lifetime of the nanobubbles extended to more than two weeks. The total amount of gases in the nanobubble solutions reached 600 cm³ per 1 dm³ of water, and the liquid density was about 0.988 g/cm³. The internal pressure of the nanobubbles was estimated to be 6 MPa. The number of nanobubbles was 1.9×10¹⁶ bubbles per 1 dm³ of water. These findings show that almost no gas samples are dissolved homogeneously in the aqueous solution and that the vast majority is present in the form of nanobubbles, that is, nanobubbles should be thermodynamically unstable. Attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy showed that the surfaces of the nanobubbles contain hard hydrogen bonds that may reduce the diffusivity of gases through the interfacial film.     

STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR FOR TRANSIENT THERMAL STRESSES IN AN INFINITE ELASTIC BODY WITH AN EXTERNAL CRACK

Abstract

This paper deals with a transient thermal stress problem in an infinite body with an external crack. The elastic medium is cooled by time- and position-dependent temperature on the external crack. It is very difficult to obtain the analytical expression for the temperature, so the finite-difference method is used with respect to a time variable. Thus, the analytical expression for the temperature with respect to the spatial variables may be obtained. The temperature solution reduces to a dual-integral equation for spatial variables by use of the finite-difference method for a time variable. The numerical results for stress intensity factor are obtained.     

Rigid microenvironments promote cardiac differentiation of mouse and human embryonic stem cells

Abstract

While adult heart muscle is the least regenerative of tissues, embryonic cardiomyocytes are proliferative, with embryonic stem (ES) cells providing an endless reservoir. In addition to secreted factors and cell–cell interactions, the extracellular microenvironment has been shown to play an important role in stem cell lineage specification, and understanding how scaffold elasticity influences cardiac differentiation is crucial to cardiac tissue engineering. Though previous studies have analyzed the role of matrix elasticity on the function of differentiated cardiomyocytes, whether it affects the induction of cardiomyocytes from pluripotent stem cells is poorly understood. Here, we examine the role of matrix rigidity on cardiac differentiation using mouse and human ES cells. Culture on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates of varied monomer-to-crosslinker ratios revealed that rigid extracellular matrices promote a higher yield of de novo cardiomyocytes from undifferentiated ES cells. Using a genetically modified ES system that allows us to purify differentiated cardiomyocytes by drug selection, we demonstrate that rigid environments induce higher cardiac troponin T expression, beating rate of foci, and expression ratio of adult α- to fetal β- myosin heavy chain in a purified cardiac population. M-mode and mechanical interferometry image analyses demonstrate that these ES-derived cardiomyocytes display functional maturity and synchronization of beating when co-cultured with neonatal cardiomyocytes harvested from a developing embryo. Together, these data identify matrix stiffness as an independent factor that instructs not only the maturation of already differentiated cardiomyocytes but also the induction and proliferation of cardiomyocytes from undifferentiated progenitors. Manipulation of the stiffness will help direct the production of functional cardiomyocytes en masse from stem cells for regenerative medicine purposes.     

Viscosity measurement of gelcasting slurry during in-situ gelation by a micro X-ray CT scan system

This paper reports the use of a micro X-ray CT scan system to measure the viscosity increase during in-situ gelation of a gelcasting slurry. Three small steel balls were dropped in the slurry at a desired time interval after the addition of the gelling agent, while being monitored by the CT scan system. It was determined that the plot of the logarithm of the calculated viscosities based on the settling velocity of the falling ball versus the gelation time can be classified into three regions with increasing slopes. The first region is designated as the idle time during which the gelcasting slurry can be further processed and cast into a mold. The second region is the onset of gelation during which the polymer networks start to form with a gradual increase in the viscosity, whereas the third region is attributed to the increased concentration of the polymerized networks as typified by the significant increase in the slurry viscosity. Moreover, the falling ball method was found to be more sensitive to detecting the onset of gel formation in the gelcasting slurry than stress-controlled rheometric analyses.     

Effect of carbide properties of roll materials on lubricity in cold sheet rolling of low-carbon steel

The prevention of friction pick-up, which often occurs under the condition of high reduction and/or high speed, is required to improve the productivity in cold sheet rolling of low-carbon steel. Therefore, rolls made of high-chromium steels and high-speed steels with different carbide contents are tested in order to evaluate the effect of various properties of the carbide component of the materials on the lubrication characteristics. Coefficients of friction for the reduction in thickness and the limit of the reduction of friction pick-up are measured using the sliding–rolling simulation testing machine developed by one of the authors. The experimental results show that carbides on the surface of the roll can stop the increase in friction pick-up, and that keeping the carbide spacing small is effective in preventing friction pick-up. Because of the effectiveness of carbides, a high-chromium steel roll with controlled carbide morphology is manufactured and applied in a cold tandem mill. The results of the application show that the carbide-controlled roll has an excellent antiseizure property and is effective in improving productivity.     

Design proposal for hydrogen refueling infrastructure deployment in the Northeastern United States

Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are expected to be commercially available on the world market in 2015, therefore, introducing hydrogen-refueling stations is an urgent issue to be addressed. This paper proposes deployment plan of hydrogen infrastructure for the success of their market penetration in the Northeastern United States. The plan consists of three-timeline stages from 2013 to 2025 and divides the designated region into urban area, suburban area and area adjacent to expressway, so that easy to access to hydrogen stations can be realized. Station is chosen from four types of stations: off-site station, urban-type on-site station, suburban-type on-site station and portable station, associated with growing demand. In addition, on-site station is used as hydrogen production factory for off-site station to save total investment. This deployment plan shows that 83% of urban residents can reach station within 10 min in 2025, and that more than 90% people especially in four major cities: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. can get to station within 10 min by Geographic Information System (GIS) calculation.     

Evaluation of electric energy performance by democratic module PV system field test

A systematic investigation has been made on annual accumulated generated PV power from different solar arrays consisting of three kinds of silicon-based solar cells. To clarify seasonal output power variations with temperature in c-Si and a-Si cells might be an important issue for the operations of PV system. It has been shown from the results that electric output power from a-Si array in summer is 20% larger than that from c-Si. On the other hand, in winter, this scene should be reverted. However, output power from c-Si array is only 5% larger than that from a-Si. The analyzed data also shows that annual accumulated electric power generated from a-Si array corresponds to 90% of its nominal efficiency in the year. While in case of c-Si array, this ratio is about 84%.     

Characteristics of SiH4/H2 VHF plasma produced by short gap discharge

A SiH₄/H₂ VHF plasma was produced with the multi rod electrode and the fundamental plasma parameters were examined as a function of pressure and power, where the frequency of the power source was 60 MHz. It was found that the ion saturation current takes a peak at a certain power as well as pressure. These results were discussed from the point of view of electron trapping effect in VHF electric fields. In addition, anomalous reduction of the sheath potential was observed.