A robust weakly compressible SPH method and its comparison with an incompressible SPH

This paper presents a comparative study for the weakly compressible (WCSPH) and incompressible (ISPH) smoothed particle hydrodynamics methods by providing numerical solutions for fluid flows over an airfoil and a square obstacle. Improved WCSPH and ISPH techniques are used to solve these two bluff body flow problems. It is shown that both approaches can handle complex geometries using the multiple boundary tangents (MBT) method, and eliminate particle clustering‐induced instabilities with the implementation of a particle fracture repair procedure as well as the corrected SPH discretization scheme. WCSPH and ISPH simulation results are compared and validated with those of a finite element method (FEM). The quantitative comparisons of WCSPH, ISPH and FEM results in terms of Strouhal number for the square obstacle test case, and the pressure envelope, surface traction forces, and velocity gradients on the airfoil boundaries as well as the lift and drag values for the airfoil geometry indicate that the WCSPH method with the suggested implementation produces numerical results as accurate and reliable as those of the ISPH and FEM methods. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Immobilization of albumin on magnetite nanoparticles

The magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles were prepared by the co-precipitation of ferrous and ferric salts with NH₄OH, and then modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) by silanization reaction and subsequent reaction with glutaraldehyde (GA) to obtain functional groups on their surface. The influence of different terminated groups on protein binding was studied with bare and modified magnetite nanoparticles. Amine terminated magnetite nanoparticles were shown the highest binding ability for immobilization process compared to Fe₃O₄ NPs and GA bonded NPs. This binding ability was shown by using sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique (SDS-PAGE). Albumin attached magnetite nanoparticles were also examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).     

Utilization of Non-destructive Methods for Determining the Effect of Age-Hardening on Impact Toughness of 2024 Al–Cu–Mg Alloy

The aim of the study is to investigate the correlation between non-destructive measurements and impact toughness of 2024 Al-alloy. Following the solutionizing at 493 °C/1 h and water quench, the samples were aged at 190 °C for various periods between 0.5 h and 18 h. Hardness, impact toughness, sound velocity, and electrical conductivity were measured for each specimen group, and fracture surfaces were investigated by SEM. To focus on only the effect of precipitation, the process variables were minimized by preparing the samples from the same batch, and applying the identical procedure for solution heat treatment and quenching. Any cold deformation prior to aging of the samples was not applied. It has been concluded that sound velocity and electrical conductivity measurements are promising for the determination of variations in the impact toughness of the precipitation hardened 2024 Al-alloy.     

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics study on the electrohydrodynamic deformation of a droplet suspended in a neutrally buoyant Newtonian fluid

In this paper, we have presented a 2D Lagrangian two-phase numerical model to study the deformation of a droplet suspended in a quiescent fluid subjected to the combined effects of viscous, surface tension and electric field forces. The electrostatics phenomena are coupled to hydrodynamics through the solution of a set of Maxwell equations. The relevant Maxwell equations and associated interface conditions are simplified relying on the assumptions of the so-called leaky dielectric model. All governing equations and the pertinent jump and boundary conditions are discretized in space using the incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method with improved interface and boundary treatments. Upon imposing constant electrical potentials to upper and lower horizontal boundaries, the droplet starts acquiring either prolate or oblate shape, and shows rather different flow patterns within itself and in its vicinity depending on the ratios of the electrical permittivities and conductivities of the constituent phases. The effects of the strength of the applied electric field, permittivity, surface tension, and the initial droplet radius on the droplet deformation parameter have been investigated in detail. Numerical results are validated by two highly credential analytical results which have been frequently cited in the literature. The numerically and analytically calculated droplet deformation parameters show good agreement for small oblate and prolate deformations. However, for some higher values of the droplet deformation parameter, numerical results overestimate the droplet deformation parameter. This situation was also reported in literature and is due to the assumption made in both theories, which is that the droplet deformation is rather small, and hence the droplet remains almost circular. Moreover, the flow circulations and their corresponding velocities in the inner and outer fluids are in agreement with theories.     

Pro-oxidant effects of delta-aminolevulinic acid (delta-ALA) on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells

delta-Aminolevulinic Acid (delta-ALA) is a heme precursor accumulated in lead poisoning and acute intermittent porphyria. Although no single mechanism for lead toxicity has yet been defined, recent studies suggest at least some of the lead-induced damage may originate from delta-ALA-induced oxidative stress. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that delta-ALA accumulation in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells contributes to the cumulative oxidative challenge of lead poisoning as indicated by the oxidative stress parameters glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), malondialdehyde equivalents (MDA), and catalase (CAT). It will also examine the possibility that this oxidative challenge can be reversed by treatment with an antioxidant such as N-acetylcysteine (NAC). First in vitro administration of delta-ALA to CHO cells was found to have a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on colony formation and cell survival. NAC administration was shown to alleviate this inhibition in CHO survival. The oxidative status of CHO cell cultures exposed to increasing concentrations of delta-ALA was then examined. Decreases in GSH levels (P < 0.05) were observed in the delta-ALA-treated cultures as compared to the controls, while GSSG and MDA levels were significantly increased in delta-ALA-treated cells (P < 0.05). CAT activity was not significantly affected. NAC administration concurrent with delta-ALA exposure resulted in GSH and GSSG levels similar to the control levels, while no significant improvement in MDA was observed. These results indicate a state of oxidative stress and suggest that the delta-ALA- induced inhibitory effect on CHO colony formation may be due to its pro-oxidant effect. To assess whether this oxidative challenge would induce antioxidant increases during extended exposure to delta-ALA, CHO cells were exposed to 5 mM delta-ALA for increasing time periods. The GSH and GSSG levels were measured and a rebound effect was observed after 12 h of delta-ALA exposure.     

Effect of formaldehyde gas adsorption on the electrical conductivity of Pd-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> thin films

0.5 wt% Pd-doped titanium oxide thin films were obtained by dip-coating on silicon substrates. The films were compacted by annealing in air at 300 and 500 °C. Temperature dependent electrical conductivity measurements were performed in the temperature range 373–623 K, in different environments (air, methane, acetone, ethanol, formaldehyde and liquefied petroleum gas), to test the films sensing gas properties. Formaldehyde was found to be the test gas that produces the most significant changes in the electrical conductivity of the studied films. This was the reason why it was chosen to investigate its effect on their electrical conductivity. A model was proposed, the model of the potential fluctuations at grain boundaries. A comparison between some parameters obtained in the proposed model was performed as a function of annealing temperature, and as a function of gas atmosphere. The values of the mean barrier height and the standard deviation were estimated to range between 0.336–0.588 eV and 0.175–0.199 eV, respectively. It was found that formaldehyde leads to a rather sharp decrease in the values of the barrier height and the standard deviation, and to an increase in the conductivity. We have observed the best sensing gas performance for the films annealed at 300 °C, comparing to their counterparts annealed at 500 °C, explained by the lowest values of the barrier energy height and the standard deviation.     

Functional and textural properties of vegetable‐fibre enriched yoghurt

In this study, different vegetable‐fibre enriched yoghurts namely control (C), pumpkin (PY), carrot (CY), green pea (GY) and zucchini (ZY), were produced. It was observed that Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus counts were higher in yoghurts supplemented with vegetable purees, in accordance with the enhanced growth of lactic acid bacteria due to the fibres, phenolic compounds and organic acids present in the vegetables. Furthermore, vegetable puree supplementation affected the pH, titratable acidity, syneresis, colour (L*, a*, b*, ΔE values), texture (firmness, cohesiveness, consistency and viscosity index) and sensorial properties of the yoghurts. Firmness, consistency and viscosity indices were higher in the yoghurt produced with carrot puree, whereas the highest antioxidant capacity was detected in the pumpkin yoghurt, which corresponded to the highest total phenolic, ascorbic acid and total carotenoid contents. The results of the present study could lead to an innovative approach in the functional dairy product market for the development of dairy products enriched with vegetables that have nutritional and potential therapeutic characteristics.     

Gold nanoshell density variation with laser power for induced hyperthermia

The thermal profile effects of nanoshell density, laser power, and laser arrangement are presented for ideal cases of nanoshell-assisted photothermal therapy. A one-dimensional thermal model utilizing the P₁ approximation is used to simulate the penetration of laser radiation and subsequent heating of 1-cm slabs of nanoshell-embedded tissue exposed to a 633-nm collimated light source. It is shown that adding too many nanoshells or increasing power can cause overheating in the entry region while leaving the rear region heated only by conduction, producing an undesirable temperature differential. An opposing dual-laser approach is presented that mitigates this issue.     

Process parameters for hydrocooling apricots, plums, and peaches

Freshly harvested apricots, plums, and peaches in crates containing 5–20kg were hydrocooled in flowing water at 1°C and 50mms^-1. The cooling parameters: lag factor, cooling coefficient, and time to half-cool, determined from the exponential decline in the dimensionless ratio of temperature differences between fruit centre and coolant temperature at time t and at zero time, varied somewhat with crate load. Increasing the load from 5 to 20kg increased the time to half-cool apricots by 17% and plums and peaches by 39%.