Black Nickel Coating and Color Anodized Layers for Solar Absorber

Solar selective absorbers are considered as an essential part of a thermal solar collector for which the optical properties are dependent upon their structure and surface morphology. In this paper, optical properties of Ni-pigmented anodized are compared with black electroless nickel coatings. The effect of heat treatment on optical properties of the coatings was also investigated. Anodized films were formed in 6 M phosphoric acid followed by a black coloration process. Scanning electron microscope was used to study the morphology, and X-ray diffraction was employed to identify the phases present. Evaluation of optical properties was carried out by spectral reflectance. Evaluation of the optical characteristics showed that Ni-pigmented anodized and black electroless samples, after heat treatment, had the highest absorption coefficient at about 0.98 as well as the lowest emission coefficient. The ξ factor reached about 6 in heat treated Ni-pigmented anodized layer and offered optimal properties in this research.     

Analysis of multi-layered filament-wound composite pipes under combined internal pressure and thermomechanical loading with thermal variations

The composite pipes manufactured by filament winding technology have anisotropic behavior owing to different reinforced ply angles. Composite pipes can be exposed to the thermomechanical loading due to hot fluid that flows into them. In this paper, based on the three-dimensional anisotropic elasticity, an exact elastic solution for thermal stresses and deformations of the pipes under internal pressure and a temperature gradient has been studied. Giving heat convection conditions the variation of temperature field within the pipe is obtained by solving the conduction equation at the wall. The influence of temperature field in the governing equations of thermoelasticity has been considered via a constitutive law. The shear extension coupling is also considered because of lay-up angles. Stress, strain and deformation distributions for different angle-ply pipe designs are investigated using the present theory.     

Preparation and functional properties of fish gelatin–chitosan blend edible films

With the goal of improving the physico-chemical performance of fish gelatin-based films, composite films were prepared with increasing concentrations of chitosan (Ch) (100G:0Ch, 80G:20Ch, 70G:30Ch, 60G:40Ch and 0G:100Ch, gelatin:Ch), and some of their main physical and functional properties were characterised. The results indicated that the addition of Ch caused significant increase (p < 0.05) in the tensile strength (TS) and elastic modulus, leading to stronger films as compared with gelatin film, but significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the elongation at break. Ch drastically reduced the water vapour permeability (WVP) and solubility of gelatin films, as this decline for the blend film with a 60:40 ratio has been of about 50% (p < 0.05). The light barrier measurements present low values of transparency at 600 nm of the gelatin–chitosan films, indicating that films are very transparent while they have excellent barrier properties against UV light. The structural properties investigated by FTIR and DSC showed a clear interaction between fish gelatin and Ch, forming a new material with enhanced mechanical properties.     

Particle Size Effects on Thermal Decomposition of Energetic Material

This work refers to a study of the thermal decomposition of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under nonisothermal conditions, with heating rates from 5 to 20°C min^?1. The influence of the particle size in the thermal decomposition of HMX was verified. The activation energy for the decomposition of each sample was calculated using the peak temperature shift methods, proposed by Kissinger and Ozawa. A significant variation in the results was observed according to the range of the particle size used. The results showed that, as the particle size of HMX increased, the thermal decomposition temperature of HMX and the decompositional activation energies ranges enhanced. At the same time, at a constant heating rate, the decomposition temperatures of the smaller particles were lower than those of larger ones. The critical temperature for thermal explosion of each sample was calculated. Also, the values of ΔS^#, ΔH^#, and ΔG^# of reaction for each particle size were computed.     

Acoustic emissions simulation of tumbling mills using charge dynamics

Knowledge of the internal variables of a mill is of importance in design and performance optimization of the mill, notwithstanding the difficulty in measuring these variables within the harsh mill environment. To overcome this problem, the research has focused on measuring the internal parameters through non-invasive measurement methods such as the use of the vibration/acoustic signal obtained from the mill. Alternatively, virtual instruments, such as discrete element methods (DEM), are employed. Here, a methodology is developed to simulate on-the-shell acoustic signal emitted from tumbling mills using the information extracted from a DEM simulator. The transfer function which links the forces exerted on the internal surface of the mill and the acoustic signal measured on the outer surface is measured experimentally. Given this transfer function and the force distribution obtained from the DEM simulation, and assuming a linear time-invariant response, the on-the-shell acoustic of a laboratory scale ball mill has been simulated. Comparison of this simulated signal with the signal measured experimentally can be used as a criterion to judge the validity of the DEM simulations, and as a tool for enhancing our understanding of both DEM simulations and the use of acoustics within the context of mineral processing. The results derived from preliminary experiments on a laboratory scale mill shows satisfactory agreement between the actual measurement and the simulated acoustic signal.     

A novel concept for improved thermal management of the planar SOFC

A new design for the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) planar stack is proposed to minimise the thermal gradients in the cell. This design involves including a secondary air channel with flow in the counter direction to the cathodic air channel. The effectiveness of the new design is tested by means of a tank in series reactor (TSR) model of the SOFC. It is found that the new design is capable of reducing the steady state temperature difference across the cell to less than 2 K over a range of voltages, while satisfying the requirements on fuel utilisation (FU) and cell average temperature. This is achieved by manipulating the primary air channel inlet flow rate and the secondary air channel inlet temperature. More modelling and experimental studies are required to further investigate the proposed design.     

Effect of polyaniline–montmorillonite nanocomposite powders addition on corrosion performance of epoxy coatings on Al 5000

A series of polyaniline (PANI)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite materials has been successfully prepared by in-situ emulsion polymerization in the presence of inorganic nanolayers of clay with camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) and ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) as surfactant and initiator, respectively. The nanocomposite materials were characterized by Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Epoxy resin was used as a binder for the nanocomposites in order to obtain a thick and uniform coating. In order to understand the effect of MMT and PANI on the corrosion inhibition performance of the epoxy coatings in 3.5% saline solution at 65 °C, the epoxy (E), epoxy blend with polyaniline (EP), epoxy blend with polyaniline and MMT (EPM) coatings were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that EPM coatings with 5% clay on pretreated aluminum by anodizing were much superior in corrosion protection, with respect to the other samples. Incorporation of PACN nanocomposites inside the epoxy significantly increases the resistance of the coating in comparison to the other coatings in 3.5% saline solution at 65 °C. These phenomena can be attributed to specific morphology of the nanocomposite.     

Mesoscale finite element prediction of concrete failure

The present paper studies the failure of concrete from the mesoscopic point of view. Biphasic cubic concrete samples containing spherical aggregates embedded in a homogenized mortar have been simulated using standard finite element method. Linear elasticity and damage-plasticity hypotheses are considered for the aggregates and mortar, respectively. Various triaxial loading conditions are assumed for each sample to generate adequate discrete failure points within the stress space. In the next step, the approximated failure surfaces of specimens are constructed using the Delaunay triangulation technique. The effects of mesostructural features such as aggregate grading curve, aggregate volumetric share, and more importantly the controlling parameters of mortar’s damage-plasticity constitutive model have been investigated. Finally, the failure modes of some selected samples have been reported and discussed.     

Effect of carbon steel microstructures and molecular structure of two new Schiff base compounds on inhibition performance in 1 M HCl solution by EIS

In this investigation, attempts have been made to study the inhibitive effect of N,N′-ortho-phenylen acetyle acetone imine (S1) and 4-[(3-{[1-(2-hydroxy phenyl) methylidene] amino} propyl] ethanemidol]-1,3-benzenediol (S2) in the concentration range of 50–400 ppm for mild steel with two different microstructures resulted from two different heat treatments (annealed (A) and quenched and tempered (Q&T)) in 1 M hydrochloric acid by ac impedance spectroscopy. The tests were conducted in acid solutions in the absence and presence of different concentrations of S1 and S2 Schiff bases for both microstructures. A sole time constant was observed from Bode-phase angle plots in the presence of inhibitors which reveals that the action of inhibitors is through adsorption on the surface. The charge transfer resistance and inhibition efficiency increases with the increase in Schiff bases concentration for both microstructures. The perlite samples in the absence of inhibitors in 1 M hydrochloric acid indicated slightly less corrosion than martensite ones, which was because of more protective oxide layers. Furthermore in the presence of S1 and S2, these samples showed better adsorption than martensite one. Schiff base S1 showed a better inhibition against corrosion in comparison with S2. Both S1 and S2 adsorbed on steel surface according to a Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The associated Gibbs free energies for S1 on both microstructures are more than S2.