Water‐absorption characteristics of organic–inorganic composite superabsorbent polymers and its effect on summer maize root growth

Adding inorganic materials in SAPs to synthesize organic–inorganic composite superabsorbent polymers (OICSAPs) can effectively improve salt‐tolerance, gel strength, thermal stability, and water retention. However, most researches mainly focus on synthesizing process optimization and new multifunctional products, lacking reports on how ions affected water‐absorption characteristics and mechanism of OICSAPs and its influence on summer maize root growth. On the basis of these, we set up laboratory experiments and field cultivation experiment, using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and fractal theory to study the questions above. Results show that OICSAPs have better salt‐tolerance, while cations and concentration affected its water‐absorption characteristics significantly. With higher cation valence, larger ionic radius, and concentration, its water‐absorption rate reduced remarkably as Na⁺ < K⁺ < Mg²⁺ < Ca²⁺ < Fe²⁺ < Fe³⁺ < Al³⁺ < Cu²⁺, while the effects of anions could be neglected. The OICSAPs presented typical honeycomb membrane‐like 3D crosslinked network structure, but Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, and Cu²⁺ would damage the structure (Cu²⁺ with the most significant effect) in local microdomain, and changed the complexity of pores. In the experiment, higher concentration could reduce water‐absorption rate without changing micromorphological characteristics. Applying OICSAPs will reduce total length, surface area, and volume of summer maize root, while promoting absorbing and transmitting ability by larger root diameter and the proportion of root <0.5 cm. All these results will provide a theoretical basis on application, marketing, and product development of OICSAPs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

The influence of heterogeneous meninges on the brain mechanics under primary blast loading

In the modeling of brain mechanics subjected to primary blast waves, there is currently no consensus on how many biological components to be used in the brain–meninges–skull complex, and what type of constitutive models to be adopted. The objective of this study is to determine the role of layered meninges in damping the dynamic response of the brain under primary blast loadings. A composite structures composed of eight solid relevant layers (including the pia, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), dura maters) with different mechanical properties are constructed to mimic the heterogeneous human head. A hyper-viscoelastic material model is developed to better represent the mechanical response of the brain tissue over a large strain/high frequency range applicable for blast scenarios. The effect of meninges on the brain response is examined. Results show that heterogeneous composite structures of the head have a major influence on the intracranial pressure, maximum shear stress, and maximum principal strain in the brain, which is associated with traumatic brain injuries. The meninges serving as protective layers are revealed by mitigating the dynamic response of the brain. In addition, appreciable changes of the pressure and maximum shear stress are observed on the material interfaces between layers of tissues. This may be attributed to the alternation of shock wave speed caused by the impedance mismatch.     

A Novel Experimental Method to Assess Particle Deposition in Idealized Porous Channels

ABSTRACT

A novel and economical experimental technique has been developed to assess industrial aerosol deposition in various idealized porous channel configurations. This judicious examination of aerosol penetration in porous channels will assist engineers to better optimize designs for various engineering applications. Deposition patterns differ with porosity due to geometric configurations of the channel and superficial inlet velocities. Interestingly, it is found that two configurations of similar porosity exhibit significantly higher deposition fractions. Inertial impaction is profound at the leading edge of all obstacles, whereas particle buildup is observed at the trailing edge of the obstructions. A qualitative analysis shows that the numerical results are in good agreement with experimental results.     

1 A GeV下Au+Au反应中的径向流的Blast-wave方法分析

径向流是重离子碰撞中研究高温高密核物质性质极为重要的实验可观测量。本文在同位旋相关的量子分子动力学(Isospin dependent Quantum Molecular Dynamics,IQMD)模型框架下,用爆炸波模型提取1 A GeV的Au+Au反应体系中的径向流和热力学冻结温度,发现径向流的大小由中心碰撞到周边碰撞逐渐减小,与FOPI(4πCollaboration)实验结果及其他模拟结果一致。同时详细分析了径向流参数α对拟合结果的影响,得出此能量下α合理取值范围应在0-1。     

聚苯胺对电极在染料敏化太阳能电池的应用

通过软模板在FTO(导电玻璃)上化学浴沉积球状纳米聚苯胺和粉末聚苯胺,将以上两种对电极与无模板化学浴沉积聚苯胺对电极进行对比,并通过场发射扫描电子显微镜(FESEM)测试手段对这三种电极的表观形貌进行表征,对所制备三种电极进行了CV、EIS、Tafel、IV等电化学性能测试。结果表明:三种电极的表观形貌分别为球状结构聚苯胺、平整致密聚苯胺、蠕虫状聚苯胺,其中蠕虫状聚苯胺对电极因粗糙的表面和相对较大的厚度而具有较大的表面积,因此其催化活性位点也较多。而球状聚苯胺对电极则是三种电极中最有序的,规整的表面形貌使电极的导电性增加,加之其球状而产生的较大的表面积而使其光电转换效率在三种电极中最高,光电转换效率达到7.11%。     

Kinetic study on the metallothermic reduction of chromite ore using magnesium scrap

A study on the metallothermic reduction of chromite ore is presented and discussed, using magnesium scrap as reducing agent. Microstructural analysis corroborated the distribution of phases inside the particles, where Fe and Cr were located at the centre surrounded by layers of reaction products, mainly MgO. The maximum conversion efficiency of Fe and Cr was 38% at 1050°C, after a reaction time of 3 hours, using 75% excess of magnesium scrap. A kinetic study was performed fitting the experimental data to available kinetic models, where the data adjusted to the chemical reaction model, especially at the beginning of reaction. A second reaction stage was confirmed once the experimental data was adjusted to the Jander diffusion model. For the chemical reaction model, the constant rate and the activation energy were 0.32?h^?1 and 60.12?kJ?mol^?1, respectively. For the diffusion model, the rate constant was 0.20?h^?1 and the activation energy 47.04?kJ?mol^?1.     

Thermal kinetics investigation on light oil oxidation during high-pressure hypoxic air injection process

In this work, the effects of oxygen concentration and reservoir cutting on thermokinetic characteristics of light oil were analyzed using thermogravimetry (TG/DTG). Results show that three consecutive oxidation reactions of distinct chemical mechanism (low-temperature oxidation [LTO], fuel deposition [FD], and high-temperature oxidation) are detected for all tested samples. Hypoxic air weakens the LTO and FD process and causes a poor FD performance, while reservoir cutting positively influences the thermal characteristics of oil. Kinetic parameters comparison exhibits that the positive effect of reservoir cutting on oil oxidation is significantly stronger than the negative impact caused by hypoxic air. The existence of reservoir cutting greatly reduces the activation energy of oil oxidation in hypoxic air environment, which is a positive signal for the implementation of high-pressure hypoxic air injection process.     

Optimisation of the extraction conditions of natural colourant carthamin from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) by response surface methodology

Alkali‐solution and acid‐isolation method (ASAI) and aqueous two‐phase system separation method (ATSS) have been reported to extract natural colourant carthamin from Carthamus tinctorius. In this study, these two methods were compared based on the optimisation results of extraction conditions by response surface methodology. In ASAI, the maximum extraction yield reached 0.779% at pH value of potassium carbonate solution of 11.16, ratio of potassium carbonate solution to raw material of fifteen and extraction time of 18 min, while 2.652% was achieved with concentration of acetone of 58%, ratio of acetone solution to raw material of twenty‐three and extraction time of 41 min in ATSS. From the point of view of extraction yield, ATSS had more superiority than ASAI. However, more pure carthamin was provided in ASAI according to HPLC assay. The obtained results in our experiments could be utilised for further researches of carthamin.