A novel technique for the measurement of liquid viscosity

A novel technique for the measurement of liquid viscosity is presented. In this technique, a disk was driven by a constant speed dc shunt motor in the test liquid. The change in the motor current measured the viscosity. The change in motor current was measured using an instrumentation amplifier and the viscosity of the liquid was measured in terms of output voltage. The temperature of the liquid was controlled using a peltier cooler/heater and was measured using an AD590 two-terminal integrated circuit temperature sensor. The viscosity of vegetable oils (groundnut, palm, sunflower, coconut) in the temperature range from 20 °C to 60 °C were determined. The results thus found were similar to the results obtained from a Redwood viscometer. This technique is useful to measure viscosity of liquids.     

Forced migration of soluble and suspended materials by freezing front in aqueous systems

Migration of soluble and suspended materials by directional freezing of aqueous systems has been studied qualitatively. Slow freezing was employed vertically as well as horizontally through solutions and suspensions. In all cases, the impurities (soluble salts as well as suspended materials) were appreciably forced out by dynamic freezing front. The phenomenon worked for concentrating/separating inorganic ions, soluble organic compounds and dyes in synthetic solutions as well as in natural streams. Various analytical techniques were employed to monitor the migrating species through the freezing media. It was found that separation efficiency depends on different factors like rate of cooling, pH and concentration. Model experiments were designed and exercised successfully to employ the technique for treatment of dye-polluted water.     

屏蔽泵常见故障分析及解决方案

轻质油装置屏蔽泵在运行中发生泵体内有杂音、振动超标、轴承磨损的故障。通过对屏蔽泵结构和故障现象的分析,找到了故障产生的原因。含气态组分的介质进入屏蔽泵冷却腔体和润滑轴承的循环管路,使得轴承容易磨损;泵体结构的流向设计得不合理,造成介质在泵腔内汽化,形成汽蚀,并造成轴承磨损;介质流量不平稳造成轴向力不平衡。实施了相应的解决方案,降低了设备故障率和检修率,确保了装置安全平稳运行。     

Polymer electrolyte membrane modification in direct ethanol fuel cells: An update

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) offer a high degree of design flexibility, ranging from a single cell to a massive multi-cell that can be used in various applications, including portable devices, transportation, and stationary applications. Unfortunately, the most significant barrier to the commercialization of DEFCs is getting low-cost and ethanol permeability, high conductivity performance, and extended durability of polymer electrolyte membranes, as key components that highly influence the overall performance. In this paper, the recent progress in developing the polymer electrolyte membrane for the application of DEFCs has been comprehensively reviewed. Focusing on an updated modification of polymeric materials in the last 5 years, including Nafion-based membrane, polyvinyl alcohol-based membrane, polybenzimidazoles-based membrane, chitosan-based membrane, and sodium alginate-based membrane, as well as factors and challenges that affected the performance of polymer electrolyte membranes have been discussed, including the main characterization, catalyst selection, cell design, and work in membrane and cell performance of DEFCs. All discussion addresses the strategy to improve the performance of polymer electrolyte membranes in DEFCs in order to penetrate the commercialization stages.     

A Mathematical Study for Laminar Boundary‐Layer Flow,Heat, and Mass Transfer of a Jeffrey Non‐Newtonian Fluid Past a Vertical Porous Plate

In this article, we investigate the nonlinear steady‐state boundary‐layer flow, heat and mass transfer of an incompressible Jeffrey non‐Newtonian fluid past a vertical porous plate. The transformed conservation equations are solved numerically subject to physically appropriate boundary conditions using a versatile, implicit finite‐difference technique. The numerical code is validated with previous studies. The influence of a number of emerging non‐dimensional parameters, namely, Deborah number (De), Prandtl number (Pr), ratio of relaxation to retardation times (λ), Schmidt number (Sc), and dimensionless tangential coordinate (ξ) on velocity, temperature, and concentration evolution in the boundary layer regime are examined in detail. Furthermore, the effects of these parameters on surface heat transfer rate, mass transfer rate, and local skin friction are also investigated. It is found that the velocity is reduced with increasing Deborah number whereas temperature and concentration are enhanced. Increasing λ enhances the velocity but reduces the temperature and concentration. The heat transfer rate and mass transfer rates are found to be depressed with increasing Deborah number, De, and enhanced with increasing λ. Local skin friction is found to be decreased with a rise in Deborah number whereas it is elevated with increasing λ. And an increasing Schmidt number decreases the velocity and concentration but increases temperature. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21111     

Effect of Newtonian Heating and Thermal Radiation on Heat and Mass Transfer of Nanofluids over a Stretching Sheet in Porous Media

Laminar boundary layer slip flow from a stretching surface in a nanofluid‐saturated homogenous, isotropic porous medium is studied numerically. A Newtonian heating boundary condition in the presence of thermal radiation is incorporated and a Darcy model utilized for the porous medium. The model used for the nanofluids include the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. A group theoretical analysis is conducted to generate similarity transformations. The governing transport equations are nondimensionalized and rendered into a set of coupled similarity ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The transformed equations are then solved using the Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg fourth‐fifth order numerical method with shooting technique. It is shown that the physical quantities of interest depend on a number of parameters. The results are presented in tabular and graphical forms. Comparison of the present numerical solutions with published work shows very good agreement. The study finds applications in high‐temperature nanotechnological materials processing.     

Asynchronous algorithms for poisson's equation with nonlinear boundary conditions

Poisson's equation with nonlinear boundary conditions is discretized with the method of lines to obtain a system of second order differential equations with multi-point boundary conditions. This differential system is converted, using invariant imbedding for each one-dimensional problem, into a fixed point problem and then the asynchronous algorithms are applied.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Zn1-xcoxO nanorods prepared by microwave irradiation technique

We have successfully synthesized large-scale aggregative flowerlike Zn1-xCo(x)O (0.0 < or = x < or = 0.07) nanostructures, consisting of many branches of nanorods at different orientations with diameter within 100-150 nm (tip diameter approximately 50 nm) and length of approximately 1 microm. The rods were prepared using Zinc nitrate, cobalt nitrate and KOH in 180 Watt microwave radiation for short time interval. The synthesized nanorods were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM) and DC magnetization measurements. XRD and TEM results indicate that the novel flowerlike nanostructures are hexagonal with wurtzite structure and Co ions were successfully incorporated into the lattice position of Zn ions in ZnO matrix. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern reveals that the nanorods are single crystal in nature and preferentially grow along [0 0 1] direction. Magnetic studies show that Zn1-xCo(x)O nanorods exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism. This novel nanostructure could be a promising candidate for a variety of future spintronic applications.     

Electron escape time from single quantum wells

A theoretical model for electrons escaping a quantum well under the influence of an applied electric field is developed. Both the thermionic emission and tunneling components of the currents are calculated, taking into account the proper partitioning between the two currents. The group velocity for a nonuniform electron distribution within the quantum well, which is a function of position and energy, and the continuous energy dependence of the quantum well density of states is considered. A comparison between this model and previously reported experimental results are made which demonstrates excellent agreement     

Advances in Epoxy/Graphene Nanoplatelet Composite with Enhanced Physical Properties: A Review

In this review, development from graphene nanoplatelet, that is, comprised of short bulk of single layer graphene, into modified-polymer/graphene nanoplatelet composite is presented. Preparation methods of graphite, graphene, and graphene nanoplatelets have also been discussed. Graphene nanoplatelet and modified graphene nanoplatelet commend unique properties to composites such as excellent thermal and electrical conductivity as well as mechanical and barrier properties. Graphene nanoplatelet fabrication techniques by solution mixing, melt blending, and in situ polymerization are also discussed. Excellent dispersion of nanoplatelets in polymer/graphene nanoplatelet depends upon the selection of suitable fabrication technique. Moreover, the corresponding significance, exploitation, challenges, and future aspect of polymer/graphene nanoplatelet-based material is overviewed.