THE PETROLEUM SYSTEM IN THE SANDINO FOREARC BASIN, OFFSHORE WESTERN NICARAGUA

The underexplored Sandino Basin (Nicaragua Basin/Trough) is located within the forearc area of western Nicaragua and NW Costa Rica. Exploration activity since 2004 has focussed on the onshore sector of the basin, and has included the first drilling campaign for over 30 years. Recent 2D basin modelling of the offshore sector together with organic geochemical studies has attempted to reassess the basin's petroleum potential. Geochemical data from the deepest offshore well indicate that Middle Eocene to Lower Oligocene sediments of the Brito Formation, as well as Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene sediments of the Masachapa Formation, may have source rock potential. A third and perhaps more significant potential source rock interval is associated with the Lower Cretaceous black shales of the Loma Chumico Formation, which has been studied in the adjacent forearc area in NW Costa Rica (Tempisque Basin) and is inferred to be present in the Sandino Basin.
The thermal history of the forearc basin is controlled by the low basal heat flow (39 mW/m²). 2D modelling has shown that the Sandino Basin is thermally mature, resulting in the potential for hydrocarbon generation in organic-rich intervals in the Brito and Masachapa Formations. A petroleum-generating "kitchen" has tentatively been identified on a NE-SW seismic section which crosses the basin. Modelling suggests that this kitchen has been active from the Late Eocene until the present day, and that the main phases of petroleum generation in general coincide with phases of maximum subsidence in the Late Eocene, Late Oligocene and Plio-Pleistocene. Hydrocarbon migration most probably occurred from the deep basin towards the flanks. Significant volumes of petroleum may have been lost prior to the Late Miocene before the formation of a coastal flexure which can be recognised in the NE of the seismic profile.     

Rapid synthesis of polypyrrole nanospheres by greener mechanochemical route

A simple, rapid and efficient route to prepare polypyrrole nanospheres by template-free method is described. This greener route has advantages in terms of good yield, short reaction time, neat conditions and cost-effectiveness. The resultant polymeric material was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray scattering, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV–visible spectroscopy. From these studies it is confirmed that the as prepared polypyrrole nanospheres possesses good physicochemical properties.     

ROTOR MODELING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR BRUSHLESS DOUBLY-FED MACHINES

ABSTRACT

The basic principles of brushless doubly-fed machine (BDFM) synchronous operation are used to establish the essential components of the rotor configuration and alternative types of construction are examined. Certain forms, which appear to be physically realizable only with wound or fabricated rotors, are dismissed in favor of others which may be fabricated or die-cast in a manner similar to the cage rotors of conventional induction machines.

A detailed simulation model is used to predict the performance of a proof-of-concept laboratory machine in a motoring mode which has been correlated with test data. Various developments and options of the rotor configuration are then examined for relative performance at two different speeds using the modeling techniques. The design features considered include (i) alternative interpretations of the nested-loop configuration requirement, (ii) number of rotor loops per nest, (iii) location (span) of rotor loops, and (iv) conductor section of specific rotor bars and end rings.     

Vergleich berechneter und gemessener Verformungen der Vorpommernbrücke über die Warnow in Rostock

Bei Spannbetonkonstruktionen ist grundsätzlich ein Nachweis der Verformungen erforderlich. Ausgehend von allgemeinen Betrachtungen zum Nachweis der Bauteilverformungen werden wesentliche materialseitige Einflüsse auf die Verformungsvorhersage diskutiert. Es wird deutlich, dass eine genaue Berechnung der Verformung nur bedingt möglich ist. Am Beispiel der Vorpommernbrücke über die Warnow in Rostock wird der Einfluss von nichtlinearen Materialgesetzen auf die Verformungsvorhersage verdeutlicht. Der Vergleich der Berechnungsergebnisse mit den Messwerten der Verformungen ergab eine gute Übereinstimmung. Comparison of Calculated and Measured Deformations of the West‐Pomerania‐Bridge in Rostock Generally, a proof of the deformations of prestressed concreteconstructions is required. On the basis of a general consideration of the structural deformations the influence of significant material characteristics on the predicted deformations is discussed in this paper. It will be obvious, that an accurate estimation is only possible in a restricted manner. The West‐Pomerania‐Bridge over the Warnow in Rostock serves as an example, to show the influence of non‐linear material‐laws on the predicted deformations. The comparison of the calculated deformations with the measurements results in a good agreement.     

Enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed C-C bond activations

The catalytic activation of carbon-carbon single bonds represents a major challenge in organometallic chemistry. Strained ring substrates occupy in this respect a privileged role as their inherent ring strain facilitates the desired metal insertion. Employing symmetrically substituted tert-cyclobutanols, an enantioselective rhodium(I)-catalyzed beta-carbon elimination creates alkyl-rhodium species bearing all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers. Downstream reactions enable access to a wide range of synthetically versatile products such as substituted cyclohexenones, lactones and indanols with excellent enantioselectivities of up to 99% ee.     

How shape influences uptake: interactions of anisotropic polymer nanoparticles and human mesenchymal stem cells

Among several nanoparticle properties, shape is important for their interaction with cells and, therefore, relevant for uptake studies and applications. In order to further investigate such characteristics, fluorescently labeled spherical polymer nanoparticles are synthesized by free-radical polymerization via the miniemulsion process. The spherical nanoparticles are subsequently submitted to controlled mechanical deformation to yield quasi-ellipsoidal polymeric nanoparticles with different aspect ratios. The uptake behaviors of spherical and non-spherical particles with equal volume are investigated qualitatively and quantitatively by electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and flow cytometry measurements. Non-spherical particles show fewer uptake by cells than their spherical counterparts with a negative correlation between aspect ratio and uptake rate. This is attributed to the larger average curvature radius of adsorbed non-spherical particles experienced by the cells.     

Efficient n-GaAs photoelectrodes grown by close-spaced vapor transport from a solid source

n-GaAs films were grown epitaxially on n(+)-GaAs substrates by a close-spaced vapor transport method and their photoelectrochemical energy conversion properties studied. Under 100 mW cm(-2) of ELH solar simulation, conversion efficiencies up to 9.3% for CSVT n-GaAs photoanodes were measured in an unoptimized ferrocene/ferrocenium test cell. This value was significantly higher than the 5.7% measured for similarly doped commercial n-GaAs wafers. Spectral response experiments showed that the higher performance of CSVT n-GaAs films relative to the commercial wafers was due to longer minority carrier diffusion lengths (L(D)), up to 1,020 nm in the CSVT films compared to 260 nm in the commercial n-GaAs wafers. Routes to improve the performance of CSVT GaAs and the implications of these results for the development of scalable GaAs-based solar energy conversion devices are discussed.