Photodecomposition of volatile organic compounds using TiO2 nanoparticles

This study examined the photodecomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using TiO2 catalyst fabricated by the Submerged Arc Nanoparticle Synthesis System (SANSS). TiO2 catalyst was employed to decompose volatile organic compounds and compare with Degussa-P25 TiO2 in terms of decomposition efficiency. In the electric discharge manufacturing process, a Ti bar, applied as the electrode, was melted and vaporized under high temperature. The vaporized Ti powders were then rapidly quenched under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions in deionized water, thus nucleating and forming nanocrystalline powders uniformly dispersed in the base solvent. The average diameter of the TiO2 nanoparticles was 20 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the nanoparticles in the deionized water were Anatase type TiO2. It was found that gaseous toluene exposed to UV irradiation produced intermediates that were even harder to decompose. After 60-min photocomposition, Degussa-P25 TiO2 reduced the concentration of gaseous toluene to 8.18% while the concentration after decomposition by SANSS TiO2 catalyst dropped to 0.35%. Under UV irradiation at 253.7 +/- 184.9 nm, TiO2 prepared by SANSS can produce strong chemical debonding energy, thus showing great efficiency, superior to that of Degussa-P25 TiO2, in decomposing gaseous toluene and its intermediates.     

An engineering method for reliability analyses of mechanical structures for long fatigue lives

Reliability analyses of mechanical structures designed for long fatigue lives require: some information on the probability distribution of material fatigue strength at long fatigue lives. In order to address this need, three-parameter P-S-N curves are adopted to represent the results of fatigue tests based on the conventional method. The parameters of the P-S-N curves are estimated by using the least squares fitting method and maximizing the correlation coefficient. The three-parameter P-S-N curves obtained are then used to estimate the fatigue strengths for different survival probabilities at an arbitrarily long fatigue life. These fatigue strengths are used to define the probability distribution of fatigue strength at the long fatigue life when a normal. distribution is used to approximate the probability distribution of fatigue strength. The method is illustrated by analyzing the results of fatigue tests of steel #45 (Chinese steel) notched specimens subject to axial loads with a stress concentration factor k_t = 2·0. Then, the method is applied to the fatigue reliability analysis of the runner of a hydraulic turbine. It is shown here that the reliability at long lifetimes can be easily estimated by the proposed engineering method and the conventional method may give a non-conservative design at long fatigue lives due to the assumption of bi-linear P-S-N curves.     

A study of nanoparticle manufacturing process using vacuum submerged arc machining with aid of enhanced ultrasonic vibration

This article presents the development of an innovative approach using the vacuum submerged arc machining with aid of enhanced ultrasonic vibration to manufacture nanoparticles. The Arc Spray Nanoparticle Synthesis System (ASNSS) previously designed by the NTUT’s Nano Laboratory has been successfully developed to generate nanoparticles. In this proposed process, a titanium bar, as the electrode, is melted and vaporized in distilled water, used as an insulating liquid. Meanwhile, the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the electrode to remove the vaporized metal powders rapidly from the melting zone. The vaporized metal particles are then rapidly quenched by the designed cooling system, thus nanocrystalline particles nucleated and formed. This study discusses the the influence of the ultrasonic amplitude and various process variables such as pulse duration, peak current, and dielectric liquid temperature on TiO₂nanoparticles suspension.     

Plane-stress crack-tip fields for perfectly plastic orthotropic materials

Plane stress mode I crack-tip fields for perfectly plastic orthotropic materials are studied. Plastic orthotropy is described by Hill's quadratic yield function. The construction of crack-tip fields is based on the general crack-tip field analysis for elastic perfectly plastic materials given by Rice [1] and guided by the corresponding low-hardening power-law solutions. Two very different types of plane-stress crack-tip fields emerge as plastic orthotropy is varied. The first one consists of a centered fan sector in front of the crack tip and two neighboring constant stress sectors. The second one consists of a constant stress sector in front of the crack tip, a constant stress sector bordering the crack face, and a centered fan sector between the two constant stress sectors. All the perfectly plastic crack-tip solutons are verified by the corresponding low-hardening power-law solutions. General trends of crack-tip stress solutions as functions of plastic orthotropy and implications of these solutions to the design of ductile composite materials are discussed.

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Résumé On étudie les champs de contraintes planes de mode I à l'extrémité d'une fissure, dans les matériaux orthotropiques parfaitement plastique. L'orthotropie plastique est décrite par la fonction quadratique de plasticité de Hill. On base les constructions des champs de constraintes sur l'analyse générale des constraintes à l'extrémité d'une fissure fournie par Rice pour les matériaux élastiques parfaitement plastiques, que l'on règle par les lois paraboliques caractérisant un faible écrouissage. Lorsque l'on modifie l'orthotropie plastique, il apparaît deux types de champs de contraintes à l'extrémité de la fissure très différents. Le premier comporte un secteur en éventail centré sur le front de fissure, et deux secteurs voisins à contraintes constantes. Le second consiste en une secteur à contrainte au bord de la surface de la fissure, et un secteur en éventail centré sur les deux secteurs à contraintes constantes. Toutes les solutions relatives à une extrémité de fissures parfaitement plastique sont vérifiées par les fonctions paraboliques d'écrouissage faible correspondantes. On discute des tendances générales que suivent les solutions pour les contraintes en extrémité de fissure selon l'orthrotropie plastique, et des implications que comportent ces solutions dans la conception de matériaux composites ductiles.

     

纳米光触媒降解低浓度氨气效能检测方法开发

开发了一种低成本快速创新的检测方法,主要装置为紫外线/可见光分光光度计及石英比色槽,较以往使用气相层析/质谱仪、傅立叶转换红外线光谱仪检测光触媒材料对气体降解效能简单又快速.实验时先将特定浓度气体注入一个密闭的石英比色槽中,再将比色槽置入紫外线/可见光分光光度计内进行检测,以获得特定浓度气体吸收光谱图及制备检量线,氨气检量线浓度范围为1×10-6～4×10-5.在光触媒材料进行异相光催化降解氨气效能分析检测时,将两种TiO2纳米触媒材料定量在石英基板上,置入比色槽内并注入氨气.同时将比色槽用UV光照射,进行降解实验,随后再将比色槽用紫外线/可见光分光光谱仪进行测试,由吸收光谱图中吸收强度,比对检量线,获得气体浓度变化以及光触媒材料对气体的降解效率.实验结果显示,真空潜弧合成系统自制的SANSS-TiO2光触媒,可将氨气的浓度降至原有的10.18%,商用纳米TiO2,仅能降至原有的49.7%.本研究已成功的建立简单,快速可靠的解低浓度氨气效能检测技术.     

三氧化二铝纳米流体粘滞度的实验研究

使用直接混合法制备三氧化二铝纳米流体,探讨三氧化二铝纳米流体在不同浓度(0%,0.1%,0.5%,1.0%,ω)和温度(10～40 ℃)下粘滞度的变化规律.使用Brookfield DVⅢ 流变仪进行测量,发现添加入纳米粒子于去离子水中所得三氧化二铝纳米流体符合牛顿粘性定律,为牛顿流体.任一纳米流体的粘滞系数随着温度的上升而下降,呈反比关系,而随浓度上升而增加,呈正比关系,在温度40 ℃和浓度为1.0%(ω)时粘滞度增大比率可达到25.2%.而压降在任何浓度的纳米流体均与去离子水相差大约5 MPa,显示加入纳米粒子对压降的影响不明显.当温度愈高时,压降也随着降低,代表未来可将纳米流体应用层面推向更高温的领域.     

Study of mixed convective heat transfer in a sintered porous channel

This investigation experimentally elucidates mixed heat convection in a rectangular channel with porous medium, and analyzes the cooling performance of electronics. The test sections are sintered copper granules with dimensions of 5 × 5 × 1 cm and average diameters of 0.704 mm and 1.163 mm. A porous channel is heated using air as the working fluid. The measured variables include the heat flux on the heat surface, the local wall temperature in the flow direction, the inlet/outlet pressure, and the flow rate. The boundary condition is that the heating surface of the lower plate of the test section is heated by an isothermal heat flux, while the other three sides are thermally insulated; the heat flux is between 0.23 and 1.86 Watt/cm². The mean air flow rate within a porous channel is between 0.3 and 4.0 m/s. The thermally developed region and the fully developed region are measured. This experiment is directed at understanding the influence on heat transfer based on the diameter of the sintered copper granules, Reynolds number, and heat flux. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 34(2): 64–77, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20050