Development and Application of Sintering Dynamics Simulation for Automotive Catalyst

Sintering behavior of Pt/γ-Al₂O₃, Pt/ZrO₂ and Pt/CeO₂ catalyst was studied using an originally developed 3D sintering simulator. Experimental results were well reproduced. While Pt on the γ-Al₂O₃ sintered significantly, Pt on CeO₂ presented the highest stability against sintering. On the other hand, grain growth of supports was significant in the order; ZrO₂ > CeO₂ > γ-Al₂O₃.     

Microstructures and properties of die casting components with various thicknesses made of AZ91D alloy

In this paper, microstructures and properties of die casting components with various thicknesses made of AZ91D alloy have been investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), etc. It is concluded that mechanical properties of the die casting components mainly depend on grain size of α-Mg phase. At the same time, however, the voids formed by entrapping air during die casting process have a remarkable detrimental effect on the mechanical properties. To what extent the effect is caused is determined by quantity, size and shape of the voids, which are related to the thicknesses and position of the component in die. Nanometer particles found on the wall of the voids are magnesium oxide compounds, which are formed when oxygen from the entrapped air reacts with magnesium during die casting process. The compounds have no obvious effect on the mechanical properties even though there is possibly volume change present to form other compounds in the course of the components’ being used.     

Comparison between numerical simulation and visualization experiment on water behavior in single straight flow channel polymer electrolyte fuel cells

A relationship between a flooding and a cell voltage drop for polymer electrolyte fuel cell was investigated experimentally and numerically. A visualization cell, which has single straight gas flow channel (GFC) and observation window, was fabricated to visualize the flooding in GFC. We ran the cell with changing operation condition, and measured the time evolution of cell voltage and took the images of cathode GFC. Considering the operation condition, we executed a developed numerical simulation, which is based on multiphase mixture model with a formulation on water transport through the surface of polymer electrolyte membrane and the interface of gas diffusion layer/GFC. As a result in experiment, we found that the cell voltage decreased with time and this decrease was accelerated by larger current and smaller air flow rate. Our simulation succeeded to demonstrate this trend of cell voltage. In experiment, we also found that the water flushing in GFC caused an immediate voltage change, resulting in voltage recovery or electricity generation stop. Although our simulation could not replicate this immediate voltage change, the supersaturated area obtained by our simulation well corresponded to fogging area appeared on the window surface in the GFC.     

Experimental study of heating fluid between two concentric cylinders with cavities

In this paper, we are concerned with the heating fluid in the annular space between two concentric cylinders where the inner cylinder with cavities is rotated and the outer cylinder is at rest. The effects of cavities of the inner cylinder on the heating fluid and the cavitation behavior are examined. We measured the flow rate, rotating speed of rotor, friction torque, temperature rise and pressure drop between inlet and outlet of this device. The flow rate of water ranged from 0.42×10^-4 to 4.59×10^-4 ma/s at the inlet. The friction torque and the quantity of heat of the inner cylinder with cavities were larger than the case of no cavities, and they increased as the rotating speed of inner cylinder increased. The efficiency was close to about 1 as the rotating speed of inner cylinder increased. The behavior of cavitation in the cavity on the surface of inner cylinder was discussed.     

Reoperation for mitral regurgitation 13 years after aortic valve replacement and manouguian's anulus enlargement: report of a case

The patient was 22-year-old female. She had undergone aortic valve replacement and Manouguian's anulus enlargement with low porosity woven Dacron patch for congenital aortic stenosis 13 years ago, and developed mitral regurgitation 9 years after that operation. Two regurgitant flow were observed. One was originated from the orifice due to mitral prolapse. The other was from a tear in the anterior leaflet. It was around the tip of the prosthetic patch, approximately 7 mm in size, and was repaired easily. But the mitral valve itself was found to be malformed and prolapsed, requiring mitral valve replacement. Her postoperative course was uneventful.     

Effect of clofibric acid on the molecular species composition of diacyl glycerophosphocholine of rat liver microsomes

The effect of administeringp-chlorophenoxyisobutyric (clofibric) acid to rats on the molecular species composition of diacyl-glycerophosphocholine (GPC) of rat liver microsomes was studied. Microsomal choline glycerophospholipids were converted to 1,2-diradyl-3-acetylglycerol and were separated into molecular species by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Diacyl-GPC consisted of 17 different molecular species. The predominant species were arachidonoyl derivatives, such as 18∶0–20∶4 (22.2% of the total) and 16∶0–20∶4 (22.0%). Administration of clofibric acid to rats caused a marked increase in 16∶0–18∶1 species of diacyl-GPC from 8% to 30%, making these the predominant species of diacyl-GPC in clofibric acid-fed rats. Also, a significant decrease (50% of controls) in 18∶0–18∶2 and 18∶0–20∶4 species was observed, whereas the decrease in molecular species containing 16∶0 at the 1-position such as 16∶0–18∶2 and 16∶0–20∶4 was small (approximately 85% of control). The results show that clofibric acid caused marked changes in the molecular species composition of diacyl-GPC. The participation of 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase and stearoyl-CoA desaturase in the regulation of the molecular species composition of diacyl-GPC is discussed.     

Boojums Connecting Singular and Continuous Vortices in Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates

A boojum is a topological defect that can form only on the surface of an ordered medium such as superfluid ³He and liquid crystals. By analogy with superfluid ³He, we numerically create boojums between two phases with different vortex structures in two-component BECs where the intercomponent interaction is spatially dependent. The detailed structure of the boojums is revealed by investigating its density distribution, effective superflow vorticity and pseudospin texture.     

Photoanodic properties of ZnO thin films prepared from zinc acetate solutions containing cobalt acetate and polyvinylpyrrolidone

ZnO thin films were deposited on nesa silica glass substrates via sol-gel method using Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O—Co(CH₃COO)₂ ·4H₂O—polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)—diethanolamine—2-methoxyethanol solutions. The effects of the Co²⁺ ions and PVP in coating solutions on the photoanodic properties of the resultant films were studied by measuring photocurrent—potential curves and action spectra in a three-electrode cell with a supporting electrolyte of pH = 9.18. The photoanodic current under xenon lamp light decreased with increasing amount of Co²⁺ ions due to the decreased quantum efficiency in the UV regions. The photoresponse was extended to wavelengths of ca. 450 nm when the Co/Zn mole ratios were 0.05 and 0.15, while the response to the visible light diminished at Co/Zn > 0.3. The UV photoresponse of Co²⁺-free ZnO films increased when PVP was added in the coating solutions, where the maximum quantum yield of 0.62 was obtained at a wavelength of 364 nm. On the other hand, the UV photoresponse rather decreased when PVP was added in Co²⁺-containing solutions.     

Oxygen solubility in liquid indium and oxygen diffusivity in liquid indium and tin

The solubility of oxygen in liquid indium, C_o, at 973 and 1073 K in equilibrium with its oxide was determined by an isopiestic equilibration technique in order to resolve discrepancies reported in the literature. The present results, C_o = 0.0092 at. pet at 973 K and 0.0377 at. pet at 1073 K, agree with those obtained by Otsuka, Sano, and Kozuka using a modified coulometric titration method. Oxygen diffusivity in liquid indium from 873 to 1073 K and in liquid tin from 973 to 1273 K was measured utilizing a combined potentiostatic and emf method using the following double electrochemical cells: Fe,FeO/ZrO₂(+CaO)/O in Me(I)/ZrO₂(+CaO)/O in Me(II). The present results are D_O(In) = 6.6 ( _-1.6 ^+2.0 ) x 10⁻³ exp[(-3-600 ± 5600)/RT]873 K ≤T ≤ 1073 K and D_O(Sn), = 8.7( _-5.7 ^+13.5 ) x 10⁻⁴ exp[(-18800 ± 6700)/RT]973 K ≤T ≤ 1273 K. The present results are of the same order of magnitude with the self-diffusivity of the liquid metals, and are about two orders of magnitude greater than the oxygen diffusivity reported by Stevenson and co-workers. The ratio of oxygen diffusivity to self-diffusivity of the solvent was found to be correlated to the enthalpy of formation per mole of oxygen of the respective oxide at 298 K.     

Evaluation of Solute Clusters Associated with Bake-Hardening Response in Isothermal Aged Al-Mg-Si Alloys Using a Three-Dimensional Atom Probe

Temporal changes in the number density, size distribution, and chemical composition of clusters formed during natural aging at room temperature and pre-aging at 363 K (90 °C) in an Al-0.62Mg-0.93Si (mass pct) alloy were evaluated using atom probe tomography. More than 10 million atoms were examined in the cluster analysis, in which about 1000 clusters were obtained for each material after various aging treatments. The statistically proven records show that both number density and the average radius of clusters in pre-aged materials are larger than in naturally aged materials. It was revealed that the fraction of clusters with a low Mg/Si ratio after natural aging for a short time is higher than with other aging treatments, regardless of cluster size. This indicates that Si-rich clusters form more easily after short-period natural aging, and that Mg atoms can diffuse into the clusters or possibly form another type of Mg-Si cluster after prolonged natural aging. The formation of large clusters with a uniform Mg/Si ratio is encouraged by pre-aging. It can be concluded that an increase of small clusters with various Mg/Si ratios does not promote the bake-hardening (BH) response, whereas large clusters with a uniform Mg/Si ratio play an important role in hardening during the BH treatment at 443 K (170 °C).