Development of covalent-bonded organic/carbon anode for sodium-ion battery

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Sodium (Na) organic batteries have attracted great attention because of high abundance of Na, low-production cost, and structure diversity of organic...     

A study on 65 % potential efficiency of the gas turbine combined cycle

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - This study investigates the possibility of achieving 65 % efficiency in a gas turbine combined cycle. Several options to realize it were compared. A...     

HPLC-ELSD analysis of 18 platycosides from balloon flower roots (Platycodi Radix) sourced from various regions in Korea and geographical clustering of the cultivation areas

An effective HPLC method to analyse platycosides from the balloon flower root was developed using ELSD. The optimum resolution of the platycosides was achieved on an ODS column with gradient elution of eluent A, 30 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 4.81): methanol: acetonitrile = 75:5:20 (v/v/v), and B, 69:5:26 (v/v/v). Amongst 18 platycosides, platycoside E showed the highest content, followed by polygalacin D₂ and 3″-O-acetylplatyconic acid A. The sum of these three compounds was recommended for quality control of balloon flower root for medicinal purposes. The samples could be clustered into groups based on platycoside content. Group I, characterised by a high concentration of platycosides, was located near the west coast of Korea, whereas group II, characterised by a low concentration of platycosides, was located inland or in mountainous area. The method could be used to control the quality of balloon flower root.     

Neuronal cell protective and antioxidant effects of phenolics obtained from Zanthoxylum piperitum leaf using in vitro model system

In order to obtain basic data for the utilisation of Zanthoxylum piperitum leaf as a functional substance in the food industry, the antioxidative and neuronal cell protective effects of silica-gel open column chromatographic fractions, obtained from Z. piperitum leaf, were examined. ABTS and FRAP assays indicated that the ZP4 fraction (eluted with methanol/chloroform, 1:4, v/v) of Z. piperitum leaf was a more potent radical-scavenger and reducing agent than the other five fractions. The ZP4 fraction also presented protective effects against H₂O₂-induced neurotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, our study verified that the ZP4 fraction has strong antioxidative and neuronal protective effects which are correlated with its high level of phenolics, particularly quercitrin, afzelin, and hyperoside. These phenolics of Z. piperitum leaf can be utilised as effective and safe functional food substances, i.e., natural antioxidants, and may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders.     

Elastic contact between rough surfaces: Effect of roughness at large and small wavelengths

The area and pressure distribution in elastic contacts between frictionless, nonadhesive surfaces is studied as a function of load and surface geometry using finite element calculations. Surfaces that follow self-affine scaling on all resolved scales are compared to surfaces with cutoffs at small and large length scales, and experimental surfaces that are not self-affine. In all cases the true area of contact is proportional to load and inversely proportional to elastic modulus and the mean slope of the surface. The constant of proportionality κ is nearly constant and lies between analytic predictions. Large wavelength cutoffs lead to a small increase in κ, a homogeneous distribution of contacts at large scales, and limit the size of the largest connected regions. Small wavelength cutoffs lead to local redistributions in pressure that decrease the probability of low and high local pressures.     

Nonlinear modeling and dynamic analysis of flexible structures undergoing overall motions employing mode approximation method

This paper presents a nonlinear modeling method for dynamic analysis of flexible structures undergoing overall motions that employs the mode approximation method. This method, different from the naive nonlinear method that approximates only Cartesian deformation variables, approximates not only deformation variables but also strain variables. Geometric constraint relations between the strain variables and the deformation variables are introduced and incorporated into the formulation. Two numerical examples are solved and the reliability and the accuracy of the proposed formulation are examined through the numerical study.     

Turbulent flow over thin rectangular riblets

The effect of longitudinal thin rectangular riblets aligned with the flow direction on turbulent channel flow has been investigated using direct numerical simulation. The thin riblets have been modeled using the immersed boundary method (IBM) where the velocities at only one set of vertical nodes at the riblets positions are enforced to be zeros. Different spacings, ranging between 11 and 43 wall units, have been simulated aiming at getting the optimum spacing corresponding to the maximum drag reduction while keeping the height/spacing ratio at 0.5. Reynolds number based on the friction velocityuτ and the channel half depth δ is set to 150. The flow is driven by adjusted pressure gradient so that the mass flow rate is kept constant in all the simulations. This study shows similar trend of the drag ratio to that of the experiments at the different spacings. Also, this research provides an optimum spacing of around 17 wall units leading to maximum drag reduction as experimental data. Explanation of drag increasing/ decreasing mechanism is highlighted.