A Digital Deformation Vacuum Gauge with an LC-Generator

The design of a sylphon bellows sensor and the basic circuits of an LC-generator and of a microprocessor unit are presented. An analytical pressure–frequency conversion function and a special method of adjusting the sensor ensure an error of less than 0.05%. The dynamic range is up to 10⁵. The instruments developed cover the ranges 10³, 10⁴, and 10⁵ Pa.     

Selection of structural parameters of a cylindrical-conical hydrocyclone for separation of suspensions by dual-stage flotation

A mathematical model for separation of suspensions with a non-Newtonian disperse medium by dual-stage pressurized flotation in a cylindrical-conical hydrocyclone is developed. A system of differential equations of the convective diffusion and movement of a complex of particles-bubbles is solved by a numerical method. The concentration field is modeled, and integral separation indicators are determined. Values of structural parameters of the hydrocyclone for which the separation indicators depend heavily on the taper angle of the conical section of the housing and the rheological properties of the disperse medium are established. It is demonstrated that dual-stage pressurized flotation makes it possible to reduce considerably the residual concentration of solid-phase particles as compared with single-stage flotation.     

Electrical Properties of GeO2–NiO Materials Containing Ni2GeO4

The GeO₂–NiO system is studied in the stability range of Ni₂GeO₄ by temperature-dependent resistivity measurements, in combination with x-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and thermogravimetry. The resistivity of the starting mixtures and heat-treated samples is measured in the composition range 55–90 mol % NiO. The effect of air humidity on the resistivity of the samples is examined.     

A multigrid accelerated hybrid unstructured mesh method for 3D compressible turbulent flow

 A cell vertex finite volume method for the solution of steady compressible turbulent flow problems on unstructured hybrid meshes of tetrahedra, prisms, pyramids and hexahedra is described. These hybrid meshes are constructed by firstly discretising the computational domain using tetrahedral elements and then by merging certain tetrahedra. A one equation turbulence model is employed and the solution of the steady flow equations is obtained by explicit relaxation. The solution process is accelerated by the addition of a multigrid method, in which the coarse meshes are generated by agglomeration, and by parallelisation. The approach is shown to be effective for the simulation of a number of 3D flows of current practical interest. Sponsored by The Research Council of Norway, project number 125676/410 Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Mike Crisfield, a respected colleague     

Catalytic aminolysis of epoxide by alumina prepared from amine-protected Al precursor

The catalytic activities of alumina prepared from an Al alkoxide-amine adduct monomer for the reaction of cyclopentene oxide with piperidine was determined after various pretreatments, including calcination and exposure to moisture. They were compared with the activity of alumina prepared by the conventional hydrolysis method. It was found that the as-prepared sample from the alkoxide-amine monomer preparation was five times more active than a conventional preparation, suggesting that it has a higher density of surface Lewis acid sites. However, its activity was much more severely suppressed by exposure to moisture.     

The Shunting of Current and the Resultant Variation of Voltage in Channels of Plasmatrons with Self-Adjusting Length of Electric Arc

The characteristics of pulsation processes in dc plasmatrons with the cathode located in the channel center and the anode in the form of a cylindrical or a conical channel wall are investigated in plasmas of argon and nitrogen at atmospheric pressure. The fast Fourier transform of signals and their subsequent computer processing are used to obtain the dependences of the frequency of fluctuations of the arcing voltage on the working parameters of the plasmatron, namely, the electric arc current, the flow rate of plasma-forming gas, and the channel diameter. For plasmatrons with the self-adjusting length of the electric arc, analysis is performed of the mechanism of reclosing of the anode region of the arc, i.e., of the electric arc shunting associated with the stretching of the current filament by a flow of gas and with the electrodynamic interaction of different filament regions. A formula is derived which defines the dependence of the characteristic frequency of fluctuations of the arcing voltage on the external parameters of the problem, namely, the arc current, the flow rate of the working gas, and the characteristic channel diameter. It is demonstrated that the pattern of the dependence of the frequency of voltage fluctuations on the gas flow rate may vary with the values of the parameter of magnetohydrodynamic interaction. The formula generalizes the experimental results of numerous researchers obtained in a wide range of variation of the external parameters.     

Nonlinear crack dynamics and scaling aspects of fracture (experimental and theoretical study)

Nonlinear dynamics of crack propagation are investigated experimentally and theoretically with the goal of clarifying the nature of limiting crack velocity, the transition from steady state to branching regimes of crack dynamics, and the dynamics of crack arrest. The theoretical explanation of limiting steady-state crack velocity and the transition to a branching regime was proposed due to the study of collective behavior of a microcrack ensemble at the crack tip area. The experimental study of crack dynamics was carried out in a preloaded plate PMMA specimen using the high-speed camera coupled with the photo-elasticity method, the point stress recording with a laser system, and the failure surface roughness measurement.     

Kinetic Characteristics of Amino Acid Salt Crystallization in Methanol‐Water System

Nucleation and growth mechanisms and kinetics of crystals of an amino acid salt were investigated in a methanol‐water system by measuring and evaluating the induction time as a function of the supersaturation ratio and temperature in batch salting out crystallization experiments. Discrimination between the possible crystallization mechanisms, and estimation of the kinetic parameters were carried out using nonlinear parameter identification. The results concerning the growth mechanism obtained were checked additionally by measuring the induction time as a function of number density of seed crystals.