Multicompartment hydrodynamic model for slurry bubble columns

A core-annulus multicompartment two-dimensional two-bubble class model accounting for slurry recirculation and coupled with catalyst transport was developed as a part and parcel of the analysis of the behavior of slurry bubble column reactors at high gas throughputs corresponding to the churn turbulent flow regime. The model analyzed the contributions of bubble-induced turbulence closures, bubble coalescence and breakup phenomena, and catalyst axial distribution as the resultant of sedimentation, advection via liquid-solid slip, per-compartment axial dispersion and core-annulus lateral exchange of catalyst by bubble-induced turbulence. The model was also used to analyze the effects of catalyst loading, gas density and superficial velocity, and column diameter and vessel aspect ratio on the hydrodynamics of slurry bubble column reactors, namely, the per-compartment phase holdups and interstitial velocities, pressure gradient, bubble coalescence and break-up rates, and loci of velocity inversion for the gas and slurry profiles.     

Cast Iron Inoculation Enhanced by Supplementary Oxy-sulfides Forming Elements

Inoculation is one of the most important metallurgical treatments applied to the molten cast iron immediately prior to casting, to promote solidification without excessive eutectic undercooling, which favors carbides formation usually with undesirable graphite morphologies. The paper focused on the separate addition of an inoculant enhancer alloy [S, O, oxy-sulfides forming elements] with a conventional Ca-FeSi alloy, in the production of gray and ductile cast irons. Carbides formation tendency decreased with improved graphite characteristics as an effect of the [Ca-FeSi + Enhancer] inoculation combination, when compared to other Ca/Ca, Ba/Ca, RE-FeSi alloy treatments. Adding an inoculant enhancer greatly enhances inoculation, lowers inoculant consumption up to 50% or more and avoids the need to use more costly inoculants, such as a rare earth bearing alloy. The Inoculation Specific Factor [ISF] was developed as a means to more realistically measure inoculant treatment efficiency. It compares the ratio between the improved characteristic level and total inoculant consumption for this effect. Addition of any of the commercial inoculants plus the inoculant enhancer offered outstanding inoculation power [increased ISF] even at higher solidification cooling rates, even though the total enhancer addition was at a small fraction of the amount of commercial inoculant used.     

Identifying the dominant failure mode in the hot extrusion tooling used to forge nickel based superalloy

The dies used in the extrusion of nickel based super alloys are subject to severe mechanical and thermal stresses, resulting in shortened life and high manufacturing costs. It is necessary to understand the dominant damage mode in order to guide improvements for increased tool life. The operation under examination consists of the hot extrusion of a nickel based superalloy using nitrided hot work tool steel, glassed workpieces and graphite lubrication. The investigation was conducted through a combination of metallurgical analysis, metrology and finite element analysis. Out of the damage modes observed under these conditions, the plastic deformation of the substrate was found to be the cause for tool failure. This paper discusses the relationship between plastic deformation of the substrate and the formation of scoring marks, which fail the die.     

Reconstruction of the Space- and Time-Dependent Blood Perfusion Coefficient in Bio-Heat Transfer

The identification of the space- and time-dependent perfusion coefficient in the one-dimensional transient bio-heat conduction equation is investigated. While boundary and initial conditions are prescribed, additional temperature measurements are considered inside the solution domain. The problem is approached both from a global and a local perspective. In the global approach a Crank–Nicolson-type scheme is combined with the Tikhonov regularization method. In the local approach, we compute both the time first-order and space second-order derivatives by means of first kind integral equations. A comparison between the numerical results obtained using the two methods shows that the local approach is more accurate and stable than the global one.     

Interaction of positronium atoms, with paramagnetic molecules, measured by perturbed angular distribution in 3γ annihilation decay

Positronium in the triplet spin state (S = 1) decays by 3γ annihilation having a life time of about 140 ns in vacuum. Positronium annihilation is affected by magnetic fields which mix the M = 0 state of ortho-positronium with the M = 0 state of para-positronium. The mixing fraction depends on the magnetic field intensity and causes quantum beats in the time distribution of γ annihilation decay. This effect was predicted by Barishevsky et al. [V.G. Barishevsky, O.N. Metelitsa, V.V. Tikhomirov, J. Phys. B Atom. Mol. Opt. Phys. 22 (1989) 2835]. The time differential perturbed angular correlation method (TDPAC), combined with long-lived positron life time spectroscopy (PLTS), has been used to observe these quantum beats. It is found that the characteristics of the annihilation time distribution are not influenced by the presence of diamagnetic species such as Ar, N₂ and H₂ but are affected by the presence of the paramagnetic O₂ molecule. Our results are encouraging in developing a new method for investigating magnetic fields on an atomic scale.     

Spectroscopic and photoelectric investigations of resonance effects in selected sulfonated phthalocyanines

Zinc phthalocyanine dyes, which had been symmetrically and asymmetrically substituted with sulfonate groups were investigated using absorption, fluorescence and photoacoustic spectroscopic methods, supported by light-induced optoacoustic spectroscopy and photoelectric measurements; unsubstituted zinc phthalocyanine was employed as reference. Fluorescence quantum yields were determined on the basis of absorption and fluorescence spectra, whereas thermal parameters as well as the yield of triplet state population and the kinetics of thermal relaxation at microsecond intervals were determined using with photoacoustic methods. The effect of the sulfonate groups on photocurrent generation was discussed in terms of the dye's molecular structure and resonance (mesomeric, inductive, steric) effects. Sulfonation of zinc phthalocyanine changed markedly its absorption and fluorescence properties owing to redistribution of the electron density within the molecule as a result of both mesomeric and inductive effects, although other effects cannot be excluded. The enhanced light-generated photocurrent observed for phthalocyanine with two sulfonate groups is explained in terms of mesomeric effects, whereas in phthalocyanine with three and four sulfonate groups, inductive effects are essential and lead to photocurrent decline.     

Al₂O₃ and γAl₂O₃ Nanomaterials Based Nanofluid Models with Surface Diffusion: Applications for Thermal Performance in Multiple Engineering Systems and Industries

Thermal transport investigation in colloidal suspensions is taking a significant research direction. The applications of these fluids are found in various industries, engineering, aerodynamics, mechanical engineering and medical sciences etc. A huge amount of thermal transport is essential in the operation of various industrial production processes. It is a fact that conventional liquids have lower thermal transport characteristics as compared to colloidal suspensions. The colloidal suspensions have high thermal performance due to the thermophysical attributes of the nanoparticles and the host liquid. Therefore, researchers focused on the analysis of the heat transport in nanofluids under diverse circumstances. As such, the colloidal analysis of H₂O composed by γAl₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ is conducted over an elastic cylinder. The governing flow models of γAl₂O₃/H₂O and Al₂O₃/H₂O is reduced in the dimensionless form by adopting the described similarity transforms. The colloidal models are handled by implementing the suitable numerical technique and provided the results for the velocity, temperature and local thermal performance rate against the multiple flow parameters. From the presented results, it is shown that the velocity of Al₂O₃–H₂O increases promptly against a high Reynolds number and it decreases for high-volume fraction. The significant contribution of the volumetric fraction is examined for thermal enhancement of nanofluids. The temperature of Al₂O₃–H₂O and γAl₂O₃–H₂O significantly increases against a higher ϕ. Most importantly, the analysis shows that γAl₂O₃–H₂O has a high local thermal performance rate compared to Al₂O₃–H₂O. Therefore, it is concluded that γAl₂O₃–H₂O is a better heat transfer fluid and is suitable for industrial and technological uses.     

Impact strength elastomer composites based on polystyrene components separated from waste electrical and electronic equipment

The reuse of plastic components of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is an important concern both for environmental issues and to preserve the material resources, with minimum energy consumption. Considering that polystyrene fraction was reported as approximate 80% of the total amount of WEEE plastic, this article aims to evaluate the recycling of this fraction, without separation by components, by melt compounding with styrene-butadiene block-copolymer (SBS) and hydrogenated and maleinized SBS, the blend of the two elastomers acting both as an impact modifier and compatibilizer. The composites are characterized by mechanical analysis, impact tests, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The recycling conditions of the polystyrene fraction as composites without eliminating the WEEE additives for improved UV and flame resistance, with physical mechanical properties comparable to those of high-impact polystyrene resulted from the study. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48329.     

Cross Current Dual Aerodynamically Shaped Atomizer Electrostatic Spray Nozzle

Experimental results of a novel method and apparatus for achieving selective deposition on the inside surfaces of an enclosure are presented. An apparatus consisting of two aerodynamically shaped air shear nozzlesa generated a charged dual cloud comprising an insecticide aerosol cloud above and a water aerosol cloud below. Through self-expansion of the cloud by mutual repulsion of the charged particles and image attraction to the wall surfaces, a significantly selective deposition was achieved on the inside surfaces in the upper and lower halves of the enclosure.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of diffusion of O2 and CO2 in amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) and related aromatic polyesters

The diffusion of small molecules through polymers is important in many areas of polymer science, such as gas barrier and separation membrane materials, polymeric foams, and in the processing and properties of polymers. Molecular simulation techniques have been applied to study the diffusion of oxygen and dioxide of carbon as small molecule penetrants in models of bulk amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) and related aromatic polyesters. A bulk amorphous configuration with periodic boundary conditions is generated into a unit cell whose dimensions are determined for each of the simulated aromatic polyesters in the cell to have the experimental density. The aim for this research is to explore and investigate the diffusion of gases through bulk amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) and related aromatic polyesters. The diffusion coefficients for O₂ and CO₂ were determined via NVE molecular dynamics simulations using the Dreiding 2.21 molecular mechanics force field over a range of temperatures (300, 500 and 600 K) using up to 30 ns simulation time. We have focussed on the influence of the temperature, polymer dynamics, number of aromatic rings, ortho-, meta-, para-isomers, density and free volume distribution on the diffusion properties. Correlation of diffusion coefficients with free volume, temperature, number of aromatic rings, ortho-, meta- and para-isomers was found.