Improvement of continuous‐wave terahertz imaging system for cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis

We have successfully achieved terahertz imaging of cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis of egg albumin using continuous‐wave imaging at 0.189 THz. A sample holder has been devised that can eliminate the membrane crook generated in the drying process after electrophoresis. A probe has been also fabricated, which was assembled with a Schottky barrier diode detector to detect the terahertz signal. A higher spatial resolution of 0.3 mm was achieved, which is 6.83 times the 2.05‐mm resolution without using the probe. Terahertz images of cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis of egg albumin of 2 µl was obtained, in which the positions of protein were perfectly in accordance with the stained images. The technology can be used instead of the staining method for cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Excess activated sludge reduction by using electromagnets and ferrite particles

Every year, the ratio of the sewarage treatment to population is increasing in Japan. Expansion in sewer networks is leading to the production of excess sludge which is one of the major problems in wastewater treatment plants. There are several approaches to treat the excess activated sludge. A new approach is to reduce excess sludge production by using magneto‐ferrite treatment. The Suzuki Lab of Akita University, Japan, is working on this project. We have succeeded in using magneto‐ferrite treatment in the lab scale to reduce sludge production. Ferrite particles and magnets are used in this method. Ferrite particles are nontoxic and safe for biological systems. They can be easily separated from the sludge by using magnets. However, the movement of the ferrite particles in the sludge is controlled by permanent magnets which can be made more effective by changing to electromagnets. In this paper, we describe an approach to use electromagnets instead of permanent magnets. Electromagnets can be controlled easily with an AC power supply. The results of our experiments have shown a good possibility for reduction of excess sludge. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comparison of thermal,thermomechanical, and rheological properties of blends of divinylbenzene-based hyperbranched and linear functionalized polymers

A range of polymer blends were prepared via a solvent-based film casting process using highly/hyperbranched (HB) polydivinylbenzenes (PDVB) polymers of two different molecular weights, linear functionalized (LF), hydrogenated hyperbranched (H-HB2) PDVB, and linear polystyrene (LP). The thermal, thermomechanical, and rheological properties of the pure polymers and blends were then investigated and the results related to the concentration of “branched” polymer in the blend and the level of branching/polymer end groups present in the “branched” polymers used. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed an increase of the glass transition temperature (T_g) for the blends containing the nonhydrogenated HBs (~108 °C compared to ~102 °C for LP), which was attributed to crosslinking via the unsaturated reactive chain end/pendant groups in the HB ( CHCH₂). In contrast at the blends, containing the hydrogenated polymers H-HB2, exhibited the same T_g as LP (~102°C) due to absence of crosslinking from the (H-HB2) polymer. As the unsaturated HBs were found to be thermally curable, curing temperature rheology measurements were carried out employing a temperature ramp. No specific T_gel (the temperature at which HB gets crosslinked) was identified for LP-HB1 and LP-HB2 blends, which might be suggested to be due to the fact that both chain entanglement from linear polystyrene. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48547.     

Measurement of electrical characteristics of ZnO microvaristors

A measurement technique is developed to measure the characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) microvaristors directly. We used Cu wires, a micromanipulator, and an optical microscope to gain ohmic contact of the measurement apparatus with ZnO particles. With our system, the I−V characteristics and C⁻²−V characteristics were measured for 25 µm ZnO microvaristors. Our measurements show that these microparticles behave as varistors. Further measurement on the ZnO microvaristors and observation of their fine structure may help to understand the varistor behavior. It also can pave the way to the understanding of the electrical characteristics of grain boundaries as well as the double Schottky barrier formed at the grain boundaries. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Time-dependent pressure-driven flow in a horizontal cylinder filled with a bidisperse porous material

Some properties of time-dependent that modify Brinkman equations for fluid flow in a cylindrical tube filled with Bidisperse Porous Material are discussed in this article. The fluid velocities through the fracture and porous phases of the Bidisperse Porous Medium (BDPM) resulting from the application of pressure gradient are described by two coupled second-order partial differential equations. Laplace transform technique, D'Alembert and Riemann-Sum Approximation Methods are used to obtain a semianalytical solution for the model. The choice of the D'Alembert is made to systematically decouple the coupled governing equations without altering their initial orders. The role of the coupling parameter: The coefficient of momentum transfer $(\eta )$ in the flow formation is considered. Accordingly, three cases are analyzed: (a) weak coupling $(\eta =0)$ which described the fluid flow in the absence of the coupling parameter, (b) the strong coupling resulting from a large value of the coupling parameter $(\eta \to \infty )$, and (c) fluid momentum for any arbitrary value of $\eta$. It is observed that fluid stability is attained when ${\mathit{Da}}_f$ and ${\mathit{Da}}_p$ are decreased; a finding that agrees with the findings of Nield and Kuznetsov and Magyari. Also, the maximum velocity in the fracture phase of the BDPM is attained when the coefficient of momentum transfer is neglected $(\eta =0)$ while an opposing flow formation is demonstrated in the fracture and porous phases of BDPM as $\eta$ is increased.