Studies on adsorption equilibrium of xylenes in AEL framework using biased GCMC and energy minimization

The adsorption of xylene isomers in AlPO₄-11 (AEL network) was investigated using biased grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. Preferential o-xylene adsorption was predicted by the simulations, in agreement with previously reported experimental data. In AlPO₄-11 the selective adsorption behavior comes from the smaller length of the o-xylene molecule along the crystallographic c-axis compared to p-xylene. This is in contrast to AlPO₄-5 and AlPO₄-8, where the ortho-selectivity is caused by the characteristic face-to-face positioning of o-xylene. Energy minimization studies were also performed in a flexible AlPO₄-11 lattice to study the structural changes upon xylene adsorption. The energy minimization study showed that the AlPO₄-11 crystal distorts upon p- and o-xylene adsorption. The distortion mechanism is related to the strong interaction between xylene methyl groups and the sieve oxygen atoms in the O3 position in the wide region of the pore.     

Molecular weight effect on the obtainment of parallel and perpendicular orientation in thermotropic poly(diethylene glycol <Emphasis Type="Italic">p,p′</Emphasis>-bibenzoate)

Summary The effect of molecular weight on the uniaxial orientation process has been analyzed in two samples of thermotropic poly(diethylene glycol p,p′-bibenzoate), evaluating the influence of that parameter on the type of orientation obtained. Several strain rates and deformation temperatures have been tested in order to map out the conditions for obtaining the two different kinds of orientation. The results show that in the lower molecular weight PDEB sample (M_w=31200) it is rather easy to get exclusively perpendicular “anomalous” orientation, with the molecular axes aligned transversely to the stretching direction. However, it is extremely difficult to obtain 100% parallel “normal” orientation. On the contrary, either type of orientation or a mixture of them can be easily developed for the higher molecular weight PDEB sample (M_w=102900).     

Evaluating the mixing performance of a ribbon blender

This paper investigates the effects of processing and equipment parameters of a ribbon blender (i.e. loading method of lubricant, fill level, blade speed and blade design) on magnesium stearate homogeneity. A core sampling technique is used to obtain at least one hundred samples per sampling event, which are extracted throughout the blender and yield a thorough characterization of the entire bed. The results presented here can be used as a guideline to develop appropriate blending processes and characterization protocols for ribbon blenders.     

3D velocity from 3D Doppler radial velocity

We present local least squares and regularization frameworks for computing 3D velocity (3D optical flow) from 3D radial velocity measured by a Doppler radar. We demonstrate the performance of our algorithms quantitatively on synthetic radial velocity data and qualitatively on real radial velocity data, obtained from the Doppler radar at Kurnell Radar station, Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Radial velocity can be used to predict the future positions of storms in sequences of Doppler radar datasets.© 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 15, 189–198, 2005     

Sandia National Laboratories Validation Workshop: Structural dynamics application

This article specifies a virtual structural dynamic subsystem and some systems, as well as mathematical models that approximately simulate them. The purpose is to define a setting for model validations conceived by participants in the Sandia National Laboratories Validation Workshop. Some broad guidelines for the model validations are set, as well as a regulatory requirement to be satisfied by the target system. Participants are directed to present techniques for subsystem model validation, to analytically predict whether or not the regulatory requirement will be met, and to estimate the likelihood of accuracy of the prediction.     

Conceptual damage-sensitive features for structural health monitoring: Laboratory and field demonstrations

The use of damage-sensitive features to evaluate structural condition or health is a very critical aspect of structural health monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of two different damage-sensitive features for detecting damage. Different damage scenarios are simulated on a large-scale laboratory structure and a three-span highway bridge for demonstration. The features presented in this paper are the modal flexibility-based deflection and curvature both of which are obtained directly from dynamic properties. In the literature, flexibility associated with mode shapes and mode shapes curvatures have been mostly explored. In this study, multi-input–multi-output dynamic data are used to obtain modal flexibility, which is a close approximation to the actual flexibility. A main novelty is that the curvature is calculated from the deflected shapes using the modal flexibility as opposed to using modal vectors. In this paper, the theory of the methodology is explained and then experimental studies and results are presented. For the experimental studies, the laboratory specimen and the three-span bridge were gradually damaged. It is shown that both deflection and curvature are conceptual and physically meaningful features for damage detection and localization. The issues and the requirements for these features to perform successfully are also presented.     

Structural and Superconducting Property Variations with Nominal Mg Non‐Stoichiometry in MgxB2 and Its Enhancement of Upper Critical Field

By applying a combination of characterisation tools, changes in structural and superconducting properties with nominal Mg non‐stoichiometry in Mg_xB₂ are found. The non‐stoichiometry produces enhanced in‐field critical current densities (J_c's) and upper critical field / irreversibility field (H_c2/H_irr(T)) values. Upper critical fields of ～ 21 T (4.2 K) were obtained in nominal Mg‐deficient samples compared to ～ 17 T (4.2 K) for near‐stoichiometric samples.     

Ennoblement of stainless steel in natural seawater – A new explanation

The ennoblement of corrosion potential (E_corr) of passive metal immersed in seawater was investigated with electrochemical technology and epifluorescence microscopy. The in situ observation showed that the bacteria number increased on the metal surface according to an exponential law which was in the same way with the ennoblement of E_corr. At the same time, the anodic polarization current of high‐Mo stainless steel decreased in the initial days. According to the mix‐potential theory and the characteristics of polarization curves of high‐Mo steel in natural seawater, the ennoblement of corrosion potential may be induced by the decrease of the passive current density.     

Organic matter release in low temperature thermal treatment of biological sludge for reduction of excess sludge production.

Thermal treatment applied in association with a biological system allows for a significant reduction in excess sludge production (approximately 50%). In general, heat treatment is described as a sludge disintegration technique. This paper offers a thorough study on the impact of heat treatment, at temperatures below 100 degrees C, on the solubilisation of the sludge COD and its biodegradability. Discontinuous heating experiments were performed on activated and digested sludge. At all temperatures tested the released COD for digested sludge was systematically higher than that for activated sludge (15 and 40%, respectively, at 95 degrees C for 40 min of contact time). For the first 30 min, a 1st order kinetic, with respect to the residual COD, was systematically found. In the range of 40-95 degrees C, digested sludge had a lower activation energy than activated sludge (26 kcal/mol compared to 70-160 kcal/mol). COD solubilisation is thus more positively influenced by temperature in the case of activated sludge. This may be due to the significant difference in the ratio of protein/carbohydrate in digested and activated sludge (1-5 and 0.2-0.7, respectively). The increase in the COD/TKN ratio in the solubilised fraction after thermal treatment of activated sludge suggests a preferential solubilisation of proteins over carbohydrates. Respirometric tests performed on the solubilised COD showed that whatever the sludge origin, only 40-50% of released COD is biodegradable at a conventional hydraulic retention time (i.e., 24 h). Hence, heat treatment would act more through organic matter solubilisation rather than by a biodegradability increase.     

Entropy of multidimensional cellular automata

Since the topological entropy of a vast class of two-dimensional cellular automata (CA) is infinite, of interest is the possibility to renormalize it so that to obtain a positive finite value. We find the asymptotics of the information function of a multidimensional CA and, accordingly, introduce the renormalized topological entropy as a coefficient of this asymptotics. We describe some properties of the introduced quantity, in particular, its positivity for CA of the type of “The Game of Life.” Also, we give an example of an explicit evaluation of this parameter for a particular cellular automaton.