Effect of glucose fouling on the dissolved gases permeation through maximum‐crystallized poly(lactic acid) films

In this study, we investigated the effect of fouling on the dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide permeation in water through maximum‐crystallized poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films by using proton nuclear magnetic resonance, attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, contact angle, water content ratio, and dissolved gas permeation. Fouling means the adhesion of contents on a container's internal surface, where content adhesion can directly influence the barrier property of the container. Glucose, a beverage ingredient, was used as a foulant. The permeation of dissolved gases in amorphous PLA film, maximum‐crystallized PLA film, and fouled maximum‐crystallized PLA film was determined. The decreased interstices in the polymer chains during crystallization resulted in the inhibition of the diffusion and decrease in the permeability coefficient of the gases. Moreover, the slope of the permeability coefficient for carbon dioxide in the Arrhenius plot was found smaller than that of oxygen's. This result indicated that the gas barrier property of dissolved carbon dioxide was considerably influenced by solubility and readily decreases during glucose fouling. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46604.     

Hydride Anion Substitution Boosts Thermoelectric Performance of Polycrystalline SrTiO3 via Simultaneous Realization of Reduced Thermal Conductivity and High Electronic Conductivity

The development of environmentally benign thermoelectric materials with high energy conversion efficiency (ZT) continues to be a long-standing challenge. So far, high ZT has been achieved using heavy elements to reduce lattice thermal conductivity (κ_lat). However, it is not preferred to use such elements because of their environmental load and high material cost. Here a new approach utilizing hydride anion (H⁻) substitution to oxide ion is proposed for ZT enhancement in thermoelectric oxide SrTiO₃ bulk polycrystals. Light element H⁻ substitution largely reduces κ_lat from 8.2 W/(mK) of SrTiO₃ to 3.5 W/(mK) for SrTiO_3−xH_x with x = 0.216. The mass difference effect on phonon scattering is small in the SrTiO_3−xH_x, while local structure distortion arising from the distributed Ti−(O,H) bond lengths strongly enhances phonon scattering. The polycrystalline SrTiO_3−xH_x shows high electronic conductivity comparable to La-doped SrTiO₃ single crystal because the H⁻ substitution does not form a grain boundary potential barrier and thus suppresses electron scattering. As a consequence, SrTiO_3−xH_x bulk exhibits maximum ZT = 0.11 at room temperature and the ZT value increases continuously up to 0.22 at T = 657 K. The H⁻ substitution idea offers a new approach for ZT enhancement in thermoelectric materials without utilizing heavy elements.     

Formation and Sintering of Yttria-Doped Tetragonal Zirconia with 50 mol% Alumina Prepared by the Hydrazine Method

Al₂O₃/Y₂O₃-doped ZrO₂ composite powders with 50 mol% Al₂O₃ are prepared by the hydrazine method. As-prepared powders are mixtures of AlO(OH) gel and amorphous ZrO₂ solid solutions containing Y₂O₃ and Al₂O₃. The formation process leading to α-Al₂O₃- t -ZrO₂ composite powders is examined. Hot isostatic pressing is performed for 2 h at 1400°C under 196 MPa using θ-Al₂O₃- t -ZrO₂ composite powders. The resulting dense, sintered α-Al₂O₃- t -ZrO₂ composites show excellent mechanical strength.     

State criterion of wind turbine generator operation using tower shadow effect (Part 2)

In order to obtain wind energy effectively, the pole‐change‐type induction generators are used as the wind turbine generators. Otherwise, the pole‐change‐type induction generator causes the voltage dips at pole changing time. To maintain the power quality, it is important to know the state change of the generator operation. Therefore, the authors have studied a state criterion of generator using the tower shadow effect, which is the active power oscillation caused by a rotation torque drop when the tower and the turbine blade overlap each other. In this paper, an improved identification method of oscillation frequency, which is the criterion of wind turbine generator operation, is proposed. The proposed method is applied to measured data and good results are obtained. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(1): 25–31, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20395     

Review of Topographic and Soil Conditions for Liquefaction-Related Damage Induced by the 2007 Off Mid-Niigata Earthquake

The 2007 Niigata-ken Chuetsu-oki (Off Mid-Niigata) earthquake caused the liquefaction of the sandy soil distributed near the coast of the Japan Sea in the middle of Niigata Prefecture. The liquefaction-induced damage occurring in many residential areas was investigated in detail by means of victim interviews, visual inspections, Swedish Weight Sounding tests, Standard Penetration Tests, old topographical map examinations, etc. Based on in situ soil investigations, the liquefied soil layers were estimated for each area. As a result, it was confirmed that the liquefied areas were mainly sand dune hinterlands, flood plains, reclaimed old river channels and sandy fills with high groundwater table. Among them, damage was especially serious on land having an inclined ground surface due to the flow of foundations, on the cut-fill borders of artificially developed land due to landslides and at the toes of sand dune slopes due to the thrust of the sliding soil and/or the collision of the sliding soil with objects. These investigation results also revealed that soil improvement by cement mixed columns is an effective countermeasure against liquefaction-induced damage unless lateral spreading of the subsoil arises.     

Drying behavior of sludge with drying accelerator

Abstract

For fuelization of high moisture content sludge, efficient sludge drying technique using a drying accelerator was investigated. In the experiment, drying accelerator types and drying conditions were changed and the effect of accelerator type and/or drying condition on sludge drying behavior was evaluated by analyzing drying characteristic curve. Depending on drying accelerator type, the addition of drying accelerator did not always exert superiority in drying rate, but sludge with added acrylic resin having low glass transition temperature (DA10) demonstrated significantly enhanced drying rate. Addition of surface activating agent (SAA) instead of resin type drying accelerator also enhanced the sludge drying rate. The highest drying rate was obtained by addition of DA10 and SAA together, and the sludge drying rate has significantly been augmented at the high drying temperature condition.     

Relationship between rubbing‐induced anisotropy and surface azimuthal anchoring energy of nematic liquid crystals

The relationship between the rubbing‐induced anisotropy of alignment films and the surface azimuthal anchoring energy of nematic liquid crystals was investigated using three kinds of rubbing cloths. Reflection ellipsometry revealed that the optical surface anisotropy of polyimide alignment films increases monotonically with increasing RS. The surface azimuthal anchoring energy measured by the torque balance method depends on the rubbing‐induced anisotropy of alignment films. This indicates that liquid crystal molecular alignment can be controlled by monitoring the rubbing‐induced optical anisotropy of alignment films when a suitable rubbing cloth is used.     

Heat transfer to a supercritical pressure fluid flowing in sub-bundle channels

Supercritical pressure water cooled reactor (SCWR) has been regarded as an innovative nuclear reactor. For the design and development of the SCWR, heat transfer performance under supercritical pressure is one of the most important indicators. In this paper, experimental data are presented on the heat transfer to a supercritical pressure fluid flowing vertically upward and downward in a small diameter heated tube and two sub-bundle channels with three heater rods and seven heater rods, using HCFC22 as the test fluid. Downstream of grid spacer for the sub-bundles, heat transfer enhancement was observed in the upward flow, but not in the downward flow. The enhancement was remarkable especially when the heat transfer deterioration occurs in the fully developed region unaffected by the spacer. The heat transfer correlation for the downstream region of the spacer was developed in the normal heat transfer of sub-bundles. In the fully developed region for the sub-bundle, occurrence of the heat transfer deterioration was suppressed or degree of the deterioration was moderated. At high mass velocity for downward flow in the seven rod sub-bundle, oscillation of heat transfer was observed in the region of the enthalpy over the pseudocritical point.     

Comparison of visual fatigue caused by head-mounted display for virtual reality and two-dimensional display using objective and subjective evaluation

This study aimed to evaluate objective and subjective visual fatigue experienced before and after performing a visual task while using a head-mounted display for virtual reality (VR-HMD) and two-dimensional (2D) display. Binocular fusion maintenance (BFM) was measured using a binocular open-view Shack–Hartmann wavefront aberrometer equipped with liquid crystal shutters. Twelve healthy subjects performed the BFM test and completed a questionnaire regarding subjective symptoms before and after performing a visual task that induces low visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). BFM (p = .87) and total subjective eye symptom scores (p = .38) were not significantly different between both groups, although these values were significantly lower after the visual task than before the task within both groups (p < .05). These findings suggest that visual fatigue after using a VR-HMD is not significantly different from that after using a 2D display in the presence of low-VIMS VR content.

Practitioner summary: Objective and subjective evaluation of visual fatigue were not significantly different with the use of a head-mounted display for virtual reality (VR-HMD) and two-dimensional display. These results should be valuable not only to engineers developing VR content but also to researchers involved in the evaluation of visual fatigue using VR-HMD.

Abbreviations: VR: virtual reality; VR-HMD: head-mounted display for virtual reality; BFM: binocular fusion maintenance; BWFA: binocular open-view Shack–Hartmann wavefront aberrometer     

Glass capillaries based on a glass reflow into nano-trench for controlling light transmission

This paper reports the fabrication of Tempax glass capillaries based on a glass reflow into nano-trench for an optical modulator toward image sensing applications. The optical window consists of micrometer-order glass capillaries (porous solids) that can modulate the transmission light intensity by moving a liquid in and out of the porous solids. A high optical transmittance can be achieved due to refractive index matching when the liquid is penetrated into the porous solid. Otherwise, its light transmittance is low because of light reflection and scattering by air holes and capillary walls. The glass is completely filled into the nano-trench between silicon pillars under a high temperature process and assistance of enhancement of the surface wettability. Glass capillaries with depth of 8 μm, diameter of 1.2 μm, and the pitch of two capillaries of 2 μm have been achieved. The optical window integrated with an image sensor for an optical modulator is clearly demonstrated and a light modulation effect dependent on liquid penetration is observed.