Kinetic Analyses of Solid-State Reactions with a Particle-Size Distribution

Kinetic analyses for the solid-state reactions of reactant particles in an assemblage with a particle-size distribution (PSD) have been reexamined for the reactions that proceed by the advance of the reaction interfaces inward toward the center of the individual reactant particles. The experimental kinetic curves for a particle assemblage are influenced by the existing PSD. It has been demonstrated that, even if PSD exists, a reliable activation energy E can be obtained from such overall kinetic curves by the empirical isothermal analysis without accounting for the PSD. The isoconversion methods, which enable us to determine the E value from the data points at a given fractional reaction of a series of experimental kinetic curves, are methodologically independent of the PSD. It is neccessary to incorporate the PSD into the kinetic equation to select an appropriate kinetic model and to evaluate the preexponential factor A . The method of kinetic calculation accounting for the PSD can be generalized, for the kinetic data under any thermal profiles, by extrapolating all the analytical conditions to infinite temperature. For the reaction characterized by the well-defined PSD and kinetic model function, the meaningful A value is obtained by the kinetic analysis at infinite temperature. Although the ability to discriminate the contracting geometry of the reaction interface in a single particle from the overall kinetic curve decreases with increasing PSD, the rate-controlling steps for the advance of the reaction interface, i.e., chemical reaction controlled or diffusion controlled, can be distinguised from each other even for the reactions with a fairly large PSD.     

木材经催化热分解向BTX和合成燃料的转化

以废木材生物质的有效利用为目的,使用粉粒流化床反应器,对3种木材进行了催化热分解实验,以4种催化效果不同的粒子作为流化床内的流化介质来考察催化热分解过程中介质颗粒、反应气体和热分解温度对产物分布的影响.木材的挥发性物质在700K时就已几乎分解出来,挥发性物质中的轻质芳香烃碳氢化合物（苯、甲苯、二甲苯和萘：BTXN）的收率随着热分解温度的升高而增加,1173K下达到3.1%（质量分数）,daf.在氢气气氛下,当作为流化介质颗粒Zn(3%,质量分数)/HZSM-5催化剂对木材进行催化热分解时,853K下可得到6.1%, daf的轻质芳香烃碳氢化合物的收率(BTX 5.5%,daf、萘0.6%,daf).而在活性很高的NiMo-A加氢催化剂下,在863K时,催化热分解产物几乎全为甲烷.     

Improvement of registration accuracy of a handheld augmented reality system for urban landscape simulation

The need for visual landscape assessment in large-scale projects for the evaluation of the effects of a particular project on the surrounding landscape has grown in recent years. Augmented reality (AR) has been considered for use as a landscape simulation system in which a landscape assessment object created by 3D models is included in the present surroundings. With the use of this system, the time and the cost needed to perform a 3DCG modeling of present surroundings, which is a major issue in virtual reality, are drastically reduced. This research presents the development of a 3D map-oriented handheld AR system that achieves geometric consistency using a 3D map to obtain position data instead of GPS, which has low position information accuracy, particularly in urban areas. The new system also features a gyroscope sensor to obtain posture data and a video camera to capture live video of the present surroundings. All these components are mounted in a smartphone and can be used for urban landscape assessment. Registration accuracy is evaluated to simulate an urban landscape from a short- to a long-range scale. The latter involves a distance of approximately 2000 m. The developed AR system enables users to simulate a landscape from multiple and long-distance viewpoints simultaneously and to walk around the viewpoint fields using only a smartphone. This result is the tolerance level of landscape assessment. In conclusion, the proposed method is evaluated as feasible and effective.     

Prediction of pressure–viscosity coefficient of lubricating oils based on sound velocity

The pressure–viscosity coefficient is an important parameter in tribology. Experimentally, it is calculated using the high‐pressure viscosity measurement. Also, the adiabatic bulk modulus is calculated using the sound velocity in the lubricating oil. Several lubricating oils are considered on the group basis such as traction oil, mineral oil, polyalphaolefin oil, perfluoropolyether oil and glycerol, depending on their molecular structure. Experimental pressure–viscosity coefficient is compared with the adiabatic bulk modulus. It is found that the pressure–viscosity coefficient increases exponentially with the adiabatic bulk modulus, and the relationship depends on the molecular structure of the lubricating oils. This study proposes two equations to predict the pressure–viscosity coefficient from the adiabatic bulk modulus based on sound velocity, one for the traction oil, and another for the paraffinic mineral oil and the polyalphaolefin oil. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crystal growth and scintillation properties of Er-doped Lu3Al5O12 single crystals

Er-doped Lu₃Al₅O₁₂ (Er:LuAG) single crystalline scintillators with different Er concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 3% were grown by the micro-pulling-down (μ-PD) method. The grown crystals were composed of single-phase material, as demonstrated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The radioluminescence spectra measured under ²⁴¹Am α-ray excitation indicated host emission at approximately 350 nm and Er³⁺ 4f-4f emissions. According to the pulse height spectra recorded under γ-ray irradiation, the 0.5% Er:LuAG exhibited the highest peak channel among the samples. The γ-ray excited decay time profiles were well fitted by the two-component exponential approximation (0.8 μs and 6-10 μs).     

Eu-doped LiF-SrF2 eutectic scintillators for neutron detection

Eu²⁺ 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% activated LiF-SrF₂ eutectic scintillators were prepared by the Bridgman method using ⁶Li enriched (95%) raw material. The α-ray-induced radio luminescence spectra showed intense emission peak at 430 nm due to an emission from Eu²⁺ 5d-4f transition in the Eu:SrF₂ layers. When excited by ²⁵²Cf neutrons, all the samples exhibited almost the same light yields of 5000-7000 ph/n with a typical decay times of several hundreds ns.     

Crystal growth and scintillation properties of Ce-doped sodium calcium lutetium complex fluoride

0.1%, 0.5%, 1% and 3% Ce doped scintillation crystals based on NaF-CaF₂-LuF₃ solid solutions were grown from the melt using Micro-Pulling-Down (μ-PD) method. The grown crystals were transparent and their transmittance was approximately 80% for the wavelengths longer than 320 nm. Concerning the scintillation properties, radio-luminescence peaks of the crystals were detected at approximately 330 nm. The light yield of the crystals was also measured using γ-ray (¹³⁷Cs and ²²Na) as the excitation source.     

Synthesis of mesoporous titania nanoparticles with anatase frameworks and investigation of their photocatalytic performance

In this research paper, we synthesize various types of mesoporous titania nanoparticles (MTNs) with suitable surface area and pore size while creating anatase frameworks by applying hydrothermal treatment or calcination at different temperatures. Wide-angle XRD patterns and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms reveal that the MTNs with crystallized anatase frameworks can be synthesized after an optimized hydrothermal treatment. In contrast, calcination of MTNs at high temperature caused the collapse of mesoporous structure, resulted in drastic reduction of the surface area of the MTNs. In addition, we investigate the photocatalytic activity of the prepared MTNs by measuring the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The results show that the reaction rates of the photocatalytic MB decomposition strongly depend on the degree of crystallinity in the MTNs frameworks and on the surface area of MTNs.     

Evaluation of delayed fracture property of outdoor-exposed high strength AISI 4135 steels

Delayed fracture properties of AISI 4135 high strength steels with 1490 and 1310 MPa of tensile strength, represented as B15 and B13, respectively, have been studied by means of slow strain rate test (SSRT) of notched bar specimens after outdoor exposure at rural and coastal areas. The exposed specimens were kept at humid medium before SSRT to reproduce active hydrogen entry influenced by the rust layer and to homogenize hydrogen distribution. The influences of exposure site and exposure time on fracture stress have been investigated. The susceptibility of B15 to delayed fracture was obviously higher than that of B13.     

Determining factors for anodic polarization curves of typical structural materials of boiling water reactors in high temperature – high purity water

In order to examine the anodic polarization characteristics of typical structural materials of boiling water reactors (BWRs), the anodic polarization curves of type 316L stainless steel (316L SS) and Alloy 182 were measured in deaerated high purity water at 553 K using the previously reported measurement method which was confirmed suitable for high temperature – high purity water. In order to specify which constituent element determines the dissolution characteristics of these materials, the anodic polarization curves of pure iron, pure nickel, and pure chromium were also surveyed. The anodic polarization curve of 316L SS was determined to have active, passive, and transpassive states which were the same as type 304 SS (304 SS) showed. But, Alloy 182 had different polarization characteristics especially near the corrosion potential as it had no active state. From comparison results of the polarization characteristics of these materials and their constituent elements, the corrosion characteristics of these materials were concluded to be mainly determined by the corrosion characteristics of chromium.