Gas-liquid mass transfer in taylor flow through a capillary

The gas-liquid mass transfer in two-phase flow through a capillary has been measured for water-air, ethanol-air and ethylene glycol-air systems. A semi-theoretical model has been developed and compared with experimental results. and a full computer simulations of the flow pattern and mass transfer using a flow simulation program have been made. The measured values are about 30% less than the calculated values.     

Effect of patchwise slip on fluid flow

In this paper, we show that large connected slip patches (hydrophobic patches) are a necessity to induce macroscopic slip effects of water flow in microchannels. For this purpose, the 2D fluid flow between a planar stationary surface with alternating stick and slip patches and a parallel planar surface moving with a constant relative velocity has been studied by computer simulations based on Navier–Stokes equations. A slip patch is defined as the slipping length in a 2D system or a slip area of the surface in a 3D system. The simulations reveal that the ratio (size of each slip patch)/(distance between the two parallel interfaces) has profound effect on the viscous stress on the moving surface when this ratio is around and above one. However, when the ratio is much below one, the effect of the slip patches are minor, even if the area fraction of slip patches are higher than 50 %. Obviously, the stick patches adjacent to the slip patches act as effective barriers, preventing the fluid velocity to increase near the surface with alternating stick and slip patches. The obtained results are scalable and applicable on all length scales, with an exception for narrow channels in the subnano regime, i.e. <1 nm where specific effects as the atomistic composition and the nanostructure of the wall as well as the interactions between the wall and the water molecules have an effect.     

Gas permeation of polymer blends. III. Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)

The permeability P, diffusivity D, and activation energy for diffusion, E_D, of He, O₂, N₂, and CO₂ were determined for blends of PVC/chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), where the chlorine content of the CPE components varied: 36 wt-% for CPE-1, 42 wt-% for CPE-2, and 48 wt-% for CPE-3. The difference in thermal expansion coefficients Δα above and below the glass transition temperature T_g of the polymers and the fractional free volume V_g of the polymers at their T_g were determined. Density and crystallinity measurements for the blends were also carried out as in the earlier work (Shur and Rånby, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 19 , 1337 (1975)). Dynamic mechanical measurements of the blends were made using a torsion pendulum at about 1 Hz. P and D decreased, but E_D increased with increasing CI content of CPE in the blends. P and D for the blends showed no additivity. The permeability indicated phase inversion for blend compositions at about 10% of CPE-1 and CPD-2 by weight. The experimental and the calculated densities were largely the same for PVC/CPE-1 blends; but for PVC/CPE-2 and PVC/CPE-3 blends, the experimental values were higher than the calculated ones. The Δα and V_g values for PVC and the three CPE samples decreased with increasing CI content in the polymers. Dynamic mechanical measurements indicate that PVC/CPE-1 and PVC/CPE-2 blends form largely incompatible blends, while PVC/CPE-3 blends are compatible to some extent. There is some weak interaction between PVC and CPE-3 giving a low level of compatibility. The solubility of gases obtained from time-lag measurements of diffusion for 50/50 blends decreased for He, O₂, and N₂, but increased for CO₂ with increasing Cl content in CPE. The solubility of He, O₂ and N₂ shows a positive correlation with the Lennard-Jones force constant ?/k. However, a deviation from the linear relation between ?/k and In S was observed for CO₂ and the deviation became larger with increasing Cl content in CPE. The abnormally high solubility of CO₂ is probably due to the high polarizability of this gas. The heat of solution ΔH_s indicates that for He the sorption process may be a molecular slip process (endothermic), but for other gases the sorption may proceed by a dissolution process (exothermic). There is a large difference between the calculated solubility for the blends assuming incompatibility and the experimental values from time-lag measurements. This may partly be due to the uncertainty of sorption values obtained from the time-lag method and/or partly to changes of sorption modes by interaction between PVC and CPE in the blends. The resulting transport behavior of the blends is discussed on the basis of the free volume concept and of phase–phase interaction in the blends.     

UV curing of composites based on modified unsaturated polyester

Synthesis and photocrosslinking of glass fiber-reinforced composites, based on epoxy acrylate-modified unsaturated polyester, have been investigated. The efficiency of the photocrosslinking process for glass fiber laminates of the polyesters that contain different comonomers has been evaluated by measuring mechanical properties. The data show (i) that 2 mm thick laminates, containing 30–40% glass fiber mats, are cured with UV irradiation for 15 sec at room temperature in air; (ii) that multifunctional acrylate or acrylether monomers added to the polyester resin improve the tensile and flexural properties of the photocured product to a greater extent than do added allylic monomers, due to the different photocrosslinking mechanisms; (iii) that the physical properties of the photocrosslinked laminates are well correlated with the molecular weight of the polyester, the amount of multifunctional monomer added, and the glass fiber content. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Photocross-linking of low-density polyethylene. III. Supermolecular structure studied by SALS

The supermolecular structure of photocross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) has been studied by small-angle light scattering (SALS). The data show that the spherulitic structure of XLPE gradually deteriorates with increasing degree of cross-linking and increasing irradiation temperature from well-developed spherulites to rodlike aggregates and disordered lamellar structures. A photocross-linked sample of PE has lower crystallinity, smaller crystallites, and smaller spherulites than does the original sample. At high degrees of cross-linking, the SALS patterns show little or no spherulitic structure. Results with photocross-linked polyethylene demonstrate that the overall effect of cross-linking on the morphological structure is similar to that of an increase in molecular weight of the polymer. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Two-variable periodic perturbation of kinetic oscillations

Using one of the generic models (CO oxidation on Pt with surface-oxide formation) predicting kinetic oscillations in heterogeneous catalytic reactions, we show that the efficiency of two-variable periodic perturbations with respect to converting natural period-1 oscillations to period-l oscillations at the forcing frequency is remarkably sensitive to the kind of perturbations used. Counter-phase perturbations are much more effective compared to in-phase perturbations. The physics underlying these findings is suggestive of their applicability to many other models and/or real systems exhibiting kinetic oscillations.     

Data reconciliation and optimal operation of a catalytic naphtha reformer

The naphtha reforming process converts low-octane gasoline blending components to high-octane components for use in high-performance gasoline fuels. The reformer also has an important function as the producer of hydrogen to the refinery hydrotreaters. A process model based on a unit model structure, is used for estimation of the process condition using data reconciliation. Measurements are classified as redundant or non-redundant and the model variables are classified as observable, barely observable or unobservable. The computed uncertainty of the measured and unmeasured variables shows that even if a variable is observable it may have a very large uncertainty and may thereby be practically unobservable. The process condition at 21 data points, sampled from two years of operation, was reconciled and used to optimize the process operation. There are large seasonal variations in the reformer product price and two operational cases are studied. In case 1, the product price is high and throughput is maximized with respect to process and product quality constraints. In case 2, the product price is low and the throughput is minimized with respect to a low constraint on the hydrogen production. Based on the characteristics of the optimal operation, a “self optimizing” control structure is suggested for each of the two operational cases.     

The setpoint overshoot method: A simple and fast closed-loop approach for PID tuning

A simple method has been developed for PID controller tuning of an unidentified process using closed-loop experiments. The proposed method requires one closed-loop step setpoint response experiment using a proportional only controller, and it mainly uses information about the first peak (overshoot) which is very easy to identify. The setpoint experiment is similar to the classical Ziegler–Nichols (1942) experiment, but the controller gain is typically about one half, so the system is not at the stability limit with sustained oscillations. Based on simulations for a range of first-order with delay processes, simple correlations have been derived to give PI controller settings similar to those of the SIMC tuning rules (Skogestad (2003) [6]). The recommended controller gain change is a function of the height of the first peak (overshoot), whereas the controller integral time is mainly a function of the time to reach the peak. The method includes a detuning factor that allows the user to adjust the final closed-loop response time and robustness. The proposed tuning method, originally derived for first-order with delay processes, has been tested on a wide range of other processes typical for process control applications and the results are comparable with the SIMC tunings using the open-loop model.     

Design and implementation of the Node Identity Internetworking Architecture

The Internet Protocol (IP) has been proven very flexible, being able to accommodate all kinds of link technologies and supporting a broad range of applications. The basic principles of the original Internet architecture include end-to-end addressing, global routeability and a single namespace of IP addresses that unintentionally serves both as locators and host identifiers. The commercial success and widespread use of the Internet have lead to new requirements, which include Internetworking over business boundaries, mobility and multi-homing in an untrusted environment. Our approach to satisfy these new requirements is to introduce a new Internetworking layer, the node identity layer. Such a layer runs on top of the different versions of IP, but could also run directly on top of other kinds of network technologies, such as MPLS and 2G/3G PDP contexts. This approach enables connectivity across different communication technologies, supports mobility, multi-homing, and security from ground up. This paper describes the Node Identity Architecture in detail and discusses the experiences from implementing and running a prototype.