Search for C60 Fullerene in Char Produced on a Norway Spruce by Lightning

Abstract

A search was made for C₆₀ fullerene by High Performance Liquid Chromatography in char formed on a Norway Spruce struck by lightning. Firm proof that C₆₀ occurs in the char was not obtained. However, the evidence showed the possible presence of 1 ppb C₆₀.     

Crystal nucleation and dendrite growth of metastable phases in undercooled melts

An undercooled melt possesses an enhanced free enthalpy that opens up the possibility to crystallize metastable crystalline solids in competition with their stable counterparts. Crystal nucleation selects the crystallographic phase whereas the growth dynamics controls microstructure evolution. We apply containerless processing techniques such as electromagnetic and electrostatic levitation to containerlesss undercool and solidify metallic melts. Owing to the complete avoidance of heterogeneous nucleation on container-walls a large undercooling range becomes accessible with the extra benefit that the freely suspended drop is direct accessible for in situ observation of crystallization far away from equilibrium. Results of investigations of maximum undercoolability on pure zirconium are presented showing the limit of maximum undercoolability set by the onset of homogeneous nucleation. Rapid dendrite growth is measured as a function of undercooling by a high-speed camera and analysed within extended theories of non-equilibrium solidification. In such both supersaturated solid solutions and disordered superlattice structure of intermetallics are formed at high growth velocities. A sharp interface theory of dendrite growth is capable to describe the non-equilibrium solidification phenomena during rapid crystallization of deeply undercooled melts. Eventually, anomalous growth behaviour of Al-rich Al–Ni alloys is presented, which may be caused by forced convection.     

APPLICATION OF A FRACTIONAL-STEP SCHEME AND FINITE-VOLUME METHOD FOR SIMULATING FLOW PAST A SURFACE-MOUNTED MIXING TAB

The fractional-step scheme and finite-volume method are applied on a structured body-fitted grid to simulate the flow passing over a trapezoidal tab mounted on a flat plate. The implementation of boundary conditions on tab surfaces is greatly simplified with this grid system. Due to grid nonorthogonality, however, discretization of Navier-Stokes equations leads to linear systems with complicated coefficient matrices. For the problem size in this work, performance data indicate that parallel operations occupy about 98.38 % of the simulation, giving rise to a maximum parallel speedup of S p, max , 61.73. The flow passing over the trapezoidal tab is simulated at a Reynolds number Re = 600 based on the inlet free-stream velocity and the tab height, and the results are compared with a particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement with the same parameters. The simulation successfully captures the vortex structures in the tab wake as observed in the experiments. Comparisons of the instantaneous flow patterns, the mean velocity, and second-order moments also show good agreement. The simulation and PIV experiment also produce a similar shear-stress distribution along the streamwise direction at the flat plate.     

Strength Recovery in a High-Strength Steel During Multiple Weld Thermal Simulations

BlastAlloy 160 (BA160) is a low-carbon martensitic steel strengthened by copper and M₂C precipitates. Heat-affected zone (HAZ) microstructure evaluation of BA160 exhibited softening in samples subjected to the coarse-grained HAZ thermal simulations of this steel. This softening is partially attributed to dissolution of copper precipitates and metal carbides. After subjecting these coarse-grained HAZs to a second weld thermal cycle below the A _c1 temperature (at which austenite begins to form on heating), recovery of strength was observed. Atom-probe tomography and microhardness analyses correlated this strength recovery to re-precipitation of copper precipitates and metal carbides. A continuum model is proposed to rationalize strengthening and softening in the HAZ regions of BlastAlloy 160.     

Dynamic delayed detached eddy simulation of a multi‐inlet vortex reactor

The multi‐inlet vortex reactor (MIVR) is used for flash nanoprecipitation to manufacture functional nanoparticles. A validated computational fluid dynamics model is needed for the design, scale‐up, and optimization of the MIVR. Unfortunately, available Reynolds‐averaged Navier‐Stokes methods are unable to accurately model the highly swirling flow in the MIVR. Large‐eddy simulations (LES) are also problematic, as excessively fine grids are required to accurately model this flow. These dilemmas led to the application of the dynamic delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) method to the MIVR. In the dynamic DDES model, the eddy viscosity has a form similar to the Smagorinsky sub‐grid viscosity in LES, which allows the implementation of a dynamic procedure to determine its model coefficient. Simulation results using the dynamic DDES model are found to match well with experimental data in terms of mean velocity and turbulence intensity, suggesting that the dynamic DDES model is a good option for modeling the turbulent swirling flow in the MIVR. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2570–2578, 2016