The temporal evolution of thermal instability in fluid layers isothermally heated from below

The temporal development of thermal disturbances in the fluid layer heated isothermally from below is investigated, based on propagation theory. This theory is examined by using scaling. To examine the behavior of thermal instability the mean-field approximation is employed and resulting equations are solved by Galerkin method. The stability criteria to mark the onset of convective instability are newly suggested as the intersection point of the growth rate of averaged temperature with that of its fluctuation. The resulting critical time is close to that derived from propagation theory. By considering the nonlinear effects, the characteristic times to represent the detection time of manifest convection and also to exhibit the minimum Nusselt number are discussed.     

Dissolution Behaviors and Applications of Silicon Oxides and Nitrides in Transient Electronics

Silicon oxides and nitrides are key materials for dielectrics and encapsulation layers in a class of silicon‐based high performance electronics that has ability to completely dissolve in a controlled fashion with programmable rates, when submerged in bio‐fluids and/or relevant solutions. This type of technology, referred to as “transient electronics”, has potential applications in biomedical implants, environmental sensors, and other envisioned areas. The results presented here provide comprehensive studies of transient behaviors of thin films of silicon oxides and nitrides in diverse aqueous solutions at different pH scales and temperatures. The kinetics of hydrolysis of these materials depends not only on pH levels/ion concentrations of solutions and temperatures, but also on the morphology and chemistry of the films, as determined by the deposition methods and conditions. Encapsulation strategies with a combination of layers demonstrate enhancement of the lifetime of transient electronic devices, by reducing water/vapor permeation through the defects.     

Ionic liquid mediated synthesis of silica/polystyrene core–shell composite nanospheres by radical dispersion polymerization

This report describes the novel preparation of silica/polystyrene (SiO₂/PS) core–shell composite nanospheres by in situ radical dispersion polymerization in an ionic liquid (IL). Silica nanoparticles were first surface modified by the silane coupling agent methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS), which is capable of copolymerizing with styrene and provided a reactive CC bond. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed core–shell morphology with smooth surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that almost all of the SiO₂ nanoparticles were encapsulated by the polymer. The composite particles were also analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In principle, this simple and environmentally-friendly synthetic procedure can be employed to prepare other inorganic oxide-containing polymer composites.     

Experimental studies on the instabilities of viscous fingering in a Hele-Shaw cell

When air is injected into silicone oil contained in a horizontal Hele-Shaw cell, a single air bubble forms and grows showing various interesting phenomena. In this study the effects of the bubble front velocity, air injection velocity at a nozzle, fluid properties and cell depth on the stability of the growing bubble were investigated experimentally. By using the modified capillary number involving the aspect ratio, we obtained the onset conditions of the unstable bubble. Also, the bubble width was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Before the bubble experiences splitting, the bubble front velocity is almost proportional to the air injection velocity. Therefore the latter velocity may be used in a practical sense.     

Convective instabilities and transport properties in horizontal fluid layers

This paper concerns the analysis of convective instabilities and fully developed transport properties in Bénard convection. The onset of convective instabilities driven by surface-tension variations and buoyancy forces is analyzed theoretically by using the propagation theory we have developed. Based on these stability criteria, the subsequent transport correlations of fully developed buoyancy-driven convection in horizontal fluid layers are suggested. It is found that the present predictions are compared favorably with existing experimental results.     

Numerical investigation on thermal-hydraulic performance of new printed circuit heat exchanger model

Three-dimensional numerical analysis was performed to investigate heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of supercritical CO₂ flow in new Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) model using commercial CFD code, Fluent 6.3. First, numerical analysis for conventional zigzag channel PCHE model was performed and compared with previous experimental data. Maximum deviation of in-outlet temperature difference and pressure drop from experimental data is about 10%. A new PCHE model has been designed to optimize thermal-hydraulic performance of PCHE. The new PCHE model has several airfoil shape fins (NACA 0020 model), which are designed to streamlined shape. Simulation results showed that in the airfoil shape fin PCHE, total heat transfer rate per unit volume was almost same with zigzag channel PCHE and the pressure drop was reduced to one-twentieth of that in zigzag channel PCHE. In airfoil shape fin PCHE model, the enhancement of heat transfer area and the uniform flow configuration contributed to obtain the same heat transfer performance with zigzag channel PCHE model. And the reduction of pressure drop in airfoil shape fin PCHE model was caused by suppressing generation of separated flow owing to streamlined shape of airfoil fins.     

Preparation and characterization of polyacrylamide cryogels produced from a high‐molecular‐weight precursor. I. Influence of the reaction temperature and concentration of the crosslinking agent

A new type of cryogel was prepared through a reaction of high‐molecular‐weight polyacrylamide (viscosity‐average molecular weight ≈ 3 × 10⁶ Da) with glutaraldehyde in a moderately frozen aqueous medium. The influence of the crosslinking agent concentration and temperature of the reaction on the gel fraction yield, swelling characteristics, and morphology of the cryogels was investigated. The dependence of the gel fraction yield on the reaction temperature was bell‐shaped. The recognized regularities of the formation of this new type of polyacrylamide cryogel based on a high‐molecular‐weight precursor were very similar to those observed earlier for polyacrylamide cryogels synthesized through the cryopolymerization of monomeric precursors. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Preparation and photoluminescence properties of γ-KCaPO4: Eu phosphors for near UV-based white LEDs

Novel whitish-blue phosphors based on a phosphate host matrix, γ-KCaPO₄: Eu²⁺, were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method using slightly phosphorus deficient conditions and their photoluminescence properties were investigated. The concentration quenching process, temperature dependence of the luminescence and decay curve were also investigated. The γ-KCaPO₄: Eu²⁺ phosphor was efficiently excited by UV-Visible light at wavelengths of 200-450 nm and exhibited a bright whitish-blue emission with a maximum peak wavelength of 473 nm. All of these characteristics suggest that the γ-KCaPO₄: Eu²⁺ phosphors combined with red phosphors could be applicable to near UV-based white LEDs, i.e., only two kinds of phosphor powders are needed for the formation of white light.     

Robust performance of the multiloop perturbation compensator

A novel perturbation attenuation method is proposed for robust performance of mechanical systems. First, we give a unified view on a class of existing perturbation observers and define the residual perturbation. In terms of the view and the definition, a new perturbation compensator with multiloop structure is developed. It effectively compensates the perturbation (i.e., model uncertainty and external disturbance) to the plant in a hierarchical and recursive fashion. In the multiloop perturbation compensator (MPEC) proposed, as the number of loops increases, the external disturbance condition for system stability is greatly relaxed and the perturbation attenuation performance is gradually enhanced but the robust stability margin on the modeling error becomes more strict. A recursive algorithm for general n-loop case of the MPEC is derived. By combining the developed robust perturbation compensator with a nominal feedback controller, a robust motion controller is synthesized. Experimental results for XY positioner and 2-DOF robot arms demonstrate the excellent robust tracking performance in spite of arbitrary large perturbation inputs     

Enhancement of Mechanical Properties of Extruded Mg–9Al–1Zn–1MM–0.7CaO–0.3Mn Alloy Through Pre-aging Treatment

The effect of pre-aging treatment before extrusion has been investigated in Mg–9.0Al–1.0Zn–1MM–0.7CaO–0.3Mn alloy. The as-cast microstructure consists of α-Mg dendrite with secondary solidification phase particles, (Mg, Al)₂Ca, β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ and Al₁₁RE₃ at the inter-dendritic region. After extrusion, β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ precipitates are present, but higher density and more homogeneous distribution in pre-aged alloy. In addition, μm-scale banded bulk β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ particles are generated during extrusion. Al₁₁RE₃ particles are broken into small particles, and are aligned along the extrusion direction. (Mg, Al)₂Ca particles are only slightly elongated along the extrusion direction, providing stronger particle stimulated nucleation (PSN) effect by severe deformation during extrusion. The mechanical properties can be significantly enhanced by introducing pre-aging treatment, i.e. β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ precipitates provide grain refining and strengthening effects and (Mg, Al)₂Ca particles provide PSN effect.