Evaluation of ageing in asphalt cores using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance

This paper introduces an innovative methodology for estimating the ageing of asphalt concrete cores without extracting the binder. Asphalt concrete samples at different ageing stages (unaged, 3-month and 6-month aged) and with different percent air voids (4%, 7% and 10%) were analysed with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The transverse relaxation time T₂ and relative hydrogen index (RHI) obtained from NMR measurements were related to the viscosity of the asphalt binder. The samples were analysed during cooling from 70°C to room temperature, showing increase in viscosity with decreasing temperature. There was a clear trend indicating higher viscosities in samples that were aged for a longer period and samples with higher percent air voids. The RHI and T₂ values obtained from low-field NMR measurements and the viscosity data calculated from measurements using a dynamic shear rheometer were correlated to develop a model that relates viscosity with RHI.     

Reactive flow in silicon electrodes assisted by the insertion of lithium

In the search for high-energy density materials for Li-ion batteries, silicon has emerged as a promising candidate for anodes due to its ability to absorb a large number of Li atoms. Lithiation of Si leads to large deformation and concurrent changes in its mechanical properties, from a brittle material in its pure form to a material that can sustain large inelastic deformation in the lithiated form. These remarkable changes in behavior pose a challenge to theoretical treatment of the material properties. Here, we provide a detailed picture of the origin of changes in the mechanical properties, based on first-principles calculations of the atomic-scale structural and electronic properties in a model amorphous silicon (a-Si) structure. We regard the reactive flow of lithiated silicon as a nonequilibrium process consisting of concurrent Li insertion driven by unbalanced chemical potential and flow driven by deviatoric stress. The reaction enables the material to flow at a lower level of stress. Our theoretical model is in excellent quantitative agreement with experimental measurements of lithiation-induced stress on a Si thin film.     

Removal of phosphate species from solution by adsorption onto calcite used as natural adsorbent

Phosphates are very important basic materials in agricultural and other industrial applications. Phosphorus is often present in low concentrations in wastewater, almost solely in the form of organic and inorganic phosphates (ortho- and poly-phosphates). The removal of phosphates from surface waters is generally necessary to avoid problems, such as eutrophication, particularly near urban areas. The usual methods of treatment are either biological or physicochemical by sedimentation. This paper studies the removal of phosphate species by adsorption onto calcite used as natural adsorbent. The phosphate solutions were prepared artificially by adding certain quantities of K2HPO4 in water. The effect of equilibrium pH, phosphate/mineral ratio and contact time was studied. The results showed that pH plays an important role in the removal of phosphate species from solution, with removal being more efficient in the basic pH region. The experimental results also show that adsorption is also efficient for high ratios phosphate/adsorbent. Finally, the adsorption process is time dependent. Based on the experimental results a possible mechanism of phosphate removal onto calcite surface is proposed. As a general conclusion, phosphate species seem to be efficiently removed from solutions using calcite as natural adsorbent. In addition, the adsorption product can be used as fertilizer for acid soils.     

Soluble functionalized carbon nanohorns

Carbon nanahorns (CNH) were functionalized following the methodology of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides and found to form stable solutions in either organic solvents or water. The number of added functional units, in the form of pyrrolidine moieties, was calculated when a pyrene chromophore was utilized in the modification scheme. Moreover, complementary theoretical calculations revealed that reactivity enhancement is expected at locations near the conical-shaped tip of CNH, where the highest curvature and strain exist. Finally, additional organic transformation of already modified CNH was exploited by covalently linked ferrocene units.     

Measurement and the effect of different solvents on thin polymer film surface resistance

A method of measuring the surface resistance of thin polymer films has been developed. The method uses a concentric cylindrical electrode arrangement for the measurements and has been studied analytically and experimentally. The effect of different solvents on the thin polymer film surface resistance is examined as well using the method.     

The simultaneous use of 4×4 and 2×2 bilinear stress elements for viscoelastic flows

Mixed finite elements for viscoelastic flows based on a 4×4 sub-linear interpolation for the extra stress components satisfy the Babuska-Brezzi condition and are highly stable. They have been proved to be quite satisfactory in solving problems with strong stress boundary layers. In this work, we examine the simultaneous use of 4×4 and 2×2 bilinear stress elements in an attempt to reduce the computational cost without sacrificing the accuracy. The 4×4 bilinear elements are employed in regions where the stress field is anticipated to be steep while the 2×2 elements carry the burden elsewhere with a much smaller number of stress nodes. Additional constraints along the sides shared by different elements are necessary in order to preserve conformity. The method is applied to the creeping flow of a Maxwell fluid around a sphere falling along the axis of a cylindrical tube. Results are given for three mixed finite element formulations: the Galerkin method, the consistent streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin method (SUPG) and the non-consistent streamline-upwind method (SU). Particular emphasis is given on the calculated drag correction factors. The effect of the sphere/cylinder diameter ratio is also examined.     

Exploiting IP‐layer traffic prediction analytics to allocate spectrum resources using swarm intelligence

Elastic optical networks emerge as a reliable backbone platform covering the next‐generation connectivity requirements. It consists of advanced enabling components that provide the ability for extensive configuration leading to performance improvement in many areas of interest. Higher layer analytics like data from IP traffic prediction can assist in the process of allocating resources at the optical layer. This way, light connections are established more efficiently while targeting specific performance goals. For that purpose, an algorithm is designed and evaluated that exploits traffic prediction of data transfers between nodes of an optical metro or backbone network. Next, it utilizes adaptive functionality based on particle swarm optimization to find paths with available spectrum resources. These resources can facilitate more efficiently the future traffic demand, since traffic prediction data are considered when finding the related paths. The innovative resource allocation method is evaluated using small and very large real topologies. It scales (in execution time and resource usage) according to node increase, executes in feasible time frames, and reduces transponder utilization resulting to increased energy efficiency.