BUBBLE TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS ON THE BINARY MIXTURES OF 1,4-DIMETHYLBENZENE WITH ISO -, SEC -, AND TERT - BUTANOLS AT 95 kPa

Bubble temperatures at 95 kPa over the entire composition range were measured for the three binary systems formed by 1,4-dimethylbenzene with iso-, sec-, and tert- butanols. A Swietoslawski-type ebulliometer was used for the measurements. The composition versus temperature measurements are well represented by the Wilson model.     

KINETIC THEORY OF FLOW IN STRONGLY INHOMOGENEOUS FLUIDS

Enskog's kinetic theory of dense hard sphere fluids, modified to allow long-ranged attractive interactions in a mean field sense, is solved for the case of slow flow in strongly inhomogeneous fluids, such as fluids near solid surfaces or liquid-vapor interfaces. In the equilibrium limit the theory yields the exact Yvon-Born-Green equation for the density distribution. In the slow flow limit the viscosity is a tensorial functional of the density distribution. Expressions for the velocity profile are derived for plane laminar and Couette flows. The density dependence of the transport coefficients is smoothed once through the angle averaging of the binary collisions of the Enskog theory. In the planar flows the velocity profile obeys a second order differential equation with variable coefficients and so the density dependence is further muted by two successive spatial integrations. The result leads one to expect the velocity profile to depend relatively weakly on density variations. This conclusion is in agreement with recently available computer simulations of flow in micropores. Another conclusion of the work is that one cannot introduce a flow or pore size independent effective viscosity to describe flow in micropores.     

Influence of Individual Phospholipids on the Physical Properties of Oil-Based Suspensions

The impact of soybean lecithin and three individual phospholipids at different concentration (C_PL) on rheology and sedimentation behavior of sugar/soybean oil suspensions (? = 0.31) was studied and compared with attraction and retraction forces between sugar surfaces in soybean oil as measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). In general, a surfactant‐induced reduction of yield stress, apparent viscosity and sediment volume of the suspensions coincides with a decrease of adhesive interactions between sugar particles in soybean oil. Although the general influence of individual phospholipids and soybean lecithin is comparable, it is concluded from investigations at low C_PL that individual phospholipids exhibit a less pronounced impact on the analyzed parameters. Furthermore, at low C_PL, binary mixtures of the phospholipids are more efficient than individual phospholipids as regards the reduction of yield stress and sediment volume. While the same tendency was detectable for AFM results, these differences were not statistically verified. Slight differences were also evident when comparing individual phospholipids and their influence on rheology and sedimentation which are, however, not in line with the results of AFM. A general understanding of these interrelations between surfactant composition and possible synergistic or antagonistic effects in mixtures of individual phospholipids contributes to optimizing lecithin composition with respect to functionality.     

A theoretical study of possible shape and phase changes of carbon nanotube crystals during contraction and expansion

We present a theoretical study of the phase transformations of crystals composed of single wall carbon nanotubes self-assembled by the intertube van der Waals interaction under contraction and expansion, and report a new hexagonal crystal structure caused by expansion of the crystal. We show that when the diameter of the nanotubes is larger than certain critical value, the nanotubes in the crystals will undergo three phase transformations: the closely-packed hexagonal phase I → assembled circular phase → new hexagonal phase II → isolated circular phase. These transformations are proved by both a hybrid atomic-continuum approach and the density functional theory calculations.     

Nitriding of 6061T6 aluminium by plasma immersion ion implantation at low energy

It is not easy, in general, to improve the mechanical properties of aluminium alloys by traditional nitriding methods. By contrast, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) has been successfully used for hardening and in wear resistance improvement. The present work sets out to investigate the formation of AlN on 6061T6 aluminium samples by the PIII process at low energy (2–6 keV) with ion doses in the order of 10¹⁸ ions/cm² and from nitrogen–argon mixtures at different concentrations (N70–Ar30, N50–Ar50 and N30–Ar70) maintained at ∼400 °C sample temperatures. The outcome was evaluated by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, Vickers microhardness tests and profilometry.     

Calculation of thermal conductivity of gypsum plasterboards at ambient and elevated temperature

Plasterboard often protects steel structures of buildings because it conducts heat slowly and absorbs the heat of the fire by its volumetric enthalpy. The most important property governing the heat transfer is the thermal diffusion. This property depends on the density, specific heat and thermal conductivity. The first two can be calculated based on the mass composition of the board. The thermal conductivity is more difficult to derive since it is a directional property. This paper will focus on the calculation of the thermal conductivity at ambient and elevated temperatures. It is shown that the thermal conductivity of gypsum plasterboard (i.e. a porous medium) can be assumed to be a three‐phase system. Plasterboard consists of a solid phase and a water/air mix in the voids. The differences between different theoretical equations for both dry and moistured plasterboards are presented. The equation proposed by Zehner and Schlunder (Chem. Ing.‐Tech. 1972; 44 (23):1303–1308) with shape‐factor C of 5 gave good agreement with experimental data of the different boards. Furthermore, the influence of the composition of the boards on the thermal conductivity is investigated. This has an influence, especially since the composition is also related to its moisture content. Regression analysis points out that the moisture content depends only on the gypsum content. A value of 2.8% absorbed water on the mass of gypsum is found, and this water plays an important role in the thermal conductivity of plasterboard at ambient temperature. Finally, the thermal conductivity of board at elevated temperature is computed. A close fit between computed and experimental values derived from literature is found. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative corrosive characteristics of petroleum diesel and palm biodiesel for automotive materials

Corrosive characteristics of biodiesel are important for long term durability of engine parts. The present study aims to compare the corrosion behavior of aluminum, copper and stainless steel in both petroleum diesel and palm biodiesel. Immersion tests in biodiesel (B100) and diesel (B0) were carried out at 80 °C for 1200 h. At the end of the test, corrosion characteristic was investigated by weight loss measurements and changes on the exposed metal surface. Surface morphology was examined by optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDS). Fuels were analyzed by using TAN analyzer, FTIR, GCMS and ICP in order to investigate the acid concentration, oxidation level with water content, compositional characteristics and presence of metal species respectively. Results show that the extent of corrosion and change in fuel properties upon exposure to metals are more in biodiesel than that in diesel. Copper and aluminum were susceptible to attack by biodiesel whereas stainless steel was not.