Primary hydration of poly(acrylic acid) sodium salts

Summary The equilibrium water contents of linear poly(acrylic acid) sodium salts with different degrees of neutralisation were found to be dependent on temperature and relative humidity. An octahedral model for the primary hydration of poly(acrylic acid) sodium salts (HIRAOKA and YOKOYAMA 1980) was critically evaluated in the light of these findings and an anomaly in the water uptake versus neutralisation curve at approximately 33% neutralisation was explained by the counterion condensation theory. (MANNING 1979).     

Comparing VVR-M reactor fuel assembly heat technological capabilities

Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 67, No. 2, pp. 97–100, August, 1989.     

Synthesis and characterisation of copolyesters from poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(hexamethylene terephthalate)

Copolyesters containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(hexamethylene terephthalate) (PHT) were prepared by a melt condensation reaction. The copolymers were characterised by infrared spectroscopy and intrinsic viscosity measurements. The density of the copolyesters decreased with increasing percentage of PHT segments in the backbone. Glass transition temperatures (T_g). melting points (T_m) and crystallisation temperatures (T_c) were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. An increase in the percentage of PHT resulted in decrease in T_g, T_m and T_c. The as-prepared copolyesters were crystalline in nature and no exotherm indicative of cold crystallisation was observed. The relative thermal stability of the polymers was evaluated by dynamic thermogravimetry in a nitrogen atmosphere. An increase in percentage of PHT resulted in a decrease in initial decomposition temperature. The rate of crystallisation of the copolymers was studied by small angle light scattering. An increase in percentage of PHT resulted in an increase in the rate of crystallisation.     

Half-bridge inverter using 4H-SiC gate turn-off thyristors

This paper reports on the first demonstration of a half-bridge power inverter constructed from silicon carbide gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs) operated in the conventional GTO mode. This circuit was characterized with input bus voltages of up to 600 VDC and 2 A (peak current density of 540 A/cm²) with resistive loads using a pulse-width modulated switching frequency of 2 kHz. We discuss the implications of the thyristor's electrical characteristics and the circuit topology on the overall operation of the half-bridge circuit. This work has determined the conservative critical rate of rise value of the off-state voltage to be 200 V/μs in these devices     

Laminar-turbulent transition behavior of fully developed air flow in a heated horizontal tube

I have experimentally studied the influence of the buoyancy force and inlet flow conditions on the laminar-turbulent transition process of fully developed air flow in a heated horizontal tube with uniform wall heat flux at modified Rayleigh number 3.1×10⁶. Eight time-series of the air temperature were simultaneously obtained using eight thermocouples positioned within the tube along a vertical line passing through the tube's axis. I have studied the time and space dependence of the transition behavior by analyzing these instantaneous time-series. By calculating a set of Lyapunov exponents and the correlation dimension of the time-series of a single thermocouple, these transitional flows are found to be chaotic.     

Three-phase flash and distillation

A mixed K-value model allows existing computer programs for the simulation of vapor-liquid equilibrium stages to be used for three-phase vapor-liquid-liquid systems. The mixed K-value model has been implemented with a minimum effort into the Badger General Material Balance flow-sheeting program. Good convergence has been obtained with the mixed K-value model for a number of systems. A comparison is made with published literature [1, 2], showing excellent results with this generally applicable and easy-to-use method.