A novel automated image analysis method for maceral analysis

A new image analysis technique has been developed which allows maceral analysis of coal to be carried out. The technique is able to separate the liptinite component from the background resin by using two separate images of the surface captured with different camera exposure times. At normal exposure, the liptinite has a similar grey scale value to the surrounding resin, but at a higher exposure time, the resin remains black whilst the liptinite grey scale increases significantly enough to distinguish it from the resin. The method has been tested for repeatability and reproducibility and found to be within the ISO Standard requirements.     

Study on Oxygen-Sensing Properties of LaNiO3 Thin Films

The synthesis of rare-earth perovskite-type composition thin films of LaNiO₃ by means of the inorganic-sol-gel (ISG) method was studied. The structural stability under high temperature in reducing atmospheres and the oxygen-sensitivity mechanism of the LaNiO₃ thin films were examined. It is shown that under the experimental conditions, LaNiO₃ decomposes and the valance states of nickel are +2 and +3.     

降凝剂对高蜡稠油的改性效果及机理研究

实验研究了工业品原油降凝剂WHP改善含蜡56.9%、其中96.6%为正构烷烃的胜利郑王庄稠油流动性的效果。WHP含乙烯/醋酸乙烯/乙烯醇嵌段聚醚三元共聚物30%-35%。在60℃将WHP加入稠油中,测定其凝点和32℃、0-42.6 s^-1范围5个剪切速率下的黏度,均随WHP加量的增加（50-300 mg/L）而降低,200 mg/L为最佳加量,在该加量下0.32 s^-1黏度由34.16 Pa·s降至79.2 mPa·s,凝点（℃）、屈服值（Pa）、稠度系数（Pa·s^n）分别由49.0、32.42、31.57降至39.5、0.1297、0.02142,流型指数由0.1176升至0.9790。由黏温曲线求出,加入200mg/L WHP使该稠油析蜡点由65℃降至58℃,反常点由70℃降至50℃。根据空白和加剂原油扫描电镜照片显示的蜡晶形态,利用共晶机理分析讨论了WHP这种高分子表面活性剂的降凝、降黏、改善流动性的作用。图3表3参5。     

Investigation of the V(V)/V(IV) system for use in the positive half-cell of a redox battery

The V(V)/V(IV) redox couple system has been studied at glassy carbon and gold electrodes in sulphuric acid solutions, using both cyclic voltammetry and     

Characterization of Tomato Pulp Stickiness during Spray Drying using a Contact Probe Method

A contact probe test was developed to characterize the surface stickiness of a tomato pulp droplet at various moisture contents and temperatures. To provide tomato pulp samples with different moisture contents, tomato powder produced by a laboratory spray dryer was wetted to seven different moisture levels. The instantaneous tensile force curve was recorded during the probe withdrawal from which the maximum tensile force and other useful information were obtained and cross-examined against images of bonding, debonding, and failure of the material. Generally, at higher moisture contents tomato pulp exhibited cohesive failure followed by semi-adhesive failure, but when moisture content decreased to a certain level, a peak tensile pressure was observed and the failure was adhesive. In addition, higher temperatures shifted the points of adhesive failure toward lower moisture content.     

Mathematical modelling of a reverse flow reactor with catalytic surface dynamics

This paper studies a system of partial differential equations modelling the behaviour of a reverse flow reactor. For the parameters appropriate for the oxidation of ammonia on a Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst in a typical laboratory set-up, the reactor may be split into regions where approximate formulas that determine its behaviour are deduced. Numerical calculations are presented and can be used to compare with the analytical formulas. The physical insight gained from the asymptotic analysis suggests a new switching strategy which is the subject of numerical experiments. The switching strategy is found to be efficient at minimising the ammonia exiting the reactor after reversal.     

Effect of oxygen flow rate on the structural and electrochemical properties of lithium nickel oxides synthesized by the sol–gel method

The structural and electrochemical properties of LiNiO₂ powders were investigated as a function of the oxygen flow rate employed in the preparation of lithium nickel oxide. It was found that oxygen played an important role in the synthesis of highly crystallized LiNiO₂(R3¯m). In the crystallization process of LiNiO₂, a deficiency of oxygen in the calcination reactor induced the formation of impurities and cubic rock-salt structure (Fm3m) in LiNiO₂ powders. For LiNiO₂ prepared at higher oxygen flow rates, the electrode delivered high discharge capacities with relatively good retention rates. But very low electrode capacity was obtained from LiNiO₂ prepared at lower oxygen flow rates.     

Performance of miniaturized direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) devices using micropump for fuel delivery

A fuel cell is a device that can convert chemical energy into electricity directly. Among various types of fuel cells, both polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) can work at low temperature (<80 °C). Therefore, they can be used to supply power for commercial portable electronics such as laptop computers, digital cameras, PDAs and cell phones. The focus of this paper is to investigate the performance of a miniaturized DMFC device using a micropump to deliver fuel. The core of this micropump is a piezoelectric ring-type bending actuator and the associated nozzle/diffuser for directing fuel flow. Based on the experimental measurements, it is found that the performance of the fuel cell can be significantly improved if enough fuel flow is induced by the micropump at anode. Three factors may contribute to the performance enhancement including replenishment of methanol, decrease of diffusion resistance and removal of carbon dioxide. In comparison with conventional mini pumps, the size of the piezoelectric micropump is much smaller and the energy consumption is much lower. Thus, it is very viable and effective to use a piezoelectric valveless micropump for fuel delivery in miniaturized DMFC power systems.