A Study on the Electrochemical Deoxidation Using ZrO2 Based Solid Electrolyte and a Periodic DC Voltage

An electrochemical deoxidation using a ZrO₂ based solid electrolyte was investigated to control the interfacial oxygen concentration between the molten steel and ZrO₂. The electrochemical deoxidation cell consisted of an MgO stabilized ZrO₂ and an external power supply. In a previous study with constant external DC voltage, the oxygen concentration at the interface between the solid electrolyte and the molten steel was decreased to 2.2 ppm, which was the limit caused by the cathodic over‐potential when a constant external DC voltage was applied. In the present study, a novel process of using a periodic or cyclic voltage for the electrochemical deoxidation cell was developed, to surpass this limitation caused by the over‐optential of the electrochemical cell and thus decreasing the oxygen concentration to sub‐ppm levels at the interface between the molten Fe and the solid electrolyte.     

The origin of the complex character of the Ohmic impedance

The local and global Ohmic response for an electrode exhibiting geometry-induced potential and/or current distributions has recently been shown to be represented by a frequency-dependent complex impedance. A physical explanation for this result is provided in terms of the radial contribution to local current density and the decrease in current density along the current lines. Experiments performed with Cu/Al and Mg/Al galvanic couples show that, in regions where a radial current density does not exist, the local Ohmic impedance is independent of position; whereas, in regions where the radial current density cannot be neglected, the local Ohmic impedance is a function of position. Simulations performed on recessed electrodes show that, even in the absence of a radial current, an axial variation of current density gives rise to a complex Ohmic impedance. The complex character of the Ohmic impedance shows that an equivalent circuit, using the usual two-terminal resistor to represent the Ohmic contribution of the electrolyte, provides an inadequate representation of an electrode with geometry-induced current and potential distributions.     

The effects of pre-slaughter pig management from the farm to the processing plant on pork quality

Two experiments (Exp.1, n = 80; Exp.2, n = 144) were conducted to determine the effects of pre-slaughter pig management on pork quality by monitoring blood lactate concentration ([LAC]) during marketing. [LAC] was measured at: (1) baseline at farm, (2) post-loading on truck, (3) pre-unloading after transport, (4) post-unloading at plant, (5) post-lairage, (6) post-movement to stun, and (7) exsanguination. Pearson correlations were used to determine relationships between [LAC] and meat quality. Higher [LAC] post-loading or a greater change in [LAC] during loading resulted in increased 24 h pH (P = 0.002, P = 0.0006, Exp.1; P = 0.0001, P = 0.01, Exp.2, respectively), decreased L* (P = 0.03, P = 0.04; P = 0.001, P = 0.01) and decreased drip loss (P = 0.02, P = 0.12; P = 0.002, P = 0.01). Even though improved handling during loading is important to animal well-being, it will not necessarily translate into improved pork quality.     

Diagnosis of a Moist Thermodynamic Advection Parameter in Heavy-Rainfall Events

A moist thermodynamic advection parameter,defined as an absolute value of the dot product of horizontal gradients of three-dimensional potential temperature advection and general potential temperature,is introduced to diagnose frontal heavy rainfall events in the north of China.It is shown that the parameter is closely related to observed 6-h accumulative surface rainfall and simulated cloud hydrometeors.Since the parameter is capable of describing the typical vertical structural characteristics of dynamic,thermodynamic and water vapor fields above a strong precipitation region near the front surface,it may serve as a physical tracker to detect precipitable weather systems near to a front.A tendency equation of the parameter was derived in Cartesian coordinates and calculated with the simulation output data of a heavy rainfall event.Results revealed that the advection of the parameter by the three-dimensional velocity vector,the covariance of potential temperature advection by local change of the velocity vector and general potential temperature,and the interaction between potential temperature advection and the source or sink of general potential temperature,accounted for local change in the parameter.This indicated that the parameter was determined by a combination of dynamic processes and cloud microphysical processes.     

Development of feasibility approaches for studying the behavior of passive cooling systems in buildings

This study is a contribution to European projects Pascool/Joule II and Altener/Sink that deals with feasibility of passive cooling systems in Europe. The first aim of this work was to define a design methodology to evaluate natural cooling potential according to the climatic quantification criteria of the site, the cooling system performance, and comfort criteria defined by the couple of temperature and relative humidity set points. A simplified approach, based on climatic potential criteria as theoretical cooling potential index, the available potential index, the cooling need index, and the natural cooling normalized capacity, was developed. It was applied to 105 European sites for different types of evaporative cooling systems (direct and indirect), and for various temperature and relative humidity set points. During the second stage, a refined approach taking into account building characteristics and the cooling system performance, was developed. This method is based on the integration of numerical models of passive cooling systems in a thermal building software in order to consider interaction phenomena between cooling system and building. Application of this approach to one building has been done in order to assess energy consumption gain achieved by using passive cooling systems. These two complementary approaches provide helpful information dealing with the feasibility of a passive cooling technique based on comfort and energy saving criteria. They could be used by architects and building designers as helpful decision making tools during the different stages of building design.     

碳势测量热丝传感器性能分析及改进

通过全方位分析认为:热丝传感器性能取决于热丝材料和规格,同时受到传感器结构和测量数学模型的影响。选用新热丝材料和规格,对传感器结构作合理改进,采用补偿引线,完善数学模型,研制出新型传感器。实际生产应用表明,测量准确性和精度有所提高,在一定程度上克服了寿命短、灵敏度低、重现性差等缺点。     

Effect of the molecular structure of some quinones on their corrosion inhibiting action

The molecular characteristics obtained by quantum chemical self‐consistent field (SCF) calculations of a series of quinones are correlated with the experimentally determined inhibitor efficiency for mild steel corrosion in neutral aqueous medium. It was established that the decrease of the ionization potential and the increase of the dipole moment of the quinone molecules favor the higher protective effect. The electron density and the geometric molecular structure have also been computed and are discussed in view of the corrosion inhibition.     

Molecular dynamics study of solid state interfacial reaction in the Ni-Mo system

Based on the Finnis–Sinclair formalism, an n-body Ni-Mo potential is constructed and the potential with optimized parameters is able to reproduce some physical properties of several Ni-Mo alloy phases. Molecular dynamics simulation with the constructed potential is performed to study the detailed process of solid-state interfacial reaction in the Ni/Mo multilayers upon isothermal annealing at medium temperatures. It is found that in the sandwich model or the bilayer model, interfacial reaction can take place down to 350 °C and is initiated through interface-crossing atomic diffusion, resulting in alloying and amorphization. The planar growth of the amorphous interlayer shows an asymmetric behavior, i.e., consuming the Ni lattice at a higher speed than the Mo lattice, leading to some intermediate stages where an Ni-enriched amorphous phase coexists with a small amount of unreacted Mo crystal. Moreover, it is revealed that 21 at.% Mo atoms in the Ni lattice reaches a critical value, resulting in a crystal-to-amorphous transition, while the critical concentration for collapsing of the Mo lattice is up to 25 at.% Ni. It follows that the above difference in the solubilities is regarded as the physical origin of asymmetric growth. Kinetically, the growth of the amorphous layer is found to follow a t ^1/2 law, indicating that solid-state amorphization is indeed through a diffusion-limited reaction. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Life cycle optimization of building energy systems

A life cycle optimization model intended to potentially reduce the environmental impacts of energy use in commercial buildings is presented. A combination of energy simulation, life cycle assessment, and operations research techniques are used to develop the model. In addition to conventional energy systems, such as the electric grid and a gas boiler, cogeneration systems which concurrently generate power and heat are investigated as an alternative source of energy. Cogeneration systems appeared to be an attractive alternative to conventional systems when considering life cycle environmental criteria. Internal combustion engine and microturbine (MT) cogeneration systems resulted in a reduction of up to 38% in global warming potential compared with conventional systems, while solid oxide fuel cell and MT cogeneration systems resulted in a reduction of up to 94% in tropospheric ozone precursor potential (TOPP). Results include a Pareto-optimal frontier between reducing costs and reducing the selected environmental indicators.     

Negative giant surface potential of vacuum-evaporated tris(7-propyl-8-hydroxyquinolinolato) aluminum(III) [Al(7-Prq)3] film

Negative giant surface potential was realized in a vacuum-evaporated film of tris(7-propyl-8-hydroxyquinolinolato) aluminum(III) [Al(7-Prq)₃]. Electroabsorption response of the film presented an inverted polarity to that of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinolato) aluminum (Alq₃), suggesting opposite noncentrosymmetry of molecular orientation. Asymmetric dice model with molecular geometric effect has been proposed, and propyl substitution at 7 position of the ligands was indicated to affects the molecular posture on the surface to invert the polarity of noncentrosymmetry. Our results opened a new possibility of controlling molecular orientation in a film for device applications.