Investigation of wood pellets self-heating kinetics and thermal runaway phenomena using lab scale experiments

The phenomena of spontaneous combustion and thermal runaway in wood pellets storage were investigated using lab-scale experiments in the temperature range of 100–200 °C. The critical temperatures were determined for four sizes of reactors. The kinetic parameters of the self-heating were determined using three methods, the Frank-Kamenetskii's method, crossing point method, and numerical curve fitting method. Mean values of activation energy (E) of 78.7 ±0.8 kJ/mol and self-heating rate constant (∆ _rhA) of (4.22 ±2.5) × 10 ⁶ kJ/(kg s) were obtained for four type of wood pellets (made from whitewood) samples from different pellet producers in British Columbia. Finally, a two-dimensional numerical model was developed to predict the temperature development during self-heating and the critical temperature for known sizes of reactors.     

Two-State Reactivity: Personal Recounting of its Conception and Future Prospects

This essay tells the story of the conception of the Two-State Reactivity (TSR) notion. Since scientific career is part of life's flow, the story blends sub-stories of scientific colleagues and events. This is also a story of a beguiling paradigm, which has started from a puzzling reactivity of the diatomic oxidant FeO⁺, has continued to larger oxidants, like the active species of Cytochrome P450 and of nonheme enzymes, and its extension to reductive processes. Finally, the essay discusses prospects of experimental probing of the reactive spin-state, and of the transition state constitution for these reactions by means of tunneling-augmented kinetic isotope effects.     

Test methods for characterizing concrete properties at elevated temperature

Fire resistance of structural members is dependent on the thermal and mechanical properties of constituent materials and these properties vary as a function of temperature. Currently, there are limited standardized test procedures for evaluating thermal and mechanical properties of construction materials at elevated temperatures. This paper provides a review and assessment of test methods and procedures for evaluating high temperature thermal and mechanical properties of concrete. The drawbacks and variations in currently available test procedures and methods in standards are discussed. Recommendations on the most suitable methods and procedures for measuring thermal and mechanical properties at elevated temperature is presented. In addition, applicability of the proposed high temperature test methods and procedures is illustrated through a case study on conventional concrete specimens. Further, the need for developing standards by organizations such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), with standardized specifications and test procedures for measuring high temperature properties of construction materials, is laid out.     

AP对HATO热分解影响的机制

为详细了解高氯酸铵(AP)对5,5'-联四唑-1,1'-二氧二羟铵(HATO)热分解影响的机制,采用热重-质谱-傅里叶红外光谱(TG-MS-FTIR)联用技术、差示扫描量热法(DSC)、傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)方法,对HATO和HATO/AP共混物的热分解特性、气体产物以及凝聚相变化进行了研究。结果表明,HATO具有两个连续热分解阶段,HATO/AP共混物则有3个热分解阶段;HATO、AP共混后,HATO使得AP熔融峰消失,AP可使HATO的热分解初始温度提前,热分解时间延长且不影响分解完全性;HATO热分解气体产物有CO_2、N_2O、HCN、NH_3、NO、N_2、H_2O,而HATO/AP共混物热分解产生气体主要有N_2、CO_2、N_2O、HCN、NH_3、H_2O、HCN、NO、HCl、NOCl;另外,采用等转化率法计算HATO和HATO/AP共混物四唑环基团的活化能分别为53.38 kJ·mol~(-1)和60.69 kJ·mol~(-1);通过对比HATO和HATO/AP共混物热分解特性以及凝聚相特征基团的变化,阐释了AP使HATO热分解温度提前的机理很可能是:AP的铵根离子与HATO之间发生了质子转移;推测AP导致HATO热分解时间延长的原因为:HATO/AP共混物产生的NH_3与热分解中间体1,1'-二羟基-5,5-联四唑(BTO)反应生成5,5'-联四唑-1,1'-二氧铵盐(ABTOX)。     

四氢姜黄素经PI3K/Akt信号通路对人血小板活化和聚集的调控作用

目的：探讨姜黄素的主要肠道代谢物四氢姜黄素（tetrahydrocurcumin，THC）对血小板活化和聚集的影响及其可能的分子机制。方法：在体外实验中，用不同浓度的THC（0、0.5、1、10 μmol/L）提前与健康人纯化血小板共同孵育40 min，然后加入凝血酶激活血小板2 min，用流式细胞术测定血小板表面CD62P和CD63的表达量，用酶联免疫吸附法测定血小板释放血小板因子-4（platelet factor-4，PF4）和趋化因子配体-5（chemokine ligand 5，CCL5）水平，用血小板聚集仪检测血小板释放ATP水平和血小板最大聚集率，用Western blot蛋白免疫印迹法检测血小板磷酸肌醇-3-激酶（phosphoinositide 3-kinase，PI3K）和Akt蛋白的磷酸化水平。结果：与模型组（血小板悬液中加入0.05%二甲基亚砜）相比，THC能抑制凝血酶诱导的血小板表面CD62P和CD63的表达，抑制PF4、CCL5和ATP的释放，降低血小板最大聚集率，下调PI3K和Akt蛋白的磷酸化水平，且呈浓度依赖效应，其中10 μmol/L的浓度下作用效果显著（P＜0.01、P＜0.001）。PI3K的特异性激动剂740 Y-P可部分逆转THC对PF4和CCL5释放和血小板聚集的抑制作用（P＜0.05、P＜0.01）。结论：THC具有显著抑制血小板活化和聚集的作用，其机制可能是THC可下调PI3K/Akt介导的信号通路。     

Investigation of flow parameters of Reiner–Philippoff nanofluid flow with higher-order slip properties,activation energy,and bioconvection by artificial neural networks

In this study, the flow parameters of Reiner–Philippoff nanofluid flow with high-order slip properties, activation energy, and bioconvection have been analyzed using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Local Nusselt number (LNN), local Sherwood number (LSN), and motile density number (MDN) are considered as flow parameters. Numerical values have been obtained by numerical methods using flow equations. To estimate the flow parameters, three different ANN models have been designed. The Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm is used in multilayer perceptron network models with 10 neurons in the hidden layers. In all, 70% of the data set has been used for training the models, 15% for validation, and 15% for testing. The performance analysis of the network models has been made by calculating the determined performance parameters. The R values for the LNN, LSN, and MDN parameters have been calculated as 0.99261, 0.98769, and 0.99102, respectively, and the average deviation values are −0.65%, 0.06%, and −0.11%, respectively. The attained outcomes showed that the ANNs can predict the LNN, LSN, and MDN, which are the flow parameters of the Reiner–Philippoff nanofluid flow, with high accuracy.     

Mechanism of mechanical–chemical synergistic activation for preparation of mullite ceramics from high-alumina coal fly ash

High-alumina coal fly ash (HAFA) is a special solid waste due to the existence of more than 45% alumina and 35% silica, which can be applied to prepare Al-Si series ceramics if the impurities can be removed and the Al/Si mass ratio can exceed 2.55 (Mullite: 3Al₂O₃.2SiO₂). In this work, a new mechanical–chemical synergistic activation–desilication process is proposed, and the contents of different impurities can be lowered up to less than 1%, and the Al/Si mass ratio can be elevated from 1.26 to 2.71. Especially, the mechanism of this process is investigated in detail. The analysis of the mechanism shows that the decrease of Q⁴(3Al) and the increase of Q⁴(0Al), Q⁴(1Al), and Q⁴(2Al) improve amorphous silicate reactivity through synergistic activation, and the exposed amorphous Si-O-/Si-O-Si can be removed by OH- during the desilication process (desilicated ratio>55%), which help the fine mullite to exhibit excellent properties (bulk density > 2.85 g/cm³, apparent porosity < 0.5%) during the sintering process. Finally, this process not only decreases the pollution but also alleviates the shortage of Al/Si resources and promotes the clean development of coal-fired power generation.     

Measurements of thermal-neutron capture cross-section of Cesium-135 by applying mass spectrometry

ABSTRACT

The thermal-neutron capture cross-section (σ₀) and resonance integral (I₀) were measured for the ¹³⁵Cs(n,γ)¹³⁶Cs reaction by an activation method and mass spectrometry. Because of difficulty in the preparation of pure ¹³⁵Cs samples, we used ¹³⁵Cs contained as an impurity in a normally available ¹³⁷Cs standard solution. An isotope ratio of ¹³⁵Cs and ¹³⁷Cs in a standard ¹³⁷Cs solution was measured by mass spectrometry to quantify ¹³⁵Cs. Cesium-135 impurity along with the ¹³⁷Cs standard solution was irradiated at the hydraulic conveyer of the research reactor in the Institute for Integral Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University. Wires of Co/Al and Au/Al alloys were used as neutron monitors to measure thermal-neutron fluxes and epi-thermal Westcott’s indices at an irradiation position. A gadolinium filter was used to measure the σ₀, and a value of 0.133 eV was taken as the cut-off energy. Gamma-ray spectroscopy was used to measure induced activities of ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁶Cs and monitor wires. On the basis of Westcott’s convention, the σ₀ and I₀ values were derived as 8.57 ± 0.25 barn, and 45.3 ± 3.2 barn, respectively. The value of σ₀ obtained in the present study agreed within the limits of uncertainties with the past-reported value of 8.3 ± 0.3 barn.     

Azimuthal flux distribution measurements around fuel rods in reduced-moderation LWR lattices

An advanced analysis method named “micro reactor physics approach” was proposed, and the approach is needed for future reactor design considering the neutron behavior in fuel pellets. In order to validate the approach, neutron flux distribution measurements in a fuel pellet should be required. We have measured azimuthal flux distribution of fuel rods in Toshiba Nuclear Critical Assembly (NCA). A foil activation method with metallic foils was used for the measurement. Measured values were analyzed by a continuous energy Monte Carlo code MVP with the JENDL-3.3 library. The measurements are useful for the validation of an advanced fuel design method considering the neutron behavior in fuel pellets.