Dynamic modeling of drainage through three-dimensional porous materials

The interplay of viscous, gravity and capillary forces determines the flow behavior of two or more phases through porous materials. In this study, a rule-based dynamic network model is developed to simulate two-phase flow in three-dimensional porous media. A cubic network analog of porous medium is used with cubic bodies and square cross-section throats. The rules for phase movement and redistribution are devised to honor the imbibition and drainage physics at pore scale. These rules are based on the pressure field within the porous medium that is solved for by applying mass conservation at each node. The pressure field governs the movement and flow rates of the fluids within the porous medium. Film flow has been incorporated in a novel way. A pseudo-percolation model is proposed for low but non-zero capillary number (ratio of viscous to capillary forces). The model is used to study primary drainage with constant inlet flow rate and constant inlet pressure boundary conditions. Non-wetting phase front dynamics, apparent wetting residuals (S_wr), and relative permeability are computed as a function of capillary number (N_ca), viscosity ratio (M), and pore-throat size distribution. The simulation results are compared with experimental results from the literature. Depending upon the flow rate and viscosity ratio, the displacement front shows three distinct flow patterns—stable, viscous fingering and capillary fingering. Capillary desaturation curves (S_wr vs. N_ca) depend on the viscosity ratio. It is shown that at high flow rates (or high N_ca), relative permeability assumes a linear dependence upon saturation. Pseudo-static capillary pressure curve is also estimated (by using an invasion percolation model) and is compared with the dynamic capillary pressure obtained from the model.     

Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system of docosahexanoic acid: development,in vitro,in vivo characterization

Context: Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid for normal brain development and its use has increased considerably in recent years.

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) of DHA for improved palatability, dispersibility and bioavailability.

Methods: The SNEDDS were prepared and evaluated for miscibility, employing different combinations of olive oil and soyabean oil as oil phase, Span 80, Span 20, soya phosphatidylcholine, Labrafil M 1944 CS as surfactants while Tween 80, PEG 400, Cremophor RH40 and propylene glycol as cosurfactants. Thermodynamically stable SNEDDS were characterized for dispersibility, self-emulsification time, droplet size, zeta potential along with sensory analysis. The optimized formulation was subjected to ex vivo and in vivo evaluation such as intestinal permeability, memory performance test, brain concentration and histopathology studies.

Results: The optimized SNEDDS formulation showed emulsification time of 27?±?4.7?s with droplet size of 17.6?±?3.5?nm and zeta potential of??37.6?±?0.5?mV. Intestinal absorption study depicted 18.3%, 21.5%, 41.5%, 98.7% absorption of DHA with SNEDDS-based formulation in comparison to 8.2%, 15.1%, 28.8%, 46.1% absorption of DHA with oil-based marketed formulation after 0.5, 1, 2 and 4?h. DHA concentration in brain homogenate was found to be increased to 2.6-fold in comparison to DHA-marketed formulation. This could be ascribed to enhanced dispersibility and bioavailability of DHA from nanosized formulation.

Conclusion: The developed formulation led to enhanced dispersibility and bioavailability of DHA due to the formation of nanodroplets.     

CAMP: cluster aided multi-path routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

Wireless Networks - In this article, we propose a novel routing algorithm for wireless sensor network, which achieves uniform energy depletion across all the nodes and thus leading to prolonged...     

Studies for Wear Property Correlation for Carbon Fabric-Reinforced PES Composites

Polyethersulfone (PES) composites were developed with carbon fabric (CF). Cold remote nitrogen oxygen plasma (CRNOP) treatment was employed to the CF to incorporate functional groups and promote fiber–matrix adhesion. This study includes the effect of PES melt flow index (MFI) on the wettability of CF and its influence on fretting wear performance. Evaluations of fretting wear properties of composites led to the conclusion that the CRNOP treatment proved beneficial to enhance performance properties significantly. Polymer MFI and treatment to CF proved to be the decisive parameters for controlling performance of composites apart from operating parameters. Perforations on the treated carbon fiber, evidently observed by FESEM, improved the fiber–matrix adhesion, and hence the performance properties. Artificial neuron network (ANN) was used for prediction of the wear behavior of composites.     

Evaluation of polycaprolactone − poly‐D,L‐lactide copolymer as biomaterial for breast tissue engineering

The potential of the copolymer polycaprolactone‐co‐ poly‐d ,l ‐lactic acid (PCLLA ) as a biomaterial for scaffold‐based therapy for breast tissue engineering applications was assessed. First, the synthesized PCLLA was evaluated for its processability by means of additive manufacturing (AM ). We found that the synthesized PCLLA could be fabricated into scaffolds with an overall gross morphology and porosity similar to that of polycaprolactone. The PCLLA scaffolds possessed a compressive Young's modulus (ca 46 kPa ) similar to that of native breast (0.5 ? 25 kPa ), but lacked thermal stability and underwent thermal degradation during the fabrication process. The PCLLA scaffolds underwent rapid degradation in vitro which was characterized by loss of the scaffolds' mechanical integrity and a drastic decrease in mass‐average molar mass (M _w) and number‐average molar mass (M _n) after 4 weeks of immersion in phosphate buffer solution maintained at 37 °C. The tin‐catalysed PCLLA scaffold was also found to have cytotoxic effects on cells. Although the initial mechanical properties of the PCLLA scaffolds generally showed potential for applications in breast tissue regeneration, the thermal stability of the copolymer for AM processes, biocompatibility towards cells and degradation rate is not satisfactory at this stage. Therefore, we conclude that research efforts should be geared towards fine‐tuning the copolymer synthesizing methods. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Study of crystal structure,dielectric, magnetic and magnetoelecrtic properties of xCoFe2O4-(1-x)Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 composites

Multiferroic composites of spinel ferrite and ferroelectric xCoFe₂O₄ – (1-x)Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (with x = 0.10,0.30,0.50) were efficiently prepared by standard solid state reaction mechanism. X-ray diffractometer was used to analyze crystal structure of the prepared composites. The observed XRD patterns of the composites comprise peaks of both the phases i.e. ferrite and ferroelectric, with no sign of secondary peaks. Rietveld refinement of XRD data further confirms the coexistence of these two phases with cubic (Fd3m) and rhombohedral (R3c) symmetry corresponding to ferrite and ferroelectric phase respectively. The 3-dimensional overview of crystal structure of pure CoFe₂O₄ and Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ and of composite 0.50CoFe₂O₄?0.50Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ is generated by using refined parameters. The dielectric constant (ε´) and dielectric loss (tanδ) values were recorded as a function of frequency ranging from 100?Hz to 7?MHz and at different temperatures. Both ε´ and tanδ follow dispersion pattern at lower frequencies while show frequency independent behavior at higher frequencies. The magnetic evaluation carried by analyzing M-H hysteresis loop reveals the ferrimagnetic characteristics of these composites. The highest value of magnetic moment is 1.12μ_B observed for composite 0.50CoFe₂O₄ – 0.50Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO_3. Magnetoelectric (ME) voltage coefficient (α) was also demonstrated to observe the interaction between ferrite and ferroelectric phases. The highest value of α (72.72μV/Oe cm) is obtained for low ferrite composition 0.10CoFe₂O₄ – 0.90Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃, which suggests the dependence of magnetoelectric response on the resistivity of the composites.     

Management Issues of a Mobile Agent-Based Service Environment

This paper introduces the concepts of a servicemanagement system for mobile agent-based services. Incontrast to several other approaches in whichagent-based applications are used to handletraditional network or service managementaspects, this paper describes a way to manage thedistributed agent environment itself. The proposedapproach was designed and developed by using OSI SystemsManagement concepts as a starting point, which are modified andadjusted in order to fulfill the new requirementsassociated with the mobile agent paradigm. However, thispaper does not cover integration or co-existence of the introduced agent management system (AMS)and traditional OSI management systems. Instead, theentire AMS environment is based on mobile agenttechnology. At present, this approach is validated inthe context of the European research project MobileAgent Environments in Intelligent Networks(MARINE).     

Two generalized measures of “useful” information

The weighted additivity corresponding to additivity plays a very important role in study of useful information. By using the sum property, the equation satisfied by weighted additivity has been converted to a functional equation, which is further generalized in two ways. The real and continuous solutions of the generalized functional equations have been obtained. In terms of these real and continuous solutions, two new generalized measures of useful information have been characterized and their particular cases have been studied. Some bounds and comparison results have also been obtained.     

Minimization of organic chemical load in direct dyes effluent using low cost adsorbents

The work is carried out to minimize the organic chemical load (unexhausted dye contents) in direct dyes effluent using low cost adsorbents. The studies are made with different direct dyes, i.e. Direct Red 28, Direct Yellow 12, Direct Orange 26 and Direct Blue 1 with various adsorbents. Three different bio/natural materials have been selected as adsorbents. These includes, Sugarcane bagasse pith (SB), Saw dust (SD)—the plant origin products, and Brick powder (BP)—a silica based material obtained from earth's crust on thermal heating. These substances are almost discarded waste products with the possibility of use as adsorbents. Experimental work for the dye removal from the effluent by activated charcoal (AC) has also been carried out and the results are compared with other adsorbents. The amount of unexhausted organic dye present in the effluent is measured as chemical oxygen demand (COD) before and after the treatment. Adsorbent Sugarcane bagasse pith shows good performance as compared to Saw dust and Brick powder. For understanding the behaviour of adsorbents Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has also been carried out.     

Electrochemical evaluation of the synergistic effect of molybdate tungstate inhibitor mixtures in chloride ion medium and effect of Cl− ion on inhibition efficiency of molybdate

It is well known to corrosion community about chromates and nitrates which are widely used as corrosion inhibitors. However, it is also well known that these inhibitors are oxidizing inhibitors of which chromates are carcinogenic also. Therefore, use of non toxic inhibitors such as molybdate and tungstate are gaining importance. AC impedance analysis of mild steel panels exposed to 3% NaCl containing 6000 ppm molybdate, 5000 ppm molybdate + 1000 ppm tungstate, 3000 ppm molybdate + 3000 ppm tungstate, 1000 ppm molybdate + 5000 ppm tungstate, 6000 ppm tungstate were evaluated. The impedance studies were carried out for different durations viz. 1 hour, 1 day and 7 days. From impedance analysis, it is clear that molybdate and tungstate are not forming any promising synergistic mixtures. The effect of chloride ion concentration viz. 0.01M, 0.05M, 0.1M, 0.3M and 0.6M on inhibition efficiency of molybdate has been discussed. Addition of small amount of tungstate along with molybdate enhances long term film stability on mild steel. It has been found that the inhibition effect is decreasing with increase in concentration up to 0.1M and on further increase in concentration viz. 0.3M and 0.6M, an increase in inhibition efficiency was observed. It has been found that deaeration negatively affected the film properties and did not form a stable film. The corrosion products formed were analyzed using Mössbauer spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy, which showed the presence of oxyhydroxides.