Studies of surface and gas reactions in a catalytically stabilized combustor

A numerical investigation of a catalytically stabilized thermal (CST) combustor was conducted for a multichannel catalyst bed, and both the catalyst bed and thermal combustor were simultaneously modeled. The numerical model handled the coupling of the surface and gas reaction in the catalyst bed as well as the gas reaction in the thermal combustor. The behavior of the catalyst bed was investigated at a variety of operating conditions, and location of the flame in the CST combustor was investigated via an analysis of the distribution of CO concentration. Through parametric analyses of the flame position, it was possible to derive a criterion to determine whether the flame is present in the catalyst bed or the thermal combustor for a given inlet condition. The results showed that the maximum inlet temperature at which the flame is located in the thermal combustor increased with increasing inlet velocity.     

Study on local hydrogen behaviors in a subcompartment of the NPP containment

Hydrogen control in the case of severe accidents has been required by nuclear regulations to ensure the integrity of containment after TMI accidents. Up to now, many experiments have been conducted to estimate the distribution of hydrogen during accidents in nuclear power plants. In this article, we proposed a computer code named HYCA3D developed to calculate the local hydrogen distribution with three-dimensional time-dependent governing equations, which can simulate the transport of multiple species. Also, local hydrogen behavior has been experimentally investigated in a cylindrical multi-subcompartment mixing chamber, measuring the local concentration in various conditions. Hydrogen is simulated by helium in the experiments. The proposed code was verified with these experimental results, followed by pre-tests with EPRI/HEDL standard problems. The calculation results show good agreement with the experimental data.     

Reaction characteristics of the Au-Sn solder with under-bump metallurgy layers in optoelectronic packages

The reaction characteristics of molten Au/Sn eutectic solder with potential diffusion-barrier materials of optoelectronic packages were investigated. The characteristics were studied by reflowing the solder on Pt, Ni, and Co plates, respectively, and by measuring the thickness of the reaction product. In addition, the dissolution rate of Pt into the solder was measured. The results indicated that Pt, which is commonly used as the diffusion-barrier layer in the under-bump metallurgy (UBM) of optoelectronic packages, reacts readily with the molten solder, resulting in discontinuous reaction products at the solder/Pt interface. Cobalt, on the other hand, reacted with the solder at an order of magnitude slower rate than that of Pt and provided an effective barrier against the reaction with the solder.     

Influence of pad shape on self-alignment in electronic packaging

Anisotropic self-alignment of the noncircular pads is investigated to reduce the misalignment in electronic packaging, and the effects of the direction and length ratio of the noncircular pads are analyzed. The restoring forces of circular and noncircular pads are calculated numerically using the surface evolver and are compared with the experimental data. The restoring force in the minor-axis direction of the noncircular pad becomes largest followed by the circular pad and the major-axis direction of the noncircular pad. Directionality increases with the length ratio, which implies that more accurate alignment can be achieved in the specific direction.     

Physical Properties of Barrier Ribs of Plasma Display Panels: II, Effects of Fillers

The effects of inert fillers, such as quartz and Al₂O₃, on the sintering behavior and physical properties of lead borosilicate glasses used for barrier ribs of plasma display panels (PDP) were investigated. The effects of volume fraction and type of filler on the sintering temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, dielectric constant, and fracture resistance of the barrier ribs of PDP were investigated. The influence of the filler on sintering behavior was discussed based on the wetting angle of the glass on the fillers. The physical properties and fracture resistance of the glass with fillers were measured and compared with theoretical models.     

The catalytic heat exchanger using catalytic fin tubes

The characteristics of a catalytic heat exchanger which integrates heat generation and heat exchange into one equipment have been investigated by the experiment and numerical simulation. The surface of the fin tubes was catalyzed by the formation of the oxide layer and the subsequent washcoating of ZrO₂, followed by the impregnation of Pd catalyst. The experimental results showed that the performance of catalytic combustion in the catalytic heat exchanger was more significantly affected by the inlet velocity of the mixture than by its inlet temperature and equivalence ratio. It was also found that the catalytic surface area was a critical parameter to obtain the complete conversion of the mixture. Numerical simulation has been performed with a commercial software FLUENT. The calculated results indicated that the performance of the catalytic combustion was influenced by the catalytic fin configuration as well as the flow pattern of the mixture over the catalytic fins. The results recommend that the number and thickness of catalytic fins should be designed above 6 pieces/inch and less than to achieve the best performance in the catalytic heat exchanger.     

Formation of Barrier Ribs for Plasma Display Panel via Roll Forming of Green Tapes

In an attempt to explore the possibility of forming barrier ribs for a plasma display panel by plastically deforming a green tape with a grooved roll, the effects of green tape composition and rolling parameters on the height of the barrier ribs formed were studied. For the analysis of the results, viscosity of the green tape was evaluated using a modified slit rheometer. The results indicated that the effects of organic constituents in the green tape and processing parameters on the dimension of the barrier ribs formed are closely related with the pseudoplastic characteristics of the green tape.     

Development of a catalytic combustor with heat exchanger

Catalytic combustion is thought to be a considerable improvement on the traditional one under specific conditions. Due to its special features, catalytic combustion has two strong points compared to flame: no NO_x emission and high reaction efficiency. However, the preheating process of catalytic combustion is an obstacle that deteriorates profitability in operation. So the HTHE (High Temperature Heat Exchanger) is adapted to the system to reinforce the preheating process, and we show that the catalytic combustion is maintained steadily without exceptional heat injection. As a result, the stability on the catalytic surface is the most important operational factor. To achieve it, both mixture gas property and temperature distribution should be controlled.     

Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis of Aluminum Nitride under Lower Nitrogen Pressures

The synthesis of aluminum nitride (AlN) via self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) was attempted, using aluminum powder that was mixed with AlN powder as a diluent. The AlN content in the reactant was varied over a range of 30%–70%, and the nitrogen pressure was varied over a range of 0.1–1.0 MPa. The SHS reaction that was performed using a reactant that contained 50% AlN diluent, under a nitrogen-gas pressure of 0.8 MPa, yielded the highest conversion ratio of aluminum powder to AlN powder. A mechanism for the reaction of aluminum with nitrogen gas during the SHS process was discussed, based on observations of the microstructures of the reaction zone and products.