Different support effect of M/ZrO2 and M/CeO2 (M = Pd and Pt) catalysts on CO adsorption: A periodic density functional study

CO adsorption over Pd₄ and Pt₄ cluster supported by c-ZrO₂(1 1 1) and CeO₂(1 1 1) catalyst systems was investigated using periodic density functional method in order to clarify the support effect on CO activation. We found that the support increases the CO activation for bridge and three-fold sites but decreases for the atop site. Moreover, it was found that the support changes the site preference for the CO adsorption. Bridge site on both the Pt₄/c-ZrO₂ and Pt₄/CeO₂ show larger CO adsorption energies than those on the other sites while the atop site is energetically preferable on isolated Pt₄ cluster. c-ZrO₂ supported Pd shows the largest CO activation with large charge transfer from the catalyst to the CO molecule. This reveals that ZrO₂ supported Pd can be a good catalyst for CO activation because of its higher probability to the three-fold site CO adsorption. We also found that positively charged M₄ clusters on the support keep their strong electron-donating properties and have enough charge density to contribute to the activation of an adsorbed CO molecule by a charge transfer.     

Unsteady flow field numerical calculations of a ship’s rotating Weis-Fogh-type propulsion mechanism with the advanced vortex method

The Weis-Fogh mechanism, found in the hovering flight of a small bee, is a unique and efficient lift generation. In this study, we proposed a rotating type propulsion model that applies the principle of the Weis-Fogh mechanism and calculated the unsteady flow field of the propulsion model with the advanced vortex method. The wing (NACA0010 airfoil) and channel are approximated by source and vortex panels, and free vortices are introduced away from the body surfaces. The viscous diffusion of fluid is represented using the core-spreading model to the discrete vortices. We investigated the thrust and drag coefficients, pressure field, vorticity field, velocity vector field, and average propulsive efficiency of the propulsion model by changing the rotating angle velocity. The force acting on the wing depended heavily on the directions of the thrust and drag and the thrust and drag coefficients largely fluctuated with the change in the rotating angles. The average thrust increased as the rotating angle velocity increased. The maximum propulsive efficiency was 27.9% at a calculated angle velocity. The flow field of this rotating type propulsion mechanism is unsteady and very complex because the wing rotates and moves unsteadily in the channel. However, using the advanced vortex method, it could be calculated accurately.     

A modularized framework for solving an economic–environmental power generation mix problem

This paper presents a modularized simulation modelling framework for evaluating the impacts on economic cost and CO₂ emissions resulting from the introduction of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system into the existing mix of centralized power generation technologies in Japan. The framework is comprised of three parts: a dual‐objective linear programming model that solves the generation best‐mix problem for the existing power generation technologies; a nonlinear SOFC system model in which the economic cost and CO₂ emissions by the SOFC system can be calculated; and the Queuing Multi‐Objective Optimizer (QMOO), a multi‐objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) developed at the EPFL in Switzerland as the overall optimizer of the combined power supply system. Thus, the framework integrates an evolutionary algorithm that is more suitable for handling nonlinearities with a calculus‐based method that is more efficient in solving linear programming problems. Simulation experiments show that the framework is successful in solving the stated problem. Moreover, the three components of the modularized framework can be interconnected through a platform‐independent model integration environment. As a result, the framework is flexible and scalable, and can potentially be modified and/or integrated with other models to study more complex problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improvement in Oxidation Resistance of Stainless Steel by Molten-Salt Electrodeposition of La

Improvement in the oxidation resistance of SUS304 stainless steel was accomplished by electrodeposition of La in a molten salt. The electrolysis of La was conducted using a potentiostatic-polarization method in an equimolar NaCl–KCl melt containing 3.5 mol. LaF ₃ at 1023 K. Observation of the specimen surface after polarization at –1.8 V (vs. Ag/Ag⁺ (0.1)) for 0.18 ks showed that La particles were uniformly dispersed on the surface. The oxidation resistance of the electrodeposited stainless steel was significantly improved as compared with the untreated stainless steel. The scale formed on the untreated stainless steel after oxidation was thick and consisted of Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄, whereas the scale formed on the elecrodeposited stainless steel was extremely thin, and mainly consisted of Cr₂O₃.     

Numerical analysis of a weak shock wave propagating in a medium using lattice boltzmann method (LBM)

This study introduced a lattice Boltzmann computational scheme capable of modeling thermo hydrodynamic flows with simpler equilibrium particle distribution function compared with other models. The equilibrium particle distribution function is the local Maxwelian equilibrium function in this model, with all the constants uniquely determined. The characteristics of the proposed model is verified by calculation of the sound speeds, and the shock tube problem. In the lattice Boltzmann method,a thermal fluid or compressible fluid model simulates the reflection of a weak shock wave colliding with a sharp wedge having various angles θ_w. Theoretical results using LBM are satisfactory compared with the experimental result or the TVD.     

Elevated levels of lung surfactant protein A in sera from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using monoclonal antibodies to human lung surfactant protein A (SP-A) was applied to sera from patients with lung diseases. We examined whether SP-A appears in the sera of patients with diseases that are known to cause alterations in surfactant composition in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, and we characterized the SP-A that was found. The level of SP-A in sera from 57 healthy volunteers was 45 +/- 3 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM). The levels in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (205 +/- 23 ng/ml, n = 32) and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) (285 +/- 23 ng/ml, n = 6) were significantly higher than those in healthy control subjects (p < 0.01), whereas those of sarcoidosis (n = 16), pneumonia (n = 14), and tuberculosis (n = 14) were 52 +/- 27 ng/ml, 65 +/- 11 ng/ml, and 49 +/- 23 ng/ml, respectively. Electrophoresis and immunoblotting analysis demonstrated that the fraction isolated from serum of a patient with PAP or IPF by anti-SP-A immunoaffinity column chromatography consisted chiefly of human IgG and IgM, and that it also contained SP-A. Furthermore, IgG was found in preparation of purified human SP-A. SP-A was demonstrated to bind to nonimmune IgG coated onto microtiter wells. Gel filtration analysis revealed that serum SP-A was eluted at fractions of larger molecular size than was the purified SP-A. These findings suggest that SP-A appears in the bloodstream as a complex with immunoglobulin in IPF and in PAP.     

Development of “STORK”, a watermelon-harvesting robot

Recently, the production of heavy fruit and vegetables has been decreasing in Japan because strenuous labor is require to harvest them. A robot would allow them to be harvested more easily. We have developed the robot “STORK” to harvest watermelons. STORK has a low mass and a long working range. The position accuracy and repeatability of the manipulator, the required vacuum, and the allowance for position error of the vacuum pad were tested.     

Numerical simulation of flows in beadless disperser by finite difference lattice Boltzmann method

A new beadless disperser, an ultra-thin film high-shear disperser (UFHD), was developed, and the flow in its dispersion part (a flow between rotating and stationary rings) was simulated using the finite difference lattice Boltzmann method (FDLBM). The efficiency of the FDLBM for this kind of flow field was verified. The FDLBM possesses some distinctive features such as relatively easy implementation of boundary conditions in complicated geometries, high efficiency in parallel processing, and flexible reproduction of the interface between multiple phases, that make the method very suitable for simulating complex flows in the disperser, in which the fluid consists of a mixture of solvent and particles, and the deformation, breakup and coalescence of suspended particles occur. It was shown that the performance of the disperser can easily be simulated and elucidated by the FDLBM.     

Numerical simulation of sound generation in a mixing layer by the finite difference lattice Boltzmann method

We simulated aerodynamic sound in a two-dimensional mixing layer using the finite difference lattice Boltzmann method (FDLBM). We introduced a finite difference scheme, called the dispersion relation preserving (DRP) scheme, into the FDLBM to carry out an accurate simulation of aerodynamic problems. The scheme is designed such that the dispersion relation of the finite difference scheme is the same as that of the original partial differential equations and is useful for acoustic simulations. A turbulent flow field was simulated by large-eddy simulation (LES), using the Smagorinsky model, and the results were compared with those from a direct simulation based on the Navier–Stokes equations to confirm the usefulness of this method. The combination of the FDLBM and the DRP scheme was shown to be very effective for direct simulations of aerodynamic sound.