Mechanisms and Kinetics of Separation of Impurities of Large and Small Particles in Gravity Flow of Granular Material

Chemical and Petroleum Engineering - The processes of separation of impurities of particles of different sizes are analyzed under conditions of irregularity of structural and kinematic parameters...     

The solution of the inverse problem of gravitational potential using a set of measurements of different field elements

A numerical solution of the inverse problem of the gravitational field at a single point is obtained using six field elements for a point, a spherical cap, a differential spherical sector and a vertical segment. In the system of six equations obtained, the unknowns are the mass of the body, the depth of its center, and the second, third, and fourth degree moments. The accuracy of the solution of this system is ten times higher than when using three field elements. __________ Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 5, pp. 3–8, May, 2007.     

Development of catalysts for hydrogen generation from hydride compounds

Catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH₄ and NH₃BH₃ has been studied. It was shown that the nature of the support and the active component of the catalyst affect the H₂ generation rate. Despite similar sizes of rhodium particles formed on the surface of different supports (γ-Al₂O₃, TiO₂, carbon), their reactivity is different. Rh/TiO₂ with low rhodium concentration (1 wt.%) is the most active catalyst both in the hydrolysis of NaBH₄ and NH₃BH₃. The obtained results show that the rhodium chloride interaction with titania determines the reactivity of rhodium particles formed under action of NaBH₄ medium. TEM, DRS UV–vis and XPS were used to characterize the catalysts.     

The integral experiment on beryllium with D-T neutrons for verification of tritium breeding

A clean benchmark experiment on beryllium was performed with D-T neutrons at the FNS facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The main objective was to verify the integral data related to the tritium production on lithium isotopes. Tritium production rates, as well as activation reaction rates were measured inside the beryllium assembly that was shaped as a pseudo-cylindrical slab with an area-equivalent diameter of 628 mm and a thickness of 355 mm. Experimental results were analyzed with a three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport code MCNP-4C and FENDL/MC-2.0, JENDL-3.2/3.3 neutron transport libraries. Evaluation of reaction rates was based on the cross section data taken from the JENDL Dosimetry File and ENDF B-VI data libraries. Analysis shows that all calculation combinations (transport and activation cross section libraries) used for evaluation of reaction rates give data that is agreeable with measured values within 10%.     

Robust adaptive control of robotic manipulators without the regressor matrix

A new adaptive controller is presented here for rigid-body robotic manipulators. It is stable and robust with respect to a class of external disturbances. The robustness of the adaptive controller is established without the ‘slow-varying’ assumption and the computationally demanding regressor matrix. The control law consists of a non-adaptive PD control part and an adaptive control part. It uses two adaptive matrices to compensate two uniformly bounded coefficient matrices derived from the original dynamics. A α σ|q?|-modified adaptive law is designed to adjust the adaptive matrices. A Lyapunov-type stability analysis indicates that the closed-loop system is uniformly ultimately bounded. The tracking error and compensation error will eventually converge into a closed region, which can be made arbitrarily small by adjusting the controller parameters. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the performance of the proposed controller.     

Mechanical Properties and Oxidation Behavior of Al2O3–AlN–TiN Composites

The study examines the effect which the composition of hot-pressed electroconductive ceramics has on their structure, mechanical properties, and oxidation behavior, for ceramics of the type AIN–Al₂O₃–42 wt% TiN, differing in the AIN/Al₂O₃ ratio. The results are physico-mechanical property data, including density, hardness, strength, fracture toughness, and wear resistance. A correlation was found between the wear resistance and fracture toughness. The analysis of oxidation products revealed the formation of α-Al₂O₃ and rutile in the temperature range from 600° to 1100°C and aluminum titanate above 1200°C. The spallation of the oxide layer caused low oxidation resistance of Al₂O₃-rich composites above 1250°C. The oxidation of composites was compared with the oxidation of pure TiN. The relationship is discussed between material properties, composition, phases, and processing parameters.     

Formation of Porous SiC Ceramics by Pyrolysis of Wood Impregnated with Silica

Biomorphous β-SiC ceramics were produced at 1400°C from pine wood impregnated with silica. This one-step carbothermal reduction process decreases the cost of manufacturing of SiC ceramics compared with siliconization of carbonized wood in silicon vapor. The synthesized sample exhibits a 14 m²/g surface area and has a hybrid pore structure with large 5–20 μm tubular macropores and small (<50 nm) slit-shaped mesopores. SiC whiskers of 20–400 nm in diameter and 5–20 μm in length formed within the tubular pores. These whiskers are expected to improve the filtration by removing dust particles that could otherwise penetrate through large pores. After ultrasonic milling, the powdered sample showed an average particle size of ∼30 nm. The SiC nanopowder produced in this process may be used for manufacturing SiC ceramics for structural, tribological, and other applications.     

Whispering gallery modes in photoluminescence and Raman spectra of a spherical microcavity with CdTe quantum dots: anti-Stokes emission and interference effects

We have studied the photoluminescence and Raman spectra of a system consisting of a polystyrene latex microsphere coated by CdTe colloidal quantum dots. The cavity-induced enhancement of the Raman scattering allows the observation of Raman spectra from only a monolayer of CdTe quantum dots. Periodic structure with very narrow peaks in the photoluminescence spectra of a single microsphere was detected both in the Stokes and anti-Stokes spectral regions, arising from the coupling between the emission of quantum dots and spherical cavity modes.     

Relative reactivities of alkanes in multi-component catalytic cracking reactions

An experimental technique is discussed for measuring relative reactivities of alkanes in the catalytic cracking of multi-component hydrocarbon mixtures over a heterogeneous, Y-zeolitebased catalyst at 250–350 °C. With the technique, ca. 0.1 l of an alkane mixture is evaporated and contacted with a catalyst, after which the mixture of reaction products and the unreacted feed enters the chromatographic column and is immediately analyzed. The technique is used to measure relative reactivities of 21 alkanes in a single experiment. The principal results of these experiments are similar to the results of single-component cracking: alkane reactivity rapidly increases with the increase of the carbon number, and methyl-branched alkanes are more reactive than linear alkanes. However, the variations in alkane reactivities as a function of their molecular weight and skeleton structure differ very significantly between single- and multicomponent experiments.