Determining the enthalpy and specific heat of magnesia spinels in the range 1400–2200°K

Conclusions Temperature functions were obtained for H(T) and C_p(T) which can be used for calculating the thermodynamic functions of the spinels MgAl₂O₄ and MgCr₂O₄ in the temperature regions of their service (up to 2200°K), to supplement the existing relationships (up to 1800°K).Translated from Ogneupory, No. 6, pp. 9–12, June, 1979.     

Thermal conductivity of magnesite refractories in the range 500–1800°C

Conclusions An experimental setup was developed for studying the thermal conductivity of refractories up to 2300°C on the hot face of the specimen.In the average temperature range of 500–1800°C a study was made of the thermal conductivity of magnesite refractories of different porosity. The experimental data obtained satisfactorily agree with well-known literature and calculated values for the thermal conductivity coefficients.Translated from Ogneupory, No. 1, pp. 17–21, January, 1972.     

Simulations of Self-Expanding Braided Stent Using Macroscopic Model of NiTi Shape Memory Alloys Covering R-Phase

Self-expanding stents or stentgrafts made from Nitinol superelastic alloy are widely used for a less invasive treatment of disease-induced localized flow constriction in the cardiovascular system. The therapy is based on insertion of a stent into a blood vessel to maintain the inner diameter of the vessel; it provides highly effective results at minimal cost and with reduced hospital stays. However, since stent is an external mechanical healing tool implemented into human body for quite a long time, information on the mechanical performance of it is of fundamental importance with respect to patient’s safety and comfort. Advantageously, computational structural analysis can provide valuable information on the response of the product in an environment where in vivo experimentation is extremely expensive or impossible. With this motivation, a numerical model of a particular braided self-expanding stent was developed. As a reasonable approximation substantially reducing computational demands, the stent was considered to be composed of a set of helical springs with specific constrains reflecting geometry of the structure. An advanced constitutive model for NiTi-based shape memory alloys including R-phase transition was employed in analysis. Comparison to measurements shows a very good match between the numerical solution and experimental results. Relation between diameter of the stent and uniform radial pressure on its surface is estimated. Information about internal phase and stress state of the material during compression loading provided by the model is used to estimate fatigue properties of the stent during cyclic loading.     

The effect of flow on the physical properties of polyurethane/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites: Repercussions on their use as electrically conductive Hot‐Melt adhesives

The properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/polyurethane (PUR) nanocomposites after being submitted to flow, i.e., in conditions similar to their application as electrically conductive adhesives (ECA), are investigated. A decrease of the elastic modulus is observed after flow is stopped, compatible with a rearrangement of the MWCNT/PUR network during flow. The implications of the viscoelastic results on probe‐tack data are elucidated and a slightly higher energy of adhesion is observed for sheared samples. Dynamic viscoelastic measurements reveal that crystallization of PUR is fastened with MWCNTs, shortening the solidification process for samples submitted to flow or not. Electrical conductivity results show that the 4 wt% MWCNT/PUR nanocomposite can be submitted to flow and give, on cooling to room temperature, values of the electrical conductivity between 10⁻² and 10⁻¹ Siemens /m. 2 wt% MWCNT/PUR sample presents a shear induced semiconductor to insulator transition and a temperature‐induced isolator to semiconductor transition. We conclude that MWCNT/PUR nanocomposites are good candidates to develop Hot Melt ECAs, since they display satisfactory viscosity, tack, crystallization (linked to permanent adhesion), and electrical conductivity. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:704–712, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Challenges in the capture and dissemination of measurements from high-speed networks

The production of a large-scale monitoring system for a high-speed network leads to a number of challenges. These challenges are not purely technical but also socio-political and legal. The number of stakeholders in such monitoring activity is large including the network operators, the users, the equipment manufacturers and, of course, the monitoring researchers. The MASTS project (measurement at all scales in time and space) was created to instrument the high-speed JANET lightpath network and has been extended to incorporate other paths supported by JANET(UK). Challenges the project has faced included: simple access to the network; legal issues involved in the storage and dissemination of the captured information, which may be personal; the volume of data captured and the rate at which these data appear at store. To this end, the MASTS system will have established four monitoring points each capturing packets on a high-speed link. Traffic header data will be continuously collected, anonymised, indexed, stored and made available to the research community. A legal framework for the capture and storage of network measurement data has been developed which allows the anonymised IP traces to be used for research purposes.     

Experiences after 10 years of waterflooding the Ekofisk Field, Norway

This paper describes the experiences and results after more than 10 years of waterflooding the fractured Ekofisk chalk formations from a reservoir engineering and reservoir management perspective. Water injection was initiated at Ekofisk in 1987 following two successful pilot projects. The waterflood was implemented in a series of stages, and currently 800,000 BWPD is being injected into the entire vertical column of the reservoir using 38 injectors in a staggered line drive pattern. A total of 2 billion barrels of water has been injected in the first 10 years of waterflood operations. Field average water production is currently below 80,000 BWPD. Oil rate responses, GOR declines and low water production rates indicate a very efficient oil displacement process is occurring. Examples of waterflood performance in terms of areal and vertical sweep efficiency, production responses and displacement efficiency will be reviewed together with overall reservoir management aspects including seabed subsidence and reservoir compaction.     

Tire-wear particles as a source of zinc to the environment

Tire-tread material has a zinc (Zn) content of about 1 wt %. The quantity of tread material lost to road surfaces by abrasion has not been well characterized. Two approaches were used to assess the magnitude of this nonpoint source of Zn in the U.S. for the period 1936-1999. In the first approach, tread-wear rates from the automotive engineering literature were used in conjunction with vehicle distance-driven data from the U.S. Department of Transportation to determine Zn releases. A second approach calculated this source term from the volume of tread lost during lifetime tire wear. These analyses showed that the quantity of Zn released by tire wear in the mid-1990s was of the same magnitude as that released from waste incineration. For 1999, the quantity of Zn released by tire wear in the U.S. is estimated to be 10 000-11 000 metric tons. A specific case study focused on Zn sources and sinks in an urban-suburban watershed (Lake Anne) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area for a time period of the late 1990s. The atmospheric flux of total Zn (wet deposition) to the watershed was 2 microg/cm2/yr. The flux of Zn to the watershed estimated from tire wear was 42 microg/cm2/yr. The measured accumulation rate of total Zn in age-dated sediment cores from Lake Anne was 27 microg/cm2/yr. These data suggest that tire-wear Zn inputs to urban-suburban watersheds can be significantly greater than atmospheric inputs, although the watershed appears to retain appreciable quantities of vehicular Zn inputs.     

Crack induced slip processes in 3D

The paper presents three-dimensional molecular dynamic simulations of bcc iron single crystals with embedded cracks of two different orientations. The cracks are loaded in tension mode I. The results show that crack stability or crack growth is significantly influenced by the temperature and mutual orientation of the crack and slip planes at the crack front. Various slip processes induced by the crack may have different consequences for crack stability. The results from molecular dynamic simulations are compared with continuum models, experimental observations, and our previous plane strain simulations.