Systematic void fraction studies with RELAP5, FRANCESCA and HECHAN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stosic, Z.; Preusche, G.

1996-08-01

In enhancing the scope of standard thermal-hydraulic codes applications beyond its capabilities, i.e. coupling with a one and/or three-dimensional kinetics core model, the void fraction, transferred from thermal-hydraulics to the core model, plays a determining role in normal operating range and high core flow, as the generated heat and axial power profiles are direct functions of void distribution in the core. Hence, it is very important to know if the void quality models in the programs which have to be coupled are compatible to allow the interactive exchange of data which are based on these constitutive void-quality relations. The presentedmore » void fraction study is performed in order to give the basis for the conclusion whether a transient core simulation using the RELAP5 void fractions can calculate the axial power shapes adequately. Because of that, the void fractions calculated with RELAP5 are compared with those calculated by BWR safety code for licensing--FRANCESCA and the best estimate model for pre- and post-dryout calculation in BWR heated channel--HECHAN. In addition, a comparison with standard experimental void-quality benchmark tube data is performed for the HECHAN code.« less

Investigation into Behavior of a Steam-Water Mixture Flow Through Holes in a Submerged Perforated Sheet at High Void Fractions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melikhov, V. I.; Melikhov, O. I.; Nerovnov, A. A.; Nikonov, S. M.

2018-01-01

Processing of experimental data on the pressure difference across a submerged perforated sheet (SPS) revealed that, at sufficiently high void fractions under SPS, the pressure difference across it became less than the pressure difference for the pure steam stream with the same flowrate. To find the cause of this, the effect of a liquid film, which can be formed on the SPS upstream surface as a result of water droplets' impact and can smooth over sharp edges of holes in SDS, was examined. This can decrease the pressure drop across the sharp edges of holes. This assumption was checked through numerical solution to several model problems in the axisymmetric formulation for a steam flow in a round pipe with an orifice. The flow of steam and water was modeled using the viscous incompressible liquid approximation, while the turbulence was described by the k-ɛ model. The evolution of the interfacial area was modeled using the VOF model. The following model problems of steam flow through an orifice were studied: a single-phase flow, a flow through the orifice with a liquid film on its upstream surface, a flow through a chamfered hole, and a flow through the orifice with a liquid film on its upstream surface without liquid supply to the film. The predictions demonstrate that even the approximate account of the liquid film effect on the steam flow yields a considerable decrease in the pressure drop across the hole (from 8 to 24%) due to smoothing its sharp outlet edges over. This makes it possible to make a conclusion that the cause of a decrease in the pressure drop across SPS observed in the experiments at high void fractions is the formation of a liquid film, which smooths the sharp edges of the hole.

Void Fraction Instrument operation and maintenance manual

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borgonovi, G.; Stokes, T.I.; Pearce, K.L.

This Operations and Maintenance Manual (O&MM) addresses riser installation, equipment and personnel hazards, operating instructions, calibration, maintenance, removal, and other pertinent information necessary to safely operate and store the Void Fraction Instrument. Final decontamination and decommissioning of the Void Fraction Instrument are not covered in this document.

Predictions of one-group interfacial area transport in TRACE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Worosz, T.; Talley, J. D.; Kim, S.

In current nuclear reactor system analysis codes utilizing the two-fluid model, flow regime dependent correlations are used to specify the interfacial area concentration (a i). This approach does not capture the continuous evolution of the interfacial structures, and thus, it can pose issues near the transition boundaries. Consequently, a pilot version of the system analysis code TRACE is being developed that employs the interfacial area transport equation (IATE). In this approach, dynamic estimation of a i is provided through mechanistic models for bubble coalescence and breakup. The implementation of the adiabatic, one-group IATE into TRACE is assessed against experimental datamore » from 50 air-water, two-phase flow conditions in pipes ranging in inner diameter from 2.54 to 20.32 cm for both vertical co-current upward and downward flows. Predictions of pressure, void fraction, bubble velocity, and a i data are made. TRACE employing the conventional flow regime-based approach is found to underestimate a i and can only predict linear trends since the calculation is governed by the pressure. Furthermore, trends opposite to that of the data are predicted for some conditions. In contrast, TRACE with the one-group IATE demonstrates a significant improvement in predicting the experimental data with an average disagreement of {+-} 13%. Additionally, TRACE with the one-group IATE is capable of predicting nonlinear axial development of a, by accounting for various bubble interaction mechanisms, such as coalescence and disintegration. (authors)« less

Void fraction and velocity measurement of simulated bubble in a rotating disc using high frame rate neutron radiography.

PubMed

Saito, Y; Mishima, K; Matsubayashi, M

2004-10-01

To evaluate measurement error of local void fraction and velocity field in a gas-molten metal two-phase flow by high-frame-rate neutron radiography, experiments using a rotating stainless-steel disc, which has several holes of various diameters and depths simulating gas bubbles, were performed. Measured instantaneous void fraction and velocity field of the simulated bubbles were compared with the calculated values based on the rotating speed, the diameter and the depth of the holes as parameters and the measurement error was evaluated. The rotating speed was varied from 0 to 350 rpm (tangential velocity of the simulated bubbles from 0 to 1.5 m/s). The effect of shutter speed of the imaging system on the measurement error was also investigated. It was revealed from the Lagrangian time-averaged void fraction profile that the measurement error of the instantaneous void fraction depends mainly on the light-decay characteristics of the fluorescent converter. The measurement error of the instantaneous local void fraction of simulated bubbles is estimated to be 20%. In the present imaging system, the light-decay characteristics of the fluorescent converter affect the measurement remarkably, and so should be taken into account in estimating the measurement error of the local void fraction profile.

Improved alumina scale adhesion of electron beam physical vapor deposited Dy/Hf-doped β-NiAl coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dongqing; Guo, Hongbo; Peng, Hui; Gong, Shengkai; Xu, Huibin

2013-10-01

The cyclic oxidation behavior of Dy/Hf-doped β-NiAl coatings produced by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) was investigated. For the undoped NiAl coating, numerous voids were formed at the alumina scale/coating interface and large rumpling developed in the scale, leading to premature oxide spallation. The addition of Dy and Hf both improved scale adhesion and the alumina scale grown on the NiAl-Hf coating showed better adhesion than that on the NiAl-Dy coating, although the suppressing effect on interfacial void formation and the scale rumpling resistance were stronger in the NiAl-Dy coating. It is proposed that the segregation of Dy and Hf ions at the scale/coating interfaces not only prevent interfacial sulfur segregation but also may directly enhance interfacial adhesion by participating in bonding across the interfaces, and this strengthening effect is relatively stronger for Hf ionic segregation.

Interfacial effect on physical properties of composite media: Interfacial volume fraction with non-spherical hard-core-soft-shell-structured particles.

PubMed

Xu, Wenxiang; Duan, Qinglin; Ma, Huaifa; Chen, Wen; Chen, Huisu

2015-11-02

Interfaces are known to be crucial in a variety of fields and the interfacial volume fraction dramatically affects physical properties of composite media. However, it is an open problem with great significance how to determine the interfacial property in composite media with inclusions of complex geometry. By the stereological theory and the nearest-surface distribution functions, we first propose a theoretical framework to symmetrically present the interfacial volume fraction. In order to verify the interesting generalization, we simulate three-phase composite media by employing hard-core-soft-shell structures composed of hard mono-/polydisperse non-spherical particles, soft interfaces, and matrix. We numerically derive the interfacial volume fraction by a Monte Carlo integration scheme. With the theoretical and numerical results, we find that the interfacial volume fraction is strongly dependent on the so-called geometric size factor and sphericity characterizing the geometric shape in spite of anisotropic particle types. As a significant interfacial property, the present theoretical contribution can be further drawn into predicting the effective transport properties of composite materials.

Interfacial effect on physical properties of composite media: Interfacial volume fraction with non-spherical hard-core-soft-shell-structured particles

PubMed Central

Xu, Wenxiang; Duan, Qinglin; Ma, Huaifa; Chen, Wen; Chen, Huisu

2015-01-01

Interfaces are known to be crucial in a variety of fields and the interfacial volume fraction dramatically affects physical properties of composite media. However, it is an open problem with great significance how to determine the interfacial property in composite media with inclusions of complex geometry. By the stereological theory and the nearest-surface distribution functions, we first propose a theoretical framework to symmetrically present the interfacial volume fraction. In order to verify the interesting generalization, we simulate three-phase composite media by employing hard-core-soft-shell structures composed of hard mono-/polydisperse non-spherical particles, soft interfaces, and matrix. We numerically derive the interfacial volume fraction by a Monte Carlo integration scheme. With the theoretical and numerical results, we find that the interfacial volume fraction is strongly dependent on the so-called geometric size factor and sphericity characterizing the geometric shape in spite of anisotropic particle types. As a significant interfacial property, the present theoretical contribution can be further drawn into predicting the effective transport properties of composite materials. PMID:26522701

Quantifying Effects of Voids in Woven Ceramic Matrix Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldsmith, Marlana B.; Sankar, Bhavani V.; Haftka, Raphael T.; Goldberg, Robert K.

2013-01-01

Randomness in woven ceramic matrix composite architecture has been found to cause large variability in stiffness and strength. The inherent voids are an aspect of the architecture that may cause a significant portion of the variability. A study is undertaken to investigate the effects of many voids of random sizes and distributions. Response surface approximations were formulated based on void parameters such as area and length fractions to provide an estimate of the effective stiffness. Obtaining quantitative relationships between the properties of the voids and their effects on stiffness of ceramic matrix composites are of ultimate interest, but the exploratory study presented here starts by first modeling the effects of voids on an isotropic material. Several cases with varying void parameters were modeled which resulted in a large amount of variability of the transverse stiffness and out-of-plane shear stiffness. An investigation into a physical explanation for the stiffness degradation led to the observation that the voids need to be treated as an entity that reduces load bearing capabilities in a space larger than what the void directly occupies through a corrected length fraction or area fraction. This provides explanation as to why void volume fraction is not the only important factor to consider when computing loss of stiffness.

Ductile failure initiation and evolution in porous polycrystalline aggregates due to interfacial effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashmawi, Waeil Muhammad Al-Anwar

New analytical and computational formulations have been developed for the investigation of micro structurally induced ductile failure mechanisms in porous polycrystalline aggregates with low and high (CSL) angle grain-boundaries (GBs). A multiple-slip rate-dependent crystalline constitutive formulation that is coupled to the evolution of mobile and immobile dislocation densities, a new internal porosity formulation for void nucleation and growth, and specialized computational schemes have been developed to obtain a detailed understanding of the multi-scale interrelated physical mechanisms that result in ductile failure in polycrystalline materials. Comprehensive transmission and pile-up mechanisms have also been introduced to investigate dislocation-density impedance and slip-rate incompatibility at the GBs. The interrelated effects of GB orientation, mobile and immobile dislocation densities, strain hardening, geometrical softening, localized plastic strains, and dislocation-density transmission and blockage on void growth, interaction, and coalescence have been studied. Criteria have been developed to identify and monitor the initiation and development of potential dislocation-density activity sites adjacent to GB regions. These interactions play an important role in the formation of GB pile-up and transmission regions. The effects of GB structure and orientation on ductile failure have been accounted for by the development of GB interfacial kinematic conditions that account for a multitude of dislocation-density interactions with GBs, such as full and partial transmission, impedance, blockage, and absorption. Pile-ups and transmission regions are identified and monitored as the deformation and failure evolve. These kinematic conditions are linked to the initiation and evolution of failure modes by the development of a new internal porosity evolution formulation that accounts for void nucleation and growth. The internal porosity relation is coupled with the proposed dislocation-density based crystalline constitutive formulation, the interfacial GB dislocation-density interaction models, and the specialized computational schemes to obtain detailed predictions of the behavior of aggregates with explicit voids that have different orientations and combinations of sizes, shapes, and spacings. Results from the present study indicate that material failure is a competition between different interrelated effects, such as stress triaxiality, accumulated plastic shear strain, temperature, dislocation density concentration, and grain and GB crystallographic orientations. For all void arrangements, as the void size is increased, specimen necking is diffuse and failure is concentrated in the ligament regions. Furthermore, there are more dislocation-density activity sites for potential transmission and pile-ups at the GBs. Failure is concentrated along the void peripheries and within intervoid ligaments. It has been shown that the evolution of the mobile dislocation density saturation curves, and their saturation rate are directly related to the aggregate response. Nucleation and growth for all void distributions have occurred in regions of maximum dislocation density and along preferred crystallographic orientations. Spatial distributions of porosity, accumulated plastic strains, and pressure have been obtained to further elucidate how these parameters evolve and affect void to void interaction in critical ligament and localized regions as a function of intervoid spacing and nominal strains. These failure predictions can be also used to identify intergranular and transgranular failure propagation. The present study underscores the importance of using dislocation-density based multiple-slip crystalline constitutive formulations and GB interfacial mechanisms that are consistent with experimental observations and results to accurately characterize the microstructural evolution of deformation and failure modes on a length scale that is commensurate with the material competition between the inherent strengthening and softening mechanisms of crystalline systems.

Mean-time-to-failure study of flip chip solder joints on Cu/Ni(V)/Al thin-film under-bump-metallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, W. J.; Yeh, E. C. C.; Tu, K. N.

2003-11-01

Electromigration of eutectic SnPb flip chip solder joints and their mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) have been studied in the temperature range of 100 to 140 °C with current densities of 1.9 to 2.75×104 A/cm2. In these joints, the under-bump-metallization (UBM) on the chip side is a multilayer thin film of Al/Ni(V)/Cu, and the metallic bond-pad on the substrate side is a very thick, electroless Ni layer covered with 30 nm of Au. When stressed at the higher current densities, the MTTF was found to decrease much faster than what is expected from the published Black's equation. The failure occurred by interfacial void propagation at the cathode side, and it is due to current crowding near the contact interface between the solder bump and the thin-film UBM. The current crowding is confirmed by a simulation of current distribution in the solder joint. Besides the interfacial void formation, the intermetallic compounds formed on the UBM as well as the Ni(V) film in the UBM have been found to dissolve completely into the solder bump during electromigration. Therefore, the electromigation failure is a combination of the interfacial void formation and the loss of UBM. Similar findings in eutectic SnAgCu flip chip solder joints have also been obtained and compared.

Void fraction distribution in a heated rod bundle under flow stagnation conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herrero, V.A.; Guido-Lavalle, G.; Clausse, A.

1995-09-01

An experimental study was performed to determine the axial void fraction distribution along a heated rod bundle under flow stagnation conditions. The development of the flow pattern was investigated for different heat flow rates. It was found that in general the void fraction is overestimated by the Zuber & Findlay model while the Chexal-Lellouche correlation produces a better prediction.

DYNAMIC MODELING STRATEGY FOR FLOW REGIME TRANSITION IN GAS-LIQUID TWO-PHASE FLOWS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

X. Wang; X. Sun; H. Zhao

In modeling gas-liquid two-phase flows, the concept of flow regime has been used to characterize the global interfacial structure of the flows. Nearly all constitutive relations that provide closures to the interfacial transfers in two-phase flow models, such as the two-fluid model, are often flow regime dependent. Currently, the determination of the flow regimes is primarily based on flow regime maps or transition criteria, which are developed for steady-state, fully-developed flows and widely applied in nuclear reactor system safety analysis codes, such as RELAP5. As two-phase flows are observed to be dynamic in nature (fully-developed two-phase flows generally do notmore » exist in real applications), it is of importance to model the flow regime transition dynamically for more accurate predictions of two-phase flows. The present work aims to develop a dynamic modeling strategy for determining flow regimes in gas-liquid two-phase flows through the introduction of interfacial area transport equations (IATEs) within the framework of a two-fluid model. The IATE is a transport equation that models the interfacial area concentration by considering the creation and destruction of the interfacial area, such as the fluid particle (bubble or liquid droplet) disintegration, boiling and evaporation; and fluid particle coalescence and condensation, respectively. For the flow regimes beyond bubbly flows, a two-group IATE has been proposed, in which bubbles are divided into two groups based on their size and shape (which are correlated), namely small bubbles and large bubbles. A preliminary approach to dynamically identifying the flow regimes is provided, in which discriminators are based on the predicted information, such as the void fraction and interfacial area concentration of small bubble and large bubble groups. This method is expected to be applied to computer codes to improve their predictive capabilities of gas-liquid two-phase flows, in particular for the applications in which flow regime transition occurs.« less

Investigation of Critical Heat Flux in Reduced Gravity Using Photomicrographic Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mudawar, Issam; Zhang, Hui

2003-01-01

Experiments were performed to examine the effects of body force on flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF). FC-72 was boiled along one wall of a transparent rectangular flow channel that permitted photographic study of the vapor-liquid interface just prior to CHF. High-speed video imaging techniques were used to identify dominant CHF mechanisms corresponding to different flow orientations and liquid velocities. Six different CHF regimes were identified: Wavy Vapor Layer, Pool Boiling, Stratification, Vapor Counterflow, Vapor Stagnation, and Separated Concurrent Vapor Flow. CHF showed significant sensitivity to orientation for flow velocities below 0.2 m/s, where extremely low CHF values where measured, especially with downward-facing heated wall and downflow orientations. High flow velocities dampened the effects of orientation considerably. The CHF data were used to assess the suitability of previous CHF models and correlations. It is shown the Interfacial Lift-off Model is very effective at predicting CHF for high velocities at all orientations. The flooding limit, on the other hand, is useful at estimating CHF at low velocities and for downflow orientations. A new method consisting of three dimensionless criteria is developed for determining the minimum flow velocity required to overcome body force effects on near-saturated flow boiling CHF. Vertical upflow boiling experiments were performed in pursuit of identifying the trigger mechanism for subcooled flow boiling CHF. While virtually all prior studies on flow boiling CHF concern the prediction or measurement of conditions that lead to CHF, this study was focused on events that take place during the CHF transient. High-speed video imaging and photomicrographic techniques were used to record the transient behavior of interfacial features from the last steady-state power level before CHF until the moment of power cut-off following CHF. The video records show the development of a wavy vapor layer which propagates along the heated wall, permitting cooling prior to CHF only in wetting fronts corresponding to the wave troughs. Image analysis software was developed to estimate void fraction from the individual video images. The void fraction records for subcooled flow boiling show the CHF transient is accompanied by gradual lift-off of wetting fronts culminating in some maximum vapor layer mean thickness, following which the vapor layer begins to thin down as the transition to film boiling ensues. This study proves the Interfacial Lift-off Model, which has been validated for near-saturated flow boiling CHF, is equally valid for subcooled conditions.

Tensile property improvement of TWIP-cored three-layer steel sheets fabricated by hot-roll-bonding with low-carbon steel or interstitial-free steel

PubMed Central

Park, Jaeyeong; Kim, Jung-Su; Kang, Minju; Sohn, Seok Su; Cho, Won Tae; Kim, Hyoung Seop; Lee, Sunghak

2017-01-01

TWIP-cored three-layer steel sheets were newly fabricated by hot rolling of TWIP steel sheet surrounded by low-carbon (LC) or interstitial-free (IF) steel sheets. TWIP/LC or TWIP/IF interfaces were well bonded without pores or voids, while a few pearlites were thinly formed along the interfaces. The strengths and elongation of the TWIP-cored sheets increased as the volume fraction of TWIP-cored region increased, and were also well matched with the ones calculated by a rule of mixtures based on volume fraction or force fraction. According to digital image correlation and electron back-scatter diffraction analyses, very high strain hardening effect in the initial deformation stage and active twin formation in the interfacial region beneficially affected the overall homogeneous deformation in the TWIP-cored sheets without any yield point phenomenon occurring in the LC sheet and serrations occurring in the TWIP sheet, respectively. These TWIP-cored sheets can cover a wide range of yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility levels, e.g., 320~498 MPa, 545~878 MPa, and 48~54%, respectively, by controlling the volume fraction of TWIP-cored region, and thus present new applications to multi-functional automotive steel sheets requiring excellent properties. PMID:28067318

Tensile property improvement of TWIP-cored three-layer steel sheets fabricated by hot-roll-bonding with low-carbon steel or interstitial-free steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jaeyeong; Kim, Jung-Su; Kang, Minju; Sohn, Seok Su; Cho, Won Tae; Kim, Hyoung Seop; Lee, Sunghak

2017-01-01

TWIP-cored three-layer steel sheets were newly fabricated by hot rolling of TWIP steel sheet surrounded by low-carbon (LC) or interstitial-free (IF) steel sheets. TWIP/LC or TWIP/IF interfaces were well bonded without pores or voids, while a few pearlites were thinly formed along the interfaces. The strengths and elongation of the TWIP-cored sheets increased as the volume fraction of TWIP-cored region increased, and were also well matched with the ones calculated by a rule of mixtures based on volume fraction or force fraction. According to digital image correlation and electron back-scatter diffraction analyses, very high strain hardening effect in the initial deformation stage and active twin formation in the interfacial region beneficially affected the overall homogeneous deformation in the TWIP-cored sheets without any yield point phenomenon occurring in the LC sheet and serrations occurring in the TWIP sheet, respectively. These TWIP-cored sheets can cover a wide range of yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility levels, e.g., 320~498 MPa, 545~878 MPa, and 48~54%, respectively, by controlling the volume fraction of TWIP-cored region, and thus present new applications to multi-functional automotive steel sheets requiring excellent properties.

Tensile property improvement of TWIP-cored three-layer steel sheets fabricated by hot-roll-bonding with low-carbon steel or interstitial-free steel.

PubMed

Park, Jaeyeong; Kim, Jung-Su; Kang, Minju; Sohn, Seok Su; Cho, Won Tae; Kim, Hyoung Seop; Lee, Sunghak

2017-01-09

TWIP-cored three-layer steel sheets were newly fabricated by hot rolling of TWIP steel sheet surrounded by low-carbon (LC) or interstitial-free (IF) steel sheets. TWIP/LC or TWIP/IF interfaces were well bonded without pores or voids, while a few pearlites were thinly formed along the interfaces. The strengths and elongation of the TWIP-cored sheets increased as the volume fraction of TWIP-cored region increased, and were also well matched with the ones calculated by a rule of mixtures based on volume fraction or force fraction. According to digital image correlation and electron back-scatter diffraction analyses, very high strain hardening effect in the initial deformation stage and active twin formation in the interfacial region beneficially affected the overall homogeneous deformation in the TWIP-cored sheets without any yield point phenomenon occurring in the LC sheet and serrations occurring in the TWIP sheet, respectively. These TWIP-cored sheets can cover a wide range of yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility levels, e.g., 320~498 MPa, 545~878 MPa, and 48~54%, respectively, by controlling the volume fraction of TWIP-cored region, and thus present new applications to multi-functional automotive steel sheets requiring excellent properties.

Void formation in INCONEL MA-754 by high temperature oxidation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenstein, Alan H.; Tien, John K.; Nix, William D.

1986-01-01

Subsurface void formation in oxide dispersion strengthened MA-754 caused by high temperature oxidation was investigated at temperatures of 1100, 1150, and 1200 °C for times of 1, 10, 50, and 100 hours. Material exposed at 1200 °C was examined using microprobe, SEM, and optical microscopy techniques. After exposure in air at 1200 °C for 100 hours, chromium depletion by as much as 10 wt pct was observed near the surface, and voids of various sizes up to 15 µm in diameter were found to depths of 300 µm. The fraction of voids increases with exposure time and, with the exception of anomalous values near the surface, decreases with depth. The maximum area fraction of voids observed was approximately 8 pct. Correlation of the void area fraction profile with the measured chromium depletion through a diffusion analysis shows that void formation is due to vacancy injection. Similar void formation in Ni-Cr alloys without oxide dispersions suggests that void formation is not dependent upon the presence of oxide dispersions. The diffusion coefficient for chromium in MA-754 at 1200 °C was computed from microprobe data to be 4 × 10-10 cm2 per second.

Interfacial area transport of steam-water two-phase flow in a vertical annulus at elevated pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozar, Basar

Analysis of accident scenarios in nuclear reactors are done by using codes such as TRACE and RELAP5. Large oscillations in the core void fraction are observed in calculations of advanced passive light water reactors (ALWRs), especially during the low pressure long-term cooling phase. These oscillations are attributed to be numerical in nature and served to limit the accuracy as well as the credibility of the calculations. One of the root causes of these unphysical oscillations is determined to be flow regime transitions caused by the usage of static flow regime maps. The interfacial area transport equation was proposed earlier in order to address these issues. Previous research successfully developed the foundation of the interfacial area transport equation and the experimental techniques needed for the measurement of interfacial area, bubble diameters and velocities. In the past, an extensive database has been then generated for adiabatic air-water conditions in vertical upward and downward bubbly-churn turbulent flows in pipes. Using this database, mechanistic models for the creation (bubble breakup) and destruction (bubble coalescence) of interfacial area have been developed for the bubblyslug flow regime transition. However, none of these studies investigated the effect of phase change. To address this need, a heated annular test section was designed and constructed. The design relied on a three level scaling approach: geometric scaling; hydrodynamic scaling; thermal scaling. The test section consisted of a heated and unheated section in order to study the sub-cooled boiling and bulk condensation/flashing and evaporation phenomena, respectively. Steam-water two-phase flow tests were conducted under sub-cooled boiling conditions in the heated section and with sub-cooled/super-heated bulk liquid in the unheated section. The modeling of interfacial area transport equation with phase change effects was introduced and discussed. Constitutive relations, which took phase change effects into account, for interfacial area transport equation were proposed and implemented. Effects of these constitutive relations on the prediction capability of the transport equation were discussed.

Critical Void Volume Fraction fc at Void Coalescence for S235JR Steel at Low Initial Stress Triaxiality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grzegorz Kossakowski, Paweł; Wciślik, Wiktor

2017-10-01

The paper is concerned with the nucleation, growth and coalescence of microdefects in the form of voids in S235JR steel. The material is known to be one of the basic steel grades commonly used in the construction industry. The theory and methods of damage mechanics were applied to determine and describe the failure mechanisms that occur when the material undergoes deformation. Until now, engineers have generally employed the Gurson-Tvergaard- Needleman model. This material model based on damage mechanics is well suited to define and analyze failure processes taking place in the microstructure of S235JR steel. It is particularly important to determine the critical void volume fraction fc , which is one of the basic parameters of the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman material model. As the critical void volume fraction fc refers to the failure stage, it is determined from the data collected for the void coalescence phase. A case of multi-axial stresses is considered taking into account the effects of spatial stress state. In this study, the parameter of stress triaxiality η was used to describe the failure phenomena. Cylindrical tensile specimens with a circumferential notch were analysed to obtain low values of initial stress triaxiality (η = 0.556 of the range) in order to determine the critical void volume fraction fc . It is essential to emphasize how unique the method applied is and how different it is from the other more common methods involving parameter calibration, i.e. curve-fitting methods. The critical void volume fraction fc at void coalescence was established through digital image analysis of surfaces of S235JR steel, which involved studying real, physical results obtained directly from the material tested.

Application of Electromagnetic Induction Technique to Measure the Void Fraction in Oil/Gas Two Phase Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahhab, H. A. Abdul; Aziz, A. R. A.; Al-Kayiem, H. H.; Nasif, M. S.; Reda, M. N.

2018-03-01

In this work, electromagnetic induction technique of measuring void fraction in liquid/gas fuel flow was utilized. In order to improve the electric properties of liquid fuel, an iron oxide Fe3O4 nanoparticles at 3% was blended to enhance the liquid fuel magnetization. Experiments have been conducted for a wide range of liquid and gas superficial velocities. From the experimental results, it was realized that there is an existing linear relationship between the void fraction and the measured electromotive force, when induction coils were connected in series for excitation coils, regardless of increase or decrease CNG bubbles distribution in liquid fuel flow. Therefore, it was revealed that the utilized method yielded quite reasonable account for measuring the void fraction, showing good agreement with the other available measurement techniques in the two-phase flow, and also with the published literature of the bubbly flow pattern. From the results of the present investigation, it has been proven that the electromagnetic induction is a feasible technique for the actual measurement of void fraction in a Diesel/CNG fuel flow.

Apparatus for measuring the local void fraction in a flowing liquid containing a gas

DOEpatents

Dunn, P.F.

1979-07-17

The local void fraction in liquid containing a gas is measured by placing an impedance-variation probe in the liquid, applying a controlled voltage or current to the probe, and measuring the probe current or voltage. A circuit for applying the one electrical parameter and measuring the other includes a feedback amplifier that minimizes the effect of probe capacitance and a digitizer to provide a clean signal. Time integration of the signal provides a measure of the void fraction, and an oscilloscope display also shows bubble size and distribution.

Apparatus for measuring the local void fraction in a flowing liquid containing a gas

DOEpatents

Dunn, Patrick F.

1981-01-01

The local void fraction in liquid containing a gas is measured by placing an impedance-variation probe in the liquid, applying a controlled voltage or current to the probe, and measuring the probe current or voltage. A circuit for applying the one electrical parameter and measuring the other includes a feedback amplifier that minimizes the effect of probe capacitance and a digitizer to provide a clean signal. Time integration of the signal provides a measure of the void fraction, and an oscilloscope display also shows bubble size and distribution.

Quantitative void fraction detection with an eddy current flowmeter for generation IV Sodium cooled Fast Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, M.; French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission; Tordjeman, Ph.

2015-07-01

This study was carried out to understand the response of an eddy current type flowmeter in two phase liquid-metal flow. We use the technique of ellipse fit and correlate the fluctuations in the angle of inclination of this ellipse with the void fraction. The effects of physical parameters such as coil excitation frequency and flow velocity have been studied. The results show the possibility of using an eddy current flowmeter as a gas detector for large void fractions. (authors)

Quantitative void fraction measurement with an eddy current flowmeter for generation IV Sodium cooled Fast Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, M.; CEA, DEN, Nuclear Technology Department, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance; Tordjeman, Ph.

2015-07-01

This study was carried out to understand the response of an eddy current type flowmeter in two phase liquid-metal flow. We use the technique of ellipse fit and correlate the fluctuations in the angle of inclination of this ellipse with the void fraction. The effects of physical parameters such as coil excitation frequency and flow velocity have been studied. The results show the possibility of using an eddy current flowmeter as a gas detector for large void fractions. (authors)

Micro-CT and nano-CT analysis of filling quality of three different endodontic sealers.

PubMed

Huang, Yan; Celikten, Berkan; de Faria Vasconcelos, Karla; Ferreira Pinheiro Nicolielo, Laura; Lippiatt, Nicholas; Buyuksungur, Arda; Jacobs, Reinhilde; Orhan, Kaan

2017-12-01

To investigate voids in different root canal sealers using micro-CT and nano-CT, and to explore the feasibility of using nano-CT for quantitative analysis of sealer filling quality. 30 extracted mandibular central incisors were randomly assigned into three groups according to the applied root canal sealers (Total BC Sealer, Sure Seal Root, AH Plus) by the single cone technique. Subsequently, micro-CT and nano-CT were performed to analyse the incidence rate of voids, void fraction, void volume and their distribution in each sample. Micro-CT evaluation showed no significant difference among sealers for the incidence rate of voids or void fraction in the whole filling materials (p > 0.05), whereas a significant difference was found between AH Plus and the other two sealers using nano-CT (p < 0.05). All three sealers presented less void volume in the apical third; however, higher void volumes were observed in the apical and coronal thirds in AH Plus using micro-CT (p < 0.05), while nano-CT results displayed higher void volume in AH Plus among all the sealers and regions (p < 0.05). Bioactive sealers showed higher root filling rate, lower incidence rate of voids, void fraction and void volume than AH Plus under nano-CT analysis, when round root canals were treated by the single cone technique. The disparate results suggest that the higher resolution of nano-CT have a greater ability of distinguishing internal porosity, and therefore suggesting the potential use of nano-CT in quantitative analysis of filling quality of sealers.

Mesoscale Fracture Analysis of Multiphase Cementitious Composites Using Peridynamics

PubMed Central

Yaghoobi, Amin; Chorzepa, Mi G.; Kim, S. Sonny; Durham, Stephan A.

2017-01-01

Concrete is a complex heterogeneous material, and thus, it is important to develop numerical modeling methods to enhance the prediction accuracy of the fracture mechanism. In this study, a two-dimensional mesoscale model is developed using a non-ordinary state-based peridynamic (NOSBPD) method. Fracture in a concrete cube specimen subjected to pure tension is studied. The presence of heterogeneous materials consisting of coarse aggregates, interfacial transition zones, air voids and cementitious matrix is characterized as particle points in a two-dimensional mesoscale model. Coarse aggregates and voids are generated using uniform probability distributions, while a statistical study is provided to comprise the effect of random distributions of constituent materials. In obtaining the steady-state response, an incremental and iterative solver is adopted for the dynamic relaxation method. Load-displacement curves and damage patterns are compared with available experimental and finite element analysis (FEA) results. Although the proposed model uses much simpler material damage models and discretization schemes, the load-displacement curves show no difference from the FEA results. Furthermore, no mesh refinement is necessary, as fracture is inherently characterized by bond breakages. Finally, a sensitivity study is conducted to understand the effect of aggregate volume fraction and porosity on the load capacity of the proposed mesoscale model. PMID:28772518

A new method for ultrasound detection of interfacial position in gas-liquid two-phase flow.

PubMed

Coutinho, Fábio Rizental; Ofuchi, César Yutaka; de Arruda, Lúcia Valéria Ramos; Neves, Flávio; Morales, Rigoberto E M

2014-05-22

Ultrasonic measurement techniques for velocity estimation are currently widely used in fluid flow studies and applications. An accurate determination of interfacial position in gas-liquid two-phase flows is still an open problem. The quality of this information directly reflects on the accuracy of void fraction measurement, and it provides a means of discriminating velocity information of both phases. The algorithm known as Velocity Matched Spectrum (VM Spectrum) is a velocity estimator that stands out from other methods by returning a spectrum of velocities for each interrogated volume sample. Interface detection of free-rising bubbles in quiescent liquid presents some difficulties for interface detection due to abrupt changes in interface inclination. In this work a method based on velocity spectrum curve shape is used to generate a spatial-temporal mapping, which, after spatial filtering, yields an accurate contour of the air-water interface. It is shown that the proposed technique yields a RMS error between 1.71 and 3.39 and a probability of detection failure and false detection between 0.89% and 11.9% in determining the spatial-temporal gas-liquid interface position in the flow of free rising bubbles in stagnant liquid. This result is valid for both free path and with transducer emitting through a metallic plate or a Plexiglas pipe.

A New Method for Ultrasound Detection of Interfacial Position in Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow

PubMed Central

Coutinho, Fábio Rizental; Ofuchi, César Yutaka; de Arruda, Lúcia Valéria Ramos; Jr., Flávio Neves; Morales, Rigoberto E. M.

2014-01-01

Ultrasonic measurement techniques for velocity estimation are currently widely used in fluid flow studies and applications. An accurate determination of interfacial position in gas-liquid two-phase flows is still an open problem. The quality of this information directly reflects on the accuracy of void fraction measurement, and it provides a means of discriminating velocity information of both phases. The algorithm known as Velocity Matched Spectrum (VM Spectrum) is a velocity estimator that stands out from other methods by returning a spectrum of velocities for each interrogated volume sample. Interface detection of free-rising bubbles in quiescent liquid presents some difficulties for interface detection due to abrupt changes in interface inclination. In this work a method based on velocity spectrum curve shape is used to generate a spatial-temporal mapping, which, after spatial filtering, yields an accurate contour of the air-water interface. It is shown that the proposed technique yields a RMS error between 1.71 and 3.39 and a probability of detection failure and false detection between 0.89% and 11.9% in determining the spatial-temporal gas-liquid interface position in the flow of free rising bubbles in stagnant liquid. This result is valid for both free path and with transducer emitting through a metallic plate or a Plexiglas pipe. PMID:24858961

Effects of Sn Layer Orientation on the Evolution of Cu/Sn Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Menglong; Zhao, Zhangjian; Hu, Fengtian; Hu, Anmin; Li, Ming; Ling, Huiqin; Hang, Tao

2018-03-01

The effects of Sn layer orientation on the evolution of Cu/Sn joint interfaces were investigated. Three Sn layers possessing (112), (321) and (420) orientations were electroplated on polycrystalline Cu substrates respectively. The orientations of Sn layer preserved during reflowing at 250 °C for 10 s. After aging at 150 °C for different time, the interfacial microstructures were observed from the cross-section and top-view. The alignment between the c-axis of Sn and Cu diffusion direction significantly sped up the Cu diffusion, leading to the thickest intermetallic compound layer formed in (112) joint. Two types of voids, namely, intracrystalline voids and grain islanding caused intercrystalline voids generated at Cu/Cu3Sn interfaces due to the different interdiffusion coefficients of Cu and Sn (112) oriented Sn/Cu joint produced many more voids than (321) joint, and no voids were detected in (420) joint. Therefore, to enhance the reliability of solder joints, using (420) oriented Sn as solder layer could be an efficient way.

Single-crystal micromachining using multiple fusion-bonded layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Alan; O'Neill, Garry; Blackstone, Scott C.

2000-08-01

Multi-layer structures have been fabricated using Fusion bonding. The paper shows void free layers of between 2 and 100 microns that have been bonded to form multi-layer structures. Silicon layers have been bonded both with and without interfacial oxide layers.

Direct Numerical Simulation of Surfactant-Stabilized Emulsions Morphology and Shear Viscosity in Starting Shear Flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roar Skartlien; Espen Sollum; Andreas Akselsen

2012-07-01

A 3D lattice Boltzmann model for two-phase flow with amphiphilic surfactant was used to investigate the evolution of emulsion morphology and shear stress in starting shear flow. The interfacial contributions were analyzed for low and high volume fractions and varying surfactant activity. A transient viscoelastic contribution to the emulsion rheology under constant strain rate conditions was attributed to the interfacial stress. For droplet volume fractions below 0.3 and an average capillary number of about 0.25, highly elliptical droplets formed. Consistent with affine deformation models, gradual elongation of the droplets increased the shear stress at early times and reduced it atmore » later times. Lower interfacial tension with increased surfactant activity counterbalanced the effect of increased interfacial area, and the net shear stress did not change significantly. For higher volume fractions, co-continuous phases with a complex topology were formed. The surfactant decreased the interfacial shear stress due mainly to advection of surfactant to higher curvature areas. Our results are in qualitative agreement with experimental data for polymer blends in terms of transient interfacial stresses and limited enhancement of the emulsion viscosity at larger volume fractions where the phases are co-continuous.« less

Measurements of void fraction distribution in cavitating pipe flow using x-ray CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, D.; Chaves, H.; Arcoumanis, C.

2012-05-01

Measuring the void fraction distribution is still one of the greatest challenges in cavitation research. In this paper, a measurement technique for the quantitative void fraction characterization in a cavitating pipe flow is presented. While it is almost impossible to visualize the inside of the cavitation region with visible light, it is shown that with x-ray computed tomography (CT) it is possible to capture the time-averaged void fraction distribution in a quasi-steady pipe flow. Different types of cavitation have been investigated including cloud-like cavitation, bubble cavitation and film cavitation at very high flow rates. A specially designed nozzle was employed to induce very stable quasi-steady cavitation. The obtained results demonstrate the advantages of the measurement technique compared to other ones; for example, structures were observed inside the cavitation region that could not be visualized by photographic images. Furthermore, photographic images and pressure measurements were used to allow comparisons to be made and to prove the superiority of the CT measurement technique.

Bubble and Slug Flow at Microgravity Conditions: State of Knowledge and Open Questions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colin, C.; Fabre, J.; McQuillen, J.

1996-01-01

Based on the experiments carried out over the past decade at microgravity conditions, an overview of our current knowledge of bubbly and slug flows is presented. The transition from bubble to slug flow, the void fraction and the pressure drop are discussed from the data collected in the literature. The transition from bubble to slug flow may be predicted by introducing a critical void fraction that depends on the fluid properties and the pipe diameter; however, the role of coalescence which controls this transition is not clearly understood. The void fraction may be accurately calculated using a drift-flux model. It is shown from local measurements that the drift of the gas with respect to the mixture is due to non-uniform radial distribution of void fraction. The pressure drop happens to be controlled by the liquid flow for bubbly flow whereas for slug flow the experimental results show that pressure drops is larger than expected. From this study, the guidelines for future research in microgravity are given.

Investigation of Low Power Operation in a Loop Heat Pipe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ku, Jentung; Ottenstein, Laura; Rogers, Paul; Cheung, Kwok; Powers, Edward I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This paper presents test results of an experimental study of low power operation in a loop heat pipe. The main objective was to demonstrate how changes in the vapor void fraction inside the evaporator core would affect the loop behavior, The fluid inventory and the relative tilt between the evaporator and the compensation chamber were varied so as to create different vapor void fractions in the evaporator core. The effect on the loop start-up, operating temperature, and capillary limit was investigated. Test results indicate that the vapor void fraction inside the evaporator core is the single most important factor in determining the loop operation at low powers.

Void fraction development in gas-liquid flow after a U-bend in a vertically upwards serpentine-configuration large-diameter pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almabrok, Almabrok A.; Aliyu, Aliyu M.; Baba, Yahaya D.; Lao, Liyun; Yeung, Hoi

2018-01-01

We investigate the effect of a return U-bend on flow behaviour in the vertical upward section of a large-diameter pipe. A wire mesh sensor was employed to study the void fraction distributions at axial distances of 5, 28 and 47 pipe diameters after the upstream bottom bend. The study found that, the bottom bend has considerable impacts on up-flow behaviour. In all conditions, centrifugal action causes appreciable misdistribution in the adjacent straight section. Plots from WMS measurements show that flow asymmetry significantly reduces along the axis at L/D = 47. Regime maps generated from three axial locations showed that, in addition to bubbly, intermittent and annular flows, oscillatory flow occurred particularly when gas and liquid flow rates were relatively low. At this position, mean void fractions were in agreement with those from other large-pipe studies, and comparisons were made with existing void fraction correlations. Among the correlations surveyed, drift flux-type correlations were found to give the best predictive results.

Terahertz absorption of lysozyme in solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Daniel R.; Matyushov, Dmitry V.

2017-08-01

Absorption of radiation by solution is described by its frequency-dependent dielectric function and can be viewed as a specific application of the dielectric theory of solutions. For ideal solutions, the dielectric boundary-value problem separates the polar response into the polarization of the void in the liquid, created by the solute, and the response of the solute dipole. In the case of a protein as a solute, protein nuclear dynamics do not project on significant fluctuations of the dipole moment in the terahertz domain of frequencies and the protein dipole can be viewed as dynamically frozen. Absorption of radiation then reflects the interfacial polarization. Here we apply an analytical theory and computer simulations to absorption of radiation by an ideal solution of lysozyme. Comparison with the experiment shows that Maxwell electrostatics fails to describe the polarization of the protein-water interface and the "Lorentz void," which does not anticipate polarization of the interface by the external field (no surface charges), better represents the data. An analytical theory for the slope of the solution absorption against the volume fraction of the solute is formulated in terms of the cavity field response function. It is calculated from molecular dynamics simulations in good agreement with the experiment. The protein hydration shell emerges as a separate sub-ensemble, which, collectively, is not described by the standard electrostatics of dielectrics.

Morphological Segregation in the Surroundings of Cosmic Voids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricciardelli, Elena; Cava, Antonio; Varela, Jesus; Tamone, Amelie

2017-09-01

We explore the morphology of galaxies living in the proximity of cosmic voids, using a sample of voids identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. At all stellar masses, void galaxies exhibit morphologies of a later type than galaxies in a control sample, which represent galaxies in an average density environment. We interpret this trend as a pure environmental effect, independent of the mass bias, due to a slower galaxy build-up in the rarefied regions of voids. We confirm previous findings about a clear segregation in galaxy morphology, with galaxies of a later type being found at smaller void-centric distances with respect to the early-type galaxies. We also show, for the first time, that the radius of the void has an impact on the evolutionary history of the galaxies that live within it or in its surroundings. In fact, an enhanced fraction of late-type galaxies is found in the proximity of voids larger than the median void radius. Likewise, an excess of early-type galaxies is observed within or around voids of a smaller size. A significant difference in galaxy properties in voids of different sizes is observed up to 2 R void, which we define as the region of influence of voids. The significance of this difference is greater than 3σ for all the volume-complete samples considered here. The fraction of star-forming galaxies shows the same behavior as the late-type galaxies, but no significant difference in stellar mass is observed in the proximity of voids of different sizes.

Effect of interface voids on electroluminescence colors for ZnO microdisk/p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Ran; Choi, Ji Eun; Kim, Hyeong Jin; Jeong, Junseok; Kim, Jong Chan; Kim, Yong-Jin; Jeong, Hu Young; Hong, Young Joon

2017-10-01

This study investigates the influence of voids on the electroluminescence (EL) emission color of ZnO microdisk/p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs). For this study, position-controlled microdisk arrays were fabricated on patterned p-GaN via wet chemical epitaxy of ZnO, and specifically, the use of trisodium citrate dihydrate (TCD) yielded high-density voids at the bottom of the microdisk. Greenish yellow or whitish blue EL was emitted from the microdisk LEDs formed with or without TCD, respectively, at reverse-bias voltages. Such different EL colors were found to be responsible for the relative EL intensity ratio between indigo and yellow emission peaks, which were originated from radiative recombination at p-GaN and ZnO, respectively. The relative EL intensity between dichromatic emissions is discussed in terms of (i) junction edge effect provoked by interfacial voids and (ii) electron tunneling probability depending on the depletion layer geometry.

Mass flow rate measurements in gas-liquid flows by means of a venturi or orifice plate coupled to a void fraction sensor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oliveira, Jorge Luiz Goes; Passos, Julio Cesar; Verschaeren, Ruud

Two-phase flow measurements were carried out using a resistive void fraction meter coupled to a venturi or orifice plate. The measurement system used to estimate the liquid and gas mass flow rates was evaluated using an air-water experimental facility. Experiments included upward vertical and horizontal flow, annular, bubbly, churn and slug patterns, void fraction ranging from 2% to 85%, water flow rate up to 4000 kg/h, air flow rate up to 50 kg/h, and quality up to almost 10%. The fractional root mean square (RMS) deviation of the two-phase mass flow rate in upward vertical flow through a venturi platemore » is 6.8% using the correlation of Chisholm (D. Chisholm, Pressure gradients during the flow of incompressible two-phase mixtures through pipes, venturis and orifice plates, British Chemical Engineering 12 (9) (1967) 454-457). For the orifice plate, the RMS deviation of the vertical flow is 5.5% using the correlation of Zhang et al. (H.J. Zhang, W.T. Yue, Z.Y. Huang, Investigation of oil-air two-phase mass flow rate measurement using venturi and void fraction sensor, Journal of Zhejiang University Science 6A (6) (2005) 601-606). The results show that the flow direction has no significant influence on the meters in relation to the pressure drop in the experimental operation range. Quality and slip ratio analyses were also performed. The results show a mean slip ratio lower than 1.1, when bubbly and slug flow patterns are encountered for mean void fractions lower than 70%. (author)« less

Two-phase flow characterization based on advanced instrumentation, neural networks, and mathematical modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mi, Ye

1998-12-01

The major objective of this thesis is focused on theoretical and experimental investigations of identifying and characterizing vertical and horizontal flow regimes in two-phase flows. A methodology of flow regime identification with impedance-based neural network systems and a comprehensive model of vertical slug flow have been developed. Vertical slug flow has been extensively investigated and characterized with geometric, kinematic and hydrodynamic parameters. A multi-sensor impedance void-meter and a multi-sensor magnetic flowmeter were developed. The impedance void-meter was cross-calibrated with other reliable techniques for void fraction measurements. The performance of the impedance void-meter to measure the void propagation velocity was evaluated by the drift flux model. It was proved that the magnetic flowmeter was applicable to vertical slug flow measurements. Separable signals from these instruments allow us to unearth most characteristics of vertical slug flow. A methodology of vertical flow regime identification was developed. Supervised neural network and self-organizing neural network systems were employed. First, they were trained with results from an idealized simulation of impedance in a two-phase mixture. The simulation was mainly based on Mishima and Ishii's flow regime map, the drift flux model, and the newly developed model of slug flow. Then, these trained systems were tested with impedance signals. The results showed that the neural network systems were appropriate classifiers of vertical flow regimes. The theoretical models and experimental databases used in the simulation were reliable. Furthermore, this approach was applied successfully to horizontal flow identification. A comprehensive model was developed to predict important characteristics of vertical slug flow. It was realized that the void fraction of the liquid slug is determined by the relative liquid motion between the Taylor bubble tail and the Taylor bubble wake. Relying on this understanding and experimental results, a special relationship was built for the void fraction of the liquid slug. The prediction of the void fraction of the liquid slug was considerably improved. Experimental characterization of vertical slug flows was performed extensively with the impedance void-meter and the magnetic flowmeter. The theoretical predictions were compared with the experimental results. The agreements between them are very satisfactory.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ricciardelli, Elena; Tamone, Amelie; Cava, Antonio

We explore the morphology of galaxies living in the proximity of cosmic voids, using a sample of voids identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. At all stellar masses, void galaxies exhibit morphologies of a later type than galaxies in a control sample, which represent galaxies in an average density environment. We interpret this trend as a pure environmental effect, independent of the mass bias, due to a slower galaxy build-up in the rarefied regions of voids. We confirm previous findings about a clear segregation in galaxy morphology, with galaxies of a later type being found atmore » smaller void-centric distances with respect to the early-type galaxies. We also show, for the first time, that the radius of the void has an impact on the evolutionary history of the galaxies that live within it or in its surroundings. In fact, an enhanced fraction of late-type galaxies is found in the proximity of voids larger than the median void radius. Likewise, an excess of early-type galaxies is observed within or around voids of a smaller size. A significant difference in galaxy properties in voids of different sizes is observed up to 2 R {sub void}, which we define as the region of influence of voids. The significance of this difference is greater than 3 σ for all the volume-complete samples considered here. The fraction of star-forming galaxies shows the same behavior as the late-type galaxies, but no significant difference in stellar mass is observed in the proximity of voids of different sizes.« less

Fuel cell with electrolyte matrix assembly

DOEpatents

Kaufman, Arthur; Pudick, Sheldon; Wang, Chiu L.

1988-01-01

This invention is directed to a fuel cell employing a substantially immobilized electrolyte imbedded therein and having a laminated matrix assembly disposed between the electrodes of the cell for holding and distributing the electrolyte. The matrix assembly comprises a non-conducting fibrous material such as silicon carbide whiskers having a relatively large void-fraction and a layer of material having a relatively small void-fraction.

Gas-liquid Phase Distribution and Void Fraction Measurements Using the MRI

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daidzic, N. E.; Schmidt, E.; Hasan, M. M.; Altobelli, S.

2004-01-01

We used a permanent-magnet MRI system to estimate the integral and spatially- and/or temporally-resolved void-fraction distributions and flow patterns in gas-liquid two-phase flows. Air was introduced at the bottom of the stagnant liquid column using an accurate and programmable syringe pump. Air flow rates were varied between 1 and 200 ml/min. The cylindrical non-conducting test tube in which two-phase flow was measured was placed in a 2.67 kGauss MRI with MRT spectrometer/imager. Roughly linear relationship has been obtained for the integral void-fraction, obtained by volume-averaging of the spatially-resolved signals, and the air flow rate in upward direction. The time-averaged spatially-resolved void fraction has also been obtained for the quasi-steady flow of air in a stagnant liquid column. No great accuracy is claimed as this was an exploratory proof-of-concept type of experiment. Preliminary results show that MRI a non-invasive and non-intrusive experimental technique can indeed provide a wealth of different qualitative and quantitative data and is especially well suited for averaged transport processes in adiabatic and diabatic multi-phase and/or multi-component flows.

Oil field management system

DOEpatents

Fincke, James R.

2003-09-23

Oil field management systems and methods for managing operation of one or more wells producing a high void fraction multiphase flow. The system includes a differential pressure flow meter which samples pressure readings at various points of interest throughout the system and uses pressure differentials derived from the pressure readings to determine gas and liquid phase mass flow rates of the high void fraction multiphase flow. One or both of the gas and liquid phase mass flow rates are then compared with predetermined criteria. In the event such mass flow rates satisfy the predetermined criteria, a well control system implements a correlating adjustment action respecting the multiphase flow. In this way, various parameters regarding the high void fraction multiphase flow are used as control inputs to the well control system and thus facilitate management of well operations.

Experimental Investigation of Relative Permeability Upscaling from the Micro-Scale to the Macro-Scale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pyrak-Nolte, Laura J.; Cheng, JiangTao; Yu, Ping

2003-01-29

During this reporting period, shown experimentally that the optical coherence imaging system can acquire information on grain interfaces and void shape for a maximum depth of half a millimeter into sandstone. The measurement of interfacial area per volume (IAV), capillary pressure and saturation in two dimensional micro-models structures has shown the existence of a unique relationship among these hydraulic parameters for different pore geometry. The measurement of interfacial area per volume on a three-dimensional natural sample, i.e., sandstone, has shown the homogeneity of IAV with depth in a sample when the fluids are in equilibrium.

Nanoparticle coating of a microchannel surface is an effective method for increasing the critical heat flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shustov, M. V.; Kuzma-Kichta, Yu. A.; Lavrikov, A. V.

2017-04-01

Results are presented of an investigation into water boiling in a single microchannel 0.2 mm high, 3 mm wide, and 13.7 mm long with a smooth heating surface or with a coating from aluminum oxide nanoparticles. The experimental procedure and the test setup are described. The top wall of the microchannel is made of glass so that video recording in the reflected light of the process can be made. A coating of Al2O3 particles is applied onto the heating surface before the experiments using a method developed by the authors of the paper. The experiments yielded data on heat transfer and void fraction and its fluctuations for the bubble and transient boiling in the microchannel. The dependence was established of the heat flux on the temperature of the microchannel wall with a smooth surface or a surface with Al2O3 nanoparticle coating for various mass flows in the microchannel. The boiling crisis has been found to occur in the microchannel with a nanoparticle coating at a considerably higher heat flux than that in the channel without coating. The experimental data also suggest that the nanoparticle coating improves heat transfer in the transition boiling region. Processing of the data obtained using a high-speed video revealed void fraction fluctuations enabling us to describe two-phase flow regimes with the flow boiling in a microchannel. It has been found that a return flow occurs in the microchannel under certain conditions. A hypothesis for its causes is proposed. The dependence of the void fraction on the steam quality in the microchannel with or without a nanoparticle coating was determined from the video records. The experimental data on void fraction for boiling in the microchannel without coating are approximated by an empirical correlation. The experiments demonstrate that the void fraction during boiling in the microchannel with a nanoparticle coating is higher than during boiling in the channel without coating (where φ and x are the void fraction and the steam quality, respectively) in the region of a sharp increase in the φ( x) curve.

Bubble clustering in a glass of stout beer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwatsubo, Fumiya; Watamura, Tomoaki; Sugiyama, Kazuyasu

2017-11-01

To clarify why the texture in stout beer poured into a pint glass descends, we investigated local time development of the void fraction and velocity of bubbles. The propagation of the number density distribution, i.e. the texture, appearing near the inclined wall is observed. We visualized individual advective bubbles near the inclined wall by microscope and measured the local void fraction using brightness of images while the velocity of bubbles by means of Particle Tracking Velocimetry. As the result of measurements, we found the local void fraction and the bubbles advection velocity increase and decrease repeatedly with a time delay. We conclude the texture pattern is composed of fluid blobs which contain less bubbles; extruding and suction flows respectively toward and from the interior of the container form respectively in front and back of the blobs.

A novel method for flow pattern identification in unstable operational conditions using gamma ray and radial basis function.

PubMed

Roshani, G H; Nazemi, E; Roshani, M M

2017-05-01

Changes of fluid properties (especially density) strongly affect the performance of radiation-based multiphase flow meter and could cause error in recognizing the flow pattern and determining void fraction. In this work, we proposed a methodology based on combination of multi-beam gamma ray attenuation and dual modality densitometry techniques using RBF neural network in order to recognize the flow regime and determine the void fraction in gas-liquid two phase flows independent of the liquid phase changes. The proposed system is consisted of one 137 Cs source, two transmission detectors and one scattering detector. The registered counts in two transmission detectors were used as the inputs of one primary Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network for recognizing the flow regime independent of liquid phase density. Then, after flow regime identification, three RBF neural networks were utilized for determining the void fraction independent of liquid phase density. Registered count in scattering detector and first transmission detector were used as the inputs of these three RBF neural networks. Using this simple methodology, all the flow patterns were correctly recognized and the void fraction was predicted independent of liquid phase density with mean relative error (MRE) of less than 3.28%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the Effects of Debonds and Voids in Adhesive Joints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rossettos, J. N.; Lin, P.; Nayeb-Hashemi, Hamid

1997-01-01

An analytical model is developed to compare the effects of voids an debonds on the interfacial shear stresses between the adherends and the adhesive in simple lap joints. Since the adhesive material above the debond may undergo some extension (either due to applied load or thermal expansion or both), a modified shear lag model, where the adhesive can take an extensional as well as shear deformation, is used in the analysis. The adherends take on only axial loads and act as membranes. Two coupled nondimensional differential equations are derived, and in general, five parameters govern the stress distribution in the overlap region. As expected, the major differences between the debond and the void occur for the stresses near the edge of the defect itself. Whether the defect is a debond or a void, is hardly discernible by the stresses at the overlap region. If the defect occurs precisely at or very close to either end of the overlap, however, differences of the order of 20 percent in the peak stresses can be obtained.

Investigating Deformation and Mesoscale Void Creation in HMX Based Composites using Tomography Based Grain Scale Finite Element Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walters, David J.; Luscher, Darby J.; Manner, Virginia; Yeager, John D.; Patterson, Brian M.

2017-06-01

The microstructure of plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) significantly affects their macroscale mechanical characteristics. Imaging and modeling of the mesoscale constituents allows for a detailed examination of the deformation of mechanically loaded PBXs. In this study, explosive composites, formulated with HMX crystals and various HTPB based polymer binders have been imaged using micro Computed Tomography (μCT). Cohesive parameters for simulation of the crystal/binder interface are determined by comparing numerical and experimental results of the delamination of a polymer bound bi-crystal system. Similarly, polycrystalline samples are discretized into a finite element mesh using the mesoscale geometry captured by in-situ μCT imaging. Experimentally, increasing the stiffness of the HTPB binder in the polycrystalline system resulted in a transition from ductile flow with little crystal/binder delamination to brittle behavior with increased void creation along the interfaces. Simulating the macroscale compression of these samples demonstrates the effects that the mesoscale geometry, cohesive properties, and binder stiffness have on the creation and distribution of interfacial voids. Understanding void nucleation is critical for modeling damage in these complex materials.

Origin of the sphere-to-rod transition in cationic micelles with aromatic counterions: specific ion hydration in the interfacial region matters.

PubMed

Geng, Yan; Romsted, Laurence S; Froehner, Sandro; Zanette, Dino; Magid, Linda J; Cuccovia, Iolanda M; Chaimovich, Hernan

2005-01-18

Sphere-to-rod transitions of cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA+) micelles with dichlorobenzoate counterions are remarkably substituent dependent. Simultaneous estimates of the interfacial molarities of H2O, MeOH, and Cl- and 2,6- and 3,5-dichlorobenzoate (2,6OBz and 3,5OBz) counterions were obtained by the chemical trapping method in mixed micelles of CTACl/CTA3,5OBz and CTACl/CTA2,6OBz without added salt. Increasing the CTA3,5OBz mole fraction produces a marked concurrent increase in interfacial 3,5OBz- and a decrease in interfacial H2O concentrations through the sphere-to-rod transition. No abrupt concentration changes are observed with increasing CTA2,6OBz mole fraction. Counterion-specific changes in the interfacial water concentration may be a major contributor to the delicate balance of forces governing micellar morphology.

Effects of isothermal and cyclic exposures on interface structure and mechanical properties of FPalpha-Al2O3/aluminum composites. [polycrystaline alumina fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, W. M.; Koczak, M. J.; Lawley, A.

1979-01-01

The microstructural and interface stability of FPalpha-Al203/Al-Li composites are investigated as a function of isothermal exposure at 500 C or thermal cycling between 140 and 500 C with hold time at Tmax. Interfacial morphology, growth kinetics, crystal structure, and composition of interfacial reaction products are characterized. Strength is monitored in the transverse orientation, and fracture mechanics is analyzed in terms of interface reaction products. The interfacial reaction product in FP/Al is Li2O.5Al2O3. Significant fiber-matrix reaction occurs during fabrication. The number of thermal cycles rather than total time at Tmax is the determining factor in strength degradation, thermal cycling giving rise to voids at the fiber-matrix interface. Extensive interface failures occur at composite fracture stresses below about 128 MPa; above this stress level failure is attributed to ductile matrix fracture.

Cavity Adaptation of Water-Based Restoratives Placed as Liners under a Resin Composite

PubMed Central

Gaintantzopoulou, Maria D.; Eliades, George

2017-01-01

Purpose. To investigate the cavity adaptation of mineral trioxide (ProRoot MTA/MT), tricalcium silicate (Biodentine/BD), and glass ionomer (Equia Fil/EF) cements used as liners and the interfacial integrity between those liners and a composite resin placed as the main restorative material. Materials and Methods. Standardized class I cavities (n: 8 per group) were prepared in upper premolars. Cavities were lined with a 1 mm thick layer of each of the tested materials and restored with Optibond FL adhesive and Herculite Precis composite resin. Cavity adaptation of the restorations was investigated by computerized X-ray microtomography. The regions of interest (ROI) were set at the cavity-liner (CL) interface and the liner-resin (LR) interface. The percentage void volume fraction (%VVF) in the ROI was calculated. The specimens were then sectioned and the interfaces were evaluated by reflection optical microscopy, to measure the % length (%LD) of the interfacial gaps. Selected samples were further evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Statistical analysis was performed by two-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls multiple comparison test (a = 0.05). Results. MT showed significantly higher %VVF and %LD values in CL interfaces than BD and EF (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found among the materials for the same values at the LR interfaces. Conclusions. When used as a composite liner, ProRoot MTA showed inferior cavity adaptation at dentin/liner interface when compared to Biodentine and Equia Fil. PMID:28465685

Dynamics of solid thin-film dewetting in the silicon-on-insulator system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bussmann, E.; Cheynis, F.; Leroy, F.; Müller, P.; Pierre-Louis, O.

2011-04-01

Using low-energy electron microscopy movies, we have measured the dewetting dynamics of single-crystal Si(001) thin films on SiO2 substrates. During annealing (T>700 °C), voids open in the Si, exposing the oxide. The voids grow, evolving Si fingers that subsequently break apart into self-organized three-dimensional (3D) Si nanocrystals. A kinetic Monte Carlo model incorporating surface and interfacial free energies reproduces all the salient features of the morphological evolution. The dewetting dynamics is described using an analytic surface-diffusion-based model. We demonstrate quantitatively that Si dewetting from SiO2 is mediated by surface-diffusion driven by surface free-energy minimization.

A Deterministic Interfacial Cyclic Oxidation Spalling Model. Part 1; Model Development and Parametric Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smialek, James L.

2002-01-01

An equation has been developed to model the iterative scale growth and spalling process that occurs during cyclic oxidation of high temperature materials. Parabolic scale growth and spalling of a constant surface area fraction have been assumed. Interfacial spallation of the only the thickest segments was also postulated. This simplicity allowed for representation by a simple deterministic summation series. Inputs are the parabolic growth rate constant, the spall area fraction, oxide stoichiometry, and cycle duration. Outputs include the net weight change behavior, as well as the total amount of oxygen and metal consumed, the total amount of oxide spalled, and the mass fraction of oxide spalled. The outputs all follow typical well-behaved trends with the inputs and are in good agreement with previous interfacial models.

Mechanical Properties versus Morphology of Ordered Polymers. Volume III. Part I

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-08-01

measured by wide angle x-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetry, is unrelated to the diffuse scattered intensity [62]. Cellulose acetate which...increasing void fraction, in air swollen cellulose . Comparison of the volume fraction of voids calculated from the SAXS integrated intensity with...1964). 63. P.H. Hermans, D. Heikens, and A. Weidinger, "A Quantitative Investigation on the X-Ray Small Angle Scattering of Cellulose Fibers. Part II

Validation of CTF Droplet Entrainment and Annular/Mist Closure Models using Riso Steam/Water Experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wysocki, Aaron J.; Salko, Robert K.

This report summarizes the work done to validate the droplet entrainment and de-entrainment models as well as two-phase closure models in the CTF code by comparison with experimental data obtained at Riso National Laboratory. The Riso data included a series of over 250 steam/water experiments that were performed in both tube and annulus geometries over a range of various pressures and outlet qualities. Experimental conditions were set so that the majority of cases were in the annular/mist ow regime. Measurements included liquid lm ow rate, droplet ow rate, lm thickness, and two-phase pressure drop. CTF was used to model 180more » of the tubular geometry cases, matching experimental geometry, outlet pressure, and outlet ow quality to experimental values. CTF results were compared to the experimental data at the outlet of the test section in terms of vapor and entrained liquid ow fractions, pressure drop per unit length, and liquid lm thickness. The entire process of generating CTF input decks, running cases, extracting data, and generating comparison plots was scripted using Python and Matplotlib for a completely automated validation process. All test cases and scripting tools have been committed to the COBRA-TF master repository and selected cases have been added to the continuous testing system to serve as regression tests. The dierences between the CTF- and experimentally-calculated ow fraction values were con- sistent with previous calculations by Wurtz, who applied the same entrainment correlation to the same data. It has been found that CTF's entrainment/de-entrainment predictive capability in the annular/mist ow regime for this particular facility is comparable to the licensed industry code, COBRAG. While lm and droplet predictions are generally good, it has been found that accuracy is diminished at lower ow qualities. This nding is consistent with the noted deciencies in the Wurtz entrainment model employed by CTF. The CTF predicted two-phase pressure drop in the annular/mist ow regime has been found to be highly inaccurate, exhibiting a clear bias with respect to the experimental data. This inaccuracy led to an investigation that revealed deciencies in the implementation of the annular/mist interfacial friction model, which should be investigated further in the future. Looking to published COBRAG results for this same facility reveal it exhibits no bias with regard to experimental pressure drop results. In addition to the problems with pressure drop prediction, the lm thickness was also signicantly under-predicted by CTF compared to both experimental data and Wurtz's analytical calculations. Film thickness is calculated using a simple geometric relationship and lm void fraction in CTF, which is dependent on slip ratio and interfacial friction. It is possible that the issues aecting the pressure drop and lm void prediction are related.« less

Comparison of thermal insulation performance of fibrous materials for the advanced space suit.

PubMed

Paul, Heather L; Diller, Kenneth R

2003-10-01

The current multi-layer insulation used in the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) will not be effective in the atmosphere of Mars due to the presence of interstitial gases. Alternative thermal insulation means have been subjected to preliminary evaluation by NASA to attempt to identify a material that will meet the target conductivity of 0.005 W/m-K. This study analyzes numerically the thermal conductivity performance for three of these candidate insulating fiber materials in terms of various denier (size), interstitial void fractions, interstitial void media, and orientations to the applied temperature gradient to evaluate their applicability for the new Mars suit insulation. The results demonstrate that the best conductive insulation is achieved for a high-void-fraction configuration with a grooved fiber cross section, aerogel void medium, and the fibers oriented normal to the heat flux vector. However, this configuration still exceeds the target thermal conductivity by a factor of 1.5.

Relationship between water status in dentin and interfacial morphology in all-in-one adhesives.

PubMed

Yoshida, Eiji; Uno, Sigeru; Nodasaka, Yoshinobu; Kaga, Msayuki; Hirano, Susumu

2007-05-01

All-in-one adhesive systems have been recently developed to simplify bonding procedures. The adhesives containing acidic resin monomers generate a relatively thin bonding zone between dentin and composite. This zone may be left acidic and permeable when polymerization is poor. In this study, the effect of water contained in dentin on the quality of the bonding interface was morphologically investigated for all-in-one adhesives. Intact coronal dentin (hydrated dentin), desiccated coronal dentin (dehydrated dentin), caries-affected dentin (CAD) and resin composites were used for adherends to assess the effects of water contained in dentin on the ultra-structures of bonding interfaces created with two all-in-one adhesives and a resin composite. The bonding interfaces were observed under TEM without demineralization. Voids of various sizes were found at the bottom of the adhesive resin layers along the bonding interface of hydrated dentin, while dehydrated dentin, CAD and resin composites did not generate voids. The results showed that the voids were possibly formed by water that had penetrated from the underlying dentin. When the adherend contains little water, the formation of voids will not occur. It was verified that a phenomenon of void formation would not occur in a clinical situation in which caries-affected dentin is mainly subjected to adhesive practices.

Note: Void effects on eddy current distortion in two-phase liquid metal.

PubMed

Kumar, M; Tordjeman, Ph; Bergez, W; Cavaro, M

2015-10-01

A model based on the first order perturbation expansion of magnetic flux in a two-phase liquid metal flow has been developed for low magnetic Reynolds number Rem. This model takes into account the distortion of the induced eddy currents due to the presence of void in the conducting medium. Specific experiments with an eddy current flow meter have been realized for two periodic void distributions. The results have shown, in agreement with the model, that the effects of velocity and void on the emf modulation are decoupled. The magnitude of the void fraction and the void spatial frequency can be determined from the spectral density of the demodulated emf.

Phase nucleation and evolution mechanisms in heterogeneous solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udupa, Anirudh

Phase nucleation and evolution is a problem of critical importance in many applications. As the length scales are reduced, it becomes increasingly important to consider interfacial and micro-structural effects that can be safely ignored at larger length scales owing to randomness. The theory of phase nucleation has been addressed usually by the classical nucleation theory, which was originally derived for single component fluid systems, after making an assumption of equilibrium. The criterion has not been rigorously derived for solids, which are far from equilibrium due to dissipation by multiple physical drivers. In this thesis, a thermodynamically sound nucleation criterion is derived for systems with multiple interacting physical phenomena and multiple dissipating mechanisms. This is done, using the tools of continuum mechanics, by determining the change in free energy upon the introduction of a new nucleus into the system. The developed theory is demonstrated to be a generalization of the classical nucleation theory (CNT). The developed theory is then applied to the problem of electromigration driven void nucleation, a serious reliability concern for the microelectronics industry. The void grows and eventually severs the line making the chip nonfunctional. There are two classes of theories at present in the electromigration literature to address the problem of void nucleation, the vacancy supersaturation theory and the entropic dissipation theory, both of which are empirical and based on intuition developed from experimental observations. When the developed theory was applied to the problem of electromigration, it was found to be consistent with the vacancy supersaturation theory, but provided the correct energetic quantity, the chemical potential, which has contribution from both the vacancy concentration as well as the hydrostatic stress. An experiment, consisting of electromigration tests on serpentine lines, was developed to validate the developed nucleation theory. The experimental results are consistent with the developed theory and show that the theory of entropic dissipation is incorrect. A diffuse-interface computational technique was then developed to simulate the problem of electromigration driven void nucleation and growth in arbitrary geometries. Experimentally known results such as Black's law, existence of the Blech length, effect of interface adhesion energy were reproduced. The simulations were also used to infer the numerical value of the nucleation criterion, based on experimental results in the literature. The problem of electromigration is the result of species diffusion due to imparted momentum from the electrons, and the resulting motion of interface is influenced by surface diffusion along the interface, bulk diffusion, and the current density. Similarly, the formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) and the resulting interface shape in many systems is the result of limiting effects of bulk diffusion, interfacial reaction, surface energy, and surface diffusion. Thus, the dynamics and stability of the interface formed when Cu and Sn react to form the IMC compound Cu6Sn5 is explored next. This system is of significant relevance to modern microelectronic chip assemblies, where solder joints with significant Cu6Sn5 volume fraction are known to be prone to brittle fracture and shorter useful life. Prior experimental observations have shown the interface to possess either a scalloped, flat or needle shaped morphology. The governing mechanism leading to the observed shape of the interface is not clearly known, and is the focus of the present study. In research unrelated to diffusion driven phase evolution, but involving interfaces nevertheless, in the appendix, the problem of interfacial delamination in Through Silicon Vias (TSV) is studied analytically. Three-dimensional (3D) packages utilizing TSVs are seen as enablers of increased performance and "More than Moore" functionality at the present time. However, the use of TSVs introduce a set of reliability concerns, one of which is the thermo-mechanical stress caused by the mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the copper via and the surround- ing silicon. The CTE mismatch, causes high stress zones in and around the copper TSVs, which in turn impede the mobility of electrons in the regions surrounding the TSVs. Further, proximal placing of TSVs for improved electrical performance may be restricted by additional stress induced by TSV-TSV interaction. The increased stress of the region surrounding the TSV also increases the risk of interfacial delamination. In order to ensure reliable functioning of 3D chip stacks, design guidelines are necessary on the excluded "keep-out" zone where stress induced by TSVs will impede transistor functionality. Towards this end, we analytically derive, using elasticity theory, the stress field in and around a doubly periodic arrangement of TSVs subjected to a uniform thermal excursion. The model for stress is used to analytically estimate the conditions for interfacial cracks to propagate, as a function of the system geometry and material properties. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Modelisation de l'instabilite fluidelastique d'un faisceau de tubes soumis a un ecoulement diphasique transverse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawadogo, Teguewinde

This study focuses on the modeling of fluidelastic instability induced by two-phase cross-flow in tube bundles of steam generators. The steam generators in CANDU type nuclear power plants for e.g., designed in Canada by AECL and exploited worldwide, have thousands of tubes assembled in bundles that ensure the heat exchange between the internal circuit of heated heavy water coming from the reactor core and the external circuit of light water evaporated and directed toward the turbines. The main objective of this research project is to extend the theoretical models for fluidelastic instability to two-phase flow, validate the models and develop a computer program for simulating flow induced vibrations in tube bundles. The quasi-steady model has been investigated in scope of this research project. The time delay between the structure motion and the fluid forces generated thereby has been extensively studied in two-phase flow. The study was conducted for a rotated triangular tube array. Firstly, experimental measurements of unsteady and quasi-static fluid forces (in the lift direction) acting on a tube subject to two-phase flow were conducted. Quasi-static fluid force coefficients were measured at the same Reynolds number, Re = 2.8x104, for void fractions ranging from 0% to 80%. The derivative of the lift coefficient with respect to the quasi-static dimensionless displacement in the lift direction was deduced from the experimental measurements. This derivative is one of the most important parameters of the quasi-steady model because this parameter, in addition to the time delay, generates the fluid negative damping that causes the instability. This derivative was found to be positive in liquid flow and negative in two-phase flow. It seemed to vanish at 5% of void fraction, challenging the ability of the quasi-steady model to predict fluidelastic instability in this case. However, stability tests conducted at 5% void fraction clearly showed fluidelastic instability. Stability tests were conducted in the second stage of the project to validate the theoretical model. The two phase damping, the added mass and the critical velocity for fluidelastic instability were measured in two-phase flow. A viscoelastic damper was designed to vary the damping of the flexible tube and thus measure the critical velocity for a certain range of the mass-damping parameter. A new formulation of the added mass as a function of the void fraction was proposed. This formulation has a better agreement with the experimental results because it takes into account the reduction of the void fraction in the vicinity of the tubes in a rotated triangular tube array. The experimental data were used to validate the theoretical results of the quasi-steady model. The validity of the quasi-steady model for two-phase flow was confirmed by the good agreement between its results and the experimental data. The time delay parameter determined in the first stage of the project has improved significantly the theoretical results, especially for high void fractions (90%). However, the model could not be verified for void fractions lower or equal to 50% because of the limitation of the water pump capability. Further studies are consequently required to clarify this point. However, this model can be used to simulate the flow induced vibrations in steam generators' tube bundles as their most critical parts operate at high void fractions (≥ 60%). Having verified the quasi-steady model for high void fractions in two-phase flow, the third and final stage of the project was devoted to the development of a computer code for simulating flow induced vibrations of a steam generator tube subjected to fluidelastic and turbulence forces. This code was based on the ABAQUS finite elements code for solving the equation of motion of the fluid-structure system, and a development of a subroutine in which the fluid forces are calculated and applied to the tube. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Polypropylene/Short Glass Fibers Composites: Effects of Coupling Agents on Mechanical Properties, Thermal Behaviors, and Morphology

PubMed Central

Lin, Jia-Horng; Huang, Chien-Lin; Liu, Chi-Fan; Chen, Chih-Kuang; Lin, Zheng-Ian; Lou, Ching-Wen

2015-01-01

This study uses the melt compounding method to produce polypropylene (PP)/short glass fibers (SGF) composites. PP serves as matrix while SGF serves as reinforcement. Two coupling agents, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene, (PP-g-MA) and maleic anhydride grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS-g-MA) are incorporated in the PP/SGF composites during the compounding process, in order to improve the interfacial adhesion and create diverse desired properties of the composites. According to the mechanical property evaluations, increasing PP-g-MA as a coupling agent provides the composites with higher tensile, flexural, and impact properties. In contrast, increasing SEBS-g-MA as a coupling agent provides the composites with decreasing tensile and flexural strengths, but also increasing impact strength. The DSC results indicate that using either PP-g-MA or SEBS-g-MA as the coupling agent increases the crystallization temperature. However, the melting temperature of PP barely changes. The spherulitic morphology results show that PP has a smaller spherulite size when it is processed with PP-g-MA or SEBS-g-MA as the coupling agent. The SEM results indicate that SGF is evenly distributed in PP matrices, but there are distinct voids between these two materials, indicating a poor interfacial adhesion. After PP-g-MA or SEBS-g-MA is incorporated, SGF can be encapsulated by PP, and the voids between them are fewer and indistinctive. This indicates that the coupling agents can effectively improve the interfacial compatibility between PP and SGF, and as a result improves the diverse properties of PP/SGF composites. PMID:28793710

A Dual Conductance Sensor for Simultaneous Measurement of Void Fraction and Structure Velocity of Downward Two-Phase Flow in a Slightly Inclined Pipe

PubMed Central

Lee, Yeon-Gun; Won, Woo-Youn; Lee, Bo-An; Kim, Sin

2017-01-01

In this study, a new and improved electrical conductance sensor is proposed for application not only to a horizontal pipe, but also an inclined one. The conductance sensor was designed to have a dual layer, each consisting of a three-electrode set to obtain two instantaneous conductance signals in turns, so that the area-averaged void fraction and structure velocity could be measured simultaneously. The optimum configuration of the electrodes was determined through numerical analysis, and the calibration curves for stratified and annular flow were obtained through a series of static experiments. The fabricated conductance sensor was applied to a 45 mm inner diameter U-shaped downward inclined pipe with an inclination angle of 3° under adiabatic air-water flow conditions. In the tests, the superficial velocities ranged from 0.1 to 3.0 m/s for water and from 0.1 to 18 m/s for air. The obtained mean void fraction and the structure velocity from the conductance sensor were validated against the measurement by the wire-mesh sensor and the cross-correlation technique for the visualized images, respectively. The results of the flow regime classification and the corresponding time series of the void fraction at a variety of flow velocities were also discussed. PMID:28481308

How to bridge the gap between "unresolved" model and "resolved" model in CFD-DEM coupled method for sediment transport?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, D.; Fu, X.; Liu, X.

2016-12-01

In nature, granular materials exist widely in water bodies. Understanding the fundamentals of solid-liquid two-phase flow, such as turbulent sediment-laden flow, is of importance for a wide range of applications. A coupling method combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) is now widely used for modeling such flows. In this method, when particles are significantly larger than the CFD cells, the fluid field around each particle should be fully resolved. On the other hand, the "unresolved" model is designed for the situation where particles are significantly smaller than the mesh cells. Using "unresolved" model, large amount of particles can be simulated simultaneously. However, there is a gap between these two situations when the size of DEM particles and CFD cell is in the same order of magnitude. In this work, the most commonly used void fraction models are tested with numerical sedimentation experiments. The range of applicability for each model is presented. Based on this, a new void fraction model, i.e., a modified version of "tri-linear" model, is proposed. Particular attention is paid to the smooth function of void fraction in order to avoid numerical instability. The results show good agreement with the experimental data and analytical solution for both single-particle motion and also group-particle motion, indicating great potential of the new void fraction model.

Application of the ultrasonic technique and high-speed filming for the study of the structure of air-water bubbly flows

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carvalho, R.D.M.; Venturini, O.J.; Tanahashi, E.I.

2009-10-15

Multiphase flows are very common in industry, oftentimes involving very harsh environments and fluids. Accordingly, there is a need to determine the dispersed phase holdup using noninvasive fast responding techniques; besides, knowledge of the flow structure is essential for the assessment of the transport processes involved. The ultrasonic technique fulfills these requirements and could have the capability to provide the information required. In this paper, the potential of the ultrasonic technique for application to two-phase flows was investigated by checking acoustic attenuation data against experimental data on the void fraction and flow topology of vertical, upward, air-water bubbly flows inmore » the zero to 15% void fraction range. The ultrasonic apparatus consisted of one emitter/receiver transducer and three other receivers at different positions along the pipe circumference; simultaneous high-speed motion pictures of the flow patterns were made at 250 and 1000 fps. The attenuation data for all sensors exhibited a systematic interrelated behavior with void fraction, thereby testifying to the capability of the ultrasonic technique to measure the dispersed phase holdup. From the motion pictures, basic gas phase structures and different flows patterns were identified that corroborated several features of the acoustic attenuation data. Finally, the acoustic wave transit time was also investigated as a function of void fraction. (author)« less

Cluster Dynamics Modeling with Bubble Nucleation, Growth and Coalescence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de Almeida, Valmor F.; Blondel, Sophie; Bernholdt, David E.

The topic of this communication pertains to defect formation in irradiated solids such as plasma-facing tungsten submitted to helium implantation in fusion reactor com- ponents, and nuclear fuel (metal and oxides) submitted to volatile ssion product generation in nuclear reactors. The purpose of this progress report is to describe ef- forts towards addressing the prediction of long-time evolution of defects via continuum cluster dynamics simulation. The di culties are twofold. First, realistic, long-time dynamics in reactor conditions leads to a non-dilute di usion regime which is not accommodated by the prevailing dilute, stressless cluster dynamics theory. Second, long-time dynamics callsmore » for a large set of species (ideally an in nite set) to capture all possible emerging defects, and this represents a computational bottleneck. Extensions beyond the dilute limit is a signi cant undertaking since no model has been advanced to extend cluster dynamics to non-dilute, deformable conditions. Here our proposed approach to model the non-dilute limit is to monitor the appearance of a spatially localized void volume fraction in the solid matrix with a bell shape pro le and insert an explicit geometrical bubble onto the support of the bell function. The newly cre- ated internal moving boundary provides the means to account for the interfacial ux of mobile species into the bubble, and the growth of bubbles allows for coalescence phenomena which captures highly non-dilute interactions. We present a preliminary interfacial kinematic model with associated interfacial di usion transport to follow the evolution of the bubble in any number of spatial dimensions and any number of bubbles, which can be further extended to include a deformation theory. Finally we comment on a computational front-tracking method to be used in conjunction with conventional cluster dynamics simulations in the non-dilute model proposed.« less

Modeling of Inverted Annular Film Boiling using an integral method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sridharan, Arunkumar

In modeling Inverted Annular Film Boiling (IAFB), several important phenomena such as interaction between the liquid and the vapor phases and irregular nature of the interface, which greatly influence the momentum and heat transfer at the interface, need to be accounted for. However, due to the complexity of these phenomena, they were not modeled in previous studies. Since two-phase heat transfer equations and relationships rely heavily on experimental data, many closure relationships that were used in previous studies to solve the problem are empirical in nature. Also, in deriving the relationships, the experimental data were often extrapolated beyond the intended range of conditions, causing errors in predictions. In some cases, empirical correlations that were derived from situations other than IAFB, and whose applicability to IAFB was questionable, were used. Moreover, arbitrary constants were introduced in the model developed in previous studies to provide good fit to the experimental data. These constants have no physical basis, thereby leading to questionable accuracy in the model predictions. In the present work, modeling of Inverted Annular Film Boiling (IAFB) is done using Integral Method. Two-dimensional formulation of IAFB is presented. Separate equations for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy are derived from first principles, for the vapor film and the liquid core. Turbulence is incorporated in the formulation. The system of second-order partial differential equations is integrated over the radial direction to obtain a system of integral differential equations. In order to solve the system of equations, second order polynomial profiles are used to describe the nondimensional velocity and temperatures. The unknown coefficients in the profiles are functions of the axial direction alone. Using the boundary conditions that govern the physical problem, equations for the unknown coefficients are derived in terms of the primary dependent variables: wall shear stress, interfacial shear stress, film thickness, pressure, wall temperature and the mass transfer rate due to evaporation. A system of non-linear first order coupled ordinary differential equations is obtained. Due to the inherent mathematical complexity of the system of equations, simplifying assumptions are made to obtain a numerical solution. The system of equations is solved numerically to obtain values of the unknown quantities at each subsequent axial location. Derived quantities like void fraction and heat transfer coefficient are calculated at each axial location. The calculation is terminated when the void fraction reaches a value of 0.6, the upper limit of IAFB. The results obtained agree with the experimental trends observed. Void fraction increases along the heated length, while the heat transfer coefficient drops due to the increased resistance of the vapor film as expected.

Chemistry of the metal-polymer interfacial region.

PubMed

Leidheiser, H; Deck, P D

1988-09-02

In many polymer-metal systems, chemical bonds are formed that involve metal-oxygen-carbon complexes. Infrared and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies indicate that carboxylate groups play an important role in some systems. The oxygen sources may be the polymer, the oxygen present in the oxide on the metal surface, or atmospheric oxygen. Diffusion of metal ions from the substrate into the polymer interphase may occur in some systems that are cured at elevated temperatures. It is unclear whether a similar, less extensive diffusion occurs over long time periods in systems maintained at room temperature. The interfacial region is dynamic, and chemical changes occur with aging at room temperature. Positron annihilation spectroscopy may have application to characterizing the voids at the metal-polymer interface.

Phase relationship in three-phase composites which include a void phase

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, H. L.; Nelson, J. B.

1976-01-01

The paper shows the relationship among polymer, particles, and voids in a three-phase composite and how some of the properties of a composite may be changed by changing the proportions of the phases. The three-phase composite is an aggregate of microspheres bonded together with a small amount of polymer which may not form a continuous matrix. The void space (third phase) is obtained by limiting the amount of polymer which is mixed with the microspheres. A ternary phase diagram is used to show the proportional relationship among the three phases, with each apex representing a volume fraction of unity for a constituent while the side opposite the apex represents a volume fraction of zero for that constituent. The vertical dimension represents some composite property such as density or strength. The effect of composition on composite properties is shown by plotting them on a binary phase diagram which represents a perpendicular plane coincident with the 0.60 volume fraction microsphere line.

Neutron imaging of diabatic two-phase flows relevant to air conditioning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Geoghegan, Patrick J; Sharma, Vishaldeep

The design of the evaporator of an air conditioning system relies heavily on heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop correlations that predominantly involve an estimate of the changing void fraction and the underlying two-phase flow regime. These correlations dictate whether the resulting heat exchanger is oversized or not and the amount of refrigerant charge necessary to operate. The latter is particularly important when dealing with flammable or high GWP refrigerants. Traditional techniques to measure the void fraction and visualize the flow are either invasive to the flow or occur downstream of the evaporator, where some of the flow distribution willmore » have changed. Neutron imaging has the potential to visualize two-phase flow in-situ where an aluminium heat exchanger structure becomes essentially transparent to the penetrating neutrons. The subatomic particles are attenuated by the passing refrigerant flow. The resulting image may be directly related to the void fraction and the overall picture provides a clear insight into the flow regime present. This work presents neutron images of the refrigerant Isopentane as it passes through the flow channels of an aluminium evaporator at flowrates relevant to air conditioning. The flow in a 4mm square macro channel is compared to that in a 250 m by 750 m rectangular microchannel in terms of void fraction and regime. All neutron imaging experiments were conducted at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory facility« less

Numerical study of the influence of geometrical characteristics of a vertical helical coil on a bubbly flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saffari, H.; Moosavi, R.

2014-11-01

In this article, turbulent single-phase and two-phase (air-water) bubbly fluid flows in a vertical helical coil are analyzed by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The effects of the pipe diameter, coil diameter, coil pitch, Reynolds number, and void fraction on the pressure loss, friction coefficient, and flow characteristics are investigated. The Eulerian-Eulerian model is used in this work to simulate the two-phase fluid flow. Three-dimensional governing equations of continuity, momentum, and energy are solved by using the finite volume method. The k- ɛ turbulence model is used to calculate turbulence fluctuations. The SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the velocity and pressure fields. Due to the effect of a secondary force in helical pipes, the friction coefficient is found to be higher in helical pipes than in straight pipes. The friction coefficient increases with an increase in the curvature, pipe diameter, and coil pitch and decreases with an increase in the coil diameter and void fraction. The close correlation between the numerical results obtained in this study and the numerical and empirical results of other researchers confirm the accuracy of the applied method. For void fractions up to 0.1, the numerical results indicate that the friction coefficient increases with increasing the pipe diameter and keeping the coil pitch and diameter constant and decreases with increasing the coil diameter. Finally, with an increase in the Reynolds number, the friction coefficient decreases, while the void fraction increases.

Positron annihilation study of the interfacial defects in ZnO nanocrystals: Correlation with ferromagnetism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dong; Chen, Z. Q.; Wang, D. D.; Qi, N.; Gong, J.; Cao, C. Y.; Tang, Z.

2010-01-01

High purity ZnO nanopowders were pressed into pellets and annealed in air between 100 and 1200 °C. The crystal quality and grain size of the ZnO nanocrystals were investigated by x-ray diffraction 2θ scans. Annealing induces an increase in the grain size from 25 to 165 nm with temperature increasing from 400 to 1200 °C. Scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations also confirm the grain growth during annealing. Positron annihilation measurements reveal vacancy defects including Zn vacancies, vacancy clusters, and voids in the grain boundary region. The voids show an easy recovery after annealing at 100-700 °C. However, Zn vacancies and vacancy clusters observed by positrons remain unchanged after annealing at temperatures below 500 °C and begin to recover at higher temperatures. After annealing at temperatures higher than 1000 °C, no positron trapping by the interfacial defects can be observed. Raman spectroscopy studies confirm the recovery of lattice disorder after annealing. Hysteresis loops are observed for the 100 and 400 °C annealed samples, which indicate ferromagnetism in ZnO nanocrystals. However, the ferromagnetism disappears after annealing above 700 °C, suggesting that it might originate from the surface defects such as Zn vacancies.

Time dependent voiding mechanisms in polyamide 6 submitted to high stress triaxiality: experimental characterisation and finite element modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selles, Nathan; King, Andrew; Proudhon, Henry; Saintier, Nicolas; Laiarinandrasana, Lucien

2017-08-01

Double notched round bars made of semi-crystalline polymer polyamide 6 (PA6) were submitted to monotonic tensile and creep tests. The two notches had a root radius of 0.45 mm, which imposes a multiaxial stress state and a state of high triaxiality in the net (minimal) section of the specimens. Tests were carried out until the failure occurred from one of the notches. The other one, unbroken but deformed under steady strain rate or steady load, was inspected using the Synchrotron Radiation Computed Tomography (SRCT) technique. These 3D through thickness inspections allowed the study of microstructural evolution at the peak stress for the monotonic tensile test and at the beginning of the tertiary creep for the creep tests. Cavitation features were assessed with a micrometre resolution within the notched region. Spatial distributions of void volume fraction ( Vf) and void morphology were studied. Voiding mechanisms were similar under steady strain rates and steady loads. The maximum values of Vf were located between the axis of revolution of the specimens and the notch surface and voids were considered as flat cylinders with a circular basis perpendicular to the loading direction. A model, based on porous plasticity, was used to simulate the mechanical response of this PA6 material under high stress triaxiality. Both macroscopic behaviour (loading curves) and voiding micro-mechanisms (radial distributions of void volume fraction) were accurately predicted using finite element simulations.

Developpement d'un systeme pour la mesure du taux de vide dans un ecoulement diphasique par une methode utilisant des micro-ondes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pochet, Steven

The measurement of the void fraction is an important parameter in many industrial fields. Whether it is to prevent the phenomenon of critical heat flux in heat tube of thermal power plants, the explosion of gas pockets in oil rigs’ pipes or to detect bubbles in medical catheters, the knowledge of the void fraction can be a key parameter in many diverse applications. Several invasive and non-invasive measurements techniques have been developed these last decades and are based on the difference between the physical properties of liquid and gas. Some of these techniques are not always possible to implement due to restrictions in the geometry of tubes or regulatory standards limiting their use. Throughout this work we propose a new non-invasive void fraction measurement technique based on the reflection of electromagnetic waves on the water-air interface of the mixture. The reflection of electromagnetic wave is induced by a change in the impedance of the propagation medium. The impedance is function of the dielectric properties of the medium. The characteristics of air and water being distinct, it is possible to calculate the complex reflection coefficient at the interface of a double phase mixture. To this end, mathematical modeling of the response of an electromagnetic wave in a tube containing a two phase mixture was made using the model of transmission lines, applicable to microwave frequencies we use. The effects of the amount of air in water and the position of the bubbles in the section of the tube were simulated. It was shown that the phase of the reflected wave was sensitive to the position of bubbles in the tube’s section and that the magnitude of the reflection coefficient varied with the mixture’s void fraction. Subsequently, we designed and built a six-ports reflectometer operating at 2.45 GHz. This system allows the processing and calculation of the reflected wave from the incident wave. A six-ports network, a patch antenna, a wave generator and an amplifier were simulated using HFSS and ADS software. They were then built using the technology of micro-strips on dielectric laminates and the entire system was then calibrated at 6 different frequencies near 2.45 GHz. To this end, we used 4 and 5 loads calibration algorithms that gave us calibrated results with less than 2 % errors. Afterwards, the system was implemented: the antenna was placed tangent to the wall of a vertical tube and connected to the six-ports which was connected to a computer recording and displaying the results in real time. A valve positioned under the tube allows air into the tube and to vary the flow rate. The results showed that the system was sensitive to changes in void fraction from 1% and followed the predictions of the simulated model to a void fraction of about 10%. Possibly du to a change in the structure of the flow for a void fraction of 10%, the signal no longer varies monotonically with respect to the increasing void fraction possibly because of a change in the flow’s configuration. It was shown that the Rayleigh scattering phenomena of air bubbles was involved in the reflection coefficient response. Pictures of the stream at various void fraction state were taken and confirmed a change in the flow’s configuration. By placing a Plexiglas rod to simulate a flow geometry located in the section of the tube, it was noted that the change in phase of the reflected wave was the same as the model when the rod was placed in an empty tube (very few attenuation loss environment). Hence, it is possible to determine the distance of an object in a section of tube from the measurement of the reflected wave’s phase. When the rod is in a very absorbent medium such as water, it is possible to detect a moving rod when it is sufficiently close to the antenna (less than two wavelengths) thanks again to the phase variation. However, detection is still much more difficult due to the absorption of water and can not function effectively for tubes with high diameters compared with the electromagnetic wavelength used.

Microstructural characterization and simulation of damage for geared sheet components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerstein, G.; Isik, K.; Gutknecht, F.; Sieczkarek, P.; Ewert, J.; Tekkaya, A. E.; Clausmeyer, T.; Nürnberger, F.

2017-09-01

The evolution of damage in geared components manufactured from steel sheets was investigated, to analyse the influence of damage caused by the sheet-bulk-metal forming. Due to the inhomogeneous and multi-axial deformation in the investigated parts, different aspects such as the location-dependent shape and size of voids are analysed by means of various microscopic methods. In particular, a method to characterize the state of damage evolution, i. e. void nucleation, growth and coalescence using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is applied. The investigations reveal a strong dependence of the void area fraction, shape of voids and thus damage evolution on the loading mode. The microstructural analysis is complemented with FEM simulations using material models which consider the characteristics of the void evolution.

Advances in the simulation and automated measurement of well-sorted granular material: 2. Direct measures of particle properties

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buscombe, Daniel D.; Rubin, David M.

2012-01-01

1. In this, the second of a pair of papers on the structure of well-sorted natural granular material (sediment), new methods are described for automated measurements from images of sediment, of: 1) particle-size standard deviation (arithmetic sorting) with and without apparent void fraction; and 2) mean particle size in material with void fraction. A variety of simulations of granular material are used for testing purposes, in addition to images of natural sediment. Simulations are also used to establish that the effects on automated particle sizing of grains visible through the interstices of the grains at the very surface of a granular material continue to a depth of approximately 4 grain diameters and that this is independent of mean particle size. Ensemble root-mean squared error between observed and estimated arithmetic sorting coefficients for 262 images of natural silts, sands and gravels (drawn from 8 populations) is 31%, which reduces to 27% if adjusted for bias (slope correction between observed and estimated values). These methods allow non-intrusive and fully automated measurements of surfaces of unconsolidated granular material. With no tunable parameters or empirically derived coefficients, they should be broadly universal in appropriate applications. However, empirical corrections may need to be applied for the most accurate results. Finally, analytical formulas are derived for the one-step pore-particle transition probability matrix, estimated from the image's autocorrelogram, from which void fraction of a section of granular material can be estimated directly. This model gives excellent predictions of bulk void fraction yet imperfect predictions of pore-particle transitions.

Advances in the simulation and automated measurement of well-sorted granular material: 2. Direct measures of particle properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buscombe, D.; Rubin, D. M.

2012-06-01

In this, the second of a pair of papers on the structure of well-sorted natural granular material (sediment), new methods are described for automated measurements from images of sediment, of: 1) particle-size standard deviation (arithmetic sorting) with and without apparent void fraction; and 2) mean particle size in material with void fraction. A variety of simulations of granular material are used for testing purposes, in addition to images of natural sediment. Simulations are also used to establish that the effects on automated particle sizing of grains visible through the interstices of the grains at the very surface of a granular material continue to a depth of approximately 4 grain diameters and that this is independent of mean particle size. Ensemble root-mean squared error between observed and estimated arithmetic sorting coefficients for 262 images of natural silts, sands and gravels (drawn from 8 populations) is 31%, which reduces to 27% if adjusted for bias (slope correction between observed and estimated values). These methods allow non-intrusive and fully automated measurements of surfaces of unconsolidated granular material. With no tunable parameters or empirically derived coefficients, they should be broadly universal in appropriate applications. However, empirical corrections may need to be applied for the most accurate results. Finally, analytical formulas are derived for the one-step pore-particle transition probability matrix, estimated from the image's autocorrelogram, from which void fraction of a section of granular material can be estimated directly. This model gives excellent predictions of bulk void fraction yet imperfect predictions of pore-particle transitions.

Cavitation inception from bubble nuclei

PubMed Central

Mørch, K. A.

2015-01-01

The tensile strength of ordinary water such as tap water or seawater is typically well below 1 bar. It is governed by cavitation nuclei in the water, not by the tensile strength of the water itself, which is extremely high. Different models of the nuclei have been suggested over the years, and experimental investigations of bubbles and cavitation inception have been presented. These results suggest that cavitation nuclei in equilibrium are gaseous voids in the water, stabilized by a skin which allows diffusion balance between gas inside the void and gas in solution in the surrounding liquid. The cavitation nuclei may be free gas bubbles in the bulk of water, or interfacial gaseous voids located on the surface of particles in the water, or on bounding walls. The tensile strength of these nuclei depends not only on the water quality but also on the pressure–time history of the water. A recent model and associated experiments throw new light on the effects of transient pressures on the tensile strength of water, which may be notably reduced or increased by such pressure changes. PMID:26442138

Multiphase flow calculation software

DOEpatents

Fincke, James R.

2003-04-15

Multiphase flow calculation software and computer-readable media carrying computer executable instructions for calculating liquid and gas phase mass flow rates of high void fraction multiphase flows. The multiphase flow calculation software employs various given, or experimentally determined, parameters in conjunction with a plurality of pressure differentials of a multiphase flow, preferably supplied by a differential pressure flowmeter or the like, to determine liquid and gas phase mass flow rates of the high void fraction multiphase flows. Embodiments of the multiphase flow calculation software are suitable for use in a variety of applications, including real-time management and control of an object system.

Ground Based Studies of Gas-Liquid Flows in Microgravity Using Learjet Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bousman, W. S.; Dukler, A. E.

1994-01-01

A 1.27 cm diameter two phase gas-liquid flow experiment has been developed with the NASA Lewis Research Center to study two-phase flows in microgravity. The experiment allows for the measurement of void fraction, pressure drop, film thickness and bubble and wave velocities as well as for high speed photography. Three liquids were used to study the effects of liquid viscosity and surface tension, and flow pattern maps are presented for each. The experimental results are used to develop mechanistically based models to predict void fraction, bubble velocity, pressure drop and flow pattern transitions in microgravity.

Two-phase flow measurements with advanced instrumented spool pieces and local conductivity probes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Turnage, K.G.; Davis, C.E.

1979-01-01

A series of two-phase, air-water and steam-water tests performed with instrumented spool pieces and with conductivity probes obtained from Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. is described. The behavior of the three-beam densitometer, turbine meter, and drag flowmeter is discussed in terms of two-phase models. Application of some two-phase mass flow models to the recorded spool piece data is made and preliminary results are shown. Velocity and void fraction information derived from the conductivity probes is presented and compared to velocities and void fractions obtained using the spool piece instrumentation.

Comparison of a new bisphenol-a-glycidyl dimethacrylate-based cortical bone void filler with polymethyl methacrylate.

PubMed

Erbe, E M; Clineff, T D; Gualtieri, G

2001-10-01

A newly formulated and reinforced bisphenol-a-glycidyl dimethacrylate (bis-GMA) resin (Cortoss/Orthovita, Malvern, Pa.) was compared with Simplex P polymethyl methacrylate (Stryker Howmedica Osteonics, East Rutherford, N.J.) in rabbits for up to 52 weeks and in sheep for up to 78 weeks. As seen in scanning electron microscopy and histology examinations, both implant materials were surrounded by bone at late time periods, with fibrous layers of connective tissue seen in half the Simplex P specimens. No clinically significant safety differences between implant materials were apparent. Interfacial bond strengths between the implant and bone generally increased with time, but were 4.5-fold greater with Cortoss than Simplex P at 24 weeks, and 100-fold greater at 52 weeks. Forces required to displace 316SS rods held in place with Cortoss were consistently greater than forces to displace rods held in place with Simplex P. No statistically significant differences in displacement forces were found between rods held in place with Cortoss polymerized in situ and rods held with prepolymerized Cortoss. Interfacial bond strengths were greater for Simplex P that was polymerized in situ than for prepolymerized polymethyl methacrylate specimens. Cortoss synthetic cortical bone void filler is a good candidate material to fix implants in bone. It has characteristics consistent with long-term safety and has a better ability to bond to bone than Simplex P.

A molecular dynamics study of thermal transport in nanoparticle doped Argon like solid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shahadat, Muhammad Rubayat Bin, E-mail: rubayat37@gmail.com; Ahmed, Shafkat; Morshed, A. K. M. M.

2016-07-12

Interfacial phenomena such as mass and type of the interstitial atom, nano scale material defect influence heat transfer and the effect become very significant with the reduction of the material size. Non Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (NEMD) simulation was carried out in this study to investigate the effect of the interfacial phenomena on solid. Argon like solid was considered in this study and LJ potential was used for atomic interaction. Nanoparticles of different masses and different molecular defects were inserted inside the solid. From the molecular simulation, it was observed that a large interfacial mismatch due to change in mass inmore » the homogenous solid causes distortion of the phonon frequency causing increase in thermal resistance. Position of the doped nanoparticles have more profound effect on the thermal conductivity of the solid whereas influence of the mass ratio is not very significant. Interstitial atom positioned perpendicular to the heat flow causes sharp reduction in thermal conductivity. Structural defect caused by the molecular defect (void) also observed to significantly affect the thermal conductivity of the solid.« less

Development of Conductivity Sensors for Multi-Phase Flow Local Measurements at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and University Jaume I of Castellon (UJI).

PubMed

Muñoz-Cobo, José Luis; Chiva, Sergio; Méndez, Santos; Monrós, Guillem; Escrivá, Alberto; Cuadros, José Luis

2017-05-10

This paper describes all the procedures and methods currently used at UPV (Universitat Politécnica de Valencia) and UJI (University Jaume I) for the development and use of sensors for multi-phase flow analysis in vertical pipes. This paper also describes the methods that we use to obtain the values of the two-phase flow magnitudes from the sensor signals and the validation and cross-verification methods developed to check the consistency of the results obtained for these magnitudes with the sensors. First, we provide information about the procedures used to build the multi-sensor conductivity probes and some of the tests performed with different materials to avoid sensor degradation issues. In addition, we provide information about the characteristics of the electric circuits that feed the sensors. Then the data acquisition of the conductivity probe, the signal conditioning and the data processing including the device that have been designed to automatize all the measurement process of moving the sensors inside the channels by means of stepper electric motors controlled by computer are shown in operation. Then, we explain the methods used for bubble identification and categorization. Finally, we describe the methodology used to obtain the two-phase flow information from the sensor signals. This includes the following items: void fraction, gas velocity, Sauter mean diameter and interfacial area concentration. The last part of this paper is devoted to the conductance probes developed for the annular flow analysis, which includes the analysis of the interfacial waves produced in annular flow and that requires a different type of sensor.

Development of Conductivity Sensors for Multi-Phase Flow Local Measurements at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and University Jaume I of Castellon (UJI)

PubMed Central

Muñoz-Cobo, José Luis; Chiva, Sergio; Méndez, Santos; Monrós, Guillem; Escrivá, Alberto; Cuadros, José Luis

2017-01-01

This paper describes all the procedures and methods currently used at UPV (Universitat Politécnica de Valencia) and UJI (University Jaume I) for the development and use of sensors for multi-phase flow analysis in vertical pipes. This paper also describes the methods that we use to obtain the values of the two-phase flow magnitudes from the sensor signals and the validation and cross-verification methods developed to check the consistency of the results obtained for these magnitudes with the sensors. First, we provide information about the procedures used to build the multi-sensor conductivity probes and some of the tests performed with different materials to avoid sensor degradation issues. In addition, we provide information about the characteristics of the electric circuits that feed the sensors. Then the data acquisition of the conductivity probe, the signal conditioning and the data processing including the device that have been designed to automatize all the measurement process of moving the sensors inside the channels by means of stepper electric motors controlled by computer are shown in operation. Then, we explain the methods used for bubble identification and categorization. Finally, we describe the methodology used to obtain the two-phase flow information from the sensor signals. This includes the following items: void fraction, gas velocity, Sauter mean diameter and interfacial area concentration. The last part of this paper is devoted to the conductance probes developed for the annular flow analysis, which includes the analysis of the interfacial waves produced in annular flow and that requires a different type of sensor. PMID:28489035

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Combined Sensible/Latent Thermal Energy Storage for High-Temperature Applications.

PubMed

Geissbühler, Lukas; Zavattoni, Simone; Barbato, Maurizio; Zanganeh, Giw; Haselbacher, Andreas; Steinfeld, Aldo

2015-01-01

Combined sensible/latent heat storage allows the heat-transfer fluid outflow temperature during discharging to be stabilized. A lab-scale combined storage consisting of a packed bed of rocks and steel-encapsulated AlSi(12) was investigated experimentally and numerically. Due to the small tank-to-particle diameter ratio of the lab-scale storage, void-fraction variations were not negligible, leading to channeling effects that cannot be resolved in 1D heat-transfer models. The void-fraction variations and channeling effects can be resolved in 2D models of the flow and heat transfer in the storage. The resulting so-called bypass fraction extracted from the 2D model was used in the 1D model and led to good agreement with experimental measurements.

Impedance probe to measure local void fraction profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teyssedou, A.; Tapucu, A.; Lortie, M.

1988-04-01

A conductivity-type local void measurement system has been developed. The effects of the sensor tip geometry, the unbalance of the front-end bridge, the comparator threshold level, and the mass fluxes on the response of the instrument have been studied. The system has been calibrated under air-water two-phase flow conditions using the quick-closing-valve technique. Comparison of the void profiles obtained with the conductivity probe with those obtained using an optical probe confirms the applicability of this system for two-phase (air-water) flows.

Visualization and void-fraction measurements in a molten metal bath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Michael Charles

In the experimental study of multiphase flow phenomena, including intense multiphase interactions, such as vapor explosions, the fluids are often opaque. To obtain images, suitable for quantitative analysis, of such phenomena requires the use of something other than visible light, such as x-rays or neutrons. In this study a unique flow visualization technique using a continuous high energy x-ray source to measure void fraction with good spatial and temporal resolution in pools of liquid metal has been developed. In the present experiments, 11 to 21 kg of molten tin at 360sp° C to 425sp° C is collected in a pre-heated stainless steel test section of rectangular cross section (18 x 10 cm). In the base of the test section are two injection ports for the introduction of nitrogen gas and water. Each port is composed of two coaxial tubes. Nitrogen gas flows through the annular region and either nitrogen gas or water flows through the central tube. The test section is imaged using a high energy x-ray source (Varian Linatron 3000A) with a peak energy of 9 MeV and a maximum on axis dose rate of 30 Gy/min. The transmitted x-rays are viewed with an imaging system composed of a high density silicate glass screen, a mirror, a lens coupled image intensifier, and a CCD camera. Two interchangeable CCD cameras allow for either high resolution imaging (1128 x 480 pixels) at a frame rate of 30 Hz or low resolution imaging (256 x 256 pixels) at a frame rate of 220 Hz. The collected images are digitally processed to obtain the chordal averaged local and volume integral void fractions. At the experimental conditions examined, estimated relative uncertainty using this measurement technique is 10% for worst case conditions. The upper bound on the relative systematic error due to void dynamics is estimated to be 20%. Reasonable agreement has been demonstrated between the data generated from the processed images, past integral void fraction experimental data, and a semi-empirical drift-flux correlation.

The void spectrum in two-dimensional numerical simulations of gravitational clustering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kauffmann, Guinevere; Melott, Adrian L.

1992-01-01

An algorithm for deriving a spectrum of void sizes from two-dimensional high-resolution numerical simulations of gravitational clustering is tested, and it is verified that it produces the correct results where those results can be anticipated. The method is used to study the growth of voids as clustering proceeds. It is found that the most stable indicator of the characteristic void 'size' in the simulations is the mean fractional area covered by voids of diameter d, in a density field smoothed at its correlation length. Very accurate scaling behavior is found in power-law numerical models as they evolve. Eventually, this scaling breaks down as the nonlinearity reaches larger scales. It is shown that this breakdown is a manifestation of the undesirable effect of boundary conditions on simulations, even with the very large dynamic range possible here. A simple criterion is suggested for deciding when simulations with modest large-scale power may systematically underestimate the frequency of larger voids.

Small-angle x-ray scattering in amorphous silicon: A computational study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paudel, Durga; Atta-Fynn, Raymond; Drabold, David A.; Elliott, Stephen R.; Biswas, Parthapratim

2018-05-01

We present a computational study of small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) in amorphous silicon (a -Si) with particular emphasis on the morphology and microstructure of voids. The relationship between the scattering intensity in SAXS and the three-dimensional structure of nanoscale inhomogeneities or voids is addressed by generating large high-quality a -Si networks with 0.1%-0.3% volume concentration of voids, as observed in experiments using SAXS and positron annihilation spectroscopy. A systematic study of the variation of the scattering intensity in the small-angle scattering region with the size, shape, number density, and the spatial distribution of the voids in the networks is presented. Our results suggest that the scattering intensity in the small-angle region is particularly sensitive to the size and the total volume fraction of the voids, but the effect of the geometry or shape of the voids is less pronounced in the intensity profiles. A comparison of the average size of the voids obtained from the simulated values of the intensity, using the Guinier approximation and Kratky plots, with that of the same from the spatial distribution of the atoms in the vicinity of void surfaces is presented.

Surface pressure and elasticity of hydrophobin HFBII layers on the air-water interface: rheology versus structure detected by AFM imaging.

PubMed

Stanimirova, Rumyana D; Gurkov, Theodor D; Kralchevsky, Peter A; Balashev, Konstantin T; Stoyanov, Simeon D; Pelan, Eddie G

2013-05-21

Here, we combine experiments with Langmuir trough and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the reasons for the special properties of layers from the protein HFBII hydrophobin spread on the air-water interface. The hydrophobin interfacial layers possess the highest surface dilatational and shear elastic moduli among all investigated proteins. The AFM images show that the spread HFBII layers are rather inhomogeneous, (i.e., they contain voids, monolayer and multilayer domains). A continuous compression of the layer leads to filling the voids and transformation of a part of the monolayer into a trilayer. The trilayer appears in the form of large surface domains, which can be formed by folding and subduction of parts from the initial monolayer. The trilayer appears also in the form of numerous submicrometer spots, which can be obtained by forcing protein molecules out of the monolayer and their self-assembly into adjacent pimples. Such structures are formed because not only the hydrophobic parts, but also the hydrophilic parts of the HFBII molecules can adhere to each other in the water medium. If a hydrophobin layer is subjected to oscillations, its elasticity considerably increases, up to 500 mN/m, which can be explained with compaction. The relaxation of the layer's tension after expansion or compression follows the same relatively simple law, which refers to two-dimensional diffusion of protein aggregates within the layer. The characteristic diffusion time after compression is longer than after expansion, which can be explained with the impedence of diffusion in the more compact interfacial layer. The results shed light on the relation between the mesoscopic structure of hydrophobin interfacial layers and their unique mechanical properties that find applications for the production of foams and emulsions of extraordinary stability; for the immobilization of functional molecules at surfaces, and as coating agents for surface modification.

The effect of bioadhesive on the interfacial compatibility and pervaporation performance of composite membranes by MD and GCMC simulation.

PubMed

Wang, Baohe; Nie, Yan; Ma, Jing

2018-03-01

Combing molecular dynamics (MD) and Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation, the effect of bioadhesive transition layer on the interfacial compatibility of the pervaporation composite membranes, and the pervaporation performance toward penetrant molecules were investigated. In our previous experimental study, the structural stability and permeability selectivity of the composite membranes were considerably enhanced by the introduction of bioadhesive carbopol (CP). In the present study, the interfacial compatibility and the interfacial energies between the chitosan (CS) separation layer, CP transition layer and the support layer were investigated, respectively. The mobility of polymer chains, free volume in bulk and interface regions were evaluated by the mean-square displacement (MSD) and free volume voids (FFV) analysis. The diffusion and sorption behavior of water/ethanol molecules in bulk and interface regions were characterized. The simulation results of membrane structure have good consistency, indicating that the introduction of CP transition layer improved the interfacial compatibility and interaction between the separation layer and the support layer. Comparing the bulk region of the separation layer, the mobility and free volume of the polymer chain in the interface region decreased and thus reduced the swelling of CS active layer, revealing the increased diffusion selectivity toward the permeated water and ethanol molecules. The strong hydrogen bonds interaction between the COOH of the CP transition layer and water molecules increased the adsorption of water molecules in the interface region. The simulation results were quite consistent with the experimental results. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Apparatus and method for determining solids circulation rate

DOEpatents

Ludlow, J Christopher [Morgantown, WV; Spenik, James L [Morgantown, WV

2012-02-14

The invention relates to a method of determining bed velocity and solids circulation rate in a standpipe experiencing a moving packed bed flow, such as the in the standpipe section of a circulating bed fluidized reactor The method utilizes in-situ measurement of differential pressure over known axial lengths of the standpipe in conjunction with in-situ gas velocity measurement for a novel application of Ergun equations allowing determination of standpipe void fraction and moving packed bed velocity. The method takes advantage of the moving packed bed property of constant void fraction in order to integrate measured parameters into simultaneous solution of Ergun-based equations and conservation of mass equations across multiple sections of the standpipe.

A Mechanical, Microstructural, and Damage Study of Various Tailor Hot Stamped Material Conditions Consisting of Martensite, Bainite, Ferrite, and Pearlite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bardelcik, Alexander; Vowles, Caryn J.; Worswick, Michael J.

2018-04-01

This paper examines the mechanical, microstructural, and damage characteristics of five different material conditions that were created using the tailored hot stamping process with in-die heating. The tailored material conditions, TMC1 to TMC5 (softest-hardest), were created using die temperatures ranging from 700 °C to 400 °C, respectively. The tensile strength (and total elongation) ranged from 615 MPa (0.24) for TMC1 to 1122 MPa (0.11) for TMC5. TMC3 and TMC4 exhibited intermediate strength levels, with almost no increase in total elongation relative to TMC5. FE-SEM microscopy was used to quantify the mixed-phase microstructures, which ranged in volume fractions of ferrite, pearlite, bainite, and martensite. High-resolution optical microscopy was used to quantify void accumulation and showed that the total void area fraction at 0.60 thickness strain was low for TMC1 and TMC5 ( 0.09 pct) and highest for TMC3 (0.31 pct). Damage modes were characterized and revealed that the poor damage behavior of TMC3 (martensite/bainite/ferrite composition) was a result of small martensitic grains forming at grain boundaries and grain boundary junctions, which facilitated void nucleation as shown by the highest measured void density for this particular material condition. The excellent ductility of TMC1 was a result of a large grained ferritic/pearlitic microstructure that was less susceptible to void nucleation and growth. Large titanium nitride (TiN) inclusions were observed in all of the tailored material conditions and it was shown that they noticeably contributed to the total void accumulation, specifically for the TMC3 and TMC4 material conditions.

The wire-mesh sensor as a two-phase flow meter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaban, H.; Tavoularis, S.

2015-01-01

A novel gas and liquid flow rate measurement method is proposed for use in vertical upward and downward gas-liquid pipe flows. This method is based on the analysis of the time history of area-averaged void fraction that is measured using a conductivity wire-mesh sensor (WMS). WMS measurements were collected in vertical upward and downward air-water flows in a pipe with an internal diameter of 32.5 mm at nearly atmospheric pressure. The relative frequencies and the power spectral density of area-averaged void fraction were calculated and used as representative properties. Independent features, extracted from these properties using Principal Component Analysis and Independent Component Analysis, were used as inputs to artificial neural networks, which were trained to give the gas and liquid flow rates as outputs. The present method was shown to be accurate for all four encountered flow regimes and for a wide range of flow conditions. Besides providing accurate predictions for steady flows, the method was also tested successfully in three flows with transient liquid flow rates. The method was augmented by the use of the cross-correlation function of area-averaged void fraction determined from the output of a dual WMS unit as an additional representative property, which was found to improve the accuracy of flow rate prediction.

Micro-Mechanical Modeling of Ductile Fracture in Welded Aluminum-Lithium Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ibrahim, Ahmed

2002-01-01

This computation model for microscopic crack growth in welded aluminum-lithium alloys consists of a cavity with initial volume specified by the fraction f(sub 0), i.e. the void volume relative to the cell volume. Thus, cell size D and initial porosity f(sub 0) defines the key parameters in this model. The choice of cell size requires: 1) D must be representative of the large inclusion spacing. 2) Predicted R-curves scale almost proportionally with D for fixed f(sub 0). 3) mapping of one finite element per cell must provide adequate resolution of the stress-strain fields in the active layer and the adjacent material. For the ferritic steels studied thus far with this model, calibrated cell sizes range from 50-200 microns with f(sub 0) in the 0.0001 to 0.004 micron range. This range of values for D and f (sub 0) satisfies issues 1) and 3). This computational model employs the Gurson and Tvergaard constitutive model for porous plastic materials to describe the progressive damage of cells due to the growth of pre-existing voids. The model derives from a rigid-plastic limit analysis of a solid having a volume fraction (f) of voids approximated by a homogenous spherical body containing a spherical void.

Accurate determination of interfacial protein secondary structure by combining interfacial-sensitive amide I and amide III spectral signals.

PubMed

Ye, Shuji; Li, Hongchun; Yang, Weilai; Luo, Yi

2014-01-29

Accurate determination of protein structures at the interface is essential to understand the nature of interfacial protein interactions, but it can only be done with a few, very limited experimental methods. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy can unambiguously differentiate the interfacial protein secondary structures by combining surface-sensitive amide I and amide III spectral signals. This combination offers a powerful tool to directly distinguish random-coil (disordered) and α-helical structures in proteins. From a systematic study on the interactions between several antimicrobial peptides (including LKα14, mastoparan X, cecropin P1, melittin, and pardaxin) and lipid bilayers, it is found that the spectral profiles of the random-coil and α-helical structures are well separated in the amide III spectra, appearing below and above 1260 cm(-1), respectively. For the peptides with a straight backbone chain, the strength ratio for the peaks of the random-coil and α-helical structures shows a distinct linear relationship with the fraction of the disordered structure deduced from independent NMR experiments reported in the literature. It is revealed that increasing the fraction of negatively charged lipids can induce a conformational change of pardaxin from random-coil to α-helical structures. This experimental protocol can be employed for determining the interfacial protein secondary structures and dynamics in situ and in real time without extraneous labels.

Bubble Augmented Propulsor Mixture Flow Simulation near Choked Flow Condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Jin-Keun; Hsiao, Chao-Tsung; Chahine, Georges

2013-03-01

The concept of waterjet thrust augmentation through bubble injection has been the subject of many patents and publications over the past several decades, and computational and experimental evidences of the augmentation of the jet thrust through bubble growth in the jet stream have been reported. Through our experimental studies, we have demonstrated net thrust augmentation as high as 70%for air volume fractions as high as 50%. However, in order to enable practical designs, an adequately validated modeling tool is required. In our previous numerical studies, we developed and validated a numerical code to simulate and predict the performance of a two-phase flow water jet propulsion system for low void fractions. In the present work, we extend the numerical method to handle higher void fractions to enable simulations for the high thrust augmentation conditions. At high void fractions, the speed of sound in the bubbly mixture decreases substantially and could be as low as 20 m/s, and the mixture velocity can approach the speed of sound in the medium. In this numerical study, we extend our numerical model, which is based on the two-way coupling between the mixture flow field and Lagrangian tracking of a large number of bubbles, to accommodate compressible flow regimes. Numerical methods used and the validation studies for various flow conditions in the bubble augmented propulsor will be presented. This work is supported by Office of Naval Research through contract N00014-11-C-0482 monitored by Dr. Ki-Han Kim.

The coupled effect of fiber volume fraction and void fraction on hydraulic fluid absorption of quartz/BMI laminates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurdelbrink, Keith R.; Anderson, Jacob P.; Siddique, Zahed; Altan, M. Cengiz

2016-03-01

Bismaleimide (BMI) resin with quartz (AQ581) fiber reinforcement is a composite material frequently used in aerospace applications, such as engine cowlings and radomes. Various composite components used in aircrafts are exposed to different types of hydraulic fluids, which may lead to anomalous absorption behavior over the service life of the composite. Accurate predictive models for absorption of liquid penetrants are particularly important as the composite components are often exposed to long-term degradation due to absorbed moisture, hydraulic fluids, or similar liquid penetrants. Microstructural features such as fiber volume fraction and void fraction can have a significant effect on the absorption behavior of fiber-reinforced composites. In this paper, hydraulic fluid absorption characteristics of quartz/BMI laminates fabricated from prepregs preconditioned at different relative humidity and subsequently cured at different pressures are presented. The composite samples are immersed into hydraulic fluid at room temperature, and were not subjected to any prior degradation. To generate process-induced microvoids, prepregs were conditioned in an environmental chamber at 2% or 99% relative humidity at room temperature for a period of 24 hours prior to laminate fabrication. To alter the fiber volume fraction, the laminates were fabricated at cure pressures of 68.9 kPa (10 psi) or 482.6 kPa (70 psi) via a hot-press. The laminates are shown to have different levels of microvoids and fiber volume fractions, which were observed to affect the absorption dynamics considerably and exhibited clear non-Fickian behavior. A one-dimensional hindered diffusion model (HDM) was shown to be successful in predicting the hydraulic fluid absorption. Model prediction indicates that as the fabrication pressure increased from 68.9 kPa to 482.6 kPa, the maximum fluid content (M∞) decreased from 8.0% wt. to 1.0% wt. The degree of non-Fickian behavior, measured by hindrance coefficient (μ), was shown to increase with the increased void fraction.

Research on the interfacial behaviors of plate-type dispersion nuclear fuel elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiming; Yan, Xiaoqing; Ding, Shurong; Huo, Yongzhong

2010-04-01

The three-dimensional constitutive relations are constructed, respectively, for the fuel particles, the metal matrix and the cladding of dispersion nuclear fuel elements, allowing for the effects of large deformation and thermal-elastoplasticity. According to the constitutive relations, the method of modeling their irradiation behaviors in ABAQUS is developed and validated. Numerical simulations of the interfacial performances between the fuel meat and the cladding are implemented with the developed finite element models for different micro-structures of the fuel meat. The research results indicate that: (1) the interfacial tensile stresses and shear stresses for some cases will increase with burnup, but the relative stresses will decrease with burnup for some micro-structures; (2) at the lower burnups, the interfacial stresses increase with the particle sizes and the particle volume fractions; however, it is not the case at the higher burnups; (3) the particle distribution characteristics distinctly affect the interfacial stresses, and the face-centered cubic case has the best interfacial performance of the three considered cases.

Ultrasonic sensing of powder densification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Yichi; Wadley, Haydn N. G.; Parthasarathi, Sanjai

1992-01-01

An independent scattering theory has been applied to the interpretation of ultrasonic velocity measurements made on porous metal samples produced either by a cold or a high-temperature compaction process. The results suggest that the pores in both processes are not spherical, an aspect ration of 1:3 fitting best with the data for low (less than 4 percent) pore volume fractions. For the hot compacted powders, the pores are smooth due to active diffusional processes during processing. For these types of voids, the results can be extended to a pore fraction of 10 percent, at which point voids form an interconnected network that violates the model assumptions. The cold pressed samples are not as well predicted by the theory because of poor particle bonding.

Effect of interfacial interactions on the thermal conductivity and interfacial thermal conductance in tungsten–graphene layered structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jagannadham, K., E-mail: jag-kasichainula@ncsu.edu

2014-09-01

Graphene film was deposited by microwave plasma assisted deposition on polished oxygen free high conductivity copper foils. Tungsten–graphene layered film was formed by deposition of tungsten film by magnetron sputtering on the graphene covered copper foils. Tungsten film was also deposited directly on copper foil without graphene as the intermediate film. The tungsten–graphene–copper samples were heated at different temperatures up to 900 °C in argon atmosphere to form an interfacial tungsten carbide film. Tungsten film deposited on thicker graphene platelets dispersed on silicon wafer was also heated at 900 °C to identify the formation of tungsten carbide film by reaction of tungstenmore » with graphene platelets. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. It was found that tungsten carbide film formed at the interface upon heating only above 650 °C. Transient thermoreflectance signal from the tungsten film surface on the samples was collected and modeled using one-dimensional heat equation. The experimental and modeled results showed that the presence of graphene at the interface reduced the cross-plane effective thermal conductivity and the interfacial thermal conductance of the layer structure. Heating at 650 and 900 °C in argon further reduced the cross-plane thermal conductivity and interface thermal conductance as a result of formation nanocrystalline tungsten carbide at the interface leading to separation and formation of voids. The present results emphasize that interfacial interactions between graphene and carbide forming bcc and hcp elements will reduce the cross-plane effective thermal conductivity in composites.« less

Demonstration of Aflatoxin Inhibitory Activity in a Cotton Seed Coat Xylan

PubMed Central

Mellon, J. E.; Cotty, P. J.; Godshall, M. A.; Roberts, E.

1995-01-01

An inhibitor of aflatoxin biosynthesis localized in the seed coats of developing cotton was partially purified and characterized. Aqueous extracts from 25-day postanthesis seed coat tissue inhibited aflatoxin (B(inf1)) production in liquid cultures of Aspergillus flavus AF13. Inhibition was concentration dependent, with a 50% effective dose of 173 (mu)g of crude extract per ml of medium. The inhibitor was neutral in charge. Two active fractions were obtained from crude preparations by gel filtration chromatography (BioGel P-100). The purest fraction eluted in the void volume. Carbohydrate composition analysis of this void volume inhibitor indicated a composition of xylose (>90%) and mannose. Aflatoxin production in vitro was inversely related to inhibitor concentration in the fermentation medium (log of aflatoxin versus log of [inhibitor]; r(sup2) = 0.82; P < 0.002). The void volume inhibitor had a 50% effective dose of 6.2 (mu)g/ml, a 28-fold purification of the inhibitor material. These data support the hypothesis that seed coat inhibitory activity is associated with a cottonseed-specific xylan. PMID:16535194

Three-dimensional gas exchange pathways in pome fruit characterized by synchrotron x-ray computed tomography.

PubMed

Verboven, Pieter; Kerckhofs, Greet; Mebatsion, Hibru Kelemu; Ho, Quang Tri; Temst, Kristiaan; Wevers, Martine; Cloetens, Peter; Nicolaï, Bart M

2008-06-01

Our understanding of the gas exchange mechanisms in plant organs critically depends on insights in the three-dimensional (3-D) structural arrangement of cells and voids. Using synchrotron radiation x-ray tomography, we obtained for the first time high-contrast 3-D absorption images of in vivo fruit tissues of high moisture content at 1.4-microm resolution and 3-D phase contrast images of cell assemblies at a resolution as low as 0.7 microm, enabling visualization of individual cell morphology, cell walls, and entire void networks that were previously unknown. Intercellular spaces were always clear of water. The apple (Malus domestica) cortex contains considerably larger parenchyma cells and voids than pear (Pyrus communis) parenchyma. Voids in apple often are larger than the surrounding cells and some cells are not connected to void spaces. The main voids in apple stretch hundreds of micrometers but are disconnected. Voids in pear cortex tissue are always smaller than parenchyma cells, but each cell is surrounded by a tight and continuous network of voids, except near brachyssclereid groups. Vascular and dermal tissues were also measured. The visualized network architecture was consistent over different picking dates and shelf life. The differences in void fraction (5.1% for pear cortex and 23.0% for apple cortex) and in gas network architecture helps explain the ability of tissues to facilitate or impede gas exchange. Structural changes and anisotropy of tissues may eventually lead to physiological disorders. A combined tomography and internal gas analysis during growth are needed to make progress on the understanding of void formation in fruit.

Efficiently mapping structure-property relationships of gas adsorption in porous materials: application to Xe adsorption.

PubMed

Kaija, A R; Wilmer, C E

2017-09-08

Designing better porous materials for gas storage or separations applications frequently leverages known structure-property relationships. Reliable structure-property relationships, however, only reveal themselves when adsorption data on many porous materials are aggregated and compared. Gathering enough data experimentally is prohibitively time consuming, and even approaches based on large-scale computer simulations face challenges. Brute force computational screening approaches that do not efficiently sample the space of porous materials may be ineffective when the number of possible materials is too large. Here we describe a general and efficient computational method for mapping structure-property spaces of porous materials that can be useful for adsorption related applications. We describe an algorithm that generates random porous "pseudomaterials", for which we calculate structural characteristics (e.g., surface area, pore size and void fraction) and also gas adsorption properties via molecular simulations. Here we chose to focus on void fraction and Xe adsorption at 1 bar, 5 bar, and 10 bar. The algorithm then identifies pseudomaterials with rare combinations of void fraction and Xe adsorption and mutates them to generate new pseudomaterials, thereby selectively adding data only to those parts of the structure-property map that are the least explored. Use of this method can help guide the design of new porous materials for gas storage and separations applications in the future.

The Packing of Helical and Zigzag Chains and Distribution of Interstitial Voids in Expanded Liquid Se near the Semiconductor to Metal Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maruyama, Kenji; Hiroi (Sato), Satoshi; Endo, Hirohisa; Hoshino, Hideoki; Odagaki, Takashi; Hensel, Friedrich

2017-08-01

The reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) and Voronoi-Delaunay (VD) void analyses were applied to study the modification of chain geometries near the semiconductor (SC) to metal (M) transition in expanded liquid Se along the isochore of d = 3.4 g/cm3. Fluctuations of dihedral angles with increasing temperature and pressure cause modification of the helical (H) chain to the planar zigzag (Z) chain conformations. The distribution of voids size (rV ) supported by chain segments and distances to the 4th 6th neighbor atoms on the chain segments provide information on the stacking of planar zigzag chains compensated by empty space (L-voids, rV 3.6 Å) which leads to the formation of metallic domains. Near SC-M transition region the number fraction NZ/NH for Z and H chain segments increases.

Method for forming an in situ oil shale retort with horizontal free faces

DOEpatents

Ricketts, Thomas E.; Fernandes, Robert J.

1983-01-01

A method for forming a fragmented permeable mass of formation particles in an in situ oil shale retort is provided. A horizontally extending void is excavated in unfragmented formation containing oil shale and a zone of unfragmented formation is left adjacent the void. An array of explosive charges is formed in the zone of unfragmented formation. The array of explosive charges comprises rows of central explosive charges surrounded by a band of outer explosive charges which are adjacent side boundaries of the retort being formed. The powder factor of each outer explosive charge is made about equal to the powder factor of each central explosive charge. The explosive charges are detonated for explosively expanding the zone of unfragmented formation toward the void for forming the fragmented permeable mass of formation particles having a reasonably uniformly distributed void fraction in the in situ oil shale retort.

The Metallicity of Void Dwarf Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreckel, K.; Croxall, K.; Groves, B.; van de Weygaert, R.; Pogge, R. W.

2015-01-01

The current ΛCDM cosmological model predicts that galaxy evolution proceeds more slowly in lower density environments, suggesting that voids are a prime location to search for relatively pristine galaxies that are representative of the building blocks of early massive galaxies. To test the assumption that void galaxies are more pristine, we compare the evolutionary properties of a sample of dwarf galaxies selected specifically to lie in voids with a sample of similar isolated dwarf galaxies in average density environments. We measure gas-phase oxygen abundances and gas fractions for eight dwarf galaxies (Mr > -16.2), carefully selected to reside within the lowest density environments of seven voids, and apply the same calibrations to existing samples of isolated dwarf galaxies. We find no significant difference between these void dwarf galaxies and the isolated dwarf galaxies, suggesting that dwarf galaxy chemical evolution proceeds independent of the large-scale environment. While this sample is too small to draw strong conclusions, it suggests that external gas accretion is playing a limited role in the chemical evolution of these systems, and that this evolution is instead dominated mainly by the internal secular processes that are linking the simultaneous growth and enrichment of these galaxies.

Free Volume Structure of Acrylic-Type Dental Nanocomposites Tested with Annihilating Positrons.

PubMed

Shpotyuk, Olha; Ingram, Adam; Shpotyuk, Oleh

2016-12-01

Positron annihilation spectroscopy in lifetime measuring mode exploring conventional fast-fast coincidence ORTEC system is employed to characterize free volume structure of commercially available acrylic-type dental restorative composite Charisma® (Heraeus Kulzer GmbH, Germany). The measured lifetime spectra for uncured and light-cured composites are reconstructed from unconstrained x3-term fitting and semi-empirical model exploring x3-x2-coupling decomposition algorithm. The governing channel of positron annihilation in the composites studied is ascribed to mixed positron-Ps trapping, where Ps decaying in the third component is caused entirely by input from free-volume holes in polymer matrix, while the second component is defined by free positron trapping in interfacial free-volume holes between filler nanoparticles and surrounded polymer matrix. Microstructure scenario of the photopolymerization shrinkage includes cross-linking of structural chains in polymer matrix followed by conversion of bound positron-electron (positronium) traps in positron-trapping interfacial free-volume voids in a vicinity of agglomerated filler nanoparticles.

Current-Assisted Diffusion Bonding of Extruded Ti-22Al-25Nb Alloy by Spark Plasma Sintering: Interfacial Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jianlei; Wang, Guofeng; Jiao, Xueyan; Gu, Yibin; Liu, Qing; Li, You

2018-05-01

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology was used to current-assisted bond extruded Ti-22Al-25Nb alloy. The effects of bonding temperature (920-980 °C) and bonding time (10-30 min) on the microstructure evolution and shear strength of this alloy were investigated systematically. The temperature distribution in the specimen during the current-assisted bonding process was also analyzed by numerical simulation. It is noted that the highest temperature was obtained at the bonding interface. As the bonding temperature and bonding time increased, the voids in the interface shrank increasingly until they vanished. A complete metallurgical bonding interface could be produced at 960 °C/20 min/10 MPa, exhibiting the highest shear strength of 269.3 MPa. In addition, the shear strength of the bonded specimen depended on its interfacial microstructure. With increased bonding temperature, the fracture mode transformed from the intergranular fracture at the bonding interface to the cleavage fracture in the substrate.

The effect of weak interface on transverse properties of a ceramic matrix composite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shimansky, R. A.; Hahn, H. T.; Salamon, N. J.

1990-01-01

Experimental studies conducted at NASA Lewis on SiC reaction-bonded Si3N4 composite system showed that transverse stiffness and strength were much lower than those predicted from existing analytical models based on good interfacial bonding. It was believed that weakened interfaces were responsible for the decrease in tranverse properties. To support this claim, a two-dimensional FEM analysis was performed for a transverse representative volume element. Specifically, the effect of fiber/matrix displacement compatibility at the interface was studied under both tensile and compressive transverse loadings. Interface debonding was represented using active gap elements connecting the fiber and matrix. The analyses show that the transverse tensile strength and stiffness are best predicted when a debonded interface is assumed for the composite. In fact, the measured properties can be predicted by simply replacing the fibers by voids. Thus, it is found that little or no interfacial bonding exists in the composite, and that an elastic analysis can predict the transverse stiffness and strength.

Study of corrosion-related defects of zirconium alloys with slow positron beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Zhejie; Yao, Meiyi; Shi, Jianjian; Yao, Chunlong; Lu, Eryang; Cao, Xingzhong; Wang, Baoyi; Wu, Yichu

2018-09-01

The corrosion behavior of Zr-4 and N5 alloy specimens corroded in 0.01 mol/L LiOH aqueous solution at 360 °C/18.6 MPa and in super heated steam at 400 °C/10.3 MPa for 1, 3 and 14 days were investigated by slow positron beam based Doppler broadening spectroscopy. Results showed that there was an evident interfacial layer with pre-existed vacancies and voids in uncorroded Zr-4 specimens, while in uncorroded N5 specimen, the interfacial defect layer can not be identified or a thin interfacial layer was only contained. When the specimens were corroded in super heated steam at 400 °C/10.3 MPa for a few days, the existence of the interface layer in the Zr-4 specimen would delay the diffusion rate of the oxygen atoms and decelerated the oxidation rate of the corrosion process. However, at very early stage of the corrosion, as Zr-4 and N5 specimens were corrded in 0.01 mol/L LiOH aqueous solution at 360 °C/18.6 MPa, the effect of Li+ accelerated the diffusion rate of the oxygen atoms, while the effect of the interface defect layer became a minor effect.

Thermoelectric Properties of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene) Nanofiber Mat with a Large Void Fraction.

PubMed

Hiura, Shogo; Okada, Naoki; Wakui, Junma; Narita, Hikari; Kanehashi, Shinji; Shimomura, Takeshi

2017-04-28

The thermoelectric properties of a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofiber mat which has higher crystallinity-and thus exhibits larger carrier mobility-than a non-fibrous P3HT film, were investigated. No significant difference was observed in the maximum values of the power factor between the P3HT nanofiber mat and the P3HT film. However, the thermal conductivity of the nanofiber mat was less than half that of the film despite having almost the same electrical conductivity. This higher thermoelectric property of the nanofiber mat than the film is attributed to the existence of highly effective conducting pathways and a large void fraction, and the result means that the nanofiber mat was a good candidate for use as a thermoelectric material.

Focus: Structure and dynamics of the interfacial layer in polymer nanocomposites with attractive interactions

DOE PAGES

Cheng, Shiwang; Carroll, Bobby; Bocharova, Vera; ...

2017-03-30

In recent years it has become clear that the interfacial layer formed around nanoparticles in polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) is critical for controlling their macroscopic properties. The interfacial layer occupies a significant volume fraction of the polymer matrix in PNCs and creates strong intrinsic heterogeneity in their structure and dynamics. In this paper, we focus on analysis of the structure and dynamics of the interfacial region in model PNCs with well-dispersed, spherical nanoparticles with attractive interactions. First, we discuss several experimental techniques that provide structural and dynamic information on the interfacial region in PNCs. Then, we discuss the role of variousmore » microscopic parameters in controlling structure and dynamics of the interfacial layer. The analysis presented emphasizes the importance of the polymer-nanoparticle interactions for the slowing down dynamics in the interfacial region, while the thickness of the interfacial layer appears to be dependent on chain rigidity, and has been shown to increase with cooling upon approaching the glass transition. Aside from chain rigidity and polymer-nanoparticle interactions, the interfacial layer properties are also affected by the molecular weight of the polymer and the size of the nanoparticles. Finally, in the last part of this focus article, we emphasize the important challenges in the field of polymer nanocomposites and a potential analogy with the behavior observed in thin films.« less

Luminosity distance in Swiss-cheese cosmology with randomized voids and galaxy halos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanagan, Éanna É.; Kumar, Naresh; Wasserman, Ira

2013-08-01

We study the fluctuations in luminosity distance due to gravitational lensing produced both by galaxy halos and large-scale voids. Voids are represented via a “Swiss-cheese” model consisting of a ΛCDM Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background from which a number of randomly distributed, spherical regions of comoving radius 35 Mpc are removed. A fraction of the removed mass is then placed on the shells of the spheres, in the form of randomly located halos. The halos are assumed to be nonevolving and are modeled with Navarro-Frenk-White profiles of a fixed mass. The remaining mass is placed in the interior of the spheres, either smoothly distributed or as randomly located halos. We compute the distribution of magnitude shifts using a variant of the method of Holz and Wald [Phys. Rev. D 58, 063501 (1998)], which includes the effect of lensing shear. In the two models we consider, the standard deviation of this distribution is 0.065 and 0.072 magnitudes and the mean is -0.0010 and -0.0013 magnitudes, for voids of radius 35 Mpc and the sources at redshift 1.5, with the voids chosen so that 90% of the mass is on the shell today. The standard deviation due to voids and halos is a factor ˜3 larger than that due to 35 Mpc voids alone with a 1 Mpc shell thickness, which we studied in our previous work. We also study the effect of the existence of evacuated voids, by comparing to a model where all the halos are randomly distributed in the interior of the sphere with none on its surface. This does not significantly change the variance but does significantly change the demagnification tail. To a good approximation, the variance of the distribution depends only on the mean column density of halos (halo mass divided by its projected area), the concentration parameter of the halos, and the fraction of the mass density that is in the form of halos (as opposed to smoothly distributed); it is independent of how the halos are distributed in space. We derive an approximate analytic formula for the variance that agrees with our numerical results to ≲20% out to z≃1.5, and that can be used to study the dependence on halo parameters.

BORAX V EXPONENTIAL EXPERIMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kirn, F.S.; Hagen, J.I.

1963-04-01

The cadmium ratio was measured in an exponential mockup of Borax V as a function of the void fraction. The extent of voids, simulated by lengths of closed polyethylene tubes, ranged from 0 to 40%. The corresponding cadmium ratios ranged from 6.1 to 4.6. The exponential was also used to determine the radial flux pattern across a Borax-type fuel assembly and the fine flux detail in and around fuel rods. For a normal loading the maximum-to-average power generation across an assembly was 1.24. (auth)

Three-Dimensional Gas Exchange Pathways in Pome Fruit Characterized by Synchrotron X-Ray Computed Tomography1[C][W][OA

PubMed Central

Verboven, Pieter; Kerckhofs, Greet; Mebatsion, Hibru Kelemu; Ho, Quang Tri; Temst, Kristiaan; Wevers, Martine; Cloetens, Peter; Nicolaï, Bart M.

2008-01-01

Our understanding of the gas exchange mechanisms in plant organs critically depends on insights in the three-dimensional (3-D) structural arrangement of cells and voids. Using synchrotron radiation x-ray tomography, we obtained for the first time high-contrast 3-D absorption images of in vivo fruit tissues of high moisture content at 1.4-μm resolution and 3-D phase contrast images of cell assemblies at a resolution as low as 0.7 μm, enabling visualization of individual cell morphology, cell walls, and entire void networks that were previously unknown. Intercellular spaces were always clear of water. The apple (Malus domestica) cortex contains considerably larger parenchyma cells and voids than pear (Pyrus communis) parenchyma. Voids in apple often are larger than the surrounding cells and some cells are not connected to void spaces. The main voids in apple stretch hundreds of micrometers but are disconnected. Voids in pear cortex tissue are always smaller than parenchyma cells, but each cell is surrounded by a tight and continuous network of voids, except near brachyssclereid groups. Vascular and dermal tissues were also measured. The visualized network architecture was consistent over different picking dates and shelf life. The differences in void fraction (5.1% for pear cortex and 23.0% for apple cortex) and in gas network architecture helps explain the ability of tissues to facilitate or impede gas exchange. Structural changes and anisotropy of tissues may eventually lead to physiological disorders. A combined tomography and internal gas analysis during growth are needed to make progress on the understanding of void formation in fruit. PMID:18417636

Adequacy in voided urine cytology specimens: The role of volume and a repeat void upon predictive values for high-grade urothelial carcinoma.

PubMed

VandenBussche, Christopher J; Rosenthal, Dorothy L; Olson, Matthew T

2016-03-01

Adequacy assessment is one of the most controversial and overlooked components in the daily practice of cytopathology, because it is generally determined from limited samples. Because voided urine varies widely in terms of its volume and cellularity, there is little consensus about the proper role for these variables in assessing specimen adequacy. In this study, the authors explored the role of volume in voided urine specimens to determine whether it plays a role in determining adequacy for the detection of high-grade urothelial carcinoma. Voided urine specimens received at the authors' laboratory over the 9.5 years since the introduction of the Johns Hopkins Template for Reporting Urinary Cytopathology were analyzed for correlations between volume, specimen adequacy, and the diagnosis of high-grade malignancy. The same data set also was queried to determine whether a patient who provided a voided low-volume specimen could yield a higher volume specimen and thereby increase adequacy. In total, 15,731 voided urine specimens with a cumulative volume of 891 liters originating from 8594 individual patients were analyzed. Specimen adequacy increased linearly for each increment of volume submitted to the laboratory up to 30 mL, after which the correlation was nonlinear. Low-volume specimens below this cutoff also had lower fractions of specimens that were diagnosed as malignant or suspicious. Volume is an important component in the evaluation of adequacy for voided urine cytology specimens. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

Modeling of the Edwards pipe experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tiselj, I.; Petelin, S.

1995-12-31

The Edwards pipe experiment is used as one of the basic benchmarks for the two-phase flow codes due to its simple geometry and the wide range of phenomena that it covers. Edwards and O`Brien filled 4-m-long pipe with liquid water at 7 MPa and 502 K and ruptured one end of the tube. They measured pressure and void fraction during the blowdown. Important phenomena observed were pressure rarefaction wave, flashing onset, critical two-phase flow, and void fraction wave. Experimental data were used to analyze the capabilities of the RELAP5/MOD3.1 six-equation two-phase flow model and to examine two different numerical schemes:more » one from the RELAP5/MOD3.1 code and one from our own code, which was based on characteristic upwind discretization.« less

Propagation of Pressure Waves, Caused by a Thermal Shock, in Liquid Metals Containing Gas Bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okita, Kohei; Takagi, Shu; Matsumoto, Yoichiro

The propagation of pressure waves caused by a thermal shock in liquid mercury containing micro gas bubbles has been simulated numerically. In the present study, we clarify the influences of the introduced bubble size and void fraction on the absorption of thermal expansion of liquid mercury and attenuation of pressure waves. The mass, momentum and energy conservation equations for both bubbly mixture and gas inside each bubble are solved, in which the bubble dynamics is represented by the Keller equation. The results show that when the initial void fraction is larger than the rate of the thermal expansion of liquid mercury, the pressure rise caused by the thermal expansion decreases with decreasing the bubble radius, because of the increase of the natural frequency of bubbly mixture. On the other hand, as the bubble radius increases, the peak of pressure waves which propagate at the sound speed of mixture decreases gradually due to the dispersion effect of mixture. When the natural frequency of the mixture with large bubbles is lower than that of the thremal shock, the peak pressure at the wall increases because the pressure waves propagate through the mixture at the sound speed of liquid mercury. The comparison of the results with and without heat transfer through the gas liquid interface shows that the pressure waves are attenuated greatly by the thermal damping effect with the decrease of the void fraction which enhances the nonlinearity of bubble oscillation.

Role of interfacial transition layers in VO2/Al2O3 heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Honghui; Chisholm, Matthew F; Yang, Tsung-Han

2011-01-01

Epitaxial VO2 films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on c-cut sapphire substrates ((0001) Al2O3) were studied by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). A number of film/substrate orientation relationships were found and are discussed in the context of the semiconductor-metal transition (SMT) characteristics. A structurally and electronically modified buffer layer was revealed on the interface and was attributed to the interface free-energy minimization process of accommodating the symmetry mismatch between the substrate and the film. This interfacial transition layer is expected to affect the SMT behavior when the interfacial region is a significant fraction of the VO2 film thickness.

The effects of fractional wettability on microbial enhanced oil recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wildenschild, D.; Armstrong, R. T.

2011-12-01

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a tertiary oil recovery technology that has had inconsistent success at the field-scale, while lab-scale experiments are mostly successful. One potential reason for these inconsistencies is that the efficacy of MEOR in fractional-wet systems is unknown. Our MEOR strategy consists of the injection of ex situ produced metabolic byproducts produced by Bacillus mojavensis JF-2 (that lower interfacial tension via biosurfactant production) into fractional-wet cores containing residual oil. Fractional-wet cores tested were 50%, 25%, and 0% oil-wet and two different MEOR flooding solutions were tested; one solution contained both microbes and metabolic byproducts while the other contained only the metabolic byproducts. The columns were imaged with x-ray computed microtomography (CMT) after water flooding, and after MEOR, which allowed for the evaluation of the pore-scale processes taking place during MEOR and wettability effects. Results indicate that during MEOR the larger residual oil blobs in mostly fractional-wet pores and residual oil held under relatively low capillary pressures were the main fractions recovered, while residual oil blobs in purely oil-wet pores remained in place. Residual oil saturation, interfacial curvatures, and oil blob sizes were measured from the CMT images and used to develop a conceptual model for MEOR in fractional-wet systems. Overall, results indicate that MEOR was effective at recovering oil from fractional-wet systems with reported additional oil recovered (AOR) values between 44% and 80%; the highest AOR values were observed in the most oil-wet system.

Energetics of a two-phase model of lithospheric damage, shear localization and plate-boundary formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercovici, David; Ricard, Yanick

2003-03-01

The two-phase theory for compaction and damage proposed by Bercovici et al. (2001a, J. Geophys. Res.,106, 8887-8906) employs a nonequilibrium relation between interfacial surface energy, pressure and viscous deformation, thereby providing a model for damage (void generation and microcracking) and a continuum description of weakening, failure and shear localization. Here we examine further variations of the model which consider (1) how interfacial surface energy, when averaged over the mixture, appears to be partitioned between phases; (2) how variability in deformational-work partitioning greatly facilitates localization; and (3) how damage and localization are manifested in heat output and bulk energy exchange. Microphysical considerations of molecular bonding and activation energy suggest that the apparent partitioning of surface energy between phases goes as the viscosity of the phases. When such partitioning is used in the two-phase theory, it captures the melt-compaction theory of McKenzie (1984, J. Petrol.,25, 713-765) exactly, as well as the void-damage theory proposed in a companion paper (Ricard & Bercovici, submitted). Calculations of 1-D shear localization with this variation of the theory still show at least three possible regimes of damage and localization: at low stress is weak localization with diffuse slowly evolving shear bands; at higher stress strong localization with narrow rapidly growing bands exists; and at yet higher shear stress it is possible for the system to undergo broadly distributed damage and no localization. However, the intensity of localization is strongly controlled by the variability of the deformational-work partitioning with dilation rate, represented by the parameter γ. For γ>> 1, extreme localization is allowed, with sharp profiles in porosity (weak zones), nearly discontinuous separation velocities and effectively singular dilation rates. Finally, the bulk heat output is examined for the 1-D system to discern how much deformational work is effectively stored as surface energy. In the high-stress, distributed-damage cases, heat output is reduced as more interfacial surface energy is created. Yet, in either the weak or strong localizing cases, the system always releases surface energy, regardless of the presence of damage or not, and thus slightly more heat is in fact released than energy is input through external work. Moreover, increased levels of damage (represented by the maximum work-partitioning f*) make the localizing system release surface energy faster as damage enhances phase separation and focusing of the porosity field, thus yielding more rapid loss of net interfacial surface area. However, when cases with different levels of damage are compared at similar stages of development (say, the peak porosity of the localization) it is apparent that increased damage causes smaller relative heat release and retards loss of net interfacial surface energy. The energetics and energy partitioning of this damage and shear-localization model are applied to estimating the energy costs of forming plate boundaries and generating plates from mantle convection.

Optimisation des proprietes physiques d'un composite carbone epoxy fabrique par le procede RFI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koanda, Mahamat Mamadou Lamine

The RFI (Resin Film Infusion) process is a composite materials manufacturing process. Especially known for the small investment it requires, RFI processes are more and more widely used in the aeronautical industry. However a number of aspects of this process are still not well controlled. The quality of the final part depends on which process is used. In the case of RFI, controlling physical characteristics such as thickness, fiber volume fraction or void content remains a major challenge. This dissertation deals with the optimization of the physical properties of a carbon composite manufactured with RFI processes. The ASTMD3171 and ASTMD792 standards were used to measure the void content and fiber volume fraction. First, we introduced different layup sequences in the RFI process and evaluate their impact on the physical properties of the final product. The experiments show the primary mode A, with the resin film at the bottom, resulting in much better quality with controlled fiber volume fraction and void content. Mode B (film in the symmetrical plane) yields results identical to mode A except more irregular thicknesses. Mode C (symmetrical film in the laminate) produces locally unacceptable void contents. Mode D (resin film on the top of the laminate) yields much better results than mode A with the exception of the more irregular thicknesses. Making gaps and overlaps with the resin film has negative effects beyond 2.54cm (one inch) and should be avoided. Several C-scan observations of the manufactured samples showed a large accumulation of porosity in the resin rich areas, as well as surface defects. Ultimately we analyzed the cure cycle in light of the thermodynamic porosity models. It is evident that the diffusion phenomenon is essential in this process. Therefore a better conditioning of the resin film made by Cytec is required. An optimal design with a cycle stop and pressure lag yields the optimal cure cycle for the RFI process.

A Factorial Design Approach to Analyse the Effect of Coarse Recycled Concrete Aggregates on the Properties of Hot Mix Asphalt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanty, Kiranbala; Mukharjee, Bibhuti Bhusan; Das, Sudhanshu Shekhar

2018-06-01

The present study investigates the effect of replacement of coarse fraction of natural aggregates by recycled concrete aggregates on the properties of hot mix asphalt (HMA) using general factorial design approach. For this two factors i.e. recycled coarse aggregates percentage [RCA (%)] and bitumen content percentage [BC (%)] are considered. Tests have been carried out on the HMA type bituminous concrete, prepared with varying RCA (%) and BC (%). Analysis of variance has been performed on the experimental data to determine the effect of the chosen factors on various parameters such as stability, flow, air void, void mineral aggregate, void filled with bitumen and bulk density. The study depicts that RCA (%) and BC (%) have significant effect on the selected responses as p value is less than the chosen significance level. In addition to above, the outcomes of the statistical analysis indicate that interaction between factors have significant effects on void mineral aggregate and bulk density of bituminous concrete.

A Factorial Design Approach to Analyse the Effect of Coarse Recycled Concrete Aggregates on the Properties of Hot Mix Asphalt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanty, Kiranbala; Mukharjee, Bibhuti Bhusan; Das, Sudhanshu Shekhar

2018-02-01

The present study investigates the effect of replacement of coarse fraction of natural aggregates by recycled concrete aggregates on the properties of hot mix asphalt (HMA) using general factorial design approach. For this two factors i.e. recycled coarse aggregates percentage [RCA (%)] and bitumen content percentage [BC (%)] are considered. Tests have been carried out on the HMA type bituminous concrete, prepared with varying RCA (%) and BC (%). Analysis of variance has been performed on the experimental data to determine the effect of the chosen factors on various parameters such as stability, flow, air void, void mineral aggregate, void filled with bitumen and bulk density. The study depicts that RCA (%) and BC (%) have significant effect on the selected responses as p value is less than the chosen significance level. In addition to above, the outcomes of the statistical analysis indicate that interaction between factors have significant effects on void mineral aggregate and bulk density of bituminous concrete.

Interfacial activity in alkaline flooding enhanced oil recovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chan, M.K.

1981-01-01

The ionization of long-chained organic acids in the crude oil to form soaps was shown to be primarily responsible for the lowering of oil-water interfacial tension at alkaline pH. These active acids can be concentrated by silica gel chromatography into a minor polar fraction. An equilibrium chemical model was proposed based on 2 competing reactions: the ionization of acids to form active anions, and the formation of undissociated soap between acid anions and sodium ions. It correlates the interfacial activity with the interfacial concentration of active acid anions which is expressed in terms of the concentrations of the chemical speciesmore » in the system. The model successfully predicts the observed oil-alkaline solution interfacial phenomenon, including its dependence on pH, alkali and salt concentrations, type of acid present and type of soap formed. Flooding at different alkali concentrations to activate different acid species present in the crude was shown to give better recovery than flooding at a single high alkali concentration. Treating the crude oil with a dilute solution of mineral acids liberates additional free active acids and yields better interfacial activity during subsequent alkali contact.« less

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery in Fractional-Wet Systems: A Pore-Scale Investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armstrong, Ryan T.; Wildenschild, Dorthe

2012-10-24

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a technology that could potentially increase the tertiary recovery of oil from mature oil formations. However, the efficacy of this technology in fractional-wet systems is unknown, and the mechanisms involved in oil mobilization therefore need further investigation. Our MEOR strategy consists of the injection of ex situ produced metabolic byproducts produced by Bacillus mojavensis JF-2 (which lower interfacial tension (IFT) via biosurfactant production) into fractional-wet cores containing residual oil. Two different MEOR flooding solutions were tested; one solution contained both microbes and metabolic byproducts while the other contained only the metabolic byproducts. The columnsmore » were imaged with X-ray computed microtomography (CMT) after water flooding, and after MEOR, which allowed for the evaluation of the pore-scale processes taking place during MEOR. Results indicate that the larger residual oil blobs and residual oil held under relatively low capillary pressures were the main fractions recovered during MEOR. Residual oil saturation, interfacial curvatures, and oil blob sizes were measured from the CMT images and used to develop a conceptual model for MEOR in fractional-wet systems. Overall, results indicate that MEOR was effective at recovering oil from fractional-wet systems with reported additional oil recovered (AOR) values between 44 and 80%; the highest AOR values were observed in the most oil-wet system.« less

Positronics of subnanometer atomistic imperfections in solids as a high-informative structure characterization tool.

PubMed

Shpotyuk, Oleh; Filipecki, Jacek; Ingram, Adam; Golovchak, Roman; Vakiv, Mykola; Klym, Halyna; Balitska, Valentyna; Shpotyuk, Mykhaylo; Kozdras, Andrzej

2015-01-01

Methodological possibilities of positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy applied to characterize different types of nanomaterials treated within three-term fitting procedure are critically reconsidered. In contrast to conventional three-term analysis based on admixed positron- and positronium-trapping modes, the process of nanostructurization is considered as substitutional positron-positronium trapping within the same host matrix. Developed formalism allows estimate interfacial void volumes responsible for positron trapping and characteristic bulk positron lifetimes in nanoparticle-affected inhomogeneous media. This algorithm was well justified at the example of thermally induced nanostructurization occurring in 80GeSe2-20Ga2Se3 glass.

Positronics of subnanometer atomistic imperfections in solids as a high-informative structure characterization tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shpotyuk, Oleh; Filipecki, Jacek; Ingram, Adam; Golovchak, Roman; Vakiv, Mykola; Klym, Halyna; Balitska, Valentyna; Shpotyuk, Mykhaylo; Kozdras, Andrzej

2015-02-01

Methodological possibilities of positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy applied to characterize different types of nanomaterials treated within three-term fitting procedure are critically reconsidered. In contrast to conventional three-term analysis based on admixed positron- and positronium-trapping modes, the process of nanostructurization is considered as substitutional positron-positronium trapping within the same host matrix. Developed formalism allows estimate interfacial void volumes responsible for positron trapping and characteristic bulk positron lifetimes in nanoparticle-affected inhomogeneous media. This algorithm was well justified at the example of thermally induced nanostructurization occurring in 80GeSe2-20Ga2Se3 glass.

The effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation therapy in patients with urinary incontinence resistant to initial medical treatment or biofeedback.

PubMed

Tugtepe, H; Thomas, D T; Ergun, R; Kalyoncu, A; Kaynak, A; Kastarli, C; Dagli, T E

2015-06-01

While there are many options for children with treatment refractory urinary incontinence, there is no single accepted method. This study's aim was to prospectively evaluate the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in children with urinary incontinence resistant to standard medical, urological therapy and/or biofeedback. This study was performed at a university hospital. For inclusion, patients >5 years of age first underwent evaluation with urinary ultrasonography, uroflow-electromyogram and voiding diaries. Treatment with biofeedback, alpha adrenergic blockers, anticholinergics and/or urotherapy was commenced according to uroflow-EMG and voiding diary findings. Patients with partial or no response to this standard therapy were then included in this study, performed between April 2012 and February 2014. Patients with anatomical or neurological causes for urinary incontinence were excluded. TENS was performed on S3 dermatome, every day for 3 months. Each session lasted 20 min with a frequency of 10 Hz and generated pulse of 350 μs. Intensity was determined by the child's sensitivity threshold. Medical treatment and urological therapy was continued during TENS. Uroflow parameters (voiding volume as percentage of expected bladder capacity, Qmax, Qave, flow and voiding time, postvoiding residual urine) and urinary system symptoms (presence of urinary tract infection, frequency, urge incontinence, fractionated voiding and constipation) were compared immediately before commencement and immediately after the completion of 3 months of TENS. Twenty-seven patients were included in this study (4 males, 23 females). Patients' average age was 7.2 years, 11 had overactive bladder and 16 had dysfunctional voiding. Comparison of urinary system symptoms and uroflow parameters before and after TENS are shown in Table. After 3 months of TENS; a statistically significant decrease was observed in the number of patients with frequency, urge incontinence, urinary tract infections and constipation. There was a decrease in the number of patients with fractionated voiding, although this change was not statistically significant. Similarly, for uroflow-EMG parameters; bladder capacity, Qmax, Qave and flow time increased while voiding time and PVR decreased. Changes seen in bladder capacity, Qmax and PVR were statically significant, while other changes were not. Patients' response rates after 3 months of TENS were; complete response in 70.4%, partial response in 22.2% and no response in 7.4%. This study has shown that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is a promising treatment option for standard-treatment refractory children with urinary incontinence. Copyright © 2015 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recognition and measurement gas-liquid two-phase flow in a vertical concentric annulus at high pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hao; Sun, Baojiang; Guo, Yanli; Gao, Yonghai; Zhao, Xinxin

2018-02-01

The air-water flow characteristics under pressure in the range of 1-6 MPa in a vertical annulus were evaluated in this report. Time-resolved bubble rising velocity and void fraction were also measured using an electrical void fraction meter. The results showed that the pressure has remarkable effect on the density, bubble size and rise velocity of the gas. Four flow patterns (bubble, cap-bubble, cap-slug, and churn) were also observed instead of Taylor bubble at high pressure. Additionally, the transition process from bubble to cap-bubble was investigated at atmospheric and high pressures, respectively. The results revealed that the flow regime transition criteria for atmospheric pressure do not work at high pressure, hence a new flow regime transition model for annular flow channel geometry was developed to predict the flow regime transition, which thereafter exhibited high accuracy at high pressure condition.

Flow and fouling in membrane filters: Effects of membrane morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanaei, Pejman; Cummings, Linda J.

2015-11-01

Membrane filters are widely-used in microfiltration applications. Many types of filter membranes are produced commercially, for different filtration applications, but broadly speaking the requirements are to achieve fine control of separation, with low power consumption. The answer to this problem might seem obvious: select the membrane with the largest pore size and void fraction consistent with the separation requirements. However, membrane fouling (an inevitable consequence of successful filtration) is a complicated process, which depends on many parameters other than membrane pore size and void fraction; and which itself greatly affects the filtration process and membrane functionality. In this work we formulate mathematical models that can (i) account for the membrane internal morphology (internal structure, pore size & shape, etc.); (ii) fouling of membranes with specific morphology; and (iii) make some predictions as to what type of membrane morphology might offer optimum filtration performance.

Optimization of Energy Consumption and Mass Transfer Parameters in a Surface Aeration Vessel.

PubMed

Mohammadpour, A; AkhavanBehabadi, M A; Ebrahimzadeh, M; Raisee, M; MajdiNasab, A R; Nosrati, M; Mousavi, S M

2016-04-01

This paper reports tests on a lab-scale surface aeration vessel was equipped with a Rushton turbine to examine its performance in terms of standard aeration efficiency (SAE), mixing time, and void fraction characteristics. These characteristics were investigated by tests using variations of rotor speed, impeller immersion depth, and water level. Results showed that variation of impeller immersion depth had a greater effect on the SAE compared to variation of water level. Moreover, the SAE increased with rotor speeds up to about 150 to 200 rpm and then decreased. In addition, void fraction improved by impeller immersion depth and rotor speed enhancement; however, mixing time and power number were reduced as rotor speed increased. According to the response surface methodology statistical optimizations, optimum values for rotor speed, impeller immersion depth, and water level were 168.90 rpm, 25 mm, and 30 cm, respectively, to achieve the maximum value of SAE.

Numerical investigation of electromagnetic pulse welded interfaces between dissimilar metals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Wei; Sun, Xin

Electromagnetic pulse welding (EMPW), an innovative high-speed joining technique, is a potential method for the automotive industry in joining and assembly of dissimilar lightweight metals with drastically different melting temperatures and other thermal physical properties, such as thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficients. The weld quality of EMPW is significantly affected by a variety of interacting physical phenomena including large plastic deformation, materials mixing, localized heating and rapid cooling, possible localized melting and subsequent diffusion and solidification, micro-cracking and void, etc. In the present study, a thermo-mechanically coupled dynamic model has been developed to quantitatively resolve the high-speed impact joiningmore » interface characteristics as well as the process-induced interface temperature evolution, defect formation and possible microstructural composition variation. Reasonably good agreement has been obtained between the predicted results and experimental measurements in terms of interfacial morphology characteristics. The modeling framework is expected to provide further understanding of the hierarchical interfacial features of the non-equilibrium material joining process and weld formation mechanisms involved in the EMPW operation, thus accelerating future development and deployment of this advanced joining technology.« less

Tuning Glass Transition in Polymer Nanocomposites with Functionalized Cellulose Nanocrystals through Nanoconfinement.

PubMed

Qin, Xin; Xia, Wenjie; Sinko, Robert; Keten, Sinan

2015-10-14

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) exhibit impressive interfacial and mechanical properties that make them promising candidates to be used as fillers within nanocomposites. While glass-transition temperature (Tg) is a common metric for describing thermomechanical properties, its prediction is extremely difficult as it depends on filler surface chemistry, volume fraction, and size. Here, taking CNC-reinforced poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposites as a relevant model system, we present a multiscale analysis that combines atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) surface energy calculations with coarse-grained (CG) simulations of relaxation dynamics near filler-polymer interfaces to predict composite properties. We discover that increasing the volume fraction of CNCs results in nanoconfinement effects that lead to an appreciation of the composite Tg provided that strong interfacial interactions are achieved, as in the case of TEMPO-mediated surface modifications that promote hydrogen bonding. The upper and lower bounds of shifts in Tg are predicted by fully accounting for nanoconfinement and interfacial properties, providing new insight into tuning these aspects in nanocomposite design. Our multiscale, materials-by-design framework is validated by recent experiments and breaks new ground in predicting, without any empirical parameters, key structure-property relationships for nanocomposites.

Bubble velocity, diameter, and void fraction measurements in a multiphase flow using fiber optic reflectometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Ho-Joon; Chang, Kuang-An; Su, Chin B.; Chen, Chi-Yueh

2008-12-01

A fiber optic reflectometer (FOR) technique featuring a single fiber probe is investigated for its feasibility of measuring the bubble velocity, diameter, and void fraction in a multiphase flow. The method is based on the interference of the scattered signal from the bubble surface with the Fresnel reflection signal from the tip of the optical fiber. Void fraction is obtained with a high accuracy if an appropriate correction is applied to compensate the underestimated measurement value. Velocity information is accurately obtained from the reflected signals before the fiber tip touches the bubble surface so that several factors affecting the traditional dual-tip probes such as blinding, crawling, and drifting effects due to the interaction between the probe and bubbles can be prevented. The coherent signals reflected from both the front and rear ends of a bubble can provide velocity information. Deceleration of rising bubbles and particles due to the presence of the fiber probe is observed when they are very close to the fiber tip. With the residence time obtained, the bubble chord length can be determined by analyzing the coherent signal for velocity determination before the deceleration starts. The bubble diameters are directly obtained from analyzing the signals of the bubbles that contain velocity information. The chord lengths of these bubbles measured by FOR represent the bubble diameters when the bubble shape is spherical or represent the minor axes when the bubble shape is ellipsoidal. The velocity and size of bubbles obtained from the FOR measurements are compared with those obtained simultaneously using a high speed camera.

Hyperuniformity, quasi-long-range correlations, and void-space constraints in maximally random jammed particle packings. II. Anisotropy in particle shape.

PubMed

Zachary, Chase E; Jiao, Yang; Torquato, Salvatore

2011-05-01

We extend the results from the first part of this series of two papers by examining hyperuniformity in heterogeneous media composed of impenetrable anisotropic inclusions. Specifically, we consider maximally random jammed (MRJ) packings of hard ellipses and superdisks and show that these systems both possess vanishing infinite-wavelength local-volume-fraction fluctuations and quasi-long-range pair correlations scaling as r(-(d+1)) in d Euclidean dimensions. Our results suggest a strong generalization of a conjecture by Torquato and Stillinger [Phys. Rev. E 68, 041113 (2003)], namely, that all strictly jammed saturated packings of hard particles, including those with size and shape distributions, are hyperuniform with signature quasi-long-range correlations. We show that our arguments concerning the constrained distribution of the void space in MRJ packings directly extend to hard-ellipse and superdisk packings, thereby providing a direct structural explanation for the appearance of hyperuniformity and quasi-long-range correlations in these systems. Additionally, we examine general heterogeneous media with anisotropic inclusions and show unexpectedly that one can decorate a periodic point pattern to obtain a hard-particle system that is not hyperuniform with respect to local-volume-fraction fluctuations. This apparent discrepancy can also be rationalized by appealing to the irregular distribution of the void space arising from the anisotropic shapes of the particles. Our work suggests the intriguing possibility that the MRJ states of hard particles share certain universal features independent of the local properties of the packings, including the packing fraction and average contact number per particle.

Size effects in martensitic microstructures: Finite-strain phase field model versus sharp-interface approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tůma, K.; Stupkiewicz, S.; Petryk, H.

2016-10-01

A finite-strain phase field model for martensitic phase transformation and twinning in shape memory alloys is developed and confronted with the corresponding sharp-interface approach extended to interfacial energy effects. The model is set in the energy framework so that the kinetic equations and conditions of mechanical equilibrium are fully defined by specifying the free energy and dissipation potentials. The free energy density involves the bulk and interfacial energy contributions, the latter describing the energy of diffuse interfaces in a manner typical for phase-field approaches. To ensure volume preservation during martensite reorientation at finite deformation within a diffuse interface, it is proposed to apply linear mixing of the logarithmic transformation strains. The physically different nature of phase interfaces and twin boundaries in the martensitic phase is reflected by introducing two order-parameters in a hierarchical manner, one as the reference volume fraction of austenite, and thus of the whole martensite, and the second as the volume fraction of one variant of martensite in the martensitic phase only. The microstructure evolution problem is given a variational formulation in terms of incremental fields of displacement and order parameters, with unilateral constraints on volume fractions explicitly enforced by applying the augmented Lagrangian method. As an application, size-dependent microstructures with diffuse interfaces are calculated for the cubic-to-orthorhombic transformation in a CuAlNi shape memory alloy and compared with the sharp-interface microstructures with interfacial energy effects.

Interfacial Shear Strength and Adhesive Behavior of Silk Ionomer Surfaces.

PubMed

Kim, Sunghan; Geryak, Ren D; Zhang, Shuaidi; Ma, Ruilong; Calabrese, Rossella; Kaplan, David L; Tsukruk, Vladimir V

2017-09-11

The interfacial shear strength between different layers in multilayered structures of layer-by-layer (LbL) microcapsules is a crucial mechanical property to ensure their robustness. In this work, we investigated the interfacial shear strength of modified silk fibroin ionomers utilized in LbL shells, an ionic-cationic pair with complementary ionic pairing, (SF)-poly-l-glutamic acid (Glu) and SF-poly-l-lysine (Lys), and a complementary pair with partially screened Coulombic interactions due to the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments and SF-Glu/SF-Lys[PEG] pair. Shearing and adhesive behavior between these silk ionomer surfaces in the swollen state were probed at different spatial scales and pressure ranges by using functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips as well as functionalized colloidal probes. The results show that both approaches were consistent in analyzing the interfacial shear strength of LbL silk ionomers at different spatial scales from a nanoscale to a fraction of a micron. Surprisingly, the interfacial shear strength between SF-Glu and SF-Lys[PEG] pair with partially screened ionic pairing was greater than the interfacial shear strength of the SF-Glu and SF-Lys pair with a high density of complementary ionic groups. The difference in interfacial shear strength and adhesive strength is suggested to be predominantly facilitated by the interlayer hydrogen bonding of complementary amino acids and overlap of highly swollen PEG segments.

Towards the damage evaluation using Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) model for hot forming processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imran, Muhammad; Bambach, Markus

2018-05-01

In the production of semi-finished metal products, hot forming is used to eliminate the pores and voids from the casting process under compressive stresses and to modify the microstructure for further processing. In the case of caliber and flat rolling processes, tensile stresses occur at certain roll gap ratios which promote pore formation on nonmetallic inclusion. The formation of new pores contributes to ductile damage and reduces the load carrying capacity of the material. In the literature, the damage nucleation and growth during the hot forming process are not comprehensively described. The aim of this study is to understand the damage initiation and growth mechanism during hot forming processes. Hot tensile tests are performed at different temperatures and strain rates for 16MnCrS5 steel. To investigate the influence of geometrical variations on the damage mechanism, specimens with different stress triaxiality ratios are used. Finite element simulations using the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) damage model are performed to estimate the critical void fraction for the damage initiation and the evolution of the void volume fraction. The results showed that the GTN model underestimates the softening of the material due to the independence of the temperature and the strain rate.

Probabilistic immortality of Cu damascene interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hau-Riege, Stefan P.

2002-02-01

We have studied electromigration short-line effects in Cu damascene interconnects through experiments on lines of various lengths L, stressed at a variety of current densities j, and embedded in different dielectric materials. We observed two modes of resistance evolution: Either the resistance of the lines remains constant for the duration of the test, so that the lines are considered immortal, or the lines fail due to abrupt open-circuit failure. The resistance was not observed to gradually increase and then saturate, as commonly observed in Al-based interconnects, because the barrier is too thin and resistive to serve as a redundant current path should voiding occur. The critical stress for void nucleation was found to be smaller than 41 MPa, since voiding occurred even under the mildest test conditions of j=2 MA/cm2 and L=10.5 μm at 300 °C. A small fraction of short Cu lines failed even at low current densities, which deems necessary a concept of probabilistic immortality rather than deterministic immortality. Experiments and modeling suggest that the probability of immortality is described by (jL2/B), where B is the effective elastic modulus of the metallization scheme. By contrast, the immortality of Al-based interconnects with shunt layers is described by (jL) if no voids nucleate, and (jL/B) if voids do nucleate. Even though the phenomenology of short-line effects differs for Al- and Cu-based interconnects, the immortality of interconnects of either materials system can be explained by the phenomena of nucleation barriers for void formation and void-growth saturation. The differences are due solely to the absence of a shunt layer and the low critical stress for void nucleation in the case of Cu.

Damage percolation during stretch flange forming of aluminum alloy sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zengtao; Worswick, Michael J.; Keith Pilkey, A.; Lloyd, David J.

2005-12-01

A multi-scale finite element (FE)-damage percolation model was employed to simulate stretch flange forming of aluminum alloys AA5182 and AA5754. Material softening and strain gradients were captured using a Gurson-based FE model. FE results were then fed into the so-called damage percolation code, from which the damage development was modelled within measured microstructures. The formability of the stretch flange samples was predicted based upon the onset of catastrophic failure triggered by profuse void coalescence within the measured second-phase particle field. Damage development is quantified in terms of crack and void areal fractions, and compared to metallographic results obtained from interrupted stretch flange specimens. Parametric study is conducted on the effect of void nucleation strain in the prediction of formability of stretch flanges to "calibrate" proper nucleation strains for both alloys.

Suppression of interfacial voids formation during silane (SiH4)-based silicon oxide bonding with a thin silicon nitride capping layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kwang Hong; Bao, Shuyu; Wang, Yue; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.; Seng Tan, Chuan

2018-01-01

The material properties and bonding behavior of silane-based silicon oxide layers deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to determine the chemical composition of the silicon oxide films. The incorporation of hydroxyl (-OH) groups and moisture absorption demonstrates a strong correlation with the storage duration for both as-deposited and annealed silicon oxide films. It is observed that moisture absorption is prevalent in the silane-based silicon oxide film due to its porous nature. The incorporation of -OH groups and moisture absorption in the silicon oxide films increase with the storage time (even in clean-room environments) for both as-deposited and annealed silicon oxide films. Due to silanol condensation and silicon oxidation reactions that take place at the bonding interface and in the bulk silicon, hydrogen (a byproduct of these reactions) is released and diffused towards the bonding interface. The trapped hydrogen forms voids over time. Additionally, the absorbed moisture could evaporate during the post-bond annealing of the bonded wafer pair. As a consequence, defects, such as voids, form at the bonding interface. To address the problem, a thin silicon nitride capping film was deposited on the silicon oxide layer before bonding to serve as a diffusion barrier to prevent moisture absorption and incorporation of -OH groups from the ambient. This process results in defect-free bonded wafers.

Structural, thermal, optical, and photoacoustic study of nanocrystalline Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} produced by mechanical alloying

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Souza, S. M.; Triches, D. M.; Poffo, C. M.

2011-01-01

Nanocrystalline Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} was produced by mechanical alloying and its properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS). Combining the XRD and RS results, the volume fraction of the interfacial component in as-milled and annealed samples was estimated. The PAS results suggest that the contribution of the interfacial component to the thermal diffusivity of nanostructured Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} is very significant.

Luminosity distance in ``Swiss cheese'' cosmology with randomized voids. II. Magnification probability distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanagan, Éanna É.; Kumar, Naresh; Wasserman, Ira; Vanderveld, R. Ali

2012-01-01

We study the fluctuations in luminosity distances due to gravitational lensing by large scale (≳35Mpc) structures, specifically voids and sheets. We use a simplified “Swiss cheese” model consisting of a ΛCDM Friedman-Robertson-Walker background in which a number of randomly distributed nonoverlapping spherical regions are replaced by mass-compensating comoving voids, each with a uniform density interior and a thin shell of matter on the surface. We compute the distribution of magnitude shifts using a variant of the method of Holz and Wald , which includes the effect of lensing shear. The standard deviation of this distribution is ˜0.027 magnitudes and the mean is ˜0.003 magnitudes for voids of radius 35 Mpc, sources at redshift zs=1.0, with the voids chosen so that 90% of the mass is on the shell today. The standard deviation varies from 0.005 to 0.06 magnitudes as we vary the void size, source redshift, and fraction of mass on the shells today. If the shell walls are given a finite thickness of ˜1Mpc, the standard deviation is reduced to ˜0.013 magnitudes. This standard deviation due to voids is a factor ˜3 smaller than that due to galaxy scale structures. We summarize our results in terms of a fitting formula that is accurate to ˜20%, and also build a simplified analytic model that reproduces our results to within ˜30%. Our model also allows us to explore the domain of validity of weak-lensing theory for voids. We find that for 35 Mpc voids, corrections to the dispersion due to lens-lens coupling are of order ˜4%, and corrections due to shear are ˜3%. Finally, we estimate the bias due to source-lens clustering in our model to be negligible.

Analyzing near infrared scattering from human skin to monitor changes in hematocrit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaiken, Joseph; Deng, Bin; Goodisman, Jerry; Shaheen, George; Bussjager, R. J.

2012-01-01

The leading preventable cause of death, world-wide, civilian or military, for all people between the ages of 18-45 is undetected internal hemorrhage. Autonomic compensation mechanisms mask changes such as e.g. hematocrit fluctuations that could give early warning if only they could be monitored continuously with reasonable degrees of precision and relative accuracy. Probing tissue with near infrared radiation (NIR) simultaneously produces remitted fluorescence and Raman scattering (IE) plus Rayleigh/Mie light scattering (EE) that noninvasively give chemical and physical information about the materials and objects within. We model tissue as a three-phase system: plasma and red blood cell (RBC) phases that are mobile and a static tissue phase. In vivo, any volume of tissue naturally experiences spatial and temporal fluctuations of blood plasma and RBC content. Plasma and RBC fractions may be discriminated from each other on the basis of their physical, chemical and optical properties. Thus IE and EE from NIR probing yield information about these fractions. Assuming there is no void volume in viable tissue, or that void volume is constant, changes in plasma and RBC volume fractions may be calculated from simultaneous measurements of the two observables, EE and IE. In a previously published analysis we showed the underlying phenomenology but did not provide an algorithm for calculating volume fractions from experimental data. Here we present a simple analysis that allows continuous monitoring of fluid fraction and hematocrit (Hct) changes by measuring IE and EE, and apply it to some experimental in vivo measurements.

Correlating Humidity-Dependent Ionically Conductive Surface Area with Transport Phenomena in Proton-Exchange Membranes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Qinggang; Kusoglu, Ahmet; Lucas, Ivan T.

2011-08-01

The objective of this effort was to correlate the local surface ionic conductance of a Nafion? 212 proton-exchange membrane with its bulk and interfacial transport properties as a function of water content. Both macroscopic and microscopic proton conductivities were investigated at different relative humidity levels, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and current-sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM). We were able to identify small ion-conducting domains that grew with humidity at the surface of the membrane. Numerical analysis of the surface ionic conductance images recorded at various relative humidity levels helped determine the fractional area of ion-conducting active sites. A simple square-root relationshipmore » between the fractional conducting area and observed interfacial mass-transport resistance was established. Furthermore, the relationship between the bulk ionic conductivity and surface ionic conductance pattern of the Nafion? membrane was examined.« less

Wear and interfacial transport of material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, D. H.

1975-01-01

Bonding across the interface for two solids in contact and the subsequent transfer of material from one surface to another is a direct result of the interfacial bonds being stronger than the cohesive bonds in either of the two solids. Surface tools such as LEED, Auger emission spectroscopy, field ion microscopy, and the atom probe are used to examine adhesive contacts and to determine the direction, nature, quantity of material transfer and properties of the solids which effect transfer and wear. The electronic nature, cohesive binding energies, surface structure, lattice disregistry and distribution of species in surface layers are all found to effect adhesion and transfer or transport for clean surfaces in solid state contact. The influence of adsorbed and reacted surface films from fractions of a monolayer to multilayer reactive films are considered. It is shown that even fractions of a monolayer of surface active species such as oxygen and sulfur can markedly inhibit adhesion and transport.

Addressing safety through evaluation and optimization of permeable friction course mixtures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

Permeable friction course (PFC) mixtures are a special type of hot mix asphalt characterized by a : high total air voids content to guarantee proper functionality and stone-on-stone contact of the coarse : aggregate fraction to ensure adequate mixtur...

Micromechanical investigation of ductile failure in Al 5083-H116 via 3D unit cell modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bomarito, G. F.; Warner, D. H.

2015-01-01

Ductile failure is governed by the evolution of micro-voids within a material. The micro-voids, which commonly initiate at second phase particles within metal alloys, grow and interact with each other until failure occurs. The evolution of the micro-voids, and therefore ductile failure, depends on many parameters (e.g., stress state, temperature, strain rate, void and particle volume fraction, etc.). In this study, the stress state dependence of the ductile failure of Al 5083-H116 is investigated by means of 3-D Finite Element (FE) periodic cell models. The cell models require only two pieces of information as inputs: (1) the initial particle volume fraction of the alloy and (2) the constitutive behavior of the matrix material. Based on this information, cell models are subjected to a given stress state, defined by the stress triaxiality and the Lode parameter. For each stress state, the cells are loaded in many loading orientations until failure. Material failure is assumed to occur in the weakest orientation, and so the orientation in which failure occurs first is considered as the critical orientation. The result is a description of material failure that is derived from basic principles and requires no fitting parameters. Subsequently, the results of the simulations are used to construct a homogenized material model, which is used in a component-scale FE model. The component-scale FE model is compared to experiments and is shown to over predict ductility. By excluding smaller nucleation events and load path non-proportionality, it is concluded that accuracy could be gained by including more information about the true microstructure in the model; emphasizing that its incorporation into micromechanical models is critical to developing quantitatively accurate physics-based ductile failure models.

Predicting efficiency of solar cells based on transparent conducting electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Ankush

2017-01-01

Efficiency of a solar cell is directly correlated with the performance of its transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) which dictates its two core processes, viz., absorption and collection efficiencies. Emerging designs of a TCE involve active networks of carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires and various template-based techniques providing diverse structures; here, voids are transparent for optical transmittance while the conducting network acts as a charge collector. However, it is still not well understood as to which kind of network structure leads to an optimum solar cell performance; therefore, mostly an arbitrary network is chosen as a solar cell electrode. Herein, we propose a new generic approach for understanding the role of TCEs in determining the solar cell efficiency based on analysis of shadowing and recombination losses. A random network of wires encloses void regions of different sizes and shapes which permit light transmission; two terms, void fraction and equivalent radius, are defined to represent the TCE transmittance and wire spacings, respectively. The approach has been applied to various literature examples and their solar cell performance has been compared. To obtain high-efficiency solar cells, optimum density of the wires and their aspect ratio as well as active layer thickness are calculated. Our findings show that a TCE well suitable for one solar cell may not be suitable for another. For high diffusion length based solar cells, the void fraction of the network should be low while for low diffusion length based solar cells, the equivalent radius should be lower. The network with less wire spacing compared to the diffusion length behaves similar to continuous film based TCEs (such as indium tin oxide). The present work will be useful for architectural as well as material engineering of transparent electrodes for improvisation of solar cell performance.

An ultrasonic investigation of the effect of voids on the mechanical properties of bread dough and the role of gas cells in determining the cellular structure of freeze- dried breadcrumb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmehdi, Hussein Mohamed

This thesis is an analysis of voids in the breadmaking process, more specifically the effect of gas cells entrapped in the dough during mixing, their expansion during fermentation, and their relationship to the breadcrumb structure in the final product. This is important to food scientists because the voids ultimately influence the structural integrity of bread and hence its quality. Understanding how voids affect the viscoelastic properties of dough is also a challenging problem in soft condensed matter physics. Longitudinal ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements, performed at 54 kHz, investigated changes in the mechanical properties of dough and bread as void concentration was varied. In the first part of the thesis, the effect of voids on the properties of unyeasted dough at the end of mixing was investigated. As φ is increased, the attenuation coefficient increased linearly with φ hence the change in attenuation is proportional to the number of voids, allowing the combined effects of scattering and absorption by single voids to be directly determined. By contrast, the ultrasonic velocity decreased dramatically with increasing φ in the range 0.0 12 < φ < 0.03, while at higher φ, the velocity decrease was less rapid. An effective medium model successfully modeled the viscoelastic behavior of the dough at all void fraction values, provided that the shear modulus of the matrix was permitted to vary. The same ultrasonic technique was also used to monitor the increase in gas cell size due to CO 2 production during fermentation of yeasted dough. A large decrease in velocity and an increase in the attenuation coefficient were observed as the gas cells grew. In addition, at early fermentation times, a substantial contribution to the velocity decrease arises from a reduction in the shear modulus of the dough matrix. This occurs because the pH drops as CO2 molecules dissolve in the matrix and intermolecular interactions are weakened due to protein chain charge repulsion effects. In the second part of the thesis, freeze-dried breadcrumb structure was investigated. To change the size of the air cells, the dough was proofed for various times. Ultrasonic velocity and amplitude decrease with increasing φ. The experimental data were found to be in reasonable agreement with theoretical models for the elasticity of isotropic cellular foams and tortuosity. The effects of anisotropy in breadcrumb structure were studied by compressing samples uniaxially, thereby transforming the shape of the air cells from approximately spherical to elongated ellipsoids. Ultrasonic measurements were taken in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the strain. These results indicated that the path by which sound propagates is critical. The data were interpreted using the same two theoretical models, taking into account anisotropy effects. The tortuosity model was able to interpret the void fraction dependence of the velocity along the two orthogonal directions, thus giving a way of relating changes in ultrasonic velocity to changes in breadcrumb structure. This thesis demonstrates the potential for using ultrasound as a non-destructive, cheap and accurate tool for studying the effect of voids (and their expansion) on dough properties. These ultrasonic techniques can also be used to investigate the effect of air cells on the structural integrity of breadcrumb and hence be a useful tool for quantitatively assessing bread quality.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

Here, the one-dimensional water faucet problem is one of the classical benchmark problems originally proposed by Ransom to study the two-fluid two-phase flow model. With certain simplifications, such as massless gas phase and no wall and interfacial frictions, analytical solutions had been previously obtained for the transient liquid velocity and void fraction distribution. The water faucet problem and its analytical solutions have been widely used for the purposes of code assessment, benchmark and numerical verifications. In our previous study, the Ransom’s solutions were used for the mesh convergence study of a high-resolution spatial discretization scheme. It was found that, atmore » the steady state, an anticipated second-order spatial accuracy could not be achieved, when compared to the existing Ransom’s analytical solutions. A further investigation showed that the existing analytical solutions do not actually satisfy the commonly used two-fluid single-pressure two-phase flow equations. In this work, we present a new set of analytical solutions of the water faucet problem at the steady state, considering the gas phase density’s effect on pressure distribution. This new set of analytical solutions are used for mesh convergence studies, from which anticipated second-order of accuracy is achieved for the 2nd order spatial discretization scheme. In addition, extended Ransom’s transient solutions for the gas phase velocity and pressure are derived, with the assumption of decoupled liquid and gas pressures. Numerical verifications on the extended Ransom’s solutions are also presented.« less

New analytical solutions to the two-phase water faucet problem

DOE PAGES

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-06-17

Here, the one-dimensional water faucet problem is one of the classical benchmark problems originally proposed by Ransom to study the two-fluid two-phase flow model. With certain simplifications, such as massless gas phase and no wall and interfacial frictions, analytical solutions had been previously obtained for the transient liquid velocity and void fraction distribution. The water faucet problem and its analytical solutions have been widely used for the purposes of code assessment, benchmark and numerical verifications. In our previous study, the Ransom’s solutions were used for the mesh convergence study of a high-resolution spatial discretization scheme. It was found that, atmore » the steady state, an anticipated second-order spatial accuracy could not be achieved, when compared to the existing Ransom’s analytical solutions. A further investigation showed that the existing analytical solutions do not actually satisfy the commonly used two-fluid single-pressure two-phase flow equations. In this work, we present a new set of analytical solutions of the water faucet problem at the steady state, considering the gas phase density’s effect on pressure distribution. This new set of analytical solutions are used for mesh convergence studies, from which anticipated second-order of accuracy is achieved for the 2nd order spatial discretization scheme. In addition, extended Ransom’s transient solutions for the gas phase velocity and pressure are derived, with the assumption of decoupled liquid and gas pressures. Numerical verifications on the extended Ransom’s solutions are also presented.« less

Electrical Resistivity Measurement of Petroleum Coke Powder by Means of Four-Probe Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rouget, G.; Majidi, B.; Picard, D.; Gauvin, G.; Ziegler, D.; Mashreghi, J.; Alamdari, H.

2017-10-01

Carbon anodes used in Hall-Héroult electrolysis cells are involved in both electrical and chemical processes of the cell. Electrical resistivity of anodes depends on electrical properties of its constituents, of which carbon coke aggregates are the most prevalent. Electrical resistivity of coke aggregates is usually characterized according to the ISO 10143 standardized test method, which consists of measuring the voltage drop in the bed of particles between two electrically conducing plungers through which the current is also applied. Estimation of the electrical resistivity of coke particles from the resistivity of particle bed is a challenging task and needs consideration of the contribution of the interparticle void fraction and the particle/particle contact resistances. In this work, the bed resistivity was normalized by subtracting the interparticle void fraction. Then, the contact size was obtained from discrete element method simulation and the contact resistance was calculated using Holm's theory. Finally, the resistivity of the coke particles was obtained from the bed resistivity.

A compact x-ray system for two-phase flow measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Kyle; Liu, Yang

2018-02-01

In this paper, a compact x-ray densitometry system consisting of a 50 kV, 1 mA x-ray tube and several linear detector arrays is developed for two-phase flow measurement. The system is capable of measuring void fraction and velocity distributions with a spatial resolution of 0.4 mm per pixel and a frequency of 1000 Hz. A novel measurement model has been established for the system which takes account of the energy spectrum of x-ray photons and the beam hardening effect. An improved measurement accuracy has been achieved with this model compared with the conventional log model that has been widely used in the literature. Using this system, void fraction and velocity distributions are measured for a bubbly and a slug flow in a 25.4 mm I.D. air-water two-phase flow test loop. The measured superficial gas velocities show an error within  ±4% when compared with the gas flowmeter for both conditions.

Experimental and numerical investigation of one and two phase natural convection in storage tanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aszodi, A.; Krepper, E.; Prasser, H.-M.

Experiments were performed to investigate heating up processes of fluids in storage tanks under the influence of an external heat source. As a consequence of an external fire, the heat-up of the inventory may lead to the evaporation of the liquid and to release of significant quantities of dangerous gases into the environment. Several tests were performed both with heating from the bottom and with heating from the side walls. In recent tests in addition to thermocouples, the tank was equipped with needle probes for measuring of the local void fraction. The paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of single and two phase heating up processes of tanks with side wall heating. The measurement of the temperature and of the void fraction makes interesting phenomena evident, which could be explained by an own 2D model. The gained experimental results may be used for the validation of boiling models in 3D CFD codes.

Numerical investigations on cavitation intensity for 3D homogeneous unsteady viscous flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leclercq, C.; Archer, A.; Fortes-Patella, R.

2016-11-01

The cavitation erosion remains an industrial issue. In this paper, we deal with the cavitation intensity which can be described as the aggressiveness - or erosive capacity - of a cavitating flow. The estimation of this intensity is a challenging problem both in terms of modelling the cavitating flow and predicting the erosion due to cavitation. For this purpose, a model was proposed to estimate cavitation intensity from 3D unsteady cavitating flow simulations. An intensity model based on pressure and void fraction derivatives was developped and applied to a NACA 65012 hydrofoil tested at LMH-EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) [1]. 2D and 3D unsteady cavitating simulations were performed using a homogeneous model with void fraction transport equation included in Code_Saturne with cavitating module [2]. The article presents a description of the numerical code and the physical approach considered. Comparisons between 2D and 3D simulations, as well as between numerical and experimental results obtained by pitting tests, are analyzed in the paper.

Time-resolved flowmetering of gas-liquid two-phase pipe flow by ultrasound pulse Doppler method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murai, Yuichi; Tasaka, Yuji; Takeda, Yasushi

2012-03-01

Ultrasound pulse Doppler method is applied for componential volumetric flow rate measurement in multiphase pipe flow consisted of gas and liquid phases. The flowmetering is realized with integration of measured velocity profile over the cross section of the pipe within liquid phase. Spatio-temporal position of interface is detected also with the same ultrasound pulse, which further gives cross sectional void fraction. A series of experimental demonstration was shown by applying this principle of measurement to air-water two-phase flow in a horizontal tube of 40 mm in diameter, of which void fraction ranges from 0 to 90% at superficial velocity from 0 to 15 m/s. The measurement accuracy is verified with a volumetric type flowmeter. We also analyze the accuracy of area integration of liquid velocity distribution for many different patterns of ultrasound measurement lines assigned on the cross section of the tube. The present method is also identified to be pulsation sensor of flow rate that fluctuates with complex gas-liquid interface behavior.

Inviscid dynamics of a wet foam drop with monodisperse bubble size distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDaniel, J. Gregory; Akhatov, Iskander; Holt, R. Glynn

2002-06-01

Motivated by recent experiments involving the acoustic levitation of foam drops, we develop a model for nonlinear oscillations of a spherical drop composed of monodisperse aqueous foam with void fraction below 0.1. The model conceptually divides a foam drop into many cells, each cell consisting of a spherical volume of liquid with a bubble at its center. By treating the liquid as incompressible and inviscid, a nonlinear equation is obtained for bubble motion due to a pressure applied at the outer radius of the liquid sphere. Upon linearizing this equation and connecting the cells at their outer radii, a wave equation is obtained with a dispersion relation for the sound waves in a bubbly liquid. For the spherical drop, this equation is solved by a normal mode expansion that yields the natural frequencies as functions of standard foam parameters. Numerical examples illustrate how the analysis may be used to extract foam parameters, such as void fraction and bubble radius, from the experimentally measured natural frequencies of a foam drop.

Improving Multi-Functional Properties in Polymer Based Nano Composites by Interfacial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajaddod, Navid

Polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) have become an area of increasing interest for study in the field of polymer science and technology since the rise of nanotechnology research. Despite the significant amount of progress being made towards producing high quality PNC materials, improvement in the mechanical, electrical, thermal and other functional properties still remain a challenge. To date, these properties are only a fraction of the expected theoretical values predicted for these materials. Development of interfacial regions between the filler and matrix within the composite has been found to be an important focus in terms of processing. Proper interfacial control and development may ensure excellent interaction and property transfer between the filler and polymer matrix in addition to improvement of multi-functional properties of PNCs. The property-structure importance for the existence of the interfacial and interphase region within PNCs is discussed in this thesis work. Two specific PNC systems are selected for study as part of this dissertation in order to understand the effect of interfacial region development on influencing multi-functional property trends. Polyethylene (PE)/boron nitride (BN) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites were selected to investigate their mechanical performance and thermal and electrical conductivity properties, respectively. For these systems it was found that the interfacial region structure is directly related to the enhancement of the subsequent multi-functional properties.

Extragalactic magnetic fields unlikely generated at the electroweak phase transition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wagstaff, Jacques M.; Banerjee, Robi, E-mail: jwagstaff@hs.uni-hamburg.de, E-mail: banerjee@hs.uni-hamburg.de

2016-01-01

In this paper we show that magnetic fields generated at the electroweak phase transition are most likely too weak to explain the void magnetic fields apparently observed today unless they have considerable helicity. We show that, in the simplest estimates, the helicity naturally produced in conjunction with the baryon asymmetry is too small to explain observations, which require a helicity fraction at least of order 10{sup −14}–10{sup −10} depending on the void fields constraint used. Therefore new mechanisms to generate primordial helicity are required if magnetic fields generated during the electroweak phase transition should explain the extragalactic fields.

Recent numerical and algorithmic advances within the volume tracking framework for modeling interfacial flows

DOE PAGES

François, Marianne M.

2015-05-28

A review of recent advances made in numerical methods and algorithms within the volume tracking framework is presented. The volume tracking method, also known as the volume-of-fluid method has become an established numerical approach to model and simulate interfacial flows. Its advantage is its strict mass conservation. However, because the interface is not explicitly tracked but captured via the material volume fraction on a fixed mesh, accurate estimation of the interface position, its geometric properties and modeling of interfacial physics in the volume tracking framework remain difficult. Several improvements have been made over the last decade to address these challenges.more » In this study, the multimaterial interface reconstruction method via power diagram, curvature estimation via heights and mean values and the balanced-force algorithm for surface tension are highlighted.« less

Effect of Interfacial Bonding on Interphase Properties in SiO2/Epoxy Nanocomposite: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study.

PubMed

Wang, Zhikun; Lv, Qiang; Chen, Shenghui; Li, Chunling; Sun, Shuangqing; Hu, Songqing

2016-03-23

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to explore the effect of interfacial bonding on the interphase properties of a nanocomposite system that consists of a silica nanoparticle and the highly cross-linked epoxy matrix. For the structural properties, results show that interfacial covalent bonding can broaden the interphase region by increasing the radial effect range of fluctuated mass density and oriented chains, as well as strengthen the interphase region by improving the thermal stability of interfacial van der Waals excluded volume and reducing the proportion of cis conformers of epoxy segments. The improved thermal stability of the interphase region in the covalently bonded model results in an increase of ∼21 K in the glass transition temperature (Tg) compared to that of the pure epoxy. It is also found that interfacial covalent bonding mainly restricts the volume thermal expansion of the model at temperatures near or larger than Tg. Furthermore, investigations from mean-square displacement and fraction of immobile atoms point out that interfacial covalent and noncovalent bonding induces lower and higher mobility of interphase atoms than that of the pure epoxy, respectively. The obtained critical interfacial bonding ratio when the interphase and matrix atoms have the same mobility is 5.8%. These results demonstrate that the glass transitions of the interphase and matrix will be asynchronous when the interfacial bonding ratio is not 5.8%. Specifically, the interphase region will trigger the glass transition of the matrix when the ratio is larger than 5.8%, whereas it restrains the glass transition of the matrix when the ratio is smaller than 5.8%.

GEOCHEMICAL AND INTERFACIAL APPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSING ECOLOGICAL TOXICANT EXPOSURES

EPA Science Inventory

Numerous publications in the past several years have demonstrated that a significant fraction of our nation's waterbodies and associated underlying sediments contain sufficient quantities of contaminants such that they pose unacceptable risks to both wildlife and human health. I...

Interfacial and thermal energy driven growth and evolution of Langmuir-Schaefer monolayers of Au-nanoparticles.

PubMed

Mukhopadhyay, Mala; Hazra, S

2018-01-03

Structures of Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) monolayers of thiol-coated Au-nanoparticles (DT-AuNPs) deposited on H-terminated and OTS self-assembled Si substrates (of different hydrophobic strength and stability) and their evolution with time under ambient conditions, which plays an important role for their practical use as 2D-nanostructures over large areas, were investigated using the X-ray reflectivity technique. The strong effect of substrate surface energy (γ) on the initial structures and the competitive role of room temperature thermal energy (kT) and the change in interfacial energy (Δγ) at ambient conditions on the evolution and final structures of the DT-AuNP LS monolayers are evident. The strong-hydrophobic OTS-Si substrate, during transfer, seems to induce strong attraction towards hydrophobic DT-AuNPs on hydrophilic (repulsive) water to form vertically compact partially covered (with voids) monolayer structures (of perfect monolayer thickness) at low pressure and nearly covered buckled monolayer structures (of enhanced monolayer thickness) at high pressure. After transfer, the small kT-energy (in absence of repulsive water) probably fluctuates the DT-AuNPs to form vertically expanded monolayer structures, through systematic exponential growth with time. The effect is prominent for the film deposited at low pressure, where the initial film-coverage and film-thickness are low. On the other hand, the weak-hydrophobic H-Si substrate, during transfer, appears to induce optimum attraction towards DT-AuNPs to better mimic the Langmuir monolayer structures on it. After transfer, the change in the substrate surface nature, from weak-hydrophobic to weak-hydrophilic with time (i.e. Δγ-energy, apart from the kT-energy), enhances the size of the voids and weakens the monolayer/bilayer structure to form a similar expanded monolayer structure, the thickness of which is probably optimized by the available thermal energy.

Crazing of nanocomposites with polymer-tethered nanoparticles

DOE PAGES

Meng, Dong; Kumar, Sanat K.; Ge, Ting; ...

2016-09-07

The crazing behavior of polymer nanocomposites formed by blending polymer grafted nanoparticles with an entangled polymer melt is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. We focus on the three key differences in the crazing behavior of a composite relative to the pure homopolymer matrix, namely, a lower yield stress, a smaller extension ratio, and a grafted chain length dependent failure stress. The yield behavior is found to be mostly controlled by the local nanoparticle-grafted polymer interfacial energy, with the grafted polymer-polymer matrix interfacial structure being of little to no relevance. Increasing the attraction between nanoparticle core and the grafted polymer inhibitsmore » void nucleation and leads to a higher yield stress. In the craze growth regime, the presence of “grafted chain” sections of ≈100 monomers alters the mechanical response of composite samples, giving rise to smaller extension ratios and higher drawing stresses than for the homopolymer matrix. As a result, the dominant failure mechanism of composite samples depends strongly on the length of the grafted chains, with disentanglement being the dominant mechanism for short chains, while bond breaking is the failure mode for chain lengths >10N e, where N e is the entanglement length.« less

Modeling quiescent phase transport of air bubbles induced by breaking waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Fengyan; Kirby, James T.; Ma, Gangfeng

Simultaneous modeling of both the acoustic phase and quiescent phase of breaking wave-induced air bubbles involves a large range of length scales from microns to meters and time scales from milliseconds to seconds, and thus is computational unaffordable in a surfzone-scale computational domain. In this study, we use an air bubble entrainment formula in a two-fluid model to predict air bubble evolution in the quiescent phase in a breaking wave event. The breaking wave-induced air bubble entrainment is formulated by connecting the shear production at the air-water interface and the bubble number intensity with a certain bubble size spectra observed in laboratory experiments. A two-fluid model is developed based on the partial differential equations of the gas-liquid mixture phase and the continuum bubble phase, which has multiple size bubble groups representing a polydisperse bubble population. An enhanced 2-DV VOF (Volume of Fluid) model with a k - ɛ turbulence closure is used to model the mixture phase. The bubble phase is governed by the advection-diffusion equations of the gas molar concentration and bubble intensity for groups of bubbles with different sizes. The model is used to simulate air bubble plumes measured in laboratory experiments. Numerical results indicate that, with an appropriate parameter in the air entrainment formula, the model is able to predict the main features of bubbly flows as evidenced by reasonable agreement with measured void fraction. Bubbles larger than an intermediate radius of O(1 mm) make a major contribution to void fraction in the near-crest region. Smaller bubbles tend to penetrate deeper and stay longer in the water column, resulting in significant contribution to the cross-sectional area of the bubble cloud. An underprediction of void fraction is found at the beginning of wave breaking when large air pockets take place. The core region of high void fraction predicted by the model is dislocated due to use of the shear production in the algorithm for initial bubble entrainment. The study demonstrates a potential use of an entrainment formula in simulations of air bubble population in a surfzone-scale domain. It also reveals some difficulties in use of the two-fluid model for predicting large air pockets induced by wave breaking, and suggests that it may be necessary to use a gas-liquid two-phase model as the basic model framework for the mixture phase and to develop an algorithm to allow for transfer of discrete air pockets to the continuum bubble phase. A more theoretically justifiable air entrainment formulation should be developed.

Monomer Derived Poly(Furfuryl)/BaTiO3 0-3 Nanocomposite Capacitors: Maximization of the Effective Permittivity Through Control at the Interface.

PubMed

Pearsall, Frederick A; Lombardi, Julien; O'Brien, Stephen

2017-11-22

Frequency stable, high permittivity nanocomposite capacitors produced under mild processing conditions offer an attractive replacement to MLCCs derived from conventional ceramic firing. Here, 0-3 nanocomposites were prepared using gel-collection derived barium titanate nanocrystals, suspended in a poly(furfuryl alcohol) matrix, resulting in a stable, high effective permittivity, low loss dielectric. The nanocrystals are produced at 60 °C, emerging as fully crystallized cubic BTO, 8 nm, paraelectric with a highly functional surface that enables both suspension and chemical reaction in organic solvents. The nanocrystals were suspended in furfuryl alcohol inside a uniquely prepared mold, in which volume fraction of nanocrystal filler (ν f ) could be varied. Polymerization of the matrix in situ at 70-90 °C resulted in a nanocomposite with a higher than anticipated effective permittivity (up to 50, with ν f only 0.41, 0.5-2000 kHz), exceptional stability as a function of frequency, and very favorable dissipation factors (tan δ < 0.01, ν f < 0.41; tan δ < 0.05, ν f < 0.5). The increased permittivity is attributed to the covalent attachment of the poly(furfuryl alcohol) matrix to the surface of the nanocrystals, homogenizing the particle-matrix interface, limiting undercoordinated surface sites and reducing void space. XPS and FTIR confirmed strong interfacial interaction between matrix and nanocrystal surface. Effective medium approximations were used to compare this with similar nanocomposite systems. It was found that the high effective permittivity could not be attributed to the combination of two components alone, rather the creation of a hybrid nanocomposite possessing its own dielectric behavior. A nondispersive medium was selected to focus on the frequency dependent permittivity of the 8 nm barium titanate nanocrystals. Experimental corroboration with known theory is evident until a specific volume fraction (ν f ≈ 0.3) where, due to a sharp increase in the effective permittivity, approximations fail to adequately describe the nanocomposite medium.

Enhanced phonon scattering by nanovoids in high thermoelectric power factor polysilicon thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunham, Marc T.; Lorenzi, Bruno; Andrews, Sean C.; Sood, Aditya; Asheghi, Mehdi; Narducci, Dario; Goodson, Kenneth E.

2016-12-01

The ability to tune the thermal conductivity of semiconductor materials is of interest for thermoelectric applications, in particular, for doped silicon, which can be readily integrated in electronic microstructures and have a high thermoelectric power factor. Here, we examine the impact of nanovoids on the thermal conductivity of highly doped, high-power factor polysilicon thin films using time-domain thermoreflectance. Voids are formed through ion implantation and annealing, evolving from many small (˜4 nm mean diameter) voids after 500 °C anneal to fewer, larger (˜29 nm mean diameter) voids with a constant total volume fraction after staged thermal annealing to 1000 °C. The thermal conductivity is reduced to 65% of the non-implanted reference film conductivity after implantation and 500 °C anneal, increasing with anneal temperature until fully restored after 800 °C anneal. The void size distributions are determined experimentally using small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering. While we believe multiple physical mechanisms are at play, we are able to corroborate the positive correlation between measurements of thermal conductivity and void size with Monte Carlo calculations and a scattering probability based on Matthiessen's rule. The data suggest an opportunity for thermal conductivity suppression combined with the high power factor for increased material zT and efficiency of nanostructured polysilicon as a thermoelectric material.

Cellular polypropylene polymer foam as air-coupled ultrasonic transducer materials.

PubMed

Satyanarayan, L; Haberman, Michael R; Berthelot, Yves H

2010-10-01

Cellular polypropylene polymer foams, also known as ferroelectrets, are compelling candidates for air-coupled ultrasonic transducer materials because of their excellent acoustic impedance match to air and because they have a piezoelectric d(33) coefficient superior to that of PVDF. This study investigates the performance of ferroelectret transducers in the generation and reception of ultrasonic waves in air. As previous studies have noted, the piezoelectric coupling coefficients of these foams depend on the number, size, and distribution of charged voids in the microstructure. The present work studies the influence of these parameters both theoretically and experimentally. First, a three-dimensional model is employed to explain the variation of piezoelectric coupling coefficients, elastic stiffness, and dielectric permittivity as a function of void fraction based on void-scale physics and void geometry. Laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) measurements of the effective d(33) coefficient of a specially fabricated prototype transmitting transducer are then shown which clearly indicate that the charged voids in the ferroelectret material are randomly distributed in the plane of the foam. The frequency-dependent dynamic d(33) coefficient is then reported from 50 to 500 kHz for different excitation voltages and shown to be largely insensitive to drive voltage. Lastly, two ferroelectret transducers are operated in transmit-receive mode and the received signal is shown to accurately represent the corresponding signal generated by the transmitting transducer as measured using LDV.

Heat transfer enhancement for spent nuclear fuel assembly disposal packages using metallic void fillers: A prevention technique for solidification shrinkage-induced interfacial gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Yongsoo; McKrell, Thomas J.; Driscoll, Michael J.

2017-06-01

This study considers replacing the externally accessible void spaces inside a disposal package containing a spent nuclear fuel assembly (SNFA) with high heat conducting metal to increase the effective thermal conductivity of the package and simplify the heat transfer mechanism inside the package by reducing it to a conduction dominant problem. The focus of the study is on preventing the gaps adjacent to the walls of the package components, produced by solidification shrinkage of poured liquid metal. We approached the problem by providing a temporary coating layer on the components to avoid direct build-up of thick metal oxides on their surface to promote metallic bonding at the interfaces under a non-inert environment. Laboratory scale experiments without SNFA were performed with Zn coated low carbon steel canisters and Zamak-3 void filler under two different filling temperature conditions - below and above the melting point of Zn (designated BMP and AMP respectively). Gap formation was successfully prevented in both cases while we confirmed an open gap in a control experiment, which used an uncoated canister. Minor growth of Al-Fe intermetallic phases was observed at the canister/filler interface of the sample produced under the BMP condition while their growth was significant and showed irregularly distributed morphology in the sample produced under the AMP condition, which has a potential to mitigate excessive residual stresses caused by shrinkage prevention. A procedure for the full-scale application was specified based on the results.

Analysis of Fractional Flow for Transient Two-Phase Flow in Fractal Porous Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Ting; Duan, Yonggang; Fang, Quantang; Dai, Xiaolu; Wu, Jinsui

2016-03-01

Prediction of fractional flow in fractal porous medium is important for reservoir engineering and chemical engineering as well as hydrology. A physical conceptual fractional flow model of transient two-phase flow is developed in fractal porous medium based on the fractal characteristics of pore-size distribution and on the approximation that porous medium consist of a bundle of tortuous capillaries. The analytical expression for fractional flow for wetting phase is presented, and the proposed expression is the function of structural parameters (such as tortuosity fractal dimension, pore fractal dimension, maximum and minimum diameters of capillaries) and fluid properties (such as contact angle, viscosity and interfacial tension) in fractal porous medium. The sensitive parameters that influence fractional flow and its derivative are formulated, and their impacts on fractional flow are discussed.

Best practices for the use of siliceous river gravel in concrete paving.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-02-01

Fracture toughness (KIC) value at early ages of concrete was used to represent the interfacial bond between : aggregate and mortar of a variety of coarse aggregates types and concrete mixtures. A fractional factorial design based : on Taguchis ort...

Liquid level, void fraction, and superheated steam sensor for nuclear-reactor cores. [PWR; BWR

DOEpatents

Tokarz, R.D.

1981-10-27

This disclosure relates to an apparatus for monitoring the presence of coolant in liquid or mixed liquid and vapor, and superheated gaseous phases at one or more locations within an operating nuclear reactor core, such as pressurized water reactor or a boiling water reactor.

Interconnect mechanisms in microelectronic packaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roma, Maria Penafrancia C.

Global economic, environmental and market developments caused major impact in the microelectronics industry. Astronomical rise of gold metal prices over the last decade shifted the use of copper and silver alloys as bonding wires. Environmental legislation on the restriction of the use of Pb launched worldwide search for lead-free solders and platings. Finally, electrical and digital uses demanded smaller, faster and cheaper devices. Ultra-fine pitch bonding, decreasing bond wire sizes and hard to bond substrates have put the once-robust stitch bond in the center of reliability issues due to stitch bond lift or open wires .Unlike the ball bond, stitch bonding does not lead to intermetallic compound formation but adhesion is dependent on mechanical deformation, interdiffusion, solid solution formation, void formation and mechanical interlocking depending on the wire material, bond configuration, substrate type , thickness and surface condition. Using Au standoff stitch bonds on NiPdAu plated substrates eliminated stitch bond lift even when the Au and Pd layers are reduced. Using the Matano-Boltzmann analysis on a STEM (Scanning Transmission Analysis) concentration profile the interdiffusion coefficient is measured to be 10-16 cm 2/s. Wire pull strength data showed that the wire pull strength is 0.062N and increases upon stress testing. Meanwhile, coating the Cu wire with Pd, not only increases oxidation resistance but also improved adhesion due to the formation of a unique interfacial adhesion layers. Adhesion strength as measured by pull showed the Cu wire bonded to Ag plated Cu substrate (0.132N) to be stronger than the Au wire bonded on the same substrate (0.124N). Ag stitch bonded to Au is predicted to be strong but surface modification made the adhesion stronger. However, on the Ag ball bonded to Al showed multiple IMC formation with unique morphology exposed by ion milling and backscattered scanning electron microscopy. Adding alloying elements in the Ag wire alloy showed differences in adhesion strength and IMC formation. Bond strength by wire pull testing showed the 95Ag alloy with higher values while shear bond testing showed the 88Ag higher bond strength. Use of Cu pillars in flip chips and eutectic bonding in wafer level chip scale packages are direct consequences of diminishing interconnect dimension as a result of the drive for miniaturization. The combination of Cu-Sn interdiffusion, Kirkendall mechanism and heterogeneous vacancy precipitation are the main causes of IMC and void formation in Cu pillar - Sn solder - Cu lead frame sandwich structure. However, adding a Ni barrier agent showed less porous IMC layer as well as void formation as a result of the modified Cu and Sn movement well as the void formation. Direct die to die bonding using Al-Ge eutectic bonds is necessary when 3D integration is needed to reduce the footprint of a package. Hermeticity and adhesion strength are a function of the Al/Ge thickness ratio, bonding pressure, temperature and time. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) allowed imaging of interfacial microstructures, porosity, grain morphology while Scanning Transmission Electron microscope (STEM) provided diffusion profile and confirmed interdiffusion. Ion polishing technique provided information on porosity and when imaged using backscattered mode, grain structure confirmed mechanical deformation of the bonds. Measurements of the interfacial bond strength are made by wire pull tests and ball shear tests based on existing industry standard tests. However, for the Al-Ge eutectic bonds, no standard strength is available so a test is developed using the stud pull test method using the Dage 4000 Plus to yield consistent results. Adhesion strengths of 30-40 MPa are found for eutectic bonded packages however, as low as 20MPa was measured in low temperature bonded areas.

Specific interface area and self-stirring in a two-liquid system experiencing intense interfacial boiling below the bulk boiling temperatures of both components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldobin, Denis S.; Pimenova, Anastasiya V.

2017-04-01

We present an approach to theoretical assessment of the mean specific interface area (δ S/δ V) for a well-stirred system of two immiscible liquids experiencing interfacial boiling. The assessment is based on the balance of transformations of mechanical energy and the laws of the momentum and heat transfer in the turbulent boundary layer. The theory yields relations between the specific interface area and the characteristics of the system state. In particular, this allows us to derive the equations of self-cooling dynamics of the system in the absence of external heat supply. The results provide possibility for constructing a self-contained mathematical description of the process of interfacial boiling. In this study, we assume the volume fractions of two components to be similar as well as the values of their kinematic viscosity and molecular heat diffusivity.

A Deterministic Interfacial Cyclic Oxidation Spalling Model. Part 2; Algebraic Approximation, Descriptive Parameters, and Normalized Universal Curve

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smialek, James L.

2002-01-01

A cyclic oxidation interfacial spalling model has been developed in Part 1. The governing equations have been simplified here by substituting a new algebraic expression for the series (Good-Smialek approximation). This produced a direct relationship between cyclic oxidation weight change and model input parameters. It also allowed for the mathematical derivation of various descriptive parameters as a function of the inputs. It is shown that the maximum in weight change varies directly with the parabolic rate constant and cycle duration and inversely with the spall fraction, all to the 1/2 power. The number of cycles to reach maximum and zero weight change vary inversely with the spall fraction, and the ratio of these cycles is exactly 1:3 for most oxides. By suitably normalizing the weight change and cycle number, it is shown that all cyclic oxidation weight change model curves can be represented by one universal expression for a given oxide scale.

Thermoplastic coating of carbon fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edie, D. D.; Lickfield, G. C.

1991-01-01

Using a continuous powder coating process, more than 1500 meters of T 300/LaRC-TPI prepreg were produced. Two different types of heating sections in the coating line, namely electrical resistance and convection heating, were utilized. These prepregs were used to fabricate unidirectional composites. During composite fabrication the cure time of the consolidation was varied, and composites samples were produced with and without vacuum. Under these specimens, the effects of the different heating sections and of the variation of the consolidation parameters on mechanical properties and void content were investigated. The void fractions of the various composites were determined from density measurements, and the mechanical properties were measured by tensile testing, short beam shear testing and dynamic mechanical analysis.

Ground-Based Gas-Liquid Flow Research in Microgravity Conditions: State of Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, J.; Colin, C.; Fabre, J.

1999-01-01

During the last decade, ground-based microgravity facilities have been utilized in order to obtain predictions for spacecraft system designers and further the fundamental understanding of two-phase flow. Although flow regime, pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient data has been obtained for straight tubes and a limited number of fittings, measurements of the void fraction, film thickness, wall shear stress, local velocity and void information are also required in order to develop general mechanistic models that can be utilized to ascertain the effects of fluid properties, tube geometry and acceleration levels. A review of this research is presented and includes both empirical data and mechanistic models of the flow behavior.

Development of Electrical Capacitance Sensors for Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) Testing at the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Maolong; Ryals, Matthew; Ali, Amir

2016-08-01

A variety of instruments are being developed and qualified to support the Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) program and future transient irradiations at the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The University of New Mexico (UNM) is working with INL to develop capacitance-based void sensors for determining the timing of critical boiling phenomena in static capsule fuel testing and the volume-averaged void fraction in flow-boiling in-pile water loop fuel testing. The static capsule sensor developed at INL is a plate-type configuration, while UNM is utilizing a ring-type capacitance sensor. Each sensor design has been theoretically and experimentallymore » investigated at INL and UNM. Experiments are being performed at INL in an autoclave to investigate the performance of these sensors under representative Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) conditions in a static capsule. Experiments have been performed at UNM using air-water two-phase flow to determine the sensitivity and time response of the capacitance sensor under a flow boiling configuration. Initial measurements from the capacitance sensor have demonstrated the validity of the concept to enable real-time measurement of void fraction. The next steps include designing the cabling interface with the flow loop at UNM for Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) ATF testing at TREAT and further characterization of the measurement response for each sensor under varying conditions by experiments and modeling.« less

A combined molecular dynamics/micromechanics/finite element approach for multiscale constitutive modeling of nanocomposites with interface effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, B. J.; Shin, H.; Lee, H. K.; Kim, H.

2013-12-01

We introduce a multiscale framework based on molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, micromechanics, and finite element method (FEM). A micromechanical model, which considers influences of the interface properties, nanoparticle (NP) size, and microcracks, is developed. Then, we perform MD simulations to characterize the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite system (silica/nylon 6) with varying volume fraction and size of NPs. By comparing the MD with micromechanics results, intrinsic physical properties at interfacial region are derived. Finally, we implement the developed model in the FEM code with the derived interfacial parameters, and predict the mechanical behavior of the nanocomposite at the macroscopic scale.

Healing of polymer interfaces: Interfacial dynamics, entanglements, and strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Ting; Robbins, Mark O.; Perahia, Dvora; Grest, Gary S.

2014-07-01

Self-healing of polymer films often takes place as the molecules diffuse across a damaged region, above their melting temperature. Using molecular dynamics simulations we probe the healing of polymer films and compare the results with those obtained for thermal welding of homopolymer slabs. These two processes differ from each other in their interfacial structure since damage leads to increased polydispersity and more short chains. A polymer sample was cut into two separate films that were then held together in the melt state. The recovery of the damaged film was followed as time elapsed and polymer molecules diffused across the interface. The mass uptake and formation of entanglements, as obtained from primitive path analysis, are extracted and correlated with the interfacial strength obtained from shear simulations. We find that the diffusion across the interface is significantly faster in the damaged film compared to welding because of the presence of short chains. Though interfacial entanglements increase more rapidly for the damaged films, a large fraction of these entanglements are near chain ends. As a result, the interfacial strength of the healing film increases more slowly than for welding. For both healing and welding, the interfacial strength saturates as the bulk entanglement density is recovered across the interface. However, the saturation strength of the damaged film is below the bulk strength for the polymer sample. At saturation, cut chains remain near the healing interface. They are less entangled and as a result they mechanically weaken the interface. Chain stiffness increases the density of entanglements, which increases the strength of the interface. Our results show that a few entanglements across the interface are sufficient to resist interfacial chain pullout and enhance the mechanical strength.

A Theoretical Study of Flow Structure and Radiation for Multiphase Turbulent Diffusion Flames

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

density function. According to the axial void fraction profile in Fig. 24, the flame length (the total penetration length) extends to x/d=150. By referring...temperature because of subcooling effect. Decreasing liquid temperature will increase condensation which in turn reduces the flame length as defined by

Materials Genome in Action: Identifying the Performance Limits of Physical Hydrogen Storage

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The Materials Genome is in action: the molecular codes for millions of materials have been sequenced, predictive models have been developed, and now the challenge of hydrogen storage is targeted. Renewably generated hydrogen is an attractive transportation fuel with zero carbon emissions, but its storage remains a significant challenge. Nanoporous adsorbents have shown promising physical adsorption of hydrogen approaching targeted capacities, but the scope of studies has remained limited. Here the Nanoporous Materials Genome, containing over 850 000 materials, is analyzed with a variety of computational tools to explore the limits of hydrogen storage. Optimal features that maximize net capacity at room temperature include pore sizes of around 6 Å and void fractions of 0.1, while at cryogenic temperatures pore sizes of 10 Å and void fractions of 0.5 are optimal. Our top candidates are found to be commercially attractive as “cryo-adsorbents”, with promising storage capacities at 77 K and 100 bar with 30% enhancement to 40 g/L, a promising alternative to liquefaction at 20 K and compression at 700 bar. PMID:28413259

Materials genome in action: Identifying the performance limits of physical hydrogen storage

DOE PAGES

Thornton, Aaron W.; Simon, Cory M.; Kim, Jihan; ...

2017-03-08

The Materials Genome is in action: the molecular codes for millions of materials have been sequenced, predictive models have been developed, and now the challenge of hydrogen storage is targeted. Renewably generated hydrogen is an attractive transportation fuel with zero carbon emissions, but its storage remains a significant challenge. Nanoporous adsorbents have shown promising physical adsorption of hydrogen approaching targeted capacities, but the scope of studies has remained limited. Here the Nanoporous Materials Genome, containing over 850 000 materials, is analyzed with a variety of computational tools to explore the limits of hydrogen storage. Optimal features that maximize net capacitymore » at room temperature include pore sizes of around 6 Å and void fractions of 0.1, while at cryogenic temperatures pore sizes of 10 Å and void fractions of 0.5 are optimal. Finally, our top candidates are found to be commercially attractive as “cryo-adsorbents”, with promising storage capacities at 77 K and 100 bar with 30% enhancement to 40 g/L, a promising alternative to liquefaction at 20 K and compression at 700 bar.« less

Materials genome in action: Identifying the performance limits of physical hydrogen storage

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thornton, Aaron W.; Simon, Cory M.; Kim, Jihan

The Materials Genome is in action: the molecular codes for millions of materials have been sequenced, predictive models have been developed, and now the challenge of hydrogen storage is targeted. Renewably generated hydrogen is an attractive transportation fuel with zero carbon emissions, but its storage remains a significant challenge. Nanoporous adsorbents have shown promising physical adsorption of hydrogen approaching targeted capacities, but the scope of studies has remained limited. Here the Nanoporous Materials Genome, containing over 850 000 materials, is analyzed with a variety of computational tools to explore the limits of hydrogen storage. Optimal features that maximize net capacitymore » at room temperature include pore sizes of around 6 Å and void fractions of 0.1, while at cryogenic temperatures pore sizes of 10 Å and void fractions of 0.5 are optimal. Finally, our top candidates are found to be commercially attractive as “cryo-adsorbents”, with promising storage capacities at 77 K and 100 bar with 30% enhancement to 40 g/L, a promising alternative to liquefaction at 20 K and compression at 700 bar.« less

Radioisotope measurement of selected parameters of liquid-gas flow using single detector system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zych, Marcin; Hanus, Robert; Jaszczur, Marek; Mosorov, Volodymyr; Świsulski, Dariusz

2018-06-01

To determine the parameters of two-phase flows using radioisotopes, usually two detectors are used. Knowing the distance between them, the velocity of the dispersed phase is calculated based on time delay estimation. Such a measurement system requires the use of two gamma-ray sealed sources. But in some situations it is also possible to determine velocity of dispersed phase using only one scintillation probe and one gamma-ray source. However, this requires proper signal analysis and prior calibration. This may also cause larger measurement errors. On the other hand, it allows measurements in hard to reach areas where there is often no place for the second detector. Additionally, by performing a previous calibration, it is possible to determine the void fraction or concentration of the selected phase. In this work an autocorrelation function was used to analyze the signal from the scintillation detector, which allowed for the determination of air velocities in slug and plug flows with an accuracy of 8.5%. Based on the analysis of the same signal, a void fraction with error of 15% was determined.

A Reactive-Heat-Pipe for Combined Heat Generation and Transport

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-12-01

The Lennard - Jones potential parameters a and F-1 can be found in Ar Ar Table 2.3 of Reference [26]. They are a Ar =3.542 A ~Ar -=93.3 K The above...Specific Heat Ratio Wire Spacing of Screen S Volume Fraction of Solid Phase in Wick or Lennard Jones Force Constant e’ Wick Void Fraction 1Viscusity p...Density a Surface Tension G Condensation Coefficient c e Evaporation Coefficient*e U Lennard - Jones Force Constant Subscripts A Position A in Figure 13 Ar

Characterization of voids formed during liquid impregnation of nonwoven multifilament glass networks as related to composite processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahale, Anant D.; Prudhomme, Robert K.; Rebenfeld, Ludwig

1993-01-01

A technique based on matching the refractive index of an invading liquid to that of a fiber mat was used to study entrapment of air ('voids') that occurs during forced in-plane radial flow into nonwoven multifilament glass networks. The usefulness of this technique is demonstrated in quantifying and mapping the air pockets. Experiments with a series of fluids with surface tensions varying from 28 x 10(exp -3) to 36 x 10(exp -3) N/m, viscosities from 45 x 10(exp -3) to 290 x 10(exp -3) Pa.s, and inlet flow rates from 0.15 x 10(exp -6) to 0.75 x 10(exp -6) m(exp 3)/s, showed that void content is a function of the capillary number characterizing the flow process. A critical value of capillary number, Ca = 2.5 x 10(exp -3), identifies a zone below which void content increases exponentially with decreasing capillary number. Above this critical value, negligible entrapment of voids is observed. Similar experiments carried out on surface treated nonwoven mats spanning a range of equilibrium contact angles from 20 deg to 78 deg showed that there is a critical contact angle above which negligible entrapment is observed. Below this value, there is no apparent effect of contact angle on the void fraction - capillary number relationship described earlier. Studies on the effect of filament wettability, and fluid velocity and viscosity on the size of the entrapment (voids) were also carried out. These indicate that larger sized entrapments which envelop more than one pore are favored by a low capillary number in comparison to smaller, pore level bubbles. Experiments were carried out on deformed mats - imposing high permeability spots at regular intervals on a background of low permeability. The effect of these spatial fluctuations in heterogeneity of the mat on entrapment is currently being studied.

Intergalactic Hydrogen Clouds at Low Redshift: Connections to Voids and Dwarf Galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shull, J. Michael; Stocke, John T.; Penton, Steve

1996-01-01

We provide new post-COSTAR data on one sightline (Mrk 421) and updated data from another (I Zw 1) from our Hubble Space Telescope (HST) survey of intergalactic Ly(alpha) clouds located along sightlines to four bright quasars passing through well-mapped galaxy voids (16000 km/s pathlength) and superclusters (18000 km/s). We report two more definite detections of low-redshift Ly(alpha) clouds in voids: one at 3047 km/s (heliocentric) toward Mrk 421 and a second just beyond the Local Supercluster at 2861 km/s toward I Zw 1, confirming our earlier discovery of Ly(alpha) absorption clouds in voids (Stocke et al., ApJ, 451, 24). We have now identified ten definite and one probable low-redshift neutral hydrogen absorption clouds toward four targets, a frequency of approximately one absorber every 3400 km/s above 10(exp 12.7/sq cm column density. Of these ten absorption systems, three lie within voids; the probable absorber also lies in a void. Thus, the tendency of Ly(alpha) absorbers to 'avoid the voids' is not as clear as we found previously. If the Ly(alpha) clouds are approximated as homogeneous spheres of 100 kpc radius, their masses are approximately 10(exp 9)solar mass (about 0.01 times that of bright L* galaxies) and they are 40 times more numerous, comparable to the density of dwarf galaxies and of low-mass halos in numerical CDM simulations. The Ly(alpha) clouds contribute a fraction Omega(sub cl)approximately equals 0.003/h(sub 75) to the closure density of the universe, comparable to that of luminous matter. These clouds probably require a substantial amount of nonbaryonic dark matter for gravitational binding. They may represent extended haloes of low-mass protogalaxies which have not experienced significant star formation or low-mass dwarf galaxies whose star formation ceased long ago, but blew out significant gaseous material.

Immortality of Cu damascene interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hau-Riege, Stefan P.

2002-04-01

We have studied short-line effects in fully-integrated Cu damascene interconnects through electromigration experiments on lines of various lengths and embedded in different dielectric materials. We compare these results with results from analogous experiments on subtractively-etched Al-based interconnects. It is known that Al-based interconnects exhibit three different behaviors, depending on the magnitude of the product of current density, j, and line length, L: For small values of (jL), no void nucleation occurs, and the line is immortal. For intermediate values, voids nucleate, but the line does not fail because the current can flow through the higher-resistivity refractory-metal-based shunt layers. Here, the resistance of the line increases but eventually saturates, and the relative resistance increase is proportional to (jL/B), where B is the effective elastic modulus of the metallization system. For large values of (jL/B), voiding leads to an unacceptably high resistance increase, and the line is considered failed. By contrast, we observed only two regimes for Cu-based interconnects: Either the resistance of the line stays constant during the duration of the experiment, and the line is considered immortal, or the line fails due to an abrupt open-circuit failure. The absence of an intermediate regime in which the resistance saturates is due to the absence of a shunt layer that is able to support a large amount of current once voiding occurs. Since voids nucleate much more easily in Cu- than in Al-based interconnects, a small fraction of short Cu lines fails even at low current densities. It is therefore more appropriate to consider the probability of immortality in the case of Cu rather than assuming a sharp boundary between mortality and immortality. The probability of immortality decreases with increasing amount of material depleted from the cathode, which is proportional to (jL2/B) at steady state. By contrast, the immortality of Al-based interconnects is described by (jL) if no voids nucleate, and (jL/B) if voids nucleate.

Multiply Surface-Functionalized Nanoporous Carbon for Vehicular Hydrogen Storage

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pfeifer, Peter; Gillespie, Andrew; Stalla, David

The purpose of the project “Multiply Surface-Functionalized Nanoporous Carbon for Vehicular Hydrogen Storage” is the development of materials that store hydrogen (H 2) by adsorption in quantities and at conditions that outperform current compressed-gas H 2 storage systems for electric power generation from hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs). Prominent areas of interest for HFCs are light-duty vehicles (“hydrogen cars”) and replacement of batteries with HFC systems in a wide spectrum of applications, ranging from forklifts to unmanned areal vehicles to portable power sources. State-of-the-art compressed H 2 tanks operate at pressures between 350 and 700 bar at ambient temperature and storemore » 3-4 percent of H 2 by weight (wt%) and less than 25 grams of H 2 per liter (g/L) of tank volume. Thus, the purpose of the project is to engineer adsorbents that achieve storage capacities better than compressed H 2 at pressures less than 350 bar. Adsorption holds H 2 molecules as a high-density film on the surface of a solid at low pressure, by virtue of attractive surface-gas interactions. At a given pressure, the density of the adsorbed film is the higher the stronger the binding of the molecules to the surface is (high binding energies). Thus, critical for high storage capacities are high surface areas, high binding energies, and low void fractions (high void fractions, such as in interstitial space between adsorbent particles, “waste” storage volume by holding hydrogen as non-adsorbed gas). Coexistence of high surface area and low void fraction makes the ideal adsorbent a nanoporous monolith, with pores wide enough to hold high-density hydrogen films, narrow enough to minimize storage as non-adsorbed gas, and thin walls between pores to minimize the volume occupied by solid instead of hydrogen. A monolith can be machined to fit into a rectangular tank (low pressure, conformable tank), cylindrical tank (high pressure), or other tank shape without any waste of volume.« less

Study of Electromigration-Induced Failures on Cu Pillar Bumps Joined to OSP and ENEPIG Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsiao, Yu-Hsiang; Lin, Kwang-Lung; Lee, Chiu-Wen; Shao, Yu-Hsiu; Lai, Yi-Shao

2012-12-01

This work studies electromigration (EM)-induced failures on Cu pillar bumps joined to organic solderability preservative (OSP) on Cu substrates (OSP-bumps) and electroless Ni(P)/electroless Pd/immersion Au (ENEPIG) under bump metallurgy (UBM) on Cu substrates (ENEPIG-bumps). Two failure modes (Cu pad consumption and gap formation) were found with OSP-bumps, but only one failure mode (gap formation) was found with ENEPIG-bumps. The main interfacial compound layer was the Cu6Sn5 compound, which suffered significant EM-induced dissolution, eventually resulting in severe Cu pad consumption at the cathode side for OSP-bumps. A (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 layer with strong resistance to EM-induced dissolution exists at the joint interface when a nickel barrier layer is incorporated at the cathode side (Ni or ENEPIG), and these imbalanced atomic fluxes result in the voids and gap formation. OSP-bumps showed better lifetime results than ENEPIG-bumps for several current stressing conditions. The inverse Cu atomic flux ( J Cu,chem) which diffuses from the Cu pad to cathode side retards the formation of voids. The driving force for J Cu,chem comes from the difference in chemical potential between the (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 and Cu6Sn5 phases.

Thermo-optic characteristics of hybrid polymer/silica microstructured optical fiber: An analytical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Dinesh Kumar; Sharma, Anurag; Tripathi, Saurabh Mani

2018-04-01

Microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) allow a variety of advanced materials to be infiltrated in their air-voids for obtaining the increased fiber functionality, and offering a new versatile platform for developing the compact sensors devices. We aim to investigate the thermal characteristics of high-index core triangular hybrid polymer/silica MOFs with circular air-voids infused with polymer by using the analytical field model [1]. We demonstrate that infiltration of air-voids with polymer, e.g., polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) can facilitate to tune the fundamental modal properties of MOF such as effective index of the mode, near and the far-field profiles, effective mode area and the numerical aperture over the temperature ranging from 0 °C to 100 °C, for different values of relative air-void ratios. The evolution of the mode shape for a given temperature has been investigated in transition from near-field to far-field regime. We have studied the thermal dependence of splice losses between hybrid MOF and the standard step-index single-mode optical fiber in combination with Fresnel losses. For enhancing the evanescent field interactions, we have evaluated fraction of power associated with fundamental mode of hybrid MOF. We have compared the accuracy of our results with those based on full-vector finite-difference (FD) method, as available in the literature.

Healing of polymer interfaces: Interfacial dynamics, entanglements, and strength

DOE PAGES

Ge, Ting; Robbins, Mark O.; Perahia, Dvora; ...

2014-07-25

Self-healing of polymer films often takes place as the molecules diffuse across a damaged region, above their melting temperature. Using molecular dynamics simulations we probe the healing of polymer films and compare the results with those obtained for thermal welding of homopolymer slabs. These two processes differ from each other in their interfacial structure since damage leads to increased polydispersity and more short chains. A polymer sample was cut into two separate films that were then held together in the melt state. The recovery of the damaged film was followed as time elapsed and polymer molecules diffused across the interface.more » The mass uptake and formation of entanglements, as obtained from primitive path analysis, are extracted and correlated with the interfacial strength obtained from shear simulations. We find that the diffusion across the interface is signifcantly faster in the damaged film compared to welding because of the presence of short chains. Though interfacial entanglements increase more rapidly for the damaged films, a large fraction of these entanglements are near chain ends. As a result, the interfacial strength of the healing film increases more slowly than for welding. For both healing and welding, the interfacial strength saturates as the bulk entanglement density is recovered across the interface. However, the saturation strength of the damaged film is below the bulk strength for the polymer sample. At saturation, cut chains remain near the healing interface. They are less entangled and as a result they mechanically weaken the interface. When the strength of the interface saturates, the number of interfacial entanglements scales with the corresponding bulk entanglement density. Chain stiffness increases the density of entanglements, which increases the strength of the interface. Our results show that a few entanglements across the interface are sufficient to resist interfacial chain pullout and enhance the mechanical strength.« less

Structural changes in block copolymer micelles induced by cosolvent mixtures†

PubMed Central

Kelley, Elizabeth G.; Smart, Thomas P.; Jackson, Andrew J.; Sullivan, Millicent O.

2013-01-01

We investigated the influence of tetrahydrofuran (THF) addition on the structure of poly(1,2-butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) [PB-PEO] micelles in aqueous solution. Our studies showed that while the micelles remained starlike, the micelle core-corona interfacial tension and micelle size decreased upon THF addition. The detailed effects of the reduction in interfacial tension were probed using contrast variations in small angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments. At low THF contents (high interfacial tensions), the SANS data were fit to a micelle form factor that incorporated a radial density distribution of corona chains to account for the starlike micelle profile. However, at higher THF contents (low interfacial tensions), the presence of free chains in solution affected the scattering at high q and required the implementation of a linear combination of micelle and Gaussian coil form factors. These SANS data fits indicated that the reduction in interfacial tension led to broadening of the core-corona interface, which increased the PB chain solvent accessibility at intermediate THF solvent fractions. We also noted that the micelle cores swelled with increasing THF addition, suggesting that previous assumptions of the micelle core solvent content in cosolvent mixtures may not be accurate. Control over the size, corona thickness, and extent of solvent accessible PB in these micelles can be a powerful tool in the development of targeting delivery vehicles. PMID:24282441

Effect of demulsifiers on interfacial properties governing crude oil demulsification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mukherjee, S.; Kushnick, A.P.

1988-05-01

Crude oil is almost always produced as persistent water-in-oil emulsions which must be resolved into two separate phases before the crude can be accepted for pipelining. The water droplets are sterically stabilized by the asphaltene and resin fractions of the crude oil. These are condensed aromatic rings containing saturated carbon chains and napthenic rings as substituents, along with a distribution of heteroatoms and metals. They are capable of crosslinking at the water drop-oil interface. Chemical demulsifiers are most commonly used to separate the emulsions into water and oil phases. The demulsifiers are moderate (2,000-50,000) molecular weight polydisperse mostly nonionic blockmore » copolymers with hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments. An example (Figure 1) of the most commonly used demulsifier is the oxyalkylated alkyl phenol formaldehyde resin. The alkyl group can be butyl, amyl, or nonyl and the interfacial activity is controlled by the relative amounts of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) attached to the polar end. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how various parameters such as interfacial tension, interfacial shear viscosity, dynamic interfacial tension gradient, dilational elasticity and demulsifier clustering affect the demulsification effectiveness. To this end, the authors have studied both crude oil as well as asphaltene stabilized ''model' water-in-oil emulsions. In this paper, some of the results of the authors' study are presented.« less

Structural changes in block copolymer micelles induced by cosolvent mixtures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kelley, Elizabeth G.; Smart, Thomas P.; Jackson, Andrew J.

2012-11-26

We investigated the influence of tetrahydrofuran (THF) addition on the structure of poly(1,2-butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) [PB-PEO] micelles in aqueous solution. Our studies showed that while the micelles remained starlike, the micelle core-corona interfacial tension and micelle size decreased upon THF addition. The detailed effects of the reduction in interfacial tension were probed using contrast variations in small angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments. At low THF contents (high interfacial tensions), the SANS data were fit to a micelle form factor that incorporated a radial density distribution of corona chains to account for the starlike micelle profile. However, at higher THF contents (lowmore » interfacial tensions), the presence of free chains in solution affected the scattering at high q and required the implementation of a linear combination of micelle and Gaussian coil form factors. These SANS data fits indicated that the reduction in interfacial tension led to broadening of the core-corona interface, which increased the PB chain solvent accessibility at intermediate THF solvent fractions. We also noted that the micelle cores swelled with increasing THF addition, suggesting that previous assumptions of the micelle core solvent content in cosolvent mixtures may not be accurate. Control over the size, corona thickness, and extent of solvent accessible PB in these micelles can be a powerful tool in the development of targeting delivery vehicles.« less

Acoustic wave propagation in bubbly flow with gas, vapor or their mixtures.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuning; Guo, Zhongyu; Gao, Yuhang; Du, Xiaoze

2018-01-01

Presence of bubbles in liquids could significantly alter the acoustic waves in terms of wave speed and attenuation. In the present paper, acoustic wave propagation in bubbly flows with gas, vapor and gas/vapor mixtures is theoretically investigated in a wide range of parameters (including frequency, bubble radius, void fraction, and vapor mass fraction). Our finding reveals two types of wave propagation behavior depending on the vapor mass fraction. Furthermore, the minimum wave speed (required for the closure of cavitation modelling in the sonochemical reactor design) is analyzed and the influences of paramount parameters on it are quantitatively discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphological transformation of soot: investigation of microphysical processes during the condensation of sulphuric acid and limonene ozonolysis products vapours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, R. K. P.; Pei, X.; Hallquist, M.; Pagels, J. H.

2017-12-01

Morphological transformation of soot particle by condensation of low volatility materials on it is a dominant atmospheric process with serious implications for its optical and hygroscopic properties, and atmospheric lifetime. In this study, the morphological transformation of soot agglomerate under the influence of condensation of vapours of sulphuric acid, and/or limonene ozonolysis products were investigated systematically using a Differential Mobility Analyser-Aerosol Particle Mass Analyser (DMA-APM) and the Tandem DMA techniques integrated with a laminar flow-tube system. We discovered that the morphology transformation of soot in general was a sequence of two-step process, i.e. (i) filling of void space within soot agglomerate; (ii) growth of particle diameter. These two steps followed and complimented each other. In the very beginning the filling was the dominant process followed by growth until it led to the accumulation of enough material that in turn exerted surface forces that eventually facilitated the further filling. The filling of void space was constrained by the initial morphology of fresh soot and the nature and amount of the material condensed. This process continued in several sequential steps until all void space within the soot agglomerate was filled completely and then growth of a spherical particle continued as long as mass was condensed on it. In this study, we developed a framework to quantify the microphysical transformation of soot upon the condensation of various materials. The framework utilized experimental data and hypothesis of ideal sphere growth and filling of voids to quantify the distribution of condensed materials in these two processes complimenting each other. Using this framework, we have quantified the percentage of material that went into processes of particle growth and void filling at each step. Using the same framework, we further estimated the fraction of internal voids and open voids and used this information to derive the volume equivalent diameter of soot agglomerate containing internal voids and calculated in-situ dynamic shape factor. Our study is the first study that tracks in situ microphysical changes in soot morphology quantitatively, providing the detailed status of both fresh and coated soot particles.

Voids in mixed-cation silicate glasses: Studies by positron annihilation lifetime and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reben, M.; Golis, E.; Filipecki, J.; Sitarz, M.; Kotynia, K.; Jeleń, P.; Grelowska, I.

2014-08-01

PALS in comparison with FTIR studies have been applied to investigate the structure of different oxide glasses. Three components of the positron lifetime τ (τ1 para- and τ3 ortho-positronium and τ2 intermediate lifetime component) and their intensities were obtained. The results of the calculation of mean values of positron lifetimes for the investigated glasses showed the existence of a long-living component on the positron annihilation lifetime spectra. From the Tao-Eldrup formula we can estimate the size of free volume. On the basis of the measurements we can conclude that the size and fraction of free volume reaches the biggest value for the fused silica glass. The degree of network polymerisation increases void size.

Investigation of the plastic fracture of high-strength aluminum alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Stone, R. H.; Merchant, R. H.; Low, J. R., Jr.

1974-01-01

In a study of plastic fracture in five high-strength aluminum alloys (2014, 2024, 2124, 7075, and 7079), it has been shown that fracture toughness is affected primarily by the size and volume fraction of the larger (2 to 10 microms) second-phase particles. Certain of these particles crack at small plastic strains, nucleating voids which, with further plastic strain, coalesce to cause fracture. Not all second-phase particles crack at small plastic strains, and qualitative analysis of those which are primarily responsible for void nucleation shows that they contain iron or silicon or both. This result suggests that a reduction in the iron and silicon impurity content of the alloys should improve fracture toughness without loss of strength.

Method for producing components with internal architectures, such as micro-channel reactors, via diffusion bonding sheets

DOEpatents

Alman, David E [Corvallis, OR; Wilson, Rick D [Corvallis, OR; Davis, Daniel L [Albany, OR

2011-03-08

This invention relates to a method for producing components with internal architectures, and more particularly, this invention relates to a method for producing structures with microchannels via the use of diffusion bonding of stacked laminates. Specifically, the method involves weakly bonding a stack of laminates forming internal voids and channels with a first generally low uniaxial pressure and first temperature such that bonding at least between the asperites of opposing laminates occurs and pores are isolated in interfacial contact areas, followed by a second generally higher isostatic pressure and second temperature for final bonding. The method thereby allows fabrication of micro-channel devices such as heat exchangers, recuperators, heat-pumps, chemical separators, chemical reactors, fuel processing units, and combustors without limitation on the fin aspect ratio.

9 CFR 201.73-1 - Instructions for weighing livestock.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... by the Packers and Stockyards Programs. One copy of the form is to be filed with a regional office of... be marked void and a new one printed before the livestock is removed from the scale. (d) Scale... balanced with the pointer at the center of the target, movement of the fractional poise one graduation will...

9 CFR 201.73-1 - Instructions for weighing livestock.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... by the Packers and Stockyards Programs. One copy of the form is to be filed with a regional office of... be marked void and a new one printed before the livestock is removed from the scale. (d) Scale... balanced with the pointer at the center of the target, movement of the fractional poise one graduation will...

9 CFR 201.73-1 - Instructions for weighing livestock.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... by the Packers and Stockyards Programs. One copy of the form is to be filed with a regional office of... be marked void and a new one printed before the livestock is removed from the scale. (d) Scale... balanced with the pointer at the center of the target, movement of the fractional poise one graduation will...

Cement-based materials' characterization using ultrasonic attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punurai, Wonsiri

The quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of cement-based materials is a critical area of research that is leading to advances in the health monitoring and condition assessment of the civil infrastructure. Ultrasonic NDE has been implemented with varying levels of success to characterize cement-based materials with complex microstructure and damage. A major issue with the application of ultrasonic techniques to characterize cement-based materials is their inherent inhomogeneity at multiple length scales. Ultrasonic waves propagating in these materials exhibit a high degree of attenuation losses, making quantitative interpretations difficult. Physically, these attenuation losses are a combination of internal friction in a viscoelastic material (ultrasonic absorption), and the scattering losses due to the material heterogeneity. The objective of this research is to use ultrasonic attenuation to characterize the microstructure of heterogeneous cement-based materials. The study considers a real, but simplified cement-based material, cement paste---a common bonding matrix of all cement-based composites. Cement paste consists of Portland cement and water but does not include aggregates. First, this research presents the findings of a theoretical study that uses a set of existing acoustics models to quantify the scattered ultrasonic wavefield from a known distribution of entrained air voids. These attenuation results are then coupled with experimental measurements to develop an inversion procedure that directly predicts the size and volume fraction of entrained air voids in a cement paste specimen. Optical studies verify the accuracy of the proposed inversion scheme. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of using attenuation to measure the average size, volume fraction of entrained air voids and the existence of additional larger entrapped air voids in hardened cement paste. Finally, coherent and diffuse ultrasonic waves are used to develop a direct relationship between attenuation and water to cement (w/c) ratio. A phenomenological model based on the existence of fluid-filled capillary voids is used to help explain the experimentally observed behavior. Overall this research shows the potential of using ultrasonic attenuation to quantitatively characterize cement paste. The absorption and scattering losses can be related to the individual microstructural elements of hardened cement paste. By taking a fundamental, mechanics-based approach, it should be possible to add additional components such as scattering by aggregates or even microcracks in a systematic fashion and eventually build a realistic model for ultrasonic wave propagation study for concrete.

Tethered Lubricants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Archer, Lynden

We have performed extensive experimental and theoretical studies of interfacial friction, relaxation dynamics, and thermodynamics of polymer chains tethered to points, planes, and particles. A key result from our tribology studies using lateral force microscopy (LFM) measurements of polydisperse brushes of linear and branched chains densely grafted to planar substrates is that there are exceedingly low friction coefficients for these systems. Specific project achievements include: (1) Synthesis of three-tiered lubricant films containing controlled amounts of free and pendent PDMS chains, and investigated the effect of their molecular weight and volume fraction on interfacial friction. (2.) Detailed studies of a familymore » of hairy particles termed nanoscale organic hybrid materials (NOHMs) and demonstration of their use as lubricants.« less

Decarboxylation of 6-nitrobenzisoxazole-3-carboxylate in mixed micelles of zwitterionic and positively charged surfactants.

PubMed

Maximiano, Flavio A; Chaimovich, Hernan; Cuccovia, Iolanda M

2006-09-12

The rate of decarboxylation of 6-nitrobenzisoxazole-3-carboxylate, NBOC, was determined in micelles of N-hexadecyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide or chloride (CTAB or CTAC), N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonium-1-propanesulfonate (HPS), N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonium-1-propanesulfonate (DPS), N-dodecyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), hexadecylphosphocholine (HPC), and their mixtures. Quantitative analysis of the effect on micelles on the velocity of NBOC decarboxylation allowed the estimation of the rate constants in the micellar pseudophase, k(m), for the pure surfactants and their mixtures. The extent of micellar catalysis for NBOC decarboxylation, expressed as the ratio k(m)/k(w), where k(w) is the rate constant in water, varied from 240 for HPS to 62 for HPC. With HPS or DPS, k(m) decreased linearly with CTAB(C) mole fraction, suggesting ideal mixing. With HPC, k(m) increased to a maximum at a CTAB(C) mole fraction of ca. 0.5 and then decreased at higher CTAB(C). Addition of CTAB(C) to HPC, where the negative charge of the surfactant is close to the hydrophobic core, produces tight ion pairs at the interface and, consequently, decreases interfacial water contents. Interfacial dehydration at the surface in equimolar HPC/CTAB(C) mixtures, and interfacial solubilization site of the substrate, can explain the observed catalytic synergy, since the rate of NBOC decarboxylation increases markedly with the decrease in hydrogen bonding to the carboxylate group.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Margaret A. Marshall; John D. Bess; Yevgeniy Rozhikhin

In the early 1970s Dr. John T. Mihalczo (team leader), J.J. Lynn, and J.R. Taylor performed experiments at the Oak Ridge Critical Experiments Facility (ORCEF) with highly enriched uranium (HEU) metal (called Oak Ridge Alloy or ORALLOY) in an attempt to recreate GODIVA I results with greater accuracy than those performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1950s (HEU-MET-FAST-001). The purpose of the Oak Ridge ORALLOY Sphere (ORSphere) experiments was to estimate the unreflected and unmoderated critical mass of an idealized sphere of uranium metal corrected to a density, purity, and enrichment such that it could be compared withmore » the GODIVA I experiments[1]. Part of the experimental series was the measurement of the delayed neutron fraction, ßeff, using time correlation measurements and using the central void reactivity measurement. The time correlations measurements were rejected by the experimenter. The measurements using the central void reactivity measurement yielded a ßeff value of 0.00657, which agrees well with the value measured with GODIVA I (0.0066). This measurement is evaluated, found to be acceptable, and discussed in extensive detail in “ORSphere: Physics Measurements for Bare, HEU(93.2) Metal Sphere”[2]. In order to determine the delayed neutron fraction using the central void reactivity delayed neutron parameters must be used. The experimenter utilized the delayed neutron parameters set forth by Keepin, Wimment, and Zeigler[3]. If the derivation of the ßeff is repeated with different delayed neutron parameters from various modern nuclear data sets the resulting values vary greatly from the expected results.« less

Compatibilization of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer/poly(ethylene glycol-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate) blend: effect on morphology, interface, mechanical properties and hydrophilicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Tingting; Zhang, Jun

2018-04-01

The compatibilization of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS) and poly(ethylene glycol-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate) (PETG) blends was first investigated. Styrene-acrylonitrile-glycidyl methacrylate terpolymer (SAG) and ABS grafted with maleic anhydride (ABS-g-MAH) were selected as reactive compatibilizers for the ABS/PETG blends. The compatibilization effect was assessed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and mechanical properties. And the effect of compatibilizers on the hydrophilicity of the blends was evaluated as well. SEM observation and DSC analysis confirmed that both SAG and ABS-g-MAH compatibilizers could improve the compatibility between ABS and PETG, leading to an improvement in toughness of the blend. The possible cause for the improvement of compatibility was the reaction between compatibilizers and PETG, which could in situ turn out compatibilizers that acted as interfacial agents to enhance the interfacial interaction in the blend. Especially, the addition of SAG significantly decreased the dispersion phase size and the interface voids almost disappeared. Since the in situ reactions between the epoxy groups of SAG and the end groups (sbnd COOH or sbnd OH) of PETG generated PETG-co-SAG copolymer at the blend interface, and the cross-linking reactions proposed to take place between SAG and the PETG-co-SAG copolymer, acting as compatibilizer, could significantly increase the interfacial interaction. The addition of SAG also enhanced the stiffness of the blends. Moreover, the addition of SAG made the blend more hydrophilic, whereas the addition of ABS-g-MAH made the blend more hydrophobic. Therefore, SAG was a good compatibilizer for the ABS/PETG blends and could simultaneously provide the blends with toughening, stiffening and hydrophilic effects.

Application of the Maxwell-Wagner-Hanai effective medium theory to the analysis of the interfacial polarization relaxations in conducting composite films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

J-P Adohi, B.; Vanga Bouanga, C.; Fatyeyeva, K.; Tabellout, M.

2009-01-01

A new approach to explain the interfacial polarization phenomenon in conducting composite films is proposed. HCl-doped poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polyamide-6 (PA-6) matrices with embedded polyaniline (PANI) particles as filler were investigated and analysed, combining dielectric spectroscopy and AFM electrical images with the effective medium theory analysis. Up to three relaxation peaks attributed to the interfacial polarization phenomena were detected in the studied frequency range (0.1 Hz-1 MHz). The AFM electrical images revealed that the doped PA-6/PANI composite can be modelled as a single-type particle medium and the PET/PANI one as a two-type particle medium. A simple dielectric loss expression was derived from the Maxwell-Wagner-Hanai mixture equation and was applied to the experimental data to identify the interfaces involved in each of the relaxation peaks. The parameter values (permittivity, conductivity, volume fraction of the PANI particles) were found to agree well with the measured one, hence validating the models.

Phenylethynyl Terminated Imide (PETI) Composites Made by High Temperature Vartm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghose, Sayata; Watson, Kent A.; Cano, Roberto J.; Britton, Sean M.; Jensen, Brian J.; Connell, John W.; Herring, Helen M.; Lineberry, Quentin J.

2010-01-01

The use of composites as primary structures on aerospace vehicles has increased dramatically over the past decade. As these advanced structures increase in size and complexity, their production costs have grown significantly. A major contributor to these manufacturing costs is the requirement of elevated pressures, during high temperature processing, to create fully consolidated composite parts. Recently, NASA Langley has licensed a series of low viscosity Phenyl Ethynyl Terminated Imide, PETI, oligomers that possess a wide processing window to allow for Resin Transfer Molding, RTM, processing. These resins, PETI-8 and PETI-330, demonstrate void fractions of approx.1% under elevated pressure consolidation. However, when used with a standardized thermal curing cycle in a High Temperature Vacuum Assisted RTM (HT-VARTM) process, they display undesirable void contents in excess of 7%. It was determined previously that under the thermal cycles used for laminate fabrication, the phenylethynyl endcap underwent degradation leading to volatile evolution. Modifications to the processing cycle used in the laminate fabrication have reduced the void content significantly (typically less than 3%) for carbon fiber biaxially woven fabric. For carbon fiber uniaxial fabric, void contents of less than 2% have been obtained using both PETI-8 and PETI-330. The resins were infused into carbon fiber preforms at 260 C and cured between 316 C and 371 C. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. Mechanical properties of the panels were determined at both room and elevated temperatures. These include short beam shear and flexure tests. The results of this work are presented herein.

Dielectric analysis of the APG/n-butanol/cyclohexane/water nonionic microemulsions.

PubMed

He, K J; Zhao, K S; Chai, J L; Li, G Z

2007-09-15

The nonionic APG/n-butanol/cyclohexane/water microemulsions with different microstructure, which is induced by the variation of water contents, are investigated by the dielectric spectroscopy. An appropriate dielectric theory, Hanai theory and the corresponding analytical method are applied to obtain the internal properties of the constituent phases of microemulsions, such as the relative permittivity and conductivity of continuous and dispersed phases and the volume fraction of dispersed phase. Using these parameters, the distribution of n-butanol in constituent phases, which is of important in the study field of the microstructure of microemulsion, is obtained quantitatively. It is found that the n-butanol molecules not only distribute in the interfacial APG layer but also in the continuous and dispersed phases. In addition, the percolation threshold is interpreted by using the dynamic percolation model. The structural and dynamic information are obtained, for instance, the critical volume fraction of water when percolation occurs and the characteristic time for the rearrangement of clusters. These parameters are intimately related to the properties of microemulsions, especially the characteristics of the interfacial layer.

Morphology and Surface Energy of a Si Containing Semifluorinated Di-block Copolymer Thin Films.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrestha, Umesh; Clarson, Stephen; Perahia, Dvora

2013-03-01

The structure and composition of an interface influence stability, adhesiveness and response to external stimuli of thin polymeric films. Incorporation of fluorine affects interfacial energy as well as thermal and chemical stability of the layers. The incompatibility between the fluorinated and non-fluorinated blocks induces segregation that leads to long range correlations where the tendency of the fluorine to migrate to interfaces impacts the surface tension of the films. Concurrently Si in a polymeric backbone enhances the flexibility of polymeric chains. Our previous studies of poly trifluoro propyl methyl siloxane-polystyrene thin films with SiF fraction 0.03-0.5 as a function of temperature have shown that the SiF block drives layering parallel to the surface of the diblock. Here in we report the structure and interfacial energies of SiF-PS in the plane of the films, as a function of the volume fraction of the SiF block obtained from Atomic Force microscopy and contact angle measurement studies. This work is supported by NSF DMR - 0907390

Dynamic and structural properties of room-temperature ionic liquids near silica and carbon surfaces.

PubMed

Li, Song; Han, Kee Sung; Feng, Guang; Hagaman, Edward W; Vlcek, Lukas; Cummings, Peter T

2013-08-06

The dynamic and structural properties of a room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium(trifluoromethanesulfonimide) ([C4mim][Tf2N]) confined in silica and carbon mesopores were investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. The complex interfacial microstructures of confined [C4mim][Tf2N] are attributed to the distinctive surface features of the silica mesopore. The temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients of [C4mim][Tf2N] confined in the silica or carbon mesopore exhibit divergent behavior. The loading fraction (f = 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25) has a large effect on the magnitude of the diffusion coefficient in the silica pore and displays weaker temperature dependence as the loading fraction decreases. The diffusion coefficients of mesoporous carbon-confined [C4mim][Tf2N] are relatively insensitive to the loading faction and exhibit a temperature dependence that is similar to the bulk dependence at all loading levels. Such phenomena can be attributed to the unique surface heterogeneity, dissimilar interfacial microstructures, and interaction potential profile of RTILs near silica and carbon walls.

Direct band gap measurement of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S){sub 2} thin films using high-resolution reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heo, Sung; College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Cheoncheon-dong 300, Jangan-gu, Suwon 440-746; Lee, Hyung-Ik

2015-06-29

To investigate the band gap profile of Cu(In{sub 1−x},Ga{sub x})(Se{sub 1−y}S{sub y}){sub 2} of various compositions, we measured the band gap profile directly as a function of in-depth using high-resolution reflection energy loss spectroscopy (HR-REELS), which was compared with the band gap profile calculated based on the auger depth profile. The band gap profile is a double-graded band gap as a function of in-depth. The calculated band gap obtained from the auger depth profile seems to be larger than that by HR-REELS. Calculated band gaps are to measure the average band gap of the spatially different varying compositions with respectmore » to considering its void fraction. But, the results obtained using HR-REELS are to be affected by the low band gap (i.e., out of void) rather than large one (i.e., near void). Our findings suggest an analytical method to directly determine the band gap profile as function of in-depth.« less

Meso-Scale Modeling of Spall in a Heterogeneous Two-Phase Material

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Springer, Harry Keo

2008-07-11

The influence of the heterogeneous second-phase particle structure and applied loading conditions on the ductile spall response of a model two-phase material was investigated. Quantitative metallography, three-dimensional (3D) meso-scale simulations (MSS), and small-scale spall experiments provided the foundation for this study. Nodular ductile iron (NDI) was selected as the model two-phase material for this study because it contains a large and readily identifiable second- phase particle population. Second-phase particles serve as the primary void nucleation sites in NDI and are, therefore, central to its ductile spall response. A mathematical model was developed for the NDI second-phase volume fraction that accountedmore » for the non-uniform particle size and spacing distributions within the framework of a length-scale dependent Gaussian probability distribution function (PDF). This model was based on novel multiscale sampling measurements. A methodology was also developed for the computer generation of representative particle structures based on their mathematical description, enabling 3D MSS. MSS were used to investigate the effects of second-phase particle volume fraction and particle size, loading conditions, and physical domain size of simulation on the ductile spall response of a model two-phase material. MSS results reinforce existing model predictions, where the spall strength metric (SSM) logarithmically decreases with increasing particle volume fraction. While SSM predictions are nearly independent of applied load conditions at lower loading rates, which is consistent with previous studies, loading dependencies are observed at higher loading rates. There is also a logarithmic decrease in SSM for increasing (initial) void size, as well. A model was developed to account for the effects of loading rate, particle size, matrix sound-speed, and, in the NDI-specific case, the probabilistic particle volume fraction model. Small-scale spall experiments were designed and executed for the purpose of validating closely-coupled 3D MSS. While the spall strength is nearly independent of specimen thickness, the fragment morphology varies widely. Detailed MSS demonstrate that the interactions between the tensile release waves are altered by specimen thickness and that these interactions are primarily responsible for fragment formation. MSS also provided insights on the regional amplification of damage, which enables the development of predictive void evolution models.« less

High Temperature VARTM of Phenylethynyl Terminated Imides (PETI) Resins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghose, Sayata; Cano, Roberto J.; Britton, Sean M.; Watson, Kent A.; Jensen, Brian J.; Connell, John W.

2010-01-01

Fabrication of composite structures using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is generally more affordable than conventional autoclave techniques. Recent efforts have focused on adapting VARTM for the fabrication of high temperature composites. Due to their low melt viscosity and long melt stability, certain phenylethynyl terminated imides (PETI) can be processed into composites using high temperature VARTM (HT-VARTM). However, one of the disadvantages of the current HT-VARTM resin systems has been the high porosity of the resultant composites. For aerospace applications a void fraction of less than 2% is desired. In the current study, two PETI resins, LARCTM PETI-330 and LARCTM PETI-8 have been used to fabricate test specimens using HT-VARTM. The resins were infused into carbon fiber preforms at 260 C and cured between 316 C and 371 C. Modifications to the thermal cycle used in the laminate fabrication have reduced the void content significantly (typically < 3%) for carbon fiber biaxially woven fabric. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. For carbon fiber uniaxial fabric, void contents of less than 2% have been obtained using both PETI-8 and PETI-330. Mechanical properties of the panels were determined at both room and elevated temperatures. These include short beam shear and flexure tests. The results of this work are presented herein.

Radiation-induced swelling of stainless steel.

PubMed

Shewmon, P G

1971-09-10

Significant swelling (1 to 10 percent due to small voids have been found in stainless steel when it is exposed to fast neutron doses less than expected in commercial fast breeder reactors. The main features of this new effect are: (i) the voids are formed by the precipitation of a small fraction of the radiation-produced vacancies; (ii) the voids form primarily in the temperature range 400 degrees to 600 degrees C (750 degrees to 1100 degrees F); and (iii) the volume increases with dose (fluence) at a rate between linear and parabolic. The limited temperature range of void formation can be explained, but the effects of fluence, microstructure, and composition are determined by a competition between several kinetic processes that are not well understood. This swelling does not affect the feasibility or safety of the breeder reactor,but will have a significant impact on the core design and economics of the breeder.Preliminary results indicate that one cannot eliminate the effect,but cold-working,heat treatment, or small changes in composition can reduce the swelling by a factor of 2 or more. Testing is hampered by the fact that several years in EBR-II are required to accumulate the fluence expected in demonstration plants. Heavyion accelerators,which allow damage rates corresponding to much higher fluxes than those found in EBR-II,hold great promise for short-term tests that will indicate the relative effect of the important variables.

Observations of Gas-Liquid Flows Through Contractions in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, John

1996-01-01

Tests were conducted for an air-water flow through two sudden contractions aboard the NASA DC-9 low gravity aircraft. Flow rate, residual accelerations, void fraction, film thickness, and pressure drop data were recorded and flow visualization at 250 images per second were recorded. Some preliminary results based on the flow visualization data are presented for bubbly, slug and annular flow.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, D.B.

This paper reports on experiments to examine gas migration rates in drilling muds that were performed in a 15-m-long, 200-mm-ID inclinable flow loop where air injection simulates gas entry during a kick. These tests were conducted using a xanthum gum (a common polymer used in drilling fluids) solution to simulate drilling muds as the liquid phase and air as the gas phase. This work represents a significant extension of existing correlations for gas/liquid flows in large pipe diameters with non- Newtonian fluids. Bubbles rise faster in drilling muds than in water despite the increased viscosity. This surprising result is causedmore » by the change in the flow regime, with large slug-type bubbles forming at lower void fractions. The gas velocity is independent of void fraction, thus simplifying flow modeling. Results show that a gas influx will rise faster in a well than previously believed. This has major implications for kick simulation, with gas arriving at the surface earlier than would be expected and the gas outflow rate being higher than would have been predicted. A model of the two-phase gas flow in drilling mud, including the results of this work, has been incorporated into the joint Schlumberger Cambridge Research (SCR)/BP Intl. kick model.« less

Air-Induced Drag Reduction at High Reynolds Numbers: Velocity and Void Fraction Profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elbing, Brian; Mäkiharju, Simo; Wiggins, Andrew; Dowling, David; Perlin, Marc; Ceccio, Steven

2010-11-01

The injection of air into a turbulent boundary layer forming over a flat plate can reduce the skin friction. With sufficient volumetric fluxes an air layer can separate the solid surface from the flowing liquid, which can produce drag reduction in excess of 80%. Several large scale experiments have been conducted at the US Navy's Large Cavitation Channel on a 12.9 m long flat plate model investigating bubble drag reduction (BDR), air layer drag reduction (ALDR) and the transition between BDR and ALDR. The most recent experiment acquired phase velocities and void fraction profiles at three downstream locations (3.6, 5.9 and 10.6 m downstream from the model leading edge) for a single flow speed (˜6.4 m/s). The profiles were acquired with a combination of electrode point probes, time-of-flight sensors, Pitot tubes and an LDV system. Additional diagnostics included skin-friction sensors and flow-field image visualization. During this experiment the inlet flow was perturbed with vortex generators immediately upstream of the injection location to assess the robustness of the air layer. From these, and prior measurements, computational models can be refined to help assess the viability of ALDR for full-scale ship applications.

Venturi flow meter and Electrical Capacitance Probe in a horizontal two-phase flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monni, G.; Caramello, M.; De Salve, M.; Panella, B.

2015-11-01

The paper presents the results obtained with a spool piece (SP) made of a Venturi flow meter (VMF) and an Electrical Capacitance Probe (ECP) in stratified two-phase flow. The objective is to determine the relationship between the test measurements and the physical characteristics of the flow such as superficial velocities, density and void fraction. The outputs of the ECP are electrical signals proportional to the void fraction between the electrodes; the parameters measured by the VFM are the total and the irreversible pressure losses of the two- phase mixture. The fluids are air and demineralized water at ambient conditions. The flow rates are in the range of 0,065-0,099 kg/s for air and 0- 0,039 kg/s (0-140 l/h) for water. The flow patterns recognized during the experiments are stratified, dispersed and annular flow. The presence of the VFM plays an important role on the alteration of the flow pattern due to wall flow detachment phenomena. The signals of differential pressure of the VFM in horizontal configuration are strongly dependent on the superficial velocities and on the flow pattern because of a lower symmetry of the flow with respect to the vertical configuration.

Diffusion amid random overlapping obstacles: Similarities, invariants, approximations

PubMed Central

Novak, Igor L.; Gao, Fei; Kraikivski, Pavel; Slepchenko, Boris M.

2011-01-01

Efficient and accurate numerical techniques are used to examine similarities of effective diffusion in a void between random overlapping obstacles: essential invariance of effective diffusion coefficients (Deff) with respect to obstacle shapes and applicability of a two-parameter power law over nearly entire range of excluded volume fractions (ϕ), except for a small vicinity of a percolation threshold. It is shown that while neither of the properties is exact, deviations from them are remarkably small. This allows for quick estimation of void percolation thresholds and approximate reconstruction of Deff (ϕ) for obstacles of any given shape. In 3D, the similarities of effective diffusion yield a simple multiplication “rule” that provides a fast means of estimating Deff for a mixture of overlapping obstacles of different shapes with comparable sizes. PMID:21513372

Investigation of stress relaxation mechanisms for ductility improvement in SS316L

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varma, Anand; Gokhale, Aditya; Jain, Jayant; Hariharan, Krishnaswamy; Cizek, Pavel; Barnett, Matthew

2018-01-01

Stress relaxation during plastic deformation has been reported to improve ductility and alter the mechanical properties of metallic materials. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of various mechanisms responsible for this in stainless steel SS 316L. The fractography of the tested samples is analysed using an image analyser and the void fraction at failure is correlated with the corresponding mechanisms. The parametric studies on stress relaxation at different pre-strain and relaxation time correlate well with the fractography results supporting the proposed mechanisms. TEM investigation of dislocation structures and void characterisation further confirm the role of dislocation annihilation. Moreover, a novel indentation technique combining micro- and nano-indentation techniques is used to verify the role of stress homogenisation mechanism.

Interfacial friction and adhesion of cross-linked polymer thin films swollen with linear chains.

PubMed

Zhang, Qing; Archer, Lynden A

2007-07-03

The preparation and interfacial properties of a new type of tethered, thin-film lubricant coating are presented. These coatings are composed of three components: a dense self-assembled monolayer (SAM) underlayer that presents reactive vinyl groups at its surface; a cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) overlayer that is covalently tethered to the SAM; and free, mobile linear PDMS chains dispersed in the network. We investigate the influence of the molecular weight (Ms) and concentration of the free PDMS chains on the structure and equilibrium swelling properties of the cross-linked films. Using a bead-probe lateral force microscopy measurement technique, we also quantify the interfacial friction and adhesion characteristics of surfaces functionalized with these coatings. We find that both the volume fraction and the molecular weight of free PDMS molecules in the coatings influence their interfacial friction and adhesion properties. For example, the addition of short PDMS chains in dry, cross-linked PDMS thin films yields tethered surface coatings with ultralow friction coefficients (mu = 5.2 x 10(-3)). An analysis based on classical lubrication theory suggests that the reduction in friction force produced by free polymer is a consequence of the gradual separation of asperities on opposing surfaces and the consequent substitution of solid-solid friction by viscous drag of the free polymer chains in the network.

Microscale X-ray tomographic investigation of the interfacial morphology between the catalyst and micro porous layers in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prass, Sebastian; Hasanpour, Sadegh; Sow, Pradeep Kumar; Phillion, André B.; Mérida, Walter

2016-07-01

The interfacial morphology between the catalyst layer (CL) and micro porous layer (MPL) influences the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Here we report a direct method to investigate the CL-MPL interfacial morphology of stacked and compressed gas diffusion layer (GDL with MPL)-catalyst coated membrane (CCM) assemblies. The area, origin and dimensions of interfacial gaps are studied with high-resolution X-ray micro computed tomography (X-μCT). The projected gap area (fraction of the CL-MPL interface separated by gaps) is higher for GDL-CCM assemblies with large differences in the surface roughness between CL and MPL but reduces with increasing compression and similarity in roughness. Relatively large continuous gaps are found in proximity to cracks in the MPL. These are hypothesized to form due to the presence of large pores on the surface of the GDL. Smaller gaps are induced by the surface roughness features throughout the CL-MPL interface. By modification of the pore sizes on the GDL surface serving as substrate for the MPL, the number and dimension of MPL crack induced gaps can be manipulated. Moreover, adjusting the CL and MPL surface roughness parameters to achieve similar orders of roughness can improve the surface mating characteristics of these two components.

The confined [Bmim][BF4] ionic liquid flow through graphene oxide nanochannels: a molecular dynamics study.

PubMed

Wang, Yanlei; Huo, Feng; He, Hongyan; Zhang, Suojiang

2018-06-20

Ionic liquid (IL) flow in graphene oxide (GO) nanochannels plays a key role in the performance of IL- and GO-based fluidics devices and other chemical separator techniques. Here, we investigate the flow behavior of ILs in GO nanochannels via molecular dynamics simulations. The quantitative relation between slip velocity and shear stress has been identified, showing that the interfacial friction coefficient can be enhanced by almost sixty times, while the slip length is reduced by about three orders of magnitude, with the fraction of hydroxylation in graphene ranging from 0% to 15%. The great change in interfacial properties can be attributed to the structural changes of IL layers near GO, which is proved by the detailed analysis of density distribution, charge distribution and radial distribution function. Besides, the viscosity will increase as a fraction of hydroxylation because of the partial breaking of coulombic ordering of confined ILs. Meanwhile, the hydroxyls have more significant effects on IL flow than water flow in GO nanochannels due to the stronger interaction networks in IL/GO interfaces. In summary, hydroxylation can be a convincing method to regulate the IL flow in nanochannels. The quantitative properties of confined ILs in GO nanochannels and their relation to the fraction of hydroxylation could deepen the understanding of ILs and benefit the applications of ILs and GO in the fields of chemical engineering and various other nanofluidic devices.

A micromechanical study of the damage mechanics of acrylic particulate composites under thermomechanical loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Shihua

The main aim of this dissertation was to characterize the damage mechanism and fatigue behavior of the acrylic particulate composite. This dissertation also investigated how the failure mechanism is influenced by changes in certain parameters including the volume fraction of particle, the interfacial bonding strength, the stiffness and thickness of the interphase, and the CTE mismatch between the particle and the matrix. Monotonic uniaxial tensile and compressive testing under various temperatures and strain rates, isothermal low-cycle mechanical testing and thermal cycling of a plate with a cutout were performed. The influence of the interfacial bonding strength between the particle and the matrix on the failure mechanism of the ATH filled PMMA was investigated using in situ observations under uniaxial loading conditions. For composites with weak interfacial bonding, the debonding is the major damage mode. For composites with strong interfacial bonding, the breakage of the agglomerate of particles is the major damage mode. Experimental studies also demonstrated the significant influence of interfacial bonding strength on the fatigue life of the ATH filled PMMA. The damage was characterized in terms of the elastic modulus degradation, the load-drop parameter, the plastic strain range and the hysteresis dissipation. Identifying the internal state variables that quantify material degradation under thermomechanical loading is an active research field. In this dissertation, the entropy production, which is a measure of the irreversibility of the thermodynamic system, is used as the metric for damage. The close correlation between the damage measured in terms of elastic modulus degradation and that obtained from the finite element simulation results validates the entropy based damage evolution function. A micromechanical model for acrylic particulate composites with imperfect interfacial bonds was proposed. Acrylic particulate composites are treated as three-phase composites consisting of agglomerated particles, bulk matrix and an interfacial transition zone around the agglomerate. The influence of the interfacial bonding and the CTE mismatch between the matrix and the filler on the overall thermomechanical behavior of composites is studied analytically and experimentally. The comparison of analytical simulation with experimental data demonstrated the validity of the proposed micromechanical model for acrylic particulate composites with an imperfect interface. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Study of galaxies in the Lynx-Cancer void - VII. New oxygen abundances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pustilnik, S. A.; Perepelitsyna, Y. A.; Kniazev, A. Y.

2016-11-01

We present new or improved oxygen abundances (O/H) for the nearby Lynx-Cancer void updated galaxy sample. They are obtained via the SAO 6-m telescope spectroscopy (25 objects), or derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra (14 galaxies, of which for seven objects O/H values were unknown). For eight galaxies with detected [O III] λ4363 line, O/H values are derived via the direct (Te) method. For the remaining objects, O/H was estimated via semi-empirical and empirical methods. For all accumulated O/H data for 81 galaxies of this void (with 40 of them derived via Te method), their relation `O/H versus MB' is compared with that for similar late-type galaxies from denser environments (the Local Volume `reference sample'). We confirm our previous conclusion derived for a subsample of 48 objects: void galaxies show systematically reduced O/H for the same luminosity with respect to the reference sample, in average by 0.2 dex, or by a factor of ˜1.6. Moreover, we confirm the fraction of ˜20 per cent of strong outliers, with O/H of two to four times lower than the typical values for the `reference' sample. The new data are consistent with the conclusion on the slower evolution of the main void galaxy population. We obtained Hα velocity for the faint optical counterpart of the most gas-rich (M(H I)/LB = 25) void object J0723+3624, confirming its connection with the respective H I blob. For similar extremely gas-rich dwarf J0706+3020, we give a tentative O/H ˜(O/H)⊙/45. In Appendix A, we present the results of calibration of semi-empirical method by Izotov & Thuan and of empirical calibrators by Pilyugin & Thuan and Yin et al. on the sample of ˜150 galaxies from the literature with O/H measured by Te method.

Preparation of hybrid thiol-acrylate emulsion-templated porous polymers by interfacial copolymerization of high internal phase emulsions.

PubMed

Langford, Caitlin R; Johnson, David W; Cameron, Neil R

2015-05-01

Emulsion-templated highly porous polymers (polyHIPEs), containing distinct regions differing in composition, morphology, and/or properties, are prepared by the simultaneous polymerization of two high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) contained within the same mould. The HIPEs are placed together in the mould and subjected to thiol-acrylate photopolymerization. The resulting polyHIPE material is found to contain two distinct semicircular regions, reflecting the composition of each HIPE. The original interface between the two emulsions becomes a copolymerized band between 100 and 300 μm wide, which is found to be mechanically robust. The separate polyHIPE layers are distinguished from one another by their differing average void diameter, chemical composition, and extent of contraction upon drying. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Corrigendum to 'On the influence of microstructure on the fracture behaviour of hot extruded ferritic ODS steels' [J. Nucl. Mater. 497 (2017) 60-75

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, A.; Viehrig, H. W.; Altstadt, E.; Heintze, C.; Hoffmann, J.

2018-02-01

ODS steels are known to show inferior fracture properties as compared to ferritic martensitic non-ODS steels. Hot extruded 13Cr ODS steel however, showed excellent fracture toughness at a temperature range from room temperature to 400 °C. In this work, the factors which resulted in superior and anisotropic fracture behaviour were investigated by comparing different orientations of two hot extruded materials using scanning electron, electron backscatter and transmission electron microscopy. Fracture behaviour of the two materials was compared using unloading compliance fracture toughness tests. Anisotropic fracture toughness was predominantly influenced by grain morphology. Superior fracture toughness in 13Cr ODS-KIT was predominantly influenced by factors such as smaller void inducing particle size and higher sub-micron particle-matrix interfacial strength.

Concrete Infill Monitoring in Concrete-Filled FRP Tubes Using a PZT-Based Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Method.

PubMed

Luo, Mingzhang; Li, Weijie; Hei, Chuang; Song, Gangbing

2016-12-07

Concrete-filled fiber-reinforced polymer tubes (CFFTs) have attracted interest for their structural applications in corrosive environments. However, a weak interfacial strength between the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and the concrete infill may develop due to concrete shrinkage and inadequate concrete compaction during concrete casting, which will destroy the confinement effect and thereby reduce the load bearing capacity of a CFFT. In this paper, the lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) method was adopted to assess the concrete infill condition of CFFTs. The basic idea of this method is that the velocity of the ultrasonic wave propagation in the FRP material is about half of that in concrete material. Any voids or debonding created along the interface between the FRP tube and the concrete will delay the arrival time between the pairs of PZT transducers. A comparison of the arrival times of the PZT pairs between the intact and the defected CFFT was made to assess the severity of the voids or the debonding. The feasibility of the methodology was analyzed using a finite-difference time-domain-based numerical simulation. Experiments were setup to validate the numerical results, which showed good agreement with the numerical findings. The results showed that the ultrasonic time-of-flight method is able to detect the concrete infill condition of CFFTs.

A review: applications of the phase field method in predicting microstructure and property evolution of irradiated nuclear materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Yulan; Hu, Shenyang; Sun, Xin

Here, complex microstructure changes occur in nuclear fuel and structural materials due to the extreme environments of intense irradiation and high temperature. This paper evaluates the role of the phase field method in predicting the microstructure evolution of irradiated nuclear materials and the impact on their mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties. The paper starts with an overview of the important physical mechanisms of defect evolution and the significant gaps in simulating microstructure evolution in irradiated nuclear materials. Then, the phase field method is introduced as a powerful and predictive tool and its applications to microstructure and property evolution in irradiatedmore » nuclear materials are reviewed. The review shows that (1) Phase field models can correctly describe important phenomena such as spatial-dependent generation, migration, and recombination of defects, radiation-induced dissolution, the Soret effect, strong interfacial energy anisotropy, and elastic interaction; (2) The phase field method can qualitatively and quantitatively simulate two-dimensional and three-dimensional microstructure evolution, including radiation-induced segregation, second phase nucleation, void migration, void and gas bubble superlattice formation, interstitial loop evolution, hydrate formation, and grain growth, and (3) The Phase field method correctly predicts the relationships between microstructures and properties. The final section is dedicated to a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the phase field method, as applied to irradiation effects in nuclear materials.« less

A review: applications of the phase field method in predicting microstructure and property evolution of irradiated nuclear materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Yulan; Hu, Shenyang; Sun, Xin

Complex microstructure changes occur in nuclear fuel and structural materials due to the extreme environments of intense irradiation and high temperature. This paper evaluates the role of the phase field (PF) method in predicting the microstructure evolution of irradiated nuclear materials and the impact on their mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties. The paper starts with an overview of the important physical mechanisms of defect evolution and the significant gaps in simulating microstructure evolution in irradiated nuclear materials. Then, the PF method is introduced as a powerful and predictive tool and its applications to microstructure and property evolution in irradiated nuclearmore » materials are reviewed. The review shows that 1) FP models can correctly describe important phenomena such as spatial dependent generation, migration, and recombination of defects, radiation-induced dissolution, the Soret effect, strong interfacial energy anisotropy, and elastic interaction; 2) The PF method can qualitatively and quantitatively simulate 2-D and 3-D microstructure evolution, including radiation-induced segregation, second phase nucleation, void migration, void and gas bubble superlattice formation, interstitial loop evolution, hydrate formation, and grain growth, and 3) The FP method correctly predicts the relationships between microstructures and properties. The final section is dedicated to a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the PF method, as applied to irradiation effects in nuclear materials.« less

Concrete Infill Monitoring in Concrete-Filled FRP Tubes Using a PZT-Based Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Method

PubMed Central

Luo, Mingzhang; Li, Weijie; Hei, Chuang; Song, Gangbing

2016-01-01

Concrete-filled fiber-reinforced polymer tubes (CFFTs) have attracted interest for their structural applications in corrosive environments. However, a weak interfacial strength between the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and the concrete infill may develop due to concrete shrinkage and inadequate concrete compaction during concrete casting, which will destroy the confinement effect and thereby reduce the load bearing capacity of a CFFT. In this paper, the lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) method was adopted to assess the concrete infill condition of CFFTs. The basic idea of this method is that the velocity of the ultrasonic wave propagation in the FRP material is about half of that in concrete material. Any voids or debonding created along the interface between the FRP tube and the concrete will delay the arrival time between the pairs of PZT transducers. A comparison of the arrival times of the PZT pairs between the intact and the defected CFFT was made to assess the severity of the voids or the debonding. The feasibility of the methodology was analyzed using a finite-difference time-domain-based numerical simulation. Experiments were setup to validate the numerical results, which showed good agreement with the numerical findings. The results showed that the ultrasonic time-of-flight method is able to detect the concrete infill condition of CFFTs. PMID:27941617

A review: applications of the phase field method in predicting microstructure and property evolution of irradiated nuclear materials

DOE PAGES

Li, Yulan; Hu, Shenyang; Sun, Xin; ...

2017-04-14

Here, complex microstructure changes occur in nuclear fuel and structural materials due to the extreme environments of intense irradiation and high temperature. This paper evaluates the role of the phase field method in predicting the microstructure evolution of irradiated nuclear materials and the impact on their mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties. The paper starts with an overview of the important physical mechanisms of defect evolution and the significant gaps in simulating microstructure evolution in irradiated nuclear materials. Then, the phase field method is introduced as a powerful and predictive tool and its applications to microstructure and property evolution in irradiatedmore » nuclear materials are reviewed. The review shows that (1) Phase field models can correctly describe important phenomena such as spatial-dependent generation, migration, and recombination of defects, radiation-induced dissolution, the Soret effect, strong interfacial energy anisotropy, and elastic interaction; (2) The phase field method can qualitatively and quantitatively simulate two-dimensional and three-dimensional microstructure evolution, including radiation-induced segregation, second phase nucleation, void migration, void and gas bubble superlattice formation, interstitial loop evolution, hydrate formation, and grain growth, and (3) The Phase field method correctly predicts the relationships between microstructures and properties. The final section is dedicated to a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the phase field method, as applied to irradiation effects in nuclear materials.« less

Heat Transfar Properties of Flat-Panel Evacuated Porous Insrlators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoneno, Hirosyi; Yamamoto, Ryoichi

Flat Panel evacuated porous insulators have been produced by filling powder or fiber (such as perlite powder, diatomaceous earth powder, silica aerogel powder, g lass fiber and ceramic fiber) in film-like laminated plastic container and by evacuating to form vacuum in it is interior. Heat transfer properties of these evacuated insulators have been studied under various conditions (such as particle diameter, surface area, packing density, solid volume fraction and void dimension). The apparent mean thermal conductivity has been measured for the boundary surface temperature at cold face temperature 13°C and hot face temperature 35°. The effect of air pressure ranging from 1 Pa to one atomosphere (105 Pa) was examined. The results were as follows. (1) For each powder the apparent mean thermal conductivity decreases with decreasing residual air pressure, and at very low pressure bellow 1 -103 Pa the conductivity becomes indeqendent of pressure. The thermal conductivity at 1.3Pa is 0.0053 W/mK for perlite powder, 0.0048W/mK for diatomaceous earth powder, 0.0043 W/mK for silica aerogel powder and 0.0029W/mK for glass fiber. (2) With decreasing particle size, the apparent mean thermal conductivity is constant independent of residual air pressure in higher pressure region. It is that void dimension continues to decrease with particle size and the mean free path of air becomes comparable with void dimension. (3) In the range of minor solid volume fraction, the apparent mean thermal conductivity at very low precreases with decreasing particle size. This shows the thermal contact resistance of the solid particle increases with decreasing particle size.

Distribution and Recovery of Crude Oil in Various Types of Porous Media and Heterogeneity Configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tick, G. R.; Ghosh, J.; Greenberg, R. R.; Akyol, N. H.

2015-12-01

A series of pore-scale experiments were conducted to understand the interfacial processes contributing to the removal of crude oil from various porous media during surfactant-induced remediation. Effects of physical heterogeneity (i.e. media uniformity) and carbonate soil content on oil recovery and distribution were evaluated through pore scale quantification techniques. Additionally, experiments were conducted to evaluate impacts of tetrachloroethene (PCE) content on crude oil distribution and recovery under these same conditions. Synchrotron X-ray microtomography (SXM) was used to obtain high-resolution images of the two-fluid-phase oil/water system, and quantify temporal changes in oil blob distribution, blob morphology, and blob surface area before and after sequential surfactant flooding events. The reduction of interfacial tension in conjunction with the sufficient increase in viscous forces as a result of surfactant flushing was likely responsible for mobilization and recovery of lighter fractions of crude oil. Corresponding increases in viscous forces were insufficient to initiate and maintain the displacement of the heavy crude oil in more homogeneous porous media systems during surfactant flushing. Interestingly, higher relative recoveries of heavy oil fractions were observed within more heterogeneous porous media indicating that wettability may be responsible for controlling mobilization in these systems. Compared to the "pure" crude oil experiments, preliminary results show that crude oil with PCE produced variability in oil distribution and recovery before and after each surfactant-flooding event. Such effects were likely influenced by viscosity and interfacial tension modifications associated with the crude-oil/solvent mixed systems.

Comparison of urine specimen collection times and testing fractions for the detection of high-risk human papillomavirus and high-grade cervical precancer.

PubMed

Senkomago, V; Des Marais, A C; Rahangdale, L; Vibat, C R T; Erlander, M G; Smith, J S

2016-01-01

Urine testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) detection could provide a non-invasive, simple method for cervical cancer screening. We examined whether HR-HPV detection is affected by urine collection time, portion of urine stream, or urine fraction tested, and assessed the performance of HR-HPV testing in urine for detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade II or worse (CIN2+). A total of 37 female colposcopy clinic attendees, ≥ 30 years, provided three urine samples: "first void" urine collected at home, and "initial stream" and "mid-stream" urine samples collected at the clinic later in the day. Self- and physician-collected brush specimens were obtained at the same clinic visit. Colposcopy was performed and directed biopsies obtained if clinically indicated. For each urine sample, HR-HPV DNA testing was conducted for unfractionated, pellet, and supernatant fractions using the Trovagene test. HR-HPV mRNA testing was performed on brush specimens using the Aptima HPV assay. HR-HPV prevalence was similar in unfractionated and pellet fractions of all urine samples. For supernatant urine fractions, HR-HPV prevalence appeared lower in mid-stream urine (56.8%[40.8-72.7%]) than in initial stream urine (75.7%[61.9-89.5%]). Sensitivity of CIN2+ detection was identical for initial stream urine and physician-collected cervical specimen (89.9%[95%CI=62.7-99.6%]), and similar to self-collected vaginal specimen (79.1%[48.1-96.6%]). This is among the first studies to compare methodologies for collection and processing of urine for HR-HPV detection. HR-HPV prevalence was similar in first void and initial stream urine, and was highly sensitive for CIN2+ detection. Additional research in a larger and general screening population is needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty Quantification of Multi-Phase Closures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nadiga, Balasubramanya T.; Baglietto, Emilio

In the ensemble-averaged dispersed phase formulation used for CFD of multiphase ows in nuclear reactor thermohydraulics, closures of interphase transfer of mass, momentum, and energy constitute, by far, the biggest source of error and uncertainty. Reliable estimators of this source of error and uncertainty are currently non-existent. Here, we report on how modern Validation and Uncertainty Quanti cation (VUQ) techniques can be leveraged to not only quantify such errors and uncertainties, but also to uncover (unintended) interactions between closures of di erent phenomena. As such this approach serves as a valuable aide in the research and development of multiphase closures.more » The joint modeling of lift, drag, wall lubrication, and turbulent dispersion|forces that lead to tranfer of momentum between the liquid and gas phases|is examined in the frame- work of validation of the adiabatic but turbulent experiments of Liu and Banko , 1993. An extensive calibration study is undertaken with a popular combination of closure relations and the popular k-ϵ turbulence model in a Bayesian framework. When a wide range of super cial liquid and gas velocities and void fractions is considered, it is found that this set of closures can be validated against the experimental data only by allowing large variations in the coe cients associated with the closures. We argue that such an extent of variation is a measure of uncertainty induced by the chosen set of closures. We also nd that while mean uid velocity and void fraction pro les are properly t, uctuating uid velocity may or may not be properly t. This aspect needs to be investigated further. The popular set of closures considered contains ad-hoc components and are undesirable from a predictive modeling point of view. Consequently, we next consider improvements that are being developed by the MIT group under CASL and which remove the ad-hoc elements. We use non-intrusive methodologies for sensitivity analysis and calibration (using Dakota) to study sensitivities of the CFD representation (STARCCM+) of uid velocity pro les and void fraction pro les in the context of Shaver and Podowski, 2015 correction to lift, and the Lubchenko et al., 2017 formulation of wall lubrication.« less

Studies of Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flow in Microgravity. Ph.D. Thesis, Dec. 1994

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bousman, William Scott

1995-01-01

Two-phase gas-liquid flows are expected to occur in many future space operations. Due to a lack of buoyancy in the microgravity environment, two-phase flows are known to behave differently than those in earth gravity. Despite these concerns, little research has been conducted on microgravity two-phase flow and the current understanding is poor. This dissertation describes an experimental and modeling study of the characteristics of two-phase flows in microgravity. An experiment was operated onboard NASA aircraft capable of producing short periods of microgravity. In addition to high speed photographs of the flows, electronic measurements of void fraction, liquid film thickness, bubble and wave velocity, pressure drop and wall shear stress were made for a wide range of liquid and gas flow rates. The effects of liquid viscosity, surface tension and tube diameter on the behavior of these flows were also assessed. From the data collected, maps showing the occurrence of various flow patterns as a function of gas and liquid flow rates were constructed. Earth gravity two-phase flow models were compared to the results of the microgravity experiments and in some cases modified. Models were developed to predict the transitions on the flow pattern maps. Three flow patterns, bubble, slug and annular flow, were observed in microgravity. These patterns were found to occur in distinct regions of the gas-liquid flow rate parameter space. The effect of liquid viscosity, surface tension and tube diameter on the location of the boundaries of these regions was small. Void fraction and Weber number transition criteria both produced reasonable transition models. Void fraction and bubble velocity for bubble and slug flows were found to be well described by the Drift-Flux model used to describe such flows in earth gravity. Pressure drop modeling by the homogeneous flow model was inconclusive for bubble and slug flows. Annular flows were found to be complex systems of ring-like waves and a substrate film. Pressure drop was best fitted with the Lockhart- Martinelli model. Force balances suggest that droplet entrainment may be a large component of the total pressure drop.

Effect of maleated natural rubber on tensile strength and compatibility of natural rubber/coconut coir composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ujianto, O.; Noviyanti, R.; Wijaya, R.; Ramadhoni, B.

2017-07-01

Natural rubber (NR)/coconut coir (CF) composites were fabricated using co-rotating twin screw extruder with maleated NR (MNR) used as compatibilizer. The MNR was produced at three level of maleic anhydride (MA), and analyzed qualitative and quantitatively using FTIR and titration technique. Analysis on MNR using FTIR and titration methods showed that MA was grafted on NR chain at different percentage (0.76, 2.23, 4.79%) depended on MA concentration. Tensile strength data showed the best tensile strength was produced at 7 phr of MNR with 1 phr of MA level in MNR resulting 16.4 MPa. The improvement of compatibilized samples were more than 300% compare to uncompatibilized composite attributed to better interfacial bonding. The improvement on tensile strength was significantly influenced by MNR level and amount of MA added to produce MNR, as well as their interaction. The optimum conditions for producing NR-CF composite were predicted at 6.5 phr of MNR level with 1 phr of MA concentration added in MNR production, regardless screw rotation settings. Results from verification experiments confirm that developed model was capable of describing phenomena during composite preparation. Morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy shows smooth covered fiber in compatibilized samples than that of without MNR. The morphology also showed less voids on compatibilized samples attributed to better interfacial bonding leading to tensile strength improvement.

Induced Infiltration of Hole-Transporting Polymer into Photocatalyst for Staunch Polymer-Metal Oxide Hybrid Solar Cells.

PubMed

Park, Jong Hwan; Jung, Youngsuk; Yang, Yooseong; Shin, Hyun Suk; Kwon, Soonchul

2016-10-05

For efficient solar cells based on organic semiconductors, a good mixture of photoactive materials in the bulk heterojunction on the length scale of several tens of nanometers is an important requirement to prevent exciton recombination. Herein, we demonstrate that nanoporous titanium dioxide inverse opal structures fabricated using a self-assembled monolayer method and with enhanced infiltration of electron-donating polymers is an efficient electron-extracting layer, which enhances the photovoltaic performance. A calcination process generates an inverse opal structure of titanium dioxide (<70 nm of pore diameters) providing three-dimensional (3D) electron transport pathways. Hole-transporting polymers was successfully infiltrated into the pores of the surface-modified titanium dioxide under vacuum conditions at 200 °C. The resulting geometry expands the interfacial area between hole- and electron-transport materials, increasing the thickness of the active layer. The controlled polymer-coating process over titanium dioxide materials enhanced photocurrent of the solar cell device. Density functional theory calculations show improved interfacial adhesion between the self-assembled monolayer-modified surface and polymer molecules, supporting the experimental result of enhanced polymer infiltration into the voids. These results suggest that the 3D inverse opal structure of the surface-modified titanium dioxide can serve as a favorable electron-extracting layer in further enhancing optoelectronic performance based on organic or organic-inorganic hybrid solar cell.

Nanoparticle packing within block copolymer micelles prepared by the interfacial instability method.

PubMed

Nabar, Gauri M; Winter, Jessica O; Wyslouzil, Barbara E

2018-05-02

The interfacial instability method has emerged as a viable approach for encapsulating high concentrations of nanoparticles (NPs) within morphologically diverse micelles. In this method, transient interfacial instabilities at the surface of an emulsion droplet guide self-assembly of block co-polymers and NP encapsulants. Although used by many groups, there are no systematic investigations exploring the relationship between NP properties and micelle morphology. Here, the effect of quantum dot (QD) and superparamagnetic iron oxide NP (SPION) concentration on the shape, size, and surface deformation of initially spherical poly(styrene-b-ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) micelles was examined. Multi-NP encapsulation and uniform dispersion within micelles was obtained even at low NP concentrations. Increasing NP concentration initially resulted in larger numbers of elongated micelles and cylinders with tightly-controlled diameters smaller than those of spherical micelles. Beyond a critical NP concentration, micelle formation was suppressed; the dominant morphology became densely-loaded NP structures that were coated with polymer and exhibited increased polydispersity. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) revealed that NPs in densely-loaded structures can be well-ordered, with packing volume fractions of up to 24%. These effects were enhanced in magnetic composites, possibly by dipole interactions. Mechanisms governing phase transitions triggered by NP loading in the interfacial instability process were proposed. The current study helps establish and elucidate the active role played by NPs in directing block copolymer assembly in the interfacial instability process, and provides important guiding principles for the use of this approach in generating NP-loaded block copolymer composites.

Flexible fiber-reinforced composites with improved interfacial adhesion by mussel-inspired polydopamine and poly(methyl methacrylate) coating.

PubMed

Yi, Mi; Sun, Hongyang; Zhang, Hongcheng; Deng, Xuliang; Cai, Qing; Yang, Xiaoping

2016-01-01

To obtain a kind of light-curable fiber-reinforced composite for dental restoration, an excellent interfacial adhesion between the fiber and the acrylate resin matrix is quite essential. Herein, surface modification on glass fibers were carried out by coating them with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polydopamine (PDA), or both. The PMMA or PDA coating was performed by soaking fibers in PMMA/acetone solution or dopamine aqueous solution. PDA/PMMA co-coated glass fibers were obtained by further soaking PDA-coated fibers in PMMA/acetone solution. These modified fibers were impregnated with bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) (5:5, w/w) dental resin at a volume fraction of 75%, using unmodified fibers as reference. Light-cured specimens were submitted to evaluations including flexural properties, morphological observation, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and pull-out test. In comparison with unmodified glass fibers, all the modified glass fibers showed enhancements in flexural strength and modulus of Bis-GMA/TEGDMA resin composites. Results of DMTA and pull-out tests confirmed that surface modification had significantly improved the interfacial adhesion between the glass fiber and the resin matrix. Particularly, the PDA/PMMA co-coated glass fibers displayed the most efficient reinforcement and the strongest interfacial adhesion due to the synergetic effects of PDA and PMMA. It indicated that co-coating method was a promising approach in modifying the interfacial compatibility between inorganic glass fiber and organic resin matrix. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ice-surface adsorption enhanced colligative effect of antifreeze proteins in ice growth inhibition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yougang; Ba, Yong

2006-09-01

This Communication describes a mechanism to explain antifreeze protein's function to inhibit the growth of ice crystals. We propose that the adsorption of antifreeze protein (AFP) molecules on an ice surface induces a dense AFP-water layer, which can significantly decrease the mole fraction of the interfacial water and, thus, lower the temperature for a seed ice crystal to grow in a super-cooled AFP solution. This mechanism can also explain the nearly unchanged melting point for the ice crystal due to the AFP's ice-surface adsorption. A mathematical model combining the Langmuir theory of adsorption and the colligative effect of thermodynamics has been proposed to find the equilibrium constants of the ice-surface adsorptions, and the interfacial concentrations of AFPs through fitting the theoretical curves to the experimental thermal hysteresis data. This model has been demonstrated by using the experimental data of serial size-mutated beetle Tenebrio molitor (Tm) AFPs. It was found that the AFP's ice-surface adsorptions could increase the interfacial AFP's concentrations by 3 to 4 orders compared with those in the bulk AFP solutions.

The sea urchin egg jelly coat consists of globular glycoproteins bound to a fibrous fucan superstructure.

PubMed

Bonnell, B S; Keller, S H; Vacquier, V D; Chandler, D E

1994-03-01

Intact egg jelly (EJ) coats surrounding eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus were visualized in stereo images of platinum replicas produced by the quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary-shadowing technique. The hydrated EJ coat forms an extensive fibrous network that makes contact with the vitelline layer at the egg surface. Fibers are decorated along their length with particles, particle density being highest in the interior regions of the coat. The macromolecular components making up the EJ network were visualized by rotary-shadowing of mica-adsorbed EJ samples. Whole EJ coats solubilized in pH 5 sea-water and spread on the mica surface consist of complex networks of branching fibers decorated with large patches of amorphous material. As we have previously shown (Keller and Vacquier, 1994), EJ boiled in a dissolution buffer containing SDS and beta-mercaptoethanol and applied to a Sephacryl-500 gel filtration column can be separated into three fractions: a 380-kDa fucose sulfate polymer (FSP), which elutes in the void volume, and two column-included fractions consisting of intermediate (300 kDa) and low-molecular-weight (30- to 138-kDa) glycoproteins. Rotary-shadowing of the FSP fraction reveals branched fibrous components similar in appearance to that of solubilized whole EJ but devoid of any particulate decoration. In contrast, intermediate- and low-molecular-weight EJ components are strictly globular in appearance but are distinguishable on the basis of size. Ion-exchange purification of whole EJ yields two glycoproteins, of 82 and 138 kDa, having AR-inducing activity (Keller and Vacquier, 1994). Platinum replication shows these active components to be small spherical molecules about 8 nm in diameter. The above fractionation scheme requires harsh dissociation conditions. Indeed, if EJ is not boiled in SDS buffer before fractionation, the 300-kDa fraction and the FSP appear together in the void volume. Rotary-shadowing of this complex reveals a multistranded polymer, decorated with glycoproteins at specific kink points. Taken together, our data suggest that the EJ network is composed of a fucose sulfate polymer superstructure to which glycoproteins are bound.

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy as a Novel Interfacial Probe for Thin Polymeric Films and Nano-Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awad, Somia; Chen, Hongmin; Maina, Grace; Lee, L. James; Gu, Xiaohong; Jean, Y. C.

2010-03-01

Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) has been developed as a novel probe to characterize the sub-nanometer defect, free volume, profile from the surface, interfaces, and to the bulk in polymeric materials when a variable mono-energy slow positron beam is used. Free-volume hole sizes, fractions, and distributions are measurable as a function of depth at the high precision. PAS has been successfully used to study the interfacial properties of polymeric nanocomposites at different chemical bonding. In nano-scale thin polymeric films, such as in PS/SiO2, and PU/ZnO, significant variations of Tg as a function of depth and of wt% oxide are observed. Variations of Tg are dependent on strong or weak interactions between polymers and nano-scale oxides surfaces.

Dielectric inspection of erythrocyte morphology.

PubMed

Hayashi, Yoshihito; Oshige, Ikuya; Katsumoto, Yoichi; Omori, Shinji; Yasuda, Akio; Asami, Koji

2008-05-21

We performed a systematic study of the sensitivity of dielectric spectroscopy to erythrocyte morphology. Namely, rabbit erythrocytes of four different shapes were prepared by precisely controlling the pH of the suspending medium, and their complex permittivities over the frequency range from 0.1 to 110 MHz were measured and analyzed. Their quantitative analysis shows that the characteristic frequency and the broadening parameter of the dielectric relaxation of interfacial polarization are highly specific to the erythrocyte shape, while they are insensitive to the cell volume fraction. Therefore, these two dielectric parameters can be used to differentiate erythrocytes of different shapes, if dielectric spectroscopy is applied to flow-cytometric inspection of single blood cells. In addition, we revealed the applicability and limitations of the analytical theory of interfacial polarization to explain the experimental permittivities of non-spherical erythrocytes.

Interfacial thiol-ene photoclick reactions for forming multilayer hydrogels.

PubMed

Shih, Han; Fraser, Andrew K; Lin, Chien-Chi

2013-03-13

Interfacial visible light-mediated thiol-ene photoclick reactions were developed for preparing step-growth hydrogels with multilayer structures. The effect of a noncleavage type photoinitiator eosin-Y on visible-light-mediated thiol-ene photopolymerization was first characterized using in situ photorheometry, gel fraction, and equilibrium swelling ratio. Next, spectrophotometric properties of eosin-Y in the presence of various relevant macromer species were evaluated using ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) spectrometry. It was determined that eosin-Y was able to reinitiate the thiol-ene photoclick reaction, even after light exposure. Because of its small molecular weight, most eosin-Y molecules readily leached out from the hydrogels. The diffusion of residual eosin-Y from preformed hydrogels was exploited for fabricating multilayer step-growth hydrogels. Interfacial hydrogel coating was formed via the same visible-light-mediated gelation mechanism without adding fresh initiator. The thickness of the thiol-ene gel coating could be easily controlled by adjusting visible light exposure time, eosin-Y concentration initially loaded in the core gel, or macromer concentration in the coating solution. The major benefits of this interfacial thiol-ene coating system include its simplicity and cytocompatibility. The formation of thiol-ene hydrogels and coatings neither requires nor generates any cytotoxic components. This new gelation chemistry may have great utilities in controlled release of multiple sensitive growth factors and encapsulation of multiple cell types for tissue regeneration.

Obtaining of Analytical Relations for Hydraulic Parameters of Channels With Two Phase Flow Using Open CFD Toolbox

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varseev, E.

2017-11-01

The present work is dedicated to verification of numerical model in standard solver of open-source CFD code OpenFOAM for two-phase flow simulation and to determination of so-called “baseline” model parameters. Investigation of heterogeneous coolant flow parameters, which leads to abnormal friction increase of channel in two-phase adiabatic “water-gas” flows with low void fractions, presented.

On the structure of nonlinear waves in liquids with gas bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beylich, Alfred E.; Gülhan, Ali

1990-08-01

Transient wave phenomena in two-phase mixtures with a liquid as the matrix and gas bubbles as the dispersed phase have been studied in a shock tube using glycerine as the liquid and He, N2, and SF6 as gases having a large variation in the ratio of specific heats and the thermal diffusivity. Two different sizes of bubble radii have been produced , R0=1.15 and 1.6 mm, with a dispersion in size of less than 5%. The void fraction was varied over one order of magnitude, φ0=0.2%-2%. The measured pressure profiles were averaged by superimposing many shots, typically 20. Speeds and profiles were measured for shock waves and for wave packets. Investigation of the wave structure allows one to approach the fundamental question of how the physics on the level of the microstructure influences the behavior on the macroscale. In the theoretical work, modeling on the basis of a hierarchy of characteristic length scales is developed. Bubble interactions, transient heat transfer, and dissipation due to molecular and bulk viscosities are included. Solutions for small void fractions and moderate amplitudes are obtained for the steady cases of shock waves and solitons and are compared with the experimental results.

Bubble breakup phenomena in a venturi tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujiwara, Akiko

2005-11-01

Microbubble has distinguished characteristics of large surface area to unit volume and small buoyancy, and it has advantages in many engineering fields. Recently microbubble generators with low energy and high performance are required to wide applications. In the present study, we propose one new effective technique to generate tiny bubbles with less than 200 μm diameter utilizing venturi tube under high void fraction condition. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the mechanism of bubble breakup phenomena in the venturi tube and to clarify the effects of parameters which are necessary to realize an optimum system experimentally. Experiment was conducted with void fraction of 4% and variation of liquid velocity from 9 to 26 m/s at the throat. Under low velocity condition, bubbles which were observed with a high speed camera parted gradually in a wide region. On the contrary under high velocity condition, bubbles expanded after passing through the throat and shrank rapidly. Since the speed of sound in gas-liquid system is extremely lower than that of single-phase flow, the bubble breakup phenomenon in the venturi tube is explained as the supersonic flow in a Laval nozzle. By rapid pressure recovery in diverging area, expanding bubbles collapse violently. The tiny bubbles are generated due to the surface instability of shrinking bubbles.

Kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 Solar Cells with beyond 8% Efficiency by a Sol-Gel and Selenization Process.

PubMed

Liu, Fangyang; Zeng, Fangqin; Song, Ning; Jiang, Liangxing; Han, Zili; Su, Zhenghua; Yan, Chang; Wen, Xiaoming; Hao, Xiaojing; Liu, Yexiang

2015-07-08

A facile sol-gel and selenization process has been demonstrated to fabricate high-quality single-phase earth abundant kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) photovoltaic absorbers. The structure and band gap of the fabricated CZTSSe can be readily tuned by varying the [S]/([S] + [Se]) ratios via selenization condition control. The effects of [S]/([S] + [Se]) ratio on device performance have been presented. The best device shows 8.25% total area efficiency without antireflection coating. Low fill factor is the main limitation for the current device efficiency compared to record efficiency device due to high series resistance and interface recombination. By improving film uniformity, eliminating voids, and reducing the Mo(S,Se)2 interfacial layer, a further boost of the device efficiency is expected, enabling the proposed process for fabricating one of the most promising candidates for kesterite solar cells.

An investigation of adhesive/adherend and fiber/matrix interactions. Part B: SEM/ESCA analysis of fracture surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beck, B.; Widyani, E.; Wightman, J. P.

1983-01-01

Adhesion was studied with emphasis on the characterization of surface oxide layers, the analysis of fracture surfaces, and the interaction of matrices and fibers. A number of surface features of the fractured lap shear samples were noted in the SEM photomicrographs including the beta phase alloy of the Ti 6-4 adherend, the imprint of the adherend on the adhesive failure surface, increased void density for high temperature samples, and the alumina filler particles. Interfacial failure of some of the fractured lap shear samples is invariably characterized by the appearance of an ESCA oxygen photopeak at 530.3 eV assigned to the surface oxide layer of Ti 6-4 adherend. The effect of grit blasting on carbon fiber composites is evident in the SEM analysis. A high surface fluorine concentration on the composite surface is reduced some ten fold by grit blasting.

Mathematical modeling of elementary trapping-reduction processes in positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy: methodology of Ps-to-positron trapping conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shpotyuk, Ya; Cebulski, J.; Ingram, A.; Shpotyuk, O.

2017-12-01

Methodological possibilities of positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy in application to nanostructurized substances treated within three-term fitting procedure are reconsidered to parameterize their atomic-deficient structural arrangement. In contrast to conventional three-term fitting analysis of the detected PAL spectra based on admixed positron trapping and positronium (Ps) decaying, the nanostructurization due to guest nanoparticles embedded in host matrix is considered as producing modified trapping, which involves conversion between these channels. The developed approach referred to as x3-x2-coupling decomposition algorithm allows estimation free volumes of interfacial voids responsible for positron trapping and bulk lifetimes in nanoparticle-embedded substances. This methodology is validated using experimental data of Chakraverty et al. [Phys. Rev. B71 (2005) 024115] on PAL study of composites formed by guest NiFe2O4 nanocrystals grown in host SiO2 matrix.

In situ imaging of microstructure formation in electronic interconnections

PubMed Central

Salleh, M. A. A. Mohd; Gourlay, C. M.; Xian, J. W.; Belyakov, S. A.; Yasuda, H.; McDonald, S. D.; Nogita, K.

2017-01-01

The development of microstructure during melting, reactive wetting and solidification of solder pastes on Cu-plated printed circuit boards has been studied by synchrotron radiography. Using Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu/Cu and Sn-0.7Cu/Cu as examples, we show that the interfacial Cu6Sn5 layer is present within 0.05 s of wetting, and explore the kinetics of flux void formation at the interface between the liquid and the Cu6Sn5 layer. Quantification of the nucleation locations and anisotropic growth kinetics of primary Cu6Sn5 crystals reveals a competition between the nucleation of Cu6Sn5 in the liquid versus growth of Cu6Sn5 from the existing Cu6Sn5 layer. Direct imaging confirms that the β-Sn nucleates at/near the Cu6Sn5 layer in Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu/Cu joints. PMID:28079120

Fracture toughness of Kevlar 29/poly(methyl methacrylate) composite materials for surgical implantations.

PubMed

Pourdeyhimi, B; Robinson, H H; Schwartz, P; Wagner, H D

1986-01-01

A study of the fracture behaviour of Kevlar 29 reinforced dental cement is undertaken using both linear elastic and nonlinear elastic fracture mechanics techniques. Results from both approaches--of which the nonlinear elastic is believed to be more appropriate--indicate that a reinforcing effect is obtained for the fracture toughness even at very low fibre content. The flexural strength and modulus are apparently not improved, however, by the incorporation of Kevlar 29 fibres in the PMMA cement, probably because of the presence of voids, the poor fibre/matrix interfacial bonding and unsatisfying cement mixing practice. When compared to other PMMA composite cements, the present system appears to be probably more effective than carbon/PMMA, for example, in terms of fracture toughness. More experimental and analytical work is needed so as to optimize the mechanical properties with respect to structural parameters and cement preparation technique.

Composites of ionic liquid and amine-modified SAPO 34 improve CO2 separation of CO2-selective polymer membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Leiqing; Cheng, Jun; Li, Yannan; Liu, Jianzhong; Zhang, Li; Zhou, Junhu; Cen, Kefa

2017-07-01

Mixed matrix membranes with ionic liquids and molecular sieve particles had high CO2 permeabilities, but CO2 separation from small gas molecules such as H2 was dissatisfied because of bad interfacial interaction between ionic liquid and molecular sieve particles. To solve that, amine groups were introduced to modify surface of molecular sieve particles before loading with ionic liquid. SAPO 34 was adopted as the original filler, and four mixed matrix membranes with different fillers were prepared on the outer surface of ceramic hollow fibers. Both surface voids and hard agglomerations disappeared, and the surface became smooth after SAPO 34 was modified by amine groups and ionic liquid [P66614][2-Op]. Mixed matrix membranes with composites of amine-modified SAPO 34 and ionic liquid exhibited excellent CO2 permeability (408.9 Barrers) and CO2/H2 selectivity (22.1).

Interfacial and topological effects on the glass transition in free-standing polystyrene films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyulin, Alexey V.; Balabaev, Nikolay K.; Baljon, Arlette R. C.; Mendoza, Gerardo; Frank, Curtis W.; Yoon, Do Y.

2017-05-01

United-atom molecular-dynamics computer simulations of atactic polystyrene (PS) were performed for the bulk and free-standing films of 2 nm-20 nm thickness, for both linear and cyclic polymers comprised of 80 monomers. Simulated volumetric glass-transition temperatures (Tg) show a strong dependence on the film thickness below 10 nm. The glass-transition temperature of linear PS is 13% lower than that of the bulk for 2.5 nm-thick films, as compared to less than 1% lower for 20 nm films. Our studies reveal that the fraction of the chain-end groups is larger in the interfacial layer with its outermost region approximately 1 nm below the surface than it is in the bulk. The enhanced population of the end groups is expected to result in a more mobile interfacial layer and the consequent dependence of Tg on the film thickness. In addition, the simulations show an enrichment of backbone aliphatic carbons and concomitant deficit of phenyl aromatic carbons in the interfacial film layer. This deficit would weaken the strong phenyl-phenyl aromatic (π -π ) interactions and, hence, lead to a lower film-averaged Tg in thin films, as compared to the bulk sample. To investigate the relative importance of the two possible mechanisms (increased chain ends at the surface or weakened π -π interactions in the interfacial region), the data for linear PS are compared with those for cyclic PS. For the cyclic PS, the reduction of the glass-transition temperature is also significant in thin films, albeit not as much as for linear PS. Moreover, the deficit of phenyl carbons in the film interface is comparable to that observed for linear PS. Therefore, chain-end effects alone cannot explain the observed pronounced Tg dependence on the thickness of thin PS films; the weakened phenyl-phenyl interactions in the interfacial region seems to be an important cause as well.

Space charge neutralization by electron-transparent suspended graphene

PubMed Central

Srisonphan, Siwapon; Kim, Myungji; Kim, Hong Koo

2014-01-01

Graphene possesses many fascinating properties originating from the manifold potential for interactions at electronic, atomic, or molecular levels. Here we report measurement of electron transparency and hole charge induction response of a suspended graphene anode on top of a void channel formed in a SiO2/Si substrate. A two-dimensional (2D) electron gas induced at the oxide interface emits into air and makes a ballistic transport toward the suspended graphene. A small fraction (>~0.1%) of impinging electrons are captured at the edge of 2D hole system in graphene, demonstrating good transparency to very low energy (<3 eV) electrons. The hole charges induced in the suspended graphene anode have the effect of neutralizing the electron space charge in the void channel. This charge compensation dramatically enhances 2D electron gas emission at cathode to the level far surpassing the Child-Langmuir's space-charge-limited emission. PMID:24441774

TRAC-PD2 posttest analysis of CCTF Test C1-16 (Run 025). [Cylindrical Core Test Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sugimoto, J.

The TRAC-PD2 code version was used to analyze CCTF Test C1-16 (Run 025). The results indicate that the core heater rod temperatures, the liquid mass in the vessel, and differential pressures in the primary loop are predicted well, but the void fraction distribution in the core and water accumulation in the upper plenum are not in good agreement with the data.

Characterization of Convective Boiling in Branching Channel Heat Sinks

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-06

pressure drop was well predicted using the void fraction correlation of Zivi [11] and the phase interaction parameter of Qu and Mudawar [16]. Model...paper number HT2008-56253, ASME Heat Transfer Summer Conference, August 10-14, 2008, Jacksonville, FL. 16. W. Qu, I. Mudawar , Measurement and...level. The Zivi [11] correlation is also recommended, with the two-phase interaction parameter of Qu and Mudawar [16] for use in the one-dimensional

Structural Investigations of Fibers and Films of Poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole). Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-01

differential scanning calorimetry, is unrelated to the diffuse scattered intensity [45]. Cellulose acetate which is known to be noncrystalline exhibits a high...Weidinger [45] found the diffuse scattered intensity increased with decreasing density and therefore, increasing void fraction, in air swollen cellulose ... Cellulose , and Poly(y-Benzyl-L-Glutamate)." J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Phys. Ed., 18, 663-682 (1980). 39. C.H. Kao and J.M. Ottino, personal communication

Particle-induced viscous fingering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sungyon

2017-11-01

An inclusion of non-colloidal particles in a Newtonian liquid can fundamentally change the interfacial dynamics and even cause interfacial instabilities. In this talk, we report a particle-induced fingering instability when a mixture of particles and viscous oil is injected radially into a Hele-Shaw cell. Our experimental results show that the onset and characteristics of fingering are most directly affected by the particle volume fraction but also depend on the ratio of the particle diameter to gap size. In particular, the formation of a particle band is observed on the interface only when the particle diameter is comparable to the channel gap thickness. This work demonstrates the complex coupling between suspensions and fluid-fluid interfaces and has broad relevance in suspension processing, particle self-assembly, and oil recovery processes. The physical mechanism behind the instability and a quantitative model are also discussed.

High Temperature VARTM of Phenylethynyl Terminated Imides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cano, Roberto J.; Britton, Sean M.; Jensen, Brian J.; Connell, John W.; Herring, Helen M.; Linberry, Quentin J.; Ghose, Sayata; Watson, Kent A.

2009-01-01

Fabrication of composite structures using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is generally more affordable than conventional autoclave techniques. Recent efforts have focused on adapting VARTM for the fabrication of high temperature composites. Due to their low melt viscosity and long melt stability, certain phenylethynyl terminated imides (PETI) can be processed into composites using high temperature VARTM (HT-VARTM). However, one of the disadvantages of the current HT-VARTM resin systems has been the high porosity of the resultant composites. For aerospace applications, the desired void fraction of less than 2% has not yet been achieved. In the current study, two PETI resins, LaRC PETI-330 and LaRC PETI-8 have been used to make test specimens using HT-VARTM. The resins were infused into ten layers of IM7-6K carbon fiber 5-harness satin fabric at 260 C or 280 C and cured at 371 C. Initial runs yielded composites with high void content, typically greater than 7% by weight. A thermogravimetric-mass spectroscopic study was conducted to determine the source of volatiles leading to high porosity. It was determined that under the thermal cycle used for laminate fabrication, the phenylethynyl endcap was undergoing degradation leading to volatile evolution. By modifying the thermal cycle used in laminate fabrication, the void content was reduced significantly (typically approximately 3%). Densities of the composites were determined using a density gradient column and the glass transition temperatures of the cured composites were measured by dynamic mechanical analysis. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. The results of this work are presented herein.

Understanding the interfacial chain dynamics of fiber-reinforced polymer composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, Monojoy; Carrillo, Jan-Michael; Naskar, Amit; Sumpter, Bobby

The polymer-fiber interface plays a major role in determining the structural and dynamical properties of fiber reinforced composite materials. We utilized LAMMPS MD package to understand the interfacial properties at the nanoscale. Coarse-grained flexible polymer chains are introduced to compare the various structures and dynamics of the polymer chains. Our preliminary simulation study shows that the rigidity of the polymer chain affects the interfacial morphology and dynamics of the chain on a flat surface. In this work, we identified the `immobile inter-phase' morphology and relate it to rheological properties. We calculated the viscoelastic properties, e.g., shear modulus and storage modulus, which are compared with experiments. MD simulations are used to show the variation of viscoelastic properties with polymer volume fraction. The nanoscale segmental and chain relaxation are calculated from the MD simulations and compared to the experimental data. These observations will be able to identify the fundamental physics behind the effect of the polymer-fiber interactions and orientation of the fiber to the overall rheological properties of the fiber reinforced polymer matrix. Funding for the project was provided by ORNLs Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program.

Simple rules govern the patterns of Arctic sea ice melt ponds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popovic, P.; Cael, B. B.; Abbot, D. S.; Silber, M.

2017-12-01

Climate change, amplified in the far north, has led to a rapid sea ice decline in recent years. Melt ponds that form on the surface of Arctic sea ice in the summer significantly lower the ice albedo, thereby accelerating ice melt. Pond geometry controls the details of this crucial feedback. However, currently it is unclear how to model this intricate geometry. Here we show that an extremely simple model of voids surrounding randomly sized and placed overlapping circles reproduces the essential features of pond patterns. The model has only two parameters, circle scale and the fraction of the surface covered by voids, and we choose them by comparing the model to pond images. Using these parameters the void model robustly reproduces all of the examined pond features such as the ponds' area-perimeter relationship and the area-abundance relationship over nearly 7 orders of magnitude. By analyzing airborne photographs of sea ice, we also find that the typical pond scale is surprisingly constant across different years, regions, and ice types. These results demonstrate that the geometric and abundance patterns of Arctic melt ponds can be simply described, and can guide future models of Arctic melt ponds to improve predictions of how sea ice will respond to Arctic warming.

Bubble Generation in a Flowing Liquid Medium and Resulting Two-Phase Flow in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pais, S. C.; Kamotani, Y.; Bhunia, A.; Ostrach, S.

1999-01-01

The present investigation reports a study of bubble generation under reduced gravity conditions, using both a co-flow and a cross-flow configuration. This study may be used in the conceptual design of a space-based thermal management system. Ensuing two-phase flow void fraction can be accurately monitored using a single nozzle gas injection system within a continuous liquid flow conduit, as utilized in the present investigation. Accurate monitoring of void fraction leads to precise control of heat and mass transfer coefficients related to a thermal management system; hence providing an efficient and highly effective means of removing heat aboard spacecraft or space stations. Our experiments are performed in parabolic flight aboard the modified DC-9 Reduced Gravity Research Aircraft at NASA Lewis Research Center, using an air-water system. For the purpose of bubble dispersion in a flowing liquid, we use both a co-flow and a cross-flow configuration. In the co-flow geometry, air is introduced through a nozzle in the same direction with the liquid flow. On the other hand, in the cross-flow configuration, air is injected perpendicular to the direction of water flow, via a nozzle protruding inside the two-phase flow conduit. Three different flow conduit (pipe) diameters are used, namely, 1.27 cm, 1.9 cm and 2.54 cm. Two different ratios of nozzle to pipe diameter (D(sub N))sup * are considered, namely (D(sub N))sup * = 0.1 and 0.2, while superficial liquid velocities are varied from 8 to 70 cm/s depending on flow conduit diameter. It is experimentally observed that by holding all other flow conditions and geometry constant, generated bubbles decrease in size with increase in superficial liquid velocity. Detached bubble diameter is shown to increase with air injection nozzle diameter. Likewise, generated bubbles grow in size with increasing pipe diameter. Along the same lines, it is shown that bubble frequency of formation increases and hence the time to detachment of a forming bubble decreases, as the superficial liquid velocity is in-creased. Furthermore, it is shown that the void fraction of the resulting two-phase flow increases with volumetric gas flow rate Q(sub d), pipe diameter and gas injection nozzle diameter, while they decrease with surrounding liquid flow. The important role played by flowing liquid in detaching bubbles in a reduced gravity environment is thus emphasized. We observe that the void fraction can be accurately controlled by using single nozzle gas injection, rather than by employing multiple port injection, since the later system gives rise to unpredictable coalescence of adjacent bubbles. It is of interest to note that empirical bubble size and corresponding void fraction are somewhat smaller for the co-flow geometry than the cross-flow configuration at similar flow conditions with similar pipe and nozzle diameters. In order to supplement the empirical data, a theoretical model is employed to study single bubble generation in the dynamic (Q(sub d) = 1 - 1000 cu cm/s) and bubbly flow regime within the framework of the co-flow configuration. This theoretical model is based on an overall force balance acting on the bubble during the two stages of generation, namely the expansion and the detachment stage. Two sets of forces, one aiding and the other inhibiting bubble detachment are identified. Under conditions of reduced gravity, gas momentum flux enhances, while the surface tension force at the air injection nozzle tip inhibits bubble detachment. In parallel, liquid drag and inertia can act as both attaching and detaching forces, depending on the relative velocity of the bubble with respect to the surrounding liquid. Predictions of the theoretical model compare well with our experimental results. However, at higher superficial liquid velocities, as the bubble loses its spherical form, empirical bubble size no longer matches the theoretical predictions. In summary, we have developed a combined experimental and theoretical work, which describes the complex process of bubble generation and resulting two-phase flow in a microgravity environment. Results of the present study can be used in a wide range of space-based applications, such as thermal energy and power generation, propulsion, cryogenic storage and long duration life support systems, necessary for programs such as NASA's Human Exploration for the Development of Space (HEDS).

Reduction of benzene and naphthalene mass transfer from crude oils by aging-induced interfacial films.

PubMed

Ghoshal, Subhasis; Pasion, Catherine; Alshafie, Mohammed

2004-04-01

Semi-rigid films or skins form at the interface of crude oil and water as a result of the accumulation of asphaltene and resin fractions when the water-immiscible crude oil is contacted with water for a period of time or "aged". The time varying patterns of area-independent mass transfer coefficients of two compounds, benzene and naphthalene, for dissolution from crude oil and gasoline were determined. Aqueous concentrations of the compounds were measured in the eluent from flow-through reactors, where a nondispersed oil phase and constant oil-water interfacial area were maintained. For Brent Blend crude oil and for gasoline amended with asphaltenes and resins, a rapid decrease in both benzene and naphthalene mass transfer coefficients over the first few days of aging was observed. The mass transfer coefficients of the two target solutes were reduced by up to 80% over 35 d although the equilibrium partition coefficients were unchanged. Aging of gasoline, which has negligible amounts of asphaltene and resin, did not result in a change in the solute mass transfer coefficients. The study demonstrates that formation of crude oil-water interfacial films comprised of asphaltenes and resins contribute to time-dependent decreases in rates of release of environmentally relevant solutes from crude oils and may contribute to the persistence of such solutes at crude oil-contaminated sites. It is estimated that the interfacial film has an extremely low film mass transfer coefficient in the range of 10(-6) cm/min.

A dynamical classification of the cosmic web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forero-Romero, J. E.; Hoffman, Y.; Gottlöber, S.; Klypin, A.; Yepes, G.

2009-07-01

In this paper, we propose a new dynamical classification of the cosmic web. Each point in space is classified in one of four possible web types: voids, sheets, filaments and knots. The classification is based on the evaluation of the deformation tensor (i.e. the Hessian of the gravitational potential) on a grid. The classification is based on counting the number of eigenvalues above a certain threshold, λth, at each grid point, where the case of zero, one, two or three such eigenvalues corresponds to void, sheet, filament or a knot grid point. The collection of neighbouring grid points, friends of friends, of the same web type constitutes voids, sheets, filaments and knots as extended web objects. A simple dynamical consideration of the emergence of the web suggests that the threshold should not be null, as in previous implementations of the algorithm. A detailed dynamical analysis would have found different threshold values for the collapse of sheets, filaments and knots. Short of such an analysis a phenomenological approach has been opted for, looking for a single threshold to be determined by analysing numerical simulations. Our cosmic web classification has been applied and tested against a suite of large (dark matter only) cosmological N-body simulations. In particular, the dependence of the volume and mass filling fractions on λth and on the resolution has been calculated for the four web types. We also study the percolation properties of voids and filaments. Our main findings are as follows. (i) Already at λth = 0.1 the resulting web classification reproduces the visual impression of the cosmic web. (ii) Between 0.2 <~ λth <~ 0.4, a system of percolated voids coexists with a net of interconnected filaments. This suggests a reasonable choice for λth as the parameter that defines the cosmic web. (iii) The dynamical nature of the suggested classification provides a robust framework for incorporating environmental information into galaxy formation models, and in particular to semi-analytical models.

Poisson-Nernst-Planck-Fermi theory for modeling biological ion channels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Jinn-Liang, E-mail: jinnliu@mail.nhcue.edu.tw; Eisenberg, Bob, E-mail: beisenbe@rush.edu

2014-12-14

A Poisson-Nernst-Planck-Fermi (PNPF) theory is developed for studying ionic transport through biological ion channels. Our goal is to deal with the finite size of particle using a Fermi like distribution without calculating the forces between the particles, because they are both expensive and tricky to compute. We include the steric effect of ions and water molecules with nonuniform sizes and interstitial voids, the correlation effect of crowded ions with different valences, and the screening effect of water molecules in an inhomogeneous aqueous electrolyte. Including the finite volume of water and the voids between particles is an important new part ofmore » the theory presented here. Fermi like distributions of all particle species are derived from the volume exclusion of classical particles. Volume exclusion and the resulting saturation phenomena are especially important to describe the binding and permeation mechanisms of ions in a narrow channel pore. The Gibbs free energy of the Fermi distribution reduces to that of a Boltzmann distribution when these effects are not considered. The classical Gibbs entropy is extended to a new entropy form — called Gibbs-Fermi entropy — that describes mixing configurations of all finite size particles and voids in a thermodynamic system where microstates do not have equal probabilities. The PNPF model describes the dynamic flow of ions, water molecules, as well as voids with electric fields and protein charges. The model also provides a quantitative mean-field description of the charge/space competition mechanism of particles within the highly charged and crowded channel pore. The PNPF results are in good accord with experimental currents recorded in a 10{sup 8}-fold range of Ca{sup 2+} concentrations. The results illustrate the anomalous mole fraction effect, a signature of L-type calcium channels. Moreover, numerical results concerning water density, dielectric permittivity, void volume, and steric energy provide useful details to study a variety of physical mechanisms ranging from binding, to permeation, blocking, flexibility, and charge/space competition of the channel.« less

Effect of alcohols on the structure and dynamics of [BMIM][PF6] ionic liquid: A combined molecular dynamics simulation and Voronoi tessellation investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Anirban; Ghorai, Pradip Kr.

2018-05-01

The solubility of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]) ionic liquid (IL) in water is much less, whereas it is highly soluble in alcohol. The composition dependent structural and dynamical properties of [BMIM][PF6] in methanol and ethanol have been investigated by using all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. Though the density of IL/alcohol binary mixtures is nearly identical for different alcohol mole fractions, we observe the unalike structural and dynamical properties of the IL in methanol and ethanol due to different local environments of the IL and polarity of the solvent. Voronoi polyhedral analysis exhibits strong dependence of local environments on alcohol concentrations. Void and neck distribution in Voronoi tessellation are approximately Gaussian for pure IL, but it deviates from the Gaussian behavior at very high alcohol concentration. At low alcohol concentration, void and neck distributions of [BMIM]+ with [PF6]- in both methanol and ethanol are almost identical, whereas the distributions in ethanol are broader with lesser intensity than in methanol at high alcohol concentration. This suggests the existence of a very few larger free space in ethanol than in methanol. Although peak positions in the void and neck distributions in ethanol are at larger void and neck radius than in methanol, peak intensity for medium sized void in methanol is significantly higher than in ethanol. Thus the translational motion of both [BMIM]+ and [PF6]- and the rotational motion of [BMIM]+ are faster in methanol than in ethanol. Hydrogen bonding of [BMIM]+ with [PF6]- is more predominate than the alcohols, hence cation-anion hydrogen bonding plays an important role in determining self-diffusion coefficient (D) of [BMIM]+, whereas for [PF6]-, cooperative motion due to hydrogen bonding with the alcohols is indispensable.

Smart Materials, Structures, and Mathematical Issues for Active Damage Control

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-10-01

composites at both low and high velocities. The effect of low volume fractions (3% and 6%) of embedded Nitinol fibers on the impact-absorbing ability...ICI Wilton Materials Research Center General Dynamics Lockheed-Martin Hercules Aerospace Company U.S. Nitinol Owens-Corning DSB Associates...Reduction in a Plate," submitted to AIAA Journal. Paine, J. S. N., Rogers, C. A. 1993. "Characterization of Interfacial Adhesion of Nitinol Fibers

Viscosity and stability of ultra-high internal phase CO2-in-water foams stabilized with surfactants and nanoparticles with or without polyelectrolytes.

PubMed

Xue, Zheng; Worthen, Andrew; Qajar, Ali; Robert, Isaiah; Bryant, Steven L; Huh, Chun; Prodanović, Maša; Johnston, Keith P

2016-01-01

To date, relatively few examples of ultra-high internal phase supercritical CO2-in-water foams (also referred to as macroemulsions) have been observed, despite interest in applications including "waterless" hydraulic fracturing in energy production. The viscosities and stabilities of foams up to 0.98 CO2 volume fraction were investigated in terms of foam bubble size, interfacial tension, and bulk and surface viscosity. The foams were stabilized with laurylamidopropyl betaine (LAPB) surfactant and silica nanoparticles (NPs), with and without partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). For foams stabilized with mixture of LAPB and NPs, fine ∼70 μm bubbles and high viscosities on the order of 100 cP at>0.90 internal phase fraction were stabilized for hours to days. The surfactant reduces interfacial tension, and thus facilitates bubble generation and decreases the capillary pressure to reduce the drainage rate of the lamella. The LAPB, which is in the cationic protonated form, also attracts anionic NPs (and anionic HPAM in systems containing polymer) to the interface. The adsorbed NPs at the interface are shown to slow down Ostwald ripening (with or without polymer added) and increase foam stability. In systems with added HPAM, the increase in the bulk and surface viscosity of the aqueous phase further decreases the lamella drainage rate and inhibits coalescence of foams. Thus, the added polymer increases the foam viscosity by threefold. Scaling law analysis shows the viscosity of 0.90 volume fraction foams is inversely proportional to the bubble size. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Foam fractionation as a tool to study the air-water interface structure-function relationship of wheat gluten hydrolysates.

PubMed

Wouters, Arno G B; Rombouts, Ine; Schoebrechts, Nele; Fierens, Ellen; Brijs, Kristof; Blecker, Christophe; Delcour, Jan A

2017-03-01

Enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat gluten protein improves its solubility and produces hydrolysates with foaming properties which may find applications in food products. First, we here investigated whether foam-liquid fractionation can concentrate wheat gluten peptides with foaming properties. Foam and liquid fractions had high and very low foam stability (FS), respectively. In addition, foam fractions were able to decrease surface tension more pronouncedly than un-fractionated samples and liquid fractions, suggesting they are able to arrange themselves more efficiently at an interface. As a second objective, foam fractionation served as a tool to study the structural properties of the peptides, causing these differences in air-water interfacial behavior. Zeta potential and surface hydrophobicity measurements did not fully explain these differences but suggested that hydrophobic interactions at the air-water interface are more important than electrostatic interactions. RP-HPLC showed a large overlap between foam and liquid fractions. However, a small fraction of very hydrophobic peptides with relatively high average molecular mass was clearly enriched in the foam fraction. These peptides were also more concentrated in un-fractionated DH 2 hydrolysates, which had high FS, than in DH 6 hydrolysates, which had low FS. These peptides most likely play a key role in stabilizing the air-water interface. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dual-energy-X-ray imaging to measure phase volume fractions in a transient multiphase flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loewen, Eric Paul

1999-12-01

The objective of this research was to visualize the pre-mixing phase of a fuel-coolant interaction (FCI) by using combinations of high-speed cinematography and dual energy X-ray imaging to identify and quantify the spatial and temporal characteristics of the three FCI phases---metal (fuel), liquid (coolant water), and voids (generated steam). (1) The high-speed cinematography imaging subsystem and the low-energy X-ray imaging subsystem provided visual photographs and distinguished generated voids from water. (2) The high-energy X-Ray imaging subsystem provided additional discernment of metal from water and vapor. This is the first time that dynamic dual X-ray images have been provided with quantitative results. The data provide new information concerning the melt fractions, melt jet configuration, melt jet velocity, and qualitative spatial and temporal quantification of the pre-mixing event. This information provides new insight into the FCI phenomenon that could not have been deduced from visible-light imaging or other instrumentation such as thermocouples, void sensors, or pressure transmitters. Significant findings include: (1) the fuel column (molten Pb jet) penetrated deeply (<7 cm) into the coolant (water) while maintaining its columnar shape. (2) Energetic FCIs occurred (and were imaged) below the melt-coolant interface temperature equal to the homogenous nucleation temperature (310°C). (3) The molten jet breakup was observed to be caused by hydrodynamic forces. (4) The Pb/water thermal interaction zone was imaged over melt temperatures from 330°C to 640°C and coolant subcooling of 4°C to 80°C. (5) The interface regions between the molten Pb and coolant was observed to grow with decreasing coolant subcooling. This imaging process can be applied to further study of the FCI phenomena at other test facilities. It can also be applied for observation of other two- or three-phase flow phenomena previously opaque to conventional imaging systems.

Dielectric and Radiative Properties of Sea Foam at Microwave Frequencies: Conceptual Understanding of Foam Emissivity

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-27

papers. Anguelova [ 24 ] analyzed the available information to determine suitable formula to predict the complex permittivity of sea foam εf. Anguelova...active whitecaps. Whitecaps in their decaying phase are thinner and dimmer and are referred to as residual whitecaps. Anguelova [ 24 ] gives an extended...considered [ 24 ]. It was shown that various functional forms could represent the shape of the void fraction profile in the foam depth [25]. A review of

Analysis of the Hydrodynamics and Heat Transfer Aspects of Microgravity Two-Phase Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rezkallah, Kamiel S.

1996-01-01

Experimental results for void fractions, flow regimes, and heat transfer rates in two-phase, liquid-gas flows are summarized in this paper. The data was collected on-board NASA's KC-135 reduced gravity aircraft in a 9.525 mm circular tube (i.d.), uniformly heated at the outer surface. Water and air flows were examined as well as three glycerol/water solutions and air. Results are reported for the water-air data.

Analysis of flow reversal test

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, L.Y.; Tichler, P.R.

A series of tests has been conducted to measure the dryout power associated with a flow transient whereby the coolant in a heated channel undergoes a change in flow direction. An analysis of the test was made with the aid of a system code, RELAP5. A dryout criterion was developed in terms of a time-averaged void fraction calculated by RELAP5 for the heated channel. The dryout criterion was also compared with several CHF correlations developed for the channel geometry.

Non-homogeneous hybrid rocket fuel for enhanced regression rates utilizing partial entrainment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boronowsky, Kenny

A concept was developed and tested to enhance the performance and regression rate of hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), a commonly used hybrid rocket fuel. By adding small nodules of paraffin into the HTPB fuel, a non-homogeneous mixture was created resulting in increased regression rates. The goal was to develop a fuel with a simplified single core geometry and a tailorable regression rate. The new fuel would benefit from the structural stability of HTPB yet not suffer from the large void fraction representative of typical HTPB core geometries. Regression rates were compared between traditional HTPB single core grains, 85% HTPB mixed with 15% (by weight) paraffin cores, 70% HTPB mixed with 30% paraffin cores, and plain paraffin single core grains. Each fuel combination was tested at oxidizer flow rates, ranging from 0.9 - 3.3 g/s of gaseous oxygen, in a small scale hybrid test rocket and average regression rates were measured. While large uncertainties were present in the experimental setup, the overall data showed that the regression rate was enhanced as paraffin concentration increased. While further testing would be required at larger scales of interest, the trends are encouraging. Inclusion of paraffin nodules in the HTPB grain may produce a greater advantage than other more noxious additives in current use. In addition, it may lead to safer rocket motors with higher integrated thrust due to the decreased void fraction.

Pulsatile flow and mass transport over an array of cylinders: gas transfer in a cardiac-driven artificial lung.

PubMed

Chan, Kit Yan; Fujioka, Hideki; Bartlett, Robert H; Hirschl, Ronald B; Grotberg, James B

2006-02-01

The pulsatile flow and gas transport of a Newtonian passive fluid across an array of cylindrical microfibers are numerically investigated. It is related to an implantable, artificial lung where the blood flow is driven by the right heart. The fibers are modeled as either squared or staggered arrays. The pulsatile flow inputs considered in this study are a steady flow with a sinusoidal perturbation and a cardiac flow. The aims of this study are twofold: identifying favorable array geometry/spacing and system conditions that enhance gas transport; and providing pressure drop data that indicate the degree of flow resistance or the demand on the right heart in driving the flow through the fiber bundle. The results show that pulsatile flow improves the gas transfer to the fluid compared to steady flow. The degree of enhancement is found to be significant when the oscillation frequency is large, when the void fraction of the fiber bundle is decreased, and when the Reynolds number is increased; the use of a cardiac flow input can also improve gas transfer. In terms of array geometry, the staggered array gives both a better gas transfer per fiber (for relatively large void fraction) and a smaller pressure drop (for all cases). For most cases shown, an increase in gas transfer is accompanied by a higher pressure drop required to power the flow through the device.

Impact of modeling Choices on Inventory and In-Cask Criticality Calculations for Forsmark 3 BWR Spent Fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinez-Gonzalez, Jesus S.; Ade, Brian J.; Bowman, Stephen M.

2015-01-01

Simulation of boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel depletion poses a challenge for nuclide inventory validation and nuclear criticality safety analyses. This challenge is due to the complex operating conditions and assembly design heterogeneities that characterize these nuclear systems. Fuel depletion simulations and in-cask criticality calculations are affected by (1) completeness of design information, (2) variability of operating conditions needed for modeling purposes, and (3) possible modeling choices. These effects must be identified, quantified, and ranked according to their significance. This paper presents an investigation of BWR fuel depletion using a complete set of actual design specifications and detailed operational datamore » available for five operating cycles of the Swedish BWR Forsmark 3 reactor. The data includes detailed axial profiles of power, burnup, and void fraction in a very fine temporal mesh for a GE14 (10×10) fuel assembly. The specifications of this case can be used to assess the impacts of different modeling choices on inventory prediction and in-cask criticality, specifically regarding the key parameters that drive inventory and reactivity throughout fuel burnup. This study focused on the effects of the fidelity with which power history and void fraction distributions are modeled. The corresponding sensitivity of the reactivity in storage configurations is assessed, and the impacts of modeling choices on decay heat and inventory are addressed.« less

Air Layer Drag Reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceccio, Steven; Elbing, Brian; Winkel, Eric; Dowling, David; Perlin, Marc

2008-11-01

A set of experiments have been conducted at the US Navy's Large Cavitation Channel to investigate skin-friction drag reduction with the injection of air into a high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer. Testing was performed on a 12.9 m long flat-plate test model with the surface hydraulically smooth and fully rough at downstream-distance-based Reynolds numbers to 220 million and at speeds to 20 m/s. Local skin-friction, near-wall bulk void fraction, and near-wall bubble imaging were monitored along the length of the model. The instrument suite was used to access the requirements necessary to achieve air layer drag reduction (ALDR). Injection of air over a wide range of air fluxes showed that three drag reduction regimes exist when injecting air; (1) bubble drag reduction that has poor downstream persistence, (2) a transitional regime with a steep rise in drag reduction, and (3) ALDR regime where the drag reduction plateaus at 90% ± 10% over the entire model length with large void fractions in the near-wall region. These investigations revealed several requirements for ALDR including; sufficient volumetric air fluxes that increase approximately with the square of the free-stream speed, slightly higher air fluxes are needed when the surface tension is reduced, higher air fluxes are required for rough surfaces, and the formation of ALDR is sensitive to the inlet condition.

The ordering of symmetric diblock copolymers: A comparison of self-consistent-field and density functional approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nath, Shyamal K.; McCoy, John D.; Curro, John G.; Saunders, Randall S.

1997-02-01

Polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) based density functional (DF) theory is used to evaluate the structure and thermodynamics of structurally symmetric, freely jointed, diblock chains with 0.50 volume fraction. These results are compared to the results of self-consistent-field (SCF) theory. Agreement between the predictions of the SCF and DF theories is found for the lamella spacing well above the order-disorder transition (ODT) and for the qualitative behavior of the interfacial thickness as a function of both chain length and Flory-Huggins χ parameter. Disagreement is found for the magnitude of the interfacial thickness where DF theory indicates that the thickness is 1.7±0.2 times larger than that predicted by SCF theory. It appears that behavior on the monomer length scale is sensitive to system specific details which are neglected by SCF theory.

Runoff initiation from falling raindrops - comparison of smooth impervious surface and asphalt pavements. Effects of surface inclination and texture.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nezlobin, David; Pariente, Sarah; Lavee, Hanoch; Sachs, Eyal; Levenberg, Eyal

2017-04-01

The processes of runoff initiation on smooth impervious surfaces and various asphalt pavements are investigated in laboratory rain simulator experiments and outdoor sprinkling tests. Visual and FLIR observations indicate that runoff initiation is associated with coalescence of drop clusters on the surface and complex changes in micro-connectivity. Depending on surface inclination, several morphological regimes of flow initiation have been observed. In the case of very small inclination the runoff initiation is governed by critical merging of drop clusters on the surface and develops in broad flows (very abrupt, but delayed). For larger inclinations, the runoff occurs in rivulets or strongly directed flow threads. On asphalt pavements the runoff initiation is also strongly affected by pavement SVF (Surface Void Fraction), texture and even by the asphalt hydrophobicity. A simplified bi-level model of the pavement surface may explain principal differences in the runoff initiation on asphalts with small, intermediate and large SVF values. For small SVF (standard fresh asphalts) the runoff develops on the upper surface level, and filling of the surface voids is not always required (especially for the large inclinations). For intermediate SVF (considerably deteriorated asphalts) the runoff develops as well on the upper surface level, but only after considerable filling of the surface voids. Finally, on severely deteriorated asphalts (very large SVFs) the runoff develops on the "bottom" level of asphalt surface, after only partial filling of the surface voids. Other factors, such as drops splash and splitting, also affect the process of runoff initiation and explain rather considerable differences (sometimes of 2-3 mm rain depth) in the runoff thresholds on various non-porous asphalt pavements. Similar phenomena can be probably observed on certain types of rock outcrops.

Hyperuniformity, quasi-long-range correlations, and void-space constraints in maximally random jammed particle packings. I. Polydisperse spheres.

PubMed

Zachary, Chase E; Jiao, Yang; Torquato, Salvatore

2011-05-01

Hyperuniform many-particle distributions possess a local number variance that grows more slowly than the volume of an observation window, implying that the local density is effectively homogeneous beyond a few characteristic length scales. Previous work on maximally random strictly jammed sphere packings in three dimensions has shown that these systems are hyperuniform and possess unusual quasi-long-range pair correlations decaying as r(-4), resulting in anomalous logarithmic growth in the number variance. However, recent work on maximally random jammed sphere packings with a size distribution has suggested that such quasi-long-range correlations and hyperuniformity are not universal among jammed hard-particle systems. In this paper, we show that such systems are indeed hyperuniform with signature quasi-long-range correlations by characterizing the more general local-volume-fraction fluctuations. We argue that the regularity of the void space induced by the constraints of saturation and strict jamming overcomes the local inhomogeneity of the disk centers to induce hyperuniformity in the medium with a linear small-wave-number nonanalytic behavior in the spectral density, resulting in quasi-long-range spatial correlations scaling with r(-(d+1)) in d Euclidean space dimensions. A numerical and analytical analysis of the pore-size distribution for a binary maximally random jammed system in addition to a local characterization of the n-particle loops governing the void space surrounding the inclusions is presented in support of our argument. This paper is the first part of a series of two papers considering the relationships among hyperuniformity, jamming, and regularity of the void space in hard-particle packings.

Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) Dianiline as a Replacement for Toxic Methylenedianiline in PMR-15: Chemistry and Properties

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-22

POSS dinadic composite cross-section. Prior to aging, a few voids are seen in the matrix , but no cracks. After the same time aging as with the PMR-15...the composite , fiber and matrix , respectively; σc, σf, and σm are stress in the composite , fiber and matrix , respectively; Vf and Vm are volume...fraction of the fiber and matrix , respectively; Ec, Ef and Em are the moduli of the composite , fiber and matrix , respectively

Irradiation effects on multilayered W/ZrO2 film under 4 MeV Au ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongwei; Gao, Yuan; Fu, Engang; Yang, Tengfei; Xue, Jianming; Yan, Sha; Chu, Paul K.; Wang, Yugang

2014-12-01

Irradiation induced structural changes in multilayered W/ZrO2 nanocomposites with periodic bilayer thicknesses of (7/14 nm) and (70/140 nm) were investigated following Au+ ion irradiation. The samples were irradiated by 4 MeV Au ions with fluences ranging from 6 × 1014 to 1 × 1016 ions/cm2. The immiscible W/ZrO2 interfaces remained unchanged without intermixing of the layers upon the irradiation. No voids were observed in the samples with different periodic layer thicknesses. The XRD and XTEM studies reveal thickness dependent microstructural changes in the samples. W and ZrO2 grains in the thinner (7/14 nm) bilayer sample exhibit significant resistance to grain growth compared to the thicker (70/140 nm) bilayer sample as well as a W monolayer film. The high fraction of flat interfaces as well as grain boundaries in multilayer films plays a role in suppressing ion irradiation-induced grain growth and void formation.

Shock induced damage in copper: A before and after, three-dimensional study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menasche, David B.; Lind, Jonathan; Li, Shiu Fai; Kenesei, Peter; Bingert, John F.; Lienert, Ulrich; Suter, Robert M.

2016-04-01

We report on the microstructural features associated with the formation of incipient spall and damage in a fully recrystallized, high purity copper sample. Before and after ballistic shock loading, approximately 0.8 mm3 of the sample's crystal lattice orientation field is mapped using non-destructive near-field High Energy Diffraction Microscopy. Absorption contrast tomography is used to image voids after loading. This non-destructive interrogation of damage initiation allows for novel characterization of spall points vis-a-vis microstructural features and a fully 3D examination of microstructural topology and its influence on incipient damage. The spalled region is registered with and mapped back onto the pre-shock orientation field. As expected, the great majority of voids occur at grain boundaries and higher order microstructural features; however, we find no statistical preference for particular grain boundary types. The damaged region contains a large volume of Σ-3 (60 °<111 >) connected domains with a large area fraction of incoherent Σ-3 boundaries.

Structural features of immunostimulatory polysaccharide purified from pectinase hydrolysate of barley leaf.

PubMed

Kim, Hoon; Kwak, Bong-Shin; Hong, Hee-Do; Suh, Hyung-Joo; Shin, Kwang-Soon

2016-06-01

Four polysaccharide fractions were isolated from young barley leaves treated with or without pectinase followed by ethanol fractionation. Among the polysaccharide fractions, BLE-P isolated from pectinase digested with a high molecular weight had the most enhanced macrophage stimulatory activity, indicating that pectinase digestion of barley leaf is a useful method for enhancement of its activity. BLE-P was further purified by column chromatography to identify the chemical and structural properties. BLE-P-I eluted in void volume fraction showed potent macrophage stimulatory activity. Monosaccharide composition and linkage analysis indicated that at least three kinds of polysaccharide, that is, glucuronoarabinoxylan (GAX; 40-45%), rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) with branching mainly involving a type II arabinogalactan (AG-II) side chain (30-35%), and linear glucan such as starch and cellulose (less than 10%) coexisted in BLE-P-I. Given the association with macrophage stimulatory activity, it is likely that the GAX and to the RG-I polysaccharide branched with an AG-II side chain may be important for expression of the activity in barley leaf. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

β-lactoglobulin stabilized nanemulsions--Formulation and process factors affecting droplet size and nanoemulsion stability.

PubMed

Ali, Ali; Mekhloufi, Ghozlene; Huang, Nicolas; Agnely, Florence

2016-03-16

To avoid the toxicological concerns associated to synthetic surfactants, proteins might be an alternative for the stabilization of pharmaceutical nanoemulsions. The present study investigates the use of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) to stabilize oil in water biocompatible nanoemulsions intended for a pharmaceutical use and prepared by high pressure homogenization (HPH). The effects of composition (nature and weight fraction of oil, β-lg concentration) and of process parameters (pressure and number of cycles) on the droplet size and on the stability of nanoemulsions were thoroughly assessed. The nanoemulsions prepared with β-lg at 1 wt% and with 5 wt% Miglyol 812 (the oil with the lowest viscosity) displayed a relatively small particle size (about 200 nm) and a low polydispersity when a homogenization pressure of 100 MPa was applied for 4 cycles. These nanoemulsions were the most stable formulations over 30 days at least. Emulsification efficiency of β-lg was reduced at higher homogenization pressures (200 MPa and 300 MPa). The effect of HPH process on the interfacial properties of β-lg was evaluated by drop shape analysis. This treatment had an effect neither on the interfacial tension nor on the interfacial dilatational rheology of β-lg at the Miglyol 812/water interface. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Stabilization of Metal Oxide–Water Interfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McBriarty, Martin E.; von Rudorff, Guido Falk; Stubbs, Joanne E.

2017-02-08

The interaction of water with metal oxide surfaces plays a crucial role in the catalytic and geochemical behavior of metal oxides. In a vast majority of studies, the interfacial structure is assumed to arise from a relatively static lowest energy configuration of atoms, even at room temperature. Using hematite (α-Fe2O3) as a model oxide, we show through a direct comparison of in situ synchrotron X-ray scattering with density functional theory-based molecular dynamics simulations that the structure of the (1102) termination is dynamically stabilized by picosecond water exchange. Simulations show frequent exchanges between terminal aquo groups and adsorbed water in locationsmore » and with partial residence times consistent with experimentally determined atomic sites and fractional occupancies. Frequent water exchange occurs even for an ultrathin adsorbed water film persisting on the surface under a dry atmosphere. The resulting time-averaged interfacial structure consists of a ridged lateral arrangement of adsorbed water molecules hydrogen bonded to terminal aquo groups. Surface pKa prediction based on bond valence analysis suggests that water exchange will influence the proton-transfer reactions underlying the acid/base reactivity at the interface. Our findings provide important new insights for understanding complex interfacial chemical processes at metal oxide–water interfaces.« less

New insights into the pH-dependent interfacial adsorption of dog gastric lipase using the monolayer technique.

PubMed

Bénarouche, Anaïs; Point, Vanessa; Parsiegla, Goetz; Carrière, Frédéric; Cavalier, Jean-François

2013-11-01

The access to kinetic parameters of lipolytic enzyme adsorption onto lipids is essential for a better understanding of interfacial enzymology and lipase-lipid interactions. The interfacial adsorption of dog gastric lipase (DGL) was monitored as a function of pH and surface pressure (Π), independently from the catalytic activity, using non-hydrolysable 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC) monomolecular films. The acid-stable DGL, which initiates fat digestion in the stomach, was then selected because its adsorption kinetics onto hydrophobic solid surfaces were already studied. This gastric lipase was therefore used as a model enzyme to validate both experimental and theoretical approaches. Results show that the adsorption process of DGL at the lipid/water interface depends on a pH-dependent adsorption equilibrium coefficient which is optimum at pH 5.0 (K(Ads) = 1.7 ± 0.05 × 10(8)M(-1)). KAds values further allowed an indirect estimation of the molar fraction (ΦE*(%), mol%) as well as the molecular area (AE*) of DGL adsorbed onto DLPC monolayer. Based on these data, a model for DGL adsorption onto DLPC monolayer at pH 5.0 is proposed for a surface pressure range of 15-25 mNm(-1). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the thermodynamics of particle-stabilized emulsions: curvature effects and catastrophic phase inversion.

PubMed

Kralchevsky, P A; Ivanov, I B; Ananthapadmanabhan, K P; Lips, A

2005-01-04

The flexural properties of a particle adsorption monolayer are investigated theoretically. If the particles are not densely packed, the interfacial bending moment and the spontaneous curvature (due to the particles) are equal to zero. The situation changes if the particles are closely packed. Then the particle adsorption monolayer possesses a significant bending moment, and the interfacial energies of bending and dilatation become comparable. In this case, the bending energy can either stabilize or destabilize the Pickering emulsion, depending on whether the particle contact angle is smaller or greater than 90 degrees . Theoretical expressions are derived for the bending moment, for the curvature elastic modulus, and for the work of interfacial deformation and emulsification. The latter is dominated by the work for creation of a new oil-water interface and by the work for particle adsorption. The curvature effects give a contribution of second order, which is significant only for emulsification at 50:50 water/oil volume fractions. A thermodynamic criterion for the type of the formed emulsion is proposed. It predicts the existence of a catastrophic phase inversion in particle-stabilized emulsions, in agreement with the experimental observations. The derived theoretical expressions could find application for interpretation of experimental data on production and stability of Pickering emulsions.

Influence of Cholesterol on the Dynamics of Hydration in Phospholipid Bilayers.

PubMed

Elola, M Dolores; Rodriguez, Javier

2018-06-07

We investigate the dynamics of interfacial waters in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers upon the addition of cholesterol, by molecular dynamics simulations. Our data reveal that the inclusion of cholesterol modifies the membrane aqueous interfacial dynamics: waters diffuse faster, their rotational decay time is shorter, and the DPPC/water hydrogen bond dynamics relaxes faster than in the pure DPPC membrane. The observed acceleration of the translational water dynamics agrees with recent experimental results, in which, by means of NMR techniques, an increment of the surface water diffusivity is measured upon the addition of cholesterol. A microscopic analysis of the lipid/water hydrogen bond network at the interfacial region suggests that the mechanism underlying the observed water mobility enhancement is given by the rupture of a fraction of interlipid water bridge hydrogen bonds connecting two different DPPC molecules, concomitant to the formation of new lipid/solvent bonds, whose dynamics is faster than that of the former. The consideration of a simple two-state model for the decay of the hydrogen bond correlation function yielded excellent results, obtaining two well-separated characteristic time scales: a slow one (∼250 ps) associated with bonds linking two DPPC molecules, and a fast one (∼15 ps), related to DPPC/solvent bonds.

Heparin-binding growth factor isolated from human prostatic extracts.

PubMed

Mydlo, J H; Bulbul, M A; Richon, V M; Heston, W D; Fair, W R

1988-01-01

Prostatic tissue extracts from patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic carcinoma were fractionated using heparin-Sepharose chromatography. The mitogenic activity of eluted fractions on quiescent subconfluent Swiss Albino 3T3 fibroblasts was tested employing a tritiated-thymidine-incorporation assay. Two peaks of activity were consistently noted--one in the void volume and a second fraction which eluted with 1.3-1.6 M NaCl and contained the majority of the mitogenic activity. Both non-heparin- and heparin-binding fractions increased tritiated incorporation into a mouse osteoblast cell line (MC3T3), while only the heparin-binding fractions stimulated a human umbilical vein endothelial cell line (HUV). No increased uptake of thymidine was seen using a human prostatic carcinoma cell line (PC-3). Sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS/PAGE) of lyophilized active fractions showed a persistent band at 17,500 daltons. The purified protein demonstrated angiogenic properties using the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Western blot analysis using antibodies specific to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or acidic FGF (aFGF) demonstrated that the former, but not the latter, bound to prostatic growth factor (PrGF), and inhibited its mitogenic activity as well. It appears that PrGF shares homology with basic fibroblast growth factors.

Phenylethynyl Terminated Imide (PETI) Composites Made by High Temperature VARTM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chose, Sayata; Cano, Roberto J.; Britton, Sean M.; Watson, Kent A.; Jensen, Brian J.; Connell, John W.

2010-01-01

Fabrication of composite structures using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is generally more affordable than conventional autoclave techniques. Recent efforts have focused on adapting VARTM for the fabrication of high temperature composites. Due to their low melt viscosity and long melt stability, certain phenylethynyl terminated imides (PETI) can be processed into composites using high temperature VARTM (HT-VARTM). However, one of the disadvantages of the current HT-VARTM resin systems has been the high porosity of the resultant composites. For aerospace applications, a void fraction of <2% is desired. In the current study, two PETI resins, LARC. PETI-330 and LARC. PETI-8 have been used to fabricate test specimens using HT-VARTM. The resins were infused into carbon fiber preforms at 260 C and cured between 316 and 371 C. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. Modifications to the thermal cycle used in the laminate fabrication have reduced the void content significantly; typically .3% for carbon fiber biaxially woven fabric and less than 2% for carbon fiber uniaxial fabric. Mechanical properties (short beam shear and flexure) of the panels were determined at both room and elevated temperatures. The results of this work are presented herein. This paper is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.

Optical Properties of Al-Doped ZnO Films in the Infrared Region and Their Absorption Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Hua; Zhang, Rong-Jun; Li, Da-Hai; Chen, Xin; Wang, Song-You; Zheng, Yu-Xiang; Li, Meng-Jiao; Hu, Zhi-Gao; Dai, Ning; Chen, Liang-Yao

2018-05-01

The optical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were calculated rapidly and accurately by point-by-point analysis from spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) data. It was demonstrated that there were two different physical mechanisms, i.e., the interfacial effect and crystallinity, for the thickness-dependent permittivity in the visible and infrared regions. In addition, there was a blue shift for the effective plasma frequency of AZO when the thickness increased, and the effective plasma frequency did not exist for AZO ultrathin films (< 25 nm) in the infrared region, which demonstrated that AZO ultrathin films could not be used as a negative index metamaterial. Based on detailed permittivity research, we designed a near-perfect absorber at 2-5 μm by etching AZO-ZnO alternative layers. The alternative layers matched the phase of reflected light, and the void cylinder arrays extended the high absorption range. Moreover, the AZO absorber demonstrated feasibility and applicability on different substrates.

Mechanism of bonding and debonding using surface activated bonding method with Si intermediate layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeuchi, Kai; Fujino, Masahisa; Matsumoto, Yoshiie; Suga, Tadatomo

2018-04-01

Techniques of handling thin and fragile substrates in a high-temperature process are highly required for the fabrication of semiconductor devices including thin film transistors (TFTs). In our previous study, we proposed applying the surface activated bonding (SAB) method using Si intermediate layers to the bonding and debonding of glass substrates. The SAB method has successfully bonded glass substrates at room temperature, and the substrates have been debonded after heating at 450 °C, in which TFTs are fabricated on thin glass substrates for LC display devices. In this study, we conducted the bonding and debonding of Si and glass in order to understand the mechanism in the proposed process. Si substrates are also successfully bonded to glass substrates at room temperature and debonded after heating at 450 °C using the proposed bonding process. By the composition analysis of bonding interfaces, it is clarified that the absorbed water on the glass forms interfacial voids and cause the decrease in bond strength.

Effect of Environmental Exposures on Fatigue Life of P/M Disk Superalloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Draper, Susan

2011-01-01

As the temperature capability of Ni-base superalloy powder metallurgy disks is steadily increased, environmental resistance and protection of advanced nickel-based turbine disk components are becoming increasingly important. Localized surface hot corrosion attack and damage from oxidation have been shown to impair disk fatigue life and may eventually limit disk operating temperatures. NASA Research Announcement (NRA) contracts have been awarded to GE Aviation and Honeywell Aerospace to separately develop fatigue resistant metallic and ceramic coatings for corrosion resistance and the corrosion/fatigue results of selected coatings will be presented. The microstructural response of a bare ME3 disk superalloy has been evaluated for moderate (704 C) and aggressive (760-816 C) oxidizing exposures up to 2,020 hours. Cross section analysis reveals sub-surface damage (significant for aggressive exposures) that consists of Al2O3 "fingers", interfacial voids, a recrystallized precipitate-free layer and GB carbide dissolution. The effects of a Nichrome corrosion coating on this microstructural response will also be presented.

Flexible multiply towpreg and method of production therefor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muzzy, John D. (Inventor); Varughese, Babu (Inventor)

1992-01-01

This invention relates to an improved flexible towpreg and a method of production therefor. The improved flexible towpreg comprises a plurality of towpreg plies which comprise reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material; the reinforcing filaments being substantially wetout by the matrix forming material such that the towpreg plies are substantially void-free composite articles, and the towpreg plies having an average thickness less than about 100 microns. The method of production for the improved flexible towpreg comprises the steps of spreading the reinforcing filaments to expose individually substantially all of the reinforcing filaments; coating the reinforcing filaments with the matrix forming material in a manner causing interfacial adhesion of the matrix forming material to the reinforcing filaments; forming the towpreg plies by heating the matrix forming material contacting the reinforcing filaments until the matrix forming material liquefies and coats the reinforcing filaments; and cooling the towpreg plies in a manner such that substantial cohesion between neighboring towpreg plies is prevented until the matrix forming material solidifies.

Salting-out and multivalent cation precipitation of anionic surfactants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walker, R.D. Jr.; Keppel, R.A.; Cosper, M.B.

1981-02-01

In this surfactant/polymer flooding process, a carefully designed surfactant slug is injected into an oil-bearing formation with a view to reducing the oil/water interfacial tension substantially so as to facilitate mobilization of oil droplets trapped in the less accessible void spaces of the reservoir rock. When the surfactant comes into contact with reservoir brine, oil and rock, several phenomena can occur which result in loss of surfactant from the slug, i.e., salting-out of surfactant by NaCl, precipitation of insoluble soaps by multivalent cations such as calcium, partitioning to oil of both dissolved and precipitated surfactant, and adsorption of surfactant onmore » reservoir rock have been identified as important surfactant loss processes. This study presents some experimental data which illustrate the effects of salt and multivalent cations, identifies the mechanisms which are operative, and develops mathematical relationships which enable one to describe the behavior of surfactant systems when brought into contact with salt, multivalent cations, or both. 26 references.« less

Nano-confinement inside molecular metal oxide clusters: Dynamics and modified encapsulation behavior

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Zhe; Daemen, Luke L.; Cheng, Yongqiang

Encapsulation behavior, as well as the presence of internal catalytically-active sites, has been spurring the applications of a 3 nm hollow spherical metal oxide cluster {Mo 132} as an encapsulation host and a nano-reactor. Due to its well-defined and tunable cluster structures, and nano-scaled internal void space comparable to the volumes of small molecules, this cluster provides a good model to study the dynamics of materials under ultra-confinement. Neutron scattering studies suggest that bulky internal ligands inside the cluster show slower and limited dynamics compared to their counterparts in the bulk state, revealing the rigid nature of the skeleton ofmore » the internal ligands. Furthermore, NMR studies indicate that the rigid internal ligands that partially cover the interfacial pore on the molybdenum oxide shells are able to block some large guest molecules from going inside the capsule cluster, which provides a convincing protocol for size-selective encapsulation and separation.« less

Nano-confinement inside molecular metal oxide clusters: Dynamics and modified encapsulation behavior

DOE PAGES

Wang, Zhe; Daemen, Luke L.; Cheng, Yongqiang; ...

2016-08-19

Encapsulation behavior, as well as the presence of internal catalytically-active sites, has been spurring the applications of a 3 nm hollow spherical metal oxide cluster {Mo 132} as an encapsulation host and a nano-reactor. Due to its well-defined and tunable cluster structures, and nano-scaled internal void space comparable to the volumes of small molecules, this cluster provides a good model to study the dynamics of materials under ultra-confinement. Neutron scattering studies suggest that bulky internal ligands inside the cluster show slower and limited dynamics compared to their counterparts in the bulk state, revealing the rigid nature of the skeleton ofmore » the internal ligands. Furthermore, NMR studies indicate that the rigid internal ligands that partially cover the interfacial pore on the molybdenum oxide shells are able to block some large guest molecules from going inside the capsule cluster, which provides a convincing protocol for size-selective encapsulation and separation.« less

Flexible multiply towpreg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muzzy, John D. (Inventor); Varughese, Babu (Inventor)

1992-01-01

This invention relates to an improved flexible towpreg and a method of production therefor. The improved flexible towpreg comprises a plurality of towpreg plies which comprise reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material; the reinforcing filaments being substantially wetout by the matrix forming material such that the towpreg plies are substantially void-free composite articles, and the towpreg plies having an average thickness less than about 100 microns. The method of production for the improved flexible towpreg comprises the steps of spreading the reinforcing filaments to expose individually substantially all of the reinforcing filaments; coating the reinforcing filaments with the matrix forming material in a manner causing interfacial adhesion of the matrix forming material to the reinforcing filaments; forming the towpreg plies by heating the matrix forming material contacting the reinforcing filaments until the matrix forming material liquifies and coats the reinforcing filaments; and cooling the towpreg plies in a manner such that substantial cohesion between neighboring towpreg plies is prevented until the matrix forming material solidifies.

Crack blunting and the strength of soft elastic solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hui, C.-Y.; Jagota, A.; Bennison, S. J.; Londono, J. D.

2003-06-01

When a material is so soft that the cohesive strength (or adhesive strength, in the case of interfacial fracture) exceeds the elastic modulus of the material, we show that a crack will blunt instead of propagating. Large-deformation finite-element model (FEM) simulations of crack initiation, in which the debonding processes are quantified using a cohesive zone model, are used to support this hypothesis. An approximate analytic solution, which agrees well with the FEM simulation, gives additional insight into the blunting process. The consequence of this result on the strength of soft, rubbery materials is the main topic of this paper. We propose two mechanisms by which crack growth can occur in such blunted regions. We have also performed experiments on two different elastomers to demonstrate elastic blunting. In one system, we present some details on a void growth mechanism for ultimate failure, post-blunting. Finally, we demonstrate how crack blunting can shed light on some long-standing problems in the area of adhesion and fracture of elastomers.

The sparkling Universe: clustering of voids and void clumps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lares, Marcelo; Ruiz, Andrés N.; Luparello, Heliana E.; Ceccarelli, Laura; Garcia Lambas, Diego; Paz, Dante J.

2017-07-01

We analyse the clustering of cosmic voids using a numerical simulation and the main galaxy sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We take into account the classification of voids into two types that resemble different evolutionary modes: those with a rising integrated density profile (void-in-void mode or R-type) and voids with shells (void-in-cloud mode or S-type). The results show that voids of the same type have stronger clustering than the full sample. We use the correlation analysis to define void clumps, associations with at least two voids separated by a distance of at most the mean void separation. In order to study the spatial configuration of void clumps, we compute the minimal spanning tree and analyse their multiplicity, maximum length and elongation parameter. We further study the dynamics of the smaller sphere that enclose all the voids in each clump. Although the global densities of void clumps are different according to their member-void types, the bulk motions of these spheres are remarkably lower than those of randomly placed spheres with the same radius distribution. In addition, the coherence of pairwise void motions does not strongly depend on whether voids belong to the same clump. Void clumps are useful to analyse the large-scale flows around voids, since voids embedded in large underdense regions are mostly in the void-in-void regime, where the expansion of the larger region produces the separation of voids. Similarly, voids around overdense regions form clumps that are in collapse, as reflected in the relative velocities of voids that are mostly approaching.

Permeability and 3-Dimensional Melt Distribution in Partially Molten Rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Wen-Lu; Gaetani, Glenn; Fusseis, Florian

2010-05-01

Quantitative knowledge of the distribution of small amounts of silicate melt in peridotite and of its influence on permeability are critical to our understanding of melt migration and segregation processes in the upper mantle, as well as interpretations of the geochemical and geophysical observations at ocean ridges. For a system containing a single solid phase of isotropic interfacial energy, chemical and mechanical equilibrium requires a constant mean curvature of solid-melt interfaces and a single dihedral angle. Under these conditions, a simple power-law relationship between permeability, grain size and melt fraction, has been derived [e.g., von Bargen and Waff, 1986]. However, microstructural observations on texturally equilibrated, partially molten rocks reveal that the melt distribution is more complex than predicted by the isotropic model. Several factors, such as non-hydrostatic stress, anisotropic interfacial energy, or the presence of a second solid phase, will alter the power-law relationship. Better estimates for the permeability of partially molten rock require an accurate assessment of 3-dimensional melt distribution at the grain-scale. Existing studies of melt distribution, carried out on 2-D slices through experimental charges, have produced divergent models for melt distribution at small melt fractions. While some studies conclude that small amounts of melt are distributed primarily along 3-grain junctions [e.g., Wark et al., 2003], others predict an important role for melt distribution along grain boundaries at low melt fractions [e.g., Faul 1997]. Using X-ray synchrotron microtomography, we have carried out the first high quality non-destructive imaging of 3-dimensional melt distribution in experimentally equilibrated olivine-basalt aggregates [Zhu et al., 2009]. Microtomographic images of melt distribution were obtained on 1 mm cylindrical cores with melt fractions of 0.2, 0.1, and 0.02, at a spatial resolution of 0.7 microns. Textual information such as melt channel size and channel connectivity was determined using AVIZO and MATLAB. Our data indicate that as melt fraction decreases from 0.2 to 0.02, grain size increases slightly whereas melt interconnectivity decreases. Network modeling and the Lattice Boltzmann method provide a quantitative link between the macroscale transport properties and microscale melt distribtution. Incorporating our quantitative 3-D melt distribution data into these models allow us to simulate melt transport and, thereby, calculate the permeability and electrical conductivity of partially molten peridotite, especially at low melt fractions.

Photocurrent Cancellation Due to Barrier Asymmetry in GaAs/AlGaAs Heterostructure Infrared Detectors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

with previous work published on QWIP current mechanisms. The Barrier Workfunction and Collection Efficiency give the relevant values obtained by using...infrared photodetectors ( QWIPs ,) multiple quantum well (MQW,) and superlattice structures. 15 2.5.1 Heterojunction Interfacial Workfunction Internal...for aluminum fractions of x = 0.28, 0.37, and 0.57, respectively. Similar results were found previously14 by Tsai et. al. in GaAs/AlGaAs QWIPs

A combined Eulerian-volume of fraction-Lagrangian method for atomization simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seung, S. P.; Chen, C. P.; Ziebarth, John P.

1994-01-01

The tracking of free surfaces between liquid and gas phases and analysis of the interfacial phenomena between the two during the atomization and breakup process of a liquid fuel jet is modeled. Numerical modeling of liquid-jet atomization requires the resolution of different conservation equations. Detailed formulation and validation are presented for the confined dam broken problem, the water surface problem, the single droplet problem, a jet breakup problem, and the liquid column instability problem.

Unusual dewetting of thin polymer films in liquid media containing a poor solvent and a nonsolvent.

PubMed

Xu, Lin; Sharma, Ashutosh; Joo, Sang Woo; Liu, Hui; Shi, Tongfei

2014-12-16

We investigate the control of pattern size and kinetics in spontaneous dewetting of thin polymer films (polystyrene) that are stable to thermal annealing by annealing in a poor solvent (acetone)/nonsolvent (ethanol or n-hexane) liquid mixture. Dewetting occurs by the formation and growth of circular holes that coalesce to form droplets. The influence of the nature and the volume fraction of the nonsolvents on the contact angle of polymer droplets, number density of holes, and the kinetics of holes formation and growth is studied. Addition of ethanol greatly increases the hole density and slows down the kinetics substantially, while affecting only a small change in wettability. n-Hexane addition shows an interesting nonmonotonic response in decreasing the hole density and contact angle in the volume fraction range of 0-0.3 but an opposite effect beyond that. Although the two nonsolvents chosen cannot by themselves induce dewetting, their relative affinity for the solid substrate vis-à-vis acetone can strongly influence the observed dewetting scenarios that are not understood by the existing theoretical considerations. n-Hexane, for example, has great affinity for silicon substrate. In addition to the changes in wettability, viscosity, and film interfacial tension engendered by the nonsolvents, the possibility of the formation of adsorbed liquid layers at the substrate-polymer interface, which can modify the interfacial friction and slippage, needs to be considered.

Not just fractal surfaces, but surface fractal aggregates: Derivation of the expression for the structure factor and its applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besselink, R.; Stawski, T. M.; Van Driessche, A. E. S.; Benning, L. G.

2016-12-01

Densely packed surface fractal aggregates form in systems with high local volume fractions of particles with very short diffusion lengths, which effectively means that particles have little space to move. However, there are no prior mathematical models, which would describe scattering from such surface fractal aggregates and which would allow the subdivision between inter- and intraparticle interferences of such aggregates. Here, we show that by including a form factor function of the primary particles building the aggregate, a finite size of the surface fractal interfacial sub-surfaces can be derived from a structure factor term. This formalism allows us to define both a finite specific surface area for fractal aggregates and the fraction of particle interfacial sub-surfaces at the perimeter of an aggregate. The derived surface fractal model is validated by comparing it with an ab initio approach that involves the generation of a "brick-in-a-wall" von Koch type contour fractals. Moreover, we show that this approach explains observed scattering intensities from in situ experiments that followed gypsum (CaSO4 ṡ 2H2O) precipitation from highly supersaturated solutions. Our model of densely packed "brick-in-a-wall" surface fractal aggregates may well be the key precursor step in the formation of several types of mosaic- and meso-crystals.

Systematic Approach to Electrostatically Induced 2D Crystallization of Nanoparticles at Liquid Interfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fukuto, M.; Kewalramani, S.; Wang, S.

2011-02-07

We report an experimental demonstration of a strategy for inducing two-dimensional (2D) crystallization of charged nanoparticles on oppositely charged fluid interfaces. This strategy aims to maximize the interfacial adsorption of nanoparticles, and hence their lateral packing density, by utilizing a combination of weakly charged particles and a high surface charge density on the planar interface. In order to test this approach, we investigated the assembly of cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) on positively charged lipid monolayers at the aqueous solution surface, by means of in situ X-ray scattering measurements at the liquid-vapor interface. The assembly was studied as a function ofmore » the solution pH, which was used to vary the charge on CPMV, and of the mole fraction of the cationic lipid in the binary lipid monolayer, which set the interface charge density. The 2D crystallization of CPMV occurred in a narrow pH range just above the particle's isoelectric point, where the particle charge was weakly negative, and only when the cationic-lipid fraction in the monolayer exceeded a threshold. The observed 2D crystals exhibited nearly the same packing density as the densest lattice plane within the known 3D crystals of CPMV. The above electrostatic approach of maximizing interfacial adsorption may provide an efficient route to the crystallization of nanoparticles at aqueous interfaces.« less

Bonding of contemporary glass ionomer cements to dentin.

PubMed

Yip, H K; Tay, F R; Ngo, H C; Smales, R J; Pashley, D H

2001-09-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the microtensile bond strength (microTBS) of contemporary glass ionomer cements (GIC) to sound coronal dentin. Three specimen teeth were prepared for each material tested: Fuji IX GP (GC), ChemFlex (Dentsply) and Ketac-Molar Aplicap (ESPE). GIC buildups were made according to the manufacturers' instructions. After being stored at 37 degrees C, 100% humidity for 24h, the teeth were vertically sectioned into 1x1mm beams for microTBS evaluation. Representative fractured beams were prepared for scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination. Results of the microTBS test were: Fuji IX GP (12.4+/-8.6MPa), ChemFlex (15.0+/-9.3MPa) and Ketac-Molar Aplicap (11.4+/-7.7MPa). One-way ANOVA and a multiple comparison test showed that ChemFlex had a statistically higher microTBS (p<0.05). SEM fractographic analysis showed that the predominant failure modes were interfacial and mixed failures. The GIC side of the fractured beams revealed dehydration cracks, a high level of porosity, and voids with an eggshell-like crust. TEM analysis of the demineralized dentin sides of the fractured beams revealed the presence of an intermediate layer along the GIC-dentin interface. This zone was present on the fractured dentin surface in the case of interfacial failure, and beneath GIC remnants in specimens that exhibited a mixed failure mode. The findings suggest that the bonding of GIC to dentin is not weak and that the microTBS values probably represent the weak yield strengths of GICs under tension.

Simulation of Biomass Accumulation Pattern in Vapor-Phase Biofilters

PubMed Central

Xi, Jin-Ying; Hu, Hong-Ying; Zhang, Xian

2012-01-01

Abstract Existence of inert biomass and its impact on biomass accumulation patterns and biofilter performance were investigated. Four biofilters were set up in parallel to treat gaseous toluene. Each biofilter operated under different inlet toluene loadings for 100 days. Two microbial growth models, one with an inert biomass assumption and the other without, were established and compared. Results from the model with the inert biomass assumption showed better agreement with the experimental data than those based on the model without the inert biomass assumption thus verifying that inert biomass accumulation cannot be ignored in the long-term operation of biofilters. According to the model with an inert biomass assumption, the ratio of active biomass to total biomass will decrease and the inert biomass will become dominant in total biomass after a period of time. Filter bed structure simulation results showed that the void fraction is more sensitive to biomass accumulation than the specific surface area. The final void fraction of the biofilters with the highest inlet toluene loading is only 67% of its initial level while the final specific surface area is 82%. Identification and quantification of inert biomass will give a better understanding of biomass accumulation in biofilters and will result in a more exact simulation of biomass change during long-term operations. Results also indicate that an ideal biomass control technique should be able to remove most inert biomass while simultaneously preserving as much active biomass as possible. PMID:22693411

A fundamental study on the structural integrity of magnesium alloys joined by friction stir welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Harish Mangebettu

The goal of this research is to study the factors that influence the physical and mechanical properties of lap-shear joints produced using friction stir welding. This study focuses on understanding the effect of tool geometry and weld process parameters including the tool rotation rate, tool plunge depth and dwell time on the mechanical performance of similar magnesium alloy and dissimilar magnesium to aluminum alloy weld joints. A variety of experimental activities were conducted including tensile and fatigue testing, fracture surface and failure analysis, microstructure characterization, hardness measurements and chemical composition analysis. An investigation on the effect of weld process conditions in friction stir spot welding of magnesium to magnesium produced in a manner that had a large effective sheet thickness and smaller interfacial hook height exhibited superior weld strength. Furthermore, in fatigue testing of friction stir spot welded of magnesium to magnesium alloy, lap-shear welds produced using a triangular tool pin profile exhibited better fatigue life properties compared to lap-shear welds produced using a cylindrical tool pin profile. In friction stir spot welding of dissimilar magnesium to aluminum, formation of intermetallic compounds in the stir zone of the weld had a dominant effect on the weld strength. Lap-shear dissimilar welds with good material mixture and discontinues intermetallic compounds in the stir zone exhibited superior weld strength compared to lap-shear dissimilar welds with continuous formation of intermetallic compounds in the stir zone. The weld structural geometry like the interfacial hook, hook orientation and bond width also played a major role in influencing the weld strength of the dissimilar lap-shear friction stir spot welds. A wide scatter in fatigue test results was observed in friction stir linear welds of aluminum to magnesium alloys. Different modes of failure were observed under fatigue loading including crack propagation into the top sheet, into the bottom sheet, and interfacial separation. Investigation of the tested welds revealed that the voids in the weld nugget reduced the weld strength, resulting in lower fatigue life. A thin layer of IMCs formed along the faying surface which accelerated the fatigue failure.

The Upper Limit of Energy Density of Nanoporous Materials Functionalized Liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Aijie; Punyamurtula, Venkata K.; Kim, Taewan; Qiao, Yu

2008-06-01

In this article, we report the experimental result of energy dissipation of a mobil crystalline material (MCM) 41 in mercury. The MCM41 contains a large volume fraction of nanometer-sized pores. As the applied pressure is relatively high, the nanopore surfaces are exposed to mercury. Due to the large nanopore surface area and the large solid-liquid interfacial tension, the energy dissipation effectiveness of this system is ultrahigh, representing the upper limit that can be achieved by the pressure-induced infiltration technique.

Inclusion models of tensile fracture in fiber-reinforced brittle-matrix composites. Ph.D. Thesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsai, W.

1993-12-31

Inclusion models of tensile fracture in fiber-reinforced brittle-matrix composites are proposed in this study. Three stages of matrix cracking including initiation of microcracks, propagation of a bridged crack and multiplication of periodic cracks are modeled using the unique approach - Eshelby`s equivalent inclusion method. Moreover, the interfacial debonding may occur during matrix cracking and is taken into account by the present analysis. After interfacial debonding initiates, the fiber slides against the friction which is assumed to be constant in chapter 2 and chapter 3. However, the fiber-matrix interfaces are assumed to be Coulomb`s friction controlled in chapter 4. Energy releasemore » rate and crack resistance are obtained analytically. From the fracture criterion, the equivalence of energy release rate and crack resistance, the critical applied stress is also obtained. On the critical applied stress the effects of material parameters such as interfacial frictional stress, interfacial surface energy, volume fraction of fibers, misfit strain are evaluated. These evaluations are important for the purpose of material design. Finally, it is attempted in chapter 5 to solve the crack-inhomogeneity interaction problem inhomogeneities. First, the formulation of two inhomogeneities without overlapping is derived in detail. When one of the inhomogeneities is the penny-shape crack and the other one is the ellipsoidal inhomogeneity, the interaction energy between the crack and the applied stress and the energy release rate of the crack are evaluated. Based on the framework of this chapter, one can deal with the real configuration including many inhomogeneities in the similar way. Also, the misfit strains due to thermal mismatch, phase transformation et al. can be included in the present analysis with no difficulty.« less

Failure Resistance of Fiber-Reinforced Ultra-High Performance Concrete (FRUHPC) Subjected to Blast Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellis, Brett; Zhou, Min; McDowell, David

2011-06-01

As part of a hierarchy-based computational materials design program, a fully dynamic 3D mesoscale model is developed to quantify the effects of energy storage and dissipation mechanisms in Fiber-Reinforced Ultra-High Performance Concretes (FRUHPCs) subjected to blast loading. This model accounts for three constituent components: reinforcement fibers, cementitious matrix, and fiber-matrix interfaces. Microstructure instantiations encompass a range of fiber volume fraction (0-2%), fiber length (10-15 mm), and interfacial bonding strength (1-100 MPa). Blast loading with scaled distances between 5 and 10 m/kg1/3 are considered. Calculations have allowed the delineation and characterization of the evolutions of kinetic energy, strain energy, work expended on interfacial damage and failure, frictional dissipation along interfaces, and bulk dissipation through granular flow as functions of microstructure, loading and constituent attributes. The relations obtained point out avenues for designing FRUHPCs with properties tailored for specific load environments and reveal trade-offs between various design scenarios.

Polydispersity-Driven Block Copolymer Amphiphile Self-Assembly into Prolate-Spheroid Micelles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schmitt, Andrew L.; Repollet-Pedrosa, Milton H.; Mahanthappa, Mahesh K.

The aqueous self-assembly behavior of polydisperse poly(ethylene oxide-b-1,4-butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) (OBO) macromolecular triblock amphiphiles is examined to discern the implications of continuous polydispersity in the hydrophobic block on the resulting aqueous micellar morphologies of otherwise monodisperse polymer surfactants. The chain length polydispersity and implicit composition polydispersity of these samples furnishes a distribution of preferred interfacial curvatures, resulting in dilute aqueous block copolymer dispersions exhibiting coexisting spherical and rod-like micelles with vesicles in a single sample with a O weight fraction, w{sub O}, of 0.18. At higher w{sub O} = 0.51-0.68, the peak in the interfacial curvature distribution shifts and we observemore » the formation of only American football-shaped micelles. We rationalize the formation of these anisotropically shaped aggregates based on the intrinsic distribution of preferred curvatures adopted by the polydisperse copolymer amphiphiles and on the relief of core block chain stretching by chain-length-dependent intramicellar segregation.« less

Improving the chemical compatibility of sealing glass for solid oxide fuel cells: Blocking the reactive species by controlled crystallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Teng; Zou, Qi; Zeng, Fanrong; Wang, Shaorong; Tang, Dian; Yang, Hiswen

2012-10-01

The chemical compatibility of sealing glass is of great importance for Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). In this work, the interfacial reaction between sealing glass and Cr-containing interconnect alloy is characterized by reacting Cr2O3 powders with a representative SrO-containing glass crystallized by different heat-treatment schedules. The crystalline structure and crystalline content of sealing glass are determined by X-ray diffraction. The results show that the fraction of Cr6+ decreases from 39.8 ± 1.9% for quenched glass to 8.2 ± 0.4% for glass crystallized at 900 °C for 2 h. In addition, the interfacial reaction can be further reduced with increasing crystallization temperature and time as well as the addition of nucleation agent (TiO2). The formation of some Sr-containing crystalline phases, Sr2SiO4 and Sr(TiO3), contributes to the improvement of chemical compatibility of sealing glass, in agreement with the results of thermodynamic calculations.

Enhanced emulsifying properties of wood-based cellulose nanocrystals as Pickering emulsion stabilizer.

PubMed

Gong, Xiaoyu; Wang, Yixiang; Chen, Lingyun

2017-08-01

Cellulose nanocrystals are hydrophilic nanomaterials, which limits their applications as interfacial compounds. Herein, we propose using modified wood-based cellulose nanocrystals as Pickering emulsion stabilizer. Wood cellulose was consecutively oxidized and modified with phenyltrimethylammonium chloride to create hydrophobic domains comprised of phenyl groups. These modified oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (m-O-CNCs) were homogeneous/electrostatically stable in water and they can stabilize O/W Pickering emulsions. The dispersed phase volume fraction (DPVF) of the Pickering emulsion was 0.7 at around 1.5g/L, whereas the tween-20 control needed a 13-fold greater concentration to have a similar DPVR. In addition, these m-O-CNC stabilized Pickering emulsions also showed good mechanical and thermal stability against centrifugation and heat, as well as size controllability. In terms of stability, size controllability, surfactant-free status, these m-O-CNCs possess superior and enhanced emulsifying properties. Future research for these new interfacial materials have potential in applications, for personal care, cosmetic and pharmaceutic industries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The sudden coalescene model of the boiling crisis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carrica, P.M.; Clausse, A.

1995-09-01

A local two-phase flow integral model of nucleate boiling and crisis is presented. The model is based on average balances on a control volume, yielding to a set of three nonlinear differential equations for the local void fraction, bubble number density and velocity. Boiling crisis as critical heat flux is interpreted as a dynamic transition caused by the coalescence of bubbles near the heater. The theoretical dynamic model is compared with experimental results obtained for linear power ramps in a horizontal plate heater in R-113, showing an excellent qualitative agreement.

Ultrasonic evaluation of the strength of unidirectional graphite-polyimide composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vary, A.; Bowles, K. J.

1977-01-01

An acoustic-ultrasonic method is described that was successful in ranking unidirectional graphite-polyimide composite specimens according to variations in interlaminar shear strength. Using this method, a quantity termed the stress wave factor was determined. It was found that this factor increases directly with interlaminar shear strength. The key variables in this investigation were composite density, fiber weight fraction, and void content. The stress wave factor and other ultrasonic factors that were studied were found to provide a powerful means for nondestructive evaluation of mechanical strength properties.

Fiber optic sensors; Proceedings of the Meeting, Cannes, France, November 26, 27, 1985

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arditty, Herve J. (Editor); Jeunhomme, Luc B. (Editor)

1986-01-01

The conference presents papers on distributed sensors and sensor networks, signal processing and detection techniques, temperature measurements, chemical sensors, and the measurement of pressure, strain, and displacements. Particular attention is given to optical fiber distributed sensors and sensor networks, tactile sensing in robotics using an optical network and Z-plane techniques, and a spontaneous Raman temperature sensor. Other topics include coherence in optical fiber gyroscopes, a high bandwidth two-phase flow void fraction fiber optic sensor, and a fiber-optic dark-field microbend sensor.

Core Formation: an Experimental Study of Metallic Melt-Silicate Segregation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herpfer, M. A.; Larimer, J. W.

1993-07-01

To a large extent, the question of how metallic cores form reduces to the problem of understanding the surface tension between metallic melts and silicates [1]. This problem was addressed by performing experiments to determine the surface tensions between metallic melts with variable S contents and the silicate phases (olivine and orthopyroxene) expected in planetary mantles. The experiments were conducted in a piston-cylinder apparatus at P = 1GPa and T = 1250-1450 degrees C. Textural and chemical equilibration was confirmed in several ways: theoretical estimates were checked by conducting a series of experiments at progressively longer times (up to 72 hrs) until phase composition and dihedral angle ceased to change and the distribution of measured "apparent" angles matched the standard cumulative frequency curve. The dihedral "wetting" angles (theta) were measured from high resolution photomicrgraphs using a 10X optical protractor; 100-400 measurements were made for most experiments. The dihedral angle is related to the ratio of interfacial energies: gamma(sub)ss/gamma(sub)sl = 2 cos(theta/2), where gamma(sub)ss and gamma(sub)sl are the interfacial energies between solid-solid and liquid-solid. Since data exist for the pertinent solid-solid energies, the liquid-solid interfacial energies can be computed from measured theta values. However, the important relations are best expressed in terms of theta values. The extent to which a melt is interconnected along grain boundaries, and hence able to flow and segregate depends on the value of theta and the fraction of melt present. When theta < 60 degrees, the liquid can be interconnected at all melt fractions but when theta > 60 degrees, the melt fraction must be at least 1 vol% and increses as theta increases. Actually there is a predicted effect, analogous to a hysteresis effect, where for a given theta value the amount of melt that needs to be added for interconnection is greater than the amount left when the melt disconnects (pinches off). In our experiments, where dense metallic melt drained away, the disconnect theta values match the theoretical predictions. The composition of the metallic melt in the experiments was varied from stoichiometric FeS to Fe/S ratios near the the eutectic and on to more Fe rich compositons. The theta values vary in a systematic manner; for example, for melts in contact with olivine at 1300 degrees C the theta values range from 67 degrees for FeS to 55 degrees at the eutectic and back toward higher values at higher Fe contents. Theoretical considerations indicate that eutectic compositions are expected to have the lowest theta values, just as observed. The theta values indicate that melts with eutectic composition can interconnect and segregate at 1-2 vol% melt fraction at 1300 degrees C. Some previous estimates of the melt fraction required for interconnection are much higher [2,3], but the inferences were drawn from experiments that were not designed to test for textural equilibrium, fraction of melt present, etc. The present experiments clearly show that metallic melts can readily segregate from solid silicates. Simple extrapolations to other phases, compositions and PT conditions provide a rather complete picture of how the "plumbing" worked in the mantles of planetary objects during the initial stages of core segregation. References: [1] Stevenson D. J. (1990) In Origin of the Earth, 231-249. [2] Taylor G. J. (1989) LPSC XX, 1109. [3] Walker D. and Agee C. B. Meteor. 23, 81-91.

Lightweight Concrete Produced Using a Two-Stage Casting Process.

PubMed

Yoon, Jin Young; Kim, Jae Hong; Hwang, Yoon Yi; Shin, Dong Kyu

2015-03-25

The type of lightweight aggregate and its volume fraction in a mix determine the density of lightweight concrete. Minimizing the density obviously requires a higher volume fraction, but this usually causes aggregates segregation in a conventional mixing process. This paper proposes a two-stage casting process to produce a lightweight concrete. This process involves placing lightweight aggregates in a frame and then filling in the remaining interstitial voids with cementitious grout. The casting process results in the lowest density of lightweight concrete, which consequently has low compressive strength. The irregularly shaped aggregates compensate for the weak point in terms of strength while the round-shape aggregates provide a strength of 20 MPa. Therefore, the proposed casting process can be applied for manufacturing non-structural elements and structural composites requiring a very low density and a strength of at most 20 MPa.

Hydrogen bonds, interfacial stiffness moduli, and the interlaminar shear strength of carbon fiber-epoxy matrix composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cantrell, John H., E-mail: john.h.cantrell@nasa.gov

2015-03-15

The chemical treatment of carbon fibers used in carbon fiber-epoxy matrix composites greatly affects the fraction of hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) formed at the fiber-matrix interface. The H-bonds are major contributors to the fiber-matrix interfacial shear strength and play a direct role in the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of the composite. The H-bond contributions τ to the ILSS and magnitudes K{sub N} of the fiber-matrix interfacial stiffness moduli of seven carbon fiber-epoxy matrix composites, subjected to different fiber surface treatments, are calculated from the Morse potential for the interactions of hydroxyl and carboxyl acid groups formed on the carbon fiber surfacesmore » with epoxy receptors. The τ calculations range from 7.7 MPa to 18.4 MPa in magnitude, depending on fiber treatment. The K{sub N} calculations fall in the range (2.01 – 4.67) ×10{sup 17} N m{sup −3}. The average ratio K{sub N}/|τ| is calculated to be (2.59 ± 0.043) × 10{sup 10} m{sup −1} for the seven composites, suggesting a nearly linear connection between ILSS and H-bonding at the fiber-matrix interfaces. The linear connection indicates that τ may be assessable nondestructively from measurements of K{sub N} via a technique such as angle beam ultrasonic spectroscopy.« less

Comparison between wire mesh sensor and gamma densitometry void measurements in two-phase flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharaf, S.; Da Silva, M.; Hampel, U.; Zippe, C.; Beyer, M.; Azzopardi, B.

2011-10-01

Wire mesh sensors (WMS) are fast imaging instruments that are used for gas-liquid and liquid-liquid two-phase flow measurements and experimental investigations. Experimental tests were conducted at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf to test both the capacitance and conductance WMS against a gamma densitometer (GD). A small gas-liquid test facility was utilized. This consisted of a vertical round pipe approximately 1 m in length, and 50 mm internal diameter. A 16 × 16 WMS was used with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Air-deionized water was the two-phase mixture. The gas superficial velocity was varied between 0.05 m s-1 and 1.4 m s-1 at two liquid velocities of 0.2 and 0.7 m s-1. The GD consisted of a collimated source and a collimated detector. The GD was placed on a moving platform close to the plane of wires of the sensor, in order to align it accurately using a counter mechanism, with each of the wires of the WMS, and the platform could scan the full section of the pipe. The WMS was operated as a conductivity WMS for a half-plane with eight wires and as a capacitance WMS for the other half. For the cross-sectional void (time and space averaged), along each wire, there was good agreement between WMS and the GD chordal void fraction near the centre of the pipe.

Study on process and characterization of high-temperature resistance polyimide composite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pan, Ling-Ying; Zhao, Wei-Dong; Liu, Han-Yang

2016-05-18

A novel polyimide composite with upper-use temperature of 420°C was prepared by autoclave process. The thermogravimetic analysis and rheological properties of uncured polyimide resin powders were analyzed. The influences of process parameters and post-treatment process on the properties of composites were also investigated. The morphologies of polyimide composites after shear fracture were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The high-temperature resistance of composite was characterized by dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA). Results showed that the imidization reaction mainly occurred in the temperature range of 100°C~220°C, and the largest weight loss rate appearing at 145°C indicated a drastic imidization reaction occurred.more » The melt viscosity of polyimide resin decreased with increasing the temperature between 220°C ∼305°C, and then increased with the increase of temperature due to the molecular crosslinking reactions. The fiber volume contents and void contents could be effectively controlled by applying the pressure step by step. The fiber volume content was sensitive to the initial pressure (P{sub i}) during the imidization. The second-stage pressure (P{sub 2}) and the temperature for applying the P{sub 2} (T{sub 2}) during the imidization had a great effect on the void content of composite. Good mechanical properties and interfacial adhesion of polyimide composite could obtain by optimized process. The post-treatment process can obviously increase the high-temperature resistance of polyimide composite. The polyimide composite treated at 420°C exhibited good retention of mechanical properties at 420°C and had a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 456°C. The retentions of flexible strength, flexible modulus and short beam shear strength of polyimide composite at 420°C were 65%, 84% and 62% respectively.« less

Prediction of a Densely Loaded Particle-Laden Jet using a Euler-Lagrange Dense Spray Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pakseresht, Pedram; Apte, Sourabh V.

2017-11-01

Modeling of a dense spray regime using an Euler-Lagrange discrete-element approach is challenging because of local high volume loading. A subgrid cluster of droplets can lead to locally high void fractions for the disperse phase. Under these conditions, spatio-temporal changes in the carrier phase volume fractions, which are commonly neglected in spray simulations in an Euler-Lagrange two-way coupling model, could become important. Accounting for the carrier phase volume fraction variations, leads to zero-Mach number, variable density governing equations. Using pressure-based solvers, this gives rise to a source term in the pressure Poisson equation and a non-divergence free velocity field. To test the validity and predictive capability of such an approach, a round jet laden with solid particles is investigated using Direct Numerical Simulation and compared with available experimental data for different loadings. Various volume fractions spanning from dilute to dense regimes are investigated with and without taking into account the volume displacement effects. The predictions of the two approaches are compared and analyzed to investigate the effectiveness of the dense spray model. Financial support was provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Effect of maleic anhydride treatment on the mechanical properties of sansevieria fiber/vinyl ester composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradipta, Rangga; Mardiyati, Steven, Purnomo, Ikhsan

2017-03-01

Sanseviera trifasciata commonly called mother-in-law tongue also known as snake plant is native to Indonesia, India and Africa. Sansevieria is a new fiber in composite research and has showed promising properties as reinforcement material in polymer matrix composites. Chemical treatment on reinforcing fiber is crucial to reduce hydrophilic tendency and thus improve compatibility with the matrix. In this study, effect of maleic anhydride as chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of Sansevieria fiber/vinyl ester composite was investigated. Sansevieria fibers were immersed by using NaOH 3% for two hours at 100°C and then treated by using maleic anhydrate for two hours at 120°C. Composites were prepared by solution casting with various volume fractions of fiber; 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%. Actual density, volume fraction of void and mechanical properties of composite were conducted according to ASTM standard testing methods D792, D3171 and D3039. It was found that mechanical properties of composites increased as volume fractions of fiber was increased. The highest tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of composites were 57.45 MPa and 3.47 GPa respectively, obtained from composites with volume fraction of fiber 10%.

Adaptive composites with embedded NiTiCu wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balta-Neumann, J. Antonio; Michaud, Veronique J.; Parlinska, Magdelena; Gotthardt, Rolf; Manson, Jan-Anders E.

2001-07-01

Adaptive composites have been produced by embedding prestrained shape memory alloy (SMA) wires into an epoxy matrix, reinforced with aramid fibers. These materials demonstrate attractive effects such as shape change or a shift in the vibration frequency upon activation. When heated above their transformation temperature, the wires' strain recovery is confined, and recovery stresses are generated. As a result, if the wires are placed along the neutral axis of a composite beam, a shift in resonance vibration frequency can be observed. To optimize the design of such composites, the matrix - SMA wire interfacial shear strength has been analyzed with the pull out testing technique. It is shown that the nature of the wire surface influences the interfacial shear strength, and that satisfactory results are obtained for SMA wires with a thin oxide layer. Composite samples consisting of two different types of pre- strained NiTiCu wires embedded in either pure epoxy matrix or Kevlar-epoxy matrix were produced. The recovery force and vibration response of composites were measured in a clamped-clamped configuration, to assess the effect of wire type and volume fraction. The results are highly reproducible in all cases with a narrow hysteresis loop, which makes NiTiCu wires good candidates for adaptive composites. The recovery forces increase with the volume fraction of the embedded wires, are higher when the wires are embedded in a low CTE matrix and, at a given temperature, are higher when the wire transformation temperature is lower.

The evolution of voids in the adhesion approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahni, Varun; Sathyaprakah, B. S.; Shandarin, Sergei F.

1994-08-01

We apply the adhesion approximation to study the formation and evolution of voids in the universe. Our simulations-carried out using 1283 particles in a cubical box with side 128 Mpc-indicate that the void spectrum evolves with time and that the mean void size in the standard Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE)-normalized cold dark matter (CDM) model with H50 = 1 scals approximately as bar D(z) = bar Dzero/(1+2)1/2, where bar Dzero approximately = 10.5 Mpc. Interestingly, we find a strong correlation between the sizes of voids and the value of the primordial gravitational potential at void centers. This observation could in principle, pave the way toward reconstructing the form of the primordial potential from a knowledge of the observed void spectrum. Studying the void spectrum at different cosmological epochs, for spectra with a built in k-space cutoff we find that the number of voids in a representative volume evolves with time. The mean number of voids first increases until a maximum value is reached (indicating that the formation of cellular structure is complete), and then begins to decrease as clumps and filaments erge leading to hierarchical clustering and the subsequent elimination of small voids. The cosmological epoch characterizing the completion of cellular structure occurs when the length scale going nonlinear approaches the mean distance between peaks of the gravitaional potential. A central result of this paper is that voids can be populated by substructure such as mini-sheets and filaments, which run through voids. The number of such mini-pancakes that pass through a given void can be measured by the genus characteristic of an individual void which is an indicator of the topology of a given void in intial (Lagrangian) space. Large voids have on an average a larger measure than smaller voids indicating more substructure within larger voids relative to smaller ones. We find that the topology of individual voids is strongly epoch dependent, with void topologies generally simplifying with time. This means that as voids grow older they become progressively more empty and have less structure within them. We evaluate the genus measure both for individual voids as well as for the entire ensemble of voids predicted by CDM model. As a result we find that the topology of voids when taken together with the void spectrum is a very useful statistical indicator of the evolution of the structure of the universe on large scales.

The evolution of voids in the adhesion approximation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sahni, Varun; Sathyaprakah, B. S.; Shandarin, Sergei F.

1994-01-01

We apply the adhesion approximation to study the formation and evolution of voids in the universe. Our simulations-carried out using 128(exp 3) particles in a cubical box with side 128 Mpc-indicate that the void spectrum evolves with time and that the mean void size in the standard Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE)-normalized cold dark matter (CDM) model with H(sub 50) = 1 scals approximately as bar D(z) = bar D(sub zero)/(1+2)(exp 1/2), where bar D(sub zero) approximately = 10.5 Mpc. Interestingly, we find a strong correlation between the sizes of voids and the value of the primordial gravitational potential at void centers. This observation could in principle, pave the way toward reconstructing the form of the primordialpotential from a knowledge of the observed void spectrum. Studying the void spectrum at different cosmological epochs, for spectra with a built in k-space cutoff we find that the number of voids in a representative volume evolves with time. The mean number of voids first increases until a maximum value is reached (indicating that the formation of cellular structure is complete), and then begins to decrease as clumps and filaments erge leading to hierarchical clustering and the subsequent elimination of small voids. The cosmological epoch characterizing the completion of cellular structure occurs when the length scale going nonlinear approaches the mean distance between peaks of the gravitaional potential. A central result of this paper is that voids can be populated by substructure such as mini-sheets and filaments, which run through voids. The number of such mini-pancakes that pass through a given void can be measured by the genus characteristic of an individual void which is an indicator of the topology of a given void in intial (Lagrangian) space. Large voids have on an average a larger measure than smaller voids indicating more substructure within larger voids relative to smaller ones. We find that the topology of individual voids is strongly epoch dependent, with void topologies generally simplifying with time. This means that as voids grow older they become progressively more empty and have less structure within them. We evaluate the genus measure both for individual voids as well as for the entire ensemble of voids predicted by CDM model. As a result we find that the topology of voids when taken together with the void spectrum is a very useful statistical indicator of the evolution of the structure of the universe on large scales.

Advances in Chemical and Structural Characterization of Concretion with Implications for Modeling Marine Corrosion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Donald L.; DeAngelis, Robert J.; Medlin, Dana J.; Carr, James D.; Conlin, David L.

2014-05-01

The Weins number model and concretion equivalent corrosion rate methodology were developed as potential minimum-impact, cost-effective techniques to determine corrosion damage on submerged steel structures. To apply the full potential of these technologies, a detailed chemical and structural characterization of the concretion (hard biofouling) that transforms into iron bearing minerals is required. The fractions of existing compounds and the quantitative chemistries are difficult to determine from x-ray diffraction. Environmental scanning electron microscopy was used to present chemical compositions by means of energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). EDS demonstrates the chemical data in mapping format or in point or selected area chemistries. Selected-area EDS data collection at precise locations is presented in terms of atomic percent. The mechanism of formation and distribution of the iron-bearing mineral species at specific locations will be presented. Based on water retention measurements, porosity in terms of void volume varies from 15 v/o to 30 v/o (vol.%). The void path displayed by scanning electron microscopy imaging illustrates the tortuous path by which oxygen migrates in the water phase within the concretion from seaside to metalside.

Deformation behaviour of Rheocast A356 Al alloy at microlevel considering approximated RVEs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, Sk. Tanbir; Das, Prosenjit; Das, Santanu

2015-03-01

A micromechanical approach is considered here to predict the deformation behaviour of Rheocast A356 (Al-Si-Mg) alloy. Two representative volume elements (RVEs) are modelled in the finite element (FE) framework. Two dimensional approximated microstructures are generated assuming elliptic grains, based on the grain size, shape factor and area fraction of the primary Al phase of the said alloy at different processing condition. Plastic instability is shown using stress and strain distribution between the Al rich primary and Si rich eutectic phases under different boundary conditions. Boundary conditions are applied on the approximated RVEs in such a manner, so that they represent the real life situation depending on their position on a cylindrical tensile test sample. FE analysis is carried out using commercial finite element code ABAQUS without specifying any damage or failure criteria. Micro-level in-homogeneity leads to incompatible deformation between the constituent phases of the rheocast alloy and steers plastic strain localisation. Plastic stain localised regions within the RVEs are predicted as the favourable sites for void nucleation. Subsequent growth of nucleated voids leads to final failure of the materials under investigation.

Correlation between some thermo-mechanical and physico-chemical properties in multi-component glasses of Se-Te-Sn-Cd system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Amit; Mehta, Neeraj

2017-06-01

The glass transition phenomenon is guided by the swift cooling of a melt (glass-forming liquid). Consequently, the glass as a final product consists of a considerable number of micro-voids having the size of the order of atomic and/or molecular sizes. The model of free volume fluctuation helps in describing the diverse physico-chemical properties of amorphous materials (like glasses and polymers). This theory is based on the fraction of fluctuation free frozen at the glass transition temperature and it forms a basis for determination of various significant thermo-mechanical properties. In the present work, Vickers hardness test method is employed that provides useful information concerning the mechanical behavior of brittle solids. The present work emphasizes the results of micro-indentation measurements on recently synthesized novel Se78- x Te20Sn2Cd x glassy system. Basic thermo-mechanical parameters such as micro-hardness, volume ( V h), formation energy ( E h) of micro-voids in the glassy network and modulus of elasticity ( E) have been determined and their variation with glass composition has been investigated.

Velocity and void distribution in a counter-current two-phase flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gabriel, S.; Schulenberg, T.; Laurien, E.

2012-07-01

Different flow regimes were investigated in a horizontal channel. Simulating a hot leg injection in case of a loss of coolant accident or flow conditions in reflux condenser mode, the hydraulic jump and partially reversed flow were identified as major constraints for a high amount of entrained water. Trying to simulate the reflux condenser mode, the test section now includes an inclined section connected to a horizontal channel. The channel is 90 mm high and 110 mm wide. Tests were carried out for water and air at ambient pressure and temperature. High speed video-metry was applied to obtain velocities frommore » flow pattern maps of the rising and falling fluid. In the horizontal part of the channel with partially reversed flow the fluid velocities were measured by planar particle image velocimetry. To obtain reliable results for the gaseous phase, this analysis was extended by endoscope measurements. Additionally, a new method based on the optical refraction at the interface between air and water in a back-light was used to obtain time-averaged void fraction. (authors)« less

Velocity field measurement in gas-liquid metal two-phase flow with use of PIV and neutron radiography techniques.

PubMed

Saito, Y; Mishima, K; Tobita, Y; Suzuki, T; Matsubayashi, M

2004-10-01

To establish reasonable safety concepts for the realization of commercial liquid-metal fast breeder reactors, it is indispensable to demonstrate that the release of excessive energy due to re-criticality of molten core could be prevented even if a severe core damage accident took place. Two-phase flow due to the boiling of fuel-steel mixture in the molten core pool has a larger liquid-to-gas density ratio and higher surface tension in comparison with those of ordinary two-phase flows such as air-water flow. In this study, to investigate the effect of the recirculation flow on the bubble behavior, visualization and measurement of nitrogen gas-molten lead bismuth in a rectangular tank was performed by using neutron radiography and particle image velocimetry techniques. Measured flow parameters include flow regime, two-dimensional void distribution, and liquid velocity field in the tank. The present technique is applicable to the measurement of velocity fields and void fraction, and the basic characteristics of gas-liquid metal two-phase mixture were clarified.

Void effect on mechanical properties of copper nanosheets under biaxial tension by molecular dynamics method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zailin; Yang, Qinyou; Zhang, Guowei; Yang, Yong

2018-03-01

The relationship between void size/location and mechanical behavior under biaxial loading of copper nanosheets containing voids are investigated by molecular dynamics method. The void location and the void radius on the model are discussed in the paper. The main reason of break is discovered by the congruent relationship between the shear stress and its dislocations. Dislocations are nucleated at the corner of system and approached to the center of void with increased deformation. Here, a higher stress is required to fail the voided sheets when smaller voids are utilized. The void radius influences the time of destruction. The larger the void radius is, the lower the shear stress and the earlier the model breaks. The void location impacts the dislocation distribution.

Rice Starch Particle Interactions at Air/Aqueous Interfaces—Effect of Particle Hydrophobicity and Solution Ionic Strength

PubMed Central

McNamee, Cathy E.; Sato, Yu; Wiege, Berthold; Furikado, Ippei; Marefati, Ali; Nylander, Tommy; Kappl, Michael; Rayner, Marilyn

2018-01-01

Starch particles modified by esterification with dicarboxylic acids to give octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) starch is an approved food additive that can be used to stabilize oil in water emulsions used in foods and drinks. However, the effects of the OSA modification of the starch particle on the interfacial interactions are not fully understood. Here, we directly measured the packing of films of rice starch granules, i.e., the natural particle found inside the plant, at air/aqueous interfaces, and the interaction forces in that system as a function of the particle hydrophobicity and ionic strength, in order to gain insight on how starch particles can stabilize emulsions. This was achieved by using a combined Langmuir trough and optical microscope system, and the Monolayer Interaction Particle Apparatus. Native rice starch particles were seen to form large aggregates at air/water interfaces, causing films with large voids to be formed at the interface. The OSA modification of the rice starches particles decreased this aggregation. Increasing the degree of modification improved the particle packing within the film of particles at the air/water interface, due to the introduction of inter-particle electrostatic interactions within the film. The introduction of salt to the water phase caused the particles to aggregate and form holes within the film, due to the screening of the charged groups on the starch particles by the salt. The presence of these holes in the film decreased the stiffness of the films. The effect of the OSA modification was concluded to decrease the aggregation of the particles at an air/water interface. The presence of salts, however, caused the particles to aggregate, thereby reducing the strength of the interfacial film. PMID:29868551

Rice Starch Particle Interactions at Air/Aqueous Interfaces-Effect of Particle Hydrophobicity and Solution Ionic Strength.

PubMed

McNamee, Cathy E; Sato, Yu; Wiege, Berthold; Furikado, Ippei; Marefati, Ali; Nylander, Tommy; Kappl, Michael; Rayner, Marilyn

2018-01-01

Starch particles modified by esterification with dicarboxylic acids to give octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) starch is an approved food additive that can be used to stabilize oil in water emulsions used in foods and drinks. However, the effects of the OSA modification of the starch particle on the interfacial interactions are not fully understood. Here, we directly measured the packing of films of rice starch granules, i.e., the natural particle found inside the plant, at air/aqueous interfaces, and the interaction forces in that system as a function of the particle hydrophobicity and ionic strength, in order to gain insight on how starch particles can stabilize emulsions. This was achieved by using a combined Langmuir trough and optical microscope system, and the Monolayer Interaction Particle Apparatus. Native rice starch particles were seen to form large aggregates at air/water interfaces, causing films with large voids to be formed at the interface. The OSA modification of the rice starches particles decreased this aggregation. Increasing the degree of modification improved the particle packing within the film of particles at the air/water interface, due to the introduction of inter-particle electrostatic interactions within the film. The introduction of salt to the water phase caused the particles to aggregate and form holes within the film, due to the screening of the charged groups on the starch particles by the salt. The presence of these holes in the film decreased the stiffness of the films. The effect of the OSA modification was concluded to decrease the aggregation of the particles at an air/water interface. The presence of salts, however, caused the particles to aggregate, thereby reducing the strength of the interfacial film.

Rice starch particle interactions at air/aqueous interfaces– effect of particle hydrophobicity and solution ionic strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNamee, Cathy E.; Sato, Yu; Wiege, Berthold; Furikado, Ippei; Marefati, Ali; Nylander, Tommy; Kappl, Michael; Rayner, Marilyn

2018-05-01

Starch particles modified by esterification with dicarboxylic acids to give octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) starch is an approved food additive that can be used to stabilize oil in water emulsions used in foods and drinks. However, the effects of the OSA modification of the starch particle on the interfacial interactions are not fully understood. Here, we directly measured the packing of films of rice starch granules, i.e. the natural particle found inside the plant, at air/aqueous interfaces and the interaction forces in that system as a function of the particle hydrophobicity and ionic strength, in order to gain insight on how starch particles can stabilize emulsions. This was achieved by using a combined Langmuir trough and optical microscope system, and the Monolayer Interaction Particle Apparatus. Native rice starch particles were seen to form large aggregates at air/water interfaces, causing films with large voids to be formed at the interface. The OSA modification of the rice starches particles decreased this aggregation. Increasing the degree of modification improved the particle packing within the film of particles at the air/water interface, due to the introduction of inter-particle electrostatic interactions within the film. The introduction of salt to the water phase caused the particles to aggregate and form holes within the film, due to the screening of the charged groups on the starch particles by the salt. The presence of these holes in the film decreased the stiffness of the films. The effect of the OSA modification was concluded to decrease the aggregation of the particles at an air/water interface. The presence of salts, however, caused the particles to aggregate, thereby reducing the strength of the interfacial film.

Infusion Processing of Phenylethynyl Terminated Imides by High Temperature RTM and VARTM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghose, Sayata; Lewis, Todd M.; Cano, Roberto J.; Watson, Kent A.; Isayev, Avraam I.

2011-01-01

Fabrication of composite structures using infusion processes such as resin transfer molding (RTM) and vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is generally more affordable than conventional autoclave techniques. Recent efforts have focused on adapting both technologies for the fabrication of high temperature (HT) resistant composites. Due to their low melt viscosity and long melt stability, certain phenylethynyl terminated imides (PETI) can be processed into composites using these high temperature out-of-autoclave processes. In the current study, two PETI resins, LARC(TradeMark) PETI-330 and LARC(TradeMark) PETI-8 have been used to make test specimens using both RTM and VARTM. For aerospace applications, a void fraction of less than 2% is desired. Traditionally, RTM has had the advantage over VARTM for generating composites with low void content. However, the process is limited in terms of size. Work at NASA LaRC has incorporated modifications to the thermal cycle used in laminate fabrication that have reduced the void content significantly (typically 1-3%) using the current HT-VARTM process. For composite fabrication by both RTM and VARTM, the resins were infused into three carbon fiber preforms (T650-35-3k 5HS, IM7-6k 5HS, and IM7-6k Uniweave) at 316 C and 260 C respectively and cured up to 371 C. The details of the RTM processing carried out at the University of Akron are discussed in this work along with a brief description of the HT-VARTM processing carried out at NASA-LaRC. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. Mechanical properties (short beam shear, SBS) of the panels fabricated by both infusion processes were determined at room temperature as well as at various elevated temperatures. The results of this work are presented herein.

Loop and void damage during heavy ion irradiation on nanocrystalline and coarse grained tungsten: Microstructure, effect of dpa rate, temperature, and grain size

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El-Atwani, O.; Esquivel, E.; Efe, M.

Displacement damage, through heavy ion irradiation was studied on two tungsten grades (coarse grained tungsten (CGW) and nanocrystalline and ultrafine grained tungsten (NCW)) using different displacement per atom rates and different irradiation temperatures (RT and 1050 K). Percentage of <111> and <100> type loops at the irradiation conditions was determined. Irradiation damage in the microstructure was quantified using average loop areas and densities (method A) and loop areal fraction in the grain matrices under 2-beam diffraction conditions (method B). Average values of <111> and <100> loops were calculated from method A. Loop coalescence was shown to occur for CGW atmore » 0.25 dpa. Using both methods of quantifying microstructural damage, no effect of dpa rate was observed and damage in CGW was shown to be the same at RT and 1050 K. Swelling from voids observed at 1050 K was quantified. The loop damage in NCW was compared to CGW at the same diffraction and imaging conditions. NCW was shown to possess enhanced irradiation resistance at RT regarding loop damage and higher swelling resistance at 1050 K compared to CGW. For irradiation at 1050 K, the NCW was shown to have a similar defect densities to the CGW which is attributed to higher surface effects in the CGW, vacancy loop growth to voids and a better sink efficiency in the CGW deduced from the vacancy distribution profiles from Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Loop density and swelling was shown to have similar values in grains sizes that range from 80-600 nm. No loop or void denuded zones occurred at any of the irradiation conditions. This work has a collection of experiments and conclusions that are of vital importance to materials and nuclear communities.« less

Loop and void damage during heavy ion irradiation on nanocrystalline and coarse grained tungsten: Microstructure, effect of dpa rate, temperature, and grain size

DOE PAGES

El-Atwani, O.; Esquivel, E.; Efe, M.; ...

2018-02-20

Displacement damage, through heavy ion irradiation was studied on two tungsten grades (coarse grained tungsten (CGW) and nanocrystalline and ultrafine grained tungsten (NCW)) using different displacement per atom rates and different irradiation temperatures (RT and 1050 K). Percentage of <111> and <100> type loops at the irradiation conditions was determined. Irradiation damage in the microstructure was quantified using average loop areas and densities (method A) and loop areal fraction in the grain matrices under 2-beam diffraction conditions (method B). Average values of <111> and <100> loops were calculated from method A. Loop coalescence was shown to occur for CGW atmore » 0.25 dpa. Using both methods of quantifying microstructural damage, no effect of dpa rate was observed and damage in CGW was shown to be the same at RT and 1050 K. Swelling from voids observed at 1050 K was quantified. The loop damage in NCW was compared to CGW at the same diffraction and imaging conditions. NCW was shown to possess enhanced irradiation resistance at RT regarding loop damage and higher swelling resistance at 1050 K compared to CGW. For irradiation at 1050 K, the NCW was shown to have a similar defect densities to the CGW which is attributed to higher surface effects in the CGW, vacancy loop growth to voids and a better sink efficiency in the CGW deduced from the vacancy distribution profiles from Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Loop density and swelling was shown to have similar values in grains sizes that range from 80-600 nm. No loop or void denuded zones occurred at any of the irradiation conditions. This work has a collection of experiments and conclusions that are of vital importance to materials and nuclear communities.« less

Nonlinear Bubble Dynamics And The Effects On Propagation Through Near-Surface Bubble Layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leighton, Timothy G.

2004-11-01

Nonlinear bubble dynamics are often viewed as the unfortunate consequence of having to use high acoustic pressure amplitudes when the void fraction in the near-surface oceanic bubble layer is great enough to cause severe attenuation (e.g. >50 dB/m). This is seen as unfortunate since existing models for acoustic propagation in bubbly liquids are based on linear bubble dynamics. However, the development of nonlinear models does more than just allow quantification of the errors associated with the use of linear models. It also offers the possibility of propagation modeling and acoustic inversions which appropriately incorporate the bubble nonlinearity. Furthermore, it allows exploration and quantification of possible nonlinear effects which may be exploited. As a result, high acoustic pressure amplitudes may be desirable even in low void fractions, because they offer opportunities to gain information about the bubble cloud from the nonlinearities, and options to exploit the nonlinearities to enhance communication and sonar in bubbly waters. This paper presents a method for calculating the nonlinear acoustic cross-sections, scatter, attenuations and sound speeds from bubble clouds which may be inhomogeneous. The method allows prediction of the time dependency of these quantities, both because the cloud may vary and because the incident acoustic pulse may have finite and arbitrary time history. The method can be readily adapted for bubbles in other environments (e.g. clouds of interacting bubbles, sediments, structures, in vivo, reverberant conditions etc.). The possible exploitation of bubble acoustics by marine mammals, and for sonar enhancement, is explored.

Conjugate heat and mass transfer in the lattice Boltzmann equation method.

PubMed

Li, Like; Chen, Chen; Mei, Renwei; Klausner, James F

2014-04-01

An interface treatment for conjugate heat and mass transfer in the lattice Boltzmann equation method is proposed based on our previously proposed second-order accurate Dirichlet and Neumann boundary schemes. The continuity of temperature (concentration) and its flux at the interface for heat (mass) transfer is intrinsically satisfied without iterative computations, and the interfacial temperature (concentration) and their fluxes are conveniently obtained from the microscopic distribution functions without finite-difference calculations. The present treatment takes into account the local geometry of the interface so that it can be directly applied to curved interface problems such as conjugate heat and mass transfer in porous media. For straight interfaces or curved interfaces with no tangential gradient, the coupling between the interfacial fluxes along the discrete lattice velocity directions is eliminated and thus the proposed interface schemes can be greatly simplified. Several numerical tests are conducted to verify the applicability and accuracy of the proposed conjugate interface treatment, including (i) steady convection-diffusion in a channel containing two different fluids, (ii) unsteady convection-diffusion in the channel, (iii) steady heat conduction inside a circular domain with two different solid materials, and (iv) unsteady mass transfer from a spherical droplet in an extensional creeping flow. The accuracy and order of convergence of the simulated interior temperature (concentration) field, the interfacial temperature (concentration), and heat (mass) flux are examined in detail and compared with those obtained from the "half-lattice division" treatment in the literature. The present analysis and numerical results show that the half-lattice division scheme is second-order accurate only when the interface is fixed at the center of the lattice links, while the present treatment preserves second-order accuracy for arbitrary link fractions. For curved interfaces, the present treatment yields second-order accurate interior and interfacial temperatures (concentrations) and first-order accurate interfacial heat (mass) flux. An increase of order of convergence by one degree is obtained for each of these three quantities compared with the half-lattice division scheme. The surface-averaged Sherwood numbers computed in test (iv) agree well with published results.

Conjugate heat and mass transfer in the lattice Boltzmann equation method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, LK; Chen, C; Mei, RW

2014-04-22

An interface treatment for conjugate heat and mass transfer in the lattice Boltzmann equation method is proposed based on our previously proposed second-order accurate Dirichlet and Neumann boundary schemes. The continuity of temperature (concentration) and its flux at the interface for heat (mass) transfer is intrinsically satisfied without iterative computations, and the interfacial temperature (concentration) and their fluxes are conveniently obtained from the microscopic distribution functions without finite-difference calculations. The present treatment takes into account the local geometry of the interface so that it can be directly applied to curved interface problems such as conjugate heat and mass transfer inmore » porous media. For straight interfaces or curved interfaces with no tangential gradient, the coupling between the interfacial fluxes along the discrete lattice velocity directions is eliminated and thus the proposed interface schemes can be greatly simplified. Several numerical tests are conducted to verify the applicability and accuracy of the proposed conjugate interface treatment, including (i) steady convection-diffusion in a channel containing two different fluids, (ii) unsteady convection-diffusion in the channel, (iii) steady heat conduction inside a circular domain with two different solid materials, and (iv) unsteady mass transfer from a spherical droplet in an extensional creeping flow. The accuracy and order of convergence of the simulated interior temperature (concentration) field, the interfacial temperature (concentration), and heat (mass) flux are examined in detail and compared with those obtained from the "half-lattice division" treatment in the literature. The present analysis and numerical results show that the half-lattice division scheme is second-order accurate only when the interface is fixed at the center of the lattice links, while the present treatment preserves second-order accuracy for arbitrary link fractions. For curved interfaces, the present treatment yields second-order accurate interior and interfacial temperatures (concentrations) and first-order accurate interfacial heat (mass) flux. An increase of order of convergence by one degree is obtained for each of these three quantities compared with the half-lattice division scheme. The surface-averaged Sherwood numbers computed in test (iv) agree well with published results.« less

The impact of carbon sp{sup 2} fraction of reduced graphene oxide on the performance of reduced graphene oxide contacted organic transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, Narae; Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, Orlando, Florida 32826; Khondaker, Saiful I., E-mail: saiful@ucf.edu

2014-12-01

One of the major bottlenecks in fabricating high performance organic field effect transistors (OFETs) is a large interfacial contact barrier between metal electrodes and organic semiconductors (OSCs) which makes the charge injection inefficient. Recently, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has been suggested as an alternative electrode material for OFETs. RGO has tunable electronic properties and its conductivity can be varied by several orders of magnitude by varying the carbon sp{sup 2} fraction. However, whether the sp{sup 2} fraction of RGO in the electrode affects the performance of the fabricated OFETs is yet to be investigated. In this study, we demonstrate thatmore » the performance of OFETs with pentacene as OSC and RGO as electrode can be continuously improved by increasing the carbon sp{sup 2} fraction of RGO. When compared to control palladium electrodes, the mobility of the OFETs shows an improvement of ∼200% for 61% sp{sup 2} fraction RGO, which further improves to ∼500% for 80% RGO electrode. Similar improvements were also observed in current on-off ratio, on-current, and transconductance. Our study suggests that, in addition to π-π interaction at RGO/pentacene interface, the tunable electronic properties of RGO electrode have a significant role in OFETs performance.« less

Dynamic void behavior in polymerizing polymethyl methacrylate cement.

PubMed

Muller, Scott D; McCaskie, Andrew W

2006-02-01

Cement mantle voids remain controversial with respect to survival of total hip arthroplasty. Void evolution is poorly understood, and attempts at void manipulation can only be empirical. We induced voids in a cement model simulating the constraints of the proximal femur. Intravoid pressure and temperature were recorded throughout polymerization, and the initial and final void volumes were measured. Temperature-dependent peak intravoid pressures and void volume increases were observed. After solidification, subatmospheric intravoid pressures were observed. The magnitude of these observations could not be explained by the ideal gas law. Partial pressures of the void gas at peak pressures demonstrated a dominant effect of gaseous monomer, thereby suggesting that void growth is a pressure-driven phenomenon resulting from temperature-dependent evaporation of monomer into existing trapped air voids.

Voids and superstructures: correlations and induced large-scale velocity flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lares, Marcelo; Luparello, Heliana E.; Maldonado, Victoria; Ruiz, Andrés N.; Paz, Dante J.; Ceccarelli, Laura; Garcia Lambas, Diego

2017-09-01

The expanding complex pattern of filaments, walls and voids build the evolving cosmic web with material flowing from underdense on to high density regions. Here, we explore the dynamical behaviour of voids and galaxies in void shells relative to neighbouring overdense superstructures, using the Millenium simulation and the main galaxy catalogue in Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. We define a correlation measure to estimate the tendency of voids to be located at a given distance from a superstructure. We find voids-in-clouds (S-types) preferentially located closer to superstructures than voids-in-voids (R-types) although we obtain that voids within ˜40 h-1 Mpc of superstructures are infalling in a similar fashion independently of void type. Galaxies residing in void shells show infall towards the closest superstructure, along with the void global motion, with a differential velocity component depending on their relative position in the shell with respect to the direction to the superstructure. This effect is produced by void expansion and therefore is stronger for R-types. We also find that galaxies in void shells facing the superstructure flow towards the overdensities faster than galaxies elsewhere at the same relative distance to the superstructure. The results obtained for the simulation are also reproduced for the Sky Survey Data Release data with a linearized velocity field implementation.

Evaluation of a mobile voiding diary for pediatric patients with voiding dysfunction: a prospective comparative study.

PubMed

Johnson, Emilie K; Estrada, Carlos R; Johnson, Kathryn L; Nguyen, Hiep T; Rosoklija, Ilina; Nelson, Caleb P

2014-09-01

One potential strategy for improving voiding diary completion rates and data quality is use of a mobile electronic format. We evaluated the acceptability and feasibility of mobile voiding diaries for patients with nonneurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, and compared mobile and paper voiding diaries. We prospectively enrolled children presenting with daytime symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunction between July 2012 and April 2013. We enrolled an initial cohort of patients who were provided a paper voiding diary and a subsequent cohort who were provided a mobile voiding diary. We conducted in person interviews and assessed completion rates and quality, comparing paper and mobile voiding diary groups. We enrolled 45 patients who received a paper voiding diary and 38 who received a mobile voiding diary. Completion rates were 78% for paper voiding diaries and 61% for mobile voiding diaries (p = 0.10). Data quality measures for patients completing paper vs mobile voiding diaries revealed a larger proportion (63% vs 52%) providing a full 5 days of data and a smaller proportion (20% vs 65%) with data gaps. However, the paper voiding diary also demonstrated a lower proportion (80% vs 100%) that was completely legible and a lower proportion (40% vs 65%) with completely prospective data entry. The use of a mobile voiding diary was acceptable and feasible for our patients with lower urinary tract dysfunction, although completion rates were somewhat lower compared to paper voiding diaries. Data quality was not clearly better for either version. The mobile voiding diary format may offer data quality advantages for select groups but it did not display significant superiority when provided universally. Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of filler content on mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of particulate biphasic calcium phosphate--polylactide composites.

PubMed

Bleach, N C; Nazhat, S N; Tanner, K E; Kellomäki, M; Törmälä, P

2002-04-01

A bioabsorbable self-reinforced polylactide/biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) composite is being developed for fracture fixation plates. One manufacturing route is to produce preimpregnated sheets by pulling polylactide (PLA) fibres through a suspension of BCP filler in a PLA solution and compression moulding the prepreg to the desired shape. To aid understanding of the process, interactions between the matrix and filler were investigated. Composite films containing 0-0.25 volume fraction filler, produced by solvent casting, were analysed using SEM, tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Homogeneous films could be made, although some particle agglomeration was seen at higher filler volume fractions. As the filler content increased, the failure strain decreased due to a reduction in the amount of ductile polymer present and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) decreased because of agglomeration and void formation at higher filler content. The matrix glass transition temperature increased due to polymer chain adsorption and immobilization onto the BCP particles. Complex damping mechanisms, such as particle-particle agglomeration, may exist at the higher BCP volume fractions.

Free volume of mixed cation borosilicate glass sealants elucidated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and its correlation with glass properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ojha, Prasanta K.; Rath, Sangram K.; Sharma, Sandeep K.; Sudarshan, Kathi; Pujari, Pradeep K.; Chongdar, Tapas K.; Gokhale, Nitin M.

2015-01-01

The role of La+3/Sr+2 ratios, which is varied from 0.08 to 5.09, on density, molar volume, packing fraction, free volume, thermal and electrical properties in strontium lanthanum aluminoborosilicate based glass sealants intended for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications is evaluated. The studies reveal expansion of the glass network evident from increasing molar volume and decreasing packing fraction of glasses with progressive La+3 substitutions. The molecular origin of these macroscopic structural features can be accounted for by the free volume parameters measured from positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The La+3 induced expanded glass networks show increased number of subnanoscopic voids with larger sizes, as revealed from the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) lifetime and its intensity. A remarkably direct correspondence between the molar volume and fractional free volume trend is established with progressive La2O3 substitution in the glasses. The effect of these structural changes on the glass transition temperature, softening temperature, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal stability as well as electrical conductivity has been studied.

Smooth interface effects on the confinement properties of GaSb/Al xGa 1- xSb quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adib, Artur B.; de Sousa, Jeanlex S.; Farias, Gil A.; Freire, Valder N.

2000-10-01

A theoretical investigation on the confinement properties of GaSb/Al xGa 1- xSb single quantum wells (QWs) with smooth interfaces is performed. Error function ( erf)-like interfacial aluminum molar fraction variations in the QWs, from which it is possible to obtain the carriers effective masses and confinement potential profiles, are assumed. It is shown that the existence of smooth interfaces blue shifts considerably the confined carriers and exciton energies, an effect which is stronger in thin QWs.

Redshift-space distortions around voids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Yan-Chuan; Taylor, Andy; Peacock, John A.; Padilla, Nelson

2016-11-01

We have derived estimators for the linear growth rate of density fluctuations using the cross-correlation function (CCF) of voids and haloes in redshift space. In linear theory, this CCF contains only monopole and quadrupole terms. At scales greater than the void radius, linear theory is a good match to voids traced out by haloes; small-scale random velocities are unimportant at these radii, only tending to cause small and often negligible elongation of the CCF near its origin. By extracting the monopole and quadrupole from the CCF, we measure the linear growth rate without prior knowledge of the void profile or velocity dispersion. We recover the linear growth parameter β to 9 per cent precision from an effective volume of 3( h-1Gpc)3 using voids with radius >25 h-1Mpc. Smaller voids are predominantly sub-voids, which may be more sensitive to the random velocity dispersion; they introduce noise and do not help to improve measurements. Adding velocity dispersion as a free parameter allows us to use information at radii as small as half of the void radius. The precision on β is reduced to 5 per cent. Voids show diverse shapes in redshift space, and can appear either elongated or flattened along the line of sight. This can be explained by the competing amplitudes of the local density contrast, plus the radial velocity profile and its gradient. The distortion pattern is therefore determined solely by the void profile and is different for void-in-cloud and void-in-void. This diversity of redshift-space void morphology complicates measurements of the Alcock-Paczynski effect using voids.

Dielectric relaxation behavior of colloidal suspensions of palladium nanoparticle chains dispersed in PVP/EG solution.

PubMed

Chen, Zhen; Zhao, Kong-Shuang; Guo, Lin; Feng, Cai-Hong

2007-04-28

Dielectric measurements were carried out on colloidal suspensions of palladium nanoparticle chains dispersed in poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)/ethylene glycol (PVP/EG) solution with different particle volume fractions, and dielectric relaxation with relaxation time distribution and small relaxation amplitude was observed in the frequency range from 10(5) to 10(7) Hz. By means of the method based on logarithmic derivative of the dielectric constant and a numerical Kramers-Kronig transform method, two dielectric relaxations were confirmed and dielectric parameters were determined from the dielectric spectra. The dielectric parameters showed a strong dependence on the volume fraction of palladium nanoparticle chain. Through analyzing limiting conductivity at low frequency, the authors found the conductance percolation phenomenon of the suspensions, and the threshold volume fraction is about 0.18. It was concluded from analyzing the dielectric parameters that the high frequency dielectric relaxation results from interfacial polarization and the low frequency dielectric relaxation is a consequence of counterion polarization. They also found that the dispersion state of the palladium nanoparticle chain in PVP/EG solution is dependent on the particle volume fraction, and this may shed some light on a better application of this kind of materials.

Lightweight Concrete Produced Using a Two-Stage Casting Process

PubMed Central

Yoon, Jin Young; Kim, Jae Hong; Hwang, Yoon Yi; Shin, Dong Kyu

2015-01-01

The type of lightweight aggregate and its volume fraction in a mix determine the density of lightweight concrete. Minimizing the density obviously requires a higher volume fraction, but this usually causes aggregates segregation in a conventional mixing process. This paper proposes a two-stage casting process to produce a lightweight concrete. This process involves placing lightweight aggregates in a frame and then filling in the remaining interstitial voids with cementitious grout. The casting process results in the lowest density of lightweight concrete, which consequently has low compressive strength. The irregularly shaped aggregates compensate for the weak point in terms of strength while the round-shape aggregates provide a strength of 20 MPa. Therefore, the proposed casting process can be applied for manufacturing non-structural elements and structural composites requiring a very low density and a strength of at most 20 MPa. PMID:28788007

Electromigration induced high fraction of compound formation in SnAgCu flip chip solder joints with copper column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Luhua; Han, Jung-Kyu; Liang, Jarrett Jun; Tu, K. N.; Lai, Yi-Shao

2008-06-01

To overcome the effect of current crowding on electromigration-induced pancake-type void formation in flip chip solder joints, two types of Cu column in 90μm flip chip SnAgCu solder joints have been studied. They were (1) the solder contacts the Cu column at bottom and side walls and (2) the solder wets only the bottom surface of the copper column. With a current density of 1.6×104A/cm2 at 135°C, no failure was detected after 1290h. However, the resistance increased by about 10% due to the formation of a large fraction of intermetallic compounds. We found that electromigration has accelerated the consumption rate of copper column and converted almost the entire solder joint into intermetallic compound. Mechanically, drop impact test indicates a brittle fracture failure in the intermetallic. The electromigration critical product for the intermetallic is discussed.

The co-evolution of microstructure features in self-ion irradiated HT9 at very high damage levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Getto, Elizabeth Margaret

The objective of this study was to understand the co-evolution of microstructure features in self-ion irradiated HT9 at very high damage levels. HT9 (heat 84425) was pre-implanted with 10 atom parts per million helium and then irradiated with 5 MeV Fe++ in the temperature range of 440-480°C to 188 dpa. A damage dependence study from 75 to 650 dpa was performed at the peak swelling temperature of 460°C. The swelling, dislocation and precipitate evolution was determined using Analytic Electron Microscopes in both Conventional Transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) modes. Void swelling reached a nominally linear rate of 0.03%/dpa from 188 to 650 dpa at 460°C. G phase precipitates were observed by 75 dpa and grew linearly up to 650 dpa. M 2X was observed by 250 dpa and peaked in volume fraction at 450 dpa. Dislocation loop evolution was observed up to 650 dpa including a step change in diameter between 375 and 450 dpa; which correlated with nucleation and growth of M2X. The experimental results were interpreted using a rate theory model, the Radiation Induced Microstructure Evolution (RIME), in the damage range from 188 to 650 dpa. A simple system of voids and dislocations was modeled in which the dislocations measured from experiment were used as input, or the dislocations were allowed to evolve dynamically, resulting in swelling that was overestimated by 63% relative to that observed experimentally. G phase had limited effect on the void or dislocation behavior. The behavior of M2X within the microstructure was characterized as a direct effect as a coherent sink, and as an indirect effect in consuming carbon from the matrix, which had the largest impact on both void and dislocation behavior. A slowly monotonically increasing swelling rate was observed both experimentally and computationally, with swelling rates of ˜0.025%/dpa and ˜0.036%/dpa before and after 450 dpa. The agreement in void behavior between experiment and model when all effects (loops, network, G phase, M2X formation and growth, and removal of carbon) are accounted for demonstrates the importance of characterizing the evolution of the full microstructure over a large dpa range.

Molecular Rotors for Universal Quantitation of Nanoscale Hydrophobic Interfaces in Microplate Format.

PubMed

Bisso, Paul W; Tai, Michelle; Katepalli, Hari; Bertrand, Nicolas; Blankschtein, Daniel; Langer, Robert

2018-01-10

Hydrophobic self-assembly pairs diverse chemical precursors and simple formulation processes to access a vast array of functional colloids. Exploration of this design space, however, is stymied by lack of broadly general, high-throughput colloid characterization tools. Here, we show that a narrow structural subset of fluorescent, zwitterionic molecular rotors, dialkylaminostilbazolium sulfonates [DASS] with intermediate-length alkyl tails, fills this major analytical void by quantitatively sensing hydrophobic interfaces in microplate format. DASS dyes supersede existing interfacial probes by avoiding off-target fluorogenic interactions and dye aggregation while preserving hydrophobic partitioning strength. To illustrate the generality of this approach, we demonstrate (i) a microplate-based technique for measuring mass concentration of small (20-200 nm), dilute (submicrogram sensitivity) drug delivery nanoparticles; (ii) elimination of particle size, surfactant chemistry, and throughput constraints on quantifying the complex surfactant/metal oxide adsorption isotherms critical for environmental remediation and enhanced oil recovery; and (iii) more reliable self-assembly onset quantitation for chemically and structurally distinct amphiphiles. These methods could streamline the development of nanotechnologies for a broad range of applications.

The location and extent of exfoliation of clay on the fracture mechanisms in nylon 66-based ternary nanocomposites.

PubMed

Dasari, Aravind; Yu, Zhong-Zhen; Mai, Yiu-Wing; Yang, Mingshu

2008-04-01

The primary focus of this work is to elucidate the location and extent of exfoliation of clay on fracture (under both static and dynamic loading conditions) of melt-compounded nylon 66/clay/SEBS-g-MA ternary nanocomposites fabricated by different blending sequences. Distinct microstructures are obtained depending on the blending protocol employed. The state of exfoliation and dispersion of clay in nylon 66 matrix and SEBS-g-MA phase are quantified and the presence of clay in rubber is shown to have a negative effect on the toughness of the nanocomposites. The level of toughness enhancement of ternary nanocomposites depends on the blending protocol and the capability of different fillers to activate the plastic deformation mechanisms in the matrix. These mechanisms include: cavitation of SEBS-g-MA phase, stretching of voided matrix material, interfacial debonding of SEBS-g-MA particles, debonding of intercalated clay embedded inside the SEBS-g-MA phase, and delamination of intercalated clay platelets. Based on these results, new insights and approaches for the processing of better toughened polymer ternary nanocomposites are discussed.

Effect of Brass Interlayer Sheet on Microstructure and Joint Performance of Ultrasonic Spot-Welded Copper-Steel Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satpathy, Mantra Prasad; Kumar, Abhishek; Sahoo, Susanta Kumar

2017-07-01

Solid-state ultrasonic spot welding (USW) inevitably offers a potential solution for joining dissimilar metal combination like copper (Cu) and steel (SS). In this study, the USW has been performed on Cu (UNS C10100) and SS (AISI 304) with brass interlayer by varying various welding parameters, aiming to identify the interfacial reaction, changes in microstructure and weld strength. The highest tensile shear and T-peel failure loads of 1277 and 174 N are achieved at the optimum conditions like 68 µm of vibration amplitude, 0.42 MPa of weld pressure and 1 s of weld time. The fractured surface analysis of brass interlayer and AISI 304 stainless steel samples reveals the features like swirls, voids and intermetallic compounds (IMCs). These IMCs are composed of CuZn and FeZn composite-like structures with 1.0 μm thickness. This confirms that the weld quality is specifically sensitive to the levels of input parameter combinations as well as the type of material present on the sonotrode side.

The Effect of Copper Addition on the Properties of Sn-0.7Cu Solder Paste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, R. M.; Mohamad Johari, F. H.; Salleh, M. A. A. Mohd; Sandu, A. V.

2018-03-01

The effect of copper addition on the properties of Sn-Cu based solder paste were investigate through this study. The Sn-0.7Cu solder paste doped with different concentration of Cu were prepared using solder paste mixture. The bulk solder microstructure of assolidified solder paste was studied. Besides that, intermetallic compound (IMC) formation on Cu substrate and hardness of all solder paste also being investigated. Results shows that increasing Cu concentration cause formation of large Cu6Sn5 IMC at bulk solder and the size of the IMC grew larger at high temperature. In addition, β-Sn area reduce when Cu concentration was high. The IMC morphology for all solder paste almost remain unchanged. However, there are large Cu6Sn5 IMC form near the interfacial IMC in Sn-Cu solder paste with high amount of Cu (Sn-10Cu). The hardness value was decrease when processing temperature at 250 °C due to present of small void in the microstructure while hardness of solder material increased at high temperature.

Cause Analysis on the Void under Slabs of Cement Concrete Pavement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Li; Zhu, Guo Xin; Baozhu

2017-06-01

This paper made a systematic analysis on the influence of the construction, environment, water and loads on the void beneath road slabs, and also introduced the formation process of structural void and pumping void, and summarizes the deep reasons for the bottom of the cement concrete pavement. Based on the analysis above, this paper has found out the evolution law of the void under slabs which claimed that the void usually appeared in the slab corners and then the cross joint, resulting void in the four sides with the void area under the front slab larger than the rear one.

A General 3-D Methodology for Quasi-Static Simulation of Drainage and Imbibition: Application to Highly Porous Fibrous Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riasi, S.; Huang, G.; Montemagno, C.; Yeghiazarian, L.

2013-12-01

Micro-scale modeling of multiphase flow in porous media is critical to characterize porous materials. Several modeling techniques have been implemented to date, but none can be used as a general strategy for all porous media applications due to challenges presented by non-smooth high-curvature solid surfaces, and by a wide range of pore sizes and porosities. Finite approaches like the finite volume method require a high quality, problem-dependent mesh, while particle-based approaches like the lattice Boltzmann require too many particles to achieve a stable meaningful solution. Both come at a large computational cost. Other methods such as pore network modeling (PNM) have been developed to accelerate the solution process by simplifying the solution domain, but so far a unique and straightforward methodology to implement PNM is lacking. We have developed a general, stable and fast methodology to model multi-phase fluid flow in porous materials, irrespective of their porosity and solid phase topology. We have applied this methodology to highly porous fibrous materials in which void spaces are not distinctly separated, and where simplifying the geometry into a network of pore bodies and throats, as in PNM, does not result in a topology-consistent network. To this end, we have reduced the complexity of the 3-D void space geometry by working with its medial surface. We have used a non-iterative fast medial surface finder algorithm to determine a voxel-wide medial surface of the void space, and then solved the quasi-static drainage and imbibition on the resulting domain. The medial surface accurately represents the topology of the porous structure including corners, irregular cross sections, etc. This methodology is capable of capturing corner menisci and the snap-off mechanism numerically. It also allows for calculation of pore size distribution, permeability and capillary pressure-saturation-specific interfacial area surface of the porous structure. To show the capability of this method to numerically estimate the capillary pressure in irregular cross sections, we compared our results with analytical solutions available for capillary tubes with non-circular cross sections. We also validated this approach by implementing it on well-known benchmark problems such as a bundle of cylinders and packed spheres.

An Experimental Study of Plunging Liquid Jet Induced Air Carryunder and Dispersion

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-24

the ’ greenhouse ’ effect (ie, the absorption of CO2 by the oceans), and a number of other important maritime-related applications. In particular, the air entrainment process due to the breaking bow waves of surface ships may cause long (ie, up to 5 km in length) wakes. Naturally easily detectable wakes are undesirable for naval warships. In the present study plunging liquid jet experiments were performed and detailed Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) data were taken of the phasic velocity field and the void fraction distribution in the induced two-phase

Liquid level, void fraction, and superheated steam sensor for nuclear reactor cores

DOEpatents

Tokarz, Richard D.

1983-01-01

An apparatus for detecting nominal phase conditions of coolant in a reactor vessel comprising one or more lengths of tubing each leading from a location being monitored to a closed outer end exterior of the vessel. Temperature is sensed at the open end of each length of tubing. Pressure within the tubing is also sensed. Both measurements are directed to an analyzer which compares the measured temperature to the known saturated temperature of the coolant at the measured pressure. In this manner, the nominal phase conditions of the coolant are constantly monitored.

Development of a passive phase separator for space and earth applications

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiongjun; Loraine, Greg; Hsiao, Chao-Tsung; Chahine, Georges L.

2018-01-01

The limited amount of liquids and gases that can be carried to space makes it imperative to recycle and reuse these fluids for extended human operations. During recycling processes gas and liquid phases are often intermixed. In the absence of gravity, separating gases from liquids is challenging due to the absence of buoyancy. This paper describes development of a passive phase separator that is capable of efficiently and reliably separating gas–liquid mixtures of both high and low void fractions in a wide range of flow rates that is applicable to for both space and earth applications. PMID:29628785

Microbubble cloud characterization by nonlinear frequency mixing.

PubMed

Cavaro, M; Payan, C; Moysan, J; Baqué, F

2011-05-01

In the frame of the fourth generation forum, France decided to develop sodium fast nuclear reactors. French Safety Authority requests the associated monitoring of argon gas into sodium. This implies to estimate the void fraction, and a histogram indicating the bubble population. In this context, the present letter studies the possibility of achieving an accurate determination of the histogram with acoustic methods. A nonlinear, two-frequency mixing technique has been implemented, and a specific optical device has been developed in order to validate the experimental results. The acoustically reconstructed histograms are in excellent agreement with those obtained using optical methods.

The formation of giant low surface brightness galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, Yehuda; Silk, Joseph; Wyse, Rosemary F. G.

1992-01-01

It is demonstrated that the initial structure of galaxies can be strongly affected by their large-scale environments. In particular, rare (about 3 sigma) massive galaxies in voids will have normal bulges, but unevolved, extended disks; it is proposed that the low surface brightness objects Malin I and Malin II are prototypes of this class of object. The model predicts that searches for more examples of 'crouching giants' should be fruitful, but that such galaxies do not provide a substantial fraction of mass in the universe. The identification of dwarf galaxies is relatively unaffected by their environment.

Accuracy of the Generalized Self-Consistent Method in Modelling the Elastic Behaviour of Periodic Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Kevin P.; Freed, Alan D.; Jordan, Eric H.

1993-01-01

Local stress and strain fields in the unit cell of an infinite, two-dimensional, periodic fibrous lattice have been determined by an integral equation approach. The effect of the fibres is assimilated to an infinite two-dimensional array of fictitious body forces in the matrix constituent phase of the unit cell. By subtracting a volume averaged strain polarization term from the integral equation we effectively embed a finite number of unit cells in a homogenized medium in which the overall stress and strain correspond to the volume averaged stress and strain of the constrained unit cell. This paper demonstrates that the zeroth term in the governing integral equation expansion, which embeds one unit cell in the homogenized medium, corresponds to the generalized self-consistent approximation. By comparing the zeroth term approximation with higher order approximations to the integral equation summation, both the accuracy of the generalized self-consistent composite model and the rate of convergence of the integral summation can be assessed. Two example composites are studied. For a tungsten/copper elastic fibrous composite the generalized self-consistent model is shown to provide accurate, effective, elastic moduli and local field representations. The local elastic transverse stress field within the representative volume element of the generalized self-consistent method is shown to be in error by much larger amounts for a composite with periodically distributed voids, but homogenization leads to a cancelling of errors, and the effective transverse Young's modulus of the voided composite is shown to be in error by only 23% at a void volume fraction of 75%.

Effect of reference conditions on flow rate, modifier fraction and retention in supercritical fluid chromatography.

PubMed

De Pauw, Ruben; Shoykhet Choikhet, Konstantin; Desmet, Gert; Broeckhoven, Ken

2016-08-12

When using compressible mobile phases such as fluidic CO2, the density, the volumetric flow rates and volumetric fractions are pressure dependent. The pressure and temperature definition of these volumetric parameters (referred to as the reference conditions) may alter between systems, manufacturers and operating conditions. A supercritical fluid chromatography system was modified to operate in two modes with different definition of the eluent delivery parameters, referred to as fixed and variable mode. For the variable mode, the volumetric parameters are defined with reference to the pump operating pressure and actual pump head temperature. These conditions may vary when, e.g. changing the column length, permeability, flow rate, etc. and are thus variable reference conditions. For the fixed mode, the reference conditions were set at 150bar and 30°C, resulting in a mass flow rate and mass fraction of modifier definition which is independent of the operation conditions. For the variable mode, the mass flow rate of carbon dioxide increases with system pump operating pressure, decreasing the fraction of modifier. Comparing the void times and retention factor shows that the deviation between the two modes is almost independent of modifier percentage, but depends on the operating pressure. Recalculating the set volumetric fraction of modifier to the mass fraction results in the same retention behaviour for both modes. This shows that retention in SFC can be best modelled using the mass fraction of modifier. The fixed mode also simplifies method scaling as it only requires matching average column pressure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Closure behavior of spherical void in slab during hot rolling process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Rong; Zhang, Jiongming; Wang, Bo

2018-04-01

The mechanical properties of steels are heavily deteriorated by voids. The influence of voids on the product quality should be eliminated through rolling processes. The study on the void closure during hot rolling processes is necessary. In present work, the closure behavior of voids at the center of a slab at 800 °C during hot rolling processes has been simulated with a 3D finite element model. The shape of the void and the plastic strain distribution of the slab are obtained by this model. The void decreases along the slab thickness direction and spreads along the rolling direction but hardly changes along the strip width direction. The relationship between closure behavior of voids and the plastic strain at the center of the slab is analyzed. The effects of rolling reduction, slab thickness and roller diameter on the closure behavior of voids are discussed. The larger reduction, thinner slab and larger roller diameter all improve the closure of voids during hot rolling processes. Experimental results of the closure behavior of a void in the slab during hot rolling process mostly agree with the simulation results..

Simulation of the Growth of Austenite from As-Quenched Martensite in Medium Mn Steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huyan, Fei; Yan, Jia-Yi; Höglund, Lars; Ågren, John; Borgenstam, Annika

2018-04-01

As part of an ongoing development of third-generation advanced high-strength steels with acceptable cost, austenite reversion treatment of medium Mn steels becomes attractive because it can give rise to a microstructure of fine mixture of ferrite and austenite, leading to both high strength and large elongation. The growth of austenite during intercritical annealing is crucial for the final properties, primarily because it determines the fraction, composition, and phase stability of austenite. In the present work, the growth of austenite from as-quenched lath martensite in medium Mn steels has been simulated using the DICTRA software package. Cementite is added into the simulations based on experimental observations. Two types of systems (cells) are used, representing, respectively, (1) austenite and cementite forming apart from each other, and (2) austenite forming on the cementite/martensite interface. An interfacial dissipation energy has also been added to take into account a finite interface mobility. The simulations using the first type of setup with an addition of interfacial dissipation energy are able to reproduce the observed austenite growth in medium Mn steels reasonably well.

Effect of the interfacial tension and ionic strength on the thermodynamic barrier associated to the benzocaine insertion into a cell membrane.

PubMed

López Cascales, J J; Oliveira Costa, S D

2013-02-01

The insertion of local anaesthetics into a cell membrane is a key aspect for explaining their activity at a molecular level. It has been described how the potency and response time of local anaesthetics is improved (for clinical applications) when they are dissolved in a solution of sodium bicarbonate. With the aim of gaining insight into the physico-chemical principles that govern the action mechanism of these drugs at a molecular level, simulations of benzocaine in binary lipid bilayers formed by DPPC/DPPS were carried out for different ionic strengths of the aqueous solution. From these molecular dynamic simulations, we observed how the thermodynamic barrier associated with benzocaine insertion into the lipid bilayers diminished exponentially as the fraction of DPPS in the bilayer increased, especially when the ionic strength of the aqueous solution increased. In line with these results, we also observed how this thermodynamic barrier diminished exponentially with the phospholipid/water interfacial tension. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interfacial structure, bonding and composition of InAs and GaSb thin films determined using coherent Bragg rod analysis.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cionca, C.; Walko, D. A.; Yacoby, Y.

2007-01-01

We have used Bragg rod x-ray diffraction combined with a direct method of phase retrieval to extract atomic resolution electron-density maps of a complementary series of heteroepitaxial III-V semiconductor samples. From the three-dimensional electron-density maps we derive the monolayer spacings, the chemical compositions, and the characteristics of the bonding for all atomic planes in the film and across the film-substrate interface. InAs films grown on GaSb(001) under two different As conditions (using dimer or tetramer forms) both showed conformal roughness and mixed GaAs/InSb interfacial bonding character. The As tetramer conditions favored InSb bonding at the interface while, in the casemore » of the dimer, the percentages corresponding to GaAs and InSb bonding were equal within the experimental error. The GaSb film grown on InAs(001) displayed significant In and As interdiffusion and had a relatively large fraction of GaAs-like bonds at the interface.« less

Voiding diary might serve as a useful tool to understand differences between bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder.

PubMed

Kim, Sung Han; Oh, Shin Ah; Oh, Seung-June

2014-02-01

To identify the voiding characteristics of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder. Between September 2005 and June 2010, 3-day voiding diaries of 49 consecutive bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis patients and 301 overactive bladder patients were prospectively collected at an outpatient clinic and retrospectively analyzed. The characteristics of the two groups were not significantly different. However, all voiding variables including volume and frequency were significantly different except for the total voided volume: patients with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis showed significantly higher voiding frequencies, smaller maximal and mean voided volume, and more constant and narrower ranges of voided volume compared with overactive bladder patients (P < 0.005). Furthermore, mean intervals between voiding in bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis were shorter and more consistent during the day and night (P < 0.001), although mean night-time variances were greater than daytime variances. Logistic regression analysis showed that total night-time frequency, maximal night-time voided volume and mean variance of daytime voiding intervals most significantly differentiated the two groups. Some voiding characteristics of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder patients differ significantly according to 3-day voiding diary records. These findings provide additional information regarding the differences between these two diseases in the outpatient clinical setting. © 2013 The Japanese Urological Association.

3D Simulations of Void collapse in Energetic Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Nirmal Kumar; Udaykumar, H. S.

2017-06-01

Voids present in the microstructure of heterogeneous energetic materials effect the sensitivity towards ignition. It is established that the morphology of voids can play a significant role in sensitivity enhancement of energetic materials. Depending on the void shape, sensitivity can be either increased or decreased under given loading conditions. In the past, effects of different void shapes i.e. triangular, ellipse, cylindrical etc. on the sensitivity of energetic materials have been analyzed. However, most of these studies are performed in 2D and are limited under the plain strain assumption. Axisymmetric studies have also been performed in the past to incorporate the 3D effects, however axisymmetric modeling is limited to only certain geometries i.e. sphere. This work analyzes the effects of various void shapes in three dimensions on the ignition behavior of HMX. Various void shapes are analyzed including spherical, prolate and oblate speheroid oriented at different orientations, etc. Three dimensional void collapse simulations are performed on a single void to quantify the effects void morphology on initiation. A Cartesian grid based Eulerian solver SCIMITAR3D is used to perform the void collapse simulations. Various aspects of void morphology i.e. size, thickness of voids, elongation, orientation etc. are considered to obtain a comprehensive analysis. Also, 2D plane strain calculations are compared with the three dimensional analysis to evaluate the salient differences between 2D and 3D modeling.

Collapse of elongated voids in porous energetic materials: Effects of void orientation and aspect ratio on initiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Nirmal Kumar; Schmidt, Martin J.; Udaykumar, H. S.

2017-04-01

The sensitivity of porous energetic materials depends on mesostructural heterogeneities such as voids, defects, cracks, and grain boundaries. The mesostructure of pressed explosives contains voids of arbitrary shapes including elongated voids of various orientations and aspect ratios. Mesoscale simulations to date have analyzed the effect of void morphology on the sensitivity of energetic materials for idealized shapes such as cylindrical, conical, and elliptical. This work analyzes the sensitivity behavior of elongated voids in an HMX matrix subject to shock loading. Simulations show that sensitivity of elongated voids depends strongly on orientation as well as aspect ratio. Ranges of orientations and aspects ratios are identified that enhance or inhibit initiation. Insights obtained from single elongated void analyses are used to identify sensitive locations in an imaged mesostructure of a pressed explosive sample.

Friction stir welding process to repair voids in aluminum alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, Charles D. (Inventor); Litwinski, Edward (Inventor); Valdez, Juan M. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

The present invention provides an in-process method to repair voids in an aluminum alloy, particularly a friction stir weld in an aluminum alloy. For repairing a circular void or an in-process exit hole in a weld, the method includes the steps of fabricating filler material of the same composition or compatible with the parent material into a plug form to be fitted into the void, positioning the plug in the void, and friction stir welding over and through the plug. For repairing a longitudinal void (30), the method includes machining the void area to provide a trough (34) that subsumes the void, fabricating filler metal into a strip form (36) to be fitted into the trough, positioning the strip in the trough, and rewelding the void area by traversing a friction stir welding tool longitudinally through the strip. The method is also applicable for repairing welds made by a fusing welding process or voids in aluminum alloy workpieces themselves.

Cosmic voids and void lensing in the Dark Energy Survey science verification data

DOE PAGES

Sánchez, C.; Clampitt, J.; Kovacs, A.; ...

2016-10-26

Galaxies and their dark matter halos populate a complicated filamentary network around large, nearly empty regions known as cosmic voids. Cosmic voids are usually identified in spectroscopic galaxy surveys, where 3D information about the large-scale structure of the Universe is available. Although an increasing amount of photometric data is being produced, its potential for void studies is limited since photometric redshifts induce line-of-sight position errors of ~50 Mpc/h or more that can render many voids undetectable. In this paper we present a new void finder designed for photometric surveys, validate it using simulations, and apply it to the high-quality photo-zmore » redMaGiC galaxy sample of the Dark Energy Survey Science Verification (DES-SV) data. The algorithm works by projecting galaxies into 2D slices and finding voids in the smoothed 2D galaxy density field of the slice. Fixing the line-of-sight size of the slices to be at least twice the photo- z scatter, the number of voids found in these projected slices of simulated spectroscopic and photometric galaxy catalogs is within 20% for all transverse void sizes, and indistinguishable for the largest voids of radius ~70 Mpc/h and larger. The positions, radii, and projected galaxy profiles of photometric voids also accurately match the spectroscopic void sample. Applying the algorithm to the DES-SV data in the redshift range 0.2 < z < 0.8 , we identify 87 voids with comoving radii spanning the range 18-120 Mpc/h, and carry out a stacked weak lensing measurement. With a significance of 4.4σ, the lensing measurement confirms the voids are truly underdense in the matter field and hence not a product of Poisson noise, tracer density effects or systematics in the data. In conclusion, it also demonstrates, for the first time in real data, the viability of void lensing studies in photometric surveys.« less

Contortionist bubbles in andesitic enclaves: implications for gas migration and phase segregation in crystal-rich magmas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oppenheimer, J. C.; Cashman, K. V.; Rust, A.; Dobson, K. J.; Bacon, C. R.; Dingwell, D. B.

2016-12-01

In order to constrain gas migration behaviors in crystal-rich magmas, we compare results of analogue experiments to frozen structures in andesitic enclaves. In the analogue experiments air was injected into mixtures of syrup and particles sandwiched between glass plates. We observed a significant increase in bubble deformation and coalescence when particle fractions increased beyond a critical value (the random loose packing). At high particle fractions, bubble growth re-organized (compacted) the particles adjacent to the bubble walls. This caused liquid segregation into patches within the particle suspension and into large void spaces near the outer edge of experiments. We compare these experiments to void morphologies in a 58 x 70 x 73 cm andesitic enclave from silicic-andesite lava flows of Mt Mazama, Oregon (Bacon, 1986). This enclave is zoned, with a vesicle-rich center and a glass-rich rim, suggesting gas-driven melt segregation from the center to the rim. We use both 2D (optical microscopy and SEM) and 3D (X-ray tomography) techniques to image crystal textures and bubble shapes. The center of the enclave bears scattered patches of groundmass in the main phenocryst framework. These patches are similar to those observed in experiments, and thus melt segregation in the enclave may have occurred both toward the rim and toward these patches. Bubble morphologies reveal two main types of bubbles. (1) Lobate and finger-like bubbles, similar to the deformed bubbles in experiments, are found exclusively in the groundmass patches. They are also often associated with compacted crystal structures at the bubble walls. (2) Diktytaxitic textures - angular bubbles flattened against phenocrysts - are abundant in the crystal networks. These voids are entirely connected in 3D and formed the gas-rich center of the enclave. They likely represent a gas migration regime where the expanding gas front cannot deform the crystal structure but instead invades the pore-space between crystals, pushing out residual melt (filter pressing). The switch between regimes appears to depend on crystal size and aspect ratio. The similar features between bubbles in the enclave and in experiments are encouraging, and suggest that crystal-induced bubble deformation, and gas-driven melt segregation, may be common in crystal-rich magmas.

A Cinematic Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Milk of Magnesia Laxative and an Antiflatulent Diet to Reduce Intrafraction Prostate Motion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nichol, Alan M.; Warde, Padraig R.; Lockwood, Gina A.

Purpose: To determine the reduction of prostate motion during a typical radiotherapy (RT) fraction from a bowel regimen comprising an antiflatulent diet and daily milk of magnesia. Methods and Materials: Forty-two patients with T1c-T2c prostate cancer voided the bladder and rectum before three cinematic magnetic resonance imaging scans obtained every 9 s for 9 min in a vacuum immobilization device. The MRIs were at baseline without bowel regimen (MRI-BL), before CT planning with bowel regimen (MRI-CT), and before a randomly assigned RT fraction (1-42) with bowel regimen (MRI-RT). A single observer tracked displacement of the posterior midpoint (PM) of themore » prostate. The primary endpoints were comparisons of the proportion of time that the PM was displaced >3 mm (PTPM3) from its initial position, and the secondary endpoints were comparisons of the reduction of initial rectal area, with and without the bowel regimen. Results: The mean rectal area was: 13.5 cm{sup 2} at MRI-BL, 12.7 cm{sup 2} at MRI-CT, and 12.3 cm{sup 2} at MRI-RT (MRI-BL vs. MRI-CT, p = 0.11; MRI-BL vs. MRI-CT, p = 0.07). Moving rectal gas alone (56%) and moving gas and stool (18%) caused 74% of intrafraction prostate motion. The PTPM3 was 11.3% at MRI-BL, 4.8% at MRI-CT, and 12.0% at MRI-RT (MRI-BL vs. MRI-CT, p = 0.12; MRI-BL vs. MRI-RT, p = 0.89). Conclusion: For subjects voiding their rectum before imaging, an antiflatulent diet and milk of magnesia laxative did not significantly reduce initial rectal area or intrafraction prostate motion.« less

Metallographic autopsies of full-scale ITER prototype cable-in-conduit conductors after full cyclic testing in SULTAN: II. Significant reduction of strand movement and strand damage in short twist pitch CICCs

DOE PAGES

Sanabria, Charlos; Lee, Peter J.; Starch, William; ...

2015-10-14

Prototype cable in conduit conductors (CICCs) destined for use in the Toroidal Field (TF) and Central Solenoid (CS) coils of the ITER experimental fusion reactor underwent severe cyclic loading in the SULTAN facility. Their autopsies revealed significant and permanent transverse strand migration due to the large Lorentz forces of the SULTAN test. The movement resulted in a 3 7% void fraction increase on the Low Pressure (LP) side of the longer twist pitch CICCs. However, short twist pitch conductors exhibited less than 1% void fraction increase in the LP side, as well as a complete absence of the Nb 3Snmore » filament fractures observed in the longer twist pitch conductors. We report here a detailed strand to cable analysis of short and longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs. It was found that the use of Internal Tin strands in the longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs can be beneficial possibly because of their superior stiffness—which better resist strand movement—while the use of Bronze Process strands showed more movement and poorer cyclic test performance. This was not the case for the short twist pitch CICC. Such conductor design seems to work well with both strand types. But it was found that despite the absence of filament fractures, the short twist pitch CICC made from the Internal Tin strands studied here developed severe strand distortion during cabling which resulted in diffusion barrier breaks and Sn contamination of the Cu stabilizer during the heat treatment. Furthermore, the short twist pitch CICC made from Bronze Process strands preserved diffusion barrier integrity.« less

Behavior of Aging, Micro-Void, and Self-Healing of Glass/Ceramic Materials and Its Effect on Mechanical Properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Wenning N.; Sun, Xin; Khaleel, Mohammad A.

This chapter first describes tests to investigate the temporal evolution of the volume fraction of ceramic phases, the evolution of micro-damage, and the self-healing behavior of the glass ceramic sealant used in SOFCs, then a phenomenological model based on mechanical analogs is developed to describe the temperature dependent Young’s modulus of glass ceramic seal materials. It was found that after the initial sintering process, further crystallization of the glass ceramic sealant does not stop, but slows down and reduces the residual glass content while boosting the ceramic crystalline content. Under the long-term operating environment, distinct fibrous and needle-like crystals inmore » the amorphous phase disappeared, and smeared/diffused phase boundaries between the glass phase and ceramic phase were observed. Meanwhile, the micro-damage was induced by the cooling-down process from the operating temperature to the room temperature, which can potentially degrade the mechanical properties of the glass/ceramic sealant. The glass/ceramic sealant self-healed upon reheating to the SOFC operating temperature, which can restore the mechanical performance of the glass/ceramic sealant. The phenomenological model developed here includes the effects of continuing aging and devitrification on the ceramic phase volume fraction and the resulted mechanical properties of glass ceramic seal material are considered. The effects of micro-voids and self-healing are also considered using a continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model. The formulation is for glass/ceramic seal in general, and it can be further developed to account for effects of various processing parameters. This model was applied to G18, and the temperature-dependent experimental measurements were used to calibrate the modeling parameters and to validate the model prediction.« less

Two-phase flow characteristics of liquid nitrogen in vertically upward 0.5 and 1.0 mm micro-tubes: Visualization studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, P.; Fu, X.

2009-10-01

Application of liquid nitrogen to cooling is widely employed in many fields, such as cooling of the high temperature superconducting devices, cryosurgery and so on, in which liquid nitrogen is generally forced to flow inside very small passages to maintain good thermal performance and stability. In order to have a full understanding of the flow and heat transfer characteristics of liquid nitrogen in micro-tube, high-speed digital photography was employed to acquire the typical two-phase flow patterns of liquid nitrogen in vertically upward micro-tubes of 0.531 and 1.042 mm inner diameters. It was found from the experimental results that the flow patterns were mainly bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow and annular flow. And the confined bubble flow, mist flow, bubble condensation and flow oscillation were also observed. These flow patterns were characterized in different types of flow regime maps. The surface tension force and the size of the diameter were revealed to be the major factors affecting the flow pattern transitions. It was found that the transition boundaries of the slug/churn flow and churn/annular flow of the present experiment shifted to lower superficial vapor velocity; while the transition boundary of the bubbly/slug flow shifted to higher superficial vapor velocity compared to the results of the room-temperature fluids in the tubes with the similar hydraulic diameters. The corresponding transition boundaries moved to lower superficial velocity when reducing the inner diameter of the micro-tubes. Time-averaged void fraction and heat transfer characteristics for individual flow patterns were presented and special attention was paid to the effect of the diameter on the variation of void fraction.

Metallographic autopsies of full-scale ITER prototype cable-in-conduit conductors after full cyclic testing in SULTAN: II. Significant reduction of strand movement and strand damage in short twist pitch CICCs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanabria, Charlos; Lee, Peter J.; Starch, William

Prototype cable in conduit conductors (CICCs) destined for use in the Toroidal Field (TF) and Central Solenoid (CS) coils of the ITER experimental fusion reactor underwent severe cyclic loading in the SULTAN facility. Their autopsies revealed significant and permanent transverse strand migration due to the large Lorentz forces of the SULTAN test. The movement resulted in a 3 7% void fraction increase on the Low Pressure (LP) side of the longer twist pitch CICCs. However, short twist pitch conductors exhibited less than 1% void fraction increase in the LP side, as well as a complete absence of the Nb 3Snmore » filament fractures observed in the longer twist pitch conductors. We report here a detailed strand to cable analysis of short and longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs. It was found that the use of Internal Tin strands in the longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs can be beneficial possibly because of their superior stiffness—which better resist strand movement—while the use of Bronze Process strands showed more movement and poorer cyclic test performance. This was not the case for the short twist pitch CICC. Such conductor design seems to work well with both strand types. But it was found that despite the absence of filament fractures, the short twist pitch CICC made from the Internal Tin strands studied here developed severe strand distortion during cabling which resulted in diffusion barrier breaks and Sn contamination of the Cu stabilizer during the heat treatment. Furthermore, the short twist pitch CICC made from Bronze Process strands preserved diffusion barrier integrity.« less

Kinematics and dynamics of green water on a fixed platform in a large wave basin in focusing wave and random wave conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuang, Wei-Liang; Chang, Kuang-An; Mercier, Richard

2018-06-01

Green water kinematics and dynamics due to wave impingements on a simplified geometry, fixed platform were experimentally investigated in a large, deep-water wave basin. Both plane focusing waves and random waves were employed in the generation of green water. The focusing wave condition was designed to create two consecutive plunging breaking waves with one impinging on the frontal vertical wall of the fixed platform, referred as wall impingement, and the other directly impinging on the deck surface, referred as deck impingement. The random wave condition was generated using the JONSWAP spectrum with a significant wave height approximately equal to the freeboard. A total of 179 green water events were collected in the random wave condition. By examining the green water events in random waves, three different flow types are categorized: collapse of overtopping wave, fall of bulk water, and breaking wave crest. The aerated flow velocity was measured using bubble image velocimetry, while the void fraction was measured using fiber optic reflectometry. For the plane focusing wave condition, measurements of impact pressure were synchronized with the flow velocity and void fraction measurements. The relationship between the peak pressures and the pressure rise times is examined. For the high-intensity impact in the deck impingement events, the peak pressures are observed to be proportional to the aeration levels. The maximum horizontal velocities in the green water events in random waves are well represented by the lognormal distribution. Ritter's solution is shown to quantitatively describe the green water velocity distributions under both the focusing wave condition and the random wave condition. A prediction equation for green water velocity distribution under random waves is proposed.

On the abundance of extreme voids II: a survey of void mass functions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chongchitnan, Siri; Hunt, Matthew, E-mail: s.chongchitnan@hull.ac.uk, E-mail: m.d.hunt@2012.hull.ac.uk

2017-03-01

The abundance of cosmic voids can be described by an analogue of halo mass functions for galaxy clusters. In this work, we explore a number of void mass functions: from those based on excursion-set theory to new mass functions obtained by modifying halo mass functions. We show how different void mass functions vary in their predictions for the largest void expected in an observational volume, and compare those predictions to observational data. Our extreme-value formalism is shown to be a new practical tool for testing void theories against simulation and observation.

Atomistic modeling of shock-induced void collapse in copper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davila, L P; Erhart, P; Bringa, E M

2005-03-09

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that shock-induced void collapse in copper occurs by emission of shear loops. These loops carry away the vacancies which comprise the void. The growth of the loops continues even after they collide and form sessile junctions, creating a hardened region around the collapsing void. The scenario seen in our simulations differs from current models that assume that prismatic loop emission is responsible for void collapse. We propose a new dislocation-based model that gives excellent agreement with the stress threshold found in the MD simulations for void collapse as a function of void radius.

Nanovoid growth in BCC α-Fe: influences of initial void geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Shuozhi; Su, Yanqing

2016-12-01

The growth of voids has a great impact on the mechanical properties of ductile materials by altering their microstructures. Exploring the process of void growth at the nanoscale helps in understanding the dynamic fracture of metals. While some very recent studies looked into the effects of the initial geometry of an elliptic void on the plastic deformation of face-centered cubic metals, a systematic study of the initial void ellipticity and orientation angle in body-centered cubic (BCC) metals is still lacking. In this paper, large scale molecular dynamics simulations with millions of atoms are conducted, investigating the void growth process during tensile loading of metallic thin films in BCC α-Fe. Our simulations elucidate the intertwined influences on void growth of the initial ellipticity and initial orientation angle of the void. It is shown that these two geometric parameters play an important role in the stress-strain response, the nucleation and evolution of defects, as well as the void size/outline evolution in α-Fe thin films. Results suggest that, together with void size, different initial void geometries should be taken into account if a continuum model is to be applied to nanoscale damage progression.

Comparison of sensation-related voiding patterns between continent and incontinent women: a study with a 3-day sensation-related bladder diary (SR-BD).

PubMed

Naoemova, Irina; De Wachter, Stefan; Wyndaele, Jean-Jacques

2008-01-01

To describe and compare voiding patterns on a 3-day sensation-related bladder diary (SR-BD) in women with urinary incontinence (UI) and healthy volunteers. A total of 251 women (224 incontinent patients and 27 healthy volunteers) who recorded a 3-day SR-BD and underwent standard cystometry participated in the study. Parameters from the 3-day SR-BD were compared between incontinent patients and healthy volunteers. Compared to continent women, all groups of incontinent women noted a significantly higher 24 hr voiding frequency, a greater voiding frequency per liter diuresis, a smaller mean voided volume for different degrees of bladder sensation with more voids made with higher intensity of desire to void. The smallest mean voided volumes for different degrees of desire to void and the highest voiding frequency per liter diuresis were observed in the urge incontinence group. There were different sensation-related voiding patterns on the 3-day SR-BD from incontinent women and healthy volunteers. All incontinence groups had increased bladder sensation compared to healthy volunteers. The most severe increase of bladder sensation was observed in the patients with urgency incontinence. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The dark matter of galaxy voids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutter, P. M.; Lavaux, Guilhem; Wandelt, Benjamin D.; Weinberg, David H.; Warren, Michael S.

2014-03-01

How do observed voids relate to the underlying dark matter distribution? To examine the spatial distribution of dark matter contained within voids identified in galaxy surveys, we apply Halo Occupation Distribution models representing sparsely and densely sampled galaxy surveys to a high-resolution N-body simulation. We compare these galaxy voids to voids found in the halo distribution, low-resolution dark matter and high-resolution dark matter. We find that voids at all scales in densely sampled surveys - and medium- to large-scale voids in sparse surveys - trace the same underdensities as dark matter, but they are larger in radius by ˜20 per cent, they have somewhat shallower density profiles and they have centres offset by ˜ 0.4Rv rms. However, in void-to-void comparison we find that shape estimators are less robust to sampling, and the largest voids in sparsely sampled surveys suffer fragmentation at their edges. We find that voids in galaxy surveys always correspond to underdensities in the dark matter, though the centres may be offset. When this offset is taken into account, we recover almost identical radial density profiles between galaxies and dark matter. All mock catalogues used in this work are available at http://www.cosmicvoids.net.

Prevalence and characteristics of voiding difficulties in women: are subjective symptoms substantiated by objective urodynamic data?

PubMed

Groutz, A; Gordon, D; Lessing, J B; Wolman, I; Jaffa, A; David, M P

1999-08-01

To examine the prevalence and characteristics of voiding difficulties in women. Two hundred six consecutive female patients who attended a urogynecology clinic were recruited. Patients were interviewed regarding the presence and severity of symptoms that would suggest voiding difficulties (ie, hesitancy, straining to void, weak or prolonged stream, intermittent stream, double voiding, incomplete emptying, reduction, and positional changes to start or complete voiding). Urodynamic evidence of voiding difficulty was considered as a peak flow rate less than 12 mL/s (voided volume greater than 100 mL), or residual urine volume greater than 150 mL, on two or more readings. Residual urinary volume, flow patterns, and pressure-flow parameters were analyzed and compared between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients who had urodynamic parameters of voiding difficulties. One hundred twenty-seven (61.7%) women reported having voiding difficulty symptoms; 79 others (38.3%) were free of such symptoms. Urodynamic diagnosis of voiding difficulty was made in 40 women (19.4% of the study population): 27 in the symptomatic group and 13 in the asymptomatic group (21.2% and 16.5%, respectively). Only 1 patient had voiding difficulty due to bladder outlet obstruction. All other cases of low flow rate were due to impaired detrusor contractility. Objective evidence of voiding difficulty may be found in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and is usually due to impaired detrusor contractility. The clinical significance of the abnormal flow parameters in asymptomatic patients is unclear.

Emulsifying and foaming properties of amaranth seed protein isolates.

PubMed

Fidantsi, A; Doxastakis, G

2001-07-01

The emulsifying and foaming properties of amaranth seed protein isolates prepared by wet extraction methods, such as isoelectric precipitation and dialysis, were investigated. The various isolates differ from each other in many ways. The isolate prepared by isoelectric precipitation mainly contains the globulin but not the albumin fraction and a considerable amount of polysaccharides, while the other isolate prepared by the dialysis method contains all the globulin and albumin fractions. The protein-polysaccharide complexes enhance emulsion stability due to steric repulsion effects. Measurements of the emulsion stability show that the studied protein isolates act as effective stabilizing agents. Foam expansion is dominated by the surface activity and availability of protein in the solution, while foam stability is determined by the properties of the interfacial layer. The results show that amaranth protein isolates act as an effective foaming agent. Both foaming properties intensified from the presence of protein-polysaccharide complexes.

Effect of urea and glycerol on the adsorption of ribonuclease A at the air-water interface.

PubMed

Hüsecken, Anne K; Evers, Florian; Czeslik, Claus; Tolan, Metin

2010-08-17

This study reports on the influence of nonionic cosolvents on the interfacial structure of ribonuclease A (RNase) adsorbed at the air-water interface. We applied X-ray reflectometry to obtain detailed volume fraction profiles of the adsorbed layers and to follow the effect of glycerol and urea on the adsorbate structure as a function of cosolvent concentration. Under all conditions studied, the adsorbed RNase layer maintains its compact shape, and the adsorbed RNase molecules adopt a flat-on orientation at the interface. Both kosmotropic glycerol and chaotropic urea exert profound effects on the adsorbate: The surface excess decreases linearly with glycerol content and is also reduced at low urea concentration. However, at high urea concentration, parts of the adsorbed layer are dehydrated and become exposed to air. The electron density and volume fraction profiles of the adsorbed protein provide clear evidence that these effects are ruled by different mechanisms.

Formulation and optimization of virgin coconut oil with Tween-80 incorporated in gellan gum hydrogel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muktar, Muhammad Zulhelmi; Rose, Laili bt Che; Amin, Khairul Anuar Mat

2017-09-01

The demand for wound care products especially advance and active wound care product are huge. Honey and virgin coconut oil (VCO) are well-known as an ancient treatment to treat wound with its great properties such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. In this study, the potential of VCO incorporated in gellan gum (GG) hydrogel was examined. A surfactant, Tween-80 was introduced to reduce the interfacial tension between VCO and water. Ternary phase diagram was constructed to get the microemulsion of VCO. The compositions of VCO and Tween-80 at stable region were chosen and incorporated in GG solution. The swelling, water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) and gel fraction were significantly affected by the composition of VCO. Higher amount of VCO in GG hydrogel increased the tensile strength and gel fraction at a cost of decreased in swelling and WVTR values.

Viscosity of particle laden films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timounay, Yousra; Rouyer, Florence

2017-06-01

We perform retraction experiments on soap films where large particles bridge the two interfaces. Local velocities are measured by PIV during the unstationnary regime. The velocity variation in time and space can be described by a continuous fluid model from which effective viscosity (shear and dilatational) of particulate films is measured. The 2D effective viscosity of particulate films η2D increases with particle surface fraction ϕ: at low ϕ, it tends to the interfacial dilatational viscosity of the liquid/air interfaces and it diverges at the critical particle surface fraction ϕc ≃ 0.84. Experimental data agree with classical viscosity laws of hard spheres suspensions adapted to the 2D geometry, assuming viscous dissipation resulting from the squeeze of the liquid/air interfaces between the particles. Finally, we show that the observed viscous dissipation in particulate films has to be considered to describe the edge velocity during a retraction experiment at large particle coverage.

Cosmic web type dependence of halo clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, J. D.; Faltenbacher, A.

2018-01-01

We use the Millennium Simulation to show that halo clustering varies significantly with cosmic web type. Haloes are classified as node, filament, sheet and void haloes based on the eigenvalue decomposition of the velocity shear tensor. The velocity field is sampled by the peculiar velocities of a fixed number of neighbouring haloes, and spatial derivatives are computed using a kernel borrowed from smoothed particle hydrodynamics. The classification scheme is used to examine the clustering of haloes as a function of web type for haloes with masses larger than 1011 h- 1 M⊙. We find that node haloes show positive bias, filament haloes show negligible bias and void and sheet haloes are antibiased independent of halo mass. Our findings suggest that the mass dependence of halo clustering is rooted in the composition of web types as a function of halo mass. The substantial fraction of node-type haloes for halo masses ≳ 2 × 1013 h- 1 M⊙ leads to positive bias. Filament-type haloes prevail at intermediate masses, 1012-1013 h- 1 M⊙, resulting in unbiased clustering. The large contribution of sheet-type haloes at low halo masses ≲ 1012 h- 1 M⊙ generates antibiasing.

Investigation of natural circulation instability and transients in passively safe novel modular reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Shanbin

The Purdue Novel Modular Reactor (NMR) is a new type small modular reactor (SMR) that belongs to the design of boiling water reactor (BWR). Specifically, the NMR is one third the height and area of a conventional BWR reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with an electric output of 50 MWe. The fuel cycle length of the NMR-50 is extended up to 10 years due to optimized neutronics design. The NMR-50 is designed with double passive engineering safety system. However, natural circulation BWRs (NCBWR) could experience certain operational difficulties due to flow instabilities that occur at low pressure and low power conditions. Static instabilities (i.e. flow excursion (Ledinegg) instability and flow pattern transition instability) and dynamic instabilities (i.e. density wave instability and flashing/condensation instability) pose a significant challenge in two-phase natural circulation systems. In order to experimentally study the natural circulation flow instability, a proper scaling methodology is needed to build a reduced-size test facility. The scaling analysis of the NMR uses a three-level scaling method, which was developed and applied for the design of the Purdue Multi-dimensional Integral Test Assembly (PUMA). Scaling criteria is derived from dimensionless field equations and constitutive equations. The scaling process is validated by the RELAP5 analysis for both steady state and startup transients. A new well-scaled natural circulation test facility is designed and constructed based on the scaling analysis of the NMR-50. The experimental facility is installed with different equipment to measure various thermal-hydraulic parameters such as pressure, temperature, mass flow rate and void fraction. Characterization tests are performed before the startup transient tests and quasi-steady tests to determine the loop flow resistance. The controlling system and data acquisition system are programmed with LabVIEW to realize the real-time control and data storage. The thermal-hydraulic and nuclear coupled startup transients are performed to investigate the flow instabilities at low pressure and low power conditions. Two different power ramps are chosen to study the effect of power density on the flow instability. The experimental startup transient tests show the existence of three different flow instability mechanisms during the low pressure startup transients, i.e., flashing instability, condensation induced instability, and density wave oscillations. Flashing instability in the chimney section of the test loop and density wave oscillation are the main flow instabilities observed when the system pressure is below 0.5 MPa. They show completely different type of oscillations, i.e., intermittent oscillation and sinusoidal oscillation, in void fraction profile during the startup transients. In order to perform nuclear-coupled startup transients with void reactivity feedback, the Point Kinetics model is utilized to calculate the transient power during the startup transients. In addition, the differences between the electric resistance heaters and typical fuel element are taken into account. The reactor power calculated shows some oscillations due to flashing instability during the transients. However, the void reactivity feedback does not have significant influence on the flow instability during the startup procedure for the NMR-50. Further investigation of very small power ramp on the startup transients is carried out for the thermal-hydraulic startup transients. It is found that very small power density can eliminate the flashing oscillation in the single phase natural circulation and stabilize the flow oscillations in the phase of net vapor generation. Furthermore, initially pressurized startup procedure is investigated to eliminate the main flow instabilities. The results show that the pressurized startup procedure can suppress the flashing instability at low pressure and low power conditions. In order to have a deep understanding of natural circulation flow instability, the quasi-steady tests are performed using the test facility installed with preheater and subcooler. The effects of system pressure, core inlet subcooling, core power density, inlet flow resistance coefficient, and void reactivity feedback are investigated in the quasi-steady state tests. The stability boundaries are determined between unstable and stable flow conditions in the dimensionless stability plane of inlet subcooling number and Zuber number. In order to predict the stability boundary theoretically, linear stability analysis in the frequency domain is performed at four sections of the loop. The flashing in the chimney is considered as an axially uniform heat source. The dimensionless characteristic equation of the pressure drop perturbation is obtained by considering the void fraction effect and outlet flow resistance in the chimney section. The flashing boundary shows some discrepancies with previous experimental data from the quasi-steady state tests. In the future, thermal non-equilibrium is recommended to improve the accuracy of flashing instability boundary.

Molecular dynamics simulations of void defects in the energetic material HMX.

PubMed

Duan, Xiao Hui; Li, Wen Peng; Pei, Chong Hua; Zhou, Xiao Qing

2013-09-01

A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was carried out to characterize the dynamic evolution of void defects in crystalline octahydro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetranitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocine (HMX). Different models were constructed with the same concentration of vacancies (10 %) to discuss the size effects of void. Energetic ground state properties were determined by annealing simulations. The void formation energy per molecule removed was found to be 55-63 kcal/mol(-1), and the average binding energy per molecule was between 32 and 34 kcal/mol(-1) according to the change in void size. Voids with larger size had lower formation energy. Local binding energies for molecules directly on the void surface decreased greatly compared to those in defect-free lattice, and then gradually increased until the distance away from the void surface was around 10 Å. Analysis of 1 ns MD simulations revealed that the larger the void size, the easier is void collapse. Mean square displacements (MSDs) showed that HMX molecules that had collapsed into void present liquid structure characteristics. Four unique low-energy conformers were found for HMX molecules in void: two whose conformational geometries corresponded closely to those found in HMX polymorphs and two, additional, lower energy conformers that were not seen in the crystalline phases. The ratio of different conformers changed with the simulated temperature, in that the ratio of α conformer increased with the increase in temperature.

21 CFR 888.3045 - Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device... salt bone void filler device. (a) Identification. A resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device is... entitled “Class II Special Controls Guidance: Resorbable Calcium Salt Bone Void Filler Device; Guidance for...

21 CFR 888.3045 - Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device... salt bone void filler device. (a) Identification. A resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device is... entitled “Class II Special Controls Guidance: Resorbable Calcium Salt Bone Void Filler Device; Guidance for...

21 CFR 888.3045 - Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device... salt bone void filler device. (a) Identification. A resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device is... entitled “Class II Special Controls Guidance: Resorbable Calcium Salt Bone Void Filler Device; Guidance for...

21 CFR 888.3045 - Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device... salt bone void filler device. (a) Identification. A resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device is... entitled “Class II Special Controls Guidance: Resorbable Calcium Salt Bone Void Filler Device; Guidance for...

21 CFR 888.3045 - Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device... salt bone void filler device. (a) Identification. A resorbable calcium salt bone void filler device is... entitled “Class II Special Controls Guidance: Resorbable Calcium Salt Bone Void Filler Device; Guidance for...

21 CFR 1305.28 - Canceling and voiding electronic orders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Canceling and voiding electronic orders. 1305.28... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES Electronic Orders § 1305.28 Canceling and voiding electronic orders. (a) A supplier may void all or part of an electronic order by notifying the purchaser of the voiding...

21 CFR 1305.28 - Canceling and voiding electronic orders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Canceling and voiding electronic orders. 1305.28... I AND II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES Electronic Orders § 1305.28 Canceling and voiding electronic orders. (a) A supplier may void all or part of an electronic order by notifying the purchaser of the voiding...

38 CFR 3.207 - Void or annulled marriage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Void or annulled marriage... Void or annulled marriage. Proof that a marriage was void or has been annulled should consist of: (a... marriage void, together with such other evidence as may be required for a determination. (b) Annulled. A...

Molecular dynamics modeling and simulation of void growth in two dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, H.-J.; Segurado, J.; Rodríguez de la Fuente, O.; Pabón, B. M.; LLorca, J.

2013-10-01

The mechanisms of growth of a circular void by plastic deformation were studied by means of molecular dynamics in two dimensions (2D). While previous molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in three dimensions (3D) have been limited to small voids (up to ≈10 nm in radius), this strategy allows us to study the behavior of voids of up to 100 nm in radius. MD simulations showed that plastic deformation was triggered by the nucleation of dislocations at the atomic steps of the void surface in the whole range of void sizes studied. The yield stress, defined as stress necessary to nucleate stable dislocations, decreased with temperature, but the void growth rate was not very sensitive to this parameter. Simulations under uniaxial tension, uniaxial deformation and biaxial deformation showed that the void growth rate increased very rapidly with multiaxiality but it did not depend on the initial void radius. These results were compared with previous 3D MD and 2D dislocation dynamics simulations to establish a map of mechanisms and size effects for plastic void growth in crystalline solids.

Fuzzy Reasoning to More Accurately Determine Void Areas on Optical Micrographs of Composite Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominquez, Jesus A.; Tate, Lanetra C.; Wright, M. Clara; Caraccio, Anne

2013-01-01

Accomplishing the best-performing composite matrix (resin) requires that not only the processing method but also the cure cycle generate low-void-content structures. If voids are present, the performance of the composite matrix will be significantly reduced. This is usually noticed by significant reductions in matrix-dominated properties, such as compression and shear strength. Voids in composite materials are areas that are absent of the composite components: matrix and fibers. The characteristics of the voids and their accurate estimation are critical to determine for high performance composite structures. One widely used method of performing void analysis on a composite structure sample is acquiring optical micrographs or Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of lateral sides of the sample and retrieving the void areas within the micrographs/images using an image analysis technique. Segmentation for the retrieval and subsequent computation of void areas within the micrographs/images is challenging as the gray-scaled values of the void areas are close to the gray-scaled values of the matrix leading to the need of manually performing the segmentation based on the histogram of the micrographs/images to retrieve the void areas. The use of an algorithm developed by NASA and based on Fuzzy Reasoning (FR) proved to overcome the difficulty of suitably differentiate void and matrix image areas with similar gray-scaled values leading not only to a more accurate estimation of void areas on composite matrix micrographs but also to a faster void analysis process as the algorithm is fully autonomous.

Voids in cosmological simulations over cosmic time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wojtak, Radosław; Powell, Devon; Abel, Tom

2016-06-01

We study evolution of voids in cosmological simulations using a new method for tracing voids over cosmic time. The method is based on tracking watershed basins (contiguous regions around density minima) of well-developed voids at low redshift, on a regular grid of density field. It enables us to construct a robust and continuous mapping between voids at different redshifts, from initial conditions to the present time. We discuss how the new approach eliminates strong spurious effects of numerical origin when voids' evolution is traced by matching voids between successive snapshots (by analogy to halo merger trees). We apply the new method to a cosmological simulation of a standard Λ-cold-dark-matter cosmological model and study evolution of basic properties of typical voids (with effective radii 6 h-1 Mpc < Rv < 20 h-1 Mpc at redshift z = 0) such as volumes, shapes, matter density distributions and relative alignments. The final voids at low redshifts appear to retain a significant part of the configuration acquired in initial conditions. Shapes of voids evolve in a collective way which barely modifies the overall distribution of the axial ratios. The evolution appears to have a weak impact on mutual alignments of voids implying that the present state is in large part set up by the primordial density field. We present evolution of dark matter density profiles computed on isodensity surfaces which comply with the actual shapes of voids. Unlike spherical density profiles, this approach enables us to demonstrate development of theoretically predicted bucket-like shape of the final density profiles indicating a wide flat core and a sharp transition to high-density void walls.

Effect of voids on Arrhenius relationship between H-solubility and temperature in nickel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Q.Y.; Sun, X.K.; Hu, Z.Q.

1997-01-15

Many investigations about the states of hydrogen in voids within metals have been carried out over the past years. These probable states of hydrogen in the voids are directly relevant to hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms. Therefore, a knowledge of the states of hydrogen in the voids is important to an understanding of hydrogen-related degradation of material properties. Some results show that hydrogen exists as a molecule in the voids, while others suggest it is in the chemisorbed state on the internal surface of the voids. The results of Sung-Man lee et al. suggested that hydrogen in the voids in nickel existsmore » both in the gaseous and chemisorbed stats, and most of the hydrogen trapped in the voids seems to be present as a chemisorbed state in 1 atm. hydrogen pressure in the temperature range of 350--582 C. But there is no quantitative description concerning the effects of the voids on the solubility of hydrogen in materials. The purpose of this work is to describe quantitatively the effects of the voids on hydrogen solubility in nickel, considering hydrogen exists as gaseous and chemisorbed states in the voids, and the very weak physical adsorption above room temperature is neglected.« less

Physics of hydride fueled PWR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganda, Francesco

The first part of the work presents the neutronic results of a detailed and comprehensive study of the feasibility of using hydride fuel in pressurized water reactors (PWR). The primary hydride fuel examined is U-ZrH1.6 having 45w/o uranium: two acceptable design approaches were identified: (1) use of erbium as a burnable poison; (2) replacement of a fraction of the ZrH1.6 by thorium hydride along with addition of some IFBA. The replacement of 25 v/o of ZrH 1.6 by ThH2 along with use of IFBA was identified as the preferred design approach as it gives a slight cycle length gain whereas use of erbium burnable poison results in a cycle length penalty. The feasibility of a single recycling plutonium in PWR in the form of U-PuH2-ZrH1.6 has also been assessed. This fuel was found superior to MOX in terms of the TRU fractional transmutation---53% for U-PuH2-ZrH1.6 versus 29% for MOX---and proliferation resistance. A thorough investigation of physics characteristics of hydride fuels has been performed to understand the reasons of the trends in the reactivity coefficients. The second part of this work assessed the feasibility of multi-recycling plutonium in PWR using hydride fuel. It was found that the fertile-free hydride fuel PuH2-ZrH1.6, enables multi-recycling of Pu in PWR an unlimited number of times. This unique feature of hydride fuels is due to the incorporation of a significant fraction of the hydrogen moderator in the fuel, thereby mitigating the effect of spectrum hardening due to coolant voiding accidents. An equivalent oxide fuel PuO2-ZrO2 was investigated as well and found to enable up to 10 recycles. The feasibility of recycling Pu and all the TRU using hydride fuels were investigated as well. It was found that hydride fuels allow recycling of Pu+Np at least 6 times. If it was desired to recycle all the TRU in PWR using hydrides, the number of possible recycles is limited to 3; the limit is imposed by positive large void reactivity feedback.

Mechanism of Void Prediction in Flip Chip Packages with Molded Underfill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Kuo-Tsai; Hwang, Sheng-Jye; Lee, Huei-Huang

2017-08-01

Voids have always been present using the molded underfill (MUF) package process, which is a problem that needs further investigation. In this study, the process was studied using the Moldex3D numerical analysis software. The effects of gas (air vent effect) on the overall melt front were also considered. In this isothermal process containing two fluids, the gas and melt colloid interact in the mold cavity. Simulation enabled an appropriate understanding of the actual situation to be gained, and, through analysis, the void region and exact location of voids were predicted. First, the global flow end area was observed to predict the void movement trend, and then the local flow ends were observed to predict the location and size of voids. In the MUF 518 case study, simulations predicted the void region as well as the location and size of the voids. The void phenomenon in a flip chip ball grid array underfill is discussed as part of the study.

Three-dimensional simulations of void collapse in energetic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Nirmal Kumar; Udaykumar, H. S.

2018-03-01

The collapse of voids in porous energetic materials leads to hot-spot formation and reaction initiation. This work advances the current knowledge of the dynamics of void collapse and hot-spot formation using 3D reactive void collapse simulations in HMX. Four different void shapes, i.e., sphere, cylinder, plate, and ellipsoid, are studied. For all four shapes, collapse generates complex three-dimensional (3D) baroclinic vortical structures. The hot spots are collocated with regions of intense vorticity. The differences in the vortical structures for the different void shapes are shown to significantly impact the relative sensitivity of the voids. Voids of high surface area generate hot spots of greater intensity; intricate, highly contorted vortical structures lead to hot spots of corresponding tortuosity and therefore enhanced growth rates of reaction fronts. In addition, all 3D voids are shown to be more sensitive than their two-dimensional (2D) counterparts. The results provide physical insights into hot-spot formation and growth and point to the limitations of 2D analyses of hot-spot formation.

X-ray Microtomography of Intermittency in Multiphase Flow at Steady State Using a Differential Imaging Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Ying; Lin, Qingyang; Bijeljic, Branko; Blunt, Martin J.

2017-12-01

We imaged the steady state flow of brine and decane in Bentheimer sandstone. We devised an experimental method based on differential imaging to examine how flow rate impacts impact the pore-scale distribution of fluids during coinjection. This allows us to elucidate flow regimes (connected, or breakup of the nonwetting phase pathways) for a range of fractional flows at two capillary numbers, Ca, namely 3.0 × 10-7 and 7.5 × 10-6. At the lower Ca, for a fixed fractional flow, the two phases appear to flow in connected unchanging subnetworks of the pore space, consistent with conventional theory. At the higher Ca, we observed that a significant fraction of the pore space contained sometimes oil and sometimes brine during the 1 h scan: this intermittent occupancy, which was interpreted as regions of the pore space that contained both fluid phases for some time, is necessary to explain the flow and dynamic connectivity of the oil phase; pathways of always oil-filled portions of the void space did not span the core. This phase was segmented from the differential image between the 30 wt % KI brine image and the scans taken at each fractional flow. Using the grey scale histogram distribution of the raw images, the oil proportion in the intermittent phase was calculated. The pressure drops at each fractional flow at low and high flow rates were measured by high-precision differential pressure sensors. The relative permeabilities and fractional flow obtained by our experiment at the mm-scale compare well with data from the literature on cm-scale samples.

General Mechanism of Morphology Transition and Spreading Area-dependent Phase Diagram of Block Copolymer Self-assembly at the Air/Water Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dong Hyup; Kim, So Youn

Block copolymers (BCPs) can be self-assembled forming periodic nanostructures, which have been employed in many applications. While general agreements exist for the phase diagrams of BCP self-assembly in bulk or thin films, a fundamental understanding of BCP structures at the air/water interface still remain elusive. The current study explains morphology transition of BCPs with relative fraction of each block at the air/water interface: block fraction is the only parameter to control the morphology. In this study, we show morphology transitions from spherical to cylindrical and planar structures with neat polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) via reducing the spreading area of BCP solution at the air/water interface. For example, PS-b-P2VP in a fixed block fraction known to form only spheres can experience sphere to cylinder or lamellar transitions depending on the spreading area at the air/water interface. Suggesting a new parameter to control the interfacial assembly of BCPs, a complete phase diagram is drawn with two paramters: relative block fraction and spreading area. We also explain the morphology transition with the combinational description of dewetting mechanism and spring effect of hydrophilic block.

Methods of predicting aggregate voids.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

Percent voids in combined aggregates vary significantly. Simplified methods of predicting aggregate : voids were studied to determine the feasibility of a range of gradations using aggregates available in Kansas. : The 0.45 Power Curve Void Predictio...

Direct evidence of void passivation in Cu(InGa)(SSe){sub 2} absorber layers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Dongho; Kim, Young-Su; Mo, Chan B.

We have investigated the charge collection condition around voids in copper indium gallium sulfur selenide (CIGSSe) solar cells fabricated by sputter and a sequential process of selenization/sulfurization. In this study, we found direct evidence of void passivation by using the junction electron beam induced current method, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The high sulfur concentration at the void surface plays an important role in the performance enhancement of the device. The recombination around voids is effectively suppressed by field-assisted void passivation. Hence, the generated carriers are easily collected by the electrodes. Therefore, when the S/(S + Se)more » ratio at the void surface is over 8% at room temperature, the device performance degradation caused by the recombination at the voids is negligible at the CIGSSe layer.« less

Log-Normal Distribution of Cosmic Voids in Simulations and Mocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, E.; Pycke, J.-R.

2017-01-01

Following up on previous studies, we complete here a full analysis of the void size distributions of the Cosmic Void Catalog based on three different simulation and mock catalogs: dark matter (DM), haloes, and galaxies. Based on this analysis, we attempt to answer two questions: Is a three-parameter log-normal distribution a good candidate to satisfy the void size distributions obtained from different types of environments? Is there a direct relation between the shape parameters of the void size distribution and the environmental effects? In an attempt to answer these questions, we find here that all void size distributions of these data samples satisfy the three-parameter log-normal distribution whether the environment is dominated by DM, haloes, or galaxies. In addition, the shape parameters of the three-parameter log-normal void size distribution seem highly affected by environment, particularly existing substructures. Therefore, we show two quantitative relations given by linear equations between the skewness and the maximum tree depth, and between the variance of the void size distribution and the maximum tree depth, directly from the simulated data. In addition to this, we find that the percentage of voids with nonzero central density in the data sets has a critical importance. If the number of voids with nonzero central density reaches ≥3.84% in a simulation/mock sample, then a second population is observed in the void size distributions. This second population emerges as a second peak in the log-normal void size distribution at larger radius.

Theory of Dust Voids in Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goree, J.; Morfill, G. E.; Tsytovich, V. N.; Vladimirov, S. V.

1999-01-01

Dusty plasmas in a gas discharge often feature a stable void, i.e., a dust-free region inside the dust cloud. This occurs under conditions relevant to both plasma processing discharges and plasma crystal experiments. The void results from a balance of the electrostatic and ion drag forces on a dust particle. The ion drag force is driven by a flow of ions outward from an ionization source and toward the surrounding dust cloud, which has a negative space charge. In equilibrium the force balance for dust particles requires that the boundary with the dust cloud be sharp, provided that the particles are cold and monodispersive. Numerical solutions of the one-dimensional nonlinear fluid equations are carried out including dust charging and dust-neutral collisions, but not ion-neutral collisions. The regions of parameter space that allow stable void equilibria are identified. There is a minimum ionization rate that can sustain a void. Spatial profiles of plasma parameters in the void are reported. In the absence of ion-neutral collisions, the ion flow enters the dust cloud's edge at Mach number M = 1. Phase diagrams for expanding or contracting voids reveal a stationary point corresponding to a single stable equilibrium void size, provided the ionization rate is constant. Large voids contract and small voids expand until they attain this stationary void size. On the other hand, if the ionization rate is not constant, the void size can oscillate. Results are compared to recent laboratory and microgravity experiments.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: A cosmic void catalog of SDSS DR12 BOSS galaxies (Mao+, 2017)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Q.; Berlind, A. A.; Scherrer, R. J.; Neyrinck, M. C.; Scoccimarro, R.; Tinker, J. L.; McBride, C. K.; Schneider, D. P.; Pan, K.; Bizyaev, D.; Malanushenko, E.; Malanushenko, V.

2017-08-01

We present a cosmic void catalog using the large-scale structure galaxy catalog from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This galaxy catalog is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12 and is the final catalog of SDSS-III. We take into account the survey boundaries, masks, and angular and radial selection functions, and apply the ZOBOV (Neyrinck 2008MNRAS.386.2101N) void finding algorithm to the Galaxy catalog. We identify a total of 10643 voids. After making quality cuts to ensure that the voids represent real underdense regions, we obtain 1228 voids with effective radii spanning the range 20-100h-1Mpc and with central densities that are, on average, 30% of the mean sample density. We release versions of the catalogs both with and without quality cuts. We discuss the basic statistics of voids, such as their size and redshift distributions, and measure the radial density profile of the voids via a stacking technique. In addition, we construct mock void catalogs from 1000 mock galaxy catalogs, and find that the properties of BOSS voids are in good agreement with those in the mock catalogs. We compare the stellar mass distribution of galaxies living inside and outside of the voids, and find no large difference. These BOSS and mock void catalogs are useful for a number of cosmological and galaxy environment studies. (1 data file).

Cosmic voids detection without density measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elyiv, Andrii; Marulli, Federico; Pollina, Giorgia; Baldi, Marco; Branchini, Enzo; Cimatti, Andrea; Moscardini, Lauro

2015-03-01

Cosmic voids are effective cosmological probes to discriminate among competing world models. Their identification is generally based on density or geometry criteria that, because of their very nature, are prone to shot noise. We propose two void finders that are based on dynamical criterion to select voids in Lagrangian coordinates and minimize the impact of sparse sampling. The first approach exploits the Zel'dovich approximation to trace back in time the orbits of galaxies located in voids and their surroundings; the second uses the observed galaxy-galaxy correlation function to relax the objects' spatial distribution to homogeneity and isotropy. In both cases voids are defined as regions of the negative velocity divergence, which can be regarded as sinks of the back-in-time streamlines of the mass tracers. To assess the performance of our methods we used a dark matter halo mock catalogue CODECS, and compared the results with those obtained with the ZOBOV void finder. We find that the void divergence profiles are less scattered than the density ones and, therefore, their stacking constitutes a more accurate cosmological probe. The significance of the divergence signal in the central part of voids obtained from both our finders is 60 per cent higher than for overdensity profiles in the ZOBOV case. The ellipticity of the stacked void measured in the divergence field is closer to unity, as expected, than what is found when using halo positions. Therefore, our void finders are complementary to the existing methods, which should contribute to improve the accuracy of void-based cosmological tests.

Large-Scale Reactive Atomistic Simulation of Shock-induced Initiation Processes in Energetic Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Aidan

2013-06-01

Initiation in energetic materials is fundamentally dependent on the interaction between a host of complex chemical and mechanical processes, occurring on scales ranging from intramolecular vibrations through molecular crystal plasticity up to hydrodynamic phenomena at the mesoscale. A variety of methods (e.g. quantum electronic structure methods (QM), non-reactive classical molecular dynamics (MD), mesoscopic continuum mechanics) exist to study processes occurring on each of these scales in isolation, but cannot describe how these processes interact with each other. In contrast, the ReaxFF reactive force field, implemented in the LAMMPS parallel MD code, allows us to routinely perform multimillion-atom reactive MD simulations of shock-induced initiation in a variety of energetic materials. This is done either by explicitly driving a shock-wave through the structure (NEMD) or by imposing thermodynamic constraints on the collective dynamics of the simulation cell e.g. using the Multiscale Shock Technique (MSST). These MD simulations allow us to directly observe how energy is transferred from the shockwave into other processes, including intramolecular vibrational modes, plastic deformation of the crystal, and hydrodynamic jetting at interfaces. These processes in turn cause thermal excitation of chemical bonds leading to initial chemical reactions, and ultimately to exothermic formation of product species. Results will be presented on the application of this approach to several important energetic materials, including pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO). In both cases, we validate the ReaxFF parameterizations against QM and experimental data. For PETN, we observe initiation occurring via different chemical pathways, depending on the shock direction. For PETN containing spherical voids, we observe enhanced sensitivity due to jetting, void collapse, and hotspot formation, with sensitivity increasing with void size. For ANFO, we examine the effect of reaction rates on shock direction, fuel oil fraction, and crystal/fuel oil/void microstructural arrangement. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Dept. of Energy's National Nuclear Security Admin. under contract DEAC0494AL85000.

Phenylethynyl Containing Polyarylene Ethers/Polyimides Resin Infiltration of Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, DeRome O.

1998-01-01

The following tasks were performed at NCA&TSU during the second year in performance of the grant. LaRC-LV-1 13 resin was synthesized at NCA&TSU. In order to perform the synthesis, glassware and needed apparatus were purchased with grant funds along with the appropriate monomers. It was found that the LaRC-LV-1 13 resin was easily synthesized by the NMP solvent/toluene imminization/distilled water precipitation process. However, in use this resin exhibited a bubbling/foaming behavior during cure that was detrimental leading to the production of composite panels having a high void content. Composite panels were fabricated using compression molding and resin transfer molding (RTM) techniques. Initial fiber volume determinations were computed at NCA&TSU along with NASA-Langley measured c-scans on the panels produced. The initial results indicated a unsatisfactory level of approximately 20% by volume of voids. Testing of uniaxial coupons in compression to failure also agreed with these results. The uniaxial coupons delaminated as the major mode of failure indicative of an unacceptably low level of resin and to much void content in the final composites produced. In discussions with Dr. Brian Jensen, it was suggested the void fraction needs to be reduced to at least 2% by volume for a useful composite. The panels produced used both resin synthesized at NASA-Langley and NCA&TSU. In reviewing our progress over the past year, it was noted that the resin as formulated by the current synthesis process bubbled at elevated temperature. This was especially observed in neat resin slugs cured at the recommended one, four and eight hour cure temperatures. Pressurized cures where then performed with pressures up to 200 psi and simultaneously the lowest eight hour cure temperatures. Although this procedure reduced the amount of bubbles to some extent in the neat resin slugs it did not completely eliminate them. The cure reaction appears to be very energetic even at the lowest recommended cure temperature. Currently, the pressurized cure apparatus developed at NCA&TSU is limited to 200 psi.

Motion-sensitized SPRITE measurements of hydrodynamic cavitation in fast pipe flow.

PubMed

Adair, Alexander; Mastikhin, Igor V; Newling, Benedict

2018-06-01

The pressure variations experienced by a liquid flowing through a pipe constriction can, in some cases, result in the formation of a bubble cloud (i.e., hydrodynamic cavitation). Due to the nature of the bubble cloud, it is ideally measured through the use of non-optical and non-invasive techniques; therefore, it is well-suited for study by magnetic resonance imaging. This paper demonstrates the use of Conical SPRITE (a 3D, centric-scan, pure phase-encoding pulse sequence) to acquire time-averaged void fraction and velocity information about hydrodynamic cavitation for water flowing through a pipe constriction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Buoyancy effects on smoldering combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dosanjh, S.; Peterson, J.; Fernandez-Pello, A. C.; Pagni, P. J.

1985-01-01

The effect of buoyancy on the rate of spread of a concurrent smolder reaction through a porous combustible material is investigated theoretically and experimentally. In the experiments, buoyant forces are controlled by varying the density difference, and the smolder rate spread through porous alpha cellulose (0.83 void fraction) is measured as a function of the ambient air pressure. The smolder velocity is found to increase with the ambient pressure; extinction occurs when the buoyancy forces cannot overcome the drag forces, indicating that diffusion by itself cannot support the spread of a smolder reaction. Theoretical predictions are found to be in good qualitative agreement with the experimental results.

Electromigration Mechanism of Failure in Flip-Chip Solder Joints Based on Discrete Void Formation.

PubMed

Chang, Yuan-Wei; Cheng, Yin; Helfen, Lukas; Xu, Feng; Tian, Tian; Scheel, Mario; Di Michiel, Marco; Chen, Chih; Tu, King-Ning; Baumbach, Tilo

2017-12-20

In this investigation, SnAgCu and SN100C solders were electromigration (EM) tested, and the 3D laminography imaging technique was employed for in-situ observation of the microstructure evolution during testing. We found that discrete voids nucleate, grow and coalesce along the intermetallic compound/solder interface during EM testing. A systematic analysis yields quantitative information on the number, volume, and growth rate of voids, and the EM parameter of DZ*. We observe that fast intrinsic diffusion in SnAgCu solder causes void growth and coalescence, while in the SN100C solder this coalescence was not significant. To deduce the current density distribution, finite-element models were constructed on the basis of the laminography images. The discrete voids do not change the global current density distribution, but they induce the local current crowding around the voids: this local current crowding enhances the lateral void growth and coalescence. The correlation between the current density and the probability of void formation indicates that a threshold current density exists for the activation of void formation. There is a significant increase in the probability of void formation when the current density exceeds half of the maximum value.

Morphology of the supercluster-void network in ΛCDM cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shandarin, Sergei F.; Sheth, Jatush V.; Sahni, Varun

2004-09-01

We report here the first systematic study of the supercluster-void network in the ΛCDM concordance cosmology in which voids and superclusters are treated on an equal footing. We study the dark matter density field in real space smoothed on a scale of 5 h-1 Mpc. Superclusters are defined as individual members of an overdense excursion set, and voids are defined as individual members of a complementary underdense excursion set at the same density threshold. We determine the geometric, topological and morphological properties of the cosmic web at a large set of density levels by computing Minkowski functionals for every supercluster and void using SURFGEN (described recently by Sheth et al.). The properties of the largest (percolating) supercluster and the complementary void are found to be very different from those of the individual superclusters and voids. In total, the individual superclusters occupy no more than about 5 per cent of the volume and contain no more than 20 per cent of the mass if the largest supercluster is excluded. Likewise, in total, individual voids occupy no more than 14 per cent of the volume and contain no more than 4 per cent of the mass if the largest void is excluded. Although superclusters are more massive and voids are more voluminous, the difference in maximum volumes is no greater than an order of magnitude. The genus value of individual superclusters can be ~5, while the genus of individual voids can reach ~50, implying a significant amount of substructure in superclusters and especially in voids. One of our main results is that large voids, as defined through the dark matter density field in real space, are distinctly non-spherical.

Void Growth and Coalescence in Dynamic Fracture of FCC and BCC Metals - Molecular Dynamics Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seppälä, Eira

2004-03-01

In dynamic fracture of ductile metals, the state of tension causes the nucleation of voids, typically from inclusions or grain boundary junctions, which grow and ultimately coalesce to form the fracture surface. Significant plastic deformation occurs in the process, including dislocations emitted to accommodate the growing voids. We have studied at the atomistic scale growth and coalescence processes of voids with concomitant dislocation formation. Classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of one and two pre-existing spherical voids initially a few nanometers in radius have been performed in single-crystal face-centered-cubic (FCC) and body-centered-cubic (BCC) lattices under dilational strain with high strain-rates. Million atom simulations of single void growth have been done to study the effect of stress triaxiality,^1 along with strain rate and lattice-structure dependence. An interesting prolate-to-oblate transition in the void shape in uniaxial expansion has been observed and quantitatively analyzed. The simulations also confirm that the plastic strain results directly from the void growth. Interaction and coalescence between two voids have been studied utilizing a parallel MD code in a seven million atom system. In particular, the movement of centers of the voids, linking of the voids, and the shape changes in vicinity of the other void are studied. Also the critical intervoid ligament distance after which the voids can be treated independently has been searched. ^1 E. T. Seppälä, J. Belak, and R. E. Rudd, cond-mat/0310541, submitted to Phys. Rev. B. Acknowledgment: This work was done in collaboration with Dr. James Belak and Dr. Robert E. Rudd, LLNL. It was performed under the auspices of the US Dept. of Energy at the Univ. of Cal./Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract no. W-7405-Eng-48.

High Temperature VARTM of Phenylethynyl Terminated Imides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghose, Sayata; Cano, Roberto J.; Watson, Kent A.; Britton, Sean M.; Jensen, Brian J.; Connell, John W.; Herring, Helen M.; Linberry, Quentin J.

2009-01-01

Depending on the part type and quantity, fabrication of composite structures using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) can be more affordable than conventional autoclave techniques. Recent efforts have focused on adapting VARTM for the fabrication of high temperature composites. Due to their low melt viscosity and long melt stability, certain phenylethynyl terminated imides (PETI) can be processed into composites using high temperature VARTM (HT-VARTM). However, one of the disadvantages of the current HT-VARTM resin systems has been the high porosity of the resultant composites. For aerospace applications, the desired void fraction of less than 2% has not yet been achieved. In the current study, two PETI resins, LaRC PETI-330 and LaRC PETI-8 have been used to make test specimens using HT-VARTM. The resins were infused into ten layers of IM7-6K carbon fiber 5-harness satin fabric at 260 C or 280 C and cured at temperature up to 371 C. Initial runs yielded composites with high void content, typically greater than 7% by weight. A thermogravimetric-mass spectroscopic study was conducted to determine the source of volatiles leading to high porosity. It was determined that under the thermal cycle used for laminate fabrication, the phenylethynyl endcap was undergoing degradation leading to volatile evolution. This finding was unexpected as high quality composite laminates have been fabricated under higher pressures using these resin systems. The amount of weight loss experienced during the thermal cycle was only about 1% by weight, but this leads to a significant amount of volatiles in a closed system. By modifying the thermal cycle used in laminate fabrication, the void content was significantly reduced (typically 3% or less). The results of this work are presented herein.

Methods of predicting aggregate voids : [technical summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

Percent voids in combined aggregates vary significantly. Simplified methods of predicting aggregate voids were studied to determine the feasibility of a range of gradations using aggregates available in Kansas. : The 0.45 Power Curve Void Prediction ...

A soluble star-shaped silsesquioxane-cored polymer-towards novel stabilization of pH-dependent high internal phase emulsions.

PubMed

Xing, Yuxiu; Peng, Jun; Xu, Kai; Gao, Shuxi; Gui, Xuefeng; Liang, Shengyuan; Sun, Longfeng; Chen, Mingcai

2017-08-30

A well-defined pH-responsive star-shaped polymer containing poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMA) arms and a cage-like methacryloxypropyl silsesquioxane (CMSQ-T 10 ) core was used as an interfacial stabilizer for emulsions consisting of m-xylene and water. We explored the properties of the CMSQ/PDMA star-shaped polymer using the characteristic results of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential and conductivity measurements. The interfacial tension results showed that the CMSQ/PDMA star-shaped polymer reduced the interfacial tension between water and oil in a pH-dependent manner. Gelled high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) including o/w and w/o types were formed in the pH ranges of 1.2-5.8 and 9.1-12.3 with the CMSQ/PDMA star-shaped polymer as a stabilizer, when the oil fractions were 80-90 vol% and 10-20 vol%, respectively. The soluble star-shaped polymer aggregated spontaneously to form a microgel that adsorbed to the two immiscible phases. Images of the fluorescently labeled polymers demonstrated that there was a star-shaped polymer in the continuous phase, and the non-Pickering stabilization based on the percolating network of the star-shaped polymer also contributed to the stabilization of the HIPE. This pH-dependent HIPE was prepared with a novel stabilization mechanism consisting of microgel adsorption and non-Pickering stabilization. Moreover, the preparation of HIPEs provided the possibility of their application in porous materials and responsive materials.

Interfacial Water at Protein Surfaces: Wide-Line NMR and DSC Characterization of Hydration in Ubiquitin Solutions

PubMed Central

Tompa, Kálmán; Bánki, Péter; Bokor, Mónika; Kamasa, Pawel; Lasanda, György; Tompa, Péter

2009-01-01

Wide-line 1H-NMR and differential scanning calorimetry measurements were done in aqueous solutions and on lyophilized samples of human ubiquitin between −70°C and +45°C. The measured properties (size, thermal evolution, and wide-line NMR spectra) of the protein-water interfacial region are substantially different in the double-distilled and buffered-water solutions of ubiquitin. The characteristic transition in water mobility is identified as the melting of the nonfreezing/hydrate water. The amount of water in the low-temperature mobile fraction is 0.4 g/g protein for the pure water solution. The amount of mobile water is higher and its temperature dependence more pronounced for the buffered solution. The specific heat of the nonfreezing/hydrate water was evaluated using combined differential scanning calorimetry and NMR data. Considering the interfacial region as an independent phase, the values obtained are 5.0–5.8 J·g−1·K−1, and the magnitudes are higher than that of pure/bulk water (4.2 J·g−1·K−1). This unexpected discrepancy can only be resolved in principle by assuming that hydrate water is in tight H-bond coupling with the protein matrix. The specific heat for the system composed of the protein molecule and its hydration water is 2.3 J·g−1·K−1. It could be concluded that the protein ubiquitin and its hydrate layer behave as a highly interconnected single phase in a thermodynamic sense. PMID:19348762

Impact of posterior urethral diameter/external urethral sphincter diameter as a new tool to predict detrusor pressure in the voiding phase.

PubMed

Kon, Masafumi; Mitsui, Takahiko; Kitta, Takeya; Moriya, Kimihiko; Shinohara, Nobuo; Takeda, Masayuki; Nonomura, Katsuya

2018-02-01

We measured posterior urethra diameter (PUD) and external urethral sphincter diameter (EUSD), which can also be measured by voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) and investigated the relationship between PUD/EUSD and detrusor pressure (Pdet) during voiding by videourodynamics (VUDS). Sixty-three children, who were 3 years old or less and underwent VUDS, were enrolled in the present study. We measured PUD and EUSD in addition to detrusor pressure at the time of the widest EUS during voiding (Pdet-voiding) by VUDS, and PUD/EUSD was investigated compared to Pdet-voiding. Seventy-eight VUDS were performed in 63 patients, and the median age at VUDS was 10.2 months. These studies revealed a significant correlation between PUD/EUSD and Pdet-voiding (r = 0.641, p < 0.001). However, a significant correlation was not observed between PUD/EUSD and age (r = 0.180). We defined Pdet-voiding of more than 80 cmH 2 O as a high voiding pressure, and a PUD/EUSD of 2.4 was a good predictor for the cutoff value for high voiding pressure. Pdet-voiding was significantly higher in children with a PUD/EUSD of ≥ 2.4 (p < 0.001). In 19 children who had neurological diseases, a significant correlation was found between PUD/EUSD and Pdet-voiding (r = 0.842, p < 0.001), and a PUD/EUSD of 2.4 was a useful cutoff value for high voiding pressure. PUD/EUSD is a valuable tool to predict high voiding pressure in pediatric patients. A PUD/EUSD of ≥ 2.4 in VCUG indicates the need to perform more invasive tests, such as VUDS, in pediatric patients aged 3 and under with neuropathic diseases.

Flow void of cerebrospinal fluid in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus of the elderly: can it predict outcome after shunting?

PubMed

Krauss, J K; Regel, J P; Vach, W; Jüngling, F D; Droste, D W; Wakhloo, A K

1997-01-01

We investigate the predictive value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow void on outcome after shunting in a prospective series of patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). The degree and extension of CSF flow void were examined on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans of 37 elderly patients with idiopathic NPH who underwent subsequent shunting. The degree of flow void was assessed in comparison with the signal of large cerebral arteries. The extension was evaluated via the calculation of sum scores for the occurrence of flow void in different locations of the ventricular system. Those parameters were not considered in the decision to perform shunting. CSF flow void in the aqueduct and the adjacent third and fourth ventricles of the 37 patients with idiopathic NPH was compared with that of 37 age-matched control patients. CSF flow void scores in patients with idiopathic NPH were investigated for correlations between postoperative outcome scores and ventricular width indices. No difference was found between the occurrence of aqueductal CSF flow void in patients with idiopathic NPH and the control group. A significant difference, however, was noted for the extension of the CSF flow void, which was greater in the NPH group. Postoperative improvement was found in 33 of 37 patients with idiopathic NPH at a mean follow-up of 15.6 months. Only small, statistically not significant correlations were found between CSF flow void and postoperative outcome. Flow void sum scores, however, correlated significantly with ventricular width indices. The degree and extension of CSF flow void on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans have little predictive value for outcome after shunting in patients with idiopathic NPH. The greater extension of the CSF flow void in patients with NPH is most likely related to increased ventricular width. It is not useful to consider CSF flow void findings on conventional magnetic resonance imaging scans in making the decision to offer shunting in patients with idiopathic NPH.

On the observability of coupled dark energy with cosmic voids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutter, P. M.; Carlesi, Edoardo; Wandelt, Benjamin D.; Knebe, Alexander

2015-01-01

Taking N-body simulations with volumes and particle densities tuned to match the sloan digital sky survey DR7 spectroscopic main sample, we assess the ability of current void catalogues to distinguish a model of coupled dark matter-dark energy from Λ cold dark matter cosmology using properties of cosmic voids. Identifying voids with the VIDE toolkit, we find no statistically significant differences in the ellipticities, but find that coupling produces a population of significantly larger voids, possibly explaining the recent result of Tavasoli et al. In addition, we use the universal density profile of Hamaus et al. to quantify the relationship between coupling and density profile shape, finding that the coupling produces broader, shallower, undercompensated profiles for large voids by thinning the walls between adjacent medium-scale voids. We find that these differences are potentially measurable with existing void catalogues once effects from survey geometries and peculiar velocities are taken into account.

Rayleigh-wave diffractions due to a void in the layered half space

USGS Publications Warehouse

Xia, J.; Xu, Y.; Miller, R.D.; Nyquist, Jonathan E.

2006-01-01

Void detection is challenging due to the complexity of near-surface materials and the limited resolution of geophysical methods. Although multichannel, high-frequency, surface-wave techniques can provide reliable shear (S)-wave velocities in different geological settings, they are not suitable for detecting voids directly based on anomalies of the S-wave velocity because of limitations on the resolution of S-wave velocity profiles inverted from surface-wave phase velocities. Xia et al. (2006a) derived a Rayleigh-wave diffraction traveltime equation due to a void in the homogeneous half space. Encouraging results of directly detecting a void from Rayleigh-wave diffractions were presented (Xia et al., 2006a). In this paper we used four two-dimensional square voids in the layered half space to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting a void with Rayleigh-wave diffractions. Rayleigh-wave diffractions were recognizable for all these models after removing direct surface waves by F-K filtering. We evaluate the feasibility of applying the Rayleigh-wave diffraction traveltime equation to a void in the layered earth model. The phase velocity of diffracted Rayleigh waves is predominately determined by surrounding materials of a void. The modeling results demonstrate that the Rayleigh-wave diffraction traveltime equation due to a void in the homogeneous half space can be applied to the case of a void in the layered half space. In practice, only two diffraction times are necessary to define the depth to the top of a void and the average velocity of diffracted Rayleigh waves. ?? 2005 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

LOG-NORMAL DISTRIBUTION OF COSMIC VOIDS IN SIMULATIONS AND MOCKS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Russell, E.; Pycke, J.-R., E-mail: er111@nyu.edu, E-mail: jrp15@nyu.edu

2017-01-20

Following up on previous studies, we complete here a full analysis of the void size distributions of the Cosmic Void Catalog based on three different simulation and mock catalogs: dark matter (DM), haloes, and galaxies. Based on this analysis, we attempt to answer two questions: Is a three-parameter log-normal distribution a good candidate to satisfy the void size distributions obtained from different types of environments? Is there a direct relation between the shape parameters of the void size distribution and the environmental effects? In an attempt to answer these questions, we find here that all void size distributions of thesemore » data samples satisfy the three-parameter log-normal distribution whether the environment is dominated by DM, haloes, or galaxies. In addition, the shape parameters of the three-parameter log-normal void size distribution seem highly affected by environment, particularly existing substructures. Therefore, we show two quantitative relations given by linear equations between the skewness and the maximum tree depth, and between the variance of the void size distribution and the maximum tree depth, directly from the simulated data. In addition to this, we find that the percentage of voids with nonzero central density in the data sets has a critical importance. If the number of voids with nonzero central density reaches ≥3.84% in a simulation/mock sample, then a second population is observed in the void size distributions. This second population emerges as a second peak in the log-normal void size distribution at larger radius.« less

Morphological statistics of the cosmic web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shandarin, Sergei F.

2004-07-01

We report the first systematic study of the supercluster-void network in the ΛCDM concordance cosmology treating voids and superclusters on an equal footing. We study the dark matter density field in real space smoothed with the Ls = 5 h[minus sign]1Mpc Gaussian window. Superclusters and voids are defined as individual members of over-dense and under-dense excursion sets respectively. We determine the morphological properties of the cosmic web at a large number of dark matter density levels by computing Minkowski functionals for every supercluster and void. At the adopted smoothing scale individual superclusters totally occupy no more than about 5% of the total volume and contain no more than 20% of mass if the largest supercluster is excluded. Likewise, individual voids totally occupy no more than 14% of volume and contain no more than 4% of mass if the largest void is excluded. The genus of individual superclusters can be ˜ 5 while the genus of individual voids reaches ˜ 55, implying significant amount of substructure in superclusters and especially in voids. Large voids are typically distinctly non-spherical.

Fluid intake and voiding; habits and health knowledge in a young, healthy population

PubMed Central

Das, Rebekah N; Grimmer-Somers, Karen A

2012-01-01

Objectives Health professionals commonly advise patients with incontinence and other lower urinary tract symptoms about modifiable contributing factors such as drinking and voiding habits. Poor drinking and voiding habits may begin early in life, before symptoms emerge. However, little is known about the habits and knowledge young people have regarding healthy drinking and voiding behaviors. This research aimed to assess the habits and health knowledge of young people regarding fluid intake and voiding. Methods A questionnaire was used to assess the drinking and voiding behaviors of first year university students and their knowledge about healthy fluid intake and voiding. Results The average daily fluid intake was >2 L/day for both genders. Poor drinking and voiding habits (such as high consumption of caffeinated drinks and alcohol, or nocturia) were common. Widely reported myths about the benefits of a high fluid intake were commonly believed. Conclusion More informed public education regarding healthy fluid intake, and drinking and voiding habits, is required as part of the effort to reduce the development of lower urinary tract symptoms, including incontinence. PMID:24199175

Fluid intake and voiding; habits and health knowledge in a young, healthy population.

PubMed

Das, Rebekah N; Grimmer-Somers, Karen A

2012-01-01

Health professionals commonly advise patients with incontinence and other lower urinary tract symptoms about modifiable contributing factors such as drinking and voiding habits. Poor drinking and voiding habits may begin early in life, before symptoms emerge. However, little is known about the habits and knowledge young people have regarding healthy drinking and voiding behaviors. This research aimed to assess the habits and health knowledge of young people regarding fluid intake and voiding. A questionnaire was used to assess the drinking and voiding behaviors of first year university students and their knowledge about healthy fluid intake and voiding. The average daily fluid intake was >2 L/day for both genders. Poor drinking and voiding habits (such as high consumption of caffeinated drinks and alcohol, or nocturia) were common. Widely reported myths about the benefits of a high fluid intake were commonly believed. More informed public education regarding healthy fluid intake, and drinking and voiding habits, is required as part of the effort to reduce the development of lower urinary tract symptoms, including incontinence.

Monte Carlo studies on the interfacial properties and interfacial structures of ternary symmetric blends with gradient copolymers.

PubMed

Sun, Dachuan; Guo, Hongxia

2012-08-09

Using Monte Carlo simulation methods, the effects of the comonomer sequence distribution on the interfacial properties (including interfacial tension, interfacial thickness, saturated interfacial area per copolymer, and bending modulus) and interfacial structures (including chain conformations and comonomer distributions of the simulated copolymers at the interfaces) of a ternary symmetric blend containing two immiscible homopolymers and one gradient copolymer are investigated. We find that copolymers with a larger composition gradient width have a broader comonomer distribution along the interface normal, and hence more pronouncedly enlarge the interfacial thickness and reduce the interfacial tension. Furthermore, the counteraction effect, which arises from the tendency of heterogeneous segments in gradient copolymers to phase separate and enter their miscible phases to reduce the local enthalpy, decreases the stretching of copolymers along the interface normal direction. As a result, copolymers with a larger width of gradient composition can occupy a larger interfacial area and form softer monolayers at saturation and are more efficient in facilitating the formation of bicontinuous microemulsions. Additionally, chain length ratio, segregation strength, and interactions between homopolymers and copolymers can alter the interfacial character of gradient copolymers. There exists a strong coupling between the comonomer sequence distribution, chain conformation, and interfacial properties. Especially, bending modulus is mainly determined by the complicated interplay of interfacial copolymer density and interfacial chain conformation.

Studying the reducing potencies of antioxidants with the electrochemistry inherently present in electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Plattner, Sabine; Erb, Robert; Chervet, Jean-Pierre; Oberacher, Herbert

2014-01-01

In this proof-of-principle study, the applicability of electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to characterize the reducing potencies of natural antioxidants is demonstrated. The ESI source represents a controlled-current electrochemical cell. The interfacial potential at the emitter electrode will be at or near the electrochemical potential of those reactions that sufficiently supply all the required current for the ESI circuit. Indicator molecules prone to oxidation in ESI such as amodiaquine were used to visualize the impact of reducing compounds on the interfacial potential. The extent of inhibition of the oxidation of the indicator molecule was found to be dependent on the kind and amount of antioxidant added. Concentration-inhibition curves were constructed and used to compare reducing potencies and to rank antioxidants. This ranking was found to be dependent on the electrode material-indicator molecule combination applied. For fast and automated characterization of the reducing potencies of electrochemically active molecules, a flow-injection system was combined with ESI-MS. Liquid chromatography was used to process complex biological samples, such as red and white wine. Due to their high content of different polyphenols, red wine fractions were found to exhibit higher reducing potencies than the corresponding white wine fractions. Furthermore, for 14 important natural antioxidants, the results obtained with the controlled-current EC-ESI-MS assay were compared to those obtained with chemical antioxidant assays. Irrespectively of the kind of assay used to test the reducing potency, gallic acid, quercetin, and epicatechin were found to be potent reductants. Other antioxidants performed well in one particular assay only. This observation suggests that different kinds of redox and antioxidant chemistry were assessed with each of the assays applied. Therefore, several assays should be used to comprehensively study antioxidants and their reducing potencies.

Analysis of a space emergency ammonia dump using the FLOW-NET two-phase flow program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Navickas, J.; Rivard, W. C.

1992-01-01

Venting of cryogenic and non-cryogenic fluids to a vacuum or a very low pressure will take place in many space-based systems that are currently being designed. This may cause liquid freezing either internally within the flow circuit or on external spacecraft surfaces. Typical ammonia flow circuits were investigated to determine the effect of the geometric configuration and initial temperature, pressure, and void fraction on the freezing characteristics of the system. The analysis was conducted also to investigate the ranges of applicability of the FLOW-NET program. It was shown that a typical system can be vented to very low liquid fractions before freezing occurs. However, very small restrictions in the flow circuit can hasten the inception of freezing. The FLOW-NET program provided solutions over broad ranges of system conditions, such as venting of an ammonia tank, initially completely filled with liquid, through a series of contracting and expanding line cross sections to near-vacuum conditions.

Influence of grid resolution, parcel size and drag models on bubbling fluidized bed simulation

DOE PAGES

Lu, Liqiang; Konan, Arthur; Benyahia, Sofiane

2017-06-02

Here in this paper, a bubbling fluidized bed is simulated with different numerical parameters, such as grid resolution and parcel size. We examined also the effect of using two homogeneous drag correlations and a heterogeneous drag based on the energy minimization method. A fast and reliable bubble detection algorithm was developed based on the connected component labeling. The radial and axial solids volume fraction profiles are compared with experiment data and previous simulation results. These results show a significant influence of drag models on bubble size and voidage distributions and a much less dependence on numerical parameters. With a heterogeneousmore » drag model that accounts for sub-scale structures, the void fraction in the bubbling fluidized bed can be well captured with coarse grid and large computation parcels. Refining the CFD grid and reducing the parcel size can improve the simulation results but with a large increase in computation cost.« less

Open-cell glass crystalline porous material

DOEpatents

Anshits, Alexander G.; Sharonova, Olga M.; Vereshchagina, Tatiana A.; Zykova, Irina D.; Revenko, Yurii A.; Tretyakov, Alexander A.; Aloy, Albert S.; Lubtsev, Rem I.; Knecht, Dieter A.; Tranter, Troy J.; Macheret, Yevgeny

2002-01-01

An open-cell glass crystalline porous material made from hollow microspheres which are cenospheres obtained from fly ash, having an open-cell porosity of up to 90 vol. % is produced. The cenospheres are separated into fractions based on one or more of grain size, density, magnetic or non-magnetic, and perforated or non-perforated. Selected fractions are molded and agglomerated by sintering with a binder at a temperature below the softening temperature, or without a binder at a temperature about, or above, the softening temperature but below the temperature of liquidity. The porous material produced has an apparent density of 0.3-0.6 g/cm.sup.3, a compressive strength in the range of 1.2-3.5 MPa, and two types of openings: through-flow wall pores in the cenospheres of 0.1-30 micrometers, and interglobular voids between the cenospheres of 20-100 micrometers. The porous material of the invention has properties useful as porous matrices for immobilization of liquid radioactive waste, heat-resistant traps and filters, supports for catalysts, adsorbents and ion-exchangers.

Open-cell glass crystalline porous material

DOEpatents

Anshits, Alexander G.; Sharonova, Olga M.; Vereshchagina, Tatiana A.; Zykova, Irina D.; Revenko, Yurii A.; Tretyakov, Alexander A.; Aloy, Albert S.; Lubtsev, Rem I.; Knecht, Dieter A.; Tranter, Troy J.; Macheret, Yevgeny

2003-12-23

An open-cell glass crystalline porous material made from hollow microspheres which are cenospheres obtained from fly ash, having an open-cell porosity of up to 90 vol. % is produced. The cenospheres are separated into fractions based on one or more of grain size, density, magnetic or non-magnetic, and perforated or non-perforated. Selected fractions are molded and agglomerated by sintering with a binder at a temperature below the softening temperature, or without a binder at a temperature about, or above, the softening temperature but below the temperature of liquidity. The porous material produced has an apparent density of 0.3-0.6 g/cm.sup.3, a compressive strength in the range of 1.2-3.5 MPa, and two types of openings: through-flow wall pores in the cenospheres of 0.1-30 micrometers, and interglobular voids between the cenospheres of 20-100 micrometers. The porous material of the invention has properties useful as porous matrices for immobilization of liquid radioactive waste, heat-resistant traps and filters, supports for catalysts, adsorbents and ion-exchangers.

MRI contrast agent concentration and tumor interstitial fluid pressure.

PubMed

Liu, L J; Schlesinger, M

2016-10-07

The present work describes the relationship between tumor interstitial fluid pressure (TIFP) and the concentration of contrast agent for dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). We predict the spatial distribution of TIFP based on that of contrast agent concentration. We also discuss the cases for estimating tumor interstitial volume fraction (void fraction or porosity of porous medium), ve, and contrast volume transfer constant, K(trans), by measuring the ratio of contrast agent concentration in tissue to that in plasma. A linear fluid velocity distribution may reflect a quadratic function of TIFP distribution and lead to a practical method for TIFP estimation. To calculate TIFP, the parameters or variables should preferably be measured along the direction of the linear fluid velocity (this is in the same direction as the gray value distribution of the image, which is also linear). This method may simplify the calculation for estimating TIFP. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reliability of scanning laser acoustic microscopy for detecting internal voids in structural ceramics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, D. J.; Baaklini, G. Y.

1986-01-01

The reliability of 100 MHz scanning laser acoustic microscopy (SLAM) for detecting internal voids in sintered specimens of silicon nitride and silicon carbide was evaluated. The specimens contained artificially implanted voids and were positioned at depths ranging up to 2 mm below the specimen surface. Detection probability of 0.90 at a 0.95 confidence level was determined as a function of material, void diameter, and void depth. The statistical results presented for void detectability indicate some of the strengths and limitations of SLAM as a nondestructive evaluation technique for structural ceramics.

Mechanisms for Ductile Rupture - FY16 ESC Progress Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyce, Brad L.; Carroll, Jay D.; Noell, Phillip

2017-01-01

Ductile rupture in metals is generally a multi-step process of void nucleation, growth, and coalescence. Particle decohesion and particle fracture are generally invoked as the primary microstructural mechanisms for room-temperature void nucleation. However, because high-purity materials also fail by void nucleation and coalescence, other microstructural features must also act as sites for void nucleation. Early studies of void initiation in high-purity materials, which included post-mortem fracture surface characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-voltage electron microscopy (HVEM) and in-situ HVEM observations of fracture, established the presence of dislocation cell walls as void initiation sites in high-purity materials. Direct experimentalmore » evidence for this contention was obtained during in-situ HVEM tensile tests of Be single crystals. Voids between 0.2 and 1 μm long appeared suddenly along dislocation cell walls during tensile straining. However, subsequent attempts to replicate these results in other materials, particularly α -Fe single crystals, were unsuccessful because of the small size of the dislocation cells, and these remain the only published in-situ HVEM observations of void nucleation at dislocation cell walls in the absence of a growing macrocrack. Despite this challenge, other approaches to studying void nucleation in high-purity metals also indicate that dislocation cell walls are nucleation sites for voids.« less

Mixed ionic-electronic conductors for electrodes of barium cerate-based SOFCS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zhonglin

Gadolinium doped barium cerates (BCGs) have been identified as promising electrolyte materials for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). It is crucial to develop compatible electrode materials for such electrolytes. Mixed ionic-electronic conductor (MIEC) electrode materials developed for SOFCs based on yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) may be used as electrode materials for BCG-based SOFCs; but a careful re-evaluation is required due to the intrinsic differences between BCG and YSZ. The performance of these electrode materials depends critically the transport of ionic and electronic species as well as gas. Accordingly, a profound understanding of transport in MIEC electrodes is imperative to effective design of high performance SOFCs. In this thesis, ambipolar transport in composite MIEC electrodes has been modeled using percolation theory to predict the effect of volume fractions of constituent phases and porosity on ambipolar conductivity. Transport and electrode kinetics of homogeneous MIEC electrodes have also been formulated under a steady-state condition to predict the distributions of ionic defects and current carried by each defect in such electrodes. Effects of catalytic properties, transport properties, and microstructure of porous electrodes and interfaces on the electrode performance are investigated. Under the guidelines of the theoretical modeling, several MIEC electrode materials are developed. Lasb{1-x}Srsb{x}Cosb{1-x}Fesb{y}Osb{3-delta} homogeneous materials are studied as cathode materials. However, the interfacial resistance seems too high due to the lack of catalytic activity at intermediate temperatures. Results indicate that Ag-Bisb{1.5}Ysb{0.5}Osb3 composite MIECs are good cathode materials when the volume fractions of constituent phases and porosity are carefully controlled. Such electrodes have low interfacial resistance, better binding strength, and smaller thermal mismatch with the BCG electrolyte, compared to other metal electrodes (such as Pt and Ag). Ni-BCG composite MIECs are studied as anode materials. It is found that electrodes prepared from NiO and reduced to Ni in situ is not catalytically active because of diffusion of NiO into BCG, which forms a resistive layer. Electrodes prepared from Ni metal and fired in an inert or reducing atmosphere exhibit low interfacial resistance and good compatibility with BCG electrolyte. Stability of these developed electrode materials is investigated under conditions pertinent to SOFCs.

Method of simulating spherical voids for use as a radiographic standard

DOEpatents

Foster, Billy E.

1977-01-01

A method of simulating small spherical voids in metal is provided. The method entails drilling or etching a hemispherical depression of the desired diameter in each of two sections of metal, the sections being flat plates or different diameter cylinders. A carbon bead is placed in one of the hemispherical voids and is used as a guide to align the second hemispherical void with that in the other plate. The plates are then bonded together with epoxy, tape or similar material and the two aligned hemispheres form a sphere within the material; thus a void of a known size has been created. This type of void can be used to simulate a pore in the development of radiographic techniques of actual voids (porosity) in welds and serve as a radiographic standard.

Influence of the oil globule fraction on the release rate profiles from multiple W/O/W emulsions.

PubMed

Bonnet, Marie; Cansell, Maud; Placin, Frédéric; Monteil, Julien; Anton, Marc; Leal-Calderon, Fernando

2010-06-15

Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsions were prepared and the kinetics of release of magnesium ions from the internal to the external water phase was investigated as a function of the formulation and the globule volume fraction. All the emulsions were formulated using the same surface-active species (polyglycerol polyricinoleate and sodium caseinate). Also, the internal droplet and oil globule diameters were almost identical for all the systems. Two types of W/O/W emulsions were prepared based either on a synthetic oil (miglyol) or on an edible oil (olive oil). The globule volume fraction varied from 11% to 72%. At constant temperature (T=25 degrees C) and irrespective of the oil type, the percentage of magnesium released was lowered by increasing the globule fraction. In all cases, magnesium leakage occurred without film rupturing (no coalescence). Thus, the experimental data were interpreted within the frame of a model based on diffusion. The rate of release was determined by the permeation coefficient of magnesium across the oil phase and by the binding (chelation) of magnesium by caseinate molecules. The data could be adequately fitted by considering a time-dependant permeation coefficient. The better retention of magnesium at high globule fractions could account for two distinct phenomena: (i) the reduction of the relative volume of the outer phase, and (ii) the attenuation of the permeation coefficient over time induced by interfacial magnesium binding, all the more important than the globule fraction increased. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The weathering effect in natural environment on kenaf blast and unsaturated polyester composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, M.; Rozyanty, A. R.; Beta, B. O.; Adam, T.; Osman, A. F.; Salem, I. A. S.; Dahham, O. S.; Al-Samarrai, M. N.; Mohammed, A. M.

2017-10-01

A Kenaf composite was prepared by using hand lay-up process. The effect of weather on mechanical, morphology and thermal properties of kenaf composite were studied. Tensile strength of kenaf compositewas found to be 60MPa. Unfortunately, tensile strength of thecomposite starts to decrease after the first weathering month through to the weathering periods with constant reduction of tensile, at the end of the wreathing period., almost 85% the composite mechanical behaviour is lost. From the mechanical properties result obtained it clearly seen that natural fiber and their composites are not able to stand environmental condition because they have poor wettability, incompatibility with some polymeric matrices and high moisture absorption. Due to the high moisture absorption properties, there are formations of void in interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix which can reduce the mechanical properties of composite such as flexural strength or flexural modulus this clearly supported by SEM results. Fortunately some modification can do towards improving the mechanical properties and it is good enough to achieve the high performance of the composite with proper system formulation during the modification processand the result of reinforced kenaffiber will be presented in our next publication.

Voids characteristics of asphaltic concrete containing coconut shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ezree Abdullah, Mohd; Hannani Madzaili, Amirah; Putra Jaya, Ramadhansyah; Yaacob, Haryati; Hassan, Norhidayah Abdul; Nazri, Fadzli Mohamed

2017-07-01

Asphalt durability is often linked to the thickness of the asphalt coating on the aggregate particles. In order to have adequate film thickness in asphaltic concrete, there must be sufficient space between the aggregate particles in the compacted pavement. This void space is referred to as voids in total mix (VTM), voids with filled bitumen (VFB), and voids in mineral aggregate (VMA). Hence, this study investigates the performance of coconut shell (CS) as coarse aggregate replacement on voids characteristics of asphaltic concrete. Four CS were used as coarse aggregates replacement in asphalt mixture namely 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% (by weight volume). The voids properties of asphalt mixture were determined based on Marshall Mix design test. Test results show that VTM and VMA values were decrease with the increasing bitumen content where VFB was increase with increasing bitumen content. Furthermore, increasing the percentage of coconut shell in asphalt mixture was found to increases the voids value up to a peak level and then decreases with further additions of CS.

Structural Transformation of Diblock Copolymer/Homopolymer Assemblies by Tuning Cylindrical Confinement and Interfacial Interactions.

PubMed

Xu, Jiangping; Wang, Ke; Liang, Ruijing; Yang, Yi; Zhou, Huamin; Xie, Xiaolin; Zhu, Jintao

2015-11-17

In this study, we report the controllable structural transformation of block copolymer/homopolymer binary blends in cylindrical nanopores. Polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine)/homopolystyrene (SVP/hPS) nanorods (NRs) can be fabricated by pouring the polymers into an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) channel and isolated by selective removal of the AAO membrane. In this two-dimensional (2D) confinement, SVP self-assembles into NRs with concentric lamellar structure, and the internal structure can be tailored with the addition of hPS. We show that the weight fraction and molecular weight of hPS and the diameter of the channels can significantly affect the internal structure of the NRs. Moreover, mesoporous materials with tunable pore shape, size, and packing style can be prepared by selective solvent swelling of the structured NRs. In addition, these NRs can transform into spherical structures through solvent-absorption annealing, triggering the conversion from 2D to 3D confinement. More importantly, the transformation dynamics can be tuned by varying the preference property of surfactant to the polymers. It is proven that the shape and internal structure of the polymer particles are dominated by the interfacial interactions governed by the surfactants.

Numerical study on the thermal behavior of graphene nanoplatelets/epoxy composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Wenkai; Zhai, Xian; Ma, Pengfei; Fan, Taotao; Li, Xiaotuo

2018-06-01

A three-dimensional computational model was developed using the finite element method (FEM) to evaluate the thermal behavior of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)/epoxy composites based on continuum mechanics. The model was validated with experimental data. The effects of the ratio of radius to thickness (Rrt) of GNPs, the interfacial thermal conductivity between GNPs and the matrix (Cgm), the contact thermal conductivity between GNPs (Cgg) and the agglomeration degree of GNPs on the thermal conductivity of composites (Kc) were quantified using this model. The results show that a larger Rrt is beneficial to Kc. GNPs could increase Kc only when the Cgm is greater than a critical value. A percolation phenomenon will occur when Cgg is larger than 1.0E8 W/(m2k) in randomly distributed GNPs/epoxy composites. The percolation effects become more obvious with the increase of Cgg and the volume fraction of GNPs. The agglomeration of GNPs has negative effects on the Kc. The higher the agglomeration degree of GNPs is, the lower Kc is. This is attributed to less beneficial interfacial areas, more inefficient contact areas, smaller Rrt and less effective connection/contact between GNPs.

Constituent Effects on the Stress-Strain Behavior of Woven Melt-Infiltrated SiC Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morscher, Gregory N.; Eldridge, Jeff I.; Levine, Stanley (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The stress-strain behavior of 2D woven SiC fiber reinforced, melt-infiltrated SiC matrix composites with BN interphases were studied for composites fabricated with different fiber tow ends per unit length, different composite thickness, and different numbers of plies. In general, the stress-strain behavior, i.e., the 'knee' in the curve and the final slope of the stress-strain curve, was controlled by the volume fraction of fibers. Some of the composites exhibited debonding and sliding in between the interphase and the matrix rather than the more common debonding and sliding interface between the fiber and the interphase. Composites that exhibited this 'outside debonding' interface, in general, had lower elastic moduli and higher ultimate strains as well as longer pull-out lengths compared to the 'inside debonding' interface composites. Stress-strain curves were modeled where matrix crack formation as a function of stress was approximated from the acoustic emission activity and the measured crack density from the failed specimens. Interfacial shear strength measurements from individual fiber push-in tests were in good agreement with the interfacial shear strength values used to model the stress-strain curves.

Phase field modeling of microstructure evolution and concomitant effective conductivity change in solid oxide fuel cell electrodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lei, Yinkai; Cheng, Tian -Le; Wen, You -Hai

Microstructure evolution plays an important role in the performance degradation of SOFC electrodes. In this work, we propose a much improved phase field model to simulate the microstructure evolution in the electrodes of solid oxide fuel cell. We demonstrate that the tunability of the interfacial energy in this model has been significantly enhanced. Parameters are set to fit for the interfacial energies of a typical Ni-YSZ anode, an LSM-YSZ cathode and an artificial reference electrode, respectively. The contact angles at various triple junctions and the microstructure evolutions in two dimensions are calibrated to verify the model. As a demonstration ofmore » the capabilities of the model, three dimensional microstructure evolutions are simulated applying the model to the three different electrodes. The time evolutions of grain size and triple phase boundary density are analyzed. In addition, a recently proposed bound charge successive approximation algorithm is employed to calculate the effective conductivity of the electrodes during microstructure evolution. Furthermore, the effective conductivity of all electrodes are found to decrease during the microstructure evolution, which is attributed to the increased tortuosity and the loss of percolated volume fraction of the electrode phase.« less

Phase field modeling of microstructure evolution and concomitant effective conductivity change in solid oxide fuel cell electrodes

DOE PAGES

Lei, Yinkai; Cheng, Tian -Le; Wen, You -Hai

2017-02-13

Microstructure evolution plays an important role in the performance degradation of SOFC electrodes. In this work, we propose a much improved phase field model to simulate the microstructure evolution in the electrodes of solid oxide fuel cell. We demonstrate that the tunability of the interfacial energy in this model has been significantly enhanced. Parameters are set to fit for the interfacial energies of a typical Ni-YSZ anode, an LSM-YSZ cathode and an artificial reference electrode, respectively. The contact angles at various triple junctions and the microstructure evolutions in two dimensions are calibrated to verify the model. As a demonstration ofmore » the capabilities of the model, three dimensional microstructure evolutions are simulated applying the model to the three different electrodes. The time evolutions of grain size and triple phase boundary density are analyzed. In addition, a recently proposed bound charge successive approximation algorithm is employed to calculate the effective conductivity of the electrodes during microstructure evolution. Furthermore, the effective conductivity of all electrodes are found to decrease during the microstructure evolution, which is attributed to the increased tortuosity and the loss of percolated volume fraction of the electrode phase.« less

Fluid outlet at the bottom of an in situ oil shale retort

DOEpatents

Hutchins, Ned M.

1984-01-01

Formation is excavated from within the boundaries of a retort site in formation containing oil shale for forming at least one retort level void extending horizontally across the retort site, leaving at least one remaining zone of unfragmented formation within the retort site. A production level drift is excavated below the retort level void, leaving a lower zone of unfragmented formation between the retort level void and the production level drift. A plurality of raises are formed between the production level drift and the retort level void for providing product withdrawal passages distributed generally uniformly across the horizontal cross section of the retort level void. The product withdrawal passages are backfilled with a permeable mass of particles. Explosive placed within the remaining zone of unfragmented formation above the retort level void is detonated for explosively expanding formation within the retort site toward at least the retort level void for forming a fragmented permeable mass of formation particles containing oil shale within the boundaries of the retort site. During retorting operations products of retorting are conducted from the fragmented mass in the retort through the product withdrawal passages to the production level void. The products are withdrawn from the production level void.

Method for explosive expansion toward horizontal free faces for forming an in situ oil shale retort

DOEpatents

Ricketts, Thomas E.

1980-01-01

Formation is excavated from within a retort site in formation containing oil shale for forming a plurality of vertically spaced apart voids extending horizontally across different levels of the retort site, leaving a separate zone of unfragmented formation between each pair of adjacent voids. Explosive is placed in each zone, and such explosive is detonated in a single round for forming an in situ retort containing a fragmented permeable mass of formation particles containing oil shale. The same amount of formation is explosively expanded upwardly and downwardly toward each void. A horizontal void excavated at a production level has a smaller horizontal cross-sectional area than a void excavated at a lower level of the retort site immediately above the production level void. Explosive in a first group of vertical blast holes is detonated for explosively expanding formation downwardly toward the lower void, and explosive in a second group of vertical blast holes is detonated in the same round for explosively expanding formation upwardly toward the lower void and downwardly toward the production level void for forming a generally T-shaped bottom of the fragmented mass.

Autonomous selection of PDE inpainting techniques vs. exemplar inpainting techniques for void fill of high resolution digital surface models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmes, Mark; Yates, J. Harlan; Allen, Josef DeVaughn; Kelley, Patrick

2007-04-01

High resolution Digital Surface Models (DSMs) may contain voids (missing data) due to the data collection process used to obtain the DSM, inclement weather conditions, low returns, system errors/malfunctions for various collection platforms, and other factors. DSM voids are also created during bare earth processing where culture and vegetation features have been extracted. The Harris LiteSite TM Toolkit handles these void regions in DSMs via two novel techniques. We use both partial differential equations (PDEs) and exemplar based inpainting techniques to accurately fill voids. The PDE technique has its origin in fluid dynamics and heat equations (a particular subset of partial differential equations). The exemplar technique has its origin in texture analysis and image processing. Each technique is optimally suited for different input conditions. The PDE technique works better where the area to be void filled does not have disproportionately high frequency data in the neighborhood of the boundary of the void. Conversely, the exemplar based technique is better suited for high frequency areas. Both are autonomous with respect to detecting and repairing void regions. We describe a cohesive autonomous solution that dynamically selects the best technique as each void is being repaired.

Correlation of air void parameters obtained by linear traverse with freeze-thaw durability.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-01-01

The correlations obtainable from comparisons of the various air void parameters with the freeze-thaw durability of concretes are listed. It is shown that correlations are no better when only small voids are used than when the total void content is us...

Ultrastructural characterization of tooth-biomaterial interfaces prepared with broad and focused ion beams.

PubMed

Coutinho, E; Jarmar, T; Svahn, F; Neves, A A; Verlinden, B; Van Meerbeek, B; Engqvist, H

2009-11-01

Current available techniques for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of tooth-biomaterial interfaces are mostly ineffective for brittle phases and impair integrated chemical and morphological characterization. The aims of this study were (1) to determine the applicability of new focused ion beam (FIB) and broad ion beam (BIB) techniques for TEM preparation of tooth-biomaterial interfaces; (2) to characterize the interfacial interaction with enamel and dentin of a conventional glass-ionomer (Chemfil Superior, DeTrey Dentsply, Germany), a 2-step self-etch (Clearfil SE, Kuraray, Japan) and a 3-step etch-and-rinse (OptiBond FL, Kerr, USA) adhesives; and (3) to characterize clinically relevant interfaces obtained from actual Class-I cavities. After bonding to freshly extracted human third molars, non-demineralized and non-stained sections were obtained using the FIB/BIB techniques and examined under TEM. The main structures generally disclosed in conventional ultramicrotomy samples were recognized in FIB/BIB-based ones. There were not any major differences between FIB and BIB concerning the resulting ultrastructural morphology. FIB/BIB-sections enabled to clearly resolve sub-micron hydroxyapatite crystals on top of hard tissues and the interface between matrix and filler in all materials, even at nano-scale. Some investigated interfaces disclosed areas with a distinct "fog" or "melted look", which is probably an artifact due to surface damage caused by the high-energy beam. Interfaces with enamel clearly disclosed the distinct "keyhole" shape of enamel rods sectioned at 90 degrees , delimited by a thin electron-lucent layer of inter-rod enamel. At regions where enamel crystals ran parallel with the interface, we observed a lack of interaction and some de-bonding along with interfacial void formation. The FIB/BIB methods are viable and reliable alternatives to conventional ultramicrotomy for preparation of thin sections of brittle and thus difficult to cut biomaterial-hard tissue interfaces. They disclose additional ultrastructural information about both substrates and are more suitable for advanced analytic procedures.

Preparation, characterization and X-ray attenuation property of Gd2O3-based nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayakumar, Sangeetha; Saravanan, T.; Philip, John

2017-11-01

In an attempt to develop an alternate to lead-based X-ray shielding material, we describe the X-ray attenuation property of nanocomposites containing Gd2O3 as nanofiller and silicone resin as matrix, prepared by a simple solution-casting technique. Gd2O3 nanoparticles of size 30 and 56 nm are used at concentrations of 25 and 2.5 wt%. The nanoparticles and the nanocomposites are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, small angle X-ray spectroscopy (SAXS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The X-ray attenuation property of nanocomposites, studied using an industrial X-ray unit, shows that nanocomposites containing nanoparticles of size 56 nm (G2) exhibit better attenuation than nanocomposites containing nanoparticles of size 30 nm (G1), which is attributed to the greater interfacial interaction between the G2 nanofillers and silicone matrix. In the case of nanocomposites containing G1 nanoparticles, the interfacial interaction between the nanofiller and the matrix is so weak that it results in pulling out of nanofillers, causing voids in the matrix, which act as X-ray transparent region, thereby reducing the overall X-ray attenuation property of G1 nanocomposites. This is further corroborated from the AFM images of the nanocomposites. The weight loss and heat flow curves of pure silicone matrix and the nanocomposites containing Gd2O3 nanoparticles of size 30 and 56 nm show the degradation of silicone resin, due to chain scission, between 403 and 622 °C. The same onset temperature (403 °C) of degradation of matrix with and without nanoparticles shows that the addition of nanofillers to the matrix does not deteriorate the thermal stability of the matrix. This confirms the thermal stability of nanocomposites. Therefore, our study shows that nanocomposites containing G2 nanoparticles are potential candidates for the development of X-ray opaque fabric material.

Cosmic void clumps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lares, M.; Luparello, H. E.; Garcia Lambas, D.; Ruiz, A. N.; Ceccarelli, L.; Paz, D.

2017-10-01

Cosmic voids are of great interest given their relation to the large scale distribution of mass and the way they trace cosmic flows shaping the cosmic web. Here we show that the distribution of voids has, in consonance with the distribution of mass, a characteristic scale at which void pairs are preferentially located. We identify clumps of voids with similar environments and use them to define second order underdensities. Also, we characterize its properties and analyze its impact on the cosmic microwave background.

Gravitational Effects on Closed-Cellular-Foam Microstructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noever, David A.; Cronise, Raymond J.; Wessling, Francis C.; McMannus, Samuel P.; Mathews, John; Patel, Darayas

1996-01-01

Polyurethane foam has been produced in low gravity for the first time. The cause and distribution of different void or pore sizes are elucidated from direct comparison of unit-gravity and low-gravity samples. Low gravity is found to increase the pore roundness by 17% and reduce the void size by 50%. The standard deviation for pores becomes narrower (a more homogeneous foam is produced) in low gravity. Both a Gaussian and a Weibull model fail to describe the statistical distribution of void areas, and hence the governing dynamics do not combine small voids in either a uniform or a dependent fashion to make larger voids. Instead, the void areas follow an exponential law, which effectively randomizes the production of void sizes in a nondependent fashion consistent more with single nucleation than with multiple or combining events.