Preparation of Microporous Membranes by Swift Heavy Ion Irradiation and Impedance Characterization

Polypropylene (PP) microporous membranes were successfully prepared by swift heavy ion irradiation and track-etching. Polypropylene foils were irradiated with Au-197 ions of kinetic energy 11.4 MeV.u(-1) (total energy of 2245.8 MeV) and fluence 1x10(8) ions.cm(-2) at normal incidence. The damaged regions produced by the gold ions along the trajectories were etched in H2SO4 and K2Cr2O7 solutions leading to the formation of cylindrical pores in the membranes. The pore diameters of the PP microporous membranes increased from 380 to 1610 nm as the etching time increased from 5 to 30 min. The surface and cross-section morphologies of the porous membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The micropores in the membranes were found to be cylindrical in shape, homogeneous in distribution, and equal in size. Some mathematical relations of the porosity of the PP microporous membranes were established by analytic derivation. The microporous membranes were used in lithium-ion batteries to measure their properties as separators. The electrical conductivity of the porous membrane immersed in liquid electrolyte was found to be comparable to that of commercial separators by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the porosity and electrical conductivity were dependent on the ion fluence and etching time. By adjusting these two factors, microporous membranes with good porosity and electrical conductivity were made that met the requirements for commercial use.

AFM study of the self-assembly behavior of hexa-armed star polymers with a discotic triphenylene core

The size-armed polystyrenes and poly-(methyl methacrylate)s with a triphenylene core showed different self-assembling patterns, isolated cylinders for polySt on mico and highly ordered cylindrical pores for polyMMA on a silicon water. With a decrease of polymer concentration in tetrahydrofuran (HHF), the size and height of cylinders decreased for polySt, but fur polyMMA, the size and depth of the cylindrical pores increased. Slow evaporation of the solvent and a low molecular weight favored the formation of regular patterns.

Pool boiling heat transfer of ultra-light copper foam with open cells

High speed visualizations and thermal performance studies of pool boiling heat transfer on copper foam covers were performed at atmospheric pressure, with the heating surface area of 12.0 mm by 12.0 mm, using acetone as the working fluid. The foam covers have ppi (pores per inch) from 30 to 90, cover thickness from 2.0 to 5.0 mm, and porosity of 0.88 and 0.95. The surface superheats are from -20 to 190 K, and the heat fluxes reach 140 W/cm(2). The 30 and 60 ppi foam covers show the periodic single bubble generation and departure pattern at low surface superheats. With continuous increases in surface superheats, they show the periodic bubble coalescence and/or re-coalescence pattern. Cage bubbles were observed to be those with liquid filled inside and vented to the pool liquid. For the 90 ppi foam covers, the bubble coalescence takes place at low surface superheats. At moderate or large surface superheats, vapor fragments continuously escape to the pool liquid. Boiling curves of copper foams show three distinct regions. Region I and II are those of natural convection heat transfer, and nucleate boiling heat transfer for all the foam covers. Region III is that of either a resistance to vapor release for the 30 and 60 ppi foam covers, or a capillary-assist liquid flow towards foam cells for the 90 ppi foam covers. The value of ppi has an important effect on the thermal performance. Boiling curves are crossed between the high and low ppi foam covers. Low ppi foams have better thermal performance at low surface superheats, but high ppi foams have better one at moderate or large surface superheats and extend the operation range of surface superheats. The effects of other factors such as pool liquid temperature, foam cover thickness on the thermal performance are also discussed.

Synthesis and structure of a novel open-framework zincophosphate with intersecting three-dimensional helical channels

A new open-framework zincophosphate, Zn-0.5(H2PO4).0.5H(2)O (denoted as FJ-13), possessing intersecting three-dimensional helical channels, has been synthesized under solvothermal conditions.

DEVELOPMENT OF CYLINDRICAL SECONDARY LITHIUM POLYANILINE BATTERIES

The cylindrical 'D'-size batteries were fabricated by polyaniline paste cathode and lithium foil anode sandwiched with microporous polypropylene separator. The electrolyte used was LiClO4 dissolved in a mixed solvent of propylene carbonate and dimethoxyethane. The results of charge/discharge curves, charge/discharge cycles, the short-circuit current, the open-circuit voltage storage and the change of discharge capacity with temperature, discharge current are reported.

SPECTROELECTROCHEMISTRY WITH CYLINDRICAL CARBON-FIBER MICROELECTRODES

Transmittance spectroelectrochemistry can be performed using a group of cylindrical microelectrodes. A dependence of absorbance on electrolytic charge during the potential step was derived. The rate constant of catalytic reaction of the ferrocyanide-ascorbic acid system was determined using single potential step-open circuit relaxation chronoabsorptometry. This is the first report that the reaction can still be considered as a pseudo-first-order reaction when the concentration of ascorbic acid is close to and even slightly lower than the concentration of ferrocyanide. The determined rate constant is in agreement with the reported value. The reason is that the diffusion of ascorbic acid toward electrode surface is contractive and the diffusion of the electrogenerated ferricyanide from the electrode surface to the bulk of solution is expansive.

Numerical Investigation of Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability Driven by Cylindrical Shocks

In this paper, a numerical method with high order accuracy and high resolution was developed to simulate the Richtmyer-Meshkov(RM) instability driven by cylindrical shock waves. Compressible Euler equations in cylindrical coordinate were adopted for the cylindrical geometry and a third order accurate group control scheme was adopted to discretize the equations. Moreover, an adaptive grid technique was developed to refine the grid near the moving interface to improve the resolution of numerical solutions. The results of simulation exhibited the evolution process of RM instability, and the effect of Atwood number was studied. The larger the absolute value of Atwood number, the larger the perturbation amplitude. The nonlinear effect manifests more evidently in cylindrical geometry. The shock reflected from the pole center accelerates the interface for the second time, considerably complicating the interface evolution process, and such phenomena of reshock and secondary shock were studied.

Capillary Effect on Vertically Excited Surface Wave in Circular Cylindrical Vessel

In a vertically oscillating circular cylindrical container, singular perturbation theory of two-time scale expansions was developed in inviscid fluids to investigate the motion of single free surface standing wave including the effect of surface tension.

Study of Gas Combustion in a Vented Cylindrical Vessel

Complicated interaction of a flame front with a turbulent flow induced by venting is studied during combustion of the stoichiometric propane/air mixture in a relatively large vented cylindrical vessel. Flame position, its shape, and combustion pressure were measured as a function of time and vent parameters. The experimental data were used to verify numerical simulation of the combustion process. The proposed numerical model satisfactorily simulates the main features of combustion in a closed and vented vessel such as flame configuration, flow and temperature fields, and pressure variation pattern. Simulated velocity and temperature distribution are very useful pieces of information because they are not available from experiments.

Flame Propagation of H_2-Air in a Semi-Open Obstructed Tube

针对氢／空气混合物,通过实验研究了其预混火焰在半开口管道中的火焰传播加速现象,结果表明,火焰传播状态随着氢气当量比的变化而发生改变。当氢／空气混合物被点燃后,由于障碍物的扰动,火焰在管道中不断加速传播,并最终到达一准稳态传播。在氢气当量比0.31附近时,火焰速度发生跃变。当氢气当量比足够大时,火焰传播由爆燃态转变为爆轰态。在本实验条件下,爆燃转准爆轰的临界条件是d/Lambda>=2.6（d是圆环形障碍物内径,人是爆轰格胞尺度）。障碍物阻塞比的变化对最大火焰速度和压力提升的影响不明显。

Dynamic behavior of a cylindrical crack in a functionally graded interlayer under torsional loading

In this paper the problem of a cylindrical crack located in a functionally graded material (FGM) interlayer between two coaxial elastic dissimilar homogeneous cylinders and subjected to a torsional impact loading is considered. The shear modulus and the mass density of the FGM interlayer are assumed to vary continuously between those of the two coaxial cylinders. This mixed boundary value problem is first reduced to a singular integral equation with a Cauchy type kernel in the Laplace domain by applying Laplace and Fourier integral transforms. The singular integral equation is then solved numerically and the dynamic stress intensity factor (DSIF) is also obtained by a numerical Laplace inversion technique. The DSIF is found to rise rapidly to a peak and then reduce and tend to the static value almost without oscillation. The influences of the crack location, the FGM interlayer thickness and the relative magnitudes of the adjoining material properties are examined. It is found among others that, by increasing the FGM gradient, the DSIF can be greatly reduced.

Instability Analysis of Nonlinear Surface Waves in a Circular Cylindrical Container Subjected to a Vertical Excitation

Singular perturbation theory of two-time scale expansions was developed both in inviscid and weak viscous fluids to investigate the motion of single surface standing wave in a liquid-filled circular cylindrical vessel, which is subject to a vertical periodical oscillation. Firstly, it is assumed that the fluid in the circular cylindrical vessel is inviscid, incompressible and the motion is irrotational, a nonlinear evolution equation of slowly varying complex amplitude, which incorporates cubic nonlinear term, external excitation and the influence of surface tension, was derived from solvability condition of high-order approximation. It shows that when forced frequency is low, the effect of surface tension on mode selection of surface wave is not important. However, when forced frequency is high, the influence of surface tension is significant, and can not be neglected. This proved that the surface tension has the function, which causes free surface returning to equilibrium location. Theoretical results much close to experimental results when the surface tension is considered. In fact, the damping will appear in actual physical system due to dissipation of viscosity of fluid. Based upon weakly viscous fluids assumption, the fluid field was divided into an outer potential flow region and an inner boundary layer region. A linear amplitude equation of slowly varying complex amplitude, which incorporates damping term and external excitation, was derived from linearized Navier-Stokes equation. The analytical expression of damping coefficient was determined and the relation between damping and other related parameters (such as viscosity, forced amplitude and depth of fluid) was presented. The nonlinear amplitude equation and a dispersion, which had been derived from the inviscid fluid approximation, were modified by adding linear damping. It was found that the modified results much reasonably close to experimental results. Moreover, the influence both of the surface tension and the weak viscosity on the mode formation was described by comparing theoretical and experimental results. The results show that when the forcing frequency is low, the viscosity of the fluid is prominent for the mode selection. However, when the forcing frequency is high, the surface tension of the fluid is prominent. Finally, instability of the surface wave is analyzed and properties of the solutions of the modified amplitude equation are determined together with phase-plane trajectories. A necessary condition of forming stable surface wave is obtained and unstable regions are illustrated. (c) 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Diffusive Wave Solutions for Open Channel Flows with Uniform and Concentrated Lateral Inflow

The diffusive wave equation with inhomogeneous terms representing hydraulics with uniform or concentrated lateral inflow intoa river is theoretically investigated in the current paper. All the solutions have been systematically expressed in a unified form interms of response function or so called K-function. The integration of K-function obtained by using Laplace transform becomesS-function, which is examined in detail to improve the understanding of flood routing characters. The backwater effects usuallyresulting in the discharge reductions and water surface elevations upstream due to both the downstream boundary and lateral infloware analyzed. With a pulse discharge in upstream boundary inflow, downstream boundary outflow and lateral inflow respectively,hydrographs of a channel are routed by using the S-functions. Moreover, the comparisons of hydrographs in infinite, semi-infiniteand finite channels are pursued to exhibit the different backwater effects due to a concentrated lateral inflow for various channeltypes.

Analysis of instability of a cylindrical soap film of finite dimensions

By means of experiments of instability of a uniform cylindrical soap film, Boys had showed that the bubble molded by the film is unstable when its length is greater than its circumference. Recently that is generally called the Rayleigh Criterion. In this paper, a linear theory in hydrodynamics is applied to analyze the stability of the cylindrical soap film supported by two equal size disks; all conditions of the stationary wave on the end plates of two disks are given. From here we get that the Rayleigh Criterion on the stability of the cylindrical soap film is proved.

Numerical Investigation of Toroidal Shock Wave Focusing in a Cylindrical Chamber

In this paper, focusing of a toroidal shock wave propagating from an annular shock tube into a cylindrical chamber was investigated numerically with the dispersion controlled dissipation (DCD) scheme. The first case for an incident Mach number of 1.5 was conducted and compared with experiments for validation. Then, several cases were calculated for higher incident Mach numbers varying from 2.0 to 5.0, and complicated flow structures were observed. The numerical study was mainly focused on two aspects: focusing process and flow structures. The process, including diffraction, focusing, and reflection, is displayed to reveal the focusing mechanism, and the flow structures at different incident. Mach numbers are used to demonstrate shock reflection styles and focusing characteristics.