Applicability of Butler's equation in interpreting the thermodynamic behavior of surfaces and adsorption in Fe-S-O melts

Expressions for various second-order derivatives of surface tension with respect to composition at infinite dilution in terms of the interaction parameters of the surface and those of the bulk phases of dilute ternary melts have been presented. A method of deducing the parameters, which consists of repeated differentiation of Butler's equations with subsequent application of the appropriate boundary conditions, has been developed. The present investigation calculates the surface tension and adsorption functions of the Fe-S-O melts at 1873 and 1923 K using the modified form of Butler's equations and the derived values for the surface interaction parameters of the system. The calculated values are found to be in good agreement with those of the experimental data of the system. The present analysis indicates that the energetics of the surface phase are considerably different from those of the bulk phase. The present research investigates a critical compositional range beyond which the surface tension increases with temperature. The observed increase in adsorption of sulfur with consequent desorption of oxygen as a function of temperature above the critical compositional range has been ascribed to the increase of activity ratios of oxygen to sulfur in the surface relative to those in the bulk phase of the system.

Local polynomial convexity of the union of two totally-real surfaces at their intersection

We consider the following question: Let S (1) and S (2) be two smooth, totally-real surfaces in C-2 that contain the origin. If the union of their tangent planes is locally polynomially convex at the origin, then is S-1 boolean OR S-2 locally polynomially convex at the origin? If T (0) S (1) a (c) T (0) S (2) = {0}, then it is a folk result that the answer is yes. We discuss an obstruction to the presumed proof, and provide a different approach. When dim(R)(T0S1 boolean AND T0S2) = 1, we present a geometric condition under which no consistent answer to the above question exists. We then discuss conditions under which we can expect local polynomial convexity.

Flat connections, geometric invariants and energy of harmonic functions on compact Riemann surfaces

A geometric invariant is associated to the space of fiat connections on a G-bundle over a compact Riemann surface and is related to the energy of harmonic functions.

The approximate parametrization of the curve of intersection of implicit surfaces

A clear definition of an approximate parametrization of the curve of intersection of (n-1) implicit surfaces in Rn is given. It is justified that marching methods yield such an approximation.

Nature of the Oxygen Species at Ni(110) and Ni(100) Surfaces Revealed by Exposure to Oxygen and Oxygen-Ammonia Mixtures: Evidence for the Surface Reactivity of O- Type Species

Adsorption of dioxygen at clean Ni(110) and Ni(100) surfaces gives rise to two prominent features in the O(1s) spectra at 530 and 531 eV due to O2- and O- type species, respectively. Interaction of ammonia with a Ni(100)-O surface where theta(oxygen) < 0.1 ML favors the dissociation of NH3 giving NHn, (n = 1, 2) and N(a) species. This is accompanied by a decrease in the intensity of the 531 eV feature. On the other hand. a Ni(100)-O surface where the oxygen species are mainly of the O2- type is unreactive, Coadsorption studies of NH3-O-2 mixtures show that at Ni(110) surfaces the uptake of both oxygen and ammonia increase with the proportion of oxygen in the NH3-O-2 mixture. The surface concentrations of the O- species and the NHn species also increase with the increase in the O-2/NH3 ratio while the slope of the plot of sigma(N) versus sigma(O-) is around unity. The results demonstrate the high surface reactivity of the O- species and its role in the dissociation of ammonia. Based on these observations, the possibility of the formation of a surface complex between ammonia and oxygen (specifically O-) is suggested. Results from vibrational spectroscopic studies of the coadsorption of NH3-O-2 mixtures are consistent with those from core-level spectroscopic studies.

Nonsimilar solutions for mixed convection in non-Newtonian fluids along horizontal surfaces in porous media

A nonsimilar boundary layer analysis is presented for the problem of mixed convection in power-law type non-Newtonian fluids along horizontal surfaces with variable heat flux distribution. The mixed convection regime is divided into two regions, namely, the forced convection dominated regime and the free convection dominated regime. The two solutions are matched. Numerical results are presented for the details of the velocity and temperature fields. A discussion is provided for the effect of viscosity index on the surface heat transfer rate.

Oxidation of methanol on the surfaces of model Cu/ZnO catalysts containing Cu1+ and Cu-0 species

Interaction of CH3OH with Cu clusters deposited on ZnO films grown on a Zn foil as well as on a ZnO(0001)Zn crystal, has been examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. On clean Cu clusters, reversible molecular adsorption or formation of CH3O is observed. However if the Cu clusters are pretreated with oxygen, both CH3O and HCOO- species are produced. Model Cu/ZnO catalyst surfaces, containing both Cu1+ and Cu-0 species, show interesting oxidation properties. On a Cu-0-rich catalyst surface, only CH3O species is formed on interaction with CH3OH. On a Cu1+-rich surface, however, HCOO- ion is the predominant species.

Triply-periodic balance surfaces

The list of possible G-H symmetries for triply-periodic balance surfaces, given by Koch and Fischer, is studied with a view to finding new types. It is found that balance surfaces exist for all the cases that were labelled as undecided in the work of Koch and Fischer. For some of these, new minimal surfaces have been found, with the aid of Brakke's 'Surface Evolver'. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Role of oxygen transients in the facile scission of C-O bonds of alcohols on Zn surfaces

The alkoxy species produced by the interaction of alcohols with Zn surfaces undergoes C-O bond scission at 150 K giving hydrocarbon species, but this transformation occurs even at 80 K when alcohol-oxygen mixtures are coadsorbed, due to the oxygen transients.

Thermodynamics of surfaces and adsorption in the Fe-S, Fe-N, and Fe-S-N systems at 1823 K

The present investigation calculates the surface tension and adsorption functions of the Fe-S, Fe-N, and Fe-S-N melts at 1823 K using the modified form of Butler's equations and the derived values of the surface interaction parameters of the systems. The calculated values are found to be in good agreement with those of the experimental data of the systems. The present analysis indicates similar adsorption behavior of sulfur for the Fe-S and Fe-S-N systems at 1823 K. Although a linear adsorption behavior is observed in the Fe-N system, an inverse relationship in the adsorption behavior exists between sulur and nitrogen in the Fe-S-N system.

An apparatus for evaluating adhesion between soils and solid surfaces

An apparatus in the direct shear mode has been developed to conduct soil-soil and soil-solid material interface tests in the undrained condition. Evaluation of the apparatus showed that all the requirements for simulating the undrained condition of shear are satisfied. The interface test results show that the adhesion factor a increases with the surface roughness of the solid material. In the case of the normally consolidated state, alpha is practically independent of the undrained shear strength of the clay for a given surface. For the overconsolidated state, alpha depends on the undrained shear strength and the overconsolidation ratio for smooth surfaces but for rough surfaces; alpha is independent of both undrained shear strength and overconsolidation ratio.

Surfaces of Bounded Mean Curvature In Riemannian Manifolds

Consider a sequence of closed, orientable surfaces of fixed genus g in a Riemannian manifold M with uniform upper bounds on the norm of mean curvature and area. We show that on passing to a subsequence, we can choose parametrisations of the surfaces by inclusion maps from a fixed surface of the same genus so that the distance functions corresponding to the pullback metrics converge to a pseudo-metric and the inclusion maps converge to a Lipschitz map. We show further that the limiting pseudo-metric has fractal dimension two. As a corollary, we obtain a purely geometric result. Namely, we show that bounds on the mean curvature, area and genus of a surface F subset of M, together with bounds on the geometry of M, give an upper bound on the diameter of F. Our proof is modelled on Gromov's compactness theorem for J-holomorphic curves.

Transition to turbulence in the free convection boundary layers on an inclined heated plate

An experimental study has been made of transition to turbulence in the free convective flows on a heated plate. Observations have been made with the plate vertical and inclined at angles up to about 50° to the vertical, both above and below the plate. A fibre anemometer was used to survey the region of intermittent turbulence. Information has thus been obtained about the range of Grashof numbers over which transition takes place. Even when the plate is vertical the region of intermittent turbulence is long. When it is inclined, this region becomes still longer in the flow below the plate as a result of the stabilizing stratification, a Richardson number effect. It is possible to have a whole flow such that it should be described as transitional, not laminar or turbulent. It was noticed that in this flow and the vertical plate one, the velocity during the laminar periods could be either of two characteristic values, one of them close to zero. The behaviour above an inclined plate could be interpreted largely as a trend towards the behaviour described in a preceding paper.

Turbulent free convection above a heated plate inclined at a small angle to the horizontal Journal

An investigation has been made of the structure of the motion above a heated plate inclined at a small angle (about 10°) to the horizontal. The turbulence is considered in terms of the similarities to and differences from the motion above an exactly horizontal surface. One effect of inclination is, of course, that there is also a mean motion. Accurate data on the mean temperature field and the intensity of the temperature fluctuations have been obtained with platinum resistance thermometers, the signals being processed electronically. More approximate information on the velocity field has been obtained with quartz fibre anemometers. These results have been supplemented qualitatively by simultaneous observations of the temperature and velocity fluctuations and also by smoke experiments. The principal features of the flow inferred from these observations are as follows. The heat transfer and the mean temperature field are not much altered by the inclination, though small, not very systematic, variations may result from the complexities of the velocity field. This supports the view that the mean temperature field is largely governed by the large-scale motions. The temperature fluctuations show a systematic variation with distance from the lower edge and resemble those above a horizontal plate when this distance is large. The largescale motions of the turbulence start close to the lower edge, but the smaller eddies do not attain full intensity until the air has moved some distance up the plate. The mean velocity receives a sizable contribution from a ‘through-flow’ between the side-walls. Superimposed on this are developments that show that the momentum transfer processes are complex and certainly not capable of representation by any simple theory such as an eddy viscosity. On the lower part of the plate there is surprisingly large acceleration, but further up the mixing action of the small eddies has a decelerating effect.

Nanopatterning on Reconstructed Ceramic Surfaces

The use of reconstructed ceramic surfaces as templates for nanopatterning has been demonstrated recently. This technique differs from the surface decoration by Au on stepped surfaces of alkali halides which has been a topic of intense research in the past. Some of the intriguing aspects related to the physical origin of the phenomena have been considered here. Based on heterogeneous nucleation of Pt vapor on wedged alumina surfaces, it has been shown that the valley sites are the preferred sites for nucleation. However, the hill sites are decorated by the particles in the present study pointing out to a different physical origin for the formation of the nanoparticles. The role of electrostatic energy reduction on the formation of such nanopatterns is discussed.