Influence of Coriolis force on bulk flows during horizontal Bridgman growth on a centrifuge: a numerical study

Three-dimensional and time-dependent numerical simulations are performed For melt convection in horizontal Bridgman crystal growth tinder high gravity conditions by means of a centrifuge. The numerical results show that Coriolis Force can cause a stabilizing effect on the fluctuations of the melt flow under a specific relation direction and relation rates of the centrifuge as reported in previous experiments (Ma et al., Materials Processing in High Gravity, Plenum Press, New York, 1994, p. 61). The present simulation provides details of the now features associated with the effect of the Coriolis force. There are also some differences between the present three-dimensional and former two-dimensional numerical solutions particularly in the prediction of the critical conditions and flow patterns.

Surface Stability of Epitaxial Elastic Films by Casimir Force

We investigate the morphological stability of epitaxial thin elastic films on a substrate by the Casimir force between the film surface and a flat plate. Critical undulation wavelengths are derived for two different limit conditions. Consideration of the Casimir force in both limit cases decreases the critical wavelength of the surface perturbation.

Investigation of spatial repeatability using a tire force measuring mat

A portable mat for measuring the dynamic tire forces of commercial vehicles is described. The mat is 56 m long and 13 mm thick and has 141 capacitative strip sensors spaced at 0.4-m intervals. The accuracy of the mat for measuring dynamic tire forces generated by heavy commercial vehicles is assessed using an instrumented vehicle. The spatial repeatability of dynamic wheel loads generated by 14 uninstrumented articulated vehicles is investigated, and it is concluded that approximately half of the vehicles tested are likely to contribute to a repeatable pattern of road loading.

Numerical Simulation Of Horizontal Migration Of Proppant

The horizontal migration of proppant was numerically investigated with a two-fluid model, in which the interaction between fracturing fluid and proppant, along with that among proppants was taken into account through interphase forces. The migration process and the volumetric concentration of the proppant were examined under various conditions, and the. averaged volumetric concentration of the proppant was obtained. The present research might be useful in the process design of the hydraulic fracturing in the oilfields.

On-Board Experimental Study Of Bubble Thermocapillary Migration In A Recoverable Satellite

An on-board space experiment of bubble thermocapillary migration was performed in the Chinese 22nd recoverable satellite in 2005. Silicone oil of nominal viscosity 5cSt was used as the continuous phase in the experiment. Air bubbles were injected into the liquid in the same direction as the constant temperature gradient in the liquid. The velocities of bubbles were obtained by recording the paths of the bubbles. The results indicate that the scaled velocity of bubbles decreases with an increase of the Marangoni number extended to 9288, which agrees with the results of previous space experiments and numerical simulation. In addition, the interaction between two bubbles was also observed in the space experiment. The trajectories and the velocities of the bubbles were obtained. The two-bubble experiment results are also consistent with the theoretical analysis.

An Approximate Method For Calculation Of Fluid Force And Response Of A Circular Cylinder At Lock-In

In this paper, equations calculating lift force of a rigid circular cyclinder at lock-in uniform flow are deduced in detail. Besides, equations calculating the lift force on a long flexible circular cyclinder at lock-in are deduced based on mode analysis of a multi-degree freedom system. The simplified forms of these equations are also given. Furthermore, an approximate method to predict the forces and response of rigid circular cyclinders and long flexible circular cyclinders at lock-in is introduced in the case of low mass-damping ratio. A method to eliminate one deficiency of these equations is introduced. Comparison with experimental results show the effectiveness of this approximate method.

Thermocapillary Migration Of Nondeformable Drops

In this paper, we present a numerical study on the thermocapillary migration of drops. The Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the energy conservation equation are solved by the finite-difference front-tracking scheme. The axisymmetric model is adopted in Our simulations, and the drops are assumed to be perfectly spherical and nondeformable. The benchmark simulation starts from the classical initial condition with a uniform temperature gradient. The detailed discussions and physical explanations of migration phenomena are presented for the different values of (1) the Marangoni numbers and Reynolds numbers of continuous phases and drops and (2) the ratios of drop densities and specific heats to those of continuous phases. It is found that fairly large Marangoni numbers may lead to fluctuations in drop velocities at the beginning part of simulations. Finally, we also discuss the influence of initial conditions on the thermocapillary migrations. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Space Experimental Investigation On Thermocapillary Migration Of Bubbles

Results from a space experiment on bubble thermocapillary migration conducted on board the Chinese 22nd recoverable satellite were presented. Considering the temperature field in the cell was disturbed by the accumulated bubbles, the temperature gradient was corrected firstly with the help of the temperature measurement data at six points and numerical simulation. Marangoni number (Ma) of single bubble migrating in the space experiment ranged from 98.04 to 9288, exceeding that in the previous experiment data. The experiment data including the track and the velocity of two bubble thermocapillary migration showed that a smaller bubble would move slower as it was passed by a larger one, and the smaller one would even rest in a short time when the size ratio was large enough.

The Capillary Force In Micro- And Nano-Indentation With Different Indenter Shapes

The influence of the indenter shapes and various parameters on the magnitude of the capillary force is studied on the basis of models describing the wet adhesion of indenters and substrates joined by liquid bridges. In the former, we consider several shapes, such as conical, spherical and truncated conical one with a spherical end. In the latter, the effects of the contact angle, the radius of the wetting circle, the volume of the liquid bridge, the environmental humidity, the gap between the indenter and the substrate, the conical angle, the radius of the spherical indenter, the opening angle of the spherical end in the truncated conical indenter are included. The meniscus of the bridge is described using a circular approximation, which is reasonable under some conditions. Different dependences of the capillary force on the indenter shapes and the geometric parameters are observed. The results can be applicable to the micro- and nano-indentation experiments. It shows that the measured hardness is underestimated due to the effect of the capillary force. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Concentrated-Mass Cantilever Enhances Multiple Harmonics In Tapping-Mode Atomic Force Microscopy

The natural frequencies of a cantilever probe can be tuned with an attached concentrated mass to coincide with the higher harmonics generated in a tapping-mode atomic force microscopy by the nonlinear tip-sample interaction force. We provide a comprehensive map to guide the choice of the mass and the position of the attached particle in order to significantly enhance the higher harmonic signals containing information on the material properties. The first three eigenmodes can be simultaneously excited with only one carefully positioned particle of specific mass to enhance multiple harmonics. Accessing the interaction force qualitatively based on the high-sensitive harmonic signals combines the real-time material characterization with the imaging capability. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Atomic force microscopy observations of the topography of regenerated silk fibroin aggregations

How fibroin molecules fold themselves and further self-assemble into aggregations with specific structures when the solution concentration increases is the key to understanding the natural silk-forming process of the silkworm. A regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin solution was prepared, and serially diluted solutions were coated on aminated coverslips. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations of the topography of fibroin molecules revealed a transformation from rodlike aggregations 100-200 nm long to small globules 50 mn in diameter with decreasing concentrations. When the incubation duration increased, the aggregations of fibroin molecules showed a self-assembling process, which was measured with AFM. In particular, after the molecules were incubated for more than 20 min, rodlike micelles formed and were distributed evenly on the surface of the aminated slides. Flow chamber technology was used to study the effect of the shear loading on the topography of the fibroin molecular aggregations. After a shear loading was applied, larger rodlike particles formed at a higher incubation concentration in comparison with those at a lower concentration and were obviously oriented along the direction of fluid flow.

Competitive adsorption between bovine serum albumin and collagen observed by atomic force microscope

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study the competitive adsorption between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and type I collagen on hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicon wafers. BSA showed a grain shape and the type I collagen displayed fibril-like molecules with relatively homogeneous height and width, characterized with clear twisting (helical formation). These AFM images illustrated that quite a lot of type I collagen appeared in the adsorption layer on hydrophilic surface in a competitive adsorption state, but the adsorption of BSA was more preponderant than that of type I collagen on hydrophobic silicon wafer surface. The experiments showed that the influence of BSA on type I collagen adsorption on hydrophilic surface was less than that on hydrophobic surface.

Numerical simulation of drop Marangoni migration under microgravity

Thermocapillary motion of a drop in a uniform temperature gradient is investigated numerically. The three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes and energy equations are solved by the finite-element method. The front tracking technique is employed to describe the drop interface. To simplify the calculation, the drop shape is assumed to be a sphere. It has been verified that the assumption is reasonable under the microgravity environment. Some calculations have been performed to deal with the thermocapillary motion for the drops of different sizes. It has been verified that the calculated results are in good agreement with available experimental and numerical results. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.