Analysis of heat transfer coefficient in silica nanofluids with water as base fluid under transitional flow

The effect of Reynolds number variation in a vertical double pipe counterflow heat exchanger due to the changes in viscosity can cause the change in flow regime, for instance, when heats up and cools down, it can convert from turbulent to laminar or inversely, that can have significant effect on heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. Mainly, the range of transition phase has been studied in this study with the investigation of silica nanofluid dispersed in water in three different concentrations. The results have been compared with distilled water sample and showed a remarkable raise in heat transfer coefficient while pressure drop has been increased respectively, as well. Although pumping power has to go up at the same time and it is a drawback, heat transfer efficiency grows for diluted samples. On the other hand, for the most concentrated sample, effect of pressure drop dominates which leads to decline in the overall efficiency.

A novel vortex flow reactor for the purification of B-phycoerythrin from Porphyridium cruentum

The purification of B-phycoerythrin from a concentrated extract of disrupted Porphyridium cruentum cells was carried out using a new vortex flow reactor design for protein purification. The reactor behaved as an expanded bed in the laminar vortices flow regime where the Streamline DEAE resin was expanded by the axial flow and stabilized by the vortex flow. After the broth culture was centrifuged and resuspended in the adsorption buffer, the concentrated extract of disrupted cells was directly loaded into the vortex flow reactor. The purification of B-phycoerythrin was carried out in two steps: adsorption in the expanded bed and elution from the settled bed. 142.0 mg of B-phycoerythrin was eluted representing a total recovery yield of 86.6%. Prior to B-phycoerythrin purification, the protein adsorption of the vortex flow reactor was characterized through hydrodynamic studies and a dynamic capacity measurement using a standard protein.

Procedimiento de Obtención de un Material Cerámico de Forsterita

Procedimiento de obtención de un material cerámico de forsterita. Procedimiento de obtención de un material cerámico a partir de un silicato laminar hidroxilado, preferiblemente talco, que comprende: mezclar una suspensión acuosa de silicato laminar hidroxilado con óxido de magnesio; secar la suspensión obtenida anteriormente a una temperatura de hasta 350 °C; y tratar térmicamente el producto secado a una temperatura de hasta 1600 °C. Además, la invención se refiere a un material cerámico obtenible por el procedimiento descrito que comprende forsterita en una proporción de entre un 70% y un 95% en peso del material cerámico, y a sus aplicaciones como material refractario o como material electrocerámico.

Fracionamento de kits de HMDP para marcação com 99mTc: influência da temperatura e da idade das frações

Mestrado em Medicina Nuclear - Área de especialização: Radiofarmácia

Coupling of Chemical Kinetics with Computational Fluid Dynamics in a Three-Dimensional Engine Model

The role of computer modeling has grown recently to integrate itself as an inseparable tool to experimental studies for the optimization of automotive engines and the development of future fuels. Traditionally, computer models rely on simplified global reaction steps to simulate the combustion and pollutant formation inside the internal combustion engine. With the current interest in advanced combustion modes and injection strategies, this approach depends on arbitrary adjustment of model parameters that could reduce credibility of the predictions. The purpose of this study is to enhance the combustion model of KIVA, a computational fluid dynamics code, by coupling its fluid mechanics solution with detailed kinetic reactions solved by the chemistry solver, CHEMKIN. As a result, an engine-friendly reaction mechanism for n-heptane was selected to simulate diesel oxidation. Each cell in the computational domain is considered as a perfectly-stirred reactor which undergoes adiabatic constant- volume combustion. The model was applied to an ideally-prepared homogeneous- charge compression-ignition combustion (HCCI) and direct injection (DI) diesel combustion. Ignition and combustion results show that the code successfully simulates the premixed HCCI scenario when compared to traditional combustion models. Direct injection cases, on the other hand, do not offer a reliable prediction mainly due to the lack of turbulent-mixing model, inherent in the perfectly-stirred reactor formulation. In addition, the model is sensitive to intake conditions and experimental uncertainties which require implementation of enhanced predictive tools. It is recommended that future improvements consider turbulent-mixing effects as well as optimization techniques to accurately simulate actual in-cylinder process with reduced computational cost. Furthermore, the model requires the extension of existing fuel oxidation mechanisms to include pollutant formation kinetics for emission control studies.

Prediction of Upward Flame Spread over Polymers

In this work, the existing understanding of flame spread dynamics is enhanced through an extensive study of the heat transfer from flames spreading vertically upwards across 5 cm wide, 20 cm tall samples of extruded Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA). These experiments have provided highly spatially resolved measurements of flame to surface heat flux and material burning rate at the critical length scale of interest, with a level of accuracy and detail unmatched by previous empirical or computational studies. Using these measurements, a wall flame model was developed that describes a flame’s heat feedback profile (both in the continuous flame region and the thermal plume above) solely as a function of material burning rate. Additional experiments were conducted to measure flame heat flux and sample mass loss rate as flames spread vertically upwards over the surface of seven other commonly used polymers, two of which are glass reinforced composite materials. Using these measurements, our wall flame model has been generalized such that it can predict heat feedback from flames supported by a wide range of materials. For the seven materials tested here – which present a varied range of burning behaviors including dripping, polymer melt flow, sample burnout, and heavy soot formation – model-predicted flame heat flux has been shown to match experimental measurements (taken across the full length of the flame) with an average accuracy of 3.9 kW m-2 (approximately 10 – 15 % of peak measured flame heat flux). This flame model has since been coupled with a powerful solid phase pyrolysis solver, ThermaKin2D, which computes the transient rate of gaseous fuel production of constituents of a pyrolyzing solid in response to an external heat flux, based on fundamental physical and chemical properties. Together, this unified model captures the two fundamental controlling mechanisms of upward flame spread – gas phase flame heat transfer and solid phase material degradation. This has enabled simulations of flame spread dynamics with a reasonable computational cost and accuracy beyond that of current models. This unified model of material degradation provides the framework to quantitatively study material burning behavior in response to a wide range of common fire scenarios.

Improving the stability of an oxime based electrochemical microsensor for organo-phosphate vapor detection

A micro gas sensor has been developed by our group for the detection of organo-phosphate vapors using an aqueous oxime solution. The analyte diffuses from the high flow rate gas stream through a porous membrane to the low flow rate aqueous phase. It reacts with the oxime PBO (1-Phenyl-1,2,3,-butanetrione 2-oxime) to produce cyanide ions, which are then detected electrochemically from the change in solution potential. Previous work on this oxime based electrochemistry indicated that the optimal buffer pH for the aqueous solution was approximately 10. A basic environment is needed for the oxime anion to form and the detection reaction to take place. At this specific pH, the potential response of the sensor to an analyte (such as acetic anhydride) is maximized. However, sensor response slowly decreases as the aqueous oxime solution ages, by as much as 80% in first 24 hours. The decrease in sensor response is due to cyanide which is produced during the oxime degradation process, as evidenced by the cyanide selective electrode. Solid phase micro-extraction carried out on the oxime solution found several other possible degradation products, including acetic acid, N-hydroxy benzamide, benzoic acid, benzoyl cyanide, 1-Phenyl 1,3-butadione, 2-isonitrosoacetophenone and an imine derived from the oxime. It was concluded that degradation occurred through nucleophilic attack by a hydroxide or oxime anion to produce cyanide, as well as a nitrogen atom rearrangement similar to Beckmann rearrangement. The stability of the oxime in organic solvents is most likely due to the lack of water, and specifically hydroxide ions. The reaction between oxime and organo-phosphate to produce cyanide ions requires hydroxide ions, and therefore pure organic solvents are not compatible with the current micro-sensor electrochemistry. By combining a concentrated organic oxime solution with the basic aqueous buffer just prior to being used in the detection process, oxime degradation can be avoided while preserving the original electrochemical detection scheme. Based on beaker cell experiments with selective cyanide sensitive electrodes, ethanol was chosen as the best organic solvent due to its stabilizing effect on the oxime, minimal interference with the aqueous electrochemistry, and compatibility with the current microsensor material (PMMA). Further studies showed that ethanol had a small effect on micro-sensor performance by reducing the rate of cyanide production and decreasing the overall response time. To avoid incomplete mixing of the aqueous and organic solutions, they were pre-mixed externally at a 10:1 ratio, respectively. To adapt the microsensor design to allow for mixing to take place within the device, a small serpentine channel component was fabricated with the same dimensions and material as the original sensor. This allowed for seamless integration of the microsensor with the serpentine mixing channel. Mixing in the serpentine microchannel takes place via diffusion. Both detector potential response and diffusional mixing improve with increased liquid residence time, and thus decreased liquid flowrate. Micromixer performance was studies at a 10:1 aqueous buffer to organic solution flow rate ratio, for a total rate of 5.5 μL/min. It was found that the sensor response utilizing the integrated micromixer was nearly identical to the response when the solutions were premixed and fed at the same rate.

Simulations of droplet dispersion in the wakes of cylinders and icing tunnel spray bars

Simulations of droplet dispersion behind cylinder wakes and downstream of icing tunnel spray bars were conducted. In both cases, a range of droplet sizes were investigated numerically with a Lagrangian particle trajectory approach while the turbulent air flow was investigated with a hybrid Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes/Large-Eddy Simulations approach scheme. In the first study, droplets were injected downstream of a cylinder at sub-critical conditions (i.e. with laminar boundary layer separation). A stochastic continuous random walk (CRW) turbulence model was used to capture the effects of sub-grid turbulence. Small inertia droplets (characterized by small Stokes numbers) were affected by both the large-scale and small-scale vortex structures and closely followed the air flow, while exhibiting a dispersion consistent with that of a scalar flow field. Droplets with intermediate Stokes numbers were centrifuged by the vortices to the outer edges of the wake, yielding an increased dispersion. Large Stokes number droplets were found to be less responsive to the vortex structures and exhibited the least dispersion. Particle concentration was also correlated with vorticity distribution which yielded preferential bias effects as a function of different particle sizes. This trend was qualitatively similar to results seen in homogenous isotropic turbulence, though the influence of particle inertia was less pronounced for the cylinder wake case. A similar study was completed for droplet dispersion within the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) at the NASA Glenn Research Center, where it is important to obtain a nearly uniform liquid water content (LWC) distribution in the test section (to recreate atmospheric icing conditions).. For this goal, droplets are diffused by the mean and turbulent flow generated from the nozzle air jets, from the upstream spray bars, and from the vertical strut wakes. To understand the influence of these three components, a set of simulations was conducted with a sequential inclusion of these components. Firstly, a jet in an otherwise quiescent airflow was simulated to capture the impact of the air jet on flow turbulence and droplet distribution, and the predictions compared well with experimental results. The effects of the spray bar wake and vertical strut wake were then included with two more simulation conditions, for which it was found that the air jets were the primary driving force for droplet dispersion, i.e. that the spray bar and vertical strut wake effects were secondary.

Influência do uso e ocupação do solo na qualidade da água e no processo erosivo da bacia de captação do Rio Barro Preto, Coronel Vivida-PR

This study was developed in objecting to investigate the use and occupation of land in 1999, 2005, 2011 e 2015 and estimate soil degradation by laminar erosion and the relation with water quality in 2015 in the catchment basin of the Barro Preto river, Coronel Vivida – PR. For multitemporal analysis of use and occupation of land in the basin used in the Landsat 5, 7 and 8 images and Geographic Information System. The laminar erosion was estimated by the Universal Soil Loss Equation through the systematization of calculations of the factors that compose the equation in SPRING/INPE. The water quality of the studied river section was evaluated according to the Water Quality Idex and the Resolution CONAMA n. 357/2005. The multitemporal analysis of the use and occupation of land has demonstrated that basin is predominantly agricultural in all years studied, as well as the permanent preservation area presents it not regularized during the period in accordance with the Brazilian Forest Code in force. In relation the quantification of laminar soil erosion in the study period, the rainfall and runoff factor was estimated considering the rainfall data from 1986 to 2014 and resulted in a value of 11.573,47 MJ/ha.mm/a. The Dystrophic Red Latosol, Dystrophic Red Nitisol, Fluvisol and Leptosol soil erodibility factor were 0,0138, 0,0137, 0,0207, 0,0196 t.ha.h/ha.MJ.mm/a, respectively. The topographical factor has demonstrated that the catchment basin has the rough terrain because the moderate and moderate strong classes are dominant in the study area. The cover and management and support practice factors were estimated according to the multitemporal analysis of the use and occupation of land in the basin and the values ranged from 0,0006 to 0,0688. The soil losses by laminar erosion were simulated with agriculture areas with corn and soybeans in no-till. The soil losses with maize crop in no-till in 1999, 2005, 2011 and 2015 were 9.782,75, 10.592,71, 9.636,61 e 11.058,26 t/year, respectively, and soybeans crops in no-till were 15.140,01, 16.645,20, 14.662,14 e 17.049,85 t/year, respectively. In relation with water quality of the section studied river, the average of Water Quality Index during the season were 55,47, 53,09 and 49,72, for the first, second and third sample point, respectively. Indication a decrease in water quality since the source to the last sample point. It is concluded that the use and occupation of land in the catchment basin interferes in the water quality, as well as in soil degradation.

Persistent localized states for a chaotically mixed bistable reaction

We describe the evolution of a bistable chemical reaction in a closed two-dimensional chaotic laminar flow, from a localized initial disturbance. When the fluid mixing is sufficiently slow, the disturbance may spread and eventually occupy the entire fluid domain. By contrast, rapid mixing tends to dilute the initial state and so extinguish the disturbance. Such a dichotomy is well known. However, we report here a hitherto apparently unremarked intermediate case, a persistent highly localized disturbance. Such a localized state arises when the Damkoehler number is great enough to sustain a "hot spot," but not so great as to lead to global spread. We show that such a disturbance is located in the neighborhood of an unstable periodic orbit of the flow, and we describe some limited aspects of its behavior using a reduced, lamellar model. Copyright American Physical Society (APS) 2006.

Cell-cell communication in three dimensional microenvironments

Cellular behavior is dependent on a variety of extracellular cues required for normal tissue function, wound healing, and activation of the immune system. Removed from their in vivo microenvironment and cultured in vitro, cells lose many environmental cues and that may result in abberant behavior, making it difficult to study cellular processes. In order to mimic native tissue environments, optical tweezer and microfluidic technologies were used to place cells within defined areas of the culture environment. To provide three dimensional supports found in natural tissues, hydrogel scaffolds of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate and the basement membrane matrix Matrigel were used. Optical tweezer technology allowed precision placement and formation of homotypic and heterotypic arrays of human U937, HEK 293, and porcine mesenchymal stem cells. Alternatively, two microfluidic devices were designed to pattern Matrigel scaffolds. The first microfluidic device utilized laminar flow to spatially pattern multiple cell types within the device. Gradients of soluble molecules were then be formed and manipulated across the Matrigel scaffolds. Patterning Matrigel using laminar flow techniques require microfluidic expertise and do not produce consistent patterning conditions, limiting their use difficult in most cell culture laboratories. Thus, a buried Matrigel polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device was developed for spatial patterning of biological scaffolds. Matrigel is injected into micron sized channels of PDMS fabricated by soft lithography and allowed to thermally cure. Following curing, a second PDMS device was placed on top of the buried Matrigel channels to support media flow. In order to validate these systems, a cell-cell communication model system was developed utilizing LPS and TNFα signaling with fluorescent reporter systems to monitor communication in real time. We demonstrated the utility of microfluidic devices to support the cell-cell communication model system by co culturing three cell types within Matrigel scaffolds and monitoring signaling activity via fluorescent reporters.

Measurement and Simulation of Suppression Effects in a Buoyant Turbulent Line Fire

An experimental and numerical study of turbulent fire suppression is presented. For this work, a novel and canonical facility has been developed, featuring a buoyant, turbulent, methane or propane-fueled diffusion flame suppressed via either nitrogen dilution of the oxidizer or application of a fine water mist. Flames are stabilized on a slot burner surrounded by a co-flowing oxidizer, which allows controlled delivery of either suppressant to achieve a range of conditions from complete combustion through partial and total flame quenching. A minimal supply of pure oxygen is optionally applied along the burner to provide a strengthened flame base that resists liftoff extinction and permits the study of substantially weakened turbulent flames. The carefully designed facility features well-characterized inlet and boundary conditions that are especially amenable to numerical simulation. Non-intrusive diagnostics provide detailed measurements of suppression behavior, yielding insight into the governing suppression processes, and aiding the development and validation of advanced suppression models. Diagnostics include oxidizer composition analysis to determine suppression potential, flame imaging to quantify visible flame structure, luminous and radiative emissions measurements to assess sooting propensity and heat losses, and species-based calorimetry to evaluate global heat release and combustion efficiency. The studied flames experience notable suppression effects, including transition in color from bright yellow to dim blue, expansion in flame height and structural intermittency, and reduction in radiative heat emissions. Still, measurements indicate that the combustion efficiency remains close to unity, and only near the extinction limit do the flames experience an abrupt transition from nearly complete combustion to total extinguishment. Measurements are compared with large eddy simulation results obtained using the Fire Dynamics Simulator, an open-source computational fluid dynamics software package. Comparisons of experimental and simulated results are used to evaluate the performance of available models in predicting fire suppression. Simulations in the present configuration highlight the issue of spurious reignition that is permitted by the classical eddy-dissipation concept for modeling turbulent combustion. To address this issue, simple treatments to prevent spurious reignition are developed and implemented. Simulations incorporating these treatments are shown to produce excellent agreement with the experimentally measured data, including the global combustion efficiency.

Slow Oscillations in the Mouse Hippocampus Entrained by Nasal Respiration

Different types of network oscillations occur in different behavioral, cognitive, or vigilance states. The rodent hippocampus expresses prominentoscillations atfrequencies between 4 and 12Hz,which are superimposed by phase-coupledoscillations (30 –100Hz).These patterns entrain multineuronal activity over large distances and have been implicated in sensory information processing and memory formation. Here we report a new type of oscillation at near- frequencies (2– 4 Hz) in the hippocampus of urethane-anesthetized mice. The rhythm is highly coherent with nasal respiration and with rhythmic field potentials in the olfactory bulb: hence, we called it hippocampal respiration-induced oscillations. Despite the similarity in frequency range, several features distinguish this pattern from locally generatedoscillations: hippocampal respiration-induced oscillations have a unique laminar amplitude profile, are resistant to atropine, couple differentlytooscillations, and are abolished when nasal airflow is bypassed bytracheotomy. Hippocampal neurons are entrained by both the respiration-induced rhythm and concurrent oscillations, suggesting a direct interaction between endogenous activity in the hippocampus and nasal respiratory inputs. Our results demonstrate that nasal respiration strongly modulates hippocampal network activity in mice, providing a long-range synchronizing signal between olfactory and hippocampal networks.

Proliferative Defects and Formation of a Double Cortex in Mice Lacking Mltt4 and Cdh2 in the Dorsal Telencephalon

Radial glial cells (RGCs) in the ventricular neuroepithelium of the dorsal telencephalon are the progenitor cells for neocortical projection neurons and astrocytes. Here we showthatthe adherens junction proteins afadin and CDH2 are criticalforthe control of cell proliferation in the dorsal telencephalon and for the formation of its normal laminar structure. Inactivation of afadin or CDH2 in the dorsal telenceph-alon leads to a phenotype resembling subcortical band heterotopia, also known as “double cortex,” a brain malformation in which heterotopic gray matter is interposed between zones of white matter. Adherens junctions between RGCs are disrupted in the mutants, progenitor cells are widely dispersed throughout the developing neocortex, and their proliferation is dramatically increased. Major subtypes of neocortical projection neurons are generated, but their integration into cell layers is disrupted. Our findings suggest that defects in adherens junctions components in mice massively affects progenitor cell proliferation and leads to a double cortex-like phenotype.

Simulação numérica da convecção mista em cavidade preenchida com meio poroso heterogêneo e homogêneo

In this work is presented mixed convection heat transfer inside a lid-driven cavity heated from below and filled with heterogeneous and homogeneous porous medium. In the heterogeneous approach, the solid domain is represented by heat conductive equally spaced blocks; the fluid phase surrounds the blocks being limited by the cavity walls. The homogeneous or pore-continuum approach is characterized by the cavity porosity and permeability. Generalized mass, momentum and energy conservation equations are obtained in dimensionless form to represent both the continuum and the pore-continuum models. The numerical solution is obtained via the finite volume method. QUICK interpolation scheme is set for numerical treatment of the advection terms and SIMPLE algorithm is applied for pressure-velocity coupling. Aiming the laminar regime, the flow parameters are kept in the range of 102≤Re≤103 and 103≤Ra≤106 for both the heterogeneous and homogeneous approaches. In the tested configurations for the continuous model, 9, 16, 36, and 64 blocks are considered for each combination of Re and Ra being the microscopic porosity set as constant φ=0,64 . For the pore-continuum model the Darcy number (Da) is set according to the number of blocks in the heterogeneous cavity and the φ. Numerical results of the comparative study between the microscopic and macroscopic approaches are presented. As a result, average Nusselt number equations for the continuum and the pore continuum models as a function of Ra and Re are obtained.