A detailed chemistry simulation of the SI-HCCI transition

A Stochastic Reactor Model (SRM) has been used to simulate the transition from Spark Ignition (SI) mode to Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) mode in a four cylinder in-line four-stroke naturally aspirated direct injection SI engine with cam profile switching. The SRM is coupled with GT-Power, a one-dimensional engine simulation tool used for modelling engine breathing during the open valve portion of the engine cycle, enabling multi-cycle simulations. The model is initially calibrated in both modes using steady state data from SI and HCCI operation. The mode change is achieved by switching the cam profiles and phasing, resulting in a Negative Valve Overlap (NVO), opening the throttle, advancing the spark timing and reducing the fuel mass as well as utilising a pilot injection. Experimental data is presented along with the simulation results. The model is used to investigate key control parameters and their effects on parameters that are difficult to measure experimentally. The effect of the spark in the first HCCI cycles is found to have a major impact on the stability of the transition. Copyright © 2010 SAE International.

Effect of high dietary starch levels on the growth performance, blood chemistry and body composition of gibel carp (Carassius auratus var. gibelio)

An 8-week growth trial was carried out in a semi-recirculation system to investigate the effect of high dietary starch levels on the growth performance, blood chemistry, starch utilization and body composition of gibel carp (Carassius auratus var. gibelio). Five isonitrogenous and isocarloric experimental diets were formulated to contain different starch levels (24%, 28%, 32%, 36% and 40% respectively). Triplicate groups of fish (24 fish per tank with an average body weight, of 8.5 g) were assigned to each diet. The results showed that dietary carbohydrate levels significantly affected the growth performance, hepatopancreatic lipid content, pyruvate kinase (PK) activity and whole-body lipid content. Growth performance, body crude lipid and plasma glucose concentrations showed a decreasing trend with an increase in dietary starch from 24% to 40%. Pyruvate kinase activities and hepatopancreatic lipid content showed an increasing trend with the dietary starch increasing from 24% to 32%, and then a decreasing trend with the dietary starch increasing from 32% to 40%. No significant difference in the hepatopancreatic hexokinase (HK) activity, plasma triglyceride contents, body crude protein, ash and calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) contents was observed between different treatments. In conclusion, higher dietary starch levels (32-40%) significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the growth of gibel carp in the present study.

Influence of turbulence-chemistry interaction for n-heptane spray combustion under diesel engine conditions with emphasis on soot formation and oxidation

The influence of the turbulence-chemistry interaction (TCI) for n-heptane sprays under diesel engine conditions has been investigated by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The conditional moment closure approach, which has been previously validated thoroughly for such flows, and the homogeneous reactor (i.e. no turbulent combustion model) approach have been compared, in view of the recent resurgence of the latter approaches for diesel engine CFD. Experimental data available from a constant-volume combustion chamber have been used for model validation purposes for a broad range of conditions including variations in ambient oxygen (8-21% by vol.), ambient temperature (900 and 1000 K) and ambient density (14.8 and 30 kg/m3). The results from both numerical approaches have been compared to the experimental values of ignition delay (ID), flame lift-off length (LOL), and soot volume fraction distributions. TCI was found to have a weak influence on ignition delay for the conditions simulated, attributed to the low values of the scalar dissipation relative to the critical value above which auto-ignition does not occur. In contrast, the flame LOL was considerably affected, in particular at low oxygen concentrations. Quasi-steady soot formation was similar; however, pronounced differences in soot oxidation behaviour are reported. The differences were further emphasised for a case with short injection duration: in such conditions, TCI was found to play a major role concerning the soot oxidation behaviour because of the importance of soot-oxidiser structure in mixture fraction space. Neglecting TCI leads to a strong over-estimation of soot oxidation after the end of injection. The results suggest that for some engines, and for some phenomena, the neglect of turbulent fluctuations may lead to predictions of acceptable engineering accuracy, but that a proper turbulent combustion model is needed for more reliable results. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Effect of desert soil algae on the stabilization of fine sands

Four filamentous cyanobacteria, Microcoleus vaginatus, Phormidium tenue, Scytonema javanicum (Kutz.) and Nostoc sp., and a single-celled green alga, Desmococcus olivaceus, all isolated from Shapotou (Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China), were batch cultured and inoculated onto unconsolidated sand in greenhouse and field experiments. Their ability to reduce wind erosion in sands was quantified by using a wind tunnel laboratory. The major factors related to cohesion of algal crusts, such as biomass, species, species combinations, bioactivity, niche, growth phase of algae, moisture, thickness of the crusts, dust accretion (including dust content and manner of dust added) and other cryptogams (lichens, fungi and mosses) were studied. The best of the five species were M. vaginatus and P. tenue, while the best mix was a blend of 80% M. vaginatus and 5% each of P. tenue, S. javanicum, Nostoc sp. and D. olivaceus. The threshold friction velocity was significantly increased by the presence of all of the cyanobacterial species, while the threshold impact velocity was notably increased only by the filamentous species. Thick crusts were less easily eroded than thin crusts, while biomass was more effective than thickness. Dust was incorporated best into Microcoleus crust when added in small amounts over time, and appeared to increase growth of the cyanobacterium as well as strengthen the cohesion of the crust. Microbial crust cohesion was mainly attributed to algal aggregation, while lichens, fungi and mosses affected more the soil structure and physico-chemical properties.

Photoluminescence energy and fine structure splitting in single quantum dots by uniaxial stress

We report a photoluminescence (PL) energy red-shift of single quantum dots (QDs) by applying an in-plane compressive uniaxial stress along the [110] direction at a liquid nitrogen temperature. Uniaxial stress has an effect not only on the confinement potential in the growth direction which results in the PL shift, but also on the cylindrical symmetry of QDs which can be reflected by the change of the full width at half maximum of PL peak. This implies that uniaxial stress has an important role in tuning PL energy and fine structure splitting of QDs.

Fine structural splitting and exciton spin relaxation in single InAs quantum dots

We have studied the exciton spin dynamics in single InAs quantum dots (QDs) with different exciton fine structural splitting (FSS) by transient luminescence measurements. We have established the correlation between exciton spin relaxation rate and the energy splitting of the FSS when FSS is nonzero and found that the spin relaxation rate in QD increases with a slope of 8.8x10(-4) ns(-1) mu eV(-1). Theoretical analyses based on the phonon-assisted relaxations via the deformation potential give a reasonable interpretation of the experimental results.

Quantum Confinement and Electronic Properties of Rutile TiO2 Nanowires

The quantum confinement effect, electronic properties, and optical properties of TiO2 nanowires in rutile structure are investigated via first-principles calculations. We calculate the size- and shape-dependent band gap of the nanowires and fit the results with the function E-g = E-g(bulk) + beta/d(alpha). We find that the quantum confinement effect becomes significant for d < 25 angstrom, and a notable anisotropy exists that arises from the anisotropy of the effective masses. We also evaluate the imaginary part of the frequency-dependent dielectric function [epsilon(2)(omega)] within the electric-dipole approximation, for both the polarization parallel [epsilon(parallel to)(2)(omega)] and the perpendicular [epsilon 1/2(omega)] to the axial (c) direction. The band structure of the nanowires is calculated, with which the fine structure of epsilon(parallel to)(2)(omega) has been analyzed.

Al2O3 : Cr3+ nanotubes synthesized via homogenization precipitation followed by heat treatment

Cr3+-doped NH4Al(OH)(2)CO3 nanotubes, templated by surfactant assemblies, were successfully synthesized via the homogenization precipitation method, and various crystallographic phase Al2O3:Cr3+ nanotubes were also obtained by postannealing at different temperatures. The characteristic R-1, R-2 doublet line transitions of ruby can be observed in the high crystalline alpha-Al2O3 nanotubes calcined at temperatures higher than 1200 degrees C. The results also indicate that the formation mechanism of the tubular nanostructures should result from the self-rolling action of layered compound NH4Al(OH)(2)CO3 under the assistance of the surfactant soft-template. The convenient synthetic procedure, excellent reproducibility, clean reactions, high yield, and fine quality of products in this work make the present route attractive and significant. Aluminum oxide nanotubes with high specific surface area could be used as fabricating nanosized optical devices doped with different elements and stable catalyst supports of metal clusters.

Fine structure of the plasmon resonance absorption peak of Ag nanoparticles embedded in partially oxidized Si matrix

Ag/Si nanocomposite films were prepared by the radio-frequency magnetron cosputtering method. The fine structure of the plasmon resonance absorption peak was found in film samples. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the samples were composed of a two-layer structure, which accounted for the structure of the optical absorption spectra. The peak located near 445 nm is the plasmon resonance absorption peak of Ag nanoparticles embedded in a partially oxidized Si matrix. Its intensity decreases with decreasing film thickness and disappears in a very thin sample. The peak located near 380 nm originates from the plasmon resonance absorption of the thoroughly oxidized surface layer of the sample. Its intensity does not change with increasing thickness, but it cannot be observed in the very thick sample. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

High-field ferromagnetic resonance in fine particles

We investigate high-field ferromagnetic resonance of superparamagnetic particles with uniaxial anisotropy, In this case, since the field is large enough to saturate the magnetization, the thermal orientational fluctuations of the magnetic moment of the particle are negligible. Thus, we derive the dynamic susceptibility of the system on the basis of an independent particle model. High-field ferromagnetic resonance has been performed on fine cobalt particles, The analysis of the spectra obtained at different frequencies allows us to estimate the effective magnetic anisotropy, the gyromagnetic ratio, and the transverse relaxation time. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.