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Molecule Dynamics Study on Heat Transfer at Gas-Nanoparticle Interface
Get PDFThe molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to understand the heat transfer process between the gas phase and the solid skeleton in the nanoporous silica aerogels. The amorphous silica nanoparticles were generated by the MD simulations and the energy accommodation coefficient (EAC) between the gases and the nanoparticles was calculated based on the results of the nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. The apparent thermal conductivity (ATC) of the gases between the heat source and heat sink was also obtained. The effects of the temperature, the particle diameter and the molecule type on the EAC and the ATC were investigated. The results indicate that the EAC decreases with the increase of temperature within the calculating range. When the preset temperature is constant, the EAC increases with the increasing of the particle diameter and eventually approaches a specific value. When the preset temperature is 300 K and the particle size is 4 nm, the obtained EAC for the N2 gas and the O2 gas is close to each other and both are less than that of the Ar gas. The results also indicate that the heat transferred through the gas-nanoparticle interface is far less than that through the neighbouring nanoparticles in silica aerogels
A Numerical Study Comparing The Effect on Residual Stresses of Two Different Types of Projectiles During Shot Peening
Get PDFShot peening is a widely used technique to improve fatigue life in metallic alloys. This processing technique introduces a subsurface compressive residual stress field through a plastic deformation of the surface caused by the impact of a large number of high-speed projectiles. There are a number of parameters that affect the residual stress field depth and magnitude. The effects of the impact angle, shot speed and shot geometry are currently being researched. In particular, substituting spherical cast shots by cylindrical cut wire shots is an attractive option, especially in terms of cost. The effect of shot geometry on residual stresses, however, needs to be further investigated. Because industrial-scale experimentation is costly and cumbersome, mathematical modeling offers a convenient alternative to carry out this type of research. The present work shows a comparison between the residual stresses generated by the impact of spherical and cylindrical projectiles on a steel substrate. This threedimensional model was developed using ABAQUS finite element commercial software (Release 6.12, Dassault Systémes, France). The results show that cylindrical shots generate residual stress fields that are higher in magnitude than those generated by a spherical shot. However, the residual stress field of cylindrical shots impacting the surface at an oblique angle shows an important degree of asymmetry. This effect is not found when spherical shots impact the surface at the same oblique angle
Non-Newtonian Blood Flow in Left Coronary Arteries with Varying Stenosis: A Comparative Study
Get PDFThis paper presents Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis of blood flow in three different 3-D models of left coronary artery (LCA). A comparative study of flow parameters (pressure distribution, velocity distribution and wall shear stress) in each of the models is done for a non-Newtonian (Carreau) as well as the Newtonian nature of blood viscosity over a complete cardiac cycle. The difference between these two types of behavior of blood is studied for both transient and steady states of flow. Additionally, flow parameters are compared for steady and transient boundary conditions considering blood as non-Newtonian fluid. The study shows that the highest wall shear stress (WSS), velocity and pressure are found in artery having stenosis in all the three branches of LCA. The use of Newtonian blood model is a good approximation for steady as well as transient blood flow boundary conditions if shear rate is above 100 s-1. However, the assumption of steady blood flow results in underestimating the values of flow parameters such as wall shear stress, pressure and velocity
Biobased Additives as Biodegradability Enhancers with Application in TPU-Based Footwear Components
Get PDFAmong the wide variety of materials employed in the manufacture of shoes, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are one of the most widely used. Given its widespread use, and associated waste management problems, the development of more biodegradable and evironmentally compatible solutions is needed. In this work, a polyester-based TPU used in the footwear industry for outsoles production was modifi ed by compounding with lignin, starch and cellulose at content of 4% (w/w). The biodegradability was evaluated by using agar plate tests with the fungi Aspergillus niger ATCC16404, the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027 and an association of both (consortium), and soil tests at 37 °C and 58 °C. The obtained results evidenced a positive effect of the tested biobased additives, the most favourable results being registered with lignin. These results were corroborated by the structural modifi cations observed by FTIR analysis. Additionally, mechanical tests prove the suitability of using the lignin modifi ed TPUs for footwear outsoles production
Biodegradation Pretreatment of Wood of E. grandis, E. dunnii, and E. benthamii to Work in Biorefi nery Processes
Get PDFNowadays, there is a great interest in using lignocellulosic materials as substrate for the production of biorefi nery products. Eucalypti are good options to use as crops to obtain different kinds of biofuels and derivatives, since their plantations show high adaptation potential to soil and weather conditions in Uruguay. The basic process steps involved in the obtainment of biorefi nery materials are: pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and products separation. As delignifi cation is an important process to obtain biorefi nery products, in this context the evaluation of the biological (BT) and hydrothermal (TT) pretreatment of different species of Eucaliptus was studied. The possibility of obtaining sugars, alcohols and organic acids was the main focus. The results of these investigations show a good production of reducing sugars (4–5 mg/mL for both BT and TT pretreatments), acetic acid (3–8 mg/mL for BT and 3–7 mg/mL for TT) and isopropanol (18–48 mg/mL for BT and 20–30 mg/mL for TT). In conclusion, the results show similar behaviours for BT and TT pretreatments, which is a quite important result since BT is cheaper and cleaner and thus a more attractive technology
Editorial
Get PDFThe articles included in this Special Issue of the Journal
of Renewable Materials are a selection of those presented
at the 5th International Conference on Biobased and
Biodegradable Polymers (BIOPOL-2015) that was
held in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, in October
2015
New Renewable and Biodegradable Fiberboards from a Coriander Press Cake
Get PDFNew fiberboards were manufactured from a coriander cake through thermo-pressing, and the influence of thermo-pressing conditions (temperature, pressure and time) on the boards’ mechanical properties, their thickness swelling and their water absorption was evaluated. Because the protein glass transition systematically occurred during molding, this resulted in effective wetting of the fibers. Consequently, all boards were cohesive, with proteins and fibers acting as binder and reinforcing fillers, respectively. Flexural properties were influenced by all tested conditions, and the optimal board was molded at 200 °C temperature, 36.8 MPa pressure and 180 s time. Its flexural strength at break and its elastic modulus were 11.3 MPa and 2.6 GPa, respectively, with the highest surface hardness of the entire study. Simultaneously, thickness swelling and water absorption were low: 51% and 33%, respectively. This board would be applicable as pallet interlayer sheeting for the manufacture of containers or furniture or in the building trade
Biodegradable PLA/PBAT/Clay Nanocomposites: Morphological, Rheological and Thermomechanical Behavior
Get PDFPoly(lactic acid)/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT)-based nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending of PLA and PBAT with 5 wt% of unmodified (Cloisite Na) and modified (Cloisite 30B) montmorillonites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed an intercalated structure in both nanocomposites. The extent of the intercalation was higher for nanocomposites based on modified clays (OMMT) with chemical affinity with the polymer matrix. Rheological measurements have shown an increase in viscosity and a better degree of clay dispersion for nanocomposites containing OMMT. Nanocomposites with OMMT showed lower PBAT separated phase particle size and improvements in thermal stability, mechanical properties and water vapor barrier when compared with the neat blend. Finally, our results showed that the organically modified clay has a higher affinity than natural clay with the studied polymer blend
Solid “Green” Polyurethanes Based on Rapeseed Oil Polyol and Modified with Glycerol and Microcellulose
Get PDFSolid biobased polyurethanes (PUs) were prepared from a rapeseed oil-based polyol (ROPO) synthesized by epoxidation reaction followed by oxirane ring-opening with diethylene glycol. The reference material was modified by replacement of the ROPO with glycerol in different proportions and also by addition of commercial microcellulose (MC). The curing process of the reactive mixtures was monitored by rheological measurements and the analysis showed that both MC and glycerol increase the time of crossover between storage and loss modulus (liquid to solid transition in the response at 1 Hz). The completely cured polyurethanes were characterized by physical, morphological and mechanical analysis. The results proved that the addition of glycerol and MC increases the modulus and ultimate stress. Despite the higher modulus of the composites, the ultimate deformation also increases with the incorporation of 3 and 5 wt% of MC, which was associated with the good interaction between the cellulose and its polymer matrix
Enhancements to Modified Chebyshev-Picard Iteration Efficiency for Perturbed Orbit Propagation
Get PDFModified Chebyshev Picard Iteration is an iterative numerical method for solving linear or non-linear ordinary differential equations. In a serial computational environment the method has been shown to compete with, or outperform, current state of practice numerical integrators. This paper presents several improvements to the basic method, designed to further increase the computational efficiency of solving the equations of perturbed orbit propagation