A Newton–Krylov finite volume algorithm for the power-law non-Newtonian fluid flow using pseudo-compressibility technique

An implicit Newton–Krylov finite volume algorithm has been developed for efficient steady-state computation of the power-law non-Newtonian fluid flows. The pseudo-compressibility technique is used for the coupling of continuity and momentum equations. The spatial discretization is central (second-order) for both convective and diffusive terms and the accuracy of the solution is verified. The nine block diagonal Jacobian matrix (needed for implicit formulation) is computed directly through the flux differentiation. Five-diagonal and three-diagonal block matrices (the simplified versions of the main Jacobian matrix) are used with the ILU(0 & 1) and the Thomas linear solvers for preconditioning, respectively. The performance of the Newton-GMRES solver is examined in detail for different preconditioning strategies. The effects of the power-law behavior index and Re number on the convergence rate are also studied. The performance of the Newton-BiCGSTAB and the Newton-GMRES solvers are compared with each other. The results show, the ILU(1)/Newton-GMRES is the most efficient combination that is robust even in high Reynolds number shear-thinning fluid flow cases.     

Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics and determination of surface‐folding free energy of PP/EVA/OMMT nanocomposites

Crystalline structures, nonisothermal crystallization behavior and surface folding free energy of polypropylene (PP)/poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate) (EVA) blend‐based organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites were investigated by use of wide angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Nonisothermal crystallization kinetic analysis was performed using Avrami equation modified by Jeziorny as well as combined Avrami‐Ozawa method. Surface folding free energy and activation energy for PP and nanocomposite samples were also determined employing Hoffman‐Lauritzen's and Vyazovkins's approaches, respectively. The results obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that presence of EVA, which attracts most of the layered silicates, reduces number density of heterogeneous nuclei in the matrix and as a consequence, decreases the nucleation rate. Incorporation of EVA, PP‐g‐MA and OMMT results in a decrease of the chain surface folding free energy level. It was shown that although, OMMT acts as a barrier against the PP macromolecular motion but interestingly, it increases the overall crystallization rate. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 674–684, 2009     

Strategies for protecting supply chain networks against facility and transportation disruptions: an improved Benders decomposition approach

Disruptions rarely occur in supply chains, but their negative financial and technical impacts make the recovery process very slow. In this paper, we propose a capacitated supply chain network design (SCND) model under random disruptions both in facility and transportation, which seeks to determine the optimal location and types of distribution centers (DC) and also the best plan to assign customers to each opened DC. Unlike other studies in the extent literature, we use new concepts of reliability to model the strategic behavior of DCs and customers at the network: (1) Failure of DCs might be partial, i.e. a disrupted DC might still be able to serve with a portion of its initial capacity (2) The lost capacity of a disrupted DC shall be provided from a non-disrupted one and (3) The lost capacity fraction of a disrupted DC depends on its initial investment amount in the design phase. In order to solve the proposed model optimally, a modified version of Benders’ Decomposition (BD) is applied. This modification tackles the difficulties of the BD’s master problem (MP), which ultimately improves the solution time of BD significantly. The classical BD approach results in low density cuts in some cases, Covering Cut Bundle (CCB) generation addresses this issue by generating a bundle of cuts instead of a single cut, which could cover more decision variables of the MP. Our inspiration to improve the CCB generation led to a new method, namely Maximum Density Cut (MDC) generation. MDC is based on the observation that in some cases CCB generation is cumbersome to solve in order to cover all decision variables of the MP rather than to cover part of them. Thus the MDC method generates a cut to cover the remaining decision variables which are not covered by CCB. Numerical experiments demonstrate the practicability of the proposed model to be promising in the SCND area, also the modified BD approach decreases the number of BD iterations and improves the CPU times, significantly.     

Supramolecular self-assembly of a novel hydrogen-bonded cholesteric liquid crystal exhibiting macromolecular behaviour

The mesomorphic, thermoptic and glass-forming properties of 4-[6-((cholesteryloxy) carbonyl)oxy hexyloxy] benzoic acid (Ch-BA) have been investigated as a novel supramolecular hydrogen-bonded cholesteric mesogen. Fourier transform infrared and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance studies have confirmed the chemical structure and the hydrogen-bond formation between the mesogens. According to polarising optical microscope observations, the compound exhibited smectic and chiral nematic phases. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated an unexpected glass transition (T _g) around 32°C and a liquid crystalline region between 32 and 122°C, in which the cholesteric phase appeared at 80°C. As a result of the glass formation, samples of Ch-BA which were rapidly cooled below the T _g were found to preserve the long-range ordering of the liquid crystalline state and retained the iridescent colours of the cholesteric phase. These results led to the conclusion that the formation of identical dimers by intermolecular hydrogen-bonding of the terminal carboxylic acids accompanying the lateral packing of the rigid cores, built a trimeric arrangement and this was responsible for the macromolecular behaviour of Ch-BA, despite its relatively simple structure and low molecular weight.     

Experimental determination of the thermal lens parameters in a broad area semiconductor laser amplifier

Due to the build-up of temperature gradients along their width, semiconductor laser diodes tend to be affected by thermal lensing effects. We propose a simple and easy-to-implement experiment in order to determine the thermal lens coefficient in a broad area semiconductor laser amplifier during operation. The results obtained are compared to simulations of the temperature distribution in the laser structure. In order to further validate our method, we compare the measured M ² value of a free running broad area laser diode with the calculated M ² of such a laser under the influence of a thermal lens as predicted by diffraction theory of first-order optical resonators. The experimental results are seen to be in good agreement with the calculations.     

Effect of water phase change on temperature distribution in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A two dimensional, two-phase non-isothermal electrochemical-transport using a fully coupled numerical model is developed to investigate heat transfer and water phase change effects on temperature distribution in a PEM fuel cell. The multiphase mixture is used formulation for the two phase transport process and developed model is treated as a single domain. This process leads to a single set of conservation equations consisting of continuity, momentum, species, potential and energy for all regions of cell. The results indicate that heat release due to condensation of water vapor affects the temperature distribution. When the relative humidity of the cathode is low, phase change would have a small effect on the maximum temperature that appears at the cell inlet, but it has higher effect on temperature variation further down stream towards the exit of cathode channel and its GDL. Under full-humidity conditions, the cell temperature at all regions of cell increases due to the phase change that starts to appear at the inlet, but the maximum effect of phase change occurs further up stream in cathode channel and its GDL. Also, vapor-phase diffusion which provides a new mechanism for heat removal from the cell, affects the cell temperature distribution.     

On the equality of interfacial and critical composition

It is shown that interfacial composition of the liquid–liquid interfaces is equal to the critical composition. The idea has been rigorously proven for binary regular solutions and has been reasonably supported for non-regular multicomponents, making use of the experimental mutual solubility data and the available information on titration, pulsed gradient spin-echo NMR, and differential scanning calorimetry of some W/O and O/W microemulsions. Using this finding, we, moreover, developed a simple equation for prediction of plait point concentration, having known just one tie-line data. The equation suggests a simple consistency test for measured solubility data, which is shown reliable for a large number of ternary systems. A molecular dynamic simulation also has been performed to support the idea.     

A green protocol for Erlenmeyer–Plöchl reaction by using iron oxide nanoparticles under ultra sonic irradiation

Azlactones have been prepared via Erlenmeyer synthesis from aromatic aldehydes and hippuric acid using Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles under ultrasonic irradiation. Short reaction times, easy and quick isolation of the products, and excellent yields are the main advantages of this procedure.