The reducibility of the anisotropic Hele-Shaw problem to the isotropic case

It is established that the unilateral Hele-Shaw problem for flows in a channel when there is bulk anisotropy and Saffman–Taylor boundary conditions on the free boundary can be reduced to the isotropic case using a linear non-orthogonal coordinate transformation. Correspondingly, any exact solution of the Hele-Shaw problem for an isotropic medium generates a set of solutions for an anisotropic medium for arbitrary orientation of the principal axes of the permeability tensor with respect to the direction of the channel axis.     

Non-contact measurement of the electric field shielding performance and the resistivity of layer materials

An approach is described to measure the electric field shielding performance of materials as a function of frequency. This provides a broader appreciation of the performance of materials than is available from standard energy transfer type measurements. Materials that include metallic conducting components show little variation of shielding performance with frequency, whereas the performance of resistive materials falls away with increasing frequency. It is shown that the variation of attenuation with frequency relates to the resistivity on or within the material. This has particular practical relevance to the risk of occurrence of damaging or incendive electrostatic discharges from charged material surfaces.     

Body waves in fractured porous media saturated by two immiscible newtonian fluids

A study of body waves in fractured porous media saturated by two fluids is presented. We show the existence of four compressional and one rotational waves. The first and third compressional waves are analogous to the fast and slow compressional waves in Biot's theory. The second compressional wave arises because of fractures, whereas the fourth compressional wave is associated with the pressure difference between the fluid phases in the porous blocks. The effects of fractures on the phase velocity and attenuation coefficient of body waves are numerically investigated for a fractured sandstone saturated by air and water phases. All compressional waves except the first compressional wave are diffusive-type waves, i.e., highly attenuated and do not exist at low frequencies.Now at Izmir Institute of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Gaziosmanpasa Bulvari, No.16, Cankaya, Izmir, Turkey.     

An evolutionary method for optimization of plate buckling resistance

Optimization of plate buckling resistance is very complicated, because the in-plane stress resultants in the prebuckled state of a plate are functions of thickness distribution. This paper discusses the problem of finding the optimum thickness distribution of isotropic plate structures, with a given volume and layout, that would maximise the buckling load. A simple numerical method using the finite-element analysis is presented to obtain the optimum thickness distribution. Optimum designs of compression-loaded rectangular plates with different boundary conditions and plate aspect ratios are obtained by using the proposed method. Optimum designs from earlier studies and the methods of buckling analysis used to attain these results are discussed and compared with the designs from the proposed method. This paper also examines the reliability of the optimality criterion generally used for plate buckling optimization, which is based on the uniform strain energy density.     

Aggregation effects in maximum covering models

The level of aggregation is critical in discrete location analyses as it affects the level of data collection required, computation times and the usefulness of the analyses. We examine the effects of three alternative nodal aggregation schemes on (i) the model's solution times, (ii) the locational decisions indicated by the maximum covering model, (iii) the coverage provided by the aggregate solutions compared with the optimal solutions, and (iv) the coverage predicted by the aggregate model compared with the coverage that results from using the aggregate model's facility sites and the disaggregate demands. The results suggest that considerable aggregation can be tolerated without incurring large errors in total coverage, but that location errors are introduced at moderate levels of aggregation. The magnitude of these errors is significantly affected by the aggregation scheme employed.     

On the reliability of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity calculated from the moisture retention curve

In comparison with direct measurements of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, the methods of calculations from the moisture retention curve are attractive for their fast and simple use and low cost. These are the main reasons for their increasing use, mainly in spatial variability studies. On the other hand, it is known that their applicability is limited. The possibility of the use of the retention curve to indirectly determine hydraulic conductivities is analyzed as follows. The theoretical derivation of the relationK(h) – (h) is briefly discussed with regards to potential sources of inaccuracy. The sensitivity of the algorithm forK(h) calculation is studied as a response to possible inaccuracies in the retention curve determination. Conclusions about the usability of calculated hydraulic conductivities are drawn.     

Surface characterization of recycled tire rubber to be used in cement paste matrix

The surface modification of tire rubber after treatment with saturated NaOH aqueous solution was investigated by HATR infrared analysis, potentiometric titration, and contact angle measurements. Infrared analysis of the powdered treated rubber showed a decrease in absorption at 1540, 1450, and 1395 cm(-1). This decrease is attributed to the removal of zinc stearate, an additive present in tire formulations that often migrates and diffuses to the surface, resulting in poor adhesion between the rubber and other materials. The potentiometric titration of the suspension of powdered rubber in 0.1 M NaCl showed that more hydrochloric acid was consumed by the untreated rubber, most likely a result of the hyrdrolysis of the zinc stearate to the organic acid. Contact angles of flat tire pieces showed an homogeneity enhancement of the treated rubber surface. The decrease of the zinc stearate on the treated rubber surface explains the improvement in the adhesion of this material to the cement matrix, observed in a previous research. The promising results of this study are a starting point for future research on incorporating rubber particles into cementitious materials as a means of successfully utilizing the vast amounts of tire waste currently in landfills.     

WOx/TiO2光催化剂的可见光催化活性机理探讨

采用磁控溅射技术在用浸渍提拉法制得的TiO2薄膜上，溅射氧化钨层,通过气相反应中光催化降解二甲苯的实验表明，WOx/TiO2薄膜具有可见光活性.通过UV-Vis吸收光谱、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）等方法对其可见光活性的机理进行探索.UV-Vis吸收光谱表明WOx,TiO2对可见光响应的范围有一定的扩展,吸收强度增加.XPS表明WOx/TiO2薄膜表面形成了明显的W杂质能级和Ti缺陷能级,这是WOx/TiO2在可见光范围有一吸收的主要原因,也是光催化剂具有可见光活性的必要条件之一，同时杂质能级的存在使半导体费米能级上移,载流子增加,光催化效率提高.     

Structures and synthesis of framework Rb and Cs uranyl arsenates and their relationships with their phosphate analogues

Two hydrated uranyl arsenates, Cs₂(UO₂)[(UO₂)(AsO₄)]₄(H₂O)₂ (CsUAs) and Rb₂(UO₂)[(UO₂)(AsO₄)]₄(H₂O)_4.5 (RbUAs), were synthesized by hydrothermal methods. Intensity data were collected at room temperature using MoKα radiation and a CCD-based area detector. The crystal structure of RbUAs was solved by direct methods, whereas the structure model of the phosphate Cs₂(UO₂)[(UO₂)(PO₄)]₄(H₂O)₂ was used for CsUAs; both were refined by full-matrix least-squares techniques on the basis of F² to agreement indices (CsUAs, RbUAs) wR₂=0.061,0.041, for all data, and R₁=0.032,0.021, calculated for 5098, 4991 unique observed reflections (|F_o|>4σ_F), respectively. The compound CsUAs is orthorhombic, space group Cmc2₁, Z=4, a=15.157(2), b=14.079(2), c=13.439(2) Å, V=2867.9(1) Å³. RbUAs is monoclinic, space group C2/m, Z=4, a=13.4619(4), b=15.8463(5), c=14.0068(4) Å, β=92.311(1)°, V=2985.52(2) Å³. The structures consist of sheets of arsenate tetrahedra and uranyl pentagonal bipyramids, with composition [(UO₂)(AsO₄)]⁻, that are topologically identical to the uranyl silicate sheets in uranophane-beta. These sheets are connected by a uranyl pentagonal bipyramid in the interlayer that shares corners with two arsenate tetrahedra on each of two adjacent sheets and whose fifth equatorial vertex is an H₂O group, resulting in an open framework with alkali metal cations in the larger cavities of the structures. CsUAs is isostructural with its phosphate analogue, and has two Cs atoms and a H₂O group in its structural cavities. RbUAs is not isostructural with its phosphate analogue, although it has a homeotypic framework. Its structural cavities are occupied by three Rb atoms and four H₂O groups; one Rb position and three of the interstitial H₂O groups are half-occupied. The partial occupancies of these positions probably result from the accommodation of the larger As atoms (relative to P) in the framework and resultant larger cavities.