Combustion and microexplosion of collision-merged methanol/alkane droplets

The combustion characteristics of freely falling droplets, individually generated by the merging of colliding methanol and alkane droplets, were investigated and compared with those for pure methanol and alkanes. The merging of the nominally immiscible methanol and alkanes was manifested in an apparently adhesive, but unmixed, manner in all test conditions. An air bubble was found to be trapped at the colliding interfaces where they were “adhered,” with the trapping favored for head-on or near head-on collision orientations. The trapped air bubble ostensibly induced heterogeneous nucleation of the methanol, being facilitated by the relatively low limit of superheat of methanol. Consequently, the droplet exploded almost immediately upon ignition, leading to an extremely short overall lifetime. For collision orientations that were more off-centered, bubble trapping and thereby heterogeneous nucleation were not favored. However, delayed, albeit strong, microexplosion occurred through homogeneous nucleation of methanol at the contacting interface. The global burning rate was therefore again augmented. In general, microexplosion was facilitated for high-boiling-point alkanes such as hexadecane and tetradecane. The co-vaporization of methanol and alkane from their respective hemispherical segments constituting the adhered droplet also led to flame colors that were more bluish than yellowish, indicating the reduction of soot from alkane burning in the presence of methanol vapor. In light of the difficulty of forming stable methanol/oil emulsions, the potential of separate injection of oil and methanol in opposed jet arrangement, in direct-injection engines to facilitate collision, is suggested.     

Every group is the automorphism group of a rank-3 matroid

Every group is the automorphism group of a rank-3 extension of a rank-3 Dowling geometry.Partially supported by The George Washington University UFF grant.Partially supported by the National Security Agency under grant MDA904-91-H-0030.     

Synthesis of α-conhydrine

A synthesis of α-conhydrine has been achieved from trans-(2S,4R)-4-hydroxyproline via diastereoselective Grignard addition, regioselective Baeyer-Villiger reaction, and ring-closing metathesis as the key steps.     

Photodissociation Dynamics of Benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO) at 266, 248, and 193 nm

The photodissociation of gaseous benzaldehyde (C₆H₅CHO) at 193, 248, and 266 nm using multimass ion imaging and step‐scan time‐resolved Fourier‐transform infrared emission techniques is investigated. We also characterize the potential energies with the CCSD(T)/6‐311+G(3df,2p) method and predict the branching ratios for various channels of dissociation. Upon photolysis at 248 and 266 nm, two major channels for formation of HCO and CO, with relative branching of 0.37:0.63 and 0.20:0.80, respectively, are observed. The C₆H₅+HCO channel has two components with large and small recoil velocities; the rapid component with average translational energy of approximately 25 kJ mol^?1 dominates. The C₆H₆+CO channel has a similar distribution of translational energy for these two components. IR emission from internally excited C₆H₅CHO, ν₃ (v=1) of HCO, and levels v≤2, J≤43 of CO are observed; the latter has an average rotational energy of approximately 13 kJ mol^?1 and vibrational energy of approximately 6 kJ mol^?1. Upon photolysis at 193 nm, similar distributions of energy are observed, except that the C₆H₅+HCO channel becomes the only major channel with a branching ratio of 0.82±0.10 and an increased proportion of the slow component; IR emission from levels ν₁ (v=1) and ν₃ (v=1 and 2) of HCO and v≤2, J≤43 of CO are observed; the latter has an average energy similar to that observed in photolysis at 248 nm. The observed product yields at different dissociation energies are compared to statistical‐theory predicted results based on the computed singlet and triplet potential‐energy surfaces.     

Effect of incorporated CdS nanoparticles on the crystallinity and morphology of poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene oxide) diblock copolymers

Surface‐modified CdS nanoparticles selectively dispersed in hexagonally packed poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) cylinders of poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene oxide) (PSEO) block copolymers were prepared. The photoluminescence and ultraviolet–visible characteristics of the presynthesized CdS nanoparticles in N,N‐dimethylformamide and in PEO domains of the PSEO block copolymers were determined. Because of strong interactions between the CdS nanoparticles and PEO chains, as shown by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the incorporation of the CdS nanoparticles prevented the PEO cylinders from properly crystallizing; this was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction measurements. The intercylinder distance between the swollen and reduced‐crystallinity CdS/PEO cylinders in turn increased, as confirmed by small‐angle X‐ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. At a high CdS concentration (43 wt % or 8.3 vol % with respect to PEO), however, the hexagonally packed cylindrical nanostructure of the PSEO diblock copolymers was destroyed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1220–1229, 2005     

Combinatorial geometries representable over GF(3) and GF(q). II. Dowling geometries

Letq be an odd prime power not divisible by 3. In Part I of this series, it was shown that the number of points in a rank-n combinatorial geometry (or simple matroid) representable over GF(3) and GF(q) is at mostn ². In this paper, we show that, with the exception ofn = 3, a rank-n geometry that is representable over GF(3) and GF(q) and contains exactlyn ² points is isomorphic to the rank-n Dowling geometry based on the multiplicative group of GF(3).This research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DMS-8521826 and DMS-8500494.     

The core extraction axiom for combinatorial geometries

Let D be a dependent set in a combinatorial geometry G(S). The core of D is the set {x ∈ D:D<x is independent}. An order filter F of subsets of S is the set of dependent sets of a geometry iff for all D∈F, either core D is empty or core D∈F. This new cryptomorphism is particularly useful in the study of extensions and strong maps.     

Coherent orientations and series-parallel networks

Let p be an edge of the graph G. An orientation of G is p-coherent if the set of directed circuits is exactly the set of circuits containing the edge p. Theorem: A matroidally connected graph G is a series-parallel network if and only if for every edge p of G, there exists a p-coherent orientation.     

Thick grating analysis of interferometrically produced waveguides

The thin grating decomposition method of thick grating analysis is used to analyze guiding effects in thick phase gratings having sinusoidal refractive index modulation.