Hybrid passive/active absorbers for flow ducts

A new type of acoustic liner developed for broadband noise reduction in flow ducts is considered in this paper. It combines passive absorbent properties of a porous layer and active control at its rear face. The complete design procedure of this hybrid passive/active liner is developed here. The passive part is first considered with the determination of a suitable porous material and the cut-off frequency separating the active low frequency regime from the passive high frequency one. The control system is then presented: a digital adaptive feedback control is performed independently cell by cell, allowing an easy subsequent increase of the liner surface. The entire optimization process has been successfully applied to a laboratory flow duct: both predictions and measurements show the interest of the hybrid liner to reduce the noise radiation.     

A Study of the Thermal Hysteresis in AgNO3

The reversible phase transformation of AgNO₃ is studied. Dielectric constant, d.c. resistivity, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and dilatometric measurements show the occurrence of a reversible phase transition II→I at 160°C with heat of transformation H = 0.78 kcal/mol. The thermal hysteresis in this reversible transformation is examined, the magnitude of the temperature hysteresis does not exceed 12°C. An acceptable agreement is observed between the measured values of the transition temperature obtained by three different experimental techniques. The dilatometric analysis shows that this transition is accompanied by thermal shrinkage with relative shrinkage coefficient 8 × 10^?4. Thermal analysis are also used to get thermodynamic and kinetic data of this phase transition. The temperature dependence of the dielectric constant and d.c. resistivity for single crystals as well as polycrystalline samples of AgNO₃ have clearly located and confirm the phase transitions II→I→II with a strong support to its thermal hysteresis character. The conduction mechanism is found to be activated by energy 0.12 eV for phase I and 0.36 eV for phase II. The observed thermal behaviour of the various measured parameters is attributed to orientational disorder of the nitrate group leading to an order-disorder phase transition which is reported here for first time in AgNO₃.     

A mixed integral equation in the quasi-static displacement problem

In this work, we solve the Fredholm-Volterra integral equation (FVIE) when the kernel takes a potential function form under given conditions. We represent this kernel in the Weber-Sonin integral form.     

Enantioseparation of underivatised amino acids by ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis in a counter-electroosmotic mode

Enantiomer separations of underivatised amino acids were carried out by using ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis (LECE). Chiral discrimination is based on the formation of ternary complexes between copper(II), a chiral selector (L-proline or trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline) and an amino acid. All amino acids containing aromatic moieties or not were detected at 214 nm because of their interactions with copper(II). In order to reduce copper(II) adsorption onto capillary walls, we used hexadimethrine bromide to reverse the electroosmotic flow. Using this original strategy, the studied enantiomers migrated in the opposite direction of the anodic electroosmosis. After optimising the analytical conditions taking into account the chiral resolution and the detection sensitivity, we performed very satisfactory enantioseparations not only of aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine and histidine) but also of aliphatic amino acids (threonine, serine, isoleucine and valine). These enantioseparations were performed in a short analysis time at 35 °C. In order to rationalise the obtained results, we evaluated the complexation constants corresponding to the formed ternary complexes by capillary electrophoresis and we used molecular mechanics modelling.     

Synthesis and immobilization of molecular switches onto titaniumdioxide nanowires

The precursor [Fe^III(L)Cl (L = N,N′-bis(2′-hydroxy-3′-methyl-benzyliden)-1,7-diamino-4-azaheptane) is combined with [Mo(CN)₈]^4? yields a star shaped nona-nuclear cluster, [Mo^IV{(CN)Fe^III(L)}₈]Cl₄. This Fe₈Mo molecule is a high-spin system at room temperature. On cooling to 20 K some of the iron(III) centres in the molybdenum(IV)-star switch to the low-spin state as proven by Mössbauer spectroscopy. This molecule was deposited on TiO₂ nanowires by electrostatic interactions between the cluster cations and the surface functionalized titanium oxide nanowire. The synthesis and surface binding of the multistable molecular switch was demonstrated using IR and UV–Vis spectroscopy (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy ((HR)TEM) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. High- and low-temperature Mössbauer spectra indicate that the spin state transition of the free cluster molecules is preserved after surface binding. The above results emphasize the possibility of fabricating molecule-based low-dimensional structures by using traditional bottom-up approaches based on the electrostatic interaction between the cluster cations and polymer functionalized nanowires. These results can be generalized for the application to both charged and non-charged molecules.     

PAH metabolism in the earthworm Eisenia fetida – identification of phase II metabolites of phenanthrene and pyrene

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are soil contaminants. Because of their high lipophilicity, PAHs are associated with the organic matter in the soil. Transformation of PAHs generates polar metabolites and the interaction with organic matter in the soil changes. The polar PAH metabolites are persistent, highly water-soluble and potentially leachable from the soil; the understanding of transformation of PAHs to polar metabolites in the responsible organisms is of great importance. Here, we present a study of transformation of the PAHs pyrene and phenanthrene, by the common earthworm Eisenia fetida. The study showed that E. fetida in hydroponic culture was able to transform PAHs to conjugated phase II metabolites. We detected phenanthrene and pyrene metabolites with single- and multiple-phase II-conjugated groups. Sulphate conjugates were excreted to experiment water, and glucuronide and glucoside conjugates and metabolites with several hydroxylations and multiple conjugations were detected in worm tissue. The results demonstrate that earthworms are able to transform PAHs to water-soluble phase II metabolites, which can be excreted to the surrounding environment.     

Spectroscopic Properties and Laser Induced Fluorescence Determination of Some Endocrine Disrupting Compounds

This work presents spectroscopic properties of some Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs), frequently found in food and in natural water. Studied molecules belong to the groups of phenolic and phthalate EDCs. In a first part, we have examined their absorption and fluorescence properties. Fluorescence emission wavelengths are about 300 nm for phenolic compounds and 360 nm for phtalate compounds; main excitation wavelengths being comprised between 210 nm and 230 nm. Fluorescence lifetimes measured are short (about 4 ns) and the fluorescence quantum yield has been determined. In a second part, to avoid the time consuming solvent extraction step, an analytical application to evaluate the performance of a direct analysis by laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of ECDs traces in tap water and in raw water is presented. Good detection limits have been obtained, i.e.: 0.35 μg.L⁻¹ of chlorophenol in tap water, which are always lower than the reported Predictive Non Efficient Concentration (PNEC).     

Diffraction errors in micromirror-array based wavefront generation

Using Laser-based Speckle-Interferometers, the shape of optically rough surfaces can be measured precisely and contactlessly from variable measuring distances even in regions of difficult access. This work is concerned with the integration of a micromirror array (MMA) into an electronic Speckle-Pattern-Interferometer. With the adaptive optics, it is intended to adapt the phasefront of a reference wave to critical surface areas of the measurement object. Yet, due to the topography of the MMA, diffraction effects occur which affect the phase and intensity of the generated wavefront. We demonstrate how these diffraction effects can be efficiently modelled by a Fraunhofer diffraction method. We compare the results of this model to theoretical data obtained by a numerical Fresnel diffraction model and to measurement data obtained from a measurement setup incorporating a multi mirror array.     

Multi-dimensional,mechanical stimulation of cartilage implants

In biomedical engineering, it is a common practice to replace injured cartilage by implants, which are seeded with human cartilage cells. Before implanting, the implants are cultivated and usually stimulated electrically or mechanically in a bioreactor to initiate cell multiplication and oriented cell growth. A new experimental set-up is developed leading to the possibility of stimulating such implants in a multi-dimensional, physiologically consistent way. In cooperation with the University Medical Centre Aachen, a human knee simulator is developed. Cell-seeded implants are placed in a recreated human environment and stimulated with several load cycles of reproduced walking. After the cultivation period, the implanted material is removed and biologically and mechanically evaluated. The quality of the implanted material as well as the influence of the body-conformable load on the material is studied. To understand the correlation between tissue remodelling and mechanical load history, the load and movement scenario is also numerically investigated. For this reason, the experiment is transferred to a geometrically realistic FE model of a human knee. As a first approach, an elastic material model is used. The aim is to have a predictive FE model with an optimal trade-off between accuracy and efficiency using an appropriate material formulation. The results will be compared to experimental data. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)