The influence of the drag force due to the interstitial gas on granular flows down a chute

Fully-developed steady flow of granular material down an inclined chute has been a subject of much research interest, but the effect of the interstitial gas has usually been ignored. In this paper, new expressions for the drag force and energy dissipation caused by the interstitial gas (ignoring the turbulent fluctuations of the gas phase) are derived and used to modify the governing equations derived from the kinetic theory approach for granular–gas mixture flows, where particles are relatively massive so that velocity fluctuations are caused by collisions rather than the gas flow. This new model is applied to fully-developed, steady mixture flows down an inclined chute and the results are compared with other simulations. Our results show that the effect of the interstitial gas plays a significant role in modifying the characteristics of fully developed flow. Although the effect of the interstitial gas is less pronounced for large particles than small ones, the flowfields with large particles are still very different from granular flows which do not incorporate any interactions with the interstitial gas.     

Observation of Coulomb Gap and Enhanced Superconducting Gap in Nano-Sized Pb Islands Grown on SrTiO3

We report high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy(STM)study of nano-sized Pb islands grown on SrTiO3,where three distinct types of gaps with different energy scales are revealed.At low temperature,we find that the superconducting gap(△s)in nano-sized Pb islands is significantly enhanced from the one in bulk Pb,while there is no essential change in superconducting transition temperature Tc,giving rise to a larger BCS ratio 2△s/kBTc^8.31 and implying stronger electron-phonon coupling.The stronger coupling can originate from the interface electron-phonon interactions between Pb islands and SrTiO3.As the superconducting gap is totally suppressed under applied magnetic field,the Coulomb gap with apparent V-shape emerges.Moreover,the size of Coulomb gap(Ac)depends on the lateral size of Pb islands(R)with △c-1/R^035,indicating that quantum size effect can significantly influence electronic correlations.Our experimental results shall shed important light on the interplay among superconductivity,quantum size effect and correlations in nano-sized strong-coupling superconductors.     

An environmentally friendly and highly transparent ZnO/cellulose nanocomposite membrane for UV sensing and shielding

Cellulose - A highly transparent ZnO/cellulose composite membrane with UV sensing and shielding abilities was prepared via a facile blending method. ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) without additional...     

Interaction of cationic modified poly vinyl alcohol with high yield pulp

The influence of polymer characteristics on paper properties has not been well understood. In this work, we aimed at analyzing the performance of various cationic-modified poly vinyl alcohols (CPVA), as dry strength additives, on the properties of high-yield pulp (HYP). Various dosages of CPVA having different molecular weights (MW) and charge densities were applied on HYPs, and the resulting paper properties were evaluated. Also, an atomic force microscope (AFM) was employed to evaluate the attraction/repulsion force developed between modified fibers and AFM probes. Our results showed that the hydrophilicity and contact area of fibers were increased via CPVA application. High MW CPVA with the charge density of 0.7 meq/g was the most effective one in improving the properties of the fiber networks made from HYPs. The changes in the fiber morphology and chemistry played roles in improving the properties of fiber networks. The introduction of similar charges on HYPs via applying various dosages of different CPVAs confirmed that the changes in the fiber chemistry were not the only dominant factor in improving the properties. Additionally, the significance of polymer bridging (polymer characteristics) on the network properties was hindered due to the presence of fines in the HYP.     

Analytical solution of axi-symmetrical lattice Boltzmann model for cylindrical Couette flows

Analytical solution for the axi-symmetrical lattice Boltzmann model is obtained for the low-Mach number cylindrical Couette flows. In the hydrodynamic limit, the present solution is in excellent agreement with the result of the Navier–Stokes equation. Since the kinetic boundary condition is used, the present analytical solution using nine discrete velocities can describe flows with the Knudsen number up to 0.1. Meanwhile, the comparison with the simulation data obtained by the direct simulation Monte Carlo method shows that higher-order lattice Boltzmann models with more discrete velocities are needed for highly rarefied flows.     

Potential inhibitors of chemokine function: Analysis of noncovalent complexes of cc chemokine and small polyanionic molecules by ESI FT-ICR mass spectrometry

Chemokines play a critical role in inducing chemotaxis, extravasation, and activation of leukocytes both in routine immunosurveillance and autoimmune diseases. Traditionally, to disrupt chemokine function, strategies have focused on blockage of its interaction with the receptor. Recently, it has been demonstrated that binding to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) is also required for the in vivo activity of many chemokines. Thus, interference with the GAG-binding of chemokines may offer an alternative, valid, anti-inflammatory strategy. However, the potential of using small polyanions to inhibit the interactions between chemokines and cell surface GAGs has not been fully explored. In this study, a mass spectrometry based filtration trapping assay was utilized to study the interactions between two CCR 2 ligands (MCP-1/CCL2 and MCP-3/CCL7) and a series of low molecular weight, polyanionic molecules. Findings were confirmed by using a hydrophobic trapping assay. The results indicated that Arixtra (fondaparinux sodium), sucrose octasulfate, and suramin were specific binders of the chemokines, while cyclodextrin sulfate, although the most highly sulfated molecule among the ones investigated, showed no binding. The binding stoichiometry of the small molecule ligand was determined from the measured molecular weight of the noncovalent complex. Furthermore, the dissociation constant between MCP-3 and Arixtra was determined by using electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI FT-ICR) mass spectrometry, which compared favorably with the result of the isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) assay. The relative binding affinity of these ligands to MCP-3 was also determined using a competitive filtration trapping assay.     

换热器集箱管组流动和换热分析

本文通过实验研究和理论分析，提出准确计算换热器集箱管组中流量分配的离散模型．应用离散模型对某台锅炉再热器的爆管原因进行分析，指出蒸汽侧流量偏差太大是造成超温爆管的主要原因之一．     

Oriented attachment kinetics for ligand capped nanocrystals: coarsening of thiol-PbS nanoparticles

In this work, the growth kinetics of thiol-capped PbS nanoparticles was studied. Two-stage growth process was observed, which was controlled first by oriented attachment (OA) mechanism and then by the hybrid Ostwald ripening (OR) and OA mechanism. Different from the NaOH-ZnS system, where OA will occur between any two multilevel nanoparticles, an OA kinetic model only considering the attachment related to original particles was fitted well with the experimental results. Analysis reveals that this model may be a universal one to describe the OA crystal growth process of nanocrystals capped with easily destroyed ligands, such as thiol-ZnS in the previous report. The OA crystal growth characteristics determined by the surface agent were discussed and compared. We propose that with stronger surface capping, the OR growth of nanocrystals is hindered, which facilitates the size controlling via OA kinetics during nanosynthesis.     

Two-proton radioactivity of exotic nuclei beyond proton drip-line

To search for new candidates of the true and simultaneous two-proton(2 p) radioactivity, the 2 p decay energies(Q2 p) are extracted by the Weizs?cker–Skyrme-4(WS4) model, the finite-range droplet model(FRDM), the Koura–Tachibana–Uno–Yamada(KTUY) model and the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov mean-field model with the BSk29 Skyrme interaction(HFB29). Then, the 2 p radioactivity half-lives are calculated within the generalized liquid drop model by inputting the four types of Q2 pvalues. By the energy and half-life constraints, it is found that the probable 2 p decay candidates are the nuclei beyond the proton-drip line in the region of Z≤50 based on the WS4 and KTUY mass models. For the FRDM mass model, the probable 2 p decay candidates are found in the region of Z≤44. However, the 2p-decaying candidates are predicted in the region of Z≤58 by the HFB29 mass model. It means that the probable 2 p decay candidates of Z50 are only predicted by the HFB29 mass model. Finally, the competition between the true 2p radioactivity and α-decay for the nuclei above the N=Z=50 shell closures is discussed. It is shown that ~(101)Te,~(111)Ba and ~(114)Ce prefer to 2p radioactivity and the dominant decay mode of ~(107)Xe and ~(116)Ce is α-decay.