Optimal shape design for packaging containing heating elements by inverse heat transfer method

The present study is concerned with the determination of the optimal shape for a package containing multiple heating elements. The optimization tool has been developed based on the inverse heat transfer (IHT) approach, incorporating a direct problem solver, a numerical grid generator, a direct-differentiation sensitivity analyzer, and the conjugate gradient method. Shape design that leads to a specified outer surface temperature distribution is predicted by the approach. In this study, the effects of internal heat generation on optimal shapes of the packagings have also been evaluated. Several practical cases with various imbedded heating elements and thermal conditions are studied. Results show that the approach provides an efficient computer-aided design scheme for the shape profile determination.     

Estimation of244Cm intake by bioassay measurements following a contamination incident

An employee was contaminated with radioactive material consisting primarily of²⁴⁴Cm and²⁴⁶Cm as a consequence of handling a curium nitrate solution at a reprocessing facility.In vivo gamma analysis andin vitro (urine and fecal) analysis were initiated soon after the incident. Furtherin vivo measurements were performed regularly through hour 528, andin vitro bioassay measurements were obtained through day 74. A sample of the curium solution from the workplace was obtained to confirm that the nitrate was the chemical form in question and to identify the isotopes of curium present. The mass ratio of²⁴⁴Cm/²⁴⁶Cm was determined to be 91 to 7. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA) was administered on hours 33 and 71. Observed excretion rates were consistent with available information on curium. In this paper, the results of thein vivo andin vitro measurements are presented and intake estimates for the incident are developed using various excretion rate functions.     

Wild ginseng grows in Myanmar

Ginseng, the underground parts of plants of Panax species, has been used in oriental traditional medicine for centuries. Unfortunately, because of extensive exploitation over thousands of years, the natural source of these species has been almost exhausted. Recently, we have found a wild ginseng growing in Myanmar. Here, by a combination of chemical composition study and gene sequence analysis, we unambiguously demonstrate that the wild ginseng is actually P. zingiberensis, commonly known as ginger ginseng. This ginseng was an indigenous to the southwestern China. However, now it is seriously threatened to brink of extinction and is put on the highest level of protection in China. Therefore, an appropriate protection measure is highly recommended to preserve this valuable resource, since this Myanmar ginseng might turn out to be the last P. zingiberensis, which could ever be seen in the planet.     

Determination of chlorine and pentachlorophenol in wood

Chlorine in wood was determined in connection with the development of a reference material (RM) of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in wood. The element was determined by photon activation analysis (PAA) using bremsstrahlung of 19 MeV electrons from an electron linear accelerator. The initial overall Cl content as well as the Cl remaining after extraction with methanol and subsequent extraction with water were determined. Moreover, the PCP fractions in the organic and in the aqueous extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). The results show that at least three quarters of the overall chlorine is bound in PCP and that PCP can be extracted to a high degree.     

Fabrication of a micro-direct methanol fuel cell using microfluidics

A direct-methanol fuel cell containing three parts: microchannels, electrodes, and a proton exchange membrane (PEM), was investigated. Nafion resin (NR) and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (PS) were used as PEMs. Preparation of PEMs, including compositing with other polymers and their solubility, was performed and their proton conductivity was measured by a four point probe. The results showed that the 5 % Nafion resin has lower conductivity than the 5 % PS solution. The micro-fuel cell contained two acrylic channels, PEM, and two platinum catalyst electrodes on a silicon wafer. The assembled micro-fuel cells used 2 M methanol at the flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1 in the anode channel and 5 × 10^?3 M KMnO₄ at the flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1 in the cathode channel. The micro-fuel cell with the electrode distance of 300 ??m provided the power density of 59.16 ??W cm^?2 and the current density of 125.60 ??A cm^?2 at 0.47 V.     

Heterocyclic benzothiazole-based liquid crystals: synthesis and mesomorphic properties

Two homologous series of 2-(4-alkanoyloxybenzylidenamino)benzothiazoles and 2-(2-hydroxy-4-alkanoyloxybenzylidenamino)benzothiazoles were synthesised and characterised. Their molecular structures differed wherein the latter comprised a lateral hydroxyl group, unlike the former. Spectroscopic techniques such as FT-IR, ¹H & ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry together with elemental analysis were employed to elucidate the molecular structures. The transition temperatures and their mesophases were determined by differential scanning calorimetry, optical polarising microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Members with decanoyloxy till hexadecanoloxy chain in the series without the lateral hydroxyl group each exhibited a smectic A phase, while those in the series with the lateral hydroxyl group were non-mesogenic. The mesomorphic properties of the present series were compared with other structurally related series to establish the chemical structure–mesomorphic properties relationship.     

Exciton‐Vibrational Couplings in Homo‐ and Heterodimer Stacks of Perylene Bisimide Dyes within Cyclophanes: Studies on Absorption Properties and Theoretical Analysis

The optical properties of a series of three cyclophanes comprising either identical or different perylene bisimide (PBI) chromophores were studied by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy and their distinctive spectral features were analyzed. All the investigated cyclophanes show significantly different absorption features with respect to the corresponding constituent PBI monomers indicating strong coupling interactions between the PBI units within the cyclophanes. DFT calculations suggest a π‐stacked arrangement of the PBI units at close van der Waals distance in the cyclophanes with rotational displacement. Simulations of the absorption spectra based on time‐dependent quantum mechanics properly reproduced the experimental spectra, revealing exciton‐vibrational coupling between the chromophores both in homo‐ and heterodimer stacks. The PBI cyclophane comprising two different PBI chromophores represents the first example of a PBI heterodimer stack for which the exciton coupling has been investigated. The quantum dynamics analysis reveals that exciton coupling in heteroaggregates is indeed of similar strength as for homoaggregates.     

Development of an HPLC-NMR method for the determination of PAHs in soil samples - a comparison with conventional methods

A hyphenated HPLC-(1)H NMR method for the identification and quantification of PAHs in soil samples has been developed and applied to a PAH reference sample provided by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM, Berlin, Germany). The results were compared with those obtained by HPLC-DAD, HPLC-F, and GC-MS analyses of the same sample.     

Dynamic aspects of phase decomposition in reactive blends of polycarbonate and syndiotactic polymethyl methacrylate

Dynamics of phase separation in bisphenol-A polycarbonate (PC)/syndiotactic polymethyl methacrylate (sPMMA) blends has been investigated by means of time-resolved light scattering. Solvent-cast films of the PC/sPMMA blends were transparent, suggestive of miscible character. Several temperature jumps were carried out at a 50/50 PC/sPMMA composition from a homogeneous state (room temperature) into a two-phase regime. The process of phase separation first occurred for some considerable period, then it was followed by phase dissolution driven by chemical reaction. The thermodegradative reaction of sPMMA triggered the dissolution process by probably forming PC/sPMMA graft or random copolymers at the interface, which eventually resulted in a single phase. However, annealing at elevated temperatures for an extended period could lead to cross-linking, and thus a two-phase structure could be fixed permanently. The early stage of spinodal decomposition was interpreted in terms of the linearized Cahn-Hilliard theory. In the late stages of spinodal decomposition, the relationship between scattering peak wavenumber and time was found to obey a power law, but the exponents showed a strong dependence on temperature jumps. The temporal universal scaling failed due to the influence of the chemical reaction. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Beta zeolite supported on silicon carbide for Friedel-Crafts fixed-bed reactions

Beta zeolite supported on silicon carbide, with high thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength, was successfully used as an active and stable catalyst for Friedel-Crafts reactions in a fixed bed configuration.