Arc erosion reduction on electrical contacts using transversecurrent injection

Electrical contact lifetime is often directly determined by arc erosion. A method for reducing are erosion was developed consisting of injecting from an external current source an additional electrical current flowing parallel to the contact surface. This method was examined in three are environments using the additional transverse electrical current with a density less than 1 A/mm²: 1) automobile ignition contacts; 2) pulsed air arc; and 3) low pressure (P=100 mTorr) arc in nitrogen, SEM and X-ray examination showed that application of a transverse current in a contact during arcing changed the phase composition and microstructure of the contact surface. Under optimal conditions, the microstructure which is formed is significantly more erosion resistant than without the transverse current injection     

A model for a uniform steady-state vacuum arc with a hot anode

A model is formulated and evaluated for a Uniform electrical discharge sustained in vapor evaporated from an arc-heated anode. The plasma potential is positive with respect to both the cathode and anode. For a Cu anode, the anodic vapor dominates the plasma for current densities exceeding 8 kA/m². The anode heating potential is approximately 6.5 V, and the dominant cooling mechanism is evaporation for current densities exceeding 20 kA/m². Over the range 10 to 10000 kA/m², the electron density increases from 8×10¹⁷ to 5×10²³ m^-3, while the ionization fraction rises from 0.3% to 4%. At the lower end of this current range the electrical resistivity of 4 mΩ-m is determined primarily by electron-neutral collisions, while with increasing current the resistivity decreases to 0.7 mΩ-m, with electron-ion collisions contributing an equal share. This hot-anode vacuum arc may have potential for industrial application as a macroparticle-free high-deposition-rate coating source     

Perforation of steel and polycarbonate plates by tumbling projectiles

An experimental investigation to assess the effect of tumbling by hard-steel, blunt-faced cylindrical projectiles on the impact response of thin 4130 steel and polycarbonate target plates was performed. Deformation and failure phenomena were observed and discussed; comparisons of the results with analytical models and numerical stimulation, described in a previous paper, were also performed for the steel targets. The final velocity of the projectile and the crater length in the target were correlated with the striker impact angle (or yaw angle with a zero oblique angle); reasonable agreement was attained among the experimental, analytical and numerical results. It was found that an increase of the impact angle can increase the velocity drop and the crater length markedly. The increase tends to be stabilized after the impact angle exceeds 50° and the consequences in such a case are almost the same as in side-on impact.     

The determination of lead and nickel by atomic-absorption spectrometry with a flameless wire loop atomizer

In an extension of studies of flameless atomizers for atomic-absorption spectrometry, an electrically heated tungsten-rhenium alloy wire loop was examined. Reduction of metallic salts to ground-state metal atoms was accomplished with the high temperature produced by the loop. Lead and nickel were investigated. Experimental parameters such as wavelength, slit width, atomization temperature and sheathing gas flow rate were optimized. Absolute detection limits of 6.6·10^?10 and 1.2·10^?10, and absolute sensitivities of 7·10^?10 and 8·10^?11 g of lead, were established for unenclosed and enclosed cells, respectively. The interferences of twenty cations and sixteen anions were studied; foreign cations generally enhanced the lead absorption by retarding its vaporization, allowing the slow detection system to respond more efficiently. Nickel was investigated as a representative less volatile metal; an absolute detection limit of 1.6·10^?9 and an absolute sensitivity of 9·10^?10 g of nickel were established.     

Cell docking inside microwells within reversibly sealed microfluidic channels for fabricating multiphenotype cell arrays

We present a soft lithographic method to fabricate multiphenotype cell arrays by capturing cells within an array of reversibly sealed microfluidic channels. The technique uses reversible sealing of elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molds on surfaces to sequentially deliver various fluids or cells onto specific locations on a substrate. Microwells on the substrate were used to capture and immobilize cells within low shear stress regions inside channels. By using an array of channels it was possible to deposit multiple cell types, such as hepatocytes, fibroblasts, and embryonic stem cells, on the substrates. Upon formation of the cell arrays on the substrate, the PDMS mold could be removed, generating a multiphenotype array of cells. In addition, the orthogonal alignment and subsequent attachment of a secondary array of channels on the patterned substrates could be used to deliver fluids to the patterned cells. The ability to position many cell types on particular regions within a two dimensional substrate could potentially lead to improved high-throughput methods applicable to drug screening and tissue engineering.     

Discovery and high-throughput screening of heteroleptic iridium complexes for photoinduced hydrogen production

The catalytic process of photoinduced hydrogen generation via the reduction of water has been investigated. The use of parallel synthetic techniques has facilitated the synthesis of a 32 member library of heteroleptic iridium complexes that was screened, using high-throughput photophysical techniques, to identify six potential photosensitizers for use in catalytic photoinduced hydrogen production. A Pd/Ni thin film hydrogen selective sensor allowed for rapid quantification of hydrogen produced via illumination of aqueous systems of the photosensitizer, tris(2,2'-dipyridyl)dichlorocobalt ([Co(bpy)(3)]Cl(2)), and triethanolamine (a sacrificial reductant) with ultra-bright light emitting diodes (LEDs). The use of an 8-well parallel photoreactor expedited the investigation of the hydrogen evolution process and facilitated mechanistic studies. All six compounds investigated produced considerably more hydrogen than commonly utilized photosensitizers and had relative quantum efficiencies of hydrogen production up to 37 times greater than that of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+).     

Reactivity in Cleavage of Dimethoxybenzenes by Sodium in Liquid Ammonia

The sodium/liquid ammonia cleavage of the dimethoxybenzenes and related substances, reported in large part by Birch in 1947, has been re-examined with use of improved techniques. Remarkable patterns of reactivity (e.g., ortho > meta > para) that he described are confirmed and extended. They are agreeably rationalized by means of a simple, approximate adaptation from MO theory.     

Vibrational Relaxation in beta-Carotene Probed by Picosecond Stokes and Anti-Stokes Resonance Raman Spectroscopy

Picosecond time-resolved Stokes and anti-Stokes resonance Raman spectra of all-trans-beta-carotene are obtained and analyzed to reveal the dynamics of excited-state (S(1)) population and decay, as well as ground-state vibrational relaxation. Time-resolved Stokes spectra show that the ground state recovers with a 12.6 ps time constant, in agreement with the observed decay of the unique S(1) Stokes bands. The anti-Stokes spectra exhibit no peaks attributable to the S(1) (2A(g) (-)) state, indicating that vibrational relaxation in S(1) must be nearly complete within 2 ps. After photoexcitation there is a large increase in anti-Stokes scattering from ground-state modes that are vibrationally excited through internal conversion. The anti-Stokes data are fit to a kinetic scheme in which the C=C mode relaxes in 0.7 ps, the C-C mode relaxes in 5.4 ps and the C-CH(3) mode relaxes in 12.1 ps. These results are consistent with a model for S(1)-S(0) internal conversion in which the C=C mode is the primary acceptor, the C-C mode is a minor acceptor, and the C-CH(3) mode is excited via intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution.