Ultrasonic-assisted Dunlop method for natural rubber latex foam production: Effects of irradiation time on morphology and physico-mechanical properties of the foam

An ultrasonic-assisted technique was first introduced for the production of natural rubber latex foam (NRLF). The flexible elastomeric foam was formed by a liquid–solid state transformation in an aqueous media. The aim of the current research was to provide a novel strategy for fabricating NRLF using ultrasonication and the Dunlop method, as well as to simultaneously utilize irradiation events to achieve the desired foam properties. NRLFs were exposed to ultrasonication at 25 kHz at the beginning of the gelling process. The effects of irradiation times of 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 min on the morphology, foaming behaviors, physical properties and mechanical performance of NRLFs were investigated. The results revealed that using ultrasonic irradiation, unfoamed regions and a bimodal structure, which seem to be microstructural defects in conventional NRLF, could be completely eliminated. However, excessive irradiation times of 5 min and longer appeared to affect the physico-mechanical properties of the foams in terms of transient cavitation and the unfavorable physicochemical effects of ultrasonic vibrations. As a result, the optimal ultrasonic irradiation time was found to be 3 min. Using this irradiation duration, a foam with the suitable microcellular structure achieved the most desirable properties, such as its expansion ratio (7-fold increase), foam porosity (85.7%), compression recoverability (98.7%), and tensile strength (307.3 kPa). Moreover, the foam still maintained its characteristic soft nature (hardness less than 100 N) with an indentation hardness of 71.9 N. Therefore, ultrasonic treatment introduced to the conventional Dunlop method is a potentially feasible technique since it improves the morphology and the physico-mechanical properties of NRLFs.     

Study of heat transfer in a horizontal cylinder with fins

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, numerically, the effect of internal fins on the flow pattern, temperature distribution and heat transfer between concentric horizontal cylinders. A Galerkin finite element method is adopted for the discretization of the governing equations. The numerical procedure consists in solving series of transient problems of increasing Ra. Results are presented using air (Pr = 0.7) with Rayleigh numbers ranging from 10³ to 10⁶ for different fin configurations (1 and 2), geometries (sharp, round and divergent tip) and lengths (l = 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75). They are illustrated in terms of isotherms, velocity fields, Nusselt numbers and fin efficiencies. Configuration 2 presents a heat transfer rate 10% above that of configuration 1, at Ra = 10⁶. The heat transfer is about the same for the three geometries, but the best fin efficiency is associated with the fin with a round tip.     

Drainage and water clusters in Gillette foam

Raman measurements on Gillette foam have been carried out to analyze different phases of water in the system. We have shown that in addition to free water molecules, which drain out with aging of foam, water clusters of only a few water molecules are also present in foam. We have analyzed the rate of drainage with the existing theory available in the literature. The nature of water clusters in Gillette foam has also been obtained from ab initio self‐consistent field calculations for [H₂O]_n clusters. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

General coarsened measurement references for revelation of a classical world

It has been found that for a fixed degree of fuzziness in the coarsened references of measurements,the quantum-toclassical transition can be observed independent of the macroscopicity of the quantum state.We explore a general situation that the degree of fuzziness can change with the rotation angle between two states(different rotation angles represent different references).The fuzziness of reference comes from two kinds of fuzziness:the Hamiltonian(rotation frequency)and the timing(rotation time).For the fuzziness of the Hamiltonian alone,the degree of fuzziness for the reference will change with the rotation angle between two states,and the quantum effects can still be observed with any degree of fuzziness of Hamiltonian.For the fuzziness of timing,the degree of the coarsening reference is unchanged with the rotation angle.During the rotation of the measurement axis,the decoherence environment can also help the classical-to-quantum transition due to changing the direction of the measurement axis.     

Natural convection heat transfer coefficients for a horizontal cylinder with vertically attached circular fins

Experiments were performed to investigate the natural convection heat transfer characteristics of a vertically finned horizontal isothermal cylinder. The apparatus was designed so that the fin spacing, fin length, and the cylinder Rayleigh number could be varied within limits of practical interest. The Rayleigh number (based on the cylinder diameter) ranged from 10⁵ to 5 × 10⁷. It was found that the interaction of the fin boundary layer with the cylinder brought about a reduction of the cylinder Nusselt number relative to that for the classical case of the long isolated horizontal cylinder. The reduction was strong at Rayleigh numbers below the critical value and at spacing ratios less than 0.125. However, at Rayleigh numbers beyond the critical, the Nusselt number was quite insensitive to the fin spacing and length, with the typical data spread being in the 5–8% range.     

Penetration of hydroxyl radicals in the aqueous phase surrounding a cavitation bubble

In the sonochemical degradation of nonvolatile compounds, the free radicals must be delivered into the aqueous solution from the cavitation bubble to initiate reduction–oxidation reactions. The penetration depth in the liquid becomes an important parameter that influences the radical delivery efficiency and eventual treatment performance. However, the transport of radicals in the liquid phase is not well understood yet. In this paper, we focus on the most reactive OH radical and numerically simulate its penetration behavior. This is realized by solving the coupled equations of bubble dynamics, intracavity chemistry, and radical dispersion in the aqueous phase. The results present both the local and global penetration patterns for the OH radicals. By performing simulations over a wide range of acoustic parameters, we find an undesirable phenomenon that the penetration can be adversely suppressed when strengthening the radical production. A mechanistic analysis attributes this to the excessively vigorous recombination reactions associated with high radical concentrations near the bubble interface. In this circumstance, the radicals are massively consumed and converted into molecular species before they can appreciably diffuse away. Our study sheds light on the interplay between radical production inside the bubble and dispersion in the outside liquid. The derived conclusions provide guides for sonochemical applications from a new perspective.     

多元丙烯酸酯泡沫制备中的溶剂效应

以季戊四醇四丙烯酸酯（PETA）为聚合单体,安息香乙醚为引发剂,通过紫外光引发生成凝胶,通过真空干燥得到PETA泡沫材料。通过理论计算和实验确定的多元丙烯酸酯交联聚合物的溶解度参数值为19.0左右,含有苯环的脂肪烃和酮类的溶剂会导致引发剂“失活”,而卤代烃、酯、醚和酰胺类溶剂能够保持引发剂的“活性”。     

Quantitative evaluation of optical lock-in and pulsed thermography for aluminum foam material

In this article, quantitative evaluation of optical thermographic techniques relative to the non-destructive inspection of aluminum foam material is studied. For this purpose, a set of aluminum foam specimens with flat-bottom holes (FBH) was inspected by both optical lock-in thermography (LT) and pulsed thermography (PT). Probability of detection (PoD) analysis, as a quantitative method to estimate the capability and reliability of a particular inspection technique, was studied and compared for both optical LT and PT inspection results.     

Transition from forward smoldering to flaming in small polyurethane foam samples

Experimental observations are presented of the effect of flow velocity, oxygen concentration, and a thermal radiant flux on the transition from smoldering to flaming in forward smoldering of small samples of polyurethane foam with a gas/solid interface. The experiments are part of a project studying the transition from smoldering to flaming under conditions encountered in spacecraft facilities, i.e., microgravity, low velocity variable oxygen concentration flows. Because the microgravity experiments are planned for the International Space Station, the foam samples had to be limited in size for safety and launch mass reasons. The feasible sample size is too small for smolder to self-propagate because of heat losses to the surroundings. Thus, the smolder propagation and the transition to flaming had to be assisted by reducing heat losses to the surroundings and increasing the oxygen concentration. The experiments are conducted with small parallelepiped samples vertically placed in a wind tunnel. Three of the sample lateral-sides are maintained at elevated temperature, and the fourth side is exposed to an upward flow and a radiant flux. It is found that decreasing the flow velocity and increasing its oxygen concentration, and/or increasing the radiant flux enhances the transition to flaming and reduces the time delay to transition. Limiting external conditions for the transition to flaming are reported for this experimental configuration. The results show that smolder propagation and transition to flaming can occur in relatively small fuel samples if the external conditions are appropriate. The results also indicate that transition to flaming occurs in the char region left behind by the smolder reaction, and it has the characteristics of a gas-phase ignition induced by the smolder reaction, which acts as the source of both gaseous fuel and heat. A simplified energy balance analysis is able to predict the boundaries between the transition/no transition regions.     

Experimental investigation of metal foam for controlling centrifugal fan noise

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the metal foam for controlling a centrifugal fan noise. Nine samples of metal foam with different types of cells, i.e., open, semi-open and close, are employed to compare their effects on the aerodynamic performance and noise level of the centrifugal fan. Experimental data confirms that the open cell metal foam is the most effective to control the fan noise because it not only significantly suppresses the tonal noise but also attenuates the broadband noise. Moreover, the geometrical parameters of the open cell metal foam, i.e., pores per inch and porosity, are studied to investigate their effects on the aerodynamic performance and noise level of the centrifugal fan.     

Analysis of mode shapes of a rigidly backed cylindrical foam using three-dimensional finite element acoustical analysis

In this study, the three-dimensional finite element frequency domain acoustical analysis is used to determine the modal shapes of cylindrical foam with a rigid backing and subjected to a unit normal incidence impulsive sound pressure loading while placed in the impedance tube. The acoustic results predicted for the foam are validated by data from the two-microphone acoustic measurements, and good agreement between the measured and predicted acoustic results is observed. The mode shapes of the incident face of the foam at a low frequency, resonant and anti-resonant frequencies as well as the frequency that occurring the peak loss modulus are illustrated. It is found that the modal behaviors of the cylindrical foam are dominated by the fluid, although the acoustic properties of the cylindrical foam are also influenced by the circumferential edge constraints and the modal movements of the solid skeleton.     

Helix-like structure formation of a semi-flexible chain confined in a cylinder channel

Molecular dynamics method is used to study the conformation behavior of a semi-flexible polymer chain confined in a cylinder channel.A novel helix-like structure is found to form during the simulation.Moreover,the detailed characteristic parameters and formation probability of these helix-like structures under moderate conditions are investigated.We find that the structure is not a perfect helix,but a bundle of elliptical turns.In addition,we conduct a statistical analysis for the chain monomer distribution along the radial direction.This research contributes to our understanding of the microscopic conformation of polymer chains in confined environments filled with a solvent.     

Time‐resolved in situ tomography for the analysis of evolving metal‐foam granulates

An experimental setup has been developed that allows for capturing up to 25 tomograms s^?1 using the white X‐ray beam at the experimental station EDDI of BESSY II, Berlin, Germany. The key points are the use of a newly developed, precise and fast rotation stage, a very efficient scintillator and a fast CMOS camera. As a first application, the foaming of aluminium alloy granules at 923 K was investigated in situ. Formation and growth of bubbles in the liquid material were observed and found to be influenced by the limited thermal conductivity in the bulk granules. Changes that took place between two tomographic frames separated in time by 39 ms could be detected and analysed quantitatively.     

基于几何光学的泡沫滴/水滴光散射计算模型

为深入研究舰船泡沫 水两用幕的光衰减机理,建立了基于几何光学的泡沫滴/水滴光散射强度分布计算模型。利用该模型对液相折射率m2为1.20至1.50范围内、气泡相对半径r为0至0.99的球状泡沫滴和水滴、散射角为1至10内的光散射强度进行了数值计算。结果表明,泡沫滴/水滴对可见光具有强烈的散射作用,内的散射强度与入射光强度之比T随的增大而提高,最高可增加2个数量级;随m2的增大而降低,m2从1.30至1.40变化,T降幅最高达11.6%;随r的增加先下降而后提高,达到最低0和最高80.8%;T最低值对应的最优气泡半径ro随m2的降低和的增大而提高,从0.1最多增至0.4。该结论可为舰船泡沫 水两用幕技术的发展提供必要的理论基础。     

神光Ⅱ装置x射线辐射在低密度CH泡沫中的超声速传播实验研究

在“神光Ⅱ”的三倍频装置上进行实验，利用北四路激光注入半腔靶后接不同密度、不同厚度的CH（C₆6H₁₂，聚4甲基1戊烯）发泡材料，研究x射线辐射在低密度CH泡沫中的超声速传播问题，对x射线辐射的多个能点（80,250和400eV）的传播时间、传播速度、输运管壁收缩过程、时间能谱和辐射温度等进行了测量，获得了10倍的超声速传输的速度，并采用辐射输运“漏水管模型”对实验结果进行了简要分析，结果基本相符 . 关键词： 辐射输运 超声速热波 CH发泡