Novel one-step synthesis of silica nanoparticles from sugarbeet bagasse by laser ablation and their effects on the growth of freshwater algae culture

Scientific research involving nanotechnology has grown exponentially and has led to the development of engineered nanoparticles（NPs）.Silica NPs have been used in numerous scientific and technological applications over the past decade,necessitating the development of efficient methods for their synthesis.Recent studies have explored the potential of laser ablation as a convenient way to prepare metal and oxide NPs.Due to its high silica content,low cost,and widespread availability,sugarbeet bagasse is highly suitable as a raw material for producing silica NPs via laser ablation.In this study,two different NP production methods were investigated：laser ablation and NaOH treatment.We developed a novel,one-step method to produce silica NPs from sugarbeet bagasse using laser ablation,and we characterized the silica NPs using environmental scanning electron microscopy（ESEM）,energy dispersive spectrometry（EDS）,dynamic light scattering（DLS）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,attenuated total reflectanceFourier transform infrared spectroscopy（ATR-FT1R）,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） and Raman spectroscopy.EDS analysis and XPS confirmed the presence of silica NPs.The NPs produced by laser ablation were smaller（38-190 nm） than those produced by NaOH treatment（531-825 nm）.Finally,we demonstrated positive effects of silica NPs produced from laser ablation on the growth of microalgae,and thus,our novel method may be beneficial as an environmentally friendly procedure to produce NPs.     

Novel one-step synthesis of silica nanoparticles from sugarbeet bagasse by laser ablation and their effects on the growth of freshwater algae culture

Scientific research involving nanotechnology has grown exponentially and has led to the development of engineered nanoparticles (NPs). Silica NPs have been used in numerous scientific and technological applications over the past decade, necessitating the development of efficient methods for their synthesis. Recent studies have explored the potential of laser ablation as a convenient way to prepare metal and oxide NPs. Due to its high silica content, low cost, and widespread availability, sugarbeet bagasse is highly suitable as a raw material for producing silica NPs via laser ablation. In this study, two different NP production methods were investigated: laser ablation and NaOH treatment. We developed a novel, one-step method to produce silica NPs from sugarbeet bagasse using laser ablation, and we characterized the silica NPs using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. EDS analysis and XPS confirmed the presence of silica NPs. The NPs produced by laser ablation were smaller (38–190 nm) than those produced by NaOH treatment (531–825 nm). Finally, we demonstrated positive effects of silica NPs produced from laser ablation on the growth of microalgae, and thus, our novel method may be beneficial as an environmentally friendly procedure to produce NPs.     

Shape and size effects of ceria nanoparticles on the impact strength of ceria/epoxy resin composites

Ceria nanoparticles with various shapes (rods, cubes, and plates) and sizes were controllably synthesized and then introduced into epoxy resin. Subsequently, we investigated correlations between the shape and size of ceria nanostructures and the mechanical performance of composites. The samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Compared with commercial ceria filled composites, the composites made with morphology-controlled ceria nano...     

Effect of fumed silica nanoparticles on the morphology and rheology of immiscible polymer blends

We examined the effect of interfacially active particles on the morphology and rheology of droplet/matrix blends of two immiscible homopolymers. Experiments were conducted on polybutadiene/polydimethylsiloxane (10/90) blend and the inverse system. The effects of fumed silica nanoparticles, at low particle loadings (0.1–2.0 wt%), were examined by direct flow visualization and by rheology. Fumed silica nanoparticles were found to significantly affect the morphology of polymer blends, inducing droplet cluster structure and decreasing the droplet size, regardless of which phase wets the particles preferentially. This is surprising in light of much past research that shows that particles are capable of bridging and thus induce droplet cluster structure in droplet/matrix systems only when they are preferentially wetted by the continuous phase. Therefore, there should exist other possible mechanisms responsible for these droplet cluster structures except for the bridging mechanism. We proposed a particle-flocculating mechanism based on the fact that fumed silica particles readily flocculate due to their high aspect ratio, fractal-like shape, or interparticle attractions. Optical microscopy also reveals that the clustering structure becomes more extensive, and the droplet sizes in the clusters become smaller when the particle loading is increased. Rheologically, the chief effect of particles is to change the flow behavior from a liquid-like rheology to gel-like behavior. This gel-like behavior can be attributed to droplet clustering. Moreover, it should be emphasized that such gel-like behavior can be seen in the blends regardless of which phase wets the particles preferentially, suggesting that, once again, bridging is not the only cause of droplet clustering.     

Continuum modeling of size effects on the composition and stresses in nanoparticles of ionic solids with application to ceria

Owing to its broad potential applications, nanostructured ceria has been subject of intense investigation in the past few decades. Experiments have demonstrated that various material properties of the nanostructured ionic solids including ceria vary with the feature size. Here, we present a theoretical study of the size effects on the composition, defect concentrations and stresses in free-standing nanoparticles of nonstoichiometric ionic solids. To this end, a continuum model is developed which accounts for the highly nonlinear coupling between mechanical, chemical and electrical driving forces, and their effects on the thermodynamic equilibrium of the defect species. It is demonstrated that the model, once applied to the case of ceria, predicts size-dependent defect concentrations and surface stresses. It is further shown that the theoretical predictions of the size effects on the composition and lattice parameter are in good agreement with the experimental observations.     

Effects of play and inerter nonlinearities on the performance of tuned mass damper

In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of tuned mass dampers with inerters. In the beginning, we describe the influence of inertance value with respect to the overall mass of the damping device. For further analysis, we pick three practically significant cases—each corresponding to different composition of tuned mass damper inertia. Then, we focus on the effects caused by different types of inerters’ nonlinearities. Viscous damping, dry friction and play in the inerter gears influence the dynamics of the tuned mass damper and affect its damping efficiency. Finally, we examine the dynamics of the model that incorporates all of these factors and propose its simplification which is genuine but more convenient. Our results show how to adjust the inerter type and the parameters depending on our needs and intended application. The knowledge on how to model the behavior of tuned mass dampers with inerters will be of practical use to engineers working with mechanical dampers.     

Effects of a dynamic trailing-edge flap on the aerodynamic performance and flow structures in hovering flight

To examine the effects of wing morphing on unsteady aerodynamics, deformable flapping plates are numerically studied in a low-Reynolds-number flow. Simulations are carried out using an in-house immersed-boundary-method-based direct numerical simulation (DNS) solver. In current work, chord-wise camber is modeled by a hinge connecting two rigid components. The leading portion is driven by a biological hovering motion along a horizontal stroke plane. The hinged trailing-edge flap (TEF) is controlled by a prescribed harmonic deflection motion. The effects of TEF deflection amplitude, deflection phase difference, hinge location, and Reynolds number on the aerodynamic performance and flow structures are investigated. The results show that the unsteady aerodynamic performance of deformable flapping plates is dominated by the TEF deflection phase difference, which directly affects the strength of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) and thus influences the entire vortex shedding process. The overall lift enhancement can reach up to 26% by tailoring the deflection amplitude and deflection phase difference. It is also found that the role of the dynamic TEF played in the flapping flight is consistent over a range of hinge locations and Reynolds numbers. Results from a low aspect-ratio (AR=2) deformable plate show the same trend as those of 2-D cases despite the effect of the three-dimensionality.     

Effects of tip gap and amplitude of piezoelectric fans on the performance of heat sinks in microelectronic cooling

Piezoelectric fan is a promising option for cooling microelectronic devices owing to its unique features such as no electromagnetic noise, low power consumption and minimum space requirement. The recent interest is to integrate the piezoelectric fans (piezofans) with heat sink; this idea is widely accepted and researches are still underway. This article presents experimental analysis on the effects of tip gap (δ) and amplitude of piezofan vibration (α) on the heat transfer characteristics of finned heat sinks. Two heat sink configurations, namely A and B (with two and four fins respectively) each of which is arranged with three piezofans, are considered for the study. The transient temperature distributions for cases with and without piezofans are obtained for both the configurations, and compared. The heat transfer coefficient, thermal impedance, Nusselt number and Reynolds number are investigated as functions of δ and α. The effect of α on the fan effectiveness is also analyzed. It is observed that the configuration B has better cooling performance compared to A. Among the tested ranges of δ and α, the case with least tip gap (δ?=?0.03) and highest amplitude (α?=?5.29) is found to be the best; at this setting, the fan effectiveness is increased to almost 4?times compared to the case without piezofans.     

Effects of inlet conditions and surface roughness on the performance of transitions between square and rectangular ducts of the same cross-sectional area

A study has been made of the effects of inlet conditions and surface roughness on the performance of transitions between square and rectangular ducts of the same cross-sectional area. The conditions at entry were varied by using different approach lengths of straight duct and by means of a square screen of woven wire cloth. The surface roughening was accomplished by coating the surface of the transition with graded waterproof silicon carbide paper, whose surface roughness was measured with a Talysurf 4 instrument. All tests were run at Reynolds number 10⁵.

The results indicate that the static pressure loss coefficient significantly increases as the inlet boundary layer thickness increases. This variation is a function of aspect ratio at the rectangular end; the loss coefficient rises as the aspect ratio falls. The pressure drop slightly increases when the wall surface is roughened and is higher at low aspect ratios.     

Effects of nanoparticles mean diameter on the particle migration and thermo-hydraulic behavior of laminar mixed convection of a nanofluid in an inclined tube

Laminar mixed convection of a nanofluid consisting of Al₂O₃ and water through an inclined tube has been investigated numerically. As mathematical model two-phase mixture model has been adopted, thus three dimensional elliptical governing equations have been solved to understand the flow behavior at different Re–Gr combinations. Control volume technique is used for discretization of the governing equations. For the convective and diffusive terms the second order upwind method was used while the SIMPLEC procedure was adopted for the velocity–pressure coupling. For different nanoparticle mean diameters and tube inclinations thermo-fluid parameters such as secondary flow, axial velocity profiles, nanoparticles distribution at the tube cross section, axial evolution of peripheral average convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop along the tube, have been presented and discussed. Maximum enhancement on the heat transfer coefficient is seen at tube inclination of 45°.