Ultrasonic enhancement of battery diffusion

It has been demonstrated that sonic energy can be harnessed to enhance convection in Galvanic cells during cyclic voltammetry; however, the practical value of this approach is limited due to the lack of open volumes for convection patterns to develop in most batteries. This study evaluates the ability of ultrasonic waves to enhance diffusion in membrane separators commonly used in sandwich-architecture batteries. Studies include the measuring of open-circuit performance curves to interpret performances in terms of reductions in concentration overpotentials. The use of a 40 kHz sonicator bath can consistently increase the voltage of the battery and reduce overpotential losses up to 30%. This work demonstrates and quantifies battery enhancement due to enhanced diffusion made possible with ultrasonic energy.     

Ising model with variable bond strength

The partition function of the two-dimensional Ising model with variable bond strength along one dimension is computed exactly.     

超声散斑相移法测量技术

超声散斑相移法能满足工程建设中对水下物内层界面关键点位移进行测量的特殊要求。测量时,引入数字参考信号与物面测点上的散斑信号进行数字干涉,获得叠加信号强度。界面位移前后,应用软件逐步改变参考信号相位,可逐步改变叠加信号强度,根据这些信号强度值可计算出测点的位移量。应用此技术对水下试件内层表面的法线和切线方向上的位移进行了实测,测量结果与理论值有较好的吻合;研究表明打磨后的粗糙外层界面不影响应用相移法进行测量。在应用相移法测量时,不需声像转换,不需全场扫描,测量精度不受散斑尺寸限制。     

Local measurement of the zenithal anchoring strength

We present an electro-optic method for measuring the zenithal anchoring strength of nematic liquid crystals, based on the determination of the distortion produced by a small electric field. This method yields the zenithal anchoring strength at small applied torques, and remarkably, only needs local measurements (optical path difference versus applied voltage, sample thickness), in contrast to the classical methods that use measurements integrated over the entire sample. We determine the zenithal anchoring strength for two nematic liquid crystals (5 CB and 5 OCB) with positive dielectric anisotropy, onto poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) treated surfaces, that yield planar liquid crystal cells. We find that the anchoring at the PTFE-5 CB interface is strong, with an extrapolation length approximately 30 nm, and independent of temperature far enough from the isotropic transition. We observe a pretransitional weakening of the anchoring strength near the nematic-isotropic transition, due to the reduction of the orientational order parameter at the interface. With 5 OCB, we measure a stronger anchoring, with an extrapolation length approximately 15 nm. This result may be explained by the increase of the van der Waals interactions between the liquid crystal molecules and the surface, due to the presence of the oxygen atom.     

Ultrasonic measurement of dental enamel demineralization

The DONAR (digital ultrasonic system) has been used to continuously measure the displacement, due to etching by hydrochloric acid, of the surface of bovine enamel and to monitor the development of a demineralized layer. Conventional pulse echoes are used to measure displacements of the order of micrometres with an uncertainty no greater than 0.1 μm. The demineralized zone in one instance attained a maximum thickness of 5 μm and was much less in other experiments.     

Selective averaging for the diffusion tensor measurement

The multishot echo planar imaging sequence was often used in the high-resolution diffusion measurements. However, it is susceptible to motion artifacts because of the requirements of combining the raw data from different acquisitions into one complete k-space data set. Conventional solutions used cardiac gating but greatly extended the total acquisition time. Here we propose a selective averaging algorithm based on the information in the navigator echoes. The data were sampled continuously without cardiac gating. Contributions contaminated by motion were detected by a thresholding algorithm and were discarded during postprocessing. The data were then averaged in the modulus or complex format. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data with isotropic spatial resolution were acquired in phantom as well as from two normal volunteers. The information in the navigator echoes proved to be a good indicator for the extent of motion contamination. Differences were noticed between modulus and complex averaging in DTI quantification, but both showed reduced artifact and improved signal-to-noise ratio.     

Ultrasonic density measurement for process control

A method has been devised for determining the density of a fluid by measuring the velocity and amplitude of an ultrasonic pulse passed through it. The theory of the method is presented, together with the results of an experimental verification.     

Ultrasonic system for accurate distance measurement in the air

This paper presents a system that accurately measures the distance travelled by ultrasound waves through the air. The simple design of the system and its obtained accuracy provide a tool for non-contact distance measurements required in the laser’s optical system that investigates the surface of the eyeball.     

Ultrasonic diffraction grating spectroscopy and the measurement of particle size

The results of measurements using ultrasonic diffraction grating spectroscopy (UDGS) are found to be dependent upon the particle size of the slurry. This illustrates the emergence of a new technique for measuring particle size. Theoretical calculations are underway to describe and predict them as well. The ultrasonic grating surface is in contact with the slurry. The diffraction grating was formed by machining triangular grooves with a periodicity of 483 microm on the flat surface of an aluminum unit with send and receive transducers fastened to it. For this experimental configuration, the ultrasonic beam strikes the back of the grating at an incident angle of 30 degrees and produces a transmitted beam of spectral order m=1 in the slurry. The angle of this transmitted beam changes with frequency and, at the critical frequency of 3.47 MHz, it is located at an angle of 90 degrees. The receive transducer measures the reflected m=0 beam at an angle of 30 degrees. At a frequency slightly less than the critical frequency, the m=1 transmitted beam no longer exists and its energy is shared with all other beams. Therefore, due to energy conservation, the signal in the receive transducer exhibits a peak at the critical frequency. During the transition, the wave interacts with the particles of the slurry and ultrasound amplitude is reduced. Therefore, the peak observed by the receive transducer is reduced, compared to that for water. Data have been obtained for slurries of polystyrene spheres, ranging in size from 215 microm to 463 microm, and for weight percentages of 1-12%. Polystyrene spheres of different diameter show differing amounts of energy loss and thus, particle size identification is possible.     

A one-shot method for measurement of diffusion

This paper describes an NMR method capable of determining the diffusion constant of a material within a few milliseconds and without the need of multiple scans. The method can be used with static or pulsed magnetic field gradients. It may be used to detect time-dependent processes, such as in chemical reactions, production monitoring, and medical MRI.     

Applications of fast diffusion measurement using Difftrain

Novel applications of fast self-diffusion measurement are presented. Difftrain (Diffusion train), which uses successive stimulated echoes from a single excitation pulse where a portion of the available magnetisation is recovered for each echo, is used to measure self-diffusion by varying the observation time. It is applied to produce the droplet size distribution of an oil-in-water emulsion in less than 4s. This is verified by comparison with the droplet size distribution produced by a standard pulsed field gradient (PFG) technique. Difftrain is also extended to enable the application of incremental gradients, in addition to varying the observation time. This is used to produce propagators or displacement probabilities of water flowing through a packed bed for a range of 16 observation times in under 10 min. Again verification is provided by acquisition of the same propagators using a conventional PFG technique.     

Ultrasonic measurement of gas flow using electrostatic transducers

Ultrasonic gas flowmeters typically use narrowband piezoelectric transducer arrangements for interrogating the flow of gas in a pipe. In this work, the suitability of broadband electrostatic transducers operating at frequencies of up to 1 MHz for ultrasonic measurement of gas flow has been investigated. The transit time method of ultrasonic gas flow measurement was adopted and experiments were carried out using a laboratory test rig capable of producing a range of gas flowrates up to 17.5 m/s. The test rig also allowed easy interchange of different prototype flowmetering sections. Times of flight of ultrasonic waves interrogating the gas flow were measured using separate send/receive electrostatic transducer arrangements. Two flowmeter configurations were considered. The first interrogated the flow at 45 degrees in contra-propagating upstream and downstream directions. The second consisted of an up-stream interrogation at 45 degrees to the gas flow and an interrogation made normal to the flow direction. k factors correlating the fluid velocity along the ultrasonic path with the mean fluid velocity in the pipe were calculated using experimental ultrasonic data and anemometer measurements. All transducer configurations were numerically modelled using the computational fluid dynamics software package FLOTRAN (ANSYS Inc.). Theoretical gas flow velocities for both transducer arrangements were subsequently compared with experimental values and found to be in excellent agreement. A flow-dependent frequency shift of the received ultrasonic signals was also observed simultaneously with the transit time measurement.     

Ultrasonic measurement of the elastic properties of benzoyl glycine single crystals

Certain organic crystals are found to possess high non-linear optical coefficients, often one to two orders of magnitude higher than those of the well-known inorganic non-linear optical materials. Benzoyl glycine is one such crystal whose optical second-harmonic generation efficiency is much higher than that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Single crystals of benzoyl glycine are grown by solvent evaporation technique usingN, N-dimethyl formamide as the solvent. All the nine second-order elastic stiffness constants of this orthorhombic crystal are determined from ultrasonic wave velocity measurements employing the pulse echo overlap technique. The anisotropy of elastic wave propagation in this crystal is demonstrated by plotting the phase velocity, slowness, Young’s modulus and linear compressibility surfaces along symmetry planes. The volume compressibility, bulk modulus and relevant Poisson’s ratios are also determined. Variation of the diagonal elastic stiffness constants with temperature over a limited range are measured and reported.     

Ultrasonic wave speed measurement using the time-delay profile of rf-backscattered signals

Conventional methods determine the ultrasonic wave speed by measuring the medium path length propagated by a pulsed wave and the corresponding time-of-flight. In this study, the wave speed is determined without the need of the path length. A transmitting transducer sends a pulsed wave into the medium (constant wave speed along the beam axis) and the backscattered signal is collected by a hydrophone placed at two distinct positions near the transmitted beam. The time-delay profile, between gated windows of the two rf-signals received by the hydrophone, is determined using a cross-correlation method. Also, a theoretical time-delay profile is determined considering the wave speed as a parameter. The measured wave speed is obtained upon minimization of the RMS error between theoretical and experimental time-delay profiles. A PZT conically focused transmitting transducer with center frequency of 3.3 MHz, focal depth of 20 mm and beam width (-6 dB) of 2 mm at the focus was used together with a PZT hydrophone, 0.8 mm in aperture. The method was applied to three phantoms (wave speed of 1220, 1501 and 1715 m/s) and, in vitro, to fresh bovine liver sample, immersed in a temperature-controlled water bath. The results vary within 3% of those obtained with a conventional method.     

Ultrasonic equipment for the measurement of backfat on unshorn live sheep

Because of the ease of application to the animal's exposed skin, the measurement by A-scan ultrasonics of backfat on pigs is an established technique; but difficulties are experienced with unshorn sheep because the fleece presents an obstacle, as a parting of the wool offers only a limited aperture for insonification of the subcutaneous tissues. Also, movement of the typical nervous sheep usually provides somewhat intermittent return echo signals, rendering difficult an otherwise simple measurement. The present instrument has overcome these problems by an accumulator-averaging technique, implemented by a microprocessor, allowing estimation of live backfat thickness to the nearest 0.5 mm. This paper describes the instrument function, and presents results of a series of experiments which examined the correlation with the carcass backfat thickness.     

Dynamic measurement of oxygen diffusion in indium-tin oxide

The diffusion of oxygen through an impervious ITO layer has been determined by measuring admittances in the range 5×10^?5 -5 s^?1. The results can be fit by a model which assumes simultaneous oxygen diffusion and generation. The diffusion coefficient does not depend noticeably on the oxygen pressure and has an activation energy comparable to that found for In₂O₃.     

Ultrasonic flow measurement and wall acoustic impedance effects

An examination of the influence of wall acoustic impedance effects on sound propagation in flowing liquids confined by cylindrical walls is presented. Special focus is given to the importance of the wall acoustic impedance value for ultrasonic flow meter performance. The mathematical model presented allows any radially-dependent axial flow profile to be examined in the linear flow acoustics regime where fluid flow speed is much smaller than the fluid sound speed everywhere in the fluid medium.     

Ultrasonic concentration measurement of aqueous solutions using PLS regression

This work demonstrates the use of a multivariate statistical technique called partial least squares (PLS) to extract material related data by analyzing spectra of ultrasonic pulses. We show how PLS can be used to estimate the concentration of sodium chloride in an aqueous solution. The paper describes the use of PLS and discusses pre-processing of ultrasonic data, the PLS algorithm as well as model validation. The measured concentrations are compared to reference values. The influence of disturbances and parameter changes is highlighted. The proposed method is easily adaptable to similar applications and permits a cost-saving implementation using existing and approved hardware.     

Direct measurement of the triplet exciton diffusion length in organic semiconductors

We present a new method to measure the triplet exciton diffusion length in organic semiconductors. N,N'-di-[(1-naphthyl)-N,N'-diphenyl]-1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine (NPD) has been used as a model system. Triplet excitons are injected into a thin film of NPD by a phosphorescent thin film, which is optically excited and forms a sharp interface with the NPD layer. The penetration profile of the triplet excitons density is recorded by measuring the emission intensity of another phosphorescent material (detector), which is doped into the NPD film at variable distances from the injecting interface. From the obtained triplet penetration profile we extracted a triplet exciton diffusion length of 87±2.7 nm. For excitation power densities >1 mW/mm(2) triplet-triplet annihilation processes can significantly limit the triplet penetration depth into organic semiconductor. The proposed sample structure can be further used to study excitonic spin degree of freedom.