Stirring phenomena in centrifugal casting of pipes

In the centrifugal horizontal casting of steel pipes, the normally used rotational speed results in an acceleration of 100 times gravity within the liquid metal layer. Due to such centrifugal forces liquid metal seems to have a body rotation. However metallurgical analysis of pipes show spatial variations in solidification structure which can only originate from recirculating flows. The present study is concerned with the analysis of such stirring motions. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are presented.

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Résumé Dans le procédé d'élaboration par coulée centrifuge horizontale de tubes d'acier, la vitesse de rotation utilisée conduit à une accélération de 100 g dans le métal liquide. A cause des forces centrifuges qui en résultent, le métal semble animé d'une rotation en bloc. Cependant, des analyses métallurgiques effectuées sur des tubes ainsi élaborés montrent des variations spatiales de la structure de solidification dont l'origine est la présence d'écoulements de recirculation. La présente étude concerne l'analyse de ces écoulements. Les résultats de ces deux approaches, théorique et expérimentale, sont présentés.

     

Rapid access to structured triacylglycerols acylated with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for nutritional applications

In order to better understand the metabolic fate of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), an efficient access to symmetrical and unsymmetrical triacylglycerols (TGs), esterified with PUFAs, with known high purity, is required. In this context, we optimized the esterification of a mixture of glycerols protected as dioxane and dioxolane with PUFAs. The kinetics of this reaction depends on various factors, such as the fatty acid chain length and the stereochemistry of the dioxane. Then, one-pot acetal hydrolysis and esterification of hydroxyl groups led to the desired structured TGs without either double bond isomerization or acyl migration (except when symmetrical TGs are acylated with long-chain saturated fatty acids in external positions). PUFAs location on the glycerol backbone was assayed by NMR, HPLC and pancreatic lipase hydrolysis.     

Vladimir Sergeevich Anashin

On the occasion of the 60th birthday of Professor Vladimir Sergeevich Anashin, we present a review of his significant scientific research and related activities.     

Structure effects on the energetics of the electrochemical reduction of CO2 by copper surfaces

Polycrystalline copper electrocatalysts have been experimentally shown to be capable of reducing CO₂ into CH₄ and C₂H₄ with relatively high selectivity, and a mechanism has recently been proposed for this reduction on the fcc(211) surface of copper, which was assumed to be the most active facet. In the current work, we use computational methods to explore the effects of the nanostructure of the copper surface and compare the effects of the fcc(111), fcc(100) and fcc(211) facets of copper on the energetics of the electroreduction of CO₂. The calculations performed in this study generally show that the intermediates in CO₂ reduction are most stabilized by the (211) facet, followed by the (100) facet, with the (111) surface binding the adsorbates most weakly. This leads to the prediction that the (211) facet is the most active surface among the three in producing CH₄ from CO₂, as well as the by-products H₂ and CO. HCOOH production may be mildly enhanced on the more close-packed surfaces ((111) and (100)) as compared to the (211) facet, due to a change in mechanism from a carboxyl intermediate to a formate intermediate. The results are compared to published experimental data on these same surfaces; the predicted trends in voltage requirements are consistent between the experimental and computational data.     

Visible photoluminescence from a-Si : H/SiO2 superlattices fabricated by UHV evaporation

Hydrogenated amorphous-Si/SiO₂ (a-Si:H/SiO₂) superlattices with different a-Si : H thickness in the range of a few nanometers have been fabricated by ultra high vacuum evaporator (UHV evaporator). The photoluminescence (PL) of our superlattices is observed in the visible spectral region and the peak energy shifts to higher energy as the a-Si : H layer thickness decreases. The temperature dependence of the PL spectra reveals four sub-bands by fitting. Bands at 2.2, 1.9, 1.65 and 1.45 eV are detected and are attributed to E′δ centers, nonbridging-oxygen–hole centers (NBOHC), Si/SiO₂ interface and a-Si : H layer, respectively. We explain the overall blueshift of the PL spectra by the modification of the contribution of these sub-bands.     

NMR studies of the superconducting state of copper oxide superconductors

The authors review and up-date their work on Knight shifts, spin-lattice relaxation, and indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling for YBa₂Cu₃O₇ in the superconducting state. The data are analyzed in particular to show what it may indicate about the orbital and spin pairing of the superconducting state.