Boundary voltage perturbations caused by small conductivity inhomogeneities nearly touching the boundary

We establish an asymptotic expansion of the steady-state voltage potentials in the presence of a diametrically small conductivity inhomogeneity that is nearly touching the boundary. Our asymptotic formula extends those already derived for a small inhomogeneity far away from the boundary and is expected to lead to very effective algorithms, aimed at determining location and certain properties of the shape of a small inhomogeneity that is nearly touching the boundary based on boundary measurements. Viability of the asymptotic formula is documented by numerical examples.     

Iron,copper and zinc ammonium-1-hydroxyalkylidene-diphosphonates with zero-, one- and two-dimensional covalent metal–ligand structures extended into three-dimensional supramolecular networks by charge-assisted hydrogen-bonding

Hydrothermal synthesis with MCl₂ (M = Fe, Cu, and Zn) and disodium 5-ammonium-1-hydroxypentylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate, (Na⁺)₂[⁺H₃N(CH₂)₄C(OH)(PO₃²⁻)(PO₃H⁻)] (Na₂HAC₅OHP₂) or sodium 3-ammonium-1-hydroxypropylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate hydrate, Na⁺[⁺H₃N(CH₂)₂C(OH)(PO₃H^–)(PO₃H^–)]·H₂O (NaH₂PAM·H₂O) the sodium salt of pamidronic acid, H₃PAM) yielded the one-dimensional (1D) iron, molecular copper and two-dimensional (2D) zinc compounds 1D-{[Fe(μ₃-η⁵-HAC₅OHP₂)]·H₂O}, 1, [Cu(η²-H₂AC₅OHP₂)₂], 2, 2D-{[Zn₂(μ₅-η⁷-AC₅OHP₂)Cl], 3, and 2D-{[Zn(μ₂-η³-H₂PAM)₂], 4, respectively. The bisphosphonate ligand bridges (μ_n) between 2–5 metal atoms and uses 2–7 oxygen donor atoms towards metal coordination (ηⁿ). The zwitterionic nature of the now bis- or tetrakis-deprotonated ammonium–bisphosphonate is retained in the metal complexes. From the reaction of NiCl₂ and Na₂HAC₅OHP₂ the zwitterionic 5-ammonium-1-hydroxypentylidene-1-phosphonic acid, ⁺H₃N(CH₂)₄CH(OH)PO₃H⁻, 5 was obtained as a product of the ligand P–C bond hydrolysis. Adjacent strands, molecules or layers in 1–4, respectively are organized through the Coulomb attraction between the positive ammonium group and the negative phosphonate groups, supported by hydrogen-bonding. Each protic H atom on the C–OH, NH₃⁺ and –PO₃H⁻ group is involved in charge-assisted hydrogen-bonding. The ammonium-pentylidene groups act as hydrophobic separators between the hydrophilic units with the polar M{C(OH)(PO₃)₂} and {NH₃} units. Bond valence sum calculations support the Fe(II) oxidation state in 1, which was experimentally determined from a quantitative polarographic Fe(II)/Fe(III) speciation analysis as well as a temperature variable magnetic study.     

Solar dryers as a promising drying technology: a comprehensive review

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Dryers are utilized in food industry and agriculture in order to extend the useful lifespan of corps. Thermal energy is required for water removal in...     

Continuous quantum measurement and the emergence of classical chaos

We formulate the conditions under which the dynamics of a continuously measured quantum system becomes indistinguishable from that of the corresponding classical system. In particular, we demonstrate that even in a classically chaotic system the quantum state vector conditioned by the measurement remains localized and, under these conditions, follows a trajectory characterized by the classical Lyapunov exponent.     

Comportements compares des sols et des roches

Résumé Les sols et les roches sont des corps dont le comportement rhéologique est régi par les liaisons de contact entre les éléments qui les constituent. On peut schématiser ces structures en disant que dans les sols, les contacts sont ponctuels entre les grains alors qu'ils ont lieu sur les surfaces que forment les fissures entre les blocs pour les massifs rocheux. Au cours des déformations qui précèdent la rupture, des glissements se produisent le long de surfaces irrégulières et les mouvements sont accompagnés d'une variation de volume, qui est positive pour les roches et les sables denses, et négative pour les sables lâches et la plupart des argiles. Les roches présentent un effet d'échelle: les caractéristiques mécaniques de la rupture sont des fonctions décroissantes de la dimension de la zone soumise aux contraintes et ceci est lié à l'hétérogénéité de la fissuration. Cet effet n'apparaît pas dans les sols, mais dans un champ de contraintes hétérogène, comme celui qui existe sous un poinçon, un phénomène analogue se produit pour les sables denses. On peut l'expliquer par l'hétérogénéité introduite dans le milieu par la création d'une ligne de glissement isolée.

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Summary Rheological behaviour of soils and rocks is determined by contact forces between constitutive elements. For soils, the contacts are punctual. For rocks they occur along the surfaces of cracks or joints. During the deformation before the failure, sliding movements occur along irregularly shaped surfaces with a volume change, which is positive for rocks and dense sands, negative for loose sands and most of clays. Size effect in rocks is due to cracks heterogeneity: mechanical characteristics at failure decrease with increasing size of specimens. This effect does not exist in soils, but in a heterogeneous stress field a similar phenomenon appears in dense sands. It is connected with the heterogeneity induced by the creation of an isolated slip line.

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Avec 9 figures     

Flow field and thermal characteristics in a model of a tangentially fired furnace under different conditions of burner tripping

Tangentially fired furnaces are vortex-combustion units and are widely used in steam generators of industrial plants. The present study provides a numerical investigation of the problem of turbulent reacting flows in a model furnace of a tangentially fired boiler. The importance of this problem is mainly due to its relation to large boiler furnaces used in thermal power plants. In the present work, calculation of the flow field, temperature and species concentration-contour maps in a tangentially-fired model furnace are provided. The safety of these furnaces requires that the burner be tripped (its fuel is cut off) if the flame is extinguished. Therefore, the present work provides an investigation of the influence of number of tripped burners on the characteristics of the flow and thermal fields. The details of the flow, thermal and combustion fields are obtained from the solution of the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy and transport equations for scalar variables in addition to the equations of the turbulence model. Available experimental measurements were used for validating the calculation procedure. The results show that the vortex created due to pressure gradient at the furnace center only influenced by tripping at least two burners. However, the temperature distributions are significantly distorted by tripping any of the burners. Regions of very high temperature close to the furnace walls appear as a result of tripping the fuel in one or two of the burners. Calculated heat flux along the furnace walls are presented.     

An experimental investigation of heat transfer to pulsating pipe air flow with different amplitudes

Heat transfer characteristics to both laminar and turbulent pulsating pipe flows under different conditions of Reynolds number, pulsation frequency, pulsator location and tube diameter were experimentally investigated. The tube wall of uniform heat flux condition was considered for both cases. Reynolds number varied from 750 to 12,320 while the frequency of pulsation ranged from 1 to 10 Hz. With locating the pulsator upstream of the inlet of the test section tube, results showed an increase in heat transfer rate due to pulsation by as much as 30% with flow Reynolds number of 1,643 and pulsation frequency of 1 Hz, depending on the upstream location of the pulsator valve. Closer the valve to the tested section inlet, the better improvement in the heat transfer coefficient is achieved. Upon comparing the heat transfer results of the upstream and the downstream pulsation, at Reynolds number of 1,366 and 1,643, low values of the relative mean Nusselt number were obtained with the upstream pulsation. Comparing the heat transfer results of the two studied test sections tubes for Reynolds number range from 8,000 to 12,000 and pulsation frequency range from 1.0 to 10 Hz showed that more improvement in heat transfer rate was observed with a larger tube diameter. For Reynolds number ranging from 8,000 to 12,000 and pulsation frequency of 10 Hz, an improvement in the relative mean Nusselt number of about 50% was obtained at Reynolds number of 8,000 for the large test section diameter of 50 mm. While, for the small test section diameter of 15 mm, at same conditions of Reynolds number and frequency, a reduction in the relative mean Nusselt number of up to 10% was obtained.     

Synthesis of New Cobalt(III) Meso-Porphyrin Complex,Photochemical, X-ray Diffraction,and Electrical Properties for Photovoltaic Cells

The present work describes the preparation and characterization of a new cobalt(III) porphyrin coordination compound named (chlorido)(nicotinoylchloride)[meso-tetra(para-chlorophenyl)porphyrinato]cobalt(III) dichloromethane monosolvate with the formula [Co^III(TClPP)Cl(NTC)]·CH₂Cl₂ (4). The single-crystal X-ray molecular structure of 4 shows very important ruffling and waving distortions of the porphyrin macrocycle. The Soret and Q absorption bands of 4 are very red-shifted as a consequence of the very distorted porphyrin core. This coordination compound was also studied by fluorescence and cyclic voltammetry. The efficiency of our four porphyrinic compounds—the H₂TClPP (1) free-base porphyrin, the [Co^II(TClPP)] (2) and [Co^III(TClPP)Cl] (3) starting materials, and the new Co(III) metalloporphyrin [Co^III(TClPP)Cl(NTC)]·CH₂Cl₂ (4)—as catalysts in the photochemical degradation was tested on malachite green (MG) dye. The current voltage of complexes 3 and 4 was also studied. Electrical parameters, including the saturation current density (J_s) and barrier height (ϕ_b), were measured.     

Phytochemical Characterization,Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Cleome arabica L. Fruits Extract against Formalin Induced Chronic Inflammation in Female Wistar Rat: Biochemical,Histological, and In Silico Studies

In recent decades, the use of herbs and plants has been of great interest, as they have been the sources of natural products, commonly named as bioactive compounds. In specific, the natural compounds from the Capparaceae family which has been proved to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic activities, by several studies. Cleome arabica L. (CA) specie is the most used medicinal plants in Tunisia and elsewhere in North African countries for treatment of various diseases including diabetes, rheumatism, inflammation, cancer, and digestive disorders. The current work was undertaken to estimate the total phenolic, flavonoid and condensed tannin contents, to identify and quantify the polyphenolic compounds, and to evaluate the antioxidant and the anti-inflammatory proprieties of CA fruits extract against formalin induced chronic inflammation in Female Wistar rats. In fact, the antioxidant activity was tested by Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging (DPPH), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Nitric Oxide radical (NO·). Anti-inflammatory effect of fruits extract was examined using formalin (2%) induced paw edema in rats. Molecular docking tools were used to investigate the interaction of some compounds from CA fruits extract with the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) target protein. Our results showed that, the total phenolic, flavonoid and tannins contents, which were assessed by the Folin-Ciocalteu, Quercetin, and Catechin methods, respectively, were 230.22 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight (mg GAE/g DW), 55.08 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight (QE/g DW) and 15.17 mg catechin equivalents/g dry weight (CatE/g DW), respectively. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of five polyphenolic compounds whose catechin was found to be the most abundant compounds. The antioxidant activity of extract was quantified by DPPH, FRAP and NO· tests and IC₅₀ reached the values of 3.346 mg/mL, 2.306 and 0.023 mg/mL, respectively. Cleome fruits ameliorated the histological integrity of the skin and alleviated the disruptions in hematological parameters (WBC, LYM, RBC, and HGB), inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), C-reactive protein, and some oxidative stress markers (TBARS (−49%) and AOPP (−42%) levels, SOD (+33%) and GPx (+75%) activities, and GSH (+49%) content) induced by formalin injection. Moreover, the in-silico investigation had shown that CA fruits extract compounds have a stronger interaction with COX-2 active site, more than the reference drug “indomethacin” (two H-bonds). Our research gives pharmacological backing to the healthcare utilization of Cleome plant in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and oxidative harm.     

Electrochemical parameters of aluminum oxide film in situ during anodization of aluminum by white light-optical interferometry

Optical Review - Both Fabry–Pérot interferometry and the DC electrochemical method have been simultaneously used for the first time to measure in situ the anodic current density (J) of...