Simulation-based design of thermally-driven actuators using liquid crystal elastomers

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are a class of soft functional materials which exhibit complex mechanical responses to external stimuli. Their promise for technological applications is difficult to realise in practice due to the complexity of design, fabrication and performance quantification of these materials. In order to address these issues, simulation-based methods are necessary to both enhance and accelerate the design process, compared to traditional experimentation alone. This work presents such an approach using a hyperelastic solid mechanics model and experimental measurement of material parameters for a thermotropic LCE. The simulation method is validated using existing experimental data of the thermomechanical response of an LCE-based cantilever resulting from a hybrid-aligned nematic texture imposed during crosslinking. The validated method is then used to perform a proof-of-concept design process of an LCE multilegged gripper in order to determine optimal design parameters for gripper performance. The simulation method and results presented in this work represent a significant step towards simulation-based design of LCE materials, which has the potential to overcome the complexity and cost of the LCE design process.     

Solvent effect on the electrochemical reduction of S-phenyl benzenethiosulfonate

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The electrochemical reduction of S-phenyl benzenethiosulfonate (1) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry at different scan rates (0.1–60 V/s)...     

Study of the Corrosion Resistance Properties of Ni–P and Ni–P–C Nanocomposite Coatings in 3.5 wt % NaCl Solution

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - The present paper aims to compare the corrosion protection performance of electrodeposited Ni?P with Ni–P–C nanocomposite coatings in 3.5 wt...     

Integration of commercial CO2 capture plant with primary reformer stack of ammonia plant

The safety of primary reformers is essential to safe operation of large-scale petrochemical processes, especially when carbon dioxide is going to be recovered from an ammonia plant. In this study, a preliminary assessment is made to model an industrial stack as the stack gases are introduced into CO₂ capture plant, during ammonia production. A CFD model was first developed in the absence of a commercial carbon dioxide recovery (CDR) unit to validate the model against industrial data under normal operation. At full capacity of the ammonia plan, the results provided by the CFD model match the measurement results well within about 3.87% margin of relative error. The calibrated model was then applied in combination with post-combustion, as part of the process, to verify the process safety constraints in reformer furnace. The effect of starting up and shutting down of CDR plant was explored in the event of emergency operation. From an operational view, in the event of startup or unplanned failure of the CO₂ capture plant, the pressure fluctuations do not exceed the maximum allowable pressure of the firebox. Upon reaching the required operating conditions, both subsystems can be integrated operationally to continue production safely.

     

Remote nano-optical beam focusing lens by illusion optics

In this paper, as a new application of illusion optics, a nano-optical plasmonic focusing lens structure is proposed to manipulate the light remotely by employing illusion optics theory. Plasmonic nano-optic lenses that enable super-focusing beyond the diffraction limit have been proposed as an alternative to the conventional dielectric-based refractive lenses. In the presence of an illusion device, the electromagnetic plane-waves can penetrate into a metal layer and a clear focus appears. When the illusion device is removed, waves are blocked to transmit through the metal wall. In comparison with conventional methods, our proposed method avoids any physical changes or damages in the original structure. The proposed structure can be realized by isotropic layered materials, using effective medium theory. The special feature of the proposed structure and the device concepts introduced in this work gives it an opportunity to be used as a flexible element in ultrahigh nano-scale integrated circuits for miniaturization and tuning purposes.     

Application of PMR Spectrometry in Pharmaceutical Analysis I. Assay of Clofibrate

A new method, involving the application of PMR spectrometry for the assay of clofibrate and its capsules, is proposed. Among other peaks the PMR spectrum of clofibrate has a well-defined singlet system which is chosen for quantitative measurement. The principle of the method involves comparing the integral of this signal to that of the sharp singlet (positioned at 0.00 ppm) of hexamethylcyclotrisilazane which is used as internal standard.     

Exploring and modeling the ion mobility spectrometry of perindopril: Example of protonation-dissociation reactions in large molecules

The current research is constructed for considering the chemical ionization and dissociation of perindopril in the positive mode of corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry. Four product ion peaks are observed in the ion mobility spectrum of perindopril erbumine at the cell temperature of 473 K. These peaks are assigned through the obtained intensity variation analysis in the ion mobility spectra over the elapsed time accompanied by the calculations backed by the validated density functional theory (DFT). In this regard, the most stable ionic species associated with each peak and the corresponding reliable generation pathways are found by the well-confirmed meta hybrid density functional method, M06-2X. The peaks are assigned to the protonated perindopril and its dissociation products, including counter ion and the related fragment ions. However, the structures of the neutral perindopril in the gas phase are thoroughly assessed to find a more stable one. The predicted chemical ionization products by the theory are in excellent agreement with our presented experiment here. Theoretical evaluations demonstrated that the production of a fragment by dissociation process occurs when perindopril gets a proton from the ionization region. Also, without protons, there is no dissociation process. Therefore, our mechanism investigated here is the proton transfer one. All possible sites of perindopril are considered theoretically for protonation along with their possible reactions. In addition to the computed PES, the assigned ions for obtained spectra are confirmed by the computed equilibrium constants and rate constants. Our theoretical results show that the peak of the main fragment is for M-CH₃CH₂OH produced by a reaction pathway involving no barrier. This study opens new perspectives in interpreting large molecules spectra for future studies.