Experimental investigation into the convective heat transfer and system-level effects of Al2O3-propanol nanofluid

It has been speculated that the application of nanofluids in real systems could lead to smaller, more compact heat exchangers and reductions in material cost. However, few studies have been conducted which have carefully measured the thermo-physical properties and thermal performance of these fluids as well as examine the system-level effects of using these fluids in traditional cooling systems. In this study, dilute suspensions of 10 nm aluminum oxide nanoparticles in propanol (0.5, 1, and 3 wt%) were investigated. Changes in density, specific heat, and thermal conductivity with particle concentration were measured and found to be linear, whereas changes in viscosity were nonlinear and increased sharply with particle loading. Nanofluid heat transfer performance data were generally commensurate with that measured for the baseline. For the 1 wt% concentration, a small but significant enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient was recorded for 1800 < Re < 2800, which is attributed to an earlier transition to turbulent flow. In the case of high particle loading (i.e. 3 wt%), the thermal performance was observed to deteriorate with respect to the baseline case. Discoloration of the fluid was also observed after being cycled at high flow rates and increased temperature.     

Testing equivalence between two laboratories or two methods using paired-sample analysis and interval hypothesis testing

A modified interval hypothesis testing procedure based on paired-sample analysis is described, as well as its application in testing equivalence between two bioanalytical laboratories or two methods. This testing procedure has the advantage of reducing the risk of wrongly concluding equivalence when in fact two laboratories or two methods are not equivalent. The advantage of using paired-sample analysis is that the test is less confounded by the intersample variability than unpaired-sample analysis when incurred biological samples with a wide range of concentrations are included in the experiments. Practical aspects including experimental design, sample size calculation and power estimation are also discussed through examples.     

Platinum-acetylide polymer based solar cells: involvement of the triplet state for energy conversion

Relatively efficient photovoltaic devices were fabricated using blends of a phosphorescent platinum-acetylide polymer and a fullerene (PCBM); involvement of the triplet excited state of the platinum-acetylide polymer in photoinduced charge transfer is believed to contribute to the device efficiency.     

In vivo label-free photoacoustic microscopy of cell nuclei by excitation of DNA and RNA

Imaging of cell nuclei plays a critical role in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. To image noninvasively cell nuclei in vivo without staining, we developed UV photoacoustic microscopy (UV-PAM), in which 266 nm wavelength UV light excites unlabeled DNA and RNA in cell nuclei to produce photoacoustic waves. We applied UV-PAM to ex vivo imaging of cell nuclei in a mouse lip and a mouse small intestine and to in vivo imaging of the cell nuclei in the mouse skin. The UV-PAM images of unstained cell nuclei match the optical micrographs of the histologically stained cell nuclei. Given intrinsic optical contrast and high spatial resolution, in vivo label-free UV-PAM has potential for unique biological and clinical application.     

Evolution of filament structures during edge-localized modes in the MAST Tokamak

Edge-localized modes (ELMs) are repetitive instabilities that occur in the outer region of tokamak plasmas. This Letter provides new information on and the implications of the evolution of the filament structures observed during ELMs in the MAST tokamak. The filaments exist for the time over which particles are being released into the scrape off layer. They start off at the plasma edge rotating at the velocity of the pedestal, and then decelerate toroidally and accelerate radially outwards. As the filaments propagate radially they remain aligned with the local magnetic field line.     

Study of defect evolution by TEM with in situ ion irradiation and coordinated modeling

The paper describes a novel transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiment with in situ ion irradiation designed to improve and validate a computer model. TEM thin foils of molybdenum were irradiated in situ by 1?MeV Kr ions up to ～0.045 displacements per atom (dpa) at 80°C at three dose rates ?5?×?10^?6, 5?×?10^?5, and 5?×?10^?4?dpa/s – at the Argonne IVEM-Tandem Facility. The low-dose experiments produced visible defect structure in dislocation loops, allowing accurate, quantitative measurements of defect number density and size distribution. Weak beam dark-field plane-view images were used to obtain defect density and size distribution as functions of foil thickness, dose, and dose rate. Diffraction contrast electron tomography was performed to image defect clusters through the foil thickness and measure their depth distribution. A spatially dependent cluster dynamic model was developed explicitly to model the damage by 1?MeV Kr ion irradiation in an Mo thin foil with temporal and spatial dependence of defect distribution. The set of quantitative data of visible defects was used to improve and validate the computer model. It was shown that the thin foil thickness is an important variable in determining the defect distribution. This additional spatial dimension allowed direct comparison between the model and experiments of defect structures. The defect loss to the surfaces in an irradiated thin foil was modeled successfully. TEM with in situ ion irradiation of Mo thin foils was also explicitly designed to compare with neutron irradiation data of the identical material that will be used to validate the model developed for thin foils.     

In situ study of self-ion irradiation damage in W and W–5Re at 500 °C

In situ self-ion irradiations (150?keV?W⁺) have been carried out on W and W–5Re at 500?°C, with doses ranging from 10¹⁶ to 10¹⁸ W⁺m^?2 (～1.0?dpa). Early damage formation (10¹⁶W⁺m^?2) was observed in both materials. Black–white contrast experiments and image simulations using the TEMACI software suggested that vacancy loops were formed within individual cascades, and thus, the loop nucleation mechanism is likely to be ‘cascade collapse’. Dynamic observations showed the nucleation and growth of interstitial loops at higher doses, and that elastic loop interactions may involve changes in loop Burgers vector. Elastic interactions may also promote loop reactions such as absorption or coalescence or loop string formation. Loops in both W and W–5Re remained stable after annealing at 500?°C. One-dimensional hopping of loops (b?=?1/2 ?111>) was only seen in W. At the final dose (10¹⁸W⁺m^?2), a slightly denser damage microstructure was seen in W–5Re. Both materials had about 3–4?×?10¹⁵ loops m^?2. Detailed post-irradiation analyses were carried out for loops of size???4?nm. Both b?=?1/2 ?111? (～75%) and b?= ?100> (～25%) loops were present. Inside–outside contrast experiments were performed under safe orientations to determine the nature of loops. The interstitial-to-vacancy loop ratio turned out close to unity for 1/2 ?111? loops in W, and for both 1/2 ?111? and ?100? loops in W–5Re. However, interstitial loops were dominant for ?100? loops in W. Re seemed to restrict loop mobility, leading to a smaller average loop size and a higher number density in the W-Re alloy.     

The scaling of the current voltage characteristics of the YBa2Cu3O7:Y2BaCuO5 composites

We have investigated features in the current voltage (I—V) characteristics of YBa₂Cu₃O₇:Y₂BaCuO₅ composite sinters which indicate the occurrence of a second-order phase transition. For each sinter composition similar families of characteristics are found for a wide range of magnetic fields. The relation between V and I is seen to be of the form V = f(I, ζ(B, T)) where a single parameter ξ contains all of the field and temperature dependence. The locus of points in the B, T plane for which ζ(B, T) is a constant have been examined, and a low field and a high field régime have been identified. Samples of different composition show families of I—V characteristics which scale onto one another in a simple way, hence we are led to suppose the V = f(I, ζ(B, T, p)) where p is the dilution fraction. Data taken at temperatures below the phase transition agrees well with a simple scaling picture of dissipation close to a second order phase transition, with exponents which are independent of magnetic field and composition. Above the transition, however, the behaviour is more complex.     

A molecular dynamics method for simulations in the canonical ensemble

A molecular dynamics simulation method which can generate configurations belonging to the canonical (T, V, N) ensemble or the constant temperature constant pressure (T, P, N) ensemble, is proposed. The physical system of interest consists of N particles (f degrees of freedom), to which an external, macroscopic variable and its conjugate momentum are added. This device allows the total energy of the physical system to fluctuate. The equilibrium distribution of the energy coincides with the canonical distribution both in momentum and in coordinate space. The method is tested for an atomic fluid (Ar) and works well.