Mean Flow Structures Inside the Human Upper Airway

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) was used to conduct a direct numerical simulation study of the airflow inside an idealised human upper airway. Results from both a modest resolution (18 million control volumes, 320 Gb data set) and an extreme resolution (148 million control volumes, 800 Gb data set) LBM simulation were compared to those from experimental results (Johnstone, A.: Hot wire measurements in an oropharyngeal pathway. M.Sc. Thesis, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, 2002; Johnstone et al., Expt Fluids 37(5): 673–689, 2004). A coarse resolution simulation (2.4 million control volumes, 105 Gb data set) was used to record the entire time-varying flow field; the nature of the mean structures in the three-dimensional flow field was studied using this data set. For the mean statistics, the LBM calculations yield better results than do the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes methods (Ball et al., Comput Fluids, 2007); the LBM reproduces significant detail of experimentally observed flow features. The flow is three-dimensional, obviously, and the interrogation of the mean flow structure is found to be unsteady so that sagittal plane and time-integrated measurements alone are insufficient to verify the accuracy of computational predictions of this flow.     

Effects of aspect ratio on unsteady solutions through curved duct flow

The effects of the aspect ratio on unsteady solutions through the curved duct flow are studied numerically by a spectral based computational procedure with a temperature gradient between the vertical sidewalls for the Grashof number 100 ≤ Gr ≤ 2 000. The outer wall of the duct is heated while the inner wall is cooled and the top and bottom walls are adiabatic. In this paper, unsteady solutions are calculated by the time history analysis of the Nusselt number for the Dean numbers Dn = 100 and Dn = 500 and the aspect ratios 1≤γ≤ 3. Water is taken as a working fluid （Pr =7.0）. It is found that at Dn = 100, there appears a steady-state solution for small or large Gr. For moderate Gr, however, the steady-state solution turns into the periodic solution if γ is increased. For Dn = 500, on the other hand, it is analyzed that the steady-state solution turns into the chaotic solution for small and large Gr for any γ lying in the range. For moderate Gr at Dn = 500, however, the steady-state flow turns into the chaotic flow through the periodic oscillating flow if the aspect ratio is increased.     

Photonic microring resonator modulated resonance response analysis

This paper presents the resonance response analysis of a photonic microring resonator. It covers the mathematical as well as simulation analysis on the modulated signals. The mathematical formulation provides a relation of several microring resonator parameters that could potentially affect the ring resonator performances. The simulation shows a graphical representation of the ring resonator full-width at half-max, quality factor (Q-factor) as well as the depth of the resonance at different modulation voltages applied to the ring. Several parameters have also been altered which is the ring radius, the coupling coefficient of the waveguides as well as the waveguide material group index. With this investigation, we determine the possible cause of the change in Q factor of a silicon microring resonator when the resonance is modulated and the possible solution to minimize the problem.     

Investigation of α-nucleus interaction in the 27Al (α,α)27Al scattering and 27Al (α, d )29Si reaction

Full finite-range macroscopic calculations in the distorted-wave Born approximation have been performed using the molecular and Michel α-nucleus potentials to analyze the angular distributions of cross-sections of the ²⁷Al(α, d)²⁹Si reaction, at 26.5 and 27.2 MeV incident energies, leading to seven transitions up to the excitation energy E _X = 4.08 MeV of the final nucleus. The parameters of the two types of the α-nucleus potentials are determined from the elastic-scattering data. Both the molecular and Michel potentials, without any adjustment to the parameters needed to fit the elastic-scattering data, are able in most cases to reproduce, simultaneously, the absolute cross-sections particularly at large angles, where the previous calculations failed to reproduce by orders of magnitude, and the gross pattern of angular distributions of the reaction. The deuteron-cluster spectroscopic factors for most of the seven transitions, deduced using the two α-²⁷Al potentials, differ from those obtained in earlier works. The spectroscopic factor for the ground-state transition, deduced in the present work for the 25.8 MeV data, agrees well with the shell model prediction. Received: 15 July 2002 / Accepted: 8 August 2002 / Published online: 10 December 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: akbasak2001@Yahoo.com Communicated by G. Orlandini     

Dynamic polarization potential effects on vector analyzing powers of Li–Si elastic scattering from non-monotonic potentials

Experimental cross section (CS) and vector analyzing power (VAP) data of the ⁶Li–²⁸Si elastic scattering at 22.8 MeV are analyzed in the coupled-channels (CC) and coupled discretized continuum channels (CDCC) methods. Non-monotonic (NM) ⁶Li and α potentials of microscopic origin are employed, respectively, in the CC calculations and to generate folding potentials for the CDCC calculations. The study demonstrates that the use of central NM potentials can generate an appropriate dynamic polarization potential (DPP) required to describe both the CS and VAP   data without the necessity of renormalization. This also produces an effective spin–orbit (SO) potential to account for the iT₁₁$i{T}_{11}$ data without the requirement of an additional static SO potential at the incident energy considered.     

Design of delayed fractional state variable filter for parameter estimation of fractional nonlinear models

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper presents a novel direct parameter estimation method for continuous-time fractional nonlinear models. This is achieved by adapting a filter-based approach that uses...     

Emission properties of dopants rubrene and coumarin 6 in Alq3 films

We have investigated the emission properties of dopants 5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnapthacene (rubrene) and 3-(2′-benzothiazolyl)-7-diethylaminocoumarin (coumarin 6) as well as co-doping of these two dopants in tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Alq₃) films in double-layer organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). We varied the rubrene (Rb) doping concentration in Alq₃:Rb films up to 10 wt%. The maximum luminescence efficiency of ∼6.5 cd/A was observed for Rb doping concentration of ∼0.7 wt% in Alq₃:Rb film, which was nearly double efficiency compared to pure Alq₃ device. The co-doping of dopants of C-6 and Rb in the ratio of 1:1 and 1:2 in Alq₃ films reduced the bias voltage compared to pure Alq₃ and Alq₃:C-6 devices for the same current density. The maximum luminescence efficiency was improved to ∼7 cd/A in Alq₃:{C-6:Rb(1:2)} film OLED. The direct recombination of holes and electrons in the dopant molecules may be responsible for the improvement of the luminescence efficiency. We also observed the shifting of photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) peaks position from ∼515 to ∼562 nm by co-doping of Rb and C-6 in Alq₃.     

Effects of CuCl2��6H2O and ZnCl2��6H2O on the viscosity of aqueous ethanol mixtures

The effects of CuCl₂ and ZnCl₂ on the viscosity in aqueous ethanol mixtures (10%–50% v/v) were studied in the concentration range 1.0×10⁻²–8.0×10⁻² mol·dm⁻³ at different temperatures. It was found that the viscosities increased with an increase in the concentration of the salts and percent composition of ethanol content, whereas it decreased with an increase in temperature. Ion-ion and ion-solvent interactions are determined with the help of A- and B-coefficients of Jones-Dole equation. The values of A- and B-coefficients are irregular and increase with a rise in temperature and also with an increase in ethanol contents for both salts. Negative values of B-coefficients show that ion solvent interactions is comparatively small and suggest that CuCl₂ and ZnCl₂ behave as structure breakers in aqueous ethanol mixtures. Thermodynamic parameters like the energy of activation (E _η ) and change in entropy of activation (ΔS*) were also evaluated which confirm the structure breaker behavior of salts in aqueous ethanol mixtures.     

Predicting solvent stability in aprotic electrolyte Li-air batteries: nucleophilic substitution by the superoxide anion radical (O2(•-))

There is increasing evidence that cyclic and linear carbonates, commonly used solvents in Li ion battery electrolytes, are unstable in the presence of superoxide and thus are not suitable for use in rechargeable Li-air batteries employing aprotic electrolytes. A detailed understanding of related decomposition mechanisms provides an important basis for the selection and design of stable electrolyte materials. In this article, we use density functional theory calculations with a Poisson-Boltzmann continuum solvent model to investigate the reactivity of several classes of aprotic solvents in nucleophilic substitution reactions with superoxide. We find that nucleophilic attack by O(2)(?-) at the O-alkyl carbon is a common mechanism of decomposition of organic carbonates, sulfonates, aliphatic carboxylic esters, lactones, phosphinates, phosphonates, phosphates, and sulfones. In contrast, nucleophilic reactions of O(2)(?-) with phenol esters of carboxylic acids and O-alkyl fluorinated aliphatic lactones proceed via attack at the carbonyl carbon. Chemical functionalities stable against nucleophilic substitution by superoxide include N-alkyl substituted amides, lactams, nitriles, and ethers. The results establish that solvent reactivity is strongly related to the basicity of the organic anion displaced in the reaction with superoxide. Theoretical calculations are complemented by cyclic voltammetry to study the electrochemical reversibility of the O(2)/O(2)(?-) couple containing tetrabutylammonium salt and GCMS measurements to monitor solvent stability in the presence of KO(2)(?) and a Li salt. These experimental methods provide efficient means for qualitatively screening solvent stability in Li-air batteries. A clear correlation between the computational and experimental results is established. The combination of theoretical and experimental techniques provides a powerful means for identifying and designing stable solvents for rechargeable Li-air batteries.     

Kinetics of Reduction of Thionine with Ribose and the Structural Properties of the Dye at Different pH Using DFT Method

The reaction between the thionine (Th) and the ribose was observed spectrophotometrically and changes in absorbance of Th were recorded at variable concentration of dye, reductant and pH. A pseudo first order rate of reaction was found to establish the reduction kinetics of the dye, studied at a pH range of 0.34 to 12.8. Absorption spectrum of Th at different pH, with ribose showed a pH (12.8) dependent introversion. The reduction most probably took place with enediol intermediate of the sugar at high pH. A full geometry optimization of predominant species of Th namely, mono‐deprotonated, di‐deprotonated Th, and LTh (leuco thionine) respectively, at low and high pH, was performed at B3LYP level of theory. The data obtained from the energy minimization were in excellent agreement with other experimental and theoretical observations. The calculated enthalpies of formation for both reduction reactions (mono‐deprotonated Th+H⁺→leucothionine and di‐deprotonated Th+2H⁺→leucothionine) provided evidences for maximum reduction of the dye at high pH.