Effect of fiber orientation on fiber wetting processes

The current work incorporates a microscopic study of the effect of fiber orientation on the fiber wetting process and flow of liquid droplets along filter fibers when subjected to airflow and gravity forces. Glass filter fibers in various combinations were oriented at various angles within a plane defined by the airflow direction and were supplied with distilled water in aerosol form. The behavior and flow of the liquid collected by the fibers were observed and measured using a specially developed microscope cell, detailed in the paper. The experimental results were compared to a theoretical model developed to describe the behavior. The theory and experimental results showed good agreement. The developed theory allows an optimum angle to be determined for the internal filter fiber structure in the design of wet filters. A sensitivity analysis of the model was conducted to determine the most important parameters. This will aid design of wet filtration systems such that maximal self-cleaning can be accomplished with minimal water use.     

Sol-gel kinetics for the synthesis of multi-component glass materials

Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR has been used to follow sol-gel synthesis kinetics for tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), ethanol, and water solutions yielding pure silicate materials. Aluminosilicates have also been made using TEOS:ethanol:water solutions doped with Al(III). Effective rate constants have been fitted to a kinetic model suggested by the literature for pure silicate materials. This model has been extended to include the effect of Al(III) on the rate constants. The effects of solution pH, temperature, and varying TEOS/Ethanol mole ratios have been investigated. Reliable effective rate constants for metal doped sol-gel solutions will lead to better control of the morphological and chemical properties of multi-component glass materials.     

Normal raman scattering from pyridine adsorbed on the low-index faces of silver

We find no enhancement of the Raman scattering cross section for pyridine adsorbed at 120 K on the (100), (110) and (111) faces of silver in ultrahigh vacuum. The frequencies we observe are essentially unshifted from those of liquid pyridine, intensity ratios are similar to the liquid, the signal intensity is linear in coverage from submonolayer to multilayer, and the depolarization ratio is low. Since these observations are in marked contrast to those associated with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), we conclude that our spectra result from normal Raman scattering. Our results support the hypothesis that special adsorption sites are responsible for a substantial fraction of the total enhancement of the Raman cross section for the pyridine - silver system.     

Electrical double-layer effects on the deposition of zeolite A on surfaces

Zeolite particles formed from an aluminosilicate solution possess a negative surface charge due to the substitution of aluminum atoms into a SiO4 tetrahedral structure making it difficult to form a continuous layer in solution. The particle interactions with surfaces and each other can be studied using the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. The interaction energy between zeolite-zeolite and zeolite-substrate on various materials can be estimated in this fashion. The zeolite LTA particles show a stronger repulsion interaction on all substrates and on the each other as compared to the ZSM-5 particles. This repulsive energy also increases as the particles size increases. This results in the formation of conglomerate in the solution rather than forming an adhered layer on the substrate.     

Particle capture processes and evaporation on a microscopic scale in wet filters

This paper details results of an experimental study of the capture of solid and liquid aerosols on fibrous filters wetted with water. A microscopic cell containing a single fibre (made from a variety of materials) was observed via a microscope, with a high speed CCD camera used to dynamically image the interactions between liquid droplets, zeolite and PSL particles and fibres. Variable quantities of liquid irrigation were used, and the possibility for subsequent fibre regeneration after clogging or drying was also studied. It was found that drainage of the wetting liquid (water) from the fibres occurred, even at very low irrigation rates when the droplet consisted almost completely of captured particles. It was also found that the fibre was rapidly loaded with captured particles when the irrigation was not supplied. However, almost complete regeneration (removal of the collected cake) by the liquid droplets occurred shortly after recommencement of the water supply. The study also examined the capture of oily liquid aerosols on fibres wetted with water. A predominance of the barrel shaped droplet on the fibre was observed, with oil droplets displacing water droplets (if the oil and fibre combination created a barrel shaped droplet), creating various compound droplets of oil and water not previously reported in literature. This preferential droplet shape implies that whatever the initial substance wetting a filter, a substance with a greater preferential adherence to the fibre will displace the former one.     

Spontaneous fission of <Superscript>256</Superscript>Rf,new data

Spontaneous fission properties of the short-lived neutron-deficient ²⁵⁶Rf nucleus produced in the complete fusion reaction with a beam of multiply charged heavy ⁵⁰Ti ions from the U-400 cyclotron (FLNR, JINR) are experimentally investigated. Its half-life and decay branching ratio are measured. The average number of neutrons per spontaneous fission of ²⁵⁶Rf (\(\bar v = \;4.47 \pm \;0.09\)) is determined for the first time.     

Sliding/rolling phobic droplets along a fiber: measurement of interfacial forces

Phobic droplet-fiber systems possess complex geometries, which have made full characterization of such systems difficult. This work has used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure droplet-fiber forces for oil droplets on oleophobic fibers over a range of fiber diameters. The work adapted a previous method and a theoretical model developed by the authors for philic droplet-fiber systems. A Bayesian statistical model was also used to account for the influence of surface roughness on the droplet-fiber force. In general, it has been found that the force required to move a liquid droplet along an oleophobic filter fiber will be less than that required to move a droplet along an oleophilic fiber. However, because of the effects of pinning and/or wetting behavior, this difference may be less than would otherwise be expected. Droplets with a greater contact angle (~110°) were observed to roll along the fiber, whereas droplets with a lesser contact angle (<90°) would slide.     

High performance silicon nanoparticle anode in fluoroethylene carbonate-based electrolyte for Li-ion batteries

Electrodes composed of silicon nanoparticles (SiNP) were prepared by slurry casting and then electrochemically tested in a fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC)-based electrolyte. The capacity retention after cycling was significantly improved compared to electrodes cycled in a traditional ethylene carbonate (EC)-based electrolyte.