Optimization and sensitivity analysis of magneto-hydrodynamic natural convection nanofluid flow inside a square enclosure using response surface methodology

This article studies buoyancy-driven natural convection of a nanofluid affected by a magnetic field within a square enclosure with an individual conductive pin fin. The effects of electromagnetic forces, thermal conductivity, and inclination angle of pin fin were investigated using non-dimensional parameters. An extensive sensitivity analysis was conducted seeking an optimal heat transfer setting. The novelty of this work lies in including different contributing factors in heat transfer analysis, rigorous analysis of design parameters, and comprehensive mathematical analysis of solution domain for optimization. Results showed that magnetic strength diminished the heat transfer efficacy, while higher relative thermal conductivity of pin fin improved it. Based on the problem settings, we also obtained the relative conductivity value in which the heat transfer is optimal. Higher sensitivity of heat transfer was, though, noticed for both magnetic strength and fin thermal conductivity in comparison to fin inclination angle. Further studies, specifically with realistic geometrical configurations and heat transfer settings, are urged to translate current findings to industrial applications.

     

A Modified Peng–Robinson Equation of State for Heavy Hydrocarbons

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - A new simple and accurate functional form for an attractive parameter α is introduced for Peng–Robinson equation of state. The modified...     

Self‐Healing Polyester Urethane Supramolecular Elastomers Reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications

Stretchable self‐healing urethane‐based biomaterials have always been crucial for biomedical applications; however, the strength is the main constraint of utilization of these healable materials. Here, a series of novel, healable, elastomeric, supramolecular polyester urethane nanocomposites of poly(1,8‐octanediol citrate) and hexamethylene diisocyanate reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are introduced. Nanocomposites with various amounts of CNCs from 10 to 50 wt% are prepared using solvent casting technique followed by the evaluation of their microstructural features, mechanical properties, healability, and biocompatibility. The synthesized nanocomposites indicate significantly higher tensile modulus (approximately 36–500‐fold) in comparison to the supramolecular polymer alone. Upon exposure to heat, the materials can reheal, but nevertheless when the amount of CNC is greater than 10 wt%, the self‐healing ability of nanocomposites is deteriorated. These materials are capable of rebonding ruptured parts and fully restoring their mechanical properties. In vitro cytotoxicity test of the nanocomposites using human dermal fibroblasts confirms their good cytocompatibility. The optimized structure, self‐healing attributes, and noncytotoxicity make these nanocomposites highly promising for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications.     

A cost-effective form-stable PCM composite with modified paraffin and expanded perlite for thermal energy storage in concrete

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - High thermal conductivity in phase change materials (PCM) is preferred in thermal energy storage (TES) systems. Carbon additives are considered as...     

Thermodynamic properties of Ga27Si3 cluster using density functional molecular dynamics

Density functional molecular dynamical calculations have been carried out to explore the effect of silicon impurities on thermodynamic properties of Ga(30). We have obtained 500 distinct low energy equilibrium geometries of Ga(27)Si(3) in order to obtain reliable ground state geometry. The specific heat has been calculated using multiple histogram techniques and compared with that of Ga(30). We demonstrate that silicon impurities have a dramatic effect on the thermodynamic properties of the host cluster. In contrast to Ga(30), the specific heat of Ga(27)Si(3) shows a clear melting peak at ≈500 K, changing the character of Ga(30) from a nonmelter to a melter.     

Removal of divalent nickel cations from aqueous solution by multi-walled carbon nano tubes: equilibrium and kinetic processes

Release of heavy metals into water as a result of industrial activity may pose a serious threat to the environment. In this study, the potential of multi-walled carbon nano tubes (MWCNT) to remove Ni²⁺ cations from aqueous solutions was investigated in a batch reactor under different experimental conditions. The effects on the removal process of conditions such as initial concentration of Ni²⁺ ions, temperature, and adsorbent mass were investigated. Nickel uptake was quantitatively evaluated by use of the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin?CKaganer?CRadushkevich isotherm models. For 20?mg/L initial Ni²⁺ cation concentration, adsorption capacity increased from 8.12 to 11.75?mg/g when the temperature was increased from 25 to 65?°C, an indication of the endothermic nature of adsorption process. In addition, the adsorption equilibrium was well described by the Langmuir isotherm model; maximum adsorption capacity was 17.86?mg/g Ni²⁺ cations on HNO₃-treated MWCNT (t-MWCNT). The results obtained in this study show that adsorption of Ni²⁺ on t-MWCNT is a spontaneous and endothermic process. By use of second-order kinetic constants and the Arrhenius equation, the activation energy of adsorption (E _a) was determined as 5.56?kJ?mol^?1.     

Size Control of FePt Nanoparticles Produced by Seed Mediated Growth Process

Monodisperse FePt nanoparticles with average size of 2.4?nm were successfully synthesized via chemical co-reduction of iron acetylacetonate, Fe(acac)₃, and platinum acetylacetonate, Pt(acac)₂, by 1,2-hexadecanediol as a reducing agent and oleic acid and oleyl amine as surfactant. Then using the seed mediated growth process smaller sized FePt nanoparticles are used as seeds for the growth of larger sized FePt particles and there is no specific limitation to achieve upper size range by this method. In this work, we could synthesize FePt nanoparticles up to 4.0?nm. Monodispersity with relatively narrow size distribution and having the same elemental composition with the atomic percentage of Fe _x Pt_100?x (x?=?63) are the main advantages of this method. As-made FePt nanoparticles have the chemical disordered face centered cubic structure with superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. After annealing these particles become ferromagnetic with high magnetocrystalline anisotropy and their coercivity increases with increasing particle sizes and reaches a maximum value of 5,200?Oe for size of 46.5?nm     

Mass Activated Droplet Sorting (MADS) Enables High‐Throughput Screening of Enzymatic Reactions at Nanoliter Scale

Microfluidic droplet sorting enables the high‐throughput screening and selection of water‐in‐oil microreactors at speeds and volumes unparalleled by traditional well‐plate approaches. Most such systems sort using fluorescent reporters on modified substrates or reactions that are rarely industrially relevant. We describe a microfluidic system for high‐throughput sorting of nanoliter droplets based on direct detection using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). Droplets are split, one portion is analyzed by ESI‐MS, and the second portion is sorted based on the MS result. Throughput of 0.7 samples s^?1 is achieved with 98 % accuracy using a self‐correcting and adaptive sorting algorithm. We use the system to screen ≈15 000 samples in 6 h and demonstrate its utility by sorting 25 nL droplets containing transaminase expressed in vitro. Label‐free ESI‐MS droplet screening expands the toolbox for droplet detection and recovery, improving the applicability of droplet sorting to protein engineering, drug discovery, and diagnostic workflows.     

纳米尺度NiLa2O4尖晶石催化NaBH4还原亚胺制仲胺

由溶胶-凝胶法制得的Ni-La化合物经热分解制备了纳米尺度NiLa2O4尖晶石,在750 oC焙烧后形成了结晶良好的尖晶石结构.采用差热分析、X射线衍射、透射电镜、扫描电镜和粒度分布分析等手段表征了该尖晶石的物理化学性质.结果表明,该纳米颗粒有规则的外形和确定的晶面,由平均粒径为40 nm的规整半球晶粒组成.精修的晶胞参数a=3.861205?和c=12.6793?.在NaBH4选择还原亚胺制相应仲胺的反应中,该新型纳米NiLa2O4尖晶石可用作高效多相催化剂,得到了较高的产物产率.所有反应可在室温和相对较短的时间内完成.在优化的反应条件下,均可得到带有不同芳基的,包括带有吸电子和供电子基团的仲胺.该催化剂回收简便,重复使用4次,其催化活性未见明显下降.