EPMA of interfaces applied to the solid oxide fuel cell

Chemical interactions at the phase boundaries of materials applied for the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) have been studied by EPMA. The chemical reactivity at the interface of La_y-xSr_xMnO₃/ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ is dependent on the stoichiometry (y) and the Sr content (x) of the perovskite. Typical reaction products (zirconates) and a diffusion zone in the ZrO₂–Y₂O₃ have been observed. The extension of cation release (Mn) is related to the increasing chemical activity of Mn oxide in the perovskite by the Sr substitution for La. The wettability of the metal/oxide interface in the anode cermet (Ni/ZrO₂–Y₂O₃) has been found to be influenced by chemical reactions resulting from the applied reducing atmosphere with high carbon activity. The disintegration of ZrO₂–Y₂O₃ in contact with molten Ni or Ni-Ti and Ni-Cr alloys leads to the redeposition of Y₂O₃-enriched oxides and also to Zr-rich intermetallic compounds and eutectics.     

Computation of confined coflow jets with three turbulence models

A numerical study of confined jets in a cylindrical duct is carried out to examine the performance of two recently proposed turbulence models: an RNG-based K-? model and a realizable Reynolds stress algebraic equation model. The former is of the same form as the standard K-? model but has different model coefficients. The latter uses an explicit quadratic stress-strain relationship to model the turbulent stresses and is capable of ensuring the positivity of each turbulent normal stress. The flow considered involves recirculation with unfixed separation and reatachment points and severe adverse pressure gradients, thereby providing a valuable test of the predictive capability of the models for complex flows. Calculations are performed with a finite volume procedure. Numerical credibility of the solutions is ensured by using second-order-accurate differencing schemes and sufficiently fine grids. Calculations with the standard K-? model are also made for comparison. Detailed comparisons with experiments show that the realizable Reynolds stress algebraic equation model consistently works better than does the standard K-? model in capturing the essential flow features, while the RNG-based K-? model does not seem to give improvements over the standard K-? model under the flow conditions considered.     

Vibrational control of crystal growth from liquid phase

Modeling and numerical simulations of the convective flows induced by the vibration of the monocrystal during crystal growth have been performed for two configurations simulating the Cz and FZ methods. This permitted to emphasize the role of different vibrational mechanisms in the formation of the average flows. It is shown that an appropriate combination of these mechanisms can be used to counteract the usual convective flows (buoyancy- and/or thermocapillary-driven) inherent to crystal growth processes from the liquid phase. While vibrational convection is rather complex due to these identified mechanisms, the new modeling used in the present paper opens up very promising perspectives to efficiently control heat and mass transfer during real industrial applications of crystal growth from the liquid phase.     

Pseudo-Strong Regularity Around a Set

A generalization of strong regularity around a vertex subset C of a graph Γ, which makes sense even if Γis non-regular, is studied. Such a structure appears, together with a kind of distance-regularity around C , when an spectral bound concerning the so-called predistance polynomial of C is attained. As a main consequence of these results, it is shown that a regular (connected) graph Γwith d + 1 distinct eigenvalues is distance-regular, and its distance- d graph Γ d is strongly regular with parameters a = c , if and only if the number of vertices at distance d from each vertex satisfies an expression which depends only on the order of Γand the different eigenvalues of Γ.     

Toughening of epoxies via craze-like damage

The fracture behavior of a core-shell rubber (CSR) modified epoxy is investigated using both fracture mechanics and microscopy tools. The CSR-modified epoxy is found to be toughened via numerous line-array cavitations of the CSR particles, followed by plastic flow of the epoxy matrix. The toughening effect via the above craze-like damage process is found to be as effective as that of the well-known widespread rubber cavitation/matrix shear yielding mechanisms. The conditions for triggering the craze-like damage appear to be both stress state and rubber concentration dependent. The type of rubber tougheners utilized also plays a critical role in triggering this rather unusual craze-like damage in epoxy systems. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Electron-transfer kinetics and activation barriers for the reductions of nitrosonium and nitronium ions in aprotic solvents

Using the cyclic voltammetry (CV), the electron-transfer kinetics for the reductions of NO⁺ and NO₂⁺ cations have been studied at the Pt electrode in nitromethane, sulfolane, and propylene carbonate. The heterogeneous rate constants have been determined by two independent procedures from the transfer coefficient α, the diffusion coefficient D, from a detailed examination of the CV-peak separations, and from an inspection of the values of the cathodic peak potentials at different scan rates. The results have been compared to those reported in the literature, and discussed. In the classical model, outer-sphere electron-transfer reactions are considered subject to an activation energy arising from solvent reorganization and bond reorganization processes. The solvent and molecular reorganizational barriers for these electroreductions have been assessed in aprotic media. The Marcus-Hush theory has been applied to the self-exchange reactions of the NO₂⁺/NO₂ and NO⁺/NO couples in an attempt to predict the rate of electron transfer. The findings indicate some improvement between theory and experiment. However, it should be noted that the experimental values of k_s found for the NO₂⁺ reduction in the solvents used are still too high in comparison with those determined theoretically. In view of the fairly strong coordination of the solvent molecule(s) as ligand(s) to NO₂⁺ and NO⁺ cations, we believe that such discrepancies should stem, to some extent, from the involvement of an inner-sphere pathway by generation of an activated complex on the surface of the Pt electrode. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Kinetics of benzonitrile nitration with mixed acid under homogeneous conditions

Chemical kinetics of benzonitrile nitration with mixed acid is investigated in the temperature range 283–299 K. Pseudo-first-order rate constants are evaluated by means of rate experiments on homogeneous reacting mixtures having large stoichiometric excesses of nitric acid. The second-order kinetic constants for nitronium ion attack to the aromatic substrate are derived on the basis of the assessed nitration mechanism. An activation energy of 604 ± 37 kJ mol^?1 is calculated for this reaction step. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

AN ALTERNATIVE SPECIFICATION FOR MODELING GROUNDWATER DYNAMICS

This research extends previous work with dynamic models to manage groundwater quality by using the consumptive nitrate use rate instead of the nitrate application rate. The analysis indicates that misspecification results in overestimation of economic benefits, and supra-optimum nitrogen fertilizer application rates and groundwater nitrate stocks at a steady state.     

Orbifolds, Sheaves and Groupoids

We characterize orbifolds in terms of their sheaves, and show that orbifolds correspond exactly to a specific class of smooth groupoids. As an application, we construct fibered products of orbifolds and prove a change-of-base formula for sheaf cohomology.