Extended finite element method for viscous flow inside complex three‐dimensional geometries with moving internal boundaries

A three‐dimensional extended finite element method is presented to simulate Stokes flow in complex geometries with internal moving parts. Instead of re‐meshing the flow domain, the kinematics of the internal objects are imposed on the conservation equations using a constraint, implemented with a Lagrangian multiplier. To capture discontinuities of field variables, such as pressure and velocity, on the intersected elements, XFEM is used. To validate our method, it is first applied to a relatively simple problem, that is, the flow around a cylinder in a channel. The results are verified by comparing with a boundary‐fitted solution. After validation of the model and its implementation, the three‐dimensional flow in a twin‐screw extruder is simulated and the results are compared with experimental data from literature. XFEM shows very good accuracy for complex geometries with internal moving parts and narrow gap regions where the shear rate is orders of magnitude higher than in other regions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scale up and Application of Biosurfactant from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> in Enhanced Oil Recovery

There is a lack of fundamental knowledge about the scale up of biosurfactant production. In order to develop suitable technology of commercialization, carrying out tests in shake flasks and bioreactors was essential. A reactor with integrated foam collector was designed for biosurfactant production using Bacillus subtilis isolated from agricultural soil. The yield of biosurfactant on biomass (Y _p/x), biosurfactant on sucrose (Y _p/s), and the volumetric production rate (Y) for shake flask were obtained about 0.45 g g⁻¹, 0.18 g g⁻¹, and 0.03 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. The best condition for bioreactor was 300 rpm and 1.5 vvm, giving Y _x/s, Y _p/x, Y _p/s, and Y of 0.42 g g⁻¹, 0.595 g g⁻¹, 0.25 g g⁻¹, and 0.057 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. The biosurfactant maximum production, 2.5 g l⁻¹, was reached in 44 h of growth, which was 28% better than the shake flask. The obtained volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (K _L a) values at optimum conditions in the shake flask and the bioreactor were found to be around 0.01 and 0.0117 s⁻¹, respectively. Comparison of K _L a values at optimum conditions shows that biosurfactant production scaling up from shake flask to bioreactor can be done with K _L a as scale up criterion very accurately. Nearly 8% of original oil in place was recovered using this biosurfactant after water flooding in the sand pack.     

Base-induced intramolecular cyclisation of N-(o-azidobenzoyl)-arylamines. A new synthesis of 2-aryl-1,2-dihydro-3H-indazolin-3-ones

In strong base, e.g., sodium hydride in dimethylformamide, $\text{N}$-($\text{o}$-azidobenzoyl)arylamines cyclise in high yield to 2-aryl-1,2-dihydro-3$\text{H}$-indazolin-3-ones.     

One-pot easy conversion of Baylis-Hillman adducts into carbamates of unsaturated β-amino acids

An easy, one-pot transformation of Baylis-Hillman adducts into carbamates of unsaturated β-amino acids, for example, 2-(aryl(methoxycarbonylamino)methyl)acrylic acid methyl esters 7 and 2-(methoxycarbonyl aminomethyl)-3-arylacrylic acid methyl esters 8 via reaction with the Burgess reagent is described.     

Time‐Resolved Phase Transitions of the Nanocrystalline Cubic to Submicron Monoclinic Phase in Mn2O3‐ZrO2

The nanocrystalline cubic phase of zirconia was found to be thermally stabilized by the addition of 3 to 40 mol % manganese. The nanocrystalline cubic, tetragonal and monoclinic phases of zirconia stabilized with manganese (III)oxide (Mn‐Stabilized Zirconia) were prepared by thermal decomposition of carbonate and hydroxide precursors. Both the crystallization and isothermal phase transitions associated with Mn‐SZ were studied using high temperature x‐ray diffraction and x‐ray diffraction of quenched samples. Cubic Mn‐SZ initially crystallized and progressively transformed to tetragonal, and monoclinic structures above 700°C. The nanocrystalline cubic Mn‐SZ containing 25 mol % Mn was found to have the greatest thermal stability, retaining its cubic form at temperatures as high as 800°C for periods up to 25 hours. Higher than 40 mol %, cubic Mn₂O₃ was found to coexist with cubic Mn‐SZ. The crystallite sizes observed for the cubic, tetragonal and monoclinic Mn‐SZ phases ranged from 50 to 137, 130 to 220, and 195 to 450 Å respectively, indicating, for ZrO₂, that particle size was a primary factor in determining its polymorphs. The classical Avrami equation for nucleation and growth was applied to the observed phase transformations.     

Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of several novel tripod pyrazoline with triazine core (TPTC) compounds

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A series of new thiocarbamoyl tris-pyrazoline (tripod pyrazoline with triazine core) compounds was obtained by tris-cyclization of chalcone with...     

A simple plasticity model for prediction of non-coaxial flow of sand

A bounding surface plasticity model for non-coaxiality, another aspect of anisotropic behavior of sands under rotation of principal stress axes; is developed in the critical state framework. Numerous experimental evidences exist that corroborate dependence of plastic shear strain rate direction on inherent fabric anisotropy. At first, general expressions for plastic strain rate with respect to possible emerge of non-coaxial flow are obtained. Consequently, using an anisotropy state parameter that is specially developed for this model and accounts for the interaction between imposed loading and soil fabric; effect of anisotropy on plastic flow direction is taken into account. Besides, novel circumstances are proposed for plastic modulus and dilatancy under rotation of principal stress axes. Finally, it is shown that the model is able to simulate successfully the non-coaxial behavior of sands subjected to principal stress axes rotation.     

On the nonlinear primary resonances of a piezoelectric laminated micro system under electrostatic control voltage

In this article, a comprehensive nonlinear analysis for a piezoelectric laminated micro system around its static deflection is presented. This static deflection is created by an electrostatic DC control voltage through an electrode plate. The micro system beam is assumed as an elastic Euler-Bernoulli beam with clamped-free end conditions. The dynamic equations of this model have been derived by using the Hamilton method and considering the nonlinear inertia, curvature, piezoelectric and electrostatic terms. The static and dynamic solutions have been achieved by using the Galerkin method and the multiple-scales perturbation approach, respectively. The results are compared with numerical and other existing experimental results. By studying the primary resonance excitation, the effects of different parameters such as geometry, material and excitations voltage on the system?s softening and hardening behaviors are evaluated. In a piezoelectrically actuated micro system it was showed that because of existence of curvature and inertia nonlinear terms a small change in excitation amplitude can lead to the formation and expansion of nonlinear response. In this paper, it is demonstrated that by applying an electrostatic DC control voltage, these nonlinearities can be controlled and altered to a linear domain. This model can be used to design a nano or micro-scale smart device.