Pervaporation for separating benzene/cyclohexane mixture by P(AA-MA) copolymer membranes

P(AA-MA)copolymers composed of acrylic acid and methyl acrylate with different molecular weights and sequence structures were synthesized by combination of ATRP and selective hydrolysis.These copolymers were used as membrane materials to separate benzene/cyclohexane mixture by pervaporation.The effects of molecular weight and sequence structure of the copolymers on the pervaporation performance were investigated in detail.For the random copolymers,the permeate flux decreased rapidly with the increasing of molecular weight.The separation factor was also influenced by the molecular weight,which was changed from no selectivity to cyclohexane selectivity with increasing the molecular weight.Contrarily,the block copolymer membrane showed good benzene selectivity with separation factor of 4.3 and permeate flux of 157 g/(m~2h)to 50 wt%benzene/cyclohexane mixture.     

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the binary mixture [(C2H5)2CO + CH3OH] probed by polarized Raman measurements and DFT calculations

The Raman spectra of neat (C₂H₅)₂CO (pentanone) and its binary mixtures with hydrogen donor solvent (CH₃OH), [(C₂H₅)₂CO + CH₃OH] having different mole fractions of the reference system, (C₂H₅)₂CO in the range 0.1-0.9 at a regular interval of 0.1 were recorded in the CO stretching region. In neat liquid, the Raman peak appears asymmetric. The asymmetric nature of the peak has been attributed to the CO stretching mode of the two conformers of (C₂H₅)₂CO having C₂ and C_2v point groups and the corresponding bands at ∼1711 and ∼1718 cm⁻¹, respectively. A careful analysis of the I_iso (isotropic component of the Raman scattered intensity) at different concentrations reveals that upon dilution with methanol, at mole fraction C = 0.6, an additional peak in the CO stretching region is observed at ∼1703 cm⁻¹ which is attributed to the hydrogen bonding with methanol. A peculiar feature in this study is that upon dilution, the peak at ∼1718 cm⁻¹ shows a minimum at C = 0.6, but on further dilution it shows a blue shift. However, the other peak at ∼1711 cm⁻¹ shows a continuous red shift with dilution as well as a maximum at C = 0.7 in the linewidth vs. concentration plot, which is essentially due to competition between motional narrowing and diffusion phenomena. A significant amount of narrowing in the Raman band at ∼1718 cm⁻¹ can be understood in terms of caging effect of the reference molecule by the solvent molecules at high dilution. A density functional theoretic (DFT) calculation on optimized geometries and vibrational frequencies of two conformers of neat (C₂H₅)₂CO in C₂ ad C_2v forms and the complexes with one and two CH₃OH molecules with both the conformers was performed. The experimental results and theoretical calculations together indicate a co-existence of two conformers as well as hydrogen bonded complex with methanol in the binary mixture, [(C₂H₅)₂CO + CH₃OH] at intermediate concentrations.     

Study of zwitterionic sulfopropylbetaine containing reactive siloxanes for application in antibacterial materials

Antibacterial agents receive a great deal of attention around the world due to the interesting academic problems of how to combat bacteria and of the beneficial health, social and economic effects of successful agents. Scientists are actively developing new antibacterial agents for biomaterial applications. This paper reports the novel antibacterial agent siloxane sulfopropylbetaine (SSPB), which contains reactive alkoxysilane groups. The structure and properties of SSPB were systematically investigated, with the results showing that SSPB contains both quaternary ammonium compounds and reactive siloxane groups. SSPB has good antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli (E. coli, 8099) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, ATCC 6538). The minimal inhibition concentration is 70 μmol/ml SSPB against both E. coli and S. aureus. In addition, the SSPB antibacterial agent can be used in both weak acid and weak alkaline environments, functioning within the wide pH range of 4.0-9.0. The SSPB-modified glass surface killed 99.96% of both S. aureus and E. coli organisms within 24 h. No significant decrease was observed in this antibacterial activity after 20 washes. Moreover, SSPB does not induce a skin reaction and is nontoxic to animals. Thus, SSPB is an ideal candidate for future applications as a safe, environmentally friendly antibacterial agent.     

Study on tribological behaviors of short glass fiber and polytetrafluoroethylene reinforced polycarbonate composites via a d‐optimal mixture design

This study analyzed variations of tribological behaviors that depend on the injection molding techniques during the blending of short glass fiber (SGF) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) reinforced polycarbonate (PC) composites. The proposed planning of blending experiments is to use a D‐optimal mixture design (DMD). The tribological behaviors of friction coefficient and wear mass loss were selected for discussion. Nine experimental runs, based on a DMD method, utilized to train the back‐propagation neural network (BPNN) and then the simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) approach is applied to search for an optimal mixture ratio setting. In addition, the result of BPNN integrating SAA was also compared with response surface methodology (RSM) approach. The results of confirmation experiment show that DMD, RSM, and BPNN integrating SAA method are effective tools for the optimization of reinforced process. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the abundant debris are peeled off from the matrix materials and predominant delamination mechanisms and plastic deformation are shown on the worn surface after tribological behavior tests. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A-optimal designs for an additive cubic model

Chan et al. (1998a) obtained A-optimal designs for an additive quadratic mixture model for q≥3 mixture components. In this paper, we obtain the A-optimal designs for an additive cubic model for q≥3 mixture components using the class of symmetric weighted centroid designs based on barycentres of various depths. We observe that barycentres of depths 0 and 2 are possible support points for an A-optimal design. We have also given the optimal weights of A-optimal designs for 3≤q≤17.     

梯度下降法在沉积物粒度分布拟合中的应用

结合实测数据,以三个对数正态分布函数的和函数为拟合函数,以梯度下降法为主要方法,对沉积物粒度分布进行了数据拟合,通过数值实验我们发现:利用梯度下降法可以有效地优化分布函数的各参数,实现拟合残差的稳步持续减小,具有良好的可操作性,拟合效果是令人满意的,它为我们进行数据拟合提供了一条新的思路,同时此方法也可以推广到解决其他极值问题.     

Using multiple short-end injections to develop fast electrophoretic separations--applications in iodide analysis

The aim of this study was to develop a fast CE separation method by using multiple short-end injections in a capillary coated with quaternary ammonium chitosan (HACC), in order to determine the iodide content of pharmaceutical formulations. The BGE was composed of 20 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and 11 mM hydrochloric acid, at pH 8. The internal standard used was thiocyanate. Separations were performed in a fused silica capillary (32 cm total length, 8.5 cm effective length and 50 μm i.d.) coated with HACC and direct UV detection at 220 nm. EOF was modified by flushing the capillary with polymeric solution, resulting in a semi-permanent coating of controlled and stable EOF. The EOF was anodic at pH 8. Different strategies, using single and multiple injection short-end configurations, were studied to develop a CE method that resulted in a maximum number of iodide samples analyzed per hour: one plug and flush (Sflush) 35 samples/h, one plug without flush (SWflush) 76 samples/h, four plugs and flush (Mflush) 61 samples/h, and four plugs without flush (MWflush) 80 samples/h. Using the multiple injection configuration, it was possible to inject up to four plugs using spacer electrolytes with good separation efficiency and selectivity. The voltage application time needed to separate the eight peaks (iodide and thiocyanate) with MWflush was only 12s. The method was validated and samples were analyzed using MWflush. Good linearity (R(2)>0.999); a limit of detection 0.4 mg L(-1); intermediate precision better than 3.8% (peak area) and recovery in the range of 99-102% were obtained.     

Micromechanical modelling of remanent properties of morphotropic PZT

The present paper investigates the capability of micromechanical material models to predict the ferroelectric behaviour of morphotropic PZT ceramics in a rate-independent approximation based on realistic microscopic material parameters. Starting point is a three-dimensional tetragonal model, which builds on the model of Pathak and McMeeking [2008. Three-dimensional finite element simulations of ferroelectric polycrystals under electrical and mechanical loading. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 56, 663-683]. Volume fractions of the crystallographic variants represent the domain structure inside the grains. Interactions between the grains are taken into account by means of a representative volume element of the grain compound. A simplified set of realistic microscopic material parameters of the lattice in terms of Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, dielectric constant, and spontaneous strain and polarisation is derived from experimental data and theoretical results given in the literature. The simulation of the macroscopic remanent polarisation and strain response due to two load cases shows explicitly that the tetragonal model is not capable to reproduce the behaviour of morphotropic PZT. Therefore, the model is extended by the rhombohedral phase, allowing a mixture of both phases with varying quantities inside the grains. A comparison of our results with experimental data shows a remarkably good agreement, revealing the capability of the extended model.     

利用三维随机模型分析沥青混合料的蠕变行为

将沥青混合料看作由粗骨料和沥青砂组成的两相复合材料,根据给定的级配生成凸多面体骨料,然后利用随机投放算法建立沥青混合料试样的三维随机模型.采用广义Maxwell模型刻画沥青砂的本构行为,其参数通过单轴蠕变实验获得.在对三维随机模型的有效性进行验证之后,采用参数化建模方法建立包含不同骨料分布、含量和级配的沥青混合料有限元模型,通过数值模拟研究骨料分布、含量和级配对沥青混合料蠕变行为的影响.结果表明:骨料分布对沥青混合料力学性质的影响较小;沥青混合料瞬时弹性模量随骨料含量的增加呈近似线性增大,而且弹性模量与骨料含量之间的关系曲线处于Paul上下边界内;在计算考虑的粒径范围内,骨料平均粒径越小,沥青混合料抵抗变形的能力越强.     

Bayesian statistical process control for Phase I count type data

Count data, most often modeled by a Poisson distribution, are common in statistical process control. They are traditionally monitored by frequentist c or u charts, by cumulative sum and by exponentially weighted moving average charts. These charts all assume that the in‐control true mean is known, a common fiction that is addressed by gathering a large Phase I sample and using it to estimate the mean. “Self‐starting” proposals that ameliorate the need for a large Phase I sample have also appeared. All these methods are frequentist, ie, they allow only retrospective inference during Phase I, and they have no coherent way to incorporate less‐than‐perfect prior information about the in‐control mean. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian procedure that can incorporate prior information, allow online inference, and should be particularly attractive for short‐run settings where large Phase I calibration exercises are impossible or unreasonable.