Miscibility between PS and PSAN Affected by Solvent and Temperature of the System

The influence of solvent on the miscibility of polystyrene（PS） and poly（styrene-co-acrylonitrile）（PSAN） blends has been investigated viscometrically. The miscibility of different PS/PSAN blend（30/70, 50/50 and 70/30） compositions in acetone and benzene at 20, 30, and 40 °C was investigated on the basis of the sign of Chee（ΔB and ）, and Sun’s（α） criteria. The values of these parameters were evaluated from the analyses of reduced viscosity data of binary（solvent/polymer） and ternary（solvent/polymer1/polymer2） polymer systems. These investigations indicated partial miscibility for both the blend systems. However, PS/PSAN/acetone blend system showed somewhat higher partial miscibility than the PS/PSAN/Benzene blend system highlighting the impact of solvent over the polymer-polymer interactions and hence their miscibility. The results obtained through viscometry were also corroborated by the refractive index and density results for the blends under study. The effect of temperature on miscibility in both the cases was almost negligible.     

Electrospinning of nylon-6,6 solutions into nanofibers: Rheology and morphology relationships

The relationship between the rheological properties of nylon-6,6 solutions and the morphology of their electrospun nanofibers was established. The viscosity of nylon-6,6 in formic acid(90%) was measured in the concentration range of 5 wt%-25 wt% using a programmable viscometer. Electrospinning of nylon-6,6 solutions was carried out under controlled parameters. The chemical structure, morphology and thermal properties of the obtained nanofibers were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), respectively. Entanglement concentration(ce) was found to be 15 wt% and a power law relationship between specific viscosity and solution concentration was observed with exponents of 2.0 and 3.3 for semi-dilute unentangled(c ce) and semi-dilute entangled(c ce) regimes, respectively. The diameter and uniformity of the nanofibers were found to be dependent on the viscosity. Moreover, the average diameter of electrospun nanofibers was found to be dependent on zero shear rate viscosity and normalized concentration(c/ce) in a power law relationship with exponents of 0.298 and 0.816, respectively. For nylon-6,6 solutions, the entanglement concentration(ce = 15 wt%) provides the threshold viscosity required for the formation of a stable polymeric jet during electrospinning and producing uniform beadless fibers. For concentrations less than ce, beaded fibers with some irregularities are formed. DSC analysis showed an increase in crystallinity of all electrospun samples compared to original polymer. Furthermore, Based on FTIR spectroscopy, α phase is dominant in electrospun nanofibers and minor amount of β and γ phases is also available.     

Fire performances of unvulcanized rubbers and influences of horizontal flowing melts

Fire performances of typical unvulcanized rubbers are investigated and the properties of rubbers and their flowing melts are characterized. If the horizontal melt flow is allowed the burning area increases by 75%–473% and proportionally the peak mass loss rate promotes by 55%–300%. When the rubber converts to its flowing melt the viscosity and heat of complete combustion reduce, and the total crosslink density increases, which might be ascribed to the curing, the curing reversion and the decomposition mechanism. Except for acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber both the T_d,5% and the decomposition activation energy decrease. The pool fire development is related with the melt viscosity, the decomposition temperature and heat release rate (HRR) in the cone calorimeter. Low viscosity contributes to large pool area. High HRR and low decomposition temperature accelerate the extension of burning area.     

Fabrication of ionic liquid-cellulose-silica hydrogels with appropriate thermal stability and good salt tolerance as potential drilling fluid

This paper investigates the rheological properties of methylcellulose-silica-ionic liquid nanocomposite (2-MCPS-MC) on the rheological properties (apparent viscosity (AV), plastic viscosity (PV), yield point (YP), 10-s gel strength, 10-min gel strength, and thixotropy according to API requirements) of water-based mud, and comparing these properties with the properties of the silica-free methylcellulose (MC) as drilling fluid additive. The physicochemical properties of the MC and 2-MCPS-MC compounds were studied using ¹H NMR, FTIR, Raman-spectroscopy, XRD, FE-SEM, AFM, and TGA. By FE-SEM and AFM, it is proven that the silica had an excellent dispersion in a spherical shape on the MC polymer. Three samples were prepared: the first is the commercial water-based mud, while the second and the third samples are MC and 2-MCPS-MC, respectively. The samples of MC were prepared in four concentrations (2%, 1.5%, 1.0% and 0.5% by weight). Throughout the test, density remained at 7.6 (lbs/gal) for mud fluid and 8.5 (lbs/gal) for MC and 2-MCPS-MC at pH 9.0. The results confirmed that the optimum concentration of MC and 2-MCPS-MC, which meet the required API code, was between 1 and 1.5%. The addition of 2-MCPS-MC to water-based mud enhances filtration properties. Response surface technique (RSM) with central composite design (CCD) was also used to optimize the drilling fluid properties to achieve the optimal response to AV, PV, YP, Gl, and Thixotropic using a Design expert software. The results obtained by RSM showed consistency between the experimental and theoretical data.     

Unusual Surface Latent Heat Flux Variations and Their Critical Dynamics Revealed before Strong Earthquakes

We focus on the possible thermal channel of the well-known Lithosphere–Atmosphere–Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) mechanism to identify the behavior of thermal anomalies during and prior to strong seismic events. For this, we investigate the variation of Surface Latent Heat Flux (SLHF) as resulting from satellite observables. We demonstrate a spatio-temporal variation in the SLHF before and after a set of strong seismic events occurred in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Kumamoto, Japan, having magnitudes of 7.8, 7.3, and 7.0, respectively. Before the studied earthquake cases, significant enhancements in the SLHF were identified near the epicenters. Additionally, in order to check whether critical dynamics, as the signature of a complex phenomenon such as earthquake preparation, are reflected in the SLHF data, we performed a criticality analysis using the natural time analysis method. The approach to criticality was detected within one week before each mainshock.     

Experimental studies on the effect of ultrasonic treatment and hydrogen donors on residual oil characteristics

Residual oil, the residue after the distillation of crude oil, imposes deleterious effects on refinery due to its high viscosity and asphaltene content. In this context, ultrasonic technology has been widely applied in refining processes given its high efficiency and minimal environmental impacts. To guide the selection of operation parameters, in this work, we probed the effect of treatment duration, power, and hydrogen donor on the characteristics of residual oil under ultrasonic treatments. Underlying mechanisms of ultrasonic treatments, in the absence and presence of hydrogen donors, were verified through systematically analyzing viscosity, component conversion, molecular weight, hydrogen distribution, and functional groups of residual oil. While viscosity reductions under low-power density treatment are caused by colloidal system disaggregation, high-power density treatment can bring in both chemical bond cleavage and colloidal system disaggregation. In addition, adding hydrogen donor can effectively prevent radical recombination, and thus increases the yield of saturate. These results provide fundamental understandings on the effects of ultrasonic treatments.     

The synthesis and evaluation of unsymmetrical dimeric X-ray contrast agents

Novel dimeric iodinated contrast agents with low osmolality have been prepared and evaluated with the aim of improving the already good safety profile of such agents. The aim of low osmolality was achieved, and the viscosity of these dimeric agents was also found to be beneficially lower than current dimeric agents in clinical use.     

Effect of ultrasound and enzymatic pre-treatment on yield and properties of banana juice

Effect of ultrasound and enzymatic pre-treatments with cellulase and pectinase on yield and properties of banana juice were investigated. A two-level full factorial design was employed. The factors selected were ultrasonication time (0 and 30 min), cellulase concentration (0 and 0.2%) and pectinase concentration (0 and 0.2%). The responses studied were yield, viscosity, clarity, total soluble solids (TSS) and pH. It was observed that pectinase was more effective in increasing the yield of juice compared to cellulase. Ultrasonic pre-treatment alone did not significantly increase the yield of juice. When ultrasound was combined with pre-treatment with both the enzymes maximum yield of 89.40% was obtained compared to 47.30% in the control. The viscosity of the juice decreased with addition of enzymes and with application of ultrasound. The clarity of the juice was not affected by cellulase treatment, but improved with pectinase treatment. Ultrasonication alone was found to be more effective than pectinase or cellulase treatment in improving the clarity of the juice. The TSS increased with enzymatic treatment, ultrasonication and their combination. pH was not affected by treatment type, but was found to be lower for the treated juices. Significant correlations were observed between the various responses.     

Group and phase velocities in the free-surface visco-potential flow: New kind of boundary layer induced instability

Water wave propagation can be attenuated by various physical mechanisms. One of the main sources of wave energy dissipation lies in boundary layers. The present work is entirely devoted to thorough analysis of the dispersion relation of the novel visco-potential formulation. Namely, in this study we relax all assumptions of the weak dependence of the wave frequency on time. As a result, we have to deal with complex integro-differential equations that describe transient behaviour of the phase and group velocities. Using numerical computations, we show several snapshots of these important quantities at different times as functions of the wave number. Good qualitative agreement with previous study [D. Dutykh, Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids 28 (2009) 430] is obtained. Thus, we validate in some sense approximations made anteriorly. There is an unexpected conclusion of this study. According to our computations, the bottom boundary layer creates disintegrating modes in the group velocity. In the same time, the imaginary part of the phase velocity remains negative for all times. This result can be interpreted as a new kind of instability which is induced by the bottom boundary layer effect.     

Longitudinal and bulk viscosities of binary fluid mixtures

Expressions for zeroth, second and fourth sum rules of longitudinal and bulk stress auto correlation functions have been derived for binary fluid mixtures. Longitudinal and bulk viscosities of an Ar–Kr mixture have been calculated using Mori's memory function formalism coupled with the sum rules of longitudinal and bulk stress auto correlation functions. The results obtained are compared with the molecular dynamics simulation. Mass dependence of the longitudinal and bulk viscosities has been studied for different compositions of an isotopic mixture at different densities and temperatures. For very large mass ratio, the longitudinal and bulk viscosities of the isotopic mixture are more dependent on mole fraction than on mass.