Controlled water flooding of polymer electrolyte fuel cells applying superhydrophobic gas diffusion layer

Water transport is critical to the successful implementation of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC), especially in long-term and dynamic operation in automotives. Liquid water appears in the fuel cells not only from the water generated at the cathode catalyst layer but also as a result of condensation of water vapor from the humidified gases. In this study, we report a simple approach to prepare a superhydrophobic gas diffusion layer by chemical vapor deposition of polydimethylsiloxane without significant change in pore size of gas diffusion layer unlike other approach adding hydrophobic agent such as polytetrafluoroethylene. A superhydrophobic coating on the GDL can be obtained, leading to exceptionally enhanced power performance and stability of PEFC especially at a high current where water transport becomes more critical.     

Physical implication of two problems in transition prediction of boundary layers based on linear stability theory

Up to now,the most widely used method for transition prediction is the one based on linear stability theory.When it is applied to three-dimensional boundary layers,one has to choose the direction,or path,along which the growth rate of the disturbance is to be integrated.The direction given by using saddle point method in the theory of complex variable function is seen as mathematically most reasonable.However,unlike the saddle point method applied to water waves,here its physical meaning is not so obvious,as the frequency and wave number may be complex.And on some occasions,in advancing the integration of the growth rate of the disturbance,up to a certain location,one may not be able to continue the integration,because the condition for specifying the direction set by the saddle point method can no longer be satisfied on the basis of continuously varying wave number.In this paper,these two problems are discussed,and suggestions for how to do transition prediction under the latter condition are provided.     

Infrared ellipsometry of nanometric anisotropic dielectric layers on absorbing materials

An inversion problem of infrared ellipsometry is resolved on the basis of a fresh mathematical approach, which does not use the traditional regression analysis for data handling and has no need of initial guesses for the desired parameters. It is shown that obtained simple analytical equations for ellipsometric quantities open up new possibilities for determining optical parameters of an anisotropic ultrathin layer. The novel method possesses very high sensitivity because it is based on the phase conversion measurements of polarized reflected light. The method is tested using a numerical simulation and the results demonstrate clearly that it is successfully applicable for nanometric layers in the infrared spectral region.     

Nonlinear interaction mechanisms of disturbances in supersonic flat-plate boundary layers

Due to the complexity of compressible flows, nonlinear hydrodynamic stability theories in supersonic boundary layers are not sufficient. In order to reveal the nonlinear interaction mechanisms of the rapidly amplified 3-D disturbances in supersonic boundary layers at high Mach numbers, the nonlinear evolutions of different disturbances in flat-plate boundary layers at Mach number 4.5, 6 and 8 are analyzed by numerical simulations. It can be concluded that the 3-D disturbances are amplified rapidly when the amplitude of the 2-D disturbance reaches a certain level. The most rapidly amplified 3-D disturbances are Klebanoff type (K-type) disturbances which have the same frequency as the 2-D disturbance. Among these K-type 3-D disturbances, the disturbances located at the junction of upper branch and lower branch of the neutral curve are amplified higher. Through analyzing the relationship between the amplification rate and the spanwise wavenumber of the 3-D disturbances at different evolution stages, the mechanism of the spanwise wavenumber selectivity of K-type 3-D disturbances in the presence of a finite amplitude 2-D disturbance is explained.     

State space approach to magnetohydrodynamic flow of perfectly conducting micropolar fluid with stretch

In this work we introduce a model of the boundary layer equations for a perfect conducting micropolar fluid with stretch, bounded by an infinite vertical flat plane surface of a constant temperature. This model is applied to study the effects of free convection currents on the flow of the fluid in the presence of a constant magnetic field. The state space technique is adopted for the solution of a one‐dimensional problem for any set of boundary conditions. The resulting formulation together with the Laplace transform techniques are applied to a thermal shock problem. The inversion of the Laplace transforms is carried out using a numerical approach. Numerical results are given and illustrated graphically for the problem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Successive stepwise evolution of host layer‐stacking framework upon the intercalation of mobile vapor guests within side‐chain layers

For the ordered phases of hairy‐rod semiconductive poly(2,5‐bis(3‐tetradecylthiophene‐2‐yl)thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene) (PBTTT) sandwiched in between crystalline platelets of hexamethylbenzene, the successive stepwise evolution of layer‐stacking framework upon guest intercalation has been studied in this research. The direct consequence of the guest intercalation into side‐chain layers is evaluated to cause the lateral shift of thiophene backbones along π–π stacking, resulting in stepwise shift of ultraviolet absorption wavelength. The thermal motions of vapor guests within disordering side‐chain layers subsequently cause progressive expansion of host stacking framework. With the increase in side‐chain length, thicker layers of disordering side chains in liquid crystals (LCs) accommodate additional vapor guests and larger amplitudes of thermal motions of guests, hence promoting the level of reversible d‐spacing change. The mixing between mobile vapor guests and aliphatic side chains is clarified as the mechanism of guest intercalation, which rationalizes successive guest intercalation during heating and the contribution of disordering side‐chain layers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1448–1456     

Influence of the degree of ionization on the growth mechanism of poly(diallyldimethylammonium)/poly(acrylic acid) multilayers

pH‐dependent growth laws of the mass coverage Γ(n) of poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) layer‐by‐layer films are analyzed by Quartz Crystal Microbalance‐D. (Attenuated Total Reflection)‐FTIR spectroscopy shows a degree of dissociation of acrylic acid groups in the films identical to that in solution. Apart from pH‐regimes of differently pronounced exponential and linear growth, the corresponding kinetics indicate pH‐dependent adsorption, reorganization, and diffusion processes. As the thickest films form with almost uncharged PAA (low pH), the results can only partly be explained by the dissociation degree of PAA in the film. For intermediate and high pH values chain interdiffusion as a mechanism for nonlinear growth is strongly dependent on the charge density of the PAA chains. However, at low pH other types of interactions, most likely ion–dipole interactions, play a major role in the multilayer growth. Furthermore, a change in the symmetry of growth can be observed in the low to intermediate pH range. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 425–434     

Comparative XPS study between experimentally and naturally weathered pyrites

A comparative study has been carried out between experimentally and naturally weathered pyrites. Both were found to share similar species of weathering products and a similar weathering mechanism. The weathering products could be divided into sulphur-bearing or iron-bearing groups. The sulphur-bearing group was comprised of sulphate, sulphite, thiosulphate, elemental sulphur, polysulphide, and mono-sulphide. The iron-bearing group was comprised of goethite, hematite or magnetite, and iron sulphate. The weathering structural profile was also similar for both types of weathering, being composed of a surficial layer and a transitional layer. The surficial layer was made up of both the sulphur-bearing and the iron-bearing products, while the transitional layer was comprised of goethite, and hematite or magnetite. The inward migration of the weathering interface was stimulated by the diffusion of oxygen and moisture. The oxygen was considered to preferably squeeze the iron to form goethite, and the ferric ions of goethite to have acted as a bridge for electron transfer between the oxygen and bulk S₂²⁻ and Fe²⁺ of pyrite.     

Adsorption of azacrown ethers at solid–liquid interface. Contact angle and neutron reflectivity study

Adsorption of two alkylated N,N′-diaza-18-crown-6 ethers (decyl- and hexadecyl-derivatives, ACE-10 and ACE-16, respectively) on solid surfaces was studied by using contact angle and neutron reflectivity measurements. The solid substrates used were (a) Si covered with a native oxide layer (Si/SiO₂) and (b) Si with sputtered Pt layer (Si/Pt). The sensitivity of neutron reflectivity was drastically improved by applying the intermediate Pt layer of 150 Å, which gave rise to several Kiessig fringes in the experimentally accessible q-range. The position of the fringes is very sensitive to slight changes of the interfacial composition induced by adsorption of a thin monolayer, otherwise very difficult to detect. Unfortunately, in the studied case this sensitivity is immediately lost due to undesired adsorption of a protonated material on the Pt surface exposed to the lab air. A decrease of surface energy (increase of contact angle) of both Si/SiO₂ and Si/Pt upon exposure to toluene solutions of ACEs suggests that the latter are attached to the surface via the hydrophilic azacrown ether head with alkyl chains standing upright towards the liquid phase.     

Optimal boundary discretization by variational data assimilation

A variational data assimilation technique applied to the identification of the optimal discretization of interpolation operators and derivatives in the nodes adjacent to the boundary of the domain is discussed in frames of the linear shallow water model. The advantage of controlling the discretization of operators near the boundary rather than boundary conditions is shown. Assimilating data that have been produced by the same model on a finer grid, in a model on a coarse grid, we have shown that optimal discretization allows us to correct such errors of the numerical scheme as under‐resolved boundary layer and wrong wave velocity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.