Electron swarm coefficients in 1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane (R134a) and its mixtures with Ar

Using a pulsed Townsend technique, we have measured the drift velocity, the longitudinal diffusion coefficient and the effective ionisation coefficient of electrons in R134a and R134a-Ar over a wide range of the density-reduced electric field intensity, E/N. Regarding the measurement of the electron drift velocities and of the effective ionization coefficients, we have covered a wider range than that hitherto achieved for pure R134a. Both the electron drift velocity and the effective ionisation coefficient have been found in very good agreement with those published in the literature, covering a shorter range of E/N. On the other hand, the swarm coefficients on R134a-Ar are, to the best of our knowledge, the first to be published. It is hoped that these data will be of interest for the test/derivation of electron collision cross sections for this important hydrofluorocarbon gas, which is nowadays of great use in gaseous detectors.     

Polyynes and cyanopolyynes synthesis from the submerged electric arc: about the role played by the electrodes and solvents in polyynes formation

The products of the electric arc between graphite electrodes have been investigated by high performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) analysis in various media: distilled water, liquid nitrogen, methanol, ethanol, n-hexane and benzene. In distilled water, hydrogen capped polyynes H-(CC)_n-H were the unique products demonstrating that carbon is supplied by the graphite electrodes while hydrogen is supplied by the solvent plasmalysis (in this case water plasmalysis). Arcing graphite electrodes in liquid nitrogen produces cyanopolyynes: NC-(CC)_n-CN demonstrating that in this case the end groups of the polyyne chains are supplied by molecular nitrogen plasmalysis caused by the electric arc. Graphite arcing in methanol and ethanol produces very clean solutions (by-products negligible or absent) of hydrogen-capped polyynes with C₈H₂ as the main product accounting for more than 70 mol percent of the total polyyne concentration. By replacing graphite electrodes with titanium electrodes in methanol or in ethanol, polyynes are not formed at all; only trace amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected. When arcing with graphite electrodes is conducted in n-hexane or in benzene, polyyne formation is accompanied by a significant production of PAH, especially in benzene. These results have been rationalized in terms of carbonization or coking tendency of a given solvent. The effect of using titanium electrodes in place of graphite electrodes has been investigated also in n-hexane and in benzene as well as the effects of very high electric current intensity employed to ignite and sustain the submerged electric arc.     

Deuteron NMR spin–lattice relaxation of NH3D ions in partially deuterated (NH4)2SnCl6 and NH4ClO4

Deuteron spin–lattice relaxation is studied in 5% and 100% deuterated ammonium hexachlorostannate and perchlorate. The relaxation rate is observed to be independent of deuteration down to temperatures slightly lower than that of the maximum. At lower temperatures the rate of the 5% deuterated sample exceeds that of the 100% deuterated sample by four and two orders of magnitude in ammonium hexachlorostannate and perchlorate, respectively. The angular dependence of the deuteron relaxation rate in 5% deuterated ammonium hexachlorostannate at 6 K is explained in terms of existing models on quadrupolar relaxation. In 5% ammonium perchlorate one hydrogen equilibrium position, which lies on the preferred axis for 120° rotations, has a larger probability to be occupied by the deuteron of NH₃D⁺ ions. The deuterons at the other positions are still performing rotational jumps about the preferred C₃ axis and also about the other threefold axes, although at a slower rate. Such observations require a reconsideration of the relaxation process. A somewhat more general expression is derived for the relaxation rate, which agrees with the experimentally observed angular dependence for 5% deuterated ammonium perchlorate at 60 K. At lower temperatures the quadrupole coupling of the deuterons at the preferred axis may become practically time-independent. Then a significant contribution to the relaxation rate can be provided by the deuteron–proton magnetic dipolar interaction, which is still fluctuating fast via the rotation of the three protons about the axis through the stationary deuteron.     

Swelling Ratios and Rates of Sulfonation of Solvent Modified Copolymers of Styrene Cross-Linked with Pure m-and Pure p-Divinylbenzene

Solvent-modified (toluene) copolymers have been prepared from styrene cross-linked with commercial divinylbenzene, m-divinylbenzene, and p-divinylbenzene at divinyl monomer contents of 16 mole % and 32 mole % at F_M = 0.50. The resultant copolymers have been characterized by swelling-ratio determinations and rates of sulfonation at 60 and 80°C. The solvent-modified 16 mole % cross-linked copolymers sulfonated at rates slightly greater than those characterizing the 8 mole % cross-linked copolymers prepared in the absence of diluent. The order of decreasing sulfonation rates for both the conventional 8 mole % cross-linked systems and for the solvent-modified 16 mole % cross-linked copolymers is commercial divinylbenzene/styrene, p-divinylbenzene/styrene, m-divinylbenzene styrene. The 32 mole % cross-linked systems exhibit a different order of decreasing sulfonation rates: commercial divinylbenzene/styrene, m-divinylbenzene/styrene, p-divinylbenzene/styrene. The swelling ratios of the 32 mole % solvent-modified copolymers were comparable to those of the conventional 8 mole % cross-linked systems.     

Electrospraying: an in-situ polymerisation route for fabricating high macroporous scaffolds

This paper reports a direct jet-based polymerisation by polycondensation approach to forming a self-supporting scaffold structure. The processing technique is electrospraying, which is also known as electrohydrodynamic atomization. A specially formulated ethanolic siloxane sol derived from alkoxysilanes was synthesised and electrosprayed using a ring-shaped ground electrode configuration. The medium was seen to electrospray in the stable cone-jet mode, which later gave rise to the growing or forming of “fir-tree” like structures. The materials were characterised using microscopy, solid state NMR, FTIR, XRD and DSC. Hence this paper explains the direct controlled polycondensation from the siloxane sol and further presents the basis by which these scaffolds take shape.     

Mechanics of water pore formation in lipid membrane under electric field

Transmembrane water pores are crucial for sub-stance transport through cell membranes via membrane fusion, such as in neural communication. However, the molecular mechanism of water pore formation is not clear. In this study, we apply all-atom molecular dynamics and bias-exchange metadynamics simulations to study the pro-cess of water pore formation under an electric field. We show that water molecules can enter a membrane under an electric field and form a water pore of a few nanometers in diame-ter. These water molecules disturb the interactions between lipid head groups and the ordered arrangement of lipids. Fol-lowing the movement of water molecules, the lipid head groups are rotated and driven into the hydrophobic region of the membrane. The reorientated lipid head groups inside the membrane form a hydrophilic surface of the water pore. This study reveals the atomic details of how an electric field influences the movement of water molecules and lipid head groups, resulting in water pore formation.     

A domain-independent interaction integral for magneto-electro-elastic materials

Magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) materials usually consist of piezoelectric (PE) and piezomagnetic (PM) phases. Between different constituent phases, there exist lots of interfaces with discontinuous MEE properties. Complex interface distribution brings a great difficulty to the fracture analysis of MEE materials since the present fracture mechanics methods can hardly solve the fracture parameters efficiently of a crack surrounded by complex interfaces. This paper develops a new domain formulation of the interaction integral for the computation of the fracture parameters including stress intensity factors (SIFs), electric displacement intensity factor (EDIF) and magnetic induction intensity factor (MIIF) for linear MEE materials. The formulation derived here does not involve any derivatives of material properties and moreover, it can be proved that an arbitrary interface in the integral domain does not affect the validity and the value of the interaction integral. Namely, the interaction integral is domain-independent for material interfaces and thus, its application does not require material parameters to be continuous. Due to this advantage, the interaction integral becomes an effective approach for extracting the fracture parameters of MEE materials with complex interfaces. Combined with the extended finite element method (XFEM), the interaction integral is employed to solve several representative problems to verify its accuracy and domain-independence. Good results show the effectiveness of the present method in the fracture analysis of MEE materials with continuous and discontinuous properties. Finally, the particulate MEE composites composed of PE and PM phases are considered and four schemes of different property-homogenization level are proposed for comparing their effectiveness.     

A revised model for the paired-electron gas plasma in a magnetic field and its application to experimental determinations on weakly ionized rare-gas plasmas

Summary The formation of electron pairs at the glass walls of the enclosing container in a low-pressure, high-frequency, electrodeless, rare-gas discharge is discussed. The pairs drift towards the discharge tube axis under the acceleration of the weak radial-space-charge electric field. The properties of the gas in an uniform magnetic field are outlined in a model which is subsequently applied to experimental data from four different experiments in four rare gases. Determinations of plasma parameters from the analyses of the experiments are found to agree. The values for the pair aggregation number,n′, for the excited plasmas on the tube axis range from one at low-power excitation to between ten and twenty at higher powers. In the afterglow plasmas following the cessation of the energizing current pulse (which is typically 20 ms in duration), the aggregation number varies from one in the body of the gas to between one and five on the tube axis. The direct evidence for the presence of electron pairs, and aggregates of electron pairs, is obtained from the ≪spin-flip≫ of single electrons of a pair in a magnetic field, an event which destroys the pair, or pair aggregate, and the associated experimental phenomena.

---

Riassunto Si discute la formazione di coppie di elettroni, sulle pareti di vetro del contenitore circostante in una discarica a bassa pressione, alta frequenza, senza elettrodi e a gas rari. Le coppie si spostano verso l’asse del tubo della discarica con l’accelerazione del campo elettrico debole con carica di spazio radiale. Le proprietà del gas in un campo magnetico uniforme sono sottolineate in un modello che è successivamente applicato a dati sperimentali da quattro diversi esperimenti in quattro gas rari. Si trova che i valori dei parametri del plasma dalle analisi degli esperimenti sono in accordo. I valori del numero di aggregazione della coppia,n′, per i plasma eccitati sugli assi del tubo variano da 1 ad eccitazione a bassa potenza a 10÷20 ad alte potenze. Nei plasmi a fluorescenza che seguono la cessazione dell’impulso di corrente energizzante (che dura tipicamente 20 ms) il numero di aggregazione varia da uno nel corpo del gas a 1÷5 sull’asse del tubo. La prova diretta della presenza delle coppie di elettroni, e di aggregati di coppie di elettroni è ottenuta dallo ≪spin-flip≫ di elettroni singoli di una coppia in un campo magnetico, un evento che distrugge la coppia, o l’aggregato di coppie, e dagli associati fenomeni sperimentali.

---

Резюме Обсуждается образование электронных пар на стеклянных стенках замкнутого контейнера при высокочастотном, безэлектродном разряде в разреженном газе при низком давлении. Пары дрейфуют по направлению к оси разрядной трубки под действием электрического поля слабого радиального пространственного заряда. Описываются свойства газа в однородном магнитном поле, используя модель, которая впоследствии применяется к экспериментальным данным из четырех различных экспериментов, проведенных для четырех разреженных газов. Обнаружено хорошее согласие при определении параметроб плазмы из анализа указанных экспериментов. Значения для числа электронных пар в агрегации,n′, для возбужденной плазмы на оси трубки изменяется от единицы при инзкой степени возбуждения до величины между десятью и двадцатью при высоких степенях возбуждения. При послесвечении плазмы, после прекращения возбуждающего имлульса тока (который обычно имеет длительность 20 мс), число пар в агрегации изменяется от единицы в объеме газа до величины между единицей и пятью на оси трубки. Получено прямое подтверждение для наличия электронных пар и агрегаций электронных пар из изменения ориентции спина отдельных злектронов пары в магнитном поле, т.е. из события, которое разрушает пару или агрегации рар, и из связанных экспериментальных явлений.

     

变电站直流系统绝缘监察仿真装置的设计

针对电力系统实验不能在现场模拟操作而使学生能更好的了解电力系统的现象,研究设计了一种变电站直流系统绝缘监察仿真装置.该装置能模拟直流系统金属性和非金属性接地,利用警铃和光字牌的声、光效果来模拟直流接地时绝缘监察装置发出的音响信号和灯光信号,及早发现绝缘降低并处理.该装置能完成电气类学生的专业课实验,填补了本专业在直流接地方面教学中的空白,实现了学生能在课堂上操作模拟现场现象,将教学和现场实践有机结合,到达较好的教学效果.