A Modified Technique for the Preparation of SO2 from Sulphates and Sulphides for Sulphur Isotope Analyses

Abstract

A modified technique for the conversion of sulphates and sulphides to SO₂ with the mixture of V₂O₅—SiO₂ for sulphur isotopic analyses is described. This technique is more suitable for routine analysis of large number of samples. Modification of the reaction vessel and using manifold inlet system allows to analyse up to 24 samples every day. The modified technique assures the complete yield of SO₂, consistent oxygen isotope composition of the SO₂ gas and reproducibility of δ³⁴S measurements being within 0.10‰. It is observed, however, oxygen in SO₂ produced from sulphides differs in δ¹⁸O with respect to that produced from sulphates.     

Sauna,sweat and science II – do we sweat what we drink?

ABSTRACT

Inspired by a previous ‘Sauna, sweat and science’ study [Zech et al. Isot Environ Health Stud. 2015;51(3):439–447] and out of curiosity and enthusiasm for stable isotope and sauna research we aimed at answering the question ‘do we sweat (isotopically) what we drink’? We, therefore, pulse-labelled five test persons in a sauna experiment with beverages that were ²H-enriched at about +25,600?‰. Sweat samples were collected during six sauna rounds and the hydrogen isotope composition δ²H_sweat was determined using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Before pulse labelling, δ²H_sweat – reflecting by approximation body water – ranged from –32 to –22?‰. This is ～35?‰ enriched compared to usual mid-European drinking water and can be explained with hydrogen-bearing food as well as with the respiratory loss of ²H-depleted vapour. The absence of a clearly detectable ²H pulse in sweat after pulse labelling and δ²H_sweat results of ≤+250?‰ due to a fast ²H equilibration with body water are moreover a clearly negative answer to our research question also in a short-term consideration. Given that the recovery of the tracer based on an isotope mass balance calculation is clearly below 100?%, we finally answer the question ‘where did the rest of the tracer go?’     

A Review of Signal Enhancement and Noise Reduction Techniques for Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

Abstract: Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), as a noninvasive spectroscopic method, permits high-resolution, high-sensitivity, fast, in situ absorption measurements of atomic and molecular species and narrow spectral features in gaseous, solid, and liquid phases. Advances in new diode laser sources and laser spectroscopic techniques generally have triggered an increasing application of TDLAS in various disciplines (for example, atmospheric environmental monitoring, chemical analysis, industrial process control, medical diagnostics and combustion monitoring, etc.) over the last four decades. This article reviews some important developments in TDLAS, from its basic principles as a spectroscopic tool to the demonstration of gas absorption measurements, emphasizing signal enhancement and noise reduction techniques developed for improving current TDLAS performance.     

Identifying the viscoelastic properties of soft matter from the indentation response of a hard film-soft substrate system

The indentation technique is widely used in measuring the mechanical properties of soft matter at the microscale or nanoscale,but still faces challenges by these unique properties as well as the consequent strong surface adhesion, including the strong nonlinear effect, unclear judgment of the contact point, difficulties in estimating the contact area, and the risk of the indenter piercing the sample. Here we propose a two-step method to solve these problems: lay a hard film on a soft matter, and obtain the viscoelastic properties of this soft matter through the indentation response of this composite structure. We first establish a theoretical indentation model of the hard film-soft substrate system based on the theory of plates, elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle and Boltzmann superposition principle. To verify the correctness of this method, we measure the mechanical properties of the methyl vinyl silicone rubber(MVSR) covered by a Cu nanofilm. Finally, we test the effectiveness and error sensitivity of this method with the finite element method(FEM). The results show that our method can accurately measure the mechanical properties of soft matter, while effectively circumventing the problems of the traditional indentation technique.     

Time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equations for multi-gap superconductors

We numerically solve the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equations for two-gap superconductors using the finite-element technique. The real-time simulation shows that at low magnetic field, the vortices in small-size samples tend to form clusters or other disorder structures. When the sample size is large, stripes appear in the pattern. These results are in good agreement with the previous experimental observations of the intriguing anomalous vortex pattern, providing a reliable theoretical basis for the future applications of multi-gap superconductors.     

磁电弹性体中多条位错与Griffith裂纹

根据本征方程，研究磁电弹性体中若干平行螺型位错与Griffith裂纹的相互作用.结合Muskhelishvili方法和算子理论，得到磁电弹性体中由位错和裂纹所诱导的应力场、电场和磁场的解析解.数值算例表明：在裂纹的端点及位错点上仍然存在应力的奇异性，离位错点越远处广义力越小，结论与已有的结果相符，证明了结论的正确性.当位错点与裂纹端点距离越近时，裂纹与位错间的应力场越小，并逐渐趋近于零.     

内爆驱动式超高速发射技术的初步研究

为获得10 km/s左右的超高速发射能力,以内爆发射器为研究对象,利用AUTODYN 2D软件对口径为8 mm的内爆发射器进行有限元仿真分析,获得了典型状态下的弹丸发射速度。研制了口径为8 mm的内爆发射器,并在压缩管中填充5 MPa氦气进行实验,分别获得了0.55 g铝合金弹丸7.95 km/s和0.37 g镁合金弹丸10.28 km/s的发射速度,与有限元仿真计算结果的速度偏差分别为15.3%和3.7%。结果表明,设计的内爆发射器具备10 km/s发射能力,满足空间碎片撞击和防护研究的超高速发射需求。     

Three-dimensional mixed convection flow with variable thermal conductivity and frictional heating

In this article,three-dimensional mixed convection flow over an exponentially stretching sheet is investigated.Energy equation is modelled in the presence of viscous dissipation and variable thermal conductivity.Temperature of the sheet is varying exponentially and is chosen in a form that facilitates the similarity transformations to obtain self-similar equations.Resulting nonlinear ordinary differential equations are solved numerically employing the Runge-Kutta shooting method.In order to check the accuracy of the method,these equations are also solved using bvp4c built-in routine in Matlab.Both solutions are in excellent agreement.The effects of physical parameters on the dimensionless velocity field and temperature are demonstrated through various graphs.The novelty of this analysis is the self-similar solution of the threedimensional boundary layer flow in the presence of mixed convection,viscous dissipation and variable thermal conductivity.     

六方相LaOF∶Er,Yb的上转换发光及温度传感特性

氟氧化物兼有氧化物优异的稳定性和氟化物的低声子能量,是上转换发光材料的一种热点基质材料,因而研究六方相LaOF∶Er,Yb的上转换发光性能及其温度特性具有重要意义。本文采用水热法制备了六方相LaOF∶Er,Yb荧光材料,通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)和荧光光谱对其结构和上转换荧光性能进行表征。实验结果表明,水热法120℃得到六方相LaF₃,经800℃和1 000℃退火后分别形成四方相LaOF和六方相LaOF。980 nm激发下,六方相LaOF∶Er,Yb中Yb³⁺与Er³⁺存在能量传递,通过双光子吸收产生绿光和红光的上转换荧光,并且Yb³⁺与Er³⁺的最佳浓度分别为3%和1%。最后研究了六方相LaOF∶Er,Yb在温度传感方面的应用,其在150～400 K温度范围的相对灵敏度和绝对灵敏度分别为0.037 K^-1和0.004 3 K^-1。该材料具有优异的温度传感特性,对荧光温度传感器件的设计和应用具有指导意义。