New Prospects for Particle Characterization Using Analytical Centrifugation with Sector-Shaped Centerpieces

Analytical centrifugation (AC) has recently shown great potential for the accurate determination of particle size distributions. The well-established LUMiSizer(R) is customized by a new design allowing for higher rotor speeds, improved thermal insulation, and measurement cell assembly. The latter enables sedimentation analysis of nanoparticles (NPs) in sector-shaped centerpieces. The measurement window of AC experiments is assessed by the Peclet (Pe) number. It is shown that at low Pe numbers (0.7 < Pe < 30), sedimentation, and diffusion can be accurately and simultaneously analyzed from the sedimentation boundaries within one experiment. Moreover, sedimentation properties can be reliably determined up to Pe numbers of 4000. The thermal characteristic throughout the sedimentation analysis is validated by measuring polystyrene particles at elevated temperatures. Moreover, the performance of the setup is demonstrated by determining the sedimentation properties of SiO₂ NPs at intermediate Pe numbers in excellent agreement with results from analytical ultracentrifugation experiments. Finally, for the first time, an accurate analysis of the core–shell properties of Au NPs via AC is presented. By combining the analysis of sedimentation and diffusional properties at low Pe numbers, the shell thickness of the stabilizer cetyltrimethylammonium bromide alongside the core diameter distribution of the Au NPs is determined.     

A numerical continuous model for the hydrodynamics of fluid particle systems

In order to understand the hydrodynamic interactions that can appear in a fluid particle motion, an original method based on the equations governing the motion of two immiscible fluids has been developed. These momentum equations are solved for both the fluid and solid phases. The solid phase is assumed to be a fluid phase with physical properties, such as its behaviour can be assimilated to that of pseudo‐rigid particles. The only unknowns are the velocity and the pressure defined in both phases. The unsteady two‐dimensional momentum equations are solved by using a staggered finite volume formulation and a projection method. The transport of each particle is solved by using a second‐order explicit scheme. The physical model and the numerical method are presented, and the method is validated through experimental measurements and numerical results concerning the flow around a circular cylinder. Good agreement is observed in most cases. The method is then applied to study the trajectory of one settling particle initially off‐centred between two parallel walls and the corresponding wake effects. Different particle trajectories related to particulate Reynolds numbers are presented and commented. A two‐body interaction problem is investigated too. This method allows the simulation of the transport of particles in a dilute suspension in reasonable time. One of the important features of this method is the computational cost that scales linearly with the number of particles. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical Ultracentrifugation as a Matrix-Free Probe for the Study of Kinase Related Cellular and Bacterial Membrane Proteins and Glycans

Analytical ultracentrifugation is a versatile approach for analysing the molecular mass, molecular integrity (degradation/aggregation), oligomeric state and association/dissociation constants for self-association, and assay of ligand binding of kinase related membrane proteins and glycans. It has the great property of being matrix free—providing separation and analysis of macromolecular species without the need of a separation matrix or membrane or immobilisation onto a surface. This short review—designed for the non-hydrodynamic expert—examines the potential of modern sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium and the challenges posed for these molecules particularly those which have significant cytoplasmic or extracellular domains in addition to the transmembrane region. These different regions can generate different optimal requirements in terms of choice of the appropriate solvent (aqueous/detergent). We compare how analytical ultracentrifugation has contributed to our understanding of two kinase related cellular or bacterial protein/glycan systems (i) the membrane erythrocyte band 3 protein system—studied in aqueous and detergent based solvent systems—and (ii) what it has contributed so far to our understanding of the enterococcal VanS, the glycan ligand vancomycin and interactions of vancomycin with mucins from the gastrointestinal tract.     

On entropy stable schemes for degenerate parabolic multispecies kinematic flow models

Entropy stable schemes for the numerical solution of initial value problems of nonlinear, possibly strongly degenerate systems of convection–diffusion equations were recently proposed in Jerez and Parés's study. These schemes extend the theoretical framework of Tadmor's study to convection–diffusion systems. They arise from entropy conservative schemes by adding a small amount of viscosity to avoid spurious oscillations. The main condition for feasibility of entropy conservative or stable schemes for a given model is that the corresponding first‐order system of conservation laws possesses a convex entropy function and corresponding entropy flux, and that the diffusion matrix multiplied by the inverse of the Hessian of the entropy is positive semidefinite. As a new contribution, it is demonstrated in the present work, first, that these schemes can naturally be extended to initial‐boundary value problems with zero‐flux boundary conditions in one space dimension, including an explicit bound on the growth of the total entropy. Second, it is shown that these assumptions are satisfied by certain diffusively corrected multiclass kinematic flow models of arbitrary size that describe traffic flow or the settling of dispersions and emulsions, where the latter application gives rise to zero‐flux boundary conditions. Numerical examples illustrate the behavior and accuracy of entropy stable schemes for these applications.     

Some techniques for improving the resolution of finite difference component-wise WENO schemes for polydisperse sedimentation models

Polydisperse sedimentation models can be described by a system of conservation laws for the concentration of each species of solids. Some of these models, as the Masliyah–Locket–Bassoon model, can be proven to be hyperbolic, but its full characteristic structure cannot be computed in closed form. Component-wise finite difference WENO schemes may be used in these cases, but these schemes suffer from an excessive diffusion and may present spurious oscillations near shocks. In this work we propose to use a flux-splitting that prescribes less numerical viscosity for component-wise finite difference WENO schemes. We compare this technique with others to alleviate the diffusion and oscillatory behavior of the solutions obtained with component-wise finite difference WENO methods.     

Two-phase modeling of batch sedimentation

A two-phase model for the simulation of sedimentation processes is presented. The model solves the continuity and momentum equations for the pure-clear liquid and the sludge phases, and it is verified against a well-known benchmark problem, for which analytical solutions exist. Numerical simulations of a typical 1-D batch sedimentation process for mono-dispersed particles are carried out and results are found to be in satisfactory agreement with experimental data and model predictions of other researchers. A further expansion of the model to two-dimensions leads to predictions of the dynamic behavior of settling tanks and the effect of the inclination angle on the sedimentation process.     

添加聚乙二醇对CuZnAl浆状催化剂结构和性能的影响

首先利用共沉淀沉积法制备CuZnAl催化剂前驱体,并且通过添加聚乙二醇(PEG600)对其进行改性,最后采用完全液相法对前驱体进行热处理制得浆状催化剂,考察了其在浆态床合成气一步法制二甲醚反应中的催化性能,采用X射线粉末衍射、程序升温还原、氨程序升温脱附和X射线光电子能谱对其进行了表征.结果表明,PEG600的添加促进了催化剂中铜组分在热处理过程中被还原成低价铜,提高了催化剂中Cu2O的分散性,改变了催化剂表面酸量和酸强度的分布,同时PEG600的添加方式对催化剂的甲醇合成和甲醇脱水能力有显著影响.在硝酸铜和硝酸锌水溶液中添加0.5 wt%的PEG600时,在热处理过程中形成的Cu2O最稳定,不易被还原,其晶粒度小,进而使CO转化率大幅度提高.     

直接模拟中不同边界条件的实施及对沉降规律的影响

在牛顿流体中, 对颗粒在4种不同边界的垂直通道中的沉降运动进行了直接数值模拟. 计算结果表明:通过计算区域随颗粒运动而移动构建的无限长通道能准确模拟颗粒自由下落到稳定沉降的发展过程; 周期性边界条件由于流场变化, 对颗粒沉降产生了影响, 不能模拟颗粒的自由沉降过程; 底部封闭边界适合模拟封闭容器内颗粒与固壁的相互作用过程, 若颗粒达到稳定沉降, 也能模拟无限长通道内的沉降过程; 流化边界适合模拟流化床内气固两相流动. 计算结果有助于更好地理解和使用不同边界条件. 关键词： 直接数值模拟 边界条件 沉降 任意拉格朗日-欧拉方法     

双颗粒在溶解条件下沉降的多相流动特性

对牛顿流体内溶解双颗粒在垂直管道中的沉降运动进行了直接数值模拟. 流体运动由守恒方程计算, 密度和黏性的变化考虑流场温度变化的影响, 通过积分粘性应力和压力获得颗粒的受力跟踪颗粒运动, 溶解引起的相变及其形状的变化由溶解潜热、溶解质量与分散相边界处的温度梯度的关系建立的方程决定. 通过颗粒和流体间相互的作用力和力矩及边界条件的施加实现相间耦合. 对双颗粒在等温流体无溶解条件和非等温流体溶解条件下的沉降过程进行了计算. 结果表明, 在一定雷诺数内, 热对流产生的颗粒尾迹处涡的脱落以及溶解引起的颗粒质量、颗粒表面形态的变化引起了颗粒的横向摆动, 并使颗粒沉降速度发生了变化.     

On the distributed Lagrange multiplier/fictitious domain method for rigid‐particle‐laden flows: a proposition for an alternative formulation of the Lagrange multipliers

The distributed Lagrange multiplier/fictitious domain method proposed for the direct numerical simulation of particle‐laden flows is considered in this work. First, it is demonstrated that improved accuracy is obtained with a coupled numerical scheme, whereby the pressure and the Lagrange multiplier fields enforcing incompressibility and rigid body motion, respectively, are calculated and applied together. However, the convergence characteristics of the iterative solution of the coupled scheme are poor because symmetric but indefinite and poorly conditioned matrices are produced. An analysis is then presented, which suggests that the cause for the matrix pathologies lies in the interaction of the respective matrix operators enforcing incompressibility and rigid body motion. On the basis of this analysis, an alternative formulation is developed for the Lagrange multipliers, being now composed of a set of forces distributed only on the particle boundary together with a set of couples distributed within the particle core. The new formulation is tested with several types of flows with stationary or moving particles under creeping or finite Reynolds number conditions and it is demonstrated that it produces correct results and better conditioned matrices, thus enabling faster and more reliable convergence of the conjugate gradient method. The analysis and tests, therefore, support the expectation that the proposed formulation is promising and worthy of further study and improvement. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.