Preparative isolation of (+)-beta-eudesmol fromAmyris balsamifera

Summary Optically pure (+)-beta-eudesmol is a possible starting material for the synthesis of several termite defense compounds. A two step procedure for the isolation of gram quantities of (+)-beta-eudesmol from commercially availableAmyris balsamifera oil (syn. West Indian sandalwood oil), containing 8% beta-eudesmol, was developed. Step one consisted of an efficient vacuum distillation of the total oil. Step two was a medium pressure LC separation with an AgNO₃ impregnated silica gel stationary phase. Several other separation procedures failed due to the presence of many closely related sesquiterpene alcohols (75% of the oil).     

Shock waves and formation of carbon dioxide hydrate at an increased pressure in the gas-liquid medium

The processes of breaking, solution, and formation of hydrates behind a shock wave of moderate amplitude were studied experimentally in water with carbon dioxide bubbles under different initial static pressures. It is shown that an increase in the static pressure in a gas-liquid medium leads to reduction of critical relative amplitude of the shock wave, corresponding to starting development of Kelvin — Helmholtz instability and bubble splitting into small gas inclusions behind the shock wave front. It is shown that the rates of carbon dioxide solution and hydrate formation behind the shock wave front are close by the value; their dependences on medium and wave parameters are determined. Calculations by the model of gas hydration behind the shock wave are presented. The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grants Nos. 06-01-00142 and 06-08-00657).     

Propagation of pressure waves in a gas-liquid medium with a cluster structure

Propagation of a stepwise shock wave in a liquid containing spherical gas-liquid clusters is experimentally studied. Measured results are compared with available theoretical models. It is shown that resonant interaction of gas-liquid clusters in the wave can increase the amplitude of oscillations in the shock wave. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 50–60, May–June, 2005.     

Pressure waves in a liquid suspension with solid particles and gas bubbles

Novosibirsk. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, No. 1, pp. 32–40, January–February, 1995.     

Hydrogen permeability of thin condensed Pd–Cu foil: Dependence on temperature and phase composition

The hydrogen permeability of thin (about 4 μm thick) magnetron-sputtered Pd–Cu foil and structural transformations during temperature cycling (heating–cooling process) are studied. It is found that the hydrogen permeability is maximal when the content of the β-phase is 100%. Upon annealing of Pd–Cu alloy in hydrogen, the temperature range where a regular structure exists expands.     

Propagation of shock waves in a porous medium saturated by a liquid with bubbles of a soluble gas

The process of evolution and reflection of shock waves of moderate amplitude from a rigid boundary in a porous medium saturated by a liquid with bubbles of a soluble gas is studied experimentally. Experimental values of the amplitude and velocity of the reflected wave are compared with the calculated results obtained using mathematical models. The process of dissolution of gas bubbles in the liquid behind the shock wave is studied. Kutateladze Institute of Thermal Physics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 91–102, September–October, 2000.