A multi-scale computational scheme for anisotropic hydro-mechanical couplings in saturated heterogeneous porous media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mercatoris, B.C.N.; Massart, T.J.; Sluys, L.J.

2013-01-01

This contribution discusses a coupled two-scale framework for hydro-mechanical problems in saturated heterogeneous porous geomaterials. The heterogeneous nature of such materials can lead to an anisotropy of the hydro-mechanical couplings and non-linear effects. Based on an assumed model of the

Study of gas-liquid flow in model porous media for heterogeneous catalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Francois, Marie; Bodiguel, Hugues; Guillot, Pierre; Laboratory of the Future Team

2015-11-01

Heterogeneous catalysis of chemical reactions involving a gas and a liquid phase is usually achieved in fixed bed reactors. Four hydrodynamic regimes have been observed. They depend on the total flow rate and the ratio between liquid and gas flow rate. Flow properties in these regimes influence transfer rates. Rather few attempts to access local characterization have been proposed yet, though these seem to be necessary to better describe the physical mechanisms involved. In this work, we propose to mimic slices of reactor by using two-dimensional porous media. We have developed a two-dimensional system that is transparent to allow the direct observation of the flow and the phase distribution. While varying the total flow rate and the gas/liquid flow rate ratio, we observe two hydrodynamic regimes: at low flow rate, the gaseous phase is continuous (trickle flow), while it is discontinuous at higher flow rate (pulsed flow). Thanks to some image analysis techniques, we are able to quantify the local apparent liquid saturation in the system. Its fluctuations in time are characteristic of the transition between the two regimes: at low liquid flow rates, they are negligible since the liquid/gas interface is fixed, whereas at higher flow rates we observe an alternation between liquid and gas. This transition between trickle to pulsed flow is in relative good agreement with the existing state of art. However, we report in the pulsed regime important flow heterogeneities at the scale of a few pores. These heterogeneities are likely to have a strong influence on mass transfers. We acknowledge the support of Solvay.

Acoustic emission in a fluid saturated heterogeneous porous layer with application to hydraulic fracture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nelson, J.T. (California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA))

1988-11-01

A theoretical model for acoustic emission in a vertically heterogeneous porous layer bounded by semi-infinite solid regions is developed using linearized equations of motion for a fluid/solid mixture and a reflectivity method. Green's functions are derived for both point loads and moments. Numerically integrated propagators represent solutions for intermediate heterogeneous layers in the porous region. These are substituted into a global matrix for solution by Gaussian elimination and back-substitution. Fluid partial stress and seismic responses to dislocations associated with fracturing of a layer of rock with a hydraulically conductive fracture network are computed with the model. A constitutive model is developed for representing the fractured rock layer as a porous material, using commonly accepted relationships for moduli. Derivations of density, tortuosity, and sinuosity are provided. The main results of the model application are the prediction of a substantial fluid partial stress response related to a second mode wave for the porous material. The response is observable for relatively large distances, on the order of several tens of meters. The visco-dynamic transition frequency associated with parabolic versus planar fluid velocity distributions across micro-crack apertures is in the low audio or seismic range, in contrast to materials with small pore size, such as porous rocks, for which the transition frequency is ultrasonic. Seismic responses are predicted for receiver locations both in the layer and in the outlying solid regions. In the porous region, the seismic response includes both shear and dilatational wave arrivals and a second-mode arrival. The second-mode arrival is not observable outside of the layer because of its low velocity relative to the dilatational and shear wave propagation velocities of the solid region.

Practical chemical analysis of Pt and Pd based heterogeneous catalysts with hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshikawa, H., E-mail: YOSHIKAWA.Hideki@nims.go.jp [National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Matolínová, I.; Matolín, V. [Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, V Holešovičkách 2, 18000 Prague 8 (Czech Republic)

2013-10-15

Highlights: •Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) enables interface analysis of catalyst. •HAXPES enables overall analysis of porous film of Pt-doped CeO{sub 2} and related catalyst. •HAXPES enables analysis of trace elements for Pd and Pt{sub 3}Ni nanoparticle catalysts. -- Abstract: Interfacial properties including configuration, porosity, chemical states, and atomic diffusion greatly affect the performance of supported heterogeneous catalysts. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) can be used to analyze the interfaces of heterogeneous catalysts because of its large information depth of more than 20 nm. We use HAXPES to examine Pt-doped CeO{sub 2} and related thin film catalysts evaporated on Si, carbon, and carbon nanotube substrates, because Pt-doped CeO{sub 2} has great potential as a noble metal-based heterogeneous catalyst for fuel cells. The HAXPES measurements clarify that the dopant material, substrate material, and surface pretreatment of substrate are important parameters that affect the interfacial properties of Pt-doped CeO{sub 2} and related thin film catalysts. Another advantage of HAXPES measurement of heterogeneous catalysts is that it can be used for chemical analysis of trace elements by detecting photoelectrons from deep core levels, which have large photoionization cross-sections in the hard X-ray region. We use HAXPES for chemical analysis of trace elements in Pd nanoparticle catalysts immobilized on sulfur-terminated substrates and Pt{sub 3}Ni nanoparticle catalysts enveloped by dendrimer molecules.

Multi-level adaptive simulation of transient two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

KAUST Repository

Chueh, C.C.

2010-10-01

An implicit pressure and explicit saturation (IMPES) finite element method (FEM) incorporating a multi-level shock-type adaptive refinement technique is presented and applied to investigate transient two-phase flow in porous media. Local adaptive mesh refinement is implemented seamlessly with state-of-the-art artificial diffusion stabilization allowing simulations that achieve both high resolution and high accuracy. Two benchmark problems, modelling a single crack and a random porous medium, are used to demonstrate the robustness of the method and illustrate the capabilities of the adaptive refinement technique in resolving the saturation field and the complex interaction (transport phenomena) between two fluids in heterogeneous media. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Value-added Chemicals from Biomass by Heterogeneous Catalysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Voss, Bodil

feedstock, having retained one C-C bond originating from the biomass precursor, the aspects of utilising heterogeneous catalysis for its conversion to value added chemicals is investigated. Through a simple analysis of known, but not industrialised catalytic routes, the direct conversion of ethanol....... The results of the thesis, taking one example of biomass conversion, show that the utilisation of biomass in the production of chemicals by heterogeneous catalysis is promising from a technical point of view. But risks of market price excursions dominated by fossil based chemicals further set a criterion...... been implemented. The subject on chemical production has received less attention. This thesis describes and evaluates the quest for an alternative conversion route, based on a biomass feedstock and employing a heterogeneous catalyst capable of converting the feedstock, to a value-added chemical...

Study on Two-Phase Flow in Heterogeneous Porous Media by Light Transmission Method

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, W.

2015-12-01

The non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) released to the subsurface can form residual ganglia and globules occupying pores and also accumulate and form pools, in which multiphase system forms. Determining transient fluid saturations in a multiphase system is essential to understand the flow characteristics of systems and to perform effective remediation strategies. As a non-destructive and non-invasive laboratory technique utilized for the measurement of liquid saturation in porous media, light transmission is of the lowest cost and safe. Utilization of Coupled Charge Device camera in light transmission systems provides a nearly instantaneous high-density array of spatial measurements over a very large dynamic range. The migration of NAPL and air spariging technique applied to remove NAPL in aquifer systems are typically two-phase flow problem. Because of the natural aquifer normally being heterogeneous, two 2-D sandboxes (Length55cm×width1.3cm×hight45cm) are set up to study the migration of gas and DNAPL in heterogeneous porous media based on light transmission method and its application in two-phase flow. Model D for water/gas system developed by Niemet and Selker (2001) and Model NW-A for water/NAPL system developed by Zhang et al. (2014) are applied for the calculation of fluid saturation in the two experiments, respectively. The gas injection experiments show that the gas moves upward in the irregular channels, piling up beneath the low permeability lenses and starting lateral movement. Bypassing the lenses, the gas moves upward and forms continuous distribution in the top of the sandbox. The faster of gas injects, the wider of gas migration will be. The DNAPL infiltration experiment shows that TCE mainly moves downward as the influence of gravity, stopping vertical infiltration when reaching the low permeability lenses because of its failure to overcome the capillary pressure. Then, TCE accumulates on the surface and starts transverse movement. Bypassing the

Simulation of density-driven flow in heterogeneous and fractured porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grillo, A. [Politecnico di Torino (Italy). DISMA; Logashenko, D. [Steinbeis Research Center, Oelbronn (Germany); Stichel, S.; Wittum, G. [Frankfurt Univ., Frankfurt am Main (Germany). G-CSC

2015-07-01

The study of fractured porous media is an important and challenging problem in hydrogeology. One of the difficulties is that mathematical models have to account for heterogeneity introduced by fractures in hydrogeological media. Heterogeneity may strongly influence the physical processes taking place in these media. Moreover, the thickness of the fractures, which is usually negligible in comparison with the size of the whole domain, and the complicated geometry of fracture networks reduce essentially the efficiency of numerical methods. In order to overcome these difficulties, fractures are sometimes considered as objects of reduced dimensionality (surfaces in three dimensions), and the field equations are averaged along the fracture width. Fractures are assumed to be thin regions of space filled with a porous material whose properties differ from those of the porous medium enclosing them. The interfaces separating the fractures from the embedding medium are assumed to be ideal. We consider two approaches: (i) the fractures have the same dimension, d, as the embedding medium and are said to be d-dimensional; (ii) the fractures are considered as (d-1)-dimensional manifolds, and the equations of density-driven flow are found by averaging the d-dimensional laws over the fracture width. We show that the second approach is a valid alternative to the first one. For this purpose, we perform numerical experiments using a finite-volume discretization for both approaches. The results obtained by the two methods are in good agreement with each other. We derive a criterion for the validity of the simplified representation. The criterion characterizes the transition of a mainly parallel flow to a rotational flow, which cannot be reasonably approximated using a d-1 dimensional representation. We further present a numerical algorithm using adaptive dimensional representation.

On the interpretation of double-packer tests in heterogeneous porous media: Numerical simulations using the stochastic continuum analogue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Follin, S.

1992-12-01

Flow in fractured crystalline (hard) rocks is of interest in Sweden for assessing the postclosure radiological safety of a deep repository for high-level nuclear waste. For simulation of flow and mass transport in the far field different porous media concepts are often used, whereas discrete fracture/channel network concepts are often used for near-field simulations. Due to lack of data, it is generally necessary to have resort to single-hole double-packer test data for the far-field simulations, i.e., test data on a small scale are regularized in order to fit a comparatively coarser numerical discretization, which is governed by various computational constraints. In the present study the Monte Carlo method is used to investigate the relationship between the transmissivity value interpreted and the corresponding radius of influence in conjunction with single-hole double-packer tests in heterogeneous formations. The numerical flow domain is treated as a two-dimensional heterogeneous porous medium with a spatially varying diffusivity on 3 m scale. The Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the sensitivity to the correlation range of a spatially varying diffusivity field. In contradiction to what is tacitly assumed in stochastic subsurface hydrology, the results show that the lateral support scale (e.g., the radius of influence) of transmissivity measurements in heterogeneous porous media is a random variable, which is affected by both the hydraulic and statistical characteristics. If these results are general, the traditional methods for scaling-up, assuming a constant lateral scale of support and a multi normal distribution, may lead to an underestimation of the persistence and connectivity of transmissive zones, particularly in highly heterogeneous porous media

The Migration and Entrapment of DNAPLs in Physically and Chemically Heterogeneous Porous Media - Final Report - 09/15/1996 - 09/15/2000; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abriola, L. M.; Demond, A. H.

2000-01-01

Hazardous dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), such as chlorinated solvents, are slightly water soluble and pose a serious threat to soil and groundwater supplies in many portions of the United States. The migration and entrapment of DNAPLs in the subsurface environment is typically believed to be controlled by physical heterogeneities; i.e, layers and lenses of contrasting soil texture. The rationale for this assumption is that capillarity, as determined by the soil texture, is the dominant transport mechanism. Capillarity also depends on interfacial tension and medium wettability. Interfacial tension and medium wettability may be spatially and temporally dependent due to variations in aqueous phase chemistry, contaminant aging, and/or variations in mineralogy and organic matter distributions. Such chemical heterogeneities have largely been ignored to date, even though they are known to have dramatic effects on the hydraulic property relations. Numerical multiphase flow and transport models typically assume that solids are water-wet and that interfacial tension is constant. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the influence of coupled physical and chemical heterogeneities on the migration and entrapment of DNAPLs. This objective will be accomplished through a combination of laboratory and numerical experiments. Laboratory experiments will be conducted to examine: (i) aqueous phase chemistry effects on medium wettability and interfacial tension; and (ii) relative permeability-saturation-capillary pressure relations for chemically heterogeneous systems. An important objective of this research is to modify a two-dimensional multiphase flow and transport model to account for chemically and physically heterogeneous systems. This numerical simulator will be used in conjunction with independently measured parameters to simulate two-dimensional DNAPL infiltration experiments. Comparisons of simulated and laboratory data will provide a means to

Impact of spatially correlated pore-scale heterogeneity on drying porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Borgman, Oshri; Fantinel, Paolo; Lühder, Wieland; Goehring, Lucas; Holtzman, Ran

2017-07-01

We study the effect of spatially-correlated heterogeneity on isothermal drying of porous media. We combine a minimal pore-scale model with microfluidic experiments with the same pore geometry. Our simulated drying behavior compares favorably with experiments, considering the large sensitivity of the emergent behavior to the uncertainty associated with even small manufacturing errors. We show that increasing the correlation length in particle sizes promotes preferential drying of clusters of large pores, prolonging liquid connectivity and surface wetness and thus higher drying rates for longer periods. Our findings improve our quantitative understanding of how pore-scale heterogeneity impacts drying, which plays a role in a wide range of processes ranging from fuel cells to curing of paints and cements to global budgets of energy, water and solutes in soils.

Numerical simulation of porous burners and hole plate surface burners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nemoda Stevan

2004-01-01

Full Text Available In comparison to the free flame burners the porous medium burners, especially those with flame stabilization within the porous material, are characterized by a reduction of the combustion zone temperatures and high combustion efficiency, so that emissions of pollutants are minimized. In the paper the finite-volume numerical tool for calculations of the non-isothermal laminar steady-state flow, with chemical reactions in laminar gas flow as well as within porous media is presented. For the porous regions the momentum and energy equations have appropriate corrections. In the momentum equations for the porous region an additional pressure drop has to be considered, which depends on the properties of the porous medium. For the heat transfer within the porous matrix description a heterogeneous model is considered. It treats the solid and gas phase separately, but the phases are coupled via a convective heat exchange term. For the modeling of the reaction of the methane laminar combustion the chemical reaction scheme with 164 reactions and 20 chemical species was used. The proposed numerical tool is applied for the analyses of the combustion and heat transfer processes which take place in porous and surface burners. The numerical experiments are accomplished for different powers of the porous and surface burners, as well as for different heat conductivity character is tics of the porous regions.

Flows and chemical reactions in heterogeneous mixtures

CERN Document Server

Prud'homme, Roger

2014-01-01

This book - a sequel of previous publications 'Flows and Chemical Reactions' and 'Chemical Reactions in Flows and Homogeneous Mixtures' - is devoted to flows with chemical reactions in heterogeneous environments.  Heterogeneous media in this volume include interfaces and lines. They may be the site of radiation. Each type of flow is the subject of a chapter in this volume. We consider first, in Chapter 1, the question of the generation of environments biphasic individuals: dusty gas, mist, bubble flow.  Chapter 2 is devoted to the study at the mesoscopic scale: particle-fluid exchange of mom

Do goethite surfaces really control the transport and retention of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in chemically heterogeneous porous media?

Science.gov (United States)

Transport and retention behavior of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was studied in mixtures of negatively charged quartz sand (QS) and positively charged goethite-coated sand (GQS) to assess the role of chemical heterogeneity. The linear equilibrium sorption model provided a good description o...

A continuous time random walk model for Darcy-scale anomalous transport in heterogeneous porous media.

Science.gov (United States)

Comolli, Alessandro; Hakoun, Vivien; Dentz, Marco

2017-04-01

Achieving the understanding of the process of solute transport in heterogeneous porous media is of crucial importance for several environmental and social purposes, ranging from aquifers contamination and remediation, to risk assessment in nuclear waste repositories. The complexity of this aim is mainly ascribable to the heterogeneity of natural media, which can be observed at all the scales of interest, from pore scale to catchment scale. In fact, the intrinsic heterogeneity of porous media is responsible for the arising of the well-known non-Fickian footprints of transport, including heavy-tailed breakthrough curves, non-Gaussian spatial density profiles and the non-linear growth of the mean squared displacement. Several studies investigated the processes through which heterogeneity impacts the transport properties, which include local modifications to the advective-dispersive motion of solutes, mass exchanges between some mobile and immobile phases (e.g. sorption/desorption reactions or diffusion into solid matrix) and spatial correlation of the flow field. In the last decades, the continuous time random walk (CTRW) model has often been used to describe solute transport in heterogenous conditions and to quantify the impact of point heterogeneity, spatial correlation and mass transfer on the average transport properties [1]. Open issues regarding this approach are the possibility to relate measurable properties of the medium to the parameters of the model, as well as its capability to provide predictive information. In a recent work [2] the authors have shed new light on understanding the relationship between Lagrangian and Eulerian dynamics as well as on their evolution from arbitrary initial conditions. On the basis of these results, we derive a CTRW model for the description of Darcy-scale transport in d-dimensional media characterized by spatially random permeability fields. The CTRW approach models particle velocities as a spatial Markov process, which is

Predicting Upscaled Behavior of Aqueous Reactants in Heterogeneous Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, E. E.; Hansen, S. K.; Bolster, D.; Richter, D. H.; Vesselinov, V. V.

2017-12-01

When modeling reactive transport, reaction rates are often overestimated due to the improper assumption of perfect mixing at the support scale of the transport model. In reality, fronts tend to form between participants in thermodynamically favorable reactions, leading to segregation of reactants into islands or fingers. When such a configuration arises, reactions are limited to the interface between the reactive solutes. Closure methods for estimating control-volume-effective reaction rates in terms of quantities defined at the control volume scale do not presently exist, but their development is crucial for effective field-scale modeling. We attack this problem through a combination of analytical and numerical means. Specifically, we numerically study reactive transport through an ensemble of realizations of two-dimensional heterogeneous porous media. We then employ regression analysis to calibrate an analytically-derived relationship between reaction rate and various dimensionless quantities representing conductivity-field heterogeneity and the respective strengths of diffusion, reaction and advection.

An artificial compressibility CBS method for modelling heat transfer and fluid flow in heterogeneous porous materials

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Malan, AG

2011-08-01

Full Text Available to modelling both forced convection as well as heat transfer and fluid flow through heterogeneous saturated porous materials via an edge-based finite volume discretization scheme. A volume-averaged set of local thermal disequilibrium governing equations...

Heterogeneously Catalysed Chemical Reactions in Carbon Dioxide Medium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Musko, Nikolai E.

In this PhD-study the different areas of chemical engineering, heterogeneous catalysis, supercritical fluids, and phase equilibrium thermodynamics have been brought together for selected reactions. To exploit the beneficial properties of supercritical fluids in heterogeneous catalysis, experimental...... studies of catalytic chemical reactions in dense and supercritical carbon dioxide have been complemented by the theoretical calculations of phase equilibria using advanced thermodynamic models. In the recent years, the use of compressed carbon dioxide as innovative, non-toxic and non-flammable, cheap......, and widely available reaction medium for many practical and industrial applications has drastically increased. Particularly attractive are heterogeneously catalysed chemical reactions. The beneficial use of CO2 is attributed to its unique properties at dense and supercritical states (at temperatures...

Space-fractional model for the spreading of matter in heterogeneous porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krepysheva, N.; Neel, M.Ch.

2005-01-01

In very heterogeneous porous media (like the soil, or an aquifer, for instance), experimental results showed that mass transport sometimes does not obey Fourier's law. Continuous Time Random Walks in the form of L y Flights provide a small scale model for super diffusive spreading of a tracer plume, dissolved in a fluid, itself enclosed in a porous medium. In an infinite medium, the corresponding behavior of the concentration of solute is known to obey a variant of Fourier's law, with a Riesz-Feller operator in place of the Laplacian. Here we show that with some modifications the result extends to semi infinite media. A numerical method allowing for the simulation of fractional derivatives is adapted to semi infinite media, with special attention to convective terms, associated to a possibly non zero global trough flow. (authors)

Space-fractional model for the spreading of matter in heterogeneous porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krepysheva, N. [Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques (INRA), UMRA Climat-Sol-Environnement, 84 - Avignon (France); Neel, M.Ch. [Universite d' Avignon, Faculte des Sciences, UMRA Climat-Sol-Environnement, 84 - Avignon (France)

2005-07-01

In very heterogeneous porous media (like the soil, or an aquifer, for instance), experimental results showed that mass transport sometimes does not obey Fourier's law. Continuous Time Random Walks in the form of L y Flights provide a small scale model for super diffusive spreading of a tracer plume, dissolved in a fluid, itself enclosed in a porous medium. In an infinite medium, the corresponding behavior of the concentration of solute is known to obey a variant of Fourier's law, with a Riesz-Feller operator in place of the Laplacian. Here we show that with some modifications the result extends to semi infinite media. A numerical method allowing for the simulation of fractional derivatives is adapted to semi infinite media, with special attention to convective terms, associated to a possibly non zero global trough flow. (authors)

A theoretical framework for modeling dilution enhancement of non-reactive solutes in heterogeneous porous media.

Science.gov (United States)

de Barros, F P J; Fiori, A; Boso, F; Bellin, A

2015-01-01

Spatial heterogeneity of the hydraulic properties of geological porous formations leads to erratically shaped solute clouds, thus increasing the edge area of the solute body and augmenting the dilution rate. In this study, we provide a theoretical framework to quantify dilution of a non-reactive solute within a steady state flow as affected by the spatial variability of the hydraulic conductivity. Embracing the Lagrangian concentration framework, we obtain explicit semi-analytical expressions for the dilution index as a function of the structural parameters of the random hydraulic conductivity field, under the assumptions of uniform-in-the-average flow, small injection source and weak-to-mild heterogeneity. Results show how the dilution enhancement of the solute cloud is strongly dependent on both the statistical anisotropy ratio and the heterogeneity level of the porous medium. The explicit semi-analytical solution also captures the temporal evolution of the dilution rate; for the early- and late-time limits, the proposed solution recovers previous results from the literature, while at intermediate times it reflects the increasing interplay between large-scale advection and local-scale dispersion. The performance of the theoretical framework is verified with high resolution numerical results and successfully tested against the Cape Cod field data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiscale Adapted Time-Splitting Technique for Nonisothermal Two-Phase Flow and Nanoparticles Transport in Heterogenous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

El-Amin, Mohamed F.; Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu

2017-01-01

This paper is devoted to study the problem of nonisothermal two-phase flow with nanoparticles transport in heterogenous porous media, numerically. For this purpose, we introduce a multiscale adapted time-splitting technique to simulate the problem

Multiscale Adapted Time-Splitting Technique for Nonisothermal Two-Phase Flow and Nanoparticles Transport in Heterogenous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

El-Amin, Mohamed F.

2017-05-05

This paper is devoted to study the problem of nonisothermal two-phase flow with nanoparticles transport in heterogenous porous media, numerically. For this purpose, we introduce a multiscale adapted time-splitting technique to simulate the problem under consideration. The mathematical model consists of equations of pressure, saturation, heat, nanoparticles concentration in the water–phase, deposited nanoparticles concentration on the pore–walls, and entrapped nanoparticles concentration in the pore–throats. We propose a multiscale time splitting IMplicit Pressure Explicit Saturation–IMplicit Temperature Concentration (IMPES-IMTC) scheme to solve the system of governing equations. The time step-size adaptation is achieved by satisfying the stability Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL<1) condition. Moreover, numerical test of a highly heterogeneous porous medium is provided and the water saturation, the temperature, the nanoparticles concentration, the deposited nanoparticles concentration, and the permeability are presented in graphs.

Chemically activated graphene/porous Si@SiO{sub x} composite as anode for lithium ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tao, Hua-Chao [College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, China Three Gorges University, 8 Daxue Road, Yichang, Hubei 443002 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Microgrid of New Energy, Hubei Province (China); Yang, Xue-Lin, E-mail: xlyang@ctgu.edu.cn [College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, China Three Gorges University, 8 Daxue Road, Yichang, Hubei 443002 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Microgrid of New Energy, Hubei Province (China); Zhang, Lu-Lu; Ni, Shi-Bing [College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, China Three Gorges University, 8 Daxue Road, Yichang, Hubei 443002 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Microgrid of New Energy, Hubei Province (China)

2014-10-15

Chemically activated graphene/porous Si@SiO{sub x} (CAG/Si@SiO{sub x}) composite has been synthesized via magnesiothemic reduction of mesoporous SiO{sub 2} (MCM-48) to porous Si@SiO{sub x} and dispersing in the suspension of chemically activated graphene oxide (CAGO) followed by thermal reduction. The porous Si@SiO{sub x} particles are well encapsulated in chemically activated graphene (CAG) matrix. The resulting CAG/Si@SiO{sub x} composite exhibits a high reversible capacity and excellent cycling stability up to 763 mAh g{sup −1} at a current density of 100 mA g{sup −1} after 50 cycles. The porous structure of CAG layer and Si@SiO{sub x} is beneficial to accommodate volume expansion of Si during discharge and charge process and the interconnected CAG improves the electronic conductivity of composite. - Highlights: • Chemically activated graphene encapsulated porous Si composite was prepared. • The graphene offers a continuous electrically conductive network. • The porous structure can accommodate volume expansion of Si-based materials. • The composite exhibits excellent lithium storage performance.

Global-local nonlinear model reduction for flows in heterogeneous porous media

KAUST Repository

AlOtaibi, Manal; Calo, Victor M.; Efendiev, Yalchin R.; Galvis, Juan; Ghommem, Mehdi

2015-01-01

In this paper, we combine discrete empirical interpolation techniques, global mode decomposition methods, and local multiscale methods, such as the Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Method (GMsFEM), to reduce the computational complexity associated with nonlinear flows in highly-heterogeneous porous media. To solve the nonlinear governing equations, we employ the GMsFEM to represent the solution on a coarse grid with multiscale basis functions and apply proper orthogonal decomposition on a coarse grid. Computing the GMsFEM solution involves calculating the residual and the Jacobian on a fine grid. As such, we use local and global empirical interpolation concepts to circumvent performing these computations on the fine grid. The resulting reduced-order approach significantly reduces the flow problem size while accurately capturing the behavior of fully-resolved solutions. We consider several numerical examples of nonlinear multiscale partial differential equations that are numerically integrated using fully-implicit time marching schemes to demonstrate the capability of the proposed model reduction approach to speed up simulations of nonlinear flows in high-contrast porous media.

Global-local nonlinear model reduction for flows in heterogeneous porous media

KAUST Repository

AlOtaibi, Manal

2015-08-01

In this paper, we combine discrete empirical interpolation techniques, global mode decomposition methods, and local multiscale methods, such as the Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Method (GMsFEM), to reduce the computational complexity associated with nonlinear flows in highly-heterogeneous porous media. To solve the nonlinear governing equations, we employ the GMsFEM to represent the solution on a coarse grid with multiscale basis functions and apply proper orthogonal decomposition on a coarse grid. Computing the GMsFEM solution involves calculating the residual and the Jacobian on a fine grid. As such, we use local and global empirical interpolation concepts to circumvent performing these computations on the fine grid. The resulting reduced-order approach significantly reduces the flow problem size while accurately capturing the behavior of fully-resolved solutions. We consider several numerical examples of nonlinear multiscale partial differential equations that are numerically integrated using fully-implicit time marching schemes to demonstrate the capability of the proposed model reduction approach to speed up simulations of nonlinear flows in high-contrast porous media.

Anomalous behaviors during infiltration into heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Aarão Reis, F. D. A.; Bolster, D.; Voller, V. R.

2018-03-01

Flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media often exhibit anomalous behavior. A physical analog example is the uni-directional infiltration of a viscous liquid into a horizontal oriented Hele-Shaw cell containing through thickness flow obstacles; a system designed to mimic a gravel/sand medium with impervious inclusions. When there are no obstacles present or the obstacles form a multi-repeating pattern, the change of the length of infiltration F with time t tends to follow a Fickian like scaling, F ∼t1/2 . In the presence of obstacle fields laid out as Sierpinski carpet fractals, infiltration is anomalous, i.e., F ∼ tn, n ≠ 1/2. Here, we study infiltration into such Hele-Shaw cells. First we investigate infiltration into a square cell containing one fractal carpet and make the observation that it is possible to generate both sub (n 1/2) diffusive behaviors within identical heterogeneity configurations. We show that this can be explained in terms of a scaling analysis developed from results of random-walk simulations in fractal obstacles; a result indicating that the nature of the domain boundary controls the exponent n of the resulting anomalous transport. Further, we investigate infiltration into a rectangular cell containing several repeats of a given Sierpinski carpet. At very early times, before the liquid encounters any obstacles, the infiltration is Fickian. When the liquid encounters the first (smallest scale) obstacle the infiltration sharply transitions to sub-diffusive. Subsequently, around the time where the liquid has sampled all of the heterogeneity length scales in the system, there is a rapid transition back to Fickian behavior. An explanation for this second transition is obtained by developing a simplified infiltration model based on the definition of a representative averaged hydraulic conductivity.

Geological entropy and solute transport in heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchi, Marco; Pedretti, Daniele

2017-06-01

We propose a novel approach to link solute transport behavior to the physical heterogeneity of the aquifer, which we fully characterize with two measurable parameters: the variance of the log K values (σY2), and a new indicator (HR) that integrates multiple properties of the K field into a global measure of spatial disorder or geological entropy. From the results of a detailed numerical experiment considering solute transport in K fields representing realistic distributions of hydrofacies in alluvial aquifers, we identify empirical relationship between the two parameters and the first three central moments of the distributions of arrival times of solute particles at a selected control plane. The analysis of experimental data indicates that the mean and the variance of the solutes arrival times tend to increase with spatial disorder (i.e., HR increasing), while highly skewed distributions are observed in more orderly structures (i.e., HR decreasing) or at higher σY2. We found that simple closed-form empirical expressions of the bivariate dependency of skewness on HR and σY2 can be used to predict the emergence of non-Fickian transport in K fields considering a range of structures and heterogeneity levels, some of which based on documented real aquifers. The accuracy of these predictions and in general the results from this study indicate that a description of the global variability and structure of the K field in terms of variance and geological entropy offers a valid and broadly applicable approach for the interpretation and prediction of transport in heterogeneous porous media.

Effect of chemical and physical heterogeneities on colloid-facilitated cesium transport

Science.gov (United States)

Rod, Kenton; Um, Wooyong; Chun, Jaehun; Wu, Ning; Yin, Xialong; Wang, Guohui; Neeves, Keith

2018-06-01

A set of column experiments was conducted to investigate the chemical and physical heterogeneity effect on colloid facilitated transport under slow pore velocity conditions. Pore velocities were kept below 100 cm d-1 for all experiments. Glass beads were packed into columns establishing four different conditions: 1) homogeneous, 2) mixed physical heterogeneity, 3) sequentially layered physical heterogeneity, and 4) chemical heterogeneity. The homogeneous column was packed with glass beads (diameter 500-600 μm), and physical heterogeneities were created by sequential layering or mixing two sizes of glass bead (500-600 μm and 300-400 μm). A chemical heterogeneity was created using 25% of the glass beads coated with hydrophobic molecules (1H-1H-2H-2H-perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane) mixed with 75% pristine glass beads (all 500-600 μm). Input solution with 0.5 mM CsI and 50 mg L-1 colloids (1-μm diameter SiO2) was pulsed into columns under saturated conditions. The physical heterogeneity in the packed glass beads retarded the transport of colloids compared to homogeneous (R = 25.0), but showed only slight differences between sequentially layered (R = 60.7) and mixed heterogeneity(R = 62.4). The column with the chemical, hydrophobic/hydrophilic, heterogeneity removed most of the colloids from the input solution. All column conditions stripped Cs from colloids onto the column matrix of packed glass beads.

Effect of capillary forces on immiscible two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

van Duijn, C.J.; Molenaar, J.; de Neef, M.J.

1994-12-31

We consider the one-dimensional two-phase flow including capillary effects through a heterogeneous porous medium. The heterogeneity is due to the spatial variation of the absolute permeability and the porosity. Both these quantities are assumed to be piecewise constant. At interfaces where the rock properties are discontinuous, we derive, by a regularization technique, conditions to match the values of the saturation on both sides. There are two conditions: a flux condition and an extended pressure condition. Applying these conditions we show that trapping of the wetting phase may occur near hetergeneities. To illustrate the behavior of the saturation we consider a time-dependent diffusion problem without convection, a stationary convection-diffusion problem, and the full time-dependent convection-diffusion problem (numerically). In particular the last two problems explicitly show the trapping behavior.

Simulation of DNAPL migration in heterogeneous translucent porous media based on estimation of representative elementary volume

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ming; Wu, Jianfeng; Wu, Jichun

2017-10-01

When the dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) comes into the subsurface environment, its migration behavior is crucially affected by the permeability and entry pressure of subsurface porous media. A prerequisite for accurately simulating DNAPL migration in aquifers is then the determination of the permeability, entry pressure and corresponding representative elementary volumes (REV) of porous media. However, the permeability, entry pressure and corresponding representative elementary volumes (REV) are hard to determine clearly. This study utilizes the light transmission micro-tomography (LTM) method to determine the permeability and entry pressure of two dimensional (2D) translucent porous media and integrates the LTM with a criterion of relative gradient error to quantify the corresponding REV of porous media. As a result, the DNAPL migration in porous media might be accurately simulated by discretizing the model at the REV dimension. To validate the quantification methods, an experiment of perchloroethylene (PCE) migration is conducted in a two-dimensional heterogeneous bench-scale aquifer cell. Based on the quantifications of permeability, entry pressure and REV scales of 2D porous media determined by the LTM and relative gradient error, different models with different sizes of discretization grid are used to simulate the PCE migration. It is shown that the model based on REV size agrees well with the experimental results over the entire migration period including calibration, verification and validation processes. This helps to better understand the microstructures of porous media and achieve accurately simulating DNAPL migration in aquifers based on the REV estimation.

Transfers in heterogeneous environments; Transferts en milieux heterogenes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flesselles, J M [Saint-Gobain Recherche, 93 - Aubervilliers (France); Gouesbet, G; Mees, L; Roze, C; Girasole, Th; Grehan, G [Laboratoire d' Electromagnetisme et Systemes Particulaires (LESP), UMR CNRS 6614, CORIA. Universite de Rouen et INSA de Rouen, 76 - Saint-Etienne du Rouvray (France); Goyheneche, J M; Vignoles, G; Coindreau, O [Laboratoire des Composites Thermostructuraux (LCTS), UMR 5801, 33 - Pessac (France); Moyne, Ch [LEMTA (UMR 7563) CNRS-INPL-UHP, 54 - Vandoeuvre les Nancy (France); Coussy, O [Institut Navier - ENPC, 77 - Marne-la-Vallee (France); Lassabatere, Th [Electricite de France Les Renardieres, Dept. Materiaux Mecanique des Composants, 77 - Moret sur Loing (France); Tadrist, L [IUSTI - UMR 6595, 13 - Marseille (France)

2004-07-01

This document gathers the articles and transparencies of the invited talks given at the 2004 French congress of thermal engineering about transfers in heterogeneous environment. Content: transfer phenomena in industrial glass furnaces; simple and multiple scattering diagnosis by femto-second pulsed laser: application to particulate diagnoses; thermal modeling of thermo-structural composites; hybrid mixtures theory, average volumic measurement, periodical or stochastic homogenization: advance in scale change processes; thermo-hydro-chemical-mechanical coupling in porous medium: application to young concrete structures and to clay barriers of disposal facilities; transfers and flows in fluidization: recent advances and future challenges. (J.S.)

Pore-scale simulations of concentration tails in heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Di Palma, Paolo Roberto; Parmigiani, Andrea; Huber, Christian; Guyennon, Nicolas; Viotti, Paolo

2017-10-01

The retention of contaminants in the finest and less-conductive regions of natural aquifer is known to strongly affect the decontamination of polluted aquifers. In fact, contaminant transfer from low to high mobility regions at the back end of a contaminant plume (i.e. back diffusion) is responsible for the long-term release of contaminants during remediation operation. In this paper, we perform pore-scale calculations for the transport of contaminant through heterogeneous porous media composed of low and high mobility regions with two objectives: (i) study the effect of permeability contrast and solute transport conditions on the exchange of solutes between mobile and immobile regions and (ii) estimate the mass of contaminants sequestered in low mobility regions based on concentration breakthrough curves.

Optimization of chemical displacement deposition of copper on porous silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandarenka, Hanna; Redko, Sergey; Nenzi, Paolo; Balucani, Marco; Bondarenko, Vitaly

2012-11-01

Copper (II) sulfate was used as a source of copper to achieve uniform distribution of Cu particles deposited on porous silicon. Layers of the porous silicon were formed by electrochemical anodization of Si wafers in a mixture of HF, C3H7OH and deionized water. The well-known chemical displacement technique was modified to grow the copper particles of specific sizes. SEM and XRD analysis revealed that the outer surface of the porous silicon was covered with copper particles of the crystal orientation inherited from the planes of porous silicon skeleton. The copper crystals were found to have the cubic face centering elementary cell. In addition, the traces of Cu2O cubic primitive crystalline phases were identified. The dimensions of Cu particles were determined by the Feret's analysis of the SEM images. The sizes of the particles varied widely from a few to hundreds of nanometers. A phenomenological model of copper deposition was proposed.

Determination of the diffusivity, dispersion, skewness and kurtosis in heterogeneous porous flow. Part I: Analytical solutions with the extended method of moments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginzburg, Irina; Vikhansky, Alexander

2018-05-01

The extended method of moments (EMM) is elaborated in recursive algorithmic form for the prediction of the effective diffusivity, the Taylor dispersion dyadic and the associated longitudinal high-order coefficients in mean-concentration profiles and residence-time distributions. The method applies in any streamwise-periodic stationary d-dimensional velocity field resolved in the piecewise continuous heterogeneous porosity field. It is demonstrated that EMM reduces to the method of moments and the volume-averaging formulation in microscopic velocity field and homogeneous soil, respectively. The EMM simultaneously constructs two systems of moments, the spatial and the temporal, without resorting to solving of the high-order upscaled PDE. At the same time, the EMM is supported with the reconstruction of distribution from its moments, allowing to visualize the deviation from the classical ADE solution. The EMM can be handled by any linear advection-diffusion solver with explicit mass-source and diffusive-flux jump condition on the solid boundary and permeable interface. The prediction of the first four moments is decisive in the optimization of the dispersion, asymmetry, peakedness and heavy-tails of the solute distributions, through an adequate design of the composite materials, wetlands, chemical devices or oil recovery. The symbolic solutions for dispersion, skewness and kurtosis are constructed in basic configurations: diffusion process and Darcy flow through two porous blocks in "series", straight and radial Poiseuille flow, porous flow governed by the Stokes-Brinkman-Darcy channel equation and a fracture surrounded by penetrable diffusive matrix or embedded in porous flow. We examine the moments dependency upon porosity contrast, aspect ratio, Péclet and Darcy numbers, but also for their response on the effective Brinkman viscosity applied in flow modeling. Two numerical Lattice Boltzmann algorithms, a direct solver of the microscopic ADE in heterogeneous

Bacterial Transport in Heterogeneous Porous Media: Laboratory and Field Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, M. E.

2001-12-01

A fully instrumented research site for examining field-scale bacterial transport has been established on the eastern shore of Virginia. Studies employing intact sediment cores from the South Oyster site have been performed to examine the effects of physical and chemical heterogeneity, to derive transport parameters, and to aid in the selection of bacterial strains for use in field experiments. A variety of innovative methods for tracking bacteria were developed and evaluated under both laboratory and field conditions, providing the tools to detect target cell concentrations in groundwater down to effects of physical and chemical heterogeneity on field-scale bacterial transport. The results of this research not only contribute to the development of more effective bioremediation strategies, but also have implications for a better understanding of bacterial movement in the subsurface as it relates to public health microbiology and general microbial ecology.

Micro-PIV measurements of multiphase flow of water and liquid CO2 in 2-D heterogeneous porous micromodels

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaofa; Kazemifar, Farzan; Blois, Gianluca; Christensen, Kenneth T.

2017-07-01

We present an experimental study of pore-scale flow dynamics of liquid CO2 and water in a two-dimensional heterogeneous porous micromodel, inspired by the structure of a reservoir rock, at reservoir-relevant conditions (80 bar, 21°C). The entire process of CO2 infiltration into a water-saturated micromodel was captured using fluorescence microscopy and the micro-PIV method, which together reveal complex fluid displacement patterns and abrupt changes in velocity. The CO2 front migrated through the resident water in an intermittent manner, forming dendritic structures, termed fingers, in directions along, normal to, and even opposing the bulk pressure gradient. Such characteristics indicate the dominance of capillary fingering through the micromodel. Velocity burst events, termed Haines jumps, were also captured in the heterogeneous micromodel, during which the local Reynolds number was estimated to be ˜21 in the CO2 phase, exceeding the range of validity of Darcy's law. Furthermore, these drainage events were observed to be cooperative (i.e., across multiple pores simultaneously), with the zone of influence of such events extending beyond tens of pores, confirming, in a quantitative manner, that Haines jumps are nonlocal phenomena. After CO2 completely breaks through the porous section, shear-induced circulations caused by flowing CO2 were also observed, in agreement with previous studies using a homogeneous porous micromodel. To our knowledge, this study is the first quantitative measurement that incorporates both reservoir-relevant conditions and rock-inspired heterogeneity, and thus will be useful for pore-scale model development and validation.

Three-phase flow in heterogeneous wettability porous media; Deplacements triphasiques en milieux poreux de mouillabilite heterogene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaffrennou-Laroche, C

1998-11-26

Better understanding and modelling of three-phase flow through porous media is of great interest, especially for improved oil recovery methods such as gas injection processes. Early theoretical and experimental studies have already demonstrated that the wettability characteristics of the solid surface and the spreading characteristics of the fluid system hold the key roles. This observation is confirmed by our theoretical results using DLP theory on the stability and the thickness of static oil films. In most of the works related to three-phase flow processes, homogeneous wettability is assumed. There exist only a few studies demonstrating the tremendous impact of the wettability heterogeneities on gas injection. The objective of the present work is twofold: to demonstrate the effect of small scale wettability heterogeneities on gas injection efficiency, and to develop a tool to predict this impact for various patterns and spatial distributions. To this end an experimental investigation in transparent glass micro-models is performed and a theoretical simulator is developed. Secondary and tertiary gas injections are performed for different heterogeneity patterns obtained by selective silane grafting. Displacement sequences are video-recorded and fluid saturations are determined by image analysis. Visualization of the displacement mechanisms provides the network model with the basic rules for water/oil and water/oil/gas motion. In water/oil displacement, drainage and imbibition occur according to the local wettability. Three-phase displacement is dominated by drainage mechanisms. The simulator allows the flow of oil through wetting films in the oil-wet regions and through spreading films on water in the water-wet regions. The effect of the wettability heterogeneities on: displacement mechanisms, sweep efficiency, and fluid distribution in three-phase gas injection is clearly demonstrated and successfully described by the network simulator. (author) 175 refs.

Multiscale Characterization of Structural Compositional and Textural Heterogeneity of Nano-porous Geomaterials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Hongkyu [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Geomechanics Dept.

2017-09-01

The purpose of the project was to perform multiscale characterization of low permeability rocks to determine the effect of physical and chemical heterogeneity on the poromechanical and flow responses of shales and carbonate rocks with a broad range of physical and chemical heterogeneity . An integrated multiscale imaging of shale and carbonate rocks from nanometer to centimeter scales include s dual focused ion beam - scanning electron microscopy (FIB - SEM) , micro computed tomography (micro - CT) , optical and confocal microscopy, and 2D and 3D energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In addition, mineralogical mapping and backscattered imaging with nanoindentation testing advanced the quantitative evaluat ion of the relationship between material heterogeneity and mechanical behavior. T he spatial distribution of compositional heterogeneity, anisotropic bedding patterns, and mechanical anisotropy were employed as inputs for brittle fracture simulations using a phase field model . Comparison of experimental and numerical simulations reveal ed that proper incorporation of additional material information, such as bedding layer thickness and other geometrical attributes of the microstructures, can yield improvements on the numerical prediction of the mesoscale fracture patterns and hence the macroscopic effective toughness. Overall, a comprehensive framework to evaluate the relationship between mechanical response and micro-lithofacial features can allow us to make more accurate prediction of reservoir performance by developing a multi - scale understanding of poromechanical response to coupled chemical and mechanical interactions for subsurface energy related activities.

Catalytic reaction in a porous solid subject to a boundary layer flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihail, R; Teddorescu, C

1978-01-01

A mathematical model of a boundary layer flowing past a catalytic slab was developed which included an analysis of the coupled mass and heat transfer and the heterogeneous chemical reaction. The porous flat plate was used to illustrate the interaction of boundary layer flow with chemical reaction within a porous catalytic body. The model yielded systems of transcendental equations which were solved numerically by means of a superposition integral in connection with a norm reduction procedure. A parametric study was conducted and an analysis of the possible multiplicity of steady states was developed and illustrated for the extreme case of infinite solid thermal conductivity. Tables, diagrams, graphs, and 12 references.

Effects of physical and chemical heterogeneity on water-quality samples obtained from wells

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, Thomas E.; Gibs, Jacob

1993-01-01

Factors that affect the mass of chemical constituents entering a well include the distributions of flow rate and chemical concentrations along and near the screened or open section of the well. Assuming a layered porous medium (with each layer being characterized by a uniform hydraulic conductivity and chemical concentration), a knowledge of the flow from each layer along the screened zone and of the chemical concentrations in each layer enables the total mass entering the well to be determined. Analyses of hypothetical systems and a site at Galloway, NJ, provide insight into the temporal variation of water-quality data observed when withdrawing water from screened wells in heterogeneous ground-water systems.The analyses of hypothetical systems quantitatively indicate the cause-and-effect relations that cause temporal variability in water samples obtained from wells. Chemical constituents that have relatively uniform concentrations with depth may not show variations in concentrations in the water discharged from a well after the well is purged (evacuation of standing water in the well casing). However, chemical constituents that do not have uniform concentrations near the screened interval of the well may show variations in concentrations in the well discharge water after purging because of the physics of ground-water flow in the vicinity of the screen.Water-quality samples were obtained through time over a 30 minute period from a site at Galloway, NJ. The water samples were analyzed for aromatic hydrocarbons, and the data for benzene, toluene, and meta+para xylene were evaluated for temporal variations. Samples were taken from seven discrete zones, and the flow-weighted concentrations of benzene, toluene, and meta+para xylene all indicate an increase in concentration over time during pumping. These observed trends in time were reproduced numerically based on the estimated concentration distribution in the aquifer and the flow rates from each zone.The results of

A Brillouin scattering study of the effect of chemical passivation on the elastic properties of porous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, H. J.; Kuok, M. H.; Ng, S. C.; Boukherroub, R.; Lockwood, D. J.

2002-07-01

Brillouin scattering has been performed to probe acoustic waves in porous silicon films that have been chemically modified with either 1-decene, decyl aldehyde, undecylenic acid, or ethyl undecylenate. The shift in the frequencies of acoustic modes in the passivated porous silicon samples, relative to those in freshly prepared porous silicon, is different for different chemical modifiers. The magnitude of the frequency shift is qualitatively correlated with the change, caused by the passivation, in the average densities and elastic constants of the samples.

Finite volume approximation of the three-dimensional flow equation in axisymmetric, heterogeneous porous media based on local analytical solution

KAUST Repository

Salama, Amgad

2013-09-01

In this work the problem of flow in three-dimensional, axisymmetric, heterogeneous porous medium domain is investigated numerically. For this system, it is natural to use cylindrical coordinate system, which is useful in describing phenomena that have some rotational symmetry about the longitudinal axis. This can happen in porous media, for example, in the vicinity of production/injection wells. The basic feature of this system is the fact that the flux component (volume flow rate per unit area) in the radial direction is changing because of the continuous change of the area. In this case, variables change rapidly closer to the axis of symmetry and this requires the mesh to be denser. In this work, we generalize a methodology that allows coarser mesh to be used and yet yields accurate results. This method is based on constructing local analytical solution in each cell in the radial direction and moves the derivatives in the other directions to the source term. A new expression for the harmonic mean of the hydraulic conductivity in the radial direction is developed. Apparently, this approach conforms to the analytical solution for uni-directional flows in radial direction in homogeneous porous media. For the case when the porous medium is heterogeneous or the boundary conditions is more complex, comparing with the mesh-independent solution, this approach requires only coarser mesh to arrive at this solution while the traditional methods require more denser mesh. Comparisons for different hydraulic conductivity scenarios and boundary conditions have also been introduced. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Electrochemical formation of InP porous nanostructures and its application to amperometric chemical sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Taketomo; Mizohata, Akinori; Fujino, Toshiyuki; Hashizume, Tamotsu

2008-01-01

In this paper, we report the electrochemical formation of the InP porous nanostructures and their feasibility for the application to the amperometric chemical sensors. Our two step electrochemical process consists of the pore formation on a (001) n-type InP substrate and the subsequent etching of pore walls caused by changing the polarity of the InP electrode in a HCl-based electrolyte. By applying the anodic bias to the InP electrode, the high-density array of uniform nanopores was formed on the surface. Next, the cathodic bias was applied to the porous sample to reduce the wall thickness by cathodic decomposition of InP, where the thickness of InP nanowall decreased uniformly along the entire depth of the porous layer. From the amperometric measurements of the porous electrode, it was found that the electrocatalytic activity was much higher than that of the planar electrode. Furthermore, the current sensitivity for the H 2 O 2 detection was much enhanced after the cathodic decomposition process. The InP porous nanostructure formed by the present process is one of the promising structures for the application to the semiconductor-based bio/chemical sensors. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Multiscale Lattice Boltzmann method for flow simulations in highly heterogenous porous media

KAUST Repository

Li, Jun

2013-01-01

A lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for flow simulations in highly heterogeneous porous media at both pore and Darcy scales is proposed in the paper. In the pore scale simulations, flow of two phases (e.g., oil and gas) or two immiscible fluids (e.g., water and oil) are modeled using cohesive or repulsive forces, respectively. The relative permeability can be computed using pore-scale simulations and seamlessly applied for intermediate and Darcy-scale simulations. A multiscale LBM that can reduce the computational complexity of existing LBM and transfer the information between different scales is implemented. The results of coarse-grid, reduced-order, simulations agree very well with the averaged results obtained using fine grid.

The Effect of Wettability Heterogeneity on Relative Permeability of Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media: A Lattice Boltzmann Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jianlin; Kang, Qinjun; Yao, Jun; Viswanathan, Hari; Pawar, Rajesh; Zhang, Lei; Sun, Hai

2018-02-01

Relative permeability is a critical parameter characterizing multiphase flow in porous media and it is strongly dependent on the wettability. In many situations, the porous media are nonuniformly wet. To investigate the effect of wettability heterogeneity on relative permeability of two-phase flow in porous media, a multi-relaxation-time color-gradient lattice Boltzmann model is adopted to simulate oil/water two-phase flow in porous media with different oil-wet solid fractions. For the water phase, when the water saturation is high, the relative permeability of water increases with the increase of oil-wet solid fraction under a constant water saturation. However, as the water saturation decreases to an intermediate value (about 0.4-0.7), the relative permeability of water in fractionally wet porous media could be lower than that in purely water-wet porous media, meaning additional flow resistance exists in the fractionally wet porous media. For the oil phase, similar phenomenon is observed. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the wettability-related microscale fluid distribution. According to both our simulation results and theoretical analysis, it is found that the relative permeability of two-phase flow in porous media is strongly related to three parameters: the fluid saturation, the specific interfacial length of fluid, and the fluid tortuosity in the flow direction. The relationship between the relative permeability and these parameters under different capillary numbers is explored in this paper.

Concept on groundwater flow and mass transport through heterogeneous porous media and application to in-situ test analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatanaka, Koichiro; Umeki, Hiroyuki.

1995-01-01

Generally, geological media is modelled as porous or fractured media depending on their characteristics. Since the channels of groundwater flow and the transport paths are determined by the heterogeneity of the geological media, quantitative understanding of the heterogeneity is an important issue for modelling flow and transport processes through them. Therefore, it becomes popular way to develop statistical identification approaches of the heterogeneous field by using data from in-situ test and conduct validation studies of flow and transport models through the field by comparing with observed data. In this report, the theories of the identification approach and the concept on groundwater flow and mass transport are explained briefly and the application to tracer tests conducted at Grimsel test site, Switzerland, are described. (author)

The Compatibility of Hepatocytes with Chemically Modified Porous Silicon with Reference to In Vitro Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Sara D.; Derfus, Austin M.; Schwartz, Michael P.; Bhatia, Sangeeta N.; Sailor, Michael J.

2008-01-01

Porous Si is a nanostructured material that is of interest for molecular and cell-based biosensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering applications. Surface chemistry is an important factor determining the stability of porous Si in aqueous media, its affinity for various biomolecular species, and its compatibility with tissues. In this study, the attachment and viability of a primary cell type to porous Si samples containing various surface chemistries is reported, and the ability of the porous Si films to retain their optical reflectivity properties relevant to molecular biosensing is assessed. Four chemical species grafted to the porous Si surface are studied: silicon oxide (via ozone oxidation), dodecyl (via hydrosilylation with dodecene), undecanoic acid (via hydrosilylation with undecylenic acid), and oligo(ethylene) glycol (via hydrosilylation with undecylenic acid followed by an oligo(ethylene) glycol coupling reaction). Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and contact angle measurements are used to characterize the surface. Adhesion and short-term viability of primary rat hepatocytes on these surfaces, with and without pre-adsorption of collagen type I, are assessed using vital dyes (calcein-AM and ethidium homodimer I). Cell viability on undecanoic acid-terminated porous Si, oxide-terminated porous Si, and oxide-terminated flat (non-porous) Si are monitored by quantification of albumin production over the course of 8 days. The stability of porous Si thin films after 8 days in cell culture is probed by measuring the optical interferometric reflectance spectra. Results show that hepatocytes adhere better to surfaces coated with collagen, and that chemical modification does not exert a deleterious effect on primary rat hepatocytes. The hydrosilylation chemistry greatly improves the stability of porous Si in contact with cultured primary cells while allowing cell coverage levels comparable to standard culture preparations on tissue culture

The Theory of Thermodynamics for Chemical Reactions in Dispersed Heterogeneous Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yongqiang; Baojiao; Jianfeng

1997-07-01

In this paper, the expressions of Gibbs energy change, enthalpy change, entropy change, and equilibrium constant for chemical reactions in dispersed heterogeneous systems are derived using classical thermodynamics theory. The thermodynamical relations for the same reaction system between the dispersed and the block state are also derived. The effects of degree of dispersion on thermodynamical properties, reaction directions, and chemical equilibria are discussed. The results show that the present equation of thermodynamics for chemical reactions is only a special case of the above-mentioned formulas and that the effect of the dispersity of a heterogeneous system on the chemical reaction obeys the Le Chatelier principle of movement of equilibria.

Influence of chemical heterogeneity of solid solutions on brittleness in chromium steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madyanov, S.A.; Sedov, V.K.; Apaev, B.A.

1985-01-01

The role of chemical heterogeneity of solid solutions in formation of mechanical properties of Kh09, Kh15, Kh20, Kh19N2G5T chromium steels has been investigated. It is established that besides the known regioA of chemical heterogeneity in the vicinity of 475 deg C exists a high-temperature region (1000-1050 deg C), where maximum heteroge=- neity of chromium distribution in solid solution, is observed. Both types of chemical heterogeneity cause essential hardening of alloys, which becomes apparent in abrupt change of capability to microplastic deformation The mechanism of occurrence of the given temper brittleness consists in carbon diffusion into microvolunes enriched in carbide-forming elements

Modeling multicomponent ionic transport in groundwater with IPhreeqc coupling: Electrostatic interactions and geochemical reactions in homogeneous and heterogeneous domains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muniruzzaman, Muhammad; Rolle, Massimo

2016-01-01

is coupled with the geochemical code PHREEQC-3 by utilizing the IPhreeqc module, thus enabling to perform the geochemical calculations included in the PHREEQC's reaction package. The multicomponent reactive transport code is benchmarked with different 1-D and 2-D transport problems. Successively...... the electrostatic interactions during transport of charged ions in physically and chemically heterogeneous porous media. The modeling approach is based on the local charge balance and on the description of compound-specific and spatially variable diffusive/dispersive fluxes. The multicomponent ionic transport code......, conservative and reactive transport examples are presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed model to simulate transport of charged species in heterogeneous porous media with spatially variable physical and chemical properties. The results reveal that the Coulombic cross-coupling between dispersive...

Flow of miscible and immiscible hydrocarbons in heterogeneous porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butts, M.B.

1996-12-31

A series of large-scale two-dimensional physical model studies has been carried out in order to better understand and predict the multiphase flow of hydrocarbon contaminants and the release of the water-soluble fraction of such contaminants into the groundwater stream. The detailed measurements of the fluid saturations within the bulk hydrocarbon plume as well as the aqueous concentrations recorded downstream should provide a useful data set for testing and improving numerical models of both multiphase flow and transport. Predictions of a numerical model of immiscible multiphase flow developed in the petroleum industry were found to compare favourably with the observed oil plume for the case of an immiscible oil spill. Nevertheless, subtle layering within the experimental flume altered the long-term development of the oil plume in a manner not predicted by the numerical model. A stochastic model for three-dimensional, two-phase incompressible flow in heterogeneous soil and rock formations is developed. Analytical solutions for the resulting stochastic differential equations are derived for asymptotic flows using a perturbation approach. These solutions were used to derive general expressions for the large-scale (effective) properties for large-scale two-phase flow in porous media. An important observation from this analysis is that general large-scale flow in heterogeneous soils cannot be predicted on the basis of simple averages of the soil hydraulic properties alone. The large-scale capillary pressure saturation relation is evaluated for imbibition into a wet soil or rock formation. (EG) 194 refs.

Flow of miscible and immiscible hydrocarbons in heterogeneous porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butts, M B

1997-12-31

A series of large-scale two-dimensional physical model studies has been carried out in order to better understand and predict the multiphase flow of hydrocarbon contaminants and the release of the water-soluble fraction of such contaminants into the groundwater stream. The detailed measurements of the fluid saturations within the bulk hydrocarbon plume as well as the aqueous concentrations recorded downstream should provide a useful data set for testing and improving numerical models of both multiphase flow and transport. Predictions of a numerical model of immiscible multiphase flow developed in the petroleum industry were found to compare favourably with the observed oil plume for the case of an immiscible oil spill. Nevertheless, subtle layering within the experimental flume altered the long-term development of the oil plume in a manner not predicted by the numerical model. A stochastic model for three-dimensional, two-phase incompressible flow in heterogeneous soil and rock formations is developed. Analytical solutions for the resulting stochastic differential equations are derived for asymptotic flows using a perturbation approach. These solutions were used to derive general expressions for the large-scale (effective) properties for large-scale two-phase flow in porous media. An important observation from this analysis is that general large-scale flow in heterogeneous soils cannot be predicted on the basis of simple averages of the soil hydraulic properties alone. The large-scale capillary pressure saturation relation is evaluated for imbibition into a wet soil or rock formation. (EG) 194 refs.

Synthesis of sulfonated porous carbon nanospheres solid acid by a facile chemical activation route

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Binbin, E-mail: changbinbin806@163.com; Guo, Yanzhen; Yin, Hang; Zhang, Shouren; Yang, Baocheng, E-mail: baochengyang@yahoo.com

2015-01-15

Generally, porous carbon nanospheres materials are usually prepared via a template method, which is a multi-steps and high-cost strategy. Here, we reported a porous carbon nanosphere solid acid with high surface area and superior porosity, as well as uniform nanospheical morphology, which prepared by a facile chemical activation with ZnCl{sub 2} using resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins spheres as precursor. The activation of RF resins spheres by ZnCl{sub 2} at 400 °C brought high surface area and large volume, and simultaneously retained numerous oxygen-containing and hydrogen-containing groups due to the relatively low processing temperature. The presence of these functional groups is favorable for the modification of –SO{sub 3}H groups by a followed sulfonation treating with sulphuric acid and organic sulfonic acid. The results of N{sub 2} adsorption–desorption and electron microscopy clearly showed the preservation of porous structure and nanospherical morphology. Infrared spectra certified the variation of surface functional groups after activation and the successful modification of –SO{sub 3}H groups after sulfonation. The acidities of catalysts were estimated by an indirect titration method and the modified amount of –SO{sub 3}H groups were examined by energy dispersive spectra. The results suggested sulfonated porous carbon nanospheres catalysts possessed high acidities and –SO{sub 3}H densities, which endowed their significantly catalytic activities for biodiesel production. Furthermore, their excellent stability and recycling property were also demonstrated by five consecutive cycles. - Graphical abstract: Sulfonated porous carbon nanospheres with high surface area and superior catalytic performance were prepared by a facile chemical activation route. - Highlights: • Porous carbon spheres solid acid prepared by a facile chemical activation. • It owns high surface area, superior porosity and uniform spherical morphology. • It possesses

On the Longitudinal Dispersion in Conservative Transport Through Heterogeneous Porous Formations at Finite Peclet Numbers

Science.gov (United States)

Severino, Gerardo; Cuomo, Salvatore; Sommella, Angelo; D'urso, Guido

2017-10-01

We consider transport of a conservative solute through an aquifer as determined: (i) by the advective velocity, which depends upon the hydraulic conductivity K and (ii) by the local spreading due to the pore-scale dispersion (PSD). The flow is steady, and it takes place in a porous formation where, owing to its erratic spatial variations, the hydraulic log conductivity Y≡ln⁡K is modeled as a stationary Gaussian random field. The relative effect of the above mechanisms (i)-(ii) is quantified by the Peclet number>(Pe>) which, in most of the previous studies, was considered infinite (i.e., no PSD) due to the overtake of advective heterogeneities upon the PSD. Here we aim at generalizing such studies by accounting for the impact of finite Pe on conservative transport. Previous studies on the topic required extensive numerical computations. In the present note, we remove the computational burden by adopting the rational approximate expression of Dagan and Cvetkovic (1993) for the covariance of the velocity field. This allows one to obtain closed form expressions for the quantities characterizing the longitudinal plume's dispersion. Transport can be straightforwardly investigated by dealing with a modified Peclet number>(Pe>¯>) incorporating both the PSD and the aquifer's anisotropy. The satisfactory match to Cape Cod field data suggests that the present theoretical results lend themselves as a useful tool to assess the impact of the PSD upon conservative transport through heterogeneous porous formations.

A note on variational multiscale methods for high-contrast heterogeneous porous media flows with rough source terms

KAUST Repository

Calo, Victor M.

2011-09-01

In this short note, we discuss variational multiscale methods for solving porous media flows in high-contrast heterogeneous media with rough source terms. Our objective is to separate, as much as possible, subgrid effects induced by the media properties from those due to heterogeneous source terms. For this reason, enriched coarse spaces designed for high-contrast multiscale problems are used to represent the effects of heterogeneities of the media. Furthermore, rough source terms are captured via auxiliary correction equations that appear in the formulation of variational multiscale methods [23]. These auxiliary equations are localized and one can use additive or multiplicative constructions for the subgrid corrections as discussed in the current paper. Our preliminary numerical results show that one can capture the effects due to both spatial heterogeneities in the coefficients (such as permeability field) and source terms (e.g., due to singular well terms) in one iteration. We test the cases for both smooth source terms and rough source terms and show that with the multiplicative correction, the numerical approximations are more accurate compared to the additive correction. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Transport of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts in Charge Heterogeneous Porous Media: Microfluidics Experiment and Numerical Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y.; Meng, X.; Guo, Z.; Zhang, C.; Nguyen, T. H.; Hu, D.; Ji, J.; Yang, X.

2017-12-01

Colloidal attachment on charge heterogeneous grains has significant environmental implications for transport of hazardous colloids, such as pathogens, in the aquifer, where iron, manganese, and aluminium oxide minerals are the major source of surface charge heterogeneity of the aquifer grains. A patchwise surface charge model is often used to describe the surface charge heterogeneity of the grains. In the patchwise model, the colloidal attachment efficiency is linearly correlated with the fraction of the favorable patches (θ=λ(θf - θu)+θu). However, our previous microfluidic study showed that the attachment efficiency of oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum, a waterborne protozoan parasite, was not linear correlated with the fraction of the favorable patches (λ). In this study, we developed a pore scale model to simulate colloidal transport and attachment on charge heterogeneous grains. The flow field was simulated using the LBM method and colloidal transport and attachment were simulated using the Lagrange particle tracking method. The pore scale model was calibrated with experimental results of colloidal and oocyst transport in microfluidic devices and was then used to simulate oocyst transport in charge heterogeneous porous media under a variety of environmental relative conditions, i.e. the fraction of favorable patchwise, ionic strength, and pH. The results of the pore scale simulations were used to evaluate the effect of surface charge heterogeneity on upscaling of oocyst transport from pore to continuum scale and to develop an applicable correlation between colloidal attachment efficiency and the fraction of the favorable patches.

Complexity Reduction of Multiphase Flows in Heterogeneous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Ghommem, Mehdi

2015-04-22

In this paper, we apply mode decomposition and interpolatory projection methods to speed up simulations of two-phase flows in heterogeneous porous media. We propose intrusive and nonintrusive model-reduction approaches that enable a significant reduction in the size of the subsurface flow problem while capturing the behavior of the fully resolved solutions. In one approach, we use the dynamic mode decomposition. This approach does not require any modification of the reservoir simulation code but rather post-processes a set of global snapshots to identify the dynamically relevant structures associated with the flow behavior. In the second approach, we project the governing equations of the velocity and the pressure fields on the subspace spanned by their proper-orthogonal-decomposition modes. Furthermore, we use the discrete empirical interpolation method to approximate the mobility-related term in the global-system assembly and then reduce the online computational cost and make it independent of the fine grid. To show the effectiveness and usefulness of the aforementioned approaches, we consider the SPE-10 benchmark permeability field, and present a numerical example in two-phase flow. One can efficiently use the proposed model-reduction methods in the context of uncertainty quantification and production optimization.

Chemical synthesis of porous web-structured CdS thin films for photosensor applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gosavi, S.R., E-mail: srgosavi.taloda@gmail.com [C. H. C. Arts, S. G. P. Commerce, and B. B. J. P. Science College, Taloda, Dist., Nandurbar 425413, M. S. (India); Nikam, C.P. [B.S.S.P.M.S. Arts, Commerce and Science College, Songir, Dist., Dhule 424309, M. S. (India); Shelke, A.R.; Patil, A.M. [Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, M.S. (India); Ryu, S.-W. [Department of Physics, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea, Republic of); Bhat, J.S. [Department of Physics, Karnatak University, Dharwad 580003 (India); Deshpande, N.G., E-mail: nicedeshpande@yahoo.co.in [Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, M.S. (India)

2015-06-15

The photo-activity of chemically deposited cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin film has been studied. The simple chemical route nucleates the CdS films with size up to the mean free path of the electron. Growth Kinematics of crystalline hexagonal CdS phase in the thin film form was monitored using X-ray diffraction. The time limitation set for the formation of the amorphous/nano-crystalline material is 40 and 60 min. Thereafter enhancement of the crystalline orientation along the desired plane was identified. Web-like porous structured surface morphology of CdS thin film over the entire area is observed. With decrease in synthesis time, increase of band gap energy i.e., a blue spectral shift was seen. The activation energy of CdS thin film at low and high temperature region was examined. It is considered that this activation energy corresponds to the donor levels associated with shallow traps or surface states of CdS thin film. The photo-electrochemical performance of CdS thin films in polysulphide electrolyte showed diode-like characteristics. Exposure of light on the CdS electrode increases the photocurrent. This suggests the possibility of production of free carriers via excited ions and also the light harvesting mechanism due to porous web-structured morphology. These studies hint that the obtained CdS films can work as a photosensor. - Highlights: • Photoactivity of chemically synthesized cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films was studied. • Web-like porous structured surface morphology of CdS thin film over the entire area was observed. • Blue spectral shift with lowering of the synthesis time suggests films can act as a window layer over the absorber layer. • Porous web-structured CdS thin films can be useful in light harvesting.

Chemical synthesis of porous web-structured CdS thin films for photosensor applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gosavi, S.R.; Nikam, C.P.; Shelke, A.R.; Patil, A.M.; Ryu, S.-W.; Bhat, J.S.; Deshpande, N.G.

2015-01-01

The photo-activity of chemically deposited cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin film has been studied. The simple chemical route nucleates the CdS films with size up to the mean free path of the electron. Growth Kinematics of crystalline hexagonal CdS phase in the thin film form was monitored using X-ray diffraction. The time limitation set for the formation of the amorphous/nano-crystalline material is 40 and 60 min. Thereafter enhancement of the crystalline orientation along the desired plane was identified. Web-like porous structured surface morphology of CdS thin film over the entire area is observed. With decrease in synthesis time, increase of band gap energy i.e., a blue spectral shift was seen. The activation energy of CdS thin film at low and high temperature region was examined. It is considered that this activation energy corresponds to the donor levels associated with shallow traps or surface states of CdS thin film. The photo-electrochemical performance of CdS thin films in polysulphide electrolyte showed diode-like characteristics. Exposure of light on the CdS electrode increases the photocurrent. This suggests the possibility of production of free carriers via excited ions and also the light harvesting mechanism due to porous web-structured morphology. These studies hint that the obtained CdS films can work as a photosensor. - Highlights: • Photoactivity of chemically synthesized cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films was studied. • Web-like porous structured surface morphology of CdS thin film over the entire area was observed. • Blue spectral shift with lowering of the synthesis time suggests films can act as a window layer over the absorber layer. • Porous web-structured CdS thin films can be useful in light harvesting

A Universal Isotherm Model to Capture Adsorption Uptake and Energy Distribution of Porous Heterogeneous Surface

KAUST Repository

Ng, Kim Choon; Burhan, Muhammad; Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil; Ismail, Azahar Bin

2017-01-01

The adsorbate-adsorbent thermodynamics are complex as it is influenced by the pore size distributions, surface heterogeneity and site energy distribution, as well as the adsorbate properties. Together, these parameters defined the adsorbate uptake forming the state diagrams, known as the adsorption isotherms, when the sorption site energy on the pore surfaces are favorable. The available adsorption models for describing the vapor uptake or isotherms, hitherto, are individually defined to correlate to a certain type of isotherm patterns. There is yet a universal approach in developing these isotherm models. In this paper, we demonstrate that the characteristics of all sorption isotherm types can be succinctly unified by a revised Langmuir model when merged with the concepts of Homotattic Patch Approximation (HPA) and the availability of multiple sets of site energy accompanied by their respective fractional probability factors. The total uptake (q/q*) at assorted pressure ratios (P/P s ) are inextricably traced to the manner the site energies are spread, either naturally or engineered by scientists, over and across the heterogeneous surfaces. An insight to the porous heterogeneous surface characteristics, in terms of adsorption site availability has been presented, describing the unique behavior of each isotherm type.

A Universal Isotherm Model to Capture Adsorption Uptake and Energy Distribution of Porous Heterogeneous Surface

KAUST Repository

Ng, Kim Choon

2017-08-31

The adsorbate-adsorbent thermodynamics are complex as it is influenced by the pore size distributions, surface heterogeneity and site energy distribution, as well as the adsorbate properties. Together, these parameters defined the adsorbate uptake forming the state diagrams, known as the adsorption isotherms, when the sorption site energy on the pore surfaces are favorable. The available adsorption models for describing the vapor uptake or isotherms, hitherto, are individually defined to correlate to a certain type of isotherm patterns. There is yet a universal approach in developing these isotherm models. In this paper, we demonstrate that the characteristics of all sorption isotherm types can be succinctly unified by a revised Langmuir model when merged with the concepts of Homotattic Patch Approximation (HPA) and the availability of multiple sets of site energy accompanied by their respective fractional probability factors. The total uptake (q/q*) at assorted pressure ratios (P/P s ) are inextricably traced to the manner the site energies are spread, either naturally or engineered by scientists, over and across the heterogeneous surfaces. An insight to the porous heterogeneous surface characteristics, in terms of adsorption site availability has been presented, describing the unique behavior of each isotherm type.

Massively Parallel Geostatistical Inversion of Coupled Processes in Heterogeneous Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, A.; Schwede, R. L.; Li, W.; Bastian, P.; Ippisch, O.; Cirpka, O. A.

2012-04-01

The quasi-linear geostatistical approach is an inversion scheme that can be used to estimate the spatial distribution of a heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity field. The estimated parameter field is considered to be a random variable that varies continuously in space, meets the measurements of dependent quantities (such as the hydraulic head, the concentration of a transported solute or its arrival time) and shows the required spatial correlation (described by certain variogram models). This is a method of conditioning a parameter field to observations. Upon discretization, this results in as many parameters as elements of the computational grid. For a full three dimensional representation of the heterogeneous subsurface it is hardly sufficient to work with resolutions (up to one million parameters) of the model domain that can be achieved on a serial computer. The forward problems to be solved within the inversion procedure consists of the elliptic steady-state groundwater flow equation and the formally elliptic but nearly hyperbolic steady-state advection-dominated solute transport equation in a heterogeneous porous medium. Both equations are discretized by Finite Element Methods (FEM) using fully scalable domain decomposition techniques. Whereas standard conforming FEM is sufficient for the flow equation, for the advection dominated transport equation, which rises well known numerical difficulties at sharp fronts or boundary layers, we use the streamline diffusion approach. The arising linear systems are solved using efficient iterative solvers with an AMG (algebraic multigrid) pre-conditioner. During each iteration step of the inversion scheme one needs to solve a multitude of forward and adjoint problems in order to calculate the sensitivities of each measurement and the related cross-covariance matrix of the unknown parameters and the observations. In order to reduce interprocess communications and to improve the scalability of the code on larger clusters

Stability of Miscible Displacements Across Stratified Porous Media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shariati, Maryam; Yortsos, Yanis C.

2000-09-11

This report studied macro-scale heterogeneity effects. Reflecting on their importance, current simulation practices of flow and displacement in porous media were invariably based on heterogeneous permeability fields. Here, it was focused on a specific aspect of such problems, namely the stability of miscible displacements in stratified porous media, where the displacement is perpendicular to the direction of stratification.

Chemical heterogeneities in the interior of terrestrial bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Plesa, Ana-Catalina; Maurice, Maxime; Tosi, Nicola; Breuer, Doris

2016-04-01

Mantle chemical heterogeneities that can strongly influence the interior dynamics have been inferred for all terrestrial bodies of the Solar System and range from local to global scale. Seismic data for the Earth, differences in surface mineral compositions observed in data sets from space missions, and isotopic variations identified in laboratory analyses of meteorites or samples indicate chemically heterogeneous systems. One way to generate large scale geochemical heterogeneities is through the fractional crystallization of a liquid magma ocean. The large amount of energy available in the early stages of planetary evolution can cause melting of a significant part or perhaps even the entire mantle of a terrestrial body resulting in a liquid magma ocean. Assuming fractional crystallization, magma ocean solidification proceeds from the core-mantle boundary to the surface where dense cumulates tend to form due to iron enrichment in the evolving liquid. This process leads to a gravitationally unstable mantle, which is prone to overturn. Following cumulate overturn, a stable stratification may be reached that prevents efficient material transport. As a consequence, mantle reservoirs may be kept separate, possibly for the entire thermo-chemical evolution of a terrestrial body. Scenarios assuming fractional crystallization of a liquid magma ocean have been suggested to explain lavas with distinct composition on Mercury's surface [1], the generation of the Moon's mare basalts by sampling a reservoir consisting of overturned ilmenite-bearing cumulates [2], and the preservation of Mars' geochemical reservoirs as inferred by isotopic analysis of the SNC meteorites [3]. However, recent studies have shown that the style of the overturn as well as the subsequent density stratification are of extreme importance for the subsequent thermo-chemical evolution of a planetary body and may have a major impact on the later surface tectonics and volcanic history. The rapid formation of a

Synthesis and applications of MOF-derived porous nanostructures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Hui Yap

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Metal organic frameworks (MOFs represent a class of porous material which is formed by strong bonds between metal ions and organic linkers. By careful selection of constituents, MOFs can exhibit very high surface area, large pore volume, and excellent chemical stability. Research on synthesis, structures and properties of various MOFs has shown that they are promising materials for many applications, such as energy storage, gas storage, heterogeneous catalysis and sensing. Apart from direct use, MOFs have also been used as support substrates for nanomaterials or as sacrificial templates/precursors for preparation of various functional nanostructures. In this review, we aim to present the most recent development of MOFs as precursors for the preparation of various nanostructures and their potential applications in energy-related devices and processes. Specifically, this present survey intends to push the boundaries and covers the literatures from the year 2013 to early 2017, on supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries, electrocatalysts, photocatalyst, gas sensing, water treatment, solar cells, and carbon dioxide capture. Finally, an outlook in terms of future challenges and potential prospects towards industrial applications are also discussed. Keywords: Metal organic frameworks, Porous nanostructures, Supercapacitors, Lithium ion batteries, Heterogeneous catalyst

Microstructures and photocatalytic properties of porous ZnO films synthesized by chemical bath deposition method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Huihu; Dong, Shijie; Chang Ying; Zhou Xiaoping; Hu Xinbin

2012-01-01

Different porous ZnO film structures on the surface of alumina substrates were prepared through a simple chemical bath deposition method in the methanolic zinc acetate solution. The surface morphology and phase structure of porous ZnO film were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Both initial zinc acetate concentration and sintering temperature have great impact on the final film structures. With the increase of initial zinc acetate concentration, the porous structures can be finely tuned from circular nest like assemblies composed film into successive nest like film, and finally to globular aggregates composed film. By increasing the sintering temperature, the porous structure of successive nest like film can be further controlled. Furthermore, the crystallinity of photocatalysts also can be greatly improved. The photodegradation results of Methyl Orange revealed that porous ZnO film with successive nest like structure sintered at 500 °C exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity under UV illumination.

Development of Methods for Obtaining Position Image and Chemical Binding Information from Flow Experiments of Porous Media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haugan, Are

1998-12-01

Existing oil reservoirs might be more fully exploited if the properties of the flow of oil and water in porous media were better known. In laboratory experiments it is important to collect as much information as possible to make a descriptive model of the system, including position imaging and chemical binding information. This thesis develops nuclear methods for obtaining position image and chemical binding information from flow experiments of porous media. A combined positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography system to obtain position images, and a time-differential perturbed angular correlation system to obtain chemical binding information, have been built and thoroughly tested. 68 refs., 123 figs., 14 tabs.

Manufacturing a Porous Structure According to the Process Parameters of Functional 3D Porous Polymer Printing Technology Based on a Chemical Blowing Agent

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, C. J.; Shin, B. S.; Kang, B. S.; Yun, D. H.; You, D. B.; Hong, S. M.

2017-09-01

In this paper, we propose a new porous polymer printing technology based on CBA(chemical blowing agent), and describe the optimization process according to the process parameters. By mixing polypropylene (PP) and CBA, a hybrid CBA filament was manufactured; the diameter of the filament ranged between 1.60 mm and 1.75 mm. A porous polymer structure was manufactured based on the traditional fused deposition modelling (FDM) method. The process parameters of the three-dimensional (3D) porous polymer printing (PPP) process included nozzle temperature, printing speed, and CBA density. Porosity increase with an increase in nozzle temperature and CBA density. On the contrary, porosity increase with a decrease in the printing speed. For porous structures, it has excellent mechanical properties. We manufactured a simple shape in 3D using 3D PPP technology. In the future, we will study the excellent mechanical properties of 3D PPP technology and apply them to various safety fields.

Upscaling of Large-Scale Transport in Spatially Heterogeneous Porous Media Using Wavelet Transformation

Science.gov (United States)

Moslehi, M.; de Barros, F.; Ebrahimi, F.; Sahimi, M.

2015-12-01

Modeling flow and solute transport in large-scale heterogeneous porous media involves substantial computational burdens. A common approach to alleviate this complexity is to utilize upscaling methods. These processes generate upscaled models with less complexity while attempting to preserve the hydrogeological properties comparable to the original fine-scale model. We use Wavelet Transformations (WT) of the spatial distribution of aquifer's property to upscale the hydrogeological models and consequently transport processes. In particular, we apply the technique to a porous formation with broadly distributed and correlated transmissivity to verify the performance of the WT. First, transmissivity fields are coarsened using WT in such a way that the high transmissivity zones, in which more important information is embedded, mostly remain the same, while the low transmissivity zones are averaged out since they contain less information about the hydrogeological formation. Next, flow and non-reactive transport are simulated in both fine-scale and upscaled models to predict both the concentration breakthrough curves at a control location and the large-scale spreading of the plume around its centroid. The results reveal that the WT of the fields generates non-uniform grids with an average of 2.1% of the number of grid blocks in the original fine-scale models, which eventually leads to a significant reduction in the computational costs. We show that the upscaled model obtained through the WT reconstructs the concentration breakthrough curves and the spreading of the plume at different times accurately. Furthermore, the impacts of the Hurst coefficient, size of the flow domain and the orders of magnitude difference in transmissivity values on the results have been investigated. It is observed that as the heterogeneity and the size of the domain increase, better agreement between the results of fine-scale and upscaled models can be achieved. Having this framework at hand aids

Metal-assisted chemical etch porous silicon formation method

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiuling; Bohn, Paul W.; Sweedler, Jonathan V.

2004-09-14

A thin discontinuous layer of metal such as Au, Pt, or Au/Pd is deposited on a silicon surface. The surface is then etched in a solution including HF and an oxidant for a brief period, as little as a couple seconds to one hour. A preferred oxidant is H.sub.2 O.sub.2. Morphology and light emitting properties of porous silicon can be selectively controlled as a function of the type of metal deposited, Si doping type, silicon doping level, and/or etch time. Electrical assistance is unnecessary during the chemical etching of the invention, which may be conducted in the presence or absence of illumination.

Modified chemical synthesis of porous α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumbhar, V.S.; Jagadale, A.D. [Thin Film Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, (M.S.) 416004 (India); Gaikwad, N.S. [Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, Satara, (M.S.) 415 001 (India); Lokhande, C.D., E-mail: l_chandrakant@yahoo.com [Thin Film Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, (M.S.) 416004 (India)

2014-08-15

Highlights: • A novel chemical route to prepare α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films. • A porous honeycomb like morphology of the α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin film. • An application of α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin film toward its supercapacitive behaviour. - Abstract: The paper reports synthesis of porous α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films using modified chemical synthesis, also known as successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), wettability and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) techniques are used for the study of structural, elemental, morphological and optical properties of α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} films. An orthorhombic crystal structure of α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} is resulted from XRD study. The SEM and AFM observations showed highly porous α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} film surface. An optical band gap of 2.50 eV is estimated from optical absorption spectrum. The porous α-Sm{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin film tuned for supercapacitive behaviour using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge discharge showed a specific capacitance and energy density of 294 Fg{sup –1} and 48.9 kW kg{sup –1}, respectively in 1 M LiClO{sub 4}–propylene carbonate electrolyte.

Quantifying seismic anisotropy induced by small-scale chemical heterogeneities

Science.gov (United States)

Alder, C.; Bodin, T.; Ricard, Y.; Capdeville, Y.; Debayle, E.; Montagner, J. P.

2017-12-01

Observations of seismic anisotropy are usually used as a proxy for lattice-preferred orientation (LPO) of anisotropic minerals in the Earth's mantle. In this way, seismic anisotropy observed in tomographic models provides important constraints on the geometry of mantle deformation associated with thermal convection and plate tectonics. However, in addition to LPO, small-scale heterogeneities that cannot be resolved by long-period seismic waves may also produce anisotropy. The observed (i.e. apparent) anisotropy is then a combination of an intrinsic and an extrinsic component. Assuming the Earth's mantle exhibits petrological inhomogeneities at all scales, tomographic models built from long-period seismic waves may thus display extrinsic anisotropy. In this paper, we investigate the relation between the amplitude of seismic heterogeneities and the level of induced S-wave radial anisotropy as seen by long-period seismic waves. We generate some simple 1-D and 2-D isotropic models that exhibit a power spectrum of heterogeneities as what is expected for the Earth's mantle, that is, varying as 1/k, with k the wavenumber of these heterogeneities. The 1-D toy models correspond to simple layered media. In the 2-D case, our models depict marble-cake patterns in which an anomaly in shear wave velocity has been advected within convective cells. The long-wavelength equivalents of these models are computed using upscaling relations that link properties of a rapidly varying elastic medium to properties of the effective, that is, apparent, medium as seen by long-period waves. The resulting homogenized media exhibit extrinsic anisotropy and represent what would be observed in tomography. In the 1-D case, we analytically show that the level of anisotropy increases with the square of the amplitude of heterogeneities. This relation is numerically verified for both 1-D and 2-D media. In addition, we predict that 10 per cent of chemical heterogeneities in 2-D marble-cake models can

Chemical vapor deposition of yttria stabilized zirconia in porous substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carolan, M.F.; Michaels, J.N.

1987-01-01

Electrochemical vapor deposition (EVD) of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the preferred route to the production of thin films of YSZ on porous substrates. This process has been used in the construction of both fuel cells and steam electrolyzers. A critical aspect of the EVD process is an initial chemical vapor deposition phase in which the pores of a porous substrate are plugged by YSZ. In this process, water vapor and a mixture of gaseous zirconium chloride and yttrium chloride diffuse into the porous substrate from opposite sides and react to form YSZ and HCl ga. During the second stage of the process a continuous dense film of electrolyte is formed by a tarnishing-type process. Experimentally it is observed that the pores plug within a few pore diameters of the metal chloride face of the substrate. A kinetic rate expression that is first order in metal chloride but zero order in water is best able to explain this phenomenon. With this rate expression, the pores always plug near the metal chloride face. The model predicts less pore narrowing to occur as the ratio of the reaction rate to the diffusion rate of the metal chloride is increased. A kinetic rate expression that is first order in both water and metal chloride predicts that the pores plug much deeper in the substrate

Upscaled Lattice Boltzmann Method for Simulations of Flows in Heterogeneous Porous Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An upscaled Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM for flow simulations in heterogeneous porous media at the Darcy scale is proposed in this paper. In the Darcy-scale simulations, the Shan-Chen force model is used to simplify the algorithm. The proposed upscaled LBM uses coarser grids to represent the average effects of the fine-grid simulations. In the upscaled LBM, each coarse grid represents a subdomain of the fine-grid discretization and the effective permeability with the reduced-order models is proposed as we coarsen the grid. The effective permeability is computed using solutions of local problems (e.g., by performing local LBM simulations on the fine grids using the original permeability distribution and used on the coarse grids in the upscaled simulations. The upscaled LBM that can reduce the computational cost of existing LBM and transfer the information between different scales is implemented. The results of coarse-grid, reduced-order, simulations agree very well with averaged results obtained using a fine grid.

Upscaled Lattice Boltzmann Method for Simulations of Flows in Heterogeneous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Li, Jun

2017-02-16

An upscaled Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for flow simulations in heterogeneous porous media at the Darcy scale is proposed in this paper. In the Darcy-scale simulations, the Shan-Chen force model is used to simplify the algorithm. The proposed upscaled LBM uses coarser grids to represent the average effects of the fine-grid simulations. In the upscaled LBM, each coarse grid represents a subdomain of the fine-grid discretization and the effective permeability with the reduced-order models is proposed as we coarsen the grid. The effective permeability is computed using solutions of local problems (e.g., by performing local LBM simulations on the fine grids using the original permeability distribution) and used on the coarse grids in the upscaled simulations. The upscaled LBM that can reduce the computational cost of existing LBM and transfer the information between different scales is implemented. The results of coarse-grid, reduced-order, simulations agree very well with averaged results obtained using a fine grid.

The kinetics of nonequilibrium chain plasma-chemical oxidation in heterogeneous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deminskii, M.A.; Potapkin, B.V.; Rusanov, V.D.

1994-01-01

The kinetics of oxidation of low-impurity components in air mixtures under heterogeneous conditions was studied. The principal kinetic features of the process were determined on the basis of theoretical analysis of plasma-chemical oxidation in heterogeneous media. The analysis also showed that low concentrations of impurities in liquid aerosol particles can be efficiently oxidized via a chain process induced by reactive species formed in the gas

Continuous-Flow Processes in Heterogeneously Catalyzed Transformations of Biomass Derivatives into Fuels and Chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio A. Romero

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Continuous flow chemical processes offer several advantages as compared to batch chemistries. These are particularly relevant in the case of heterogeneously catalyzed transformations of biomass-derived platform molecules into valuable chemicals and fuels. This work is aimed to provide an overview of key continuous flow processes developed to date dealing with a series of transformations of platform chemicals including alcohols, furanics, organic acids and polyols using a wide range of heterogeneous catalysts based on supported metals, solid acids and bifunctional (metal + acidic materials.

Sedimentation behaviour and colloidal properties of porous, chemically modified silicas in non-aqueous solvents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vissers, J.P.C.; Laven, J.; Claessens, H.A.; Cramers, C.A.M.G.; Agterof, W.G.M.

1997-01-01

The sedimentation behaviour and colloidal properties of porous, chemically modified silicas dispersed in non-aqueous solvents have been studied. The free settling behaviour of non-aggregated silica suspensions could effectively be described with a modified Stokes equation that takes into account the

Different effects of surface heterogeneous atoms of porous and non-porous carbonaceous materials on adsorption of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane in aqueous environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Weifeng; Ni, Jinzhi

2017-05-01

The surface heterogeneous atoms of carbonaceous materials (CMs) play an important role in adsorption of organic pollutants. However, little is known about the surface heterogeneous atoms of CMs might generate different effect on adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds by porous carbonaceous materials - activated carbons (ACs) and non-porous carbonaceous materials (NPCMs). In this study, we observed that the surface oxygen and nitrogen atoms could decrease the adsorption affinity of both ACs and NPCMs for 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA), but the degree of decreasing effects were very different. The increasing content of surface oxygen and nitrogen ([O + N]) caused a sharper decrease in adsorption affinity of ACs (slope of lg (k d /SA) vs [O + N]: -0.098∼-0.16) than that of NPCMs (slope of lg (k d /SA) vs [O + N]: -0.025∼-0.059) for TeCA. It was due to the water cluster formed by the surface hydrophilic atoms that could block the micropores and generate massive invalid adsorption sites in the micropores of ACs, while the water cluster only occupied the surface adsorption sites of NPCMs. Furthermore, with the increasing concentration of dissolved TeCA, the effect of surface area on adsorption affinity of NPCMs for TeCA kept constant while the effect of [O + N] decreased due to the competitive adsorption between water molecule and TeCA on the surface of NPCMs, meanwhile, both the effects of micropore volume and [O + N] on adsorption affinity of ACs for TeCA were decreased due to the mechanism of micropore volume filling. These findings are valuable for providing a deep insight into the adsorption mechanisms of CMs for TeCA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-consistency of a heterogeneous continuum porous medium representation of a fractured medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoch, A.R.; Jackson, C.P.; Todman, S.

1998-01-01

For many of the rocks that are, or have been, under investigation as potential host rocks for a radioactive waste repository, groundwater flow is considered to take place predominantly through discontinuities such as fractures. Although models of networks of discrete features (DFN models) would be the most realistic models for such rocks, calculations on large length scales would not be computationally practicable. A possible approach would be to use heterogeneous continuum porous-medium (CPM) models in which each block has an effective permeability appropriate to represent the network of features within the block. In order to build confidence in this approach, it is necessary to demonstrate that the approach is self-consistent, in the sense that if the effective permeability on a large length scale is derived using the CPM model, the result is close to the value derived directly from the underlying network model. It is also desirable to demonstrate self-consistency for the use of stochastic heterogeneous CPM models that are built as follows. The correlation structure of the effective permeability on the scale of the blocks is inferred by analysis of the effective permeabilities obtained from the underlying DFN model. Then realizations of the effective permeability within the domain of interest are generated on the basis of the correlation structure, rather than being obtained directly from the underlying DFN model. A study of self-consistency is presented for two very different underlying DFN models: one based on the properties of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group at Sellafield, and one based on the properties of the granite at Aespoe in Sweden. It is shown that, in both cases, the use of heterogeneous CPM models based directly on the DFN model is self-consistent, provided that care is taken in the evaluation of the effective permeability for the DFN models. It is also shown that the use of stochastic heterogeneous CPM models based on the correlation structure of the

Computational thermal, chemical, fluid, and solid mechanics for geosystems management.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davison, Scott; Alger, Nicholas; Turner, Daniel Zack; Subia, Samuel Ramirez; Carnes, Brian; Martinez, Mario J.; Notz, Patrick K.; Klise, Katherine A.; Stone, Charles Michael; Field, Richard V., Jr.; Newell, Pania; Jove-Colon, Carlos F.; Red-Horse, John Robert; Bishop, Joseph E.; Dewers, Thomas A.; Hopkins, Polly L.; Mesh, Mikhail; Bean, James E.; Moffat, Harry K.; Yoon, Hongkyu

2011-09-01

This document summarizes research performed under the SNL LDRD entitled - Computational Mechanics for Geosystems Management to Support the Energy and Natural Resources Mission. The main accomplishment was development of a foundational SNL capability for computational thermal, chemical, fluid, and solid mechanics analysis of geosystems. The code was developed within the SNL Sierra software system. This report summarizes the capabilities of the simulation code and the supporting research and development conducted under this LDRD. The main goal of this project was the development of a foundational capability for coupled thermal, hydrological, mechanical, chemical (THMC) simulation of heterogeneous geosystems utilizing massively parallel processing. To solve these complex issues, this project integrated research in numerical mathematics and algorithms for chemically reactive multiphase systems with computer science research in adaptive coupled solution control and framework architecture. This report summarizes and demonstrates the capabilities that were developed together with the supporting research underlying the models. Key accomplishments are: (1) General capability for modeling nonisothermal, multiphase, multicomponent flow in heterogeneous porous geologic materials; (2) General capability to model multiphase reactive transport of species in heterogeneous porous media; (3) Constitutive models for describing real, general geomaterials under multiphase conditions utilizing laboratory data; (4) General capability to couple nonisothermal reactive flow with geomechanics (THMC); (5) Phase behavior thermodynamics for the CO2-H2O-NaCl system. General implementation enables modeling of other fluid mixtures. Adaptive look-up tables enable thermodynamic capability to other simulators; (6) Capability for statistical modeling of heterogeneity in geologic materials; and (7) Simulator utilizes unstructured grids on parallel processing computers.

Complexity reduction of multi-phase flows in heterogeneous porous media

KAUST Repository

Ghommem, Mehdi

2013-01-01

In this paper, we apply mode decomposition and interpolatory projection methods to speed up simulations of two-phase flows in highly heterogeneous porous media. We propose intrusive and non-intrusive model reduction approaches that enable a significant reduction in the dimension of the flow problem size while capturing the behavior of the fully-resolved solutions. In one approach, we employ the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) and the discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM). This approach does not require any modification of the reservoir simulation code but rather postprocesses a set of global snapshots to identify the dynamically-relevant structures associated with the flow behavior. In a second approach, we project the governing equations of the velocity and the pressure fields on the subspace spanned by their proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) modes. Furthermore, we use DEIM to approximate the mobility related term in the global system assembly and then reduce the online computational cost and make it independent of the fine grid. To show the effectiveness and usefulness of the aforementioned approaches, we consider the SPE 10 benchmark permeability field and present a variety of numerical examples of two-phase flow and transport. The proposed model reduction methods can be efficiently used when performing uncertainty quantification or optimization studies and history matching.

Porous TiO₂-Based Gas Sensors for Cyber Chemical Systems to Provide Security and Medical Diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Galstyan, Vardan

2017-12-19

Gas sensors play an important role in our life, providing control and security of technical processes, environment, transportation and healthcare. Consequently, the development of high performance gas sensor devices is the subject of intense research. TiO₂, with its excellent physical and chemical properties, is a very attractive material for the fabrication of chemical sensors. Meanwhile, the emerging technologies are focused on the fabrication of more flexible and smart systems for precise monitoring and diagnosis in real-time. The proposed cyber chemical systems in this paper are based on the integration of cyber elements with the chemical sensor devices. These systems may have a crucial effect on the environmental and industrial safety, control of carriage of dangerous goods and medicine. This review highlights the recent developments on fabrication of porous TiO₂-based chemical gas sensors for their application in cyber chemical system showing the convenience and feasibility of such a model to provide the security and to perform the diagnostics. The most of reports have demonstrated that the fabrication of doped, mixed and composite structures based on porous TiO₂ may drastically improve its sensing performance. In addition, each component has its unique effect on the sensing properties of material.

Magnetic porous Fe3O4/carbon octahedra derived from iron-based metal-organic framework as heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenhui; Wu, Xiaofeng; Li, Shuangde; Tang, Wenxiang; Chen, Yunfa

2018-04-01

The synthesis of effective and recyclable Fenton-like catalyst is still a key factor for advanced oxidation processes. Herein, magnetic porous Fe3O4/carbon octahedra were constructed by a two-step controlled calcination of iron-based metal organic framework. The porous octahedra were assembled by interpenetrated Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with graphitic carbon layer, offering abundant mesoporous channels for the solid-liquid contact. Moreover, the oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of graphitic carbon endow the catalysts with hydrophilic nature and well-dispersion into water. The porous Fe3O4/carbon octahedra show efficiently heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions for decomposing the organic dye methylene blue (MB) with the help of H2O2, and nearly 100% removal efficiency within 60 min. Furthermore, the magnetic catalyst retains the activity after ten cycles and can be easily separated by external magnetic field, indicating the long-term catalytic durability and recyclability. The good Fenton-like catalytic performance of the as-synthesized Fe3O4/carbon octahedra is ascribed to the unique mesoporous structure derived from MOF-framework, as well as the sacrificial role and stabilizing effect of graphitic carbon layer. This work provides a facile strategy for the controllable synthesis of integrated porous octahedral structure with graphitic carbon layer, and thereby the catalyst holds significant potential for wastewater treatment.

A new approach to tracer transport analysis: From fracture systems to strongly heterogeneous porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsang, Chin-Fu.

1989-02-01

Many current development and utilization of groundwater resources include a study of their flow and transport properties. These properties are needed in evaluating possible changes in groundwater quality and potential transport of hazardous solutes through the groundwater system. Investigation of transport properties of fractured rocks is an active area of research. Most of the current approaches to the study of flow and transport in fractured rocks cannot be easily used for analysis of tracer transport field data. A new approach is proposed based on a detailed study of transport through a fracture of variable aperture. This is a two-dimensional strongly heterogeneous permeable system. It is suggested that tracer breakthrough curves can be analyzed based on an aperture or permeability probability distribution function that characterizes the tracer flow through the fracture. The results are extended to a multi-fracture system and can be equally applied to a strongly heterogeneous porous medium. Finally, the need for multi-point or line and areal tracer injection and observation tests is indicated as a way to avoid the sensitive dependence of point measurements on local permeability variability. 30 refs., 15 figs

Porous TiO2-Based Gas Sensors for Cyber Chemical Systems to Provide Security and Medical Diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Gas sensors play an important role in our life, providing control and security of technical processes, environment, transportation and healthcare. Consequently, the development of high performance gas sensor devices is the subject of intense research. TiO2, with its excellent physical and chemical properties, is a very attractive material for the fabrication of chemical sensors. Meanwhile, the emerging technologies are focused on the fabrication of more flexible and smart systems for precise monitoring and diagnosis in real-time. The proposed cyber chemical systems in this paper are based on the integration of cyber elements with the chemical sensor devices. These systems may have a crucial effect on the environmental and industrial safety, control of carriage of dangerous goods and medicine. This review highlights the recent developments on fabrication of porous TiO2-based chemical gas sensors for their application in cyber chemical system showing the convenience and feasibility of such a model to provide the security and to perform the diagnostics. The most of reports have demonstrated that the fabrication of doped, mixed and composite structures based on porous TiO2 may drastically improve its sensing performance. In addition, each component has its unique effect on the sensing properties of material. PMID:29257076

Impact of supersonic and subsonic aircraft on ozone: Including heterogeneous chemical reaction mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinnison, D.E.; Wuebbles, D.J.

1992-01-01

Preliminary calculations suggest that heterogeneous reactions are important in calculating the impact on ozone from emissions of trace gases from aircraft fleets. In this study, three heterogeneous chemical processes that occur on background sulfuric acid aerosols are included and their effects on O 3 , NO x , Cl x , HCl, N 2 O 5 , ClONO 2 are calculated

Re-establishing filtering capabilities of machined porous beryllium via chemical reduction and cleaning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Randall, W.L.

1975-01-01

Porous beryllium is furnished in sheets of varying sizes and thickness; it is therefore necessary that it be machined into specified sizes. A chemical reduction and cleaning procedure was devised to remove the disrupted surface, open the sealed pores of the material, and clean entrapped contaminates from the internal structure. Dimensional stability can be closely controlled and material size is of no consequence. (U.S.)

Tailored Porous Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

BARTON,THOMAS J.; BULL,LUCY M.; KLEMPERER,WALTER G.; LOY,DOUGLAS A.; MCENANEY,BRIAN; MISONO,MAKOTO; MONSON,PETER A.; PEZ,GUIDO; SCHERER,GEORGE W.; VARTULI,JAMES C.; YAGHI,OMAR M.

1999-11-09

Tailoring of porous materials involves not only chemical synthetic techniques for tailoring microscopic properties such as pore size, pore shape, pore connectivity, and pore surface reactivity, but also materials processing techniques for tailoring the meso- and the macroscopic properties of bulk materials in the form of fibers, thin films and monoliths. These issues are addressed in the context of five specific classes of porous materials: oxide molecular sieves, porous coordination solids, porous carbons, sol-gel derived oxides, and porous heteropolyanion salts. Reviews of these specific areas are preceded by a presentation of background material and review of current theoretical approaches to adsorption phenomena. A concluding section outlines current research needs and opportunities.

Dynamic modeling of porous heterogeneous micro/nanobeams

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimi, Farzad; Jafari, Ali; Reza Barati, Mohammad

2017-12-01

In the present paper, the thermo-mechanical vibration characteristics of a functionally graded (FG) porous microbeam subjected to various types of thermal loadings are investigated based on modified couple stress theory and exact position of neutral axis. The FG micro/nanobeam is modeled via a refined hyperbolic beam theory in which the shear deformation effect is verified without the shear correction factor. A modified power-law distribution which contains porosity volume fraction is used to describe the graded material properties of the FG micro/nanobeam. The temperature field has uniform, linear and nonlinear distributions across the thickness. The governing equations and the related boundary conditions are derived by Hamilton's principle and they are solved applying an analytical solution which satisfies various boundary conditions. A comparison study is performed to verify the present formulation with the known data in the literature and a good agreement is observed. The parametric study covered in this paper includes several parameters, such as thermal loadings, porosity volume fraction, power-law exponents, slenderness ratio, scale parameter and various boundary conditions on natural frequencies of porous FG micro/nanobeams in detail.

Rapid Production of a Porous Cellulose Acetate Membrane for Water Filtration Using Readily Available Chemicals

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Adrian; Stark, Wendelin J.; Grass, Robert N.

2017-01-01

A chemistry laboratory experiment using everyday items and readily available chemicals is described to introduce advanced high school students and undergraduate college students to porous polymer membranes. In a three-step manufacturing process, a membrane is produced at room temperature. The filtration principle of the membrane is then…

Porous organic cages

Science.gov (United States)

Tozawa, Tomokazu; Jones, James T. A.; Swamy, Shashikala I.; Jiang, Shan; Adams, Dave J.; Shakespeare, Stephen; Clowes, Rob; Bradshaw, Darren; Hasell, Tom; Chong, Samantha Y.; Tang, Chiu; Thompson, Stephen; Parker, Julia; Trewin, Abbie; Bacsa, John; Slawin, Alexandra M. Z.; Steiner, Alexander; Cooper, Andrew I.

2009-12-01

Porous materials are important in a wide range of applications including molecular separations and catalysis. We demonstrate that covalently bonded organic cages can assemble into crystalline microporous materials. The porosity is prefabricated and intrinsic to the molecular cage structure, as opposed to being formed by non-covalent self-assembly of non-porous sub-units. The three-dimensional connectivity between the cage windows is controlled by varying the chemical functionality such that either non-porous or permanently porous assemblies can be produced. Surface areas and gas uptakes for the latter exceed comparable molecular solids. One of the cages can be converted by recrystallization to produce either porous or non-porous polymorphs with apparent Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas of 550 and 23m2g-1, respectively. These results suggest design principles for responsive porous organic solids and for the modular construction of extended materials from prefabricated molecular pores.

Pore-network model of evaporation-induced salt precipitation in porous media: The effect of correlations and heterogeneity

Science.gov (United States)

Dashtian, Hassan; Shokri, Nima; Sahimi, Muhammad

2018-02-01

Salt transport and precipitation in porous media constitute a set of complex and fascinating phenomena that are of considerable interest to several important problems, ranging from storage of CO2 in geological formations, to soil fertility, and protection of pavements and roads, as well as historical monuments. The phenomena occur at the pore scale and are greatly influenced by the heterogeneity of the pore space morphology. We present a pore-network (PN) model to study the phenomena. Vapor diffusion, capillary effect at the brine-vapor interface, flow of brine, and transport of salt and its precipitation in the pores that plug the pores partially or completely are all accounted for. The drying process is modeled by the invasion percolation, while transport of salt in brine is accounted for by the convective-diffusion equation. We demonstrate that the drying patterns, the clustering and connectivity of the pore throats in which salt precipitation occurs, the saturation distribution, and the drying rate are all strongly dependent upon the pore-size distribution, the correlations among the pore sizes, and the anisotropy of the pore space caused by stratification that most natural porous media contain. In particular, if the strata are more or less parallel to the direction of injection of the gas that dries out the pore space (air, for example) and/or causes salt precipitation (CO2, for example), the drying rate increases significantly. Moreover, salt tends to precipitate in clusters of neighboring pores that are parallel to the open surface of the porous medium.

Surface modification of porous poly(tetrafluoraethylene) film by a simple chemical oxidation treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Shifang; Li Juan; Suo Jinping; Luo Tianzhi

2010-01-01

A simple, inexpensive and environmental chemical treatment process, i.e., treating porous poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films by a mixture of potassium permanganate solution and nitric acid, was proposed to improve the hydrophilicity of PTFE. To evaluate the effectiveness of this strong oxidation treatment, contact angle measurement was performed. The effects of treatment time and temperature on the contact angle of PTFE were studied as well. The results showed that the chemical modification decreased contact angle of as-received PTFE film from 133 ± 3 deg. to 30 ± 4 deg. treated at 100 deg. C for 3 h, effectively converting the hydrophobic PTFE to a hydrophilic PTFE matrix. The changes in chemical structure, surface compositions and crystal structure of PTFE were examined by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. It was found that the F/C atomic ratio decreased from untreated 1.65-0.10 treated by the mixture at 100 deg. C for 3 h. Hydrophilic groups such as carbonyl (C=O) and hydroxyl (-OH) were introduced on the surface of PTFE after treatment. Furthermore, hydrophilic compounds K 0.27 MnO 2 .0.54H 2 O was absorbed on the surface of porous PTFE film. Both the introduction of hydrophilic groups and absorption of hydrophilic compounds contribute to the significantly decreased contact angle of PTFE.

Surface modification of porous poly(tetrafluoraethylene) film by a simple chemical oxidation treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Shifang; Li Juan [State Key Laboratory of Mould Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luo-Yu Road 1037, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China); Suo Jinping, E-mail: jpsuo@yahoo.com.cn [State Key Laboratory of Mould Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luo-Yu Road 1037, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China); Luo Tianzhi [State Key Laboratory of Mould Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luo-Yu Road 1037, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China)

2010-01-15

A simple, inexpensive and environmental chemical treatment process, i.e., treating porous poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films by a mixture of potassium permanganate solution and nitric acid, was proposed to improve the hydrophilicity of PTFE. To evaluate the effectiveness of this strong oxidation treatment, contact angle measurement was performed. The effects of treatment time and temperature on the contact angle of PTFE were studied as well. The results showed that the chemical modification decreased contact angle of as-received PTFE film from 133 {+-} 3 deg. to 30 {+-} 4 deg. treated at 100 deg. C for 3 h, effectively converting the hydrophobic PTFE to a hydrophilic PTFE matrix. The changes in chemical structure, surface compositions and crystal structure of PTFE were examined by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. It was found that the F/C atomic ratio decreased from untreated 1.65-0.10 treated by the mixture at 100 deg. C for 3 h. Hydrophilic groups such as carbonyl (C=O) and hydroxyl (-OH) were introduced on the surface of PTFE after treatment. Furthermore, hydrophilic compounds K{sub 0.27}MnO{sub 2}.0.54H{sub 2}O was absorbed on the surface of porous PTFE film. Both the introduction of hydrophilic groups and absorption of hydrophilic compounds contribute to the significantly decreased contact angle of PTFE.

The use of the dusty-gas model for the description of mass transport with chemical reaction in porous media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldsink, J.W.; Veldsink, J.W.; van Damme, Rudolf M.J.; Versteeg, Geert; van Swaaij, Willibrordus Petrus Maria

1995-01-01

In the present study, mass transport accompanied by chemical reactions in porous media is studied according to the Fick model and the dusty-gas model. For mass transport accompanied by a chemical reaction in catalyst structures showing a plane, line, or point of symmetry, the approximate analytical

Preparation and structure of porous dielectrics by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gates, S. M.; Neumayer, D. A.; Sherwood, M. H.; Grill, A.; Wang, X.; Sankarapandian, M.

2007-01-01

The preparation of ultralow dielectric constant porous silicon, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen alloy dielectrics, called 'pSiCOH', using a production 200 mm plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition tool and a thermal treatment is reported here. The effect of deposition temperature on the pSiCOH film is examined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dielectric constant (k), and film shrinkage measurements. For all deposition temperatures, carbon in the final porous film is shown to be predominantly Si-CH 3 species, and lower k is shown to correlate with increased concentration of Si-CH 3 . NMR and FTIR spectroscopies clearly detect the loss of a removable, unstable, hydrocarbon (CH x ) phase during the thermal treatment. Also detected are increased cross-linking of the Si-O skeleton, and concentration changes for three distinct structures of carbon. In the as deposited films, deposition temperature also affects the hydrocarbon (CH x ) content and the presence of C=O and C=C functional groups

Numerical analysis for Darcy-Forchheimer flow in presence of homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Ijaz Khan

Full Text Available A mathematical study is presented to investigate the influences of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions in local similar flow caused by stretching sheet with a non-linear velocity and variable thickness. Porous medium effects are characterized by using Darcy-Forchheimer porous-media. A simple isothermal model of homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions is used. The multiphysical boundary value problem is dictated by ten thermophysical parameters: ratio of mass diffusion coefficients, Prandtl number, local inertia coefficient parameter, inverse Darcy number, shape parameter, surface thickness parameter, Hartman number, Homogeneous heat reaction, strength of homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions and Schmidt number. Resulting systems are computed by Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method. Different shapes of velocity are noticed for n > 1 and n < 1. Keywords: Homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions, Non Darcy porous medium, Variable sheet thickness, Homogeneous heat reaction with stoichiometric coefficient, Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method

Tritium transport in lithium ceramics porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tam, S.W.; Ambrose, V.

1991-01-01

A random network model has been utilized to analyze the problem of tritium percolation through porous Li ceramic breeders. Local transport in each pore channel is described by a set of convection-diffusion-reaction equations. Long range transport is described by a matrix technique. The heterogeneous structure of the porous medium is accounted for via Monte Carlo methods. The model was then applied to an analysis of the relative contribution of diffusion and convective flow to tritium transport in porous lithium ceramics. 15 refs., 4 figs

Catalyst and processing effects on metal-assisted chemical etching for the production of highly porous GaN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geng, Xuewen; Grismer, Dane A; Bohn, Paul W; Duan, Barrett K; Zhao, Liancheng

2013-01-01

Metal-assisted chemical etching is a facile method to produce micro-/nanostructures in the near-surface region of gallium nitride (GaN) and other semiconductors. Detailed studies of the production of porous GaN (PGaN) using different metal catalysts and GaN doping conditions have been performed in order to understand the mechanism by which metal-assisted chemical etching is accomplished in GaN. Patterned catalysts show increasing metal-assisted chemical etching activity to n-GaN in the order Ag < Au < Ir < Pt. In addition, the catalytic behavior of continuous films is compared to discontinuous island films. Continuous metal films strongly shield the surface, hindering metal-assisted chemical etching, an effect which can be overcome by using discontinuous films or increasing the irradiance of the light source. With increasing etch time or irradiance, PGaN morphologies change from uniform porous structures to ridge and valley structures. The doping type plays an important role, with metal-assisted chemical etching activity increasing in the order p-GaN < intrinsic GaN < n-GaN. Both the catalyst identity and the doping type effects are explained by the work functions and the related band offsets that affect the metal-assisted chemical etching process through a combination of different barriers to hole injection and the formation of hole accumulation/depletion layers at the metal–semiconductor interface. (paper)

MRI of Heterogeneous Hydrogenation Reactions Using Parahydrogen Polarization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burt, Scott Russell [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2008-01-01

The power of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is its ability to image the internal structure of optically opaque samples and provide detailed maps of a variety of important parameters, such as density, diffusion, velocity and temperature. However, one of the fundamental limitations of this technique is its inherent low sensitivity. For example, the low signal to noise ratio (SNR) is particularly problematic for imaging gases in porous materials due to the low density of the gas and the large volume occluded by the porous material. This is unfortunate, as many industrially relevant chemical reactions take place at gas-surface interfaces in porous media, such as packed catalyst beds. Because of this severe SNR problem, many techniques have been developed to directly increase the signal strength. These techniques work by manipulating the nuclear spin populations to produce polarized} (i.e., non-equilibrium) states with resulting signal strengths that are orders of magnitude larger than those available at thermal equilibrium. This dissertation is concerned with an extension of a polarization technique based on the properties of parahydrogen. Specifically, I report on the novel use of heterogeneous catalysis to produce parahydrogen induced polarization and applications of this new technique to gas phase MRI and the characterization of micro-reactors. First, I provide an overview of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and how parahydrogen is used to improve the SNR of the NMR signal. I then present experimental results demonstrating that it is possible to use heterogeneous catalysis to produce parahydrogen-induced polarization. These results are extended to imaging void spaces using a parahydrogen polarized gas. In the second half of this dissertation, I demonstrate the use of parahydrogen-polarized gas-phase MRI for characterizing catalytic microreactors. Specifically, I show how the improved SNR allows one to map parameters important for characterizing the heat and mass

Percolation in Heterogeneous Media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vocka, Radim

1999-01-01

This work is a theoretical reflection on the problematic of the modeling of heterogeneous media, that is on the way of their simple representation conserving their characteristic features. Two particular problems are addressed in this thesis. Firstly, we study the transport in porous media, that is in a heterogeneous media which structure is quenched. A pore space is represented in a simple way - a pore is symbolized as a tube of a given length and a given diameter. The fact that the correlations in the distribution of pore sizes are taken into account by a construction of a hierarchical network makes possible the modeling of porous media with a porosity distributed over several length scales. The transport in the hierarchical network shows qualitatively different phenomena from those observed in simpler models. A comparison of numerical results with experimental data shows that the hierarchical network gives a good qualitative representation of the structure of real porous media. Secondly, we study a problem of the transport in a heterogeneous media which structure is evolving during the time. The models where the evolution of the structure is not influenced by the transport are studied in detail. These models present a phase transition of the same nature as that observed on the percolation networks. We propose a new theoretical description of this transition, and we express critical exponents describing the evolution of the conductivity as a function of fundamental exponents of percolation theory. (author) [fr

Fluid flow and heat transfer in rotating porous media

CERN Document Server

Vadasz, Peter

2016-01-01

This Book concentrates the available knowledge on rotating fluid flow and heat transfer in porous media in one single reference. Dr. Vadasz develops the fundamental theory of rotating flow and heat transfer in porous media and introduces systematic classification and identification of the relevant problems. An initial distinction between rotating flows in isothermal heterogeneous porous systems and natural convection in homogeneous non-­‐isothermal porous systems provides the two major classes of problems to be considered. A few examples of solutions to selected problems are presented, highlighting the significant impact of rotation on the flow in porous media.

An improved design of TRISO particle with porous SiC inner layer by fluidized bed-chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Rongzheng; Liu, Malin, E-mail: liumalin@tsinghua.edu.cn; Chang, Jiaxing; Shao, Youlin; Liu, Bing

2015-12-15

Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) particle has been successful in high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR), but an improved design is required for future development. In this paper, the coating layers are reconsidered, and an improved design of TRISO particle with porous SiC inner layer is proposed. Three methods of preparing the porous SiC layer, called high methyltrichlorosilane (MTS) concentration method, high Ar concentration method and hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) method, are experimentally studied. It is indicated that porous SiC layer can be successfully prepared and the density of SiC layer can be adjusted by tuning the preparation parameters. Microstructure and characterization of the improved TRISO coated particle are given based on scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. It can be found that the improved TRISO coated particle with porous SiC layer can be mass produced successfully. The formation mechanisms of porous SiC layer are also discussed based on the fluidized bed-chemical vapor deposition principle. - Graphical abstract: An improved design of TRISO particle with porous SiC inner layer to replace the inner porous pyrolytic carbon layer was proposed and prepared by FB-CVD method. This new design is aimed to reduce the total internal pressure of the particles by reducing the formation of CO and to reduce the risks of amoeba effect. - Highlights: • An improved design of TRISO particle with porous SiC inner layer was proposed. • Three methods of preparing porous SiC layer are proposed and experimentally studied. • The density of porous SiC layer can be controlled by adjusting experimental parameters. • Formation mechanisms of porous SiC layer were given based on the FB-CVD principle. • TRISO particles with porous SiC inner layer were mass produced successfully.

Nano-hydroxyapatite colloid suspension coated on chemically modified porous silicon by cathodic bias: a suitable surface for cell culture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez, Alejandra [Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Centro de Electroquimica y Energia Quimica de la Universidad de Costa Rica (CELEQ), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Gonzalez, Jerson [Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Garcia-Pineres, Alfonso [Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Centro de Investigacion en Biologia Celular y Molecular (CIBCM), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Montero, Mavis L. [Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Centro de Electroquimica y Energia Quimica de la Universidad de Costa Rica (CELEQ), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica); Centro de Ciencia e Ingenieria en Materiales (CICIMA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 (Costa Rica)

2011-06-15

The properties of porous silicon make it an interesting material for biological applications. However, porous silicon is not an appropriate surface for cell growth. Surface modification is an alternative that could afford a bioactive material. In this work, we report a method to yield materials by modification of the porous silicon surface with hydroxyapatite of nanometric dimensions, produced using an electrochemical process and coated on macroporous silicon substrates by cathodic bias. The chemical nature of the calcium phosphate deposited on the substrates after the experimental process and the amount of cell growth on these surfaces were characterized. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Impact of mixing chemically heterogeneous groundwaters on the sustainability of an open-loop groundwater heat pump

Science.gov (United States)

Burté, L.; Farasin, J.; Cravotta, C., III; Gerard, M. F.; Cotiche Baranger, C.; Aquilina, L.; Le Borgne, T.

2017-12-01

Geothermal systems using shallow aquifers are commonly used for heating and cooling. The sustainability of these systems can be severely impacted by the occurrence of clogging process. The geothermal loop operation (including pumping of groundwater, filtering and heat extraction through exchangers and cooled water injection) can lead to an unexpected biogeochemical reactivity and scaling formation that can ultimately lead to the shutdown of the geothermal doublet. Here, we report the results of investigations carried out on a shallow geothermal doublet (dynamic). Hydrochemical data collected at the pumping well showed that groundwater was chemically heterogeneous long the 11 meters well screen. While the aquifer was dominantly oxic, a localized inflow of anoxic water was detected and evaluated to produce about 40% of the total flow . The mixture of chemically heterogeneous water induced by pumping lead to the oxidation of reductive species and thus to the formation of biogenic precipitates responsible for clogging. The impact of pumping waters of different redox potential and chemical characteristics was quantified by numerical modeling using PHREEQC. These results shows that natural chemical heterogeneity can occur at a small scale in heterogeneous aquifers and highlight the importance of their characterization during the production well testing and the geothermal loop operation in order to take preventive measures to avoid clogging.

Micro-scale displacement of NAPL by surfactant and microemulsion in heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Javanbakht, Gina; Arshadi, Maziar; Qin, Tianzhu; Goual, Lamia

2017-07-01

Industrial processes such as remediation of oil-contaminated aquifers and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) often utilize chemical additives to increase the removal of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) from subsurface formations. Although the majority of crude oils are classified as LNAPLs, they often contain heavy molecules (DNAPLs) such as asphaltenes that tend to adsorb on minerals and alter their wettability. Effective additives are therefore those that can reduce the threshold capillary pressure, thus mobilizing LNAPL inside pore spaces and solubilizing DNAPL from rock surfaces. Nonionic surfactants in brine have often been injected to oil or contaminated aquifer formations in order to enhance NAPL displacement through IFT reduction. Recent studies revealed that surfactant-based microemulsions have a higher tendency to alter the wettability of surfaces, compared to surfactants alone, leading to more effective NAPL removal. However, the impact of these additives on pore-scale displacement mechanisms and multi-phase fluid occupancy in porous media is, to date, still unclear. In this study, x-ray microtomography experiments were performed to investigate the impact of surfactants and microemulsions on the mobilization and solubilization of NAPL in heterogeneous rocks. Saturation profiles indicated that an incremental NAPL removal was attained by addition of microemulsion to brine, compared with surfactant. Residual cluster size distributions revealed that microemulsions could break up large clusters into smaller disconnected ones, improving their mobilization in the rock. In-situ contact angle measurements showed that microemulsions could reverse the wettability of rough contaminated surfaces to a higher extent than surfactants. Unlike surfactant alone, the surfactant-solvent blend in the carrier fluid of microemulsions was able to penetrate rough grain surfaces, particularly those of dolomite cement, and desorb asphaltenes in the form of small-emulsified NAPL droplets

Tantalum coating on porous Ti6Al4V scaffold using chemical vapor deposition and preliminary biological evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xiang, E-mail: xiangliwj@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai, 200240 (China); Wang, Lin [Institute of Orthopaedics, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an, 710032 (China); Yu, Xiaoming [The Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016 (China); Feng, Yafei [Institute of Orthopaedics, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an, 710032 (China); Wang, Chengtao [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai, 200240 (China); Yang, Ke [The Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016 (China); Su, Daniel [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai, 200240 (China)

2013-07-01

Porous tantalum (Ta), produced via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of commercially pure Ta onto a vitreous carbon, is currently available for use in orthopedic applications. However, the relatively high manufacturing cost and the incapability to produce customized implant using medical image data have limited its application to gain widespread acceptance. In this study, Ta film was deposited on porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds using CVD technique. Digital microscopy and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the Ta coating evenly covered the entire scaffold structure. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the coating consisted of α and β phases of Ta. Goat mesenchymal stem cells were seeded and cultured on the Ti6Al4V scaffolds with and without coating. The tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay exhibited better cell adhesion and proliferation on Ta-coated scaffolds compared with uncoated scaffolds. The porous scaffolds were subsequently implanted in goats for 12 weeks. Histological analysis revealed similar bone formation around the periphery of the coated and uncoated implants, but bone ingrowth is better within the Ta-coated scaffolds. To demonstrate the ability of producing custom implant for clinical applications via this technology, we designed and fabricated a porous Ti6Al4V scaffold with segmental mandibular shape derived from patient computerized tomography data. - Highlights: • Ta film was coated on porous Ti6Al4V scaffold using chemical vapor deposition. • Tantalum coating allowed for higher levels of cell adhesion and proliferation. • Better new bone formation occurred inside the tantalum-coated scaffolds. • Clinical image data was integrated with EBM to fabricate customized scaffold.

Tantalum coating on porous Ti6Al4V scaffold using chemical vapor deposition and preliminary biological evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xiang; Wang, Lin; Yu, Xiaoming; Feng, Yafei; Wang, Chengtao; Yang, Ke; Su, Daniel

2013-01-01

Porous tantalum (Ta), produced via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of commercially pure Ta onto a vitreous carbon, is currently available for use in orthopedic applications. However, the relatively high manufacturing cost and the incapability to produce customized implant using medical image data have limited its application to gain widespread acceptance. In this study, Ta film was deposited on porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds using CVD technique. Digital microscopy and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the Ta coating evenly covered the entire scaffold structure. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the coating consisted of α and β phases of Ta. Goat mesenchymal stem cells were seeded and cultured on the Ti6Al4V scaffolds with and without coating. The tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay exhibited better cell adhesion and proliferation on Ta-coated scaffolds compared with uncoated scaffolds. The porous scaffolds were subsequently implanted in goats for 12 weeks. Histological analysis revealed similar bone formation around the periphery of the coated and uncoated implants, but bone ingrowth is better within the Ta-coated scaffolds. To demonstrate the ability of producing custom implant for clinical applications via this technology, we designed and fabricated a porous Ti6Al4V scaffold with segmental mandibular shape derived from patient computerized tomography data. - Highlights: • Ta film was coated on porous Ti6Al4V scaffold using chemical vapor deposition. • Tantalum coating allowed for higher levels of cell adhesion and proliferation. • Better new bone formation occurred inside the tantalum-coated scaffolds. • Clinical image data was integrated with EBM to fabricate customized scaffold

The effects of chemical kinetics and wall temperature on performance of porous media burners

Science.gov (United States)

mohammadi, Iman; Hossainpour, Siamak

2013-06-01

This paper reports a two-dimensional numerical prediction of premixed methane-air combustion in inert porous media burner by using of four multi-step mechanisms: GRI-3.0 mechanism, GRI-2.11 mechanism and the skeletal and 17 Species mechanisms. The effects of these models on temperature, chemical species and pollutant emissions are studied. A two-dimensional axisymmetric model for premixed methane-air combustion in porous media burner has developed. The finite volume method has used to solve the governing equations of methane-air combustion in inert porous media burner. The results indicate that the present four models have the same accuracy in predicting temperature profiles and the difference between these profiles is not more than 2 %. In addition, the Gri-3.0 mechanism shows the best prediction of NO emission in comparison with experimental data. The 17 Species mechanism shows good agreement in prediction of temperature and pollutant emissions with GRI-3.0, GRI-2.11 and the skeletal mechanisms. Also the effects of wall temperature on the gas temperature and mass fraction of species such as NO and CH4 are studied.

Two-dimensional wavelet transform feature extraction for porous silicon chemical sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Murguía, José S; Vergara, Alexander; Vargas-Olmos, Cecilia; Wong, Travis J; Fonollosa, Jordi; Huerta, Ramón

2013-06-27

Designing reliable, fast responding, highly sensitive, and low-power consuming chemo-sensory systems has long been a major goal in chemo-sensing. This goal, however, presents a difficult challenge because having a set of chemo-sensory detectors exhibiting all these aforementioned ideal conditions are still largely un-realizable to-date. This paper presents a unique perspective on capturing more in-depth insights into the physicochemical interactions of two distinct, selectively chemically modified porous silicon (pSi) film-based optical gas sensors by implementing an innovative, based on signal processing methodology, namely the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform. Specifically, the method consists of using the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform as a feature extraction method to capture the non-stationary behavior from the bi-dimensional pSi rugate sensor response. Utilizing a comprehensive set of measurements collected from each of the aforementioned optically based chemical sensors, we evaluate the significance of our approach on a complex, six-dimensional chemical analyte discrimination/quantification task problem. Due to the bi-dimensional aspects naturally governing the optical sensor response to chemical analytes, our findings provide evidence that the proposed feature extractor strategy may be a valuable tool to deepen our understanding of the performance of optically based chemical sensors as well as an important step toward attaining their implementation in more realistic chemo-sensing applications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biogenic Cracks in Porous Rock

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmerle, A.; Hartung, J.; Hallatschek, O.; Goehring, L.; Herminghaus, S.

2014-12-01

Microorganisms growing on and inside porous rock may fracture it by various processes. Some of the mechanisms of biofouling and bioweathering are today identified and partially understood but most emphasis is on chemical weathering, while mechanical contributions have been neglected. However, as demonstrated by the perseverance of a seed germinating and cracking up a concrete block, the turgor pressure of living organisms can be very significant. Here, we present results of a systematic study of the effects of the mechanical forces of growing microbial populations on the weathering of porous media. We designed a model porous medium made of glass beads held together by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a curable polymer. The rheological properties of the porous medium, whose shape and size are tunable, can be controlled by the ratio of crosslinker to base used in the PDMS (see Fig. 1). Glass and PDMS being inert to most chemicals, we are able to focus on the mechanical processes of biodeterioration, excluding any chemical weathering. Inspired by recent measurements of the high pressure (~0.5 Mpa) exerted by a growing population of yeasts trapped in a microfluidic device, we show that yeast cells can be cultured homogeneously within porous medium until saturation of the porous space. We investigate then the effects of such an inner pressure on the mechanical properties of the sample. Using the same model system, we study also the complex interplay between biofilms and porous media. We focus in particular on the effects of pore size on the penetration of the biofilm within the porous sample, and on the resulting deformations of the matrix, opening new perspectives into the understanding of life in complex geometry. Figure 1. Left : cell culture growing in a model porous medium. The white spheres represent the grains, bonds are displayed in grey, and microbes in green. Right: microscopy picture of glass beads linked by PDMS bridges, scale bar: 100 μm.

Optical performance of hybrid porous silicon-porous alumina multilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Cencha, L. G.; Antonio Hernández, C.; Forzani, L.; Urteaga, R.; Koropecki, R. R.

2018-05-01

In this work, we study the optical response of structures involving porous silicon and porous alumina in a multi-layered hybrid structure. We performed a rational design of the optimal sequence necessary to produce a high transmission and selective filter, with potential applications in chemical and biosensors. The combination of these porous materials can be used to exploit its distinguishing features, i.e., high transparency of alumina and high refractive index of porous silicon. We assembled hybrid microcavities with a central porous alumina layer between two porous silicon Bragg reflectors. In this way, we constructed a Fabry-Perot resonator with high reflectivity and low absorption that improves the quality of the filter compared to a microcavity built only with porous silicon or porous alumina. We explored a simpler design in which one of the Bragg reflectors is replaced by the aluminium that remains bound to the alumina after its fabrication. We theoretically explored the potential of the proposal and its limitations when considering the roughness of the layers. We found that the quality of a microcavity made entirely with porous silicon shows a limit in the visible range due to light absorption. This limitation is overcome in the hybrid scheme, with the roughness of the layers determining the ultimate quality. Q-factors of 220 are experimentally obtained for microcavities supported on aluminium, while Q-factors around 600 are reached for microcavities with double Bragg reflectors, centred at 560 nm. This represents a four-fold increase with respect to the optimal porous silicon microcavity at this wavelength.

Preparation of porous bio-char and activated carbon from rice husk by leaching ash and chemical activation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahiduzzaman, Md; Sadrul Islam, A K M

2016-01-01

Preparation porous bio-char and activated carbon from rice husk char study has been conducted in this study. Rice husk char contains high amount silica that retards the porousness of bio-char. Porousness of rice husk char could be enhanced by removing the silica from char and applying heat at high temperature. Furthermore, the char is activated by using chemical activation under high temperature. In this study no inert media is used. The study is conducted at low oxygen environment by applying biomass for consuming oxygen inside reactor and double crucible method (one crucible inside another) is applied to prevent intrusion of oxygen into the char. The study results shows that porous carbon is prepared successfully without using any inert media. The adsorption capacity of material increased due to removal of silica and due to the activation with zinc chloride compared to using raw rice husk char. The surface area of porous carbon and activated carbon are found to be 28, 331 and 645 m(2) g(-1) for raw rice husk char, silica removed rice husk char and zinc chloride activated rice husk char, respectively. It is concluded from this study that porous bio-char and activated carbon could be prepared in normal environmental conditions instead of inert media. This study shows a method and possibility of activated carbon from agro-waste, and it could be scaled up for commercial production.

A method for making an inert porous electrode for a chemical current source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ksenzhek, O.S.; Litvinova, V.I.; Martynenko, T.L.; Raykhelson, L.B.; Shembel, Ye.M.; Sokolov, L.A.

1983-01-01

A method is proposed for making an inert, porous electrode for chemical current sources (KhIT) with a nonaqueous electrolyte on the basis of aprotonic solvents and an active cathode substance which is dissolved in the electrolyte. The method includes preparing an electrode mass from the starting material and subsequent formation of the electrode. To increase the energy capacity, after formation, the electrode is subjected to electrochemical anode polarization to potentials which correspond to the potential of electrochemical breakdown of the background electrolyte.

A stochastic multiscale framework for modeling flow through random heterogeneous porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapathysubramanian, B.; Zabaras, N.

2009-01-01

Flow through porous media is ubiquitous, occurring from large geological scales down to the microscopic scales. Several critical engineering phenomena like contaminant spread, nuclear waste disposal and oil recovery rely on accurate analysis and prediction of these multiscale phenomena. Such analysis is complicated by inherent uncertainties as well as the limited information available to characterize the system. Any realistic modeling of these transport phenomena has to resolve two key issues: (i) the multi-length scale variations in permeability that these systems exhibit, and (ii) the inherently limited information available to quantify these property variations that necessitates posing these phenomena as stochastic processes. A stochastic variational multiscale formulation is developed to incorporate uncertain multiscale features. A stochastic analogue to a mixed multiscale finite element framework is used to formulate the physical stochastic multiscale process. Recent developments in linear and non-linear model reduction techniques are used to convert the limited information available about the permeability variation into a viable stochastic input model. An adaptive sparse grid collocation strategy is used to efficiently solve the resulting stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs). The framework is applied to analyze flow through random heterogeneous media when only limited statistics about the permeability variation are given

Heterogeneous chemical kinetics by modulated molecular beam mass spectrometry: limitations of technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olander, D.R.

1977-01-01

The advantages and limitations of modulated molecular beam, mass spectrometry as applied to the study of heterogeneous chemical kinetics are reviewed. The process of deducing a model of the surface reaction from experimental data is illustrated by analysis of the hydrogen reduction of uranium dioxide

Rapid Reduction of Alkenes and Alkynes over Pd Nanoparticles Supported on Sulfonated Porous Carbon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arash Shokrolahi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A novel method has been introduced for rapid reduction of alkenes and alkynes, which may be attractive for chemical industries. This method has some advantages such as simplicity and low cost of reactants. Pd supported on sulfonated porous carbon (SPC was used as a new catalyst for reduction of alkenes and alkynes to the corresponding alkanes using sodium borohydride. The heterogeneous reaction was conducted in open air at room temperature to produce the desired saturated compounds in high yields (over 96% and in short reaction time (15 minutes.

Factors affecting gas migration and contaminant redistribution in heterogeneous porous media subject to electrical resistance heating.

Science.gov (United States)

Munholland, Jonah L; Mumford, Kevin G; Kueper, Bernard H

2016-01-01

A series of intermediate-scale laboratory experiments were completed in a two-dimensional flow cell to investigate gas production and migration during the application of electrical resistance heating (ERH) for the removal of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). Experiments consisted of heating water in homogeneous silica sand and heating 270 mL of trichloroethene (TCE) and chloroform (CF) DNAPL pools in heterogeneous silica sands, both under flowing groundwater conditions. Spatial and temporal distributions of temperature were measured using thermocouples and observations of gas production and migration were collected using front-face image capture throughout the experiments. Post-treatment soil samples were collected and analyzed to assess DNAPL removal. Results of experiments performed in homogeneous sand subject to different groundwater flow rates showed that high groundwater velocities can limit subsurface heating rates. In the DNAPL pool experiments, temperatures increased to achieve DNAPL-water co-boiling, creating estimated gas volumes of 131 and 114 L that originated from the TCE and CF pools, respectively. Produced gas migrated vertically, entered a coarse sand lens and subsequently migrated laterally beneath an overlying capillary barrier to outside the heated treatment zone where 31-56% of the original DNAPL condensed back into a DNAPL phase. These findings demonstrate that layered heterogeneity can potentially facilitate the transport of contaminants outside the treatment zone by mobilization and condensation of gas phases during ERH applications. This underscores the need for vapor phase recovery and/or control mechanisms below the water table during application of ERH in heterogeneous porous media during the co-boiling stage, which occurs prior to reaching the boiling point of water. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ab initio model of porous periclase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drummond, Neil D.; Swift, Damian C.; Ackland, Graeme J.

2004-01-01

A two-phase equilibrium equation of state (EOS) for periclase (MgO) was constructed using ab initio quantum mechanics, including a rigorous calculation of quasiharmonic phonon modes. Much of the shock wave data reported for periclase is on porous material. We compared the theoretical EOS with porous data using a simple 'snowplough' treatment and also a model using finite equilibration rates suitable for continuum mechanics simulations. (This model has been applied previously to various heterogeneous explosives as well as other porous materials.) The results were consistent and matched the data well at pressures above the regime affected by strength - and ramp-wave formation - during compaction. Ab initio predictions of the response of porous material have been cited recently as a novel and advanced capability; we feel that this is a fairly routine extension to established ab initio techniques

Heterogeneous continuous-time random walks

Science.gov (United States)

Grebenkov, Denis S.; Tupikina, Liubov

2018-01-01

We introduce a heterogeneous continuous-time random walk (HCTRW) model as a versatile analytical formalism for studying and modeling diffusion processes in heterogeneous structures, such as porous or disordered media, multiscale or crowded environments, weighted graphs or networks. We derive the exact form of the propagator and investigate the effects of spatiotemporal heterogeneities onto the diffusive dynamics via the spectral properties of the generalized transition matrix. In particular, we show how the distribution of first-passage times changes due to local and global heterogeneities of the medium. The HCTRW formalism offers a unified mathematical language to address various diffusion-reaction problems, with numerous applications in material sciences, physics, chemistry, biology, and social sciences.

Quantification and Control of Wall Effects in Porous Media Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, E. J.; Mays, D. C.; Neupauer, R.; Crimaldi, J. P.

2017-12-01

Fluid flow dynamics in porous media are dominated by media heterogeneity. This heterogeneity can create preferential pathways in which local seepage velocities dwarf system seepage velocities, further complicating an already incomplete understanding of dispersive processes. In physical models of porous media flows, apparatus walls introduce preferential flow paths (i.e., wall effects) that may overwhelm other naturally occurring preferential pathways within the apparatus, leading to deceptive results. We used planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) in conjunction with refractive index matched (RIM) porous media and pore fluid to observe fluid dynamics in the porous media, with particular attention to the region near the apparatus walls in a 17 cm x 8 cm x 7 cm uniform flow cell. Hexagonal close packed spheres were used to create an isotropic, homogenous porous media field in the interior of the apparatus. Visualization of the movement of a fluorescent dye revealed the influence of the wall in creating higher permeability preferential flow paths in an otherwise homogenous media packing. These preferential flow paths extended approximately one half of one sphere diameter from the wall for homogenously packed regions, with a quickly diminishing effect on flow dynamics for homogenous media adjacent to the preferential pathway, but with major influence on flow dynamics for adjoining heterogeneous regions. Multiple approaches to mitigate wall effects were investigated, and a modified wall was created such that the fluid dynamics near the wall mimics the fluid dynamics within the homogenous porous media. This research supports the design of a two-dimensional experimental apparatus that will simulate engineered pumping schemes for use in contaminant remediation. However, this research could benefit the design of fixed bed reactors or other engineering challenges in which vessel walls contribute to unwanted preferential flow.

Chemical disinfection of non-porous inanimate surfaces experimentally contaminated with four human pathogenic viruses.

OpenAIRE

Sattar, S. A.; Springthorpe, V. S.; Karim, Y.; Loro, P.

1989-01-01

The chemical disinfection of virus-contaminated non-porous inanimate surfaces was investigated using coxsackievirus B3, adenovirus type 5, parainfluenza virus type 3 and coronavirus 229E as representatives of important nosocomial viral pathogens. A 10 microliter amount of the test virus, suspended in either faeces or mucin, was placed onto each stainless steel disk (about 1 cm in diameter) and the inoculum allowed to dry for 1 h under ambient conditions. Sixteen disinfectant formulations were...

Transport of Chemotactic Bacteria in Porous Media with Structured Heterogeneity

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, R. M.; Wang, M.; Liu, J.; Long, T.

2008-12-01

Chemical contaminants that become trapped in low permeability zones (e.g. clay lenses) are difficult to remediate using conventional pump-and-treat approaches. Chemotactic bacteria that are transported by groundwater through more permeable regions may migrate toward these less permeable zones in response to chemical gradients created by contaminant diffusion from the low permeability source, thereby enhancing the remediation process by directing bacteria to the contaminants they degrade. What effect does the heterogeneity associated with coarse- and fine-grained layers that are characteristic of natural groundwater environments have on the transport of microorganisms and their chemotactic response? To address this question experiments were conducted over a range of scales from a single capillary tube to a laboratory- scale column in both static and flowing systems with and without chemoattractant gradients. In static capillary assays, motile bacteria accumulated at the interface between an aqueous solution and a suspension of agarose particulates. In microfluidic devices with an array of staggered cylinders, chemotactic bacteria migrated transverse to flow in response to a chemoattractant gradient. In sand columns packed with a coarse-grained core and surrounded by a fine-grained annulus, chemotactic bacteria migrated preferentially toward a chemoattractant source along the centerline. Mathematical models and computer simulations were developed to analyze the experimental observations in terms of transport parameters from the advection- disperson-sorption equation.

Chemically grown, porous, nickel oxide thin-film for electrochemical supercapacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inamdar, A.I.; Kim, YoungSam; Im, Hyunsik [Department of Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715 (Korea, Republic of); Pawar, S.M.; Kim, J.H. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyungsang [Department of Physics, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715 (Korea, Republic of)

2011-02-15

A porous nickel oxide film is successfully synthesized by means of a chemical bath deposition technique from an aqueous nickel nitrate solution. The formation of a rock salt NiO structure is confirmed with XRD measurements. The electrochemical supercapacitor properties of the nickel oxide film are examined using cyclic voltammetery (CV), galvanostatic and impedance measurements in two different electrolytes, namely, NaOH and KOH. A specific capacitance of {proportional_to}129.5 F g{sup -1} in the NaOH electrolyte and {proportional_to}69.8 F g{sup -1} in the KOH electrolyte is obtained from a cyclic voltammetery study. The electrochemical stability of the NiO electrode is observed for 1500 charge-discharge cycles. The capacitative behaviour of the NiO electrode is confirmed from electrochemical impedance measurements. (author)

Fluids in porous media. IV. Quench effect on chemical potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, C Z; Zhao, S L; Liu, H L; Dong, W

2017-06-21

It appears to be a common sense to measure the crowdedness of a fluid system by the densities of the species constituting it. In the present work, we show that this ceases to be valid for confined fluids under some conditions. A quite thorough investigation is made for a hard sphere (HS) fluid adsorbed in a hard sphere matrix (a quench-annealed system) and its corresponding equilibrium binary mixture. When fluid particles are larger than matrix particles, the quench-annealed system can appear much more crowded than its corresponding equilibrium binary mixture, i.e., having a much higher fluid chemical potential, even when the density of each species is strictly the same in both systems, respectively. We believe that the insight gained from this study should be useful for the design of functionalized porous materials.

Chemical cleaning of AGR boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, S.V.; Moore, W.; Rantell, A.

1978-01-01

AGR boilers are likely to require post service chemical cleaning to remove accumulated oxides at intervals of 15 - 35 kh. The need to clean will be based on an assessment of such factors as the development of flow imbalances through parallel tubes induced by the formation of rough oxide surfaces, an increasing risk of localised corrosion as the growth of porous oxides proceeds and the risk of tube blockage caused by the exfoliation of steam-grown oxides. The study has shown what heterogeneous multilayer oxides possessing a range of physical and chemical properties form on the alloy steels. They include porous and compact magnetites, chromium spinels and sesquioxide. Ammoniated citric acid has been shown to remove deposited and water-grown magnetites from the carbon and alloy steels but will not necessarily remove the substituted spinels grown on the alloy steels or the potentially spalling steam-grown magnetite on the A1SI 316 superheater. Citric acid supplemented with the reducing agent glyoxal completely removes all oxides from the boiler except the protective inner spinel formed on the 316. Removal of the spinels and compact magnetites occurs more by undercutting and physical detachment than by the dissolution. (author)

Effective medium approximation for elastic constants of porous solids with microscopic heterogeneity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berryman, J.G.

1986-01-01

Formulas for the scattering from an inhomogeneous sphere in a fluid-saturated porous medium are used to construct a self-consistent effective medium approximation for the coefficients in Biot's equations of poroelasticity [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28, 168 (1956)] when the material constituting the porous solid frame is not homogeneous on the microscopic scale. The discussion is restricted to porous materials exhibiting both macroscopic and microscopic isotropy. Brown and Korringa [Geophysics 40, 608 (1975)] have previously found the general form of these coefficients. The present results give explicit estimates of all the coefficients in terms of the moduli of the solid constituents. The results are also shown to be completely consistent with the well-known results of Gassmann and of Biot and Willis, as well as those of Brown and Korringa

Discontinuous Galerkin Subgrid Finite Element Method for Heterogeneous Brinkman’s Equations

KAUST Repository

Iliev, Oleg P.; Lazarov, Raytcho D.; Willems, Joerg

2010-01-01

We present a two-scale finite element method for solving Brinkman's equations with piece-wise constant coefficients. This system of equations model fluid flows in highly porous, heterogeneous media with complex topology of the heterogeneities. We

Modelling of reactive fluid transport in deformable porous rocks

Science.gov (United States)

Yarushina, V. M.; Podladchikov, Y. Y.

2009-04-01

One outstanding challenge in geology today is the formulation of an understanding of the interaction between rocks and fluids. Advances in such knowledge are important for a broad range of geologic settings including partial melting and subsequent migration and emplacement of a melt into upper levels of the crust, or fluid flow during regional metamorphism and metasomatism. Rock-fluid interaction involves heat and mass transfer, deformation, hydrodynamic flow, and chemical reactions, thereby necessitating its consideration as a complex process coupling several simultaneous mechanisms. Deformation, chemical reactions, and fluid flow are coupled processes. Each affects the others. Special effort is required for accurate modelling of the porosity field through time. Mechanical compaction of porous rocks is usually treated under isothermal or isoentropic simplifying assumptions. However, joint consideration of both mechanical compaction and reactive porosity alteration requires somewhat greater than usual care about thermodynamic consistency. Here we consider the modelling of multi-component, multi-phase systems, which is fundamental to the study of fluid-rock interaction. Based on the conservation laws for mass, momentum, and energy in the form adopted in the theory of mixtures, we derive a thermodynamically admissible closed system of equations describing the coupling of heat and mass transfer, chemical reactions, and fluid flow in a deformable solid matrix. Geological environments where reactive transport is important are located at different depths and accordingly have different rheologies. In the near surface, elastic or elastoplastic properties would dominate, whereas viscoplasticity would have a profound effect deeper in the lithosphere. Poorly understood rheologies of heterogeneous porous rocks are derived from well understood processes (i.e., elasticity, viscosity, plastic flow, fracturing, and their combinations) on the microscale by considering a

Micropatterned arrays of porous silicon: toward sensory biointerfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Flavel, Benjamin S; Sweetman, Martin J; Shearer, Cameron J; Shapter, Joseph G; Voelcker, Nicolas H

2011-07-01

We describe the fabrication of arrays of porous silicon spots by means of photolithography where a positive photoresist serves as a mask during the anodization process. In particular, photoluminescent arrays and porous silicon spots suitable for further chemical modification and the attachment of human cells were created. The produced arrays of porous silicon were chemically modified by means of a thermal hydrosilylation reaction that facilitated immobilization of the fluorescent dye lissamine, and alternatively, the cell adhesion peptide arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine. The latter modification enabled the selective attachment of human lens epithelial cells on the peptide functionalized regions of the patterns. This type of surface patterning, using etched porous silicon arrays functionalized with biological recognition elements, presents a new format of interfacing porous silicon with mammalian cells. Porous silicon arrays with photoluminescent properties produced by this patterning strategy also have potential applications as platforms for in situ monitoring of cell behavior.

Modelling the collective response of heterogeneous cell populations to stationary gradients and chemical signal relay

Science.gov (United States)

Pineda, M.; Eftimie, R.

2017-12-01

The directed motion of cell aggregates toward a chemical source occurs in many relevant biological processes. Understanding the mechanisms that control this complex behavior is of great relevance for our understanding of developmental biological processes and many diseases. In this paper, we consider a self-propelled particle model for the movement of heterogeneous subpopulations of chemically interacting cells towards an imposed stable chemical gradient. Our simulations show explicitly how self-organisation of cell populations (which could lead to engulfment or complete cell segregation) can arise from the heterogeneity of chemotactic responses alone. This new result complements current theoretical and experimental studies that emphasise the role of differential cell-cell adhesion on self-organisation and spatial structure of cellular aggregates. We also investigate how the speed of individual cell aggregations increases with the chemotactic sensitivity of the cells, and decreases with the number of cells inside the aggregates

Multilevel and quasi-Monte Carlo methods for uncertainty quantification in particle travel times through random heterogeneous porous media.

Science.gov (United States)

Crevillén-García, D; Power, H

2017-08-01

In this study, we apply four Monte Carlo simulation methods, namely, Monte Carlo, quasi-Monte Carlo, multilevel Monte Carlo and multilevel quasi-Monte Carlo to the problem of uncertainty quantification in the estimation of the average travel time during the transport of particles through random heterogeneous porous media. We apply the four methodologies to a model problem where the only input parameter, the hydraulic conductivity, is modelled as a log-Gaussian random field by using direct Karhunen-Loéve decompositions. The random terms in such expansions represent the coefficients in the equations. Numerical calculations demonstrating the effectiveness of each of the methods are presented. A comparison of the computational cost incurred by each of the methods for three different tolerances is provided. The accuracy of the approaches is quantified via the mean square error.

Multilevel and quasi-Monte Carlo methods for uncertainty quantification in particle travel times through random heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Crevillén-García, D.; Power, H.

2017-08-01

In this study, we apply four Monte Carlo simulation methods, namely, Monte Carlo, quasi-Monte Carlo, multilevel Monte Carlo and multilevel quasi-Monte Carlo to the problem of uncertainty quantification in the estimation of the average travel time during the transport of particles through random heterogeneous porous media. We apply the four methodologies to a model problem where the only input parameter, the hydraulic conductivity, is modelled as a log-Gaussian random field by using direct Karhunen-Loéve decompositions. The random terms in such expansions represent the coefficients in the equations. Numerical calculations demonstrating the effectiveness of each of the methods are presented. A comparison of the computational cost incurred by each of the methods for three different tolerances is provided. The accuracy of the approaches is quantified via the mean square error.

Homogenization of one-dimensional draining through heterogeneous porous media including higher-order approximations

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Daniel M.; McLaughlin, Richard M.; Miller, Cass T.

2018-02-01

We examine a mathematical model of one-dimensional draining of a fluid through a periodically-layered porous medium. A porous medium, initially saturated with a fluid of a high density is assumed to drain out the bottom of the porous medium with a second lighter fluid replacing the draining fluid. We assume that the draining layer is sufficiently dense that the dynamics of the lighter fluid can be neglected with respect to the dynamics of the heavier draining fluid and that the height of the draining fluid, represented as a free boundary in the model, evolves in time. In this context, we neglect interfacial tension effects at the boundary between the two fluids. We show that this problem admits an exact solution. Our primary objective is to develop a homogenization theory in which we find not only leading-order, or effective, trends but also capture higher-order corrections to these effective draining rates. The approximate solution obtained by this homogenization theory is compared to the exact solution for two cases: (1) the permeability of the porous medium varies smoothly but rapidly and (2) the permeability varies as a piecewise constant function representing discrete layers of alternating high/low permeability. In both cases we are able to show that the corrections in the homogenization theory accurately predict the position of the free boundary moving through the porous medium.

Application of X-ray CT investigation of CO{sub 2}-brine flow in porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Lanlan; Liu, Yu; Song, Yongchen; Yang, Mingjun; Zhao, Yuechao; Zhao, Jiafei; Zhang, Yi; Shen, Zijian [Dalian University of Technology, Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian (China); Xue, Ziqiu [Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Kizugawa City, Kyoto (Japan); Suekane, Tetsuya [Tokyo Institute Technology, Department of Energy Sciences, Nagatsuta, Yokohama (Japan)

2015-05-15

A clear understanding of two-phase flows in porous media is important for investigating CO{sub 2} geological storage. In this study, we conducted an experiment of CO{sub 2}/brine flow process in porous media under sequestration conditions using X-ray CT technique. The flow properties of relative permeability, porosity heterogeneity, and CO{sub 2} saturation were observed in this experiment. The porous media was packed with glass beads having a diameter of 0.2 mm. The porosity distribution along the flow direction is heterogeneous owing to the diameter and shape of glass beads along the flow direction. There is a relationship between CO{sub 2} saturation and porosity distribution, which changes with different flow rates and fractional flows. The heterogeneity of the porous media influences the distribution of CO{sub 2}; moreover, gravity, fractional flows, and flow rates influence CO{sub 2} distribution and saturation. The relative permeability curve was constructed using the steady-state method. The results agreed well with the relative permeability curve simulated using pore-network model. (orig.)

Internal Domains of Natural Porous Media Revealed: Critical Locations for Transport, Storage, and Chemical Reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zachara, John M.; Brantley, Susan L.; Chorover, Jon D.; Ewing, Robert P.; Kerisit, Sebastien N.; Liu, Chongxuan; Perfect, E.; Rother, Gernot; Stack, Andrew G.

2016-03-16

Internal pore domains exist within rocks, lithic fragments, subsurface sediments and soil aggregates. These domains, which we term internal domains in porous media (IDPM), contain a significant fraction of their porosity as nanopores, dominate the reactive surface area of diverse porous media types, and are important locations for chemical reactivity and hydrocarbon storage. Traditionally difficult to interrogate, advances in instrumentation and imaging methods are providing new insights on the physical structures and chemical attributes of IDPM. In this review we: discuss analytical methods to characterize IDPM, evaluate what has been learned about their size distributions, connectivity, and extended structures; determine whether they exhibit unique chemical reactivity; and assess potential for their inclusion in reactive transport models. Three key findings are noteworthy. 1) A combination of methods now allows complete characterization of the porosity spectrum of natural materials and its connectivity; while imaging microscopies are providing three dimensional representations of the interconnected pore network. 2) Chemical reactivity in pores <10 nm is expected to be different from micro and macropores, yet research performed to date is inconclusive on the nature, direction, and magnitude of effect. 3) Existing continuum reactive transport models treat IDPM as a sub-grid feature with average, empirical, scale-dependent parameters; and are not formulated to include detailed information on pore networks. Overall we find that IDPM are key features controlling hydrocarbon release from shales in hydrofracking systems, organic matter stabilization and recalcitrance in soil, weathering and soil formation, and long term inorganic and organic contaminant behavior in the vadose zone and groundwater. We conclude with an assessment of impactful research opportunities to advance understanding of IDPM, and to incorporate their important effects in reactive transport models

Numerical study of compositional compressible degenerate two-phase flow in saturated–unsaturated heterogeneous porous media

KAUST Repository

Saad, Ali S.; Saad, Bilal Mohammed; Saad, Mazen

2016-01-01

We study the convergence of a combined finite volume-nonconforming finite element scheme on general meshes for a partially miscible two-phase flow model in anisotropic porous media. This model includes capillary effects and exchange between the phases. The diffusion term, which can be anisotropic and heterogeneous, is discretized by piecewise linear nonconforming triangular finite elements. The other terms are discretized by means of a cell-centered finite volume scheme on a dual mesh. The relative permeability of each phase is decentered according to the sign of the velocity at the dual interface. The convergence of the scheme is proved thanks to an estimate on the two pressures which allows to show estimates on the discrete time and compactness results in the case of degenerate relative permeabilities. A key point in the scheme is to use particular averaging formula for the dissolution function arising in the diffusion term. We show also a simulation of hydrogen production in nuclear waste management. Numerical results are obtained by in-house numerical code. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

Numerical study of compositional compressible degenerate two-phase flow in saturated–unsaturated heterogeneous porous media

KAUST Repository

Saad, Ali S.

2016-01-02

We study the convergence of a combined finite volume-nonconforming finite element scheme on general meshes for a partially miscible two-phase flow model in anisotropic porous media. This model includes capillary effects and exchange between the phases. The diffusion term, which can be anisotropic and heterogeneous, is discretized by piecewise linear nonconforming triangular finite elements. The other terms are discretized by means of a cell-centered finite volume scheme on a dual mesh. The relative permeability of each phase is decentered according to the sign of the velocity at the dual interface. The convergence of the scheme is proved thanks to an estimate on the two pressures which allows to show estimates on the discrete time and compactness results in the case of degenerate relative permeabilities. A key point in the scheme is to use particular averaging formula for the dissolution function arising in the diffusion term. We show also a simulation of hydrogen production in nuclear waste management. Numerical results are obtained by in-house numerical code. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

Pd enhanced WC catalyst to promote heterogeneous methane combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terracciano, Anthony Carmine; De Oliveira, Samuel; Siddhanti, Deepti; Blair, Richard; Vasu, Subith S.; Orlovskaya, Nina

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Pd enhanced WC catalyst particles were synthesized via mechanochemical alloying. • Catalyst was characterized by XRD, XRF, SEM, and EDS. • Catalyst was deposited on porous ZrO_2 and evaluated in heterogeneous combustion. • During combustion temperature profiles and spectral emissions were collected. - Abstract: The efficiency of combustion for low cost heat production could be greatly enhanced if an active and low cost catalyst would be used to facilitate the chemical reactions occurring during combustor operation. Within this work an experimental study of palladium (Pd) enhanced tungsten carbide (WC) catalyst, synthesized via high energy ball milling and deposited by dip coating onto a magnesia partially stabilized zirconia (MgO-ZrO_2) porous matrix of 10 ppin was evaluated in heterogeneous methane combustion. The synthesized powder was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, as well as by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF); and the morphology of the deposited WC-Pd coating was also characterized using SEM and EDS. Performance evaluation of the heterogeneous combustor with WC-Pd coated MgO-ZrO_2 porous media was conducted at constant air flow rate and various equivalence ratios of methane/air gaseous mixtures, while monitoring axial temperature profiles within the combustion chamber using thermocouples, as well as thermal radiative and acoustic emissions from the combustor exhaust using an externally placed CCD camera and a microphone. It was found that there is a strong dependence of flame position and maximum temperature on equivalence ratio (φ) over the range of 0.47 ± 0.02 ⩽ φ ⩽ 0.75 ± 0.02. Additionally it was found that over the same equivalence ratio range, there is a characteristic 4 peak acoustic signature between 200 and 500 Hz. It was found that at higher equivalence ratios 0.51 ± 0.02 ⩽ φ ⩽ 0.75 ± 0.02 the performance of combustor

Porous silicon structures with high surface area/specific pore size

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, M.A.; Yu, C.M.; Raley, N.F.

1999-03-16

Fabrication and use of porous silicon structures to increase surface area of heated reaction chambers, electrophoresis devices, and thermopneumatic sensor-actuators, chemical preconcentrates, and filtering or control flow devices. In particular, such high surface area or specific pore size porous silicon structures will be useful in significantly augmenting the adsorption, vaporization, desorption, condensation and flow of liquids and gases in applications that use such processes on a miniature scale. Examples that will benefit from a high surface area, porous silicon structure include sample preconcentrators that are designed to adsorb and subsequently desorb specific chemical species from a sample background; chemical reaction chambers with enhanced surface reaction rates; and sensor-actuator chamber devices with increased pressure for thermopneumatic actuation of integrated membranes. Examples that benefit from specific pore sized porous silicon are chemical/biological filters and thermally-activated flow devices with active or adjacent surfaces such as electrodes or heaters. 9 figs.

Fabrication and performance of porous lithium sodium potassium niobate ceramic

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Caifeng; Zhu, Yuan; Ji, Jun; Cai, Feixiang; Zhang, Youming; Zhang, Ningyi; Wang, Andong

2018-02-01

Porous lithium sodium potassium niobate (LNK) ceramic has excellent piezoelectric properties, chemical stability and great chemical compatibility. It has a good application potential in the field of biological bone substitute. In the paper, porous LNK ceramic was fabricated with egg albumen foaming agent by foaming method. Effects of preparation process of the porous LNK ceramic on density, phase structure, hole size and piezoelectric properties were researched and characterized. The results show that the influence factors of LNK solid content and foaming agent addition are closely relevant to properties of the porous LNK ceramic. When solid content is 65% and foaming agent addition is 30%, the porous LNK ceramic has uniform holes and the best piezoelectric properties.

Influence of geometrical and operational parameters on the performance of porous catalytic membrane reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aran, H.C.; Klooster, H.J.G.; Jani, J.M.; Wessling, Matthias; Lefferts, Leonardus; Lammertink, Rob G.H.

2012-01-01

In this study, porous membrane reactors with various characteristic length (inner diameter), controllable catalyst support thickness, active catalyst surface area and tunable wetting properties are described for heterogeneously catalyzed gas¿liquid¿solid (G¿L¿S) reactions. We developed porous

Chemotaxis and flow disorder shape microbial dispersion in porous media

Science.gov (United States)

De Anna, Pietro; Yawata, Yutaka; Stocker, Roman; Juanes, Ruben

2017-04-01

Bacteria drive a plethora of natural processes in the subsurface, consuming organic matter and catalysing chemical reactions that are key to global elemental cycles. These macro-scale consequences result from the collective action of individual bacteria at the micro-scale, which are modulated by the highly heterogeneous subsurface environment, dominated by flow disorder and strong chemical gradients. Yet, despite the generally recognized importance of these microscale processes, microbe-host medium interaction at the pore scale remain poorly characterized and understood. Here, we introduce a microfluidic model system to directly image and quantify the role of cell motility on bacterial dispersion and residence time in confined, porous, media. Using the soil-dwelling bacterium Bacillus subtilis and the common amino acid serine as a resource, we observe that chemotaxis in highly disordered and confined physico-chemical environment affords bacteria an increase in their ability to persistently occupy the host medium. Our findings illustrate that the interplay between bacterial behaviour and pore-scale disorder in fluid velocity and nutrient concentration directly impacts the residence time, transport and bio-geo-chemical transformation rates of biota in the subsurface, and thus likely the processes they mediate.

Microbial-Induced Heterogeneity in the Acoustic Properties of Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Acoustic wave data were acquired over a two-dimensional region of a microbial-stimulated sand column and an unstimulated sand column to assess the spatiotemporal changes in a porous medium caused by microbial growth and biofilm formation. The acoustic signals from the unstimulate...

Positronium chemistry in porous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Y.; Ito, K.; Oka, T.; Hirata, K.

2007-01-01

Porous materials have fascinated positron and positronium chemists for over decades. In the early 1970s it was already known that ortho-positronium (o-Ps) exhibits characteristic long lifetimes in silica gels, porous glass and zeolites. Since then, our understanding of Ps formation, diffusion and annihilation has been drastically deepened. Ps is now well recognized as a powerful porosimetric and chemical probe to study the average pore size, pore size distribution, pore connectivity and surface properties of various porous materials including thin films. In this paper, developments of Ps chemistry in porous materials undertaken in the past some 40 yr are surveyed and problems to be addressed in future are briefly discussed

Robust C–C bonded porous networks with chemically designed functionalities for improved CO2 capture from flue gas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damien Thirion

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Effective carbon dioxide (CO2 capture requires solid, porous sorbents with chemically and thermally stable frameworks. Herein, we report two new carbon–carbon bonded porous networks that were synthesized through metal-free Knoevenagel nitrile–aldol condensation, namely the covalent organic polymer, COP-156 and 157. COP-156, due to high specific surface area (650 m2/g and easily interchangeable nitrile groups, was modified post-synthetically into free amine- or amidoxime-containing networks. The modified COP-156-amine showed fast and increased CO2 uptake under simulated moist flue gas conditions compared to the starting network and usual industrial CO2 solvents, reaching up to 7.8 wt % uptake at 40 °C.

Heterogeneous porous media permeability field characterization from fluid displacement data; Integration de donnees de deplacements de fluides dans la caracterisation de milieux poreux heterogenes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kretz, V.

2002-11-01

The prediction of oil recovery or pollutant dispersion requires an accurate knowledge of the permeability field distribution. Available data are usually measurements in well bores, and, since a few years, 4D-seismic data (seismic mappings repeated in time). Such measurements allow to evaluate fluids displacements fronts evolution. The purpose of the thesis is to evaluate the possibility to determinate permeability fields from fluid displacement measurements in heterogeneous porous media. At the laboratory scale, experimental studies are made on a model and on numerical simulations. The system uses blocks of granular materials whose individual geometries and permeabilities are controlled. The fluids displacements are detected with an acoustical. The key parameters of the study are the size and spatial correlation of the permeability heterogeneity distribution, and the influence of viscosity and gravity contrasts between the injected ant displaced fluid. Then the inverse problem - evaluating the permeability field from concentration fronts evolution - is approached. At the reservoir scale, the work will mainly be focused on the integration of 4D-seismic data into inversion programs on a 3D synthetic case. A particular importance will be given to the calculation of gradients, in order to obtain a complementary information about the sensitivity of data. The information provided by 4D-seismic data consists in maps showing the vertical average of oil saturation or the presence of gas. The purpose is to integrate this qualitative information in the inversion process and to evaluate the impact on the reservoir characterization. Comparative studies - with or without 4D-seismic data - will be realized on a synthetic case. (author)

Fluid dynamics and mass transfer in variably saturated porous media: formulation and applications of a mathematical model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, D.

1982-01-01

This paper presents the formulation and applications of a mathematical model designed to predict the fluid dynamics and associated mass transfers in variably saturated porous media. Novelties in the formulation are emphasized and demonstrated to provide several computational advantages. The numerical procedure employed is of the integrated finite-difference variety which employs a hybrid differencing scheme. This procedure, while solving the coupled governing equations in conservative form, permits accommodation of substantial heterogeneities and anisotropies in material properties of the porous media. Accordingly, it is capable of making reliable predictions of steeply varying moisture and chemical-specie concentration fronts. The paper provides several examples of application of the model to the solution of practical problems. It is demonstrated that economical solutions to highly non-linear problems associated with solid and liquid waste disposal practices can be obtained

Photoluminescence quenching of chemically functionalized porous silicon by a ruthenium cluster

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boukherroub, R.; Wayner, D.D.M. [Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada); Lockwood, D.J. [Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada); Zargarian, D. [Chemistry Department, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, succursale, Centre-ville, Montreal QC (Canada)

2003-05-01

This paper describes photoluminescence (PL) quenching of hydrogen-terminated and chemically derivatized porous silicon (PSi) nanostructures by a green ruthenium cluster (I). Chemisorption of freshly prepared PSi surfaces in a hexane solution of the Ru cluster for several days at room temperature led to a complete quenching of the PSi PL. The only visible PL was due to the original PL of the cluster. When the PSi surface functionalized with undecylenic acid was immersed in the same hexane solution of (I), the PSi PL was completely quenched and accompanied with a shift to a lower energy of the cluster PL. This shift was assigned to the formation of an ester linkage resulting from the nucleophilic attack of the PO anion of the cluster on the terminal acid functional group. (Abstract Copyright [2003], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Photoluminescence quenching of chemically functionalized porous silicon by a ruthenium cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Boukherroub, R.; Wayner, D. D. M.; Lockwood, D. J.; Zargarian, D.

2003-05-01

This paper describes photoluminescence (PL) quenching of hydrogen-terminated and chemically derivatized porous silicon (PSi) nanostructures by a green ruthenium cluster (I). Chemisorption of freshly prepared PSi surfaces in a hexane solution of the Ru cluster for several days at room temperature led to a complete quenching of the PSi PL. The only visible PL was due to the original PL of the cluster. When the PSi surface functionalized with undecylenic acid was immersed in the same hexane solution of (I), the PSi PL was completely quenched and accompanied with a shift to a lower energy of the cluster PL. This shift was assigned to the formation of an ester linkage resulting from the nucleophilic attack of the PO anion of the cluster on the terminal acid functional group.

Applications of micro-spectroscopy and chemical imaging to delineate contaminant associations in heterogeneous mineral environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, D.

1998-01-01

Full text: Chemical speciation of a contaminant in the environment controls its mobility, bioavailability and ultimately its toxicity to organisms, including man. Transport models for environmental contaminants have continually failed because of an incomplete understanding of the physicochemical controls regulating the chemical speciation of both inorganic and organic contaminants. One of the greatest analytical difficulties to studying contaminant behavior in the subsurface is the inherent heterogeneity of mineral and organic constituents. Added to the multiplicity, of geological component surfaces that contaminants can interact with is the synergistic (both positive and negative) effects that occur due to non-conservative interactions between these components. Modern spectroscopic techniques can provide detailed quantitative and qualitative information on how contaminants behave within a specific mineral's surface-water interface. In general, the information is so rich as to be un interpretable in heterogeneous systems where multiple binding environments exist on competing multi-mineralic surfaces. None-the-less, it is the behaviour of contaminants in complex heterogeneous environments that is tantamount to understanding and predicting transport behaviour under field conditions. One solution is micro-spot spectroscopy. In micro-spot spectroscopy, chemical composition is determined by dispersing light absorbed or emitted from a highly localized spatial position within a heterogeneous sample. Such examples include FT-IR, Raman, fluorescence, and X-Ray absorption spectroscopies where spatial resolutions of 1 to 10 μm can be achieved. This scale can be still far too large to fully spectroscopically probe binding behaviour that is heterogeneous on colloidal scales ranging down to nanometers. However, it can provide a bridge to established characterization techniques such as optical petrography, since the challenge lies not only in identifying the speciation and

Porous substrates filled with nanomaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Worsley, Marcus A.; Baumann, Theodore F.; Satcher, Jr., Joe H.; Stadermann, Michael

2018-04-03

A composition comprising: at least one porous carbon monolith, such as a carbon aerogel, comprising internal pores, and at least one nanomaterial, such as carbon nanotubes, disposed uniformly throughout the internal pores. The nanomaterial can be disposed in the middle of the monolith. In addition, a method for making a monolithic solid with both high surface area and good bulk electrical conductivity is provided. A porous substrate having a thickness of 100 microns or more and comprising macropores throughout its thickness is prepared. At least one catalyst is deposited inside the porous substrate. Subsequently, chemical vapor deposition is used to uniformly deposit a nanomaterial in the macropores throughout the thickness of the porous substrate. Applications include electrical energy storage, such as batteries and capacitors, and hydrogen storage.

Bayesian uncertainty quantification for flows in heterogeneous porous media using reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo methods

KAUST Repository

Mondal, A.

2010-03-01

In this paper, we study the uncertainty quantification in inverse problems for flows in heterogeneous porous media. Reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms (MCMC) are used for hierarchical modeling of channelized permeability fields. Within each channel, the permeability is assumed to have a lognormal distribution. Uncertainty quantification in history matching is carried out hierarchically by constructing geologic facies boundaries as well as permeability fields within each facies using dynamic data such as production data. The search with Metropolis-Hastings algorithm results in very low acceptance rate, and consequently, the computations are CPU demanding. To speed-up the computations, we use a two-stage MCMC that utilizes upscaled models to screen the proposals. In our numerical results, we assume that the channels intersect the wells and the intersection locations are known. Our results show that the proposed algorithms are capable of capturing the channel boundaries and describe the permeability variations within the channels using dynamic production history at the wells. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of ruthenium cluster on the photoluminescence of chemically derivatized porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boukherroub, Rabah; Zargarian, Davit; Reber, Christian; Lockwood, David J.; Carty, Arthur J.; Wayner, Danial D.M.

2003-01-01

A green photoluminescent triruthenium cluster (I) has been chemisorbed on highly luminescent porous silicon (PSi) layers, either freshly prepared or chemically modified with 1-decene, ethyl undecylenate, or undecylenic acid, in order to study the influence of the cluster on the photoluminescence (PL) arising from the PSi. Immersing the hydrogen-terminated PSi in a hexane solution of (I) for several days at room temperature led to the quenching of PL arising from PSi; the only PL detected was due to the Ru cluster (I). A complete quenching of the PL due to PSi was also observed when derivatized PSi surfaces were exposed to the same solution of (I); in these cases, the PL of (I) also shifted to lower energies. Both the quenching of the PL arising from the PSi layers and the shift in the PL of the cluster (I) are likely due to the difference in the chemical interaction of the PO moiety and the CO groups of the Ru cluster with the terminal functional group of the organic monolayer

Effect of ruthenium cluster on the photoluminescence of chemically derivatized porous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boukherroub, Rabah; Zargarian, Davit; Reber, Christian; Lockwood, David J.; Carty, Arthur J.; Wayner, Danial D.M

2003-07-15

A green photoluminescent triruthenium cluster (I) has been chemisorbed on highly luminescent porous silicon (PSi) layers, either freshly prepared or chemically modified with 1-decene, ethyl undecylenate, or undecylenic acid, in order to study the influence of the cluster on the photoluminescence (PL) arising from the PSi. Immersing the hydrogen-terminated PSi in a hexane solution of (I) for several days at room temperature led to the quenching of PL arising from PSi; the only PL detected was due to the Ru cluster (I). A complete quenching of the PL due to PSi was also observed when derivatized PSi surfaces were exposed to the same solution of (I); in these cases, the PL of (I) also shifted to lower energies. Both the quenching of the PL arising from the PSi layers and the shift in the PL of the cluster (I) are likely due to the difference in the chemical interaction of the PO moiety and the CO groups of the Ru cluster with the terminal functional group of the organic monolayer.

Effect of ruthenium cluster on the photoluminescence of chemically derivatized porous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Boukherroub, Rabah; Zargarian, Davit; Reber, Christian; Lockwood, David J.; Carty, Arthur J.; Wayner, Danial D. M.

2003-07-01

A green photoluminescent triruthenium cluster (I) has been chemisorbed on highly luminescent porous silicon (PSi) layers, either freshly prepared or chemically modified with 1-decene, ethyl undecylenate, or undecylenic acid, in order to study the influence of the cluster on the photoluminescence (PL) arising from the PSi. Immersing the hydrogen-terminated PSi in a hexane solution of (I) for several days at room temperature led to the quenching of PL arising from PSi; the only PL detected was due to the Ru cluster (I). A complete quenching of the PL due to PSi was also observed when derivatized PSi surfaces were exposed to the same solution of (I); in these cases, the PL of (I) also shifted to lower energies. Both the quenching of the PL arising from the PSi layers and the shift in the PL of the cluster (I) are likely due to the difference in the chemical interaction of the PO moiety and the CO groups of the Ru cluster with the terminal functional group of the organic monolayer.

Aerosol processing: a wind of innovation in the field of advanced heterogeneous catalysts.

Science.gov (United States)

Debecker, Damien P; Le Bras, Solène; Boissière, Cédric; Chaumonnot, Alexandra; Sanchez, Clément

2018-04-16

Aerosol processing is long known and implemented industrially to obtain various types of divided materials and nanomaterials. The atomisation of a liquid solution or suspension produces a mist of aerosol droplets which can then be transformed via a diversity of processes including spray-drying, spray pyrolysis, flame spray pyrolysis, thermal decomposition, micronisation, gas atomisation, etc. The attractive technical features of these aerosol processes make them highly interesting for the continuous, large scale, and tailored production of heterogeneous catalysts. Indeed, during aerosol processing, each liquid droplet undergoes well-controlled physical and chemical transformations, allowing for example to dry and aggregate pre-existing solid particles or to synthesise new micro- or nanoparticles from mixtures of molecular or colloidal precursors. In the last two decades, more advanced reactive aerosol processes have emerged as innovative means to synthesise tailored-made nanomaterials with tunable surface properties, textures, compositions, etc. In particular, the "aerosol-assisted sol-gel" process (AASG) has demonstrated tremendous potential for the preparation of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts. The method is mainly based on the low-cost, scalable, and environmentally benign sol-gel chemistry process, often coupled with the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) concept. It allows producing micronic or submicronic, inorganic or hybrid organic-inorganic particles bearing tuneable and calibrated porous structures at different scales. In addition, pre-formed nanoparticles can be easily incorporated or formed in a "one-pot" bottom-up approach within the porous inorganic or hybrid spheres produced by such spray drying method. Thus, multifunctional catalysts with tailored catalytic activities can be prepared in a relatively simple way. This account is an overview of aerosol processed heterogeneous catalysts which demonstrated interesting performance in

Room temperature synthesis of porous SiO2 thin films by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

OpenAIRE

Barranco Quero, Ángel; Cotrino Bautista, José; Yubero Valencia, Francisco; Espinós, J. P.; Rodríguez González-Elipe, Agustín

2004-01-01

Synthesis of porous SiO2 thin films in room temperature was carried out using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in an electron cyclotron resonance microwave reactor with a downstream configuration.The gas adsorption properties and the type of porosity of the SiO2 thin films were assessed by adsorption isotherms of toluene at room temperature.The method could also permit the tailoring synthesis of thin films when both composition and porosity can be simultaneously and independent...

Symmetric wetting heterogeneity suppresses fluid displacement hysteresis in granular piles

Science.gov (United States)

Moosavi, R.; Schröter, M.; Herminghaus, S.

2018-02-01

We investigate experimentally the impact of heterogeneity on the capillary pressure hysteresis in fluid invasion of model porous media. We focus on symmetric heterogeneity, where the contact angles the fluid interface makes with the oil-wet (θ1) and the water-wet (θ2) beads add up to π . While enhanced heterogeneity is usually known to increase hysteresis phenomena, we find that hysteresis is greatly reduced when heterogeneities in wettability are introduced. On the contrary, geometric heterogeneity (like bidisperse particle size) does not lead to such an effect. We provide a qualitative explanation of this surprising result, resting on rather general geometric arguments.

MS-2 and poliovirus transport in porous media: Hydrophobic effects and chemical perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Bales, Roger C.; Li, Shimin; Maguire, Kimberly M.; Yahya, Moyasar T.; Gerba, Charles P.

1993-04-01

In a series of pH 7 continuous-flow column experiments, removal of the bacteriophage MS-2 by attachment to silica beads had a strong, systematic dependence on the amount of hydrophobic surface present on the beads. With no hydrophobic surface, removal of phage at pH 5 was much greater than at pH 7. Release of attached phage at both pH values did occur, but was slow; breakthrough curves exhibited tailing. Poliovirus attached to silica beads at pH 5.5 much more than at pH 7.0, and attachment was also slowly reversible. Time scales for phage and poliovinis attachment were of the order of hours. The sticking efficiency factor (α), reflecting microscaie physicochemical influences on virus attachment, was in the range of 0.0007-0.02. Phage release was small but measurable under steady state conditions. Release was enhanced by lowering ionic strength and by introducing beef extract, a high-ionic-strength protein solution. Results show that viruses experience reversible attachment/detachment (sometimes termed sorption), that large chemical perturbations are needed to induce rapid virus detachment, and that viruses should be quite mobile in sandy porous media. Even small amounts of hydrophobic organic material in the porous media (≥0.001%) can retard virus transport.

A hierarchy of models for simulating experimental results from a 3D heterogeneous porous medium

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Daniel; Ostvar, Sassan; Paustian, Rebecca; Wood, Brian D.

2018-04-01

In this work we examine the dispersion of conservative tracers (bromide and fluorescein) in an experimentally-constructed three-dimensional dual-porosity porous medium. The medium is highly heterogeneous (σY2 = 5.7), and consists of spherical, low-hydraulic-conductivity inclusions embedded in a high-hydraulic-conductivity matrix. The bimodal medium was saturated with tracers, and then flushed with tracer-free fluid while the effluent breakthrough curves were measured. The focus for this work is to examine a hierarchy of four models (in the absence of adjustable parameters) with decreasing complexity to assess their ability to accurately represent the measured breakthrough curves. The most information-rich model was (1) a direct numerical simulation of the system in which the geometry, boundary and initial conditions, and medium properties were fully independently characterized experimentally with high fidelity. The reduced-information models included; (2) a simplified numerical model identical to the fully-resolved direct numerical simulation (DNS) model, but using a domain that was one-tenth the size; (3) an upscaled mobile-immobile model that allowed for a time-dependent mass-transfer coefficient; and, (4) an upscaled mobile-immobile model that assumed a space-time constant mass-transfer coefficient. The results illustrated that all four models provided accurate representations of the experimental breakthrough curves as measured by global RMS error. The primary component of error induced in the upscaled models appeared to arise from the neglect of convection within the inclusions. We discuss the necessity to assign value (via a utility function or other similar method) to outcomes if one is to further select from among model options. Interestingly, these results suggested that the conventional convection-dispersion equation, when applied in a way that resolves the heterogeneities, yields models with high fidelity without requiring the imposition of a more

Process for forming a porous silicon member in a crystalline silicon member

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, M. Allen; Yu, Conrad M.; Raley, Norman F.

1999-01-01

Fabrication and use of porous silicon structures to increase surface area of heated reaction chambers, electrophoresis devices, and thermopneumatic sensor-actuators, chemical preconcentrates, and filtering or control flow devices. In particular, such high surface area or specific pore size porous silicon structures will be useful in significantly augmenting the adsorption, vaporization, desorption, condensation and flow of liquids and gasses in applications that use such processes on a miniature scale. Examples that will benefit from a high surface area, porous silicon structure include sample preconcentrators that are designed to adsorb and subsequently desorb specific chemical species from a sample background; chemical reaction chambers with enhanced surface reaction rates; and sensor-actuator chamber devices with increased pressure for thermopneumatic actuation of integrated membranes. Examples that benefit from specific pore sized porous silicon are chemical/biological filters and thermally-activated flow devices with active or adjacent surfaces such as electrodes or heaters.

Parametric study of boiling heat transfer in porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, B.; Jones, B.G.; Pan, C.

1996-01-01

Detailed numerical modeling and parametric variation studies were conducted on boiling heat transfer processes in porous deposits with emphasis on applications associated with light water nuclear power reactor systems. The processes of boiling heat transfer in the porous corrosion deposits typically involve phase changes in finite volumetric regions in the porous media. The study examined such processes in two porous media configurations, without chimneys (homogeneous porous structures) and with chimneys (heterogeneous porous structures). A 1-D model and a 2-D model were developed to simulate two-phase flows with phase changes, without dry-out, inside the porous media for both structural configurations. For closure of the governing equations, an empirical correlation of the evaporation rate for phase changes inside the porous media was introduced. In addition, numerical algorithms were developed to solve the coupled nonlinear equations of mass, momentum, energy, capillary pressure, and evaporation rate. The distributions of temperature, thermodynamic saturation, liquid pressure, vapor pressure, liquid velocity, and vapor velocity were predicted. Furthermore, the effects of heat flux, system pressure, porosity, particle diameter, chimney population density, chimney radius, and crud thickness on the all superheat, critical heat flux, and minimum saturation were examined. The predictions were found to be in good agreement with the available experimental results

FACADE SYSTEM MADE OF POROUS MATERIALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhukov Aleksey Dmitrievich

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The proposed multi-component façade system is made of porous concretes employed both as bearing structures and for heat insulation and fireproofing purposes. The authors also provide their recommendations in respect of the mounting of the proposed façade system. The façade system considered in the article is composed of wall foam concrete blocks reinforced by basalt fibers (bearing elements of the structure, cellular concrete polystyrene (thermal insulation, and porous concrete (fireproofing and thermal insulation. Retained shuttering (in the fireproofing sections represents chrysolite cement sheets attached to the structures composed of glass-fiber plastic elements. The application of insulating porous concrete as a fireproofing material is based on the principle of adjustable stress-strained states of materials in the environment of variable pressure. This technology was developed at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, and it was initially designated for the manufacturing of tailor-made products. The above concrete is also designated for retained shuttering and modified cavity masonry walls. Porous concrete that expands inside the fireproofing cavity ensures a tight contact both with the basic material and thermal insulation plates. The use of materials of the same origin (Portland cement means the formation of strong transition zones connecting the system components in the course of its hardening and further operation. The results of the thermotechnical calculation demonstrate that the thermal resistance registered on the surface of the wall that is 3 meters high (that has a 0.4 m fireproofing cavity is equal to 3.98 sq. m. C/Wt. The value of the coefficient of thermotechnical heterogeneity (r is equal to 0.86 with account for the thickness and thermal conductivity of point and linear elements. If the thermotechnical heterogeneity is taken into consideration, the thermal resistance of the proposed wall is equal to 3.42 m2 С/Wt.

Biological functionalization and patterning of porous silicon prepared by Pt-assisted chemical etching

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hong-Fang; Han, Huan-Mei; Wu, Ya-Guang; Xiao, Shou-Jun

2010-04-01

Porous silicon fabricated via Pt-assisted chemical etching of p-type Si (1 0 0) in 1:1:1 EtOH/HF/H 2O 2 solution possesses a longer durability in air and in aqueous media than anodized one, which is advantageous for biomedical applications. Its surface SiH x ( x = 1 and 2) species can react with 10-undecylenic acid completely under microwave irradiation, and subsequent derivatizations of the end carboxylic acid result in affinity capture of proteins. We applied two approaches to produce protein microarrays: photolithography and spotting. The former provides a homogeneous microarray with a very low fluorescence background, while the latter presents an inhomogeneous microarray with a high noise background.

Biological functionalization and patterning of porous silicon prepared by Pt-assisted chemical etching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Hongfang; Han Huanmei; Wu Yaguang; Xiao Shoujun

2010-01-01

Porous silicon fabricated via Pt-assisted chemical etching of p-type Si (1 0 0) in 1:1:1 EtOH/HF/H 2 O 2 solution possesses a longer durability in air and in aqueous media than anodized one, which is advantageous for biomedical applications. Its surface SiHx (x = 1 and 2) species can react with 10-undecylenic acid completely under microwave irradiation, and subsequent derivatizations of the end carboxylic acid result in affinity capture of proteins. We applied two approaches to produce protein microarrays: photolithography and spotting. The former provides a homogeneous microarray with a very low fluorescence background, while the latter presents an inhomogeneous microarray with a high noise background.

Physics of DNAPL Migration and Remediation in the Presence of Heterogeneities; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

CONRAD, STEPHEN H.; GLASS, ROBERT J.

1999-01-01

The goal of our research is to develop a fundamental quantitative understanding of the role of physical heterogeneities on DNAPL migration and remediation in aquifers. Such understanding is critical to cost effectively identify the location of the subsurface zone of contamination and design remediation schemes focused on removing the source of the contamination, the DNAPL itself. To reach this goal, the following objectives for the proposed research are defined: Objective 1: Develop fundamental understanding of the physics of DNAPL migration processes within heterogeneous porous media: (a) Conduct a suite of two-dimensional physical experiments within controlled and systematically varied heterogeneous porous media at scales up to one meter. Vary system parameters to consider a range of capillary and bond numbers within these heterogeneous porous structures. (b) Develop a new DNAPL migration model based on an up-scaling of invasion percolation (UP) to model the migration process. Compare the model predictions to experimental results. Accomplishing objective 1 provides a series of experiments against which we will be able to evaluate the validity of existing multi-phase flow theory as formulated in both percolation codes and in continuum flow codes. These experimental results will also provide new insights into DNAPL migration behavior. Development of the UIP model will provide an exciting alternative to continuum multi-phase flow codes since UIP offers several advantages for modeling DNAPL migration. The UIP model is fast, allowing for: (1) modeling in three dimensions; (2) the incorporation of much more geologic detail; and (3) its use in probabilistic modeling by way of Monte Carlo techniques. Objective 2: Develop fundamental understanding of the physics of DNAPL remediation processes within heterogeneous porous media: Conduct a suite of physical experiments within controlled and systematically varied heterogeneous porous media at scales up to one meter that

Study of water radiolysis in porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotureau, Patricia

2001-08-01

The understanding of the production of H 2 in the radiolysis of water confined into pores of concrete is important for the disposal of radioactive waste. In order to describe the mechanisms of water radiolysis in such heterogeneous porous systems we have studied the behaviour under gamma radiation of water confined in porous silica glasses with pores going from 8 to 300 nm of diameter and meso-porous molecular sieves (MCM-41). The radiolytic yields of hydroxyl radicals, hydrated electron and dihydrogen, have been determined with respect to the pore size of materials. The increase of these radiolytic yields compared to those of free water allowed us to show a charge transfer from silica to confined water. On the other hand the kinetics of hydrated electron reactions measured by pulse radiolysis are not modified. (author) [fr

Perturbation analysis of magnetohydrodynamics oscillatory flow on convective-radiative heat and mass transfer of micropolar fluid in a porous medium with chemical reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dulal Pal

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the perturbation analysis of mixed convection heat and mass transfer of an oscillatory viscous electrically conducting micropolar fluid over an infinite moving permeable plate embedded in a saturated porous medium in the presence of transverse magnetic field. Analytical solutions are obtained for the governing basic equations. The effects of permeability, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation, magnetic field parameter and thermal radiation on the velocity distribution, micro-rotation, skin friction and wall couple stress coefficients are analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the effect of increasing the chemical reaction has a tendency to decrease the skin friction coefficient at the wall, while opposite trend is seen by increasing the permeability parameter of the porous medium. Also micro-rotational velocity distribution increases with an increase in the magnetic field parameter.

CFD analysis of a symmetrical planar SOFC with heterogeneous electrode properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Junxiang; Xue Xingjian

2010-01-01

A comprehensive 2-D CFD model is developed to investigate bi-electrode supported cell (BSC) performance. The model takes into account the coupled complex transport phenomena of mass/heat transfer, charge (electron/ion) transport, and electrochemical reactions. The uniqueness of this modeling work is that heterogeneous electrode properties are taken into account, which includes not only linear functionally graded porosity distribution but also various nonlinear distributions in a general sense according to porous electrode features in BSC design. Extensive numerical analysis is performed to elucidate various heterogeneous porous electrode property effects on cell performance. Results indicate that cell performance is strongly dependent on porous microstructure distributions of electrodes. Among the various porosity distributions, inverse parabolic porosity distribution shows promising effects on cell performance. For a given porosity distribution of electrodes, cell performance is also dependent on operating conditions, typically fuel/gas pressure losses across the electrodes. The mathematical model developed in this paper can be utilized for high performance BSC SOFC design and optimization.

OpenGeoSys: An open-source initiative for numerical simulation of thermo-hydro-mechanical/chemical (THM/C) processes in porous media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolditz, O.; Bauer, S.; Bilke, L.

In this paper we describe the OpenGeoSys (OGS) project, which is a scientific open-source initiative for numerical simulation of thermo-hydro-mechanical/chemical processes in porous media. The basic concept is to provide a flexible numerical framework (using primarily the Finite Element Method (FEM...

Modeling solute transport in a heterogeneous unsaturated porous medium under dynamic boundary conditions on different spatial scales

Science.gov (United States)

Cremer, Clemens; Neuweiler, Insa; Bechtold, Michel

2013-04-01

Understanding transport of solutes/contaminants through unsaturated soil in the shallow subsurface is vital to assess groundwater quality, nutrient cycling or to plan remediation projects. Alternating precipitation and evaporation conditions causing upward and downward flux with differing flow paths, changes in saturation and related structural heterogeneity make the description of transport in the unsaturated zone near the soil-surface a complex problem. Preferential flow paths strongly depend, among other things, on the saturation of a medium. Recent studies (e.g. Bechtold et al., 2011) showed lateral flow and solute transport during evaporation conditions (upward flux) in vertically layered sand columns. Results revealed that during evaporation water and solute are redistributed laterally from coarse to fine media deeper in the soil, and towards zones of lowest hydraulic head near to the soil surface. These zones at the surface can be coarse or fine grained depending on saturation status and evaporation flux. However, if boundary conditions are reversed and precipitation is applied, the flow field is not reversed in the same manner, resulting in entirely different transport patterns for downward and upward flow. Therefore, considering net-flow rates alone is misleading when describing transport in the shallow unsaturated zone. In this contribution, we analyze transport of a solute in the shallow subsurface to assess effects resulting from the superposition of heterogeneous soil structures and dynamic flow conditions on various spatial scales. Two-dimensional numerical simulations of unsaturated flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media under changing boundary conditions are carried out using a finite-volume code coupled to a particle tracking algorithm to quantify solute transport and leaching rates. In order to validate numerical simulations, results are qualitatively compared to those of a physical experiment (Bechtold et al., 2011). Numerical

METHOD OF IMPREGNATING A POROUS MATERIAL

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, G.N.

1960-06-01

A method of impregnating a porous body with an inorganic uranium- containing salt is outlined and comprises dissolving a water-soluble uranium- containing salt in water; saturating the intercommunicating pores of the porous body with the salt solution; infusing ammonia gas into the intercommunicating pores of the body, the ammonia gas in water chemically reacting with the water- soluble uranium-containing salt in the water solvent to form a nonwater-soluble uranium-containing precipitant; and evaporating the volatile unprecipitated products from the intercommunicating pores whereby the uranium-containing precipitate is uniformly distributed in the intercommunicating peres of the porous body.

Chemical stabilization of porous silicon for enhanced biofunctionalization with immunoglobulin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Naveas, Vicente Torres Costa, Dario Gallach, Jacobo Hernandez-Montelongo, Raul Jose Martín Palma, Josefa Predenstinacion Garcia-Ruiz and Miguel Manso-Silván

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Porous silicon (PSi is widely used in biological experiments, owing to its biocompatibility and well-established fabrication methods that allow tailoring its surface. Nevertheless, there are some unresolved issues such as deciding whether the stabilization of PSi is necessary for its biological applications and evaluating the effects of PSi stabilization on the surface biofunctionalization with proteins. In this work we demonstrate that non-stabilized PSi is prone to detachment owing to the stress induced upon biomolecular adsorption. Biofunctionalized non-stabilized PSi loses the interference properties characteristic of a thin film, and groove-like structures resulting from a final layer collapse were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Likewise, direct PSi derivatization with 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTS does not stabilize PSi against immunoglobulin biofunctionalization. To overcome this problem, we developed a simple chemical process of stabilizing PSi (CoxPSi for biological applications, which has several advantages over thermal stabilization (ToxPSi. The process consists of chemical oxidation in H2O2, surface derivatization with APTS and a curing step at 120 °C. This process offers integral homogeneous PSi morphology, hydrophilic surface termination (contact angle θ = 26° and highly efficient derivatized and biofunctionalized PSi surfaces (six times more efficient than ToxPSi. All these features are highly desirable for biological applications, such as biosensing, where our results can be used for the design and optimization of the biomolecular immobilization cascade on PSi surfaces.

Chemical microreactor and method thereof

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, Jeffrey D [Martinez, CA; Jankowski, Alan [Livermore, CA

2011-08-09

A method for forming a chemical microreactor includes forming at least one capillary microchannel in a substrate having at least one inlet and at least one outlet, integrating at least one heater into the chemical microreactor, interfacing the capillary microchannel with a liquid chemical reservoir at the inlet of the capillary microchannel, and interfacing the capillary microchannel with a porous membrane near the outlet of the capillary microchannel, the porous membrane being positioned beyond the outlet of the capillary microchannel, wherein the porous membrane has at least one catalyst material imbedded therein.

Ionic Diffusion and Kinetic Homogeneous Chemical Reactions in the Pore Solution of Porous Materials with Moisture Transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannesson, Björn

2009-01-01

Results from a systematic continuum mixture theory will be used to establish the governing equations for ionic diffusion and chemical reactions in the pore solution of a porous material subjected to moisture transport. The theory in use is the hybrid mixture theory (HMT), which in its general form......’s law of diffusion and the generalized Darcy’s law will be used together with derived constitutive equations for chemical reactions within phases. The mass balance equations for the constituents and the phases together with the constitutive equations gives the coupled set of non-linear differential...... general description of chemical reactions among constituents is described. The Petrov – Galerkin approach are used in favour of the standard Galerkin weighting in order to improve the solution when the convective part of the problem is dominant. A modified type of Newton – Raphson scheme is derived...

Proper Use of Capillary Number in Chemical Flooding

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Hu Guo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Capillary number theory is very important for chemical flooding enhanced oil recovery. The difference between microscopic capillary number and the microscopic one is easy to confuse. After decades of development, great progress has been made in capillary number theory and it has important but sometimes incorrect application in EOR. The capillary number theory was based on capillary tube bundles and Darcy’s law hypothesis, and this should always be kept in mind when used in chemical flooding EOR. The flow in low permeability porous media often shows obvious non-Darcy effects, which is beyond Darcy’s law. Experiments data from ASP flooding and SP flooding showed that remaining oil saturation was not always decreasing as capillary number kept on increasing. Relative permeability was proved function of capillary number; its rate dependence was affected by capillary end effects. The mobility control should be given priority rather than lowering IFT. The displacement efficiency was not increased as displacement velocity increased as expected in heavy oil chemical flooding. Largest capillary number does not always make highest recovery in chemical flooding in heterogeneous reservoir. Misuse of CDC in EOR included the ignorance of mobility ratio, Darcy linear flow hypothesis, difference between microscopic capillary number and the microscopic one, and heterogeneity caused flow regime alteration. Displacement of continuous oil or remobilization of discontinuous oil was quite different.

Buried Porous Silicon-Germanium Layers in Monocrystalline Silicon Lattices

Science.gov (United States)

Fathauer, Robert W. (Inventor); George, Thomas (Inventor); Jones, Eric W. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

Monocrystalline semiconductor lattices with a buried porous semiconductor layer having different chemical composition is discussed and monocrystalline semiconductor superlattices with a buried porous semiconductor layers having different chemical composition than that of its monocrystalline semiconductor superlattice are discussed. Lattices of alternating layers of monocrystalline silicon and porous silicon-germanium have been produced. These single crystal lattices have been fabricated by epitaxial growth of Si and Si-Ge layers followed by patterning into mesa structures. The mesa structures are strain etched resulting in porosification of the Si-Ge layers with a minor amount of porosification of the monocrystalline Si layers. Thicker Si-Ge layers produced in a similar manner emitted visible light at room temperature.

Vibrational modes of porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabra, M.; Naddaf, M.

2012-01-01

On the basis of theoretical and experimental investigations, the origin of room temperature photoluminescence (PL) from porous silicon is found to related to chemical complexes constituted the surface, in particular, SiHx, SiOx and SiOH groups. Ab initio atomic and molecular electronic structure calculations on select siloxane compounds were used for imitation of infrared (IR) spectra of porous silicon. These are compared to the IR spectra of porous silicon recorded by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). In contrast to linear siloxane, the suggested circular siloxane terminated with linear siloxane structure is found to well-imitate the experimental spectra. These results are augmented with EDX (energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy) measurements, which showed that the increase of SiOx content in porous silicon due to rapid oxidation process results in considerable decrease in PL peak intensity and a blue shift in the peak position. (author)

Transport phenomena in porous media

CERN Document Server

Ingham, Derek B

1998-01-01

Research into thermal convection in porous media has substantially increased during recent years due to its numerous practical applications. These problems have attracted the attention of industrialists, engineers and scientists from many very diversified disciplines, such as applied mathematics, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical and nuclear engineering, geothermal physics and food science. Thus, there is a wealth of information now available on convective processes in porous media and it is therefore appropriate and timely to undertake a new critical evaluation of this contemporary information. Transport Phenomena in Porous Media contains 17 chapters and represents the collective work of 27 of the world's leading experts, from 12 countries, in heat transfer in porous media. The recent intensive research in this area has substantially raised the expectations for numerous new practical applications and this makes the book a most timely addition to the existing literature. It includes recent major deve...

Compositional multiphase flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huber, R U

2000-07-01

This work first treats the conceptual models for the description of multiphase flow processes in porous media. The thermodynamic laws are explained and the description and quantification of multi-fluid equilibria are discussed in order to account for fluid composition. The fully and weakly coupled approaches for the mathematical description of such flow processes with respect to systems consisting of two and three fluid phases as well as with respect to compositional single and multiphase systems are assessed. For the discretization of the two-phase flow equations node- and cell-centered finite volume methods and mixed and mixed-hybrid finite element approaches are applied. Based upon these methods five solution algorithms are developed. Four of these algorithms are based on the simultaneous solution of the discretized equations in combination with the Newton-Raphson technique. Methods 1 and 2 treat two- three-phase flow processes, Method 3 applies to the solution of partially miscible three-component systems while Method 4 is created for three-phase three-component systems. The latter method uses a variable substitution dependent on the local presence of the fluid phases. Method 5 is based on the IMPES/IMPESC concept. The time-implicit pressure equation is discretized with the mixed-hybrid finite element method. The saturation and concentration equations, respectively, are solved with a cell-centered finite volume scheme. The developed algorithms are applied to the two- and three-phase Buckley-Leverett problems. A partitioning interwell tracer test is simulated. The propagation behavior of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in the saturated and unsaturated ground zone under the influence of heterogeneities are examined. In addition, a larger-scale experiment is simulated, which involves an injection of trichloroethylene into the subsurface and the subsequent distribution. Here, the development of a dissolved contaminant plume as well as the behavior of organic

Simulation of Tracer Transport in Porous Media: Application to Bentonites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bru, A.; Casero, D.

2001-01-01

We present a formal framework to describe tracer transport in heterogeneous media, such as porous media like bentonites. In these media, mean field approximation is not valid because there exist some geometrical constraints and the transport is anomalous. (Author)

Tracer transfer in consolidated porous medium and fractured porous medium: experimentations and modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Costa, C.

2007-07-01

We try to identify and model physical and chemical mechanisms governing the water flow and the solute transport in fractured consolidated porous medium. An original experimental device was built. The 'cube' consists of an idealized fractured medium reproduced by piling up consolidated porous cubes of 5 cm edge. Meanwhile, columns of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium are studied. The same anionic tracing technique is used in both cases. Using a system analysis approach, we inject concentration pulses in the device to obtain breakthrough curves. After identifying the mass balance and the residence time, we fit the CD and the MIM models to the experimental data. The MIM model is able to reproduce experimental curves of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium better than the CD model. The mobile water fraction is in accordance with the porous medium geometry. The study of the flow rate influence highlights an interference dispersion regime. It was not possible to highlight the observation length influence in this case. On the contrary, we highlight the effect of the observation scale on the fractured and porous medium, comparing the results obtained on a small 'cube' and a big 'cube'. The CD model is not satisfactory in this case. Even if the MIM model can fit the experimental breakthrough curves, it was not possible to obtain unique parameters for the set of experiments. (author)

Kinetics of heterogeneous chemical reactions: a theoretical model for the accumulation of pesticides in soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, S H; Sahai, R; Eyring, H

1971-04-01

A theoretical model for the accumulation of pesticides in soil has been proposed and discussed from the viewpoint of heterogeneous reaction kinetics with a basic aim to understand the complex nature of soil processes relating to the environmental pollution. In the bulk of soil, the pesticide disappears by diffusion and a chemical reaction; the rate processes considered on the surface of soil are diffusion, chemical reaction, vaporization, and regular pesticide application. The differential equations involved have been solved analytically by the Laplace-transform method.

Interaction of 3D dewetting nanodroplets on homogeneous and chemically heterogeneous substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asgari, M; Moosavi, A

2014-01-01

Long-time interaction of dewetting nanodroplets is investigated using a long-wave approximation method. Although three-dimensional (3D) droplets evolution dynamics exhibits qualitative behavior analogous to two-dimensional (2D) dynamics, there is an extensive quantitative difference between them. 3D dynamics is substantially faster than 2D dynamics. This can be related to the larger curvature and, as a consequence, the larger Laplace pressure difference between the droplets in 3D systems. The influence of various chemical heterogeneities on the behavior of droplets has also been studied. In the case of gradient surfaces, it is shown how the gradient direction could change the dynamics. For a chemical step located between the droplets, the dynamics is enhanced or weakened depending on the initial configuration of the system. (paper)

Alloy composition dependence of formation of porous Ni prepared by rapid solidification and chemical dealloying

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qi Zhen [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China); Zhang Zhonghua [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China)], E-mail: zh_zhang@sdu.edu.cn; Jia Haoling [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China); Qu Yingjie [Shandong Labor Occupational Technology College, Jingshi Road 388, Jinan 250022 (China); Liu Guodong; Bian Xiufang [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China)

2009-03-20

In this paper, the effect of alloy composition on the formation of porous Ni catalysts prepared by chemical dealloying of rapidly solidified Al-Ni alloys has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and N{sub 2} adsorption experiments. The experimental results show that rapid solidification and alloy composition have a significant effect on the phase constituent and microstructure of Al-Ni alloys. The melt spun Al-20 at.% Ni alloy consists of {alpha}-Al, NiAl{sub 3} and Ni{sub 2}Al{sub 3}, while the melt spun Al-25 and 31.5 at.% Ni alloys comprise NiAl{sub 3} and Ni{sub 2}Al{sub 3}. Moreover, the formation and microstructure of the porous Ni catalysts are dependent upon the composition of the melt spun Al-Ni alloys. The morphology and size of Ni particles in the Ni catalysts inherit from those of grains in the melt spun Al-Ni alloys. Rapid solidification can extend the alloy composition of Al-Ni alloys suitable for preparation of the Ni catalysts, and obviously accelerate the dealloying process of the Al-Ni alloys.

Photonic Crystal Sensors Based on Porous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Pacholski

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Porous silicon has been established as an excellent sensing platform for the optical detection of hazardous chemicals and biomolecular interactions such as DNA hybridization, antigen/antibody binding, and enzymatic reactions. Its porous nature provides a high surface area within a small volume, which can be easily controlled by changing the pore sizes. As the porosity and consequently the refractive index of an etched porous silicon layer depends on the electrochemial etching conditions photonic crystals composed of multilayered porous silicon films with well-resolved and narrow optical reflectivity features can easily be obtained. The prominent optical response of the photonic crystal decreases the detection limit and therefore increases the sensitivity of porous silicon sensors in comparison to sensors utilizing Fabry-Pérot based optical transduction. Development of porous silicon photonic crystal sensors which allow for the detection of analytes by the naked eye using a simple color change or the fabrication of stacked porous silicon photonic crystals showing two distinct optical features which can be utilized for the discrimination of analytes emphasize its high application potential.

Photonic Crystal Sensors Based on Porous Silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Pacholski, Claudia

2013-01-01

Porous silicon has been established as an excellent sensing platform for the optical detection of hazardous chemicals and biomolecular interactions such as DNA hybridization, antigen/antibody binding, and enzymatic reactions. Its porous nature provides a high surface area within a small volume, which can be easily controlled by changing the pore sizes. As the porosity and consequently the refractive index of an etched porous silicon layer depends on the electrochemial etching conditions photonic crystals composed of multilayered porous silicon films with well-resolved and narrow optical reflectivity features can easily be obtained. The prominent optical response of the photonic crystal decreases the detection limit and therefore increases the sensitivity of porous silicon sensors in comparison to sensors utilizing Fabry-Pérot based optical transduction. Development of porous silicon photonic crystal sensors which allow for the detection of analytes by the naked eye using a simple color change or the fabrication of stacked porous silicon photonic crystals showing two distinct optical features which can be utilized for the discrimination of analytes emphasize its high application potential. PMID:23571671

Effect of Alkali-Acid-Heat Chemical Surface Treatment on Electron Beam Melted Porous Titanium and Its Apatite Forming Ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Bsat, Suzan; Yavari, Saber Amin; Munsch, Maximilian; Valstar, Edward R; Zadpoor, Amir A

2015-04-08

Advanced additive manufacturing techniques such as electron beam melting (EBM), can produce highly porous structures that resemble the mechanical properties and structure of native bone. However, for orthopaedic applications, such as joint prostheses or bone substitution, the surface must also be bio-functionalized to promote bone growth. In the current work, EBM porous Ti6Al4V alloy was exposed to an alkali acid heat (AlAcH) treatment to bio-functionalize the surface of the porous structure. Various molar concentrations (3, 5, 10M) and immersion times (6, 24 h) of the alkali treatment were used to determine optimal parameters. The apatite forming ability of the samples was evaluated using simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion testing. The micro-topography and surface chemistry of AlAcH treated samples were evaluated before and after SBF testing using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The AlAcH treatment successfully modified the topographical and chemical characteristics of EBM porous titanium surface creating nano-topographical features ranging from 200-300 nm in size with a titania layer ideal for apatite formation. After 1 and 3 week immersion in SBF, there was no Ca or P present on the surface of as manufactured porous titanium while both elements were present on all AlAcH treated samples except those exposed to 3M, 6 h alkali treatment. An increase in molar concentration and/or immersion time of alkali treatment resulted in an increase in the number of nano-topographical features per unit area as well as the amount of titania on the surface.

Effect of Alkali-Acid-Heat Chemical Surface Treatment on Electron Beam Melted Porous Titanium and Its Apatite Forming Ability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzan Bsat

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Advanced additive manufacturing techniques such as electron beam melting (EBM, can produce highly porous structures that resemble the mechanical properties and structure of native bone. However, for orthopaedic applications, such as joint prostheses or bone substitution, the surface must also be bio-functionalized to promote bone growth. In the current work, EBM porous Ti6Al4V alloy was exposed to an alkali acid heat (AlAcH treatment to bio-functionalize the surface of the porous structure. Various molar concentrations (3, 5, 10M and immersion times (6, 24 h of the alkali treatment were used to determine optimal parameters. The apatite forming ability of the samples was evaluated using simulated body fluid (SBF immersion testing. The micro-topography and surface chemistry of AlAcH treated samples were evaluated before and after SBF testing using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The AlAcH treatment successfully modified the topographical and chemical characteristics of EBM porous titanium surface creating nano-topographical features ranging from 200–300 nm in size with a titania layer ideal for apatite formation. After 1 and 3 week immersion in SBF, there was no Ca or P present on the surface of as manufactured porous titanium while both elements were present on all AlAcH treated samples except those exposed to 3M, 6 h alkali treatment. An increase in molar concentration and/or immersion time of alkali treatment resulted in an increase in the number of nano-topographical features per unit area as well as the amount of titania on the surface.

Effect of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions on the solute ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

and mass transfer flow past a vertical porous flat plate, in the presence of heat ... 2000) due to practical applications, including chemical engineering, soil science and ... a porous medium and a fluid layer, including the inertia and boundary.

Deposition of colloidal particles in porous media; Depot de particules minerales de taille colloidale en milieu poreux

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coste, J.P.

1998-12-09

The aim of this study was to determine the deposition rates of colloidal particles in porous media in relation with particle stability. It combines experimental results and theoretical analysis and gives an original approach which allows to improve the predictions of particle deposition. The colloidal particles studied are several times smaller than the pore restrictions. Experimental results shows that the porous media surface is heterogeneous, whatever the preparation mean and the history of the porous media. The degree of surface heterogeneity depends both on salinity and porous media cleaning process. Heterogeneity is responsible for initial collection efficiency values higher that the theoretical predictions. When deposition occurs mainly on the less repulsive zones, the velocity dependence of the effective grain collection efficiency is close to the -2/3 value expected for the diffusion limited deposition regime. On the other hand, when these zones have been covered and thus behave as strongly repulsive, we obtain a collection efficiency on the more repulsive zones, with a slope close to -1, which is the value expected for the reaction limited deposition regime. The fraction of surface favorable for deposition can be assessed from attachment efficiency values. The attachment efficiency can be estimated from the measurement of particles stability. (author)

Simple method to generate and fabricate stochastic porous scaffolds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Nan, E-mail: y79nzw@163.com; Gao, Lilan; Zhou, Kuntao

2015-11-01

Considerable effort has been made to generate regular porous structures (RPSs) using function-based methods, although little effort has been made for constructing stochastic porous structures (SPSs) using the same methods. In this short communication, we propose a straightforward method for SPS construction that is simple in terms of methodology and the operations used. Using our method, we can obtain a SPS with functionally graded, heterogeneous and interconnected pores, target pore size and porosity distributions, which are useful for applications in tissue engineering. The resulting SPS models can be directly fabricated using additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. - Highlights: • Random porous structures are constructed based on their regular counterparts. • Functionally graded random pores can be constructed easily. • The scaffolds can be directly fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques.

Physical adsorption vs. chemical binding of undecylenic acid on porous silicon surface: a comparative study of differently functionalized materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salonen, J.; Lehto, V.P. [University of Turku (Finland). Department of Physics; Chirvony, V.; Matveeva, E. [Nanophotonics Technology Center, Technical University of Valencia (Spain); Pastor, E.

2009-07-15

To imply miscibility to porous silicon (PSi) used for biomedical purposes a number of functionalization methods are employed. In order to distinguish between a non-specific surfactant-like interaction (physical sorption) and chemical binding of unsaturated chemicals (undecylenic acid, UD) to H-terminated PSi surface we studied the two differently treated materials. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA), BET and FTIR measurements were performed with the PSi powder samples (n+ doped). Changes in surface area, weight loss, calorific effect and chemical composition that accompanied the thermal treatment have shown that the physisorbed UD molecules undergo a chemical process (binding) with the Si-H{sub x} surface groups at about 150 C in both, N{sub 2} inert atmosphere and in a synthetic air, oxidative atmosphere. Controlled conversion of physically sorbed molecules to the chemically attached ones is discussed with respect to methods of surface modification of PSi materials for increasing their biocompatibility. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Convection in Porous Media

CERN Document Server

Nield, Donald A

2013-01-01

Convection in Porous Media, 4th Edition, provides a user-friendly introduction to the subject, covering a wide range of topics, such as fibrous insulation, geological strata, and catalytic reactors. The presentation is self-contained, requiring only routine mathematics and the basic elements of fluid mechanics and heat transfer. The book will be of use not only to researchers and practicing engineers as a review and reference, but also to graduate students and others entering the field. The new edition features approximately 1,750 new references and covers current research in nanofluids, cellular porous materials, strong heterogeneity, pulsating flow, and more. Recognized as the standard reference in the field Includes a comprehensive, 250-page reference list Cited over 2300 times to date in its various editions Serves as an introduction for those entering the field and as a comprehensive reference for experienced researchers Features new sections on nanofluids, carbon dioxide sequestration, and applications...

Heat and mass transfer effects on MHD viscoelastic fluid over a stretching sheet through porous medium in presence of chemical reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manoj Kumar Nayak

2016-03-01

Full Text Available An attempt has been made to study the heat and mass transfer effects in a boundary layer flow through porous medium of an electrically conducting viscoelastic fluid subject to transverse magnetic field in the presence of heat source/sink and chemical reaction. It has been considered the effects of radiation, viscous and Joule dissipations and internal heat generation/absorption. Closed form solutions for the boundary layer equations of viscoelastic, second-grade and Walters׳ B′ fluid models are obtained. The method of solution involves similarity transformation. The transformed equations of thermal and mass transport are solved by applying Kummer׳s function. The solutions of temperature field for both prescribed surface temperature (PST as well as prescribed surface heat flux (PHF are obtained. It is important to remark that the interaction of magnetic field is found to be counterproductive in enhancing velocity and concentration distribution whereas the presence of chemical reaction as well as porous matrix with moderate values of magnetic parameter reduces the temperature and concentration fields at all points of flow domain.

Online Adaptive Local-Global Model Reduction for Flows in Heterogeneous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin R.; Gildin, Eduardo; Yang, Yanfang

2016-01-01

We propose an online adaptive local-global POD-DEIM model reduction method for flows in heterogeneous porous media. The main idea of the proposed method is to use local online indicators to decide on the global update, which is performed via reduced cost local multiscale basis functions. This unique local-global online combination allows (1) developing local indicators that are used for both local and global updates (2) computing global online modes via local multiscale basis functions. The multiscale basis functions consist of offline and some online local basis functions. The approach used for constructing a global reduced system is based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) Galerkin projection. The nonlinearities are approximated by the Discrete Empirical Interpolation Method (DEIM). The online adaption is performed by incorporating new data, which become available at the online stage. Once the criterion for updates is satisfied, we adapt the reduced system online by changing the POD subspace and the DEIM approximation of the nonlinear functions. The main contribution of the paper is that the criterion for adaption and the construction of the global online modes are based on local error indicators and local multiscale basis function which can be cheaply computed. Since the adaption is performed infrequently, the new methodology does not add significant computational overhead associated with when and how to adapt the reduced basis. Our approach is particularly useful for situations where it is desired to solve the reduced system for inputs or controls that result in a solution outside the span of the snapshots generated in the offline stage. Our method also offers an alternative of constructing a robust reduced system even if a potential initial poor choice of snapshots is used. Applications to single-phase and two-phase flow problems demonstrate the efficiency of our method.

Online Adaptive Local-Global Model Reduction for Flows in Heterogeneous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin R.

2016-06-07

We propose an online adaptive local-global POD-DEIM model reduction method for flows in heterogeneous porous media. The main idea of the proposed method is to use local online indicators to decide on the global update, which is performed via reduced cost local multiscale basis functions. This unique local-global online combination allows (1) developing local indicators that are used for both local and global updates (2) computing global online modes via local multiscale basis functions. The multiscale basis functions consist of offline and some online local basis functions. The approach used for constructing a global reduced system is based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) Galerkin projection. The nonlinearities are approximated by the Discrete Empirical Interpolation Method (DEIM). The online adaption is performed by incorporating new data, which become available at the online stage. Once the criterion for updates is satisfied, we adapt the reduced system online by changing the POD subspace and the DEIM approximation of the nonlinear functions. The main contribution of the paper is that the criterion for adaption and the construction of the global online modes are based on local error indicators and local multiscale basis function which can be cheaply computed. Since the adaption is performed infrequently, the new methodology does not add significant computational overhead associated with when and how to adapt the reduced basis. Our approach is particularly useful for situations where it is desired to solve the reduced system for inputs or controls that result in a solution outside the span of the snapshots generated in the offline stage. Our method also offers an alternative of constructing a robust reduced system even if a potential initial poor choice of snapshots is used. Applications to single-phase and two-phase flow problems demonstrate the efficiency of our method.

Porous polymeric materials for hydrogen storage

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Luping; Liu, Di-Jia; Yuan, Shengwen; Yang, Junbing

2013-04-02

A porous polymer, poly-9,9'-spirobifluorene and its derivatives for storage of H.sub.2 are prepared through a chemical synthesis method. The porous polymers have high specific surface area and narrow pore size distribution. Hydrogen uptake measurements conducted for these polymers determined a higher hydrogen storage capacity at the ambient temperature over that of the benchmark materials. The method of preparing such polymers, includes oxidatively activating solids by CO.sub.2/steam oxidation and supercritical water treatment.

Measuring adsorption, diffusion and flow in chemical engineering: applications of magnetic resonance to porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladden, Lynn F; Mitchell, Jonathan

2011-01-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) techniques are increasingly used to improve our understanding of the multi-component, multi-phase processes encountered in chemical engineering. This review brings together many of the MR techniques used, and often developed specifically, to study chemical engineering systems and, in particular, processes occurring within porous media. Pulse sequences for relaxometry, pulsed field gradient measurements of diffusion, imaging and velocimetry measurements are described. Recent applications of these MR pulse sequences to microporous, mesoporous and macroporous structures are then reviewed. Considering the microporous and mesoporous systems, we focus attention on studies of rock cores, manufactured materials such as cement and gypsum plaster, and catalysts. When considering macroporous structures, the transport through packed beds of particles typical of fixed-bed catalytic reactors is reviewed; a brief overview of the increasing research interest in gas-solid fluidized beds is also presented. We highlight the field of sparse k-space sampling as an area that is in its infancy and suggest that, combined with Bayesian methods, it will offer new opportunities in both extending the application of high-field MR techniques to chemical engineering and increasing the range of measurements that can be carried out using low-field hardware.

Bioconjugate functionalization of thermally carbonized porous silicon using a radical coupling reaction†

Science.gov (United States)

Sciacca, Beniamino; Alvarez, Sara D.; Geobaldo, Francesco; Sailor, Michael J.

2011-01-01

The high stability of Salonen’s thermally carbonized porous silicon (TCPSi) has attracted attention for environmental and biochemical sensing applications, where corrosion-induced zero point drift of porous silicon-based sensor elements has historically been a significant problem. Prepared by the high temperature reaction of porous silicon with acetylene gas, the stability of this silicon carbide-like material also poses a challenge—many sensor applications require a functionalized surface, and the low reactivity of TCPSi has limited the ability to chemically modify its surface. This work presents a simple reaction to modify the surface of TCPSi with an alkyl carboxylate. The method involves radical coupling of a dicarboxylic acid (sebacic acid) to the TCPSi surface using a benzoyl peroxide initiator. The grafted carboxylic acid species provides a route for bioconjugate chemical modification, demonstrated in this work by coupling propylamine to the surface carboxylic acid group through the intermediacy of pentafluorophenol and 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). The stability of the carbonized porous Si surface, both before and after chemical modification, is tested in phosphate buffered saline solution and found to be superior to either hydrosilylated (with undecylenic acid) or thermally oxidized porous Si surfaces. PMID:20967329

Velocity and thermal slip effects on MHD third order blood flow in an irregular channel though a porous medium with homogeneous/ heterogeneous reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Gnaneswara Reddy, M.

2017-09-01

This communication presents the transportation of third order hydromagnetic fluid with thermal radiation by peristalsis through an irregular channel configuration filled a porous medium under the low Reynolds number and large wavelength approximations. Joule heating, Hall current and homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions effects are considered in the energy and species equations. The Second-order velocity and energy slip restrictions are invoked. Final dimensionless governing transport equations along the boundary restrictions are resolved numerically with the help of NDsolve in Mathematica package. Impact of involved sundry parameters on the non-dimensional axial velocity, fluid temperature and concentration characteristics have been analyzed via plots and tables. It is manifest that an increasing porosity parameter leads to maximum velocity in the core part of the channel. Fluid velocity boosts near the walls of the channel where as the reverse effect in the central part of the channel for higher values of first order slip. Larger values of thermal radiation parameter R reduce the fluid temperature field. Also, an increase in heterogeneous reaction parameter Ks magnifies the concentration profile. The present study has the crucial application of thermal therapy in biomedical engineering.

Simulation results for a multirate mass transfer modell for immiscible displacement of two fluids in highly heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Tecklenburg, Jan; Neuweiler, Insa; Dentz, Marco; Carrera, Jesus; Geiger, Sebastian

2013-04-01

Flow processes in geotechnical applications do often take place in highly heterogeneous porous media, such as fractured rock. Since, in this type of media, classical modelling approaches are problematic, flow and transport is often modelled using multi-continua approaches. From such approaches, multirate mass transfer models (mrmt) can be derived to describe the flow and transport in the "fast" or mobile zone of the medium. The porous media is then modeled with one mobile zone and multiple immobile zones, where the immobile zones are connected to the mobile zone by single rate mass transfer. We proceed from a mrmt model for immiscible displacement of two fluids, where the Buckley-Leverett equation is expanded by a sink-source-term which is nonlocal in time. This sink-source-term models exchange with an immobile zone with mass transfer driven by capillary diffusion. This nonlinear diffusive mass transfer can be approximated for particular imbibition or drainage cases by a linear process. We present a numerical scheme for this model together with simulation results for a single fracture test case. We solve the mrmt model with the finite volume method and explicit time integration. The sink-source-term is transformed to multiple single rate mass transfer processes, as shown by Carrera et. al. (1998), to make it local in time. With numerical simulations we studied immiscible displacement in a single fracture test case. To do this we calculated the flow parameters using information about the geometry and the integral solution for two phase flow by McWorther and Sunnada (1990). Comparision to the results of the full two dimensional two phase flow model by Flemisch et. al. (2011) show good similarities of the saturation breakthrough curves. Carrera, J., Sanchez-Vila, X., Benet, I., Medina, A., Galarza, G., and Guimera, J.: On matrix diffusion: formulations, solution methods and qualitative effects, Hydrogeology Journal, 6, 178-190, 1998. Flemisch, B., Darcis, M

Electroless porous silicon formation applied to fabrication of boron-silica-glass cantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teva, Jordi; Davis, Zachary James; Hansen, Ole

2010-01-01

This work describes the characterization and optimization of anisotropic formation of porous silicon in large volumes (0.5-1 mm3) of silicon by an electroless wet etching technique. The main goal is to use porous silicon as a sacrificial volume for bulk micromachining processes, especially in cases...... where etching of the full wafer thickness is needed. The porous silicon volume is formed by a metal-assisted etching in a wet chemical solution composed of hydrogen peroxide (30%), hydrofluoric acid (40%) and ethanol. This paper focuses on optimizing the etching conditions in terms of maximizing...... for bio-chemical sensors. The porous silicon volume is formed in an early step of the fabrication process, allowing easy handling of the wafer during all of the micromachining processes in the process flow. In the final process step, the porous silicon is quickly etched by immersing the wafer in a KOH...

Study of the radiolysis of water in porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotureau, P.

2004-01-01

The understanding of the production of H 2 in the radiolysis of water confined into pores of concrete is important for the disposal of radioactive waste. In order to describe the mechanisms of water radiolysis in such heterogeneous porous systems we have studied the behaviour under gamma radiation of water confined in porous silica glasses with pores going from 8 to 300 nm of diameter and meso-porous molecular sieves (MCM-41). The radiolytic yields of hydroxyl radicals, hydrated electron and dihydrogen, have been determined with respect to the pore size of materials. The increase of these radiolytic yields compared to those of free water allowed us to show a charge transfer from silica to confined water. On the other hand the kinetics of hydrated electron reactions measured by pulse radiolysis are not modified. (author) [fr

Scaling Effects of Cr(VI) Reduction Kinetics. The Role of Geochemical Heterogeneity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Li [Pennsylvania State Univ., State College, PA (United States); Li, Li [Pennsylvania State Univ., State College, PA (United States)

2015-10-22

The natural subsurface is highly heterogeneous with minerals distributed in different spatial patterns. Fundamental understanding of how mineral spatial distribution patterns regulate sorption process is important for predicting the transport and fate of chemicals. Existing studies about the sorption was carried out in well-mixed batch reactors or uniformly packed columns, with few data available on the effects of spatial heterogeneities. As a result, there is a lack of data and understanding on how spatial heterogeneities control sorption processes. In this project, we aim to understand and develop modeling capabilities to predict the sorption of Cr(VI), an omnipresent contaminant in natural systems due to its natural occurrence and industrial utilization. We systematically examine the role of spatial patterns of illite, a common clay, in determining the extent of transport limitation and scaling effects associated with Cr(VI) sorption capacity and kinetics using column experiments and reactive transport modeling. Our results showed that the sorbed mass and rates can differ by an order of magnitude due to of the illite spatial heterogeneities and transport limitation. With constraints from data, we also developed the capabilities of modeling Cr(VI) in heterogeneous media. The developed model is then utilized to understand the general principles that govern the relationship between sorption and connectivity, a key measure of the spatial pattern characteristics. This correlation can be used to estimate Cr(VI) sorption characteristics in heterogeneous porous media. Insights gained here bridge gaps between laboratory and field application in hydrogeology and geochemical field, and advance predictive understanding of reactive transport processes in the natural heterogeneous subsurface. We believe that these findings will be of interest to a large number of environmental geochemists and engineers, hydrogeologists, and those interested in contaminant fate and transport

a Fractal Network Model for Fractured Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Peng; Li, Cuihong; Qiu, Shuxia; Sasmito, Agus Pulung

2016-04-01

The transport properties and mechanisms of fractured porous media are very important for oil and gas reservoir engineering, hydraulics, environmental science, chemical engineering, etc. In this paper, a fractal dual-porosity model is developed to estimate the equivalent hydraulic properties of fractured porous media, where a fractal tree-like network model is used to characterize the fracture system according to its fractal scaling laws and topological structures. The analytical expressions for the effective permeability of fracture system and fractured porous media, tortuosity, fracture density and fraction are derived. The proposed fractal model has been validated by comparisons with available experimental data and numerical simulation. It has been shown that fractal dimensions for fracture length and aperture have significant effect on the equivalent hydraulic properties of fractured porous media. The effective permeability of fracture system can be increased with the increase of fractal dimensions for fracture length and aperture, while it can be remarkably lowered by introducing tortuosity at large branching angle. Also, a scaling law between the fracture density and fractal dimension for fracture length has been found, where the scaling exponent depends on the fracture number. The present fractal dual-porosity model may shed light on the transport physics of fractured porous media and provide theoretical basis for oil and gas exploitation, underground water, nuclear waste disposal and geothermal energy extraction as well as chemical engineering, etc.

Mathematical Modeling of Multiphase Filtration in Porous Media with a Chemically Active Skeleton

Science.gov (United States)

Khramchenkov, M. G.; Khramchenkov, É. M.

2018-01-01

The authors propose a mathematical model of two-phase filtration that occurs under the conditions of dissolution of a porous medium. The model can be used for joint description of complex chemical-hydrogeomechanical processes that are of frequent occurrence in the oil-and-gas producing and nature conservation practice. As an example, consideration is given to the acidizing of the bottom zone of the injection well of an oil reservoir. Enclosing rocks are represented by carbonates. The phases of the process are an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid and oil. A software product for computational experiments is developed. For the numerical experiments, use is made of the data on the wells of an actual oil field. Good agreement is obtained between the field data and the calculated data. Numerical experiments with different configurations of the permeability of an oil stratum are conducted.

Collagen-grafted porous HDPE/PEAA scaffolds for bone reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Chang-Shik; Jung, Kyung-Hye; Kim, Hun; Kim, Chan-Bong; Kang, Inn-Kyu

2016-01-01

After tumor resection, bone reconstruction such as skull base reconstruction using interconnected porous structure is absolutely necessary. In this study, porous scaffolds for bone reconstruction were prepared using heat-pressing and salt-leaching methods. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (PEAA) were chosen as the polymer composites for producing a porous scaffold of high mechanical strength and having high reactivity with biomaterials such as collagen, respectively. The porous structure was observed through surface images, and its intrusion volume and porosity were measured. Owing to the carboxylic acids on PEAA, collagen was successfully grafted onto the porous HDPE/PEAA scaffold, which was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. Osteoblasts were cultured on the collagen-grafted porous scaffold, and their adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation were investigated. The high viability and growth of the osteoblasts suggest that the collagen-grafted porous HDPE/PEAA is a promising scaffold material for bone generation.

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of endothermal catalytic reaction in catalyst porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xunfeng; Cai Jun; Xin Fang; Huai Xiulan; Guo Jiangfeng

2013-01-01

Gas catalytic reaction in a fixed bed reactor is a general process in chemical industry. The chemical reaction process involves the complex multi-component flow, heat and mass transfer coupling chemical reaction in the catalyst porous structure. The lattice Boltzmann method is developed to simulate the complex process of the surface catalytic reaction in the catalyst porous media. The non-equilibrium extrapolation method is used to treat the boundaries. The porous media is structured by Sierpinski carpet fractal structure. The velocity correction is adopted on the reaction surface. The flow, temperature and concentration fields calculated by the lattice Boltzmann method are compared with those computed by the CFD software. The effects of the inlet velocity, porosity and inlet components ratio on the conversion are also studied. Highlights: ► LBM is developed to simulate the surface catalytic reaction. ► The Sierpinski carpet structure is used to construct the porous media. ► The LBM results are in agreement with the CFD predictions. ► Velocity, temperature and concentration fields are obtained. ► Effects of the velocity, porosity and concentration on conversion are analyzed.

Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts for Oxidation Reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Eaqub Ali

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Oxidation reactions may be considered as the heart of chemical synthesis. However, the indiscriminate uses of harsh and corrosive chemicals in this endeavor are threating to the ecosystems, public health, and terrestrial, aquatic, and aerial flora and fauna. Heterogeneous catalysts with various supports are brought to the spotlight because of their excellent capabilities to accelerate the rate of chemical reactions with low cost. They also minimize the use of chemicals in industries and thus are friendly and green to the environment. However, heterogeneous oxidation catalysis are not comprehensively presented in literature. In this short review, we clearly depicted the current state of catalytic oxidation reactions in chemical industries with specific emphasis on heterogeneous catalysts. We outlined here both the synthesis and applications of important oxidation catalysts. We believe it would serve as a reference guide for the selection of oxidation catalysts for both industries and academics.

Morphological and optical properties changes in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) deposited on porous aluminum nanostructures by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for Solar energy applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghrib, M., E-mail: mondherghrib@yahoo.fr [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique (L.P.V.), Centre de Recherche et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia); Gaidi, M.; Ghrib, T.; Khedher, N. [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique (L.P.V.), Centre de Recherche et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia); Ben Salam, M. [L3M, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna (Tunisia); Ezzaouia, H. [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique (L.P.V.), Centre de Recherche et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia)

2011-08-15

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to determine the electrical band gap of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) deposited by plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on porous alumina structure by fitting the experimental spectra using a model based on the quantum confinement of electrons in Si nanocrystallites having spherical and cylindrical forms. This model permits to correlate the PL spectra to the microstructure of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) structure. The microstructure of aluminum surface layer and nc-Si films was systematically studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the structure of the nanocrystalline silicon layer (NSL) is dependent of the porosity (void) of the porous alumina layer (PAL) substrate. This structure was performed in two steps, namely the PAL substrate was prepared using sulfuric acid solution attack on an Al foil and then the silicon was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on it. The optical constants (n and k as a function of wavelength) of the deposited films were obtained using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the UV-vis-NIR regions. The SE spectrum of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) was modeled as a mixture of void, crystalline silicon and aluminum using the Cauchy model approximation. The specific surface area (SSA) was estimated and was found to decrease linearly when porosity increases. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the optical characteristics of the films are directly correlated to their micro-structural properties.

Morphological and optical properties changes in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) deposited on porous aluminum nanostructures by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for Solar energy applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghrib, M.; Gaidi, M.; Ghrib, T.; Khedher, N.; Ben Salam, M.; Ezzaouia, H.

2011-01-01

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to determine the electrical band gap of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) deposited by plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on porous alumina structure by fitting the experimental spectra using a model based on the quantum confinement of electrons in Si nanocrystallites having spherical and cylindrical forms. This model permits to correlate the PL spectra to the microstructure of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) structure. The microstructure of aluminum surface layer and nc-Si films was systematically studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the structure of the nanocrystalline silicon layer (NSL) is dependent of the porosity (void) of the porous alumina layer (PAL) substrate. This structure was performed in two steps, namely the PAL substrate was prepared using sulfuric acid solution attack on an Al foil and then the silicon was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on it. The optical constants (n and k as a function of wavelength) of the deposited films were obtained using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the UV-vis-NIR regions. The SE spectrum of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) was modeled as a mixture of void, crystalline silicon and aluminum using the Cauchy model approximation. The specific surface area (SSA) was estimated and was found to decrease linearly when porosity increases. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the optical characteristics of the films are directly correlated to their micro-structural properties.

Strain and Structure Heterogeneity in MoS2 Atomic Layers Grown by Chemical Vapour Deposition

Science.gov (United States)

2014-11-18

cture heterogeneity in MoS2 atomiclayers grown by chemical vapour deposition 6. AUTHORS Zheng Liu, Matin Amani, Sina Najmaei, Quan Xu, Xiaolong Zou...deposition Zheng Liu1•2•3·*, Matin Amani4·*, Sina Najmaei5·*, Quan Xu6•7, Xiaolong Zou5, Wu Zhou8, Ting Yu9, Caiyu Qiu9, A Glen Birdwell4, Frank J. Crowne4

Thermal non-equilibrium heat transfer in a porous cavity in the presence of bio-chemical heat source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazari Mohsen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with thermal non-equilibrium natural convection in a square cavity filled with a porous medium in the presence of a biomass which is transported in the cavity. The biomass can consume a secondary moving substrate. The physics of the presented problem is related to the analysis of heat and mass transfer in a composting process that controlled by internal heat generation. The intensity of the bio-heat source generated in the cavity is equal to the rate of consumption of the substrate by the biomass. It is assumed that the porous medium is homogeneous and isotropic. A two-field model that represents the fluid and solid phase temperature fields separately is used for energy equation. A simplified Monod model is introduced along with the governing equations to describe the consumption of the substrate by the biomass. In other word, the transient biochemical heat source which is dependent on a solute concentration is considered in the energy equations. Investigation of the biomass activity and bio-chemical heat generation in the case of thermal non-equilibrium assumption has not been considered in the literature and they are open research topics. The effects of thermal non-equilibrium model on heat transfer, flow pattern and biomass transfer are investigated. The effective parameters which have a direct impact on the generated bio-chemical heat source are also presented. The influences of the non-dimensional parameters such as fluid-to-solid conductivity ratio on the temperature distribution are presented.

Chemical placement in heterogeneous and long reach horizontal wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stalker, Robert; Wahid, Fazrie; Graham, Gordon M.

2006-03-15

The effective placement of chemical squeeze treatments in heterogeneous wells and long reach horizontal wells has proved a significant challenge, with various factors including heterogeneity, crossflow and pressure gradients between otherwise non-communicating zones within the well, all contributing to an uneven placement of the scale squeeze treatment into the reservoir. Current methods to circumvent these problems often rely on extremely expensive coiled tubing operations, staged diversion (temporary shut off) treatments or by designing treatments to deliberately overdose some zones in order to gain placement in other (e.g. low permeability) zones. Moreover for deepwater sub sea horizontal wells the costs associated with ''spot'' treating along the length of horizontal wells by coil tubing tractor operations can often be prohibitively expensive. For other very near well bore treatments such as acid stimulation a number of self diverting strategies including gelled acid treatments, staged viscoelastic surfactant treatments and foams have been applied in field treatments with some success. However the properties which make such treatments applicable for acid stimulation may also make them inappropriate for bullhead scale squeeze treatments. Recent work by the current authors has however indicated the possible benefits of using modified injection fluids to aid uniform scale inhibitor placement in such wells in order to effect more even placement. In summary this paper will describe the various options available for achieving self diversion and describes the potential drawbacks associated with the viscous placement fluids commonly used for acid simulation techniques. In addition, various simulation packages commonly used for scale related calculations are reviewed and their limitations, primarily due to the inherent assumptions made and input parameters used, for modelling squeeze treatments using such modified fluids are described. The paper

Transport Phenomena in Porous Media Aspects of MicroMacro Behaviour

CERN Document Server

Ichikawa, Yasuaki

2012-01-01

This monograph presents an integrated perspective of the wide range of phenomena and processes applicable to the study of transport of species in porous materials. In order to formulate the entire range of porous media and their uses, this book gives the basics of continuum mechanics, thermodynamics, seepage and consolidation and diffusion, including multiscale homogenization methods. The particular structure of the book has been chosen because it is essential to be aware of the true properties of porous materials particularly in terms of nano, micro and macro mechanisms.  This book is of pedagogical and practical importance to the fields covered by civil, environmental, nuclear and petroleum engineering and also in chemical physics and geophysics as it relates to radioactive waste disposal, geotechnical engineering, mining and petroleum engineering and chemical engineering.

Porous polycarbene-bearing membrane actuator for ultrasensitive weak-acid detection and real-time chemical reaction monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jian-Ke; Zhang, Weiyi; Guterman, Ryan; Lin, Hui-Juan; Yuan, Jiayin

2018-04-30

Soft actuators with integration of ultrasensitivity and capability of simultaneous interaction with multiple stimuli through an entire event ask for a high level of structure complexity, adaptability, and/or multi-responsiveness, which is a great challenge. Here, we develop a porous polycarbene-bearing membrane actuator built up from ionic complexation between a poly(ionic liquid) and trimesic acid (TA). The actuator features two concurrent structure gradients, i.e., an electrostatic complexation (EC) degree and a density distribution of a carbene-NH 3 adduct (CNA) along the membrane cross-section. The membrane actuator performs the highest sensitivity among the state-of-the-art soft proton actuators toward acetic acid at 10 -6  mol L -1 (M) level in aqueous media. Through competing actuation of the two gradients, it is capable of monitoring an entire process of proton-involved chemical reactions that comprise multiple stimuli and operational steps. The present achievement constitutes a significant step toward real-life application of soft actuators in chemical sensing and reaction technology.

Preparation and characterization of porous crosslinked collagenous matrices containing bioavailable chondroitin sulphate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieper, J.S.; Oosterhof, A.; Dijkstra, Pieter J.; Veerkamp, J.H.; van Kuppevelt, T.H.

1999-01-01

Porous collagen matrices with defined physical, chemical and biological characteristics are interesting materials for tissue engineering. Attachment of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) may add to these characteristics and valorize collagen. In this study, porous type I collagen matrices were crosslinked

Numerical modelling of two phase flow with hysteresis in heterogeneous porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abreu, E. [Instituto Nacional de Matematica Pura e Aplicada (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Furtado, F.; Pereira, F. [University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States). Dept. of Mathematicsatics; Souza, G. [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

Numerical simulators are necessary for the understanding of multiphase flow in porous media in order to optimize hydrocarbon recovery. In this work, the immiscible flow of two incompressible phases, a problem very common in waterflooding of petroleum reservoirs, is considered and numerical simulation techniques are presented. The system of equations which describe this type of flow form a coupled, highly nonlinear system of time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). The equation for the saturation of the invading fluid is a convection-dominated, degenerate parabolic PDE whose solutions typically exhibit sharp fronts (i.e., internal layers with strong gradients) and is very difficult to approximate numerically. It is well known that accurate modeling of convective and diffusive processes is one of the most daunting tasks in the numerical approximation of PDEs. Particularly difficult is the case where convection dominates diffusion. Specifically, we consider the injection problem for a model of two-phase (water/oil) flow in a core sample of porous rock, taking into account hysteresis effects in the relative permeability of the oil phase. (author)

Light-induced nitrous acid (HONO) production from NO2 heterogeneous reactions on household chemicals

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez Alvarez, Elena; Sörgel, Matthias; Gligorovski, Sasho; Bassil, Sabina; Bartolomei, Vincent; Coulomb, Bruno; Zetzsch, Cornelius; Wortham, Henri

2014-10-01

Nitrous acid (HONO) can be generated in various indoor environments directly during combustion processes or indirectly via heterogeneous NO2 reactions with water adsorbed layers on diverse surfaces. Indoors not only the concentrations of NO2 are higher but the surface to volume (S/V) ratios are larger and therefore the potential of HONO production is significantly elevated compared to outdoors. It has been claimed that the UV solar light is largely attenuated indoors. Here, we show that solar light (λ > 340 nm) penetrates indoors and can influence the heterogeneous reactions of gas-phase NO2 with various household surfaces. The NO2 to HONO conversion mediated by light on surfaces covered with domestic chemicals has been determined at atmospherically relevant conditions i.e. 50 ppb NO2 and 50% RH. The formation rates of HONO were enhanced in presence of light for all the studied surfaces and are determined in the following order: 1.3·109 molecules cm-2 s-1 for borosilicate glass, 1.7·109 molecules cm-2 s-1 for bathroom cleaner, 1.0·1010 molecules cm-2 s-1 on alkaline detergent (floor cleaner), 1.3·1010 molecules cm-2 s-1 for white wall paint and 2.7·1010 molecules cm-2 s-1 for lacquer. These results highlight the potential of household chemicals, used for cleaning purposes to generate HONO indoors through light-enhanced NO2 heterogeneous reactions. The results obtained have been applied to predict the timely evolution of HONO in a real indoor environment using a dynamic mass balance model. A steady state mixing ratio of HONO has been estimated at 1.6 ppb assuming a contribution from glass, paint and lacquer and considering the photolysis of HONO as the most important loss process.

Visualizing Gas Adsorption on Porous Solids: Four Simple, Effective Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Ocean

2014-01-01

Gas adsorption on porous solids is a topic that is often discussed in an undergraduate chemistry or chemical engineering course. The idea of porosity and gas adsorption on a porous solid is usually discussed with adsorption isotherms recorded using commercially available equipment. This discussion can be rather abstract and can be difficult for…

Metal-assisted chemical etching in HF/Na2S2O8 OR HF/KMnO4 produces porous silicon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hadjersi, T.; Gabouze, N.; Kooij, Ernst S.; Zinine, A.; Zinine, A.; Ababou, A.; Chergui, W.; Cheraga, H.; Belhousse, S.; Djeghri, A.

2004-01-01

A new metal-assisted chemical etching method using Na2S2O8 or KMnO4 as an oxidizing agent was proposed to form a porous silicon layer on a highly resistive p-type silicon. A thin layer of Ag or Pd is deposited on the Si(100) surface prior to immersion in a solution of HF and Na2S2O8 or HF and KMnO4.

Heterogeneity-enhanced gas phase formation in shallow aquifers during leakage of CO2-saturated water from geologic sequestration sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plampin, Michael R.; Lassen, Rune Nørbæk; Sakaki, Toshihiro

2014-01-01

sands. Soil moisture sensors were utilized to observe the formation of gas phase near the porous media interfaces. Results indicate that the conditions under which heterogeneity controls gas phase evolution can be successfully predicted through analysis of simple parameters, including the dissolved CO2......, it is important to understand the physical processes that CO2 will undergo as it moves through naturally heterogeneous porous media formations. Previous studies have shown that heterogeneity can enhance the evolution of gas phase CO2 in some cases, but the conditions under which this occurs have not yet been...... quantitatively defined, nor tested through laboratory experiments. This study quantitatively investigates the effects of geologic heterogeneity on the process of gas phase CO2 evolution in shallow aquifers through an extensive set of experiments conducted in a column that was packed with layers of various test...

Spatially resolved D-T(2) correlation NMR of porous media.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Blümich, Bernhard

2014-05-01

Within the past decade, 2D Laplace nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been developed to analyze pore geometry and diffusion of fluids in porous media on the micrometer scale. Many objects like rocks and concrete are heterogeneous on the macroscopic scale, and an integral analysis of microscopic properties provides volume-averaged information. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) resolves this spatial average on the contrast scale set by the particular MRI technique. Desirable contrast parameters for studies of fluid transport in porous media derive from the pore-size distribution and the pore connectivity. These microscopic parameters are accessed by 1D and 2D Laplace NMR techniques. It is therefore desirable to combine MRI and 2D Laplace NMR to image functional information on fluid transport in porous media. Because 2D Laplace resolved MRI demands excessive measuring time, this study investigates the possibility to restrict the 2D Laplace analysis to the sum signals from low-resolution pixels, which correspond to pixels of similar amplitude in high-resolution images. In this exploratory study spatially resolved D-T2 correlation maps from glass beads and mortar are analyzed. Regions of similar contrast are first identified in high-resolution images to locate corresponding pixels in low-resolution images generated with D-T2 resolved MRI for subsequent pixel summation to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of contrast-specific D-T2 maps. This method is expected to contribute valuable information on correlated sample heterogeneity from the macroscopic and the microscopic scales in various types of porous materials including building materials and rock. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Numerical simulation of inertial two-phase flow in heterogenous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali Akbar ABBASIAN ARANI; Didier LASSEUX; Azita AHMADI

2005-01-01

In this work, we present the development of a 3 D numerical tool for simulation of non-Darcy two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media. The physical model selected is the generalized Darcy-Forchheimer model. A validation is performed first by comparing numerical results with a semi-analytical solution of the Buckley-Leverett type. Secondly, numerical results obtained on 1 D and 2 D heterogeneous configurations are presented and we highlight the importance of the inertial terms according to a Reynolds number of the flow. (authors)

Understanding generalized inversions of nuclear magnetic resonance transverse relaxation time in porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, J.; Chandrasekera, T. C.

2014-12-01

The nuclear magnetic resonance transverse relaxation time T2, measured using the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) experiment, is a powerful method for obtaining unique information on liquids confined in porous media. Furthermore, T2 provides structural information on the porous material itself and has many applications in petrophysics, biophysics, and chemical engineering. Robust interpretation of T2 distributions demands appropriate processing of the measured data since T2 is influenced by diffusion through magnetic field inhomogeneities occurring at the pore scale, caused by the liquid/solid susceptibility contrast. Previously, we introduced a generic model for the diffusion exponent of the form -ant_e^k (where n is the number and te the temporal separation of spin echoes, and a is a composite diffusion parameter) in order to distinguish the influence of relaxation and diffusion in CPMG data. Here, we improve the analysis by introducing an automatic search for the optimum power k that best describes the diffusion behavior. This automated method is more efficient than the manual trial-and-error grid search adopted previously, and avoids variability through subjective judgments of experimentalists. Although our method does not avoid the inherent assumption that the diffusion exponent depends on a single k value, we show through simulation and experiment that it is robust in measurements of heterogeneous systems that violate this assumption. In this way, we obtain quantitative T2 distributions from complicated porous structures and demonstrate the analysis with examples of ceramics used for filtration and catalysis, and limestone of relevance to the construction and petroleum industries.

Surface structure and adsorption properties of ultrafine porous carbon fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Xiaofeng; Wang Ce; Zhang Dejiang

2009-01-01

Ultrafine porous carbon fibers (UPCFs) were successfully synthesized by chemical activation of electrospun polyacrylonitrile fibers. In the current approach, potassium hydroxide was adopted as activation reagent. UPCFs were systematically evaluated by scanning electron microscope and nitrogen adsorption. The mass ratio of potassium hydroxide to preoxidized fibers, activation temperature and activation time are crucial for producing high quality UPCFs. The relationships between porous structure and process parameters are explored. UPCFs were applied as adsorbent for nitrogen monoxide to be compared with commercial porous carbon fibers.

On POD-based Deflation Vectors for DPCG applied to porous media problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diaz Cortes, G.B.; Vuik, C.; Jansen, J.D.

2018-01-01

We study fast and robust iterative solvers for large systems of linear equations resulting from simulation of flow trough strongly heterogeneous porous media. We propose the use of preconditioning and deflation techniques, based on information obtained frfrom the system, to reduce the time spent in

Experimental investigation of transverse mixing in porous media under helical flow conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ye, Yu; Chiogna, Gabriele; Cirpka, Olaf A.

2016-01-01

Plume dilution and transverse mixing can be considerably enhanced by helical flow occurring in three-dimensional heterogeneous anisotropic porous media. In this study, we perform tracer experiments in a fully three-dimensional flow-through chamber to investigate the effects of helical flow on plume...

Theoretical background and user's manual for the computer code on groundwater flow and radionuclide transport calculation in porous rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirakawa, Toshihiko; Hatanaka, Koichiro

2001-11-01

In order to document a basic manual about input data, output data, execution of computer code on groundwater flow and radionuclide transport calculation in heterogeneous porous rock, we investigated the theoretical background about geostatistical computer codes and the user's manual for the computer code on groundwater flow and radionuclide transport which calculates water flow in three dimension, the path of moving radionuclide, and one dimensional radionuclide migration. In this report, based on above investigation we describe the geostatistical background about simulating heterogeneous permeability field. And we describe construction of files, input and output data, a example of calculating of the programs which simulates heterogeneous permeability field, and calculates groundwater flow and radionuclide transport. Therefore, we can document a manual by investigating the theoretical background about geostatistical computer codes and the user's manual for the computer code on groundwater flow and radionuclide transport calculation. And we can model heterogeneous porous rock and analyze groundwater flow and radionuclide transport by utilizing the information from this report. (author)

High-density oxidized porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gharbi, Ahmed; Souifi, Abdelkader; Remaki, Boudjemaa; Halimaoui, Aomar; Bensahel, Daniel

2012-01-01

We have studied oxidized porous silicon (OPS) properties using Fourier transform infraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy and capacitance–voltage C–V measurements. We report the first experimental determination of the optimum porosity allowing the elaboration of high-density OPS insulators. This is an important contribution to the research of thick integrated electrical insulators on porous silicon based on an optimized process ensuring dielectric quality (complete oxidation) and mechanical and chemical reliability (no residual pores or silicon crystallites). Through the measurement of the refractive indexes of the porous silicon (PS) layer before and after oxidation, one can determine the structural composition of the OPS material in silicon, air and silica. We have experimentally demonstrated that a porosity approaching 56% of the as-prepared PS layer is required to ensure a complete oxidation of PS without residual silicon crystallites and with minimum porosity. The effective dielectric constant values of OPS materials determined from capacitance–voltage C–V measurements are discussed and compared to FTIR results predictions. (paper)

Porous media fluid transport and pore structure

CERN Document Server

Dullien, F A L

1992-01-01

This book examines the relationship between transport properties and pore structure of porous material. Models of pore structure are presented with a discussion of how such models can be used to predict the transport properties of porous media. Portions of the book are devoted to interpretations of experimental results in this area and directions for future research. Practical applications are given where applicable, and are expected to be useful for a large number of different fields, including reservoir engineering, geology, hydrogeology, soil science, chemical process engineering, biomedica

Simulating Engineering Flows through Complex Porous Media via the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesselin Krassimirov Krastev

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, recent achievements in the application of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM to complex fluid flows are reported. More specifically, we focus on flows through reactive porous media, such as the flow through the substrate of a selective catalytic reactor (SCR for the reduction of gaseous pollutants in the automotive field; pulsed-flow analysis through heterogeneous catalyst architectures; and transport and electro-chemical phenomena in microbial fuel cells (MFC for novel waste-to-energy applications. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known application of LBM modeling to the study of MFCs, which represents by itself a highly innovative and challenging research area. The results discussed here essentially confirm the capabilities of the LBM approach as a flexible and accurate computational tool for the simulation of complex multi-physics phenomena of scientific and technological interest, across physical scales.

Effect of wetting properties on the kinetics of drying of porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahidzadeh-Bonn, N; Azouni, A; Coussot, P

2007-01-01

The influence of the wetting properties of a model porous medium on the evaporation rate of water contained in the sample is studied experimentally. For a hydrophilic porous medium, drying is mainly controlled by the liquid film covering the solid grains and capillary rise inside the pores, leading to a constant drying rate and a homogeneous desaturation of the whole sample in time. For a hydrophobic porous medium, a drying front penetrates into the sample in the early stages of evaporation and the drying rate is found to strongly depend on the boundary conditions and wetting heterogeneities. In the presence of an air flow along the free surface of the sample, the drying rate varies as the square root of time, indicating a diffusive transport mechanism. Without air flow, a power law behaviour for the drying rate as a function of time is observed with an exponent of 0.75 ± 0.03. This is likely to be due to competition between diffusion through the vapour phase and local capillary rise of the liquid due to wetting heterogeneities. A surprising consequence is that for the late stages of drying, the total evaporated mass may become larger without air flow than with air flow. (fast track communication)

Thermal Annealing induced relaxation of compressive strain in porous GaN structures

KAUST Repository

Ben Slimane, Ahmed; Najar, Adel; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.

2012-01-01

The effect of annealing on strain relaxation in porous GaN fabricated using electroless chemical etching is presented. The Raman shift of 1 cm-1 in phonon frequency of annealed porous GaN with respect to as-grown GaN corresponds to a relaxation

Microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of porous carbon film as supercapacitive electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ai-Min; Feng, Chen-Chen; Huang, Hao; Paredes Camacho, Ramon Alberto; Gao, Song; Lei, Ming-Kai; Cao, Guo-Zhong

2017-07-01

Highly porous carbon film (PCF) coated on nickel foam was prepared successfully by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) with C2H2 as carbon source and Ar as discharge gas. The PCF is uniform and dense with 3D-crosslinked nanoscale network structure possessing high degree of graphitization. When used as the electrode material in an electrochemical supercapacitor, the PCF samples verify their advantageous electrical conductivity, ion contact and electrochemical stability. The test results show that the sample prepared under 1000 W microwave power has good electrochemical performance. It displays the specific capacitance of 62.75 F/g at the current density of 2.0 A/g and retains 95% of its capacitance after 10,000 cycles at the current density of 2.0 A/g. Besides, its near-rectangular shape of the cyclic voltammograms (CV) curves exhibits typical character of an electric double-layer capacitor, which owns an enhanced ionic diffusion that can fit the requirements for energy storage applications.

Two Iron Complexes as Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Chemical Fixation of Carbon Dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Karan, Chandan Kumar; Bhattacharjee, Manish

2018-04-16

Two new bimetallic iron-alkali metal complexes of amino acid (serine)-based reduced Schiff base ligand were synthesized and structurally characterized. Their efficacy as catalysts for the chemical fixation of carbon dioxide was explored. The heterogeneous version of the catalytic reaction was developed by the immobilization of these homogeneous bimetallic iron-alkali metal complexes in an anion-exchange resin. The resin-bound complexes can be used as recyclable catalysts up to six cycles.

Grafting of functionalized polymer on porous silicon surface using Grignard reagent

Science.gov (United States)

Tighilt, F.-Z.; Belhousse, S.; Sam, S.; Hamdani, K.; Lasmi, K.; Chazalviel, J. N.; Gabouze, N.

2017-11-01

Recently, considerable attention has been paid to the manipulation and the control of the physicochemical properties of porous silicon surfaces because of their crucial importance to the modern microelectronics industry. Hybrid structures consisting of deposited polymer on porous silicon surfaces are important to applications in microelectronics, photovoltaics and sensors (Ensafi et al., 2016; Kashyout et al., 2015; Osorio et al.; 2015; Hejjo et al., 2002) [1-4]. In many cases, the polymer can provide excellent mechanical and chemical protection of the substrate, changes the electrochemical interface characteristics of the substrate, and provides new ways to the functionalization of porous silicon surfaces for molecular recognition and sensing. In this work, porous silicon surface was modified by anodic treatment in ethynylmagnesium bromide electrolyte leading to the formation of a polymeric layer bearing some bromine substituents. Subsequently, the formed polymer is functionalized with amine molecules containing functional groups (carboxylic acid or pyridine) by a substitution reaction between bromine sites and amine groups (Hofmann reaction). The chemical composition of the modified porous silicon surfaces was investigated and the grafting of polymeric chains and functional groups on the porous silicon surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which displayed the principal characteristic peaks attributed to the different functional groups. Furthermore, the surface of the material was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Calibration-free quantification of interior properties of porous media with x-ray computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussein, Esam M.A.; Agbogun, H.M.D.; Al, Tom A.

2015-01-01

A method is presented for interpreting the values of x-ray attenuation coefficients reconstructed in computed tomography of porous media, while overcoming the ambiguity caused by the multichromatic nature of x-rays, dilution by void, and material heterogeneity. The method enables determination of porosity without relying on calibration or image segmentation or thresholding to discriminate pores from solid material. It distinguishes between solution-accessible and inaccessible pores, and provides the spatial and frequency distributions of solid-matrix material in a heterogeneous medium. This is accomplished by matching an image of a sample saturated with a contrast solution with that saturated with a transparent solution. Voxels occupied with solid-material and inaccessible pores are identified by the fact that they maintain the same location and image attributes in both images, with voxels containing inaccessible pores appearing empty in both images. Fully porous and accessible voxels exhibit the maximum contrast, while the rest are porous voxels containing mixtures of pore solutions and solid. This matching process is performed with an image registration computer code, and image processing software that requires only simple subtraction and multiplication (scaling) processes. The process is demonstrated in dolomite (non-uniform void distribution, homogeneous solid matrix) and sandstone (nearly uniform void distribution, heterogeneous solid matrix) samples, and its overall performance is shown to compare favorably with a method based on calibration and thresholding. - Highlights: • A method is presented for quantifying x-ray CT data for porous media. • The method neither requires calibration nor segmentation nor thresholding. • We use voxel matching between images of a sample saturated with two distinct solutions. • Method is demonstrated for micro-CT images of dolomite and sandstone samples. • Overall performance compares favorably with a calibration

Calibration-free quantification of interior properties of porous media with x-ray computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussein, Esam M A; Agbogun, H M D; Al, Tom A

2015-03-01

A method is presented for interpreting the values of x-ray attenuation coefficients reconstructed in computed tomography of porous media, while overcoming the ambiguity caused by the multichromatic nature of x-rays, dilution by void, and material heterogeneity. The method enables determination of porosity without relying on calibration or image segmentation or thresholding to discriminate pores from solid material. It distinguishes between solution-accessible and inaccessible pores, and provides the spatial and frequency distributions of solid-matrix material in a heterogeneous medium. This is accomplished by matching an image of a sample saturated with a contrast solution with that saturated with a transparent solution. Voxels occupied with solid-material and inaccessible pores are identified by the fact that they maintain the same location and image attributes in both images, with voxels containing inaccessible pores appearing empty in both images. Fully porous and accessible voxels exhibit the maximum contrast, while the rest are porous voxels containing mixtures of pore solutions and solid. This matching process is performed with an image registration computer code, and image processing software that requires only simple subtraction and multiplication (scaling) processes. The process is demonstrated in dolomite (non-uniform void distribution, homogeneous solid matrix) and sandstone (nearly uniform void distribution, heterogeneous solid matrix) samples, and its overall performance is shown to compare favorably with a method based on calibration and thresholding. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabrication and characterization of a chemically oxidized-nanostructured porous silicon based biosensor implementing orienting protein A.

Science.gov (United States)

Naveas, Nelson; Hernandez-Montelongo, Jacobo; Pulido, Ruth; Torres-Costa, Vicente; Villanueva-Guerrero, Raúl; Predestinación García Ruiz, Josefa; Manso-Silván, Miguel

2014-03-01

Nanostructured porous silicon (PSi) elicits as a very attractive material for future biosensing systems due to its high surface area, biocompatibility and well-established fabrication methods. In order to engineer its performance as a biosensor transducer platform, the density of immunoglobulins properly immobilized and oriented onto the surface needs to be optimized. In this work we fabricated and characterized a novel biosensing system focusing on the improvement of the biofunctionalization cascade. The system consists on a chemically oxidized PSi platform derivatized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) that is coupled to Staphylococcus protein A (SpA). The chemical oxidation has previously demonstrated to enhance the biofunctionalization process and here "by implementing SpA" a molecularly oriented immunosensor is achieved. The biosensor system is characterized in terms of its chemical composition, wettability and optical reflectance. Finally, this system is successfully exploited to develop a biosensor for detecting asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous molecule involved in cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, this work is relevant from the point of view of design and optimization of the biomolecular immobilization cascade on PSi surfaces with the added value of contribution to the development of new assays for detecting ADMA with a view on prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pressure Sensitive Device Using Conductive and Porous Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

So, Hye-Mi; Chang, Won Seok; Park, Cheolmin

2014-01-01

Porous conductors are known to demonstrate excellent electrical, mechanical, and chemical resistance. These porous conductors demonstrated potential applications in various fields such as electrodes for supercapacitors, flexible heaters, catalytic electrodes, and sorbents. In this study, we described a pressure sensitive device using conductive and porous sponges. With an extremely simple “dipping and drying” process using a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) solution, we produced conductive sponges with sheet resistance of < 30 kΩ/sq. These carbon nanotube sponges can be deformed into any shape elastically and repeatedly compressed to large strains without collapse. The pressure sensors developed from these sponges demonstrated high resistance change under pressure of up to a half of their initial resistance

Pressure Sensitive Device Using Conductive and Porous Structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

So, Hye-Mi; Chang, Won Seok [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Cheolmin [University of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-15

Porous conductors are known to demonstrate excellent electrical, mechanical, and chemical resistance. These porous conductors demonstrated potential applications in various fields such as electrodes for supercapacitors, flexible heaters, catalytic electrodes, and sorbents. In this study, we described a pressure sensitive device using conductive and porous sponges. With an extremely simple “dipping and drying” process using a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) solution, we produced conductive sponges with sheet resistance of < 30 kΩ/sq. These carbon nanotube sponges can be deformed into any shape elastically and repeatedly compressed to large strains without collapse. The pressure sensors developed from these sponges demonstrated high resistance change under pressure of up to a half of their initial resistance.

Gas Permeation Characteristics across Nano-Porous Inorganic Membranes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.R Othman, H. Mukhtar

2012-10-01

Full Text Available An overview of parameters affecting gas permeation in inorganic membranes is presented. These factors include membrane physical characteristics, operational parameters and gas molecular characteristics. The membrane physical characteristics include membrane materials and surface area, porosity, pore size and pore size distribution and membrane morphology. The operational parameters include feed flow rate and concentration, stage cut, temperature and pressure. The gas molecular characteristics include gas molecular weight, diameter, critical temperature, critical pressure, Lennard-Jones parameters and diffusion volumes. The current techniques of material characterization may require complementary method in describing microscopic heterogeneity of the porous ceramic media. The method to be incorporated in the future will be to apply a stochastic model and/or fractal dimension. Keywords: Inorganic membrane, surface adsorption, Knudsen diffusion, Micro-porous membrane, permeation, gas separation.

Porous carbon-free SnSb anodes for high-performance Na-ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jeong-Hee; Ha, Choong-Wan; Choi, Hae-Young; Seong, Jae-Wook; Park, Cheol-Min; Lee, Sang-Min

2018-05-01

A simple melt-spinning/chemical-etching process is developed to create porous carbon-free SnSb anodes. Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) incorporating these anodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performances by accomodating large volume changes during repeated cycling. The porous carbon-free SnSb anode produced by the melt-spinning/chemical-etching process shows a high reversible capacity of 481 mAh g-1, high ICE of 80%, stable cyclability with a high capacity retention of 99% after 100 cycles, and a fast rate capability of 327 mAh g-1 at 4C-rate. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction and high resolution-transmission electron microscopy analyses demonstrate that the synthesized porous carbon-free SnSb anodes involve the highly reversible reaction with sodium through the conversion and recombination reactions during sodiation/desodiation process. The novel and simple melt-spinning/chemical-etching synthetic process represents a technological breakthrough in the commercialization of Na alloy-able anodes for SIBs.

Heterogeneity-enhanced gas phase formation in shallow aquifers during leakage of CO2-saturated water from geologic sequestration sites

Science.gov (United States)

Plampin, Michael R.; Lassen, Rune N.; Sakaki, Toshihiro; Porter, Mark L.; Pawar, Rajesh J.; Jensen, Karsten H.; Illangasekare, Tissa H.

2014-12-01

A primary concern for geologic carbon storage is the potential for leakage of stored carbon dioxide (CO2) into the shallow subsurface where it could degrade the quality of groundwater and surface water. In order to predict and mitigate the potentially negative impacts of CO2 leakage, it is important to understand the physical processes that CO2 will undergo as it moves through naturally heterogeneous porous media formations. Previous studies have shown that heterogeneity can enhance the evolution of gas phase CO2 in some cases, but the conditions under which this occurs have not yet been quantitatively defined, nor tested through laboratory experiments. This study quantitatively investigates the effects of geologic heterogeneity on the process of gas phase CO2 evolution in shallow aquifers through an extensive set of experiments conducted in a column that was packed with layers of various test sands. Soil moisture sensors were utilized to observe the formation of gas phase near the porous media interfaces. Results indicate that the conditions under which heterogeneity controls gas phase evolution can be successfully predicted through analysis of simple parameters, including the dissolved CO2 concentration in the flowing water, the distance between the heterogeneity and the leakage location, and some fundamental properties of the porous media. Results also show that interfaces where a less permeable material overlies a more permeable material affect gas phase evolution more significantly than interfaces with the opposite layering.

Optical chemical sensors for atmospheric pollutants based on nano porous materials: application to the formaldehyde and the other carbonyl compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paolacci, H.

2006-12-01

Formaldehyde, a well-identified indoor pollutant, was recently classified as carcinogenic. New regulations for the air quality are expected and therefore there is a need for low-cost sensors, sensitive and selective with a fast response time for the detection of formaldehyde at ppb level. In the present work, we had developed a chemical sensor based on nano-porous matrices doped with Fluoral-P and optical methods of detection. The nano-porous matrices, elaborated via the Sol-Gel process, display nano-pores whose cavity is tailored for the trapping of the targeted pollutant. They provide a first selectivity with the discrimination of the pollutants by their size. A second selectivity is obtained with a molecular probe, Fluoral-P, which reacts specifically with formaldehyde leading to the 3,5- di-acetyl-1,4-dihydro-lutidine (DDL). The kinetics of formation of DDL was studied as function of many parameters such as the concentration of Fluoral-P in the matrix, the pollutant content in gas mixture, the flow rate, the relative humidity of the gas mixtures and interference with other carbonylated compounds. The present chemical sensor can detect, via absorbance measurements, 2 ppb of formaldehyde within 30 min over a O to 60% relative humidity range. Moreover, to detect the total carbonylated compounds, we also explored the potentiality of a chemical sensor using, as a probe molecule, the 2'4-dinitro-phenyl-hydrazine which forms with these compounds the corresponding hydrazones derivatives. A patent was deposited for these two sensors. We have also developed a semi-miniaturized prototype for demonstration, using a flow cell, a miniaturized spectrophotometer, a light source and a lap-top. (author)

Hierarchical porous ZnO microflowers with ultra-high ethanol gas-sensing at low concentration

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Liming; Yue, He; Li, Haiying; Liu, Li; Li, Yu; Du, Liting; Duan, Haojie; Klyui, N. I.

2018-05-01

Hierarchical porous and non-porous ZnO microflowers have been successfully fabricated by hydrothermal method. Their crystal structure, morphology and gas-sensing properties were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and chemical gas sensing intelligent analysis system (CGS). Compared with hierarchical non-porous ZnO microflowers, hierarchical porous ZnO microflowers exhibited ultra-high sensitivity with 50 ppm ethanol at 260 °C and the response is 110, which is 1.8 times higher than that of non-porous ZnO microflowers. Moreover, the lowest concentration limit of hierarchical porous ZnO microflowers (non-porous ZnO microflowers) to ethanol is 0.1 (1) ppm, the response value is 1.6 (1).

A Mechanochemical Approach to Porous Silicon Nanoparticles Fabrication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca De Stefano

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Porous silicon samples have been reduced in nanometric particles by a well known industrial mechanical process, the ball grinding in a planetary mill; the process has been extended to crystalline silicon for comparison purposes. The silicon nanoparticles have been studied by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, gas porosimetry and transmission electron microscopy. We have estimated crystallites size from about 50 nm for silicon to 12 nm for porous silicon. The specific surface area of the powders analyzed ranges between 100 m2/g to 29 m2/g depending on the milling time, ranging from 1 to 20 h. Electron microscopy confirms the nanometric size of the particles and reveals a porous structure in the powders obtained by porous silicon samples which has been preserved by the fabrication conditions. Chemical functionalization during the milling process by a siloxane compound has also been demonstrated.

The Compatibility of Hepatocytes with Chemically Modified Porous Silicon with Reference to In Vitro Biosensors

OpenAIRE

Alvarez, Sara D.; Derfus, Austin M.; Schwartz, Michael P.; Bhatia, Sangeeta N.; Sailor, Michael J.

2008-01-01

Porous Si is a nanostructured material that is of interest for molecular and cell-based biosensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering applications. Surface chemistry is an important factor determining the stability of porous Si in aqueous media, its affinity for various biomolecular species, and its compatibility with tissues. In this study, the attachment and viability of a primary cell type to porous Si samples containing various surface chemistries is reported, and the ability of the p...

High-Resolution Mapping of Yield Curve Shape and Evolution for Porous Rock: The Effect of Inelastic Compaction on Porous Bassanite

Science.gov (United States)

Bedford, John D.; Faulkner, Daniel R.; Leclère, Henri; Wheeler, John

2018-02-01

Porous rock deformation has important implications for fluid flow in a range of crustal settings as compaction can increase fluid pressure and alter permeability. The onset of inelastic strain for porous materials is typically defined by a yield curve plotted in differential stress (Q) versus effective mean stress (P) space. Empirical studies have shown that these curves are broadly elliptical in shape. Here conventional triaxial experiments are first performed to document (a) the yield curve of porous bassanite (porosity ≈ 27-28%), a material formed from the dehydration of gypsum, and (b) the postyield behavior, assuming that P and Q track along the yield surface as inelastic deformation accumulates. The data reveal that after initial yield, the yield surface cannot be perfectly elliptical and must evolve significantly as inelastic strain is accumulated. To investigate this further, a novel stress-probing methodology is developed to map precisely the yield curve shape and subsequent evolution for a single sample. These measurements confirm that the high-pressure side of the curve is partly composed of a near-vertical limb. Yield curve evolution is shown to be dependent on the nature of the loading path. Bassanite compacted under differential stress develops a heterogeneous microstructure and has a yield curve with a peak that is almost double that of an equal porosity sample that has been compacted hydrostatically. The dramatic effect of different loading histories on the strength of porous bassanite highlights the importance of understanding the associated microstructural controls on the nature of inelastic deformation in porous rock.

Diffusion, Coulombic interactions and multicomponent ionic transport of charged species in saturated porous media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rolle, Massimo; Muniruzzaman, Muhammad

water are cross-coupled due to the effects of Coulombic interactions. Such effects are illustrated in flow-through experiments in saturated porous media. Simple strong electrolytes (i.e., salts and strong acid solutions) were selected as tracers and their transport was studied under different advection......-dominated conditions in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media [2-3]. The model-based interpretation of the experimental results is challenging since it requires a multicomponent ionic formulation with an accurate description of local hydrodynamic dispersion and explicitly accounting for the cross-coupling...

Significant impacts of heterogeneous reactions on the chemical composition and mixing state of dust particles: A case study during dust events over northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhe; Pan, Xiaole; Uno, Itsushi; Li, Jie; Wang, Zifa; Chen, Xueshun; Fu, Pingqing; Yang, Ting; Kobayashi, Hiroshi; Shimizu, Atsushi; Sugimoto, Nobuo; Yamamoto, Shigekazu

2017-06-01

The impact of heterogeneous reactions on the chemical components and mixing state of dust particles are investigated by observations and an air quality model over northern China between March 27, 2015 and April 2, 2015. Synergetic observations were conducted using a polarization optical particle counter (POPC), a depolarized two-wavelength Lidar and filter samples in Beijing. During this period, dust plume passed through Beijing on March 28, and flew back on March 29 because of synoptic weather changes. Mineral dust mixed with anthropogenic pollutants was simulated using the Nested Air Quality Prediction Modeling System (NAQPMS) to examine the role of heterogeneous processes on the dust. A comparison of observations shows that the NAQPMS successfully reproduces the time series of the vertical profile, particulate matter concentration, and chemical components of fine mode (diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) and coarse mode (2.5 μm mixed with dust particles. The significant alterations of the chemical composition and mixing state of particles due to heterogeneous reactions are important for the direct and indirect climate effects of dust and anthropogenic aerosols.

Chemical reaction effect on MHD free convective surface over a moving vertical plate through porous medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.S. Tripathy

2015-09-01

Full Text Available An attempt has been made to study the heat and mass transfer effect in a boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting viscous fluid subject to transverse magnetic field past over a moving vertical plate through porous medium in the presence of heat source and chemical reaction. The governing non-linear partial differential equations have been transformed into a two-point boundary value problem using similarity variables and then solved numerically by fourth order Runge–Kutta fourth order method with shooting technique. Graphical results are discussed for non-dimensional velocity, temperature and concentration profiles while numerical values of the skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are presented in tabular form for various values of parameters controlling the flow system.

Final Report - Montana State University - Microbial Activity and Precipitation at Solution-Solution Mixing Zones in Porous Media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerlach, Robin [Montana State University

2014-10-31

Background. The use of biological and chemical processes that degrade or immobilize contaminants in subsurface environments is a cornerstone of remediation technology. The enhancement of biological and chemical processes in situ, involves the transport, displacement, distribution and mixing of one or more reactive agents. Biological and chemical reactions all require diffusive transport of solutes to reaction sites at the molecular scale and accordingly, the success of processes at the meter-scale and larger is dictated by the success of phenomena that occur at the micron-scale. However, current understanding of scaling effects on the mixing and delivery of nutrients in biogeochemically dynamic porous media systems is limited, despite the limitations this imposes on the efficiency and effectiveness of the remediation challenges at hand. Objectives. We therefore proposed to experimentally characterize and computationally describe the growth, evolution, and distribution of microbial activity and mineral formation as well as changes in transport processes in porous media that receive two or more reactive amendments. The model system chosen for this project was based on a method for immobilizing 90Sr, which involves stimulating microbial urea hydrolysis with ensuing mineral precipitation (CaCO3), and co-precipitation of Sr. Studies at different laboratory scales were used to visualize and quantitatively describe the spatial relationships between amendment transport and consumption that stimulate the production of biomass and mineral phases that subsequently modify the permeability and heterogeneity of porous media. Biomass growth, activity, and mass deposition in mixing zones was investigated using two-dimensional micro-model flow cells as well as flow cells that could be analyzed using synchrotron-based x-ray tomography. Larger-scale flow-cell experiments were conducted where the spatial distribution of media properties, flow, segregation of biological activity and

Highly porous activated carbons prepared from carbon rich Mongolian anthracite by direct NaOH activation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byamba-Ochir, Narandalai [School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-Ro, Gwangju 61186 (Korea, Republic of); Shim, Wang Geun [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sunchon National University, 255 Jungang-Ro, Suncheon, Jeollanam-Do 57922 (Korea, Republic of); Balathanigaimani, M.S., E-mail: msbala@rgipt.ac.in [Department of Chemical Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Ratapur Chowk, Rae Bareli, 229316 Uttar Pradesh (India); Moon, Hee, E-mail: hmoon@jnu.ac.kr [School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-Ro, Gwangju 61186 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-30

Highlights: • Highly porous carbon materials from Mongolian anthracite by chemical activation. • Cheaper and eco-friendly activation process has been employed. • Activated carbons with graphitic structure and energetically heterogeneous surface. • Surface hydrophobicity and porosity of the activated carbons can be controlled. - Abstract: Highly porous activated carbons (ACs) were prepared from Mongolian raw anthracite (MRA) using sodium hydroxide as an activation agent by varying the mass ratio (powdered MRA/NaOH) as well as the mixing method of chemical agent and powdered MRA. The specific BET surface area and total pore volume of the prepared MRA-based activated carbons (MACs) are in the range of 816–2063 m{sup 2}/g and of 0.55–1.61 cm{sup 3}/g, respectively. The pore size distribution of MACs show that most of the pores are in the range from large micropores to small mesopores and their distribution can be controlled by the mass ratio and mixing method of the activating agent. As expected from the intrinsic property of the MRA, the highly graphitic surface morphology of prepared carbons was confirmed from Raman spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. Furthermore the FTIR and XPS results reveal that the preparation of MACs with hydrophobic in nature is highly possible by controlling the mixing conditions of activating agent and powdered MRA. Based on all the results, it is suggested that the prepared MACs could be used for many specific applications, requiring high surface area, optimal pore size distribution, proper surface hydrophobicity as well as strong physical strength.

Dependence of crystal size on the catalytic performance of a porous coordination polymer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiyonaga, Tomokazu; Higuchi, Masakazu; Kajiwara, Takashi; Takashima, Yohei; Duan, Jingui; Nagashima, Kazuro; Kitagawa, Susumu

2015-02-14

Submicrosized MOF-76(Yb) exhibits a higher catalytic performance for esterification than microsized MOF-76(Yb). Control of the crystal size of porous heterogeneous catalysts, such as PCP/MOFs, offers a promising approach to fabricating high-performance catalysts based on accessibility to the internal catalytic sites.

Effect of reservoir heterogeneity on air injection performance in a light oil reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Jia

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Air injection is a good option to development light oil reservoir. As well-known that, reservoir heterogeneity has great effect for various EOR processes. This also applies to air injection. However, oil recovery mechanisms and physical processes for air injection in heterogeneous reservoir with dip angle are still not well understood. The reported setting of reservoir heterogeneous for physical model or simulation model of air injection only simply uses different-layer permeability of porous media. In practice, reservoir heterogeneity follows the principle of geostatistics. How much of contrast in permeability actually challenges the air injection in light oil reservoir? This should be investigated by using layered porous medial settings of the classical Dykstra-Parsons style. Unfortunately, there has been no work addressing this issue for air injection in light oil reservoir. In this paper, Reservoir heterogeneity is quantified based on the use of different reservoir permeability distribution according to classical Dykstra-Parsons coefficients method. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of reservoir heterogeneity on physical process and production performance of air injection in light oil reservoir through numerical reservoir simulation approach. The basic model is calibrated based on previous study. Total eleven pseudo compounders are included in this model and ten complexity of reactions are proposed to achieve the reaction scheme. Results show that oil recovery factor is decreased with the increasing of reservoir heterogeneity both for air and N2 injection from updip location, which is against the working behavior of air injection from updip location. Reservoir heterogeneity sometimes can act as positive effect to improve sweep efficiency as well as enhance production performance for air injection. High O2 content air injection can benefit oil recovery factor, also lead to early O2 breakthrough in heterogeneous reservoir. Well

Atomic Layer Deposition on Porous Materials: Problems with Conventional Approaches to Catalyst and Fuel Cell Electrode Preparation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzia Ming Onn

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Atomic layer deposition (ALD offers exciting possibilities for controlling the structure and composition of surfaces on the atomic scale in heterogeneous catalysts and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC electrodes. However, while ALD procedures and equipment are well developed for applications involving flat surfaces, the conditions required for ALD in porous materials with a large surface area need to be very different. The materials (e.g., rare earths and other functional oxides that are of interest for catalytic applications will also be different. For flat surfaces, rapid cycling, enabled by high carrier-gas flow rates, is necessary in order to rapidly grow thicker films. By contrast, ALD films in porous materials rarely need to be more than 1 nm thick. The elimination of diffusion gradients, efficient use of precursors, and ligand removal with less reactive precursors are the major factors that need to be controlled. In this review, criteria will be outlined for the successful use of ALD in porous materials. Examples of opportunities for using ALD to modify heterogeneous catalysts and SOFC electrodes will be given.

A Comparison of Streaming and Microelectrophoresis Methods for Obtaining the zeta Potential of Granular Porous Media Surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson

1999-01-01

The electrokinetic behavior of granular quartz sand in aqueous solution is investigated by both microelectrophoresis and streaming potential methods. zeta potentials of surfaces composed of granular quartz obtained via streaming potential methods are compared to electrophoretic mobility zeta potential values of colloid-sized quartz fragments. The zeta values generated by these alternate methods are in close agreement over a wide pH range and electrolyte concentrations spanning several orders of magnitude. Streaming measurements performed on chemically heterogeneous mixtures of physically homogeneous sand are shown to obey a simple mixing model based on the surface area-weighted average of the streaming potentials associated with the individual end members. These experimental results support the applicability of the streaming potential method as a means of determining the zeta potential of granular porous media surfaces. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Anomalous dispersion in correlated porous media: a coupled continuous time random walk approach

Science.gov (United States)

Comolli, Alessandro; Dentz, Marco

2017-09-01

We study the causes of anomalous dispersion in Darcy-scale porous media characterized by spatially heterogeneous hydraulic properties. Spatial variability in hydraulic conductivity leads to spatial variability in the flow properties through Darcy's law and thus impacts on solute and particle transport. We consider purely advective transport in heterogeneity scenarios characterized by broad distributions of heterogeneity length scales and point values. Particle transport is characterized in terms of the stochastic properties of equidistantly sampled Lagrangian velocities, which are determined by the flow and conductivity statistics. The persistence length scales of flow and transport velocities are imprinted in the spatial disorder and reflect the distribution of heterogeneity length scales. Particle transitions over the velocity length scales are kinematically coupled with the transition time through velocity. We show that the average particle motion follows a coupled continuous time random walk (CTRW), which is fully parameterized by the distribution of flow velocities and the medium geometry in terms of the heterogeneity length scales. The coupled CTRW provides a systematic framework for the investigation of the origins of anomalous dispersion in terms of heterogeneity correlation and the distribution of conductivity point values. We derive analytical expressions for the asymptotic scaling of the moments of the spatial particle distribution and first arrival time distribution (FATD), and perform numerical particle tracking simulations of the coupled CTRW to capture the full average transport behavior. Broad distributions of heterogeneity point values and lengths scales may lead to very similar dispersion behaviors in terms of the spatial variance. Their mechanisms, however are very different, which manifests in the distributions of particle positions and arrival times, which plays a central role for the prediction of the fate of dissolved substances in

Porous silicon photoluminescence modification by colloidal gold nanoparticles: Plasmonic, surface and porosity roles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora, M.B. de la; Bornacelli, J.; Nava, R.; Zanella, R.; Reyes-Esqueda, J.A.

2014-01-01

Metal nanoparticles on semiconductors are of interest because of the tunable effect of the surface plasmon resonance on the physical properties of the semiconductor. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles obtained by two different methods, with an average size of 6.1±2.0 nm and 5.0±2.0 nm, were added to luminescent porous silicon by drop casting. The gold nanoparticles interact with porous silicon by modifying its optical properties such as photoluminescence. That being said, plasmon effects are not the only to be taken into account; as shown in this work, surface chemical modification and porosity also play a key role in the final performance of photoluminescence of a porous silicon–gold nanoparticle hybrid system. -- Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of porous silicon and gold nanoparticles was fabricated. • Porous silicon/gold nanoparticle hybrid material was made by drop casting. • Influence of plasmonics, surface chemical modification and porosity on the optical behavior of our material was analyzed. • Porosity is proposed as a parameter control to obtain the best effects on luminescence of the hybrid plasmonic material

Porous silicon photoluminescence modification by colloidal gold nanoparticles: Plasmonic, surface and porosity roles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mora, M.B. de la; Bornacelli, J. [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Nava, R. [Centro de Investigación en Energía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Temixco, Morelos 62580 (Mexico); Zanella, R. [Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Reyes-Esqueda, J.A., E-mail: betarina@gmail.com [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico)

2014-02-15

Metal nanoparticles on semiconductors are of interest because of the tunable effect of the surface plasmon resonance on the physical properties of the semiconductor. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles obtained by two different methods, with an average size of 6.1±2.0 nm and 5.0±2.0 nm, were added to luminescent porous silicon by drop casting. The gold nanoparticles interact with porous silicon by modifying its optical properties such as photoluminescence. That being said, plasmon effects are not the only to be taken into account; as shown in this work, surface chemical modification and porosity also play a key role in the final performance of photoluminescence of a porous silicon–gold nanoparticle hybrid system. -- Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of porous silicon and gold nanoparticles was fabricated. • Porous silicon/gold nanoparticle hybrid material was made by drop casting. • Influence of plasmonics, surface chemical modification and porosity on the optical behavior of our material was analyzed. • Porosity is proposed as a parameter control to obtain the best effects on luminescence of the hybrid plasmonic material.

Graphene synthesized on porous silicon for active electrode material of supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Su, B. B.; Chen, X. Y.; Halvorsen, E.

2016-11-01

We present graphene synthesized by chemical vapour deposition under atmospheric pressure on both porous nanostructures and flat wafers as electrode scaffolds for supercapacitors. A 3nm thin gold layer was deposited on samples of both porous and flat silicon for exploring the catalytic influence during graphene synthesis. Micro-four-point probe resistivity measurements revealed that the resistivity of porous silicon samples was nearly 53 times smaller than of the flat silicon ones when all the samples were covered by a thin gold layer after the graphene growth. From cyclic voltammetry, the average specific capacitance of porous silicon coated with gold was estimated to 267 μF/cm2 while that without catalyst layer was 145μF/cm2. We demonstrated that porous silicon based on nanorods can play an important role in graphene synthesis and enable silicon as promising electrodes for supercapacitors.

Next-Generation Catalysis for Renewables: Combining Enzymatic with Inorganic Heterogeneous Catalysis for Bulk Chemical Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vennestrøm, Peter Nicolai Ravnborg; Christensen, C.H.; Pedersen, S.

2010-01-01

chemical platform under different conditions than those conventionally employed. Indeed, new process and catalyst concepts need to be established. Both enzymatic catalysis (biocatalysis) and heterogeneous inorganic catalysis are likely to play a major role and, potentially, be combined. One type...... of combination involves one-pot cascade catalysis with active sites from bio- and inorganic catalysts. In this article the emphasis is placed specifically on oxidase systems involving the coproduction of hydrogen peroxide, which can be used to create new in situ collaborative oxidation reactions for bulk...

Effect of Hall current and chemical reaction on MHD flow along an exponentially accelerated porous flat plate with internal heat absorption/generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rath, Pravat Kumar; Dash, G.C.; Patra, Ajit Kumar

2010-01-01

Effect of Hall current on the unsteady free convection flow of an electrically conducting incompressible viscous fluid past an exponentially accelerated vertical porous flat plate with internal heat absorption/generation in the presence of foreign gases (such as H 2 , CO 2 , H 2 O, NH 3 ) and chemical reaction has been investigated. An uniform magnetic field transverse to the plate has been applied. The effects of the Hall current m, the hydromagnetic parameter Mt, the chemical reaction parameter K c the Grashof number for heat transfer G r , the Grashof number for mass transfer G c , the Schmidt number S c , the Prandtl number P r and the transpiration parameter α are discussed in detail. (author)

Electroless porous silicon formation applied to fabrication of boron–silica–glass cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teva, J; Davis, Z J; Hansen, O

2010-01-01

This work describes the characterization and optimization of anisotropic formation of porous silicon in large volumes (0.5–1 mm 3 ) of silicon by an electroless wet etching technique. The main goal is to use porous silicon as a sacrificial volume for bulk micromachining processes, especially in cases where etching of the full wafer thickness is needed. The porous silicon volume is formed by a metal-assisted etching in a wet chemical solution composed of hydrogen peroxide (30%), hydrofluoric acid (40%) and ethanol. This paper focuses on optimizing the etching conditions in terms of maximizing the etching rate and reproducibility of the etching. In addition to that, a study of the morphology of the pore that is obtained by this technique is presented. The results from the characterization of the process are applied to the fabrication of boron–silica–glass cantilevers that serve as a platform for bio-chemical sensors. The porous silicon volume is formed in an early step of the fabrication process, allowing easy handling of the wafer during all of the micromachining processes in the process flow. In the final process step, the porous silicon is quickly etched by immersing the wafer in a KOH solution

Embedding and electropolymerization of terthiophene derivatives in porous n-type silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badeva, Diyana, E-mail: diyana.badeva@cnrs-imn.fr [Equipe Physique des Materiaux et Nanostructures, IMN, B.P. 32229, 44322 Nantes cedex 3 (France); Tran-Van, Francois, E-mail: francois.tran@univ-tours.fr [Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie des Materiaux et des Electrolytes pour l' Energie (PCM2E), E.A 6299, Universite de Tours, Faculte des Sciences et Techniques, Parc de Grandmont, 37200 Tours (France); Beouch, Layla, E-mail: layla.beouch@u-cergy.fr [Laboratoire de Physicochimie des Polymeres et des Interfaces, 5, mail Gay-Lussac, F-95031 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex (France); Chevrot, Claude, E-mail: claude.chevrot@u-cergy.fr [Laboratoire de Physicochimie des Polymeres et des Interfaces, 5, mail Gay-Lussac, F-95031 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex (France); Markova, Ivania, E-mail: vania@uctm.edu [Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 St. Kliment Ohridski blvd., 1756 Sofia (Bulgaria); Racheva, Todora, E-mail: todora@uctm.edu [Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 St. Kliment Ohridski blvd., 1756 Sofia (Bulgaria); Froyer, Gerard, E-mail: gerard.froyer@cnrs-imn.fr [Equipe Physique des Materiaux et Nanostructures, IMN, B.P. 32229, 44322 Nantes cedex 3 (France)

2012-04-16

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Development of a mesoporous silicon with special morphological and chemical properties. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Successful embedding of carboxylic-acid terthiophenic monomer in porous silicon. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In situ electrochemical polymerization. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Polarized IRTF scattering provides the tendency to preferential organization. - Abstract: A mesoporous n-type silicon/poly (3 Prime -acetic acid-2,2 Prime -5 Prime ,2 Prime Prime terthiophene)-(Poly (3TAA) nanocomposite was elaborated in order to realize new components for optoelectronics. Non-oxidized and oxidized porous silicon substrates is used and their physical and chemical properties have been studied by different techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Terthiophene based conjugated structure has been successfully incorporated inside the pores by capillarity at the melting temperature of the monomer. The filling of the monomer into the porous volume was probed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Polarized infrared absorption spectroscopy results indicated that the monomer molecules show preferential orientation along the pore axis, due to hydrogen bonding, in particular that of the carboxylic groups with silanol-rich oxidized porous silicon surface. The 3TAA monomer molecules embedded in porous silicon matrix were electrochemically polymerized in situ and resonance Raman scattering spectroscopy proved the above-mentioned polymerization.

Physical characterization of porous hydroxyapatite prepared by slip casting route

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusnah Mustaffa; Idris Besar; Mohd Reusmaazran Yusof; Che Rohaida Che Hak

2005-01-01

Recent developments have led to an interest in the potential of porous hydroxyapatite (HA) as a synthetic bone graft. The starting material, that is HA powder, was prepared by the precipitation method using calcium hydroxide and ortho-phosporic acid. Through this route, the HA powder was first made into a slip by mixing with binder and then the slip was transferred into a mould. The binder was used as the porosifier where different ratios of HA to binder were studied. The material was then dried in oven followed by burning in furnace and finally the porous product was obtained and ready for characterization after sintering. The paper presents some characterization of porous HA products including chemical composition, density and macrostructure. The pore sizes obtained were in the range 200 mm to 400 mm diameters. From the different HA to binder ratios, variation in apparent densities were observed which is in the range of 2.63 to 2.76 g/cm 3 . The morphology of porous HA was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) at 15 KV. The chemical structure and composition were also determined using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the SEM EDAX, respectively, and the results will also be discussed. (Author)

A KDE-Based Random Walk Method for Modeling Reactive Transport With Complex Kinetics in Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Sole-Mari, Guillem; Fernà ndez-Garcia, Daniel; Rodríguez-Escales, Paula; Sanchez-Vila, Xavier

2017-11-01

In recent years, a large body of the literature has been devoted to study reactive transport of solutes in porous media based on pure Lagrangian formulations. Such approaches have also been extended to accommodate second-order bimolecular reactions, in which the reaction rate is proportional to the concentrations of the reactants. Rather, in some cases, chemical reactions involving two reactants follow more complicated rate laws. Some examples are (1) reaction rate laws written in terms of powers of concentrations, (2) redox reactions incorporating a limiting term (e.g., Michaelis-Menten), or (3) any reaction where the activity coefficients vary with the concentration of the reactants, just to name a few. We provide a methodology to account for complex kinetic bimolecular reactions in a fully Lagrangian framework where each particle represents a fraction of the total mass of a specific solute. The method, built as an extension to the second-order case, is based on the concept of optimal Kernel Density Estimator, which allows the concentrations to be written in terms of particle locations, hence transferring the concept of reaction rate to that of particle location distribution. By doing so, we can update the probability of particles reacting without the need to fully reconstruct the concentration maps. The performance and convergence of the method is tested for several illustrative examples that simulate the Advection-Dispersion-Reaction Equation in a 1-D homogeneous column. Finally, a 2-D application example is presented evaluating the need of fully describing non-bilinear chemical kinetics in a randomly heterogeneous porous medium.

Engineering Microbial Metabolite Dynamics and Heterogeneity.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Alexander C; Hartline, Christopher J; Zhang, Fuzhong

2017-10-01

As yields for biological chemical production in microorganisms approach their theoretical maximum, metabolic engineering requires new tools, and approaches for improvements beyond what traditional strategies can achieve. Engineering metabolite dynamics and metabolite heterogeneity is necessary to achieve further improvements in product titers, productivities, and yields. Metabolite dynamics, the ensemble change in metabolite concentration over time, arise from the need for microbes to adapt their metabolism in response to the extracellular environment and are important for controlling growth and productivity in industrial fermentations. Metabolite heterogeneity, the cell-to-cell variation in a metabolite concentration in an isoclonal population, has a significant impact on ensemble productivity. Recent advances in single cell analysis enable a more complete understanding of the processes driving metabolite heterogeneity and reveal metabolic engineering targets. The authors present an overview of the mechanistic origins of metabolite dynamics and heterogeneity, why they are important, their potential effects in chemical production processes, and tools and strategies for engineering metabolite dynamics and heterogeneity. The authors emphasize that the ability to control metabolite dynamics and heterogeneity will bring new avenues of engineering to increase productivity of microbial strains. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication of interfacial functionalized porous polymer monolith and its adsorption properties of copper ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Jiaxi; Du, Zhongjie; Zou, Wei; Li, Hangquan; Zhang, Chen

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Interface functionalized PGMA porous monolith was fabricated. • The adsorption capacity of Cu 2+ was 35.3 mg/g. • The effects of porous structure on the adsorption of Cu 2+ were studied. • The adsorption behaviors of porous monolith were studied. - Abstract: The interfacial functionalized poly (glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) porous monolith was fabricated and applied as a novel porous adsorbent for copper ions (Cu 2+ ). PGMA porous material with highly interconnected pore network was prepared by concentrated emulsion polymerization template. Then polyacrylic acid (PAA) was grafted onto the interface of the porous monolith by the reaction between the epoxy group on PGMA and a carboxyl group on PAA. Finally, the porous monolith was interfacial functionalized by rich amount of carboxyl groups and could adsorb copper ions effectively. The chemical structure and porous morphology of the porous monolith were measured by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the effects of pore size distribution, pH value, co-existing ions, contacting time, and initial concentrations of copper ions on the adsorption capacity of the porous adsorbents were studied

Color image analysis of contaminants and bacteria transport in porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Rashidi, Mehdi; Dehmeshki, Jamshid; Daemi, Mohammad F.; Cole, Larry; Dickenson, Eric

1997-10-01

Transport of contaminants and bacteria in aqueous heterogeneous saturated porous systems have been studied experimentally using a novel fluorescent microscopic imaging technique. The approach involves color visualization and quantification of bacterium and contaminant distributions within a transparent porous column. By introducing stained bacteria and an organic dye as a contaminant into the column and illuminating the porous regions with a planar sheet of laser beam, contaminant and bacterial transport processes through the porous medium can be observed and measured microscopically. A computer controlled color CCD camera is used to record the fluorescent images as a function of time. These images are recorded by a frame accurate high resolution VCR and are then analyzed using a color image analysis code written in our laboratories. The color images are digitized this way and simultaneous concentration and velocity distributions of both contaminant and bacterium are evaluated as a function of time and pore characteristics. The approach provides a unique dynamic probe to observe these transport processes microscopically. These results are extremely valuable in in-situ bioremediation problems since microscopic particle-contaminant- bacterium interactions are the key to understanding and optimization of these processes.

Attainment of chemical equilibrium in effusive beam sources of the heterogeneous reaction type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hildenbrand, D.L.

1979-01-01

Effusive beam sources derived from gas-solid reactions provide a very important pathway for widening the scope of high temperature thermodynamic studies, but the attainment of chemical equilibrium within these sources is problematical. Some of the underlying kinetic factors associated with the use of these sources are discussed. As one might expect, it is important to maximize the ratio of reactive surface area to exit orifice area. Equilibrium seems to be achieved more readily among the products of gas-solid reactions than among reactant and products, as suggested by the quasi-equilibrium model. Some experiences with the use of heterogeneous reaction sources are described, and two definitive tests for the establishment of equilibrium are outlined

Criticality conditions of heterogeneous energetic materials under shock loading

Science.gov (United States)

Nassar, Anas; Rai, Nirmal Kumar; Sen, Oishik; Udaykumar, H. S.

2017-06-01

Shock interaction with the microstructural heterogeneities of energetic materials can lead to the formation of locally heated regions known as hot spots. These hot spots are the potential sites where chemical reaction may be initiated. However, the ability of a hot spot to initiate chemical reaction depends on its size, shape and strength (temperature). Previous study by Tarver et al. has shown that there exists a critical size and temperature for a given shape (spherical, cylindrical, and planar) of the hot spot above which reaction initiation is imminent. Tarver et al. assumed a constant temperature variation in the hot spot. However, the meso-scale simulations show that the temperature distribution within a hot spot formed from processes such as void collapse is seldom constant. Also, the shape of a hot spot can be arbitrary. This work is an attempt towards development of a critical hot spot curve which is a function of loading strength, duration and void morphology. To achieve the aforementioned goal, mesoscale simulations are conducted on porous HMX material. The process is repeated for different loading conditions and void sizes. The hot spots formed in the process are examined for criticality depending on whether they will ignite or not. The metamodel is used to obtain criticality curves and is compared with the critical hot spot curve of Tarver et al.

Granular nanocrystalline zirconia electrolyte layers deposited on porous SOFC cathode substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seydel, Johannes; Becker, Michael; Ivers-Tiffee, Ellen; Hahn, Horst

2009-01-01

Thin granular yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte layers were prepared by chemical vapor synthesis and deposition (CVD/CVS) on a porous substoichiometric lanthanum-strontium-manganite (ULSM) solid oxide fuel cell cathode substrate. The substrate porosity was optimized with a screen printed fine porous buffer layer. Structural analysis by scanning electron microscopy showed a homogeneous, granular nanocrystalline layer with a microstructure that was controlled via reactor settings. The CVD/CVS gas-phase process enabled the deposition of crack-free granular YSZ films on porous ULSM substrates. The electrolyte layers characterized with impedance spectroscopy exhibited enhanced grain boundary conductivity.

A cellular automaton simulation of contaminant transport in porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freed, D.M.; Simonson, S.A.

1995-01-01

A simulation tool to investigate radionuclide transport in porous groundwater flow is described. The flow systems of interest are those important in determining the fate of radionuclides emplaced in an underground repository, such as saturated matrix flow, matrix and fracture flow in the unsaturated zone, and viscous fingering in porous fractures. The work discussed here is confined to consideration of saturated flow in porous media carrying a dilute, sorptive species. The simulation technique is based on a special class of cellular automata known as lattice gas automata (LGA) which are capable of predicting hydrodynamic behavior. The original two-dimensional scheme (that of Frisch et. al. known as the FHP model) used particles of unit mass traveling on a triangular lattice with unit velocity and undergoing simple collisions which conserve mass and momentum at each node. These microscopic rules go over to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in the macroscopic limit. One of the strengths of this technique is the natural way that heterogeneities, such as boundaries, are accommodated. Complex geometries such as those associated with porous microstructures can be modeled effectively. Several constructions based on the FHP model have been devised, including techniques to eliminate statistical noise, extension to three dimensions, and the addition of surface tension which leads to multiphase flow

Graphene synthesized on porous silicon for active electrode material of supercapacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, B B; Chen, X Y; Halvorsen, E

2016-01-01

We present graphene synthesized by chemical vapour deposition under atmospheric pressure on both porous nanostructures and flat wafers as electrode scaffolds for supercapacitors. A 3nm thin gold layer was deposited on samples of both porous and flat silicon for exploring the catalytic influence during graphene synthesis. Micro-four-point probe resistivity measurements revealed that the resistivity of porous silicon samples was nearly 53 times smaller than of the flat silicon ones when all the samples were covered by a thin gold layer after the graphene growth. From cyclic voltammetry, the average specific capacitance of porous silicon coated with gold was estimated to 267 μF/cm 2 while that without catalyst layer was 145μF/cm 2 . We demonstrated that porous silicon based on nanorods can play an important role in graphene synthesis and enable silicon as promising electrodes for supercapacitors. (paper)

Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection in Heterogeneous Porous media for CO2 Geological Storage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ranganathan, P.; Farajzadeh, R.; Bruining, J.; Zitha, P.L.J.

2012-01-01

We report a modeling and numerical simulation study of density-driven natural convection during geological CO2 storage in heterogeneous formations. We consider an aquifer or depleted oilfield overlain by gaseous CO2, where the water density increases due to CO2 dissolution. The heterogeneity of the

MRI of chemical reactions and processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Britton, Melanie M

2017-08-01

As magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can spatially resolve a wealth of molecular information available from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), it is able to non-invasively visualise the composition, properties and reactions of a broad range of spatially-heterogeneous molecular systems. Hence, MRI is increasingly finding applications in the study of chemical reactions and processes in a diverse range of environments and technologies. This article will explain the basic principles of MRI and how it can be used to visualise chemical composition and molecular properties, providing an overview of the variety of information available. Examples are drawn from the disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental science, physics, electrochemistry and materials science. The review introduces a range of techniques used to produce image contrast, along with the chemical and molecular insight accessible through them. Methods for mapping the distribution of chemical species, using chemical shift imaging or spatially-resolved spectroscopy, are reviewed, as well as methods for visualising physical state, temperature, current density, flow velocities and molecular diffusion. Strategies for imaging materials with low signal intensity, such as those containing gases or low sensitivity nuclei, using compressed sensing, para-hydrogen or polarisation transfer, are discussed. Systems are presented which encapsulate the diversity of chemical and physical parameters observable by MRI, including one- and two-phase flow in porous media, chemical pattern formation, phase transformations and hydrodynamic (fingering) instabilities. Lastly, the emerging area of electrochemical MRI is discussed, with studies presented on the visualisation of electrochemical deposition and dissolution processes during corrosion and the operation of batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Numerical study for Darcy-Forchheimer flow due to a curved stretching surface with Cattaneo-Christov heat flux and homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tasawar Hayat

Full Text Available The current investigation presents Darcy-Forchheimer flow of viscous fluid caused by a curved stretching sheet. Flow for porous space is characterized by Darcy-Forchheimer relation. Concept of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions is also utilized. Heat transfer for Cattaneo–Christov theory characterizing the feature of thermal relaxation is incorporated. Nonlinear differential systems are derived. Shooting algorithm is employed to construct the solutions for the resulting nonlinear system. The characteristics of various sundry parameters are studied and discussed. Skin friction coefficient and heat transfer rate are numerically described. Keywords: 2D flow, Curved stretching surface, Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium, Cattaneo-Christov heat flux, Homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions

Probabilistic human health risk assessment of degradation-related chemical mixtures in heterogeneous aquifers: Risk statistics, hot spots, and preferential channels

Science.gov (United States)

Henri, Christopher V.; Fernàndez-Garcia, Daniel; de Barros, Felipe P. J.

2015-06-01

The increasing presence of toxic chemicals released in the subsurface has led to a rapid growth of social concerns and the need to develop and employ models that can predict the impact of groundwater contamination on human health risk under uncertainty. Monitored natural attenuation is a common remediation action in many contamination cases. However, natural attenuation can lead to the production of daughter species of distinct toxicity that may pose challenges in pollution management strategies. The actual threat that these contaminants pose to human health depends on the interplay between the complex structure of the geological media and the toxicity of each pollutant byproduct. This work addresses human health risk for chemical mixtures resulting from the sequential degradation of a contaminant (such as a chlorinated solvent) under uncertainty through high-resolution three-dimensional numerical simulations. We systematically investigate the interaction between aquifer heterogeneity, flow connectivity, contaminant injection model, and chemical toxicity in the probabilistic characterization of health risk. We illustrate how chemical-specific travel times control the regime of the expected risk and its corresponding uncertainties. Results indicate conditions where preferential flow paths can favor the reduction of the overall risk of the chemical mixture. The overall human risk response to aquifer connectivity is shown to be nontrivial for multispecies transport. This nontriviality is a result of the interaction between aquifer heterogeneity and chemical toxicity. To quantify the joint effect of connectivity and toxicity in health risk, we propose a toxicity-based Damköhler number. Furthermore, we provide a statistical characterization in terms of low-order moments and the probability density function of the individual and total risks.

Enhancement of Bacterial Transport in Aerobic and Anaerobic Environments: Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Chemical Heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

T.C. Onstott

2005-01-01

The goal of our research was to understand the fundamental processes that control microbial transport in physically and chemically heterogeneous aquifers and from this enhanced understanding determine the requirements for successful, field-scale delivery of microorganisms to metal contaminated subsurface sites. Our specific research goals were to determine; (1) the circumstances under which the preferential adsorption of bacteria to Fe, Mn, and Al oxyhydroxides influences field-scale bacterial transport, (2) the extent to which the adhesion properties of bacterial cells affect field-scale bacterial transport, (3) whether microbial Fe(III) reduction can enhance field-scale transport of Fe reducing bacteria (IRB) and other microorganisms and (4) the effect of field-scale physical and chemical heterogeneity on all three processes. Some of the spin-offs from this basic research that can improve biostimulation and bioaugmentation remediation efforts at contaminated DOE sites have included; (1) new bacterial tracking tools for viable bacteria; (2) an integrated protocol which combines subsurface characterization, laboratory-scale experimentation, and scale-up techniques to accurately predict field-scale bacterial transport; and (3) innovative and inexpensive field equipment and methods that can be employed to enhance Fe(III) reduction and microbial transport and to target microbial deposition under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Two-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon composites derived from corn stalks for electrode materials with high performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Haitao; Zhang, Huijuan; Ouyang, Ya; Liu, Li; Wang, Yu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Novel 2D porous carbon sheets from cornstalks are obtained for the first time. • The hierarchical porous carbon nansheets are gained by chemical activation. • The porous structure facilitates ion transfer and Li-ion absorption. • The strategy are applied to both cathode and anode electrode materials. • The porous nanocomposites exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. - Abstract: Herein, we propose a novel and green strategy to convert crop stalks waste into hierarchical porous carbon composites for electrode materials of lithium-ion batteries. In the method, the sustainable crop stalks, an abundant agricultural byproduct, is recycled and treated by a simple and clean chemical activation process. Afterwards, the obtained porous template is adopted for large-scale production of high-performance anode and cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Due to the large surface area, hierarchical porous structures and subsize of the functional particles, the electrode materials manifest excellent electrochemical performance. In particular, the prepared TiO 2 /C composite presents a reversible specific capacity of 203 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles. Our results demonstrate that the sheetlike composites show remarkable cycling stability, high specific capacity and excellent rate ability, and thus hold promise for commercializing the high-performance electrode materials as the advanced lithium-ion batteries.

Pollutant transport in clayey sands: reactive flows in saturated porous media and unsaturated flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cadalen, Sebastien

2008-01-01

In the context of nuclear risk control associated to nuclear waste storage, the french nuclear agency plays an increasing role in terms of research and development in the area of subsurface contamination. This study focuses on an homogeneous porous media constituted of Fontainebleau sand and clay grains (illite) presenting sorption capacities. The modeling of the complex geometry and physical phenomena at different scales enables us to describe the average transport at Darcy's scale. The two main axes developed are the impact of an heterogeneous sorption on transport phenomena and the dispersivity of an unsaturated porous media. (author) [fr

Chemically reactive and naturally convective high speed MHD fluid flow through an oscillatory vertical porous plate with heat and radiation absorption effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M. Arifuzzaman

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper concerns with the modelling of an unsteady natural convective and higher order chemically reactive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD fluid flow with the effect of heat and radiation absorption. The flow is generated through a vertical oscillating porous plate. Boundary layer approximations is carried out to establish a flow model which represents the time dependent momentum, energy and diffusion balance equations. Before being solved numerically, the governing partial differential equations (PDEs were transformed into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODEs by using non-similar technique. A very efficient numerical approach solves the obtained nonlinear coupled ODEs so called Explicit Finite Difference Method (EFDM. An algorithm is implemented in Compaq Visual Fortran 6.6a as a solving tool. In addition, the stability and convergence analysis (SCA is examined and shown explicitly. The advantages of SCA is its optimizes the accuracy of system parameters such as Prandtl number (Pr and Schmidt number (Sc.The velocity, temperature and concentration fields in the boundary layer region are studied in detail and the outcomes are shown in graphically with the influence of various pertinent parameters such as Grashof number (Gr, modified Grashof number (Gr, magnetic parameter (M, Darcy number (Da,Prandtl number (Pr, Schmidt number (Sc, radiation (R, heat sink (Q,radiation absorption (Q1, Eckert number (Ec, Dufour number (Du,Soret number (Sr, Schmidt number (Sc, reaction index (P and chemical reaction (Kr. Furthermore, the effect of skin friction coefficient (Cf, Nusselt number (Nu and Sherwood number (Sh are also examined graphically. Keywords: MHD, Oscillating porous plate, Radiation absorption, High order chemical reaction, EFDM

Impact of local diffusion on macroscopic dispersion in three-dimensional porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Dartois, Arthur; Beaudoin, Anthony; Huberson, Serge

2018-02-01

While macroscopic longitudinal and transverse dispersion in three-dimensional porous media has been simulated previously mostly under purely advective conditions, the impact of diffusion on macroscopic dispersion in 3D remains an open question. Furthermore, both in 2D and 3D, recurring difficulties have been encountered due to computer limitation or analytical approximation. In this work, we use the Lagrangian velocity covariance function and the temporal derivative of second-order moments to study the influence of diffusion on dispersion in highly heterogeneous 2D and 3D porous media. The first approach characterizes the correlation between the values of Eulerian velocity components sampled by particles undergoing diffusion at two times. The second approach allows the estimation of dispersion coefficients and the analysis of their behaviours as functions of diffusion. These two approaches allowed us to reach new results. The influence of diffusion on dispersion seems to be globally similar between highly heterogeneous 2D and 3D porous media. Diffusion induces a decrease in the dispersion in the direction parallel to the flow direction and an increase in the dispersion in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction. However, the amplification of these two effects with the permeability variance is clearly different between 2D and 3D. For the direction parallel to the flow direction, the amplification is more important in 3D than in 2D. It is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction.

On the importance of aqueous diffusion and electrostatic interactions in advection-dominated transport in saturated porous media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rolle, Massimo

2015-01-01

to multicomponent ionic dispersion: the dispersive fluxes of the different ions are cross-coupled due to the effects of Coulombic interactions. Such effects are illustrated in flow-through experiments in saturated porous media. Simple strong electrolytes were selected as tracers and their transport was studied...... under different advection-dominated conditions and in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media. The interpretation of the experimental results requires a multicomponent modeling approach with an accurate description of local hydrodynamic dispersion and explicitly accounting for the cross-coupling...

Preparation and performance of porous phase change polyethylene glycol/polyurethane membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ke Guizhen; Xie Huifang; Ruan Ruping; Yu Weidong

2010-01-01

Based on the theory of clotty porous phase change materials, the porous membrane was prepared with the blend of polyurethane (PU) and two polyethylene glycol (PEG) systems. Studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo-gravimetric (TG) tests, the morphology structure, chemical composition, crystalline morphology, phase change behaviors and thermal stability of porous phase change membrane were investigated. The results showed that the PU/PEG membrane had obvious porous structural feature, suitable transition temperature and high transition enthalpy. It is a flexible membrane with good energy storage function. When it is between solid and liquid transfer state in microcosms, the membrane can still keep solid shape in macroscopic state at high temperature during phase transition processing. It means that porous membrane PCM can be regarded as functional polymer. This method solved the problem of low working materials content in phase change textile. It succeeded in introducing the porous technology into functional textile's formation, and developed a new way to improve the phase change enthalpy largely for adjustable textile.

Electrochemical Fabrication of Nanostructures on Porous Silicon for Biochemical Sensing Platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Euna; Hwang, Joonki; Kim, Ji Hye; Lee, Joo Heon; Lee, Sung Hwan; Tran, Van-Khue; Chung, Woo Sung; Park, Chan Ho; Choo, Jaebum; Seong, Gi Hun

2016-01-01

We present a method for the electrochemical patterning of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) or silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on porous silicon, and explore their applications in: (1) the quantitative analysis of hydroxylamine as a chemical sensing electrode and (2) as a highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate for Rhodamine 6G. For hydroxylamine detection, AuNPs-porous silicon can enhance the electrochemical oxidation of hydroxylamine. The current changed linearly for concentrations ranging from 100 μM to 1.32 mM (R(2) = 0.995), and the detection limit was determined to be as low as 55 μM. When used as SERS substrates, these materials also showed that nanoparticles decorated on porous silicon substrates have more SERS hot spots than those decorated on crystalline silicon substrates, resulting in a larger SERS signal. Moreover, AgNPs-porous silicon provided five-times higher signal compared to AuNPs-porous silicon. From these results, we expect that nanoparticles decorated on porous silicon substrates can be used in various types of biochemical sensing platforms.

Effects of chemical reaction in thermal and mass diffusion of micropolar fluid saturated in porous regime with radiation and ohmic heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar Hitesh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The present paper analyzes the chemically reacting free convection MHD micropolar flow, heat and mass transfer in porous medium past an infinite vertical plate with radiation and viscous dissipation. The non-linear coupled partial differential equations are solved numerically using an implicit finite difference scheme known as Keller-box method. The results for concentration, transverse velocity, angular velocity and temperature are obtained and effects of various parameters on these functions are presented graphically. The numerical discussion with physical interpretations for the influence of various parameters also presented.

Fabrication of interfacial functionalized porous polymer monolith and its adsorption properties of copper ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Jiaxi; Du, Zhongjie; Zou, Wei; Li, Hangquan; Zhang, Chen, E-mail: zhangch@mail.buct.edu.cn

2014-07-15

Highlights: • Interface functionalized PGMA porous monolith was fabricated. • The adsorption capacity of Cu{sup 2+} was 35.3 mg/g. • The effects of porous structure on the adsorption of Cu{sup 2+} were studied. • The adsorption behaviors of porous monolith were studied. - Abstract: The interfacial functionalized poly (glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) porous monolith was fabricated and applied as a novel porous adsorbent for copper ions (Cu{sup 2+}). PGMA porous material with highly interconnected pore network was prepared by concentrated emulsion polymerization template. Then polyacrylic acid (PAA) was grafted onto the interface of the porous monolith by the reaction between the epoxy group on PGMA and a carboxyl group on PAA. Finally, the porous monolith was interfacial functionalized by rich amount of carboxyl groups and could adsorb copper ions effectively. The chemical structure and porous morphology of the porous monolith were measured by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the effects of pore size distribution, pH value, co-existing ions, contacting time, and initial concentrations of copper ions on the adsorption capacity of the porous adsorbents were studied.

An effective dead oil model for two-phase flow in inhomogeneous porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourgeat, A.

1988-01-01

The authors are investigating displacement process of incompressible two phase flow miscible or immiscible in heterogeneous porous media, including capillary and gravity effects. The authors' aim is to derive rigorously a Global or Effective Model which then allow, in Numerical Simulations, to disconnect the numerical mesh size from the heterogeneities size inside the reservoir itself. The reservoir is assumed to be made of uniformly (or non uniformly) periodically repeated cells. Each cell being made with different types of porous media. Then, calling ε the ratio of the cell size to the Reservoir size, we get equations depending on the parameter ε because the Porosity and Permeabilities, say Phi/sup ε/ and Κ/sup ε/ are themselves rapidly oscillating. From these ε-parametrized equations the authors derive simpler ''Effective Equations'' no more dependant on ε, called ''Homongenized Equations by the mathematical technique of Homogenization. In these new equations, which are describing Global Displacement process throughout a Globally Equivallent homogenous media where now //Phi and Κ are no more depending on the space variable or ε

Coulombic interactions during advection-dominated transport of ions in porous media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muniruzzaman, Muhammad; Stolze, Lucien; Rolle, Massimo

2017-01-01

bench-scale experiments and numerical simulations. The investigation aims at quantifying the key role of small-scale electrostatic interactions in flow-through systems, especially when advection is the dominant mass-transfer process. Considering dilute solutions of strong electrolytes (e.g., MgCl2......Solute transport of charged species in porous media is significantly affected by the electrochemical migration term resulting from the charge-induced interactions among dissolved ions and with solid surfaces. Therefore, the characterization of such Coulombic interactions and their effect...... on multicomponent ionic transport is of critical importance for assessing the fate of charged solutes in porous media. In this work we present a detailed investigation of the electrochemical effects during conservative multicomponent ionic transport in homogeneous and heterogeneous domains by means of laboratory...

Unveiling the Formation Pathway of Single Crystalline Porous Silicon Nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Xing; Qu, Yongquan; Lin, Yung-Chen; Liao, Lei; Duan, Xiangfeng

2011-01-01

Porous silicon nanowire is emerging as an interesting material system due to its unique combination of structural, chemical, electronic, and optical properties. To fully understand their formation mechanism is of great importance for controlling the fundamental physical properties and enabling potential applications. Here we present a systematic study to elucidate the mechanism responsible for the formation of porous silicon nanowires in a two-step silver-assisted electroless chemical etching method. It is shown that silicon nanowire arrays with various porosities can be prepared by varying multiple experimental parameters such as the resistivity of the starting silicon wafer, the concentration of oxidant (H2O2) and the amount of silver catalyst. Our study shows a consistent trend that the porosity increases with the increasing wafer conductivity (dopant concentration) and oxidant (H2O2) concentration. We further demonstrate that silver ions, formed by the oxidation of silver, can diffuse upwards and re-nucleate on the sidewalls of nanowires to initiate new etching pathways to produce porous structure. The elucidation of this fundamental formation mechanism opens a rational pathway to the production of wafer-scale single crystalline porous silicon nanowires with tunable surface areas ranging from 370 m2·g−1 to 30 m2·g−1, and can enable exciting opportunities in catalysis, energy harvesting, conversion, storage, as well as biomedical imaging and therapy. PMID:21244020

Chemical disinfection of non-porous inanimate surfaces experimentally contaminated with four human pathogenic viruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sattar, S A; Springthorpe, V S; Karim, Y; Loro, P

1989-06-01

The chemical disinfection of virus-contaminated non-porous inanimate surfaces was investigated using coxsackievirus B3, adenovirus type 5, parainfluenza virus type 3 and coronavirus 229E as representatives of important nosocomial viral pathogens. A 10 microliter amount of the test virus, suspended in either faeces or mucin, was placed onto each stainless steel disk (about 1 cm in diameter) and the inoculum allowed to dry for 1 h under ambient conditions. Sixteen disinfectant formulations were selected for this study based on the findings of an earlier investigation with a human rotavirus. After 1 min exposure to 20 microliters of the disinfectant, the virus from the disks was immediately eluted into tryptose phosphate broth and plaque assayed. Using an efficacy criterion of a 3 log10 or greater reduction in virus infectivity titre and irrespective of the virus suspending medium, only the following five disinfectants proved to be effective against all the four viruses tested: (1) 2% glutaraldehyde normally used as an instrument soak, (2) a strongly alkaline mixture of 0.5% sodium o-benzyl-p-chlorophenate and 0.6% sodium lauryl sulphate, generally used as a domestic disinfectant cleaner for hard surfaces, (3) a 0.04% solution of a quaternary ammonium compound containing 7% hydrochloric acid, which is the basis of many toilet bowl cleaners, (4) chloramine T at a minimum free chlorine level of 3000 p.p.m. and (5) sodium hypochlorite at a minimum free chlorine concentration of 5000 p.p.m. Of those chemicals suitable for use as topical antiseptics, 70% ethanol alone or products containing at least 70% ethanol were ineffective only against coxsackievirus B3. These results emphasize the care needed in selecting chemical disinfectants for routine use in infection control.

Obtain ceramic porous alumina-zirconia by replica method calcium phosphate coated

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, A.D.R.; Rigoli, W.R.; Osiro, Denise; Pallone, E.M.J.A.

2016-01-01

Biomaterials used in bone replacement, including porous bioceramics, are often used as support structure for bone formation and repair. The porous bioceramics are used because present features as biocompatibility, high porosity and pore morphology that confer adequate mechanical strength and induce bone growth. In this work were obtained porous specimens of alumina containing 5% by inclusion of volume of zirconia produced by the replica method. The porous specimens had its surface chemically treated with phosphoric acid and were coated with calcium phosphate. The coating was performed using the biomimetic method during 14 days and an initial pH of 6.1. The porous specimens were characterized using the follow techniques: porosity, axial compression tests, microtomography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and pH measurements SBF solution. The results showed specimens with suitable pore morphology for application as biomaterial, and even a reduced time of incubation favored the calcium phosphate phases formation on the material surfaces. (author)

Analysis of chemical dissolution of the barrier layer of porous oxide on aluminum thin films using a re-anodizing technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vrublevsky, I. [Department of Microelectronics, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, 6 Brovka street, Minsk 220013 (Belarus)]. E-mail: nil-4-2@bsuir.edu.by; Parkoun, V. [Department of Microelectronics, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, 6 Brovka street, Minsk 220013 (Belarus); Sokol, V. [Department of Microelectronics, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, 6 Brovka street, Minsk 220013 (Belarus); Schreckenbach, J. [Institut fuer Chemie, Technische Universitaet Chemnitz, Chemnitz D-09107 (Germany)

2005-09-30

Chemical dissolution of the barrier layer of porous oxide formed on thin aluminum films (99.9% purity) in the 4% oxalic acid after immersion in 2 mol dm{sup -3} sulphuric acid at 50 deg. C has been studied. The barrier layer thickness before and after dissolution was calculated using a re-anodizing technique. It has been shown that above 57 V the change in the growth mechanism of porous alumina films takes place. As a result, the change in the amount of regions in the barrier oxide with different dissolution rates is observed. The barrier oxide contains two layers at 50 V: the outer layer with the highest dissolution rate and the inner layer with a low dissolution rate. Above 60 V the barrier oxide contains three layers: the outer layer with a high dissolution rate, the middle layer with the highest dissolution rate and the inner layer with a low dissolution rate. We suggest that the formation of the outer layer of barrier oxide with a high dissolution rate is linked with the injection of protons or H{sub 3}O{sup +} ions from the electrolyte into the oxide film at the anodizing voltages above 57 V.

Effects of coupled thermal, hydrological and chemical processes on nuclide transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1987-03-01

Coupled thermal, hydrological and chemical processes can be classified in two categories. One category consists of the ''Onsager'' type of processes driven by gradients of thermodynamic state variables. These processes occur simultaneously with the direct transport processes. In particular, thermal osmosis, chemical osmosis and ultrafiltration may be prominent in semipermeable materials such as clays. The other category consists of processes affected indirectly by magnitudes of thermodynamic state variables. An important example of this category is the effect of temperature on rates of chemical reactions and chemical equilibria. Coupled processes in both categories may affect transport of radionuclides. Although computational models of limited extent have been constructed, there exists no model that accounts for the full set of THC-coupled processes. In the category of Onsager coupled processes, further model development and testing is severely constrained by a deficient data base of phenomenological coefficients. In the second category, the lack of a general description of effects of heterogeneous chemical reactions on permeability of porous media inhibits progress in quantitative modeling of hydrochemically coupled transport processes. Until fundamental data necessary for further model development have been acquired, validation efforts will be limited necessarily to testing of incomplete models of nuclide transport under closely controlled experimental conditions. 34 refs., 2 tabs

Sequence heterogeneity accelerates protein search for targets on DNA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvets, Alexey A.; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B.

2015-01-01

The process of protein search for specific binding sites on DNA is fundamentally important since it marks the beginning of all major biological processes. We present a theoretical investigation that probes the role of DNA sequence symmetry, heterogeneity, and chemical composition in the protein search dynamics. Using a discrete-state stochastic approach with a first-passage events analysis, which takes into account the most relevant physical-chemical processes, a full analytical description of the search dynamics is obtained. It is found that, contrary to existing views, the protein search is generally faster on DNA with more heterogeneous sequences. In addition, the search dynamics might be affected by the chemical composition near the target site. The physical origins of these phenomena are discussed. Our results suggest that biological processes might be effectively regulated by modifying chemical composition, symmetry, and heterogeneity of a genome

Sequence heterogeneity accelerates protein search for targets on DNA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shvets, Alexey A.; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B., E-mail: tolya@rice.edu [Department of Chemistry and Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005 (United States)

2015-12-28

The process of protein search for specific binding sites on DNA is fundamentally important since it marks the beginning of all major biological processes. We present a theoretical investigation that probes the role of DNA sequence symmetry, heterogeneity, and chemical composition in the protein search dynamics. Using a discrete-state stochastic approach with a first-passage events analysis, which takes into account the most relevant physical-chemical processes, a full analytical description of the search dynamics is obtained. It is found that, contrary to existing views, the protein search is generally faster on DNA with more heterogeneous sequences. In addition, the search dynamics might be affected by the chemical composition near the target site. The physical origins of these phenomena are discussed. Our results suggest that biological processes might be effectively regulated by modifying chemical composition, symmetry, and heterogeneity of a genome.

Destabilization, Propagation, and Generation of Surfactant-Stabilized Foam during Crude Oil Displacement in Heterogeneous Model Porous Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Siyang; Zeng, Yongchao; Vavra, Eric D; He, Peng; Puerto, Maura; Hirasaki, George J; Biswal, Sibani L

2018-01-23

Foam flooding in porous media is of increasing interest due to its numerous applications such as enhanced oil recovery, aquifer remediation, and hydraulic fracturing. However, the mechanisms of oil-foam interactions have yet to be fully understood at the pore level. Here, we present three characteristic zones identified in experiments involving the displacement of crude oil from model porous media via surfactant-stabilized foam, and we describe a series of pore-level dynamics in these zones which were not observed in experiments involving paraffin oil. In the displacement front zone, foam coalesces upon initial contact with crude oil, which is known to destabilize the liquid lamellae of the foam. Directly upstream, a transition zone occurs where surface wettability is altered from oil-wet to water-wet. After this transition takes place, a strong foam bank zone exists where foam is generated within the porous media. We visualized each zone using a microfluidic platform, and we discuss the unique physicochemical phenomena that define each zone. In our analysis, we also provide an updated mechanistic understanding of the "smart rheology" of foam which builds upon simple "phase separation" observations in the literature.

Effect of Heterogeneous Chemical Reactions on the Köhler Activation of Aqueous Organic Aerosols.

Science.gov (United States)

Djikaev, Yuri S; Ruckenstein, Eli

2018-05-03

We study some thermodynamic aspects of the activation of aqueous organic aerosols into cloud droplets considering the aerosols to consist of liquid solution of water and hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic compounds, taking into account the presence of reactive species in the air. The hydrophobic (surfactant) organic molecules on the surface of such an aerosol can be processed by chemical reactions with some atmospheric species; this affects the hygroscopicity of the aerosol and hence its ability to become a cloud droplet either via nucleation or via Köhler activation. The most probable pathway of such processing involves atmospheric hydroxyl radicals that abstract hydrogen atoms from hydrophobic organic molecules located on the aerosol surface (first step), the resulting radicals being quickly oxidized by ubiquitous atmospheric oxygen molecules to produce surface-bound peroxyl radicals (second step). These two reactions play a crucial role in the enhancement of the Köhler activation of the aerosol and its evolution into a cloud droplet. Taking them and a third reaction (next in the multistep chain of relevant heterogeneous reactions) into account, one can derive an explicit expression for the free energy of formation of a four-component aqueous droplet on a ternary aqueous organic aerosol as a function of four independent variables of state of a droplet. The results of numerical calculations suggest that the formation of cloud droplets on such (aqueous hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic) aerosols is most likely to occur as a Köhler activation-like process rather than via nucleation. The model allows one to determine the threshold parameters of the system necessary for the Köhler activation of such aerosols, which are predicted to be very sensitive to the equilibrium constant of the chain of three heterogeneous reactions involved in the chemical aging of aerosols.

Positronium interactions in liquids and porous substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganguly, Bichitra; Gangopadhyay, Debarshi; Dutta, Dhanadeep; Chatterjee, Sujib; Mukherjee, Tapas; Dutta Roy, Binayak

2007-01-01

Positronium (Ps) is an important chemical probe for any given medium since it can interact with a variety of molecular electronic system to yield information, relevant to the understanding of underlying mechanistic processes, when subjected to the changes in physical parameters. In this article, its interaction is focused on two media that are important from the perspective of bio-chemical and technological studies, namely Ps-electron acceptor bound state formation in liquids (specially hydrogen bonding solvents) and also on a variety of porous material which are applicable in chemical/biochemical separations and other applications in technology. The underlying physical phenomenology in each case is separately dealt with giving suitable examples

ELECTROKINETIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONSOLIDATING POROUS MATERIALS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

The invention relates to a device and an associated electrokinetic method which allows the pores (superficial and deep) of a porous material to be filled, by forcing the precipitation therein of a product of low solubility in water by creating an electric field which will mobilise the cations...... and anions supplied by previously selected solutions. This method comprises two phases. In the first phase, the pores located at a specified distance from the surface of contact between the porous material and the anodic or cathodic compartment are plugged. In a second phase, the rest of the pores, mainly...... those which are on the surface level, are collapsed. As a result of the designed device and the plugging system contained therein, the porous material is not affected at any moment by chemical alteration processes caused by contact with extreme pH values. This device allows the treatment to be applied...

Thermal Annealing induced relaxation of compressive strain in porous GaN structures

KAUST Repository

Ben Slimane, Ahmed

2012-01-01

The effect of annealing on strain relaxation in porous GaN fabricated using electroless chemical etching is presented. The Raman shift of 1 cm-1 in phonon frequency of annealed porous GaN with respect to as-grown GaN corresponds to a relaxation of compressive strain by 0.41 ± 0.04 GPa. The strain relief promises a marked reduction in threading dislocation for subsequent epitaxial growth.

A coupling alternative to reactive transport simulations for long-term prediction of chemical reactions in heterogeneous CO2 storage systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. De Lucia

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Fully coupled, multi-phase reactive transport simulations of CO2 storage systems can be approximated by a simplified one-way coupling of hydrodynamics and reactive chemistry. The main characteristics of such systems, and hypotheses underlying the proposed alternative coupling, are (i that the presence of CO2 is the only driving force for chemical reactions and (ii that its migration in the reservoir is only marginally affected by immobilisation due to chemical reactions. In the simplified coupling, the exposure time to CO2 of each element of the hydrodynamic grid is estimated by non-reactive simulations and the reaction path of one single batch geochemical model is applied to each grid element during its exposure time. In heterogeneous settings, analytical scaling relationships provide the dependency of velocity and amount of reactions to porosity and gas saturation. The analysis of TOUGHREACT fully coupled reactive transport simulations of CO2 injection in saline aquifer, inspired to the Ketzin pilot site (Germany, both in homogeneous and heterogeneous settings, confirms that the reaction paths predicted by fully coupled simulations in every element of the grid show a high degree of self-similarity. A threshold value for the minimum concentration of dissolved CO2 considered chemically active is shown to mitigate the effects of the discrepancy between dissolved CO2 migration in non-reactive and fully coupled simulations. In real life, the optimal threshold value is unknown and has to be estimated, e.g. by means of 1-D or 2-D simulations, resulting in an uncertainty ultimately due to the process de-coupling. However, such uncertainty is more than acceptable given that the alternative coupling enables using grids of the order of millions of elements, profiting from much better description of heterogeneous reservoirs at a fraction of the calculation time of fully coupled models.

Adaptive mesh refinement for a finite volume method for flow and transport of radionuclides in heterogeneous porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amaziane, Brahim; Bourgeois, Marc; El Fatini, Mohamed

2014-01-01

In this paper, we consider adaptive numerical simulation of miscible displacement problems in porous media, which are modeled by single phase flow equations. A vertex-centred finite volume method is employed to discretize the coupled system: the Darcy flow equation and the diffusion-convection concentration equation. The convection term is approximated with a Godunov scheme over the dual finite volume mesh, whereas the diffusion-dispersion term is discretized by piecewise linear conforming finite elements. We introduce two kinds of indicators, both of them of residual type. The first one is related to time discretization and is local with respect to the time discretization: thus, at each time, it provides an appropriate information for the choice of the next time step. The second is related to space discretization and is local with respect to both the time and space variable and the idea is that at each time it is an efficient tool for mesh adaptivity. An error estimation procedure evaluates where additional refinement is needed and grid generation procedures dynamically create or remove fine-grid patches as resolution requirements change. The method was implemented in the software MELODIE, developed by the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN, Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire). The algorithm is then used to simulate the evolution of radionuclide migration from the waste packages through a heterogeneous disposal, demonstrating its capability to capture complex behavior of the resulting flow. (authors)

In-Water and Neat Batch and Continuous-Flow Direct Esterification and Transesterification by a Porous Polymeric Acid Catalyst

OpenAIRE

Heeyoel Baek; Maki Minakawa; Yoichi M. A. Yamada; Jin Wook Han; Yasuhiro Uozumi

2016-01-01

A porous phenolsulphonic acid?formaldehyde resin (PAFR) was developed. The heterogeneous catalyst PAFR was applied to the esterification of carboxylic acids and alcohols, affording the carboxylic acid esters in a yield of up to 95% where water was not removed from the reaction mixture. Surprisingly, the esterification in water as a solvent proceeded to afford the desired esters in high yield. PAFR provided the corresponding esters in higher yield than other homogeneous and heterogeneous catal...

Challenges in modeling unstable two-phase flow experiments in porous micromodels

Science.gov (United States)

Meheust, Y.; Ferrari, A.; Jimenez-Martinez, J.; Le Borgne, T.; Lunati, I.

2014-12-01

The simulation of unstable invasion patterns in porous media flow is challenging since small perturbations tend to grow in time, so that slight differences in geometry or initial conditions potentially give rise to significantly different solutions. Here we present a detailed comparison of pore scale simulations and experiments of unstable primary drainage in porous micromodels. The porous medium consists of a Hele-Shaw cell containing cylindrical obstacles. Two experimental flow cells have been constructed by soft lithography, with different degrees of heterogeneity in the grain size distribution. To model two-phase flow at the pore scale, we solve Navier-Stokes equations for mass and momentum conservation in the discretized pore space and employ the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method to track the evolution of the interface. During drainage, if the defending fluid is the most viscous, viscous forces destabilize the interface, giving rise to the formation of preferential flow paths, in the form of a branched fingering structure. We test different numerical models (a 2D vertical integrated model and a full 3D model) and different initial conditions, studying their impact on the simulated spatial distributions of the fluid phases. Although due to the unstable nature of the invasion, small discrepancies between the experimental setup and the numerical model can result in different fluids patterns (see figure), simulations show a satisfactory agreement with the structures observed experimentally. To estimate the ability of the numerical approach to reproduce unstable displacement, we compare several quantities in both the statistical and deterministic sense. We demonstrate the impact of three main sources of uncertainty : i) the uncertainty on the pore space geometry, ii) the interface initialization and ii) three dimensional effects [1]. Simulations in weakly heterogeneous geometries are found to be more challenging because uncertainties on pore neck widths are on the same

Chemical reaction effect on an unsteady MHD free convection flow past a vertical porous plate in the presence of suction or injection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shivaiah S.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to analyze the effect of chemical reaction on unsteady magneto hydrodynamic free convective fluid flow past a vertical porous plate in the presence of suction or injection. The governing equations of the flow field are solved numerically by a finite element method. The effects of the various parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are presented graphically and values of skin-friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number for various values of physical parameters are presented through tables.

Macrocyclic receptors immobilized to monodisperse porous polymer particles by chemical grafting and physical impregnation for strontium capture: A comparative study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Yang [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Du, Yi [Department of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Lv, Dachao [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Ye, Gang, E-mail: yegang@tsinghua.edu.cn [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Wang, Jianchen [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)

2014-06-01

Graphical abstract: Macrocyclic receptors grafted to monodisperse porous polymer particles for Sr(II) capture. - Highlights: • Synthesis of novel selective Sr adsorbent grafted with macrocyclic receptors. • New monodisperse porous polymer particles used to promote Sr adsorption. • Comparative study and discussion on adsorption behaviour and mechanism. • A chromatographic process proposed for Sr separation in simulated HLLW. - Abstract: Separation of strontium is of great significance for radioactive waste treatment and environmental remediation after nuclear accidents. In this work, a novel class of adsorbent (Crown-g-MPPPs) was synthesized by chemical grafting a macrocyclic ether receptor to monodisperse porous polymer particles (MPPPs) for strontium adsorption. Meanwhile, a counterpart material (Crown@MPPPs) with the receptor molecules immobilized to the MPPPs substrate by physical impregnation was prepared. To investigate how the immobilization manner and distribution of the receptors influence the adsorption ability, a comparative study on the adsorption behaviour of the two materials towards Sr(II) in HNO{sub 3} media was accomplished. Due to the shorter diffusion path and covalently-bonded structure, Crown-g-MPPPs showed faster adsorption kinetics and better stability for cycle use. While Crown@MPPPs had the advantages of facile synthesis and higher adsorption capacity, owing to the absence of conformational constraint to form complexation with Sr(II). Kinetic functions (Lagergren pseudo-first-order/pseudo-second-order functions) and adsorption isotherm models (Langmuir/Freundlich models) were used to fit the experimental data and examine the adsorption mechanism. On this basis, a chromatographic process was proposed by using Crown@MPPPs for an effective separation of Sr(II) (91%) in simulated high level liquid waste (HLLW)

In-situ characterization of heterogeneous catalysts

CERN Document Server

Rodriguez, Jose A; Chupas, Peter J

2013-01-01

Helps researchers develop new catalysts for sustainable fuel and chemical production Reviewing the latest developments in the field, this book explores the in-situ characterization of heterogeneous catalysts, enabling readers to take full advantage of the sophisticated techniques used to study heterogeneous catalysts and reaction mechanisms. In using these techniques, readers can learn to improve the selectivity and the performance of catalysts and how to prepare catalysts as efficiently as possible, with minimum waste. In-situ Characterization of Heterogeneous Catalysts feat

Controlling the Er content of porous silicon using the doping current intensity

KAUST Repository

Mula, Guido

2014-07-04

The results of an investigation on the Er doping of porous silicon are presented. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, optical reflectivity, and spatially resolved energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) coupled to scanning electron microscopy measurements were used to investigate on the transient during the first stages of constant current Er doping. Depending on the applied current intensity, the voltage transient displays two very different behaviors, signature of two different chemical processes. The measurements show that, for equal transferred charge and identical porous silicon (PSi) layers, the applied current intensity also influences the final Er content. An interpretative model is proposed in order to describe the two distinct chemical processes. The results can be useful for a better control over the doping process.

Novel polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials prepared using organogels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, Wei-Chi; Tseng, Shen-Chen

2009-01-01

We propose a new method for preparing polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials using self-assembled templates formed by 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS) organogels. DBS is capable of self-assembling into a 3D nanofibrillar network at relatively low concentrations in some organic solvents to produce organogels. In this study, we induced the formation of such physical cross-linked networks in styrene. Subsequently, we polymerized the styrene in the presence of chemical cross-linkers, divinyl benzene (DVB), with different amounts of DBS using thermal-initiated polymerization. The resulting materials were transparent, homogeneous polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites with both physical and chemical cross-links. The porous polymeric materials were obtained by solvent extraction of the DBS nanofibrils from the PS. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements show that the amounts of DBS and DVB influenced the specific surface area after the removal of the DBS fibrils.

Novel polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials prepared using organogels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lai, Wei-Chi; Tseng, Shen-Chen, E-mail: wclai@mail.tku.edu.t [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Tamkang University, 151 Ying-chuan Road, Tamsui, Taipei 25137, Taiwan (China)

2009-11-25

We propose a new method for preparing polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials using self-assembled templates formed by 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS) organogels. DBS is capable of self-assembling into a 3D nanofibrillar network at relatively low concentrations in some organic solvents to produce organogels. In this study, we induced the formation of such physical cross-linked networks in styrene. Subsequently, we polymerized the styrene in the presence of chemical cross-linkers, divinyl benzene (DVB), with different amounts of DBS using thermal-initiated polymerization. The resulting materials were transparent, homogeneous polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites with both physical and chemical cross-links. The porous polymeric materials were obtained by solvent extraction of the DBS nanofibrils from the PS. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements show that the amounts of DBS and DVB influenced the specific surface area after the removal of the DBS fibrils.

Modeling of Flow, Transport and Controlled Sedimentation Phenomena during Mixing of Salt Solutions in Complex Porous Formations

Science.gov (United States)

Skouras, Eugene D.; Jaho, Sofia; Pavlakou, Efstathia I.; Sygouni, Varvara; Petsi, Anastasia; Paraskeva, Christakis A.

2015-04-01

The deposition of salts in porous media is a major engineering phenomenon encountered in a plethora of industrial and environmental applications where in some cases is desirable and in other not (oil production, geothermal systems, soil stabilization etc). Systematic approach of these problems requires knowledge of the key mechanisms of precipitating salts within the porous structures, in order to develop new methods to control the process. In this work, the development and the solution of spatiotemporally variable mass balances during salt solution mixing along specific pores were performed. Both analytical models and finite differences CFD models were applied for the study of flow and transport with simultaneous homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation (by crystal growth on the surface of the pores) in simple geometries, while unstructured finite elements and meshless methods were developed and implemented for spatial discretization, reconstruction, and solution of transport equations and homogeneous / heterogeneous reactions in more complex geometries. At initial stages of this work, critical problem parameters were identified, such as the characteristics of the porosity, the number of dissolved components, etc. The parameters were then used for solving problems which correspond to available experimental data. For each combination of ions and materials, specific data and process characteristics were included: (a) crystal kinetics (nucleation, growth rates or reaction surface rates of crystals, critical suspension concentrations), (b) physico-chemical properties (bulk density, dimensions of generated crystals, ion diffusion coefficients in the solution), (c) operating parameters (macroscopic velocity, flow, or pressure gradient of the solution, ion concentration) (d) microfluidic data (geometry, flow area), (e) porosity data in Darcy description (initial porosity, specific surface area, tortuosity). During the modeling of flow and transport in three

Multiscale analysis and computation for flows in heterogeneous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Efendiev, Yalchin [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States); Hou, T. Y. [California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Durlofsky, L. J. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Tchelepi, H. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

2016-08-04

Our work in this project is aimed at making fundamental advances in multiscale methods for flow and transport in highly heterogeneous porous media. The main thrust of this research is to develop a systematic multiscale analysis and efficient coarse-scale models that can capture global effects and extend existing multiscale approaches to problems with additional physics and uncertainties. A key emphasis is on problems without an apparent scale separation. Multiscale solution methods are currently under active investigation for the simulation of subsurface flow in heterogeneous formations. These procedures capture the effects of fine-scale permeability variations through the calculation of specialized coarse-scale basis functions. Most of the multiscale techniques presented to date employ localization approximations in the calculation of these basis functions. For some highly correlated (e.g., channelized) formations, however, global effects are important and these may need to be incorporated into the multiscale basis functions. Other challenging issues facing multiscale simulations are the extension of existing multiscale techniques to problems with additional physics, such as compressibility, capillary effects, etc. In our project, we explore the improvement of multiscale methods through the incorporation of additional (single-phase flow) information and the development of a general multiscale framework for flows in the presence of uncertainties, compressible flow and heterogeneous transport, and geomechanics. We have considered (1) adaptive local-global multiscale methods, (2) multiscale methods for the transport equation, (3) operator-based multiscale methods and solvers, (4) multiscale methods in the presence of uncertainties and applications, (5) multiscale finite element methods for high contrast porous media and their generalizations, and (6) multiscale methods for geomechanics. Below, we present a brief overview of each of these contributions.

Porous InP as piezoelectric matrix material in 1-3 magnetoelectric composite sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerngross, M.-D.; Leisner, M.; Carstensen, J.; Foell, H.

2011-01-01

This work shows the results of the fabrication of semi-insulating piezoelectric porous InP structures by electrochemical etching and subsequent purely chemical post-etching in an isotropic HF, HNO 3 , EtOH and HAc containing electrolyte. The piezoelectric modulus d 14 of porous InP is measured to around |60| pm / V, which larger by a factor of 30 compared to bulk InP.

A comparison of chemical compositions of reported altered oceanic crusts and global MORB data set: implication for isotopic heterogeneity of recycled materials

Science.gov (United States)

Shimoda, G.; Kogiso, T.

2017-12-01

Chemical composition of altered oceanic crust is one of important constraints to delineate chemical heterogeneity of the mantle. Accordingly, many researchers have been studied to determine bulk chemical composition of altered oceanic crust mainly based on chemical compositions of old oceanic crusts at Site 801 and Site 417/418, and young crust at Site 504 (e.g., Staudigel et al., 1996; Bach et al. 2003; Kuo et al., 2016). Their careful estimation provided reliable bulk chemical compositions of these Sites and revealed common geochemical feature of alteration. To assess effect of recycling of altered oceanic crust on chemical evolution of the mantle, it might be meaningful to discuss whether the reported chemical compositions of altered oceanic crusts can represent chemical composition of globally subducted oceanic crusts. Reported chemical compositions of fresh glass or less altered samples from Site 801, 417/418 and 504 were highly depleted compared to that of global MORB reported by Gale et al. (2013), suggesting that there might be sampling bias. Hence, it could be important to consider chemical difference between oceanic crusts of these three Sites and global MORB to discuss effect of recycling of oceanic crust on isotopic heterogeneity of the mantle. It has been suggested that one of controlling factors of chemical variation of oceanic crust is crustal spreading rate because different degree of partial melting affects chemical composition of magmas produced at a mid-ocean ridge. Crustal spreading rate could also affect intensity of alteration. Namely, oceanic crusts produced at slow-spreading ridges may prone to be altered due to existence of larger displacement faults compared to fast spreading ridges which have relatively smooth topography. Thus, it might be significant to evaluate isotopic evolution of oceanic crusts those were produced at different spreading rates. In this presentation, we will provide a possible chemical variation of altered oceanic

Analytical solutions for non-linear conversion of a porous solid particle in a gas–I. Isothermal conversion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brem, Gerrit; Brouwers, J.J.H.

1990-01-01

Analytical description are presented for non-linear heterogeneous conversion of a porous solid particle reacting with a surrounding gas. Account has been taken of a reaction rate of general order with respect to gas concentration, intrinsic reaction surface area and pore diffusion, which change with

Adsorption of uranyl in SiO2 porous glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benedetto, F. E.; Prado, M. O.

2013-01-01

Vitreous SiO 2 porous matrices can be used in many applications involving the uptake of chemical species on its solid surface. In this work, vitreous silica sponges were prepared from a sodium borosilicate glass manufactured in our laboratory. The product obtained was then separated into phases with subsequent leaching of the soluble phase rich in B and Na. The resulting porous matrices have a specific surface of 35 m2/gr. Adsorption of uranyl ions onto the SiO 2 porous surface was studied to evaluate the use of this material as a filter for treatment of uranium containing water. The effects of contact time, adsorbent mass and equilibrium concentration of solution were studied. The porous adsorbent exhibits a pseudo-second-order kinetic behavior. The sponges with adsorbed uranium were thermally sealed as a way of U immobilization. Retention of uranium was confirmed during the matrix sealing by TGA. Uranium concentration before and after adsorption tests were made by means of ICP-OES. For uranium concentration of 800 ppm, 72 hours contact time and pH of 3.5, the amount of uranium adsorbed was 21.06 ± 0.02 mg U per gram of vitreous porous SiO 2 . (author)

Electrical Characterization of Nanopolyaniline/Porous Silicon Heterojunction at High Temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salah E. El-Zohary

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Nanopolyaniline/p-type porous silicon (NPANI/PSi heterojunction films were chemically fabricated via in situ polymerization. The composition and morphology of the nanopolymer were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The results indicated that the polymerization took place throughout the porous layer. The I-V measurements, performed at different temperatures, enabled the calculation of ideality factor, barrier height, and series resistance of those films. The obtained ideality factor showed a nonideal diode behavior. The series resistance was found to decrease with increasing temperature.

Photo and electroluminescence of porous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keshmini, S.H.; Samadpour, S.; Haji-Ali, E.; Rokn-Abadi, M.R.

1995-01-01

Porous silicon (PSi) layers were prepared by both chemical and electrochemical methods on n- and p-type Si substrates. In the former technique, light emission was obtained from p-type and n-type samples. It was found that intense light illumination during the preparation process was essential for PSi formation on n-type substrates. An efficient electrochemical cell with some useful features was designed for electrochemical etching of silicon. Various preparation parameters were studied and photoluminescence emissions ranging from dark red to light blue were obtained from PSi samples prepared on p-type substrates. N-type samples produced emission ranging from dark red to orange yellow. Electroluminescence of porous silicon samples showed that the color of the emission was the same as the photoluminescence color of the sample, and its intensity and duration depended on the current density passed through the sample. The effects of exposure of samples to air, storage in vacuum and heat treatment in air on luminescence intensity of the samples and preparation of patterned porous layers were also studied. (author)

Photocatalytic decomposition of selected estrogens and their estrogenic activity by UV-LED irradiated TiO_2 immobilized on porous titanium sheets via thermal-chemical oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arlos, Maricor J.; Liang, Robert; Hatat-Fraile, Melisa M.; Bragg, Leslie M.; Zhou, Norman Y.; Servos, Mark R.; Andrews, Susan A.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • TiO_2 self-assembled on oxidized porous titanium sheets. • UV-LED/TiO_2 membrane treatment reduced the concentrations of estrogens. • Different pH conditions affect treatment efficiency. • The estrogenic activity removal was similar to the chemical disappearance. - Abstract: The removal of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) remains a big challenge in water treatment. Risks associated with these compounds are not clearly defined and it is important that the water industry has additional options to increase the resiliency of water treatment systems. Titanium dioxide (TiO_2) has potential applications for the removal of EDCs from water. TiO_2 has been immobilized on supports using a variety of synthesis methods to increase its feasibility for water treatment. In this study, we immobilized TiO_2 through the thermal-chemical oxidation of porous titania sheets. The efficiency of the material to degrade target EDCs under UV-LED irradiation was examined under a wide range of pH conditions. A yeast-estrogen screen assay was used to complement chemical analysis in assessing removal efficiency. All compounds but 17β-estradiol were degraded and followed a pseudo first-order kinetics at all pH conditions tested, with pH 4 and pH 11 showing the most and the least efficient treatments respectively. In addition, the total estrogenic activity was substantially reduced even with the inefficient degradation of 17β-estradiol. Additional studies will be required to optimize different treatment conditions, UV-LED configurations, and membrane fouling mitigation measures to make this technology a more viable option for water treatment.

Polycrystalline Silicon Gettered by Porous Silicon and Heavy Phosphorous Diffusion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIU Zuming(刘祖明); Souleymane K Traore; ZHANG Zhongwen(张忠文); LUO Yi(罗毅)

2004-01-01

The biggest barrier for photovoltaic (PV) utilization is its high cost, so the key for scale PV utilization is to further decrease the cost of solar cells. One way to improve the efficiency, and therefore lower the cost, is to increase the minority carrier lifetime by controlling the material defects. The main defects in grain boundaries of polycrystalline silicon gettered by porous silicon and heavy phosphorous diffusion have been studied. The porous silicon was formed on the two surfaces of wafers by chemical etching. Phosphorous was then diffused into the wafers at high temperature (900℃). After the porous silicon and diffusion layers were removed, the minority carrier lifetime was measured by photo-conductor decay. The results show that the lifetime's minority carriers are increased greatly after such treatment.

Magnetism in heterogeneous thin film systems: Resonant X-ray scattering studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kortright, J.B.; Jiang, J.S.; Bader, S.D.; Hellwig, O.; Marguiles, D.T.; Fullerton, E.E.

2002-01-01

Magnetic and chemical heterogeneity are common in a broad range of magnetic thin film systems. Emerging resonant soft x-ray scattering techniques are well suited to resolve such heterogeneity at relevant length scales. Resonant x-ray magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements laterally average over heterogeneity but can provide depth resolution in different ways, as illustrated in measurements resolving reversible and irreversible changes in different layers of exchange-spring heterostructures. Resonant small-angle scattering measures in-plane heterogeneity and can resolve magnetic and chemical scattering sources in different ways, as illustrated in measurements of granular alloy recording media

Overview of medium heterogeneity and transport processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsang, Y.; Tsang, C.F.

1993-11-01

Medium heterogeneity can have significant impact on the behavior of solute transport. Tracer breakthrough curves from transport in a heterogeneous medium are distinctly different from that in a homogeneous porous medium. Usually the shape of the breakthrough curves are highly non-symmetrical with a fast rise at early times and very long tail at late times, and often, they consist of multiple peaks. Moreover, unlike transport in a homogeneous medium where the same transport parameters describe the entire medium, transport through heterogeneous media gives rise to breakthrough curves which have strong spatial dependence. These inherent characteristics of transport in heterogeneous medium present special challenge to the performance assessment of a potential high level nuclear waste repository with respect to the possible release of radio nuclides to the accessible environment. Since an inherently desirable site characteristic for a waste repository is that flow and transport should be slow, then transport measurements in site characterization efforts will necessarily be spatially small and temporally short compare to the scales which are of relevance to performance assessment predictions. In this paper we discuss the role of medium heterogeneity in site characterization and performance assessment. Our discussion will be based on a specific example of a 3D heterogeneous stochastic model of a site generally similar to, the Aespoe Island, the site of the Hard Rock Laboratory in Southern Sweden. For our study, alternative 3D stochastic fields of hydraulic conductivities conditioned on ''point'' measurements shall be generated. Results of stochastic flow and transport simulations would be used to address the issues of (1) the relationship of tracer breakthrough with the structure of heterogeneity, and (2) the inference from small scale testing results to large scale and long term predictions

Radiation polymerization and crosslinking: A viable alternative for synthesis of porous functional polymers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Safrany, Agnes, E-mail: a.safrany@iaea.or [Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna (Austria); Beiler, Barbara [Radiation Chemistry Department, Institute of Isotopes, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 77, H1525 Budapest (Hungary); Vincze, Arpad [Miklos Zrinyi National Defence University, Department of NBC Defence, Budapest 146, P.O. Box 15, H-1581 Budapest (Hungary)

2010-04-15

We have earlier shown the possibility of preparation of crosslinked porous polymers by ionizing radiation-initiated reactions, and here we give an overview of the irradiation conditions-porous properties relationship for several methacrylate type copolymers. We illustrate the possible applications by an environment-friendly chromatographic column using water as eluent and a chemically stable scintillating polymer with excellent ion-binding capacity for possible continuous monitoring of radioactivity in natural waters.

Impacts of physical and chemical aquifer heterogeneity on basin-scale solute transport: Vulnerability of deep groundwater to arsenic contamination in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Holly A.; Khan, Mahfuzur R.

2016-12-01

Aquifer heterogeneity presents a primary challenge in predicting the movement of solutes in groundwater systems. The problem is particularly difficult on very large scales, across which permeability, chemical properties, and pumping rates may vary by many orders of magnitude and data are often sparse. An example is the fluvio-deltaic aquifer system of Bangladesh, where naturally-occurring arsenic (As) exists over tens of thousands of square kilometers in shallow groundwater. Millions of people in As-affected regions rely on deep (≥150 m) groundwater as a safe source of drinking water. The sustainability of this resource has been evaluated with models using effective properties appropriate for a basin-scale contamination problem, but the extent to which preferential flow affects the timescale of downward migration of As-contaminated shallow groundwater is unknown. Here we embed detailed, heterogeneous representations of hydraulic conductivity (K), pumping rates, and sorptive properties (Kd) within a basin-scale numerical groundwater flow and solute transport model to evaluate their effects on vulnerability and deviations from simulations with homogeneous representations in two areas with different flow systems. Advective particle tracking shows that heterogeneity in K does not affect average travel times from shallow zones to 150 m depth, but the travel times of the fastest 10% of particles decreases by a factor of ∼2. Pumping distributions do not strongly affect travel times if irrigation remains shallow, but increases in the deep pumping rate substantially reduce travel times. Simulation of advective-dispersive transport with sorption shows that deep groundwater is protected from contamination over a sustainable timeframe (>1000 y) if the spatial distribution of Kd is uniform. However, if only low-K sediments sorb As, 30% of the aquifer is not protected. Results indicate that sustainable management strategies in the Bengal Basin should consider impacts of both

Effective antireflection properties of porous silicon nanowires for photovoltaic applications

KAUST Repository

Najar, Adel; Al-Jabr, Ahmad; Alsunaidi, Mohammad; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.; Ben Slimane, Ahmed; Sougrat, Rachid

2013-01-01

Porous silicon nanowires (PSiNWs) have been prepared by metal-assisted chemical etching method on the n-Si substrate. The presence of nano-pores with pore size ranging between 10-50nm in SiNWs was confirmed by electron tomography (ET

Strategy for Predicting Effective Transport Properties of Complex Porous Structures

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Salejová, G.; Grof, Z.; Šolcová, Olga; Schneider, Petr; Kosek, J.

2011-01-01

Roč. 35, č. 2 (2011), s. 200-211 ISSN 0098-1354 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : porous media * pore space reconstruction * effective diffusivity Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 2.320, year: 2011

Advances in design and modeling of porous materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ayral, André; Calas-Etienne, Sylvie; Coasne, Benoit; Deratani, André; Evstratov, Alexis; Galarneau, Anne; Grande, Daniel; Hureau, Matthieu; Jobic, Hervé; Morlay, Catherine; Parmentier, Julien; Prelot, Bénédicte; Rossignol, Sylvie; Simon-Masseron, Angélique; Thibault-Starzyk, Frédéric

2015-07-01

This special issue of the European Physical Journal Special Topics is dedicated to selected papers from the symposium "High surface area porous and granular materials" organized in the frame of the conference "Matériaux 2014", held on November 24-28, 2014 in Montpellier, France. Porous materials and granular materials gather a wide variety of heterogeneous, isotropic or anisotropic media made of inorganic, organic or hybrid solid skeletons, with open or closed porosity, and pore sizes ranging from the centimeter scale to the sub-nanometer scale. Their technological and industrial applications cover numerous areas from building and civil engineering to microelectronics, including also metallurgy, chemistry, health, waste water and gas effluent treatment. Many emerging processes related to environmental protection and sustainable development also rely on this class of materials. Their functional properties are related to specific transfer mechanisms (matter, heat, radiation, electrical charge), to pore surface chemistry (exchange, adsorption, heterogeneous catalysis) and to retention inside confined volumes (storage, separation, exchange, controlled release). The development of innovative synthesis, shaping, characterization and modeling approaches enables the design of advanced materials with enhanced functional performance. The papers collected in this special issue offer a good overview of the state-of-the-art and science of these complex media. We would like to thank all the speakers and participants for their contribution to the success of the symposium. We also express our gratitude to the organization committee of "Matériaux 2014". We finally thank the reviewers and the staff of the European Physical Journal Special Topics who made the publication of this special issue possible.

Role of medium heterogeneity and viscosity contrast in miscible flow regimes and mixing zone growth: A computational pore-scale approach

Science.gov (United States)

Afshari, Saied; Hejazi, S. Hossein; Kantzas, Apostolos

2018-05-01

Miscible displacement of fluids in porous media is often characterized by the scaling of the mixing zone length with displacement time. Depending on the viscosity contrast of fluids, the scaling law varies between the square root relationship, a sign for dispersive transport regime during stable displacement, and the linear relationship, which represents the viscous fingering regime during an unstable displacement. The presence of heterogeneities in a porous medium significantly affects the scaling behavior of the mixing length as it interacts with the viscosity contrast to control the mixing of fluids in the pore space. In this study, the dynamics of the flow and transport during both unit and adverse viscosity ratio miscible displacements are investigated in heterogeneous packings of circular grains using pore-scale numerical simulations. The pore-scale heterogeneity level is characterized by the variations of the grain diameter and velocity field. The growth of mixing length is employed to identify the nature of the miscible transport regime at different viscosity ratios and heterogeneity levels. It is shown that as the viscosity ratio increases to higher adverse values, the scaling law of mixing length gradually shifts from dispersive to fingering nature up to a certain viscosity ratio and remains almost the same afterwards. In heterogeneous media, the mixing length scaling law is observed to be generally governed by the variations of the velocity field rather than the grain size. Furthermore, the normalization of mixing length temporal plots with respect to the governing parameters of viscosity ratio, heterogeneity, medium length, and medium aspect ratio is performed. The results indicate that mixing length scales exponentially with log-viscosity ratio and grain size standard deviation while the impact of aspect ratio is insignificant. For stable flows, mixing length scales with the square root of medium length, whereas it changes linearly with length during

Microelectromechanical pump utilizing porous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Lantz, Jeffrey W [Albuquerque, NM; Stalford, Harold L [Norman, OK

2011-07-19

A microelectromechanical (MEM) pump is disclosed which includes a porous silicon region sandwiched between an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber. The porous silicon region is formed in a silicon substrate and contains a number of pores extending between the inlet and outlet chambers, with each pore having a cross-section dimension about equal to or smaller than a mean free path of a gas being pumped. A thermal gradient is provided along the length of each pore by a heat source which can be an electrical resistance heater or an integrated circuit (IC). A channel can be formed through the silicon substrate so that inlet and outlet ports can be formed on the same side of the substrate, or so that multiple MEM pumps can be connected in series to form a multi-stage MEM pump. The MEM pump has applications for use in gas-phase MEM chemical analysis systems, and can also be used for passive cooling of ICs.

Continuous time random walk analysis of solute transport in fractured porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cortis, Andrea; Cortis, Andrea; Birkholzer, Jens

2008-06-01

The objective of this work is to discuss solute transport phenomena in fractured porous media, where the macroscopic transport of contaminants in the highly permeable interconnected fractures can be strongly affected by solute exchange with the porous rock matrix. We are interested in a wide range of rock types, with matrix hydraulic conductivities varying from almost impermeable (e.g., granites) to somewhat permeable (e.g., porous sandstones). In the first case, molecular diffusion is the only transport process causing the transfer of contaminants between the fractures and the matrix blocks. In the second case, additional solute transfer occurs as a result of a combination of advective and dispersive transport mechanisms, with considerable impact on the macroscopic transport behavior. We start our study by conducting numerical tracer experiments employing a discrete (microscopic) representation of fractures and matrix. Using the discrete simulations as a surrogate for the 'correct' transport behavior, we then evaluate the accuracy of macroscopic (continuum) approaches in comparison with the discrete results. However, instead of using dual-continuum models, which are quite often used to account for this type of heterogeneity, we develop a macroscopic model based on the Continuous Time Random Walk (CTRW) framework, which characterizes the interaction between the fractured and porous rock domains by using a probability distribution function of residence times. A parametric study of how CTRW parameters evolve is presented, describing transport as a function of the hydraulic conductivity ratio between fractured and porous domains.

Chemical Synthesis of Porous Barium Titanate Thin Film and Thermal Stabilization of Ferroelectric Phase by Porosity-Induced Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Norihiro; Osada, Minoru; Billah, Motasim; Bando, Yoshio; Yamauchi, Yusuke; Hossain, Shahriar A

2018-03-27

Barium titanate (BaTiO3, hereafter BT) is an established ferroelectric material first discovered in the 1940s and still widely used because of its well-balanced ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and dielectric constant. In addition, BT does not contain any toxic elements. Therefore, it is considered to be an eco-friendly material, which has attracted considerable interest as a replacement for lead zirconate titanate (PZT). However, bulk BT loses its ferroelectricity at approximately 130 °C, thus, it cannot be used at high temperatures. Because of the growing demand for high-temperature ferroelectric materials, it is important to enhance the thermal stability of ferroelectricity in BT. In previous studies, strain originating from the lattice mismatch at hetero-interfaces has been used. However, the sample preparation in this approach requires complicated and expensive physical processes, which are undesirable for practical applications. In this study, we propose a chemical synthesis of a porous material as an alternative means of introducing strain. We synthesized a porous BT thin film using a surfactant-assisted sol-gel method, in which self-assembled amphipathic surfactant micelles were used as an organic template. Through a series of studies, we clarified that the introduction of pores had a similar effect on distorting the BT crystal lattice, to that of a hetero-interface, leading to the enhancement and stabilization of ferroelectricity. Owing to its simplicity and cost effectiveness, this fabrication process has considerable advantages over conventional methods.

Boosting Chemical Stability, Catalytic Activity, and Enantioselectivity of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Batch and Flow Reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xu; Jiang, Hong; Hou, Bang; Gong, Wei; Liu, Yan; Cui, Yong

2017-09-27

A key challenge in heterogeneous catalysis is the design and synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts featuring high catalytic activity, selectivity, and recyclability. Here we demonstrate that high-performance heterogeneous asymmetric catalysts can be engineered from a metal-organic framework (MOF) platform by using a ligand design strategy. Three porous chiral MOFs with the framework formula [Mn 2 L(H 2 O) 2 ] are prepared from enantiopure phosphono-carboxylate ligands of 1,1'-biphenol that are functionalized with 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-, bismethyl-, and bisfluoro-phenyl substituents at the 3,3'-position. For the first time, we show that not only chemical stability but also catalytic activity and stereoselectivity of the MOFs can be tuned by modifying the ligand structures. Particularly, the MOF incorporated with -CF 3 groups on the pore walls exhibits enhanced tolerance to water, weak acid, and base compared with the MOFs with -F and -Me groups. Under both batch and flow reaction systems, the CF 3 -containing MOF demonstrated excellent reactivity, selectivity, and recyclability, affording high yields and enantioselectivities for alkylations of indoles and pyrrole with a range of ketoesters or nitroalkenes. In contrast, the corresponding homogeneous catalysts gave low enantioselectivity in catalyzing the tested reactions.

Rationally designed porous silicon as platform for optical biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priano, G.; Acquaroli, L.N.; Lasave, L.C.; Battaglini, F.; Arce, R.D.; Koropecki, R.R.

2012-01-01

Optical porous silicon multilayer structures are able to work as sensitive chemical sensors or biosensors based in their optical response. An algorithm to simulate the optical response of these multilayers was developed, considering the optical properties of the individual layers. The algorithm allows designing and customizing the porous silicon structures according to a given application. The results obtained by the simulation were experimentally verified; for this purpose different photonic structures were prepared, such as Bragg reflectors and microcavities. Some of these structures have been derivatized by the introduction of aminosilane groups on the porous silicon surface. The algorithm also permits to simulate the effects produced by a non uniform derivatization of the multilayer. - Highlights: ► Mesoporous silicon structure ► Functionalization of mesoporous silicon as sensors ► Design of the one-dimensional photonic crystal ► Simulation of non-uniformity in covering the sensor structure

Characterizations of additive manufactured porous titanium implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Basalah, Ahmad; Shanjani, Yaser; Esmaeili, Shahrzad; Toyserkani, Ehsan

2012-10-01

This article describes physical, chemical, and mechanical characterizations of porous titanium implants made by an additive manufacturing method to gain insight into the correlation of process parameters and final physical properties of implants used in orthopedics. For the manufacturing chain, the powder metallurgy technology was combined with the additive manufacturing to fabricate the porous structure from the pure tanium powder. A 3D printing machine was employed in this study to produce porous bar samples. A number of physical parameters such as titanium powder size, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) amount, sintering temperature and time were investigated to control the mechanical properties and porosity of the structures. The produced samples were characterized through porosity and shrinkage measurements, mechanical compression test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed a level of porosity in the samples in the range of 31-43%, which is within the range of the porosity of the cancelluous bone and approaches the range of the porosity of the cortical bone. The results of the mechanical test showed that the compressive strength is in the wide range of 56-509 MPa implying the effect of the process parameters on the mechanical strengths. This technique of manufacturing of Ti porous structures demonstrated a low level of shrinkage with the shrinkage percentage ranging from 1.5 to 5%. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Correspondence Between One- and Two-Equation Models for Solute Transport in Two-Region Heterogeneous Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Davit, Y.; Wood, B. D.; Debenest, G.; Quintard, M.

2012-01-01

In this work, we study the transient behavior of homogenized models for solute transport in two-region porous media. We focus on the following three models: (1) a time non-local, two-equation model (2eq-nlt). This model does not rely on time

Formic Acid Oxidation over Hierarchical Porous Carbon Containing PtPd Catalysts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Pastor

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The use of high surface monolithic carbon as support for catalysts offers important advantage, such as elimination of the ohmic drop originated in the interparticle contact and improved mass transport by ad-hoc pore design. Moreover, the approach discussed here has the advantage that it allows the synthesis of materials having a multimodal porous size distribution, with each pore size contributing to the desired properties. On the other hand, the monolithic nature of the porous support also imposes new challenges for metal loading. In this work, the use of Hierarchical Porous Carbon (HPC as support for PtPd nanoparticles was explored. Three hierarchical porous carbon samples (denoted as HPC-300, HPC-400 and HPC-500 with main pore size around 300, 400 and 500 nm respectively, are used as porous support. PtPd nanoparticles were loaded by impregnation and subsequent chemical reduction with NaBH4. The resulting material was characterized by EDX, XRD and conventional electrochemical techniques. The catalytic activity toward formic acid and methanol electrooxidation was evaluated by electrochemical methods, and the results compared with commercial carbon supported PtPd. The Hierarchical Porous Carbon support discussed here seems to be promising for use in DFAFC anodes.

Numerical simulation of the impact of water-air fronts on radionuclides plumes in heterogeneous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aquino, J.; Francisco, A.S.; Pereira, F.; Amaral Souto, H.P.

2004-01-01

The goal of this paper is to investigate the interaction of water-air fronts with radionuclide plumes in unsaturated heterogeneous porous media. This problem is modeled by a system of equations that describes both the water-air flow and the radionuclide transport. The water-air problem is solved numerically by a mixed finite element combined with a non-oscillatory central difference scheme. For the radionuclide transport equation we use the Modified Method of Characteristics (MMOC). We present the results of numerical simulations for heterogeneous permeability fields taking into account sorption effects. (author)

Obtaining porous silicon suitable for sensor technology using MacEtch nonelectrolytic etching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iatsunskyi I. R.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The author suggests to use the etching method MacEtch (metal-assisted chemical etching for production of micro- and nanostructures of porous silicon. The paper presents research results on the morphology structures obtained at different parameters of deposition and etching processes. The research has shown that, depending on the parameters of deposition of silver particles and silicon wafers etching, the obtained surface morphology may be different. There may be both individual crater-like pores and developed porous or macroporous surface. These results indicate that the MacEtch etching is a promising method for obtaining micro-porous silicon nanostructures suitable for effective use in gas sensors and biological object sensors.

Breast Cancer Redox Heterogeneity Detectable with Chemical Exchange Satruation Transfer (CEST) MRI

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Kejia; Xu, He N.; Singh, Anup; Moon, Lily; Haris, Mohammad; Reddy, Ravinder; Li, Lin

2014-01-01

Purpose Tissue redox state is an important mediator of various biological processes in health and diseases such as cancer. Previously, we discovered that the mitochondrial redox state of ex vivo tissues detected by redox scanning (an optical imaging method) revealed interesting tumor redox state heterogeneity that could differentiate tumor aggressiveness. Because the noninvasive chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI can probe the proton transfer and generate contrasts from endogenous metabolites, we aim to investigate if the in vivo CEST contrast is sensitive to proton transfer of the redox reactions so as to reveal the tissue redox states in breast cancer animal models. Procedures CEST MRI has been employed to characterize tumor metabolic heterogeneity and correlated with the redox states measured by the redox scanning in two human breast cancer mouse xenograft models, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. The possible biological mechanism on the correlation between the two imaging modalities was further investigated by phantom studies where the reductants and the oxidants of the representative redox reactions were measured. Results The CEST contrast is found linearly correlated with NADH concentration and the NADH redox ratio with high statistical significance, where NADH is the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The phantom studies showed that the reductants of the redox reactions have more CEST contrast than the corresponding oxidants, indicating that higher CEST effect corresponds to the more reduced redox state. Conclusions This preliminary study suggests that CEST MRI, once calibrated, might provide a novel noninvasive imaging surrogate for the tissue redox state and a possible diagnostic biomarker for breast cancer in the clinic. PMID:24811957

A Cassie-Like Law Using Triple Phase Boundary Line Fractions for Faceted Droplets on Chemically Heterogeneous Surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Simon Tylsgaard; Taboryski, Rafael Jozef

2009-01-01

We present experimental contact angle data for surfaces, which were surface-engineered with a hydrophobic micropattern of hexagonal geometry. The chemically heterogeneous surface of the same hexagonal pattern of defects resulted in faceted droplets of hexagonal shape. When measuring the advancing...... contact angles with a viewing position aligned parallel to rows of defects, we found that an area averaged Cassie-law failed in describing the data. By replacing the area fractions by line fractions of the triple phase boundary Line segments in the Cassie equation, we found excellent agreement with data....

Porous Organic Polymers for CO2 Capture

KAUST Repository

Teng, Baiyang

2013-05-01

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has long been regarded as the major greenhouse gas, which leads to numerous negative effects on global environment. The capture and separation of CO2 by selective adsorption using porous materials proves to be an effective way to reduce the emission of CO2 to atmosphere. Porous organic polymers (POPs) are promising candidates for this application due to their readily tunable textual properties and surface functionalities. The objective of this thesis work is to develop new POPs with high CO2 adsorption capacities and CO2/N2 selectivities for post-combustion effluent (e.g. flue gas) treatment. We will also exploit the correlation between the CO2 capture performance of POPs and their textual properties/functionalities. Chapters Two focuses on the study of a group of porous phenolic-aldehyde polymers (PPAPs) synthesized by a catalyst-free method, the CO2 capture capacities of these PPAPs exceed 2.0 mmol/g at 298 K and 1 bar, while keeping CO2/N2 selectivity of more than 30 at the same time. Chapter Three reports the gas adsorption results of different hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCPs), which indicate that heterocyclo aromatic monomers can greatly enhance polymers’ CO2/N2 selectivities, and the N-H bond is proved to the active CO2 adsorption center in the N-contained (e.g. pyrrole) HCPs, which possess the highest selectivities of more than 40 at 273 K when compared with other HCPs. Chapter Four emphasizes on the chemical modification of a new designed polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) with high CO2/N2 selectivity (50 at 273 K), whose experimental repeatability and chemical stability prove excellent. In Chapter Five, we demonstrate an improvement of both CO2 capture capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity by doping alkali metal ions into azo-polymers, which leads a promising method to the design of new porous organic polymers.

Stress Transmission and Failure in Disordered Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Laubie, Hadrien; Radjai, Farhang; Pellenq, Roland; Ulm, Franz-Josef

2017-08-01

By means of extensive lattice-element simulations, we investigate stress transmission and its relation with failure properties in increasingly disordered porous systems. We observe a non-Gaussian broadening of stress probability density functions under tensile loading with increasing porosity and disorder, revealing a gradual transition from a state governed by single-pore stress concentration to a state controlled by multipore interactions and metric disorder. This effect is captured by the excess kurtosis of stress distributions and shown to be nicely correlated with the second moment of local porosity fluctuations, which appears thus as a (dis)order parameter for the system. By generating statistical ensembles of porous textures with varying porosity and disorder, we derive a general expression for the fracture stress as a decreasing function of porosity and disorder. Focusing on critical sites where the local stress is above the global fracture threshold, we also analyze the transition to failure in terms of a coarse-graining length. These findings provide a general framework which can also be more generally applied to multiphase and structural heterogeneous materials.

Inert Carbon Nanoparticles for the Assessment of Preferential Flow in Saturated Dual-Permeability Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Yao, Chuanjin; Zhao, Yushi; Lei, Guanglun; Steenhuis, Tammo S.; Cathles, Lawrence M.

2017-01-01

appropriately, nanoparticles together with a chemical tracer can assess the preferential flow in heterogeneous environments. The results also implement the dual tracer tests in heterogeneous environments by simultaneously injecting chemical and nanoparticle

Porous CrN thin films by selectively etching CrCuN for symmetric supercapacitors

KAUST Repository

Wei, Binbin

2018-03-18

Transition metal nitrides are regarded as a new class of excellent electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors due to their superior chemical stability and excellent electrical conductivity. We synthesize successfully the porous CrN thin films for binder-free supercapacitor electrodes by reactive magnetron co-sputtering and selective chemical etching. The porous CrN thin film electrodes exhibit high-capacitance performance (31.3 mF cm−2 at 1.0 mA cm−2) and reasonable cycling stability (94% retention after 20000 cycles). Moreover, the specific capacitance is more than two-fold higher than that of the CrN thin film electrodes in previous work. In addition, a symmetric supercapacitor device with a maximum energy density of 14.4 mWh cm−3 and a maximum power density of 6.6 W cm−3 is achieved. These findings demonstrate that the porous CrN thin films will have potential applications in supercapacitors.

Porous CrN thin films by selectively etching CrCuN for symmetric supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Binbin; Mei, Gui; Liang, Hanfeng; Qi, Zhengbing; Zhang, Dongfang; Shen, Hao; Wang, Zhoucheng

2018-05-01

Transition metal nitrides are regarded as a new class of excellent electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors due to their superior chemical stability and excellent electrical conductivity. We synthesize successfully the porous CrN thin films for binder-free supercapacitor electrodes by reactive magnetron co-sputtering and selective chemical etching. The porous CrN thin film electrodes exhibit high-capacitance performance (31.3 mF cm-2 at 1.0 mA cm-2) and reasonable cycling stability (94% retention after 20000 cycles). Moreover, the specific capacitance is more than two-fold higher than that of the CrN thin film electrodes in previous work. In addition, a symmetric supercapacitor device with a maximum energy density of 14.4 mWh cm-3 and a maximum power density of 6.6 W cm-3 is achieved. These findings demonstrate that the porous CrN thin films will have potential applications in supercapacitors.

Reduced-Order Direct Numerical Simulation of Solute Transport in Porous Media

Science.gov (United States)

Mehmani, Yashar; Tchelepi, Hamdi

2017-11-01

Pore-scale models are an important tool for analyzing fluid dynamics in porous materials (e.g., rocks, soils, fuel cells). Current direct numerical simulation (DNS) techniques, while very accurate, are computationally prohibitive for sample sizes that are statistically representative of the porous structure. Reduced-order approaches such as pore-network models (PNM) aim to approximate the pore-space geometry and physics to remedy this problem. Predictions from current techniques, however, have not always been successful. This work focuses on single-phase transport of a passive solute under advection-dominated regimes and delineates the minimum set of approximations that consistently produce accurate PNM predictions. Novel network extraction (discretization) and particle simulation techniques are developed and compared to high-fidelity DNS simulations for a wide range of micromodel heterogeneities and a single sphere pack. Moreover, common modeling assumptions in the literature are analyzed and shown that they can lead to first-order errors under advection-dominated regimes. This work has implications for optimizing material design and operations in manufactured (electrodes) and natural (rocks) porous media pertaining to energy systems. This work was supported by the Stanford University Petroleum Research Institute for Reservoir Simulation (SUPRI-B).

Migration of radionuclide I-131 through a clayey porous matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamlat, M.S.

1996-01-01

The chemical and physical behavior of the radiotracer I-131 through a porous matrix are described. The study was evaluated using the laboratory column, which contains porous soils. The collected activities have been measured by gamma counting with a NaI(Tl) detector. The indicators were observed and analyzed by using the one dimension mass transport equation. The solution was utilized to interpret the obtaining experimental data. The experimental values of I-131 are in agreement with those calculated by the model. However, the utilization of (I-131) in the punctual hydrogeological studies is proved. (author). 5 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Preparation of micro-porous gel polymer for lithium ion polymer battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Je Young; Kim, Seok Koo; Lee, Seung-Jin; Lee, Sang Young; Lee, Hyang Mok; Ahn, Soonho

2004-01-01

We have developed a micro-porous gelling polymer layer which is formed on both the sides of support polyolefin separator with wet or dry processing technique. Morphologies of gel-coated layer are dependent on the compositions and process conditions, such as solvent/non-solvent combination and stretching ratios. The micro-porous gelling layer is used for the assembly of the lithium ion polymer battery of LG Chemical Ltd. The structure of battery is given elsewhere and the battery has excellent discharge performance with 94% of 2C discharge performance at room temperature

Microstructural and Optical Properties of Porous Alumina Elaborated on Glass Substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Zaghdoudi, W.; Gaidi, M.; Chtourou, R.

2013-03-01

A transparent porous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) nanostructure was formed on a glass substrate using the anodization of a highly pure evaporated aluminum layer. A parametric study was carried out in order to achieve a fine control of the microstructural and optical properties of the elaborated films. The microstructural and surface morphologies of the porous alumina films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Pore diameter, inter-pore separation, and the porous structure as a function of anodization conditions were investigated. It was then found that the pores density decreases with increasing the anodization time. Regular cylindrical porous AAO films with a flat bottom structure were formed by chemical etching and anodization. A high transmittance in the 300-900 nm range is reported, indicating a fulfilled growth of the transparent sample (alumina) from the aluminum metal. The data showed typical interference oscillations as a result of the transparent characteristics of the film throughout the visible spectral range. The thickness and the optical constants ( n and k) of the porous anodic alumina films, as a function of anodizing time, were obtained using spectroscopic ellipsometry in the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-vis-NIR) regions.

Potential petrophysical and chemical property alterations in a compressed air energy storage porous rock reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stottlemyre, J.A.; Erikson, R.L.; Smith, R.P.

1979-10-01

Successful commercialization of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) systems depends on long-term stability of the underground reservoirs subjected to somewhat unique operating conditions. Specifically, these conditions include elevated and time varying temperatures, effective stresses, and air humidities. To minimize the requirements for premium fuels, it may be desirable to retain the thermal energy of compression. Porous media, e.g., sandstone, may hold promise as elevated temperature reservoirs. In this study, a reservoir composed of clean quartz sandstone and injection air temperatures of 300 to 575/sup 0/K are assumed. Numerical modeling is used to estimate temperature, stress, and humidity conditions within this reference porous media reservoir. A discussion on relative importance to CAES of several potential porous media damage mechanisms is presented. In this context, damage is defined as a reduction in intrinsic permeability (measure of air transport capability), a decrease in effective porosity (measure of storage capability), or an increase in elastic and/or inelastic deformation of the porous material. The potential damage mechanisms presented include: (1) disaggregation, (2) particulate plugging, (3) boundary layer viscosity anomalies, (4) inelastic microstructural consolidation, (5) clay swelling and dispersion, (6) hydrothermal mineral alteration, (7) oxidation reactions, and (8) well casing corrosion. These mechanisms are placed in perspective with respect to anticipated CAES conditions and mechanisms suggested are: (1) of academic interest only, (2) readily identified and controlled via engineering, or (3) potential problem areas requiring additional investigation.

Efficient modeling of reactive transport phenomena by a multispecies random walk coupled to chemical equilibrium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfingsten, W.

1996-01-01

Safety assessments for radioactive waste repositories require a detailed knowledge of physical, chemical, hydrological, and geological processes for long time spans. In the past, individual models for hydraulics, transport, or geochemical processes were developed more or less separately to great sophistication for the individual processes. Such processes are especially important in the near field of a waste repository. Attempts have been made to couple at least two individual processes to get a more adequate description of geochemical systems. These models are called coupled codes; they couple predominantly a multicomponent transport model with a chemical reaction model. Here reactive transport is modeled by the sequentially coupled code MCOTAC that couples one-dimensional advective, dispersive, and diffusive transport with chemical equilibrium complexation and precipitation/dissolution reactions in a porous medium. Transport, described by a random walk of multispecies particles, and chemical equilibrium calculations are solved separately, coupled only by an exchange term. The modular-structured code was applied to incongruent dissolution of hydrated silicate gels, to movement of multiple solid front systems, and to an artificial, numerically difficult heterogeneous redox problem. These applications show promising features with respect to applicability to relevant problems and possibilities of extensions

Hydrogen storage by physisorption on porous materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panella, B

2006-09-13

A great challenge for commercializing hydrogen powered vehicles is on-board hydrogen storage using economic and secure systems. A possible solution is hydrogen storage in light-weight solid materials. Here three principle storage mechanisms can be distinguished: i) absorption of hydrogen in metals ii) formation of compounds with ionic character, like complex hydrides and iii) physisorption (or physical adsorption) of hydrogen molecules on porous materials. Physical adsorption exhibits several advantages over chemical hydrogen storage as for example the complete reversibility and the fast kinetics. Two classes of porous materials were investigated for physical hydrogen storage, i.e. different carbon nanostructures and crystalline metal-organic frameworks possessing extremely high specific surface area. Hydrogen adsorption isotherms were measured using a Sieverts' apparatus both at room temperature and at 77 K at pressures up to the saturation regime. Additionally, the adsorption sites of hydrogen in these porous materials were identified using thermal desorption spectroscopy extended to very low temperatures (down to 20 K). Furthermore, the adsorbed hydrogen phase was studied in various materials using Raman spectroscopy at different pressures and temperatures. The results show that the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of porous materials correlates linearly with the specific surface area and is independent of structure and composition. In addition the pore structure of the adsorbent plays an important role for hydrogen storage since the adsorption sites for H2 could be assigned to pores possessing different dimensions. Accordingly it was shown that small pores are necessary to reach high storage capacities already at low pressures. This new understanding may help to tailor and optimize new porous materials for hydrogen storage. (orig.)

Hydrogen storage by physisorption on porous materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panella, B.

2006-09-13

A great challenge for commercializing hydrogen powered vehicles is on-board hydrogen storage using economic and secure systems. A possible solution is hydrogen storage in light-weight solid materials. Here three principle storage mechanisms can be distinguished: i) absorption of hydrogen in metals ii) formation of compounds with ionic character, like complex hydrides and iii) physisorption (or physical adsorption) of hydrogen molecules on porous materials. Physical adsorption exhibits several advantages over chemical hydrogen storage as for example the complete reversibility and the fast kinetics. Two classes of porous materials were investigated for physical hydrogen storage, i.e. different carbon nanostructures and crystalline metal-organic frameworks possessing extremely high specific surface area. Hydrogen adsorption isotherms were measured using a Sieverts' apparatus both at room temperature and at 77 K at pressures up to the saturation regime. Additionally, the adsorption sites of hydrogen in these porous materials were identified using thermal desorption spectroscopy extended to very low temperatures (down to 20 K). Furthermore, the adsorbed hydrogen phase was studied in various materials using Raman spectroscopy at different pressures and temperatures. The results show that the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of porous materials correlates linearly with the specific surface area and is independent of structure and composition. In addition the pore structure of the adsorbent plays an important role for hydrogen storage since the adsorption sites for H2 could be assigned to pores possessing different dimensions. Accordingly it was shown that small pores are necessary to reach high storage capacities already at low pressures. This new understanding may help to tailor and optimize new porous materials for hydrogen storage. (orig.)

Hyporheic zone as a bioreactor: sediment heterogeneity influencing biogeochemical processes

Science.gov (United States)

Perujo, Nuria; Romani, Anna M.; Sanchez-Vila, Xavier

2017-04-01

Mediterranean fluvial systems are characterized by frequent periods of low flow or even drought. During low flow periods, water from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is proportionally large in fluvial systems. River water might be vertically transported through the hyporheic zone, and then porous medium acts as a complementary treatment system since, as water infiltrates, a suite of biogeochemical processes occurs. Subsurface sediment heterogeneity plays an important role since it influences the interstitial fluxes of the medium and drives biomass growing, determining biogeochemical reactions. In this study, WWTP water was continuously infiltrated for 3 months through two porous medium tanks: one consisting of 40 cm of fine sediment (homogeneous); and another comprised of two layers of different grain size sediments (heterogeneous), 20 cm of coarse sediment in the upper part and 20 cm of fine one in the bottom. Several hydrological, physicochemical and biological parameters were measured periodically (weekly at the start of the experiment and biweekly at the end). Analysed parameters include dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus, organic carbon, and oxygen all measured at the surface, and at 5, 20 and 40 cm depth. Variations in hydraulic conductivity with time were evaluated. Sediment samples were also analysed at three depths (surface, 20 and 40 cm) to determine bacterial density, chlorophyll content, extracellular polymeric substances, and biofilm function (extracellular enzyme activities and carbon substrate utilization profiles). Preliminary results suggest hydraulic conductivity to be the main driver of the differences in the biogeochemical processes occurring in the subsurface. At the heterogeneous tank, a low nutrient reduction throughout the whole medium is measured. In this medium, high hydraulic conductivity allows for a large amount of infiltrating water, but with a small residence time. Since some biological processes are largely time-dependent, small water

Bovine serum albumin adsorption on passivated porous silicon layers

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, David; Boukherroub, Rabah

2005-03-01

Hydrogen-terminated porous silicon (pSi) films were fabricated through electrochemical anodization of crystalline Si in HF-based solutions. The pSi-H surface was chemically functionalized by thermal reaction with undecylenic acid to produce an organic monolayer covalently attached to the silicon surface through Si-C bonds and bearing an acid terminal group. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was then adsorbed onto the modified surface. SEM showed that the porous films were damaged and partially lifted off the Si substrate after a prolonged BSA adsorption. Ellipsometry revealed that the BSA had penetrated ˜ 1.3 micrometers into the porous structure. The film damage results from BSA anchoring itself tightly through strong electrostatic interactions to the acid-covered Si sidewalls. A change in surface tension during BSA film formation then causes the pSi layer to buckle and lift-off the underlying Si substrate. FTIR results from the modified pSi surfaces showed the presence of strong characteristic Amide I, II and III vibrational bands after BSA adsorption.

Rationally designed porous silicon as platform for optical biosensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Priano, G. [INQUIMAE, DQIAyQF, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellon 2 (C1428EHA) Buenos Aires (Argentina); Acquaroli, L.N.; Lasave, L.C. [Instituto De Desarrollo Tecnologico Para La Industria Quimica, UNL, CONICET, Gueemes 3450 (S3000GLN) Santa Fe (Argentina); Battaglini, F. [INQUIMAE, DQIAyQF, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellon 2 (C1428EHA) Buenos Aires (Argentina); Arce, R.D., E-mail: rarce@intec.unl.edu.ar [Instituto De Desarrollo Tecnologico Para La Industria Quimica, UNL, CONICET, Gueemes 3450 (S3000GLN) Santa Fe (Argentina); Departamento De Materiales, Facultad De Ingenieria Quimica, UNL, Santiago del Estero 2829 (S3000) Santa Fe (Argentina); Koropecki, R.R. [Instituto De Desarrollo Tecnologico Para La Industria Quimica, UNL, CONICET, Gueemes 3450 (S3000GLN) Santa Fe (Argentina); Departamento De Materiales, Facultad De Ingenieria Quimica, UNL, Santiago del Estero 2829 (S3000) Santa Fe (Argentina)

2012-08-01

Optical porous silicon multilayer structures are able to work as sensitive chemical sensors or biosensors based in their optical response. An algorithm to simulate the optical response of these multilayers was developed, considering the optical properties of the individual layers. The algorithm allows designing and customizing the porous silicon structures according to a given application. The results obtained by the simulation were experimentally verified; for this purpose different photonic structures were prepared, such as Bragg reflectors and microcavities. Some of these structures have been derivatized by the introduction of aminosilane groups on the porous silicon surface. The algorithm also permits to simulate the effects produced by a non uniform derivatization of the multilayer. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Mesoporous silicon structure Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Functionalization of mesoporous silicon as sensors Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Design of the one-dimensional photonic crystal Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Simulation of non-uniformity in covering the sensor structure.

Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lihua Zuo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Porous media like hydrocarbon reservoirs may be composed of a wide variety of rocks with different porosity and permeability. Our study shows in algorithms and in synthetic numerical simulations that the flow pattern of any particular porous medium, assuming constant fluid properties and standardized boundary and initial conditions, is not affected by any spatial porosity changes but will vary only according to spatial permeability changes. In contrast, the time of flight along the streamline will be affected by both the permeability and porosity, albeit in opposite directions. A theoretical framework is presented with evidence from flow visualizations. A series of strategically chosen streamline simulations, including systematic spatial variations of porosity and permeability, visualizes the respective effects on the flight path and time of flight. Two practical rules are formulated. Rule  1 states that an increase in permeability decreases the time of flight, whereas an increase in porosity increases the time of flight. Rule  2 states that the permeability uniquely controls the flight path of fluid flow in porous media; local porosity variations do not affect the streamline path. The two rules are essential for understanding fluid transport mechanisms, and their rigorous validation therefore is merited.

The micro and meso-porous materials. Characterization; Les materiaux micro et mesoporeux. Caracterisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thibault-Starzyk, F.

2004-10-01

The micro and meso-porous materials, called zeolites, are very important in the modern chemical industry and in petrochemistry. This book deals in particular with the study and the characterization of zeolites. Its aim is to give to generalist chemists the tools for approaching experimentally these particular materials. The main methods of study and characterization are gathered in eight chapters, and the authors stress on the specificities due to the porous system: -structural analysis by the diffraction methods; -infrared spectroscopy; -NMR; -micro-calorimetry; -adsorption thermodynamics; -methods using the programed temperature; -modeling; -reactivity: kinetics and chemical engineering. This book appeals to students, engineers or searchers, without previous knowledge on these materials, but having a bachelor's degree or a master degree in general chemistry. (O.M.)

Discontinuous Galerkin Subgrid Finite Element Method for Heterogeneous Brinkman’s Equations

KAUST Repository

Iliev, Oleg P.

2010-01-01

We present a two-scale finite element method for solving Brinkman\\'s equations with piece-wise constant coefficients. This system of equations model fluid flows in highly porous, heterogeneous media with complex topology of the heterogeneities. We make use of the recently proposed discontinuous Galerkin FEM for Stokes equations by Wang and Ye in [12] and the concept of subgrid approximation developed for Darcy\\'s equations by Arbogast in [4]. In order to reduce the error along the coarse-grid interfaces we have added a alternating Schwarz iteration using patches around the coarse-grid boundaries. We have implemented the subgrid method using Deal.II FEM library, [7], and we present the computational results for a number of model problems. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

POROUS STRUCTURE OF ROAD CONCRETE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. K. Pshembaev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Having a great number of concrete structure classifications it is recommended to specify the following three principal types: microstructure – cement stone structure; mesostructure – structure of cement-sand mortar in concrete; macrostucture – two-component system that consists of mortar and coarse aggregate. Every mentioned-above structure has its own specific features which are related to the conditions of their formation. Thus, microstructure of cement stone can be characterized by such structural components as crystal intergrowth, tobermorite gel, incompletely hydrated cement grains and porous space. The most important technological factors that influence on formation of cement stone microstructure are chemical and mineralogical cement composition, its grinding fineness, water-cement ratio and curing condition. Specific cement stone microstructure is formed due to interrelation of these factors. Cement stone is a capillary-porous body that consists of various solid phases represented predominantly by sub-microcrystals of colloidal dispersion. The sub-microcrystals are able adsorptively, osmotically and structurally to withhold (to bind some amount of moisture. Protection of road concrete as a capillary-porous body is considered as one of the topical issues. The problem is solved with the help of primary and secondary protection methods. Methods of primary protection are used at the stage of designing, preparation and placing of concrete. Methods of secondary protection are applied at the operational stage of road concrete pavement. The paper considers structures of concrete solid phase and characteristics of its porous space. Causes of pore initiation, their shapes, dimensions and arrangement in the concrete are presented in the paper. The highest hazard for road concrete lies in penetration of aggressive liquid in it and moisture transfer in the cured concrete. Water permeability of concrete characterizes its filtration factor which

Bacterial Response to Antibiotic Gradients in a Porous Microfluidic Device

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, J.; Shechtman, L. A.; Sanford, R. A.; Dong, Y.; Werth, C. J.; Fouke, B. W.

2015-12-01

Microorganisms in nature have evolved survival strategies to cope with a wide variety of environmental stresses, including gradients in temperature, pH, substrate availability and aqueous chemistry. Microfluidic devices provide a consistently reliable real-time means to quantitatively measure, control and reproduce the dynamic nature of these stresses. As an example, accelerated adaptation from genetic mutations have been observed in E. coli as it responds to gradients of Ciprofloxacin (Zhang et. al. 2011). However, the mechanisms by which bacteria respond to antibiotic gradients, as well as the effect of changes in how the stressor is applied, have not been systematically studied. In this study, newly designed and fabricated microfluidic devices with porous media have been utilized to determine the chemical stress fields that enhance adaptation and thus to test how E. coli bacterial communities adapt to antibiotic stresses. By applying antibiotic and nutrient into inlet channels adjacent to either side of the porous media inoculated with E. coli, a gradient of antibiotic was formed. Hydrogel barriers were selectively photo-polymerized in between of the inlet channels and the porous media to prevent any undesired convection. Hence, chemical solute can only be transported by diffusion, creating a reproducible antibiotic gradient over the porous media. The bacteria were also constrained by the hydrogel boundary barriers from escaping the porous media. Preliminary results suggest that E. coli moves freely with respect to Ciprofloxacin concentrations. In addition, and unexpectedly, the E. coli colonies exhibit a concentric pulsed growth front radiating away from the point of inoculation within the micromodel ecosystem and pulse over the porous media containing antibiotic. The bacteria at the growth front grow into long filaments (up to 100μm) while the bacteria in the inner concentric area are normal size. We hypothesize that the frontier bacteria, which are first

Construction of porous cationic frameworks by crosslinking polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane units with N-heterocyclic linkers

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guojian; Zhou, Yu; Wang, Xiaochen; Li, Jing; Xue, Shuang; Liu, Yangqing; Wang, Qian; Wang, Jun

2015-06-01

In fields of materials science and chemistry, ionic-type porous materials attract increasing attention due to significant ion-exchanging capacity for accessing diversified applications. Facing the fact that porous cationic materials with robust and stable frameworks are very rare, novel tactics that can create new type members are highly desired. Here we report the first family of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) based porous cationic frameworks (PCIF-n) with enriched poly(ionic liquid)-like cationic structures, tunable mesoporosities, high surface areas (up to 1,025 m2 g-1) and large pore volumes (up to 0.90 cm3 g-1). Our strategy is designing the new rigid POSS unit of octakis(chloromethyl)silsesquioxane and reacting it with the rigid N-heterocyclic cross-linkers (typically 4,4‧-bipyridine) for preparing the desired porous cationic frameworks. The PCIF-n materials possess large surface area, hydrophobic and special anion-exchanging property, and thus are used as the supports for loading guest species PMo10V2O405- the resultant hybrid behaves as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for aerobic oxidation of benzene and H2O2-mediated oxidation of cyclohexane.

Inert Carbon Nanoparticles for the Assessment of Preferential Flow in Saturated Dual-Permeability Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Yao, Chuanjin

2017-06-07

Knowledge of preferential flow in heterogeneous environments is essential for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery, geothermal energy extraction, and successful sequestration of chemical waste and carbon dioxide. Dual tracer tests using nanoparticles with a chemical tracer could indicate the preferential flow. A dual-permeability model with a high permeable core channel surrounded by a low permeable annulus was constructed and used to determine the viability of an inert carbon nanoparticle tracer for this application. A series of column experiments were conducted to demonstrate how this nanoparticle tracer can be used to implement the dual tracer tests in heterogeneous environments. The results indicate that, with the injection rate selected and controlled appropriately, nanoparticles together with a chemical tracer can assess the preferential flow in heterogeneous environments. The results also implement the dual tracer tests in heterogeneous environments by simultaneously injecting chemical and nanoparticle tracers.

The Effects of Combustion Parameters on Pollutant Emissions in a Porous Burner

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Negin Moallemi Khiavi

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper reports a two-dimensional numerical prediction of premixed methane/air combustion in inert porous media. The two dimensional Navier-stokes equations, the two separate energy equations for solid and gas and conservation equations for chemical species are solved using finite volume method based on SIMPLE algorithm. The burner under study is a rectangular one with two different regions. First region is a preheating zone (low porosity matrix that followed by the actual combustion region (high porosity matrix. For simulating the chemical reactions, skeletal mechanism (26 species and 77 reactions is used. For studying the pollutant emissions in this porous burner, the effects of porous matrix properties, excess air ratio and inlet velocity are studied. The predicted gas temperature contour and pollutant formations are in good agreement with the available experimental data. The results indicate that the downstream of the burner should be constructed from materials with high conductivity, high convective heat transfer coefficient and high porosity in order to decrease the CO and NO emissions. Also, with increasing the inlet velocity of gas mixture and the excess air ratio, the pollutant emissions are decreased.

Cyclic voltammetry study of PEO processing of porous Ti and resulting coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Shbeh, Mohammed; Yerokhin, Aleksey; Goodall, Russell

2018-05-01

Ti is one of the most commonly used materials for biomedical applications. However, there are two issues associated with the use of it, namely its bio-inertness and high elastic modulus compared to the elastic modulus of the natural bone. Both of these hurdles could potentially be overcome by introducing a number of pores in the structure of the Ti implant to match the properties of the bone as well as improve the mechanical integration between the bone and implant, and subsequently coating it with a biologically active ceramic coating to promote chemical integration. Hence, in this study we investigated the usage of cyclic voltammetry in PEO treatment of porous Ti parts with different amount of porosity produced by both Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) and MIM in combination with a space holder. It was found that porous samples with higher porosity and open pores develop much thicker surface layers that penetrate through the inner structure of the samples forming a network of surface and subsurface coatings. The results are of potential benefit in producing surface engineered porous samples for biomedical applications which do not only address the stress shielding problem, but also improve the chemical integration.

Film condensation on a porous vertical surface in a porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebinuma, C.D.; Liu, C.Y.; Ismail, K.A.R.

1983-01-01

The problem of dry saturated steam film condensation by natural convection on a porous surface in a porous medium is presented. Through the classical Darcy law for flow in porous medium and the approximations considered in the Boundary layer theory, it is shown that the analytical solution exists only when the normal velocity to the porous wall is inversly proportional to the square root of the distance along the plate. (E.G.) [pt

Graded/Gradient Porous Biomaterials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xigeng Miao

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Biomaterials include bioceramics, biometals, biopolymers and biocomposites and they play important roles in the replacement and regeneration of human tissues. However, dense bioceramics and dense biometals pose the problem of stress shielding due to their high Young’s moduli compared to those of bones. On the other hand, porous biomaterials exhibit the potential of bone ingrowth, which will depend on porous parameters such as pore size, pore interconnectivity, and porosity. Unfortunately, a highly porous biomaterial results in poor mechanical properties. To optimise the mechanical and the biological properties, porous biomaterials with graded/gradient porosity, pores size, and/or composition have been developed. Graded/gradient porous biomaterials have many advantages over graded/gradient dense biomaterials and uniform or homogenous porous biomaterials. The internal pore surfaces of graded/gradient porous biomaterials can be modified with organic, inorganic, or biological coatings and the internal pores themselves can also be filled with biocompatible and biodegradable materials or living cells. However, graded/gradient porous biomaterials are generally more difficult to fabricate than uniform or homogenous porous biomaterials. With the development of cost-effective processing techniques, graded/gradient porous biomaterials can find wide applications in bone defect filling, implant fixation, bone replacement, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.

Porous glass membranes for vanadium redox-flow battery application - Effect of pore size on the performance

Science.gov (United States)

Mögelin, H.; Yao, G.; Zhong, H.; dos Santos, A. R.; Barascu, A.; Meyer, R.; Krenkel, S.; Wassersleben, S.; Hickmann, T.; Enke, D.; Turek, T.; Kunz, U.

2018-02-01

The improvement of redox-flow batteries requires the development of chemically stable and highly conductive separators. Porous glass membranes can be an attractive alternative to the nowadays most common polymeric membranes. Flat porous glass membranes with a pore size in the range from 2 to 50 nm and a thickness of 300 and 500 μm have been used for that purpose. Maximum values for voltage efficiency of 85.1%, coulombic efficiency of 97.9% and energy efficiency of 76.3% at current densities in the range from 20 to 60 mA cm-2 have been achieved. Furthermore, a maximum power density of 95.2 mW cm-2 at a current density of 140 mA cm-2 was gained. These results can be related to small vanadium crossover, high conductivity and chemical stability, confirming the great potential of porous glass membranes for vanadium redox-flow applications.

CVD of solid oxides in porous substrates for ceramic membrane modification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lin, Y.S.; Lin, Y.S.; Burggraaf, Anthonie; Burggraaf, A.J.

1992-01-01

The deposition of yttria-doped zirconia has been experimented systematically in various types of porous ceramic substrates by a modified chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process operating in an opposing reactant geometry using water vapor and corresponding metal chloride vapors as reactants. The

Framing the performance of heat absorption/generation and thermal radiation in chemically reactive Darcy-Forchheimer flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Hayat

Full Text Available The present work aims to report the consequences of heterogeneous-homogeneous reactions in Darcy-Forchheimer flow of Casson material bounded by a nonlinear stretching sheet of variable thickness. Nonlinear stretched surface with variable thickness is the main agent for MHD Darcy-Forchheimer flow. Impact of thermal radiation and non-uniform heat absorption/generation are also considered. Flow in porous space is characterized by Darcy-Forchheimer flow. It is assumed that the homogeneous process in ambient fluid is governed by first order kinetics and the heterogeneous process on the wall surface is given by isothermal cubic autocatalator kinetics. The governing nonlinear ordinary differential equations are solved numerically. Effects of physical variables such as thickness, Hartman number, inertia and porous, radiation, Casson, heat absorption/generation and homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions are investigated. The variations of drag force (skin friction and heat transfer rate (Nusselt numberfor different interesting variables are plotted and discussed. Keywords: Casson fluid, Variable sheet thickness, Darcy-Forchheimer flow, Homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions, Heat generation/absorption, Thermal radiation

Combined effects of chemical reaction and temperature dependent heat source on MHD mixed convective flow of a couple-stress fluid in a vertical wavy porous space with travelling thermal waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muthuraj R.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A mathematical model is developed to examine the effect of chemical reaction on MHD mixed convective heat and mass transfer flow of a couple-stress fluid in vertical porous space in the presence of temperature dependent heat source with travelling thermal waves. The dimensionless governing equations are assumed to be made up of two parts: a mean part corresponding to the fully developed mean flow, and a small perturbed part, using amplitude as a small parameter. The analytical solution of perturbed part have been carried out by using the long-wave approximation. The expressions for the zeroth-order and the first order solutions are obtained and the results of the heat and mass transfer characteristics are presented graphically for various values of parameters entering into the problem. It is noted that velocity of the fluid increases with the increase of the couple stress parameter and increasing the chemical reaction parameter leads suppress the velocity of the fluid. Cross velocity decreases with an increase of the phase angle. The increase of the chemical reaction parameter and Schmidt number lead to decrease the fluid concentration. The hydrodynamic case for a non-porous space in the absence of the temperature dependent heat source for Newtonian fluid can be captured as a limiting case of our analysis by taking, and α1→0, Da→∞, a→∞.

Formation of Porous Silicon Carbide and its Suitability as a Chemical and Temperature Detector

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rittenhouse, Tilghman

2004-01-01

.... A novel electroless method of producing porous silicon carbide (PSiC) is presented. Unlike anodic methods of producing PSiC the electroless process does not require electrical contact during etching...

Multifunctional porous silicon nanopillar arrays: antireflection, superhydrophobicity, photoluminescence, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiraly, Brian; Yang, Shikuan; Huang, Tony Jun

2013-01-01

We have fabricated porous silicon nanopillar arrays over large areas with a rapid, simple, and low-cost technique. The porous silicon nanopillars show unique longitudinal features along their entire length and have porosity with dimensions on the single-nanometer scale. Both Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence data were used to determine the nanocrystallite size to be <3 nm. The porous silicon nanopillar arrays also maintained excellent ensemble properties, reducing reflection nearly fivefold from planar silicon in the visible range without any optimization, and approaching superhydrophobic behavior with increasing aspect ratio, demonstrating contact angles up to 138°. Finally, the porous silicon nanopillar arrays were made into sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates by depositing metal onto the pillars. The SERS performance of the substrates was demonstrated using a chemical dye Rhodamine 6G. With their multitude of properties (i.e., antireflection, superhydrophobicity, photoluminescence, and sensitive SERS), the porous silicon nanopillar arrays described here can be valuable in applications such as solar harvesting, electrochemical cells, self-cleaning devices, and dynamic biological monitoring. (paper)

Effect of ball-milling time on the structural characteristics of biomedical porous Ti-Sn-Nb alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nouri, Alireza, E-mail: alireza_nouri@yahoo.com [CQM-Centro de Quimica da Madeira, MMRG, Universidade da Madeira, Campus Universitario da Penteada, 9000-390 Funchal (Portugal); Institute for Technology Research and Innovation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3217 (Australia); Hodgson, Peter D. [Institute for Technology Research and Innovation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3217 (Australia); Wen Cuie [IRIS, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 543-454 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122 Australia (Australia)

2011-07-20

The structural characteristics of biomedical porous materials are crucial for bone tissue to grow into a porous structure and can also influence the fixation and remodeling between the implant and the human tissues. The current study has been investigating the effect of the ball-milling variable of time on the structural characteristics and pore morphology of a biomedical porous Ti-16Sn-4Nb (wt.%) alloy. The alloy was synthesized using high-energy ball milling for different periods of time, and the porous Ti-16Sn-4Nb alloy was fabricated by using a space holder sintering process. The resultant powder particles, bulk, and porous samples were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), laser particle-size analyzer, chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and the Vickers hardness test. The results indicated that the inner pore surface, pore wall architecture, degree of porosity, pore size and the inter-pore connectivity of the sintered porous alloy are all considerably affected by ball-milling time.

A New Class of Metal-Cyclam-Based Zirconium Metal–Organic Frameworks for CO ₂ Adsorption and Chemical Fixation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Jie [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Usov, Pavel M. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Xu, Wenqian [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS) and X-ray Science Division; Celis-Salazar, Paula J. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Lin, Shaoyang [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Kessinger, Matthew C. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Landaverde-Alvarado, Carlos [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Macromolecules Innovation Inst.; Cai, Meng [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; May, Ann M. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Slebodnick, Carla [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Zhu, Dunru [Nanjing Univ. of Technology (China). State Key Lab. of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering (MCE) and College of Chemical Engineering; Senanayake, Sanjaya D. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Morris, Amanda J. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Macromolecules Innovation Inst.

2017-12-22

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great promise in catalysis, mainly due to their high content of active centers, large internal surface areas, tunable pore size, and versatile chemical functionalities. However, it is a challenge to rationally design and construct MOFs that can serve as highly stable and reusable heterogeneous catalysts. Here two new robust 3D porous metal-cyclam-based zirconium MOFs, denoted VPI-100 (Cu) and VPI-100 (Ni), have been prepared by a modulated synthetic strategy. The frameworks are assembled by eight-connected Zr-6 clusters and metallocyclams as organic linkers. Importantly, the cyclam core has accessible axial coordination sites for guest interactions and maintains the electronic properties exhibited by the parent cyclam ring. The VPI-100 MOFs exhibit excellent chemical stability in various organic and aqueous solvents over a wide pH range and show high CO2 uptake capacity (up to similar to 9.83 wt% adsorption at 273 K under 1 atm). Moreover, VPI-100 MOFs demonstrate some of the highest reported catalytic activity values (turnover frequency and conversion efficiency) among Zr-based MOFs for the chemical fixation of CO2 with epoxides, including sterically hindered epoxides. The MOFs, which bear dual catalytic sites (Zr and Cu/Ni), enable chemistry not possible with the cyclam ligand under the same conditions and can be used as recoverable stable heterogeneous catalysts without losing performance.

Porous Cross-Linked Polyimide-Urea Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Meador, Mary Ann B. (Inventor); Nguyen, Baochau N. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Porous cross-linked polyimide-urea networks are provided. The networks comprise a subunit comprising two anhydride end-capped polyamic acid oligomers in direct connection via a urea linkage. The oligomers (a) each comprise a repeating unit of a dianhydride and a diamine and a terminal anhydride group and (b) are formulated with 2 to 15 of the repeating units. The subunit was formed by reaction of the diamine and a diisocyanate to form a diamine-urea linkage-diamine group, followed by reaction of the diamine-urea linkage-diamine group with the dianhydride and the diamine to form the subunit. The subunit has been cross-linked via a cross-linking agent, comprising three or more amine groups, at a balanced stoichiometry of the amine groups to the terminal anhydride groups. The subunit has been chemically imidized to yield the porous cross-linked polyimide-urea network. Also provided are wet gels, aerogels, and thin films comprising the networks, and methods of making the networks.

Gas storage in porous metal-organic frameworks for clean energy applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Shengqian; Zhou, Hong-Cai

2010-01-07

Depletion of fossil oil deposits and the escalating threat of global warming have put clean energy research, which includes the search for clean energy carriers such as hydrogen and methane as well as the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, on the urgent agenda. A significant technical challenge has been recognized as the development of a viable method to efficiently trap hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide gas molecules in a confined space for various applications. This issue can be addressed by employing highly porous materials as storage media, and porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) which have exceptionally high surface areas as well as chemically-tunable structures are playing an unusual role in this respect. In this feature article we provide an overview of the current status of clean energy applications of porous MOFs, including hydrogen storage, methane storage and carbon dioxide capture.

Natural Gas Purification Using a Porous Coordination Polymer with Water and Chemical Stability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duan, J.; Jin, W.; Krishna, R.

2015-01-01

Porous coordination polymers (PCPs), constructed by bridging the metals or clusters and organic linkers, can provide a functional pore environment for gas storage and separation. But the rational design for identifying PCPs with high efficiency and low energy cost remains a challenge. Here, we

Carbon nanotubes-porous ceramic composite by in situ CCVD growth of CNTs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazumder, Sangram; Sarkar, Naboneeta; Park, Jung Gyu; Han, In Sub; Kim, Ik Jin

2016-01-01

A novel approach towards the formation of Carbon nanotubes-porous alumina ceramic composite was attempted by the application of three different reaction techniques. Porous alumina ceramics having micrometer pore dimensions were developed using the direct foaming technique. NaA zeolites were simultaneously synthesized and coated within the porous ceramics by an in situ hydrothermal process and were subjected to a simple ion exchange reaction for preparing the suitable catalyst material for Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesis. The catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD) technique was used to grow CNTs within the porous ceramics and the effect of growth time on the synthesized CNTs were investigated. Phase compositions of the samples were analysed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used for morphology, surface quality and structural analysis. Crystallinity, defects and yield were studied by Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). - Highlights: • Novel processing route of MWCNTs grown on Cobalt-zeolites-porous ceramics by CCVD. • CCVD time of 120 min produced MWCNTs with most prominent tube-like structure. • 120 min produced highest yield (19.46%) of CNTs with an I_D/I_G ratio of 0.88.

Chemical reaction effects on unsteady MHD free convective flow in a rotating porous medium with mass transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Govindarajan Arunachalam

2014-01-01

Full Text Available An investigation of unsteady MHD free convective flow and mass transfer during the motion of a viscous incompressible fluid through a porous medium, bounded by an infinite vertical porous surface, in a rotating system is presented. The porous plane surface and the porous medium are assumed to rotate in a solid body rotation. The vertical surface is subjected to uniform constant suction perpendicular to it and the temperature at this surface fluctuates in time about a non-zero constant mean. Analytical expressions for the velocity, temperature and concentration fields are obtained using the perturbation technique. The effects of R (rotation parameter, k0 (permeability parameter, M (Hartmann number and w (frequency parameter on the flow characteristics are discussed. It is observed that the primary velocity component decreases with the increase in either of the rotation parameter R, the permeability parameter k0, or the Hartmann number M. It is also noted that the primary skin friction increases whenever there is an increase in the Grashof number Gr or the modified Grashof number Gm. It is clear that the heat transfer coefficient in terms of the Nusselt number decreases in the case of both air and water when there is an increase in the Hartmann number M. It is observed that the magnitude of the secondary velocity profiles increases whenever there is an increase in either of the Grashof number or the modified Grashof number for mass transfer or the permeability of the porous media. Concentration profiles decreases with an increase in the Schmidt number.

Photocatalytic decomposition of selected estrogens and their estrogenic activity by UV-LED irradiated TiO{sub 2} immobilized on porous titanium sheets via thermal-chemical oxidation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arlos, Maricor J., E-mail: mjarlos@uwaterloo.ca [Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Liang, Robert; Hatat-Fraile, Melisa M. [Centre for Advanced Materials Joining, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Bragg, Leslie M. [Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Zhou, Norman Y. [Centre for Advanced Materials Joining, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Servos, Mark R. [Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Andrews, Susan A. [Civil Engineering Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4 (Canada)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • TiO{sub 2} self-assembled on oxidized porous titanium sheets. • UV-LED/TiO{sub 2} membrane treatment reduced the concentrations of estrogens. • Different pH conditions affect treatment efficiency. • The estrogenic activity removal was similar to the chemical disappearance. - Abstract: The removal of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) remains a big challenge in water treatment. Risks associated with these compounds are not clearly defined and it is important that the water industry has additional options to increase the resiliency of water treatment systems. Titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) has potential applications for the removal of EDCs from water. TiO{sub 2} has been immobilized on supports using a variety of synthesis methods to increase its feasibility for water treatment. In this study, we immobilized TiO{sub 2} through the thermal-chemical oxidation of porous titania sheets. The efficiency of the material to degrade target EDCs under UV-LED irradiation was examined under a wide range of pH conditions. A yeast-estrogen screen assay was used to complement chemical analysis in assessing removal efficiency. All compounds but 17β-estradiol were degraded and followed a pseudo first-order kinetics at all pH conditions tested, with pH 4 and pH 11 showing the most and the least efficient treatments respectively. In addition, the total estrogenic activity was substantially reduced even with the inefficient degradation of 17β-estradiol. Additional studies will be required to optimize different treatment conditions, UV-LED configurations, and membrane fouling mitigation measures to make this technology a more viable option for water treatment.

Multifunctional porous solids derived from tannins

Science.gov (United States)

Celzard, Alain; Fierro, Vanessa; Pizzi, Antonio; Zhao, Weigang

2013-03-01

Tannins are extremely valuable, non toxic, wood extractives combining reactivity towards aldehydes, low cost, natural origin and easy handling. When polymerized in the presence of suitable chemicals including blowing agent, ultra lightweight rigid tannin-based foams are obtained. If pyrolyzed under inert gas, reticulated carbon foams having the same pore structure and the same density are obtained. The most remarkable features of tannin-based foams are the following: mechanical resistance similar to, or higher than, that of commercial phenolic foams, tuneable pore size and permeability, infusibility, very low thermal conductivity, cheapness, ecological character, high resistance to flame and to chemicals. Carbon foams have even better properties and are also electrically conducting. Consequently, various applications are suggested for organic foams: cores of sandwich composite panels, sound and shock absorbers and thermal insulators, whereas carbon foams can be used as porous electrodes, filters for molten metals and corrosive chemicals, catalyst supports and adsorbents.

Heterogeneous reaction mechanisms and kinetics relevant to the CVD of semiconductor materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creighton, J.R.; Coltrin, M.E.

1994-03-01

This report documents the state of the art in experimental and theoretical techniques for determining reaction mechanisms and chemical kinetics of heterogeneous reactions relevant to the chemical vapor deposition of semiconductor materials. It summarizes the most common ultra-high vacuum experimental techniques that are used and the types of rate information available from each. Several case studies of specific chemical systems relevant to the microelectronics industry are described. Theoretical methods for calculating heterogeneous reaction rate constants are also summarized.

Flow channeling in a single fracture as a two-dimensional strongly heterogeneous permeable medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsang, Y.W.; Tsang, C.F.

1990-01-01

Recent interest in the evaluation of contaminant transport in bedrock aquifers and in the performance assessment of geologic nuclear waste repositories has motivated many studies of fluid flow and tracer transport in fractured rocks. Until recently, numerical modeling of fluid flow in the fractured medium commonly makes the assumption that each fracture may be idealized as a pair of parallel plates separated by a constant distance which represents the aperture of the fracture. More recent theoretical work has taken into account that the aperture in a real rock fracture in fact takes on a range of values. Evidence that flow in fractures tends to coalesce in preferred paths has been found in the field. Current studies of flow channeling in a fracture as a result of the variable apertures may also be applicable to flow and transport in a strongly heterogenous porous medium. This report includes the methodology used to study the flow channelling and tracer transport in a single fracture consisting of variable apertures. Relevant parameters that control flow channeling are then identified and the relationship of results to the general problem of flow in a heterogenous porous medium are discussed

Experimental and theoretical investigations of shock-induced flow of reactive porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baer, M.R.; Graham, R.A.; Anderson, M.U. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sheffield, S.A.; Gustavsen, R.L. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

1996-11-01

In this work, the microscale processes of consolidation, deformation and reaction features of shocked porous materials are studied. Time- resolve particle velocities and stress fields associated with dispersive compaction waves are measured in gas-gun experiments. In these tests, a thin porous layer of HMX is shock-loaded at varied levels. At high impact, significant reaction is triggered by the rapid material distortion during compaction. In parallel modeling studies, continuum mixture theory is applied to describe the behavior of averaged wave-fields in heterogeneous media. One-dimensional simulations of gas-gun experiments demonstrate that the wave features and interactions with viscoelastic materials in the gauge package are well described by mixture theory, including reflected wave behavior and conditions where significant reaction is initiated. Numerical simulations of impact on a collection of discrete HMX `crystals` are also presented using shock physics analysis. Three-dimensional simulations indicate that rapid distortion occurs at material contact points; the nature of the dispersive fields includes large amplitude fluctuations of stress with wavelengths of several particle diameters. Localization of energy causes `hot-spots` due to shock focusing and plastic work as material flows into interstitial regions. These numerical experiments demonstrate that `hot-spots` are strongly influenced by multiple crystal interactions. This mesoscale study provides new insights into micromechanical behavior of heterogeneous energetic materials.

Preparation of platinum-decorated porous graphite nanofibers, and their hydrogen storage behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byung-Joo; Lee, Young-Seak; Park, Soo-Jin

2008-02-15

In this work, the hydrogen storage behaviors of porous graphite nanofibers (GNFs) decorated by Pt nanoparticles were investigated. The Pt nanoparticles were introduced onto the GNF surfaces using a well-known chemical reduction method. We investigated the hydrogen storage capacity of the Pt-doped GNFs for the platinum content range of 1.3-7.5 mass%. The microstructure of the Pt/porous GNFs was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The hydrogen storage behaviors of the Pt/GNFs were studied using a PCT apparatus at 298 K and 10 MPa. It was found that amount of hydrogen stored increased with increasing Pt content to 3.4 mass%, and then decreased. This result indicates that the hydrogen storage capacity of porous carbons is based on both their metal content and dispersion rate.

Final technical report: The effect of physical and chemical heterogeneities in a porous medium on the transport of bacteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hornberger, George M.; Mills, Aaron L.; Herman, Janet S.

2001-04-01

Among the demonstrated processes influencing the transport of bacteria through aquifers, the deposition of cells on mineral surfaces is one of the most important. Heterogeneous distribution of aquifer properties such as mineral-grain oxide coatings and preferred flow paths can control the numbers of microbes arriving a point down gradient from their injection, and these properties can also affect the distribution of the organisms remaining in the sedimentary matrix. The distribution of metal oxide coatings affects the final location of retained cells within the matrix but had no effect on total breakthrough of applied bacteria. We were able to demonstrate transverse mixing of both conservative tracers and bacteria between regions of differing hydraulic conductivity; the conservative tracer could be used to model the transverse mixing of the bacteria. We were able to show that the presence of metal oxide coatings on aquifer surfaces retarded a reactive tracer (SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}) that simulated bacterial retardation in the laboratory. When metal oxide coatings were absent (due to bacterial establishment of a reducing environment) the tracer and bacteria were not retarded. The effect was reproduced in a tracer experiment done in the field. The results suggest that bacterial transport in the subsurface is controlled by a number of interrelated and confounding factors that prevent accurate prediction of transport given the present state of knowledge.

Facile Synthesis of Porous Silicon Nanofibers by Magnesium Reduction for Application in Lithium Ion Batteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Daehwan; Kim, Moonkyoung; Hwang, Jeonghyun; Park, Jay Hoon; Joo, Yong Lak; Jeong, Youngjin

2015-12-01

We report a facile fabrication of porous silicon nanofibers by a simple three-stage procedure. Polymer/silicon precursor composite nanofibers are first fabricated by electrospinning, a water-based spinning dope, which undergoes subsequent heat treatment and then reduction using magnesium to be converted into porous silicon nanofibers. The porous silicon nanofibers are coated with a graphene by using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for use as an anode material of lithium ion batteries. The porous silicon nanofibers can be mass-produced by a simple and solvent-free method, which uses an environmental-friendly polymer solution. The graphene-coated silicon nanofibers show an improved cycling performance of a capacity retention than the pure silicon nanofibers due to the suppression of the volume change and the increase of electric conductivity by the graphene.

High-capacitance supercapacitors using nitrogen-decorated porous carbon derived from novolac resin containing peptide linkage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yong Jung [Institute of Carbon Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan); Jang, In Young; Park, Ki Chul; Jung, Yong Chae; Oka, Takuyuki [Department of Electric and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan); Iinou, Satoshi [MEFS, Co. Ltd. Choei Nagano, Higasiguchi Bldg, 2F, 1000-1 Gentakubo, Kurita, Nagano 380-0921 (Japan); Komori, Yasuhiro; Kozutsumi, Toshihiko; Hashiba, Takashi [SHOWA HIGHPOLYMER, Co., Ltd. 1021 Tomizuka-cho, Isesaki-City, Gunma 372-0833 (Japan); Kim, Yoong Ahm, E-mail: yak@endomoribu.shinshu-u.ac.j [Department of Electric and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan); Endo, Morinobu [Institute of Carbon Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan)] [Department of Electric and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan)

2010-08-01

We fabricated nitrogen-decorated porous carbon exhibiting high capacitance per unit volume and unit weight via chemical activation of novolac resin containing peptide linkage. The porosity and the amount of nitrogen atoms were controlled by changing the molecular weight of novolac resin, the added amount of potassium hydroxide, or both. After chemical activation, positively charged nitrogen atoms (i.e., pyridine/pyrrole) at 400.3 eV in photoemission spectra contributed to both a shift in the point of zero charge toward negative potential and the generation of pseudocapacitance. Suitably developed pores and the positively charged nitrogen atoms make nitrogen-decorated novolac resin-derived porous carbon a promising material for electrodes in high-performance supercapacitors.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Heterogeneous Catalysis Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Harvey, C.E.

2013-01-01

Raman spectroscopy is valuable characterization technique for the chemical analysis of heterogeneous catalysts, both under ex-situ and in-situ conditions. The potential for Raman to shine light on the chemical bonds present in a sample makes the method highly desirable for detailed catalyst

Recent Advances in Porous Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Libin; Hu, Xianluo

2018-06-18

Climate change and the energy crisis have promoted the rapid development of electrochemical energy-storage devices. Owing to many intriguing physicochemical properties, such as excellent chemical stability, high electronic conductivity, and a large specific surface area, porous carbon materials have always been considering as a promising candidate for electrochemical energy storage. To date, a wide variety of porous carbon materials based upon molecular design, pore control, and compositional tailoring have been proposed for energy-storage applications. This focus review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis of various porous carbon materials from the view of energy storage, particularly in the past three years. Their applications in representative electrochemical energy-storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and lithium-ion hybrid capacitors, are discussed in this review, with a look forward to offer some inspiration and guidelines for the exploitation of advanced carbon-based energy-storage materials. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Porous HA-Al2O3 composite characterization using corn starch as a porogen agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, L.A.J. da; Galdino, A.G.S.; Cardoso, G.B.C.; Zavaglia, C.A.C.

2011-01-01

The porous ceramics based on hydroxyapatite have great potential for application in bone grafts due to its chemical similarity with the mineral phase of bone tissue, but have poor biomechanical properties, which cause limitations in its applications. This work aims to analyze the structural characteristics of porous ceramics obtained by addition of hydroxyapatite (HA, sintered in the laboratory), Corn Starch (CS, commercial) and Al 2 O 3 (ALCOA), at different temperatures. Samples were made of dense HA (100% HA), porous (70% HA - 30% CS) and with addition of 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% Al 2 O 3 porous composition. The samples were sintered at 1250°C, 1300 deg C and 135 0°C and characterized by: XRF, XRD, SEM and density by the Archimedes method. Concludes It is the possibility of obtaining samples porous HA / Al 2 O 3 using starch as porogenic agent. The temperature and concentration of Al 2 O 3 most appropriate were: 1250°C and 7.5%. (author)

Obtaining contaminant arrival distributions for steady flow in heterogeneous systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

The versatility of the new contaminant arrival distributions for determining environmental consequences of subsurface pollution problems is demonstrated through application to a field example involving land drainage in heterogeneous porous materials. Though the four phases of the hydrologic evaluations are complicated because of the material heterogeneity encountered in the field problem, the arrival distributions still effectively summarize the minimal amount of data required to determine the environmental implications. These arrival distributions yield a single graph or tabular set of data giving the consequences of the subsurface pollution problems. Accordingly, public control authorities would be well advised to request that the results of subsurface pollution investigations be provided in the form of arrival distributions and the resulting simpler summary curve or tabulation. Such an objective is most easily accomplished through compliance with the requirements for assuring a complete subsurface evaluation

Strength degradation and failure limits of dense and porous ceramic membrane materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pećanac, G.; Foghmoes, Søren Preben Vagn; Lipińska-Chwałek, M.

2013-01-01

Thin dense membrane layers, mechanically supported by porous substrates, are considered as the most efficient designs for oxygen supply units used in Oxy-fuel processes and membrane reactors. Based on the favorable permeation properties and chemical stability, several materials were suggested...

Study the formation of porous surface layer for a new biomedical titanium alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Talib Mohammed, Mohsin; Diwan, Abass Ali; Ali, Osamah Ihsan

2018-03-01

In the present work, chemical treatment using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidation and subsequent thermal treatment was applied to create a uniform porous layer over the surface of a new metastable β-Ti alloy. The results revealed that this oxidation treatment can create a stable ultrafine porous film over the oxidized surface. This promoted the electrochemical characteristics of H2O2-treated Ti-Zr-Nb (TZN) alloy system, presenting nobler corrosion behavior in simulated body fluid (SBF) comparing with untreated sample.

Coupling chemical and biological catalysis: a flexible paradigm for producing biobased chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Thomas J; Shanks, Brent H; Dumesic, James A

2016-04-01

Advances in metabolic engineering have allowed for the development of new biological catalysts capable of selectively de-functionalizing biomass to yield platform molecules that can be upgraded to biobased chemicals using high efficiency continuous processing allowed by heterogeneous chemical catalysis. Coupling these disciplines overcomes the difficulties of selectively activating COH bonds by heterogeneous chemical catalysis and producing petroleum analogues by biological catalysis. We show that carboxylic acids, pyrones, and alcohols are highly flexible platforms that can be used to produce biobased chemicals by this approach. More generally, we suggest that molecules with three distinct functionalities may represent a practical upper limit on the extent of functionality present in the platform molecules that serve as the bridge between biological and chemical catalysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulation of Tracer Transport in Porous Media: Application to Bentonites; Simulacion del Transporte de Trazadores en Medios Porosos: Aplicacion al Caso de Arcillas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bru, A; Casero, D [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

2001-07-01

We present a formal framework to describe tracer transport in heterogeneous media, such as porous media like bentonites. In these media, mean field approximation is not valid because there exist some geometrical constraints and the transport is anomalous. (Author)

Sub-Tg enthalpy relaxation in an unstable oxide glass former: insights into the structural heterogeneity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yue, Yuanzheng; Zhang, Yanfei

Structural heterogeneity plays a crucial role in determining functionality of glasses. In this work we have found that the sub-Tg enthalpy relaxation pattern in a hyperquenched glass is highly sensitive to structural heterogeneity. As a consequence, the former can be used as an effective approach...... to detect and quantify the structural heterogeneity in glass-forming liquids. However, the chemical nature of structural heterogeneity should be revealed by other means such as high resolution microscopic and spectroscopic methods. To study the impact of the structural heterogeneity on the sub-Tg relaxation...... chemical features and degrees of structural heterogeneity in glass-forming liquids. This finding contributes to the microscopic origin of both the primary and secondary relaxation in terms of structural heterogeneity. Finally the results provide insights into the relation between structural heterogeneity...

Variations in hydraulic conductivity with scale of measurement during aquifer tests in heterogeneous, porous carbonate rocks

Science.gov (United States)

Schulze-Makuch, Dirk; Cherkauer, Douglas S.

Previous studies have shown that hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer seems to increase as the portion of the aquifer tested increases. To date, such studies have all relied on different methods to determine hydraulic conductivity at each scale of interest, which raises the possibility that the observed increase in hydraulic conductivity is due to the measurement method, not to the scale. This study analyzes hydraulic conductivity with respect to scale during individual aquifer tests in porous, heterogeneous carbonate rocks in southeastern Wisconsin, USA. Results from this study indicate that hydraulic conductivity generally increases during an individual test as the volume of aquifer impacted increases, and the rate of this increase is the same as the rate of increase determined by using different measurement methods. Thus, scale dependence of hydraulic conductivity during single tests does not depend on the method of measurement. This conclusion is supported by 22 of 26 aquifer tests conducted in porous-flow-dominated carbonate units within the aquifer. Instead, scale dependency is probably caused by heterogeneities within the aquifer, a conclusion supported by digital simulation. All of the observed types of hydraulic-conductivity variations with scale during individual aquifer tests can be explained by a conceptual model of a simple heterogeneous aquifer composed of high-conductivity zones within a low-conductivity matrix. Résumé Certaines études ont montré que la conductivité hydraulique d'un aquifère semble augmenter en même temps que la partie testée de l'aquifère s'étend. Jusqu'à présent, ces études ont toutes reposé sur des méthodes de détermination de la conductivité hydraulique différentes pour chaque niveau d'échelle, ce qui a conduit à penser que l'augmentation observée de la conductivité hydraulique pouvait être due aux méthodes de mesure et non à l'effet d'échelle. Cette étude analyse la conductivité hydraulique par

Development of porous ceramsite from construction and demolition waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chuan; Wu, Jian-Zhi; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2013-01-01

The disposal of construction and demolition (C&D) waste has become a serious problem in China due to the rapid increase of Chinese construction industry in recent years. In the present study, typical C&D waste was employed for ceramsite fabrication so as to find a new way for its effective recycling. A novel process was developed for manufacturing high-quality porous ceramsite according to the special chemical composition and properties of C&D waste. Most importantly, a unique bloating agent was developed for the porous structure formation since it was difficult to obtain a suitable porous structure using traditional bloating agents. The effects of processing parameters such as sintering temperature, heating rate and soaking time were investigated, and the bloating mechanism for ceramsite was discussed. The C&D waste ceramsite (CDWC), with high-intensity, low density and homogeneous mechanical properties, was much more suitable for application in the construction field. This study provides a practical process for efficient recycling of the rapidly increasing quantities of C&D waste.

Formulation of porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles by electrospray deposition method for controlled drug release

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hao, Shilei; Wang, Yazhou; Wang, Bochu, E-mail: wangbc2000@126.com; Deng, Jia; Zhu, Liancai; Cao, Yang

2014-06-01

In the present study, the electrospray deposition was successfully applied to prepare the porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles by one-step processing. Metronidazole was selected as the model drug. The porous PLGA microparticles had high drug loading and low density, and the porous structure can be observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The production time has been shortened considerably compared with that of the traditional multi-emulsion method. In addition, no chemical reaction occurred between the drug and polymer in the preparation of porous microparticles, and the crystal structure of drug did not change after entrapment into the porous microparticles. The porous microparticles showed a sustained release in the simulated gastric fluid, and the release followed non-Fickian or case II transport. Furthermore, porous microparticles showed a slight cytotoxicity in vitro. The results indicated that electrospray deposition is a good technique for preparation of porous microparticles, and the low-density porous PLGA microparticles has a potential for the development of gastroretentive systems or for pulmonary drug delivery. - Highlights: • The porous PLGA microparticles were successfully prepared by the electrospray deposition method at one step. • The porous microparticles had high loading capacity and low density. • The microparticle showed a sustained release in the simulated gastric liquid. • The microparticles showed a slight cytotoxicity in vitro.

Formulation of porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles by electrospray deposition method for controlled drug release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Shilei; Wang, Yazhou; Wang, Bochu; Deng, Jia; Zhu, Liancai; Cao, Yang

2014-01-01

In the present study, the electrospray deposition was successfully applied to prepare the porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles by one-step processing. Metronidazole was selected as the model drug. The porous PLGA microparticles had high drug loading and low density, and the porous structure can be observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The production time has been shortened considerably compared with that of the traditional multi-emulsion method. In addition, no chemical reaction occurred between the drug and polymer in the preparation of porous microparticles, and the crystal structure of drug did not change after entrapment into the porous microparticles. The porous microparticles showed a sustained release in the simulated gastric fluid, and the release followed non-Fickian or case II transport. Furthermore, porous microparticles showed a slight cytotoxicity in vitro. The results indicated that electrospray deposition is a good technique for preparation of porous microparticles, and the low-density porous PLGA microparticles has a potential for the development of gastroretentive systems or for pulmonary drug delivery. - Highlights: • The porous PLGA microparticles were successfully prepared by the electrospray deposition method at one step. • The porous microparticles had high loading capacity and low density. • The microparticle showed a sustained release in the simulated gastric liquid. • The microparticles showed a slight cytotoxicity in vitro

Heterogeneous silicon mesostructures for lipid-supported bioelectric interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Yuanwen; Carvalho-de-Souza, João L.; Wong, Raymond C. S.; Luo, Zhiqiang; Isheim, Dieter; Zuo, Xiaobing; Nicholls, Alan W.; Jung, Il Woong; Yue, Jiping; Liu, Di-Jia; Wang, Yucai; De Andrade, Vincent; Xiao, Xianghui; Navrazhnykh, Luizetta; Weiss, Dara E.; Wu, Xiaoyang; Seidman, David N.; Bezanilla, Francisco; Tian, Bozhi

2016-06-27

Silicon-based materials have widespread application as biophysical tools and biomedical devices. Here we introduce a biocompatible and degradable mesostructured form of silicon with multi-scale structural and chemical heterogeneities. The material was synthesized using mesoporous silica as a template through a chemical vapour deposition process. It has an amorphous atomic structure, an ordered nanowire-based framework and random submicrometre voids, and shows an average Young’s modulus that is 2–3 orders of magnitude smaller than that of single-crystalline silicon. In addition, we used the heterogeneous silicon mesostructures to design a lipid-bilayer-supported bioelectric interface that is remotely controlled and temporally transient, and that permits non-genetic and subcellular optical modulation of the electrophysiology dynamics in single dorsal root ganglia neurons. Our findings suggest that the biomimetic expansion of silicon into heterogeneous and deformable forms can open up opportunities in extracellular biomaterial or bioelectric systems.

Development of models for fast fluid pathways through unsaturated heterogeneous porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robey, T.H.

1994-11-01

The pre-waste-emplacement ground water travel time requirement is a regulatory criterion that specifies ground water travel time to the accessible environment shall be greater than 1,000 years. Satisfying the ground water travel time criterion for the potential repository at Yucca Mountain requires the study of fast travel path formation in the unsaturated zone and development of models that simulate the formation of fast paths. Conceptual models for unsaturated flow that have been used for total-systems performance assessment generally fall into the categories of composite-porosity or fracture models. The actual hydrologic conditions at Yucca Mountain are thought to lie somewhere between the extremes of these two types of models. The current study considers the effects of heterogeneities on composite-porosity models and seeks to develop numerical methods (and models) that can produce locally saturated zones where fracture flow can occur. The credibility of the model and numerical methods is investigated by using test data from the INTRAVAL project (Swedish Nuclear Inspectorate, 1992) to attempt to predict in-situ volumetric water content at specific locations in Yucca Mountain. Work based on the numerical methods presented in this study is eventually intended to allow the calculation of ground water travel times in heterogeneous media. 60 refs

Analytical solutions for non-linear conversion of a porous solid particle in a gas–II. Non-isothermal conversion and numerical verification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brem, Gerrit; Brouwers, J.J.H.

1990-01-01

In Part I, analytical solutions were given for the non-linear isothermal heterogeneous conversion of a porous solid particle. Account was taken of a reaction rate of general order with respect to the gas reactant, intrinsic reaction surface area and effective pore diffusion, which change with solid

Analytical solutions for non-linear conversion of a porous solid particle in a gas : II. non-isothermal conversion and numerical verification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brem, G.; Brouwers, J.J.H.

1990-01-01

In Part I, analytical solutions were given for the non-linear isothermal heterogeneous conversion of a porous solid particle. Account was taken of a reaction rate of general order with respect to the gas reactant, intrinsic reaction surface area and effective pore diffusion, which change with solid

Positronium chemistry in porous adsorbents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foti, G.; Nagy, L.G.; Moravcsik, G.; Schay, G.

1981-01-01

Kinetic studies on the annihilation of orthopositronium in porous adsorbents have been performed using lifetime spectroscopy. The positron source applied was 22 Na with 0.2 MBq activity. The adsorbents investigated were silica gels of different particle size and pore structure. The appearance of the long-lived component in the lifetime spectra can be explained by the diffusion of the orthopositronium into the pores affected by the particle size and the pore size of the adsorbent, the coverage on it and the chemical nature of the adsorbate. The long-term aim of the work is to determine and to explain these effects. (author)

Effect of chemical heterogeneity of biodegradable polymers on surface energy: A static contact angle analysis of polyester model films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belibel, R.; Avramoglou, T. [INSERM U1148, Laboratory for Vascular Translational Science (LVTS), Institut Galilée, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 99 Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément, Villetaneuse F-93430 (France); Garcia, A. [CNRS UPR 3407, Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériau, Institut Galilée, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 99 Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément, Villetaneuse F-93430 (France); Barbaud, C. [INSERM U1148, Laboratory for Vascular Translational Science (LVTS), Institut Galilée, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 99 Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément, Villetaneuse F-93430 (France); Mora, L., E-mail: Laurence.mora@univ-paris13.fr [INSERM U1148, Laboratory for Vascular Translational Science (LVTS), Institut Galilée, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 99 Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément, Villetaneuse F-93430 (France)

2016-02-01

Biodegradable and bioassimilable poly((R,S)-3,3 dimethylmalic acid) (PDMMLA) derivatives were synthesized and characterized in order to develop a new coating for coronary endoprosthesis enabling the reduction of restenosis. The PDMMLA was chemically modified to form different custom groups in its side chain. Three side groups were chosen: the hexyl group for its hydrophobic nature, the carboxylic acid and alcohol groups for their acid and neutral hydrophilic character, respectively. The sessile drop method was applied to characterize the wettability of biodegradable polymer film coatings. Surface energy and components were calculated. The van Oss approach helped reach not only the dispersive and polar acid–base components of surface energy but also acid and basic components. Surface topography was quantified by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and subnanometer average values of roughness (Ra) were obtained for all the analyzed surfaces. Thus, roughness was considered to have a negligible effect on wettability measurements. In contrast, heterogeneous surfaces had to be corrected by the Cassie–Baxter equation for copolymers (10/90, 20/80 and 30/70). The impact of this correction was quantified for all the wettability parameters. Very high relative corrections (%) were found, reaching 100% for energies and 30% for contact angles. - Highlights: • We develop different polymers with various chemical compositions. • Wettability properties were calculated using Cassie corrected contact angles. • Percentage of acid groups in polymers is directly correlated to acid part of SFE. • Cassie corrections are necessary for heterogeneous polymers.

Heterogeneous ice nucleation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bogdan, A. [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Physics

1994-12-31

The classical theory of heterogenous ice nucleation is reviewed in detail. The modelling of ice nucleation in the adsorbed water films on natural particles by analogous ice nucleation in adsorbed water films on the walls of porous media is discussed. Ice nucleation in adsorbed films of purewater and the HNO{sub 3}/H{sub 2}0 binary system on the surface of porous aerosol (SiO{sub 2}) was investigated using the method of NMR spectroscopy. The median freezing temperature and freezing temperature region were shown to be highly sensitive both to the average thickness of the adsorbed films and to the amount of adsorbed nitric acid. The character of the ice phase formation tends to approach that of bulk liquid with increasing adsorbed film thickness. Under the given conditions the thickness of the adsorbed films decreases with an increasing amount of adsorbed nitric acid molecules The molar concentration of nitric acid in the adsorbed films is very small (of the order of 10{sup -}3 10{sup -}2 (M/l)). Nitric acid molecules tend to adsorb on the surface of aerosol to a greater extent than in subsequent layers. The concentration is greatest in layers situated close to the surface and sharply decreases with the distance from the surface. The difference between the median freezing temperatures for adsorbed pure water and for the binary system was found to be about 9 K for films of equal thickness. This is about 150 times greater than the difference between the median freezing temperatures of bulk pure water and a solution with the same concentration of nitric acid. (orig.)

Porous Silicon–Carbon Composite Materials Engineered by Simultaneous Alkaline Etching for High-Capacity Lithium Storage Anodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, Myungbeom; Kim, Dae Sik; Park, Hyeong-Il; Kim, Jae-Hun; Kim, Hansu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A porous Si–C anode is obtained by alkaline etching of a non-porous Si–C composite. • The pores in the carbon frame are created by simultaneous etching of Si and carbon. • The cycle life is greatly improved after the alkaline treatment. • The porous Si–C composite electrode shows high dimensional stability during cycling. - Abstract: Porous silicon–carbon (Si–C) composite materials have attracted a great deal of attention as high-performance anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs), but their use suffers from the complex and limited synthetic routes for their preparation. Herein we demonstrate a scalable and nontoxic method to synthesize porous Si–C composite materials by means of simultaneous chemical etching of Si and carbon phases using alkaline solution. The resulting porous Si–C composite material showed greatly improved cycle performance, good rate capability, and high dimensional stability during cycling. Porous Si–C electrode showed an expansion of the height by about 22% after the first lithiation and only 16% after the first cycle. The material synthesis concept and scalable simultaneous etching approach presented here represent a means of improving the electrochemical properties of Si-based porous anode materials for use in commercial LIBs.

Impact of small-scale saline tracer heterogeneity on electrical resistivity monitoring in fully and partially saturated porous media: Insights from geoelectrical milli-fluidic experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Jougnot, Damien; Jiménez-Martínez, Joaquín; Legendre, Raphaël; Le Borgne, Tanguy; Méheust, Yves; Linde, Niklas

2018-03-01

Time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a geophysical method widely used to remotely monitor the migration of electrically-conductive tracers and contaminant plumes in the subsurface. Interpretations of time-lapse ERT inversion results are generally based on the assumption of a homogeneous solute concentration below the resolution limits of the tomogram depicting inferred electrical conductivity variations. We suggest that ignoring small-scale solute concentration variability (i.e., at the sub-resolution scale) is a major reason for the often-observed apparent loss of solute mass in ERT tracer studies. To demonstrate this, we developed a geoelectrical milli-fluidic setup where the bulk electric conductivity of a 2D analogous porous medium, consisting of cylindrical grains positioned randomly inside a Hele-Shaw cell, is monitored continuously in time while saline tracer tests are performed through the medium under fully and partially saturated conditions. High resolution images of the porous medium are recorded with a camera at regular time intervals, and provide both the spatial distribution of the fluid phases (aqueous solution and air), and the saline solute concentration field (where the solute consists of a mixture of salt and fluorescein, the latter being used as a proxy for the salt concentration). Effective bulk electrical conductivities computed numerically from the measured solute concentration field and the spatial distributions of fluid phases agree well with the measured bulk conductivities. We find that the effective bulk electrical conductivity is highly influenced by the connectivity of high electrical conductivity regions. The spatial distribution of air, saline tracer fingering, and mixing phenomena drive temporal changes in the effective bulk electrical conductivity by creating preferential paths or barriers for electrical current at the pore-scale. The resulting heterogeneities in the solute concentrations lead to strong anisotropy

Building surface decontamination for chemical counter-terrorism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrison, S.; Thouin, G.; Kuang, W. [SAIC Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Volchek, K.; Fingas, M.; Li, K. [Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Emergencies Science and Technology Division, Environmental Technology Centre, Science and Technology Branch

2006-07-01

A test method to compare and evaluate surface decontamination methods for buildings affected by chemical attacks was developed. Decontamination techniques generally depend on the nature and quantity of the weapon agent, the type of construction material and the location. Cleanup methods can be either physical, chemical or biological. This paper addressed chemical decontamination methods which use reactants to change the molecular structure of the contaminant. Peroxycarboxylic and peroxyacetic acids (PAA) are being used increasingly for both disinfection and environmental protection. In this study, 4 materials were chosen to represent common building materials. Samples were spiked with 10 mg of pesticides such as malathion and diazinon. Decontamination agents included the commercial decontamination agent CASCAD prepared in liquid form, a chemical preparation of PAA, and reagent grade peroxypropionic acid (PPA). The newly developed surface decontamination procedure can evaluate and compare the effectiveness of different chemical decontamination agents. The procedures were used on porous ceiling tile and carpet as well as on non-porous floor tile and painted steel surfaces. Rinse water was collected and analyzed in order to determine if decontamination was a result of chemical destruction or mechanical removal. The extraction efficiencies were found to be acceptable for all materials, with the exception of the highly porous ceiling tile. The extraction of diazinon from all surfaces was less efficient than the extraction of malathion. Results suggest that the performance of decontamination agents can be improved by repeated application of the decontamination agent, along with greater volumes and a combination of chemical and mechanical actions. It was also suggested that breakdown methods and wastewater treatment procedures should be developed because hazardous byproducts were detected in many samples. 18 refs., 1 tab., 17 figs.

Single photoresist masking for local porous Si formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hourdakis, E; Nassiopoulou, A G

2014-01-01

A simple process for local electrochemical porous Si formation on a Si wafer using a photoresist mask was developed. In this respect, the AZ9260 photoresist from MicroChemicals was used, which is easily removed by simple immersion in acetone after the electrochemical process. The photoresist layer thickness and its adhesion to the Si substrate were optimized for increased etch resistance to the anodization solution. Using the above process, mesoporous Si layers as thick as 50 μm were locally formed on the Si wafer through the photoresist mask. The developed process paves the way towards a simple industrial batch Si technology process for the fabrication of mixed Si wafers containing local porous Si areas. These wafers are very interesting for future system-on-chip (SoC) applications, including RF analog/digital and sensors/electronics SoCs. (technical note)

Effects of key factors on solar aided methane steam reforming in porous medium thermochemical reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fuqiang; Tan, Jianyu; Ma, Lanxin; Leng, Yu

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Effects of key factors on chemical reaction for solar methane reforming are studied. • MCRT and FVM method coupled with UDFs is used to establish numerical model. • Heat and mass transfer model coupled with thermochemical reaction is established. • LTNE model coupled with P1 approximation is used for porous matrix solar reactor. • A formula between H 2 production and conductivity of porous matrix is put forward. - Abstract: With the aid of solar energy, methane reforming process can save up to 20% of the total methane consumption. Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT) method and Finite Volume Method (FVM) combined method are developed to establish the heat and mass transfer model coupled with thermochemical reaction kinetics for porous medium solar thermochemical reactor. In order to provide more temperature information, local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) model coupled with P1 approximation is established to investigate the thermal performance of porous medium solar thermochemical reaction. Effects of radiative heat loss and thermal conductivity of porous matrix on temperature distribution and thermochemical reaction for solar driven steam methane reforming process are numerically studied. Besides, the relationship between hydrogen production and thermal conductivity of porous matrix are analyzed. The results illustrate that hydrogen production shows a 3 order polynomial relation with thermal conductivity of porous matrix

Fluid flow in a porous medium with transverse permeability discontinuity

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlovskaya, Galina E.; Meersmann, Thomas; Jin, Chunyu; Rigby, Sean P.

2018-04-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) velocimetry methods are used to study fully developed axially symmetric fluid flow in a model porous medium of cylindrical symmetry with a transverse permeability discontinuity. Spatial mapping of fluid flow results in radial velocity profiles. High spatial resolution of these profiles allows estimating the slip in velocities at the boundary with a permeability discontinuity zone in a sample. The profiles are compared to theoretical velocity fields for a fully developed axially symmetric flow in a cylinder derived from the Beavers-Joseph [G. S. Beavers and D. D. Joseph, J. Fluid Mech. 30, 197 (1967), 10.1017/S0022112067001375] and Brinkman [H. C. Brinkman, Appl. Sci. Res. A 1, 27 (1947), 10.1007/BF02120313] models. Velocity fields are also computed using pore-scale lattice Boltzmann modeling (LBM) where the assumption about the boundary could be omitted. Both approaches give good agreement between theory and experiment, though LBM velocity fields follow the experiment more closely. This work shows great promise for MRI velocimetry methods in addressing the boundary behavior of fluids in opaque heterogeneous porous media.

Carbon nanotubes-porous ceramic composite by in situ CCVD growth of CNTs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazumder, Sangram; Sarkar, Naboneeta; Park, Jung Gyu [Institute of Processing and Application of Inorganic Materials (PAIM), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanseo University, #360 Daegok-ri, Haemi-myeon, Seosan-si, Chungnam, 356-706 (Korea, Republic of); Han, In Sub [Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), #152 Gajeong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ik Jin, E-mail: ijkim@hanseo.ac.kr [Institute of Processing and Application of Inorganic Materials (PAIM), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanseo University, #360 Daegok-ri, Haemi-myeon, Seosan-si, Chungnam, 356-706 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-03-01

A novel approach towards the formation of Carbon nanotubes-porous alumina ceramic composite was attempted by the application of three different reaction techniques. Porous alumina ceramics having micrometer pore dimensions were developed using the direct foaming technique. NaA zeolites were simultaneously synthesized and coated within the porous ceramics by an in situ hydrothermal process and were subjected to a simple ion exchange reaction for preparing the suitable catalyst material for Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesis. The catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD) technique was used to grow CNTs within the porous ceramics and the effect of growth time on the synthesized CNTs were investigated. Phase compositions of the samples were analysed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used for morphology, surface quality and structural analysis. Crystallinity, defects and yield were studied by Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). - Highlights: • Novel processing route of MWCNTs grown on Cobalt-zeolites-porous ceramics by CCVD. • CCVD time of 120 min produced MWCNTs with most prominent tube-like structure. • 120 min produced highest yield (19.46%) of CNTs with an I{sub D}/I{sub G} ratio of 0.88.

Fingerprint detection and using intercalated CdSe nanoparticles on non-porous surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Algarra, Manuel, E-mail: malgarra67@gmail.com [Centro de Geología da Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Geociências, Ambiente e Ordenamemto do Territorio do Porto, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Radotić, Ksenija; Kalauzi, Aleksandar; Mutavdžić, Dragosav; Savić, Aleksandar [Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11000 Beograd (Serbia); Jiménez-Jiménez, José; Rodríguez-Castellón, Enrique [Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071Málaga (Spain); Silva, Joaquim C.G. Esteves da [Centro de Investigação em Química (CIQ-UP). Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Guerrero-González, Juan José [Policía Científica, Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, Málaga (Spain)

2014-02-17

Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Fluorescent nanocomposite based on the inclusion of CdSe quantum dots in porous phosphate heterostructures. •Characterized by FTIR, XRD and fluorescence spectroscopies. •Deconvolution of the emission spectra was confirmed by using multivariate curve resolution (MCR) method. •Application for fingerprint detection and analysis on different non-porous surfaces. -- Abstract: A fluorescent nanocomposite based on the inclusion of CdSe quantum dots in porous phosphate heterostructures, functionalized with amino groups (PPH-NH{sub 2}@CdSe), was synthesized, characterized and used for fingerprint detection. The main scopes of this work were first to develop a friendly chemical powder for detecting latent fingerprints, especially in non-porous surfaces; their further intercalation in PPH structure enables not to spread the fluorescent nanoparticles, for that reason very good fluorescent images can be obtained. The fingerprints, obtained on different non-porous surfaces such as iron tweezers, mobile telephone screen and magnetic band of a credit card, treated with this powder emit a pale orange luminescence under ultraviolet excitation. A further image processing consists of contrast enhancement that allows obtaining positive matches according to the information supplied from a police database, and showed to be more effective than that obtained with the non-processed images. Experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of proposed methods.

Fingerprint detection and using intercalated CdSe nanoparticles on non-porous surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Algarra, Manuel; Radotić, Ksenija; Kalauzi, Aleksandar; Mutavdžić, Dragosav; Savić, Aleksandar; Jiménez-Jiménez, José; Rodríguez-Castellón, Enrique; Silva, Joaquim C.G. Esteves da; Guerrero-González, Juan José

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Fluorescent nanocomposite based on the inclusion of CdSe quantum dots in porous phosphate heterostructures. •Characterized by FTIR, XRD and fluorescence spectroscopies. •Deconvolution of the emission spectra was confirmed by using multivariate curve resolution (MCR) method. •Application for fingerprint detection and analysis on different non-porous surfaces. -- Abstract: A fluorescent nanocomposite based on the inclusion of CdSe quantum dots in porous phosphate heterostructures, functionalized with amino groups (PPH-NH 2 @CdSe), was synthesized, characterized and used for fingerprint detection. The main scopes of this work were first to develop a friendly chemical powder for detecting latent fingerprints, especially in non-porous surfaces; their further intercalation in PPH structure enables not to spread the fluorescent nanoparticles, for that reason very good fluorescent images can be obtained. The fingerprints, obtained on different non-porous surfaces such as iron tweezers, mobile telephone screen and magnetic band of a credit card, treated with this powder emit a pale orange luminescence under ultraviolet excitation. A further image processing consists of contrast enhancement that allows obtaining positive matches according to the information supplied from a police database, and showed to be more effective than that obtained with the non-processed images. Experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of proposed methods

Synthesis of porous silicon nano-wires and the emission of red luminescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Congli, Sun; Hao, Hu; Huanhuan, Feng; Jingjing, Xu; Yu, Chen; Yong, Jin; Zhifeng, Jiao; Xiaosong, Sun

2013-01-01

This very paper is focusing on the characterization of porous silicon nano-wires prepared via a two-step route, the electroless chemical etching and the following post-treatment of HF/HNO 3 solution. Hence, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy are employed for this purpose. From the results of experiments, one can find that the as-prepared silicon nano-wire is of smooth surface and that no visible photo-luminescence emission could be seen. However, the porous structure can be found in the silicon nano-wire treated with HF/HNO 3 solution, and the clear photo-luminescence emission of 630 nm can be recorded with a confocal fluorescence microscope. The transmission electron microscopy test tells that the porous silicon nano-wire is made up of a porous crystalline silicon nano-core and a rough coating of silicon oxide. Besides, based on the post-HF- and -H 2 O 2 - treatments, the emission mechanism of the red luminescence has been discussed and could be attributed to the quantum confinement/luminescence center model which could be simply concluded as that the electron–hole pairs are mainly excited inside the porous silicon nano-core and then tunneling out and recombining at the silicon oxide coating.

Synthesis of porous silicon nano-wires and the emission of red luminescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Congli, Sun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University (China); Hao, Hu [National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, Sichuan (China); Huanhuan, Feng; Jingjing, Xu; Yu, Chen; Yong, Jin; Zhifeng, Jiao [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University (China); Xiaosong, Sun, E-mail: sunxs@scu.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University (China)

2013-10-01

This very paper is focusing on the characterization of porous silicon nano-wires prepared via a two-step route, the electroless chemical etching and the following post-treatment of HF/HNO{sub 3} solution. Hence, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy are employed for this purpose. From the results of experiments, one can find that the as-prepared silicon nano-wire is of smooth surface and that no visible photo-luminescence emission could be seen. However, the porous structure can be found in the silicon nano-wire treated with HF/HNO{sub 3} solution, and the clear photo-luminescence emission of 630 nm can be recorded with a confocal fluorescence microscope. The transmission electron microscopy test tells that the porous silicon nano-wire is made up of a porous crystalline silicon nano-core and a rough coating of silicon oxide. Besides, based on the post-HF- and -H{sub 2}O{sub 2}- treatments, the emission mechanism of the red luminescence has been discussed and could be attributed to the quantum confinement/luminescence center model which could be simply concluded as that the electron–hole pairs are mainly excited inside the porous silicon nano-core and then tunneling out and recombining at the silicon oxide coating.

Tracer transfer in consolidated porous medium and fractured porous medium: experimentations and modelling; Transferts d'un traceur en milieu poreux consolide et en milieu poreux fissure: experimentations et modelisations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalla Costa, C

2007-07-15

We try to identify and model physical and chemical mechanisms governing the water flow and the solute transport in fractured consolidated porous medium. An original experimental device was built. The 'cube' consists of an idealized fractured medium reproduced by piling up consolidated porous cubes of 5 cm edge. Meanwhile, columns of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium are studied. The same anionic tracing technique is used in both cases. Using a system analysis approach, we inject concentration pulses in the device to obtain breakthrough curves. After identifying the mass balance and the residence time, we fit the CD and the MIM models to the experimental data. The MIM model is able to reproduce experimental curves of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium better than the CD model. The mobile water fraction is in accordance with the porous medium geometry. The study of the flow rate influence highlights an interference dispersion regime. It was not possible to highlight the observation length influence in this case. On the contrary, we highlight the effect of the observation scale on the fractured and porous medium, comparing the results obtained on a small 'cube' and a big 'cube'. The CD model is not satisfactory in this case. Even if the MIM model can fit the experimental breakthrough curves, it was not possible to obtain unique parameters for the set of experiments. (author)

Electronic properties of electrolyte/anodic alumina junction during porous anodizing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vrublevsky, I. [Department of Microelectronics, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, 6 Brovka Street, Minsk 220013 (Belarus)]. E-mail: nil-4-2@bsuir.edu.by; Jagminas, A. [Institute of Chemistry, A. Gostauto 9, LT-01108 Vilnius (Lithuania); Schreckenbach, J. [Institut fuer Chemie, Technische Universitaet Chemnitz, Chemnitz D-09107 (Germany); InnoMat GmbH, Chemnitz (Germany); Goedel, Werner A. [Institut fuer Chemie, Technische Universitaet Chemnitz, Chemnitz D-09107 (Germany)

2007-03-15

The growth of porous oxide films on aluminum (99.99% purity), formed in 4% phosphoric acid was studied as a function of the anodizing voltage (23-53 V) using a re-anodizing technique and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study. The chemical dissolution behavior of freshly anodized and annealed at 200 deg. C porous alumina films was studied. The obtained results indicate that porous alumina has n-type semiconductive behavior during anodizing in 4% phosphoric acid. During anodising, up to 39 V in the barrier layer of porous films, one obtains an accumulation layer (the thickness does not exceed 1 nm) where the excess electrons have been injected into the solid producing a downward bending of the conductive and valence band towards the interface. The charge on the surface of anodic oxide is negative and decreases with growing anodizing voltage. At the anodizing voltage of about 39 V, the charge on the surface of anodic oxide equals to zero. Above 39 V, anodic alumina/electrolyte junction injects protons from the electrolyte. These immobile positive charges in the surface layer of oxide together with an ionic layer of hydroxyl ions concentrated near the interface create a field, which produces an upward bending of the bands.

Charge Efficiency: A Functional Tool to Probe the Double-Layer Structure Inside of Porous Electrodes and Application in the Modeling of Capacitive Deionization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, R.; Biesheuvel, P.M.; Miedema, H.; Bruning, H.; Wal, van der A.

2010-01-01

Porous electrodes are important in many physical-chemical processes including capacitive deionization (CDI), a desalination technology where ions are adsorbed from solution into the electrostatic double layers formed at the electrode/solution interface inside of two juxtaposed porous electrodes. A

Thermal flow in porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ene, H.I.; Poliwevski, D.

1987-01-01

Thermal flows in porous media are important in a wide range of areas: oil recovery, geothermal development, chemical and nuclear industry, civil engineering, energy storage and energy conversion. This book uses a systematic, rigorous and unified treatment to provide a general understanding of the phenomena involved. General equations for single- or multiphase flows (including an arbitrary number of components inside each phase), diffusion and chemical reactions are presented. The boundary conditions which may be imposed, the non-dimensional para meters, the structures of the solutions, the stability of the finite amplitude solutions and many other related topics ae also studied. Although the treatment is basically mathematical, specific physical problems are also dealt with. There are two major fields of applications: natural convection and underground combustion. Both are discussed in detail. Various examples with exact or numerical solutions, for the case of bounded or unbounded domains, are presented, accompanied by extensive comment

Synthesis, Characterization and Application of Multiscale Porous Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hussami, Linda

2010-07-01

This thesis work brings fresh insights and improved understanding of nano scale materials through introducing new hybrid composites, 2D hexagonal in MCM-41 and 3D random interconnected structures of different materials, and application relevance for developing fields of science, such as fuel cells and solar cells. New types of porous materials and organometallic crystals have been prepared and characterized in detail. The porous materials have been used in several studies: as hosts to encapsulate metal-organic complexes; as catalyst supports and electrode materials in devices for alternative energy production. The utility of the new porous materials arises from their unique structural and surface chemical characteristics as demonstrated here using various experimental and theoretical approaches. New single crystal structures and arene-ligand exchange properties of f-block elements coordinated to ligand arene and halogallates are described in Paper I. These compounds have been incorporated into ordered 2D-hexagonal MCM-41 and polyhedral silica nano foam (PNF-SiO{sub 2}) matrices without significant change to the original porous architectures as described in Paper II and III. The resulting inorganic/organic hybrids exhibited enhanced luminescence activity relative to the pure crystalline complexes. A series of novel polyhedral carbon nano foams (PNF-C's) and inverse foams were prepared by nano casting from PNF-SiO{sub 2}'s. These are discussed in Paper IV. The synthesis conditions of PNF-C's were systematically varied as a function of the filling ratio of carbon precursor and their structures compared using various characterization methods. The carbonaceous porous materials were further tested in Paper V and VI as possible catalysts and catalyst supports in counter- and working electrodes for solar- and fuel cell applications

TMVOC, simulator for multiple volatile organic chemicals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pruess, Karsten; Battistelli, Alfredo

2003-01-01

TMVOC is a numerical simulator for three-phase non-isothermal flow of water, soil gas, and a multicomponent mixture of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in multidimensional heterogeneous porous media. It is an extension of the TOUGH2 general-purpose simulation program developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. TMVOC is designed for applications to contamination problems that involve hydrocarbon fuel or organic solvent spills in saturated and unsaturated zones. It can model contaminant behavior under ''natural'' environmental conditions, as well as for engineered systems, such as soil vapor extraction, groundwater pumping, or steam-assisted source remediation. TMVOC is upwards compatible with T2VOC (Falta et al., 1995) and can be initialized from T2VOC-style initial conditions. The main enhancements in TMVOC relative to T2VOC are as follows: a multicomponent mixture of volatile organic chemicals can be modeled; any and all combinations of the three phases water-oil-gas are treated; several non-condensible gases may be present; diffusion is treated in all phases in a manner that is fully coupled with phase partitioning. This paper gives a brief summary of the methodology used in TMVOC as well as highlighting some implementation issues. Simulation of a NAPL spill and subsequent remediation is discussed for a 2-D vertical section of a saturated-unsaturated flow problem

Titanium Dioxide as a Catalyst Support in Heterogeneous Catalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bagheri, Samira; Muhd Julkapli, Nurhidayatullaili; Bee Abd Hamid, Sharifah

2014-01-01

The lack of stability is a challenge for most heterogeneous catalysts. During operations, the agglomeration of particles may block the active sites of the catalyst, which is believed to contribute to its instability. Recently, titanium oxide (TiO2) was introduced as an alternative support material for heterogeneous catalyst due to the effect of its high surface area stabilizing the catalysts in its mesoporous structure. TiO2 supported metal catalysts have attracted interest due to TiO2 nanoparticles high activity for various reduction and oxidation reactions at low pressures and temperatures. Furthermore, TiO2 was found to be a good metal oxide catalyst support due to the strong metal support interaction, chemical stability, and acid-base property. The aforementioned properties make heterogeneous TiO2 supported catalysts show a high potential in photocatalyst-related applications, electrodes for wet solar cells, synthesis of fine chemicals, and others. This review focuses on TiO2 as a support material for heterogeneous catalysts and its potential applications. PMID:25383380

In situ immobilization of uranium in structured porous media via biomineralization at the fracture/matrix interface (FRC Area 2 field project)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timothy D. Scheibe; Eric E. Roden; Scott C. Brooks; John M. Zachara

2004-01-01

The original hypothesis: 'Radionuclides in low-permeability porous matrix regions of fractured saprolite can be effectively isolated and immobilized by stimulating localized in-situ biological activity in highly-permeable fractured and microfractured zones within the saprolite'. The revised hypothesis: 'In heterogeneous porous media, microbial activity can be stimulated at interfaces between zones of high and low groundwater flow rates in such a manner as to create a local, distributed redox barrier. Such a barrier will inhibit the transfer of contaminants from the low-flow zones that serve as long-term contaminant sources into the high-flow zones that transport contaminants to receptors'.

A simplified transfer function for estimating saturated hydraulic conductivity of porous drainage filters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canga, Eriona; Iversen, Bo Vangsø; Kjærgaard, Charlotte

2013-01-01

Knowledge of the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) of porous filters used in water treatment technologies is important for optimizing the retention of nutrients and pollutants. This parameter determines the hydraulic capacity, which together with the Chemical properties of the filter media...

The use of laboratory experiments for the study of conservative solute transport in heterogeneous porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Silliman, S. E.; Zheng, L.; Conwell, P.

Laboratory experiments on heterogeneous porous media (otherwise known as intermediate scale experiments, or ISEs) have been increasingly relied upon by hydrogeologists for the study of saturated and unsaturated groundwater systems. Among the many ongoing applications of ISEs is the study of fluid flow and the transport of conservative solutes in correlated permeability fields. Recent advances in ISE design have provided the capability of creating correlated permeability fields in the laboratory. This capability is important in the application of ISEs for the assessment of recent stochastic theories. In addition, pressure-transducer technology and visualization methods have provided the potential for ISEs to be used in characterizing the spatial distributions of both hydraulic head and local water velocity within correlated permeability fields. Finally, various methods are available for characterizing temporal variations in the spatial distribution (and, thereby, the spatial moments) of solute concentrations within ISEs. It is concluded, therefore, that recent developments in experimental techniques have provided an opportunity to use ISEs as important tools in the continuing study of fluid flow and the transport of conservative solutes in heterogeneous, saturated porous media. Résumé Les hydrogéologues se sont progressivement appuyés sur des expériences de laboratoire sur des milieux poreux hétérogènes (connus aussi par l'expression "Expériences àéchelle intermédiaire", ISE) pour étudier les zones saturées et non saturées des aquifères. Parmi les nombreuses applications en cours des ISE, il faut noter l'étude de l'écoulement de fluide et le transport de solutés conservatifs dans des champs aux perméabilités corrélées. Les récents progrès du protocole des ISE ont donné la possibilité de créer des champs de perméabilités corrélées au laboratoire. Cette possibilité est importante dans l'application des ISE pour l'évaluation des th

Processing and structural characterization of porous reforming catalytic films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou Xianghui; Williams, Jey; Choy, Kwang-Leong

2006-01-01

Nickel-based catalysts are often used to reform methanol into hydrogen. The preparation and installation of these catalysts are costly and laborious. As an alternative, directly applying catalytic films onto the separator components can improve the manufacturing efficiency. This paper reports the successful deposition of adherent porous NiO-Al 2 O 3 -based catalytic films with well-controlled stoichiometry, using a single-step Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD) method. The microstructure, composition and crystalline phase of the as-deposited catalytic films are characterized using a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer. The results have demonstrated the capability of AACVD to produce porous NiO-Al 2 O 3 -based catalytic films

Computer modeling of inelastic wave propagation in porous rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)