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Sample records for dust agglomerates iv

  1. Agglomeration of dust in convective clouds initialized by nuclear bursts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacon, D. P.; Sarma, R. A.

    Convective clouds initialized by nuclear bursts are modeled using a two-dimensional axisymmetric cloud model. Dust transport through the atmosphere is studied using five different sizes ranging from 1 to 10,000 μm in diameter. Dust is transported in the model domain by advection and sedimentation. Water is allowed to condense onto dust particles in regions of supersaturation in the cloud. The agglomeration of dust particles resulting from the collision of different size dust particles is modeled. The evolution of the dust mass spectrum due to agglomeration is modeled using a numerical scheme which is mass conserving and has low implicit diffusion. Agglomeration moves mass from the small particles with very small fall velocity to the larger sizes which fall to the ground more readily. Results indicate that the dust fallout can be increased significantly due to this process. In preliminary runs using stable and unstable environmental soundings, at 30 min after detonation the total dust in the domain was 11 and 30%, respectively, less than a control case without agglomeration.

  2. Stone Dust Agglomeration for Utilizing as Building Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Borowski

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In the paper we discuss the possibility of using stone dust for utilizing as building material. The tested material was amphibolite, found in the Sudeten Mountains and the Tatra Mountains in Poland. The chemical composition of dust was determined by means of spectrometry methods. Moreover, the basic physical properties of the material were designated. Stone dust was mixed with starch or cement binder. The binder addition was from 5% to 20% by weight. The water content was adjusted to about 25% humidity. The mixture was then compressed in a hydraulic press at 50 MPa. The results of the mechanical toughness of agglomerates were shown. On the basis of the results, acceptable toughness of agglomerates was found, with the addition of cement in mass share 20% and seasoning for 48 hours. However, starch was not suitable as a binder for agglomeration of amphibolite.

  3. Primary particles and their agglomerate formation as modifying risk factors of nonfibrous nanosized dust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, J; Walter, D; Brückel, B; Rödelsperger, K

    2013-01-01

    The incidence of certain cancers correlates with the number of dust particles in the air. Nanosized particles differ from coarser particles by their increasing tendency to form agglomerates. The dissociation of biodurable agglomerates after deposition in the alveolar region resulted in a higher toxic potential. Biodurable dusts in the urban and workplace environment were analyzed to determine an effect-relevant exposure parameter. The characterization of the dusts relating to their number of primary particles (P(p)) and agglomerates and aggregates (A + A) was performed by electron microscopy. Diesel soot, toner material, and seven further dust samples in the workplace environment are composed of high numbers of nanosized primary particles (agglomerates. Primary particles of rock, kaoline, and seven further dusts sampled in the workplace are not nanosized. In a multivariate analysis that predicted lung tumor risk, the mass, volume, and numbers of A + A and P(p) per milligram dust were shown to be relevant parameters. Dose-response relationships revealed an increased tumor risk in rats with higher numbers of P(p) in nanosized dust, which occurs unintentionally in the environment.

  4. The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates. VIII. Microgravity Collisions between Porous SiO2 Aggregates and Loosely Bound Agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whizin, Akbar D.; Colwell, Joshua E.; Blum, Jürgen

    2017-01-01

    We performed laboratory experiments colliding 0.8–1.0 mm and 1.0–1.6 mm SiO 2 dust aggregates with loosely bound centimeter-sized agglomerates of those aggregates in microgravity. This work builds on previous microgravity laboratory experiments examining the collisional properties of porous loosely bound dust aggregates. In centimeter-sized aggregates, surface forces dominate self-gravity and may play a large role in aggregate growth beyond this size range. We characterize the properties of protoplanetary aggregate analogs to help place constraints on initial formation mechanisms and environments. We determined several important physical characteristics of these aggregates in a large number of low-velocity collisions. We observed low coefficients of restitution and fragmentation thresholds near 1 m s −1 for 1–2 cm agglomerates, which are in good agreement with previous findings in the literature. We find the accretion efficiency for agglomerates of loosely bound aggregates to be higher than that for just aggregates themselves. We find sticking thresholds of 6.6 ± 2 cm s −1 , somewhat higher than those in similar studies, which have observed few aggregates stick at speeds of under 3 cm s −1 . Even with highly dissipative collisions, loosely bound agglomerates have difficulty accreting beyond centimeter-sized bodies at typical collision speeds in the disk. Our results indicate agglomerates of porous aggregates have slightly higher sticking thresholds than previously thought, allowing possible growth to decimeter-sized bodies if velocities are low enough.

  5. The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates. VIII. Microgravity Collisions between Porous SiO{sub 2} Aggregates and Loosely Bound Agglomerates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whizin, Akbar D.; Colwell, Joshua E. [Dept. of Physics, Center for Microgravity Research, University of Central Florida, 4111 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL 32816 (United States); Blum, Jürgen, E-mail: Akbar.Whizin@ucf.edu [Institut für Geophysik und extraterrestrische Physik, University of Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstr. 3, D-38106 Braunschweig (Germany)

    2017-02-10

    We performed laboratory experiments colliding 0.8–1.0 mm and 1.0–1.6 mm SiO{sub 2} dust aggregates with loosely bound centimeter-sized agglomerates of those aggregates in microgravity. This work builds on previous microgravity laboratory experiments examining the collisional properties of porous loosely bound dust aggregates. In centimeter-sized aggregates, surface forces dominate self-gravity and may play a large role in aggregate growth beyond this size range. We characterize the properties of protoplanetary aggregate analogs to help place constraints on initial formation mechanisms and environments. We determined several important physical characteristics of these aggregates in a large number of low-velocity collisions. We observed low coefficients of restitution and fragmentation thresholds near 1 m s{sup −1} for 1–2 cm agglomerates, which are in good agreement with previous findings in the literature. We find the accretion efficiency for agglomerates of loosely bound aggregates to be higher than that for just aggregates themselves. We find sticking thresholds of 6.6 ± 2 cm s{sup −1}, somewhat higher than those in similar studies, which have observed few aggregates stick at speeds of under 3 cm s{sup −1}. Even with highly dissipative collisions, loosely bound agglomerates have difficulty accreting beyond centimeter-sized bodies at typical collision speeds in the disk. Our results indicate agglomerates of porous aggregates have slightly higher sticking thresholds than previously thought, allowing possible growth to decimeter-sized bodies if velocities are low enough.

  6. THERMODYNAMIC REASONS OF AGGLOMERATION OF DUST PARTICLES IN THE THERMAL DUSTY PLASMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.I.Vishnyakov

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The thermodynamic equilibrium of thermal dusty plasmas consisting of ionized gas (plasma and solid particles (dust grains, which interact with each other, is studied. The tendency of grains in dusty plasmas to agglomerate corresponds to the tendency of dusty plasmas to balanced states. When grains agglomerate, electrical perturbations generated by each grain concentrate inside the agglomerate. The plasma is perturbed only by the agglomerate's exterior surface. The greater number of possible states for electrons and ions in plasma depends on the volume of perturbation of grains. The fewer are the perturbations the greater is the amount of possible states for electrons and ions in plasma. If the grains collected from a distance smaller than 8 Debye lengths, the total volume of perturbations is minimized; the free energy of the plasma is also minimized.

  7. THE PHYSICS OF PROTOPLANETESIMAL DUST AGGLOMERATES. V. MULTIPLE IMPACTS OF DUSTY AGGLOMERATES AT VELOCITIES ABOVE THE FRAGMENTATION THRESHOLD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kothe, Stefan; Guettler, Carsten; Blum, Juergen

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, a number of new experiments have advanced our knowledge on the early growth phases of protoplanetary dust aggregates. Some of these experiments have shown that collisions between porous and compacted agglomerates at velocities above the fragmentation threshold velocity can lead to growth of the compact body, when the porous collision partner fragments upon impact and transfers mass to the compact agglomerate. To obtain a deeper understanding of this potentially important growth process, we performed laboratory and drop tower experiments to study multiple impacts of small, highly porous dust-aggregate projectiles onto sintered dust targets. The projectile and target consisted of 1.5 μm monodisperse, spherical SiO 2 monomers with volume filling factors of 0.15 ± 0.01 and 0.45 ± 0.05, respectively. The fragile projectiles were accelerated by a solenoid magnet and combined with a projectile magazine with which 25 impacts onto the same spot on the target could be performed in vacuum. We measured the mass-accretion efficiency and the volume filling factor for different impact velocities between 1.5 and 6.0 m s -1 . The experiments at the lowest impact speeds were performed in the Bremen drop tower under microgravity conditions to allow partial mass transfer also for the lowest adhesion case. Within this velocity range, we found a linear increase of the accretion efficiency with increasing velocity. In the laboratory experiments, the accretion efficiency increases from 0.12 to 0.21 in units of the projectile mass. The recorded images of the impacts showed that the mass transfer from the projectile to the target leads to the growth of a conical structure on the target after less than 100 impacts. From the images, we also measured the volume filling factors of the grown structures, which ranged from 0.15 (uncompacted) to 0.40 (significantly compacted) with increasing impact speed. The velocity dependency of the mass-transfer efficiency and the packing

  8. Agglomeration processes sustained by dust density waves in Ar/C2H2 plasma: From C2H2 injection to the formation of an organized structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dap, Simon; Hugon, Robert; Poucques, Ludovic de; Briancon, Jean-Luc; Bougdira, Jamal; Lacroix, David

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, an experimental investigation of dust particle agglomeration in a capacitively coupled RF discharge is reported. Carbonaceous particles are produced in an argon plasma using acetylene. As soon as the particle density becomes sufficient, dust density waves (DDWs) are spontaneously excited within the cathode sheath. Recently, it was proven that DDWs can significantly enhance the agglomeration rate between particles by transferring them a significant kinetic energy. Thus, it helps them to overcome Coulomb repulsion. The influence of this mechanism is studied from acetylene injection to the formation of very large agglomerates forming an organized structure after a few dozens of seconds. For this purpose, three diagnostic tools are used: extinction measurements to probe nanometer-sized particles, fast imaging for large agglomerates and a dust extraction technique developed for ex-situ analysis.

  9. Agglomeration processes in carbonaceous dusty plasmas, experiments and numerical simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dap, S; Hugon, R; De Poucques, L; Bougdira, J; Lacroix, D; Patisson, F

    2010-01-01

    This paper deals with carbon dust agglomeration in radio frequency acetylene/argon plasma. Two studies, an experimental and a numerical one, were carried out to model dust formation mechanisms. Firstly, in situ transmission spectroscopy of dust clouds in the visible range was performed in order to observe the main features of the agglomeration process of the produced carbonaceous dust. Secondly, numerical simulation tools dedicated to understanding the achieved experiments were developed. A first model was used for the discretization of the continuous population balance equations that characterize the dust agglomeration process. The second model is based on a Monte Carlo ray-tracing code coupled to a Mie theory calculation of dust absorption and scattering parameters. These two simulation tools were used together in order to numerically predict the light transmissivity through a dusty plasma and make comparisons with experiments.

  10. Dust Explosion Characteristics of Agglomerated 35 nm and 100 nm Aluminum Particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Chun Wu

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In the experiment, nanoparticles of 35 nm Al and 100 nm Al powders, respectively, formed particles with average sizes of 161 nm and 167 nm in agglomeration. The characteristics of dust cloud explosions with the two powder sizes, 35 nm and 100 nm, revealed considerable differences, as shown here: (dp/dtmax-35 nm = 1254 bar/s, (dp/dtmax-100 nm = 1105 bar/s; Pmax-35 nm = 7.5 bar, Pmax-100 nm = 12.3 bar, and MEC-35 nm = 40 g/m3, MEC-100 nm = 50 g/m3. The reason of Pmax-35 nm value is smaller than Pmax-100 nm may be due to agglomeration. From an analysis of the explosive residue, the study found that nanoparticles of 35 nm Al powder became filamentous strands after an explosion, where most of 100 nm Al nanoparticles maintained a spherical structure, This may be because the initial melting temperature of 35 nm Al is 435.71°C, while that for 100 nm Al is 523.58°C, higher by 87.87°C. This study discovered that explosive property between the 35 nm Al and 100 nm Al powders after agglomeration were different.

  11. THE PHYSICS OF PROTOPLANETESIMAL DUST AGGLOMERATES. VI. EROSION OF LARGE AGGREGATES AS A SOURCE OF MICROMETER-SIZED PARTICLES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schraepler, Rainer; Blum, Juergen

    2011-01-01

    Observed protoplanetary disks consist of a large amount of micrometer-sized particles. Dullemond and Dominik pointed out for the first time the difficulty in explaining the strong mid-infrared excess of classical T Tauri stars without any dust-retention mechanisms. Because high relative velocities in between micrometer-sized and macroscopic particles exist in protoplanetary disks, we present experimental results on the erosion of macroscopic agglomerates consisting of micrometer-sized spherical particles via the impact of micrometer-sized particles. We find that after an initial phase, in which an impacting particle erodes up to 10 particles of an agglomerate, the impacting particles compress the agglomerate's surface, which partly passivates the agglomerates against erosion. Due to this effect, the erosion halts for impact velocities up to ∼30 m s -1 within our error bars. For higher velocities, the erosion is reduced by an order of magnitude. This outcome is explained and confirmed by a numerical model. In a next step, we build an analytical disk model and implement the experimentally found erosive effect. The model shows that erosion is a strong source of micrometer-sized particles in a protoplanetary disk. Finally, we use the stationary solution of this model to explain the amount of micrometer-sized particles in the observational infrared data of Furlan et al.

  12. Research approach and first results on agglomerate compaction in protoplanetary dust simulation in the Cloud Manipulation System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vedernikov, Andrei; Blum, Jurgen; Ingo Von Borstel, Olaf; Schraepler, Rainer; Balapanov, Daniyar; Cecere, Anselmo

    2016-07-01

    Nanometre and micrometre-sized solid particles are ubiquitous in space and on Earth - from galaxies, interstellar space, protoplanetary and debris disks to planetary rings and atmospheres, planetary surfaces, comets, interplanetary space, Earth's atmosphere. Apparently, the most intriguing problem in the picture of the formation of planets is the transition from individual microscopic dust grains to kilometre-sized planetesimals. Revealing the mechanisms of this transition is one of the main tasks of the European Space Agency's project Interaction in Cosmic and Atmospheric Particle Systems (ICAPS). It was found that Brownian motion driven agglomeration could not provide the transition within reasonable time scale. As a result, at this stage top scientific goals shifted towards forced agglomeration and concentration of particles, targeting revealing the onset of compaction, experimental study of the evolution of fractal dimensions, size and mass distribution, occurrence of bouncing. The main tasks comprise 1) development of the rapid agglomeration model 2) development of the experimental facilities creating big fractal-type agglomerates from 10 to 1000 μm from a cloud of micrometre-size grains; 3) experimental realization of the rapid agglomeration in microgravity and ground conditions; and 4) in situ investigation of the morphology, mobility, mechanical and optical properties of the free-floating agglomerates, including investigation of thermophoresis, photophoresis of the agglomerates and of the two-phase flow phenomena. To solve the experimental part of the tasks we developed a Cloud Manipulation System, realized as a breadboard (CMS BB) for long duration microgravity platforms and a simplified laboratory version (CMS LV) mostly oriented on short duration microgravity and ground tests. The new system is based on the use of thermophoresis, most favourable for cloud manipulation without creating additional particle-particle forces in the cloud with a possibility

  13. Shapes of agglomerates in plasma etching reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, F.Y.; Kushner, M.J.

    1997-01-01

    Dust particle contamination of wafers in reactive ion etching (RIE) plasma tools is a continuing concern in the microelectronics industry. It is common to find that particles collected on surfaces or downstream of the etch chamber are agglomerates of smaller monodisperse spherical particles. The shapes of the agglomerates vary from compact, high fractal dimension structures to filamentary, low fractal dimension structures. These shapes are important with respect to the transport of particles in RIE tools under the influence electrostatic and ion drag forces, and the possible generation of polarization forces. A molecular dynamics simulation has been developed to investigate the shapes of agglomerates in plasma etching reactors. We find that filamentary, low fractal dimension structures are generally produced by smaller (<100s nm) particles in low powered plasmas where the kinetic energy of primary particles is insufficient to overcome the larger Coulomb repulsion of a compact agglomerate. This is analogous to the diffusive regime in neutral agglomeration. Large particles in high powered plasmas generally produce compact agglomerates of high fractal dimension, analogous to ballistic agglomeration of neutrals. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  14. Proceedings, volume 20, The Institute for Briquetting and Agglomeration, September 1987

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roth, D.L. (ed.)

    1988-01-01

    32 papers are presented covering aspects of briquetting, pelletizing and agglomeration of various materials, including coal, plastics, flue gas gypsum and fertilizers. Papers on coal included the start-up of the Petrofina coal briquetting plant (UK), coal and refuse agglomeration by extrusion, coal dust reduction, agglomeration of Brazilian coal fines, use of coal and briquetting in ancient Chinese metallurgy, cooking briquettes from lignites in developing nations, use of coal-dolomite pellets to eliminate sulphur emissions, extruded coal capsule flow characteristics, and oil agglomeration as a catalyst loading method in coal liquefaction.

  15. Agglomeration of coal fines for premium fuel application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atalay, A.; Zaman, M.D.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports on fine coal in liquid suspension, which can be agglomerated in a number of ways. One of the oldest procedures involves the addition of electrolyte to the suspension to cause a reduction in the zeta potential and allow colliding particles to agglomerate. A second method involves the use of polymeric flocculants to bridge between particles. Both of these technologies are being used in the wastewater treatment plants for removal of fine waste particles from contaminated water. A third method involves the addition of a second immiscible liquid preferentially to wet the particles and cause adhesion by capillary interfacial forces. While the bonding forces in the first two methods are small and result in rather weak and voluminous agglomerates, the third method is postulated to produce more dense and much stronger agglomerates. In the case of fine coals, the carbonaceous constituents can be agglomerated and recovered from the aqueous suspension with many different coagulants. Inorganic or ash-forming constituents are also agglomerated along with the fine coal particles. As the froth floatation, agglomeration using coal and colloidal dust to effect a separation. Froth floatation, however, becomes less effective where extremely fine particles of cal must be treated or if there is considerable clay-size particle present. In contrast, there appears to be virtually no lower limit on the particle size suitable for agglomeration uses

  16. Advances in food powder agglomeration engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuq, B; Gaiani, C; Turchiuli, C; Galet, L; Scher, J; Jeantet, R; Mandato, S; Petit, J; Murrieta-Pazos, I; Barkouti, A; Schuck, P; Rondet, E; Delalonde, M; Dumoulin, E; Delaplace, G; Ruiz, T

    2013-01-01

    Food powders are used in everyday life in many ways and offer technological solutions to the problem of food production. The natural origin of food powders, diversity in their chemical composition, variability of the raw materials, heterogeneity of the native structures, and physicochemical reactivity under hydrothermal stresses contribute to the complexity in their behavior. Food powder agglomeration has recently been considered according to a multiscale approach, which is followed in the chapter layout: (i) at the particle scale, by a presentation of particle properties and surface reactivity in connection with the agglomeration mechanisms, (ii) at the mechanisms scale, by describing the structuration dynamics of agglomerates, (iii) at the process scale, by a presentation of agglomeration technologies and sensors and by studying the stress transmission mode in the powder bed, and finally (iv) by an integration of the acquired knowledge, thanks to a dimensional analysis carried out at each scale. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Effect of process parameters on removal and recovery of Cd(II) and Cu(II) from electroplating wastewater by fixed-bed column of nano-dimensional titanium (IV) oxide agglomerates

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Debnath, S

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Removal performances of Cd(II) and Cu(II) from water was investigated using agglomerated nanoparticle of hydrous titanium(IV) oxide (NTO) packed fixed bed. The parameters varied were the bed depth, flow rate and feed solution concentrations...

  18. Agglomeration and Co-Agglomeration of Services Industries

    OpenAIRE

    Kolko, Jed

    2007-01-01

    Economic research on industry location and agglomeration has focused nearly exclusively on manufacturing. This paper shows that services are prominent among the most agglomerated industries, especially at the county level. Because traditional measures of knowledge spillovers, natural resource inputs, and labor pooling explain little of agglomeration in services industries, this paper takes an alternative approach and looks at co-agglomeration to assess why industries cluster together. By cons...

  19. Experimental investigation of acoustic agglomeration systems for fine particle control. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaw, D.T.; Lee, P.; Wegrzyn, J.; Chou, K.H.; Cheng, M.T.; Patel, S.

    1979-10-01

    The feasibility of using an acoustic agglomerator (AA) as a preconditioner in the upstream of conventional devices such as an electrostatic precipitator, a scrubber, a filter, or a cyclone are investigated. The objective is to agglomerate all finer particles into coarser ones in an acoustic agglomerator and then remove them more effectively by one of the conventional devices. Laboratory-scale experiments were performed using NH/sub 4/Cl and fly ash redispersed aerosols. Turbulence caused by intensive sound fields under standing-wave condition has been found to be extremely effective for aerosol agglomeration. The nature and the energy dissipation rate of the acoustic turbulence are determined by using hot-film (or hot-wire) anemometry and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) data processing equipment. The root-mean-square turbulent velocity, which is directly proportional to acoustic agglomeration rate, is experimentally found to have a I/sup 1/2/(I: acoustic intensity) dependence, but is relatively independent of the acoustic frequency. The results obtained from this program show that acoustic agglomeration is effective as a particle pre-conditioner which can increase approximately one order of magnitude in mean particle diameter (2..mu..m ..-->.. 20..mu..m). As a flow-through standing wave device, it can be used to facilitate the removal of dust particles in a subsequent inertia base separation device.

  20. Experimental study of different carbon dust growth mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnas, C.; Dominique, C.; Roubin, P.; Martin, C.; Laffon, C.; Parent, P.; Brosset, C.; Pegourie, B.

    2005-01-01

    Laboratory experiments are proposed to understand the growth mechanisms of spheroid carbon dust grains observed in Tokamaks with inside wall elements in graphite based materials. Different categories of solid grains in the nanometer size range are produced from graphite sputtering in rare gas plasmas. Dense primary particles are observed either individually or in the form of spherical agglomerates. The agglomeration process is likely to be stopped by Coulomb repulsion. Other particulates of higher size and cauliflower texture are formed by atomic-molecule accretion. Examples of these different cases are presented with specific characteristics provided by ex situ diagnostics. A comparison with dust samples collected in Tore Supra or observed in other Tokamaks is proposed

  1. Particle Agglomeration in Bipolar Barb Agglomerator Under AC Electric Field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Chao; Ma Xiuqin; Sun Youshan; Wang Meiyan; Zhang Changping; Lou Yueya

    2015-01-01

    The development of an efficient technology for removing fine particles in flue gas is essential as the haze is becoming more and more serious. To improve agglomeration effectiveness of fine particles, a dual zone electric agglomeration device consisting of a charging chamber and an agglomeration chamber with bipolar barb electrodes was developed. The bipolar barb electric agglomerator with a polar distance of 200 mm demonstrates good agglomeration effectiveness for particles with a size less than 8.0 μm under applied AC electric field. An optimal condition for achieving better agglomeration effectiveness was found to be as follows: flue gas flow velocity of 3.00 m/s, particle concentration of 2.00 g/m 3 , output voltage of 35 kV and length of the barb of 16 mm. In addition, 4.0–6.0 μm particles have the best effectiveness with the variation of particle volume occupancy of −3.2. (paper)

  2. Particle Agglomeration in Bipolar Barb Agglomerator Under AC Electric Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chao; Ma, Xiuqin; Sun, Youshan; Wang, Meiyan; Zhang, Changping; Lou, Yueya

    2015-04-01

    The development of an efficient technology for removing fine particles in flue gas is essential as the haze is becoming more and more serious. To improve agglomeration effectiveness of fine particles, a dual zone electric agglomeration device consisting of a charging chamber and an agglomeration chamber with bipolar barb electrodes was developed. The bipolar barb electric agglomerator with a polar distance of 200 mm demonstrates good agglomeration effectiveness for particles with a size less than 8.0 μm under applied AC electric field. An optimal condition for achieving better agglomeration effectiveness was found to be as follows: flue gas flow velocity of 3.00 m/s, particle concentration of 2.00 g/m3, output voltage of 35 kV and length of the barb of 16 mm. In addition, 4.0-6.0 μm particles have the best effectiveness with the variation of particle volume occupancy of -3.2. supported by the Key Technology R&D Program of Hebei, China (No. 13211207D)

  3. The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates. IX. Mechanical Properties of Dust Aggregates Probed by a Solid-projectile Impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsuragi, Hiroaki; Blum, Jürgen

    2017-12-01

    Dynamic characterization of mechanical properties of dust aggregates has been one of the most important problems to quantitatively discuss the dust growth in protoplanetary disks. We experimentally investigate the dynamic properties of dust aggregates by low-speed (≤slant 3.2 m s-1) impacts of solid projectiles. Spherical impactors made of glass, steel, or lead are dropped onto a dust aggregate with a packing fraction of ϕ = 0.35 under vacuum conditions. The impact results in cratering or fragmentation of the dust aggregate, depending on the impact energy. The crater shape can be approximated by a spherical segment and no ejecta are observed. To understand the underlying physics of impacts into dust aggregates, the motion of the solid projectile is acquired by a high-speed camera. Using the obtained position data of the impactor, we analyze the drag-force law and dynamic pressure induced by the impact. We find that there are two characteristic strengths. One is defined by the ratio between impact energy and crater volume and is ≃120 kPa. The other strength indicates the fragmentation threshold of dynamic pressure and is ≃10 kPa. The former characterizes the apparent plastic deformation and is consistent with the drag force responsible for impactor deceleration. The latter corresponds to the dynamic tensile strength to create cracks. Using these results, a simple model for the compaction and fragmentation threshold of dust aggregates is proposed. In addition, the comparison of drag-force laws for dust aggregates and loose granular matter reveals the similarities and differences between the two materials.

  4. Observations of skeletal microstructures in various types of dust deposit in tokamak T-10

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolbasov, B.N.; Kukushkin, A.B.; Rantsev-Kartinov, V.A.; Romanov, P.V.

    2003-01-01

    An analysis of electron transmission and scanning micrographs of various types of dust deposit in tokamak T-10 was carried out for (a) analyzing the origin of non-trivial (e.g. cauliflower-like) structures in dust deposits in tokamaks, and (b) verifying the former hypothesis for the possibility of self-assembling, during electric breakdown, of skeletal macro structures from wildly formed carbon nano tubes. The results show (i) the presence of tubular structures in the range of diameters D ∼ 5 nm - 10 μm; (ii) the trend of assembling bigger tubules from smaller ones (i.e., the self-similarity); (iii) the ability of nano tubular structures to build up the skeletons of various topology, including the tubules, cartwheels, dendrites; (iv) the presence of an amorphous (mostly, hydrocarbon) component which may hide the internal skeleton either fully (to give a solitary dust particle, e.g. of submicron size) or partly (to give an agglomerate of visually separate particles); (v) the similarity of tubules and cartwheels in the dust deposits, in the range D < 10 μm, and in the (high temporal resolution) images of plasma in tokamaks, Z-pinches and plasma focus, D ∼ 5 nm - 100 μ - 10 cm. (author)

  5. How MIDAS improved our understanding of micrometre-sized cometary dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannel, T.; Bentley, M. S.; Boakes, P.; Jeszenszky, H.; Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.; Schmied, R.; Torkar, K.

    2017-09-01

    The MIDAS atomic force microscope on the Rosetta orbiter was an instrument developed to investigate, for the first time, the morphology of nearly unaltered cometary dust. It acquired the 3D topography of about 1 - 50 µm sized dust particles with resolutions down to a few nanometres. These images showed the agglomerate character of the dust and confirmed that the smallest subunit sizes were less than 100 nm. MIDAS acquired the first direct proof of a fractal dust particle, opening a new approach to investigate the history of our early Solar System and of comets.

  6. Recycling of electric arc furnace (EAF dust for use in steel making process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Alencastro de Araújo

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The EAF dust is listed as hazardous waste from specific source, K061, according to ABNT 10004:2004 and constitutes one of the major problems of electrical steel plant. This work suggests recycling of the EAF dust by sintering of a composite, pre-cast agglomerate (PCA consisting of EAF dust agglomerate to coke particles, mill scale and ceramic fluorite into pellets. The work was divided into three stages, in the first stage the technical viability of using only solid waste industrial to produce a PCA was observed, in the second phase, the main effects between the components of the PCA to obtain the optimal formulation was tested. In the third phase the intensity of the variables, coke and fluorite ceramics, for removing zinc of PCA was checked. Every stage was chemically analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and X-ray diffraction. The first two stages of the production PCA were carried out in a pilot plant sintering downstream and the third phase in a pilot plant upstream. As a result of the process two by-products were obtained, the pre-cast agglomerated, PCA, with total iron content exceeding 70%, object of the process of sintering and zinc dust, containing more than 50% zinc resulting from volatilization of this metal during the sintering process and collected by bag filter. In addition, approximately 90% of lead and cadmium contained in the initial EAF dust was extracted.

  7. LIGHT SCATTERING BY FRACTAL DUST AGGREGATES. I. ANGULAR DEPENDENCE OF SCATTERING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tazaki, Ryo [Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Tanaka, Hidekazu [Astronomical Institute, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Okuzumi, Satoshi; Nomura, Hideko [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan); Kataoka, Akimasa, E-mail: rtazaki@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Heidelberg University, Albert-Ueberle-Strasse 2, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

    2016-06-01

    In protoplanetary disks, micron-sized dust grains coagulate to form highly porous dust aggregates. Because the optical properties of these aggregates are not completely understood, it is important to investigate how porous dust aggregates scatter light. In this study, the light scattering properties of porous dust aggregates were calculated using a rigorous method, the T -matrix method, and the results were then compared with those obtained using the Rayleigh–Gans–Debye (RGD) theory and Mie theory with the effective medium approximation (EMT). The RGD theory is applicable to moderately large aggregates made of nearly transparent monomers. This study considered two types of porous dust aggregates—ballistic cluster–cluster agglomerates (BCCAs) and ballistic particle–cluster agglomerates. First, the angular dependence of the scattered intensity was shown to reflect the hierarchical structure of dust aggregates; the large-scale structure of the aggregates is responsible for the intensity at small scattering angles, and their small-scale structure determines the intensity at large scattering angles. Second, it was determined that the EMT underestimates the backward scattering intensity by multiple orders of magnitude, especially in BCCAs, because the EMT averages the structure within the size of the aggregates. It was concluded that the RGD theory is a very useful method for calculating the optical properties of BCCAs.

  8. Agglomerate formation and growth mechanisms during melt agglomeration in a rotary processor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilhelmsen, Thomas; Schaefer, Torben

    2005-11-04

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the binder particle size and the binder addition method on the mechanisms of agglomerate formation and growth during melt agglomeration in a laboratory scale rotary processor. Lactose monohydrate was agglomerated with molten polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3000 by adding the PEG either as solid particles from the size fraction 0-250, 250-500, or 500-750 microm or as droplets with a median size of 25, 48, or 69 microm. It was found that the PEG particle size, the PEG droplet size, and the massing time significantly influenced the agglomerate size and size distribution. Agglomerate formation and growth were found to occur primarily by distribution and coalescence for the PEG size fraction 0-250 microm and mainly by the immersion mechanism for the PEG size fractions 250-500 and 500-750 microm. When the PEG was sprayed upon the lactose, the mechanism of agglomerate formation was supposed to be a mixture of immersion and distribution, and the agglomerate growth was found to occur by coalescence regardless of the PEG mean droplet size. Compared to high shear mixers and conventional fluid bed granulators, the mechanisms of agglomerate formation and growth in the rotary processor resembled mostly those seen in the fluid bed granulator.

  9. PARTICULATE MATTER IN ATMOSPHERIC AIR IN URBAN AGGLOMERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Halina Marczak

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The study aimed to determine the mass concentration of PM10 in the air in urban area. The specific objective of the research was to analyze and assess the impact of transport road emissions on the level of concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere in the Lublin agglomeration. The measuring points were located in places at different distances from the communications emission sources and, at the same time, possibly varying degrees of air pollution dust. Measuring the concentration of dust at the measuring points was performed using an indirect method using a laser photometer. In the research point which was not under direct influence of a heavy traffic road dust levels lower by 10.5% to 65.4% than in the vicinity of the transport route were reported. Small particle air pollution at all the points covered by the study increased significantly during the heating season. Based on the comparison of the obtained values of PM10 concentrations with legal standards, it was found that the air pollution exceeded the limits in all measurement points only during a series of measurements in the months of November-December. The recorded increase in air pollution during the heating season should be associated with an increased dust emissions in this period from the "low" emitters - local house boilers and detached houses.

  10. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DUST GENERATED IN THE RECYCLING PROCESS OF THE ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE DUST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fábio Gonçalves Rizz

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Electric Arc Furnace Dust (EAFD is a solid waste generated by the production of steel through the Electric Arc Furnace. This waste is labeled dangerous, which motivates studies aiming its recycling. Experiments were made to study a pyrometallurgical process for the recycling of the dust, using the insertion of dust briquettes in molten pig iron in three temperatures. In the briquettes, there were made additions of calcium fluoride in four different concentrations. This paper has the objective to characterize the dust that results from this process, verifying the influence of the temperature and the concentration of calcium fluoride in the briquette in the morphology and chemical composition of the new dust, determining the optimal conditions for the recovery of the zinc content of the dust. This newly generated dust was analyzed in an Scanning Electronic Microscope, used to capture micrographs and chemical composition by EDS. The micrographs show that the temperature and the calcium fluoride concentration interfere in the way the dust particles agglomerate. Chemical analysis points that the higher zinc recuperation occurrs in the experiments at 1500°C with 7% addition of calcium fluoride.

  11. CONSOLIDATION OF K BASIN SLUDGE DATA AND EXPERIENCES ON AGGLOMERATE FORMATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    HILL SR

    2010-06-10

    The formation of high sludge strength agglomerates is a key concern to the Sludge Treatment Project (STP) to ensure the sludge can be retrieved after planned storage for up to 10 years in Sludge Transport and Storage Containers (STSC) at T Plant. This report addresses observations of agglomerate formation, conditions that the data shows lead to agglomeration, the frequency of agglomerate formation and postulated physiochemical mechanisms that may lead to agglomeration. Although the exact underlying chemistry of K Basin sludge agglomerate formation is not known, the factors that lead to agglomeration formation, based on observations, are as follows: (1) High Total Uranium Content (i.e., sample homogeneity and influence from other constituents); (2) Distribution of Uranium Phases (i.e., extent of conversion from uraninite to uranium oxide hydroxide compounds); (3) Sample Dry-out (loss of cover water); (4) Elevated temperature; (5) Solubility ofU(IV) phases vs. U(VI) phases; and (6) Long storage times. Agglomerated sludge has occurred infrequently and has only been observed in four laboratory samples, five samples subjected to hydrothermal testing (performed for 7 to 10 hours at {approx}185 C and 225 psig), and indirectly during six sampling events in the KE Basin. In the four laboratory samples where agglomerates were observed, the agglomerates exhibited high shear strength and the sample container typically had to be broken to remove the solids. The total uranium content (dry basis) for the four samples (KE Pit, KC-2/3 SS, KC-2/3 M250 and 96-13) were {approx}8 wt%, {approx}59.0 wt%, 68.3 wt% and 82 wt%. The agglomerates that were present during the six sampling events were undoubtedly disturbed and easily broken apart during sample collection, thus no agglomerates were observed in subsequent laboratory analyses. The highest shear strengths measured for K Basin sludge samples were obtained after hydrothermal treatment (7 to 10 hr at 185 C) of high-uranium-content KE

  12. CONSOLIDATION OF K BASIN SLUDGE DATA AND EXPERIENCES ON AGGLOMERATE FORMATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, S.R.

    2010-01-01

    The formation of high sludge strength agglomerates is a key concern to the Sludge Treatment Project (STP) to ensure the sludge can be retrieved after planned storage for up to 10 years in Sludge Transport and Storage Containers (STSC) at T Plant. This report addresses observations of agglomerate formation, conditions that the data shows lead to agglomeration, the frequency of agglomerate formation and postulated physiochemical mechanisms that may lead to agglomeration. Although the exact underlying chemistry of K Basin sludge agglomerate formation is not known, the factors that lead to agglomeration formation, based on observations, are as follows: (1) High Total Uranium Content (i.e., sample homogeneity and influence from other constituents); (2) Distribution of Uranium Phases (i.e., extent of conversion from uraninite to uranium oxide hydroxide compounds); (3) Sample Dry-out (loss of cover water); (4) Elevated temperature; (5) Solubility ofU(IV) phases vs. U(VI) phases; and (6) Long storage times. Agglomerated sludge has occurred infrequently and has only been observed in four laboratory samples, five samples subjected to hydrothermal testing (performed for 7 to 10 hours at ∼185 C and 225 psig), and indirectly during six sampling events in the KE Basin. In the four laboratory samples where agglomerates were observed, the agglomerates exhibited high shear strength and the sample container typically had to be broken to remove the solids. The total uranium content (dry basis) for the four samples (KE Pit, KC-2/3 SS, KC-2/3 M250 and 96-13) were ∼8 wt%, ∼59.0 wt%, 68.3 wt% and 82 wt%. The agglomerates that were present during the six sampling events were undoubtedly disturbed and easily broken apart during sample collection, thus no agglomerates were observed in subsequent laboratory analyses. The highest shear strengths measured for K Basin sludge samples were obtained after hydrothermal treatment (7 to 10 hr at 185 C) of high-uranium-content KE canister sludge

  13. Measurement of agglomerate strength distributions in agglomerated powders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciftcioglu, M.; Aking, M.; Burkhart, L.

    1986-01-01

    Strength distributions of particle agglomerates in six different yttria powders were measured using a calibrated ultrasonic sound field. The density of sintered pellets was directly related to the agglomerate strength of each powder. No systematic relation to the sintered density was observed for bulk densities or pressure-density compaction data for the loose powders, or for pore size distributions or green densities for the pressed compacts

  14. Comparison of diffusion charging and mobility-based methods for measurement of aerosol agglomerate surface area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ku, Bon Ki; Kulkarni, Pramod

    2012-05-01

    We compare different approaches to measure surface area of aerosol agglomerates. The objective was to compare field methods, such as mobility and diffusion charging based approaches, with laboratory approach, such as Brunauer, Emmett, Teller (BET) method used for bulk powder samples. To allow intercomparison of various surface area measurements, we defined 'geometric surface area' of agglomerates (assuming agglomerates are made up of ideal spheres), and compared various surface area measurements to the geometric surface area. Four different approaches for measuring surface area of agglomerate particles in the size range of 60-350 nm were compared using (i) diffusion charging-based sensors from three different manufacturers, (ii) mobility diameter of an agglomerate, (iii) mobility diameter of an agglomerate assuming a linear chain morphology with uniform primary particle size, and (iv) surface area estimation based on tandem mobility-mass measurement and microscopy. Our results indicate that the tandem mobility-mass measurement, which can be applied directly to airborne particles unlike the BET method, agrees well with the BET method. It was also shown that the three diffusion charging-based surface area measurements of silver agglomerates were similar within a factor of 2 and were lower than those obtained from the tandem mobility-mass and microscopy method by a factor of 3-10 in the size range studied. Surface area estimated using the mobility diameter depended on the structure or morphology of the agglomerate with significant underestimation at high fractal dimensions approaching 3.

  15. Kinetic energy density and agglomerate abrasion rate during blending of agglomerates into powders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willemsz, Tofan A; Hooijmaijers, Ricardo; Rubingh, Carina M; Tran, Thanh N; Frijlink, Henderik W; Vromans, Herman; van der Voort Maarschalk, Kees

    2012-01-23

    Problems related to the blending of a cohesive powder with a free flowing bulk powder are frequently encountered in the pharmaceutical industry. The cohesive powder often forms lumps or agglomerates which are not dispersed during the mixing process and are therefore detrimental to blend uniformity. Achieving sufficient blend uniformity requires that the blending conditions are able to break up agglomerates, which is often an abrasion process. This study was based on the assumption that the abrasion rate of agglomerates determines the required blending time. It is shown that the kinetic energy density of the moving powder bed is a relevant parameter which correlates with the abrasion rate of agglomerates. However, aspects related to the strength of agglomerates should also be considered. For this reason the Stokes abrasion number (St(Abr)) has been defined. This parameter describes the ratio between the kinetic energy density of the moving powder bed and the work of fracture of the agglomerate. The St(Abr) number is shown to predict the abrasion potential of agglomerates in the dry-mixing process. It appeared possible to include effects of filler particle size and impeller rotational rate into this concept. A clear relationship between abrasion rate of agglomerates and the value of St(Abr) was demonstrated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Spatial Spillover Effects of Environmental Pollution in China’s Central Plains Urban Agglomeration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lichun Xiong

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Promoting the rise of Central China is one of the most important national strategies regarding the promotion of China’s economic development. However, the environmental issues in the central regions have become remarkably severe. It is therefore worthwhile exploring how economic development and environmental protection can be coordinated. Focusing on the 29 prefecture-level cities in the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration, the authors empirically analyze the relationship between the economy and the environment from 2004 to 2014. The combined methods of the spatial autocorrelation model, the environmental Kuznets curve, and the global spatial correlation test are systematically employed. The results show that: (1 a strong spatial correlation exists between industrial wastewater discharge, industrial sulfur dioxide, and dust emissions in the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration; (2 the relationship between the economy and the environment of this urban agglomeration reveals an inverted “U” curve, which confirms the classical environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Industrial dust emissions have surpassed the inflection point of the Kuznets curve, but its spatial spillover effect still remains strong. This is caused by an accumulation effect and a lag effect; (3 the proportion of the secondary industry and population has a strong positive effect on pollution discharge; investments in science and technology have a certain inhibitory effect on industrial sulfur dioxide emission. Moreover, an increase in the number of industrial enterprises has a negative effect on industrial wastewater emission. At the end, the authors put forward policy recommendations regarding the establishment of a joint supervisory department and unified environmental standards at the regional level to deal with the spillover effects of pollution.

  17. Pu-rich MOX agglomerate-by-agglomerate model for fuel pellet burnup analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, G.S.

    2004-01-01

    In support of potential licensing of the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel made from weapons-grade (WG) plutonium and depleted uranium for use in United States reactors, an experiment containing WG-MOX fuel is being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The WG-MOX comprises five percent PuO 2 and 95% depleted UO 2 . Based on the Post Irradiation Examination (PIE) observation, the volume fraction (VF) of MOX agglomerates in the fuel pellet is about 16.67%, and PuO 2 concentration of 30.0 = (5 / 16.67 x 100) wt% in the agglomerate. A pressurized water reactor (PWR) unit WG-MOX lattice with Agglomerate-by-Agglomerate Fuel (AbAF) modeling has been developed. The effect of the irregular agglomerate distribution can be addressed through the use of the Monte Carlo AbAF model. The AbAF-calculated cumulative ratio of Agglomerate burnup to U-MAtrix burnup (AG/MA) is 9.17 at the beginning of life, and decreases to 2.88 at 50 GWd/t. The MCNP-AbAF-calculated results can be used to adjust the parameters in the MOX fuel fission gas release modeling. (author)

  18. 25 years of dust acoustic waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merlino, Robert L.; Merlino

    2014-12-01

    The dust acoustic wave (DAW) was first discussed by P. K. Shukla in May of 1989 at the First Capri Workshop on Dusty Plasmas. In the past 25 years, the subsequent publication of the linear and nonlinear properties of the DAW (Rao, N. N., Shukla, P. K. and Yu, M. Y. 1990 Planet. Space Sci. 38, 543) has generated and sustained a large body of theoretical and experimental research that has clarified the physics of collective effects in dusty plasmas. A unique feature of the DAW is that it can be observed (literally) using laser illumination and high-speed videography, revealing details of wave-particle interactions at an unprecedented single particle level. This paper attempts to review some of the contributions and extensions of dust acoustic wave physics, as well as identify recent findings that illustrate the potential importance of this dust wave in the agglomeration of dust particles.

  19. Effect of drug content and agglomerate size on tabletability and drug release characteristics of bromhexine hydrochloridetalc agglomerates prepared by crystallo-co-agglomeration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadhav, Namdeo; Pawar, Atmaram; Paradkar, Anant

    2010-03-01

    The objective of the investigation was to study the effect of bromhexine hydrochloride (BXH) content and agglomerate size on mechanical, compressional and drug release properties of agglomerates prepared by crystallo-co-agglomeration (CCA). Studies on optimized batches of agglomerates (BXT1 and BXT2) prepared by CCA have showed adequate sphericity and strength required for efficient tabletting. Trend of strength reduction with a decrease in the size of agglomerates was noted for both batches, irrespective of drug loading. However, an increase in mean yield pressure (14.189 to 19.481) with an increase in size was observed for BXT2 having BXH-talc (1:15.7). Surprisingly, improvement in tensile strength was demonstrated by compacts prepared from BXT2, due to high BXH load, whereas BXT1, having a low amount of BXH (BXH-talc, 1:24), showed low tensile strength. Consequently, increased tensile strength was reflected in extended drug release from BXT2 compacts (Higuchi model, R(2) = 0.9506 to 0.9981). Thus, it can be concluded that interparticulate bridges formed by BXH and agglomerate size affect their mechanical, compressional and drug release properties.

  20. Filtration behavior of silver nanoparticle agglomerates and effects of the agglomerate model in data analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buha, Jelena; Fissan, Heinz; Wang, Jing

    2013-01-01

    In many data evaluation procedures for particle measuring devices and in filtration models, spherical particles are assumed. However, significant fractions of aerosol particles are agglomerates of small primary spheres. The morphology of particles in filtration processes may not be known a priori and if the filtration data are processed with wrong assumption, errors can be induced. In this work, we have quantified such errors for the case of open-structured agglomerates. Filtration efficiency tests with polydisperse silver nanoparticle agglomerates and their sintered spheres were performed. After the sintering process, particles with a compact structure with the shape close to a sphere are obtained, which are referred to as sintered spheres in the present study. The testing method involved generation of particulate forms, passing the particles through the testing section, and measurement of the particle number concentrations and size distributions before and after the filter. Measurements of the aerosols upstream and downstream of the filter were conducted using scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS, TSI Inc.), which covered the rage from 10 to 480 nm. Particles were additionally characterized from the electron microscopic images and the average primary particle size was determined to be 16.8 nm. The number-size distribution curves were obtained and used for penetration calculation. The penetration was dependent on the particle size and morphology. Silver-sintered spheres were captured with a lower efficiency than agglomerates with the same mobility diameter because of the stronger interception effect for agglomerates. Data analysis of the number-size distribution for agglomerates was processed based on sphere assumption and using the model for open-structured agglomerates developed by Lall and Friedlander. The efficiencies based on total concentrations of number, surface and volume were affected when the agglomerate model was used. The effect was weakest for the

  1. Metal extraction by solid-liquid agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuller, E.F.

    1980-01-01

    Dissolved metal values are extracted from a liquid e.g. uranium from phosphoric acid by contacting the liquid with agglomerates for a time to load the agglomerate with the metal value, separating the loaded agglomerates from the liquid phase and stripping the metal value from the loaded agglomerate. The agglomerate may be made by combining finely divided solid particles with a binding liquid to form a paste, adding a suspending liquid to form a mixture, the suspending liquid and binding liquid being immiscible in each other and the solid particles being insoluble in the suspending liquid and shearing the mixture to form the agglomerate. (author)

  2. Possibilities of Pelletizing and Briquetting of Dusts from Castings Grinding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Pribulová

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Foundry dust can be divided into three groups: metallic dust with Fe content over 70%, mixed dust with Fe or SiO2 content between 10 –70% and sand wastes with minimum content of SiO2 about 70%. Dust from castings grinding with high Fe content (87.9% is still landfillin Slovakia. The aim of experiments with dust from grinding has been to find the cheapest way of dust agglomeration with minimumamount of binder because of melting in the electric induction furnace. The dust was pelletized and briquetted and as binders bentonite, water glass and cement were used. Briquettes made from dust from grinding with addition of water glass got compression strength after three months on the air about 82 kPa. Briquettes with addition of water glass were melted together with cast iron in electric induction furnace. Yield of metal from briquettes was around 80% and slag quantity around 4% (without briquettes the slag quantity was 1.4%.

  3. Aluminum agglomeration involving the second mergence of agglomerates on the solid propellants burning surface: Experiments and modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ao, Wen; Liu, Xin; Rezaiguia, Hichem; Liu, Huan; Wang, Zhixin; Liu, Peijin

    2017-07-01

    The agglomeration of aluminum particles usually occurs on the burning surface of aluminized composite propellants. It leads to low propellant combustion efficiency and high two-phase flow losses. To reach a thorough understanding of aluminum agglomeration behaviors, agglomeration processes, and particles size distribution of Al/AP/RDX/GAP propellants were studied by using a cinephotomicrography experimental technique, under 5 MPa. Accumulation, aggregation, and agglomeration phenomena of aluminum particles have been inspected, as well as the flame asymmetry of burning agglomerates. Results reveals that the dependency of the mean and the maximum agglomeration diameter to the burning rate and the virgin aluminum size have the same trend. A second-time mergence of multiple agglomerates on the burning surface is unveiled. Two typical modes of second mergence are concluded, based upon vertical and level movement of agglomerates, respectively. The latter mode is found to be dominant and sometimes a combination of the two modes may occur. A new model of aluminum agglomeration on the burning surface of composite propellants is derived to predict the particulates size distribution with a low computational amount. The basic idea is inspired from the well-known pocket models. The pocket size of the region formed by adjacent AP particles is obtained through scanning electron microscopy of the propellant cross-section coupled to an image processing method. The second mergence mechanism, as well as the effect of the burning rate on the agglomeration processes, are included in the present model. The mergence of two agglomerates is prescribed to occur only if their separation distance is less than a critical value. The agglomerates size distribution resulting from this original model match reasonably with the experimental data. Moreover, the present model gives superior results for mean agglomeration diameter compared to common empirical and pocket models. The average prediction

  4. Microbial effects on colloidal agglomeration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hersman, L.

    1995-11-01

    Colloidal particles are known to enhance the transport of radioactive metals through soil and rock systems. This study was performed to determine if a soil microorganism, isolated from the surface samples collected at Yucca Mountain, NV, could affect the colloidal properties of day particles. The agglomeration of a Wyoming bentonite clay in a sterile uninoculated microbial growth medium was compared to the agglomeration in the medium inoculated with a Pseudomonas sp. In a second experiment, microorganisms were cultured in the succinate medium for 50 h and removed by centrifugation. The agglomeration of the clay in this spent was compared to sterile uninoculated medium. In both experiments, the agglomeration of the clay was greater than that of the sterile, uninoculated control. Based on these results, which indicate that this microorganism enhanced the agglomeration of the bentonite clay, it is possible to say that in the presence of microorganisms colloidal movement through a rock matrix could be reduced because of an overall increase in the size of colloidal particle agglomerates. 32 refs

  5. Waste and dust utilisation in shaft furnaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Senk, D.; Babich, A.; Gudenau, H.W. [Rhein Westfal TH Aachen, Aachen (Germany)

    2005-07-01

    Wastes and dusts from steel industry, non-ferrous metallurgy and other branches can be utilised e.g. in agglomeration processes (sintering, pelletising or briquetting) and by injection into shaft furnaces. This paper deals with the second way. Combustion and reduction behaviour of iron- and carbon-rich metallurgical dusts and sludges containing lead, zinc and alkali as well as other wastes with and without pulverised coal (PC) has been studied when injecting into shaft furnaces. Following shaft furnaces have been examined: blast furnace, cupola furnace, OxiCup furnace and imperial-smelting furnace. Investigations have been done at laboratory and industrial scale. Some dusts and wastes under certain conditions can be not only reused but can also improve combustion efficiency at the tuyeres as well as furnace performance and productivity.

  6. Formulation of cilostazol spherical agglomerates by crystallo-co-agglomeration technique and optimization using design of experimentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshkar, Sanjeevani Shekhar; Borde, Govind R; Kale, Rupali N; Waghmare, Balasaheb A; Thomas, Asha Biju

    2017-01-01

    Spherical agglomeration is one of the novel techniques for improvement of flow and dissolution properties of drugs. Cilostazol is a biopharmaceutics classification system Class II drug with poor solubility resulting in limited bioavailability. The present study aims at improving the solubility and dissolution of cilostazol by crystallo-co-agglomeration technique. Cilostazol agglomerates were prepared using various polymers with varying concentration of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose E 50 (HPMC E50), polyvinyl pyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30), and polyethylene glycol 6000. The influence of polymer concentration on spherical agglomerate formation was studied by 3 2 factorial design. Cilostazol agglomerates were evaluated for percent yield, mean particle size, drug content, aqueous solubility, and in vitro dissolution and further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The agglomeration process resulted in optimized formulation, F3 with mean agglomerate size of 210.0 ± 0.56 μm, excellent flow properties, approximately 15-fold increase in solubility than pure cilostazol and complete drug release in 60 min. Process yield, agglomerate size, and drug release were affected by amount of PVP K 30 and HPMC E50. The presence of drug microcrystal was confirmed by SEM, whereas FTIR study indicated no chemical change. Increase in drug solubility was attributed to change of crystalline drug to amorphous form that is evident in DSC and XRD. Crystallo-co-agglomeration can be adopted as an important approach for increasing the solubility and dissolution of poorly soluble drug.

  7. Description of agglomerate growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafsma, S.H; Vonk, P; Segers, P; Kossen, N.W F

    1998-01-01

    Wet agglomeration processes have predominantly been investigated by changing operation variables of process-scale experiments. So far, most fundamental work concentrated on the strength of the liquid bonds in the agglomerate and its relation to the process. Previous studies on the relationship

  8. An Automated Processing Method for Agglomeration Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengming Li

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Agglomeration operations are a core component of the automated generalization of aggregated area groups. However, because geographical elements that possess agglomeration features are relatively scarce, the current literature has not given sufficient attention to agglomeration operations. Furthermore, most reports on the subject are limited to the general conceptual level. Consequently, current agglomeration methods are highly reliant on subjective determinations and cannot support intelligent computer processing. This paper proposes an automated processing method for agglomeration areas. Firstly, the proposed method automatically identifies agglomeration areas based on the width of the striped bridging area, distribution pattern index (DPI, shape similarity index (SSI, and overlap index (OI. Next, the progressive agglomeration operation is carried out, including the computation of the external boundary outlines and the extraction of agglomeration lines. The effectiveness and rationality of the proposed method has been validated by using actual census data of Chinese geographical conditions in the Jiangsu Province.

  9. Powder agglomeration in a microgravity environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cawley, James D.

    1994-01-01

    This is the final report for NASA Grant NAG3-755 entitled 'Powder Agglomeration in a Microgravity Environment.' The research program included both two types of numerical models and two types of experiments. The numerical modeling included the use of Monte Carlo type simulations of agglomerate growth including hydrodynamic screening and molecular dynamics type simulations of the rearrangement of particles within an agglomerate under a gravitational field. Experiments included direct observation of the agglomeration of submicron alumina and indirect observation, using small angle light scattering, of the agglomeration of colloidal silica and aluminum monohydroxide. In the former class of experiments, the powders were constrained to move on a two-dimensional surface oriented to minimize the effect of gravity. In the latter, some experiments involved mixture of suspensions containing particles of opposite charge which resulted in agglomeration on a very short time scale relative to settling under gravity.

  10. A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO ECONOMIC AGGLOMERATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mădălina-Ștefania Dîrzu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Technological progress and rapid structural adjustments have characterized a lot of economies in the last century and they still feature pronounced structures. An important observation is that economic activities tend to agglomerate in space as a result of some kind increasing returns, forming eventually economic agglomerations. When various companies gather together, they establish specific forms of interaction. Increasing returns produce when this mutual interplay creates positive externalities for those firms which operate into an agglomeration. In this context, it is crucial to raise a question: what is an economic agglomeration and what do different scientists imply when using the concept? The phenomenon of agglomeration has attracted researchers from various disciplines employing a hybrid set of analytical perspectives. This whole framework is still puzzled with contradictory conceptualizations which are often used in an ambiguous way. Scientists tend to utilize notions such as agglomeration, cluster, territorial network, specialization, concentration somewhat interchangeably and with little concern about how to operationalize them. To shed a light on this issue, the aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analyze of different theoretical framework in which economic agglomerations have been debated and researched.

  11. Effect of agglomerate strength on sintered density for yttria powders containing agglomerates of monosize spheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciftcioglu, M.; Akine, M.; Burkhart, L.

    1987-01-01

    The effect of agglomerate strength on sintered density was determined for several yttria powders made by intentionally agglomerating 0.1-μm, monodisperse yttriuim hydrocarbonate precursor spheres and calcining separate portions of the precursor at different temperatures to vary the strength of the intraaglomeate bonds. In this way, the effects of differences in particle morphology and other characteristics among the powders were minimized and the effect of agglomerate strength could be seen more clearly

  12. Modeling of Particle Agglomeration in Nanofluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanagala, Hari Krishna

    Nanofluids are colloidal dispersions of nano sized particles (life of these nanofluids. Current research addresses the agglomeration effect and how it can affect the shelf life of a nanofluid. The reasons for agglomeration in nanofluids are attributable to the interparticle interactions which are quantified by the various theories. By altering the governing properties like volume fraction, pH and electrolyte concentration different nanofluids with instant agglomeration, slow agglomeration and no agglomeration can be produced. A numerical model is created based on the discretized population balance equations which analyses the particle size distribution at different times. Agglomeration effects have been analyzed for alumina nanoparticles with average particle size of 150nm dispersed in de-ionized water. As the pH was moved towards the isoelectric point of alumina nanofluids, the particle size distribution became broader and moved to bigger sizes rapidly with time. Particle size distributions became broader and moved to bigger sizes more quickly with time with increase in the electrolyte concentration. The two effects together can be used to create different temporal trends in the particle size distributions. Faster agglomeration is attributed to the decrease in the electrostatic double layer repulsion forces which is due to decrease in the induced charge and the double layer thickness around the particle. Bigger particle clusters show lesser agglomeration due to reaching the equilibrium size. The procedures and processes described in this work can be used to generate more stable nanofluids.

  13. OUTFLOW AND HOT DUST EMISSION IN HIGH-REDSHIFT QUASARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Huiyuan; Xing, Feijun; Wang, Tinggui; Zhou, Hongyan; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Shaohua

    2013-01-01

    Correlations of hot dust emission with outflow properties are investigated, based on a large z ∼ 2 non-broad absorption line quasar sample built from the Wide-field Infrared Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data releases. We use the near-infrared slope and the infrared to UV luminosity ratio to indicate the hot dust emission relative to the emission from the accretion disk. In our luminous quasars, these hot dust emission indicators are almost independent of the fundamental parameters, such as luminosity, Eddington ratio and black hole mass, but moderately dependent on the blueshift and asymmetry index (BAI) and FWHM of C IV lines. Interestingly, the latter two correlations dramatically strengthen with increasing Eddington ratio. We suggest that, in high Eddington ratio quasars, C IV regions are dominated by outflows so the BAI and FWHM (C IV) can reliably reflect the general properties and velocity of outflows, respectively. In low Eddington ratio quasars, on the other hand, C IV lines are primarily emitted by virialized gas so the BAI and FWHM (C IV) become less sensitive to outflows. Therefore, the correlations for the highest Eddington ratio quasars are more likely to represent the true dependence of hot dust emission on outflows and the correlations for the entire sample are significantly diluted by the low Eddington ratio quasars. Our results show that an outflow with a large BAI or velocity can double the hot dust emission on average. We suggest that outflows either contain hot dust in themselves or interact with the dusty interstellar medium or torus

  14. Urban Planning Problems of Agglomerations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olenkov, V. D.; Tazeev, N. T.

    2017-11-01

    The article explores the state of the air basin of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration and gives the examples of solutions for the pollution problems from the point of view of city planning. The main features and structure of the modern urban agglomerations are considered, the methods for determining their boundaries are studied and the main problems are identified. The study of the boundaries and territorial structure of the Chelyabinsk urban agglomeration is conducted, and a general description of the territory is given. The data on the change in the volume of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere and the index of atmospheric pollution for the period 2003-2015 are given basing on the annual comprehensive reports regarding the state of the environment. The review of the world experience of city-planning actions on the decision of ecological problems is carried out. The most suitable ways for the ecological problems solving in the Chelyabinsk agglomeration are considered. The authors give recommendations for the ecological situation improving in the territory of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration.

  15. Agglomeration of ceramic powders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cawley, James D.; Larosa, Judith; Dirkse, Fredrick

    1989-01-01

    A research program directed at a critical comparison of numerical models for power agglomeration with experimental observations is currently underway. Central to this program is the quantitative characterization of the distribution of mass within an agglomerate as a function of time. Current experiments are designed to restrict agglomeration to a surface, which is oriented perpendicular to the force of gravity. These experiments are discussed with reference to: their significance to ceramic processing; artifacts which may be avoided in microgravity experiments; and the comparison of information available in real space (from optical microscopy) to that in reciprocal space (from light scattering). The principle machine requirement appears to be a need to obtain information at small scattering angles.

  16. Effects of droplet size and type of binder on the agglomerate growth mechanisms by melt agglomeration in a fluidised bed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Anette; Holm, Per; Schaefer, Torben

    2002-08-01

    This study was performed in order to evaluate the effects of binder droplet size and type of binder on the agglomerate growth mechanisms by melt agglomeration in a fluidised bed granulator. Lactose monohydrate was agglomerated with melted polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3000 or Gelucire 50/13 (esters of polyethylene glycol and glycerol), which was atomised at different nozzle air flow rates giving rise to median droplet sizes of 40, 60, and 80 microm. Different product temperatures were investigated, below the melting range, in the middle of the melting range, and above the melting range for each binder. The agglomerates were found to be formed by initial nucleation of lactose particles immersed in the melted binder droplets. Agglomerate growth occurred by coalescence between nuclei followed by coalescence between agglomerates. Complex effects of binder droplet size and type of binder were seen at low product temperatures. Low product temperatures resulted in smaller agglomerate sizes, because the agglomerate growth was counteracted by very high binder viscosity or solidification of the binder. At higher product temperatures, neither the binder droplet size nor the type of binder had a clear effect on the final agglomerate size.

  17. Modeling of particle agglomeration in nanofluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishna, K. Hari; Neti, S.; Oztekin, A.; Mohapatra, S.

    2015-01-01

    Agglomeration strongly influences the stability or shelf life of nanofluid. The present computational and experimental study investigates the rate of agglomeration quantitatively. Agglomeration in nanofluids is attributed to the net effect of various inter-particle interaction forces. For the nanofluid considered here, a net inter-particle force depends on the particle size, volume fraction, pH, and electrolyte concentration. A solution of the discretized and coupled population balance equations can yield particle sizes as a function of time. Nanofluid prepared here consists of alumina nanoparticles with the average particle size of 150 nm dispersed in de-ionized water. As the pH of the colloid was moved towards the isoelectric point of alumina nanofluids, the rate of increase of average particle size increased with time due to lower net positive charge on particles. The rate at which the average particle size is increased is predicted and measured for different electrolyte concentration and volume fraction. The higher rate of agglomeration is attributed to the decrease in the electrostatic double layer repulsion forces. The rate of agglomeration decreases due to increase in the size of nano-particle clusters thus approaching zero rate of agglomeration when all the clusters are nearly uniform in size. Predicted rates of agglomeration agree adequate enough with the measured values; validating the mathematical model and numerical approach is employed

  18. Ground truth of (sub-)micrometre cometary dust - Results of MIDAS onboard Rosetta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannel, Thurid; Bentley, Mark; Schmied, Roland; Torkar, Klaus; Jeszenszky, Harald; Romsted, Jens; Levasseur-Regourd, A.; Weber, Iris; Jessberger, Elmar K.; Ehrenfreund, Pascale; Köberl, Christian; Havnes, Ove

    2016-10-01

    The investigation of comet 67P by Rosetta has allowed the comprehensive characterisation of pristine cometary dust particles ejected from the nucleus. Flying alongside the comet at distances as small as a few kilometres, and with a relative velocity of only centimetres per second, the Rosetta payload sampled almost unaltered dust. A key instrument to study this dust was MIDAS (the Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System), a dedicated atomic force microscope that scanned the surfaces of hundreds of (sub-)micrometre sized particles in 3D with resolutions down to nanometres. This offers the unique opportunity to explore the morphology of smallest cometary dust and expand our current knowledge about cometary material.Here we give an overview of dust collected and analysed by MIDAS and highlight its most important features. These include the ubiquitous agglomerate nature of the dust, which is found at all size scales from the largest (>10 µm) through to the smallest (MIDAS resemble primitive interplanetary dust which is a strong argument for a common cometary origin.

  19. Agglomeration Economies in Classical Music

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borowiecki, Karol Jan

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates agglomeration effects for classical music production in a wide range of cities for a global sample of composers born between 1750 and 1899. Theory suggests a trade-off between agglomeration economies (peer effects) and diseconomies (peer crowding). I test this hypothesis...

  20. Improving the de-agglomeration and dissolution of a poorly water soluble drug by decreasing the agglomerate strength of the cohesive powder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allahham, Ayman; Stewart, Peter J; Das, Shyamal C

    2013-11-30

    Influence of ternary, poorly water-soluble components on the agglomerate strength of cohesive indomethacin mixtures during dissolution was studied to explore the relationship between agglomerate strength and extent of de-agglomeration and dissolution of indomethacin (Ind). Dissolution profiles of Ind from 20% Ind-lactose binary mixtures, and ternary mixtures containing additional dibasic calcium phosphate (1% or 10%; DCP), calcium sulphate (10%) and talc (10%) were determined. Agglomerate strength distributions were estimated by Monte Carlo simulation of particle size, work of cohesion and packing fraction distributions. The agglomerate strength of Ind decreased from 1.19 MPa for the binary Ind mixture to 0.84 MPa for 1DCP:20Ind mixture and to 0.42 MPa for 1DCP:2Ind mixture. Both extent of de-agglomeration, demonstrated by the concentration of the dispersed indomethacin distribution, and extent of dispersion, demonstrated by the particle size of the dispersed indomethacin, were in descending order of 1DCP:2Ind>1DCP:20Ind>binary Ind. The addition of calcium sulphate dihydrate and talc also reduced the agglomerate strength and improved de-agglomeration and dispersion of indomethacin. While not definitively causal, the improved de-agglomeration and dispersion of a poorly water soluble drug by poorly water soluble components was related to the agglomerate strength of the cohesive matrix during dissolution. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Particle agglomeration and properties of nanofluids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang Yijun; Oztekin, Alparslan, E-mail: alo2@lehigh.edu; Neti, Sudhakar [Lehigh University, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (United States); Mohapatra, Satish [Dynalene Inc. (United States)

    2012-05-15

    The present study demonstrates the importance of actual agglomerated particle size in the nanofluid and its effect on the fluid properties. The current work deals with 5 to 100 nm nanoparticles dispersed in fluids that resulted in 200 to 800 nm agglomerates. Particle size distributions for a range of nanofluids are measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Wet scanning electron microscopy method is used to visualize agglomerated particles in the dispersed state and to confirm particle size measurements by DLS. Our results show that a combination of base fluid chemistry and nanoparticle type is very important to create stable nanofluids. Several nanofluids resulted in stable state without any stabilizers, but in the long term had agglomerations of 250 % over a 2 month period. The effects of agglomeration on the thermal and rheological properties are presented for several types of nanoparticle and base fluid chemistries. Despite using nanodiamond particles with high thermal conductivity and a very sensitive laser flash thermal conductivity measurement technique, no anomalous increases of thermal conductivity was measured. The thermal conductivity increases of nanofluid with the particle concentration are as those predicted by Maxwell and Bruggeman models. The level of agglomeration of nanoparticles hardly influenced the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. The viscosity of nanofluids increased strongly as the concentration of particle is increased; it displays shear thinning and is a strong function of the level of agglomeration. The viscosity increase is significantly above of that predicted by the Einstein model even for very small concentration of nanoparticles.

  2. Particle agglomeration and properties of nanofluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yijun; Oztekin, Alparslan; Neti, Sudhakar; Mohapatra, Satish

    2012-01-01

    The present study demonstrates the importance of actual agglomerated particle size in the nanofluid and its effect on the fluid properties. The current work deals with 5 to 100 nm nanoparticles dispersed in fluids that resulted in 200 to 800 nm agglomerates. Particle size distributions for a range of nanofluids are measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Wet scanning electron microscopy method is used to visualize agglomerated particles in the dispersed state and to confirm particle size measurements by DLS. Our results show that a combination of base fluid chemistry and nanoparticle type is very important to create stable nanofluids. Several nanofluids resulted in stable state without any stabilizers, but in the long term had agglomerations of 250 % over a 2 month period. The effects of agglomeration on the thermal and rheological properties are presented for several types of nanoparticle and base fluid chemistries. Despite using nanodiamond particles with high thermal conductivity and a very sensitive laser flash thermal conductivity measurement technique, no anomalous increases of thermal conductivity was measured. The thermal conductivity increases of nanofluid with the particle concentration are as those predicted by Maxwell and Bruggeman models. The level of agglomeration of nanoparticles hardly influenced the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. The viscosity of nanofluids increased strongly as the concentration of particle is increased; it displays shear thinning and is a strong function of the level of agglomeration. The viscosity increase is significantly above of that predicted by the Einstein model even for very small concentration of nanoparticles.

  3. Study on GIS Visualization in Evaluation of the Human Living Environment in Shenyang-Dalian Urban Agglomeration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang Hou

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of human living environmental quality of Shenyang-Dalian urban agglomerations has important theoretical and practical significance in rapid development region. A lot of investigations have been carried for Shenyang-Dalian urban agglomerations, including 38 counties. Based on the carrying capacity of resources, natural and socioeconomic environmental factors and regional changes of human living environmental evaluation are analyzed with the application of geographic information systems (GIS software. By using principal component analysis (PCA model and natural breaks classification (NBC method, the evaluation results are divided into five categories. The results show that the human living environmental evaluation (HLEE indexes of Dalian, Shenyang, and Liaoyang are higher than other counties. Among these counties, the human living environmental evaluation (HLEE indexes of coastal counties are significantly higher than inland counties. The range of the human living environmental evaluation index in most of the study area is at III, IV, and V levels, accounting for 80.01%. Based on these results, it could illustrate the human living environment is in relatively suitable condition in Shenyang-Dalian urban agglomeration.

  4. High concentration agglomerate dynamics at high temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heine, M C; Pratsinis, S E

    2006-11-21

    The dynamics of agglomerate aerosols are investigated at high solids concentrations that are typical in industrial scale manufacture of fine particles (precursor mole fraction larger than 10 mol %). In particular, formation and growth of fumed silica at such concentrations by chemical reaction, coagulation, and sintering is simulated at nonisothermal conditions and compared to limited experimental data and commercial product specifications. Using recent chemical kinetics for silica formation by SiCl4 hydrolysis and neglecting aerosol polydispersity, the evolution of the diameter of primary particles (specific surface area, SSA), hard- and soft-agglomerates, along with agglomerate effective volume fraction (volume occupied by agglomerate) is investigated. Classic Smoluchowski theory is fundamentally limited for description of soft-agglomerate Brownian coagulation at high solids concentrations. In fact, these high concentrations affect little the primary particle diameter (or SSA) but dominate the soft-agglomerate diameter, structure, and volume fraction, leading to gelation consistent with experimental data. This indicates that restructuring and fragmentation should affect product particle characteristics during high-temperature synthesis of nanostructured particles at high concentrations in aerosol flow reactors.

  5. Coagulation of Agglomerates Consisting of Polydisperse Primary Particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goudeli, E; Eggersdorfer, M L; Pratsinis, S E

    2016-09-13

    The ballistic agglomeration of polydisperse particles is investigated by an event-driven (ED) method and compared to the coagulation of spherical particles and agglomerates consisting of monodisperse primary particles (PPs). It is shown for the first time to our knowledge that increasing the width or polydispersity of the PP size distribution initially accelerates the coagulation rate of their agglomerates but delays the attainment of their asymptotic fractal-like structure and self-preserving size distribution (SPSD) without altering them, provided that sufficiently large numbers of PPs are employed. For example, the standard asymptotic mass fractal dimension, Df, of 1.91 is attained when clusters are formed containing, on average, about 15 monodisperse PPs, consistent with fractal theory and the literature. In contrast, when polydisperse PPs with a geometric standard deviation of 3 are employed, about 500 PPs are needed to attain that Df. Even though the same asymptotic Df and mass-mobility exponent, Dfm, are attained regardless of PP polydispersity, the asymptotic prefactors or lacunarities of Df and Dfm increase with PP polydispersity. For monodisperse PPs, the average agglomerate radius of gyration, rg, becomes larger than the mobility radius, rm, when agglomerates consist of more than 15 PPs. Increasing PP polydispersity increases that number of PPs similarly to the above for the attainment of the asymptotic Df or Dfm. The agglomeration kinetics are quantified by the overall collision frequency function. When the SPSD is attained, the collision frequency is independent of PP polydispersity. Accounting for the SPSD polydispersity in the overall agglomerate collision frequency is in good agreement with that frequency from detailed ED simulations once the SPSD is reached. Most importantly, the coagulation of agglomerates is described well by a monodisperse model for agglomerate and PP sizes, whereas the detailed agglomerate size distribution can be obtained by

  6. Measuring agglomerate size distribution and dependence of localized surface plasmon resonance absorbance on gold nanoparticle agglomerate size using analytical ultracentrifugation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zook, Justin M; Rastogi, Vinayak; Maccuspie, Robert I; Keene, Athena M; Fagan, Jeffrey

    2011-10-25

    Agglomeration of nanoparticles during measurements in relevant biological and environmental media is a frequent problem in nanomaterial property characterization. The primary problem is typically that any changes to the size distribution can dramatically affect the potential nanotoxicity or other size-determined properties, such as the absorbance signal in a biosensor measurement. Herein we demonstrate analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) as a powerful method for measuring two critical characteristics of nanoparticle (NP) agglomerates in situ in biological media: the NP agglomerate size distribution, and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorbance spectrum of precise sizes of gold NP agglomerates. To characterize the size distribution, we present a theoretical framework for calculating the hydrodynamic diameter distribution of NP agglomerates from their sedimentation coefficient distribution. We measure sedimentation rates for monomers, dimers, and trimers, as well as for larger agglomerates with up to 600 NPs. The AUC size distributions were found generally to be broader than the size distributions estimated from dynamic light scattering and diffusion-limited colloidal aggregation theory, an alternative bulk measurement method that relies on several assumptions. In addition, the measured sedimentation coefficients can be used in nanotoxicity studies to predict how quickly the agglomerates sediment out of solution under normal gravitational forces, such as in the environment. We also calculate the absorbance spectra for monomer, dimer, trimer, and larger gold NP agglomerates up to 600 NPs, to enable a better understanding of LSPR biosensors. Finally, we validate a new method that uses these spectra to deconvolute the net absorbance spectrum of an unknown bulk sample and approximate the proportions of monomers, dimers, and trimers in a polydisperse sample of small agglomerates, so that every sample does not need to be measured by AUC. These results

  7. Theoretical studies on aerosol agglomeration processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtinen, K.E.J. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Energy Use

    1997-12-31

    In this thesis, theoretical modeling of certain aerosol systems has been presented. At first, the aerosol general dynamic equation is introduced, along with a discretization routine for its numerical solution. Of the various possible phenomena affecting aerosol behaviour, this work is mostly focused on aerosol agglomeration. The fundamentals of aerosol agglomeration theory are thus briefly reviewed. The two practical applications of agglomeration studied in this thesis are flue gas cleaning using an electrical agglomerator and nanomaterial synthesis with a free jet reactor. In an electrical agglomerator the aerosol particles are charged and brought into an alternating electric field. The aim is to remove submicron particles from flue gases by collisions with larger particles before conventional gas cleaning devices that have a clear penetration window in the problematic 0.1-1{mu}m size range. A mathematical model was constructed to find out the effects of the different system parameters on the agglomerator`s performance. A crucial part of this task was finding out the collision efficiencies of particles of varying size and charge. The original idea was to use unipolar charging of the particles, and a laboratory scale apparatus was constructed for this purpose. Both theory and experiments clearly show that significant removal of submicron particles can not be achieved by such an arrangement. The theoretical analysis further shows that if the submicron particles and the large collector particles were charged with opposite polarity, significant removal of the submicron particles could be obtained. The second application of agglomeration considered in this thesis is predicting/controlling nanoparticle size in the gas-to-particle aerosol route to material synthesis. In a typical material reactor, a precursor vapor reacts to form molecules of the desired material. In a cooling environment, a particulate phase forms, the dynamics of which are determined by the rates of

  8. Theoretical studies on aerosol agglomeration processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtinen, K E.J. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Energy Use

    1998-12-31

    In this thesis, theoretical modeling of certain aerosol systems has been presented. At first, the aerosol general dynamic equation is introduced, along with a discretization routine for its numerical solution. Of the various possible phenomena affecting aerosol behaviour, this work is mostly focused on aerosol agglomeration. The fundamentals of aerosol agglomeration theory are thus briefly reviewed. The two practical applications of agglomeration studied in this thesis are flue gas cleaning using an electrical agglomerator and nanomaterial synthesis with a free jet reactor. In an electrical agglomerator the aerosol particles are charged and brought into an alternating electric field. The aim is to remove submicron particles from flue gases by collisions with larger particles before conventional gas cleaning devices that have a clear penetration window in the problematic 0.1-1{mu}m size range. A mathematical model was constructed to find out the effects of the different system parameters on the agglomerator`s performance. A crucial part of this task was finding out the collision efficiencies of particles of varying size and charge. The original idea was to use unipolar charging of the particles, and a laboratory scale apparatus was constructed for this purpose. Both theory and experiments clearly show that significant removal of submicron particles can not be achieved by such an arrangement. The theoretical analysis further shows that if the submicron particles and the large collector particles were charged with opposite polarity, significant removal of the submicron particles could be obtained. The second application of agglomeration considered in this thesis is predicting/controlling nanoparticle size in the gas-to-particle aerosol route to material synthesis. In a typical material reactor, a precursor vapor reacts to form molecules of the desired material. In a cooling environment, a particulate phase forms, the dynamics of which are determined by the rates of

  9. Measurement of net electric charge and dipole moment of dust aggregates in a complex plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousefi, Razieh; Davis, Allen B; Carmona-Reyes, Jorge; Matthews, Lorin S; Hyde, Truell W

    2014-09-01

    Understanding the agglomeration of dust particles in complex plasmas requires knowledge of basic properties such as the net electrostatic charge and dipole moment of the dust. In this study, dust aggregates are formed from gold-coated mono-disperse spherical melamine-formaldehyde monomers in a radiofrequency (rf) argon discharge plasma. The behavior of observed dust aggregates is analyzed both by studying the particle trajectories and by employing computer models examining three-dimensional structures of aggregates and their interactions and rotations as induced by torques arising from their dipole moments. These allow the basic characteristics of the dust aggregates, such as the electrostatic charge and dipole moment, as well as the external electric field, to be determined. It is shown that the experimental results support the predicted values from computer models for aggregates in these environments.

  10. Soft- and hard-agglomerate aerosols made at high temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsantilis, Stavros; Pratsinis, Sotiris E

    2004-07-06

    Criteria for aerosol synthesis of soft-agglomerate, hard-agglomerate, or even nonagglomerate particles are developed on the basis of particle sintering and coalescence. Agglomerate (or aggregate) particles are held together by weak, physical van der Waals forces (soft agglomerates) or by stronger chemical or sintering bonds (hard agglomerates). Accounting for simultaneous gas phase chemical reaction, coagulation, and sintering during the formation and growth of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles by silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) oxidation and neglecting the spread of particle size distribution, the onset of hard-agglomerate formation is identified at the end of full coalescence, while the onset of soft-agglomerate formation is identified at the end of sintering. Process conditions such as the precursor initial volume fraction, maximum temperature, residence time, and cooling rate are explored, identifying regions for the synthesis of particles with a controlled degree of agglomeration (ratio of collision to primary particle diameters).

  11. Mobility and settling rate of agglomerates of polydisperse nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spyrogianni, Anastasia; Karadima, Katerina S.; Goudeli, Eirini; Mavrantzas, Vlasis G.; Pratsinis, Sotiris E.

    2018-02-01

    Agglomerate settling impacts nanotoxicology and nanomedicine as well as the stability of engineered nanofluids. Here, the mobility of nanostructured fractal-like SiO2 agglomerates in water is investigated and their settling rate in infinitely dilute suspensions is calculated by a Brownian dynamics algorithm tracking the agglomerate translational and rotational motion. The corresponding friction matrices are obtained using the HYDRO++ algorithm [J. G. de la Torre, G. del Rio Echenique, and A. Ortega, J. Phys. Chem. B 111, 955 (2007)] from the Kirkwood-Riseman theory accounting for hydrodynamic interactions of primary particles (PPs) through the Rotne-Prager-Yamakawa tensor, properly modified for polydisperse PPs. Agglomerates are generated by an event-driven method and have constant mass fractal dimension but varying PP size distribution, mass, and relative shape anisotropy. The calculated diffusion coefficient from HYDRO++ is used to obtain the agglomerate mobility diameter dm and is compared with that from scaling laws for fractal-like agglomerates. The ratio dm/dg of the mobility diameter to the gyration diameter of the agglomerate decreases with increasing relative shape anisotropy. For constant dm and mean dp, the agglomerate settling rate, us, increases with increasing PP geometric standard deviation σp,g (polydispersity). A linear relationship between us and agglomerate mass to dm ratio, m/dm, is revealed and attributed to the fast Brownian rotation of such small and light nanoparticle agglomerates. An analytical expression for the us of agglomerates consisting of polydisperse PPs is then derived, us=(1/-{ρf/ρp})g 3 π μ m/dm (ρf is the density of the fluid, ρp is the density of PPs, μ is the viscosity of the fluid, and g is the acceleration of gravity), valid for agglomerates for which the characteristic rotational time is considerably shorter than their settling time. Our calculations demonstrate that the commonly made assumption of monodisperse PPs

  12. Diffusion and reaction in microbead agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes Kirchner, Carolina; Träuble, Markus; Wittstock, Gunther

    2010-04-01

    Scanning electrochemical microscopy has been used to analyze the flux of p-aminonophenol (PAP) produced by agglomerates of polymeric microbeads modified with galactosidase as a model system for the bead-based heterogeneous immunoassays. With the use of mixtures of enzyme-modified and bare beads in defined ratio, agglomerates with different saturation levels of the enzyme modification were produced. The PAP flux depends on the intrinsic kinetics of the galactosidase, the local availability of the substrate p-aminophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (PAPG), and the external mass transport conditions in the surrounding of the agglomerate and the internal mass transport within the bead agglomerate. The internal mass transport is influenced by the diffusional shielding of the modified beads by unmodified beads. SECM in combination with optical microscopy was used to determine experimentally the external flux. These data are in quantitative agreement with boundary element simulation considering the SECM microelectrode as an interacting probe and treating the Michaelis-Menten kinetics of the enzyme as nonlinear boundary conditions with two independent concentration variables [PAP] and [PAPG]. The PAPG concentration at the surface of the bead agglomerate was taken as a boundary condition for the analysis of the internal mass transport condition as a function of the enzyme saturation in the bead agglomerate. The results of this analysis are represented as PAP flux per contributing modified bead and the flux from freely suspended galactosidase-modified beads. These numbers are compared to the same number from the SECM experiments. It is shown that depending on the enzyme saturation level a different situation can arise where either beads located at the outer surface of the agglomerate dominate the contribution to the measured external flux or where the contribution of buried beads cannot be neglected for explaining the measured external flux.

  13. Agglomeration of microparticles in complex plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Cheng-Ran; Thomas, Hubertus M.; Ivlev, Alexei V.; Konopka, Uwe; Morfill, Gregor E.

    2010-01-01

    Agglomeration of highly charged microparticles was observed and studied in complex plasma experiments carried out in a capacitively coupled rf discharge. The agglomeration was caused by strong waves triggered in a particle cloud by decreasing neutral gas pressure. Using a high-speed camera during this unstable regime, it was possible to resolve the motion of individual microparticles and to show that the relative velocities of some particles were sufficiently high to overcome the mutual Coulomb repulsion and hence to result in agglomeration. After stabilizing the cloud again through the increase of the pressure, we were able to observe the aggregates directly with a long-distance microscope. We show that the agglomeration rate deduced from our experiments is in good agreement with theoretical estimates. In addition, we briefly discuss the mechanisms that can provide binding of highly charged microparticles in a plasma.

  14. Multifrequency scanning probe microscopy study of nanodiamond agglomerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aravind, Vasudeva; Lippold, Stephen; Li, Qian; Strelcov, Evgheny; Okatan, Baris; Legum, Benjamin; Kalinin, Sergei; Clarion University Team; Oak Ridge National Laboratory Team

    Due to their rich surface chemistry and excellent mechanical properties and non-toxic nature, nanodiamond particles have found applications such as biomedicine, tribology and lubrication, targeted drug delivery systems, tissue scaffolds and surgical implants. Although single nanodiamond particles have diameters about 4-5nm, they tend to form agglomerates. While these agglomerates can be useful for some purposes, many applications of nanodiamonds require single particle, disaggregated nanodiamonds. This work is oriented towards studying forces and interactions that contribute to agglomeration in nanodiamonds. In this work, using multifrequency scanning probe microscopy techniques, we show that agglomerate sizes can vary between 50-100nm in raw nanodiamonds. Extremeties of particles and Interfaces between agglomerates show dissipative forces with scanning probe microscope tip, indicating agglomerates could act as points of increased adhesion, thus reducing lubricating efficiency when nanodiamonds are used as lubricant additives. This research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

  15. Mobility and settling rate of agglomerates of polydisperse nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spyrogianni, Anastasia; Karadima, Katerina S; Goudeli, Eirini; Mavrantzas, Vlasis G; Pratsinis, Sotiris E

    2018-02-14

    Agglomerate settling impacts nanotoxicology and nanomedicine as well as the stability of engineered nanofluids. Here, the mobility of nanostructured fractal-like SiO 2 agglomerates in water is investigated and their settling rate in infinitely dilute suspensions is calculated by a Brownian dynamics algorithm tracking the agglomerate translational and rotational motion. The corresponding friction matrices are obtained using the HYDRO++ algorithm [J. G. de la Torre, G. del Rio Echenique, and A. Ortega, J. Phys. Chem. B 111, 955 (2007)] from the Kirkwood-Riseman theory accounting for hydrodynamic interactions of primary particles (PPs) through the Rotne-Prager-Yamakawa tensor, properly modified for polydisperse PPs. Agglomerates are generated by an event-driven method and have constant mass fractal dimension but varying PP size distribution, mass, and relative shape anisotropy. The calculated diffusion coefficient from HYDRO++ is used to obtain the agglomerate mobility diameter d m and is compared with that from scaling laws for fractal-like agglomerates. The ratio d m /d g of the mobility diameter to the gyration diameter of the agglomerate decreases with increasing relative shape anisotropy. For constant d m and mean d p , the agglomerate settling rate, u s , increases with increasing PP geometric standard deviation σ p,g (polydispersity). A linear relationship between u s and agglomerate mass to d m ratio, m/d m , is revealed and attributed to the fast Brownian rotation of such small and light nanoparticle agglomerates. An analytical expression for the u s of agglomerates consisting of polydisperse PPs is then derived, u s =1-ρ f ρ p g3πμmd m (ρ f is the density of the fluid, ρ p is the density of PPs, μ is the viscosity of the fluid, and g is the acceleration of gravity), valid for agglomerates for which the characteristic rotational time is considerably shorter than their settling time. Our calculations demonstrate that the commonly made assumption of

  16. An Infrared Census of DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS). IV. Discovery of High-redshift AGB Analogs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyer, M. L.; McQuinn, K. B. W.; Groenewegen, M. A. T.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Whitelock, P. A.; van Loon, J. Th.; Sonneborn, G.; Sloan, G. C.; Skillman, E. D.; Meixner, M.; McDonald, I.; Jones, O. C.; Javadi, A.; Gehrz, R. D.; Britavskiy, N.; Bonanos, A. Z.

    2017-12-01

    The survey for DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS) identified several candidate Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in nearby dwarf galaxies and showed that dust can form even in very metal-poor systems ({\\boldsymbol{Z}}∼ 0.008 {Z}ȯ ). Here, we present a follow-up survey with WFC3/IR on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), using filters that are capable of distinguishing carbon-rich (C-type) stars from oxygen-rich (M-type) stars: F127M, F139M, and F153M. We include six star-forming DUSTiNGS galaxies (NGC 147, IC 10, Pegasus dIrr, Sextans B, Sextans A, and Sag DIG), all more metal-poor than the Magellanic Clouds and spanning 1 dex in metallicity. We double the number of dusty AGB stars known in these galaxies and find that most are carbon rich. We also find 26 dusty M-type stars, mostly in IC 10. Given the large dust excess and tight spatial distribution of these M-type stars, they are most likely on the upper end of the AGB mass range (stars undergoing Hot Bottom Burning). Theoretical models do not predict significant dust production in metal-poor M-type stars, but we see evidence for dust excess around M-type stars even in the most metal-poor galaxies in our sample (12+{log}({{O}}/{{H}})=7.26{--}7.50). The low metallicities and inferred high stellar masses (up to ∼10 {M}ȯ ) suggest that AGB stars can produce dust very early in the evolution of galaxies (∼30 Myr after they form), and may contribute significantly to the dust reservoirs seen in high-redshift galaxies. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program GO-14073.

  17. Effects of gas conditions on ASH induced agglomeration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, T.; Fan, C. G.; Hao, L. F.

    2016-01-01

    Agglomeration is a serious problem for gasification and combustion of biomass in fluidized bed. Agglomeration characteristics may be affected by gas condition, but the literature is quite vague in this regard. This study focuses on the effects of gasification and combustion condition...... on agglomeration tendency with two types of biomass ash, including rice straw and wheat straw ash. The agglomerates are analyzed by SEM-EDS for morphology and elemental composition. Defluidization temperature (Td) in those two types of gas conditions is quite different. Tdin gasification condition is much lower...

  18. Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    S. K. Kawatra; T. C. Eisele; K. A. Lewandowski; J. A. Gurtler

    2006-09-30

    Heap leaching is one of the methods being used to recover metal from low grade ore deposits. The main problem faced during heap leaching is the migration of fine grained particles through the heap, forming impermeable beds which result in poor solution flow. The poor solution flow leads to less contact between the leach solution and the ore, resulting in low recovery rates. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses prevents fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Currently, there is one facility in the United States which uses agglomeration. This operation agglomerates their ore using leach solution (raffinate), but is still experiencing undesirable metal recovery from the heaps due to agglomerate breakdown. The use of a binder, in addition to the leach solution, during agglomeration would help to produce stronger agglomerates that did not break down during processing. However, there are no known binders that will work satisfactorily in the acidic environment of a heap, at a reasonable cost. As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. Increasing copper recovery in heap leaching by the use of binders and agglomeration would result in a significant decrease in the amount of energy consumed. Assuming that 70% of all the leaching heaps would convert to using agglomeration technology, as much as 1.64*10{sup 12} BTU per year would be able to be saved if a 25% increase in copper recovery was experienced, which is equivalent to saving approximately 18% of the energy currently being used in leaching heaps. For every week a leach cycle was decreased, a savings of as much as 1.23*10{sup 11} BTU per week would result. This project has identified several acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures. These binders and experimental procedures will be able to be used for use in improving the energy efficiency of

  19. Three-dimensional simulation of viscous-flow agglomerate sintering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchhof, M J; Schmid, H -J; Peukert, W

    2009-08-01

    The viscous-flow sintering of different agglomerate particle morphologies is studied by three-dimensional computer simulations based on the concept of fractional volume of fluid. For a fundamental understanding of particle sintering characteristics, the neck growth kinetics in agglomerate chains and in doublets consisting of differently sized primary particles is investigated. Results show that different sintering contacts in agglomerates even during the first stages are not completely independent from each other, even though differences are small. The neck growth kinetics of differently sized primary particles is determined by the smaller one up to a size difference by a factor of approximately 2, whereas for larger size differences, the kinetics becomes faster. In particular, the agglomerate sintering kinetics is investigated for particle chains of different lengths and for different particle morphologies each having ten primary particles and nine initial sintering contacts. For agglomerate chains, the kinetics approximately can be normalized by using the radius of the fully coalesced sphere. In general, different agglomerate morphologies show equal kinetics during the first sintering stages, whereas during advanced stages, compact morphologies show significantly faster sintering progress than more open morphologies. Hence, the overall kinetics cannot be described by simply using constant morphology correction factors such as fractal dimension or mean coordination number which are used in common sintering models. However, for the first stages of viscous-flow agglomerate sintering, which are the most important for many particle processes, a sintering equation is presented. Although we use agglomerates consisting of spherical primary particles, our methodology can be applied to other aggregate geometries as well.

  20. Acoustic agglomeration methods and apparatus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barmatz, M. B. (Inventor)

    1984-01-01

    Methods are described for using acoustic energy to agglomerate fine particles on the order of one micron diameter that are suspended in gas, to provide agglomerates large enough for efficient removal by other techniques. The gas with suspended particles, is passed through the length of a chamber while acoustic energy at a resonant chamber mode is applied to set up one or more acoustic standing wave patterns that vibrate the suspended particles to bring them together so they agglomerate. Several widely different frequencies can be applied to efficiently vibrate particles of widely differing sizes. The standing wave pattern can be applied along directions transversed to the flow of the gas. The particles can be made to move in circles by applying acoustic energy in perpendicular directions with the energy in both directions being of the same wavelength but 90 deg out of phase.

  1. Hydrophobic agglomeration of apatite fines induced by sodium oleate in aqueous solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingqiao Yang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, the hydrophobic agglomeration of apatite fines induced by sodium oleate in aqueous solutions has been investigated through the measurement of agglomeration degree and fractal dimension. The results showed that the agglomeration degree of apatite fines and agglomerates morphology was strongly depended on sodium oleate concentration, pH, stirring speed and time. Better agglomeration degree and more regular agglomerates were achieved at sodium oleate concentration of 5 × 10−5 mol/L under neutral condition. The critical stirring speed for agglomerates rupture was 1000 rev/min, above which, prolonged stirring time would cause breakage and restructure of the agglomerates after a certain stirring time, resulting in lower agglomeration degree and more regular agglomerates. The agglomeration degree of apatite fines could be greatly enhanced with the addition of emulsified kerosene, but only if the apatite surface was hydrophobic enough. Keywords: Hydrophobic agglomeration, Apatite fines, Agglomeration degree, Fractal dimension, Sodium oleate

  2. Reaction products of densified silica fume agglomerates in concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diamond, Sidney; Sahu, Sadananda; Thaulow, Niels

    2004-01-01

    Most silica fume currently used in concrete is in the dry densified form and consists of agglomerates of sizes between 10 μm and several millimeters. Many of these agglomerates may break down only partially in normal concrete mixing. Examination of various mature silica-fume-bearing concretes using backscatter mode scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis shows that such agglomerates have reacted in situ and given rise to recognizable types of reaction products filling the space within the original outline of the agglomerate. One type is 'quiescent', and usually shows no evidence of volume instability. EDX spectra indicate that the product formed within such grains is C-S-H of very low Ca/Si ratio, with modest alkali contents. Other silica fume agglomerates may undergo a distinct alkali-silica-type reaction (ASR), with the reaction product found within the original outline of the agglomerate having significantly less calcium and usually much higher alkali contents than the quiescent type. Such reacted agglomerates show evidence of local expansion, shrinkage cracking (on drying), and other features common to ASR. Both types may be found within the same concrete, sometimes in close proximity. It further appears that exposure to seawater may convert previously formed reaction products of silica fume agglomerates to magnesium silicate hydrates

  3. Agglomeration economies, competitiveness and entrepreneurial performance

    OpenAIRE

    Páger, Balázs; Komlósi, Éva

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims to elaborate the role of agglomeration effects on countries' competitiveness and entrepreneurial performance. Our research contributes to the understanding of the relationship that exists between a country's urban system characterized by spatial agglomeration (concentration) or deglomeration (deconcentration) processes, and its competitiveness and entrepreneurial performance, respectively. Urbanization economies refer to considerable cost savings generated through the locating...

  4. Aerosol mass deposition: the importance of gravitational agglomeration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bamford, G.J.; Ketchell, N.; Dunbar, I.H.

    1992-01-01

    Sedimentation, Brownian agglomeration and gravitational agglomeration timescales are mapped out for a set of simple systems. Analysis of these timescales has highlighted when and why gravitational agglomeration becomes the dominant factor determining overall mass deposition rates in hypothetical severe nuclear reactor accidents. This work was funded by the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry as part of the General Nuclear Safety Research Programme. (Author)

  5. Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    S. K. Kawatra; T. C. Eisele; K. A. Lewandowski; J. A. Gurtler

    2006-03-31

    Many metal extraction operations, such as leaching of copper, leaching of precious metals, and reduction of metal oxides to metal in high-temperature furnaces, require agglomeration of ore to ensure that reactive liquids or gases are evenly distributed throughout the ore being processed. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses achieves this even distribution of fluids by preventing fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Binders are critically necessary to produce agglomerates that will not break down during processing. However, for many important metal extraction processes there are no binders known that will work satisfactorily at a reasonable cost. A primary example of this is copper heap leaching, where there are no binders currently encountered in this acidic environment process. As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. The large quantities of ore that must be handled in metal extraction processes also means that the binder must be inexpensive and useful at low dosages to be economical. The acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures developed in this project will also be adapted for use in improving the energy efficiency and performance of a broad range of mineral agglomeration applications, particularly heap leaching. The active involvement of our industrial partners will help to ensure rapid commercialization of any agglomeration technologies developed by this project.

  6. Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    S. K. Kawatra; T. C. Eisele; J. A. Gurtler; K. Lewandowski

    2005-09-30

    Many metal extraction operations, such as leaching of copper, leaching of precious metals, and reduction of metal oxides to metal in high-temperature furnaces, require agglomeration of ore to ensure that reactive liquids or gases are evenly distributed throughout the ore being processed. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses achieves this even distribution of fluids by preventing fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Binders are critically necessary to produce agglomerates that will not break down during processing. However, for many important metal extraction processes there are no binders known that will work satisfactorily at a reasonable cost. A primary example of this is copper heap leaching, where there are no binders currently encountered in this acidic environment process. As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. The large quantities of ore that must be handled in metal extraction processes also means that the binder must be inexpensive and useful at low dosages to be economical. The acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures developed in this project will also be adapted for use in improving the energy efficiency and performance of a broad range of mineral agglomeration applications, particularly heap leaching. The active involvement of our industrial partners will help to ensure rapid commercialization of any agglomeration technologies developed by this project.

  7. Study on the agglomeration kinetics of uranium peroxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertrand, M.; Mojica Rodriguez, L.A.; Muhr, H.; Plasari, E.; Auger, F.

    2016-01-01

    Considering the previous study dealing with thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena (nucleation and crystal growth) during the uranium peroxide precipitation, this work focuses on the agglomeration mechanism. It provides the results obtained from the experiments carried out in a mixed suspension - mixed product removal (MSMPR) mixer operating at steady state. The influence of the operating parameters on the uranium peroxide agglomerates was studied in order to identify the agglomeration kernel. The method is based on the resolution of the population balance equation using the method of moments and the experimental particle size distributions. The results lead to a size-independent kernel directly proportional to the crystal growth rate. Under the stirring conditions studied, the agglomeration appears to be significantly reduced by mixing which results in a kernel inversely proportional to the average shear rate. The agglomeration kinetic law obtained in this study will be used for the process modelling in a further study. (authors)

  8. Study on the agglomeration kinetics of uranium peroxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertrand, M.; Mojica Rodriguez, L.A. [CEA, Centre de Marcoule, Nuclear Energy Division, RadioChemistry and Process Department, 17171, Bagnols-sur-Ceze 30207 (France); Muhr, H.; Plasari, E. [Reaction and Process Engineering Laboratory, CNRS, University of Lorraine. 1 rue Grandville, BP 20451, Nancy 54001 (France); Auger, F. [Areva Mines/SEPA. 2 route de Lavaugrasse, Bessines-sur-Gartempe 87250 (France)

    2016-07-01

    Considering the previous study dealing with thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena (nucleation and crystal growth) during the uranium peroxide precipitation, this work focuses on the agglomeration mechanism. It provides the results obtained from the experiments carried out in a mixed suspension - mixed product removal (MSMPR) mixer operating at steady state. The influence of the operating parameters on the uranium peroxide agglomerates was studied in order to identify the agglomeration kernel. The method is based on the resolution of the population balance equation using the method of moments and the experimental particle size distributions. The results lead to a size-independent kernel directly proportional to the crystal growth rate. Under the stirring conditions studied, the agglomeration appears to be significantly reduced by mixing which results in a kernel inversely proportional to the average shear rate. The agglomeration kinetic law obtained in this study will be used for the process modelling in a further study. (authors)

  9. Urban Agglomerations in Regional Development: Theoretical, Methodological and Applied Aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrey Vladimirovich Shmidt

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article focuses on the analysis of the major process of modern socio-economic development, such as the functioning of urban agglomerations. A short background of the economic literature on this phenomenon is given. There are the traditional (the concentration of urban types of activities, the grouping of urban settlements by the intensive production and labour communications and modern (cluster theories, theories of network society conceptions. Two methodological principles of studying the agglomeration are emphasized: the principle of the unity of the spatial concentration of economic activity and the principle of compact living of the population. The positive and negative effects of agglomeration in the economic and social spheres are studied. Therefore, it is concluded that the agglomeration is helpful in the case when it brings the agglomerative economy (the positive benefits from it exceed the additional costs. A methodology for examination the urban agglomeration and its role in the regional development is offered. The approbation of this methodology on the example of Chelyabinsk and Chelyabinsk region has allowed to carry out the comparative analysis of the regional centre and the whole region by the main socio-economic indexes under static and dynamic conditions, to draw the conclusions on a position of the city and the region based on such socio-economic indexes as an average monthly nominal accrued wage, the cost of fixed assets, the investments into fixed capital, new housing supply, a retail turnover, the volume of self-produced shipped goods, the works and services performed in the region. In the study, the analysis of a launching site of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration is carried out. It has revealed the following main characteristics of the core of the agglomeration in Chelyabinsk (structure feature, population, level of centralization of the core as well as the Chelyabinsk agglomeration in general (coefficient of agglomeration

  10. Fragmentation and bond strength of airborne diesel soot agglomerates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Messerer Armin

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The potential of diesel soot aerosol particles to break up into smaller units under mechanical stress was investigated by a direct impaction technique which measures the degree of fragmentation of individual agglomerates vs. impact energy. Diesel aerosol was generated by an idling diesel engine used for passenger vehicles. Both the aerosol emitted directly and aerosol that had undergone additional growth by Brownian coagulation ("aging" was investigated. Optionally a thermo-desoption technique at 280°C was used to remove all high-volatility and the majority of low-volatility HC adsorbates from the aerosol before aging. Results It was found that the primary soot agglomerates emitted directly from the engine could not be fragmented at all. Soot agglomerates permitted to grow additionally by Brownian coagulation of the primary emitted particles could be fragmented to a maximum of 75% and 60% respectively, depending on whether adsorbates were removed from their surface prior to aging or not. At most, these aged agglomerates could be broken down to roughly the size of the agglomerates from the primary emission. The energy required for a 50% fragmentation probability of all bonds within an agglomerate was reduced by roughly a factor of 2 when aging "dry" agglomerates. Average bond energies derived from the data were 0.52*10-16 and 1.2*10-16 J, respectively. This is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than estimates for pure van-der-Waals agglomerates, but agrees quite well with other observations. Conclusion Although direct conclusions regarding the behavior of inhaled diesel aerosol in contact with body fluids cannot be drawn from such measurements, the results imply that highly agglomerated soot aerosol particles are unlikely to break up into units smaller than roughly the size distribution emitted as tail pipe soot.

  11. Fragmentation and bond strength of airborne diesel soot agglomerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothenbacher, Sonja; Messerer, Armin; Kasper, Gerhard

    2008-01-01

    Background The potential of diesel soot aerosol particles to break up into smaller units under mechanical stress was investigated by a direct impaction technique which measures the degree of fragmentation of individual agglomerates vs. impact energy. Diesel aerosol was generated by an idling diesel engine used for passenger vehicles. Both the aerosol emitted directly and aerosol that had undergone additional growth by Brownian coagulation ("aging") was investigated. Optionally a thermo-desoption technique at 280°C was used to remove all high-volatility and the majority of low-volatility HC adsorbates from the aerosol before aging. Results It was found that the primary soot agglomerates emitted directly from the engine could not be fragmented at all. Soot agglomerates permitted to grow additionally by Brownian coagulation of the primary emitted particles could be fragmented to a maximum of 75% and 60% respectively, depending on whether adsorbates were removed from their surface prior to aging or not. At most, these aged agglomerates could be broken down to roughly the size of the agglomerates from the primary emission. The energy required for a 50% fragmentation probability of all bonds within an agglomerate was reduced by roughly a factor of 2 when aging "dry" agglomerates. Average bond energies derived from the data were 0.52*10-16 and 1.2*10-16 J, respectively. This is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than estimates for pure van-der-Waals agglomerates, but agrees quite well with other observations. Conclusion Although direct conclusions regarding the behavior of inhaled diesel aerosol in contact with body fluids cannot be drawn from such measurements, the results imply that highly agglomerated soot aerosol particles are unlikely to break up into units smaller than roughly the size distribution emitted as tail pipe soot. PMID:18533015

  12. An empirical study of an agglomeration network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Yichao; Zhang, Zhaochun; Guan, Jihong

    2007-01-01

    Recently, researchers have reported many models mimicking real network evolution growth, among which some are based on network aggregation growth. However, until now, relatively few experiments have been reported. Accordingly, in this paper, photomicrographs of real materials (the agglomeration in the filtrate of slurry formed by a GaP-nanoparticle conglomerate dispersed in water) are analyzed within the framework of complex network theory. By data mapping from photomicrographs we generate undirected networks and as a definition of degree we adopt the number of pixel's nearest neighbors while adjacent pixels define a connection or an edge. We study the topological structure of these networks including degree distribution, clustering coefficient and average path length. In addition, we discuss the self-similarity and synchronizability of the networks. We find that the synchronizability of high-concentration agglomeration is better than that of low-concentration agglomeration; we also find that agglomeration networks possess good self-similar features

  13. Colloidal agglomerates in tank sludge: Impact on waste processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bunker, B.C.; Martin, J.E.

    1998-01-01

    'Insoluble colloidal sludges in hazardous waste streams such as tank wastes can pose serious problems for waste processing, interfering with retrieval, transport, separation, and solidification procedures. Properties of sediment layers and sludge suspensions such as slurry viscosities, sedimentation rates, and final sediment densities can vary by orders of magnitude depending on the particle types present, the degree to which the particles agglomerate or stick to each other, and on a wide range of processing parameters such as solution shear rates, pH, salt content, and temperature. The objectives of this work are to: (1) understand the factors controlling the nature and extent of colloidal agglomeration under expected waste processing conditions; (2) determine how agglomeration phenomena influence physical properties relevant to waste processing including rheology, sedimentation, and filtration; and (3) develop strategies for optimizing processing conditions via control of agglomeration phenomena. Insoluble colloidal sludges in hazardous waste streams such as tank wastes can pose serious problems for waste processing, interfering with retrieval, transport, separation, and solidification procedures. Properties of sediment layers and sludge suspensions such as slurry viscosities, sedimentation rates, and final sediment densities can vary by orders of magnitude depending on the particle types present, the degree to which the particles agglomerate or stick to each other, and on a wide range of processing parameters such as solution shear rates, pH, salt content, and temperature. The objectives of this work are to: (1) understand the factors controlling the nature and extent of colloidal agglomeration under expected waste processing conditions; (2) determine how agglomeration phenomena influence physical properties relevant to waste processing including rheology, sedimentation, and filtration; and (3) develop strategies for optimizing processing conditions via control

  14. Dust Evolution in Protoplanetary Discs and the Formation of Planetesimals. What Have We Learned from Laboratory Experiments?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blum, Jürgen

    2018-03-01

    After 25 years of laboratory research on protoplanetary dust agglomeration, a consistent picture of the various processes that involve colliding dust aggregates has emerged. Besides sticking, bouncing and fragmentation, other effects, like, e.g., erosion or mass transfer, have now been extensively studied. Coagulation simulations consistently show that μm-sized dust grains can grow to mm- to cm-sized aggregates before they encounter the bouncing barrier, whereas sub-μm-sized water-ice particles can directly grow to planetesimal sizes. For siliceous materials, other processes have to be responsible for turning the dust aggregates into planetesimals. In this article, these processes are discussed, the physical properties of the emerging dusty or icy planetesimals are presented and compared to empirical evidence from within and without the Solar System. In conclusion, the formation of planetesimals by a gravitational collapse of dust "pebbles" seems the most likely.

  15. Dust generation in powders: Effect of particle size distribution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chakravarty Somik

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the relationship between the bulk and grain-scale properties of powders and dust generation. A vortex shaker dustiness tester was used to evaluate 8 calcium carbonate test powders with median particle sizes ranging from 2μm to 136μm. Respirable aerosols released from the powder samples were characterised by their particle number and mass concentrations. All the powder samples were found to release respirable fractions of dust particles which end up decreasing with time. The variation of powder dustiness as a function of the particle size distribution was analysed for the powders, which were classified into three groups based on the fraction of particles within the respirable range. The trends we observe might be due to the interplay of several mechanisms like de-agglomeration and attrition and their relative importance.

  16. NOVEL BINDERS AND METHODS FOR AGGLOMERATION OF ORE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    S.K. Kawatra; T.C. Eisele; J.A. Gurtler; C.A. Hardison; K. Lewandowski

    2004-04-01

    Many metal extraction operations, such as leaching of copper, leaching of precious metals, and reduction of metal oxides to metal in high-temperature furnaces, require agglomeration of ore to ensure that reactive liquids or gases are evenly distributed throughout the ore being processed. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses achieves this even distribution of fluids by preventing fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Binders are critically necessary to produce agglomerates that will not break down during processing. However, for many important metal extraction processes there are no binders known that will work satisfactorily. Primary examples of this are copper heap leaching, where there are no binders that will work in the acidic environment encountered in this process, and advanced ironmaking processes, where binders must function satisfactorily over an extraordinarily large range of temperatures (from room temperature up to over 1200 C). As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. The large quantities of ore that must be handled in metal extraction processes also means that the binder must be inexpensive and useful at low dosages to be economical. The acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures developed in this project will also be adapted for use in improving the energy efficiency and performance of a broad range of mineral agglomeration applications, particularly heap leaching and advanced primary ironmaking.

  17. Spatial Linkage and Urban Expansion: AN Urban Agglomeration View

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, L. M.; Tang, X.; Liu, X. P.

    2017-09-01

    Urban expansion displays different characteristics in each period. From the perspective of the urban agglomeration, studying the spatial and temporal characteristics of urban expansion plays an important role in understanding the complex relationship between urban expansion and network structure of urban agglomeration. We analyze urban expansion in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRD) through accessibility to and spatial interaction intensity from core cities as well as accessibility of road network. Results show that: (1) Correlation between urban expansion intensity and spatial indicators such as location and space syntax variables is remarkable and positive, while it decreases after rapid expansion. (2) Urban expansion velocity displays a positive correlation with spatial indicators mentioned above in the first (1980-1990) and second (1990-2000) period. However, it exhibits a negative relationship in the third period (2000-2010), i.e., cities located in the periphery of urban agglomeration developing more quickly. Consequently, the hypothesis of convergence of urban expansion in rapid expansion stage is put forward. (3) Results of Zipf's law and Gibrat's law show urban expansion in YRD displays a convergent trend in rapid expansion stage, small and medium-sized cities growing faster. This study shows that spatial linkage plays an important but evolving role in urban expansion within the urban agglomeration. In addition, it serves as a reference to the planning of Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration and regulation of urban expansion of other urban agglomerations.

  18. Influence of primary-particle density in the morphology of agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camejo, M D; Espeso, D R; Bonilla, L L

    2014-07-01

    Agglomeration processes occur in many different realms of science, such as colloid and aerosol formation or formation of bacterial colonies. We study the influence of primary-particle density in agglomerate structures using diffusion-controlled Monte Carlo simulations with realistic space scales through different regimes (diffusion-limited aggregation and diffusion-limited colloid aggregation). The equivalence of Monte Carlo time steps to real time scales is given by Hirsch's hydrodynamical theory of Brownian motion. Agglomerate behavior at different time stages of the simulations suggests that three indices (the fractal exponent, the coordination number, and the eccentricity index) characterize agglomerate geometry. Using these indices, we have found that the initial density of primary particles greatly influences the final structure of the agglomerate, as observed in recent experimental works.

  19. Acid agglomeration heap leaching: present status, principle and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng Yijun

    2004-01-01

    For extracting valuable metal from clay-bearing acidic ores of poor permeability, agglomerated acid heap leaching appears to be the most effective method, whereas conventional leaching and general heap leaching bring about unsatisfactory recovery and poor economic returns. The present state of research work on acid agglomeration worldwide and its basic principle are discussed. The first commercial application employing acid agglomeration-heap leaching in China is also introduced

  20. Characterization of the geometrical properties of agglomerated aerosol particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, A.P.

    1992-12-01

    A method for the absolute mass determination of agglomerated aerosol particles is presented. Based on this method it is possible to determine simultaneously and in situ mass, exposed surface and mobility diameter. From these measurements the fractal dimension of aerosol particles can be derived. For silver agglomerates produced by spark discharge it was found that they are bifractal. The fractal dimension was 3 in the free molecular regime and 1.9 in the transition regime. By variation of the gas mean free path it was shown that the region where the agglomerate structure changes from close-packed particle to low density agglomerates depends on the Knudsen number. In the free molecular regime the fractal dimension was not at all affected by any change of the generation conditions. Only sintering caused an increase in the density which was attributed to mass transport within the agglomerate. In the transition regime the fractal dimension remained constant with increasing monomer concentration and with increasing flow rate, but it increased with increasing pressure, increasing Ar:He ratio and with increasing sintering temperature. For sintering this effect was explained by the minimization of the surface free energy. It was found that the structure changing rate is proportional to the product of sintering temperature and residence time in the sintering oven. By carefully adjusting the temperature it is possible to produce agglomerates of a well defined structure. In desorption experiments of 136 I from silver and carbon agglomerates it could be shown that the desorption behavior is different. It was found that the desorption enthalpy of iodine from graphite and silver particles were -142 kJ/mol and -184 kJ/mol, respectively. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the 136 I attachment to particles is different for silver agglomerates with the same mobility, but different structures. (author) 41 figs., refs

  1. Use of coal-oil agglomerates for particulate gold recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calvez, J.P.S.; Kim, M.J.; Wong, P.L.M.; Tran, T. [University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (Australia). School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry

    1998-09-01

    The underlying principles by which gold is recovered by coal-oil agglomerates was investigated. The effects of various parameters such as oil:coal ratios, agglomerate:ore ratios, pH and coal particle size on gold recovery were evaluated using synthetic gold bearing samples, bituminous coal, and diesel oil and kerosene. The effects of sulfides on gold recovery and the depth of gold particle penetration within the agglomerates were also investigated. Results showed that gold recovery was increased by increasing agglomerate:ore ratio, decreasing oil:coal ratio and decreasing coal particle size. There was no significant difference in gold recoveries at pH range of 4-12 and at up to 5% sulfides in the feed.

  2. WP/084 Measuring Industry Agglomeration and Identifying the Driving Forces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Howard, Emma; Tarp, Finn; Newman, Carol

    Understanding industry agglomeration and its driving forces is critical for the formulation of industrial policy in developing countries. Crucial to this process is the definition and measurement of agglomeration. We propose a new measure and examine what it reveals about the importance of transp......Understanding industry agglomeration and its driving forces is critical for the formulation of industrial policy in developing countries. Crucial to this process is the definition and measurement of agglomeration. We propose a new measure and examine what it reveals about the importance...... of transport costs, labour market pooling, and technology transfer for agglomeration processes. We contrast this analysis with insights from existing measures in the literature and find very different underlying stories at work. An exceptionally rich set of data from Vietnam makes us confident that our measure...

  3. A Critical Study of Agglomerated Multigrid Methods for Diffusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishikawa, Hiroaki; Diskin, Boris; Thomas, James L.

    2011-01-01

    Agglomerated multigrid techniques used in unstructured-grid methods are studied critically for a model problem representative of laminar diffusion in the incompressible limit. The studied target-grid discretizations and discretizations used on agglomerated grids are typical of current node-centered formulations. Agglomerated multigrid convergence rates are presented using a range of two- and three-dimensional randomly perturbed unstructured grids for simple geometries with isotropic and stretched grids. Two agglomeration techniques are used within an overall topology-preserving agglomeration framework. The results show that multigrid with an inconsistent coarse-grid scheme using only the edge terms (also referred to in the literature as a thin-layer formulation) provides considerable speedup over single-grid methods but its convergence deteriorates on finer grids. Multigrid with a Galerkin coarse-grid discretization using piecewise-constant prolongation and a heuristic correction factor is slower and also grid-dependent. In contrast, grid-independent convergence rates are demonstrated for multigrid with consistent coarse-grid discretizations. Convergence rates of multigrid cycles are verified with quantitative analysis methods in which parts of the two-grid cycle are replaced by their idealized counterparts.

  4. Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    S. K. Kawatra; T. C. Eisele; K. A. Lewandowski; J. A. Gurtler

    2006-12-31

    Many metal extraction operations, such as leaching of copper, leaching of precious metals, and reduction of metal oxides to metal in high-temperature furnaces, require agglomeration of ore to ensure that reactive liquids or gases are evenly distributed throughout the ore being processed. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses achieves this even distribution of fluids by preventing fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Binders are critically necessary to produce agglomerates that will not break down during processing. However, for many important metal extraction processes there are no binders known that will work satisfactorily. Primary examples of this are copper heap leaching, where there are no binders that will work in the acidic environment encountered in this process, and advanced ironmaking processes, where binders must function satisfactorily over an extraordinarily large range of temperatures (from room temperature up to over 1200 C). As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. The large quantities of ore that must be handled in metal extraction processes also means that the binder must be inexpensive and useful at low dosages to be economical. The acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures developed in this project will also be adapted for use in improving the energy efficiency and performance of a broad range of mineral agglomeration applications, particularly heap leaching and advanced primary ironmaking. This project has identified several acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures that can be used for improving the energy efficiency of heap leaching, by preventing the ''ponding'' and ''channeling'' effects that currently cause reduced recovery and extended leaching cycle times. Methods have also been developed for iron ore

  5. Bed agglomeration characteristics of palm shell and corncob combustion in fluidized bed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaivatamaset, Pawin; Sricharoon, Panchan; Tia, Suvit

    2011-01-01

    Bed particle agglomeration was studied experimentally in an atmospheric laboratory scale fluidized bed combustor using quartz sand as bed material. Palm shell and corncob were tested. The objectives of the study were (i) to describe the contributions of the biomass ash properties and the operating conditions on the bed agglomeration tendency in term of the bed defluidization time (t def ) and the extent of potassium accumulation in the bed (K/Bed) and (ii) to further elucidate the ash inorganic behaviors and the governing bed agglomeration mechanisms. Defluidization caused by the bed agglomeration was experienced in all experiments during combustion of these biomasses, as a consequence of the presence of potassium in biomass. The experimental results indicated that biomass ash characteristics were the significant influence on the bed agglomeration. The increasing bed temperature, bed particle size and static bed height and the decreasing fluidizing air velocity enhanced the bed agglomeration tendency. The SEM/EDS analyses on the agglomerates confirmed that the agglomeration was attributed to the formation of potassium silicate liquid enriched on the surface of quartz sand particles in conjunction with the high surface temperature of the burning biomass char particles. Thermodynamic examination based on the phase diagram analysis confirmed that the molten phase formation was responsible for the agglomeration. In this study, the high molten ash fraction resulting from the high potassium content in biomass promoted the agglomeration and thus defluidization. - Highlights: → Palm shell and corncob of Thailand are tested their bed agglomeration behaviors during fluidized bed combustion. → The increase of bed temperature, bed particle size and static bed height and the decrease of air velocity enhance bed agglomeration. → The formation of ash derived potassium silicate melts enriched on sand surface is the key process. → The collision between char and sand

  6. Laser-induced agglomeration of gold nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Serkov, A.A.; Shcherbina, M.E. [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); The Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Moscow (Russian Federation); Kuzmin, P.G., E-mail: qzzzma@gmail.com [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Kirichenko, N.A. [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); The Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2015-05-01

    Highlights: • Pulsed laser irradiation of dense gold nanoparticles colloidal solution can result in their agglomeration. • Gas bubbles in-phase pulsation induced by laser radiation accounts for nanoparticles agglomeration. • Time evolution of the size distribution function proceeds in activation mode. • The electrostatic-like model of nanoparticles agglomeration is in good correspondence with the experimental data. - Abstract: Dynamics of gold nanoparticles (NPs) ensemble in dense aqueous solution under exposure to picosecond laser radiation is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Properties of NPs are examined by means of transmission electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy, and size-measuring disk centrifuge. Theoretical investigation of NPs ensemble behavior is based on the analytical model taking into account collisions and agglomeration of particles. It is shown that in case of dense NPs colloidal solutions (above 10{sup 14} particles per milliliter) the process of laser fragmentation typical for nanosecond laser exposure turns into laser-induced agglomeration which leads to formation of the particles with larger sizes. It is shown that there is a critical concentration of NPs: at higher concentrations agglomeration rate increases tremendously. The results of mathematical simulation are in compliance with experimental data.

  7. Coal beneficiation by gas agglomeration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheelock, Thomas D.; Meiyu, Shen

    2003-10-14

    Coal beneficiation is achieved by suspending coal fines in a colloidal suspension of microscopic gas bubbles in water under atmospheric conditions to form small agglomerates of the fines adhered by the gas bubbles. The agglomerates are separated, recovered and resuspended in water. Thereafter, the pressure on the suspension is increased above atmospheric to deagglomerate, since the gas bubbles are then re-dissolved in the water. During the deagglomeration step, the mineral matter is dispersed, and when the pressure is released, the coal portion of the deagglomerated gas-saturated water mixture reagglomerates, with the small bubbles now coming out of the solution. The reagglomerate can then be separated to provide purified coal fines without the mineral matter.

  8. Free gold recovery by coal-oil agglomeration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotze, W.; Petersen, F.W. [Cape Technikon Cape Town (South Africa). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

    2000-02-01

    The gold mining industry has mainly relied upon the use of highly polluting chemicals, such as mercury and cyanide to recover gold from its ores. The Coal Gold Agglomeration (CGA) process was developed some years ago and has the advantage in that gold is recovered by a procedure which has little or no negative impact on the environment. A gold ore containing liberated gold particles is contacted with coal-oil agglomerates, whereby the gold is recovered into the coal/oil phase. Laboratory scale batch tests were performed on an artificial mixture gold slurry and gold recoveries of up to 85% were found under optimized conditions. By recycling the coal/oil phase, it was found that the gold loading onto the agglomerates was increased. Tests performed on an industrial ore yielded slightly lower gold recoveries, and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis on the coal/oil phase showed that minerals other than gold were recovered into this phase. A comparative study was conducted whereby the CGA process was compared to mercury amalgamation. Gold recoveries obtained through amalgamation were 15% lower than by the agglomeration process, which indicates that this process can be considered favourably as an alternative to amalgamation. 16 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.

  9. Visualization of acoustic particle interaction and agglomeration: Theory evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffmann, T.L.; Koopmann, G.H.

    1997-01-01

    In this paper experimentally observed trajectories of particles undergoing acoustically induced interaction and agglomeration processes are compared to and validated with numerically generated trajectories based on existing agglomeration theories. Models for orthokinetic, scattering, mutual radiation pressure, and hydrodynamic particle interaction are considered in the analysis. The characteristic features of the classical orthokinetic agglomeration hypothesis, such as collision processes and agglomerations due to the relative entrainment motion, are not observed in the digital images. The measured entrainment rates of the particles are found to be consistently lower than the theoretically predicted values. Some of the experiments reveal certain characteristics which may possibly be related to mutual scattering interaction. The study's most significant discovery is the so-called tuning fork agglomeration [T. L. Hoffmann and G. H. Koopmann, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 99, 2130 endash 2141 (1996)]. It is shown that this phenomenon contradicts the theories for mutual scattering interaction and mutual radiation pressure interaction, but agrees with the acoustic wake effect model in its intrinsic feature of attraction between particles aligned along the acoustic axis. A model by Dianov et al. [Sov. Phys. Acoust. 13 (3), 314 endash 319 (1968)] is used to describe this effect based on asymmetric flow fields around particles under Oseen flow conditions. It is concluded that this model is consistent with the general characteristics of the tuning fork agglomerations, but lacks certain refinements with respect to accurate quantification of the effect. copyright 1997 Acoustical Society of America

  10. Advanced physical fine coal cleaning spherical agglomeration. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-09-01

    The project included process development, engineering, construction, and operation of a 1/3 tph proof-of-concept (POC) spherical agglomeration test module. The POC tests demonstrated that physical cleaning of ultrafine coal by agglomeration using heptane can achieve: (1) Pyritic sulfur reductions beyond that possible with conventional coal cleaning methods; (2) coal ash contents below those which can be obtained by conventional coal cleaning methods at comparable energy recoveries; (3) energy recoveries of 80 percent or greater measured against the raw coal energy content; (4) complete recovery of the heptane bridging liquid from the agglomerates; and (5) production of agglomerates with 3/8-inch size and less than 30 percent moisture. Test results met or exceeded all of the program objectives. Nominal 3/8-inch size agglomerates with less than 20 percent moisture were produced. The clean coal ash content varied between 1.5 to 5.5 percent by weight (dry basis) depending on feed coal type. Ash reductions of the run-of-mine (ROM) coal were 77 to 83 percent. ROM pyritic sulfur reductions varied from 86 to 90 percent for the three test coals, equating to total sulfur reductions of 47 to 72 percent.

  11. Fluid Bed Coating and agglomeration: Scale-up and process optimisation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hede, Peter Dybdahl

    2009-01-01

    gradvist dannes et coatingslag på hver partikeloverflade. De fluidiserede partikler kan vokse i størrelse enten pga. overfladecoating eller pga. partikel-partikel agglomerering. Agglomerering opstår, når våde væskebroer dannes mellem kolliderende partikler. Hvis denne væskebro er stærk nok til at modstå...... efterfølgende partikelseparation, vil væskebroen størkne og et permanent agglomerat hermed være dannet. I coatingsprocesser er agglomerering typisk uønsket, og en række andre problemer i processen inkluderer spraytørringstab af de forstøvede væskedråber, slitage og brud af partikler og af coatingslaget......; agglomererings-tendens under coating og slagstyrke af de færdige granulater. Den udledte agglomererings-model indikerer faldende agglomereringstendens med stigende tørstofindhold af coatings-opløsningen såvel som med stigende dysetryk af atomiseringsluften. Tilsvarende indikerer slagstyrkemodellen stigende...

  12. The characteristics of bed agglomeration during fluidized bed combustion of eucalyptus bark

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaivatamaset, Pawin; Tia, Suvit

    2015-01-01

    The bed agglomeration behaviors were investigated experimentally when eucalyptus bark was burning tested in a laboratory scale fluidized bed reactor. The focuses of this work were the influences of operating conditions and bed materials on the bed agglomeration tendency and the elucidation in the behaviors of fuel inorganic elements and the governing mode of the agglomeration. It was found that the defluidization caused by the bed agglomeration was clearly detectable from the decrease in measured bed pressure. The growth of bed particle and accumulation of agglomerates during combustion provided the partial to complete defluidization. The defluidization was promoted by the increase of bed temperature and bed particle size, and the decrease of fluidizing air velocity. The SEM-EDS analyses revealed that the bed agglomeration was mainly attributed to the formation of potassium silicate compounds as liquid phase during the combustion. This was initiated by the chemical reaction between the bed particle and the released ash constituents. In this study, the inorganic migration from fuel particle to bed particle was likely dominated by the condensation/reaction. The thermodynamic examination by ternary phase diagram analysis corroborated that the liquid phase formation of the ash derived materials controlled the agglomeration. The alumina sand prevented the bed agglomeration since it was inactive in the formation of viscous molten substances during combustion at the observed temperatures. - Highlights: • The behaviors of bed agglomeration were studied during the fluidized bed combustion of eucalyptus bark. • The increase in bed temperature and sand size, and the decrease of air velocity promoted bed defluidization. • The formation of molten potassium silicate compounds conduced to the bed agglomeration. • Condensation/reaction was the dominant inorganic migration mechanism from fuel particle to bed particle. • The alumina sand prevented effectively the bed

  13. Agglomeration Control during Ultrasonic Crystallization of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bjorn Gielen

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Application of ultrasound during crystallization can efficiently inhibit agglomeration. However, the mechanism is unclear and sonication is usually enabled throughout the entire process, which increases the energy demand. Additionally, improper operation results in significant crystal damage. Therefore, the present work addresses these issues by identifying the stage in which sonication impacts agglomeration without eroding the crystals. This study was performed using a commercially available API that showed a high tendency to agglomerate during seeded crystallization. The crystallization progress was monitored using process analytical tools (PAT, including focus beam reflectance measurements (FBRM to track to crystal size and number and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR to quantify the supersaturation level. These tools provided insight in the mechanism by which ultrasound inhibits agglomeration. A combination of improved micromixing, fast crystal formation which accelerates depletion of the supersaturation and a higher collision frequency prevent crystal cementation to occur. The use of ultrasound as a post-treatment can break some of the agglomerates, but resulted in fractured crystals. Alternatively, sonication during the initial seeding stage could assist in generating nuclei and prevent agglomeration, provided that ultrasound was enabled until complete desupersaturation at the seeding temperature. FTIR and FBRM can be used to determine this end point.

  14. Microstickies agglomeration by electric field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Xiaotang Tony; Hsieh, Jeffery S

    2016-01-01

    Microstickies deposits on both paper machine and paper products when it agglomerates under step change in ionic strength, pH, temperature and chemical additives. These stickies increase the down time of the paper mill and decrease the quality of paper. The key property of microstickies is its smaller size, which leads to low removal efficiency and difficulties in measurement. Thus the increase of microstickies size help improve both removal efficiency and reduce measurement difficulty. In this paper, a new agglomeration technology based on electric field was investigated. The electric treatment could also increase the size of stickies particles by around 100 times. The synergetic effect between electric field treatment and detacky chemicals/dispersants, including polyvinyl alcohol, poly(diallylmethylammonium chloride) and lignosulfonate, was also studied.

  15. Agglomerate behaviour of fluticasone propionate within dry powder inhaler formulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, V N P; Robins, E; Flament, M P

    2012-04-01

    Due to their small size, the respirable drug particles tend to form agglomerates which prevent flowing and aerosolisation. A carrier is used to be mixed with drug in one hand to facilitate the powder flow during manufacturing, in other hand to help the fluidisation upon patient inhalation. Depending on drug concentration, drug agglomerates can be formed in the mixture. The aim of this work was to study the agglomeration behaviour of fluticasone propionate (FP) within interactive mixtures for inhalation. The agglomerate phenomenon of fluticasone propionate after mixing with different fractions of lactose without fine particles of lactose (smaller than 32 μm) was demonstrated by the optical microscopy observation. A technique measuring the FP size in the mixture was developed, based on laser diffraction method. The FP agglomerate sizes were found to be in a linear correlation with the pore size of the carrier powder bed (R(2)=0.9382). The latter depends on the particle size distribution of carrier. This founding can explain the role of carrier size in de-agglomeration of drug particles in the mixture. Furthermore, it gives more structural information of interactive mixture for inhalation that can be used in the investigation of aerosolisation mechanism of powder. According to the manufacturing history, different batches of FP show different agglomeration intensities which can be detected by Spraytec, a new laser diffraction method for measuring aerodynamic size. After mixing with a carrier, Lactohale LH200, the most cohesive batch of FP, generates a lower fine particle fraction. It can be explained by the fact that agglomerates of fluticasone propionate with very large size was detected in the mixtures. By using silica-gel beads as ball-milling agent during the mixing process, the FP agglomerate size decreases accordingly to the quantity of mixing aid. The homogeneity and the aerodynamic performance of the mixtures are improved. The mixing aid based on ball

  16. Numerical study of agglomerate abrasion in a tumbling mixer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thanh Nguyen, [No Value; Willemsz, Tofan; Frijlink, Henderik; Maarschalk, Kees van der Voort

    2014-01-01

    A numerical simulation using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) was performed to investigate the phenomena concerning the abrasion and breakage of agglomerates in a diffusion powder mixer. Agglomerates were created by defining a single structure of particles with bonds of different strengths using

  17. Hotel Performance and Agglomeration of Tourist Districts

    OpenAIRE

    Marco-Lajara, Bartolomé; Claver Cortés, Enrique; Úbeda García, Mercedes; Zaragoza Sáez, Patrocinio del Carmen

    2014-01-01

    This paper measures the impact on profitability of the geographical area where the vacation hotels of the Spanish Mediterranean are situated. It places a special emphasis on analysing the tourist districts existing in this coastal Spanish area and the extent to which the degree of business agglomeration at each destination affects hotel profit. Due to the characteristics of the service sector, and after a revision of the agglomeration literature, a ‘U’-shaped relationship is hypothesized betw...

  18. Experimental study of acoustic agglomeration and fragmentation on coal-fired ash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Guoqing; Huang, Xiaoyu; He, Chunlong; Zhang, Shiping; An, Liansuo; Wang, Liang; Chen, Yanqiao; Li, Yongsheng

    2018-02-01

    As the major part of air pollution, inhalable particles, especially fine particles are doing great harm to human body due to smaller particle size and absorption of hazardous components. However, the removal efficiency of current particles filtering devices is low. Acoustic agglomeration is considered as a very effective pretreatment technique for removing particles. Fine particles collide, agglomerate and grow up in the sound field and the fine particles can be removed by conventional particles devices easily. In this paper, the agglomeration and fragmentation of 3 different kinds of particles with different size distributions are studied experimentally in the sound field. It is found that there exists an optimal frequency at 1200 Hz for different particles. The agglomeration efficiency of inhalable particles increases with SPL increasing for the unimodal particles with particle diameter less than 10 μm. For the bimodal particles, the optimal SPLs are 115 and 120 dB with the agglomeration efficiencies of 25% and 55%. A considerable effectiveness of agglomeration could only be obtained in a narrow SPL range and it decreases significantly over the range for the particles fragmentation.

  19. Kinetic energy density and agglomerate abrasion rate during blending of agglomerates into powders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willemsz, T.A.; Hooijmaijers, R.; Rubingh, C.M.; Tran, T.N.; Frijlink, H.W.; Vromans, H.; Maarschalk, K.V.D.V.

    2012-01-01

    Problems related to the blending of a cohesive powder with a free flowing bulk powder are frequently encountered in the pharmaceutical industry. The cohesive powder often forms lumps or agglomerates which are not dispersed during the mixing process and are therefore detrimental to blend uniformity.

  20. THE MILKY WAY TOMOGRAPHY WITH SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY. IV. DISSECTING DUST

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berry, Michael; Ivezić, Željko; Brooks, Keira J.; Gibson, Robert R.; Jones, Lynne; Yoachim, Peter; Krughoff, Simon; Connolly, Andrew J.; Loebman, Sarah; Sesar, Branimir; Jurić, Mario; Schlafly, Edward F.; Finkbeiner, Douglas; Bellovary, Jillian; Vrbanec, Dijana; Beers, Timothy C.; Schneider, Donald P.; Kimball, Amy; Bond, Nicholas A.; Schlegel, David

    2012-01-01

    We use Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry of 73 million stars to simultaneously constrain best-fit main-sequence stellar spectral energy distribution (SED) and amount of dust extinction along the line of sight toward each star. Using a subsample of 23 million stars with Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) photometry, whose addition enables more robust results, we show that SDSS photometry alone is sufficient to break degeneracies between intrinsic stellar color and dust amount when the shape of extinction curve is fixed. When using both SDSS and 2MASS photometry, the ratio of the total to selective absorption, R V , can be determined with an uncertainty of about 0.1 for most stars in high-extinction regions. These fits enable detailed studies of the dust properties and its spatial distribution, and of the stellar spatial distribution at low Galactic latitudes (|b| V = 3.0 ± 0.1(random)±0.1 (systematic) over most of the high-latitude sky. At low Galactic latitudes (|b| V and find that R V = 3.1 cannot be ruled out in any of the 10 SEGUE stripes at a precision level of ∼0.1-0.2. Our best estimate for the intrinsic scatter of R V in the regions probed by SEGUE stripes is ∼0.2. We introduce a method for efficient selection of candidate red giant stars in the disk, dubbed 'dusty parallax relation', which utilizes a correlation between distance and the extinction along the line of sight. We make these best-fit parameters, as well as all the input SDSS and 2MASS data, publicly available in a user-friendly format. These data can be used for studies of stellar number density distribution, the distribution of dust properties, for selecting sources whose SED differs from SEDs for high-latitude main-sequence stars, and for estimating distances to dust clouds and, in turn, to molecular gas clouds.

  1. Coating and melt induced agglomeration in a poultry litter fired fluidized bed combustor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Billen, Pieter; Creemers, Benji; Costa, José; Van Caneghem, Jo; Vandecasteele, Carlo

    2014-01-01

    The combustion of poultry litter, which is rich in phosphorus, in a fluidized bed combustor (FBC) is associated with agglomeration problems, which can lead to bed defluidization and consequent shutdown of the installation. Whereas earlier research indicated coating induced agglomeration as the dominant mechanism for bed material agglomeration, it is shown experimentally in this paper that both coating and melt induced agglomeration occur. Coating induced agglomeration mainly takes place at the walls of the FBC, in the freeboard above the fluidized bed, where at the prevailing temperature the bed particles are partially molten and hence agglomerate. In the ash, P 2 O 5 forms together with CaO thermodynamically stable Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 , thus reducing the amount of calcium silicates in the ash. This results in K/Ca silicate mixtures with lower melting points. On the other hand, in-bed agglomeration is caused by thermodynamically unstable, low melting HPO 4 2− and H 2 PO 4 − salts present in the fuel. In the hot FBC these salts may melt, may cause bed particles to stick together and may subsequently react with Ca salts from the bed ash, forming a solid bridge of the stable Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 between multiple particles. - Highlights: • Coating induced agglomeration not due to K phosphates, but due to K silicates. • Melt induced agglomeration due to H 2 PO 4 − and HPO 4 2− salts in the fuel. • Wall agglomeration corresponds to coating induced mechanism. • In-bed agglomeration corresponds to melt induced mechanism

  2. Rapid characterization of agglomerate aerosols by in situ mass-mobility measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheckman, Jacob H; McMurry, Peter H; Pratsinis, Sotiris E

    2009-07-21

    Transport and physical/chemical properties of nanoparticle agglomerates depend on primary particle size and agglomerate structure (size, fractal dimension, and dynamic shape factor). This research reports on in situ techniques for measuring such properties. Nanoparticle agglomerates of silica were generated by oxidizing hexamethyldisiloxane in a methane/oxygen diffusion flame. Upon leaving the flame, agglomerates of known electrical mobility size were selected with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), and their mass was measured with an aerosol particle mass analyzer (APM), resulting in their mass fractal dimension, D(f), and dynamic shape factor, chi. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) images were used to determine primary particle diameter and to qualitatively investigate agglomerate morphology. The DMA-APM measurements were reproducible within 5%, as determined by multiple measurements on different days under the same flame conditions. The effects of flame process variables (oxygen flow rate and mass production rate) on particle characteristics (D(f), and chi) were determined. All generated particles were fractal-like agglomerates with average primary particle diameters of 12-93 nm and D(f) = 1.7-2.4. Increasing the oxygen flow rate decreased primary particle size and D(f), while it increased chi. Increasing the production rate increased the agglomerate and primary particle sizes, and decreased chi without affecting D(f). The effects of oxygen flow rate and particle production rate on primary particle size reported here are in agreement with ex situ measurements in the literature, while the effect of process variables on agglomerate shape (chi) is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge.

  3. Evaluation of an Electrostatic Dust Removal System with Potential Application in Next-Step Fusion Devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friesen, F.Q.L.; John, B.; Skinner, C.H.; Roquemore, A.L.; Calle, C.I.

    2011-01-01

    The ability to manage inventories of carbon, tritium, and high-Z elements in fusion plasmas depends on means for effective dust removal. A dust conveyor, based on a moving electrostatic potential well, was tested with particles of tungsten, carbon, glass and sand. A digital microscope imaged a representative portion of the conveyor, and dust particle size and volume distributions were derived before and after operation. About 10 mm3 volume of carbon and tungsten particles were moved in under 5 seconds. The highest driving amplitude tested of 3 kV was the most effective. The optimal driving frequency was 210 Hz (maximum tested) for tungsten particles, decreasing to below 60 Hz for the larger sand particles. Measurements of particle size and volume distributions after 10 and 100 cycles show the breaking apart of agglomerated carbon, and the change in particle distribution over short timescales (<1 s).

  4. Nanoscale-Agglomerate-Mediated Heterogeneous Nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cha, Hyeongyun; Wu, Alex; Kim, Moon-Kyung; Saigusa, Kosuke; Liu, Aihua; Miljkovic, Nenad

    2017-12-13

    Water vapor condensation on hydrophobic surfaces has received much attention due to its ability to rapidly shed water droplets and enhance heat transfer, anti-icing, water harvesting, energy harvesting, and self-cleaning performance. However, the mechanism of heterogeneous nucleation on hydrophobic surfaces remains poorly understood and is attributed to defects in the hydrophobic coating exposing the high surface energy substrate. Here, we observe the formation of high surface energy nanoscale agglomerates on hydrophobic coatings after condensation/evaporation cycles in ambient conditions. To investigate the deposition dynamics, we studied the nanoscale agglomerates as a function of condensation/evaporation cycles via optical and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), microgoniometric contact angle measurements, nucleation statistics, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The FESEM and EDS results indicated that the nanoscale agglomerates stem from absorption of sulfuric acid based aerosol particles inside the droplet and adsorption of volatile organic compounds such as methanethiol (CH 3 SH), dimethyl disulfide (CH 3 SSCH), and dimethyl trisulfide (CH 3 SSSCH 3 ) on the liquid-vapor interface during water vapor condensation, which act as preferential sites for heterogeneous nucleation after evaporation. The insights gained from this study elucidate fundamental aspects governing the behavior of both short- and long-term heterogeneous nucleation on hydrophobic surfaces, suggest previously unexplored microfabrication and air purification techniques, and present insights into the challenges facing the development of durable dropwise condensing surfaces.

  5. The WIRED Survey. IV. New Dust Disks from the McCook & Sion White Dwarf Catalog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoard, D.W.; Debes, John H.; Wachter, Stefanie; Leisawitz, David T.; Cohen, Martin

    2013-01-01

    We have compiled photometric data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer All Sky Survey and other archival sources for the more than 2200 objects in the original McCook & Sion Catalog of Spectroscopically Identified White Dwarfs. We applied color-selection criteria to identify 28 targets whose infrared spectral energy distributions depart from the expectation for the white dwarf photosphere alone. Seven of these are previously known white dwarfs with circumstellar dust disks, five are known central stars of planetary nebulae, and six were excluded for being known binaries or having possible contamination of their infrared photometry. We fit white dwarf models to the spectral energy distributions of the remaining ten targets, and find seven new candidates with infrared excess suggesting the presence of a circumstellar dust disk. We compare the model dust disk properties for these new candidates with a comprehensive compilation of previously published parameters for known white dwarfs with dust disks. It is possible that the current census of white dwarfs with dust disks that produce an excess detectable at K-band and shorter wavelengths is close to complete for the entire sample of known WDs to the detection limits of existing near-IR all-sky surveys. The white dwarf dust disk candidates now being found using longer wavelength infrared data are drawn from a previously underrepresented region of parameter space, in which the dust disks are overall cooler, narrower in radial extent, and/or contain fewer emitting grains.

  6. Generation of nanoparticle agglomerates and their dispersion in lung serum simulant or water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, B A; Moss, O R; Nash, D G

    2009-01-01

    Nanoparticles released into the atmosphere, due to their high diffusivity, will likely begin to agglomerate. The state of agglomeration upon inhalation and the potential to disperse back into nanoparticles may affect the toxicity of the inhaled material. In order to investigate particle dispersion, a system was set up to generate aggregates from agglomerates. Primary particles, composed of zinc, were generated using zinc rods in a spark generator (Palas GFG-1000, Karlsrhue, Germany). These particles formed agglomerates which were passed through a room temperature aging chamber or through a tube furnace (Carbolite HST, Derbyshire, UK). Agglomerate size was measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS model 3936, TSI Inc., Shoreview, MN). When furnace temperature was set near the zinc coalescence temperature, instead of decreasing in size, agglomerate size increased up to 30%; a percentage increase duplicated with the room temperature aging chamber. Starting with an aerosol of primary zinc particles, equal concentrations of agglomerate and aggregrate aerosol were produced. The extent of breakup and dispersion of agglomerates and aggregates to individual nanoparticles in lung serum simulant will be assessed using transmission electron microscopy.

  7. Urban agglomerations and transformations of medium-sized towns in Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Runge Anna

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This analysis investigates medium-sized towns in Poland, i.e. those with a population between 20–100 thousand, located up to 100 km away from the main city of the agglomeration. The aim of this article is to compare the level of socio-economic development of Polish towns depending on their location in relation to the main city in the largest agglomerations in 1998 and 2013. Three zones of distance from the main city of each agglomeration have been taken into consideration: a. the inner zone, reaching up to 25 km from the main city; b. the outer zone located at a distance of 25 to 50 km from the main city, and c. the peripheral zone, located at a distance of 50 to 100 km from the main city and including the medium-size towns located outside the agglomeration system. This analysis of the distribution of medium-sized towns and their level of socio-economic development has shown various levels of changes which depend on the distance from the main city of the agglomeration. In 1998, the highest level of development of the medium-sized towns was recorded in towns outside of these agglomeration systems, i.e. those located most remotely from the main city (peripheral zone. Most of the medium-sized towns are situated at a distance of 50–100 km from Warszawa, Kraków, Łódź, Lublin, Gdańsk and have developed their own local, or even regional labour markets and some of them have even provided administrative functions in the past as voivodeship capitals. Only in the Poznań agglomeration, the level of development of medium-sized towns was higher in the immediate surroundings of the main city (25 km. The medium-sized towns in all zones of the distance from the main city in the Wrocław agglomeration represented a similar level of development. By 2013, the level of development of the medium-sized towns in the peripheral zone in all investigated settlement systems had decreased, with a significant improvement in the level of development of the towns in

  8. In-situ characterisation of the dynamics of a growing dust particle cloud in a direct-current argon glow discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barbosa, S; Onofri, F R A; Couëdel, L; Arnas, C; Kumar, K Kishor; Pardanaud, C

    2016-01-01

    The growth and the dynamics of a tungsten nanoparticle cloud were investigated in a direct-current low pressure argon glow discharge. Real-time analyses of the dust particle size and number concentration were performed in-situ by light extinction spectrometry, while spatial dynamics of the cloud was investigated with the laser light-sheet scattering method. Additional off-line electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements were also performed for comparison purpose. This experimental work reveals the existence of an agglomeration phase followed by the appearance of a new dust particle generation. While growing, the dust cloud is pushed towards the anode and the discharge edge. Afterwards, a new dust particle generation can grow in the space freed by the first generation of nanoparticles. The continuous growth, below the light extinction spectrometry scanning positions, explains the apparent dissimilarities observed between the in-line optical and the off-line electron microscopy analyses. (paper)

  9. Investigation of melt agglomeration process with a hydrophobic binder in combination with sucrose stearate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heng, Paul Wan Sia; Wong, Tin Wui; Cheong, Wai See

    2003-08-01

    The melt agglomeration process of lactose powder with hydrogenated cottonseed oil (HCO) as the hydrophobic meltable binder was investigated by studying the physicochemical properties of molten HCO modified by sucrose stearates S170, S770 and S1570. The size, size distribution, micromeritic and adhesion properties of agglomerates as well as surface tension, contact angle, viscosity and specific volume of molten HCO, with and without sucrose stearates, were examined. The viscosity, specific volume and surface tension of molten HCO were found to be modified to varying extents by sucrose stearates which are available in different HLB values and melt properties. The growth of melt agglomerates was promoted predominantly by an increase in viscosity, an increase in specific volume or a decrease in surface tension of the molten binding liquid. The agglomerate growth propensity was higher with an increase in inter-particulate binding strength, agglomerate surface wetness and extent of agglomerate consolidation which enhanced the liquid migration from agglomerate core to periphery leading to an increased surface plasticity for coalescence. The inclusion of high concentrations of completely meltable sucrose stearate S170 greatly induced the growth of agglomerates through increased specific volume and viscosity of the molten binding liquid. On the other hand, the inclusion of incompletely meltable sucrose stearates S770 and S1570 promoted the agglomeration mainly via the reduction in surface tension of the molten binding liquid with declining agglomerate growth propensity at high sucrose stearate concentrations. In addition to being an agglomeration modifier, sucrose stearate demonstrated anti-adherent property in melt agglomeration process. The properties of molten HCO and melt agglomerates were dependent on the type and concentration of sucrose stearate added.

  10. One-step aerosol synthesis of nanoparticle agglomerate films: simulation of film porosity and thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maedler, Lutz; Lall, Anshuman A; Friedlander, Sheldon K

    2006-01-01

    A method is described for designing nanoparticle agglomerate films with desired film porosity and film thickness. Nanoparticle agglomerates generated in aerosol reactors can be directly deposited on substrates to form uniform porous films in one step, a significant advance over existing technologies. The effect of agglomerate morphology and deposition mechanism on film porosity and thickness are discussed. Film porosity was calculated for a given number and size of primary particles that compose the agglomerates, and fractal dimension. Agglomerate transport was described by the Langevin equation of motion. Deposition enhancing forces such as thermophoresis are incorporated in the model. The method was validated for single spherical particles using previous theoretical studies. An S-shape film porosity dependence on the particle Peclet number typical for spherical particles was also observed for agglomerates, but films formed from agglomerates had much higher porosities than films from spherical particles. Predicted film porosities compared well with measurements reported in the literature. Film porosities increased with the number of primary particles that compose an agglomerate and higher fractal dimension agglomerates resulted in denser films. Film thickness as a function of agglomerate deposition time was calculated from the agglomerate deposition flux in the presence of thermophoresis. The calculated film thickness was in good agreement with measured literature values. Thermophoresis can be used to reduce deposition time without affecting the film porosity

  11. Agglomeration of amorphous silicon film with high energy density excimer laser irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Ming; Ishihara, Ryoichi; Metselaar, Wim; Beenakker, Kees

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, agglomeration phenomena of amorphous Si (α-Si) films due to high energy density excimer laser irradiation are systematically investigated. The agglomeration, which creates holes or breaks the continuous Si film up into spherical beads, is a type of serious damage. Therefore, it determines an upper energy limit for excimer laser crystallization. It is speculated that the agglomeration is caused by the boiling of molten Si. During this process, outbursts of heterogeneously nucleated vapor bubbles are promoted by the poor wetting property of molten silicon on the SiO 2 layer underneath. The onset of the agglomeration is defined by extrapolating the hole density as a function of the energy density of the laser pulse. A SiO 2 capping layer (CL) is introduced on top of the α-Si film to investigate its influence on the agglomeration. It is found that effects of the CL depend on its thickness. The CL with a thickness less than 300 nm can be used to suppress the agglomeration. A thin CL acts as a confining layer and puts a constraint on bubble burst, and hence suppresses the agglomeration

  12. A phenomenological model for improving understanding of the ammonium nitrate agglomeration process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Videla Leiva Alvaro

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Ammonium nitrate is intensively used as explosive in the mining industry as the main component of ANFO. The ammonium nitrate is known to be a strong hygroscopic crystal matter which generates problems due to the creation of water bridges between crystals leading later to nucleation and crystallization forming an agglomerated solid cake. The agglomeration process damages the ammonium nitrate performance and is undesirable. Usually either organic or inorganic coatings are used to control agglomeration. In the present work a characterization method of humidity adsorption of the ammonium nitrate crystal was performed under laboratory conditions. Several samples were exposed into a defined humidity in a controlled chamber during 5 hours after which the samples were tested to measure agglomeration as the resistance force to compression. A clear relation was found between coating protection level, humidity and agglomeration. Agglomeration can be then predicted by a phenomenological model based of combination of the mono-layer BET adsorption and CNT nucleation models.

  13. Magnetic Thermometer: Thermal effect on the Agglomeration of Magnetic Nanoparticles by Magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Daeseong; Kim, Hackjin

    2018-03-01

    We have investigated the agglomeration of magnetite nanoparticles in the aqueous solution under magnetic field by measuring temporal change of magnetic weight. The magnetic weight corresponds to the force due to the magnetization of magnetic materials. Superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles are synthesized and used in this work. When the aqueous solution of magnetite nanoparticle is placed under magnetic field, the magnetic weight of the sample jumps instantaneously by Neel and Brown mechanisms and thereafter increases steadily following a stretched exponential function as the nanoparticles agglomerate, which results from the distribution of energy barriers involved in the dynamics. Thermal motions of nanoparticles in the agglomerate perturb the ordered structure of the agglomerate to reduce the magnetic weight. Fluctuation of the structural order of the agglomerate by temperature change is much faster than the formation of agglomerate and explained well with the Boltzmann distribution, which suggests that the magnetic weight of the agglomerate works as a magnetic thermometer.

  14. Preparation of sustained release matrix pellets by melt agglomeration in the fluidized bed: influence of formulation variables and modelling of agglomerate growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauli-Bruns, Anette; Knop, Klaus; Lippold, Bernhard C

    2010-03-01

    The one-step preparation of sustained release matrix pellets, using a melting procedure in a fluidized bed apparatus, was tested in a 2(3) full factorial design of experiments, using microcrystalline wax as lipophilic binder, theophylline as model drug and talc as additional matrix forming agent. The three influence parameters were (A) size of binder particles, (B) fraction of theophylline in solid particles and (C) fraction of microcrystalline wax in formulation. The response variables were agglomerate size and size distribution, dissolution time, agglomerate crush resistance, sphericity, yield and porosity. Nearly spherical pellets comprising a smooth, closed surface could be obtained with the used method, exhibiting the hollow core typical for the immersion and layering mechanism. The reproducibility was very good concerning all responses. The size of agglomerates is proportional to the size of the binder particles, which serve as cores for pellet formation in the molten state in the fluidized bed. Additionally, the agglomerate size is influenced by the volume of the solid particles in relation to the binder particles, with more solid particles leading to larger agglomerates and vice versa. Dissolution times vary in a very wide range, resulting from the interplay between amount of drug in relation to the meltable matrix substance microcrystalline wax and the non-meltable matrix substance talc. The change of binder particle size does not lead to a structural change of the matrix; both dissolution times and porosity are not significantly altered. Agglomerate crush resistance is low due to the hollow core of the pellets. However, it is significantly increased if the volume fraction of microcrystalline wax in the matrix is high, which means that the matrix is mechanically better stabilized. A theoretical model has been established to quantitatively explain agglomerate growth and very good accordance of the full particle size distributions between predicted and

  15. Dynamic forces on agglomerated particles caused by high-intensity ultrasound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoop, Claas; Fritsching, Udo

    2014-03-01

    In this paper the acoustic forces on particles and agglomerates caused by high-intensity ultrasound in gaseous atmosphere are derived by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Sound induced forces cause an oscillating stress scenario where the primary particles of an agglomerate are alternatingly pressed together and torn apart with the frequency of the applied wave. A comparison of the calculated acoustic forces with respect to the inter particle adhesion forces from Van-der-Waals and liquid bridge interactions reveals that the separation forces may reach the same order of magnitude for 80 μm sized SiO2-particles. Hence, with finite probability acoustically agitated gases may de-agglomerate/disperse solid agglomerate structures. This effect is confirmed by dispersion experiments in an acoustic particle levitation setup. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Encapsulation of hazardous wastes into agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guloy, A.

    1992-01-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using the cementitious properties and agglomeration characteristics of coal conversion byproducts to encapsulate and immobilize hazardous waste materials. The intention was to establish an economical way of co-utilization and co-disposal of wastes. In addition, it may aid in the eradication of air pollution problems associated with the fine-powdery nature of fly ash. Encapsulation into agglomerates is a novel approach of treating toxic waste. Although encapsulation itself is not a new concept, existing methods employ high-cost resins that render them economically unfeasible. In this investigation, the toxic waste was contained in a concrete-like matrix whereby fly ash and other cementitious waste materials were utilized. The method incorporates the principles of solidification, stabilization and agglomeration. Another aspect of the study is the evaluation of the agglomeration as possible lightweight aggregates. Since fly ash is commercially used as an aggregate, it would be interesting to study the effect of incorporating toxic wastes in the strength development of the granules. In the investigation, the fly ash self-cementation process was applied to electroplating sludges as the toxic waste. The process hoped to provide a basis for delisting of the waste as hazardous and, thereby greatly minimize the cost of its disposal. Owing to the stringent regulatory requirements for hauling and disposal of hazardous waste, the cost of disposal is significant. The current practice for disposal is solidifying the waste with portland cement and dumping the hardened material in the landfill where the cost varies between $700--950/ton. Partially replacing portland cement with fly ash in concrete has proven beneficial, therefore applying the same principles in the treatment of toxic waste looked very promising

  17. Effect of Pu-rich agglomerate in MOX fuel on a lattice calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawashima, Katsuyuki; Yamamoto, Toru; Namekawa, Masakazu

    2007-01-01

    The effect of Pu-rich agglomerates in U-Pu mixed oxide (MOX) fuel on a lattice calculation has been demonstrated. The Pu-rich agglomerate parameters are defined based on the measurement data of MIMAS-MOX and the focus is on the highly enriched MOX fuel in accordance with increased burnup resulting in a higher volume fraction of the Pu-rich agglomerates. The lattice calculations with a heterogeneous fuel model and a homogeneous fuel model are performed simulating the PWR 17x17 fuel assembly. The heterogeneous model individually treats the Pu-rich agglomerate and U-Pu matrix, whereas the homogeneous model homogenizes the compositions within the fuel pellet. A continuous-energy Monte Carlo burnup code, MVP-BURN, is used for burnup calculations up to 70 GWd/t. A statistical geometry model is applied in modeling a large number of Pu-rich agglomerates assuming that they are distributed randomly within the MOX fuel pellet. The calculated nuclear characteristics include k-inf, Pu isotopic compositions, power density and burnup of the Pu-rich agglomerates, as well as the pellet-averaged Pu compositions as a function of burnup. It is shown that the effect of Pu-rich agglomerates on the lattice calculation is negligibly small. (author)

  18. Water droplet spreading and recoiling upon contact with thick-compact maltodextrin agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meraz-Torres, Lesvia Sofía; Quintanilla-Carvajal, María Ximena; Téllez-Medina, Darío I; Hernández-Sánchez, Humberto; Alamilla-Beltrán, Liliana; Gutiérrez-López, Gustavo F

    2011-11-01

    The food and pharmaceutical industries handle a number of compounds in the form of agglomerates which must be put into contact with water for rehydration purposes. In this work, liquid-solid interaction between water and maltodextrin thick-compact agglomerates was studied at different constituent particle sizes for two compression forces (75 and 225 MPa). Rapid droplet spreading was observed which was similar in radius to the expected one for ideal, flat surfaces. Contact angle determinations reported oscillations of this parameter throughout the experiments, being indicative of droplet recoiling on top of the agglomerate. Recoiling was more frequent in samples obtained at 225 MPa for agglomerate formation. Agglomerates obtained at 75 MPa exhibited more penetration of the water. Competition between dissolution of maltodextrin and penetration of the water was, probably, the main mechanism involved in droplet recoiling. Micrographs of the wetting marks were characterized by means of image analysis and the measurements suggested more symmetry of the wetting mark at higher compression force. Differences found in the evaluated parameters for agglomerates were mainly due to compaction force used. No significant effect of particle size in recoiling, penetration of water into the agglomerate, surface texture and symmetry was observed. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  19. Coagulation-agglomeration of fractal-like particles: structure and self-preserving size distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goudeli, Eirini; Eggersdorfer, Maximilian L; Pratsinis, Sotiris E

    2015-02-03

    Agglomeration occurs in environmental and industrial processes, especially at low temperatures where particle sintering or coalescence is rather slow. Here, the growth and structure of particles undergoing agglomeration (coagulation in the absence of coalescence, condensation, or surface growth) are investigated from the free molecular to the continuum regime by discrete element modeling (DEM). Particles coagulating in the free molecular regime follow ballistic trajectories described by an event-driven method, whereas in the near-continuum (gas-slip) and continuum regimes, Langevin dynamics describe their diffusive motion. Agglomerates containing about 10-30 primary particles, on the average, attain their asymptotic fractal dimension, D(f), of 1.91 or 1.78 by ballistic or diffusion-limited cluster-cluster agglomeration, corresponding to coagulation in the free molecular or continuum regimes, respectively. A correlation is proposed for the asymptotic evolution of agglomerate D(f) as a function of the average number of constituent primary particles, n̅(p). Agglomerates exhibit considerably broader self-preserving size distribution (SPSD) by coagulation than spherical particles: the number-based geometric standard deviations of the SPSD agglomerate radius of gyration in the free molecular and continuum regimes are 2.27 and 1.95, respectively, compared to ∼1.45 for spheres. In the transition regime, agglomerates exhibit a quasi-SPSD whose geometric standard deviation passes through a minimum at Knudsen number Kn ≈ 0.2. In contrast, the asymptotic D(f) shifts linearly from 1.91 in the free molecular regime to 1.78 in the continuum regime. Population balance models using the radius of gyration as collision radius underestimate (up to about 80%) the small tail of the SPSD and slightly overpredict the overall agglomerate coagulation rate, as they do not account for cluster interpenetration during coagulation. In the continuum regime, when a recently developed

  20. Quantitative characterization of nanoparticle agglomeration within biological media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hondow, Nicole; Brydson, Rik; Wang, Peiyi; Holton, Mark D.; Brown, M. Rowan; Rees, Paul; Summers, Huw D.; Brown, Andy

    2012-01-01

    Quantitative analysis of nanoparticle dispersion state within biological media is essential to understanding cellular uptake and the roles of diffusion, sedimentation, and endocytosis in determining nanoparticle dose. The dispersion of polymer-coated CdTe/ZnS quantum dots in water and cell growth medium with and without fetal bovine serum was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. Characterization by TEM of samples prepared by plunge freezing the blotted solutions into liquid ethane was sensitive to the dispersion state of the quantum dots and enabled measurement of agglomerate size distributions even in the presence of serum proteins where DLS failed. In addition, TEM showed a reduced packing fraction of quantum dots per agglomerate when dispersed in biological media and serum compared to just water, highlighting the effect of interactions between the media, serum proteins, and the quantum dots. The identification of a heterogeneous distribution of quantum dots and quantum dot agglomerates in cell growth medium and serum by TEM will enable correlation with the previously reported optical metrology of in vitro cellular uptake of this quantum dot dispersion. In this paper, we present a comparative study of TEM and DLS and show that plunge-freeze TEM provides a robust assessment of nanoparticle agglomeration state.

  1. Heat generation in agglomerated ferrite nanoparticles in an alternating magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, E Jr; De Biasi, E; Mansilla, M Vasquez; Saleta, M E; Granada, M; Troiani, H E; Zysler, R D; Effenberger, F B; Rossi, L M; Rechenberg, H R

    2013-01-01

    The role of agglomeration and magnetic interparticle interactions in heat generation of magnetic ferrofluids in an ac magnetic field is still unclear, with apparent discrepancy between the results presented in the literature. In this work, we measured the heat generating capability of agglomerated ferrite nanoparticles in a non-invasive ac magnetic field with f = 100 kHz and H 0 = 13 kA m -1 . The nanoparticles were morphologically and magnetically characterized, and the specific absorption rate (SAR) for our ac magnetic field presents a clear dependence on the diameter of the nanoparticles, with a maximum SAR = 48 W g -1 for 15 nm. Our agglomerated nanoparticles have large hydrodynamic diameters, thus the mechanical relaxation can be neglected as a heat generation mechanism. Therefore, we present a model that simulates the SAR dependence of the agglomerated samples on the diameter of the nanoparticles based on the hysteresis losses that is valid for the non-linear region (with H 0 comparable to the anisotropy field). Our model takes into account the magnetic interactions among the nanoparticles in the agglomerate. For comparison, we also measured the SAR of non-agglomerated nanoparticles in a similar diameter range, in which Néel and Brown relaxations dominate the heat generation.

  2. Business agglomeration in tourist districts and hotel performance

    OpenAIRE

    Marco-Lajara, Bartolomé; Claver Cortés, Enrique; Úbeda García, Mercedes

    2014-01-01

    Purpose – The present paper aims to analyze how the performance of hotels located on the Spanish Mediterranean coast (peninsular and Balearic) and Canary coast is affected by the degree of business agglomeration in tourist districts. If agglomeration affects hotels positively, then the externalities generated in tourist districts will be relevant when locating an establishment. Otherwise, the reason why hotels group together geographically would be more related to the suitability of beaches a...

  3. Quantitative analysis of pigment dispersion taking into account the full agglomerate size distribution

    OpenAIRE

    Kiil, Søren

    2017-01-01

    This work concerns the development of simulation tools for mapping of pigment dispersion. Focus has been on the mechanical breakage of pigment agglomerates. The underlying physical mechanism was assumed to be surface erosion of spherical pigment agglomerates, and the full agglomerate particle size distribution was simulated. Data from previous experimental investigations with organic pigments were used for model validation.When the linear rate of agglomerate surface erosion was taken to be pr...

  4. Biomass ash-bed material interactions leading to agglomeration in FBC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Visser, H.J.M.; van Lith, Simone Cornelia; Kiel, J.H.A.

    2008-01-01

    -scale installations is "coating-induced" agglomeration. During reactor operation, a coating is formed on the surface of bed material grains and at certain critical conditions (e.g., coating thickness or temperature) sintering of the coatings initiates the agglomeration. In an experimental approach, this work...

  5. Agglomeration during wet milling of LAST (lead-antimony-silver-tellurium) powders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, B.D.; Case, E.D.; Ren, F.; Johnson, J.R.; Timm, E.J.

    2009-01-01

    LAST (lead-antimony-silver-tellurium) compounds comprise a family of semiconducting materials with good thermoelectric properties. However, the as-cast form of LAST exhibits large grain size and hence low mechanical strength. Powder processing can produce a fine powder particle size that enhances fracture strength, however the powders tend to agglomerate if the individual powder diameters are less than a few microns across. Dry milling or wet milling (hexane additions of 0 cm 3 and 10 cm 3 ) produced hard agglomerates roughly 40 μm in diameter while wet milling with hexane additions of 25 cm 3 , 30 cm 3 or 50 cm 3 resulted in small, porous agglomerates roughly 20 μm in diameter. Thus, by adjusting the amount of milling liquid used while milling LAST powders, one can shift from hard to soft agglomerates, where the literature shows that soft agglomerates are less harmful to the final, sintered product. Also, in agreement with the results from the literature on other materials, wet milling of LAST powders produced smaller particle sizes but required longer times to reach the grindability limit

  6. Crystal agglomeration of europium oxalate in reaction crystallization using double-jet semi-batch reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Woo-Sik; Kim, Woon-Soo; Kim, Kwang-Seok; Kim, Joon-Soo; Ward, Michael D.

    2004-01-01

    The particle agglomeration of europium oxalate was investigated in a double-jet semi-batch reactor over a wide range of operating variables, including the agitation speed, reactant feed rate, and reactant concentration. The size of the agglomerates was directly dictated by the particle collision and supersaturation promoting agglomeration and the fluid shear force inhibiting agglomeration. Thus, with a longer feeding time and higher feed concentration for the reaction crystallization, the mean particle size increased, while the corresponding total particle population decreased due to the enhanced chance of particle agglomeration, resulting from a longer residence time and higher supersaturation in the reactor. Agitation was found to exhibit a rather complicated influence on particle agglomeration. Although both particle collision and turbulent fluid shear were promoted by an increase in the mixing intensity, the crystal agglomeration of europium oxalate was maximized at around 500 rpm of agitation speed due to an optimized balance between particle aggregation and breakage

  7. Simulation of deterministic energy-balance particle agglomeration in turbulent liquid-solid flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Njobuenwu, Derrick O.; Fairweather, Michael

    2017-08-01

    An efficient technique to simulate turbulent particle-laden flow at high mass loadings within the four-way coupled simulation regime is presented. The technique implements large-eddy simulation, discrete particle simulation, a deterministic treatment of inter-particle collisions, and an energy-balanced particle agglomeration model. The algorithm to detect inter-particle collisions is such that the computational costs scale linearly with the number of particles present in the computational domain. On detection of a collision, particle agglomeration is tested based on the pre-collision kinetic energy, restitution coefficient, and van der Waals' interactions. The performance of the technique developed is tested by performing parametric studies on the influence of the restitution coefficient (en = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8), particle size (dp = 60, 120, 200, and 316 μm), Reynolds number (Reτ = 150, 300, and 590), and particle concentration (αp = 5.0 × 10-4, 1.0 × 10-3, and 5.0 × 10-3) on particle-particle interaction events (collision and agglomeration). The results demonstrate that the collision frequency shows a linear dependency on the restitution coefficient, while the agglomeration rate shows an inverse dependence. Collisions among smaller particles are more frequent and efficient in forming agglomerates than those of coarser particles. The particle-particle interaction events show a strong dependency on the shear Reynolds number Reτ, while increasing the particle concentration effectively enhances particle collision and agglomeration whilst having only a minor influence on the agglomeration rate. Overall, the sensitivity of the particle-particle interaction events to the selected simulation parameters is found to influence the population and distribution of the primary particles and agglomerates formed.

  8. Two-stage agglomeration of fine-grained herbal nettle waste

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obidziński, Sławomir; Joka, Magdalena; Fijoł, Olga

    2017-10-01

    This paper compares the densification work necessary for the pressure agglomeration of fine-grained dusty nettle waste, with the densification work involved in two-stage agglomeration of the same material. In the first stage, the material was pre-densified through coating with a binder material in the form of a 5% potato starch solution, and then subjected to pressure agglomeration. A number of tests were conducted to determine the effect of the moisture content in the nettle waste (15, 18 and 21%), as well as the process temperature (50, 70, 90°C) on the values of densification work and the density of the obtained pellets. For pre-densified pellets from a mixture of nettle waste and a starch solution, the conducted tests determined the effect of pellet particle size (1, 2, and 3 mm) and the process temperature (50, 70, 90°C) on the same values. On the basis of the tests, we concluded that the introduction of a binder material and the use of two-stage agglomeration in nettle waste densification resulted in increased densification work (as compared to the densification of nettle waste alone) and increased pellet density.

  9. Quantitative analysis of pigment dispersion taking into account the full agglomerate size distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kiil, Søren

    were in good quantitative agreement with experimental data. The only adjustable parameter used was an apparent rate constant for the linear agglomerate erosion rate. Model simulations, at selected values of time, for the full agglomerate particle size distribution were in good qualitative agreement...... distribution was simulated. Data from previous experimental investigations with organic pigments were used for model validation.When the linear rate of agglomerate surface erosion was taken to be proportional to the external agglomerate surface area, simulations of the volume-moment mean diameter over time...

  10. Industrial agglomeration and production costs in Norwegian salmon aquaculture

    OpenAIRE

    Tveterås, Ragnar

    2002-01-01

    During the last decade, empirical evidence of regional agglomeration economies has emerged for some industries. This paper argues that externalities from agglomeration are not only present in some manufacturing and service sectors, but can also occur in primary industries, such as aquaculture. Econometric analyses in this literature have primarily estimated rather restrictive production function specifications on aggregated industry data. Here, cost functions are estimated o...

  11. Application of acoustic agglomeration for removing sulfuric acid mist from air stream

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asghar Sadighzadeh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The application of acoustic fields at high sound pressure levels (SPLs for removing sulfuric acid mists from the air stream was studied. An acoustic agglomeration chamber was used to conduct the experiments. The studied SPLs ranged from 115 to 165 decibel (dB, with three inlet concentrations of acid mist at 5–10, 15–20, and 25–30 ppm. The air flow rates for conducting experiments were 20, 30, and 40 L min−1. The concentration of sulfuric acid mist was measured using US Environmental Protection Agency Method 8 at inlet and outlet of the chamber. The resonance frequencies for experiments were found to be 852, 1410, and 3530 Hz. The maximum acoustic agglomeration efficiency of 86% was obtained at optimum frequency of 852 Hz. The analysis of variance test revealed significant differences between agglomeration efficiency at three resonance frequencies (p-value < 0.001. The maximum acoustic agglomeration efficiency was obtained at SPL level of 165 dB. High initial concentrations of acid mists and lower air flow rates enhance the acoustic agglomeration of mists. High removal efficiency of acid mists from air stream could be achieved by the application of acoustic agglomeration method with appropriate range of frequencies and SPLs. Keywords: Sulfuric acid, Mist, Acoustic agglomeration, SPL

  12. Problems of Research, Projects and Mechanisms for Their Implementation in Chelyabinsk City Agglomeration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolshakov, V. V.

    2017-11-01

    The article analyzes the research and design methods of urban agglomerations in the context of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration from the point of view of correctness, objectivity and consistency of the results obtained. The completed and approved project of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration is analysed to provide architectural and planning solutions for sustainable social and economic development according to the theories that have been formed to date. The possibility of effectuation and implementation of the approved project of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration taking in account existing specific natural, historical and socio-economic factors characteristic for the territory under consideration is examined. The authors draw the conclusions the project of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration has been developed in line with the town-planning solutions that do not reflect modern approaches based on the competitive advantages of territories and do not form a space providing transition to a modernized and innovative economy. Specific town-planning decisions have a weak justification and an undeveloped methodology for pre-project analysis and methodology for designing urban agglomerations because of absence of a full study of the phenomenon of urban agglomeration and processes occurring in it today. It is necessary to continue research in the field of development of the Chelyabinsk agglomeration with the use of a logical and objective methodology to analyze the territory and design which can lead to the formation of an urban-planning information model that reflects all the system processes and allows for predicting project solutions.

  13. Impact of biofuel in agglomeration process on production of pollutants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lesko Jaroslav

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Production of agglomerate in the metallurgical company belongs among the largest sources of emissions damaging the environment. Effects of coke breeze substitution by charcoal, pine, and oak sawdust there were sintering performed in a laboratory agglomeration pan with substitution ratios of 14 % and 20 % by the emissions of CO2, CO, NOx and NO. Variations in the gas emissions might have been affected by physical and chemical properties of the input materials and the technological parameters of agglomeration. It is important and necessary to seek other methods and materials with which it would be possible to optimize the production of emissions and protect the environment.

  14. SUBMICRON PARTICLES EMISSION CONTROL BY ELECTROSTATIC AGGLOMERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrzej Krupa

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to develop a device for more effective treatment of flue gases from submicron particles emitted by power plants burning bituminous coal and by this way the reduction of environment pollution. Electrostatic processes were employed to this goal, as the most effective solution. The solutions hitherto applied in electrostatic precipitation techniques were designed for large particles, typically with sizes> 5 µm, which are easily removed by the action of electrostatic force on the electrically charged particles. In submicron size range (0.1-1 µm the collection efficiency of an ESP is minimal, because of the low value of electric charge on such particles. In order to avoid problems with the removal of submicron particles of fly ash from the flue gases electrostatic agglomeration has been used. In this process, by applying an alternating electric field, larger charged particles (> 1 µm oscillate, and the particles "collect" smaller uncharged particles. In the developed agglomerator with alternating electric field, the charging of particles and the coagulation takes place in one stage that greatly simplified the construction of the device, compared to other solutions. The scope of this study included measurements of fractional collection efficiency of particles in the system comprising of agglomerator and ESP for PM1 and PM2.5 ranges, in device made in pilot scale. The collection efficiency for PM2.5 was greater than 90% and PM1 slightly dropped below 90%. The mass collection efficiency for PM2.5 was greater than 95%. The agglomerator stage increases the collection efficiency for PM1 at a level of 5-10%.

  15. Prediction of mass fraction of agglomerated debris in a LWR severe accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudinov, P.; Davydov, M.

    2011-01-01

    Ex-vessel termination of accident progression in Swedish type Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) is contingent upon efficacy of melt fragmentation and solidification in a deep pool of water below reactor vessel. When liquid melt reaches the bottom of the pool it can create agglomerated debris and “cake” regions that increase hydraulic resistance of the bed and affect coolability of the bed. This paper discusses development and application of a conservative-mechanistic approach to quantify mass fractions of agglomerated debris. Experimental data from the DEFOR-A (Debris Bed Formation and Agglomeration) tests with high superheat of binary oxidic simulant material melt is used for validation of the methods. Application of the approach to plant accident analysis suggests that melt superheat has less significant influence on agglomeration of the debris than jet penetration depth. The paper also discusses the impact of the uncertainty in the jet disintegration and penetration behavior on the agglomeration mode map. (author)

  16. Morphological characterization of diesel soot agglomerates based on the Beer–Lambert law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lapuerta, Magín; Expósito, Juan José; Martos, Francisco J

    2013-01-01

    A new method is proposed for the determination of the number of primary particles composing soot agglomerates emitted from diesel engines as well as their individual fractal dimension. The method is based on the Beer–Lambert law and it is applied to micro-photographs taken in high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Differences in the grey levels of the images lead to a more accurate estimation of the geometry of the agglomerate (in this case radius of gyration) than other methods based exclusively on the planar projections of the agglomerates. The method was validated by applying it to different images of the same agglomerate observed from different angles of incidence, and proving that the effect of the angle of incidence is minor, contrary to other methods. Finally, the comparisons with other methods showed that the size, number of primary particles and fractal dimension (the latter depending on the particle size) are usually underestimated when only planar projections of the agglomerates are considered. (paper)

  17. Analysis on the Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Financial Agglomeration with Markov Chain Approach in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weimin Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The standard approach to studying financial industrial agglomeration is to construct measures of the degree of agglomeration within financial industry. But such measures often fail to exploit the convergence or divergence of financial agglomeration. In this paper, we apply Markov chain approach to diagnose the convergence of financial agglomeration in China based on the location quotient coefficients across the provincial regions over 1993–2011. The estimation of Markov transition probability matrix offers more detailed insights into the mechanics of financial agglomeration evolution process in China during the research period. The results show that the spatial evolution of financial agglomeration changes faster in the period of 2003–2011 than that in the period of 1993–2002. Furthermore, there exists a very uneven financial development patterns, but there is regional convergence for financial agglomeration in China.

  18. Agglomeration economies in manufacturing industries: the case of Spain

    OpenAIRE

    Olga Alonso-Villar; José-María Chamorro-Rivas; Xulia González-Cerdeira

    2001-01-01

    This paper analyses the extent of geographical concentration of Spanish industry between 1993 and 1999, and study the agglomeration economies that could underlie that concentration. The results confirm that there is major geographic concentration in a number of industries with widely varying characteristics, including high-tech businesses and those linked to the provision of natural resources as well as traditional industries. The analysis of the scope of spillovers behind this agglomeration ...

  19. Comments on an Analytical Thermal Agglomeration for Problems with Surface Growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodge, N. E. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2017-03-22

    Up until Dec 2016, the thermal agglomeration was very heuristic, and as such, difficult to define. The lack of predictability became problematic, and the current notes represent the first real attempt to systematize the specification of the agglomerated process parameters.

  20. Multilevel approaches and the firm-agglomeration ambiguity in economic growth studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oort, F.G. van; Burger, M.J.; Knoben, J.; Raspe, O.

    2012-01-01

    Empirical studies in spatial economics have shown that agglomeration economies may be a source of the uneven distribution of economic activities and economic growth across cities and regions. Both localization and urbanization economies are hypothesized to foster agglomeration and growth, but

  1. Cell agglomeration in the wells of a 24-well plate using acoustic streaming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurashina, Yuta; Takemura, Kenjiro; Friend, James

    2017-02-28

    Cell agglomeration is essential both to the success of drug testing and to the development of tissue engineering. Here, a MHz-order acoustic wave is used to generate acoustic streaming in the wells of a 24-well plate to drive particle and cell agglomeration. Acoustic streaming is known to manipulate particles in microfluidic devices, and even provide concentration in sessile droplets, but concentration of particles or cells in individual wells has never been shown, principally due to the drag present along the periphery of the fluid in such a well. The agglomeration time for a range of particle sizes suggests that shear-induced migration plays an important role in the agglomeration process. Particles with a diameter of 45 μm agglomerated into a suspended pellet under exposure to 2.134 MHz acoustic waves at 1.5 W in 30 s. Additionally, BT-474 cells also agglomerated as adherent masses at the center bottom of the wells of tissue-culture treated 24-well plates. By switching to low cell binding 24-well plates, the BT-474 cells formed suspended agglomerations that appeared to be spheroids, fully fifteen times larger than any cell agglomerates without the acoustic streaming. In either case, the viability and proliferation of the cells were maintained despite acoustic irradiation and streaming. Intermittent excitation was effective in avoiding temperature excursions, consuming only 75 mW per well on average, presenting a convenient means to form fully three-dimensional cellular masses potentially useful for tissue, cancer, and drug research.

  2. Experimental and modeling researches of dust particles in the HL-2A tokamak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zhi-Hui; Yan, Long-Wen; Tomita, Yukihiro; Feng, Zhen; Cheng, Jun; Hong, Wen-Yu; Pan, Yu-Dong; Yang, Qing-Wei; Duan, Xu-Ru

    2015-02-01

    The investigation of dust particle characteristics in fusion devices has become more and more imperative. In the HL-2A tokamak, the morphologies and compositions of dust particles are analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) with mapping. The results indicate that the sizes of dust particles are in a range from 1 μm to 1 mm. Surprisingly, stainless steel spheres with a diameter of 2.5 μm-30 μm are obtained. The production mechanisms of dust particles include flaking, disintegration, agglomeration, and arcing. In addition, dynamic characteristics of the flaking dust particles are observed by a CMOS fast framing camera and simulated by a computer program. Both of the results display that the ion friction force is dominant in the toroidal direction, while the centrifugal force is crucial in the radial direction. Therefore, the visible dust particles are accelerated toriodally by the ion friction force and migrated radially by the centrifugal force. The averaged velocity of the grain is on the order of ˜ 100 m/s. These results provide an additional supplement for one of critical plasma-wall interaction (PWI) issues in the framework of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) programme. Project supported by the National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Program of China (Grant Nos. 2014GB107000 and 2013GB112008), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11320101005, 11175060, 11375054, and 11075046), and the China-Korean Joint Foundation (Grant No. 2012DFG02230).

  3. A stochastic pocket model for aluminum agglomeration in solid propellants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallier, Stany [SNPE Materiaux Energetiques, Vert le Petit (France)

    2009-04-15

    A new model is derived to estimate the size and fraction of aluminum agglomerates at the surface of a burning propellant. The basic idea relies on well-known pocket models in which aluminum is supposed to aggregate and melt within pocket volumes imposed by largest oxidizer particles. The proposed model essentially relaxes simple assumptions of previous pocket models on propellant structure by accounting for an actual microstructure obtained by packing. The use of statistical tools from stochastic geometry enables to determine a statistical pocket size volume and hence agglomerate diameter and agglomeration fraction. Application to several AP/Al propellants gives encouraging results that are shown to be superior to former pocket models. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  4. Multilevel approaches and the firm-agglomeration ambiguity in economic growth studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oort, F.G.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/107712741; Burger, M.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/371741092; Knoben, J.; Raspe, O.

    2012-01-01

    Empirical studies in spatial economics have shown that agglomeration economies may be a source of the uneven distribution of economic activities and economic growth across cities and regions. Both localization and urbanization economies are hypothesized to foster agglomeration and growth, but recent

  5. A model to estimate the size of nanoparticle agglomerates in gas−solid fluidized beds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martín, Lilian de, E-mail: L.DeMartinMonton@tudelft.nl; Ommen, J. Ruud van [Delft University of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering (Netherlands)

    2013-11-15

    The estimation of nanoparticle agglomerates’ size in fluidized beds remains an open challenge, mainly due to the difficulty of characterizing the inter-agglomerate van der Waals force. The current approach is to describe micron-sized nanoparticle agglomerates as micron-sized particles with 0.1–0.2-μm asperities. This simplification does not capture the influence of the particle size on the van der Waals attraction between agglomerates. In this paper, we propose a new description where the agglomerates are micron-sized particles with nanoparticles on the surface, acting as asperities. As opposed to previous models, here the van der Waals force between agglomerates decreases with an increase in the particle size. We have also included an additional force due to the hydrogen bond formation between the surfaces of hydrophilic and dry nanoparticles. The average size of the fluidized agglomerates has been estimated equating the attractive force obtained from this method to the weight of the individual agglomerates. The results have been compared to 54 experimental values, most of them collected from the literature. Our model approximates without a systematic error the size of most of the nanopowders, both in conventional and centrifugal fluidized beds, outperforming current models. Although simple, the model is able to capture the influence of the nanoparticle size, particle density, and Hamaker coefficient on the inter-agglomerate forces.

  6. A model to estimate the size of nanoparticle agglomerates in gas−solid fluidized beds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martín, Lilian de; Ommen, J. Ruud van

    2013-01-01

    The estimation of nanoparticle agglomerates’ size in fluidized beds remains an open challenge, mainly due to the difficulty of characterizing the inter-agglomerate van der Waals force. The current approach is to describe micron-sized nanoparticle agglomerates as micron-sized particles with 0.1–0.2-μm asperities. This simplification does not capture the influence of the particle size on the van der Waals attraction between agglomerates. In this paper, we propose a new description where the agglomerates are micron-sized particles with nanoparticles on the surface, acting as asperities. As opposed to previous models, here the van der Waals force between agglomerates decreases with an increase in the particle size. We have also included an additional force due to the hydrogen bond formation between the surfaces of hydrophilic and dry nanoparticles. The average size of the fluidized agglomerates has been estimated equating the attractive force obtained from this method to the weight of the individual agglomerates. The results have been compared to 54 experimental values, most of them collected from the literature. Our model approximates without a systematic error the size of most of the nanopowders, both in conventional and centrifugal fluidized beds, outperforming current models. Although simple, the model is able to capture the influence of the nanoparticle size, particle density, and Hamaker coefficient on the inter-agglomerate forces

  7. Mechanical properties of individual MgAl2O4 agglomerates and their effects on densification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rufner, Jorgen F.; Castro, Ricardo H.R.; Holland, Troy B.; Benthem, Klaus van

    2014-01-01

    The presence of agglomerates during nanopowder sintering can be problematic and can limit achievable final densities. Typically, the practical solution is to use high pressures to overcome agglomerate breakdown strengths to reach higher packing fractions. The strength of agglomerates is often difficult to determine and makes processing parameters challenging to optimize. In this work, we used in situ transmission electron microscopy nanoindentation experiments to assess the mechanical properties of individual MgAl 2 O 4 agglomerates under constant indenter head displacement rates. Electron microscopy revealed highly porous agglomerates with pores on both the micron and nanometric length scales. Individual agglomerate strength, at fracture, was calculated from compression tests with deformation behavior correlating well with previously reported modeling results. Macroscopic powder properties were also investigated using green-pressed pellets consolidated at pressures up to 910 MPa. The unexpectedly high strength is indicative of the role agglomerates play in MgAl 2 O 4 nanopowder densification

  8. Design of Agglomerated Crystals of Ibuprofen During Crystallization: Influence of Surfactant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Maghsoodi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective(sIbuprofen is a problematic drug in tableting, and dissolution due to its poor solubility, hydrophobicity, and tendency to stick to surface. Because of the bad compaction behavior ibuprofen has to be granulated usually before tableting. However, it would be more satisfactory to obtain directly during the crystallization step crystalline particles that can be directly compressed and quickly dissolved. Materials and Methods Crystallization of ibuprofen was carried out using the quasi emulsion solvent diffusion method in presence of surfactant (sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS, Tween 80. The particles were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, powder X-ray diffraction (XRPD and were evaluated for particle size, flowability, drug release and tableting behavior. ResultsIbuprofen particles obtained in the presence of surfactants consisted of numerous plate- shaped crystals which had agglomerated together as near spherical shape. The obtained agglomerates exhibited significantly improved micromeritic properties as well as tableting behavior than untreated drug crystals. The agglomerates size and size distribution was largely controlled by surfactant concentration, but there was no significant influence found on the tableting properties. The dissolution tests showed that the agglomerates obtained in presence of SLS exhibited enhanced dissolution rate while the agglomerates made in the presence of Tween 80 had no significant impact on dissolution rate of ibuprofen in comparison to untreated sample. The XRPD and DSC results showed that during the agglomeration process, ibuprofen did not undergo any polymorphic changes.Conclusion The study highlights the influence of surfactants on crystallization process leading to modified performance.

  9. Engineering development of selective agglomeration: Task 5, Bench- scale process testing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-09-01

    Under the overall objectives of DOE Contract ``Engineering Development of Selective Agglomeration,`` there were a number of specific objectives in the Task 5 program. The prime objectives of Task 5 are highlighted below: (1) Maximize process performance in pyritic sulfur rejection and BTU recovery, (2) Produce a low ash product, (3) Compare the performance of the heavy agglomerant process based on diesel and the light agglomerant process using heptane, (4) Define optimum processing conditions for engineering design, (5) Provide first-level evaluation of product handleability, and (6) Explore and investigate process options/ideas which may enhance process performance and/or product handleability.

  10. Effect of Gas Velocity on the Dust Sediment Layer in the Coupled Field of Corona Plasma and Cyclone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Mingshan; Ma Chaochen; Li Minghua; Danish, S N

    2006-01-01

    A dust sediment layer was found on the outer tube wall when the ESCP (electrostatic centrifugal precipitator) trapped diesel particulates or ganister sand. The Compton back scatter method was used to measure the sediment thickness during the experiment. The effect of the inlet gas velocity on the dust sediment layer was investigated. PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) was used to measure the velocity field between the inner barb tube wall and the outer tube wall. Experiments showed that the thickness of the sediment increased with time, and the sediment layer at the lower end was much thicker than that at the upper end. The agglomeration on the outer tube wall could be removed when the inlet gas velocity was increased to a certain value

  11. Preparation of soft-agglomerated nano-sized ceramic powders by sol-gel combustion process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Q.; Ma, X.H.; Yan, Q.Z.; Ge, C.C.

    2009-01-01

    The soft-agglomerated Gd 2 BaCuO 5 (Gd211) nano-powders were synthesized by sol-gel combustion process with binary ligand and the special pretreatment on gel. The mechanism of the formation of weakly agglomerated structure was studied in detail. The results showed that network structure in gelation process was found to be a decisive factor for preventing agglomeration of colloidal particles. The removal of free water, coordinated water, and most of hydroxyl groups during pretreatment further inhibited the formation of hydrogen bonds between adjacent particles. The soft-agglomeration of the particles was confirmed by isolated particles in calcined Gd211 powders and in green compact, a narrow monomodal pore size distribution of the green compact and the low agglomeration coefficient of the calcined Gd211 powder. Extension this process to synthesis of BaCeO 3 , BaTiO 3 and Ce 0.8 Sm 0.2 O 1.9 powders, also led to weakly agglomerated nano-powders. It suggests that this method represents a powerful and facile method for the creation of doped and multi-component nano-sized ceramic powders.

  12. A new method to quantify fluidized bed agglomeration in the combustion of biomass fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oehman, M. [Umeaa Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Chemistry

    1997-12-31

    The present licentiate thesis is a summary and discussion of four papers, dealing with the development, evaluation and use of a new method to quantify bed agglomeration tendencies for biomass fuels. An increased utilization of biomass related fuels has many environmental benefits, but also requires careful studies of potential new problems associated with these fuels such as bed agglomeration/defluidization during combustion and gasification in fluidized beds. From a thorough literature survey, no suitable methods to determine bed agglomeration tendencies of different fuels, fuel combinations or fuels with additives appeared to be available. It therefore seemed of considerable interest to develop a new method for the quantification of fluidized bed agglomeration tendencies for different fuels. A bench scale fluidized bed reactor (5 kW), specially designed to obtain a homogeneous isothermal bed temperature, is used. The method is based on controlled increase of the bed temperature by applying external heat to the primary air and to the bed section walls. The initial agglomeration temperature is determined by on- or off-line principal component analysis of the variations in measured bed temperatures and differential pressures. Samples of ash and bed material for evaluation of agglomeration mechanisms may also be collected throughout the operation. To determine potential effects of all the process related variables on the determined fuel specific bed agglomeration temperature, an extensive sensitivity analysis was performed according to a statistical experimental design. The results showed that the process variables had only relatively small effects on the agglomeration temperature, which could be determined to 899 deg C with a reproducibility of {+-} 5 deg C (STD). The inaccuracy was determined to be {+-} 30 deg C (STD). The method was also used to study the mechanism of both bed agglomeration using two biomass fuels and prevention of bed agglomeration by co

  13. Random Surface Texturing of Silicon Dioxide Using Gold Agglomerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    a visual indicator of the formation of gold clusters on the SiO2 . The glass would make observing a color change in the gold film easier later in the...unlimited. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT A fabrication process for creating a silicon dioxide ( SiO2 ) light-trapping structure as part of...even distribution of irregular agglomerates, also known as “complete islanding”. By using these gold agglomerations as a metal mask, the SiO2 can be

  14. Coal gold agglomeration: an innovative approach to the recovery of gold in environmentally sensitive areas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wall, N.C.; Hughes-Narborough, C.; Willey, G. [Davy (Stockton) Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees (United Kingdom)

    1994-11-01

    Coal Gold Agglomeration (CGA) was developed by BP Minerals and involves the selective recovery of oleophilic gold particles from an aqueous slurry into coal-oil agglomerates. These agglomerates are allowed to build up to a high gold loading and are then separated from the slurry. The loaded agglomerates are burned and the gold is finally recovered from the ash residue by dissolution and precipitation or by direct smelting. 6 figs.

  15. Electric arc furnace dust utilization in iron ore sintering: influence of particle size; Utilizacao da poeira de aciaria eletrica na sinterizacao de minerio de ferro: influencia da granulometria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Telles, V.B.; Junca, E.; Rodrigues, G.F.; Espinosa, D.C.R.; Tenorio, J.A.S., E-mail: victor_bridit@hotmail.co [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Metalurgica e de Materiais

    2010-07-01

    The aim of this work was to study the utilization of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) generated in steelmaking by electric arc furnace (EAF) as raw material in iron ore sintering. The waste was characterized by size, chemical composition and X-ray diffraction. The physical characterization showed that 90% of the particles have a size less then 1,78 {mu}m and the material have the tendency to agglomerate. The waste were submitted to a pre-agglomeration prior to its incorporation in the sinter. The influence on the addition of the waste with different granulometry in the iron or sinter production were analyzed by sinter characterization and sintering parameters. (author)

  16. Agglomeration effects in the labour market: an empirical analysis for Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marusca De Castris

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Extensive and persistent geographic variability of the unemployment rate within the same region has been attributed to various causes. Some theories identify the “thickness” of markets as the source of positive externalities affecting labour market by improving the ability to match the skills requested by firms with those offered by workers. A recent paper by Gan and Zhang (2006 empirically confirms this hypothesis for the US labour markets. Agglomeration can be defined as aggregation of people, basically measured by city size, or as aggregation of firms, measured by cluster size (employment or number of plants. However, the population location and the industrial location are by far more similar in United States than in Europe and in Italy. Our paper aims to evaluate the effects of agglomeration on the local unemployment rate. The new methodological contribution of the study is the identification of both urban and industrial cluster agglomeration effects, using a wide set of control variables. Adjusting the system for the effects of sectorial and size shocks, as well as those relating to geographic structure and policy interventions, the results of our analysis differ from that for the United States. The study stresses the presence of negative and significant urbanisation externalities. We obtain, instead, positive effects concerning the geographic agglomeration of firms, and their thickness, in a specific area. Furthermore, positive and significant effects can be found in local systems with features of a district. Finally, the model distinguishes the negative effects of urban agglomerations (in terms of population density from positive firm’s agglomerations (in terms of density of local units.

  17. Quasiparticle agglomerates in the Read-Rezayi and anti-Read-Rezayi states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braggio, A; Ferraro, D; Magnoli, N

    2012-01-01

    We calculate the dominant excitations for the k-level (k element of N) Read-Rezayi (RR) states and their particle-hole conjugates, the anti-Read-Rezayi (RR)-bar, proposed for quantum Hall states. These states are supposed to be built over the second Landau level with total filling factor ν = 2 + ν* with ν* = k/(k + 2) for RR and ν* = 2/(k + 2) for (RR)-bar. In the k-level RR states, based on Z k parafermions, the dominant excitations are the fundamental quasiparticles (qps) with fractional charge e* k = e/(k + 2), with e the electron charge, if k = 2,3. For k = 4 the single-qp and the 2-agglomerate, with charge 2e* k , have the same scaling and both dominate, while for k > 4 the 2-agglomerates are dominant. Anyway the dominance of the 2-agglomerates can be affected by the presence of environmental renormalizations. For all the k-level (RR)-bar states, the single-qp and the 2-agglomerate have the same scaling and both dominate. In this case, only the presence of environmental renormalizations can make one dominant over the other. We determine the conditions in which the environmental renormalizations of the charged and neutral modes make the Abelian 2-agglomerates dominant over the non-Abelian single-qps in the two models and for any value of k. We conclude by observing that, according to these predictions, the dominance of 2-agglomerates, at very low energies for the ν = 5/2, can be an interesting indication supporting the validity of the anti-Pfaffian model in comparison with the Pfaffian.

  18. An improved model for estimating fractal structure of silica nano-agglomerates in a vibro-fluidized bed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Esmailpour

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available A study has been conducted to determine the effects of operating conditions such as vibration frequency, vibration amplitude on the fractal structure of silica (SiO2 nanoparticle agglomerate in a vibro-fluidized bed. An improved model was proposed by assimilation of fractal theory, Richardson-Zaki equation and mass balance. This model has been developed to predict the properties of nanoparticle agglomerate, such as fractal dimension and its size. It has been found out the vibration intensity increase leads to a slight reduction in fractal dimension of agglomerate. This Paper is also indicated that the size of agglomerate has the same behavior as fractal dimension with respect to vibration intensity changes. This study demonstrated that the fractal dimension of Silica nanoparticle agglomerate is in the range of 2.61 to 2.69 and the number of primary particles in the agglomerate is in the order of 1010. The vibration frequency is more impressive than its amplitude on agglomerate size reduction. Calculated Minimum fluidization velocity by applying predicted agglomerate sizes and experimental data are acceptable fitted.

  19. Consolidation of Hierarchy-Structured Nanopowder Agglomerates and Its Application to Net-Shaping Nanopowder Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jai-Sung; Choi, Joon-Phil; Lee, Geon-Yong

    2013-01-01

    This paper provides an overview on our recent investigations on the consolidation of hierarchy-structured nanopowder agglomerates and related applications to net-shaping nanopowder materials. Understanding the nanopowder agglomerate sintering (NAS) process is essential to processing of net-shaped nanopowder materials and components with small and complex shape. The key concept of the NAS process is to enhance material transport through controlling the powder interface volume of nanopowder agglomerates. Based upon this concept, we have suggested a new idea of full density processing for fabricating micro-powder injection molded part using metal nanopowder agglomerates produced by hydrogen reduction of metal oxide powders. Studies on the full density sintering of die compacted- and powder injection molded iron base nano-agglomerate powders are introduced and discussed in terms of densification process and microstructure. PMID:28788317

  20. Consolidation of Hierarchy-Structured Nanopowder Agglomerates and Its Application to Net-Shaping Nanopowder Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geon-Yong Lee

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides an overview on our recent investigations on the consolidation of hierarchy-structured nanopowder agglomerates and related applications to net-shaping nanopowder materials. Understanding the nanopowder agglomerate sintering (NAS process is essential to processing of net-shaped nanopowder materials and components with small and complex shape. The key concept of the NAS process is to enhance material transport through controlling the powder interface volume of nanopowder agglomerates. Based upon this concept, we have suggested a new idea of full density processing for fabricating micro-powder injection molded part using metal nanopowder agglomerates produced by hydrogen reduction of metal oxide powders. Studies on the full density sintering of die compacted- and powder injection molded iron base nano-agglomerate powders are introduced and discussed in terms of densification process and microstructure.

  1. Technical application of agglomerated acidic heap leaching of clay-bearing uranium ore in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng Yijun; Li Jianhua; Li Tieqiu; Zhong Pingru

    2002-01-01

    The permeability of ore mass has a great influence on the leaching period of heap leaching and the leaching efficiency, hence the uranium ores with high content of clay is difficult to acidic heap leaching. The Research Institute of Uranium Mining has engaged several years studies on the cementing agents of acidic agglomeration, agglomeration conditions, as well as the curing measures of agglomerated balls. On the basis of these studies, several types of clay-bearing ores have been tested with good results. The technique of agglomerated acidic heap leaching has been successfully applied in a uranium mine. Since agglomeration has effectively increased the permeability of ore heap, its leaching period is decreased from 200 days to 60 days, the leaching efficiency is increased to 96% from less than 40% comparing with direct heap leaching program

  2. Engineering development of selective agglomeration: Task 5, Bench- scale process testing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-09-01

    Under the overall objectives of DOE Contract Engineering Development of Selective Agglomeration,'' there were a number of specific objectives in the Task 5 program. The prime objectives of Task 5 are highlighted below: (1) Maximize process performance in pyritic sulfur rejection and BTU recovery, (2) Produce a low ash product, (3) Compare the performance of the heavy agglomerant process based on diesel and the light agglomerant process using heptane, (4) Define optimum processing conditions for engineering design, (5) Provide first-level evaluation of product handleability, and (6) Explore and investigate process options/ideas which may enhance process performance and/or product handleability.

  3. In situ x-ray imaging of nanoparticle agglomeration in fluidized beds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenneson, Paul Michael; Gundogdu, Ozcan

    2006-01-01

    A high spatial (down to 400 nm) and temporal resolution (down to 1 ms) x-ray imaging apparatus has been designed to study the agglomeration of arc plasma synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (average diameter of 50 nm) in fluidized beds under different gas flow velocities. The mean volume distribution of the nanoparticle agglomerates was determined with x-ray microtomography and found to correspond to a lognormal distribution with a mean value of 0.70x10 9 μm 3 and a variance of 3.6x10 21 (μm 3 ) 2 . The average density of the agglomerates was found to be 2.9 g cm -3 compared to 5.6 g cm -3 for the individual nanoparticles. The powder assembly was then dynamically imaged using an x-ray image intensifier coupled to a digital camera using a field of view of 24.20 mm by 32.25 mm and a temporal resolution of 40 ms. Sequential frames were captured into computer memory for a range of gas flow velocities from 0.026 ms -1 to 0.313 ms -1 . The breakup energy of the agglomerates was calculated to be approximately 2x10 -8 J using a combination of dynamic observations and physical properties of the agglomerate system extracted from the x-ray microtomographic data

  4. Laser-induced agglomeration of gold nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serkov, A. A.; Shcherbina, M. E.; Kuzmin, P. G.; Kirichenko, N. A.

    2015-05-01

    Dynamics of gold nanoparticles (NPs) ensemble in dense aqueous solution under exposure to picosecond laser radiation is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Properties of NPs are examined by means of transmission electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy, and size-measuring disk centrifuge. Theoretical investigation of NPs ensemble behavior is based on the analytical model taking into account collisions and agglomeration of particles. It is shown that in case of dense NPs colloidal solutions (above 1014 particles per milliliter) the process of laser fragmentation typical for nanosecond laser exposure turns into laser-induced agglomeration which leads to formation of the particles with larger sizes. It is shown that there is a critical concentration of NPs: at higher concentrations agglomeration rate increases tremendously. The results of mathematical simulation are in compliance with experimental data.

  5. Application of acoustic agglomerators for emergency use in liquid-metal fast breeder reactor plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaw, D.T.; Rajendran, N.

    1979-01-01

    The use of acoustic agglomerators for the suppression of sodium-fire aerosols in the case of a hypothetical core disruptive accident of a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor is discussed. The basic principle for the enhancement of agglomeration of airborne particles under the influence of an acoustic field is first discussed, followed by theoretical predictions of the optimum operating conditions for such application. It is found that with an acoustic intensity of 160 dB (approx. 1 W/cm 2 ), acoustic agglomeration is expected to be several hundred times more effective than gravitational agglomeration. For particles with a radius larger than approx. 2 μm, hydrodynamic interaction becomes more important than the inertial capture. For radii between 0.5 and 2 μm, both mechanisms have to included in the theoretical predictions of the acoustic agglomeration rate

  6. Reduction disintegration mechanism of cold briquettes from blast furnace dust and sludge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro Rocha Lemos

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available It is important to understand the reduction disintegration mechanism in ferriferous burden that is used in blast furnaces. The behavior of this burden in the granular zone of this metallurgical reactor is important for smooth operation. The objective of this work was to prepare cold self-reducing briquettes using blast furnace dust and sludge and binders and compare the reduction disintegration index (RDI of these agglomerates with conventional ferriferous burdens such as pellets, sinter and iron ore. In the present work, 25 different mixtures were prepared to produce briquettes in two geometries: pillow and cylindrical. The RDI value was determined for the briquettes that passed the tumbling test.

  7. Effects of interactions between powder particle size and binder viscosity on agglomerate growth mechanisms in a high shear mixer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansen, A; Schaefer, T

    2001-01-01

    A study was performed in order to elucidate the effects of the interactions between powder particle size and binder viscosity on the mechanisms involved in agglomerate formation and growth. Calcium carbonates having mean particle sizes in the range of 5-214 microm and polyethylene glycols having viscosities in the range of approximately 50-100000 mPas were melt agglomerated in a high shear mixer. Agglomerate growth by nucleation and coalescence was found to dominate when agglomerating small powder particles and binders with a low viscosity. Increasing the binder viscosity increased the formation of agglomerates by immersion of powder particles in the surface of the binder droplets. With a larger powder particle size, an increasing binder viscosity was necessary in order to obtain an agglomerate strength being sufficient to avoid breakage. Due to a low agglomerate strength, a satisfying agglomeration of very large particles (214 microm) could not be obtained, even with very viscous binders. The study demonstrated that the optimum agglomerate growth occurred when the agglomerates were of an intermediate strength causing an intermediate deformability of the agglomerates. In order to produce spherical agglomerates (pellets), a low viscosity binder has to be chosen when agglomerating a powder with a small particle size, and a high viscosity binder must be applied in agglomeration of powders with large particles.

  8. Effects of regional agglomeration of salmon : aquaculture on production costs

    OpenAIRE

    Tveterås, Ragnar

    2001-01-01

    During the last decade empirical evidence of regional agglomeration economies has emerged for some industries. This report argues that externalities from agglomeration are not only present in some manufacturing and service sectors, but can also occur in primary industries such as aquaculture. Econometric analyses in this literature have primarily estimated production functions on aggregated industry data. Here, cost functions are estimated on firm level observations of Norwegian salmon aquacu...

  9. Interstellar matter in Shapley-Ames elliptical galaxies. IV. A diffusely distributed component of dust and its effect on colour gradients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goudfrooij, P.; de Jong, T.

    1995-06-01

    We have investigated IRAS far-infrared observations of a complete, blue magnitude limited sample of 56 elliptical galaxies selected from the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog. Data from a homogeneous optical CCD imaging survey as well as published X-ray data from the EINSTEIN satellite are used to constrain the infrared data. Dust masses as determined from the IRAS flux densities are found to be roughly an order of magnitude higher than those determined from optical extinction values of dust lanes and patches, in strong contrast with the situation in spiral galaxies. This "mass discrepancy" is found to be independent of the (apparent) inclination of the dust lanes. To resolve this dilemma we postulate that the majority of the dust in elliptical galaxies exists as a diffusely distributed component of dust which is undetectable at optical wavelengths. Using observed radial optical surface brightness profiles, we have systematically investigated possible heating mechanisms for the dust within elliptical galaxies. We find that heating of the dust in elliptical galaxies by the interstellar radiation field is generally sufficient to account for the dust temperatures as indicated by the IRAS flux densities. Collisions of dust grains with hot electrons in elliptical galaxies which are embedded in a hot, X-ray-emitting gas is found to be another effective heating mechanism for the dust. Employing model calculations which involve the transfer of stellar radiation in a spherical distribution of stars mixed with a diffuse distribution of dust, we show that the observed infrared luminosities imply total dust optical depths of the postulated diffusely distributed dust component in the range 0.1<~τ_V_<~0.7 and radial colour gradients 0.03<~{DELTA}(B-I)/{DELTA}log r<~0.25. The observed IRAS flux densities can be reproduced within the 1σ uncertainties in virtually all ellipticals in this sample by this newly postulated dust component, diffusely distributed over the inner few kpc of

  10. A model for the description of the evolution of PU agglomerates in MOX fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Federici, E [CEA Centre d` Etudes de Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Blanpain, P [FRAMATOME, Lyon (France); Permezel, P [Electricite de France, Moret-sur-Loing (France)

    1997-08-01

    In order to describe the irradiation behavior of Pu agglomerates under LWR steady state conditions in MIMAS MOX fuels, a model including the neutronic evolution of the heavy atoms and their diffusion processes between the agglomerates and the matrix has been developed. It leads to the calculations of Pu enrichment in the two phases and of the agglomerates size evolution during irradiation. The calculated distribution of the fission in the fuel gives access to the local power and burnup heterogeneity factor. Electron probe microanalyses (EPMA) have been carried out on fuels irradiated up to 45000 MWd/tM. Diametral and local distribution of Pu are used to calculate the enrichments of the agglomerates and the matrix, which are then compared to the results of the model. During irradiation, the Pu concentration falls markedly in the agglomerates and increases steadily in the matrix, leading to a homogenization of the fuel on a microstructural scale. Heterogeneity factors give an estimate of the deviation from homogeneity. Knowing the local fission rate and burnup in the agglomerates and the matrix enables the calculation of the local fission gas concentrations, which are compared to the xenon EPMA diametral distribution. Comparison with the calculated matrix xenon concentration at the edge of the pellet where there is no gas release, shows that some fission gas atoms which originated from the agglomerates, have been dissolved in the matrix by recoil. The calculated gas concentrations give an estimate of the quantity of gas dissolved. This work has been performed with the intent to improved fuel rod performance code estimates of fission gas concentrations retained or released in both the matrix and the agglomerates. (author). 4 refs, 7 figs.

  11. A model for the description of the evolution of PU agglomerates in MOX fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Federici, E.; Blanpain, P.; Permezel, P.

    1997-01-01

    In order to describe the irradiation behavior of Pu agglomerates under LWR steady state conditions in MIMAS MOX fuels, a model including the neutronic evolution of the heavy atoms and their diffusion processes between the agglomerates and the matrix has been developed. It leads to the calculations of Pu enrichment in the two phases and of the agglomerates size evolution during irradiation. The calculated distribution of the fission in the fuel gives access to the local power and burnup heterogeneity factor. Electron probe microanalyses (EPMA) have been carried out on fuels irradiated up to 45000 MWd/tM. Diametral and local distribution of Pu are used to calculate the enrichments of the agglomerates and the matrix, which are then compared to the results of the model. During irradiation, the Pu concentration falls markedly in the agglomerates and increases steadily in the matrix, leading to a homogenization of the fuel on a microstructural scale. Heterogeneity factors give an estimate of the deviation from homogeneity. Knowing the local fission rate and burnup in the agglomerates and the matrix enables the calculation of the local fission gas concentrations, which are compared to the xenon EPMA diametral distribution. Comparison with the calculated matrix xenon concentration at the edge of the pellet where there is no gas release, shows that some fission gas atoms which originated from the agglomerates, have been dissolved in the matrix by recoil. The calculated gas concentrations give an estimate of the quantity of gas dissolved. This work has been performed with the intent to improved fuel rod performance code estimates of fission gas concentrations retained or released in both the matrix and the agglomerates. (author). 4 refs, 7 figs

  12. Backscattering and negative polarization of agglomerate particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubko, Evgenij; Shkuratov, Yuriy; Hart, Matthew; Eversole, Jay; Videen, Gorden

    2003-09-01

    We used the discrete dipole approximation to study the backscattering of agglomerate particles consisting of oblong monomers. We varied the aspect ratio of the monomers from approximately 1 (sphere) to 4, while we kept the total particle volume equivalent to that of an x = 10 sphere for m = 1.59 + i0 and 1.50 + i0 and considered two values of agglomerate packing density: rho = 0.25 and rho = 0.1. We found that these particles do not display a prominent brightness opposition effect but do produce significant negative polarization over a range of near-backscattering angles. Increasing the monomers' aspect ratio can make the negative polarization much more prominent. We have noted also that decreasing m and p can reduce the amplitude of the negative polarization for these particles.

  13. Phosphate-enhanced cytotoxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles and agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everett, W Neil; Chern, Christina; Sun, Dazhi; McMahon, Rebecca E; Zhang, Xi; Chen, Wei-Jung A; Hahn, Mariah S; Sue, H-J

    2014-02-10

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been found to readily react with phosphate ions to form zinc phosphate (Zn3(PO4)2) crystallites. Because phosphates are ubiquitous in physiological fluids as well as waste water streams, it is important to examine the potential effects that the formation of Zn3(PO4)2 crystallites may have on cell viability. Thus, the cytotoxic response of NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells was assessed following 24h of exposure to ZnO NPs suspended in media with and without the standard phosphate salt supplement. Both particle dosage and size have been shown to impact the cytotoxic effects of ZnO NPs, so doses ranging from 5 to 50 μg/mL were examined and agglomerate size effects were investigated by using the bioinert amphiphilic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to generate water-soluble ZnO ranging from individually dispersed 4 nm NPs up to micron-sized agglomerates. Cell metabolic activity measures indicated that the presence of phosphate in the suspension media can led to significantly reduced cell viability at all agglomerate sizes and at lower ZnO dosages. In addition, a reduction in cell viability was observed when agglomerate size was decreased, but only in the phosphate-containing media. These metabolic activity results were reflected in separate measures of cell death via the lactate dehydrogenase assay. Our results suggest that, while higher doses of water-soluble ZnO NPs are cytotoxic, the presence of phosphates in the surrounding fluid can lead to significantly elevated levels of cell death at lower ZnO NP doses. Moreover, the extent of this death can potentially be modulated or offset by tuning the agglomerate size. These findings underscore the importance of understanding how nanoscale materials can interact with the components of surrounding fluids so that potential adverse effects of such interactions can be controlled. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Comparison of dust release from epoxy and paint nanocomposites and conventional products during sanding and sawing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Virginia; Levin, Marcus; Saber, Anne T; Irusta, Silvia; Dal Maso, Miikka; Hanoi, Roberto; Santamaria, Jesus; Jensen, Keld A; Wallin, Håkan; Koponen, Ismo K

    2014-10-01

    The release of dust generated during sanding or sawing of nanocomposites was compared with conventional products without nanomaterials. Epoxy-based polymers with and without carbon nanotubes, and paints with different amounts of nano-sized titanium dioxide, were machined in a closed aerosol chamber. The temporal evolution of the aerosol concentration and size distribution were measured simultaneously. The morphology of collected dust by scanning electron microscopy was different depending on the type of nanocomposites: particles from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanocomposites had protrusions on their surfaces and aggregates and agglomerates are attached to the paint matrix in particles emitted from alkyd paints. We observed no significant differences in the particle size distributions when comparing sanding dust from nanofiller containing products with dust from conventional products. Neither did we observe release of free nanomaterials. Instead, the nanomaterials were enclosed or partly enclosed in the matrix. A source strength term Si (cm(-3) s(-1)) that describes particle emission rates from continuous sources was introduced. Comparison between the Si parameters derived from sanding different materials allows identification of potential effects of addition of engineered nanoparticles to a composite. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

  15. Parking lots, store chains and spatial agglomeration

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Noguera, Jose

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 84, č. 2 (2005), s. 145-158 ISSN 1056-8190 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : agglomeration * bid -rent * residential district Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.475, year: 2005

  16. Sequential heavy metal extraction from dust precipitates and road sediments. Part 2. Sequential heavy metal extraction from urban dust; Sequentielle Schwermetallextraktion aus Staubniederschlaegen und Strassensedimenten. T. 2. Sequentielle Schwermetallextraktion von staedtischen Staeuben

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heiser, U.; Norra, S.; Stueben, D.; Wagner, M. von [Karlsruhe Univ. (T.H.) (Germany). Inst. fuer Petrographie und Geochemie

    1999-03-01

    For the application of our method for the sequential extraction of heavy metals from microsamples presented in part 1 (`Sequentielle Schwermetallextraktion von Mikroproben` - `Sequential Extraction of Heavy Metals from Micro Samples`) an investigation was carried out to evaluate airborne dust fallout and street sediments at two urban sites where different heavy metal immission rates occur due to traffic influence. In the street sediments the total concentrations of zinc, copper and lead was three to fivefold higher in the silt and clay fraction (<63 {mu}m) than in the particle size fraction (<1,12 mm), but showed nearly the same mobilisation behaviour. The dust samples showed equal mobilisation behaviour as the street sediments for copper and lead, while zinc was considerably more mobile in the dust samples: In extraction steps I-IV (I: mobile fraction; II: easily deliverable fraction; III: fraction bound to manganese oxides; IV: fraction bound organic to matter) zinc, copper and lead in street sediments, as well as copper and lead in dust samples, were dissolved to 40-70%, whereas about 80% of zinc in the dust samples was already dissolved in extraction step I. (orig.) [Deutsch] Mit Hilfe des in Teil 1 (`Sequentielle Schwermetallextraktion von Mikroproben`) vorgestellten Verfahrens zur sequentiellen Schwermetallextraktion von Mikroproben wurden die Mobilisierbarkeiten von Zink, Kupfer und Blei aus Staubniederschlaegen und aus der Schluff- und Tonfraktion von Strassensedimenten an zwei urbanen Standorten mit unterschiedlicher, verkehrsbedingter Schwermetallbelastung untersucht und miteinander verglichen. In Strassensedimenten wiesen Zink, Kupfer und Blei in der Schluff- und Tonfraktion drei- bis fuenffach hoehere Gesamtgehalte auf als die Korngroessenfraktion <1,12 mm, zeigten aber aehnliches Verhalten in der Mobilisierbarkeit. Bei den Staubproben war die Mobilisierbarkeit von Kupfer und Blei aehnlich wie in den Strassensedimenten, waehrend sich Zink als erheblich

  17. Quantitative characterization of agglomerate abrasion in a tumbling blender by using the Stokes number approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willemsz, Tofan A; Nguyen, Tien Thanh; Hooijmaijers, Ricardo; Frijlink, Henderik W; Vromans, Herman; van der Voort Maarschalk, Kees

    2013-03-01

    Removal of microcrystalline cellulose agglomerates in a dry-mixing system (lactose, 100 M) predominantly occurs via abrasion. The agglomerate abrasion rate potential is estimated by the Stokes abrasion (StAbr) number of the system. The StAbr number equals the ratio between the kinetic energy density of the moving powder bed and the work of fracture of the agglomerate. Basically, the StAbr number concept describes the blending condition of the dry-mixing system. The concept has been applied to investigate the relevance of process parameters on agglomerate abrasion in tumbling blenders. Here, process parameters such as blender rotational speed and relative fill volumes were investigated. In this study, the StAbr approach revealed a transition point between abrasion rate behaviors. Below this transition point, a blending condition exists where agglomerate abrasion is dominated by the kinetic energy density of the powder blend. Above this transition point, a blending condition exists where agglomerates show (undesirable) slow abrasion rates. In this situation, the blending condition is mainly determined by the high fill volume of the filler.

  18. Which Agglomeration Externalities Matter Most and Why?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, H.L.F.; Poot, J.; Smit, M.J.

    2016-01-01

    This paper revisits the ongoing discussion on the importance of agglomeration externalities – specifically specialization, diversity and competition effects – that may contribute to innovation, productivity and urban employment growth. Previous meta-analyses suggested that the evidence on

  19. Which Agglomeration Externalities Matter Most and Why?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, Henri L.F.; Poot, Jacques; Smit, Martijn J.

    2016-01-01

    This paper revisits the ongoing discussion on the importance of agglomeration externalities – specifically specialization, diversity and competition effects – that may contribute to innovation, productivity and urban employment growth. Previous meta‐analyses suggested that the evidence on

  20. Kinetic and Thermodynamic Effects on the Agglomeration of Magnetite Nanoparticles by Magnetic Field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Daeseong; Kim, Hackjin

    2016-01-01

    The dynamics of agglomeration of magnetite nanoparticles studied by measuring the magnetic weight shows the kinetics of stretched exponential. During the growth of the magnetic weight, the structure of agglomerate fluctuates by temperature change. This fast relaxation that can be interpreted in terms of Boltzmann distribution indicates that the thermal equilibration is established promptly with the temperature change. Agglomerate of nanoparticles resembles protein in that both of them exist in complex structures of various conformations with different formation energies, which requires the energy landscape for understanding of dynamics in detail

  1. Mathematical modeling of pigment dispersion taking into account the full agglomerate particle size distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kiil, Søren

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to develop a mathematical model that can quantify the dispersion of pigments, with a focus on the mechanical breakage of pigment agglomerates. The underlying physical mechanism was assumed to be surface erosion of spherical pigment agglomerates. The full agglomerate pa.......g., in the development of novel dispersion principles and for analysis of dispersion failures. The general applicability of the model, beyond the three pigments considered, needs to be confirmed....

  2. Biomass oxygen/steam gasification in a pressurized bubbling fluidized bed: Agglomeration behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Chunguang; Rosén, Christer; Engvall, Klas

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Dolomite is a superior material in preventing bed agglomeration. • Small molten ash particles deposited on magnesite at bed temperatures above 1000 °C. • The performance, when using magnesite, is sensitive to temperature disturbances. • The anti-agglomeration mechanisms of Ca- and Mg-bearing materials were discussed. - Abstract: In this study, the anti-agglomeration abilities of Ca- and Mg-containing bed materials, including dolomite and magnesite, in a pressurized bubbling fluidized bed gasifier using pine pellets and birch chips as feedstock, is investigated. The most typical bed material—silica sand—was also included as a reference for comparison. The sustainability of the operation was evaluated via analyzing the temperatures at different levels along the bed height. During the performances, the aim was to keep the temperature at the bottom zone of the reactor at around 870 °C. However, the success highly depends on the bed materials used in the bed and the temperature can vary significantly in case of agglomeration or bad mixing of bed materials and char particles. Both Glanshammar and Sala dolomites performed well with no observed agglomeration tendencies. In case of magnesite, the bed exhibited a high agglomeration tendency. Silica sand displayed the most severe agglomeration among all bed materials, even when birch chips with a low silica content was fed at a relatively low temperature. The solid samples of all the bed materials were inspected by light microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) detector was used to detect the elemental distribution in the surface. The crystal chemical structure was analyzed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Magnesite agglomerates glued together by big molten ash particles. There was no coating layer detected on magnesite particles at bed temperatures – below 870 °C. But when the temperature was above 1000 °C, a significant amount of small molten

  3. De-agglomeration of thorium oxalate - a method for the synthesis of sinteractive thoria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ananthasivan, K.; Anthonysamy, S.; Singh, Alok; Vasudeva Rao, P.R.

    2002-01-01

    Thorium oxalate was obtained by precipitation in water and in non-aqueous solvents and de-agglomerated by ultrasonication in both aqueous as well as non-aqueous media. Sinteractive thoria (crystallite size 6-20 nm) obtained from the de-agglomerated thorium oxalate was characterised for residual carbon, crystallite size, specific surface area, particle size distribution and bulk density. Microstructure of the precursor and the product was studied using TEM and HRTEM. The morphology of the sintered pellets was studied using SEM. The reactivity of the calcined powders was determined by measuring the density of the sintered compacts. The solvent used for de-agglomeration was found to have significant influence on the microstructure of the powders. Thoria derived through aqueous precipitation route could be sintered to a density of 9.7 Mg m -3 at 1673 K. It was demonstrated that ultrasonic de-agglomeration could be a useful method for obtaining sinteractive thoria

  4. Effect of sample container morphology on agglomeration dynamics of magnetic nanoparticles under magnetic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Dae Seong; Kim, Hack Jin [Dept. of Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    The superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles have been used extensively in medical and biological applications, and agglomeration of magnetic nanoparticles is employed in the purification of water and proteins. The magnetic weight can be measured with a conventional electronic balance. Details of the experimental setup have been previously reported. That is, complex energy landscape involved in the agglomeration is changing with progress. Simulation of colloidal magnetic particles under magnetic field shows that the chain of particles is energetically more favorable than the ring and that the transition barrier between the chain and the ring is very low. The energy barriers among entangled nanoparticles of the agglomerate seem to be much more complicated than those among colloidal particles. The energy barrier distributions at 1000 min are similar for the two containers; however, the trend of blue shift and broadening is much more evident in the case of conical tube. These results indicate that the potential energy surface for agglomeration is modified more significantly in the conical tube which makes the agglomerate denser.

  5. Magnetic agglomeration method for size control in the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Dale L [Albuquerque, NM

    2011-07-05

    A method for controlling the size of chemically synthesized magnetic nanoparticles that employs magnetic interaction between particles to control particle size and does not rely on conventional kinetic control of the reaction to control particle size. The particles are caused to reversibly agglomerate and precipitate from solution; the size at which this occurs can be well controlled to provide a very narrow particle size distribution. The size of particles is controllable by the size of the surfactant employed in the process; controlling the size of the surfactant allows magnetic control of the agglomeration and precipitation processes. Agglomeration is used to effectively stop particle growth to provide a very narrow range of particle sizes.

  6. The agglomeration state of nanoparticles can influence the mechanism of their cellular internalisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halamoda-Kenzaoui, Blanka; Ceridono, Mara; Urbán, Patricia; Bogni, Alessia; Ponti, Jessica; Gioria, Sabrina; Kinsner-Ovaskainen, Agnieszka

    2017-06-26

    Significant progress of nanotechnology, including in particular biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, has resulted in a high number of studies describing the biological effects of nanomaterials. Moreover, a determination of so-called "critical quality attributes", that is specific physicochemical properties of nanomaterials triggering the observed biological response, has been recognised as crucial for the evaluation and design of novel safe and efficacious therapeutics. In the context of in vitro studies, a thorough physicochemical characterisation of nanoparticles (NPs), also in the biological medium, is necessary to allow a correlation with a cellular response. Following this concept, we examined whether the main and frequently reported characteristics of NPs such as size and the agglomeration state can influence the level and the mechanism of NP cellular internalization. We employed fluorescently-labelled 30 and 80 nm silicon dioxide NPs, both in agglomerated and non-agglomerated form. Using flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy, the inhibitors of endocytosis and gene silencing we determined the most probable routes of cellular uptake for each form of tested silica NPs. We observed differences in cellular uptake depending on the size and the agglomeration state of NPs. Caveolae-mediated endocytosis was implicated particularly in the internalisation of well dispersed silica NPs but with an increase of the agglomeration state of NPs a combination of endocytic pathways with a predominant role of macropinocytosis was noted. We demonstrated that the agglomeration state of NPs is an important factor influencing the level of cell uptake and the mechanism of endocytosis of silica NPs.

  7. Effect of the primary particle morphology on the micromechanical properties of nanostructured alumina agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schilde, Carsten; Westphal, Bastian; Kwade, Arno

    2012-01-01

    Depending on the application of nanoparticles, certain characteristics of the product quality such as size, morphology, abrasion resistance, specific surface, dispersibility and tendency to agglomeration are important. These characteristics are a function of the physicochemical properties, i.e. the micromechanical properties of the nanostructured material. The micromechanical properties of these nanostructured agglomerates such as the maximum indentation force, the plastic and elastic deformation energy and the strength give information on the product properties, e.g. the efficiency of a dispersion process of the agglomerates, and can be measured by nanoindentation. In this study a Berkovich indenter tip was used for the characterisation of model aggregates out of sol–gel produced silica and precipitated alumina agglomerates with different primary particle morphologies (dimension of 15–40 nm). In general, the effect of the primary particle morphology and the presence or absence of solid bonds can be characterised by the measurement of the micromechanical properties via nanoindentation. The micromechanical behaviour of aggregates containing solid bonds is strongly affected by the elastic–plastic deformation behaviour of the solid bonds and the breakage of solid bonds. Moreover, varying the primary particle morphology for similar particle material and approximately isotropic agglomerate behaviour the particle–particle interactions within the agglomerates can be described by the elementar breaking stress according to the formula of Rumpf.

  8. Young Stellar Variability of GM Cephei by Circumstellar Dust Clumps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Po-Chieh; Chen, Wen-Ping; Hu, Chia-Ling; Burkhonov, Otabek; Ehgamberdiev, Shuhrat; Liu, Jinzhong; Naito, Hiroyuki; Pakstiene, Erika; Qvam, Jan Kare Trandem; Rätz, Stefanie; Semkov, Evgeni

    2018-04-01

    UX Orionis stars are a sub-type of Herbig Ae/be or T Tauri stars exhibiting sporadic extinction of stellar light due to circumstellar dust obscuration. GM Cep is such an UX Orionis star in the young (∼ 4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler 37 at ∼ 900 pc, showing a prominent infrared access, H-alpha emission, and flare activity. Our multi-color photometric monitoring from 2009 to 2016 showed (i) sporadic brightening on a time scale of days due to young stellar accretion, (ii) cyclic, but not strictly periodical, occultation events, each lasting for a couple months, with a probable recurrence time of about two years, (iii) normal dust reddening as the star became redder when dimmer, (iv) the unusual "blueing" phenomena near the brightness minima, during which the star appeared bluer when dimmer, and (v) a noticeable polarization, from 3 to 9 percent in g', r', and i' -bands. The occultation events may be caused by dust clumps, signifying the density inhomogeneity in a young stellar disk from grain coagulation to planetesimal formation. The level of polarization was anti-correlated with the brightness in the bright state, when the dust clump backscattered stellar light. We discussed two potential hypotheses: orbiting dust clumps versus dust clumps along a spiral arm structure.

  9. A complex network approach for nanoparticle agglomeration analysis in nanoscale images

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Machado, Bruno Brandoli, E-mail: bruno.brandoli@ufms.br; Scabini, Leonardo Felipe, E-mail: leo.scabini@ufms.br; Margarido Orue, Jonatan Patrick, E-mail: jonatan.orue@ufms.br; Arruda, Mauro Santos de, E-mail: m.arruda@ufms.br; Goncalves, Diogo Nunes, E-mail: diogo.goncalves@ufms.br; Goncalves, Wesley Nunes, E-mail: wesley.goncalves@ufms.br [Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, CS Department (Brazil); Moreira, Raphaell, E-mail: moreira.raphaell@fu-berlin.de [Freie Universitat BerlinTakustr 3 (Germany); Rodrigues-Jr, Jose F, E-mail: junio@usp.br [University of Sao Paulo, CS Department (Brazil)

    2017-02-15

    Complex networks have been widely used in science and technology because of their ability to represent several systems. One of these systems is found in Biochemistry, in which the synthesis of new nanoparticles is a hot topic. However, the interpretation of experimental results in the search of new nanoparticles poses several challenges. This is due to the characteristics of nanoparticle images and due to their multiple intricate properties; one property of recurrent interest is the agglomeration of particles. Addressing this issue, this paper introduces an approach that uses complex networks to detect and describe nanoparticle agglomerates so to foster easier and more insightful analyses. In this approach, each detected particle in an image corresponds to a vertice and the distances between the particles define a criterion for creating edges. Edges are created if the distance is smaller than a radius of interest. Once this network is set, we calculate several discrete measures able to reveal the most outstanding agglomerates in a nanoparticle image. Experimental results using images of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of gold nanoparticles demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach over several samples, as reflected by the separability between particles in three usual settings. The results also demonstrated efficacy for both convex and non-convex agglomerates.

  10. Direct observations of the atmospheric processing of Asian mineral dust

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. C. Sullivan

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The accumulation of secondary acids and ammonium on individual mineral dust particles during ACE-Asia has been measured with an online single-particle mass spectrometer, the ATOFMS. Changes in the amounts of sulphate, nitrate, and chloride mixed with dust particles correlate with air masses from different source regions. The uptake of secondary acids depended on the individual dust particle mineralogy; high amounts of nitrate accumulated on calcium-rich dust while high amounts of sulphate accumulated on aluminosilicate-rich dust. Oxidation of S(IV to S(VI by iron in the aluminosilicate dust is a possible explanation for this enrichment of sulphate, which has important consequences for the fertilization of remote oceans by soluble iron. This study shows the segregation of sulphate from nitrate and chloride in individual aged dust particles for the first time. A transport and aging timeline provides an explanation for the observed segregation. Our data suggests that sulphate became mixed with the dust first. This implies that the transport pathway is more important than the reaction kinetics in determining which species accumulate on mineral dust. Early in the study, dust particles in volcanically influenced air masses were mixed predominately with sulphate. Dust mixed with chloride then dominated over sulphate and nitrate when a major dust front reached the R. V. Ronald Brown. We hypothesize that the rapid increase in chloride on dust was due to mixing with HCl(g released from acidified sea salt particles induced by heterogeneous reaction with volcanic SO2(g, prior to the arrival of the dust front. The amount of ammonium mixed with dust correlated strongly with the total amount of secondary acid reaction products in the dust. Submicron dust and ammonium sulphate were internally mixed, contrary to frequent reports that they exist as external mixtures. The size distribution of the mixing state of dust with these secondary species validates previous

  11. Internal migration, regional labor markets and the role of agglomeration economies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mitze, Timo Friedel; Schmidt, Torben Dall

    2015-01-01

    are indeed key drivers of internal migration flows in Denmark. That is, while we obtain mixed evidence with regard to the role of traditional labor and housing market variables, most of the included proxies for agglomeration economies such as the region’s population density, patent intensity, endowment......We analyze the determinants and regional implications of internal migration flows across Danish municipalities in 2006–2012. Besides assessing the role of labor market and housing market factors in driving a region’s net migration rate, we particularly focus on agglomeration factors identified...... for the role of space–time dynamic adjustment processes and simultaneity among migration and labor market variables and finally test for heterogeneity in the migration response to regional labor market disparities among low- and high-skilled migrants. Our results support the view that agglomeration economies...

  12. Industrial Agglomeration and Use of the Internet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); Y-C. Wu (Yu-Chieh)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractTaiwan has been hailed as a world leader in the development of global innovation and industrial clusters for the past decade. This paper investigates the effects of industrial agglomeration on the use of the internet and internet intensity for Taiwan manufacturing firms, and analyses

  13. Hydrodynamic perspective on asphaltene agglomeration and deposition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schutte, K.C.J.; Portela, L.M.; Twerda, A.; Henkes, R.A.W.M.

    2015-01-01

    In this work, we propose a detailed numerical model for asphaltene agglomeration and deposition, as induced by a resolved turbulent liquid carrier phase flow, in which transport, breakup, and re-entrainment are also taken into account. Asphaltene phase separation is represented by the appearance of

  14. Agglomerates, smoke oxide particles, and carbon inclusions in condensed combustion products of an aluminized GAP-based propellant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ao, Wen; Liu, Peijin; Yang, Wenjing

    2016-12-01

    In solid propellants, aluminum is widely used to improve the performance, however the condensed combustion products especially the large agglomerates generated from aluminum combustion significantly affect the combustion and internal flow inside the solid rocket motor. To clarify the properties of the condensed combustion products of aluminized propellants, a constant-pressure quench vessel was adopted to collect the combustion products. The morphology and chemical compositions of the collected products, were then studied by using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive (SEM-EDS) method. Various structures have been observed in the condensed combustion products. Apart from the typical agglomerates or smoke oxide particles observed before, new structures including the smoke oxide clusters, irregular agglomerates and carbon-inclusions are discovered and investigated. Smoke oxide particles have the highest amount in the products. The highly dispersed oxide particle is spherical with very smooth surface and is on the order of 1-2 μm, but due to the high temperature and long residence time, these small particles will aggregate into smoke oxide clusters which are much larger than the initial particles. Three types of spherical agglomerates have been found. As the ambient gas temperature is much higher than the boiling point of Al2O3, the condensation layer inside which the aluminum drop is burning would evaporate quickly, which result in the fact that few "hollow agglomerates" has been found compared to "cap agglomerates" and "solid agglomerates". Irregular agglomerates usually larger than spherical agglomerates. The formation of irregular agglomerates likely happens by three stages: deformation of spherical aluminum drops; combination of particles with various shape; finally production of irregular agglomerates. EDS results show the ratio of O to Al on the surface of agglomerates is lower in comparison to smoke oxide particles. C and O account for

  15. Extreme enhancement of blocking temperature by strong magnetic dipoles interaction of α-Fe nanoparticle-based high-density agglomerate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kura, H; Takahashi, M; Ogawa, T

    2011-01-01

    High-volume fraction α-Fe nanoparticle (NP) agglomerates were prepared using chemically synthesized NPs. In the agglomerate, NPs are separated by surfactant and NP superlattice with a hexagonal close-packed structure is locally realized. Volume fractions of NPs at 20% and 42% were obtained in agglomerates consisting of 2.9 nm and 8.2 nm diameter NPs, respectively. The high saturation magnetization of α-Fe NPs and high volume fraction of NPs in the agglomerate provide strong magnetic dipole-dipole interaction. The interaction energy of the agglomerate became much larger than the anisotropic energy of individual NPs. As a result, the blocking temperature of the 8.2 nm NP agglomerate was significantly enhanced from 52.2 K to around 500 K. (fast track communication)

  16. Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Agglomeration Influences Dose-Rates and Modulates Oxidative Stress Mediated Dose-Response Profiles In Vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Gaurav; Kodali, Vamsi K.; Gaffrey, Matthew J.; Wang, Wei; Minard, Kevin R.; Karin, Norman J.; Teeguarden, Justin G.; Thrall, Brian D.

    2013-07-31

    Spontaneous agglomeration of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) is a common problem in cell culture media which can confound interpretation of in vitro nanotoxicity studies. The authors created stable agglomerates of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in conventional culture medium, which varied in hydrodynamic size (276 nm-1.5 μm) but were composed of identical primary particles with similar surface potentials and protein coatings. Studies using C10 lung epithelial cells show that the dose rate effects of agglomeration can be substantial, varying by over an order of magnitude difference in cellular dose in some cases. Quantification by magnetic particle detection showed that small agglomerates of carboxylated IONPs induced greater cytotoxicity and redox-regulated gene expression when compared with large agglomerates on an equivalent total cellular IONP mass dose basis, whereas agglomerates of amine-modified IONPs failed to induce cytotoxicity or redox-regulated gene expression despite delivery of similar cellular doses. Dosimetry modelling and experimental measurements reveal that on a delivered surface area basis, large and small agglomerates of carboxylated IONPs have similar inherent potency for the generation of ROS, induction of stress-related genes and eventual cytotoxicity. The results suggest that reactive moieties on the agglomerate surface are more efficient in catalysing cellular ROS production than molecules buried within the agglomerate core. Because of the dynamic, size and density-dependent nature of ENP delivery to cells in vitro, the biological consequences of agglomeration are not discernible from static measures of exposure concentration (μg/ml) alone, highlighting the central importance of integrated physical characterisation and quantitative dosimetry for in vitro studies. The combined experimental and computational approach provides a quantitative framework for evaluating relationships between the biocompatibility of nanoparticles and their

  17. Iron oxide nanoparticle agglomeration influences dose rates and modulates oxidative stress-mediated dose–response profiles in vitro

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Gaurav; Kodali, Vamsi; Gaffrey, Matthew; Wang, Wei; Minard, Kevin R.; Karin, Norman J.; Teeguarden, Justin G.; Thrall, Brian D.

    2014-01-01

    Spontaneous agglomeration of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) is a common problem in cell culture media which can confound interpretation of in vitro nanotoxicity studies. The authors created stable agglomerates of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in conventional culture medium, which varied in hydrodynamic size (276 nm–1.5 μm) but were composed of identical primary particles with similar surface potentials and protein coatings. Studies using C10 lung epithelial cells show that the dose rate effects of agglomeration can be substantial, varying by over an order of magnitude difference in cellular dose in some cases. Quantification by magnetic particle detection showed that small agglomerates of carboxylated IONPs induced greater cytotoxicity and redox-regulated gene expression when compared with large agglomerates on an equivalent total cellular IONP mass dose basis, whereas agglomerates of amine-modified IONPs failed to induce cytotoxicity or redox-regulated gene expression despite delivery of similar cellular doses. Dosimetry modelling and experimental measurements reveal that on a delivered surface area basis, large and small agglomerates of carboxylated IONPs have similar inherent potency for the generation of ROS, induction of stress-related genes and eventual cytotoxicity. The results suggest that reactive moieties on the agglomerate surface are more efficient in catalysing cellular ROS production than molecules buried within the agglomerate core. Because of the dynamic, size and density-dependent nature of ENP delivery to cells in vitro, the biological consequences of agglomeration are not discernible from static measures of exposure concentration (μg/ml) alone, highlighting the central importance of integrated physical characterisation and quantitative dosimetry for in vitro studies. The combined experimental and computational approach provides a quantitative framework for evaluating relationships between the biocompatibility of nanoparticles and their

  18. PM10 composition during an intense Saharan dust transport event over Athens (Greece)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Remoundaki, E.; Bourliva, A.; Kokkalis, P.; Mamouri, R.E.; Papayannis, A.; Grigoratos, T.; Samara, C.; Tsezos, M.

    2011-01-01

    The influence of Saharan dust on the air quality of Southern European big cities became a priority during the last decade. The present study reports results on PM 10 monitored at an urban site at 14 m above ground level during an intense Saharan dust transport event. The elemental composition was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (EDXRF) for 12 elements: Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, Ti, S, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn. PM 10 concentrations exceeded the EU limit (50 μg/m 3 ) several times during the sampling period. Simultaneous maxima have been observed for the elements of crustal origin. The concentrations of all the elements presented a common maximum, corresponding to the date where the atmosphere was heavily charged with particulate matter permanently for an interval of about 10 h. Sulfur and heavy metal concentrations were also associated to local emissions. Mineral dust represented the largest fraction of PM 10 reaching 79%. Seven days back trajectories have shown that the air masses arriving over Athens, originated from Western Sahara. Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) revealed that particle agglomerates were abundant, most of them having sizes < 2 μm. Aluminosilicates were predominant in dust particles also rich in calcium which was distributed between calcite, dolomite, gypsum and Ca-Si particles. These results were consistent with the origin of the dust particles and the elemental composition results. Sulfur and heavy metals were associated to very fine particles < 1 μm. - Highlights: → The paper focuses on the contribution of Saharan dust in PM10 levels at an urban site. → High Ca and Fe, calcite, illite and smectites and poor quartz contents are related to source-regions. → The data sets presented are in very good agreement and are also strongly confirmed by literature. → Dust contribution in PM10 can be of comparable importance for both an urban and a remote location.

  19. Effects of Al(OH)O nanoparticle agglomerate size in epoxy resin on tension, bending, and fracture properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jux, Maximilian, E-mail: maximilian.jux@dlr.de [TU Braunschweig, Institute of Adaptronic and Functional Integration (IAF) (Germany); Finke, Benedikt [TU Braunschweig, Institute for Particle Technology (IPAT) (Germany); Mahrholz, Thorsten [DLR Braunschweig, Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems (FA) (Germany); Sinapius, Michael [TU Braunschweig, Institute of Adaptronic and Functional Integration (IAF) (Germany); Kwade, Arno; Schilde, Carsten [TU Braunschweig, Institute for Particle Technology (IPAT) (Germany)

    2017-04-15

    Several epoxy Al(OH)O (boehmite) dispersions in an epoxy resin are produced in a kneader to study the mechanistic correlation between the nanoparticle size and mechanical properties of the prepared nanocomposites. The agglomerate size is set by a targeted variation in solid content and temperature during dispersion, resulting in a different level of stress intensity and thus a different final agglomerate size during the process. The suspension viscosity was used for the estimation of stress energy in laminar shear flow. Agglomerate size measurements are executed via dynamic light scattering to ensure the quality of the produced dispersions. Furthermore, various nanocomposite samples are prepared for three-point bending, tension, and fracture toughness tests. The screening of the size effect is executed with at least seven samples per agglomerate size and test method. The variation of solid content is found to be a reliable method to adjust the agglomerate size between 138–354 nm during dispersion. The size effect on the Young’s modulus and the critical stress intensity is only marginal. Nevertheless, there is a statistically relevant trend showing a linear increase with a decrease in agglomerate size. In contrast, the size effect is more dominant to the sample’s strain and stress at failure. Unlike microscaled agglomerates or particles, which lead to embrittlement of the composite material, nanoscaled agglomerates or particles cause the composite elongation to be nearly of the same level as the base material. The observed effect is valid for agglomerate sizes between 138–354 nm and a particle mass fraction of 10 wt%.

  20. Effects of Al(OH)O nanoparticle agglomerate size in epoxy resin on tension, bending, and fracture properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jux, Maximilian; Finke, Benedikt; Mahrholz, Thorsten; Sinapius, Michael; Kwade, Arno; Schilde, Carsten

    2017-01-01

    Several epoxy Al(OH)O (boehmite) dispersions in an epoxy resin are produced in a kneader to study the mechanistic correlation between the nanoparticle size and mechanical properties of the prepared nanocomposites. The agglomerate size is set by a targeted variation in solid content and temperature during dispersion, resulting in a different level of stress intensity and thus a different final agglomerate size during the process. The suspension viscosity was used for the estimation of stress energy in laminar shear flow. Agglomerate size measurements are executed via dynamic light scattering to ensure the quality of the produced dispersions. Furthermore, various nanocomposite samples are prepared for three-point bending, tension, and fracture toughness tests. The screening of the size effect is executed with at least seven samples per agglomerate size and test method. The variation of solid content is found to be a reliable method to adjust the agglomerate size between 138–354 nm during dispersion. The size effect on the Young’s modulus and the critical stress intensity is only marginal. Nevertheless, there is a statistically relevant trend showing a linear increase with a decrease in agglomerate size. In contrast, the size effect is more dominant to the sample’s strain and stress at failure. Unlike microscaled agglomerates or particles, which lead to embrittlement of the composite material, nanoscaled agglomerates or particles cause the composite elongation to be nearly of the same level as the base material. The observed effect is valid for agglomerate sizes between 138–354 nm and a particle mass fraction of 10 wt%.

  1. Characterization of size, surface charge, and agglomeration state of nanoparticle dispersions for toxicological studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Jingkun; Oberdoerster, Guenter; Biswas, Pratim

    2009-01-01

    Characterizing the state of nanoparticles (such as size, surface charge, and degree of agglomeration) in aqueous suspensions and understanding the parameters that affect this state are imperative for toxicity investigations. In this study, the role of important factors such as solution ionic strength, pH, and particle surface chemistry that control nanoparticle dispersion was examined. The size and zeta potential of four TiO 2 and three quantum dot samples dispersed in different solutions (including one physiological medium) were characterized. For 15 nm TiO 2 dispersions, the increase of ionic strength from 0.001 M to 0.1 M led to a 50-fold increase in the hydrodynamic diameter, and the variation of pH resulted in significant change of particle surface charge and the hydrodynamic size. It was shown that both adsorbing multiply charged ions (e.g., pyrophosphate ions) onto the TiO 2 nanoparticle surface and coating quantum dot nanocrystals with polymers (e.g., polyethylene glycol) suppressed agglomeration and stabilized the dispersions. DLVO theory was used to qualitatively understand nanoparticle dispersion stability. A methodology using different ultrasonication techniques (bath and probe) was developed to distinguish agglomerates from aggregates (strong bonds), and to estimate the extent of particle agglomeration. Probe ultrasonication performed better than bath ultrasonication in dispersing TiO 2 agglomerates when the stabilizing agent sodium pyrophosphate was used. Commercially available Degussa P25 and in-house synthesized TiO 2 nanoparticles were used to demonstrate identification of aggregated and agglomerated samples.

  2. h-multigrid agglomeration based solution strategies for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of incompressible flow problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botti, L.; Colombo, A.; Bassi, F.

    2017-10-01

    In this work we exploit agglomeration based h-multigrid preconditioners to speed-up the iterative solution of discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of the Stokes and Navier-Stokes equations. As a distinctive feature h-coarsened mesh sequences are generated by recursive agglomeration of a fine grid, admitting arbitrarily unstructured grids of complex domains, and agglomeration based discontinuous Galerkin discretizations are employed to deal with agglomerated elements of coarse levels. Both the expense of building coarse grid operators and the performance of the resulting multigrid iteration are investigated. For the sake of efficiency coarse grid operators are inherited through element-by-element L2 projections, avoiding the cost of numerical integration over agglomerated elements. Specific care is devoted to the projection of viscous terms discretized by means of the BR2 dG method. We demonstrate that enforcing the correct amount of stabilization on coarse grids levels is mandatory for achieving uniform convergence with respect to the number of levels. The numerical solution of steady and unsteady, linear and non-linear problems is considered tackling challenging 2D test cases and 3D real life computations on parallel architectures. Significant execution time gains are documented.

  3. PROGRA2 experiment: new results for dust clouds and regoliths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renard, J.-B.; Hadamcik, E.; Worms, J.-C.; Levasseur-Regourd, A.-C.; Daugeron, D.

    With the CNES-sponsored PROGRA2 facility, linear polarization of scattered light is performed on various types of dust clouds in microgravity during parabolic flights onboard the CNES- and ESA-sponsored A300 Zéro-G aircraft. Clouds of fluffy aggregates are also studied on the ground when lifted by an air-draught. The effect of the physical properties of the particles, such as the grains size and size distribution, the real part of the refractive index, and the structure is currently being studied. The size distribution of the agglomerates is measured in the field of view from the polarized component images. The large number of phase curves already obtained in the various conditions of measurements, in order to build a database (about 160 curves) allows us to better connect the physical properties with the observed polarization of the dust in the clouds. The aim is to compare these curves with those obtained in the solar system by remote-sensing and in-situ techniques for interplanetary dust, cometary coma, and solid particles in planetary atmospheres (Renard et al., 2003). Measurements on layers of particles (i.e. on the ground) are then compared with remote measurements on asteroidal regoliths and planetary surfaces. New phase curves will be presented and discussed i.e. for quartz samples, crystals, fluffy mixtures of alumina and silica, and a high porosity ``regolith'' analogue made of micron-sized silica spheres. This work will contribute to the choice of the samples to be studied with the IMPACT/ICAPS instrument onboard the ISS. J.-B. Renard, E. Hadamcik, T. Lemaire, J.-C. Worms and A.-C. Levasseur-Regourd (2003). Polarization imaging of dust cloud particles: improvement and applications of the PROGRA2 instrument, ASR 31, 12, 2511-2518.

  4. Agglomeration of Ni-nanoparticles in the gas phase under gravity and microgravity conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lösch, S; Günther, B H; Iles, G N; Schmitz, B

    2011-01-01

    The agglomeration of metallic nanoparticles can be performed using the well-known inert gas condensation process. Unfortunately, thermal effects such as convection are created by the heating source and as a result the turbulent aerosol avoids ideal conditions. In addition, the sedimentation of large particles and/or agglomerates influences the self-assembly of particles. These negative effects can be eliminated by using microgravity conditions. Here we present the results of the agglomeration of nanoscale Ni-particles under gravity and microgravity conditions, the latter provided by adapted microgravity platforms namely the European sounding rocket MAXUS 8 and the European Parabolic Flight aircraft, Airbus A300 Zero-G.

  5. A kinetic study of the mechanism of radiation induced agglomeration of ovalbumin in aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuce, Zorana; Janata, Eberhard; Radojcic, Marija; Milosavljevic, B.H.

    2001-01-01

    The effect of concentration on the protein radiolytic damage resulting in a change in molecular mass was measured in the concentration range from 0.2 to 2 mmolxdm -3 ovalbumin in phosphate buffered solutions saturated with N 2 O. The electrophoretic analysis of samples on discontinuous SDS-polyacrylamide gels in the presence or absence of 5% β-mercaptoethanol showed an expected result, i.e. that the protein scission did not take place in the absence of oxygen. Only ovalbumin agglomerates, bonded by covalent bonds other than S-S bridges, were observed. The G-value for the formation of ovalbumin agglomerates increased linearly from 1.1 to 2.4 by increasing the ovalbumin concentration from 0.2 to 2 mmolxdm -3 . The result is interpreted as to be owing to the competition between ovalbumin agglomeration and some intramolecular reactions which did not lead to the change in the molecular mass. It was also found that the G-value is independent of irradiation dose rate. The result was rationalized as a kinetic evidence that the agglomeration is not a cross-linking process, i.e. it does not occur via recombination of the protein radicals produced in the interaction of ovalbumin and · OH radical. The result suggested that the agglomeration takes place via the process of grafting, i.e. it occurs in the reaction of ovalbumin radical and an intact ovalbumin molecule. The time-resolved light scattering experiments provided an additional proof, supporting the reaction scheme of radiation-induced protein agglomeration. The biological consequences of the proposed mechanism of protein agglomeration are also discussed

  6. Evidence of zirconium nano-agglomeration in as-cast dilute U–Zr alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukherjee, S.; Kaity, S.; Saify, M.T.; Jha, S.K.; Pujari, P.K.

    2014-01-01

    Microstructure evaluation of as-cast and annealed U–Zr (Zr = 2, 6 and 10 wt.%) alloys has been carried out for the first time using positrons as a probe. The chemical signature in the matter–antimatter annihilation gamma and the positron lifetime data suggests that majority of positrons are annihilating from Zr sites in the as-cast alloys. The results have been interpreted as due to the presence of Zr nano-agglomerates in the as-cast alloys which have a higher positron affinity as compared to the rest of the U matrix. A minimum agglomerate size of ∼2 nm diameter has been calculated from the difference in positron affinity between the agglomerates and the matrix. Upon annealing, the Zr signature in the annihilation gamma photons vanishes suggesting that the Zr agglomerates diffuse out of U matrix and form micron-sized precipitates. This has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy which shows a 3 times increase in the surface density of the precipitates in the annealed alloys as compared to the as-cast ones. Shorter positron diffusion length (measured using slow positron beam) as compared to precipitate separation has been invoked to explain the observed data

  7. The Suborbital Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment (SPACE): studying the collision behavior of submillimeter-sized dust aggregates on the suborbital rocket flight REXUS 12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brisset, Julie; Heißelmann, Daniel; Kothe, Stefan; Weidling, René; Blum, Jürgen

    2013-09-01

    The Suborbital Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment (SPACE) is a novel approach to study the collision properties of submillimeter-sized, highly porous dust aggregates. The experiment was designed, built, and carried out to increase our knowledge about the processes dominating the first phase of planet formation. During this phase, the growth of planetary precursors occurs by agglomeration of micrometer-sized dust grains into aggregates of at least millimeters to centimeters in size. However, the formation of larger bodies from the so-formed building blocks is not yet fully understood. Recent numerical models on dust growth lack a particular support by experimental studies in the size range of submillimeters, because these particles are predicted to collide at very gentle relative velocities of below 1 cm/s that can only be achieved in a reduced-gravity environment. The SPACE experiment investigates the collision behavior of an ensemble of silicate-dust aggregates inside several evacuated glass containers which are being agitated by a shaker to induce the desired collisions at chosen velocities. The dust aggregates are being observed by a high-speed camera, allowing for the determination of the collision properties of the protoplanetary dust analog material. The data obtained from the suborbital flight with the REXUS (Rocket Experiments for University Students) 12 rocket will be directly implemented into a state-of-the-art dust growth and collision model.

  8. Experimental studies of the gravitational agglomeration of aerosols. Pt. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ball, M.H.E.; Mitchell, J.P.; Kissane, M.P.

    1990-06-01

    Experiments have been performed to determine the extent of gravitational agglomeration between micron-sized airborne particles suspended initially as two discrete log-normal number-size distributions. These aerosols were generated from commercially-available glass microspheres using a standard dry powder dispersing technique. They were injected directly into a sedimentation vessel and their settling behaviour was studied using a TSI Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS33B) to obtain particle number-size data, and a deposition sampler to obtain the corresponding mass-based data. Additionally, samples were collected on membrane filters to measure total aerosol mass concentrations, and a Faraday-cup aerosol electrometer was used to determine the net average electrostatic charge of the particles. While mass-based techniques were not sufficiently sensitive to detect gravitational agglomeration, the process could be monitored with reasonable success by number-based methods. APS33B measurements were made in the presence and absence of larger particles. No significant increase in the rate of removal of the small particles was observed. These studies therefore indicated that gravitational agglomeration is small or negligible under the specified test conditions. (author)

  9. Effect of Rubber Nanoparticle Agglomeration on Properties of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates during Dynamic Vulcanization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanguang Wu

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available We previously reported that the dispersed rubber microparticles in ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM/polypropylene (PP thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs are actually agglomerates of rubber nanoparticles. In this study, based on this new understanding of the microstructure of TPV, we further revealed the microstructure-properties relationship of EPDM/PP TPV during dynamic vulcanization, especially the effect of the size of rubber nanoparticle agglomerates (dn, the thicknesses of PP ligaments (IDpoly and the rubber network on the properties of EPDM/PP TPV. We were able to simultaneously obtain a high tensile strength, elongation at break, elastic modulus, and elasticity for the EPDM/PP TPV by the achievement of a smaller dn, a thinner IDpoly and a denser rubber network. Interestingly, the effect of dn and IDpoly on the elastic modulus of EPDM/PP TPV composed of rubber nanoparticle agglomerates is different from that of EPDM/PP TPVs composed of rubber microparticles reported previously. The deformation behavior of the TPVs during stretching was studied to understand the mechanism for the achievement of good mechanical properties. Interestingly, the rubber nanoparticle agglomerates are oriented along the tensile direction during stretching. The TPV samples with smaller and more numerous rubber nanoparticle agglomerates can slow down the development of voids and cracks more effectively, thus leading to increase in tensile strength and elongation at break of the EPDM/PP TPV.

  10. Temperature-Switchable Agglomeration of Magnetic Particles Designed for Continuous Separation Processes in Biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulus, Anja S; Heinzler, Raphael; Ooi, Huey Wen; Franzreb, Matthias

    2015-07-08

    The purpose of this work was the synthesis and characterization of thermally switchable magnetic particles for use in biotechnological applications such as protein purification and enzymatic conversions. Reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization was employed to synthesize poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes via a "graft-from" approach on the surface of magnetic microparticles. The resulting particles were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis and their temperature-dependent agglomeration behavior was assessed. The influence of several factors on particle agglomeration (pH, temperature, salt type, and particle concentration) was evaluated. The results showed that a low pH value (pH 3-4), a kosmotropic salt (ammonium sulfate), and a high particle concentration (4 g/L) resulted in improved agglomeration at elevated temperature (40 °C). Recycling of particles and reversibility of the temperature-switchable agglomeration were successfully demonstrated for ten heating-cooling cycles. Additionally, enhanced magnetic separation was observed for the modified particles. Ionic monomers were integrated into the polymer chain to create end-group functionalized particles as well as two- and three-block copolymer particles for protein binding. The adsorption of lactoferrin, bovine serum albumin, and lysozyme to these ion exchange particles was evaluated and showed a binding capacity of up to 135 mg/g. The dual-responsive particles combined magnetic and thermoresponsive properties for switchable agglomeration, easy separability, and efficient protein adsorption.

  11. Measuring Agglomeration Forces in a Financial Center

    OpenAIRE

    Bourgain, Arnaud; Pieretti, Patrice

    2006-01-01

    Basing on Scitovsky's (1954) definition of external economies and applying the method of Caballero and Lyons (1990) to macro data of Luxembourg services industry, we find significant agglomeration forces between financial intermediaries (downstream industry) on the one hand and business services and computer industry (upstream industries) on the other.

  12. Understanding Lateritic Ore Agglomeration Behaviour as a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Processing such ores through cost-competitive heap (4-10 m high) leaching as an alternative, requires successful agglomeration of the feed into robust and porous granules. To date, produc-ing of granules with desirable attributes poses a major geotechnical challenge to industry. In the present work, we investigate ...

  13. A uHPLC-MS mathematical modeling approach to dry powder inhaler single agglomerate analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennington, Justin; Lena, John; Medendorp, Joseph; Ewing, Gary

    2011-10-01

    Demonstration of content uniformity (CU) is critical toward the successful development of dry powder inhalers (DPIs). Methods for unit dose CU determination for DPI products are well-established within the field of respiratory science. Recent advances in the area include a uHPLC-MS method for high-throughput uniformity analysis, which allows for a greater understanding of blending operations as the industry transitions to a quality-by-design approach to development. Further enhancements to this uHPLC-MS method now enable it to determine CU and sample weight at the single agglomerate level, which is roughly 50× smaller than a unit dose. When coupled with optical microscopy-based agglomerate sizing, the enhanced uHPLC-MS method can also predict the density and porosity of individual agglomerates. Expanding analytical capabilities to the single agglomerate level provides greater insights and confidence in the DPI manufacturing process.

  14. Continuous agglomerate model for identifying the solute- indifferent part of colloid nanoparticle's surface charge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfimov, A V; Aryslanova, E M; Chivilikhin, S A

    2016-01-01

    This work proposes an explicit analytical model for the surface potential of a colloidal nano-agglomerate. The model predicts that when an agglomerate reaches a certain critical size, its surface potential becomes independent of the agglomerate radius. The model also provides a method for identifying and quantifying the solute-indifferent charge in nanocolloids, that allows to assess the stability of toxicologically significant parameters of the system. (paper)

  15. Welfare benefits of agglomeration and worker heterogenity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teulings, C.N.; Ossokina, I.V.; de Groot, H.L.F.

    2014-01-01

    The direct impact of local public goods on welfare is relatively easy to measure from land rents. However, the indirect effects on home and job location, on land use, and on agglomeration benefits are hard to pin down. We develop a spatial general equilibrium model for the valuation of these

  16. Effect of hydration repulsion on nanoparticle agglomeration evaluated via a constant number Monte–Carlo simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Haoyang Haven; Lanphere, Jacob; Walker, Sharon; Cohen, Yoram

    2015-01-01

    The effect of hydration repulsion on the agglomeration of nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions was investigated via the description of agglomeration by the Smoluchowski coagulation equation using constant number Monte–Carlo simulation making use of the classical DLVO theory extended to include the hydration repulsion energy. Evaluation of experimental DLS measurements for TiO 2 , CeO 2 , SiO 2 , and α-Fe 2 O 3 (hematite) at high IS (up to 900 mM) or low |ζ-potential| (≥1.35 mV) demonstrated that hydration repulsion energy can be above electrostatic repulsion energy such that the increased overall repulsion energy can significantly lower the agglomerate diameter relative to the classical DLVO prediction. While the classical DLVO theory, which is reasonably applicable for agglomeration of NPs of high |ζ-potential| (∼>35 mV) in suspensions of low IS (∼<1 mM), it can overpredict agglomerate sizes by up to a factor of 5 at high IS or low |ζ-potential|. Given the potential important role of hydration repulsion over a range of relevant conditions, there is merit in quantifying this repulsion energy over a wide range of conditions as part of overall characterization of NP suspensions. Such information would be of relevance to improved understanding of NP agglomeration in aqueous suspensions and its correlation with NP physicochemical and solution properties. (paper)

  17. An SEM/EDX study of bed agglomerates formed during fluidized bed combustion of three biomass fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scala, Fabrizio; Chirone, Riccardo

    2008-01-01

    The agglomeration behaviour of three biomass fuels (exhausted and virgin olive husk and pine seed shells) during fluidized bed combustion in a lab-scale reactor was studied by means of SEM/EDX analysis of bed agglomerate samples. The effect of the fuel ash composition, bed temperature and sand particle size on agglomeration was investigated. The study was focused on the main fuel ash components and on their interaction with the bed sand particles. Agglomeration was favoured by high temperature, small sand size, a high fraction of K and Na and a low fraction of Ca and Mg in the fuel ash. An initial fuel ash composition close to the low-melting point eutectic composition appears to enhance agglomeration. The agglomerates examined by SEM showed a hollow structure, with an internal region enriched in K and Na where extensive melting is evident and an external one where sand particles are only attached by a limited number of fused necks. Non-molten or partially molten ash structures deposited on the sand surface and enriched in Ca and Mg were also observed. These results support an ash deposition-melting mechanism: the ash released by burning char particles inside the agglomerates is quantitatively deposited on the sand surface and then gradually embedded in the melt. The low-melting point compounds in the ash migrate towards the sand surface enriching the outermost layer, while the ash structure is progressively depleted of these compounds

  18. Simulation of atomic layer deposition on nanoparticle agglomerates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jin, W.; van Ommen, J.R.; Kleijn, C.R.

    2016-01-01

    Coated nanoparticles have many potential applications; production of large quantities is feasible by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on nanoparticles in a fluidized bed reactor. However, due to the cohesive interparticle forces, nanoparticles form large agglomerates, which influences the coating

  19. PM{sub 10} composition during an intense Saharan dust transport event over Athens (Greece)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Remoundaki, E., E-mail: remound@metal.ntua.gr [National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Zografou (Greece); Bourliva, A. [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Department of Geology, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Hellenic Open University, School of Science and Technology, 26335 Patras (Greece); Kokkalis, P.; Mamouri, R.E.; Papayannis, A. [National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Laser Remote Sensing Laboratory, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Zografou (Greece); Grigoratos, T.; Samara, C. [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Tsezos, M. [National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Zografou (Greece)

    2011-09-15

    The influence of Saharan dust on the air quality of Southern European big cities became a priority during the last decade. The present study reports results on PM{sub 10} monitored at an urban site at 14 m above ground level during an intense Saharan dust transport event. The elemental composition was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (EDXRF) for 12 elements: Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, Ti, S, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn. PM{sub 10} concentrations exceeded the EU limit (50 {mu}g/m{sup 3}) several times during the sampling period. Simultaneous maxima have been observed for the elements of crustal origin. The concentrations of all the elements presented a common maximum, corresponding to the date where the atmosphere was heavily charged with particulate matter permanently for an interval of about 10 h. Sulfur and heavy metal concentrations were also associated to local emissions. Mineral dust represented the largest fraction of PM{sub 10} reaching 79%. Seven days back trajectories have shown that the air masses arriving over Athens, originated from Western Sahara. Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) revealed that particle agglomerates were abundant, most of them having sizes < 2 {mu}m. Aluminosilicates were predominant in dust particles also rich in calcium which was distributed between calcite, dolomite, gypsum and Ca-Si particles. These results were consistent with the origin of the dust particles and the elemental composition results. Sulfur and heavy metals were associated to very fine particles < 1 {mu}m. - Highlights: {yields} The paper focuses on the contribution of Saharan dust in PM10 levels at an urban site. {yields} High Ca and Fe, calcite, illite and smectites and poor quartz contents are related to source-regions. {yields} The data sets presented are in very good agreement and are also strongly confirmed by literature. {yields} Dust contribution in PM10 can be of comparable importance for

  20. Transport and Deposition of Welding Fume Agglomerates in a Realistic Human Nasal Airway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Lin; Inthavong, Kiao; Lidén, Göran; Shang, Yidan; Tu, Jiyuan

    2016-07-01

    Welding fume is a complex mixture containing ultra-fine particles in the nanometer range. Rather than being in the form of a singular sphere, due to the high particle concentration, welding fume particles agglomerate into long straight chains, branches, or other forms of compact shapes. Understanding the transport and deposition of these nano-agglomerates in human respiratory systems is of great interest as welding fumes are a known health hazard. The neurotoxin manganese (Mn) is a common element in welding fumes. Particulate Mn, either as soluble salts or oxides, that has deposited on the olfactory mucosa in human nasal airway is transported along the olfactory nerve to the olfactory bulb within the brain. If this Mn is further transported to the basal ganglia of the brain, it could accumulate at the part of the brain that is the focal point of its neurotoxicity. Accounting for various dynamic shape factors due to particle agglomeration, the current computational study is focused on the exposure route, the deposition pattern, and the deposition efficiency of the inhaled welding fume particles in a realistic human nasal cavity. Particular attention is given to the deposition pattern and deposition efficiency of inhaled welding fume agglomerates in the nasal olfactory region. For particles in the nanoscale, molecular diffusion is the dominant transport mechanism. Therefore, Brownian diffusion, hydrodynamic drag, Saffman lift force, and gravitational force are included in the model study. The deposition efficiencies for single spherical particles, two kinds of agglomerates of primary particles, two-dimensional planar and straight chains, are investigated for a range of primary particle sizes and a range of number of primary particles per agglomerate. A small fraction of the inhaled welding fume agglomerates is deposited on the olfactory mucosa, approximately in the range 0.1-1%, and depends on particle size and morphology. The strong size dependence of the deposition

  1. Engineering the size and density of silicon agglomerates by controlling the initial surface carbonated contamination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borowik, Ł., E-mail: Lukasz.Borowik@cea.fr [CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Chevalier, N.; Mariolle, D.; Martinez, E.; Bertin, F.; Chabli, A.; Barbé, J.-C. [CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

    2013-04-01

    Actually, thermally induced thin-films dewetting silicon in the silicon-on-insulator is a way to obtain silicon agglomerates with a size and a density fixed by the silicon film thickness. In this paper we report a new method to monitor both the size and the density of the Si agglomerates thanks to the deposition of a carbon-like layer. We show that using a 5-nm thick layer of silicon and additional ≤1-nm carbonated layer; we obtain agglomerates sizes ranging from 35 nm to 60 nm with respectively an agglomerate density ranging from 38 μm{sup −2} to 18 μm{sup −2}. Additionally, for the case of strained silicon films an alternative dewetting mechanism can be induced by monitoring the chemical composition of the sample surface.

  2. Analysis of aerosol agglomeration and removal mechanisms relevant to a reactor containment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiang, H.W.; Mulpuru, S.R.; Lindquist, E.D.

    1995-01-01

    During some Postulated accidents in a nuclear reactor, radioactive aerosols may be formed and could be released from a rupture of the primary heat transport system into the containment. The released aerosols can agglomerate and form larger aerosol particles. The airborne aerosols can be removed from containment atmosphere by deposition onto the walls and other surfaces in contact with the gas-aerosol mixture. The rate of removal of aerosols depends on the aerosol size, which, in turn, is related to the amount of agglomeration of the aerosol particles. The extent of the removal of the aerosol mass from the containment atmosphere is important in determining the potential radioactive releases to the outside atmosphere. In this paper, selected conditions have been assessed to illustrate the significance of agglomeration for situations potentially of interest in containment safety studies

  3. Paleo-dust insights onto dust-climate interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albani, S.; Mahowald, N. M.

    2017-12-01

    Mineral dust emissions are affected by changing climate conditions, and in turn dust impacts the atmospheric radiation budget, clouds and biogeochemical cycles. Climate and public health dust-related issues call for attention on the fate of the dust cycle in the future, and the representation of the dust cycle is now part of the strategy of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project phase 4 and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (PMIP4-CMIP6). Since mineral aerosols are one of the most important natural aerosols, understanding past dust responses to climate in the paleoclimate will allow us to better understand mineral aerosol feedbacks with climate and biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene. Modern observations and paleoclimate records offer the possibility of multiple, complementary views on the global dust cycle, and allow to validate and/or constrain the numerical representation of dust in climate and Earth system models. We present our results from a set of simulations with the Community Earth System Model for different climate states, including present and past climates such as the pre-industrial, the mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum. A set of simulations including a prognostic dust cycle was thoroughly compared with a wide set of present day observations from different platforms and regions, in order to realistically constrain the magnitude of dust load, surface concentration, deposition, optical properties, and particle size distributions. The magnitude of emissions for past climate regimes was constrained based on compilations of paleodust mass accumulation rates and size distributions, as well as based on information on dust provenance. The comparison with a parallel set of simulations without dust allows estimating the impacts of dust on surface climate. We analyze impacts of dust on the mean and variability of surface temperature and precipitation in each climate state, as well as the impacts that changing dust emissions had

  4. Definition of settlement agglomerations in Slovenia according to water management aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leon Gosar

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Enforcement of the European Union’s legal order is bringing substantial expert involvement even in water management. The main act, the Water Framework Directive (WFD, is followed by numerous others. Substantial investments will be demanded even in Slovenia to comply with the Uniform Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPCD. On the operative utilities are dealt with by municipalities, while states have to fulfil national responsibilities to the EU. Timely achievement of goals demands coordinated activities based on expert guidelines. One of UWWTD’s basic parameters is the agglomeration, which is a uniform area of such compact settlement, to which special stipulations and dynamics from the directive can be applied. The criteria for compactness is population density per hectare. A suitable grid of square one-hectare cells was devised for Slovenia, with three types of settlement cells. Areas of particular agglomerations are formed by two adjoining cells whose population is most dense. The area of agglomerations is much smaller than settlement area in the register of territorial units, thus Slovene summary obligations from the directive are much smaller, as was shown in the expert guidelines for the National programme for collecting and treating waste communal and atmospheric water. These agglomerations are the basic element for planning and intervention even in other water resource planning (flood prevention measures etc. and could also be used for programmes of provision of utilities, as well as other physical development plans.

  5. Method for producing ceramic particles and agglomerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Jonathan; Gleiman, Seth S.; Chen, Chun-Ku

    2001-01-01

    A method for generating spherical and irregularly shaped dense particles of ceramic oxides having a controlled particle size and particle size distribution. An aerosol containing precursor particles of oxide ceramics is directed into a plasma. As the particles flow through the hot zone of the plasma, they melt, collide, and join to form larger particles. If these larger particles remain in the hot zone, they continue melting and acquire a spherical shape that is retained after they exit the hot zone, cool down, and solidify. If they exit the hot zone before melting completely, their irregular shape persists and agglomerates are produced. The size and size distribution of the dense product particles can be controlled by adjusting several parameters, the most important in the case of powder precursors appears to be the density of powder in the aerosol stream that enters the plasma hot zone. This suggests that particle collision rate is responsible for determining ultimate size of the resulting sphere or agglomerate. Other parameters, particularly the gas flow rates and the microwave power, are also adjusted to control the particle size distribution.

  6. Respirable dust measured downwind during rock dust application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, M L; Organiscak, J; Klima, S; Perera, I E

    2017-05-01

    The Pittsburgh Mining Research Division of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted underground evaluations in an attempt to quantify respirable rock dust generation when using untreated rock dust and rock dust treated with an anticaking additive. Using personal dust monitors, these evaluations measured respirable rock dust levels arising from a flinger-type application of rock dust on rib and roof surfaces. Rock dust with a majority of the respirable component removed was also applied in NIOSH's Bruceton Experimental Mine using a bantam duster. The respirable dust measurements obtained downwind from both of these tests are presented and discussed. This testing did not measure miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust under acceptable mining practices, but indicates the need for effective continuous administrative controls to be exercised when rock dusting to minimize the measured amount of rock dust in the sampling device.

  7. Bifurcation theory for hexagonal agglomeration in economic geography

    CERN Document Server

    Ikeda, Kiyohiro

    2014-01-01

    This book contributes to an understanding of how bifurcation theory adapts to the analysis of economic geography. It is easily accessible not only to mathematicians and economists, but also to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in nonlinear mathematics. The self-organization of hexagonal agglomeration patterns of industrial regions was first predicted by the central place theory in economic geography based on investigations of southern Germany. The emergence of hexagonal agglomeration in economic geography models was envisaged by Krugman. In this book, after a brief introduction of central place theory and new economic geography, the missing link between them is discovered by elucidating the mechanism of the evolution of bifurcating hexagonal patterns. Pattern formation by such bifurcation is a well-studied topic in nonlinear mathematics, and group-theoretic bifurcation analysis is a well-developed theoretical tool. A finite hexagonal lattice is used to express uniformly distri...

  8. An analytical means of comparing the rates of different agglomeration mechanisms, and its application to a PWR containment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Payne, J.F.B.; Skyrme, G.

    1993-01-01

    In this paper, agglomeration behaviour is described analytically and this quantitative description is used as a means of comparing the rates of different agglomeration mechanisms. The comparison depends on the average particle size but does not require detailed knowledge of the particle size distribution. The method is applied to the agglomeration of an aerosol suspended in the atmosphere of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment building. The rate of turbulent agglomeration in the PWR containment depends upon the degree of turbulence at each point in the fluid, expressed as the turbulent energy dissipation rate, ε. An approximate model of the containment flow is solved to obtain a satisfactory estimate of the functions of ε needed in evaluating turbulent agglomeration rates. (Author)

  9. Field observations of artificial sand and oil agglomerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalyander, Patricia (Soupy); Long, Joseph W.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; McLaughlin, Molly R.; Mickey, Rangley C.

    2015-01-01

    Oil that comes into the surf zone following spills, such as occurred during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout, can mix with local sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs), at times in the form of mats a few centimeters thick and tens of meters long. Smaller agglomerates that form in situ or pieces that break off of larger mats, sometimes referred to as surface residual balls (SRBs), range in size from sand-sized grains to patty-shaped pieces several centimeters (cm) in diameter. These mobile SOAs can cause beach oiling for extended periods following the spill, on the scale of years as in the case of DWH. Limited research, including a prior effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigating SOA mobility, alongshore transport, and seafloor interaction using numerical model output, focused on the physical dynamics of SOAs. To address this data gap, we constructed artificial sand and oil agglomerates (aSOAs) with sand and paraffin wax to mimic the size and density of genuine SOAs. These aSOAs were deployed in the nearshore off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida, during a field experiment to investigate their movement and seafloor interaction. This report presents the methodology for constructing aSOAs and describes the field experiment. Data acquired during the field campaign, including videos and images of aSOA movement in the nearshore (1.5-meter and 0.5-meter water depth) and in the swash zone, are also presented in this report.

  10. Performance differentials of agglomeration and strategic groups: a test of incubation and new venture strategy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Amezcua, A.S.; Ratinho, Tiago; Jayamohan, P.

    2013-01-01

    Our paper investigates how nascent firms ‘performance is affected by strategic group membership and industrial agglomeration. Agglomeration is defined using geographical concentration while strategic groups are measured as incubated firms that belong to the industry most highly represented within an

  11. Process for agglomerating fine coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Austin, L J; Misbach, P

    1976-06-24

    The invention concerns a process for agglomerating black coal in mud or powder form in the presence of a mineral oil product dispersed in water. During this process, the nutty slack is added to a portion - approximately 5 - 15% of its weight in the case of anhydrous coal - of a bitumen emulsion and thoroughly mixed. The emulsion should contain mineral oil bitumen with a penetration value 25/sup 0/ less than 5, or a Conradson value of over 35. In a further finishing process the emulsion contains alkaline naphthenate.

  12. Public Action and Innovationsupport Institutions in New Technological Agglomerations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borras, Susana; Bacaria, Jordi; Fernandez-Ribas, Andrea

    2002-01-01

    In all industrial and technological agglomerations several types of public and semi-public actors coexist. The same happens with the levels of government. Consequently, the daily reality of agglomerations is characterized by a wide diversity of innovation-support institutions more or less actively...... on the major efforts of different public actors in the territory since the 1980s, mainly through the establishment and enhancement of innovation-support institutions, and analyses succinctly their effects through selected successful and failed cases. Two normative statements are suggested from the analysis....... The first is that policy strategies should not try to be hegemonic. Instead, they should be elaborated seeking complementarity and coexistence. A second normative conclusion is the necessity of fostering the learning processes within and across institutions, by mobilizing collectively the assets of the area...

  13. Disentangling the effects of polymer coatings on silver nanoparticle agglomeration, dissolution, and toxicity to determine mechanisms of nanotoxicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zook, Justin M.; Halter, Melissa D.; Cleveland, Danielle; Long, Stephen E.

    2012-01-01

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are frequently coated with a variety of polymers, which may affect various interdependent mechanisms of toxicity or antimicrobial action, including agglomeration and dissolution rates. Here, we systematically measure how citrate, dextran, 5 and 20 kDa poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) coatings affect AgNP agglomeration, dissolution, and toxicity. In addition, to disentangle the coatings’ effects on agglomeration from their other effects, we produce multiple stable agglomerate sizes of several of the coated ∼23 nm AgNPs ranging from singly-dispersed to mean agglomerate sizes of several hundred nanometers. These dispersions allow us to independently study the effects of agglomeration and polymer coating on dissolution rate and hemolytic toxicity. We find that both hemolytic toxicity and dissolution rate are highest for the 5 kDa PEG coating, and toxicity and dissolution rate decrease significantly with increasing agglomerate size independent of coating. This correlation between toxicity and dissolution rate suggests that both polymer coating and agglomeration may affect hemolytic toxicity largely through their effects on dissolution. Because both the AgNP dissolution rate and hemolysis decrease only moderately compared to the large increases in agglomerate size, AgNPs’ hemolytic toxicity may be caused by their large surface area and consequently high dissolution rate, rather than from other size-specific effects. At the silver concentrations used in this work, silver dissolved from AgNPs is expected to be primarily in the form of AgCl NPs, which are therefore more likely than Ag + ions to be the primary drivers of hemolytic toxicity. In addition, all AgNPs we tested are much more toxic to horse red blood cells than sheep red blood cells, highlighting the complexity of toxic responses and the need to test toxicity in multiple biological systems.

  14. Disentangling the effects of polymer coatings on silver nanoparticle agglomeration, dissolution, and toxicity to determine mechanisms of nanotoxicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zook, Justin M.; Halter, Melissa D.; Cleveland, Danielle; Long, Stephen E.

    2012-10-01

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are frequently coated with a variety of polymers, which may affect various interdependent mechanisms of toxicity or antimicrobial action, including agglomeration and dissolution rates. Here, we systematically measure how citrate, dextran, 5 and 20 kDa poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) coatings affect AgNP agglomeration, dissolution, and toxicity. In addition, to disentangle the coatings' effects on agglomeration from their other effects, we produce multiple stable agglomerate sizes of several of the coated 23 nm AgNPs ranging from singly-dispersed to mean agglomerate sizes of several hundred nanometers. These dispersions allow us to independently study the effects of agglomeration and polymer coating on dissolution rate and hemolytic toxicity. We find that both hemolytic toxicity and dissolution rate are highest for the 5 kDa PEG coating, and toxicity and dissolution rate decrease significantly with increasing agglomerate size independent of coating. This correlation between toxicity and dissolution rate suggests that both polymer coating and agglomeration may affect hemolytic toxicity largely through their effects on dissolution. Because both the AgNP dissolution rate and hemolysis decrease only moderately compared to the large increases in agglomerate size, AgNPs' hemolytic toxicity may be caused by their large surface area and consequently high dissolution rate, rather than from other size-specific effects. At the silver concentrations used in this work, silver dissolved from AgNPs is expected to be primarily in the form of AgCl NPs, which are therefore more likely than Ag+ ions to be the primary drivers of hemolytic toxicity. In addition, all AgNPs we tested are much more toxic to horse red blood cells than sheep red blood cells, highlighting the complexity of toxic responses and the need to test toxicity in multiple biological systems.

  15. Disentangling the effects of polymer coatings on silver nanoparticle agglomeration, dissolution, and toxicity to determine mechanisms of nanotoxicity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zook, Justin M., E-mail: jzook@nist.gov; Halter, Melissa D.; Cleveland, Danielle; Long, Stephen E. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Material Measurement Laboratory (United States)

    2012-10-15

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are frequently coated with a variety of polymers, which may affect various interdependent mechanisms of toxicity or antimicrobial action, including agglomeration and dissolution rates. Here, we systematically measure how citrate, dextran, 5 and 20 kDa poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) coatings affect AgNP agglomeration, dissolution, and toxicity. In addition, to disentangle the coatings' effects on agglomeration from their other effects, we produce multiple stable agglomerate sizes of several of the coated {approx}23 nm AgNPs ranging from singly-dispersed to mean agglomerate sizes of several hundred nanometers. These dispersions allow us to independently study the effects of agglomeration and polymer coating on dissolution rate and hemolytic toxicity. We find that both hemolytic toxicity and dissolution rate are highest for the 5 kDa PEG coating, and toxicity and dissolution rate decrease significantly with increasing agglomerate size independent of coating. This correlation between toxicity and dissolution rate suggests that both polymer coating and agglomeration may affect hemolytic toxicity largely through their effects on dissolution. Because both the AgNP dissolution rate and hemolysis decrease only moderately compared to the large increases in agglomerate size, AgNPs' hemolytic toxicity may be caused by their large surface area and consequently high dissolution rate, rather than from other size-specific effects. At the silver concentrations used in this work, silver dissolved from AgNPs is expected to be primarily in the form of AgCl NPs, which are therefore more likely than Ag{sup +} ions to be the primary drivers of hemolytic toxicity. In addition, all AgNPs we tested are much more toxic to horse red blood cells than sheep red blood cells, highlighting the complexity of toxic responses and the need to test toxicity in multiple biological systems.

  16. Effects of physical properties of powder particles on binder liquid requirement and agglomerate growth mechanisms in a high shear mixer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansen, A; Schaefer, T

    2001-09-01

    A study was performed in order to elucidate the effects of the physical properties of small powder particles on binder liquid requirement and agglomerate growth mechanisms. Three grades of calcium carbonate having different particle size distribution, surface area, and particle shape but approximately the same median particle size (4-5 microm), were melt agglomerated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3000 or 20,000 in an 8-l high shear mixer at three impeller speeds. The binder liquid requirement was found to be very dependent on the packing properties of the powder, a denser packing resulting in a lower binder liquid requirement. The densification of the agglomerates in the high shear mixer could be approximately predicted by compressing a powder sample in a compaction simulator. With the PEG having the highest viscosity (PEG 20,000), the agglomerate formation and growth occurred primarily by the immersion mechanism, whereas PEG 3000 gave rise to agglomerate growth by coalescence. Powder particles with a rounded shape and a narrow size distribution resulted in breakage of agglomerates with PEG 3000, whereas no breakage was seen with PEG 20,000. Powder particles having an irregular shape and surface structure could be agglomerated with PEG 20,000, whereas agglomerate growth became uncontrollable with PEG 3000. When PEG 20,000 was added as a powder instead of flakes, the resultant agglomerates became rounder and the size distribution narrower.

  17. Agglomeration and Deposition Behaviour of Solid Recovered Fuel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Morten Nedergaard; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Hjuler, Klaus

    2016-01-01

    formation, or accumulation of impurities. The combustion of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), wood, and SRF were studied in a rotary drum furnace. The combustion was recorded on a camera (60 frames per second), so that any agglomeration or deposition of fuel or ash...

  18. Dissolution, agglomerate morphology, and stability limits of protein-coated silver nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Matthew N; Allen, Andrew J; MacCuspie, Robert I; Hackley, Vincent A

    2014-09-30

    Little is understood regarding the impact that molecular coatings have on nanoparticle dissolution kinetics and agglomerate formation in a dilute nanoparticle dispersion. Dissolution and agglomeration processes compete in removing isolated nanoparticles from the dispersion, making quantitative time-dependent measurements of the mechanisms of nanoparticle loss particularly challenging. In this article, we present in situ ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) results, simultaneously quantifying dissolution, agglomeration, and stability limits of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein. When the BSA corona is disrupted, we find that the loss of silver from the nanoparticle core is well matched by a second-order kinetic rate reaction, arising from the oxidative dissolution of silver. Dissolution and agglomeration are quantified, and morphological transitions throughout the process are qualified. By probing the BSA-AgNP suspension around its stability limits, we provide insight into the destabilization mechanism by which individual particles rapidly dissolve as a whole rather than undergo slow dissolution from the aqueous interface inward, once the BSA layer is breached. Because USAXS rapidly measures over the entire nanometer to micrometer size range during the dissolution process, many insights are also gained into the stabilization of NPs by protein and its ability to protect the labile metal core from the solution environment by prohibiting the diffusion of reactive species. This approach can be extended to a wide variety of coating molecules and reactive metal nanoparticle systems to carefully survey their stability limits, revealing the likely mechanisms of coating breakdown and ensuing reactions.

  19. Agglomeration mechanism in biomass fluidized bed combustion – Reaction between potassium carbonate and silica sand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anicic, Bozidar; Lin, Weigang; Dam-Johansen, Kim

    2018-01-01

    Agglomeration is one of the operational problems in fluidized bed combustion of biomass, which is caused by interaction between bed materials (e.g. silica sand) and the biomass ash with a high content of potassium species. However, the contribution of different potassium species to agglomeration ...

  20. Quantitative characterization of agglomerate abrasion in a tumbling blender by using the Stokes number approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willemsz, Tofan A.; Nguyen, Tien Thanh; Hooijmaijers, Ricardo; Frijlink, Henderik W.; Vromans, Herman; van der Voort Maarschalk, Kees

    2013-01-01

    Removal of microcrystalline cellulose agglomerates in a dry-mixing system (lactose, 100 M) predominantly occurs via abrasion. The agglomerate abrasion rate potential is estimated by the Stokes abrasion (StAbr) number of the system. The StAbrnumber equals the ratio between the kinetic energy density

  1. Compacting and sintering of agglomerated ultradispersed powders ZrO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galakhov, A.V.; Vyazov, I.V.; Shevchenko, V.Ya.

    1989-01-01

    Results of investigation into the change of porous structure of shapings of submicron powders under compacting and its effect on the sintering kinetics are presented. ZrO 2 + 3%Y 2 O 3 (molar share) composition powders, produced by coprecipitation from Zr and Y mineral salts are used. Reduction of specific volume of interagglomerated pores is linked with the destruction of large soft agglomerates at the initial compacting shift. At this stage the filling of a part of interagglomerated pores with large agglomerate crushing products takes place. As a result of such a process a part of pores transfers from the class of interagglomerated to the class of intraagglomerated ones increasing their specific content in a compact

  2. Effect of whey protein agglomeration on spray dried microcapsules containing Saccharomyces boulardii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duongthingoc, Diep; George, Paul; Katopo, Lita; Gorczyca, Elizabeth; Kasapis, Stefan

    2013-12-01

    This work investigates the effect of whey protein agglomeration on the survivability of Saccharomyces boulardii within spray dried microcapsules. It attempts to go beyond phenomenological observations by establishing a relationship between physicochemical characteristics of the polymeric matrix and its effect on probiotic endurance upon spray drying. It is well known that this type of thermal shock has lethal consequences on the yeast cells. To avoid such undesirable outcome, we take advantage of the early agglomeration phenomenon observed for whey protein by adjusting the pH value of preparations close to isoelectric point (pH 4-5). During the subsequent process of spray drying, development of whey protein agglomerates induces formation of an early crust, and the protein in this molten globular state creates a cohesive network encapsulating the yeast cells. It appears that the early crust formation at a given sample pH and temperature regime during spray drying benefits the survivability of S. boulardii within microcapsules. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Combustion of metal agglomerates in a solid rocket core flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maggi, Filippo; Dossi, Stefano; DeLuca, Luigi T.

    2013-12-01

    The need for access to space may require the use of solid propellants. High thrust and density are appealing features for different applications, spanning from boosting phase to other service applications (separation, de-orbiting, orbit insertion). Aluminum is widely used as a fuel in composite solid rocket motors because metal oxidation increases enthalpy release in combustion chamber and grants higher specific impulse. Combustion process of metal particles is complex and involves aggregation, agglomeration and evolution of reacting particulate inside the core flow of the rocket. It is always stated that residence time should be enough in order to grant complete metal oxidation but agglomerate initial size, rocket grain geometry, burning rate, and other factors have to be reconsidered. New space missions may not require large rocket systems and metal combustion efficiency becomes potentially a key issue to understand whether solid propulsion embodies a viable solution or liquid/hybrid systems are better. A simple model for metal combustion is set up in this paper. Metal particles are represented as single drops trailed by the core flow and reacted according to Beckstead's model. The fluid dynamics is inviscid, incompressible, 1D. The paper presents parametric computations on ideal single-size particles as well as on experimental agglomerate populations as a function of operating rocket conditions and geometries.

  4. Characterisation of silica nanoparticles prior to in vitro studies: from primary particles to agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orts-Gil, Guillermo; Natte, Kishore; Drescher, Daniela; Bresch, Harald; Mantion, Alexandre; Kneipp, Janina; Österle, Werner

    2011-01-01

    The size, surface charge and agglomeration state of nanoparticles under physiological conditions are fundamental parameters to be determined prior to their application in toxicological studies. Although silica-based materials are among the most promising candidates for biomedical applications, more systematic studies concerning the characterisation before performing toxicological studies are necessary. This interest is based on the necessity to elucidate the mechanisms affecting its toxicity. We present here TEM, SAXS and SMPS as a combination of methods allowing an accurate determination of single nanoparticle sizes. For the commercial material, Ludox TM50 single particle sizes around 30 nm were found in solution. DLS measurements of single particles are rather affected by polydispersity and particles concentration but this technique is useful to monitor their agglomeration state. Here, the influence of nanoparticle concentration, ionic strength (IS), pH and bath sonication on the agglomeration behaviour of silica particles in solution has been systematically investigated. Moreover, the colloidal stability of silica particles in the presence of BSA has been investigated showing a correlation between silica and protein concentrations and the formation of agglomerates. Finally, the colloidal stability of silica particles in standard cell culture medium has been tested, concluding the necessity of surface modification in order to preserve silica as primary particles in the presence of serum. The results presented here have major implications on toxicity investigations because silica agglomeration will change the probability and uptake mechanisms and thereby may affect toxicity.

  5. The self-preserving size distribution theory. I. Effects of the Knudsen number on aerosol agglomerate growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekkers, Petrus J; Friedlander, Sheldon K

    2002-04-15

    Gas-phase synthesis of fine solid particles leads to fractal-like structures whose transport and light scattering properties differ from those of their spherical counterparts. Self-preserving size distribution theory provides a useful methodology for analyzing the asymptotic behavior of such systems. Apparent inconsistencies in previous treatments of the self-preserving size distributions in the free molecule regime are resolved. Integro-differential equations for fractal-like particles in the continuum and near continuum regimes are derived and used to calculate the self-preserving and quasi-self-preserving size distributions for agglomerates formed by Brownian coagulation. The results for the limiting case (the continuum regime) were compared with the results of other authors. For these cases the finite difference method was in good in agreement with previous calculations in the continuum regime. A new analysis of aerosol agglomeration for the entire Knudsen number range was developed and compared with a monodisperse model; Higher agglomeration rates were found for lower fractal dimensions, as expected from previous studies. Effects of fractal dimension, pressure, volume loading and temperature on agglomerate growth were investigated. The agglomeration rate can be reduced by decreasing volumetric loading or by increasing the pressure. In laminar flow, an increase in pressure can be used to control particle growth and polydispersity. For D(f)=2, an increase in pressure from 1 to 4 bar reduces the collision radius by about 30%. Varying the temperature has a much smaller effect on agglomerate coagulation.

  6. Waste and dust utilisation in shaft furnaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Senk, D.

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Wastes and dusts from steel industry, non-ferrous metallurgy and other branches can be utilized e.g. in agglomeration processes (sintering, pelletizing or briquetting and by injection into shaft furnaces. This paper deals with the second way. Combustion and reduction behaviour of iron- and carbon-rich metallurgical dusts and sludges containing lead, zinc and alkali as well as other wastes with and without pulverized coal (PC has been studied when injecting into shaft furnaces. Following shaft furnaces have been examined: blast furnace, cupola furnace, OxiCup furnace and imperial-smelting furnace. Investigations have been done at laboratory and industrial scale. Some dusts and wastes under certain conditions can be not only reused but can also improve combustion efficiency at the tuyeres as well as furnace performance and productivity.

    Los residuos y polvos de filtro provenientes de la industria siderúrgica, de la obtención de metales no ferrosos y de otras industrias, pueden ser utilizados, por ejemplo, en procesos de aglomeración como sintetizado, peletizado o briqueteado. En su caso, estos pueden ser inyectados en los hornos de cuba. Este artículo se enfoca a la inyección de estos materiales en los hornos de cuba. El comportamiento de la combustión y reducción de los polvos ricos en hierro y carbono y también lodos que contienen plomo, zinc y compuestos alcalinos y otros residuos con o sin carbón pulverizado (CP fue examinado, cuando se inyectaron en hornos de cuba. Los siguientes hornos de cuba fueron examinados: Horno alto, cubilote, OxiCup y horno de cuba Imperial Smelting. Las investigaciones se llevaron a cabo a escala de laboratorio e industrial. Algunos residuos y polvos bajo ciertas condiciones, no sólo pueden ser reciclados, sino también mejoran la eficiencia de combustión en las toberas, la operación y productividad del horno.

  7. Effect of agglomeration of silver nanoparticle on nanotoxicity depression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bae, Eunjoo; Yi, Jongheop [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Byung-Cheun; Choi, Kyunghee [National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Younghun [Kwangwoon University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-02-15

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used commercially in a variety of applications, including textiles, cosmetics, spray cleaning agents, and metal products. AgNP itself, however, is classified as an environmental hazard by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, USA) Nanotechnology White Paper, due to its toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative characteristics when exposed to the environment. We investigated the cumulative mortality and abnormalities in Japanese medaka (Oryziaslatipes) embryos after exposure to AgNPs. Free AgNPs in solution have a high activity with respect to biological interactions regarding blocking blood flow and distribution of AgNPs into the cells from head to tail of hatched O. latipes. Interestingly, the agglomeration of AgNPs (loss of nanosized characteristics) played an important role in the environmental toxicity. The present study demonstrated that when the AgNPs were exposed in the ecosystem and then formed agglomerates, nanotoxicity was reduced.

  8. Effect of agglomeration of silver nanoparticle on nanotoxicity depression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bae, Eunjoo; Yi, Jongheop; Lee, Byung-Cheun; Choi, Kyunghee; Kim, Younghun

    2013-01-01

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used commercially in a variety of applications, including textiles, cosmetics, spray cleaning agents, and metal products. AgNP itself, however, is classified as an environmental hazard by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, USA) Nanotechnology White Paper, due to its toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative characteristics when exposed to the environment. We investigated the cumulative mortality and abnormalities in Japanese medaka (Oryziaslatipes) embryos after exposure to AgNPs. Free AgNPs in solution have a high activity with respect to biological interactions regarding blocking blood flow and distribution of AgNPs into the cells from head to tail of hatched O. latipes. Interestingly, the agglomeration of AgNPs (loss of nanosized characteristics) played an important role in the environmental toxicity. The present study demonstrated that when the AgNPs were exposed in the ecosystem and then formed agglomerates, nanotoxicity was reduced

  9. Experimental study of fluidized bed agglomeration of acerola powder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. C. Dacanal

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to study the main effects of acerola powder on fluidized bed agglomeration. A 2(4-1 fractional factoring design was used to evaluate the main operating conditions (fluidizing air temperature, fluidizing air velocity, atomizing air flow and height of nozzle in the bed. The mechanical and physicochemical product changes were determined by analysis of particle diameter, moisture content, wetting time and bed porosity. The particle enlargement by agglomeration occurred when the relative humidity in the bed increased and, thus, the moisture of the product increased. However, the excessive increase in relative humidity resulted in a decrease in yield, caused by caking and product incrustation. The consolidation of small granules resulted in an increase in the instant properties, decreasing the wetting time and increasing the solubility in a short period of agitation.

  10. Molecular dynamics simulations of the effect of waviness and agglomeration of CNTs on interface strength of thermoset nanocomposites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alian, A R; Meguid, S A

    2017-02-08

    Most existing molecular dynamics simulations in nanoreinforced composites assume carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to be straight and uniformly dispersed within thermoplastics. In reality, however, CNTs are typically curved, agglomerated and aggregated as a result of van der Waal interactions and electrostatic forces. In this paper, we account for both curvature and agglomeration of CNTs in extensive molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. The purpose of these simulations is to evaluate the influence of waviness and agglomeration of these curved and agglomerated CNTs on the interfacial strength of thermoset nanocomposite and upon their load transfer capability. Two aspects of the work were accordingly examined. In the first, realistic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of the same length but varied curvatures were embedded in thermoset polymer composites and simulations of pull-out tests were conducted to evaluate the corresponding interfacial shear strength (ISS). In the second, the effect of the agglomerate size upon the ISS was determined using bundles of CNTs of different diameters. The results of our MD simulations revealed the following. The pull-out force of the curved CNTs is significantly higher than its straight counterpart and increases further with the increase in the waviness of the CNTs. This is attributed to the added pull-out energy dissipated in straightening the CNTs during the pull-out process. It also reveals that agglomeration of CNTs leads to a reduction in the ISS and poor load transferability, and that this reduction is governed by the size of the agglomerate. The simulation results were also used to develop a generalized relation for the ISS that takes into consideration the effect of waviness and agglomeration of CNTs of CNT-polymer composites.

  11. Study of the temperature evolution of defect agglomerates in neutron irradiated molybdenum single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambri, O.A.; Zelada-Lambri, G.I.; Cuello, G.J.; Bozzano, P.B.; Garcia, J.A.

    2009-01-01

    Small angle neutron scattering as a function of temperature, differential thermal analysis, electrical resistivity and transmission electron microscopy studies have been performed in low rate neutron irradiated single crystalline molybdenum, at room temperature, for checking the evolution of the defects agglomerates in the temperature interval between room temperature and 1200 K. The onset of vacancies mobility was found to happen in temperatures within the stage III of recovery. At around 550 K, the agglomerates of vacancies achieve the largest size, as determined from the Guinier approximation for spherical particles. In addition, the decrease of the vacancy concentration together with the dissolution of the agglomerates at temperatures higher than around 920 K was observed, which produce the release of internal stresses in the structure.

  12. Study of the temperature evolution of defect agglomerates in neutron irradiated molybdenum single crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lambri, O.A. [Instituto de Fisica Rosario. Member of the CONICET' s Research Staff, Avda. Pellegrini 250, (2000) Rosario, Santa Fe (Argentina); Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingenieria y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Laboratorio de Materiales, Escuela de Ingenieria Electrica, Avda. Pellegrini 250, (2000) Rosario, Santa Fe (Argentina)], E-mail: olambri@fceia.unr.edu.ar; Zelada-Lambri, G.I. [Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingenieria y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Laboratorio de Materiales, Escuela de Ingenieria Electrica, Avda. Pellegrini 250, (2000) Rosario, Santa Fe (Argentina); Cuello, G.J. [Institut Laue Langevin, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, BP 156, 38042 Grenoble (France); Departamento de Fisica Aplicada II, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologia, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Apdo. 644, 48080 Bilbao, Pais Vasco (Spain); Bozzano, P.B. [Laboratorio de Microscopia Electronica. Unidad de Actividad Materiales, Centro Atomico Constituyentes, Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Avda. Gral. Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin (Argentina); Garcia, J.A. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada II, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologia, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Apdo. 644, 48080 Bilbao, Pais Vasco (Spain)

    2009-04-15

    Small angle neutron scattering as a function of temperature, differential thermal analysis, electrical resistivity and transmission electron microscopy studies have been performed in low rate neutron irradiated single crystalline molybdenum, at room temperature, for checking the evolution of the defects agglomerates in the temperature interval between room temperature and 1200 K. The onset of vacancies mobility was found to happen in temperatures within the stage III of recovery. At around 550 K, the agglomerates of vacancies achieve the largest size, as determined from the Guinier approximation for spherical particles. In addition, the decrease of the vacancy concentration together with the dissolution of the agglomerates at temperatures higher than around 920 K was observed, which produce the release of internal stresses in the structure.

  13. Agglomeration of Celecoxib by Quasi Emulsion Solvent Diffusion Method: Effect of Stabilizer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Maghsoodi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The quasi-emulsion solvent diffusion (QESD has evolved into an effective technique to manufacture agglomerates of API crystals. Although, the proposed technique showed benefits, such as cost effectiveness, that is considerably sensitive to the choice of a stabilizer, which agonizes from a absence of systemic understanding in this field. In the present study, the combination of different solvents and stabilizers were compared to investigate any connections between the solvents and stabilizers. Methods: Agglomerates of celecoxib were prepared by QESD method using four different stabilizers (Tween 80, HPMC, PVP and SLS and three different solvents (methyl acetate, ethyl acetate and isopropyl acetate. The solid state of obtained particles was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR spectroscopy. The agglomerated were also evaluated in term of production yield, distribution of particles and dissolution behavior. Results: The results showed that the effectiveness of stabilizer in terms of particle size and particle size distribution is specific to each solvent candidate. A stabilizer with a lower HLB value is preferred which actually increased its effectiveness with the solvent candidates with higher lipophilicity. HPMC appeared to be the most versatile stabilizer because it showed a better stabilizing effect compared to other stabilizers in all solvents used. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the efficiency of stabilizers in forming the celecoxib agglomerates by QESD was influenced by the HLB of the stabilizer and lipophilicity of the solvents.

  14. Competitive Advantages from Horizontal Relationships in Productive Agglomerations: perceptions of local agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Pinheiro Deboçã

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective – This paper aims to assess to what extent relational view assumptions can explain competitive advantages perceived in the industrial agglomeration contexts of small businesses. Design/methodology/approach – We used qualitative research; two furniture centers, Misassol (SP and Ubá (MG, were examined through comparative data analysis. Data was collected through interviews with executives from 40 companies and 13 supporting organizations. The relational view and its assumptions point to factors that generate competitive advantage resulting from collaborative relationships between companies. Moreover, agglomerations provide intense relationships and are encouraged by governance entities. Findings – No competitive advantages clearly established due to relational gains were identified. The behavior of entrepreneurs in both centers tends strongly towards individualism. What agents identify as competitive advantages corresponds to situational or contextual factors in these centers and do not result from the realization of relational view assumptions, escaping from this paradigm. Relational gains can result only from subgroups that are formed through affinity, with no intervention from governance. Practical implications – Despite an agglomeration tendency within companies belonging to the furniture sector, a strong inclination towards individualism creates barriers to obtaining additional advantages resulting from relational gains, whether due to market regionalization, access of sales representatives, or logistics and tax costs, among other issues. However, actions in small groups are an important governance mechanism for that context. Contributions – Evaluate the assumptions of relational view and its explanatory power for competitive advantages in agglomerations of Brazilian furniture companies.

  15. Agglomerate strength and dispersion of salmeterol xinafoate from powder mixtures for inhalation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adi, Handoko; Larson, Ian; Chiou, Herbert; Young, Paul; Traini, Daniela; Stewart, Peter

    2006-11-01

    The study investigated the role of agglomeration and the effect of fine lactose size on the dispersion of salmeterol xinafoate (SX) from SX-lactose mixtures for inhalation. Particle size distributions were characterised by Malvern Mastersizer S, Aerosizer and Spraytec, and imaging conducted by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Inter-particulate adhesion was quantified by atomic force microscopy. Deposition of SX was measured using a twin stage impinger. SX was analysed using validated high-performance liquid chromatography method (r(2)=1.0, CV=0.4-1.0%). Addition of fine lactose with a volume median diameter (VMD) of 7.9 microm to a SX-lactose carrier and carrier-free mixture resulted in significantly better dispersion (16.8% for 20% added fine lactose) than fractions with VMD of 3.0, 17.7 and 33.3 microm (less than 9.1% for 20% fine lactose). Using the carrier-free mixtures, particle sizing of the aerosol cloud using the Spraytec, coupled with the application of the Aerosizer using differing dispersion energies and SEMs of the samples, indicated that an open packed, agglomerate structure improved SX dispersion. The highest extent of SX dispersion occurred when SX and fine lactose were detached from the surface, usually in the form of loose agglomerates. The outcomes of this research demonstrated how agglomerate structure influenced dispersion and the key role of fine lactose particle size in SX dispersion from mixtures for inhalation.

  16. Bed agglomeration in fluidized combustor fueled by wood and rice straw blends

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thy, Peter; Jenkins, Brian; Williams, R.B.

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Petrographic techniques have been used to examine bed materials from fluidized bed combustion experiments that utilized wood and rice straw fuel blends. The experiments were conducted using a laboratory-scale combustor with mullite sand beds, firing temperatures of 840 to 1030 °C, and run...... areas between bed particles, ultimately led to bed agglomeration. The interfaces and the presence of gas bubbles in the cement suggest a bonding material with a high surface tension and a liquid state. The cement films originate by filling of irregularities on individual and partially agglomerated bed...

  17. Direct numerical simulations of agglomeration of circular colloidal particles in two-dimensional shear flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Joon; Djilali, Ned

    2016-01-01

    Colloidal agglomeration of nanoparticles in shear flow is investigated by solving the fluid-particle and particle-particle interactions in a 2D system. We use an extended finite element method in which the dynamics of the particles is solved in a fully coupled manner with the flow, allowing an accurate description of the fluid-particle interfaces without the need of boundary-fitted meshes or of empirical correlations to account for the hydrodynamic interactions between the particles. Adaptive local mesh refinement using a grid deformation method is incorporated with the fluid-structure interaction algorithm, and the particle-particle interaction at the microscopic level is modeled using the Lennard-Jones potential. Motivated by the process used in fabricating fuel cell catalysts from a colloidal ink, the model is applied to investigate agglomeration of colloidal particles under external shear flow in a sliding bi-periodic Lees-Edwards frame with varying shear rates and particle fraction ratios. Both external shear and particle fraction are found to have a crucial impact on the structure formation of colloidal particles in a suspension. Segregation intensity and graph theory are used to analyze the underlying agglomeration patterns and structures, and three agglomeration regimes are identified

  18. FUNCTIONAL, SECTORAL AND REGIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY OF THE MISKOLC AGGLOMERATION REVISITED

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea KRISTÓF

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Among the segments of economic development and shifts in the Miskolc agglomeration the present study introduces some characteristics of the functional, sectoral and regional differentiation of economic transformation. The functional, sectoral and geographical distribution of business corporations in the 35 settlements of the Miskolc agglomeration in 2016 may help to interpret and assess economic processes adapted to local characteristics in the past quarter-century. During the research, only those operating businesses were considered that had net sales of 20 million HUF or more in 2015. An empirical study of 640 active businesses in 35 settlements reveals the regional inequalities and sectoral concentration of the economy. The intensity of the spatial structure of the economy is uneven within the Miskolc agglomeration and spatial specialization can also be observed in the economic hinterland of Miskolc. The economic development induced significant changes in the spatial structure of three towns (Felsőzsolca, Nyékládháza, and Alsózsolca. Services (e.g. personal, distributive, and services for other businesses as well as commerce, logistics and leisure functions concentrated in these towns strengthened their positions in the spatial structure. In addition, the technological and industrial parks of these towns are playing an increasing role. However, the towns of the agglomeration cannot or can hardly be regarded as economic competitors of Miskolc, i.e. the urban region has not become polycentric, and the inhabitants of these towns are not totally independent of Miskolc. In the case of Sajóbábony (due to its special situation and Szikszó (despite its economic recovery the functional, sectoral and regional transformation is not clear yet. Of the villages, only four (Kistokaj, Mályi, Szirmabesenyő, Hernádnémeti could significantly improve their economic positions, and were able to rival the dynamically transforming three towns of the

  19. THE SUBARCSECOND MID-INFRARED VIEW OF LOCAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI. III. POLAR DUST EMISSION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asmus, D.; Hönig, S. F.; Gandhi, P.

    2016-01-01

    Recent mid-infrared (MIR) interferometric observations have shown that in a few active galactic nuclei (AGNs) the bulk of the infrared emission originates from the polar region above the putative torus, where only a little dust should be present. Here, we investigate whether such strong polar dust emission is common in AGNs. Out of 149 Seyferts in the MIR atlas of local AGNs, 21 show extended MIR emission on single-dish images. In 18 objects, the extended MIR emission aligns with the position angle (PA) of the system axis, established by [O iii], radio, polarization, and maser-based PA measurements. The relative amount of resolved MIR emission is at least 40% and scales with the [O iv] fluxes, implying a strong connection between the extended continuum and [O iv] emitters. These results together with the radio-quiet nature of the Seyferts support the scenario that the bulk of MIR emission is emitted by dust in the polar region and not by the torus, which would demand a new paradigm for the infrared emission structure in AGNs. The current low detection rate of polar dust in the AGNs of the MIR atlas is explained by the lack of sufficient high-quality MIR data and the requirements on the orientation, strength of narrow-line region, and distance of the AGNs. The James Webb Space Telescope will enable much deeper nuclear MIR studies with comparable angular resolution, allowing us to resolve the polar emission and surroundings in most of the nearby AGNs.

  20. Development of import subtituting technologies for increasing productivity of sintering machines and strength of agglomerates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    В. Л. Трушко

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available A problem of industrial fluxed agglomerates self-destruction in the process of cooling after sintering has been examined. It has been revealed that the main reason of strength degradation is polymorphism of dicalcium silicate Ca2SiO4 (or short designation С2S: β-Ca2SiO4 ® γ-Ca2SiO4. Ways for increasing the  agglomerate  strength by physical and crystal-chemical stabilization of the high temperature modification of C2S have been proposed and tested. Physical stabilization of C2S agglomerate is increased with its structure reinforcement due to thickening of walls between large pores that is achieved by increasing height of the sintered layer through improvement of its gas permeability. The task is addressed by substituting the previously used import sintering ore with the  polydisperse ore from the Yakovlevo field, which improves the charge  pelletizing by 3-4 times and helps to bring the  height of the sintered layer and the strength of the domestic agglomerate up to the international best practice standards, while eliminating a need to purchase import high-vacuum   exhausters. In practice crystal-chemical stabilization of C2S within iron-ore  agglomerate is ensured by adding an  opti- mal multicomponent additive in the form of the    waste product  generated in production  of alumina  from bauxites, i.e. the red mud, to the initial sinter charge. Thus mechanical strength of agglomerates and pellets is increased by 5-10 % and their hot strength improves by 20-40 %. The productivity of sintering machines and blast furnaces improves by 5-10 %. Specific coke consumption reduces by 2-2.5 %. In production of iron-ore pellets red mud is substituting the import  bentonite.

  1. A Two-Step Methodology to Study the Influence of Aggregation/Agglomeration of Nanoparticles on Young's Modulus of Polymer Nanocomposites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xinyue; Zare, Yasser; Rhee, Kyong Yop

    2017-12-01

    A two-step technique based on micromechanical models is suggested to determine the influence of aggregated/agglomerated nanoparticles on Young's modulus of polymer nanocomposites. The nanocomposite is assumed to include nanoparticle aggregation/agglomeration and effective matrix phases. This method is examined for different samples, and the effects of important parameters on the modulus are investigated. Moreover, the highest and the lowest levels of predicted modulus are calculated based on the current methodology. The suggested technique can correctly predict Young's modulus for the samples assuming the aggregation/agglomeration of nanoparticles. Additionally, the aggregation/agglomeration of nanoparticles decreases Young's modulus of polymer nanocomposites. It is demonstrated that the high modulus of nanoparticles is not sufficient to obtain a high modulus in nanocomposites, and the surface chemistry of components should be adjusted to prevent aggregation/agglomeration and to disperse nano-sized particles in the polymer matrix.

  2. Prediction of Agglomeration, Fouling, and Corrosion Tendency of Fuels in CFB Co-Combustion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barišć, Vesna; Zabetta, Edgardo Coda; Sarkki, Juha

    Prediction of agglomeration, fouling, and corrosion tendency of fuels is essential to the design of any CFB boiler. During the years, tools have been successfully developed at Foster Wheeler to help with such predictions for the most commercial fuels. However, changes in fuel market and the ever-growing demand for co-combustion capabilities pose a continuous need for development. This paper presents results from recently upgraded models used at Foster Wheeler to predict agglomeration, fouling, and corrosion tendency of a variety of fuels and mixtures. The models, subject of this paper, are semi-empirical computer tools that combine the theoretical basics of agglomeration/fouling/corrosion phenomena with empirical correlations. Correlations are derived from Foster Wheeler's experience in fluidized beds, including nearly 10,000 fuel samples and over 1,000 tests in about 150 CFB units. In these models, fuels are evaluated based on their classification, their chemical and physical properties by standard analyses (proximate, ultimate, fuel ash composition, etc.;.) alongside with Foster Wheeler own characterization methods. Mixtures are then evaluated taking into account the component fuels. This paper presents the predictive capabilities of the agglomeration/fouling/corrosion probability models for selected fuels and mixtures fired in full-scale. The selected fuels include coals and different types of biomass. The models are capable to predict the behavior of most fuels and mixtures, but also offer possibilities for further improvements.

  3. [Carbon footprint of buildings in the urban agglomeration of central Liaoning, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yu; Yun, Ying Xia; Liu, Chong; Chu, Ya Qi

    2017-06-18

    With the development of urbanization in China, buildings consumed lots of material and energy. How to estimate carbon emission of buildings is an important scientific problem. Carbon footprint of the central Liaoning agglomeration was studied with carbon footprint approach, geographic information system (GIS) and high-resolution remote sensing (HRRS) technology. The results showed that the construction carbon footprint coefficient of central Liaoning urban agglomeration was 269.16 kg·m -2 . The approach of interpreting total building area and spatial distribution with HRRS was effective, and the accuracy was 89%. The extraction approach was critical for total carbon footprint and spatial distribution estimation. The building area and total carbon footprint of central Liaoning urban agglomeration in descending order was Shenyang, Anshan, Fushun, Liao-yang, Yingkou, Tieling and Benxi. The annual average increment of footprint from 2011 to 2013 in descending order was Shenyang, Benxi, Fushun, Anshan, Tieling, Yingkou and Liaoyang. The accurate estimation of construction carbon footprint spatial and its distribution was of significance for the planning and optimization of carbon emission reduction.

  4. The measurement of mixture homogeneity and dissolution to predict the degree of drug agglomerate breakdown achieved through powder mixing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Villiers, M M; Van der Watt, J G

    1994-11-01

    Interactive mixing of agglomerates of small, cohesive particles with coarse carrier particles facilitate the deaggregation of agglomerates. In this study dispersion of agglomerates of microfine furosemide particles by such a mixing process was followed by measuring changes in the content uniformity and area under the dissolution curve. Interactive mixtures between agglomerates of different sized furosemide particles and coarse sodium chloride particles were prepared using different mixers, mixing times and mixer speeds. The dissolution rate of the drug from and content uniformity of the mixtures were measured, and degrees of dispersion were calculated. These degrees of dispersion were compared to the dispersion values obtained from the decrease in agglomerate size after mixing. An increase in mixing time led to an increase in dispersion. An initial fast deagglomeration, indicated by an increase in dissolution, increase in content uniformity and a decrease in particle size, was followed by substantially slower deaggregation of remaining agglomerates and smaller aggregates. For all mixtures studied the degree of dispersion estimated from dissolution measurements, when compared to equivalent content uniformity measurements, agreed closely with the degree of dispersion as indicated by the decrease in particle size. The use of the area under the dissolution curve to predict agglomerate breakdown proved useful and may find application in situations where it is impossible to follow directly deagglomeration through particle size measurements.

  5. Theories of estimation of differentiation for regulation of social-economic development of the city agglomeration

    OpenAIRE

    Anikina, Yu; Litovchenko, V.

    2009-01-01

    Theories of estimation of differentiation of social-economic development of territorial units in city agglomeration are discussed in the article. Approbation of the given methods helped find out successfulness of the regulation of municipal development of administrative-territorial units in Krasnoyarsk agglomeration, set the goals of regional policy on peculiarities of development of the phenomenon of differentiation.

  6. DustEM: Dust extinction and emission modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Compiègne, M.; Verstraete, L.; Jones, A.; Bernard, J.-P.; Boulanger, F.; Flagey, N.; Le Bourlot, J.; Paradis, D.; Ysard, N.

    2013-07-01

    DustEM computes the extinction and the emission of interstellar dust grains heated by photons. It is written in Fortran 95 and is jointly developed by IAS and CESR. The dust emission is calculated in the optically thin limit (no radiative transfer) and the default spectral range is 40 to 108 nm. The code is designed so dust properties can easily be changed and mixed and to allow for the inclusion of new grain physics.

  7. A Comprehensive Quantitative Evaluation of New Sustainable Urbanization Level in 20 Chinese Urban Agglomerations

    OpenAIRE

    Cong Xu; Shixin Wang; Yi Zhou; Litao Wang; Wenliang Liu

    2016-01-01

    On 16 March 2014, the State Council of China launched its first urbanization planning initiative dubbed “National New Urbanization Planning (2014–2020)” (NNUP). NNUP put forward 20 urban agglomerations and a sustainable development approach aiming to transform traditional Chinese urbanization to sustainable new urbanization. This study quantitatively evaluates the level of sustainability of the present new urbanization process in 20 Chinese urban agglomerations and provides some positive sugg...

  8. Characterisation of the de-agglomeration effects of bovine serum albumin on nanoparticles in aqueous suspension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tantra, Ratna; Tompkins, Jordan; Quincey, Paul

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the use of nanoparticle characterisation tools to evaluate the interaction between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and dispersed nanoparticles in aqueous media. Dynamic light scattering, zeta-potential measurements and scanning electron microscopy were used to probe the state of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) nanoparticles in the presence of various concentrations of BSA, throughout a three-day period. BSA was shown to adhere to ZnO but not to TiO(2). The adsorption of BSA led to subsequent de-agglomeration of the sub-micron ZnO clusters into smaller fragments, even breaking them up into individual isolated nanoparticles. We propose that certain factors, such as adsorption kinetics of BSA on to the surface of ZnO, as well as the initial agglomerated state of the ZnO, prior to BSA addition, are responsible for promoting the de-agglomeration process. Hence, in the case of TiO(2) we see no de-agglomeration because: (a) the nanoparticles are more highly agglomerated to begin with and (b) BSA does not adsorb effectively on the surface of the nanoparticles. The zeta-potential results show that, for either ZnO or TiO(2), the presence of BSA resulted in enhanced stability. In the case of ZnO, the enhanced stability is limited to BSA concentrations below 0.5 wt.%. Steric and electrostatic repulsion are thought to be responsible for improved stability of the dispersion.

  9. Influences of Different Components on Agglomeration Behavior of MoS2 During Oxidation Roasting Process in Air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lu; Zhang, Guo-Hua; Wang, Jing-Song; Chou, Kuo-Chih

    2016-08-01

    An agglomeration of the furnace charge always takes place during the oxidation roasting process of molybdenite concentrate (with the main component of MoS2) in multiple hearth furnaces, which greatly affects the production process and furnace service life. In the present work, a preliminary study about the influence of various components on the agglomeration phenomenon of pure MoS2 have been carried out. The results show that reaction temperature, impurity content, and air flow rate have significant effects on the agglomeration extent. Meanwhile, the impurity type added into the pure MoS2 plays a crucial role. It was found that CaO and MgO have a stronger sulfur-fixing effect and that the desulphurization of the roasted product was uncompleted. It was also concluded that the agglomeration is due to the formation of low-melting-point eutectics, including that between MoO3 and impurities and that between MoO3 and Mo4O11. It is suggested that decreasing the impurities contents, especially K, Cu, Pb, and Fe, is an effective method for reducing the extent of agglomeration.

  10. A Comprehensive Quantitative Evaluation of New Sustainable Urbanization Level in 20 Chinese Urban Agglomerations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cong Xu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available On 16 March 2014, the State Council of China launched its first urbanization planning initiative dubbed “National New Urbanization Planning (2014–2020” (NNUP. NNUP put forward 20 urban agglomerations and a sustainable development approach aiming to transform traditional Chinese urbanization to sustainable new urbanization. This study quantitatively evaluates the level of sustainability of the present new urbanization process in 20 Chinese urban agglomerations and provides some positive suggestions for the achievement of sustainable new urbanization. A three-level index system which is based on six fundamental elements in a city and a Full Permutation Polygon Synthetic Indicator evaluation method are adopted. The results show that China is undergoing a new urbanization process with a low level of sustainability and there are many problems remaining from traditional urbanization processes. There exists a polarized phenomenon in the urbanization of 20 urban agglomerations. Based on their own development patterns, the 20 urban agglomerations can be divided into seven categories. Every category has its own development characteristics. The analyses also show that waste of water resources, abuse of land resources, and air pollution are three big problems that are closely linked to traditional Chinese urbanization processes. To achieve sustainable new urbanization in China, four relevant suggestions and comments have been provided.

  11. Reasons and remedies for the agglomeration of multilayered graphene and carbon nanotubes in polymers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rasheed Atif

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available One of the main issues in the production of polymer nanocomposites is the dispersion state of filler as multilayered graphene (MLG and carbon nanotubes (CNTs tend to agglomerate due to van der Waals forces. The agglomeration can be avoided by using organic solvents, selecting suitable dispersion and production methods, and functionalizing the fillers. Another proposed method is the use of hybrid fillers as synergistic effects can cause an improvement in the dispersion state of the fillers. In this review article, various aspects of each process that can help avoid filler agglomeration and improve dispersion state are discussed in detail. This review article would be helpful for both current and prospective researchers in the field of MLG- and CNT-based polymer nanocomposites to achieve maximum enhancement in mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of produced polymer nanocomposites.

  12. Assessing Agglomeration Impacts in Auckland: Phase 2

    OpenAIRE

    Williamson, John; Paling, Richard; Staheli, Ramon; Waite, David

    2008-01-01

    Agglomeration effects, or the productivity benefits that stem from high employment densities, are being achieved in Auckland's central business district (CBD). This provides support for Auckland's economic transformation. However, questions remain as to the nature of these effects, and whether other factors may help to explain the CBD's observed productivity premium. Using 2001 census area unit data, this paper examines to what extent the CBD's productivity advantages can be explained by sect...

  13. Study of the mobility, surface area, and sintering behavior of agglomerates in the transition regime by tandem differential mobility analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Kuk; Hogan, Christopher J.; Biswas, Pratim

    2007-01-01

    The surface area of nanosized agglomerates is of great importance as the reactivity and health effects of such particles are highly dependent on surface area. Changes in surface area through sintering during nanoparticle synthesis processes are also of interest for precision control of synthesised particles. Unfortunately, information on particle surface area and surface area dynamics is not readily obtainable through traditional particle mobility sizing techniques. In this study, we have experimentally determined the mobility diameter of transition regime agglomerates with 3, 4, and 5 primary particles. Agglomerates were produced by spray drying well-characterised polystyrene latex particles with diameters of 55, 67, 76, and 99 nm. Tandem differential mobility analysis was used to determine agglomerate mobility diameter by selecting monodisperse agglomerates with the same number of primary particles in the first DMA, and subsequently completely sintering the agglomerates in a furnace aerosol reactor. The size distribution of the completely sintered particles was measured by an SMPS system, which allowed for the determination of the number of primary particles in the agglomerates. A simple power law regression was used to express mobility diameter as a function of primary particle size and the number of primary particles, and had an excellent correlation (R 2 = 0.9971) with the experimental data. A scaling exponent was determined from the experimental data to relate measured mobility diameter to surface area for agglomerates. Using this relationship, the sintering characteristics of agglomerates were also examined for varying furnace temperatures and residence times. The sintering data agreed well with the geometric sintering model (GSM) model proposed by Cho and Biswas (2006a) as well as with the model proposed Koch and Friedlander (1990) for sintering by viscous flow

  14. Application of synchrotron radiation X-ray computed tomography to investigate the agglomerating behavior of TiB2 particles in aluminum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Fei; Mao, Feng; Chen, Zongning; Han, Jingyu; Yan, Guangyuan; Wang, Tongmin; Cao, Zhiqiang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • SR-CT was a powerful tool to investigate the TiB 2 distribution in Al-TiB 2 in situ composites. • Three kinds of agglomerations frequently present in the composites. • Agglomerations formed via the diffused atoms reacting with intermediate products. • The composites containing agglomerations show a much reduced ductility. - Abstract: Agglomeration of reinforcing particles has a number of deleterious effects on the properties of in situ metal matrix composites (MMCs). In order to better understand this phenomenon, the agglomerating behavior of TiB 2 particles in aluminum based in situ MMCs was investigated using synchrotron radiation X-ray computed tomography (SR-CT) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). SR-CT was shown to be a powerful tool for visualizing and quantifying the three-dimensional (3D) features within the composites. Based on the SR-CT and FESEM results, a formation mechanism of the flaky agglomerates, flocculent agglomerates and clusters of coarse TiB 2 particles, which are most frequently presented in the in situ Al/TiB 2 composite, has been proposed. The mechanism shows that the formation of these three kinds of agglomerates can be attributed to three parallel processes, i.e. diffusing titanium atoms reacting with AlB 2 , aluminum melt directly reacting with emulsified salt, diffusing boron atoms reacting with TiAl 3 , respectively. Moreover, the mechanism may shed some light on how to design better processing techniques for obtaining homogenous particle distribution in in situ Al/TiB 2 composites in the future

  15. Colloidal agglomerates in tank sludge: Impact on waste processing. 1997 annual progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Virden, J.W.

    1997-06-01

    'Disposal of millions of gallons of existing radioactive wastes is a major remediation problem for the Department of Energy (DOE). Although radionuclides are the most hazardous waste con- stituents. the components of greatest concern from a waste processing standpoint are insoluble sludges consisting of submicron colloidal particles. Depending on processing conditions, these colloidal particles can form agglomerate networks that could clog transfer lines or interfere with solid-liquid separations such as settle-decant operations. Under different conditions, the particles can be dispersed to form very fine suspended particles that will not create sediment in settle- decant steps and that can foul and contaminate downstream treatment components including ion exchangers or filtrations systems. Given the wide range of tank chemistries present at Hanford and other DOE sites, it is impractical to measure the properties of all potential processing conditions to design effective treatment procedures. Instead. a framework needs to be established to allow sludge property trends to be predicted on a sound scientific basis. The scientific principles of greatest utility in characterizing, understanding, and controlling the physical properties of sludge fall in the realm of colloid chemistry. The objectives of this work are to accomplish the following: understand the factors controlling the nature and extent of colloidal agglomeration under expected waste processing conditions determine how agglomeration phenomena influence physical properties relevant to waste processing including rheology, sedimentation. and filtration develop strategies for optimizing processing conditions via control of agglomeration phenomena.'

  16. Colloidal agglomerates in tank sludge: Impact on waste processing. 1997 annual progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virden, J.W.

    1997-01-01

    'Disposal of millions of gallons of existing radioactive wastes is a major remediation problem for the Department of Energy (DOE). Although radionuclides are the most hazardous waste constituents. the components of greatest concern from a waste processing standpoint are insoluble sludges consisting of submicron colloidal particles. Depending on processing conditions, these colloidal particles can form agglomerate networks that could clog transfer lines or interfere with solid-liquid separations such as settle-decant operations. Under different conditions, the particles can be dispersed to form very fine suspended particles that will not create sediment in settle- decant steps and that can foul and contaminate downstream treatment components including ion exchangers or filtrations systems. Given the wide range of tank chemistries present at Hanford and other DOE sites, it is impractical to measure the properties of all potential processing conditions to design effective treatment procedures. Instead. a framework needs to be established to allow sludge property trends to be predicted on a sound scientific basis. The scientific principles of greatest utility in characterizing, understanding, and controlling the physical properties of sludge fall in the realm of colloid chemistry. The objectives of this work are to accomplish the following: understand the factors controlling the nature and extent of colloidal agglomeration under expected waste processing conditions determine how agglomeration phenomena influence physical properties relevant to waste processing including rheology, sedimentation. and filtration develop strategies for optimizing processing conditions via control of agglomeration phenomena.'

  17. Humid storage conditions increase the dissolution rate of diazepam from solid dispersions prepared by melt agglomeration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Anna Cecilia; Torstenson, Anette Seo

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cooling mode and storage conditions on the dissolution rate of a solid dispersion prepared by melt agglomeration. The aim has been to relate this effect to the solid state properties of the agglomerates. The cooling mode had an effect on t...

  18. A proposed agglomerate model for oxygen reduction in the catalyst layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xiaoxian; Gao, Yuan; Ostadi, Hossein; Jiang, Kyle; Chen, Rui

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We developed a new agglomerate model to describe oxygen reduction reaction. • We showed how to calculate the model parameters from catalyst layer structure. • We verified the agglomerate model. - Abstract: Oxygen diffusion and reduction in the catalyst layer of PEM fuel cell is an important process in fuel cell modelling, but models able to link the reduction rate to catalyst-layer structure are lack; this paper makes such an effort. We first link the average reduction rate over the agglomerate within a catalyst layer to a probability that an oxygen molecule, which is initially on the agglomerate surface, will enter and remain in the agglomerate at any time in the absence of any electrochemical reaction. We then propose a method to directly calculate distribution function of this probability and apply it to two catalyst layers with contrasting structures. A formula is proposed to describe these calculated distribution functions, from which the agglomerate model is derived. The model has two parameters and both can be independently calculated from catalyst layer structures. We verify the model by first showing that it is an improvement and able to reproduce what the spherical model describes, and then testing it against the average oxygen reductions directly calculated from pore-scale simulations of oxygen diffusion and reaction in the two catalyst layers. The proposed model is simple, but significant as it links the average oxygen reduction to catalyst layer structures, and its two parameters can be directly calculated rather than by calibration

  19. Dust acoustic shock wave at high dust density

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, Samiran; Sarkar, Susmita; Khan, Manoranjan; Avinash, K.; Gupta, M. R.

    2003-01-01

    Dust acoustic (DA) shock wave at high dust density, i.e., the dust electroacoustic (DEA) or dust Coulomb (DC) shock wave has been investigated incorporating the nonadiabatic dust charge variation. The nonlinear DEA (DC) shock wave is seen to be governed by the Korteweg-de Vries Burger equation, in which the Burger term is proportional to the nonadiabaticity generated dissipation. It is seen that the shock strength decreases but after reaching minimum, it increases as the dust space charge density |q d n d | increases and the shock strength of DA wave is greater than that of DEA (DC) wave. Moreover the DEA (DC) shock width increases appreciably with increase mass m i of the ion component of the dusty plasma but for DA shock wave the effect is weak

  20. Tests of Bed Agglomeration Tendency Using a Rotating Furnace; Roterugn foer bedoemning av sintringsbenaegenhet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larfeldt, Jenny; Zintl, Frank [TPS Termiska Processer AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

    2003-08-01

    Bed sintering is a well known problem in fluidised bed boilers. In order to avoid bed sintering the bed material turn over ratio is high which leads a high consumption of bed material. This work aims at developing and evaluating a method for testing the bed agglomeration tendency of a FB bed material by using a rotating furnace. A rotating furnace has been designed and tests have shown that three temperatures describing the increasing agglomeration tendency can be evaluated; TA when several particles stick to each other and to the crucible wall, TB when half of the material sticks to the wall and TC when almost all the material forms a ball in the crucible. Comparison with bed agglomeration tests has shown that TA is between 80 deg C to 130 deg C lower than the bed agglomeration temperature from fluid bed tests. It is shown that TB is closer to the bed agglomeration temperature and finally that the temperature TC is higher than the bed agglomeration temperature. It is concluded that in the rotating furnace sticking of particles is visualised early, and that this sticking will not cause defluidisation of the bed until more than half of the material in the crucible is sticky. Repeated tests has been performed at a heating rate of 5 deg/minute and a rotating speed of 12 rpm and a furnace inclination of 20 deg was found to give distinct results in the evaluation. The evaluation has shown to be reproducible at lower temperatures. At higher temperatures, around 1,000 deg C, the evaluation was complicated by a poor picture quality which probably can be improved by proper cooling of the camera. It has also been shown that sticking of material in the rotating furnace could be detected at relatively low temperatures of 750 deg C that disappeared at higher temperatures. This is likely to be explained by melting salts that evaporates as temperature increase. At even higher temperatures the sticking reappeared until a ball was formed in the crucible. The latter sticking is

  1. Comparing effectiveness of rhamnolipid biosurfactant with a quaternary ammonium salt surfactant for hydrate anti-agglomeration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    York, J Dalton; Firoozabadi, Abbas

    2008-01-24

    Natural gas is projected to be the premium fuel of the 21st century because of availability, as well as economical and environmental considerations. Natural gas is coproduced with water from the subsurface forming gas hydrates. Hydrate formation may result in shutdown of onshore and offshore operations. Industry practice has been usage of alcohols--which have undesirable environmental impacts--to affect bulk-phase properties and inhibit hydrate formation. An alternative to alcohols is changing the surface properties through usage of polymers and surfactants, effective at 0.5-3 wt % of coproduced water. One group of low-dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHI) are kinetic inhibitors, which affect nucleation rate and growth. A second group of LDHI are anti-agglomerants, which prevent agglomeration of small hydrate crystallites. Despite great potential, reported work on hydrate anti-agglomeration is very limited. In this paper, our focus is on the use of two vastly different surfactants as anti-agglomerants. We use a model oil, water, and tetrahydrofuran as a hydrate-forming species. We examine the effectiveness of a quaternary ammonium salt (i.e., quat). Visual observation measurements show that a small concentration of the quat (0.01%) can prevent agglomeration. However, a quat is not a green chemical and therefore may be undesirable. We show that a rhamnolipid biosurfactant can be effective to a concentration of 0.05 wt %. One difference between the two surfactants is the stability of the water-in-oil emulsions created. The biosurfactant forms a less stable emulsion, which makes it very desirable for hydrate application.

  2. Investigation of coalescence kinetics of microcristalline cellulose in fluidised bed spray agglomeration: experimental studies and modelling approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Peglow

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper a model for fluidized bed spray agglomeration is presented. To describe the processes of heat and mass transfer, a physical based model is derived. The model takes evaporation process from the wetted particles as well as the effects of transfer phenomena between suspension gas and bypass gas into account. The change of particle size distribution during agglomeration, modeled by population balances, is linked to the heat and mass transfer model. A new technique is derived to extract agglomeration and nucleation rates from experimental data. Comparisons of experiments and simulations are presented.

  3. Agglomeration in the European automobile supplier industry

    OpenAIRE

    Klier, Thomas; McMillen, Dan

    2013-01-01

    Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts production plants tend to exhibit a strong degree of agglomeration. This paper estimates a spatial model utilizing detailed plant-level data that is pooled across seven countries in Europe. The paper makes several contributions. First, we assemble a set of nearly 1,800 European plant locations of the largest motor vehicle parts suppliers, as well as the location of all light vehicle assembly plants operational in 2010. Second, we obtain detailed spatial d...

  4. Agglomeration Economies and the High-Tech Computer

    OpenAIRE

    Wallace, Nancy E.; Walls, Donald

    2004-01-01

    This paper considers the effects of agglomeration on the production decisions of firms in the high-tech computer cluster. We build upon an alternative definition of the high-tech computer cluster developed by Bardhan et al. (2003) and we exploit a new data source, the National Establishment Time-Series (NETS) Database, to analyze the spatial distribution of firms in this industry. An essential contribution of this research is the recognition that high-tech firms are heterogeneous collections ...

  5. Agglomeration Premium and Trading Activity of Firms

    OpenAIRE

    Gabor Bekes; Peter Harasztosi

    2010-01-01

    Firms may benefit from proximity to each other due to the existence of several externalities. The productivity premia of firms located in agglomerated regions an be attributed to savings and gains from external economies. However, the capacity to absorb information may depend on activities of the firm, such as involvement in international trade. Importers, exporters and two-way traders are likely to employ a different bundle of resources and be organised differently so that they would appreci...

  6. Development of a fluidized bed agglomeration modeling methodology to include particle-level heterogeneities in ash chemistry and granular physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khadilkar, Aditi B.

    The utility of fluidized bed reactors for combustion and gasification can be enhanced if operational issues such as agglomeration are mitigated. The monetary and efficiency losses could be avoided through a mechanistic understanding of the agglomeration process and prediction of operational conditions that promote agglomeration. Pilot-scale experimentation prior to operation for each specific condition can be cumbersome and expensive. So the development of a mathematical model would aid predictions. With this motivation, the study comprised of the following model development stages- 1) development of an agglomeration modeling methodology based on binary particle collisions, 2) study of heterogeneities in ash chemical composition and gaseous atmosphere, 3) computation of a distribution of particle collision frequencies based on granular physics for a poly-disperse particle size distribution, 4) combining the ash chemistry and granular physics inputs to obtain agglomerate growth probabilities and 5) validation of the modeling methodology. The modeling methodology comprised of testing every binary particle collision in the system for sticking, based on the extent of dissipation of the particles' kinetic energy through viscous dissipation by slag-liquid (molten ash) covering the particles. In the modeling methodology developed in this study, thermodynamic equilibrium calculations are used to estimate the amount of slag-liquid in the system, and the changes in particle collision frequencies are accounted for by continuously tracking the number density of the various particle sizes. In this study, the heterogeneities in chemical composition of fuel ash were studied by separating the bulk fuel into particle classes that are rich in specific minerals. FactSage simulations were performed on two bituminous coals and an anthracite to understand the effect of particle-level heterogeneities on agglomeration. The mineral matter behavior of these constituent classes was studied

  7. Agglomeration, Innovation and Regional Development: Theoretical Perspectives and Meta-Analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groot, de Henri L.F.; Poot, Jacques; Smit, Martijn J.

    2007-01-01

    Innovation and technological change are central to the quest for regional development. In the globally-connected knowledge-driven economy, the relevance of agglomeration forces that rely on proximity continues to increase, paradoxically despite declining real costs of information, communication and

  8. The agglomeration, coalescence and sliding of nanoparticles, leading to the rapid sintering of zirconia nanoceramics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocjan, Andraž; Logar, Manca; Shen, Zhijian

    2017-05-31

    Conventional sintering is a time- and energy-consuming process used for the densification of consolidated particles facilitated by atomic diffusion at high temperatures. Nanoparticles, with their increased surface free energy, can promote sintering; however, size reduction also promotes agglomeration, so hampering particle packing and complete densification. Here we show how the ordered agglomeration of zirconia primary crystallites into secondary particle assemblies ensures their homogeneous packing, while also preserving the high surface energy to higher temperatures, increasing the sintering activity. When exposed to intense electromagnetic radiation, providing rapid heating, the assembled crystallites are subjected to further agglomeration, coalescence and sliding, leading to rapid densification in the absence of extensive diffusional processes, cancelling out the grain growth during the initial sintering stages and providing a zirconia nanoceramic in only 2 minutes at 1300 °C.

  9. Cometary Dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal; Agarwal, Jessica; Cottin, Hervé; Engrand, Cécile; Flynn, George; Fulle, Marco; Gombosi, Tamas; Langevin, Yves; Lasue, Jérémie; Mannel, Thurid; Merouane, Sihane; Poch, Olivier; Thomas, Nicolas; Westphal, Andrew

    2018-04-01

    This review presents our understanding of cometary dust at the end of 2017. For decades, insight about the dust ejected by nuclei of comets had stemmed from remote observations from Earth or Earth's orbit, and from flybys, including the samples of dust returned to Earth for laboratory studies by the Stardust return capsule. The long-duration Rosetta mission has recently provided a huge and unique amount of data, obtained using numerous instruments, including innovative dust instruments, over a wide range of distances from the Sun and from the nucleus. The diverse approaches available to study dust in comets, together with the related theoretical and experimental studies, provide evidence of the composition and physical properties of dust particles, e.g., the presence of a large fraction of carbon in macromolecules, and of aggregates on a wide range of scales. The results have opened vivid discussions on the variety of dust-release processes and on the diversity of dust properties in comets, as well as on the formation of cometary dust, and on its presence in the near-Earth interplanetary medium. These discussions stress the significance of future explorations as a way to decipher the formation and evolution of our Solar System.

  10. Morphological and Physicochemical Characterization of Agglomerates of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Cell Culture Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verónica Freyre-Fonseca

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NP are possible carcinogenic materials (2B-IARC and their toxicity depends on shape, size, and electrical charge of primary NP and on the system formed by NP media. The aim of this work was to characterize agglomerates of three TiO2 NP by evaluating their morphometry, stability, and zeta potential (ζ in liquid media and their changes with time. Sizes of agglomerates by dynamic light scattering (DLS resulted to be 10–50 times larger than those obtained by digital image analysis (DIA given the charged zone around particles. Fractal dimension (FD was highest for agglomerates of spheres and belts in F12K, and in E171 in FBS media. E171 and belts increased FD with time. At time zero, using water as dispersant FD was larger for agglomerates of spheres than for of E171. Belts suspended in water had the smallest values of circularity (Ci which was approximately unchanged with time. All dispersions had ζ values around −30 mV at physiological pH (7.4 and dispersions of NP in water and FBS showed maximum stability (Turbiscan Lab analysis. Results help in understanding the complex NP geometry-size-stability relationships when performing in vivo and in vitro environmental-toxicity works and help in supporting decisions on the usage of TiO2 NP.

  11. Effect of a Dispersant Agent in Fine Coal Recovery from Washery Tailings by Oil Agglomeration (Preliminary Study)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasar, Özüm; Uslu, Tuncay

    2017-12-01

    Among the fine coal cleaning methods, the oil agglomeration process has important advantages such as high process recovery, more clean product, simple dewatering stage. Several coal agglomeration studies have been undertaken recently and effects of different variables on the process performance have been investigated. However, unlike flotation studies, most of the previous agglomeration studies have not used dispersing agents to minimize slime coating effects of clays. In this study, agglomeration process was applied for recovery of fine coals from coal washery tailings containing remarkable amount of fine coal. Negative effect of fine clays during recovery was tried to be eliminated by using dispersing agent instead of de-sliming. Although ash reductions over 90 % were achieved, performance remained below expectations in terms of combustible matter recovery. However, this study is a preliminary one. It is considered that more satisfied results will be obtained in the next studies by changing the variables such as solid ratio, oil dosage, dispersant type and dosage.

  12. Biomass equipments. Dryers. Drying, crushing, agglomeration of agro-industrial products; Materiels pour la biomasse. Les secheurs, sechage, broyage, agglomeration de produits agro-industriels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deur, O. [Promill (France)

    1997-12-31

    This paper describes the French Promill Company activity in the design and manufacturing of complete drying-crushing-agglomerating units for agro-industrial products (pulp of beet, lucerne, etc..). The paper focusses on the thermal and mechanical efficiency of the high temperature dryer and on the pulp granulating squeezer. (J.S.)

  13. Impact of Employment Agglomeration on Patented Innovation in U.S. Manufacturing Industries from 1986 to 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah M. Khan

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines impact of employment agglomeration in fifteen U.S. manufacturing industries on their innovation activities measured by patent count. A count data model is employed in regressing patent count on employment agglomeration measures, measure of scale, and some control variables. Measures of employment agglomeration and market concentration are found to have negative impacts on innovation in U.S. manufacturing industries. Two agglomeration proxies -Gini index and Ellison-Glaeser index have a negative influence on U.S. patented innovation for the study period. This result implies that the external benefit of spatial agglomeration of similar firms has waned down. The impact of market concentration is also found to be a negative factor for innovation. This result implies that firms with larger plant size are less innovative than those with smaller plant size. Impact of ‘share of workers with post graduate degrees’ on innovation was found to be a positive but statistically not significant factor for innovation. The ‘goods pooling’ determinant displayed negative influence on innovation. These results are mostly consistent across fifteen manufacturing subsectors. Rising energy cost is found to be one of the most significant deterrents of innovation whereas, ethnic diversity is found to be a significant facilitator of it. Results of this research lend support in favor of regional economic development policies that promote coagglomeration of various interdependent and complementary industries and small scale industries, and supports ethnic diversity to spur innovation in U.S. manufacturing industries.

  14. A discrete element and ray framework for rapid simulation of acoustical dispersion of microscale particulate agglomerations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zohdi, T. I.

    2016-03-01

    In industry, particle-laden fluids, such as particle-functionalized inks, are constructed by adding fine-scale particles to a liquid solution, in order to achieve desired overall properties in both liquid and (cured) solid states. However, oftentimes undesirable particulate agglomerations arise due to some form of mutual-attraction stemming from near-field forces, stray electrostatic charges, process ionization and mechanical adhesion. For proper operation of industrial processes involving particle-laden fluids, it is important to carefully breakup and disperse these agglomerations. One approach is to target high-frequency acoustical pressure-pulses to breakup such agglomerations. The objective of this paper is to develop a computational model and corresponding solution algorithm to enable rapid simulation of the effect of acoustical pulses on an agglomeration composed of a collection of discrete particles. Because of the complex agglomeration microstructure, containing gaps and interfaces, this type of system is extremely difficult to mesh and simulate using continuum-based methods, such as the finite difference time domain or the finite element method. Accordingly, a computationally-amenable discrete element/discrete ray model is developed which captures the primary physical events in this process, such as the reflection and absorption of acoustical energy, and the induced forces on the particulate microstructure. The approach utilizes a staggered, iterative solution scheme to calculate the power transfer from the acoustical pulse to the particles and the subsequent changes (breakup) of the pulse due to the particles. Three-dimensional examples are provided to illustrate the approach.

  15. Porosity of Lead Agglomerate as Function of CaO and SiO2 Proportion

    OpenAIRE

    , A. Haxhiaj; , A. Terziqi; , E. Haxhiaj

    2016-01-01

    Agglomerate porosity is correlated with strength of its pieces and it is main parameter for reductive melting process in Water-jacket furnace. Treatment is oriented toward achieving porosity and optimal strength. The paper deals with the process in te-mperature about 9000C and with less than 10% composition CaO in rapport with lead. In order to achieve optimal results of agglomerate porosity and quality, it is necessary during the roasting process of lead concentration to correlate the conten...

  16. Models of agglomeration and glass transition

    CERN Document Server

    Kerner, Richard

    2007-01-01

    This book is for any physicist interested in new vistas in the domain of non-crystalline condensed matter, aperiodic and quasi-crystalline networks and especially glass physics and chemistry. Students with an elementary background in thermodynamics and statistical physics will find the book accessible. The physics of glasses is extensively covered, focusing on their thermal and mechanical properties, as well as various models leading to the formation of the glassy states of matter from overcooled liquids. The models of agglomeration and growth are also applied to describe the formation of quasicrystals, fullerenes and, in biology, to describe virus assembly pathways.

  17. Experimental studies of the gravitational agglomeration of aerosols. Pt. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ball, M.H.E.; Longley, K.A.; Mitchell, J.P.; Ketchell, N.

    1990-12-01

    Experiments have been performed to investigate the influence of gravitational agglomeration as an aerosol depletion process in a small containment vessel. The resulting data will aid in the development of computer codes that describe aerosol transport processes following severe reactor accidents. (author)

  18. Proceedings, volume 26, the Institute for Briquetting and Agglomeration, November 1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roth, D.L. [ed.

    2000-07-01

    Topics covered by the 22 papers include: porosity of agglomerates, optimising roller compaction processing, determining velocity of powder in the roll rigs region of a roll press, binders, and briquetting for blast furnaces.

  19. Multi-variable optimization of PEMFC cathodes using an agglomerate model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Secanell, M.; Suleman, A.; Djilali, N. [Institute for Integrated Energy Systems and Department Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, PO Box 3055 STN CSC, Victoria, BC (Canada); Karan, K. [Queen' s-RMC Fuel Cell Research Centre and Department Chemical Engineering, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ont. (Canada)

    2007-06-30

    A comprehensive numerical framework for cathode electrode design is presented and applied to predict the catalyst layer and the gas diffusion layer parameters that lead to an optimal electrode performance at different operating conditions. The design and optimization framework couples an agglomerate cathode catalyst layer model to a numerical gradient-based optimization algorithm. The set of optimal parameters is obtained by solving a multi-variable optimization problem. The parameters are the catalyst layer platinum loading, platinum to carbon ratio, amount of electrolyte in the agglomerate and the gas diffusion layer porosity. The results show that the optimal catalyst layer composition and gas diffusion layer porosity depend on operating conditions. At low current densities, performance is mainly improved by increasing platinum loading to values above 1 mg cm{sup -2}, moderate values of electrolyte volume fraction, 0.5, and low porosity, 0.1. At higher current densities, performance is improved by reducing the platinum loading to values below 0.35 mg cm{sup -2} and increasing both electrolyte volume fraction, 0.55, and porosity 0.32. The underlying improvements due to the optimized compositions are analyzed in terms of the spatial distribution of the various overpotentials, and the effect of the agglomerate structure parameters (radius and electrolyte film) are investigated. The paper closes with a discussion of the optimized composition obtained in this study in the context of available experimental data. The analysis suggests that reducing the solid phase volume fraction inside the catalyst layer might lead to improved electrode performance. (author)

  20. Cu-Doping Effects in CdI(2) Nanocrystals: The Role of Cu-Agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miah, M Idrish

    2008-11-22

    Cu-doping effects in CdI(2) nanocrystals are studied experimentally. We use the photostimulated second harmonic generation (PSSHG) as a tool to investigate the effects. It is found that the PSSHG increases with increasing Cu content up to 0.6% and then decreases due to the formation of the Cu-agglomerates. The PSSHG for the crystal with Cu content higher than 1% reduces to that for the undoped CdI(2) crystal. The results suggest that a crucial role of the Cu-metallic agglomerates is involved in the processes as responsible for the observed effects.

  1. Cu-Doping Effects in CdI2Nanocrystals: The Role of Cu-Agglomerates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miah M

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Cu-doping effects in CdI2nanocrystals are studied experimentally. We use the photostimulated second harmonic generation (PSSHG as a tool to investigate the effects. It is found that the PSSHG increases with increasing Cu content up to 0.6% and then decreases due to the formation of the Cu-agglomerates. The PSSHG for the crystal with Cu content higher than 1% reduces to that for the undoped CdI2crystal. The results suggest that a crucial role of the Cu-metallic agglomerates is involved in the processes as responsible for the observed effects.

  2. Automated Manufacture of Fertilizing Agglomerates from Burnt Wood Ash

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Svantesson, Thomas

    2002-12-01

    In Sweden, extensive research is conducted to find alternative sources of energy that should partly replace the electric power production from nuclear power. With the ambition to create a sustainable system for producing energy, the use of renewable energy is expected to grow further and biofuels are expected to account for a significant part of this increase. However, when biofuels are burned or gasified, ash appears as a by-product. In order to overcome the problems related to deposition in land fills, the idea is to transform the ashes into a product - agglomerates - that easily could be recycled back to the forest grounds; as a fertilizer, or as a tool to reduce the acidification in the forest soil at the spreading area. This work considers the control of a transformation process, which transforms wood ash produced at a district heating plant into fertilizing agglomerates. A robust machine, built to comply with the industrial requirements for continuous operation, has been developed and is controlled by an industrial control system in order to enable an automated manufacture.

  3. A multipurpose shopping trip model to assess retail agglomeration effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arentze, T.A.; Oppewal, H.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2005-01-01

    Multipurpose shopping is a prominent and relevant feature of shopping behavior. However, no methodology is available to assess empirically how the demand for multipurpose shopping depends on retail agglomeration or, in general, the characteristics of retail supply, such as the numbers and types of

  4. Modeling Urban Collaborative Growth Dynamics Using a Multiscale Simulation Model for the Wuhan Urban Agglomeration Area, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Yu

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Urban agglomeration has become the predominant form of urbanization in China. In this process, spatial interaction evidently played a significant role in promoting the collaborative development of these correlated cities. The traditional urban model’s focus on individual cities should be transformed to an urban system model. In this study, a multi-scale simulation model has been proposed to simulate the agglomeration development process of the Wuhan urban agglomeration area by embedding the multi-scale spatial interaction into the transition rule system of cellular automata (CA. A system dynamic model was used to predict the demand for new urban land at an aggregated urban agglomeration area scale. A data field approach was adopted to measuring the interaction of intercity at city scale. Neighborhood interaction was interpreted with a logistic regression method at the land parcel scale. Land use data from 1995, 2005, and 2015 were used to calibrate and evaluate the model. The simulation results show that there has been continuing urban growth in the Wuhan urban agglomeration area from 1995 to 2020. Although extension-sprawl was the predominant pattern of urban spatial expansion, the trend of extensive growth to intensive growth is clear during the entire period. The spatial interaction among these cities has been reinforced, which guided the collaborative development and formed the regional urban system network.

  5. An optical chemical sensor for thorium (IV) determination based on thorin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rastegarzadeh, S.; Pourreza, N.; Saeedi, I.

    2010-01-01

    A selective method for the determination of thorium (IV) using an optical sensor is described. The sensing membrane is prepared by immobilization of thorin-methyltrioctylammonium ion pair on triacetylcellulose polymer. The sensor produced a linear response for thorium (IV) concentration in the range of 6.46 x 10 -6 to 9.91 x 10 -5 mol L -1 with detection limit of 1.85 x 10 -6 mol L -1 . The regeneration of optode was accomplished completely at a short time (less than 20 s) with 0.1 mol L -1 of oxalate ion solution. The relative standard deviation for ten replicate measurements of 2.15 x 10 -5 and 8.62 x 10 -5 mol L -1 of thorium was 2.71 and 1.65%, respectively. The optode membrane exhibits good selectivity for thorium (IV) over several other ionic species and are comparable to those obtained in case of spectrophotometric determination of thorium using thorin in solution. A good agreement with the ICP-MS and spiked method was achieved when the proposed optode was applied to the determination of thorium (IV) in dust and water samples.

  6. An optical chemical sensor for thorium (IV) determination based on thorin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rastegarzadeh, S; Pourreza, N; Saeedi, I

    2010-01-15

    A selective method for the determination of thorium (IV) using an optical sensor is described. The sensing membrane is prepared by immobilization of thorin-methyltrioctylammonium ion pair on triacetylcellulose polymer. The sensor produced a linear response for thorium (IV) concentration in the range of 6.46 x 10(-6) to 9.91 x 10(-5)mol L(-1) with detection limit of 1.85 x 10(-6)mol L(-1). The regeneration of optode was accomplished completely at a short time (less than 20s) with 0.1 mol L(-1) of oxalate ion solution. The relative standard deviation for ten replicate measurements of 2.15 x 10(-5) and 8.62 x 10(-5)mol L(-1) of thorium was 2.71 and 1.65%, respectively. The optode membrane exhibits good selectivity for thorium (IV) over several other ionic species and are comparable to those obtained in case of spectrophotometric determination of thorium using thorin in solution. A good agreement with the ICP-MS and spiked method was achieved when the proposed optode was applied to the determination of thorium (IV) in dust and water samples.

  7. Heterogeneous skills and homogeneous land: segmentation and agglomeration

    OpenAIRE

    Matthias Wrede

    2013-01-01

    This paper analyzes the impact of skill heterogeneity on regional patterns of production and housing in the presence of pecuniary externalities within a general-equilibrium framework assuming monopolistic competition at intermediate good markets. It shows that the interplay of heterogeneous skills and relatively homogeneous land demand triggers skill segmentation and agglomeration. The core region, being more attractive to high skilled workers, has a disproportionately large share of producti...

  8. Agglomeration of luminescent porous silicon nanoparticles in colloidal solutions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Herynková, Kateřina; Šlechta, Miroslav; Šimáková, Petra; Fučíková, Anna; Cibulka, Ondřej

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 11, Aug (2016), s. 1-5, č. článku 367. ISSN 1556-276X Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) DAAD-16-18 Program:Bilaterální spolupráce Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : nanocrystalline silicon * porous silicon * nanoparticles * colloids * agglomeration Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 2.833, year: 2016

  9. Growth mechanisms for spherical mixed hydroxide agglomerates prepared by co-precipitation method: A case of Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3(OH)2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Yue; Xu, Shengming; Xie, Ming; He, Yinghe; Huang, Guoyong; Yang, Youcai

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Anisotropic growth of Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 (OH) 2 along the [0 0 1] direction was revealed. • DFT calculation results show crystal surface energies of (0 0 1) plane is highest. • A new model was proposed to explain the formation of spherical agglomerates. - Abstract: Spherical Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 (OH) 2 agglomerates were synthesized by the co-precipitation method in the presence of ammonia. The results show that the growth mechanism of spherical agglomerates follows three-stages, i.e. nucleation and anisotropic growth of single crystals; agglomeration of polycrystalline crystallites agglomerated by single crystal grains as primary particles to form embryonic agglomerates; formation, growth and consolidation of spherical agglomerates or particles by agglomeration of embryonic agglomerates, continued growth of individual crystals in the agglomerates and further attachment of primary particles. The first two stages are very fast while the last stage takes almost the entire process to complete. The main reason for the anisotropic growth of Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 (OH) 2 crystal is that crystal surface energy of E (001) , E (100) , E (101) and E (102) is different with E (001) being the highest. The morphology of the final spherical agglomerates is explained by partial re-crystallization of contacting primary particles. The growth process of spherical agglomerates was examined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and calculation of crystal surface energy using density function theory

  10. The effect of particle agglomeration on the formation of a surface-connected compartment induced by hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in human monocyte-derived macrophages☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Karin H.; Motskin, Michael; Philpott, Alistair J.; Routh, Alexander F.; Shanahan, Catherine M.; Duer, Melinda J.; Skepper, Jeremy N.

    2014-01-01

    Agglomeration dramatically affects many aspects of nanoparticle–cell interactions. Here we show that hydroxyapatite nanoparticles formed large agglomerates in biological medium resulting in extensive particle uptake and dose-dependent cytotoxicity in human macrophages. Particle citration and/or the addition of the dispersant Darvan 7 dramatically reduced mean agglomerate sizes, the amount of particle uptake and concomitantly cytotoxicity. More surprisingly, agglomeration governed the mode of particle uptake. Agglomerates were sequestered within an extensive, interconnected membrane labyrinth open to the extracellular space. In spite of not being truly intracellular, imaging studies suggest particle degradation occurred within this surface-connected compartment (SCC). Agglomerate dispersion prevented the SCC from forming, but did not completely inhibit nanoparticle uptake by other mechanisms. The results of this study could be relevant to understanding particle–cell interactions during developmental mineral deposition, in ectopic calcification in disease, and during application of hydroxyapatite nanoparticle vectors in biomedicine. PMID:24183166

  11. Influence of germanium on thermal dewetting and agglomeration of the silicon template layer in thin silicon-on-insulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, P P; Yang, B; Rugheimer, P P; Roberts, M M; Savage, D E; Lagally, M G; Liu Feng

    2009-01-01

    We investigate the influence of heteroepitaxially grown Ge on the thermal dewetting and agglomeration of the Si(0 0 1) template layer in ultrathin silicon-on-insulator (SOI). We show that increasing Ge coverage gradually destroys the long-range ordering of 3D nanocrystals along the (1 3 0) directions and the 3D nanocrystal shape anisotropy that are observed in the dewetting and agglomeration of pure SOI(0 0 1). The results are qualitatively explained by Ge-induced bond weakening and decreased surface energy anisotropy. Ge lowers the dewetting and agglomeration temperature to as low as 700 0 C.

  12. Nucleocapsid Protein from Fig Mosaic Virus Forms Cytoplasmic Agglomerates That Are Hauled by Endoplasmic Reticulum Streaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, Kazuya; Miura, Chihiro; Maejima, Kensaku; Komatsu, Ken; Hashimoto, Masayoshi; Tomomitsu, Tatsuya; Fukuoka, Misato; Yusa, Akira; Yamaji, Yasuyuki

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT Although many studies have demonstrated intracellular movement of viral proteins or viral replication complexes, little is known about the mechanisms of their motility. In this study, we analyzed the localization and motility of the nucleocapsid protein (NP) of Fig mosaic virus (FMV), a negative-strand RNA virus belonging to the recently established genus Emaravirus. Electron microscopy of FMV-infected cells using immunogold labeling showed that NPs formed cytoplasmic agglomerates that were predominantly enveloped by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, while nonenveloped NP agglomerates also localized along the ER. Likewise, transiently expressed NPs formed agglomerates, designated NP bodies (NBs), in close proximity to the ER, as was the case in FMV-infected cells. Subcellular fractionation and electron microscopic analyses of NP-expressing cells revealed that NBs localized in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, we found that NBs moved rapidly with the streaming of the ER in an actomyosin-dependent manner. Brefeldin A treatment at a high concentration to disturb the ER network configuration induced aberrant accumulation of NBs in the perinuclear region, indicating that the ER network configuration is related to NB localization. Dominant negative inhibition of the class XI myosins, XI-1, XI-2, and XI-K, affected both ER streaming and NB movement in a similar pattern. Taken together, these results showed that NBs localize in the cytoplasm but in close proximity to the ER membrane to form enveloped particles and that this causes passive movements of cytoplasmic NBs by ER streaming. IMPORTANCE Intracellular trafficking is a primary and essential step for the cell-to-cell movement of viruses. To date, many studies have demonstrated the rapid intracellular movement of viral factors but have failed to provide evidence for the mechanism or biological significance of this motility. Here, we observed that agglomerates of nucleocapsid protein (NP) moved rapidly

  13. A Research Program for Fission Product/Dust Transport in HTGR’s

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loyalka, Sudarshan [Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)

    2016-02-01

    High and Very High Temperatures Gas Reactors (HTGRs/VHTRs) have five barriers to fission product (FP) release: the TRISO fuel coating, the fuel elements, the core graphite, the primary coolant system, and the reactor building. This project focused on measurements and computations of FP diffusion in graphite, FP adsorption on graphite and FP interactions with dust particles of arbitrary shape. Diffusion Coefficients of Cs and Iodine in two nuclear graphite were obtained by the release method and use of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and Instrumented Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). A new mathematical model for fission gas release from nuclear fuel was also developed. Several techniques were explored to measure adsorption isotherms, notably a Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometer (KEMS) and Instrumented Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). Some of these measurements are still in progress. The results will be reported in a supplemental report later. Studies of FP interactions with dust and shape factors for both chain-like particles and agglomerates over a wide size range were obtained through solutions of the diffusion and transport equations. The Green's Function Method for diffusion and Monte Carlo technique for transport were used, and it was found that the shape factors are sensitive to the particle arrangements, and that diffusion and transport of FPs can be hindered. Several journal articles relating to the above work have been published, and more are in submission and preparation.

  14. Study on transfer-free graphene synthesis process utilizing spontaneous agglomeration of catalytic Ni and Co metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyoshi, Makoto; Mizuno, Masaya; Banno, Kazuya; Kubo, Toshiharu; Egawa, Takashi; Soga, Tetsuo

    2015-01-01

    Transfer-free graphene synthesis process utilizing metal agglomeration phenomena was investigated by using carbon films deposited on Ni or Co catalyst metals on SiO 2 /Si substrates. As a result of metal agglomeration at high temperatures, multilayer graphene films appeared to be formed directly on SiO 2 films. The microscopic Raman mapping study revealed that graphene films were preferentially synthesized around areas where metal films disappeared at an early stage of agglomeration, and that they finally covered almost the whole surface. It was also found that the synthesized graphene films tended to have better structural qualities and lower layer numbers with the increase in the starting metal thicknesses regardless of the kinds of catalyst metals. Raman study also showed that they had good two-dimensional uniformity in the structural quality. (paper)

  15. Predicting the Agglomeration of Cohesive Particles in a Gas-Solid Flow and its Effect on the Solids Flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellogg, Kevin; Liu, Peiyuan; Lamarche, Casey; Hrenya, Christine

    2017-11-01

    In flows of cohesive particles, agglomerates will readily form and break. These agglomerates are expected to complicate how particles interact with the surrounding fluid in multiphase flows, and consequently how the solids flow. In this work, a dilute flow of particles driven by gas against gravity is studied. A continuum framework, composed of a population balance to predict the formation of agglomerates, and kinetic-theory-based balances, is used to predict the flow of particles. The closures utilized for the birth and death rates due to aggregation and breakage in the population balance take into account how the impact velocity (the granular temperature) affects the outcome of a collision as aggregation, rebound, or breakage. The agglomerate size distribution and solids velocity predicted by the continuum framework are compared to discrete element method (DEM) simulations, as well to experimental results of particles being entrained from the riser of a fluidized bed. Dow Corning Corporation.

  16. Physical simulation of precipitation of radioactive element oxalates by using the harmless neodymium oxalate for studying the agglomeration phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lalleman, Sophie; Bertrand, Murielle; Plasari, Edouard

    2012-01-01

    Oxalic precipitation is usually applied in nuclear industry to process radioactive wastes or to recover actinides from a multicomponent solution.This paper deals with the development of methods adapted to a nuclear environment in order to study the agglomeration phenomena during actinide oxalic precipitation.These methods are previously set up with harmless elements that simulate the actinide behaviour: the lanthanides. A parametric study is carried out to quantify the influence of operating parameters on the agglomeration kernel and to determine a kinetic law for this mechanism. The experimental study is performed in a continuous-MSMPR precipitator at steady-state. The method is based on the resolution of two population balances using the moment approach, one for elementary crystals and the other for agglomerates. Provided that the kinetic rates of nucleation and growth are known, the agglomeration kernel can be obtained from a mathematical treatment of the experimental particle size distributions. Results point out that experimental crystal sizes are consistent with an independent kernel. It appears that the agglomeration kernel is directly proportional to supersaturation, increases with temperature but is limited by ionic strength and shear rate. (authors)

  17. Suppression of gold nanoparticle agglomeration and its separation via nylon membranes

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Ayyavoo Jayalakshmi; In-Chul Kim; Young-Nam Kwon

    2017-01-01

    Use of ultraporous nylon membrane is one of the most widely employed techniques for removal of hard and soft nanoparticles in the semiconductor industry,and the accurate determination of membrane pore size is necessary in order to avoid manufacturing defects caused by contamination.The gold nanoparticle has several benefits for the evaluation of polymeric membranes;however,the nanoparticles agglomerate easily on the nylon membrane and make it difficult to evaluate the membrane precisely.The properties of 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (ADP) ligand in gold nanoparticle solution were systematically investigated,and ADP was utilized for improved evaluation of the nylon membranes.Nylon membrane used in this study was prepared by phase inversion techniques.Ultrathin dense layer on top of the membrane surface and Darcy structures in the microporous membrane support were observed.The gold particle rejection was carried out at various pH values from 4 to 14 and higher rejection was observed at pH 4 and 8.The suppression of gold colloid agglomeration using ADP and monodispersity of gold colloids was also analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM),transmission electron microscopy (TEM),and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).van der Waals interaction energy of the particles was reduced in the addition of ADP.The presence ofADP ligand in the gold solutions prevented the agglomeration of gold nanoparticles and reduced the adsorption of the particles on the nylon membrane surface,leading to precise evaluation of membrane pore sizes.

  18. Diffusion mediated agglomeration of CdS nanoparticles via Langmuir–Blodgett technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Nayan Mani; Roy, Dhrubojyoti; Gupta, P.S.

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Diffusion mediated agglomeration of CdS nanoparticles are discussed. • Formation of CdS nanoparticles are confirmed by the change of chain length in XRD. • AFM shows the agglomeration of particles with a film swelling of about 5 Å. • UV–vis absorbance suggests that the grown particles show quantum confinement. • Hexagonal form of particle was confirmed by UV–vis reflectivity. - Abstract: We have reported a diffusion mediated agglomeration of cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanoparticles within cadmium arachidate (CdA 2 ) film matrix. The structural morphology and formation of CdS nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show a change in bilayer difference from 53.04 Å to 43 Å after the sulphidation. An epitaxial growth of the films by ∼5 Å after sulphidation is confirmed from atomic force microscopy studies. The particle size calculated form UV–vis absorption edges are found to be varying from 2.6 nm to 3.3 nm for the different layers. A lateral dimension of 72–80 nm from AFM measurements and a size of 2.6–3.3 nm have confirmed one side flat pseudo two-dimensional disk-like nanoparticles. UV–vis reflectivity peak at E 1 (A) confirms the formation of hexagonal CdS nanoparticles along the c-axis

  19. Molecular modeling study of agglomeration of [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester in solvents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortuza, S M; Banerjee, Soumik

    2012-12-28

    The molecular interactions between solvent and nanoparticles during photoactive layer formation in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells influence the morphology of the photoactive layer and hence determine the power conversion efficiency. Prediction of optimal synthesis parameters in OPVs, such as choice of solvent, processing temperature, and nanoparticle concentration, requires fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that govern the agglomeration of nanoparticles in solvents. In this study, we used molecular dynamics simulations to simulate a commonly used organic nanoparticle, [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), in various solvents to correlate solvent-nanoparticle interactions with the size of the agglomerate structure of PCBM. We analyzed the effects of concentration of PCBM and operating temperature on the molecular rearrangement and agglomeration of PCBM in three solvents: (i) toluene, (ii) indane, and (iii) toluene-indane mixture. We evaluated the agglomeration behavior of PCBM by determining sizes of the largest clusters of PCBM and the corresponding size distributions. To obtain further insight into the agglomerate structure of PCBMs, we evaluated radial distribution functions (RDFs) and coordination numbers of the various moieties of PCBMs with respect to solvent atoms as well as with respect to that of other PCBMs. Our simulations demonstrate that PCBMs form larger clusters in toluene while they are relatively dispersed in indane, which indicates the greater solubility of PCBM in indane than in toluene. In toluene-indane mixture, PCBMs are clustered to a greater extent than in indane and less than that in toluene. To correlate agglomerate size to nanoparticle-solvent interactions, we also evaluated the potential of mean force (PMF) of the fullerene moiety of PCBM in toluene and indane. Our results also show that the cluster size of PCBM molecules increases with the increase of concentration of PCBM and the processing temperature. To

  20. The soundscape dynamics of human agglomeration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ribeiro, Haroldo V; De Souza, Rodolfo T; Lenzi, Ervin K; Mendes, Renio S; Evangelista, Luiz R

    2011-01-01

    We report on a statistical analysis of the people agglomeration soundscape. Specifically, we investigate the normalized sound amplitudes and intensities that emerge from human collective meetings. Our findings support the existence of non-trivial dynamics characterized by heavy tail distributions in the sound amplitudes, long-range correlations in the sound intensity and non-exponential distributions in the return interval distributions. Additionally, motivated by the time-dependent behavior present in the volatility/variance series, we compare the observational data with those obtained from a minimalist autoregressive stochastic model, namely the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic process (the GARCH process), and find that there is good agreement.

  1. Impact of atmospheric circulation types on southwest Asian dust and Indian summer monsoon rainfall

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Houssos, E. E.; Solmon, F.; Legrand, M.; Rashki, A.; Dumka, U. C.; Francois, P.; Gautam, R.; Singh, R. P.

    2018-03-01

    This study examines the meteorological feedback on dust aerosols and rainfall over the Arabian Sea and India during the summer monsoon using satellite data, re-analysis and a regional climate model. Based on days with excess aerosol loading over the central Ganges basin during May - September, two distinct atmospheric circulation types (weather clusters) are identified, which are associated with different dust-aerosol and rainfall distributions over south Asia, highlighting the role of meteorology on dust emissions and monsoon rainfall. Each cluster is characterized by different patterns of mean sea level pressure (MSLP), geopotential height at 700 hPa (Z700) and wind fields at 1000 hPa and at 700 hPa, thus modulating changes in dust-aerosol loading over the Arabian Sea. One cluster is associated with deepening of the Indian/Pakistan thermal low leading to (i) increased cyclonicity and thermal convection over northwestern India and Arabian Peninsula, (ii) intensification of the southwest monsoon off the Horn of Africa, iii) increase in dust emissions from Rub-Al-Khali and Somalian deserts, (iv) excess dust accumulation over the Arabian Sea and, (v) strengthening of the convergence of humid air masses and larger precipitation over Indian landmass compared to the other cluster. The RegCM4.4 model simulations for dust-aerosol and precipitation distributions support the meteorological fields and satellite observations, while the precipitation over India is positively correlated with the aerosol loading over the Arabian Sea on daily basis for both weather clusters. This study highlights the key role of meteorology and atmospheric dynamics on dust life cycle and rainfall over the monsoon-influenced south Asia.

  2. Knowledge Externalities, Agglomeration Economies, and Employment Growth in Dutch Cities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Soest, D.P.; Gerking, S.D.; van Oort, F.G.

    2002-01-01

    This paper extends the work of Glaeser et al.(1992) by looking at effects of agglomeration economies on employment growth in Dutch city-industries and in very small (postal) zip code-industries in the Dutch province of South-Holland. At both levels of geographic detail, findings are broadly

  3. Dust Measurements in Tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudakov, D; Yu, J; Boedo, J; Hollmann, E; Krasheninnikov, S; Moyer, R; Muller, S; Yu, A; Rosenberg, M; Smirnov, R; West, W; Boivin, R; Bray, B; Brooks, N; Hyatt, A; Wong, C; Fenstermacher, M; Groth, M; Lasnier, C; McLean, A; Stangeby, P; Ratynskaia, S; Roquemore, A; Skinner, C; Solomon, W M

    2008-01-01

    Dust production and accumulation impose safety and operational concerns for ITER. Diagnostics to monitor dust levels in the plasma as well as in-vessel dust inventory are currently being tested in a few tokamaks. Dust accumulation in ITER is likely to occur in hidden areas, e.g. between tiles and under divertor baffles. A novel electrostatic dust detector for monitoring dust in these regions has been developed and tested at PPPL. In DIII-D tokamak dust diagnostics include Mie scattering from Nd:YAG lasers, visible imaging, and spectroscopy. Laser scattering resolves size of particles between 0.16-1.6 (micro)m in diameter; the total dust content in the edge plasmas and trends in the dust production rates within this size range have been established. Individual dust particles are observed by visible imaging using fast-framing cameras, detecting dust particles of a few microns in diameter and larger. Dust velocities and trajectories can be determined in 2D with a single camera or 3D using multiple cameras, but determination of particle size is problematic. In order to calibrate diagnostics and benchmark dust dynamics modeling, pre-characterized carbon dust has been injected into the lower divertor of DIII-D. Injected dust is seen by cameras, and spectroscopic diagnostics observe an increase of carbon atomic, C2 dimer, and thermal continuum emissions from the injected dust. The latter observation can be used in the design of novel dust survey diagnostics

  4. Spatial Welfare Economics versus Ecological Footprint: Modeling Agglomeration, Externalities and Trade

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grazi, F.; van den Bergh, J.C.J.M.; Rietveld, P.

    2007-01-01

    A welfare framework for the analysis of the spatial dimensions of sustainability is developed. It covers agglomeration effects, interregional trade, negative environmental externalities, and various land use categories. The model is used to compare rankings of spatial configurations according to

  5. Biomass-Ash-Induced Agglomeration in a Fluidized Bed. Part 1: Experimental Study on the Effects of a Gas Atmosphere

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Teng; Fan, Chuigang; Hao, Lifang

    2016-01-01

    . The agglomerates are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS) for morphology and elemental composition. Significant differences are observed on the defluidization temperature (Td) and agglomeration mechanisms in different gas atmospheres. Td in H2 and steam...

  6. Structural properties of silver nanoparticle agglomerates based on transmission electron microscopy: relationship to particle mobility analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Weon Gyu; Wang Jing; Mertler, Michael; Sachweh, Bernd; Fissan, Heinz; Pui, David Y. H.

    2009-01-01

    In this work, the structural properties of silver nanoparticle agglomerates generated using condensation and evaporation method in an electric tube furnace followed by a coagulation process are analyzed using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Agglomerates with mobility diameters of 80, 120, and 150 nm are sampled using the electrostatic method and then imaged by TEM. The primary particle diameter of silver agglomerates was 13.8 nm with a standard deviation of 2.5 nm. We obtained the relationship between the projected area equivalent diameter (d pa ) and the mobility diameter (d m ), i.e., d pa = 0.92 ± 0.03 d m for particles from 80 to 150 nm. We obtained fractal dimensions of silver agglomerates using three different methods: (1) D f = 1.84 ± 0.03, 1.75 ± 0.06, and 1.74 ± 0.03 for d m = 80, 120, and 150 nm, respectively from projected TEM images using a box counting algorithm; (2) fractal dimension (D fL ) = 1.47 based on maximum projected length from projected TEM images using an empirical equation proposed by Koylu et al. (1995) Combust Flame 100:621-633; and (3) mass fractal-like dimension (D fm ) = 1.71 theoretically derived from the mobility analysis proposed by Lall and Friedlander (2006) J Aerosol Sci 37:260-271. We also compared the number of primary particles in agglomerate and found that the number of primary particles obtained from the projected surface area using an empirical equation proposed by Koylu et al. (1995) Combust Flame 100:621-633 is larger than that from using the relationship, d pa = 0.92 ± 0.03 d m or from using the mobility analysis.

  7. Source apportionment of PM10 and PM2.5 in major urban Greek agglomerations using a hybrid source-receptor modeling process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argyropoulos, G; Samara, C; Diapouli, E; Eleftheriadis, K; Papaoikonomou, K; Kungolos, A

    2017-12-01

    A hybrid source-receptor modeling process was assembled, to apportion and infer source locations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in three heavily-impacted urban areas of Greece, during the warm period of 2011, and the cold period of 2012. The assembled process involved application of an advanced computational procedure, the so-called Robotic Chemical Mass Balance (RCMB) model. Source locations were inferred using two well-established probability functions: (a) the Conditional Probability Function (CPF), to correlate the output of RCMB with local wind directional data, and (b) the Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF), to correlate the output of RCMB with 72h air-mass back-trajectories, arriving at the receptor sites, during sampling. Regarding CPF, a higher-level conditional probability function was defined as well, from the common locus of CPF sectors derived for neighboring receptor sites. With respect to PSCF, a non-parametric bootstrapping method was applied to discriminate the statistically significant values. RCMB modeling showed that resuspended dust is actually one of the main barriers for attaining the European Union (EU) limit values in Mediterranean urban agglomerations, where the drier climate favors build-up. The shift in the energy mix of Greece (caused by the economic recession) was also evidenced, since biomass burning was found to contribute more significantly to the sampling sites belonging to the coldest climatic zone, particularly during the cold period. The CPF analysis showed that short-range transport of anthropogenic emissions from urban traffic to urban background sites was very likely to have occurred, within all the examined urban agglomerations. The PSCF analysis confirmed that long-range transport of primary and/or secondary aerosols may indeed be possible, even from distances over 1000km away from study areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Application of the novel mill tailings agglomeration technology for prevention of acid mine drainage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amaratunga, L.M.

    1994-01-01

    Acid generation and subsequent liberation of heavy metals results from the surface disposal of sulfide mineral bearing mill tailings. Most Canadian base metals such as Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb, as well as uranium and precious metal milling operations are producers of reactive mill tailings containing the major sulfide gangue minerals such as pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrites. A novel disposal technology by cold-bond tailings agglomeration process (CBTA) is currently being developed at Laurentian University. This process has been adapted to prevent acid mine drainage from reactive mill tailings. A preliminary study was undertaken to evaluate the application of the concept of agglomeration of reactive mill tailings using various alkaline binders and incorporating suitable chemical additives. The binders and additives are selected for their effectiveness in the prevention or retardation of the initial chemical and biochemical oxidation reactions of sulfide mineral leading to acid generation. Following a cold-bond, cold curing tailings agglomeration process, various types and dosages of chemical binders and their additives were employed. The additives under investigation were lime, sodium lauryl sulfate, potassium phosphate dibasic, sodium chloride and sodium benzoate. Some of these chemicals are well known acid neutralizers and others are inexpensive anionic surfactants, detergents and fertilizers acting as bactericides. Most of these additives have been reported in the literature as effective chemical agents used in the prevention and control of acid mine drainage from sulfide minerals. The paper also presents a leachate study to investigate the acid generation potential from each batch of reactive tailings agglomerates containing various binders and non-toxic additives

  9. Spherical agglomerates of pure drug nanoparticles for improved pulmonary delivery in dry powder inhalers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Jun; Dong Yuancai; Pastorin, Giorgia; Ng, Wai Kiong; Tan, Reginald B. H.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to produce micron-sized spherical agglomerates of pure drug nanoparticles to achieve improved aerosol performance in dry powder inhalers (DPIs). Sodium cromoglicate was chosen as the model drug. Pure drug nanoparticles were prepared through a bottom-up particle formation process, liquid antisolvent precipitation, and then rapidly agglomerated into porous spherical microparticles by immediate (on-line) spray drying. Nonporous spherical drug microparticles with similar geometric size distribution were prepared by conventional spray drying of the aqueous drug solution, which together with the mechanically micronized drug particles were used as the control samples. The three samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, laser diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, density measurement, powder X-ray diffraction, and in vitro aerosol deposition measurement with a multistage liquid impinger. It was found that drug nanoparticles with a diameter of ∼100 nm were precipitated and agglomerated into highly porous spherical microparticles with a volume median diameter (D 50% ) of 2.25 ± 0.08 μm and a specific surface area of 158.63 ± 3.27 m 2 /g. In vitro aerosol deposition studies showed the fine particle fraction of such spherical agglomerates of drug nanoparticles was increased by more than 50 % in comparison with the control samples, demonstrating significant improvements in aerosol performance. The results of this study indicated the potential of the combined particle engineering process of liquid antisolvent precipitation followed by immediate (on-line) spray drying in the development of novel DPI drug products with improved aerosol performance.

  10. Spherical agglomerates of pure drug nanoparticles for improved pulmonary delivery in dry powder inhalers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu Jun; Dong Yuancai [Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (Singapore); Pastorin, Giorgia, E-mail: phapg@nus.edu.sg [National University of Singapore, Department of Pharmacy (Singapore); Ng, Wai Kiong, E-mail: ng_wai_kiong@ices.a-star.edu.sg; Tan, Reginald B. H. [Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (Singapore)

    2013-04-15

    The aim of this study was to produce micron-sized spherical agglomerates of pure drug nanoparticles to achieve improved aerosol performance in dry powder inhalers (DPIs). Sodium cromoglicate was chosen as the model drug. Pure drug nanoparticles were prepared through a bottom-up particle formation process, liquid antisolvent precipitation, and then rapidly agglomerated into porous spherical microparticles by immediate (on-line) spray drying. Nonporous spherical drug microparticles with similar geometric size distribution were prepared by conventional spray drying of the aqueous drug solution, which together with the mechanically micronized drug particles were used as the control samples. The three samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, laser diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, density measurement, powder X-ray diffraction, and in vitro aerosol deposition measurement with a multistage liquid impinger. It was found that drug nanoparticles with a diameter of {approx}100 nm were precipitated and agglomerated into highly porous spherical microparticles with a volume median diameter (D{sub 50%}) of 2.25 {+-} 0.08 {mu}m and a specific surface area of 158.63 {+-} 3.27 m{sup 2}/g. In vitro aerosol deposition studies showed the fine particle fraction of such spherical agglomerates of drug nanoparticles was increased by more than 50 % in comparison with the control samples, demonstrating significant improvements in aerosol performance. The results of this study indicated the potential of the combined particle engineering process of liquid antisolvent precipitation followed by immediate (on-line) spray drying in the development of novel DPI drug products with improved aerosol performance.

  11. Dust confinement and dust acoustic waves in a magnetized plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piel, A.

    2005-10-01

    Systematic laboratory experiments on dust acoustic waves require the confinement of dust particles. Here we report on new experiments in a magnetized plasma region in front of an additional positively biased disk electrode in a background plasma which is generated in argon at 27MHz between a disk and grid electrode. The plasma diffuses through the grid along the magnetic field. The three-dimensional dust distribution is measured with a horizontal sheet of laser light and a CCD camera, which are mounted on a vertical translation stage. Depending on magnetic field and discharge current, cigar or donut-shaped dust clouds are generated, which tend to rotate about the magnetic field direction. Measurements with emissive probes show that the axial confinement of dust particles with diameters between 0.7-2 μm is achieved by a balance of ion-drag force and electric field force. Dust levitation and radial confinement is due to a strong radial electric field. Dust acoustic waves are destabilized by the ion flow or can be stimulated by a periodic bias on the disk electrode. The observed wave dispersion is compared with fluid and kinetic models of the dust acoustic wave.

  12. Allergies, asthma, and dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reactive airway disease - dust; Bronchial asthma - dust; Triggers - dust ... Things that make allergies or asthma worse are called triggers. Dust is a common trigger. When your asthma or allergies become worse due to dust, you are ...

  13. Segregation of B lymphocytes into stationary apoptotic and migratory proliferating subpopulations in agglomerate cultures with ileal epithelium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alitheen, N; McClure, S; McCullagh, P

    2001-09-01

    The B lymphocyte-epithelial cell interactions that define the microenvironment of the ileal Peyer's patch, the primary B lymphocyte organ of the fetal lamb, have been replicated in tissue culture. Mixed suspensions of ileal epithelial cells, lymphocytes and fibroblasts from fetuses of 63-103 days of gestation organized into macroscopically visible agglomerates within 72 h. These agglomerates contained translucent spherical cavities and were enclosed within a marginal cell layer and surrounded by an expanding corona of emigrating cells. The lining of the cavities and the marginal layer consisted of well-differentiated, polarized columnar ileal epithelial cells. One population of B lymphocytes in the initial mixed suspension differentiated into two discrete populations reproducing the characteristics of intact fetal ileal Peyer's patches. B cells apposed to follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) within agglomerates underwent apoptosis. The other population of emigrant B cells proliferated and expressed the BAQ44A differentiation marker. Differentiation of ileal epithelial cells into FAE, typical of Peyer's patches, was markedly accelerated. The mutually inductive influences of intestinal epithelial cells and B lymphocytes in these agglomerates replicate normal mid-gestational fetal development of the mucosal immune system and afford new opportunities for its further investigation.

  14. Impregnation/Agglomeration Laboratory Tests of Heavy Fuel from Prestige to Improve Its Manageability and Removal from Seawater Surface. (Physical Behaviour of Fuel Agglomates)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Frutos, F. J.; Rodriguez, V.; Otero, J.

    2002-01-01

    The handling and removal problems showed by heavy fuel floating in seawater could be improved or solved by using materials that agglomerate it. These materials must fulfill the following conditions: be inert materials in marine environment, the agglomerated fuel/material should float and its application and removal should be done using simple technologies. Based on these requirements, clay minerals, pine chips, mineral coal and charcoal were selected. The preliminary/results on impregnation/agglomeration with the materials mentioned above of heavy fuel from Prestige at lab scale are presented in this paper. The results have shown that only hydrophobic materials, such as mineral coal and charcoal, are able to agglomerate with fuel, which is also a hydrophobic substance. Whereas the agglomerates fuel/mineral coal sink, the agglomerates fuel/charcoal keep floating on water surface. It can be concluded that the addition of charcoal on dispersed fuel in seawater could improve its handling and removal. In this sense, pilot scale and eventually controlled in situ tests to study the feasibility of the proposed solution should be performed. (Author) 2 refs

  15. Carbohydrate and protein contents of grain dusts in relation to dust morphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dashek, W V; Olenchock, S A; Mayfield, J E; Wirtz, G H; Wolz, D E; Young, C A

    1986-01-01

    Grain dusts contain a variety of materials which are potentially hazardous to the health of workers in the grain industry. Because the characterization of grain dusts is incomplete, we are defining the botanical, chemical, and microbial contents of several grain dusts collected from grain elevators in the Duluth-Superior regions of the U.S. Here, we report certain of the carbohydrate and protein contents of dusts in relation to dust morphology. Examination of the gross morphologies of the dusts revealed that, except for corn, each dust contained either husk or pericarp (seed coat in the case of flax) fragments in addition to respirable particles. When viewed with the light microscope, the fragments appeared as elongated, pointed structures. The possibility that certain of the fragments within corn, settled, and spring wheat were derived from cell walls was suggested by the detection of pentoses following colorimetric assay of neutralized 2 N trifluoroacetic acid hydrolyzates of these dusts. The presence of pentoses together with the occurrence of proteins within water washings of grain dusts suggests that glycoproteins may be present within the dusts. With scanning electron microscopy, each dust was found to consist of a distinct assortment of particles in addition to respirable particles. Small husk fragments and "trichome-like" objects were common to all but corn dust. Images FIGURE 4. FIGURE 5. PMID:3709476

  16. Study on spatial-temporal change of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration based on DMSP / OLS night light data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mao; Li, Lel-in

    2018-03-01

    For the sake of curbing the spreading of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration and spatial disorder in the process of urbanization development on the regional bearing capacity of land resources and ecological environment and assisting to plan the integration process of ChangZhuTan,this paper uses the DMSP/OLS night light data of Chang ZhuTan in 1992 to 2013 to invert the urbanization process index of ChangZhuTan urban agglomeration. Based on the two scales of time and space, this paper analyzes the average index of lights, the speed of urban expansion and urban compactness index et al and studies the temporal and spatial characteristics of ChangZhuTan urban agglomeration in this period.

  17. Dust Devil Tracks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    (Released 8 May 2002) The Science This image, centered near 50.0 S and 17.7 W displays dust devil tracks on the surface. Most of the lighter portions of the image likely have a thin veneer of dust settled on the surface. As a dust devil passes over the surface, it acts as a vacuum and picks up the dust, leaving the darker substrate exposed. In this image there is a general trend of many of the tracks running from east to west or west to east, indicating the general wind direction. There is often no general trend present in dust devil tracks seen in other images. The track patterns are quite ephemeral and can completely change or even disappear over the course of a few months. Dust devils are one of the mechanisms that Mars uses to constantly pump dust into the ubiquitously dusty atmosphere. This atmospheric dust is one of the main driving forces of the present Martian climate. The Story Vrrrrooooooooom. Think of a tornado, the cartoon Tasmanian devil, or any number of vacuum commercials that powerfully suck up swirls of dust and dirt. That's pretty much what it's like on the surface of Mars a lot of the time. Whirlpools of wind called

  18. Soundscape design guidelines through noise mapping methodologies: An application to medium urban agglomerations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vogiatzis Konstantinos

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In the framework of the European Directive 2002/49/EC, from 2012 to 2016, several cities in Greece have completed noise strategic maps with noise action plans that usually define the main strategies to reduce the noise residents are exposed to and introduce and preserve “quiet zones”. Several medium urban agglomerations in Greece (Volos, Larissa, Chania, Heraklion, Corfu, Agrinio, Thessaloniki have been chosen to also analyse the sound qualities of the soundscapes of specific urban neighbourhoods in order to generate recommendations for the urban design of the soundscapes of these agglomerations in a manner that complements conventional noise mitigation measures. The general principle of this approach is to relate quantitative data (e.g., from measurements, acoustic simulations, urban forms, topography, and traffic model with qualitative data (e.g., from type of sources, interviews, reports on environmental noise perception by creating quantitative and qualitative maps. The aim of this study is to propose possible action tools to the relevant authorities aiming at diminishing noise levels in affected areas and also to provide solutions towards a sustainable sound environment both in space and time. This paper presents the main current methodology, selected important results proposed for the urban agglomerations of a typical Southeast Mediterranean country such as Greece.

  19. A Research Program for Fission Product/Dust Transport in HTGR's

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loyalka, Sudarshan

    2016-01-01

    High and Very High Temperatures Gas Reactors (HTGRs/VHTRs) have five barriers to fission product (FP) release: the TRISO fuel coating, the fuel elements, the core graphite, the primary coolant system, and the reactor building. This project focused on measurements and computations of FP diffusion in graphite, FP adsorption on graphite and FP interactions with dust particles of arbitrary shape. Diffusion Coefficients of Cs and Iodine in two nuclear graphite were obtained by the release method and use of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and Instrumented Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). A new mathematical model for fission gas release from nuclear fuel was also developed. Several techniques were explored to measure adsorption isotherms, notably a Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometer (KEMS) and Instrumented Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). Some of these measurements are still in progress. The results will be reported in a supplemental report later. Studies of FP interactions with dust and shape factors for both chain-like particles and agglomerates over a wide size range were obtained through solutions of the diffusion and transport equations. The Green's Function Method for diffusion and Monte Carlo technique for transport were used, and it was found that the shape factors are sensitive to the particle arrangements, and that diffusion and transport of FPs can be hindered. Several journal articles relating to the above work have been published, and more are in submission and preparation.

  20. An improved model for estimating fractal structure of silica nano-agglomerates in a vibro-fluidized bed

    OpenAIRE

    A Esmailpour; N Mostoufi; R Zarghami

    2016-01-01

    A study has been conducted to determine the effects of operating conditions such as vibration frequency, vibration amplitude on the fractal structure of silica (SiO2) nanoparticle agglomerate in a vibro-fluidized bed. An improved model was proposed by assimilation of fractal theory, Richardson-Zaki equation and mass balance. This model has been developed to predict the properties of nanoparticle agglomerate, such as fractal dimension and its size. It has been found out the vibration intensity...

  1. Mesoscopic dispersion of colloidal agglomerate in a complex fluid modelled by a hybrid fluid-particle model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzwinel, Witold; Yuen, David A

    2002-03-15

    The dispersion of the agglomerating fluid process involving colloids has been investigated at the mesoscale level by a discrete particle approach--the hybrid fluid-particle model (FPM). Dynamical processes occurring in the granulation of colloidal agglomerate in solvents are severely influenced by coupling between the dispersed microstructures and the global flow. On the mesoscale this coupling is further exacerbated by thermal fluctuations, particle-particle interactions between colloidal beds, and hydrodynamic interactions between colloidal beds and the solvent. Using the method of FPM, we have tackled the problem of dispersion of a colloidal slab being accelerated in a long box filled with a fluid. Our results show that the average size of the agglomerated fragments decreases with increasing shearing rate gamma, according to the power law A x gamma(k), where k is around 2. For larger values of gamma, the mean size of the agglomerate S(avg) increases slowly with gamma from the collisions between the aggregates and the longitudinal stretching induced by the flow. The proportionality constant A increases exponentially with the scaling factor of the attractive forces acting between the colloidal particles. The value of A shows a rather weak dependence on the solvent viscosity. But A increases proportionally with the scaling factor of the colloid-solvent dissipative interactions. Similar type of dependence can be found for the mixing induced by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities involving the colloidal agglomerate and the solvent. Three types of fragmentation structures can be identified, which are called rupture, erosion, and shatter. They generate very complex structures with multiresolution character. The aggregation of colloidal beds is formed by the collisions between aggregates, which are influenced by the flow or by the cohesive forces for small dispersion energies. These results may be applied to enhance our understanding concerning the nonlinear complex

  2. Kuiper Belt Dust Grains as a Source of Interplanetary Dust Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liou, Jer-Chyi; Zook, Herbert A.; Dermott, Stanley F.

    1996-01-01

    The recent discovery of the so-called Kuiper belt objects has prompted the idea that these objects produce dust grains that may contribute significantly to the interplanetary dust population. In this paper, the orbital evolution of dust grains, of diameters 1 to 9 microns, that originate in the region of the Kuiper belt is studied by means of direct numerical integration. Gravitational forces of the Sun and planets, solar radiation pressure, as well as Poynting-Robertson drag and solar wind drag are included. The interactions between charged dust grains and solar magnetic field are not considered in the model. Because of the effects of drag forces, small dust grains will spiral toward the Sun once they are released from their large parent bodies. This motion leads dust grains to pass by planets as well as encounter numerous mean motion resonances associated with planets. Our results show that about 80% of the Kuiper belt grains are ejected from the Solar System by the giant planets, while the remaining 20% of the grains evolve all the way to the Sun. Surprisingly, the latter dust grains have small orbital eccentricities and inclinations when they cross the orbit of the Earth. This makes them behave more like asteroidal than cometary-type dust particles. This also enhances their chances of being captured by the Earth and makes them a possible source of the collected interplanetary dust particles; in particular, they represent a possible source that brings primitive/organic materials from the outer Solar System to the Earth. When collisions with interstellar dust grains are considered, however, Kuiper belt dust grains around 9 microns appear likely to be collisionally shattered before they can evolve toward the inner part of the Solar System. The collision destruction can be applied to Kuiper belt grains up to about 50 microns. Therefore, Kuiper belt dust grains within this range may not be a significant part of the interplanetary dust complex in the inner Solar

  3. Inactivation of dust mites, dust mite allergen, and mold from carpet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, Kee-Hean; Lewis, Roger D; Dixit, Anupma; MacDonald, Maureen; Yang, Mingan; Qian, Zhengmin

    2014-01-01

    Carpet is known to be a reservoir for biological contaminants, such as dust mites, dust mite allergen, and mold, if it is not kept clean. The accumulation of these contaminants in carpet might trigger allergies or asthma symptoms in both children and adults. The purpose of this study is to compare methods for removal of dust mites, dust mite allergens, and mold from carpet. Carpets were artificially worn to simulate 1 to 2 years of wear in a four-person household. The worn carpets were inoculated together with a common indoor mold (Cladosporium species) and house dust mites and incubated for 6 weeks to allow time for dust mite growth on the carpet. The carpets were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups. Available treatment regimens for controlling carpet contaminants were evaluated through a literature review and experimentation. Four moderately low-hazard, nondestructive methods were selected as treatments: vacuuming, steam-vapor, Neem oil (a natural tree extract), and benzalkonium chloride (a quaternary ammonium compound). Steam vapor treatment demonstrated the greatest dust mite population reduction (p 0.05) for both physical and chemical methods. The steam-vapor treatment effectively killed dust mites and denatured dust mite allergen in the laboratory environment.

  4. Development of systematic models for aerosol agglomeration and spray removal under severe accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kajimoto, Mitsuhiro

    2008-01-01

    Radionuclide behavior during various severe accident conditions has been addressed as one of the important issues to discuss environmental safety in nuclear power plants. The present paper deals with the development of analytical models and their validations for the agglomeration of multiple-component aerosol and spray removal that controls source terms to the environment of both aerosols and gaseous radionuclides during recirculation mode operation in a containment system for a light water reactor. As for aerosol agglomeration, the single collision kernel model that can cover all types of two-body collision of aerosol was developed. In addition, the dynamic model that can treat aerosol and vapor transfer leading to the equilibrium condition under the containment spray operation was developed. The validations of the present models for multiple-component aerosol growth by agglomeration were performed by comparisons with Nuclear Safety Pilot Plant (NSPP) experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and AB experiments at Hanford Engineering National Laboratory (HEDL). In addition, the spray removal models were applied to the analysis of containment spray experiment (CSE) at HEDL. The results calculated by the models showed good agreements with experimental results. (author)

  5. Agglomeration, accessibility and industrial location: evidence from spanish municipalities

    OpenAIRE

    Alañón Pardo, Ángel; Arauzo Carod, Josep María

    2011-01-01

    This paper deals with the location decisions of manufacturing firms in Spain. We analyse how agglomeration economies and transport accessibility influence the location decisions of firms at municipality level and in three industries. The main empirical contributions of this paper are the econometric techniques used (spatial econometric models) and some of the explanatory variables (local gross domestic product, road accessibility, and the characteristics of firms in neighbouring municipalitie...

  6. Solution of the agglomerate Brownian coagulation using Taylor-expansion moment method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Mingzhou; Lin, Jianzhong

    2009-08-01

    The newly proposed Taylor-expansion moment method (TEMOM) is extended to solve agglomerate coagulation in the free-molecule regime and in the continuum regime, respectively. The moment equations with respect to fractal dimension are derived based on 3rd Taylor-series expansion technique. The validation of this method is done by comparing its result with the published data at each limited size regime. By comparing with analytical method, sectional method (SM) and quadrature method of moments (QMOMs), this new approach is shown to produce the most efficiency without losing much accuracy. At each limited size regime, the effect of fractal dimension on the decay of particle number and particle size growth is mainly investigated, and especially in the continuum regime the relation of mean diameters of size distributions with different fractal dimensions is first proposed. The agglomerate size distribution is found to be sensitive to the fractal dimension and the initial geometric mean deviation before the self-preserving size distribution is achieved in the continuum regime.

  7. Whither Cometary Dust?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisse, Carey M.

    2010-10-01

    In this paper I will discuss recent findings that have important implications for our understanding of the formation and evolution of primitive solar system dust, including: - Nesvorny et al. (2010), following up on their dynamical analyses of the zodiacal dust bands as sourced by the breakup of the Karin (5Mya) and Veritas (8Mya) asteroid families, argue that over 90% of the interplanetary dust cloud at 1 AU comes from JFC comets with near-circularized, low inclination orbits. This implies that the noted IPD collections of anhydrous and hydrous dust particles are likely to be from Oort cloud and JFC comets, respectively, not from asteroids and comets as thought in the past. Hydrous dust particles from comets like 85P/Wild2 and 9P/Tempel 1 would be consistent with results from the STARDUST and Deep Impact experiments. - Estimates of the dust particle size distributions (PSDs) in the comae of 85P/Wild2 (Green et al. 2004, 2007) and 73P/SW-3 (Sitko et al. 2010, Vaubaillon & Reach 2010) and in the trails of comets (Reach et al. 2007) have broken power law structure, with a plateau enhancement of particles of 1 mm - 1 cm in size. This size is also the size of most chondritic inclusions, and the predicted size range of the "aggregational barrier", where collisions between dust particles become destructive. - Studies of the albedo and polarization properties of cometary dust (Kolokolova et al. 2007) suggest there are 2 major groupings, one with low scattering capability and one with high. While these families could possibly have been explained by systematics in the PSDs of the emitted dust, independent work by Lisse et al. (2008) on the mineralogy of a number of highly dusty comets has shown evidence for one family of comets with highly crystalline dust and another with highly amorphous dust.

  8. Explore the influence of agglomeration on electrochemical performance of an amorphous MnO2/C composite by controlling drying process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Mangwei; Kang, Litao; Shi, Mingjie; Xie, Lingli; Wang, Xiaomin; Zhao, Zhe; Yun, Shan; Liang, Wei

    2017-09-01

    Amorphous MnO2/C composite is prepared by a facile redox reaction between potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and commercial black pen ink. Afterwards, two different drying processes, air drying or freeze drying, are employed to adjust the agglomeration state of particles in samples and explore its influence on capacitive performance. Experimental results indicate that the air-dried sample demonstrates much better cycling stability than the freeze-dried one (capacity retention at 5000 cycles: 70.9 vs. 60.7%), probably because of the relatively strong agglomeration between particles in this sample. Nevertheless, strong agglomeration seems to deteriorate the specific capacitance (from 492 down to 440.5 F/g at 1 A/g) due to the decrease of porosity and specific surface area. This study suggests that agglomeration of primary particles plays an important role to balance the specific capacitance and cycling stability for electrode materials.

  9. Formation of metal agglomerates during carbonisation of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood waste: Comparison between a lab scale and an industrial plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Helsen, Lieve [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Applied Mechanics and Energy Conversion, Celestijnenlaan 300A, B-3001 Leuven (Heverlee) (Belgium)]. E-mail: lieve.helsen@mech.kuleuven.be; Hacala, Amelie [Company Thermya, 1 rue Nicolas Appert, 33140 Villenave d' Ornon (France)]. E-mail: hacala@thermya.com

    2006-10-11

    This paper compares the results obtained by scanning electron microscopy coupled to X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXA) of the solid product after carbonisation of treated wood waste in a lab scale and in an industrial installation. These setups (lab scale and industrial) are characterized by different operating conditions of the carbonisation process. Moreover, the wood waste input to the processes differs significantly. From this study, it is clear that some similarities but also some differences exist between the lab scale study and the study with the industrial Chartherm plant. In both reactors, a metal (and mineral) agglomeration process takes place, even in the case of untreated wood. The agglomerates initially present in the wood input may serve as a seed for the metal agglomeration process during 'chartherisation'. The industrial setup leads to a broader range of agglomerates' size (0.1-50 {mu}m) and composition (all possible combinations of Cu, Cr, As and wood minerals). Some agglomerates contain the three metals but the major part is a combination of wood minerals and one or two of the three preservative metals, while all agglomerates analysed in the lab scale product contain the three metals. The separate influence of wood input characteristics and process conditions cannot be derived from these experiments, but the observations suggest that the higher the CCA retention in the wood input is, the easier is the metal agglomeration process during chartherisation of CCA treated wood waste. From the analyses performed in this study it seems that copper behaves differently in the sense that it agglomerates easily, but the resulting particles are small (<1 {mu}m)

  10. Formation of metal agglomerates during carbonisation of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood waste: Comparison between a lab scale and an industrial plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helsen, Lieve; Hacala, Amelie

    2006-01-01

    This paper compares the results obtained by scanning electron microscopy coupled to X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXA) of the solid product after carbonisation of treated wood waste in a lab scale and in an industrial installation. These setups (lab scale and industrial) are characterized by different operating conditions of the carbonisation process. Moreover, the wood waste input to the processes differs significantly. From this study, it is clear that some similarities but also some differences exist between the lab scale study and the study with the industrial Chartherm plant. In both reactors, a metal (and mineral) agglomeration process takes place, even in the case of untreated wood. The agglomerates initially present in the wood input may serve as a seed for the metal agglomeration process during 'chartherisation'. The industrial setup leads to a broader range of agglomerates' size (0.1-50 μm) and composition (all possible combinations of Cu, Cr, As and wood minerals). Some agglomerates contain the three metals but the major part is a combination of wood minerals and one or two of the three preservative metals, while all agglomerates analysed in the lab scale product contain the three metals. The separate influence of wood input characteristics and process conditions cannot be derived from these experiments, but the observations suggest that the higher the CCA retention in the wood input is, the easier is the metal agglomeration process during chartherisation of CCA treated wood waste. From the analyses performed in this study it seems that copper behaves differently in the sense that it agglomerates easily, but the resulting particles are small (<1 μm)

  11. Integrative Analysis of Desert Dust Size and Abundance Suggests Less Dust Climate Cooling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kok, Jasper F.; Ridley, David A.; Zhou, Qing; Miller, Ron L.; Zhao, Chun; Heald, Colette L.; Ward, Daniel S.; Albani, Samuel; Haustein, Karsten

    2017-01-01

    Desert dust aerosols affect Earths global energy balance through interactions with radiation, clouds, and ecosystems. But the magnitudes of these effects are so uncertain that it remains unclear whether atmospheric dust has a net warming or cooling effect on global climate. Consequently, it is still uncertain whether large changes in atmospheric dust loading over the past century have slowed or accelerated anthropogenic climate change, and the climate impact of possible future alterations in dust loading is similarly disputed. Here we use an integrative analysis of dust aerosol sizes and abundance to constrain the climatic impact of dust through direct interactions with radiation. Using a combination of observational, experimental, and model data, we find that atmospheric dust is substantially coarser than represented in current climate models. Since coarse dust warms global climate, the dust direct radiative effect (DRE) is likely less cooling than the 0.4 W m superscript 2 estimated by models in a current ensemble. We constrain the dust DRE to -0.20 (-0.48 to +0.20) W m superscript 2, which suggests that the dust DRE produces only about half the cooling that current models estimate, and raises the possibility that dust DRE is actually net warming the planet.

  12. Determinants of house dust, endotoxin, and β-(1→3)-d-glucan in homes of Danish children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holst, Gitte Juel; Høst, Arne; Doekes, G

    2015-01-01

    Little is known about the geographic variation and determinants of bacterial endotoxin and β -(1,3)-d-glucan in Danish house dust. In a population of 317 children, we: (i) described loads and concentrations of floor dust, endotoxin, and β-(1→3)-d-glucan and (ii) their correlations and (iii......) assessed their determinants; (iv) Finally, we compared our findings with previous European studies. Bedroom floor dust was analyzed for endotoxin content by the kinetic limulus amoebocyte lysate assay and for β-(1→3)-d-glucan by the inhibition enzyme immunoassay. The parents answered questions regarding...... potential determinants. We found: geometric means (geometric standard deviations) 186 mg/m(2) (4.3) for dust; 5.46 × 10(3) EU/m(2) (8.0) and 31.1 × 10(3) EU/g (2.6) for endotoxin; and 142 μg/m(2) (14.3) and 0.71 × 10(3) μg/g (7.3) for β-(1→3)-d-glucan. High correlations (r > 0.75) were found between floor...

  13. DUST PROPERTIES OF LOCAL DUST-OBSCURED GALAXIES WITH THE SUBMILLIMETER ARRAY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, Ho Seong; Andrews, Sean M.; Geller, Margaret J.

    2013-01-01

    We report Submillimeter Array observations of the 880 μm dust continuum emission for four dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) in the local universe. Two DOGs are clearly detected with S ν (880 μm) =10-13 mJy and S/N > 5, but the other two are not detected with 3σ upper limits of S ν (880 μm) =5-9 mJy. Including an additional two local DOGs with submillimeter data from the literature, we determine the dust masses and temperatures for six local DOGs. The infrared luminosities and dust masses for these DOGs are in the ranges of 1.2-4.9 × 10 11 (L ☉ ) and 4-14 × 10 7 (M ☉ ), respectively. The dust temperatures derived from a two-component modified blackbody function are 23-26 K and 60-124 K for the cold and warm dust components, respectively. Comparison of local DOGs with other infrared luminous galaxies with submillimeter detections shows that the dust temperatures and masses do not differ significantly among these objects. Thus, as argued previously, local DOGs are not a distinctive population among dusty galaxies, but simply represent the high-end tail of the dust obscuration distribution

  14. Dust Destruction in the ISM: A Re-Evaluation of Dust Lifetimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, A. P.; Nuth, J. A., III

    2011-01-01

    There is a long-standing conundrum in interstellar dust studies relating to the discrepancy between the time-scales for dust formation from evolved stars and the apparently more rapid destruction in supernova-generated shock waves. Aims. We re-examine some of the key issues relating to dust evolution and processing in the interstellar medium. Methods. We use recent and new constraints from observations, experiments, modelling and theory to re-evaluate dust formation in the interstellar medium (ISM). Results. We find that the discrepancy between the dust formation and destruction time-scales may not be as significant as has previously been assumed because of the very large uncertainties involved. Conclusions. The derived silicate dust lifetime could be compatible with its injection time-scale, given the inherent uncertainties in the dust lifetime calculation. The apparent need to re-form significant quantities of silicate dust in the tenuous interstellar medium may therefore not be a strong requirement. Carbonaceous matter, on the other hand, appears to be rapidly recycled in the ISM and, in contrast to silicates, there are viable mechanisms for its re-formation in the ISM.

  15. Stability of silver nanoparticles: agglomeration and oxidation in biological relevant conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valenti, Laura E.; Giacomelli, Carla E.

    2017-05-01

    Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP) are the most used nanomaterial in consumer products due to the intrinsic antimicrobial capacity of silver. However, Ag-NP may be also harmful to algae, aquatic species, mammalian cells, and higher plants because both Ag+ and nanoparticles are responsible of cell damages. The oxidative dissolution of Ag-NP would proceed to completion under oxic conditions, but the rate and extent of the dissolution depend on several factors. This work correlates the effect of the capping agent (albumin and citrate) with the stability of Ag-NP towards agglomeration in simulated body fluid (SBF) and oxidation in the presence of ROS species (H2O2). Capping provides colloidal stability only through electrostatic means, whereas albumin acts as bulky ligands giving steric and electrostatic repulsion, inhibiting the agglomeration in SBF. However, citrate capping protects Ag-NP from dissolution to a major extent than albumin does because of its reducing power. Moreover, citrate in solution minimizes the oxidation of albumin-coated Ag-NP even after long incubation times. H2O2-induced dissolution proceeds to completion with Ag-NP incubated in SBF, while incubation in citrate leads to an incomplete oxidation. In short, albumin is an excellent capping agent to minimize Ag-NP agglomeration whereas citrate provides a mild-reductive medium that prevents dissolution in biological relevant media as well as in the presence of ROS species. These results provide insight into how the surface properties and media composition affect the release of Ag+ from Ag-NP, related to the cell toxicity and relevant to the storage and lifetime of silver-containing nanomaterials.

  16. Stability of silver nanoparticles: agglomeration and oxidation in biological relevant conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valenti, Laura E.; Giacomelli, Carla E., E-mail: giacomel@fcq.unc.edu.ar [Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico Química de Córdoba (INFIQC) CONICET-UNC, Departamento de Fisicoquímica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas (Argentina)

    2017-05-15

    Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP) are the most used nanomaterial in consumer products due to the intrinsic antimicrobial capacity of silver. However, Ag-NP may be also harmful to algae, aquatic species, mammalian cells, and higher plants because both Ag{sup +} and nanoparticles are responsible of cell damages. The oxidative dissolution of Ag-NP would proceed to completion under oxic conditions, but the rate and extent of the dissolution depend on several factors. This work correlates the effect of the capping agent (albumin and citrate) with the stability of Ag-NP towards agglomeration in simulated body fluid (SBF) and oxidation in the presence of ROS species (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}). Capping provides colloidal stability only through electrostatic means, whereas albumin acts as bulky ligands giving steric and electrostatic repulsion, inhibiting the agglomeration in SBF. However, citrate capping protects Ag-NP from dissolution to a major extent than albumin does because of its reducing power. Moreover, citrate in solution minimizes the oxidation of albumin-coated Ag-NP even after long incubation times. H{sub 2}O{sub 2}-induced dissolution proceeds to completion with Ag-NP incubated in SBF, while incubation in citrate leads to an incomplete oxidation. In short, albumin is an excellent capping agent to minimize Ag-NP agglomeration whereas citrate provides a mild-reductive medium that prevents dissolution in biological relevant media as well as in the presence of ROS species. These results provide insight into how the surface properties and media composition affect the release of Ag{sup +} from Ag-NP, related to the cell toxicity and relevant to the storage and lifetime of silver-containing nanomaterials.

  17. Colloidal agglomerates in tank sludge and their impact on waste processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tingey, J.M.; Bunker, B.C.; Graff, G.L.; Keefer, K.D.; Lea, A.S.; Rector, D.R.

    1999-01-01

    Disposal of millions of gallons of existing radioactive wastes in underground storage tanks is a major remediation activity for the US Department of Energy. These wastes include a substantial volume of insoluble sludges consisting of submicron colloidal particles. Processing these sludges under the proposed processing conditions presents unique challenges in retrieval transport, separation, and solidification of these waste streams. Depending on processing conditions, these colloidal particles can form agglomerated networks having high viscosities that could clog transfer lines or produce high volumes of low-density sediments that interfere with solid-liquid separations. Under different conditions, these particles can be dispersed to form very fine suspended particles that do not settle. Given the wide range of waste chemistries present at Department of Energy sites, it is impractical to measure the properties of all treatment procedures. Under the current research activities, the underlying principles of colloid chemistry and physics are being studied to predict and eventually control the physical properties of sludge suspensions and sediment layers in tank wastes and other waste processing streams. Proposed tank processing strategies include retrieval transport, and solid-liquid separations in basic (pH 10 to 14), high ionic strength (0.1 to 1.0 M) salt solutions. The effect of salt concentration, ionic strength, and salt composition on the physical properties such as viscosity, agglomerate size, and sedimentation of model suspensions containing mixtures of one or two of the major components found in actual wastes have been measured to understand how agglomeration influences processing. Property models developed from theory and experiment on these simple suspensions are then applied to explain the results obtained on actual wastes

  18. 2D Cross Sectional Analysis and Associated Electrochemistry of Composite Electrodes Containing Dispersed Agglomerates of Nanocrystalline Magnetite, Fe₃O₄.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, David C; Kirshenbaum, Kevin C; Wang, Jiajun; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Feng; Wang, Jun; Marschilok, Amy C; Takeuchi, Kenneth J; Takeuchi, Esther S

    2015-06-24

    When electroactive nanomaterials are fully incorporated into an electrode structure, characterization of the crystallite sizes, agglomerate sizes, and dispersion of the electroactive materials can lend insight into the complex electrochemistry associated with composite electrodes. In this study, composite magnetite electrodes were sectioned using ultramicrotome techniques, which facilitated the direct observation of crystallites and agglomerates of magnetite (Fe3O4) as well as their dispersal patterns in large representative sections of electrode, via 2D cross sectional analysis by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Further, the electrochemistry of these electrodes were recorded, and Transmission X-ray Microscopy (TXM) was used to determine the distribution of oxidation states of the reduced magnetite. Unexpectedly, while two crystallite sizes of magnetite were employed in the production of the composite electrodes, the magnetite agglomerate sizes and degrees of dispersion in the two composite electrodes were similar to each other. This observation illustrates the necessity for careful characterization of composite electrodes, in order to understand the effects of crystallite size, agglomerate size, and level of dispersion on electrochemistry.

  19. Preventing Crystal Agglomeration of Pharmaceutical Crystals Using Temperature Cycling and a Novel Membrane Crystallization Procedure for Seed Crystal Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Simone

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work, a novel membrane crystallization system was used to crystallize micro-sized seeds of piroxicam monohydrate by reverse antisolvent addition. Membrane crystallization seeds were compared with seeds produced by conventional antisolvent addition and polymorphic transformation of a fine powdered sample of piroxicam form I in water. The membrane crystallization process allowed for a consistent production of pure monohydrate crystals with narrow size distribution and without significant agglomeration. The seeds were grown in 350 g of 20:80 w/w acetone-water mixture. Different seeding loads were tested and temperature cycling was applied in order to avoid agglomeration of the growing crystals during the process. Focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM; and particle vision and measurement (PVM were used to monitor crystal growth; nucleation and agglomeration during the seeded experiments. Furthermore; Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor solute concentration and estimate the overall yield of the process. Membrane crystallization was proved to be the most convenient and consistent method to produce seeds of highly agglomerating compounds; which can be grown via cooling crystallization and temperature cycling.

  20. Irreversible colloidal agglomeration in presence of associative inhibitors: Computer simulation study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barcenas, Mariana; Duda, Yurko

    2007-01-01

    Monte Carlo simulation is employed to study the irreversible particle-cluster agglomeration of valence-limited colloids affected by associative inhibitors. The cluster size distribution and number of connections between colloids are analyzed as a function of density and inhibitor concentration. The influence of colloid functionality on its aggregation is discussed

  1. DUST PROPERTIES OF LOCAL DUST-OBSCURED GALAXIES WITH THE SUBMILLIMETER ARRAY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hwang, Ho Seong; Andrews, Sean M.; Geller, Margaret J., E-mail: hhwang@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: sandrews@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: mgeller@cfa.harvard.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2013-11-01

    We report Submillimeter Array observations of the 880 μm dust continuum emission for four dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) in the local universe. Two DOGs are clearly detected with S{sub ν}(880 μm) =10-13 mJy and S/N > 5, but the other two are not detected with 3σ upper limits of S{sub ν}(880 μm) =5-9 mJy. Including an additional two local DOGs with submillimeter data from the literature, we determine the dust masses and temperatures for six local DOGs. The infrared luminosities and dust masses for these DOGs are in the ranges of 1.2-4.9 × 10{sup 11}(L{sub ☉}) and 4-14 × 10{sup 7}(M{sub ☉}), respectively. The dust temperatures derived from a two-component modified blackbody function are 23-26 K and 60-124 K for the cold and warm dust components, respectively. Comparison of local DOGs with other infrared luminous galaxies with submillimeter detections shows that the dust temperatures and masses do not differ significantly among these objects. Thus, as argued previously, local DOGs are not a distinctive population among dusty galaxies, but simply represent the high-end tail of the dust obscuration distribution.

  2. Inter- and intra-agglomerate fracture in nanocrystalline nickel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Zhiwei; Knapp, J A; Follstaedt, D M; Stach, E A; Wiezorek, J M K; Mao, S X

    2008-03-14

    In situ tensile straining transmission electron microscopy tests have been carried out on nanocrystalline Ni. Grain agglomerates (GAs) were found to form very frequently and rapidly ahead of an advancing crack with sizes much larger than the initial average grain size. High-resolution electron microscopy indicated that the GAs most probably consist of nanograins separated by low-angle grain boundaries. Furthermore, both inter- and intra-GA fractures were observed. The observations suggest that these newly formed GAs may play an important role in the formation of the dimpled fracture surfaces of nanocrystalline materials.

  3. THE IMPACT OF TAXATION AND AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIESON FDI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Golem

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at extending the empirical literature on foreign direct investment(FDI determinants by examining how FDI reacts to corporate tax rates andwhether this reaction is conditional on some other economic factors, such asagglomeration economies. To that end, we gather the relevant data on developedmarket economies and employ an appropriateeconometric technique (PooledMean Group- PMG estimator which allows for both dynamics and parameterheterogeneity to be included in the model. Our results suggest that both taxationand agglomeration economies play an important role in attracting FDI.

  4. Modelling Inter-Particle Forces and Resulting Agglomerate Sizes in Cement-Based Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Ane Mette; Geiker, Mette Rica

    2005-01-01

    The theory of inter-particle forces versus external shear in cement-based materials is reviewed. On this basis, calculations on maximum agglomerate size present after the combined action of superplasticizers and shear are carried out. Qualitative experimental results indicate that external shear ...

  5. Collisionless damping of nonlinear dust ion acoustic wave due to dust charge fluctuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, Samiran; Chaudhuri, Tushar K.; Sarkar, Susmita; Khan, Manoranjan; Gupta, M.R.

    2002-01-01

    A dissipation mechanism for the damping of the nonlinear dust ion acoustic wave in a collisionless dusty plasma consisting of nonthermal electrons, ions, and variable charge dust grains has been investigated. It is shown that the collisionless damping due to dust charge fluctuation causes the nonlinear dust ion acoustic wave propagation to be described by the damped Korteweg-de Vries equation. Due to the presence of nonthermal electrons, the dust ion acoustic wave admits both positive and negative potential and it suffers less damping than the dust acoustic wave, which admits only negative potential

  6. Bounded dust-acoustic waves in a cylindrically bounded collisional dusty plasma with dust charge variation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Nanxia; Xue Jukui

    2006-01-01

    Taking into account the boundary, particle collisions, and dust charging effects, dust-acoustic waves in a uniform cylindrically bounded dusty plasma is investigated analytically, and the dispersion relation for the dust-acoustic wave is obtained. The effects of boundary, dust charge variation, particle collision, and dust size on the dust-acoustic wave are discussed in detail. Due to the bounded cylindrical boundary effects, the radial wave number is discrete, i.e., the spectrum is discrete. It is shown that the discrete spectrum, the adiabatic dust charge variation, dust grain size, and the particle collision have significant effects on the dust-acoustic wave

  7. Discrete population balance models of random agglomeration and cleavage in polymer pyrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John E. J. Staggs

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The processes of random agglomeration and cleavage (both of which are important for the development of new models of polymer combustion, but are also applicable in a wide range of fields including atmospheric physics, radiation modelling and astrophysics are analysed using population balance methods. The evolution of a discrete distribution of particles is considered within this framework, resulting in a set of ordinary differential equations for the individual particle concentrations. Exact solutions for these equations are derived, together with moment generating functions. Application of the discrete Laplace transform (analogous to the Z-transform is found to be effective in these problems, providing both exact solutions for particle concentrations and moment generating functions. The combined agglomeration-cleavage problem is also considered. Unfortunately, it has been impossible to find an exact solution for the full problem, but a stable steady state has been identified and computed.

  8. The Lunar Dust Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szalay, Jamey Robert

    Planetary bodies throughout the solar system are continually bombarded by dust particles, largely originating from cometary activities and asteroidal collisions. Surfaces of bodies with thick atmospheres, such as Venus, Earth, Mars and Titan are mostly protected from incoming dust impacts as these particles ablate in their atmospheres as 'shooting stars'. However, the majority of bodies in the solar system have no appreciable atmosphere and their surfaces are directly exposed to the flux of high speed dust grains. Impacts onto solid surfaces in space generate charged and neutral gas clouds, as well as solid secondary ejecta dust particles. Gravitationally bound ejecta clouds forming dust exospheres were recognized by in situ dust instruments around the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and had not yet been observed near bodies with refractory regolith surfaces before NASA's Lunar Dust and Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission. In this thesis, we first present the measurements taken by the Lunar Dust Explorer (LDEX), aboard LADEE, which discovered a permanently present, asymmetric dust cloud surrounding the Moon. The global characteristics of the lunar dust cloud are discussed as a function of a variety of variables such as altitude, solar longitude, local time, and lunar phase. These results are compared with models for lunar dust cloud generation. Second, we present an analysis of the groupings of impacts measured by LDEX, which represent detections of dense ejecta plumes above the lunar surface. These measurements are put in the context of understanding the response of the lunar surface to meteoroid bombardment and how to use other airless bodies in the solar system as detectors for their local meteoroid environment. Third, we present the first in-situ dust measurements taken over the lunar sunrise terminator. Having found no excess of small grains in this region, we discuss its implications for the putative population of electrostatically lofted dust.

  9. Gas-diffusion microextraction coupled with spectrophotometry for the determination of formaldehyde in cork agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandão, Pedro F; Ramos, Rui M; Valente, Inês M; Almeida, Paulo J; Carro, Antonia M; Lorenzo, Rosa A; Rodrigues, José A

    2017-04-01

    In this work, a simple methodology was developed for the extraction and determination of free formaldehyde content in cork agglomerate samples. For the first time, gas-diffusion microextraction was used for the extraction of volatile formaldehyde directly from samples, with simultaneous derivatization with acetylacetone (Hantzsch reaction). The absorbance of the coloured solution was read in a spectrophotometer at 412 nm. Different extraction parameters were studied and optimized (extraction temperature, sample mass, volume of acceptor solution, extraction time and concentration of derivatization reagent) by means of an asymmetric screening. The developed methodology proved to be a reliable tool for the determination of formaldehyde in cork agglomerates with the following suitable method features: low LOD (0.14 mg kg -1 ) and LOQ (0.47 mg kg -1 ), r 2  = 0.9994, and intraday and interday precision of 3.5 and 4.9%, respectively. The developed methodology was applied to the determination of formaldehyde in different cork agglomerate samples, and contents between 1.9 and 9.4 mg kg -1 were found. Furthermore, formaldehyde was also determined by the standard method EN 717-3 for comparison purposes; no significant differences between the results of both methods were observed. Graphical abstract Representation of the GDME system and its main components.

  10. Operational source receptor calculations for large agglomerations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauss, Michael; Shamsudheen, Semeena V.; Valdebenito, Alvaro; Pommier, Matthieu; Schulz, Michael

    2016-04-01

    For Air quality policy an important question is how much of the air pollution within an urbanized region can be attributed to local sources and how much of it is imported through long-range transport. This is critical information for a correct assessment of the effectiveness of potential emission measures. The ratio between indigenous and long-range transported air pollution for a given region depends on its geographic location, the size of its area, the strength and spatial distribution of emission sources, the time of the year, but also - very strongly - on the current meteorological conditions, which change from day to day and thus make it important to provide such calculations in near-real-time to support short-term legislation. Similarly, long-term analysis over longer periods (e.g. one year), or of specific air quality episodes in the past, can help to scientifically underpin multi-regional agreements and long-term legislation. Within the European MACC projects (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate) and the transition to the operational CAMS service (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) the computationally efficient EMEP MSC-W air quality model has been applied with detailed emission data, comprehensive calculations of chemistry and microphysics, driven by high quality meteorological forecast data (up to 96-hour forecasts), to provide source-receptor calculations on a regular basis in forecast mode. In its current state, the product allows the user to choose among different regions and regulatory pollutants (e.g. ozone and PM) to assess the effectiveness of fictive emission reductions in air pollutant emissions that are implemented immediately, either within the agglomeration or outside. The effects are visualized as bar charts, showing resulting changes in air pollution levels within the agglomeration as a function of time (hourly resolution, 0 to 4 days into the future). The bar charts not only allow assessing the effects of emission

  11. Control of nanoparticle agglomeration through variation of the time-temperature profile in chemical vapor synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Djenadic, Ruzica; Winterer, Markus, E-mail: markus.winterer@uni-due.de [Universität Duisburg-Essen, Nanoparticle Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering and CENIDE (Germany)

    2017-02-15

    The influence of the time-temperature history on the characteristics of nanoparticles such as size, degree of agglomeration, or crystallinity is investigated for chemical vapor synthesis (CVS). A simple reaction-coagulation-sintering model is used to describe the CVS process, and the results of the model are compared to experimental data. Nanocrystalline titania is used as model material. Titania nanoparticles are generated from titanium-tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) in a hot-wall reactor. Pure anatase particles and mixtures of anatase, rutile (up to 11 vol.%), and brookite (up to 29 vol.%) with primary particle sizes from 1.7 nm to 10.5 nm and agglomerate particle sizes from 24.3 nm to 55.6 nm are formed depending on the particle time-temperature history. An inductively heated furnace with variable inductor geometry is used as a novel system to control the time-temperature profile in the reactor externally covering a large wall temperature range from 873 K to 2023 K. An appropriate choice of inductor geometry, i.e. time-temperature profile, can significantly reduce the degree of agglomeration. Other particle characteristics such as crystallinity are also substantially influenced by the time-temperature profile.

  12. The role of nanoparticulate agglomerates in TiO{sub 2} photocatalysis: degradation of oxalic acid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ivanova, Irina [Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institut fuer Technische Chemie (Germany); Mendive, Cecilia B., E-mail: cbmendive@mdp.edu.ar [Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química (Argentina); Bahnemann, Detlef [Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institut fuer Technische Chemie (Germany)

    2016-07-15

    The simultaneous bimodal study of the photocatalytic oxalic acid degradation by aqueous TiO{sub 2} suspensions revealed that particular systems possess the capacity to protect a certain amount of oxalic acid from oxidation, thus hindering, to some extent, the photocatalytic reaction. While measurements of the oxalic acid concentration in the bulk liquid phase indicated full photocatalytic degradation; in situ pH-stat measurements allowed the quantification of the amount of oxalic acid remaining in the part of the nanoparticulate agglomerates where light could apparently not access. An explanation for this phenomenon takes into account the possibility of the formation of TiO{sub 2} agglomerates in which these molecules are hidden from the effect of the light, thus being protected from photocatalytic degradation. Studies of different TiO{sub 2} materials with different particle sizes allowed a deeper exploration of this phenomenon. In addition, because this property of encapsulating pollutant molecules by photocatalytic systems is found to be a reversible phenomenon, P25 appears to be more convenient and advantageous as compared to the use of large surface area photocatalysts.Graphical AbstractFig.: Deaggregation of TiO{sub 2} particle agglomerates upon UV illumination.

  13. Coupling Mars' Dust and Water Cycles: Effects on Dust Lifting Vigor, Spatial Extent and Seasonality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahre, M. A.; Hollingsworth, J. L.; Haberle, R. M.; Montmessin, F.

    2012-01-01

    The dust cycle is an important component of Mars' current climate system. Airborne dust affects the radiative balance of the atmosphere, thus greatly influencing the thermal and dynamical state of the atmosphere. Dust raising events on Mars occur at spatial scales ranging from meters to planet-wide. Although the occurrence and season of large regional and global dust storms are highly variable from one year to the next, there are many features of the dust cycle that occur year after year. Generally, a low-level dust haze is maintained during northern spring and summer, while elevated levels of atmospheric dust occur during northern autumn and winter. During years without global-scale dust storms, two peaks in total dust loading were observed by MGS/TES: one peak occurred before northern winter solstice at Ls 200-240, and one peak occurred after northern winter solstice at L(sub s) 305-340. These maxima in dust loading are thought to be associated with transient eddy activity in the northern hemisphere, which has been observed to maximize pre- and post-solstice. Interactive dust cycle studies with Mars General Circulation Models (MGCMs) have included the lifting, transport, and sedimentation of radiatively active dust. Although the predicted global dust loadings from these simulations capture some aspects of the observed dust cycle, there are marked differences between the simulated and observed dust cycles. Most notably, the maximum dust loading is robustly predicted by models to occur near northern winter solstice and is due to dust lifting associated with down slope flows on the flanks of the Hellas basin. Thus far, models have had difficulty simulating the observed pre- and post- solstice peaks in dust loading. Interactive dust cycle studies typically have not included the formation of water ice clouds or their radiative effects. Water ice clouds can influence the dust cycle by scavenging dust from atmosphere and by interacting with solar and infrared radiation

  14. Growth mechanisms for spherical mixed hydroxide agglomerates prepared by co-precipitation method: A case of Ni{sub 1/3}Co{sub 1/3}Mn{sub 1/3}(OH){sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Yue [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Xu, Shengming, E-mail: smxu@stinghua.edu.cn [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Xie, Ming [The State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies for Comprehensive Utilization of Precious Metals, Kunming 650106 (China); He, Yinghe, E-mail: yinghe.he@jcu.edu.au [School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland 4811 (Australia); Huang, Guoyong [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Yang, Youcai [The State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies for Comprehensive Utilization of Precious Metals, Kunming 650106 (China)

    2015-01-15

    Highlights: • Anisotropic growth of Ni{sub 1/3}Co{sub 1/3}Mn{sub 1/3}(OH){sub 2} along the [0 0 1] direction was revealed. • DFT calculation results show crystal surface energies of (0 0 1) plane is highest. • A new model was proposed to explain the formation of spherical agglomerates. - Abstract: Spherical Ni{sub 1/3}Co{sub 1/3}Mn{sub 1/3}(OH){sub 2} agglomerates were synthesized by the co-precipitation method in the presence of ammonia. The results show that the growth mechanism of spherical agglomerates follows three-stages, i.e. nucleation and anisotropic growth of single crystals; agglomeration of polycrystalline crystallites agglomerated by single crystal grains as primary particles to form embryonic agglomerates; formation, growth and consolidation of spherical agglomerates or particles by agglomeration of embryonic agglomerates, continued growth of individual crystals in the agglomerates and further attachment of primary particles. The first two stages are very fast while the last stage takes almost the entire process to complete. The main reason for the anisotropic growth of Ni{sub 1/3}Co{sub 1/3}Mn{sub 1/3}(OH){sub 2} crystal is that crystal surface energy of E{sub (001)}, E{sub (100)}, E{sub (101)} and E{sub (102)} is different with E{sub (001)} being the highest. The morphology of the final spherical agglomerates is explained by partial re-crystallization of contacting primary particles. The growth process of spherical agglomerates was examined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and calculation of crystal surface energy using density function theory.

  15. Multiperiod Hierarchical Location Problem of Transit Hub in Urban Agglomeration Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting-ting Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the rapid urbanization in developing countries, urban agglomeration area (UAA forms. Also, transportation demand in UAA grows rapidly and presents hierarchical feature. Therefore, it is imperative to develop models for transit hubs to guide the development of UAA and better meet the time-varying and hierarchical transportation demand. In this paper, the multiperiod hierarchical location problem of transit hub in urban agglomeration area (THUAA is studied. A hierarchical service network of THUAA with a multiflow, nested, and noncoherent structure is described. Then a multiperiod hierarchical mathematical programming model is proposed, aiming at minimizing the total demand weighted travel time. Moreover, an improved adaptive clonal selection algorithm is presented to solve the model. Both the model and algorithm are verified by the application to a real-life problem of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region in China. The results of different scenarios in the case show that urban population migration has a great impact on the THUAA location scheme. Sustained and appropriate urban population migration helps to reduce travel time for urban residents.

  16. Anti-Agglomerator of Tetra-n-Butyl Ammonium Bromide Hydrate and Its Effect on Hydrate-Based CO2 Capture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rong Li

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB was widely used in the research fields of cold storage and CO2 hydrate separation due to its high phase change latent heat and thermodynamic promotion for hydrate formation. Agglomeration always occurred in the process of TBAB hydrate generation, which led to the blockage in the pipeline and the separation apparatus. In this work, we screened out a kind of anti-agglomerant that can effectively solve the problem of TBAB hydrate agglomeration. The anti-agglomerant (AA is composed of 90% cocamidopropyl dimethylamine and 10% glycerol, which can keep TBAB hydrate of 19.3–29.0 wt. % in a stable state of slurry over 72 h. The microscopic observation of the morphology of the TBAB hydrate particles showed that the addition of AA can greatly reduce the size of the TBAB hydrate particles. CO2 gas separation experiments found that the addition of AA led to great improvement on gas storage capacity, CO2 split fraction and separation factor, due to the increasing of contact area between gas phase and hydrate particles. The CO2 split fraction and separation factor with AA addition reached up to 70.3% and 42.8%, respectively.

  17. Fractal dust grains in plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, F.; Peng, R. D.; Liu, Y. H.; Chen, Z. Y.; Ye, M. F.; Wang, L.

    2012-01-01

    Fractal dust grains of different shapes are observed in a radially confined magnetized radio frequency plasma. The fractal dimensions of the dust structures in two-dimensional (2D) horizontal dust layers are calculated, and their evolution in the dust growth process is investigated. It is found that as the dust grains grow the fractal dimension of the dust structure decreases. In addition, the fractal dimension of the center region is larger than that of the entire region in the 2D dust layer. In the initial growth stage, the small dust particulates at a high number density in a 2D layer tend to fill space as a normal surface with fractal dimension D = 2. The mechanism of the formation of fractal dust grains is discussed.

  18. Gasification of palm empty fruit bunch in a bubbling fluidized bed: a performance and agglomeration study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahijani, Pooya; Zainal, Zainal Alimuddin

    2011-01-01

    Gasification of palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was investigated in a pilot-scale air-blown fluidized bed. The effect of bed temperature (650-1050 °C) on gasification performance was studied. To explore the potential of EFB, the gasification results were compared to that of sawdust. Results showed that maximum heating values (HHV) of 5.37 and 5.88 (MJ/Nm3), dry gas yield of 2.04 and 2.0 (Nm3/kg), carbon conversion of 93% and 85 % and cold gas efficiency of 72% and 71 % were obtained for EFB and sawdust at the temperature of 1050 °C and ER of 0.25. However, it was realized that agglomeration was the major issue in EFB gasification at high temperatures. To prevent the bed agglomeration, EFB gasification was performed at temperature of 770±20 °C while the ER was varied from 0.17 to 0.32. Maximum HHV of 4.53 was obtained at ER of 0.21 where no agglomeration was observed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Agglomeration of Luminescent Porous Silicon Nanoparticles in Colloidal Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herynková, Kateřina; Šlechta, Miroslav; Šimáková, Petra; Fučíková, Anna; Cibulka, Ondřej

    2016-12-01

    We have prepared colloidal solutions of clusters composed from porous silicon nanoparticles in methanol, water and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Even if the size of the nanoclusters is between 60 and 500 nm, due to their highly porous "cauliflower"-like structure, the porous silicon nanoparticles are composed of interconnected nanocrystals having around 2.5 nm in size and showing strong visible luminescence in the orange-red spectral region (centred at 600-700 nm). Hydrophilic behaviour and good solubility of the nanoclusters in water and water-based solutions were obtained by adding hydrogen peroxide into the etching solution during preparation and 16 min long after-bath in hydrogen peroxide. By simple filtration of the solutions with syringe filters, we have extracted smaller nanoclusters with sizes of approx. 60-70 nm; however, these nanoclusters in water and PBS solution (pH neutral) are prone to agglomeration, as was confirmed by zeta potential measurements. When the samples were left at ambient conditions for several weeks, the typical nanocluster size increased to approx. 330-400 nm and then remained stable. However, both freshly filtered and aged samples (with agglomerated porous silicon nanoparticles) of porous silicon in water and PBS solutions can be further used for biological studies or as luminescent markers in living cells.

  20. Design and development of a dust dispersion chamber to quantify the dispersibility of rock dust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perera, Inoka E; Sapko, Michael J; Harris, Marcia L; Zlochower, Isaac A; Weiss, Eric S

    2016-01-01

    Dispersible rock dust must be applied to the surfaces of entries in underground coal mines in order to inert the coal dust entrained or made airborne during an explosion and prevent propagating explosions. 30 CFR. 75.2 states that "… [rock dust particles] when wetted and dried will not cohere to form a cake which will not be dispersed into separate particles by a light blast of air …" However, a proper definition or quantification of "light blast of air" is not provided. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has, consequently, designed a dust dispersion chamber to conduct quantitative laboratory-scale dispersibility experiments as a screening tool for candidate rock dusts. A reproducible pulse of air is injected into the chamber and across a shallow tray of rock dust. The dust dispersed and carried downwind is monitored. The mass loss of the dust tray and the airborne dust measurements determine the relative dispersibility of the dust with respect to a Reference rock dust. This report describes the design and the methodology to evaluate the relative dispersibility of rock dusts with and without anti-caking agents. Further, the results of this study indicate that the dispersibility of rock dusts varies with particle size, type of anti-caking agent used, and with the untapped bulk density. Untreated rock dusts, when wetted and dried forming a cake that was much less dispersible than the reference rock dust used in supporting the 80% total incombustible content rule.

  1. Wood Dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Learn about wood dust, which can raise the risk of cancers of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity. High amounts of wood dust are produced in sawmills, and in the furniture-making, cabinet-making, and carpentry industries.

  2. Thirteen years of Aeolian dust dynamics in a desert region (Negev desert, Israel): analysis of horizontal and vertical dust flux, vertical dust distribution and dust grain size

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Offer, Z.Y.; Goossens, D.

    2004-01-01

    At Sede Boqer (northern Negev desert, Israel), aeolian dust dynamics have been measured during the period 1988–2000. This study focuses on temporal records of the vertical and horizontal dust flux, the vertical distribution of the dust particles in the atmosphere, and the grain size of the

  3. Experimental and numerical study on the optical properties and agglomeration of nanoparticle suspensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Otanicar, Todd, E-mail: todd-otanicar@utulsa.edu; Hoyt, Jordan; Fahar, Maryam [University of Tulsa, Department of Mechanical Engineering (United States); Jiang, Xuchuan [University of New South Wales, School of Materials Science and Engineering (Australia); Taylor, Robert A. [University of New South Wales, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (Australia)

    2013-11-15

    Nanoparticles have garnered significant interest because of their ability to enhance greatly the optical properties of the base fluid in which they are suspended. The optical properties of nanoparticles are sensitive to the materials used, as well as to the host medium. Most fluids exhibit refractive indices that are highly temperature-dependent, resulting in nanoparticle suspensions which also exhibit temperature-dependent optical properties. Previous work has shown that temperature increases result in decreased absorption in nanoparticle suspensions. Here, we expand previous work to include core–shell particles due to the potential spectral shifts in optical properties that will arise from the base fluid with temperature changes and the role of agglomeration under temperature cycling through both experimental and numerical efforts. Thermal cycling tests for silica and gold, the constituents of the core–shell nanoparticles used in this study, were tested to determine the extent of particle agglomeration resulting from up to 200 accelerated heating cycles. Optical properties were recorded after heating two base fluids (water and ethylene glycol) with multiple surfactants for silver nanospheres and silica–gold core–shell nanoparticles. It was found that the temperature results in a small increase in the transmittance for both particle types and a blue shift in the spectral transmittance for core–shell nanoparticles. Further, the coupling effect of temperature and agglomeration played a significant role in determining both the spectral properties—particularly the resulting transmittance—of the silver nanoparticle suspensions.

  4. Effective delivery of sonication energy to fast settling and agglomerating nanomaterial suspensions for cellular studies: Implications for stability, particle kinetics, dosimetry and toxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Joel M; Beltran-Huarac, Juan; Pyrgiotakis, Georgios; Demokritou, Philip

    2018-04-01

    Typical in vitro assays used for high throughput toxicological screening and measuring nano-bio interactions are conducted by pipetting suspensions of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) dispersed in nutrient-rich culture media directly onto cells. In order to achieve fairly monodisperse and stable suspensions of small agglomerates, ultrasonic energy is usually applied to break apart large agglomerates that can form upon suspension in liquid. Lack of standardized protocols and methods for delivering sonication energy can introduce variability in the ENM suspension properties ( e.g . agglomerate size, polydispersity, suspension stability over time), and holds significant implications for in vitro dosimetry, toxicity, and other nano-bio interactions. Careful assessment of particle transformations during dispersion preparation and sonication is therefore critical for accurate interpretation of in vitro toxicity studies. In this short communication, the difficulties of preparing stable suspensions of rapidly settling ENMs are presented. Furthermore, methods to optimize the delivery of the critical sonication energy required to break large agglomerates and prepare stable, fairly monodispersed suspensions of fast settling ENMs are presented. A methodology for the efficient delivery of sonication energy in a discrete manner is presented and validated using various rapidly agglomerating and settling ENMs. The implications of continuous vs. discrete sonication on average hydrodynamic diameter, and polydispersity was also assessed for both fast and slow settling ENMs. For the rapidly agglomerating and settling ENMs (Ag15%/SiO 2 , Ag and CeO 2 ), the proposed discrete sonication achieved a significant reduction in the agglomerate diameter and polydispersity. In contrast, the relatively slow agglomerating and settling Fe 2 O 3 suspension did not exhibit statistically significant differences in average hydrodynamic diameter or polydispersity between the continuous and discrete

  5. The joint effect of demographic change on growth and agglomeration

    OpenAIRE

    Theresa Grafeneder-Weissteiner

    2011-01-01

    Recently, there has been wide interest in the "economics" of population aging. Demographic change has crucial consequences for economic behavior; it e.g. implies that consumption and investment decisions vary over the life-cycle. The latter has important implications for economic growth, whereas the former is decisive for the location of economic activity as emphasized in the New Economic Geography (NEG) literature. Both growth and agglomeration processes are, however, themselves interlinked,...

  6. Studies on agglomeration of colloidal suspensions in an alternating electric field; Untersuchungen zur Agglomeration kolloidaler Suspensionen im elektrischen Wechselfeld

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, M. [Inst. fuer Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik und Mechanik, Univ. Karlsruhe (Germany); Loeffler, F. [Inst. fuer Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik und Mechanik, Univ. Karlsruhe (Germany)

    1996-07-01

    Colloidal solutions contain particles in the {mu}m range whose agglomeration and coagulation is of interest for certain applications. `Electrocoagulation` means that in an electric field droplets or particles in a disperse phase have higher kinetic energy so that the probability of overcoming repulsive forces and of forming bigger aggregates will increase. The electrocoagulation technique is applied for emulsion cracking of water-in-oil systems (desalination and dewatering of petroleum, petroleum cracking) and, in some cases, also for cracking oil-in-water systems. Removal of colloidal solids from aqueous solution during electrochemical waste water treatment is often carried out with the aid of dissolving aluminium or iron electrodes. The authors describe experiments in which the flow of an electric current, which would cause the electrodes to dissolve, was to be prevented. An alternating field was to induce oscillation of the particles, i.e. relative motion of the particles with respect to each other. (orig./SR) [Deutsch] Kolloidale Loesungen enthalten Partikel im {mu}m-Bereich. In manchen Bereichen ist deren Agglomeration bzw. Koagulation von Interesse. Unter dem Begriff der Elektrokoagulation versteht man im allgemeinen das Phaenomen, dass in einem elektrischen Feld Tropfen oder Partikel in einer dispersen Phase eine hoehere kinetische Energie besitzen, und dadurch die Wahrscheinlichkeit zur Ueberwindung von Abstossungskraeften und zur Bildung groesserer Aggregate steigt. Das Verfahren der Elektrokoagulation wird bisher zur Emulsionsspaltung von Wasser/Oel-Systemen (Entsaltzung und Entwaesserung von Erdoel/Erdoelspaltung) und z.T. auch zur Spaltung von Oel/Wasser-Systemen eingesetzt. Zur Entfernung kolloidaler Feststoffe aus waessrigen Loesungen bei der elektrochemischen Aufarbeitung von Abwasser wird haeufig mit sich aufloesenden Aluminium- oder Eisenelektroden gearbeitet. In den im folgenden dargestellten Untersuchungen sollte ein Stromfluss durch die

  7. THE INFLUENCE OF FIRMS STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE DEGREE OF AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES ENJOYED AMONGST FIRMS IN THE LAGOS REGION, NIGERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FAGBOHUNKA Adejompo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Agglomeration economies is a potent tool in socio-economic revamping, rejuvenation and sustenance of regions, this is as a result of the impulse it transmitted through the multiplier effect it is capable of generated. Therefore, this paper underscores the influence of firms structural characteristics on the degree of agglomeration economies enjoyed amongst firms, using the Lagos region as a case study. The first stage in the collection of primary data involves the reconnaissance survey, thereafter one hundred and three questionnaire were administered in twelve industrial estates; one questionnaire in each of the firm. The paper reveals the following structural characteristics as germane to industrial enterprise; age of firms, areal plant size (m², capacity utilization (in percentage, and Labour size and firms investment. The paper has also found out those agglomeration economies enjoyed ranges from transportation, labour, power supply, to joint water supply. The Roy’s Largest Root test employed to test for the significance of the canonical correlations at 0.05 significant levels shows the calculated F-value 3.5247 and the tabulated F-value 2.90. This suggests that the degree of agglomeration economies enjoyed by firms is significantly explained by the size and structural characteristics of the firms. The paper therefore recommends more and active government participation in the industrial scene, given the necessary support for the expansion of firm’s structural characteristics which will lead to increase agglomeration economies enjoyed by these firms.

  8. Quantifying Anthropogenic Dust Emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Nicholas P.; Pierre, Caroline

    2018-02-01

    Anthropogenic land use and land cover change, including local environmental disturbances, moderate rates of wind-driven soil erosion and dust emission. These human-dust cycle interactions impact ecosystems and agricultural production, air quality, human health, biogeochemical cycles, and climate. While the impacts of land use activities and land management on aeolian processes can be profound, the interactions are often complex and assessments of anthropogenic dust loads at all scales remain highly uncertain. Here, we critically review the drivers of anthropogenic dust emission and current evaluation approaches. We then identify and describe opportunities to: (1) develop new conceptual frameworks and interdisciplinary approaches that draw on ecological state-and-transition models to improve the accuracy and relevance of assessments of anthropogenic dust emissions; (2) improve model fidelity and capacity for change detection to quantify anthropogenic impacts on aeolian processes; and (3) enhance field research and monitoring networks to support dust model applications to evaluate the impacts of disturbance processes on local to global-scale wind erosion and dust emissions.

  9. Road dust from pavement wear and traction sanding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kupiainen, K.

    2007-07-01

    sanding and physical properties of the traction sand aggregate affect formation of road dust (ii) How do studded tires affect the formation of road dust when compared with friction tires (iii) What are the composition and sources of airborne road dust in a road simulator and during a springtime road dust episode in Finland (iv) What is the size distribution of abrasion particles from tire-road interaction. The studies were conducted both in a road simulator and in field conditions. The test results from the road simulator showed that traction sanding increased road dust emissions, and that the effect became more dominant with increasing sand load. A high percentage of fine-grained anti-skid aggregate of overall grading increased the PM10 concentrations. Anti-skid aggregate with poor resistance to fragmentation resulted in higher PM levels compared with the other aggregates, and the effect became more significant with higher aggregate loads. Glaciofluvial aggregates tended to cause higher particle concentrations than crushed rocks with good fragmentation resistance. Comparison of tire types showed that studded tires result in higher formation of PM emissions compared with friction tires. The same trend between the tires was present in the tests with and without anti-skid aggregate. This finding applies to test conditions of the road simulator with negligible resuspension. Source and composition analysis showed that the particles in the road simulator were mainly minerals and originated from both traction sand and pavement aggregates. A clear contribution of particles from anti-skid aggregate to ambient PM and dust deposition was also observed in urban conditions. The road simulator results showed that the interaction between tires, anti-skid aggregate and road surface is important in dust production and the relative contributions of these sources depend on their properties. Traction sand grains are fragmented into smaller particles under the tires, but they also wear the

  10. Comparative study of chemical cold agglomeration between two Brazilian phosphate fines: Patos de Minas and Catalao-Go, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendes, C.M.; Silveira, I.L. da; Scwabe, W.K.

    1988-01-01

    The viability for using the phosphoric acid as chemical binder for agglomeration of phosphate fines from Catalao, Brazil, based on the good results obtained for pelletizing phosphate fines from Patos de Minas, is studied. The granulometric and chemical characterizations by fluorescence spectrometry and X-ray diffraction were done. The results presented different physical and chemical properties, even thus the phosphoric acid could be used with advantages for chemical agglomeration of phosphate fines from Catalao. (author) [pt

  11. Application of acoustic agglomeration to enhance air filtration efficiency in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Bing Feng; Xiong, Jin Wen; Wan, Man Pun

    2017-01-01

    The recent episodes of haze in Southeast Asia have caused some of the worst regional atmospheric pollution ever recorded in history. In order to control the levels of airborne fine particulate matters (PM) indoors, filtration systems providing high PM capturing efficiency are often sought, which inadvertently also results in high airflow resistance (or pressure drop) that increases the energy consumption for air distribution. A pre-conditioning mechanism promoting the formation of particle clusters to enhance PM capturing efficiency without adding flow resistance in the air distribution ductwork could provide an energy-efficient solution. This pre-conditioning mechanism can be fulfilled by acoustic agglomeration, which is a phenomenon that promotes the coagulation of suspended particles by acoustic waves propagating in the fluid medium. This paper discusses the basic mechanisms of acoustic agglomeration along with influencing factors that could affect the agglomeration efficiency. The feasibility to apply acoustic agglomeration to improve filtration in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems is investigated experimentally in a small-scale wind tunnel. Experimental results indicate that this novel application of acoustic pre-conditioning improves the PM2.5 filtration efficiency of the test filters by up to 10% without introducing additional pressure drop. The fan energy savings from not having to switch to a high capturing efficiency filter largely outstrip the additional energy consumed by the acoustics system. This, as a whole, demonstrates potential energy savings from the combined acoustic-enhanced filtration system without compromising on PM capturing efficiency.

  12. Application of acoustic agglomeration to enhance air filtration efficiency in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV systems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing Feng Ng

    Full Text Available The recent episodes of haze in Southeast Asia have caused some of the worst regional atmospheric pollution ever recorded in history. In order to control the levels of airborne fine particulate matters (PM indoors, filtration systems providing high PM capturing efficiency are often sought, which inadvertently also results in high airflow resistance (or pressure drop that increases the energy consumption for air distribution. A pre-conditioning mechanism promoting the formation of particle clusters to enhance PM capturing efficiency without adding flow resistance in the air distribution ductwork could provide an energy-efficient solution. This pre-conditioning mechanism can be fulfilled by acoustic agglomeration, which is a phenomenon that promotes the coagulation of suspended particles by acoustic waves propagating in the fluid medium. This paper discusses the basic mechanisms of acoustic agglomeration along with influencing factors that could affect the agglomeration efficiency. The feasibility to apply acoustic agglomeration to improve filtration in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV systems is investigated experimentally in a small-scale wind tunnel. Experimental results indicate that this novel application of acoustic pre-conditioning improves the PM2.5 filtration efficiency of the test filters by up to 10% without introducing additional pressure drop. The fan energy savings from not having to switch to a high capturing efficiency filter largely outstrip the additional energy consumed by the acoustics system. This, as a whole, demonstrates potential energy savings from the combined acoustic-enhanced filtration system without compromising on PM capturing efficiency.

  13. The Influence of Particle Size, Fluidization Velocity, and Fuel Type on Ash-Induced Agglomeration in Biomass Combustion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gatternig, Bernhard, E-mail: bernhard.gatternig@cbi.uni-erlangen.de; Karl, Jürgen [Chair of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nuremberg (Germany)

    2014-11-19

    Agglomeration of the bed material is one of the main obstacles for biomass utilization in fluidized bed combustors. Especially, high-potential fuels such as fast growing energy crops or biogeneous residues are affected because of their high content of alkaline metals. Despite ongoing research efforts, the knowledge base on what fuels are affected is still limited. This paper describes the design and installation of two lab-scale reactors for the experimental determination of agglomeration temperatures. The reactor concept and measurement method were developed under consideration of experiences from existing test rigs published in literature. Preliminary tests confirmed a reproducibility of ±5°C for both new reactors. The results of an extended measurement campaign (156 test runs of 25 fuel species at a wide range of the operational parameters “bed particle size,” “gas velocity,” and “bed ash accumulation”), based on “design of experiment” (DoE) criteria, showed high-agglomeration tendencies for residues (e.g., dried distillery grains, corn cobs) while woody energy crops (e.g., willow, alder) exhibited very stable combustion behavior. The operating parameters influenced the agglomeration behavior to a lesser degree than different ash compositions of fuel species tested. An interpolation within the DoE factor space allowed for a subsequent comparison of our results with experiments reported in literature. Good agreement was reached for fuels of comparable ash composition considering the interpolation errors of ±32°C on average.

  14. Dust storm events over Delhi: verification of dust AOD forecasts with satellite and surface observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Aditi; Iyengar, Gopal R.; George, John P.

    2016-05-01

    Thar desert located in northwest part of India is considered as one of the major dust source. Dust storms originate in Thar desert during pre-monsoon season, affects large part of Indo-Gangetic plains. High dust loading causes the deterioration of the ambient air quality and degradation in visibility. Present study focuses on the identification of dust events and verification of the forecast of dust events over Delhi and western part of IG Plains, during the pre-monsoon season of 2015. Three dust events have been identified over Delhi during the study period. For all the selected days, Terra-MODIS AOD at 550 nm are found close to 1.0, while AURA-OMI AI shows high values. Dust AOD forecasts from NCMRWF Unified Model (NCUM) for the three selected dust events are verified against satellite (MODIS) and ground based observations (AERONET). Comparison of observed AODs at 550 nm from MODIS with NCUM predicted AODs reveals that NCUM is able to predict the spatial and temporal distribution of dust AOD, in these cases. Good correlation (~0.67) is obtained between the NCUM predicted dust AODs and location specific observations available from AERONET. Model under-predicted the AODs as compared to the AERONET observations. This may be mainly because the model account for only dust and no anthropogenic activities are considered. The results of the present study emphasize the requirement of more realistic representation of local dust emission in the model both of natural and anthropogenic origin, to improve the forecast of dust from NCUM during the dust events.

  15. Parameterizing the interstellar dust temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hocuk, S.; Szűcs, L.; Caselli, P.; Cazaux, S.; Spaans, M.; Esplugues, G. B.

    2017-08-01

    The temperature of interstellar dust particles is of great importance to astronomers. It plays a crucial role in the thermodynamics of interstellar clouds, because of the gas-dust collisional coupling. It is also a key parameter in astrochemical studies that governs the rate at which molecules form on dust. In 3D (magneto)hydrodynamic simulations often a simple expression for the dust temperature is adopted, because of computational constraints, while astrochemical modelers tend to keep the dust temperature constant over a large range of parameter space. Our aim is to provide an easy-to-use parametric expression for the dust temperature as a function of visual extinction (AV) and to shed light on the critical dependencies of the dust temperature on the grain composition. We obtain an expression for the dust temperature by semi-analytically solving the dust thermal balance for different types of grains and compare to a collection of recent observational measurements. We also explore the effect of ices on the dust temperature. Our results show that a mixed carbonaceous-silicate type dust with a high carbon volume fraction matches the observations best. We find that ice formation allows the dust to be warmer by up to 15% at high optical depths (AV> 20 mag) in the interstellar medium. Our parametric expression for the dust temperature is presented as Td = [ 11 + 5.7 × tanh(0.61 - log 10(AV) ]χuv1/5.9, where χuv is in units of the Draine (1978, ApJS, 36, 595) UV field.

  16. Hepatic imaging in stage IV-S neuroblastoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Franken, E.A. Jr.; Smith, W.L.; Iowa Univ., Iowa City; Cohen, M.D.; Kisker, C.T.; Platz, C.E.

    1986-01-01

    Stage IV-S neuroblastoma describes a group of infants with tumor spread limited to liver, skin, or bone marrow. Such patients, who constitute about 25% of affected infants with neuroblastoma, may expect spontaneous tumor remission. We report 18 infants with Stage IV-S neuroblastoma, 83% of whom had liver involvement. Imaging investigations included Technetium 99m sulfur colloid scan, ultrasound, and CT. Two patterns of liver metastasis were noted: ill-defined nodules or diffuse tumor throughout the liver. Distinction of normal and abnormal liver with diffuse type metastasis could be quite difficult, particularly with liver scans. We conclude that patients with Stage IV-S neuroblastoma have ultrasound or CT examination as an initial workup, with nuclear medicine scans reserved for followup studies. (orig.)

  17. Insights from Synthetic Star-forming Regions. II. Verifying Dust Surface Density, Dust Temperature, and Gas Mass Measurements With Modified Blackbody Fitting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koepferl, Christine M.; Robitaille, Thomas P. [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Dale, James E., E-mail: koepferl@usm.lmu.de [University Observatory Munich, Scheinerstr. 1, D-81679 Munich (Germany)

    2017-11-01

    We use a large data set of realistic synthetic observations (produced in Paper I of this series) to assess how observational techniques affect the measurement physical properties of star-forming regions. In this part of the series (Paper II), we explore the reliability of the measured total gas mass, dust surface density and dust temperature maps derived from modified blackbody fitting of synthetic Herschel observations. We find from our pixel-by-pixel analysis of the measured dust surface density and dust temperature a worrisome error spread especially close to star formation sites and low-density regions, where for those “contaminated” pixels the surface densities can be under/overestimated by up to three orders of magnitude. In light of this, we recommend to treat the pixel-based results from this technique with caution in regions with active star formation. In regions of high background typical in the inner Galactic plane, we are not able to recover reliable surface density maps of individual synthetic regions, since low-mass regions are lost in the far-infrared background. When measuring the total gas mass of regions in moderate background, we find that modified blackbody fitting works well (absolute error: + 9%; −13%) up to 10 kpc distance (errors increase with distance). Commonly, the initial images are convolved to the largest common beam-size, which smears contaminated pixels over large areas. The resulting information loss makes this commonly used technique less verifiable as now χ {sup 2} values cannot be used as a quality indicator of a fitted pixel. Our control measurements of the total gas mass (without the step of convolution to the largest common beam size) produce similar results (absolute error: +20%; −7%) while having much lower median errors especially for the high-mass stellar feedback phase. In upcoming papers (Paper III; Paper IV) of this series we test the reliability of measured star formation rate with direct and indirect

  18. Insights from Synthetic Star-forming Regions. II. Verifying Dust Surface Density, Dust Temperature, and Gas Mass Measurements with Modified Blackbody Fitting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koepferl, Christine M.; Robitaille, Thomas P.; Dale, James E.

    2017-11-01

    We use a large data set of realistic synthetic observations (produced in Paper I of this series) to assess how observational techniques affect the measurement physical properties of star-forming regions. In this part of the series (Paper II), we explore the reliability of the measured total gas mass, dust surface density and dust temperature maps derived from modified blackbody fitting of synthetic Herschel observations. We find from our pixel-by-pixel analysis of the measured dust surface density and dust temperature a worrisome error spread especially close to star formation sites and low-density regions, where for those “contaminated” pixels the surface densities can be under/overestimated by up to three orders of magnitude. In light of this, we recommend to treat the pixel-based results from this technique with caution in regions with active star formation. In regions of high background typical in the inner Galactic plane, we are not able to recover reliable surface density maps of individual synthetic regions, since low-mass regions are lost in the far-infrared background. When measuring the total gas mass of regions in moderate background, we find that modified blackbody fitting works well (absolute error: + 9%; -13%) up to 10 kpc distance (errors increase with distance). Commonly, the initial images are convolved to the largest common beam-size, which smears contaminated pixels over large areas. The resulting information loss makes this commonly used technique less verifiable as now χ 2 values cannot be used as a quality indicator of a fitted pixel. Our control measurements of the total gas mass (without the step of convolution to the largest common beam size) produce similar results (absolute error: +20%; -7%) while having much lower median errors especially for the high-mass stellar feedback phase. In upcoming papers (Paper III; Paper IV) of this series we test the reliability of measured star formation rate with direct and indirect techniques.

  19. Physics of interstellar dust

    CERN Document Server

    Krugel, Endrik

    2002-01-01

    The dielectric permeability; How to evaluate grain cross sections; Very small and very big particles; Case studies of Mie calculus; Particle statistics; The radiative transition probability; Structure and composition of dust; Dust radiation; Dust and its environment; Polarization; Grain alignment; PAHs and spectral features of dust; Radiative transport; Diffuse matter in the Milky Way; Stars and their formation; Emission from young stars. Appendices Mathematical formulae; List of symbols.

  20. Assessment of Urban Ecosystem Health Based on Entropy Weight Extension Decision Model in Urban Agglomeration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Yang

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Urban ecosystem health evaluation can assist in sustainable ecological management at a regional level. This study examined urban agglomeration ecosystem health in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River with entropy weight and extension theories. The model overcomes information omissions and subjectivity problems in the evaluation process of urban ecosystem health. Results showed that human capital and education, economic development level as well as urban infrastructure have a significant effect on the health states of urban agglomerations. The health status of the urban agglomeration’s ecosystem was not optimistic in 2013. The majority of the cities were unhealthy or verging on unhealthy, accounting for 64.52% of the total number of cities in the urban agglomeration. The regional differences of the 31 cities’ ecosystem health are significant. The cause originated from an imbalance in economic development and the policy guidance of city development. It is necessary to speed up the integration process to promote coordinated regional development. The present study will aid us in understanding and advancing the health situation of the urban ecosystem in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and will provide an efficient urban ecosystem health evaluation method that can be used in other areas.

  1. Current Trends in wastewater treatment in small agglomerations; Tendencias actuales en las tecnologias de tratamiento de las aguas residuales generadas en las pequenas aglomeraciones urbanas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferrer Medina, Y.; Ortega de Miguel, E.; Salas Rodriguez, J. J.

    2012-07-01

    Spain has a great number of small agglomerations. In fact from the 8.111 existing municipalities, 72% have less than 2.000 inhabitants and 47% of them (3.800) have less than 500 inhabitants. Concerning wastewater treatment in small agglomerations three periods can be distinguished. Before the 80{sup t}h, wastewater treatment plants were merely small reproductions of those applied in bigger agglomerations, and Extended Aeration was basically the only process. Due to their high energy and technical requirements, many of these small plants were left out of service. Extensive technologies appeared in Spain during the 80{sup t}h. Results were not as good as expected mainly due to design and construction failures. Nowadays, we are just starting to be aware that wastewater treatment in small agglomerations, need a new approach, more demanding concerning technical and management issues, to give an owner's to the origin of previous mistakes. This new approach offers a wide range of possible technologies (extensive, and mixed) each of them could be a good option depending on the specific characteristics of the agglomeration, and the discharge requirements. These paper reviews current trends concerning urban wastewater treatment is mall agglomerations, including consolidated technologies, emerging technologies and technologies which are still in development or in an experimental phase. (Author)

  2. The Continuous Monitoring of Desert Dust using an Infrared-based Dust Detection and Retrieval Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, David P.; Minnis, Patrick; Trepte, Qing; Sun-Mack, Sunny

    2006-01-01

    Airborne dust and sand are significant aerosol sources that can impact the atmospheric and surface radiation budgets. Because airborne dust affects visibility and air quality, it is desirable to monitor the location and concentrations of this aerosol for transportation and public health. Although aerosol retrievals have been derived for many years using visible and near-infrared reflectance measurements from satellites, the detection and quantification of dust from these channels is problematic over bright surfaces, or when dust concentrations are large. In addition, aerosol retrievals from polar orbiting satellites lack the ability to monitor the progression and sources of dust storms. As a complement to current aerosol dust retrieval algorithms, multi-spectral thermal infrared (8-12 micron) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Meteosat-8 Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) are used in the development of a prototype dust detection method and dust property retrieval that can monitor the progress of Saharan dust fields continuously, both night and day. The dust detection method is incorporated into the processing of CERES (Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System) aerosol retrievals to produce dust property retrievals. Both MODIS (from Terra and Aqua) and SEVERI data are used to develop the method.

  3. Dust as a surfactant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ignatov, A M; Schram, P P J M; Trigger, S A

    2003-01-01

    We argue that dust immersed in a plasma sheath acts as a surfactant. By considering the momentum balance in a plasma sheath, we evaluate the dependence of the plasma surface pressure on the dust density. It is shown that the dust may reduce the surface pressure, giving rise to a sufficiently strong tangential force. The latter is capable of confining the dust layer inside the sheath in the direction perpendicular to the ion flow

  4. INFRARED LUMINOSITIES AND DUST PROPERTIES OF z ∼ 2 DUST-OBSCURED GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bussmann, R. S.; Dey, Arjun; Jannuzi, B. T.; Borys, C.; Desai, V.; Sheth, K.; Soifer, B. T.; Le Floc'h, E.; Melbourne, J.

    2009-01-01

    We present SHARC-II 350 μm imaging of twelve 24 μm bright (F 24μm > 0.8 mJy) Dust-Obscured Galaxies (DOGs) and Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) 1 mm imaging of a subset of two DOGs. These objects are selected from the Booetes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey. Detections of four DOGs at 350 μm imply infrared (IR) luminosities which are consistent to within a factor of 2 of expectations based on a warm-dust spectral energy distribution (SED) scaled to the observed 24 μm flux density. The 350 μm upper limits for the 8 non-detected DOGs are consistent with both Mrk 231 and M82 (warm-dust SEDs), but exclude cold dust (Arp 220) SEDs. The two DOGs targeted at 1 mm were not detected in our CARMA observations, placing strong constraints on the dust temperature: T dust > 35-60 K. Assuming these dust properties apply to the entire sample, we find dust masses of ∼3 x 10 8 M sun . In comparison to other dusty z ∼ 2 galaxy populations such as submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) and other Spitzer-selected high-redshift sources, this sample of DOGs has higher IR luminosities (2 x 10 13 L sun versus 6 x 10 12 L sun for the other galaxy populations) that are driven by warmer dust temperatures (>35-60 K versus ∼30 K) and lower inferred dust masses (3 x 10 8 M sun versus 3 x 10 9 M sun ). Wide-field Herschel and Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array-2 surveys should be able to detect hundreds of these power-law-dominated DOGs. We use the existing Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer/InfraRed Array Camera data to estimate stellar masses of these sources and find that the stellar to gas mass ratio may be higher in our 24 μm bright sample of DOGs than in SMGs and other Spitzer-selected sources. Although much larger sample sizes are needed to provide a definitive conclusion, the data are consistent with an evolutionary trend in which the formation of massive galaxies at z ∼ 2 involves a submillimeter bright, cold-dust, and star

  5. Lunar Dust Mitigation Screens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knutson, Shawn; Holloway, Nancy

    With plans for the United States to return to the moon, and establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface many issues must be successfully overcome. Lunar dust is one of a number of issues with the potential to create a myriad of problems if not adequately addressed. Samples of dust brought back from Apollo missions show it to be soft, yet sharp and abrasive. The dust consists of a variety of morphologies including spherical, angular blocks, shards, and a number of irregular shapes. One of the main issues with lunar dust is its attraction to stick to anything it comes in contact with (i.e. astronauts, equipment, habitats, etc.). Ionized radiation from the sun strikes the moon's surface and creates an electrostatic charge on the dust. Further, the dust harbors van der Waals forces making it especially difficult to separate once it sticks to a surface. During the Apollo missions, it was discovered that trying to brush the lunar dust from spacesuits was not effective, and rubbing it caused degradation of the suit material. Further, when entering the lunar module after moonwalks, the astronauts noted that the dust was so prolific inside the cabin that they inhaled and ingested it, causing at least one of them, Harrison "Jack" Schmidt, to report irritation of the throat and lungs. It is speculated that the dust could also harm an astronaut's nervous and cardiovascular systems, especially during an extended stay. In addition to health issues, the dust can also cause problems by scouring reflective coatings off of thermal blankets, and roughening surfaces of windows and optics. Further, panels on solar cells and photovoltaics can also be compromised due to dust sticking on the surfaces. Lunar dust has the capacity to penetrate seals, interfere with connectors, as well as mechanisms on digging machines, all of which can lead to problems and failure. To address lunar dust issues, development of electrostatic screens to mitigate dust on sur-faces is currently

  6. Diamond-like-carbon nanoparticle production and agglomeration following UV multi-photon excitation of static naphthalene/helium gas mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walsh, A. J.; Ruth, A. A., E-mail: a.ruth@ucc.ie [Physics Department and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork (Ireland); Tielens, A. G. G. M. [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333-CA Leiden (Netherlands)

    2016-07-14

    We report the formation of nanoparticles with significant diamond character after UV multi-photon laser excitation of gaseous naphthalene, buffered in static helium gas, at room temperature. The nanoparticles are identified in situ by their absorption and scattering spectra between 400 and 850 nm, which are modeled using Mie theory. Comparisons of the particles’ spectroscopic and optical properties with those of carbonaceous materials indicate a sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} hybridization ratio of 8:1 of the particles formed. The particle extinction in the closed static (unstirred) gas-phase system exhibits a complex and quasi-oscillatory time dependence for the duration of up to several hours with periods ranging from seconds to many minutes. The extinction dynamics of the system is based on a combination of transport features and particle interaction, predominantly agglomeration. The relatively long period of agglomeration allows for a unique analysis of the agglomeration process of diamond-like carbon nanoparticles in situ.

  7. Extracting lunar dust parameters from image charge signals produced by the Lunar Dust Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, J.; Kempf, S.; Horanyi, M.; Szalay, J.

    2015-12-01

    The Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) onboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is an impact ionization dust detector used to characterize the lunar dust exosphere generated by the impacts of large interplanetary particles and meteor streams (Horanyi et al., 2015). In addition to the mass and speed of these lofted particles, LDEX is sensitive to their charge. The resulting signatures of impact events therefore provide valuable information about not only the ambient plasma environment, but also the speed vectors of these dust grains. Here, impact events produced from LDEX's calibration at the Dust Accelerator Laboratory are analyzed using an image charge model derived from the electrostatic simulation program, Coulomb. We show that parameters such as dust grain speed, size, charge, and position of entry into LDEX can be recovered and applied to data collected during LADEE's seven-month mission.

  8. Thermodynamic data for predicting concentrations of Th(IV), U(IV), Np(IV), and Pu(IV) in geologic environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rai, Dhanpat; Roa, Linfeng; Weger, H.T.; Felmy, A.R. [Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) (United States); Choppin, G.R. [Florida State University (United States); Yui, Mikazu [Waste Isolation Research Division, Tokai Works, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)

    1999-01-01

    This report provides thermodynamic data for predicting concentrations of Th(IV), U(IV), Np(IV), and Pu(IV) in geologic environments, and contributes to an integration of the JNC chemical thermodynamic database, JNC-TDB (previously PNC-TDB), for the performance analysis of geological isolation system for high-level radioactive wastes. Thermodynamic data for the formation of complexes or compounds with hydroxide, chloride, fluoride, carbonate, nitrate, sulfate and phosphate are discussed in this report. Where data for specific actinide(IV) species was lacking, the data were selected based on chemical analogy to other tetravalent actinides. In this study, the Pitzer ion-interaction model is used to extrapolate thermodynamic constants to zero ionic strength at 25degC. (author)

  9. Numerical Prediction of Dust. Chapter 10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedetti, Angela; Baldasano, J. M.; Basart, S.; Benincasa, F.; Boucher, O.; Brooks, M.; Chen, J. P.; Colarco, P. R.; Gong, S.; Huneeus, N.; hide

    2013-01-01

    Covers the whole breadth of mineral dust research, from a scientific perspective Presents interdisciplinary work including results from field campaigns, satellite observations, laboratory studies, computer modelling and theoretical studies Explores the role of dust as a player and recorder of environmental change This volume presents state-of-the-art research about mineral dust, including results from field campaigns, satellite observations, laboratory studies, computer modelling and theoretical studies. Dust research is a new, dynamic and fast-growing area of science and due to its multiple roles in the Earth system, dust has become a fascinating topic for many scientific disciplines. Aspects of dust research covered in this book reach from timescales of minutes (as with dust devils, cloud processes, and radiation) to millennia (as with loess formation and oceanic sediments), making dust both a player and recorder of environmental change. The book is structured in four main parts that explore characteristics of dust, the global dust cycle, impacts of dust on the Earth system, and dust as a climate indicator. The chapters in these parts provide a comprehensive, detailed overview of this highly interdisciplinary subject. The contributions presented here cover dust from source to sink and describe all the processes dust particles undergo while travelling through the atmosphere. Chapters explore how dust is lifted and transported, how it affects radiation, clouds, regional circulations, precipitation and chemical processes in the atmosphere, and how it deteriorates air quality. The book explores how dust is removed from the atmosphere by gravitational settling, turbulence or precipitation, how iron contained in dust fertilizes terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and about the role that dust plays in human health. We learn how dust is observed, simulated using computer models and forecast. The book also details the role of dust deposits for climate reconstructions

  10. Sahara Dust Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-01-01

    [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Dust Particles Click on the image for Quicktime movie from 7/15-7/24 A continent-sized cloud of hot air and dust originating from the Sahara Desert crossed the Atlantic Ocean and headed towards Florida and the Caribbean. A Saharan Air Layer, or SAL, forms when dry air and dust rise from Africa's west coast and ride the trade winds above the Atlantic Ocean. These dust clouds are not uncommon, especially during the months of July and August. They start when weather patterns called tropical waves pick up dust from the desert in North Africa, carry it a couple of miles into the atmosphere and drift westward. In a sequence of images created by data acquired by the Earth-orbiting Atmospheric Infrared Sounder ranging from July 15 through July 24, we see the distribution of the cloud in the atmosphere as it swirls off of Africa and heads across the ocean to the west. Using the unique silicate spectral signatures of dust in the thermal infrared, AIRS can detect the presence of dust in the atmosphere day or night. This detection works best if there are no clouds present on top of the dust; when clouds are present, they can interfere with the signal, making it much harder to detect dust as in the case of July 24, 2005. In the Quicktime movie, the scale at the bottom of the images shows +1 for dust definitely detected, and ranges down to -1 for no dust detected. The plots are averaged over a number of AIRS observations falling within grid boxes, and so it is possible to obtain fractional numbers. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Total Water Vapor in the Atmosphere Around the Dust Cloud Click on the image for Quicktime movie The dust cloud is contained within a dry adiabatic layer which originates over the Sahara Desert. This Saharan Air Layer (SAL) advances Westward over the Atlantic Ocean, overriding the cool, moist air nearer the surface. This burst of very dry air is visible in the AIRS retrieved total water

  11. Impact of alginate concentration on the stability of agglomerates made of TiO{sub 2} engineered nanoparticles: Water hardness and pH effects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loosli, Frédéric, E-mail: frederic.loosli@unige.ch [University of Geneva, Section des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Environnement, Group of Environmental Physical Chemistry, F.-A. Forel Institute (Switzerland); Coustumer, Philippe Le, E-mail: philippe.le-coustumer@u-bordeaux1.fr [Université Bordeaux 3, EA 4592 Géoressources & Environnement, ENSEGID (France); Stoll, Serge, E-mail: serge.stoll@unige.ch [University of Geneva, Section des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Environnement, Group of Environmental Physical Chemistry, F.-A. Forel Institute (Switzerland)

    2015-01-15

    The stability of engineered nanoparticles in natural aquatic systems is of high interest for environmental risk assessment since an already important quantity of these reactive species is entering aquatic systems. In the present study, an important issue is addressed by investigating (i) the influence of divalent cations and water hardness (Mg{sup 2+} and Ca{sup 2+}) in agglomerate formation and (ii) alginate concentration effect on the stability TiO{sub 2} agglomerates formed in environmental freshwater conditions (pH and total hardness) representative of Lake Geneva, France/Switzerland. Our results indicate that the presence of alginate at typical natural organic matter concentration strongly modifies the stability of TiO{sub 2} nanoparticle agglomerates by inducing their partial disagglomeration. Significant TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles redispersion and formation of small fragments are expected to be induced by alginate adsorbed layer formed at the nanoparticle surfaces within the agglomerates.Graphical Abstract.

  12. A two-phase flow and non-isothermal agglomerate model for a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xing, Lei; Liu, Xiaoteng; Alaje, Taiwo; Kumar, Ravi; Mamlouk, Mohamed; Scott, Keith

    2014-01-01

    A two dimensional, across the channel, steady-state model for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is presented in which the non-isothermal model for temperature distribution, the two-phase flow model for liquid water transport and the agglomerate model for oxygen reduction reaction are fully coupled. This model is used to investigate thermal transport within the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) associated with the combinational water phase-transfer and transport mechanisms. Effective temperature distribution strategies are established aim to enhance the cell performance. Agglomerate assumption is adopted in which the ionomer and liquid water in turn cover the agglomerate to form the ionomer and liquid water films. Ionomer swelling is associated with the non-uniform distribution of the water content. The modelling results show that heat accumulates within the cathode catalyst layer under the channel. Higher operating temperature improves the cell performance by increasing the kinetics, reducing the liquid water saturation on the cathode and increasing the water carrying capacity of the anode gas. Applying higher temperature on the anode and enlarging the width ratio of the channel/rib could improve the cell performance. Higher cathode temperature decreases the oxygen mole fraction, resulting in an insufficient oxygen supply and a limitation of the cell performance. - Highlights: • The two-phase flow and non-isothermal model couple with the agglomerate model. • Oxygen diffusivity and solubility in Nafion ® relate to water content and temperature. • Higher anode operating temperature improves the fuel cell performance. • Insufficient oxygen supply limits cell performance at higher current densities

  13. About the structure and stability of complex carbonates of thorium (IV), cerium (IV), zirconium (IV), hafnium (IV)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dervin, Jacqueline

    1972-01-01

    This research thesis addressed the study of complex carbonates of cations of metals belonging to the IV A column, i.e. thorium (IV), zirconium (IV), hafnium (IV), and also cerium (IV) and uranium (VI), and more particularly focused on ionic compounds formed in solution, and also on the influence of concentration and nature of cations on stability and nature of the formed solid. The author first presents methods used in this study, discusses their precision and scope of validity. She reports the study of the formation of different complex ions which have been highlighted in solution, and the determination of their formation constants. She reports the preparation and study of the stability domain of solid complexes. The next part reports the use of thermogravimetric analysis, IR spectrometry, and crystallography for the structural study of these compounds

  14. Particle aerosolisation and break-up in dry powder inhalers 1: evaluation and modelling of venturi effects for agglomerated systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, William; Fletcher, David F; Traini, Daniela; Chan, Hak-Kim; Crapper, John; Young, Paul M

    2010-07-01

    This study utilized a combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and standardized entrainment tubes to investigate the influence of turbulence on the break-up and aerosol performance of a model inhalation formulation. Agglomerates (642.8 mum mean diameter) containing 3.91 mum median diameter primary spherical mannitol particles were prepared by spheronisation. A series of entrainment tubes with different Venturi sections were constructed in silico, and the flow pattern and turbulence/impaction parameters were predicted using CFD. The entrainment models were constructed from the in silico model using three-dimensional printing. The aerosol performance of the mannitol was assessed by entraining the agglomerates into the experimental tubes at a series of flow rates and assessing the size distribution downstream of the venturi via in-line laser diffraction. A series of parameters (including Reynolds number (Re), turbulence kinetic energy, turbulence eddy frequency, turbulence length-scale, velocity and pressure drop) were calculated from the CFD simulation. The venturi diameter and volumetric flow rate were varied systematically. The particle size data of the agglomerated powders were then correlated with the CFD measurements. No correlation between turbulence and aerosol performance could be made (i.e. at a Reynolds number of 8,570, the d(0.1) was 52.5 mum +/- 19.7 mum, yet at a Reynolds number of 12,000, the d(0.1) was 429.1 mum +/- 14.8 mum). Lagrangian particle tracking indicated an increase in the number of impactions and the normal velocity component at the wall, with increased volumetric airflow and reduced venturi diameter. Chemical analysis of the mannitol deposited on the walls showed a linear relationship with respect to the theoretical number of impactions (R(2) = 0.9620). Analysis of the relationship between the CFD results and the experimental size data indicated a critical impact velocity was required to initiate agglomerate break

  15. Nanostructured natural-based polyelectrolyte multilayers to agglomerate chitosan particles into scaffolds for tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda, Emanuel Sá; Silva, Tiago H; Reis, Rui L; Mano, João F

    2011-11-01

    The layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique is a self-assembly process that allows the coating of material's surface with nanostructured layers of polyelectrolytes, allowing to control several surface properties. This technique presents some advantages when compared with other thin film assembly techniques, like having the possibility to coat surfaces with complex geometries in mild conditions or to incorporate active compounds. Tissue engineering (TE) involves typically the use of porous biodegradable scaffolds for the temporary support of cells. Such structures can be produced by agglomeration of microspheres that needs to be fixed into a three-dimensional (3D) structure. In this work we suggest the use of LbL to promote such mechanical fixation in free-formed microspheres assemblies and simultaneously to control the properties of its surface. For the proof of concept the biological performance of chitosan/alginate multilayers is first investigated in two-dimensional (2D) models in which the attachment and proliferation of L929 and ATDC5 cells are studied in function of the number of layers and the nature of the final layer. Scaffolds prepared by agglomeration of chitosan particles using the same multilayered system were processed and characterized; it was found that they could support the attachment and proliferation of ATDC5 cells. This study suggests that LbL can be used as a versatile methodology to prepare scaffolds by particle agglomeration that could be suitable for TE applications.

  16. Fluidized-Bed Coating with Sodium Sulfate and PVA-TiO2, 1. Review and Agglomeration Regime Maps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hede, Peter Dybdahl; Bach, Poul; Jensen, Anker Degn

    2009-01-01

    -TiO2. The coating experiments were conducted in a medium-scale top-spray MP-1 fluid bed, and many rheological experiments were performed on the coating formulations to support the interpretation of the fluid-bed coating results. In this first part of the study, a thorough introduction to the inorganic...... salt and polymer film coating is provided, along with a presentation of the equipment and materials being used in this and the following papers. Results from agglomeration studies over a broad range of process conditions are presented, showing that the tendency toward agglomeration is always less...

  17. Universal instability of dust ion-sound waves and dust-acoustic waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsytovich, V.N.; Watanabe, K.

    2002-01-01

    It is shown that the dust ion-sound waves (DISW) and the dust-acoustic waves (DAW) are universally unstable for wave numbers less than some critical wave number. The basic dusty plasma state is assumed to be quasi-neutral with balance of the plasma particle absorption on the dust particles and the ionization with the rate proportional to the electron density. An analytical expression for the critical wave numbers, for the frequencies and for the growth rates of DISW and DAW are found using the hydrodynamic description of dusty plasma components with self-consistent treatment of the dust charge variations and by taking into account the change of the ion and electron distributions in the dust charging process. Most of the previous treatment do not take into account the latter process and do not treat the basic state self-consistently. The critical lengths corresponding to these critical wave numbers can be easily achieved in the existing experiments. It is shown that at the wave numbers larger than the critical ones DISW and DAW have a large damping which was not treated previously and which can be also measured. The instabilities found in the present work on their non linear stage can lead to formation of different types of dust self-organized structures. (author)

  18. Conversion of actinide solutions for the production of MA bearing fuels for Gen IV fast reactor systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, A.; McGinley, J.; Somers, J.

    2008-01-01

    The conversion of the solution to solid for fuels containing minor actinides for accelerator driven systems or Gen IV fast reactors cannot be made by conventional ammonia or oxalate precipitation as is the case in today's reprocessing plant. The small particle size and concomitant dust that is produced in subsequent processing steps will not permit use of these processes on industrial scale. Innovation is needed to avoid dust generating powders, and indeed to simplify the processes themselves. Two such processing routes have been developed at the JRC-ITU. The sol gel route has been used to produce fuel containing Am and Np for the SUPERFACT, TRABANT and other irradiation experiments. The infiltration process has also been established and fuels have been produced for the FUTURIX and HELIOS experiments. (authors)

  19. Conversion of actinide solutions for the production of MA bearing fuels for Gen IV fast reactor systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandez, A.; McGinley, J.; Somers, J. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements P.O.Box 2340, Karlsruhe, D-76125 (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    The conversion of the solution to solid for fuels containing minor actinides for accelerator driven systems or Gen IV fast reactors cannot be made by conventional ammonia or oxalate precipitation as is the case in today's reprocessing plant. The small particle size and concomitant dust that is produced in subsequent processing steps will not permit use of these processes on industrial scale. Innovation is needed to avoid dust generating powders, and indeed to simplify the processes themselves. Two such processing routes have been developed at the JRC-ITU. The sol gel route has been used to produce fuel containing Am and Np for the SUPERFACT, TRABANT and other irradiation experiments. The infiltration process has also been established and fuels have been produced for the FUTURIX and HELIOS experiments. (authors)

  20. Paradigm shifts about dust on the Moon: From Apollo 11 to Chang'e-4

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Brian J.

    2018-07-01

    Strategic purposes of this DAP-2017 report are to update our DAP-2010 report on movements of inescapable fine lunar dust, to summarise key new measurements and to assist rigorous focus. Lunar dust is defined here in two sciences, Apollo dust and Ejecta dust, to end several confusions. The Kuhn Cycle is introduced to stimulate progression of a science about movements of Apollo dust which lacks an agreed paradigm to supply puzzles for scientists to solve and tools for their solution. We populate the cycle with two paradigm shifts. The first was serendipitous invention in 1966 of the Apollo Dust Detector Experiment (DDE), 3 orthogonal solar cells each with a thermometer, which on Apollo 12 measured cause and effect, collective movements of billions to trillions of low-energy Apollo dust particles and changes in temperature they cause. In contrast, Apollo 17 LEAM and LADEE LDEX experiments follow traditions to measure impacts of high-velocity Ejecta dust particles, one by one. In 2015, Apollo 12 DDE discoveries of sunrise-driven storms of Apollo dust stimulated a measurement-based 5-step model of dust transport at astronaut waist height. The discoveries solve (i) 50-year-old mysteries of Horizon Glow, (ii) 30-year-old uncertainties about levitated dust, (iii) processes leading to lunar surfaces being smooth and (iv) immobilisation of the Chang'e-3 lunar rover Yutu in 2014 after its first sunrise. The IAC-2017 Website Abstract of a withdrawn Chang'e-3 presentation may support our views that sunrise-mobilised dust caused immobilisation of Yutu. A precursor to a second paradigm shift was May 2016 announced revision of Chang'e-4 scientific priorities. Using Kuhn terminology of scientific progress, a second shift would follow our "revolution" in 2015 that sunrise-driven dust storms caused the 2014 ″crisis" of immobilisation of Chang'e-3 lunar rover Yutu. No such sequence occurred previously with lunar dust. Measurement-based evidence from Apollo 11 to Chang'e-3 confirms

  1. Dust, Climate, and Human Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maynard, Nancy G.

    2003-01-01

    Air pollution from both natural and anthropogenic causes is considered to be one of the most serious world-wide environment-related health problems, and is expected to become worse with changes in the global climate. Dust storms from the atmospheric transport of desert soil dust that has been lifted and carried by the winds - often over significant distances - have become an increasingly important emerging air quality issue for many populations. Recent studies have shown that the dust storms can cause significant health impacts from the dust itself as well as the accompanying pollutants, pesticides, metals, salt, plant debris, and other inorganic and organic materials, including viable microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and fungi). For example, thousands of tons of Asian desert sediments, some containing pesticides and herbicides from farming regions, are commonly transported into the Arctic during dust storm events. These chemicals have been identified in animal and human tissues among Arctic indigenous populations. Millions of tons of airborne desert dust are being tracked by satellite imagery, which clearly shows the magnitude as well as the temporal and spatial variability of dust storms across the "dust belt" regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and China. This paper summarizes the most recent findings on the effects of airborne desert dust on human health as well as potential climate influences on dust and health.

  2. Hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of As, Bi, Sb, Se(IV) and Te(IV) in aqua regia extracts from atmospheric particulate matter using multivariate optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moscoso-Perez, Carmen; Moreda-Pineiro, Jorge; Lopez-Mahia, Purificacion; Muniategui-Lorenzo, Soledad; Fernandez-Fernandez, Esther; Prada-Rodriguez, Dario

    2004-01-01

    A highly sensitive and simple method, based on hydride generation and atomic fluorescence detection, has been developed for the determination of As, Bi, Sb, Se(IV) and Te(IV) in aqua regia extracts from atmospheric particulate matter samples. Atmospheric particulates matter was collected on glass fiber filters using a medium volume sampler (PM1 particulate matter). Two-level factorial designs have been used to optimise the hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) procedure. The effects of several parameters affecting the hydride generation efficiency (hydrochloric acid, sodium tetrahydroborate and potassium iodide concentrations and flow rates) have been evaluated using a Plackett-Burman experimental design. In addition, parameters affecting the hydride measurement (delay, analysis and memory times) have been also investigated. The significant parameters obtained (sodium tetrahydroborate concentration, sodium tetrahydroborate flow rate and analysis time for As; hydrochloric acid concentration and sodium tetrahydroborate flow rate for Se(IV); and sodium tetrahydroborate concentration and sodium tetrahydroborate flow rate for Te(IV)) have been optimized by using 2 n + star central composite design. Hydrochloric acid concentration and sodium tetrahydroborate flow rate were the significant parameters obtained for Sb and Bi determination, respectively. Using a univariate approach these parameters were optimized. The accuracy of methods have been verified by using several certified reference materials: SRM 1648 (urban particulate matter) and SRM 1649a (urban dust). Detection limits in the range of 6 x 10 -3 to 0.2 ng m -3 have been achieved. The developed methods were applied to several atmospheric particulate matter samples corresponding to A Coruna city (NW Spain)

  3. Engineering-scale dust control experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winberg, M.R.; Pawelko, R.J.; Jacobs, N.C.; Thompson, D.N.

    1990-12-01

    This report presents the results of engineering scale dust-control experiments relating to contamination control during handling of transuranic waste. These experiments focused on controlling dust during retrieval operations of buried waste where waste and soil are intimately mixed. Sources of dust generation during retrieval operations include digging, dumping, and vehicle traffic. Because contaminants are expected to attach to soil particles and move with the generated dust, control of the dust spread may be the key to contamination control. Dust control techniques examined in these experiments include the use of misting systems, soil fixatives, and dust suppression agents. The Dryfog Ultrasonic Misting Head, manufactured by Sonics, Incorporated, and ENTAC, an organic resin derived from tree sap manufactured by ENTAC Corporation, were tested. The results of the experiments include product performance and recommended application methods. 19 figs., 7 refs., 6 tabs

  4. Gravimetric dust sampling for control purposes and occupational dust sampling.

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Unsted, AD

    1997-02-01

    Full Text Available Prior to the introduction of gravimetric dust sampling, konimeters had been used for dust sampling, which was largely for control purposes. Whether or not absolute results were achievable was not an issue since relative results were used to evaluate...

  5. Spatial Agglomeration, Human and Social Capital: The Case of Turkey Manufacturing Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Özer Karakayacı

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Over the last three decades, new economic theories explode the factors depending on space and spatial characteristics. In this process, it is developed the theories on social-cultural aspects and spatial characteristics of regions instead of traditional economic theories. These theories have been main strategy for economic development and growth. Economic development has not been considered independently from space by these theories and economic performance of a region was emphasized importance of economic actors, institutional and economic infrastructure as well as geographic features. Geography or spatial features contribute to increase not only skilled workforce, knowledge spillover and distribution but also social relations and interaction. In other words, the social-cultural and humanity factors relating with spatial and geography are major factors affecting on the development and also growing of economic activities. Especially, while industrialization as engine of regional development has been benefiting from the advantages offered by spatial features, clustering of economic activities and relationships among actors are shaped according to socio-cultural and human factors revealed spatial features. In this context, clustering of economic activities has been one of the new areas of interest in the theory of economic geography. Therefore, clustering of economic activities and human-social-spatial resources has been emphasized to play a major role in growth and development of regions by essays of the new economic geography. In that context, the aim of this paper is to determine the effects of human and social capital in the spatial agglomeration of economic activities in case of Konya-Turkey. In this study, the agglomeration tendencies for manufacturing industry in Konya, which have major potentials in terms of human and social capital and manufacturing industry potential, is analysed comparatively depending on secondary resources and using

  6. DUST AND GAS IN THE DISK OF HL TAURI: SURFACE DENSITY, DUST SETTLING, AND DUST-TO-GAS RATIO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pinte, C.; Ménard, F. [UMI-FCA, CNRS/INSU, France (UMI 3386), and Dept. de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Santiago (Chile); Dent, W. R. F.; Hales, A.; Hill, T.; Cortes, P.; Gregorio-Monsalvo, I. de, E-mail: christophe.pinte@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr [Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, Joint ALMA Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura 763-0355, Santiago (Chile)

    2016-01-01

    The recent ALMA observations of the disk surrounding HL Tau reveal a very complex dust spatial distribution. We present a radiative transfer model accounting for the observed gaps and bright rings as well as radial changes of the emissivity index. We find that the dust density is depleted by at least a factor of 10 in the main gaps compared to the surrounding rings. Ring masses range from 10–100 M{sub ⊕} in dust, and we find that each of the deepest gaps is consistent with the removal of up to 40 M{sub ⊕} of dust. If this material has accumulated into rocky bodies, these would be close to the point of runaway gas accretion. Our model indicates that the outermost ring is depleted in millimeter grains compared to the central rings. This suggests faster grain growth in the central regions and/or radial migration of the larger grains. The morphology of the gaps observed by ALMA—well separated and showing a high degree of contrast with the bright rings over all azimuths—indicates that the millimeter dust disk is geometrically thin (scale height ≈1 AU at 100 AU) and that a large amount of settling of large grains has already occurred. Assuming a standard dust settling model, we find that the observations are consistent with a turbulent viscosity coefficient of a few 10{sup −4}. We estimate the gas/dust ratio in this thin layer to be of the order of 5 if the initial ratio is 100. The HCO{sup +} and CO emission is consistent with gas in Keplerian motion around a 1.7 M{sub ⊙} star at radii from ≤10–120 AU.

  7. Respiratory Toxicity of Lunar Highland Dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, John T.; Lam, Chiu-wing; Wallace, William T.

    2009-01-01

    Lunar dust exposures occurred during the Apollo missions while the crew was on the lunar surface and especially when microgravity conditions were attained during rendezvous in lunar orbit. Crews reported that the dust was irritating to the eyes and in some cases respiratory symptoms were elicited. NASA s vision for lunar exploration includes stays of 6 months on the lunar surface hence the health effects of periodic exposure to lunar dust need to be assessed. NASA has performed this assessment with a series of in vitro and in vivo tests on authentic lunar dust. Our approach is to "calibrate" the intrinsic toxicity of lunar dust by comparison to a nontoxic dust (TiO2) and a highly toxic dust (quartz) using intratrachael instillation of the dusts in mice. A battery of indices of toxicity is assessed at various time points after the instillations. Cultures of selected cells are exposed to test dusts to assess the adverse effects on the cells. Finally, chemical systems are used to assess the nature of the reactivity of various dusts and to determine the persistence of reactivity under various environmental conditions that are relevant to a space habitat. Similar systems are used to assess the dissolution of the dust. From these studies we will be able to set a defensible inhalation exposure standard for aged dust and predict whether we need a separate standard for reactive dust. Presently-available data suggest that aged lunar highland dust is slightly toxic, that it can adversely affect cultured cells, and that the surface reactivity induced by grinding the dust persists for a few hours after activation.

  8. Colloidal stability of suspended and agglomerate structures of settled carbon nanotubes in different aqueous matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwyzer, Irène; Kaegi, Ralf; Sigg, Laura; Nowack, Bernd

    2013-08-01

    Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are often processed in suspended form and therefore a release of CNT-suspensions into the aquatic environment is plausible. In this study, the behaviour of two physico-chemically very different CNT types in the presence of varying, environmentally relevant calcium-containing media was investigated, including the long-term colloidal stability and the sedimentary structures of settled CNTs. Calcium induced CNT flocculation, however, the stability of the CNTs in the medium did not monotonously decrease with increasing calcium concentration. At intermediate calcium concentrations (0.5-1.5 mM Ca) pre-dispersed CNTs were stabilized in humic acid medium to similar, temporarily even to higher degree than in the absence of calcium. Between pH 5 and 8 only at the highest pH an influence on CNT stability was observed by either promoting flocculation or stabilisation depending on the CNT type. Humic acid stabilized CNTs much better than fulvic acid. Generally, the colloidal stability of the long, thick CNTs with higher surface oxygen content was less affected by the media composition. An investigation of the settled CNT material using analytical electron microscopy revealed the presence of spheroidal, bundle-like and net like CNT-agglomerate structures. Calcium possibly acted as bridging agent linking CNTs in a network like manner, temporarily increasing the CNT concentrations stabilized in the supernatants due to the low density of these structures. With increasing settling time the CNTs formed a fluffy sediment layer at the bottom of the reaction vessels. Bundle-like CNT agglomerates were also observed within that layer of settled CNTs, possibly caused by calcium neutralizing the surface charges. Furthermore, the CNT suspensions contained spheroidal CNT agglomerates, most likely residues from the original dry powder that were not disaggregated. The analysis of settled CNT material is a novelty and illustrates CNT agglomerate structures possibly

  9. Laboratory observations of artificial sand and oil agglomerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, Robert L.; Dalyander, P. Soupy; Penko, Allison; Long, Joseph W.

    2018-04-27

    Sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs) form when weathered oil reaches the surf zone and combines with suspended sediments. The presence of large SOAs in the form of thick mats (up to 10 centimeters [cm] in height and up to 10 square meters [m2] in area) and smaller SOAs, sometimes referred to as surface residual balls (SRBs), may lead to the re-oiling of beaches previously affected by an oil spill. A limited number of numerical modeling and field studies exist on the transport and dynamics of centimeter-scale SOAs and their interaction with the sea floor. Numerical models used to study SOAs have relied on shear-stress formulations to predict incipient motion. However, uncertainty exists as to the accuracy of applying these formulations, originally developed for sand grains in a uniformly sorted sediment bed, to larger, nonspherical SOAs. In the current effort, artificial sand and oil agglomerates (aSOAs) created with the size, density, and shape characteristics of SOAs were studied in a small-oscillatory flow tunnel. These experiments expanded the available data on SOA motion and interaction with the sea floor and were used to examine the applicability of shear-stress formulations to predict SOA mobility. Data collected during these two sets of experiments, including photographs, video, and flow velocity, are presented in this report, along with an analysis of shear-stress-based formulations for incipient motion. The results showed that shear-stress thresholds for typical quartz sand predicted the incipient motion of aSOAs with 0.5–1.0-cm diameters, but were inaccurate for aSOAs with larger diameters (>2.5 cm). This finding implies that modified parameterizations of incipient motion may be necessary under certain combinations of aSOA characteristics and environmental conditions.

  10. Dust-cyclotron and dust-lower-hybrid modes in self-gravitating ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    cantly modifies the dispersion properties of these two electrostatic modes. The implications of these results to some space and astrophysical dusty plasma systems, especially to planetary ring-systems and cometary tails, are briefly mentioned. Keywords. Dusty plasmas; dust-cyclotron waves; dust-lower-hybrid waves.

  11. Assessment of Morphological and Functional Changes in Organs of Rats after Intramuscular Introduction of Iron Nanoparticles and Their Agglomerates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Sizova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The research was performed on male Wistar rats based on assumptions that new microelement preparations containing metal nanoparticles and their agglomerates had potential. Morphological and functional changes in tissues in the injection site and dynamics of chemical element metabolism (25 indicators in body were assessed after repeated intramuscular injections (total, 7 with preparation containing agglomerate of iron nanoparticles. As a result, iron depot was formed in myosymplasts of injection sites. The quantity of muscle fibers having positive Perls’ stain increased with increasing number of injections. However, the concentration of the most chemical elements and iron significantly decreased in the whole skeletal muscle system (injection sites are not included. Consequently, it increased up to the control level after the sixth and the seventh injections. Among the studied organs (liver, kidneys, and spleen, Caspase-3 expression was revealed only in spleen. The expression had a direct dependence on the number of injections. Processes of iron elimination from preparation containing nanoparticles and their agglomerates had different intensity.

  12. Modelling dust transport in tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J.D.; Martin, J.D.; Bacharis, M.; Coppins, M.; Counsell, G.F.; Allen, J.E.; Counsell, G.F.

    2008-01-01

    The DTOKS code, which models dust transport through tokamak plasmas, is described. The floating potential and charge of a dust grain in a plasma and the fluxes of energy to and from it are calculated. From this model, the temperature of the dust grain can be estimated. A plasma background is supplied by a standard tokamak edge modelling code (B2SOLPS5.0), and dust transport through MAST (the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak) and ITER plasmas is presented. We conclude that micron-radius tungsten dust can reach the separatrix in ITER. (authors)

  13. Spatial Agglomeration and Productivity of Textile and Leather Manufacturing in the Punjab Province of Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asim Iqba

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates whether spatial agglomeration of textile and leather industry facilitates to enhance its own productivity at establishment level in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The empirical analysis is based on the survey data for the years 1995-96, 2000-2001 and 2005-06 collected from the Punjab Bureau of Statistics (PBS. The production function framework has been utilized. The results of production function suggest that spatial agglomeration of textile and leather industry plays a vital role in determining the productivity of establishments. The impact of localization (specialization is positive and stronger than urbanization (diversification which implies that locating manufacturing establishments in a particular district leads to enhance the productivity of establishments. Therefore, government policy should be biased to promote localization of textile and leather industry.

  14. Control of harmful dust in coal mines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goddard, B; Bower, K; Mitchell, D

    1973-01-01

    This handbook consists of a series of short chapters devoted to: sources of airborne dust; dust standards and methods of sampling; dust prevention on mechanized faces; ventilation and dust extraction; distribution and use of water; dust control on mechanized faces; dust control in drivages and headings; drilling and shotfiring; dust control in transport; some outbye dust control techniques (hygroscopic salts, impingement curtains); water infusion; personal protective equipment. (CIS Abstr.)

  15. Hydrophilic luminescent silicon nanoparticles in steric colloidal solutions: Their size, agglomeration, and toxicity

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Herynková, Kateřina; Šimáková, Petra; Cibulka, Ondřej; Fučíková, Anna; Kalbáčová, M.H.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 14, č. 12 (2017), s. 1-4, č. článku 1700195. ISSN 1862-6351 Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) DAAD-16-18 Program:Bilaterální spolupráce Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : silicon nanoparticles * agglomeration * toxicity Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics OBOR OECD: Biophysics

  16. Effect of non-Maxwellian particle trapping and dust grain charging on dust acoustic solitary waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubab, N.; Murtaza, G.; Mushtaq, A.

    2006-01-01

    The role of adiabatic trapped ions on a small but finite amplitude dust acoustic wave, including the effect of adiabatic dust charge variation, is investigated in an unmagnetized three-component dusty plasma consisting of electrons, ions and massive micron sized negatively charged dust particulates. We have assumed that electrons and ions obey (r,q) velocity distribution while the dust species is treated fluid dynamically. It is found that the dynamics of dust acoustic waves is governed by a modified r dependent Korteweg-de Vries equation. Further, the spectral indices (r,q) affect the charge fluctuation as well as the trapping of electrons and ions and consequently modify the dust acoustic solitary wave

  17. The global distribution of mineral dust

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tegen, I; Schepanski, K

    2009-01-01

    Dust aerosol particles produced by wind erosion in arid and semi arid regions affect climate and air quality, but the magnitude of these effects is largely unquantified. The major dust source regions include the Sahara, the Arabian and Asian deserts; global annual dust emissions are currently estimated to range between 1000 and 3000 Mt/yr. Dust aerosol can be transported over long distances of thousands of kilometers, e.g. from source regions in the Saharan desert over the North Atlantic, or from the Asian deserts towards the Pacific Ocean. The atmospheric dust load varies considerably on different timescales. While dust aerosol distribution and dust effects are important on global scales, they strongly depend on dust emissions that are controlled on small spatial and temporal scales.

  18. Powder agglomeration study in RF silane plasmas by in situ polarization-sensitive laser light scattering and TEM measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Courteille, C; Hollenstein, C; Dorier, J L; Gay, P; Schwarzenbach, W; Howling, A A [Ecole Polytechnique Federale, Lausanne (Switzerland). Centre de Recherche en Physique des Plasma (CRPP); Bertran, E; Viera, G [Barcelona Univ., Dep. de de Fisica Aplicada I Electronica, Barcelona (Spain); Martins, R; Macarico, A [FCTUNL, Materials Science Dep., Monte de Caparica (Portugal)

    1966-03-01

    To determine self-consistently the time evolution of particle size and their number density in situ multi-angle polarization laser light scattering was used. Cross-polarization intensities (incident and scattered light intensities with opposite polarization) measured at 135{sup o} and ex-situ TEM analysis demonstrate the existence of non-spherical agglomerates during the early phase of agglomeration. Later in the particle time development both techniques reveal spherical particles again. The presence of strong cross-polarization intensities is accompanied by low frequency instabilities detected on the scattered light intensities and plasma emission. It is found that the particle radius and particle number density during the agglomeration phase can be well described by the Brownian Free Molecule Coagulation model. Application of this neutral particle coagulation model is justified by calculation of the particle charge whereby it is shown that particles of a few tens of nanometer can be considered as neutral under our experimental conditions. The measured particle dispersion can be well described by a Brownian Free Molecule Coagulation model including a log-normal particle size distribution. (author) 11 figs., 48 refs.

  19. Powder agglomeration study in RF silane plasmas by in situ polarization-sensitive laser light scattering and TEM measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Courteille, C.; Hollenstein, C.; Dorier, J.L.; Gay, P.; Schwarzenbach, W.; Howling, A.A.; Bertran, E.; Viera, G.; Martins, R.; Macarico, A.

    1966-03-01

    To determine self-consistently the time evolution of particle size and their number density in situ multi-angle polarization laser light scattering was used. Cross-polarization intensities (incident and scattered light intensities with opposite polarization) measured at 135 o and ex-situ TEM analysis demonstrate the existence of non-spherical agglomerates during the early phase of agglomeration. Later in the particle time development both techniques reveal spherical particles again. The presence of strong cross-polarization intensities is accompanied by low frequency instabilities detected on the scattered light intensities and plasma emission. It is found that the particle radius and particle number density during the agglomeration phase can be well described by the Brownian Free Molecule Coagulation model. Application of this neutral particle coagulation model is justified by calculation of the particle charge whereby it is shown that particles of a few tens of nanometer can be considered as neutral under our experimental conditions. The measured particle dispersion can be well described by a Brownian Free Molecule Coagulation model including a log-normal particle size distribution. (author) 11 figs., 48 refs

  20. Large Aperture Electrostatic Dust Detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skinner, C.H.; Hensley, R.; Roquemore, A.L.

    2007-01-01

    Diagnosis and management of dust inventories generated in next-step magnetic fusion devices is necessary for their safe operation. A novel electrostatic dust detector, based on a fine grid of interlocking circuit traces biased to 30 or 50 v has been developed for the detection of dust particles on remote surfaces in air and vacuum environments. Impinging dust particles create a temporary short circuit and the resulting current pulse is recorded by counting electronics. Up to 90% of the particles are ejected from the grid or vaporized suggesting the device may be useful for controlling dust inventories. We report measurements of the sensitivity of a large area (5x5 cm) detector to microgram quantities of dust particles and review its applications to contemporary tokamaks and ITER.

  1. Dust in H II regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isobe, S.

    1977-01-01

    Several pieces of evidence indicate that H II regions may contain dust: 1) the continuum light scattered by dust grains (O'Dell and Hubbard, 1965), 2) thermal radiation from dust grains at infrared wavelengths (Ney and Allen, 1969), 3) the abnormal helium abundance in some H II regions (Peimbert and Costero, 1969), etc. Although observations of the scattered continuum suggest that the H II region cores may be dust-free, dust grains and gas must be well mixed in view of the infrared observations. This difficulty may be solved by introducing globules with sizes approximately 0.001 pc. These globules and the molecular clouds adjacent to H II regions are the main sources supplying dust to H II regions. (Auth.)

  2. Productive Agglomerations of Suppliers in the Automotive Industry: A Way to Maximize Competitiveness in Supply Chain Management.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Guarnieri

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to identify how the automotive industries maximize the competitiveness in supply chain management through the constitution of entrepreneurial productive agglomerations of suppliers. For this purpose, an applied research was carried out, and the technical procedure utilized was bibliographic review based in some researches about Brazilian industrial condominiums. Thus, through the constitution of entrepreneurial agglomerations of suppliers in automotive industry it is possible to obtain logistic advantages in the transporting, stocking and warehousing activities. Besides, it is possible to maximize the supply chain management competitiveness through the establishment of trust and lasting relationships between the components of the whole chain.

  3. The Spatial Variation of Dust Particulate Matter Concentrations during Two Icelandic Dust Storms in 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Particulate matter mass concentrations and size fractions of PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10, and PM15 measured in transversal horizontal profile of two dust storms in southwestern Iceland are presented. Images from a camera network were used to estimate the visibility and spatial extent of measured dust events. Numerical simulations were used to calculate the total dust flux from the sources as 180,000 and 280,000 tons for each storm. The mean PM15 concentrations inside of the dust plumes varied from 10 to 1600 µg·m−3 (PM10 = 7 to 583 µg·m−3. The mean PM1 concentrations were 97–241 µg·m−3 with a maximum of 261 µg·m−3 for the first storm. The PM1/PM2.5 ratios of >0.9 and PM1/PM10 ratios of 0.34–0.63 show that suspension of volcanic materials in Iceland causes air pollution with extremely high PM1 concentrations, similar to polluted urban areas in Europe or Asia. Icelandic volcanic dust consists of a higher proportion of submicron particles compared to crustal dust. Both dust storms occurred in relatively densely inhabited areas of Iceland. First results on size partitioning of Icelandic dust presented here should challenge health authorities to enhance research in relation to dust and shows the need for public dust warning systems.

  4. Dust in Snow in the Colorado River Basin: Spatial Variability in Dust Concentrations, Radiative Forcing, and Snowmelt Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skiles, M.; Painter, T.; Deems, J. S.; Landry, C.; Bryant, A.

    2012-12-01

    Since the disturbance of the western US that began with the Anglo settlement in the mid 19th century, the mountain snow cover of the Colorado River Basin (CRB) has been subject to five-fold greater dust loading. This dust deposition accelerates snowmelt through its direct reduction of albedo and its further reduction of albedo by accelerating the growth of snow effective grain size. We have previously quantified the impacts of dust in snow using a 6-year record of dust concentration and energy balance fluxes at the alpine and subalpine towers in the Senator Beck Basin Study Area (SBBSA), San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, USA. Dust loading exhibited interannual variability, and end of year dust concentrations were not necessarily related to the number of dust deposition events. Radiative forcing enhanced springtime melt by 21 to 51 days with the magnitude of advanced loss being linearly related to total dust concentration at the end of snow cover. To expand our understanding of dust on snow deposition patterns we utilize collections of dust concentration at the Colorado Dust on Snow (CODOS) study sites, established in 2009 along the western side of the CRB, to assess spatial variability in dust loading. In situ sampling of dust stratigraphy and concentration occurs twice each season, once over peak snow water equivalent (15 April), and again during melt (15 May). Dust loading occurs at all sites; dust concentrations are always higher in May, vary between sites, and the highest and lowest dust years were 2009 and 2012, respectively. In the absence of regular sampling and energy balance instrumentation these sites do not allow us to quantify the advanced melt due to dust. To facilitate this a new energy balance site, Grand Mesa Study plot (GMSP), was established for water year 2010 in west central Colorado, 150 km north of SBBSA. Back trajectories indicate similar Colorado Plateau dust sources at both SBBSA and GMSP, yet GMSP exhibits slightly lower dust

  5. Dust control at Yucca Mountain project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kissell, F.; Jurani, R.; Dresel, R.; Reaux, C.

    1999-01-01

    This report describes actions taken to control silica dust at the Yucca Mountain Exploratory Studies Facility, a tunnel located in Southern Nevada that is part of a scientific program to determine site suitability for a potential nuclear waste repository. The rock is a volcanic tuff containing significant percentages of both quartz and cristobalite. Water use for dust control was limited because of scientific test requirements, and this limitation made dust control a difficult task. Results are reported for two drifts, called the Main Loop Drift and the Cross Drift. In the Main Loop Drift, dust surveys and tracer gas tests indicated that air leakage from the TBM head, the primary ventilation duct, and movement of the conveyor belt were all significant sources of dust. Conventional dust control approaches yielded no significant reductions in dust levels. A novel alternative was to install an air cleaning station on a rear deck of the TBM trailing gear. It filtered dust from the contaminated intake air and discharged clean air towards the front of the TBM. The practical effect was to produce dust levels below the exposure limit for all TBM locations except close to the head. In the Cross Drift, better ventilation and an extra set of dust seals on the TBM served to cut down the leakage of dust from the TBM cutter head. However, the conveyor belt was much dustier than the belt in the main loop drift. The problem originated with dirt on the bottom of the belt return side and much spillage from the belt top side. Achieving lower dust levels in hard rock tunneling operations will require new approaches as well as a more meticulous application of existing technology. Planning for dust control will require specific means to deal with dust that leaks from the TBM head, dust that originates with leaky ventilation systems, and dust that comes from conveyor belts. Also, the application of water could be more efficient if automatic controls were used to adjust the water flow

  6. Electrostatic Dust Detector with Improved Sensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyle, D.P.; Skinner, C.H.; Roquemore, A.L.

    2008-01-01

    Methods to measure the inventory of dust particles and to remove dust if it approaches safety limits will be required in next-step tokamaks such as ITER. An electrostatic dust detector, based on a fine grid of interlocking circuit traces, biased to 30 or 50 V, has been developed for the detection of dust on remote surfaces in air and vacuum environments. Gaining operational experience of dust detection on surfaces in tokamaks is important, however the level of dust generated in contemporary short-pulse tokamaks is comparatively low and high sensitivity is necessary to measure dust on a shot-by-shot basis. We report on modifications in the detection electronics that have increased the sensitivity of the electrostatic dust detector by a factor of up to 120, - a level suitable for measurements on contemporary tokamaks.

  7. Scale Economies and Industry Agglomeration Externalities: A Dynamic Cost Function Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Donald S. Siegel; Catherine J. Morrison Paul

    1999-01-01

    Scale economies and agglomeration externalities are alleged to be important determinants of economic growth. To assess these effects, the authors outline and estimate a microfoundations model based on a dynamic cost function specification. This model provides for the separate identification of the impacts of externalities and cyclical utilization on short- and long-run scale economies and input substitution patterns. The authors find that scale economies are prevalent in U.S manufacturing; co...

  8. Characterization of atmospheric bioaerosols along the transport pathway of Asian dust during the Dust-Bioaerosol 2016 Campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Kai; Huang, Zhongwei; Huang, Jianping; Maki, Teruya; Zhang, Shuang; Shimizu, Atsushi; Ma, Xiaojun; Shi, Jinsen; Bi, Jianrong; Zhou, Tian; Wang, Guoyin; Zhang, Lei

    2018-05-01

    Previous studies have shown that bioaerosols are injected into the atmosphere during dust events. These bioaerosols may affect leeward ecosystems, human health, and agricultural productivity and may even induce climate change. However, bioaerosol dynamics have rarely been investigated along the transport pathway of Asian dust, especially in China where dust events affect huge areas and massive numbers of people. Given this situation, the Dust-Bioaerosol (DuBi) Campaign was carried out over northern China, and the effects of dust events on the amount and diversity of bioaerosols were investigated. The results indicate that the number of bacteria showed remarkable increases during the dust events, and the diversity of the bacterial communities also increased significantly, as determined by means of microscopic observations with 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and MiSeq sequencing analysis. These results indicate that dust clouds can carry many bacteria of various types into downwind regions and may have potentially important impacts on ecological environments and climate change. The abundances of DAPI-stained bacteria in the dust samples were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude greater than those in the non-dust samples and reached 105-106 particles m-3. Moreover, the concentration ratios of DAPI-stained bacteria to yellow fluorescent particles increased from 5.1 % ± 6.3 % (non-dust samples) to 9.8 % ± 6.3 % (dust samples). A beta diversity analysis of the bacterial communities demonstrated the distinct clustering of separate prokaryotic communities in the dust and non-dust samples. Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria remained the dominant phyla in all samples. As for Erenhot, the relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi had a remarkable rise in dust events. In contrast, the relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi in non-dust samples of R-DzToUb were greater than those in dust samples. Alphaproteobacteria made the major

  9. Mineralogy of Interplanetary Dust Particles from the Comet Giacobini-Zinner Dust Stream Collections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura-Messenger, K.; Messenger, S.; Westphal, A. J.; Palma, R. L.

    2015-01-01

    The Draconoid meteor shower, originating from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, is a low-velocity Earth-crossing dust stream that had a peak anticipated flux on Oct. 8, 2012. In response to this prediction, NASA performed dedicated stratospheric dust collections to target interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) from this comet stream on Oct 15-17, 2012 [3]. Twelve dust particles from this targeted collection were allocated to our coordinated analysis team for studies of noble gas (Univ. Minnesota, Minnesota State Univ.), SXRF and Fe-XANES (SSL Berkeley) and mineralogy/isotopes (JSC). Here we report a mineralogical study of 3 IDPs from the Draconoid collection..

  10. Effects of dust grain charge fluctuation on obliquely propagating dust-acoustic potential in magnetized dusty plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mamun, A.A.; Hassan, M.H.A.

    1999-05-01

    Effects of dust grain charge fluctuation, obliqueness and external magnetic field on finite amplitude dust-acoustic solitary potential in a magnetized dusty plasma, consisting of electrons, ions and charge fluctuating dust grains, have been investigated by the reductive perturbation method. It has been shown that such a magnetized dusty plasma system may support dust-acoustic solitary potential on a very slow time scale involving the motion of dust grains, whose charge is self-consistently determined by local electron and ion currents. The effects of dust grain charge fluctuation, external magnetic field and obliqueness are found to modify the properties of this dust-acoustic solitary potential significantly. The implications of these results to some space and astrophysical dusty plasma systems, especially to planetary ring-systems and cometary tails, are briefly mentioned. (author)

  11. Agglomeration, sedimentation, and cellular toxicity of alumina nanoparticles in cell culture medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Dokyung; Woo, Daekwang; Kim, Jung Heon; Kim, Moon Ki; Kim, Taesung; Hwang, Eung-Soo; Baik, Seunghyun

    2011-01-01

    The cytotoxicity of alumina nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated for a wide range of concentration (25–200 μg/mL) and incubation time (0–72 h) using floating cells (THP-1) and adherent cells (J774A.1, A549, and 293). Alumina NPs were gradually agglomerated over time although a significant portion of sedimentation occurred at the early stage within 6 h. A decrease of the viability was found in floating (THP-1) and adherent (J774A.1 and A549) cells in a dose-dependent manner. However, the time-dependent decrease in cell viability was observed only in adherent cells (J774A.1 and A549), which is predominantly related with the sedimentation of alumina NPs in cell culture medium. The uptake of alumina NPs in macrophages and an increased cell-to-cell adhesion in adherent cells were observed. There was no significant change in the viability of 293 cells. This in vitro test suggests that the agglomeration and sedimentation of alumina NPs affected cellular viability depending on cell types such as monocytes (THP-1), macrophages (J774A.1), lung carcinoma cells (A549), and embryonic kidney cells (293).

  12. Agglomeration, sedimentation, and cellular toxicity of alumina nanoparticles in cell culture medium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Dokyung; Woo, Daekwang; Kim, Jung Heon; Kim, Moon Ki; Kim, Taesung; Hwang, Eung-Soo; Baik, Seunghyun

    2011-06-01

    The cytotoxicity of alumina nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated for a wide range of concentration (25-200 μg/mL) and incubation time (0-72 h) using floating cells (THP-1) and adherent cells (J774A.1, A549, and 293). Alumina NPs were gradually agglomerated over time although a significant portion of sedimentation occurred at the early stage within 6 h. A decrease of the viability was found in floating (THP-1) and adherent (J774A.1 and A549) cells in a dose-dependent manner. However, the time-dependent decrease in cell viability was observed only in adherent cells (J774A.1 and A549), which is predominantly related with the sedimentation of alumina NPs in cell culture medium. The uptake of alumina NPs in macrophages and an increased cell-to-cell adhesion in adherent cells were observed. There was no significant change in the viability of 293 cells. This in vitro test suggests that the agglomeration and sedimentation of alumina NPs affected cellular viability depending on cell types such as monocytes (THP-1), macrophages (J774A.1), lung carcinoma cells (A549), and embryonic kidney cells (293).

  13. Substrate morphology induced self-organization into carbon nanotube arrays, ropes, and agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jia-Qi; Zhang, Qiang; Xu, Guang-Hui; Qian, Wei-Zhong; Wei, Fei

    2008-10-29

    In this paper, hydrophobic carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays, ropes, and agglomerates were synthesized through self-organization on quartz substrates with different micro-structures under the same growth condition. On a flat substrate, a uniform woven structure was formed which resulted in a synchronous growth into an array. When the substrate with 10 µm round concaves distributed on the surface was adopted, the woven structure was sporadic and a CNT cluster was grown in the concave. With further growth, CNT ropes were self-organized. Subsequently, when the substrate consisting of irregular ∼100 nm gaps was used, the initial woven structure was high density, thus resulting in the formation of CNT agglomerates. Study results showed that CNT arrays grown on the flat substrate were of the highest purity and had a contact angle of 153.8 ± 0.9°. Thus, the self-organization behavior among CNTs was in situ modulated by different substrate morphology without further treatments. This provides us with an additional understanding of the self-organization of CNTs during growth, as well as strategies for the controllable synthesis of CNTs with fixed properties.

  14. Substrate morphology induced self-organization into carbon nanotube arrays, ropes, and agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Jiaqi; Zhang Qiang; Xu Guanghui; Qian Weizhong; Wei Fei

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, hydrophobic carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays, ropes, and agglomerates were synthesized through self-organization on quartz substrates with different micro-structures under the same growth condition. On a flat substrate, a uniform woven structure was formed which resulted in a synchronous growth into an array. When the substrate with 10 μm round concaves distributed on the surface was adopted, the woven structure was sporadic and a CNT cluster was grown in the concave. With further growth, CNT ropes were self-organized. Subsequently, when the substrate consisting of irregular ∼100 nm gaps was used, the initial woven structure was high density, thus resulting in the formation of CNT agglomerates. Study results showed that CNT arrays grown on the flat substrate were of the highest purity and had a contact angle of 153.8 ± 0.9 0 . Thus, the self-organization behavior among CNTs was in situ modulated by different substrate morphology without further treatments. This provides us with an additional understanding of the self-organization of CNTs during growth, as well as strategies for the controllable synthesis of CNTs with fixed properties.

  15. Short-term variability of mineral dust, metals and carbon emission from road dust resuspension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amato, Fulvio; Schaap, Martijn; Denier van der Gon, Hugo A. C.; Pandolfi, Marco; Alastuey, Andrés; Keuken, Menno; Querol, Xavier

    2013-08-01

    Particulate matter (PM) pollution in cities has severe impact on morbidity and mortality of their population. In these cities, road dust resuspension contributes largely to PM and airborne heavy metals concentrations. However, the short-term variation of emission through resuspension is not well described in the air quality models, hampering a reliable description of air pollution and related health effects. In this study we experimentally show that the emission strength of resuspension varies widely among road dust components/sources. Our results offer the first experimental evidence of different emission rates for mineral dust, heavy metals and carbon fractions due to traffic-induced resuspension. Also, the same component (or source) recovers differently in a road in Barcelona (Spain) and a road in Utrecht (The Netherlands). This finding has important implications on atmospheric pollution modelling, mostly for mineral dust, heavy metals and carbon species. After rain events, recoveries were generally faster in Barcelona rather than in Utrecht. The largest difference was found for the mineral dust (Al, Si, Ca). Tyre wear particles (organic carbon and zinc) recovered faster than other road dust particles in both cities. The source apportionment of road dust mass provides useful information for air quality management.

  16. Study on the alternative mitigation of cement dust spread by capturing the dust with fogging method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purwanta, Jaka; Marnoto, Tjukup; Setyono, Prabang; Handono Ramelan, Ari

    2017-12-01

    The existence of a cement plant impact the lives of people around the factory site. For example the air quality, which is polluted by dust. Cement plant has made various efforts to mitigate the generated dust, but there are still alot of dust fly inground either from the cement factory chimneys or transportation. The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of alternative mitigation of the spread of dust around the cement plant. This study uses research methods such as collecting secondary data which includes data of rain density, the average rains duration, wind speed and direction as well as data of dust intensity quality around PT. Semen Gresik (Persero) Tbk.Tuban plant. A soft Wind rose file is used To determine the wind direction propensity models. The impact on the spread of dust into the environment is determined using secondary data monitoring air quality. Results of the study is that the mitigation of dust around the cement plant is influenced by natural factors, such as the tendency of wind direction, rain fall and rainy days, and the rate of dust emission from the chimney. The alternative means proposed is an environmental friendly fogging dust catcher.

  17. Health hazards of cement dust

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meo, Sultan A.

    2004-01-01

    ven in the 21st century, millions of people are working daily in a dusty environment. They are exposed to different types of health hazards such as fume, gases and dust, which are risk factors in developing occupational disease. Cement industry is involved in the development of structure of this advanced and modern world but generates dust during its production. Cement dust causes lung function impairment, chronic obstructive lung disease, restrictive lung disease, pneumoconiosis and carcinoma of the lungs, stomach and colon. Other studies have shown that cement dust may enter into the systemic circulation and thereby reach the essentially all the organs of body and affects the different tissues including heart, liver, spleen, bone, muscles and hairs and ultimately affecting their micro-structure and physiological performance. Most of the studies have been previously attempted to evaluate the effects of cement dust exposure on the basis of spirometry or radiology, or both. However, collective effort describing the general effects of cement dust on different organ and systems in humans or animals, or both has not been published. Therefore, the aim of this review is to gather the potential toxic effects of cement dust and to minimize the health risks in cement mill workers by providing them with information regarding the hazards of cement dust. (author)

  18. Extrinsic lactose fines improve dry powder inhaler formulation performance of a cohesive batch of budesonide via agglomerate formation and consequential co-deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinnunen, Hanne; Hebbink, Gerald; Peters, Harry; Huck, Deborah; Makein, Lisa; Price, Robert

    2015-01-15

    The aim of the study was to investigate how the fine particle content of lactose carriers prepared with different types of lactose fines regulates dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation performance of a cohesive batch of micronised budesonide. Budesonide formulations (0.8 wt%) were prepared with three different lactose carriers (Lactohale (LH) LH100, 20 wt% LH210 in LH100 and 20 wt% LH300 in LH100). Fine particle fraction of emitted dose (FPFED) and mean mass aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of budesonide was assessed with a Next Generation Impactor (NGI) using a Cyclohaler at 90 l/min. Morphological and chemical characteristics of particles deposited on Stage 2 were determined using a Malvern Morphologi G3-ID. The results indicate that increasing concentration of lactose fines (agglomerates. Presence of agglomerates on Stage 2 was confirmed by morphological analysis of particles. Raman analysis of material collected on Stage 2 indicated that the more fine lactose particles were available the more agglomerates of budesonide and lactose were delivered to Stage 2. These results suggest drug-fines agglomerate formation is an important mechanism for how lactose fines improve and regulate DPI formulation performance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Development of clean coal and clean soil technologies using advanced agglomeration technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ignasiak, B.; Pawlak, W.; Szymocha, K.; Marr, J.

    1990-04-01

    The specific objectives of the bituminous coal program were to explore and evaluate the application of advanced agglomeration technology for: (1)desulphurization of bituminous coals to sulphur content acceptable within the current EPA SO 2 emission guidelines; (2) deashing of bituminous coals to ash content of less than 10 percent; and (3)increasing the calorific value of bituminous coals to above 13,000 Btu/lb. (VC)

  20. Respirable versus inhalable dust sampling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hondros, J.

    1987-01-01

    The ICRP uses a total inhalable dust figure as the basis of calculations on employee lung dose. This paper was written to look at one aspect of the Olympic Dam dust situation, namely, the inhalable versus respirable fraction of the dust cloud. The results of this study will determine whether it is possible to use respirable dust figures, as obtained during routine monitoring to help in the calculations of employee exposure to internal radioactive contaminants

  1. Communication plan for windblown dust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-01

    Windblown dust events occur in Arizona, and blowing dust has been considered a contributing factor to serious crashes on the : segment of Interstate 10 (I10) between Phoenix and Tucson, as well as on other Arizona roadways. Arizonas dust events...

  2. House dust in seven Danish offices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mølhave, L.; Schneider, T.; Kjærgaard, S. K.; Larsen, L.; Norn, S.; Jørgensen, O.

    Floor dust from Danish offices was collected and analyzed. The dust was to be used in an exposure experiment. The dust was analyzed to show the composition of the dust which can be a source of airborne dust indoors. About 11 kg of dust from vacuum cleaner bags from seven Danish office buildings with about 1047 occupants (12 751 m 2) was processed according to a standardized procedure yielding 5.5 kg of processed bulk dust. The bulk dust contained 130.000-160.000 CFU g -1 microorganisms and 71.000-90.000 CFU g -1 microfungi. The content of culturable microfungi was 65-123 CFU 30 g -1 dust. The content of endotoxins ranged from 5.06-7.24 EU g -1 (1.45 ng g -1 to 1.01 ng g -1). Allergens (ng g -1) were from 147-159 (Mite), 395-746 (dog) and 103-330 (cat). The macro molecular organic compounds (the MOD-content) varied from 7.8-9.8 mg g -1. The threshold of release of histamine from basophil leukocytes provoked by the bulk dust was between 0.3 and 1.0 mg ml -1. The water content was 2% (WGT) and the organic fraction 33%. 6.5-5.9% (dry) was water soluble. The fiber content was less than 0.2-1.5% (WGT) and the desorbable VOCs was 176-319 μg g -1. Most of the VOC were aldehydes. However, softeners for plastic (DBP and DEHP) were present. The chemical composition includes human and animal skin fragments, paper fibers, glass wool, wood and textilefibers and inorganic and metal particles. The sizes ranged from 0.001-1 mm and the average specific density was 1.0 g m -3. The bulk dust was resuspended and injected into an exposure chamber. The airborne dust was sampled and analyzed to illustrate the exposures that can result from sedimented dirt and dust. The airborne dust resulting from the bulk dust reached concentrations ranging from 0.26-0.75 mg m -3 in average contained 300-170 CFU m -3. The organic fraction was from 55-70% and the water content about 2.5% (WGT). The content of the dust was compared to the similar results reported in the literature and its toxic potency is

  3. Stabilization/solidification of selenium-impacted soils using Portland cement and cement kiln dust

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moon, Deok Hyun; Grubb, Dennis G.; Reilly, Trevor L.

    2009-01-01

    Stabilization/solidification (S/S) processes were utilized to immobilize selenium (Se) as selenite (SeO 3 2- ) and selenate (SeO 4 2- ). Artificially contaminated soils were prepared by individually spiking kaolinite, montmorillonite and dredged material (DM; an organic silt) with 1000 mg/kg of each selenium compound. After mellowing for 7 days, the Se-impacted soils were each stabilized with 5, 10 and 15% Type I/II Portland cement (P) and cement kiln dust (C) and then were cured for 7 and 28 days. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the S/S treatments. At 28 days curing, P doses of 10 and 15% produced five out of six TCLP-Se(IV) concentrations below 10 mg/L, whereas only the 15% C in DM had a TCLP-Se(IV) concentration 3 .H 2 O) and selenate substituted ettringite (Ca 6 Al 2 (SeO 4 ) 3 (OH) 12 .26H 2 O), respectively.

  4. Effects of dust size distribution on dust acoustic waves in magnetized two-ion-temperature dusty plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Zongming; Duan Wenshan; He Guangjun

    2008-01-01

    A Zakharov-Kuznetsov (ZK) equation, a modified ZK (mZK) equation, and a coupled ZK (cZK) equation for small but finite amplitude dust acoustic waves in a magnetized two-ion-temperature dusty plasma with dust size distribution have been investigated in this paper. The variations of the linear dispersion relation and group velocity, nonlinear solitary wave amplitude, and width with an arbitrary dust size distribution function are studied numerically. We conclude that they all increase as the total number density of dust grains increases, and they are greater for unusual dusty plasma (the number density of larger dust grains is greater than that of smaller dust grains) than that of usual dusty plasma (the number density of smaller dust grains is greater than that of larger dust grains). It is noted that the frequency of the linear wave increases as the wave number along the magnetic direction increases. Furthermore, the width of the nonlinear waves increases but its amplitude decreases as the wave number along the magnetic direction increases

  5. The flow of interstellar dust through the solar system: the role of dust charging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sterken, V. J.; Altobelli, N.; Schwehm, G.; Kempf, S.; Srama, R.; Strub, P.; Gruen, E.

    2011-01-01

    Interstellar dust can enter the solar system through the relative motion of the Sun with respect to the Local Interstellar Cloud. The trajectories of the dust through the solar system are not only influenced by gravitation and solar radiation pressure forces, but also by the Lorentz forces due to the interaction of the interplanetary magnetic field with the charged dust particles. The interplanetary magnetic field changes on two major time scales: 25 days (solar rotation frequency) and 22 years (solar cycle). The short-term variability averages out for regions that are not too close (>∼2 AU) to the Sun. This interplanetary magnetic field variability causes a time-variability in the interstellar dust densities, that is correlated to the solar cycle.In this work we characterize the flow of interstellar dust through the solar system using simulations of the dust trajectories. We start from the simple case without Lorentz forces, and expand to the full simulation. We pay attention to the different ways of modeling the interplanetary magnetic field, and discuss the influence of the dust parameters on the resulting flow patterns. We also discuss the possibilities of using this modeling for prediction of dust fluxes for different space missions or planets, and we pay attention to where simplified models are justified, and where or when a full simulation, including all forces is necessary. One of the aims of this work is to understand measurements of spacecraft like Ulysses, Cassini and Stardust.

  6. Variations between Dust and Gas in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium. III. Changes in Dust Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reach, William T.; Bernard, Jean-Philippe; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Heiles, Carl

    2017-12-01

    We study infrared emission of 17 isolated, diffuse clouds with masses of order {10}2 {M}ȯ to test the hypothesis that grain property variations cause the apparently low gas-to-dust ratios that have been measured in those clouds. Maps of the clouds were constructed from Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data and directly compared with the maps of dust optical depth from Planck. The mid-infrared emission per unit dust optical depth has a significant trend toward lower values at higher optical depths. The trend can be quantitatively explained by the extinction of starlight within the clouds. The relative amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and very small grains traced by WISE, compared with large grains tracked by Planck, are consistent with being constant. The temperature of the large grains significantly decreases for clouds with larger dust optical depth; this trend is partially due to dust property variations, but is primarily due to extinction of starlight. We updated the prediction for molecular hydrogen column density, taking into account variations in dust properties, and find it can explain the observed dust optical depth per unit gas column density. Thus, the low gas-to-dust ratios in the clouds are most likely due to “dark gas” that is molecular hydrogen.

  7. Excitation of collective plasma modes during collisions between dust grains and the formation of dust plasma crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goree, J.A.; Morfill, G.; Tsytovich, V.N.

    1998-01-01

    Dust plasma crystals have recently been produced in experiments in a number of laboratories. For dust crystallization to occur, there should exist an efficient mechanism for the cooling of the dust plasma component. It is shown that the excitation of collective plasma modes during collisions between the grains may serve as the required cooling mechanism. The excitation of dust sound waves is found to be most efficient. It is shown that the cooling of dust grains via the excitation of collective plasma modes can be even more efficient than that due to collisions with neutral particles, which was previously considered to be the only mechanism for cooling of the dust plasma component. At present, the first experiments are being carried out to study collisions between individual dust grains. High efficiency of the excitation of plasma modes caused by collisions between dust grains is attributed to the coherent displacement of the plasma particles that shield the grains. it is shown that the excitation efficiency is proportional to the fourth power of the charge of the dust grains and to a large power of their relative velocity, and is independent of their mass. The results obtained can be checked in experiments studying how the binary collisions between dust grains and the pressure of the neutral component influence the dust crystallization

  8. Dust characterisation for hot gas filters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dockter, B.; Erickson, T.; Henderson, A.; Hurley, J.; Kuehnel, V.; Katrinak, K.; Nowok, J.; O`Keefe, C.; O`Leary, E.; Swanson, M.; Watne, T. [University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center (UNDEERC)

    1998-03-01

    Hot gas filtration to remove particulates from the gas flow upstream of the gas turbine is critical to the development of many of the advanced coal-fired power generation technologies such as the Air Blown Gasification Cycle (ABGC), a hybrid gasification combined cycle being developed in the UK. Ceramic candle filters are considered the most promising technology for this purpose. Problems of mechanical failure and of `difficult-to-clean` dusts causing high pressure losses across the filter elements need to be solved. The project investigated the behaviour of high-temperature filter dusts, and the factors determining the ease with which they can be removed from filters. The high-temperature behaviour of dusts from both combustion and gasification systems was investigated. Dust samples were obtained from full-scale demonstration and pilot-scale plant operating around the world. Dust samples were also produced from a variety of coals, and under several different operating conditions, on UNDEERC`s pilot-scale reactor. Key factors affecting dust behaviour were examined, including: the rates of tensile strength developing in dust cakes; the thermochemical equilibria pertaining under filtration conditions; dust adhesivity on representative filter materials; and the build-up and cleaning behaviour of dusts on representative filter candles. The results obtained confirmed the importance of dust temperature, dust cake porosity, cake liquid content, and particle size distribution in determining the strength of a dust cake. An algorithm was developed to indicate the likely sticking propensity of dusts as a function of coal and sorbent composition and combustion conditions. This algorithm was incorporated into a computer package which can be used to judge the degree of difficulty in filter cleaning that can be expected to arise in a real plant based on operating parameters and coal analyzes. 6 figs.

  9. Dust in protoplanetary disks: observations*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waters L.B.F.M.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Solid particles, usually referred to as dust, are a crucial component of interstellar matter and of planet forming disks surrounding young stars. Despite the relatively small mass fraction of ≈1% (in the solar neighborhood of our galaxy; this number may differ substantially in other galaxies that interstellar grains represent of the total mass budget of interstellar matter, dust grains play an important role in the physics and chemistry of interstellar matter. This is because of the opacity dust grains at short (optical, UV wavelengths, and the surface they provide for chemical reactions. In addition, dust grains play a pivotal role in the planet formation process: in the core accretion model of planet formation, the growth of dust grains from the microscopic size range to large, cm-sized or larger grains is the first step in planet formation. Not only the grain size distribution is affected by planet formation. Chemical and physical processes alter the structure and chemical composition of dust grains as they enter the protoplanetary disk and move closer to the forming star. Therefore, a lot can be learned about the way stars and planets are formed by observations of dust in protoplanetary disks. Ideally, one would like to measure the dust mass, the grain size distribution, grain structure (porosity, fluffiness, the chemical composition, and all of these as a function of position in the disk. Fortunately, several observational diagnostics are available to derive constrains on these quantities. In combination with rapidly increasing quality of the data (spatial and spectral resolution, a lot of progress has been made in our understanding of dust evolution in protoplanetary disks. An excellent review of dust evolution in protoplanetary disks can be found in Testi et al. (2014.

  10. Creation of Wood Dust during Wood Processing: Size Analysis, Dust Separation, and Occupational Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Mračková

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Mechanical separators and fabric filters are being used to remove airborne fine particles generated during the processing and handling of wood. Such particles might have a harmful effect on employee health, not only in small- but also in large-scale wood processing facilities. The amount of wood dust and its dispersion conditions vary according to geometric boundary conditions. Thus, the dispersion conditions could be changed by changing the linear size of the particles. Moreover, the smaller the particles are, the more harmful they can be. It is necessary to become familiar with properties, from a health point of view, of wood dust generated from processing. Wood dust has to be sucked away from the processing area. The fractional separation efficiency of wood dust can be improved using exhaust and filtering devices. Filtration efficiency depends on moisture content, particle size, and device performance. Because of the carcinogenicity of wood dust, the concentration of wood dust in air has to be monitored regularly. Based on the results hereof, a conclusion can be made that both mechanical separators of types SEA and SEB as well as the fabric filters with FINET PES 1 textile are suitable for the separation of wet saw dust from all types of wooden waste produced within the process.

  11. Galactic dust and extinction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyngaa, G.

    1979-01-01

    The ratio R between visual extinction and colour excess, is slightly larger than 3 and does not vary much throughout our part of the Galaxy. The distribution of dust in the galactic plane shows, on the large scale, a gradient with higher colour excesses towards l=50 0 than towards l=230 0 . On the smaller scale, much of the dust responsible for extinction is situated in clouds which tend to group together. The correlation between positions of interstellar dust clouds and positions of spiral tracers seems rather poor in our Galaxy. However, concentrated dark clouds as well as extended regions of dust show an inclined distribution similar to the Gould belt of bright stars. (Auth.)

  12. Effects of grain dust on lungs prior to and following dust remediation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pahwa, Punam; Dosman, James A; McDuffie, Helen H

    2008-12-01

    To determine longitudinal estimates of pulmonary function decline in Canadian grain elevator workers before and after dust control by analyzing data collected from five regions of Canada over 15 years. Declines in forced expired volume in one second and forced vital capacity before and after dust control were estimated by using a generalized estimating equations approach. For grain workers who were in the grain industry for 20 or more years both before and after dust control: the mean annual loss of forced expired volume in one second was greatest among current smoking grain workers followed by ex-smokers and nonsmokers, respectively. Similar results were obtained for forced vital capacity. Grain dust control was effective in reducing decline in the lung function measurements among grain workers in all smoking and exposure categories.

  13. Simulation study of spheroidal dust gains charging: Applicable to dust grain alignment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahed, H.; Sobhanian, S.; Mahmoodi, J.; Khorram, S.

    2006-01-01

    The charging process of nonspherical dust grains in an unmagnetized plasma as well as in the presence of a magnetic field is studied. It is shown that unlike the spherical dust grain, due to nonhomogeneity of charge distribution on the spheroidal dust surface, the resultant electric forces on electrons and ions are different. This process produces some surface charge density gradient on the nonspherical grain surface. Effects of a magnetic field and other plasma parameters on the properties of the dust particulate are studied. It has been shown that the alignment direction could be changed or even reversed with the magnetic field and plasma parameters. Finally, the charge distribution on the spheroidal grain surface is studied for different ambient parameters including plasma temperature, neutral collision frequency, and the magnitude of the magnetic field

  14. Dust Studies in DIII-D and TEXTOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudakov, D.; Litnovsky, A.; West, W.; Yu, J.; Boedo, J.; Bray, B.; Brezinsek, S.; Brooks, N.; Fenstermacher, M.; Groth, M.; Hollmann, E.; Huber, A.; Hyatt, A.; Krasheninnikov, S.; Lasnier, C.; Moyer, R.; Pigarov, A.; Philipps, V.; Pospieszezyk, A.; Smirnov, R.; Sharpe, J.; Solomon, W.; Watkins, J.; Wong, C.

    2008-01-01

    Studies of naturally occurring and artificially introduced carbon dust are conducted in DIII-D and TEXTOR. In DIII-D, dust does not present operational concerns except immediately after entry vents. Energetic plasma disruptions produce significant amounts of dust. However, dust production by disruptions alone is insufficient to account for the estimated in-vessel dust inventory in DIII-D. Submicron sized dust is routinely observed using Mie scattering from a Nd:Yag laser. The source is strongly correlated with the presence of Type I edge localized modes (ELMs). Larger size (0.005-1 mm diameter) dust is observed by optical imaging, showing elevated dust levels after entry vents. Inverse dependence of the dust velocity on the inferred dust size is found from the imaging data. Migration of pre-characterized carbon dust is studied in DIII-D and TEXTOR by injecting micron-size dust in plasma discharges. In DIII-D, a sample holder filled with ∼30 mg of dust is introduced in the lower divertor and exposed to high-power ELMing H-mode discharges with strike points swept across the divertor floor. After a brief exposure (∼0.1 s) at the outer strike point, part of the dust is injected into the plasma, raising the core carbon density by a factor of 2-3 and resulting in a twofold increase of the radiated power. Individual dust particles are observed moving at velocities of 10-100 m/s, predominantly in the toroidal direction, consistent with the drag force from the deuteron flow and in agreement with modeling by the 3D DustT code. In TEXTOR, instrumented dust holders with 1-45 mg of dust are exposed in the scrape-off layer 0-2 cm radially outside of the last closed flux surface in discharges heated with neutral beam injection (NBI) power of 1.4 MW. Dust is launched either in the beginning of a discharge or at the initiation of NBI, preferentially in a direction perpendicular to the toroidal magnetic field. At the given configuration of the launch, the dust did not penetrate

  15. Dust: Small-scale processes with global consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okin, G.S.; Bullard, J.E.; Reynolds, R.L.; Ballantine, J.-A.C.; Schepanski, K.; Todd, M.C.; Belnap, J.; Baddock, M.C.; Gill, T.E.; Miller, M.E.

    2011-01-01

    Desert dust, both modern and ancient, is a critical component of the Earth system. Atmospheric dust has important effects on climate by changing the atmospheric radiation budget, while deposited dust influences biogeochemical cycles in the oceans and on land. Dust deposited on snow and ice decreases its albedo, allowing more light to be trapped at the surface, thus increasing the rate of melt and influencing energy budgets and river discharge. In the human realm, dust contributes to the transport of allergens and pathogens and when inhaled can cause or aggravate respiratory diseases. Dust storms also represent a significant hazard to road and air travel. Because it affects so many Earth processes, dust is studied from a variety of perspectives and at multiple scales, with various disciplines examining emissions for different purposes using disparate strategies. Thus, the range of objectives in studying dust, as well as experimental approaches and results, has not yet been systematically integrated. Key research questions surrounding the production and sources of dust could benefit from improved collaboration among different research communities. These questions involve the origins of dust, factors that influence dust production and emission, and methods through which dust can be monitored. ?? Author(s) 2011.

  16. Cosmological simulation with dust formation and destruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoyama, Shohei; Hou, Kuan-Chou; Hirashita, Hiroyuki; Nagamine, Kentaro; Shimizu, Ikkoh

    2018-06-01

    To investigate the evolution of dust in a cosmological volume, we perform hydrodynamic simulations, in which the enrichment of metals and dust is treated self-consistently with star formation and stellar feedback. We consider dust evolution driven by dust production in stellar ejecta, dust destruction by sputtering, grain growth by accretion and coagulation, and grain disruption by shattering, and treat small and large grains separately to trace the grain size distribution. After confirming that our model nicely reproduces the observed relation between dust-to-gas ratio and metallicity for nearby galaxies, we concentrate on the dust abundance over the cosmological volume in this paper. The comoving dust mass density has a peak at redshift z ˜ 1-2, coincident with the observationally suggested dustiest epoch in the Universe. In the local Universe, roughly 10 per cent of the dust is contained in the intergalactic medium (IGM), where only 1/3-1/4 of the dust survives against dust destruction by sputtering. We also show that the dust mass function is roughly reproduced at ≲ 108 M⊙, while the massive end still has a discrepancy, which indicates the necessity of stronger feedback in massive galaxies. In addition, our model broadly reproduces the observed radial profile of dust surface density in the circum-galactic medium (CGM). While our model satisfies the observational constraints for the dust extinction on cosmological scales, it predicts that the dust in the CGM and IGM is dominated by large (>0.03 μm) grains, which is in tension with the steep reddening curves observed in the CGM.

  17. Experiments on Dust Grain Charging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, M. N.; Craven, P. D.; Spann, J. F.; Tankosic, D.; LeClair, A.; West, E. A.

    2004-01-01

    Dust particles in various astrophysical environments are charged by a variety of mechanisms generally involving collisional processes with other charged particles and photoelectric emission with UV radiation from nearby sources. The sign and the magnitude of the particle charge are determined by the competition between the charging processes by UV radiation and collisions with charged particles. Knowledge of the particle charges and equilibrium potentials is important for understanding of a number of physical processes. The charge of a dust grain is thus a fundamental parameter that influences the physics of dusty plasmas, processes in the interplanetary medium and interstellar medium, interstellar dust clouds, planetary rings, cometary and outer atmospheres of planets etc. In this paper we present some results of experiments on charging of dust grains carried out on a laboratory facility capable levitating micron size dust grains in an electrodynamic balance in simulated space environments. The charging/discharging experiments were carried out by exposing the dust grains to energetic electron beams and UV radiation. Photoelectric efficiencies and yields of micron size dust grains of SiO2, and lunar simulates obtained from NASA-JSC will be presented.

  18. Ulysses dust measurements near Jupiter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grün, E; Zook, H A; Baguhl, M; Fechtig, H; Hanner, M S; Kissel, J; Lindblad, B A; Linkert, D; Linkert, G; Mann, I B

    1992-09-11

    Submicrometer- to micrometer-sized particles were recorded by the Ulysses dust detector within 40 days of the Jupiter flyby. Nine impacts were recorded within 50 Jupiter radii with most of them recorded after closest approach. Three of these impacts are consistent with particles on prograde orbits around Jupiter and the rest are believed to have resulted from gravitationally focused interplanetary dust. From the ratio of the impact rate before the Jupiter flyby to the impact rate after the Jupiter flyby it is concluded that interplanetary dust particles at the distance of Jupiter move on mostly retrograde orbits. On 10 March 1992, Ulysses passed through an intense dust stream. The dust detector recorded 126 impacts within 26 hours. The stream particles were moving on highly inclined and apparently hyperbolic orbits with perihelion distances of >5 astronomical units. Interplanetary dust is lost rather quickly from the solar system through collisions and other mechanisms and must be almost continuously replenished to maintain observed abundances. Dust flux measurements, therefore, give evidence of the recent rates of production from sources such as comets, asteroids, and moons, as well as the possible presence of interstellar grains.

  19. Free-radical chemistry as a means to evaluate lunar dust health hazard in view of future missions to the moon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turci, Francesco; Corazzari, Ingrid; Alberto, Gabriele; Martra, Gianmario; Fubini, Bice

    2015-05-01

    Lunar dust toxicity has to be evaluated in view of future manned missions to the Moon. Previous studies on lunar specimens and simulated dusts have revealed an oxidant activity assigned to HO· release. However, the mechanisms behind the reactivity of lunar dust are still quite unclear at the molecular level. In the present study, a complementary set of tests--including terephthalate (TA) hydroxylation, free radical release as measured by means of the spin-trapping/electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique, and cell-free lipoperoxidation--is proposed to investigate the reactions induced by the fine fraction of a lunar dust analogue (JSC-1A-vf) in biologically relevant experimental environments. Our study proved that JSC-1A-vf is able to hydroxylate TA also in anaerobic conditions, which indicates that molecular oxygen is not involved in such a reaction. Spin-trapping/EPR measures showed that the HO· radical is not the reactive intermediate involved in the oxidative potential of JSC-1A-vf. A surface reactivity implying a redox cycle of phosphate-complexed iron via a Fe(IV) state is proposed. The role of this iron species was investigated by assessing the reactivity of JSC-1A-vf toward hydrogen peroxide (Fenton-like activity), formate ions (homolytic rupture of C-H bond), and linoleic acid (cell-free lipoperoxidation). JSC-1A-vf was active in all tests, confirming that redox centers of transition metal ions on the surface of the dust may be responsible for dust reactivity and that the TA assay may be a useful field probe to monitor the surface oxidative potential of lunar dust.

  20. Computational prediction of the refinement of oxide agglomerates in a physical conditioning process for molten aluminium alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong, M; Jagarlapudi, S C; Browne, D J; Patel, J B; Stone, I C; Fan, Z

    2015-01-01

    Physically conditioning molten scrap aluminium alloys using high shear processing (HSP) was recently found to be a promising technology for purification of contaminated alloys. HSP refines the solid oxide agglomerates in molten alloys, so that they can act as sites for the nucleation of Fe-rich intermetallic phases which can subsequently be removed by the downstream de-drossing process. In this paper, a computational modelling for predicting the evolution of size of oxide clusters during HSP is presented. We used CFD to predict the macroscopic flow features of the melt, and the resultant field predictions of temperature and melt shear rate were transferred to a population balance model (PBM) as its key inputs. The PBM is a macroscopic model that formulates the microscopic agglomeration and breakage of a population of a dispersed phase. Although it has been widely used to study conventional deoxidation of liquid metal, this is the first time that PBM has been used to simulate the melt conditioning process within a rotor/stator HSP device. We employed a method which discretizes the continuous profile of size of the dispersed phase into a collection of discrete bins of size, to solve the governing population balance equation for the size of agglomerates. A finite volume method was used to solve the continuity equation, the energy equation and the momentum equation. The overall computation was implemented mainly using the FLUENT module of ANSYS. The simulations showed that there is a relatively high melt shear rate between the stator and sweeping tips of the rotor blades. This high shear rate leads directly to significant fragmentation of the initially large oxide aggregates. Because the process of agglomeration is significantly slower than the breakage processes at the beginning of HSP, the mean size of oxide clusters decreases very rapidly. As the process of agglomeration gradually balances the process of breakage, the mean size of oxide clusters converges to a

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