An experimental study of the autoignition characteristics of conventional jet fuel/oxidizer mixtures: Jet-A and JP-8

Ignition delay times of Jet-A/oxidizer and JP-8/oxidizer mixtures are measured using a heated rapid compression machine at compressed charge pressures corresponding to 7, 15, and 30 bar, compressed temperatures ranging from 650 to 1100 K, and equivalence ratios varying from 0.42 to 2.26. When using air as the oxidant, two oxidizer-to-fuel mass ratios of 13 and 19 are investigated. To achieve higher compressed temperatures for fuel lean mixtures (equivalence ratio of ∼0.42), argon dilution is also used and the corresponding oxidizer-to-fuel mass ratio is 84.9. For the conditions studied, experimental results show two-stage ignition characteristics for both Jet-A and JP-8. Variations of both the first-stage and overall ignition delays with compressed temperature, compressed pressure, and equivalence ratio are reported and correlated. It is noted that the negative temperature coefficient phenomenon becomes more prominent at relatively lower pressures. Furthermore, the first-stage-ignition delay is found to be less sensitive to changes in equivalence ratio and primarily dependent on temperature.     

Morphological modeling of polymer solidification

A physical model of semicrystalline polymer solidification is proposed, along with an outline of general theoretical aspects of morphological modeling. Computational modeling, based on the proposed envelop evolution equation associated with a primary nucleation model and the elastic energy equation of the lamellae director field, predicts the nucleation‐growth processes, domain patterns and internal lamellae organization of spherulitic structures in semicrystalline polymer solidification. Results of computer simulation are reported and compared with experimental observations.     

Sulfamic acid as an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the ring opening of epoxides with amines and anilines: An easy synthesis of β-amino alcohols under solvent-free conditions

Application of sulfamic acid as an efficient and green catalyst for the ring opening of epoxides by aliphatic and aromatic amines under solvent-free conditions is described. In this process the use of basic neutralization agent was not required due to the intrinsic zwitterionic property of sulfamic acid. The salient features of this methodology are cheaper process, easy availability of the catalyst, versatility, and the catalyst can be recovered after completion of the reaction and can be recycled without affecting the catalytic property.     

Intermediate temperature oxidation in silicon nitride yttria ceramics

Silicon nitride billets with both 4% and 8% Y₂O₃ additives have been subjected to oxidation treatments for up to 300 h, in air, in the temperature range 700 to 1000° C. Flexure strength and weight gain measurements together with both scanning and transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies were conducted on these billets in an effort to understand the oxidation process. It appears that the degradation phenomena is associated with both the formation of phases outside the Si₃N₄-Si₂ON₂-Y₂Si₂O₇ compatibility triangle of the system Si₃N₄-SiO₂-Y₂O₃ and with the decomposition of W-containing phases at and near the grain boundaries.     

Electrical,mechanical, and thermal properties of exfoliated graphite/phenolic resin composite bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Exfoliated graphite (EG) was synthesized from natural flake graphite by acid treatment followed by microwave irradiation. A maximum expanded volume of 560 mL/g was achieved for this exfoliation of graphite. EG/phenolic resin composite bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell were fabricated with a high loading of EG by compression molding. The composites possess low density, high electrical conductivity, high thermal stability, and high compressive strength. The composite bipolar plates were also characterized by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and so on. The composite prepared with 50 wt% of EG has shown the desired properties for bipolar plate as per the US Department of Energy (DOE‐2015) targets. As a result, the EG–resin composites can be used as bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:917–923, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of N‐isopropyl‐N′‐phenyl‐p‐phenylenediamine antioxidant on the adhesion properties of (zinc oxide)‐filled (epoxidized natural rubber 25)‐based pressure‐sensitive adhesives

The effect of antioxidant, namely, N‐isopropyl‐N′‐phenyl‐p‐phenylenediamine (IPPD), on the adhesion properties of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR 25)‐based pressure‐sensitive adhesive was investigated. The concentration of the IPPD was varied from 0 to 5 parts by weight per hundred parts of rubber (phr). Coumarone‐indene resin, zinc oxide, toluene, and polyethylene terephthalate were used as the tackifier, filler, solvent, and substrate, respectively. A Lloyd Adhesion Tester operating at different testing rates (10–60 cm/min) was used to determine the loop tack, peel strength, and shear strength at 60‐µm and 120‐µm coating thicknesses. Results indicate that adhesion properties increase with IPPD up to 2 phr of content, after which it decreases with further addition of the antioxidant. This observation is attributed to the culmination of wettability and compatibility at the optimum IPPD concentration. The 60‐µm coated sample consistently shows higher adhesion strength than that of 120‐µm coated sample. Loop tack and peel strength increase with testing rate up to 30 cm/min. However, shear strength increases with increasing testing rate in the testing rate investigated in this study. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 21:111–115, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

High-voltage DMOS integrated circuits using floating-gate protection technique

An efficient low power protection scheme for thin gate oxide of high voltage (HV) DMOS transistor is presented. To prevent gate-oxide breakdown and protect HV transistor, the voltage controlling its gate must be within 5 V from the HV supply. Thus signals from the low voltage domain must be level shifted to control the gate of this transistor. Usually this level shifting involves complex circuits that reduce the speed besides requiring of large power and area. In this paper, a simple and efficient protection technique for gate-oxide breakdown is achieved by connecting a capacitor divider structure to the floating-gate node of HV transistor to increase its effective gate oxide thickness. Several HV circuits, including: positive and negative HV doublers and level-up shifters suitable for ultrasound sensing systems are built successfully around the proposed technique. These circuits were implemented with 0.8 μm CMOS/DMOS HV DALSA process. Simulation and experimental results prove the good functionality of the designed HV circuits using the proposed protection technique for voltages up to 200 V.     

Effect of graphene and its derivatives on thermo-mechanical properties of phase change materials and its applications: a comprehensive review

Phase change materials (PCMs) play a leading role in overcoming the growing need of advanced thermal management for the storage and release of thermal energy which is to be used for different solar applications. However, the effectiveness of PCMs is greatly affected by their poor thermal conductivity. Therefore, in the present review the progress made in deploying the graphene (Gr) in PCMs in the last decade for providing the solution to the aforementioned inadequacy is presented and discussed in detail. Gr and its derivatives ((Gr oxide (GO), Gr aerogel (GA) and Gr nanoplatelets (GNPs)) based PCMs can improve the thermal conductivity and shape stability, which may be attributed to the extra ordinary thermo-physical properties of Gr. Moreover, it is expected from this review that the advantages and disadvantages of using Gr nanoparticles provide a deep insight and help the researchers in finding out the exact basic properties and finally the applications of Gr can be enhanced.In this work, Gr and its derivatives based PCMs was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) by which crystal structure was known, phase was identified along with the knowledge of surface structure respectively. The increase in the mass fraction (%) of the filler (Gr and its derivatives) led to even better thermo-physical properties and thermal stability. The thermal characterization was also done by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermal conductivity tests. The enthalpy of freezing and melting showed that Gr and its derivatives based PCMs had a very high energy storage capability as reflected in its various applications.