Study of Proton Leakage at Interface of Anion-Exchange Membrane in Solutions of Acids,Salts, and Solvents Using Current/Voltage Characteristics

Water dissociation and proton leakage using the anionic exchange membrane (AMH) are studied by means of current/voltage characteristics and confirmed by simulation of transport number using Hittorf's method. The acids used are HCl, HNO₃, and H₂SO₄ and the salts are NaCl, ZnCl₂, and NaNO₃. Concentration polarization of such membrane is accompanied by a change in the electrolyte concentration/solution interface due hydrolysis reactions. The results show that when the concentration of the electrolyte increases, the limiting current density increases linearly and the transmembrane resistance decreases systematically. The thickness of the diffusion layer is always higher in presence of acid than salt, making in evidence the proton leakage through the membrane. Besides, when the membrane is selectively permeable to chloride anion in the case of ZnCl₂, the thickness of the double layer is rather bigger and far exceeds that of the membrane. The voltamperometry method seems reliable and offers some advantages over that of Hittorf because it shows the effects of some parameters on the value of limiting current: concentration, counter-ion types (Cl^?, NO₃^? SO₄^2?), and the gradient of concentration in the anode and cathode compartments. It can, therefore, allow to optimize the value of the current which should be used in electrodialysis in any form and without a great consumption of energy. Moreover, the simulation carried out for transport number of proton, shows its sensitivity toward the variation in concentration in the receiving compartment. In effect, a small decrease in concentration implies an enormous decrease in its value.     

Trajectory-based optimal linearization for nonlinear autonomous vector fields

This paper deals with an optimal approximation in the least square sense of nonlinear vector fields. The optimal approximation consists of a linearization along a trajectory that approximates the nonlinear solution from the initial state to the equilibrium position. It is shown that the optimal linearization can be seen as a generalization of the classical linearization. Furthermore, the optimal linearization can approximate the derivative at the equilibrium point, and the order of the method is the same as the nonlinearity, since the approximation depends on the initial state. We also show that the method can be used to study the asymptotic stability of the equilibrium of a nonlinear vector fields, especially in the nonhyperbolic case. Simulation shows good agreement between the linearized and the nonlinear systems.     

Rapid decolourization and mineralization of the azo dye C.I. Acid Red 14 by heterogeneous Fenton reaction

The decolourization and mineralization of a solution of an azo dye using a catalyst based on Fe(II) supported on Y Zeolite (Fe(II)-Y Zeolite) and adding hydrogen peroxide (heterogeneous Fenton process) have been studied. The catalyst was prepared by ion exchange, starting from a commercial ultra-stable Y Zeolite. All experiments were performed on a laboratory scale set-up. The effects of different parameters such as initial concentration of the dye, initial pH of the solution of the dye, H(2)O(2) concentration, temperature and ratio of amount of catalyst by amount of solution on the decolourization efficiency of the process were investigated. A percentage of colour removal of 99.3±0.2% and a mineralization degree of 84±5% of the solution of the dye were achieved in only 6 min of contact time between the catalyst and the solution, under the following conditions: initial concentration of the dye of 50 ppm, pH 5.96, 8.7 mM of H(2)O(2), T of 80°C and catalyst concentration of 15 g/L. Moreover, the catalyst Fe(II)-Y Zeolite can be easily filtered from the solution, does not leach any iron into the solution (avoiding any secondary contamination due to the metal) and its effectivity can be reproduced after consecutive experiments.     

Effect of structure on the glass transition temperatures of linear and crosslinked poly(isobornylacrylate-co-isobutylacrylate)

A series of linear acrylic copolymers based on Isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and isobutyl acrylate (IsoBA) were elaborated by radical photopolymerization. In addition, several photochemically crosslinked poly(IBOA-co-IsoBA) were prepared by introducing small amounts of 1,6-hexanedioldiacrylate as crosslinking agent. The evolution of the glass transition temperature was determined experimentally by differential scanning calorimetry as a function of composition for both linear and crosslinked poly(IBOA-co-IsoBA), yielding T_g values ranging from (~249) to (~315 K). Theoretical modeling was performed applying Fox, Gordon-Taylor and Couchman-Karasz models by simple calculations using experimental data, leading to only fair agreement between theoretical and experimental values, or by applying fitting procedures involving one or two adjustable parameters. Likewise, the Kwei model, known to take into account hydrogen bonding interactions between monomers, could not describe well the evolution of T_g, indicating the existence of other factors influencing T_g. Finally, a thermodynamic approach based on entropy considerations allowed to attribute an explanation of the evolution of T_g.     

Triangular traffic signs detection based on RSLD algorithm

This paper describes an efficient method for the detection of triangular traffic signs on grey-scale images. This method is based on the proposed RANSAC symmetric lines detection (RSLD) algorithm which transforms triangle detection into a simple segment detection. A multi-scale approach allows the detection of any warning and yield traffic signs, whatever their distance to the vehicle. This algorithm is applied to a set of selected corners obtained with a coding gradient method. Baseline detection uses the scale of selected triangles to confirm the presence of traffic signs. The study demonstrates that RSLD is a low computation method as compared to standard triangle detection. The performance of the method proposed is compared with recently published methods on road sign databases, which use colour information. An equivalent detection rate is obtained with this algorithm, working on grey-scale images. This algorithm is implemented and runs in real-time at 30 frames per second.     

Development and characterisation of (Ni, Cu, Co)-YSZ and Cu-Co-YSZ cermets anode materials for SOFC application

To improve the internal reforming reactions at SOFC anode, alternative (Ni, Cu, Co) -YSZ and Cu-Co-YSZ anode cermets materials are coated by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The spray parameters including carrying gas flow rate, spraying distance, argon flow rate and hydrogen flow rate were investigated by an orthogonal experiment to fabricate gas-permeable anode cermets coatings. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction are used to characterise the morphology and structure of coated films respectively. The porosity was deduced by the statistical image analysis. By proper selection of the spray parameters to decrease the particles velocity and temperature, the sprayed coatings monometallic and bimetallic ones show that the cross porosity is dependent of metal weight ratio. In fact, when the metal percentage increases, the porosity decreases. Monometallic Ni-YSZ, Cu-YSZ and Co-YSZ cermets with a weight ratio of (3:2) appear to be less porous than those with (1:1) and (2:3) ones respectively, to reach a maximum porosity of 21.57% for Co-YSZ cermet of (2:3) weight ratio. Cu-Co-YSZ bimetallic cermet coating with weight ratio of (0.5:1:2.5) is more porous than those with (1:2:3) and (2:1:2) weight ratios respectively. Its porosity is about 19.15% which is closed to that of Ni-YSZ (2:3) coating. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the metal content in the cermets have a negligible influence on the crystalline phase structure. Such bimetallic materials anode are very interesting because Co diffuses in Cu lattice offering thus, best electronic conductivity, thermal stability and an avoided carbon formation, by replacing Ni with an electron conductor such as Cu that does not catalyze carbon formation.     

Nonlinear forced vibration of damped plates coupling asymptotic numerical method and reduction models

This work concerns the computation of the nonlinear solutions of forced vibration of damped plates. In a recent work (Boumediene et al. in Comput Struct 87:1508–1515, 2009), a numerical method coupling an asymptotic numerical method (ANM), harmonic balance method and Finite Element method was proposed to resolve this type of problem. The harmonic balance method transforms the dynamic equations to equivalent static ones which are solved by using a perturbation method (ANM) and the finite element method. The numerical results presented in reference (Boumediene et al. in Comput Struct 87:1508–1515, 2009) show that the ANM is very efficient and permits one to obtain the nonlinear solutions with few matrix triangulation numbers compared to a classical incremental iterative method. However, putting a great number of harmonics (6 or greater) into the load vector leads to tangent matrices with a great size. The computational time necessary for the triangulation of such matrices can then be large. In this paper, reduced order models are proposed to decrease the size of these matrices and consequently the computational time. We consider two reduced bases. In the first one, the reduced basis is obtained by the resolution of a classical eigenvalue problem. The second one is obtained by using the nonlinear solutions computed during the first step of the calculus which is realized with the ANM. Several classical benchmarks of nonlinear damped plates are presented to show the efficiency of the proposed numerical methods.     

Resonant terms and bifurcations of nonlinear control systems with one uncontrollable mode

In this paper we provide a simple algorithm of feedback design for systems with uncontrollable linearization with only quadratic degeneracy, such as transcritical and saddle-node bifurcations. This approach avoids the computation of nonlinear normal forms. It is based only on quadratic invariants which can be determined directly from the quadratic terms in the uncontrollable dynamics.     

Forced harmonic response of viscoelastic sandwich beams by a reduction method

The aim of this article is to develop a reduction method to determine the forced harmonic response of viscoelastic sandwich structures at a reasonable computational cost. The numerical resolution is based on the asymptotic numerical method. This type of problem is complex, and its number of degrees of freedom is double the number of the undamped structure, leading to a high computational time. To address the problem, three reduction methods are evaluated, which differ from the projection operator. Numerical tests have been performed in the case of cantilever sandwich beams. The comparison of the results obtained by the reduction order resolution with those given by the full order resolution shows both a good agreement and a significant reduction in computational cost.     

Use of surfactants to mitigate precipitation of nonstable asphaltensdes

In this work, we examine the effectiveness inhibition of three different surfactants (cationic, anionic, and non-ionic) with respect to aggregation of the most unstable fraction, asphaltenes, obtained from Algerian crude oil that flocculates and precipitates during oil transport and storage. Their efficacy is compared with native resins that are extracted from the same oil. We reveal from the results that the cationic surfactant didodecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DDAB) displayed the highest capacity to inhibit asphaltenes aggregation. This surfactant can shift considerably the aggregation onset of asphaltenes with respect to the non-ionic octylphenopoly(ethyleneglycolether)_X (TX-100) and anionic dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) surfactants. This finding is explained by the presence of both double alkyl chain and basic head polar (positive charge) in surfactant structure on one hand and the structural properties of studied asphaltenes (rich oxygenated negative charge sites and low aromaticity) on the other hand. Finally, the comparison between the effectiveness of native resin and the studied surfactants indicate the following order: DDAB > resin> TX-100> DBSA.