Pinhole formation in PEMFC membrane after electrochemical degradation and wet/dry cycling test

During the operation of a PEMFC, the polymer membrane is degraded by electrochemical reactions and mechanical stresses. We investigated the effects of repeated electrochemical and mechanical degradations in a membrane. For mechanical degradation, the membrane and MEA were repeatedly subjected to wet/dry cycles; for electrochemical degradation, the cell was operated under open-circuit voltage (OCV)/low-humidity conditions. The repeated wet/dry cycles led to a decrease in the mechanical strength of the membrane. When the MEA was degraded electrochemically, repeated wet/dry cycling resulted in the formation of pinholes in the membrane. In the case of different MEAs that were first degraded electrochemically, the extents of their hydrogen crossover currents increased due to repeated wet/dry cycling being different. Therefore, these results indicated that the membrane durability could be evaluated by these methods of repeated electrochemical degradation and wet/dry cycles.     

Investigation of inherent and latent internal losses in liquid-based bioaerosol samplers

Previous studies have analyzed collection efficiencies and reaerosolization rates of liquid-based bioaerosol collectors. However, these studies did not analyze latent internal losses in the samplers, i.e., the fraction of the particles that is aerosolized from the collection liquid, attach to the samplers’ inner surfaces and do not leave the sampler via outlet. Here, we investigated the internal losses and reaerosolization rates in BioSampler (SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA) and AGI-30 (Ace Glass Inc., Vineland, NJ) bioaerosol collectors operated with different amounts of liquid as a function of particle type (polystyrene latex particles of 0.9 and 3.2 μm, B. subtilis bacteria and C. cladosporioides fungal spores), particle concentration (“low” and “high” differing by a factor of 100) and operating time (15 and 30 min). The samplers were filled with sterile deionized water containing known (reference) particle concentrations and were operated in a particle-free atmosphere for 15 or 30 min. The overall particle loss was determined by comparing the concentration of particles remaining in the collection liquid with the reference concentration. The reaerosolization rates were estimated by comparing the concentration of particles collected at each sampler's outlet with the reference concentration. The internal loss was determined as a fraction of particles remaining attached to the inner walls of a sampler, i.e., particles not in the collection liquid and not reaerosolized. All the investigated variables had a statistically significant effect on the overall particle loss, the reaerosolization rate and the internal loss. Averaged for all test conditions, the internal loss for BioSampler with 5 mL liquid, BioSampler with 20 mL liquid and AGI-30 was 37.7%, 29.6% and 22.5%, respectively. The observed reaerosolization rates were rather low and ranged from 0.2% to 6.9%. This study shows that depending on a particular set of sampling conditions a substantial fraction of already collected particles could leave the collection fluid, attach to the inner surfaces of the samplers and not be available for sample analysis thus affecting the accuracy of bioaerosol investigations.     

A numerical study of the spatial stability of three-dimensional developing plane mixing layer

This paper is concerned with the hydrodynamic stability of the free shear llayer. The concern of this study lies in obtaining solutions for the viscous spatially three-dimensional stability corresponding to the classical self-similar velocity profile of the free shear layer. In this study several techniques are applied to resolve the serious numerical complication introduced by the finite domain and parasitic contamination of the solution. As the spanwise wave number decreases, the neutral stability occurs at higher frequencies, β. The maximum amplification rate (α _imax ) inereases when spanwise wave number decreases. The decrease of — α _imax with γ at a fixed Reynolds number is quite linear with the exception of low spanwise wave number (γ≤0.2).     

Numerical Study of the Effects of the Face Velocity on Ceramic Filter

INTRODUCTIONTheproductsofcoalcombustionsuchasNOx,SOx,COb,andparticulatehavebeenstronglyregulatedtoreducepollutionintheearthenvironment.TherecentlydevelopedCleanCoalTechnologies(CCT)knownasPressurizedFluidizedBedCombustion(PFBC)[']andintegratedGasificationCombinedCycle(IGCC)I"']providetheimprovementofthermalefficiencywithsignificalltlyreducedenvironmelltalimpacts.ThusthePFBCandIGCChaveincreasingattentiontoachievestringentenvironmentalprotection.Advancingthetechnologyofthehotg…     

Polynorbornene copolymers with pendent o-carborane and carbazole groups: Novel side-chain donor–acceptor copolymers for turn-on sensing of nucleophilic anions

Vinyl-type polynorbornene copolymers with side-chain o-carborane (1-phenyl-o-carborane for P1–P3; 1-methyl-o-carborane for P4) and carbazole moieties were produced by vinyl addition copolymerization of norbornene monomers using a Pd(II) catalyst in combination with 1-octene chain transfer agent. The catalytic system provided well-defined copolymers with controlled incorporation of monomers. The copolymers possessed high thermal stability with high decomposition (T_d5 > 410 °C) and glass transition temperatures (T_g > 350 °C). Treatment of the closo-copolymers (P1–P4) with excess KOH in refluxing EtOH/THF led to degradation of the closo-carborane cage to produce nido-copolymers (nido-(P1–P4)). While P1–P3 exhibited a weak carbazole-based fluorescence, the corresponding nido-copolymers gave rise to a 2.0–3.6-fold increase in PL intensity depending on the comonomer content. An electrochemical study and comparative PL results of P4 and nido-P4 suggest that photoinduced charge transfer from carbazole donors to 1-phenyl-o-carborane acceptors was responsible for the weak fluorescence of P1–P3.     

Robust Optimal Design of Multi-Body Systems

Techniques in robust optimal design of multi-body systems are presented.In order to define the concept of robust optimal design, a performancevariance minimization method is applied on variations of designvariables. The regression model is estimated through a response surfacemethodology to evaluate the performance variance of multi-body systems.The experiments necessary for the response surface methodology are notconducted through physical tests but through nonlinear multi-bodydynamic simulation. The techniques presented are applied to arotary-type compressor in order to apply them to the robust optimaldesign of a weight balancer for use in vibration control and to show theeffectiveness of the techniques.     

Novel iterative equalization based on energy-spreading transform

In this paper, novel iterative equalization for intersymbol interference (ISI) channels is proposed. Different from the existing turbo equalization, the proposed one is based on energy-spreading transform (EST), which separates equalization and coding, and therefore works for uncoded systems. The complexity of the proposed scheme is comparable to that of decision-feedback equalization (DFE). However, analytical and simulation results demonstrate that its performance is very close to the matched-filter bound (MFB) when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is above a threshold.     

FIVE MODE INTERACTIONS IN A FREE SHEAR LAYER

This study condiders spatially developing free shear layers at moderateReynolds numbers that are formed by the merging of two free streams initially separatedby a splitter plate.To study the nonlinear interactions between the two-and three-dimen-sional fundamental and subharmonic modes in the spatially developing shear layer,the se-lected five modes represent the minimum number that needs to be considered.The objec-tive of this study is to investigate the nonlinear effects arising from the interactions be-tween two-and three-dimensional large-scale coherent structures in a free shear layer.Our attention is focused on the energy exchange mechanisms between the various modes,and the effects of the nonlinear evolution of the phases of the interacting modes.It isshown that depending on the initial modal phase angles the downstream growth of theshear layer and the associated local entrainment can be strongly affected by the presence ofthese nonlinear interactions.This high sensitivity of the shear layer growt     

The effect of Fe2+ state in electrical property variations of Sn‐doped hematite powders

The structural, electrical, and chemical properties of Sn‐doped Fe₂O₃ powders were investigated. Various quantities of Sn‐doped Fe₂O₃ powders were synthesized using solid‐state reactions. Rietveld analysis for the powders that were doped below 2% revealed a phase‐pure Sn‐doped Fe₂O₃ structure (i.e., identical to Fe₂O₃ structure). Alternatively, the analysis for the powders that were doped more than 3% exhibited secondary phase. The unit cell volume and electrical conductivity of the phase‐pure samples increased with an increase in the doping concentration. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed an increased Fe²⁺ state with the increase in Sn doping concentration. Therefore, the improved electrical conductivity and unit cell volume with the increase in doping concentration of the phase‐pure powders might be related to the increased Fe²⁺ state.     

Effects of various post-treatments on carbon nanotube films for reliable field emission

In this report, the FE characteristics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) treated using both thermal annealing and mechanical coatings on the as-grown CNTs systematically studied. It was found that in the high temperature annealed samples, CNTs were attacked at its root during annealing due to a small amount of oxygen, and were pulled out of the substrate in places after FE measurements because of the contact resistance. However, for the mechanically coated samples both with spin on glass (SOG) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), CNTs were found to be nearly intact after FE measurements and showed reliable FE characteristics over repeatable voltage scan. The reliability of CNTs during FE could be owing to the strong adhesion of CNTs to the substrate both by SOG and PMMA coatings.