Subsolidus phase equilibria in the RuO2-Bi2O3-ZrO2 system

Subsolidus equilibria in air in the RuO₂-Bi₂O₃-ZrO₂ system were studied with the aim of obtaining information on possible interactions between a Bi₂Ru₂O₇-based cathode and a ZrO₂-based solid electrolyte in solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). No ternary compound was found in the system. The tie lines are between Bi₂Ru₂O₇ and ZrO₂, and between Bi₂Ru₂O₇ and gamma-Bi₂O₃—the ZrO₂ stabilised Bi₂O₃ phase, stable at temperatures over 710 °C.     

Dielectrophoretic field-flow microchamber for separation of biological cells based on their electrical properties

We describe the development, fabrication and testing of a microfluidic chamber for dielectrophoretic field-flow separation of biological cells based on their electrical properties. The chamber was constructed from a single Pyrex wafer with interdigitated Au electrodes, a spacer, and a top cover glass, making the events in the chamber observable under most optical microscopes. The dimensions were optimized based on numerical computations of the electric field, its gradient and the fluid-flow velocity profile. The electrodes were fabricated using photolithography. A double-sided self-adhesive tape of 100 μm thickness was used as a spacer, with an opening of 80 mm length and 20 mm width cut in its middle to form a channel of 100 μm height, and with water-resistant acrylic glue of the tape holding the glass plates together and providing a tight seal. The glue loses its adhesive properties above 70 °C, allowing for easy disassembly of the chamber in hot water and its thorough cleaning. A 1:1 mixture of normal and 50 °C -heat-treated CHO cells was used to test the chamber. A 93% efficiency of separation was obtained, confirming the usefulness of the chamber in separating cells with sufficient differences in electrical properties of their membranes.     

A Furnace Control System for Tracing Reference Reheating Curves

A control system for tracing the reference reheating curves of individual steel slabs in continuous furnaces is presented. The system enables the predefined, controllable reheating of slabs in a furnace. The slab temperatures are obtained by the simulation of a mathematical model of the slab‐reheating process. The interior of the continuous furnace is divided into six control zones. The individual zone temperatures are adjusted by the control system in such a way that the temperatures of the slabs in the zone are as close as possible to the desired slab temperatures. To take into account delays in the production line and to synchronize the furnace with the rolling mill's capacities, a time shift of the reference reheating curves and a prolonged drop‐out interval are introduced.     

Experimental study of biporous wicks for high heat flux applications

Biporous wicks are wicks with two distinguished characteristic pore sizes while monoporous wicks are wicks with a single characteristic pore size. In this work three monoporous and 19 biporous wicks were tested. Thermophysical properties for the biporous wicks were measured.Thin biporous wicks distinguish from thick biporous wick by mechanism of heat transfer that occurs inside the wick. Thin biporous wicks remove heat similar to monoporous wicks by evaporation from menisci formed inside pores at liquid–vapor–solid interfaces. Thin biporous wicks were found to reach higher critical heat flux (CHF) than monoporous wicks because they develop evaporating menisci not only on top surface of the wick but also inside the wick. Thick biporous wicks were found to reach even higher CHF than thin biporous wicks because they continue to operate although the vapor blanket (film boiling) exists on the heated surface. This is possible because the top layer of the wick continues to supply liquid to the evaporating menisci above the vapor blanket region and vapor jets form between large pores of the wick and vent the vapor out of the wick. It was also found that for thick biporous wicks operating at very high heat fluxes, the heat conducts radially into the wick.The best monoporous wick tested had CHF at 300 W/cm² (21 °C superheat), the best thin biporous wick tested had CHF at 520 W/cm² (50 °C superheat), and the best thick biporous wick tested had CHF at 990 W/cm² (147 °C superheat). Thick biporous wicks can be used for 600–1000 W/cm² applications where high superheats and heat spreading into the wick are acceptable. For applications below 600 W/cm² are recommended thin biporous wicks and for applications below 300 W/cm² are recommended monoporous wicks.     

In situ study of electric-field-induced ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic domain switching in polycrystalline BiFeO3

Antiferromagnetic domain switching induced by ferroelectric polarization switching has previously been observed in situ in both multiferroic BiFeO₃ single crystals and thin films. Despite a number of reports on macroscopic magnetoelectric measurements on polycrystalline BiFeO₃, direct in situ observation of electric-field-induced antiferromagnetic domain switching in this material has not been addressed due to the lack of high-quality samples capable of electrical poling. Here, the electric field control of antiferromagnetic domain texture is identified in polycrystalline BiFeO₃ using in situ neutron diffraction, showing the resultant magnetic domain reorientation induced by an electric field. An antiferromagnetic domain reorientation to a value of 2.2-2.5 multiples of a random distribution (MRD) is found to be induced by an electric field that provides a non-180° ferroelectric-ferroelastic domain texture of 2.2-2.5 MRD along the field direction. The current results show well-controlled coupling of multiferroic domain texturing in single-phase polycrystalline BiFeO₃.     

Small Reduction of the Piezoelectric d33 Response in Potassium Sodium Niobate Thick Films

We have investigated the electromechanical response of potassium sodium niobate (K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ or KNN) thick films. The high‐field strain hysteresis loops and weak‐field converse piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient of the films were measured and compared with those of KNN bulk ceramics under the same electric field conditions. The converse d₃₃ values of the thick films and bulk ceramics were equal to 82.5 and 138 pm/V, respectively, at 0.4 kV/mm. The fundamental difference between the piezoelectric response of the KNN films and the ceramics was studied in terms of the effective (“clamped”) piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient. The reduction in the piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient of the KNN films, resulting from the clamping by the substrate, was compared to lead‐based ferroelectric thick films, including Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) and (1 ? x)Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃?xPbTiO₃ (PMN‐PT). We propose a possible explanation, based on the particular elastic properties of KNN, for the small relative difference observed between the “clamped” and “unclamped” (“bulk”) d₃₃ of KNN, in comparison with lead‐based systems.     

Nutrient fluxes and sulfur cycling in the organic-rich sediment of Makirina Bay (Central Dalmatia, Croatia)

Fluxes of dissolved nutrients in the organic-rich sediment of Makirina Bay (Croatia) were estimated in in-situ incubation experiments and compared to those calculated from a diagenetic model based on the concentration vs. depth profiles in the pore water extracted from a sediment core at the same sampling site. Benthic fluxes observed in the in-situ experiment were strongly influenced by the decomposition of sedimentary organic matter by bacterial sulfate reduction and precipitation of authigenic pyrite and calcite. Assimilation of dissolved nitrate and ammonia within the sediment resulted in peculiar nitrate and ammonia concentration profiles. Differences between the benthic and diffusive fluxes indicated that the effects of bioturbation and irrigation, which were not taken into account in the model calculation of diffusive fluxes, should not be considered as negligible. They are, however, extremely difficult to estimate because of the heterogeneity of the sediment. Sulfate reduction in the pore water could not be detected, although it was obvious from pyrite precipitation and the isotopic compositions of different sedimentary sulfur species. It is suggested that reoxidation of sulfide and upward diffusion of sulfate from the sediment layer accumulated during past salt production can account for the scattered sulfate vs. depth profile. The distribution and stable isotope compositions of sedimentary sulfur species were studied in more detail. The influx of sulfate was explained by rapid sulfate reduction in the sediment. The sulfate reduction rate was highest in the upper part of the sediment column, as concluded from delta(34)S values. In lower horizons, the concentration of organic sulfur increased, while concentrations of sulfide decreased. The mirror-imaged concentration vs. depth profiles of sulfide and organic sulfur, as well as their stable isotopic compositions, show that they were formed simultaneously, most probably in competitive processes.     

Automation of Resistance Bridge Calibrator

The article addresses the automation of the resistance bridge calibrator (RBC). The automation of the RBC is performed in order to facilitate the operation of the RBC, improve the reliability, and enable several additional possibilities compared to the tedious manual operation, thereby making the RBC a more practical device for routine use. The RBC is used to calibrate AC and DC resistance bridges, which are mainly used in a primary thermometry laboratory. It consists of a resistor network made up from four main resistors from which 35 different resistance values can be realized using toggle switches. Literature shows that the resistors’ non-zero temperature coefficient can influence the measurements, causing difficulties when calibrating resistance bridges with low uncertainty. Placing the RBC in a thermally stable environment can reduce this, but it does not solve the problem of the time-consuming manual selection of the resistance values. To solve this, an automated means to manipulate the switches, while the device is placed within a thermally stable environment, was created. Computer operation completely substitutes for any manual operation during which an operator would normally have to be present. The computer also acquires measurements from the bridge. In this way, repeated and reproducible calibration measurements inside a temperature-stable environment can be carried out with no active involvement of personnel. The automation process itself was divided into several stages. They included the construction of a servo-manipulator to move the switches, the design of a dedicated electronic controller that also provides a serial interface (RS-232) to the computer, and the development of custom computer software to configure the servo-manipulator and control the calibration process. Measurements show that automation does not affect the long-term stability and mechanical repeatability of the RBC. The repeatability and reproducibility of bridge calibration ratios were also demonstrated by making consecutive measurements.     

An adaptive IgA-BEM with hierarchical B-splines based on quasi-interpolation quadrature schemes

The isogeometric formulation of the boundary element method (IgA-BEM) is investigated within the adaptivity framework. Suitable weighted quadrature rules to evaluate integrals appearing in the Galerkin BEM formulation of 2D Laplace model problems are introduced. The proposed quadrature schemes are based on a spline quasi-interpolation (QI) operator and properly framed in the hierarchical setting. The local nature of the QI perfectly fits with hierarchical spline constructions and leads to an efficient and accurate numerical scheme. An automatic adaptive refinement strategy is driven by a residual-based error estimator. Numerical examples show that the optimal convergence rate of the Galerkin solution is recovered by the proposed adaptive method.     

Does the performance of wet granulation and tablet hardness affect the drug dissolution profile of carvedilol in matrix tablets?

Wet granulation is mostly used process for manufacturing matrix tablets. Compared to the direct compression method, it allows for a better flow and compressibility properties of compression mixtures. Granulation, including process parameters and tableting, can influence critical quality attributes (CQAs) of hydrophilic matrix tablets. One of the most important CQAs is the drug release profile. We studied the influence of granulation process parameters (type of nozzle and water quantity used as granulation liquid) and tablet hardness on the drug release profile. Matrix tablets contained HPMC K4M hydrophilic matrix former and carvedilol as a model drug. The influence of selected HPMC characteristics on the drug release profile was also evaluated using two additional HPMC batches. For statistical evaluation, partial least square (PLS) models were generated for each time point of the drug release profile using the same number of latent factors. In this way, it was possible to evaluate how the importance of factors influencing drug dissolution changes in dependence on time throughout the drug release profile. The results of statistical evaluation show that the granulation process parameters (granulation liquid quantity and type of nozzle) and tablet hardness significantly influence the release profile. On the other hand, the influence of HPMC characteristics is negligible in comparison to the other factors studied. Using a higher granulation liquid quantity and the standard nozzle type results in larger granules with a higher density and lower porosity, which leads to a slower drug release profile. Lower tablet hardness also slows down the release profile.