Heat transfer and fluid flow of nanofluids in laminar radial flow cooling systems

Nanofluids are considered as interesting alternatives to conventional coolants. It is well known that traditional fluids have limited heat transfer capabilities when compared to common metals. It is therefore quite conceivable that a small amount of extremely fine metallic particles placed in suspension in traditional fluids will considerably increase their heat transfer performances. A numerical investigation into the heat transfer enhancement capabilities of coolants with suspended metallic nanoparticles inside a radial, laminar flow cooling configuration is presented. Temperature dependant nanofluid properties are evaluated from experimental data available in recent literature. Results indicate that considerable heat transfer increases are possible with the use of relatively small volume fractions of nanoparticles. Generally, however, these are accompanied by considerable increases in wall shear-stress. Results also show that predictions obtained with temperature variable nanofluid properties yield greater heat transfer capabilities and lower wall shear stresses when compared to predictions using constant properties.     

Investigation and scale-up of hot-melt coating of pharmaceuticals in fluidized beds

This study was performed to investigate and scale-up the hot-melt coating process in fluidized beds. A series of well-designed experiments was carried out in a pilot scale unit with 20 kg product capacity to investigate the effects of process variables on the efficiency of the coating of Cefuroxime Axetil with stearic acid. Results showed that the efficiency is at the highest when the fluidization air flow rate is adjusted by considering the changes in the amount of materials present in the unit as well as the changes in the terminal velocities of particles during the process.With the objective to scale-up the hot-melt coating process from pilot to production scale, a dynamic thermodynamic model based on conservation equations of mass and energy was developed. Predictive accuracy of the model was assessed by applying it to the pilot scale unit and comparing its predictions with the online measurements taken on the same unit. Results showed that the predictions of the model agree well with the measurements. Utilizing this model and taking several experiments performed in the pilot scale unit as a basis, scaling up of the hot-melt coating process was carried out. Comparisons of the model predictions with the measurements taken on the production scale unit (200 kg product capacity) revealed that the model is able to reproduce the product attributes and the outlet air temperatures across scales. Therefore, it proves to be a promising tool that can be used in the scale-up of the hot-melt coating processes in fluidized beds.     

Applying dry powder coatings to pharmaceutical powders using a comil for improving powder flow and bulk density

A method for applying nano-sized silicon dioxide guest particles onto host pharmaceutical particles (a.k.a. “dry-coating” or “nanocoating”) has been developed using conventional pharmaceutical processing equipment. It has been demonstrated that under selected conditions, a comil can be used to induce sufficient shear to disperse silicon dioxide particles onto the surfaces of host particles such as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) without significant host particle attrition. In accordance with previous studies on dry coating, the dispersed silicon dioxide adheres to the host particle surface through van der Waals attractions, and reduces bulk powder cohesion. In this work, laboratory and pilot scale comils were used to dry coat pharmaceutical API and excipient powders with 1% w/w silicon dioxide by passing them through the mill with an appropriate combination of screen and impeller. In general, the uncoated powders exhibited poor flow and/or low bulk density. After dry coating with a comil, the powders exhibited a considerable and in some cases outstanding improvement in flow performance and bulk density. This coating process was successful at both the laboratory and pilot scale with similar improvements in flow. The superior performance of the coated powders translated to subsequent formulated blends, demonstrating the benefit of using nanocoated powders over uncoated powders. This particle engineering work describes the first successful demonstration of using a traditional pharmaceutical unit operation that can be run continuously to produce uniform nanocoating and highlights the substantial improvements to powder flow properties when this approach is used.     

Graphene-based polymer nanocomposites

Graphene-based materials are single- or few-layer platelets that can be produced in bulk quantities by chemical methods. Herein, we present a survey of the literature on polymer nanocomposites with graphene-based fillers including recent work using graphite nanoplatelet fillers. A variety of routes used to produce graphene-based materials are reviewed, along with methods for dispersing these materials in various polymer matrices. We also review the rheological, electrical, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of these composites, and how each of these composite properties is dependent upon the intrinsic properties of graphene-based materials and their state of dispersion in the matrix. An overview of potential applications for these composites and current challenges in the field are provided for perspective and to potentially guide future progress on the development of these promising materials.     

High internal phase emulsion templating as a route to well-defined porous polymers

The use of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) as templates to create highly porous materials (PolyHIPEs) is described. Polymerisation occurs around emulsion droplets, which create voids in the final material. The void fraction is very high and can reach levels of 0.99. Varying the emulsion composition can control features of the morphology of the resulting porous materials, such as the void diameter and degree of interconnection. Other parameters can also be varied, for example surface area can be increased from 3 to around 700 m² g⁻¹. Rubbery materials can be produced from hydrophobic elsatomers and PolyHIPEs with high thermo-oxidative stability are prepared from high performance materials such as poly(ether sulfone). The highly porous materials so produced are finding applications in areas such as solid supported organic chemistry, sensors, cell culturing and tissue engineering.     

Transmission electron microtomography in polymer research

This feature article summarizes recent advances in an emerging three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique, transmission electron microtomography (TEMT), and its applications to polymer-related materials, such as nanocomposites and block copolymer morphologies. With the recent developments made in TEMT, it is now possible to obtain truly quantitative 3D data with sub-nanometer resolution. A great deal of new structural information, which has never been obtained by conventional microscopy or various scattering methods, can be directly evaluated from the 3D volume data. It has also been demonstrated that, with the combination of TEMT and scattering methods, it becomes possible to study structures that have not yet been characterized. The structural information obtained from such 3D imaging provides a good opportunity not only to gain essential insight into the physics of self-assembling processes and the statistical mechanics of long chain molecules, but also to establish the “structure-property” relationship in polymeric materials.     

Step-growth polymerization and ‘click’ chemistry: The oldest polymers rejuvenated

Since its discovery in 2001, copper catalyzed azide-alkyne ‘click’ chemistry has been extensively used in polymer chemistry to modify polymeric materials and create advanced polymer structures by efficient coupling reactions. Surprisingly, the contribution of this Huisgen cycloaddition reaction to industrially important commodity polymers, prepared by step-growth polymerization, was not existing until recently. Nevertheless, since many decades academic and industrial research was focused on finding attractive synthetic pathways to introduce large contents of different reactive functional groups in several polymer classes such as polyesters and polyurethanes. Because of the high tolerance of azide-alkyne coupling reactions to a wide variety of functional groups and to extreme reaction conditions often used in step-growth polymerizations, the straightforward synthesis of alkyne-containing building blocks created an ideal platform to modify and broaden the physico-chemical properties of step-growth polymers by choosing readily available low and high molecular weight azide components. This feature article provides a comprehensive review covering the strategies toward ‘click’-functionalization of several classes of industrially important step-growth polymers.     

New polymerization of dienes and related monomers catalyzed by late transition metal complexes

This article reviews recent studies on the polymerization of 1,6-heptadienes and 2-aryl- and 2-alkoxy-1-methylenecyclopropanes catalyzed by Co, Fe, and Pd complexes. Co and Fe complexes with bis(imino)pyridine ligands catalyze the cyclopolymerization of 1,6-heptadiene in the presence of MMAO to produce the polymer, which contains five-membered rings in the monomer units. The polymers with cis- or trans-five-membered rings are obtained selectively, depending on the complex used in the polymerization. The catalyst, prepared from the Co complex having a bis(imino)pyridine ligand and MMAO, promotes the polymerization of 2-aryl-1-methylenecyclopropanes without ring-opening. The reaction under ethylene atmosphere produces alternating copolymer of the two monomers to yield the polymers composed of the C4 repeating unit with a 1,1-cyclopropanediyl group. The alternating copolymer of ethylene and 7-methylenebicyclo[4.1.0]heptane undergoes thermal rearrangement to afford the polymer with CC double bond in main chain. A radical pathway is proposed. Dinuclear π-allylpalladium complexes with bridging Cl ligands initiate living polymerization of 2-alkoxy-1-methylenecyclopropanes, which accompanies ring-opening of the monomer, to afford the polymers composed of the C₃ repeating units having alkoxy and vinylidene groups. A cyclic dinuclear π-allylpalladium complex reacts with 2-alkoxy-1-methylenecyclopropane in the presence of pyridine to produce the living polymer with macrocyclic structures. Block copolymerization of the two monomers that contain OR or O(CH₂CH₂O)R as the substituents on the three-membered ring, results in the polymers with hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments.     

Review on morphology development of immiscible blends in confined shear flow

The bulk dynamics of immiscible polymer blends during flow is relatively well understood, especially when the system contains Newtonian components. Recently, a number of studies have focused on flow of immiscible blends in confined geometries. In that case, the morphology development is not only affected by the material characteristics and the type of flow, but also by the degree of confinement. Here, we present an overview on the morphology development in immiscible two-phase blends in confined shear flow. Firstly, we focus on the typical microstructures that are observed in confined dilute blends. Secondly, in order to understand those peculiar morphologies, the systematic studies on single droplets in confined shear flow are reviewed. In addition to the experimental work, theoretical, phenomenological, and numerical models that include the effects of confinement are discussed.