Pore-scale visualization of gas trapping in porous media by X-ray CT scanning

Entrapment of the non-wetting phase in porous media has been observed in a variety of fields such as petroleum engineering, geological storage of carbon dioxide, and remediation of ground water. We investigated gas trapping in porous media from a microscopic point of view. High-resolution, three-dimensional images of pore structure and trapped gas bubbles in Berea sandstones were obtained using a micro-focused X-ray CT scanner. We used vertical and horizontal Berea sandstone cores, 8 mm in diameter and 15 mm long. Based on the three-dimensional image analysis, the statistical distribution of the trapped gas volume was estimated. Trapped bubbles have a pore-network scale size and distribute over several pores. In the case of the vertical core, the porosity fluctuates along the flow direction due to the layered structure. The residual gas saturation also fluctuates with porosity along the flow direction. The higher gas saturation in porous layers at the end of gas injection results in a higher trapped gas saturation compared to dense layers. On the other hand, in dense layers the gas saturation at the end of gas injection is almost the same as residual gas saturation. Therefore, most of the gas injected into the dense layers would be trapped. In the case of the horizontal core, the gas saturation at the irreducible water condition is lower than that for the vertical core, because the injected gas selectively passes through the more permeable layers. However, the residual gas saturation is 29.2% for the horizontal core, which is comparable with that for the vertical core (30.9%). Finally, the effect of capillary number on stability of trapped gas bubbles has been estimated. Trapped gas bubbles are stable against the increased flow rate up to a capillary number of 1.0×10^?5.     

On the influence of residual stresses on the fracture behavior of a structural steel in the KIc temperature range

The increase with increasing temperature of K_Ic, measured with 2CT and 1'CT specimens, from about 10³N mm at 77 K to about 2.10³ N mm at about 170 K is attributed to the increasing proportion of dimple to cleavage fracture as revealed by scanning electron microscope investigation.

The specimens were prestrained to different partial scale yielding states by the same kind of loading, performed at 298 K, as in the later K_Ictests, performed at 77 K. After pretension K_Ic = K^*_Ic is increased by a maximum amount of about half of the value K⁰_Icof nonprestrained specimens, after precompression it is reduced by the same amount if this value is evaluated from the load at which a pop-in occurs. The value K_Ic = K^**_Ic for the final fracture lies between K^*_Ic and K⁰_Ic. These results are interpretated in terms of the residual stress states due to prestraining.     

Study on the Anti-Coking Nature of Ni/SrTiO3 Catalysts by the CH4 Pyrolysis

A solid phase crystallization (spc) method was applied for the preparation of SrTiO₃-supported Ni catalysts and compared to the impregnation (imp) method. spc-Ni_0.2/SrTiO₃ has highly dispersed and stable Ni metal particles resulting in higher activity and higher sustainability against coking than imp-Ni_0.2/SrTiO₃ in the partial oxidation of CH₄. Both catalysts were tested for the CH₄ pyrolysis in order to elucidate the catalytic nature against coking of spc-Ni_0.2/SrTiO₃. The amount of carbon and the rate of H₂ formation were similar over both catalysts at both 773 and 1073 K. On both catalysts, CH₄ continuously decomposed at 773 K, while the rate of CH₄ pyrolysis quickly decreased at 1073 K. Fibrous carbons grew up with a Ni metal particle on the tip of the fiber at 773 K, while carbon balls and short carbon fibers with a Ni metal particle encapsulated inside formed and no sufficient growth of the fiber was observed at 1073 K. The carbon species formed at 773 K was hydrogenated completely to CH₄ around 873 K, while the hydrogenation of that formed at 1073 K needed higher temperature around 1073 K. However, the carbon species formed on both the catalysts at either 773 or 1073 K was completely oxidized around 773 K. Thus, judging from the anti-coking nature, the behaviors in the CH₄ pyrolysis are similar over both catalysts, nonetheless spc-Ni_0.2/SrTiO₃ was far superior to imp-Ni_0.2/SrTiO₃ in the CH₄ oxidation. It is likely that the high sustainability against coking of spc-Ni_0.2/SrTiO₃ is not due to its intrinsic nature suppressing the coking but due to its high activity of reforming which can quickly eliminate the carbon formed on the catalyst surface.     

Modeling of chloride diffusivity coupled with non-linear binding capacity in sound and cracked concrete

The objective of this research is to establish a model that can predict chloride transport phenomena in sound and cracked concrete. The chloride diffusivity is formulated based on computed micro-pore structure, which considers tortuosity and constrictivity of porous network as reduction factors in terms of complex micro-pore structure and electric interaction of chloride ions and pore wall. In the real environment, concrete structures are not always crack-free, therefore chloride transport in cracked concrete is also simulated by section large void spaces in a control volume to represent the crack and by proposing a model of chloride diffusivity through the cracked region The proposed models are implemented into a finite-element computational program DuCOM, which simulates the early-age development process of cementitious materials. The calculated concentration profiles of total chloride ions are verified through a comparison with experiments results.     

A challenge of new materials for next generation's magnetic recording

Our recent study on a challenge of new materials for next generation's magnetic recording approaching an ultra high areal recording density beyond 1 Tbit/in.² is overviewed. We proposed novel methods for fabricating high performance magnetic recording heads and media by making the best use of wet (electro- and electroless-deposition) and dry (sputtering) processes. We believe that these results contribute significantly to the progress in magnetic recording and constitute a breakthrough for materializing an unexplored areal recording density beyond 1 Tbit/in.².     

The effect of heat sealing temperature on the properties of OPP/CPP heat seal. I. Mechanical properties

The effect of heat sealing temperature on the mechanical properties and morphology of OPP/CPP laminate films was investigated. The laminated films were placed in an impulse type heat sealing machine with both CPP sides facing each other. The temperatures investigated ranged from 100 to 250°C. T‐peel and tensile tests in combination with SEM were used to characterize the heat seals. A minimum seal initiation temperature of 120°C was identified for OPP/CPP laminate heat sealing. Peel strength increased sharply from zero at 110°C to maximum at 120°C, after which a gradual decrease was observed. Tensile strength initially increased until 120°C, after which it gradually decreased until 170°C and assumed a constant value beyond that. The initial rise has been associated to cold crystallization, while the reduction between 120°C and 170°C was due to relaxation in molecular orientation. Beyond 170°C, all the orientation in the laminate has been lost so orientation effects are nullified. Morphological studies with SEM revealed that seals were partially formed at lower temperatures, while the laminates were totally fused together at high temperatures, with intermediate temperatures showing properties that lie in between. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 753–760, 2005     

The initial step of the thermal unfolding of 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase detected by the temperature-jump Laue method

A temperature-jump (T-jump) time-resolved X-ray crystallographictechnique using the Laue method was developed to detect small,localized structural changes of proteins in crystals exposedto a temperature increase induced by laser irradiation. In achimeric protein between thermophilic and mesophilic 3-isopropylmalatedehydrogenases (2T2M6T), the initial structural change uponT-jump to a denaturing temperature (~90°C) was found tobe localized at a region which includes a ß-turn and aloop located between the two domains of the enzyme. A mutant,2T2M6T-E110P/S111G/S113E, having amino acid replacements inthis ß-turn region with the corresponding residues ofthe thermophilic enzyme, showed greater stability than the originalchimera (increase of T_m by ~10°C) and no T-jump-inducedstructural change in this region was detected by our method.These results indicate that thermal unfolding of the originalchimeric enzyme, 2T2M6T, is triggered in this ß-turn region.     

The development of simplified ultrasonic CT system and its application to the evaluation of weld metal

In this paper, as a new measurement method to estimate the change of material condition, the simplified ultrasonic CT system, which uses the information of three directions, that is, 90°, + 45° and −45° about inspection plane is proposed. Use of simplified CT system has two merits: Firstly, the measurement time is very short compared with general CT. Secondly, it can detect sensitively small defect in vertical or slant direction about inspection plane because the obtained image is CT image calculated from three directions. From these merits, this method can be considered as an effective method to evaluate material conditions. The basic performance of the proposed method was confirmed through several specimens with several simple defects. In order to confirm the applicability of actual NDT, several kinds of welded specimens are investigated. The result showed that the CT image obtained had good agreement with actual defect of specimens.