scholarly journals Nonequilibrium Temperature: An Approach from Irreversibility

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2004
Author(s):  
Umberto Lucia ◽  
Giulia Grisolia

Nonequilibrium temperature is a topic of research with continuously growing interest because of recent improvements in and applications of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, with particular regard to information theory, kinetic theory, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics, superfluids, radiative systems, etc. All studies on nonequilibrium temperature have pointed out that the definition of nonequilibrium temperature must be related to different aspects of the system, to the energy of the system, and to the energy fluxes between the system and its environment. In this paper, we introduce a definition of nonequilibrium temperature based on the Gouy–Stodola and Carnot theorems in order to satisfy all these theoretical requirements. The result obtained links nonequilibrium temperature to the electromagnetic outflow, generated by irreversibility during microscopic interaction in the system; to the environmental temperature; to the mean energy; and to the geometrical and physical characteristics of the system.

Author(s):  
Erik J. Arlemark ◽  
Jason M. Reese

A key parameter for micro-gas-flows, the mean free path, is investigated in this paper. The mean free path is used in various models for predicting micro gas flows, both in the governing equations and their boundary conditions. The conventional definition of the mean free path is based on the assumption that only binary collisions occur and is commonly described using the macroscopic quantities density, viscosity and temperature. In this paper we compare the prediction by this definition of the mean free paths for helium, neon and argon gases under standard temperature and pressure conditions, with the mean free paths achieved by measurements of individual molecules using the numerical simulation technique of molecular dynamics. Our simulation using molecular dynamics consists of a cube with six periodic boundary conditions, allowing us to simulate an unconfined gas “package”. Although, the size of this package is important, since its impact on computational cost is considerable, it is also important to have enough simulated molecules to average data from. We find that the molecular dynamics method using 20520 simulated molecules yields results that are within 1% accuracy from the conventional definition of the mean free paths for neon and argon and within 2.5% for helium. We can also conclude that the normal approximation of only considering binary collisions is seemingly adequate for these gases under standard temperature and pressure conditions. We introduce a single planar wall and two parallel planar walls to the simulated gas of neon and record the mean free paths at various distances to the walls. It is found that the mean free paths affected by molecular collisions with the walls corresponds well with theoretical models up to Knudsen numbers of 0.2.


2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (05) ◽  
pp. 371-378
Author(s):  
Alfred O. Ankrah ◽  
Ismaheel O. Lawal ◽  
Tebatso M.G. Boshomane ◽  
Hans C. Klein ◽  
Thomas Ebenhan ◽  
...  

Abstract 18F-FDG and 68Ga-citrate PET/CT have both been shown to be useful in the management of tuberculosis (TB). We compared the abnormal PET findings of 18F-FDG- and 68Ga-citrate-PET/CT in patients with TB. Methods Patients with TB on anti-TB therapy were included. Patients had a set of PET scans consisting of both 18F-FDG and 68Ga-citrate. Abnormal lesions were identified, and the two sets of scans were compared. The scan findings were correlated to the clinical data as provided by the attending physician. Results 46 PET/CT scans were performed in 18 patients, 11 (61 %) were female, and the mean age was 35.7 ± 13.5 years. Five patients also had both studies for follow-up reasons during the use of anti-TB therapy. Thirteen patients were co-infected with HIV. 18F-FDG detected more lesions than 68Ga-citrate (261 vs. 166, p < 0.0001). 68Ga-citrate showed a better definition of intracerebral lesions due to the absence of tracer uptake in the brain. The mean SUVmax was higher for 18F-FDG compared to 68Ga-citrate (5.73 vs. 3.01, p < 0.0001). We found a significant correlation between the SUVmax of lesions that were determined by both tracers (r = 0.4968, p < 0.0001). Conclusion Preliminary data shows 18F-FDG-PET detects more abnormal lesions in TB compared to 68Ga-citrate. However, 68Ga-citrate has better lesion definition in the brain and is therefore especially useful when intracranial TB is suspected.


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