scholarly journals Evaluating the Potential of Polylactide Nonwovens as Bio-Based Media for Air Filtration

Textiles ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-282
Author(s):  
Christina Schippers ◽  
Elena Marx ◽  
Ralf Taubner ◽  
Jochen Gutmann ◽  
Larisa Tsarkova

The presented research aims to characterize hydrolytic resistance of highly crystalline and oriented polylactide (PLA) as a prerequisite for exploiting this bio-based material in durable applications. Industrially melt-spun PLA monofilaments and nonwovens have been subjected to environmental aging in a temperature range of 50–70 °C at a wide range of relative humidity (RH) in order to identify the onset of the material degradation under application conditions. Along with the measurements of mechanical and thermal behavior of the aged samples, the suitability of FTIR spectroscopy to probe the initial changes in the crystalline structure and in chemical composition of the fibers, caused by hydrolytic degradation, has been evaluated. The diagrams of stability and hydrolytic degradation under employed environmental aging for 7–14 days are presented for both types of PLA materials. Assessment of filtration performance of the artificially aged fibrous PLA media indicated a good agreement with the established stability diagram and confirmed the application potential of PLA nonwoven media, spun from currently available PLA grades, in air filtration under moderate climatic conditions up to max 50 °C and 50% RH. The presented results advance the knowledge on hydrolytic resistance of bio-based industry-relevant fibers and therefore open new application areas for sustainable materials with biodegradable components.

1990 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 421-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Thangam ◽  
N. Hur

The occurrence of secondary flow in curved ducts due to the centrifugal forces can often significantly influence the flow rate. In the present work, the secondary flow of an incompressible viscous fluid in a curved duct is studied by using a finite-volume method. It is shown that as the Dean number is increased the secondary flow structure evolves into a double vortex pair for low-aspect-ratio ducts and roll cells for ducts of high aspect ratio. A stability diagram is obtained in the domain of curvature ratio and Reynolds number. It is found that for ducts of high curvature the onset of transition from single vortex pair to double vortex pair or roll cells depends on the Dean number and the curvature ratio, while for ducts of small curvature the onset can be characterized by the Dean number alone. A comparison with the available theoretical and experimental results indicates good agreement. A correlation for the friction factor as a function of the Dean number and aspect ratio is developed and is found to be in good agreement with the available experimental and computational results for a wide range of parameters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (3) ◽  
pp. 4418-4431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujatha Ramakrishnan ◽  
Aseem Paranjape

ABSTRACT We use the Separate Universe technique to calibrate the dependence of linear and quadratic halo bias b1 and b2 on the local cosmic web environment of dark matter haloes. We do this by measuring the response of halo abundances at fixed mass and cosmic web tidal anisotropy α to an infinite wavelength initial perturbation. We augment our measurements with an analytical framework developed in earlier work that exploits the near-lognormal shape of the distribution of α and results in very high precision calibrations. We present convenient fitting functions for the dependence of b1 and b2 on α over a wide range of halo mass for redshifts 0 ≤ z ≤ 1. Our calibration of b2(α) is the first demonstration to date of the dependence of non-linear bias on the local web environment. Motivated by previous results that showed that α is the primary indicator of halo assembly bias for a number of halo properties beyond halo mass, we then extend our analytical framework to accommodate the dependence of b1 and b2 on any such secondary property that has, or can be monotonically transformed to have, a Gaussian distribution. We demonstrate this technique for the specific case of halo concentration, finding good agreement with previous results. Our calibrations will be useful for a variety of halo model analyses focusing on galaxy assembly bias, as well as analytical forecasts of the potential for using α as a segregating variable in multitracer analyses.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Luiza Tymińska-Czabańska ◽  
Jarosław Socha ◽  
Marek Maj ◽  
Dominika Cywicka ◽  
Xo Viet Hoang Duong

Site productivity provides critical information for forest management practices and is a fundamental measure in forestry. It is determined using site index (SI) models, which are developed using two primary groups of methods, namely, phytocentric (plant-based) or geocentric (earth-based). Geocentric methods allow for direct site growth modelling, in which the SI is predicted using multiple environmental indicators. However, changes in non-static site factors—particularly nitrogen deposition and rising CO2 concentration—lead to an increase in site productivity, which may be visible as an age trend in the SI. In this study, we developed a geocentric SI model for oak. For the development of the SI model, we used data from 150 sample plots, representing a wide range of local topographic and site conditions. A generalized additive model was used to model site productivity. We found that the oak SI depended predominantly on physicochemical soil properties—mainly nitrogen, carbon, sand, and clay content. Additionally, the oak SI value was found to be slightly shaped by the topography, especially by altitude above sea level, and topographic position. We also detected a significant relationship between the SI and the age of oak stands, indicating the long-term increasing site productivity for oak, most likely caused by nitrogen deposition and changes in climatic conditions. The developed geocentric site productivity model for oak explained 77.2% of the SI variation.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 931
Author(s):  
Mona Giraud ◽  
Jannis Groh ◽  
Horst H. Gerke ◽  
Nicolas Brüggemann ◽  
Harry Vereecken ◽  
...  

Grasslands are one of the most common biomes in the world with a wide range of ecosystem services. Nevertheless, quantitative data on the change in nitrogen dynamics in extensively managed temperate grasslands caused by a shift from energy- to water-limited climatic conditions have not yet been reported. In this study, we experimentally studied this shift by translocating undisturbed soil monoliths from an energy-limited site (Rollesbroich) to a water-limited site (Selhausen). The soil monoliths were contained in weighable lysimeters and monitored for their water and nitrogen balance in the period between 2012 and 2018. At the water-limited site (Selhausen), annual plant nitrogen uptake decreased due to water stress compared to the energy-limited site (Rollesbroich), while nitrogen uptake was higher at the beginning of the growing period. Possibly because of this lower plant uptake, the lysimeters at the water-limited site showed an increased inorganic nitrogen concentration in the soil solution, indicating a higher net mineralization rate. The N2O gas emissions and nitrogen leaching remained low at both sites. Our findings suggest that in the short term, fertilizer should consequently be applied early in the growing period to increase nitrogen uptake and decrease nitrogen losses. Moreover, a shift from energy-limited to water-limited conditions will have a limited effect on gaseous nitrogen emissions and nitrate concentrations in the groundwater in the grassland type of this study because higher nitrogen concentrations are (over-) compensated by lower leaching rates.


1975 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1754-1760 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A Lott ◽  
Kathie Turner

Abstract Trinder's method for glucose has nearly all the attributes of an ideal automated colorimetric glucose oxidase procedure. The chemicals used in the color reaction with peroxidase are readily available, the solutions are stable and can be prepared by the user, the method is highly specific and largely free of interferences, the sensitivity can be adjusted by the user to cover a wide range of glucose concentrations, and the reagents are not hazardous. We found very good agreement between results by this method and by the hexokinase and Beckman Glucose Analyzer methods. The method has been modified and adapted to the AutoAnalyzer I and SMA 6/60 (Technicon) with manifolds that give very little interaction between specimens. A study of the method by the simplex technique revealed that the glucose oxidase activity in the reagent is the most critical variable.


2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui He ◽  
Mohamad Metghalchi ◽  
James C. Keck

A simple model has been developed to estimate the sensible thermodynamic properties such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, heat capacity, and entropy of hydrocarbons over a wide range of temperatures with special attention to the branched molecules. The model is based on statistical thermodynamic expressions incorporating translational, rotational and vibrational motions of the atoms. A method to determine the number of degrees of freedom for different motion modes (bending and torsion) has been established. Branched rotational groups, such as CH3 and OH, have been considered. A modification of the characteristic temperatures for different motion mode has been made which improves the agreement with the exact values for simple cases. The properties of branched alkanes up to 2,3,4,-trimthylpentane have been calculated and the results are in good agreement with the experimental data. A relatively small number of parameters are needed in this model to estimate the sensible thermodynamic properties of a wide range of species. The model may also be used to estimate the properties of molecules and their isomers, which have not been measured, and is simple enough to be easily programmed as a subroutine for on-line kinetic calculations. [S0195-0738(00)00902-X]


VLSI Design ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 355-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Bennett ◽  
Christopher M. Snowden ◽  
Stavros Iezekiel

A theoretical (using rate equations) and experimental study of the nonlinear dynamics of a distributed feedback multiple quantum well laser diode is presented. The analysis is performed under direct modulation. Period doubling and period tripling are identified in both the measurements and simulations. Period doubling is found over a wide range of modulation frequencies in the laser. Computational results using rate equations show good agreement with the experimental results.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-163
Author(s):  
Viktor Anishchenko ◽  
Vladimir Rybachenko ◽  
Konstantin Chotiy ◽  
Andrey Redko

AbstractDFT calculations of vibrational spectra of chlorophosphates using wide range of basis sets and hybrid functionals were performed. Good agreement between calculated and experimental vibrational spectra was reached by the combination of non-empirical functional PBE0 with both middle and large basis sets. The frequencies of the stretching vibrations of the phosphate group calculated using semi-empirical functional B3LYP for all basis sets deviate significantly from the experimental values. The number of polarization functions on heavy atoms was shown to be a key factor for the calculation of vibrational frequencies of organophosphates. The importance of consideration of all the stable rotamers for a complete assignment of fundamental modes was shown.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Q. Margolis

Piñon–juniper (PJ) fire regimes are generally characterised as infrequent high-severity. However, PJ ecosystems vary across a large geographic and bio-climatic range and little is known about one of the principal PJ functional types, PJ savannas. It is logical that (1) grass in PJ savannas could support frequent, low-severity fire and (2) exclusion of frequent fire could explain increased tree density in PJ savannas. To assess these hypotheses I used dendroecological methods to reconstruct fire history and forest structure in a PJ-dominated savanna. Evidence of high-severity fire was not observed. From 112 fire-scarred trees I reconstructed 87 fire years (1547–1899). Mean fire interval was 7.8 years for fires recorded at ≥2 sites. Tree establishment was negatively correlated with fire frequency (r=–0.74) and peak PJ establishment was synchronous with dry (unfavourable) conditions and a regime shift (decline) in fire frequency in the late 1800s. The collapse of the grass-fuelled, frequent, surface fire regime in this PJ savanna was likely the primary driver of current high tree density (mean=881treesha–1) that is >600% of the historical estimate. Variability in bio-climatic conditions likely drive variability in fire regimes across the wide range of PJ ecosystems.


Author(s):  
Anil K. Tolpadi ◽  
Michael E. Crawford

The heat transfer and aerodynamic performance of turbine airfoils are greatly influenced by the gas side surface finish. In order to operate at higher efficiencies and to have reduced cooling requirements, airfoil designs require better surface finishing processes to create smoother surfaces. In this paper, three different cast airfoils were analyzed: the first airfoil was grit blasted and codep coated, the second airfoil was tumbled and aluminide coated, and the third airfoil was polished further. Each of these airfoils had different levels of roughness. The TEXSTAN boundary layer code was used to make predictions of the heat transfer along both the pressure and suction sides of all three airfoils. These predictions have been compared to corresponding heat transfer data reported earlier by Abuaf et al. (1997). The data were obtained over a wide range of Reynolds numbers simulating typical aircraft engine conditions. A three-parameter full-cone based roughness model was implemented in TEXSTAN and used for the predictions. The three parameters were the centerline average roughness, the cone height and the cone-to-cone pitch. The heat transfer coefficient predictions indicated good agreement with the data over most Reynolds numbers and for all airfoils-both pressure and suction sides. The transition location on the pressure side was well predicted for all airfoils; on the suction side, transition was well predicted at the higher Reynolds numbers but was computed to be somewhat early at the lower Reynolds numbers. Also, at lower Reynolds numbers, the heat transfer coefficients were not in very good agreement with the data on the suction side.


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