Nanofluid is a novel heat transfer fluid prepared by suspending high thermal conductivity nano-sized particles in conventional fluids (water, engine oil and ethylene glycol). Thermo-physical properties (Thermal conductivity, dynamic viscosity and specific heat) and turbulent heat transfer performance of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) based Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) nanofluid are investigated experimentally for particle volume concentrations of 0–1% and at mean fluid temperatures of 30οC and 50οC for a potential regenerative heat transfer application in semi-cryogenic liquid propellant rocket engine. The experimental results show that the heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluid increases with particle volume concentration, with a maximum enhancement at 1% particle volume concentration of approximately 23% and 50% observed at 30οC and 50οC respectively. Two different numerical modelling approaches (a single phase fluid model with enhanced thermo-physical properties and an Eulerian-Lagrangian model called the “discrete phase model”) are employed to simulate the experimental conditions. The predictions from both numerical modelling approaches are found to compare reasonably well with the experimental data. The enhanced heat transfer performance is expressed on an equal power penalty basis to clearely show the advantage of the nanofluid.

Many natural and engineered granular materials have relatively deformable particles. Besides particle size and shape, particle deformability is another salient factor that significantly impacts the material’s flow behavior. In this work, the flow of irregular-shaped deformable particles in a wedge-shaped hopper is investigated using discrete element simulations. A bonded-sphere model is developed to simultaneously capture irregular particle shapes and particle-wise deformations (e.g., compression, deflection, and distortion). Quantitative analysis of the effects of irregular shapes and particle deformations shows that the increase in particle stiffness tends to increase initial packing porosity and decrease the flow rate in the hopper. Rigid particles tend to have clogging issues, whereas deformable particles have less chance to, indicating particle deformation reduces the critical bridging width in the hopper flow. Detailed analysis of stress fields is also conducted to provide insights into the mechanism of particle flow and clogging. Stresses and discharge rates calculated from numerical simulations are compared and show good agreement with Walker’s theory and the extended Beverloo formula. Simulations with various particle shape combinations are also performed and show that the initial packing porosity decreases with an increasing percentage of fibers while the discharge rate has a complex dependency on particle shapes.

An ingenious mechanism of scalable grain crystallization inside a 3D colloidal domain is proposed. The mechanism is materialized by random vibration either on a jammed particle assembly or on free-falling particle fronts traveling inside a colloidal domain under the influence of near-zero or limited buoyancy. Brownian dynamics is invoked by employing a generalized Langevin’s thermostat equation, which solves for a time-variant state of particles undergoing moderate random vibration under the effect of a viscose solvent until full occupancy of the box is reached at fixed temperature. The contacting particles admit a simple mass-spring-dashpot discrete-element model with negligible sliding friction. The problem seeks optimized states with the highest overall crystallinity and lowest grain-boundary effect by parametrization of the sedimentation domain geometry as well as the particles’ and solvent’s properties. The parametric study investigates the effects of geometry (box height, length and cross-sectional mismatch), particle density and solvent viscosity on evolving and ultimate-state crystallinity, chiefly quantified by an overall crystallinity ratio. Buoyancy-assisted sedimentation reflects the formation of FCC-dominant particle submanifolds, and is further suggestive of optimum ranges of box height, solvent viscosity and particle density as opposed to critical ranges of box length and in-plane aspect ratio. Depending on the desired level of crystallinity, the proposed mechanism can be regarded as supplant or supplement for other crystallization mechanisms including aging, magnetization, etc.

p–n heterojunction composites with high-charge-transfer efficiency have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique structure and interface interactions. Herein, a novel Z-scheme Cu2O/SrBi4Ti4O15 p–n heterojunction was successfully constructed using the microwave hydrothermal method for DOC removal under visible light irradiation. The structure, composition, and photoelectric chemical properties of Cu2O/SrBi4Ti4O15 nanocomposites were studied. The composites exhibited high photocatalytic activity for DOC, and 92.2% of DOC was decomposed within 60 min, which is 9.2 and 5.2 times higher than those of original Cu2O and SrBi4Ti4O15, respectively. The extraordinary degradation performance can be attributed to the formation of Z-scheme heterostructure. On the one hand, a unique interface structure can significantly enhance the number of active sites on the catalyst surface. On the other hand, Z-scheme heterostructure can accelerate generation and migration of the photoinduced carriers. Furthermore, the effects of operational parameters such as catalyst dosage, initial concentration, inorganic salts, and water sources, were investigated. Finally, a photodegradation mechanism of Z-scheme Cu2O/SrBi4Ti4O15 p–n heterojunction for DOC was proposed.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an important reaction which is widely applied in advanced oxidative processes (AOP) through the in-situ electrogeneration of hydrogen peroxide. Oxygen gas can either be reduced to hydrogen peroxide via two-electron pathway or be converted to water in a competitive way via four-electron pathway. In this study, we report the effective enhancement of H2O2 generation in K2SO4 0.1 mol/L (pH 2) through the application of Printex L6 carbon (PL6C) modified with zirconium/niobium (ZrNb) and zirconium/molybdenum (ZrMo) oxides compared to unmodified PL6C. The proposed catalysts were prepared by the polymeric precursors synthesis method (on carbon). The catalysts were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (FRX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and were electrochemically characterised by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and hydrodynamic linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The electroactivity of ZrNb/PL6C and ZrMo/PL6C oxides was analyzed in the ratio of 50/50 w/w. The results obtained from the electrochemical characterisations of the electrodes showed that the application of 5% ZrNb/PL6C and 1% ZrMo/PL6C yielded H2O2 selectivity of 84.3 and 77%, respectively, compared to 84.3% recorded for the unmodified PL6C. Also, based on the application of a determined current density, 5% ZrNb/PL6C and 1% ZrMo/PL6C recorded a potential shift of 200 and 400 mV to less negative potentials, respectively, compared to the unmodified PL6C, which implies in less energy consumption. The results obtained from the morphological and surface characterisations of the materials pointed to a practically homogeneous distribution of ZrO2, Nb2O5, and MoO3 with particle size of ca. 5 nm on the PL6C surface compared to the unmodified PL6C which exhibited particle size of ca. 30–50 nm.

Abstract not available

Industrial powders are prompt to be airborne during processing. High dustiness levels may cause process complications like cross-contamination, product loss and filter clogging while increasing the risk of inhalation, dust explosion and fire. Thus, dustiness is often associated with occupational exposure. Despite this, powder products are usually composed of multiple ingredients with silica nanoparticles (S-NP) systematically added to ease their handling. Surprisingly, the relationship between dustiness and product formulation has not been commonly studied. This work investigates the influence of S-NP, SIPERNAT D10 (SD10), on the dustiness of four industrial powders–Avicel PH102, wheat flour, joint filler, and glass beads–using two standard methods: the rotating drum (EN 15051–2) and the vortex shaker (EN 17199–5). Our results show that the dustiness of mixtures powder + SD10 are statistically higher than those of the powder alone and can reach the levels of SD10. TEM micrographs from airborne particles collected in the vortex shaker showed that SD10 detached from the surface of the powder during aerosolisation, emitting nanometric dust; adding SD10 increases the potential for inhalation exposure during industrial processing and handling. Surface energy analysis by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) leads us to conclude that stronger powder-to-SD10 interactions result in less dust emission.

The immersed edge-based smoothed finite element method (IES-FEM) is proposed for the study of elastic collision particulate flow. Particle collision becomes more realistic by using the penalty function and the hyperelastic constitutive model. The effects of grid resolution and Reynolds numbers on particle terminal velocity and drag coefficient are discussed to verify the calculation accuracy and stability. Single-particle collisions with the bottom and side walls are analyzed and experimentally verified. Results show that the calculation error of IES-FEM is less than 0.6% when the fluid grid size is 0.5 times the particle mesh size and the time step is 10–4 s. Particle drag coefficient and flow characteristics agree well with the published models and experiment results. To demonstrate the capabilities of IES-FEM in complex elastic particle systems, the collision and rebound of multiple particles are determined, including the drafting–kissing–tumbling of two circular particles; the chase, collision, and deformation of rectangular particles; and the repeated formation and separation of particle clusters. This work extends the application of IES-FEM in particle-resolved direct numerical simulation methods, which will provide an optional tool for future elastic blood cell flow and collision.

The grinding and classification processes are systematic engineering that must comprehensively consider the influence of several factors to ensure good grinding fineness. Based on the machine learning method, this study analyzed the full process parameters (i.e., ball mill power, fresh ore feed rate, hydrocyclone feed pump power, hydrocyclone pressure, mill feed water flow rate, dilution water flow rate, and sump level) for industrial grinding circuit. The collected real data (42,101 records) were employed to train and test the extreme gradient-boosting (XGBoost) regression model. The XGBoost model’s prediction ability and accuracy were evaluated and analyzed. The validated model was employed to evaluate the relative importance and influence mechanisms of process parameters. It was found that hydrocyclone feed pump power, dilution water flow rate, hydrocyclone pressure, and mill feed water flow rate significantly affected the grinding fineness, which were consistent with the actual operation of grinding circuit.

Electrospray has been demonstrated to assemble fuel and oxidizer nanoparticles with a gas-generating binder into microscale particle composites. This approach results in reactivity enhancement of nanothermite systems by alleviating reactive sintering of the nanoparticle components due to rapid gasification. However, this method is not readily scalable and amenable to large-scale manufacturing due to its slow solution processing rates and the risks associated with the presence of high electric fields in the presence of electrostatic discharge-sensitive reactive materials. Here, we explore spray drying as an alternative approach to assemble Al/CuO nanoparticles into nitrocellulose (NC)-based mesoparticle composites and evaluate their energetic performance against physically mixed powders and electrosprayed mesoparticles. The spray dried mesoparticles show ∼2–7-fold higher pressurization rates and shorter burn times than their physically mixed counterparts and follow a similar trend with electrospray. The higher reactivity of the mesoparticles is attributed to rapid gas generation and reduced sintering from the decomposition of the NC binder. We further demonstrate that spray drying generates mesoparticles with size (∼1.5–4 μm), morphology, and reactivity enhancement similar to that from the electrospray method, while achieving remarkably high production rates (as high as ∼275 g h−1). Thus, this work presents spray drying as a highly scalable strategy to achieve reactivity enhancement and processability, thereby enabling high-yield manufacturing of energetic materials, which is a prelude to what might evolve into 3-D printing approaches for propellants.

This study meticulously explores the agglomeration mechanisms in microscale droplet aerosols, specifically focusing on acoustic and turbulent agglomeration mechanisms. Our theoretical analysis reveals a significant impact of orthokinetic and hydrodynamic processes on acoustic agglomeration. The acoustic wake effect elucidates the swift replenishment of small particles subsequent to an orthokinetic phase. An optimal frequency, varying for different droplets, was identified in orthokinetic agglomeration within the 50–250 Hz range. Hydrodynamic agglomeration remained relatively stable at an acoustic frequency exceeding 1000 Hz. The aggregation kernel function, denoted as Kij, exhibited a significant increase with increasing sound pressure levels, reaching up to 10−8 s−1. Environmental temperature had a predominantly positive effect on orthokinetic and Brownian agglomeration, although it exhibited an inhibitory effect on hydrodynamic agglomeration. For raindrops, a correlation was identified between particle spacing and Kij; a larger particle spacing corresponded to a smaller Kij. Despite an increase in particle spacing to 50 times the particle diameter, the hydrodynamic effect persisted. The aggregation kernel function linked to Brownian thermal motion was found to be 3–4 orders of magnitude lower than that of orthokinetic and hydrodynamic interactions. Additionally, the turbulent agglomeration kernel function for fog, cloud, and rain droplets with corresponding parent nuclei of 100 μm was of the same order of magnitude as the acoustic agglomeration kernel function.

Due to its rich mineralogy, fly ash (FA), an industrial waste, has been used to combat erosive, corrosive environments. Powder flowability dictates coating properties. In this investigation, raw FA powder was obtained from a thermal power plant and sieved in various sizes to assess their flowability. Powder's physical characteristics, such as specific surface area, Blaine's fineness number, and bulk density, were determined, and their influence on powder flowability was analyzed. Of these properties, bulk density affects more. Rietveld refinement was performed on the powder to quantify the phases. The powders had 45.08 ± 11.38 amorphous and 11.00 ± 2.76 % of mullite phases. Later, alumina was added between 10 and 50 wt% to FA, and samples were subjected to high-temperature X-ray diffraction at 1150 °C. A ∼32.27% rise in Mullite content was observed for 50 wt% alumina, with ∼119% decrease in the amorphous phase. Finally, one set of FA without additives coating was plasma sprayed onto a marine-grade steel substrate. The coating showed ∼17.31 ± 0.6% of mullite and ∼69.43 ± 0.6 % of the amorphous phase, with decent Mechanical properties. Therefore, 50 wt% alumina in FA powder has improved the mullite phase, bulk density (43%), and flowability by decreasing the amorphous phase content.

Urea and nitrate-based fuel cells have emerged as promising electricity generation devices. However, most of these catalysts are expensive and limited in supply, which limits their practical applications. Hence, metal-organic frameworks (MOF) have been explored as catalysts due to their low cost, easy preparation, and high redox activity. Here, we synthesize nickel-based MOF (Ni-MOF) via one-pot solvothermal technique as bifunctional electrocatalyst for the direct urea and nitrate fuel cell. The as-synthesized Ni-MOF is deposited on nickel foam (NF) and used as working electrode (Ni-MOF/NF) which demonstrates a peak current density of 188 mA/cm2 for urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and −14 mA/cm2 for nitrate reduction reaction (NRR) at an onset potential of ∼ 1.58 V (vs RHE), and ∼ 1.12 V (vs RHE), respectively The enhanced functionality of the Ni-MOF/NF electrode can be attributed to the high catalytic efficacy of the Ni-MOF. This is mainly due to the presence of multiple oxidation states of N (i.e., Ni2+/3+) and excellent electronic conductivity of the organic ligands in MOF structure. Moreover, Ni-MOF/NF electrodes retain ∼ 71.2% and ∼ 83.9% capacity after 20000 s of UOR and NRR, respectively. This efficacy of the as-fabricated electrocatalyst proves MOF as a promising platform for direct fuel cell applications.

The electrical properties of carbon-based materials have attracted significant interest due to their wide range of potential applications. This study investigated the effect of nitric acid treatment on the electrical conductivity of candle soot particle films. Electrospray deposition was used to deposit the candle soot dispersion on a solid substrate. The electrical conductivity of the films increased as the concentration of nitric acid increased, with the highest conductivity of 27.65 S cm−1 observed in the film treated with 5 M nitric acid. The increase in conductivity was attributed to the enhancement of interparticle bonding between soot particles after acid treatment. Functional groups such as carboxylic or nitro groups were observed in the films by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy showed a broadening of the D bands, suggesting a defect in the crystalline structure due to the formation of functional groups on the soot structure. These results suggest that nitric acid treatment can be used to improve the electrical conductivity of candle soot particle films.

Entropy production theory based on the second law of thermodynamics was introduced for evaluating the flow field inside the turbo air classifier. The three new types of rotor cage with the wedge blades, the inverted wedge blades and the spindle blades were designed, and the flow field and the classification performance of the classifiers were investigated. The results show that, compared to the rectangular blades, the productions of total entropy, turbulent entropy and wall entropy of the wedge blades are reduced by 17.3%, 25.86% and 3.34%, respectively. The corresponding effective airflow area increases by 7.5%, and the residence time of 5 μm particle is shorten by 16%. The classifier with the wedge blades has smaller cut size and higher classifying sharpness. The results validate that the turbulent entropy generation can be an indicator for monitoring the overall flow field and the classifiers’ performance.

The current investigation proposes a novel method for the fabrication of zeolite-based packed beds by extrusion of a paste, containing Ca-bentonite, boehmite, and sodium hydroxide, as rod-like shape. The formed precursor was heated at 800 °C to reinforce the extrudates, aged at different times, 3–24 h, and converted to the zeolite structure by recrystallization in the hydrothermal condition, 3–9 h. The obtained results showed that aging, and recrystallization times affect the crystalline phase structure, morphology of particles, textural properties, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) as characterized by X-ray diffractometry, field emission electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The thermally treated extrudates could be converted to zeolite LTA, and or hydroxysodalite (HS), depending on aging, and recrystallization times. It is necessary to age the treated extrudates in 9 h, and control the recrystallization time within 3 h to achieve zeolite LTA with a proper CEC, 232 mg g−1. Contrarily, the choice of inverse conditions, leads to create a mesoporous HS with a broad pore size distribution, 2–50 nm.

In many particulate processes suspensions need to be handled. Hydrodynamic forces in presence of a liquid as a surrounding continuum medium can significantly affect the particle collision behaviour. When particles approach a wall, lubrication force can become dominant with decreasing distance. This force was described analytically by different authors for a smooth flat wall. Roughness was found to be an important factor in this context, but the mechanisms are still not fully understood. In this work, the effects of topology on the lubrication force were studied using a regular prismatic micro-structured titanium surface produced by micro-milling. A nanoindentation setup was modified for the direct measurement of this force during the particle approach to polished and micro-structured surfaces in liquid. For a more detailed insight on the behaviour of the fluid in the decreasing gap between particle and surface microstructure, resolved computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed using an overset mesh method. The comparison of simulation results with nanoindentation tests and analytical solution showed a good agreement. The effects of structure size and particle contact location at various approaching velocities on the lubrication force were investigated.

The current research presents the effects of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) as a functionalization agent to improve the rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposites as the gas sensor. Existing characterization techniques, including energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confirmed the successful synthesis of Ag/rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposites. Besides Ag/rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposites, two other samples, including pristine g-C3N4 and rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were synthesized, and their performance in sensing acetone, carbon monoxide, methanol, isopropanol, formalin, and toluene at different temperatures, was investigated. The Ag/rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposite-based sensor exhibited good selectivity of 68.77% and a high response of 42.97 to 50 ppm toluene at 100 °C, a significant reduction in operating temperature and a substantial increase in response and selectivity, in comparison to the rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposite-based sensor. Moreover, the Ag/rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposite-based sensor demonstrated excellent long-term stability. The role of Ag NPs and rGO in the improvement of toluene sensing of g-C3N4 nanosheets is explained comprehensively.

During acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) plastic processing, dust explosions could occur in production and transportation. In this paper, the explosion properties and pyrolysis mechanism of ABS dust were studied. The inhibition effects of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on ABS dust were investigated using the 20-L explosion chamber, Hartmann tube, and G-G furnace. The results demonstrated that NaHCO3 effectively decreased both the ignition sensitivity and the explosion severity of ABS dust explosion by increasing the mass fraction of the inhibitor. Adding 50 wt% NaHCO3 could reduce the explosion hazard to an acceptable level. Combined with an analysis of gas phase products and thermal decomposition behaviour, it was discovered that incorporating NaHCO3 enhanced the heat stability of ABS dust. The decomposition of added NaHCO3 produced a substantial quantity of CO2, consuming many free radicals especially OH• and H•, which further reduced the decomposition temperature of ABS. The inhibitor effectively interrupted the combustion chain reaction and inhibited the propagation of the explosion. The results establish a scientific and operational basis for the prevention and management of dust explosion hazards in the ABS processing field.

This study investigated the flow rate of solids through the recycle chamber of a loop seal in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) at atmospheric pressure and temperature. Flow characteristics of alumina particles were measured in the downcomer, horizontal passage, recycle chamber, and riser (0.05 m i.d., 2.7 m high).As the gas velocity in the riser increased, the pressure drop in the downcomer decreased, and thus, the aeration rate required at the bottom of the supply chamber to attain the minimum fluidization state for the bed of the downcomer increased. Based on experimental data, relationships that could predict the flow rate of solids through the recycle chamber Gs,r were derived by extending the correlation for the solids flow rate through the bubbling fluidized bed that discharged solids via overflow exit. Gs,r increased in proportion to the gauge pressure at the base of the recycle chamber. When the riser was under the fast bed condition, the back pressure against the flow of solids coming from the recycle chamber to the riser appeared significantly, and Gs,r was inversely proportional to the gauge pressure at the base of the riser. The derived relationships for Gs,r were in good agreement with measured data.