Copper Beads Research Articles

Novel feed additive delivers antimicrobial copper and influences fecal microbiota in pigs.

Dehydrated alginate beads formulated with copper were synthesized and tested as a feed additive to influence the microbiota in finishing pigs and potentially use them as a preharvest intervention to reduce fecal pathogen shedding. The efficacy of the copper beads was tested in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, Salmonella was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced when in contact with the copper beads solution for up to 6 h, with a 5.4 log CFU/mL reduction over the first hour. Chemical analysis of the soak solutions demonstrated the beads delivered their copper payload gradually over the same period the bactericidal effect was observed. For the in vivo experiments, pigs (n = 48) supplemented with the copper beads experienced significant shifts in their microbiota. Enterobacteriaceae (EB) increased by 1.07 log CFU/g (P < 0.05), while lactic acid bacteria (LAB) decreased by 1.22 log CFU/g (P < 0.05) during the treatment period. When beads were removed from the feed, EB and LAB concentrations returned to baseline, indicating copper beads led to measurable and significant changes in microbial loads. Fecal microbiome analysis conducted to explore additional changes by copper bead supplementation demonstrated that, at the phylum level, there was an increase in Firmicutes, Euryarchaeota, and Acidobacteriota, while at the genus level, an increase in Methanosphaera and Pseudomonas was observed. Measures of copper in swine feces showed values ~20 times higher in the treatment group than in the control group during the treatment period, suggesting that dehydrated alginate copper beads were effective in delivering antimicrobial copper to the animal hindgut.IMPORTANCECopper has long been known to have antimicrobial properties. However, when water-soluble salts are fed to livestock, the copper may rapidly dissolve in gastric contents and fail to reach the gut. Here, specially formulated copper beads are seamlessly incorporated into feed and allow copper to remain longer in the gastrointestinal tract of animals, reach deep into both the foregut and hindgut, and shift microbial populations. The technology delivers antimicrobial copper to the animal hindgut and potentially reduces pathogenic microorganisms before animal slaughter.

Copper on the Mississippi coast: Assessing provenance of a copper bead at the Claiborne site (22HA501) through LA-ICP-MS compositional analysis

The Claiborne site (22HA501) is located at the mouth of the Pearl River in southern Mississippi and was occupied sometime between 3990-3340 BP. In this we article, we source a copper bead from Claiborne using employed laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) compositional analysis to assess the provenance of the copper bead to understand the extent, direction, and intensity of trade networks integrated into this site and its connection to both Poverty Point and other copper-holding Archaic-era sites in the region. Specifically, we attempt to determine whether the Claiborne copper object originated from the Great Lakes region, or the Appalachian Mountains/Canadian Maritimes. The compositional results show a significant elemental relationship to copper from the Great Lakes region.

Forensic Investigation of Electrical Conduct Copper Bead Microstructure as an Effort to Identify Causes of Fire

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of the bead formed due to short circuit, overload and direct flame treatment on NYM 3x1.5 copper power cable. Handling of short circuit and overload is carried out at a current load of 800% of the current carrying capacity (144 Amperes) and direct flame treatment is carried out at a temperature of 960 degrees Celsius. The bead specimens formed from each treatment were examined and tested in the laboratory: chemical composition examination, visual inspection, macro and micro structural examination, hardness testing, and SEM-EDS examination. The difference in the characteristics of the arc bead that is formed under short circuit conditions and overload is that in short circuit conditions the damage point is localized at a certain point, namely at the short circuit contact point, while under overload conditions the point damage is localized at one or several specific locations along the wire. The macro characteristic of arc beads formed under short-circuit and overload conditions is that they contain many cavities and a clear transition boundary between the melted/ re-solidified material and the non-melted material. While the characteristics of the granules in the form of globular formed in the direct flame treatment, do not show sharp transitions between melting/ re-solidified materials. The micro structure of NYM 3x1.5 beads of electrically conducting copper wire material under the treatment conditions: short circuit, overload and direct ignition, is an alpha (α) phase dendritic structure.

Macro encapsulated Cu-based phase change material for high temperature heat storage with characteristic of self-sealing and high durability

The objective of this research is to develop encapsulated phase change materials with applications exceeding 1000 °C that can be applied to concentrated solar power systems and industrial waste heat recovery. In this study, a macro-encapsulation phase change storage material with a copper-based core and an alumina-based shell was developed by slip-casting method and filling mixture of copper beads and Cu-40 %Al powder. The capsule was able to achieve self-sealing by local oxidation reaction at the entrance without leakage. After aging tests at 1100 °C for up to 1000 h, no leakage or damage was found and mass increase of the encapsulate phase change material was only 4.5 %, confirming the superior durability and oxidation resistance of the encapsulated phase change material. The heat storage density of the copper-based phase change material was evaluated as high as 147 J/g. The heat storage capacity did not decrease after 1000 h and ten cycles of aging. The mechanism of its high durability was explored by morphological observations and Raman spectroscopy. In the original material, a small amount of aluminum was oxidized with priority to alumina which significantly enhanced the durability of the capsules. This macro-encapsulated phase change material exhibits excellent thermal storage performance, as well as self-sealing and durability properties, which are of great significance for improving the efficiency of thermal energy recovery above 1000 °C.

A theoretical approach for prediction of temperature and heat flux of copper beads on wood surfaces

AbstractThe present research is dedicated to investigating the fire hazard risks of molten metal particles from electrical wires or devices, in enclosed places (houses, factories, etc.). A mathematical model is proposed for the calculation of the temperature of the molten particles as well as the heat flux they can transfer to the attached surface and the temperature of the attached surface. It is concluded that the probability of fire ignition for a specific bed is a function of the molten particles' diameter and the ratio of the contact to total surface. The proposed model can be used for fire investigation analysis in indoor places due to potential electric faults.

Experimental investigation of melt infiltration and solidification in a pre-heated particle bed

Fluid infiltration, solidification, and remelting in a particle bed are complex phenomena that can occur in the lower head of a reactor pressure vessel (an in-vessel phenomenon) or in the reactor cavity below the vessel (an ex-vessel phenomenon) during a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. When the non-homogeneous corium, consisting of metal and oxide components, reheats, the lower-melting metals will melt first and move downward to the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel. This will change the global debris bed configuration and its physical and chemical properties, and thereby actively influence the accident progression, specifically the mode and timing of possible vessel failure and the melt characteristics upon release. Similar ex-vessel debris can form on the cavity floor below the vessel, which can threaten containment integrity if stable cooling is not established. In this paper, we present an experimental program employing recently constructed MRSPOD (multicomponent remelting, relocation, and solidification in porous debris) facility that mainly investigates melt infiltration, solidification, remelting, and relocation in a particulate debris bed. The facility uses a 12 × 130 cm2 (OD × Length) quartz tube in a cylindrical furnace and allows a debris bed to be configured, heated, and/or pressurized prior to fluid infiltration through the bed. The MRSPOD experiments were instrumented with thermocouples (TCs), fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, laser sensor, video, and infrared cameras, which are essential in describing the overall melt infiltration and solidification behavior. Here, a eutectic Sn–Bi melt with superheat temperature between 50 and 70 °C is poured into a preheated particle bed consisting of 1.5-mm spherical particles made of either copper (Cu), Sn-coated Cu, stainless steel (SS), Sn-coated SS, and/or glass beads to study the effect of thermal properties and wettability on the melt infiltration. Moreover, melt infiltration into a single-layer, multi-layer, and two-columnar particle beds is performed. Measurements from TCs, FBGs, and observations from video cameras have revealed a non-linear kinetics of melt infiltration. Moreover, the extracted ingots after the experiments have shown the complex infiltration process under similar test conditions.

Mechanochemical Approach towards Multi-Functionalized 1,2,3-Triazoles and Anti-Seizure Drug Rufinamide Analogs Using Copper Beads.

Highly regiospecific, copper-salt-free and neat conditions have been demonstrated for the 1,3-dipolar azide-alkyne cycloaddition (AAC) reactions under mechanochemical conditions. A group of structurally challenging alkynes and heterocyclic derivatives was efficiently implemented to achieve highly functionalized 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles in good to excellent yield by using the Cu beads without generation of unwanted byproducts. Furthermore, the high-speed ball milling (HSBM) strategy has also been extended to the synthesis of the commercially available pharmaceutical agent, Rufinamide, an antiepileptic drug (AED) and its analogues. The same strategy was also applied for the synthesis of the Cl-derivative of Rufinamide. Analysis of the single crystal XRD data of the triazole was also performed for the final structural confirmation. The Cu beads are easily recoverable from the reaction mixture and used for the further reactions without any special treatment.

Beads and Globules from Fires: Can They Be Differentiated through Metallurgical Analysis Based on Machine Learning Algorithms?

Electrical apparatuses are prone to faults, which generally causes fires. During such fires, the identification of resolidified copper beads on wires has a strong influence on the direction of the fire investigation. There are four kinds of resolidified beads formed on copper conductors that have been through the fire with and without voltage, namely, ‘cause’ beads (CB), ‘victim’ beads (VB), overload globules (OG), and fire melting globules (FG). First, to improve the identification’s objectivity and quantifiability, we used various morphologic parameters of crystals and porosities to express metallurgical microcharacteristics, such as Ar-G, As-G, An-G, Dm-G, R-G, FD-G, Fm-G, Ar-G, As-P, An-P, Dm-P, R-P, FD-P, Fm-P, P3-P, and Cu2O. Then, several machine learning classifiers were developed to predict the melted beads based on metallurgical morphologic parameters by using SVM, BP neutral network (BPNN), AdaBoost, bagging, and random forest (RF), respectively. Models were trained and tested based on the sample set, consisting of 560 samples which were collected from real room fires. ACC/F1 of the RF model were 0.894/0.805, respectively, which are superior to SVM, BPNN, AdaBoost, and bagging. For the RF classifier, the recall rates of CB, VB, OG, and FG were 92.5%, 67.5%, 100%, and 97.5%, respectively, indicating that RF has best potential to predict OG and FG. The variable importance was analyzed to distinguish key features, and the results revealed that Cu2O has highest impact on bead classification. We cannot find much promise with this method that uses multiple metallurgical and morphological parameters for distinguishing between CB and VB. It is confirmed that no machine learning classifiers combined with metallurgical analysis could do this work well in this paper. Thus, we strongly recommend that other evidence for investigation in the room fire should also be considered to cover the shortage of this kind.

Hydrodynamics and mass transfer enhancement of gas–liquid flow in micropacked bed reactors: Effect of contact angle

AbstractPressure drop, residence time distribution, dispersive behavior, liquid holdup, and mass transfer performance of gas–liquid flow in micropacked bed reactors (μPBRs) with different contact angles (CA) of particles are studied. The value of pressure drop for three types of beads can be obtained: copper beads (CA = 88.1°) &gt; stainless steel beads (CA = 70.2°) &gt; glass beads (CA = 47.1°). The liquid axial dispersion coefficient is 1.58 × 10−6 to 1.07 × 10−5 m2/s for glass beads and copper beads, which is smaller than those of trickle bed reactors. The liquid holdup of 400 μm copper beads is larger than that of 400 μm glass beads. The ratio of effective interfacial area enhancement is evaluated up to 55% for big contact angle beads compared with the hydrophilic glass beads. In addition, correlations of pressure drop, liquid holdup, and effective interfacial area in μPBRs with different wettability beads are developed and predicted values are in agreement with the experimental data.

Encapsulated Copper-Based Phase-Change Materials for High-Temperature Heat Storage.

In this study, a copper-based capsule, encapsulated by a black alumina shell using a simple method, was developed for high-temperature heat storage over 1000 °C. The shell was filled with copper beads (diameter = ∼3 mm), the copper–aluminum (Cu–Al) atomized powder (particle size = 150 μm) was filled in the gap, and then it was heat-treated. This eventually formed a high-density, aluminum-rich network around the Cu beads in the shell. Morphological observations indicated that the corrosion of copper oxide (CuO) on the alumina shell was significantly reduced by mixing Al with Cu. When heat-treated in air at 1100 °C, Cu became CuO, which reacted with Al2O3 to form a new compound, CuAl2O4. Owing to this two-step reaction, the area around the hole provided at the top of the spherical shell gets sealed, thereby suppressing the flow of oxygen into the shell (self-sealing function). The mechanism of in situ sealing was detected using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses. The Cu–(5–10%) Al capsule could endure a 400 h air exposure test at 1100 °C without leakage or cracking. A low weight increase ratio of 3.5% after the exposure revealed good oxidation resistance of the capsule, whereas the slight damage load change of the capsule after the exposure showed good mechanical stability. The results concluded that a Cu–(5–10%) Al capsule for high-temperature heat storage applications above 1000 °C can be fabricated by a simple process, and it demonstrates excellent durability during the long-term air exposure test. The data obtained in this study can be used as a reference for the design of packed beds in the future.

The Powhatan Landscape: An Archaeological History of the Algonquian Chesapeake

The Powhatan Landscape: An Archaeological History of the Algonquian Chesapeake

Accuracy Of 6dof Kinematics Of Tibiofemoral Joint Using High-speed Dfis Combined With 3d Mri Model

Cui Zhang1,2,3,Yu Liu2* and Shaobai Wang21Biomechanics Laboratory, College of Sports and Health, Shandong Sport University, Jinan, China. 2School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China. 3Sports Biomehanics Laboratory, Shandong Institute of Sport Science, Jinan, China.*Yu Liu, (Corresponding author) PURPOSE: To validate the precision, accuracy and consistency of 6DOF movement of Tibiofemoral Joint via a custom high-speed Dual plane Fluoroscopic Imaging System(DFIS) combined with 3D MRI model registration. METHODS: 5 copper beads were embed in tibial and femur of one fresh pig hind leg separately. 3D beads rigid model and 3D skeleton model were reconstructed based on CT and MRI images of the beads and the tibia and femur of the pig hind leg separately. Flexion and extension movement of pig leg were recorded by high-speed DFIS. The registration results of 3D beads rigid model was set as gold standard. Bias, SD of bias, Bland-Altman analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were used to test the precision, accuracy and consistency of 6DOF results of MRI bone model, compare with gold standard. RESULTS: The 6DOF kinematic results of tibiofemoral joint obtained by high speed DFIS combined with MRI 3D bone model registration method was highly correlated to the results obtained by gold standard (r > 0.917). The bias and SD of bias of the anterior-posterior, medial-lateral, superior-inferior transitions, and flexion-extension, varus-valgus, internal-external rotations of tibiofemoral joint were in sub-millimeter and sub-degree level. The mean D-value of 3D MRI bone model registration and gold standard results were uniformly distributed within the consistency interval. CONCLUSION: Combined high-speed DFIS with MRI images to reconstruct 3D skeleton model for registration is a method with high accuracy, precision and consistency, which can be used to measure clinical 6DOF movement and soft tissue contact characteristics of the tibiofemoral joint. Funding was provided by the National Nature Science Foundation of China 81702211; the Movement Science Research Innovation Team(2019-183).

Production Techniques and Microstructures of Copper Granule: Experimental Analysis and Archaeological Case Study

Granulation is a decorative technique for metalwork where tiny granules are used. Recent discoveries in China confirmed that pure copper granulation was employed as early as the seventh century CE. However, the production techniques for copper granule are still unknown. Herein, a systematic study is carried out to produce pure copper granules by using “pouring method”, “heating method”, and “crucible method” to investigate possible techniques of ancient times. The results reveal that copper granules can be produced by the same methods for ancient gold and silver granules. Furthermore, the granule rate during the pouring method is mainly influenced by the cooling media. In addition, the cooling rate and oxygen content significantly affect the microstructure of copper beads. Moreover, metallographic analysis of two archaeological granulated copper pieces of the seventh century CE is carried out to compare the microstructure of copper granules by different simulation experiments. The microstructural analysis indicates that the two ancient copper granules were most likely produced by the crucible method, which is also a preferred choice from the viewpoints of mass production and precise control of granule dimensions. The paper provides a point of departure for future research on the utilization of copper granules in ancient times.

The Galena Objects from Neolithic Ulucak: The Earliest Metallic Finds in Western Turkey

The earliest metal finds in central and eastern Anatolia are small copper and malachite beads dating from the 9th millennium BC onwards. However, the presence of metallic finds in Neolithic contexts from western Anatolia are rarely known. An analysis of metallic finds from Ulucak Höyük shows that galena was used at the site from the early 7th millennium BC to the early 6th millennium BC. Objects made of galena from initial phases at the site are considered personal ornaments, while an&#x0D; increasing number of galena lumps in relation to ovens were found in later phases. Thus, galena finds from Ulucak Höyük suggest that at first this raw material seemed to have been perceived as an exotic “stone”, while a full understanding of its properties may have been developed later.

Modeling and experimental verification of a fractional damping quad-stable energy harvesting system for use in wireless sensor networks

This paper presents the theoretical modeling and experimental verification of a quad-stable non-linear electromagnetic-induction energy harvesting (QEH) system. The suspended magnet of the QEH system consists of two aluminum caps that are circumferentially filled with copper beads for smooth axial movement. A QEH system model having fractional damping is established. Experimental investigations reveal non-linear phenomena of magnet movement such as chaos and bifurcations. The quad-stable mechanism is analyzed by virtue of Poincaré sections, bifurcation diagrams, and stroboscopic sampling in relation to the suspended magnet length and QEH system configurations. The results indicate that the length of the suspended magnet is a key parameter, and its change can give rise to the subcritical and super pitchfork bifurcations as well as the saddle-node bifurcations. Compared with the linear oscillator and mono-stable nonlinear system, the QEH system by magnetic levitation oscillations can stimulate more singular points (i.e. equilibrium points) of the magnetic force potential, and thus possesses the capability of energy harvesting across a wider frequency range as well as deliver more output current to the electric load through snap-through movements of suspended magnets. Therefore it is capable of directly driving sensor circuits for use in the wireless sensor network.

Copper Bead Therapy in Severe Bone Infection: A Rabbit Tibial Model.

We investigated the benefits of a local preventive therapy based on copper beads against severe bone infection using a rabbit open tibial fracture model. Cotton mesh balls soaked in a very high concentration of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 culture were inoculated in drilled holes of the tibiae of treated and control groups. The treated group was also implanted with small copper beads simultaneously, as prevention therapy. Survival rate in the treated group was 67% compared with 25% in the control group (difference 40%, for a 95% confidence interval: 40%, 93.4%). The few remaining animals in the control group had bone lesions which developed into osteomyelitis, while the tibiae of treated group had clear signs of reparatory processes. Sixty days after inoculation, signs of local-only toxicity were observed in healthy tibia of a separate non-infected control group. Drawbacks of copper toxicity were weighed against the threat of septicaemia and also against prolonged use of powerful systemic antibiotic medications in severe bone contamination. It was found that the proposed therapy prevented septicaemia and the spread of infection, and it also induced reparatory processes. The findings of this study may be relevant in antisepsis of open fractures in less appropriate medical settings (such as military camps or remote locations), as well as in severe bone infections.

Tribo-charging of binary mixtures composed of coarse and fine particles in gas–solid pipe flow

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of adding fines on the tribo-charging of coarse glass beads. Four types of fines, i.e., copper, stainless steel, uncoated and silver-coated fine glass beads, mixed with 240–830μm glass beads were conveyed by air through a stainless-steel spiral pipe acting as a tribo-charger. Regardless of the type or electrical conductivity of the fine particles tested, adding small amounts of fines (up to 10wt%) to coarse glass beads resulted in a sharp increase in the mass and surface charge densities of the particles. In general, the profiles of the mass and surface charge densities of the fine–coarse particle mixtures as a function of the mixture composition were determined by the relative magnitude of contact potential differences and the total surface areas of all the components. The dominant particle tribo-electrification mechanism switched from coarse particle–wall contacts to fine particle–wall contacts when the fines weight percentage in the mixture exceeded 10%. A model was developed to predict the mass charge density of binary mixtures as a function of the mixture composition.

NanoRocks: Design and performance of an experiment studying planet formation on the International Space Station.

In an effort to better understand the early stages of planet formation, we have developed a 1.5U payload that flew on the International Space Station (ISS) in the NanoRacks NanoLab facility between September 2014 and March 2016. This payload, named NanoRocks, ran a particle collision experiment under long-term microgravity conditions. The objectives of the experiment were (a) to observe collisions between mm-sized particles at relative velocities of < 1 cm/s and (b) to study the formation and disruption of particle clusters for different particle types and collision velocities. Four types of particles were used: mm-sized acrylic, glass, and copper beads and 0.75 mm-sized JSC-1 lunar regolith simulant grains. The particles were placed in sample cells carved out of an aluminum tray. This tray was attached to one side of the payload casing with three springs. Every 60 s, the tray was agitated, and the resulting collisions between the particles in the sample cells were recorded by the experiment camera. During the 18 months the payload stayed on ISS, we obtained 158 videos, thus recording a great number of collisions. The average particle velocities in the sample cells after each shaking event were around 1 cm/s. After shaking stopped, the inter-particle collisions damped the particle kinetic energy in less than 20 s, reducing the average particle velocity to below 1 mm/s, and eventually slowing them to below our detection threshold. As the particle velocity decreased, we observed the transition from bouncing to sticking collisions. We recorded the formation of particle clusters at the end of each experiment run. This paper describes the design and performance of the NanoRocks ISS payload.

Intensification of degradation of Sunset Yellow using packed bed in a pulsed high-voltage hybrid gas-liquid discharge system: Optimization of operating parameters, degradation mechanism and pathways

The degradation of Sunset Yellow simulated wastewater with a pulsed high-voltage hybrid gas-liquid discharge (PHVHGLD) method was investigated. Packed bed was introduced between two electrodes. Both conducting particles (copper beads and stainless steel beads) and non-conducting particles (activated carbon beads, activated alumina beads, silica gel beads, 3A molecular sieve beads, glass beads and ceramic alumina beads) were selected as the packed bed. The degradation efficiency with conducting particles as the packed bed was higher than that with non-conducting particles. Effects of discharge distance, Fe2+ concentration and several solution conditions on the degradation of Sunset Yellow were studied. Moreover, the effect of Fe2+ concentration on the Sunset Yellow degradation followed the Second-order-kinetics well. The degradation efficiency of simulated wastewater of Sunset Yellow could reach up to 93.8% under the optimal conditions. The degradation mechanism for Sunset Yellow and identification of by-products formed during the degradation process were investigated by UV–vis spectral, FTIR spectral, IC and GC–MS analyses of treated wastewater, based on which a possible degradation pathway for Sunset Yellow using PHVHGLD with a packed bed system was proposed. The PHVHGLD with a packed bed system is a promising technology for dye wastewater treatment.

Experimental analysis of nanofluid pool boiling heat transfer in copper bead packed porous layers

Coupling the nanofluid as working fluid and the copper beads packed porous structure on heating surface were employed to enhance the pool boiling heat transfer by changing the fluid properties with the adjunction of nanoparticles in liquid and altering the heating surface with a bead porous layer. Due to the higher thermal conductivity, the copper beads served as an extended heating surface and the boiling nucleation sites rose, but the flow resistance increased. The CuO–water and SiO2–water nanofluids as well as the pure water were respectively employed as working fluids in the pool boiling experiments. Comparing with the base fluid of water, the higher thermal conductivity and lower surface tension occur in the nanofluids and those favor the boiling heat transfer, but the higher viscosity and density of nanofluids serve as deteriorative factors. So, the concentration region of the nanofluids should be chosen properly. The maximum relative error between the collected experimental data of the pure water on a flat surface and the theoretical prediction of pool boiling using the Rohsenow correlation was less than 12 %. The comparisons of the pool boiling heat transfer characteristics were also conducted between the pure water and the nanofluids respectively on the horizontal flat surface and on the heating surface packed with a copper bead porous layer. Besides, the boiling bubble generation, integration and departure have a great affect on the pool boiling and were recorded with a camera in the bead stacked porous structures at different heat flux.