Uniform Liquid Layer Research Articles

Modeling of Acoustic Coupling of Ultrasonic Probes for High-Speed Rail Track Inspection

The paper presents the modeling of transmission of the ultrasonic plane wave through an uniform liquid layer. The considered sources of the ultrasonic wave were normal (straight) beam longitudinal wave probes and angle beam sheer waves probes commonly used in non-destructive testing. Coupling losses (CL) introduced by the presence of the coupling layer are discussed and determined applying the numerical procedure. The modeling applies to both monochromatic waves and short ultrasonic pulses with a specified frequency bandwidth. Model implementation and validation was performed using a specialized software. The predictions of the model were confirmed by coupling losses measurements for a normal beam longitudinal wave probe with a delay line made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The developed model can be useful in designing ultrasonic probes for high-speed rail track inspections, especially for establishing the optimal thickness of the water coupling layer and estimation of coupling losses, due to inevitable changes of the water gap during mobile rail inspection.

Superspreading-Based Fabrication of Thermostable Nanoporous Polyimide Membranes for High Safety Separators of Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The development of thermally stable separators is a promising approach to address the safety issues of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to the serious shrinkage of commercial polyolefin separators at elevated temperatures. However, achieving controlled nanopores with a uniform size distribution in thermostable polymeric separators and high electrochemical performance is still a great challenge. In this study, nanoporous polyimide (PI) membranes with excellent thermal stability as high-safety separators is developed for LIBs using a superspreading strategy. The superspreading of polyamic acid solutions enables the generation of thin and uniform liquid layers, facilitating the formation of thin PI membranes with controllable and uniform nanopores with narrow size distribution ranging from 121±5nm to 86±6nm. Such nanoporous PI membranes display excellent structural stability at elevated temperatures up to 300°C for at least 1h. LIBs assembled with nanoporous PI membranes as separators show high specific capacity and Coulombic efficiency and can work normally after transient treatment at a high temperature (150°C for 20min) and high ambient temperature, indicating their promising application as high-safety separators for rechargeable batteries.

Superheating of grain boundaries within bulk colloidal crystals

Whether grain boundaries (GBs) premelt is a longstanding question, because of the difficulty of direct experimental tests. Here, we focused an optical beam to locally heat single GBs within bulk hard-sphere colloidal crystals, observing the melting dynamics at single-particle resolution by video microscopy. The melting point is determined by analysing both the Lindemann parameter and the critical nucleus size for homogeneous nucleation. We found that all the GBs, including the high-energy GBs, can be superheated and melt via a heterogeneous nucleation mechanism. Based on the classical nucleation theory of GBs, we measured the incubation time and contact angle of the critical nucleus to compute all relevant kinetic factors, as well as the energy barrier, nucleation rate and the diffusion coefficient at the solid–liquid interface under weak superheating. The superheat limits of GBs with various misorientations have also been measured to further explore the instability mechanism. Under traditional uniform heating, premelting occurs only at triple junctions, whereas GBs retain their original structures up to the melting point. The premelted regions at triple junctions further interrupt high-energy GBs from superheating, through intrusion by uniform liquid layers. Overall, our experiments confirm the existence of superheating of GBs.

Surface waves propagation in a homogeneous liquid layer overlying a monoclinic half-space

This article includes an analytical investigation of the surface waves propagation in a uniform liquid layer overlying a homogeneous anisotropic (monoclinic) half-space. The waves are allowed to propagate through the interface, i.e., between the layer and the medium. Basic arithmetic procedures are employed to derive the dispersion equation for surface waves propagation. A comprising study is accomplished through numerical estimation to study the behavior of surface waves. Further analysis of surface waves in the absence of a liquid layer manifests that the phase velocity equation loses its dispersity like waves propagation in an isotropic medium. Some particular cases are extracted from the dispersion equation by taking correspondence with the results. Graphical software has been emerged to establish a criterion for the usefulness of several parameters discussed.

Effect of porosity on the reflection and refraction coefficients in a liquid saturated porous half-space beneath liquid layer

The reflection and refraction of Rayleigh wave has been contemplated in a liquid saturated porous layer beneath uniform liquid layer. In this paper, analytical expression for reflection and refraction coefficients of three types of wave’s fast dilatational wave, slow dilatational wave and SV-wave are procured. It can be found that the reflection and refraction coefficient dependency on porosity and angle of incidence are well. For the numerical interpretation of the results a specific model is chosen. The discussions are done with the help of graphs drawn for reflection and refraction coefficient with angle of incidence.

Analysis of Surface Waves in an Elastic Medium with Aquifer

We study propagation of seismoacoustic waves in a three-layer medium consisting of a homogeneous isotropic solid deformable layer loaded on a uniform liquid layer above a homogeneous isotropic solid half-space. This medium models a geological section in which the top soil layer is separated from the deep rock by an aquifer. The dispersion relation is obtained and analyzed, and its solutions for cases that are important from the practical point of view are presented. Features of the dispersion curves and spatial distribution of the mode fields made it possible not only to reveal the existence of an aquifer under the top soil layer, but also determine its thickness and depth. It is shown that the ratio of vertical and horizontal components of the displacement vector measured on the Earth’s surface is a significant parameter for solving the geological medium reconstruction problem.

Free-surface flow in horizontally rotating cylinder: experiment and simulation

The horizontal centrifugal casting process targets on a liquid layer with a uniform thickness. To achieve this, the rotations of the mold have to be large enough so that the liquid can pick up the speed of the mold. In the present paper, an experiment was conducted using a laboratory plexi-glass mold with water as a working fluid. Starting with an initial volume fraction of liquid resting in the bottom of the mold, the mold rotations were gradually increased from 0 rpm to max rpm and a new position of the contact line was recorded. In addition, first critical rpm was recorded, at which the transition from the liquid pool to a uniform liquid layer occurred. While gradually going back from max rpm to 0 rpm, second critical rpm was recorded, at which the uniform liquid layer collapsed. The experiment was compared with the numerical simulation solving the modified shallow water equations using the Newton-Raphsonmethod with the Wallington filter.

Структура смежных течений у нагретой границы жидкости и пористой среды

We consider a structure of laminar convective boundary layer near the heated interface between the homogeneous liquid and Brinkman porous medium is saturated with the same liquid. The interface is heated uniformly. It has the constant temperature. We get the self-similar form of the convection equations in the boundary layer approximation. Also, we assume the power-law dependence of the medium permeability on the longitudinal coordinate. The self-similar profiles of the velocity and temperature in the both media are calculated with the different values of the liquid parameters, heat intensity and porous media properties. The velocity maximum always places in the uniform liquid layer. The self-similar solutions for velocity and temperature have a weak dependence on the heating intensity and porous medium parameters. Therefore, the obtained solution can be considered as universal in the first approximation. The dependencies of flow velocity on the control parameters in characteristic points are obtained. They are maximum velocity position and the interface between media. The flow velocity is almost proportional to the interface temperature. The main control parameter is the Prandtl number. Its’ growth leads to the flow deceleration and viscous boundary layer expansion. Received 14.10.2016; accepted 10.11.2016

Surface wave propagation in sandy layer overlying a liquid saturated porous half-space and lying under a uniform liquid layer

ABSTRACTDispersion of Rayleigh-type surface waves is studied in a sandy layer under a uniform layer of homogeneous liquid lying over liquid-saturated porous solid half-space. The frequency equation in the form of a ninth-order determinant is obtained and evaluated. Special cases have been deduced and dispersion curves for the phase velocity and wave number have been plotted for a particular model.

Simultaneous multilayer coating of water-based and alcohol-based solutions

Multilayer continuous liquid coating is the most efficient way to manufacture films that require more than one layer for optimal performance. Two-layer slot coating is one of the different coating methods largely used to deposit two thin, uniform liquid layers onto a moving substrate. In recent years, the operating conditions and solution properties which are required to avoid various coating defects have been discussed in the literature. However, these past studies have not focused on the problem of top layer dewetting, which may occur at some operating conditions. It is important to include in the operating window of the process, the region of the parameter space at which the top layer dewetting is avoided. In this work, we used water-based and alcohol-based solutions to create two-layer films over a moving substrate using a two-layer slot coating die. The critical operating condition at which top layer dewetting is observed is determined experimentally for different liquid viscosities, surface tensions, and wet thicknesses. A physical mechanism that explains the reported phenomenon is proposed. The results show how dewetting can be avoided by controlling the liquid properties (surface tension and viscosity) and wet thickness of each layer and will certainly help the design of two-layer slot coating processes.

Total reflection infrared spectroscopy of water-ice and frozen aqueous NaCl solutions

Liquid-like and liquid water at and near the surface of water-ice and frozen aqueous sodium chloride films were observed using attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). The concentration of NaCl ranged from 0.0001 to 0.01 M and the temperature varied from the melting point of water down to 256 K. The amount of liquid brine at the interface of the frozen films with the germanium ATR crystal increased with salt concentration and temperature. Experimental spectra are compared to reflection spectra calculated for a simplified morphology of a uniform liquid layer between the germanium crystal and the frozen film. This morphology allows for the amount of liquid observed in an experimental spectrum to be converted to the thickness of a homogenous layer with an equivalent amount of liquid. These equivalent thickness ranges from a nanometer for water-ice at 260 K to 170 nm for 0.01 M NaCl close to the melting point. The amounts of brine observed are over an order of magnitude less than the total liquid predicted by equilibrium thermodynamic models, implying that the vast majority of the liquid fraction of frozen solutions may be found in internal inclusions, grain boundaries, and the like. Thus, the amount of liquid and the solutes dissolved in them that are available to react with atmospheric gases on the surfaces of snow and ice are not well described by thermodynamic equilibrium models which assume the liquid phase is located entirely at the surface.

The spatio-temporal structure of wideband acoustic pulses in shallow sea

We study the influence of a bottom-sediment layer on the spatio-temporal structure of wideband acoustic pulses in shallow sea. The shallow sea is modeled as a uniform liquid layer above a layer of liquid sediments located on an elastic half-space. The influence of various acoustic parameters of the problem, in particular the thickness of the sedimentary layer, damping parameters, etc. on the structure of wideband pulses is considered. We analyze the features of constructive mode interference due to which the spatial structure of the pulses takes the form of beams.

Topography evolution in convergent flows of two liquid layers

We have recently developed a two-layer model that considers the convergent motion of two initially uniform liquid layer with different densities and viscosities and assumes that the flow is due to the basal traction that acts at the bottom of the lower layer. We have used this model to describe successfully the evolution of mountains belts (Perazzo & Gratton, Phys. Fluids 22, 056603, 2010). In this work we discuss how to modify our model to also describe the formation of plateaus. To this end we assume that below of a given level the viscosity of the upper layer drops abruptly, and in consequence the flow of this layer becomes decoupled of the motion of the lower region of the system.

Surface wave propagation in fiber-reinforced anisotropic elastic layer between liquid saturated porous half space and uniform liquid layer

Surface wave propagation in fiber-reinforced anisotropic elastic layer between a liquid saturated porous half space and a uniform liquid layer is considered. Equation of motion and suitable boundary conditions give rise to a dispersion equation in the form of a ninth order determinant. Phase velocity and group velocity of a particular model have been studied.

Two-layer tensioned-web-over-slot die coating: Effect of operating conditions on coating window

Tensioned-web-over-slot die (TWOSD) coating deploys elastohydrodynamic interaction to control the distance between the moving substrate and the coating die lip surface in order to be able to coat an ultra-thin liquid layer. Dual slot TWOSD coating is designed to deposit two thin uniform liquid layers onto a moving web simultaneously. Like in the fixed-gap dual slot coating, the interlayer separation point needs to be at the downstream corner of the mid lip in order to prevent coating defects. Different flow features, like weeping, bead breakup and feed slot vortices, limit the range of operating parameters that ensures uniform coating, and define the operating window of the process. In this study, we analyze dual slot TWOSD coating flow by solving the Navier–Stokes equation coupled with thin cylindrical shell equation using the finite element method. The boundaries in the parameter space that define the operating window or vortex-free window are automatically computed by a direct tracking method of flow features. The effect of operating conditions, such as liquid viscosity, web tension and web speed, on the critical layer thickness at which the coating becomes non-uniform is determined by this study.

Mid-gap invasion in two-layer slot coating

Multi-layer, continuous liquid coating is the most efficient way to manufacture films that require more than one layer for optimal performance. Dual-layer slot coating is one of different coating methods largely used to deposit two thin, uniform liquid layers on to a moving substrate. The two liquid phases are separated by an inter-layer that starts at the separation point (or line, in three dimensions) attached to the die surface. The stability of the two-phase flow and the location of the separation point are directly related to the quality of the final product. Ideally, the separation point should be attached to the downstream corner of the mid die piece of a dual slot-coating die. However, its location may change as operating conditions vary, leading to undesired flow states, with microvortices and periodic oscillation. The movement of the separation point from its desired location along the die surface is usually referred to as mid-gap invasion and can be associated with the onset of coating defects. It is crucial to determine the set of flow conditions at which it occurs. We study the evolution of the separation-point location and the inter-layer configuration as a function of operating conditions by flow visualization and by solving the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equation for free-surface flows. The results reveal two different mechanisms for mid-gap invasion, depending on the viscosity ratio of the two liquid layers. They also show that the most critical parameter responsible for the onset of mid-gap invasion is the bottom-layer wet thickness (flow rate). Although the movement of the separation point involves an evolution of complex flow states, a simple but accurate criterion based on rectilinear flow approximation is proposed.

Surface wave propagation in a fluid-saturated incompressible porous medium

A study of surface wave propagation in a fluid-saturated incompressible porous half-space lying under a uniform layer of liquid is presented. The dispersion relation connecting the phase velocity with wave number is derived. The variation of phase velocity and attenuation coefficients with wave number is presented graphically and discussed. As a particular case, the propagation of Rayleigh type surface waves at the free surface of an incompressible porous half-space is also deduced and discussed.

Simulation study of process latitude for liquid immersion lithography

A simulation package has been developed for predicting the influence of immersion, i.e., the presence of a uniform liquid layer between the last objective lens and the photoresist, on optical projection lithography. This technology has engendered considerable interest in the microlithography community during the past year, as it enables the real part of the index of refraction in the image space, and thus the numerical aperture of the projection system, to be greater than unity. The simulation program described here involves a Maxwell vector solution approach, including polarization effects and arbitrary thin film multilayers. We examine here the improvement in process window afforded by immersion under a variety of conditions, including λ = 193 nm and 157 nm, annular illumination, and the use of alternating phase shift mask technology. Immersion allows printing of dense lines and spaces as small as 45 nm with acceptable process window. We also examine the effect of variations in liquid index on the process window and conclude that the index of the liquid must be known to and maintained within a few parts per million. This has important implications for the temperature control required in future liquid immersion projection systems.

Novel liquid blanket configurations and their hydrodynamic analyses for innovative confinement concepts

Hydrodynamics analyses as a part of the APEX (advanced power extraction) study demonstrates the potential application of applying swirling thick liquid walls to innovative confinement concepts such as field reversed configuration (FRC), spherical torus (ST) and heavy-ion fusion (HIF). This paper addresses the design and the hydrodynamic aspects of fusion relevant swirling flow including 3-D velocity distribution, variations of the flow height in axial and azimuthal directions and hydrodynamic flow stability. Numerical hydrodynamic analyses using a 3-D code with Flibe as the working fluid, shows that a thick liquid first-wall/blanket (>0.6 m) can be maintained in a circular vacuum chamber of 2 m radius by injecting the liquid layer from one side through a swirl flow generating inlet with axial (7 m/s) and azimuthal (10 m/s) velocity components. Parametric computational study indicated that the liquid layer thickness in axial and azimuthal directions is strongly dependent on the inlet axial, azimuthal velocity values and gravitational acceleration. It also shows that a uniform liquid layer thickness can be maintained for axial and azimuthal inlet velocities of 11 and 13 m/s in a cylindrical chamber with a 2 m radius and 12 m length. The swirling liquid wall idea is applied successfully to ST and HIF configurations. A 2D linear stability analysis using potential flow theory (Reynolds number is ∼10 6 for liquid wall thickness of ∼0.5 m) of the swirling flow in the azimuthal flow direction suggested that mean flow is stable when the surface tension, gravitational acceleration, and the centrifugal force effects are considered.

Surface-wave propagation in a cracked poroelastic half-space lying under a uniform layer of fluid

The effect of cracks on the elastic properties of an isotropic elastic solid is studied when the cracks are saturated with a soft fluid. A polynomial equation in effective Poisson's ratio is obtained, whose coefficients are functions of Poisson's ratio of the uncracked solid, crack density and saturating fluid parameter. Elastic and dynamical constants used in Blot's theory of wave propagation in poroelastic solids are modified for the introduction of cracks. The effects of cracks on the velocities of three types of waves are observed numerically. The frequency equation is derived for the propagation of Rayleigh-type surface waves in a saturated poroelastic half-space lying under a uniform layer of liquid. Dispersion curves for a particular model of oceanic crust containing cracks are plotted. The effects of variations in crack density and saturation on the phase and group velocity are also analysed.