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Conductive
Terms modified by Conductive Selected AbstractsProbing Biomolecular Interactions at Conductive and Semiconductive Surfaces by Impedance Spectroscopy: Routes to Impedimetric Immunosensors, DNA-Sensors, and Enzyme BiosensorsELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 11 2003Eugenii Katz Abstract Impedance spectroscopy is a rapidly developing electrochemical technique for the characterization of biomaterial-functionalized electrodes and biocatalytic transformations at electrode surfaces, and specifically for the transduction of biosensing events at electrodes or field-effect transistor devices. The immobilization of biomaterials, e.g., enzymes, antigens/antibodies or DNA on electrodes or semiconductor surfaces alters the capacitance and interfacial electron transfer resistance of the conductive or semiconductive electrodes. Impedance spectroscopy allows analysis of interfacial changes originating from biorecognition events at electrode surfaces. Kinetics and mechanisms of electron transfer processes corresponding to biocatalytic reactions occurring at modified electrodes can be also derived from Faradaic impedance spectroscopy. Different immunosensors that use impedance measurements for the transduction of antigen-antibody complex formation on electronic transducers were developed. Similarly, DNA biosensors using impedance measurements as readout signals were developed. Amplified detection of the analyte DNA using Faradaic impedance spectroscopy was accomplished by the coupling of functionalized liposomes or by the association of biocatalytic conjugates to the sensing interface providing biocatalyzed precipitation of an insoluble product on the electrodes. The amplified detections of viral DNA and single-base mismatches in DNA were accomplished by similar methods. The changes of interfacial features of gate surfaces of field-effect transistors (FET) upon the formation of antigen-antibody complexes or assembly of protein arrays were probed by impedance measurements and specifically by transconductance measurements. Impedance spectroscopy was also applied to characterize enzyme-based biosensors. The reconstitution of apo-enzymes on cofactor-functionalized electrodes and the formation of cofactor-enzyme affinity complexes on electrodes were probed by Faradaic impedance spectroscopy. Also biocatalyzed reactions occurring on electrode surfaces were analyzed by impedance spectroscopy. The theoretical background of the different methods and their practical applications in analytical procedures were outlined in this article. [source] A Study of the Determination of Cu(II) by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry on a Novel Nylon/Carbon Fiber ElectrodeELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 7 2004A. Mylonakis Abstract In this work we report a new electrode material formed by injection-moulding of a conducting polymer consisting of carbon fibers in a Nylon matrix. This material is highly conductive, inexpensive, easy to mould in different shapes and requires minimal pretreatment. The electrode was tested as a mercury-free sensor for the trace determination of Cu(II) by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). The deposition and stripping behavior of copper on the conducting material was initially studied by cyclic voltammetry and the chemical and instrumental parameters of the determination were investigated. The electrode has been shown to be suitable for the determination of Cu(II) in the range 8,,g L,1 to 30,mg,L,1 (with deposition times ranging from 30,s to 10,min) with a relative standard deviation of 2.2% (at the 0.5,mg,L,1 level) and a limit of detection of 8,,g L,1 Cu(II) for 10,min of accumulation (at a S/N ratio of 5). The electrode was, finally, applied to the determination of copper in tap-water, pharmaceutical tablets and bovine serum with recoveries of 97.4, 94.9 and 93.4%, respectively [source] Electroanalysis at Diamond-Like and Doped-Diamond ElectrodesELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 17 2003Richard Abstract Diamond as a high performance material occupies a special place due to its in many ways extreme properties, e.g., hardness, chemical inertness, thermal conductivity, optical properties, and electric characteristics. Work mainly over the last decade has shown that diamond also occupies a special place as an electrode material with interesting applications in electroanalysis. When made sufficiently electrically conducting for example by boron-doping, ,thin film' and ,free,standing' diamond electrodes exhibit remarkable chemical resistance to etching, a wide potential window, low background current responses, mechanical stability towards ultrasound induced interfacial cavitation, a low ,stickiness' in adsorption processes, and a high degree of ,tunability' of the surface properties. This review summarizes some of the recent work aimed at applying conductive (boron-doped) diamond electrodes to improve procedures in electroanalysis. [source] Probing Biomolecular Interactions at Conductive and Semiconductive Surfaces by Impedance Spectroscopy: Routes to Impedimetric Immunosensors, DNA-Sensors, and Enzyme BiosensorsELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 11 2003Eugenii Katz Abstract Impedance spectroscopy is a rapidly developing electrochemical technique for the characterization of biomaterial-functionalized electrodes and biocatalytic transformations at electrode surfaces, and specifically for the transduction of biosensing events at electrodes or field-effect transistor devices. The immobilization of biomaterials, e.g., enzymes, antigens/antibodies or DNA on electrodes or semiconductor surfaces alters the capacitance and interfacial electron transfer resistance of the conductive or semiconductive electrodes. Impedance spectroscopy allows analysis of interfacial changes originating from biorecognition events at electrode surfaces. Kinetics and mechanisms of electron transfer processes corresponding to biocatalytic reactions occurring at modified electrodes can be also derived from Faradaic impedance spectroscopy. Different immunosensors that use impedance measurements for the transduction of antigen-antibody complex formation on electronic transducers were developed. Similarly, DNA biosensors using impedance measurements as readout signals were developed. Amplified detection of the analyte DNA using Faradaic impedance spectroscopy was accomplished by the coupling of functionalized liposomes or by the association of biocatalytic conjugates to the sensing interface providing biocatalyzed precipitation of an insoluble product on the electrodes. The amplified detections of viral DNA and single-base mismatches in DNA were accomplished by similar methods. The changes of interfacial features of gate surfaces of field-effect transistors (FET) upon the formation of antigen-antibody complexes or assembly of protein arrays were probed by impedance measurements and specifically by transconductance measurements. Impedance spectroscopy was also applied to characterize enzyme-based biosensors. The reconstitution of apo-enzymes on cofactor-functionalized electrodes and the formation of cofactor-enzyme affinity complexes on electrodes were probed by Faradaic impedance spectroscopy. Also biocatalyzed reactions occurring on electrode surfaces were analyzed by impedance spectroscopy. The theoretical background of the different methods and their practical applications in analytical procedures were outlined in this article. [source] Contact Angle Analysis During the Electro-oxidation of Self-Assembled Monolayers Formed by n -OctadecyltrichlorosilaneADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 19 2010Nicole Herzer Abstract The electrochemical oxidation process of self-assembled monolayers formed by n -octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) molecules on silicon wafers has been studied in a droplet of water by means of in situ water contact angle measurements. The application of different bias voltages between the substrate and a counter electrode placed into the droplet resulted in changes of the chemical nature of the monolayer, which yielded a significant alteration of the surfaces properties. Due to the changes of the wetting properties of the monolayer during the electro-oxidation process a change in the contact angles of the water droplet is concomitantly observed. This allows the in situ monitoring of the electro-oxidation process for large modified areas of several millimeters in diameter. The chosen approach represents an easy way to screen the major parameters that influence the oxidation process. Afterwards, the oxidized regions are characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations to obtain more information about the electro-oxidation process. The observations are correlated to experimental results obtained for oxidations performed on a smaller dimension range in the water meniscus of a conductive, biased AFM tip. A good correlation of the results in the different dimension ranges could be found. [source] A Transparent, Flexible, Low-Temperature, and Solution-Processible Graphene Composite ElectrodeADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 17 2010Haixin Chang Abstract The synthesis and preparation of a new type of graphene composite material suitable for spin-coating into conductive, transparent, and flexible thin film electrodes in ambient conditions is reported here for the first time. Solution-processible graphene with diameter up to 50 ,m is synthesized by surfactant-assisted exfoliation of graphite oxide and in situ chemical reduction in a large quantity. Spin-coating the mixing solution of surfactant-functionalized graphene and PEDOT:PSS yields the graphene composite electrode (GCE) without the need for high temperature annealing, chemical vapor deposition, or any additional transfer-printing process. The conductivity and transparency of GCE are at the same level as those of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. Importantly, it exhibits high stability (both mechanical and electrical) in bending tests of at least 1000 cycles. The performance of organic light-emitting diodes based on a GCE anode is comparable, if not superior, to that of OLEDs made with an ITO anode. [source] Glass Fibers with Carbon Nanotube Networks as Multifunctional SensorsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 12 2010Shang-lin Gao Abstract A simple approach to deposit multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) networks onto glass fiber surfaces achieving semiconductive MWNT,glass fibers is reported, along with application of fiber/polymer interphases as in-situ multifunctional sensors. This approach demonstrates for the first time that the techniques of conducting electrical resistance measurements could be applicable to glass fibers for in situ sensing of strain and damage; the techniques were previously limited to conductive and semiconductive materials. The electrical properties of the single MWNT,glass fiber and the "unidirectional" fiber/epoxy composite show linear or nonlinear stress/strain, temperature, and relative humidity dependencies, which are capable of detecting piezoresistive effects as well as the local glass transition temperature. The unidirectional composites containing MWNT,glass fibers exhibit ultrahigh anisotropic electrical properties and an ultralow electrical percolation threshold. Based on this approach, the glass fiber,the most widely used reinforcement in composites globally,along with the surface electrical conductivity of MWNTs will stimulate and realize a broad range of multifunctional applications. [source] Restoration of Conductivity with TTF-TCNQ Charge-Transfer SaltsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 11 2010Susan A. Odom Abstract The formation of the conductive TTF-TCNQ (tetrathiafulvalene,tetracyanoquinodimethane) charge-transfer salt via rupture of microencapsulated solutions of its individual components is reported. Solutions of TTF and TCNQ in various solvents are separately incorporated into poly(urea-formaldehyde) core,shell microcapsules. Rupture of a mixture of TTF-containing microcapsules and TCNQ-containing microcapsules results in the formation of the crystalline salt, as verified by FTIR spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. Preliminary measurements demonstrate the partial restoration of conductivity of severed gold electrodes in the presence of TTF-TCNQ derived in situ. This is the first microcapsule system for the restoration of conductivity in mechanically damaged electronic devices in which the repairing agent is not conductive until its release. [source] Preparation of High-Performance Conductive Polymer Fibers through Morphological Control of Networks Formed by NanofillersADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 9 2010Hua Deng Abstract A general method is described to prepare high-performance conductive polymer fibers or tapes. In this method, bicomponent tapes/fibers containing two layers of conductive polymer composites (CPCs) filled with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) or carbon black (CB) based on a lower-melting-temperature polymer and an unfilled polymer core with higher melting temperature are fabricated by a melt-based process. Morphological control of the conductive network formed by nanofillers is realized by solid-state drawing and annealing. Information on the morphological and electrical change of the highly oriented conductive nanofiller network in CPC bicomponent tapes during relaxation, melting, and crystallization of the polymer matrix is reported for the first time. The conductivity of these polypropylene tapes can be as high as 275,S,m,1 with tensile strengths of around 500,MPa. To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the most conductive, high-strength polymer fiber produced by melt-processing reported in literature, despite the fact that only ,5,wt.% of MWNTs are used in the outer layers of the tape and the overall MWNT content in the bicomponent tape can be much lower (typically ,0.5,wt.%). Their applications could include sensing, smart textiles, electrodes for flexible solar cells, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Furthermore, a modeling approach was used to study the relaxation process of highly oriented conductive networks formed by carbon nanofillers. [source] Comparison between the charring rate model and the conductive model of Eurocode 5FIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 3 2009Paulo B. Cachim Abstract Eurocode 5, Part 1,2, presents several models for the calculation of fire resistance of timber structures. These models are based on the hypothesis that for temperatures above 300°C , wood is no longer able to sustain any stress, which makes the determination of the location of the 300°C isotherm decisive for the result provided by the models. In this paper, the charring rate model and the conductive model presented in Eurocode 5, Part 1,2 are compared regarding the determination of the location of the 300°C isotherm. The main wood parameters investigated are density, moisture content and anisotropy. The almost complete independence of the charring rate model from these parameters leads to some inconsistencies between the models. To reduce these inconsistencies some proposals to improve the conductive and the charring rate models are presented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Sensing of Alkylating Agents Using Organic Field-Effect TransistorsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 1 2010Yair Gannot Abstract Alkylating agents are simple and reactive molecules that are commonly used in many and diverse fields, such as organic synthesis, medicine, and agriculture. Some highly reactive alkylating species are also being used as blister chemical warfare agents. The detection and identification of alkylating agent is not a trivial issue because of their high reactivity and simple structure. Here, a novel polythiophene derivative that is capable of reacting with alkylating agents is reported, along with its application in direct electrical sensing of alkylators using an organic field-effect transistor, OFET, device. Upon reacting with alkylators, the OFET containing the new polythiophene analogue as its channel becomes conductive, and the gate effect is lost; this is in marked contrast to the response of the OFET to "innocent" vapors, such as alcohols and acetone. By following the drain,source current under gate bias, one can easily follow the processes of absorption of the analyte to the polythiophene channel and their subsequent reaction. [source] Connecting Atmosphere and Wetland: Energy and Water Vapour ExchangeGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2008Peter M. Lafleur Wetlands are ubiquitous over the globe, comprise a vast array of ecosystem types and are of great ecological and social importance. Their functioning is intimately tied to the atmosphere by the energy and mass exchanges that take place across the wetland,atmosphere boundary. This article examines recent research into these exchanges, with an emphasis on the water vapour exchange. Although broad classes of wetland type, such as fen, bog and marsh, can be defined using ecological or hydrologic metrics, distinct difference in energy exchanges between the classes cannot be found. This arises because there are many factors that control the energy exchanges and interplay of these factors is unique to every wetland ecosystem. Wetlands are more similar in their radiation balances than in the partitioning of this energy into conductive and turbulent heat fluxes. This is especially true of evapotranspiration (ET) rates, which vary considerably among and within wetland classes. A global survey of wetland ET studies shows that location has little to do with ET rates and that variation in rates is largely determined by local climate and wetland characteristics. Recent modelling studies suggest that although wetlands occupy a small portion of the global land surface, their water and energy exchanges may be important in regional and global climates. Although the number of studies of wetland,atmosphere interactions has increased in recent years more research is needed. Five key areas of study are identified: (i) the importance of moss covers, (ii) lack of study in tropical systems, (iii) inclusion of wetlands in global climate models, (iv) importance of microforms in wetlands and their scaling to the whole ecosystem, and (v) the paucity of annual ET measurements. [source] Electromagnetic fields in a steel-cased boreholeGEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 1 2005Ki Ha Lee ABSTRACT The development of an electromagnetic numerical modelling scheme for a magnetic dipole in an arbitrary casing segment in an inhomogeneous conductivity background has been difficult, due to the very high electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability contrasts between the steel casing and the background medium. To investigate the effect of steel casing efficiently, we have developed an accurate but simple finite-element modelling scheme to simulate electromagnetic fields in a medium of cylindrically symmetric conductivity structures. In order to preserve the cylindrical symmetry in the resulting electromagnetic fields, a horizontal loop current source is used throughout. One of the main advantages of the approach is that the problem is scalar when formulated using the azimuthal electric field, even if the casing is both electrically conductive and magnetically permeable. Field calculations have been made inside the cased borehole as well as in another borehole which is not cased. Careful analyses of the numerical modelling results indicate that the anomaly observed in a cross-borehole configuration is sensitive enough to be used for tomographic imaging. [source] Metal Ion Implantation for the Fabrication of Stretchable Electrodes on ElastomersADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 3 2009Samuel Rosset Abstract Here, the use of low-energy metal ion implantation by filtered cathodic vacuum arc to create highly deformable electrodes on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes is reported. Implantation leads to the creation of nanometer-size clusters in the first 50,nm below the surface. When the elastomer is stretched, these small clusters can move relative to one another, maintaining electrical conduction at strains of up to 175%. Sheet resistance versus ion dose, resistance versus strain, time stability of the resistance, and the impact of implantation on the elastomer's Young's modulus are investigated for gold, palladium, and titanium implantations. Of the three tested metals, gold has the best performance, combining low and stable surface resistance, very high strain capabilities before loss of electrical conduction, and low impact on the Young's modulus of the PDMS membrane. These electrodes are cyclically strained to 30% for more than 105 cycles and remain conductive. In contrast, sputtered or evaporate metals films cease to conduct at strains of order 3%. Additionally, metal ion implantation allows for creating semi-transparent electrodes. The optical transmission through 25-µm-thick PDMS membranes decreases from 90% to 60% for Pd implantations at doses used to make stretchable electrodes. The implantation technique presented here allows the rapid production of reliable stretchable electrodes for a number of applications, including dielectric elastomer actuators and foldable or rollable electronics. [source] The Remarkable Thermal Stability of Amorphous In-Zn-O Transparent Conductors,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 20 2008Matthew P. Taylor Abstract Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are increasingly critical components in photovoltaic cells, low-e windows, flat panel displays, electrochromic devices, and flexible electronics. The conventional TCOs, such as Sn-doped In2O3, are crystalline single phase materials. Here, we report on In-Zn-O (IZO), a compositionally tunable amorphous TCO with some significantly improved properties. Compositionally graded thin film samples were deposited by co-sputtering from separate In2O3 and ZnO targets onto glass substrates at 100,°C. For the metals composition range of 55,84 cation% indium, the as-deposited IZO thin films are amorphous, smooth (RRMS,<,0.4,nm), conductive (,,,,3000,,,1,·,cm,1), and transparent in the visible (TVis,>,90%). Furthermore, the amorphous IZO thin films demonstrate remarkable functional and structural stability with respect to heating up to 600,°C in either air or argon. Hence, though not completely understood at present, these amorphous materials constitute a new class of fundamentally interesting and technologically important high performance transparent conductors. [source] Self-Assembly of DNA-Templated Polypyrrole Nanowires: Spontaneous Formation of Conductive Nanoropes,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 16 2008Stela Pruneanu Abstract Polypyrrole nanowires formed by polymerization of pyrrole on a DNA template self-assemble into rope-like structures. These ,nanoropes' may be quite smooth (diameters 5,30,nm) or may show frayed ends where individual strands are visible. A combination of electric force microscopy, conductive atomic force microscopy and two-terminal current,voltage measurements show that they are conductive. Nanoropes adhere more weakly to hydrophobic surfaces prepared by silanization of SiO2 than to the clean oxide; this effect can be used to aid the combing of the nanoropes across microelectrode devices for electrical characterization. [source] Nanostructured Fe3O4/SWNT Electrode: Binder-Free and High-Rate Li-Ion AnodeADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 20 2010Chunmei Ban Utilizing Fe3O4 nanorods as the active Li+ storage material and 5,wt% carbon single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) as a "conductive net," a Li-ion anode with a high reversible capacity of 1000,mAh,g,1 (,2000,mAh,cm,3) at C rate is demonstrated. The electrodes exhibit high-rate capability and stable capacities of 800,mAh,g,1 at 5C and ,600,mAh,g,1 at 10C. [source] Carbon Nanotube Junctions: Multibranched Junctions of Carbon Nanotubes via Cobalt Particles (Adv. Mater.ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 44 200944/2009) Junctions between different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) created using cobalt particles as central nodes (background) are demonstrated by Ming-Sheng Wang and co-workers on p. 4477. The process involves high-temperature electron irradiation of areas where a metal particle is located at the overlapping region of two CNTs. In situ transmission electron microscopy measurements show that the junctions are electrically conductive and mechanically robust. The extension of this technique towards creating more complicated structures, such as a 3D CNT network, is also depicted in the cover. [source] Multibranched Junctions of Carbon Nanotubes via Cobalt ParticlesADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 44 2009Julio A. Rodríguez-Manzo Junctions between different carbon nanotubes are created using cobalt particles as central nodes (see image). The process involves high temperature and electron irradiation of areas where a metal particle is located at the overlapping region of two nanotubes. In situ transmission electron microscopy measurements show that the junctions are electrically conductive and mechanically robust. A high breaking strength of 1,5,GPa is found for the junctions. [source] Determination of upward/downward groundwater fluxes using transient variations of soil profile temperature: test of the method with Voyons (Aube, France) experimental dataHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 18 2005Hocine Bendjoudi Abstract The temperature variations recorded at several points of a vertical shallow-depth profile are governed both by conductive and convective heat transfers and can be used to calculate the vertical component of the Darcy velocity and thermal diffusivity in the soil. This paper describes such calculations when transient variations over tens of days are considered and tests them using data collected at Voyons (Aube, France). The temperature was recorded during a year and a half period with a 1 h sampling time step at three different depths: 0·2, 0·4 and 0·75 m. By processing the annual variation of temperature, we obtained a value of the Darcy velocity in good agreement with the value of actual/potential evapotranspiration ratio. By processing transient variations, despite the limitation of the calculations due to the lack of sensitivity of the sensors, results obtained at Voyons were in good correlation with tensiometric data. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A finite element porothermoelastic model for dual-porosity mediaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 9 2004R. Nair Abstract An existing dual-porosity finite element model has been extended to include thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling in both media. The model relies on overlapping distinct continua for the fluid and solid domains. In addition, conductive and convective heat transfers are incorporated using a single representative thermodynamics continuum. The model is applied to the problem of an inclined borehole drilled in a fractured formation subjected to a three-dimensional state of stress and, a temperature gradient between the drilling fluid and the formation. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to study the impact of thermal loading, effect of heat transport by pore fluid flow and, the effect of parameters of the secondary medium used to represent the fractures. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Numerical simulation grounding system buried within horizontal multilayer earth in frequency domainINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2007Zhong-Xin Li Abstract A novel mathematical model for accurately calculating the currents flowing along the conductors of grounding system below high voltage a.c. substations and nearby floating metallic structure buried in horizontal multilayer earth model has been developed in this paper. Not only the mutual conductive and capacitive coupling influences of leakage currents, but also mutual inductive coupling influence of network currents flowing along the conductors of grounding system and nearby floating metallic structure in the horizontal multilayer earth model have been considered in this model, and only propagation effect of electromagnetic wave within limited area of the substation has been neglected. The quasi-static complex image method and closed form of Green's function are introduced into this model to accelerate the calculation. The model is then implemented in a computer program, which can be used to calculate currents distribution along the conductors of any configuration of grounding system, and with or without floating metallic structure under some hundreds of kHz frequency harmonic wave. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Localized electrical current propagation in anisotropically perturbed atmospheresINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2010T. I. ZohdiArticle first published online: 29 MAR 2010 Abstract The trajectory of free atmospheric electrical currents, such as lightning and sparks, is strongly influenced by microscale events that occur at the current front. In particular, highly conductive pathways can occur at the free surface front due to dielectric breakdown. The specific directions of the local pathways are minutely perturbed, due to the gaseous, disordered, nature of the media at the small scale. This results in highly conductive, anisotropically perturbed, continuum-level properties at the electrical current front. In this work, a model is developed to investigate the role of the resulting anisotropically perturbed conductivity at the propagation front on the overall trajectory of free atmospheric electrical currents. The approach is to relate the electrical current velocity to the local anisotropic conductivity at the propagation front and the surrounding electric field. The conductive anisotropy is decomposed into an isotropic ,base state' and an anisotropic perturbation. The current trajectory is shown to be governed by a set of non-linear differential equations, for which a numerical solution scheme is developed. The difference between paths taken through anisotropically perturbed and isotropic media is analytically bounded and quantified numerically as a function of the magnitude of the anisotropic perturbation. The analysis and numerical experiments indicate that, in a statistical sense, the difference in the paths taken in anisotropically perturbed and isotropic media depends quasilinearly on the perturbation magnitude. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Thermal Barrier Coatings Design with Increased Reflectivity and Lower Thermal Conductivity for High-Temperature Turbine ApplicationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Matthew J. Kelly High reflectance thermal barrier coatings consisting of 7% Yittria-Stabilized Zirconia (7YSZ) and Al2O3 were deposited by co-evaporation using electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). Multilayer 7YSZ and Al2O3 coatings with fixed layer spacing showed a 73% infrared reflectance maxima at 1.85 ,m wavelength. The variable 7YSZ and Al2O3 multilayer coatings showed an increase in reflection spectrum from 1 to 2.75 ,m. Preliminary results suggest that coating reflectance can be tailored to achieve increased reflectance over a desired wavelength range by controlling the thickness of the individual layers. In addition, microstructural enhancements were also used to produce low thermal conductive and high hemispherical reflective thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) in which the coating flux was periodically interrupted creating modulated strain fields within the TBC. TBC showed no macrostructural differences in the grain size or faceted surface morphology at low magnification as compared with standard TBC. The residual stress state was determined to be compressive in all of the TBC samples, and was found to decrease with increasing number of modulations. The average thermal conductivity was shown to decrease approximately 30% from 1.8 to 1.2 W/m-K for the 20-layer monolithic TBC after 2 h of testing at 1316°C. Monolithic modulated TBC also resulted in a 28% increase in the hemispherical reflectance, and increased with increasing total number of modulations. [source] Noise in lossless microwave multiportsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RF AND MICROWAVE COMPUTER-AIDED ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2004Q. García-García Abstract This article addresses the noise behaviour (noise temperature and noise figure) of some passive microwave multiport circuits. The analysis method is based on the noise-wave formulation. With the exception of the attenuator case, which is used as a reference, the circuit elements considered are lossless devices, in the sense that neither conductive nor dielectric losses are accounted for. The analysis shows that, when connected to matched loads in some of their ports, these multiports circuits lose their lossless nature and their scattering matrix is not unitary; therefore, they generate thermal noise. The article addresses and formalizes mathematically the noise properties of a number of lossless microwave devices such as N -port power splitters, circulators, and hybrid couplers. While the noise-wave mathematical formulation may be cumbersome in some cases, all the devices and configurations analyzed in this work have been characterized in terms of noise figure and noise temperature, which is a much more practical approach in most situations. Some implications of the use of these devices and configurations in antenna arrays for antenna noise temperature evaluations have been also addressed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 14, 99,110, 2004. [source] Dielectric studies of conductive carbon black reinforced microcellular ethylene,propylene,diene monomer vulcanizatesJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 1 2007S. P. Mahapatra Abstract The alternating-current and electrical conductivity of conductive, carbon black reinforced, microcellular ethylene,propylene,diene monomer vulcanizates was measured in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz. The effects of variations in the filler and blowing-agent loadings on the dielectric constant and percolation behavior were studied. The phenomenon of percolation was examined on the basis of measured changes in the electrical conductivity and morphology of composites with different concentrations of the filler. Scanning electron microphotographs showed the agglomeration of the filler above these concentrations and the formation of a continuous network structure. The experimental results were not in agreement with the predictions of the statistical percolation theory; this deviation was explained in light of the formation of an interphase or mesostructure in the composites. The variation of the dielectric constant with the filler and blowing-agent loadings was explained on the basis of polarization of the filler in the polymer matrix. Additionally, the use of dielectric mixture laws in describing the dielectric constants of both solid and microcellular composites was investigated. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007 [source] Modeling continuous electropermutation with effects of water dissociation includedAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 9 2010Carl-Ola Danielsson Abstract The repeating unit consisting of a cell pair of one concentrate and one feed compartment of an electropermutation stack is modeled. Both the feed and the concentrate compartments are filled with an ion-exchange textile material. Enhanced water dissociation taking place at the surface of the membrane is included in the model as a hetrogeneous surface reaction. Results from simulations of nitrate removal for drinking water production are presented and comparisons with previous experimental results are made. The influence of both conductive and inert textile spacers on the process is investigated via simulations. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010 [source] Synthesis of networked polymers with lithium counter cations from a difunctional epoxide containing poly(ethylene glycol) and an epoxide monomer carrying a lithium sulfonate salt moietyJOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 14 2010Kozo Matsumoto Abstract Poly(ethylene glycol)-based networked polymers that had lithium sulfonate salt structures on the network were prepared by heating a mixture of poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PEGGE), poly(ethylene glycol) bis(3-aminopropyl) terminated (PEGBA), and an ionic epoxy monomer, lithium 3-glycidyloxypropanesulfonate (LiGPS). Flexible self-standing networked polymer films showed high thermal stability, low crystallinity, low glass transition temperature, and good mechanical strength. The materials were ion conductive at room temperature even under a dry condition, although the ionic conductivity was rather low (10,6 to 10,5 S/m). The ionic conductivity increased with the increase in temperature to above 1 × 10,4 S/m at 90 °C. The film samples became swollen by immersing in propylene carbonate (PC) or PC solution of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI). The samples swollen in PC showed higher ionic conductivity (ca.1 × 10,3 S/m at room temperature), and the samples swollen in LiTFSI/PC showed much higher ionic conductivity (nearly 1 S/m at room temperature). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3113,3118, 2010 [source] Effect of Processing Parameters on Physical Properties of Cadmium Stannate Thin Films Prepared by a Dip-Coating TechniqueJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 1 2001Radhouane Bel Hadj Tahar Thin films of dicadmium stannate spinel (Cd2SnO4) were deposited on glass substrates using a dip-coating technique. The films were transparent to visible light (90%) and electrically conductive. X-ray diffractometry showed that annealed films consisted of a single cubic spinel phase only when they were prepared from a solution with the composition of Cd:Sn = 2.5 and fired at a temperature of 400°,500°C. The Cd:Sn ratio, the firing temperature, and the post-deposition annealing sequence were crucial for the formation of a single phase, which is vital to obtain optimal optical and electrical properties. A resistivity as low as 3.3 × 10,4,·cm could be obtained after annealing. [source] Photooxidation and Photoconductivity of Polyferrocenylsilane Thin FilmsMACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, Issue 7 2003Paul W. Cyr Abstract Irradiation of thin films of poly(ferrocenylmethylphenylsilane) ([Fe(,5 -C5H4)2SiMePh]n) cast from chloroform solution with UV light leads to photooxidation of ferrocene centers in the polymer main chain. The extent of the polymer oxidation can be controlled in the range ca. 0,5% by the duration of the irradiation exposure and by the concentration of chloroform. The photooxidized polyferrocenylsilane material is conductive, with an increased conductivity of greater than three orders of magnitude relative to the unoxidized material. In addition, the photooxidized polymers have been found to be photoconductive. The photooxidation process can be reversed by means of chemical reduction using hydrazine or decamethylferrocene, leading to the regeneration of the neutral polymers. However, substantial molecular weight decline was detected during the photooxidation/reduction process, presumably as a result of chain cleavage reactions induced by the anionic or radical chlorinated photoproducts. Methylation of the cyclopentadienyl rings of the ferrocene moiety in the polymer was found to lead to materials which are significantly more stable. Time trace of the current at constant applied voltage of 100 V for a PFS film upon illumination. The ON and OFF states were created by using a mechanical shutter. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||