Thermocapillary bubble migration for large Marangoni Numbers

The thermocapillary motion of spherical bubbles present in an unbounded liquid with a linear temperature distribution, when the Reynolds number and the Marangoni number are large is analyzed. Previous calculations of the terminal velocity performed for this parametric range did not take into complete consideration the thermal boundary layer present near the surface of the bubble. A scaling analysis is presented for this problem. The thermal boundary layer is analyzed by an integral method. The resulting terminal velocity is lower than the one previously calculated, though it is of the same order of magnitude

Properties of Sequential Chromospheric Brightenings and Associated Flare Ribbons

We report on the physical properties of solar sequential chromospheric brightenings (SCBs) observed in conjunction with moderate-sized chromospheric flares with associated CMEs. To characterize these ephemeral events, we developed automated procedures to identify and track subsections (kernels) of solar flares and associated SCBs using high resolution H-alpha images. Following the algorithmic identification and a statistical analysis, we compare and find the following: SCBs are distinctly different from flare kernels in their temporal characteristics of intensity, Doppler structure, duration, and location properties. We demonstrate that flare ribbons are themselves made up of subsections exhibiting differing characteristics. Flare kernels are measured to have a mean propagation speed of 0.2 km/s and a maximum speed of 2.3 km/s over a mean distance of 5 x 10^3 km. Within the studied population of SCBs, different classes of characteristics are observed with coincident negative, positive, or both negative and positive Doppler shifts of a few km/s. The appearance of SCBs precede peak flare intensity by ~12 minutes and decay ~1 hour later. They are also found to propagate laterally away from flare center in clusters at 41 km/s or 89 km/s. Given SCBs distinctive nature compared to flares, we suggest a different physical mechanism relating to their origin than the associated flare. We present a heuristic model of the origin of SCBs.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figure

Thermocapillary migration of liquid droplets in a temperature gradient in a density matched system

An experimental investigation of thermocapillary flow in droplets of a vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil) immersed in silicone oil was conducted in a test cell with a heated top wall and a cooled bottom wall. The liquids are nearly immiscible and have equal densities at a temperature below the room temperature, thus providing a simulation of low-gravity conditions by reducing the buoyancy forces. The interfacial tension between the two oils was measured in the temperature range 20 to 50 C using a capillary tube and (d sigma)/(d T) was determined to be negative. Droplets ranging in sizes from 3 mm to 1 cm diameter were injected into the silicone oil. The vertical temperature profile in the bulk liquid (silicone oil) produces temperature variations along the interface which induce variations in the interfacial tension. The flow inside the droplet driven by the resulting interfacial shear stresses was observed using a laser light-sheet flow visualization technique. The flow direction is consistent with the sign of (d sigma)/(d T). The observed maximum surface velocities are compared to the theoretical predictions of Young et al. (1959)

Unsteady thermocapillary migration of bubbles

Upon the introduction of a gas bubble into a liquid possessing a uniform thermal gradient, an unsteady thermo-capillary flow begins. Ultimately, the bubble attains a constant velocity. This theoretical analysis focuses upon the transient period for a bubble in a microgravity environment and is restricted to situations wherein the flow is sufficiently slow such that inertial terms in the Navier-Stokes equation and convective terms in the energy equation may be safely neglected (i.e., both Reynolds and Marangoni numbers are small). The resulting linear equations were solved analytically in the Laplace domain with the Prandtl number of the liquid as a parameter; inversion was accomplished numerically using a standard IMSL routine. In the asymptotic long-time limit, the theory agrees with the steady-state theory of Young, Goldstein, and Block. The theory predicts that more than 90 percent of the terminal steady velocity is achieved when the smallest dimensionless time, i.e., the one based upon the largest time scale-viscous or thermal-equals unity

Interfacial tension measurement of immiscible liq uids using a capillary tube

The interfacial tension of immiscible liquids is an important thermophysical property that is useful in the behavior of liquids both in microgravity (Martinez et al. (1987) and Karri and Mathur (1988)) and in enhanced oil recovery processes under normal gravity (Slattery (1974)). Many techniques are available for its measurement, such as the ring method, drop weight method, spinning drop method, and capillary height method (Adamson (1960) and Miller and Neogi (1985)). Karri and Mathur mention that many of the techniques use equations that contain a density difference term and are inappropriate for equal density liquids. They reported a new method that is suitable for both equal and unequal density liquids. In their method, a capillary tube forms one of the legs of a U-tube. The interfacial tension is related to the heights of the liquids in the cups of the U-tube above the interface in the capillary. Our interest in this area arose from a need to measure small interfacial tension (around 1 mN/m) for a vegetable oil/silicon oil system that was used in a thermocapillary drop migration experiment (Rashidnia and Balasubramaniam (1991)). In our attempts to duplicate the method proposed by Karri and Mathur, we found it quite difficult to anchor the interface inside the capillary tube; small differences of the liquid heights in the cups drove the interface out of the capillary. We present an alternative method using a capillary tube to measure the interfacial tensions of liquids of equal or unequal density. The method is based on the combined capillary rises of both liquids in the tube

RTS amplitudes in decananometer MOSFETs: 3-D simulation study

In this paper we study the amplitudes of random telegraph signals (RTS) associated with the trapping of a single electron in defect states at the Si/SiO/sub 2/ interface of sub-100-nm (decananometer) MOSFETs employing three-dimensional (3-D) "atomistic" simulations. Both continuous doping charge and random discrete dopants in the active region of the MOSFETs are considered in the simulations. The dependence of the RTS amplitudes on the position of the trapped charge in the channel and on device design parameters such as dimensions, oxide thickness and channel doping concentration is studied in detail. The 3-D simulations offer a natural explanation for the large variation in the RTS amplitudes measured experimentally in otherwise identical MOSFETs. The random discrete dopant simulations result in RTS amplitudes several times higher compared to continuous charge simulations. They also produce closer to the experimentally observed distributions of the RTS amplitudes. The results highlight the significant impact of single charge trapping in the next generation decananometer MOSFETs

New Insights on the Corrosion Resistant Delhi Iron Pillar

The 1600-year old Delhi iron pillar (DIP) has attracted the attention of metallurgists and corrosion scientists for its excellent corrosion resistance.The present paper provides new insights on the Delhi iron pillar 'based on the researches of the author. The paper has first addr-essed the identity of Chandra and the. original location of the pillar, Vishnupadagiri.Analysis of the archer-type gold coins of the Imperial Guptas provided that Chandra should be identified with Chandragupta II Vikramaditya. The original location of the pillar has been identified as Udayagiri in Central India based on archaeological eviden-ces. The engineering details of the pillar have been des-cribed, including the. decorative bell capital. The manu-facturing method of the pillar by side way forge-welding small lumps of iron with the pillar resting in the hori-zontal position has been described. Finally, the corros-ion resistance of the pillar has been addressed in detail. The earlier theories of corrosion resistance have been briefly reviewed. The microstructure of DIP iron has been explained. The role of slag particles in the matrix of the DIP iron in enhancing the passive film formation has been briefly discussed. Characterization of the DIP's rust by modern techniques has clearly established that the major constituents of the scale were crystalline iron hydrogen phosphate hydrate (FePO4.H3P0,,. 41-120), a-, y-, 8-Fe00H and magnetite. The iron oxide/oxyhydroxides were present in the amorphous form. The process of protectiye rust formation on DIP iron has been outlined based on the rust analysis. Initially, the corrosion rate of iron is high due -to the presence of the slag particles. This results in enhancement of surface P content. In the presence of P, the formation of a protective amorphous compact layer of 5-Fe0OH, next to the metal surface, is catalyzed and this confers the initial corrosion resistance. The critical factor aiding the superior corrosion resistance of the Delhi iron pillar, however, is the formation of iron hydrogen phosphate hydrate, as a thin layer next to the metalmetaloxide'interface. The formation of the crystall-ine modification of this phosphate from the amorphous form is aided by alternate wetting and drying cycles the envir-onmental factor). The rate of corrosion is further lower- ed due to the low porosity content of the crystalline phosphate phase. The passive film formation on the Delhi iron pillar has been contrasted with rusting bf normal and weathering steels

Random telegraph signal amplitudes in sub 100 nm (decanano) MOSFETs: a 3D `Atomistic' simulation study

In this paper we use 3D simulations to study the amplitudes of random telegraph signals (RTS) associated with the trapping of a single carrier in interface states in the channel of sub 100 nm (decanano) MOSFETs. Both simulations using continuous doping charge and random discrete dopants in the active region of the MOSFETs are presented. We have studied the dependence of the RTS amplitudes on the position of the trapped charge in the channel and on the device design parameters. We have observed a significant increase in the maximum RTS amplitude when discrete random dopants are employed in the simulations

The Origin of Sequential Chromospheric Brightenings

Sequential chromospheric brightenings (SCBs) are often observed in the immediate vicinity of erupting flares and are associated with coronal mass ejections. Since their initial discovery in 2005, there have been several subsequent investigations of SCBs. These studies have used differing detection and analysis techniques, making it difficult to compare results between studies. This work employs the automated detection algorithm of Kirk et al. (Solar Phys. 283, 97, 2013) to extract the physical characteristics of SCBs in 11 flares of varying size and intensity. We demonstrate that the magnetic substructure within the SCB appears to have a significantly smaller area than the corresponding H-alpha emission. We conclude that SCBs originate in the lower corona around 0.1 R_sun above the photosphere, propagate away from the flare center at speeds of 35 - 85 km/s, and have peak photosphere magnetic intensities of 148 +/- 2.9 G. In light of these measurements, we infer SCBs to be distinctive chromospheric signatures of erupting coronal mass ejections.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 5 table

Thermocapillary Bubble Migration: Thermal Boundary Layers for Large Marangoni Numbers

The migration of an isolated gas bubble in an immiscible liquid possessing a temperature gradient is analyzed in the absence of gravity. The driving force for the bubble motion is the shear stress at the interface which is a consequence of the temperature dependence of the surface tension. The analysis is performed under conditions for which the Marangoni number is large, i.e. energy is transferred predominantly by convection. Velocity fields in the limit of both small and large Reynolds numbers are used. The thermal problem is treated by standard boundary layer theory. The outer temperature field is obtained in the vicinity of the bubble. A similarity solution is obtained for the inner temperature field. For both small and large Reynolds numbers, the asymptotic values of the scaled migration velocity of the bubble in the limit of large Marangoni numbers are calculated. The results show that the migration velocity has the same scaling for both low and large Reynolds numbers, but with a different coefficient. Higher order thermal boundary layers are analyzed for the large Reynolds number flow field and the higher order corrections to the migration velocity are obtained. Results are also presented for the momentum boundary layer and the thermal wake behind the bubble, for large Reynolds number conditions