Designing particle sizing and packing for flowability and sintered mechanical strength

In this work, alumina powders in five different commercially available size ranges were used to prepare various refractory castable mixtures, defined using the statistical design of mixture experiments (STATISTICA, StatSoft Inc.) and the EMMA 3.3 software (Elkem Materials). Those mixtures were characterized for packing density, Andreasen particle size distribution modulus (q), flowability and after sintering properties, in order to investigate the relationships between these variables. The optimization of matrix and aggregate sizes and matrix-aggregate proportion, subjected to different property requirements, brought to light the relationships between q, specific surface area (SSA) and maximum paste thickness (MPT). Those relationships were investigated for three fundamental processing steps, namely, dry powders, fresh paste and consolidated dried and sintered bodies. The optimized all-alumina castable was found to require 47.5wt.% of a fine size matrix with high flowability, which provides the necessary flow bed for 52.5wt.% of coarse aggregates, resulting in a gap-sized particle size distribution, and presented a fresh paste flowability index above 130% with minimum added water (28mg/m2) and sintered modulus of rupture above 50MPa.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thermomechanical evaluation of self-flowing refractory castables with and without the addition of aluminate cement

Much has been discussed about the advantages regarding the thermomechanical performance of self-flow refractory castables (SFRC), with very little or no addition of calcium aluminate cement (CAC) when compared to conventional composites with cement. Previous works demonstrated that a 100% alumina SFRC with optimized particle size distribution simultaneously results in high-flowability fresh paste and high mechanical strength. In this work, the thermomechanical behaviour of zero-cement ceramic matrix is compared to that of the equivalent composite with 1% CAC content. The results show that the differences in performance can be related to differences in hydration mechanisms, namely the formation sequence of calcium aluminate hydrates, which results in increased open porosity. With lower dried strength, the all-alumina castable presents lower porosity, higher mechanical strength and uncompromised thermal shock resistance, being a valuable option when fast drying or rough green handling can be avoided.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

rr-Primitive kk-Normal elements in Arithmetic Progressions over Finite Fields

Let $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ be a finite field with $q^n$ elements. For a positive divisor $r$ of $q^n-1$, the element $\alpha \in \mathbb{F}_{q^n}^*$ is called \textit{$r$-primitive} if its multiplicative order is $(q^n-1)/r$. Also, for a non-negative integer $k$, the element $\alpha \in \mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ is \textit{$k$-normal} over $\mathbb{F}_q$ if $\gcd(\alpha x^{n-1}+ \alpha^q x^{n-2} + \ldots + \alpha^{q^{n-2}}x + \alpha^{q^{n-1}} , x^n-1)$ in $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}[x]$ has degree $k$. In this paper we discuss the existence of elements in arithmetic progressions $\{\alpha, \alpha+\beta, \alpha+2\beta, \ldots\alpha+(m-1)\beta\} \subset \mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ with $\alpha+(i-1)\beta$ being $r_i$-primitive and at least one of the elements in the arithmetic progression being $k$-normal over $\mathbb{F}_q$. We obtain asymptotic results for general $k, r_1, \dots, r_m$ and concrete results when $k = r_i = 2$ for $i \in \{1, \dots, m\}$.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2210.1150

Effect of particle size distribution and calcium aluminate cement on the rheological behaviour of all-alumina refractory castables

Previous works based on statistical design of experiments (DoE) defined a model all-alumina self-flow refractory castable (SFRC) with optimized particle size distribution for simultaneous high flowability index (FI) and superior post-sintering performance. This work compares the SFRC rheological behaviour and setting time with those of alternative all-alumina castables with different Andreasen aggregate particle size distribution modulus, and of the equivalent castables containing calcium aluminate cement. The model castable showed Bingham behaviour with low yield stress, viscosity and thixotropy, guaranteeing easier casting and less wear in the casting and/or projection equipment. However, as the coarse particle fraction increases, the castable flow tends to be non-linear and changes from Bingham to Herschel–Bulkley. The cement containing castables quickly loose flowability despite the applied shear. This work confirmed previous conclusions based on FI measurements and demonstrates the adequacy of the use of FI values in the calculation of FI response surface by DoE.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação clínica de cães (Canis familiaris) mantidos em dieta a base de ração seca no pós-operatório de ressecção e anastomose intestinal

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Convergent evidences from human and animal studies implicate angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity in cognitive performance in schizophrenia

In schizophrenia (SCZ), higher angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels have been reported in patient's blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hereby, we propose to explore whether the ACE activity levels are associated to cognitive performance in SCZ. Seventy-two patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a cognitive battery with parallel collection of peripheral blood samples to measure ACE activity. Significant higher ACE activity levels were confirmed in the plasma of SCZ patients compared with HCs (Student's t=−5.216; P<0.001). ACE activity significantly correlated to Hopkins delayed recall measures (r=−0.247; P=0.004) and Hopkins total (r=−0.214; P=0.012). Subjects grouped as high ACE activity (above average) had worse performance compared with low ACE activity level group for Hopkins delayed recall measure, even after correction for clinical condition, age, gender and years of education (P=0.029). The adjusted R squared for this final model was 0.343. This result was evident only comparing extreme groups for ACE activity, when splitting the sample in three groups with similar number of subjects. To clarify this finding, we performed an evaluation of the cognitive performance of transgenic mice with three copies of ACE gene in novel object recognition (NOR) test, which showed that such animals presented impairment in NOR (P<0.05) compared with two copies of wild-type animals. The results observed in SCZ patients and animal model suggest both the association of ACE to cognitive deficits in SCZ. This finding may support the evaluation of novel treatment protocols and/or of innovative drugs for specific intervention of cognitive deficits in SCZ envisioning concomitant ACE activity and behavior evaluations

Crack Closure Effects on Fatigue Crack Propagation Rates: Application of a Proposed Theoretical Model

Structural design taking into account fatigue damage requires a thorough knowledge of the behaviour of materials. In addition to the monotonic behaviour of the materials, it is also important to assess their cyclic response and fatigue crack propagation behaviour under constant and variable amplitude loading. Materials whenever subjected to fatigue cracking may exhibit mean stress effects as well as crack closure effects. In this paper, a theoretical model based on the same initial assumptions of the analytical models proposed by Hudak and Davidson and Ellyin is proposed to estimate the influence of the crack closure effects. This proposal based further on Walker’s propagation law was applied to the P355NL1 steel using an inverse analysis (back-extrapolation) of experimental fatigue crack propagation results. Based on this proposed model it is possible to estimate the crack opening stress intensity factor, Kop, the relationship between U=ΔKeff/ΔK quantity and the stress intensity factor, the crack length, and the stress ratio. This allows the evaluation of the influence of the crack closure effects for different stress ratio levels, in the fatigue crack propagation rates. Finally, a good agreement is found between the proposed theoretical model and the analytical models presented in the literature

Three electrode electrochemical microfluidic cell: construction and characterization

This work describes the construction and characterization of an electrochemical flow-through microcell with the three electrodes (working, pseudo-reference, and auxiliary) inserted in microchannels with thickness smaller than 20 µm. These microchannels were constructed between two stacked polycarbonate slides using one or more overlapped toner masks as spacer. This strategy allows the construction of microcells with a variable internal volume on the working electrode (0.6 to 2.4 µL). Three different materials were optimized as electrodes: gold film or graphite-epoxy composite as working electrode, silver-epoxy composite as pseudo-reference electrode and, graphite-epoxy composite as auxiliary electrode. The performance of the microfluidic cell was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, potentiometric stripping analysis at constant current, and square wave anodic stripping voltammetry using ferrocyanide and heavy metals (Cu2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+) as model analytes

Imunoterapia com o bacilo de calmette-guérin (BCG) no tratamento adjuvante dos tumores mamários em cães (Canis familiaris) - avaliação de margem cirúrgica

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