726 research outputs found
Variation of turbulent burning rate of methane, methanol, and iso-octane air mixtures with equivalence ratio at elevated pressure
Turbulent burning velocities for premixed methane, methanol, and iso-octane/air mixtures have been experimentally determined for an rms turbulent velocity of 2 m/s and pressure of 0.5 MPa for a wide range of equivalence ratios. Turbulent burning velocity data were derived using high-speed schlieren photography and transient pressure recording; measurements were processed to yield a turbulent mass rate burning velocity, utr. The consistency between the values derived using the two techniques, for all fuels for both fuel-lean and fuel-rich mixtures, was good. Laminar burning measurements were made at the same pressure, temperature, and equivalence ratios as the turbulent cases and laminar burning velocities and Markstein numbers were determined. The equivalence ratio (φ) for peak turbulent burning velocity proved not always coincident with that for laminar burning velocity for the same fuel; for isooctane, the turbulent burning velocity unexpectedly remained high over the range φ = 1 to 2. The ratio of turbulent to laminar burning velocity proved remarkably high for very rich iso-octane/air and lean methane/air mixtures
Dielectric anomalies and spiral magnetic order in CoCr2O4
We have investigated the structural, magnetic, thermodynamic, and dielectric
properties of polycrystalline CoCrO, an insulating spinel exhibiting
both ferrimagnetic and spiral magnetic structures. Below = 94 K the
sample develops long-range ferrimagnetic order, and we attribute a sharp phase
transition at 25 K with the onset of long-range spiral magnetic
order. Neutron measurements confirm that while the structure remains cubic at
80 K and at 11 K; there is complex magnetic ordering by 11 K. Density
functional theory supports the view of a ferrimagnetic semiconductor with
magnetic interactions consistent with non-collinear ordering. Capacitance
measurements on CoCrO, show a sharp decrease in the dielectric constant
at , but also an anomaly showing thermal hysteresis falling between
approximately = 50 K and = 57 K. We tentatively attribute the
appearance of this higher temperature dielectric anomaly to the development of
\textit{short-range} spiral magnetic order, and discuss these results in the
context of utilizing dielectric spectroscopy to investigate non-collinear
short-range magnetic structures.Comment: & Figure
Pollinators, “mustard oil” volatiles, and fruit production in flowers of the dioecious tree Drypetes natalensis (Putranjivaceae)
The Putranjivaceae is an enigmatic family, notable for being the only lineage outside the Capparales to possess the glucosinolate biochemical pathway, which forms the basis of an induced chemical defense system against herbivores (the “ mustard oil bomb ” ). We investigated the pollination biology and fl oral scent chemistry of Drypetes natalensis (Putranjivaceae), a dioecious subcanopy tree with fl owers borne on the stem (caulifl ory). Flowering male trees were more abundant than female ones and produced about 10-fold more fl owers. Flowers of both sexes produce copious amounts of nectar on disc-like nectaries accessible to short-tongued insects. The main fl ower visitors observed were cetoniid beetles, bees, and vespid wasps. Pollen load analysis indicated that these insects exhibit a high degree of fi delity to D. natalensis fl owers. Insects effectively transfer pollen from male to female plants resulting in about 31% of female fl owers developing fruits with viable seeds. Cetoniid beetles showed signifi cant orientation toward the scent of D. natalensis fl owers in a Y-maze olfactometer. The scents of male and female fl owers are similar in chemical composition and dominated by fatty acid derivatives and isothiocyanates from the glucosinolate pathway. The apparent constitutive emission of isothiocyanates raises interesting new questions about their functional role in flowers
Direct transition from a disordered to a multiferroic phase on a triangular lattice
Competing interactions and geometric frustration provide favourable
conditions for exotic states of matter. Such competition often causes multiple
phase transitions as a function of temperature and can lead to magnetic
structures that break inversion symmetry, thereby inducing ferroelectricity
[1-4]. Although this phenomenon is understood phenomenologically [3-4], it is
of great interest to have a conceptually simpler system in which
ferroelectricity appears coincident with a single magnetic phase transition.
Here we report the first such direct transition from a paramagnetic and
paraelectric phase to an incommensurate multiferroic in the triangular lattice
antiferromagnet RbFe(MoO4)2 (RFMO). A magnetic field extinguishes the electric
polarization when the symmetry of the magnetic order changes and
ferroelectricity is only observed when the magnetic structure has chirality and
breaks inversion symmetry. Multiferroic behaviour in RFMO provides a
theoretically tractable example of ferroelectricity from competing spin
interactions. A Landau expansion of symmetry-allowed terms in the free energy
demonstrates that the chiral magnetic order of the triangular lattice
antiferromagnet gives rise to a pseudoelectric field, whose temperature
dependence agrees with that observed experimentally.Comment: 16 pages pdf including 3 figure
Ants as ecological indicators of rainforest restoration: community convergence and the development of an Ant Forest Indicator Index in the Australian wet tropics
Ecosystem restoration can help reverse biodiversity loss, but whether faunal communities of forests undergoing restoration converge with those of primary forest over time remains contentious. There is a need to develop faunal indicators of restoration success that more comprehensively reflect changes in biodiversity and ecosystem function. Ants are an ecologically dominant faunal group and are widely advocated as ecological indicators. We examine ant species and functional group responses on a chronosequence of rainforest restoration in northern Australia, and develop a novel method for selecting and using indicator species. Four sampling techniques were used to survey ants at 48 sites, from grassland, through various ages (1–24 years) of restoration plantings, to mature forest. From principal components analysis of seven vegetation metrics, we derived a Forest Development Index (FDI) of vegetation change along the chronosequence. A novel Ant Forest Indicator Index (AFII), based on the occurrences of ten key indicator species associated with either grassland or mature forest, was used to assess ant community change with forest restoration. Grasslands and mature forests supported compositionally distinct ant communities at both species and functional levels. The AFII was strongly correlated with forest development (FDI). At forest restoration sites older than 5–10 years that had a relatively closed canopy, ant communities converged on those of mature rainforest, indicating a promising restoration trajectory for fauna as well as plants. Our findings reinforce the utility of ants as ecological indicators and emphasize the importance of restoration methods that achieve rapid closed‐canopy conditions. The novel AFII assessed restoration status from diverse and patchily distributed species, closely tracking ant community succession using comprehensive species‐level data. It has wide applicability for assessing forest restoration in a way that is relatively independent of sampling methodology and intensity, and without a need for new comparative data from reference sites
Magnetically driven ferroelectric order in NiVO
We show that for NiVO long-range ferroelectric and incommensurate
magnetic order appear simultaneously in a single phase transition. The
temperature and magnetic field dependence of the spontaneous polarization show
a strong coupling between magnetic and ferroelectric orders. We determine the
magnetic symmetry of this system by constraining the data to be consistent with
Landau theory for continuous phase transitions. This phenomenological theory
explains our observation the spontaneous polarization is restricted to lie
along the crystal b axis and predicts that the magnitude should be proportional
to a magnetic order parameter.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
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