In-Plane Deformation Mechanics for Highly Stretchable Electronics

Scissoring in thick bars suppresses buckling behavior in serpentine traces that have thicknesses greater than their widths, as detailed in a systematic set of analytical and experimental studies. Scissoring in thick copper traces enables elastic stretchability as large as approximate to 350%, corresponding to a sixfold improvement over previously reported values for thin geometries (approximate to 60%).</p

Modeling of Non-Newtonian Polymer Flooding with Adsorption and Retention Using Parametrization Approach

Polymer flooding is one efficient EOR technology by overcoming non-uniform and unstable displacement caused by water injection. Polymer flooding in reservoirs is a complicated process that involves strongly nonlinear physics, e.g., non-Newtonian rheology in porous media with retention and adsorption. In the presence of multi-scale heterogeneity, high-fidelity simulations are usually required to capture such nonlinear behavior, which is a time-consuming process for conventional reservoir modelling.In this study, we extend an advanced linearization strategy, called the Operator-Based Linearization (OBL) approach, to simulate non-Newtonian polymer flooding with retention and adsorption mechanisms using the fully implicit method. A velocity-dependent viscosity multiplier compliments the operator form of governing equations to represent the non-Newtonian rheology of the high-molecular-compound polymer. The retention of polymer, reducing the porosity, is represented by a Langmuir-type adsorption model. Several simplified models have been used for validation of the developed numerical framework. The numerical results show good agreement with both the analytical solutions and the coreflood experimental data though some negligible discrepancies can be observed in simulation results.A highly resolved near-well model is used to test the performance of polymer flooding in realistic reservoir conditions. Both shear-thinning and thickening regimes, depending on the injection velocity and polymer concentration, are recognized in the near-wellbore zone. The injected polymer concentration and brine salinity significantly affect the shear viscosity, and consequently, polymer injectivity. Polymer retention and adsorption have a substantial effect on the rate of polymer propagation through porous media. Overall, polymer flooding shows its advantages to mitigate water fingering in field-scale operations and improves the ultimate sweep of the reservoir. However, optimal injectivity is one essential factor that affects the performance of polymer flooding. The computational superiority of the proposed model allows us to optimize the parameters of polymer flooding in realistic reservoirs and operational settings.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Reservoir Engineerin

A nonlinear projection method based on Kohonen's topology preserving maps

Abstruct-A nonlinear projection method is presented to vi-sualize higb-dimensional data as a two-dimensional image. The proposed method b based on the topotogV p “ mpp-ping algorithm d Kohonen [13H16]. The tapology preserving mapping algorithm is used to trpin a two-dimensional network structure. Then the interpoint dbtances in tbe feature space between the units in the network are graphidly cusplayea to show the underlying StruCtuFe of the data. Fartheimore, we will present and discuss a new method to qnadfy how well a topologv preserving mapping algorithm maps the bigbdbensiod input data onto the network stmeture, This will be used to compare our projection method with a well-k~~own method of Sa”on [SI. Experiments indicate that the performance of the Koho-nen projection method is con~pambk or better than Sammon’s method for the purpose of clparsurine dasEcnd data. Another advantage of the metbod is that its tbe-complesity only depends on the resolution of the outpot irmrse, and not on the size of the dataset. A disadvantage, however, is the large amount of CPU time required. I

Temperature Field Simulation and optimization for Horizontal 6-inch 4H-SiC Epitaxial CVD Reactor by Induction Heating

Silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial process is a key step in the fabrication of power devices, and the temperature field inside the reactor chamber plays an essential role in this process. In this paper, the temperature field in the horizontal chemical-vapor-deposition reactor chamber used for growing homo-epitaxial 4H-SiC material is studied using the finite-element method. A three-dimensional time-dependency model is built for the accuracy of simulation, and the effects of 11 relative coil locations (−50, −28, −18, −10, −4,0,4,10,18,28, and 50 mm) on heating efficiency and temperature uniformity of the substrate are analyzed. Results indicate that the suitable relative location between the center of coil and that of the substrate to achieve optimum temperature uniformity is −4 mm, and 18 mm to obtain the highest heating efficiency. To increase the heating efficiency and temperature uniformity of the substrate, the structure of the reactor was analyzed and optimized. It is observed that both heating efficiency and temperature uniformity can be effectively improved by adding a graphite pillar inside the down susceptor.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Long-term nitrogen addition decreases carbon leaching in a nitrogen-rich forest ecosystem

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays a critical role in the carbon (C) cycle of forest soils, and has been recently connected with global increases in nitrogen (N) deposition. Most studies on effects of elevated N deposition on DOC have been carried out in N-limited temperate regions, with far fewer data available from N-rich ecosystems, especially in the context of chronically elevated N deposition. Furthermore, mechanisms for excess N-induced changes of DOC dynamics have been suggested to be different between the two kinds of ecosystems, because of the different ecosystem N status. The purpose of this study was to experimentally examine how long-term N addition affects DOC dynamics below the primary rooting zones (the upper 20 cm soils) in typically N-rich lowland tropical forests. We have a primary assumption that long-term continuous N addition minimally affects DOC concentrations and effluxes in N-rich tropical forests. Experimental N addition was administered at the following levels: 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. Results showed that seven years of N addition significantly decreased DOC concentrations in soil solution, and chemo-physical controls (solution acidity change and soil sorption) rather than biological controls may mainly account for the decreases, in contrast to other forests. We further found that N addition greatly decreased annual DOC effluxes from the primary rooting zone and increased water-extractable DOC in soils. Our results suggest that long-term N deposition could increase soil C sequestration in the upper soils by decreasing DOC efflux from that layer in N-rich ecosystems, a novel mechanism for continued accumulation of soil C in old-growth forests.Journal ArticleFinal article publishe

Plant-wide systems microbiology for the wastewater industry

The wastewater treatment sector embraces mixed-culture biotechnologies for sanitation, environmental protection, and resource recovery. Bioprocess design, monitoring and control thrive on microbial processes selected in complex microbial communities. Microbial ecology and systems microbiology help access microbiomes and characterize microorganisms, metabolisms and interactions at increased resolution and throughput. Big datasets are generated from the sequencing of informational molecules extracted from biomasses sampled across process schemes. However, they mostly remain on science benches and computing clusters, without reaching the industry in a clear engineering objective function. A bilateral bridge should actionize this information. As systems microbiologists, we miss that engineering designs and operations rely on stoichiometry and kinetics. The added-value provided by microbial ecology and systems microbiology to improve capital (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX) needs to be addressed. As engineers, we miss that microbiology can be provide powerful microbial information on top of physical-chemical measurements for quantitative process design (e.g., nutrient removal systems) with detailed scientific description of phenomena inside microbiomes. In this perspective article, we allied academia and industry to address the state of shared knowledge, successes and failures, and to establish joint investigation platforms. Our roadmap involves three milestones to (i) elaborate an essential list of microbiological information needed to implement methods at the process line; (ii) characterize microbiomes from microorganisms to metabolisms, and shape conceptual ecosystem models as primer for process ecology understanding; (iii) bridge engineering and mathematical models with an analytical toolbox for fast- vs. high-throughput analyses to discover new microbial processes and engineer assemblies. We praise for a harmonized "language of love"(incorporating common vocabulary, units, protocols) across the water and environmental biotechnology sector to team up mindsets for a sewer- and plant-wide integration of systems microbiology and engineering.BT/Environmental Biotechnolog

Theoretical calculation of mid-infrared spectra from hypersonic non-ablative sphere

Hypersonic body moving in the atmosphere will suffer high temperature reacting flows which will emit complex radiation. Theoretical calculation was taken in this paper for a hypersonic non-ablative sphere. Hypersonic flow around the sphere was simulated using 9 species chemical kinetic and two temperature thermal non-equilibrium model. Based on this simulated flow field, the LOS method is used to solve radiative transfer and line-by-line model is used to calculate the spectrum from molecular and atoms in mid-infrared. The spectra from different components have been analyzed one by one. The calculation founds out that atom N and O diatomic molecule NO and bremsstrahlung will be important radiation source in this pure air hypersonic flow field. The radiation from hypersonic flow field has been analyzed in both high pressure environment and low pressure environment

Circulating Tumor DNA Mutation Profiling by Targeted Next Generation Sequencing Provides Guidance for Personalized Treatments in Multiple Cancer Types

Cancer is a disease of complex genetic alterations, and comprehensive genetic diagnosis is beneficial to match each patient to appropriate therapy. However, acquisition of representative tumor samples is invasive and sometimes impossible. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a promising tool to use as a non-invasive biomarker for cancer mutation profiling. Here we implemented targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) with a customized gene panel of 382 cancer-relevant genes on 605 ctDNA samples in multiple cancer types. Overall, tumor-specific mutations were identified in 87% of ctDNA samples, with mutation spectra highly concordant with their matched tumor tissues. 71% of patients had at least one clinically-actionable mutation, 76% of which have suggested drugs approved or in clinical trials. In particular, our study reveals a unique mutation spectrum in Chinese lung cancer patients which could be used to guide treatment decisions and monitor drug-resistant mutations. Taken together, our study demonstrated the feasibility of clinically-useful targeted NGS-based ctDNA mutation profiling to guide treatment decisions in cancer

The ecological adaptability of four typical plants during the early successional stage of a tropical rainforest

The ecological adaptability of four typical plants (two grasses: Thysanolaena maxima and Miscanthus floridulus; two shrubs: Melastoma candidum and Melastoma sanguineum) in the early successional stage of a tropical rainforest in Hainan Island of China was studied. Our purpose was to test the difference of the adaptive modes and ecological functions for four different functional groups. We measured the physiological parameters and morphological indexes to define the adaptability of the plants at this stage. Results showed that T. maxima possessed stronger water use ability, whose adaptation was mainly by the morphological architecture regulation strategy (by higher leaf self-shading). M. floridulus had greater water regulation ability and its adaptation was mainly through the physiological regulation strategy (by higher net photosynthetic rate (A) and water use efficiency). However, M. candidum and M. sanguineum integrated the morphological architecture and physiological strategies (by high A and leaf self-shading). According to the ecophysiological characteristics and adaptation modes, the plants in the early successional stage of the tropical rainforest in Hainan Island can be categorized into three functional groups: (1) physiological adaptation group, (2) morphological adaptation group, and (3) physiological and morphological integrated adaptation group.The ecological adaptability of four typical plants (two grasses: Thysanolaena maxima and Miscanthus floridulus; two shrubs: Melastoma candidum and Melastoma sanguineum) in the early successional stage of a tropical rainforest in Hainan Island of China was studied. Our purpose was to test the difference of the adaptive modes and ecological functions for four different functional groups. We measured the physiological parameters and morphological indexes to define the adaptability of the plants at this stage. Results showed that T. maxima possessed stronger water use ability, whose adaptation was mainly by the morphological architecture regulation strategy (by higher leaf self-shading). M. floridulus had greater water regulation ability and its adaptation was mainly through the physiological regulation strategy (by higher net photosynthetic rate (A) and water use efficiency). However, M. candidum and M. sanguineum integrated the morphological architecture and physiological strategies (by high A and leaf self-shading). According to the ecophysiological characteristics and adaptation modes, the plants in the early successional stage of the tropical rainforest in Hainan Island can be categorized into three functional groups: (1) physiological adaptation group, (2) morphological adaptation group, and (3) physiological and morphological integrated adaptation group