Magnetic field re-arrangement after prominence eruption

It has long been known that magnetic reconnection plays a fundamental role in a variety of solar events. Although mainly invoked in flare problems, large scale loops interconnecting active regions, evolving coronal hole boundaries, the solar magnetic cycle itself, provide different evidence of phenomena which involve magnetic reconnection. A further example might be given by the magnetic field rearrangement which occurs after the eruption of a prominence. Since most often a prominence reforms after its disappearance and may be observed at about the same position it occupied before erupting, the magnetic field has to undergo a temporary disruption of relax back, via reconnection, to a configuration similar to the previous one. The above sequence of events is best observable in the case of two ribbon (2-R) flares but most probably is associated with all filament eruptions. Even if the explanation of the magnetic field rearrangement after 2-R flares in terms of reconnection is generally accepted, the lack of a 3-dimensional model capable of describing the field reconfiguration, has prevented, up to now, a thorough analysis of its topology as traced by H alpha/x ray loops. A numerical technique is presented which enables oneto predict and visualize the reconnected configuration, at any time, and therefore allows one to make a significant comparison of observations and model predictions throughout the whole process

Large-scale electric fields resulting from magnetic reconnection in the corona

The method of Forbes and Priest (2-D model) is applied to the large two-ribbon flare of July 29, 1973, for which both detailed H observations and magnetic data are available. For this flare the ribbons were long, nearly straight, and parallel to each other, and the 2-D model for the coronal field geometry may be adequate. The temporal profile E(t) is calculated and indicates that reconnection sets in at the beginning of the decay phase. From this time the electric field grows rapidly to a maximum value of about 2 V/cm within just a few minutes. Thereafter it decreases monotonically with time

The effect of temperature on the minimum fluidization conditions of industrial cohesive particles

In order to understand the factors responsible for changes in the fluidization behaviour of industrial particles at high temperatures, an experimental campaign was performed using a 140 × 1000 mm heated gas fluidized bed. Five powder cuts sieved out of the same mother powder covering Group B, A and C of Geldart's classification were investigated over a range of temperatures from ambient to 500 °C. The results show that the mean size distribution affects significantly the fluidization behaviour of the materials investigated. In particular, significant differences were observed in the fluidization behaviour of the coarsest samples (Group B-A) and finest samples (Group A-C). The minimum fluidization conditions were compared with the prediction of the Ergun equation. The comparison was satisfactory only when accounting for the experimental values of the bed voidage. In fact, the non-monotonic trend of the minim velocity for fluidization with increasing temperature cannot be explained only with the effects of temperature on the bed fluid dynamics. But several others are the observed effects on the fluidization behaviour due to the temperature rise that can be ascribed to the enhanced interparticle forces: 1) the increase of the peak of pressure drops, close to the minimum for fluidization, in the fluidization curve at increasing gas velocities; 2) the increase for the finest samples of the hysteresis in the fluidization curves, considering the fluidization and defluidization branches of the curve; 3) a greater tendency of the bed to expand homogeneously; 4) the increasing difference between the parameters of the Richardson-Zaki equation found with a fitting procedure on the experiments and those found using the Richardson-Zaki correlations and the theoretical terminal velocity. Furthermore, in the cases where larger interparticle forces were expected, the X-Ray facility allowed to identify different internal structures within the bed. Mostly vertical channels but also, in the case of the finest powder tested, horizontal channels

Detection and estimation of capillary interparticle forces in the material of a fluidized bed reactor at high temperature by powder flow characterization

Two ceramic powder samples having different compositions of surface impurities and particle size distributions were considered. These two samples resulted from a high temperature fluidized bed reactor which in its operation showed changes of working condition that might be attributed to the onset of strong interparticle forces. The flow behaviour of these powders was characterized by the High Temperature Annular Shear Cell (HT-ASC), between ambient temperature and 500 °C. Furthermore, a model is developed to relate the change of the powder flowability to the formation of a liquid phase due to the melting of particle impurities present on the particle surface. In particular, the model is used to predict, on the base of the salt composition, the intensity of the interparticle forces at different temperatures. The interparticle forces predicted by the model can be compared with those that can be inferred from the powder flow properties measured with the HT-ASC. Therefore, it is demonstrated that it is possible to derive a theoretical model to predict interparticle forces in a particulate material relevant to fluidized bed reactor, on the basis of the impurities composition. Furthermore, it is demonstrated the possibility to correctly estimate the intensity of average interparticle forces in the same kind of material by the interpretations of bulk flow properties measured with a shear tester, even in the case in which capillary forces take the place of the much weaker van der Walls forces. More in general, the paper suggests a method by which powder rheology can be used to indirectly evaluate the effects of the interparticle forces on fluidization processes even in case in which strong capillary interaction occur

Dynamics of new strain emergence on a temporal network

Multi-strain competition on networks is observed in many contexts, including infectious disease ecology, information dissemination or behavioral adaptation to epidemics. Despite a substantial body of research has been developed considering static, time-aggregated networks, it remains a challenge to understand the transmission of concurrent strains when links of the network are created and destroyed over time. Here we analyze how network dynamics shapes the outcome of the competition between an initially endemic strain and an emerging one, when both strains follow a susceptible-infected-susceptible dynamics, and spread at time scales comparable with the network evolution one. Using time-resolved data of close-proximity interactions between patients admitted to a hospital and medical health care workers, we analyze the impact of temporal patterns and initial conditions on the dominance diagram and coexistence time. We find that strong variations in activity volume cause the probability that the emerging strain replaces the endemic one to be highly sensitive to the time of emergence. The temporal structure of the network shapes the dominance diagram, with significant variations in the replacement probability (for a given set of epidemiological parameters) observed from the empirical network and a randomized version of it. Our work contributes towards the description of the complex interplay between competing pathogens on temporal networks.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Selective laser sintering of ceramic powders with bimodal particle size distribution

This paper addresses the possibility of carrying out Selective laser sintering (SLS) using powders obtained as mixtures of particles of different size. The beam source used in the experiments was a CO2 laser tube with a nominal power of 40 W. The materials used were model Glass beads and a real ceramic material characterized by irregular shape of the particles. Bimodal distributed powders were generated by mixing samples characterized by different narrow particle size distributions. Single layer sintered specimens were obtained with a laser scanning speed of 50 mm/s and 8 W beam. The sintered specimens were studied by means of microphotography and were characterized in terms of bulk density and tensile strength. Results show that the strength of the sintered specimen is significantly dependent upon the amount of fines in the powder mixture, in spite of the limited effects on the specimen thickness and density. In particular, the highest strength of the sintered material are observed with the highest fraction of fines in the originating powder mixture. In order to estimate the value of the forces between particles of different size produced by the sintering action, the model developed by Liu et al. (2017), based on the Rumpf (1958) approach, was purposely adapted. The application of the model revealed that in our process conditions the connection between large and fines particles is significantly weaker than the force between particles of the same size. The model also indicates that the strength of the sintered materials from mixtures can potentially increase up to values significantly higher than those of the materials sintered starting from the unimodal powder components

Selective laser sintering of ceramic powders with bimodal particle size distribution

This paper addresses the possibility of carrying out Selective laser sintering (SLS) using powders obtained as mixtures of particles of different size. The beam source used in the experiments was a CO2 laser tube with a nominal power of 40W. The materials used were model Glass beads and a real ceramic material characterized by irregular shape of the particles. Bimodal distributed powders were generated by mixing samples characterized by different narrow particle size distributions. Single layer sintered specimens were obtained with a laser scanning speed of 50 mm/s and 8W beam. The sintered specimens were studied by means of microphotography and were characterized in terms of bulk density and tensile strength.Results show that the strength of the sintered specimen is significantly dependent upon the amount of fines in the powder mixture, in spite of the limited effects on the specimen thickness and density. In particular, the highest strength of the sintered material are observed with the highest fraction of fines in the originating powder mixture. In order to estimate the value of the forces between particles of different size produced by the sintering action, the model developed by Liu et al. (2017), based on the Rumpf (1958) approach, was purposely adapted. The application of the model revealed that in our process conditions the connection between large and fines particles is significantly weaker than the force between particles of the same size. The model also indicates that the strength of the sintered materials from mixtures can potentially increase up to values significantly higher than those of the materials sintered starting from the unimodal powder components

Spontaneous transition to a fast 3D turbulent reconnection regime

We show how the conversion of magnetic field energy via magnetic reconnection can progress in a fully three-dimensional, fast, volume-filling regime. An initial configuration representative of many laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas spontaneously evolves from the well-known regime of slow, resistive reconnection to a new regime that allows to explain the rates of energy transfer observed in jets emitted from accretion disks, in stellar/solar flare processes as well as in laboratory plasmas. This process does not require any pre-existing turbulence seed which often is not observed in the host systems prior to the onset of the energy conversion. The dynamics critically depends on the interplay of perturbations developing along the magnetic field lines and across them, a process possible only in three-dimensions. The simulations presented here are the first able to show this transition in a fully three-dimensional configuration.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure