3,385 research outputs found
Mixing in T-junctions
The transport processes that are involved in the mixing of two gases in a T-junction mixer are investigated. The turbulent flow field is calculated for the T-junction with the k- turbulence model by FLOW3D. In the mathematical model the transport of species is described with a mixture fraction variable for the average mass fraction and the variance of the mixture fraction for the temporal fluctuations. The results obtained by numerical simulations are verified in a well-defined experiment. The velocity as well as the concentration field are measured in several types of T-junctions. Comparison of the predicted and measured average concentration fields show good agreement if the Schmidt number for turbulent diffusion is taken as 0.2. Temporal concentration fluctuations are calculated and found to be of equal magnitude as spatial fluctuations. Good mixing is obtained in a T-junction if the branch inlet flow is designed to penetrate to the opposite tube wall in the mixer
Theory of membrane capacitive deionization including the effect of the electrode pore space
Membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) is a technology for water desalination based on applying an electrical field between two oppositely placed porous electrodes. Ions are removed from the water flowing through a channel in between the electrodes and are stored inside the electrodes. Ion-exchange membranes are placed in front of the electrodes allowing for counterion transfer from the channel into the electrode, while retaining the coions inside the electrode structure. We set up an extended theory for MCDI which includes in the description for the porous electrodes not only the electrostatic double layers (EDLs) formed inside the porous (carbon) particles, but also incorporates the role of the transport pathways in the electrode, i.e., the interparticle pore space. Because in MCDI the coions are inhibited from leaving the electrode region, the interparticle porosity becomes available as a reservoir to store salt, thereby increasing the total salt storage capacity of the porous electrode. A second advantage of MCDI is that during ion desorption (ion release) the voltage can be reversed. In that case the interparticle porosity can be depleted of counterions, thereby increasing the salt uptake capacity and rate in the next cycle. In this work, we compare both experimentally and theoretically adsorption/desorption cycles of MCDI for desorption at zero voltage as well as for reversed voltage, and compare with results for CDI. To describe the EDL-structure a novel modified Donnan model is proposed valid for small pores relative to the Debye length
Unified description of bulk and interface-enhanced spin pumping
The dynamics of non-equilibrium spin accumulation generated in metals or
semiconductors by rf magnetic field pumping is treated within a diffusive
picture. The dc spin accumulation produced in a uniform system by a rotating
applied magnetic field or by a precessing magnetization of a weak ferromagnet
is in general given by a (small) fraction of hbar omega, where omega is the
rotation or precession frequency. With the addition of a neighboring,
field-free region and allowing for the diffusion of spins, the spin
accumulation is dramatically enhanced at the interface, saturating at the
universal value hbar omega in the limit of long spin relaxation time. This
effect can be maximized when the system dimensions are of the order of sqrt(2pi
D omega), where D is the diffusion constant. We compare our results to the
interface spin pumping theory of A. Brataas et al. [Phys. Rev. B 66, 060404(R)
(2002)]
Creating space for biodiversity by planning swath patterns and field marging using accurate geometry
Potential benefits of field margins or boundary strips include promotion of biodiversity and farm wildlife, maintaining landscape diversity, exploiting pest predators and parasites and enhancing crop pollinator populations. In this paper we propose and demonstrate a method to relocate areas of sub-efficient machine manoeuvring to boundary strips so as to optimise the use of available space. Accordingly, the boundary strips will have variable rather than fixed widths. The method is being tested in co-operation with seven farmers in the Hoeksche Waard within the province of Zuid Holland, The Netherlands. In a preliminary stage of the project, tests were performed to determine the required accuracy of field geometry. The results confirmed that additional data acquisition using accurate measuring devices is required. In response, a local contracting firm equipped a small all-terrain vehicle (quad) with an RTK-GPS receiver and set up a service for field measurement. Protocols were developed for requesting a field measurement and for the measurement procedure itself. Co-ordinate transformation to a metric system and brute force optimization of swath patterns are achieved using an open source geospatial library (osgeo.ogr) and Python scripting. The optimizer basically tests all orientations and relevant intermediate angles of input field boundaries and tries incremental positional shifts until the most efficient swath pattern is found. Inefficient swaths intersecting boundary areas are deleted to create space for field margins. The optimised pattern can be forwarded to an agricultural navigation system. At the time of the conference, the approach will have been tested on several farm fields
Large cone angle magnetization precession of an individual nanomagnet with dc electrical detection
We demonstrate on-chip resonant driving of large cone-angle magnetization
precession of an individual nanoscale permalloy element. Strong driving is
realized by locating the element in close proximity to the shorted end of a
coplanar strip waveguide, which generates a microwave magnetic field. We used a
microwave frequency modulation method to accurately measure resonant changes of
the dc anisotropic magnetoresistance. Precession cone angles up to are
determined with better than one degree of resolution. The resonance peak shape
is well-described by the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation
Electrical detection of spin pumping: dc voltage generated by ferromagnetic resonance at ferromagnet/nonmagnet contact
We describe electrical detection of spin pumping in metallic nanostructures.
In the spin pumping effect, a precessing ferromagnet attached to a normal-metal
acts as a pump of spin-polarized current, giving rise to a spin accumulation.
The resulting spin accumulation induces a backflow of spin current into the
ferromagnet and generates a dc voltage due to the spin dependent conductivities
of the ferromagnet. The magnitude of such voltage is proportional to the
spin-relaxation properties of the normal-metal. By using platinum as a contact
material we observe, in agreement with theory, that the voltage is
significantly reduced as compared to the case when aluminum was used.
Furtheremore, the effects of rectification between the circulating rf currents
and the magnetization precession of the ferromagnet are examined. Most
significantly, we show that using an improved layout device geometry these
effects can be minimized.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure
Entanglement of a qubit with a single oscillator mode
We solve a model of a qubit strongly coupled to a massive environmental
oscillator mode where the qubit backaction is treated exactly. Using a
Ginzburg-Landau formalism, we derive an effective action for this well known
localization transition. An entangled state emerges as an instanton in the
collective qubit-environment degree of freedom and the resulting model is shown
to be formally equivalent to a Fluctuating Gap Model (FGM) of a disordered
Peierls chain. Below the transition, spectral weight is transferred to an
exponentially small energy scale leaving the qubit coherent but damped. Unlike
the spin-boson model, coherent and effectively localized behaviors may coexist.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; added calculation of entanglement entrop
Interglacials of the Quaternary defined by northern hemispheric land ice distribution outside of Greenland
Glacial/interglacial dynamics during the Quaternary were suggested to be mainly driven by obliquity (41-kyr periodicity), including irregularities during the last 1 Myr that resulted in on average 100-kyr cycles. Here, we investigate this so-called Mid-Pleistocene Transition via model-based deconvolution of benthic δ18O, redefining interglacials by lack of substantial northern hemispheric land ice outside of Greenland. We find that in 67%, 88% and 52% of the obliquity cycles during the early, middle and late Quaternary, respectively, a glacial termination is realized leading to irregular appearances of new interglacials during various parts of the last 2.6 Myr. This finding suggests that the proposed idea of terminations leading to new interglacials in the Quaternary as obliquity driven with growing influence of land ice volume on the timing of deglaciations during the last 1 Myr might be too simple. Alternatively, the land ice-based definition of interglacials needs revision if applied to the entire Quaternary
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