Critical Behaviour of the 3d Gross-Neveu and Higgs-Yukawa Models

We measure the critical exponents of the three dimensional Gross-Neveu model with two four-component fermions. The exponents are inferred from the scaling behaviour of observables on different lattice sizes. We also calculate the exponents, through a second order epsilon-expansion around 4d, for the three dimensional Higgs-Yukawa model, which is expected to be in the same universality class and we find that the exponents agree. We conclude that the equivalence of the two models remains valid in 3d at fixed small N_f values.Comment: 14 Latex pages 8 PSfigures included at the end,BI-TP-93/31,AZPH-TH/93-19,SPhT 93/0

Aqueous extraction of residual oil from sunflower press cake using a twin-screw extruder: Feasibility study

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of an aqueous process to extract the residual oil from sunflower press cakes using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. Two different configurations were tested: the expression from whole seeds followed by the aqueous extraction, in two successive apparatus or in the same one. For the aqueous extraction stage, the oil yield depended on the operating conditions including screw rotation speed, screw profile, and inlet flow rates of press cakes and water. Liquid/solid separation required the addition of a lignocellulosic residue (wheat straw), upstream from the filtration zone. However, even with maximum fiber inlet flow (around 20% of the inlet flow rate of the solid matters for the highest amount of wheat straw), drying of the cake meal did not improve. The lixiviation of the material was also incomplete. Oil yield was better when the expression and the aqueous extraction were conducted in the same extruder. For all the trials carried out using such a configuration, the corresponding cake meal contained less than 10% residual oil, and the total oil yield was 78% in the best operating conditions. Nevertheless, the contribution of the aqueous extraction stage was extremely limited, less than 5% in the best trial, partly due to a ratio of the water to the press cake too low. For the aqueous extraction stage, the oil was extracted in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion whose stability was minimized because of its low proteins content due to their thermomechanical denaturation during the expression stage

Direct extraction of oil from sunflower seeds by twin-screw extruder according to an aqueous extraction process: Feasibility study and influence of operating conditions

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of an aqueous process to extract sunflower seed oil using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. Aqueous extraction was carried out using whole seeds and the influence of the operating conditions on oil yield was examined. Operating conditions included screw profile, screw rotation speed, and input flow rates of sunflower seeds and water. Liquid/solid separation required the addition of a lignocellulosic residue upstream from the filtration zone. However, even with maximum fiber input flow, drying of the cake meal did not improve. The lixiviation of the sunflower seeds was also incomplete. The aqueous extraction of the oil was more efficient in the twin-screw extruder than the reference trial conducted in a batch reactor. The best oil extraction yield obtained was approximately 55% and the residual oil content of the cake meal was approximately 30%. The hydrophobic phases produced were oil-in-water emulsions. These emulsions were stabilized by phospholipids and proteins at the interface, which are natural surface-active agents co-extracted during the process

CO2 corrosion resistance of carbon steel in relation with microstructure changes

The microstructural effects on the corrosion resistance of an API 5L X42 carbon steel in 0.5 M NaCl solution saturated with CO2 was investigated. Four microstructures were considered: banded (B), normalized (N), quenched and tempered (Q&T), and annealed (A). Electrochemical measurements (polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) were coupled with surface analyses (scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)) to characterize the formation of the corrosion product layers. Electrochemical results revealed that corrosion resistance increased in the following order: B < N < Q&T < A. From the polarization curves it was shown that specifically, cathodic current densities were affected by microstructural changes. SEM images indicated that ferrite dissolved earlier than cementite and a thin layer of corrosion products was deposited on the steel surface. XPS analyses revealed that this layer was composed of a mixture of iron carbonate and non-dissolved cementite. It was also found that the quantity of FeCO3 content on the steel surface was greater for Q&T and A microstructures. These results, in agreement with the electrochemical data, indicate that the deposition mechanism of iron carbonate is closely related to the morphology of the non-dissolved cementite, determining the protective properties of the corrosion product layers

Effect of various dopant elements on primary graphite growth

Five spheroidal graphite cast irons were investigated, a usual ferritic grade and four pearlitic alloys containing Cu and doped with Sb, Sn and Ti. These alloys were remelted in a graphite crucible, leading to volatilization of the magnesium added for spheroidization and to carbon saturation of the liquid. The alloys were then cooled down and maintained at a temperature above the eutectic temperature. During this step, primary graphite could develop showing various features depending on the doping elements added. The largest effects were that of Ti which greatly reduces graphite nucleation and growth, and that of Sb which leads to rounded agglomerates instead of lamellar graphite. The samples have been investigated with secondary ion mass spectrometry to enlighten distribution of elements in primary graphite. SIMS analysis showed almost even distribution of elements, including Mg and Al (from the inoculant) in the ferritic grade, while uneven distribution was evident in all doped alloys. Investigations are going on to clarify if the uneven distribution is associated with structural defects in the graphite precipitates

The influence of localised size reorganisation on short-duration bidispersed granular flows

We investigate experimentally the runout resulting from the collapse of a granular column containing two particle species that differ in size only. The experimental configuration is strictly twodimensional (only one particle per width of the experimental tank) and we explore both the role of the initial arrangement and proportion of the two particle sizes in the column, using high-speed videography, and by determining the centres of mass of the big and small particles in the initial column and the final deposit. The duration of the experiment is sufficiently short that large-scale segregation does not occur, however, we find a clear dependence of runout on both initial mixture arrangement and proportion for all conditions. We investigated this observation through detailed analysis of the flow front motion, and identify a characteristic "stopping" phase when dissipation dominates, and we apply a shallow layer model at the flow front to show how the initial mixture arrangement and proportion influence the effective coefficient of friction during emplacement. We find that a bidispersed mixture can induce a larger friction on emplacement than a monodispersed mixture, and the highest coefficient of friction was found for a well-mixed initial arrangement of particles at the proportion that shows maximum horizontal spreading of the flow. These observations suggest that downwards percolation of fine particles takes place at the front of the collapsing column, and so localised size segregation processes at the flow front can control flow mobility. This effect is likely to be important in controlling the mobility of large geophysical flows that occur on finite time scales, and whose deposits typically show granular segregation at the front and edges but not throughout the entire deposit

Magnetic field induced by elliiptical instability in a rotating tidally distorded sphere

It is usually believed that the geo-dynamo of the Earth or more generally of other planets, is created by the convective fluid motions inside their molten cores. An alternative to this thermal or compositional convection can however be found in the inertial waves resonances generated by the eventual precession of these planets or by the possible tidal distorsions of their liquid cores. We will review in this paper some of our experimental works devoted to the elliptical instability and present some new results when the experimental fluid is a liquid metal. We show in particular that an imposed magnetic field is distorted by the spin- over mode generated by the elliptical instability. In our experiment, the field is weak (20 Gauss) and the Lorenz force is negligible compared to the inertial forces, therefore the magnetic field does not modify the fluid flow and the pure hydrodynamics growth rates of the instability are recovered through magnetic measurements

Fatty Acid Methyl Esters as Biosolvents of Epoxy Resins: A Physicochemical Study

The C8 to C18 fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) have been compared as solvents for two epoxy resin pre-polymers, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) and triglycidyl paminophenol ether (TGPA). It was found that the solubilization limits vary according to the ester and that methyl caprylate is the best solvent of both resins. To explain these solubility performances, physical and chemical properties of FAME were studied, such as the Hansen parameters, viscosity, binary diffusion coefficient and vaporization enthalpy. Determination of the physicochemical parameters of FAME was carried out by laboratory experimentations and by calculation from bibliographic data. The Hansen parameters of FAME and epoxy resins pre-polymers were theoretically and experimentally determined. The FAME chain length showed a long dependence on the binary diffusion parameters and kinematic viscosity, which are mass and momentum transport properties. Moreover, the vaporization enthalpy of these compounds was directly correlated with the solubilization limits

Magnetic Field Behaviour of a Haldane Gap Antiferromagnet

We investigate the magnetic field behaviour of an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-1 chain with the most general single-ion anisotropy. We discuss the regime in which the magnetic field is below the transition value. The splitting of the Haldane triplet is obtained as a function of a field applied in an arbitrary orientation by means of a Lancz\H os exact diagonalization of chains of up to 16 spins. Our results are nicely summarized in terms of a first-order perturbation theory. We explain various level crossings that occur by the existence of discrete symmetries. A discussion is given of the electron spin resonance and neutron scattering experiments on the compound Ni(C$_2$H$_8$N$_2$)$_2$NO$_2$ClO$_4$ (NENP).Comment: 18 pages and 6 figs not included available by ftp, plain TeX, SPhT/93-04

Relationship between casting modulus and grain size in cast A356 aluminium alloys

Microstructure of Al-Si alloy castings depends most generally on melt preparation and on the cooling rate imposed by the thermal modulus of the component. In the case of Al-Si alloys, emphasis is put during melt preparation on refinement of pro-eutectic (Al) grains and on modification of the Al-Si eutectic. Thermal analysis has been used since long to check melt preparation before casting, i.e. by analysis of the cooling curve during solidification of a sample cast in an instrumented cup. The conclusions drawn from such analysis are however valid for the particular cooling conditions of the cups. It thus appeared of interest to investigate how these conclusions could extrapolate to predict microstructure in complicated cast parts showing local changes in the solidification conditions. For that purpose, thermal analysis cups and instrumented sand and die castings with different thermal moduli and thus cooling rates have been made, and the whole set of cooling curves thus recorded has been analysed. A statistical analysis of the characteristic features of the cooling curves related to grain refinement in sand and die castings allowed determining the most significant parameters and expressing the cube of grain size as a polynomial of these parameters. After introduction of a further parameter quantifying melt refining an excellent correlation, with a R2 factor of 0.99 was obtained