STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF ISOBUTYLENE-ISOPRENE RUBBER/SWOLLEN ORGANOCLAY NANOCOMPOSITES PREPARED BY SHEAR MIXING

A new approach was developed to prepare high-performance isobutylene-isoprene rubber/swollen organoclay nanocomposites by shear mixing.Compared with traditional melt compounding method,better dispersion of nanoclay layers in rubber matrix was verified through transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and X-ray diffraction（XRD）.The nanocomposites also exhibit significantly improved mechanical properties and gas barrier property.As a mechanism,the molecules of organic swelling agent play a vital role in accelerating the diffusion and intercalation of the matrix molecules.

Solution of Self-similar Equations of the k-ε Model in the Shear Turbulent Mixing Problem and Its Numerical Simulation

The paper presents the k-ε model equations of turbulence with a single set of constants chosen by the authors, which is appropriate to simulate a wide range of turbulent flows. The model validation has been performed for a number of flows and its main results are given in the paper. The turbulent mixing of flow with shear in the tangential velocity component is discussed in details. An analytical solution to the system of ordinary differential equations of the k-ε model of turbulent mixing has been found for the self-similar regime of flow. The model coefficients were chosen using simulation results for some simplest turbulent flows. The solution can be used for the verification of codes. The numerical simulation of the problem has been performed by the 2D code EGAK using this model. A good agreement of the numerical simulation results with the self-similar solution, 3D DNS results and known experimental data has been achieved. This allows stating that the k-ε model constants chosen by the authors are acceptable for the considered flow.

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE COHERENT STRUCTURES AND CHAOTIC PHENOMENA IN THE AXISYMMETRIC COUNTERCURRENT SHEAR FLOW

The coherent structures and the chaotic phenomena in the transition of the axisymmetric countercurrent mixing shear flow were investigated experimentally. Two kinds of self-excited oscillation modes could exist in the axisymmetric countercurrent mixing shear flow. One is the shear layer self-excited oscillation mode corresponding to the high Reynolds number regime and the other is the jet column self-excited oscillation mode corresponding to the low Reynolds number regime in the case of the velocity ratio ranging from I to 1.5. Analyzing the auto-power spectrum, self-correlation-function and three dimensional reconstructed phase trajectory, the route to chaos through three Hopf bifurcations intercepted by an intermittence of the dynamical system corresponding to the axisymmetric countercurrent mixing shear flow was discovered when the velocity ratio is equal to 1.32.

Infl uence of sequential tropical cyclones on phytoplankton blooms in the northwestern South China Sea

Upper ocean responses to the passage of sequential tropical cyclones over the northwestern South China Sea(SCS)in 2011 were investigated using satellite remote sensing data,Argo reanalysis data,and an array of mooring data.We found that the sea surface low temperature region lasted for more than 38 days and two phytoplankton blooms occurred after the passage of sequential tropical cyclones.The upper ocean cooling reached 2–5°C with a right-side bias was observed along the typhoon track to about 200 km.The maintenance of low temperature region and the two phytoplankton blooms were mainly driven by upwelling and near-inertial turbulence mixing induced by the sequential tropical cyclones.The fi rst phytoplankton bloom appeared on the 7 th day after the passage of the three tropical cyclones,and the chlorophyll-a(chl-a)concentration increased by 226%,which may be mainly driven by typhoons induced upwelling.The second phytoplankton bloom occurred on the 30 th day,the chl-a concentration increased by 290%.Further analysis suggested that only the typhoons with similar characteristics as Nesat and Nalgae can induce strong near-inertial oscillation(NIO).Strong turbulent mixing associated with the near-inertial baroclinic shear instability lasted for 26 days.The measured mean eddy diff usivity in the upper ocean was above 10-4 m 2/s after typhoon Nesat.Enhancement of the turbulent mixing in the upper ocean helped to transport nutrient-rich cold waters from the deep layer to the euphotic layer,and is a major mechanism for the long-term maintenance of low temperature region as well as the second phytoplankton bloom.

Discrete element method study of shear-driven granular segregation in a slowly rotating horizontal drum

Segregation and mixing of granular materials are complex processes and are not fully understood. Motivated by industrial need, we performed a simulation using the discrete element method to study size segregation of a binary mixture of granular particles in a horizontal rotating drum. Particles of two dif- ferent sizes were poured into the drum until it was 50% full. Shear-driven segregation was induced by rotating the side-plates of the drum in the opposite direction to that of the cylindrical wall. We found that radial segregation diminished in these systems but did not completely vanish. In an ordinary rotating drum, a radial core of smaller particles is formed in the center of the drum, surrounded by larger revolving particles. In our system, however, the smaller particles were found to migrate toward the side-plates. The shear from anti-spinning side-plates reduces the voidage and increases the bulk density. As such, smaller particles in the mixer tend to move to denser regions. We varied the shear by changing the coefficient of friction on the side-plates to study the influence of shear rate on this migration. We also compared the extent of radial segregation with stationary side-plates and with side-plates moving in different angular directions.