Effect of mixing temperature on microstructure of an Al-Si alloy prepared by controlled diffusion solidification

The effects of mixing temperature,i.e.,the temperatures of two precursor melts(pure Al and Al-12Si),on the temperature and solute fields of resultant mixture,the nucleation and growth,and the size and morphology of primary grains during controlled diffusion solidification(CDS) of Al-8Si alloy were investigated by using simulation and calculation.The results indicate that a lower mixing temperature is helpful for achieving more supercooled microscale Al-rich pockets in the mixture,and increasing the width and supercooling degree of supercooling zone in the Al-rich pockets,and thus,the nucleation rate.The nuclei grow up in nondendritic mode,resulting in spheroidal,at least,nondendritic grains.In a successful CDS,the superheat degrees of the two precursor melts should be limited within several degrees,and it is not necessary to extra stipulate the superheat degree of target alloy melt(Al-8Si) when the requirement about Gibbs energies of the three melts is matched.Subsequent observation on casting microstructures shows that the employed simulation and calculation processes are reasonable and the achieved results are reliable.

Differences in pathological changes between two rat models of severe traumatic brain injury

The rat high-impact free weight drop model mimics the diffuse axonal injury caused by severe traumatic brain injury in humans,while severe controlled cortical impact can produce a severe traumatic brain injury model using precise strike parameters.In this study,we compare the pathological mechanisms and pathological changes between two rat severe brain injury models to identify the similarities and differences.The severe controlled cortical impact model was produced by an electronic controlled cortical impact device,while the severe free weight drop model was produced by dropping a 500 g free weight from a height of 1.8 m through a plastic tube.Body temperature and mortality were recorded,and neurological deficits were assessed with the modified neurological severity score.Brain edema and bloodbrain barrier damage were evaluated by assessing brain water content and Evans blue extravasation.In addition,a cytokine array kit was used to detect inflammatory cytokines.Neuronal apoptosis in the brain and brainstem was quantified by immunofluorescence staining.Both the severe controlled cortical impact and severe free weight drop models exhibited significant neurological impairments and body temperature fluctuations.More severe motor dysfunction was observed in the severe controlled cortical impact model,while more severe cognitive dysfunction was observed in the severe free weight drop model.Brain edema,inflammatory cytokine changes and cortical neuronal apoptosis were more substantial and blood-brain barrier damage was more focal in the severe controlled cortical impact group compared with the severe free weight drop group.The severe free weight drop model presented with more significant apoptosis in the brainstem and diffused blood-brain barrier damage,with higher mortality and lower repeatability compared with the severe controlled cortical impact group.Severe brainstem damage was not found in the severe controlled cortical impact model.These results indicate that the severe controlled cortical impact model is relatively more stable,more reproducible,and shows obvious cerebral pathological changes at an earlier stage.Therefore,the severe controlled cortical impact model is likely more suitable for studies on severe focal traumatic brain injury,while the severe free weight drop model may be more apt for studies on diffuse axonal injury.All experimental procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Animal Experiments of Tianjin Medical University,China(approval No.IRB2012-028-02)in Febru ary 2012.

Simulation and visualization experiment of manganese ion diffusion and damage to gel in a porous media-gel system

A new visualization method for studying the damage to gel structure caused by high salinity ions is explored by using the characteristics of suppression image signal of Mn^(2+) and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) imaging technique. The diffusion and distribution characteristics of Mn^(2+) in porous media-gel system were studied based on manganese chloride static diffusion and gel flooding experiments, and the gel's nuclear magnetic image and displacement pressure were tested. The results show that the diffusion of Mn^(2+)conforms to the Fick diffusion law in porous media-gel system, and the diffusion speed of Mn^(2+) increases and the area of gel image decreases gradually with the increase of concentration, and the image of gel decreases faster and the pressure drop of water drive is larger in flooding experiment of manganese chloride with higher concentration. Reaction-diffusion model with the reaction of Mn^(2+) with gel was established to study the concentration distribution characteristics of Mn^(2+). The model is validated by comparing the results with magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) experiments and the diffusion coefficient of Mn^(2+) equals 1.6 mm^2/h, and the minimum concentration of Mn^(2+) to impact gel NMR image signals is 2.5 g/L. The above results show that the diffusion of Mn^(2+) into the gel in the rock core inhibits the imaging signal of the gel and damages its strength, and the greater the concentration is, the greater the influence. Increase of adsorption amount of gel and reaction rate, reduction of diffusion time, and addition of ion adsorption isolator all can reduce the impact of Mn^(2+) on the gel.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENCES IN DIFFUSION BETWEEN p－SURFACE AND σ－SURFACE

Dimensional analysis and reduction are done to two existing schemes of 4th-order linear horizontal diffusion, and detailed control experiments between them are made using a topographyincluded mesoscale model. Horizontal diffusion is calculated on the or surface in one (known as Scheme A afterwards ), and on the p-surface in another (Scheme B ). Experiments show that differences are small in smooth-terrain areas and very large in steep mountain areas, with the 24h rainfall prediction deviating by 50 mm between forecasts of the two sChemes. The reason may be that temperature and humidity are falsely diffused in Scheme A, which causes abnormal temperature and humidity, and results in the anomalies of the unstable layer and convective processes. In addition, Scheme A could also bring about circulation anomalies which assumingly have direct link to the convective anomalies in the scheme. Furthermore, perturbation may also affect surrounding areas by wave-like propagation such that precipitation anomalies may occur in the area. The analysis indicate that Scheme B is necessary and feasible for it minimizes diffusion-involved forecast abnormality in steep mountains and areas around.

Effect of liquid diffusion coefficients on microstructure evolution during solidification of Al356.1 alloy

（The effect of liquid diffusion coefficients on the microstructure evolution during solidification of primary （Al） phase in Al356.1 alloy was investigated by means of the phase-field simulation using two sets of diffusion coefficients in liquid phase, while fixing other thermophysical and numerical parameters. The first set is only with impurity coefficients of liquid phase in Arrhenius formula representing only the temperature dependence. While the second set is with the well-established atomic mobility database representing both temperature and concentration dependence. For the second set of liquid diffusion coefficients, the effect of non-diagonal diffusion coefficients on the microstructure evolution in Al356.1 alloy during solidification was also analyzed. The differences were observed in the morphology, tip velocity and composition profile ahead of the tip of the dendrite due to the three cases of liquid diffusivities. The simulation results indicate that accurate databases of mobilities in the liquid phase are highly needed for the quantitative simulation of microstructural evolution during solidification.

Effect of back diffusion on overall solidification kinetics of undercooled single-phase solid-solution alloys

Departing from the volume-averaging method,an overall solidification kinetic model for undercooled single-phase solid-solution alloys was developed to study the effect of back diffusion on the solidification kinetics.Application to rapid solidification of undercooled Ni-15%Cu（mole fraction） alloy shows that back diffusion effect has significant influence on the solidification ending temperature but possesses almost no effect on the volume fraction solidified during recalescence.Inconsistent with the widely accepted viewpoint of Herlach,solidification ends at a temperature between the predictions of Lever rule and Scheil＇s equation,and the exact value is determined by the effect of back diffusion,the initial undercooling and the cooling rate.

The pig as a preclinical traumatic brain injury model:current models,functional outcome measures,and translational detection strategies

Traumatic brain injury(TBI) is a major contributor of long-term disability and a leading cause of death worldwide. A series of secondary injury cascades can contribute to cell death, tissue loss, and ultimately to the development of functional impairments. However, there are currently no effective therapeutic interventions that improve brain outcomes following TBI. As a result, a number of experimental TBI models have been developed to recapitulate TBI injury mechanisms and to test the efficacy of potential therapeutics. The pig model has recently come to the forefront as the pig brain is closer in size, structure, and composition to the human brain compared to traditional rodent models, making it an ideal large animal model to study TBI pathophysiology and functional outcomes. This review will focus on the shared characteristics between humans and pigs that make them ideal for modeling TBI and will review the three most common pig TBI models–the diffuse axonal injury, the controlled cortical impact, and the fluid percussion models. It will also review current advances in functional outcome assessment measures and other non-invasive, translational TBI detection and measurement tools like biomarker analysis and magnetic resonance imaging. The use of pigs as TBI models and the continued development and improvement of translational assessment modalities have made significant contributions to unraveling the complex cascade of TBI sequela and provide an important means to study potential clinically relevant therapeutic interventions.

Hydrogen diffusion coefficient in liquid metals evaluated by solid-gas eutectic unidirectional solidification

Based on the solid-gas eutectic unidirectional solidification technique and the principle of unidirectional solidification of single-phase alloy, a new method for evaluating the diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in liquid metals was proposed. Taking Cu-H2 system for example, the influences of argon partial pressure and superheat degree of melt on the diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in liquid metal were studied and the predicted values were similar to each other. The obtained temperature-dependent equation for diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in liquid copper is comparable with experimental data in literature, which validates the effectiveness of this method. The temperature-dependent equations for diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in liquid Mg, Si and Cu-34.6%Mn alloy were also evaluated by this method, along with the values at the melting point of each metal and alloy.

Effect of mixing rate and temperature on primary Si phase of hypereutectic Al-20Si alloy during control ed diffusion solidification(CDS) process

Controlled Diffusion Solidification(CDS) is a promising process relied on mixing two liquid alloys of precisely controlled chemistry and temperature in order to produce a predetermined alloy composition. In this study, the CDS was employed to prepare hypereutectic Al-20%Si(mass fraction) alloy using Al-30%Si and pure Al of different temperatures. The mixing rate was controlled using three small crucibles with a hole of different diameters in their bottom. The effect of mixing rate and temperature on the microstructure of the primary Si-phase during the mixing of molten Al and Al-30%Si was studied. The results showed that when the diameter of the small crucible bottom hole is 16 mm, a higher mass mixing rate 0.217 kg·s-1 would results in a lower stream velocity 0.414 m·s-1. Conversely a lower mass mixing rate 0.114 kg·s-1(the diameter of the small crucible bottom hole is 8 mm) would result in a higher fluid stream velocity 0.879 m·s-1. A lower mass mixing rate would be better to refine the primary Si than a higher mass mixing rate. Meanwhile, the morphology and distribution of primary Si could also be improved. Especially, when Al-30%Si alloy at 820 °C was mixed with pure Al at 670 °C in the case of a mass mixing rate of 0.114 kg·s-1 and a pouring temperature of 680 °C, the average size of the primary Si phase would be only 18.2 μm. Its morphology would mostly be octahedral and the primary Si would distribute uniformly in the matrix microstructure. The lower mass mixing rate(0.114 kg·s-1) will enhance the broken tendency of Al-30%Si steam and the mixing agitation of resultant melt, so the primary Si phase can be better refined.

A Mathematical Model for Diffusion-Controlled Monolithic Matrix Coated with outer Membrane System

A release model for diffusion-controlled monolithic matrix coated with outer membrane system is proposed and solved by using the refined double integral method. The calculated results are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental release data. The present model can be well used to describe the release process for all cd/cs values. In addition, the release effects of the monolithic matrix coated with outer membrane system are discussed theoretically.

Identification of the Diffusion Coefficients of Pollutants ( N O 3 - and Mn2+) through the Walls of Concrete Tank and Vulnerability of the Stored Water Quality

The populations of urban centers in Congo-Brazzaville have decided to develop various methods of water storage (concrete or masonry underground tanks) for domestic use, due to shortages in the distribution of water through the public network. However, questions remain as to the physico-chemical quality of the water stored in these tanks, when these structures are built in wet and relatively polluted areas. This paper presents a model of pollutant diffusion through the cementitious matrix (concrete) of tank walls simulated at a buried reservoir. The results of the experimental and numerical simulations show that certain concrete parameters, such as porosity, permeability and diffusivity, have a significant influence on the transfer of pollutants through the concrete walls, thus altering the physico-chemical quality of the stored water. The numerical models (1D) used to predict pollutant transfer and the quality of the stored water are consistent with those of the optimal control for identifying the diffusion coefficient. Major ion concentrations appear to be correlated with system porosity and diffusion coefficient. Nevertheless, the identification of the diffusion coefficient from the optimal control method, based on an explicit numerical resolution of a finite volume PDE for the approximation of the experiment, is not consistent with that of the optimal control method.

Dynamics modeling and optimal control for multi-information diffusion in Social Internet of Things

As an ingenious convergence between the Internet of Things and social networks,the Social Internet of Things(SIoT)can provide effective and intelligent information services and has become one of the main platforms for people to spread and share information.Nevertheless,SIoT is characterized by high openness and autonomy,multiple kinds of information can spread rapidly,freely and cooperatively in SIoT,which makes it challenging to accurately reveal the characteristics of the information diffusion process and effectively control its diffusion.To this end,with the aim of exploring multi-information cooperative diffusion processes in SIoT,we first develop a dynamics model for multi-information cooperative diffusion based on the system dynamics theory in this paper.Subsequently,the characteristics and laws of the dynamical evolution process of multi-information cooperative diffusion are theoretically investigated,and the diffusion trend is predicted.On this basis,to further control the multi-information cooperative diffusion process efficiently,we propose two control strategies for information diffusion with control objectives,develop an optimal control system for the multi-information cooperative diffusion process,and propose the corresponding optimal control method.The optimal solution distribution of the control strategy satisfying the control system constraints and the control budget constraints is solved using the optimal control theory.Finally,extensive simulation experiments based on real dataset from Twitter validate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed model,strategy and method.

Interface of solid steel and liquid aluminum under nonequilibrium diffusion

The nonequilibrium diffusion of liquid aluminum atoms in cross direction in the innerpart of the solid steel base has been realized by using methods such as roughening steel plate surface, immersing flux on steel plate surface and short time diffusion, and the interface of solid steel and liquid aluminum under nonequilibrium diffusion in cross direction was formed by using rapid solidification. The interfacial structure was studied by means of electron probe microanalysis. The results showed that the interfacial structure of solid steel and liquid aluminum under nonequilibrium diffusion in cross direction is quite different from that of solid steel and liquid aluminum under conventional diffusion, that is, the interface of solid steel and liquid aluminum under nonequilibrium diffusion in cross direction is made up of groups of Al 13 Fe 4 teeth (which grew from the contact surface to steel base inner) at the bulges of steel plate surface and Fe Al solid solution (whose Al content is less than 3.5%) at the concaves of steel plate surface between the groups of Al 13 Fe 4 teeth.

Understanding self-accelerated water diffusion within poly-lactic acid via molecular dynamics simulation

Poly-lactic acid(PLA) is widely used as a controlled drug release material and the diffusion property of water within the polymer matrix is closely related to the drug release profile. This paper studies the water diffusion in PLA by molecular dynamic simulations. Free volume analysis indicates that water molecules are expected to fill in the free volumes of the polymer matrix forming water clusters at low water content. Along with the increase of the water concentration, the polymer starts to swell and the density of the system starts to drop.Due to the high mobility of water within water cluster, the calculated diffusion coefficient dramatically increases along with the incensement of water content. Thus, we conclude that the diffusion of water is a self-accelerate process, with higher mobility of water in the case where more water exists.

KINETIC MODEL FOR DIFFUSION-CONTROLLED INTERMOLECULAR REACTION OF HOMOGENOUS POLYMER UNDER STEADY SHEAR

The kinetic model for diffusion-controlled intermolecular reaction of homogenous polymer under steady shear was theoretically studied. The classic formalism and the concept of conformation ellipsoids were integrated to get a new equation, which directly correlates the rate constant with shear rate. It was found that the rate constant is not monotonic with shear rate. The scale of rate constant is N^-1.5 （N is the length of chains）, which is in consistent with de Gennes＇s result.

Visualization of Double-Diffusive Convection and Unsteady Solidification on a Vertical Circular Cylinder

This paper describes experimental results on the solidification process over the vertically positioned circular cylinder, placed in an aqueous solution of sodium nitrate, where the aqueous solution in the vessel is heated from the bottom. After the initiation of solidification by cooling the cylinder below the liquidus temperature, the pure ice formation on the cylinder causes the rejection of solute into the surrounding aqueous solution. The solute enriched vertical fluid layer over the ice then falls on the bottom of the vessel due to its higher density, and accumulates there. This process results in the formation of solute rich and hot horizontal layer (heavy layer), underlying the relatively cold but less concentrated fluid layer (light layer). As this process advances, however, because of the continuing influx of solute rich fluid, the lower heavy layer occupies more space, and the interface of the two layers rises slowly. The pH indicator method has been successfully employed in order to visualize the flows during this process. In this report, we document the evolution of both temperature and flow fields in the aqueous solution quantitatively, as the solidification progresses and the density discontinuity of the two layers rises.

Numerical solution to T-φ_S-C_L coupling in binary dendrite solidification with any solid-back diffusion effects

A previous numerical solution method to the strong nonlinear T φ S C L coupling for a Scheil type binary solidification process was extended and modified for single phase dendrite solidifications of any nominal alloy composition(in a composition range of single phase or eutectic solidification) and with any solid back diffusion extents. Numerical sample computations were performed on Al Cu system with different nominal compositions from almost pure Al to nearly eutectic and with different solid diffusion coefficients, which are factitiously enlarged or decreased in eight orders of magnitude. The calculation results exhibit the feasibility, capability and efficiency of the proposed numerical scheme in modeling an arbitrary binary dendrite solidification problem.

Two-dimensional cellular automaton model for simulating structural evolution of binary alloys during solidification

Two-dimensional cellular automaton(CA)simulations of phase transformations of binary alloys during solidification were reported.The modelling incorporates local concentration and heat changes into a nucleation or growth function,which is utilized by the automaton in a probabilistic fashion.These simulations may provide an efficient method of discovering how the physical processes involved in solidification processes dynamically progress and how they interact with each other during solidification.The simulated results show that the final morphology during solidification is related with the cooling conditions.The established model can be used to evaluate the phase transformation of binary alloys during solidification.

An analytical model for local-nonequilibrium solute trapping during rapid solidification

Updated version of local non-equilibrium diffusion model （LNDM） for rapid solidification of binary alloys was considered. The LNDM takes into account deviation from local equilibrium of solute concentration and solute flux fields in bulk liquid. The exact solutions for solute concentration and flux in bulk liquid were obtained using hyperbolic diffusion equations. The results show the transition from diffusion-limited to purely thermally controlled solidification with effective diffusion coefficient →0 and complete solute trapping KLNDM（v）→1 at v→vDb for any kind of solid-liquid interface kinetics. Critical parameter for diffusionless solidification and complete solute trapping is the diffusion speed in bulk liquid vDb. Different models for solute trapping at the interface with different interface kinetic approaches were considered.

New interpretation of experimental data on Si-As alloy solidification with planar interface

An analytical model was developed to describe Si？As alloy solidification in the whole range of measured interface velocity. It is demonstrated that at low interface velocity, the solidification occurs in the initial transient regime. The model leads to good comparison with the experimental data taking both local nonequilibrium effects at high interface velocity and steady state effects at low interface velocity into account. The local nonequilibrium diffusion effects shrink the initial transient period and lead to diffusionless solidification at high interface velocity.