A Comparative Study of the Performance of Symmetric and Asymmetric Mixed-conducting Membranes

According to the configuration,mixed-conducting membranes are classified as symmetric membranes and asymmetric membranes consisting of a thin dense layer and a porous support.In this study,these two kinds of SrCo0.4Fe0.5Zr0.1O3-δ oxide-based membranes were systematically compared in terms of oxygen permeability and chemical stability,and their differences were elucidated by means of the theoretical calculation.For the oxygen permeability,the asymmetric membrane was greater than the symmetric membrane due to the significant decrease of bulk diffusion resistance in the thin dense layer of the asymmetric membrane.In regard to the chemical stability,the increase of oxygen partial pressure on the asymmetric membrane surface at CH4 side produced the stable time of over 1032h in partial oxidation of methane at 1123K,while the symmetric membrane was only of 528h.This study demonstrated that the asymmetric membrane was a promising geometrical configuration for the practical application.

Motion through spherical droplet with non-homogenous porous layer in spherical container

The problem of the creeping flow through a spherical droplet with a non-homogenous porous layer in a spherical container has been studied analytically.Darcy’s model for the flow inside the porous annular region and the Stokes equation for the flow inside the spherical cavity and container are used to analyze the flow.The drag force is exerted on the porous spherical particles enclosing a cavity,and the hydrodynamic permeability of the spherical droplet with a non-homogeneous porous layer is calculated.Emphasis is placed on the spatially varying permeability of a porous medium,which is not covered in all the previous works related to spherical containers.The variation of hydrodynamic permeability and the wall effect with respect to various flow parameters are presented and discussed graphically.The streamlines are presented to discuss the kinematics of the flow.Some previous results for hydrodynamic permeability and drag forces have been verified as special limiting cases.

Effects of Praseodymium Doping on Conductivity and Oxygen Permeability of Cobalt-Free Perovskite-Type Oxide BaFeO3-δ

Among the perovskite-type oxides with symmetrical structure applied in oxygen permeable membranes, cubic phase structure is the most favorable for oxygen permeation. In order to stabilize the cubic perovskite structure of BaFeO3-δ material at room temperature, iron was partially substituted by praseodymium. BaFe1-yPryO3-δ powders were synthesized by a solid state reaction method, and sintered samples were prepared from the synthesized BaFe1-yPryO3-δ powders. X-ray diffraction results reveal that the BaFe1-yPryO3-δ samples remain cubic structure at praseodymium substitution amount of y 0.05, 0.075, 0.1. Scanning electron microscope observation indicates that the sintered samples contain only a small amount of enclosed pores and the grain size of BaFe1-yPryO3-δ increase monotonically with the increase of the praseodymium doping amount, praseodymium doping promotes the grain size growth. Tests of electrical conductivity and oxygen permeation flux show that praseodymium doping improves the conduction properties of BaFe1-yPryO3-δ and BaFe0.9Pr0.1O3-δ composition has an electrical conductivity of 6.5 S/era and an oxygen permeation of 1.112 mL/（cm^2.min） at 900 ℃, respectively. High temperature XRD in- vestigation shows that the crystal structure of BaFe0.975Pr0.025O3-δ membrane completely transform to cubic phase at 700℃. The present test results have shown that partially substitution of Fe by praseodymium in BaFeO3 can stabilize the cubic structure and improve the properties.

Influence of thickness and permeability of endothelial surface layer on transmission of shear stress in capillaries

The molecular coating on the surface of microvascular endothelium has been identified as a barrier to transvascular exchange of solutes. With a thickness of hundreds of nanometers, this endothelial surface layer （ESL） has been treated as a porous do- main within which fluid shear stresses are dissipated and transmitted to the solid matrix to initiate mechanotransduction events. The present study aims to examine the effects of the ESL thickness and permeability on the transmission of shear stress throughout the ESL. Our results indicate that fluid shear stresses rapidly decrease to insignificant levels within a thin transition layer near the outer boundary of the ESL with a thickness on the order of ten nanometers. The thickness of the transition zone between free fluid and the porous layer was found to be proportional to the square root of the Darcy permeability. As the per- meability is reduced ten-fold, the interfacial fluid and solid matrix shear stress gradients increase exponentially two-fold. While the interracial fluid shear stress is positively related to the ESL thickness, the transmitted matrix stress is reduced by about 50% as the ESL thickness is decreased from 500 to 100 nm, which may occur under pathological conditions. Thus, thickness and permeability of the ESL are two main factors that determine flow features and the apportionment of shear stress- es between the fluid and solid phases of the ESL. These results may shed light on the mechanisms of force transmission through the ESL and the pathological events caused by alterations in thickness and permeability of the ESL.