The emission of the airborne particles from epoxy resin test sticks with different CNT loadings and two commercial products were characterized while sanding with three grit sizes and three disc sander speeds. The total number concentrations, respirable mass concentrations, and particle size number/mass distributions of the emitted particles were measured using a condensation particle counter, a...

Residential wood burning contributes to the total atmospheric aerosol burden; however, large uncertainties remain in the magnitude and characteristics of wood burning products. Primary emissions are influenced by a variety of parameters, including appliance type, burner wood load and wood type. In addition to directly emitted particles, previous laboratory studies have shown that oxidation of g...

Given a montmorillonite clay at high porosity and saturated by monovalent counterions, the particle level responses of the clay to different external loadings are investigated. As analytical solutions are not possible for complex arrangements of particles, computational micromechanical models are employed (based on solution of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations) using the finite element method...

[1] Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed from partitioning of oxidation products of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) accounts for a substantial portion of atmospheric particulate matter. In describing SOA formation, it is generally assumed that VOC oxidation products rapidly adopt gas-aerosol equilibrium. Here we estimate the equilibration timescale, teq, of SOA ga...

Core-shell polymer particles with different properties were produced through combined suspension-emulsion polymerizations and employed as supports for immobilization of lipase B from Candida antarctica. In order to evaluate how the morphology of the particles affects the immobilization parameters, empirical models were developed to describe the performance of the biocatalysts as a function of t...

Porous structured silicon or porous silicon (PS) powder was prepared by chemical etching of silicon powder in an etchant solution of HF: HNO₃: H₂O (1:3:5 v/v). An immersion time of 4 min was sufficient for depositing Cu metal from an aqueous solution of CuSO₄ in the presence of HF. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the Cu particles aggregated upon an increase in metal co...

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO2). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO2 nanoparticles within the gal...

Given a montmorillonitic clay soil at high porosity and saturated by monovalent counterions, we investigate the particle level responses of the clay to different external loadings. As analytical solutions are not possible for complex arrangements of particles, we employ computational micromechanical models (based on the solution of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations) using the finite element m...

In the present investigation, an optimization algorithm inspired by nature is used for the fine-tuning of the parameters of a fuzzy controller used for the vibration suppression of a smart composite plate. More specifically, the particle swarm optimization method is chosen. This method is a population based optimization algorithm. It is a totally stochastic technique that simulates the movement...