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Results for “INTERFACIAL TENSION”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Structure and dynamics of POPC bilayers in water solutions of room temperature ionic liquids

Molecular dynamics simulations in the NPT ensemble have been carried out to investigate the effect of two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), on stacks of phospholipid bilayers in water. We consider RTIL compounds consisting of chloride ([bmim][Cl]) and hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF{sub 6}]) salts of the 1-buthyl-3-methylimidazolium ([bmim]{sup +}) cation, while the phospholipid bilayer is made of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC). Our investigations focus on structural and dynamical properties of phospholipid and water molecules that could be probed by inelastic and quasi-elastic neutron scattering measurements. The results confirm the fast incorporation of [bmim]{sup +} into the lipid phase already observed in previous simulations, driven by the Coulomb attraction of the cation for the most electronegative oxygens in the POPC head group and by sizeable dispersion forces binding the neutral hydrocarbon tails of [bmim]{sup +} and of POPC. The [bmim]{sup +} absorption into the bilayer favours the penetration of water into POPC, causes a slight but systematic thinning of the bilayer, and further stabilises hydrogen bonds at the lipid/water interface that already in pure samples (no RTIL) display a lifetime much longer than in bulk water. On the other hand, the effect of RTILs on the diffusion constant of POPC (D{sub POPC}) does not reveal a clearly identifiable trend, since D{sub POPC} increases upon addition of [bmim][Cl] and decreases in the [bmim][PF{sub 6}] case. Moreover, because of screening, the electrostatic signature of each bilayer is only moderately affected by the addition of RTIL ions in solution. The analysis of long wavelength fluctuations of the bilayers shows that RTIL sorption causes a general decrease of the lipid/water interfacial tension and bending rigidity, pointing to the destabilizing effect of RTILs on lipid bilayers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Improvement of PET surface hydrophilicity and roughness through blending

Controlling the adhesion of the polymer surface is a key issue in surface science, since polymers have been a commonly used material for many years. The surface modification in this study includes two different aspects. One is to enhance the hydrophilicity and the other is to create the roughness on the PET film surface. In this study we developed a novel and simple approach to modify polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film surface through polymer blending in twin-screw extruder. One example described in the study uses polyethylene glycol (PEG) in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) host to modify a PET film surface. Low content of polystyrene (PS) as a third component was used in the system to increase the rate of migration of PEG to the surface of the film. Surface enrichment of PEG was observed at the polymer/air interface of the polymer film containing PET-PEG-PS whereas for the PET-PEG binary blend more PEG was distributed within the bulk of the sample. Furthermore, a novel method to create roughness at the PET film surface was proposed. In order to roughen the surface of PET film, a small amount of PKHH phenoxy resin to change PS/PET interfacial tension was used. The compatibility effect of PKHH causes the formation of smaller PS droplets, which were able to migrate more easily through PET matrix. Consequently, resulting in a locally elevated concentration of PS near the surface of the film. The local concentration of PS eventually reached a level where a co-continuous morphology occurred, resulting in theinstabilities on the surface of the film.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Numerical simulation of viscoelastic layer rearrangement in polymer melts using OpenFOAM®

In addition to their shear-thinning behavior, polymer melts are characterized by first and second normal stress differences, which cause secondary motions. Polymer coextrusion processes involve viscoelastic two-phase flows that influence layer formation. Using polymer melts with different pigmentation makes visible the layers deformed by second normal stress differences. We used a new solver for the OpenFOAM CFD toolbox which handles viscoelastic two-phase flows. A derivative of the volume-of-fluid (VoF) methodology was employed to describe the interface. Different types of polymer melt, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were investigated. In a coextrusion process, the less viscous phase usually tends to encapsulate the more viscous one. However, the different viscoelastic properties of the melts also influence interface deformation. The materials were characterized by small-amplitude oscillatory-shear rheometry, and a multimode Giesekus model was used to fit shear viscosity, storage and loss modulus. Our simulations also took interfacial tension into account. Experimental observations and corresponding numerical simulations were found to be in good accordance.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

A reconfigurable liquid metal antenna driven by electrochemically controlled capillarity

We describe a new electrochemical method for reversible, pump-free control of liquid eutectic gallium and indium (EGaIn) in a capillary. Electrochemical deposition (or removal) of a surface oxide on the EGaIn significantly lowers (or increases) its interfacial tension as a means to induce the liquid metal in (or out) of the capillary. A fabricated prototype demonstrates this method in a reconfigurable antenna application in which EGaIn forms the radiating element. By inducing a change in the physical length of the EGaIn, the operating frequency of the antenna tunes over a large bandwidth. This purely electrochemical mechanism uses low, DC voltages to tune the antenna continuously and reversibly between 0.66 GHz and 3.4 GHz resulting in a 5:1 tuning range. Gain and radiation pattern measurements agree with electromagnetic simulations of the device, and its measured radiation efficiency varies from 41% to 70% over its tuning range.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Tunable nano-wrinkling of chiral surfaces: Structure and diffraction optics

Periodic surface nano-wrinkling is found throughout biological liquid crystalline materials, such as collagen films, spider silk gland ducts, exoskeleton of beetles, and flower petals. These surface ultrastructures are responsible for structural colors observed in some beetles and plants that can dynamically respond to external conditions, such as humidity and temperature. In this paper, the formation of the surface undulations is investigated through the interaction of anisotropic interfacial tension, swelling through hydration, and capillarity at free surfaces. Focusing on the cellulosic cholesteric liquid crystal (CCLC) material model, the generalized shape equation for anisotropic interfaces using the Cahn-Hoffman capillarity vector and the Rapini-Papoular anchoring energy are applied to analyze periodic nano-wrinkling in plant-based plywood free surfaces with water-induced cholesteric pitch gradients. Scaling is used to derive the explicit relations between the undulations’ amplitude expressed as a function of the anchoring strength and the spatially varying pitch. The optical responses of the periodic nano-structured surfaces are studied through finite difference time domain simulations indicating that CCLC surfaces with spatially varying pitch reflect light in a wavelength higher than that of a CCLC’s surface with constant pitch. This structural color change is controlled by the pitch gradient through hydration. All these findings provide a foundation to understand structural color phenomena in nature and for the design of optical sensor devices.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Estimation hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number of surfactants

Any type of surfactant has a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number (HLB number) of different. There are several methods for determining the HLB number, with ohysical properties of surfactant (solubility cloud point and interfacial tension), CMC methods and by thermodynamics properties (Free energy Gibbs). This paper proposes to determined HLB numbers from interfelation methods. The result of study indicated that the CMC method described by Hair and Moulik espesially for nonionic surfactant. The application of exess Gibbs free energy and by implication activity coefficient provides the ability to predict the behavior of surfactants in multi component mixtures of different concentration. Determination of HLB number by solubility and cloud point parameter is spesific for anionic and nonionic surfactant but this methods not available for cationic surfactants.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Production of micron-sized polymer particles for additive manufacturing by melt emulsification

Melt emulsification is an advanced top-down approach that permits to produce spherical particles and thus widens the availability of polymer feed materials for additive manufacturing. In the process the polymer is molten in a continuous phase and droplet breakup is realized in a rotor-stator-device. The stabilization of the newly formed surfaces is quite challenging. Therefore, a new method to identify an appropriate emulsifier by measuring the interfacial tension between the polymer and continuous phase using a high pressure / high temperature cell is presented. The obtained powders are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by a Zimmermann tensile strength tester to determine the powder flowability. The processability of the polymer powders for additive manufacturing is investigated and demonstrated by building single layers by laser beam melting.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evaporation-induced monolayer compression improves droplet interface bilayer formation using unsaturated lipids

In this paper, we report on a new experimental methodology to enable reliable formation of droplet interface bilayer (DIB) model membranes with two types of unsaturated lipids that have proven difficult for creating stable DIBs. Through the implementation of a simple evaporation technique to condition the spontaneously assembled lipid monolayer around each droplet, we increased the success rates of DIB formation for two distinct unsaturated lipids, namely 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), from less than 10% to near 100%. Separately, using a pendant drop tensiometer, we learned that: (a) DOPC and POPC monolayers do not spontaneously assemble into their tightest possible configurations at an oil-water interface, and (b) reducing the surface area of a water droplet coated with a partially packed monolayer leads to a more tightly packed monolayer with an interfacial tension lower than that achieved by spontaneous assembly alone. We also estimated from Langmuir compression isotherms obtained for both lipids that the brief droplet evaporation procedure prior to DIB formation resulted in a 6%–16% reduction in area per lipid for DOPC and POPC, respectively. Lastly, the increased success rates of formation for DOPC and POPC DIBs enabled quantitative characterization of unsaturated lipid membrane properties including electrical resistance, rupture potential, and specific capacitance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Thermodynamic analysis of the stability of planar interfaces between coexisting phases and its application to supercooled water

Two-phase simulations are commonly used to evaluate coexistence conditions, interfacial tensions, and other thermodynamic properties associated with first-order phase transitions. Calculation of these properties is often simplified when the interfaces between the two phases are flat or planar. In this paper, we derive a general thermodynamic criterion for selecting simulation cell dimensions to stabilize planar interfaces in phase-separated fluid-fluid systems with respect to homogeneous, single-phase states. The resulting expression is validated by analyzing the effects of simulation cell dimensions on the formation of planar liquid-vapor interfaces in the Lennard-Jones fluid and in the TIP4P/2005 model of water. We also perform large scale molecular dynamics simulations to study metastable liquid-liquid phase separation in the ST2 and TIP4P/2005 models of water under deeply supercooled conditions. Our simulations confirm the stability of a liquid-liquid interface in ST2, and they demonstrate that the corresponding interface for TIP4P/2005 can be stabilized by judiciously choosing the simulation cell aspect ratio in a manner consistent with the thermodynamic criterion. We posit that this sensitivity to the simulation cell aspect ratio may explain discrepancies between previous studies examining liquid-liquid separation in models of supercooled water.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Hanging droplets from liquid surfaces

Natural and man-made robotic systems use the interfacial tension between two fluids to support dense objects on liquid surfaces. Here, we show that coacervate-encased droplets of an aqueous polymer solution can be hung from the surface of a less dense aqueous polymer solution using surface tension. The forces acting on and the shapes of the hanging droplets can be controlled. Sacs with homogeneous and heterogeneous surfaces are hung from the surface and, by capillary forces, form well-ordered arrays. Locomotion and rotation can be achieved by embedding magnetic microparticles within the assemblies. Direct contact of the droplet with air enables in situ manipulation and compartmentalized cascading chemical reactions with selective transport. Applications including functional microreactors, motors, and biomimetic robots are evident.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Performance of Different “Lab-On-Chip” Geometries for Making Double Emulsions to Form Polystyrene Shells

Fluid properties and the geometry of lab-on-chip (LOC) designs together affect the formation of double emulsions for making inertial confinement fusion targets. Critical fluid properties include the fluids’ velocities and interfacial tension—a coupled effect that is best characterized by the capillary number (Ca)—and the relative volumetric flow rates (φ). The important geometry of the LOC is the orientation of the channels where they intersect (junction) and the spacing between successive junctions. T-junctions and focus-flow devices were tested. The latter geometry of a double cross (focus flow) performed better: single-emulsion droplets were formed over a wide range of fluid parameters (0.03 < φ < 0.17 and 0.0003 < Ca < 0.001) at the first junction, and double emulsions were formed over a more limited range (φ > 0.5 and Ca < 0.4) at the second junction. A LOC design using the focus-flow design formed water–oil–water (W/O/W) double emulsions with the oil phase containing polystyrene. The double emulsions yielded shells with an outer dimension ranging from 2.3±0.07 mm to 4.3±0.23 mm and a wall thickness ranging from 30 μm to 1.6 mm. Thus, the value of the flow-rate ratio at the second junction provided the most-effective parameter for controlling the inner diameter, outer diameter, and wall thickness of the shell.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Multiple-relaxation-time color-gradient lattice Boltzmann model for simulating two-phase flows with high density ratio

In this paper, we propose a color-gradient lattice Boltzmann (LB) model for simulating two-phase flows with high density ratio and high Reynolds number. The model applies a multi-relaxation-time (MRT) collision operator to enhance the stability of the simulation. A source term, which is derived by the Chapman-Enskog analysis, is added into the MRT LB equation so that the Navier-Stokes equations can be exactly recovered. Also, a new form of the equilibrium density distribution function is used to simplify the source term. To validate the proposed model, steady flows of a static droplet and the layered channel flow are first simulated with density ratios up to 1000. Small values of spurious velocities and interfacial tension errors are found in the static droplet test, and improved profiles of velocity are obtained by the present model in simulating channel flows. Then, two cases of unsteady flows, Rayleigh-Taylor instability and droplet splashing on a thin film, are simulated. In the former case, the density ratio of 3 and Reynolds numbers of 256 and 2048 are considered. The interface shapes and spike/bubble positions are in good agreement with the results of previous studies. In the latter case, the droplet spreading radius is found to obey the power law proposed in previous studies for the density ratio of 100 and Reynolds number up to 500.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Controlling Viscous Fingering Using Time-Dependent Strategies

Control and stabilization of viscous fingering of immiscible fluids impacts a wide variety of pressure-driven multiphase flows. Here, we report theoretical and experimental results on time-dependent control strategy by manipulating the gap thickness b(t) in a lifting Hele-Shaw cell in the power-law form b(t) = b 1 t 1/7 . Experimental results show good quantitative agreement with the predictions of linear stability analysis. Furthermore, by choosing the value of a single time-independent control parameter we can either totally suppress the viscous fingering instability or maintain a series of non-splitting viscous fingers during the fluid displacement process. Besides the gap thickness of a Hele-Shaw cell, in principle, time-dependent control strategies can also be placed on the injection rate, viscosity of the displaced fluid, and interfacial tensions between the two fluids.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Phase Equilibrium and Surface Properties of a Binary System Containing Nanoparticles

A consistent description of phase equilibrium and surface phenomena in binary systems containing monodisperse spherical nanoparticles of arbitrary (including nanoscale) size is presented in the context of the classical method with separating surfaces. Using the obtained relations, we have calculated the composition of coexisting phases and interface layer, and interfacial tension on the boundary between nanoparticles and the matrix at different temperatures in Ti-Mo system. The results of the calculations are consistent with the available experimental data.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Understanding the Critical Parameters of the PAMS Mandrel Fabrication Process

As a part of an effort to continually better the roundness and roughness of ablator capsules, we looked at improving the same for the poly(alphamethylstyrene) or PAMS mandrels used to make the plastic capsules. The importance of this work is based on the fact that the surface properties of the mandrels set the lower limit for the ultimate attributes of the ablator capsule. These mandrels are made using an elegant double-emulsion process that uses the isotropic forces brought about by hydrostatic pressure and interfacial tension to seek sphericity. This paper describes the reasoning that led to investigating the so-called curing process where a solid PAMS shell is generated from a solution phase for achieving this goal. Using modeling to account for the mass transfer of the fluorobenzene solvent phase, we demonstrate that it is the control of the conditions through the percolation point of the system that leads to better mandrels. These concepts were implemented into the fabrication process to demonstrate significant improvements of the roundness of the mandrels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Bulk and Surface Aqueous Speciation of Calcite: Implications for Low-Salinity Waterflooding of Carbonate Reservoirs

Low-salinity waterflooding (LSW) is ineffective when reservoir rock is strongly water-wet or when crude oil is not asphaltenic. Success of LSW relies heavily on the ability of injected brine to alter surface chemistry of reservoir crude-oil brine/rock (COBR) interfaces. Implementation of LSW in carbonate reservoirs is especially challenging because of high reservoir-brine salinity and, more importantly, because of high reactivity of the rock minerals. Both features complicate understanding of the COBR surface chemistries pertinent to successful LSW. Here, we tackle the complex physicochemical processes in chemically active carbonates flooded with diluted brine that is saturated with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and possibly supplemented with additional ionic species, such as sulfates or phosphates. When waterflooding carbonate reservoirs, rock equilibrates with the injected brine over short distances. Injected-brine ion speciation is shifted substantially in the presence of reactive carbonate rock. Our new calculations demonstrate that rock-equilibrated aqueous pH is slightly alkaline quite independent of injected-brine pH. We establish, for the first time, that CO 2 content of a carbonate reservoir, originating from CO 2 -rich crude oil and gas, plays a dominant role in setting aqueous pH and rock-surface speciation. A simple ion-complexing model predicts the calcite-surface charge as a function of composition of reservoir brine. The surface charge of calcite may be positive or negative, depending on speciation of reservoir brine in contact with the calcite. There is no single point of zero charge; all dissolved aqueous species are charge determining. Rock-equilibrated aqueous composition controls the calcite-surface ion-exchange behavior, not the injected-brine composition. At high ionic strength, the electrical double layer collapses and is no longer diffuse. All surface charges are located directly in the inner and outer Helmholtz planes. Our evaluation of calcite bulk and surface equilibria draws several important inferences about the proposed LSW oil-recovery mechanisms. Diffuse double-layer expansion (DLE) is impossible for brine ionic strength greater than 0.1 molar. Because of rapid rock/brine equilibration, the dissolution mechanism for releasing adhered oil is eliminated. Also, fines mobilization and concomitant oil release cannot occur because there are few loose fines and clays in a majority of carbonates. LSW cannot be a low-interfacial-tension alkaline flood because carbonate dissolution exhausts all injected base near the wellbore and lowers pH to that set by the rock and by formation CO 2 . Finally, in spite of diffuse double-layer collapse in carbonate reservoirs, surface ion-exchange oil release remains feasible, but unproved.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2021

Surfactant-Aided Low-Salinity Waterflooding for Low-Temperature Carbonate Reservoirs

Carbonate reservoirs tend to be oil-wet/mixed-wet and heterogeneous because of mineralogy and diagenesis. The objective of this study is to improve oil recovery in low-temperature dolomite reservoirs using low-salinity and surfactant-aided spontaneous imbibition. The low-salinity brine composition was optimized using ζ-potential measurements, contact-angle (CA) experiments, and a novel wettability-alteration measure. Significant wettability alteration was observed on dolomite rocks at a salinity of 2,500 ppm. We evaluated 37 surfactants by performing CA, interfacial-tension (IFT), and spontaneous-imbibition experiments. Here, three (quaternary ammonium) cationic and one (sulfonate) anionic surfactants showed significant wettability alteration and produced 43–63% of original oil in place (OOIP) by spontaneous imbibition. At a low temperature (35°C), oil recovery by low-salinity effect is small compared with that by wettability-altering surfactants. Coreflood tests were performed with a selected low-salinity cationic surfactant solution. A novel coreflood was proposed that modeled heterogeneity and dynamic imbibition into low-permeability regions. The results of the “heterogeneous” coreflood were consistent with that of spontaneous-imbibition tests. These experiments demonstrated that a combination of low-salinity brine and surfactants can make originally oil-wet dolomite rocks more water-wet and improve oil recovery from regions bypassed by waterflood at a low temperature of 35°C.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development of an Advanced Simulator to Model Mobility Control and Geomechanics during CO 2 Floods

The simulator is an isothermal, three-dimensional, four-phase, compositional, equation-of–state (EOS) simulator. We have named the simulator UTDOE-CO2 capable of simulating various recovery processes (i.e., primary, secondary waterflooding, and miscible and immiscible gas flooding). We include both the Peng-Robinson EOS and the Redlich-Kwong EOS models. A Gibbs stability test is also included in the model to perform a phase identification test to consistently label each phase for subsequent property calculations such as relative permeability, viscosity, density, interfacial tension, and capillary pressure. Our time step strategy is based on an IMPEC-type method (implicit pressure and explicit concentration). The gridblock pressure is solved first using the explicit dating of saturation-dependent terms. Subsequently, the material balance equations are solved explicitly for the total concentration of each component. The physical dispersion term is also included in the governing equations. The simulator includes (1) several foam model(s) for gas mobility control, (2) compositional relative permeability models with the hysteresis option, (3) corner point grid and several efficient solvers, (4) geomechanics module to compute stress field as the result of CO 2 injection/production, (5) the format of commercial visualization software, S3graf from Science-soft Ltd., was implemented for user friendly visualization of the simulation results. All tasks are completed and the simulator was fully tested and delivered to the DOE office including a user’s guide and several input files and the executable for Windows Pcs. We have published several SPE papers, presented several posters, and one MS thesis is completed (V. Pudugramam, 2013) resulting from this DOE funded project.

02 PETROLEUM↗