scholarly journals Material Screening for Gas Sensing using an Electronic Nose: Gas Sorption Thermodynamic and Kinetic Considerations

Author(s):  
Ashwin Kumar Rajagopalan ◽  
Camille Petit

To detect multiple gases in a mixture, one must employ an electronic nose or sensor array, composed of several materials as a single material cannot resolve all the gases in a mixture accurately. Given the many candidate materials, choosing the right combination of materials to be used in an array is a challenging task. In a sensor whose sensing mechanism depends on a change in mass upon gas adsorption, both the equilibrium and kinetic characteristics of the gas-material system dictate the performance of the array. The overarching goal of this work is two-fold. First, we aim to highlight the impact of thermodynamic characteristics of gas-material combination on array performance and to develop a graphical approach to rapidly screen materials. Second, we aim to highlight the need to incorporate the gas sorption kinetic characteristics to provide an accurate picture of the performance of a sensor array. To address these goals, we have developed a computational test bench that incorporates a sensor model and a gas composition estimator. To provide a generic study, we have chosen, as candidate materials, hypothetical materials that exhibit equilibrium characteristics similar to metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Our computational studies led to key learnings, namely: (1) exploit the shape of the sensor response as a function of gas composition for material screening purposes for gravimetric arrays; (2) incorporate both equilibrium and kinetics for gas composition estimation in a dynamic system; and (3) engineer the array by accounting for the kinetics of the materials, the feed gas flow rate, and the size of the device.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwin Kumar Rajagopalan ◽  
Camille Petit

To detect multiple gases in a mixture, one must employ an electronic nose or sensor array, composed of several materials as a single material cannot resolve all the gases in a mixture accurately. Given the many candidate materials, choosing the right combination of materials to be used in an array is a challenging task. In a sensor whose sensing mechanism depends on a change in mass upon gas adsorption, both the equilibrium and kinetic characteristics of the gas-material system dictate the performance of the array. The overarching goal of this work is two-fold. First, we aim to highlight the impact of thermodynamic characteristics of gas-material combination on array performance and to develop a graphical approach to rapidly screen materials. Second, we aim to highlight the need to incorporate the gas sorption kinetic characteristics to provide an accurate picture of the performance of a sensor array. To address these goals, we have developed a computational test bench that incorporates a sensor model and a gas composition estimator. To provide a generic study, we have chosen, as candidate materials, hypothetical materials that exhibit equilibrium characteristics similar to metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Our computational studies led to key learnings, namely: (1) exploit the shape of the sensor response as a function of gas composition for material screening purposes for gravimetric arrays; (2) incorporate both equilibrium and kinetics for gas composition estimation in a dynamic system; and (3) engineer the array by accounting for the kinetics of the materials, the feed gas flow rate, and the size of the device.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1283-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikola Dzolev ◽  
Goran Vujic

This paper explores the impact of concentrate recirculation, as a product of leachate treated by reverse osmosis plant, on the production of landfill gas at the real-scale landfill for municipal solid waste. In an effort to come up with results experimental measurements were carried out at the landfill in Bijeljina. All measurements performed, were divided into 3 groups. The aims of two groups of measurement were to determine landfill gas and methane yield from concentrate and leachate in laboratory conditions (1st group) and to find out concentrations of oxidizing matters (COD and BOD5) present in leachate and concentrate at different points of treatment as well as its variability over the time (2nd group) which could be used to calculate the potential of landfill gas and methane generation from concentrate by recirculation, theoretically. 3rd group of measurements, carried out in parallel, have goal to determine the quality and quantity of the collected landfill gas at wells throughout the landfill. The results of analysis carried out in this experimental research show the clear evidence of concentrate recirculation impact on methane production by increasing the landfill gas flow, as well as its concentration within the landfill gas composition, at the nearby well. Although results indicated relatively high impact of concentrate recirculation on landfill gas production, comparing to its theoretical potential, the influence on the landfill at whole, is negligible, due to relatively low volumes in recirculation with respect to its size and objectively low potential given by organic matter present in concentrate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4722
Author(s):  
Botan Wang ◽  
Xiaolong Chen ◽  
Yi Wang ◽  
Dong Han ◽  
Baohong Guo ◽  
...  

This work reports the latest observations on the behavior of two Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) under wide high-luminosity exposures, which motivate the development and in-beam test of the sealed MRPC prototype assembled with low-resistive glass. The operation currently being monitored, together with previous simulation results, shows the impact of gas pollution caused by avalanches in gas gaps, and the necessity to shrink the gas-streaming volume. With the lateral edge of the detector sealed by a 3D-printed frame, a reduced gas-streaming volume of ~170 mL has been achieved for a direct gas flow to the active area. A high-rate test of the sealed MRPC prototype shows that, ensuring a 97% efficiency and 70 ps time resolution, the sealed design results in a stable operation current behavior at a counting rate of 3–5 kHz/cm2. The sealed MRPC will become a potential solution for future high luminosity applications.


Author(s):  
DB Heyner ◽  
G Piazza ◽  
E Beeh ◽  
G Seidel ◽  
HE Friedrich ◽  
...  

A promising approach for the development of sustainable and resource-saving alternatives to conventional material solutions in vehicle structures is the use of renewable raw materials. One group of materials that has particular potential for this application is wood. The specific material properties of wood in the longitudinal fiber direction are comparable to typical construction materials such as steel or aluminum. Due to its comparatively low density, there is a very high lightweight construction potential especially for bending load cases. Structural components of the vehicle body are exposed to very high mechanical loads in the case of crash impact. Depending on the component under consideration, energy has to be absorbed and the structural integrity of the body has to be ensured in order to protect the occupants. The use of natural materials such as wood poses particular challenges for such applications. The material characteristics of wood are dispersed, and depend on environmental factors such as humidity. The aim of the following considerations was to develop a material system to ensure the functional reliability of the component. The test boundary conditions for validation also play a key role in this context. The potential of wood–steel hybrid design based on laminated veneer lumber and steel was investigated for use in a component subjected to crash loads such as the door impact beam. The chosen solution involves a separation of functions. A laminated veneer lumber-based beam was hybridized with a steel strip on the tension side. The steel strip was designed to compensate the comparatively low elongation at fracture of the wood and to ensure the integrity of the beam. The wooden component was designed for high energy absorption due to delamination and controlled failure during the impact, while maintaining the surface moment of inertia, i.e. the bending stiffness of the entire component. This approach was chosen to ensure the functional safety of the component, avoid sudden component failure and utilize the high potential of both materials. The tests carried out provided initial functional proof of the chosen solution. The hybridization achieved significantly higher deformations without sudden failure of the beam. In addition, bending capabilities were increased significantly compared to a beam without hybridization. In comparison with a state-of-the-art steel beam, the hybrid beam was not able to achieve the maximum deformation and the target weight of the hybrid beam. Further optimization of the hybrid beam is therefore necessary.


2001 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Wang ◽  
E. H. Lim ◽  
H. Liu ◽  
J. L. Sudijono ◽  
T. C. Ang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn this paper the impact of the ESL (Etch Stop layer) nitride on the device performance especially the threshold voltage (Vt) has been studied. From SIMS analysis, it is found that different nitride gives different H concentration, [H] in the Gate oxide area, the higher [H] in the nitride film, the higher H in the Gate Oxide area and the lower the threshold voltage. It is also found that using TiSi instead of CoSi can help to stop the H from diffusing into Gate Oxide/channel area, resulting in a smaller threshold voltage drift for the device employed TiSi. Study to control the [H] in the nitride film is also carried out. In this paper, RBS, HFS and FTIR are used to analyze the composition changes of the SiN films prepared using Plasma enhanced Chemical Vapor deposition (PECVD), Rapid Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition (RTCVD) with different process parameters. Gas flow ratio, RF power and temperature are found to be the key factors that affect the composition and the H concentration in the film. It is found that the nearer the SiN composition to stoichiometric Si3N4, the lower the [H] in SiN film because there is no excess silicon or nitrogen to be bonded with H. However the lowest [H] in the SiN film is limited by temperature. The higher the process temperature the lower the [H] can be obtained in the SiN film and the nearer the composition to stoichiometric Si3N4.


Sensor Review ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengfei Jia ◽  
Fengchun Tian ◽  
Shu Fan ◽  
Qinghua He ◽  
Jingwei Feng ◽  
...  

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to propose a new optimization algorithm to realize a synchronous optimization of sensor array and classifier, to improve the performance of E-nose in the detection of wound infection. When an electronic nose (E-nose) is used to detect the wound infection, sensor array’s optimization and parameters’ setting of classifier have a strong impact on the classification accuracy. Design/methodology/approach – An enhanced quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization based on genetic algorithm, genetic quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (G-QPSO), is proposed to realize a synchronous optimization of sensor array and classifier. The importance-factor (I-F) method is used to weight the sensors of E-nose by its degree of importance in classification. Both radical basis function network and support vector machine are used for classification. Findings – The classification accuracy of E-nose is the highest when the weighting coefficients of the I-F method and classifier’s parameters are optimized by G-QPSO. All results make it clear that the proposed method is an ideal optimization method of E-nose in the detection of wound infection. Research limitations/implications – To make the proposed optimization method more effective, the key point of further research is to enhance the classifier of E-nose. Practical implications – In this paper, E-nose is used to distinguish the class of wound infection; meanwhile, G-QPSO is used to realize a synchronous optimization of sensor array and classifier of E-nose. These are all important for E-nose to realize its clinical application in wound monitoring. Originality/value – The innovative concept improves the performance of E-nose in wound monitoring and paves the way for the clinical detection of E-nose.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Chan Cho ◽  
Yun Wang

In this paper, two-phase flow dynamics in a micro channel with various wall conditions are both experimentally and theoretically investigated. Annulus, wavy and slug flow patterns are observed and location of liquid phase on different wall condition is visualized. The impact of flow structure on two-phase pressure drop is explained. Two-phase pressure drop is compared to a two-fluid model with relative permeability correlation. Optimization of correlation is conducted for each experimental case and theoretical solution for the flows in a circular channel is developed for annulus flow pattern showing a good match with experimental data in homogeneous channel case.


2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1573-1581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somayeh Safi ◽  
Ali Zadhoush ◽  
Mahmood Masoomi

The performance of a composite material system depends critically on the interfacial characteristics of the reinforcement and the matrix material. In this study, the interfacial adhesion was tailored by the creation of textures on the glass fiber surface using inorganic-organic silane blends. A single-fiber microdroplet test was conducted to assess the interfacial properties between the textured glass surface and an epoxy matrix. The load–displacement curves from microdroplet tests were analyzed. The stress-based and energy-based micromechanic models of interfacial debonding and corresponding adhesional parameters (apparent and ultimate interfacial shear strength, friction stress, critical energy release rate, work of adhesion, and adhesional pressure) were applied for theoretical calculations. The results showed a clear trend for the impact of different silane blends on the interfacial properties. The specimens containing 75:25 and 50:50 of inorganic–organic silane blends show the most effective improvement in the interfacial adhesion properties between glass fiber and epoxy resin. Scanning electron microscopy was used to visualize the failure surface of the specimen after the microdroplet test. The scanning electron microscopic images indicated that the failure in the blend sized treated glass fiber–epoxy matrix specimen runs predominantly along the interphase and combines both cohesive failure in resin (the presence of some resin fragments) and adhesive failure (some bare fiber surfaces can be seen).


Author(s):  
Nilgoon Zarei ◽  
Albert M. Leung ◽  
John D. Jones

This paper reports modeling a new design of Thermal MEMS gyroscope through the use of the Comsol Multiphysics software package. Being very small and having no movable parts have made thermal MEMS gyroscope very practical. Previously designed Thermal MEMS gyroscope shows some limitation such as being vulnerable to gravity force. Finding a technique to increase the range of thermal MEMS gyroscope reliability motivated us to come up with a new design that we will refer to as the ‘Forced Convection MEMS gyroscope’. A two-dimensional finite-element model of the device has been developed to investigate its performance. An external force has been introduced to the system to create a higher-velocity hot gas stream that will be deviated more in response to rotation. The external force should be great enough that convection currents resulting from gravity or acceleration will have minimal impact on the gyroscope sensitivity. A heating element can still be used, but its primary purpose is now to warm the flowing gas so that it can be detected by the sensors. In this paper we will also show that, in order to completely eliminate the impact of gravity and increase the sensitivity of the gyroscope, it is possible to eliminate the heaters entirely and instead use heated sensors to detect gas currents. In other words, the sensors are working as hot-wire anemometers. Our simulations suggest that this design variant results in higher sensitivity. We have also carried out optimization studies to identify the best location for the heaters and sensors. A prototype of this device has been fabricated based on MEMS techniques, and an external pump is used to produce an oscillating gas flow within the device.


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