Numerical investigation of transient mixed convection of nanofluid in a cavity with non-Darcy porous inner block and rotating cylinders with harmonic motion

Mixed convection of nanofluid in a 2D square enclosure with a porous block in its center and four rotating cylinders, which are forced by a simple harmonic function, was studied numerically. The porous zone was studied by considering the Forchheimer–Brinkman-extended Darcy model. Effects of various parameters including Darcy number (10–5 ≤ Da ≤ 10–2), porosity (0.2 ≤ ɛ ≤ 0.7), Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 10), and volume fraction of nanoparticles (0 ≤ ϕ ≤ 0.03), on heat transfer, entropy generation, PEC, velocity, streamline and isotherm contours were demonstrated. The results show that decreasing the Darcy number as well as reducing the Richardson number leads to an increase in the average Nusselt number. However, porosity changes had no decisive effect on heat transfer. Maximize the volume fraction of copper nanoparticles in the base fluid enhanced heat transfer. In the case of the high permeability of the porous medium, the impact of the harmonic rotation of the cylinders on the flow patterns became more pronounced.

Tissue engineering of collagen scaffolds crosslinked with plant based polysaccharides

Ideally, a bioscaffold should mimic the characteristics of an extracellular matrix of a living organ of interest. The present study deals with the formation of composite scaffolds of collagen with gum arabic. Collagen was cross-linked with oxidized gum arabic having aldehyde groups to form a porous block. By changing the oxidation level of gum arabic, incorporation of the polysaccharides into the scaffold could be varied resulting in scaffolds with variable polysaccharide to protein content. A series of scaffolds were made by altering collagen concentration and oxidation level of gum arabic. The scaffolds were tested for their physical properties, stability, biocompatibility and ability to support the cell growth. Results implied that variable polysaccharide incorporation into the scaffolds was possible depending on the oxidation level of gum arabic which could influence the swelling behavior. The scaffolds showed non-toxic behavior towards the mesenchymal stem cells and nucleus pulposa cells using viability assay in culture conditions up to 30 days; the growth of cells was seen at all combinations of gels. Nucleus pulposa cells were able to maintain their phenotype in the GACO gels. The studies show that these scaffolds are potential candidates in applications, such as tissue engineering, and can be designed to match the requirement of different cell/tissues as per their ECM.

Porous block copolymer separation membranes for 21st century sanitation and hygiene

This review summarizes design strategies for nanoporous state-of-the-art BCP separation membranes, their preparation, their device integration and their use for water purification.

On the possibility of using ceramic highly porous block-cellular materials as contact sorption-filtering elements

The paper considers the structural and physical characteristics of carriers based on ceramic highly porous block materials of a cellular structure, which provide the sorption-filtering properties of contact elements. Methods for determining the external specific volumetric surface, gas-dynamic resistance and gas permeability are described. Their interrelation and optimal combination with the operational characteristics of sorbent filters in the processes of capturing volatile compounds of iodine and cesium in gas streams is shown. The results obtained can be used to synthesize contact elements of a new class and create on their basis highly efficient gas cleaning systems operating at high temperatures and corrosive environments.