Experimental investigation of the thermal development of two nanofluids in laminar flow

In this study, we conducted an experimental investigation of the thermal development of two nanofluids (γ-Al2O3 and TiO2 in deionized water) in a laminar pipe flow. To do so, the local Nusselt number is determined for Reynolds numbers from 650 to 1800. Experiments were carried out with water and two concentrations of water-based nanofluids with aluminum oxide and titanium oxide nanoparticles. The results show that the local Nusselt number remains unchanged with increasing mass concentration and that the process of thermal development is similar to that of water. Similarly, the friction factor is not affected by the addition of the nanoparticles, suggesting that these nanofluids behave like a homogeneous mixtures.

Inclement weather forces stopovers and prevents migratory progress for obligate soaring migrants

Background Migrating birds experience weather conditions that change with time, which affect their decision to stop or resume migration. Soaring migrants are especially sensitive to changing weather conditions because they rely on the availability of environmental updrafts to subsidize flight. The timescale that local weather conditions change over is on the order of hours, while stopovers are studied at the daily scale, creating a temporal mismatch. Methods We used GPS satellite tracking data from four migratory Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) populations, paired with local weather data, to determine if the decision to stopover by migrating Turkey Vultures was in response to changing local weather conditions. We analyzed 174 migrations of 34 individuals from 2006 to 2019 and identified 589 stopovers based on variance of first passage times. We also investigated if the extent of movement activity correlated with average weather conditions experienced during a stopover, and report general patterns of stopover use by Turkey Vultures between seasons and across populations. Results Stopover duration ranged from 2 h to more than 11 days, with 51 % of stopovers lasting < 24 h. Turkey Vultures began stopovers immediately in response to changes in weather variables that did not favor thermal soaring (e.g., increasing precipitation fraction and decreasing thermal updraft velocity) and their departure from stopovers was associated with improvements in weather that favored thermal development. During stopovers, proportion of activity was negatively associated with precipitation but was positively associated with temperature and thermal updraft velocity. Conclusions The rapid response of migrating Turkey Vultures to changing weather conditions indicates weather-avoidance is one of the major functions of their stopover use. During stopovers, however, the positive relationship between proportion of movement activity and conditions that promote thermal development suggests not all stopovers are used for weather-avoidance. Our results show that birds are capable of responding rapidly to their environment; therefore, for studies interested in external drivers of weather-related stopovers, it is essential that stopovers be identified at fine temporal scales.

Phase Transition and Microstructure Development of BaTiO3 by Thermal Development of BaTiO3 by Thermal Decomposition Method

The thermal decomposition was used to prepare BaTiO3 powders. Using BaCO3 and TiO2 powders as precursors and heat treatment in the temperature range of 600-1000 °C for 6 hr. The final product (BaTiO3) proceeds through a trace amount of Ba2TiO4. The phase transformation was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) as a function of sintering temperature. The results show that the microstructures of BaTiO3 were developed during sintering at different temperature. In additional, the particle growth of BaCO3 and TiO2 are the major factors to affect of the particle growth mechanism.