Diffusion microstructure effects

Here Cq = c(z = 0,t) and Dg is the effective diffusion coefficient (porosity and tortuosity effects are incorporated in Dg). If the upstream (high) pressure is constant and much larger than the downstream (low) pressure, the slope of the asymptote will correspond to the steady state and so it is possible to determine the diffusivity under both steady state and transient conditions from a single permeation experiment. With a narrow and unimodal pore size distribution both methods yield reasonable consistent values. Large discrepancies point to strong microstructural effects (bimodal broad distribution, many dead ends, many defects). 

The amorphous orientation is considered a very important parameter of the microstructure of the fiber. It has a quantitative and qualitative effect on the fiber de-formability when mechanical forces are involved. It significantly influences the fatigue strength and sorptive properties (water, dyes), as well as transport phenomena inside the fiber (migration of electric charge carriers, diffusion of liquid). The importance of the amorphous phase makes its quantification essential. Indirect and direct methods currently are used for the quantitative assessment of the amorphous phase. 

It would appear that the effects of impurities at the grain boundary must be either (a) to increase the diffusion rates or (b) to influence the microstructure and increase the number of short-circuit paths. However, theoretical modelling of the grain boundary structure by Duffy and Tasker and... 

The last, and less extensively studied field variable driving percolation effects is chemical potential. Salinity was examined in the seminal NMR self-diffusion paper of Clarkson et al. [12] as a component in brine, toluene, and SDS (sodium dodecylsulfate) microemulsions. Decreasing levels of salinity were found to be sufficient to drive the microemulsion microstructure from water-in-oil to irregular bicontinuous to oil-in-water. This paper was... 

A. Bazylak, D. Sinton, Z. S. Liu, and N. Djilali. Effect of compression on liquid water transport and microstructure of PEMFC gas diffusion layers. Journal of... 

There are many different zeolite structures but only a few have been studied extensively for membrane applications. Table 10.1 lists some of these structures and their basic properties. One of the most critical selection criterion when choosing a zeolite for a particular application is the pore size exhibited by the material. Figure 10.1 compares the effective pore size of the different zeolitic materials with various molecule kinetic diameters. Because the pores of zeolites are not perfectly circular each zeolite type is represented by a shaded area that indicates the range of molecules that may stiU enter the pore network, even if they diffuse with difficulty. By far the most common membrane material studied is MFI-type zeolite (ZSM-5, Al-free siUcahte-l) due to ease of preparation, control of microstructure and versatility of applications [7]. 

The earliest models of fuel-cell catalyst layers are microscopic, single-pore models, because these models are amenable to analytic solutions. The original models were done for phosphoric-acid fuel cells. In these systems, the catalyst layer contains Teflon-coated pores for gas diffusion, with the rest of the electrode being flooded with the liquid electrolyte. The single-pore models, like all microscopic models, require a somewhat detailed microstructure of the layers. Hence, effective values for such parameters as diffusivity and conductivity are not used, since they involve averaging over the microstructure. 

Bulk path at moderate to high overpotential. Studies of impedance time scales, tracer diffusion profiles, and electrode microstructure suggest that at moderate to high cathodic over potential, LSM becomes sufficiently reduced to open up a parallel bulk transport path near the three-phase boundary (like the perovskite mixed conductors). This effect may explain the complex dependence of electrode performance on electrode geometry and length scale. To date, no quantitative measurements or models have provided a means to determine the degree to which surface and bulk paths contribute under an arbitrary set of conditions. 

The microstructure of the decomposed Fe-Mo alloy, Fig. 18.136, shows strong alignment of the developing two-phase microstructure along (100) directions. Such alignment is common in cubic crystals, and it arises from the anisotropy of the effective modulus, Y, in the diffusion equation. From Eq. 18.74 it is apparent that the crystallographic directions in which Y is a minimum will correspond to the wavevector of the fastest-growing waves. 

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