Treesearch

Influences of thermal treatment conditions of temperature, reaction cycle and time, and purge gas type on nanocarbon formation over bio-chars from fast pyrolysis and effects of thermal reaction cycle and purge gas type on bio-char surface functional groups were investigated by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and temperature programmed reduction methods. Nanospheres occurred on bio-chars under the activation temperature of 700ºC; more nanospheres occurred when temperature increased to 900ºC. Further increase of temperature to 1100ºC yielded bio-char surfaces covered with a layer of...

Three dimensional (3D) nanostructures with extremely large porosity possess a great promise for the development of high-performance energy harvesting storage devices. In this paper, we developed a high-density 3D TiO2 fiber-nanorod (NR) heterostructure for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The hierarchical structure was synthesized on a ZnO-coated cellulose nanofiber (CNF) template using atomic-layer deposition (ALD)-based thin film and NR growth procedures. The tubular structure evolution was in good agreement with the recently discovered vapor-phase Kirkendall effect in...

The effect of fine-resolution wind simulations on fire growth simulations is explored. The wind models are (1) a wind field consisting of constant speed and direction applied everywhere over the area of interest; (2) a tool based on the solution of the conservation of mass only (termed mass-conserving model) and (3) a tool based on a solution of conservation of mass and momentum (termed momentum-conserving model). Fire simulations use the FARSITE fire simulation system to simulate fire growth for one hypothetical fire and two actual wildfires. The momentum-conserving model produced fire...

Advancing the recovery of large-scale ecosystems, such as the Puget Sound inWashington State, requires improved knowledge of the interdependencies between nature and humans in that basin region. As Biedenweg et al. (this issue) illustrate, human wellbeing and human behavior do not occur independently of the biophysical environment. Natural environments contribute to human wellbeing through ecosystem services and humans influence natural environments through their behaviors. Historically, however, conservation and the recovery of degraded natural systems has been the purview of natural...

The research areas of mutiaxial robotic testing and design optimization have been recently utilized for the purpose of data-driven constitutive characterization of anisotropic material systems. This effort has been enabled by both the progress in the areas of computers and information in engineering as well as the progress in computational automation. Although our efforts have begun three decades ago, in this chapter we are presenting our progress on this synergistic combination of technologies developed in the last five years. Specifically, in this chapter we are reporting on the first...

Wood-plastic composites (WPCs), commonly used in residential decks and railings, exhibit mechanical behavior that is bimodal, anisotropic, and nonlinear viscoelastic. They exhibit different stress-strain responses to tension and compression, both of which are nonlinear. Their mechanical properties vary with respect to extrusion direction, their deformation under sustained load is time-dependent (they experience creep), and the severity of creep is stress-dependent. Because of these complexities, it is beneficial to create a mechanics-based predictive model that will calculate the material’s...

Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa L.) rhizomes are harvested extensively from eastern North American forests and sold worldwide for treatment of menopausal symptoms. While forest farming is encouraged to reduce wild-harvest impacts, little information is available to aid landowners in successfully cultivating black cohosh. This study examined survival and multi-year growth of 200 black cohosh rhizomes collected from an Appalachian deciduous forest and transplanted to a similar forest type. By the second year after transplant, fewer than 40 % of rhizomes produced above-ground growth and mean...

The unique aspect of polymer composites reinforced by various fillers or additives is that the mechanical properties of the material can be tailored to fit a variety of uses: construction, transportation, industrial, and consumer applications. By selecting a specific reinforcement or designing a particular manufacturing process a material with desired properties can be achieved. In recent years, interest in composites reinforced by renewable materials (wood flour/cellulose fibers) has grown tremendously because of social requests for low environmental impact (biodegradable materials),...

Bamboo is a type of biomass material and has great potential as a bioenergy resource of the future in China. Some properties of bamboo pellets, length, diameter, moisture content (MC), particle density, bulk density, durability, fine content, ash, gross calorific value, combustion rate and heat release rate, were determined and the effects of MC and particle size (PS) on these properties were investigated in this research. The results showed that bamboo pellets will be the proposed new biomass solid fuel and have the potential to be developed as commercial pellets. All properties of bamboo...

Among current endeavors to explore renewable energy technologies, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting holds great promise for conversion of solar energy to chemical energy. [ 1–4 ] Light absorption, charge separation, and appropriate interfacial redox reactions are three key aspects that lead to highly efficient solar energy conversion. [ 5–10 ] Therefore, development of highperformance PEC electrodes has been concentrated largely on engineering the band structure of photoanodes, enlarging semiconductor- electrolyte interfacial area, and enabling rapid charge separation, collection,...