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Orientadores: Antonio Carlos Bannwart, Vanessa Cristina Bizotto Guersoni / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica e Intituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T12:53:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luthi_IvanaFlores_M.pdf: 8342331 bytes, checksum: f3ec460359159b1e4595a11295e8bb23 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: O escoamento de petróleo através de linhas flexíveis submarinas está sujeito a paradas de produção por razões operacionais ou emergenciais. Na produção de óleos parafínicos em águas profundas (baixa temperatura do ambiente marinho, cerca de 4 °C) essas paradas podem causar o resfriamento abaixo do ponto de fluidez desses óleos. Nesta situação, uma estrutura gelificada é formada, composta por cristais de parafinas distribuídos em uma matriz viscosa, a qual bloqueia a linha de produção. A formação deste gel, bem como seu envelhecimento, representa sérios problemas para o processo de repartida, pois a pressão necessária para fazer fluir o óleo gelificado e consequentemente, retomar o escoamento na linha de produção, torna-se maior que a pressão normal de operação da linha. Para melhor compreensão do processo de retomada de escoamento, análises físico-químicas e reológicas, bem como testes de repartida, foram realizadas. Por meio de um reômetro, parâmetros essenciais que descrevem o comportamento reológico de um óleo parafínico cru, como TIAC (Temperatura Inicial de Aparecimento de Cristais), curvas de fluxo, tensão mínima de escoamento e tixotropia, foram caracterizados. Medições de tensão mínima de escoamento podem ser utilizadas para estimar a pressão mínima de repartida. No entanto, como o processo de fluência do gel é dependente do tempo, a tixotropia torna-se relevante e assim, o tempo necessário para desobstruir uma linha bloqueada com óleo gelificado dependerá principalmente da pressão aplicada e da viscosidade aparente, a qual decai com o tempo. Além disso, efeitos de encolhimento térmico e compressibilidade devido ao resfriamento e envelhecimento do óleo parafínico também devem ser considerados. Assim, testes de repartida foram realizados em uma linha horizontal bloqueada com óleo parafínico gelificado. Os resultados analisados foram comparados com as características reológicas estudadas. Dessa forma, foi verificado que o envelhecimento influencia na estruturação da rede de cristais de parafinas formada. A fluência do óleo parafínico é fortemente dependente do tempo. O caráter tixotrópico do óleo parafínico foi revelado mostrando que este fator deve ser considerado nas análises de repartida. Assim, os testes de repartida na linha horizontal confirmaram que o processo de retomada do escoamento em uma linha gelificada possui forte dependência com as complexas propriedades reológicas do gel parafínico, além de uma propagação inicial da pressão durante a repartida. Portanto, quando esses fenômenos não são considerados, custos operacionais desnecessários são envolvidos, visto que pressões superestimadas são utilizadas no dimensionamento do sistema de bombeio / Abstract: Subsea deepwater flowlines transporting crudes are subjected to shutdowns for operational or emergency reasons. In the offshore deepwater production of waxy crudes, the low temperature of the surrounding seawater may lead the oil to cool below its pour point. In this situation, a gelled structure composed of paraffin crystals distributed through a viscous matrix is formed, blocking the flowline. The formation of this gel, as well as its aging, present serious complications for the flow restart process, since the required pumping pressure becomes greater than the normal operating pressure. To better understand the restart process, rheological tests and restart pressure measurements in a pipe were performed for a waxy crude. Using a rheometer, essential parameters that describe the behavior of the waxy crude, such as WAT (Wax Appearance Temperature), flow curves, yield stress and thixotropy were characterized. Yield stress measurements can be used to estimate the minimum pressure required to restart the flow. However, as the yielding process is time-dependent, related phenomena such as thixotropy is relevant for the gel breakup, because the time required to restart a line blocked with gelled waxy oil depends mainly on the applied pressure and apparent viscosity which decreases with time. Furthermore, effects of thermal shrinkage and compressibility due to cooling and aging may also be considered. Thus, start-up tests were also performed in a horizontal pipeline blocked with gelled waxy crude oil. The results were compared to the rheological characteristics determined by rheometery. Thus, it was verified that aging time influences the structure of the wax crystals network formed. The flow of paraffin oils is highly dependent on time. The thixotropic character of paraffin oil was revealed, showing this factor must be considered in the restart analyzes. The restart tests in the horizontal line confirmed that the restart process has close connection with the complex rheological properties of gelled crudes and also, that this process has an initial pressure propagation. Therefore, when these phenomena are not considered, the use of conservative pressure values would lead to pump oversizing and unnecessary operational costs / Mestrado / Explotação / Mestra em Ciências e Engenharia de Petróleo

Orientador: Antonio Carlos Bannwart / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica e Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T10:26:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Badin_CarolineMarques_M.pdf: 3397830 bytes, checksum: 988506c836c8d44fcf606acc8357efab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Uma das principais características das parafinas de alto peso molecular é a sua baixa solubilidade na maioria dos solventes de bases parafínicas, aromáticas, naftênicas e outros solventes oleosos, quando em temperatura ambiente. Entretanto, nas condições de reservatório em que se encontram, a solubilidade destes componentes é suficientemente alta para manter todas as moléculas devidamente dissolvidas na mistura óleo/parafina. Quando se inicia um processo de extração, o óleo explotado experimenta uma variação brusca de temperatura e pressão, o que acaba afetando de modo significativo a reologia de um óleo parafínico. Portanto, conhecer o comportamento reológico desses óleos é importante para o estudo da repartida de linhas bloqueadas devido à gelificação, que pode ocorrer durante processos de parada das linhas submarinas de produção, seja por etapas do processo ou de manutenção. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o comportamento físico-químico e reológico de um óleo parafínico, submetendo-o a baixas temperaturas e, assim, simulando a formação dos géis nas linhas. Os testes reológicos foram realizados em um reômetro Mars III, numa faixa de temperatura entre 50 a 5°C. As análises físico-químicas têm como objetivo estudar as características básicas do óleo parafínico como, por exemplo, densidade e composição. Os resultados reológicos mostram que o fluido, apesar da pouca quantidade de parafina, apresenta um aumento significativo na sua viscosidade durante um processo de resfriamento e uma gelificação considerável ocorre. Como a gelificação se deve ao aparecimento de cristais de parafina, a temperatura de cristalização da mesma (TIAC) foi determinada através da análise da variação da viscosidade com o decréscimo de temperatura bem como por DSC. Além disso, o ponto onde o fluido gelificado deixa de fluir, devido ao excesso de cristais presentes e alta viscosidade, foi determinado através de análises oscilatórias. Como o fluido acaba gelificando, se faz necessário determinar uma tensão mínima de escoamento, para que o fluido volte a escoar, e a mesma foi determinada através dos métodos de análise de aplicação de tensão estática e oscilatória / Abstract: One of the main characteristics of high molecular weight paraffins is its low solubility in most solvents with paraffin, aromatic or naphthenic base and also other oily solvents, when at room temperature. However, at reservoir conditions in which they can be found, the solubility of these components is high enough to keep all molecules fully dissolved in the mixture oil / paraffin. When one starts a process of extraction, the exploited oil experiences a sudden change on temperature and pressure, thus affecting significantly the rheology of a paraffinic oil. Therefore, knowing the rheological behavior of these oils is important to study the restart of blocked lines due to gelation, which can occur during the process of shutdown of the production subsea lines, either for maintenance or emergency reasons. The present work aims to study the physical-chemical and rheological behavior of a paraffinic oil, subjecting it to low temperatures and thus simulating the formation of gels inside the lines. The rheological tests were performed on a rheometer Mars III, in a temperature range of 50 to 5 ° C. The physical-chemical analysis have the aim to study the basic features of a paraffin oil, as for example, density and composition. The rheological results shows that the fluid, despite of the small amount of paraffin, presents a significant increase in viscosity during a cooling process and a considerable gelification occurs. As the gelification is due to the appearance of paraffin crystals inside the oil, the wax appearance temperature (WAT) was determined by analyzing the change in viscosity with a decreasing temperature. Moreover, the point where the gelled fluid stops flowing, due to excessive number of crystal and also high viscosity, was determined by oscillatory tests. Because the fluid gels inside of the pipeline, it is necessary to determine a minimum yield stress, for the fluid restart the flow, and this was determined using the methods of analysis of the application of static and oscillatory tension / Mestrado / Explotação / Mestra em Ciências e Engenharia de Petróleo

[pt] O presente trabalho estuda o escoamento de uma mistura de óleo e parafina através de um tubo cilíndrico, simulando as condições de extração de petróleo em águas profundas. Uma bancada foi construída possibilitando controlar a pressão e temperatura na entrada da seção de testes. Foram realizados testes mantendo a pressão ou vazão constantes, com o objetivo de entender o fenômeno de obstrução do tubo. A análise dos resultados de perda de carga e testes reológicos do material depositado mostraram que sob certas condições é possível a formação de um material estruturado tenro e de fácil remoção, inclusive pelo próprio escoamento, inibindo desta forma a obstrução das linhas por difusão molecular. / [en] This work studies the flow of an oil-paraffin mixture through a tube, simulating the conditions of petroleum extraction in deep waters.An apparatus was built allowing for pressure and temperature control at the inlet of the test section. Experiments have been performed keeping constant either the pressure or the flow rate, aiming at understanding the phenomenon of tube obstruction. The analysis of results for both pressure drop measurements and rheological measurements of the deposited material showed that, under certain conditions, it is possible the formation of a soft and easy-to-remove structured deposit, which is washed away by the flow itself, inhibiting in this manner deposition by molecular diffusion.

For the quality assurance of substances for pharmaceutical use, a variety of analytical techniques are available to address specific analytical problems. In this field of application, liquid chromatography (LC) stands out as the gold standard in the pharmaceutical industry. Various detectors can be employed, which are e.g. based on UV/Vis spectroscopy for the examination of molecules with a chromophore, or mass spectrometry (MS) for structural elucidation of analytes. For the separation of enantiomers, the use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) may be more favorable due to the high separation efficiency and easy-to-use and comparatively inexpensive chiral selectors, in contrast to chiral columns for LC, which are usually very expensive and limited to a restricted number of analytes. For structure elucidation in impurity profiling, one- and multidimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy is a valuable tool as long as the analyte molecule has got nuclei that can be detected, which applies for the magnitude of organic pharmaceutical substances. For the evaluation of the amount of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in various paraffin samples from different suppliers, a straightforward method based on 1H NMR spectroscopy was elaborated. The MOAH/MOSH ratio was used to indicate the amount of MOAH of paraffins and to evaluate the extent of refining. In addition, a representative paraffin sample was measured without sample solvent at high temperatures (about 340 K) to avoid the interfering residual solvent signals in the spectral regions of interest. The results of both methods were in good accordance. Moreover, the 1H NMR results were complemented with the UV measurements from the purity testing of paraffins according to the DAB 8. Correlations of the NMR and UV spectroscopic data indicated a linear relationship of both methods for the determination of MOAH in paraffins. Finally, the 1H NMR data was evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA) to explore differences within the paraffin samples and the spectral regions in the 1H NMR spectrum which are responsible for the formation of groups. It could be found that most variation is due to the MOSH of the paraffins. The PCA model was capable of differentiating between soft, liquid and solid paraffins on the one hand and between natural and synthetic liquid paraffins on the other hand. The impurity profiling of L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate magnesium (A2PMg) was performed by means of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Several ethylated impurities could be detected, which were likely to be formed during synthesis of A2PMg. The structures of two of the ethylated impurities were identified as ascorbic acid 2-phosphate ethyl ester and ethanol, (residual solvent from synthesis). NMR spectroscopic studies of the fractions obtained from preparative HPLC of A2PMg revealed two additional impurities, which were identified as phosphorylated derivatives of ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid 3,5-phosphate and ascorbic acid 5-phosphate. Solid state mechanochemistry as an alternative approach for stress testing was applied on the drug substances S-Ibuprofen (Ibu) and Clopidogrel (CLP) using a ball mill, in order to study their degradation profile: First, the isomerization of S-Ibu was investigated, which was stressed in the solid state applying several milling frequencies and durations under basic, acidic and neutral conditions. For the separation of Ibu enantiomers, a chiral CE method was developed and validated according to ICH Q2(R1). It was found that S-Ibu is overall very stable to isomerization; it shows minor conversion into the R-enantiomer under basic environment applying long milling times and high frequencies. Last, the degradation profile of clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate (CLP) was investigated, which was stressed in the solid state under various oxidative conditions. An already existing HPLC-UV method was adjusted to sufficiently separate the degradation products, which were characterized by means of UV and MS/(MS) detection. Most of the degradation products identified were already reported to result from conventional CLP stress tests. The degradation profile of CLP was mainly influenced by the material of the milling jar and the type of catalyst used. / Für die Qualitätssicherung von Arznei- und Hilfsstoffen steht eine Vielzahl von analytischen Techniken für spezifische analytische Fragestellungen zur Verfügung. In der pharmazeutischen Industrie hat sich dabei die Flüssigkeitschromatographie als Goldstandard etabliert. Es können verschiedene Detektoren eingesetzt werden, die z. B. auf UV/Vis-Spektroskopie zur Untersuchung von Molekülen mit einem Chromophor oder auf Massenspektrometrie zur Strukturaufklärung von Analyten basieren. Für die Trennung von Enantiomeren kann die Verwendung von Kapillarelektrophorese aufgrund der hohen Trenneffizienz und der einfach zu handhabenden und vergleichsweise preiswerten chiralen Selektoren gegenüber chiralen Säulen in der Flüssigchromatographie bevorzugt sein, die in der Regel sehr teuer und auf eine begrenzte Anzahl von Analyten beschränkt sind. Für die Strukturaufklärung im Rahmen der Erstellung von Verunreinigungsprofilen ist die ein- und mehrdimensionale 1H-NMR-Spektroskopie eine sehr wertvolle Methode, solange das Analytmolekül Kerne besitzt, die der NMR-Spektroskopie zugänglich sind, was für den Großteil der organischen Arznei- und Hilfsstoffe zutrifft. Um die Menge an „mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH)“ in verschiedenen Paraffinproben von unterschiedlichen Herstellern zu bestimmen, wurde eine einfache 1H-NMR-Spektroskopie-Methode erarbeitet. Das Verhältnis von MOAH zu „mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH)“ wurde dazu verwendet, um die Menge der MOAH in Paraffinen zu bestimmen und ihren Raffinationsgrad zu beurteilen. Zusätzlich wurde eine repräsentative Paraffinprobe ohne Probenlösungsmittel bei hohen Temperaturen (ca. 340 K) vermessen, um die interferierenden Restlösemittel Signale in den relevanten Spektralbereichen zu vermeiden. Die Ergebnisse beider Methoden stimmten gut überein. Weiterhin wurden die 1H-NMR-Ergebnisse durch die UV-Messungen aus der Reinheitsprüfung von Paraffinen gemäß DAB 8 ergänzt. Korrelationen der NMR- und UV-spektroskopischen Daten wiesen auf eine lineare Beziehung beider Methoden für die Bestimmung der MOAH in Paraffinen hin. Schließlich wurden die 1H-NMR-spektroskopischen Daten mittels Hauptkomponentenanalyse ausgewertet, um Unterschiede innerhalb der Paraffinproben und die für die Gruppenbildung verantwortlichen Spektralbereiche im 1H-NMR-Spektrum zu ermitteln. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass der Hauptanteil der Varianz auf die MOSH zurückzuführen ist. Das PCA-Modell war dazu in der Lage, zwischen weichen, flüssigen und festen Paraffinen einerseits und zwischen natürlichen und synthetischen flüssigen Paraffinen andererseits zu unterscheiden. Das Verunreinigungsprofil von L-Ascorbinsäure-2-phosphat-Magnesium (A2PMg) wurde mittels ein- und zweidimensionaler NMR-Spektroskopie untersucht. Es konnten mehrere ethylierte Verunreinigungen nachgewiesen werden, die vermutlich während des Syntheseprozesses von A2PMg gebildet wurden. Die Strukturen von zwei der ethylierten Verunreinigungen wurden als Ascorbinsäure-2-phosphat ethylester und Ethanol (Restlösungsmittel aus der Synthese) identifiziert. NMR spektroskopische Untersuchungen der aus der präparativen HPLC von A2PMg erhaltenen Fraktionen ergab zwei weitere Verunreinigungen, die als phosphorylierte Derivate von Ascorbinsäure, Ascorbinsäure-3,5-phosphat und Ascorbinsäure-5-phosphat, identifiziert wurden. Die Festkörper-Mechanochemie als alternativer Ansatz für Stresstests wurde auf die Arzneistoffe S-Ibuprofen und Clopidogrel unter Einsatz einer Kugelmühle angewandt, um deren Abbauprofil zu analysieren: Zunächst wurde die Isomerisierung von S-Ibuprofen (Ibu) untersucht, das im festen Zustand unter Anwendung verschiedener Mahlfrequenzen und -dauern unter basischen, sauren und neutralen Bedingungen gestresst wurde. Für die Trennung der Ibu-Enantiomere wurde eine chirale Kapillarelektrophorese-Methode entwickelt und gemäß ICH Q2(R1) Leitlinie validiert. Es wurde festgestellt, dass S-Ibu insgesamt sehr stabil gegenüber Isomerisierung ist, jedoch unter basischen Bedingungen und hohen Mahldauern und -frequenzen eine geringe Umwandlung in das R-Enantiomer zeigt. Zuletzt wurde das Abbauprofil von Clopidogrelhydrogensulfat (CLP) untersucht, das im festen Zustand unter oxidativen Bedingungen gestresst wurde. Eine bereits bestehende HPLC-UV Methode wurde optimiert, um die Abbauprodukte ausreichend zu trennen und anschließend mittels UV- und MS/(MS)-Detektion zu charakterisieren. Die meisten der identifizierten Abbauprodukte waren bereits aus konventionellen CLP-Stresstests bekannt. Das Abbauprofil von CLP wurde hauptsächlich durch das Material der Kugelmühle und den Typ des verwendeten Katalysators beeinflusst.

This research investigates the application of additive manufacturing techniques for fabricating hybrid rocket fuel grains composed of porous Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene impregnated with paraffin wax. The digitally manufactured ABS substrate provides mechanical support for the paraffin fuel material and serves as an additional fuel component. The embedded paraffin provides an enhanced fuel regression rate while having no detrimental effect on the thermodynamic burn properties of the fuel grain. Multiple fuel grains with various ABS-to-Paraffin mass ratios were fabricated and burned with nitrous oxide. Analytical predictions for end-to-end motor performance and fuel regression are compared against static test results. Baseline fuel grain regression calculations use an enthalpy balance energy analysis with the material and thermodynamic properties based on the mean paraffin/ABS mass fractions within the fuel grain. In support of these analytical comparisons, a novel method for propagating the fuel port burn surface was developed. In this modeling approach the fuel cross section grid is modeled as an image with white pixels representing the fuel and black pixels representing empty or burned grid cells. (80 pages)

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The Thesis discusses about safety systems of nuclear power plants, primarily about passive containment protection. That have aims to reduce increase of pressure during the LOCA. It occupy specific type of passive system, it is Ice Condenser. In chapters is make step by step design of replacement current material for other material, that changes its phase at higher temperature. It chose a suitable material, prepared thermal calculation and structural design. Finally is prepared the economic analysis of production of new type condenser.

PCR und Fluoreszenz - DNA - Fragment - Analyse zum Nachweis einer monoklonalen B-Zell-Population zur Diagnostik der kutanen B-Zell Lymphome (CBCL) Der Nachweis einer monoklonalen B-Zell Population mittels PCR hat sich seit ca. zehn Jahren ergänzend zu Klinik und Histopathologie in der Diagnostik der kutanen B-Zell Lymphome etabliert. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Primer für die IgH Framework-Regionen (FR1, 2, 3), die Leader-Sequenz und für die JH-Region sequenziert. Alle Primervarianten führen zur Amplifikation der hochvariablen CDR-3 Region, welche für jede B-Zelle spezifisch ist. Die Kapillarelektrophorese mit fluoreszenzmarkierten PCR-Produkten an automatischen Sequenziergeräten (z. B. Genescan ABI Prism 310) ermöglicht eine exakte Größenbestimmung des jeweiligen Fragmentes und ist daher in diesem Zusammenhang die geeignetste Methode. Zunächst wurden alle relevanten Primer mit der Simulationssoftware Oligo hinsichtlich ihrer Bindungseigenschaften geprüft. Danach wurden ausgewählte Primer-Sets an 58 in Paraffin eingebetteten und an 5 Kryoproben von sicher diagnostizierten CBCL-Patienten getestet. Die fluoreszenzmarkierten Produkte wurden mit dem Sequenziergerät ABI Prism 310 analysiert. Die ungeschachtelte FR3/JH-PCR konnte nur in 30% und zusammen mit der halbgeschachtelten FR3/JH-PCR nur in 37% der Fälle klonale B-Zellen nachweisen. Die Detektionsrate erhöhte sich auf 54% unter Einbeziehung der geschachtelten FR1/JH-PCR und schließlich auf 60% mit einer zusätzlichen geschachtelten FR2/JH-PCR. Das Auftreten von Pseudoklonen (variierende Größe des klonalen Peaks bei Wiederholung der PCR) bei den geschachtelten PCR machte eine Prüfung auf Reproduzierbarkeit der Ergebnisse unbedingt erforderlich. Die höchste Rate an Pseudoklonen zeigte die FR2/JH-PCR. Aufgrund der schlechten Qualität der IgH Leader-PCR konnten mit in Paraffin-eingebetteten Proben keine Amplifikate erzeugt werden. Zusammenfassend ist zu sagen, daß gemeinsame Verwendung der in dieser Arbeit entwickelten PCR eine Sensitivitätssteigerung von 30% auf 60% ermöglichen. / Clonality detection in cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL) using immunoglobulin heavy chain gene PCR assays and fluorescence PCR-fragment analysis on automated DNA sequencer Detection of clonally expanded immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) gene rearrangements by PCR and subsequent electrophoresis is increasingly used in the diagnosis of cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL). To this end, primers for the three Igh framework regions (FR1,2, 3), the leader sequence and the Jh region are applied, all amplifying the highly variable IgH third complementary region (CDR3) Recently, fluorescence PCR-fragment analysis on automated DNA sequencers (GeneScan analysis, GSA), providing an exact sizing has been applied as appropriate seperation technique in this context. We have evaluated all Igh primers hitherto known by a PC primer analysis program. Then, fluorescently labeled products generated from DNAs of 58 paraffin embedded and 5 frozen lesional skin biopsies of confirmed CBCL cases using the primer sets selected, were analysed by GSA on the ABI 310 Prism instrument. Single round or seminested FR3/JH-PCR showed clonal B-cells only in 30 or 37% of cases, respectively. This fraction was increased to 54% including a nested FR1/JH-PCR, and, to 60% applying a supplementary nested FR2/JH-PCR. However false clonal results, indicated by peaks of varying sizes from repeated PCR, have been received by nested PCR, mostly by FR2/JH. Obviously due to their poor quality, the IgH leader-PCR has not yielded amplification products from paraffin-derived DNAs. Our data show that the FR3/JH-PCR only is not sufficient for detecting B-cell clonality in CBCL, but following inclusion of additional IgH-PCR, an increase of detection rate up to 60% is possible. A substantial number of cases still fail to show clonality.

<p>The objective of this thesis was to improve a paraffin actuated micropump design, to be able to pump against extreme pressures (above 100 bar). This was accomplished by initially studying the membrane activation, using video capturing. The micropump has been improved to withstand pressures high enough, to enable use in an high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. The micropump has been shown to pump against back pressures up to 150 bar, with a positive net-flow. This should be compared with the previously recorded maximum back pressure of 50 bar. The pumping against high back pressures was possible due to an increased understanding of the sealing of the membranes. This resulted in a new design that was manufactured and characterised. Without clamping the pump was measured to manage back pressures of 10 bar, and then starting to leak in a bond at the flow channel. With supporting clamping, the managed back pressures increased ten folded.</p><p>When measured on the different valves, pressure above 200 bar has been possible to withhold. Although the valves were below their maximum limit, the pressure was not possible to be further increased due to a limitation in the equipment, i.e. risk of damaging the connections. When examined after pressurised at extreme pressures (above 100 bar) several times, no signs of fatigue or damage of the membrane was seen.</p><p>A new behaviour of the valves was discovered. Above certain pressures some designs self sealed, i.e. withholding the pressure after the voltage was turned off. For these valves the pressure had to be released by some other means.</p>