Evaporation of pure and binary liquid droplets is of interest in thermal sprays and spray drying of food, ceramics and pharmaceutical products. Understanding the rate of heat and mass transfer in any drying process is important not only to enhance evaporation rate or vapor-gas mixing, but also to predict and control the final morphology and microstructure of the precipitates. Acoustic levitation is an alternative method to study micron-sized droplets without wall effects, which eliminates chemical and thermal contamination with surfaces. This work uses an ultrasonic levitation technique to investigate the vaporization dynamics under radiative heating, with focus on evaporation characteristics, precipitation kinetics, particle agglomeration, structure formation and droplet stability. Timescale and temperature scales are developed to compare convective heating in actual sprays and radiative heating in the current experiments. These relationships show that simple experiments can be conducted in a levitator to extrapolate information in realistic convective environments in spray drying. The effect of acoustic streaming, droplet size and liquid properties on internal flow is important to understand as the heat and mass transfer and particle motion within the droplet is significantly controlled by internal motion. Therefore, the droplet internal flow is characterized by Particle Image Velocimetry for different dropsize and viscosity. Nanosuspension droplets suspended under levitation show preferential accumulation and agglomeration kinetics. Under certain conditions, they form bowl shaped structures upon complete evaporation. At higher concentrations, this initial bowl shaped structure morphs into a ring structure. Nanoparticle iv migration due to internal recirculation forms a density stratification, the location of which depends on initial particle concentration. The time scale of density stratification is similar to that of perikinetic-driven agglomeration of particle flocculation. The density stratification ultimately leads to force imbalance leading to a unique bowl-shaped structure. Chemically active precursor droplet under acoustic levitation shows events such as vaporization, precipitation and chemical reaction leading to nanoceria formation with a porous morphology. The cerium nitrate droplet undergoes phase and shape changes throughout the vaporization process followed by formation of precipitate. Ex-situ analyses using TEM and SEM reveal highly porous morphology with trapped gas pockets and nanoceria crystalline structures at 70oC. Inhomogeneity in acoustic pressure around the heated droplet can induce thermal instability. Short wavelength (Kelvin-Helmholtz) instability for diesel and bio-diesel droplets triggers this secondary atomization, which occurs due to relative velocity between liquid and gas phase at the droplet equator. On the other hand, liquids such as Kerosene and FC43 show uncontrollable stretching followed by a catastrophic break-up due to reduction in surface tension and viscosity coupled with inhomogeneity of pressure around the droplet. Finally, a scaling analysis has been established between vaporizing droplets in a convective and radiative environment. The transient temperature normalized by the respective scales exhibits a unified profile for both modes of heating. The analysis allows for the prediction of required laser flux in the levitator experiments to show its equivalence in a corresponding heated gas stream. The theoretical equivalence shows good agreement with experiments for a range of droplet sizes.

<p> Levitation melting was used to study the oxidation kinetics of free falling iron droplets. Single droplets of Armco iron were deoxidized and allowed to fall through oxidizing columns of known heights and then quenched in Silicone Oil. The rate of oxygen pick up by a droplet was found to be dependent upon its initial temperature, its size, and the composition of the reacting gas. The proposed mechanism is presented with kinetic data.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

The combustion dynamics and stability are dependent on the quality of mixing and vaporization of the liquid fuel in the pre-mixer. The vaporization characteristics of different blends of biofuel droplets injected into the air stream in the pre-mixer are modeled in this current study. The focus of this work is on the blended alternate fuels which are lately being considered for commercial use. Two major alternate fuels analyzed are ethanol and Rapeseed Methyl Esters (RME). Ethanol is being used as a substitute for gasoline, while RME is an alternative for diesel. In the current work, the vaporization characteristics of a single droplet in a simple pre-mixer has been studied for pure ethanol and RME in a hot air jet at a temperature of 800 K. In addition, the behavior of the fuels when they are mixed with conventional fuels like gasoline and diesel is also studied. Temperature gradients and vaporization efficiency for different blends of bio-conventional fuel mixture are compared with one another. The model was validated using an experiment involving convection heating of acoustically levitated fuel droplets and IR-thermography to visualize and quantify the vaporization characteristics of different biofuel blends downstream of the pre-mixer. Results show that the 20 µm droplets of ethanol-gasoline 50-50 blend is completely evaporated in 1.1 msec, while 400 µm droplets vaporized only 65% in 80 msec. In gasoline-ethanol blends, pure gasoline is more volatile than pure ethanol. In spite of having higher vapor pressure, ethanol vaporizes slowly compared to gasoline, due to the fact that latent heat of vaporization is higher for ethanol. For gasoline-ethanol blended fuels, ethanol component vaporizes faster. This is because in blended fuels gasoline and ethanol attain the same temperature and ethanol vapor pressure is higher than that for gasoline. In the case of RME-diesel blends, initially diesel vaporizes faster up to 550K, and above this temperature, vapor pressure of RME becomes dominant resulting in faster vaporization of RME. Current work also looks into the effect of non-volatile impurities present in biofuels. Depending on source and extraction process, fuels carry impurities which impact vaporization process. In this work these effects on ethanol blended fuel have been studied for different concentration of impurities. The presence of non-volatile impurities reduces the vaporization rate by reducing the mass fraction of the volatile component at the surface. However, impurities also increase the surface temperature of the droplet. Finally, the effects of hot and cold spots in the prevaporizer have been investigated. Due to inefficient design, prevaporizer may have local zones where the temperature of air increases or decreases very sharply. Droplets going through these abnormal temperature zones would vaporize at a different rate than others. Current study looks into these droplets to understand the vaporization pattern.

Als Totalanalysesysteme (TAS) werden Geräte bezeichnet, welche komplette chemische Analysen eigenständig ausführen. Die Einführung solcher Systeme ermöglicht einen effizienteren Arbeitsablauf in Analyselaboren, da beispielsweise die Probenmanipulation, Aufreinigung und die physikalisch-/chemische Analyse automatisiert in einem Arbeitsgang durchgeführt werden können. Die speziellen Mikrototalanalysesysteme benötigen geringere Probemengen im $\mu$L- Bereich. Durch Kontamination, Agglomeration oder einem Verschluss etwaiger Kanäle in mikrofluidischen Totalanalysesystemen kann es zu einem kompletten Systemausfall kommen. Eine Alternative bildet die akustische Levitation, um derartige Störfälle durch gänzlichen Verzicht auf Gefäße und Wandkontakte gezielt zu reduzieren. Damit die akustische Levitation erfolgreich in Mikrototalanalysesystemen Anwendung finden kann, bedarf es der technischen Weiterentwicklung von Analysemethoden und Kopplungstechniken. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird das Hauptaugenmerk auf die Kopplung von Levitationstechnik und Massenspektrometrie gelegt. Darüber hinaus wurden spektroskopische Experimente durchgeführt, welche auf Totalreflektionen innerhalb der Tropfen beruhen. Die besonders gute Reflektion hängt damit zusammen, dass sich die Phasengrenze zwischen Luft und Flüssigkeit im Schwebezustand durch molekulare Wechselwirkungen ständig erneuert und keine produktionsbedingte raue Oberfläche aufweist. Die Kombination aus automatischer Tropfengenerierung, Spektroskopie sowie der entwickelten Methode zur Ionenerzeugung aus dem Probevolumen und der massenspektrometrischen Analyse bilden die Grundlage eines neuartigen Mikrototalanalysesystems für geringe Probemengen. / As a total analysis system (TAS) an instrument is called which carries out complete chemical analysis procedures independently. The introduction of such systems offers a more efficient workflow in analytical laboratories because the sample manipulation, purification and the actual automated analysis can be carried out in one single operation. Specialized and already existing micro total analysis systems require currently a small amount of sample in the $\mu$L range. Owing to contamination, agglomeration and thus cross-secion reduction of incorporated channels in micro fluidics total analysis systems it can lead to a complete system interruption. Hence, the implementation of acoustic levitation in these systems is interessting alternative in order to avoid such kind of problems by abandoning vessels and wall contacts completely. To ensure acoustic levitation in micro total analysis systems can be successfully applied, technical development of analytical methods and coupling techniques is required. In the present work, the coupling of levitation technology and mass spectrometry is the prioritized topic but, in addition, spectroscopic experiments based on total reflections within the levitated droplet are as well realized in order to gain process insights. The particularly good reflection at the freely levitated droplet's circumference is due to the fact that the phase boundary between air and liquid is renewed by molecular interactions constantly and has no production-related rough surface. The combination of automated droplet generation, spectroscopy as well as the developed method for ion generation from the sample volume and mass spectrometry forms the basis of a novel micro total analysis system for small sample quantities.

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Ultraschalllevitation kombiniert die Vorteile von Mikrofluidik, wie beispielsweise die sehr geringe benötigte Probenmenge, mit einer wandlosen Probenhandhabung. Obwohl die Kopplung zwischen le- vitierten Tröpchen und verschiedenster analytischer Methoden wie optischer Spektroskopie und Röntgenbeugung sehr genau untersucht ist, fehlt es immer noch an einer etablierten Kopplung mit einer massenspektrometrischen Methode für die Analyse auf molekularer Ebene. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Prinzipien, auf denen eine kontaktlose massenspektrometrische Analyse von levitierten flüssi- gen Proben beruht. Zuerst wurde der neu entworfene akustische Levitator bezüglich des Einflusses seiner Geometrie auf die Levi- tationseigenschaften experimentell und mittels numerischer Simul- tationen untersucht. Die anschließend durch geführten Experimen- te demonstrieren das Potential von Infrarot-Lasern als kombinierte Desorptions- und Ionisationsquelle für organische Substanzen aus einer Mischung aus Wasser und Glycerin als Cromophor. Um einen tieferen Einblick in die hierbei ablaufenden Ionisationsmechanismen zu erhalten, wurde als Modell ein “Sonic-Spray” Konus räumlich per Massenspektrometrie und Laser-induzierter Fluoreszenz untersucht. Levitator-Geometrie auf die Levitationseigenschaften stimmen sehr gut mit numerischen Simulationen überein. Als komplementäre Ionisationsmethode wurde eine Niedertemperatur-Plasmaquelle ein- gesetzt. Nach einer zeitaufgelösten Untersuchung der grundlegenden Ionisationsmechanismen wurde diese Quelle für die Untersuchung flüchtiger Spezies aus der levitierten Probe in deren direkten Umgebung ohne störende Interferenzen ge- nutzt. / Ultrasonic levitation combines advantages of microfluidics like the required small sample volumes with a wall-less sample handling. While the coupling of analytical methods like optical spectroscopy as well as x-ray scattering are very well elaborated, an established mass spectrometric method to obtain molecular analytical information is still lacking. The herein presented work describes the fundamental processes for a contactless mass spectrometric analysis of levitated droplets. First, the influences of the specially designed levitator geometry on the levitation capabilities is described. During further experiments, the use of infrared lasers has proven useful as a combined desorption and ionization source for organic molecules from a mixture of water and glycerol as chromophore. Subsequently, sonic-spray ionization was used to gain a deeper understanding of the ionization processes occurring within the spray plume. Mass spectrometric mapping as well as laser-induced fluorescence were performed to investigate the ionization during an aerodynamic breakup of the micro droplets in the spray process. As a complementary sampling method, the ionization with a low- temperature plasma source is described. First, a time-resolved mass spectrometric investigation of the ionization process is shown. Sub- sequent to this fundamental study, the application of such a plasma source for the direct analysis of volatile compounds from within the droplets in the surrounding environment without interferences from the droplets bulk phase is described.

An induction setup for levitation studies of molten metals was built. The setup was used to levitate and heat stainless steel samples of 2.00 g to 1600 °C and subject them to different atmospheres. Changes in shape and temperature were recorded by video and infrared thermocouple. Oxide films forming on the droplets during levitation were observed. It was possible to notice an immediate surface reaction when the reaction gas was introduced. This reaction is concluded to influence the surface and bulk composition, and therefore have an effect on the shape evolution of the droplet. A more oxidizing atmosphere resulted in a more conical droplet shape; this is thought to be an effect of lowered surface tension and the conically shaped volumetric force caused by the magnetic field. Changes in temperature after the sample is molten are thought to be an effect of changes in emissivity, caused by surface oxidization. Post mortem analysis show a difference in surface morphology for samples subjected to different gases, as well as a difference in amount of oxidization.

The purpose of this research is to develop a conception of a transportation system called AVCS maglev which is the synergistic combination of two promising concepts, AVCS and Maglev, and to assess its potential as a transportation strategy to cope with the forthcoming challenge of the mobility, safety, environmental protection, and economic growth of the United States. The emphases are put on investigating suitable technological aspects, selecting suitable operational control concepts, assessing economic viability, and determining socioeconomic impacts of the system. Also, the National Development Model (NDM) is developed and analyzed to obtain a deeper understanding of the rational policy formation about the U.S. SOCioeconomic development of the next century, based on the premise that development means improving both quantity of life and quality of life. NDM is organized into six sectors: (1) Industrial Sector, (2) Environmental Sector, (3) Infrastructure Sector, (4) Social Development Sector, (5) Demographic Sector, and (6) Employment Sector. Four policy alternatives are identified, based on the key issues relevant to the future development patterns, and analyzed by computer simulation: (1) Social Development Policy, (2) Industrial Development Policy, (3) Infrastructure Development Policy, and (4) Environmental Protection Policy. / Ph. D.

New technological advances and the requirements to increasingly abide by new safety laws in engineering design projects highly affects industrial products in areas such as automotive, aerospace and railway industries. The necessity arises to design reduced-cost hi-tech products with minimal complexity, optimal performance, effective parameter robustness properties, and high reliability with fault tolerance. In this context the control system design plays an important role and the impact is crucial relative to the level of cost efficiency of a product. Measurement of required information for the operation of the design control system in any product is a vital issue, and in such cases a number of sensors can be available to select from in order to achieve the desired system properties. However, for a complex engineering system a manual procedure to select the best sensor set subject to the desired system properties can be very complicated, time consuming or even impossible to achieve. This is more evident in the case of large number of sensors and the requirement to comply with optimum performance. The thesis describes a comprehensive study of sensor selection for control and fault tolerance with the particular application of an ElectroMagnetic Levitation system (being an unstable, nonlinear, safety-critical system with non-trivial control performance requirements). The particular aim of the presented work is to identify effective sensor selection frameworks subject to given system properties for controlling (with a level of fault tolerance) the MagLev suspension system. A particular objective of the work is to identify the minimum possible sensors that can be used to cover multiple sensor faults, while maintaining optimum performance with the remaining sensors. The tools employed combine modern control strategies and multiobjective constraint optimisation (for tuning purposes) methods. An important part of the work is the design and construction of a 25kg MagLev suspension to be used for experimental verification of the proposed sensor selection frameworks.

O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar o fenômeno da força de radiação acústica produzida por ondas progressivas e estacionárias. Neste trabalho o estudo da força produzida por ondas estacionárias é aplicado na análise de um levitador acústico e o estudo da força de radiação acústica por ondas progressivas é feito visando a futura construção de um separador acústico. Neste trabalho é utilizado o método dos elementos finitos para simular o comportamento de um levitador acústico. Primeiramente, é feita a simulação de um levitador acústico que consiste de um transdutor de Langevin com uma face de emissão plana que opera na freqüência de aproximadamente 20 kHz e um refletor plano. O método dos elementos finitos é utilizado para determinar o deslocamento da face do transdutor e o potencial acústico que atua numa esfera pequena. O deslocamento da face do transdutor obtido numericamente é comparado com o medido experimentalmente por um vibrômetro de fibra ótica e o potencial acústico determinado pelo método dos elementos é verificado experimentalmente colocando pequenas esferas de isopor no levitador. Depois de verificar o modelo numérico, o método dos elementos finitos é utilizado na otimização de um levitador acústico composto de um refletor côncavo e um transdutor com face de emissão côncava. Os resultados numéricos mostram que a força de radiação acústica no novo levitador é aumentada em 604 vezes quando comparada com o levitador composto de um transdutor com face plana e refletor plano. Este trabalho também apresenta um modelo numérico para determinar a trajetória de partículas esféricas na presença de uma onda de ultra-som progressiva. O modelo assume que as seguintes forças atuam na partícula: gravidade, empuxo, forças viscosas e força de radiação acústica devido a uma onda progressiva. Com o objetivo de não restringir o tamanho das partículas que podem ser utilizadas no modelo é empregada uma equação empírica do coeficiente de arrasto, válida para uma grande faixa de número de Reynolds. O modelo proposto requer a distribuição de pressão gerada pelo transdutor de ultra-som. A distribuição de pressão é medida experimentalmente utilizando um hidrofone calibrado. A verificação do modelo é feita soltando-se pequenas esferas de vidro (com diâmetros da ordem de 500 m) em frente a um transdutor de ultra-som de 1 MHz e 35 mm de diâmetro. / The objective of this work is to study the acoustic radiation force produced by progressive and standing waves. In this work, the studies related to the acoustic radiation force generated by ultrasonic standing waves are applied in the analysis of an acoustic levitator and the studies involving the acoustic radiation force generated by progressive waves are conducted aiming the design of acoustic separators. In this work, the finite element method is used to simulate an acoustic levitator. First, an acoustic levitator consisting of a 20 kHz Langevin ultrasonic transducer with a plane radiating surface and a plane reflector is simulated by the finite element method. The finite element method is used to determine the transducer face displacement and the acoustic radiation potential that acts on a small sphere. The numerical displacement is compared with that obtained by a fiber-optic vibration sensor and the acoustic radiation potential determined by the finite element method is verified experimentally by placing small Styrofoam spheres in the levitator. After verifying the numerical method, the finite element method was used to optimize an acoustic levitator consisting of a concave-faced transducer and a curved reflector. The numerical results show that the acoustic radiation force in the new levitator is enhanced 604 times compared with the levitator consisting of a plane transducer and a plane reflector. This work also presents a numerical model to determine the trajectory of sphere particles when submitted to ultrasonic progressive waves. This model assumes that the following forces act on the particle: gravity, buoyancy, viscous forces and acoustic radiation force due to the progressive wave. In order not to restrict the model to a small particle size range, the viscous forces that act on the sphere are modeled by an empirical relationship of drag coefficient that is valid for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The numerical model requires the pressure field radiated by the ultrasonic transducer. The pressure field is obtained experimentally by using a calibrated needle hydrophone. The numerical model validation is done by dropping small glass spheres (on the order of 500 m diameter) in front of a 1-MHz 35-mm diameter ultrasonic transducer.