Particle size and shape effects in medical syringe needles: experiments and simulations for polymer microparticle injection.

Injection of polymeric microparticles is the final step in the drug delivery process. Experience has shown that blockage of the syringe mechanism can be a problem under certain conditions leading to poor control of the final product. Particle size and shape are postulated to be significant factors. In this article 2D Discrete element model (DEM) simulations of circles and semi-circles are used to demonstrate the effect of shape on blockage of the syringe mechanism. To corroborate the calculations, a range of experiments on glass spheres and polymers show good agreement with simulations of normally distributed particle sizes. A similar scenario is also briefly modelled in 3D DEM showing similar trends.

Cooperation versus competition in a mass emergency evacuation: a new laboratory simulation and a new theoretical model.

Virtual reality technology is argued to be suitable to the simulation study of mass evacuation behavior, because of the practical and ethical constraints in researching this field. This article describes three studies in which a new virtual reality paradigm was used, in which participants had to escape from a burning underground rail station. Study 1 was carried out in an immersion laboratory and demonstrated that collective identification in the crowd was enhanced by the (shared) threat embodied in emergency itself. In Study 2, high-identification participants were more helpful and pushed less than did low-identification participants. In Study 3, identification and group size were experimentally manipulated, and similar results were obtained. These results support a hypothesis according to which (emergent) collective identity motivates solidarity with strangers. It is concluded that the virtual reality technology developed here represents a promising start, although more can be done to embed it in a traditional psychology laboratory setting.

Formation of stable clusters in colloidal suspensions.

The experimental evidence and theoretical explanations of stable cluster formation in colloidal suspensions are reviewed. The clusters form in the intermediate range between a stable suspension built up by singlets and the irreversible coagulation or gelation of the suspension. The stable clusters develop as a result of a balance between competing short range attraction and long range repulsion between colloidal particles or due to reversible flocculation in the shallow secondary potential well. Heteroaggregation in binary colloids can also result in formation of stable clusters.

Colloidal dynamics: influence of diffusion, inertia and colloidal forces on cluster formation.

Computer simulations of colloidal suspensions are discussed. The simulations are based on the Langevin equations, pairwise interaction between colloidal particles and take into account Brownian, hydrodynamic and colloidal forces. Comparison of two models, one taking into account inertial term in Langevin equation and another based on diffusional approximation proposed in [D.L. Ermak, J.A. McCammon, J. Chem. Phys. 69 (1978) 1352], has shown that both models enable the prediction of the correct values of the diffusion coefficient and residence time of particle in a doublet and are therefore suitable to study the dynamics of formation and breakage of clusters in colloidal suspensions. It is shown that the appropriate selection of the time step and taking into account inertia of particles provides also the correct value of the average kinetic energy of each particle during the simulations, what allows to use the model based on full Langevin equations as a reference model to verify the validity of the numerical scheme for simulation using diffusion approximation.

Interaction forces between colloidal particles in liquid: theory and experiment.

The interaction forces acting between colloidal particles in suspensions play an important part in determining the properties of a variety of materials, the behaviour of a range of industrial and environmental processes. Below we briefly review the theories of the colloidal forces between particles and surfaces including London-van der Waals forces, electrical double layer forces, solvation forces, hydrophobic forces and steric forces. In the framework of Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, theoretical predictions of total interparticle interaction forces are discussed. A survey of direct measurements of the interaction forces between colloidal particles as a function of the surface separation is presented. Most of the measurements have been carried out mainly using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) as well as the surface force apparatus (SFA) in the liquid phase. With the highly sophisticated and versatile techniques that are employed by far, the existing interaction theories between surfaces have been validated and advanced. In addition, the direct force measurements by AFM have also been useful in the explaining or understanding of more complex phenomena and in engineering the products and processes occurring in many industrial applications.