Laminar Pipe Flow with Mixed Convection under the Influence of Magnetic Field.

Magnetic influence on ferronanofluid flow is gaining increasing interest from not only the scientific community but also industry. The aim of this study is the examination of the potentials of magnetic forces to control heat transfer. Experiments are conducted to investigate the interaction between four different configurations of permanent magnets and laminar pipe flow with mixed convection. For that purpose a pipe flow test rig is operated with a water-magnetite ferronanofluid. The Reynolds number is varied over one order of magnitude (120-1200). To characterise this suspension, density, solid content, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity are measured. It is found that, depending on the positioning of the magnet(s) and the Reynolds number, heat transfer is either increased or decreased. The experiments indicate that this is a local effect. After relaxation lengths ranging between 2 and 3.5 lengths of a magnet, all changes disappeared. The conclusion from these findings is that magnetic forces are rather a tool to control heat transfer locally than to enhance the overall heat transfer of heat exchangers or the like. Magnetically caused disturbances decay due to viscous dissipation and the flow approaches the basic state again.

Fluorocarbon-Free Dual-Action Textile Finishes Based on Covalently Attached Thermoresponsive Block Copolymer Brush Coatings.

We present fluorocarbon-free block copolymer brushes as potential systems for dual-action, i.e., soil-repellent and soil-releasing textile finishes. Polymer brushes were prepared by employing specifically engineered triblock copolymers consisting of a hydrophobic, a hydrophilic, and either a central or a terminal anchor block bearing several anchoring groups for sustainable immobilization using the "grafting to" approach on both flat Si wafers and rough cotton fabrics. The switching characteristics of both types of block copolymer brushes were investigated by exposing the brushes to conditions and stimuli that are similar to those applied during laundering in a washing machine and drying in a laundry dryer, respectively. Contact angle measurements were performed to evaluate the polarity and wettability of the block copolymer brushes after treatment in hot water and in air, or in a vacuum at elevated temperatures simulating the washing and the drying procedure of a textile fabric. While the block copolymer brush with the terminal anchor showed only minor changes in terms of the wetting characteristics and the brush morphology upon the applied stimuli, the block copolymer brush with the central anchoring block exhibited a significant change from a hydrophilic (soil-releasing) to a hydrophobic (stain-repellent) surface. This switching behavior was reversible and could be achieved on both, flat Si wafers, and much more pronounced on rough cotton fabrics. Atomic force microscopy and angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations further indicated a complete rearrangement of the brush morphology. Accordingly, we regard this type of block copolymer brushes as a system that fully meets the basic requirements for an application as a dual-action textile finish, which can be reversibly switched with respect to water repulsion.

Tunable Hydrophilic or Amphiphilic Coatings: A "Reactive Layer Stack" Approach.

Thin films with tunable properties are very interesting for potential applications as functional coatings with, for example, anti-icing or improved easy-to-clean properties. A novel "reactive layer stack" approach was developed to create covalently grafted mono- and multilayers of poly(glycidyl methacrylate)/poly(tert-butyl acrylate) diblock copolymers. Because these copolymers contain poly(glycidyl methacrylate) blocks they behave as self-cross-linking materials after creation of acrylic acid functionalities by splitting off the tert-butyl units. The ellipsometrically determined coating thickness of the resulting hydrophilic multilayers depended linearly on the number of applied layers. Amphiphilic films with tunable wettability were prepared using triblock terpolymers with an additional poly(methyl methacrylate) block. The mechanism of the formation of the (multi)layers was investigated in detail by studying the acidolysis of the surface-linked tert-butyl acrylate blocks by infrared reflection absorbance spectroscopy, accompanied by surface analysis using atomic force microscopy and contact angle measurements. In the case of the amphiphilic and switchable terpolymer layers this reaction was very sensitive to the used acidic reagent.

Adsorption of poly(vinylformamide-co-vinylamine) polymers (PVFA-co-PVAm) on copper.

The adsorption of poly(vinylformamide) (PVFA) and its derivative statistical copolymer poly(vinyl-formamide-co-vinylamine) (PVFA-co-PVAm) on metallic copper and copper oxide particles as well as planar copper surfaces was studied as a function of the degree of hydrolysis of PVFA, the pH, and the polymer concentration in solution. The chemical composition and molecular structure of the PVFA-co-PVAm layers were investigated by surface-sensitive spectroscopic methods such as XPS, DRIFT spectroscopy, and ellipsometry. The findings allowed us to explain the adsorption mechanisms and the forces driving the PVFA-co-PVAm adsorption. It was shown that PVFA-co-PVAm layers thicker than 30 nm are able to protect the planar copper surface against corrosive attack.