Vol 79, No 4 (2017)

The electrosurface characteristics of nanoporous glass membranes–ion concentrations in pores with taking into account the specificity of counterions, electrokinetically mobile charge, the convective component of pore solution electrical conductivity, electroosmotic mobility of a liquid in the field of streaming potential and ion mobilities in pore space–were calculated within the homogeneous model. The effects of the type of counterion (sodium, potassium, ammonium, tetramethylammonium, and tetraethylammonium ions), solution concentration, glass composition, and pore size on the equilibrium and transport characteristics of membrane systems have been analyzed. A method for the determining of electrolyte activity coefficients in the membranes has been proposed.

The influence of the inertia of a viscous incompressible liquid flow on the viscous drag and diffusion deposition of particles in model granular filters at Reynolds numbers higher than unity, Re > 1, has been considered. The granule drag forces and particle-collection efficiencies in isolated layers with square and hexagonal packings of granules have been calculated. The influence on each other of approaching monolayers of granules on pressure drop and nanoparticle deposition has been studied. It has been shown that, at Re > 1, the collection efficiency dramatically increases due to the effect of interception.

Composite cryogels simulating the properties of waterproof screens of hydraulic structures, such as protruding dykes and dams, have been obtained by a cryogenic treatment (freezing at –10…–30°C followed by incubation in the frozen state for 12 h and defrosting at a rate of 0.03°C/min) of suspensions of calcium-carbonate-containing (marble or coquina) or cellulose-containing (microcrystalline cellulose or sawdust) particles in aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions. Viscometric examinations of initial suspensions have shown that adhesion contacts arise between filler particles, as well as discrete and continuous phases, already at the stage of suspension preparation, thereby affecting the properties of resulting cryogels. This is most pronounced when high-porosity sawdust is used as a filler. It has been shown that all the dispersed materials used in the work are “active” fillers for poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogels, these fillers increasing the rigidity of the formed composites. Therewith, porous particles, into which the polymer solution can penetrate, are more efficient. The dependence of the composite rigidity on the temperature of the cryogenic treatment has, as a rule, a bell-shaped pattern with a maximum in the region of –20°C. Being tested for water permeability, the obtained model composite cryogels have exhibited pronounced antifiltration properties (the filtration coefficient is ≤(1–2) × 10^–9 cm/s), thus indicating that such materials are promising for solving problems relevant to the protection of fascine hydraulic structures from erosion with snow water.

Experiments have been performed to clarify the mechanism of depinning, i.e., the onset of the movement of the menisci of evaporating dispersion droplets under the conditions of the formation of ringshaped deposits (the coffee-ring effect). The influence of the nature and concentration of dispersed particles on depinning has been studied. It has been shown that there are three main effects responsible for depinning. The first effect is due to the hysteresis of droplet contact angle, the second one results from the influence of the particles on the surface tension of a dispersion, and the third effect is caused by the formation of a dense gel in the meniscus region. A relation has been revealed between the mechanisms being realized and scenarios of droplet evaporation.

The well-known Schroeder paradox, i.e., the difference in the degrees of swelling of nonionogenic polymers occurring at equilibrium with liquid and vapor phases, has been discussed. A simple example has been presented, which illustrates the unavoidability of different degrees of swelling for a polymer brought into contact with vapor and liquid phases. A simple mechanism has been proposed for the excess swelling of a nonionogenic polymer immersed in a liquid phase, this mechanism being associated with the action of van der Waals and solvation forces at a polymer/solvent interface. The estimation of the contribution from the van der Waals interaction to the “excess” swelling has shown that the predicted values of the “excess” swelling agree with the data of real experiments.

Hydrogen diffusion transfer through a three-layer membrane has been studied within the framework of the lattice model under the Bragg‒Williams approximation. A set of equations describing hydrogen transfer through a vanadium membrane coated with thin palladium layers has been derived taking into account the interactions of hydrogen atoms in the membrane layers. The obtained equations have been solved using the Mathcad-14 software package. It has been shown that the interaction between hydrogen atoms has a significant influence on hydrogen permeability at near-atmospheric pressures. It has been found that the permeability of the vanadium membrane is markedly higher than that of a palladium one at the same thickness. The effect of asymmetric vanadium membrane embrittlement has been shown to depend on the location of palladium layers with different thicknesses. The embrittlement of the vanadium membrane begins at higher pressures, when a thicker palladium layer is located at the inlet. It has been revealed that, for asymmetric membranes, the value of the diffusion flux of hydrogen atoms may depend on the transfer direction. At the same membrane thickness, the permeability of the asymmetric membrane is actually equal to that of a symmetrical membrane, provided that a thicker palladium layer is located at the inlet. At the opposite orientation, of the permeability of the asymmetric membrane is lower than that of the symmetric one.