S. Shukrullah

Symmetric and Asymmetric Double Langmuir Probes Characterization of Radio Frequency Inductivley Coupled Nitrogen Plasma

The symmetric and asymmetric double Langmuir probe systems with their necessary driving circuits are developed for characterization of low pressure inductively coupled nitrogen plasma, generated and sustained with 13.56 MHz RF source and an automatic impedance matching network. First of all, the plasma parameters such as ion saturation current, electron temperature and electron number density are determined with symmetric double probe system at different input RF powers, filling gas pressures and radial distance Received 4 March 2011, Accepted 28 March 2011, Scheduled 30 March 2011 Corresponding author: Muhammad Yasin Naz (yasin603@yahoo.com).

Effect of ferrocene concentration on the quality of multiwalled CNTs grown by floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition technique

Controllable synthesis of quality carbon nanotubes is a precondition for their broad applications. The objective of the work was to study the effect of catalyst concentration on the quality, diameter, length, alignment and crystallinity of the grown multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). To meet the stated objective, MWCNTs were successfully synthesized by using floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition technique. The ferrocene concentration was varied from 0.1 to 0.2 g and MWCNTs were synthesized with ethylene as a carbon precursor at reaction temperature of 850 ◦ C. The grown MWCNTs were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The obtained data revealed that an increase in concentration of the ferrocene significantly affects the diameter, crystallinity and growth of nanotubes, however, negligible effect on the CNTs forest length was noticed. The dense, uniform and meadow like patterns of grown CNTs were observed for 0.15 g ferrocene. The average diameter of the grown CNTs was ranged from 32-75 nm. Above 0.15 g ferrocene, some of the grown CNTs were found defective and few black spots were also appeared in TEM images.

Electrochemical and Dry Sand Impact Erosion Studies on Carbon Steel.

This study investigated the dry and aqueous erosion of mild steel using electrochemical and dry sand impact techniques. In dry sand impact experiments, mild steel was eroded with 45 μm and 150 μm sand particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and micro-hardness techniques were used to elaborate the surface morphology of the eroded samples. The results revealed significant change in morphology of the eroded samples. In-depth analysis showed that although the metal erosion due to larger particles was significantly higher, the fines also notably damaged the metal surface. The surface damages were appreciably reduced with decrease in impact angle of the accelerated particles. The maximum damages were observed at an impact angle of 90°. The hardness of the samples treated with 45 μm and 150 μm sand remained in the range of 88.34 to 102.31 VHN and 87.7 to 97.55 VHN, respectively. In electrochemical experiments, a triple electrode probe was added into the metal treatment process. The linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements were performed in slurries having 5% (by weight) of sand particles. LPR of the samples treated with 45 μm and 150 μm sand slurries was calculated about 949 Ω.cm2 and 809 Ω.cm2, respectively.

TESTING OF NICKEL-CHROME ALLOY AS A TIP MATERIAL FOR MULTI-TIP LANGMUIR PROBES

The electrostatic probes are considered to be the most powerful and experimentally simplest technique for plasma characterization. The objective of the work was to test the nickel-chrome alloy as probe tip material for characterization of RF discharge plasmas. In order to meet the objective, a triple Langmuir probe diagnostic system and associated driving circuit was designed and tested in inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generated by a 13.56 MHz radio frequency (RF) source. Using this probe diagnostic, the electron temperature, electron number density and ion saturation current were measured as a function of input RF power and filling gas pressure. An increasing trend was noticed in electron temperature and electron number density with input power whilst a decreasing trend was evident in these parameters for increasing nitrogen gas pressure. The overall variations in electron temperature and electron number density after repeated measurements were ranging from 5% to 12% and 3% to 13%, respectively.

Development of Simple Designs of Multitip Probe Diagnostic Systems for RF Plasma Characterization

Multitip probes are very useful diagnostics for analyzing and controlling the physical phenomena occurring in low temperature discharge plasmas. However, DC biased probes often fail to perform well in processing plasmas. The objective of the work was to deduce simple designs of DC biased multitip probes for parametric study of radio frequency plasmas. For this purpose, symmetric double probe, asymmetric double probe, and symmetric triple probe diagnostic systems and their driving circuits were designed and tested in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generated by a 13.56 MHz radio frequency (RF) source. Using I-V characteristics of these probes, electron temperature, electron number density, and ion saturation current was measured as a function of input power and filling gas pressure. An increasing trend was noticed in electron temperature and electron number density for increasing input RF power whilst a decreasing trend was evident in these parameters when measured against filling gas pressure. In addition, the electron energy probability function (EEPF) was also studied by using an asymmetric double probe. These studies confirmed the non-Maxwellian nature of the EEPF and the presence of two groups of the energetic electrons at low filling gas pressures.

Abrasive Erosion Study On S45c Carbon Steel Using Sand Blasting Technique

Hydrocarbon fluids recovered from the reservoir are inevitably polluted with sand particles. Sanding is a source of several flow assurance problems in oil and gas industry. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of sand size and impact angle on the mild steel erosion by using a laboratory built sand blasting technique. S45C mild steel coupons were eroded with 45 μm and 150μm sand particles for fixed exposure time of 1 h. Although in-depth analysis revealed an increase in surface erosion with the particle size, the fine sand also notably damaged the metal surface. Topographic scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and universal scanning electron microscopy (USPM) micrographs of the steel coupons showed significantly large difference between the peak and bottom of the eroded samples as compared to the blank coupon. The erosion rates calculated for 45 and 150 μm sand particles were found in the range of 6.47mm/year to 6.84 mm/year and 8.31 mm/year to 8.79 mm/year, respectively. Additionally, a good agreement was seen among the erosion rates calculated using USPM and weight loss methods. The erosion rates calculated for coarse sand at 45∘ and 90∘ were found in the range of 4.58 mm/year to 4.72 mm/year and 8.31 mm/year to 8.79 mm/year, respectively. A large difference between the angle dependent erosion rates revealed a strong influence of the impact angle on erosion of the flow-lines.

Characterization of erosion of gas pipelines by dry sand

ABSTRACT In oil and gas industry, the economic considerations determine the selection of low cost materials, in general, carbon steel, for pipelines. However, another type of deformation that is not well understood is its erosion resistance. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the erosion of carbon steel in a dry sand stream. In this work, a laboratory built test rig was used to erode representative carbon steel plates with accelerated sand streams. The results revealed that the normal incidence sand stream of larger particles and higher impact velocities causes more erosion of the carbon steel. The highest erosion rate of 6.75 ± 0.16 was predicted at an impact angle of 90°, which was three times higher than the erosion rate at impact angle of 30°. Similarly, the erosion caused by the smaller particles was not as severe as the larger particles. The cross-section profiles revealed that the crater depth was increased from 7° to 32.8° with an increase in sand size from 200 µm to 600 µm. The deepest crater of 32.8° was induced by the largest sand size of 600 µm.

Time function triple Langmuir probe measurements in low frequency pulsed DC discharge plasma

This study investigated the temporal profiles of electron temperature and number density in rectified DC air discharge generated with a 50 Hz step-up transformer. An in-house built triple Langmuir probe and circuitry were used to diagnose the plasma parameters as a function of input voltage and filling gas pressure. A tungsten metal wire capable of withstanding the high temperatures was used as probe tip material. The temporal profiles revealed an increase in electron temperature with input voltage in the range of 380 to 450 V, whereas, an inverse relation between number density and input voltage was evident in the given work. The observed trend in the plasma parameters was absolutely reversed in case of the filling gas pressure. The electron temperature linearly decreased with an increase in pressure from 1 to 4 mbar, whereas a linear increase in number density with pressure was seen in the temporal profiles. Finally, it was concluded that the results for the tested plasma parameters were consistent and the in-house built probe functioned well in DC discharge for the used range of voltage and filling pressure.

Synthesis and Characterization of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Using Ferrocene and Aluminum Oxide/Iron Nitrate Catalysts

Large scale production of impurity-free carbon nanotubes is a current challenge. For the bulk production of carbon nanotubes, the selection of an appropriate catalyst is also an important task. In this study, an aluminum oxide/iron nitrate catalyst was prepared by using a co-precipitation method. The surface morphology and composition of the catalyst were studied by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results were compared with a commercially available ferrocene catalyst. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes were grown by catalytic decomposition of ethylene over the catalyst via floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The yield of nanotubes increased with an increase in the mass of aluminum oxide/iron nitrate but remained unchanged with an increase in ferrocene mass. The yield of carbon nanotubes remained between 68% and 93%, which was much higher than obtained with only ferrocene (4%). In case of ferrocene, rather affecting the product yield, the catalyst mass affected the diameter of the nanotubes. The tube diameters were between 20 nm and 34 nm for aluminum oxide/iron nitrate and between 39 nm and 71 nm for ferrocene.

OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF 50 Hz ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE SINGLE DIELECTRIC BARRIER DISCHARGE PLASMA

A low frequency (50Hz) dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system with a single dielectric cover on copper coil anode is designed to generate and sustain the micro-discharge plasma which is very practical for material processing applications. The DBD system is powered by a high tension ac source consisting of a conventional step up transformer and variac. The dielectric barriers (quartz and glass) between the conducting electrodes appreciably influences the discharge plasma characterized by optical emission spectroscopy technique. Using intensity ratio method, the electron temperature and electron number density are determined from recorded spectra as function of ac input voltage, type and thickness of dielectric barrier and inter-electrode gap. It is observed that both the electron temperature and electron number density increase with the increase in ac input voltage and r/d ratio, while a decreasing trend is observed with increase in inter-electrode gap.