• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.177-194
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• 2024

The objective of this paper is to compute entire flow field over Apollo-II, Aerospace Reentry Demonstrator (ARD), Orbital Experiment (OREX) with sharp shoulder and rounded shape shoulder and Space Recovery Experiment (SRE) at different flare-cone half-angle of 20° and 35°. This paper addresses numerical solutions of the compressible three-dimensional Euler equations on hexahedral meshes for a freestream Mach 6 and at an angle of incidence 5°. Furthermore, spatial discretization is accomplished by a cell centred finite volume formulation solution and advanced in time by an explicit multi-stage Runge-Kutta method. The flow field characteristics, distribution of surface pressure coefficient and Mach number on fore-body and aft-body are presented as a function of the geometrical parameters of many reentry capsules. The surface pressure variation is numerically integrated to obtain the aerodynamic drag and compared well with impact theory. The present numerical study has observed the significant dependence of the blunt body and the aft-body geometry of the vehicle and can be used to study atmospheric conditions during re-entry trajectory. The numerical analysis reveals the significant influence of capsule geometry on the flow characteristics of the mechanism of upstream and structure of the flow near the wake region and aerodynamic drag coefficient.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.78-83
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• 2014

In this research, we evaluated the performance and characteristics of carbon supported PtM (M = Ni and Y) alloy catalysts (PtM/Cs) synthesized by a modified polyol method. With the PtM/Cs employed as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of cathodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), their catalytic and ORR activities and electrical performance were investigated and compared with those of commercial Pt/C. Their particle sizes, particle distributions and electrochemically active surface areas (EAS) were measured by TEM and cyclic voltammetry (CV), while their ORR activity and electrical performance were explored using linear sweeping voltammetries with rotating disk electrodes and rotating ring-disk electrodes as well as PEMFC single cell tests. TEM and CV measurements show that PtM/Cs have the compatible particle size and EAS with Pt/C. When it comes to ORR activity, PtM/C showed the equivalent or better half-wave potential, kinetic current density, transferred electron number per oxygen molecule and $H_2O_2$ production(%) to or than commerical Pt/C. Based on results gained by the three electrode tests, when the PEMFC single cell tests were carried out, the current density measured at 0.6 V and maximum power density of PEMFC single cell adopting PtM/C catalysts were better than those adopting Pt/C catalyst. It is therefore concluded that PtM/C catalysts synthesized by modified polyol can result in the equivalent or better ORR catalytic capability and PEMFC performance to or than commercial Pt/C catalyst.