Caking of sodium chloride: Role of ambient relative humidity in dissolution and recrystallization process

Study and application of coupling relationship between water-salt-resistivity-soil structure in saline soils in arid and semi-arid areas of northwest China

Widespread saline soils in Northwest China pose a serious threat to the region's ability to use infrastructure safely because they are prone to soil structure damage when subjected to external environmental fluctuations, which in turn affects the stability of the foundations for buildings. The non-destructive approach of measuring resistivity can be used to swiftly reflect the subsoil body's state and make assumptions about its safety. However, the electrical resistivity of the underground soil body can be used to quickly identify unstable areas because the resistivity is influenced by the water content, salt content, and structural characteristics of the soil body. To do this, it is necessary to understand the coupling relationship between various factors. In this study, we first constructed samples with various water, salt, and soil structure characteristics, and then used indoor tests, such as soil resistivity measurement and thermogravimetric analysis, to analyze the multiple factors affecting the resistivity characteristics of the soil. The relationship between soil resistivity and actual saline soil diseases in Northwest China was then further discussed in conjunction with the results of the indoor tests and analyses. subsequently, the resistivity and soil properties have been measured in the field at specific locations in Northwest China where railway roadbeds are diseased. The study's findings can theoretically support a deeper comprehension of the law and mechanism of soil resistivity change, as well as provide assistance for building infrastructure in Northwest China.

Physical and chemical properties of sea salt deliquescent brines as a function of temperature and relative humidity

Thermodynamic modeling has been used to predict chemical compositions of brines formed by the deliquescence of sea salt aerosols. Representative brines have been mixed, and physical and chemical properties have been measured over a range of temperatures. Brine properties are discussed in terms of atmospheric corrosion of austenitic stainless steel, using spent nuclear fuel dry storage canisters as an example. After initial loading with spent fuel, during dry storage, the canisters cool over time, leading to increased surface relative humidities and evolving brine chemistries and properties. These parameters affect corrosion kinetics and damage distributions, and may offer important constraints on the expected timing, rate, and long-term impacts of canister corrosion.

Water's Role in Polymorphic Platinum(II) Complexes

Solvent plays a vital role in the recrystallization process and resulting crystallinity of materials. This role is of such importance that it can control the stability and utility of materials. In this work, the inclusion of a solvent in the crystalline lattice, specifically water, drastically affects the overall stability of two platinum polymorphs. [Pt(tpy)Cl]BF₄ (tpy = 2,2';6'2″-terpyridine) crystallizes in three forms, red (1R) and blue (1B) polymorphs and a yellow nonsolvated form (2). 1R is the more stable of the two polymorphs, whereas 1B loses crystallinity upon dehydration at ambient conditions resulting in the formation of 2. Close examination of the solid-state extended structures of the two polymorphs reveals that 1R has a lattice arrangement that is more conducive to stronger intermolecular interactions compared to 1B, thereby promoting greater stability. In addition, these two polymorphs exhibit unique vapochromic responses when exposed to various solvents.

Effect of Tensile Stresses on the Evolution of Post-Compaction Properties of Sodium Chloride Tablets and Its Mixtures

This study focuses on the effect of moisture on the strength of tablets of sodium chloride (NaCl) and its mixtures after compaction. We built on our prior work that proposed an explanation of the strengthening of NaCl tablets due to a dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism and the decrease in strength of NaCl-starch tablets due to the presence of residual stresses on NaCl-NaCl contacts in the mixture. Here, we offer experimental evidence that induced tensile stresses on NaCl slow down or negate (if large enough) the strengthening mechanism. Based on the idea of the negative role of tensile residual stresses in NaCl mixtures, we prove experimentally that NaCl-X mixtures can be optimized in terms of post-compaction strength, if the elastic properties of the second component in the mixture match that of NaCl.

Desiccant Films Made of Low-Density Polyethylene with Dispersed Silica Gel-Water Vapor Absorption, Permeability (H2O, N2, O2, CO2), and Mechanical Properties

Silica gel is a well-known desiccant. Through dispersion of silica gel in a polymer, films can be made that absorb and desorb water vapor. The water vapor absorption becomes reversible by exposing such films to a water vapor pressure below that of the water vapor pressure during absorption, or by heating the film. The intention of this study was to achieve a better understanding about the water vapor absorption, permeability (H2O, N2, O2, CO2), and mechanical properties of films with dispersed silica gel. Low-density polyethylene (PE-LD) monolayer films with a nominal silica gel concentration of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g dispersed silica gel per 1 g film (PE-LD) were prepared and they absorbed up to 0.08 g water vapor per 1 g of film. The water vapor absorption as a function of time was described by using effective diffusion coefficients. The steady state (effective) water vapor permeation coefficients of the films with dispersed silica gel were a factor of 2 to 14 (8.4 to 60.2·10-12 mg·cm·(cm²·s·Pa)-1, 23 °C) higher than for pure PE-LD films (4.3·10-12 mg·cm·(cm²·s·Pa)-1, 23 °C). On the other hand, the steady state gas permeabilities for N2, O2, and CO2 were reduced to around one-third of the pure PE-LD films. An important result is that (effective) water vapor permeation coefficients calculated from results of sorption and measured by permeation experiments yielded similar values. It has been found that it is possible to describe the sorption and diffusion behavior of water by knowing the permeability coefficient and the sorption capacity of the film (Peff.≈Seff.·Deff.). The tensile stress changed only slightly (values between 10 and 14 N mm-²), while the tensile strain at break was reduced with higher nominal silica gel concentration from 318 length-% (pure PE-LD film) to 5 length-% (PE-LD with 0.6 g dispersed silica gel per 1 g film).

On the Post-Compaction Evolution of Tensile Strength of Sodium Chloride-Starch Mixture Tablets

This study focuses on the evolution of mechanical behavior of starch and sodium chloride (NaCl) mixture tablets after compaction. This type of mixture has attracted attention in the past because such tablets exhibit lower tensile strengths than the ones of its individual components. Here we demonstrate that the strengths of NaCl-starch mixtures and NaCl tablets evolve after compaction in an opposite way. When stored at relative humidity of 60%, NaCl tablets strengthen with time, whereas NaCl-starch mixtures weaken. To explain this behavior, we propose that in the NaCl-starch mixture, the presence of 2 materials with significantly different elastic moduli leads to creation of tensile stresses at the stiffer NaCl-NaCl contacts. Such tensile stresses lead to a reduction in strength of the compacted mixtures by negating a local dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism, which strengthens the NaCl-NaCl in pure NaCl tablet. This effect is proven by experimental results from NaCl specimens diametrically loaded during storage.

Migration of sodium chloride in dry porous materials

Groundwater can saturate soil above the water table within the capillary fringe associated with the pore size of the parent soil. External evaporation has been viewed as a mechanism for enhancing upward flow, potentially creating problems of salt heave beneath roads and foundations if the groundwater is saline, analogous to concerns with efflorescence in masonry. The role of internal evaporation in promoting crystallization, and especially in altering the transport process of the pore fluid, has been recognized but is only partially understood. The purpose of this paper is to examine evidence for the upward percolation of brine accompanying salt crystallization inside a porous granular material. A series of experiments are described using vertical flow columns packed with dry sand above a reservoir of saline fluid, to explore whether salt transport could take place by autogenous wicking above the initial capillary fringe. The conditions inside the columns were monitored at specific elevations with sensors measuring bulk electrical conductivity, dielectric constant and relative humidity. Dendritic salt crystallization was observed inside the sand, accompanying surface heave. Ultimately, efflorescence on the surface led to the formation of a salt crust. Some implications for the potential damage to roads and foundations in arid regions, and to masonry subject to rising damp, are discussed.

The capillary bridge between two spheres: New closed-form equations in a two century old problem

We discuss progress in obtaining explicit equations for the capillary force between nano and micron sized solid spheres. Early approaches to this two-century old problem adopted approximations to the geometry. With the toroidal approximation, the meridian profile is approximated by an arc, and the approach leads to the capillary force being dependent on the location at which the force is evaluated. The Derjaguin approximation further assumes that the meridian radius is orders of magnitude smaller than the azimuth radius. An explicit expression for the capillary force is obtained, but the equation is limited to sufficiently small liquid volumes and separation distances. Significant progress has been made in recent years in using numerical solutions to derive analytical expressions for capillary bridges. Early numerical investigation established that the maximum separation for stable capillary bridges before rupture scales to the cubic root of the liquid volume. We report new progress in using numerical solutions to obtain more accurate and more general closed-form expressions for capillary bridges. Simple explicit algebraic equations have been observed to fit the numerical results well, leading to a closed-form solution applicable to capillary bridges between equal and unequal spheres and with zero or finite solid-liquid contact angles. The newly derived closed-form equation is more accurate and reduces to the Derjaguin equation when the liquid volume (or half-filling angle) and separation distance are both sufficiently small.