Microthermogravimetry of a single microcapsule using silicon microresonators

Research Advances of Microencapsulation and Its Prospects in the Petroleum Industry

Additives in the petroleum industry have helped form an efficient system in the past few decades. Nowadays, the development of oil and gas has been facing more adverse conditions, and smart response microcapsules with the abilities of self-healing, and delayed and targeted release are introduced to eliminate obstacles for further exploration in the petroleum industry. However, limited information is available, only that of field measurement data, and not mechanism theory and structural innovation data. Thus we propose that the basic type, preparation, as well as mechanism of microcapsules partly depend on other mature fields. In this review, we explore the latest advancements in evaluating microcapsules, such as X-ray computed tomography (XCT), simulation, and modeling. Finally, some novel microencapsulated additives with unparalleled advantages, such as flexibility, efficiency, and energy-conservation are described.

Heater-Integrated Cantilevers for Nano-Samples Thermogravimetric Analysis

The design and characteristics of a micro-system for thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in which heater, temperature sensor and mass sensor are integrated into a single device are presented. The system consists of a suspended cantilever that incorporates a microfabricated resistor, used as both heater and thermometer. A three-dimensional finite element analysis was used to define the structure parameters. TGA sensors were fabricated by standard microlithographic techniques and tested using milli-Q water and polyurethane microcapsule. The results demonstrated that our approach provides a faster and more sensitive TGA with respect to commercial systems.