During the settling stages in some oil sands froth treatments, a rag layer (an undesirable mixture of dispersed oil, water, and solids) can form at the water-oil interface. To investigate rag layer formation, oil sand froths were diluted with mixtures of toluene and heptane and the diluted froths were centrifuged in steps of increasing rpm. The volumes of oil phase, rag layer, free water, and sediment were measured after each step. The data obtained from the experiments were used for material balances to determine the composition of the rag layers. The size and properties of the rag layer solids were also measured. Two mechanisms were found to influence rag layer formation: slow coalescence of emulsified water between 1500 and 3000 rpm (200-1000 times gravity); trapping of fine intermediate to oil wet solids at higher rpm and residence times. The main process factors affecting rag formation appear to be the type of diluent and asphaltene precipitation. As well, higher quality oil sand produced much smaller rag layers.

Production of protein and semi-conductor crystals with advanced quality and properties is possible under microgravity conditions due to the suppression of convection effects. However, aboard space platforms, g-jitter induced motions of solid particles can cause unsteady convection that may result in degradation of the properties of crystals produced. There are different effects of g-jitter on small particles suspended in a fluid cell which are not fully understood. To investigate these small vibration effects, ground experiments were conducted by suspending a spherical particle with a thin wire in a rectangular fluid cell and subjecting the cell and particle to horizontal vibrations with different frequencies and amplitudes. The fluid viscosity was varied to investigate the attraction or repulsion force induced in the direction normal to the direction of the vibration. The force was found to change from attraction to repulsion with an increase in the fluid viscosity and increase with the increasing vibration frequency and amplitude.

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Different diapers/diaper technologies are known to have different profiles in terms of their ability to provide wetness protection, which can result in consumer-noticeable differences in wetness. Simulation results based on published literature using data from a number of different diapers suggest that diapered skin hydrates within ranges considered reversible.

The effects of small vibrations on a particle oscillating near a solid wall in a fluid cell, relevant to material processing such as crystal growth in space, have been investigated by three dimensional direct numerical simulations. Simulations have been conducted for a solid spherical particle suspended in a fluid cell filled with a fluid of 1 cSt viscosity, vibrating sinusoidally in a horizontal direction. The simulations revealed the existence of a vibration-induced force attracting the particle towards the nearest cell wall which varied with the cell vibration frequency. The mechanism for this attraction force as well as an example showing the effects of this force on the particle are presented in this paper. The predicted flow patterns around the particle unveiled an accelerated flow in the gap between the particle and the nearest wall as well