The calculation with rotational elliptic coordinates of the streaming potential in the vicinity of a disk-shaped sample rotating in an electrolytic solution is presented. The measurement of this streaming potential is used to determine the zeta potential of planar surfaces. Rotational elliptic coordinates are favored in relation to integral transform methods because only simple mathematical methods are employed to explain the theory of this technique.

A atividade eletroquímica do compósito cerâmico metálico (cermet) Ni/Zr0,85Y0,15O0,93 (Ni/ZEI) utilizado como ânodo em pilhas a combustível de óxido sólido (PaCOS), é controlada pela condutividade intrínseca das fases presentes e pelos caminhos disponíveis para a condução elétrica e para a difusão do gás combustível. Essas propriedades são fortemente influenciadas por parâmetros microestruturais, tais como distribuição espacial das fases, forma e tamanho médio das partículas que constituem o cermet. Neste trabalho, foram determinados alguns parâmetros microestruturais das fases Ni, ZEI e poros presentes em pastilhas do cermet Ni/ZEI, através do tratamento de imagens obtidas via microscopia óptica. Relacionando esses parâmetros com a Teoria Estereológica Quantitativa foi possível calcular a contiguidade das fases. Os pós de NiO/ZEI foram sintetizados via mistura física com diferentes concentrações: 33/67, 56/44, 75/25 and 82/18 % em massa e prensados na forma de pastilhas cilíndricas. Após a sinterização, as pastilhas foram reduzidas a Ni/ZEI em atmosfera de hidrogênio a 900ºC por 2 horas. A superfície transversal de cada amostra foi observada e tratada por microscopia óptica. As imagens obtidas foram analisadas pelo programa de computador Quantikov, a fim de determinar os parâmetros microestruturais: intercepto linear médio e fração volumétrica das fases. Utilizando esses parâmetros, a contiguidade de cada fase presente no cermet foi calculada. Para comprovar a validade da técnica de análise, os valores dos parâmetros microestruturais, determinados com base na composição dos pós, foram comparados com os valores obtidos no tratamento da imagem.

The electrochemical activity of the metallic-ceramic composite (Cermet) Ni/Zr0,85Y0,15O0,93 (Ni/YSZ) used as anode in stacks of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is controlled by the intrinsic conductivity of its phases, by the available paths for the electric conduction and the diffusion of the fuel gas. These properties are highly influenced by microstructural parameters such as space distribution of the phases, forms and average size of the particles that constitute the Cermet. In this work, some microstructural parameters of anode phases: Ni, YSZ and pores are determined in tablets of the Cermet Ni/YSZ through the treatment of images acquired with optic microscopy. Relating these parameters with the Quantitative Stereological Theory it was possible to calculate the proximity of the phases. The anodes were prepared from mixtures of NiO powder and YSZ powder at mass ratios of NiO/YSZ: 33/67, 56/44, 75/25 and 82/18 and uniaxial pressed into cylindrical pellets. After sintering, the tablets were reduced to Ni/YSZ in hydrogen atmosphere at 900ºC for 2 hours. The transversal surface of each sample was treated and observed with optical microscopy. The images were analyzed with the software Quantikov to determine the microstructural parameters: intercept linear medium and volumetric fraction of the phases. Using these parameters, the contiguity of each phase present in the Cermet was calculated. To prove the validity of the technique, the values of the microstructural parameters based on the composition of the powders were compared to the values based on the image treatment.

This approach assumes three functions independently acting on a set of microparticles. The first one, w1, concerns re-distribution of mass to decrease the surface energy. The second one, w2, concerns re-distribution of mass to increase the entropy of the microparticle set. The third one, w3, is a further re-distribution of mass that vanishes a microparticle. Once vanished, its mass is distributed among its neighbors. w1 and w3 release energy, whereas w2 absorbs energy. Part of the energy released should be available to sustain w2. The action frequency of w1, w2, and w3, the amount of mass exchanged in each iteraction, the fraction of released energy available to sustain w2, and the size of a vanishing microparticle can be varied. As the dynamical system formed by w1, w2, and w3 act on an initial microparticle set, it is observed an evolution resembling the Ostwald ripening concerning steady-state size distribution and microparticle growth.