Papers by Author: Chiow San Wong

Abstract: It is known that polystyrene must be chemically modified to make its surface amenable to covalent cross-linking with protein. The aim of this study was to set up a UV/Ozone system and investigate the effects of UV/Ozone treatment on polystyrene surface. Microsize polystyrene beads with an average size of 150 μm in diameter were treated with and without distilled water at the same treatment time, ozone flow-rate and UV intensity. The treated beads were analyzed by ATR-FTIR, SEM, EDX and hydrophilicity measurement. The results show that the hydrophilicity of the surface of polystyrene beads was increased after the UV/ozone treatment and the introduction of carbonyl, carboxyl and hydroxyl groups on the polystyrene beads surface was also confirmed. It was demonstrated that the UV/Ozone system was effective for treatment of polystyrene bead and the best result was obtained without distilled water.

Abstract: The generation of deuteron beam from a 3 kJ Mather type plasma focus is studied. Two simple ion collectors made of copper plates are employed and are placed at the axis of the electrodes to detect the ion beam. The deuteron beam intensity at various deuterium gas pressures is determined together with ion beam energy using the time of flight method. For a series of discharges of the present plasma focus system operated at 15 kV discharge voltage, ion beams of energies ranging from 50 to 200 keV have been measured. The suitable deuterium filling pressure for ion beam production for electrodes lengths of 16 cm, 22 cm and 27 cm are 1 mbar, 0.7 mbar and 0.5 mbar respectively.

Abstract: A study of energy transfer in a small plasma focus device has been carried out during its axial phase. The snow-plough model has been used in the simulation as a basic model for the calculation of plasma dynamics. The energy transferred to the plasma is calculated by considering the work done by the electromagnetic piston during the axial phase. It was found that the plasma energy calculated by this model agrees well with the experimental data within the pressure range of 1 mbar to 4 mbar if the mass shedding effect is included in the model. According to the present computation, the energy transferred into the plasma, in the case of a plasma focus with 2.3 kJ initial energy operated with nitrogen gas within the pressure range of 1 to 4 mbar, is between 224 J to 250 J. This corresponds to energy transfer efficiency of 9.6% to 10.7%. The mass shedding factor decreases from 0.23 to 0.069 with increasing pressure. Correspondingly, the energy transfer efficiency changes slightly at a higher pressure.