Search results for: electrical energy storage

Authors: Adem Atmaca

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More than 500 million COVID-19 cases were noted in February 2022 in Turkey. The country is one of the most impacted countries all around the world with twenty million cases. The cement industry in Turkey ranks among the most energy-intensive sectors with huge production capacities among the biggest exporter countries. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the effects of the pandemic on the cement industry in Turkey by showing the changes in manufacturing capacities and export rates of all facilities in the country. The investigation has revealed that the epidemic has slight effects on the factory production capacities and export rates. Even though the capacity usage rates of the factories decreased dramatically in 2019, it seems that Turkish cement companies turned the pandemic to their advantage by increasing their production capacities, capacity usage rates and export rates gradually by reaching new markets during the pandemic.

Keywords: energy, emissions, cement industry, COVID-19

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Authors: S. M. AL-Shomar, N. B. Ibrahim, Sahrim Hj. Ahmad

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ZnO thin films with various Gd doping concentration (0, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 mol/L) have been synthesized by sol–gel method on quartz substrates at annealing temperature of 600 ºC. X-ray analysis reveals that ZnO(Gd) films have hexagonal wurtzite structure. No peaks that correspond to Gd metal clusters or gadolinium acetylacetonate are detected in the patterns. The position of the main peak (101) shifts to higher angles after doping. The surface morphologies studied using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) showed that the grain size and the films thickness reduced gradually with the increment of Gd concentration. The roughness of ZnO film investigated by an atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the films are smooth and high dense grain. The roughness of doped films decreased from 6.05 to 4.84 rms with the increment of dopant concentration.The optical measurements using a UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy showed that the Gd doped ZnO thin films have high transmittance (above 80%) in the visible range and the optical band gap increase with doping concentration from 3.13 to 3.39 eV. The doped films show low electrical resistivity 2.6 × 10-3Ω.cm.at high doping concentration.

Keywords: Gd doped ZnO, electric, optics, microstructure

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Authors: Farhad Salek, Shahaboddin Resalati

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The production of electric vehicles (EVs) featuring lithium-ion battery technology has substantially escalated over the past decade, demonstrating a steady and persistent upward trajectory. The imminent retirement of electric vehicle (EV) batteries after approximately eight years underscores the critical need for their redirection towards recycling, a task complicated by the current inadequacy of recycling infrastructures globally. A potential solution for such concerns involves extending the operational lifespan of electric vehicle (EV) batteries through their utilization in stationary energy storage systems during secondary applications. Such adoptions, however, require addressing the safety concerns associated with batteries’ knee points and thermal runaways. This paper develops an accurate mathematical model representative of the second-life battery packs from a cell-to-pack scale using an equivalent circuit model (ECM) methodology. Neural network algorithms are employed to forecast the degradation parameters based on the EV batteries' aging history to develop a degradation model. The degradation model is integrated with the ECM to reflect the impacts of the cycle aging mechanism on battery parameters during operation. The developed model is tested under real-life load profiles to evaluate the life span of the batteries in various operating conditions. The methodology and the algorithms introduced in this paper can be considered the basis for Battery Management System (BMS) design and techno-economic analysis of such technologies.

Keywords: second life battery, electric vehicles, degradation, neural network

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Authors: Nomin-Erdene Erdenetsogt, Tseedulam Khuut, Batsaikhan Tserenpil, Bayarsaikhan Enkhee

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As the framework of 60 years of development of Astronomical and Geophysical science in modern Mongolia, various geophysical methods (electrical tomography, ground-penetrating radar, and high-resolution reflection seismic profiles) were used to image an active fault in-depth range between few decimeters to few tens meters. An active fault was fractured by an earthquake magnitude 7.6 during 1967. After geophysical investigations, trench excavations were done at the sites to expose the fault surfaces. The complex geophysical survey in the Mogod fault, Bulgan region of central Mongolia shows an interpretable reflection arrivals range of < 5 m to 50 m with the potential for increased resolution. Reflection profiles were used to help interpret the significance of neotectonic surface deformation at earthquake active fault. The interpreted profiles show a range of shallow fault structures and provide subsurface evidence with support of paleoseismologic trenching photos, electrical surveys.

Keywords: Mogod fault, geophysics, seismic processing, seismic reflection survey

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Authors: Steven Hidalgo, Patricio Neumann

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The growth of societies has increased the consumption of raw materials and food obtained from nature. This has influenced the services offered by ecosystems to humans, mainly supply and regulation services. One of the indicators used to evaluate these services is Net Primary Productivity (NPP), which is understood as the energy stored in the form of biomass by primary organisms through the process of photosynthesis and respiration. The variation of NPP by defined area produces changes in the properties of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, which alter factors such as biodiversity, nutrient cycling, carbon storage and water quality. The analysis of NPP to evaluate variations in ecosystem services includes harvested NPP (understood as provisioning services), which is the raw material from agricultural systems used by humans as a source of energy and food, and the remaining NPP (expressed as a regulating service) or the amount of biomass that remains in ecosystems after the harvesting process, which is mainly related to factors such as biodiversity. Given that agriculture is a fundamental pillar of Chile's integral development, the purpose of this study is to evaluate provisioning and regulating ecosystem services in the agricultural sector, specifically in cereal production, in the communes of the central-southern regions of Chile through a conceptual framework based on the quantification of the fraction of Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) and the fraction remaining in the ecosystems (NPP remaining). A total of 161 communes were analyzed in the regions of O'Higgins, Maule, Ñuble, Bio-Bío, La Araucanía and Los Lagos, which are characterized by having the largest areas planted with cereals. It was observed that the region of La Araucanía produces the greatest amount of dry matter, understood as provisioning service, where Victoria is the commune with the highest cereal production in the country. In addition, the maximum value of HANPP was in the O'Higgins region, highlighting the communes of Coltauco, Quinta de Tilcoco, Placilla and Rengo. On the other hand, the communes of Futrono, Pinto, Lago Ranco and Pemuco, whose cereal production was important during the study, had the highest values of remaining NPP as a regulating service. Finally, an inverse correlation was observed between the provisioning and regulating ecosystem services, i.e., the higher the cereal or dry matter production in a defined area, the lower the net primary production remaining in the ecosystems. Based on this study, future research will focus on the evaluation of ecosystem services associated with other crops, such as forestry plantations, whose activity is an important part of the country's productive sector.

Keywords: provisioning services, regulating services, net primary productivity, agriculture

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Authors: S. F. Wong, S. S. Dol

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Automotive designers have been trying to use dimples to reduce drag in vehicles. In this work, a car model has been applied with dimple surface with a parameter called dimple ratio DR, the ratio between the depths of the half dimple over the print diameter of the dimple, has been introduced and numerically simulated via k-ε turbulence model to study the aerodynamics performance with the increasing depth of the dimples The Ahmed body car model with 25 degree slant angle is simulated with the DR of 0.05, 0.2, 0.3 0.4 and 0.5 at Reynolds number of 176387 based on the frontal area of the car model. The geometry of dimple changes the kinematics and dynamics of flow. Complex interaction between the turbulent fluctuating flow and the mean flow escalates the turbulence quantities. The maximum level of turbulent kinetic energy occurs at DR = 0.4. It can be concluded that the dimples have generated extra turbulence energy at the surface and as a result, the application of dimples manages to reduce the drag coefficient of the car model compared to the model with smooth surface.

Keywords: aerodynamics, boundary layer, dimple, drag, kinetic energy, turbulence

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Authors: I. Hua Chu, Hsiang-Chi Yu, Hsuan Su

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Purpose: To examine the associations between self-determined motivation and physical activity in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) in a longitudinal study. Methods: Patients with CHD were recruited for this study. Their motivations for exercise were measured by the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2). Physical activity was assessed using the 7-day physical activity recall questionnaire. Duration and energy expenditure of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were used in data analysis. All outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 12 months follow up. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis. Results: The results of the 45 participants (mean age 60.24 yr; 90.2% male) revealed that there were significant negative correlations between amotivation at baseline and duration (r=-.295, p=.049) and energy expenditure (r=-.300, p=.045) of MVPA at 12 months. In contrast, there were significant positive correlations between calculated relative autonomy index (RAI) at baseline and duration (r=.377, p=.011) and energy expenditure (r=.382, p=.010) of MVPA at 12 months. There was no significant correlation between other subscales of the BREQ-2 and duration or energy expenditure of MVPA. Regression analyses revealed that RAI was a significant predictor of duration (p=.011) and energy expenditure (p=.010) of MVPA at 12 months follow-up. Conclusions: These results suggest that the relative degree of self-determined motivation could predict long-term MVPA behaviors in CHD patients. Physical activity interventions are recommended to target enhancing one’s identified and intrinsic motivation to increase the likelihood of physical activity participation in this population.

Keywords: self-determined motivation, physical activity, coronary heart disease, relative autonomy index (RAI)

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Authors: Farhana Arzu, Roslan Hashim

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Renewable energy is the only alternative sources of energy to meet the current energy demand, healthy environment and future growth which is considered essential for essential sustainable development. Marine renewable energy is one of the major means to meet this demand. Turbines (both horizontal and vertical) play a vital role for extraction of tidal energy. The influence of swept area on the performance improvement of tidal turbine is a vital factor to study for the reduction of relatively high power generation cost in marine industry. This study concentrates on performance investigation of variable length blade tidal turbine concept that has already been proved as an efficient way to improve energy extraction in the wind industry. The concept of variable blade length utilizes the idea of increasing swept area through the turbine blade extension when the tidal stream velocity falls below the rated condition to maximize energy capture while blade retracts above rated condition. A three bladed horizontal axis variable length blade horizontal axis tidal turbine was modelled by modifying a standard fixed length blade turbine. Classical blade element momentum theory based numerical investigation has been carried out using QBlade software to predict performance. The results obtained from QBlade were compared with the available published results and found very good agreement. Three major performance parameters (i.e., thrust, moment, and power coefficients) and power output for different blade extensions were studied and compared with a standard fixed bladed baseline turbine at certain operational conditions. Substantial improvement in performance coefficient is observed with the increase in swept area of the turbine rotor. Power generation is found to increase in great extent when operating at below rated tidal stream velocity reducing the associated cost per unit electric power generation.

Keywords: variable length blade, performance, tidal turbine, power generation

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Authors: Vinayambika S. Bhat, S. Shanmuga Priya, I. Thirunavukkarasu, Shreeranga Bhat

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An attempt has been made to design a decoupling controller for systems with more inputs more outputs with dead time in it. The de-coupler is designed for the chemical process industry 3×3 plant transfer function with dead time. The Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) based controller has also been designed here for the 2×2 distillation column transfer function. The developed control techniques were simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink. Also, the stability of the process was analyzed, together with the presence of various perturbations in it. Time domain specifications like setting time along with overshoot and oscillations were analyzed to prove the efficiency of the de-coupler method. The load disturbance rejection was tested along with its performance. The QFT control technique was synthesized based on the stability and performance specifications in the presence of uncertainty in time constant of the plant transfer function through sequential loop shaping technique. Further, the energy efficiency of the distillation column was improved by proper tuning of the controller. A distillation column consumes 3% of the total energy consumption of the world. A suitable control technique is very important from an economic point of view. The real time implementation of the process is under process in our laboratory.

Keywords: distillation, energy, MIMO process, time delay, robust stability

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Authors: Sreetama Ghosh, Sundara Ramaprabhu

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Carbon dioxide gas has been a major cause for the worldwide increase in green house effect, which leads to climate change and global warming. So CO₂ capture & sequestration has become an effective way to reduce the concentration of CO₂ in the environment. One such way to capture CO₂ in porous materials is by adsorption process. A potential material in this aspect is porous hexagonal boron nitride or 'white graphene' which is a well-known two-dimensional layered material with very high thermal stability. It had been investigated that the sample with hierarchical pore structure and high specific surface area shows excellent performance in capturing carbon dioxide gas and thereby mitigating the problem of environmental pollution to the certain extent. Besides, the presence of sulfur as well as nitrogen in the sample synergistically helps in the increase in adsorption capacity. In this work, a cost effective single step synthesis of highly porous boron nitride nanosheets doped with sulfur had been demonstrated. Besides, the CO₂ adsorption-desorption studies were carried on using a pressure reduction technique. The studies show that the nanosheets exhibit excellent cyclic stability in storage performance. Thermodynamic studies suggest that the adsorption takes place mainly through physisorption. The studies show that the nanosheets exhibit excellent cyclic stability in storage performance. Further, the surface modification of the highly porous nano sheets carried out by incorporating ionic liquids had further enhanced the capturing capability of CO₂ gas in the nanocomposite, revealing that this particular material has the potential to be an excellent adsorbent of carbon dioxide gas.

Keywords: CO₂ capture, hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, porous network, sulfur doping

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Authors: Gagandeep Singh, Navdeep Singh

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Due to limited battery of sensor nodes, so energy efficiency found to be main constraint in WSN. Therefore the main focus of the present work is to find the ways to minimize the energy consumption problem and will results; enhancement in the network stability period and life time. Many researchers have proposed different kind of the protocols to enhance the network lifetime further. This paper has evaluated the issues which have been neglected in the field of the WSNs. WSNs are composed of multiple unattended ultra-small, limited-power sensor nodes. Sensor nodes are deployed randomly in the area of interest. Sensor nodes have limited processing, wireless communication and power resource capabilities Sensor nodes send sensed data to sink or Base Station (BS). I-LEACH gives adaptive clustering mechanism which very efficiently deals with energy conservations. This paper ends up with the shortcomings of various adaptive clustering based WSNs protocols.

Keywords: WSN, I-Leach, MATLAB, sensor

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Authors: M. Cabuk, M. Yavuz, T. A. Yesil, H. I. Unal

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Electrorheological (ER) fluids are a class of smart materials exhibiting reversible changes in their rheological and mechanical properties under an applied electric field (E). ER fluids generally are composed of polarisable solid particles dispersed in non-conducting oil. ER fluids are fluids which exhibit. The resistance to motion of the ER fluid can be controlled by adjusting the applied E, due to their fast and reversible changes in their rheological properties presence of E. In this study, a series of chitosan/expanded perlite (CS/EP) composites with different chitosan mass fractions (10%, 20%, and 50%) was used. Characterizations of the composites were carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) techniques. Antisedimentation stability and dielectric properties of the composites were also determined. The effects of volume fraction, electric field strength, shear rate, shear stress, and temperature onto ER properties of the CS/EP composite particles dispersed in silicone oil (SO) were investigated in detail. Vibration damping behavior of the CS/EP composites were determined as a function of frequence, storage (Gʹ) and loss (Gʹ ʹ) moduli. It was observed that ER response of the CS/EP/SO ER fluids increased with increasing electric field strength and exhibited the typical shear thinning non-Newtonian viscoelastic behaviors with increasing shear rate. The maximum yield stress was obtained with 1250 Pa under E = 3 kV/mm. Further, the CS/EP/SO ER fluids were observed to sensitive to vibration control by showing reversible viscosity enhancements (Gʹ > Gʹ ʹ). Acknowledgements: The authors thank the TÜBİTAK (214Z199) for the financial support of this work.

Keywords: chitosan, electrorheology, perlite, vibration control

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Authors: E. Ghasemi Ardi, K. J. Dong, A. B. Yu, R. Y. Yang

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In current work, a numerical model based on the discrete element method (DEM) was developed which provided information about particle dynamic and impact event condition inside a laboratory scale impact mill (Fritsch). It showed that each particle mostly experiences three impacts inside the mill. While the first impact frequently happens at front surface of the rotor’s rib, the frequent location of the second impact is side surfaces of the rotor’s rib. It was also showed that while the first impact happens at small impact angle mostly varying around 35º, the second impact happens at around 70º which is close to normal impact condition. Also analyzing impact energy revealed that varying mill speed from 6000 to 14000 rpm, the ratio of first impact’s average impact energy and minimum required energy to break particle (Wₘᵢₙ) increased from 0.30 to 0.85. Moreover, it was seen that second impact poses intense impact energy on particle which can be considered as the main cause of particle splitting. Finally, obtained information from DEM simulation along with obtained data from conducted experiments was implemented in semi-empirical equations in order to find selection and breakage functions. Then, using a back-calculation approach, those parameters were used to predict the PSDs of ground particles under different impact energies. Results were compared with experiment results and showed reasonable accuracy and prediction ability.

Keywords: single particle breakage, particle dynamic, population balance model, particle size distribution, discrete element method

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Authors: Rishikesh Dingari, Sai Kiran Dornala

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In this paper, a simple method of achieving maximum power by mechanical energy transmission device (METD) with integration to induction generator is proposed. METD functioning is explained and dynamic response of system to step input is plotted. Induction generator is being operated at self-excited mode with excitation capacitor at stator. Voltage and current are observed when linked to METD.

Keywords: mechanical energy transmitting device(METD), self-excited induction generator, wind turbine, hydraulic actuators

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Authors: Kourosh Kosari

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This study is engineering the properties of concrete containing natural nano zeolite as supplementary cementitious material in the blended Portland-cement based binder in amounts of 5,7 and 10% by mass. Crashing of clinoptilolite zeolite is performed by means of planetary ball mill. Two types of concrete along with water to cementitious material ratio (W/(C + P)) in 0.45 and 0.4 at the ages of 7, 28 and 90 days and were compared with each other. The effect of these additives on mechanical properties (compressive and tensile strength) and durability has been investigated by Electrical Resistivity (ER) and Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT) at the ages 28 and 90 days. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed that nanoparticles of natural clinoptilolite could improve quality of concrete. As a result of the tests, decrease in penetration of chloride ion and increase electrical resistivity significantly that are appropriate option for controlling of corrosion in reinforced concrete structures but increase of mechanical characteristics is not considerable.

Keywords: ball mill, durability, mechanical properties, nano zeolite

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Authors: Wei-Chia Huang, Jane Wang

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Damage to nerves is considered one of the most irreversible injuries. The regeneration of nerves has always been an important topic in regenerative medicine. In general, damage to human tissue will naturally repair overtime. However, when the nerves are damaged, healed flesh wound cannot guarantee full restoration to its original function, as truncated nerves are often irreversible. Therefore, the development of treatment methods to successfully guide and accelerate the regeneration of nerves has been highly sought after. In order to induce nerve tissue growth, nerve conduits are commonly used to help reconnect broken nerve bundles to provide protection to the location of the fracture while guiding the growth of the nerve bundles. To prevent the protected tissue from becoming necrotic and to ensure the growth rate, the conduits used are often modified with microstructures or blended with neuron growth factors that may facilitate nerve regeneration. Electrical stimulation is another attempted treatment for medical rehabilitation. With appropriate range of voltages and stimulation frequencies, it has been demonstrated to promote cell proliferation and migration. Biodegradability are critical for medical devices like nerve conduits, while conductive polymers pose great potential toward the differentiation and growth of nerve cells. In this work, biodegradability and conductivity were combined into a novel biodegradable, photocurable, conductive polymer composite materials by embedding conductive nanoparticles in poly(glycerol sebacate) acrylate (PGSA) and 3D-printed into nerve conduits. Rat pheochromocytoma cells and rat neuronal Schwann cells were chosen for the in vitro tests of the conduits and had demonstrate selective growth upon culture in the conductive conduits with built-in microchannels and electrical stimulation.

Keywords: biodegradable polymer, 3d printing, neural regeneration, electrical stimulation

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Authors: Hussein M. Maghrabie, M. Attalla, Hany. A. Mohamed, M. Salem, E. Specht

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An experimental investigation is carried out on counter-flow Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube (RHVT). The present work is carried out to study the effect of nozzle aspect ratio, tube length and the inlet pressure (P_i) on the coefficient of performance and energy separation of a RHVT. Further, the effect of moist air with different relative humidity (RH) 40, 60, 80 % is also achieved. The air relative humidity is adjusted using air humidification/dehumidification unit. The experimental study accomplished for number of nozzle N=6, with inner diameter D=7.5 mm., and length of the vortex tube (L) 75, 97.5, and 112.5 mm. The results show that the relative humidity has a significant effect on coefficient of performance and energy separation of a RHVT.

Keywords: COP, counter-flow Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube, energy separation, humid air

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Authors: Agnetha Schuchardt, Jennifer Hartmann, Laura Schulte, Roman Peperhove, Lars Gerhold

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If critical infrastructures fail, even for a short period of time, it can have significant negative consequences for the affected population. This is especially true for the food sector that is strongly interlinked with other sectors like the power supply. A blackout could lead to several cities being without food supply for numerous days, simply because cash register systems do no longer work properly. Following the public opinion, securing the food supply in emergencies is considered a task of the state, however, in the German context, the key players are private enterprises and private households. Both are not aware of their responsibility and both cannot be forced to take any preventive measures prior to an emergency. This problem became evident to officials and politicians so that the law covering food security was revised in order to include private stakeholders into mitigation processes. The paper will present a scientific review of governmental and regulatory literature. The focus is the inclusion of the food industry through a law reform and the challenges that still exist. Together with legal experts, an analysis of regulations will be presented that explains the development of the law reform concerning food security and emergency storage in Germany. The main findings are that the existing public food emergency storage is out-dated, insufficient and too expensive. The state is required to protect food as a critical infrastructure but does not have the capacities to live up to this role. Through a law reform in 2017, new structures should to established. The innovation was to include the private sector into the civil defense concept since it has the required knowledge and experience. But the food industry is still reluctant. Preventive measures do not serve economic purposes – on the contrary, they cost money. The paper will discuss respective examples like equipping supermarkets with emergency power supply or self-sufficient cash register systems and why the state is not willing to cover the costs of these measures, but neither is the economy. The biggest problem with the new law is that private enterprises can only be forced to support food security if the state of emergency has occurred already and not one minute earlier. The paper will cover two main results: the literature review and an expert workshop that will be conducted in summer 2018 with stakeholders from different parts of the food supply chain as well as officials of the public food emergency concept. The results from this participative process will be presented and recommendations will be offered that show how the private economy could be better included into a modern food emergency concept (e. g. tax reductions for stockpiling).

Keywords: critical infrastructure, disaster control, emergency food storage, food security, private economy, resilience

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Authors: Michael Radwan Omary

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Context: This scientific innovation demonstrate organic catalysis engineered media effective desalination of surface and groundwater. The author has developed a technology called “Storm-Water Ions Filtration Treatment” (SWIFTTM) cold reactor modules designed to retrofit typical urban street storm drains or catch basins. SWIFT triggers biochemical redox reactions with water stream-embedded toxic total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity (EC). SWIFTTM Catalysts media unlock the sub-molecular bond energy, break down toxic chemical bonds, and neutralize toxic molecules, bacteria and pathogens. Research Aim: This research aims to develop and design lower O&M cost, zero-brine discharge, energy input-free, chemical-free water desalination and disinfection systems. The objective is to provide an effective resilient and sustainable solution to urban storm-water and groundwater decontamination and disinfection. Methodology: We focused on the development of organic, non-chemical, no-plugs, no pumping, non-polymer and non-allergenic approaches for water and waste water desalination and disinfection. SWIFT modules operate by directing the water stream to flow freely through the electrically charged media cold reactor, generating weak interactions with a water-dissolved electrically conductive molecule, resulting in the neutralization of toxic molecules. The system is powered by harvesting sub-molecular bonds embedded in energy. Findings: The SWIFTTM Technology case studies at CSU-CI and CSU-Fresno Water Institute, demonstrated consistently high reduction of all 40 detected waste-water pollutants including pathogens to levels below a state of California Department of Water Resources “Drinking Water Maximum Contaminants Levels”. The technology has proved effective in reducing pollutants such as arsenic, beryllium, mercury, selenium, glyphosate, benzene, and E. coli bacteria. The technology has also been successfully applied to the decontamination of dissolved chemicals, water pathogens, organic compounds and radiological agents. Theoretical Importance: SWIFT technology development, design, engineering, and manufacturing, offer cutting-edge advancement in achieving clean-energy source bio-catalysis media solution, an energy input free water and waste water desalination and disinfection. A significant contribution to institutions and municipalities achieving sustainable, lower cost, zero-brine and zero CO2 discharges clean energy water desalination. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The researchers collected data on the performance of the SWIFTTM technology in reducing the levels of various pollutants in water. The data was analyzed by comparing the reduction achieved by the SWIFTTM technology to the Drinking Water Maximum Contaminants Levels set by the state of California. The researchers also conducted live oral presentations to showcase the applications of SWIFTTM technology in storm water capture and decontamination as well as providing clean drinking water during emergencies. Conclusion: The SWIFTTM Technology has demonstrated its capability to effectively reduce pollutants in water and waste water to levels below regulatory standards. The Technology offers a sustainable solution to groundwater and storm-water treatments. Further development and implementation of the SWIFTTM Technology have the potential to treat storm water to be reused as a new source of drinking water and an ambient source of clean and healthy local water for recharge of ground water.

Keywords: catalysis, bio electro interactions, water desalination, weak-interactions

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Authors: Darren Camilleri, Robert Rolston

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Rotor radial vents make use of the pumping effect to increase airflow through the active material thus reduce hotspot temperatures. The effect of rotor radial pumping in synchronous machines has been studied previously. This paper presents the findings of previous studies and builds upon their theories using a parametric numerical approach to investigate the rotor radial pumping effect. The pressure head generated by the poles and radial vent flow-rate were identified as important factors in maximizing the benefits of the pumping effect. The use of Minitab and ANSYS Workbench to investigate the key performance characteristics of radial pumping through a Design of Experiments (DOE) was described. CFD results were compared with theoretical calculations. A correlation for each response variable was derived through a statistical analysis. Findings confirmed the strong dependence of radial vent length on vent pressure head, and radial vent cross-sectional area was proved to be significant in maximising radial vent flow rate.

Keywords: CFD, cooling, electrical machines, regression analysis

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Authors: E. Chávez-Vargas, M. de la L. Olvera-Amador, A. Jimenez-Gonzalez, A. Maldonado

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Undoped and fluorine doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on sodocalcic glass substrates by the ultrasonic chemical spray technique. As the main goal is the manufacturing of transparent electrodes, the effects of both the solution composition and the substrate temperature on both the electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films were studied. As a matter of fact, the effect of fluorine concentration ([F]/[F+Zn] at. %), solvent composition (acetic acid, water, methanol ratios) and ageing time, regarding solution composition, were varied. In addition, the substrate temperature and the deposition time, regarding the chemical spray technique, were also varied. Structural studies confirm the deposition of polycrystalline, hexagonal, wurtzite type, ZnO. The results show that the increase of ([F]/[F+Zn] at. %) ratio in the solution, decreases the sheet resistance, RS, of the ZnO:F films, reaching a minimum, in the order of 1.6 Ωcm, at 60 at. %; further increase in the ([F]/[F+Zn]) ratio increases the RS of the films. The same trend occurs with the variation in substrate temperature, as a minimum RS of ZnO:F thin films was encountered when deposited at TS= 450 °C. ZnO:F thin films deposited with aged solution show a significant decrease in the RS in the order of 100 ΩS. The transmittance of the films was also favorable affected by the solvent ratio and, more significantly, by the ageing of the solution. The whole evaluation of optical and electrical characteristics of the ZnO:F thin films deposited under different conditions, was done under Haacke’s figure of Merit in order to have a clear and quantitative trend as transparent conductors application.

Keywords: zinc oxide, ZnO:F, TCO, Haacke’s figure of Merit

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Authors: L. Vafaei, McDominic Eze

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The performance of thermal energy in homes and buildings is a significant factor in terms of energy efficiency of a building. In a large sense, the performance of thermal energy is dependent on many factors of which the amount of thermal insulation is at one end a considerable factor, as likewise the essence of mass and the wall thickness and also the thermal resistance of wall material. This study is aimed at illustrating the different wall system in Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), acknowledge the problem and suggest a solution through comparing the effect of thermal radiation two model rooms- L1 (Ytong wall) and L2 (heat insulated wall using stone wool) set up for experimentation. The model room has four face walls. The study consists of two stage, the first test is to access the effect of solar radiation for south facing wall and the second stage is to test the thermal performance of Ytong and heat insulated wall, the effects of climatic condition during winter. The heat insulated wall contains material hollow brick, stone wool, and gypsum while the Ytong wall contains cement concrete, for the outer surface and the inner surface and Ytong stone. The total heat of the wall was determined, 7T-Type thermocouple was used with a data logger system to record the data, temperature change recorded at an interval of 10 minutes. The result obtained was that Ytong wall save more energy than the heat insulated wall at night while heat insulated wall saves energy during the day when intensity is at maximum.

Keywords: heat insulation, hollow bricks, south facing, Ytong bricks wall

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Authors: W. A. Nalaka Wijesooriya

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The increasing paddy production, stabilization of domestic rice consumption and the increasing dynamism of rice processing and domestic markets call for a rethinking of the general direction of the rice milling industry in Sri Lanka. The main purpose of the study was to explore levels of concentration in rice milling industry in Polonnaruwa and Hambanthota which are the major hubs of the country for rice milling. Concentration indices reveal that the rice milling industry in Polonnaruwa operates weak oligopsony and is highly competitive in Hambanthota. According to the actual quantity of paddy milling per day, 47 % is less than 8Mt/Day, while 34 % is 8-20 Mt/day, and the rest (19%) is greater than 20 Mt/day. In Hambanthota, nearly 50% of the mills belong to the range of 8-20 Mt/day. Lack of experience of the milling industry, poor knowledge on milling technology, lack of capital and finding an output market are the major entry barriers to the industry. Major problems faced by all the rice millers are the lack of a uniform electricity supply and low quality paddy. Many of the millers emphasized that the rice ceiling price is a constraint to produce quality rice. More than 80% of the millers in Polonnaruwa which is the major parboiling rice producing area have mechanical dryers. Nearly 22% millers have modern machineries like color sorters, water jet polishers. Major paddy purchasing method of large scale millers in Polonnaruwa is through brokers. In Hambanthota major channel is miller purchasing from paddy farmers. Millers in both districts have major rice selling markets in Colombo and suburbs. Huge variation can be observed in the amount of pledge (for paddy storage) loans. There is a strong relationship among the storage ability, credit affordability and the scale of operation of rice millers. The inter annual price fluctuation ranged 30%-35%. Analysis of market margins by using series of secondary data shows that farmers’ share on rice consumer price is stable or slightly increases in both districts. In Hambanthota a greater share goes to the farmer. Only four mills which have obtained the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification from Sri Lanka Standards Institution can be found. All those millers are small quantity rice exporters. Priority should be given for the Small and medium scale millers in distribution of storage paddy of PMB during the off season. The industry needs a proper rice grading system, and it is recommended to introduce a ceiling price based on graded rice according to the standards. Both husk and rice bran were underutilized. Encouraging investment for establishing rice oil manufacturing plant in Polonnaruwa area is highly recommended. The current taxation procedure needs to be restructured in order to ensure the sustainability of the industry.

Keywords: conduct, performance, structure (SCP), rice millers

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Authors: Oswaldo Otero, Eduardo A. Orozco, Ana M. Herrera

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In this work, we present results from analytical and numerical studies of the electron acceleration by a TE₀₁₁ cylindrical microwave mode in a static homogeneous magnetic field under electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) condition. The stability of the orbits is analyzed using the particle orbit theory. In order to get a better understanding of the interaction wave-particle, we decompose the azimuthally electric field component as the superposition of right and left-hand circular polarization standing waves. The trajectory, energy and phase-shift of the electron are found through a numerical solution of the relativistic Newton-Lorentz equation in a finite difference method by the Boris method. It is shown that an electron longitudinally injected with an energy of 7 keV in a radial position r=Rc/2, being Rc the cavity radius, is accelerated up to energy of 90 keV by an electric field strength of 14 kV/cm and frequency of 2.45 GHz. This energy can be used to produce X-ray for medical imaging. These results can be used as a starting point for study the acceleration of electrons in a magnetic field changing slowly in time (GYRAC), which has some important applications as the electron cyclotron resonance ion proton accelerator (ECR-IPAC) for cancer therapy and to control plasma bunches with relativistic electrons.

Keywords: Boris method, electron cyclotron resonance, finite difference method, particle orbit theory, X-ray

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Authors: Chenxi Zhang, Weizhong Qian, Fei Wei

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Gas solids multiphase flow is common in many engineering and environmental applications. Turbulence and multiphase flows are two of the most challenging topics in fluid mechanics, and when combined they pose a formidable challenge, even in the dilute dispersed regime. Dimensionless numbers are important in mechanics because their constancy can imply dynamic similarity between systems, despite possible differences in medium or scale. In the fluid mechanics literature, the Strouhal number is usually associated with the dimensionless shedding frequency of a von Karman wake; here we introduce this dimensionless number to investigate bubbling in gas solids fluidization. St=fA/U, which divides stroke frequency (f) and amplitude (A) by forward speed (U). The bubble behavior in a large two-dimensional bubbling fluidized bed (500mm×30mm×6000mm) is investigated. Our result indicates that propulsive efficiency is high and energy dissipation is low over a narrow range of St and usually within the interval 0.2Keywords: bubbles, Strouhal number, two-phase flow, energy dissipation

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Authors: Evgen Prokhorov, Gabriel Luna-Barcenas

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The polysaccharide chitosan (CS) is an attractive biopolymer for the stabilization of several nanoparticles in acidic aqueous media. This is due in part to the presence of abundant primary NH2 and OH groups which may lead to steric or chemical stabilization. Applications of most CS nanocomposites are based upon the interaction of high surface area nanoparticles (NPs) with different substance. Therefore, agglomeration of NPs leads to decreasing effective surface area such that it may decrease the efficiency of nanocomposites. The aim of this work is to measure nanocomposite’s electrical conductivity phenomena that will allow one to formulate optimal concentrations of conductivity NPs in CS-based nanocomposites. Additionally, by comparing the efficiency of such nanocomposites, one can guide applications in the biomedical (antibacterial properties and tissue regeneration) and sensor fields (detection of copper and nitrate ions in aqueous solutions). It was shown that the best antibacterial (CS-AgNPs, CS-AgNPs-carbon nanotubes) and would healing properties (CS-AuNPs) are observed in nanocomposites with concentrations of NPs near the percolation threshold. In this regard, the best detection limit in potentiometric and impedimetric sensors for detection of copper ions (using CS-AuNPs membrane) and nitrate ions (using CS-clay membrane) in aqueous solutions have been observed for membranes with concentrations of NPs near percolation threshold. It is well known that at the percolation concentration of NPs an abrupt increasing of conductivity is observed due to the presence of physical contacts between NPs; above this concentration, agglomeration of NPs takes place such that a decrease in the effective surface and performance of nanocomposite appear. The obtained relationship between electrical percolation threshold and performance of polymer nanocomposites with conductivity NPs is important for the design and optimization of polymer-based nanocomposites for different applications.

Keywords: chitosan, conductivity nanoparticles, percolation threshold, polymer nanocomposites

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Authors: Hamide Aydin, Banu Karaman, Ayhan Bozkurt, Umran Kurtan

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Recently, Proton Conducting Gel Polymer Electrolytes (GPEs) have drawn much attention in supercapacitor applications due to their physical and electrochemical characteristics and stability conditions for low temperatures. In this research, PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE has been used for electric-double layer capacitor (EDLCs) application, in which electrospun free-standing carbon nanofibers are used as electrodes. Introduced PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE behaves as both separator and the electrolyte in the supercapacitor. Symmetric Swagelok cells including GPEs were assembled via using two electrode arrangements and the electrochemical properties were searched. Electrochemical performance studies demonstrated that PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE had a maximum specific capacitance (Cs) of 134 F g-1 and showed great capacitance retention (%100) after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. Furthermore, PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE yielded an energy density of 67 Wh kg-1 with a corresponding power density of 1000 W kg-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1. PVA-H2SO4 based polymer electrolyte was produced according to following procedure; Firstly, 1 g of commercial PVA was dissolved in distilled water at 90°C and stirred until getting transparent solution. This was followed by addition of the diluted H2SO4 (1 g of H2SO4 in a distilled water) to the solution to obtain PVA-H2SO4. PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 based polymer electrolyte was produced by dissolving H3BO3 in hot distilled water and then inserted into the PVA-H2SO4 solution. The mole fraction was arranged to ¼ of the PVA repeating unit. After the stirring 2 h at RT, gel polymer electrolytes were obtained. The final electrolytes for supercapacitor testing included 20% of water in weight. Several blending combinations of PVA/H2SO4 and H3BO3 were studied to observe the optimized combination in terms of conductivity as well as electrolyte stability. As the amount of boric acid increased in the matrix, excess sulfuric acid was excluded due to cross linking, especially at lower solvent content. This resulted in the reduction of proton conductivity. Therefore, the mole fraction of H3BO3 was chosen as ¼ of PVA repeating unit. Within this optimized limits, the polymer electrolytes showed better conductivities as well as stability.

Keywords: electrical double layer capacitor, energy density, gel polymer electrolyte, ultracapacitor

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Authors: Iftikhar Ahmad, Youssef Elkezza

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Sarir oilfield is in North Africa. It has facilities for oil and gas production. The assets of the Sarir oilfield can be divided into five following categories, namely: (i) well bore and wellheads; (ii) vessels such as separators, desalters, and gas processing facilities; (iii) pipelines including all flow lines, trunk lines, and shipping lines; (iv) storage tanks; (v) other assets such as turbines and compressors, etc. The nature of the petroleum industry recognizes the potential human, environmental and financial consequences that can result from failing to maintain the integrity of wellheads, vessels, tanks, pipelines, and other assets. The importance of effective asset integrity management increases as the industry infrastructure continues to age. The primary objective of assets integrity management (AIM) is to maintain assets in a fit-for-service condition while extending their remaining life in the most reliable, safe, and cost-effective manner. Corrosion management is one of the important aspects of successful asset integrity management. It covers corrosion mitigation, monitoring, inspection, and risk evaluation. External corrosion on pipelines, well bores, buried assets, and bottoms of tanks is controlled with a combination of coatings by cathodic protection, while the external corrosion on surface equipment, wellheads, and storage tanks is controlled by coatings. The periodic cleaning of the pipeline by pigging helps in the prevention of internal corrosion. Further, internal corrosion of pipelines is prevented by chemical treatment and controlled operations. This paper describes the integrity management system used in the Sarir oil field for its oil and gas production facilities based on standard practices of corrosion mitigation and inspection.

Keywords: assets integrity management, corrosion prevention in oilfield assets, corrosion management in oilfield, corrosion prevention, inspection activities

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Authors: Sopida Vacharasukpo, Sudarat Khwan-On

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This paper proposes a high step-up DC-DC converter topology for renewable energy system applications. The proposed converter employs only a single power switch instead of using several switches. Compared to the conventional DC-DC step-up converters the higher voltage gain with small output ripples can be achieved by using the proposed high step-up DC-DC converter topology. It can step up the low input voltage (20-50Vdc) generated from the photovoltaic modules to the high output voltage level approximately 600Vdc in order to supply the three-phase inverter fed the three-phase motor drive. In this paper, the operating principle of the proposed converter topology and its control strategy under the continuous conduction mode (CCM) are described. Finally, simulation results are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed high step-up DC-DC converter with its control strategy to increase the voltage step-up conversion ratio.

Keywords: DC-DC converter, high step-up ratio, renewable energy, single switch

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Authors: Mandeep Kumar, Hari Singh

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The effective optimization of machining process parameters affects dramatically the cost and production time of machined components as well as the quality of the final products. This paper presents the optimization aspects of a Wire Electrical Discharge Machining operation using Inconel X-750 as work material. The objective considered in this study is minimization of the dimensional deviation. Six input process parameters of WEDM namely spark gap voltage, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, wire feed rate, peak current and wire tension, were chosen as variables to study the process performance. Taguchi's design of experiments methodology has been used for planning and designing the experiments. The analysis of variance was carried out for raw data as well as for signal to noise ratio. Four input parameters and one two-factor interaction have been found to be statistically significant for their effects on the response of interest. The confirmation experiments were also performed for validating the predicted results.

Keywords: ANOVA, DOE, inconel, machining, optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 195