Search results for: lateral flow immunosensor

Authors: Ahmed Jarray, Vanessa Magnanimo, Stefan Luding

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Granular avalanches are ubiquitous in nature and occur in numerous industrial processes associated with particulate systems. When a small amount of liquid is added to a pile of particles, pendular bridges form and the particles are attracted by capillary forces, creating complex structure and flow behavior. We have performed an extensive series of experiments to investigate the effect of capillary force and particle size on wet granular avalanches, and we established a methodology that ensures the control of the granular flow in a rotating drum. The velocity of the free surface and the angle of repose of the particles in the rotating drum are determined using particle tracking method. The capillary force between the particles is significantly reduced by making the glass beads hydrophobic via chemical silanization. We show that the strength of the capillary forces between two adjacent particles can be deliberately manipulated through surface modification of the glass beads, thus, under the right conditions; we demonstrate that the avalanche dynamics can be controlled. The results show that the avalanche amplitude decreases when increasing the capillary force. We also find that liquid-induced cohesion increases the width of the gliding layer and the dynamic angle of repose, however, it decreases the velocity of the free surface.

Keywords: avalanche dynamics, capillary force, granular material, granular flow

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Authors: Teklay Gebrecherkos

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Background: Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 plays an important role in epidemiological studies, in aiding the diagnosis of COVID-19 and assess vaccine responses. Little is known about the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 serology in African settings. Here, we aimed to characterize the longitudinal antibody response profile to SARS-CoV-2 in Ethiopia. Methods: In this prospective study, a total of 102 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled. We obtained 802 plasma samples collected serially. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were determined using four lateral flow immune assays (LFIAs) and an electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. We determined longitudinal antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 as well as seroconversion dynamics. Results: Serological positivity rate ranged between 12%-91%, depending on timing after symptom onset. There was no difference in the positivity rate between severe and non-severe COVID-19 cases. The specificity ranged between 90%-97%. Agreement between different assays ranged between 84%-92%. The estimated positive predictive value (PPV) for IgM or IgG in a scenario with seroprevalence at 5% varies from 33% to 58%. Nonetheless, when the population seroprevalence increases to 25% and 50%, there is a corresponding increase in the estimated PPVs. The estimated negative-predictive value (NPV) in a low seroprevalence scenario (5%) is high (>99%). However, the estimated NPV in a high seroprevalence scenario (50%) for IgM or IgG is reduced significantly from 80% to 85%. Overall, 28/102 (27.5%) seroconverted by one or more assays tested within a median time of 11 (IQR: 9–15) days post symptom onset. The median seroconversion time among symptomatic cases tended to be shorter when compared to asymptomatic patients [9 (IQR: 6–11) vs. 15 (IQR: 13–21) days; p = 0.002]. Overall, seroconversion reached 100% 5.5 weeks after the onset of symptoms. Notably, of the remaining 74 COVID-19 patients included in the cohort, 64 (62.8%) were positive for antibodies at the time of enrollment, and 10 (9.8%) patients failed to mount a detectable antibody response by any of the assays tested during follow-up. Conclusions: Longitudinal assessment of antibody response in African COVID-19 patients revealed heterogeneous responses. This underscores the need for a comprehensive evaluation of serum assays before implementation. Factors associated with failure to seroconvert need further research.

Keywords: COVID-19, antibody, rapid diagnostic tests, ethiopia

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Authors: Amthal Al-Gailani, Olujide Sanni, Thibaut Charpentier, Anne Neville

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Formation of inorganic scale on heat transfer surfaces is a serious problem encountered in industrial, commercial, and domestic heat exchangers and systems. Several industries use potable/groundwater sources such as rivers, lakes, and oceans to use water as a working fluid in heat exchangers and steamers. As potable/surface water contains diverse salt ionic species, the scaling kinetics and deposit morphology are expected to be different from those found in artificially hardened solutions. In this work, scale formation on the heat transfer surfaces from potable water has been studied using a once-through open flow cell under atmospheric pressure. The surface scaling mechanism and deposit morphology are investigated at high surface temperature. Thus the water evaporation process has to be considered. The effect of surface temperature, flow rate, and inhibitor deployment on the thermal resistance and morphology of the scale have been investigated. The study findings show how an increase in surface temperature enhances the crystallization reaction kinetics on the surface. There is an increase in the amount of scale and the resistance to heat transfer. The fluid flow rate also increases the fouling resistance and the thickness of the scale layer.

Keywords: fouling, heat exchanger, thermal resistance, crystallization, potable water

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Authors: Rafal Sochaczewski, Ksenia Siadkowska, Tytus Tulwin

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The paper describes the modeling of a fuel injector for common rail systems. A one-dimensional model of a solenoid-valve-controlled injector with Valve Closes Orifice (VCO) spray was modelled in the AVL Hydsim. This model shows the dynamic phenomena that occur in the injector. The accuracy of the calibration, based on a regulation of the parameters of the control valve and the nozzle needle lift, was verified by comparing the numerical results of injector flow rate. Our model is capable of a precise simulation of injector operating parameters in relation to injection time and fuel pressure in a fuel rail. As a result, there were made characteristics of the injector flow rate and backflow.

Keywords: common rail, diesel engine, fuel injector, modeling

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Authors: Abdullah Almatouq

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Understanding the impact of key operational variables on concurrent energy generation and phosphorus recovery in microbial fuel cell is required to improve the process and reduce the operational cost. In this study, full factorial design (FFD) and central composite designs (CCD) were employed to identify the effect of influent COD concentration and cathode aeration flow rate on energy generation and phosphorus (P) recovery and to optimise MFC power density and P recovery. Results showed that influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration and cathode aeration flow rate had a significant effect on power density, coulombic efficiency, phosphorus precipitation efficiency and phosphorus precipitation rate at the cathode. P precipitation was negatively affected by the generated current during the batch duration. The generated energy was reduced due to struvite being precipitated on the cathode surface, which might obstruct the mass transfer of ions and oxygen. Response surface mathematical model was used to predict the optimum operating conditions that resulted in a maximum power density and phosphorus precipitation efficiency of 184 mW/m² and 84%, and this corresponds to COD= 1700 mg/L and aeration flow rate=210 mL/min. The findings highlight the importance of the operational conditions of energy generation and phosphorus recovery.

Keywords: energy, microbial fuel cell, phosphorus, struvite

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Authors: R. O’Reilly Meehan, D. B. Murray

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In many practical situations, bubbles are dispersed in a liquid phase. Understanding these complex bubbly flows is therefore a key issue for applications such as shell and tube heat exchangers, mineral flotation and oxidation in water treatment. Although a large body of work exists for bubbles rising in an unbounded medium, that of bubbles rising in constricted geometries has received less attention. The particular case of a bubble sliding underneath an inclined surface is common to two-phase flow systems. The current study intends to expand this knowledge by performing experiments to quantify the streamwise flow structures associated with a single sliding air bubble under an inclined surface in quiescent water. This is achieved by means of two-dimensional, two-component particle image velocimetry (PIV), performed with a continuous wave laser and high-speed camera. PIV vorticity fields obtained in a plane perpendicular to the sliding surface show that there is significant bulk fluid motion away from the surface. The associated momentum of the bubble means that this wake motion persists for a significant time before viscous dissipation. The magnitude and direction of the flow structures in the streamwise measurement plane are found to depend on the point on its path through which the bubble enters the plane. This entry point, represented by a phase angle, affects the nature and strength of the vortical structures. This study reconstructs the vorticity field in the wake of the bubble, converting the field at different instances in time to slices of a large-scale wake structure. This is, in essence, Taylor’s ”frozen turbulence” hypothesis. Applying this to the vorticity fields provides a pseudo three-dimensional representation from 2-D data, allowing for a more intuitive understanding of the bubble wake. This study provides insights into the complex dynamics of a situation common to many engineering applications, particularly shell and tube heat exchangers in the nucleate boiling regime.

Keywords: bubbly flow, particle image velocimetry, two-phase flow, wake structures

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Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale, Rubens Maribondo do Nascimento, José Ubiragi de Lima Mendes

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Given the unquestionable need of environmental preservation of discarded industrial residues, The scrape of tires have been seen as a salutary alternative for addictive in concrete, asphalt production and of other composites materials. In this work, grew a composite the base of scrape of tire as reinforcement and latex as matrix, to be used as insulating thermal in "cold" systems (0º). Analyzed the acting of the material was what plays the thermal conservation when submitted the flow of heat. Verified the temperature profiles in the internal surfaces and it expresses of the composite as well as the temperature gradient in the same. As a consequence, in function of the answers of the system, conclusions were reached.

Keywords: cold system, latex, flow of heat, asphalt production

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Authors: Olayiwola Moruf Oyedunsi

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This paper discusses the Modified Variational Iteration Method (MVIM) for the solution of nonlinear Burgers’ equation arising in longitudinal dispersion phenomena in fluid flow through porous media. The method is an elegant combination of Taylor’s series and the variational iteration method (VIM). Using Maple 18 for implementation, it is observed that the procedure provides rapidly convergent approximation with less computational efforts. The result shows that the concentration C(x,t) of the contaminated water decreases as distance x increases for the given time t.

Keywords: modified variational iteration method, Burger’s equation, porous media, partial differential equation

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Authors: Amin Noor, Roslinda Nazar, Norihan Md. Arifin

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In this paper, a numerical and theoretical study has been performed for the stagnation-point boundary layer flow and heat transfer towards a shrinking sheet in a nanofluid. The mathematical nanofluid model in which the effect of the nanoparticle volume fraction is taken into account is considered. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using a similarity transformation which is then solved numerically using the function bvp4c from Matlab. Numerical results are obtained for the skin friction coefficient, the local Nusselt number as well as the velocity and temperature profiles for some values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction Φ, the shrinking parameter λ and the Prandtl number Pr. Three different types of nanoparticles are considered, namely Cu, Al2O3 and TiO2. It is found that solutions do not exist for larger shrinking rates and dual (upper and lower branch) solutions exist when λ < -1.0. A stability analysis has been performed to show which branch solutions are stable and physically realizable. It is also found that the upper branch solutions are stable while the lower branch solutions are unstable.

Keywords: heat transfer, nanofluid, shrinking sheet, stability analysis, stagnation-point flow

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Authors: Farhad Aalizadeh, Ali Moosavi

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When a blood vessel is injured, the cells of your blood bond together to form a blood clot. The blood clot helps you stop bleeding. Blood clots are made of a combination of blood cells, platelets(small sticky cells that speed up the clot-making process), and fibrin (protein that forms a thread-like mesh to trap cells). Doctors call this kind of blood clot a “thrombus.”We study the effects of different parameters on the deposition of Nanoparticles on the surface of a bump in the blood vessels by the magnetic field. The Maxwell and the flow equations are solved for this purpose. It is assumed that the blood is non-Newtonian and the number of particles has been considered enough to rely on the results statistically. Using MHD and its property it is possible to control the flow velocity, remove the fouling on the walls and return the system to its original form.

Keywords: MHD, fouling, in-vivo, blood clots, simulation

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Authors: Ming-Jong Tsai, T. M. Wu, R. C. Chu

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The purpose of this study is to develop an Advanced linear calibration Technique for air flow sensing by using CTA-based Hot wire Anemometry. It contains a host PC with Human Machine Interface, a wind tunnel, a wind speed controller, an automatic data acquisition module, and nonlinear calibration model. To improve the fitting error by using single fitting polynomial, this study proposes a Multiple three-order Polynomial Fitting Method (MPFM) for fitting the non-linear output of a CTA-based Hot wire Anemometry. The CTA-based anemometer with built-in fitting parameters is installed in the wind tunnel, and the wind speed is controlled by the PC-based controller. The Hot-Wire anemometer's thermistor resistance change is converted into a voltage signal or temperature differences, and then sent to the PC through a DAQ card. After completion measurements of original signal, the Multiple polynomial mathematical coefficients can be automatically calculated, and then sent into the micro-processor in the Hot-Wire anemometer. Finally, the corrected Hot-Wire anemometer is verified for the linearity, the repeatability, error percentage, and the system outputs quality control reports.

Keywords: flow rate sensing, hot wire, constant temperature anemometry (CTA), linear calibration, multiple three-order polynomial fitting method (MPFM), temperature compensation

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Authors: Vinay Kumar Vanjakula, Frank Adam

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The generation of electricity through wind power is one of the leading renewable energy generation methods. Due to abundant higher wind speeds far away from shore, the construction of offshore wind turbines began in the last decades. However, the installation of offshore foundation-based (monopiles) wind turbines in deep waters are often associated with technical and financial challenges. To overcome such challenges, the concept of floating wind turbines is expanded as the basis of the oil and gas industry. For such a floating system, stabilization in harsh conditions is a challenging task. For that, a robust heavy-weight gravity anchor is needed. Transportation of such anchor requires a heavy vessel that increases the cost. To lower the cost, the gravity anchor is designed with ballast chambers that allow the anchor to float while towing and filled with water when lowering to the planned seabed location. The presence of such a large structure may influence the flow field around it. The changes in the flow field include, formation of vortices, turbulence generation, waves or currents flow breaking and pressure differentials around the seabed sediment. These changes influence the installation process. Also, after installation and under operating conditions, the flow around the anchor may allow the local seabed sediment to be carried off and results in Scour (erosion). These are a threat to the structure's stability. In recent decades, rapid developments of research work and the knowledge of scouring on fixed structures (bridges and monopiles) in rivers and oceans have been carried out, and very limited research work on scouring around a bluff-shaped gravity anchor. The objective of this study involves the application of different numerical models to simulate the anchor towing under waves and calm water conditions. Anchor lowering involves the investigation of anchor movements at certain water depths under wave/current. The motions of anchor drift, heave, and pitch is of special focus. The further study involves anchor scour, where the anchor is installed in the seabed; the flow of underwater current around the anchor induces vortices mainly at the front and corners that develop soil erosion. The study of scouring on a submerged gravity anchor is an interesting research question since the flow not only passes around the anchor but also over the structure that forms different flow vortices. The achieved results and the numerical model will be a basis for the development of other designs and concepts for marine structures. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical model will build in OpenFOAM and other similar software.

Keywords: anchor lowering, anchor towing, gravity anchor, computational fluid dynamics, scour

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Authors: K. Yuki, R. Tsuji, K. Takai, S. Aramaki, R. Kibushi, N. Unno, K. Suzuki

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A small cold plate with uni-directional porous copper is proposed for cooling power electronics such as an on-vehicle inverter with the heat generation of approximately 500 W/cm2. The uni-directional porous copper with the pore perpendicularly orienting the heat transfer surface is soldered to a grooved heat transfer surface. This structure enables the cooling liquid to evaporate in the pore of the porous copper and then the vapor to discharge through the grooves. In order to minimize the cold plate, a double flow channel concept is introduced for the design of the cold plate. The cold plate consists of a base plate, a spacer, and a vapor discharging plate, totally 12 mm in thickness. The base plate has multiple nozzles of 1.0 mm in diameter for the liquid supply and 4 slits of 2.0 mm in width for vapor discharging, and is attached onto the top surface of the porous copper plate of 20 mm in diameter and 5.0 mm in thickness. The pore size is 0.36 mm and the porosity is 36 %. The cooling liquid flows into the porous copper as an impinging jet flow from the multiple nozzles, and then the vapor, which is generated in the pore, is discharged through the grooves and the vapor slits outside the cold plate. A heated test section consists of the cold plate, which was explained above, and a heat transfer copper block with 6 cartridge heaters. The cross section of the heat transfer block is reduced in order to increase the heat flux. The top surface of the block is the grooved heat transfer surface of 10 mm in diameter at which the porous copper is soldered. The grooves are fabricated like latticework, and the width and depth are 1.0 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. By embedding three thermocouples in the cylindrical part of the heat transfer block, the temperature of the heat transfer surface ant the heat flux are extrapolated in a steady state. In this experiment, the flow rate is 0.5 L/min and the flow velocity at each nozzle is 0.27 m/s. The liquid inlet temperature is 60 °C. The experimental results prove that, in a single-phase heat transfer regime, the heat transfer performance of the cold plate with the uni-directional porous copper is 2.1 times higher than that without the porous copper, though the pressure loss with the porous copper also becomes higher than that without the porous copper. As to the two-phase heat transfer regime, the critical heat flux increases by approximately 35% by introducing the uni-directional porous copper, compared with the CHF of the multiple impinging jet flow. In addition, we confirmed that these heat transfer data was much higher than that of the ordinary single impinging jet flow. These heat transfer data prove high potential of the cold plate with the uni-directional porous copper from the view point of not only the heat transfer performance but also energy saving.

Keywords: cooling, cold plate, uni-porous media, heat transfer

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Authors: Raza Abdulla Saeed

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In this study, the three-dimensional cavitating turbulent flow in a complete Francis turbine is simulated using mixture model for cavity/liquid two-phase flows. Numerical analysis is carried out using ANSYS CFX software release 12, and standard k-ε turbulence model is adopted for this analysis. The computational fluid domain consist of spiral casing, stay vanes, guide vanes, runner and draft tube. The computational domain is discretized with a three-dimensional mesh system of unstructured tetrahedron mesh. The finite volume method (FVM) is used to solve the governing equations of the mixture model. Results of cavitation on the runner’s blades under three different boundary conditions are presented and discussed. From the numerical results it has been found that the numerical method was successfully applied to simulate the cavitating two-phase turbulent flow through a Francis turbine, and also cavitation is clearly predicted in the form of water vapor formation inside the turbine. By comparison the numerical prediction results with a real runner; it’s shown that the region of higher volume fraction obtained by simulation is consistent with the region of runner cavitation damage.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, hydraulic francis turbine, numerical simulation, two-phase mixture cavitation model

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Authors: Ramiro Gustavo Ramirez Camacho, Waldir De Oliveira, Eraldo Cruz Dos Santos, Edna Raimunda Da Silva, Tania Marie Arispe Angulo, Carlos Eduardo Alves Da Costa, Tânia Cristina Alves Dos Reis

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It presents a preliminary design methodology of an axial fan based on the lift wing theory and the potential vortex hypothesis. The literature considers a study of acoustic and engineering expertise to model a fan with low noise. Axial fans with inadequate intake geometry, often suffer poor condition of the flow at the entrance, varying from velocity profiles spatially asymmetric to swirl floating with respect to time, this produces random forces acting on the blades. This produces broadband gust noise which in most cases triggers the tonal noise. The analysis of the axial flow fan will be conducted for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations and models of turbulence in steady and transitory (RANS - URANS) 3-D, in order to find an efficient aerodynamic design, with low noise and suitable for industrial installation. Therefore, the process will require the use of computational optimization methods, aerodynamic design methodologies, and numerical methods as CFD- Computational Fluid Dynamics. The objective is the development of the methodology of the construction axial fan, provide of design the geometry of the blade, and evaluate aerodynamic performance

Keywords: Axial fan design, CFD, Preliminary Design, Optimization

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Authors: Mateusz Paszko, Miroslaw Wendeker, Adam Majczak

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High temperature waste energy offers a number of management options. The most common energy recuperation systems, that are actually used to utilize energy from the high temperature sources are steam turbines working in a high pressure and temperature closed cycles. Due to the high costs of production of energy recuperation systems, especially rotary turbine discs equipped with blades, currently used solutions are limited in use with waste energy sources of temperature below 100 °C. This study presents the results of simulating the flow of the water vapor in various configurations of flow ducts in a reaction steam turbine based on Hero’s steam turbine. The simulation was performed using a numerical model and the ANSYS Fluent software. Simulation computations were conducted with use of the water vapor as an internal agent powering the turbine, which is fully safe for an environment in case of a device failure. The conclusions resulting from the conducted numerical computations should allow for optimization of the flow ducts geometries, in order to achieve the greatest possible efficiency of the turbine. It is expected that the obtained results should be useful for further works related to the development of the final version of a low drag steam turbine dedicated for low cost energy recuperation systems.

Keywords: energy recuperation, CFD analysis, waste energy, steam turbine

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Authors: Xiao-Dong Wang, Wei-Mon Yan

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The flow field design in the bipolar plates affects the performance of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. This work adopted a combined optimization procedure, including a simplified conjugate-gradient method and a completely three-dimensional, two-phase, non-isothermal fuel cell model, to look for optimal flow field design for a single serpentine fuel cell of size 9×9 mm with five channels. For the direct solution, the two-fluid method was adopted to incorporate the heat effects using energy equations for entire cells. The model assumes that the system is steady; the inlet reactants are ideal gases; the flow is laminar; and the porous layers such as the diffusion layer, catalyst layer and PEM are isotropic. The model includes continuity, momentum and species equations for gaseous species, liquid water transport equations in the channels, gas diffusion layers, and catalyst layers, water transport equation in the membrane, electron and proton transport equations. The Bulter-Volumer equation was used to describe electrochemical reactions in the catalyst layers. The cell output power density Pcell is maximized subjected to an optimal set of channel heights, H1-H5, and channel widths, W2-W5. The basic case with all channel heights and widths set at 1 mm yields a Pcell=7260 Wm-2. The optimal design displays a tapered characteristic for channels 1, 3 and 4, and a diverging characteristic in height for channels 2 and 5, producing a Pcell=8894 Wm-2, about 22.5% increment. The reduced channel heights of channels 2-4 significantly increase the sub-rib convection and widths for effectively removing liquid water and oxygen transport in gas diffusion layer. The final diverging channel minimizes the leakage of fuel to outlet via sub-rib convection from channel 4 to channel 5. Near-optimal design without huge loss in cell performance but is easily manufactured is tested. The use of a straight, final channel of 0.1 mm height has led to 7.37% power loss, while the design with all channel widths to be 1 mm with optimal channel heights obtained above yields only 1.68% loss of current density. The presence of a final, diverging channel has greater impact on cell performance than the fine adjustment of channel width at the simulation conditions set herein studied.

Keywords: optimization, flow field design, simplified conjugate-gradient method, serpentine flow field, sub-rib convection

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Authors: Kamila Mazur-Oleszczuk, Rafal Banasiuk, Dawid Krasnowski, Maciej Pek, Marcin Podgorski, Krzysztof Rykaczewski, Sabina Zoledowska, Dawid Nidzworski

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Workout safety is one of the most significant challenges of recreational sports. Loss of water and electrolytes is a consequence of thermoregulatory sweating during exercise. The rate of sweat loss and its chemical composition can fluctuate within and among individuals. That is why we propose our sportband 'Flow' as a device for monitoring these parameters. 'Flow' consists of two parts: an intelligent module and a mobile application. The application allows verifying the training progress and data archiving. The sportband intelligent module includes temperature, heart rate and pulse measurement (non-invasive, continuous methods of workout monitoring). Apart from the standard components, the device will consist of a sweat composition analyzer situated in sportband intelligent module. Sweat is a water solution of numerous compounds such as ions (sodium up to 1609 µg/ml, potassium up to 274 µg/ml), lactic acid (skin pH is between 4.5 - 6) and a small amount of glucose. Awareness of sweat composition allows personalizing electrolyte intake after training. A comprehensive workout monitoring (sweat composition, heart rate, blood oxygen level) will provide improvement in the training routine and time management, which is our goal for the development of the sweat composition analyzer.

Keywords: flow, sportband, sweat, workout monitoring

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Authors: May Bazzi, Shafik Tokmaj, Younes Saberi, Mats Geijer, Tony Jurkiewicz, Patrik Sund, Anna Bjällmark

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Mobile radiography, employing portable X-ray equipment, has become a routine procedure within hospital settings, with chest X-rays in intensive care units standing out as the most prevalent mobile X-ray examinations. This approach is not limited to hospitals alone, as it extends its benefits to imaging patients in various settings, particularly those too frail to be transported, such as elderly care residents in nursing homes. Moreover, the utility of mobile X-ray isn't confined solely to traditional healthcare recipients; it has proven to be a valuable resource for vulnerable populations, including the homeless, drug users, asylum seekers, and patients with multiple co-morbidities. Mobile X-rays reduce patient stress, minimize costly hospitalizations, and offer cost-effective imaging. While studies confirm its reliability, further research is needed, especially regarding image quality. Recent advancements in lightweight equipment with enhanced battery and detector technology provide the potential for nearly handheld radiography. The main aim of this study was to evaluate a new lightweight mobile X-ray system with two different detectors and compare the image quality with a modern stationary system. Methods: A total of 74 images of the chest (chest anterior-posterior (AP) views and chest lateral views) and pelvic/hip region (AP pelvis views, hip AP views, and hip cross-table lateral views) were acquired on a whole-body phantom (Kyotokagaku, Japan), utilizing varying image parameters. These images were obtained using a stationary system - 18 images (Mediel, Sweden), a mobile X-ray system with a second-generation detector - 28 images (FDR D-EVO II; Fujifilm, Japan) and a mobile X-ray system with a third-generation detector - 28 images (FDR D-EVO III; Fujifilm, Japan). Image quality was assessed by visual grading analysis (VGA), which is a method to measure image quality by assessing the visibility and accurate reproduction of anatomical structures within the images. A total of 33 image criteria were used in the analysis. A panel of two experienced radiologists, two experienced radiographers, and two final-term radiographer students evaluated the image quality on a 5-grade ordinal scale using the software Viewdex 3.0 (Viewer for Digital Evaluation of X-ray images, Sweden). Data were analyzed using visual grading characteristics analysis. The dose was measured by the dose-area product (DAP) reported by the respective systems. Results: The mobile X-ray equipment (both detectors) showed significantly better image quality than the stationary equipment for the pelvis, hip AP and hip cross-table lateral images with AUCVGA-values ranging from 0.64-0.92, while chest images showed mixed results. The number of images rated as having sufficient quality for diagnostic use was significantly higher for mobile X-ray generation 2 and 3 compared with the stationary X-ray system. The DAP values were higher for the stationary compared to the mobile system. Conclusions: The new lightweight radiographic equipment had an image quality at least as good as a fixed system at a lower radiation dose. Future studies should focus on clinical images and consider radiographers' viewpoints for a comprehensive assessment.

Keywords: mobile x-ray, visual grading analysis, radiographer, radiation dose

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Authors: Anuj Srivastava, Kuldeep Kumar

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This paper proposes a numerical study of volute tongue design, which affects the centrifugal compressor operating range and pressure recovery. Increased efficiency has been the traditional importance of compressor design. However, the increased operating range has become important in an age of ever-increasing productivity and energy costs in the turbomachinery industry. Efficiency and overall operating range are the two most important parameters studied to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of centrifugal compressor. Volute is one of the components that have significant effect on these two parameters. Choice of volute tongue geometry has major role in compressor performance, also affects performance map. The author evaluates the trade-off on using pull-back tongue geometry on centrifugal compressor performance. In present paper, three different tongue positions and shapes are discussed. These designs are compared in terms of pressure recovery coefficient, pressure loss coefficient, and stable operating range. The detailed flow structures for various volute geometries and pull back angle near tongue are studied extensively to explore the fluid behavior. The viscous Navier-Stokes equations are used to simulate the flow inside the volute. The numerical calculations are compared with thermodynamic 1-D calculations. Author concludes that the increment in compression ratio accompanies with more uniform pressure distribution in the modified tongue shape and location, a uniform static pressure around the circumferential which build a more uniform flow in the impeller and diffuser. Also, the blockage at the tongue of the volute was causing circumferentially nonuniformed pressure along the volute. This nonuniformity may lead impeller and diffuser to operate unstably. However, it is not the volute that directly controls the stall.

Keywords: centrifugal compressor volute, tongue geometry, pull-back, compressor performance, flow instability

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Authors: Nur Dayana Khairunnisa Rosli, Seripah Awang Kechil

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Swirling flows with velocity slip are important in nature and industrial processes. The present work considers the effects of velocity slip, temperature jump and suction/injection on the flow and heat transfer of power-law fluids due to a rotating disk in the presence of magnetic field. The system of the partial differential equations is highly non-linear. The number of independent variables is reduced by transforming the system into a system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The effects of suction/injection, velocity slip and temperature jump on the flow rates are investigated for various cases of shear thinning and shear thickening power law fluids. The thermal and velocity jump strongly reduce the heat transfer rate and skin friction coefficient. Suction decreases the radial and tangential skin friction coefficient and the rate of heat transfer. It is also observed that the effects are more pronounced in the case of shear thinning fluids as compared to shear thickening fluids.

Keywords: heat transfer, power-law fluids, rotating disk, suction or injection, temperature jump, velocity slip

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Authors: Ali Javaid, Rizwan Latif, Syed Adnan Qasim, Imran Shafi

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To control combustion inside a direct injection diesel engine, fuel atomization is the best tool. Controlling combustion helps in reducing emissions and improves efficiency. Cavitation is one of the most important factors that significantly affect the nature of spray before it injects into combustion chamber. Typical fuel injector nozzles are small and operate at a very high pressure, which limits the study of internal nozzle behavior especially in case of diesel engine. Simulating cavitation in a fuel injector will help in understanding the phenomenon and will assist in further development. There is a parametric variation between high speed and high torque low speed diesel engines. The objective of this study is to simulate internal spray characteristics for a low speed high torque diesel engine. In-nozzle cavitation has strong effects on the parameters e.g. mass flow rate, fuel velocity, and momentum flux of fuel that is to be injected into the combustion chamber. The external spray dynamics and subsequently the air – fuel mixing depends on a lot of the parameters of fuel injecting the nozzle. The approach used to model turbulence induced in – nozzle cavitation for high-torque low-speed diesel engine, is homogeneous equilibrium model. The governing equations were modeled using Matlab. Complete Model in question was extensively evaluated by performing 3-D time-dependent simulations on Open FOAM, which is an open source flow solver and implemented in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). Results thus obtained will be analyzed for better evaporation in the near-nozzle region. The proposed analyses will further help in better engine efficiency, low emission, and improved fuel economy.

Keywords: cavitation, HEM model, nozzle flow, open foam, turbulence

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Authors: Shamsul Chowdhury

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The objective of this paper is to present the detailed analysis of the turbulent wave boundary layer produced by progressive finite-amplitude waves theory. Most of the works have done for the mass transport in the turbulent boundary layer assuming the eddy viscosity is not time varying, where the sediment movement is induced by the mean velocity. Near the ocean bottom, the waves produce a thin turbulent boundary layer, where the flow is highly rotational, and shear stress associated with the fluid motion cannot be neglected. The magnitude and the predominant direction of the sediment transport near the bottom are known to be closely related to the flow in the wave induced boundary layer. The magnitude of water particle velocity at the Crest phase differs from the one of the Trough phases due to the non-linearity of the waves, which plays an important role to determine the sediment movement. The non-linearity of the waves become predominant in the surf zone area, where the sediment movement occurs vigorously. Therefore, in order to describe the flow near the bottom and relationship between the flow and the movement of the sediment, the analysis was done using the non-linear boundary layer equation and the finite amplitude wave theory was applied to represent the velocity fields in the turbulent wave boundary layer. At first, the calculation was done for turbulent wave boundary layer by two-dimensional model where throughout the calculation is non-linear. But Stokes second order wave profile is adopted at the upper boundary. The calculated profile was compared with the experimental data. Finally, the calculation is done based on various modes of the velocity and turbulent energy. The mean velocity is found to differ from condition of the relative depth and the roughness. It is also found that due to non-linearity, the absolute value for velocity and turbulent energy as well as Reynolds stress are asymmetric. The mean velocity of the laminar boundary layer is always positive but in the turbulent boundary layer plays a very complicated role.

Keywords: wave boundary, mass transport, mean velocity, shear stress

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Authors: Ying Liang, Na Li

Abstract:

Lipo-alkaloid is a kind of C19-norditerpenoid alkaloids existed in Aconitum species, which usually contains an aconitane skeleton and one or two fatty acid residues. The structures are very similar to that of diester-type alkaloids, which are considered as the main bioactive components in Aconitum carmichaelii. They have anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, and anti-proliferative activities. So far, more than 200 lipo-alkaloids were reported from plants, semisynthesis, and biotransformations. In our research, by the combination of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadruple-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and an in-house database, 148 lipo-alkaloids were identified from A. carmichaelii, including 93 potential new compounds and 38 compounds with oxygenated fatty acid moieties. To our knowledge, this is the first time of the reporting of the oxygenated fatty acids as the side chains in naturally-occurring lipo-alkaloids. Considering the fatty acid residues in lipo-alkaloids should come from the free acids in the plant, the fatty acids and their relationship with lipo-alkaloids were further investigated by GC-MS and LC-MS. Among 17 fatty acids identified by GC-MS, 12 were detected as the side chains of lipo-alkaloids, which accounted for about 1/3 of total lipo-alkaloids, while these fatty acid residues were less than 1/4 of total fatty acid residues. And, total of 37 fatty acids were determined by UHPCL-Q-TOF-MS, including 18 oxidized fatty acids firstly identified from A. carmichaelii. These fatty acids were observed as the side chains of lipo-alkaloids. In addition, although over 140 lipo-alkaloids were identified, six lipo-alkaloids, 8-O-linoleoyl-14-benzoylmesaconine (1), 8-O-linoleoyl-14-benzoylaconine (2), 8-O-palmitoyl-14-benzoylmesaconine (3), 8-O-oleoyl-14-benzoylmesaconine (4), 8-O-pal-benzoylaconine (5), and 8-O-ole-Benzoylaconine (6), were found to be the main components, which accounted for over 90% content of total lipo-alkaloids. Therefore, using these six components as standards, a UHPLC-Triple Quadrupole-MS (UHPLC-QQQ-MS) approach was established to investigate the influence of processing on the contents of lipo-alkaloids. Although it was commonly supposed that the contents of lipo-alkaloids increased after processing, our research showed that no significant change was observed before and after processing. Using the same methods, the lipo-alkaloids in the lateral roots of A. carmichaelii and the roots of A. kusnezoffii were determined and quantified. The contents of lipo-alkaloids in A. kusnezoffii were close to that of the parent roots of A. carmichaelii, while the lateral roots had less lipo-alkaloids than the parent roots. This work was supported by Macao Science and Technology Development Fund (086/2013/A3 and 003/2016/A1).

Keywords: Aconitum carmichaelii, fatty acids, GC-MS, LC-MS, lipo-alkaloids

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Authors: Rangoli Goyal, Rama Bhargava

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The triple diffusive boundary layer flow of nanofluid under the action of constant magnetic field over a non-linear stretching sheet has been investigated numerically. The model includes the effect of Brownian motion, thermophoresis, and cross-diffusion; slip mechanisms which are primarily responsible for the enhancement of the convective features of nanofluid. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations (by using group theory transformations) and solved numerically by using variational finite element method. The effects of various controlling parameters, such as the magnetic influence number, thermophoresis parameter, Brownian motion parameter, modified Dufour parameter, and Dufour solutal Lewis number, on the fluid flow as well as on heat and mass transfer coefficients (both of solute and nanofluid) are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively. The present study has industrial applications in aerodynamic extrusion of plastic sheets, coating and suspensions, melt spinning, hot rolling, wire drawing, glass-fibre production, and manufacture of polymer and rubber sheets, where the quality of the desired product depends on the stretching rate as well as external field including magnetic effects.

Keywords: FEM, thermophoresis, diffusiophoresis, Brownian motion

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Authors: Stoyan Nedeltchev, Markus Schubert

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The gas holdup fluctuations in a bubble column (0.15 m in ID) have been recorded by means of a conductivity wire-mesh sensor in order to extract information about the main transition velocities. These parameters are very important for bubble column design, operation and scale-up. For this purpose, the classical definition of the Shannon entropy was modified and used to identify both the onset (at UG=0.034 m/s) of the transition flow regime and the beginning (at UG=0.089 m/s) of the churn-turbulent flow regime. The results were compared with the Kolmogorov entropy (KE) results. A slight discrepancy was found, namely the transition velocities identified by means of the KE were shifted to somewhat higher (0.045 and 0.101 m/s) superficial gas velocities UG.

Keywords: bubble column, gas holdup fluctuations, modified Shannon entropy, Kolmogorov entropy

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Authors: Md. Mizanur Rahman, Chu Chi Ming, Mohd Suffian Bin Misaran

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Chimney is an important part of the industries to remove waste heat from the processes side to the atmosphere. The increased demand of energy helps to restart to think about the efficiency of chimney as well as to find out a valid option to replace forced draft chimney system from industries. In this study natural draft chimney model is air flow rate; exit air temperature and pressure losses are studied through modification with wire mesh screen and compare the results with without wire mesh screen chimney model. The heat load is varies from 0.1 kW to 1kW and three different wire mesh screens that have pore size 0.15 mm2, 0.40 mm2 and 4.0 mm2 respectively are used. The experimental results show that natural draft chimney model with wire mesh screens significantly restored the flow losses compared to the system without wire mesh screen. The natural draft chimney model with 0.40 mm2 pore size wire mesh screen can minimize the draft losses better than others and able to enhance velocity about 54 % exit air temperature about 41% and pressure loss decreased by about 20%. Therefore, it can be decided that the wire mesh screens significantly minimize the draft losses in the natural draft chimney and 0.40 mm2 pore size screen will be a suitable option.

Keywords: natural draft dhimney, wire mesh screen, natural draft flow, mechanical engineering

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Authors: Edina Koch, Károly Gombás, Márton Maller

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The Little Plain is located along the Danube river, and this area is a “hotbed” of sand boil formation. This is due to the combination of a 100-250 m thick gravel layer beneath the Little Plain with a relatively thin blanket of poor soil spreading the gravel with variable thickness. Sand boils have a tradition and history in this area. It was possible to know which sand boil started and stopped working at what water level, and some of them even have names. The authors present a 2D finite element model of groundwater flow through a selected cross-section of the Danube river, which observed activation of piping phenomena during the 2013 flood event. Soil parametrization is based on a complex site investigation program conducted along the Danube River in the Little Plain.

Keywords: site characterization, groundwater flow, numerical modeling, sand boil

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Authors: M. Patterson, R. Bond, K. Cowan, M. Mulvenna, C. Reid, F. McMahon, P. McGowan, H. Cormican

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This paper outlines the design of a simulator to allow for the optimisation of clinical workflows through a pathology laboratory and to improve the laboratory’s efficiency in the processing, testing, and analysis of specimens. Often pathologists have difficulty in pinpointing and anticipating issues in the clinical workflow until tests are running late or in error. It can be difficult to pinpoint the cause and even more difficult to predict any issues which may arise. For example, they often have no indication of how many samples are going to be delivered to the laboratory that day or at a given hour. If we could model scenarios using past information and known variables, it would be possible for pathology laboratories to initiate resource preparations, e.g. the printing of specimen labels or to activate a sufficient number of technicians. This would expedite the clinical workload, clinical processes and improve the overall efficiency of the laboratory. The simulator design visualises the workflow of the laboratory, i.e. the clinical tests being ordered, the specimens arriving, current tests being performed, results being validated and reports being issued. The simulator depicts the movement of specimens through this process, as well as the number of specimens at each stage. This movement is visualised using an animated flow diagram that is updated in real time. A traffic light colour-coding system will be used to indicate the level of flow through each stage (green for normal flow, orange for slow flow, and red for critical flow). This would allow pathologists to clearly see where there are issues and bottlenecks in the process. Graphs would also be used to indicate the status of specimens at each stage of the process. For example, a graph could show the percentage of specimen tests that are on time, potentially late, running late and in error. Clicking on potentially late samples will display more detailed information about those samples, the tests that still need to be performed on them and their urgency level. This would allow any issues to be resolved quickly. In the case of potentially late samples, this could help to ensure that critically needed results are delivered on time. The simulator will be created as a single-page web application. Various web technologies will be used to create the flow diagram showing the workflow of the laboratory. JavaScript will be used to program the logic, animate the movement of samples through each of the stages and to generate the status graphs in real time. This live information will be extracted from an Oracle database. As well as being used in a real laboratory situation, the simulator could also be used for training purposes. ‘Bots’ would be used to control the flow of specimens through each step of the process. Like existing software agents technology, these bots would be configurable in order to simulate different situations, which may arise in a laboratory such as an emerging epidemic. The bots could then be turned on and off to allow trainees to complete the tasks required at that step of the process, for example validating test results.

Keywords: laboratory-process, optimization, pathology, computer simulation, workflow

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Authors: Thomas Wimmer, Bernhard Weigand

Abstract:

The improvement of gas turbine efficiency is one of the main drivers of research and development in the gas turbine market. This has led to elevated gas turbine inlet temperatures beyond the melting point of the utilized materials. The turbine parts need to be actively cooled in order to withstand these harsh environments. However, the usage of compressor air as coolant decreases the overall gas turbine efficiency. Thus, coolant consumption needs to be minimized in order to gain the maximum advantage from higher turbine inlet temperatures. Therefore, sophisticated cooling designs for gas turbine parts aim to minimize coolant mass flow. New design space is accessible as additive manufacturing is maturing to industrial usage for the creation of hot gas flow path parts. By making use of this technology more efficient cooling schemes can be manufacture. In order to find such cooling schemes a generative design method is being developed. It generates cooling schemes randomly which adhere to a set of rules. These assure the sanity of the design. A huge amount of different cooling schemes are generated and implemented in a simulation environment where it is validated. Criteria for the fitness of the cooling schemes are coolant mass flow, maximum temperature and temperature gradients. This way the whole design space is sampled and a Pareto optimum front can be identified. This approach is applied to a flat plate, which resembles a simplified section of a hot gas flow path part. Realistic boundary conditions are applied and thermal barrier coating is accounted for in the simulation environment. The resulting cooling schemes are presented and compared to representative conventional cooling schemes. Further development of this method can give access to cooling schemes with an even better performance having higher complexity, which makes use of the available design space.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, cooling, gas turbine, heat transfer, heat transfer design, optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 352