Search results for: proton electrolyte membrane fuel cell
462 Development of High Performance Clarification System for FBR Dissolver Liquor
Authors: M.Takeuchi, T.Kitagaki, Y.Noguchi, T. Washiya
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A high performance clarification system has been discussed for advanced aqueous reprocessing of FBR spent fuel. Dissolver residue gives the cause of troubles on the plant operation of reprocessing. In this study, the new clarification system based on the hybrid of centrifuge and filtration was proposed to get the high separation ability of the component of whole insoluble sludge. The clarification tests of simulated solid species were carried out to evaluate the clarification performance using small-scale test apparatus of centrifuge and filter unit. The density effect of solid species on the collection efficiency was mainly evaluated in the centrifugal clarification test. In the filtration test using ceramic filter with pore size of 0.2μm, on the other hand, permeability and filtration rate were evaluated in addition to the filtration efficiency. As results, it was evaluated that the collection efficiency of solid species on the new clarification system was estimated as nearly 100%. In conclusion, the high clarification performance of dissolver liquor can be achieved by the hybrid of the centrifuge and filtration system.Keywords: Centrifuge, Clarification, FBR dissolver liquor, Filtration
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1554461 Studying the Behavior of Asphalt Mix and Their Properties in the Presence of Nano Materials
Authors: Aman Patidar, Dipankar Sarkar, Manish Pal
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Due to rapid development, increase in the traffic load, higher traffic volume and seasonal variation in temperature, asphalt pavement shows distresses like rutting, fatigue and thermal cracking etc. because of this pavement fails during service life so that bitumen needs to be modified with some additive. In this study VG30 grade bitumen modify with addition of nanosilica with 1% to 5% (increment of 1%) by weight of bitumen. Hot mix asphalt (HMA) have higher mixing, laying and rolling temperatures which leads to higher consumption of fuel. To address this issue, a nano material named ZycoTherm which is chemical warm mix asphalt (WMA) additive is added to bitumen. Nanosilica modification (NSMB) results in the increase in stability compared to unmodified bitumen (UMB). WMA modified mix shows slightly higher stability than UMB and NSMB in a lower bitumen content. The Retained stability and tensile strength ratio (TSR) is more than 75% and 80% respectively for both mixes. Nanosilica with WMA has more resistant to temperature susceptibility, moisture susceptibility and short term aging than NSMB.
Keywords: HMA, nanosilica, NSMB, temperature, TSR, UMB, WMA.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 902460 Effect of Inlet Valve Variable Timing in the Spark Ignition Engine on Achieving Greener Transport
Authors: Osama H. Ghazal, Yousef S. Najjar, Kutaeba J. AL-Khishali
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The current emission legislations and the large concern about the environment produced very numerous constraints on both governments and car manufacturers. Also the cost of energy increase means a reduction in fuel consumption must be met, without largely affecting the current engine production and performance. It is the intension to contribute towards the development and pursuing, among others on variable valve timing (VVT), for improving the engine performance. The investigation of the effect of (IVO) and (IVC) to optimize engine torque and volumetric efficiency for different engine speeds was considered. Power, BMEP and BSFC were calculated and presented to show the effect of varying inlet valve timing on them for all cases. A special program used to carry out the calculations. The analysis of the results shows that the reduction of 10% of (IVO) angle gave an improvement of around 1.3% in torque, BSFC, and volumetric efficiency, while a 10% decrease in (IVC) caused a 0.1% reduction in power, torque, and volumetric efficiency.
Keywords: Green transportation, inlet valve variable timing, performance, spark ignition engines.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2862459 CFD Investigation of the Effects of Re-Entrant Combustion Chamber Geometry in a HSDI Diesel Engine
Authors: Raouf Mobasheri, Zhijun Peng
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A CFD simulation has applied to explore the effects of combustion chamber geometry on engine performance and pollutant emissions in a HSDI diesel engine. Three ITs (Injection Timing) at 2.65 CA BTDC, 0.65 CA BTDC and 1.35 CA ATDC, all with 30 crank angle pilot separations has firstly considered to identify the optimum IT for achieving the minimum amount of pollutant emissions. In order to investigate the effect of combustion chamber, thirteen different piston bowl configurations have been designed and analyzed. For all the studied cases, compression ratio, squish bowl volume and the amount of injected fuel were kept constant to assure that variation in the engine performance were only caused by geometric parameters. The results showed that by changing the geometric parameters on piston bowl, the amount of emission pollutants can be decreased while the other performance parameters of engine remain constant.
Keywords: HSDI Diesel Engine, Combustion Chamber Geometry, Pilot Injection, Injection Timing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4186458 Improved Neutron Leakage Treatment on Nodal Expansion Method for PWR Reactors
Authors: Antonio Carlos Marques Alvim, Fernando Carvalho da Silva, Aquilino Senra Martinez
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For a quick and accurate calculation of spatial neutron distribution in nuclear power reactors 3D nodal codes are usually used aiming at solving the neutron diffusion equation for a given reactor core geometry and material composition. These codes use a second order polynomial to represent the transverse leakage term. In this work, a nodal method based on the well known nodal expansion method (NEM), developed at COPPE, making use of this polynomial expansion was modified to treat the transverse leakage term for the external surfaces of peripheral reflector nodes. The proposed method was implemented into a computational system which, besides solving the diffusion equation, also solves the burnup equations governing the gradual changes in material compositions of the core due to fuel depletion. Results confirm the effectiveness of this modified treatment of peripheral nodes for practical purposes in PWR reactors.Keywords: Transverse leakage, nodal expansion method, power density, PWR reactors
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2040457 Impact of the Transport on the Urban Heat Island
Authors: L. Haddad, Z. Aouachria
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The development of transport systems has negative impacts on the environment although it has beneficial effects on society. The car policy caused many problems such as: - the spectacular growth of fuel consumption hence the very vast increase in urban pollution, traffic congestion in certain places and at certain times, the increase in the number of accidents. The exhaust emissions from cars and weather conditions are the main factors that determine the level of pollution in urban atmosphere. These conditions lead to the phenomenon of heat transfer and radiation occurring between the air and the soil surface of any town. These exchanges give rise, in urban areas, to the effects of heat islands that correspond to the appearance of excess air temperature between the city and its surrounding space. In this object, we perform a numerical simulation of the plume generated by the cars exhaust gases and show that these gases form a screening effect above the urban city which cause the heat island in the presence of wind flow. This study allows us: 1. To understand the different mechanisms of interactions between these phenomena.2. To consider appropriate technical solutions to mitigate the effects of the heat island.Keywords: Atmospheric pollution, impact on the health, urban transport, heat island.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3001456 Influence of Hydraulic Hysteresis on Effective Stress in Unsaturated Clay
Authors: Anuchit Uchaipichat
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A comprehensive program of laboratory testing on a compacted kaolin in a modified triaxial cell was perform to investigate the influence of hydraulic hysteresis on effective stress in unsaturated soils. The test data are presented on a range of constant suction shear tests along wetting and drying paths. The values of effective stress parameter χ at different matric suction were determined using the test results. The effect of hydraulic hysteresis phenomenon on the effective stress was observed. The values of effective stress parameter χ obtained from the experiments were compared with those obtained from the expressions proposed in literature.Keywords: Unsaturated soils, Hydraulic hysteresis, Effectivestress
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1656455 Evaluation of As-Cast U-Mo Alloys Processed in Graphite Crucible Coated with Boron Nitride
Authors: Kleiner Marques Marra, Tércio Pedrosa
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This paper reports the production of uranium-molybdenum alloys, which have been considered promising fuel for test and research nuclear reactors. U-Mo alloys were produced in three molybdenum contents: 5 wt.%, 7 wt.%, and 10 wt.%, using an electric vacuum induction furnace. A boron nitride-coated graphite crucible was employed in the production of the alloys and, after melting, the material was immediately poured into a boron nitride-coated graphite mold. The incorporation of carbon was observed, but it happened in a lower intensity than in the case of the non-coated crucible/mold. It is observed that the carbon incorporation increased and alloys density decreased with Mo addition. It was also noticed that the increase in the carbon or molybdenum content did not seem to change the as-cast structure in terms of granulation. The three alloys presented body-centered cubic crystal structure (g phase), after solidification, besides a seeming negative microsegregation of molybdenum, from the center to the periphery of the grains. There were signs of macrosegregation, from the base to the top of the ingots.
Keywords: Incorporation of carbon, macrosegregation and microsegregation, solidification, uranium-molybdenum alloys.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 614454 Antenna for Energy Harvesting in Wireless Connected Objects
Authors: Nizar Sakli, Chayma Bahar, Chokri Baccouch, Hedi Sakli
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If connected objects multiply, they are becoming a challenge in more than one way. In particular by their consumption and their supply of electricity. A large part of the new generations of connected objects will only be able to develop if it is possible to make them entirely autonomous in terms of energy. Some manufacturers are therefore developing products capable of recovering energy from their environment. Vital solutions in certain contexts, such as the medical industry. Energy recovery from the environment is a reliable solution to solve the problem of powering wireless connected objects. This paper presents and study a optically transparent solar patch antenna in frequency band of 2.4 GHz for connected objects in the future standard 5G for energy harvesting and RF transmission.Keywords: 5G, IoT, wireless communications, antenna, solar cell.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 812453 Symmetry Breaking and the Emergence of Branching Structures in Morphogenesis: Minimal Conditions and Mechanical Interactions between Cells
Authors: M. Margarida Costa, Jorge Simão
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The minimal condition for symmetry breaking in morphogenesis of cellular population was investigated using cellular automata based on reaction-diffusion dynamics. In particular, the study looked for the possibility of the emergence of branching structures due to mechanical interactions. The model used two types of cells an external gradient. The results showed that the external gradient influenced movement of cell type-I, also revealed that clusters formed by cells type-II worked as barrier to movement of cells type-I.
Keywords: Morphogenesis, branching structures, symmetrybreaking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1244452 Effect of Core Puncture Diameter on Bio-Char Kiln Efficiency
Authors: W. Intagun, T. Khamdaeng, P. Prom-ngarm, N. Panyoyai
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Biochar has been used as a soil amendment since it has high porous structure and has proper nutrients and chemical properties for plants. Product yields produced from biochar kiln are dependent on process parameters and kiln types used. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of core puncture diameter on biochar kiln efficiency, i.e., yields of biochar and produced gas. Corncobs were used as raw material to produce biochar. Briquettes from agricultural wastes were used as fuel. Each treatment was performed by changing the core puncture diameter. From the experiment, it is revealed that the yield of biochar at the core puncture diameter of 3.18 mm, 4.76 mm, and 6.35 mm was 10.62 wt. %, 24.12 wt. %, and 12.24 wt. %, of total solid yields, respectively. The yield of produced gas increased with increasing the core puncture diameter. The maximum percentage by weight of the yield of produced gas was 81.53 wt. % which was found at the core puncture diameter of 6.35 mm. The core puncture diameter was furthermore found to affect the temperature distribution inside the kiln and its thermal efficiency. In conclusion, the high efficient biochar kiln can be designed and constructed by using the proper core puncture diameter.
Keywords: Anila stove, biochar, soil conditioning materials, temperature distribution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 951451 Analysis of the CO2 Emissions of Public Passenger Transport in Tianjin City of China
Authors: Tao Zhao, Xianshuo Xu
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Low-carbon public passenger transport is an important part of low carbon city. The CO2 emissions of public passenger transport in Tianjin from 1995 to 2010 are estimated with IPCC CO2 counting method, which shows that the total CO2 emissions of Tianjin public passenger transport have gradually become stable at 1,425.1 thousand tons. And then the CO2 emissions of the buses, taxies, and rail transits are calculated respectively. A CO2 emission of 829.9 thousand tons makes taxies become the largest CO2 emissions source among the public passenger transport in Tianjin. Combining with passenger volume, this paper analyzes the CO2 emissions proportion of the buses, taxies, and rail transits compare the passenger transport rate with the proportion of CO2 emissions, as well as the CO2 emissions change of per 10,000 people. The passenger volume proportion of bus among the three public means of transport is 72.62% which is much higher than its CO2 emissions proportion of 36.01%, with the minimum number of CO2 emissions per 10,000 people of 4.90 tons. The countermeasures to reduce CO2 emissions of public passenger transport in Tianjin are to develop rail transit, update vehicles and use alternative fuel vehicles.Keywords: Public passenger transport, carbon emissions, countermeasures.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1060450 Assessing Efficiency Trends in the Indian Sugar Industry
Authors: S. P. Singh
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This paper measures technical and scale efficiencies of 40 Indian sugar companies for the period from 2004-05 to 2013-14. The efficiencies are estimated through input-oriented DEA models using one output variable—value of output (VOP) and five input variables—capital cost (CA), employee cost (EMP), raw material (RW), energy & fuel (E&F) and other manufacturing expenses (OME). The sugar companies are classified into integrated and non-integrated categories to know which one achieves higher level of efficiency. Sources of inefficiency in the industry are identified through decomposing the overall technical efficiency (TE) into pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE). The paper also estimates input-reduction targets for relatively inefficient companies and suggests measures to improve their efficiency level. The findings reveal that the TE does not evince any trend rather it shows fluctuations across years, largely due to erratic and cyclical pattern of sugar production. Further, technical inefficiency in the industry seems to be driven more by the managerial inefficiency than the scale inefficiency, which implies that TE can be improved through better conversion of inputs into output.
Keywords: Sugar industry, companies, technical efficiency, data envelopment analysis, targets.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1344449 Low-complexity Integer Frequency Offset Synchronization for OFDMA System
Authors: Young-Jae Kim, Young-Hwan You
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This paper presents a integer frequency offset (IFO) estimation scheme for the 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) downlink system. Firstly, the conventional joint detection method for IFO and sector cell index (CID) information is introduced. Secondly, an IFO estimation without explicit sector CID information is proposed, which can operate jointly with the proposed IFO estimation and reduce the time delay in comparison with the conventional joint method. Also, the proposed method is computationally efficient and has almost similar performance in comparison with the conventional method over the Pedestrian and Vehicular channel models.Keywords: LTE, OFDMA, primary synchronization signal (PSS), IFO, CID
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2313448 Fluorescent-Core Microcavities Based On Silicon Quantum Dots for Oil Sensing Applications
Authors: V. Zamora, Z. Zhang, A. Meldrum
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The compatibility of optical resonators with microfluidic systems may be relevant for chemical and biological applications. Here, a fluorescent-core microcavity (FCM) is investigated as a refractometric sensor for heavy oils. A high-index film of silicon quantum dots (QDs) was formed inside the capillary, supporting cylindrical fluorescence whispering gallery modes (WGMs). A set of standard refractive index oils was injected into a capillary, causing a shift of the WGM resonances toward longer wavelengths. A maximum sensitivity of 240 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) was found for a nominal oil index of 1.74. As well, a sensitivity of 22 nm/RIU was obtained for a lower index of 1.48, more typical of fuel hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the observed spectra and sensitivities were compared to theoretical predictions and reproduced via FDTD simulations, showing in general an excellent agreement. This work demonstrates the potential use of FCMs for oil sensing applications and the more generally for detecting liquid solutions with a high refractive index or high viscosity.
Keywords: Oils, optical resonators, sensing applications, whispering gallery modes.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1622447 A Study on the Modeling and Analysis of an Electro-Hydraulic Power Steering System
Authors: Ji-Hye Kim, Sung-Gaun Kim
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Electro-hydraulic power steering (EHPS) system for the fuel rate reduction and steering feel improvement is comprised of ECU including the logic which controls the steering system and BL DC motor and produces the best suited cornering force, BLDC motor, high pressure pump integrated module and basic oil-hydraulic circuit of the commercial HPS system. Electro-hydraulic system can be studied in two ways such as experimental and computer simulation. To get accurate results in experimental study of EHPS system, the real boundary management is necessary which is difficult task. And the accuracy of the experimental results depends on the preparation of the experimental setup and accuracy of the data collection. The computer simulation gives accurate and reliable results if the simulation is carried out considering proper boundary conditions. So, in this paper, each component of EHPS was modeled, and the model-based analysis and control logic was designed by using AMESimKeywords: Power steering system, Electro-Hydraulic power steering (EHPS) system, Modeling of EHPS system, Analysis modeling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2707446 Effect of Field Dielectric Material on Performance of InGaAs Power LDMOSFET
Authors: Yashvir Singh, Swati Chamoli
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In this paper, a power laterally-diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (LDMOSFET) on In0.53Ga0.47As is presented. The device utilizes a thicker field-oxide with low dielectric constant under the field-plate in order to achieve possible reduction in device capacitances and reduced-surface-field effect. Using 2D numerical simulations, performance of the proposed device is analyzed and compared with that of the conventional LDMOSFET. The proposed structure provides 50% increase in the breakdown voltage, 21% increase in transit frequency, and 72% improvement in figure-of-merit over the conventional device for same cell pitch.
Keywords: InGaAs, dielectric, lateral, power MOSFET.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1910445 Simulation of the Performance of the Reforming of Methane in a Primary Reformer
Authors: A. Alkattib, M. Boumaza
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Steam reforming is industrially important as it is incorporated in several major chemical processes including the production of ammonia, methanol, hydrogen and ox alcohols. Due to the strongly endothermic nature of the process, a large amount of heat is supplied by fuel burning (commonly natural gas) in the furnace chamber. Reaction conversions, tube catalyst life, energy consumption and CO2 emission represent the principal factors affecting the performance of this unit and are directly influenced by the high operating temperatures and pressures. This study presents a simulation of the performance of the reforming of methane in a primary reformer, through a developed empirical relation which enables to investigate the effects of operating parameters such as the pressure, temperature, steam to carbon ratio on the production of hydrogen, as well as the fraction of non converted methane. It appears from this analysis that the exit temperature Te, the operating pressure as well the steam to carbon ratio has an important effect on the reforming of methane.
Keywords: Reforming, methane, performance, hydrogen, parameters.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2471444 Q-Learning with Eligibility Traces to Solve Non-Convex Economic Dispatch Problems
Authors: Mohammed I. Abouheaf, Sofie Haesaert, Wei-Jen Lee, Frank L. Lewis
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Economic Dispatch is one of the most important power system management tools. It is used to allocate an amount of power generation to the generating units to meet the load demand. The Economic Dispatch problem is a large scale nonlinear constrained optimization problem. In general, heuristic optimization techniques are used to solve non-convex Economic Dispatch problem. In this paper, ideas from Reinforcement Learning are proposed to solve the non-convex Economic Dispatch problem. Q-Learning is a reinforcement learning techniques where each generating unit learn the optimal schedule of the generated power that minimizes the generation cost function. The eligibility traces are used to speed up the Q-Learning process. Q-Learning with eligibility traces is used to solve Economic Dispatch problems with valve point loading effect, multiple fuel options, and power transmission losses.
Keywords: Economic Dispatch, Non-Convex Cost Functions, Valve Point Loading Effect, Q-Learning, Eligibility Traces.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2087443 Economic Load Dispatch with Daily Load Patterns and Generator Constraints by Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: N. Phanthuna V. Phupha N. Rugthaicharoencheep, S. Lerdwanittip
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This paper presents an optimization technique to economic load dispatch (ELD) problems with considering the daily load patterns and generator constraints using a particle swarm optimization (PSO). The objective is to minimize the fuel cost. The optimization problem is subject to system constraints consisting of power balance and generation output of each units. The application of a constriction factor into PSO is a useful strategy to ensure convergence of the particle swarm algorithm. The proposed method is able to determine, the output power generation for all of the power generation units, so that the total constraint cost function is minimized. The performance of the developed methodology is demonstrated by case studies in test system of fifteen-generation units. The results show that the proposed algorithm scan give the minimum total cost of generation while satisfying all the constraints and benefiting greatly from saving in power loss reduction
Keywords: Particle Swarm Optimization, Economic Load Dispatch, Generator Constraints.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1858442 Disinfection of Water by Adsorption with Electrochemical Regeneration
Authors: S. N. Hussain, H. M. A. Asghar, E. P. L. Roberts, N. W. Brown
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Arvia®, a spin-out company of University of Manchester, UK is commercialising a water treatment technology for the removal of low concentrations of organics from water. This technology is based on the adsorption of organics onto graphite based adsorbents coupled with their electrochemical regeneration in a simple electrochemical cell. In this paper, the potential of the process to adsorb microorganisms and electrochemically disinfect them present in water has been demonstrated. Bench scale experiments have indicated that the process of adsorption using graphite adsorbents with electrochemical regeneration can be used for water disinfection effectively. The most likely mechanisms of disinfection of water through this process include direct electrochemical oxidation and electrochemical chlorination.Keywords: Arvia, Adsorption, Electrochemical Regeneration, Nyex
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2159441 A Computational Study into the Effect of Design Parameters on Ignition Timing and Emission Characteristics of HCCI Engine in Internal Combustion Engines Fuelled with Isooctane
Authors: Fridhi Hadia, Soua Wadhah, Hidouri Ammar, Omri Ahmed
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In order to understand the auto-ignition process in a HCCI engine better, the influence of some important parameters on the auto-ignition is investigated. The inlet temperature, the inlet pressure, and the compression ratio were varied and their influence on the ignition delays and emission characteristics were studied. The inlet temperature was changed from 400 K to 460 K (in step of 15 K), the inlet pressure from 0.9 to 3 atm, while the compression ratio varied from 15 to 23. The fuel that was investigated is isooctane. The inlet temperature, the inlet pressure, and the compression ratio appeared to decrease the ignition delays, with the inlet pressure having the least influence and the compression ratio the most. The effect of these parameters on emissions’ characteristics were also investigated. Results indicate that increasing the compression ratio results in increasing the concentration of all the species.
Keywords: Compression Ratio, intake temperature, intake pressure, HCCI engine, isooctane.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1710440 Development of a Nano-Alumina-Zirconia Composite Catalyst as an Active Thin Film in Biodiesel Production
Authors: N. Marzban, J. K. Heydarzadeh M. Pourmohammadbagher, M. H. Hatami, A. Samia
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A nano-alumina-zirconia composite catalyst was synthesized by a simple aqueous sol-gel method using AlCl3.6H2O and ZrCl4 as precursors. Thermal decomposition of the precursor and subsequent formation of γ-Al2O3 and t-Zr were investigated by thermal analysis. XRD analysis showed that γ-Al2O3 and t-ZrO2 phases were formed at 700 °C. FT-IR analysis also indicated that the phase transition to γ-Al2O3 occurred in corroboration with X-ray studies. TEM analysis of the calcined powder revealed that spherical particles were in the range of 8-12 nm. The nano-alumina-zirconia composite particles were mesoporous and uniformly distributed in their crystalline phase. In order to measure the catalytic activity, esterification reaction was carried out. Biodiesel, as a renewable fuel, was formed in a continuous packed column reactor. Free fatty acid (FFA) was esterified with ethanol in a heterogeneous catalytic reactor. It was found that the synthesized γ-Al2O3/ZrO2 composite had the potential to be used as a heterogeneous base catalyst for biodiesel production processes.Keywords: Nano-alumina-zirconia, composite catalyst, thin film, biodiesel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1748439 Implementation of a Reed-Solomon Code as an ECC in Yet Another Flash File System
Authors: Sungjoon Sim, Soongyu Kwon, Dongjae Song, Jong Tae Kim
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Flash memory has become an important storage device in many embedded systems because of its high performance, low power consumption and shock resistance. Multi-level cell (MLC) is developed as an effective solution for reducing the cost and increasing the storage density in recent years. However, most of flash file system cannot handle the error correction sufficiently. To correct more errors for MLC, we implement Reed-Solomon (RS) code to YAFFS, what is widely used for flash-based file system. RS code has longer computing time but the correcting ability is much higher than that of Hamming code.Keywords: Reed-Solomon, NAND flash memory, YAFFS, ErrorCorrecting Code, Flash File System
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2497438 An Optimization Analysis on an Automotive Component with Fatigue Constraint Using HyperWorks Software for Environmental Sustainability
Authors: W. M. Wan Muhamad, E. Sujatmika, M.R. Idris, S.A. Syed Ahmad
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A finite element analysis (FEA) computer software HyperWorks is utilized in re-designing an automotive component to reduce its mass. Reduction of components mass contributes towards environmental sustainability by saving world-s valuable metal resources and by reducing carbon emission through improved overall vehicle fuel efficiency. A shape optimization analysis was performed on a rear spindle component. Pre-processing and solving procedures were performed using HyperMesh and RADIOSS respectively. Shape variables were defined using HyperMorph. Then optimization solver OptiStruct was utilized with fatigue life set as a design constraint. Since Stress-Number of Cycle (S-N) theory deals with uni-axial stress, the Signed von Misses stress on the component was used for looking up damage on S-N curve, and Gerber criterion for mean stress corrections. The optimization analysis resulted in mass reduction of 24% of the original mass. The study proved that the adopted approach has high potential use for environmental sustainability.
Keywords: Environmental Sustainability, Shape Optimization, Fatigue, Rear Spindle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4291437 Mathematical Simulation of Bubble Column Slurry Reactor for Direct Dimethyl Ether Synthesis Process from Syngas
Authors: Zhen Chen, Haitao Zhang, Weiyong Ying, Dingye Fang
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Based on a global kinetics of direct dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis process from syngas, a steady-state one-dimensional mathematical model for the bubble column slurry reactor (BCSR) has been established. It was built on the assumption of plug flow of gas phase, sedimentation-dispersion model of catalyst grains and isothermal chamber regardless of reaction heats and rates for the design of an industrial scale bubble column slurry reactor. The simulation results indicate that higher pressure and lower temperature were favorable to the increase of CO conversion, DME selectivity, products yield and the height of slurry bed, which has a coincidence with the characteristic of DME synthesis reaction system, and that the height of slurry bed is lessen with the increasing of operation temperature in the range of 220-260℃. CO conversion, the optimal operation conditions in BCSR were proposed.
Keywords: Alcohol/ether fuel, bubble column slurry reactor, global kinetics, mathematical model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2625436 Integration of Microarray Data into a Genome-Scale Metabolic Model to Study Flux Distribution after Gene Knockout
Authors: Mona Heydari, Ehsan Motamedian, Seyed Abbas Shojaosadati
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Prediction of perturbations after genetic manipulation (especially gene knockout) is one of the important challenges in systems biology. In this paper, a new algorithm is introduced that integrates microarray data into the metabolic model. The algorithm was used to study the change in the cell phenotype after knockout of Gss gene in Escherichia coli BW25113. Algorithm implementation indicated that gene deletion resulted in more activation of the metabolic network. Growth yield was more and less regulating gene were identified for mutant in comparison with the wild-type strain.Keywords: Metabolic network, gene knockout, flux balance analysis, microarray data, integration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 996435 Morphology and Magnetic Properties of Fe3O4 and Au@Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized by Pulsed Plasma in Liquid
Authors: Zhazgul Kelgenbaeva, Emil Omurzak, Saadat Sulaimankulova, Tsutomu Mashimo
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Spherical shaped magnetite (Fe3O4) and Au@Fe3O4 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized from Fe electrodes immersed in water with CTAB surfactant and HAuCl4 solution using simple method-pulsed plasma in liquid, without the use of dopants or special conditions for stabilization. Vibrating sample magnetometer indicated ferromagnetic behavior of particles at room temperature with coercivity and saturation magnetization of (Hc=105 Oe, Ms=6.83 emu/g) for Fe3O4 and (Hc=175, Ms=3.56emu/g) for Au@Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Structure and morphology of nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray Diffraction analysis and HR-TEM measurements. The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles was indicated using a XTT assay to be very low (cell viability: 98-89% with Fe3O4 and 99-91% for Au@Fe3O4 NPs).Keywords: Magnetite, Gold coated magnetite, Nanoparticles, Pulsed Plasma in Liquid, Cytotoxicity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2417434 Hydrogen Production from Dehydrogenation of Ethanol over Ag-Based Catalysts
Authors: S. Totong, K. Faungnawakij, N. Laosiripojana
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The development of alternative energy is interesting in the present especially, hydrogen production because it is an important energy resource in the future. This paper studied the hydrogen production from catalytic dehydrogenation of ethanol through via low temperature (<500°C) reaction. Copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) supported on fumed silica (SiO2) were selected in the present work; in addition, bimetallic material; Ag-Cu supported on SiO2 was also investigated. The catalysts were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR)and nitrogen adsorption measurements. The catalytic dehydrogenation of ethanol was carried out in a fixed bed continuous flow reactor at atmospheric pressure. The effect of reaction temperature between 300-375°C was studied in order to maximize the hydrogen yield. It was found that Ag-Cu/SiO2 exhibited the highest hydrogen yield compared to Ag/SiO2 and Cu/SiO2 at low reaction temperature (300°C) with full ethanol conversion. The highest hydrogen yield observed was 40% and will be further used as a reactant in fuel cells to generate electricity or feedstock of chemical production.
Keywords: Catalyst, dehydrogenation, ethanol, hydrogen production.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3519433 Connectivity Characteristic of Transcription Factor
Authors: T. Mahalakshmi, Aswathi B. L., Achuthsankar S. Nair
Abstract:
Transcription factors are a group of proteins that helps for interpreting the genetic information in DNA. Protein-protein interactions play a major role in the execution of key biological functions of a cell. These interactions are represented in the form of a graph with nodes and edges. Studies have showed that some nodes have high degree of connectivity and such nodes, known as hub nodes, are the inevitable parts of the network. In the present paper a method is proposed to identify hub transcription factor proteins using sequence information. On a complete data set of transcription factor proteins available from the APID database, the proposed method showed an accuracy of 77%, sensitivity of 79% and specificity of 76%.Keywords: Transcription Factor Proteins, Hub Proteins, Shannon Index, Transfer Free Energy to Surface (TFES).
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