Search results for: ignition detectors.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 147

Search results for: ignition detectors.

27 Experimental Investigations on the Influence of Properties of Jatropha Biodiesel on Performance, Combustion, and Emission Characteristics of a DI-CI Engine

Authors: P. V. Rao

Abstract:

The aim of the present research work is to investigate the influence of Jatropha biodiesel properties on various characteristics of a direct injection compression ignition engine. The experiments were performed at different engine operating regimes with the injection timing prescribed by the engine manufacturer for diesel fuel. The engine characteristics with Jatropha biodiesel were compared against those obtained using diesel fuel. From the results, it is observed that the biodiesel performance and emissions are lower than that of diesel fuel. However, the NOx emission of Jatropha biodiesel is more than that of diesel fuel. These high NOx emissions are due to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids and the advanced injection caused by the higher bulk modulus (or density) of Jatropha biodiesel Furthermore, the possibility for reduction of NOx emissions without expensive engine modifications (hardware) was investigated. Keeping this in mind, the Jatropha biodiesel was preheated. The experimental results show that the retarded injection timing is necessary when using Jatropha biodiesel in order to reduce NOx emission without worsening other engine characteristics. Results also indicate improved performance with the application of preheated biodiesel. The only penalty for using preheated biodiesel is the increase of smoke (soot).

Keywords: chemical properties, combustion, exhaust emissions, Jatropha biodiesel

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26 Silicon-Waveguide Based Silicide Schottky- Barrier Infrared Detector for on-Chip Applications

Authors: Shiyang Zhu, Guo-Qiang Lo, Dim-Lee Kwong

Abstract:

We prove detailed analysis of a waveguide-based Schottky barrier photodetector (SBPD) where a thin silicide film is put on the top of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) channel waveguide to absorb light propagating along the waveguide. Taking both the confinement factor of light absorption and the wall scanning induced gain of the photoexcited carriers into account, an optimized silicide thickness is extracted to maximize the effective gain, thereby the responsivity. For typical lengths of the thin silicide film (10-20 Ðçm), the optimized thickness is estimated to be in the range of 1-2 nm, and only about 50-80% light power is absorbed to reach the maximum responsivity. Resonant waveguide-based SBPDs are proposed, which consist of a microloop, microdisc, or microring waveguide structure to allow light multiply propagating along the circular Si waveguide beneath the thin silicide film. Simulation results suggest that such resonant waveguide-based SBPDs have much higher repsonsivity at the resonant wavelengths as compared to the straight waveguidebased detectors. Some experimental results about Si waveguide-based SBPD are also reported.

Keywords: Infrared detector, Schottky-barrier, Silicon waveguide, Silicon photonics

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25 New Features for Specific JPEG Steganalysis

Authors: Johann Barbier, Eric Filiol, Kichenakoumar Mayoura

Abstract:

We present in this paper a new approach for specific JPEG steganalysis and propose studying statistics of the compressed DCT coefficients. Traditionally, steganographic algorithms try to preserve statistics of the DCT and of the spatial domain, but they cannot preserve both and also control the alteration of the compressed data. We have noticed a deviation of the entropy of the compressed data after a first embedding. This deviation is greater when the image is a cover medium than when the image is a stego image. To observe this deviation, we pointed out new statistic features and combined them with the Multiple Embedding Method. This approach is motivated by the Avalanche Criterion of the JPEG lossless compression step. This criterion makes possible the design of detectors whose detection rates are independent of the payload. Finally, we designed a Fisher discriminant based classifier for well known steganographic algorithms, Outguess, F5 and Hide and Seek. The experiemental results we obtained show the efficiency of our classifier for these algorithms. Moreover, it is also designed to work with low embedding rates (< 10-5) and according to the avalanche criterion of RLE and Huffman compression step, its efficiency is independent of the quantity of hidden information.

Keywords: Compressed frequency domain, Fisher discriminant, specific JPEG steganalysis.

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24 Status Report of the GERDA Phase II Startup

Authors: Valerio D’Andrea

Abstract:

The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment, located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of INFN, searches for 0νββ of 76Ge. Germanium diodes enriched to ∼ 86 % in the double beta emitter 76Ge(enrGe) are exposed being both source and detectors of 0νββ decay. Neutrinoless double beta decay is considered a powerful probe to address still open issues in the neutrino sector of the (beyond) Standard Model of particle Physics. Since 2013, just after the completion of the first part of its experimental program (Phase I), the GERDA setup has been upgraded to perform its next step in the 0νββ searches (Phase II). Phase II aims to reach a sensitivity to the 0νββ decay half-life larger than 1026 yr in about 3 years of physics data taking. This exposing a detector mass of about 35 kg of enrGe and with a background index of about 10^−3 cts/(keV·kg·yr). One of the main new implementations is the liquid argon scintillation light read-out, to veto those events that only partially deposit their energy both in Ge and in the surrounding LAr. In this paper, the GERDA Phase II expected goals, the upgrade work and few selected features from the 2015 commissioning and 2016 calibration runs will be presented. The main Phase I achievements will be also reviewed.

Keywords: Gerda, double beta decay, germanium, LNGS.

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23 Determination of Safety Distance Around Gas Pipelines Using Numerical Methods

Authors: Omid Adibi, Nategheh Najafpour, Bijan Farhanieh, Hossein Afshin

Abstract:

Energy transmission pipelines are one of the most vital parts of each country which several strict laws have been conducted to enhance the safety of these lines and their vicinity. One of these laws is the safety distance around high pressure gas pipelines. Safety distance refers to the minimum distance from the pipeline where people and equipment do not confront with serious damages. In the present study, safety distance around high pressure gas transmission pipelines were determined by using numerical methods. For this purpose, gas leakages from cracked pipeline and created jet fires were simulated as continuous ignition, three dimensional, unsteady and turbulent cases. Numerical simulations were based on finite volume method and turbulence of flow was considered using k-ω SST model. Also, the combustion of natural gas and air mixture was applied using the eddy dissipation method. The results show that, due to the high pressure difference between pipeline and environment, flow chocks in the cracked area and velocity of the exhausted gas reaches to sound speed. Also, analysis of the incident radiation results shows that safety distances around 42 inches high pressure natural gas pipeline based on 5 and 15 kW/m2 criteria are 205 and 272 meters, respectively.

Keywords: Gas pipelines, incident radiation, numerical simulation, safety distance.

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22 Effect of Cooled EGR in Combustion Characteristics of a Direct Injection CI Engine Fuelled with Biodiesel Blend

Authors: Sankar Chandrasekar, Rana Niranchan V.S., Joseph Sidharth Leon

Abstract:

As the demand and prices of various petroleum products have been on the rise in recent years, there is a growing need for alternative fuels. Biodiesel, which consists of alkyl monoesters of fatty acids from vegetable oils and animal fats, is considered as an alternative to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel has comparable performance with that of diesel and has lower brake specific fuel consumption than diesel with significant reduction in emissions of CO, hydrocarbons (HC) and smoke with however, a slight increase in NOx emissions. This paper analyzes the effect of cooled exhaust gas recirculation in the combustion characteristics of a direct injection compression ignition engine using biodiesel blended fuel as opposed to the conventional system. The combustion parameters such as cylinder pressure, heat release rate, delay period and peak pressure were analyzed at various loads. The maximum cylinder pressure reduces as the fraction of biodiesel increases in the blend the maximum rate of pressure rise was found to be higher for diesel at higher engine loads.

Keywords: Cylinder pressure, delay period, EGR, heat release.

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21 A Smart Monitoring System for Preventing Gas Risks in Indoor

Authors: Gyoutae Park, Geunjun Lyu, Yeonjae Lee, Wooksuk Kim, Jaheon Gu, Sanguk Ahn, Hiesik Kim

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a system for preventing gas risks through the use of wireless communication modules and intelligent gas safety appliances. Our system configuration consists of an automatic extinguishing system, detectors, a wall-pad, and a microcomputer controlled micom gas meter to monitor gas flow and pressure as well as the occurrence of earthquakes. The automatic fire extinguishing system checks for both combustible gaseous leaks and monitors the environmental temperature, while the detector array measures smoke and CO gas concentrations. Depending on detected conditions, the micom gas meter cuts off an inner valve and generates a warning, the automatic fire-extinguishing system cuts off an external valve and sprays extinguishing materials, or the sensors generate signals and take further action when smoke or CO are detected. Information on intelligent measures taken by the gas safety appliances and sensors are transmitted to the wall-pad, which in turn relays this as real time data to a server that can be monitored via an external network (BcN) connection to a web or mobile application for the management of gas safety. To validate this smart-home gas management system, we field-tested its suitability for use in Korean apartments under several scenarios.

Keywords: Gas sensor, leak, gas safety, gas meter, gas risk, wireless communication.

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20 Control-Oriented Enhanced Zero-Dimensional Two-Zone Combustion Modelling of Internal Combustion Engines

Authors: Razieh Arian, Hadi Adibi-Asl

Abstract:

This paper investigates an efficient combustion modeling for cycle simulation of internal combustion engine (ICE) studies. The term “efficient model” means that the models must generate desired simulation results while having fast simulation time. In other words, the efficient model is defined based on the application of the model. The objective of this study is to develop math-based models for control applications or shortly control-oriented models. This study compares different modeling approaches used to model the ICEs such as mean-value models, zero dimensional, quasi-dimensional, and multi-dimensional models for control applications. Mean-value models have been widely used for model-based control applications, but recently by developing advanced simulation tools (e.g. Maple/MapleSim) the higher order models (more complex) could be considered as control-oriented models. This paper presents the enhanced zero-dimensional cycle-by-cycle modeling and simulation of a spark ignition engine with a two-zone combustion model. The simulation results are cross-validated against the simulation results from GT-Power package and show a good agreement in terms of trends and values.

Keywords: Two-zone combustion, control-oriented model, wiebe function, internal combustion engine.

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19 Effect of Hydrogen-Diesel Dual Fuel Combustion on the Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Four Stroke-Single Cylinder Diesel Engine

Authors: Madhujit Deb, G. R. K. Sastry, R. S. Panua, Rahul Banerjee, P. K. Bose

Abstract:

The present work attempts to investigate the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of an existing single-cylinder four-stroke compression-ignition engine operated in dual-fuel mode with hydrogen as an alternative fuel. Environmental concerns and limited amount of petroleum fuels have caused interests in the development of alternative fuels like hydrogen for internal combustion (IC) engines. In this experimental investigation, a diesel engine is made to run using hydrogen in dual fuel mode with diesel, where hydrogen is introduced into the intake manifold using an LPGCNG injector and pilot diesel is injected using diesel injectors. A Timed Manifold Injection (TMI) system has been developed to vary the injection strategies. The optimized timing for the injection of hydrogen was 10^0 CA after top dead center (ATDC). From the study it was observed that with increasing hydrogen rate, enhancement in brake thermal efficiency (BTHE) of the engine has been observed with reduction in brake specific energy consumption (BSEC). Furthermore, Soot contents decrease with an increase in indicated specific NOx emissions with the enhancement of hydrogen flow rate.

Keywords: Diesel engine, Hydrogen, BTHE, BSEC, Soot, NOx.

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18 Effects of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle Addition in Diesel and Diesel-Biodiesel Blends on the Performance Characteristics of a CI Engine

Authors: Abbas Alli Taghipoor Bafghi, Hosein Bakhoda, Fateme Khodaei Chegeni

Abstract:

An experimental investigation is carried out to establish the performance characteristics of a compression ignition engine while using cerium oxide nanoparticles as additive in neat diesel and diesel-biodiesel blends. In the first phase of the experiments, stability of neat diesel and diesel-biodiesel fuel blends with the addition of cerium oxide nanoparticles is analyzed. After series of experiments, it is found that the blends subjected to high speed blending followed by ultrasonic bath stabilization improves the stability. In the second phase, performance characteristics are studied using the stable fuel blends in a single cylinder four stroke engine coupled with an electrical dynamometer and a data acquisition system. The cerium oxide acts as an oxygen donating catalyst and provides oxygen for combustion. The activation energy of cerium oxide acts to burn off carbon deposits within the engine cylinder at the wall temperature and prevents the deposition of non-polar compounds on the cylinder wall results reduction in HC emissions. The tests revealed that cerium oxide nanoparticles can be used as additive in diesel and diesel-biodiesel blends to improve complete combustion of the fuel significantly.

Keywords: Diesel engine, cerium oxide, diesel-biodiesel blends, nanoparticles.

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17 Electric Field Impact on the Biomass Gasification and Combustion Dynamics

Authors: M. Zake, I. Barmina, A. Kolmickovs, R. Valdmanis

Abstract:

Experimental investigations of the DC electric field effect on thermal decomposition of biomass, formation of the axial flow of volatiles (CO, H2, CxHy), mixing of volatiles with swirling airflow at low swirl intensity (S ≈ 0.2-0.35), their ignition and on formation of combustion dynamics are carried out with the aim to understand the mechanism of electric field influence on biomass gasification, combustion of volatiles and heat energy production. The DC electric field effect on combustion dynamics was studied by varying the positive bias voltage of the central electrode from 0.6 kV to 3 kV, whereas the ion current was limited to 2 mA. The results of experimental investigations confirm the field-enhanced biomass gasification with enhanced release of volatiles and the development of endothermic processes at the primary stage of thermochemical conversion of biomass determining the field-enhanced heat energy consumption with the correlating decrease of the flame temperature and heat energy production at this stage of flame formation. Further, the field-enhanced radial expansion of the flame reaction zone correlates with a more complete combustion of volatiles increasing the combustion efficiency by 3% and decreasing the mass fraction of CO, H2 and CxHy in the products, whereas by 10% increases the average volume fraction of CO2 and the heat energy production downstream the combustor increases by 5-10% 

Keywords: Biomass, combustion, electrodynamic control, gasification.

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16 Theoretical Modeling and Experimental Study of Combustion and Performance Characteristics of Biodiesel in Turbocharged Low Heat Rejection D.I Diesel Engine

Authors: B.Rajendra Prasath, P.Tamilporai, Mohd.F.Shabir

Abstract:

An effort has been taken to simulate the combustion and performance characteristics of biodiesel fuel in direct injection (D.I) low heat rejection (LHR) diesel engine. Comprehensive analyses on combustion characteristics such as cylinder pressure, peak cylinder pressure, heat release and performance characteristics such as specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency are carried out. Compression ignition (C.I) engine cycle simulation was developed and modified in to LHR engine for both diesel and biodiesel fuel. On the basis of first law of thermodynamics the properties at each degree crank angle was calculated. Preparation and reaction rate model was used to calculate the instantaneous heat release rate. A gas-wall heat transfer calculations are based on the ANNAND-s combined heat transfer model with instantaneous wall temperature to analyze the effect of coating on heat transfer. The simulated results are validated by conducting the experiments on the test engine under identical operating condition on a turbocharged D.I diesel engine. In this analysis 20% of biodiesel (derived from Jatropha oil) blended with diesel and used in both conventional and LHR engine. The simulated combustion and performance characteristics results are found satisfactory with the experimental value.

Keywords: Biodiesel, Direct injection, Low heat rejection, Turbocharged engine

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15 Temperature Related Alterations to Mineral Levels and Crystalline Structure in Porcine Long Bone: Intense Heat vs. Open Flame

Authors: Caighley Logan, Suzzanne McColl

Abstract:

The outcome of fire related fatalities, along with other research, has found fires can have a detrimental effect to the mineral and crystalline structures within bone. This study focused on the mineral and crystalline structures within porcine bone samples to analyse the changes caused, with the intent of effectively ‘reverse engineering’ the data collected from burned bone samples to discover what may have happened. Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), the data were collected from a controlled source of intense heat (muffle furnace) and an open fire, based in a living room setting in a standard size shipping container (2.5 m x 2.4 m) of a similar temperature with a known ignition source, a gasoline lighter. This approach is to analyse the changes to the samples and how the changes differ depending on the heat source. Results have found significant differences in the levels of remaining minerals for each type of heat/burning (p =< 0.001), particularly Phosphorus and Calcium, this also includes notable additions of absorbed elements and minerals from the surrounding materials, i.e., Cerium (Ce), Bromine (Br) and Neodymium (Ne). The analysis techniques included provide validated results in conjunction with previous studies.

Keywords: Forensic anthropology, thermal alterations, porcine bone, FTIR, XRF.

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14 Flame Kernel Growth and Related Effects of Spark Plug Electrodes: Fluid Motion Interaction in an Optically Accessible DISI Engine

Authors: A. Schirru, A. Irimescu, S. Merola, A. d’Adamo, S. Fontanesi

Abstract:

One of the aspects that are usually neglected during the design phase of an engine is the effect of the spark plug on the flow field inside the combustion chamber. Because of the difficulties in the experimental investigation of the mutual interaction between flow alteration and early flame kernel convection effect inside the engine combustion chamber, CFD-3D simulation is usually exploited in such cases. Experimentally speaking, a particular type of engine has to be used in order to directly observe the flame propagation process. In this study, a double electrode spark plug was fitted into an optically accessible engine and a high-speed camera was used to capture the initial stages of the combustion process. Both the arc and the kernel phases were observed. Then, a morphologic analysis was carried out and the position of the center of mass of the flame, relative to the spark plug position, was calculated. The crossflow orientation was chosen for the spark plug and the kernel growth process was observed for different air-fuel ratios. It was observed that during a normal cycle the flow field between the electrodes tends to transport the arc deforming it. Because of that, the kernel growth phase takes place away from the electrodes and the flame propagates with a preferential direction dictated by the flow field.

Keywords: Combustion, Kernel growth, optically accessible engine, spark-ignition engine, spark plug orientation.

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13 Numerical Study on CO2 Pollution in an Ignition Chamber by Oxygen Enrichment

Authors: Zohreh Orshesh

Abstract:

In this study, a 3D combustion chamber was simulated using FLUENT 6.32. Aims to obtain accurate information about the profile of the combustion in the furnace and also check the effect of oxygen enrichment on the combustion process. Oxygen enrichment is an effective way to reduce combustion pollutant. The flow rate of air to fuel ratio is varied as 1.3, 3.2 and 5.1 and the oxygen enriched flow rates are 28, 54 and 68 lit/min. Combustion simulations typically involve the solution of the turbulent flows with heat transfer, species transport and chemical reactions. It is common to use the Reynolds-averaged form of the governing equation in conjunction with a suitable turbulence model. The 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations with standard k-ε turbulence model are solved together by Fluent 6.3 software. First order upwind scheme is used to model governing equations and the SIMPLE algorithm is used as pressure velocity coupling. Species mass fractions at the wall are assumed to have zero normal gradients.Results show that minimum mole fraction of CO2 happens when the flow rate ratio of air to fuel is 5.1. Additionally, in a fixed oxygen enrichment condition, increasing the air to fuel ratio will increase the temperature peak. As a result, oxygen-enrichment can reduce the CO2 emission at this kind of furnace in high air to fuel rates.

Keywords: Combustion chamber, Oxygen enrichment, Reynolds Averaged Navier- Stokes, CO2 emission

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12 A Novel SVM-Based OOK Detector in Low SNR Infrared Channels

Authors: J. P. Dubois, O. M. Abdul-Latif

Abstract:

Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a recent class of statistical classification and regression techniques playing an increasing role in applications to detection problems in various engineering problems, notably in statistical signal processing, pattern recognition, image analysis, and communication systems. In this paper, SVM is applied to an infrared (IR) binary communication system with different types of channel models including Ricean multipath fading and partially developed scattering channel with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) at the receiver. The structure and performance of SVM in terms of the bit error rate (BER) metric is derived and simulated for these channel stochastic models and the computational complexity of the implementation, in terms of average computational time per bit, is also presented. The performance of SVM is then compared to classical binary signal maximum likelihood detection using a matched filter driven by On-Off keying (OOK) modulation. We found that the performance of SVM is superior to that of the traditional optimal detection schemes used in statistical communication, especially for very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ranges. For large SNR, the performance of the SVM is similar to that of the classical detectors. The implication of these results is that SVM can prove very beneficial to IR communication systems that notoriously suffer from low SNR at the cost of increased computational complexity.

Keywords: Least square-support vector machine, on-off keying, matched filter, maximum likelihood detector, wireless infrared communication.

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11 Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Compression Ratio in a Direct Injection Diesel Engine Running on Different Blends of Rice Bran Oil and Ethanol

Authors: Perminderjit Singh, Randeep Singh

Abstract:

The performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder four stroke variable compression ratio multi fuel engine when fueled with different blends of rice bran oil methyl ester and ethanol are investigated and compared with the results of standard diesel. Bio diesel produced from Rice bran oil by transesterification process has been used in this study. Experiment has been conducted at a fixed engine speed of 1500 rpm, 50% load and at compression ratios of 16.5:1, 17:1, 17.5:1 and 18:1. The impact of compression ratio on fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency and exhaust gas emissions has been investigated and presented. Optimum compression ratio which gives best performance has been identified. The results indicate longer ignition delay, maximum rate of pressure rise, lower heat release rate and higher mass fraction burnt at higher compression ratio for waste cooking oil methyl ester when compared to that of diesel. The brake thermal efficiency at 50% load for Rice bran oil methyl ester blends and diesel has been calculated and the blend B40 is found to give maximum thermal efficiency. The blends when used as fuel results in reduction of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and increase in nitrogen oxides emissions.

Keywords: Biodiesel, Rice bran oil, Transesterification, Ethanol, Compression Ratio.

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10 ANN based Multi Classifier System for Prediction of High Energy Shower Primary Energy and Core Location

Authors: Gitanjali Devi, Kandarpa Kumar Sarma, Pranayee Datta, Anjana Kakoti Mahanta

Abstract:

Cosmic showers, during the transit through space, produce sub - products as a result of interactions with the intergalactic or interstellar medium which after entering earth generate secondary particles called Extensive Air Shower (EAS). Detection and analysis of High Energy Particle Showers involve a plethora of theoretical and experimental works with a host of constraints resulting in inaccuracies in measurements. Therefore, there exist a necessity to develop a readily available system based on soft-computational approaches which can be used for EAS analysis. This is due to the fact that soft computational tools such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN)s can be trained as classifiers to adapt and learn the surrounding variations. But single classifiers fail to reach optimality of decision making in many situations for which Multiple Classifier System (MCS) are preferred to enhance the ability of the system to make decisions adjusting to finer variations. This work describes the formation of an MCS using Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) with data inputs from correlation mapping Self Organizing Map (SOM) blocks and the output optimized by another SOM. The results show that the setup can be adopted for real time practical applications for prediction of primary energy and location of EAS from density values captured using detectors in a circular grid.

Keywords: EAS, Shower, Core, ANN, Location.

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9 A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) Diffractive Detector Control System for RUN-II at the Large Hadron Collider

Authors: J. C. Cabanillas-Noris, M. I. Martínez-Hernández, I. León-Monzón

Abstract:

The selection of diffractive events in the ALICE experiment during the first data taking period (RUN-I) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was limited by the range over which rapidity gaps occur. It would be possible to achieve better measurements by expanding the range in which the production of particles can be detected. For this purpose, the ALICE Diffractive (AD0) detector has been installed and commissioned for the second phase (RUN-II). Any new detector should be able to take the data synchronously with all other detectors and be operated through the ALICE central systems. One of the key elements that must be developed for the AD0 detector is the Detector Control System (DCS). The DCS must be designed to operate safely and correctly this detector. Furthermore, the DCS must also provide optimum operating conditions for the acquisition and storage of physics data and ensure these are of the highest quality. The operation of AD0 implies the configuration of about 200 parameters, from electronics settings and power supply levels to the archiving of operating conditions data and the generation of safety alerts. It also includes the automation of procedures to get the AD0 detector ready for taking data in the appropriate conditions for the different run types in ALICE. The performance of AD0 detector depends on a certain number of parameters such as the nominal voltages for each photomultiplier tube (PMT), their threshold levels to accept or reject the incoming pulses, the definition of triggers, etc. All these parameters define the efficiency of AD0 and they have to be monitored and controlled through AD0 DCS. Finally, AD0 DCS provides the operator with multiple interfaces to execute these tasks. They are realized as operating panels and scripts running in the background. These features are implemented on a SCADA software platform as a distributed control system which integrates to the global control system of the ALICE experiment.

Keywords: AD0, ALICE, DCS, LHC.

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8 Large Eddy Simulation of Hydrogen Deflagration in Open Space and Vented Enclosure

Authors: T. Nozu, K. Hibi, T. Nishiie

Abstract:

This paper discusses the applicability of the numerical model for a damage prediction method of the accidental hydrogen explosion occurring in a hydrogen facility. The numerical model was based on an unstructured finite volume method (FVM) code “NuFD/FrontFlowRed”. For simulating unsteady turbulent combustion of leaked hydrogen gas, a combination of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and a combustion model were used. The combustion model was based on a two scalar flamelet approach, where a G-equation model and a conserved scalar model expressed a propagation of premixed flame surface and a diffusion combustion process, respectively. For validation of this numerical model, we have simulated the previous two types of hydrogen explosion tests. One is open-space explosion test, and the source was a prismatic 5.27 m3 volume with 30% of hydrogen-air mixture. A reinforced concrete wall was set 4 m away from the front surface of the source. The source was ignited at the bottom center by a spark. The other is vented enclosure explosion test, and the chamber was 4.6 m × 4.6 m × 3.0 m with a vent opening on one side. Vent area of 5.4 m2 was used. Test was performed with ignition at the center of the wall opposite the vent. Hydrogen-air mixtures with hydrogen concentrations close to 18% vol. were used in the tests. The results from the numerical simulations are compared with the previous experimental data for the accuracy of the numerical model, and we have verified that the simulated overpressures and flame time-of-arrival data were in good agreement with the results of the previous two explosion tests.

Keywords: Deflagration, Large Eddy Simulation, Turbulent combustion, Vented enclosure.

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7 Experimental Investigation on the Fire Performance of Corrugated Sandwich Panels made from Renewable Material

Authors: Avishek Chanda, Nam Kyeun Kim, Debes Bhattacharyya

Abstract:

The use of renewable substitutes in various semi-structural and structural applications has experienced an increase since the last few decades. Sandwich panels have been used for many decades, although research on understanding the effects of the core structures on the panels’ fire-reaction properties is limited. The current work investigates the fire-performance of a corrugated sandwich panel made from renewable, biodegradable, and sustainable material, plywood. The bench-scale fire testing apparatus, cone-calorimeter, was employed to evaluate the required fire-reaction properties of the sandwich core in a panel configuration, with three corrugated layers glued together with face-sheets under a heat irradiance of 50 kW/m2. The study helped in documenting a unique heat release trend associated with the fire performance of the 3-layered corrugated sandwich panels and in understanding the structural stability of the samples in the event of a fire. Furthermore, the total peak heat release rate was observed to be around 421 kW/m2, which is significantly low compared to many polymeric materials in the literature. The total smoke production was also perceived to be very limited compared to other structural materials, and the total heat release was also nominal. The time to ignition of 21.7 s further outlined the advantages of using the plywood component since polymeric composites, even with flame-retardant additives, tend to ignite faster. Overall, the corrugated plywood sandwich panels had significant fire-reaction properties and could have important structural applications. The possible use of structural panels made from bio-degradable material opens a new avenue for the use of similar structures in sandwich panel preparation.

Keywords: Corrugated sandwich panel, fire-reaction properties, plywood, renewable material.

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6 Alumina Supported Copper-Manganese Catalysts for Combustion of Exhaust Gases: Catalysts Characterization

Authors: Krasimir I. Ivanov, Elitsa N. Kolentsova, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Georgi V. Avdeev, Tatyana T. Tabakova

Abstract:

In recent research copper and manganese systems were found to be the most active in CO and organic compounds oxidation among the base catalysts. The mixed copper manganese oxide has been widely studied in oxidation reactions because of their higher activity at low temperatures in comparison with single oxide catalysts. The results showed that the formation of spinel CuxMn3−xO4 in the oxidized catalyst is responsible for the activity even at room temperature. That is why the most of the investigations are focused on the hopcalite catalyst (CuMn2O4) as the best coppermanganese catalyst. Now it’s known that this is true only for CO oxidation, but not for mixture of CO and VOCs. The purpose of this study is to investigate the alumina supported copper-manganese catalysts with different Cu/Mn molar ratio in terms of oxidation of CO, methanol and dimethyl ether. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation of γ-Al2O3 with copper and manganese nitrates and the catalytic activity measurements were carried out in two stage continuous flow equipment with an adiabatic reactor for simultaneous oxidation of all compounds under the conditions closest possible to the industrial. Gas mixtures on the input and output of the reactor were analyzed with a gas chromatograph, equipped with FID and TCD detectors. The texture characteristics were determined by low-temperature (- 196oС) nitrogen adsorption in a Quantachrome Instruments NOVA 1200e (USA) specific surface area & pore analyzer. Thermal, XRD and TPR analyses were performed. It was established that the active component of the mixed Cu- Mn/γ–alumina catalysts strongly depends on the Cu/Mn molar ratio. Highly active alumina supported Cu-Mn catalysts for CO, methanol and DME oxidation were synthesized. While the hopcalite is the best catalyst for CO oxidation, the best compromise for simultaneous oxidation of all components is the catalyst with Cu/Mn molar ratio 1:5.

Keywords: Supported copper-manganese catalysts, CO and VOCs oxidation.

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5 Performance, Emission and Combustion Characteristics of a Variable Compression Ratio Diesel Engine Fueled with Karanj Biodiesel and Its Blends

Authors: Ajay V. Kolhe, R. E. Shelke, S. S. Khandare

Abstract:

The use of biodiesel in conventional diesel engines results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and particulate matters. The performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder four stroke variable compression ratio engine when fueled with Karanja (Pongamia) methyl ester and its 10-50 % blends with diesel (on a volume basis) are investigated and compared with standard diesel. The suitability of karanja methyl ester as a biofuel has been established in this study. The useful brake power obtained is similar to diesel fuel for all loads. Experiment has been conducted at a fixed engine speed of 1500 rpm, variable load and at compression ratios of 17.5:1 and 18.5:1. The impact of compression ratio on fuel consumption, combustion pressures and exhaust gas emissions has been investigated and presented. Optimum compression ratio which gives best performance has been identified. The results indicate longer ignition delay, maximum rate of pressure rise, lower heat release rate and higher mass fraction burnt at higher compression ratio for pongamia oil methyl ester when compared to that of diesel. The brake thermal efficiency for pongamia oil methyl ester blends and diesel has been calculated and the blend B20 is found to give maximum thermal efficiency. The blends when used as fuel results in reduction of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and increase in nitrogen oxides emissions. PME as an oxygenated fuel generated more complete combustion, which means increased torque and power. This is also supported with higher thermal efficiencies of the PME blends. NOx is slightly increased due to the higher combustion temperature and the presence of fuel oxygen with the blend at full load. PME as a new Biodiesel and its blends can be used in diesel engines without any engine modification.

Keywords: Variable compression ratio CI engine, performance, combustion, emissions, biodiesel.

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4 Capability Investigation of Carbon Sequestration in Two Species (Artemisia sieberi Besser and Stipabarbata Desf) Under Different Treatments of Vegetation Management (Saveh, Iran)

Authors: M. Alizadeh, M. Mahdavi, M.H. Jouri

Abstract:

The rangelands, as one of the largest dynamic biomes in the world, have very capabilities. Regulation of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide as the main these gases, is one of these cases. The attention to rangeland, as cheep and reachable resources to sequestrate the carbon dioxide, increases after the Industrial Revolution. Rangelands comprise the large parts of Iran as a steppic area. Rudshur (Saveh), as area index of steppic area, was selected under three sites include long-term exclosure, medium-term exclosure, and grazable area in order to the capable of carbon dioxide’s sequestration of dominated species. Canopy cover’s percentage of two dominated species (Artemisia sieberi Besser & Stipa barbata Desf) was determined via establishing of random 1 square meter plot. The sampling of above and below ground biomass style was obtained by complete random. After determination of ash percentage in the laboratory; conversion ratio of plant biomass to organic carbon was calculated by ignition method. Results of the paired t-test showed that the amount of carbon sequestration in above ground and underground biomass of Artemisia sieberi Besser & Stipa barbata Desf is different in three regions. It, of course, hasn’t any difference between under and surface ground’s biomass of Artemisia sieberi Besser in long-term exclosure. The independent t-test results indicate differences between underground biomass corresponding each other in the studied sites. Carbon sequestration in the Stipa barbata Desf was totally more than Artemisia sieberi Besser. Altogether, the average sequestration of the long-term exclosure was 5.842gr/m², the medium-term exclosure was 4.115gr/m², and grazable area was 5.975gr/m² so that there isn’t valuable statistical difference in term of total amount of carbon sequestration to three sites.

Keywords: Carbon sequestration, the Industrial Revolution, greenhouse gases, Artemisia sieberi Besser, Stipa barbata Desf, steppic rangelands

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3 Stress-Strain Relation for Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete at Elevated Temperature

Authors: Josef Novák, Alena Kohoutková

Abstract:

The performance of concrete structures in fire depends on several factors which include, among others, the change in material properties due to the fire. Today, fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) belongs to materials which have been widely used for various structures and elements. While the knowledge and experience with FRC behavior under ambient temperature is well-known, the effect of elevated temperature on its behavior has to be deeply investigated. This paper deals with an experimental investigation and stress‑strain relations for hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC) which contains siliceous aggregates, polypropylene and steel fibers. The main objective of the experimental investigation is to enhance a database of mechanical properties of concrete composites with addition of fibers subject to elevated temperature as well as to validate existing stress-strain relations for HFRC. Within the investigation, a unique heat transport test, compressive test and splitting tensile test were performed on 150 mm cubes heated up to 200, 400, and 600 °C with the aim to determine a time period for uniform heat distribution in test specimens and the mechanical properties of the investigated concrete composite, respectively. Both findings obtained from the presented experimental test as well as experimental data collected from scientific papers so far served for validating the computational accuracy of investigated stress-strain relations for HFRC which have been developed during last few years. Owing to the presence of steel and polypropylene fibers, HFRC becomes a unique material whose structural performance differs from conventional plain concrete when exposed to elevated temperature. Polypropylene fibers in HFRC lower the risk of concrete spalling as the fibers burn out shortly with increasing temperature due to low ignition point and as a consequence pore pressure decreases. On the contrary, the increase in the concrete porosity might affect the mechanical properties of the material. To validate this thought requires enhancing the existing result database which is very limited and does not contain enough data. As a result of the poor database, only few stress-strain relations have been developed so far to describe the structural performance of HFRC at elevated temperature. Moreover, many of them are inconsistent and need to be refined. Most of them also do not take into account the effect of both a fiber type and fiber content. Such approach might be vague especially when high amount of polypropylene fibers are used. Therefore, the existing relations should be validated in detail based on other experimental results.

Keywords: Elevated temperature, fiber reinforced concrete, mechanical properties, stress strain relation.

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2 Utilization of Rice Husk Ash with Clay to Produce Lightweight Coarse Aggregates for Concrete

Authors: Shegufta Zahan, Muhammad A. Zahin, Muhammad M. Hossain, Raquib Ahsan

Abstract:

Rice Husk Ash (RHA) is one of the agricultural waste byproducts available widely in the world and contains a large amount of silica. In Bangladesh, stones cannot be used as coarse aggregate in infrastructure works as they are not available and need to be imported from abroad. As a result, bricks are mostly used as coarse aggregates in concrete as they are cheaper and easily produced here. Clay is the raw material for producing brick. Due to rapid urban growth and the industrial revolution, demand for brick is increasing, which led to a decrease in the topsoil. This study aims to produce lightweight block aggregates with sufficient strength utilizing RHA at low cost and use them as an ingredient of concrete. RHA, because of its pozzolanic behavior, can be utilized to produce better quality block aggregates at lower cost, replacing clay content in the bricks. The whole study can be divided into three parts. In the first part, characterization tests on RHA and clay were performed to determine their properties. Six different types of RHA from different mills were characterized by XRD and SEM analysis. Their fineness was determined by conducting a fineness test. The result of XRD confirmed the amorphous state of RHA. The characterization test for clay identifies the sample as “silty clay” with a specific gravity of 2.59 and 14% optimum moisture content. In the second part, blocks were produced with six different types of RHA with different combinations by volume with clay. Then mixtures were manually compacted in molds before subjecting them to oven drying at 120 °C for 7 days. After that, dried blocks were placed in a furnace at 1200 °C to produce ultimate blocks. Loss on ignition test, apparent density test, crushing strength test, efflorescence test, and absorption test were conducted on the blocks to compare their performance with the bricks. For 40% of RHA, the crushing strength result was found 60 MPa, where crushing strength for brick was observed 48.1 MPa. In the third part, the crushed blocks were used as coarse aggregate in concrete cylinders and compared them with brick concrete cylinders. Specimens were cured for 7 days and 28 days. The highest compressive strength of block cylinders for 7 days curing was calculated as 26.1 MPa, whereas, for 28 days curing, it was found 34 MPa. On the other hand, for brick cylinders, the value of compressing strength of 7 days and 28 days curing was observed as 20 MPa and 30 MPa, respectively. These research findings can help with the increasing demand for topsoil of the earth, and also turn a waste product into a valuable one.

Keywords: Characterization, furnace, pozzolanic behavior, rice husk ash.

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1 Experimental Investigation of Hydrogen Addition in the Intake Air of Compressed Engines Running on Biodiesel Blend

Authors: Hendrick Maxil Zárate Rocha, Ricardo da Silva Pereira, Manoel Fernandes Martins Nogueira, Carlos R. Pereira Belchior, Maria Emilia de Lima Tostes

Abstract:

This study investigates experimentally the effects of hydrogen addition in the intake manifold of a diesel generator operating with a 7% biodiesel-diesel oil blend (B7). An experimental apparatus setup was used to conduct performance and emissions tests in a single cylinder, air cooled diesel engine. This setup consisted of a generator set connected to a wirewound resistor load bank that was used to vary engine load. In addition, a flowmeter was used to determine hydrogen volumetric flowrate and a digital anemometer coupled with an air box to measure air flowrate. Furthermore, a digital precision electronic scale was used to measure engine fuel consumption and a gas analyzer was used to determine exhaust gas composition and exhaust gas temperature. A thermopar was installed near the exhaust collection to measure cylinder temperature. In-cylinder pressure was measured using an AVL Indumicro data acquisition system with a piezoelectric pressure sensor. An AVL optical encoder was installed in the crankshaft and synchronized with in-cylinder pressure in real time. The experimental procedure consisted of injecting hydrogen into the engine intake manifold at different mass concentrations of 2,6,8 and 10% of total fuel mass (B7 + hydrogen), which represented energy fractions of 5,15, 20 and 24% of total fuel energy respectively. Due to hydrogen addition, the total amount of fuel energy introduced increased and the generators fuel injection governor prevented any increases of engine speed. Several conclusions can be stated from the test results. A reduction in specific fuel consumption as a function of hydrogen concentration increase was noted. Likewise, carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) decreased as hydrogen concentration increased. On the other hand, nitrogen oxides emissions (NOx) increased due to average temperatures inside the cylinder being higher. There was also an increase in peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate inside the cylinder, since the fuel ignition delay was smaller due to hydrogen content increase. All this indicates that hydrogen promotes faster combustion and higher heat release rates and can be an important additive to all kind of fuels used in diesel generators.

Keywords: Diesel engine, hydrogen, dual fuel, combustion analysis, performance, emissions.

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