Search results for: used nuclear fuel reprocessing.
579 The Analysis and Simulation of TRACE in the Ultimate Response Guideline for Chinshan BWR/4 Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: J. R. Wang, H. T. Lin, H. C. Chen, C. Shih, S. W. Chen, S. C. Chiang, C. C. Liu
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In this research, TRACE model of Chinshan BWR/4 nuclear power plant (NPP) has been developed for the simulation and analysis of ultimate response guideline (URG).The main actions of URG are the depressurization and low pressure water injection of reactor and containment venting. This research focuses to verify the URG efficiency under Fukushima-like conditions. TRACE analysis results show that the URG can keep the PCT below the criteria 1088.7 K under Fukushima-like conditions. It indicated that Chinshan NPP was safe.Keywords: BWR, TRACE, safety analysis, URG.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2333578 Optimum Conditions for Effective Decomposition of Toluene as VOC Gas by Pilot-Scale Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer
Authors: S. Iijima, K. Nakayama, D. Kuchar, M. Kubota, H. Matsuda
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Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) is one of the best solutions for removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from industrial processes. In the RTO, VOC in a raw gas are usually decomposed at 950-1300 K and the combustion heat of VOC is recovered by regenerative heat exchangers charged with ceramic honeycombs. The optimization of the treatment of VOC leads to the reduction of fuel addition to VOC decomposition, the minimization of CO2 emission and operating cost as well. In the present work, the thermal efficiency of the RTO was investigated experimentally in a pilot-scale RTO unit using toluene as a typical representative of VOC. As a result, it was recognized that the radiative heat transfer was dominant in the preheating process of a raw gas when the gas flow rate was relatively low. Further, it was found that a minimum heat exchanger volume to achieve self combustion of toluene without additional heating of the RTO by fuel combustion was dependent on both the flow rate of a raw gas and the concentration of toluene. The thermal efficiency calculated from fuel consumption and the decomposed toluene ratio, was found to have a maximum value of 0.95 at a raw gas mass flow rate of 1810 kg·h-1 and honeycombs height of 1.5m.Keywords: Regenerative Heat Exchange, Self Combustion, Toluene, Volatile Organic Compounds.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2419577 Dose due the Incorporation of Radionuclides Using Teeth as Bioindicators nearby Caetité Uranium Mines
Authors: Viviane S. Guimarães, Ícaro M. M. Brasil, Simara S. Campos, Roseli F. Gennari, Márcia R. P. Attie, Susana O. Souza.
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Uranium mining and processing in Brazil occur in a northeastern area near to Caetité-BA. Several Non-Governmental Organizations claim that uranium mining in this region is a pollutant causing health risks to the local population,but those in charge of the complex extraction and production of“yellow cake" for generating fuel to the nuclear power plants reject these allegations. This study aimed at identifying potential problems caused by mining to the population of Caetité. In this, work,the concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K radioisotopes in the teeth of the Caetité population were determined by ICP-MS. Teeth are used as bioindicators of incorporated radionuclides. Cumulative radiation doses in the skeleton were also determined. The concentration values were below 0.008 ppm, and annual effective dose due to radioisotopes are below to the reference values. Therefore, it is not possible to state that the mining process in Caetité increases pollution or radiation exposure in a meaningful way.Keywords: bioindicators, radiation dose, radioisotopesincorporation, uranium.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4100576 Ignition Time Delay in Swirling Supersonic Flow Combustion
Authors: A. M. Tahsini
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Supersonic hydrogen-air cylindrical mixing layer is numerically analyzed to investigate the effect of inlet swirl on ignition time delay in scramjets. Combustion is treated using detail chemical kinetics. One-equation turbulence model of Spalart and Allmaras is chosen to study the problem and advection upstream splitting method is used as computational scheme. The results show that swirling both fuel and oxidizer streams may drastically decrease the ignition distance in supersonic combustion, unlike using the swirl just in fuel stream which has no helpful effect.Keywords: Ignition delay, Supersonic combustion, Swirl, Numerical simulation, Turbulence.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2181575 Unraveling Biostimulation of Decolorized Mediators for Microbial Fuel Cell-Aided Textile Dye Decontamination
Authors: Pei-Lin Yueh, Bor-Yann Chen, Chuan-Chung Hsueh
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This first-attempt study revealed that decolorized intermediates of azo dyes could act as redox mediators to assist wastewater (WW) decolorization due to enhancement of electron-transport phenomena. Electrochemical impedance spectra indicated that hydroxyl and amino-substituent(s) were functional group(s) as redox-mediator(s). As azo dyes are usually multiple benzene-rings structured, their derived decolorized intermediates are likely to play roles of electron shuttles due to lower barrier of energy gap for electron shuttling. According to cyclic voltammetric profiles, redox mediating characteristics of decolorized intermediates of azo dyes (e.g., RBu171, RR198, RR141, RBk5) were clearly disclosed. With supplementation of biodecolorized metabolites of RR141 and 198, decolorization performance of could be evidently augmented. This study also suggested the optimal modes of microbial fuel cell (MFC)-assisted WW decolorization would be plug-flow or batch mode of operation with no mix. Single chamber-MFCs would be more favourable than double chamber MFCs due to non-mixing contacting reactor scheme for operation.Keywords: Redox mediators, dye decolorization, bioelectricity generation, microbial fuel cells.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2256574 Numerical Study of Oxygen Enrichment on NO Pollution Spread in a Combustion Chamber
Authors: Zohreh Orshesh
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In this study, a 3D combustion chamber was simulated using FLUENT 6.32. Aim to obtain detailed information on combustion characteristics and _ nitrogen oxides in the furnace and the effect of oxygen enrichment in a combustion process. Oxygenenriched combustion is an effective way to reduce emissions. This paper analyzes NO emission, including thermal NO and prompt NO. Flow rate ratio of air to fuel is varied as 1.3, 3.2 and 5.1 and the oxygen enriched flow rates are 28, 54 and 68 lit/min. The 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations with standard k-ε turbulence model are solved together by Fluent 6.32 software. First order upwind scheme is used to model governing equations and the SIMPLE algorithm is used as pressure velocity coupling. Results show that for AF=1.3, increase the oxygen flow rate of oxygen reduction in NO emissions is Lance. Moreover, in a fixed oxygen enrichment condition, increasing the air to fuel ratio will increase the temperature peak, but not the NO emission rate. As a result, oxygen enrichment can reduce the NO emission at this kind of furnace in low air to fuel rates.Keywords: Combustion chamber, Oxygen enrichment, Reynolds Averaged Navier- Stokes, NO emission
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1625573 Fuel Economy and Stability Enhancement of the Hybrid Vehicles by Using Electrical Machines on Non-Driven Wheels
Authors: P. Naderi, S.M.T. Bathaee, R. Hoseinnezhad, R. Chini
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Using electrical machine in conventional vehicles, also called hybrid vehicles, has become a promising control scheme that enables some manners for fuel economy and driver assist for better stability. In this paper, vehicle stability control, fuel economy and Driving/Regeneration braking for a 4WD hybrid vehicle is investigated by using an electrical machine on each non-driven wheels. In front wheels driven vehicles, fuel economy and regenerative braking can be obtained by summing torques applied on rear wheels. On the other hand, unequal torques applied to rear wheels provides enhanced safety and path correction in steering. In this paper, a model with fourteen degrees of freedom is considered for vehicle body, tires and, suspension systems. Thereafter, powertrain subsystems are modeled. Considering an electrical machine on each rear wheel, a fuzzy controller is designed for each driving, braking, and stability conditions. Another fuzzy controller recognizes the vehicle requirements between the driving/regeneration and stability modes. Intelligent vehicle control to multi objective operation and forward simulation are the paper advantages. For reaching to these aims, power management control and yaw moment control will be done by three fuzzy controllers. Also, the above mentioned goals are weighted by another fuzzy sub-controller base on vehicle dynamic. Finally, Simulations performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment show that the proposed structure can enhance the vehicle performance in different modes effectively.
Keywords: Hybrid, pitch, roll, regeneration, yaw.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1860572 Properties of Biodiesel Produced by Enzymatic Transesterification of Lipids Extracted from Microalgae in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Medium
Authors: Hanifa Taher, Sulaiman Al-Zuhair, Ali H. Al-Marzouqi, Yousef Haik, Mohammed Farid
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Biodiesel, as an alternative renewable fuel, has been receiving increasing attention due to the limited supply of fossil fuels and the increasing need for energy. Microalgae are promising source for lipids, which can be converted to biodiesel. The biodiesel production from microalgae lipids using lipase catalyzed reaction in supercritical CO2 medium has several advantages over conventional production processes. However, identifying the optimum microalgae lipid extraction and transesterification conditions is still a challenge. In this study, the quality of biodiesel produced from lipids extracted from Scenedesmus sp. and their enzymatic transesterification using supercritical carbon dioxide have been investigated. At the optimum conditions, the highest biodiesel production yield was found to be 82%. The fuel properties of the produced biodiesel, without any separation step, at optimum reaction condition, were determined and compared to ASTM standards. The properties were found to comply with the limits, and showed a low glycerol content, without any separation step.Keywords: Biodiesel, fuel standards, lipase, microalgae, Supercritical CO2.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2496571 A Coupled Model for Two-Phase Simulation of a Heavy Water Pressure Vessel Reactor
Authors: Damian Ramajo, Santiago Corzo, Norberto Nigro
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A Multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) two-phase model was developed with the aim to simulate the in-core coolant circuit of a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) of a commercial nuclear power plant (NPP). Due to the fact that this PHWR is a Reactor Pressure Vessel type (RPV), three-dimensional (3D) detailed modelling of the large reservoirs of the RPV (the upper and lower plenums and the downcomer) were coupled with an in-house finite volume one-dimensional (1D) code in order to model the 451 coolant channels housing the nuclear fuel. Regarding the 1D code, suitable empirical correlations for taking into account the in-channel distributed (friction losses) and concentrated (spacer grids, inlet and outlet throttles) pressure losses were used. A local power distribution at each one of the coolant channels was also taken into account. The heat transfer between the coolant and the surrounding moderator was accurately calculated using a two-dimensional theoretical model. The implementation of subcooled boiling and condensation models in the 1D code along with the use of functions for representing the thermal and dynamic properties of the coolant and moderator (heavy water) allow to have estimations of the in-core steam generation under nominal flow conditions for a generic fission power distribution. The in-core mass flow distribution results for steady state nominal conditions are in agreement with the expected from design, thus getting a first assessment of the coupled 1/3D model. Results for nominal condition were compared with those obtained with a previous 1/3D single-phase model getting more realistic temperature patterns, also allowing visualize low values of void fraction inside the upper plenum. It must be mentioned that the current results were obtained by imposing prescribed fission power functions from literature. Therefore, results are showed with the aim of point out the potentiality of the developed model.Keywords: CFD, PHWR, Thermo-hydraulic, Two-phase flow.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2699570 A Neuro Adaptive Control Strategy for Movable Power Source of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Using Wavelets
Authors: M. Sedighizadeh, A. Rezazadeh
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Movable power sources of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are the important research done in the current fuel cells (FC) field. The PEMFC system control influences the cell performance greatly and it is a control system for industrial complex problems, due to the imprecision, uncertainty and partial truth and intrinsic nonlinear characteristics of PEMFCs. In this paper an adaptive PI control strategy using neural network adaptive Morlet wavelet for control is proposed. It is based on a single layer feed forward neural networks with hidden nodes of adaptive morlet wavelet functions controller and an infinite impulse response (IIR) recurrent structure. The IIR is combined by cascading to the network to provide double local structure resulting in improving speed of learning. The proposed method is applied to a typical 1 KW PEMFC system and the results show the proposed method has more accuracy against to MLP (Multi Layer Perceptron) method.Keywords: Adaptive Control, Morlet Wavelets, PEMFC.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1853569 Rapid Method for Low Level 90Sr Determination in Seawater by Liquid Extraction Technique
Authors: S. Visetpotjanakit, N. Nakkaew
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Determination of low level 90Sr in seawater has been widely developed for the purpose of environmental monitoring and radiological research because 90Sr is one of the most hazardous radionuclides released from atmospheric during the testing of nuclear weapons, waste discharge from the generation nuclear energy and nuclear accident occurring at power plants. A liquid extraction technique using bis-2-etylhexyl-phosphoric acid to separate and purify yttrium followed by Cherenkov counting using a liquid scintillation counter to determine 90Y in secular equilibrium to 90Sr was developed to monitor 90Sr in the Asia Pacific Ocean. The analytical performance was validated for the accuracy, precision, and trueness criteria. Sr-90 determination in seawater using various low concentrations in a range of 0.01 – 1 Bq/L of 30 liters spiked seawater samples and 0.5 liters of IAEA-RML-2015-01 proficiency test sample was performed for statistical evaluation. The results had a relative bias in the range from 3.41% to 12.28%, which is below accepted relative bias of ± 25% and passed the criteria confirming that our analytical approach for determination of low levels of 90Sr in seawater was acceptable. Moreover, the approach is economical, non-laborious and fast.
Keywords: Proficiency test, radiation monitoring, seawater, strontium determination.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 852568 Pollution Control and Sustainable Urban Transport System - Electric Vehicle
Authors: M.M. Al Emran Hasan, M.Ektesabi, A.Kapoor
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Recently electric vehicles are becoming popular as an alternative of conventional fossil fuel vehicles. Conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle uses fossil fuel which contributing a major part of overall carbon emission in the environment. Carbon and other green house gas emission are responsible for global warming and resulting climate change. It becomes vital to evaluate performance of vehicle based on emission. In this paper an effort has been made to depict the picture of emission caused by vehicle and scenario of Australia has taken into account. Effort has been made to compare the fossil based vehicle with electric vehicle in phases. The study also evaluates advancement in electric vehicle technology, required infrastructure for sustainability and future scope of developments. This paper also includes the evaluation of electric vehicle concept for pollution control and sustainable transport systems in future. This study can be a benchmark for development of electric vehicle as low carbon emission alternative for the cities of tomorrow.Keywords: Electric Vehicle, Fossil Fuel, Internal CombustionEngine, Green House Gas, In wheel motor, Smart grid
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1711567 Performance of a Turbofan Engine with Intercooling and Regeneration
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Pollution emission levels of aircraft engines are a nowadays high concern. Any technological advance that could reduce emission levels is always welcome. In what concerns aircraft engines, a possible solution for this problem could be the use of regenerators and intercoolers. These components might reduce the specific fuel consumption, increase efficiency and specific thrust and consequently reduce the pollution levels of the engine. This is not a novel solution. These heat exchangers are already is use in stationary engines. For aircraft engines, the extra weight of the needed hardware could overcome the fuel saved. This work compares a conventional engine with configurations that use intercoolers and regenerators.Keywords: Intercooler, pollution, regenerator, turbofan
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3547566 Fault Detection and Isolation using RBF Networks for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell
Authors: Mahanijah Md Kamal., Dingli Yu
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This paper presents a new method of fault detection and isolation (FDI) for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell (FC) dynamic systems under an open-loop scheme. This method uses a radial basis function (RBF) neural network to perform fault identification, classification and isolation. The novelty is that the RBF model of independent mode is used to predict the future outputs of the FC stack. One actuator fault, one component fault and three sensor faults have been introduced to the PEMFC systems experience faults between -7% to +10% of fault size in real-time operation. To validate the results, a benchmark model developed by Michigan University is used in the simulation to investigate the effect of these five faults. The developed independent RBF model is tested on MATLAB R2009a/Simulink environment. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method for FDI under an open-loop condition. By using this method, the RBF networks able to detect and isolate all five faults accordingly and accurately.
Keywords: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, radial basis function neural networks, fault detection, fault isolation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1803565 Reducing Weight and Fuel Consumption of Civil Aircraft by EML
Authors: L. Bertola, T. Cox, P. Wheeler, S. Garvey, H. Morvan
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Electromagnetic Launch (EML) systems have been proposed for military applications to accelerate jet planes on aircraft carriers. This paper proposes the implementation of similar technology to aid civil aircraft take-off, which can provide significant economic, environmental and technical benefits. Assisted launch has the potential of reducing on ground noise and emissions near airports and improving overall aircraft efficiency through reducing engine thrust requirements. This paper presents a take-off performance analysis for an Airbus A320-200 taking off with and without the assistance of the electromagnetic catapult. Assisted take-off allows for a significant reduction in take-off field length, giving more capacity with existing airport footprints and reducing the necessary footprint of new airports, which will both reduce costs and increase the number of suitable sites. The electromagnetic catapult may allow the installation of smaller engines with lower rated thrust. The consequent fuel consumption and operational cost reduction is estimated. The potential of reducing the aircraft operational costs and the runway length required make EML system an attractive solution to the air traffic growth in busy airports.
Keywords: EML system, fuel consumption, take-off analysis, weight reduction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1078564 Proton-conducting PVA/PMA Hybrid Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications
Authors: Uma Thanganathan
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The hybrid membranes containing inorganic materials in polymer matrix are identified as a remarkable family of proton conducting hybrid electrolytes. In this work, the proton conducting inorganic/organic hybrid membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) were prepared using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), tetraethoxyorthosilane (TEOS) and heteropolyacid (HPA). The synthesized hybrid membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The effects of heteropolyacid incorporation on membrane properties, including morphology and thermal stability were extensively investigated.
Keywords: PEMFC, Hybrid membrane, FTIR, TGA, Phosphomolybdic acid
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2585563 Combustion and Emission of a Compression Ignition Engine Fueled with Diesel and Hydrogen-Methane Mixture
Authors: J. H. Zhou, C. S. Cheung, C. W. Leung
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The present study conducted experimental investigation on combustion and emission characteristics of compression ignition engine using diesel as pilot fuel and methane, hydrogen and methane/hydrogen mixture as gaseous fuels at 1800 rev min-1. The effect of gaseous fuel on peak cylinder pressure and heat release is modest at low to medium loads. At high load, the high combustion temperature and high quantity of pilot fuel contribute to better combustion efficiency for all kinds of gaseous fuels and increases the peak cylinder pressure. Enrichment of hydrogen in methane gradually increases the peak cylinder pressure. The brake thermal efficiency increases with higher hydrogen fraction at lower loads. Hydrogen addition in methane contributed to a proportional reduction of CO/CO2/HC emission without penalty of NOx. For particulate emission, methane and hydrogen, could both suppress the particle emission. 30% hydrogen fraction in methane is observed to be best in reducing the particulate emission.
Keywords: Combustion characteristics, diesel engine, emissions, methane/hydrogen mixture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3677562 Combustion Improvements by C4/C5 Bio-Alcohol Isomer Blended Fuels Combined with Supercharging and EGR in a Diesel Engine
Authors: Yasufumi Yoshimoto, Enkhjargal Tserenochir, Eiji Kinoshita, Takeshi Otaka
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Next generation bio-alcohols produced from non-food based sources like cellulosic biomass are promising renewable energy sources. The present study investigates engine performance, combustion characteristics, and emissions of a small single cylinder direct injection diesel engine fueled by four kinds of next generation bio-alcohol isomer and diesel fuel blends with a constant blending ratio of 3:7 (mass). The tested bio-alcohol isomers here are n-butanol and iso-butanol (C4 alcohol), and n-pentanol and iso-pentanol (C5 alcohol). To obtain simultaneous reductions in NOx and smoke emissions, the experiments employed supercharging combined with EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). The boost pressures were fixed at two conditions, 100 kPa (naturally aspirated operation) and 120 kPa (supercharged operation) provided with a roots blower type supercharger. The EGR rates were varied from 0 to 25% using a cooled EGR technique. The results showed that both with and without supercharging, all the bio-alcohol blended diesel fuels improved the trade-off relation between NOx and smoke emissions at all EGR rates while maintaining good engine performance, when compared with diesel fuel operation. It was also found that regardless of boost pressure and EGR rate, the ignition delays of the tested bio-alcohol isomer blends are in the order of iso-butanol > n-butanol > iso-pentanol > n-pentanol. Overall, it was concluded that, except for the changes in the ignition delays the influence of bio-alcohol isomer blends on the engine performance, combustion characteristics, and emissions are relatively small.
Keywords: Alternative fuel, Butanol, Diesel engine, EGR, Next generation bio-alcohol isomer blended fuel, Pentanol, Supercharging.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 734561 Using HABIT to Establish the Chemicals Analysis Methodology for Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: J. R. Wang, S. W. Chen, Y. Chiang, W. S. Hsu, J. H. Yang, Y. S. Tseng, C. Shih
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In this research, the HABIT analysis methodology was established for Maanshan nuclear power plant (NPP). The Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), reports, and other data were used in this study. To evaluate the control room habitability under the CO2 storage burst, the HABIT methodology was used to perform this analysis. The HABIT result was below the R.G. 1.78 failure criteria. This indicates that Maanshan NPP habitability can be maintained. Additionally, the sensitivity study of the parameters (wind speed, atmospheric stability classification, air temperature, and control room intake flow rate) was also performed in this research.
Keywords: PWR, HABIT, habitability, Maanshan.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 903560 Using HABIT to Estimate the Concentration of CO2 and H2SO4 for Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: Y. Chiang, W. Y. Li, J. R. Wang, S. W. Chen, W. S. Hsu, J. H. Yang, Y. S. Tseng, C. Shih
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In this research, the HABIT code was used to estimate the concentration under the CO2 and H2SO4 storage burst conditions for Kuosheng nuclear power plant (NPP). The Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) and reports were used in this research. In addition, to evaluate the control room habitability for these cases, the HABIT analysis results were compared with the R.G. 1.78 failure criteria. The comparison results show that the HABIT results are below the criteria. Additionally, some sensitivity studies (stability classification, wind speed and control room intake rate) were performed in this study.
Keywords: BWR, HABIT, habitability, KUOSHENG.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 840559 Truck Routing Problem Considering Platooning and Drivers’ Breaks
Authors: Xiaoyuan Yan, Min Xu
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Truck platooning refers to a convoy of digitally connected automated trucks traveling safely with a small inter-vehicle gap. It has been identified as one of the most promising and applicable technologies towards automated and sustainable freight transportation. Although truck platooning delivers significant energy-saving benefits, it cannot be realized without good coordination of drivers’ shifts to lead the platoons subject to their mandatory breaks. Therefore, this study aims to route a fleet of trucks to their destinations using the least amount of fuel by maximizing platoon opportunities under the regulations of drivers’ mandatory breaks. We formulate this platoon coordination problem as a mixed-integer linear programming problem and solve it by CPLEX. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed model. In addition, we also explore the impacts of drivers’ compulsory breaks on the fuel-savings performance. The results show a slight increase in the total fuel costs in the presence of drivers’ compulsory breaks, thanks to driving-while-resting benefit provided for the trailing trucks. This study may serve as a guide for the operators of automated freight transportation.
Keywords: Truck platooning, route optimization, compulsory breaks, energy saving.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 590558 Micro-Controller Based Oxy-Fuel Profile Cutting System
Authors: A. P. Kulkarni, P. Randive, A. R. Mache
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In today-s era of plasma and laser cutting, machines using oxy-acetylene flame are also meritorious due to their simplicity and cost effectiveness. The objective to devise a Computer controlled Oxy-Fuel profile cutting machine arose from the increasing demand for metal cutting with respect to edge quality, circularity and lesser formation of redeposit material. The System has an 8 bit micro controller based embedded system, which assures stipulated time response. A new window based Application software was devised which takes a standard CAD file .DXF as input and converts it into numerical data required for the controller. It uses VB6 as a front end whereas MS-ACCESS and AutoCAD as back end. The system is designed around AT89C51RD2, powerful 8 bit, ISP micro controller from Atmel and is optimized to achieve cost effectiveness and also maintains the required accuracy and reliability for complex shapes. The backbone of the system is a cleverly designed mechanical assembly along with the embedded system resulting in an accuracy of about 10 microns while maintaining perfect linearity in the cut. This results in substantial increase in productivity. The observed results also indicate reduced inter laminar spacing of pearlite with an increase in the hardness of the edge region.
Keywords: Computer-Control, Profile, Oxy-Fuel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2574557 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 2021556 Gasification of Trans-4-Hydroxycinnamic Acid with Ethanol at Elevated Temperatures
Authors: Shyh-Ming Chern, Wei-Ling Lin
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Lignin is a major constituent of woody biomass, and exists abundantly in nature. It is the major byproducts from the paper industry and bioethanol production processes. The byproducts are mainly used for low-valued applications. Instead, lignin can be converted into higher-valued gaseous fuel, thereby helping to curtail the ever-growing price of oil and to slow down the trend of global warming. Although biochemical treatment is capable of converting cellulose into liquid ethanol fuel, it cannot be applied to the conversion of lignin. Alternatively, it is possible to convert lignin into gaseous fuel thermochemically. In the present work, trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, a model compound for lignin, which closely resembles the basic building blocks of lignin, is gasified in an autoclave with ethanol at elevated temperatures and pressures, that are above the critical point of ethanol. Ethanol, instead of water, is chosen, because ethanol dissolves trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid easily and helps to convert it into lighter gaseous species relatively well. The major operating parameters for the gasification reaction include temperature (673-873 K), reaction pressure (5-25 MPa) and feed concentration (0.05-0.3 M). Generally, more than 80% of the reactant, including trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and ethanol, were converted into gaseous products at an operating condition of 873 K and 5 MPa.Keywords: Ethanol, gasification, lignin, supercritical.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1063555 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 598554 Influence of Dilution and Lean-premixed on Mild Combustion in an Industrial Burner
Authors: Sh.Khalilarya, H.Oryani, S.Jafarmadar, H.Khatamnezhad, A.Nemati
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Understanding of how and where NOx formation occurs in industrial burner is very important for efficient and clean operation of utility burners. Also the importance of this problem is mainly due to its relation to the pollutants produced by more burners used widely of gas turbine in thermal power plants and glass and steel industry. In this article, a numerical model of an industrial burner operating in MILD combustion is validated with experimental data.. Then influence of air flow rate and air temperature on combustor temperature profiles and NOX product are investigated. In order to modification this study reports on the effects of fuel and air dilution (with inert gases H2O, CO2, N2), and also influence of lean-premixed of fuel, on the temperature profiles and NOX emission. Conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy, and transport equations of species concentrations, turbulence, combustion and radiation modeling in addition to NO modeling equations were solved together to present temperature and NO distribution inside the burner. The results shows that dilution, cause to a reduction in value of temperature and NOX emission, and suppresses any flame propagation inside the furnace and made the flame inside the furnace invisible. Dilution with H2O rather than N2 and CO2 decreases further the value of the NOX. Also with raise of lean-premix level, local temperature of burner and the value of NOX product are decreases because of premixing prevents local “hot spots" within the combustor volume that can lead to significant NOx formation. Also leanpremixing of fuel with air cause to amount of air in reaction zone is reach more than amount that supplied as is actually needed to burn the fuel and this act lead to limiting NOx formationKeywords: Mild combustion, Flameless, Numerical simulation, Burner, CFD.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1762553 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
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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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3283552 An Investigation of a Three-Dimensional Constitutive Model of Gas Diffusion Layers in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells
Authors: Yanqin Chen, Chao Jiang, Chongdu Cho
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This research presents the three-dimensional mechanical characteristics of a commercial gas diffusion layer by experiment and simulation results. Although the mechanical performance of gas diffusion layers has attracted much attention, its reliability and accuracy are still a major challenge. With the help of simulation analysis methods, it is beneficial to the gas diffusion layer’s extensive commercial development and the overall stress analysis of proton electrolyte membrane fuel cells during its pre-production design period. Therefore, in this paper, a three-dimensional constitutive model of a commercial gas diffusion layer, including its material stiffness matrix parameters, is developed and coded, in the user-defined material model of a commercial finite element method software for simulation. Then, the model is validated by comparing experimental results as well as simulation outcomes. As a result, both the experimental data and simulation results show a good agreement with each other, with high accuracy.
Keywords: Gas diffusion layer, proton electrolyte membrane fuel cell, stiffness matrix, three-dimensional mechanical characteristics, user-defined material model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 928551 Estimation of Carbon Released From Dry Dipterocarp Forest Fire in Thailand
Authors: Ubonwan Chaiyo, Yannick Pizzo, Savitri Garivait
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This study focused on the estimation of carbon released to the atmosphere from dry dipterocarp forest (DDF) fires in Thailand. Laboratory experiments were conducted using a cone calorimeter to simulate the DDF fires. The leaf litter collected from DDF in western Thailand was used as biomass fuel. Three different masses of leaf litter were employed, 7g, 10g and 13g, to estimate the carbon released from this type of vegetation fire to the atmosphere. The chemical analysis of the leaf litter showed that the carbon content in the experimental biomass fuel was 46.0±0.1%. From the experiments, it was found that more than 95% of the carbon input was converted to carbon released to the atmosphere, while less than 5% were left in the form of residues, and returned to soil. From the study, the carbon released amounted 440.213±2.243 g/kgdry biomass, and the carbon retained in the residues was 19.786±2.243 g/kgdry biomass. The quantity of biomass fuel consumed to produce 1 g of carbon released was 2.27±0.01gkgdry biomass. Using these experimental data of carbon produced by the DDF fires, it was estimated that this type of fires in 2009 contributed to 4.659 tonnes of carbon released to the atmosphere, and 0.229 tonnes of carbon in the residues to be returned to soil in Thailand.
Keywords: Carbon mass balance, carbon released, tropical dry dipterocarp forest, biomass bunring.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2436550 The Study of Ultimate Response Guideline of Kuosheng BWR/6 Nuclear Power Plant Using TRACE and SNAP
Authors: J. R. Wang, J. H. Yang, Y. Chiang, H. C. Chen, C. Shih, S. W. Chen, S. C. Chiang, T. Y. Yu
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In this study of ultimate response guideline (URG), Kuosheng BWR/6 nuclear power plant (NPP) TRACE model was established. The reactor depressurization, low pressure water injection, and containment venting are the main actions of URG. This research focuses to evaluate the efficiency of URG under Fukushima-like conditions. Additionally, the sensitivity study of URG was also performed in this research. The analysis results of TRACE present that URG can keep the peak cladding temperature (PCT) below 1088.7 K (the failure criteria) under Fukushima-like conditions. It implied that Kuosheng NPP was at the safe situation.Keywords: BWR, TRACE, safety analysis, URG.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1178