Enhancement of turbulent jet diffusion flame blowout limits by annular counterflow

The effects of a proposed combustion technique, named as annular counterflow, on the enhancement of jet diffusion flame blowout limits were investigated by a series of experiments conducted for the present study. Annular counterflow was formed in a concentric annulus, in which fuel jet was ejected from a nozzle and air was sucked into an outer cylinder encompassing the nozzle. Three fuel nozzles and outer cylinders of different sizes were utilized to perform the experiments. Schlieren technique and normal video filming were employed for the visualization of diverse flame morphologies triggered by the said flow. Gas samplings were taken and scrutinized by the use of a gas chromatograph. Results showed that the blowout limits can be enhanced dramatically by an increase in volume flow rates of air‐suction. Mixing enhancement is achieved with frequent and strong outward ejection of fluids from the cold jet when this technique is applied. The blowout limits are further extended when the diameter of outer cylinders becomes smaller and/or that of the fuel nozzle becomes larger. The base widths of lifted flames were found to be narrower in the interim of annular counterflow application. The rates of increase in flame lift‐off heights and base widths along with an increase in fuel flow velocities become sluggish when the volume flow rates of air are increased. The amount of fuel that was sucked into the outer cylinder was found to be negligible and trivial. A model based on annular and coaxial jet was developed to predict the lifted flame base width and blowout limits. The coincidence between the prediction and experimental results unambiguously validates that the momentum of air‐suction dominates the beneficial effect. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An energy trading system with consideration of CO2 emissions

Abatement of CO₂ emission is one of the most important issues in the 21st century regarding preservation of the earth environment. This paper addresses a utility operations planning problem for distributed energy management systems (DEMSs), where we are to obtain optimal plans that minimize both costs and CO₂ emissions. A DEMS consists of multiple entities that seek their own economic profits. In this paper, we give a mathematical formulation of the utility operations planning problem for each entity, and propose an energy trading market, which utlizes a multi‐attribute auction protocol in order to deal with both a price and a CO₂ emission rate. Experimental results show that collaboration among entities through the market provides a more profitable plan for each entity and abatement of CO₂ emission is also achieved. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(4): 54–63, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley. com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20418     

Characteristics of porous polymer composite columns prepared by radiation cast-polymerization

Porous polymer composite columns having porous structure were prepared by radiation cast-polymerization of hydrophilic monomers at low temperature and their characteristics were studied. The porosity of the polymer increased with decreasing monomer concentration. The elution time of water in the polymer column increased with increasing monomer concentration and with decreasing irradiation temperature. The elution time was dependent on the degree of hydration of the polymer. The polymer with a degree of hydration of 0.2 to 0.4 gave the minimum elution time. The elution time decreased with the addition of porous inorganic substances.     

Adsorption properties of amphiphilic polyoxyalkylenated dimethylpolysiloxane derivatives on keratin

Adsorption properties of two types of dimethylpolysiloxane backbone derivatives, perfluoroalkyl polyoxyethylenated dimethylpolysiloxane (FPD) and polyoxyethylenated dimethylpolysiloxane (PD), onto keratin surfaces were investigated. Both polymers are amphiphilic, since they possess hydrophilic polyoxyethylene groups. FPD contains a perfluoroalkyl group that provides both water-and oil-repellent properties, whereas PD lacks these groups. Adsorption properties of these polymers onto keratin surfaces are considered a good index to evaluate these compounds as nonionics used in hair-coating agents, since keratin is a major component of hair. FPD was more likely to be adsorbed and less likely to be eliminated from the keratin surface than PD. Once FPD had been adsorbed onto the keratin surface, it was very slowly washed from the surface when it was immersed in stationary water, whereas PD polymers were quickly washed from the keratin surface. Even in running water, rapid elimination of FPD was not observed. The strong resistance to loss of FPD after washing with a large quantity of water may be due to the water-repellent nature of the perfluoroalkyl groups. As a comparison, FPD adsorption onto a glass surface was also investigated. The affinity to the glass surface was found to be less than to the keratin surface.     

Modification of tribological performance of DLC films by means of some elements addition

The elements added diamond-like carbon films (hydrogen, fluorine, and sulfur) fabricated from C₂H₂:H₂, C₂H₂:CF₄ and C₂H₂:SF₆ mixtures were used to compare and study the effects of element contents on the deposition and tribological properties of films prepared by plasma-based ion implantation (PBII). The structure of the films was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. Hardness and elastic modulus of films were measured by nano-indentation hardness testing. Contact angle and surface energy of films were measured by contact angle measurement. Tribological characteristics of films were performed using a ball-on-disk friction tester. The results indicate that with the increasing element contents, the hardness and elastic modulus, and surface energy of all films decreases, while the surface angle tends to increase. Additionally, H-DLC films at C:H flow rate ratio of 1:4 shows a friction coefficient of 0.08 under ambient air, which are considerable improvement in the tribological properties. This is due to the formation of a transfer films on the interface and high hydrogen contents. For F-DLC films and S-DLC films, does not show a significant decrease in the friction coefficient with the fluorine and sulfur contents under ambient air. The decrease in the friction coefficient is greater under high vacuum than under ambient air.     

Model experiment of upward leaders-shielding effects of tallobjects

Discharges originating from laboratory upward leaders are studied experimentally with a configuration consisting of two parallel vertical rods at ground and an elevated plane. The flashover probability of each rod, the effect of gap configuration on that probability, and the shielding effect of the taller rod on the smaller one are investigated. Experimental results are analyzed, taking into account the deviation of time to flashover of the gap. Application of the results to the case of natural lightning is also discussed     

估算本征吸收技术中洁净区宽度的简捷方法

本文研究了在本征吸收技术中,硅片中氧外扩散后其浓度纵向分布的特点,提出了一种根据氧的外扩散时间来估算本征吸收技术中洁净区宽度的简捷方法。根据该方法能够很方便地估算出任意外扩散时间下的洁净区宽度,且在洁净区宽度小于20微米范围内,其结果与理论计算值之绝对误差小于1微米。     

Lightning occurrence data observed with lightning location systems of electric power companies in Japan: 2009–2013

Nine electric power companies in Japan have been collecting lightning data with lightning location systems. Five years of the lightning data (2009–2013) are summarized and analyzed in this paper. The recent annual number of lightning flashes of which the current is more than 10 kA in Japan is around 1 million. The variations of lightning occurrence characteristics by areas, seasons, and so on, are clarified. Meteorological conditions that may affect lightning occurrence are also discussed. Furthermore, we show that there is a clear correlation between the number of lightning strikes and the outage rate of transmission lines. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.