Numerical modelling of calcination reaction mechanism for cement production

Calcination is a thermo-chemical process, widely used in the cement industry, where limestone is converted by thermal decomposition into lime CaO and carbon dioxide CO₂. The focus of this paper is on the implementation and validation of the endothermic calcination reaction mechanism of limestone in a commercial finite volume based CFD code. This code is used to simulate the turbulent flow field, the temperature field, concentrations of the reactants and products, as well as the interaction of particles with the gas phase, by solving the mathematical equations, which govern these processes. For calcination, the effects of temperature, decomposition pressure, diffusion and pore efficiency were taken into account. A simple three-dimensional geometry of a pipe reactor was used for numerical simulations. To verify the accuracy of the modelling approach, the numerical predictions were compared with experimental data, yielding satisfying results and proper trends of physical parameters influencing the process.     

Parallel Operation of Centrifugal Pumps: Effects of Rotational Speed Differences due to Motor Slip

In industrial plants, centrifugal pumps are frequently operated in parallel configuration, not least for redundancy and operational reliability reasons. However, regarding the resulting pressure pulsations and energy consumption, this operation mode has so far not been in the focus of scientific studies. The object of the present article is to clarify the effect of parallel operation with respect to the observable pressure pulsations. Measurements were carried out with two identical centrifugal pumps operating in parallel mode in an industrial‐scale closed‐loop piping system. The results suggest that, regarding both the resulting pressure pulsations and the operating point of each pump, this operation mode is quite sensitive to smallest rotational speed deviations as they may occur due to different motor slip. The results indicate furthermore that, for minimum pressure pulsations, equal power consumptions of the two pumps are crucial, but not necessarily equal rotational speeds.     

Fraktionsfreisetzungsgrad – Ein neuer Ansatz zur Quantifizierung der Staubungsneigung von Pulvern

The handling of dispersed solids may lead to undesirable release of particles. Size and quantity of the particles transferred into the gas depend on the holding and separating forces in the powder. These in turn are determined by characteristic parameters of the powder and of the process. Analogous to the fractional collection efficiency describing the dust separation, a fractional release rate to quantify the release of dust is introduced. The application is demonstrated by an example and the way to further development of this new approach is demonstrated.     

Comments on solid state hydrogen storage systems design for fuel cell vehicles

In recent years, significant research and development efforts were spent on hydrogen storage technologies with the goal of realizing a breakthrough for fuel cell vehicle applications. This article scrutinizes design targets and material screening criteria for solid state hydrogen storage. Adopting an automotive engineering point of view, four important, but often neglected, issues are discussed: 1) volumetric storage capacity, 2) heat transfer for desorption, 3) recharging at low temperatures and 4) cold start of the vehicle. The article shall help to understand the requirements and support the research community when screening new materials.     

Large-Bar Connection for Precast Bridge Bents in Seismic Regions

A new beam-to-column connection has been developed for assembling precast concrete bridge bents in regions of high seismicity. The connection is made with a small number of large column bars, which are grouted into large corrugated-metal ducts embedded in the cap beam. Bents built with these connections can be erected quickly and permit generous construction tolerances. To evaluate the seismic performance of the proposed connection, lateral-load tests were performed on three manifestations of the connection, as well as on a comparable cast-in-place connection. The tests demonstrated that the force-displacement response and damage progression in the precast connection are similar to those of typical cast-in-place concrete connections. Deliberate partial debonding of the longitudinal reinforcement only slightly affected the force-displacement response and observed damage.     

Experimental studies for verification of thermal effects in cutting

Investigations on metal-cutting machining processes that were conducted since the second half of the twentieth century have considerably contributed to disclosing the principles underlying the cutting process. Although numerous studies have been carried out on this subject, a generally valid model of the cutting process and the interactions in the separating processes does not exist yet. Such a model could guarantee the disclosure of the principles of thermodynamic interactions between the cutting process and the involved machine structure. This contribution is twofold and presents an experimental setup used to determine cutting forces and temperatures in orthogonal cutting processes. The results are then used as a reference for simulations made with the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The DEM is due to its meshless nature well suited to capture large deformations and rupture of material which is included very naturally. It is examined to which extent the measured results can be captured with the DEM model.     

Magnetic Interactions in Ni‐Mn‐Based Magnetic Shape‐Memory Heusler Alloys

Ni‐Mn‐based Heusler alloys exhibit a variety of features related to martensitic transformations and are materials that are sought to be employed in actuation applications. To be able to exploit their properties, it is necessary to understand the rich variety and subtle magnetic coupling mechanisms occurring in these alloys. We review complementary neutron polarization analysis and ferromagnetic resonance experiments and give an account on the complex magnetism of these alloys in the austenite and martensite states.     

Atomic-precision multilayer coating of the first set of optics for an extreme-ultraviolet lithography prototype system

We present our results of coating a first set of optical elements for an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system. The optics were coated with Mo-Si multilayer mirrors by dc magnetron sputtering and characterized by synchrotron radiation. Near-normal incidence reflectances above 65% were achieved at 13.35 nm. The run-to-run reproducibility of the reflectance peak wavelength was maintained to within 0.4%, and the thickness uniformity (or gradient) was controlled to within +/-0.05% peak to valley, exceeding the prescribed specification. The deposition technique used for this study is an enabling technology for EUV lithography, making it possible to fabricate multilayer-coated optics to accuracies commensurate with atomic dimensions.