Laminar free convection in open-ended vertical 7-rod bundles: experiments and porous model

The flow of ambient air induced solely by buoyancy, through a vertical rod bundle has been modelled as a phenomenon in a porous medium. The rods are at uniform heat flux condition and the circular shell adiabatic. The induced flow rate was found to be controlled by a parameter ψ dependent on the heat flux, rod diameter, length, fluid properties and the bundle permeability. Measurements performed on two 7-rod bundles corroborate the theoretical predictions. Longitudinally averaged heat transfer rates from the central and peripheral rods have also been measured and average information generated for the bundle.     

A Process Integration based Approach for the Analysis of an Evaporator System

A scalable new mathematical model based on the principles of Process Integration has been developed for the analysis of multiple effect evaporator (MEE) systems. It uses the concepts of stream analysis, temperature path and internal heat exchange for the formulation of the model equations. In addition to the above concepts, the model also takes into account the variable physico‐thermal properties of steam/vapor, condensate and liquor, while simulating the MEE system. The present model consists of a set of linear equations and does not present any stability or oscillation problems during solution as is generally seen in the case of models that are based on sets of nonlinear equations. The model equations are automatically generated through a computer program and the model was run for three different liquor and flow sequences to prove its utility. The results obtained are compared with published models.     

Preparation of Sn–3.5Ag nano-solder by supernatant process

The nano-scaled Sn–3.5Ag solder was prepared successfully by a supernatant process in the present study. The morphology of the nano-particle was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. It was found from the SEM micrographs that the average diameter of the particle was 137 nm with a standard deviation of ±5 nm. From the TEM studies it was revealed that the particles aggregated into larger particles and the shape of the elongated particles were irregular. The composition of the alloy was also measured by an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), qualitatively and quantitatively. The eutectic element, Ag with a weight percentage of 3.5%, was found to be homogenous over all of the particles. Furthermore, the microstructure of the Sn–3.5Ag alloy was identified by X-ray diffraction. It was found that the trace element, Ag was dissolved in the matrix, a tetragonal system, without an intermetallic phase.     

Product selection in Internet business: a fuzzy approach

In this paper, we propose a methodology which helps customers buy products through the Internet. This procedure takes into account the customer's level of desire in the product attributes, which are normally fuzzy, or in linguistically defined terms. The concept of fuzzy number will be used to measure the degree of similarities of the available products to that of the customer's requirements. The degrees of similarities so obtained over all the attributes give rise to the fuzzy probabilities and hence the fuzzy expected values of availing a product on the Internet as per the customer's requirement. Attribute‐wise the fuzzy expected values are compared with those of the available products on the Internet and the product that is closest to the customer's preference is selected as the best product. The multi‐attribute weighted average method is used here to evaluate and hence to select the best product.     

Distribution of mineral species in different coal seams of Talcher coalfield and its transformation behavior at varying temperatures

International Journal of Coal Science & Technology - Mineral phase characterization and thorough understanding of its transformation behavior during combustion are imperative to know the...     

Retracted: Mechanical and thermal properties enhancement of polycarbonate nanocomposites prepared by melt compounding

The following article from the Journal of Applied Polymer Science, “Mechanical and thermal properties enhancement of polycarbonate nanocomposites prepared by melt compounding” by Sanjay K. Nayak, Smita Mohanty, and Sushanta K. Samal, published online on 7 April 2010 in Wiley Online Library (J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2010 , 117, 2101; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app.31222/full ), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal's editors, and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The retraction has been agreed due to significant overlap with respect to another article, “Effect of hydrogen bonding on the rheology of polycarbonate/organoclay nanocomposites,” by Kyung Min Lee, and Chang Dae Han, published online on 19 June 2003 in Polymer ( 2003 , 44, 4573).