Stability of He II phase separation - investigations with the active phase separator

External influences or internal disturbances may result in phase separation instabilities which could lead to operational failure of He II space cooling systems. Possible instabilities are defined and, using the active phase separator, suitable measures for prevention and control are discussed. Experimental results with a superleak arranged in parallel to the active phase separator indicate an additional possibility for adaptation of the latter to specific demands.     

Two-phase flow numerical simulation of a bend-type ice sluice in the diversion water channel of powerhouse

Ice in diversion channels can cause adverse effects that jeopardize the operational safety of diversion hydropower stations in the cold regions of northwest China. Previous studies have relied on experimental studies and one-dimensional or two-dimensional numerical simulations. In this paper, a three-dimensional Eulerian two-phase flow model is presented. The influence of the liquid–solid interaction, which includes the inter-phase drag force, lift force, virtual mass force, buoyancy force and the volume fraction of ice, was taken into consideration in the model. The simulated results showed that the surface flow and the frazil ice in the bend channel tended toward the concave bank. Additionally, the optimum scheme was obtained by comparing the layout pattern and structure modification. The simulated results were in good agreement with the experimental study done by Blanckaert and Graf (2001), and the intake flow was validated with an empirical value.     

An integrated program of risk assessment and operational reliability monitoring at Ontario hydro

This paper describes a program in place at Ontario Hydro where risk models are being developed for all its nuclear generating stations and where the results of these risk models and their constituent system reliability models are being used in the operational reliability program for the stations involved. Furthermore, the results of the station operational reliability monitoring program are being utilized to keep the system reliability and station risk models up to date.The program in place for the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is examined in detail to illustrate Ontario Hydro's approach.     

当前我国水工抗震中的主要问题和发展动态

就当前我国水工结构抗震研究中的主要问题和发展动态，诸如：结构－库水－地基的动力相互作用、地震输入机制、坝体和地基的非线性影响，以及地震反应的动态设计和水工结构的抗震可靠度设计等，作了概要阐述。介绍了近年来在这一领域中取得的重要进展并讨论了需要进一步研究的若干关键课题。     

Calibration of Pyrometers by Using Extrapolation and Interpolation Methods at NIM

High-temperature fixed points (HTFPs) have been thoroughly investigated, and the performance of variable temperature blackbodies (VTBB) has also improved rapidly. These two are beginning to be used in the calibration of pyrometers; however, tungsten strip lamps (STSL) still play a role in the dissemination of the high-temperature scale in China. International Temperature Scale of 1990 values of HTFPs and the lamps were assigned on a primary standard pyrometer (PSP) and were traced to the primary standard of the high-temperature scale at the National Institute of Metrology. In this paper, two pyrometers calibrated by using extrapolation and interpolation methods are reported. The values of the calibration were compared against the STSL values and the PSP values on HTBB, and their uncertainties are calculated as well. Because the stability of the HTFPs was better than that of the lamps, the calibration chains based on the lamps are starting to be replaced by HTFPs and VTBBs in China.     

Determination of the thermal offset of the Eppley precision spectral pyranometer

Eppley's precision spectral pyranometer (PSP) is used in networks around the world to measure downwelling diffuse and global solar irradiance at the surface of the Earth. In recent years several studies have shown significant discrepancy between irradiances measured by pyranometers and those computed by atmospheric radiative transfer models. Pyranometer measurements have been questioned because observed diffuse irradiances sometimes are below theoretical minimum values for a pure molecular atmosphere, and at night the instruments often produce nonzero signals ranging between +5 and -10 W m(-2). We install thermistor sondes in the body of a PSP as well as on its inner dome to monitor the temperature gradients within the instrument, and we operate a pyrgeometer (PIR) instrument side by side with the PSP. We derive a relationship between the PSP output and thermal radiative exchange by the dome and the detector and a relationship between the PSP output and the PIR thermopile output (net-IR). We determine the true PSP offset by quickly capping the instrument at set time intervals. For a ventilated and shaded PSP, the thermal offset can reach -15 W m(-2) under clear skies, whereas it remains close to zero for low overcast clouds. We estimate the PSP thermal offset by two methods: (1) using the PSP temperatures and (2) using the PIR net-IR signal. The offset computed from the PSP temperatures yields a reliable estimate of the true offset (+/-1 W m(-2)). The offset computed from net-IR is consistent with the true offset at night and under overcast skies but predicts only part of the true range under clear skies.     

Scheduling duplicate serial stations in transfer lines

To support the production rate, some transfer line stations with long cycle times must be duplicated. A job is processed in only one of the duplicate stations. If laid out in parallel, this duplication essentially doubles the capacity, but, for practical reasons, these duplicate stations are often laid out in a series. The serial layout has a capacity less than the parallel's, and also raises some operational questions. We enunciated and analysed this actual problem of operating duplicate stations in series. We simulated an existing closed-loop transfer-line with duplicate stations in series using the actual failure and repair characteristics of the automated stations, and compared a new heuristic with three simple policies.     

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin potency and the influence of the pH of extraction

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is one of the most severe forms of food poisoning. The toxins responsible for this poisoning are natural compounds, which cause the arrest of action potential propagation by binding to voltage-gated Na+ channels. Several standards for PSP toxins are nowadays commercially available; however, there is not accessible data on the biological activity of the toxins present on this standards and their in vivo toxicity. We have developed an in vitro quantification method for PSP toxins using cultured neurons and compared the potency of the commercial PSP toxin standards in this system with their relative toxicity by mouse bioassay. The in vitro potencies of the PSP toxin standards were saxitoxin (STX) > decarbamoylsaxitoxin (dcSTX) = neosaxitoxin (NeoSTX) > gonyautoxins 1, 4 (GTX1,4) > decarbamoylneosaxitoxin (dcNeoSTX) > gonyautoxins 2, 3 (GTX2,3) > decarbamoylgonyautoxins 2, 3 (dcGTX2,3) > gonyautoxin 5 (GTX5). The data in vitro correlated well with the toxicity values obtained by mouse bioassay. Using this in vitro model we also provide the first data evaluating the potencies of PSP toxins after extraction in acidic pHs, indicating that the toxicity of the sample increases in acidic conditions. This observation correlated well with the chemical transformations undergone by contaminated samples treated in several acidic conditions as corroborated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection of the toxins. Therefore, a variation of 2 units in the pH during PSP extraction may lead to large discrepancies regarding sample lethality during official PSP control in different countries. The results presented here constitute the first comprehensive and revised data on the potency of PSP toxins in vitro and their in vivo toxicity.     

Long-term analysis of clogging and oil bio-degradation in a System of Catchment, Pre-treatment and Treatment (SCPT)

Runoff contamination has motivated the development of different systems for its treatment in order to decrease the pollutant load that is discharged into natural water bodies. In the long term, these systems may undergo operational problems. This paper presents the results obtained in a laboratory study with a 1:1 scale prototype of a System of Catchment, Pre-treatment and Treatment (SCPT) of runoff waters. The analysis aims to establish the operational behaviour of the SCPT in the long term with respect to oil degradation and hydraulic conductivity in the geotextile filter. It is concluded that bio-degradation processes take place inside the SCPT and that hydraulic conductivity of the geotextile filtration system decreases slowly with successive simulated runoff events.     

Overheat instabilities in the electric explosion of wires

The development of thermal (overheat) instabilities during the electric explosion of a conducting wire was studied based on the theory of small perturbations. It is established that (i) the overheat instabilities are always developed in the course of electric explosions, irrespective of the regime of explosion and (ii) a threshold value of the current density exists for each metal, below which the magnetohydrodynamic screw instabilities grow faster than the overheat instabilities; above this threshold, the latter instabilities predominate.     

Realization of ITS-90 Above the Silver Point at the NIM

The high-temperature primary standard system was gradually improved at the National Institute of Metrology (NIM) in China after 2004. A new primary standard pyrometer (PSP) was developed, one with a size-of-source effect of 1 × 10^?4, and regional thermostats for interference filters, photoelectric detectors, and I/V converters. The relative spectral responsivity of the entire PSP was calibrated by means of a new facility. A new LED-based measurement facility and novel systematic error correction model were utilized to characterize the PSP nonlinearity and extend the photocurrent to PSP temperature readings of about 2680 °C. As an improved scheme, the fixed-point blackbody pyrometer assembly was utilized to realize and disseminate the International Temperature Scale of 1990 above the silver point. This scheme can avoid the influences of instability and inhomogeneity of tungsten strip lamps and corrects pyrometer drifts, thereby improving the realization uncertainty and simplifying the transfer chain. The expanded uncertainties of the scale realization ranged from 0.04 °C at the silver point to 0.48 °C at 2474 °C.     

Instabilities of magnetic fluids leading to a rupture of continuity

In the present paper attention is focused on topological instabilities of magnetic fluids. The authors review various studies concerned with the magnetic fluid instabilities leading to disintegration of the initial fluid volume.     

Simulation of instabilities in the presence of beam feedback

The effect of longitudinal and transverse instabilities in electron storage rings is simulated by tracking many superparticles for many turns through a model of a machine lattice. This lattice model is defined by a series of machine elements such as RF stations (including longitudinal and transverse wake fields), beam pick-ups, feedback kicker magnets, etc. The machine elements may be interconnected in any specified way so as to produce for example feedback on the longitudinal or transverse beam motion. Each superparticle is treated in six-dimensional phase space and the effects of quantum excitation and radiation damping are included. Insofar as possible the program has been structured to allow study of all known single-beam effects (such as synchro-betatron resonances, transverse mode coupling etc.) in the presence or the absence of some form of beam feedback. The primary goal of the program was to study the effect of a reactive beam feedback system on the threshold for transverse mode coupling.     

The NIST Cold Neutron Research Facility

The Cold Neutron Research Facility (CNRF) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Research Reactor (NBSR) is now coming on line, with the first seven experimental stations operational, and more stations scheduled to be installed during 1992. The present article provides an introduction to the facility, and to other articles in the current issue that give more details on some of the research opportunities that the facility will bring to NIST.     

Examination of issues related to the development and implementation of real-time operational safety monitoring tools in the nuclear power industry

In recent years, risk and reliability techniques have been increasingly used to optimize deterministic requirements and to improve the operational safety of nuclear power stations. This paper discusses the historical development and current status of implementation of real-time operational safety monitoring tools in the nuclear power industry worldwide. A safety monitor is defined as a PC-based risk management tool, based on a plant specific PSA, which can be used to manage plant safety during the day-to-day operation of a nuclear power plant by planning maintenance activities and providing advisory information to plant operational staff in order to avoid high risk plant configurations. As this technique has only been applied in a few plants worldwide, the technology is still evolving and there are several technical and implementation-related issues which still need to be resolved. This paper attempts to summarize all such issues and describe how they have been addressed in several different applications of this technology around the world.     

Scheduling of wafer test processes in semiconductor manufacturing

This research focuses on solving a common wafer test scheduling problem in semiconductor manufacturing. During wafer testing, a series of test processes are conducted on wafers using computer-controlled test stations at various temperatures. The test processes are conducted in a specified order on a wafer lot, resulting in precedence constraints for the schedule. Furthermore, the assignment of the wafer lots to test stations and the sequence in which they are processed affects the time required to set up the test operations. Thus, the set-up times are sequence dependent. Four heuristics are developed to solve the test scheduling problem with the aim of minimizing the makespan required to test all wafers on a set of test stations. The heuristics generate a sorted list of wafer lots as a dispatching sequence and then schedule the wafer lots on test stations in order of appearance on the list. An experimental analysis and two case studies are presented to validate the proposed solution approaches. In the case studies, the heuristics are applied to actual data from a semiconductor manufacturing facility. For both case studies, the proposed solution approaches decrease the makespan by 23–45% compared with the makespan of the actual schedule executed in the manufacturing facility.     

Supply chain optimisation with assembly line balancing

Supply chain management operates at three levels, strategic, tactical and operational. While the strategic approach generally pertains to the optimisation of network resources such as designing networks, location and determination of the number of facilities, etc., tactical decisions deal with the mid-term, including production levels at all plants, assembly policy, inventory levels and lot sizes, and operational decisions are related to how to make the tactical decisions happen in the short term, such as production planning and scheduling. This paper mainly discusses and explores how to realise the optimisation of strategic and tactical decisions together in the supply chain. Thus, a supply chain network (SCN) design problem is considered as a strategic decision and the assembly line balancing problem is handled as a tactical decision. The aim of this study is to optimise and design the SCN, including manufacturers, assemblers and customers, that minimises the transportation costs for determined periods while balancing the assembly lines in assemblers, which minimises the total fixed costs of stations, simultaneously. A nonlinear mixed-integer model is developed to minimise the total costs and the number of assembly stations while minimising the total fixed costs. For illustrative purposes, a numerical example is given, the results and the scenarios that are obtained under various conditions are discussed, and a sensitivity analysis is performed based on performance measures of the system, such as total cost, number of stations, cycle times and distribution amounts.     

A two-level implicit scheme for the numerical solution of the linearized vorticity equation

A numerical scheme is developed to study the stability of the linearized vorticity equations. The linear growth rates of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities resulting from a velocity shear are calculated numerically. The theory of neutrally stable waves, in two dimensions, is extended to include the cases where the stream function is zero or periodic at the boundary, and is verified numerically for the case of a velocity profile having the shape of a cosine function. The instability growth rates of the oscillations in the neighbourhood of the neutrally stable waves are calculated numerically and are shown to be in very good agreement with the theory. The results are also of interest in relation to studies on the instabilities of a two-dimensional guiding-centre plasma, and also in the study of the diocotron instability in electronics.     

Optimal design of an oil pipeline with a large-slope section

One of the important issues in the operation of a long-distance oil pipeline in a large-slope area is pressure control, especially for the section after the turning point. In this study, a method to optimally design an oil pipeline with a large-slope section is proposed. The method is based on a stochastic mixed-integer linear programming model with minimal total cost as the objective function to determine the size of the pipeline, the location, the operational plan of pump stations and the location of pressure reduction stations. Hydraulic calculations and different types of oil product are considered. The uncertainty in flow rates of the pipeline is studied by the proposed stochastic programming approach. This method is applied to a real case of designing an oil product pipeline in a large-slope area.     

GA-BHTR: an improved genetic algorithm for partner selection in virtual manufacturing

An evolutionary genetic algorithm maintained using the binary heap and transitive reduction (GA-BHTR) method for addressing the partner selection problem (PSP) in a virtual enterprise is proposed. In order to reduce the time complexity of PSP, an algorithm for simplifying the directed acyclic graph that represents the precedence relationship among the subprojects in PSP is first designed. Different from the traditional regular GA, in order to avoid solutions from converging to a constant value early during evolution, multiple communities are used instead of a single community in GA-BHTR. The method and algorithms to distribute the individuals to the multiple communities while maximising the differences among the different communities are proposed. The concept of the catastrophe is introduced in the proposed GA-BHTR in order to avoid the solutions from converging to a local best solution too early after several generations of evolution. In order to maintain the capacity of the community (i.e. the number of individuals existing in a community) at a constant value while enhancing the diversity of the proposed GA-BHTR, an algorithm using the binary heap to maintain the data is designed. Simulation and experiments are conducted to test the effectiveness and performance of the proposed GA-BHTR for addressing PSP.