Heat transfer coefficient for constant flow solar collector/storage systems

An earlier expression for the heat transfer coefficient between the heated surface and the flowing fluid used in the investigation of the performance of a few collector/storage systems leads to results which are physically impractical. In this communication we derive the correct expression for the heat transfer coefficient in terms of the parameters of the tube, i.e. its length and circumference. The effect of the modified form of the heat transfer coefficient on the performance of a typical system, namely a ground collector system, has been studied in detail.     

Performance of a thermal trap flat-plate solar energy collector

The performance of a thermal trap flat-plate solar energy collector has been investigated theoretically and validated experimentally, from the point of view of stagnation temperature. The theoretical model is based on the periodic solution of the heat conduction equation and takes into account the internal emission of the thermal trap material. The model explains the experimental measurements fairly well. It is found that the trap material should have an optimal thickness in order to obtain the maximum plate temperature.The thickness of the air gap between the trap material and the cover has only a very marginal effect on the stagnation temperature.     

Transient behaviour of salt gradient stabilised shallow solar ponds

This paper presents the results of experimental and analytical investigations of the transient thermal processes in a salt gradient stabilised pond of shallow (10 cm) depth, useful for short-term storage applications. A small convective sublayer (about 3 cm thick) of uniform temperature tends to form at the bottom of the pond. The convective-non-convective zone boundary below the gradient zone exhibits movements with time of day as well as from day to day. This suggests that only local properties and local gradients are relevant to the stability condition. A thin oil layer cover at the pond surface considerably enhances the temperature in the pond and aids its stability. A simple transient thermal model of the pond is developed. The observed temperatures and depths of the zones are in close agreement with theory.     

Seamless warping of diffusion tensor fields

To warp diffusion tensor fields accurately, tensors must be reoriented in the space to which the tensors are warped based on both the local deformation field and the orientation of the underlying fibers in the original image. Existing algorithms for warping tensors typically use forward mapping deformations in an attempt to ensure that the local deformations in the warped image remains true to the orientation of the underlying fibers; forward mapping, however, can also create ldquoseamsrdquo or gaps and consequently artifacts in the warped image by failing to define accurately the voxels in the template space where the magnitude of the deformation is large (e.g., |Jacobian| > 1). Backward mapping, in contrast, defines voxels in the template space by mapping them back to locations in the original imaging space. Backward mapping allows every voxel in the template space to be defined without the creation of seams, including voxels in which the deformation is extensive. Backward mapping, however, cannot reorient tensors in the template space because information about the directional orientation of fiber tracts is contained in the original, unwarped imaging space only, and backward mapping alone cannot transfer that information to the template space. To combine the advantages of forward and backward mapping, we propose a novel method for the spatial normalization of diffusion tensor (DT) fields that uses a bijection (a bidirectional mapping with one-to-one correspondences between image spaces) to warp DT datasets seamlessly from one imaging space to another. Once the bijection has been achieved and tensors have been correctly relocated to the template space, we can appropriately reorient tensors in the template space using a warping method based on Procrustean estimation.     

Using perturbation theory to compute the morphological similarity of diffusion tensors

Computing the morphological similarity of diffusion tensors (DTs) at neighboring voxels within a DT image, or at corresponding locations across different DT images, is a fundamental and ubiquitous operation in the postprocessing of DT images. The morphological similarity of DTs typically has been computed using either the principal directions (PDs) of DTs (i.e., the direction along which water molecules diffuse preferentially) or their tensor elements. Although comparing PDs allows the similarity of one morphological feature of DTs to be visualized directly in eigenspace, this method takes into account only a single eigenvector, and it is therefore sensitive to the presence of noise in the images that can introduce error intothe estimation of that vector. Although comparing tensor elements, rather than PDs, is comparatively more robust to the effects of noise, the individual elements of a given tensor do not directly reflect the diffusion properties of water molecules. We propose a measure for computing the morphological similarity of DTs that uses both their eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and that also accounts for the noise levels present in DT images. Our measure presupposes that DTs in a homogeneous region within or across DT images are random perturbations of one another in the presence of noise. The similarity values that are computed using our method are smooth (in the sense that small changes in eigenvalues and eigenvectors cause only small changes in similarity), and they are symmetric when differences in eigenvalues and eigenvectors are also symmetric. In addition, our method does not presuppose that the corresponding eigenvectors across two DTs have been identified accurately, an assumption that is problematic in the presence of noise. Because we compute the similarity between DTs using their eigenspace components, our similarity measure relates directly to both the magnitude and the direction of the diffusion of water molecules. The favorable performance characteristics of our measure offer the prospect of substantially improving additional postprocessing operations that are commonly performed on DTI datasets, such as image segmentation, fiber tracking, noise filtering, and spatial normalization.     

Optimal Dual-$V_{T}$ Design in Sub-100-nm PD/SOI and Double-Gate Technologies

Dual-threshold-voltage (V_T) CMOS is an effective way to reduce leakage power in high-performance very-large-scale-integration circuits. In this paper, we explore the technology design space for dual-threshold-voltage transistor design in deep-sub-100-nm technology nodes. We propose a technique of achieving high-V_T (HVT) devices using thicker gate-sidewall offset spacers to increase the channel length without increasing the printed-gate length. The effectiveness of all the dual-V_T technology options-increasing channel doping, increasing gate length, and proposed technique of increasing spacer thickness-is analyzed at transistor and basic logic gate level. Results on 65-nm partially depleted silicon-on-insulator and double-gate technologies indicate that the proposed technique yields lower dynamic power consumption and lower performance penalty compared with longer gate length and high body-doping devices. Our proposed technique, however, incurs extra fabrication mask similar to achieving HVT by increasing body doping.     

A simple procedure for selection and sizing of indirect passive solar heating systems

Equivalent sol-air temperatures have been defined for four indirect gain passive solar heating concepts, namely, mass wall, water wall, Trombe wall and solarium. Steady state thermal efficiencies have also been defined as a measure of the ability of each system to deliver heat into the living space.

Design curves have been developed which relate the average instantaneous solar radiation incident on the passive element to thermal efficiency for different values of ambient temperature. These curves are useful in selection of an appropriate passive heating concept for a particular location.

It is inferred that a solarium is most effective at very low levels of incident radiation and low ambient temperature. Water walls and Trombe walls are most efficient at higher levels of incident radiation.

A simple procedure has been developed for a first approximation of sizing the selected system using these design curves and a minimum of meteorological information, namely, monthly average of daily global solar radiation, monthly average maximum and minimum ambient temperatures.     

Analysis of trans fatty acids in deep frying oils by three different approaches

Simulated frying experiments were performed on three different types of oils with French fries as the fried food. Comparison of frying oil samples was then made with their control counterparts (i.e. oil samples heated without food). Three different methods, gas chromatography (GC), attenuated total reflection (ATR) AOCS method Cd 14d-99 and attenuated total reflection negative second derivative absorbance (−2D ATR), were applied to quantify total trans fats. The total trans fats were found to be higher in the frying oil samples as compared to the control samples, which might be due to the presence of a high amount of trans fats in the pre-fried and frozen French fries. In general, the ATR AOCS method Cd 14d-99 produced lower amounts of trans fatty acids and the −2D ATR absorbance method produced higher amounts when compared with those obtained by gas chromatography.     

Non-dairy Based Probiotics: A Healthy Treat for Intestine

Dairy-based fermented products and yoghurts have been utilized as potential probiotic products since ancient times. However, recent upsurge in interest of consumers towards dairy alternatives has opened up new vistas for non-dairy probiotic research and development. Various matrices and substrates such as cereals, fruit juices, or mixture thereof are being utilized for delivering these beneficial microorganisms. Each matrix offers some advantages over the other. Vast knowledge available on a number of conventional fermented foods can also be utilized for future research in this area. The present review provides an insight on the recent research/developments in the field of non-dairy probiotic foods with particular reference to the foods consumed conventionally, in addition to their commercial availability and a way forward.     

Utilization of Food Processing By-products as Dietary,Functional, and Novel Fiber: A Review

Fast growing food processing industry in most countries across the world, generates huge quantity of by-products, including pomace, hull, husk, pods, peel, shells, seeds, stems, stalks, bran, washings, pulp refuse, press cakes, etc., which have less use and create considerable environmental pollution. With growing interest in health promoting functional foods, the demand of natural bioactives has increased and exploration for new sources is on the way. Many of the food processing industrial by-products are rich sources of dietary, functional, and novel fibers. These by-products can be directly (or after certain modifications for isolation or purification of fiber) used for the manufacture of various foods, i.e. bread, buns, cake, pasta, noodles, biscuit, ice creams, yogurts, cheese, beverages, milk shakes, instant breakfasts, ice tea, juices, sports drinks, wine, powdered drink, fermented milk products, meat products and meat analogues, synthetic meat, etc. A comprehensive literature survey has been carried on this topic to give an overview in the field dietary fiber from food by-products. In this article, the developments in the definition of fiber, fiber classification, potential sources of dietary fibers in food processing by-products, their uses, functional properties, caloric content, energy values and the labelling regulations have been discussed.