Stiffness Evaluation of the Welded Connection between Guide Thimbles and the Spacer Grids for 16 × 16 Fuel Assemblies Types,Using the Finite Element Method

The present work aims to evaluate the increase in the number of spot welds in the 16 × 16 type fuel assembly structure that connects guide thimbles and spacer grids, in order to provide a proper joint for this connection. This new and improved process can provide more stiffness to the whole structure, since the number of spots raised from four to eight. A 3-D geometric model of a guide thimble section was generated in a CAD （computer aided design） program （SolidWorks）. After that, the geometric model was imported to a CAE （computer aided engineering） program （ANSYS Mechanical APDL, Release 14.0）, where the finite element model was built, considering the guide thimble geometry assembled with the spacer grid through the welded connections. Boundaries conditions were implemented in the model in order to simulate the correct physical behavior due to the operation of the fuel assembly inside the reactor. The analysis covered specific loads and displacements acting on the entire structure. The method used to solve this finite element analysis was a linear static simulation in order to perform the connection between a spacer grid cell and a guide thimble section. Hence, four models was evaluated, differing on the spot weld number in the spacer grid and guide thimble connection. The rotational stiffness results of each model were compared. The results acquired from four and eight spot weld were validated with physical test results. The behavior of the structure under the acting force/displacement and the related results of the analysis, mainly the stiffness, were satisfied. The results of this analysis were used to prove that the increasing spot welds number is an improvement in the dimensional stability when submitted to loads and displacements required on the fuel assembly design. This analysis aid to get more information of extreme importance such as, the pursuance to develop better manufacturing process and to improve the fuel assembly performance due to the increasing of the bum-up.     

Experimental characterization of rate-adaptive transmission and angle diversity reception techniques

Ambient light is the main impairment in indoor wireless optical communication systems for data rates up to several megabits per second. Its wide dynamic range, associated with the strong directivity of wireless optical signals, produce large variations on the received signal-to-noise ratio. This article discusses experimental results obtained from a testbed developed to compare different techniques for SNR improvement. The two techniques analyzed are rate-adaptive transmission, which introduces adaptive levels of redundancy in the transmitted signal to improve connectivity, and angle diversity reception, which exploits the inherent directionality of both signal and noise to improve the SNR at the receiver. Furthermore, systems employing both techniques simultaneously were also considered. The testbed replicated a typical indoor environment with both natural and artificial light, containing incandescent and fluorescent light sources. Both the SNR and the associated coverage areas were determined for all considered techniques. Our results show that the combined use of angle diversity based on maximal ratio combining and rate adaptation through the use of repetition coding achieves very good performance with only moderate complexity, allowing connectivity at all locations with data rates close to the maximum possible. In particular, with incandescent illumination and without angle diversity, the data rate had to be decreased down to 2 and 1 Mb/s in 25.9 and 7.7 percent of the room, area, respectively, whereas with maximal ratio combining a decrease to 2 Mb/s was only needed in 0.7 percent of the room area.     

The incorporation of polar monomers in copolymers based on styrene and divinylbenzene obtained from glycerol suspension polymerization

Porous copolymer networks based on styrene (STY) and divinylbenzene (DVB) containing polar monomer (methacrylamide — MAM, methacrylic acid — MAA or acrylonitrile — ACN) were prepared by suspension polymerization using glycerol as a dispersant medium. Poly(styrene-co-methacrylamide-co-divinylbenzene), poly(styrene-co-methacrylic acid-co-divinylbenzene) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile-co-divinylbenzene) were synthesized using mixtures of toluene with 2-butanone, toluene and 2-butanone and n-heptane with ethylacetate, respectively at different dilutions: 50%, 100% and 120% (v/v). The copolymers were characterized by bulk density, infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and elemental analysis (CHN). Morphological features of the copolymer pearls were evaluated by microscopic analysis and correlations between porous structure and parameters of reaction were found. The copolymers presented high incorporation of polar monomers. The pearl porosities and visual appearances had a strict relation with the monomer type and the dilution degree employed in synthesizing them.     

Comparative adsorptive removal of biperidene and sibutramine chlorhydrates from methanolic solutions by using active coal, clay and polymeric resins

Different absorbent materials were evaluated for extraction of organic compounds from methanolic solution used for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The active coal, Betonite K-10 clay, commercial resins, namely Amberlyst A26OH™ and Amberlyst 15WET™ and three synthesized resins: RP03 (based on acrylonitrile and divinylbenzene), RP09 (based on methacrylamide, styrene and divinylbenzene) and RP12 (based on methacrylic acid, styrene and divinylbenzene) were evaluated. These materials have been tested in the removal of sibutramine and biperidene chlorhydrates from methanol for different extraction times. The extractions had been carried out in batch at room temperature. The initial and final concentrations of sibutramine and biperidene chlorhydrates in methanol were determined by HPLC. In a general way, the synthesized and commercial copolymers have presented the very good extraction performance concerning chlorhydrates. Notably, the Amberlyst 15WET resin has presented the most efficient retention of both chlorhydrates compared to the other absorbents.     

The impact of water quality as an environmental constraint on operation planning of a hydro-thermal power system

This work presents the development of a model that applies water quality restriction to the long term planning hydro-thermal power system operation. Taking water quality into account in the long term planning, guarantees the multiple water usage. The objective is to investigate the sensibility of the long term planning hydro-thermal power system to the environmental variables focusing water quality. Among water quality indicators the option was chlorophyll-a and the nutrient phosphorus establishing a relation with the reservoir storage.     

Obtaining Thin Film of SnO2/Cu2O and Characterization by X-Ray Diffraction

Thin films of tin and copper oxide forming heterojunction are being studied for applications in photovoltaic systems. The procedure for obtaining such a film was based on the technique of spray pyrolysis with working temperature of 600 ℃. The XRD （X-ray diffraction） showed the formation of tin oxides （SnO2） and copper （Cu2O） and its structural parameters are a, b and c, 4.7534 A^°, 4.7534 A^°, 3.1998 A^° （tetragonal form） and 4.2580 A^°, 4.2580 A^°, 4.2580 A^° （cubic form）, respectively. Highseore Plus program was used for phase identification and DBWSTool2.4 program used for refinement. The grain size was estimated by Williamson-Hall.     

Kinetic and Equilibrium Adsorption Studies for Removal of Naphthenic Acids Present in Model Mixture of Aviation Kerosene

In this work, the adsorbent Sr-MCM-41 was evaluated for its ability to remove naphthenic acids present in model mixture of aviation kerosene (jet fuel) by conducting kinetic and adsorption equilibrium studies in finite bath systems. The adsorption isotherm model of Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) was used for the equilibrium modeling. Additionally, the linear driving force model was used for the kinetic modeling. The analysis of variance was incorporated to judge the compatibility of the models. The kinetic study found that the system reached equilibrium after 480 min. The equilibrium study showed a maximum adsorption capacity of 2.0 g g^?1. The models represented the experimental data satisfactorily, and this was confirmed by the variance analysis. Under the conditions studied, the presented results show the technical potential of using the adsorbent for the removal of naphthenic acids from jet fuel.     

The role of official heritage in regional spaces

Following the argument that increasing mobility has scattered consumption throughout Sweden’s regions, this study investigates how individuals’ consumption choices are influenced by official heritage. It argues that individuals’ everyday routines highlight the role played by heritage in socio-economic regional change, challenging traditional planning systems and altering individuals’ relationships with their environments, leading to new values being placed on official heritage. This argument was tested using interviews and questionnaires in Mariefred, Sweden, and demonstrates that official heritage plays multiple and contrasting roles, including the use of heritage as an attempt to reconcile opposing principles such as progress/development and tradition/conservation.     

Effects of the flaxseed oil on the fatty acid composition of tilapia heads

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding flaxseed oil (FO) to feed on the incorporation of n‐3 PUFA in tilapia heads. Tilapia were given diets with increasing levels of FO (0.00, 1.25, 2.50, 3.75 and 5.00% for treatments A, B, C, D and E, respectively), as a source of LNA for 150 days. The proximate composition of the heads indicated high nutritional value and 40 FA (fatty acids) common to all treatments were identified in total lipids. Intake of LNA caused storage of LNA and sequential desaturation‐elongation to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and DHA. With increasing levels of FO in the diet, the content of LNA in tilapia heads increased (1.7 and 14.0% for diets A and E, respectively), as well as the contents of EPA (0.1 and 0.9% for diets A and E, respectively) and DHA (0.5 and 1.8% for diets A and E, respectively). Adding FO to tilapia feed markedly increased the total content of n‐3 PUFA (3.0 and 21.1% for diets A and E, respectively), decreased the total content of n‐6 PUFA (41.3 and 24.9% for diets A and E, respectively), and consequently resulted in a decrease in the n‐6/n‐3 ratio (13.8 and 1.2 for diets A and E, respectively). Therefore, feeding tilapia with FO is a good way of valorizing this part of the fish by creating a valuable nutritional food source.     

Improving teaching in engineering education: adjunct enterprise professors programme

The gap between University curricula in engineering, and profiles required by companies represents a problem that remains unsolved. The main two reasons behind this decoupling are the absence of certain specific applied subjects and a lack of knowledge regarding updated technological innovations that are already introduced in the business world. The PAVEs programme (Profesores Asociados Vinculados a Empresa, Adjunct Enterprise Professors) of the University of Valladolid offers an improvement in the preparation of engineers, representing an effective solution to the exposed problems. It complements engineering curricula including industry-driven knowledge imparted by industry professionals. Many years of research and implementation experiences of the PAVEs program approve a methodology that works and enhances the performance of engineering students. The obtained results show that both students and companies participating are highly satisfied with the experience.