The use of Kachkanar raw materials in the smelting of conversion pig iron

The Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combine has periodically used Kachkanar agglomerate to make conversion pig iron since 1972. Use of this material reached a peak in 1998, when it comprised an average of 27.1% of the charge. In some months, the amount of this material charged into the furnace reached highs of 45.6 and 74.1% on certain furnaces. The coolers on the iron notches of furnaces 4 and 5 burned during that year, the quality of the smelting products and the condition of the ladles rapidly deteriorated, and the smelting rate declined. No Kachkanar agglomerate was used in 2000–2001, but it was again added to the charge in February 2002. The amount used was smaller than previously, averaging 10.7% for the shop as a whole. It was determined that using a charge with 15% Kachkanar agglomerate has both positive and negative consequences. N. N. Gorshkov, A. V. Denisov, and V. Kh. Barinov also participated in this study. __________ Translated from Metallurg, No. 3, pp. 43–45, March, 2006.     

Atomistic simulations of grain boundary migration in copper

While the motion of twist boundaries can be readily studied by atomistic simulations with molecular dynamics (MD) under the action of an elastic driving force, the approach fails for tilt boundaries. This is due to the interaction of the elastic stress with the grain boundary (GB) structure, which causes plastic strain by GB sliding. A novel concept, the orientation correlated driving force, is introduced to circumvent this problem. It is shown that this concept can be successfully applied to the study of the migration of tilt boundaries. The migration behavior of several twist and tilt GBs was investigated. The transition from low-to high-angle boundaries can be captured, and a structural transition of tilt boundaries was found at high temperatures, which also affected the migration behavior. The results compare well with experimental results of the motion high-angle boundaries, but for low-angle boundaries, the agreement is poor. This article is based on a presentation made in the “Hillert Symposium on Thermodynamics & Kinetics of Migrating Interfaces in Steels and Other Complex Alloys,” December 2–3, 2004, organized by The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.     

Co-digestion of ruminal content and blood from slaughterhouse industries: influence of solid concentration and ammonium generation.

At the present time, organic solid wastes from industries and agricultural activities are considered to be promising substrates for biogas production via anaerobic digestion. Moreover solids stabilisation is required before reutilization or disposal. Slaughterhouses are among the most important industries in Uruguay and produce 150,000 tons of ruminal content (RC) and 30,000 tons of blood per year. In order to determine the influence of the solids and blood contents, the ammonia inhibition and the inoculum adaptation co-digestion batch tests were performed. A set of experiences with TS concentration of 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% and different ratios of RC/blood were carried out using an inoculum from an UASB reactor. In all experiences fast blood hydrolisation was observed. A higher methane production was detected in the experiences with higher TS content. However, the fraction of solids degradation was lower in these experiences. A plateau in the biogas production was found. The free ammonia level, which was above the reported inhibitory levels, could explain this behaviour. After the inhibition period the biogas production restarted probably due to the biomass acclimatisation to the ammonia. In order to determine the inoculum adaptation a new experiment was performed. The inoculum used was the sludge coming from the first set of experiences. Based upon batch tests a 3.5 m3 pilot reactor was designed and started up. Ammonia inhibition was avoided by the start-up strategy and in two weeks the biogas production was 3.5 m3/d. The VS stabilisation with a solid retention time of 20 days was of 43%. The pilot reactor working at steady state had a TS concentration of 3-4% with a ratio of RC/blood of 10:1 at the entrance.     

Production of compounded asphalts of improved quality

Paving-and roofing-grade asphalts were obtained at LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez Ltd. by mixing peroxidized asphalt and a number of high-boiling unoxidized petroleum products in certain ratios. The asphalts obtained have improved performance characteristics: high plasticity and low brittleness temperature. __________ Translated from Khimiya i Tekhnologiya Topliv i Masel, No. 2, pp. 26–28, May–June, 2006.     

Beneficial effects of wettability altering surfactants in oil-wet fractured reservoirs

In fractured reservoirs, an effective matrix-fracture mass transfer is required for oil recovery. Surfactants have long been considered for oil recovery enhancement, mainly in terms of their ability to reduce oil–water interfacial tension. These surfactants are effective when the fractured formations are water-wet, where capillary imbibition of surfactants from the fracture into the matrix contributes to oil recovery. However, another beneficial aspect of surfactants, namely their ability to alter wettability, remains to be explored and exploited. Surfactants capable of altering wettability can be especially beneficial in oil-wet fractured formations, where the surfactant in the fracture diffuses into the matrix and alters the wettability, enabling imbibition of even more surfactant into the matrix. This sequential process of initial diffusion followed by imbibition continues well into the matrix yielding significant enhancements in oil recovery.In order to test this hypothesis of sequential diffusion–imbibition phenomenon, Dual-Drop Dual-Crystal (DDDC) contact angle experiments have been conducted using fractured Yates dolomite reservoir fluids, two types of surfactants (nonionic and anionic) and dolomite rock substrates. A new experimental procedure was developed in which crude oil equilibrated with reservoir brine has been exposed to surfactant to simulate the matrix-fracture interactions in fractured reservoirs. This procedure enables the measurements of dynamic contact angles and oil–water interfacial tensions, in addition to providing the visual observations of the dynamic behavior of crude oil trapped in the rock matrix as it encounters the diffusing surfactant from the fractures. Both the measurements and visual observations indicate wettability alterations of the matrix surface from oil-wet to less oil-wet or intermediate wet by the surfactants. Thus this study is of practical importance to oil-wet fractured formations where surfactant-induced wettability alterations can result in significant oil recovery enhancements. In addition, this study has also identified the need to include contact angle term in the dimensionless Bond number formulations for better quantitative interpretation of rock–fluids interactions.     

Optimal control of the effects from industrial transportation on the environment

The paper discusses optimal control of ecosystem state for observation of a generalized monotonically varying random parameter. A model is proposed for the controlled vector random process, whose components are assigned acceptable ranges and the observations are performed discretely. __________ Translated from Khimicheskoe i Neftegazovoe Mashinostroenie, No. 6, pp. 40–44, June, 2006.     

软交换与3G网络互通关键技术分析

就软交换网络和WCDMAR4网络互通的关键技术进行了分析和探讨，并借此提出了对互通节点的技术要求。     

Adaptive viewpoints for co-browsing on heterogeneous devices

Co-browsing is an activity in which a group of users navigate their way through of a set of Web pages together for a shared purpose. Effective co-browsing among users with different device capabilities requires a shared understanding of those Web pages. This paper demonstrates the concept of shared viewpoints (SVPs), and personal viewpoints (PVPs), for co-browsing, before detailing a framework for implementing these concepts. Finally, the effectiveness of the framework is presented through a perceptual experiment.     

Design of a retention tank: comparison of stormwater quality models with various levels of complexity.

Stormwater quality simulation models are useful tools for the design and management of sewer systems. Modelling results are highly sensitive to experimental data used for calibration. This sensitivity is examined for three modelling approaches of various complexities (site mean concentration approach, event mean concentration approach and build-up, washoff and transport modelling approach) applied to a typical case study (design of a dry detention tank), accounting for the variability of calibration data and their effect on simulation results. Calibrated models with different calibration data sets were used to simulate 3 years of rainfall with different retention tank specific volumes. Annual pollutant load interception efficiencies were determined. Simulations results revealed (i) that there is no advantage in using the EMC model compared to the SMC model and (ii) that the BWT model resulted in higher design ratios than those given by the SMC/hydraulic approach. For both EMC and BWT models, using an increasing number n of events for calibration leads to narrower confidence intervals for the design ratios. It is crucial for design ratios to account for successive storm events in chronological order and to account for the maximum allowable flow to be transferred to the downstream WWTP.     

The Farmer, the Fairies, and the Computers

Using a temporary substitution of format, the author offers a fairy tale to demonstrate that we can’t expect understanding when computers take the place of humans in our interactions with service providers.