Investigation on thermal radiation spectra of coal ash deposits

This paper deals with thermal radiation properties of ash deposits on a pulverized coal boiler of an electric power plant. Normal emittance spectra in the 2.5–25 μm interval, and total normal emittance, were measured on 4 kinds of ash layers of a mm magnitude order thickness, at 560 → 1460 → 560 K in heating and cooling. It was found that ash powder layers are opaque for infrared radiation. The emittance increases with ash radiation wavelength and temperature. Ash powder is sintered and fused above 1200 K. The emittance of the sintered layer is above that of the unsintered layer. The authors propose, and explain by an example, correlating the experimentally obtained emittance spectra of ash deposits with a continuous curve, the formula of which defines the dependence of emittance on wavelength and temperature, i.e. ε = ε(λ,Т). Use of this formula, with parameter values determined by the proposed methodology, may greatly simplify the practical application of the experimentally determined emittances in the thermal design of existing and new steam boiler furnaces.     

Effect of substrate roughness on the contact damage of thin brittle films on brittle substrates

The effect of substrate and surface roughness on the contact fracture of diamond-like carbon coatings on brittle soda-lime glass substrates has been investigated. The average surface roughness (R_a) of the examined samples ranged from 15 nm to 571 nm. Contact damage was simulated by means of spherical nanoindentation, and fracture was subsequently assessed by focused ion beam microscopy. It was found that, in the absence of sub-surface damage in the substrate, fracture occurs in the coating in the form of radial, and ring/cone cracks during loading, and lateral cracks during unloading. Increasing the surface roughness results in a decrease in the critical load for crack initiation during loading, and in the suppression of fracture modes during unloading from high loads. When sub-surface damage (lateral cracks) is present in the substrate, severe spalling takes place during loading, causing a large discontinuity in the load-displacement curve. The results have implications concerning the design of damage-tolerant coated systems consisting of a brittle film on a brittle substrate.     

Effects of nutrient supplementation on fermentation kinetics, H2S evolution, and aroma profile in Verdicchio DOC wine production

Different yeast nutrient additions were studied for the 2008 and 2009 vintages of Verdicchio grape juice fermentation. Addition of yeast derivatives at the beginning of fermentation and/or different amounts of diammonium phosphate at various times within the first half of fermentation were examined, with initial yeast assimilable nitrogen concentrations set at 200 and 250 mg l^?1. Supplementation with glutathione in combination with this nitrogen addition was also evaluated. Fermentation rates were monitored throughout these fermentations carried out under different nutrient conditions. H₂S production during fermentation and synthesis of volatile compounds in the finished wines were quantified; the wines also underwent sensory evaluation. The fermentation kinetics were almost exclusively influenced by the inorganic nitrogen supplementation with diammonium phosphate. H₂S evolution was more affected by assimilable nitrogen than glutathione. Diammonium phosphate significantly reduced H₂S production, with a further reduction in the presence of yeast derivative. This nitrogen supplementation yielded higher concentrations of acetate esters, and in particular of isoamyl acetate (fruity aromas), which positively influences the analytical and aroma profile of wines and results in a general reduction in 2-phenylethanol production (floral aromas). Overall results (two harvesting times and vintages) indicate that the management with diammonium phosphate and yeast derivative supplementation improves the kinetics of fermentation and provides a good tool to reduce H₂S formation and increase the analytical and sensory quality of Verdicchio wine.     

Authentication of organic and conventional eggs by carotenoid profiling

Organic production benefits from fair competition and sustained consumer confidence. The latter can only be assured by paper trailing and verification assessments. Traditional analytical strategies for guaranteeing quality and uncovering adulteration have relied on the determination of the amount of a marker compound or compounds in a material and a subsequent comparison of the value(s) obtained with those established for equivalent material. Since it is unlikely to find a unique marker that allows discrimination between organic and conventional produce, selective fingerprinting (profiling) combined with chemometrics is a more promising approach. In this study, carotenoid High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Diode Array Detection profiling combined with k-nearest neighbour classification chemometrics was used to predict the production system (organic vs. non-organic) of chicken eggs. A proof-of-concept set (training set for the model) was composed of eggs from 24 organic farms, 12 free range, and 12 barn farms in the Netherlands. The identities of organic, free range, and barn eggs were predicted with success rates of 100%, 100%, and 84%, respectively. The identity of eggs determined using an additional market test set with eggs from 12 organic, 12 free range, and 12 barn farms originating from the Netherlands and New Zealand resulted in correct classifications for 35 of the 36 samples. The results of this study indicate that this fingerprint approach is a promising tool for analytical verification of the production system of organic eggs.     

Order of complexity of rlc networks containing a reactive gyrator

Using a particular expansion of the network determinant, a simple formula is derived giving the total number of natural frequencies of a passive RLC network containing a reactive gyrator. The order of complexity is expressed in terms of the degrees of the polynomials in the gyration impedance and the alteration in the network topology due to gyrator embedding. Quantitative conditions for the order of complexity of the active network exceeding that of the network without the gyrator are obtained. Formulas are also derived for the number of zero and non-zero natural frequencies.     

剃齿工艺的现状及其与磨齿工艺的比较

分析了磨齿加工与剃齿加工各自的优势,比较了两种齿轮加工工艺的难度和成本;介绍了新一代的剃齿刀重磨机床的特点、剃齿的效果以及特殊的剃齿方法。     

Place Making for Knowledge Generation and Innovation: Planning and Branding Brisbane's Knowledge Community Precincts

Knowledge generation and innovation have been a priority for global city administrators particularly during the last couple of decades. This is mainly due to the growing consensus in identifying knowledge-based urban development as a panacea for burgeoning economic problems. Place making has become a critical element for success in knowledge-based urban development as planning and branding places is claimed to be an effective marketing tool for attracting investment and talent. This paper aims to investigate the role of planning and branding in place making by assessing the effectiveness of planning and branding strategies in the development of knowledge and innovation milieus. The methodology of the study comprises reviewing the literature thoroughly, developing an analysis framework, and using this framework to analyze Brisbane's knowledge community precincts—namely Boggo Road Knowledge Precinct, Kelvin Grove Urban Knowledge Village, and Sippy Downs Knowledge Town. The analysis findings generate invaluable insights into Brisbane's journey in place making for knowledge and innovation milieus and communities. The results suggest as much as good planning, branding strategies, and good practice, the requirements of external and internal conditions also need to be met for successful place making in knowledge community precincts.     

Biosorption of nickel ions from aqueous solutions by natural and modified peanut husks: equilibrium and kinetics

The toxicity and non‐biodegradation of heavy metals, as well as their tendency to accumulate in the soils, water resources and the living organisms, makes them the significant environmental pollutants. Therefore, the reduction and elimination of heavy metal ions from aqueous systems is very important from the ecological, nutritional and environmental reasons. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the natural peanut husks, an agricultural waste, and their chemically modified form are capable to remove Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions using batch method and to compare their efficiency. The effects of the mass of the natural peanut husks and the initial pH of the solution were studied to find the optimal conditions for maximal removal of Ni(II) ions. MATLAB/Curve Fitting Toolbox was implemented to determine the adequate adsorption isotherm as well as to optimise the equilibrium state of the investigated systems.     

Pre-processing of data coming from a laser-EMAT system for non-destructive testing of steel slabs

Non destructive test systems are increasingly applied in the industrial context for their strong potentialities in improving and standardizing quality control. Especially in the intermediate manufacturing stages, early detection of defects on semi-finished products allow their direction towards later production processes according to their quality, with consequent considerable savings in time, energy, materials and work. However, the raw data coming from non destructive test systems are not always immediately suitable for sophisticated defect detection algorithms, due to noise and disturbances which are unavoidable, especially in harsh operating conditions, such as the ones which are typical of the steelmaking cycle. The paper describes some pre-processing operations which are required in order to exploit the data coming from a non destructive test system. Such a system is based on the joint exploitation of Laser and Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducer technologies and is applied to the detection of surface and sub-surface cracks in cold and hot steel slabs.