Emergy account for biomass resource exploitation by agriculture in China

On the basis of Odum's ecological economic measure of emergy as embodied solar energy, a system account of biomass resource exploitation by agriculture in China 2004 is developed in this paper, which supplements a former study on corresponding long-term historical trends during 1978 to 2000 (Chen et al., 2006. Emergy-based analysis of the Chinese agriculture. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 115, 161–173). The aggregate fluxes and indicators for biomass resource exploitation in China 2004 are calculated and illustrated when compared with those for 2000 to elucidate the latest status of the Chinese agriculture as the exploitation sector for biomass resource. Data sources and algorithm are presented in detail as basic references for related analysis involving the ecological economy of biomass exploitation in agriculture.     

Estimation of the Substrate Concentration Profiles in Petroleum Pipelines Containing Biofilms

In industrial systems, the formation of biofilms can cause many problems, such as an increase in the flow resistance of pipelines, energy losses in fluid transport and heat exchangers, product contamination, materials deterioration, and biocorrosion. As a result, biofilms contribute substantially to economic losses in the industry. Corrosion is particularly an issue in the petroleum industry and its implications range from down-hole completion through petroleum processing units. Much of this corrosion is attributed to microbial activities. This paper proposes a mathematical model for predicting substrate concentration for such microbial growth. Substrate concentrations in the system and near the biofilm surface are one of the parameters that has a great effect in determining the extent of the problems associated with biofilms. In this study, a convective-diffusion model under various flow conditions (stagnant, laminar, and turbulent) has been solved using the finite difference technique, employing the alternating direction implicit (ADI) method. The model assumes that a liquid containing substrate and bacteria is flowing in a pipeline with known concentrations at the inlet and then predicts the variation of the transient (as a function of time) substrate concentration along the pipeline and as a function of the pipe radius. The model is then used to predict and estimate the substrate concentration profiles on the biofilm surface under different environmental conditions. A parametric study was also conducted to study the effect of the different parameters influencing the substrate concentration profiles in the system and on the biofilm surface.     

Hybrid gas-to-particle conversion and chemical vapor deposition for the production of porous alumina films

Porous alumina films can be found in a wide variety of materials, including filters, thermal insulation components, dielectrics, biomedical and catalyst supports, coatings and adsorbents. Production methods for these films are as equally diverse as their applications. In this work, a hybrid process based upon chemical vapor deposition and gas-to-particle conversion is presented as an alternative technique for producing porous alumina films, with the main advantages of solvent-free, low substrate-temperature operation. In this process, nanoparticles were produced in the vapor phase by reaction of aluminum acetylacetonate in the presence of oxygen. Downstream of this reaction zone, these nanoparticles were collected via thermophoresis onto a cooled substrate, forming a porous film. Some deposited films were subjected to post-processing in the form of annealing in air. Fourier-transform infrared spectra and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis confirmed the production of alumina at processing temperatures above 973 K. X-Ray diffraction revealed that the films were amorphous. Film thickness, ranging from 30 to 250 μm, and the average deposition rate were determined from scanning electron microscopy results. From transmission electron microscopy, the average primary particle size was determined to be approximately 18 nm and the formation of nanoparticle aggregates was evident. Annealing of the films at temperatures ranging from 523 to 1173 K in the presence of air did not have an effect on particle size. The specific surface area of the powder composing the films ranged from 10 to 185 m² g⁻¹, as determined from nitrogen gas adsorption by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method.     

Variations in Spectral Slope in Lake Taihu,a Large Subtropical Shallow Lake in China

Spectral slope (S), describing the exponential decrease of the absorption spectrum over a given wavelength range, is an important parameter in the study of of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) dynamics, and also an essential input parameter in remote sensing models. Furthermore, S is often used as a proxy for CDOM composition, including the ratio of fulvic to humic acids and molecular weight. The relative broad range in S values reported in the literature can be explained by the different spectral ranges and fitting methods used. A single exponential model is used to fit the S values for 17 investigations involving 458 samples in Lake Taihu from January to October in 2004. The average S value was 15.18 ± 1.39 μm⁻¹ for the range of 280–500 nm, which fell within the range reported in the literature. The frequency distribution of S value basically obeyed a normal distribution. Significant differences in S values between summer and other seasons showed that phytoplankton degradation was one of the important sources of CDOM in summer, whereas CDOM mainly came from the river input in other seasons. Furthermore, the estimated S value decreased with increasing wavelength range used in regression. The maximum and minimum values derived from the regression were 17.89 ± 1.25 μm⁻¹ and 13.62 ± 2.11 μm⁻¹ for the wavelength ranges of 280–380 nm and 400–500 nm, respectively, a decrease of 23.9%. S values significantly decreased with the increase of CDOM absorption coefficients. CDOM absorption coefficients could be more appropriately estimated from exponential model introducing the variation of S with absorption coefficients, making them useful for a remote sensing bio-optical model of Lake Taihu. DOC-specific absorption coefficient a*(λ) and the parameter M describing molecular size of the humic molecules could also be used as a proxy for the sources and types of CDOM. A general relationship was found between S and a*(λ), and M values. S increased with the decrease of DOC-specific absorption coefficient and the increase of M corresponding to the decrease of molecular weight.     

Interweaving genetic programming and genetic algorithm for structural and parametric optimization in adaptive platform product customization

An adaptive product platform offers high customizability for generating feasible product variants for customer requirements. Customization takes place not only to product platform structure but also to its relevant parameters. Structural and parametric optimization processes are interwoven with each other to achieve the total optimality. This paper presents an evolutionary method dealing with interwoven structural and parametric optimization of adaptive platform product customization. The method combines genetic programming and genetic algorithm for handling structural and parametric optimization, respectively. Efficient genetic representation and operation schemes are carefully adapted. While designing these schemes, features specific to structural and parameter customization are considered for the simplification of platform product management. The experimental results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm outperforms that of the tandem evolutionary algorithm in which a genetic algorithm for parametric optimization is totally nested in a genetic programming for structural optimization.     

On the behavior of microstructures with multiple length scales

The current study aims to provide fundamental insight into the behavior of microstructures containing grain sizes that span multiple length scales. A commercial 5083 Al alloy was selected as the material of interest to facilitate comparison with recently published data. The materials studied here were prepared via the thermal consolidation of powders that were cryomilled for different times (i.e., 0, 2, 4, and 8 hours). Following consolidation, the resultant microstructure was characterized by an equiaxed grain morphology with a size distribution centered around 200∼300 nm. Dispersed among the 200- to 300-nm grains were coarse-grained regions or ligaments with a grain size ranging from 600 nm to 2 μm. The occurrence of coarse-grained regions is rationalized on the basis of recrystallization or subgrain coarsening, whereas the occurrence of equiaxed fine regions is proposed to be a result of continuous grain growth. Two types of microstructures were selected for study, containing coarse-grained volumes of approximately 28 pct and 43 pct that corresponded to an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 566 MPa and 535 MPa, and a fracture strain of 3.2 pct and 3.5 pct, respectively. The observed ductility and the relevant toughening mechanisms were discussed in light of the presence of multiple length scales.     

Fatigue crack propagation properties from small sized rod specimens

Mechanical properties characterization is needed in many industrial applications yet sufficient amount of material for fabricating standard-sized testing specimens is often not available. Techniques for testing miniaturized specimen must be adopted. Much effort has been made to develop techniques for impact, fracture toughness and tensile properties of sub-sized specimens. Work on the testing of fatigue properties is more limited. In this study, fatigue crack propagation behavior is evaluated from the growth of surface crack in a cylindrical rod under tension. Rods of various lengths and diameters were tested. As the size of the rod specimen is reduced, the fatigue crack growth rate tends to increase when correlated using the stress intensity factor range. This increase is explained largely by the decrease in the degree of premature crack closure in the small specimens. Valid fatigue crack growth data can be obtained among the specimens examined except on the crack growth on the surface of the smallest specimen, which has a length of 26 mm and diameter of 8 mm. Even so, valid data can still be elucidated on the latter specimen if the interior growth is considered. The dimensions of the latter specimen allow fatigue properties to be evaluated using broken remnants from impact or other test specimens.     

La doping effects on intergrowth Bi2WO6–Bi3TiNbO9 ferroelectrics

La doping effects on intergrowth Bi₂WO₆–Bi₃TiNbO₉ ferroelectric ceramics were studied by X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis and dielectric spectroscopy. It was found that the La³⁺ distribution, ferroelectric phase transition and dielectric relaxation behavior are apparently affected by La doping. With increasing La³⁺ content, the site of dopant ion varies, the grain growth of Bi₅TiNbWO₁₅ is restrained, the Curie temperature is reduced and broadened. Furthermore, two dielectric relaxation loss peaks were observed both in temperature and frequency spectra. The calculated relaxation parameters revealed the oxygen vacancy related to the relaxation process.     

Mechanical properties of iron processed by severe plastic deformation

In the present study, the mechanical properties of Fe processed via severe plastic deformation (equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP)) at room temperature were investigated for the first time. The grain size of annealed Fe, with an initial grain size of about 200 μm, was reduced drastically during ECAP. After eight passes, the grain size reaches 200 to 400 nm, as documented by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The value of microhardness during pressing increases 3 times over that of the starting material after the first pass and increases slightly during subsequent pressing for higher-purity Fe. Examination of the value of microhardness after eight passes as a function of post-ECAP annealing temperature shows a transition from recovery to recrystallization, an observation that resembles the behavior reported for heavily deformed metals and alloys. The tensile and compression behaviors were examined. In tension, a drop in the engineering stress-engineering strain curve beyond maximum load was observed both in the annealed Fe and the ECAP Fe. This drop is related to the neck deformation. The fracture surface, examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), shows vein patterns, which is different from the dimples found on the fracture surface of annealed Fe. In compression, an initial strain-hardening region followed by a no-strain-hardening region was observed in the ECAP Fe. The yield strength in tension of the ECAP Fe was observed to be higher than that in compression. The strengthening mechanisms and softening behavior are discussed.