Use of expert systems in the design of thermal equipment and processes

A study has been carried out on the use of knowledge-based computer-aided design methodology for the design of thermal systems. An expert system is developed using a Prolog-based front end, where the design rules, material databases, computational procedures, and the relevant expert knowledge are implemented. A combination of quantitative and heuristic inputs are employed in the design process. The basic approach employs an iterative redesign strategy, starting with an initial design obtained from the available knowledge base, and the design parameters are iteratively varied until the specified design rules and constraints are satisfied. The general approach can be employed for a variety of thermal systems. The application to a practical system is demonstrated by the design of an electrical furnace used in the thermal processing of materials. The results from the numerical simulation and design of this system are presented to indicate the basic features and the versatility of the expert system.     

Laboratory investigation of an amplitude comparator baseddirectional comparison digital protection scheme

A directional comparison digital protection scheme has been implemented with a 16-b single-board computer at each end of a physical model of a transmission line, with communication between the two ends. The protection algorithm makes use of the fundamental frequency components of the deviation signals of the voltage and phase-shifted current. Software routines have been developed for fault monitoring, directional determination, and the trip/block decision. Graphics features incorporated in the software are explained. Tests for various faults conducted on the physical model of a double-circuit transmission line show that the direction to a fault is determined in 3 to 7 ms. The blocking features of the relay are demonstrated     

Method for testing sliding frictional response of lubricious thin films used in plastic medical syringes

Lubricious thin films are used in plastic medical syringes in order to reduce the frictional forces between the syringe barrel and the rubber plunger. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) liquid films are the current accepted technology for reducing the friction forces in plastic medical syringes. However, major issues with these PDMS films exist, including interactions of the film with the stored injectable drugs and variations in the frictional response as the syringes are aged over time. A new silicon based, lubricious octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (L-OMCTS) thin film solid lubricant has been developed as a replacement for PDMS that provides acceptable and stable frictional responses without interacting with injectable drugs. A novel test method has been developed that can be used to successfully characterise the sliding frictional response of the L-OMCTS thin films at the syringe barrel and plunger interface. This test method will be used to provide future insight into how the frictional response of the L-OMCTS thin films is affected by various system parameters. This paper will mainly discuss the design of this new test method and provide some preliminary frictional response data.     

Effect of Ozone Pretreatment on Biodegradability Enhancement and Biogas Generation Potential From Biomethanated Distillery Effluent

The study evaluates the effect of ozone pretreatment on biodegradability enhancement of biomethanated distillery effluent. Results revealed that ozone pretreatment led to biodegradability index (BI = BOD/COD) enhancement up to 0.58 along with COD, color and toxicity reduction of up to 33%, 25% and 40%, respectively. Anaerobic digestion of pretreated effluent resulted in favorable biogas generation with methane content, yield and COD reduction of up to 62%, 39 mL/g COD and 57%, respectively. Kinetics of biogas generation determined by modified Gompertz model indicated methane production potential and production rate of 48.08 mL/g COD and 8.085 mL/g COD.day respectively under optimal conditions.     

Effects of gating design on structural and mechanical properties of high manganese steel by optimizing casting process parameters

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - The impacts of gating design and riser system on structure-property relationship of high manganese steel specimens produced by CO2 sand molding...     

Phase-Field Modeling of Sigma-Phase Precipitation in 25Cr7Ni4Mo Duplex Stainless Steel

Phase-field modeling is used to simulate the formation of sigma phase in a model alloy mimicking a commercial super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) alloy, in order to study precipitation and growth of sigma phase under linear continuous cooling. The so-called Warren–Boettinger–McFadden (WBM) model is used to build the basis of the multiphase and multicomponent phase-field model. The thermodynamic inconsistency at the multiple junctions associated with the multiphase formulation of the WBM model is resolved by means of a numerical Cut-off algorithm. To make realistic simulations, all the kinetic and the thermodynamic quantities are derived from the CALPHAD databases at each numerical time step, using Thermo-Calc and TQ-Interface. The credibility of the phase-field model is verified by comparing the results from the phase-field simulations with the corresponding DICTRA simulations and also with the empirical data. 2D phase-field simulations are performed for three different cooling rates in two different initial microstructures. A simple model for the nucleation of sigma phase is also implemented in the first case. Simulation results show that the precipitation of sigma phase is characterized by the accumulation of Cr and Mo at the austenite-ferrite and the ferrite-ferrite boundaries. Moreover, it is observed that a slow cooling rate promotes the growth of sigma phase, while a higher cooling rate restricts it, eventually preserving the duplex structure in the SDSS alloy. Results from the phase-field simulations are also compared quantitatively with the experiments, performed on a commercial 2507 SDSS alloy. It is found that overall, the predicted morphological features of the transformation and the composition profiles show good conformity with the empirical data.

     

Spectral and kinetic characterization of orange-red emitting Sr3Al2O6:Eu/Smphosphor

We report, for the first time Sm³⁺ doped nanocrystalline Sr₃Al₂O₆ phosphor. Effect of Eu³⁺ doping in the present host is also studied. XRD results match with standard data from JCPDS file confirming cubic structure with Pa3 space group. PL Maximum for Eu/Sm is obtained at 590 nm and 573 nm respectively, and corresponds to orange-red region of electromagnetic spectrum. Morphology of combustion synthesized powder is platelet, while for calcined powders, cubic shaped crystallites are obtained. Information on various trapping parameters is obtained from thermally stimulated Luminescence (TSL) studies. Non-shifting T_m property is applied to define the order of kinetics and is thereafter assumed as 1. T_m − T_stop procedure and repeated initial rise method are applied to estimate apparent activation energies and peak positions. Further, chi-square minimization procedures via computerized glow curve deconvolution (CGCD) technique provide best-fit results. The figure of merit for deconvoluted Eu and Sm doped samples are 0.48% and 0.67% respectively. The apparent activation energies for Eu doped samples are 0.89 eV, 1.05 eV, 1.30 eV, while, for Sm doped samples, the activation energies are 0.84 eV and 1.06 eV. Persistence behavior of the present phosphor is attributed to contribution due to shorter and longer components as are obtained during phosphorescence decay studies. In both the cases; probability of recombination is more in comparison to the retrapping within a quasi continuous framework of trapping sites.     

A Study of the Thallium- and Bismuth-based High-temperature Superconductors in the Framework of the Generalized BCS Equations

Presented here in the framework of the generalized BCS equations??which are based on multiple phonon exchanges for the formation of Cooper pairs (CPs)??is continuation of a study carried out earlier for MgB₂ Nb₃Sn and YBCO. Addressed now are the principal members of the Tl- and Bi-based high-T _c superconductors. For any of these, with the input of any two parameters from the set {critical temperature, two gaps}, and the Debye temperature, it is shown that one can calculate the remaining parameter. This is similar to what normal BCS equations achieve for a simple superconductor. Further, we show that these equations lead to upper bounds on the gap- and the T _c -values of a HTSC, beyond which one must invoke 2/3-phonon mechanism for the formation of CPs. Our considerations suggest the interesting possibility that senior members of the said families of cuprates may be three-gap SCs.