Energy efficient surfaces on building sandwich panels—A dynamic simulation model

The choice of building envelope is critical for the energy performance of buildings. The major part of the energy used by a building during its lifetime is used for maintaining a suitable interior thermal climate under varying exterior conditions. Although exterior heat radiation properties (i.e. total solar reflectivity and long wave thermal emissivity) have been well accepted to have a large impact on the need for active cooling in warmer climate, the effect of a reduced thermal emissivity on interior surfaces on the building thermal energy flux is rarely studied. This paper addresses the sensitivity of the thermal energy flux through a sandwich panel, by systematically varying the surface thermal emissivity (both interior and exterior) and total solar reflectance of exterior surface, for three geographical locations: southern, middle and northern Europe. A model is introduced for calculating the effect of both interior and exterior optical properties of a horizontal roof panel in terms of net energy flux per unit area. The results indicate potential energy saving by the smart choice of optical properties of interior and exterior surfaces.     

Critical heat flux prediction by using radial basis function and multilayer perceptron neural networks: A comparison study

Critical heat flux (CHF) is an important parameter for the design of nuclear reactors. Although many experimental and theoretical researches have been performed, there is not a single correlation to predict CHF because it is influenced by many parameters. These parameters are based on fixed inlet, local and fixed outlet conditions. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been applied to a wide variety of different areas such as prediction, approximation, modeling and classification. In this study, two types of neural networks, radial basis function (RBF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP), are trained with the experimental CHF data and their performances are compared. RBF predicts CHF with root mean square (RMS) errors of 0.24%, 7.9%, 0.16% and MLP predicts CHF with RMS errors of 1.29%, 8.31% and 2.71%, in fixed inlet conditions, local conditions and fixed outlet conditions, respectively. The results show that neural networks with RBF structure have superior performance in CHF data prediction over MLP neural networks. The parametric trends of CHF obtained by the trained ANNs are also evaluated and results reported.     

Petri net approach to enumerate all simple paths in a graph

A technique utilising the concept of reachability in a Petri net is proposed to enumerate all simple paths between two specified nodes of a graph. It is simple and requires little computation.     

The standard molar enthalpy of formation of CdMoO4

The molar enthalpies of solution of CdMoO₄(s), CdO(s), Na₂ MoO₄(s) and NaF(s) in (10 mol HF(aq) + 4.41 mol H₂O₂(aq)) dm⁻³ have been measured using an isoperibol type calorimeter. From these results and other auxiliary data, the standard molar enthalpy of formation of CdMoO₄(s) has been calculated to be Δ_fH°(298.15 K) = −(1034.3 ± 5.7) kJ mol⁻¹. This value of enthalpy of formation of CdMoO₄(s) agrees well with the estimated enthalpy of formation of this compound. There is no other report on the thermodynamic property measurements on this compound.     

ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY AND SOURCE ROCK CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ZAGROS PETROLEUM PROVINCE, SOUTHWEST IRAN

The Zagros of SW Iran and its continuation into N Iraq forms the tectonised NE margin of the Middle East basin. Sedimentation in the Zagros began in the late Precambrian and continued with comparatively few interruptions until the Pliocene, when strong earth movements affected the area and gave rise to the present day large. elongated NW-SE trending structures. Some of the world's largest structurally-controlled oil fields are located in the Zagros. The most productive pay zone is the Oligo-Miocene Asmari Formation, although significant oil pools are present also in the Cenomanian-Turonian Sarvak limestone and in the Neocomian-Jurassic Khami Group carbonates. Recently, large gas deposits have been discovered in the Permo-Triassic carbonates assigned to the Deh Ram Group. Geochemical studies were carried out five potential source beds of Eocene-Palaeocene (Pabdeh Formation). Coniacian-Neocomian (Garau Formation) and Silurian (Ghakum Formation) age. The results showed that the organic matter in these formations is almost exclusively of marine algal origin, and that the Kazhdumi is the major source of the hydrocarbons in the Asmari and Sarvak reservoirs. The origin of the hydrocarbons in the Khami and Deh Ram reservoirs is at present speculative.     

ASPHALTENES IN SAUDI ARABIAN HEAVY CRUDE OIL SOLUBILITY AND MOLECULAR WEIGHTS IN HYDROCARBON SOLVENTS

The asphaltenes from Saudi Arabian Heavy crude oil residue ( 370°C+ ) were precipitated by adding n-alkane solvents ( n-C₅ to n-C ₁₀ ) to the crude oil / residue.     

Zooplankton population in the river tigris: Effects of samarra impoundment

The influences of the Samarra impoundment on the ecology of the downstream sector of the river Tigris are investigated. Zooplankton were collected monthly from July 1987 to July 1988. It was found that zooplankton were most abundant during high river discharges in March. During the month of low river discharge, September, the zooplankton population was greatly reduced immediately below the barrage and remained so to the last downstream station. Several factors seem to explain such differences. The high discharge from the impoundment was found to be the dominating factor and may flush the small backwaters in which zooplankton were abundant, thus increasing the population in the river. Zooplankton species vary in their ability to sustain populations in the river, variations which are due mainly to species-specific characteristics.     

Iris recognition and the challenge of homeland and border control security in UAE

This article discusses the implementation of iris recognition in improving the security of border control systems in the United Arab Emirates. The article explains the significance of the implemented solution and the advantages the government has gained to-date. The UAE deployment of iris recognition technology is currently the largest in the world, both in terms of number of Iris records enrolled (more than 840,751) and number of iris comparisons performed daily 6,225,761,155 (6.2 billion) in ‘all-against-all’ search mode.     

Biogenic amine content of boza: A traditional cereal-based, fermented Turkish beverage

Boza is a fermented beverage made from millet, maize, wheat or rice. Biogenic amine contents of 10 boza samples from different manufacturers in Turkey were analysed for the first time, using HPLC after derivatisation with benzoyl chloride. Of the 11 biogenic amines under study, putrescine, spermidine and tyramine were detected in all boza samples. Tyramine was the prevailing biogenic amine. Tyramine concentrations of boza samples were between 13 and 65 mg/kg. Total biogenic amine contents of boza samples were between 25 and 69 mg/kg. Consequently, consumption of boza might represent a health risk for patients being treated with drugs containing monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). The pH values of boza samples were in the range from 3.16 to 4.02; total dry matters were from 15.3% to 31.1% (w/w); protein contents were from 0.50% to 0.99% (w/w). No significant correlations were detected between biogenic amine concentrations and pH, protein content and total dry matter content.