Analysis of the effect of a new process control agent technique on the mechanical milling process using a neural network model: Measurement and modeling

In this study, a new process control agent (PCA) technique called as gradual process control agent technique was developed and the new technique was compared with conventional process control agent technique. In addition, a neural network (ANN) approach was presented for the prediction of effect of gradual process control agent technique on the mechanical milling process. The structural evolution and morphology of powders were investigated using SEM and particle size analyzer techniques. The experimental results were used to train feed forward and back propagation learning algorithm with two hidden layers. The four input parameters in the proposed ANN were the milling time, the gradual PCA content, previous PCA content and gradual PCA content. The particle size was the output obtained from the proposed ANN. By comparing the predicted values with the experimental data it is demonstrated that the ANN is a useful, efficient and reliable method to determine the effect of gradual process control agent technique on the mechanical milling process.     

Control of buoyancy-induced temperature and flow fields with an embedded adiabatic thin plate in porous triangular cavities

Natural convection has been performed in an insulated horizontally thin plate embedded in a triangular enclosure filled with fluid saturated porous medium, numerically. Bottom and inclined wall of triangular enclosure are isothermally heated and cooled, respectively. Vertical wall of enclosure is adiabatic. Steady, two-dimensional, laminar governing equations, which are written with Darcy model, were solved with finite-difference method. Calculations are conducted for different lengths and locations of thin plate, different aspect ratios, and Darcy-modified Rayleigh number. Prandtl number was chosen as 0.71. It is observed that the change on plate location in vertical and horizontal axes makes small effect on heat transfer; however flow field and temperature distribution strongly affected from these parameters.     

Natural convection in a vertically divided square enclosure by a solid partition into air and water regions

Numerical analyses of the flow and heat transfer due to buoyancy forces in a square enclosure divided by an impermeable partition between air and water filled chests were carried out using a finite difference technique. The enclosure was heated from left wall and cooled from right, isothermally. Horizontal walls were adiabatic. The partition divided the enclosure into air and water regions. Thus, two cases were examined: left side of partition was filled with air and right side was filled with water (Case I, air-partition-water) and left side was filled with water and right side with air (Case II, water-partition-air). Epoxy was chosen as partition material. Results were obtained for different Grashof numbers (10³  Gr  10⁶), thickness of the partition (0.05  ε  0.2) and location of the partition (0.25  c  0.75). An analytical treatment has been performed for low Grashof numbers. Numerical and analytical results gave an acceptable agreement. It was found that filling of fluid into chests is important for obtaining maximum heat transfer and energy saving. When left chest was filled with air (Case I), higher heat transfer was formed. It was an interesting result that heat transfer decreased with increasing of location of the partition for all values of partition thickness at Case I. On the contrary, heat transfer was a decreasing function of increasing value of location of the partition.     

Entropy production due to free convection in partially heated isosceles triangular enclosures

A numerical analysis of the entropy production has been performed due to natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow in isosceles triangular enclosures with partially heated from below and symmetrically cooled from sloping walls. Governing equations are solved by finite difference method. Governing parameters on flow and temperature fields are Rayleigh number (10³  Ra  8.8 × 10⁵), dimensionless length of heater (0.25  (ℓ′ = ℓ/L)  1.0), dimensionless location of heater (0.25  (c′ = c/L)  0.75) and inclination angle of slopping walls (30°  β  60°). Heat transfer results are presented in terms of local and mean Nusselt numbers (Nu) while entropy production results are shown with entropy production number (N_s) and Bejan number (Be). Isotherms, streamlines, contours of entropy production due to heat transfer and fluid friction irreversibility are plotted. It is observed that entropy production number increases but Bejan number decreases with increasing of Rayleigh number. However, both entropy production due to heat transfer and fluid friction irreversibility are affected by higher inclination angle of triangle and length of heater.     

Visualization of natural convection heat transport using heatline method in porous non-isothermally heated triangular cavity

Natural convection heat transfer in a porous media filled and non-isothermally heated from the bottom wall of triangular enclosure is analyzed using finite difference technique. Darcy law was used to write equations of porous media. Dimensionless heatfunction was used to visualize the heat transport due to buoyancy forces. Three different boundary conditions were applied for the vertical and inclined boundaries of triangular enclosures as Case I; both vertical and inclined walls were isothermal, Case II; vertical wall was adiabatic and inclined one was isothermal, Case III; vertical wall is isothermal and inclined one is adiabatic. A cosine function was utilized to get non-isothermal wall condition. The study was performed for different aspect ratios (0.25 ? AR ? 1.0) and Darcy-modified Rayleigh numbers (100 ? Ra ? 1000). It was observed that heat transfer enhancement was formed when vertical and inclined walls were isothermal while bottom wall was at non-uniform temperature. Heat transfer from bottom wall did not vary when the value of aspect ratio was higher than 0.50. In addition, heatline visualization technique was a useful technique for non-isothermally heated and porous media filled triangular enclosures.     

Natural convection flow in porous enclosures with heating and cooling on adjacent walls and divided by a triangular massive partition

The problem of steady, laminar, natural convection flow in a porous enclosure divided by a triangular massive partition has been formulated. The massive triangular partition is a solid adiabatic body which is located to the right and top wall. Bottom and left vertical wall of porous enclosure are isothermally heated and cooled, respectively. Remaining wall is adiabatic. Governing equations using Darcy model are solved numerically by the finite-difference method and the Successive Under Relaxation (SUR) technique is used to solve linear algebraic equations. Thanks to massive partition, two different enclosure are formed, depends on dimensions of the triangular body, as triangle and trapezoidal. Flow patterns and temperature distributions were presented at different aspect ratios (0 ≤ AR ≤ 1) and Rayleigh numbers (100 ≤ Ra ≤ 1000). Results are given for different aspect ratios (AR) for AR = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1. A parametric study is conducted and a set of representative results for flow and temperature characteristics are presented and discussed.     

Determination of material parameters of a viscoplastic model by genetic algorithm

Macroscopic (continuum) and microscopic models, used for simulation of material behaviors under different loading conditions, contain a large number of material parameters and determination of these parameters is an important and difficult issue in the modeling. The aim of this work essentially deals with parameter determination procedure of any viscoplasticity model. In this study, genetic algorithm (GA) parameter optimization procedure has been proposed to determine material parameters of viscoplastic models. Parameter determination capability of the GA optimization method was tested by using VBO model which one of the viscoplasticity theory with no yield surface and loading–unloading conditions. Fourteen material parameters of VBO model are determined using uniaxial loading–unloading stress strain curves of high density polyethylene (HDPE). Using these material parameters, creep and relaxation behaviors of HDPE are simulated. A good match with experimental results is obtained. Apart from many existing studies in the literature, GA optimization procedure is applied to determine material parameters instead of trial and error procedure. This method can also be used to determine materials parameters of other viscoplasticity theories for all kinds of materials.     

Voronoi diagrams with barriers and on polyhedra for minimal path planning

Two generalizations of the Voronoi diagram in two dimensions (E²) are presented in this paper. The first allows impenetrable barriers that the shortest path must go around. The barriers are straight line segments that may be combined into polygons and even mazes. Each region of the diagram delimits a set of points that have not only the same closest existing point, but have the same topology of shortest path. The edges of this diagram, which has linear complexity in the number of input points and barrier lines, may be hyperbolic sections as well as straight lines. The second construction considers the Voronoi diagram on the surface of a convex polyhedron, given a set of fixed source points on it. Each face is partitioned into regions, such that the shortest path to any goal point in a given region from the closest fixed source point travels over the same sequence of faces to the same closest point.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants ECS-8021504 and ECS-8351942. The second author is also supported in part by a Fulbright scholarship