Determination of interfacial energies of solid Sn solution in the In–Bi–Sn ternary alloy

The equilibrated grain boundary groove shapes of solid Sn solution (Sn-40.14 at.% In-16.11 at.% Bi) in equilibrium with the In–Bi–Sn liquid (In-21.23 at.% Bi-19.04 at.% Sn) were observed from the quenched sample at 59 °C. Gibbs–Thomson coefficient, solid–liquid interfacial energy and grain boundary energy of the solid Sn solution have been determined from the observed grain boundary groove shapes. The thermal conductivity of solid phase for In-21.23 at.% Bi-19.04 at.% Sn alloy and the thermal conductivity ratio of liquid phase to solid phase at the melting temperature have also been measured with radial heat flow apparatus and Bridgman type growth apparatus, respectively.     

Impact of impregnation with boron compounds on the surface hardness of varnished wood

This study was performed to determine the impact of impregnation with boron compounds on the surface hardness of varnished wood materials. For this purpose, test specimens prepared from Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) and oak (Quercus petreae Lipsky), which met the requirements of ASTM D 358, were impregnated according to ASTM D 1413 with boric acid and borax by a vacuum technique. After impregnation, the surfaces were coated by cellulosic, synthetic, polyurethane, waterborne, acrylic, and acid hardening varnishes in accordance with ASTM D 3023. The surface hardness of the specimens after the varnishing process was determined in accordance with ASTM D 4366. According to the wood type, impregnation material, and varnish type, the surface hardness was highest for the oak impregnated with borax and acrylic varnish and lowest for the oak impregnated with borax and synthetic varnish. Therefore, impregnation with boron compounds showed an increasing impact on the surface hardness of the varnished wood. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Coupling dynamic mesh technique and heuristic algorithms in 3‐D‐tapered wing design

In this study, Onera M6 wing has been optimized by two parameters, the wing section and the taper ratio, by combining the recent mostly preferable popular approaches, i.e. parallel computing and evolutionary techniques. For the 3‐D models, developed during the optimization stages, the mesh required has been generated by using dynamic mesh technique. The code developed for this is robust and faster than the codes that produce mesh only by classical techniques. An Euler flow solver (ACER3D) is used to obtain the flow parameters for each member. From the results, it is observed that the optimization process is working as expected. During the optimization process, the lift coefficient and the thickness ratio are tried to be maintained close to the design values determined at the beginning. The taper ratio becomes smaller and converges to a certain value, while the code tries to minimize the drag force. Additionally, this study can be used as a reference for 2‐D or 3‐D aerodynamic body optimization by using heuristic‐type algorithms, since all details are outlined, referenced, and interpreted with their advantages and disadvantages. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The performance analysis of a two‐stage transcritical CO2 cooling cycle with various gas cooler pressures

A theoretical analysis of a two‐stage transcritical CO₂ cooling cycle is presented. The effect of a two‐stage cycle with intercooling process on the system coefficient of cooling performance is presented for various gas cooler pressures. However, the performance comparison between one‐stage and two‐stage cycles is presented for same operating conditions. Gas cooler pressure, compressor isentropic efficiency, gas cooler efficiency, intercooling quantity and refrigerant outlet temperature from the gas cooler are used as variable parameters in the analysis. It is concluded that the performance of the two‐stage transcritical CO₂ cycle is approximately 30% higher than that of the one‐stage transcritical CO₂ cycle. Hence, the two‐stage compression and intercooling processes can be assumed as valuable applications to improve the transcritical CO₂ cycle performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Power quality analysis of wind farm connected to Alaçatı substation in Turkey

This paper presents simulation results and power quality measurements of a wind farm. The wound rotor induction generator at 600 kW is employed for power conversion in the wind energy conversion system (WECS). This induction machine is connected to the drive circuit via rotor terminals and speed control is carried out by means of chopper circuit. The model used in the package program is experimentally tested on the single machine drive system at 3.5 kW in the laboratory, after which the power quality issues of the wind farm are investigated by using the same model for 12 wind turbines in PSCAD.     

Hydrolysis and solubilization of corn gluten by Neutrase

Hydrolysis and solubilization of corn gluten were performed using a commercial protease preparation Neutrase. The effects of substrate concentration, enzyme concentration, temperature, pH and hydrolysate amount on the degree of hydrolysis and solubility of corn gluten were investigated depending on processing time. Trials were conducted in a batch reactor and degrees of hydrolysis were computed using a pH‐stat method. Results show that solubility and degree of hydrolysis were almost linearly related in all process conditions applied except in the case of hydrolysate addition. Optimum conditions for hydrolysis and solubilization were obtained as 10 g L^?1 protein concentration, 4 mL L^?1 enzyme concentration, 45 °C and pH 6.5. The mechanism of the kinetics was explained by taking into consideration association binding between the enzyme and substrate. The kinetics of hydrolysis and solubilization for all experiments performed were represented by exponential association equations that have not been used in the literature before. Also, to illustrate the effect of process variables on hydrolysis and solubilization, some modelling studies were performed. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Rectification of Oblique Cracks in Fracture Toughness Testing

A technique for rectification of oblique crack fronts is described. It involves out-of-plane bending fatigue loading of the specimens. The method can be valuable in cases when residual stresses or other causes precludes a straight crack front being produced by standard fatigue loading in the process of preparing specimens for fracture toughness testing. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.