The thermal and economic characteristics of solar air collectors with different delta turbulators arrangement

The benefits of using a solar air collector with different array delta turbulators absorber plate are experimentally investigated to assess this type of collector under western and middle of Iraq climate conditions. The solar collector was investigated with four different absorber plate in which flat plate, in‐line delta turbulators, staggered delta turbulators and inclined staggered delta turbulators with different mass airflow rate. The economic characteristics and overall thermal performance of the collector are compared with other heating systems. The major findings show that the delta turbulators enhance the economic characteristics and the overall thermal performance of collectors due to vortex generation and damping the development of the thermal boundary layer in the direction of airflow. A substantial enhancement is observed in lowering both life‐cycle cost and increasing energy saving with delta turbulators. This study will likewise provide a new direction to the work trend in western and middle of Iraq climate conditions during winter days.     

A breeding index to rank beef bulls for use on dairy females to maximize profit

The desire to increase profit on dairy farms necessitates consideration of the revenue attainable from the sale of surplus calves for meat production. However, the generation of calves that are expected to excel in efficiency of growth and carcass merit must not be achieved to the detriment of the dairy female and her ability to calve and re-establish pregnancy early postcalving without any compromise in milk production. Given the relatively high heritability of many traits associated with calving performance and carcass merit, and the tendency for many of these traits to be moderately to strongly antagonistic, a breeding index that encompasses both calving performance and meat production could be a useful tool to fill the void in supporting decisions on bull selection. The objective of the present study was to derive a dairy–beef index (DBI) framework to rank beef bulls for use on dairy females with the aim of striking a balance between the efficiency of valuable meat growth in the calf and the subsequent performance of the dam. Traits considered for inclusion in this DBI were (1) direct calving difficulty; (2) direct gestation length; (3) calf mortality; (4) feed intake; (5) carcass merit reflected by carcass weight, conformation, and fat and the ability to achieve minimum standards for each; (6) docility; and (7) whether the calf was polled. Each trait was weighted by its respective economic weight, most of which were derived from the analyses of available phenotypic data, supplemented with some assumptions on costs and prices. The genetic merit for a range of performance metrics of 3,835 artificial insemination beef bulls from 14 breeds ranked on this proposed DBI was compared with an index comprising only direct calving difficulty and gestation length (the 2 generally most important characteristics of dairy farmers when selecting beef bulls). Within the Angus breed (i.e., the beef breed most commonly used on dairy females), the correlation between the DBI and the index of genetic merit for direct calving difficulty plus gestation length was 0.74; the mean of the within-breed correlations across all other breeds was 0.87. The ranking of breeds changed considerably when ranked based on the top 20 artificial insemination bulls excelling in the DBI versus excelling in the index of calving difficulty and gestation length. Dairy breeds ranked highest on the index of calving difficulty and gestation length, whereas the Holstein and Friesian breeds were intermediate on the DBI; the Jersey breed was one of the poorest breeds on DBI, superior only to the Charolais breed. The results clearly demonstrate that superior carcass and growth performance can be achieved with the appropriate selection of beef bulls for use on dairy females with only a very modest increase in collateral effect on cow performance (i.e., 2–3% greater dystocia expected and a 6-d-longer gestation length).     

Synthesis of Thiazolo(4,5-b)-quinoxalines and related compounds

The reaction of 2,3,7-trichloroquinoxaline ( 1 ) or 2,3-dichloro-7-bromoquinoxaline ( 2 ) with thiourea in DMSO gave 6,6′-dichloro- or 6,6′-dibromodiquinoxalino[2,3-b:2′:3′-e]1,4-dithiien ( 3 or 4 ). However, 1 or 2 reacts with thiourea in ethanol to give ( 3 or 4 ) beside 7-chloro- or 7-bromo-2-imino-2,3-dihydrothiazolo[4,5-b] quinoxaline ( 5 or 6 ) respectively. Interaction of 1 or 2 with acetone thiosemicarbazone gave 7-chloro- or 7-bromo-3-amino-2-imino-2,3-dihydro-thiazolo[4,5-b] quinoxaline hydrochloride ( 13 or 14 ) respectively. Cyclization of 7-chloro- or 7-bromo-3-amino-2-imino-2,3-dihydrothiazolo[4,5-b]quinoxaline ( 15 or 16 ) on treatment with aromatic acid chlorides or isothiocyanates succeeded to give 19—21 or 28 and 29 .     

Relation between EPS adherence, viscoelastic properties, and MBR operation: Biofouling study with QCM-D

Membrane fouling is one of the main constraints of the wide use of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. The biomass in MBR systems includes extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), metabolic products of active microbial secretion that adversely affect the membrane performance. Solids retention time (SRT) in the MBR is one of the most important parameters affecting membrane fouling in MBR systems, where fouling is minimized at optimal SRT. Among the operating parameters in MBR systems, SRT is known to strongly influence the ratio of proteins to polysaccharides in the EPS matrix. In this study, we have direct evidence for changes in EPS adherence and viscoelastic properties due to changes in the sludge removal rate that strongly correlate with the membrane fouling rate and EPS composition. EPS were extracted from a UF membrane in a hybrid growth MBR operated at sludge removal rates of 59, 35.4, 17.7, and 5.9 L day^-1 (corresponding SRT of 3, 5, 10, and 30 days, respectively). The EPS adherence and adsorption kinetics were carried out in a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) technology in several adsorption measurements to a gold sensor coated with Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF). EPS adsorption to the sensor surface is characterized by a decrease of the oscillation frequency and an increase in the dissipation energy of the sensor during parallel flow of aqueous media, supplemented with EPS, above the sensor surface. The results from these experiments were further modeled using the Voigt based model, in which the thickness, shear modulus, and shear viscosity values of the adsorbed EPS layers on the PVDF crystal were calculated. The observations in the QCM-D suggested that the elevated fouling of the UF membrane is due to higher adherence of the EPS as well as reduction in viscosity and elasticity of the EPS adsorbed layer and elevation of the EPS fluidity. These results corroborate with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) image analysis showing thicker EPS in close proximity to the membrane surface operated at reactor conditions which induced more fouling at elevated sludge removal rates.     

An explicit and novel structure,lattice dynamics,and photoemission of La-doped nanocrystalline SrZrO3 perovskite

As no complete and comprehensive studies have been previously reported for La-doped nanocrystalline SrZrO3(SZO),we researched herein a detailed investiga-tion f...     

Mechanical properties,in vitro and in vivo bioactivity assessment of Na2O-CaO-P2O5-B2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics

Glasses having chemical composition based on Na₂O-CaO-P₂O₅-SiO₂ system were crystallized. Then, the resultant crystallized phases were examined by X-ray diffraction technique. Furthermore, density, microhardness and fracture toughness were measured. In order to investigate the biological responses of these glass-ceramic samples, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed. In vitro test was performed by soaking the prepared samples in simulated body fluid (SBF) for different time intervals and then, specimens were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the conversion kinetics of these samples to hydroxyapatite (HA) were determined by measuring the weight loss of glass-ceramic grains, pH values of SBF solution and recording the ionic concentrations of Si, B, P and Ca using inductive coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The results pointed out that the prepared samples possessed fair in vitro bioactivity. However, after six weeks of implantation, the prepared glass-ceramics, on the contrary to the parent glasses, did not exhibit any bioactivity suggesting that they may need longer time. On the other hand, the crystallization process caused significant increases of microhardness and density values. From these results, we can conclude that the prepared glasses and glass-ceramics had suitable properties for bone grafts and dental applications, respectively.     

Residual stress measurements in melt infiltrated SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites using Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy was utilized to characterize the chemical composition and residual stresses formed in melt infiltrated SiC/SiC CMCs during processing. Stresses in SiC fibers, in SiC chemical vapor (CVI) infiltrated matrix, in SiC melt infiltrated matrix, and in free silicon were measured for two different plates of CMCs. Stresses in the free silicon averaged around 2?GPa in compression, while stresses in the matrix SiC were 1.45?GPa in tension. The SiC CVI phase had stresses ranging between 0.9?GPa and 1.2?GPa in tension and the SiC fibers experienced stresses of .05–0.7?GPa in tension. These results were validated with the proposed model of the system. While the mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion between the constituents contributes to the overall residual stress state, the silicon expansion upon solidification was found to be the major contributor to residual stresses within the composite.     

A tolerance method for industrial image-based inspection

Although image-based inspection has been applied to a wide range of industrial applications, inspection accuracy remains a challenging issue due to the complexity involved in industrial inspection. The common method adopted in industry is to use a qualified image as a template image to inspect each live image on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In this paper, a tolerance method is presented to replace the template image method. The said tolerance is formed by two indices computed from a sample image, instead of using the whole image for inspection. To ensure an accurate tolerance zone, a neural networks method is used to take the noise and uncertainties in the images under inspection into consideration. To improve neural networks training speed, the Taguchi method is adopted to select a minimum number of the sample images needed for training. Once a tolerance zone is obtained, live images are inspected against it. If the indices of a live image fall inside the tolerance zone, the part is regarded as good, otherwise defective. Three examples are given: one for auto part inspection, one for label inspection, and one for machining part inspection. The inspection accuracy achieved is above 94%.     

Economic costs of recorded reasons for cow mortality and culling in a pasture-based dairy industry

The objective of this study was to determine the economic costs associated with different reasons for cow culling or on-farm mortality in a pasture-based seasonal system. A bioeconomic model was developed to quantify costs associated with the different farmer-recorded reasons and timing of cow wastage. The model accounted for the parity and stage of lactation at which the cows were removed as well as the consequent effect on the replacement rate and average age structure of the herd. The costs and benefits associated with the change were quantified, including animal replacement cost, cull salvage value, milk production loss, and the profitability of altered genetic merit based on industry genetic trends for each parity. The total cost of cow wastage was estimated to be NZ$23,628/100 cows per year (NZ$1 = US$0.69) in a pasture-based system. Of this total cost, NZ$14,300/100 cows worth of removals were for nonpregnancy and unknown reasons, and another NZ$3,631/100 cows was attributed to low milk production, mastitis, and udder problems. The total cost for cow removals due to farmer-recorded biological reasons (excluding unknown, production, and management-related causes) was estimated to be NZ$13,632/100 cows per year. Of this cost, an estimated NZ$10,286/100 cows was attributed to nonpregnancy, mastitis, udder problems, calving trouble, and injury or accident. There is a strong economic case for the pasture-based dairy industries to invest in genetic, herd health, and production management research focused on reducing animal wastage due to reproductive failure, mastitis, udder problems, injuries or accidents, and calving difficulties.