Vertical motion of spherical particles

A theoretical analysis is presented for the time-dependent vertical motion of spherical particles in a gas stream. Laminar, transitional and turbulent flows are considered, and equations are developed to predict particle velocity and distance travelled as functions of time in both stagnant and slowly-moving gases. In both cases the equations are shown not to be universally applicable, and algorithms for estimating the limits within which they remain valid are briefly presented.     

Computer simulation of heuristic reinforcement-learning systems for nuclear power plant load changes control

This paper describes two ideas and sample simulation results of a heuristic reinforcement-learning system and its application to the problem of digital computer control of a simple nuclear plant model. The idea of the system is interconnection between the well known reactor control heuristic rules [8,9], and the reinforcement learning algorithms [4,5]. The control signal is proposed as a vector depending on complex physical properties of the plant. Such an approach is far more flexible than deterministic or stochastic techniques when dealing with unknown processes and novel control situations.     

Study of a plate modelling a dock gate

Computer aided finite element analysis has been applied to evaluate the structural behavior of a solid plate representing statically certain box-type construction of a dry dock gate. Possible comparison of particular results following from different procedures, valid for constant plate stiffness and rigid supports, has been performed and the distribution of reactions for variable plate stiffness, within two different numerical accuracies, has been studied. For practical requirements the nonlinear elastic flexibility of dock gate packing has been taken into account and an adequate numerical step-by-step approach, satisfying the considered material characteristics, developed. For last case the deflections, reactions, and internal forces have been examined in detail and a comparison with those for rigid supports presented.     

A study of the electrical conductivity processes in amorphous semiconductors using the computer simulation method III. Three-dimensional case

A numerical model for the hopping conductivity in 3-D disordered systems is presented. The relation between variable-range hopping conductivity and temperature for the low-temperature range is found. The advantage of the proposed model is that the size of the system investigated is not limited by the computer memory.     

Ground- and excited-state tautomerism in porphycenes

Owing to short distances between the inner nitrogen atoms and, therefore, strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds, porphycenes display completely different tautomeric properties than porphyrins, their constitutional isomers. Tunneling splitting caused by delocalization of two inner hydrogen atoms is observed for porphycenes isolated in supersonic jets. The barrier to tautomerization is higher in the lowest excited singlet state than in the ground state. Still, rapid exchange of inner hydrogen atoms is detected in S1. The mechanism of tautomerization involves synchronous double hydrogen tunneling, activated by excitation of a low-frequency mode, which modulates the NH...N separation. This separation can also be strongly altered by peripheral substitution. In porphycenes with alkyl substituents on the ethylene bridges, the NH...N distances become extremely small. For these derivatives, both trans and cis tautomeric forms are detected. Tautomerism in porphycenes was also monitored on a single-molecule level.     

An experimental analysis of effects of various material tool’s wear on burr during generator sheets blanking

Blanking is one of the most frequently used processes in sheet metal forming. Unlike other forming processes, such as stamping, blanking not only deforms the metal plastically to give the appropriate size and shape, but also ruptures the sheet metal in the desired zones. Among the others, blanking enables manufacturing of electric motor components, such as rotor or stator parts. The parts of the low power commutator motor of rotor and stator are made of generator sheets, which are really difficult to do from the machining point of view. The shock loads and high reaction of the sheet metal of separation surface to the punch surface are presented during the blanking process. In this paper, an investigation has been made to study the effects of punch–die clearance, tool materials, and tool coatings on the wear of blanking tools. In the paper, the feasibility analysis for various materials used for production of the tools for punching the generator sheets is presented.     

Controversies about the occurrence of chloral hydrate in drinking water

Besides trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), chloral hydrate (CH) is the next most prevalent disinfection by-product (DBP) in drinking water, formed as a result of the reaction between chlorine and natural organic matter (NOM). Chloral hydrate (trichloroacetaldehyde) should be limited in drinking water because of its adverse health effect. The controversies concerning the appearance of CH in disinfected water found in literature are discussed in the present paper. According to some authors the CH yield during chlorination of water depends only on TOC. However, there are other data available that do not confirm this relationship. Another fact requiring clarification is the dependence of CH formation on pH. In the present study, CH formation is analysed in different types of water disinfected with different doses of chlorine. Formation of CH is correlated with the dose of Cl₂ and the contact time. The formation of chloral hydrate takes place as long as chlorine is available in the water. Total organic carbon (TOC) is not considered the main factor influencing the production of chloral hydrate in water treated with Cl₂ as the production depends also on the nature of NOM. Higher levels of CH are observed at alkaline conditions (pH > 7). A significant correlation (R² > 0.9) between the concentrations of chloral hydrate and chloroform has been observed. The preozonation increases significantly the chloral hydrate formation potential in the water treated. Biofiltration process does not remove all of CH precursors and its efficiency depends strongly on the contact time. Chloral hydrate was analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detector with the detection limit 0.1 μg L⁻¹.     

Effect of water activity on the inactivation kinetics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by electron beam in ground beef, chicken breast meat, and trout fillets

Water activity (a_w) of ground beef, chicken breast meat, and trout fillets was modified to intermediate (a_w 0.98–0.99) and lowest (a_w 0.94–0.96) levels. The meat samples with modified and unaltered (native, a_w 1.00) a_w were inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and subjected to electron beam (e‐beam). Survivor curves were plotted and the D₁₀‐values were calculated. The D₁₀‐values ranged from 0.22 kGy for trout at native a_w to 0.33 kGy for beef at intermediate, and chicken and trout at lowest a_w. Regardless of the species, a_w reduction increased E. coli resistance to e‐beam, suggesting that even small depletion of unbound water from food increases survival. The difference of the D₁₀‐values between the samples at intermediate and lowest a_w was insignificant. E‐beam could be used before a_w‐reducing techniques are applied to food products. However, this would require stringent microbial control following e‐beam processing. The ‘tailing’ of survivors was observed for some samples with reduced a_w.