Three‐dimensional multiphase flow model to study channel flow dynamics of PEM fuel cells

A three‐dimensional multiphase flow model has been developed to study dynamics of a water droplet on the surface of the channel of proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Results are presented based on solving full Navier–Stokes equations for Newtonian liquids. The volume‐of‐fluid method is used to numerically determine the deformation of free surfaces. Water droplet and channel fluid properties determine whether the droplet deforms and remain stationary or disintegrate. We have shown the dependency of the water flooding to the flow rate and pressure drop in the channel has been introduced as a tool to determine water flooding in the channel. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of steel-concrete interface condition on galvanic corrosion currents in carbonated concrete

This paper presents specific experiments which were developed in order to assess galvanic currents in macrocell corrosion specimens involving active steel in carbonated concrete and passive steel in sound concrete. The influence of the steel-concrete interface condition on the galvanic current was also experimentally investigated. To focus on macrocell corrosion rate assessment, the initiation time of the corrosion process (concrete carbonation) was accelerated. FEM simulations were carried out in order to enhance the physical comprehension of these corrosion experiments. It was found that, in realistic condition, the electrical coupling of active and passive steel areas leads to high galvanic currents and consequently high corrosion levels according to RILEM recommendation. Moreover, steel-concrete interfacial defaults significantly increase the macrocell driving potential and, therefore, the galvanic corrosion current.     

The dual-edge alignment technique with improved spur reduction effects in ring oscillators

In this paper, the technique of dual-edge phase-alignment and its effects on ring oscillators are presented. This technique provides resetting of the built-up jitter at both rising and falling edges of a clean aligning signal named as the reference. Using signals and systems theory, the effect of the technique on the spurs due to the aligning reference signal is completely analyzed. We show that adding properly the dual-edge aligning feature to phase-aligned ring oscillators cause the spurs in the neighborhood of the carrier to disappear. First, the validity of the results obtained from the derived analytical equations is verified through simulations using MATLAB. Then a complete circuit considering realistic models for its components is simulated in TSMC RF CMOS 0.18um process using ADS for further validation.     

Pd-doped Co nanofibers immobilized on a chemically stable metallic bipolar plate as novel strategy for direct formic acid fuel cells

High contact resistance and corrosion are the main dilemma facing wide application of the metallic bipolar plates. In this study, deposition of thin film from Pd-decorated Co nanofibers on a silicon substrate is introduced as a novel strategy to produce functionalized metallic bipolar plate. The novel active metallic bipolar plate can be prepared by using simple, low cost, high yield and effective technique; electrospinning. The bimetallic nanofibrous film chemically bonds with the silicon substrate due to formation of silicon carbide which leads to merge the deeper nanofibers with the silicon surface. Accordingly, high current density (100 mA cm⁻¹) was obtained when the introduced covered silicon wafer was utilized as anode catalyst for formic acid electrooxidation. Because the bimetallic nanofibers are sheathed in a thin graphite shell, the introduced active bipolar plate reveals very good stability. Overall, the introduced study is opening a new avenue to prepare new class of functionalized metallic bipolar plates.     

Modeling and simulation of solar pond floor heating system

This paper presents the development of modeling, simulation and analysis of a solar pond floor heating system. The developed computer simulation has been used to study the potential of using such a system under climatic conditions in Jordan. It was found that the solar pond heating system could meet most of the winter season in Jordan with Solar fraction in the range 80–100% for at least 2 months of the season. It must be emphasized that the feasibility of such a system is its utilization in district heating and not for individual households due to the limiting economical factors of high capital cost of the solar pond for small domestic applications.     

Superstructure-based design and operation for biomass utilization networks

This paper is providing a design and evaluation methodology for biomass utilization networks (B-NETs) planning in local areas. The methodology is an effort to integrate various exertions of many researchers as well as stakeholders in the biomass field including process technologies, local area classification and renewable energy mechanisms to design and evaluate B-NETs. The proposed design methodology has three steps: classification, problem formulation and suggesting solution methods. The core part of planning the B-NETs utilization methodology is the superstructure that is a super class model for the processes of biomass utilization networks that has to be built for the local area. The biomass utilization superstructure (BUSS) relates the biomass resources to their products, available processes, and possible future processes of utilization in static manner. Although the local area BUSS is static in nature, it shows the decision makers what kinds of B-NETs are, or can be, available in their area. It is important to note that for each super class process there exists a number of elemental technologies, or what we call unit process (UP), that can perform the job under the same condition with different processing constraint. To support the design and operation process a technological information infrastructure (TII) needs to be built to work as an information pool and simulation tool. With the support of TII and the BUSS different scenarios can be synthesized, analyzed and compared. Scenarios development enables the designer to check processing alternatives as well as biomass promotion mechanisms that fit the concerns of various stakeholders. The results of the methodology application can be given in the form of suggestions of a specific network class(es) or scenarios that can be applied in a class of localities with the same characteristics. Following to methodology configuration, a proposal for optimization methods is discussed and a case study for comparing biomass network scenarios in mountainous city is introduced.     

Temperature dependence of the IR-absorbances of diphenylcarbinol

The temperature dependence of the absorbances of IR-absorption bands corresponding to the fundamental, overtones and combination frequences of diphenylcarbinol in the pure liquid phase is presented. The range of temperature taken in this investigation is between 68 and 298°C. Many difficulties have been met with in trying to find a relation connecting the symmetry of the vibrations and the temperature effect on their absorbances. As shown, in the text, the change in the absorbances of the bands and the temperature variation is linear even for the broad bands.     

Experimental performance evaluation of a wavelet-based on-linevoltage detection method for power quality applications

This paper evaluates the performance of a wavelet-based, online (real-time) voltage detection scheme for power quality applications. The objectives are: (1) to demonstrate suitability of the proposed method in detecting faults/disturbances in a power system; and (2) to compare its performance with that of a conventional scheme. Two (STS) systems are chosen as frameworks for comparison; a low-voltage laboratory STS setup for which measured results are provided, and a medium-voltage STS system for which detection times are derived based on simulation, using the EMTDC/PSCAD     

Microscopic image analysis for quantitative measurement and featureidentification of normal and cancerous colonic mucosa

The development of an automated algorithm for the categorization of normal and cancerous colon mucosa is reported. Six features based on texture analysis were studied. They were derived using the co-occurrence matrix and were angular second moment, entropy, contrast, inverse difference moment, dissimilarity, and correlation. Optical density was also studied. Forty-four normal images and 58 cancerous images from sections of the colon were analyzed. These two groups were split equally into two subgroups: one set was used for supervised training and the other to test the classification algorithm. A stepwise selection procedure showed that correlation and entropy were the features that discriminated most strongly between normal and cancerous tissue (P<0.0001). A parametric linear-discriminate function was used to determine the classification rule. For the training set, a sensitivity and specificity of 93.1% and 81.8%, respectively, were achieved, with an overall accuracy of 88.2%. These results mere confirmed with the test set, with a sensitivity and specificity of 93.1% and 86.4%, respectively, and an overall accuracy of 90.2%     

Trypanosoma cruzi: effect of immunization on the risk of vector-delivered infection in guinea pigs

The protective effect of experimental immunization was studied in guinea pigs exposed to vectorial infection by Trypanosoma cruzi. Immunized animals received an inoculum of live-attenuated T. cruzi epimastigotes into a granuloma previously induced by Freund's complete adjuvant in the hind footpad. Seven days later, a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction was triggered by reinjection of the parasites in the front footpad. The animals were then placed in Triatoma infestans-colonized corrals and exposed to vectorial T. cruzi transmission of the parasite for up to 200 days. The effectiveness of this immunizing protocol was controlled in terms of the number of bites necessary for infection (NBNI) in immunized as compared with control animals. Periodic entomological census allowed for the determination of vector biting and infection rates and the calculation of NBNI. Although this measurement was quite variable between yards, an overall average of 4,973 bites was enough to infect a control guinea pig in 4 separate experiments. The corresponding figure for the experimental group was 21,307 bites, implying that immunized animals could resist a 4.28-fold increase (range: 1.99-8.32) in the number of vector bites before becoming infected.