Free convection enhancement in an annulus between horizontal confocal elliptical cylinders using hybrid nanofluids

ABSTRACT

In the present paper, natural convection in an annulus between two confocal elliptic cylinders filled with a Cu-Al₂O₃/water hybrid nanofluid is investigated numerically. The inner cylinder is heated at a constant surface temperature while the outer wall is isothermally cooled. The basic equations are formulated in elliptic coordinates and developed in terms of the vorticity-stream function formulation using the dimensionless form for 2D, laminar and incompressible flow under steady-state condition. The governing equations are discretized using the finite volume method and solved by an in-house FORTRAN code. Numerical simulations are performed for various volume fractions of nanoparticles (0?≤???≤?0.12) and Rayleigh numbers (10³?≤?Ra?≤?3?×?10⁵). The eccentricity of the inner and outer ellipses and the angle of orientation are fixed at e₁?=?0.9, e₂?=?0.6 and γ?=?0° respectively. It is found that employing a Cu-Al₂O₃/water hybrid nanofluid is more efficient in heat transfer rate compared to the similar Al₂O₃/water nanofluid.     

A Comparative Study of Localization Methods in Indoor Environments

A comparative study, based on three different measurements (direction of ray arrival, time difference of arrival and received signal strength), to compute the unknown position of mobile stations in indoor environments is presented in this paper. The comparison is carried out considering the results of analyses in a real building in Madrid. To overcome the problems that arise in indoor areas due to the presence of non line of sight conditions, the fingerprinting technique is applied in each of the cases. Data for computations are provided by a simulation tool based on the uniform theory of diffraction and ray-tracing techniques. This information is stored in the fingerprinting database and contains information related to every mobile station, every reference node and every access point located inside the environment under analysis. Experimental results compare the mean error when localizing several mobile stations by using the three different approaches. The goal is to obtain high precision in the localization by means of alternative methods to the received signal strength classical measurement. These techniques will be useful in critical environments where high operational security requirement are demanded.     

Evaluation of the mechanical properties,in vitro biodegradability and cytocompatibility of natural chitosan/hydroxyapatite/nano-Fe3O4 composite

The main goal of this research was the preparation and evaluation of the mechanical properties, in vitro biodegradability and cytocompatibility, of natural chitosan/hydroxyapatite/nano magnetite (nano-Fe₃O₄) composite. Different ratios of these components were investigated, including chitosan/hydroxyapatite: 4/4 (S1), chitosan/hydroxyapatite: 4/6 (S2), and chitosan/hydroxyapatite: 6/4 (S3). Mechanical properties of fabricated composites were examined using bending and compression tests before immersion, and after 2 and 9 weeks of immersion in the Ringer's solution. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was employed for observing the bending fracture surface and analyzing the degradation morphology. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) were also cultured on the samples in order to assess the cytocompatibility. The obtained results revealed that S1 had the highest bending strength before immersion, while S3 had the highest bending strength after 9 weeks immersion. Compressive strength of S2 was greater than that of S1 and S3 not only before immersion, but also after 9 weeks immersion. Although the bio-minerals were deposited on the surface of all samples during the immersion in Ringer's solution, S2 appeared to have the highest quantity of bio-minerals. According to the weight loss percentage (ΔW(%)), the biodegradation resistance of S1 was the lowest. Finally, the cytocompatibility of S1 was greater than that of S2 and S3.     

Ultra clean coal production by microwave irradiation pretreatment and sequential leaching with HF followed by HNO3

The goal of this project was to develop and test an innovative coal cleaning process to reduce the ash content of coal and produce ultra clean coal (UCC). Coal samples that were prepared from concentrates of Iran's Zirab and Tabas coal preparation plants were found to have initial ash contents of 8.31 and 10.36%, respectively. These coals were demineralized with the combination of microwave irradiation pretreatment and dual acid leaching processes with HF followed by HNO₃ in a batch reactor. For samples that were microwaved and leached with HF, the reduction in ash ranged from 22 to 76% and from 22 to 82% for Zirab and Tabas coal samples, respectively, depending on leaching conditions. Microwave irradiation pretreatment had a positive effect on demineralization with HF, especially for the coarse size fractions. For the fine size fractions, reduced leaching times were found to enhance the effect of microwave irradiation. The microwave-irradiated, HF-leached product was leached further using a 1.4 M HNO₃ solution at a leaching temperature of 65 °C to remove fluoride sediments and pyritic sulfur. The ash content of the Zirab coal was reduced from 2.57 to 0.69% by leaching with the HNO₃ solution for 1 h. The ash content of the Tabas coal was reduced from 2.44 to 0.39% by leaching with the HNO₃ solution for 3 h. The results show that microwave irradiation can be considered as a pretreatment process in the chemical leaching of coal to produce UCC.