Erosion of glacial till from the St. Clair River (Great Lakes basin)

Variations in water level observed in Lakes Michigan and Huron during the last few decades have motivated a comprehensive study involving climatic, hydrologic and hydraulic factors organized by International Joint Commission of the Great Lakes. It has been submitted, among other possible causes, that changes in conveyance in the St. Clair River could be contributing to the lowering of the upper Great Lakes water level. Sediment transport processes, in particular bed scour and erosion, can affect significantly a river's conveyance, thus creating the need to assess the erodibility properties of the river bed. To this end, laboratory tests were performed in order to obtain the value of the critical shear stress needed to erode the cohesive fraction of the bed sediment material, known as glacial till, from the St. Clair River. Different flows with increasing velocities were run up to the point where initial sediment erosion could be observed. Through detailed near-bed velocity measurements using a laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) system, a value of 4.2 N/m² was obtained as the critical shear stress for the erosion of glacial till. A threshold for the critical shear stress for erosion of similar cohesive sediments was also found and expressed in dimensionless form. These results could be used in combination with mathematical models to estimate the risk of scour and erosion at locations where the glacial till is exposed to both strong currents and flow forces induced by the large navigation vessels commonly observed along the course of the St. Clair River.     

A Mathematical Model for the Velocity Profile Internally to a Conical Diffuser

The use of diffusers around the horizontal-axis wind turbines has been widely studied since the diffuser improves the power coefficient of the turbine and it is often called DAWTs （diffuser augmented wind turbines）.Turbines using diffuser are called DWATs （Diffuser Augmented Turbines）,and have efficiency bigger than the Betz limit （maximum energy flow extracted = 59.26%）. Thus, this study presents a mathematical model describing the behavior of the velocity profile internally to a diffuser according to the characteristics of flow and geometry of a conical diffuser. The results are compared with experimental data and show good agreement.     

Determination of water content in Brazilian honeybee-collected pollen by Karl Fischer titration

This paper assesses the performance of a chemical method based on the Karl Fischer titration to determine the water content in samples of dehydrated honeybee-collected pollen. The following analysis parameters were investigated: extraction temperature, particle size, reaction time, and weight of a dried pollen sample. After optimization, the method was used to determine the water content of 154 samples of dried honeybee-collected pollen from different geographical regions of Brazil. The Karl Fischer titration method, performed using a solvent mixture of methanol and n-octanol (1:1 v/v) at 50 °C on pollen particles 600 μm in size produced the best results. Mean values for water content of the 154 samples of dried honeybee-collected pollen from 12 Brazilian regions ranged from 3% to 9%.     

The use of discrete Markov random fields in reservoir characterization

In this work, we discuss relevant aspects concerning the use of discrete Markov random fields (MRF) in the simulation of rock properties in petroleum reservoirs. The Strauss multi-color model is useful to describe complex image configurations, by handling with parameters of repulsion between the different rock facies, symbolized in this case, by the different colors. The transition between the facies and the porous medium anisotropy are imposed to the system, and it is possible to generate various types of arrangement of the facies on the image, in contrast to Gaussian stochastic process, that can only simulate diffusion-type images. Another point focused is the behavior of the spatial correlation in discrete Markov random fields, here studied by the calculus of the practical semivariogram function in the binary Markov images, generated by using the Metropolis algorithm. These images have a correspondence to Gaussian images with Gaussian-type correlation, after truncated in binary facies. This similarity is validated by analysis in the behavior of the semivariogram function of the discrete Gaussian processes.     

Computation of turbulent heat transfer in a moving porous bed using a macroscopic two-energy equation model

Heat transfer between phases in a moving porous bed is analyzed. This work proposes a set of transport equations for solving problems involving turbulent flow and heat transfer in a moving bed equipment. The device is modeled as a saturated porous matrix in which the solid phase moves with a steady imposed velocity. Additional drag terms appearing the momentum equation, as well as interfacial heat transfer between phases, are assumed to be a function of the relative velocity between the fluid and solid phases. Turbulence transport equations are here also dependent on the speed of the solid material. Results indicate that, as the phases attain velocities of equal order, turbulence in damped and heat transfer between solid and fluid occurs mainly by conduction mechanism.     

Bandwidth Control and Symmetry Breaking in a Mott-Hubbard Correlated Metal

In Mott materials strong electron correlation yields a spectrum of complex electronic structures. Recent synthesis advancements open realistic opportunities for harnessing Mott physics to design transformative devices. However, a major bottleneck in realizing such devices remains the lack of control over the electron correlation strength. This stems from the complexity of the electronic structure, which often veils the basic mechanisms underlying the correlation strength. This study presents control of the correlation strength by tuning the degree of orbital overlap using picometer-scale lattice engineering. This study illustrates how bandwidth control and concurrent symmetry breaking can govern the electronic structure of a correlated SrVO₃ model system. This study shows how tensile and compressive biaxial strain oppositely affect the SrVO₃ in-plane and out-of-plane orbital occupancy, resulting in the partial alleviation of the orbital degeneracy. The spectral weight redistribution under strain is derived and explained, which illustrates how high tensile strain drives the system toward a Mott insulating state. Implementation of such concepts can push correlated electron phenomena closer toward new solid-state devices and circuits. These findings therefore pave the way for understanding and controlling electron correlation in a broad range of functional materials, driving this powerful resource for novel electronics closer toward practical realization.     

Sigma phase morphologies in cast and aged super duplex stainless steel

Solution annealed and water quenched duplex and super duplex stainless steels are thermodynamically metastable systems at room temperature.These systems do not migrate spontaneously to a thermodynamically stable condition because an energy barrier separates the metastable and stable states. However, any heat input they receive, for example through isothermal treatment or through prolonged exposure to a voltaic arc in the welding process, cause them to reach a condition of stable equilibrium which, for super duplex stainless steels, means precipitation of intermetallic and carbide phases. These phases include the sigma phase, which is easily identified from its morphology, and its influence on the material's impact strength.The purpose of this work was to ascertain how 2-hour isothermal heat treatments at 920 °C and 980 °C affect the microstructure of ASTM A890/A890M GR 6A super duplex stainless steel. The sigma phase morphologies were found to be influenced by these two aging temperatures, with the material showing a predominantly lacy microstructure when heat treated at 920 °C and block-shaped when heat treated at 980 °C.