New method for assessing the global quality of energy systems

Comparisons of various energy systems are often made from partial, limited standpoints that do not take into due consideration the numerous factors involved in such systems. A more complete assessment of the global quality of energy systems must consider a wider range of characteristics, such as: conversion and transportation yields, energy potential, added value, risk of accidents during conversion and transportation, coefficients of transportability and storability, and polluting emissions (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur and nitrogen oxides, unburnt hydrocarbons, dust, radionuclides and dispersed heat).

This paper not only identifies and quantifies the parameters that allow the above qualities to be expressed, but also defines a tree-structured energy-quality index system which starts from the parameters identified and makes it possible to obtain a global summary index, through various intermediate levels of aggregation.

Our objective is to make an instrument available to professionals (engineers, policymakers and energy managers) which allows them to concentrate their attention each time, according to the specific needs in question, on particular aspects of the quality of the energy, or to obtain numerical indicators that briefly express quality in the broadest sense.

In addition, a sample application of the proposed method is presented, using data gathered mainly from the literature on alternative systems for power production and space heating by fossil fuels.     

Influence of interfacial microcracks on the elastic properties of composites

A model is established to quantify the influence of interfacial microcracks on the elastic properties of a particulate composite using a combination of theoretical and finite element analysis. A unique way to construct physical models which could accommodate both crack size and crack density is proposed. Based on energy principles, the influence of a dilute concentration of interfacial microcracks is first studied. The case of a finite concentration of microcracks is solved subsequently by combining the dilute concentration solutions and the differential scheme. Both cases agreed well with existing composite theories for the limiting condition of complete decohesion. The final model predicts the effective elastic properties as functions of both crack size and microcrack density.     

Diffusion bonding of ferritic oxide dispersion strengthened alloys to austenitic superalloys

The superior high temperature mechanical strength and oxidation resistance of ferritic oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) tubular alloys are compromised by the difficulties encountered in joining. Conventional fusion welding techniques generate a weld fusion zone which is devoid of the mechanical strength exhibited by the base material. Therefore, more sophisticated solid state joining techniques, such as diffusion bonding, must be employed when joining ODS materials. This paper describes a series of solid state diffusion bonding experiments carried out between two tubular ferritic ODS alloys and two high temperature austenitic alloys. Careful control of bonding conditions produced pressure retaining joints between one of the tubular ODS alloys and both austenitic alloys. The successful joint design was incorporated into the manufacture of a tubular creep component, which enabled a series of internally pressurized creep tests to be carried out. The microstructure developed at the bond interface of each of the four separate material couples is described and the high temperature performance of the pressure retaining joints is discussed.     

Interpolated smoothed pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution for accuratespectrum analysis

This paper deals with a new application of the time-domain windowed (smoothed version) of the pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution (PWD), that can be easily implemented in a dedicate digital instrument to be used as a spectral analyzer for time-frequency analysis of nonstationary signals. New computational algorithms are studied and developed to attain high time-frequency resolution, accuracy, flexibility and computational efficiency. Particularly, to reduce the negative effects due to leakage during frequency changes, a new interpolation formula is derived by using the windowing theory. The suggested technique allows the users to perform optimal evaluations of the instantaneous amplitudes and frequencies of analyzed signals     

Behavior of a vibrating wire near the liquid3He-vacuum interface and in a saturated3He-4He mixture

In this paper we describe the effect of the vicinity of a liquid³He-vacuum interface on the behavior of a vibrating wire viscometer. It was found that in the fluid near the liquid interface the quality factor is lower than in the bulk liquid. We further report on the observation of a doubling of the resonance peak of the wire in a saturated³He-⁴He mixture. The frequencies and amplitudes of the two peaks strongly depend on the distance between the phase boundary and the vibrating wire; the temperature and the velocity of the phase boundary have no significant influence on the peak frequencies. The observed peak doubling is attributed to the coupling of the vibrating wire with a standing second-sound wave in the dilute phase where the volume of the dilute phase can be regarded as a resonating cavity for second sound.     

Microstructure and mechanical behaviour of 3Y-TZP/Mo nanocomposites possessing a novel interpenetrated intragranular microstructure

Yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP)/0-100 vol % molybdenum (Mo) composites were fabricated by hot-pressing a mixture of Y-TZP powder containing 3 mol % yttria (Y₂O₃) and a fine Mo powder in vacuum. This composite system possessed a novel microstructural feature composed of an interpenetrated intragranular nanostructure, in which either nanometer sized Mo particles or equivalent sized zirconia (ZrO₂) particles located within the ZrO₂ grains or Mo grains, respectively. The strength and toughness were both greatly enhanced with increasing Mo content for the 3Y-TZP/Mo composites thus breaking through the strength-toughness tradeoff relation in transformation toughened ZrO₂ and its composite materials. They exhibited a maximum strength of 2100 MPa and a toughness of 11.4 MPa·m^1/2 for the composite containing 70 vol % Mo. These simultaneous improvements in strength and toughness were determined to be the result of a decrease in flaw size associated with the interpenetrated intragranular nanostructure, and a stress shielding effect created in the crack tip by the elongated Mo polycrystals bridging the crack tip in addition to the stress induced phase transformation.     

Grenzen der Anwendbarkeit der Theorie der analytischen Signale

Zusammenfassung Bei der praktischen Anwendung der analytischen Signale ist es erforderlich, die Ermittlung der Hilbert-Transformation numerisch durchzuführen. Dazu wurden u.a. Verfahren von H.W. Schü?ler, R. Unbehauen und G. Wunsch vorgeschlagen. In der Arbeit werden allgemeine Ergebnisse zur numerischen Umsetzung der Hilbert-Transformation dargestellt. Es wird gezeigt, da? alle praktisch realisierbaren Verfahren für bestimmte Signale divergieren. Damit ist es m?glich, die in der Experimentalphysik schon l?nger bekannten Schwierigkeiten bei der Umsetzung der Hilbert-Transformation zu erkl?ren.     

The use of stokeslets to describe the arbitrary translation of a disk near a plane wall

A previously presented method is extended to describe the fully three-dimensional Stokes flow generated by the translation in any direction of an arbitrarily oriented disk in fluid bounded by a plane wall. The velocity field is represented solely in terms of stokeslet distributions on the disk, modified to take account of the bounding wall according to the century-old idea of Lorentz. Sets of integral equations of the second kind, not all disjoint, are obtained for the Abel transforms in each Fourier mode of the density functions. However, only a few modes need be considered in determining the flow field to order D ^-3, where D is the distance of the disk axis from the wall. Less detail is required to evaluate the drag force and torque experienced by the disk.     

Magnetization and rotation of MTG HTSC ring in magnetic field

The magnetization of a melt-texture growth (MTG) HTSC ring has been studied. It is shown that the magnetic field inside the ring is larger than the external field under a certain range of external magnetic fields. We have also investigated the magnetic field dependence of the response of a detective coil near a rotating superconducting ring. The responses of the MTG sample are different for different cooling methods.     

A vectorial vibrating reed magnetometer with high sensitivity

A vibrating reed magnetometer with high sensitivity is constructed. Using optical signal pickup, modified excitation coils, and an acoustical reference excitation system, the high sensitivity of former constructions is combined with the detection of the magnetization component perpendicular to the bias field H. The calibration procedure providing increased reliability is simplified and allows hysteresis measurements with the magnetic easy axis of the sample oriented at an arbitrary angle with respect to H. Measurement results are given in order to demonstrate the performance of the apparatus