Design of a boil-off natural gas reliquefaction control system for LNG carriers

Onboard boil-off gas (BOG) reliquefaction is a new technology that liquefies BOG and returns it to the cargo tanks instead of burning it off during a voyage. For the commercial development of this technology, an object-oriented dynamic simulation is presented which facilitates the design of the plant and control system for the thermal process. A reliquefaction process based on the reverse Brayton cycle has been designed, and its static thermodynamic states at the design BOG load are presented. To make the cycle work for any BOG load, an idea was sought that would achieve a heat balance with the work extracted by the expander. Dynamic simulations were conducted for all operating modes, including start-up and idle. It was found that the expander exit temperature is the key process variable for control and that the process control works successfully when three actuators are activated in three different BOG load regimes. The study also shows that control of the separator pressure to keep the vapor fraction at the throttle valve exit as low as possible is an efficient method for purging nitrogen from BOG.     

Drop size distribution and holdup in a rotating impeller extraction column

A stagewise hydrodynamic model, applying drop population balance equations derived from models for breakage and coalescence of drops in a countercurrent liquid-liquid extraction system, was developed to predict the drop size distribution and the holdup of the dispersed phase in a rotating impeller extraction column. The drop size distributions were obtained by taking the photographs of the dispersions at the same locations through the rectangular shaped glass box filled with distilled water. The experimental variables were the impeller speed and flow rates of the continuous and dispersed phases. The solutions of the model equations were obtained by performing the computer simulation and the optimum parameter values were determined. The results predicted by the model were in good agreement with the experimental results obtained from the present rotating impeller extraction column.     

Structural stability and sintering properties of Fe/Nb/Ti co-substituted Sr(Co0.8Fe0.1Nb0.1)1?xTixO3?δ (x?=?0.00, 0.20, 0.40) oxides

The novel Fe/Nb/Ti co-substituted Sr(Co_0.8Fe_0.1Nb_0.1)_1−x Ti _x O_3−δ (x = 0.00, 0.20, 0.40) oxides have been synthesized by the solid-state reaction method. These co-substituted strontium cobaltates possess a cubic perovskite-type structure at room temperature. Structural stability and sintering properties of the samples x = 0.00, 0.20, 0.40 were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG), and scanning electron microscopy. The combined TG and XRD results demonstrate that the structural and chemical stability of the Fe/Nb/Ti co-substituted Sr(Co_0.8Fe_0.1Nb_0.1)_1−x Ti _x O_3−δ (x = 0.20, 0.40) oxides is improved greatly compared with the sample x = 0.00 and the Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ oxide.     

Field demonstration of advanced autonomous navigation technique for a fully unmanned surface vehicle in complex coastal traffic areas

This study introduces an advanced autonomous navigation algorithm for unmanned surface vehicle (USV) operations in complex coastal traffic areas. To facilitate the undertaking of tests for innovative technologies, the Korean government has designated regulation-free special zones, thereby enabling field tests for USV demonstrations without an onboard safety person on real manned-ship navigation routes. To enable real-world USV operation without onboard safety person, an existing autonomous navigation algorithm is extended to achieve sufficiently reliable and robust USV operation. Accordingly, berthing and unberthing algorithms are newly developed for unmanned operation, and enhanced situational awareness algorithms are applied to detect all types of obstacles, including small-sized floating objects spread over a wide range, such as a fish farm. In particular, the Korean intelligent maritime transportation service, called e-Navigation, is incorporated into the autonomous navigation algorithms to overcome the limitations of vehicle autonomy based on onboard sensors. To demonstrate the capability of fully unmanned operation in real marine traffic scenarios, long-distance navigation (54 km on a single voyage) was conducted by running several missions, including navigation in complex fish farm areas, maritime surveys, collision avoidance, navigation on real traffic routes, and emergency response. The extended navigation algorithms and results of the field tests are presented and discussed in this paper.     

Analysis for deformation behavior of multilayer ceramic capacitor based on multiscale homogenization approach

Given the rapid improvements in the miniaturization, functionality, and efficiency of electronic products in recent years, the dielectric layers and electrodes of multilayer ceramic capacitors have become thinner, with the number of stacked layers also increasing. As a result, the deformation defects induced during manufacturing of the capacitors have increased. In this study, the deformation behavior of a multilayer ceramic capacitor composed of ceramic dielectric layers and Ni electrode layers during the compression process was analyzed numerically using the FEM. To analyze the deformation behavior of the capacitor, which consisted of several hundred laminated ceramic and Ni layers, in the plane direction, the material properties were represented by equivalent material properties based on the multiscale homogenization approach. Then, the deformation of the capacitor in the plane direction owing to the residual stress arising during the compression process was analyzed based on the calculated equivalent material properties. Finally, the possibility of a product defect with the size of the ceramic dielectric and electrode layers during the cutting process was predicted.     

Deformation analysis of rubber seal assembly considering uncertainties in mechanical properties

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Rubber seals are used in the assemblies of mechanical parts in automobiles and aircrafts to prevent lubricant leakage and inclusion of foreign object....     

Selective,Green Synthesis of Six‐Membered Cyclic Carbonates by Lipase‐Catalyzed Chemospecific Transesterification of Diols with Dimethyl Carbonate

A facile and green synthesis of six‐membered cyclic carbonates, the potential monomers for isocyanate‐free polyurethanes and polycarbonates, was achieved by transesterification of diols with dimethyl carbonate catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B, Novozym®435, followed by thermal cyclization in a solvent‐free medium. The difference in the chemospecificity of the lipase for the primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols as acyl acceptors was utilized to obtain a highly chemoselective synthesis of the cyclic carbonate in high yield. In the lipase‐catalyzed reaction with diols, the product contained almost equal proportions of mono‐ and di‐carbonates with 1,3‐propanediol having two primary alcohols, a higher proportion of mono‐carbonate with 1,3‐butanediol having a primary and a secondary alcohol, and mainly mono‐carbonate with 3‐methyl‐1,3‐butanediol having a primary and a tertiary alcohol. The chemospecificity of cyclic carbonates formed by thermal treatment at 90 °C was closely related to the proportion of mono‐carbonate. The yield of cyclic carbonate was 99.3% with 3‐methyl‐1,3‐butanediol, 85.5% with 1,3‐butanediol, and 43.2% with 1,3‐propanediol.     

Tour Into the Picture using a Vanishing Line and its Extension to Panoramic Images

Tour into the picture (TIP) proposed by Horry et al. ¹³ is a method for generating a sequence of walk-through images from a single reference picture (or image). By navigating a 3D scene model constructed from the picture, TIP produces convincing 3D effects. Assuming that the picture has one vanishing point, they proposed the scene modeling scheme called spidery mesh. However, this scheme has to go through major modification when the picture contains multiple vanishing points or does not have any well-defined vanishing point. Moreover, the spidery mesh is hard to generalize for other types of images such as panoramic images. In this paper, we propose a new scheme for TIP which is based on a single vanishing line instead of a vanishing point. Based on projective geometry, our scheme is simple and yet general enough to address the problems faced with the previous method. We also show that our scheme can be naturally extended to a panoramic image.     

Multiband Meandered Monopole Antenna for Mobile Applications

A multiband meandered monopole antenna is proposed for digital video broadcasting handheld (DVB‐H), global positioning system, personal communications service, wireless broadband (Wibro), and wireless local area network (WLAN) applications. The proposed antenna consists of a meandered line, a shorted length strip line, and a conductor strip between a meandered line and a microstrip feed line. By tuning a short strip and a conductor, a multiband impedance matching is achieved. The proposed antenna has an omnidirectional radiation and yields an antenna gain of greater than ?3 dBi in the DVB‐H band and 4.5 dBi in the Wibro and WLAN bands. Details of the proposed antenna design and experimental results are presented.