Experimental study of splash generation in a flash smelting furnace

A survey of previous studies of splash formation in metallurgical vessels revealed that little information is available to characterize and describe the processes involved in splash formation. An experimental study of splash formation by top submerged gas injection was carried out in the settler region of the nickel flash smelting furnace at the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter (KNS) both to obtain some visualization of the splash mechanisms that occur on a plant scale and to measure the amount of splash being formed. Video images taken of the splashing showed that large sheets of melt were formed by the escaping gas and subsequently thinned into ligaments which then broke up into large splash drops. The video could only resolve a minimum size of 2 cm. The large splash drops visible on video have an initial velocity between 1 and 2 m/s, are unstable, and fall back into the bath after traveling a short distance. The analysis identified two major splash forming mechanisms. First, the gas injected resulted in the bulk movement of the melt to form a cavity and large sheets of melts being thrown around the point of injection. The area affected by this splash mechanism can be predicted successfully by using an energy balance between the removal of the melt in the cavity and the energy of the gas being injected. Second, the slag free surface within the cavity is highly unstable, and through the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mechanism, small splash droplets are generated which are carried into the furnace’s top space. A model proposed for the formation of the smaller splash droplets predicted that the splash collected decreases exponentially with increasing height above the slag free surface from the point of splashing, and this is in agreement with the experimental results obtained.     

Age- and gender-related elastin distribution changes in human vocal folds

To elucidate the mechanism of gut hypertrophy observed in rats artificially reared (AR) on milk formulas, the effects of four refined formulas with different ratios of casein (C) and whey protein (W), CW 2:8, CW 4:6, CW 6:4 and CW 8:2, on the gut growth of AR rats were examined. Four groups of pups were infused with each formula through an intragastric cannula from age 5 to 15 days. Each of the four milk formulas showed a different character in the stomach, such as no curd, very soft curd, soft curd and hard curd, in response to an increasing ratio of C:W. There were no significant differences in body weight gain among the AR groups and mother-reared (MR) controls. The stomach growth, in weight, of AR rats increased in response to the increasing ratios of C:W. In comparison with MR controls, hypertrophy of the stomach of AR rats appeared within the formulas with higher proportions of casein than whey protein (CW 6:4 and CW 8:2), but not those with lower proportions (CW 2:8 and CW 4:6). The growth of the small intestine was also related to the increasing ratio of C:W in the formulas. A similar pattern of hypertrophy in the hindgut was seen in AR rats. There was no association between hypertrophy of the gut in AR rats and plasma triiodothyronine. The present results clearly demonstrated that the gut growth of AR rat pups was directly influenced by the diet but not by AR per se, and that hard casein-curd in the stomach might be one cause of gut hypertrophy.     

Effects of hindlimb contraction on pressor and muscle interstitial metabolite responses in the cat

We used the microdialysis technique to measure the interstitial concentration of several putative metabolic stimulants of the exercise pressor reflex during 3- and 5-Hz twitch contractions in the decerebrate cat. The peak increases in heart rate and mean arterial pressure during contraction were 20 +/- 5 beats/min and 21 +/- 8 mmHg and 27 +/- 9 beats/min and 37 +/- 12 mmHg for the 3- and 5-Hz stimulation protocols, respectively. All variables returned to baseline after 10 min of recovery. Interstitial lactate rose (P < 0. 05) by 0.41 +/- 0.15 and 0.56 +/- 0.16 mM for the 3- and 5-Hz stimulation protocols, respectively, and were not statistically different from one another. Interstitial lactate levels remained above (P < 0.05) baseline during recovery in the 5-Hz group. Dialysate phosphate concentrations (corrected for shifts in probe recovery) rose with stimulation (P < 0.05) by 0.19 +/- 0.08 and 0.11 +/- 0.03 mM for the 3- and 5-Hz protocols. There were no differences between groups. The resting dialysate K+ concentrations for the 3- and 5-Hz conditions were 4.0 +/- 0.1 and 3.9 +/- 0.1 meq/l, respectively. During stimulation the dialysate K+ concentrations rose steadily for both conditions, and the increase from rest to stimulation (P < 0.05) was 0.57 +/- 0.19 and 0.81 +/- 0.06 meq/l for the 3- and 5-Hz conditions, respectively, with no differences between groups. Resting dialysate pH was 6.915 +/- 0.055 and 6.981 +/- 0.032 and rose to 7.013 (P < 0.05) and 7.053 (P < 0.05) for the 3- and 5-Hz conditions, respectively, and then became acidotic (6. 905, P < 0.05) during recovery (5 Hz only). This study represents the first time simultaneous measurements of multiple skeletal muscle interstitial metabolites and pressor responses to twitch contractions have been made in the cat. These data suggest that interstitial K+ and phosphate, but not lactate and H+, may contribute to the stimulation of thin fiber muscle afferents during contraction.     

Galerkin boundary integral method for evaluating surface derivatives

A Galerkin boundary integral procedure for evaluating the complete derivative, e.g., potential gradient or stress tensor, is presented. The expressions for these boundary derivatives involve hypersingular kernels, and the advantage of the Galerkin approach is that the integrals exist when a continuous surface interpolation is employed. As a consequence, nodal derivative values, at smooth surface points or at corners, can be obtained directly. This method is applied to the problem of electromigration-driven void dynamics in thin film aluminum interconnects. In this application, the tangential component of the electric field on the boundary is required to compute the flux of atoms at the void surface.     

Junk Computing

Junk computing, the use of information systems in a way that does not directly advance organizational goals, can both diminish productivity and add value to a work environment. Results of a year-long study of the types and causes of junk computing can help managers reduce performance losses without stifling employee creativity.