MHD flow over an inclined radiating plate with the temperature‐dependent thermal conductivity,variable reactive index,and heat generation

We study the effects of higher‐order chemical reaction and heat generation on coupled heat and mass transfer by MHD mixed convection from a permeable radiating inclined plate with the thermal convective boundary condition. The governing boundary layer equations are formulated and transformed into a set of similarity equations using dimensionless similarity variables developed by Lie group analysis. The resulting equations are then solved numerically using Maple 13 which uses a fourth–fifth order Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg algorithm for solving nonlinear boundary value problems. A representative set of numerical results are displayed graphically and discussed to show some interesting aspects of the parameters: convective heat transfer (γ), the angle of inclination (α), generation order of chemical reaction (n), reaction rate (λ), the Prandtl number (Pr), and the Schmidt number (Sc) on the dimensionless axial velocity, the temperature, and the concentration profiles. Also effects of pertinent parameters on the skin friction factor, the rate of heat, and the rate of mass transfer are obtained and displayed in tabular form. Good agreement is found between the numerical results of the present paper with the earlier published works under some special cases. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20409     

Approximate Analytical Solution of Stagnation Point Flow and Heat Transfer over an Exponential Stretching Sheet with Convective Boundary Condition

This study is concerned with the stagnation point flow and heat transfer over an exponential stretching sheet via an approximate analytical method known as optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM). The governing partial differential equations are converted into ordinary nonlinear differential equations using similarity transformations available in the literature. The heat transfer problem is modeled using two‐point convective boundary condition. These equations are then solved using the OHAM approach. The effects of controlling parameters on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, friction factor, and heat transfer rate are analyzed and discussed through graphs and tables. It is found that the OHAM results match well with numerical results obtained by Runge–Kutta Fehlberg fourth‐fifth order method for different assigned values of parameters. The rate of heat transfer increases with the stretching parameter. It is also found that the stretching parameter reduces the hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness whereas the Prandtl number reduces the thermal boundary layer thickness.     

Modeling and forecasting natural gas demand in Bangladesh

Natural gas is the major indigenous source of energy in Bangladesh and accounts for almost one-half of all primary energy used in the country. Per capita and total energy use in Bangladesh is still very small, and it is important to understand how energy, and natural gas demand will evolve in the future. We develop a dynamic econometric model to understand the natural gas demand in Bangladesh, both in the national level, and also for a few sub-sectors. Our demand model shows large long run income elasticity – around 1.5 – for aggregate demand for natural gas. Forecasts into the future also show a larger demand in the future than predicted by various national and multilateral organizations. Even then, it is possible that our forecasts could still be at the lower end of the future energy demand. Price response was statistically not different from zero, indicating that prices are possibly too low and that there is a large suppressed demand for natural gas in the country.     

Thermal Buckling Analysis of a Mindlin Rectangular FGM Microplate Based on the Strain Gradient Theory

This article is aimed at developing a nonclassical Mindlin rectangular functionally graded material (FGM) microplate based on the strain gradient theory (SGT) to study the thermal buckling behavior of microplates with different boundary conditions. This theory comprises material length scale parameters to interpret size effects. The developed model encompasses classical and modified couple stress Mindlin microplate models, if all the material length scale parameters or two of them are taken to be zero, respectively. The Mindlin rectangular FGM microplate is considered to be made of a mixture of metal and ceramic of which the volume fraction is described through a power low function. According to Hamilton's principle and the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method, the stability equations and associated boundary conditions are obtained and discretized, respectively. Current formulations provide a possibility to have all types of boundary conditions which herein, FGM microplates with three commonly used boundary conditions are considered. Three different types of thermal loads including uniform, linear and nonlinear temperature rises along the thickness of FGM microplates are considered. The dimensionless critical buckling temperature difference (DCBTD) predicted by SGT is compared with that of modified couple stress theory (CST) and classical theory (CT) which it is found that CST and CT underestimate the DCBTD. Also, effects of the boundary conditions, length scale parameter and material gradient index of FGM microplates on the DCBTD are judiciously investigated.     

Chemically modified guar gum and ethyl acrylate composite as a new corrosion inhibitor for reduction in hydrogen evolution and tubular steel corrosion protection in acidic environment

The paper deals with the synthesis of Guar gum and ethyl acrylate (GG-EEA) composite. The synthesized natural polysaccharide composite was used as a corrosion inhibitor to reduce hydrogen evolution and P110 steel corrosion protection in 15% HCl (Hydrochloric acid). The primary corrosion techniques like weight loss, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) was used to analyze the corrosion inhibition process. The PDP proposed that GG-EEA composite is a mixed-type corrosion inhibitor and inhibits corrosion by blocking the active sites presenting over the metal surface. The corrosion inhibition performance of GG alone is 77.5%, and that of GG-EEA is 92.3% at 500 mg/L. The adsorption of GG-EEA onto P110 steel is spontaneous and mixed type, i.e., both physical and chemical. The conformation of GG-EEA molecule adsorption was done using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies. Density functional theory (DFT) analysis was done to explore the active sites over the inhibitor in metal-inhibitor interaction. Molecular dynamic simulation (MD) simulations study reveals that GG-EEA has more adsorption capacity than GG alone.     

Synthesis of BaFe12O19 by solid state method and its effect on hydrogen storage properties of MgH2

Previous studies have shown that ferrites give a positive effect in improving the hydrogen sorption properties of magnesium hydride (MgH₂). In this study, another ferrite, i.e., BaFe₁₂O₁₉, has been successfully synthesised via the solid state method, and it was milled with MgH₂ to enhance the sorption kinetics. The result showed that the MgH₂ + 10 wt% BaFe₁₂O₁₉ sample started to release hydrogen at about 270 °C which is about 70 °C lower than the as-milled MgH₂. The doped sample was able to absorb hydrogen for 4.3 wt% in 10 min at 150 °C, while as-milled MgH₂ only absorbed 3.5 wt% of hydrogen under similar conditions. The desorption kinetic results showed that the doped sample released about 3.5 wt% of hydrogen in 15 min at 320 °C, while the as-milled MgH₂ only released about 1.5 wt% of hydrogen. From the Kissinger plot, the apparent activation energy of the BaFe₁₂O₁₉-doped MgH₂ sample was 115 kJ/mol which was lower than the milled MgH₂ (141 kJ/mol)_. Further analyses demonstrated that MgO, Fe and Ba or Ba-containing contribute to the improvement by serving as active species, thus enhancing the MgH₂ for hydrogen storage.     

Formation of aluminium hydride (AlH3) via the decomposition of organoaluminium and hydrogen storage properties

Aluminium hydride (AlH₃) is a promising hydrogen storage material due to its competitive hydrogen storage density and moderate decomposition temperature. However, there is no convenient way to prepare/regenerate AlH₃ from (spent) Al by direct hydrogenation. Herein, we report on a novel approach to generate AlH₃ from the decomposition of triethylaluminium (Et₃Al) under mild hydrogen pressures (10 MPa) with the use of surfactants. With tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOAB), the synthesis led to the formation of nanosized AlH₃ with the known α phase, and these nanoparticles released hydrogen from 40 °C instead of the 125 °C observed with bulk α-AlH₃. However, when tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) was used instead of TOAB, larger nanoparticles believed to be related to the formation of β-AlH₃ were obtained, and these decomposed through a single exothermic process. Despite the possibility to form α-AlH₃ under low conditions of temperature (180 °C) and pressure (10 MPa), TOAB stabilised AlH₃ was found to be irreversible when subjected to hydrogen cycling at 150 °C and 7 MPa hydrogen pressure.     

Properties of film from cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) skin gelatin incorporated with cinnamon,clove and star anise extracts

Properties of film from cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) ventral skin gelatin without and with partial hydrolysis (1.2% degree of hydrolysis) incorporated with 1% ethanolic extract of cinnamon (CME), clove (CLE) and star anise (SAE) were determined. Films with different herb extracts (without and with oxidation) had higher tensile strength (TS) but lower elongation at break (EAB), compared with the control film (without addition of herb extracts) (p < 0.05). Lower water vapor permeability (WVP) and L^∗-value but higher b^∗- and ΔE^∗-values were observed when the extracts were incorporated (p < 0.05). Electrophoretic study revealed that cross-linking was pronounced in films containing different herb extracts. Oxidized extracts yielded films with higher TS and WVP than those without oxidized herb extracts (p < 0.05). Generally, similar properties were noticeable for films from gelatin with and without partial hydrolysis. Nevertheless, higher mechanical properties were obtained for the latter. FTIR spectra indicated that protein–polyphenol interactions were involved in the film. Thermo-gravimetric analysis revealed that films incorporated with SAE or SAE with oxidation (OSAE) exhibited lower heat susceptibility and weight loss in the temperature range of 50–600 °C, compared with control film. Films with SAE and OSAE had smoother surface for gelatin without hydrolysis; however, coarser surface was observed in film from gelatin with partial hydrolysis. Thus, the incorporation of different herb extracts directly affected the properties of film from cuttlefish skin gelatin with and without hydrolysis.     

Isomeric yield ratios for the formation of Sc in the Sc(γ,n), Ti(γ,xnp), Fe(γ,xn5p) and Cu(γ,xn8p) reactions with 2.5 GeV bremsstrahlung

We measured the isomeric yield ratios for the ^44m,gSc isomeric pairs produced from four different photonuclear reactions ⁴⁵Sc(γ,n)^44m,gSc, ^natTi(γ,xn1p)^44m,gSc, ^natFe(γ,xn5p)^44m,gSc, and ^natCu(γ,xn8p)^44m,gSc by using the activation method. The high purity natural Sc, Ti, Fe, and Cu metallic foils in disc shape were irradiated with uncollimated 2.5 GeV bremsstrahlung beams of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. The induced activities in the irradiated foils were measured by the high-resolution γ-ray spectrometry with a calibrated high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results the necessary corrections were made in the gamma activity measurements and data analysis. The obtained isomeric yield ratios for the ⁴⁵Sc(γ,n)^44m,gSc, ^natTi(γ,xn1p)^44m,gSc, ^natFe(γ,xn5p)^44m,gSc and ^natCu(γ,xn8p)^44m,gSc reactions are 0.25 ± 0.03, 0.43 ± 0.05, 1.38 ± 0.14, and 1.89 ± 0.21, respectively. The present result for the ^natCu(γ,xn8p)^44m,gSc reaction is in good agreement with the existing data. Our results for the ⁴⁵Sc(γ,n)^44m,gSc, ^natTi(γ,xn1p)^44m,gSc, and ^natFe(γ,xn5p)^44m,gSc reactions are the first measurements at 2.5 GeV bremsstrahlung. The obtained results are compared with the corresponding values found in the literature. The relation between the isomeric yield ratios and the complexity of the photonuclear reactions is discussed.     

Simulation of a pebble‐bed heat regenerator

A mathematical model to simulate the operational behaviour of a pebble‐bed heat regenerator has been developed, and an experimental study performed to test the model predictions. The model is based on finite heat balances for the solid and the fluid applied to a bed which is divided into several sections insulated from each other. Within each section, there is no radial or axial temperature gradient, i.e. the temperature of all the pebbles in a given section are the same. As the fluid stream flows through the idealized compartmented bed, there is heat exchange in each section between the pebbles and the fluid. The model, which is applicable both to the heating and cooling cycles, has been used to simulate the behaviour of a heat regenerator. To test the predictions of the model, experiments have been performed on a 7 ft by 8 in cylindrical column using a hot air stream of approximately 200°C at an average flow rate of 365 l min^‐1. A special technique, wherein a pebble is fixed to a thermocouple, was used to measure the temperature at different bed positions. Experimental conditions were such that interesting results have been generated. The model was able to predict with good accuracy all the unusual operational behaviour encountered. The deviations between the model and the experimental results can be explained by the fact that the model does not consider heat loss from the column wall. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.