IGNITION DELAY CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME TURKISH VEGETABLE OIL-DIESEL FUEL BLENDS

Vegetable oils have chances to be used in Diesel engines as alternative fuels contributing to the solution of some agricultural, environmental and economical problems. Direct use of them has some technical problem yet but as blended fuels with diesel fuel or esters they have places on the application area. In this paper the effect of the compression ratio on ignition delay is investigated in an ASTM-CER engine working with four different types of vegetable oil of Turkish origin (sunflower, corn, soybean, and olive oil) blended with grade No.2-D diesel fuel at a ratio of 20/80 (v/v) and the results are compared with baseline diesel fuel. Longer ignition delay periods have generally been obtained for blend fuels ranking from olive oil to sunflower oil as compared to diesel fuel.     

Active vibration suppression of a flexible structure using sliding mode control

In this paper, sliding mode control (SMC) is designed and applied to an elastic structure to suppress some of its vibration modes. The system is an elastic beam clamped on one end and the designed controller uses only the deflection measurement of the free end. The infinite dimensional mathematical model of the beam is reduced to an ordinary differential equation set to represent the behavior of required modes. Since the states of the finite dimensional model are not physically measurable quantities, an observer is designed to estimate these states by measuring the tip deflection of the beam. The performance of the observer is important because the observed states are used in the SMC design. In this study, by using the output information, an observer is designed and tested to estimate the states of the finite dimensional model of the beam. Then the designed SMC is applied to the experimental beam system which gives satisfactory suppressed vibrations.     

Characterization and corrosion behavior of ceramic coating on magnesium by micro-arc oxidation

In this study, the commercial pure magnesium was coated in different aqueous solutions of Na₂SiO₃ and Na₃PO₄ by the micro-arc oxidation method (MAO). Coating thickness, phase composition, surface and cross sectional morphology and corrosion resistance of coatings were analyzed by eddy current method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and tafel extrapolation method, respectively. The average thickness of the coatings ranged from 52 to 74 μm for sodium silicate solution and from 64 to 88 μm for sodium phosphate solution. The dominant phases on the coatings were detected as spinal Mg₂SiO₄ (Forsterite) and MgO (Periclase) for sodium silicate solution and Mg₃(PO₄)₂ (Farringtonite) and MgO (Periclase) for sodium phosphate solution. SEM images reveal that the coating is composed of two layers as of a porous outer layer and a dense inner layer. The corrosion results show the coating consisting Mg₂SiO₄ is more resistant to corrosion than that containing Mg₃(PO₄)₂.     

All‐pass filters using DDCC‐ and MOSFET‐based electronic resistor

The main motivation in this paper is to draw attention to the tunability and input‐signal amplitude limitations when a nonlinear device is used as a resistor. For this purpose, two first‐order all‐pass filters are proposed using differential difference current conveyor (DDCC), a capacitor and a resistor without element‐matching restriction. These all‐pass filter circuits can be made electronically tunable with electronic resistors. Tunability and input‐signal amplitude limitations of the proposed circuits due to the operational restrictions of the electronic resistors are examined. PSPICE simulations confirm the validity and the practical utility of the proposed circuits. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of variable friction coefficient on sheet metal drawing

A variable friction model that relates the parameters of sheet metal drawing to the local lubrication conditions taking place during the deformation, has been integrated to a finite element program. Variable friction coefficients for the contacting surfaces are determined from the friction model, which uses the related parameters obtained at each time step of the finite element program as inputs. A number of numerical runs have been performed and the strains are compared with the experimental results for circular blanks. A good agreement is obtained between the numerical and experimental results for the variable friction model used.     

Exergetic analysis of an LPG evaporator/regulator with thermal storage

In this study, the efficiency of an LPG evaporator/regulator (E/R) is investigated on both energy and exergy concept. The E/R, which is a key part of LPG conversion systems that enables gasoline engines to be operated on LPG when desired, has been transformed to a thermal energy storage (TES) system using an adequate amount of phase change material (PCM) to be able to store waste energy of the engine coolant, so that the engine can be operated on LPG rather than gasoline even at cold start to decrease fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. The engine has been tested at idle speed at 4 °C environment temperature. The PCM application provided the engine to be operated on LPG at cold start and increased the efficiency of the E/R in a considerable extent on both energy and exergy bases. It was observed that using PCM in the E/R for thermal storage, the net efficiency differences of the E/R with PCM application reach to the values of 20% and 10%, respectively for the energy and exergy calculations. The net 2nd law efficiencies were lower than the ones that of 1st law with the values of about 11% for gasoline operation, and 8% for LPG operation of the engine.     

Determination of cadmium and selected micronutrients in commonly used and traded medicinal plants in Turkey

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants commonly used and traded in Turkey were monitored for their cadmium and selected micronutrient (copper, iron, manganese and zinc) content. RESULTS: Cadmium was not detected in any sample of licorice extract, linden flowers or nettle leaves. However, in the rest of the samples, cadmium was found in the range of 7–126 µg kg^?1, with the highest concentration in chamomile leaf. Of all the monitored trace elements, the highest concentration found was 520 mg kg^?1 iron in zahter. The highest copper, manganese and zinc concentrations were found in rose hips (24 mg kg^?1), Turkish oregano (58 mg kg^?1) and zahter (50 mg kg^?1), respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study reveal that cadmium and trace element concentrations in medicinal plants commonly used as traditional medicines in Turkey are well below the critical levels. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation of N‐doped graphene powders by cyclic voltammetry and a potential application of them: Anode materials of Li‐ion batteries

Nowadays, doped graphenes are attracting much interest in the field of Li‐ion batteries since it shows higher specific capacity than widely used graphite. However, synthesis methods of doped graphenes have secondary processes that requires much energy. In this study, in situ synthesis of N‐doped graphene powders by using of cyclic voltammetric method from starting a graphite rod in nitric acid solution has been discussed for the first time in the literature. The N‐including functional groups such as nitro groups, pyrrolic N, and pyridinic N have been selectively prepared as changing scanned potential ranges in cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical performance as anode material in Li‐ion batteries has also been covered within this study. N‐doped graphene powders have been characterized by electrochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopic methods. According to the X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman results, N‐doped graphene powders have approximately 16 to 18 graphene rings in their main structure. The electrochemical analysis of graphene powders synthesized at different potential ranges showed that the highest capacity was obtained 438 mAh/g after 10 cycles by using current density of 50 mA/g at N‐GP4. Furthermore, the sample having higher defect size shows better specific capacity. However, the more stable structure due to oxygen content and less defect size improves the rate capabilities, and thus, the results obtained at high current density indicated that the remaining capacity of N‐GP1 was higher than the others.