Analysis of nonpremixed multiregion laminar flames through biofuel porous particles considering the effect of heat recirculation

In this study, a comprehensive analysis is conducted to evaluate the effects of heat recirculation and particle porosity on combustion characteristics of multizone counterflow nonpremixed flames fed with porous biofuel particles. For this purpose, the structure of flame contains preheat, postvaporization, and oxidizer zones. Additionally, Lycopodium is considered as the volatile biofuel, especially due to its appreciable flammability and dispensability. Dimensionalized and nondimensionalized forms of mass and energy conservation equations are scrutinized in each zone. To explore of the thermal recirculation effect, a specific term is included in the energy conservation equation. The variation of several parameters, including flame temperature, particle radius, mass fraction of the gaseous fuel and oxidizer, mass particle content, equivalence ratio, and particle porosity, is studied in this work considering and ignoring the thermal recirculation impact. As a result, increasing heat recirculation coefficient from $k=0$ to 1 will rise the flame temperature and shift the flame position to the left side (fuel nozzle). Furthermore, consideration of the thermal heat recirculation will improve the gaseous fuel production in the preheat and postvaporization zones. Additionally, an increase in mass concentration and reduction of particles radius and porosity would lead to a rise in the flame temperature.     

Barrier properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes containing carbon nanotubes or activated carbon

Carbon nanotube addition has been shown to improve the mechanical properties of some polymers. Because of their unique adsorptive properties, carbon nanotubes may also improve the barrier performance of polymers used in contaminant containment. This study compares the barrier performance of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes containing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to that for PVA containing powdered activated carbon (PAC). Raw and surface-functionalized versions of each sorbent were tested for their abilities to adsorb 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and Cu(2+), representing the important hydrophobic organic and heavy metal contaminant classes, as they diffused across the PVA. In both cases, PAC (for 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene) and functionalized PAC (for Cu(2+)) outperformed SWCNTs on a per mass basis by trapping more of the contaminants within the barrier membrane. Kinetics of sorption are important in evaluating barrier properties, and poor performance of SWCNT-containing membranes as 1,2,4-TCB barriers is attributed to kinetic limitations.     

Analytical modeling of strength in randomly oriented PP and PPTA short fiber reinforced gypsum composites

Fiber reinforced gypsum are prevalent building materials in which short fibers with high tensile strength are embedded into a gypsum matrix to produce supplemental strong and lightweight construction materials. Due to confrontation to a rising risk of death and economic disaster in earthquake-prone areas, quake-resistant materials and structures should be employed for building constructions. Gypsum based composites as a unique candidate for this purpose reduce the risks and produce much confident construction materials for residential buildings. In this work tensile strength of gypsum composites with different volume fraction of polypropylene (PP) and poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide (PPTA) fibers up to 15% were studied. Stress transfer ability from matrix to fibers were analyzed using theoretical shear lag analyses, scanning electron microscope, and pull out tests. The interfacial characteristics were also studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The ability of the composites to withstand against longitudinal tensile load was also studied by tensile tests of dog-bone shaped, random oriented fiber reinforced gypsum. Tensile strength of randomly oriented short fiber reinforced gypsum was evaluated by a mathematical model. The obtained results from the model and experimental results have been compared and discussed.     

Preparation,electrochemical behavior and electrocatalytic activity of chlorogenic acid multi-wall carbon nanotubes as a hydroxylamine sensor

Electrochemical characteristics of an electrodeposited chlorogenic acid film on multi-wall carbon nanotubes glassy carbon electrode (CGA–MWCNT–GCE) and its role as a sensor for electrocatalytic oxidation of hydroxylamine are described. Cyclic voltammograms of the CGA–MWCNT–GCE indicate a pair of well-defined and nearly reversible redox couple with the surface confined characteristics at a wide pH range of 2.0–12.0. The charge transfer coefficient, α, and the charge transfer rate constant, k_s, of CGA adsorbed on MWCNT were calculated 0.48 and 44 ± 2 s^?1 respectively. The CGA–MWCNT–GCE shows a dramatic increase in the peak current and/or a decrease in the overvoltage of hydroxylamine electrooxidation in comparison with that seen at a CGA modified GCE, MWCNT modified GCE and activated GCE. The kinetic parameters of electron transfer coefficient, α, the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant, k′, and exchange current, i₀, for oxidation of hydroxylamine at the modified electrode surface were determined using cyclic voltammetry. Four linear calibration ranges and high repeatability with relative standard deviation of 4.6%, for a series of four successive measurements in 17.7 μM hydroxylamine, are obtained at the CGA–MWCNT–GCE using an amperometric method. Finally, the modified electrode was successfully used for determination of spiked hydroxylamine in two water samples.     

Mechanism of the reversibility of asphaltene precipitation in crude oil

Asphaltene precipitation and deposition occur in petroleum reservoirs as a change in pressure, temperature and liquid phase composition and reduce the oil recovery considerably. In addition to these, asphaltene precipitates may deposit in the pore spaces of reservoir rock and form plugging, which is referred to as a type of formation damage, i.e. permeability reduction. In all cases above, it is of great importance to know under which conditions the asphaltenes precipitate and to what extent precipitated asphaltenes can be re-dissolved. In other words, to what extent the process of asphaltene precipitation is reversible with respect to change in thermodynamic conditions. In present work, a series of experiments was designed and carried out to quantitatively distinguish the reversibility of asphaltene precipitation upon the change in pressure, temperature and liquid composition. Experiments were conducted in non-porous media. Generally it was observed that the asphaltene precipitation is a partial reversible process for oil under study upon temperature change with hysteresis. However, the precipitation of asphaltene as a function of mixture composition and pressure is nearly reversible with a little hysteresis.     

Spare node cooperative method for IEEE 802.11 networks

Most of the existing cooperation methods select relay node(s) mainly based on the channel state information, but do not consider whether the selected relay nodes work or not. If the selected relays are invalidated, the performance of cooperative communication will deteriorate. To resolve the above problem, this paper investigates cooperative communication in IEEE 802.11 networks, and proposes a novel Spare Cooperative Method (SCM). SCM chooses a spare cooperation node to enhance the reliability of communication, and uses an enhanced handshaking mechanism to coordinate the access of source nodes and cooperation nodes to the wireless channel. The performance of SCM is comprehensively analyzed in terms of outage probability and saturated throughput. The analysis shows that SCM improves the performance of IEEE 802.11.     

2-D axisymmetric and 3-D analysis of the impact of a flat ended cylindrical projectile with a thick plate itself supported on an elastic foundation

This work is the logical extension of previous 2-D axisymmetric investigations of the impact of flat, ellipsoidal and torispherical ended cylindrical projectiles with a rigid surface [Kormi and Duddell, Applied Solid Mechanics-4, (edited by A. R. S. Ponter and A. C. F. Cocks), pp. 5–18. Elsevier Applied Science, London (1991)]. It is an examination of the behaviour of a missile in collision with a deformable recipient target which is itself supported on an elastic foundation. The impact of a flat ended cylindrical missile with a velocity of 175.3 or 365.7 m s⁻¹ with a circular plate in a 3-D and 2-D axisymmetric structurally equivalent model is investigated. At model construction and assembly level structural integrity is assured either by the inclusion of slide line and appropriate interface elements for 2-D axisymmetric analysis or, in the 3-D model, by using suitable interface elements. The analyses show that the finite rigidity of the recipient target, in comparison with the previously studied infinitely rigid surface, provides a degree of resiliency with an energy absorbing characteristic sufficient to change the nature of the missile response and lead to a marked reduction in stress wave intensity immediately after impact. The method employed to examine the process is of similar nature to that used in our earlier investigations.     

Clusters identification and characterization in a gas–solid fluidized bed by the wavelet analysis

The local solid flow structure of the bubbling fluidized bed of sand particles was investigated in order to identify and characterize the clusters. Extensive experiments were carried out using an optical fibre probe, measuring the velocity and the diameter of clusters. Under all operating conditions, ascending and descending clusters co‐existed at all measurement locations. The locus of the inversion point at which the directions of cluster motion changed was determined. The velocity of the ascending clusters was a function of both superficial gas velocity and the radial and axial position. With increasing superficial gas velocity, both the velocity and the diameter of ascending clusters decreased near the wall. However, the velocity of descending clusters depended mainly on superficial gas velocity and the largest clusters existed closer to the wall. The results of this study help to explain cluster hydrodynamics in fluidized beds.     

Numerical study of n-heptane/benzene separation by thermal diffusion column

In this article,numerical simulations are performed to investigate the performance of the thermal diffusion column for the separation of n-heptane/benzene mixture.The present work tried to optimize column by analyzing significant parameters such as feed flow rate,temperature and cut.In order to obtain the hydrodynamic and temperature and mass distribution inside thermal diffusion column,computational fluid dynamic(CFD) method is applied to solve the Navier-Stocks equations.Numerical simulations are conducted to study the main parameters in both stationary and time-dependent conditions.By using the separation work unit as a function of cut,the optimal cut for maximum SWU occurs within a limited range of 0.47-0.5 for feed rate between 0.5 and 4 g min-1.Our findings reveal that the optimum feed rate in the range of optimum cut is about 1 g min~(-1).In transient study,results show that the best cut for reaching to steady-state condition is θ=0.5.