Study on performance and flow field of an undershot cross-flow water turbine comprising different number of blades

Recently,small hydroelectric generators have gained attention as a further development in water turbine technology for ultra low head drops in open channels.The authors have evaluated the application of cross-flow water turbines in open channels as an undershot type after removing the casings and guide vanes to substantially simplify these water turbines.However,because undershot cross-flow water turbines are designed on the basis of cross-flow water turbine runners used in typical pipelines,it remains unclear whether the number of blades has an effect on the performance or flow fields.Thus,in this research,experiments and numerical analyses are employed to study the performance and flow fields of undershot cross-flow water turbines with varying number of blades.The findings show that the turbine output and torque are lower,the fluctuation is significantly higher,and the turbine efficiency is higher for runners with 8 blades as opposed to those with 24 blades.     

Pulsed source of ultra low energy positive muons for near-surface μSR studies

We have produced a pulsed beam of low energy (ultra slow) polarized positive muons (LE-μ⁺) and performed several demonstration muon spin rotation/relaxation (μSR) experiments at ISIS RIKEN-RAL muon facility in UK. The energy of the muons implanted into a sample is tuneable between 0.1 keV and 18 keV. This allows us to use muons as local magnetic microprobes on a nanometre scale. The control over the implantation depth is from several nanometres to hundreds of nanometres depending on the sample density and muon energy. The LE-μ⁺ are produced by two-photon resonant laser ionization of thermal muonium atoms. Currently ∼15 LE-μ⁺/s with 50% spin polarization are transported to the μSR sample position, where they are focused to a small spot with a diameter of only 4 mm. The overall LE-μ⁺ generation efficiency of 3 × 10⁻⁵ is comparable to that obtained when moderating the muon beam to epithermal energies in simple van der Waals bound solids. In contrast to other methods of LE-μ⁺ generation, the implantation of the muons into the sample can be externally triggered with the duration of the LE-μ⁺ pulse being only 7.5 ns. This allows us to measure spin rotation frequencies of up to 40 MHz.     

Quantitative risk assessment using a Japanese hydrogen refueling station model

Although hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) are becoming widespread across Japan and are essential for the operation of fuel cell vehicles, they present potential hazards. A large number of accidents such as explosions or fires have been reported, rendering it necessary to conduct a number of qualitative and quantitative risk assessments for HRSs. Current safety codes and technical standards related to Japanese HRSs have been established based on the results of a qualitative risk assessment and quantitative effectiveness validation of safety measures over ten years ago. In the last decade, there has been much development in the technologies of the components or facilities used in domestic HRSs and much operational experience as well as knowledge to use hydrogen in HRSs safely have been gained through years of commercial operation. The purpose of the present study is to conduct a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of the latest HRS model representing Japanese HRSs with the most current information and to identify the most significant scenarios that pose the greatest risks to the physical surroundings in the HRS model. The results of the QRA show that the risk contours of 10^?3 and 10^?4 per year were confined within the HRS boundaries, whereas the risk contours of 10^?5 and 10^?6 per year are still present outside the HRS. Comparing the breakdown of the individual risks (IRs) at the risk ranking points, we conclude that the risk of jet fire demonstrates the highest contribution to the risks at all of the risk ranking points and outside the station. To reduce these risks and confine the risk contour of 10^?6 per year within the HRS boundaries, it is necessary to consider risk mitigation measures for jet fires.     

CHAOTIC BEHAVIOR AND TRANSITION TO TURBULENCE IN POROUS MEDIA

An experimental study has been made of the chaotic behavior in the transition to turbulence of flow through porous media consisting of a bank of tubes in a narrow gap. Judging from the examination of the correlation dimension and the maximum Lyapunov exponents, we can identify the chaotic behavior in porous media for Re > ～60. Rapid increase in the maximum Lyapunov exponents was observed for Re > ～300. Also, the spatial distribution of the Lyapunov exponents is discussed.     

Applications of microstructures fabricated by proton beam writing to electric-micro filters

Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio microstructures was performed by proton beam writing (PBW) using a microbeam line at Takasaki Ion Accelerators for Advanced Radiation Application (TIARA), JAEA Takasaki, JAPAN. As one of the applications of the high-aspect-ratio structures micro-machined by PBW, we utilized the high-aspect pillars for electric-micro filters of microbes such as Escherichia coli and Yeast based on the dielectrophoretic force. The filter is equipped with high-aspect pillars with a height of ～20 μm and a diameter of ～1 μm on a glass plate. Evaluation of the dielectrophoresis (DEP) device for capturing E. coli and Yeast was made using either observation by optical microscope or photoluminescence (PL) measurements.     

Heat transfer characteristics of a reservoir embedded loop heat pipe (Heat transfer characteristics of a deployable radiator for use on the ETS‐VIII satellite while in orbit)

As heat generation in satellites increases, ensuring that they are provided with sufficient radiator panel area is an important problem. Deployable radiators, with radiator panels that are deployed post‐launch in space to increase the satellite's effective radiator panel area of the satellite, are becoming an important thermal control technology. A reservoir embedded loop heat pipe (RELHP) is used in deployable radiators as a heat transport device. A deployable radiator of this type was mounted on the ETS‐VIII satellite, which was launched on December 18, 2006 and injected into a geostationary orbit. The satellite is still operating without any significant issues over two years later. This paper investigates the heat transport characteristics of an RELHP system used in a deployable radiator in a geostationary orbital environment. This system can be successfully started up in a micro gravity environment. We also found that the sub‐cooling region is shorter in a micro gravity environment than in a terrestrial gravity environment, because there is less heat leakage into the reservoir in a micro gravity environment. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20346     

Structural characterization of 1,2-polybutadiene by 13C n.m.r. spectroscopy: 1. Signal assignment in hydrogenated polybutadienes

The configurational sequences of 1,2-unit in a series of hydrogenated syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadienes were investigated in relation to the sequence distribution of 1,2- and 1,4-units. The signals at 10.20–10.94 ppm were assigned to the methyl carbons in the isolated 1,2-unit, the 1,2-1,2 dyad sequence flanked by 1,4-unit, and the 1,2-1,2-1,2 triad sequence, in order of increasing magnetic field. The splittings due to the configurational sequences were observed in the signals, reflecting the dyad and triad sequences of the 1,2-unit, which were assigned by considering the relative intensity of the signals and also the chemical shifts of model polymers.     

Structural characterization of 1,2-polybutadiene by 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy: 2. Sequence distribution of 1,2-unit in hydrogenated polybutadienes

The configurational sequences of 1,2-unit in a series of hydrogenated syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadienes were determined in relation to the sequence distribution of 1,2- and 1,4-units on the basis of the ¹³C-n.m.r. signal assignment of the methyl carbons. The observed triad distributions of 1,2- and 1,4-units and configurational distributions of the 1,2-unit are in good agreement with the calculated distributions from transition probabilities. The number average sequence lengths of the 1,2-unit and the 1,2-unit in the racemic addition are 5.7 to 8.0 and 4.1 to 5.4, respectively. From the extrapolation of the plot of the number average sequence length against the crystallinity of the starting 1,2-polybutadienes, the minimum sequence length for crystallization is estimated to be 3.7 for the 1,2-unit in the racemic addition.