CHARACTERIZATION OF GAS-LIQUID FLOWS IN RECTANGULAR BUBBLE COLUMNS USING CONDUCTIVITY PROBES

Unsteady gas-liquid flows in bubble columns are comprised of various flow processes occurring with varying length and time scales and govern mixing and transport processes. In the present work, we have characterized dynamic and time-averaged properties of gas-liquid flows in rectangular bubble columns using conductivity probes. The development of a single-tip conductivity probe, data processing methodology, and photographic validation procedure is discussed in detail. The effect of superficial gas velocity and aerated liquid height-to-width (H/W) ratio on voidage fluctuations and time-averaged gas holdup was investigated. The experimental data presented here can help in understanding the dynamics of various flow processes and validating computational fluid dynamics based models.     

Improvement in Quality and Yield of the Low Alloy Steel Ingot Casting Through Modified Mould Design

The internal quality and yield in 4 ton steel ingot of 40cmd8 grade was studied by comparing its solidification in a square cross-section mould with a slender rectangular cross-section mould, using FEM simulation. The model predicted various solidification aspects like fluid flow, thermal and solidification profiles, mushy zone, local solidification time, porosity and piping for both the molds. The convective flow of the molten metal during solidification showed higher velocity in square ingot than rectangular ingot under similar conditions due to lower surface area to volume ratio that affected the heat transfer in the rectangular ingot. Higher amount of air gap between the ingot and the mould was formed in rectangular ingots. Lower microsegregation as measured in terms of local solidification time was observed in rectangular ingot. Based on microstructure parameters such as thermal gradient and rate of solidification, it was found that the square ingot had more equiaxed zone than rectangular ingot. The rectangular ingot solidified at a faster rate and showed more propensity for core porosity than the square ingot. The ingot yield was improved by 3.6% through mould shape modification from square to rectangular. Model was validated to limited extent by carrying out a typical experiment with square mould.     

Analysis of Particle and Crystallite Size in Tungsten Nanopowder Synthesis

Tungsten nanopowders were synthesized by a low-temperature technique and then heat treated in a gaseous reductive atmosphere in order to study the phase evolution, crystallite size, and particle size of the powders as the heat treatment temperature was modified. Synthesis of the powders was carried out in aqueous media using NaBH₄ as a reducing agent using careful control of the pH of the solutions. The XRD patterns of the as-synthesized powders showed an amorphous phase. After washing, energy dispersive spectroscopy showed that the powders had peaks for oxygen and tungsten. In order to promote crystallization and eliminate the oxygen, the powders were heat treated at 773 K, 923 K, and 1073 K (500 °C, 650 °C, and 800 °C) in a H₂/CH₄ reducing atmosphere for 2 hours. XRD after heat treatment showed α-W peaks for the powders treated at 1073 K and 923 K (800 °C and 650 °C) and a mixture of β-W and α-W for the powders treated at 773 K (500 °C). The crystallite sizes determined from X-ray peak broadening were 12, 16, and 20 nm, whereas the average particle sizes from dynamic light scattering were 260, 450, and 750 nm, for heat treatment temperatures of 773 K, 923 K, and 1073 K (500 °C, 650 °C, and 800 °C), respectively. The average crystallite size and particle sizes increased proportionally with the treatment temperature, in contrast to what has been found for some ceramics, in which as the heat treatment temperature is increased, the crystallite size increases, but the particle size stays constant.     

Numerical simulation of dispersed gas-liquid flows

This paper reviews the available information on numerical simulation of dispersed gas-liquid flows. Emphasis is on informing the reader about various aspects of constructing simulation models rather than giving an exhaustive literature review. The information is organised in a way so as to provide answers to the following questions: how to formulate model equations? how to select suitable algorithms and numerical techniques to solve these model equations? how to translate these into workable computer codes? how to use such codes for simulating flows in industrial equipment? Though greater emphasis is given to dispersed gas-liquid flows, the methodology can be applied to any multi-phase problem. Special features of multi-phase flow simulation over single-phase simulation are highlighted. A case of gas-liquid flow in a bubble column is presented as an illustration for the general methodology. The simulated mean flow field agrees reasonably with the experimental data. Properly validatedcfd codes thus can serve as a useful tool for design engineers of multi-phase systems. Some of the common pitfalls in using simulation codes for design are also discussed. This review is expected to give an overall idea about the present state-of-art of two-phase simulation in industrial equipment.     

Scheduling light-trails on WDM rings

We consider the problem of scheduling communication on optical WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) networks using the light-trails technology. We seek to design scheduling algorithms such that the given transmission requests can be scheduled using a minimum number of wavelengths (optical channels). We provide algorithms and close lower bounds for two versions of the problem on an n$n$ processor linear array/ring network. In the stationary   version, the pattern of transmissions (given) is assumed to not change over time. For this, a simple lower bound is c$c$, the congestion or the maximum total traffic required to pass through any link. We give an algorithm that schedules the transmissions using O(c+logn)$O(c+logn)$ wavelengths. We also show a pattern for which Ω(c+logn/loglogn)$\Omega (c+logn/loglogn)$ wavelengths are needed. In the on-line   version, the transmissions arrive and depart dynamically, and must be scheduled without upsetting the previously scheduled transmissions. For this case we give an on-line algorithm which has competitive ratio Θ(logn)$\Theta (logn)$. We show that this is optimal in the sense that every on-line algorithm must have competitive ratio Ω(logn)$\Omega (logn)$. We also give an algorithm that appears to do well in simulations (for the classes of traffic we consider), but which has competitive ratio between Ω(log²n/loglogn)$\Omega ({log}^{2}n/loglogn)$ and O(log²n)$O\left({log}^{2}n\right)$. We present detailed simulations of both our algorithms.     

Experimental Investigation on the Performance of a Solar Still Using SiO2 Nanoparticles /Jatropha curcas L

Silicon - Now, enticing systematic civic since everywhere the world is used in green synthesis and benefit of the simple is eco-friendly with an emergent method of producing nanoparticles (NPs)....