Inverse Identification of Thermal Properties of Charring Ablators

The modified Levenberg-Marquardt method is used for simultaneous estimation of decomposition kinetic coefficients and temperature-dependent thermophysical properties of charring ablators with a moving boundary over a wide temperature range. No prior information is used for the functional forms of the unknown thermal conductivity and specific heat. The procedure used differs from the traditional one in that it does not require prescribed time-dependent surface heat flux, recession rate, and pyrolysis gas mass flow rate. These time-dependent quantities may recover during an iterative procedure. The measured temperatures are simulated numerically by the Charring material ablation code, which accounts for unsteady ablation. The method can determine unknown parameters in an efficient manner with reasonable accuracy, without exact advance knowledge about the net surface heat flux, surface recession, and gas flux through the material.     

Influence of nitrogen doping on carbon nanotubes towards the structure,composition and oxygen reduction reaction

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) as noble-metal free catalysts were synthesised via chemical vapour deposition using iron (II) phthalocyanine as a metal catalyst for growth of the nanotubes. The synthesis process was performed in one step in a tube furnace using different chemical precursors (aniline, diethylamine and ethylenediamine) as nitrogen sources. The NCNT samples were physically characterised using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry measurements were conducted to investigate the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and they showed that the electrocatalytic activities depend on the structural and morphological changes in the NCNTs. The results showed that NCNTs synthesised from ethylenediamine precursors exhibit an ORR scheme proceed via indirect four electron transfer process in acidic media, which implies that these NCNTs are a candidate for serving as the cathodic catalyst in PEMFCs. The highly active NCNTs possess unique characteristics, including a high concentration of surface defects with high pyridinic-N and pyridinic-N-oxides configurations that serve as active sites for ORR activity in acidic media.     

HYDROMAGNETIC NATURAL CONVECTION FROM AN INCLINED POROUS SQUARE ENCLOSURE WITH HEAT GENERATION

The problem of unsteady, laminar, two-dimensional hydromagnetic natural convection heat transfer in an inclined square enclosure filled with a fluid-saturated porous medium in the presence of a transverse magnetic field and fluid heat generation effects is studied numerically. The walls of the enclosure are maintained at constant temperatures. The flow in the porous region is modeled using the Brinkman-extended Darcy's law to account for the no-slip conditions at the walls. The control volume method is used to solve the governing balance equations for different values of the Darcy number, Hartmann number, and the inclination angle. Favorable comparisons with previously published work are performed. These comparisons confirmed the correctness of the numerical results. The obtained numerical results are presented graphically in terms of streamlines and isotherms as well as velocity and temperature profiles at midsections of the cavity to illustrate interesting features of the solution.     

Neural extension of experimental data to investigate using phosphogypsume in light brick production

In this study, usability of wastes produced in phosphoric acid plants in structural brick manufacture has been investigated. There are several parameters involved in using these wastes in brick production namely the rate of added waste, firing speed and firing temperature. The performance of these parameters can be measured by several criteria such as natural drying shortening, water absorption and weight loss. Therefore, so many experiments are needed to investigate the effects of these parameters on the bricks produced with these wastes. The result of a series of experiments were utilized to achieve this end. The results have shown that the industrial wastes considered improve the performance of the bricks in terms of the criteria mentioned above. However, the results have also shown that further investigations are needed to explore the effects of interim values on the performance of the bricks. To achieve that end, a neural experimental study is adopted. For this purpose, the results of the experiments conducted were used to construct an artificial neural network. The trained and tested network was then used to check the effects of 280 different combinations for each type of material mixtures mentioned. The outcome of these artificial tests have provided the optimal values for the waste addition rate, firing speed and firing temperature based on the four criteria mentioned previously.     

Optimization of biohydrogen production by Clostridium butyricum EB6 from palm oil mill effluent using response surface methodology

Clostridium butyricum EB6 successfully produced hydrogen gas from palm oil mill effluent (POME). In this study, central composite design and response surface methodology were applied to determine the optimum conditions for hydrogen production (P_c) and maximum hydrogen production rate (R_max) from POME. Experimental results showed that the pH, temperature and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of POME affected both the hydrogen production and production rate, both individually and interactively. The optimum conditions for hydrogen production (P_c) were pH 5.69, 36 °C, and 92 g COD/l; with an estimated P_c value of 306 ml H₂/g carbohydrate. The optimum conditions for maximum hydrogen production rate (R_max) were pH 6.52, 41 °C and 60 g COD/l; with an estimated R_max value of 914 ml H₂/h. An overlay study was performed to obtain an overall model optimization. The optimized conditions for the overall model were pH 6.05, 36 °C and 94 g COD/l. The hydrogen content in the biogas produced ranged from 60% to 75%.     

Will energy regulations in the Gulf States make buildings more comfortable – A scoping study of residential buildings

Building envelope impacts upon energy consumption and indoor environment. The relationship between envelope components and indoor environment has become increasingly important, especially with the new emphasis on visual comfort, thermal comfort and indoor air quality. This paper examines the interaction between occupant thermal comfort and envelope component regulations in the Gulf States. The country chosen for this study is the Kingdom of Bahrain, the smallest country in the Gulf region. Simulation results and comparative studies were employed to investigate the impact of the current envelope component regulations on the internal environment. The paper focuses on residential buildings and concludes that the envelope component regulations contribute positively to the internal thermal performance. Although these envelope components are not generally the primary elements that impact upon internal thermal comfort there are circumstances when the components become very warm and occupants positioned close to them will experience discomfort. This paper shows that the thermal insulation regulation makes a small impact on thermal comfort, whereas the window regulation, particularly glazing, is more influential and that for most window areas, solar impacts are generally large.     

W-type hexaferrite nanoparticles: A consideration for microwave attenuation at wide frequency band of 0.5-10 GHz

The static and dynamic magnetic properties of W-type hexaferrites are tuned to meet the requirements of wide band frequencies for attenuation of electromagnetic interference and microwave absorptions purposes. For this purpose, the W-type hexaferrite of entirely new composition of BaCoZnFe_16−2yAl_yCe_yO₂₇ (y = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) has been synthesized by the chemical co-precipitation. The material is characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The complex permittivity (?_r = ?′ − j?″) and permeability (μ_r = μ′ − jμ″) spectra are determined using Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) in a range from 0.5 GHz to 10 GHz. During this study, it is noticeable that the Al³⁺ and Ce³⁺ ions have considerable effect on the shape of the nanoparticles. Samples having Al-Ce contents y = 0.2 and y = 0.4 showed large values for magnetization (70.5 emu/g) and remanent magnetization (32.9 emu/g). In addition, more than 99% absorption (>−20 dB) is noted for this sample composition. Based on these results it is concluded that the microwave absorption characteristics of these compounds can be tuned for the required frequency by varying the thickness of the absorber. Due to this reason, potential employment of the synthesized nanoparticles for absorption of electromagnetic radiations at wide frequency band of 0.5-10 GHz has been proposed.     

Propylsulfonic acid-functionalized partially crystalline silicalite-1 materials: synthesis and characterization

Propylsulfonic acid-functionalized partially crystalline silicalite-1 materials were synthesized via one step co-condensation technique by varying the molar ratio of organosilane source, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (3MP) to tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in the range of 0.05–0.30, and subsequent oxidation of thiol group to propylsulfonic acid using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). These materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption–desorption method. The structure of these materials was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ²⁹Si and ¹³C solid state NMR. XRD results show that % crystallinity of the materials decreased with the increase in 3MP concentration in the synthesis mixture. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) showed the presence of crystalline and amorphous phases in the samples. An amorphous phase was formed when 3MP concentration was 30 mol% of the total silica source. After elimination of the structure directing agent (SDA) by calcination at 420 °C, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows that the structure was thermally stable up to 550 °C. Ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD) shows that the acid capacity of these materials was in the range of 1.19–1.83 mmol H⁺/g, which shows that these materials could be used as potential heterogeneous acid catalyst.     

A comparative study of tunable Ba1−x Sr x TiO3 thin film capacitors prepared by rf-sputtering and liquid-phase deposition

Abstract

Ba_1?x Sr _x TiO₃ thin film capacitors have been successfully prepared using rf-sputtering and a metal organic deposition (MOD) method. The structure, microstructure and composition of the BSTO films are presented. Films grown on lanthanum aluminate LAO(100) showed c-axis preferred growth orientation. Broad paraelectric-to-ferroelectric transitions were observed in films prepared by both methods. The tunability of the capacitance by means of an appplied electric field is examined using various capacitor geometries. A decrease in the capacitance exceeding 75% at 77 K was obtained from the MOD deposited films under an electric field strength of 0.3 MV/cm. On the other hand, the tunability of the capacitance in the rf-sputtered films ranged from 5 to 10% at 77 K and at 20 kV/cm, while it exceeds 50% in some films. The results are compared with the predictions of Devonshire's phenomenological theory.