Shaping the Toroidal Section of End Mills

The shaping of the toroidal cutting section of end mills is considered. Methods are devised for selecting the positional parameters in shaping the helical rake surface on the toroidal section. Relations are established between the geometric parameters of the end mill in the toroidal section.     

Stability and thermophysical properties of fly ash nanofluid for heat transfer applications

Improving the performance of heat transfer fluids is altogether significant. The best approach for improving the thermal conductivity is the addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid. In the present study, specific heat, dynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity of water-based Indian coal fly ash stable nanofluid for 0.1% to 0.5% volume concentration in the temperature range of 30 to 60°C has been investigated. To evaluate an average particle diameter of 11.5 nm, the fly ash nanoparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Using zeta potential, the stability of nanofluid in the presence of surfactant Triton X-100 was tested. Thermal conductivity and viscosity of fly ash nanofluid increased, while specific heat decreased as volume concentration increased. The effect of temperature on the fly ash nanofluid was directly proportional to its thermal conductivity and specific heat and inversely proportional to viscosity.     

Demonstration of a tool for automatic learning and re-use of knowledge in the activated sludge process.

Wastewater treatment plant operators encounter complex operational problems related to the activated sludge process and usually respond to these by applying their own intuition and by taking advantage of what they have learnt from past experiences of similar problems. However, previous process experiences are not easy to integrate in numerical control, and new tools must be developed to enable re-use of plant operating experience. The aim of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of a case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to apply learning and re-use of knowledge gained during past incidents to confront actual complex problems through the IWA/COST Benchmark protocol. A case study shows that the proposed CBR system achieves a significant improvement of the benchmark plant performance when facing a high-flow event disturbance.     

Analysis of enterococci using portable testing equipment for developing countries--variance of Azide NutriDisk medium under variable time and temperature.

This report compares the enterococci count on samples obtained with Azide NutriDisk (AND) (sterile, dehydrated culture medium) and Slanetz and Bartley (SB) medium when exposed to a variable in incubation time and temperature. Three experiments were performed to examine the recovery of enterococci on AND and SB media using membrane filtration with respect to: (a) incubation time; (b) incubation temperature; and (c) a combination of the two. Presumptive counts were observed at 37, 41, 46 and 47 degrees C and at 20, 24, 28 and 48 h. These were compared to AWWA standard method 9230 C (44 degrees C, 44 h). Samples were confirmed using Kanamycin Aesculin Azide (KAA) agar. Friedman's ANOVA and Students t-test analysis indicated higher enumeration of enterococci when grown on AND (p = 0.45) than SB (p = < 0.001) at all temperatures with a survival threshold at 47 degrees C. Significant results for AND medium were noted at 20 h (p = 0.021), 24 h (p = 0.278) and 28 h (p = 0.543). The study concluded that the accuracy of the AND medium at a greater time and temperature range provided flexibility in incubator technology making it an appropriate alternative to SB medium for monitoring drinking water using field testing kits in developing countries.     

Ecophysiology and niche differentiation of Nitrospira-like bacteria, the key nitrite oxidizers in wastewater treatment plants.

Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria of the genus Nitrospira are key nitrifiers in wastewater treatment plants. Pure cultures of these organisms are unavailable, but cultivation-independent molecular methods make it possible to detect Nitrospira-like bacteria in environmental samples and to investigate their ecophysiology. Comprehensive screening of natural and engineered habitats and of public databases for 16S rRNA sequences of Nitrospira-like bacteria revealed a surprisingly high biodiversity in the genus Nitrospira, which comprises at least four phylogenetic sublineages. All Nitrospira-like bacteria detected in wastewater treatment plants belonged to the sublineages I and II. Subsequently, the population dynamics of different Nitrospira-like bacteria were monitored, by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization with rRNA-targeted probes, confocal laser scanning microscopy and digital image analysis, during incubation of nitrifying activated sludge in media containing different nitrite concentrations. These experiments showed that Nitrospira-like bacteria, which were affiliated with the phylogenetic sublineages I or II of the genus Nitrospira, responded differently to nitrite concentration shifts. Previously unknown properties of Nitrospira-like bacteria were discovered in the course of an environmental genomics project. Implications of the obtained results for fundamental understanding of the microbial ecology of nitrite oxidizers as well as for future improvement of nutrient removal in wastewater treatment plants are discussed.     

Benchmark simulation Model no 2 in Matlab-simulink: towards plant-wide WWTP control strategy evaluation.

In this paper, implementation of the Benchmark Simulation Model No 2 (BSM2) within Matlab-Simulink is presented. The BSM2 is developed for plant-wide WWTP control strategy evaluation on a long-term basis. It consists of a pre-treatment process, an activated sludge process and sludge treatment processes. Extended evaluation criteria are proposed for plant-wide control strategy assessment. Default open-loop and closed-loop strategies are also proposed to be used as references with which to compare other control strategies. Simulations indicate that the BM2 is an appropriate tool for plant-wide control strategy evaluation.     

Analysis of phosphorus removal and anaerobic selector performance in a full-scale activated sludge process in Singapore.

This paper analyses the performance of the anaerobic selector (A/O process) in a full-scale activated sludge process receiving mostly industrial sewage discharge (> 60%) in Singapore. In addition to the sludge settleability, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) was studied. The sludge volume index (SVI) reduced from 200 to 80 ml g(-1) and foaming was suppressed significantly, indicating the effectiveness of the anaerobic selector in improving sludge settleability. The phosphorus removal efficiency was 66%, and 7.5 mg HAc-COD was consumed per mg PO4(3-) -P removed. In the anaerobic compartment, 31% of the SCOD and 73% of the acetic acid in the settled sewage were removed with PO4(3-) -P release of 14.1 mg PO4(3-)-P l(-1). The linear correlation between PO4(3-) -P release in the anaerobic compartment and PO4(3-) -P uptake in the aerobic compartment indicates that there is about 0.8 mg PO4(3-) -P release in the anaerobic compartment per mg PO34(3-) -P uptake in the aerobic compartment. The fates of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and its short chain acids (SCAs) in the process were studied and discussed.     

Enhanced sludge conditioning by enzyme pre-treatment: comparison of laboratory and pilot scale dewatering results.

The effect of enzyme pre-treatment on dewaterability of anaerobically digested sludge was investigated at both laboratory and pilot scale. Our results revealed a significant increase in cake solid content (27% cake solids compared to 18% without enzyme pre-treatment), using an enzyme dose of only 20 mg/L. In order to assess practical application, enzyme pre-treatment was applied at the Wilmington, Delaware (U.S.) wastewater treatment plant, using a pilot-scale centrifuge. However, the efficiency reached in laboratory scale could not be obtained in pilot scale, where the final cake solids content did not exceed 20%. Centrifuge and belt filter press (simulated by Crown Press) dewatering were compared in terms of the process efficiencies in the absence and presence of enzyme pre-treatment. Possible factors that might cause the differences were tested by experimental and statistical comparisons. Results indicated that the higher shear applied in centrifugation is responsible for the lack of improved cake solids. The network strength of sludge determined by rheological measurements revealed that enzymatic treatment weakens the gel structure of the sludge floc through the hydrolysis of extracellular polymeric substances; this allows improved dewatering by filtration processes, but leads to floc deterioration when subjected to high shear during centrifugation.     

Differentiation of Romashkino crude oils according to biomarker hydrocarbon parameters

The trends in composition of higher biomarker hydrocarbons (steranes and tri-, tetra-, and pentacyclic terpanes) in crude oils from diachronous producing complexes of deposits of the Romashkino oil field, which occurs in the central part of the South Tatarian arch, were studied. On the basis of variations in molecular biomarker parameters that reflect the type of source organic matter and the facies conditions of its accumulation and early diagenesis, the oils are classified with three groups.     

HIGHER PLANT BIOMARKERS IN PALEOGENE CRUDE OILS FROM THE YUFUTSU OIL-AND GASFIELD AND OFFSHORE WILDCATS, JAPAN

Geochemical investigation of Paleogene oils from the onshore Yufutsu oil- and gasfield, southern Hokkaido, and from two nearby offshore wells, revealed the presence of numerous biomarkers of higher plant origin. Biomarkers in the oils belong to different groups of both angiosperm and gymnosperm origin; they include bicyclic sesquiterpanes, diterpanes, and triterpanes and their aromatized counterparts, which suggests a terrestrial origin for the oils. The oils were characterized as having a high wax content, a low content of organosulphur compounds, a high pristane/phytane ratio, and a low C₂₇/(C₂₇+C₂₉) sterane ratio.
Although the oils from on- and offshore Southern Hokkaido are similar in their geochemical composition, notable differences were observed in the biomarker signature of both saturate and aromatic fractions. The oils from the offshore wells appeared to have a greater abundance of higher plant biomarkers compared to those from the Yufutsu field, suggesting an enrichment in higher plant components. Differences in biomarker fingerprint could not be linked to the maturity effect, since the oils appeared to be of similar maturity levels, corresponding to the late stage of the oil window (0.9–1.2%, Rc). The differences in the biomarker signatures between the oils from the Yufutsu field and the offshore wells are likely to be due to facies variations in source organic matter, resulting from differences in the quantity and quality of land plant input.