CFD simulation of the IAEA 10 MW generic MTR reactor under loss of flow transient

Three-dimensional simulation of the IAEA 10 MW generic reactor under loss of flow transient is introduced using the CFD code, Fluent. The IAEA reactor calculation is a safety-related benchmark problem for an idealized material testing reactor (MTR) pool type specified in order to compare calculational methods used in various research centers. The flow transients considered include fast loss of flow accidents (FLOFA) and slow loss of flow accidents (SLOFA) modeled with exponential flow decay and time constants of 1 and 25 s, respectively. The transients were initiated from a power of 12 MW with a flow trip point at 85% nominal flow and a 200 ms time delay. The simulation shows comparable results as those published by other research groups. However, interesting 3D patterns are shown that are usually lost based on the one-dimensional simulations that other research groups have introduced. In addition, information about the maximum clad surface temperature, the maximum fuel element temperature as well as the location of hot spots in fuel channel is also reported.     

Removal of antimony (III) by multi-walled carbon nanotubes from model solution and environmental samples

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are used for the adsorption and removal of Sb(III) from model solutions and real environmental samples. The effects of different factors that affect the adsorption process; the results showed that most of the Sb(III) ions were removed from the solution within 30 min, at pH 7.0, using 200 mg MWCNTs. Further, it was observed that the adsorption process was greatly enhanced by lowering the solution temperature, which indicated the exothermic nature of the adsorption. The adsorption study was analyzed kinetically, using different kinetic models, and the results showed that the adsorption of Sb(III) by MWCNTs from the model solution followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with good correlation coefficients. In addition, it was found that the adsorption of Sb(III) occurred in more than one step, including the liquid film diffusion of the Sb(III) ions from the aqueous phase through the liquid film around the MWCNTs and further intra-particle diffusion through the nanotubes’ bundles and aggregates.     

Fully digital jerk-based chaotic oscillators for high throughput pseudo-random number generators up to 8.77 Gbits/s

This paper introduces fully digital implementations of four different systems in the 3rd order jerk-equation based chaotic family using the Euler approximation. The digitization approach enables controllable chaotic systems that reliably provide sinusoidal or chaotic output based on a selection input. New systems are introduced, derived using logical and arithmetic operations between two system implementations of different bus widths, with up to 100× higher maximum Lyapunov exponent than the original jerk-equation based chaotic systems. The resulting chaotic output is shown to pass the NIST SP. 800-22 statistical test suite for pseudo-random number generators without post-processing by only eliminating the statistically defective bits. The systems are designed in Verilog HDL and experimentally verified on a Xilinx Virtex 4 FPGA for a maximum throughput of 15.59 Gbits/s for the native chaotic output and 8.77 Gbits/s for the resulting pseudo-random number generators.     

Laser operation and computation of thermal stress in endpumped 1.1 at.% Nd-doped yttrium aluminium garnet rods with sub-millimetre diameters

Laser operation of a fibre-like 1.1 at.% Nd-doped yttrium aluminium garnet rod with a diameter of 0.34 mm and a length of 4.7 mm has been demonstrated. The fibre was end pumped with 0.5 W of continuous-wave radiation from a laser diode emitting at 808 nm. The measured laser thresholds are in a reasonable agreement with theoretical estimations. The distributions of temperature and stress in the crystal fibre were calculated with finite-element simulations showing that the fibre can be pumped up to a power of 40–50 W without fracture caused by thermal stress. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed laser rod design are discussed.     

Experimental and numerical study of a modified ASTM C633 adhesion test for strongly-bonded coatings

When coatings are strongly bonded to their substrates it is often difficult to measure the adhesion values. The proposed method, which is suggested naming “silver print test”, consists in covering the central part of the samples with a thin layer of silver paint, before coating. The process used for testing this new method was the Air plasma spraying (APS), and the materials used were alumina coatings on C35 steel substrates, previously pre-oxidized in CO₂. The silver painted area was composed of small grains that did not oxidize but that significantly sintered during the APS process. The silver layer reduced the surface where the coating was linked to the substrate, which allowed its debonding, using the classical adhesion test ASTM C633-13, while the direct use of this test (without silver painting) led to ruptures inside the glue used in this test. The numerical modelling, based on the finite element method with the ABAQUS software, provided results in good agreement with the experimental measurements. This concordance validated the used method and allowed accessing to the values of adherence when the experimental test ASTM C633-13 failed, because of ruptures in the glue. After standardization, the “silver print test” might be used for other kinds of deposition methods, such as PVD, CVD, PECVD.     

Quantification of annular flow in lined pipelines

This paper attempts to quantify the amount of flow within the annular space that could exist between a polymeric liner and a deteriorated host pipe. Inadequate fit of the liner within sewer line segments is likely to cause annular flow that will result in a higher flow rate within the wastewater collection system. The results of full-scale field tests performed by the authors on 12 pipelines lined with four different deformed/reformed or fold-and-form (DR/FF) and cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) liner products indicated that gaps of different sizes existed in all of the tested pipelines. These gaps have resulted in variable annular flow in the tested pipelines. Based on the results of the full-scale tests, a mathematical relationship was established between the annular flow in a lined pipeline and the annular space. The relationship between the annular flow rate and the average annular gap size depends on the difference in head between the entry and exit points along the pipeline. In turn, the average annular gap size depends on many factors including tolerances and imperfections in the host pipe and liner, conditions of the host pipe and the quality of liner installation. A third-order polynomial equation was found to best describe the relationship between the annular flow and average gap size under high differential heads (up to 3.0 m or 10 ft); whereas, a logarithmic relationship fits best under low differential heads for wider range of annular gap sizes (up to 17.8 mm or 0.70 in.). Based on the results of the full-scale tests, this is believed to be more representative of typical liner installations.     

An epidemic of scurvy in Afghanistan: assessment and response

In March 2002, there were reports of a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Afghanistan. It was later confirmed that the hemorrhagic symptoms and increased mortality were actually due to scurvy. Most aid workers did not include scurvy in the initial differential diagnosis because it is uncommon throughout the world and has mainly been reported in refugee populations in recent times. A rapid assessment confirmed the cases clinically, estimated a prevalence rate of 6.3% (a severe public health problem), and determined that the attack rates peaked each year in January and February (the end of the winter). Many Afghans have limited dietary diversity due to isolated locations, lengthy winters, the continuing drought of the last four years, asset depletion, and loss of livelihood. After numerous food and fortification options to prevent future outbreaks had been considered, vitamin C tablet supplementation was selected because of the relatively rapid response time as compared with other prevention methods. A three-month course of vitamin C tablets was distributed to 827 villages in at-risk areas. The tablets were acceptable and compliance was good. No cases of scurvy were reported for the winter of 2002-03. The case study from Afghanistan demonstrates that scurvy can occur in nonrefugee or nondisplaced populations; vitamin C supplementation can be an effective prevention strategy; there is an urgent need to develop field-friendly techniques to diagnose micronutrient-deficiency diseases; food-security tools should be used to assess and predict risks of nutritional deficiencies; and the humanitarian community should address prevention of scurvy in outbreak-prone areas.     

A neuro-fuzzy model for inflow forecasting of the Nile river at Aswan high dam

River flow forecasting is an essential procedure that is necessary for proper reservoir operation. Accurate forecasting results in good control of water availability, refined operation of reservoirs and improved hydropower generation. Therefore, it becomes crucial to develop forecasting models for river inflow. Several approaches have been proposed over the past few years based on stochastic modeling or artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. In this article, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model is proposed to forecast the inflow for the Nile River at Aswan High Dam (AHD) on monthly basis. A major advantage of the fuzzy system is its ability to deal with imprecision and vagueness in inflow database. The ANFIS model divides the input space into fuzzy sub-spaces and maps the output using a set of linear functions. A historical database of monthly inflows at AHD recorded over the past 130 years is used to train the ANFIS model and test its performance. The performance of the ANFIS model is compared to a recently developed artificial neural networks (ANN) model. The results show that the ANFIS model was capable of providing higher inflow forecasting accuracy specially at extreme inflow events compared with that of the ANN model. It is concluded that the ANFIS model can be quite beneficial in water management of Lake Nasser reservoir at AHD.     

Response to lactation induction differs by season of year and breed of dairy ewes

Lactation artificially induced (ART) by steroid hormones and natural lactation (NAT) after lambing were compared in 2 dairy sheep breeds (Manchega and Lacaune) in 2 experiments conducted during winter and spring. In experiment 1, ART ewes (14 Manchega and 9 Lacaune) were induced into lactation in winter by the standard protocol, which consisted of s.c. injections of estradiol and progesterone administered in 2 portions daily from d 1 to 7. Hydrocortisone acetate was injected s.c. daily on d 18 to 20. Milking was initiated on d 21 and continued for 13 wk. A similar group of NAT ewes was selected for the contemporary comparison of NAT vs. ART lactation. All Lacaune ewes, but only 3 of the 14 Manchega ewes (21%), were successfully induced into lactation. Despite the successful induction of lactation in Lacaune ewes, milk yield was much lower than that obtained in NAT lactation (1.23 ± 0.14 vs. 2.51 ± 0.15 L/ d). Milk composition from wk 5 to 13 did not differ between groups, except for whey protein, which was greater in ART than in NAT ewes (1.47 vs. 1.25%). In experiment 2, 19 Manchega ewes were divided into 2 groups and induced into lactation in spring by using the standard induction protocol, similar to that used in experiment 1 (control, n = 9), or the standard protocol modified with bovine somatotropin (bST, 250 mg/ewe on d 11; n = 10). Manchega ewes had an improved response to the standard protocol of lactation induction in spring compared with winter. Milk yield in bST-treated Manchega ewes was 98% greater than that in control ewes (402 ± 85 vs. 203 ± 86 mL/d). The use of bST during mammogenesis did not affect milk composition. In conclusion, marked differences between Manchega and Lacaune dairy ewes were observed in their response to lactation induction when using the standard protocol during different photoperiod conditions. The Manchega ewes were unable to establish lactation in winter but were able to do so in spring. The response to lactation induction in dairy ewes seems to be related to their endogenous levels of prolactin and growth hormone, the use of which should be explored more deeply in future research.     

Characterization of microalgal species isolated from fresh water bodies as a potential source for biodiesel production

Due to increasing oil prices and climate change concerns, biodiesel has gained attention as an alternative energy source. Biodiesel derived from microalgae is a potentially renewable and carbon–neutral alternative to petroleum fuels. One of the most important decisions in obtaining oil from microalgae is the choice of algal species to use. Eight microalgae from a total of 33 isolated cultures were selected based on their morphology and ease of cultivation. Five cultures were isolated from river and identified as strains of Scenedesmus obliquus YSR01, Nitzschia cf. pusilla YSR02, Chlorella ellipsoidea YSR03, S. obliquus YSR04, and S. obliquus YSR05, and three were isolated from wastewater and identified as S. obliquus YSW06, Micractinium pusillum YSW07, and Ourococcus multisporus YSW08, based on LSU rDNA (D1-D2) and ITS sequence analyses. S. obliquus YSR01 reached a growth rate of 1.68 ± 0.28 day⁻¹ at 680_nm and a biomass concentration of 1.57 ± 0.67 g dwt L⁻¹, with a high lipid content of 58 ± 1.5%. Under similar environmental conditions, M. pusillum reached a growth rate of 2.3 ± 0.55 day⁻¹ and a biomass concentration of 2.28 ± 0.16 g dwt L⁻¹, with a relatively low lipid content of 24 ± 0.5% w/w. The fatty acid compositions of the studied species were mainly myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, g-linolenic, and linolenic acids. Our results suggest that S. obliquus YSR01 can be a possible candidate species for producing oils for biodiesel, based on its high lipid and oleic acid contents.