LOW TEMPERATURE FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME WAXY CRUDE OILS IN RELATION TO THEIR COMPOSITION : PART I WITH AND WITHOUT POUR POINT DEPRESSANT ADDITIVES

ABSTRACT

The yield stress, plastic viscosity and apparent viscosity and the dependence of the latter on the shear rate have been studied at different temperatures below pour point of Lingala (Krishna-Godavari basin, Eastern coast), Duliajan (Eastern region of Assam), Rava (Godavari basin) and Bombay-High (off-shore western region) indigenous crude oils

Four different commercial pour point depressant additives have been used to study their effects on the pour point, yield stress and plastic viscosity

From this study it has been found that wax concentration and its composition are primarily responsible for the variation in the pour point, and crude base composition has a small effect. However, the response of the pour point depressant additive in effecting the change in the pour point is primarily governed by the liquid matrix. As the temperature is lowered both the yield stress and plastic viscosity increase in case of each crude oil. However, the magnitude is dependent on the nature of the crude oil. With pour point depressant additives, the yield stress and plastic viscosity are decreased and this decrease is a function of nature of the liquid matrix of the crude oil and concentration of the additive     

Optimum anamorphic image generation using image rotation and relative entropy

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Anamorphosis is related to the art that gives illusion (distortion) over the image or object when the viewer looks the original image or from the random...     

Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir for untreated HCV genotype 1 infection in end stage renal disease patients: A prospective observational study

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in end stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with increased mortality. Recently, numerous directly acting antiviral agents have been approved for the management of HCV. Ledipasvir along with Sofosbuvir has been approved for management of genotype 1 infection in patients with eGFR ≥30 mL/min. However, there is paucity of data regarding its role in the management of patients on dialysis. Material and Methods: This is a single center prospective open label observational study to assess the safety and efficacy of Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir in hemodialysis (HD) patients who were diagnosed with HCV genotype 1 infection. Eligibility criteria were treatment naive HD patients with normal liver histology. We administered Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir combination tablet on alternate days for a period of 12 weeks. Primary efficacy end point was the assessment of sustained virological response (SVR12), and the safety end point was the discontinuation of therapy secondary to adverse drug effects. Results: A total of 21 patients were treated with this regimen. Two patients expired during the study period and are not related to the therapy. SVR12 was achieved in all the 19 patients. None of the patients in our study discontinued the therapy or had severe adverse drug effects. One patient had head ache and another patient had giddiness which were managed symptomatically. Conclusion: Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir combination therapy on alternate days, is effective even in ESRD patients, with excellent SVR12 rates, and it is as safe as in other population groups, without any major adverse reactions.     

Squeeze Infiltration Processing of Functionally Graded Aluminum–SiC Metal Ceramic Composites

The objective of the present work is on fabrication of functionally graded SiC/Al composite by direct squeeze infiltration of 6061 aluminum alloy using graded SiC porous preform prepared by inorganic porogen technique. Graded SiC preform is synthesized by varying the concentration of inorganic salt mixture and using Al as the binder. The microstructure analysis indicates the graded distribution of SiC particle and the melt has infiltrated completely throughout the preform to form functionally graded materials. The influence of preform and mold temperature, liquid metal superheat, squeeze pressure, and its rate of application plays major role on solidification microstructures and properties of the composites. The macro porous graded SiC preforms and the composites were characterized using SEM, optical microscopy, and XRD. The major interfacial reaction product is MgAl₂O₄ spinel which helps in formation of good interface bonding.     

Microstructural and Mechanical Characterization of Two Aluminium Based In Situ Composite Foams

In situ composites are multiphase materials where the reinforcing phase is synthesized within the matrix during composite fabrication. The present paper deals with the processing, microstructural and mechanical characterization of Al?C7Si?C0.3Mg?C10TiB₂ and Al?C4Cu?C10TiB₂ foams. Composite foams with very low relative density (??_r?=?0.17?C0.37) and foams containing uniform cell sizes were successfully processed. Since the TiB₂ particle sizes are less than 2???m and have a good wetting behaviour, TiB₂ can be very good foam stabilizers. Microstructural characterization of the cell walls showed significant grain refinement since TiB₂ is a grain refiner. Elemental mapping clearly showed TiB₂ particles at inter dendritic boundaries. Compression testing of the processed foams showed some interesting features. Stress?Cstrain curve showed a lot of serrations which indicated brittle fracture of the cell walls and edges. Hence, it is observed that a balance should be attained between the grain refinement of ??-Al grains and the amount of TiB₂ particles to obtain desirable mechanical properties. Energy absorbed by the processed foams was calculated and they were observed to be close to that of the commercially available ALPORAS foams.     

LOW TEMPERATURE FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME WAXY CRUDE OILS IN RELATION TO THEIR COMPOSITION : PART I WITH AND WITHOUT POUR POINT DEPRESSANT ADDITIVES

The yield stress, plastic viscosity and apparent viscosity and the dependence of the latter on the shear rate have been studied at different temperatures below pour point of Lingala (Krishna-Godavari basin, Eastern coast), Duliajan (Eastern region of Assam), Rava (Godavari basin) and Bombay-High (off-shore western region) indigenous crude oils

Four different commercial pour point depressant additives have been used to study their effects on the pour point, yield stress and plastic viscosity

From this study it has been found that wax concentration and its composition are primarily responsible for the variation in the pour point, and crude base composition has a small effect. However, the response of the pour point depressant additive in effecting the change in the pour point is primarily governed by the liquid matrix. As the temperature is lowered both the yield stress and plastic viscosity increase in case of each crude oil. However, the magnitude is dependent on the nature of the crude oil. With pour point depressant additives, the yield stress and plastic viscosity are decreased and this decrease is a function of nature of the liquid matrix of the crude oil and concentration of the additive     

Generation and analysis of FCG data using a single specimen and Kmax–ΔK testing matrix

A custom method to generate fatigue crack growth (FCG) data requires testing of multiple specimens at different load ratios, R, and the application of a load shedding procedure from pre-cracking level to threshold. In this paper, a novel method of testing has been investigated which utilizing a single specimen and a testing matrix in terms of K_max and ΔK values corresponding to predetermined R-ratios for which FCG data are recorded. Automatic K-controlled tests on 2324-T39 Al alloy were conducted using both increasing and decreasing ΔK procedures while K_max was kept constant. Results show that the increasing ΔK procedure gives less scatter than decreasing ΔK procedure. Also, fatigue crack growth curves near the threshold region obtained from increasing ΔK are above the curves obtained from decreasing ΔK procedure. These differences are explained by means of interaction between cyclic plastic zones and their effect on fatigue damage. The procedure with increasing ΔK demonstrated minimal interaction effects and hence it is recommended for efficient FCG data generation. The proposed procedure reduces testing time, the overall scatter associated with multiple samples and eliminates possible uncertainty linked to the load shedding procedure and its effects on threshold.     

Fatigue crack growth of AA2219 under different aging conditions

The fatigue crack growth of commercial AA2219 has been examined under different aging treatments, namely, naturally aged (NA), under aged (UA), peak aged (PA) and over aged (OA) conditions. From the near threshold stress intensity range (ΔK_NTH), the alloy in the NA condition is found to have the highest resistance to fatigue crack initiation. The crack growth rate increases and the near threshold stress intensity range decreases with advancing aging. This observation is found to be consistent with lower levels of crack closure and decreasing levels of tortuosity in crack path for PA and OA tempers. The inhomogeneous transcrystalline slip in the UA condition results in the slower crack growth at low stress intensity range (ΔK). The fracture morphology changes from crystallographic facets near the threshold region to clearly developed ductile striations in the Paris power-law regime to microvoid coalescence in the high ΔK regions.     

Calorimetric study on mechanically milled aluminum and multiwall carbon nanotube composites

Pure aluminum reinforced with carbon nanotube (CNT) composites have been prepared by high energy attritor milling up to 48 hrs. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) has been carried out to investigate apparent activation energy and order of the reaction between carbon nanotubes and aluminum by Kissinger equation and Crane equation under non-isothermal conditions. The DSC results clearly reveal that an exothermic reaction occurs before the melting of aluminum. The effect of milling time on the initiation of this exothermic reaction has been studied. The peak temperature of the reaction of carbon nanotubes and aluminum is found to depend on the heating rate during the continuous heating. Apparent activation energy was found to get doubled after milling for 36 hrs compared to 24 hrs milled samples. The mechanism of the reaction kinetics which depends on reaction order is instantaneous nucleation and one dimensional growth for both samples. Formation of Al₄C₃ was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) of as-milled powders and after performing DSC of the milled powders.