A new flame-stabilization technology for lean mixtures

The development of a low-pollution burner is important for saving energy and preserving the environment. A low-pollution burner can be produced by lean-mixture combustion and general combustion technology. The flammable limit of premixed flame is narrower than that of diffusion flame. Producing a lean mixture of fuel results in an effective combustion condition, which in turn produces high load and low pollution. In this study, it was found that the influx of Q₂ had an effect on extending the lean flammable limits and flame stabilization in a doubled jet burner. And the flame, consisting of small eddies, can be stabilized by the nozzle neck phenomena.     

Simulation of smoke plumes from agricultural burns: application to the San Luis/Rio Colorado airshed along the U.S./Mexico border

Vegetation fires emit a number of air pollutants, thus impacting air quality at local, regional and global scales. One such pollutant is the particulate matter (PM) that is known to trigger adverse health effects. In this study, the CALPUFF/CALMET/MM5 modeling system is employed to simulate PM(10) dispersion (PM with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 microm) from agricultural fires in the Yuma/San Luis area along the U.S./Mexico border, with the aim of investigating local and regional air quality impacts of fires. To the extent possible the data collected from and observations made in the study area were employed to infer inputs to the modeling system, but insufficient information available on burning practices and input parameters, such as the duration of fire, PM(10) emission rate and plume rise, necessitated relying on some previously published research as well as the Fire Emission Production Simulator (FEPS) model to provide necessary inputs. Under the simulated conditions the fire plumes did not disperse much, and thus mostly affected the area near the sources. The PM impact of fires on populated (receptor) areas in Yuma/San Luis was less than 15 microg/m(3), calculated on the basis of EPA-recommended 24-hr averaged PM(10). If the formation of secondary particles is considered, the impacts could have been greater. In order to conduct more realistic fire plume simulations, it is imperative to have accurate fire-activity records such as the firing technique applied, fuel condition, time of burning as well as some model updates. In all, this paper presents a methodology for calculating agricultural-burns introduced PM, while identifying critical improvements that need to be made in future work.     

Source tracking of microbial intrusion in water systems using artificial neural networks

A "what-if" scenario where biological agents are accidentally or deliberately introduced into a water system was generated, and artificial neural network (ANN) models were applied to identify the pathogenic release location to isolate the contaminated area and minimize its hazards. The spatiotemporal distribution of Escherichia coli 15597 along the water system was employed to locate pollutants by inversely interpreting transport patterns of E. coli using ANNs. Results showed that dispersion patterns of E. coli were positively correlated to pH, turbidity, and conductivity (R2=0.90-0.96), and the ANN models successfully identified the source location of E. coli introduced into a given system with 75% accuracy based on the pre-programmed relationships between E. coli transport patterns and release locations. The findings in this study will enable us to assess the vulnerability of essential water systems, establish the early warning system and protect humans and the environment.     

Chemisorption of oxygen onto activated carbon can enhance the stability of biological perchlorate reduction in fixed bed biofilm reactors

Fixed bed biofilm reactors with granular activated carbon (GAC) or glass beads as support media were used to evaluate the influence of short-term (12h) and long-term (23 days) increases of influent dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations on biological perchlorate removal. The goal was to evaluate the extent by which chemisorption of oxygen to GAC can enhance the stability of biological perchlorate reduction. Baseline influent concentrations were 50 microg/L of perchlorate, 2 mg/L of acetate as C, and 1mg/L of DO. Perchlorate removal in the glass bead reactor seized immediately after increasing influent DO concentrations from 1 to 4 mg/L since glass beads have no sorptive capacity. In the biologically active carbon (BAC) reactor, chemisorption of oxygen to GAC removed a substantial fraction of the influent DO, and perchlorate removal was maintained during short-term increases of influent DO levels up to 8 mg/L. During long-term exposure to influent DO concentrations of 8.5mg/L, effluent perchlorate and DO concentrations increased slowly. Subsequent exposure of the BAC reactor bed to low DO concentrations partially regenerated the capacity for oxygen chemisorption. Microbial analyses indicated similar microbial communities in both reactors, which confirmed that the differences in reactor performance during dynamic loading conditions could be attributed to the sorptive properties of GAC. Using a sorptive biofilm support medium can enhance biological perchlorate removal under dynamic loading conditions.     

Analysis of deformation texture inhomogeneity and stability condition of shear components in f.c.c. metals

The texture of cold rolled aluminum sheet has been known to vary through the thickness due to inhomogeneous deformation during rolling. The copper texture is obtained in the center layer that is plane strain compressed while the shear texture in the surface layer, which is approximated by major 001 011 and minor 111 112 and 111 110 components. The stability condition of these components was calculated based on the full constraint Taylor-Bishop-Hill theory and could be described by a parameterdɛ₁₃/dɛ₁₁ with the suffixes 1 and 3 indicating the rolling and thickness directions, respectively.     

Boron distribution in a low-alloy steel

Boron distribution in a low-alloy steel (15B26:0.25C-0.29Cr-0.03Ti-0.028Al-0.0016B) has been characterized employing Fission Track Etching (FTE) method. The characteristics of boron distribution with variation of cooling rate after austenitization and through case-hardened depth after carburization were analyzed. Hardenability of 15B26 steel was also evaluated through Jominy-end-quench test and the results are as follows: It was observed that, in austenitized 15B26 steel, boron was distributed uniformly over the whole area of specimen with a little segregation along the austenite grain boundaries at higher cooling rates and boron precipitates were formed in the intergranular as well as transgranular regions at lower cooling rates. Jominy equivalents (HRC 35) of 15B26 steel were fairly increased between the Jominy temperatures of 820°C and 850°C, which might result from the increase of the amount of soluble boron in austenite due to the dissolution of borocarbides between 820°C and 850°C. In carburized 15B26 steel, the different through thickness features of boron distribution from the carburized surface were found; coarse nodular boron precipitates up to the depth of 150 μm; uniform distribution of dissolved boron between 150~650 μm; and segregation of boron atoms along grain boundaries in the regions deeper than 650 μm.     

Enhanced thermoelectric composite performance from mesoporous carbon additives in a commercial Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 matrix

Composites were prepared,through hot pressing,using carbon materials with different pore size distribu-tions as additives for commercial Bi0.5Sb1.5Tes thermoele...     

Precision forging of spur gears with inside relief

Conventional closed-die forgings as applied to the forging of spur gears require high forging pressure. In this paper, a precision forging technology has been developed for the forging of spur gears with alloy steel (SCM415). The technology developed includes two steps in the forging process. Well-shaped products are forged successfully using a lower forging pressure than that of conventional forging. The accuracy of the forged spur gear obtained by the new precision forging technology is set nearly equal to that of a cut spur gear of the fourth and the fifth classes in the Korean industrial standard.     

Free vibration analysis of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges

Presented herein is a finite element formulation for free vibration analysis of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges. Stiffness as well as mass matrices of the curved and the straight beam elements is formulated. Each node of both of them possesses seven degrees of freedom including the warping degree of freedom. The curved beam element is derived based on the Kang and Yoo's thin-walled curved beam theory in 1994. A computer program is developed to carry out free vibration analyses of the various bridges. Comparing with the frequencies using the general purpose program ABAQUS, the validity of the presented numerical formulation is shown. The numerical formulation is extensively applied to investigate free vibration characteristics of the bridges considering effects of the initial curvature, boundary condition, modeling method, and degrees of freedom of cross frame. Invaluable information which help practicing engineers better understand the vibration characteristics is provided.     

Development of moment-rotation model equations for flush end-plate connections

This paper presents the development of Ramberg-Osgood and Three-Parameter Power model prediction equations for the moment-rotation (M-θ) behavior of flush end-plate connections with one row of bolts below tension and compression flanges. A finite element model (FEM) of the connection region along with the connected beam and column is developed for load deformation analyses, which included material, geometric, and contact nonlinearities. The FEM model was verified with test results conducted and reported for flush end-plate connections in the literature during the 1980s. A matrix of test cases was obtained by varying the geometric variables of flush end-plate connections within their practical ranges. The connection M-θ data for these test cases were obtained by FEM analyses, which were then curve fitted to Ramberg-Osgood and Three-Parameter Power model equations to obtain parameters defining these equations. Finally, prediction equations were developed for parameters of the model equations as functions of geometric variables of the flush end-plate connections.