Development of cable fault location method using fiber optic distributed temperature sensor

When ground-fault problems occur on a cable line, immediate fault location and restoration are required. Therefore, various new methods to locate the fault point instantaneously have been investigated to replace such conventional methods as the Murray loop method and the pulse radar method [1]. These methods require a long time to locate the fault point. One possible fault location method is to sense the temperature rise following a ground fault using a fiber optic distributed temperature sensor. Application of this method was found feasible through sensing the temperature rise at a ground-fault test using a thermocouple as a temperature sensor with test cables [4]. A power/optical composite cable was prepared experimentally and after verifying its thermal mechanical performance, the temperature rise at an incidence of a fault was determined and the anticipated performance was demonstrated in a ground-fault test. This article describes the outline of the test.     

Study on ASTM E399 and ASTM E1921 standards

Costs of ASTM E399 and ASTM E1921 tests, which were developed to determine the fracture toughness (K_Ic) and the ductile–brittle transition temperature of ferritic steels, respectively, are considered high and the procedures are also very complicated. In this study, a method, which is more cost‐effective and easier to carry out, is proposed.     

VARIATIONS IN ALFALFA JUICE SOLUTE CONCENTRATIONS AS WATER IS EVAPORATED

Alfalfa juice was extracted from plants during the graving phases of the first and second crops. The alfalfa juice was dried and solute concentrations were measured periodically during the process using freezing point depression (FPD) as an indicator. Solute/solvent weight ratios were calculated from the freezing point depression of fresh unconcentrated 'uice extracted from both firsc and second crops. At the time of harvest, tie FPD was a function of this ratio. The first and second crops behaved distinctively different during the drying process, with the second having a larger soluce concentration and a greater FPD at a given moisture content. The appearance of preci itate during the drying process and the general1 large FPD makes this materiay a questionable product for drying vitg low temperature processes.     

Effect of temperature on methyl radical generation over Sr/La2O3 catalysts

The role of gas phase CH₃ radicals in the oxidative coupling of CH₄ over 1 wt% Sr/La₂O₃ is supported by the observations that (i) this is a very effective catalyst for the generation of CH₃ · radicals and (ii) the concentration of CH₃ · radicals increases with temperature over the range of 450 °C–800 °C.     

A new method for the determination of wax precipitation from non-diluted crude oils by fractional precipitation

Wax precipitation is one of the most important flow assurance problems. Unfortunately, experimental data are very scarce to confirm existing models for prediction of such precipitation problem. This work reports a new experimental method. Multistage fractional wax precipitation was carried out by decreasing the temperature of crude oil. No solvent dilution was used, so the effect of solvent on temperature wax precipitation was avoided. The reproducibility of the method was tested with comparable results. The precipitation curve and the wax appearance temperature were obtained for two crude oils with different chemical nature using the reported method.     

Effect of high temperature alkali cooking on the constituents,structure and thermal degradation of hemp fiber

Degumming of hemp fiber by high temperature alkali cooking was investigated, and the effect of temperature and dosage of alkali on the constituents, structure, and thermal degradation of hemp fiber was also discussed in this work. The morphology, structure, and thermal degradation of hemp fiber after high temperature cooking were investigated through SEM, FTIR, WAXD, and TG analysis. The results indicated that the high temperature cooking process was effective for removing hemicelluloses and lignin and could also improve the thermal stability of cellulose. Crystallinity index of the treated hemp fiber was increased, which was related to the cooking temperature and NaOH dosage. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Functional copolymer of geraniol and acrylonitrile: Synthesis and characterization

The radical copolymerization of acyclic terpene namely geraniol [GER] with acrylonitrile [AN] in DMF at (70 ± 0.1)°C for 1 h, using benzoylperoxide (BPO) as an initiator has been carried out under inert atmosphere of nitrogen. The kinetic expression for reaction is R_p ∝ [BPO]^0.5 [AN]^1.0 [GER]^1.0. The IR spectrum of the copolymer shows bands at 3432 and at 2244 cm^?1 due to ? OH group of GER and ? CN group of AN, respectively. The ¹³C‐NMR spectrum shows peaks at 73–75 δ ppm and 116–120 δ ppm due to ? OH group of GER and ? CN group of AN, respectively. The thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry study shows that copolymer is thermally stable up to 407°C and has glass transition temperatures (T_g) 56°C. The reactivity ratios r₁ (AN) and r₂ (GER) have been calculated as 0.05 and 0.005, respectively. The Alfrey‐Price Q‐e parameter for GER has been calculated as 0.094 and ?2.0, respectively. The molecular weights of the copolymers have been evaluated by gel‐permeation chromatography. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Estimating thermal stress in BIPV modules

The thermal stress on building‐integrated photovoltaic modules (BIPV) in Espoo, Finland, was studied with field‐testing of amorphous silicon modules. Based on these results, the thermal stress at two other European locations (Paris and Lisbon) was estimated. The estimation procedure entailed thermal modelling of heat transfer in the façade with meteorological data as input. The results indicate that the thermal stress on BIPV modules in Lisbon is, in this case, approximately 50% higher that in Espoo and between 80 and 200% higher than in Paris, depending on the activation energy of the degradation process. The difference in stress between a BIPV module and a free‐standing module in Espoo was 50–200%. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.