Mean residence time of gas in mechanically agitated gas–liquid contactors

In the present study of gas–liquid contactors, mean residence/contact time was calculated from knowledge of superficial velocity and the gas phase hold-up, for various gas rates and impeller geometry and speeds, and compared with values obtained from RTD measurements. A new correlation, involving Flow Number, Froude Number, system geometry and the physical properties, is proposed. This uses the authors data and those available in literature.     

The effect of a solid additive on rolling fatigue life

Behaviour of a series of lubricant oils and the effect of a non stoichiometric inorganic compound, as solid extreme pressure additive, on rolling fatigue life are studied using the rolling four-ball accelerated service simulation test proposed by Barwell and Scott. The results show, in all tested cases, the remarkable efficacy of this type of additive. The Total Acidity Number (tan) was found to increase with performance time for the case of the base lubricant, while for the oils with additives, it remained at its constant low value. This led to a proposal of a possible mechanism of the additive performance in the rolling process.     

A continuum-based modeling of MEMS devices for estimating their resonant frequencies

A continuum-based modeling of coupled electrostatics-structure interactions is presented for the frequency computations of MEMS devices. The present general formulation of electrostatics accounting for free space is validated first by specializing it to one-dimensional uniform motion of conducting surfaces and comparing the resulting electrostatics to conventional lumped models. The general coupled electrostatics-structure interactions are then applied for the prediction of resonant frequencies of MEMS devices due to bias-voltage changes and temperature variations. Comparisons of predicted resonant frequencies obtained by the present coupled electrostatics-structure interaction models with experimental results available in the literature demonstrate that the proposed continuum-based interaction modeling yields high-confidence predictions of resonant frequencies of MEMS devices.     

Numerical simulation of typical contact situations of brake friction materials

In the paper, a model typical for contact situations of automotive brakes is established based on the method of movable cellular automata. The processes taking place at local contacts in an automotive brake system are analysed. Based on microscopic and micro-analytical observations, the following contact situations were simulated: (i) a couple of ferritic steel against pearlitic steel, both covered by an oxide layer mixed with graphite nanoparticles and (ii) the same situation but without oxide layers. The results of calculated mean coefficients of friction of the oxide-on-oxide contact correspond well to expected values for a real braking system, whereas steel-on-steel contact are twice as high. This allows one to make some conclusions; for example, oxide formation will take place more quickly than friction layer elimination, and finally this is responsible for the stabilisation of the coefficient of friction.     

Effect of vibration condition and inter-particle frictions on the packing of uniform spheres

We present a numerical study of the packing of uniform spheres under three-dimensional vibration using the discrete element method (DEM), focusing on the effects of vibration condition (amplitude and frequency) and inter-particle frictions (sliding and rolling frictions). The results are analysed in terms of packing density, coordination number (CN), radial distribution function (RDF) and pore structure. It is shown that increasing either the vibration amplitude or frequency causes packing density to increase initially to a maximum and then decrease. Both vibration frequency and amplitude should be considered to characterize the effect of vibration process on packing structure. The sliding and rolling frictions between particles can decrease packing density since they dissipate energy, although the effect of rolling friction is less significant. In line with the change of packing density, microstructural properties such as CN, RDF and pore distribution also change: a looser packing often corresponds to smaller CN, less peaked RDF and larger but more widely distributed pores.     

Three dimensional boundary element analysis of internal cracks under sliding contact load with a spherical indenter

Using boundary element based three dimensional modelling for linear fracture mechanics, we present an analysis of cracking in a homogeneous medium subject to contact load. The proposed iterative solution procedure allows a simultaneous treatment of a reasonable number of partially closed cracks. It is shown that the most probable direction of propagation of a vertical internal crack is strongly dependent on its size compared to the contact radius and its location with respect to the axis of maximum normal load.     

Pool boiling on a superhydrophilic surface

Titanium Dioxide, TiO₂, is a photocatalyst with a unique characteristic. A surface coated with TiO₂ exhibits an extremely high affinity for water when exposed to UV light and the contact angle decreases nearly to zero. Inversely, the contact angle increases when the surface is shielded from UV. This superhydrophilic nature gives a self-cleaning effect to the coated surface and has already been applied to some construction materials, car coatings and so on. We applied this property to the enhancement of boiling heat transfer. An experiment involving the pool boiling of pure water has been performed to make clear the effect of high wettability on heat transfer characteristics. The heat transfer surface is a vertical copper cylinder of 17 mm in diameter and the measurement has been done at saturated temperature and in a steady state. Both TiO₂-coated and non-coated surfaces were used for comparison. In the case of the TiO₂-coated surface, it is exposed to UV light for a few hours before experiment and it is found that the maximum heat flux (CHF) is about two times larger than that of the uncoated surface. The temperature at minimum heat flux (MHF) for the superhydrophilic surface is higher by 100 K than that for the normal one. The superhydrophilic surface can be an ideal heat transfer surface. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of brushless three-phase synchronous generator without exciter

Recently, a demand for small-capacity generators has been increasing as electric sources in small ships and automobiles or as portable electric sources driven by engines. It is desired that the structure of small-capacity generators be simple and robust, and that the generators be highly reliable, easily maintained and controlled. This paper describes an analysis of the original brushless synchronous generator without exciter. The output voltage can be adjusted in the wide range by controlling the stator dc current. To analyze the characteristics of this generator, the finite element method is applied. It is found that the results of theoretical analysis agree well with the experimental results.     

Compact Dipole Antenna for Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting Service

A compact dipole antenna for the terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (TDMB) application is presented. The length of the antenna is about 0.06λ at the TDMB resonance frequency of 190 MHz. Miniaturization of the antenna is achieved by using meander structures and lumped elements. The proposed antenna has two resonance frequencies and covers the TDMB band from 174 MHz to 216 MHz in Korea. The antenna has good impedance bandwidth and radiation characteristics for the TDMB. The experimental results of the designed dipole antenna are presented and analyzed.     

Exact integration in the boundary element method for two-dimensional elastostatic problems

This paper derives the exact integrations for the integrals in the boundary element analysis of two-dimensional elastostatics. For facilitation, the derivation is based on the simple forms of the fundamental functions by taking constant, discontinuous linear and discontinuous quadratic elements as examples. The efficiency and accuracy of the derived exact integrations are verified against five benchmark problems; the results indicate that the derived exact integrations significantly reduces the CPU time for forming the matrices of the boundary element analysis and solving the internal displacements.