Estimation of the Substrate Concentration Profiles in Petroleum Pipelines Containing Biofilms

In industrial systems, the formation of biofilms can cause many problems, such as an increase in the flow resistance of pipelines, energy losses in fluid transport and heat exchangers, product contamination, materials deterioration, and biocorrosion. As a result, biofilms contribute substantially to economic losses in the industry. Corrosion is particularly an issue in the petroleum industry and its implications range from down-hole completion through petroleum processing units. Much of this corrosion is attributed to microbial activities. This paper proposes a mathematical model for predicting substrate concentration for such microbial growth. Substrate concentrations in the system and near the biofilm surface are one of the parameters that has a great effect in determining the extent of the problems associated with biofilms. In this study, a convective-diffusion model under various flow conditions (stagnant, laminar, and turbulent) has been solved using the finite difference technique, employing the alternating direction implicit (ADI) method. The model assumes that a liquid containing substrate and bacteria is flowing in a pipeline with known concentrations at the inlet and then predicts the variation of the transient (as a function of time) substrate concentration along the pipeline and as a function of the pipe radius. The model is then used to predict and estimate the substrate concentration profiles on the biofilm surface under different environmental conditions. A parametric study was also conducted to study the effect of the different parameters influencing the substrate concentration profiles in the system and on the biofilm surface.     

Iterative finite element model of nonlinear viscoplastic analyses for blended granular porous media

The iterative finite element model, in which an element is used to represent a single particle, is generated to analyze the global behavior of multiple-material aggregates of materially nonlinear viscoplastic particles. The generalized Maxwell model is used to define four types of specific nonlinear viscoplastic materials, which are the elasto visco-plastic matter with linear viscosity, the plasto visco-plastic material with linear viscosity, the elasto visco-plastic media with nonlinear viscosity, and the plasto visco-plastic media with nonlinear viscosity. The theory and relevant penalty iterative algorithm are developed to analyze the four representative mixed granular systems consisting of materially nonlinear viscous particles. To verify precision of stress calculation, solutions of an axis-symmetric radial flow problem are compared with results of the literature and they are in a great agreement. The results present here provide significant insight into the fundamental behavior of granular media under compaction conditions, including prediction of the overall aggregates stress-strain response.     

SPECTRAL DENSITY ESTIMATION FROM NONLINEARLY OBSERVED DATA

Abstract. The estimation of the spectral density function of a stationary Gaussian process at the input of an instantaneous nonlinearity is considered when the nonlinearity is known and a finite set of observations of the output process is given. A class of spectral estimates is considered and their quadratic-mean consistency is established; precise asymptotic expressions for their bias and covariance are derived and their asymptotic normality is obtained.     

Asymptotic stabilization of some equilibria of an underactuated underwater vehicle

The stabilization problem for selected relative equilibria of an underactuated rigid body, modelling a simple underwater vehicle, moving in an ideal fluid is addressed. State feedback control laws achieving local asymptotic stability of a forward motion and of a diving/rising with forward/reverse motion are proposed. The control design exploits the Hamiltonian nature of the system to be controlled and it is based on the so-called interconnection and damping assignment (IDA) procedure. Simulation results complete the work.     

Interaction bounds in multivariable control systems

Time-domain limitations due to right half-plane zeros and poles in linear multivariable control systems are studied. Lower bounds on the interaction are derived. They show not only how the location of zeros and poles are critical in multivariable systems, but also how the zero and pole directions influence the performance. The results are illustrated on the quadruple-tank process, which is a new multivariable laboratory process.     

Intelligent handling of data by integration of commonsense reasoning

Any intelligent problem solving system should be able, given the known data on a case, to decide whether some item of information is true, false or unknown. In this paper the way in which various forms of commonsense reasoning can be integrated to provide such decisions is described. To this end three structural types of knowledge defined over data, and four strategies for exploiting these structures, are identified. ‘Decide-Status’ integrates the reasoning strategies into a task frame. This frame structure not only integrates the reasoning but also affords the appropriate facilities for providing strategic justifications for its conclusions, if required.     

Internal-corrosion inhibitors for pipelines carrying deaerated heating water

The effect of internal-corrosion inhibitors on heating-system pipelines is investigated. Tests were conducted on a testing device for polarization measurements under conditions corresponding to the Rostov Heat-Supply System. The concentration of OEDP-zinc, which provides a high degree of protection from general corrosion, is determined. The reagent has been successfully incorporated into the Rostov No. 2 TPP. __________ Translated from élektricheskie Stantsii, No. 7, July 2007, pp. 37–43.     

Internal-corrosion inhibitors for pipelines in heat-supply systems carrying water with a high oxygen content

The reliability of heat-supply systems is determined primarily by internal corrosion of the pipelines. The concentration of oxygen in the water exerts a major influence on the corrosion. In systems with a standard oxygen content, OéDF-Zn is a highly effective corrosion inhibitor. However, there are systems in which the quality of deaeration of the make-up water of the heat-supply system is low (or deaeration is nonexistent), and the concentration of oxygen is considerably above the standard value. Classed among these systems, for example, are the HWS systems, which are incorporated into closed heat-supply systems. The oxygen concentration in these systems is analyzed to assess the situation. __________ Translated from élektricheskie Stantsii, No. 6, June 2007, pp. 35–39.     

Law,liability and expert systems

This paper examines some of the possible legal implications of the production, marketing and use of expert systems. The relevance of a legally useful definition of expert systems, comprising systems designed for use both by laymen and professionals, is related to the distinctions inherent in the legal doctrine underlying provision of goods and provision of services. The liability of the sellers and users of, and contributors to, expert systems are examined in terms of professional malpractice as well as product liability. A recurring theme indicates that legislators may be inclined to restrict possibilities of liability suits in order to avoid disincentives to the creation of expert systems.     

Recovering spectral data from natural scenes with an RGB digital camera and colored filters

Many spectral‐recovery methods using RGB digital cameras assume the underlying smoothness of illuminant and reflectance spectra, and apply low‐dimensional linear models. The aim of the present work was to test whether a direct‐mapping method could be used instead of a linear‐models approach to recover spectral radiances and reflectances from natural scenes with an RGB digital camera and colored filters. In computer simulations, a conventional RGB digital camera with up to three colored filters was used to image scenes drawn from a hyperspectral image database. Three measures were used to evaluate recovery with the direct‐mapping method: goodness‐of‐fit, root‐mean‐square error, and a color‐difference metric. It was found that with two and three filters both spectral radiances and reflectances could be recovered sufficiently accurately for many practical applications. With little increase in computational complexity, an RGB camera and a few colored filters can provide significantly better recovery of natural scenes than an RGB camera alone. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 32, 352–360, 2007