Study on metamerism degree evaluation based on wavelength sensitive cone weighting algorithm

Metamerism phenomenon can be used in illuminant detection to ensure the accuracy of light source. A method based on Long‐, Middle‐, Short‐ wavelength cones(LMS) weighting algorithm to evaluate metamerism degree is proposed. The chromatic relationship between the degree of metamerism mismatch and the light source is studied. Herein, the consistency between the metameric indices (MIs) and CIE1976 L*a*b* color difference ranking is analyzed by SRCC, KRCC, PLCC and RMSE. A statistically sampling method to obtain practical LMS cone fundamentals to evaluate metamerism degree is employed. The analysis results obtained show that the method based on LMS weighting algorithm has good evaluation ability and stability in simulation experiments and statistically sampling experiments, which are in line with visual characteristics of human. Proposed method meets the requirements of selecting metameric pairs used in light source detection. The analysis results have certain guiding significance.     

Technical and economic analysis of solvent-based lithium-ion electrode drying with water and NMP

Processing lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrode dispersions with water as the solvent during primary drying offers many advantages over N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). An in-depth analysis of the comparative drying costs of LIB electrodes is discussed for both NMP- and water-based dispersion processing in terms of battery pack $/kWh. Electrode coating manufacturing and capital equipment cost savings are compared for water vs. conventional NMP organic solvent processing. A major finding of this work is that the total electrode manufacturing costs, whether water- or NMP-based, contribute about 8–9% of the total pack cost. However, it was found that up to a 2?×?reduction in electrode processing (drying and solvent recovery) cost can be expected along with a $3–6?M savings in associated plant capital equipment (for a plant producing 100,000 10-kWh Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) batteries) using water as the electrode solvent. This paper shows a different perspective in that the most important benefits of aqueous electrode processing actually revolve around capital equipment savings and environmental stewardship and not processing cost savings.     

Soret and Dufour effects between two rectangular plane walls with heat source/sink

This study addresses the thermo‐diffusion and the diffusion‐thermo phenomena in a semi‐infinite absorbent channel whose walls are contracting/expanding, with heat source/sink effects. The governing partial differential equations with suitable boundary conditions are transformed to a system of dimensionless ordinary differential equations. An analytic solution of the problem has been found using a technique called homotopy analysis method (HAM). HAM gives consistently valid answers to the problem over an extensive variety of parameters and also provides better accuracy. To validate the analytical results, a comparison has been presented with a numerical solution calculated by using the parallel shooting method. The effects of dimensionless parameters, that is, deformation parameter, Reynolds number, Soret and Dufour numbers, and heat source/sink parameter on the expressions of velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are analyzed graphically to understand the physics of the deformable channel. It has been noted that the velocity across the channel is higher for the expanding channel, as compared to that for the contracting channel. Also the Soret and Dufour number increases the temperature of the fluid, and decreases the concentration. The temperature profile has an increasing behavior in the case of heat source, and a decreasing behavior in the case of heat sink.     

Methodology for optimization of pouring variables using bottom pour for low masses of SS304 (<300 kg) in investment casting process (case study)

Bottom pour ladles with stopper rod systems are commonly used in the metal casting industry. However, stopper rod bottom-pouring systems have not yet been developed for the lower thermal masses of alloys typically used in the investment casting industry. Large thermal masses used with bottom pour systems are typically limited for ladles larger than 700 kg and to certain alloys with higher fluidity and longer solidification time like cast iron, aluminum alloys etc. In this study, bottom pour ladle designs and low thermal mass refractory systems have been developed and evaluated in production investment foundry trials with 300 kg pouring ladle. The ladles system and pouring practices used will be described along with the results from the pouring trials for SS304 that represents typical alloys used in Investment casting industries. Optimization of the variables used in an experimentation using Genetic algorithm is also explained.     

Development of mobile miniature natural gas liquefiers

With increasing consumption of natural gas (NG), small NG reservoirs, such as coalbed methane and oil field associated gas, have recently drawn significant attention. Owing to their special characteristics (e.g., scattered distribution and small output), small-scale NG liquefiers are highly required. Similarly, the mixed refrigerant cycle (MRC) is suitable for small-scale liquefaction systems due to its moderate complexity and power consumption. In consideration of the above, this paper reviews the development of mobile miniature NG liquefiers in Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (TIPC), China. To effectively liquefy the scattered NG and overcome the drawbacks of existing technologies, three main improvements, i.e., low-pressure MRC process driven by oil-lubricated screw compressor, compact cold box with the new designed heat exchangers, and standardized equipment manufacturing and integrated process technology have been made. The development pattern of “rapid cluster application and flexible liquefaction center” has been eventually proposed. The small-scale NG liquefier developed by TIPC has reached a minimum liquefaction power consumption of about 0.35 kW·h/Nm³. It is suitable to exploit small remote gas reserves which can also be used in boil-off gas reliquefaction and distributed peak-shaving of pipe networks.     

Efficiency and effectiveness enhancement of an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor by low‐cost Al2O3/water nanofluids

The present study was aimed to utilize low‐cost alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles for improving the heat transfer behavior in an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor. Experimental investigation was carried out with three different volume concentrations of 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0% Al₂O₃/water nanofluids to assess the performance of the intercooler, that is, counterflow heat exchanger at different loads. Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and overall heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid increased substantially with increasing concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. Specific heat capacity of nanofluids were lower than base water. The intercooler performance parameters such as effectiveness and efficiency improved appreciably with the employment of nanofluid. The efficiency increased by about 6.1% with maximum concentration of nanofluid, that is, 1% at 3‐bar compressor load. It is concluded from the study that high concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles dispersion in water would offer better heat transfer performance of the intercooler.     

燃气热水器在无回水管水路中实现零冷水的方案研究

本文分析了燃气热水器行业针对无回水管水路系统实现零冷水功能的现有技术方案,指出现有技术方案存在的一些缺陷,并结合试验研究,对无回水管水路系统提出了一套全新的实现零冷水功能的技术解决方案。     

The effect of optimized carbon source on the synthesis and composition of exopolysaccharides produced by Lactobacillus paracasei

This study aimed to predict the optimal carbon source for higher production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) by Lactobacillus paracasei TD 062, and to evaluate the effect of this carbon source on the production and monosaccharide composition of EPS. We evaluated the EPS production capacity of 20 strains of L. paracasei under the same conditions. We further investigated L. paracasei TD 062, which showed the highest EPS-producing activity (0.609 g/L), by examining the associated biosynthesis pathways for EPS. Genomics revealed that fructose, mannose, trehalose, glucose, galactose, and lactose were carbon sources that L. paracasei TD 062 could use to produce EPS. We identified an EPS synthesis gene cluster that could participate in transport, export, and sugar chain synthesis, and generate 6 sugar nucleotides. Experimental results showed that the sugar content of the EPS produced using fermentation with the optimized carbon source (fructose, mannose, trehalose, glucose, galactose, and lactose) increased by 115%. Furthermore, use of the optimized carbon source changed the monosaccharide content of the associated EPS. The results of enzyme activity measurements showed significant increases in the activity of 2 key enzymes involved in the glycoside synthesis pathway. Our study revealed that optimizing the carbon source provided for fermentation not only increased the production of EPS, but also affected the composition of the monosaccharides by increasing enzyme activity in the underlying synthesis pathways, suggesting an important role for carbon source in the production of EPS by L. paracasei TD 062.     

The growth of oleaginous Rhodotorula glutinis in an internal-loop airlift bioreactor by using mixture substrates of rice straw hydrolysate and crude glycerol

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) to microbial oils is attracting a growing amount of attention. However, the growth of the oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula glutinis on LCB hydrolysate (mainly rice straw) only will lead to a low lipid mass fraction, in the range of 10–20%. This study shows that the addition of crude glycerol to the LCB hydrolysate medium can efficiently raise the lipid mass fraction to the range of 30–40%. Crude glycerol is a by-product in the biodiesel production process. The use of renewable LCB hydrolysate and crude glycerol would greatly reduce the substrate cost for microbial oil production using R. glutinis. In addition, the results of experiments show that a low-cost airlift bioreactor is a more suitable fermentation process for the growth of R. glutinis than the use of a conventional agitation tank. When using mixed carbon sources of LCB hydrolysate with 30 kg m⁻³ of reducing sugars and 30 kg m⁻³ of crude glycerol, a maximal cell mass of 21.4 kg m⁻³ and lipid mass fraction of 58.5 ± 6.2 were achieved in an internal loop airlift bioreactor, and this process may have the potential to be applied in scale-up production.