预湿上浆技术的研究与应用

结合自主研发的预湿浆纱机及多年来的实际应用经验,概述了预湿上浆的工艺机理,总结、分析了预湿上浆技术的应用状况,表明预湿上浆是有待推广应用的先进技术。     

Enabling the measurement of particle sizes in stirred colloidal suspensions by embedding dynamic light scattering into an automated probe head

A novel probe head design is introduced, which enables in-line monitoring of particle sizes in undiluted stirred fluids using dynamic light scattering. The novel probe head separates a small sample volume of 0.65 ml from the bulk liquid by means of an impeller. In this sample volume, particle sizing is performed using a commercially available fiber-optical backscatter probe. While conventional light scattering measurements in stirred media fail due to the superposition of Brownian’ motion and forced convection, undistorted measurements are possible with the proposed probe head. One measurement takes approximately 30 s used for liquid exchange by rotation of the impeller and for collection of scattered light. The probe head is applied for in-line monitoring of the particle growth during microgel synthesis by precipitation polymerization in a one liter laboratory reactor. The in-line measurements are compared to off-line measurements and show a good agreement.     

A new multi-objective optimization method for master production scheduling problems using simulated annealing

Tactic planning or master production scheduling focuses on time and spatial decomposition of the aggregate planning targets and forecasts, as well as, forecast and provision of needed resources. This process becomes extremely hard and time consuming with the increase of number of products, resources and periods considered. In face of such obstacles, this work shows a study of an Artificial Intelligence technique called Simulated Annealing applied to the optimization of production planning problem, more specifically, Master Production Scheduling. This work reviews some of the fundamental theory of simulated annealing, the methodology for master production scheduling calculation, the applicability of simulating annealing to planning problems, most important results and suggestions for further studies.     

Variable Neighborhood Search strategies for the Order Batching Problem

The Order Batching Problem is an optimization problem belonging to the operational management aspect of a warehouse. It consists of grouping the orders received in a warehouse (each order is composed by a list of items to be collected) in a set of batches in such a way that the time needed to collect all the orders is minimized. Each batch has to be collected by a single picker without exceeding a capacity limit. In this paper we propose several strategies based on the Variable Neighborhood Search methodology to tackle the problem. Our approach outperforms, in terms of quality and computing time, previous attempts in the state of the art. These results are confirmed by non-parametric statistical tests.     

Photography and the Elphinstone Institution of Bombay

Abstract

Ralizing the potentials of photography, the Court of Directors of the East India company recommended to the Government of Bombay as early as 1845 ‘the encouragement of the study of this useful art of photography in any of the seientific or educational institutions under the control or inf1uence of your government’. They also offered to furnish students with the requisite apparatus, if they found it necessary to procure them from England¹. The proposal was repeated in their dispatch dated 29th December 1854, when they again expressed their desire to establish training in photography. Thereupon, W. Hart, Secretary to the Government of Bombay, requested the Board of Education of Bombay Presidency to submit a scheme for carrying out this project². Mr Stowell, Secretary to the Board of Education, called for the opinions of the Principal of the Elphinstone Institution, and of its Professor of Chemistry³. A small but interesting episode of early photography in India had its beginning in this way.     

Design and analysis of a new wave energy converter based on a point absorber and a hydraulic system harvesting energy from waves near the shore in calm seas

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the design of a new wave energy converter, composed of a point absorber and a hydraulic system (power take off) and sized for recovering energy in calm seas from waves near the shore. The point absorber is consisting of a rectangular shaped buoy integrating a piston pump. The set buoy‐pump oscillates under the waves action and moves natural water in a closed circuit hydraulic system (power take off) composed of a piping connecting the piston pump itself, a pressurized reservoir, a hydraulic turbine and a discharge tank. The methodology adopted for designing the main constituents involves a 1D mathematical model, settled for understanding the motion of the buoy under the hypothesis of regular waves and fully developed sea, and a sizing procedure applied for the design of all the components of the hydraulic system. The project related to the Calabrian site of Cetraro (Mediterranean Sea—south Italy) led to designing a system with a 4 m large buoy, associated with a small 13 cm diameter micro Pelton turbine, so that more than 22 000 kWh could be recovered in a year.     

Sizing of Packed Deaeration Columns

Removal of oxygen from feedwater is of paramount importance for safe boiler operation. Insufficient extraction of oxygen in deaeration vessels will lead to limited efficiency of oxygen scavengers and unsafe plant operation. The presented sizing procedure for packed deaeration columns is based on the similarity theory between heat and mass transfer and existing procedures. The goal of the proposed technique is not to achieve optimization of column dimensions, but to ensure that there is no undersizing of the packing height. This approach is justified considering the relatively low capital costs of deaeration columns in boiler plants. The proposed equations are based on an experimental setup involving several hundred operating regimes which have been verified and confirmed to have a high degree of accuracy.     

Performance evaluation of two-worker operations in a worker-to-cell order assorting system

This paper studies an order assorting system (OAS) composed of multiple-parallel order assorting aisles (OAAs) in a retailer’s order fulfillment center. We evaluate two worker-assignment policies for a worker-to-part OAA: a dedicated-assignment policy and a shared-assignment policy. Our analytical models evaluate the mean value and variance of worker process time including assorting time, walk time, empty walk time, and blocking time when single-line products arrive randomly. From the worker process time, we identify the system flow time of product lines per each worker-assignment policy using G/G/1 and G/G/2 queuing models. We find that the shared-assignment policy performs better compared to the dedicated-assignment policy in spite of workers’ productivity losses incurred by blocking delays over high sort probability, slow walk speed, and high magnitude and variations of inter-arrival times. At the worker-centric break-even point of worker process time, where worker process time suggests selecting either policy, system flow time always suggests selecting the shared-assignment policy.     

Decay of Ozone in Water: A Review

Scientific publications on ozone decay kinetics in water report very wide result variations, depending on a multiplicity of factors, such as ozone concentration, pH, temperature, alkalinity, fluid-dynamic conditions, presence of UV radiations, and concentration of organic and inorganic carbon. This paper intends to provide an engineering-oriented review that summarizes and compares the main results reported in the recent literature so that the condensed information can guide the reader in getting operational indications to assist applications and research.     

A sizing methodology based on Levelized Cost of Supplied and Lost Energy for off-grid rural electrification systems

Off-grid renewable systems can play a pivotal role in the process of rural electrification, thus promoting local development. Moreover, scientific literature is increasingly addressing this issue through the concept of sustainability and appropriate technologies. With regards to this topic, we present a sizing methodology which better relates the results and the sizing process itself to the local context. Specifically, we address the research area of sizing methodologies for off-grid PV systems. Typically, the Loss of Load Probability (LLP) is a key parameter in these methodologies, but is difficult to set as regards the specific context. The proposed methodology employs the concept of Levelized Cost of Supplied and Lost Energy, it is based on the estimate of an economic Value of Lost Load, and eventually, the LLP results to be an output of the process. Therefore, the methodology uses only data characterizing the local situation and results better fit with population conditions. We also propose a simple approach to compute the Value of Lost Load and we apply the methodology for a rural area of Uganda. The results show that the methodology identifies a reliable system which supplies electricity with a fair cost while minimizing the energy bill of the consumers.