ANALYSIS OF OPEN SUN DRYING EXPERIMENTS

Open sun drying has lost its previous importance due to the fact that different factors affect its reliability and the quality of the products obtained.

One of the set-backs for the analysis of solar drying exoeriments is their deoendence on a non-controlled source of energy, i.e. solar radiation depends on climatic conditions and experiments are difficult to compare. It is thus necessary to investigate the advantages of a particular set up as well as the climatic influences. Open sun drying could constitute the natural reference, allowing the comparison of different drying strategies.

A new way of standardizing drying times, based on solar radiation inout, is proposed, to allow better evaluation of the experiments. An equivalent time is defined, allowing comparison of experiments carried out under different circumstances. Carrots and potatoes were used in these experiments.

The use of the average daily solar radiation 15.28 MJ m^-2.d^-1 in Palma de Mallorca (39.33°N, 2.37°E), is proposed for comparison purposes. An improvement of more than 12 % in the explained variance was observed, the unexplained variance being lower than 1 %.     

A calibration method for the energy-integrating function in photovoltaic system monitoring

Solar radiation has an irregularly varying factor due to a basic day and night cycle and climatic conditions. For such conditions a data sampling interval is important to ensure the accuracy of energy monitoring in a photovoltaic system. While treating a system monitoring equipment as a black box. the author has developed the method of calibrating an energy-integrating function. At first for various input waveforms, the relationship between sampling intervals and quasi-integration outputs have been examined by trapezoidal rule. In the numerical simulation the phases of the sampling clock also are considered Then it is concluded that a sampling interval can be inspected through outside observation only by using a rectangular single pulse. By applying the pulse to the energy-integrating process, two kinds of integrated outputs can be obtained for different sampling phases. The calculated difference between both outputs can uniquely give the sampling interval being inspected. Conditions to ensure measuring accuracy are discussed and the validity of this method has been demonstrated experimentally. Practical calibrating procedures also are proposed for the integrating function of PV system monitoring.     

Study on Surface Engineering of Normalized Steels Subjected To Machine

Engineering the surfaces of components to improve the life and performance of parts used in automotive and aerospace engineering is the active area of research. Suitable Thermal/Mechanical/Thermo mechanical surface engineering treatments will produce extensive rearrangement of atoms in metals and alloys and corresponding marked variations in Physical, Chemical and Mechanical properties. Among the more important of these treatments are heat treatment processes such as hardening by Quenching, Induction hardening and Case Carburizing which rely on phase transformations to produce desired changes in mechanical properties. Other processes where phase transformation occur are casting, welding and machining etc. [1] Phase transformation may be homogeneous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous involves rearrangements in the structure of the material taking place simultaneously in all parts of the solid, while the heterogeneous transformation involves structural changes which are more localized. Alternatively they could be called as Isothermal and Nonisothermal transformation. But irrespective of the classification, these transformations alter the structure of the material giving rise to changes in the mechanical and physical properties of the processed material. It is of interest to review some consequences of surface modification in isothermal (Normalizing) and nonisothermal transformations (Machining) of low carbon steels.     

Effect of surface free energy on the adhesion of biofouling and crystalline fouling

Pipelines and heat exchangers using seawater as coolant suffer from biofouling. Biofouling not only reduces heat transfer performance significantly, but also causes considerable pressure drop, calling for higher pumping requirements. It would be much more desirable if surfaces with an inherently lower stickability for biofouling could be developed. In this paper, a cost-effective autocatalytic graded Ni-Cu-P-PTFE composite coating with corrosion-resistant properties was applied to reduce biofouling formation. The experimental results showed that the surface free energy of the Ni-Cu-P-PTFE coatings, which were altered by changing the PTFE content in the coatings, had a significant influence on the adhesion of microbial and mineral deposits. The Ni-Cu-P-PTFE coatings with defined surface free energy reduced the adhesion of these deposits significantly. The anti-bacterial mechanism of the composite coatings was explained with the extended DLVO theory.     

The role of the surface free energy in the selection of a suitable excipient in the course of a wet-granulation method

Pellets containing metronidazole were produced in a centrifugal granulator, with hydroxypropylcellulose (Klucel LF®) as binding agent, and corn starch, microcrystalline cellulose (Vivapur 101®) and lactose as excipients. The wettability of the pharmaceutical powders was assessed by means of contact angle measurements, and the dispersive and polar surface energies were determined. The spreading coefficients, the work of adhesion and the work of cohesion were calculated and correlated with the pellet properties (friability, bulk and tapped density, and porosity). The aim was to investigate the role of the surface free energy of one- and two-component powder compositions in pellet production. The interactions between the particles were found to be connected with the measured pellet parameters. It was concluded that, in the course of the growth of the pellets, the particle sizes of the pharmaceutical powders and the interactions between them are important. If the work of cohesion of the binder is lower than the work of cohesion of the substrate and the work of adhesion, then the optimal amount of the binding agent is that which coats the particles uniformly in minimal quantity and in continuous layer.     

Thermodynamic Criteria for the Maximum and Minimum Strength of Fibre-Reinforced Composite Materials

The overall performance and reliability of composite materials are, in most cases, dependent upon the behaviour of the reinforcement-matrix interface, particularly upon its ability to transfer stress.

A theory for predicting thermodynamic conditions for the maximum and zero-adhesion at the reinforcement-matrix interface is tested in this paper, based on experimental data. Proposed is a model of the relationship between mechanical properties of composite materials (tensile strength, flexural strength, Young's modulus and impact resistance) and energetic properties of matrix and reinforcement expressed by the energy ratio a = γ_l/γ₂.     

Numerical Analysis of the Constrained Blister Test

The constrained blister test is investigated through finite element analysis to determine the applicabilities and the limitations of the new technique. Numerical results confirm that the strain energy release rate asymptotically approaches a constant value. These results also show that the test technique and the approximate solution for strain energy release rate are applicable for some practical cases.     

New catalyst systems for the polymerization of acetylene

The catalytic activities of WCI₆Ph₄Sn, MoCl₅Ph₄Sn and tetrabenzyltitanium were examined in the polymerization of acetylene. The structure, morphology and electrical conductivity of the doped and non doped polyacetylene were also studied.     

dc Electrical Degradation of Perovskite-Type Titanates: I, Ceramics

The rate of the resistance degradation of doped SrTiO₃ ceramics is investigated as a function of various external and material parameters. The effects of the mutually interrelated parameters dc voltage, dc electric field, and thickness of the dielectric are described by power laws. Electron microscopic potential contrast studies show a Maxwell-Wagner polarization leading to a concentration of the electric field at the grain boundaries during the degradation. Based on this finding, the voltage step per grain boundary, ΔΘ_gb, is introduced as a rate-determining parameter which allows an explanation of the influence of the grain size on the degradation rate as well as the difference in the power laws for ceramic and single-crystal samples.     

电厂电气运行中常见故障分析及其应对措施探讨

为了保证电厂的生产效率,必须要分析电气的运行特征,确定电气故障发生的原因,综合考虑多方面因素,选择切实可行的措施解决问题。简要分析了电厂电气运行常见故障发生原因,并提出了相应的解决措施。