Physicochemical property changes in germinated brown rice flour from different storage periods of paddy rice

This study revealed that the storage duration (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months) of paddy rice and pH (3 and 6.8) of steeping water during germination were significantly influenced the physicochemical properties of germinated brown rice flour (GBRF). GBRF obtained at pH 3 vs. 6.8 provided the highest both reducing sugar content and free gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) content (99.8 vs. 54.2 mg per 100 g flour respectively) as the paddy rice was stored for 8 months. The peak viscosity of GBRF obtained at pH 3 and 6.8 exhibited the lower values than that of non‐GBRF throughout the storage. From the principal component analysis, reducing sugar had a positive correlation with α‐amylase activity whereas a negative correlation was found with peak viscosity. GBRF from paddy rice stored for 8 months and germinated at pH 3 possessed the highest free GABA content, 50 times of the non‐GBRF, which can be further utilised in functional and healthy foods.     

Production and set-up control of a failure-prone manufacturing system

The present paper considers a stochastic optimal control problem for a one-machine two-parts manufacturing system, subject to random breakdowns and repairs. The machine under consideration is not completely flexible and hence requires set-up time and cost in order to switch the production from a part type to another. The objective is to find the production plan and sequence of set-ups that minimize the cost function that penalizes inventory/backlog and set-up costs. A continuous dynamic programming formulation of the problem is presented. A numerical scheme is then adopted to solve the obtained optimality conditions equations. The optimal set-up policy. is shown numerically, to be described by a modified hedging corridor strategy. A complete heuristic policy, based on the determination of the boundaries of the corridors that describe the optimal policy in positive and negative areas of the state variables, is developed. The usefulness of such a policy is iJlustrated through experimentation and sensitivity analysis. Extensions to more complex systems are also discussed.     

悬挂式支座的薄壁储液壳薄膜应力的简化计算

分析薄壁壳体的应力时,采用薄膜理论,应力沿厚度均匀分布,壳体材料的强度可以合理利用,是最理想的应力状态。而传统的薄膜应力计算方法比较复杂。针对两种不同结构形式的薄壁储液壳进行应力计算,得出求解薄膜应力的简便计算方法,该方法适用于能应用薄膜理论计算的任何一种薄壁储液壳的两向薄膜应力。     

A decision-support system for the design and management of warehousing systems

The issue of material handling involves the design and operative control of warehousing systems (i.e., distribution centres), which allow matching vendors and demands, smoothing with seasonality, consolidating products and arranging distribution activities. Warehousing systems play a crucial role in providing efficiency and customer satisfaction. The warehouse design entails a wide set of decisions, which involve layout constraints and operative issues that seriously affect the performances and the overall logistics costs.     

Challenges and Innovative Technologies On Fuel Handling Systems for Future Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

The reactor refuelling system provides the means of transporting, storing, and handling reactor core subassemblies. The system consists of the facilities and equipment needed to accomplish the scheduled refuelling operations. The choice of a FHS impacts directly on the general design of the reactor vessel (primary vessel, storage, and final cooling before going to reprocessing), its construction cost, and its availability factor. Fuel handling design must take into account various items and in particular operating strategies such as core design and management and core configuration. Moreover, the FHS will have to cope with safety assessments: a permanent cooling strategy to prevent fuel clad rupture, plus provisions to handle short-cooled fuel and criteria to ensure safety during handling. In addition, the handling and elimination of residual sodium must be investigated; it implies specific cleaning treatment to prevent chemical risks such as corrosion or excess hydrogen production. The objective of this study is to identify the challenges of a SFR fuel handling system. It will then present the range of technical options incorporating innovative technologies under development to answer the GENERATION IV SFR requirements.     

Uniform Bi2S3 nanorods-assembled hollow spheres with excellent electrochemical hydrogen storage abilities

Hierarchical Bi₂S₃ hollow spheres have been synthesized by a facile solvothermal process in the presence of sodium tartrate. The hollow spheres are composed of numerous ultrathin nanorods with the average diameter of 15 nm. Based on the time dependent electron microscope observations, the formation mechanism of such hierarchical structures has been proposed as a sodium tartrate directed self-assembled process and oriented attachement mechanism. The morphology and size of the subunits can be controlled by adjusting the amount of sodium tartrate. The Nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements suggest that mesopores exist in these hollow spheres. The as-derived Bi₂S₃ hollow spheres exhibit excellent electrochemical hydrogen storage properties.     

Kinetics of isothermal hydrogenation of magnesium with TiH2 additive

Ball-milled magnesium hydride with titanium hydride as a catalytic additive has been demonstrated to have excellent hydrogenation and dehydrogenation kinetics in recent studies, and is considered to be a promising material for hydrogen storage and thermal energy storage applications. The present work investigated the hydrogenation kinetics of this material across a wide temperature range, from room temperature to 200 °C using a Sieverts type apparatus. The kinetics tests were conducted under a methodically designed isothermal condition to minimize the thermal gradient effect, which is often neglected in the literature. It was found that the hydrogenation kinetics under isothermal conditions were significantly different from those under non-isothermal conditions. Additionally, it was determined that the hydrogenation kinetics under isothermal conditions were numerically best fit by the Johnson–Mehl–Arrami model.     

Sorghum seed storage in Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags and improvised containers

Seed storage is a major challenge for smallholder farmers in developing nations. Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags effectively control the postharvest insect pests of cowpea and other crops. Farmers, encouraged by this success, have begun to expand the use of PICS bags for storing other crops. Little is known about how sorghum seed, one of these important crops, fares when stored under hermetic conditions. Accordingly, we stored sorghum seed for six months in either airtight containers (PICS bags or sealed plastic bottles) or open ones (woven polypropylene bags and open plastic bottles). Overall, sorghum seed stored in PICS bags and in sealed plastic bottles maintained its initial moisture level, germination rate and seed weight. Porous polypropylene bags and open plastic bottles lost moisture over six months. We conclude that sorghum seed can be safely stored in hermetic containers without any loss of quality for extended periods of time.     

Excellent Energy Storage and Charge-discharge Performances in PbHfO3 Antiferroelectric Ceramics

Single phase PbHfO₃ antiferroelectric ceramics were prepared via rolling process. It is revealed that the rolling process can reduce the grain size and increase the bulk density, which lead to the enhanced breakdown strength up to 268 kV/cm versus 219 kV/cm of samples using the conventional solid-state method. As a result, high recoverable energy density of 7.6 J/cm³ with an efficiency of 80.8 % was achieved. Meanwhile, a large current density of 1381 A/cm² and an ultrahigh peak power density up to 170 MW/cm³ were observed under 250 kV/cm. In addition, unique electrical polarization response characteristics at different electric fields and temperature-induced structural phase transitions were also investigated. The energy storage performance and charge-discharge properties of PbHfO₃ were first studied in this communication and all the results indicate that PbHfO₃ ceramic is a promising candidate for pulse power applications.     

Experimental investigation on a MnCl2–CaCl2–NH3 thermal energy storage system

Thermal energy storage (TES) is regarded as one promising technology for renewable energy and waste heat recovery. Among TES technologies, sorption thermal energy storage (STES) has drawn burgeoning attention due to high energy storage density, long-term heat storage capability and flexible working modes. Originating from STES system, resorption thermal energy storage (RTES) system is established and investigated for recovering the heat in this paper. The system is mainly composed of three high temperature salt (HTS) unit beds; three low temperature salt (LTS) unit beds, valves and heat exchange pipes. Working pair of MnCl₂–CaCl₂–NH₃ is selected for the RTES system. 4.8 kg and 3.9 kg MnCl₂ and CaCl₂ composite adsorbents are filled in the adsorption bed. Results indicate that the highest thermal storage density is about 1836 kJ/kg when the heat charging and discharging temperature is 155 °C and 55 °C, respectively. Volume density of heat storage ranges from 144 to 304 kWh/m³. The highest ratio of latent heat to sensible heat is about 1.145 when the discharging temperature is 55 °C. The energy efficiency decreases from 97% to 73% when the discharging temperature increases from 55 to 75 °C.