An evaluation of fuelwood properties of some Aravally mountain tree and shrub species of Western India

The study analyses the fuelwood characteristics of 26 trees including shrub species from the dry deciduous forest in Aravally region, Rajasthan, Western India was carried out to explore trees with potential for fuelwood production. Fuelwood value index (FVI) based on the properties of calorific value, wood density and ash. Calorific value was ranged between 18.54 ± 0.04 and 27.44 ± 0.09 KJ g⁻¹ in Jatropha curcus and Wrightia tinctoria respectively. Wood density varied from 0.538 ± 0.01 to 0.966 ± 0.07 g/cm³ in J. curcus and Acacia nilotica. Same way ash and moisture content was highest in J. curcus (3.38 ± 0.19%) and Sterculia urens (70.28 ± 7.52%) and lowest in Miliusa tomentosa (0.85 ± 0.06%) and Azadirachta indica (30.7 ± 10.02%) respectively. On the basis, of the 26 species analyzed, M. tomentosa has the highest FVI, followed by Lannea coromandelica, Acacia leucophloea, Madhuca indica, A. nilotica, W. tinctoria, Butea monosperma, Zizyphus nummularia, S. urens, Boswellia serrata, A. indica, Grewia tenax, Syzygium cuminii, Tectona grandis and Dalbergia sissoo were shown to have promising fuelwood production.     

Dry machining of aluminum for proper selection of cutting tool: tool performance and tool wear

Machining of aluminum and its alloy is very difficult due to the adhesion and diffusion of aluminum, thus the formation of built-up edge (BUE) on the surface. The BUE, which affects the surface integrity and tool life significantly, affects the service and performance of the workpiece. The minimization of BUE was carried out by selection of proper cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, and cutting tool material. This paper presents machining of rolled aluminum at cutting speeds of 336, 426, and 540 m/min, the feeds of 0.045, 0.06, and 0.09 mm/rev, and a constant depth of cut of 0.2 mm in dry condition. Five cutting tools WC SPUN grade, WC SPGN grade, WC + PVD (physical vapor deposition) TiN coating, WC + Ti (C, N) + Al₂O₃ PVD multilayer coatings, and PCD (polycrystalline diamond) were utilized for the experiments. The surface roughness produced, total flank wear, and cut chip thicknesses were measured. The characterization of the tool was carried out by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. The chip underface was analyzed for the study of chip deformation produced after machining. The results indicated that the PCD tool provides better results in terms of roughness, tool wear, and smoother chip underface. It provides promising results in all aspects.     

An AW-HARIS Based Automated Segmentation of Human Liver Using CT Images

In the digestion of amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, as well as protein synthesis from the consumed food, the liver has many diverse responsibilities and functions that are to be performed. Liver disease may impact the hormonal and nutritional balance in the human body. The earlier diagnosis of such critical conditions may help to treat the patient effectively. A computationally efficient AW-HARIS algorithm is used in this paper to perform automated segmentation of CT scan images to identify abnormalities in the human liver. The proposed approach can recognize the abnormalities with better accuracy without training, unlike in supervisory procedures requiring considerable computational efforts for training. In the earlier stages, the CT images are pre-processed through an Adaptive Multiscale Data Condensation Kernel to normalize the underlying noise and enhance the image’s contrast for better segmentation. Then, the preliminary phase’s outcome is being fed as the input for the Anisotropic Weighted–-Heuristic Algorithm for Real-time Image Segmentation algorithm that uses texture-related information, which has resulted in precise outcome with acceptable computational latency when compared to that of its counterparts. It is observed that the proposed approach has outperformed in the majority of the cases with an accuracy of 78%. The smart diagnosis approach would help the medical staff accurately predict the abnormality and disease progression in earlier ailment stages.     

Optimization of producer gas fired premixed burner

Much work is reported in the literature pertaining to premixed burners using hydrocarbon fuels. However, very little work is available on similar burners using producer gas as a fuel. The present work aims at testing and optimization of a premixed burner with producer gas as a fuel.A burner of 150 kW capacity is used in the experimental investigations. The burner is of concentric tube type fully premixed in which air is supplied through central pipe and gas is supplied through annular passage. Swirl vane is provided to air and gas for thorough mixing. The bluff body is provided for flame stabilization. The premixed burner was tested on open core throat-less down draft gasifier for flame quality. A stable and uniform flame was observed with this premixed burner. Thereafter, an instrumented test set up to evaluate burner performance was installed on an open core gasifier. The burner was experimentally optimized for size and location of bluff body and flammability limits. The burner was optimized by using bluff bodies of 46, 61, 73, 80, 85, 98, 110 and 122 mm diameters. The burner was operated in batch operation of 6–8 h for optimization of various parameters. The experiment reveled that the uniform and high-temperature premixed flame was observed at conventional bluff body having blockage ratio of 0.65. The flammability limits for producer gas fired burner was established in the range of 40–55.     

Production and Isolation of n‐Butyl Acrylate Using Pervaporation‐Aided Esterification Reaction: Kinetics and Optimization

Synthesis of n‐butyl acrylate by esterification of acrylic acid with n‐butyl alcohol was carried out in a batch membrane reactor. Optimization and design of the experiment was accomplished by response surface methodology with Box‐Behnken experimental design. The effects of different parameters like reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, molar ratio of alcohol to acid, and ratio of membrane surface to initial volume on water flux and conversion of acrylic acid were evaluated. A kinetic model for the esterification‐coupled pervaporation process was developed. Kinetic parameters were estimated by a nonlinear optimization technique in the MATLAB optimization toolbox. The experimental and simulation results were applied for developing a concept to effectively conduct a pilot‐scale esterification‐pervaporation experiment.     

Hydrogen Plasma Smelting Reduction of Fe2O3

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The paper reports successful smelting reduction of iron ore (hematite) in thermal hydrogen plasma. A specially designed reactor with water cooled copper...     

Energy efficient task allocation and consolidation in multicast cloud network

Wireless Networks - Information Technology is now a revolution due to its user dependence for various services available over Internet through cloud computing (CC). The usability is now reached to...     

Interference of Two Closely Spaced Strip Footings on Sand Using Model Tests

By using small scale model tests, the interference effect on the ultimate bearing capacity of two closely spaced strip footings, placed on the surface of dry sand, was investigated. At any time, the footings were assumed to (1) carry exactly the same magnitude of load; and (2) settle to the same extent. No tilt of the footing was allowed. The effect of clear spacing (s) between two footings was explicitly studied. An interference of footings leads to a significant increase in their bearing capacity; the interference effect becomes even more substantial with an increase in the relative density of sand. The bearing capacity attains a peak magnitude at a certain (critical) spacing between two footings. The experimental observations presented in this technical note were similar to those given by different available theories. However, in a quantitative sense, the difference between the experiments and theories was seen to be still significant and it emphasizes the need of doing a further rigorous analysis in which the effect of stress level on the shear strength parameters of soil mass can be incorporated properly.     

Modification of commercial briquetting machine to produce 35 mm diameter briquettes suitable for gasification and combustion

This paper describes an experience on producing 35 mm dia briquettes with a modified commercial briquetting machine and the results of studies on the combustion and gasification behavior of briquettes. Study reveals that at 12% (w.b.) moisture content of groundnut shell powder (1180–150 μm), good quality briquettes can be made, but it reduces the production rate and increases the power requirement. Combustion as well as gasification studies revealed that biomass briquettes of 35 mm diameter do not crumble or disintegrate during the conversion process, therefore these are suitable as feedstock for gasifiers.