Dam break flood wave under different reservoir’s capacities and lengths

Dam failure has been the subject of many hydraulic engineering studies due to its complicated physics with many uncertainties involved and the potential to cause many losses of lives and economical losses. A primary source of uncertainties in many dam failure analyses refers to prediction of the reservoir’s outflow hydrograph, which is studied in the present investigation. This paper presents an experimental study on instantaneous dam failure flood under different reservoir’s capacities and lengths in which the side slopes change within a range of 30°–90°. Thus, several outflow hydrographs are calculated and compared. The results reveal the role of the side slopes on dam break flood wave, such that lower side slope creates more catastrophic outflow. The reservoir capacity and length are also recognized to be important factors, such that they do affect peak discharge and time to peak of the outflow hydrograph. Finally, the paper presents two simple relations for peak discharge and maximum water level estimation at any downstream location.     

INFLUENCE OF VIBRATION ON SORET-DRIVEN CONVECTION IN POROUS MEDIA

Two-dimensional thermosolutal natural convection with Soret effect under the simultaneous action of vibrational and gravitational accelerations is investigated. We consider a porous cavity saturated by a binary mixture and adopt the time-averaging formulation. For an infinite horizontal layer, a stability analysis is performed from which the threshold of stability is determined. Numerical simulations, using a pseudo-spectral Chebyshev collocation method, are performed to describe the convective motion. The problem is investigated for different aspect ratios with various directions of vibration. It is concluded that, for both the stationary and the Hopf bifurcation, the vertical vibration has a stabilizing effect while the horizontal vibration has a destabilizing effect on the onset of convection.     

Modeling the oxidative coupling of methane using artificial neural network and optimizing of its operational conditions using genetic algorithm

The effect of some operating conditions such as temperature, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), CH₄/O₂ ratio and diluents gas (mol% N₂) on ethylene production by oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) in a fixed bed reactor at atmospheric pressure was studied over Mn/Na₂WO₄/SiO₂ catalyst. Based on the properties of neural networks, an artificial neural network was used for model developing from experimental data. To prevent network complexity and effective data input to the network, principal component analysis method was used and the number of output parameters was reduced from 4 to 2. A feed-forward back-propagation network was used for simulating the relations between process operating conditions and those aspects of catalytic performance including conversion of methane, C₂ products selectivity, C2 yielding and C₂H₄/C₂H₆ ratio. Levenberg-Marquardt method is presented to train the network. For the first output, an optimum network with 4-9-1 topology and for the second output, an optimum network with 4-6-1 topology was prepared. After simulating the process as well as using ANNs, the operating conditions were optimized and a genetic algorithm based on maximum yield of C₂ was used. The average error in comparing the experimental and simulated values for methane conversion, C₂ products selectivity, yield of C₂ and C₂H₄/C₂H₆ ratio, was estimated as 2.73%, 10.66%, 5.48% and 10.28%, respectively.     

Measurement and modeling of average void fraction, bubble size and interfacial area

The local void fraction, bubble size and interfacial area concentration for co-current air-water bubbly flow through a horizontal pipe of 50.3 mm internal diameter were investigated experimentally using the double-sensor resistivity probe method. The local and area-averaged void fractions and interfacial area concentrations were analyzed as a function of liquid and gas flow rates. These parameters were found to increase systematically with decreasing liquid flow and increasing gas flow. However, variations with the liquid flow were not as significant as with the gas flow. A consistent variation of the gas phase drift velocity and distribution parameter with the liquid flow rate was observed. It was demonstrated that presentation of the average void fraction in terms of flowing volumetric concentration was more appropriate for horizontal bubbly flow. Several bubble break-up mechanisms were discussed. It was concluded that average pressure fluctuations generated by the turbulent liquid fluctuations acting across a bubble diameter are the only mechanism which causes distortion of a bubble. Based on this force and the competing surface tension force, a theoretical model was developed for mean bubble size and interfacial area concentration. The theoretically predicted mean bubble size and interfacial area concentration were found to agree reasonably well with those measured by the double-sensor resistivity method.     

Efficient algorithms for online tracking of set points in robust model predictive control

This paper presents some computationally efficient algorithms for online tracking of set points in robust model predictive control context subject to state and input constraints. The nonlinear systems are represented by a linear model along with an additive nonlinear term which is locally Lipschitz. As an unstructured uncertainty, this term is replaced in the robust stability constraint by its Lipschitz coefficient. A scheduled control technique is employed to transfer the system to desired set points, given online, by designing local robust model predictive controllers. This scheme includes estimating the regions of feasibility and stability of the related equilibriums and online switching among the local controllers. The proposed optimisation problems for calculating the regions of feasibility and stability are defined as linear matrix inequalities that can be solved in polynomial time. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is illustrated by an example.     

Deterioration Assessment and Rehabilitation Design of Existing Steel Bridge

Diagnostic truck-load tests and microstructural analysis were applied for structural deterioration assessment of a steel truss bridge and its rehabilitation design. The feasibility and potential benefits of using advanced field experimental techniques within a structural-identification framework have been demonstrated. Experimental information, coupled with visual inspection, engineering experience, and intuition, increased the level of confidence in the results of the condition-assessment process, permitting a more rational and cost-effective rehabilitation design. Based on the condition assessment, a two-step rehabilitation is recommended for the bridge: Restoration for a safe service life of 5–7 years, and a subsequent effort for preservation beyond.     

Lubrication properties of trimethylolpropane esters based on palm oil and palm kernel oils

Due to the global drive towards biodegradable products, trimethylolpropane [2‐ethyl‐2‐(hydroxymethyl)‐1, 3‐propanediol] (TMP) esters based on palm and palm kernel oils were synthesized, their lubrication properties evaluated, and their potential as base stock for biodegradable lubricants assessed. Two types of TMP esters were considered: palm kernel (PKOTE) and palm oil (PPOTE) TMP esters, derived from palm oil and palm kernel methyl esters, respectively. Lubrication properties such as viscosity, viscosity index (VI) and pour point (PP) were determined according to methods of the American Society for Testing and Materials. Wear and friction properties were evaluated using a four‐ball test machine, while oxidative stability was studied with the Penn State Micro‐oxidation thin‐film test. High VI ranges between 170 to 200 were recorded for these base stocks. PP were relatively high, between 4 to —1 °C, but were improved to at least —33 °C in high oleic palm oil TMP esters. The effects of chemical structure and impurities on wear properties and oxidative stability were also studied. The presence of methyl esters was found to improve wear, but hydroxyl groups in mono‐ and diesters had negative effects at high concentrations. Differences in chemical structures of PKOTE and PPOTE were shown to affect friction and wear results. Both base fluids exhibit oxidative stability comparable to other high oleic base fluids.