Breakthrough and Sulfate Conversion Analysis during Removal of Sulfur Dioxide by Calcium Oxide Sorbents

Sorption of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) was carried out on calcium‐based sorbents under dynamic conditions in a fixed bed. The experimental conditions were reaction temperature (700 to 1000°C), SO₂ concentration (1000‐10 000 ppm), sorbent particles size (1 to 2 mm) and the types of sorbents (hydroxide or carbonate). The sorption process was found to be effective at low concentration levels (less than 10 000 ppm) as the breakthrough time significantly decreased with increase in concentration. The maximum removal of SO₂ was observed at a reaction temperature of 950°C. The hydroxide‐based sorbents of relatively smaller particle size were found to exhibit superior sorption performance in terms of longer breakthrough time and higher sulfate conversion. A mathematical model developed, assuming a porous structure of the sorbent materials, attributed the low sulfation conversion during SO₂ sorption due to a pore diffusion mechanism.     

Computer Vision Techniques Applied for Diagnostic Analysis of Retinal OCT Images: A Review

The retina is a tiny layer at the posterior pole of an eye and is made up of tissues sensitive to light, these tissues generate nerve signals that pass through the optic nerve to the brain. A retinal disorder occurs when the retina malfunctions; glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and pathologic myopia are retinal disorders and principal causes of blindness worldwide. These retinal disorders are often diagnosed and treated by an ophthalmologist. However, to accurately assess a retinal disease, ophthalmologist would need qualitative and quantitative analysis of the disease, it’s early and current statistics, but acquisition of these measurements are not possible through manual techniques, there should be automated computer aided diagnosis (CAD) systems to assist ophthalmologists. In this comprehensive review, an analysis and evaluation has been performed of different computer vision and image processing approaches applied to OCT images for automatic diagnosis of retinal disorders. We also reported disease causes, symptoms and pathologies manifestations within OCT images, which can serve as baseline knowledge for development of an automated CAD system. Hence, this disease specific review offers a good understanding to analyze visual impairments from retinal OCT images which will help researcher to design enhanced therapeutic systems for retinal disorders.     

Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Simulation with Imprecise Parameters

A methodology has been developed in this study wherein a genetic algorithm (GA) is used to find a global optimal solution to a groundwater flow and contaminant problem by incorporating an artificial neural network (ANN) to evaluate the objective function within the genetic algorithm. The study shows that an ANN-GA technique can be used to find the uncertainties in output parameters due to imprecision in input parameters. The ANN-GA methodology is applied to five case studies involving radial flow in a well, one-dimensional solute transport in steady uniform flow, a two-dimensional heterogeneous steady flow, a two-dimensional solute transport, and a two-dimensional unsteady groundwater flow to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the developed algorithm. The results show that, with this approach, one can successfully measure the uncertainty in groundwater flow and contaminant transport simulations and achieve a considerable reduction in computational effort when compared to the vertex method that has been widely used in the past.     

A Synthesis of Feedback and Feedforward Control for Process Improvement Under Stationary and Nonstationary Time Series Disturbance Models

Process adjustment strategy is an important part of the process improvement methods. The feedback control technique is used to compensate for the deviation of the output, and it has been intensively investigated. For continuous improvement and proactive strategies, feedback control has a delay and thus is not the ideal solution. In this article, motivated by a realistic manufacturing example, we propose the periodic shift disturbance models and investigate the feedforward control application from a new disturbance decomposition framework. We combine feedforward control with feedback control for maintaining the stability of the process and delivering products at target values. Then, we evaluate the performance of different control strategies for various disturbance models by using the output mean square error criterion. Sensitivity analysis of these control methods is made on different model parameter spaces, and robustness analysis for both model parameter and model structure misspecifications is presented. Two simulated examples show that the proposed control strategies can significantly reduce the variation of an evolving disturbance process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Green composites based on high‐density polyethylene and Saccharum spontaneum: Effect of filler content on morphology,thermal, and mechanical properties

Here we report the preparation and characterization of a green composite based on high‐density polyethylene and Kaans grass (Saccharum spontaneum). The composites were prepared by conventional melt‐mixing method, using maximum loading of Kaans grass in powder form (KG‐filler) to achieve acceptable range of required properties. Maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene was used as compatibilizer to achieve effective interaction for improved surface adhesion which was confirmed by FT‐IR spectroscopy. Morphological studies revealed good interaction between the base polymer matrices and the KG‐fillers that improved the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites up to certain (10 phr) KG‐filler loading. Study on water absorption property revealed moderate increase in weight at higher KG‐filler loadings. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and melt flow index (MFI) studies indicated retention of thermal stability and flow property of the HDPE/KG‐filler composite at lower filler loadings. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:2157–2166, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Studies on Transport Phenomena during Continuous Casting of an Al-Alloy in Presence of Electromagnetic Stirring

In the present work, a numerical study is performed to predict the transport phenomena during continuous casting of an aluminum alloy (A356) in presence of weak stirring. A set of volume averaged single phase conservation equations (mass, momentum, energy and species) is used to represent the casting process. The electromagnetic forces are incorporated in the momentum equations. The governing equations are solved based on the pressure-based finite volume method according to the SIMPLER algorithm using TDMA solver along with an enthalpy update scheme. The simulation predicts the temperature, solid fraction and species in the computational domain. A parametric study is also performed.     

Thermal model of a cylindrically symmetric solar pond

A finite element heat transport program has been modified to model the thermal behavior for a cylindrically symmetric salt gradient polar pond of the Rabl-Nielsen type. In this model transient phenomena as well as steady state behavior can be studied. Results are presented for a model of the solar pond at the University of New Mexico and are compared with actual measurements.     

On a single server queue with two-stage heterogeneous service and deterministic server vacations

We analyse a single server queue with Poisson arrivals, two stages of heterogeneous service with different general (arbitrary) service time distributions and binomial schedule server vacations with deterministic (constant) vacation periods. After first-stage service the server must provide the second stage service. However, after the second stage service, he may take a vacation or may decide to stay on in the system. For convenience, we designate our model as M/G ₁, G ₂/D/1 queue. We obtain steady state probability generating function of the queue length for various states of the server. Results for some particular cases of interest such as M/E_{k 1} , E_{k 2} /D/1, M/M ₁, M ₂/D/1, M/E _k /D/1 and M/G ₁, G ₂/1 have been obtained from the main results and some known results including M/E_k /1 and M/G/1 have been derived as particular cases of our particular cases.     

Nanowire Assisted Mechanotyping of Cellular Metastatic Potential

Nanotechnology has provided tools for next generation biomedical devices which rely on nanostructure interfaces with living cells. In vitro biomimetic structures have enabled observation of cell response to various mechanical and chemical cues, and there is a growing interest in isolating and harnessing the specific cues that 3D microenvironments can provide without the requirement for such culture and the experimental drawbacks associated with it. Here, a randomly oriented gold coated Si nanowire substrate with patterned hydrophobic–hydrophilic areas for the differentiation of isogenic breast cancer cells of varying metastatic potential is reported. When considering synthetic surfaces for the study of cell-nanotopography interfaces, randomly oriented nanowires more closely resemble the isotropic architecture of a natural extracellular matrix. In the study reported here, the authors show that primary cancer cells preferably attach to the hydrophilic region of randomly oriented nanowire substrate while secondary cancer cells do not adhere. Using machine learning analysis of fluorescence images, cells are found to spread and elongate on the nanowire substrates as compared to a flat substrate, where they mostly remain round. Such platforms can not only be used for developing bioassays but also as stepping stones for tissue printing technologies where cells can be selectively patterned at desired locations.