Oxy‐fuel combustion technology: current status,applications, and trends

The increased level of emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to burning of fossil fuels represents one of the main barriers toward the reduction of greenhouse gases and the control of global warming. In the last decades, the use of renewable and clean sources of energies such as solar and wind energies has been increased extensively. However, due to the tremendously increasing world energy demand, fossil fuels would continue in use for decades which necessitates the integration of carbon capture technologies (CCTs) in power plants. These technologies include oxycombustion, pre‐combustion, and post‐combustion carbon capture. Oxycombustion technology is one of the most promising carbon capture technologies as it can be applied with slight modifications to existing power plants or to new power plants. In this technology, fuel is burned using an oxidizer mixture of pure oxygen plus recycled exhaust gases (consists mainly of CO₂). The oxycombustion process results in highly CO₂‐concentrated exhaust gases, which facilitates the capture process of CO₂ after H₂O condensation. The captured CO₂ can be used for industrial applications or can be sequestrated. The current work reviews the current status of oxycombustion technology and its applications in existing conventional combustion systems (including gas turbines and boilers) and novel oxygen transport reactors (OTRs). The review starts with an introduction to the available CCTs with emphasis on their different applications and limitations of use, followed by a review on oxycombustion applications in different combustion systems utilizing gaseous, liquid, and coal fuels. The current status and technology readiness level of oxycombustion technology is discussed. The novel application of oxycombustion technology in OTRs is analyzed in some details. The analyses of OTRs include oxygen permeation technique, fabrication of oxygen transport membranes (OTMs), calculation of oxygen permeation flux, and coupling between oxygen separation and oxycombustion of fuel within the same unit called OTR. The oxycombustion process inside OTR is analyzed considering coal and gaseous fuels. The future trends of oxycombustion technology are itemized and discussed in details in the present study including: (i) ITMs for syngas production; (ii) combustion utilizing liquid fuels in OTRs; (iii) oxy‐combustion integrated power plants and (iv) third generation technologies for CO₂ capture. Techno‐economic analysis of oxycombustion integrated systems is also discussed trying to assess the future prospects of this technology. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive motion/force control of uncertain nonholonomic mobile manipulator with estimation of unknown external force

This paper describes a stable adaptive motion/force control of uncertain nonholonomic mobile manipulator with the consideration of external force. As it is well known, unexpected external force makes the motion of the system unstable since there are no fixed points in the stationary coordinate. Here, a novel adaptive control scheme is utilized to estimate and compensate the unknown external force exerted to the end-effector even if the parameters of the system are uncertain. The important advantages of this approach are to achieve estimation without the requirement of force-sensing feedback and the knowledge of the system dynamic model. The update laws for the force and the parameters are derived from a Lyapunov function to guarantee the control system stability. Furthermore, a unified operational space dynamic formulation is presented to solve the problem of redundancy. As a result, the desired end-effector and platform trajectories are simultaneously tracked with a perfect coordination between the two subsystems. Therefore, the proposed controller proves that it can not only guarantee the stability, but also the tracking performance of the system in the task space. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated through extensive simulations and they demonstrate the stability, tracking trajectories and feasibility in estimating the external force and the dynamic uncertainties.     

Convection behavior analysis of CMOS MEMS thermal accelerometers using FEM and Hardee’s model

This paper presents convection behavior investigation of CMOS MEMS convective accelerometers using both analytical and FEM techniques. In a first part, a newly developed accelerometer 3D model is used in FEM simulations to model convection behavior as a function of design geometry and temperature. Using various sizes of two different cover shapes, sensitivity reading and its maximum position in cavity are found to be largely affected by both cover size and shape. In addition, a sensor with cavity width of 600 μm produces sensitivity saturation starting at a cavity depth of 200 μm, for both cover shapes. Using FEM data and curve fitting, differential temperature is claimed to be linearly linked to the effective heater temperature to the power of 1.7. Using the same cavity design and from computed heating efficiency values, we found that a 60 μm width heater offers the best efficiency. This cavity and heater designs give an optimal detector position of 120 μm from heater center along the sensitive axis. Moreover, dual axis accelerometers are found to be more power efficient than single axis ones. In the second part, we present Hardee’s spherical model and investigate its possible application on convective accelerometers. It is shown that inner and outer isotherms deformation, caused by accelerometer design and convection process, should be modeled by including sensor geometry parameters in the derived governing equations. Moreover, Hardee’s biasing temperature relation has to be revised if it is to be used for convective accelerometers.     

Primary intraosseous meningioma of the vault

Primitive intra-osseous meningioma is a rare benign tumor. We report a case with a temporal localization and antro-attical extension into the petrous bone.     

Chain dynamic of calcified tissue

Thermally stimulated current spectroscopy has been applied to the investigation of molecular mobility in human calcified tissue. A comparative study of extracts and residues at various stages of demineralization is presented. Results show that:

Multi-Scale Investigation of Surface Topography of Ball Python (Python regius) Shed Skin in Comparison to Human Skin

A major concern in designing tribosystems is to minimize friction, save energy, and to reduce wear. Conventional philosophy for design centers on mechanical and material considerations. In particular, designers pay more attention to material properties and material choices based on mechanical properties rather than the design and shape of the contacting surfaces and the relation of that surface to the function of the device. As a result of thriving for miniaturization, focus has shifted toward optimal surface design (that is to construct a surface that is an integral part of the function of the tribosystem). Inspirations for such a trend come from studying natural systems and mimicking natural design rules. The major attraction is that natural systems, while functionally complex, are, in general, of optimized shape and performance. It is further believed that functional complexity of natural systems is what affords natural species to morph continuously to adapt with the operating environment. One bio-species that is of interest is the Ball Python. This is because such a species continuously slides against various surfaces, many of which are deemed tribologically hostile, without sustaining much damage. Much of the success of that species in adapting to its environment is attributed to surface design features. In that respect, studying these features and how do they contribute to the control of friction and wear is very attractive. This paper is a step in this direction. In this work we apply a multi-scale surface characterization approach to study surface design features of the Python regius. The focus is on those features that are typically used to assess the performance of high quality lubricating surfaces (such as those obtained through plateau honing). To this end, topographical features are studied by SEM and through White Light Interferometry (WLI). We probe the roughness of the surface on multi-scale and as a function of location within the body. In addition we draw a comparison of these features to those of human skin.     

Adaptive terminal sliding mode control for rigid robotic manipulators

In order to apply the terminal sliding mode control to robot manipulators, prior knowledge of the exact upper bound of parameter uncertainties, and external disturbances is necessary. However, this bound will not be easily determined because of the complexity and unpredictability of the structure of uncertainties in the dynamics of the robot. To resolve this problem in robot control, we propose a new robust adaptive terminal sliding mode control for tracking problems in robotic manipulators. By applying this adaptive controller, prior knowledge is not required because the controller is able to estimate the upper bound of uncertainties and disturbances. Also, the proposed controller can eliminate the chattering effect without losing the robustness property. The stability of the control algorithm can be easily verified by using Lyapunov theory. The proposed controller is tested in simulation on a two-degree-of-freedom robot to prove its effectiveness.     

Influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) on the mechanical properties of LLDPE/CNT nanocomposite fibers

The present study shows the effect of adding CNT to linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) to produce LLDPE/CNT nanocomposite fibers. The LLDPE/CNT fibers were produced by melt extrusion process using a twin-screw extruder, in a controlled temperature from 160 °C to 275 °C. Further, melt extrusion process was followed by drawing of fibers at the room temperature. Three different weight percentages, 0.08, 0.3 and 1 wt.% of CNT were studied for producing nanocomposite fibers. The addition of 1 wt.% CNT in the LLDPE fiber has increased the tensile strength by 38% (350 MPa). The addition of 0.08 and 0.3 wt.% CNT in the fiber matrix has improved the ductility by 87% and 122%, respectively. Similarly, improvement in the toughness was observed by 63% and 105% for LLDPE fibers with 0.08 wt.% and 0.3 wt.% CNT respectively. The increase in the mechanical properties of the composite fibers was attributed to the alignment and distribution of CNT in the LLDPE matrix. The dispersion of CNT in the polymeric matrix has been revealed by SEM. The study shows that the small addition of CNT when properly mixed and aligned will increase the mechanical properties of pristine polymer fibers.     

The Scale Effect of Roughness on Hydrodynamic Contact Friction

Multistage abrasive finishing processes (grinding, polishing, honing, etc.) are commonly used to produce the geometrical properties of a surface to meet its technical functionalities in the operating characteristics of contacting parts in friction, relating to their durability and reliability (running-in performance, wear resistance, load-carrying capacity, etc.). Coarse abrasive grits followed progressively finer ones are used, which leads to a multiscale stratified surface texture.

In this article, a numerical model of elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contact coupled to a multiscale surface texture model was developed that allows tracking the scale effect of surface features and their interactions on friction performance and lubricant flow under hydrodynamic lubrication conditions. Because the simulation model has as an input the surface topography and to overcome the variability in surface finish formation, textured surfaces at different stages of the finishing process were simulated (virtual texturing method). Surface topography can be decomposed into two principal components: superficial roughness and valleys. Superficial roughness was modeled using a fractal model and a scaling factor was introduced to model valley patterns. The results show the relationship between friction and surface scales.