Appraisal of Agriglass in Promoting Maize Production Under Abiotic Stress Conditions

An agriglass composition containing different oxides acts as a slow release for macro and micro nutrients and was chosen to improve maize yield under most important abiotic stresses which affecting agriculture development; salinity and drought. A field experiment was performed in salt affected soil (EC =?7.5 dSm^??1) by using different water deficit rates (I1 = 100, I2 = 85 and I3 = 70% of maize water requirements). Irrigation levels were located in main plots. Every main-plot divided into six sub-plots contained glassy fertilizer treatments [F1 = 55 kg fed^?1 with 1/2 mm diameter of agriglass (fed. =?4200 m²), F2 = 55 kg fed^?1 with 1 mm diameter, F3 = 80 kg fed^?1 with 1/2 mm diameter, F4 = 80 kg fed^?1 with 1 mm diameter, F5 = Recommendations of Ministry of Agriculture and F6 = control]. The experimental results demonstrated that, ears, straw, grains and biological yields increased with increasing both water and agriglass rates. Application of agriglass as a slow release fertilizer improved yield more than mineral fertilizer. Some growth parameters, water use efficiency (IWUE), macronutrients concentration and their relations were included. Other studies on residual effect of agriglass and the annual application rates to withstand salinity and drought stress by strategic crops are required.     

Solar collectors for the Beirut climate

The performance of solar collector systems is optimized for the Beirut climate with respect to the following parameters: angle of tilt and orientation, plate emissivity and number of glass covers. The Beirut hourly ambient temperature, wind speed, wind direction and the monthly averaged hourly and daily global, beam and diffuse radiation are used in the calculation of the useful harnessed energy, collector's efficiency, storage-tank temperature and other relevant parameters.

The optimal thermal performance of the solar collector in Beirut is obtained for a south-facing collector all the year with a slope angle equal to latitude +15° in winter and latitude −15° in the summer. The use of a selective surface of low emissivity in the collector gives a higher useful energy gain of about 25% in summer and 10% in winter as compared with a nonselective plate surface. The collector's daily efficiency, under optimal conditions, varies from 55 to 65% depending upon the month of the year.     

Heat transfer enhancement by oscillatory perturbation of a stable separated flow

Numerical and experimental results for laminar flow and forced convection in a grooved channel indicate that significant heat transfer enhancement is possible by appropriately-tuned modulation of a steady, separated flow. The frequency r response of the enhancement is strongly peaked around the frequency of the least stable (decaying) mode of the unmodulated flow, suggesting that a simple resonance phenomenon is responsible for the transport augmentation.     

Simulation of a localized heating system for broiler brooding to improve energy performance

The aim of this work is to evaluate the performance of an innovative localized solar‐assisted pen heating system for brooding using a 3D computational simulation model of the heated space. The warm air‐curtained pen ensures acceptable temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, and air quality that meet the ventilation and heat requirements for a typical pen of 100 chicks as recommended by the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The supply flow characteristics and the simulated velocity and temperature field of the curtained region were determined such that they meet the ventilation requirements and comfort criteria. Results show that air supplied at 40°C is capable of delivering the desired microenvironment at bird level while the heat input to the unit is 685 W when outdoor temperature is ?5°C. The system's energy performance was then analyzed using a prototype of 16 pens. The energy consumption of the new heating scheme consumed one third of the energy required by conventional non‐localized system. Moreover, integrating the new design with a solar system utilizing parabolic concentrators provided 72% of the power load from solar energy during a winter flock operation and 100% during other seasons. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Cationic Surfactants Based on N‐Hexamethylenetetramine as Active Microfouling Agents

Four cationic surfactants of quaternary hexammonium silane chloride based on hexamethylenetetramine and alkyl chloride were synthesized. The chemical structures of the prepared cationic surfactants were elucidated using Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analysis. The surface and thermodynamic properties of the prepared surfactants were also studied. The performance of these cationic surfactants as microfouling agents against two strains of Gram‐negative bacteria, namely, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, and two strains of Gram‐positive bacteria, namely, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, were evaluated as antimicrobial agents. The results showed that the maximum antimicrobial activity was detected for N‐hexamethylenetetramine‐N‐ethyl silane ammonium trichloride (Ah). The maximum and minimum antimicrobial activities were 73 and 60 % against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, at a concentration of 5 mg/l, pH 7, and 37 °C.     

A multi-segmented human bioheat model for transient and asymmetric radiative environments

This paper aims to improve the Salloum et al. multi-node multi-segmented model [M. Salloum, N. Ghaddar, K. Ghali, A new transient bio-heat model of the human body and its integration to clothing models, Int. J. Therm. Sci. 46 (4) (2007) 371–384] to accurately predict the circumferential skin temperature variation of nude and clothed human body segments when subject to complex transient and spatially non-uniform radiative environments. The passive bioheat model segments the body into the 15 cylindrical segments. Each body segment is divided into one core node, six angular skin nodes, one artery blood node, and one vein blood node. The model calculates the blood circulation using the Avolio model [A.P. Avolio, Multi-branched model of the human arterial system, Med. Biol. Eng. Comp. 18 (1980) 709–718] for arteries and arterioles up to 2 mm in diameter and the Olufsen et al., semi-analytical model [M.S. Olufsen, C.S. Peskin, W.Y. Kim, E.M. Pedersen, A. Nadim, J. Larsen, Numerical simulation and experimental validation of blood flow in arteries with structured tree outflow conditions, Ann. Biomed. Eng. 28 (11) (2000) 1281–1299] for small arteries and arterioles up to a minimum diameter of 0.3 mm; thus improving prediction of blood perfusion rates in the skin. Unsteady bioheat equations are simultaneously solved for the nodes of each body segment to predict the skin, tympanic, and core temperatures, sweat rates, and the dry and latent heat losses. The nude body thermal model is integrated to a clothing model that takes into consideration the moisture adsorption by the fibers to predict heat and mass diffusion through the clothing layers. The clothing layer is divided into six parts that are aligned to the skin sub-nodes for each clothed segment. The local and mean skin temperature can then be estimated in response to non-uniform environments.The nude body and the clothed model predictions were compared with published experimental data at a variety of ambient conditions, non-uniform conditions and activity levels. The current model agreed well with experimental data during transitions from hot to cold, dry to humid environments, and in asymmetric radiative environments. Both the nude and clothed human models have an accuracy of less than 6% for the whole-body heat gains or losses; the nude human model has an accuracy of ±0.35 °C for skin temperature values.     

Economic evaluation of desalination by small-scale autonomous solar-powered membrane distillation units

Solar-powered desalination is an attractive and viable method for the production of fresh water in remote arid areas. One of the most important factors determining desalination decisions is economics. This paper presents an economic assessment performed to estimate the expected water cost, which is the ultimate measure of the feasibility of the stand-alone system. Based on the calculations, the estimated cost of potable water produced by the compact unit is $15/m³, and $18/m³ for water produced by the large unit. Membrane lifetime and plant lifetime are key factors in determining the water production cost. The cost decreases with increasing the membrane and/or the plant lifetime.     

Air quality in rooms conditioned by chilled ceiling and mixed displacement ventilation for energy saving

A transient-contaminant-transport model is developed for assessing IAQ in the breathing zone when introducing return air into rooms conditioned by CC/DV system to save energy. The steady state transport model of [1] is extended to transient conditions while accounting for significant wall plumes associated with external loads.Experiments are performed to validate the extended model predictions of IAQ expressed in the level of CO₂ concentration. Experiments are conducted in a chamber with two external walls in Kuwait Climate. Measurements are recorded in time of the air temperature and CO₂ concentration at selected locations in the room and compared with values predicted by the model. Experimental results agreed well with model predictions. The maximum errors in predicted CO₂ concentrations are less than ±25 ppm in presence of external load. 60% fresh air fraction resulted in 37% less energy consumption compared with 100% fresh air CC/DV system.The validated model is applied to a case study in Kuwait to evaluate energy saving over the cooling season for a typical office space while using mixed DV air. Energy savings of up to 20.6% can be realized using mixed supply air while maintaining IAQ compared with energy used for the 100% fresh air.     

Diffuser design influence on the performance of solar thermal storage tanks

The effect of the inlet and outlet diffuser design on the performance of thermal stratification in a vertical water tank is investigated experimentally. Two sets of diffusers are used in the experiments, which are conducted with a moving thermocline (both up and down) for different flow rates. The results indicate that the preservation of the initial thermocline is excellent when using a settling mesh. It is also shown that the extraction efficiency of the tank is higher at low flow rates during charging, whereas it is lower at low flow rates during discharging.     

Energy conservation of residential buildings in Beirut

Energy conservation measures on buildings have a significant role to play in reducing the burden of the energy bill on the Lebanese economy. The residential sector is one of various sectors that energy measures can be applied to. Such measures include the use of insulation materials, double-glazed windows, shading, efficient air-conditioning systems, economical lighting and reduction of infiltration rates. It is demonstrated through detailed energy analysis of typical residential and office buildings that strict conservation is benificial on the micro- and macro-economic levels. A code of practice is suggested to establish acceptable standards for energy use in residential buildings and ranking is done of energy measures based on economical indices. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.