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The paper deals with the medical application of diode-lasers. A short review of medical therapies is presented, taking into account the wavelength applied, continuous wave (cw) or pulsed regimes, and their therapeutic effects. Special attention was paid to the laryngological application of a pulsed diode laser with wavelength 810 nm, and dermatologic applications of a 975 nm laser working at cw and pulsed mode. The efficacy of the laser procedures and a comparison of the pulsed and cw regimes is presented and discussed.

In the classical approach, energetic effects (cutting forces and cutting power) of wood sawing process are generally calculated on the basis of the specifi c cutting resistance, which is in the case of wood cutting the function of more or less important factors. On the other hand, the cutting forces (power) problem may be tackled with an innovative, up-to-date fundamental analysis of the mechanics of sawing based on modern fracture mechanics. This line of attack is an improvement on traditional approaches for cutting forces and power, many of which are empirical and based upon limited information. Such formulae do not permit generalisation to new conditions of operation of sawmills, such as e.g. the use of narrow-kerf blades. The presented algebraic model, for cutting power determination while sawing, in addition to timber ‘strength’ and friction between tool and workpiece, takes into account the property called ‘fracture toughness’ (resistance to cracking), which is a vital ingredient. Furthermore, forecasting of the shear plane angle with this model is achievable even for small values of uncut chips. Moreover, the mentioned model is a universal one, and useful for determination of energetic effects of sawing of every kinematics such as: frame sawing machines, bandsawing machines and circular sawing machines.

In the classical approach, cutting forces and cutting power in sawing processes of orthotropic materials such as wood are generally calculated on the basis of the specific cutting resistance kc (cutting force per unit area of cut). For every type of sawing kinematics (frame saws, band saws and circular sawing machines) different empirical values of specific cutting resistance kc have to be applied. It should be emphasised that sources in the scientific literature and handbooks do not provide any information about wood provenance, nor about cutting conditions in which cutting resistance had been determined. In analyses of sawing processes in which the offcut is formed by shear, Atkins’s ideas that all cutting forms a branch of elastoplastic fracture mechanics can be applied. Thanks to this modern approach it was possible to reveal, using experimental results data of fracture toughness and shear yield stresses of Polish pine (Pinus sylvestris), the significant effect of the raw material provenance (source of wood) on cutting power. In the common model for circular sawing machine kinematics, which is similar to metal milling, the sum of all uncut chip thicknesses of the all the teeth simultaneously engaged represented the mean uncut chip thickness. In this work predictions of the newly-developed model for the circular sawing machine are presented. In the model, beside uncut chip thicknesses changes, appropriate changes in shear yield stress and toughness with tooth/grain orientation have been taken into account. The conducted analyses have demonstrated that values of RMS of cutting power obtained with the new developed model are slightly larger than experimental values. On the other hand computed values of cutting power with the use of the mean uncut chip thicknesses in the model are a bit lower from the empirical one.

The paper presents a new concept of a vertical axis wind turbine. The idea is focused on small wind turbines, and therefore, the dominating quality is safety. Another important necessary feature is efficient operation at small winds. This implies an application of the drag driven solution such as the Savonius rotor. The presented concept is aimed at reducing the rotor size and the cost of implementation. A new wind turbine solution, its efficiency, and functionality are described. The results of numerical simulations being a proof of the concept are reported. The simulations were followed by wind tunnel tests. Finally several prototypes were built and investigated for a longer period of time. The new wind turbine concept has undergone various testing and implementation efforts, making this idea matured, well proven and documented. A new feature, namely, the wind turbine size reduction at strong winds, or in other words, an increase in the wind turbine size at low winds is the reason why it is difficult to compare this turbine with other turbines on the market. The power output depends not only on the turbine efficiency but also on its varying size.

The article discusses the historical development and embodiments of the concept of generating electricity from wind energy without the use of wind turbines, so called electrostatic bladeless generators or generators without moving parts. A simplified theory and the principles of operation of generators that use a motion of charged particles in an electric field occurring under the drag force of the wind are described. Two contemporary solutions utilising the principle that has reached an implementation stage, EWICON and AerovoltaicTM, are presented in detail.

Sequential combustion was first applied to gas turbines more than 40 years ago, and almost half of these early machines are still operating. This form of oxidation leads to the flameless combustion at a second chamber. In GT26, the second stage combustor has 24 SEV burners which are similar in action to the well known ABB EV burner. In this paper, a 3D numerical simulation of the first EV combustor and the second SEV-combustor are performed for normal operating conditions (exhaust mass flow 542 kg/s, exhaust temperature 6100C). Physical modelling of the flameless oxidation is based on an original implementation of the GRI-MECH mechanism (325 chemical reactions) into the Fluent 5.4. Precise estimation of NOx emission and other pollutants has been done.