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Small modular reactors (SMRs) are small-scale reactor designs (< 300 MWe), generally planned for deployment as multi-module nuclear power plants. Due to their small size, SMR modules could be manufactured in a factory and deployed to a site via truck or rail for installation and fueling. SMRs are being evaluated for their ability to provide both power and steam, such that they could be a viable replacement for fossil fuels. SMRs have been considered for coupling to manufacturing processes in addition to being connected to the grid, allowing them to follow the net grid demand in a “load following” operational mode during times of high renewable generation. Alternately, SMRs could be used to replace cogeneration and combined-cycle processes at manufacturing plants which utilize natural gas and other fossil fuels. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is studying the use of SMRs for large-scale manufacturing processes that require both electricity and steam. The current study examines the integration of a SMR with two mid-size pulp and paper mills in the southeastern United States. The study consists of three parts: steady-state analysis of the mill, elimination of fossil fuel use in the lime kilns, and economic analysis of the modified plant operations. A steady-state model of each mill is developed in Aspen HYSIS based on real data from the operation of each mill. The steady-state model is then modified to include the SMR while maintaining production steam quality and making as few changes to existing equipment as possible. This model gives an estimate of the minimum requirements for SMR output, as well as the change in generation by existing boilers and turbines. With an overall picture of the new plant operation and determining the number of SMR modules required, further changes are suggested to minimize or completely eliminate fossil fuel use from the plant. Apart from steam generation, the largest consumer of fossil fuels at the plant is typically the lime kilns. Conversion of the lime kilns from fossil fuel combustion to electric heating is the most feasible solution to eliminate fossil fuels. This study finds that electric lime kilns are economical when the plant has a surplus This study presents a feasible example of using an SMR as a substitute for fossil fuel cogeneration. If this approach were expanded across the manufacturing industry, it would have a significant impact on environmental emissions and air quality.

This paper was erroneously published in ASME Turbo Expo 2021: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, Vol. 2D and removed on October 13, 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ASME

This paper was removed from publication at the author’s request, February 26, 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ASME

This paper was removed from publication at the author’s request, March 8, 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ASME

This paper was removed from publication at the author’s request. February 18, 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ASME

This paper was removed from publication at the author’s request, August 30, 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication at the author’s request. October 2, 2020. Copyright © 2020 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication at author’s request. September 9, 2020. Copyright © 2020 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. (April 21, 2020) Copyright © 2020 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. (April 21, 2020) Copyright © 2020 by ASME

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Surface Bonding Graphene-Based Elastomeric Sensor: Preliminary Characterization of Adhesion Strength” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2019 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, ASME 2019 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, (V001T01A002), September 2019, SMASIS2019-5578, doi: 10.1115/SMASIS2019-5578.

Due to depleting natural resources, it is necessary to develop eco-composite materials that are fabricated from sustainable and inexpensive materials such as recycled paper or cellulose-based materials. Such materials are required to meet the mechanical performance at par with traditional materials. The main aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical performance of a composite material fabricated from paper pulp and polyvinyl acetate (wood glue). It is expected that a high strength composite material may be achieved by varying the amount of paper-pulp fiber fraction from 7.5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% to 60% weight. A tensile test was conducted and it was found that an increase in fiber content on the fabricated composite resulted in an increase in ultimate tensile strength and a decrease in corresponding strain. Furthermore, the material becomes more brittle at higher fiber content and conversely, more ductile at lower fiber content. The ultimate tensile strength was found to be 7.69 MPa at 60% w.t fiber and the minimum tensile strength was 0.12 MPa at 0% w.t fiber. There were no signs of fiber content limit observed in the obtained results. It was concluded that a composite of moderate strength was produced and future work is required in order to fully understand how the composite behaves at different loading conditions. However, an optimum fiber content limit will have to be determined.

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. (March 10, 2020) Copyright © 2020 by ASME

This paper has been retracted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers due the commercial nature of the content. December 21, 2018. Copyright © 2018 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. (March 10, 2020) Copyright © 2020 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. (March 10, 2020) Copyright © 2020 by ASME

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Analysis of the Performance of Plasma Actuators Under Low-Pressure Turbine Conditions Based on Experiments and URANS Simulations” which was published in Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2017: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, Volume 2A: Turbomachinery, V02AT40A034, June 2017, GT2017-64867, doi: 10.1115/GT2017-64867.

In Japan, the production of traditional handmade Japanese paper using the spring water has been performed in the Shuso area of Shikoku Island. However, the method of production was been handed down by trial and error and observation of the expert movement until now. The produced papers are counted one unit that is five hundred sheets of Japanese paper. Five hundred sheets of Japanese paper are called 1 [lot]. The paper has two type of thickness and its size is 600mm × 1500mm. Thick paper is 9[kgf] per lot. The other hand, thin paper is 8[kgf] per lot. In other words, the expert is making paper which is the difference of 2[gf] per sheet. This time, we have been able to obtain cooperation with traditional craftsman for the digitizing of his skills. Therefore, we visualize the tacit knowledge of the expert’s skill. The expert subject has 34 years of experience of traditional hand-made Japanese paper. We have digitized his manufacturing movement by using motion capture. His movements are analyzed by attaching infrared reflective markers of 20 on each parts of the body. In this study, we found that constant rhythm of the neck in handmade Japanese paper manufacturing movement. Furthermore, the first scoop is performed at the time much shorter than in the case of other scoops.

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Development of a Simplified Ankle Distractor” which was published in Proceedings of the 2017 Design of Medical Devices Conference, 2017 Design of Medical Devices Conference, V001T03A005, April 2017, DMD2017-3438, doi: 10.1115/DMD2017-3438.

Fluid injection is a common practice in the Oil and Gas industry found in many applications such as waterflooding and disposal of produced fluids. Maintaining high injection rates is crucial to guarantee the economic success of these projects; however, there are geomechanical risks and difficulties involved in this process that may threat the viability of fluid injection projects. Near wellbore reduction of permeability due to pore plugging, formation failure, out of zone injection, sand production, and local compaction are challenging the effectiveness of the injection process. Due to these complications, modeling and simulation has been used as an effective tool to assess injectors’ performance, however, different problems have yet be addressed. In this paper, we review some of these challenges and the solutions that have been proposed as a primary step to understand mechanisms affecting well performance.Copyright © 2016 by ASME

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Forced Response Analysis of a Mistuned Compressor Blisk Comparing Three Different Reduced Order Model Approaches” which was published in Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2016: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, Volume 7A: Structures and Dynamics, V07AT32A030, June 2016, GT2016-57902, doi: 10.1115/GT2016-57902.

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. June 29, 2017. Copyright © 2017 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. July 5, 2016. Copyright © 2016 by ASME

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. June 8, 2016. Copyright © 2016 by ASME

Alternative fuels research has been on going for well over many years at a number of institutions. Driven by oil price and consumption, engine emissions and climate change, along with the lack of sustainable fossil fuels, transportation sector has generated an interest in alternative, renewable sources of fuel for internal combustion engines. The focus has ranged from feed stock optimization to engine-out emissions, performance and durability. Biofuels for transportation sector, including alcohols (ethanol, methanol…etc.), biodiesel, and other liquid and gaseous fuels such as methane and hydrogen, have the potential to displace a considerable amount of petroleum-based fuels around the world. First generation biofuels are produced from sugars, starches, or vegetable oils. On the contrary, the second generation biofuels are produced from cellulosic materials, agricultural wastes, switch grasses and algae rather than sugar and starch. By not using food crops, second generation biofuel production is much more sustainable and has a lower impact on food production. Also known as advanced biofuels, the second-generation biofuels are still in the development stage. Combining higher energy yields, lower requirements for fertilizer and land, and the absence of competition with food, second generation biofuels, when available at prices equivalent to petroleum derived products, offer a truly sustainable alternative for transportation fuels. There are main four issues related to alternative fuels: production, transportation, storage, handling and usage. This paper presents a review of recent literature related to the alternative fuels usage and the impact of these fuels on fuel injection systems, and fuel atomization and sprays for both spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines. Effect of these renewable fuels on both internal flow and external flow characteristics of the fuel injector will be presented.Copyright © 2015 by ASME

Flow in a turbine duct is highly complex, influenced by the upstream turbine stage flow structures, including tip leakage flow and non-uniformities originating from the upstream HPT vane and rotor. The complexity of the flow makes the prediction using numerical methods difficult, hence there exists a need for experimental validation. This paper presents experimental data including both aerodynamic and heat transfer measurements within an intermediate turbine duct. These have been conducted in the Oxford Turbine Research Facility, a short duration high speed test facility enabling the use of an engine sized turbine, operating at the correct non-dimensional parameters relevant for aerodynamic and heat transfer measurements. The current configuration consists of a HPT stage and a downstream duct including a turning vane, for use in a counter rotating turbine configuration. With a stator-to-stator vane count of 32-to-24, instrumentation was installed on three adjacent intermediate turbine duct vanes and endwalls to investigate its influence. Flow phenomena such as trailing edge wakes and vortex structures from the upstream HPT vane travels through the rotor and forms an inlet condition to the intermediate turbine duct with tangential variations. Time-averaged experimental data show this effect to be distinguishable although varying in the spanwise direction. Comparisons with results from numerical predictions are included to further analyse the flow through the 1.5 stage.Copyright © 2015 by ASME

We deal with “Danshi” that has a special wrinkle called “Shibo” on the surface structure of the Japanese paper. Three sheets of wet papers are superimposed to make the Shibo. Wet papers are extended the slack by brushing. Superimposed wet papers are made the Shibo by especial pulling movement. This time, we investigate about the movement of brushing for extending the slack. Subjects are two people which are wearing 18 reflecting markers on the body. An expert has manufactured Danshi for 23 years of experience and a non-expert has done less than 1 year of experience. The movement of brushing process is measured as sampling time of 100 [Hz]. We will investigate differences of the physical movement between the expert and the non-expert. We make a hearing about the differences and work on visualization about the skill of the expert. The method of making Shibo structure has five procedures. First, one piece of wet paper is placed on the inclined work table. Second, wrinkles of the paper are extended by brushing. Third, next wet paper is put on the first sheet, it is extended the slack again. Fourth, moreover third wet paper is put on the second sheet, it is extended the slack by brushing again. Fifth, the Shibo structures are produced by pulling in a state of three superimposed sheets. We compared the number of brushing in each sheets. There was not difference in the number of brushing in each sheet in a non-expert. In other hand, number of brushing by the expert was two times that of first and second sheets in third sheet. The number of brushing in first and second sheets did not change by the expert. In consequence, he was a notion that important things for making the clear Shibo structure are not only extending the slack, but also pulling out the bubbles. We divided brushing movement into eight directions. In third sheet of the expert, the number of brushing to body direction has increased over 10%. It was found that the expert removed air bubbles from the corner of the top right. Furthermore, we investigated the change of angle of the right wrist in the expert and the non-expert. It became clear that angle of the wrist is reduced when the expert is brushing forward.

The growing size of BOPs, longer drilling campaigns on wells, and operations in harsher environments has resulted in increased challenges in properly documenting wellhead fatigue during planned or executed drilling operations. The industry has started directing its efforts toward the calibration of analytical tools which are typically adopted for predicting wellhead fatigue. The ultimate goal for achieving this ambitious scope is to identify a benchmark set of analytical results that will predict field measurements. Early on Statoil identified a major obstacle: the absence of a good and comprehensive dataset of field measurements to serve as point of reference. Statoil and Aker Solutions cooperated on a pilot project with the intent of collecting a dataset of full scale measurements during drilling operations to be used to validate and calibrate the theoretical wellhead fatigue calculation methodologies. The main objective of the instrumentation campaign was to measure sectional forces as close as possible to typical wellhead hotspots by the use of three sets of strain gauges installed on the outside surface of the conductor and on the outside of the surface casing. With the objective of collecting an exhaustive dataset of measurements, accelerometers and inclinometers were installed on the BOP, the riser adapter, the riser below the upper flex joint and on the rig. An additional set of six strain gauges was installed on the riser to record riser tension variations. Environmental conditions were logged on board the rig and by the hindcast data provider. Operational events were carefully logged. This paper presents the following: • Data processing used for quality assurance and calibration of the measured data and the associated data challenges • Highlights of the instrumentation system capabilities to capture salient events of a typical drilling campaign and of ad-hoc performed rig operations to calibrate and validate the measured data • Effect of a controlled rig cross motion test, performed to evaluate quasi static loads on the well and calibrate strain gauge sensor orientations • A riser pull test, performed to validate strain gauge functioning • Several landing and disconnecting of the LMRP • Manipulation of the preload between the high pressure housing and the low pressure housing to investigate the effect of the preloading on the load sharing between the casings Since King and Soloman [2], the industry is still lacking quality field data to be used in order to validate the various analytical models used in the analyses of subsea conductor and wellheads. The results will confirm the quality of the measured data and will represent a first data point of comprehensive measured field data. This data will be used for future required work in calibrating the different building blocks pertaining to the analytical tools dedicated to well head fatigue predictions [3].

Imperfections in a rotor-bearing system may cause undesirable subcritical resonances occurring when the rotating speed of the rotor is a fraction of the natural frequency of the system. These resonances arise partly from rotor imperfections and partly from bearing imperfections. This study demonstrates that the subcritical twice-running-speed vibrations originating from bearing waviness may be investigated by combining a simplified rotor model with a detailed bearing model, using a finite element method. The rotor-bearing system under investigation is a roller test rig consisting of the tube roll of a paper machine supported by spherical roller bearings. The bearing waviness from the second to the fourth orders is emulated as accurately as possible in the finite element model. This is achieved by measuring the waviness of the real bearings and then incorporating the measurement results into a simulation model. The tube roll of the test rig is modeled as a symmetric tube, neglecting the effects of the uneven mass and stiffness distribution of the roll. The contact between the rotor and the bearings is described using nonlinear Hertzian contact theory. The subcritical responses of the system are studied by means of time integration, and the results are converted into the frequency domain using fast Fourier transformation. The results of the analysis are compared with the measurement results for the subcritical responses of the roll. The agreement between the simulation and experimental results of the studied system can be observed even though rotor imperfections are not considered.

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Modeling of an Oscillating Wave Surge Converter With Dielectric Elastomer Power Take-Off” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 9A: Ocean Renewable Energy, V09AT09A034, June 2014, OMAE2014-23559, doi: 10.1115/OMAE2014-23559.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been a potential green energy source for a long time but one of the problems is that either the technology must be used on a large scale or special equipment have been necessary to keep the fuel cells running such as syringe pumps. Paper-based microbial fuel cells do not need to have a syringe pump to run and can run entirely by themselves when placed in contact with the fluids that are necessary for it to run. Paper-based microbial fuel cells are also more compact than traditional MFCs since the device doesn’t need any external equipment to run. The goal of this paper is to develop a microbial fuel cell that does not require a syringe pump to function. This is done by layering chromatography paper with wax design printed onto it. This restricts the fluids to a specific flow path allowing it to act like the tubes in a typical microbial fuel cell device by delivering the fluids to the chamber. The fluids are picked up by tabs that sit in the fluid and use capillary attraction to flow up the tab and into the device. The fluids are directed to the chambers where the chemical and biological processes take place. These flows are then directed out of the device so that they are taken to a waste container and out of the system. Our microliter scale paper-based microbial fuel cell creates a significant current that is sustained for a period of time and can be repeated. A paper-based microbial fuel cell also has a fast response time. These results mean that it could be possible for a set of paper-based microbial fuel cells to create a power density capable of powering small, low power circuits when used in series or parallel. In this paper, we discuss the fabrication and experimental results of our paper-based microbial fuel cell. Also there will be a discussion of how paper-based microbial fuels cells compare to the traditional microbial fuel cells and how they could be used in the future.

Experiments comparing conventional and ultrasonic vibration assisted guillotine cutting of paper stacks have been performed on plain and aluminum coated label paper. It is shown that ultrasonic vibration assisted cutting reduces the cutting force for both paper species. Reduction of the cutting force allows the down holder force to be decreased and lowers the compression of the paper stack necessary to prevent pull-out of the top sheets of paper. Using a higher amplitude setting on the ultrasonic generator further decreases the cutting force for the paper stack. For three different cutting speeds, it is shown that ultrasonic vibration assisted cutting force reduction depends on the average speed of the tool for both paper species. A linear regression with present experimental data is done to obtain an equation for the relation between input generator power and resulting cutting force. Finally, the quality of the cutting edge is examined, quality parameters are defined, and according to these the cutting edge quality is assessed.

The above referenced paper has been removed from publication. April 22, 2015. Copyright© 2015 by ASME

Reason: This paper was removed as a dual publication. Please see https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ICEF/proceedings/ICEF2012/55096/83/238117. October 2, 2020. Copyright © 2020 by ASME

As long as materials continue to have imperfections in their structure, failure by cracking will continue to be a consideration in design. Cracks may be the result of material in homogeneity, service loading and may also be introduced during the manufacturing of either, the material itself or the structure in which the material is used. In the presence of a crack, a structure is more prone to fail at stress levels lower than those based on standard yield criteria. Components such as rotating machinery store large amounts of energy during operation and a fracture resulting from cracks in the rotating parts can be especially dangerous. Thus it is necessary to consider the failure mode of fracture when designing the disk and this requires a knowledge of the stress intensity factor of the crack in the disk and the fracture toughness of the disk material. In the present work the Boundary Element Method combined with Subtraction of Bueckner Singular Fields is used to obtain weight functions for an internal radial crack in an annular disk. A previously developed, general representation, of the weight function leads to integrals that can be evaluated analytically to obtain the stress intensity factor. Stress intensity factors are determined for the disk, containing a radial crack in a typical pulp refiner and the minimum level of fracture.

Many manufacturing processes involve the successive processing of the substrate at multiple station on a transport medium, with the hope that at the end of the process, the product has the desired property. Paper manufacturing is an example in which over 90% of the water from pulp is sequentially removed through gravity, vacuum dewatering, pressing, and thermal drying. The consistency and uniformity of the moisture content at the end of process is important for paper quality. Current strategy for the control of moisture content uses a feedback sensor at the end of the process to adjust the dryers. This introduces a long deadtime and causes excessive use of the dryers, which translate to limitations in performance, robustness and inefficient energy usage. In this paper, we investigate a new control approach in which in-process moisture contents are estimated using air-flow as surrogate measurements, and the pressure settings in the multiple vacuum dewatering boxes are adjusted according to the surrogate measurements. A preemptive control algorithm is developed which has the ability to decouple and eliminate the effects of the disturbances that occur upstream in the process from downstream. Robustness analysis and simulation studies suggest that as long as the surrogate measurements are accurate, the proposed control scheme will be robust and accurate.

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion is raising new interest in using renewable biomass for energy. Modest-scale cogeneration systems using air-blown gasifiers coupled to aeroderivative gas turbines are expected to have high efficiencies and low unit capital costs, making them well-suited for use with biomass. Biomass-gasifier/gas-turbine (BIG/GT) technology is not commercial, but efforts aimed at near-term commercialization are ongoing worldwide. Estimated performance and cost and prospects for commercial development of two BIG/GT systems are described, one using solid biomass fuel (e.g. wood chips), the other using kraft black liquor. At an energy-efficient kraft pulp mill, a BIG/GT cogeneration system could produce over three times as much electricity as is typically produced today. The mill’s on-site energy needs could be met and a large surplus of electricity would be available for export. Using in addition currently unutilized forest residues for fuel, electricity production would be nearly five times today’s level. The total cost to produce the electricity in excess of on-site needs is estimated to be below 4 cents per kWh in most cases. At projected growth rates for kraft pulp production, the associated biomass residue fuels could support up to 100 GW of BIG/GT capacity at kraft pulp mills worldwide in 2020 (30 GW in the US). The excess electricity production worldwide in 2020 would be equivalent to 10% of today’s electricity production from fossil fuels.Copyright © 1991 by ASME

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “On the Influence of Back Pressure and Size on the Performance of Safety Valves” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2002 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, Piping and Component Analysis and Diagnosis, pp. 35–41, August 2002, PVP2002-1514, doi: 10.1115/PVP2002-1514.

A thorough understanding of the auto-ignition process is critical to the success of lean premixed prevapourised (LPP) combustors for future ultra-low NOx emissions gas turbines. A considerable amount of work has been done in the past on auto-ignition delay time (ADT) measurements for various aviation fuels and hydrocarbons. However, little was known about the influence of various possible fuel additives on ADT. A test rig was designed and built by DERA specifically for ADT measurements. It consisted of an injector housing and an instrumented duct where the ignition location could be monitored by fibre optic sensors. It was intended to acquire ADT measurements at 875K, 16bar and 40m/s of mean flow. The test rig and instrumentation were commissioned in January and February 2000. However, instrumentation inside the injector housing was damaged soon after the initial hot run as a result of overheating. Attempts were made to repair the damaged components and to identify the cause of overheating. Unfortunately, the damage to the components was extensive and the cause of overheating could not be diagnosed. In view of the technical risks involved, it was decided to stop further testing with this rig. Although ADT measurements could not be undertaken as planned, useful operating experience was gained from the tests conducted.Copyright © 2001 by ASME

This paper presents an in-depth study of blade vibration problems that seriously impact development of advanced gas turbine configurations. The motivation for this study arises from the author’s conviction that structural integrity of powerplants is the dominant factor that influences the quality, reliability and marketability of the product. Implications of this study in the context of potential R&D challenges and opportunities of interest to industry, governments and academia are discussed.

This study reports our experience of developing a series of biomedical engineering (BME) courses having active and experiential learning components in an interdisciplinary learning environment. In the first course, BME465: biomechanics, students were immersed in a simulation laboratory setting involving mannequins that are currently used for teaching in the School of Nursing. Each team identified possible technological challenges directly related to the biomechanics of the mannequin and presented an improvement overcoming the challenge. This approach of exposing engineering students to a problem in a clinical learning environment enhanced the adaptive and experiential learning capabilities of the course. In the following semester, through BME448: medical devices, engineering students were partnered with nursing students and exposed to simulation scenarios and real-world clinical settings. They were required to identify three unmet needs in the real-world clinical settings and propose a viable engineering solution. This approach helped BME students to understand and employ real-world applications of engineering principles in problem solving while being exposed to an interdisciplinary collaborative environment. A final step was for engineering students to execute their proposed solution from either BME465 or BME448 courses by undertaking it as their capstone senior design project (ENGR401-402). Overall, the inclusion of clinical immersions in interdisciplinary teams in a series of courses not only allowed the integration of active and experiential learning in continuity but also offered engineers more practice of their profession, adaptive expertise, and an understanding of roles and expertise of other professionals involved in enhancement of healthcare and patient safety.

Second Law analysis or exergy analysis is a useful instrument to find ways to improve the efficiency of energy utilization. The method presents the magnitude and locations of true energy losses in an energy system. The pulp and paper industries have a big potential for increasing the energy efficiencies. An integration of a gas turbine with an existing steam turbine plant is one possible way to increase the energy efficiency and the power production. The cogeneration plant analysed in this paper is a hybrid combined plant in which two types of fuels are used. The exhaust gas from a combined cycle gas turbine via a waste heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is used as preheated combustion air in a supplementary fired steam boiler. Saturated steam from the HRSG is assumed to be superheated in a boiler in which sludge, bark and other types of biomass are being used as fuels. To reduce the waste of energy, a flue gas driven fuel dryer is connected to evaporate some of the moisture in these biomass fuels. The study shows the effect of using a combined cycle instead of a simple steam cycle and the effect of using a fuel dryer. Among the configurations investigated, a plant with both a gas turbine and a fuel dryer yields the highest exergy efficiency and total efficiency. However, the net power efficiency is higher for a plant without a fuel dryer than for one with a fuel dryer.

This paper reports the design, development, and initial evaluation of a robotic laparoscopic clipping tool for single manipulator wound closure and anastomosis (tubular reconnection). The tool deploys biodegradable clips and clasps with the goal of (i) integrating grasping and suturing into a single device for single hand or manipulator use, (ii) applying the equivalent of interrupted sutures without the need of managing suture thread, and (iii) allowing for full six degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) laparoscopic control when mounted on a robot arm. The specifications, workflow, and detailed design of the robotic laparoscopic tool and injection molded bio-absorbable T shaped clip and locking clasp are reported. The clipping tool integrates forceps to grab and stabilize tissue and a clip and clasp applier to approximate and fixate the tissue. A curved needle is advanced on a circular needle path and picks up and drags clips through tissue. The clip is then tightened through the tissue and a clasp is clamped around the clip, before the clip is released from the needle. Results of several bench test runs of the tool show: (a) repeatable circular needle drive, (b) successful pick-up and deployment of clips, (c) successful shear of the clip to release the clip from the needle, and (d) closure of clasp on clip with an average of 2.0 N holding force. These data indicate that the robotic laparoscopic clipping tool could be used for laparoscopic wound closure and anastomosis.

Canfor, a producer of lumber, pulp and paper needed a solution to replace aging 30-inch (760mm) fiberglass reinforced pipe. A new PE-RT product now expands PE into industrial applications requiring resistance to high temperatures and having a Hydrostatic Design Basis (HDB) of 800psi (55 bar) at 180°F (82.2°C). Through chemical processes, Canfor cooks, washes, and extracts pulp fiber from wood that results in both acidic and caustic effluent with temperatures normally in the 50–60°C range or as high as 70–75°C. Traditional fiberglass pipes have experienced repeated joint failures over time, whereas heat-fused HDPE pipe provides solutions reducing unnecessary maintenance and a longer service life. Standard PE4710 High Density Polyethylene Pipes (HDPE) have pressure ratings limited to 140°F (60°C) and are not normally acceptable for such high temperature acidic and caustic effluent. Additionally, the potential for higher oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) from residual chlorine levels and bleaching also justified turning to a different material based on the potential oxidative attack at high temperatures. The new PE-RT resin protects against oxidative attacks at high temperatures and the flexible heat-fused HDPE pipe provides considerable cost savings during installation. Compared to fiberglass, up to eight 40-foot lengths of HDPE pipe can be joined by heat fusion per day, whereas only two 6-meter (20-foot) lengths of FRP pipe can be wrapped per day. The presentation will highlight photos during the installation process and report the advantages of using the new pipe material. This project provides reference for expanding HDPE pipe into new applications using PE-RT materials.

Inspired by human motor control theory, stiffness control is highly effective in manipulation and human-interactive tasks. The implementation of stiffness control in robotic systems, however, has largely been limited to closed-loop control, and suffers from multiple issues such as limited frequency range, potential instability, and lack of contribution to energy efficiency. Variable-stiffness actuator represents a better solution, but the current designs are complex, heavy, and bulky. The approach in this paper seeks to address these issues by using pneumatic actuator as a variable series elastic actuator (VSEA), leveraging the compressibility of the working fluid. In this work, a pneumatic actuator is modeled as an elastic element with controllable stiffness and equilibrium point, both of which are functions of air masses in the two chambers. As such, for the implementation of stiffness control in a robotic system, the desired stiffness/equilibrium point can be converted to the desired chamber air masses, and a predictive pressure control approach is developed to control the timing of valve switching to obtain the desired air mass while minimizing control action. Experimental results showed that the new approach in this paper requires less expensive hardware (on–off valve instead of proportional valve), causes less control action in implementation, and provides good control performance by leveraging the inherent dynamics of the actuator.

This paper presents the development of an exergy and thermoeconomic analysis of a wheat flour agro-industrial plant, which was aimed to evaluate the energy use and establish the operation cost of its components, and to understand the cost formation process and the cost flow. It was found that throughout the production process exists an exergy destruction ratio of 95,08 %. It identified improvement opportunities in relation to cost, has recommended alterations with regard matter flows or an economic investment for change some components with low exergoeconomic factors: 2% planer of wheat bran, 3% knurled roller grinding benches and 5% smooth roller grinding benches. Copyright © 2015 by ASME. American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Computational Pipeline Monitoring (CPM) leak detection in liquid pipelines can be unreliable or have a high number of false alarms during transient hydraulic events. This paper presents techniques for avoiding these false alarms and for improving leak detectability during steady state operations. Application of this approach has improved both the sensitivity and reliability of CPM-based leak detection systems. When a pipeline is in steady-state operation, the leak detection thresholds can be reduced. When a transient is detected, the thresholds are increased to a higher value. Because of known errors in data measurement and the time at which the measurement was made, large uncertainties in the line-pack prediction can exist during these transient events. In this paper, CPM reliability is improved using dual thresholds; tight threshold for near steady state and relaxed threshold for transient operation. In the presented study, different transient triggers in a pipeline have been implemented to the dual threshold method in order to show the effect of transient thresholds on the reliability of the CPM models or the reduction in the number of false alarms. When the CPM model determines that a transient event is occurring, the imbalance threshold is increased to a pre-set higher value. The transient threshold will remain high until the transient event diminishes, then the thresholds will return to their original steady-state value after a pre-set wait period. This applies to each leak detection window and to each flow meter-to-flow meter section in the CPM model. Detailed information about the dual thresholds approach and the transient triggers is provided in the full paper. Results from the implementation of this method and the quantitative improvement of the CPM reliability and sensitivity will also be presented.Copyright © 2014 by ASME

PHWR (also known as CANDU) primary heat transport (PHT) system is to make the pressurized heavy water through the reactor fuel channel, take away the heat produced by the fission of uranium fuel (i.e. fuel cooling), through the reactor feeder pipes, into the Steam Generator. PHWR reactor feeder flow value are a very important parameters, which are stable and meets the requirements of the design, plays an important role in the NPP safe operation. This paper summarize the Qinshan CANDU reactor feeder flow measurement in practice, based on the feeder flow measurement principle and measurement data are analyzed and studied, including feeder flow measurement stages, site preparation of material and equipment, data measurement methods, data analysis methods, dealing with flow measurement uncertainties, and some other key point need to be attention. The Qinshan CANDU reactor feeder flow measurement schedules create the same type of CANDU units commissioning records in the world, which is not only shorten the commissioning critical path time, but also laid the foundation for the safety operation. The reasons for the Qinshan success are also to analyze in this article. Finally, this paper based on the experience of Qinshan CANDU feeder flow measurement, put forward some suggestions on organization and implementation to minimize human error and increase its efficiency, and hope for the help on the similar work area in the future.

The interest in renewable and cleaner fuels has stimulated ethanol production in the last decades. Some of the drivers for that ever increasing production were the Brazilian Alcohol Program, Kyoto Protocol and the replacement in USA of the octane booster MBTE (methyl-tert-buthyl ether) for ethanol. The world’s largest producers of ethanol are The United States of America and Brazil, where the main sources are corn and sugar cane, respectively. Production flow via pipeline is the safest and most cost effective way to connect the producers, usually spread across the country, to the distribution terminals. However, in USA there are evidences that ethanol may have caused stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in pipelines and also in storage tanks. Controversially, in Brazil ethanol has been transported and stored since the 1970’s without any indication of SCC. The aim of this work is to evaluate the susceptibility of the steel API 5L X70 [1] to SCC in different ethanol (corn and sugar cane) using slow strain rate testing (SSRT). These tests were carried out on notched specimens according to NACE TM 0111 [2]. The SSRT results carried out in corn ethanol have shown a considerable reduction of plastic elongation and a mixed fracture micromechanism of quasi-cleavage and intergranular facets clearly indicating a susceptibility of the API 5L X70 steel to SCC. The SSRT also demonstrated that the carbon steel tested here is completely immune to SCC in sugar cane ethanol.

A work on the design and construction of biodiesel batch reactor with improved settling capability for production of biodiesel from fresh palm oil (FPO) and fresh vegetable oil (FVO) is presented. A centrifuge separator, 41 litres capacity, operating at 1400rpm was incorporated into the integrated reactor. Biodiesel production was done using transesterification method. Two experiments were carried out under different reaction conditions such as time and temperature to determine biodiesel yield. The optimum biodiesel yield was achieved at a reaction time of 56 minutes and reaction temperature of 140°F and a lower yield was gotten at a temperature of 131°F and 50 minutes. A clear yellow color was obtained at a temperature of 140°F. The centrifuge achieved separation and settling within an average of 55 minutes. A characterization test carried out to determine the biodiesel density, specific density, flash point, pour point, and cloud point showed that the produced biodiesel agreed with the ASTMD 6751 standard for biodiesel test and have similar properties with conventional diesel which can therefore be used in diesel engines so as to reduce environmental pollution and encourage diversity in energy source.Copyright © 2014 by ASME