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At high altitude and low pressure, the changes of inlet and exhaust pressure and the combustion environment in the cylinder lead to the deterioration of physicochemical characteristics and combustion in the cylinder of the coal-based mixed fuel. In this research, based on the plateau environment simulation test platform, the combustion characteristics, dynamic performance and fuel economy of the turbocharged diesel engine burned at different simulated altitudes (0 m, 1500 m, 2500 m, 3500 m and 4500 m) were studied. The results revealed that as altitude increased, the coal-based composite fuel caused the diesel engine's in-cylinder pressure, pressure rise rate, and instantaneous heat release rate to gradually decrease, the flameout period to gradually extend, and the center of gravity of combustion to gradually delay. At low engine speed, the average effective pressure cycle variation rate increased significantly. The coal-based complex fuel diesel engine has increased in-cylinder pressure, torque, and effective thermal efficiency, as well as peak instantaneous heat release rate at high altitude, when compared to diesel combustion. It also causes a reduction in the maximum pressure rise rate, a forward shift in the combustion center of gravity, a reduction in the average effective pressure cycle rate of change, and a shortening of the stall period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the influence of environmental boundary parameters on the through-flow characteristics of two-stage supercharged centrifugal compressors is the key to maximizing the power recovery potential of diesel engines at high altitudes. In this paper, the influence of the compressor through-flow characteristics on the full-load thermal cycle performance of a diesel engine under variable altitude is studied by means of tests and simulation. The results show that with the increase in altitude, the range of stable work flow decreases, and the pressure ratio of the plugging point changes greatly with altitude. The efficiency of the compressor with the same mass flow point decreases, and the highest efficiency point moves in the direction of the small flow range. With the goal of maximizing the torque of the diesel engine under full load and low speed, the key geometric parameters of the variable-altitude through-flow characteristics of the two-stage supercharged compressor were optimized as follows: at the altitudes of 0 m, 2500 m, and 5500 m, the diesel engine torque increased by 5.89%, 3.78%, and 2.18%, respectively. Based on the optimization method of the compressor through-flow design, a new direction is provided to break through the research on the independent limitation of the diesel engine thermal cycle performance optimization and compressor flow control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twin variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) System, through efficient use of exhaust energy, maximizes internal combustion engine (ICE) power, reduces exhaust emissions and improves reliability. However, the internal flow characteristics of the twin-VGT system are greatly affected by the environment. To ensure that the two-stage adjustable supercharged internal combustion engine is efficient in all geographical environments and under all operating conditions, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on the internal flow characteristics of high- and low-pressure turbines. In this paper, an experimental system of the flow characteristics of a double variable-geometry turbocharging (twin-VGT) system is designed and developed. A two-stage variable turbine flow characteristic test was carried out, focusing on the relationship between the initial rotational velocity of high variable-geometry turbocharging (HVGT) and blade opening in low variable-geometry turbocharging (LVGT). The effects of high- and low-pressure variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT) blade opening on available exhaust energy, expansion ratio distribution, blade velocity ratio, compressor power consumption and isentropic efficiency were studied. The results show that when the available energy of exhaust gas is constant, with the increase in HVGT turbine speed, when the LVGT blade opening decreases by 10%, the low-pressure turbine expansion ratio increases by about 0.23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decrease of inlet charge and mismatch of air and fuel are main reasons for the decrease of engine performance at variable altitudes. Understanding coupling mechanism between two-stage turbocharging and fuel injection system is key to maximize its potential for engine power recovery at variable altitudes. This paper focused on the coupling characteristic of twin variable geometry turbocharging (Twin-VGT) and fuel injection parameters on key parameters of gas path, in-cylinder combustion, and energy flow of the diesel engine at variable altitudes. Firstly, a thermodynamic cycle model of a Twin-VGT diesel engine aiming at variable altitudes was established and validated by experimental data. Furthermore, the coupling mechanism of high-pressure variable geometry turbocharging (HVGT) and low-pressure variable geometry turbocharging (LVGT) vanes on exhaust available energy (EAE), global expansion ratio (GER) and its distribution, global boost ratio (GBR) and its distribution, isentropic efficiency of the Twin-VGT, combustion process, and energy flow of the engine were studied at different altitudes. Enthalpy drop ratio is regulated by HVGT and LVGT and the isentropic efficiency of two-stage turbine reaches to maximum when openings of HVGT and LVGT at 0.35 and 0.75, respectively, at the altitude of 5500 m. Finally, this paper investigated the coupling characteristic of turbocharging and fuel injection parameters on combustion process and engine performance, which provides the theoretical basis for collaborative controlling of the Twin-VGT and fuel injection parameters at variable altitudes. Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) is affected by exhaust temperature which is mainly controlled by HVGT openings and injection advance angle (IAA) at variable altitudes, and BTE reaches to maximum when openings of HVGT at 0.4 and IAA at −5.5°CA under fixed engine load at the altitude of 5500 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly complex air path concepts are investigated to achieve improving the power while reducing fuel consumption of diesel engines at high altitudes. One promising technology is the Twin-VGT (variable geometry turbocharger) for diesel engines. A control concept has to be developed to exploit boost potential by coordinated management of the two turbocharger stages at different altitudes. In this paper, a nonlinear model prediction control (NMPC) algorithm based on back propagation neural network (BPNN) was proposed to purpose multi-parameter control of turbocharging system at high altitudes. Optimal control sequences of NMPC were solved by improved particle swarm optimization (PSO), and boost pressure and intake flow achieved good dynamic tracking performance by collaborative control high-pressure VGT (HVGT) and low-pressure VGT (LVGT) under whole operative conditions at high altitudes. NMPC achieved better step response performance compared with PID controller at different altitudes. NMPC control error of intake flow and boost pressure are within 0.26% under steady and transient conditions, exhibiting higher control accuracy and responsiveness even under transient operating conditions at high altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variable geometry turbocharger in series with a variable geometry turbocharger (Twin-VGT) system was designed to improve engine power at high altitudes. The influence of altitudes on the performance of the Twin-VGT system was investigated in the perspective of available exhaust energy. The interaction between exhaust flow characteristics of Twin-VGT and openings of Twin-VGT vanes was theoretically analyzed at different altitudes. Meanwhile, a model of a diesel engine matched with the Twin-VGT system was built to study the matching performance of the Twin-VGT system with engine at different altitudes. The optimal opening maps of both high-pressure and low-pressure VGT vanes at high altitudes were obtained to achieve the maximum engine power. The results showed that the optimal openings of high-pressure and low-pressure VGT vanes decreased with increase in altitudes. The operating points of the two-stage compressors located at the high efficiency region and the compressor efficiency region both exceeded 62% at different altitudes. The global expansion ratio increased with increase in altitudes and reached 4.9 at 5500 m. Compared with the VGT in series with a fixed geometry turbocharger on testing bed, exhaust energy of Twin-VGT turbines at low speeds was utilized reasonably and global pressure ratio increased by 0.69–0.94, while brake-specific fuel consumption decreased by 11.24–33.62% under low speeds above altitudes of 2500 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The nanostructure, fractal dimension and size of in-cylinder soot during diesel combustion process have been investigated for a heavy-duty direct injection diesel engine, using a total cylinder sampling system followed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering spectrometry. Different structural organizations of in-cylinder soot are found depending upon the combustion phase. It is revealed that both the fringe tortuosity and separation distance decrease as combustion proceeds, while the mean fringe length increases distinctly from 1.00 to 2.13nm, indicating the soot evolution toward a more graphitic structure during the combustion process. The fractal dimensions of aggregates are in a range of 1.20–1.74 at various crank angles under the applied engine operating conditions. As temperature and pressure increase, the fractal dimension decreases significantly to a minimum at the early diffusion combustion stage. The soot particles become more compact again as the fractal dimension increases during the subsequent combustion period. Primary particle sizes start small, go through a maximum in the early diffusion combustion phase and decline again as combustion proceeds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The diesel soot was extracted from the chamber of a running diesel engine using a total cylinder sampling system. A structural description and size distribution of the soot spherules were performed by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). HRTEM image analysis was carried out to achieve semi-quantitative information about the soot organization. Different nanostructures were found in dependence upon the engine test conditions. A better organization of the graphitic layers occurred for the in-cylinder soot as the expansion stroke developed. The oxygen concentrations at sampling angles and the cylinder pressure were measured. The oxidation rates of the in-cylinder soot during the late combustion phase were calculated according to the differences of spherules size distributions between two consecutive sampling angles. The soot reactivity in dependence on the nanostructure was shown after deducting the effect of oxygen concentration and temperature. The increase of resistance toward oxidation was associated to the increase of the structural order for the in-cylinder soot. The results are a useful database for testing the structure–property relationship between the nanostructure and the reactivity of the in-cylinder diesel soot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastric carcinoma high expressed transcript 1 (GHET1), a long noncoding RNA (LncRNA), has been reported to be involved in tumor genesis and cancer progression. High GHET1 expression is correlated with a poor prognosis in cancer. In this meta-analysis, we investigated the association between GHET1 and lymph node metastasis, differentiation, vascular invasion and so on in human cancer., Methods: We performed systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, Wiley Online Library, Wiley Online Library, and Medline from January 1, 1996 to September 25, 2017. A total of 8 studies were selected for further research., Results: The result showed that GHET1 expression was significantly associated with OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.23; 95% CI, 1.86-2.67; P < 0.0001), including digestive system tumor (HR = 2.17; 95% CI, 1.63-2.89; P < 0.0001). Moreover, high GHET1 expression was related to tumor size (odds ratio [OR] = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.57-2.94; P < 0.00001), TNM stage (Ⅲ+Ⅳ vs.Ⅰ+Ⅱ; OR = 4.02, 95% CI:3.06-5.28; P < 0.00001), lymph node metastasis (Yes vs. No; OR = 3.55, 95% CI:2.54-4.95; P < 0.00001), differentiation (poor vs. well or moderate; OR = 1.72, 95% CI:1.22-2.42; P = 0.002), vascular invasion (Yes vs. No; OR = 3.03, 95% CI:1.80-5.12; P = 0.00001). Also, we found that high expression of GHET1 has a significant relationship with analysis method and sample size. It almost higher in different human cancers., Conclusions: GHET1 may serve as a potential clinical biomarker and poor survival and high-risk recurrence in cancers., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest concerning this article. This work was not supported by any funding., (Copyright © 2020 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Disabled-2 (DAB2), a potential tumor suppressor, plays an in important role in cancer development and cellular differentiation. Its lower expression levels have founded in many cancers. In addition, DAB2 is involved in multiple signaling pathways, including TGF-β and Wnt signal pathways. Gastric cancer (GC) is a common gastrointestinal malignant tumor. Nonetheless, the role of DAB2 in GC remains unclear., Methods: Thirty-seven clinical specimens of GC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. Proteins were extracted from two of them to perform Western blot analysis. Then, CMV-MCS-3FLAG-SV40-DAB2 and si-DAB2 were transfected into MGC and SGC cell line, respectively. The migration of GC cells was evaluated by transwell migration assay. And, the expression of migration related proteins was detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence (IF)., Results: Eighty-six percent (32/37) of patients DAB2 staining was reduced in GC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Further studies showed that in six human GC cell lines, the level of DAB2 expression was lower than normal gastric epithelial cells, and that DAB2 was closely related to cell migration in vitro . In DAB2 silenced cells, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling was increased and the Hippo-YAP pathway was affected. In addition, lower DAB2 level led to nuclear translocation of β-catenin and Yap., Conclusions: The lower expression of DAB2 regulates cell migration in GC via interfering with the Wnt and Hippo signaling pathway. Our findings suggested that DAB2 played an important role in the migration of GC., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tcr.2019.12.96). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2020 Translational Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)