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Acoustic manipulation is a non-contact process that applies acoustic waves to immobilize particles into a specific region for a variety of potential applications. This provides an alternative way to address air ventilation requirements where building systems are becoming smarter and more efficient. Development of such a process within confined spaces can incorporate microscopic interactions to filter aerosol-based particulate matter (PM). In real-engineering conditions, it is hard to filter sub-micron particles (0.25–1.0 μm) than super-micron particles (> 2.5 μm) by using low-grade filters. The objectives of this work are twofold. First, we propose a new acoustic-driven pre-filtering device (i.e., a U-shaped resonant acoustic chamber) that can improve the working efficiency of low-grade filters for capturing such particles. Second, the device can optimize spatial homogeneity to enhance the removal efficiency of airborne particles under lower sound intensity requirements. The U-shaped acoustic-driven device in the form of a resonant chamber allows PM to reside at the pressure node of a standing wave. Experimental studies are conducted to verify the present design. The results show that an overall filtration efficiency of up to 89% for 1.0-μm airborne particles can be achieved when the acoustic-driven device is coupled together with a low-grade MERV-6 coarse filter. As a standalone device, the acoustic effect works well for the sub-micron particles with a filtration efficiency of up to 61% under a lower sound pressure level (116 dB) than as previously reported in the literature. In the analysis, we also discuss the performance dependence on frequency, sound pressure level and flow rate in terms of particle size distribution. The relevance of this research is a major step towards engineering an acoustic-based pre-filtering technique for developing future innovative ventilation solutions.

A bead-elastic rod model for fiber motion simulation is proposed. This model includes the effects of elastic modulus and flexural rigidity of the fiber, thus, it can describe the elasticity and flexibility of the fiber. Mixed Euler–Lagrange approach is adopted to derive the governing equations for modeling the fiber motion in air flow. The two-way coupling is introduced so that it will give a more clear understanding on the interaction between the fiber and air. The proposed model is applied in a textile process to simulate a fiber motion in the nozzle of an air-jet spinning machine.

The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the image quality of the 3D TOF MRA acquired with a small FOV and low phase encodes with those MR angiographic images acquired with standard pulse sequence parameters. Twenty patients who were referred to our institution for MR imaging of the brain and strictly satisfied the selection criteria were included in this study. Apart from the routine protocol for MR imaging of the brain, 3D TOF MRA of the circle of Willis with a small FOV and a standard FOV were performed. The image quality of all MRA was evaluated by two independent observers who were blind to the pulse sequence parameters. From the standard FOV MRA, 22.5, 12.5, and 5% of the patients were graded as mild, moderate, and severe stenosis of the internal carotid artery, respectively. On the contrary, no apparent stenosis was observed from the small FOV MRA with low phase encodes. Regarding the reduction in MR artifacts and acquisition time achieved with the small FOV 3D TOF MRA with low phase encodes, this might be a useful MR angiographic technique to be used in routine clinical practice.

Crude palm oil (CPO) is one of the vegetable oils that have potential for use as fuels for diesel engines. CPO is renewable, and is safe and easy to handle. However, at room temperature (30–32°C) CPO has a viscosity about 10 times higher than that of diesel. To lower CPO’s viscosity to the level of diesel’s viscosity, a heating temperature of at least 92 °C is needed. At this temperature, there is a concern that the close-fitting parts of the injection system might be affected. This study focused on finding out the effects of preheating of fuel on the injection system utilising a modified method of friction test, which involves injecting fuel outside the combustion chamber during motoring. Results show that preheating of CPO lowered CPO’s viscosity and provided smooth fuel flow, but did not affect the injection system, even heating up to 100 °C. Nevertheless, heating up to such a high temperature offered no benefits in terms of engine performance. However, heating is necessary for smooth flow and to avoid fuel filter clogging. Both can be achieved by heating CPO to 60 °C. Combustion analyses comparisons between CPO and diesel found that CPO produced a higher peak pressure of 6%, a shorter ignition delay of 2.6°, a lower maximum heat release rate and a longer combustion period. Over the entire load range, CPO combustion produced average CO and NO emissions that were 9.2 and 29.3% higher, respectively, compared with those from diesel combustion.

Previous studies of head-up tilt test have shown that testing at high degrees lacks specificity in children. We suspected that the high false positive rate might be related to the intravascular catheter and other maneuvers incorporated in the test and therefore studied the sensitivity and specificity of standing and HUT at 80 degrees without any invasive procedure and other maneuvers in children and adolescents. Twenty three patients (11.8+/-2.7 years) with recurrent typical neurally mediated syncope and 35 normal control children (11.6+/-3.0 years) underwent motionless standing for 15 min and tilting to 80 degrees for 30 min. Continuous finger arterial pressure monitoring and ECG were performed during the test. Eight (35%) of the 23 patients developed symptoms of near syncope during motionless standing. Thirteen (57%) of them had positive results at 80 degrees tilting for 30 min. The symptoms of syncope were not always corresponding to excessive haemodynamic changes. None of the controls developed any symptoms or excessive hemodynamic changes. Without intravascular instrumentation and other autonomic maneuvers, active motionless standing or HUT at 80 degrees for 30 min is highly specific but of limited sensitivity for the investigation of vasovagal syncope.

Two laboratory scale extended aeration treatment systems (EATS) were built to study their nutrient removal performance before and after the introduction of oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) controlled aeration. Effects of various ORP set points (40, 70, 110 and 180 mV) and zoning of the aeration tank (AT) were examined. Each system had a 901 aeration tank and the operating HRT and SRT were 20 h and 20 days, respectively. Synthetic wastewater was used and the F/M ratios ranged from 0.13 to 0.15 gCOD/gMLSS/d. All experimental runs including the control yielded a similar COD removal efficiency of 96.4 ± 0.4% and an effluent COD of 14.4 ± 1.3 mg. This indicates that ORP controlled aeration had no significant impact on the carbonaceous removal of the EATS. Very good nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal was obtained when there was a small anoxic selector (3.8 l) at the head of the AT and the tank zoned into a main ORP zone (72 l) followed by an aerobic zone (18 l). The selector was found very useful in the prevention and curing of bulking as well as in the removal of P. It effectively denitrified the nitrate from the return sludge stream and caused significant P release, that is important to subsequent P uptake in the ORP and aerobic zones. An optimum ORP set point of 110 mV was found. The aeration pattern was characterized by having an equal time length of aeration and non-aeration. The achievable total nitrogen (TN) removal was 93% with a residual TN of only 2.94 mg/l (N). Excellent P removal of 99.5 ± 0.1% was attained under an ORP set point range of 70–180 mV. P was reduced to 0.05 ± 0.01 mg/l (P) in the effluent.

A study was conducted to examine N and P removal by a laboratory-scale extended aeration treatment system employing oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) controlled aeration. The system was provided with a 90-L aeration tank. When ORP controlled aeration was applied, the aeration tank was divided into three zones, namely the ORP zone (45 L), the anaerobic zone (27 L) and the aerobic zone (18 L). An external anoxic selector of 3.8 L in volume was also added. An ORP set point of 70 mV was used for the ORP zone. The extended aeration treatment system operating without the ORP controlled aeration was used as the control. COD removal (97%) was not affected, but both N and P removal were enhanced significantly in the ORP reactor. Total N removal efficiency was increased from 49.1% (control) to 83.5%. Almost all P was captured (99%), leaving an average of 0.09 mg L −1 P in the effluent. The ORP reactor yielded a sludge P content of 3.1%, compared to only 1.8% for the control. This indicated luxury P uptake in ORP reactor. Very significant P release and denitrification were found in the anoxic selector. Fairly good simultaneous nitrification and denitrification had occurred in the ORP zone. However, P release was very limited in the anoxic zone. However, anoxic P uptake and nitrification were found in this zone. Low F/M bulking was observed in both the control and ORP operation before the installation of a selector. Bacterial Type 0041 was identified as the predominant bulking organism. For the Control, an aerobic selector cured the bulking problem in one sludge age while an anoxic selector fixed up the problem during the ORP operation.

Deformation processes in solids, such as dislocation movements under plastic flow, crack propagation and void crushing, produce stress waves at ultrasonic frequencies, usually described as acoustic emission (AE), which can be detected by sensitive instruments and which are related to the severity and nature of the deformations. The paper discusses the characteristics of the stress waves and their variation with wear rates, wear regimes and friction forces, as determined during laboratory experiments on metallic specimens in relative sliding motion, both unlubricated and with elastohy-drodynamic lubrication. It is shown that there are systematic relationships between the acoustic emissions, the wear rates, the frictional work inputs and established tribological contact variables. The predominant frequencies of the emissions are also evaluated and considered in relation to the materials and wear conditions.

The hydrophobicity of biopsy specimens of gastric mucosa in 228 dyspeptic subjects undergoing diagnostic endoscopy was assessed by measuring the plateauadvancing contact angle of saline drops using a goniometer. Subjects with duodenal ulcers (n = 49) and gastric ulcers (n = 17) had significantly lower mean contact angles than controls (n = 124) without ulcer (57° in duodenal ulcer, 59° in gastric ulcer vs. 66° in controls; p

A special three dimensional finite element was developed for the strain analysis of fiber reinforced plastic vessels containing discontinuities such as manhole connections or nozzles. The element handles the many anisotropic layers by using a different elastic constant matrix for each lamina orientation. Results obtained from a cylindrical vessel show good agreement with classical lamination theory and experimental results.