Search

Particulate matter from coal and stone operations is a primary air pollution source. The traditional nozzle requires high-pressure conditions, and the atomization droplets are large and uneven. This paper aims to study a linear Laval nozzle and investigate the impact of water pressure on atomization performance. The volume of fluid (VOF) model and discrete phase model (DPM) of Fluent are used to simulate the internal and external fields of the nozzle and analyze the velocity, droplet size, and atomization angle. The results show that the optimized water pressure parameters are 0.1 MPa with an air pressure of 0.5 MPa. Droplets in the middle are smaller, while those on the sides are larger. Compared to traditional nozzles, the water pressure is reduced by over 90%, and the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) decreases by over 50%. Moreover, the theoretical spray angle increases by approximately 150%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-pressure black water angle valves are essential equipment of black water flash treatment systems in the coal gasification process, and they usually suffer from a high risk of erosion wear failure. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), combined with the discrete particle method (DPM) and the volume of fluid (VOF) method, was used to study the flow characteristics and erosion wear phenomenon in high-pressure black water angle valves under different valve cavity radii and opening angles. In particular, a new parameter, the drift index, was introduced to analyze the bias flow phenomenon in the throttling zone. With the increase in valve cavity radius, the drift index first decreases and then increases, and the influence of the valve cavity radius gradually weakens with the increase in the valve opening. It was found that, with the increase in valve cavity radius, the average erosion wear rate of the valve body decreases first and then increases. When the valve cavity radius was 132 mm, the average erosion wear rate of the valve body was the smallest. Therefore, the optimization of the valve cavity radius selection value can reduce the erosion wear damage of the high-pressure black water angle valve and increase its operational dependability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturing management and operations place heavy emphasis on monitoring and improving production performance. This supervision is accomplished through strategies of manufacturing performance management, a set of measurements and methods used to monitor production conditions. Over the last 30 years, the most prevalent measurement of traditional performance management has been overall equipment effectiveness, a percentile summary metric of a machine's utilization. The technologies encapsulated by Industry 4.0 have expanded the ability to gather, process, and store vast quantities of data, creating the opportunity to innovate on how performance is measured. A new method of managing manufacturing performance utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies has been proposed by McKinsey & Company (New York City, NY, USA), and software tools have been developed by PTC Inc. (Boston, MA, USA) to aid in performing what they both call digital performance management. To evaluate this new approach, the digital performance management tool was deployed on a Festo (Esslingen, Germany) Cyber-Physical Lab (FCPL), an educational mock production environment, and compared to a digitally enabled traditional performance management solution. Results from a multi-day production period displayed an increased level of detail in both the data presented to the user and the insights gained from the digital performance management solution as compared to the traditional approach. The time unit measurements presented by digital performance management paint a clear picture of what and where losses are occurring during production and the impact of those losses. This is contrasted by the single summary metric of a traditional performance management approach, which easily obfuscates the constituent data and requires further investigation to determine what and where production losses are occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automatic generation control (AGC) problem for deregulated power system (DPS) in interconnected multi-area multi-source configuration is of recent concern. In view of addressing this concern this paper deals with the frequency stabilization schemes and comparative performance analysis. The traditional multi-area AGC system has been extended to the restructured power system with the GENCOs, TRANCOs, and DISCOs. And different unilateral and bilateral contracts are considered for this power system using distribution participation matrix (DPM). The integral (I), genetic algorithm (GA) based integral (GA-I), hybrid fuzzy proportional-integral (HF-PI), hybrid fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (HF-PID), GA based proportional-integral (GA-PI) and GA based PID (GA-PID) control schemes are implemented for the load frequency stabilization problem. The comparative performance analysis of these controllers is carried out. For various operating situations, the AGC loop is emulated with the help of a supplementary controller and DPM. The simulation results of these control schemes are presented. The comparative performances of these control schemes are analysed for AGC system observing the mitigation of the overshoots and undershoots, settling time and steady-state errors in responses of frequency deviations and tie-line power deviations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-pressure black water angle valves are essential equipment of black water flash treatment systems in the coal gasification process, and they usually suffer from a high risk of erosion wear failure. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), combined with the discrete particle method (DPM) and the volume of fluid (VOF) method, was used to study the flow characteristics and erosion wear phenomenon in high-pressure black water angle valves under different valve cavity radii and opening angles. In particular, a new parameter, the drift index, was introduced to analyze the bias flow phenomenon in the throttling zone. With the increase in valve cavity radius, the drift index first decreases and then increases, and the influence of the valve cavity radius gradually weakens with the increase in the valve opening. It was found that, with the increase in valve cavity radius, the average erosion wear rate of the valve body decreases first and then increases. When the valve cavity radius was 132 mm, the average erosion wear rate of the valve body was the smallest. Therefore, the optimization of the valve cavity radius selection value can reduce the erosion wear damage of the high-pressure black water angle valve and increase its operational dependability.

In order to study the influence of particle parameters on the erosion wear of inclined tandem elbows, the influence of particle flow rate, main erosion area and erosion morphology of the two bends was analyzed by discrete phase model (DPM) by taking the S-type tandem bend with an inclination of 60° as the research object, and the erosion wear of the two bends was compared. The results show that the particle velocity has the greatest influence on the erosion wear of the elbow, which shows an exponential relationship. The influence of particle diameter on elbow 2 is greater than that of elbow 1. The wear of Elbow 2 increases first and then decreases with the increase of particle diameter. When the particle diameter increases to 250 μm, the erosion wear of Elbow 1 is greater than that of elbow 2. Particle mass velocity has little influence on the erosion wear of the pipe. With the increase of particle mass velocity, the erosion rate increases slowly. It can be seen that in order to increase the service life of the bend and reduce the erosion and wear of the elbow, attention should be paid to controlling the fluid flow rate when using. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: By implementing optimized interventions, erosion wear can be effectively mitigated, ensuring the long-term structural integrity of piping systems in non-conventional oil plants and promoting safe overall plant operation. These interventions represent a significant leap forward in erosion wear management, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the realm of oil plant operations. Erosion in piping structures poses a significant challenge for oil industries as the conveyance of solid particles leads to operational malfunctions and structural failures affecting the overall oil plant operation. Conventional oil recovery methods have historically dominated, while in response to the challenges imposed by declining conventional oil production, the global shift towards non-conventional methods necessitates a reevaluation of erosion mitigation strategies due to increased piping infrastructure. Therefore, in this study research has been conducted to reduce erosion and optimize the piping structure. Variables impacting the erosion in piping were investigated from the literature, and simulation cases were made based on the impacted variables. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFDs) analysis was performed using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) to determine the erosion wear rate in each simulation case; based on the CFD results, variables with low Turbulent Dissipation Rates (TDRs) and Erosion Rates (ERs) were determined, and the optimized piping structure was designed. As a result, the optimized piping structure showed an 80% reduction in the turbulent dissipation rate and a 99.2% decrease in the erosion wear rate. These findings highlight a substantial improvement in erosion control, ensuring the safety and longevity of piping structures in oil plant operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Railway Science & Engineering is the property of Journal of Railway Science & Engineering Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article aims to present the efficacy analysis of electric vehicle (EV) charging/discharging process as a sink or a distributed energy source (DES) in the framework of LFC problem of multi-area multi-source deregulated power system (MAMS-DPS). The energy storage/extraction of EVs acts as a noteworthy role in mitigation of deviation frequency of DPS. A problem of AGC system for two-area DPS having two thermal power generators of non-reheat type and aggregated fleet of EVs in each area is considered to study here. The electric power contract between the distribution (DISCOs) and generation (GENCOs) companies in the restructured environment of DPS is specified through a contract participation matrix named as the DPM. In DPS area deviation frequency, generated and tie-line powers fluctuate in case of variation of load. To resolve these problems the efficacy of EV is accessed applying the optimal control scheme using TLBO algorithm and compared performances with the control schemes based on the optimization algorithms of GA as well as PSO, and PI, PID control schemes. The comparative performance of responses of system variables of the deviation frequency, generated power, and tie-line power are analysed applying the control schemes as PI control for without/with EV cases, and PID control, and the GA/PSO/TLBO-tuned PI/PID control schemes for with EV case. The TLBO-PID control scheme outperforms to mitigate the deviations observing the steady-state error, undershoot, overshoot, and settling time performance indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bush encroachment is the invasion of whole landscapes by indigenous and alien woody species. An imbalance in the ratio of grasses to bushes is a consequence of bush encroachment due to competition for moisture, nutrients and sunlight. This imbalance results in a decrease in grass cover, plant biodiversity and grazing capacity, leading to severe economic losses. Several methods exist to reduce high woody plant densities, including mechanical, manual, biological or chemical control. In this study, we assessed the structural and compositional attributes of the grass layer and compared these to the woody vegetation structure for herbicide-controlled rangelands and the no chemical control. The main objective was to evaluate the potential of chemical control to restore an open savanna system dominated by perennial grasses. Woody-dominated vegetation resulting from long-term overgrazing was assessed and compared to chemically controlled sites. Results revealed that chemical control treatment increased forage production and maintained woody-patch conservation. After the treatment, the sites were characterised by more productive and desirable woody species. The re-encroachment of woody species at all bush-controlled sites is possible. A follow-up control programme to manage and mitigate encroachment needs to be implemented when mitigating bush encroachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erosion in piping structures poses a significant challenge for oil industries as the conveyance of solid particles leads to operational malfunctions and structural failures affecting the overall oil plant operation. Conventional oil recovery methods have historically dominated, while in response to the challenges imposed by declining conventional oil production, the global shift towards non-conventional methods necessitates a reevaluation of erosion mitigation strategies due to increased piping infrastructure. Therefore, in this study research has been conducted to reduce erosion and optimize the piping structure. Variables impacting the erosion in piping were investigated from the literature, and simulation cases were made based on the impacted variables. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFDs) analysis was performed using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) to determine the erosion wear rate in each simulation case; based on the CFD results, variables with low Turbulent Dissipation Rates (TDRs) and Erosion Rates (ERs) were determined, and the optimized piping structure was designed. As a result, the optimized piping structure showed an 80% reduction in the turbulent dissipation rate and a 99.2% decrease in the erosion wear rate. These findings highlight a substantial improvement in erosion control, ensuring the safety and longevity of piping structures in oil plant operations.

Yumiko Matsuo,1,2 Emiko Ogawa,1,2 Yoko Tsunoda,1 Akio Yamazaki,1 Satoru Kawashima,1 Yasuki Uchida,1 Hiroaki Nakagawa,1 Daisuke Kinose,1 Masafumi Yamaguchi,1 Yasutaka Nakano1 1Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan; 2Health Administration Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, JapanCorrespondence: Emiko Ogawa, Health Administration Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan, Tel/Fax +81-77-548-2212, Email eogawa@belle.shiga-med.ac.jpPurpose: Disease probability measure (DPM) is a useful voxel-wise imaging assessment of gas-trapping and emphysematous lesions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To elucidate the progression of COPD, we performed a cluster analysis using the following DPM parameters: normal (DPMNormal), gas-trapping (DPMGasTrap), and emphysematous lesions (DPMEmph). Our findings revealed the characteristics of each cluster and the 3-year disease progression using imaging parameters.Patients and Methods: Inspiratory and expiratory chest computed tomography (CT) images of 131 patients with COPD were examined, of which 84 were followed up for 3 years. The percentage of low attenuation volume (LAV%) and the square root of the wall area of a hypothetical airway with an internal perimeter of 10 mm (√Aaw at Pi10) were quantitatively measured using inspiratory chest CT. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using the DPM parameters at baseline. Five clusters were named according to the dominant DPM parameters: normal (NL), normal-GasTrap (NL-GT), GasTrap (GT), GasTrap-Emphysema (GT-EM), and Emphysema (EM).Results: Women were predominantly diagnosed with GT. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s gradually decreased in the following order: NL, NL-GT, GT, GT-EM, and EM. DPMEmph correlated well with LAV%. Four clusters other than NL showed significantly higher values of √Aaw at Pi10 than NL; however, no significant differences were observed among them. In all clusters, DPMEmph increased after 3 years. DPMNormal only increased in the GT cluster.Conclusion: Clusters using DPM parameters may reflect the characteristics of COPD and help understand the pathophysiology of the disease.Keywords: cluster analysis, computed tomography, COPD, DPM, gas-trapping, emphysema

The biogeochemical cycling of iron is crucial to plenty of environmental processes, and is often influenced by black carbon with high electrical conductivity and abundant functional groups. This study for the first time revealed that diesel particulate matter (DPM), a typical black carbon material which often caused serious environmental effects, could significantly promote dissimilatory reduction of both abiogenic and biogenic goethite (CGt and BGt) by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. In 7 days, Fe(II) production in CGt systems containing 0.5, 5, 10, 25, and 50 mg/L of DPM were 1.2, 1.3, 1.8, 1.9, and 2.7 folds higher than that in the system without DPM (0.12 mM), respectively. During the bioreduction of BGt, Fe(II) concentrations were 2.4–3.4 folds higher than those in the CGt systems, and were increased by 4.8%− 41.7% with the addition of 0.5–50 mg/L DPM. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated that goethite was the sole mineralized product during the bioreduction of CGt, while vivianite appeared gradually during the microbial transformation of BGt. DPM enhanced electron transfer between cells and goethite via serving as electron shuttles. The results of this study would improve our understanding of interactions among microbes, natural minerals, and black carbon in the natural environments.

Drilling process monitoring (DPM) has been rarely adopted in deep rock engineering for structure identification and mechanical property estimation of rock masses. Furthermore, it is difficult to accurately identify complex structures based solely on drilling parameters. To address these issues, we present an integrating method of DPM, borehole televiewer, and Hoek–Brown strength criterion. This method was applied in Jinping deep tunnel with a buried depth of 1900 m and homogeneous lithology. Another comparison test was carried out in Hongtoushan Copper Mine with heterogeneous lithology. The results showed that the drilling speed is sensitive to changes in the rock mass structure. The drilling speed of intact cores (5.26–6.74 cm/min) is the highest, followed by discing cores (5.12–5.85 cm/min) and then jointed cores (3.50–4.62 cm/min). In addition, the drilling speed responses to discing and jointed cores similarly, with sudden change characteristics, which may indicate the location and range of structure planes in the borehole. Finally, the drilling speed response varies according to the surrounding rock conditions. The drilling speed is positively correlated with mechanical properties when the rock mass has a homogeneous lithology and is negatively correlated when the rock mass has a transformed lithological zone. This study provides important support for using DPM to identify the rock mass structure and mechanical properties for deep engineering projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scheduling techniques have been investigated by the job execution process in a system to maximize multiprocessor utilization. Dynamic Power Management (DPM) and Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) represent two general strategies for lowering energy use. Performance enhanced Scheduling (PeSche) is a proposed scheduling algorithm designed for an optimal solution. CodeBlocks were utilized to run extensive simulations. In terms of computing performance (average waiting time and average turnaround time), the PeSche scheduling algorithm outperformed recently reported scheduling algorithms such as SJF, RR, FCFS, Priority, and SJF-LJF. The PeSche scheduling algorithm yielded better results by assigning priority in terms of energy-time ratio, programming running time, total energy, and total time than existing algorithms. In comparison to Minimum Energy Schedule (MES) and Slack Utilization for Reduced Energy (SURE), PeSche consumed less energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the deterioration of workshop air quality due to free emission of unorganized fumes from multiple surface sources of residual anode carbon blocks during electrolytic cell opening and anode changing operations, new unorganized fumes collecting equipment based on negative pressure suction was designed. Take a workshop as an example, by the CFD coupled DPM simulation method for unorganized fumes, the influence of the negative pressure P of the fan, and the distance h between the upper surface of the residual carbon block and the exhaust hood on the collection efficiency was investigated. The results showed that the collection efficiency of flue gas and dust increased with the increase in negative pressure and increased at first and then decreased with the rise in the distance between the upper surface of the residual carbon block and the exhaust hood. The collection efficiency of flue gas and dust was the highest when the negative pressure was 5000 Pa, and the distance was 176 mm; at this time the collection efficiency of flue gas was 85.06%, and the dust was 72.58%. Further, validation tests in practical applications were carried out. The experimental results consistently demonstrate that the established CFD coupled DPM simulation method had a good agreement with the experimental results. The error of flue gas collection efficiency was less than 3.1%, and the error of dust collection efficiency was less than 1.2%. The research conducted had critical engineering application values for achieving high cleanliness and low energy consumption operation of unorganized fumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is challenging yet essential to identify the different processes and operations for the wide utilization of factual data during the current normal drilling. In this paper, the complete digital factual data of the hydraulic rotary drill project are recorded in real-time series along a 38-m-deep drillhole. A total of five processes with the associated individual operations are identified by the digitalization results as the inserting drill bit and rods process, the rotary stirring process, the hydraulic rotary coring process, the core cutting process, and the retrieving drill bit and rods process. The operations of net drilling can be selected by the statistical results from the hydraulic rotary coring process. According to the factual data, 461 linear zones and 10 geomaterial-type zones with the corresponding constant drilling speed are presented in the curve of bit advancement depth versus the net drilling time. The analysis results show that as the in situ mechanical property (or coring-resistant strength) of the drilled geomaterials increases, the corresponding constant drilling speed decreases. The spatial distributions of linear zones with similar constant drilling speeds can represent the stratum distributions of homogeneous geomaterial. The digitalization results provide the valuable reference for quantitative descriptions of the full hydraulic rotary drilling process and the in situ mechanical profile with the factual drilling data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce the open-source code MercuryDPM: a code for simulating discrete particles. The paper discusses software and management issues that may be interesting for the developers of other open-source codes. Then we review the new features that have been added since the last publication: an improved Hertz-Mindlin model; a new liquid bridge model of Lian and Seville; a droplet-spray model; better support for re-creating complex, measured particle size distributions; a new implementation of rigid clumps; an implementation of elastic membranes; a wear model for walls; a soft-kill feature and a cloud-deployment interface for AWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the managerial sustainability of implementing a decision support system for industrial symbiosis through a recent business modeling methodology. The decision support system is intended to facilitate the identification of implementable industrial symbiosis good practices in a pilot project located in the industrial retro-port area of Trieste. To evaluate the feasibility of this project, a qualitative "Dynamic business model canvas for sustainability" was designed and supported by a system dynamics approach using causal loop diagrams. The study analyzed various governance scenarios for managing the decision support system (public, private, or public–private partnership) and the financing system. The analysis concludes by discussing the research limitations of this study and future opportunities, emphasizing the importance of a resilient system that can handle operational and regulatory shocks, given the project's public relevance. Further study opportunities could be provided through quantitative simulations and potential numerical validations with stakeholders in the local area, considering potential regulatory constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed model repeated measures (MMRM) is the most common analysis approach used in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and other progressive diseases measured with continuous outcomes over time. The model treats time as a categorical variable, which allows an unconstrained estimate of the mean for each study visit in each randomized group. Categorizing time in this way can be problematic when assessments occur off‐schedule, as including off‐schedule visits can induce bias, and excluding them ignores valuable information and violates the intention to treat principle. This problem has been exacerbated by clinical trial visits which have been delayed due to the COVID19 pandemic. As an alternative to MMRM, we propose a constrained longitudinal data analysis with natural cubic splines that treats time as continuous and uses test version effects to model the mean over time. Compared to categorical‐time models like MMRM and models that assume a proportional treatment effect, the spline model is shown to be more parsimonious and precise in real clinical trial datasets, and has better power and Type I error in a variety of simulation scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The viscosity of adiponitrile waste liquid is as high as 1000 cp. It is challenging to spray and atomize the waste liquid normally. Based on the coaxial three-channel pneumatic atomizer, a two-stage supersonic steam atomizer is proposed in this paper, and the atomization process is simulated by Fluent software. Compared with the traditional atomization simulation method, the Volume-of-Fluid to Discrete-Phase-Model (VOF-DPM) bi-directional coupling model and Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) technology can save mesh and improve the computational efficiency. The atomization processes of primary breakup and secondary breakup are entirely captured and analyzed. The results show that the Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) is about 116–180 μm, the SMD decreases with the increase of steam inlet absolute pressure, and the atomization quality can meet the combustion requirements. This study can be used for the performance optimization of the high-viscosity liquid atomizers in the chemical and aerospace industry and shorten the time engineers spend in the simulation calculation to verify the rationality of the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of conversion during gasification of char particles depends on the type of reagents, the concentration of reactants, and reactor temperature, among many other parameters; however, the overall conversion depends on the residence time distribution (RTD) of the particles in the reactor. The objective of the present work is to investigate the influence of gasifying agents, their concentration, and reactor wall temperature on the RTD of the char particles. The aim also includes studying the effect of mean residence time on the overall char conversion during gasification of Victorian brown coal in an entrained flow reactor. Two gasifying reagents, namely, CO2 and H2O, are selected in the present study. A discrete particle model (DPM) is coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate the solid phase dynamics. Gasification is modelled using a lumped approach. The mean residence time of the solid char particles, determined using three different methods, is observed to increase with the CO2 concentration and wall temperature but decrease in the H2O environment. The longer residence time leads to higher overall char conversion in a CO2 environment despite the higher reactivity of H2O compared to CO2 as a gasifying reagent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper evaluates the behavior of a red-mud solid fraction in a thickener feeder cup, aiming to identify the main characteristics of particle distribution in the flocculation zone and to determine the dependencies affecting the further process taking place in the particle-free sedimentation zone in the thickener-thickening unit. This work used mathematical and numerical modeling to study the influence of such parameters as the flow rate of the feed pulp in the thickener, the flow rate of the flocculant, the density of pulp at the inlet to the unit, and the viscosity and temperature of the pulp on the particle-size distribution from under the feeder cup. The results and dependencies obtained are intended to be used as nominal values in the red-mud thickening process performed on a lab-scale unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of sandy water on the W-shaped labyrinth channel of micro-sprinkler irrigation systems with large flowrate were investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Using ANSYS FLUENT software and different inflow conditions (e.g., pressure, velocity, sediment concentration, and sand particle diameter), internal turbulent multiphase flow and sand deposition were simulated by the Eulerian multiphase flow model. Particle erosion in the labyrinth channel was calculated by the Discrete Phase Model (DPM). The results show that vortex movements and shear actions at the boundary layer cause self-flushing in the channel. The location of sand particle deposits and the turbulent dissipation rate are related to the operating pressure, which is optimal at 300 kPa. The erosion rate of the channel wall is proportional to the inflow sediment concentration but has no obvious relationship with inflow velocity. Based on the movement regulation of sand particles in the labyrinth channel, recommendations on filtration requirements and operating pressure of irrigation systems are proposed. HIGHLIGHTS Sand deposition in the W-shaped labyrinth channel is simulated with the Eulerian model.; There exists an optimal pressure to control the sands deposit location.; Particle erosion in the channel is simulated with Discrete Phase Model.; Erosion rate of sand particles is proportional to the sediment concentration.;

[Display omitted] • An analytical scaling law model framework for explaining short-time dust emission. • A general expression for Lagrangian mean velocity of dust particles. • Comparison between analytical and numerical results shows agreement. Aiming at explaining the short-time dust emission from belt conveyors, an analytical scaling law model framework is introduced, employing the same assumptions and wall models as traditional numerical simulations. Further, assuming a piecewise mean velocity profile, the Lagrangian mean velocity of dust particles can be written as a general expression. This expression is validated in various cases, including the 2D Belt, 3D Belt, 2D Tire, and 3D Tire cases. Numerical results show that the theoretical prediction, with key parameters fixed at u s = 5 , κ = 0.4187 , and E = 9.793 , fits well with the simulated Lagrangian mean velocity profiles. For example, in the 2D Belt case, short-time agreement is achieved within t ⩽ 1 s, indicating the model's effectiveness in predicting dust dispersion within this time frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment systems for green buildings around the world have been developed over many years, but there is a lack of assessment elements for the disaster prevention and mitigation (DPM) capabilities of green buildings in many indicators. DPM indexes based on the four main aspects of structural safety, DPM design, facility settings, and resource utilization are proposed here with consideration to the complex natural disasters that occur in China (fires, earthquakes, floods, etc.) and relevant codes. Then, an assessment system for the DPM indexes of green buildings is established by the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) in order to evaluate the DPM ability of green buildings and to quantify the impact of different indexes on the DPM ability of green buildings; this system is also used to evaluate and compare DPM capability suggestions, taking two green buildings in South and North China as examples. The results show that the DPM capacities of the two green buildings were evaluated as good, but that the scores for the site planning and water-saving systems of the green building in South China were significantly lower—meaning that measures such as optimizing drainage systems, managing stormwater runoff, permeable paving, rainwater gardens, and installing rainwater harvesting equipment should be implemented. Then, the theory of the utilization rate of DPM conversion is put forward, providing a reference for the future development of green building DPM index systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a Eulerian Wall Film (EWF) model and a discrete phase model (DPM) are applied to simulate the phenomenon of droplet re-entrainment in a baffle demister. The primary objective was to design a new hook plate and evaluate its influence on the performance. The results show that the phenomenon of droplet re-entrainment occurs owing to the separation and stripping of the liquid film at the corner of the demister. Moreover, the liquid film strips at the areas where the local velocity is quite high near the wall of the demister. With the installation of the hook, the removal efficiency increased from 68.4% to 87.2% at 3 m/s inlet velocity. When the inlet velocity was increased to 6 m/s, the removal efficiency reached 96.7%, indicating that the existence of the hook plate further improved the efficiency of the demister, whereas the pressure loss of the system also increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel hybrid-based methodology devoted to develop urban fragility curves and damage probability matrices to predict likelihood seismic damage scenarios for small and medium Italian urban centres, considering URM buildings only. The concept of urban fragility curve consists of a single curve mean-representative of the seismic fragility of an entire area accounting for the combinations of building classes and their percentage, then they differ from those typological. The methodology has been developed with reference to Rocca di Mezzo, a small Italian urban centre located in the central Apennine area, Italy. Based on CarTiS inventory, building classes have been firstly recognized and urban fragility curves, representative for damage scenarios at Ultimate Limit State, developed. To predict damage scenarios from low to high-intensity earthquakes, an approach to define multi-damage urban fragility curves and damage probability matrices has been also presented. To this aim, a damage scale suffered by building classes has been defined by converting the final outcomes of the AeDES form (used in Italy for post-earthquake surveys) in the damage levels provided by the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS98). Data coming from urban fragility curves have been compared with the actual damage scenario recorded in Rocca di Mezzo after the 2009 L'Aquila's earthquake, in terms of both peak-ground acceleration and Mecalli-Cancani-Sieberg scale. The achieved results showed a good accordance between theoretical predictions and actual damage scenarios, coherent also with the damage scenarios occurred in other Italian historical centres hit by severe earthquakes over the years. Thus, the methodology can provide a first important indicator to support the development of emergently plans devoted to identify priority of interventions in such areas particularly vulnerable with respect to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane filtration is an efficient wastewater treatment technology. However, sludge particles will easily aggregate and deposit upon the membrane surface, which will decrease the water productivity of membrane filaments. Focusing on the influence of velocity on particle behavior, experimental and numerical research was carried out. The k − ε turbulent model, porous media model and DPM model were adopted in the simulation. The flow characteristics including pressure, velocity and particle concentration contour are discussed using different inlet velocities of 0.6, 0.8, 1 m/s. The effects of gravity were also investigated. The final evaluation suggests the best working conditions in three scenarios, which could help to suppress membrane pollution. The results indicate that when the inlet velocity is about 1 m/s, particle deposition is weakest, resulting in better water productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffuse pleural mesothelioma (DPM) is a lethal cancer with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. The Hippo signaling pathway genes, such as NF2 and LATS1/2, are frequently mutated in DPM, indicating a tumor suppressor role in the development of DPM. Here, we show that in DPM cell lines lacking NF2 and in mice with a conditional Nf2 knockout, downregulation of WWC proteins, another family of Hippo pathway regulators, accelerates DPM progression. Conversely, the expression of SuperHippo, a WWC-derived minigene, effectively enhances Hippo signaling and suppresses DPM development. Moreover, the adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (AAV6) has been engineered to deliver both NF2 and SuperHippo genes into mesothelial cells, which substantially impedes tumor growth in xenograft and genetic DPM models and prolongs the median survival of mice. These findings serve as a proof of concept for the potential use of gene therapy targeting the Hippo pathway to treat DPM., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests A patent application about mesothelioma gene therapy has been filed., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective(s): The objective of this study was to characterize the level of agreement between three manometers: (1) Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI)-the reference standard for tongue, lip, and cheek strength assessments; (2) MicroRPM Respiratory Pressure Meter (MicroRPM)-the reference standard for respiratory strength assessments; and (3) Digital Pressure Manometer (DPM)-an alternative, low-cost pressure testing manometer., Methods: Manual pressures were simultaneously applied to the IOPI and DPM, and to the MicroRPM and DPM, within a controlled laboratory setting. Agreement in pressure readings were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Lin's concordance correlation, and Bland-Altman Plots. Agreement was interpreted as "poor" if ρ c  < 0.90, "moderate" if ρ c  = 0.90 - < 0.95, "substantial" if ρ c  = 0.95 - < 0.99, and "excellent" if ρ c  ≥ 0.99., Results: Differences in pressure readings between the DPM and clinical reference standards were consistently present yet highly predictable. There was a median absolute difference of 2.0-3.9 kPa between the IOPI and DPM, and 4.5-9.8 cm H 2 O between the MicroRPM and DPM. Lin's concordance revealed "substantial" agreement between the IOPI and DPM (ρ c  = 0.98) and the MicroRPM and DPM (ρ c  = 0.99)., Conclusion: The DPM revealed higher pressure readings when compared to the IOPI and MicroRPM. However, differences in pressure readings were relatively small, highly predictable, and yielded substantial overall agreement. These findings suggest the DPM may be a valid, lower-cost alternative for objective assessments of tongue, lip, cheek, and respiratory muscle strength. Future research should expand on the present findings in clinical patient populations., Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 2024., (© 2024 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

In complex scenes, the accuracy of dance movement recognition is not high. Therefore, this paper proposes a deep learning and deformable part model (DPM) for dance movement feature extraction. Firstly, the number of filters in DPM is increased, and the branch and bound algorithm is combined to improve the accuracy. Secondly, deep neural network model is used to sample points of interest according to human dance movements. The features extracted from the DPM and deep neural network are fused. It achieves a large reduction in the number of model parameters and avoids the network being too deep. Finally, dance movement recognition is performed on the input data through the full connection layer. Experimental results show that the proposed method in this paper can get the recognition result more quickly and accurately on the dance movement data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting the performance of finely atomized sprays used for airborne dust suppression is an important aspect in ensuring workers are properly protected from harmful dust emissions in the industries that rely on bulk materials handling and processing. It is well known that finely atomized sprays are effective for airborne dust capture, however there is less understanding of the best methods for predicting spray dispersion especially in adverse conditions, such as when exposed to high cross-winds. This study aims to evaluate the ability for CFD to be used in the prediction of spray performance in applications relating to airborne dust suppression. An Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is evaluated against available experimental data of sprays operating in quiescent conditions and with a perpendicularly applied cross-wind. Varying levels of agreement have been achieved based on a given set of input parameters: prediction of spray velocity was found to be within 20% of measured values, droplet size was within 13% and mist penetration within 10%. The results demonstrate the potential for CFD to be practically applied in the design of dust suppression systems, especially in regard to mist penetration or reach, which is one of the primary concerns when selecting appropriate nozzle designs and operating parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a numerical simulation model and an analytical method are introduced to evaluate the particle collection efficiency and transport phenomena in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Several complicated physical processes are involved in an ESP, including the turbulent flow, the ionization of gas by corona discharge, particles' movement, and the displacement of electric charge. The attachment of ions charges suspended particles in the gas media. Then, charged particles in the fluid move towards the collection plate and stick on it. The numerical model comprises the gas flow, electrostatic field, and particle motions. The collection efficiency of the wire-plate type ESP is investigated for the particle diameter range of 0.02 to 10 µm. It is observed that electric field strengths and current densities show considerable variation in the solution domain. Meanwhile, changing supply voltage and charging wire diameters significantly affect the acquired charges on the electrostatic field and particle collecting efficiencies. Simultaneously, the distance between the charging and collecting electrodes and the main fluid inlet velocity has an important effect on the particle collection efficiency. The influence of the different ESP working conditions and particle dimensions on the performance of ESP are investigated and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inverted cone hydrocyclone, used as the downhole separator in the DOWS systems, could be affected by the particles in the produced water, which leads to the erosion on its inlet and the wall, damaging the wall quality, affecting the flow state, thus reducing the separation effect and affecting the service life. In order to investigate the erosion law of the solid particles on the hydrocyclone, the DPM model and the response surface method were used to simulate the interaction between the particles and the separator. The main parameters were found out in this paper along with a multiple regression fitting equation model of the maximum wear rate of the hydrocyclone's wall. The results show that under the action of sand-bearing well fluid, the flow velocity, the concentration and the size of the solid particles have significant effects on the inlet and cylindrical section of the downhole inverted cone hydroyclone with the tangential inlet. Within the range of operating parameters, the maximum wear rates of the inlet and cylindrical section increase significantly with the increase of these three parameters. The multiple regression fitting equation model can be used to predict the abrasion degree and service life of the inverted cone hydrocyclone, as the correlation coefficient R-squared is 0.9403, the maximum relative error is 4.91%, and the average relative error is 3.52%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The viscosity of adiponitrile waste liquid is as high as 1000 cp. It is challenging to spray and atomize the waste liquid normally. Based on the coaxial three-channel pneumatic atomizer, a two-stage supersonic steam atomizer is proposed in this paper, and the atomization process is simulated by Fluent software. Compared with the traditional atomization simulation method, the Volume-of-Fluid to Discrete-Phase-Model (VOF-DPM) bi-directional coupling model and Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) technology can save mesh and improve the computational efficiency. The atomization processes of primary breakup and secondary breakup are entirely captured and analyzed. The results show that the Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) is about 116–180 μm, the SMD decreases with the increase of steam inlet absolute pressure, and the atomization quality can meet the combustion requirements. This study can be used for the performance optimization of the high-viscosity liquid atomizers in the chemical and aerospace industry and shorten the time engineers spend in the simulation calculation to verify the rationality of the structure.

Heterogeneous cluster-based multi/many-core systems (e.g., ARM big.LITTLE, supporting dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) at cluster level and dynamic power management (DPM) at core level) have attracted much attention to optimize energy on modern embedded systems. For concurrently executing applications on such a platform, this paper aims to study how to appropriately apply the three system configurations (mapping, DVFS, and DPM) to reduce both dynamic and static energy. To this end, this paper first formulates the dependence of the three system configurations on heterogeneous cluster-based systems as a 0–1 integrated linear programming (ILP) model, taking into account run-time configuration overheads (e.g., costs of DPM mode switching and task migration). Then, with the 0–1 ILP model, different run-time strategies (e.g., considering the three configurations in fully separate, partially separate, and holistic manners) are compared based on a hierarchical management structure and design-time prepared data. Experimental case studies offer insights into the effectiveness of different management strategies on different platform sizes (e.g., #cluster × #core, 2 × 4, 2 × 8, 4 × 4, 4 × 8), in terms of application migration, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the particle transport computational fluid dynamics models of impulse-cyclone airflow drying systems, a Eulerian-Lagrangian discrete particle model (commercial code ANSYS Fluent 2019 R1) was extended to describe the temperature field, airflow velocity field, and particle distribution in the impulse and cyclone dryers. The results showed that the velocity of the airflow considerably changed after wood flour was added into the system, with an approximate velocity difference between the particles and airflow of 2 m/s. An increased feed rate led to a backflow area at the bottom of the cyclone dryer, which caused reflux and a long residence time of the wood flour in and near the cyclone dryer. By comparing the calculated temperature, velocity, and time curves with the measured temperature and velocity sensor values, the error between the simulated value and the experimental value was only approximately 15%. The current work verifies that the Eulerian-Lagrangian discrete particle model of the impulse-cyclone airflow drying process established via the computational fluid dynamics simulation method was effective. The conclusion provides a reliable theoretical basis for the technological design of impulse-cyclone airflow drying systems, thus providing a way to optimize the structure of impulse-cyclone airflow drying systems in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]