Design of a manual press for the production of compacted stabilized soil blocks

In this paper, we discuss the design of a manually operated soil compaction machine that is being used to manufacture stabilized soil blocks (SSB). A case study of manufacturing more than three million blocks in a housing project using manually operated machines is illustrated. The paper is focussed on the design, development, and evaluation of a manually operated soil compaction machine for the production of SSB. It also details the machine design philosophy, compaction characteristics of soils, employment generation potential of small-scale stabilized soil block productions systems, and embodied energy. Static compaction of partially saturated soils was performed to generate force-displacement curves in a confined compaction process were generated. Based on the soil compaction data engineering design aspects of a toggle press are illustrated. The results of time and motion study on block production operations using manual machines are discussed. Critical path network diagrams were used for small-scale SSB production systems. Such production systems generate employment at a very low capital cost.

An alternative approach to study nonlinear inviscid flow over arbitrary bottom topography

This paper deals with a new approach to study the nonlinear inviscid flow over arbitrary bottom topography. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear boundary value problem which is reduced to a Dirichlet problem using certain transformations. The Dirichlet problem is solved by applying Plemelj-Sokhotski formulae and it is noticed that the solution of the Dirichlet problem depends on the solution of a coupled Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. These integral equations are solved numerically by using a modified method. The free-surface profile which is unknown at the outset is determined. Different kinds of bottom topographies are considered here to study the influence of bottom topography on the free-surface profile. The effects of the Froude number and the arbitrary bottom topography on the free-surface profile are demonstrated in graphical forms for the subcritical flow. Further, the nonlinear results are validated with the results available in the literature and compared with the results obtained by using linear theory. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alternative search strategies for a BSM resonance fitting the ATLAS diboson excess

We study an s-channel resonance R as a viable candidate to fit the diboson excess reported by ATLAS. We compute the contribution of the similar to 2 TeV resonance R to semileptonic and leptonic final states at the 13 TeV LHC. To explain the absence of an excess in the semileptonic channel, we explore the possibility where the particle R decays to additional light scalars X, X or X, Y. A modified analysis strategy has been proposed to study the three-particle final state of the resonance decay and to identify decay channels of X. Associated production of R with gauge bosons has been studied in detail to identify the production mechanism of R. We construct comprehensive categories for vector and scalar beyond-standard-model particles which may play the role of particles R, X, Y and find alternate channels to fix the new couplings and search for these particles.

COST AND PERFORMANCE TRADEOFFS OF ALTERNATIVE SOLAR-DRIVEN S-CO2 BRAYTON CYCLE CONFIGURATIONS

This paper evaluates cost and performance tradeoffs of alternative supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2) closed-loop Brayton cycle configurations with a concentrated solar heat source. Alternative s-CO2 power cycle configurations include simple, recompression, cascaded, and partial cooling cycles. Results show that the simple closed-loop Brayton cycle yielded the lowest power-block component costs while allowing variable temperature differentials across the s-CO2 heating source, depending on the level of recuperation. Lower temperature differentials led to higher sensible storage costs, but cycle configurations with lower temperature differentials (higher recuperation) yielded higher cycle efficiencies and lower solar collector and receiver costs. The cycles with higher efficiencies (simple recuperated, recompression, and partial cooling) yielded the lowest overall solar and power-block component costs for a prescribed power output.