Gamma-Ray Attenuation Technique For Measuring Void Fraction In Horizontal Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow

The measurement of void fraction is of importance to the oil industry and chemical industry. In this article, the principle and mathematical method of determining the void fraction of horizontal gas-liquid flow by using a single-energy gamma-ray system is described. The gamma-ray source is the radioactive isotope of Am-241 with gamma-ray energy of 59.5 keV. The time-averaged value of the void fraction in a 50.0-mm i.d. transparent horizontal pipeline is measured under various combinations of the liquid flow and gas flow. It is found that increasing the gas flow rate at a fixed liquid flow rate would increase the void fraction. Test data are compared with the predictions of the correlations and a good agreement is found. The result shows that the designed gamma-ray system can be used for measuring the void fraction in a horizontal gas-liquid two-phase flow with high accuracy.

Measuring Binding Kinetics Of Surface-Bound Molecules Using The Surface Plasmon Resonance Technique

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology and the Biacore biosensor have been widely used to measure the kinetics of biomolecular interactions in the fluid phase. In the past decade, the assay was further extended to measure reaction kinetics when two counterpart molecules are anchored on apposed surfaces. However, the cell binding kinetics has not been well quantified. Here we report development of a cellular kinetic model, combined with experimental procedures for cell binding kinetic measurements, to predict kinetic rates per cell. Human red blood cells coated with bovine serum albumin and anti-BSA monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) immobilized on the chip were used to conduct the measurements. Sensor-grams for BSA-coated RBC binding onto and debinding from the anti-BSA mAb-immobilized chip were obtained using a commercial Biacore 3000 biosensor, and analyzed with the cellular kinetic model developed. Not only did the model fit the data well, but it also predicted cellular on and off-rates as well as binding affinities from curve fitting. The dependence of flow duration, flow rate, and site density of BSA on binding kinetics was tested systematically, which further validated the feasibility and reliability of the new approach. Crown copyright (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methods for Measuring Aggregate Costs of Conflict

This paper reviews the methods for measuring the economic cost of conflict. Estimating the economic costs of conflict requires a counterfactual calculation, which makes this a very difficult task. Social researchers have resorted to different estimation methods depending on the particular effect in question. The method used in each case depends on the units being analyzed (firms, sectors, regions or countries), the outcome variable under study (aggregate output, market valuation of firms, market shares, etc.) and data availability (a single cross-section, time series or panel data). This paper reviews existing methods used in the literature to assess the economic impact of conflict: cost accounting, cross-section methods, time series methods, panel data methods, gravity models, event studies, natural experiments and comparative case studies. The paper ends with a discussion of cost estimates and directions for further research.

The Intelligent Measuring Sub-System in the Computer Integrated and Flexible Laser Processing System

Based on the computer integrated and flexible laser processing system, develop the intelligent measuring sub-system. A novel model has been built to compensate the deviations of the main frame, a new-developed 3-D laser tracker system is applied to adjust the accuracy of the system. Analyzing the characteristic of all kinds of automobile dies, which is the main processing object of the laser processing system, classify the types of the surface and border needed to be measured and be processed. According to different types of surface and border, develop 2-D adaptive measuring method based on B?zier curve and 3-D adaptive measuring method based on spline curve. During the data processing, a new 3-D probe compensation method has been described in details. Some measuring experiments and laser processing experiments are carried out to testify the methods. All the methods have been applied in the computer integrated and flexible laser processing system invented by the Institute of Mechanics, CAS.