Screening wall effects of a thin fluidized bed by near-infrared imaging

Near-infrared (NIR) imaging was used to observe water vapour flow in a gas-solid fluidized bed reactor. The technique consisted of a broadband light, an optical filter with a bandwidth centred on strong water vapour absorptions, a Vidicon NIR camera, a nozzle from which an optically active mixture of gas and water vapour was trans-illuminated by an NIR beam and collected data of transmittance were normalized to actual optical path. The procedure was applied to a thin fluidized bed reactor with a low aspect ratio of tube to particle diameters (D-1/d(p)) in order to validate the wall effect on flow dynamics and mass transfer during the reduction of ceria-silica by hydrogen. High concentrations of water vapour emerged in the vicinity of the wall when the bed was operated at pseudo-static conditions but disappeared when the bed was run at minimum bubbling conditions. This result shows the capability of optical methods with affordable costs to 2D imaging opaque packed bed by using a spatially resolved probe located at the exit, which is of great benefit for in situ visualization of anisotropic concentrations in packed beds under industrially relevant conditions and thus for elucidation of the underlying reaction mechanism and diffusion interactions. Crown Copyright (c) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of Soil and Irrigation Management on the Quality of Seedless Crimson Table Grapes

The market for table grapes is moving into mass production of specialty seed-less grapes in covered areas, aiming at obtaining premium prices with early or late production of high quality products. Production of quality seedless grapes is not straightforward since it is requires the correct combination of various independent characteristics, such as color, sugars, size and quantity at the right moment for successful harvesting and marketing. The present study was carried out at the two largest Portuguese producers located in Alentejo, and has the objective of studying the effect of irrigation management strategies and two different soils on the various relevant parameters for successful production and marketing. The management strategies were the application of ten day stress at the end of the cycle, in order to promote early maturing of the grapes. Three different timings of the stress were applied. Soil moisture, sap flow, bark thickness, as well as leaf water potential, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content were measured regularly during the production season. The results indicate that the roots explore a rather large soil volume and the plants can successfully withstand reasonable periods of drought without significant changes to the plant physiology. Additionally late rains can mask the effect of any farmer applied drought and invalidate any farmer induced stress to the plants. Water-logged soils tend to cause early onset of maturity, but cause the ripening stage to extend over a longer period of time, and thus, in effect result in a delay in the harvest date. Topography also has some effect on the ripening, since hot air tends to accumulate under the plastic at the higher areas of the field. This work is funded by PRODER, 4.1, within the scope of project MORECRIMSON

Injection moulding process optimization for microstructured parts production

Ao longo das últimas décadas, a micromoldação (u-moldação) por injeção de termoplásticos ganhou um lugar de destaque no mercado de equipamentos eletrónicos e de uma ampla gama de componentes mecânicos. No entanto, quando o tamanho do componente diminui, os pressupostos geralmente aceites na moldação por injeção convencional deixam de ser válidos para descrever o comportamento reológico e termomecânico do polímero na microimpressão. Por isso, a compreensão do comportamento dinâmico do polímero à escala micro bem como da sua caraterização, análise e previsão das propriedades mecânicas exige uma investigação mais alargada. O objetivo principal deste programa doutoral passa por uma melhor compreensão do fenómeno físico intrínseco ao processo da μ-moldação por injeção. Para cumprir com o objetivo estabelecido, foi efetuado um estudo paramétrico do processo de μ-moldação por injeção, cujos resultados foram comparados com os resultados obtidos por simulação numérica. A caracterização dinâmica mecânica das μ-peças foi efetuada com o objetivo de recolher os dados necessários para a previsão do desempenho mecânico das mesmas, a longo prazo. Finalmente, depois da calibração do modelo matemático do polímero, foram realizadas análises estruturais com o intuito de prever o desempenho mecânico das μ-peças no longo prazo. Verificou-se que o desempenho mecânico das μ-peças pode ser significativamente afetado pelas tensões residuais de origem mecânica e térmica. Estas últimas, resultantes do processo de fabrico e das condições de processamento, por isso, devem ser consideradas na previsão do desempenho mecânico e do tempo de serviço das u-moldações.

The influence of hilly terrain on canopy-atmosphere carbon dioxide exchange

Topography influences many aspects of forest-atmosphere carbon exchange; yet only a small number of studies have considered the role of topography on the structure of turbulence within and above vegetation and its effect on canopy photosynthesis and the measurement of net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (N-ee) using flux towers. Here, we focus on the interplay between radiative transfer, flow dynamics for neutral stratification, and ecophysiological controls on CO2 sources and sinks within a canopy on a gentle cosine hill. We examine how topography alters the forest-atmosphere CO2 exchange rate when compared to uniform flat terrain using a newly developed first-order closure model that explicitly accounts for the flow dynamics, radiative transfer, and nonlinear eco physiological processes within a plant canopy. We show that variation in radiation and airflow due to topography causes only a minor departure in horizontally averaged and vertically integrated photosynthesis from their flat terrain values. However, topography perturbs the airflow and concentration fields in and above plant canopies, leading to significant horizontal and vertical advection of CO2. Advection terms in the conservation equation may be neglected in flow over homogeneous, flat terrain, and then N-ee = F-c, the vertical turbulent flux of CO2. Model results suggest that vertical and horizontal advection terms are generally of opposite sign and of the same order as the biological sources and sinks. We show that, close to the hilltop, F-c departs by a factor of three compared to its flat terrain counterpart and that the horizontally averaged F-c-at canopy top differs by more than 20% compared to the flat-terrain case.

Modelling the partitioning of evapotranspiration in a maize-sunflower intercrop

The primary purpose of this study was to model the partitioning of evapotranspiration in a maize-sunflower intercrop at various canopy covers. The Shuttleworth-Wallace (SW) model was extended for intercropping systems to include both crop transpiration and soil evaporation and allowing interaction between the two. To test the accuracy of the extended SW model, two field experiments of maize-sunflower intercrop were conducted in 1998 and 1999. Plant transpiration and soil evaporation were measured using sap flow gauges and lysimeters, respectively. The mean prediction error (simulated minus measured values) for transpiration was zero (which indicated no overall bias in estimation error), and its accuracy was not affected by the plant growth stages, but simulated transpiration during high measured transpiration rates tended to be slightly underestimated. Overall, the predictions for daily soil evaporation were also accurate. Model estimation errors were probably due to the simplified modelling of soil water content, stomatal resistances and soil heat flux as well as due to the uncertainties in characterising the 2 micrometeorological conditions. The SW’s prediction of transpiration was most sensitive to parameters most directly related to the canopy characteristics such as the partitioning of captured solar radiation, canopy resistance, and bulk boundary layer resistance.

Water use of a bioenergy plantation increases in a future high CO2 world

Fast-growing poplar trees may in future be used as a source of renewable energy for heat, electricity and biofuels such as bioethanol. Water use in Populus x euramericana (clone I214), following long-term exposure to elevated CO2 in the POPFACE (poplar free-air carbon dioxide enrichment) experiment, is quantified here. Stomatal conductance was measured and, during two measurement campaigns made before and after coppicing, whole-tree water use was determined using heat-balance sap-flow gauges, first validated using eddy covariance measurements of latent heat flux. Water use was determined by the balance between leaf-level reductions in stomatal conductance and tree-level stimulations in transpiration. Reductions in stomatal conductance were found that varied between 16 and 39% relative to ambient air. Whole-tree sap flow was increased in plants growing under elevated CO2, on average, by 12 and 23%, respectively, in the first and in the second measurement campaigns. These results suggest that future CO2 concentrations may result in an increase in seasonal water use in fast-growing, short-rotation Populus plantations.

Transpiração em espécie de grande porte na Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, Pará

Durante o experimento “O Impacto da Seca Prolongada nos Fluxos de Água e Dióxido de Carbono em uma Floresta Tropical Amazônica” (ESECAFLOR) realizou-se este trabalho. Trata-se de um subprojeto do Experimento de Grande escala da Biosfera-Atmosfera da Amazônia (LBA), localizado na Estação Científica Ferreira Pena, dentro da Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, Pará (1o 42’ 30’’ S; 51o 31’45’’ W; 62 m altitude). A região tem floresta bem preservada, com dossel médio de 35 m. As espécies predominantes em terra-firme, são: Eschweilera coriacea (Mata-matá branco), Voucapoua americana (Acapu) e Protium pallidum (Breu Branco). Medidas foram realizadas entre 03 a 16 de dezembro de 2000 e 12 a 25 de janeiro de 2003, objetivandose determinar a transpiração de dois exemplares de Eschweilera coriacea, mediante os efeitos da seca provocada. A área do ESECAFLOR compreende duas parcelas, cada uma com 1 ha, parcela A (controle) e parcela B (exclusão da chuva). Para o fluxo de seiva, o método foi o Balanço de Calor no Tronco, com sistema Sap Flow meter, P4.1; entre os períodos analisados, a transpiração média registrou aumento de 56% na árvore A237 (parcela A) e redução de 68% na árvore B381 (parcela B)

Numerical solution of the FENE-CR model in complex flows

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Transpiração e eficiência de uso da água em plantios puros e mistos de eucalyptus grandis e acacia mangium

Pós-graduação em Ciência Florestal - FCA

Distribuição de raízes e a relação com o estado hídrico de laranjeira 'valência' enxertada sobre limoeiro 'cravo'

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Horticultura) - FCA

Effects of irrigation on water use and water use efficiency in two fast growing Eucalyptus plantations

Eucalyptus plantations occupy almost 20 million ha worldwide and exceed 3.7 million ha in Brazil alone. Improved genetics and silviculture have led to as much as a three-fold increase in productivity in Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil and the large land area occupied by these highly productive ecosystems raises concern over their effect on local water supplies. As part of the Brazil Potential Productivity Project, we measured water use of Eucalyptus grandis x urophylla clones in rainfed and irrigated stands in two plantations differing in productivity. The Aracruz (lower productivity) site is located in the state of Espirito Santo and the Veracel (higher productivity) site in Bahia state. At each plantation, we measured stand water use using homemade sap flow sensors and a calibration curve using the clones and probes we utilized in the study. We also quantified changes in growth, leaf area and water use efficiency (the amount of wood produced per unit of water transpired). Measurements were conducted for 1 year during 2005 at Aracruz and from August through December 2005 at Veracel. Transpiration at both sites was high compared to other studies but annual estimates at Aracruz for the rainfed treatment compared well with a process model calibrated for the Aracruz site (within 10%). Annual water use at Aracruz was 1394 mm in rainfed treatments versus 1779 mm in irrigated treatments and accounted for approximately 67% and 58% of annual precipitation and irrigation inputs respectively. Increased water use in the irrigated stands at Aracruz was associated with higher sapwood area, leaf area index and transpiration per unit leaf area but there was no difference in the response of canopy conductance with air saturation deficit between treatments. Water use efficiency at the Aracruz site was also not influenced by irrigation and was similar to the rainfed treatment. During the period of overlapping measurements, the response to irrigation treatments at the more productive Veracel site was similar to Aracruz. Stand water use at the Veracel site totaled 975 mm and 1102 mm in rainfed and irrigated treatments during the 5-month measurement period respectively. Irrigated stands at Veracel also had higher leaf area with no difference in the response of canopy conductance with air saturation deficit between treatments. Water use efficiency was also unaffected by irrigation at Veracel. Results from this and other studies suggest that improved resource availability does not negatively impact water use efficiency but increased productivity of these plantations is associated with higher water use and should be given consideration during plantation management decision making processes aimed at increasing productivity. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nonlinear estimation of neural processing time from BOLD signal with application to decision-making

The extraction of information about neural activity timing from BOLD signal is a challenging task as the shape of the BOLD curve does not directly reflect the temporal characteristics of electrical activity of neurons. In this work, we introduce the concept of neural processing time (NPT) as a parameter of the biophysical model of the hemodynamic response function (HRF). Through this new concept we aim to infer more accurately the duration of neuronal response from the highly nonlinear BOLD effect. The face validity and applicability of the concept of NPT are evaluated through simulations and analysis of experimental time series. The results of both simulation and application were compared with summary measures of HRF shape. The experiment that was analyzed consisted of a decision-making paradigm with simultaneous emotional distracters. We hypothesize that the NPT in primary sensory areas, like the fusiform gyrus, is approximately the stimulus presentation duration. On the other hand, in areas related to processing of an emotional distracter, the NPT should depend on the experimental condition. As predicted, the NPT in fusiform gyrus is close to the stimulus duration and the NPT in dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus depends on the presence of an emotional distracter. Interestingly, the NPT in right but not left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex depends on the stimulus emotional content. The summary measures of HRF obtained by a standard approach did not detect the variations observed in the NPT. Hum Brain Mapp, 2012. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Estimation of transpiration of the 'Valencia' orange young plant using thermal dissipation probe method

Most studies on measures of transpiration of plants, especially woody fruit, relies on methods of heat supply in the trunk. This study aimed to calibrate the Thermal Dissipation Probe Method (TDP) to estimate the transpiration, study the effects of natural thermal gradients and determine the relation between outside diameter and area of xylem in 'Valencia' orange young plants. TDP were installed in 40 orange plants of 15 months old, planted in boxes of 500 L, in a greenhouse. It was tested the correction of the natural thermal differences (DTN) for the estimation based on two unheated probes. The area of the conductive section was related to the outside diameter of the stem by means of polynomial regression. The equation for estimation of sap flow was calibrated having as standard lysimeter measures of a representative plant. The angular coefficient of the equation for estimating sap flow was adjusted by minimizing the absolute deviation between the sap flow and daily transpiration measured by lysimeter. Based on these results, it was concluded that the method of TDP, adjusting the original calibration and correction of the DTN, was effective in transpiration assessment.

X-Ray studies of the physics of matter around super-massive black-holes in nearby Seyfert galaxies

Seyfert galaxies are the closest active galactic nuclei. As such, we can use them to test the physical properties of the entire class of objects. To investigate their general properties, I took advantage of different methods of data analysis. In particular I used three different samples of objects, that, despite frequent overlaps, have been chosen to best tackle different topics: the heterogeneous BeppoS AX sample was thought to be optimized to test the average hard X-ray (E above 10 keV) properties of nearby Seyfert galaxies; the X-CfA was thought the be optimized to compare the properties of low-luminosity sources to the ones of higher luminosity and, thus, it was also used to test the emission mechanism models; finally, the XMM–Newton sample was extracted from the X-CfA sample so as to ensure a truly unbiased and well defined sample of objects to define the average properties of Seyfert galaxies. Taking advantage of the broad-band coverage of the BeppoS AX MECS and PDS instruments (between ~2-100 keV), I infer the average X-ray spectral propertiesof nearby Seyfert galaxies and in particular the photon index (~1.8), the high-energy cut-off (~290 keV), and the relative amount of cold reflection (~1.0). Moreover the unified scheme for active galactic nuclei was positively tested. The distribution of isotropic indicators used here (photon index, relative amount of reflection, high-energy cut-off and narrow FeK energy centroid) are similar in type I and type II objects while the absorbing column and the iron line equivalent width significantly differ between the two classes of sources with type II objects displaying larger absorbing columns. Taking advantage of the XMM–Newton and X–CfA samples I also deduced from measurements that 30 to 50% of type II Seyfert galaxies are Compton thick. Confirming previous results, the narrow FeK line is consistent, in Seyfert 2 galaxies, with being produced in the same matter responsible for the observed obscuration. These results support the basic picture of the unified model. Moreover, the presence of a X-ray Baldwin effect in type I sources has been measured using for the first time the 20-100 keV luminosity (EW proportional to L(20-100)^(−0.22±0.05)). This finding suggests that the torus covering factor may be a function of source luminosity, thereby suggesting a refinement of the baseline version of the unifed model itself. Using the BeppoSAX sample, it has been also recorded a possible correlation between the photon index and the amount of cold reflection in both type I and II sources. At a first glance this confirms the thermal Comptonization as the most likely origin of the high energy emission for the active galactic nuclei. This relation, in fact, naturally emerges supposing that the accretion disk penetrates, depending to the accretion rate, the central corona at different depths (Merloni et al. 2006): the higher accreting systems hosting disks down to the last stable orbit while the lower accreting systems hosting truncated disks. On the contrary, the study of the well defined X–C f A sample of Seyfert galaxies has proved that the intrinsic X-ray luminosity of nearby Seyfert galaxies can span values between 10^(38−43) erg s^−1, i.e. covering a huge range of accretion rates. The less efficient systems have been supposed to host ADAF systems without accretion disk. However, the study of the X–CfA sample has also proved the existence of correlations between optical emission lines and X-ray luminosity in the entire range of L_(X) covered by the sample. These relations are similar to the ones obtained if high-L objects are considered. Thus the emission mechanism must be similar in luminous and weak systems. A possible scenario to reconcile these somehow opposite indications is assuming that the ADAF and the two phase mechanism co-exist with different relative importance moving from low-to-high accretion systems (as suggested by the Gamma vs. R relation). The present data require that no abrupt transition between the two regimes is present. As mentioned above, the possible presence of an accretion disk has been tested using samples of nearby Seyfert galaxies. Here, to deeply investigate the flow patterns close to super-massive black-holes, three case study objects for which enough counts statistics is available have been analysed using deep X-ray observations taken with XMM–Newton. The obtained results have shown that the accretion flow can significantly differ between the objects when it is analyzed with the appropriate detail. For instance the accretion disk is well established down to the last stable orbit in a Kerr system for IRAS 13197-1627 where strong light bending effect have been measured. The accretion disk seems to be formed spiraling in the inner ~10-30 gravitational radii in NGC 3783 where time dependent and recursive modulation have been measured both in the continuum emission and in the broad emission line component. Finally, the accretion disk seems to be only weakly detectable in rk 509, with its weak broad emission line component. Finally, blueshifted resonant absorption lines have been detected in all three objects. This seems to demonstrate that, around super-massive black-holes, there is matter which is not confined in the accretion disk and moves along the line of sight with velocities as large as v~0.01-0.4c (whre c is the speed of light). Wether this matter forms winds or blobs is still matter of debate together with the assessment of the real statistical significance of the measured absorption lines. Nonetheless, if confirmed, these phenomena are of outstanding interest because they offer new potential probes for the dynamics of the innermost regions of accretion flows, to tackle the formation of ejecta/jets and to place constraints on the rate of kinetic energy injected by AGNs into the ISM and IGM. Future high energy missions (such as the planned Simbol-X and IXO) will likely allow an exciting step forward in our understanding of the flow dynamics around black holes and the formation of the highest velocity outflows.

Ultrasonic acoustic emissions in drought-stressed trees - more than signals from cavitation?

Ultrasonic acoustic emission (UAE) in trees is often related to collapsing water columns in the flow path as a result of tensions that are too strong (cavitation). However, in a decibel (dB) range below that associated with cavitation, a close relationship was found between UAE intensities and stem radius changes. • UAE was continuously recorded on the stems of mature field-grown trees of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens) at a dry inner-Alpine site in Switzerland over two seasons. The averaged 20-Hz records were related to microclimatic conditions in air and soil, sap-flow rates and stem-radius fluctuations de-trended for growth (ΔW). • Within a low-dB range (27 ± 1 dB), UAE regularly increased and decreased in a diurnal rhythm in parallel with ΔW on cloudy days and at night. These low-dB emissions were interrupted by UAE abruptly switching between the low-dB range and a high-dB range (36 ± 1 dB) on clear, sunny days, corresponding to the widely supported interpretation of UAE as sound from cavitations. • It is hypothesized that the low-dB signals in drought-stressed trees are caused by respiration and/or cambial growth as these physiological activities are tissue water-content dependent and have been shown to produce courses of CO2 efflux similar to our courses of ΔW and low-dB UAE.