Two-Phase Flow In Anode Flow Field Of A Small Direct Methanol Fuel Cell In Different Gravities

An in-situ visualization of two-phase flow inside anode flow bed of a small liquid fed direct methanol fuel cells in normal and reduced gravity has been conducted in a drop tower. The anode flow bed consists of 11 parallel straight channels. The length, width and depth of single channel, which had rectangular cross section, are 48.0, 2.5 and 2.0 mm, respectively. The rib width was 2.0 mm. The experimental results indicated that when the fuel cell orientation is vertical, two-phase flow pattern in anode channels can evolve from bubbly flow in normal gravity into slug flow in microgravity. The size of bubbles in the reduced gravity is also bigger. In microgravity, the bubbles rising speed in vertical channels is obviously slower than that in normal gravity. When the fuel cell orientation is horizontal, the slug flow in the reduced gravity has almost the same characteristic with that in normal gravity. It implies that the effect of gravity on two-phase flow is small and the bubbles removal is governed by viscous drag. When the gas slugs or gas columns occupy channels, the performance of liquid fed direct methanol fuel cells is failing rapidly. It infers that in long-term microgravity, flow bed and operating condition should be optimized to avoid concentration polarization of fuel cells.

Direct observation of adsorption sites of protein impurities and their effects on step advancement of protein crystals

We measured noninvasively step velocities of elementary two-dimensional (2D) islands on {110} faces of tetragonal lysozyme crystals, under various supersaturations, by laser confocal microscopy combined with differential interference contrast microscopy. We studied the correlation between the effects of protein impurities on the growth of elementary steps and their adsorption sites on a crystal surface, using three kinds of proteins: fluorescent-labeled lysozyme (F-lysozyme), covalently bonded dimers of lysozyme (dimer), and a 18 kDa polypeptide (18 kDa). These three protein impurities suppressed the advancement of the steps. However, they exhibited different supersaturation dependencies of the suppression of the step velocities. To clarify the cause of this difference, we observed in situ the adsorption sites of individual molecules of F-lysozyme and fluorescent-labeled dimer (F-dimer) on the crystal surface by single-molecule visualization. We found that F-lysozyme adsorbed preferentially on steps (i.e., kinks), whereas F-dimer adsorbed randomly on terraces. Taking into account the different adsorption sites of F-lysozyme and F-dimer, we could successfully explain the different effects of the impurities on the step velocities. These observations strongly suggest that 18 kDa also adsorbs randomly on terraces. Seikagaku lysozyme exhibited a complex effect that could not alone be explained by the two major impurities (dimer and 18 kDa) present in Seikagaku lysozyme, indicating that trace amounts of other impurities significantly affect the step advancement.

Sistema de comercio electrónico para el sector textil: generar maniquíes 3D a partir de imágenes del sensor Kinect

Este proyecto consiste en analizar la viabilidad técnica un sistema de información para mejorar el comercio electrónico de compra –venta de ropa. El nuevo sistema de comercio electrónico ayudará al usuario a escoger el tamaño de la prenda con más precisión. El sistema consiste en calcular las medidas esenciales del cuerpo del cliente utilizando el dispositivo Kinect. Posteriormente, estas medidas se introducen en el programa Makehuman que genera un maniquí en 3D. Con la idea de que en el futuro se puede utilizar el maniquí para probar virtualmente prendas de vestir, se ha ideado un método, utilizando el programa Blender, que genera ropa en 3D con fotografías de prendas. Se generan dos ejemplos (pantalón y camiseta) para ilustrarlo.

Herramienta de Autor para la Creación de 3D Trackable Model (3DTM)

El presente proyecto describe una herramienta de autor que facilita el tracking sin marcadores de objetos 3D con textura. La herramienta está orientada a la detección de posición mediante un sistema mono-cámara para entornos en los que se tienen modelos creados, como suele ser usual en los proyectos de arquitectura y de ingeniería. La finalidad de la herramienta es la generación de un 3DTM que contiene los puntos de interés del objeto, sus descriptores y sus correspondientes puntos 3D en el modelo, obtenidos a partir de una imagen y un modelo del objeto. De esta forma el 3DTM generado, puede ser usado para el tracking de objetos 3D con textura en aplicaciones de Realidad Aumentada.