Analytical solutions for movement of cold water thermal front in a heterogeneous geothermal reservoir

In the present study an analytical model has been presented to describe the transient temperature distribution and advancement of the thermal front generated due to the reinjection of heat depleted water in a heterogeneous geothermal reservoir. One dimensional heat transport equation in porous media with advection and longitudinal heat conduction has been solved analytically using Laplace transform technique in a semi infinite medium. The heterogeneity of the porous medium is expressed by the spatial variation of the flow velocity and the longitudinal effective thermal conductivity of the medium. A simpler solution is also derived afterwards neglecting the longitudinal conduction depending on the situation where the contribution to the transient heat transport phenomenon in the porous media is negligible. Solution for a homogeneous aquifer with constant values of the rock and fluid parameters is also derived with an aim to compare the results with that of the heterogeneous one. The effect of some of the parameters involved, on the transient heat transport phenomenon is assessed by observing the variation of the results with different magnitudes of those parameters. Results prove the heterogeneity of the medium, the flow velocity and the longitudinal conductivity to have great influence and porosity to have negligible effect on the transient temperature distribution. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Delamination Tolerance in Composites under Fatigue Loading

Delamination is one of the most commonly occurring defects in laminated composite structures. Under operating fatigue loads on the laminate this delamination could grow and totally delaminate certain number of layers from the base laminate. This will result in loss of both compressive residual strength and buckling margins available. In this paper, geometrically non-linear analysis and evaluation of Strain Energy Release Rates using MVCCI technique is presented. The problems of multiple delamination, effect of temperature exposure and delamination from pin loaded holes are addressed. Numerical results are presented to draw certain inferences of importance to design of high technology composite structures such as aircraft wing.

Structural, thermal and electrical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/CaCu3Ti4O12 composite sheets fabricated via melt mixing

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) composites were fabricated via melt mixing followed by hot pressing technique. These were characterized using X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetric, thermo mechanical, differential scanning calorimetry, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Impedance analyser for their structural, thermal and dielectric properties. Composites were found to have better thermal stability than that of pure PMMA. However, there was no significant difference in the glass transition (T (g) ) temperature between the polymer and the composite. The appearance of additional vibrational frequencies in the range 400-600 cm(-1) in FTIR spectra indicated a possible interaction between PMMA and CCTO. The composite, with 38 vol% of CCTO (in PMMA), exhibited remarkably low dielectric loss at high frequencies and the low-frequency relaxation is attributed to the interfacial polarization/MWS effect. The origin of AC conductivity particularly in the high-frequency region was attributed to the electronic polarization.

The upper Bay of Bengal salinity structure in a high-resolution model

Salinity in the Bay of Bengal is highly heterogeneous, with extremely fresh waters found at the surface in the Northern part of the basin, and saltier waters at subsurface as well as to the south. This paper investigates the seasonal structure of sea surface salinity of the Bay in a regional high-resolution model forced by ERA-Interim reanalysis and various precipitation products. Surface circulation is believed to drive the spreading of northern Bay of Bengal fresh waters to the rest of the Indian Ocean. We first present a series of experiments to infer the sensitivity of modeled circulation to various numerical choices. Surface circulation is found to be sensitive to the horizontal resolution of the model, with the 1/12 degrees version appearing much more realistic than the 1/4 degrees version. The sidewall boundary condition is also drastically influencing the characteristics of the western boundary current simulated. We then investigate the sensitivity of the salinity response to the various precipitation products. We observe that ERA-Interim excess precipitation induces a fresh bias in the surface salinity response. Spaceborne precipitation products are more satisfactory. We then identify the pathways of the northern Bay freshwater mass, based on passive tracers experiments. Our model suggests that over timescales of a few months, vertical exchanges between the upper fresh layer and the underlying saltier layer appear to be the main export pathway for the freshwater. The horizontal circulation within the mixed layer also acts to convey fresh waters out of the Bay at these timescales, but in a lesser quantity compared to the vertical export. Beyond its intrinsic interest for the understanding of Bay of Bengal physics, this study highlights the need for a careful design of any realistic numerical model, in three key aspects: the choice of the resolution of the model, the choice of the sub-grid scale parameterizations, and the choice of the forcing fluxes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A simple model for spatial disaggregation of evaporative fraction: Comparative study with thermal sharpened land surface temperature data over India

[1] Evaporative fraction (EF) is a measure of the amount of available energy at the earth surface that is partitioned into latent heat flux. The currently operational thermal sensors like the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on satellite platforms provide data only at 1000 m, which constraints the spatial resolution of EF estimates. A simple model (disaggregation of evaporative fraction (DEFrac)) based on the observed relationship between EF and the normalized difference vegetation index is proposed to spatially disaggregate EF. The DEFrac model was tested with EF estimated from the triangle method using 113 clear sky data sets from the MODIS sensor aboard Terra and Aqua satellites. Validation was done using the data at four micrometeorological tower sites across varied agro-climatic zones possessing different land cover conditions in India using Bowen ratio energy balance method. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) of EF estimated at 1000 m resolution using the triangle method was 0.09 for all the four sites put together. The RMSE of DEFrac disaggregated EF was 0.09 for 250 m resolution. Two models of input disaggregation were also tried with thermal data sharpened using two thermal sharpening models DisTrad and TsHARP. The RMSE of disaggregated EF was 0.14 for both the input disaggregation models for 250 m resolution. Moreover, spatial analysis of disaggregation was performed using Landsat-7 (Enhanced Thematic Mapper) ETM+ data over four grids in India for contrasted seasons. It was observed that the DEFrac model performed better than the input disaggregation models under cropped conditions while they were marginally similar under non-cropped conditions.

Phase equilibria in the system Sm-Rh-O and thermodynamic and thermal studies on SmRhO3

Using isothermal equilibration, phase relations are established in the system Sm-Rh-O at 1273 K. SmRhO3 with GdFeO3-type perovskite structure is found to be the only ternary phase. Solid-state electrochemical cells, containing calcia-stabilized zirconia as an electrolyte, are used to measure the thermodynamic properties of SmRhO3 formed from their binary component oxides Rh2O3 (ortho) and Sm2O3 (C-type and B-type) in two different temperature ranges. Results suggest that C-type Sm2O3 with cubic structure transforms to B-type Sm2O3 with monoclinic structure at 1110 K. The standard Gibbs energy of transformation is . Standard Gibbs energy of formation of SmRhO3 from binary component oxides Rh2O3 and Sm2O3 with B-type rare earth oxide structure can be expressed as . The decomposition temperature of SmRhO3 estimated from the extrapolation of electrochemical data is 1665 (+/- 2) K in air and 1773 (+/- 3) K in pure oxygen. Temperature-composition diagrams at constant oxygen pressures are constructed for the system Sm-Rh-O. Employing the thermodynamic data for SmRhO3 from emf measurement and auxiliary data for other phases from the literature, oxygen potential-composition phase diagram and 3-D chemical potential diagram for the system Sm-Rh-O at 1273 K are developed.

Upper bound solution for pullout capacity of vertical anchors in sand using finite elements and limit analysis

The horizontal pullout capacity of vertical anchors embedded in sand has been determined by using an upper bound theorem of the limit analysis in combination with finite elements. The numerical results are presented in nondimensional form to determine the pullout resistance for various combinations of embedment ratio of the anchor (H/B), internal friction angle (ϕ) of sand, and the anchor-soil interface friction angle (δ). The pullout resistance increases with increases in the values of embedment ratio, friction angle of sand and anchor-soil interface friction angle. As compared to earlier reported solutions in literature, the present solution provides a better upper bound on the ultimate collapse load.

Mixed Convection with Thermal Radiation in a Vertical Pipe with Partially Heated or Cooled Wall

The effect of partial heating/cooling of the wall on the mixed convection with thermal radiation in incompressible laminar pipe flow has been investigated. The gas is assumed to be gray, emitting and absorbing with constant thermophysical properties except the density variation in the buoyancy term. The partial heating/cooling of the wall has significant effect on the Nusselt number. The radiation parameter increases the heat transfer, but reduces the effect of buoyancy. The heat transfer also increases with the optical thickness until a certain value, beyond which it decreases.

Growth of ZnS Nanostructures in High Vacuum by Thermal Evaporation

ZnS nanostructures were grown on Si substrates in high vacuum by modified thermal evaporation technique. Morphology, chemical composition and structural properties of grown ZnS nanostructures were studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscope (TEM). SEM studies showed that morphology of the grown structures varies with incident flux and source temperature. TEM studies showed that grown nanostructures are single crystalline in nature without structural defects such as stacking faults and twins. No catalytic particle was included in this growth process, and hence these micro and nanostructures were assumed to grow by VS mechanism.

Self Catalytic Growth of Indium Oxide (In2O3) Nanowires by Resistive Thermal Evaporation

Self catalytic growth of Indium Oxide (In2O3) nanowires (NWs) have been grown by resistive thermal evaporation of Indium (In) in the presence of oxygen without use of any additional metal catalyst. Nanowires growth took place at low substrate temperature of 370-420 degrees C at an applied current of 180-200 A to the evaporation boat. Morphology, microstructures, and compositional studies of the grown nanowires were performed by employing field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) respectively. Nanowires were uniformly grown over the entire Si substrate and each of the nanowire is capped with a catalyst particle at their end. X-ray diffraction study reveals the crystalline nature of the grown nanowires. Transmission electron microscopy study on the nanowires further confirmed the single crystalline nature of the nanowires. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis on the nanowires and capped nanoparticle confirmed that Indium act as catalyst for In2O3 nanowires growth. A self catalytic Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) growth mechanism was responsible for the growth of In2O3 nanowires. Effect of oxygen partial pressure variation and variation of applied currents to the evaporation boat on the nanowires growth was systematically studied. These studies concluded that at oxygen partial pressure in the range of 4 x 10(-4), 6 x 10(-4) mbar at applied currents to the evaporation boat of 180-200 A were the best conditions for good nanowires growth. Finally, we observed another mode of VLS growth along with the standard VLS growth mode for In2O3 nanowires similar to the growth mechanism reported for GaAs nanowires.

REDUCING COMPUTATIONAL EFFORT IN SOLVING GEOMECHANICS PROBLEMS WITH UPPER BOUND FINITE ELEMENTS LIMIT ANALYSIS AND LINEAR OPTIMIZATION

This paper presents a simple technique for reducing the computational effort while solving any geotechnical stability problem by using the upper bound finite element limit analysis and linear optimization. In the proposed method, the problem domain is discretized into a number of different regions in which a particular order (number of sides) of the polygon is chosen to linearize the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. A greater order of the polygon needs to be selected only in that region wherein the rate of the plastic strains becomes higher. The computational effort required to solve the problem with this implementation reduces considerably. By using the proposed method, the bearing capacity has been computed for smooth and rough strip footings and the results are found to be quite satisfactory.

Novel spherical hierarchical structures of GdOOH and Eu:GdOOH: rapid microwave-assisted synthesis through self-assembly, thermal conversion to oxides, and optical studies

We report a novel, rapid, and low-temperature method for the synthesis of undoped and Eu-doped GdOOH spherical hierarchical structures, without using any structure-directing agents, through the microwave irradiation route. The as-prepared product consists of nearly monodisperse microspheres measuring about 1.3 mu m in diameter. Electron microscopy reveals that each microsphere is an assembly of two-dimensional nanoflakes (about 30 nm thin) which, in turn, result from the assembly of crystallites measuring about 9 nm in diameter. Thus, a three-level hierarchy can be seen in the formation of the GdOOH microspheres: from nanoparticles to 2D nanoflakes to 3D spherical structures. When doped with Eu3+ ions, the GdOOH microspheres show a strong red emission, making them promising candidates as phosphors. Finally, thermal conversion at modest temperatures leads to the formation of corresponding oxide structures with enhanced luminescence, while retaining the spherical morphology of their oxyhydroxide precursor.

Formation and Thermal Stability of Gold-Silica Nanohybrids: Insight into the Mechanism and Morphology by Electron Tomography

Gold-silica hybrids are appealing in different fields of applications like catalysis, sensorics, drug delivery, and biotechnology. In most cases, the morphology and distribution of the heterounits play significant roles in their functional behavior. Methods of synthesizing these hybrids, with variable ordering of the heterounits, are replete; however, a complete characterization in three dimensions could not be achieved yet. A simple route to the synthesis of Au-decorated SiO2 spheres is demonstrated and a study on the 3D ordering of the heterounits by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography is presentedat the final stage, intermediate stages of formation, and after heating the hybrid. The final hybrid evolves from a soft self-assembled structure of Au nanoparticles. The hybrid shows good thermal stability up to 400 degrees C, beyond which the Au particles start migrating inside the SiO2 matrix. This study provides an insight in the formation mechanism and thermal stability of the structures which are crucial factors for designing and applying such hybrids in fields of catalysis and biotechnology. As the method is general, it can be applied to make similar hybrids based on SiO2 by tuning the reaction chemistry as needed.

Nanodiamond-Based Thermal Fluids

Dispersions of nanodiamond (average size similar to 6 nm) within dielectric insulator mineral oil are reported for their enhanced thermal conductivity properties and potential applications in thermal management. Dynamic and kinematic viscosities-very important parameters in thermal management by nanofluids-are investigated. The dependence of the dynamic viscosity is well-described by the theoretical predictions of Einstein's model. The temperature dependence of the dynamic viscosity obeys an Arrhenius-like behavior, where the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor have an exponential dependence on the filler fraction of nanodiamonds. An enhancement in thermal conductivity up to 70% is reported for nanodiamond based thermal fluids. Additional electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis support the experimental data and their interpretation.

Thermal conduction and multiphase gas in cluster cores

We examine the role of thermal conduction and magnetic fields in cores of galaxy clusters through global simulations of the intracluster medium (ICM). In particular, we study the influence of thermal conduction, both isotropic and anisotropic, on the condensation of multiphase gas in cluster cores. Previous hydrodynamic simulations have shown that cold gas condenses out of the hot ICM in thermal balance only when the ratio of the cooling time (t(cool)) and the free-fall time (t(ff)) is less than approximate to 10. Since thermal conduction is significant in the ICM and it suppresses local cooling at small scales, it is imperative to include thermal conduction in such studies. We find that anisotropic (along local magnetic field lines) thermal conduction does not influence the condensation criterion for a general magnetic geometry, even if thermal conductivity is large. However, with isotropic thermal conduction cold gas condenses only if conduction is suppressed (by a factor less than or similar to 0.3) with respect to the Spitzer value.