Experiments on and thermodynamic analysis of a turbocharged engine with producer gas as fuel

This article presents the studies conducted on turbocharged producer gas engines designed originally for natural gas (NG) as the fuel. Producer gas, whose properties like stoichiometric ratio, calorific value, laminar flame speed, adiabatic flame temperature, and related parameters that differ from those of NG, is used as the fuel. Two engines having similar turbochargers are evaluated for performance. Detailed measurements on the mass flowrates of fuel and air, pressures and temperatures at various locations on the turbocharger were carried out. On both the engines, the pressure ratio across the compressor was measured to be 1.40 +/- 0.05 and the density ratio to be 1.35 +/- 0.05 across the turbocharger with after-cooler. Thermodynamic analysis of the data on both the engines suggests a compressor efficiency of 70 per cent. The specific energy consumption at the peak load is found to be 13.1 MJ/kWh with producer gas as the fuel. Compared with the naturally aspirated mode, the mass flow and the peak load in the turbocharged after-cooled condition increased by 35 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. The pressure ratios obtained with the use of NG and producer gas are compared with corrected mass flow on the compressor map.

Realistic minimum desorption temperatures and compressor sizing for activated carbon + HFC 134a adsorption coolers

A low thermal diffusivity of adsorption beds induces a large thermal gradient across cylindrical adsorbers used in adsorption cooling cycles. This reduces the concentration difference across which a thermal compressor operates. Slow adsorption kinetics in conjunction with the void volume effect further diminishes throughputs from those adsorption thermal compressors. The problem can be partially alleviated by increasing the desorption temperatures. The theme of this paper is the determination the minimum desorption temperature required for a given set of evaporating/condensing temperatures for an activated carbon + HFC 134a adsorption cooler. The calculation scheme is validated from experimental data. Results from a parametric analysis covering a range of evaporating/condensing/desorption temperatures are presented. It is found that the overall uptake efficiency and Carnot COP characterize these bounds. A design methodology for adsorber sizing is evolved. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contrasting geochemical signatures on land from the Middle and Late Permian extinction events

The end of the Palaeozoic is marked by two mass-extinction events during the Middle Permian (Capitanian) and the Late Permian (Changhsingian). Given similarities between the two events in geochemical signatures, such as large magnitude negative C-13 anomalies, sedimentological signatures such as claystone breccias, and the approximate contemporaneous emplacement of large igneous provinces, many authors have sought a common causal mechanism. Here, a new high-resolution continental record of the Capitanian event from Portal Mountain, Antarctica, is compared with previously published Changhsingian records of geochemical signatures of weathering intensity and palaeoclimatic change. Geochemical means of discriminating sedimentary provenance (Ti/Al, U/Th and La/Ce ratios) all indicate a common provenance for the Portal Mountain sediments and associated palaeosols, so changes spanning the Capitanian extinction represent changes in weathering intensity rather than sediment source. Proxies for weathering intensity chemical index of alteration, W and rare earth element accumulation all decline across the Capitanian extinction event at Portal Mountain, which is in contrast to the increased weathering recorded globally at the Late Permian extinction. Furthermore, palaeoclimatic proxies are consistent with unchanging or cooler climatic conditions throughout the Capitanian event, which contrasts with Changhsingian records that all indicate a significant syn-extinction and post-extinction series of greenhouse warming events. Although both the Capitanian and Changhsingian event records indicate significant redox shifts, palaeosol geochemistry of the Changhsingian event indicates more reducing conditions, whereas the new Capitanian record of reduced trace metal abundances (Cr, Cu, Ni and Ce) indicates more oxidizing conditions. Taken together, the differences in weathering intensity, redox and the lack of evidence for significant climatic change in the new record suggest that the Capitanian mass extinction was not triggered by dyke injection of coal-beds, as in the Changhsingian extinction, and may instead have been triggered directly by the Emeishan large igneous province or by the interaction of Emeishan basalts with platform carbonates.

High Temperatures Result in Smaller Nurseries which Lower Reproduction of Pollinators and Parasites in a Brood Site Pollination Mutualism

In a nursery pollination mutualism, we asked whether environmental factors affected reproduction of mutualistic pollinators, non-mutualistic parasites and seed production via seasonal changes in plant traits such as inflorescence size and within-tree reproductive phenology. We examined seasonal variation in reproduction in Ficus racemosa community members that utilise enclosed inflorescences called syconia as nurseries. Temperature, relative humidity and rainfall defined four seasons: winter; hot days, cold nights; summer and wet seasons. Syconium volumes were highest in winter and lowest in summer, and affected syconium contents positively across all seasons. Greater transpiration from the nurseries was possibly responsible for smaller syconia in summer. The 3-5 degrees C increase in mean temperatures between the cooler seasons and summer reduced fig wasp reproduction and increased seed production nearly two-fold. Yet, seed and pollinator progeny production were never negatively related in any season confirming the mutualistic fig-pollinator association across seasons. Non-pollinator parasites affected seed production negatively in some seasons, but had a surprisingly positive relationship with pollinators in most seasons. While within-tree reproductive phenology did not vary across seasons, its effect on syconium inhabitants varied with season. In all seasons, within-tree reproductive asynchrony affected parasite reproduction negatively, whereas it had a positive effect on pollinator reproduction in winter and a negative effect in summer. Seasonally variable syconium volumes probably caused the differential effect of within-tree reproductive phenology on pollinator reproduction. Within-tree reproductive asynchrony itself was positively affected by intra-tree variation in syconium contents and volume, creating a unique feedback loop which varied across seasons. Therefore, nursery size affected fig wasp reproduction, seed production and within-tree reproductive phenology via the feedback cycle in this system. Climatic factors affecting plant reproductive traits cause biotic relationships between plants, mutualists and parasites to vary seasonally and must be accorded greater attention, especially in the context of climate change.

Design, analysis and implementation of a versatile low level radio frequency system for accelerating cavities

179 p.

Habitat availability and heterogeneity and the Indo-Pacific warm pool as predictors of marine species richness in the tropical Indo-Pacific

Range overlap patterns were observed in a dataset of 10,446 expert-derived marine species distribution maps, including 8,295 coastal fishes, 1,212 invertebrates (crustaceans and molluscs), 820 reef-building corals, 50 seagrasses and 69 mangroves. Distributions of tropical Indo-Pacific shore fishes revealed a concentration of species richness in the northern apex and central region of the Coral Triangle epicenter of marine biodiversity. This pattern was supported by distributions of invertebrates and habitat-forming primary producers. Habitat availability, heterogeneity and sea surface temperatures were highly correlated with species richness across spatial grains ranging from 23,000 to 5,100,000 km2 with and without correction for autocorrelation. The consistent retention of habitat variables in our predictive models supports the area of refuge hypothesis which posits reduced extinction rates in the Coral Triangle. This does not preclude support for a center of origin hypothesis that suggests increased speciation in the region may contribute to species richness. In addition, consistent retention of sea surface temperatures in models suggests that available kinetic energy may also be an important factor in shaping patterns of marine species richness. Kinetic energy may hasten rates of both extinction and speciation. The position of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool to the east of the Coral Triangle in central Oceania and a pattern of increasing species richness from this region into the central and northern parts of the Coral Triangle suggests peripheral speciation with enhanced survival in the cooler parts of the Coral Triangle that also have highly concentrated available habitat. These results indicate that conservation of habitat availability and heterogeneity is important to reduce extinction and that changes in sea surface temperatures may influence the evolutionary potential of the region.

Juvenile salmonid distribution, growth, condition, origin, and environmental and species associations in the Northern California Current

Information is summarized on juvenile salmonid distribution, size, condition, growth, stock origin, and species and environmental associations from June and August 2000 GLOBEC cruises with particular emphasis on differences related to the regions north and south of Cape Blanco off Southern Oregon. Juvenile salmon were more abundant during the August cruise as compared to the June cruise and were mainly distributed northward from Cape Blanco. There were distinct differences in distribution patterns between salmon species: chinook salmon were found close inshore in cooler water all along the coast and coho salmon were rarely found south of Cape Blanco. Distance offshore and temperature were the dominant explanatory variables related to coho and chinook salmon distribution. The nekton assemblages differed significantly between cruises. The June cruise was dominated by juvenile rockfishes, rex sole, and sablefish, which were almost completely absent in August. The forage fish community during June comprised Pacific herring and whitebait smelt north of Cape Blanco and surf smelt south of Cape Blanco. The fish community in August was dominated by Pacific sardines and highly migratory pelagic species. Estimated growth rates of juvenile coho salmon were higher in the GLOBEC study area than in areas farther north. An unusually high percentage of coho salmon in the study area were precocious males. Significant differences in growth and condition of juvenile coho salmon indicated different oceanographic environments north and south of Cape Blanco. The condition index was higher in juvenile coho salmon to the north but no significant differences were found for yearling chinook salmon. Genetic mixed stock analysis indicated that during June, most of the Chinook salmon in our sample originated from rivers along the central coast of Oregon. In August, chinook salmon sampled south of Cape Blanco were largely from southern Oregon and northern California; whereas most chinook salmon north of Cape Blanco were from the Central Valley in California.

Molecular phylogeography and population structure of a mid-elevation montane frog Leptobrachium ailaonicum in a fragmented habitat of southwest China

Leptobrachium ailaonicum is a vulnerable anuran restricted to a patchy distribution associated with small mountain streams surrounded by forested slopes at mid-elevations (approximately 2000-2600 m) in the subtropical Mount Wuliang and Mount Ailao ranges in southwest China (Yunnan Province) and northern Vietnam. Given high habitat specificity and lack of suitable habitat in lower elevations between these ranges, we hypothesized limited gene flow between populations throughout its range. We used two mitochondrial genes to construct a phylogeographic pattern within this species in order to test our hypothesis. We also examined whether this phylogeographic pattern is a response to past geological events and/or climatic oscillations. A total of 1989 base pairs were obtained from 81 individuals of nine populations yielding 51 unique haplotypes. Both Bayesian and maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses revealed four deeply divergent and reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA lineages that approximately correspond to four geographical regions separated by deep river valleys. These results suggest a long history of allopatric separation by vicariance. The distinct geographic distributions of four major clades and the estimated divergence time suggest spatial and temporal separations that coincide with climatic and paleogeographic changes following the orogeny and uplift of Mount Ailao during the late Miocene to mid Pliocene in southwest China. At the southern distribution, the presence of two sympatric yet differentiated clades in two areas are interpreted as a result of secondary contact between previously allopatric populations during cooler Pleistocene glacial cycles. Analysis of molecular variance indicates that most of the observed genetic variation occurs among the four regions implying long-term interruption of maternal gene flow, suggesting that L ailaonicum may represent more than one distinct species and should at least be separated into four management units corresponding to these four geographic lineages for conservation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thermal stratification produced by plumes and jets in enclosed spaces

The airflow and thermal stratification produced by a localised heat source located at floor level in a closed room is of considerable practical interest and is commonly referred to as a 'filling box'. In rooms with low aspect ratios H/R ≲ 1 (room height H to characteristic horizontal dimension R) the thermal plume spreads laterally on reaching the ceiling and a descending horizontal 'front' forms separating a stably stratified, warm upper region from cooler air below. The stratification is well predicted for H/R ≲ 1 by the original filling box model of Baines and Turner (J. Fluid. Mech. 37 (1968) 51). This model represents a somewhat idealised situation of a plume rising from a point source of buoyancy alone-in particular the momentum flux at the source is zero. In practical situations, real sources of heating and cooling in a ventilation system often include initial fluxes of both buoyancy and momentum, e.g. where a heating system vents warm air into a space. This paper describes laboratory experiments to determine the dependence of the 'front' formation and stratification on the source momentum and buoyancy fluxes of a single source, and on the location and relative strengths of two sources from which momentum and buoyancy fluxes were supplied separately. For a single source with a non-zero input of momentum, the rate of descent of the front is more rapid than for the case of zero source momentum flux and increases with increasing momentum input. Increasing the source momentum flux effectively increases the height of the enclosure, and leads to enhanced overturning motions and finally to complete mixing for highly momentum-driven flows. Stratified flows may be maintained by reducing the aspect ratio of the enclosure. At these low aspect ratios different long-time behaviour is observed depending on the nature of the heat input. A constant heat flux always produces a stratified interior at large times. On the other hand, a constant temperature supply ultimately produces a well-mixed space at the supply temperature. For separate sources of momentum and buoyancy, the developing stratification is shown to be strongly dependent on the separation of the sources and their relative strengths. Even at small separation distances the stratification initially exhibits horizontal inhomogeneity with localised regions of warm fluid (from the buoyancy source) and cool fluid. This inhomogeneity is less pronounced as the strength of one source is increased relative to the other. Regardless of the strengths of the sources, a constant buoyancy flux source dominates after sufficiently large times, although the strength of the momentum source determines whether the enclosure is initially well mixed (strong momentum source) or stably stratified (weak momentum source). © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of computational aeroacoustics for application in electronics cooler noise

A review of computational aeroacoustics (CCA) was made for application in electronics cooler noise. Computational aeroacoustics encompasses all numerical methods where the purposes is to predict the noise emissions from a simulated flow. Numerical simulation of the flow inside and around heat sinks and fans can lead to a prediction of the emitted noise while they are still in the design phase. Direct CCA is theoretically the best way to predict flow-based acoustic phenomena numerically. It is typically used only for low-frequency sound prediction. The boundary element method offers low computational cost and does not use a computational grid, but instead use vortex-surface calculations to determine tonal noise. Axial fans are commonly used to increase the airflow and thus the heat transfer over the heat sinks within the computer cases. Very detailed source simulations in the fan and heat sink region coupled with the use of analogy methods could result in excellent simulation results with a reasonable computational effort.

Modeling study to compare the flow and heat transfer characteristics of low-power hydrogen, nitrogen and argon arc-heated thrusters

A modelling study is performed to compare the plasma °ow and heat transfer char- acteristics of low-power arc-heated thrusters (arcjets) for three di®erent propellants: hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The all-speed SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the governing equa- tions, which take into account the e®ects of compressibility, Lorentz force and Joule heating, as well as the temperature- and pressure-dependence of the gas properties. The temperature, veloc- ity and Mach number distributions calculated within the thruster nozzle obtained with di®erent propellant gases are compared for the same thruster structure, dimensions, inlet-gas stagnant pressure and arc currents. The temperature distributions in the solid region of the anode-nozzle wall are also given. It is found that the °ow and energy conversion processes in the thruster nozzle show many similar features for all three propellants. For example, the propellant is heated mainly in the near-cathode and constrictor region, with the highest plasma temperature appear- ing near the cathode tip; the °ow transition from the subsonic to supersonic regime occurs within the constrictor region; the highest axial velocity appears inside the nozzle; and most of the input propellant °ows towards the thruster exit through the cooler gas region near the anode-nozzle wall. However, since the properties of hydrogen, nitrogen and argon, especially their molecular weights, speci¯c enthalpies and thermal conductivities, are di®erent, there are appreciable di®er- ences in arcjet performance. For example, compared to the other two propellants, the hydrogen arcjet thruster shows a higher plasma temperature in the arc region, and higher axial velocity but lower temperature at the thruster exit. Correspondingly, the hydrogen arcjet thruster has the highest speci¯c impulse and arc voltage for the same inlet stagnant pressure and arc current. The predictions of the modelling are compared favourably with available experimental results.

HIRFL-CSR commissioning in 2006 and 2007

HIRFL-CSR, a new heavy ion cooler-storage-ring system at IMP, had been in commissioning since the beginning of 2006. In the two years of 2006 and 2007 the CSR commissioning was finished, including the stripping injection (STI), electron-cooling with hollow electron beam, C-beam stacking with the combination of STI and e-cooling, the wide energy-range synchrotron ramping from 7 MeV/u to 1000 MeV/u by changing the RF harmonic-number at mid-energy, the multiple multi-turn injection (MMI), the beam accumulation with MMI and e-cooling for heavy-ion beams of Ar, Kr and Xe, the fast extraction from CSRm and single-turn injection to CSRe, beam stacking in CSRe and the RIBs mass-spectrometer test with the isochronous mode in CSRe by using the time-of-flight method.