Extruder for food product (otak–otak) with heater and roll cutter

Food extrusion is a form of extrusion used in food industries. It is a process by which a set of mixed ingredients are forced through an opening in a perforated plate or die with a design specific to the food, and is then cut to a specified size by blades [1]. Summary of the invention principal objects of the present invention are to provide a machine capable of continuously producing food products having an’ extruded filler material of meat or similarity and an extruded outer covering of a moldable food product, such as otak-otak, that completely envelopes the filler material

Hardware-In-the-Loop operations with an emulator rig for SOFC hybrid systems

This paper shows the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) technique developed for the complete emulation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) based hybrid systems. This approach is based on the coupling of an emulator test rig with a real-time software for components which are not included in the plant. The experimental facility is composed of a T100 microturbine (100 kW electrical power size) modified for the connection to an SOFC emulator device. This component is composed of both anodic and cathodic vessels including also the anodic recirculation system which is carried out with a single stage ejector, driven by an air flow in the primary duct. However, no real stack material was installed in the plant. For this reason, a real-time dynamic software was developed in the Matlab-Simulink environment including all the SOFC system components (the fuel cell stack with the calculation of the electrochemical aspects considering also the real losses, the reformer, and a cathodic recirculation based on a blower, etc.). This tool was coupled with the real system utilizing a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) data exchange approach (the model receives flow data from the plant at the inlet duct of the cathodic vessel, while it is able to operate on the turbine changing its set-point of electrical load or turbine outlet temperature). So, the software is operated to control plant properties to generate the effect of a real SOFC in the rig. In stand-alone mode the turbine load is changed with the objective of matching the measured Turbine Outlet Temperature (TOT) value with the calculated one by the model. In grid-connected mode the software/hardware matching is obtained through a direct manipulation of the TOT set-point. This approach was essential to analyze the matching issues between the SOFC and the micro gas turbine devoting several tests on critical operations, such as start-up, shutdown and load changes. Special attention was focused on tests carried out to solve the control system issues for the entire real hybrid plant emulated with this HIL approach. Hence, the innovative control strategies were developed and successfully tested considering both the Proportional Integral Derivative and advanced approaches. Thanks to the experimental tests carried out with this HIL system, a comparison between different control strategies was performed including a statistic analysis on the results The positive performance obtainable with a Model Predictive Control based technique was shown and discussed. So, the HIL system presented in this paper was essential to perform the experimental tests successfully (for real hybrid system development) without the risks of destroying the stack in case of failures. Mainly surge (especially during transient operations, such as load changes) and other critical conditions (e.g. carbon deposition, high pressure difference between the fuel cell sides, high thermal gradients in the stack, excessive thermal stress in the SOFC system components, etc.) have to be carefully avoided in complete plants

Integrated Thermal Systems and Controls Modelling for AUTO Mode Simulation and Optimization

Virtual product development has become the preferred approach for vehicle A/C system development. The advantages provided by virtual modelling compared to traditional approach are accelerated development pace and reduced cost. The thesis focuses on virtual modelling of the A/C system on a SUV vehicle based on experimental data. A virtual model of the A/C system is constructed and calibrated in Simcenter Amesim. The model includes a vapour-compression refrigeration cycle and a cabin air model. The components are modelled and calibrated based on supplier data. The two thermal systems interact thermally at the evaporator level. The cabin air blower unit with a PI controller and a small DC motor is also modelled in MATLAB/Simulink. The virtual thermal model is able to simulate the cabin air temperature development during High Ambient AUTO mode drive cycle. The controlled DC motor system tracks reference speed to provide adequate air flow for the cabin. The virtual models can be used for A/C system and components performance analysis and optimization. The modelling process provides deeper understanding on thermal and control systems design

Multivariable robust control of a simulated hybrid solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine plant

This work presents a systematic approach to the multivariable robust control of a hybrid fuel cell gas turbine plant. The hybrid configuration under investigation built by the National Energy Technology Laboratory comprises a physical simulation of a 300kW fuel cell coupled to a 120kW auxiliary power unit single spool gas turbine. The public facility provides for the testing and simulation of different fuel cell models that in turn help identify the key difficulties encountered in the transient operation of such systems. An empirical model of the built facility comprising a simulated fuel cell cathode volume and balance of plant components is derived via frequency response data. Through the modulation of various airflow bypass valves within the hybrid configuration, Bode plots are used to derive key input/output interactions in transfer function format. A multivariate system is then built from individual transfer functions, creating a matrix that serves as the nominal plant in an Hinfinity robust control algorithm. The controller\u27s main objective is to track and maintain hybrid operational constraints in the fuel cell\u27s cathode airflow, and the turbo machinery states of temperature and speed, under transient disturbances. This algorithm is then tested on a Simulink/MatLab platform for various perturbations of load and fuel cell heat effluence.;As a complementary tool to the aforementioned empirical plant, a nonlinear analytical model faithful to the existing process and instrumentation arrangement is evaluated and designed in the Simulink environment. This parallel task intends to serve as a building block to scalable hybrid configurations that might require a more detailed nonlinear representation for a wide variety of controller schemes and hardware implementations

Investigation of vapor injection heat pump system with a flash tank utilizing R410A and low-GWP refrigerant R32

Vapor injection technique has proven to be effective in improving heat pump system performance, especially for cooling application at high ambient and heating application at low ambient temperature conditions. Recent research on vapor injection technique has been mostly focused on the internal heat exchanger cycle and flash tank cycle. The flash tank cycle typically shows better performance than the internal heat exchanger cycle. However, the flash tank cycle control strategy is not yet clearly defined. Improper system control strategy would result in undesirable amount of liquid refrigerant injected to the compressor or poor system performance. In this research work, a novel cycle control strategy for a residential R-410A vapor injection flash tank heat pump system was developed and experimentally investigated. The proposed cycle control strategy utilizes an electronic expansion valve (EEV) coupled with a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for the upper-stage expansion and a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) for the lower-stage expansion, and applies a small electric heater in the vapor injection line to introduce superheat to the injected vapor thus providing a control signal to the upper-stage EEV. The proposed control strategy functions effectively for both transient and steady-state operating conditions. As global warming has raised more critical concerns in recent years, refrigerants with high global warming potentials (GWP) are facing the challenges of being phased out. R410A, with a GWP of 2,088, has been widely used in residential air-conditioners and heat pump systems. A potential substitute for R410A is R32, which has a GWP of 675. This research work also investigates the performance difference using R410A and R32 in a vapor-injected heat pump system. A drop-in test was performed using R32 in a heat pump system that is designed to utilize R410A, for both cooling and heating conditions. Through experimentation, it was found that there was improvement for capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) using R32, as compared to an identical cycle using R410A. The compressor, heat exchangers and two-stage vapor injection cycle have been modeled and validated against experimental data to facilitate an optimization study. Heat exchangers were optimized using 5 mm copper tubes and result in significant cost reduction while maintaining the same capacity. Compressor cooling was investigated to decrease the high compressor discharge temperature for R32

Advanced control system for optimal filtration in submerged anaerobic MBRs (SAnMBRs)

The main aim of this study was to develop an advanced controller to optimise filtration in submerged anaerobic MBRs (SAnMBRs). The proposed controller was developed, calibrated and validated in a SAnMBR demonstration plant fitted with industrial-scale hollow-fibre membranes with variable influent flow and load. This 2-layer control system is designed for membranes operating sub-critically and features a lower layer (on/off and PID controllers) and an upper layer (knowledge-based controller). The upper layer consists of a MIMO (multiple-input-multiple-output) control structure that regulates the gas sparging for membrane scouring and the frequency of physical cleaning (ventilation and back flushing). The filtration process is monitored by measuring the fouling rate on-line. This controller demonstrated its ability to keep fouling rates low (close to 0 mbar mm(-1)) by applying sustainable gas sparging intensities (approx. 0.23 Nm(3) h(-1) m(-2)). It also reduced the downtimes needed for ventilation and back-flushing (less than 2% of operating time).This research has been supported by the Spanish Research Foundation (CICYT Projects CTM2008-06809-C02-01 and CTM2008-06809-C02-02, and MICINN FPI Grant BES-2009-023712) and Generalitat Valenciana (Projects GVA-ACOMP2010/130 and GVA-ACOMP2011/182), which are gratefully acknowledged.Robles Martínez, Á.; Ruano García, MV.; Ribes Bertomeu, J.; Ferrer, J. (2013). Advanced control system for optimal filtration in submerged anaerobic MBRs (SAnMBRs). Journal of Membrane Science. 430:330-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2012.11.078S33034143

Vehicle HVAC system modeling and controlling

HVAC systems have been developed and improved according to thermal control assessment needs. There is a wide application range in which these kind of system are used depending on the particular objective: human thermal comfort assessment, electronics cooling, chemical processes thermal control, etc. It has been thanks to the continuous improvement development as well as the new technology trends that these systems has become essential for many applications. In order to increase the driving range of electric vehicle, while maintaining thermal comfort inside the passenger cabin, it is necessary to design a control system that simultaneously and optimally synthesizes multiple control actions of the vehicle HVAC system, while taking into account various constraints imposed by system HW and system performance requirements. The traditional approach for vehicle thermal development relies strongly on experimentation and expertise. A virtual vehicle can be modeled to accelerate the control design phase allowing to explore virtual, but realistic, driving scenarios and the operation limits in a safer manner. In the context of an automotive product development loop, this project is started with the aim of modeling an actual HVAC system by means of the Heat Balance Method from scratch, based on already analyzed and modeled HVAC architectures found in the literature. This project also aims to ease the control design phase by providing some real-time simulation tools to expand the possible applications of the results obtained here

Control System Based on Anode Offgas Recycle for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System

The conflicting operation objectives between rapid load following and the fuel depletion avoidance as well as the strong interactions between the thermal and electrical parameters make the SOFC system difficult to control. This study focuses on the design of the decoupling control for the thermal and electrical characteristics of the SOFC system through anode offgas recycling (AOR). The decoupling control system can independently manipulate the thermal and electrical parameters, which interact with one another in most cases, such as stack temperatures, burner temperature, system current, and system power. Under the decoupling control scheme, the AOR is taken as a manipulation variable. The burner controller maintains the burner temperature without being affected by abrupt power change. The stack temperature controller properly coordinates with the burner temperature controller to independently modulate the stack thermal parameters. For the electrical problems, the decoupling control scheme shows its superiority over the conventional controller in alleviating rapid load following and fuel depletion avoidance. System-level simulation under a power-changing case is performed to validate the control freedom between the thermal and electrical characteristics as well as the stability, efficiency, and robustness of the novel system control scheme

Increasing Cyber Resiliency of Industrial Control Systems

Industrial control systems (ICS) are designed to be resilient, capable of recovering from process faults and failures with limited impact to operations. Current ICS resiliency strategies use redundant PLCs. However, these redundant PLCs, being of similar make and model, can be exploited by the same cyber attack, defeating the ICS\u27s resiliency strategy. This research proposes a resiliency strategy for ICS that employs an active defense technique to remove the cyber common cause failure. The resiliency of the active defense strategy is compared to traditional ICS resiliency by implementing both strategies in a semi-simulated wastewater treatment plant aeration basin that experiences a cyber attack. The active defense technique was shown to maintain effective treatment of the wastewater through the cyber attack where the traditional implementation allowed a process disruption that prevented the effective treatment of the wastewater