Implementation of Neural Network Predictive Controller for a Supersonic Separator

By the end of this research, it is proven that a Neural Network Predictive Controller is able to keep the system in the desired operating region and reduce the ripples on the output therefore increasing the stability of the system

Implementation of Neural Network Predictive Controller for a Supersonic Separator

By the end of this research, it is proven that a Neural Network Predictive Controller is able to keep the system in the desired operating region and reduce the ripples on the output therefore increasing the stability of the system

Review of low-cost sensors for the ambient air monitoring of benzene and other volatile organic compounds

This report presents a literature review of the state of the art of sensor based monitoring of air quality of benzene and other volatile organic compounds. Combined with information provided by stakeholders, manufacturers and literature, the review considered commercially available sensors, including, PID based sensors, semiconductor (resistive gas sensor) and portable on-line measuring devices (sensor arrays). The bibliographic collection includes the following topics: sensor description, field of application in fixed, mobile, indoor and ambient air monitoring, range of concentration levels and limit of detection in air, model descriptions of the phenomena involved in the sensor detection process, gaseous interference selectivity of sensors in complex VOC matrix, validation data in lab experiments and under field conditions.JRC.C.5-Air and Climat

Proceeding Of Mechanical Engineering Research Day 2016 (MERD’16)

This Open Access e-Proceeding contains a compilation of 105 selected papers from the Mechanical Engineering Research Day 2016 (MERD’16) event, which is held in Kampus Teknologi, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) - Melaka, Malaysia, on 31 March 2016. The theme chosen for this event is ‘IDEA. INSPIRE. INNOVATE’. It was gratifying to all of us when the response for MERD’16 is overwhelming as the technical committees received more than 200 submissions from various areas of mechanical engineering. After a peer-review process, the editors have accepted 105 papers for the e-proceeding that cover 7 main themes. This open access e-Proceeding can be viewed or downloaded at www3.utem.edu.my/care/proceedings. We hope that these proceeding will serve as a valuable reference for researchers. With the large number of submissions from the researchers in other faculties, the event has achieved its main objective which is to bring together educators, researchers and practitioners to share their findings and perhaps sustaining the research culture in the university. The topics of MERD’16 are based on a combination of fundamental researches, advanced research methodologies and application technologies. As the editor-in-chief, we would like to express our gratitude to the editorial board and fellow review members for their tireless effort in compiling and reviewing the selected papers for this proceeding. We would also like to extend our great appreciation to the members of the Publication Committee and Secretariat for their excellent cooperation in preparing the proceeding of MERD’16

1997 Research Reports: NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

This document is a collection of technical reports on research conducted by the participants in the 1997 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This was the 13th year that a NASA/ASEE program has been conducted at KSC. The 1997 program was administered by the University of Central Florida in cooperation with KSC. The program was operated under the auspices of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) with sponsorship and funding from the Education Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., and KSC. The KSC Program was one of nine such Aeronautics and Space Research Programs funded by NASA in 1997. The NASA/ASEE Program is intended to be a two-year program to allow in-depth research by the university faculty member. The editors of this document were responsible for selecting appropriately qualified faculty to address some of the many problems of current interest to NASA/KSC

Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technologies

This edited volume is a collection of 12 publications from esteemed research groups around the globe. The articles belong to the following broad categories: biological treatment process parameters, sludge management and disinfection, removal of trace organic contaminants, removal of heavy metals, and synthesis and fouling control of membranes for wastewater treatment

Optimising the Operation of Renewable Energy-Driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination

The integration of Renewable Energy (RE) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) is essential for sustainable water production. However, it requires large-scale RO plants to accommodate fluctuating power inputs. Variable operation of RO plants by matching their load to available power, without battery back-up, has only been implemented for small-scale systems. This thesis presents a variable operation control procedure suitable for operating large-scale RO systems using RE. The procedure consists of two techniques, i.e., variable-speed operation and modular operation, for matching the RO load to varying degrees of RE fluctuation. The solutions presented were developed using a pilot RO plant that delivers similar performance to large-scale systems to allow implementation to such scale. Wind energy was used as a representation of an intermittent and fluctuating RE source. For variable-speed operation, multiple strategies were explored for varying the operating parameters according to available power. An advanced control system based on Model Predictive Control was designed and compared to a conventional Proportional-Integral-Differential controller. For modular operation, neural networks were developed to provide long- and short-term wind speed prediction for scheduling the RO units operation. The results showed that operation at variable recovery with constant brine flowrate delivered the lowest specific energy consumption and widest operation range for a system with an isobaric pressure exchanger. For a 10% step-change in permeate flowrate, the MPC controller improved the settling time by 47%. The long-term wind speed prediction was used to estimate the number of operational RO units for a day ahead for three random days, reaching a correlation of R2 0.78, 0.64, and 0.79 with the actual wind speed. This allowed scheduling the RO units to operate with a smooth operation profile that avoids unexpected shutdowns. By combining the optimised variable-speed and modular operations techniques, 90.9%, 91.5% and 91.4% of the available wind energy was utilised for Days 1, 2 and 3, which led to a high cumulative daily permeate production of 78 m3, 91.5 m3 and 123.4 m3, respectively. The solutions developed in this thesis showed that RO systems can be powered efficiently by RE using variable operation. This is fundamental for implementing this technology on a large-scale and decarbonising water production

Scalable mRNA machine for regulatory approval of variable scale between 1000 clinical doses to 10 million manufacturing scale doses

The production of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and other biologics is performed primarily in batch mode. This results in larger equipment, leaning/sterilization volumes, and dead times compared to any continuous approach. Consequently, production throughput is lower and capital costs are relatively high. Switching to continuous production thus reduces the production footprint and also lowers the cost of goods (COG). During process development, from the provision of clinical trial samples to the production plant, different plant sizes are usually required, operating at different operating parameters. To speed up this step, it would be optimal if only one plant with the same equipment and piping could be used for all sizes. In this study, an efficient solution to this old challenge in biologics manufacturing is demonstrated, namely the qualification and validation of a plant setup for clinical trial doses of about 1000 doses and a production scale-up of about 10 million doses. Using the current example of the Comirnaty BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, the cost-intensive in vitro transcription was first optimized in batch so that a yield of 12 g/L mRNA was achieved, and then successfully transferred to continuous production in the segmented plug flow reactor with subsequent purification using ultra- and diafiltration, which enables the recycling of costly reactants. To realize automated process control as well as real-time product release, the use of appropriate process analytical technology is essential. This will also be used to efficiently capture the product slug so that no product loss occurs and contamination from the fill-up phase is <1%. Further work will focus on real-time release testing during a continuous operating campaign under autonomous operational control. Such efforts will enable direct industrialization in collaboration with appropriate industry partners, their regulatory affairs, and quality assurance. A production scale-operation could be directly supported and managed by data-driven decisions

Gasification for Practical Applications

Although there were many books and papers that deal with gasification, there has been only a few practical book explaining the technology in actual application and the market situation in reality. Gasification is a key technology in converting coal, biomass, and wastes to useful high-value products. Until renewable energy can provide affordable energy hopefully by the year 2030, gasification can bridge the transition period by providing the clean liquid fuels, gas, and chemicals from the low grade feedstock. Gasification still needs many upgrades and technology breakthroughs. It remains in the niche market, not fully competitive in the major market of electricity generation, chemicals, and liquid fuels that are supplied from relatively cheap fossil fuels. The book provides the practical information for researchers and graduate students who want to review the current situation, to upgrade, and to bring in a new idea to the conventional gasification technologies