173 research outputs found
A case for introducing thermal-design optimisation using excel spreadsheet
Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.Thermal-design optimisation is an iterative process which involves the evaluation of many thermo-physical properties that vary with temperature and/or pressure. Therefore, suitable modelling software, such as Engineering Equation Solver (EES) or Mathcad, is usually used. However, such proprietary applications may not be available to many educational institutions in developing countries. This paper presents a case for introducing thermal-design optimisation to engineering students by using Microsoft's Excel as a modelling platform. The design case demonstrates how the principles of thermofluids and economics can be applied so as to find the optimum diameter for an air-conditioning duct. The paper describes the solution steps and provides all the equations needed to solve the case with Microsoft Excel. The paper also highlights the importance of using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) for developing user-defined functions when repetitive or complex calculations are met. VBA is used to develop a general-purpose function that can be used by Excel users for linear interpolation of tabulated data that depend on a single variable.cf201
Validation of the thermal equilibrium assumption in periodic free convection in porous channel using Darcy-Brinkman Forchheimer model
Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.Examination of the thermal equilibrium assumption in the periodic natural convection channel flow is investigated numerically. The periodic disturbance in the free convection flow is due to a periodic thermal disturbance imposed on the channel walls. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is used to describe the flow inside the porous channel. A scripted finite element model builder and numerical solver, FlexPDE, is used to solve the equations. Five dimensionless parameters are found to have significant effect on the local thermal equilibrium assumption. These parameters are thermal conductivity, volumetric Nusselt number, thermal diffusivity ratio, amplitude of thermal disturbance and frequency of the thermal disturbance. The effects of these parameters on the local thermal equilibrium assumption are investigated. The volumetric Nusselt number is found to have the most significant effect on this assumption.dc201
Nuttier Bubbles
We construct new explicit solutions of general relativity from double
analytic continuations of Taub-NUT spacetimes. This generalizes previous
studies of 4-dimensional nutty bubbles. One 5-dimensional locally
asymptotically AdS solution in particular has a special conformal boundary
structure of . We compute its boundary stress tensor and
relate it to the properties of the dual field theory. Interestingly enough, we
also find consistent 6-dimensional bubble solutions that have only one timelike
direction. The existence of such spacetimes with non-trivial topology is
closely related to the existence of the Taub-NUT(-AdS) solutions with more than
one NUT charge. Finally, we begin an investigation of generating new solutions
from Taub-NUT spacetimes and nuttier bubbles. Using the so-called Hopf duality,
we provide new explicit time-dependent backgrounds in six dimensions.Comment: 32 pages, 1 figure; v.3. typos corrected. Matches the published
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Ricci flat rotating black branes with a conformally invariant Maxwell source
We consider Einstein gravity coupled to an gauge field for which the
density is given by a power of the Maxwell Lagrangian. In -dimensions the
action of Maxwell field is shown to enjoy the conformal invariance if the power
is chosen as . We present a class of charge rotating solutions in
Einstein-conformally invariant Maxwell gravity in the presence of a
cosmological constant. These solutions may be interpreted as black brane
solutions with inner and outer event horizons or an extreme black brane
depending on the value of the mass parameter. Since we are considering power of
the Maxwell density, the black brane solutions exist only for dimensions which
are multiples of four. We compute conserved and thermodynamics quantities of
the black brane solutions and show that the expression of the electric field
does not depend on the dimension. Also, we obtain a Smarr-type formula and show
that these conserved and thermodynamic quantities of black branes satisfy the
first law of thermodynamics. Finally, we study the phase behavior of the
rotating black branes and show that there is no Hawking--Page phase transition
in spite of conformally invariant Maxwell field.Comment: 13 pages, one figur
PGFinder, a novel analysis pipeline for the consistent, reproducible, and high-resolution structural analysis of bacterial peptidoglycans
Many software solutions are available for proteomics and glycomics studies, but none are ideal for the structural analysis of peptidoglycan (PG), the essential and major component of bacterial cell envelopes. It icomprises glycan chains and peptide stems, both containing unusual amino acids and sugars. This has forced the field to rely on manual analysis approaches, which are time-consuming, labour-intensive, and prone to error. The lack of automated tools has hampered the ability to perform high-throughput analyses and prevented the adoption of a standard methodology. Here, we describe a novel tool called PGFinder for the analysis of PG structure and demonstrate that it represents a powerful tool to quantify PG fragments and discover novel structural features. Our analysis workflow, which relies on open-access tools, is a breakthrough towards a consistent and reproducible analysis of bacterial PGs. It represents a significant advance towards peptidoglycomics as a full-fledged discipline
Charged rotating dilaton black branes in AdS universe
We present the metric for the -dimensional charged rotating dilaton
black branes with cylindrical or toroidal horizons in the background of anti-de
Sitter spacetime. We find the suitable counterterm which removes the
divergences of the action in the presence of the dilaton potential in all
higher dimensions. We plot the Penrose diagrams of the spacetime and reveal
that the spacetime geometry crucially modifies in the presence of the dilaton
field. The conserved and thermodynamic quantities of the black branes are also
computed.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Gen. Relat. Gravi
Association of statin use in older people primary prevention group with risk of cardiovascular events and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Background Current evidence from randomized controlled trials on statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older people, especially those aged > 75 years, is still lacking. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to extend the current evidence about the association of statin use in older people primary prevention group with risk of CVD and mortality. Methods PubMed, Scopus, and Embase were searched from inception until March 18, 2021. We included observational studies (cohort or nested case-control) that compared statin use vs non-use for primary prevention of CVD in older people aged >= 65 years; provided that each of them reported the risk estimate on at least one of the following primary outcomes: all cause-mortality, CVD death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. Risk estimates of each relevant outcome were pooled as a hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random-effects meta-analysis model. The quality of the evidence was rated using the GRADE approach. Results Ten observational studies (9 cohorts and one case-control study; n = 815,667) fulfilled our criteria. The overall combined estimate suggested that statin therapy was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.86 [95% CI 0.79 to 0.93]), CVD death (HR: 0.80 [95% CI 0.78 to 0.81]), and stroke (HR: 0.85 [95% CI 0.76 to 0.94]) and a non-significant association with risk of MI (HR 0.74 [95% CI 0.53 to 1.02]). The beneficial association of statins with the risk of all-cause mortality remained significant even at higher ages (> 75 years old; HR 0.88 [95% CI 0.81 to 0.96]) and in both men (HR: 0.75 [95% CI: 0.74 to 0.76]) and women (HR 0.85 [95% CI 0.72 to 0.99]). However, this association with the risk of all-cause mortality remained significant only in those with diabetes mellitus (DM) (HR 0.82 [95% CI 0.68 to 0.98]) but not in those without DM. The level of evidence of all the primary outcomes was rated as "very low." Conclusions Statin therapy in older people (aged >= 65 years) without CVD was associated with a 14%, 20%, and 15% lower risk of all-cause mortality, CVD death, and stroke, respectively. The beneficial association with the risk of all-cause mortality remained significant even at higher ages (> 75 years old), in both men and women, and in individuals with DM, but not in those without DM. These observational findings support the need for trials to test the benefits of statins in those above 75 years of age.Cardiolog
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