Valve malfunction detection apparatus

A detection system is provided for sensing a malfunction of a valve having an outlet connected to an end of a first pipe through which pressurized fluid may be flowed in a downstream direction away from the valve. The system includes a bypass pipe connected at its opposite ends to the first pipe and operative to bypass a portion of the fluid flow therethrough around a predetermined section thereof. A housing is interiorly divided by a flexible diaphragm into first and second opposite chambers which are respectively communicated with the first pipe section and the bypass pipe, the diaphragm being spring-biased toward the second chamber. The diaphragm housing cooperates with check valves and orifices connected in the two pipes to create and maintain a negative pressure in the first pipe section in response to closure of the valve during pressurized flow through the first pipe. A pressure switch senses the negative pressure and transmits a signal indicative thereof to a computer. Upon cessation of the signal while the valve is still closed, the computer responsively generates a signal indicating that the valve, or another portion of the detection system, is leaking

Renewable energy technology options for Parihaka Papakāinga : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Engineering in Renewable Energy Systems at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

The Parihaka Papakāinga Trust - the administering body of communally owned Māori land at Parihaka, Aotearoa New Zealand - initiated university research into sustainable energy practices and technologies within a context of community and infrastructure development. As one part of this wider research topic, various renewable energy conversion technologies were compared in terms of cost, effect on increasing the energy independence of the papakāinga (excluding transport, covered elsewhere), and reducing papakāinga greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Consumption of electricity, LPG and firewood was assessed in 14 study buildings over 12 months. Energy demands both now and also for hypothetical scenarios 20 years in the future were proposed, taking into account energy efficiency opportunities, low energy housing design and potential electric vehicle charging loads from parallel research. The local solar, wind and hydro potentials were assessed over 12 months, and estimations of the long-term resources were made using long-term reference data from the region. An estimation was also made of land area requirements to support a short rotation coppicing (SRC) fuelwood plantation. The technical and economic performance of a range of electricity and heat generation technologies was modelled, both on an individual building basis and on a community-wide basis. The technologies with the largest expected economic benefits (after energy efficiency and building design) were a grid-connected community solar PV array with output available for consumption by as much of the papakāinga as possible, and wood-burners for space and water heating in new homes. However further study is required into the design and costs of a feasible metering and billing solution to allocate the benefits of community owned distributed electricity generation. The technologies with the largest expected effect on energy independence include combining solar water heaters with wood-burners and wetbacks for space and water heating, and producing firewood locally with an SRC plantation. Based on the household study, transport behaviours or technologies are expected to have a larger effect on GHG emissions than papakāinga infrastructure. Recommendations include a billing/metering feasibility study potentially followed by a community PV array, an SRC trial, and solar water heaters and wood-burners with water heating for new homes

Flight velocity effects on exhaust noise of a wedge nozzle installed on an underwing nacelle on an F-106 airplane

It is important to know whether the relatively high takeoff speeds of supersonic transport aircraft will change the exhaust noise levels of nozzles from those measured at static conditions. To gain some insight into this question, a modified F-106B aircraft was used to conduct flyover and static tests on a wedge nozzle. Flight velocity had an adverse effect on exhaust noise when compared with static results at the same relative jet velocity but a beneficial effect when compared with static results at the same absolute jet velocity. The wedge nozzle, which has a two-dimensional wedge surface rather than an axisymmetric plug surface, had a higher peak flyover noise level than the plug nozzle

Effect of lip and centerbody geometry on aerodynamic performance of inlets for tilting-nacelle VTOL aircraft

Inlets for tilt-nacelle VTOL aircraft must operate over a wide range of incidence angles and engine weight flows without internal flow separation. Wind tunnel tests of scale model inlets were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of three geometric variables to provide this capability. Increasing the lip contraction ratio increased the separation angle at all engine weight flows. The optimum axial location of the centerbody occurred when its leading edge was located just downstream of the inlet lip. Compared with a short centerbody, the optimum location of the centerbody resulted in an increase in separation angle at all engine weight flows. Decreasing the lip major-to-minor-axis ratio increased the separation angle at the lower engine weight flows

Suppressor nozzle and airframe noise measurements during flyover of a modified F106B aircraft with underwing nacelles

The effect of flight velocity on the jet noise and thrust of a 104-tube suppressor nozzle was investigated using an F-106B delta wing aircraft modified to carry two underwing nacelles each containing a turbojet engine. The nozzle was mounted behind one of the nacelles. Flight velocity had a large adverse effect on thrust and a small adverse effect on suppression when correlated with relative jet velocity. The clean airframe noise of the aircraft was measured at Mach 0.4 and was compared with that predicted from an empirical expression. The 83 db measured value was considerably below the predicted value

65+ Membership Scheme

This report shares the journey of three partners' experiment with digital technology to address societal challenges linked to ageing and social isolation. In recent years artsdepot has seen enormous changes to its business model driven by the advance of digital communication tools, rapidly increasing use of social media, and changing consumer behaviours. The project team felt that digital innovation was typically aimed at the young but wondered if there was greater potential to increase attendance and sales while also addressing social isolation through creating digital innovations with older people. A range of partners worked on the project: artsdepot (arts partner and project lead) is a multi-art form venue based in North Finchley welcoming 130,000 audience members annually. DigiLab (research partner) is an R&D laboratory based at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. Ingelby (tech partner) is a digital agency specialising in app building and mobile app development, as well as mobile website design , e-commerce development , customised CRM systems and creative digital media. This project aimed to explore digital technologies that could help create increased levels of arts attendance among older people by identifying barriers and designing digital solutions. artsdepot felt that by enabling increased arts attendance and therefore facilitating opportunities to socialise, they might help establish new friendships while providing enriching creative experiences. Additionally, the team felt there was an additional benefit in terms of demonstrating an economic model for engaging older audiences. Having learnt in the application phase that two thirds of older people have more disposable income than any other age group, artsdepot felt that if it could address other barriers to attendance, it could also improve ticket sales and build a case for increased focus on older audiences

Intra-Firm Human Capital Externalities in Tunisia

In this case-study, we use matched worker-firm Tunisian data to elicit the roles of intra-firm human capital and modern firm features in worker remunerations. We show that the estimated return to education in wage equations is not modified when replacing in the list of regressors the firm dummies, representing observed and unobserved firm heterogeneity, by the first three factors of a Principal Component Analysis of the observed firm characteristics. These factors can be interpreted as: the activity sector, the intra-firm human capital density and the modernity of the firm. These results constitute an interesting argument in favour of the presence of intra-firm human capital externalities. Moreover, the estimated education coefficient does not change when the three factors are replaced by three surrogate variables, respectively: the textile industry dummy, the intra-firm mean education, and the firm’s age.economic development, rate of returns, human capital, wage differentials, intra-firm knowledge externalities, Tunisia.

Variations in mid-ocean ridge CO2 emissions driven by glacial cycles

The geological record shows links between glacial cycles and volcanic productivity, both subaerially and at mid-ocean ridges. Sea-level-driven pressure changes could also affect chemical properties of mid-ocean ridge volcanism. We consider how changing sea-level could alter the CO2 emissions rate from mid-ocean ridges, on both the segment and global scale. We develop a simplified transport model for a highly incompatible element through a homogenous mantle; variations in the melt concentration the emission rate of the element are created by changes in the depth of first silicate melting. The model predicts an average global mid-ocean ridge CO2 emissions-rate of 53 Mt/yr, in line with other estimates. We show that falling sea level would cause an increase in ridge CO2 emissions with a lag of about 100 kyrs after the causative sea level change. The lag and amplitude of the response are sensitive to mantle permeability and plate spreading rate. For a reconstructed sea-level time series of the past million years, we predict variations of up to 12% (7 Mt/yr) in global mid-ocean ridge CO2 emissions. The magnitude and timing of the predicted variations in CO2 emissions suggests a potential role for ridge carbon emissions in glacial cycles