82 research outputs found
Vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding process monitoring by means of distributed fibre-optic sensors: a numerical and experimental study
A novel composite manufacturing process monitoring application using fibre-optic (FO) sensors is reported for vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding (VaRTM) with a rigid-closed mould. A fully distributed Rayleigh-Backscattering based load-monitoring approach is demonstrated by numerical modelling and experimental application. Lateral fabric compression is reliably tracked throughout the entire VaRTM process, giving live insights on local pressure distribution, fabric stack compaction and fibre-volume fraction. These parameters have a great influence on the quality of fibre-reinforced composites and real-time tracking of them will significantly improve the quality of the manufactured part, while reducing the number of scraps and destructive testing. The final fibre volume fraction of a medium-sized plate manufactured using industrial VaRTM equipment was successfully predicted based on embedded FO sensor readings only. With a low bend-loss single mode optical fibre sensor being designed for process survivability and forming an integral part of the composite component, it enables a true entire life-cycle monitoring
Saturation properties and incompressibility of nuclear matter: A consistent determination from nuclear masses
Starting with a two-body effective nucleon-nucleon interaction, it is shown
that the infinite nuclear matter model of atomic nuclei is more appropriate
than the conventional Bethe-Weizsacker like mass formulae to extract saturation
properties of nuclear matter from nuclear masses. In particular, the saturation
density thus obtained agrees with that of electron scattering data and the
Hartree-Fock calculations. For the first time using nuclear mass formula, the
radius constant =1.138 fm and binding energy per nucleon = -16.11
MeV, corresponding to the infinite nuclear matter, are consistently obtained
from the same source. An important offshoot of this study is the determination
of nuclear matter incompressibility to be 288 28 MeV using
the same source of nuclear masses as input.Comment: 14 latex pages, five figures available on request ( to appear in Phy.
Rev. C
A Dirac-Hartree-Bogoliubov approximation for finite nuclei
We develop a complete Dirac-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation to the
ground state wave function and energy of finite nuclei. We apply it to
spin-zero proton-proton and neutron-neutron pairing within the
Dirac-Hartree-Bogoliubov approximation (we neglect the Fock term), using a
zero-range approximation to the relativistic pairing tensor. We study the
effects of the pairing on the properties of the even-even nuclei of the
isotopic chains of Ca, Ni and Sn (spherical) and Kr and Sr (deformed), as well
as the =28 isotonic chain, and compare our results with experimental data
and with other recent calculations.Comment: 43 pages, RevTex, 13 figure
Abstracts of the 33rd International Austrian Winter Symposium : Zell am See, Austria. 24-27 January 2018.
Experimental and Numerical Study of Various MT-SOFC Flow Manifold Techniques: Single MT-SOFC Analysis
Standard anode supported micro tubular-solid oxide fuel cell (MT-SOFC) stacks may provide the oxidant, in relation to the fuel, in three different manifold regimes. Firstly,
âco-flowâ involves oxidant outside the MT-SOFC flowing co-linearly in relation to the fuel inside. Secondly, âcounter flowâ involves oxidant outside the MT-SOFC flowing counter-linearly in relation to the fuel inside the MT-SOFC. Finally, âcross-flowâ
involves the oxidant outside the MT-SOFC flowing perpendicular to the fuel flow inside the MT-SOFC. In order to examine the effect of manifold technique on MT-SOFC performance, a combination of numerical simulation and experimental measurements was performed. Furthermore, the cathode current tap location, in relation to the fuel flow,
was also studied. It was found that the oxidant manifold and the location of the cathode
current collection point on the MT-SOFC tested and modeled had negligible effect on the MT-SOFCâs electrical and thermal performance. In this study, a single MT-SOFC was studied in order to establish the measurement technique and numerical simulation implementation
as a prerequisite before further test involving a 7 cell MT-SOFC stack
Gene Expression of Protease Inhibitors in Tomato Plants with Invasion by Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita and Modulation of Their Activity with Salicylic and Jasmonic Acids
The expression of the genes encoding the inhibitors of serine (ISP) and cysteine ââproteinases (ICP) was studied in the roots of tomato plants resistant and susceptible to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita during infection and under the effects of signaling molecules: salicylic (SA) and jasmonic (JA) acids. It was shown that, upon infection, resistant plants are characterized by an increased accumulation of transcripts of the ICP and ISP genes at the stages of penetration and development in the roots, while the level of transcription does not change in susceptible plants. There was a significant decrease in nematode invasion in susceptible plants after treatment with SA or JA compared to untreated plants, which makes it possible to determine the role of the studied proteinase inhibitors in resistance induced by signaling molecules. It was revealed that an increase in expression of the genes of proteinase inhibitors is accompanied by inhibition of the reproductive potential and size of M. incognita females, as well as by a decrease in plant infection
Review of the micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell
Fuel cells are devices that convert chemical energy in hydrogen enriched fuels into electricity electrochemically.
Micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cells (MT-SOFCs), the type pioneered by K. Kendall in the early
1990s, are a variety of SOFCs that are on the scale of millimetres compared to their much larger SOFC
relatives that are typically on the scale of tens of centimetres. The main advantage of the MT-SOFC, over
its larger predecessor, is that it is smaller in size and is more suitable for rapid start up. This may allowthe
SOFC to be used in devices such as auxiliary power units, automotive power supplies, mobile electricity
generators and battery re-chargers.
The following paper is Part I of a two part series. Part I will introduce the reader to the MT-SOFC
stack and its applications, indicating who is researching what in this field and also specifically investigate
the design issues related to multi-cell reactor systems called stacks. Part II will review in detail the
combinations of materials and methods used to produce the electrodes and electrolytes of MT-SOFCâs.
Also the role of modelling and validation techniques used in the design and improvement of the electrodes
and electrolytes will be investigated. A broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines are
involved in a stack design. Scientific and engineering content has been discussed in the areas of thermalself-
sustainability and efficiency, sealing technologies, manifold design, electrical connections and cell
performance optimisation
Intralesional bovine papillomavirus DNA loads reflect severity of equine sarcoid disease
REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Sarcoids are nonmetastasising, yet locally aggressive skin tumours that constitute the most frequent neoplasm in equids. Infection by bovine papillomaviruses types 1 and 2 (BPV-1, BPV-2) has been recognised as major causative factor in sarcoid pathogenesis, but a possible correlation of intralesional virus load with disease severity has not been established thus far. HYPOTHESIS: Given the pathogenic role of BPV-1 and BPV-2 in sarcoid disease, we suggest that intralesional viral DNA concentration may reflect the degree of affection. METHODS: Severity of disease was addressed by recording the tumour growth kinetics, lesion number and tumour type for 37 sarcoid-bearing horses and one donkey. Viral load was estimated via quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) of the E2, E5, L1 and L2 genes from the BPV-1/-2 genome for one randomly selected lesion per horse and correlated with disease severity. RESULTS: Quantitative PCR against E2 identified viral DNA concentrations ranging from 0-556 copies/tumour cell. Of 16 horses affected by quiescent, slowly growing single tumours or multiple mild-type lesions, 15 showed a viral load up to 1.4 copies per cell. In stark contrast, all equids (22/22) bearing rapidly growing and/or multiple aggressive sarcoids had a viral load between 3 and 569 copies per cell. Consistent results were obtained with qPCR against E5, L1 and L2. CONCLUSIONS: While tumours of the same clinical type carried variable virus load, confirming that viral titre does not determine clinical appearance, we identified a highly significant correlation between intralesional viral load and disease severity. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The rapid determination of BPV viral load will give a reliable marker for disease severity and may also be considered when establishing a therapeutic strategy
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