Design and fabrication of permeability apparatus for determination of permeability of porous ceramics

Permeability measurement determines the pore size and pore connectivity is an important characterization for porous materials. For the measurement of permeability highly sophisticated & expensive instrument are commercially available for research purpose but for undergraduate level research the purchase of this equipment is an expensive affair though the working principle of the apparatus is very simple. So an attempt has been made to design and fabricate a permeability measurement set up for undergraduate level research work at very low cost using Darcy’s equation as basic principle. Initial sketches and designs were drawn manually on the basis of text book diagrams and research papers. Subsequently the designs were analysed with respect to ease of fabrication, cost and adaptability to various size of samples. Finally the final design was selected out of 3 designs and the three dimensional design of the final design was made using CATIA (version 5) software, after which the equipment was fabricated using brass. Brass is used for its easy machinability and long life. The measured permeability showed similar trend for similar sample measured by other equipment (Mercury porosimetry)

Adsorption of Methylene Blue and Phenol On Activated Carbon Prepared from Fox Nutshell by K2CO3 Activator

Water pollution occurs due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Polluted water comes from different industries like petroleum, coal processing, textile, pharmaceutical, food processing, plastic, pesticide, paper and pulp etc. are highly toxic, and effect to the living being and our environment. There are many toxic compounds present in the polluted water like inorganic and organic compounds. Methylene blue and phenol are considered as matter of interest to remove because both are toxic in nature. Various treatment processes used for the removal of phenolic compounds and dyes are adsorption, microbial degradation, wet air oxidation, ion exchange etc. Low cost adsorbent such as activated carbons are best option for removal of methylene blue and phenol from aqueous effluents. Activated carbons were prepared from Fox nutshell as an agricultural waste by chemical activation method using K2CO3 activating agent. Preparation of activated carbons were carried out at different K2CO3/Fox nutshell ratios, carbonization temperatures and activation time, which had significant effect on the performances of activated carbons like BET surface area. Specific surface area of activated carbon was maximum as 1236 m2/g at 800 ºC with activation duration of 1 h and at a K2CO3/Fox nutshell ratios mass ratio of 0.5. The porous properties, surface microstructure in addition to the surface functional groups of the prepared carbons were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm, SEM and FTIR, respectively. The results show that both the carbonisation temperature and impregnation ratio noticeably affected the BET surface area as well as micro and mesopore volumes. Batch studies of methylene blue dye and phenol adsorption were conducted to evaluate the effect of various experimental parameters like pH, temperature, adsorbent dose, and contact time effect. The equilibrium adsorption data of methylene blue and phenol on adsorbent were analysed by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The isotherm data are well described by theFreundlich isotherm model for methylene Blue and phenol adsorption. Inter-particle diffusion, Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second order models were used to analyze the kinetic data obtained at different concentrations of both adsorbates. The adsorption kinetics was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model for both MB and phenol solutions. For methylene blue and phenol maximum adsorption capacity are found to 499.17 mg/g and 29.52 mg/g, respectively at 30 ºC. Thermodynamic parameters such as the standard Gibbs free energy (ΔG), enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS) obtained in this study indicated that the adsorption of methylene blue and phenol by prepared activated carbon is spontaneous, endothermic and entropy increase in the degree of freedom (or disorder)

Experimental Studies on Partial Substitution of Diesel With Bioethanol (Derived From Madhuca Indica Flowers) Using Different Techniques

Use of renewable energy from biomass sources for CI engines can greatly reduce the air pollution, and dependency on the import of crude oil in a country. In the recent days, the use of ethanol for automotive power applications has gained more importance, as it can be used in both SI and CI engines and reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Different feedstocks have been explored for production of ethanol in a large quantity. In this research study, bioethanol from the Madhuca Indica flowers as an alternative fuel for compression ignition (CI) engines has been proposed. As a first step of the research study, bioethanol obtained from the Madhuca Indica flowers was characterized for its suitability as an alternative fuel for CI engines. For this purpose, the presence of group compounds in bioethanol were identified by using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), and analysed. Also, the physico-chemical properties of bioethanol were determined and compared with those of the diesel properties. Seven modules of work have been carried out in this research work to establish the results of using bioethanol as an alternative fuel in a CI engine. For this purpose, a single cylinder, four stroke, air cooled, DI diesel engine was used for this investigation. Bioethanol has a low cetane number and thus it cannot be directly used in CI engines. Therefore, initially in the first four modules, bioethanol was used with diesel in the engine by adopting four techniques viz. i) in the form of emulsion, ii) addition of an ignition improver to an optimum bioethanol-diesel emulsion, iii) bioethanol-DEE dual fuel mode, and iv) diesel-bioethanol dual fuel mode (fumigation). The experimental results of the combustion, performance and emissions of the engine run on bioethanol in these techniques were evaluated, and compared with those of diesel operation in the same engine. In the first module of work, bioethanol was emulsified with diesel in a step of 5% to 15% by volume with the help of a surfactant Span 80. The stability of the emulsion was checked for 15 days under normal atmospheric conditions. The bioethanol-diesel emulsion was designated as BMDE5, BMDE10 and BMDE15, where the numeric values were the volume percentages of bioethanol. Up to 15% bioethanol in the emulsion was used for the experimental investigation by considering the miscibility, minimum calorific value and cetane number of fuel which would not affect the performance and combustion parameters of the engine. The experiments were carried out with the three different bioethanol-diesel emulsions in the diesel engine and results were compared with the diesel data. The results ii indicated that the ignition delay of engine run on the bioethanol-diesel emulsions was found to be longer by about 1 to 2 °CA than that of the diesel operation at full load. The maximum cylinder pressure of the engine run on the bioethanol-diesel emulsions was higher by about 2% to 3% than that of diesel at full load. The BMDE15 emulsion gave a better performance and emission than that of BMDE5, BMDE10 and diesel. The useful work and brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) for BMDE15 was observed to be higher by about 6% and 27% respectively, at full load. The nitric oxide (NO), smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were observed to be lower with a maximum reduction of 24%, 21% and 6% respectively, compared to those of diesel at full load. But, a marginal increase of hydrocarbon (HC) emission was observed, with the BMDE15 operation than that of diesel operation. In order to reduce the ignition delay of the engine run on the optimum bioethanol-diesel emulsion (BMDE15), an ignition improver diethyl ether (DEE) was added to it in a step of 0.5% by volume and designated as DED1%, DED1.5%, DED2% and DED2.5%. The higher percentage of DEE was considered up to 2.5% for its vapour lock problem. The DED1.5% was considered to be an optimum blend which lowered the noisy operation and ignition delay of the diesel engine. At full load, the ignition delay of engine operated with DED1.5% was reduced by about 1°CA. The maximum cylinder pressure and BSEC were observed to increase by about 1.2% and 4% respectively, compared to that of diesel, at full load. The NO and smoke emissions were lower by about 11.3% and 13.7% respectively, compared to that of diesel at full load. Further, as a third technique, bioethanol was directly used in the diesel engine with the help of an ignition improver. DEE with a flow rate of 60 g/h, 120 g/h, 180 g/h and 240 g/h was injected at 10cm distance of the intake manifold of the engine. The necessary arrangement was made for DEE injection. The upper and lower limits of the DEE flow rate were considered by the audible knocking and misfire of the engine. The bioethanol operation with the 180 g/h flow rate of DEE exhibited a shorter ignition delay, and higher cylinder pressure compared to those of 60 g/h, 120 g/h, 240 g/h flow rate of DEE and diesel at full load. The NO and smoke emissions were found to be lower by about 22.2% and 16.6% respectively, compared to those of diesel at full load. In the fourth technique, bioethanol was fumigated at different flow rates viz., 0.24 kg/h, 0.48 kg/h, 0.96 kg/h and 1.22 kg/h with the help of electronically controlled injector at the intake manifold of the engine, whereas diesel was injected into the cylinder as a pilot fuel. The results revealed that, bioethanol fumigation at the flow rate of 0.48 kg/h and the equivalence ratio of 0.88 gave an increase in thermal efficiency of about 3% than that of diesel. At full load, the ignition delay was found to be longer by about 3 °CA and the maximum cylinder pressure was increased by about 2.1% compared to that diesel. The volumetric efficiency and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) was found to be lower by about 6% and 5.2% respectively, than those of diesel at full load. The NO and smoke emissions were observed to be lower by about 24.2% and 5.5% respectively, than those of diesel operation at full load. The BMDE15 emulsion was chosen as the best among all the above mentioned techniques in terms of performance and emission point of view, when bioethanol was used with diesel. The spray pattern of the BMDE15 emulsion was studied with the help of a MATLAB programme in the fifth module of the work. Also the experimental results were validated with the help of the MATLAB programme and compared with those of diesel. From the analysis, it was proved that the spray profile of BMDE15 was found to be better compared to that of diesel at full load. The deviation between the simulated and experimental results of cylinder peak pressure, NO and smoke emissions for BMDE15 was found to be 3%, 5% and 4% respectively at full load. Bioethanol has a poor lubricity in comparison with diesel that resulted in a power drop. In the sixth module, to improve the lubricity property of BMDE15, bioethanol was added with the volume percentage of 5% in each step up to 15%. The BEBDD10 blend improved the lubricity of the fuel without much affecting the performance and emissions of the engine. The power output of the engine run on BEBDD10 was found to be increased by about 2% compared to that of the BMDE15 operation at full load. The NO and smoke emissions were observed to be lower by about 4% and 21% compared to that of diesel at full load. In the last module of the work, a short term endurance test was carried out; when the engine was run on both the BMDE15 and BEBDD10 fuel for 100 h. The carbon deposits, engine wear and change in the lubricating oil properties were analysed in both the cases. The decrease in the carbon deposit on the cylinder head, piston crown and nozzle tip were measured by about 40%, 38% and 25% respectively, with the BEBDD10 operation in comparison with the diesel operation. The wear in the fuel injection pump components such as plunger, pump barrel, pinion, and spring were found to be lower by about 0.4%, 0.32%, 1.7% and 1.5% respectively, with the BEBDD10 blend in comparison with BMDE15. With the BEBDD10 operation, the amount of metal debris such as Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Al, Pb, Ni and Cr were observed to be lower by about 13.6%, 24.5%, 25.7%, 14.6%, 11.7%, 17.3%, 15.1% and 36% respectively, compared to those of BMDE15. By overall comparison, it is concluded that the BEBDD10 operation seems to give better lubricating properties and lower material wear than those of diesel operation

Farmer’s Producer Organisation (FPO) – Collective Steps towards Lucrative Agriculture

Farmer producer organizations are realized as a beneficial structural mechanism for assembling farmers’ collective assist motion geared toward enhancing their very own monetary and social state of affairs and that in their communities. Such organizations have been given the impression to have the capacity to create assets from their associates. They could work at incomparable ranges from the nearby to the worldwide. Many government organizations and NGOs have been seeking to make farmers into specific groups and combine them into the improvement procedure through actively involving them in switch of generation, manufacturing and marketing, making plans, enforcing and tracking of various tasks on rural improvement, agriculture and allied quarter improvement, herbal resource management etc. For building a sustainable FPO, congenial ecosystem is desirable, besides policy reforms predominantly in the system of agricultural marketing. Some of the good ecosystems include the contract farming, production, agri-logistics, policy environment, market and price risk mitigation, licensing, infrastructure arrangements, compliances, etc. FPOs have become one of the effective pathway to address constraints of agriculture sector. There is a necessity for identifying the suitable support system with proper technical guidance with workable and scalable business models. Mainly identified clusters to be scaled up in producer company requirements to be economically reinforced right from the period of community mobilization and inception

Study on error in space speed prediction

In the “study on error in space speed prediction” data are collected from different road section of the Rourkela steel city, Odisha.Radar gun is used for the determination of the time mean speed. Video camera analysis is done for the determination of the space mean speed where time mean speed is observed. Road sections are taken from 20m to 2m with an interval of 2m for the space mean speed. Data are analysed by the keeping the time mean speed constant then error in space mean speed with respect to time mean speed is observed along the road section from 2m to 20m with an interval of 2m.It is observed that error is larger in short distance but it decreases with increase in distance

Performance Study of Nano-Scale Transistor with Conventional Transistor

According to Moore‟s Law, the no of transistors in an IC chip doubles every 18 months. This leads in increase in power density. Hence in modern power circuits, the main factor of the circuit efficiency is power efficiency. Due to scaling, leakage power accounts for an increasingly large portion of the total power consumption in deep submicron technologies. In this article, we proposed a methodology to find the problems occurring while scaling it into small size with some factor. We have simulated the inverter circuit using CMOS in MATLAB, P-Spice (ICs used BSH107, BSH207) and nano-CMOS using T-Spice where we can vary the physical dimensions of the MOSFET. The outputs were observed and the time delay was calculated. The above results showed that, as we go on reducing the size, the performance enhances. Due to some limitations, the CMOS were facing some of the problems like Draininduced barrier lowering (DIBL), Velocity Saturation, Punch through, Oxide Breakdown, Channel length modulation. Hence due to the above factors, FinFET technology has proposed as an alternative to deep submicron bulk CMOS. FinFET is likely to meet the performance requirements in the sub-20nm gate length regime. FinFET will replace the traditional MOSFET due to its better performance in sub 20nm regime and also it has excellent control over the problems faced by the Traditional CMOS

Study and analysis of three phase multilevel inverter

The present project deals with study and analysis of three phase multilevel inverters and their different topologies and configurations. The main purpose of our study is to study the modulation techniques and compare them with each other analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. Their applications have been analyzed according to their functioning such as the cascaded inverter for example could also serve as a rectifier/charger for the batteries of an electric vehicle while the vehicle was connected to an ac supply. In our thesis, the three main multi-level inverters studied are cascading H bridge, diode clamped and flying capacitor structure. The term multilevel converter is utilized to refer to a power electronic circuit that could operate in an inverter or rectifier mode. One first impression of a multilevel power converter is that the large number of switches may lead to complex pulse-width modulation (PWM) switching algorithms. However, early developments in this area demonstrated the relatively straightforward nature of multilevel PWM. Our project presents the fundamental methods as well as reviews some novel research. The methods are divided into the traditional voltagesource and current-regulated methods. Some discrete current-regulated methods are presented herein, but due to their nature, the harmonic performance is not as good as that of voltage-source methods. Voltage-source methods also more easily lend themselves to digital signal processor (DSP) or programmable logic device (PLD) implementation. Although we have discussed numerous topologies and modulation methods, several more can be found. An additional goal of this project is to introduce concepts related to reducing the number of isolated voltage sources and sensors. This can be important in the high power quality cascaded multilevel inverters which require several voltage sources and knowledge of the dc voltage levels