Application of CMC materials into aero-engines

IHI is one of the oldest companies in Japan. It started in 1853 as a shipbuilding company, but it has produced aero-engines since 1957. At an early stage in aero-engine business, IHI was producing military engines mainly. But IHI participated in commercial engine business in 1980’s as a partner of international joint development team. Since then, business scale has grown to 4 billion dollars of annular sales. It is expected that aero-engine market continues to grow by 4 to 5% per year. However, there are several problems to solve such as environmental regulation tightening, restriction in number of aircraft departure and landing on airport and increase in number of low cost carriers with financially weakness. In order to solve these problems, aero-engines have to evolve into system with lower fuel burn, more environmental suitability, larger thrust and lower lifecycle cost. There are several candidates to solve the problems, but it is certain that application of lighter and higher temperature resistant materials is one of solutions. We introduce our products and R&D activities for composite material technologies as a solution for the above-mentioned problems. The composite material technology means not only material but also design and manufacturing. IHI concentrates on light CFRP for fan module and light and heat resistant CMC for turbine module in aero-engines. Regarding CFRP, we have both of thermoset type and thermo-plastic type. The former was applied into fan case and the latter into fan structural guide vane. They became products supplied with PW1100G engine for Airbus A320neo. On the other hand, CMC technology is under development for military and commercial engines. Our CMC manufacturing process is as follows. SiC fibers are processed on BN interface coating. BN coated fibers are weaved into 3D woven fabric. CVI, PIP and SPI process infiltrate matrix into 3D woven fabric. SPI is solid particle infiltration. After that, it is machined and finally EBC coated. Positive feature of our material is superiority in heat and impact resistance. Technology validation was conducted on in-house small gas turbine named IM270 for electric power generation. Next validation test will be conducted on a two-shaft turbo-fan aero-engine to be introduced to JAXA in a few years. CMC technology development has been supported by government funding from METI, NEDO, SIP and JAXA

Renovation of “Earth Port” for Net-Zero Energy Building

A middle-sized office building (floor area : 5,645 m2), nicknamed “Earth Port,” was renovated with the intention of making it a ZEB (“net-zero energy building”) by 2030. As a first step, the following technologies were introduced. (1) Thermal network utilizing both solar heat and waste heat from gas cogeneration system (CGS) and gas engine driven heat pump (GHP) (2) Bright-feeling lighting system and other measures to utilize natural sunlight (3) Integrated power management system The thermal and lighting environments were measured and analyzed to investigate the indoor environment as well as detailed energy consumption data. Questionnaires for occupants were also conducted to know self-estimated productivity. The renovation resulted in a 37% reduction of primary energy consumption and a 45% reduction of CO2 emissions compared with the average for tenant-occupied office buildings (baseline)

Serum cortisol level and depression severity in a sample of Brazilian elders

Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (Capes)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (Fapesp)Capes FoundationMinistry of Education of Brazil, BrasiliaFapesp AgencyCapes Agency"National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development" (CNPq - Researcher Level 1C)Univ Sao Paulo, Med Sch FMUSP, Old Age Res Grp Proter, Inst Psychiat, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Med Sch FMUSP, Old Age Res Grp Proter, Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Melbourne, Dept Psychiat, Austin Hlth, Heidelberg, Vic, AustraliaFed Univ Sao Paulo Unifesp, Dept Prevent Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFed Univ Sao Paulo Unifesp, Dept Prevent Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 04/09586-9FAPESP: 2014/05467-7FAPESP: 2014/05467-7CAPES: BEX 0893/14-5Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasilia: DF 70040-20Web of Scienc

Structure and dynamics of room temperature ionic liquids with bromide anion: Results from 81Br NMR spectroscopy

We report the results of a comprehensive 81Br NMR spectroscopic study of the structure and dynamics of two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C4mim]Br) and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bromide ([C4C1mim]Br), in both liquid and crystalline states. NMR parameters in the gas phase are also simulated for stable ion pairs using quantum chemical calculations. The combination of 81Br spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation measurements in the motionally narrowed region of the stable liquid state provides information on the correlation time of the translational motion of the cation. 81Br quadrupolar coupling constants (CQ) of the two RTILs were estimated to be 6.22 and 6.52 MHz in the crystalline state which were reduced by nearly 50% in the liquid state, although in the gas phase, the values are higher and span the range of 7-53 MHz depending on ion pair structure. The CQ can be correlated with the distance between the cation-anion pairs in all the three states. The 81Br CQ values of the bromide anion in the liquid state indicate the presence of some structural order in these RTILs, the degree of which decreases with increasing temperature. On the other hand, the ionicity of these RTILs is estimated from the combined knowledge of the isotropic chemical shift and the appropriate mean energy of the excited state. [C4C1mim]Br has higher ionicity than [C4mim]Br in the gas phase, while the situation is reverse for the liquid and the crystalline states. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Environmental Livelihood Security in Southeast Asia and Oceania: A Water-Energy-Food-Livelihoods Nexus Approach for Spatially Assessing Change

This document addresses the need for explicit inclusion of livelihoods within the environment nexus (water-energy-food security), not only responding to literature gaps but also addressing emerging dialogue from existing nexus consortia. We present the first conceptualization of ‘environmental livelihood security’, which combines the nexus perspective with sustainable livelihoods. The geographical focus of this paper is Southeast Asia and Oceania, a region currently wrought by the impacts of a changing climate. Climate change is the primary external forcing mechanism on the environmental livelihood security of communities in Southeast Asia and Oceania which, therefore, forms the applied crux of this paper. Finally, we provide a primer for using geospatial information to develop a spatial framework to enable geographical assessment of environmental livelihood security across the region. We conclude by linking the value of this research to ongoing sustainable development discussions, and for influencing policy agenda

Simulating the human body's microclimate using automatic coupling of CFD and an advanced thermoregulation model

This study aims to develop an approach to couple a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver to the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) thermal comfort model to accurately evaluate thermal comfort. The coupling was made using an iterative JavaScript to automatically transfer data for each individual segment of the human body back and forth between the CFD solver and the UCB model until reaching convergence defined by a stopping criterion. The location from which data are transferred to the UCB model was determined using a new approach based on the temperature difference between subsequent points on the temperature profile curve in the vicinity of the body surface. This approach was used because the microclimate surrounding the human body differs in thickness depending on the body segment and the surrounding environment. To accurately simulate the thermal environment, the numerical model was validated beforehand using experimental data collected in a climate chamber equipped with a thermal manikin. Furthermore, an example of the practical implementations of this coupling is reported in this paper through radiant floor cooling simulation cases, in which overall and local thermal sensation and comfort were investigated using the coupled UCB model

Sustainable development and the water–energy–food nexus: A perspective on livelihoods

AbstractThe water–energy–food nexus is being promoted as a conceptual tool for achieving sustainable development. Frameworks for implementing nexus thinking, however, have failed to explicitly or adequately incorporate sustainable livelihoods perspectives. This is counterintuitive given that livelihoods are key to achieving sustainable development. In this paper we present a critical review of nexus approaches and identify potential linkages with sustainable livelihoods theory and practice, to deepen our understanding of the interrelated dynamics between human populations and the natural environment. Building upon this review, we explore the concept of ‘environmental livelihood security’ – which encompasses a balance between natural resource supply and human demand on the environment to promote sustainability – and develop an integrated nexus-livelihoods framework for examining the environmental livelihood security of a system. The outcome is an integrated framework with the capacity to measure and monitor environmental livelihood security of whole systems by accounting for the water, energy and food requisites for livelihoods at multiple spatial scales and institutional levels. We anticipate this holistic approach will not only provide a significant contribution to achieving national and regional sustainable development targets, but will also be effective for promoting equity amongst individuals and communities in local and global development agendas

Mental health in medical students during COVID-19 quarantine: a comprehensive analysis across year-classes

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic brought abrupt changes when quarantine measures were implemented. Most medical students had distance learning as their main content delivery mode, but in clerkship (fifth and sixth years), in-person activities were maintained under new protocols. These different modes may have affected student mental health. This study examines mental burden and empathy in medical students during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the year of attendance. METHODS: All students attending first to the sixth year in the same medical school were invited to participate. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were provided. RESULTS: HADS scores for Anxiety and Depression (n=347) were 9.8±4.3 and 7.1±3.6, respectively; the SRQ-20 (n=373) score was 8.1±4.5; all scores were negatively correlated with the year of attendance. IRI (n=373) scores were: 2.6±0.5 (Empathic Concern), 2.7±0.7 (Perspective Taking), 2.5±0.9 (Fantasy), and 1.7±0.7 (Personal Distress). Fantasy was negatively correlated with the year of attendance. MAAS scores were positively correlated with the year of attendance. Worse mental health scores were found for first-year students across all scales. CONCLUSIONS: We found high levels of mental burden in medical students in the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in first-year students, who may have fewer resources to deal with stress. Moreover, as they entered college a short time before the pandemic, they were unable to experience academic life fully or create important new social support networks to deal with adversities