Fractal Behavior in the Clarification Process of Cane Sugar Production

Cane sugar production is an important industrial process. One of the most important steps in cane sugar production is the clarification process, which provides high-quality, concentrated sugar syrup crystal for further processing. To gain fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical processes associated with the clarification process and help design better approaches to improve the clarification of the mixed juice, we explore the fractal behavior of the variables pertinent to the clarification process. We show that the major variables in this key process all show persistent long-range correlations, for time scales up to at least a few days. Persistent long-range correlations amount to unilateral deviations from a preset target. This means that when the process is in a desired mode such that the target variables, color of the produced sugar and its clarity degree, both satisfy preset conditions, they will remain so for a long period of time. However, adversity could happen, in the sense that when they do not satisfy the requirements, the adverse situation may last quite long. These findings have to be explicitly accounted for when designing active controlling strategies to improve the quality of the produced sugar

Laser direct joining of CFRTP and aluminium alloy with a hybrid surface pre-treating method

Laser direct joining of CFRTP and aluminium alloy with a hybrid surface pre-treating metho

CFRTP -Al alloy laser assisted joining with a high speed rotational welding technology

To reduce the defects in laser welding of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRTP) and aluminum (Al) alloy and improve the mechanical properties of the joint, a high speed rotational laser welding (HSRLW) technology was introduced. The mathematical model of CFRTP-Al alloy laser joining was established and the temperature was simulated. The weld depth of aluminum alloy and the penetration depth of CFRTP/aluminum alloy joint were calculated and compared with the experimental result. It was found that the pore defects can be significantly reduced, and a high strength joint could be obtained. The simulation results agree well with the experimental results, and the strength of the CFRTP/aluminum alloy joint can be predicted by using the numerical simulation method

Structural Optimization and Experimental Research of High-rise Guyed Tower

In this paper, the structural optimization of high-rise guyed tower is carried out for the guyed wire and tower column schemes. The schemes are compared from the four guyed wires and eight guyed wires, the width of the tower column, the uniform cross-section tower column and the variable cross-section tower column, etc. And the single-column tower with eight guyed wires and variable cross-section is recommended for the high-rise guyed tower. Through the full-scale test study of the high-rise guyed tower, the safety of the high-rise guyed tower structural optimization and the feasibility of engineering application are verified. According to the technical and economic analysis of traditional self-supporting towers and high-rise guyed towers recommended in this paper, it can be seen that the weight and total cost of the high-rise guyed towers are 75.3% and 88.5% of the traditional self-supporting towers respectively, demonstrating the technical and economic advantages of the high-rise guyed towers. The advantages and disadvantages of high-rise guyed towers and self-supporting towers are summarized for reference in engineering design

Sorption and Diffusion of Water Vapor and Carbon Dioxide in Sulfonated Polyaniline as Chemical Sensing Materials

A hybrid quantum mechanics (QM)/molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is performed to investigate the effect of an ionizable group (–SO3−Na+) on polyaniline as gas sensing materials. Polymers considered for this work include emeraldine base of polyaniline (EB-PANI) and its derivatives (Na-SPANI (I), (II) and (III)) whose rings are partly monosubstituted by –SO3−Na+. The hybrid simulation results show that the adsorption energy, Mulliken charge and band gap of analytes (CO2 and H2O) in polyaniline are relatively sensitive to the position and the amounts of –SO3−Na+, and these parameters would affect the sensitivity of Na-SPANI/EB-PANI towards CO2. The sensitivity of Na-SPANI (III)/EB-PANI towards CO2 can be greatly improved by two orders of magnitude, which is in agreement with the experimental study. In addition, we also demonstrate that introducing –SO3−Na+ groups at the rings can notably affect the gas transport properties of polyaniline. Comparative studies indicate that the effect of ionizable group on polyaniline as gas sensing materials for the polar gas molecule (H2O) is more significant than that for the nonpolar gas molecule (CO2). These findings contribute in the functionalization-induced variations of the material properties of polyaniline for CO2 sensing and the design of new polyaniline with desired sensing properties

Effect of Interface Pretreatment of Al Alloy on Bonding Strength of the Laser Joined Al/CFRTP Butt Joint

In the present research, the carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) was laser joined with the Al alloy whose joining interface was pretreated by laser micro-texturing, anodizing, and hybrid of laser micro-texturing and anodizing. The surface morphology of the pretreated Al joining interface and bonding strength of the corresponding Al/CFRTP butt joint were investigated. The results show that the laser micro-texturing has fabricated the micro-pit or micro-furrow in the Al joining interface. With the increasing of laser scanning times, the size of the micro-pit or micro-furrow decreases, when the laser scanning distance is constant. The bonding strength of the Al/CFRTP butt joint with Al joining interface pretreated by micro-texturing fluctuates with the increasing of laser scanning distance and times, reaching the maximum value of 20 MPa at laser scanning distance of 0.1 mm and 1 time. The anodizing pretreatment has formed the Al2O3 oxide layer on the Al joining interface. The Al/CFRTP butt joint with Al joining interface pretreated by anodizing obtains the maximum bonding strength of 11 MPa at anodizing time of 10 min. The hybrid pretreatment of micro-texturing and subsequent anodizing fabricates the regular grid structure with smooth micro-furrow and micro-pit, while the hybrid pretreatment of anodizing and subsequent micro-texturing fabricates the Al joining interface with explosive micro-pit and micro-furrow. The bonding strength of the Al/CFRTP butt joint with hybrid-pretreated Al joining interface is relative better than that of the Al/CFRTP butt joint with anodizing-pretreated Al joining interface but almost lower than that of the Al/CFRTP butt joint with micro-texturing pretreated Al joining interface. Such results should be attributed to the surface morphology of the Al joining interface

Inhibitory receptors bind ANGPTLs and support blood stem cells and leukaemia development

How environmental cues regulate adult stem cell and cancer cell activity through surface receptors is poorly understood. Angiopoietin-like proteins (ANGPTLs), a family of seven secreted glycoproteins, are known to support the activity of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vitro and in vivo. ANGPTLs also have important roles in lipid metabolism, angiogenesis and inflammation, but were considered 'orphan ligands' because no receptors were identified. Here we show that the immune-inhibitory receptor human leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B2 (LILRB2) and its mouse orthologue paired immunoglobulin-like receptor (PIRB) are receptors for several ANGPTLs. LILRB2 and PIRB are expressed on human and mouse HSCs, respectively, and the binding of ANGPTLs to these receptors supported ex vivo expansion of HSCs. In mouse transplantation acute myeloid leukaemia models, a deficiency in intracellular signalling of PIRB resulted in increased differentiation of leukaemia cells, revealing that PIRB supports leukaemia development. Our study indicates an unexpected functional significance of classical immune-inhibitory receptors in maintenance of stemness of normal adult stem cells and in support of cancer development.</p