Heat and mass transfer under an infant radiant warmer – Development of a numerical model

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Medical Engineering & Physics. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.The main objectives of this paper are to present a procedure of how to create and set up a model for the physical processes that take place within an infant radiant warmer and to validate that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be used to resolve such problems. In this study, the results are obtained for a simplified model, both in terms of the geometry employed and the prescribed boundary conditions. The results were numerically verified in terms of the convergence history, monitor data and the physical correctness. This study shows that the physical situation is unsteady and the results tend to oscillate, almost periodically, around a mean value. The results presented in the paper are found to be in qualitative agreement with the experimental data. This gives us confidence that the techniques employed in this paper are appropriate and form the starting point for the inclusion of more realistic effects, e.g. real shape of the newborn and radiant lamp, heat generated inside the newborn, moisture transport, etc.European Union Marie Curie Fellowship programm

Anodically polarized nickel electrodes in DMSO or DMF solutions of pseudohalide ions: IR spectroelectrochemical studies

A novel subtractively normalized interfacial Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (SNIFTIRS) investigation of anodically polarized nickel electrodes in pseudohalide-containing DMF or DMSO solutions (i.e. OCN⁻, SCN⁻, SeCN⁻), in supporting electrolyte, tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP), is presented. In general, the data showed that nickel demonstrated irreversible anodic dissolution in all solutions studied at very high values of the applied potential, > +500 mV (AgCl/Ag). The predominant speciation of nickel in these systems was as complex ions consisting of Ni²⁺ ion complexed to pseudohalide ions and solvent molecules. Insoluble films and dissolved CO₂ were also detected, though mostly in the Ni/OCN⁻ systems studied. Ni(II)/pseudohalide complex ion species detected were modeled using solutions containing Ni²⁺ ion mixed with pseudohalide ion in different mole ratios. In general, the Ni/OCN⁻ electrochemical system behaved differently relative to those of Ni/SCN⁻ and Ni/SeCN⁻ due to the difference in colors observed in cell solutions after SNIFTIRS experiments which was mirrored in the model solutions. Ni(II)-cyanate species had a different, coordination geometry and gave a characteristic bright blue color due possibly to Ni(NCO)₄²⁻ ion while Ni(II) thiocyanate and selenocyanate complex ion species had octahedral coordination geometries containing solvent and one coordinated pseudohalide ion and formed greeny yellow solutions

Aging on the farm : toward a model of passionate place attachment

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on January 26, 2011).Thesis advisor: Ruth Brent Tofle.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009.The farm population is aging with 29% of principal farm operators over the age of 65. This is significant because farmers work past the age of retirement generally with diminished abilities. The purpose of this research was to discover how older farmers adjusted to changes in order to remain on the farm. This qualitative, grounded theory study examined the lives and experiences of 23 farmers over 65 years old in seven counties in Missouri through interviews and photographs. It was found that there was an attachment to place, lifestyle, and work. Farming provided purpose, meaning, and passion in the participants' lives. The expressed feelings about attachment to their farm and attachment to their work led to a theoretical framework of "Passionate Place Attachment". "Passionate Place Attachment" is the attachment to place with the added layer of passion for the work that occurs when home, work, and the individual exist in one location and merge into one identity. This has implications for family and caregivers of older farmers in understanding the significance of this attachment.Includes bibliographical reference

Experiencing meaning in two presbyterian churches: a qualitative analysis

Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 13, 2006)Includes bibliographical references.Vita.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2005.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Architectural studies.Worship has changed through the centuries (Jones, 2000 and White, 2003). In the mid 1800s, the feelings and emotions of the individual worshiper became an important consideration in church service (White, 2003). Little research has been conducted to ascertain the role architecture plays in this experience (MacDonald, 2002). Using a qualitative research format, this is a case study of two Presbyterian Churches in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The overall goal of this study is to understand what creates feelings of meaning on Sunday mornings in these churches' sanctuaries. Five recurrent themes were discovered that seem to be necessary for these feelings: 1) large quantity of natural light, 2) feeling a connection with nature, 3) visible symbols of the Presbyterian faith, 4) optimal acoustics for music as well as the spoken word, and 5) architectural volume

CFD analysis of the angle of attack for a vertical axis wind turbine blade

The Angle of Attack (AOA) of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) blades has a dominant role in the generation of the aerodynamic forces and the power generation of the turbine. However, there is a significant uncertainty in determining the blade AOAs during operation due to the very complex flow structures and this limits the turbine design optimization. The paper proposes a fast and accurate method for the calculation of the constantly changing AOA based on the velocity flow field data at two reference points upstream the turbine blades. The new method could be used to calculate and store the AOA data during the CFD simulations without the need for extensive post-processing for efficient turbine aerodynamic analysis and optimisation. Several single reference-points and pair of reference-points criteria are used to select the most appropriate locations of the two reference points to calculate the AOA and It is found that using the flow data from the two reference points at the locations 0.5 aerofoil chord length upstream and 1 chord away from each side of the aerofoil can give most accurate estimation across a range of tested AOAs. Based on the proposed AOA estimation method, the performance of a fixed pitch and the sinusoidal variable pitch VAWT configurations are analysed and compared with each other. The analysis illustrates how the sinusoidal variable pitch configuration could enhance the overall performance of the turbine by maintaining more favourable AOAs, and lift and drag distributions