Investigation and prediction of slug flow characteristics in highly viscous liquid and gas flows in horizontal pipes

Slug flow characteristics in highly viscous liquid and gas flow are studied experimentally in a horizontal pipe with 0.074 m ID and 17 m length. Results of flow regime map, liquid holdup and pressure gradient are discussed and liquid viscosity effects are investigated. Applicable correlations which are developed to predict liquid holdup in slug body for low viscosity flow are assessed with high viscosity liquids. Furthermore, a mechanistic model is developed for predicting the characteristics of slug flows of highly viscous liquid in horizontal pipes. A control volume is drawn around the slug body and slug film in a slug unit. Momentum equations with a momentum source term representing the significant momentum exchange between film zone and slug body are applied. Liquid viscosity effects are considered in closure relations. The mechanistic model is validated by comparing available pressure gradient and mean slug liquid holdup data produced in the present study and those obtained from literature, showing satisfactory capabilities over a large range of liquid viscosity

A Review of Performance Measures in a JIT Environment

With the ever changing environment that manufacturing companles face, there is an increased need for revisions to existing performance measures in a Just-In-Time environment. In order to accurately assess the status of their performance measures, companies need to consider their corporate mission, objectives, strategies, and critical success factors. Although making appropriate revisions to old performance measures is not an easy task, many similarities between manufacturing companies can serve as helpful guidelines. There are five common critical success factors in all manufacturing companies. These factors can help guide a company in developing its revised performance measures. Another established method for developing performance measures is to follow the balanced scorecard approach. The following thesis discusses all of the elements involved in reviewing performance measures in a JIT environment.B.S. (Bachelor of Science

BIRD CLASSIFICATION IN NOISY ENVIRONMENTS: THEORY, RESULTS AND COMPARATIVE STUDIES

Bird classification plays an important role in minimizing collisions between birds and aircraft. It is a challenging task to perform the sound-based classification correctly in a noisy environment. This paper addresses robust techniques that can improve the classification of bird in noisy environments. A complete recognition system is described and evaluated on a bird sound database containing 1547 bird sound files, with 11 bird species. Two types of features were extracted from the sound files: Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (Mfcc) and RelAtive SpecTrAl (RASTA). Also, two statistical classifiers were developed using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) and Hidden Markov Models (HMM), respectively. The performance of these features and models are compared. Very good recognition rates (97% for clean data and 92% for 5dB signal-to-noise ratios) have been achieved when proper feature and model were selected

BIRD CLASSIFICATION IN NOISY ENVIRONMENTS: THEORY, RESULTS AND COMPARATIVE STUDIES

Bird classification plays an important role in minimizing collisions between birds and aircraft. It is a challenging task to perform the sound-based classification correctly in a noisy environment. This paper addresses robust techniques that can improve the classification of bird in noisy environments. A complete recognition system is described and evaluated on a bird sound database containing 1547 bird sound files, with 11 bird species. Two types of features were extracted from the sound files: Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (Mfcc) and RelAtive SpecTrAl (RASTA). Also, two statistical classifiers were developed using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) and Hidden Markov Models (HMM), respectively. The performance of these features and models are compared. Very good recognition rates (97% for clean data and 92% for 5dB signal-to-noise ratios) have been achieved when proper feature and model were selected

Mid-infrared photodetectors operating over an extended wavelength range up to 90 K

We report a wavelength threshold extension, from the designed value of 3.1 to 8.9 μm, in a -type heterostructure photodetector. This is associated with the use of a graded barrier and barrier offset, and arises from hole–hole interactions in the detector absorber. Experiments show that using long-pass filters to tune the energies of incident photons gives rise to changes in the intensity of the response. This demonstrates an alternative approach to achieving tuning of the photodetector response without the need to adjust the characteristic energy that is determined by the band structure

A Multivariate Surface-Based Analysis of the Putamen in Premature Newborns: Regional Differences within the Ventral Striatum

Many children born preterm exhibit frontal executive dysfunction, behavioral problems including attentional deficit/hyperactivity disorder and attention related learning disabilities. Anomalies in regional specificity of cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits may underlie deficits in these disorders. Nonspecific volumetric deficits of striatal structures have been documented in these subjects, but little is known about surface deformation in these structures. For the first time, here we found regional surface morphological differences in the preterm neonatal ventral striatum. We performed regional group comparisons of the surface anatomy of the striatum (putamen and globus pallidus) between 17 preterm and 19 term-born neonates at term-equivalent age. We reconstructed striatal surfaces from manually segmented brain magnetic resonance images and analyzed them using our in-house conformal mapping program. All surfaces were registered to a template with a new surface fluid registration method. Vertex-based statistical comparisons between the two groups were performed via four methods: univariate and multivariate tensor-based morphometry, the commonly used medial axis distance, and a combination of the last two statistics. We found statistically significant differences in regional morphology between the two groups that are consistent across statistics, but more extensive for multivariate measures. Differences were localized to the ventral aspect of the striatum. In particular, we found abnormalities in the preterm anterior/inferior putamen, which is interconnected with the medial orbital/prefrontal cortex and the midline thalamic nuclei including the medial dorsal nucleus and pulvinar. These findings support the hypothesis that the ventral striatum is vulnerable, within the cortico-stiato-thalamo-cortical neural circuitry, which may underlie the risk for long-term development of frontal executive dysfunction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention-related learning disabilities in preterm neonates. © 2013 Shi et al

Quantifying the effects of pre-roasting on structural and functional properties of yellow pea proteins

Roasting could modify the protein structure/conformation, contributing to changes in functional properties. Here we investigated the effects of pre-roasting on the extraction efficiency, structural and functional properties of pea protein concentrates and isolates (PPC and PPI) produced from yellow split peas. The shorter roasting times (150 °C, 10 and 20 min) had little effect on protein yields and could increase the solubility of PPC or PPI by ∼ 12% at pH 7 and enhance the solubility of PPI by ∼ 12% (10-min roasting) and ∼ 24% (20-min roasting) at pH 3. However, a longer duration of pre-roasting (150 °C, 30 min) significantly reduced the extraction efficiency of PPC and PPI by ∼ 30% and ∼ 61%, respectively. Meanwhile, pre-roasting had minor effects on SDS-PAGE profiles and the secondary structures of pea proteins but significantly altered tertiary structures by reducing free sulfhydryl groups, increasing disulfide bonds and surface hydrophobicity. As for the emulsifying properties, pre-roasting improved the emulsion ability index (EAI) of PPC and PPI but decreased the emulsion stability index (ESI) of PPC and had no significant effect on PPI. Moreover, PPC and PPI with shorter pre-roasting duration (10 and 20 min) had endothermic peaks and showed a slight decrease in the denaturation temperature (Td) and the onset temperature (To), respectively. Overall, the study demonstrated that controlled pre-roasting at 150 °C for 10 min and 20 min altered protein structures (mainly tertiary structures), improving the solubility and EAI of pea proteins at pH 7, while retaining their thermal properties in comparison to unroasted samples

Parsec-scale jet properties of the gamma-ray quasar 3C 286

The quasar 3C~286 is one of two compact steep spectrum sources detected by the {\it Fermi}/LAT. Here, we investigate the radio properties of the parsec(pc)-scale jet and its (possible) association with the $\gamma$-ray emission in 3C~286. The Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) images at various frequencies reveal a one-sided core--jet structure extending to the southwest at a projected distance of $\sim$1 kpc. The component at the jet base showing an inverted spectrum is identified as the core, with a mean brightness temperature of $2.8\times 10^{9}$~K. The jet bends at about 600 pc (in projection) away from the core, from a position angle of $-135^\circ$ to $-115^\circ$. Based on the available VLBI data, we inferred the proper motion speed of the inner jet as $0.013 \pm 0.011$ mas yr$^{-1}$ ($\beta_{\rm app} = 0.6 \pm 0.5$), corresponding to a jet speed of about $0.5\,c$ at an inclination angle of $48^\circ$ between the jet and the line of sight of the observer. The brightness temperature, jet speed and Lorentz factor are much lower than those of $\gamma$-ray-emitting blazars, implying that the pc-scale jet in 3C~286 is mildly relativistic. Unlike blazars in which $\gamma$-ray emission is in general thought to originate from the beamed innermost jet, the location and mechanism of $\gamma$-ray emission in 3C~286 may be different as indicated by the current radio data. Multi-band spectrum fitting may offer a complementary diagnostic clue of the $\gamma$-ray production mechanism in this source.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accept for publication in MNRA

The hydrodynamics of two-phase flows in the injection part of a conventional ejector

The characteristics of two-phase flow through a ‘conventional’ convergent-nozzle in an entrainment chamber of an ejector apparatus are described in this paper. A unique data set comprising 350 data points was generated in an air-water horizontal test-rig. Two sets of flow conditions were established, the first one including high liquid - low gas fluids with void fractions less than 0.55, and the second one involving high gas - low liquid fluids with void fractions greater than 0.75. All considered flow-rates lied within the sub-critical flow region. Two-phase flow pressure drop multiplier based empirical correlations were developed to estimate the total mass flow-rates. In the high liquid region, Morris (1985) correlation was modified, resulting in less than 10% error. In the high gas region, two new correlations were proposed, showing less than 10% and 15% of errors, respectively. The established empirical correlations were related to other available multipliers for different geometric configurations including a Venturi, an orifice plate, a gate valve, and a globe valve and were compared to 20 other void fraction correlations. The Chisholm (1983b) and Huq and Loth (1992) correlations showed the highest similarities to the ones proposed for the high liquid and high gas regions, respectively

Comparison of chemical profiles and effectiveness between Erxian decoction and mixtures of decoctions of its individual herbs : a novel approach for identification of the standard chemicals

Acknowledgements This study was partially supported by grants from the Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research (Project Number 201211159146 and 201411159213), the University of Hong Kong. We thank Mr Keith Wong and Ms Cindy Lee for their technical assistances.Peer reviewedPublisher PD