Circumferential pressure distributions in a model labyrinth seal

A research program to isolate and study leakage flow through labyrinth glands was initiated. Circumferential pressure distributions were measured in the labyrinth glands with geometry appropriate to the high pressure labyrinths in large steam turbines. Knowledge of this pressure distribution is essential as it is this unequal pressure field that results in the destabilizing force. Parameters that are likely to affect the pressure distributions are incorporated into the test rig. Some preliminary pressure profiles are presented

Experimental investigation of lateral forces induced by flow through model labyrinth glands

The lateral forces induced by flow through model labyrinth glands were investigated. Circumferential pressure distributions, lateral forces and stiffness coefficients data obtained are discussed. The force system is represented as a negative spring and a tangential force orthogonal to eccentricity. The magnitude of these forces are dependent on eccentricity, entry swirl, rotor peripheral velocity and seal size. A pressure equalization chamber at midgland tests should in significantly reduced forces and stiffness coefficients

Mixing of Pure Air Jets with a Reacting Fuel-Rich Crossflow

Jets in a crossflow play an integral role in practical combustion systems such as can and annular gas turbine combustors in conventional systems, and the Rich-burn/Quick-mix/Lean-burn (RQL) combustor utilized in stationary applications and proposed for advanced subsonic and supersonic transports. The success of the RQL combustor rests with the performance of the quick-mixing section that bridges the rich and lean zones. The mixing of jet air with a rich crossflow to bring the reaction to completion in the lean zone must be performed rapidly and thoroughly in order to decrease the extent of near-stoichiometric fluid pocket formation. Fluid pockets at near-stoichiometric equivalence ratios are undesirable because the high temperatures attained accelerate pollutant formation kinetics associated with nitric oxide (NO). The present study develops a model experiment designed to reveal the processes that occur when jet air is introduced into hot effluent emanating from a fuel-rich reaction zone

Optimization of Jet Mixing Into a Rich, Reacting Crossflow

Radial jet mixing of pure air into a fuel-rich, reacting crossflow confined to a cylindrical geometry is addressed with a focus on establishing an optimal jet orifice geometry. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the number of round holes that most effectively mixes the jets with the mainstream flow, and thereby minimizes the residence time of near-stoichiometric and unreacted packets. Such a condition might reduce pollutant formation in axially staged, gas turbine combustor systems. Five different configurations consisting of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 18 round holes are reported here. An optimum number of jet orifices is found for a jet-to-mainstream momentum-flux ratio (J) of 57 and a mass-flow ratio (MR) of 2.5. For this condition, the 14-orifice case produces the lowest spatial unmixedness and the most uniformly-distributed species concentrations and temperature profiles at a plane located one duct diameter length from the jet orifice inlet

Jet Mixing in a Reacting Cylindrical Crossflow

This paper addresses the mixing of air jets into the hot, fuel-rich products of a gas turbine primary zone. The mixing, as a result, occurs in a reacting environment with chemical conversion and substantial heat release. The geometry is a crossflow confined in a cylindrical duct with side-wall injection of jets issuing from round orifices. A specially designed reactor, operating on propane, presents a uniform mixture without swirl to mixing modules consisting of 8, 9, 10, and 12 holes at a momentum-flux ratio of 57 and a jet-to-mainstream mass-flow ratio of 2.5. Concentrations of O2, CO2, CO, and HC are obtained upstream, downstream, and within the orifice plane. O2 profiles indicate jet penetration while CO2, CO, and HC profiles depict the extent of reaction. Jet penetration is observed to be a function of the number of orifices and is found to affect the mixing in the reacting system. The results demonstrate that one module (the 12-hole) produces near-optimal penetration defined here as a jet penetration closest to the module half-radius, and hence the best uniform mixture at a plane one duct radius from the orifice leading edge

Synergistic co-cultivation of activated sludge and microalgae in enhancing lipid production and N-laden wastewater treatment

The influence of inoculation ratios of activated sludge and microalgae were investigated in this study in the aspects of biomass yield, lipid yield and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency. It was observed that mixed culture of activated sludge/microalgae with the ratio 1:1 and 1:0.75 achieved a maximum lipid production up to 0.144 g/L and 0.133 g/L as compared with microalgae culture alone, which was only 0.081 g/L. The highest total nitrogen (TN) removal was observed with 1:1 and 1:0.75 ratios of activated sludge/microalgae cultures ranging from 96.3-96.9% removal efficiency, which was an improvement of about 90% removal efficiency compared to the activated sludge culture (6.25±0.08%). The flocculation efficiency was generally improved in mixed cultures of activated sludge andmicroalgae in comparison with only activated sludge culture and microalgae culture alone.Keywords: activated sludge; microalgae; co-cultivation; lipid; nitrogen removal

Composting paper and grass clippings with anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the composting performance of anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent (AnPOME) mixed with paper and grass clippings. Methods Composting was conducted using a laboratory scale system for 40 days. Several parameters were determined: temperature, mass reduction, pH, electrical conductivity, colour, zeta potential, phytotoxicity and final compost nutrients. Results The moisture content and compost mass were reduced by 24 and 18 %, respectively. Both final compost pH value and electrical conductivity were found to increase in value. Colour (measured as PtCo) was not suitable as a maturity indicator. The negative zeta potential values decreased from −12.25 to −21.80 mV. The phytotoxicity of the compost mixture was found to decrease in value during the process and the final nutrient value of the compost indicates its suitability as a soil conditioner. Conclusions From this study, we conclude that the addition of paper and grass clippings can be a potential substrate to be composted with anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent (AnPOME). The final compost produced is suitable for soil conditioner

Development of coconut oil/capric acid eutectic phase change material with graphene as latent thermal energy storage.

In this study, a eutectic mixture of coconut oil (CO)-capric acid (CA) was synthesised and investigated with the aim of producing newly eutectic phase change materials (PCMs) with improved thermal properties as thermal energy storage (TES). Although eutectic fatty acids have been widely studied, the information on the thermal properties of the CO-CA eutectic mixture is very limited to the authors' knowledge. Coconut oil offers good thermal and chemical stability with acceptable latent heat and melting temperature. The thermal properties of the eutectic mixture were enhanced by graphene addition at 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt% concentrations. The surfactant was added to the mixture to avoid the sedimentation of graphene. The material characterisation techniques include thermal conductivity measurement, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermal Gravimetric (TG) analysis. The results revealed that the pure eutectic CO-CA has a melting point of 23.5°C with a latent heat of 110 J/g. With the addition of graphene, the melting point of the mixture is 22.8°C, and the latent heat is 103 J/g. Overall, the findings showed that the thermal conductivity improved by 21.7% for 7wt% graphene concentration. The spectra from FTIR and TG analysis showed that the mixture offers thermal and chemical stability. The promising findings in this study showed that the newly developed eutectic mixture with improved thermal properties makes them favourable to be used as TES for low-temperature applications

Evolution of volatile and phenolic compounds during bottle storage of merlot wines vinified using pulsed electric fields-treated grapes

This study aimed to elucidate changes in volatile, phenolic, and oenological profiles of wines vinified from Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF)-treated and untreated Merlot grapes during bottle storage of up to 150, 90, and 56 days at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 45 °C, respectively, through chemometrics technique. Wines produced from untreated grapes and those PEF-treated at four different processing conditions (electric field strength 33.1 and 41.5 kV/cm and energy inputs between 16.5 and 49.4 kJ/kg) were used for the bottle storage study. Results showed that hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids in all stored wines, regardless vinified from untreated and PEF-treated grapes, increased as a function of time and temperature, while anthocyanins and selected esters (e.g., ethyl butanoate) decreased. Extreme storage temperature, at 45 °C particularly, resulted in a higher amount of linalool-3, 7-oxide in all stored wines. After prolonged storage, all wines produced from grapes PEF-treated with four different processing conditions were shown to favor high retention of phenolics after storage but induced faster reduction of anthocyanins when compared to wines produced from untreated grapes. Moreover, some volatiles in wines vinified using PEF-treated grapes, such as citronellol and 2-phenylethyl acetate, were found to be less susceptible towards degradation during prolonged storage. Production of furans was generally lower in most stored wines, particularly those produced from PEF-treated grapes at higher energy inputs (>47 kJ/kg). Overall, PEF pre-treatment on grapes may improve storage and temperature stability of the obtained wines

In depth analysis of the Sox4 gene locus that consists of sense and natural antisense transcripts

Available online 17 February 2016SRY (Sex Determining Region Y)-Box 4 or Sox4 is an important regulator of the pan-neuronal gene expression during post-mitotic cell differentiation within the mammalian brain. Sox4 gene locus has been previously characterized with multiple sense and overlapping natural antisense transcripts [1], [2]. Here we provide accompanying data on various analyses performed and described in Ling et al. [2]. The data include a detail description of various features found at Sox4 gene locus, additional experimental data derived from RNA-Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (RNA-FISH), Western blotting, strand-specific reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), gain-of-function and in situ hybridization (ISH) experiments. All the additional data provided here support the existence of an endogenous small interfering- or PIWI interacting-like small RNA known as Sox4_sir3, which origin was found within the overlapping region consisting of a sense and a natural antisense transcript known as Sox4ot1.King-Hwa Ling, Peter J. Brautigan, Sarah Moore, Rachel Fraser, Melody Pui-Yee Leong, Jia-Wen Leong, Shahidee Zainal Abidin, Han-Chung Lee, Pike-See Cheah, Joy M. Raison, Milena Babic, Young Kyung Lee, Tasman Daish, Deidre M. Mattiske, Jeffrey R. Mann, David L. Adelson, Paul Q. Thomas, Christopher N. Hahn, Hamish S.Scot