1,518 research outputs found
Modeling on-grate MSW incineration with experimental validation in a batch incinerator
This Article presents a 2-D steady-state model developed for simulating on-grate municipal solid waste incineration, termed GARBED-ss. Gas-solid reactions, gas flow through the porous waste particle bed, conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer, drying and pyrolysis of the feed, the emission of volatile species, combustion of the pyrolysis gases, the formation and oxidation of char and its gasification by water vapor and carbon dioxide, and the consequent reduction of the bed volume are described in the bed model. The kinetics of the pyrolysis of cellulosic and noncellulosic materials were experimentally derived from experimental measurements. The simulation results provide a deep insight into the various phenomena involved in incineration, for example, the complete consumption of oxygen in a large zone of the bed and a consequent char-gasification zone. The model was successfully validated against experimental measurements in a laboratory batch reactor, using an adapted sister version in a transient regime. © 2010 American Chemical Society
The accumulation and trapping of grains at planet gaps: effects of grain growth and fragmentation
We model the dust evolution in protoplanetary disks with full 3D, Smoothed
Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), two-phase (gas+dust) hydrodynamical simulations.
The gas+dust dynamics, where aerodynamic drag leads to the vertical settling
and radial migration of grains, is consistently treated. In a previous work, we
characterized the spatial distribution of non-growing dust grains of different
sizes in a disk containing a gap-opening planet and investigated the gap's
detectability with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Here we take into account the effects of grain growth and fragmentation and
study their impact on the distribution of solids in the disk. We show that
rapid grain growth in the two accumulation zones around planet gaps is strongly
affected by fragmentation. We discuss the consequences for ALMA observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Planetary and Space Science. 13 pages, 4
figure
Thermodynamic study of heavy metals behavior during municipal waste incineration
The incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) contributes significantly to the presence of heavy metals in urban area aerosols. It is thus important to ascertain the quantities and chemical forms of the heavy metals (HM) that are emitted from the incineration plant stacks. The behaviour of HM, which depends strongly on the thermal and chemical environments, was investigated herein with a modelling approach, consisting of several parts. First, a refuse bed combustion model was developed for simulating on-grate MSW incineration. It describes most of the physico-chemical and thermal phenomena occurring during waste combustion. Second, results from the bed model were taken as boundary conditions to perform 3D simulations of the post-combustion zone and of the boiler. The case studied was of the Strasbourg incineration plant. Finally, the local thermal conditions and the local elementary compositions of gas and solid phases obtained from these simulations were used to carry out thermodynamic calculations of the speciation of HM at each point in the incinerator. The results for four metals (Cd, Zn, Pb, Cr) are presented, discussed and compared to available data. Predicted species are in agreement with observations for volatile metals, except lead, whose volatilization seems overestimated
Direct Observation of the Fourth Star in the Zeta Cancri System
Direct imaging of the zeta Cnc system has resolved the fourth star in the
system, which is in orbit around zeta Cnc C. The presence of the fourth star
has been inferred for many years from irregularities in the motion of star C,
and recently from C's spectroscopic orbit. However, its mass is close to that
of C, making its non-detection puzzling. Observing at wavelengths of 1.2, 1.7,
and 2.2 microns with the adaptive-optics system of the CFHT, we have obtained
images which very clearly reveal star D and show it to have the color of an M2
star. Its brightness is consonant with its being two M stars, which are not
resolved in our observations but are likely to be in a short-period orbit,
thereby accounting for the large mass and the difficulty of detection at
optical wavelengths, where the magnitude difference is much larger. The
positions and colors of all four stars in the system are reported and are
consistent with the most recent astrometric observations.Comment: 7 pages including 3 tables, 1 figure; To appear in PAS
Constraints on the disk geometry of the T Tauri star AA Tau from linear polarimetry
We have simultaneously monitored the photometric and polarimetric variations
of the Classical T Tauri star AA Tau during the fall of 2002. We combine these
data with previously published polarimetric data covering two earlier epochs.
The phase coverage is complete, although not contiguous. AA Tau clearly shows
cyclic variations coupled with the rotation of the system. The star-disk system
produces a repeatable polarisation curve where the polarisation increases with
decreasing brightness. The data fit well with the model put forward by Bouvier
et al. (1999) where AA Tau is viewed almost edge-on and its disk is actively
dumping material onto the central star via magnetospheric accretion. The inner
edge of the disk is deformed by its interaction with the tilted magnetosphere,
producing eclipses as it rotates and occults the photosphere periodically. From
the shape of the polarisation curve in the QU-Plane we confirm that the
accretion disk is seen at a large inclination, almost edge-on, and predict that
its position angle is PA~90 deg., i.e., that the disk's major axis is oriented
in the East-West direction.Comment: Astron. Astrophys., in pres
A review and critique of academic lab safety research
Over the past ten years, there have been several high-profile accidents in academic laboratories around the world, resulting in significant injuries and fatalities. The aftermath of these incidents is often characterized by calls for reflection and re-examination of the academic discipline’s approach to safety research and policy. However, the study of academic lab safety is still underdeveloped and necessary data about changes in safety attitudes and behaviours has not been gathered. This Review article critically examines the state of academic chemical safety research from a multifactorial stance, including research on the occurrence of lab accidents, contributors to lab accidents, the state of safety training research and the cultural barriers to conducting safety research and implementing safer lab practices. The Review concludes by delineating research questions that must be addressed to minimize future serious academic laboratory incidents as well as stressing the need for committed leadership from our research institutions
Submillimetre dust polarisation and opacity in the HD163296 protoplanetary ring system
We present ALMA images of the sub-mm continuum polarisation and spectral
index of the protoplanetary ringed disk HD163296. The polarisation fraction at
870{\mu}m is measured to be ~0.9% in the central core and generally increases
with radius along the disk major axis. It peaks in the gaps between the dust
rings, and the largest value (~4%) is found between rings 1 and 2. The
polarisation vectors are aligned with the disk minor axis in the central core,
but become more azimuthal in the gaps, twisting by up to +/-9degrees in the gap
between rings 1 and 2. These general characteristics are consistent with a
model of self-scattered radiation in the ringed structure, without requiring an
additional dust alignment mechanism. The 870/1300{\mu}m dust spectral index
exhibits minima in the centre and the inner rings, suggesting these regions
have high optical depths. However, further refinement of the dust or the disk
model at higher resolution is needed to reproduce simultaneously the observed
degree of polarisation and the low spectral index.Comment: 5 pages +2 pages supplemental data. v2 - revised figures and final
values; conclusions unchange
The Taurus Boundary of Stellar/Substellar (TBOSS) Survey I: far-IR disk emission measured with Herschel
With Herschel/PACS 134 low mass members of the Taurus star-forming region
spanning the M4-L0 spectral type range and covering the transition from low
mass stars to brown dwarfs were observed. Combining the new Herschel results
with other programs, a total of 150 of the 154 M4-L0 Taurus members members
have observations with Herschel. Among the 150 targets, 70um flux densities
were measured for 7 of the 7 ClassI objects, 48 of the 67 ClassII members, and
3 of the 76 ClassIII targets. For the detected ClassII objects, the median 70um
flux density level declines with spectral type, however, the distribution of
excess relative to central object flux density does not change across the
stellar/substellar boundary in the M4-L0 range. Connecting the 70um TBOSS
values with the results from K0-M3 ClassII members results in the first
comprehensive census of far-IR emission across the full mass spectrum of the
stellar and substellar population of a star-forming region, and the median flux
density declines with spectral type in a trend analogous to the flux density
decline expected for the central objects. SEDs were constructed for all TBOSS
targets covering the optical to far-IR range and extending to the submm/mm for
a subset of sources. Based on an initial exploration of the impact of different
physical parameters; inclination, scale height and flaring have the largest
influence on the PACS flux densities. From the 24um to 70um spectral index of
the SEDs, 5 new candidate transition disks were identified. The steep 24um to
70um slope for a subset of 8 TBOSS targets may be an indication of truncated
disks in these systems.Two examples of mixed pair systems that include
secondaries with disks were measured. Finally, comparing the TBOSS results with
a Herschel study of Ophiuchus brown dwarfs reveals a lower fraction of disks
around the Taurus substellar population.Comment: 64 pages, 33 figures, 12 tables, accepted for publication in A&
Molecular hydrogen in the disk of the Herbig Ae star HD97048
We present high-resolution spectroscopic mid-infrared observations of the
circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae star HD97048 obtained with the VLT
Imager and Spectrometer for the mid-InfraRed (VISIR). We conducted observations
of mid-infrared pure rotational lines of molecular hydrogen (H2) as a tracer of
warm gas in the disk surface layers. In a previous paper, we reported the
detection of the S(1) pure rotational line of H2 at 17.035 microns and argued
it is arising from the inner regions of the disk around the star. We used VISIR
on the VLT for a more comprehensive study based on complementary observations
of the other mid-infrared molecular transitions, namely S(2) and S(4) at 12.278
microns and 8.025 microns respectively, to investigate the physical properties
of the molecular gas in the circumstellar disk around HD97048. We do not detect
neither the S(2) line nor the S(4) H2 line from the disk of HD97048, but we
derive upper limits on the integrated line fluxes which allows us to estimate
an upper limit on the gas excitation temperature, T_ex < 570 K. This limit on
the temperature is consistent with the assumptions previously used in the
analysis of the S(1) line, and allows us to set stronger contraints on the mass
of warm gas in the inner regions of the disk. Indeed, we estimate the mass of
warm gas to be lower than 0.1 M_Jup. We also discuss the probable physical
mechanisms which could be responsible of the excitation of H2 in the disk of
HD97048.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
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