PRESSURE DROP IN A SPOUTED BED OF CORK STOPPERS

The spouted bed is a particular type of fluidized bed which is well suited forthe handling of large size particles like cork stoppers. It is commonly usedfor the drying of granulates and the present work is the first part of a studyconcerning the drying of cork stoppers in a laboratory scale spouted bed reactor. The study considers two stoppers size, one the port wine stopper and another small size stopper. The choice of these smaller sizes was imposed by the small dimensions of the reactor. In this preliminary set of experiments the fluid-dynamics regime of the particular two phase flow was characterized. For different experimental situations covering several air flows and temperatures typical of cork drying operations the evolution of pressure drop was evaluated and a correlation for the minimum spouting velocity was obtained

Control of state and state entanglement with a single auxiliary subsystem

We present a strategy to control the evolution of a quantum system. The novel aspect of this protocol is the use of a \emph{single auxiliary subsystem}. Two applications are given, one which allows for state preservation and another which controls the degree of entanglement of a given initial state

Escalas de Bem-Estar Social: evidências de validade e fidelidade no contexto português

This study aims to provide evidence of validity and reliability of the Social Well-being Scales in the Portuguese context. A cross-sectional study was developed with 322 adults (M = 30.45; SD = 8.52) aged from 18 to 58 years old, mostly females (65.8%). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good model fit considering the five-factor model consistent with the original theoretical proposal. Also, additional validity evidence was obtained with statistically significant associations being found between social well-being dimensions and satisfaction with life, depression and anxiety. Reliability data also showed adequate internal consistency of all well-being dimensions. This reliable and valid scale is useful to evaluate social well-being in adulthood in the Portuguese context, not only allowing a more comprehensive approach to the mental health research but also providing opportunities of assessment and intervention focused on a positive framework.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

S 111 and the polarization of the B[e] supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds

We have obtained linear polarization measurements of the Large Magellanic Cloud B[e] supergiant S 111 using optical imaging polarimetry. The intrinsic polarization found is consistent with the presence of an axisymmetric circumstellar envelope. We have additionally estimated the electron density for S 111 using data from the literature and revisited the correlation between polarization and envelope parameters of the B[e] supergiant stars using more recent IR calibration color data. The data suggest that the polarization can be indeed explained by electron scattering. We have used Monte Carlo codes to model the continuum polarization of the Magellanic B[e] supergiants. The results indicate that the electron density distribution in their envelopes is closer to a homogeneous distribution rather than an r$^{-2}$ dependence. At the same time, the data are best fitted by a spherical distribution with density contrast than a cylindrical distribution. The data and the model results support the idea of the presence of an equatorial disk and of the two-component wind model for the envelopes of the B[e] supergiants. Spectropolarimetry would help further our knowledge of these envelopes

Applying semantic web technologies to knowledge sharing in aerospace engineering

This paper details an integrated methodology to optimise Knowledge reuse and sharing, illustrated with a use case in the aeronautics domain. It uses Ontologies as a central modelling strategy for the Capture of Knowledge from legacy docu-ments via automated means, or directly in systems interfacing with Knowledge workers, via user-defined, web-based forms. The domain ontologies used for Knowledge Capture also guide the retrieval of the Knowledge extracted from the data using a Semantic Search System that provides support for multiple modalities during search. This approach has been applied and evaluated successfully within the aerospace domain, and is currently being extended for use in other domains on an increasingly large scale

Field behavior of an Ising model with aperiodic interactions

We derive exact renormalization-group recursion relations for an Ising model, in the presence of external fields, with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor interactions on Migdal-Kadanoff hierarchical lattices. We consider layered distributions of aperiodic exchange interactions, according to a class of two-letter substitutional sequences. For irrelevant geometric fluctuations, the recursion relations in parameter space display a nontrivial uniform fixed point of hyperbolic character that governs the universal critical behavior. For relevant fluctuations, in agreement with previous work, this fixed point becomes fully unstable, and there appears a two-cycle attractor associated with a new critical universality class.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure (included). Accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Achernar: Rapid Polarization Variability as Evidence of Photospheric and Circumstellar Activity

We present the results of a high accuracy ($\sigma \approx 0.005$) polarization monitoring of the Be Star Achernar that was carried out between July 7th and November 5th, 2006. Our results indicate that, after a near quiescent phase from 1998 to 2002, Achernar is presently in an active phase and has built a circumstellar disk. We detect variations both in the polarization level and position angle in timescales as short as one hour and as long as several weeks. Detailed modeling of the observed polarization strongly suggests that the short-term variations originate from discrete mass ejection events which produce transient inhomogeneities in the inner disk. Long-term variations, on the other hand, can be explained by the formation of an inner ring following one or several mass ejection events.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, Accepted to Ap