Fast synchrotron X-ray tomographic quantification of dendrite evolution during the solidification of Mg-Sn alloys

The evolution of dendritic microstructures during the solidification of a Mg-15 wt%Sn alloy was investigated in situ via fast synchrotron X-ray microtomography. To enable these in situ observations a novel encapsulation method was developed and integrated into a fast, pink beam, imaging beamline at Diamond Light Source. The dendritic growth was quantified with time using: solid volume fraction, tip velocity, interface specific surface area, and surface curvature. The influence of cooling rate upon these quantities and primary phase nucleation was investigated. The primary dendrites grew with an 18-branch, 6-fold symmetry structure, accompanied by coarsening. The coarsening process was assessed by the specific surface area and was compared with the existing models. These results provide the first quantification of dendritic growth during the solidification of Mg alloys, confirming existing analytic models and providing experimental data to inform and validate more complex numeric models

Gas production from marine gas hydrate reservoirs using geothermal-assisted depressurization method

Natural gas production from marine gas hydrate reservoirs has become attractive to the oil and gas industry in recent years. It is still a great challenge to recover natural gas from hydrate reservoirs efficiently mainly due to sand production and wellbore collapse problems associated with the production scheme of depressurization. The thermal recovery method has not been proven economical due to the high cost of energy consumption. This study focuses on using geothermal energy to assist the depressurization process so that well pressure drawdown can be reduced and thus sand production and wellbore collapse problems can be mitigated. The authors investigated the transfer of heat energy from a natural geothermal zone to a marine gas hydrate reservoir and its effect on gas well productivity using analytical models. The result of our investigation shows that the initial well productivity can be significantly improved using geothermal energy more than 10-fold. This work provides engineers with an analytical tool for the feasibility analysis of using geothermal energy to improve well performance in gas hydrate reservoirs.Cited as: Mahmood, M. N., Guo, B. Gas production from marine gas hydrate reservoirs using geothermal-assisted depressurization method. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 7(2): 90-98. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2023.02.0

A review on the charging station planning and fleet operation for electric freight vehicles

Freight electrification introduces new opportunities and challenges for planning and operation. Although research on charging infrastructure planning and operation is widely available for general electric vehicles, unique physical and operational characteristics of EFVs coupled with specific patterns of logistics require dedicated research. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review to gain a better understanding of the state-of-the-art research efforts related to planning (charging station siting and sizing) and operation (routing, charge scheduling, platoon scheduling, and fleet sizing) for EFVs. We classified the existing literature based on the research topics, innovations, methodologies, and solution approaches, and future research directions are identified. Different types of methodologies, such as heuristic, simulation, and mathematical programming approaches, were applied in the reviewed literature where mathematical models account for the majority. We further narrated the specific modeling considerations for different logistic patterns and research goals with proper reasoning. To solve the proposed models, different solution approaches, including exact algorithms, metaheuristic algorithms, and software simulation, were evaluated in terms of applicability, advantages, and disadvantages. This paper helps to draw more attention to the planning and operation issues and solutions for freight electrification and facilitates future studies on EFV to ensure a smooth transition to a clean freight system.Comment: 43 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Introductory of Microsoft Excel SOLVER function-Spreadsheet method for isotherm and kinetics modelling of metals biosorption in water and wastewater

This paper aims to introduce a simple method to run a complicated non-linear analysis of isotherm and kinetics models for metals biosorption based on input functions of spreadsheets. A robust method is demonstrated here to exploit the `SOLVER function available in Microsoft (MS) Excel spreadsheet. It is more economic and user friendly than specialized computer programmes. In this study, an iterative method was proposed to produce the optimal goodness of fit between experimental data and predicted data. This was described the implementing method of a set of real data (garden grass as biosorbent) and the predicted results were compared with linear analysis and MATLAB analysis. The R2 values found from MS Excel spreadsheet were 0.995, 0.999 and 0.996 while being 0.997, 1.000 and 0.999 by MATLAB for copper, lead and cadmium adsorption, respectively onto garden grass. The prediction of maximum adsorption, qm by excel (59.336, 63.663 and 42.310 mg/g) were very similar to MATLAB (59.889, 63.509 and 41.560 mg/g). The predictions of kinetics parameters were also close to MATLAB analysis. Hence, the MS Excel Spreadsheet method could be a handy tool for biosorption models

Stereotactic Radiosurgery Practice Patterns for Brain Metastases in the United States: A National Survey

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as an important modality for the treatment of intracranial metastases. There are currently few established guidelines delineating indications for SRS use and fewer still regarding plan evaluation in the treat- ment of multiple brain metastases. Methods: An 18 question electronic survey was distributed to radiation oncologists at National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer centers in the US (60). Centers without radiation oncologists were excluded. Physicians who indicated that they do not prescribe SRS were excluded from the remaining survey questions. Sign test and Chi-square test were used to determine if responses differed significantly from random distribution. Results: 116 of the 697 radiation oncologists surveyed completed the questionnaire, representing 51 institutions. 62% reported treating patients with brain metastases using SRS. Radiation oncologists prescribing SRS most commonly treat CNS (66.2%) and lung (49.3%) malignancies. SRS was used more frequently for \u3c10 brain metastases (73.7%; p\u3c.0001) and whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for \u3e10 brain metastases (82.5%; p\u3c.0001). The maximum number of lesions physicians were willing to treat with SRS without WBRT was 1-4 (40.4%) and 5-10 (42.4%) (p\u3c.0001 compared to 11-15, 16-20 and no limit). The most important criteria for choosing SRS or WBRT were number of lesions (p\u3c.0001) and performance status (p=.016). The most common margin for SRS was 0 mm (49.1%; p=.0021). The most common dose constraints other than critical structure was conformity index (84.2%) and brain V12 (61.4%). The LINAC was the most common treatment modality (54.4%) and mono-isocenter technique for multiple brain metastases was commonly used (43.9%; p=.23). Most departments do not have a policy for brain metastases treatment (64.9%; p=.024). Conclusions: This is one of the first national surveys assessing the use of SRS for brain metastases in clinical practice. These data highlight some clinical considerations for physicians treating brain metastases with SRS. Summary: This is among the first national surveys to assess the use of SRS for brain metastases in clinical practice. Specifically, radiation oncologist reported increasingly using SRS instead of WBRT for treating \u3c10 metastases, with the LINAC being the most common modality. Further, treatment parameters considered the most important included 0 mm margins, conformity index, brain V12, and mono- isocenter technique for multiple brain metastases. These results may provide context regarding the use of SRS for brain metastases in clinical practice

A novel method to avoid degradation due to demagnetization of PM linear generators for oceanic wave energy extraction

© 2017 IEEE. Demagnetization is one of the noticeable problems in almost every permanent magnet linear generator (PMLG) for oceanic wave energy conversion. To avoid the degradation of electrical power generation capability, a PMLG with a new feature of variable air gap length is proposed in this paper. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a PMLG has been designed which is simulated for both the fixed and variable air gaps. The finite element analysis is performed for simulation for analysis of the PMLG with the conventional and the proposed methods by using the software package ANSYS/Ansoft. The voltage, current, power, magnetic flux density, and force components of the PMLG are analyzed and discussed. The simulation results show that the new method can effectively avoid the demagnetization problem

Effect of Tris-(hydroxymethyl)-amino methane on microalgae biomass growth in a photobioreactor

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. One of the buffers namely Tris (Tris-(hydroxymethyl)-amino methane) was used to increase the growth of microalgae by stabilizing the pH value in microalgae cultures. The objective of this research is to determine the growth rate and biomass productivity of Chlorella sp. with and without Tris addition. Both conditions function at various N:P ratios cultured in photobioreactors (carbon dioxide of 5% (v/v), light intensity of 3.3 Klux). Daily variations in nutrient removal (nitrogen and phosphorus), cell concentration, DO, temperature and pH were measured for data analysis. The results show that the largest yield of biomass was achieved at the N:P ratio of 15:1 with and without Tris. After cultivation lasting 92 h, the algae concentration at this ratio was 1250 mg L-1 and 3568 mg L-1 with and without Tris, respectively. This indicates that adding Tris to the photobioreactor greatly reduces algae biomass due to bacterial competition

A medium frequency transformer with multiple secondary windings for medium voltage converter based wind turbine power generating systems

Recent advances in magnetic materials have led to the development of compact and light weight, medium and high frequency transformers, which would be a possible solution to reducing the size and weight of wind turbine power generating systems. This paper presents the overall design and analysis of a Metglas amorphous alloy 2605SA1 based medium frequency transformer to generate the isolated balanced multiple DC supplies for medium voltage converter systems. A comprehensive electromagnetic analysis is conducted on the proposed design based on experimental results. The test stand, data analysis, and test results are discussed. © 2013 American Institute of Physics

Parent-adolescent attachment and peer attachment associated with Internet Gaming Disorder: a longitudinal study of first-year undergraduate students

Background and aims: Given that Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has tentatively been included in DSM-5 as a psychiatric disorder, it is important that the effect of parental and peer attachment in the development of IGD is further explored. Methods: Utilizing a longitudinal design, this study investigated the bidirectional association between perceived Q1 parent-adolescent attachment, peer attachment, and IGD among 1,054 first-year undergraduate students (58.8% female). The students provided demographic information (e.g., age, gender) and were assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Assessments occurred three times, six months apart (October 2017; April 2018; October 2018). Results: Cross-lagged panel models suggested that IGD weakly predicted subsequent mother attachment but significantly negatively predicted father attachment. However, father and mother attachment could not predict subsequent IGD. Moreover, peer attachment has bidirectional association with IGD. Further, the model also demonstrated stable crosssectional negative correlations between attachment and IGD across all three assessments. Discussion and conclusions: The findings of the present study did not show a bidirectional association between parental attachment and IGD, but they did show a negative bidirectional association between peer attachment and IGD. The results suggested previous cross-sectional associations between IGD and attachment, with larger links among males than females at the first measurement point. We found that peer attachment could negatively predict subsequent IGD, which indicates that peer attachment plays an important role in preventing addictive gaming behaviors for university students