Manure management using precision agriculture

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on June 14, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Joseph Zulovich.M.S. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.The overall purpose of this project was to develop and implement a manure application record system that was solely based on Global Positioning Systems (GPS). This system will have the ability to provide steering and position assistance for avoiding buffer areas and to keep accurate records of application location, dates and rates. The system had the ability to create electronic as well as hard copy application maps. The software portion system was also evaluated to determine how the collected electronic spreading can be used to generate regulatory required spreading reports. The first step was to select the necessary components of the system. Components for the system were selected on the basis of product availability, user friendliness, ability to communicate with one another, and dealer support. Once the needed components were selected, a prototype system could be assembled. The prototype system consisted of an Ag Leader Insight monitor, Raven flow control valve, Krohne electromagnetic flow meter, and a Trimble Autopilot system. Once the system had been assembled, calibration could take place. Once a proper calibration was achieved, the system operated with very successful resultsIncludes bibliographical reference

Theoretical analysis of a novel integrated energy system formed by a microturbine and a exhaust fired single-double effect absorption chiller

Integrated Energy Systems (IES) combine a distributed power generation system (DG) such as a microturbine generator (MTG) or a fuel cell with thermally activated technologies (TAT) such as absorption cooling. This integration maximizes the efficiency of energy use by utilizing on-site most of the waste heat generated by DG, and reduces harmful emissions to the environment. This study investigates the energy and exergy performance of an IES. This system is comprised of an MTG with internal recuperator and a novel absorption cooling cycle. The absorption cycle is a single-double effect exhaust fired cycle, which recuperates the heat exchanged from the MTG exhaust gases using two generators at two different levels of temperature. The selection of the DG element, the TAT element and their internal configurations is based upon a real IES commercial unit that has been tested in the APEP-UCI DG testing facilities in Irvine, California. This unit has an electrical power capacity of 28 kW and a cooling capacity of 14 refrigeration tons (49.2 kW). Inputs for the thermodynamic models developed for the MTG and for the absorption cycle are derived from experimental variables that will be controlled in the testing phase. The MTG model is using empirical correlations for key model parameters (pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature, etc.) from previous studies in order to predict the observed change in performance with part load operation. The calculated mass flow rate and temperature of the exhaust gases are inputs for the absorption cycle model, together with cooling and chilled water inlet temperatures and flow rates. Heat and mass transferefficiencies along with heat transfer coefficients for the suite of heat exchangers comprising the single-double effect absorption cycle are determined from proprietary testing data provided by the manufacturers

Improvements to the Cryogenic Control System on Diii-D

OAK-B135 The cryogenic facility that is part of the DIII-D tokamak system supplies liquid nitrogen and liquid helium to the superconducting magnets used for electron cyclotron heating, the D{sub 2} pellet injection system, cryopumps in the DIII-D vessel, and cryopanels in the neutral beam injection system. The liquid helium is liquefied on site using a Sulzer liquefier that has a 150 l/h liquefaction rate. Control of the cryogenic facility at DIII-D was initially accomplished through the use of three different programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Recently, two of those three PLCs, a Sattcon PLC controlling the Sulzer liquefier and a Westinghouse PLC, were removed and all their control logic was merged into the remaining PLC, a Siemens T1555. This replacement was originally undertaken because the removed PLCs were obsolete and unsupported. However, there have been additional benefits from the replacement. The replacement of the RS-232 serial links between the graphical user interface and the PLCs with a high speed Ethernet link allows for real-time display and historical trending of nearly all the cryosystem's data. this has greatly increased the ability to troubleshoot problems with the system, and has permitted optimization of the cryogenic system's performance because of the increased system integration. To move the control logic of the Sattcon control loops into the T1555, an extensive modification of the basic PID control was required. These modifications allow for better control of the control loops and are now being incorporated in other control loops in the system

In-situ coating of silicon-rich films on tokamak plasma-facing components with real-time Si material injection

Experiments have been conducted in the DIII-D tokamak to explore the in-situ growth of silicon-rich layers as a potential technique for real-time replenishment of surface coatings on plasma-facing components (PFCs) during steady-state long-pulse reactor operation. Silicon (Si) pellets of 1 mm diameter were injected into low- and high-confinement (L-mode and H-mode) plasma discharges with densities ranging from $3.9-7.5\times10^{19}$ m$^{-3}$ and input powers ranging from 5.5-9 MW. The small Si pellets were delivered with the impurity granule injector (IGI) at frequencies ranging from 4-16 Hz corresponding to mass flow rates of 5-19 mg/s ($1-4.2\times10^{20}$ Si/s) at cumulative amounts of up to 34 mg of Si per five-second discharge. Graphite samples were exposed to the scrape-off layer and private flux region plasmas through the divertor material evaluation system (DiMES) to evaluate the Si deposition on the divertor targets. The Si II emission at the sample correlates with silicon injection and suggests net surface Si-deposition in measurable amounts. Post-mortem analysis showed Si-rich coatings of varying morphology mainly containing silicon oxides, with SiO$_2$ being the dominant component. No evidence of SiC was found, which is attributed to low divertor surface temperatures. The Si-rich coating growth rates were found to be at least $0.4-0.7$ nm/s, and the erosion rate was $0.1-0.3$ nm/s. The technique is estimated to coat a surface area of at least 0.94 m$^2$ on the outer divertor. These results demonstrate the potential of using real-time material injection to grow silicon-rich layers on divertor PFCs during reactor operation

FEEDING BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTIVE CYCLES IN PISASTER OCHRACEUS

Volume: 131Start Page: 127End Page: 14

Current practices in pharmaceutical container closure development

Container closure development for drug products has undergone significant evolution within the last 10 years. However, the information available to guide manufacturers in the design and testing of container closures is relatively limited. The FDA Guidance for Industry on Container Closure Systems for Packaging of Human Drugs and Biologicals is more than 12 years old. Other, more recent, guidance documents written by the International Conference on Harmonization provide added insight regarding the evaluation of container closures. Further, a modest number of pharmacopoeial requirements and regional regulations have been written that relate to container closures for pharmaceutical products. However, it is not clear whether this collection of documents is sufficient to capture current industry best practices, and whether scientists responsible for container closure development are satisfied with the level of guidance provided by these regulatory documents. In this study, a literature review was combined with a survey of current practices and views of scientists responsible for developing and testing container closures. The literature showed that current industry practices extend beyond the current requirements of the regulatory paradigm. It further suggested that testing of extractables and leachables is regarded as an area in which more guidance may be needed. The survey that focused on extractables and leachables testing further identified substantial variation in the practices of industry scientists. The majority of scientists identified that the FDA Guidance document written in 1999 has the greatest impact on their testing programs but that this document is inadequate and in need of revision. Survey results further suggested that many of the other available documents are not sufficiently broad to meet the needs of many scientists. Taken together, the data lead to a recommendation that the FDA guidance document of 1999 be prioritized for revision in the near future